Long chapter is long. Broken fingers are broken (but not really). I was initially planning to have this bit broken up into two or three chapters, but with the final arc on the horizon, it just felt wrong to delay things by another three (or six(!)) weeks when it could fit as one long flow. 'Course that means twice the writing in the same amount of time, but that's just how things go.
Moving on, I don't own Warhammer 40k or Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"I saw them! The marching soldiers! I saw them from the top of the heating plant!"
"Did you? What did they look like?"
"They were all red and gold and covered in shiny things! They're rich! I could tell just by looking at them! I'll bet each of their suits cost at least a million thrones!"
"A million thrones? I didn't know you could count that high."
"Ah! Mami's being mean! I know it's a big number, and I heard the preacher man use it a lot when he was talking about the Guard. But that's not important. What's important is that I saw them, and they were lined up in these big rows marching together like some kind of-"
Mami smiled softly to herself, letting Bebe's exuberant description of the military parade climb to greater and greater heights. This was the first time that the white haired girl had seen anything of such a scale, and her excitement was almost like a physical force. Part of Mami wished she could have seen the procession in its entirety, but she had been far too busy scavenging and begging for such a thing. Events like this made people group together, and when you had a lot of people in one place, you were more likely to find someone who might feel generous enough to throw a couple coins at a destitute child to be rid of them.
Or, if they were rude and dull-witted enough, to be parted from their wealth by a deft pickpocket.
Sadly, things had not gone her way. As it happened, a parade in honor of the Imperial Guard was, as the name might imply, guarded by more than the average cheap thugs that the local rulers scraped together. She'd been left to pick at the outskirts, vying for handouts among those who were practically as badly off as she was.
Feeling a chill in the wind, Mami drew closer to the small boiler that acted as their impromptu heating source in the forgotten alcoves of the hive. Her bare feet were still scraped up from last winter, and she wasn't looking forwards to the inevitable snowfall that would come this year.
"-And I'll bet they have all the food in the world!" Bebe continued on, utterly ignorant of the uncomfortable conditions in her haze of enthusiasm. "And they ride horses and get to eat sweets whenever they want! And fly too! I heard that they get to fly on these great big spaceships that take them all over the galaxy!"
"That sounds fancy." Mami mused quietly, drawing her threadbare clothing tighter in an attempt to hold in some level of insulation. "It must get pretty lonely out there, though."
"Pfft." Bebe scoffed, waving her arms around in circles as though trying to blow away the concept. "Mami's such a crybaby. You don't get lonely when you get to fly around and shoot monsters! It's exciting! And when they finish fighting, they get to celebrate with huge feasts and stuff, just like in the story books!"
"Is that so?" She asked, not really feeling up to arguing the point. Once the girl got an idea in her head, it was all but impossible to change her mind about it.
"Yeah, and I haven't even told you the best part yet!" She exclaimed, practically bouncing off the walls as she began running back and forth. "There was a man there! A man in a big blue jacket like the fancy people wear, and he spoke to me!"
That got her attention. Momentarily forgetting about the weather in their tiny sheltered area, Mami turned to her with a questioning glance.
"What do you mean?" She asked, uncertain if this was an actual meeting or just one of Bebe's made up adventures. She liked to talk about dreamlike experiences and strange things that never occurred as if she'd been living them as they happened. "What did he say to you?"
"He found me on top of the heating plant." She explained, eyes twinkling with childlike glee. "He gave me a treat and said that he'd been looking for someone like me! He said that he could tell I was special, and he'd give me money if I let him teach me things!"
That was enough to raise half a dozen warning flags in Mami's mind. She'd learned from seeing the mistakes of others that strangers approaching you with promises of money were rarely kind in their intentions. She'd heard a lot of the boys who'd been snatched up to work as slaves either in the mines over the mountains, or the scores of labor plants that were always in need of new workers. As for the girls… she'd heard quite a lot that she wished she could forget.
"What did he say he wanted to teach you?" She questioned, her tone turning serious. "He didn't touch you, did he? What did he give you?"
Unfortunately, the energetic girl wasn't listening. She was far too caught up in her own little world to notice the fact that Mami was visibly perturbed by what she was saying.
"He told me he has a big house, and if I was really good, he'd even let me inside! He said it, Mami, he really did!"
"Bebe… please listen to me. What did he-"
"And he said if I was really REALLY good, he'd give me lots of sweets and candies and things too! Doesn't that sound incredible Mami!? He said I'd never be hungry again!"
"Bebe-"
"And I'd have my own room with a giant bed and a fireplace so that I'd never get cold even in the winter, and-"
"Charlotte!"
The sound of Bebe's birth name came down on the room like a thunderclap, instantly silencing the verbal tirade with the force of an executioner's axe. Mami only ever called her that when she was angry.
"Bebe…" She said, her voice softening at the hurt look on her younger companion's face. "Please. I need you to focus right now. Who was this man? What did he promise to teach you? What did he want in return? I know you're excited, but there are a lot of bad people out there that would hurt you if they got the chance."
Seeing that the severity of her interruption wasn't out of anger, the white-haired girl's face brightened almost immediately as she returned to spinning on her heels.
"Mami doesn't have to worry!" She assured happily. "He wasn't a bad man. The nice lady told me so!"
"Nice… lady…?" She questioned, feeling something off about the statement. "You didn't mention a lady. I thought you said he came to you by himself while you were on the roof."
"No silly! She's not that kind of lady. She's an invisible lady!" Bebe explained, only furthering Mami's confusion. "He said that only special children could hear her, and that it meant he could teach me how to do magic! Like, real magic!"
She didn't know how to respond to that. Magic? Did Bebe actually believe that some random stranger genuinely wanted to teach her magic? The whole thing sounded so questionable that it made her wonder if maybe this man was just a figment of the girl's imagination after all. Surely no kidnapper would be so roundabout with their methods, could they?
And magic? Who really believed in that stuff? According to the church, talk of magic was heretical, and those found spreading rumors could be flogged, or worse. It was just fake nonsense that made people worry over nothing. That was what the people at the Schola had taught her before it had been shut down and had the children either sold off or left to fend for themselves.
But… if she wasn't making it up… what then?
"Bebe?" She asked, choosing her words carefully. "Where did this man want you to meet him? And when?"
The question brought forth a twinkle in the girl's eye as if she'd just promised the top bunk to her for the next week.
"He said he'd find me near the gates to the upper city!" She exclaimed throwing her arms up high for emphasis. "And that I could show up whenever I wanted! He said he'd know when I was there or not. Did you want to see him? We can go tomorrow! Please? Please, please, pleeease? I'm sure you'll like him!"
