PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, Episode 38: Judgment Daze
A mega-crossover fic by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke
Disclaimer: This entire episode is in Wayne's point of view, so forgive me beforehand if it comes out more clunky than usual, as I'm not very experienced with POV chapters. I bet you were expecting me to give you another witty message about how Episodes 1 and 25 have the disclaimer, weren't you? HAHAHA FOOLED YOU ASSHOLES. On with the episode. =P
As the alarm went off on the nightstand, I slowly reached over and hit it with enough force to crush a boulder. Predictably, the damn thing broke with the greatest of ease. Sighing, I ended up literally rolling out of the bed and onto the floor.
"Motoko!" I called angrily, as I struggled to untangle myself from the mess of a cover that I'd slept in last night. My demon-possessed sidekick briskly walked into the room and helped me crawl away from the blanket from Hell. As I got free from its grip, I sighed again.
"Another bad dream, sir?" Motoko asked me, with what I could only imagine was concern. I nodded.
"Damnable Ketchum." I muttered. "Even in my DREAMS I can't escape him."
"I'll double my efforts for the Spirit Stone so you can put an end to him immediately, Master Wayne."
"T…Thank you." It felt weird for me to offer words of thanks, but in all honesty, I was feeling fairly thankful. Whether it was residual gratitude from being spared a couple of weeks ago from Ash murdering me, or just feeling thankful for still having someone I can count on, I didn't know.
"I'm going to go to the park…" I announced. "I need to think about this next move of ours."
"Ours, sir?" Motoko sounded surprised. Granted, I take credit for all the really good ideas, even if I don't come up with them.
"Yes, you're a pivotal part of this plan. The only thing about it though…it might kill you."
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to serve you, lord." Motoko said. I grinned in response.
"Good to know. Now excuse me, I'm gonna go to the park and relax for a bit."
"Of course, Master." Motoko nodded, as I quickly got dressed and took my leave. As I walked along the streets where my crappy little apartment was located, I glanced around me at the various people also walking along the street, going about their daily lives, much as I was doing. It didn't take long for me to reach the park, and before long, I found myself sitting on a park bench, pulling a cigarette from my coat pocket. As I reached for my lighter, I heard a voice call out to me…or I can only assume it was to me.
"Those things are bad for you, y'know." I turned my head and nearly jumped, noticing the girl sitting next to me from pretty much out of nowhere. She was wearing a pink shirt with a red, cartoony heart on it., and blue denim pants. Her hair was an unusual pink color, making me wonder if she'd dyed it recently, as the pink in her hair was brighter than that on her shirt. I looked over at the girl with a snort. Little did I know…
(Title) Judgment Daze
(Subtitle) The Day of Judgment for Wayne Williams!
(Jingle) Soft Synthesizer
(Image) A pair of evil-looking red eyes glares down at Wayne, who's kneeling and clutching his chest. Aimee stands behind him, freaking out as she looks up at the eyes.
"Your point being?" I grumbled, not looking over toward her as I managed to get my cigarette lit, taking a drag and leaning back on the park bench.
"You don't care?" The girl asked. "Those things could kill you, y'know."
""True, they very well COULD kill me. But not as fast as, say, a shotgun to the chest or a sword to…well, the same place." I laughed.
"I'm sure everybody in your 'hood' has those things lying around." The girl rolled her eyes.
To my own surprise, I let out a laugh. "You'd be surprised."
"I'm sure I would be. Probably about as surprised as everybody else looking at you right now. Seriously, it's gotta be 95 degrees out here right now. Why the hell are you wearing a white lab coat?"
"It makes me look cool."
"Not really. Kinda makes you look like a dork…at least, I imagine that's what everybody else thinks." She stared over at me. I slowly returned her gaze.
"And you?" And you? And you?! Why should I even care about what a girl I JUST NOW met thinks of my appearance? For that matter, why should I care what ANYBODY thinks?! Before I could continue my own mental interrogation any further, I was snapped out of my reverie by the girl speaking up.
"I like it…looks supervillain-y." I laughed again.
