A/N: Here's that chapter, guys! XD And this flashback is still made out of epic-wins and pwns everywhere, might I add. This is another reason why I love flashback!Sayuri.
Like for serious, she's like the most epic person in the story. *tear* XD;;
"Stop! Suzuki! Don't do this! Please don't do this!" Sayuri yells at the top of her lungs. Her eyes shimmer as she starts flailing, trying to free her hands from Macarius' sword. Her eyes plead for Suzuki to stop but he stands in front of her opponent, his cape swaying in the wind behind him. "What do you mean it doesn't matter? You'll die! You saved Bianca, okay? Don't be a hero!" She pauses, looking at the ground. "That's my job..."
"Sayuri," Suzuki says, taking off his cape. He takes it off with finesse, being careful about how he unsnaps the buttons around his neck. He acts as if nothing is wrong... As if Isleen and Hiroyuki are still alive. "I know this man might be stronger than me, but I'll never know until I try. I can't stand the fact that he is willing to fight against the whole entire world—a woman, no less." Suzuki turns towards Macarius and he looks back at him with blank eyes. "My kingdom needed help, and you were the one to give me that help. I'm not here because you simply need assistance to beat this man..."
"Suzuki..." Sayuri mumbled, almost inaudibly. He doesn't glance back at her.
"I've known you since I happened to accidentally show myself in your world... You were always there to help me, and you not only saved me... But millions of others. If my planet was to die, everything else in this world would have faltered. I'm only here because... I've been following you around because I just want to study you, Sayuri. I've always wanted to see what made you you, and be around you."
Her eye widened and she could have sworn she started crying.
"I'm not afraid to die if it means protecting you." Suzuki cracks his knuckles, resuming his stance. "I thought humans were such vile creatures—humans and Celestial Beings. Everything else in the world that weren't Essences, in fact. But you've changed me so much..." He turns around, giving her a big grin. His teeth shine as the sun reflects off them. "I've actually finally figured out that the only reason why I've been able to stick around beside you is because I love you—"
Sayuri's face is frozen from pure shock.
She looks at the two men in front of her—dumbfounded as three leashes appear in Suzuki's hands. Two in his right hand and one in his left. Three, vicious dogs then form out of darkness, each of them looking as menacing as the last. Their teeth are jagged and razor sharp. There is saliva dripping from their mouths and accumulating in puddles as it meets the ground. Macarius isn't worried. He stands there, staring the gigantic dogs and their master down with his purple eyes.
"Rêvez de la Mort!" Suzuki shouts, all three of his dogs running towards Macarius. With each step they take, the ground cracks underneath their paws. They act as if they haven't eaten in years—fighting with each other to take the prize of reaching Macarius first. The dogs sink their incisors into Macarius and he doesn't even flinch. At a first glance, it looks like they are taking him down. That all changes when Macarius narrows his eyes, holding his right arm up.
The ground cracks in a crescent formation, making Suzuki's dogs disappear. The ear-shattering blast from the ground's surface makes Sayuri flinch. Suzuki is sent flying backwards, lying on the ground a couple of yards away from him. "Stop!" Sayuri shouts with everything she has, her face turning red. Veins pop out of her head from how pleading her scream was. Her eyes are wide open—she has no words for what is laying right in front of her.
"This reminds me of how my loved ones were killed in front of my eyes..." Macarius mutters to himself, gazing at Suzuki's body.
Sayuri stares at her enemy.
"Love breeds sacrifice... Which breads more hatred..."
Sayuri lets out a shrill yell, an explosion erupting from all around her. It raises itself into the air, clouds of smoke surrounding the field. The wind blows more violently as she continuous to scream, the ground splitting at the sound of her voice. Now she stands on all fours, another howl escaping her lips. Her hair—her oily hair has increased in length two-fold, fangs protruding from over her bottom lip. Blades sit on her arms and legs as her clothes melt away, her body only shielded by a purple light. Under her eyes resides black shadows, complimenting the slit in her pupils that make her look like an animal.
Her ears are pointed outwards, fur on the back of them. Her fingernails are much longer and she starts to growl—even that shakes the earth. A wolf's tail shoots from her back, wagging back and forward. "...Then you can know my pain..." Macarius muttered, looking nonchalantly at Sayuri. "Do you hate me?"
"Graaaaaaaaaaaah!" Sayuri yells, cracking her neck as she plays with the dirt in her hands. The mountains around them begin to crumble—trees breaking and houses from far away start to collapse. Her voice sounds twisted and deranged—a hopeless cross between human and animal.