She was down on her knees now, hands clasped in front of her with those pleading eyes that she knew Mami had no real defense for. The blonde wanted to object, but the sheer honest hope that was practically oozing from Bebe's face was starting to wear on her.
It… would be better to see him before making any assumptions, wouldn't it? After all, they could run away if he looked bad. The whole thing was probably just a joke anyway, played by some bored noblemen. If they just went around whenever they felt like it, there'd be no way he'd be able to find them. Yeah. That had to be it. She'd take Bebe up there for a little while, let her see nobody was coming, and then they'd go home and hold up for a little while. She'd made enough money during the festival to go a day without begging.
And if he did show up… she'd see. If he turned out to be bad, she'd grab Bebe and run. They were quick and could fit places that a grown up couldn't. So it should be fine, right?
The look in her eyes must have given her away, because before she could give any actual response, the little girl's face lit up like the city on Emperor's day.
"Fine." She concluded, giving in as Bebe wheeled in delight. "BUT only if you promise to listen to what I have to say. We'll go, and we'll see what happens. When we do, you have to swear to do whatever I say, all right? If I say we leave, we need to leave. If I say we run, we need to run. Do you understand that?"
"Mami's being a scaredy cat again." The girl declared. "But I get it. I'll listen. I promise I'll listen real well. But You'll see! He's real nice and made lots of good promises!"
Mami couldn't help but crack a smile at her optimism. Even if she was highly suspicious of this unnamed man, it was difficult to remain entirely opposed to something when Bebe wanted it. Feeling the cold of the outside air brush against her, she was reminded of the late hour, and got up to retrieve their blankets from the hidden cubby where they stored their few belongings.
"Here." She said, offering one to her smaller companion. "We should get some sleep. We're going to be busy tomorrow."
Bebe accepted the blanket with a happy smile, cocooning herself in the fabric with time-earned ease and wriggling her way close to the heater. Despite all her energy, she never complained about settling down when it was time for bed.
Satisfied that she was taken care of, Mami wrapped her own blanket around herself, gingerly easing into a spot nearby where they could share body heat without getting too cramped together. The hard floor did little to soothe the aches in her body from the work she'd done that day, but the ambient warmth being given off by the machine helped to offset the discomfort.
"Goodnight Bebe." She said softly, closing her eyes.
"G'night Mami!"
Somehow, she knew it was going to be a long day in the morning.
Moving near the upper gates was always risky. This was a place where the better off citizens of the city could, if they absolutely had to, venture into the destitute labor districts and the squalor that lay within. For that reason, it was always patrolled by Arbites given the task of ensuring that no proper citizen found themselves without an escort, and that no rabble might try and sneak in where they didn't belong.
Mami had heard rumors that some of the more sadistic guards had a special nickname for orphans like them who weren't part of a proper Schola class or work program. They called them 'target practice'.
They'd only just arrived, and already she was regretting agreeing to this at all. The simple fact that the streets up here were cleaner and more well kempt was enough to remind her that she wasn't meant to set foot in this place. No one paid them much mind, keeping to the side alleys as they did to avoid trouble, but that brought its own set of dangers. Even if this was closer to the more civilized reaches, they were still far from a safe region, and there were a lot of unpleasant things that could befall two little children in a dark alleyway.
Bebe, for her part, was all enthusiasm. She drank in the change in scenery with gusto, babbling quietly about this and that while Mami kept her senses alert for any sign of a threat. She had half a mind to clap a hand over the girl's mouth, but she knew that would be going too far. She didn't want to hurt or upset her friend. She just wished that she'd take it a bit more seriously.
"Still don't see him?" Mami asked, peering out from their hiding spot next to an unmarked structure. It wasn't a particularly well hidden area, but it was near enough to the Arbite patrols that she could draw their attention by shouting. There was no telling if they'd actually help or not if she got in trouble, but the threat of retaliation could be a deterrent all on its own.
"Nope." Bebe chimed, laying on her stomach and kicking her legs. "Don't see him yet."
The confirmation gave the blonde girl some measure of reassurance. Though she knew how exuberant her companion was about meeting this man, it would most certainly be better for everyone if he never showed up. She was already planning on how to go about distracting Bebe from the disappointment of being lied to when she heard movement.
"Mami! Look! Look!"
She did, with no small amount of concern. Across the way, the massive iron portholes leading to the upper city began to turn and separate, grinding together as they split apart. There was a light breeze as the kept and clean air from the other side wafted through, bringing with it a faintly crisp and ashy scent.
But the gates themselves didn't draw her eye. What she saw was the figure stepping through them.
Before the massive doors had even fully opened, a bright looking man in a fine azure jacket strode through into the dingy under streets as though he hadn't a care in the world. His clothing was pristine, and his posture tall but loose. Though he had to be some kind of aristocratic individual, not a single guard or escort followed after him, and even the Arbites remained at their station as he passed by, offering only a brief salute before returning to their work.
"That's him Mami! That's him! He's showed up just like he said he would!" Bebe pointed out happily, tugging on her sleeve. Before she could dash out, the older girl grabbed a hold of her to keep her in place. Something was off about this.
Bebe's questioning noise went ignored as Mami examined the man more carefully. Something was odd about him. She couldn't quite place what it was, but the more she looked at him, the less at ease she felt. Maybe they should just leave now…
As if reading her mind, the new arrival paused in the middle of the street, tapping one finger against his chin thoughtfully for a moment before turning slowly in place. With a start, she realized that he was turning in their direction. Surely he didn't know they were hiding, right? He couldn't possibly-
"Ah, is that a pair of skylarks standing in the shadows?" He called with a singsong tone. There was no mistaking it. He was focused directly on their location, even though they'd done nothing to draw his attention. "Come out my dears! It would be difficult to hold a conversation in such a dreary place as that."
Bebe darted out from their hiding spot before Mami could stop her, causing the blonde to freeze. There was something very wrong here. They needed to leave right no-
~They should talk with the man first. You can't judge someone until you've seen them face to face.~
She paused, momentarily hit by a wave of vertigo. Thoughts and ideas scattered inside her head like terrified field mice fleeing the shadow of a circling hawk. What had she been thinking just then? Something to do with the man? He was looking at her now, Bebe jumping up and down beside him and saying something she couldn't quite make out. She didn't like him… but maybe…well… she could give him a chance at least. Right? Was that what she'd just been thinking?
Shaking off her brief episode, she slowly strode out into the street, distantly aware of the fact that passerby's were giving the three of them a wide berth. When she got closer, the man gave her a beaming smile, seemingly overjoyed.