"Then I got what I was going for." I held out my hand for a shake, as I formally introduced myself.
"Wayne Williams."
"Aimee Carpenter." The girl, who I now knew as Aimee, returned my handshake. "So what brings you here to the park, Wayne?"
"Thinking…been putting together my latest plan."
"And that plan is…?"
"Let's just say it's big…" I quipped, taking another drag from my cigarette.
"Are you even old enough to smoke legally?" Aimee pondered, watching me as I took drag after drag off the cigarette until I'd had enough, tossing the butt down and stomping it out.
"Mmmmmmmmaybe." I smiled slyly.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-one." I answered immediately.
"…Sixteen, right?" she smirked.
"…And if I am? You gonna go report my ass? If so, I know at LEAST three other people in my Algebra class that smoke harder stuff than this." I joked.
"And how would you know?" she asked me, sarcasm evident in her voice.
"A number of things, really…smell, for one. Appearance is a large factor as well…oh, and I may have taken a hit or two after beating up whatever jackass was smoking it before me." I arched my eyebrows, returning her sarcastic look with one of my own.
"That was…unusually honest." Aimee said, her eyes slightly widening.
"Yeah, well…I don't see the point in lying about it." I retorted. "Anyway, you've asked me plenty of things, let me return one of your earlier questions. How old are YOU?"
"I'm seventeen. I graduate Slimer High at the end of the year." she answered.
"Slimer High…?" I asked, arching my eyebrows again. "Do we just live in a world full of crappy puns?"
"I guess so." Aimee chuckled. We sat in silence for a few minutes, before I stood up from the park bench, stretching.
"Just sitting around is boring as all hell." I said, offering my hand to Aimee. "Wanna go for a walk?"
"Sure." she said, taking my hand and getting up herself. We started to walk along the outer edge of the park, taking in the sights and sounds going on around us, as we began to chat once again about our lives.
"So, where're ya from, Wayne?" she asked me, and I spent the next few seconds searching for a satisfying answer.
"I'm from…a place very far away from here…I transferred here several months ago."
"Oh really? Does this far away place have a name?" Again, I spent the following few seconds trying to think of a satisfactory answer, and, ultimately deciding that semi-honesty was the best policy, I spoke up again.
"…El'her."
"And where's that, exactly?"
"Far, far away from here." I answered, looking down, as vague memories came to my head of the night I was forced to leave El'her. Everything that night had happened so fast, and yet, I still remember it as if I were there yesterday…the screams of the dying, the heat of the flames, and, most importantly...the image of my home crumbling as Janine and I had raced away from it.
"Are you okay?" I heard Aimee ask, as I snapped back to reality.
"…Yeah. I just…don't want to talk about El'her right now." I admitted, looking away.
"You looked white as a ghost just now…are you sure you don't want to t—" before she could finish, I interrupted her.
"YES. I'm sure." I huffed.
"Okay…sorry." Aimee quickly apologized.
"…" I remained silent, as we continued to walk. Eventually, I decided to speak up once more.
"What about you? Where do you come from?"
"Right here. We're standing on my home turf. I live only a couple of blocks from here."
"Ah, cool…cool." I decided to 'lighten' the mood again. "Y'know, when I raze everything to the ground, I MIGHT consider sparing this place."
Psh, yeah right. You couldn't 'raze' a paper bag." Aimee joked.
"What makes you so sure of that?" I said, grinning slyly, wondering how fast she'd run off if she knew that I WASN'T lying about my plans. "I mean, I beat up some guys just to take a hit off of some Mary Jane."
"Who hasn't?" she joked once more.
"You're telling me you've done something like that as well?"
"Maybe…I'm an expert in torture." she responded, winking at me.
"An expert in torture, eh…?" I smirked.
"I grew up around a bunch of idiot boys…of course I had to learn to take care of myself." Aimee closed her eyes and chuckled a bit.
"Well, most guys ARE morons." I added, making her chuckle again.
"And you? Are you a moron?"
"You can stand to talk to me for longer than five seconds, right? I mean, until this sentence, have I used the words 'tits' or 'ass'?"
