Chapter 38: Twisted Line
Opening his eyes to the sound that can only be heard in a prison consisting of his certain colleague convicts, Julius found the sound of crying an almost annoying vibration. Most of the girls were either huddled on the floor, holding their legs up to their chest, while some stood around, looking either morally depressed or outright furious. The only male Diclonius merely leaned against the wall in a sitting position, knee raised and his arm draped over it almost lazily. His red eyes displayed neither rage, depression nor any emotion other than analytical optioning. He almost seemed to find the door sealed shut more interesting in fact.
"I don't…remember seeing you." Perking his ears to the sound across from him, one of his kinsfolk speaks hesitantly to him. She may have been about 18 years old, straggly bright red hair and a body that might, had it not been so malnourished, looked rather stunning.
"You wouldn't…this is the first time that I've been here."
"Oh…I see." Her voice drops and turns her head with her face reddening. "Is there something wrong?" He doesn't ask it as a question, in fact he can already gather why she's turning her head away.
"It's just…I mean…I've never seen another…one of us…you know…"
"You mean you have never seen a male Diclonius." He replied back simply while the girl nodded slowly. "Then you are correct, you have never seen a male Diclonius before, even now. Horns, arms, hair, eyes, skin. I sense, I touch, I smell, I taste, I hear, I think. I walk, I talk, and I emote. I am myself, as I am born from a human mother and from a human father. Thus…in the end I am still human." His words catch her by surprise, some of it she doesn't even understand linguistically yet she does understand one thing for certain. This man, this horned, pink haired man, who gives off the same signature that she does, has called himself human.
"H-How can you say that! Those bastards put us in here! They took us in here, locked us up, even kill us sometimes! Humans…are…unforgivable!" And spat out the last word with utter disdain. Julius said nothing for a moment, as if her answer was justifiable enough before saying "Do you know…how many humans there are?"
"Huh? Why would I need to know that?" The girl yelled back, clearly not seeing the point of such a question. The young man looked at his hand, his fingers flexing outwards before counting. "1…2…3…4…5…6." Pausing, his red eyes finally turn up to his prison mate and coldly gazing at her. "There are over 6 billion humans that live on this planet right now. That number has been expected to rise to 10 billion in only a matter of years. Tell me now…Diclonius…of the 6 billion plus humans on this planet, they who birthed us, they who created us, they who share are closest blood link. Not one…of the 6 billion plus humans…that live on this planet…care? That every single one…of the 6 billion plus humans that reside on Earth…does not care about you? That all humans…every last one of them…are nothing more than a chaotic self-deluded monster who indulges in murder and rape?
Still your tongue!" Julius broke out, his voice barely above a whisper and yet all the more frightening. His crimson gaze seemed to glow with ominous foreboding before pointing a single finger at the surprised Diclonius girl. "Do not dare compare me to you. Do not dare attempt to justify your beliefs under such a petty idea. There are humans out there, who are indeed, selfish, loathsome and unforgivable. I am one such person after all."
"Th-That doesn't make any sense!"
"Nonsense? It's as clear as I can be, though biologically I am indeed a Diclonius, I am also a human. Born from human flesh, a flesh body, a mind, a soul, all of it is human. I am also a killer, a murderer, not of like you, who as killed in rage, or sorrow or even joy, but as a job.
I am not berating you for having pride as a Diclonius, that is good. You should have pride in what you believe you are but do not be so selfish as to claim yourself above others, or that your life is the most miserable thing and definitely...do not dare try to claim that the fallacy of a few people justifies the fallacy of all of those people."
"But…who do I blame? Are you telling me that this is my entire fault?" She retorted, raising her hand and pointing to one of the thick scars that ran down the side of her hip. "Are you to say that it's my fault I got this scar? Is it my fault? Answer me!"
"Perhaps you aren't responsible for that wound, or the other wounds, or the wounds you may receive." The male Diclonius utter softly, moving his body slightly to get more comfortable. "Who should you blame?"
The girl's anger was enticed once more. "Those damn human of course!"
"Wrong." He didn't yell it, he merely stated simply, raising a single right finger and pointing at her. "If you must blame someone, blame those who are directly responsible for your plight. Blames those who have hurt you, not those who haven't hurt you. Your anger is justified, I understand that, yet you shouldn't let it control you."
The young girl opened her mouth then quickly closed it, mulling things over in her mind. Her fingers clicked hesitatingly together while she gazed at the cold floor. "I…don't want to be hurt anymore, so I should blame those who have hurt me. Yet how do I know other humans won't be the same. If I went out in that world, what's to say all the other humans won't treat me the same?"