"Ah! My little songbird brought a friend, did she?" He questioned aloud, to which Bebe quickly responded.
"This is Mami!" She said running up to hug the older girl's arm. "She's the one I told you about yesterday! She's the one that takes care of me!"
"Oh, how wonderful!" He said, offering a finely gloved hand. "How do you do, young miss? It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Um. Thank you…" She replied, hesitantly shaking his hand. His grip was firm. A bit too much for her liking. "Uh… I'm sorry but what was your name? I don't think you mentioned it…"
That brought a chuckle from him as he straightened up, flourishing his cuffs in a rather frivolous manner.
"That I didn't." He confirmed, giving her a small wink. "But there's no need to concern yourself with such things. Names are, after all, such transient and insubstantial labels. If you wish to address me, please, call me the Benefactor."
"Beh-nu-fake-tur…?" Mami repeated, working the strange word over in her head. It didn't feel quite right. Too dramatic. Too openly inviting. If he wasn't willing to give a real name, didn't that make him suspicious? Maybe they should leave after a-
~It's rude to assume someone's a bad person just based on their title.~
She stopped again, assailed by another wave of vertigo. Her heard was starting to hurt now, and there was a taste in her mouth like spoilt milk. What had she been thinking about? It was… no… something was off about this…
"Mami? Are you okay?" Bebe's voice called her back, notable concern on the girl's face as she peered up at her. "Are you feeling sick?"
"Ah, er… no. I'm all right." She assured, forcing the haze out of her path as she refocused. It was such a strange feeling, but she could worry about it later. "Um. Mister Bene… Benu… Bena-sir. What did you want with my friend exactly?"
For a brief instant, she caught sight of something different in his expression. A wrinkle in his forehead, beaded with sweat as though he'd been straining over something, but he was quick to respond and distract her from thinking on it for too long.
"Ah yes, my reason for coming here." He said, nodding. "Well, I'll have you know that your little companion happens to be a very special individual. I am, what you say, a gifted seeker of such people, and I can hardly stand to let such latent talent go to waste in the dregs of the outer city, now can I?"
"He's gonna teach me magic!" Bebe added with a smile.
"My, my, yes, something like that." The Benefactor chuckled, patting her on the head in a gesture that felt a bit too familiar for Mami's liking. "Not magic in the traditional sense, but a talent like it in many ways. This child has the makings of a fine practitioner of an art that few ever bear witness to."
"I see." She didn't. Not at all, but she didn't want to let her ignorance show. "Well, thank you for meeting with us mister Bena-sir, but I think we should be going now."
"Haww? But why? We didn't get to go to his big house yet!" Bebe exclaimed in dismay, looking up to her with pleading eyes. This time she wasn't going to be swayed. The entire exchange felt too unnatural to be safe, and she wasn't about to risk things any further. Grabbing the girl by the hand, she started to turn.
"Oh dear, are you certain?" The man asked as she moved away. "I understand if you're hesitant to speak with a stranger, but there's no reason we can't come to a mutual understanding."
No. She wasn't about to listen to that anymore. Her instincts were telling her to get out, and she-
~She should trust the man. He was an honest citizen who promised them a better life.~
This wave struck her like a hammer to the side of her temple, nearly causing her to stumble mid-stride, but she shoved the odd feeling away with a determined force of will, pulling back without losing her train of thought. They were leaving, and she wasn't about to-
~She was making a mistake. She needed to turn around and apologize RIGHT NOW!~
Mami gasped, her stomach roiling as her knees started to buckle beneath her. She could hear Bebe calling out to her, but the words were garbled and incomprehensible, as though spoken from underwater.
No… She was… leaving… This was all wrong, and she wouldn't-
~TURN AROUND, NOW!~
NO!
Her silent scream exploded in the air like an invisible thunderclap, sending a tremor through her own consciousness that rocked her in place. It was like a veil had been lifted. Suddenly, the world around her seemed far less muddied than it had a moment ago, and she could hear the voice of her companion once more.
"-ami! Mami! Say something Mami!"
"I'm all right…" She breathed, forcing a half-hearted smile to her face as she rose unsteadily to her feet. She didn't even remember falling in the first place. "Bebe… Come on. Let's…"
Without warning, a surge of weakness hit her with the force of monsoon, swamping her in an instant. Even as she tried to right herself, she tripped and tumbled back into the ground, feeling her arm twist as she tried to halt herself. Movement became impossible, and even breathing took a concerted effort of will. Slowly, her senses drifted away as darkness edged into her vision.
As she collapsed, she caught sight of the Benefactor out of the corner of her eye. He was stooped, half bent over the ground, nursing his jaw in one hand.
She could vaguely make out something that resembled blood dripping from his mouth.
"-Is my favorite thing ever! It's like the best thing I've ever tasted! Don't you think so, Mami?"
There was no gentle rise into awareness. No resurgence as her senses grounded themselves back in reality. One moment, she was lying on the street as her consciousness slipped away. The next, she was sitting back in their alcove with Bebe across from her, chatting as though nothing had occurred. Outside, the light had dimmed as night crept back into the city. In such a situation, there was only one thing that a child could say.
"What?"
Bebe looked up, blinking at her vacant, disturbed expression with curiosity. She was eating something, Mami realized. A fork that looked far too pristine to belong anywhere in the outer city hung from her mouth as a plate containing some kind of mushy off-yellow substance sat in her lap.
"Bwah? Mami wasn't listening!" Bebe accused with all the conviction of disgruntled puppy. "I just said that cheesecake has to be my favorite thing ever! I've never eaten anything so tasty before!"
"Cheesecake?" The blonde asked, not certain whether she was awake or not.
"Yeah! The stuff mister Benny gave us!" She answered, shoveling another bite into her mouth as if in emphasis. It was then that Mami noticed she was holding something herself.
Looking down, she was moderately surprised to find that she held a similar utensil in her own hand, and had a decidedly more intact piece of what she assumed must be cheesecake laid out on her own small plate. Now that she thought about it, she could detect the faint traces of a foreign taste on her tongue, which she assumed must have come from the food in front of her.
The only problem was; she didn't recall eating it.
"Bebe…?" She ventured, gently setting down her fork as a creeping sense of unease curled around her spine. "What happened today?"
The question caused the small girl to pause, giving her an odd look. When she saw that Mami was serious, she frowned in concentration, eyebrows furrowing as she stared off into the distance.
"Let's see…" She said. "First we woke up, had breakfast. I told you that was the stale bread, but Mami didn't believe me until we started eating."
"I mean later on." The blonde prompted, already seeing where this was going. "After we met with the Ben- er… that man. Didn't I collapse?"