"You did say jackass…" Aimee rolled her eyes again.
"You KNOW what I mean." I spoke up with a smirk.
"Yeah…I know you aren't an idiot." she laughed. As she finished saying that, we reached the front of the park again. I looked out toward the city of Amity Park proper, knowing I'd have to leave again very shortly in order to make any real progress with my plan for the day…
"Everything okay?" Aimee asked.
"Yeah…hey, I should probably get going." I said, surprised at myself for feeling reluctant to leave.
"Busy day?" she looked over at me with a smirk.
"Between all the porn I plan on downloading and the MASSIVE shipment of cocaine I have coming in? Totally…" I laughed. "Seriously though, I do have some shit to do."
"Okay…will I see you again?" Aimee's eyes looked sincere, and that threw me off guard. I wasn't actually expecting her to want to see me again…so I caved.
"How does tomorrow evening after school sound?" I asked.
"Sure. It's a date, then." she smiled. Awkwardly returning her smile, I walked off, wondering what in the HELL had gotten into me.
The next day, I rose out of bed. As I finished getting dressed to go to school, Motoko walked in.
"Good morning, Master Wayne. What's on the agenda for today?"
I pondered for a second, before answering. "You know what? Let's take the day off today. Go to a movie or something. I'm gonna be busy after school."
"Sir?" Motoko looked confused. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. Good day to take over the planet and all that." I grinned widely.
"Yes, it is…why aren't we planning to do that, again?"
"Everybody needs a break once in a while. I'll continue to plot during my busy hours. You go relax and enjoy yourself. I hear they made a new Dead Teacher movie. Let me know how it is." I said, then started to hum as I walked toward the door, receiving a positively weirded-out expression from Motoko as I did so.
About twenty minutes later, I arrived at school, surprisingly eager to start the day. That eagerness soon faded, however, as I sat through another boring explanation of quadratic equations. As Sternbaum droned on and on, I sighed and turned my head. At that second, the ghost boy's sister turned her head, smiled at me, and waved, which I half-heartedly returned. The girl was too nice for her own good. Nevertheless, there were worse humans than her, and at least she'd probably be easy to manipulate into doing my bidding. I suddenly opened up my notebook and began to scribble a note to Jazz, a smile on my face as I did so. Apparently, my sudden movement had gotten the attention of Sternbaum, who marched over to my desk.
"Well well, Mister Williams….is there something you want to share with the class?" he asked, glaring down at me.
"No sir…I just needed to let my tutor know that I wouldn't be able to make it tonight." I admitted.
"…Something's different about you, Williams. I can't quite put my finger on it…" Hitler-Lite said to me, examining me over a few times.
"No, no, I'm the same I've always been, sir." I stared him down, completely serious.
"Pity…for a second I thought you might have finally stopped slacking off. And where's that quadratic homework I assigned you two weeks ago?"
"It's…a work in progress?" I grinned sheepishly.
"Why didn't I give you the F before now…?" he muttered, walking back to the blackboard.
"Fucking Nazi…" I whispered angrily, under my breath. "You'll be the first to die…"
"What was that?!" Sternbaum angrily turned around.
"Nothing…nothing." I retorted, giving another sheepish grin. As he turned back to the blackboard once again, I whispered "Gimme a break already…don't you have some Jews to exterminate?"
"I heard that! Lancer's office, NOW!" Sternbaum furiously pointed to the door, not turning around this time.
"Yes sir…" I grumbled, walking to the door, flinging it open, and slamming it shut behind me. I stormed toward Lancer's office…wait, was I actually obeying Hitler-Lite?! Apparently so, because moments later, I stood before Vice-Principal Lancer, phasing out most of what he was saying to me, only catching tiny bits of the lecture.
"…Very disrespectful of people's feelings…skipping school half the time…not making your regular tutor times with Miss Fenton…" I decided to retaliate to this.