"Do you really think people can understand each other like this?" She yells once more at the sound of his voice, even louder than before. "That's it. But my pain is far more greater than yours." Sayuri is damn-near standing on top of a crater—and one glance at the blood pouring out of Suzuki's mouth is more than enough to implore her to start fighting. She rolls her wand over to herself with her right hand, playing with the diamond on top of it. Macarius takes heed. "Is that what has been holding her back...?" Abruptly, Sayuri smashes the diamond—the indestructible mineral—watching fragments of it stick into her hand.
Sayuri, without thinking, dashes towards him—almost invisible to even his eyes. But the wind that swirls around her alerts him that she's coming. He puts out his right hand—and he tries to shoot her away from himself. Instead, fragments of the earth fly back a great deal, but Sayuri stands her ground, her wolf genetics overtaking her body. Huge boulders fly back and even a few trees. Macarius' concentration is destroyed as he himself is thrown back, tumbling against the ground.
"She withstood my blast... And used it against me?" Macarius says to himself, narrowing his eyes. He collides into the rock formation behind them, taking down the whole entire mountain. Debris flies into the air, making Sayuri smirk. She starts sniffing around, swearing she can smell his blood.
And that makes her happy. It soothes the animal she has become.
"Sa... Sayuri..." Suzuki mutters, turning his head towards her. Macarius arises from the destruction, his cloak hanging off the side of his body. Half of his chest is showing; cuts and bruises riddling his body.
"Absolute Obliteration," Macarius mutters, throwing both of his hands in front of him. A blast the size of a planet appears in front of him—circling in an orange-red catastrophe. He wastes no time sending it towards Sayuri. It destroys everything in its path, making a huge trail of barren land behind it. It hits another rock formation, sending a pillar of earth falling on top of her.
Sayuri manages to get up from the rocky rain, making Macarius squint his eyes. "That girl's power is amazing... Her Trance Mode is superb." Sayuri lets out another howl as he jumps into the air, looking back at her. He appears to be running away from her, leading her up into more thickets of trees.
Perhaps to a place where her friends can't find her?
Still, Sayuri isn't about to let him get away. He claps his hands together, his tattered cloak fluttering in the wind behind him. The ground floats in the air and forms into a big orb. From the air, it looks as if a huge meteorite hit the ground... And the debris around the orb is floating into the air. Sayuri sniffs into the air, jumping towards the circle of earth. She breaks her way into it and Macarius looks up from above, a blank expression on his face.
She reverts back to normal, standing on top of what appears to be water. She clutches her head, refusing to cry. "I don't know! What should I do? I don't know anymore!" she screams. "I don't know! It hurts! I hate this!"
"How are you going to face this hatred in order to maintain and keep the peace?"
His sentence replays in her head, over and over.
"I'll... Destroy everything!" Sayuri says, laughing sadistically. She cracks her neck, a smile playing on the ends of her lips. Blood starts to pour out of a wound on the side of her chest as she laughs manically. "I'll destroy everything that hurts me. I'll save him from the pain... I'll give him all my pain!" She laughs, tears forming in her eyes. "I'll make sure he's really happy!" The circle that was once in the air disburses, Macarius' jaw dropping at the sight.
"I can't believe it..."
Clutching her sword and an exact replica of it in her other hand, she shoots out of the dome—coming towards him. She stops in mid-air, throwing out her hands. "Die you bastard!" Upon saying this she chuckles, her eyes dilated. Her swords charges with purple light and she swings them, two frightening disks of explosive power heading straight towards him. Macarius only side steps out of the way—though the explosion almost causes him to fall over. She stands upside down in the air, grinning at her opponent. He looks back at her, his eyes blank.
Before she continuous to fight, her eyes soften as she looks back on the village—and at how destroyed it is... "I—I did this...?" Her voice cracks as she asks herself more questions.
"She's strong enough to inflict damage on me and she can see me. She deflected my attack and sent it back at me—going so far as to escaping my prison. She's tough."
Tears seep down her cheeks as she clutches her chest. "I did that? I killed Bianca... Suzuki...?" She pauses, hearing familiar faint heartbeats even from far away. "Thank God... Thank God..." She pauses, wiping her tears away with her arm.
"It's time we finished this," Macarius says. Sayuri looks at him, rage in her eyes. "If you don't understand someone's pain, you can never understand them. Do you understand a little pain now?"