Bebe nodded quickly, piling another chunk of cake into her mouth as she did.
"Mmm hmm! Mami fell down for a little bit, and I got really worried, but you got better. Mister Benny was really nice and brought us to his big house where he let you lie down for a bit. Then he showed me lots of pretty paintings and fancy stuff until you were feeling good again. We played there all day, and when it was getting late he offered to let us stay but you said no, so he gave us cake and presents and took us back!"
She frowned momentarily, as though pondering over the chain of events in her head before offering up a happy smile.
"And that's it! I don't think anything else happened. Why?"
Mami felt cold. They'd gone into the man's house, and yet she had no memory of any of it. If it weren't for the evidence sitting right in her lap, she might have tried to deny it all. With almost robotic motion, she set her plate and fork aside. She really didn't feel like eating at the moment.
"That's… I don't…" She started to say, curling her knees up to her chest. Had she been drugged? Had that man done something to them? She didn't know. She wasn't sure how you were supposed to recognize something like that, but she knew that it was bad. It was bad to lose control of yourself. It was bad to speak to strangers you don't know. It was bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!
"Mami?" The soft tone, full of childlike concern, brought her out of the stupor to find Bebe peeking over her knees with an almost fearful expression. "Are you okay? You look scared."
"I…"
Calm down. She had to calm down. She was supposed to be the rational one. Think about it logically. She had a gap in her memory, but as far as she could tell, she and Bebe were perfectly fine. All limbs and digits accounted for, no phantom pains, no missing items. She might be letting her distrust of the man color her perception of what had occurred. Had he done it somehow with the intent of hurting them, why would he just let them go? Her amnesia and his presence might have been completely unrelated after all.
"I'm fine." She said after a moment, forcing a smile onto her face. "Sorry. I was just a bit… distracted was all. I'm all right. Really."
The effect was instantaneous. Bebe's features went from timid worry to happy innocence in the blink of an eye, grinning back as if all was right in the world. Her startling ability to change moods had been disquieting early on, but after seeing the hollow-eyed children that wandered the streets with nowhere to go, Mami was more than happy to put up with her shifts so long as she was content.
"That's good then!" She declared, quickly picking her plate back up and finishing the last of her dessert. "I thought you were getting sick, and that would have been bad."
Mami nodded, stretching her back to get out some of the stiffness that came from sitting in one spot for too long. Sickness was dangerous out here.
The smile turned as Bebe did, falling in the time it took for her attention to be diverted elsewhere. Something had happened to her. Something was wrong, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Her greatest suspicion was, of course, the Benefactor, but she couldn't rule out other possibilities. Silently, she resolved to spend the rest of the night pondering just what could have disrupted her sense of awareness in such a drastic way.
She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't realize Bebe was turning in until she brought out her small blanket and was setting up near the heater.
"Eh?" Mami mused, brought out of her internal doubts. "What are you doing? Bed time isn't for another couple hours, is it?"
The younger girl paused to give her a look over her shoulder before saying "I'm just doing what Mami said, remember? You wanted us to go to bed early tonight.
"Because we have to get up early to go meet mister Benny tomorrow!"
Nobody bothered them the next morning. Not the people they passed. Not the patrolling Arbites, or even the cretins that scrounged in the darkened corners of the city. It was almost like the two of them were ghosts, drifting through without even needing to hide as they normally did. Mami might have thoroughly enjoyed the lack of unwanted attention under any other circumstance, but in this instance, it had the unfortunate side effect of removing any obstacles from their journey.
"Ah! There you are!" Came the voice she'd been worrying over since going to bed the night before. "I was wondering when my two songbirds would arrive."
She didn't know where he'd gotten the idea for their pet-name from, but she didn't enjoy it.
"Mister Benny! Mister Benny!" Bebe called out in greeting, waving both her hands above her head. "Are we going to eat cheesecake today? Can we? Can we please?"
He chuckled, opening his palms in a gesture of welcome and saying "Oh, who knows what the future may hold? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? We still need to begin your lessons in earnest. The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll be able to move you up in the world."
"But first…" He turned his attention to Mami, who remained a step behind her friend, eyeing him warily. "How are you feeling? You gave us quite the scare yesterday. I hope that this morning finds you well."
"M' fine." She mumbled, staring up at him intently. His face betrayed nothing outside of concern for her well-being, but she knew that adults were much better at hiding their thoughts than children. "Really."
"Excellent! Excellent!" He replied, clapping his hands together. "In that case, I think it's time we should be off. Staying for too long in such a dreary location isn't healthy for the mind."
He offered his hands, Bebe quickly taking one and Mami hesitantly reaching for the other. Nothing seemed off so far. Maybe she really was looking too far into things. He might be a bit odd, but she'd heard that some nobles had strange tastes and manners. If he really was just an eccentric offering them a better lot in life by sheer chance, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. She knew full well how long orphans were expected to last in the outer city, and he hadn't done anything to them the last time… Maybe-
She locked up, her joints grinding to a halt as her hand hovered over his own. Wordless, primal, panic surged through her system, and she snatched the appendage back just as he made to grab it, stumbling back several steps as a fear she couldn't name surged through her veins.
"What in the…"
Mami flinched at the sound of his voice, looking up fearfully. She didn't know what to expect. A mask of rage. A sneering frown of disgust. A coy, humoring grin. All she knew was that it would be something dark and ugly.
But it wasn't. All he wore was a look of mild surprise, his own hand still outstretched.
"Mami?" Bebe asked, looking at her with unease. "Are you feeling sick?"
She shook her head, trying to dispel the feeling, but that only made it worse. She quickly turned to the girl, her eyes frantic, and said "Bebe! Come on. We're leaving. Now!"
"Mami…?" She ventured, visibly disturbed by the sudden outburst. Her obvious distress tugged at the blonde girl's heart, but it did little to soothe the knife that was digging into her spine. All she knew in that moment was that she needed to be as far away from the Benefactor as possible, and that any time spent in his presence was putting her in terrible danger.
"Bebe! Come on!" She ordered, her voice commanding even if her legs were shaking with instinctive terror. "Charlotte! We're leaving!"
She'd expected the sound of her full name to spring her into action, but it had the opposite effect. Instead of leaping away from the man, she flinched with an expression of betrayal before tightening her grip on his hand. Her mouth had fixed itself in an uncharacteristically determined line as she shook her head, sending a lance through Mami's chest.
"No!" She answered. "Mister Benny said he was going to help us! Mami isn't right in the head right now! We need this! I'm not leaving!"