"Maybe if she didn't pick up that prick Ash Ketchum for tutoring as well, I'd actually go to her house sometimes…"
"I don't care if you have a problem with Mister Ketchum or not, deal with it!" Lancer shouted. "I'm tired of seeing you in this office, Mister Williams! Either start doing what you're told and be nicer to people, or I'll be forced to expel you! Is that what you want?!"
I paused for a few seconds, thinking of how I wanted to answer him. To my great surprise, I semi-involuntarily answered his question before I had a chance to really give it some thought.
"…No." I looked down, my eyes widening as I did so. Did I REALLY just say no to the possibility of being expelled?! I hated this place with the fiery intensity of a MILLION suns, but I just had expressed displeasure at the possibility of being kicked out! What the hell is wrong with me?! I couldn't question myself any further, since Lancer decided to speak up again.
"Look…I know it's tough fitting in to a new neighborhood. You miss all your old friends worse than you can express in wor—" I cut him off quickly.
"I…didn't have any friends. I've been alone most of my life." For what I could swear was the hundredth time in the past two days, I found myself wondering why I'm acting the way I am. Why did I just now share this with Lancer? He's a boring, stuffy old fart, there's no way he could have even begun to imagine what I've been through.
"I'm sorry, Wayne…" Lancer said, taking me by complete surprise. "Everyone has their fair share of problems. I won't ask you to elaborate, but maybe you should get everything off your chest soon. If you ever feel like talking, I'm a good listener."
"T...thanks." I said, somewhat embarrassed. Lancer opened the door, and I quickly got up and walked out, heading back to Sternbaum's class.
As the bell rang to signify the end of the day, I hurried to the exit. As I left, I saw Ketchum, the robot girl, and that smug asshole Urameshi standing at the bottom of the steps. I knew I'd have to listen to them for a few seconds, so I gritted my teeth and walked toward them.
"Yo Wayne, heard ya got sent to Lancer again by Sternbaum." Ash smirked. "He's doing my job for me."
"Your job?" I facepalmed, then rolled my eyes as I continued. "Let me guess…he's 'schooling my ass'?"
"Exactly." Ash's eyes narrowed. "I heard you called him a Nazi."
"Among other things, in my head…" I gave off a smirk myself. "I also said he'd be the first to die."
"He's a bastard, to be sure, but it'll be a cold day in Hell before I let you hurt anyone else."
"Like you can stop me. We can settle this at the usual location: my warehouse at the docks. Thursday, 5 PM." I said, a smug grin on my face.
"…Seriously?" Ash looked dumbfounded. "Don't you get tired of us going there and kicking your ass?"
"This time will be different, trust me." I retorted.
"Yeah right." Jenny countered. "We've beaten you EVERY time we've fought you since we got here."
"Did it never occur to you that I've been training?" I asked, my grin fading. "Seriously, Thursday. Warehouse. 5 PM. I'll teach you all not to fuck with me."
"Sh'yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Yusuke chuckled.
"As long as it brings results, I will." I scowled. "DON'T be late!" I then stormed off, heading in the direction of the park, hearing Jenny ask "What's with him?" as I left.
"Hey!" Aimee called out to me, as she came into my field of view, dressed much differently than she was yesterday. She dressed in a white tank top, and blue jeans. She ran up to me quickly, and I gave her a quick grin, signifying I was glad to see her.
"...Still trying to impress the crowd?" she asked, noting that I had the exact same wardrobe assembled as the one I wore yesterday, and the day before that, and so on, and so on.
"Totally. Wanna grab a bite to eat? I'm hungry. Just came here from school an' all..."
"Sure, let's go!" Aimee said cheerfully, and the two of us walked out of the park and headed down the road toward Nasty Burger. As we walked, I could swear we were being watched, but I shrugged it off as a side effect to the change in my personality in the past few days.
"So, you want a Mighty Meaty Meal?" I asked Aimee out of the blue, and she nodded in response. I grinned like an idiot for the second time that day, and then made a verbal note. "Aimee…not a vegetarian…good."
"Who wants to eat nothing but vegetables all the time? Who am I, Sam Manson?" she asked, eliciting a laugh from me as I put my right hand to my face.