"..."
"But just because you understand them doesn't mean you can come to an agreement. That's the truth."
-: Chapter Thirty-Six: Bullshit Gets Up And Walks Around :-
He had a plan to kill you all along,
The evidence was hidden in this song,
I was a ghost,
I was there at the scene,
As the embers rise, my hands,
Smelled like gasoline.
You're the only one that wore your seatbelt,
We're the only ones that cried,
Catastrophic accidents,
You're the only one that died.
— "When I Go Out, I Want To Go Out Like A Chariot On Fire" — Escape The Fate
"Well, we cannot send you home just yet Aline," Ever said to me, writing on her clipboard. She was always writing on that clipboard in some language that I couldn't understand... I had been in this place for a while now, so I was used to her telling me that. I couldn't go home. I could never go home... But I really wanted to see Chase and Renatari again! The only reason why I stayed with Professor Ever was because I wanted to get better so I could see them...
It still hurt sometimes... Other times I didn't know what hurt, but my head—definitely. It was hard being around Professor Ever. I didn't like Enlightened Ones. Honovi was Professor Ever's assistant... She played with me a little. Whenever I was bored she'd ask me if I'd like to play with her. Honovi acted like a real grown-up! I didn't know how old she was. She was pretty, too. Her lab-coat was different from Professor Ever's, but she was just as important.
I looked down at the ground, tracing a circle with my foot. She was an Enlightened One too. "Why can't I go back...?" I muttered. Ever gave me another look through the corner of her eyes, taking two steps forward. She smiled at me, brought her clipboard to her side, and nodded her head. "I feel fine! H—honestly!"
"You are sick dear," Ever answered back, making my spirits drop. "Aline, you are very sick. If you go back to Austere, there is a possibility that whatever you have may spread on to the next person... And it will become something that would be very hard to contain, you hear?" That was what she said every time I asked that question. Everyday they would leave me in this room and I never got to see the outside world... I missed the sky. I didn't get to see it for too long, but when the others went to go see Shiva, I saw it! That blue sky! But it didn't belong to me... It belonged to people like Honovi and Ever.
"Things like this just take time," Honovi agreed, shaking her head. She had the most pretty black hair... Her bangs hung over her face and it made me wonder how she could even see. It was glossy and really shined when she stepped into the sunlight. "We're working on a cure to make you better. Professor Ever is, anyway. Is there anything you remember about that night with that woman you call Renatari? Can you give us a name? Anything?" I wanted to remember, but it was like every time I tried, something tried to burn a hole into my brain.
I shook my head, kicking the air. "All I remember are pictures, but I don't want you people to look inside of my head!" I put my hands on top of my head, crouching down. I felt so violated whenever one of them invaded my mind. That wasn't fair... Why did they get to do that and we couldn't? I couldn't remember what happened after I saved Renatari from that man, and I didn't want them messing with my memories. "Whenever that happens, someone's dear memories are always altered!" Ever put her hands on her hips, amused at what I had just said.
"Well I'll be!" she said, laughing. "You should not listen to everyone who lives here, Aline." But they all told the truth! They were all here much longer than I was. "People tend to get plenty crazy inside of the Science Department. We're all nice people, don't you understand that?"
"You aren't nice people!" I shouted, my face red. "You all made Shiva come and attack us! Renatari was hurt because you people weren't there! You people said you'd protect Austere, and yet we live like we do now!" I paused, swallowing. Honovi and Ever looked at me. They were definitely surprised at me. "You people weren't there when I needed you the most... That's why I'm sick now. Renatari..." I paused, closing my eyes. "I hope she is okay. I think she..." I couldn't say anymore.
"There's only one problem with that kid..." Ever said. "I have searched the whole entire database. There's no one in Austere that is named Renatari. In fact, there was never anyone named Renatari in Austere." That wasn't true! Renatari was my best friend and she was real! "Are you sure she is not just your imaginary friend? Friends are good to have Aline, but imaginary ones are not going to help us find out what made you sick like this." I wasn't kidding, honestly! I wouldn't lie like this!
"She's really real, Ever! And nothing you can say will make me think otherwise!" I yelled back. "All Enlightened do is make up lies and they expect us to listen to them! I was taught not to believe you people, and if you keep saying that we'll never be friends!" I folded my arms, pouting. I scratched my head after that and Ever did the same thing. She thought I was lying about knowing what happened that day. There were times when I wanted to remember everything, but then I was scared. I was scared because I didn't want to know if Renatari died, or if something bad had happened to me.