The tearful glare that was cutting into her turned her words to frozen sculptures, caught halfway up her throat. There were precious few things that Bebe took seriously, and the forceful impact of her accusation hit like a hammer blow, crushing the blonde's heart and forcing the air from her lungs.
Ironically, help came from the last place she'd have expected.
"Girls, please, there's no need to fight." The Benefactor said, his tone soft and calming. "I don't know what brought this on, but surely it isn't worth hurting one another over, is it? Come now, let us all take a moment to regain our senses and remind ourselves of who we're speaking to."
They lapsed into silence, unable to meet each other's eyes. The uncontrollable fear that had overtaken Mami's system faded to the back of her mind, leaving a hollow feeling in her body as if she'd just sprinted halfway across the city. She didn't know what was happening, and that feeling of the unknown made her want to cry. She couldn't here though, so she was left standing there with her hands clenched, biting her lip and staring at the ground as she was tossed around by feelings she didn't understand.
Seemingly satisfied that they weren't going to shout at one another any longer, the man knelt before her and said "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I won't force you to come with me if it is causing you so much discomfort. Your friend, I'm afraid, has already made her choice, and I'll not deny her the opportunity to learn how to control her gifts, but you are free to remain here. We will return later this evening, and I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you all about what went on between us. Please, try to take this time to relax and wait. Should you change your mind in the future, I'd be happy to have you with us."
Her head snapped up and she was about to protest when she caught herself. It occurred to her, just then, how utterly helpless she was. This man who's name she didn't even know had arrived in their life from nowhere, somehow earned Bebe's trust, and now was taking her away and there was nothing she could do to stop him. She couldn't go to the Arbites. They'd be more likely to have her beaten for distracting them from their work. Bebe herself had made her stance clear. Even if she broke down in the street then and there, nobody would come to her aid. No one cared for the fears of a single orphan girl.
She couldn't do anything, and that knowledge terrified her almost as much as the surge of panic had.
Seeing there was nothing else that needed to be said, the man turned his back, bringing Bebe with him back through the gates. Mami was left standing there, staring at the path they'd taken for Emperor knew how long. She didn't keep track of the time, and it was only when her empty stomach began to growl that she realized she needed to get back home.
With her head held low, she skittered back into the alleys and pathways of the outer city, trying to block out the crushing unease that had made itself at home in her gut.
The Benefactor was true to his word, if nothing else. He'd shown up in the same spot, bringing Bebe with him, later that day. She was perfectly unharmed, giggling happily as though the exchange that morning was nothing but a distant memory, and eagerly regaling Mami with her recollection of the 'education' she'd been receiving. Most of it sounded nonsensical, and she understood only about half of what was said, but none of it sounded inherently dangerous, leaving Mami to wonder if maybe she'd been fearful over nothing.
For his part, the Benefactor didn't bring up their spat at all, choosing instead to leave them with a cheery farewell and the promise to meet again tomorrow should they choose to follow up.
That offer brought another surge of doubt with it, but this time she kept herself under control.
The next morning found the two of them waiting for him again at Bebe's request. And the next. And the one after that. Before she'd even realized it, sending her friend off for private schooling with the strange man had become almost routine. Though she never chose to go herself, Bebe refused to be swayed from the path she'd embraced, and Mami could think to do little other than watch over her as she followed it.
This left her with an unprecedented amount of free time. Not only was the normally all-encompassing task of looking after her companion no longer necessary during the day, but she didn't have to beg for scraps either. The Benefactor ensured that Bebe was sent home with more than enough food to see them through the day, meaning that they had a steady supply to keep them going.
Instead of being relaxing, the lack of activity drove her further into her tense unease. She had nothing to distract herself with as she whiled away the hours with whatever tiny unimportant task she set for herself, waiting for the time that would see Bebe returned to her while trying to ignore the voice of doubt in her head. It proved to be a trying endeavor, but for her friend's sake, she endured and even made progress. After several weeks of the continued meetings, she'd managed to all but silence the worries that had been plaguing her.
She'd mistrusted him, but he gave her no reason to any longer. He provided them with food, watched over Bebe for her, and if her suspicions were correct, had even spoken to the Arbites to ensure they weren't bothered by unwanted attention. Though she'd been wary of his intent, he seemed to be perfectly harmless.
As the second month since their first meeting passed by, Mami decided that she'd been wrong to fear him after all.
It was the screaming that woke her up. The sudden heart-wrenching sound of terror that filled the streets, seeming to come from all around, and snapping her out of her slumber with the force of an oncoming train. A single moment of confusion struck her before she felt a deep, chilling, rumble echo through the very ground beneath her.
Mami leapt to her feet in disarray, casting her eyes frantically about the confines of her small shelter, instinctively searching for Bebe before remembering that she wasn't here. The girl had spent the night at the Benefactor's estate for the first time. She was alone.
Another set of screams reached her ears, this time with the sharp barks of gunfire following quickly after, and cries of things she couldn't put a name to in the distance. Freshly woken and thrown into total confusion, all she could think to do was dart into the dark corner near the entrance to her home and hesitantly peek outside.
What she saw immediately made her wish she hadn't. The city was alight with flames, spires of strange purple fire crawling along the sides of buildings like a creeping affliction, consuming all in its path. The winding roads were filled with calamity, people rushing past one another in all directions, Arbites and even gangers struggling to keep their people under control and pandemonium seemed to take hold of the populace. At first she couldn't tell what the cause of the panic was, but after a moment of careful observation, she was able to pick out disturbances among the bedlam.
They were people among the crowd, but at the same time, something else. They screeched and hollered with a voice that was alien, and their very veins glowed with a sinister purple light, visible beneath their skin. They seemed to be attacking anyone within reach, screaming with something that sounded almost like ecstasy as they set about savaging the populace. Mami could only watch in horror, her mouth going dry, as a large-set woman was tackled to the ground by one of the crazed men, futilely trying to shove him off as he set about tearing her throat open with his teeth.
Something must have snapped among the Arbites, because several of them opened fire on the crowd, shooting through the sane and the berserk alike. Several dozen cries were silenced with the vicious bite of gunfire, fresh bodies crashing to the ground as more blood stained the streets. From those that had been afflicted, the same purple fire that was eating away at the city sprung forth from their wounds, spreading in the streets and seeming to feed on the bodies of the dead and the dying.
It was too much. With such a horrific sight before her, Mami collapsed to her knees, emptying the contents of her stomach on the floor beneath her as her young mind struggled to block out the chaos that was spreading through the city. She was no stranger to death, nobody in the outer city was, but the sound of killing surrounded her, and the iron tang of blood was so thick in the air that she could almost physically taste it. It was as though her senses, instead of shutting down when exposed to the nightmarish display, had become hypersensitive, and her brain was in danger of being completely consumed by it all.