"It's sad, but I know who you're talking about…I go to Casper High." I explained. "I've met Sam a few times before…the bitch is crazy."
"Crazy? Maybe not so much that as weird…" Aimee chuckled. I laughed again, but the laughter quickly stopped as we approached the Nasty Burger, and I noticed that Ash and all of his twerpy friends were there, sitting at a table outside of the building, laughing it up. I could overhear Ash joking about my earlier challenge.
"…So then he said 'My warehouse at the docks, Thursday at 5 PM.' It's like he's some sort of masochist."
"Or a sadist." I interjected, walking over to them.
"Oh, it's you…Mister 'Never Learns His Lesson'." Bloo quipped.
"Dammit, YOU shut up. Ketchum has something resembling a right to brag about kicking my ass. He's fought me longer than any of you clowns have." I snapped.
"…Eep…" Bloo sank below the table in fear, bringing a smirk to my face.
"…Who's that?" Jenny said, out of the blue, pointing to Aimee, who was still standing over there, her eyebrows arched in confusion.
"Her? She's…" I started to explain, but Ash cut me off.
"Lemme guess… she's your newest puppet."
"No, actually."
"I don't see how you're gonna get much use out of her, though…I'm getting MAYBE a 25 from her, as far as her Spirit Energy count goes. You gonna use her for a human shield while I'm beating the shit out of you tomorrow?"
"…Don't even go there, Ketchum." I said, my grin quickly fading and becoming an angry frown.
"Hey, you!" Ash called over to Aimee.
"Ash, maybe you shouldn't make a scene…" Jenny pointed out, and for once, I found myself in agreement with one of Ash's friends.
"Yeah man, people are starting to stare…" the ghost boy added.
"You better stay far away from him! He's bad news!" Ash shouted.
"Ketchum…" I said, my eyes turning amber as I bared my teeth angrily.
"He's gotten plenty of people hurt or worse! He's just using you to fulfill his plan!"
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, let out a sigh, then with a yell of "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I sent him flying through the window into the Nasty Burger building with a well-placed, powerful punch, causing everybody who was previously sitting to flee in a panic. As people ran by me, I angrily marched into the building , kicked Ketchum a few times in the ribs, then pointed my left index finger at his head.
"I've had enough of you to last me an entire lifetime!" I roared in anger. "What do you say I finish this now?!"
"…My god…" Ash said, his eyes widening."…You LIKE her!"
"…What about it?!" I scowled angrily.
"Don't. You're just gonna get her hurt."
"If you're threatening her, I swear to GOD I will fucking kill you right here!" I pressed hard against his forehead with my index finger.
"Let me rephrase that, then…" Ketchum held his hands up in surrender, slowly trying to climb to his feet without the use of his hands. "...As long as you remain the way you've been ever since I met you, you're going to hurt her. You think she wants to date a psycho killer?"
"I'm trying to make a better world." I said.
"For who, Wayne?! Who's gonna be left?!"Ketchum shouted, causing my eyes to widen considerably. He took this opportunity to continue. "If you stick to your word, that girl will have to die as well, since she's human! It's just gonna be you!"
"I…"
"Is that what you want, to be alone for the rest of your life?! Cause that's exactly what you're accomplishing by wiping out the human race!"
"Now you li—"
"NO! YOU listen! Obviously you don't hate humans NEARLY as much as you claim, or you wouldn't have started to develop feelings for one!"
"Shut up. I don't have to listen to this, Ketchum, and I refuse to listen any further…" I said, relaxing my index finger. "Next time we meet, you die. No more speeches about how I'm wrong and you're right…no more taunting me…no more horseshit from you about how I'm going to hurt everybody I care about…because I don't care what you have to say, nothing's going to stop me from reaching my goal. I don't care because…nobody cares for me."
"Wayne…" Ketchum looked away, and then looked back at me. "Stop this. Please…if you care about her at all…"
"…" I turned and noticed Aimee standing with Jenny, Yusuke, and Danny. "I can't. It's too late to stop it, Ash…" I trailed off, turning around and walking out of the Nasty Burger. Seconds later, I heard Aimee call out. "Wayne!"