"Well, get this kid. I guess I can't just leave you hanging," she said, sighing. "Look, there's something that Queen Aysel and King Saivan put on everyone in the kingdom a long time ago. Longer than... Well, it was a really long time. A memory block. I think that is what you are suffering from right now. Whatever is making you so sick is blocking that memory of that day. Queen Aysel and King Saivan put a memory block on everyone in the kingdom, and only a select few actually know that Princess Renata had a sister..." I hated Queen Aysel! I hated them all! Where were they when we were being attacked? Queens are supposed to be nice and princesses are supposed to help you all the time...
"I don't care," I said, turning around. "If it's not about Renatari, I don't care! She brought me a flower and I left it back in the church! I have to go get her flower!" Ever snapped her fingers and Honovi walked in front of her, bowing. It was really weird. Honovi always did everything Ever asked her too. Honovi had ice-blue eyes which made her look weird. She didn't like to show her emotions, but she was nice enough to me... "Yeah, she made me the most wonderful flower... With magic! She used the same magic you guys have! It was awesome!"
"Kid, you are a genius!" Professor Ever exclaimed, throwing her pencil into the air. I jumped. She was scaring me! "If you take a look at that flower I bet, you will remember everything!" She was going to take me back to Austere? Back home? I started smiling. Anything to get away from those people! I didn't like being examined everyday—and when I really wanted to go outside they'd only let me walk into another room. I was in jail for being sick, and that wasn't right!
What would my mom say about this? Did they even tell her where I was at? Where was Chase? I had so many questions and no one had been giving me answers to them. "I'd love to go back home!" I exclaimed, smiling. "I can see my Mom again, and Dad, and my brother and my friends! It'll be awesome! And maybe I can see Chase again! If anyone's told them where I'm at, it'd have to be him, I—"
Honovi glanced at me. "You mean Chase Kaluza?" I nodded my head. Yep, that was my friend's name! "... He's a part of Aysel's guard now. There is no doubt in my mind that right now he is working very hard to ensure this kingdom's safety." They took Chase away from me too? My eyes started watering, but I wouldn't cry. I'd see the flower again and give it to Chase the next time I saw him. My bottom lip started quivering and Honovi started patting my head without any emotional feedback. That's when I got mad. What was Chase fighting for? He almost never fought... Only when it was extremely important and necessary! And he would never... Never...
"He would never work for Aysel!" I yelled, closing my eyes. Tears flew out of the corners of them. "Chase didn't like Queen Aysel! He always told me how she ran things the wrong way! He hated her! Hated, hated, hated her!" I balled up my fists, stomping my foot in the ground. Honovi always gave me bright-colored ribbons to tie in my hair. We didn't have those back in Austere. I liked them, though. I wish Honovi could buy all the ribbons in the world for me. "He only fights for Nocuous! He told me that my kind was the only kind worthy of being protected by his sword. He trained his whole life to help us, and you're trying to tell me that he's fighting for Aysel?"
Ever flipped another page to her clipboard. When she wasn't writing on it, she was trying to be really funny. She wasn't that funny. "Ah, appears so, kid. Apparently there's supposed to be some kind of war going on right now. Yeah, the system is in pretty bad shape. It's a rumor that's been floating around, but Saivan walked right into the castle and..." She paused, making hand gestures. "Bam!" I jumped, and she laughed a little at me. Lightheartedly. "He destroyed Aysel's throne room—whipped the Summoners—and managed to defeat her whole guard in a matter of seconds."
"Was Chase hurt?" I exclaimed, looking up now. I wiped away my tears. Honovi didn't like it when I started crying. "Tell me he wasn't hurt! What's going on with the world now?" I didn't know too much about what happened in the Palace in the Sky... In Austere, we barely had any trouble. Everyone knew each other and we were all one big happy family. But we were happy. "If King Saivan attacked Queen Aysel, does that still make him king?" Ever didn't stop looking at her clipboard. She was in love with it.
"Well, not that I know of," she answered in her scraggly voice. "All I know is that this country is in a war with enemies we don't even know exist. Some say King Saivan has an army full of ghosts... Others say he's protected by robots. The press have been trying to get a hold of Princess Renata and Queen Aysel, but everyone's been turned away by Lucrecia... Extraordinary woman, she is. After Naira and Defina died, I knew something bad was going to happen to this place. Aline, you can only be hopeful and pray that your friend is okay." I wish I had hope left over... She waved her pencil in the air, unwrapping some gum.