Her heart was racing, beating faster than she had ever experienced before while her thoughts ground to a halt. She had to run, but she was rooted to the spot. It was too much to take in at a moment's notice. Too much for her to handle on her own. She needed to-
Bebe!
Her friend wasn't here. She was away, which meant she may be in danger as well. Mami couldn't afford to let herself be overcome. She had to find Bebe. Even if she was scared out of her mind. Even if the thought of going out there turned her blood to ice. Even if she was in pain. No matter what, she had to find Bebe.
Feeling the putrid taste of bile in the back of her throat, she stumbled out of her hiding place, sticking to the shadows as she forced herself into the maelstrom.
Emperor… If you can hear me… Please… I don't want to die here… Please help us…
Despite the total madness, or perhaps because of it, slipping through the city proved to be surprisingly simple. The armed officers were too busy fighting off insane assailants to bother with a lone girl slinking by. The zealots, or whatever they were, seemed to be drawn towards groups, and largely ignored the lone individuals fleeing for their lives. With both sides occupied by one another, and the unfortunate civilians in the crossfire too focused on staying alive to threaten her, Mami was able to dart through the gateway to the inner city without any real harm.
Physical harm, at least.
Her psyche was another matter. Having been exposed to so much violence in such a short period of time, her young mind was beginning to flag under the strain. Her awareness had begun to slip as the acrid, unnatural, stench of bodies being immolated by those strange flames filled her nose. It was horrid, but strangely enticing, as if the boiling corpses were calling out to her in joyous tones, urging her to throw herself into the pyre and join them in their gruesome fate.
It made her sick, and much to her growing dread, she found herself stumbling a step or two closer to those whispering flames whenever her concentration slipped.
Even in the blistering heat of the rapidly igniting city, she shivered. The noise was all around her as she slipped between back pathways and side-streets. Hordes would pass her by, some fleeing, some chasing, some fighting to maintain order, others lashing out with wanton abandon. By rights, she knew she should have been killed at least a dozen times over in the hectic madness that was taking hold, but by luck or providence, she managed to hide and sneak her way through the city unharmed.
No sense of relief came as she approached the estate however. Rather, the very air seemed to become thick and humid, with a sickly sweet tinge that stung her throat and eyes. She didn't notice until she was near her destination, but it almost seemed as if the miasma was originating from the same direction she was headed.
That thought entered her mind right as she took the final corner, nearly falling over herself as she ground to a halt before the entrance to the Benefactor's grand home.
In truth, she didn't remember what it was supposed to look like. The only time she'd ever set foot in it had been after her episode in their first meeting, and she had no conscious recollection of it since then. The only reason she knew where to find it was because of the detailed explanations given both by the man himself as well as Bebe, who never missed an opportunity to talk about her activities.
Even without knowing remembering how it was meant to be, she knew it wasn't supposed to look like this.
Four stories tall, and all the windows shattered. The very stonework clawed and gashed as if by the talons of some monstrous creature. The artificial replica garden burned to ashes, leaving behind only the skeletal charcoal in the shape of plant life.
And the corpses. So many corpses.
Working staff, hired guards, various richly dressed lords and ladies, and an assortment of unfortunate passerby's littered the path beyond the main gate. Blood ran so thick that the decorative stones creating a walkway were covered in it completely, not so much as a single inch exposed to the open air. Had she not already been sick prior to this, the visceral image would have left her cripplingly ill.
But what struck her most was not the number of bodies, but their arrangement. These people had not been fleeing to take shelter in the mansion. They'd been running away, as if the thing they feared had come from inside.
And Bebe had been staying the night.
Mami didn't stop to think as she sprinted down the gore-laden pathway. She blocked out the disgusting squelch of blood beneath her feet, and the wet impact when she was forced to step on a body. None of that mattered. Bebe wasn't among the dead that she could see, so she might still be in there somewhere. That was what she told herself. That was what kept her standing as she charged headlong into the mouth of hell.
The interior of the building was no better than the outside. Scars of violence she hadn't witnessed, impossible scorch marks dotting the walls and ceiling. A few scattered pieces of things she assumed had once been human. She sprinted through the winding corridors, her heart screaming in her ears, too desperate to find any trace of her friend to worry about stealth any longer. She threw open doors, dashed across stained carpets, scrambled across fallen furniture, and sprinted up the winding stairs in near hysteria as she sought any trace of Bebe or her whereabouts.
And then she heard it. A soft, far-off note. A gentle, carefree tone that was unmistakably that of her young friend.
Humming.
The notes weren't in any particular pattern, merely brought out in whatever mood happened to strike her. Closer to background noise than any true music. It was the same kind of noise she made when she was otherwise occupied, often tilting her head back and forth as she worked, enamored by a song only she could hear.
But it was her. It had to be, and she didn't sound as if she were hurt or terrified. The sheer rush of relief at hearing confirmation that her friend was still alive overwhelmed Mami's sense of danger, prompting her to dash towards the sound without a second thought.
"Bebe!" She called, following the oddly calm notes through the unfamiliar hallways. "Bebe! Can you hear me!? Call out to me, Bebe! Please! If you can hear me, say something!"
She didn't get a direct answer, but the humming became louder and more pronounced, directing her more readily as she made her presence known. For the girl, it was enough to bring tears to hear eyes as she made the final push towards the origin of the sound. With a final grand effort, she slammed into the double doors ahead of her, throwing them wide as she stumbled into a grand open space.
And stopped dead in her tracks.
She had realized on some level, how strange it was that Bebe would be happily humming a tune in the midst of all the calamity, but she'd been too focused on finding the girl to care. Now, standing before… this, she realized what a horrid oversight she'd made.
It was her. Bebe. Seated alone at the end of some grand dining table in the middle of what must have once been a feast hall or some other lavish gathering place. She was there, kicking her legs while partaking of an arrangement of sweets that went beyond extravagant, ranging from finely crafted cakes, to chocolates shaped into designs almost too exquisite to eat, to all number of sugared candies in every color one could imagine. She sang her little tune between bites, seeming to favor the oversized slice of cheesecake she'd selected for herself.
That was where the innocence ended. Though the girl was prim and proper, dining on harmless treats, everything around her was a nightmare.
Dead bodies had been arranged in the other seats in some morbid parody of a meeting, each one carrying a plate and glass filled with their own flesh and entrails. The walls oozed and crawled with some unidentifiable meaty substance that looked to be spreading outwards from the fire place, crawling along the surface like a living cancer and pulsing with nerve-wracking energy. And Bebe herself… Mami wanted to look away and deny what was before her, to cover her ears and pretend that none of this was real, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from her friend's eyes.