"Sorry." I said, without turning around. "I have to go. I don't imagine you'll want to see me again." and before she could answer, I turned to the few people who were still around.
"…What are you looking at?!" I said, my voice cracking. "Show's over. Go home already." I finished speaking, and then left the vicinity in a hurry.
"Master, what's wrong?" Motoko asked, showing actual concern for me as I entered the apartment, the area under my eyes having been stained red from my tears.
"Nothing…I need you to go to the Ghost Zone and gather up every ghost you can find. We're gonna wipe Amity Park right off the map!" I explained.
"You're not alright, with all due respect. I have never seen you cr—" Motoko started to express some more concern, but I found myself not wanting any, so I cut her off.
"By 'I need you to go into the Ghost Zone and blah, blah, blah, etc.', I mean NOW." I said, growling.
"But sir—"
"JUST DO WHAT I ASK, MOTOKO! I DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKING PITY!" I yelled, causing her to flinch. Seconds after the fact, she simply nodded and walked out of the apartment to do my bidding.
"That damn Ash Ketchum…he's managed to ruin the ONE good thing that's happened to me in forever…" I sighed. A familiar voice rang out in my mind.
"You did that to yourself. You do that to yourself EVERY time." It couldn't be…Riku?! No…I must have imagined it.
"You are imagining me, but you know I'd say this to your face if I were here with you."
"…" I remained silent, as he continued on.
"It's time for a change. Break away from that damn demon."
"Forget it boy, he's mine. He's been mine since LONG before you knew him. He was mine from the moment his parents died." I heard that wretched apparition whisper, in the darkest recesses of my mind.
"If you think I'm so wretched, then cast me out. I'm sure a priest could exercise me. But you won't go to a priest, will you? You WANT me here…" Not anymore. Not ever again.
"But with me here, you've gotten away with murder…you have powers no mortal Halfling should ever possess." I earned those powers on my own, training long and hard under Master Zenki!
"Zenki was my puppet, just as you are now…ironic, isn't it?" Is…is this what I've been doing to other people the entire time?!
"Of course it is! You can talk big, but when it gets right down to it, we're EXACTLY THE SAME." No…NO! I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU!
"Of course you are…you ARE me! You've BEEN me since you've been under Zenki's wing!" Impossible! I remember thinking on my own back then, feeling! I thought of him as a second father!
"And all that time, I was inside of you, growing in power…soon enough, I'll be powerful enough to take my own form. And then you'll be free from me…forever…" the apparition laughed.
"Shut up, you worthless demon!" Riku's voice sounded out again from out of nowhere, causing me to breathe a small sigh of relief. "Wayne, the sins you've committed are heavy, but there IS hope for you. It's that girl. Your old self awakened when she was around. Ash was wrong. You would never willingly let her get hurt." That's insane…I just met her yesterday! "You know I'm right, Wayne…"
"…I know." I spoke out loud, and all of a sudden, I felt a wave of nausea come over me. I charged across the room toward the one bathroom in the apartment, but just before I reached the door, I lurched over and vomited…something. It was far more disgusting than any normal vomit. It appeared to be a black blob of some sort. Cautiously, I reached into my pocket and grabbed a handkerchief, reaching for a small piece of the blob. Before I could accomplish the task I'd set out to do, though, the blob came to life and latched onto my arm. With a startled cry and expert reflexes honed through the eight years I trained with Master Zenki, I fired a Devil Gun, exploding the blob into many tiny bits, which were splattered on my floor and wall. I heard a gasp come from behind me, and as I turned around, I was extremely surprised to see Aimee standing there in my doorway, eyes wide.
"Aimee…?!" I couldn't believe my eyes…I thought she would want nothing to do with me, and yet, here she was, in my doorway.
"Why did you leave so suddenly? I mean—" she started, but I cut her off.
"Because I realized I'm a horrible monster." I said, looking away from her. "I've killed people…people who weren't doing anything wrong or unjust. It didn't matter to me. I didn't want to hurt you…"
"You've got a lot of shit to sort through, but…I want to help you, Wayne. Killing people is a HORRIBLE thing, yes, but something tells me you've changed in the extremely short time we've known each other."