"And... Yeah... Of course that makes Saivan king. He cannot stop being king unless Aysel divorces him. He can do whatever he wants..." Her voice trailed as she walked over to the cabinet, putting her clipboard on it. She smiled back at me, jumping up into the air and stretching. "But it is just another rumor, kid. You cannot let stuff get to you like that." What if me being sick had something to do with the war...? Something was inside of me—I knew it! It would talk to me at night and never leave me alone. It was pushing me forward. There was something that neither Professor Ever or Honovi was telling me. I had to ask them about it and 'hope' that they gave me an answer.
"What exactly... Is wrong with me...?" It hurt to ask, but the thing inside me wanted me to suffer. I could feel it. I clutched my heart, feeling it beat. Everyone in the world had hearts, I was sure. What made these people that stood before me so heartless...? "I know I'm sick, but this isn't a cold or anything like that, right?" I swallowed, hoping one of them would really answer me this time. Honovi looked up at me while Professor Ever was looking for some kind of lie to say.
"We have found out that there is something living inside of you," Honovi said, looking at me with blank eyes. I knew that much. At first I hated it, but it liked to talk to me whenever I was lonely. Just like Honovi did when she wasn't sleeping. "What that thing is we don't know yet, but it was injected inside of you, and it will spread without the proper care."
Ever folded her arms. "Jeez, did you have to tell the kid everything?" She paused. "Well yeah, sure, there's something inside of you. We've been working on a cure! Nights and nights of experimenting, and we haven't gotten anywhere!" She stuck her arm in the air, sniffing from her failures. She was really dramatic. She turned back to normal as soon as she looked at me again. "We also think we've seen the same thing before. Honovi looked into some of the old files—she cracked the code to my uncle's stuff, and I don't know if this thing inside of you is what he made, or something similar to it—but there was one person that made a cure."
"Who? Tell me who! The sooner we can get to them, the sooner I can go back to Austere!" Honovi always told me that she had never met someone who was so eager to go back to Austere. She didn't understand what it was like to have wonderful friends and family. And when you're away from them for such a long time it just... Makes you feel really sad and broken for a while. Professor Ever rubbed her hands together, looking at the ground, and then back at me.
"Well, I don't think we can contact her too easy. Last time I sent a letter to get into contact with Lucrecia, and even that was hard. Now, I don't think they're taking in any mail—the castle. It had been documented by an unknown person that Summoner Sayuri came up with a cure. She was even sick like you were, but she didn't let that deter her. She was truly a hero." Wow! If Summoner Sayuri could get better, than I would be just like her! "Of course, I think once you get what you've got, you can never get it again, so she might be immune to the sickness. If she's lived this long..." What? My throat got dry and I stopped cheering. Was I going to die? I didn't want to die! I started panicking, sweating too.
"Am I... Going to die, Professor Ever? Honovi?" They gave me sad looks.
"I don't exactly know," Ever said, shaking her head. "While we do not think this is life-threatening, it was documented in my uncle's sightings that the 'mystery sickness' is capable of destroying whole entire civilizations in just a matter of minutes." She slid against the wall, putting her hand on her forehead. "Jeez Louise, gives me the creepers every time I think about it. What makes Summoner Sayuri so amazing? She's smart, pretty, and she knows how to hold herself well—as well as fight! We need to get a hold of her. I do not want you dying Aline. Not on my watch you aren't. Like you said, you have a family you have to get to, and my uncle always said that when a scientist is confronted with a problem, they try their best to come up with a solution!"
I exhaled. This would have hit me harder if I wasn't used to feeling like I was dying... Only Chase and Renatari could save me now. I nodded my head. "So how are you guys going to talk to Summoner Sayuri if you can't reach her?"
"We're going to mind-call someone in the castle," Honovi said, closing her eyes. "Most of the smart people there have mind-blocks so that one can't read their minds, memories, and so on. But if we could get a hold of someone who is not paying too much attention, we can contact them. To be able to mind-call, you must have mental picture of that person, and a strong mental and physical complex. You must be ready for the worst, because not everyone is in their right mind...