Julius thought for a moment before answering. "To be truthful, a lot has happened right now. You and the others may have felt that tremendous energy a day ago. I do not know how things will change but I do know that, truthfully, our kind is not going to be looked at kindly. I admit it, yet by no means does that mean that everyone will hate you. People may call you a freak, a murderous horned demon with no soul destined to burn in hell. Yet, it is your choice if you decide to make them believe that."
"Huh?"
"It means that people may call you a demon, you are the one who will either make that a truth or a lie." At his words the girl, perhaps for the first time in her life, actually thought deeply about what he had said. Every single wound on her burned and ached, reminding her of the intense pain that they had brought on to her. Hearing strange voices in her head, telling to kill humanity, it had all seemed reasonable enough. Yet, now that she thought about it, now that she finally took the time to stop raging and actually think, it did make sense. Could the entire world hate her? Somehow, it did sound excessive but it didn't change her current status at all.
"How did you get in here?"
"I voluntarily allowed myself to be captured as to have inside knowledge on what Director Kakuzawa is doing. At any point if I felt like it, I could escape and leave."
!
"W-Wait! You mean you could…get us all out of here!" Julius kind of wished she had spoken so loud because it instantly got the attentions of others around her. "Is that true! Is that true! You can get us out!"
"Incorrect." And his single declaration stopped them all short. "I said that if 'I' wanted, 'I' could escape and leave. When you are trapped in a situation, there will not always be a time when someone will bail you out. I am no different; I would sooner let you all rot in these cells than help you. You want to escape, you think of a way yourself."
"That's so…!" One began, quickly being cut off by Julius as he starred simply at her. "Cruel? Unforgiving? Learn to defend for yourselves; learn to have some skill of your own. Every single one of you has a set of invisible arms capable passing through anything. It can't pass through something; look for a way to get past it. Children, truly Diclonius are nothing but children who can't think on their own."
His words sent a rushing fury through the group, thoughts of murder running through the minds at this traitor. In fact the only person who didn't look like she was going to kill him was the person he had been speaking to the first time. "Not to change the subject, but what's that on your head?"
"Hm?" He queried, placing his hand on his forehead. "A specialized device that keeps my powers, or vectors if you will, from manifesting. I should also state that this was entirely my choice."
"Why?" She asked, of course wondering why a Diclonius would ever want to do something like that. He didn't answer immediately, instead rising to his feet and leaning casually against the wall. "Biologically I am a Diclonius, but I like to believe I am human. Invisible arms are not something humans have and thus, if I wish to be human, I must act human. It allows me to understand how humans work, what life is like when you don't have these weapons of ours.
Number 0
2nd Cent, The Zero Point
Julius Javel.
You want to escape, find a way out, learn to fend for yourself, and learn to think on your feet."
The young girl sighed, of course never having had such a conversation before. For some time she glanced at everything but the male Diclonius before sighing deeply. "Sheesh, what a conversation. You aren't much help though, seriously…" The girl moaned before speaking again. "Your name, is Julius huh?" She questioned after a moment, tilting her head almost curiously to the side. "I don't…have a name myself, only a number."
"Then why don't you give yourself a name." The male stated.
"G-Give myself one? How?"
"It's rather simple, just think of a name that you like and give it to yourself." Julius said straightly, taking in a short deep breath at the same time. "…Fine then, how does Victoria sound?"
The girl tilted her head to the side, mumbling the name in a whisper. "Victoria…but what about my last name?" Though he didn't show it, mentally even Julius was getting rather irked by the girl's lack of understanding and ability to make her own choices. Yet, it was something he had seen in his facility and thus only sighed uncomfortably. "You decide on that, I can't give you a last name."
Slightly crestfallen, her head instantly perked up and she said, with a rather small smile, "Then I'll be Javel Victoria."
"So you decided, out of all the names you could think of, to take my last name? To be truthful…Victoria…I'd rather you didn't. The last thing you need is to have any sort of relationship with me; in fact, you should forget that I even existed." Yet despite these words, the Diclonius woman seemed determined to make things harder than they should be. "This time you're wrong. I mean…uhhh…" It was easy to tell that she was getting embarrassed, if the reddening of her face meant anything at all. "…Well this is the first time I've actually met a male Diclonius and…" Her face became even redder, bordering on bloody and Victoria, whom before had be talking to Julius directly for a while suddenly found that she couldn't look at him anymore. Julius Javel however had no qualm in looking at a nude woman, especially as he saw it on a daily basis at the facility. He never felt love or lust, just a sense of duty that he carried out each and every day.