Or what had replaced them. Instead of the gentle brown eyes she'd known, two orbs of pink balefire stared back at her, communicating all the same childlike glee of Bebe's expression with a wicked edge that she'd never seen before.
And when their eyes met, her very soul shuddered in fright.
"Ah! Mami's here!" Bebe exclaimed, speaking with a voice that was almost unrecognizable. Something that was old beyond years, and yet even younger than she'd been. A tone which rebounded inside her head, the words twisting in her ears as if born of serpent's blood. "I knew you'd come soon! I almost couldn't wait! I have so much to show you!"
She could only stare in hollow horror, mouth too dry to speak as her legs began to tremble. Too weak to support her weight any longer, she shrank down to her knees, still locked in the gaze of her young companion.
"Mister Benny said you wouldn't make it." Bebe continued in a teasing tone, oblivious to her reaction. "He said you'd probably get eaten up on your way here by something mean, but I knew you'd come! After all, I told them to let you through so that I could see you again."
The little girl broke the impasse, turning to look upwards with a victorious grin on her face.
"See mister Benny? They listened to me! I really am better at this than you were!"
It was then that Mami realized they weren't alone. Her head tilted back, rising up even as her stomach was falling further and further through the floor. Finally, she set her sights on the Benefactor, or what was left of him.
The man was a man no more. He was pinned to the ceiling, almost fully encased in the same meat-like substance that slathered the walls. His entire lower body was missing, and from the hole where his organs should have spilled out, tendrils of some repulsive substance wound and sunk into the vile muck surrounding him.
No. That wasn't right. It was the other way around. The creeping affliction was moving from the sludge and into his body she realized, as she saw the tiny tendrils writhing beneath his very skin.
Upon noticing her scrutiny, he turned to look at her with features ruined by the ministrations of his captor. But even ripped apart beyond recognition, he still managed to give her a twisted wink and a smirking mockery of a grin as a wheeze of mixed agony and euphoria blew out of his degrading chest.
"Be… Be…" Mami gasped, snapping her gaze away from the sight and cowering in her spot on the floor. "What… what have you done to them…?"
"Hm?" She tilted her head at the question with faux-genuine curiosity. "What are you talking about Mami? I only did what he asked me to! He taught me how to use my magic because he wanted to meet Slaanesh!"
The name was like a bomb going off in her head. The deafeningly silent crack of an obsidian whip inside the confines of her skull. She didn't even know what it meant, but hearing it uttered was a torture in and of itself.
"But she didn't like you very much, did she mister Benny?" Bebe went on, looking back to the man. As if in answer, mutilated gasping followed quickly by a crunching noise and a trickle of red liquid followed her declaration. "Slaanesh didn't like you because you were too greedy! You can't ask her to give you everything unless you're willing to give everything yourself!"
More crunching. The gasping stopped suddenly. The red dripping became a falling stream, mixed with chunks of something. Mami refused to look up.
"But now that Mami's here, there's nothing to worry about!" Bebe declared, not missing a beat as she turned back to the hollow-eyed blonde. "Because you'll love Slaanesh just as much as I do!"
"Stop saying that name…" She pleaded, whimpering at the sheer pain it evoked inside her.
"I know you will because I know you." Bebe continued, ignoring her entirely. "You're always saying you want what's best for us right? Slaanesh can give it to us! She gave me all these tasty things just for letting a little tiny bit of her into the city, see? And we can have more and more and more if we keep helping her!"
"Stop it!" Mami cried, tears of anguish rolling down her face as her nerves erupted with crackling energy.
"Don't be a crybaby! It only hurts because you're not letting her in!" She chided, slowly walking towards the older girl. "You've been fighting her all this time. Ignoring her back then. Hiding from her now. Not listening to her voice. It'll be fun! You just need to stop fighting it and listen to Slaanesh!"
"I…"
"She's going to give us everything Mami! Everything we've ever wanted!"
"Said…"
"We don't need to worry about food or safety or anything ever again! We're never going to have to worry ever again!"
"Stop!"
Mami leapt to her feet, slamming her hands onto Bebe's shoulders and clasping her with manic strength. Her face stained with saltwater and pain.
"Stop it!" She screamed, shaking the smaller girl. "Stop saying these things! What have you done with Bebe!? I don't care about your promises! Give Bebe back to me! Give her back right no-"
Her mind had no time to process the sight of Bebe's arm moving. All she knew was that her chest was struck with terrible force, hurtling her back through the air like a ragdoll. She hit the table, feeling something break inside her as she skidded across the fine silverware and decorations, leaving a trail of cacophonous clattering disorder in her wake before she final fell from the far end, crashing to the ground in a heap of fallen dishes and silent agony.
"Aww." Bebe sighed, strolling her way around the table as the blonde writhed on the ground. "I didn't wanna do that Mami, but you looked like you needed a wakey slap. You're talking nonsense and going so far as to start trying to force me around? That's not very nice."
She could say nothing, merely whimpering as she tried to inch further away. She didn't make it far before the younger girl was upon her, reaching down to grab one of her shoulders with a meaningful look.
"Maybe you didn't mean anything by it?" She pondered aloud, pressing her thumb into Mami's collarbone. "But that just means you need to be taught a lesson in etiquette, doesn't it? Weren't you always the one telling me I should act more like a lady when I get older? I think it's time I was the one lecturing you."
She started squeezing, the pressure of her grip rising rapidly as Mami tried desperately to pry her hand away. It was impossible. Possessed by inhuman strength, Bebe was able to easily hold her down with one hand, despite her best efforts to get free. All she could do was cry out in pain as she felt her grip become harder and harder.
"Please… stop…!" She gasped out. "You're hurting me!"
"Of course I'm hurting you." Bebe, or the thing that looked like her, replied. "If I didn't hurt you, then you'd never learn. Love hurts Mami, and when you need to stop someone you love from being stupid, it can hurt a whole lot more."
She screamed again, feeling the bones in her shoulder begin to crack. Half-delirious from agony, she threw her arms out, searching in panic for anything that could save her. It hurt too much to think. Too much to consider anything other than making the pain stop. That was why, when her fingers brushed against the edge of something cold and metal, she didn't hesitate.
Letting out a cry that was equal parts hysteria and determination, she grabbed hold of the foreign item and struck out with every ounce of strength she could. Her hand shot forward and hit home, slamming the object into the side of Bebe's head in the hopes it would knock her away.