"It's because I'm me again." I said, turning around with an extremely rare smile on my face. "My conscience FINALLY resurfaced…and I know nothing I can do can EVER make up for what I've done, but at least I'm back to normal…"
"What are you talking about?" Aimee asked, looking confused.
"See those black chunks sprayed on my floor and wall? That…THING…if I'm not mistaken…it controlled me for eight years." I said, turning back to the splattered chunks. "It claimed to be with me since the night my parents died."
"Your parents died? What happened?" Aimee walked over to me and put her hand on my left shoulder. All of a sudden, Lancer's words from earlier today came rushing back to my mind.
"…maybe you should get everything off your chest soon." The words echoed in my mind for a few seconds, before I sighed and motioned for Aimee to sit down. As she sat on my bed, so did I. After a few seconds of silence, I FINALLY began to reveal my past for the first time ever, telling her stuff that even Janine wasn't aware of…
"…El'her isn't a city. It's a planet. I was born there sixteen years ago, into the royal family. I was the youngest of three children, but my siblings had a different biological mother than I did. My elder brother was rumored to have died in a border dispute when I was four." I swallowed hard, and then continued. "A coup d'état took place when I was six. A man named Cassion Aladar led a small force into the royal palace and murdered my parents. I was only able to escape because of Cedric, the man who served as my parents' advisor, holding off Cassion's troops. I was carried away from the carnage by my older sister, Janine. I wanted to go back and stop the madness that had been unleashed, but with Janine helping me out, I couldn't go back…" I felt my vision become blurry, knowing I was about to cry again. "She was ALWAYS there for me, and she ALWAYS tried to steer me in the right direction…but I never listened. I treated her like shit for years..."
"It's not too late to start over with her. You're starting over with me now, right?" I sniffed and nodded, brushing away my tears. "I'm sorry…please continue."
"After Janine dragged me out of the palace, we were found by a Grim Reaper named Botan." I explained, my thoughts trailing back to the blue-haired ferry girl who worked for Enma. I still could remember her reaching out and grabbing Janine's hand as she flew by, lifting us both onto the oar she was riding.
"Botan teleported us to another planet…the one we're standing on right now." I stomped my right foot on the floor for emphasis. "When we arrived, we were shortly thereafter kidnapped by Team Rocket and quickly shaped into assassins. I was assigned to a special task force sent out to assassinate the leader of a rival team. We were ambushed, and I was the only survivor. I gave chase, but… I was woefully outnumbered. The only reason I'm standing here today is because a man showed up and brutally murdered those worthless pieces of shit. That man soon became my master… his name was Zenki. I studied with him from the time I turned seven to the time I turned fifteen." I paused once again, swallowing kind of hard before continuing. "I haven't seen him in a year and a half, but I have heard rumors that he died."
Aimee remained silent for a few seconds, before putting both of her arms around me.
"I'm so sorry…no one should ever have to go through what you have." She said, squeezing me.
"Good job, Wayne…I'm proud of you." Came a voice in my mind that I hadn't heard in over ten years…Father?
"Yes…at least, what you remember of me." his voice spoke up again. How the hell could he be proud of me? I've killed FAR too many people in my lifetime.
"But you acknowledge your error, and will spend your life from this point on doing the right thing…" It won't change anything!
"Who says it won't?!" came another voice from my past. This one was more recent. Master…
"Of course it is…do you HONESTLY think I'm dead?!" he asked, and I subconsciously shook my head.
"Why are you shaking your head?" Aimee asked, and I spoke up.
"They're…proud of me."
"Who?"
"My father…and Master Zenki. They told me they were proud of me as well…this makes me…happy I feel…fulfilled! I'm…free!" I said, tears rolling down my face."I'm finally free!" I shouted, hugging Aimee back as hard as I could.
"So what now?" she asked, turning her head toward me. I smiled, and in response, I closed the distance between her lips and mine…