"Very well then…" He stated, his voice dropping so low that it almost scared the young woman. "I guess it doesn't really matter what you call yourself. Although I would really appreciate it if you change it, if this is what you want, then so be it. However, just remember that Javel Victoria is only a name. To the people here, you are not Javel Victoria, you are demon, monster and abomination. It is up to you to make sure that your name is recognized." The male Diclonius took in a deep breath, leaning against the wall and sliding down with his arm once again propped over his raised knee. "I would like to rest now…"
She nodded, unspeaking and walked away. Julius Javel, eyes closed tried to go sleep but was cut off by the obnoxious whispering around him.
"Traitor…"
"Coward…"
"Traitor I may be…" He said aloud, his eyes still closed as the heads turned his way. "…But coward I am not."
*TAK* *TAK* *TAK* *TAK*
Heavy footsteps crunching under the thick grass filled her ears. It was day time yet the cool winds and lack of sunlight told Miriana that it was most likely cloudy outside. Her frail body was leaning against the bark of a tree, the footsteps getting louder and as she shook her head and looking up at the grey skyline. "Wh-Where am I?" She asked, mostly to herself.
"The outskirt of Kyoto I believe…what a nice place, fresh air and grass, it's so natural…"
Miriana paused, sniffing the air and smiling. "It is very nice." She thought happily and then almost at once her happiness shattered like glass falling to the floor. Slowly, with her heart beat thumping wildly she turned her head to the side. It would have been an understatement to say her spine was shivering. Who knows how many times her heart beat skipped. Just looking, into the face of that wicked man.
Vladimir was smiling at her, not darkly, not menacingly, just a simple smile that one might have given a friend. It wasn't monstrous by any means and yet it made small tears fill her eyes. Because she knew what lay beyond that false smile. The wicked man was standing a few meters away, his hands deep inside the pockets of his pants as the wind blow his onyx coat around. Suddenly, it became very apparent that the only person around her was this monster. Vladimir Cents sighed, looking over his shoulder at the sky and taking a big sniff of the air. "Ahhh…what a pleasant scent. It's hidden, as we're so far away from where it happened but…even now I can smell that splendid scent of gore."
*TAK* *TAK* *TAK*
Each footstep made her scurry against the tree pushing against it as he walked towards her. His face seemed to hide behind a shadow, showing only his demonic eyes and twisted smile. He was too close, far too close and they were all alone. He was going to kill her, that was for sure! "No. No. Please…Please!" Miriana begged, holding her arms tightly around her legs as he came to her and bent down so that he was head level with her. Poor Miriana was so scared, her eyes merely dots while her lips quivered endlessly. It certainly didn't help when his hand started reaching for her head and she wished so desperately that the tree behind her would disappear so she could run away.
What would he do?
Would he rip her head right off her neck? The mere though nearly made her gag and she knew quite well that he was more than capable of doing it. It came closer, his fingers outstretched and she clenched her eyes tightly shut. As it touched her, she let out a silent scream poured her tears out and let them run down her face before it became apparent that she was not yet dead. Instead of killing her, Vladimir was instead lightly ruffling her hair with his hand, smiling that same smile as before.
"Ah, it's quite sad when little angels are crying? They say when an angel cries, the world cries as well. Then again…" He muttered, putting a single finger to her eye and taking a drop of her salty tears on it, licking it off. "I do love that taste of absolutely suffering your giving off right now." Suddenly, as if trying to be brave she clenched her eyes tightly, quickly wiping away the tears from her eyes. She couldn't give that dark man such satisfaction. "What do you want from me?" Even she was surprised at her own voice, serious and almost menacing. Even Vladimir seemed stunned because he didn't answer at first. Instead he merely looked at her with slightly wide eyes for a few seconds before giving off that same friendly smile as before. He once again tried to pat her head, yet Miriana smacked it away, yelling viciously at him. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me! What do you want from me!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" She hated that laugh of his, twisted, dark and without compassion. "I'm using you as a way to bring Elrya Alya over so that we can have our final match. I'm taking you with me and we're heading out of Japan."
"Huh? O-Outside of…Japan? What do you mean?" She asked, her voice trembling.