"Yeah, mind-reading is big business," Professor Ever said, nodding her head. That made me feel at least a little bit better. "People have actually died from not being careful with it... But oh well!" she exclaimed, patting my head. She used to love running her fingers through my hair until I started putting it in pig-tails. "You don't have to worry about those dangers! You should be glad that you are not one of us, right?" She grinned, but was she trying to make me happy, or make me worse? After that, there was a huge explosion that shook the whole building! I fell sideways on the ground and Ever looked up at the ceiling, noticing debris falling down. Just a little, though.
Honovi looked at Ever and they both nodded. After that, I could hear people screaming! I knew where it was coming from. I got up on my feet and ran towards the window, looking down to see a lot of white-coats running out of the building. Someone got thrown out of a window and landed on another person. The thing inside of me didn't like all of that screaming. It made my head hurt... Ever bowed her head, putting her hands on her waist. "So, it looked like we've got ourselves company, right Honovi? Well they can bring on whatever they've got, because I'm not moving—ahaaaaa! The ceiling almost fell on me, did you see that?" Ever pointed up, crouching down.
Honovi nodded her head, taking something out of her pocket. It looked like a ball! She pressed a button in the middle of it, and right before my eyes it turned into a huge, big gun! I had seen a lot of guns but this was the biggest one I had ever seen! I almost stretched across the room. It was scary. "W—what's happening?" I asked, shaking a little. Honovi's gun looked so heavy that she had to carry it with both of her hands. She glanced at me, nodding her head. "You're not going to hurt anyone with that gun, are you Honovi? You're better than that. W—we don't need violence to solve all of our problems now, do we?" Chase was always telling me that and I just wanted to pass it on.
"They're working their way up," she said. "More than likely, the person that broke into..." I couldn't hear her because another explosion went off. I fell down on the ground again. "...they want you Aline. You are special."
"I'm special?" I repeated. There was nothing special about me. I was just an ordinary Nocuous that came from Austere. Professor Ever got up, holding on to all kinds of things before she found her balance again.
"I want you to use that 'thing' inside of you, Aline." My eyes started to shine. Honovi was serious about what she had just said. "There is a reason, I believe, why you are the only one who has been able to control that creature. We have taken the same strain and given it to countless others. They all eventually go insane or die in a horrible way. But you... You show promise. Whomever this is... You must not give up to them. They want your gift."
"I have a gift...?"
"Whether it is accidental or not, you are now a soldier. For what, I have no idea, but you have to continue to live, Aline. You can control it." I closed my eyes and folded my hands together. I could always control it, couldn't I? Renatari and Chase would have been so proud of me... She put her finger around the trigger—not afraid of anything. Honovi was really heroic. "That is what we meant to tell Lucrecia—that if she had not brought you in when she did, you probably would have died. It is a subconscious matter—and even if we do not have enough time to look into it, Aline, you do not have to die."
Professor Ever had managed to grab her clipboard, and now she was writing on it. That was, until, someone came through the door, not even bothering to open it. This woman was really weird looking. She wore a suit, but it was covered with butterfly pins that jingled whenever she moved. They were everywhere—like she belonged as a prize in a carnival! ...I had never been to one of those before, but I desperately wanted to. They had those here, but not in Austere. She was adjusting her glove, taking two small steps forward. Honovi propped her gun and Professor Ever glanced up from her board. "Well, who in the hell are you?" she said to the lady with the blue hair.
"48 Cecelia Leingod," she answered back. Her pins jingled, making sounds sweet to my ear. "I came here to take the girl away from you. The people that guard this place do not really do a great job with guarding it. They were easy to take out—and I imagine that you two..." She paused, glancing at Honovi's gun. "...Will prove to be no match for me." Professor Ever sighed, putted her hands on her waist.
"Well, I knew that's what you came here for. But guess what?" Professor Ever paused, sticking out her tongue and showing Cecelia her butt. After that, she started spanking it. "You can't have her!" I laughed under my breath because Ever was really funny sometimes. But not all the time. "You're going to have to fight us two before we let you even get close to her. She is a valuable person for this institute and will be the stepping-stone for us getting a cure for everyone who eventually becomes infected with this sudden illness." She paused, standing up. "And if you are Cecelia, you are that person that attacked the Summoners and Aysel's guard the other day. So you spoke to Summoner Sayuri, yes?"
"I fail to see how that information helps preventing me from taking the girl," Cecelia said, still fixing her glove. "Such information is not necessary, and I have been programed not to reveal what should not be said." Ever quirked a brow, folding her arms again.