"We're heading west, to Europe. I'm taking you there." His words didn't seem to register in her mind for a moment, but when they finally did, she screamed shrilly. "No way! I won't do it! I won't come with you! There's no way I'll ever come with someone like you!" She screamed, loudly and as shrilly as she possibly could. Certainly someone would come to save her. "HELP ME! PLEASE SOMEBODY HE…"
*Click*
Stopped, her heartbeat, her breath, her screaming, it all stopped in an instant when she saw the silver pistol press against her forehead tightly. It smile didn't change, he didn't look angry or upset, he just smiled. "Now little angel, let's not get out of control here. Besides, as of this very moment I really have no intentions of killing you, it would kind of beat the whole point of this little adventure. Besides…" Miriana squirmed as he ruffled her hair again, wanting to pull away but too afraid to do so. "…You've been asleep for a whole day, you must hungry."
As much as she wanted to deny it, the moment he mentioned it, her stomach started growling at her. "We're close to a small town, let's get something to eat." How much she wanted to run away, how much she wanted to get away from this monster, this golden haired demon. Yet, the only thing she did was pick herself up and blindly follow the man. "Oh…Miriana dear, I'd like to ask a quick question. Do you know how to drive a boat?"
"N-No…" She said truthfully. Only sighing exasperatedly, Vladimir muttered nonchalantly. "I guess I'll just have to make due with what I find."
Vladimir's excessive appearance in the small town that they arrived in was quite expected as most men didn't wear such an elaborate get up in the first place. People were walking around them, some ignoring them, some gazing questioningly at them so why did she not scream for help. Just by being in his presence, she felt terrified, unable to even whimper a small syllable of help and then it became even more obvious. It didn't matter even if she did cry for help. It became obvious that if Vladimir wanted, he could just kill them all with but a single move. He was too dangerous, too inhumane, a monster. If she cried for help the only thing she'd be doing risking her own life as well as the life of all those around her. So she was quiet, trembling form head to die but quiet nonetheless. The dark man stopped at a small building while reading the sign. "This should be nice, it looks quite quaint. Come on." It was a medium sized restaurant divided into three sections as the two walked in, sitting at one of the booths, Vladimir made himself as comfortable as he could.
"Run.." The first word in her mind. Just turn and race out, run as fast she could without looking back and all thoughts of that faded when she caught Vladimir's eyes. He wasn't even looking at her threateningly. His face didn't display murder or fear, in fact it looked like he would be more than glad to let her run off. Yet despite this, despite that look, everything in her mind and body told her it was a lie. Instead, she sat at the other end of the booth and clasped her shaking hands together.
"Hello."
"AH!" Yelling out, she apologized to the waitress as they handed she handed them their menus, giving Vladimir a rather startled look. "Anything you'd like to drink Miriana?"
Drink? How could she drink anything? "W-Water…I guess…" Miriana whispered softly.
"And what about you sir?"
"A nice good shot of margarita should be fine I think. I'm in the mood for something classy."
Acknowledging his answer, the waitress left and in a few minutes returned with their drinks. Ready to order, Vladimir ordered himself fish while Miriana starred at her menu. "Is something wrong dear?" The waitress asked kindly. "You're sweating…"
"N-No…I'm fine, seriously." Miriana mumbled.
"Don't worry dear, order whatever you want." Vladimir uttered. "Uhhh…th-this…" She said, pointing at the word. While they waited, she watched sickeningly as Vladimir took one of his rods out of his left shoulder, pulling it out slowly so that she could see the blood dripping from it. What was he going to do? What was he going to do to her? But the only thing he did was slam into the floor beside him, sticking it up right and doing nothing else. When their meal finally came, the waitress starred at the object in the ground. "E-Excuse me sir, what is that?"
"Just a rod my dear, hold no meaning to it…"
"I'm sorry sir, but…you're can't just…"
And suddenly, the waitress looked as if she had seen a ghost. Vladimir's hand slightly ruffling her hair as he had done with Miriana. "Just a road my dear…" He whispered darkly, his wicked eyes burying into the young woman's own. "…Hold no meaning to it." Just words, mere words to frighten her as she bowed her head, apologized and raced off. Vladimir ate normally, politely and without a care in the world. Miriana however couldn't even eat, her eyes traveling up to his bloody shoulder, the red stream dripping down.
"Have you heard about what happened in Kamakura?" An old man said to his friend, getting Miriana's attention. She listened diligently as they conversed with one another. "Ya. The entire city has been completely ruined, they've already sent help over there but you won't believe what caused it. They say some strange girl with horns just…well…started destroying everything."
"You're crazy man, how could a girl do that?"
"That's the crazy part about it." His friend whispered urgently. "She wasn't using guns, or bombs or anything like that. Everything around her just…started get torn up, people included. They say you can still smell the blood even from here. It's crazy I know but…man I saw the freaking video. It was awful."
"Mariko sure did a number didn't she…" Vladimir said, taking a small bite of his meal. Miriana looked up at him, wondering what he was talking about. "Kurama Mariko, Kurama's own daughter was sent out to find and capture Lucy, but instead she went wild and started to destroy Kamakura city. Thanks to The Perfect Soldier, she was finally killed. Though I can't say for certain, I'm feeling quite positive that in the next few days, the word 'Diclonius' is going to become quite relevant. You should eat more also…"
Miriana had only taken a few bites of her food and starred at her plate. "I-I'm not…really that hungry…anymore."
"Nonsense!" Vlad roared joyfully, taking his fork and slamming it into her food, lifting it up to her face. "Go on…open your mouth for the choo choo train. Choo! Choo!" And his childish antics did nothing to calm her anxiety. "Go on, open your mouth little angel and take a bite."
The girl shook her head. "N-No…I'm fine, I don't really…"
"Eat…or I'll shove it and the fork down your throat."
!
Gasping, she swallowed and opened her mouth up as Vladimir calmly put the food in her mouth. "Now eat and swallow." She obliged, tears running down her face as she ate what was otherwise a very good meal. She finally ate, fearing for her life, she ate almost frantically, stuffing food in her mouth and only slowing down when Vladimir told her to do so. When it was time to leave, her rapidly beating heart went into overdrive. There was no way he was going to pay for the meal, he was too much of a monster. He would refuse and then…she didn't even want to imagine the horrors he was about to cause. Yet, he pulled a wallet from his pocket and actually paid for both their meals, even bidding farewell to the manager. Never before had dinner been so frightening.
"O-Oh…that thing…" The young girl mumbled, pointing to Vladimir's shoulder. "You left it in the restaurant."
"I know…" Vlad said with a cold smile, looking over his shoulder.
"Do you…want to go get it?"
"There's no need…" He said raising his hand and saying but one cryptic word. "…Detonate."
*BOOM!*
Miriana was flung forward by the explosion behind her, brick, glass and most horrifyingly of all body parts sprayed on and around her right before screams of agony hit her ear. Horrified, she turned abruptly around to see the pillar of flames before her eyes, people screaming and rushing for help. She could even see, dangling from the broken window the body of the waitress, her eyes popped and bleeding from the sockets.
!
!
!
"That's…That's…That's horrible! Why did you…do that! Horrible! You're horrible! Horrible! Horrible!"
"Cause it's fun…" Vlad said simply, leaving the girl mortified. Fun, all of it was just for fun?
"MONSTER AAAAAH!" She cried, she cried and cried as the flames danced around them. "No!" She screeched, watching his hand pull out his gun and aiming. She desperately clung to his arm, begging him to stop. The first shot rang in her ear and she heard a thud that sounded much like a child's own. "STOP IT!"
*BANG!*
"PLEASE STOP IT!*
*BANG!*
"STOP IT!*
"Kuh…Keh keh…Keh…Keh keh keh…"
"PLEASE STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT STOP IT! STOP IT!*
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
He was shooting everyone around him, those screaming in horror as they felt their brains splatter against the street. Miriana was crying, screaming, begging at the top of her lungs for him to stop. Soon enough, with fire and gore surrounding them, poor Miriana collapsed to her knees, staring blankly in front of her. Something wet was against her knees and she didn't need to look down to know it was blood. "Horrible…absolutely…horrible. Monster…you killed them. What did they ever do to you? There were children as well! Monster…you didn't have do this…AH!"
His large hand grasped her head and putting it face first into the bloody puddle. She coughed, gagged and ultimately lost her meal as she couldn't take the revolting smell and taste. "Ugah! Ah! Gah! Gyua!" Spitting up, she next found the frightening smile of the dark man upon her. "Do you understand now…little angel? This is the true reality that exists and it'll be the only thing you'll know until you die."
Shaking her frantically, her tears mixed with blood on her face. "Uuuugnh." She couldn't even speak, she only cried fruitlessly as Vladimir picked her back up and set her own her feet.
"Come on, it's time to get going…"
And she obeyed, crying her eyes out, she followed him, the dark man of lies.
Author's Note: After a brief delay, I have finally gotten the first chapter of the 3rd Arc completely for Pinpoint Lifeline. Needless to say, Miriana is a situation that is most unfavorable as she is forced to was as Vladimir sadistically kills everyone around her for the pure joy of it. If she isn't rescued soon, her entire mind might get broken well before her body does. Not to mention that Vladimir is now taking her outside of Japan, but to where exactly? Meanwhile, Julius continues to infiltrate the happenings around the main facility so then...What will happen next in "Pinpoint Lifeline."
R&R