"So, you're a robot, hnn? I might not know much about science, but..." Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she dug into her lab-coat. "Nyaha! I found it!" She took out a wrench. It was a normal-sized wrench. "Your statement leads me to believe that you're a robot, which means you can be taken apart, and that my friend is my specialty. You'll leave this place in shambles." Professor Ever started smiling, feeling triumphant! She glanced at Honovi and she nodded her head. Cecelia was done looking at her glove, so she looked at the three of us with her turquoise-colored eyes.
"Such actions would take you a fortnight," Cecelia replied. "No one is that fast."
"You don't believe me kid?" Ever answered back. "Ha, watch and learn." She walked towards Honovi's gun and started moving at the speed of lightning. Parts started hitting the ground and I twitched when the really big ones made really loud noises. Oil got on Ever's face but she didn't let that stop her. Two minutes had passed and there was nothing left of Honovi's gun. Cecelia looked at us... She didn't show any emotions. "Now that's on a good day." After Ever had said that, she reassembled it, putting it all back together again. She did that just as fast. Honovi put her hand on the trigger, aiming at Cecelia.
"Go back to wherever you came from," Honovi said, giving Cecelia an equal unemotional look. "This girl is too pure for you to take away. She has been given a destiny to follow out... Nothing that involves you, Cecelia." Right before my eyes, Cecelia raised her hand up and it transformed into a cannon! Except it was pulsating! I was really scared so I ran to the corner and ducked down. "Hmm, it looked like that thing on your hand has been modified. Very excellent detailing... A scientist can never demean such quality work even when it is put to a negative use." Honovi started shooting at Cecelia, and at first Cecelia didn't move... After the first bullet went completely through her body, that's when her eyes widened and she started moving really fast to avoid getting hit with the others.
Honovi had really great aim, following Cecelia wherever she went. The room was being destroyed, though. I ducked down... The thing inside of me didn't like all of that noise. It kind of made my head hurt just thinking about it... Just knowing that the sound was there made me want to jump up and help Ever and Honovi. "Horsepower, a modified barrel gun," Honovi said. "I can pierce just about anything with the special bullets that Professor Ever has made for me. I made the gun, of course. If you slip up or move the wrong way, you will end up looking like cheese, Cecelia Leingod. If you come quietly, we will let you live."
Cecelia stopped moving, and instead of shooting at her Honovi stopped. Cecelia smiled at us, and it was really creepy. The wound in her shoulder disappeared before our eyes. "You actually think such an abysmal creation can defeat me? Shoot me as many times as you want, my body has already adapted to the impact and feel of the bullets. Each wound will heal now, thanks to the little show that you decided to play!" Honovi was too stunned to move and Cecelia ran towards the gun. She jumped on top of it and kicked off it. Butterflies started floating around the gun, and just like magic it had vanished. Now the butterflies were floating in the air, overhead Honovi.
If I were Honovi, I would have been very surprised, but she just stood there and exchanged looks with Cecelia. "You know Cecelia, when you become a scientist, you have to swear and oath. Yes, whoever built you was brilliant, but you are, sadly, lies on legs." She started to walk around, her arms behind her back. "It is amazing that you can still walk—using lies as your fuel. I bet you do not know who you are..."
"Your words do not compute," Cecelia said, her butterflies still flying overhead. "You make no sense, my opponent! It soon will not matter, for I will kill you!" Honovi put up a hand, closing her eyes.
"It is surprising that you do not remember me," Honovi answered back. "Even if it was so long ago, that one fateful day... If I had known this would happen... If I would have known they would turn you into this insane story—filling your head with bullshit, I would have never took you here, Cecelia." That really got to Cecelia. She started staggering back, putting her hand on her head. "I remember when I first found you on the edge of Austere. You were so scared and... You did not know where to go. Then I found you and brought you here... Only to see you changed into a weapon of mass destruction." Cecelia stopped stepping backwards and looked at her.
"So what?" Cecelia cackled. "You knew me before I came here? You can see now that things from the past cannot effect me now! The only thing that matters is your death! Yes! For everyone who thinks they can remind me of the past... I will kill them and cling to that past no longer! I will become the ultimate fighter on the planet! A pawn used only for protecting the one I was built for!"
"She's far too gone now, Honovi," Ever said. "Even if she was your friend then, she's sure as hell not now. We need to get her out of here before she does something outrageous! Like mess up the notes on my clipboard!" I thought Cecelia was going to take Professor Ever's clipboard, but Cecelia moved towards me, which caught everyone off guard. She grabbed my right hand and lifted me up. I started kicking and screaming—anything to get her to let me go.
"Stop it! Stop it!" I yelled. Cecelia didn't even look at me. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"
"That's a negative, child," Cecelia said. "It's now time for me to take you back to His Holiness." Honovi started running towards Cecelia, but Cecelia was faster. She lifted up her freehand and shot her with some kind of loud... I don't know what it was, but I flinched at the sound of Honovi hitting the ground really hard. Professor Ever screamed Honovi's name, running to her side and pulling out some kind of vial from her lab-coat. I didn't think about what to do next, but I bit Cecelia's finger. She let me go, hissing in pain. I scrambled to my feet, closing my eyes.
I wished that Cecelia would just disappear! I really wanted her gone. So I kept closing my eyes—and suddenly my prayers were answered. I opened my eyes and a sort of black-mist came from them. I stretched out both of my hands, and it was like shadows were hovering behind them. I had felt this power before and I could use it now! The thing inside of me wanted me to do just that! "Cecelia, you won't get away with hurting my friends!" I yelled, staying where I was and punching at the air. The shadow-arm stretched all the way to where Cecelia was, upper-cutting her and sending her twisting into the air.
That was the power that Honovi had been talking about. I grabbed the air, and my shadow hand grabbed Cecelia, constricting her—denying her of oxygen. But if she was a robot, she didn't know how to breathe. I slammed her against the ground a few times, making sure that I didn't put a hole through it. I extended my other hand, holding Cecelia with both of my shadow ones. "When you hurt my friends, you're evil, and I don't like evil people!" I said. I looked back and Honovi started to get up off the ground. She was breathing pretty weird, but at least she was okay. Cecelia had been trying to get out of my hold, and that's when her butterflies started gnawing at my shadow hands. They were trying really hard, and I could feel their razor-sharp teeth—(just a stinging pain on my real arms)—but they could never free Cecelia.
"You think it'll be that easy?" Cecelia said, clones of her forming around me. I gasped, but there was nothing I could do. My power just... Switched off. I started shaking my arms but nothing wanted to work. Professor Ever stayed with Honovi and they both looked at me. Her clones grabbed me and walked me out of the room. Cecelia stood up, cracking her neck. "In the end, I win. I've been programmed to win all the time. I can't afford to lose..." Her voice trailed off and she looked at Honovi, her eyes watering. "Or... Or they'll upgrade me again!" Cecelia sounded different now... Like she was human.
Honovi stood up, but she didn't walk towards her. "Please save me..." It sounded like her voice was glitching, but when she turned back around to face me, she still looked emotionless.
Honovi balled up her fists, gritting her teeth. "Aline, you can do it. You are a fighter now. A soldier. And you are a survivor. Whatever happens... You come back here alive!" Honovi fell down on one knee, clutching the wound her her chest. Cecelia didn't say anything to me when we reached the first floor of the Science Department, but all I could think about was Honovi's words.
I was a soldier now? Then I'd try to fight and save Cecelia like she had asked...
I'd find a way out of this, and tell Cecelia and Renatari all about it. I smiled. The stories I'd tell when I came back...
A/N: Is that what you've been waiting for, Breakfast? XD;; You're gonna be pissed when you read this chapter. You thought I would just let Aline stay there for everyone else to get? Of course Aysel wasn't sending anyone to get her. XD Aysel could care less about Aline, to tell you the truth. And that's why Cecelia went and got her. Yes, yes, guys. Aline has the Apathīa, but she can control it unlike Naira and Defina. And there's a lovely reason why. It's not because she's not Enlightened.
You'll see when we get more into this war. But Aline is special, like Chase said a few chapters earlier. And when I say "a few chapters," I mean "waaaay back in the Shiva fight". XD;; Nah though, I might as well tell you now. Everyone in the Dark Ages has some kind of their own personal hell they're fighting right now. Aline, however, is the only person in this whole arc that doesn't have something eating away at her.
I guess you could say she's of pure heart, she's not really 'mad' at anyone... She might be resentful, but it's not enough to eat at her. Everyone else, on the other hand... XD;; Let me say this, if they end up getting this Apathīa, they're gonna die. XD;; And I'm telling the truth. I mean anyone else. Sayuri, random people in Austere... Sayuri's already proven that fact. We've seen the darkside of her. That darkside fuels Apathīa.
There's a whole other side of this that neither Lucrecia, Professor Ever, Honovi, Saivan or Zed have actually hit. XD;;
Nero would be proud. XD;; *shot*