It didn't. And worse, she didn't hear the sound of metal smacking against flesh as she'd expected. Instead, her ears were filled with a gut-wrenching schlick and a splatter of warm liquid dribbling down on her from above.
Her body, her heart, and her very soul turned to ice as she stared in openmouthed horror at what she'd done. In her haste, she'd grabbed the nearest thing she could find. That object happened to be a kitchen knife which had been knocked off the table by her careening flight.
A knife which was now embedded three inches into Bebe's temple.
The world around them no longer mattered. Not the abominable chaos outside. Not the disgusting massacre within. All Mami knew in that moment was her body, pressed to the ground, Bebe hanging above her, and that single unspeakable sin that she'd just committed.
Her mind was on the verge of simply shutting down out of pure inability to cope with what was happening, when the impasse was broken. Very slowly, Bebe's glowing eyes swiveled to look at the utensil sticking from her skull, before drifting back to Mami, and then returning to the knife once more.
She wasn't smiling anymore.
There was no hint of childish innocence in her face as her expression twisted into some sick imitation of a grin. No happiness or joy in her features as her very body began to shift. Her fingers lengthened, nails extending out until they looked more like claws than anything human. Her skin turned pale, then bleached, then an utterly unnatural shade of white. All the while, Bebe's eyes burned into her own, shouldering with unabashed malevolence at her act of defiance, before she pinned her down properly and leaned in close.
"You shouldn't have done that Mami…"
Teeth at her throat. Fetid breath in her ear. Claws digging into her arms, just shy of breaking the skin. She could do little else but tremble as the monstrosity leaned down over her.
"Friends aren't supposed to act like that."
She had no chance to brace herself before Bebe reared back, lifting her with as little effort as a man raising a leaf of paper, and hurled her across the room. Her world was howling air and blind terror before she came to a sudden halt, smashing into an old grandfather clock. The front shattered on impact, showering her with shards of glass and wooden splinters that tore at her skin as she tumbled to the ground in a broken heap. She wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything, but the pain was too intense to make a sound.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn!?" Came the hissing demand. "I'm telling you right now that Slaanesh can give us everything we've ever wanted! So why are you resisting!?"
Mami coughed, sputtering up the blood that filled her mouth from her torn lip. Everything hurt. Every movement was a fresh torment. She could only gasp weakly, turning her head to stare pitifully up at the monster approaching her while drowning in the fear that strangled every one of her senses.
Her broken state must have registered with Bebe, or what was left of her, because the monstrous visage that had replaced her own turned to something almost like some sardonic form of empathy.
"Aww… what's the matter Mami…? I thought we were friends…"
The grin spread wider, stretching painfully across the face that had been so familiar mere moments ago. Its lips peeled back, revealing too many rows of too sharp teeth.
"Don't be such a baby… just trust me…"
Its eyes bore into her own, drinking in her turmoil and despair like finely aged wine.
"After all, have I ever lied to you before…?"
Mami wept. It was all she had left. The bitter, stinging, tears that streaked across her battered face, mixing with the rivulets of blood that stained her skin, trailing a path that spoke volumes of what her world had come to in such a short amount of time. She was going to die here. She was going to die, alone and forgotten, murdered by the mockery of her closest friend. Some part of her simply wanted to let go. To close her eyes and give in. Maybe this was punishment. She'd known all along that the man had been wrong in some way. She'd known how vile the whole situation had felt, and yet she'd allowed it anyway. If she'd fought harder, would any of this be happening? Would Bebe still have turned into this… thing?
Seeing that her prey was still and silent, the creature let out a low sigh of annoyance, rising to a height that would have towered over grown men with her new malproportioned body.
"You know, I was really looking forwards to having you join in our fun." She bemoaned, running her tongue along the razor-like fangs that filled her jaw. "But since you interrupted my dessert, and then had to go and do something stupid like fighting us, I'm starting to get hungry again. If you don't want to be friends, maybe you'd be better off as food."
Her last word was punctuated with a deep, animalistic growl that dredged up the primal survival instincts of a caged animal. Mami's heart leapt in fresh horror as the unholy reflection of Bebe began moving towards her, each footstep crunching on broken glass and splinters.
Something in her heart gave, and fire surged through her limbs, burning away the icy numbness that had been sinking in. She was every bit as much a monster as Bebe was. More, even. She'd allowed such a terrible thing to happen, she'd ignored the warnings and let her friend fall into this state, and worst of all, she wasn't willing to lay down and sacrifice herself in penance.
That was right. She wanted to live. In that moment, Mami knew with absolute certainty that she didn't want to die.
Nerveless fingers wrapped around a large shard of broken glass, oblivious to the way it cut into her palm as she drew it close. Her shattered body struggled to rise, trembling with pure exertion as her muscles strained against the oppressive pull of gravity. Little by little, she worked herself into a standing position, feebly holding her improvised blade in a defensive stance.
One of Bebe's eyelids rose, and then the other, until finally, she let out a peal of amused laughter.
"Mami's being naughty again~" She remarked, baring her teeth. "And if she doesn't want to play nice, then we have to punish her again~"
A short lifetime of foraging in the outer streets for scraps of food had instilled a certain amount of fighting instinct in the blonde girl. You never knew who might try to take what little you had, and if you were caught unprepared, you were just food for the rats. Even children had to learn how to scrap if they wanted to survive.
That knowledge was the only thing that saved her life. She didn't see Bebe strike. To follow a movement that fast with the naked eye was impossible, but she could feel it coming. The way she tensed before leaping was the cue for Mami to duck down and shoot forwards, undercutting the swipe that would have ripped her arm off. And, with her own meager excuse for a battle cry, she struck out with her glass shard, swinging wildly at the monster's chest.
But her target was gone. By the time she'd thrust the jagged edge forwards, Bebe had already slipped around behind her. All at once, she found a hand wrapped around her ankles and the world hurtling in all different directions. Mami cried out in desperation as she was bodily hoisted into the air, trying to stab back at her captor only to have her arm caught by the creature's free hand and wrenched painfully out of its socket.
"Ah! Too bad Mami!" Bebe giggled. "Looks like I win! And you know what that means~"
Mami was facing away. She couldn't see the way the girl's jaws unhinged like a snake's, stretching wide and opening up a cavern of serrated fangs. What she knew was only that she could feel the blast of hot breath on the back of her head, and the absolute drive for survival screaming in her ears.
In a burst of pure adrenaline-driven motion, she wrenched herself to the side as hard as she could, twisting her body farther than it was meant to go, and clawing out with her other hand in an attempt to avoid her looming fate.
Providence was on her side. Rather than scrape harmlessly across the toughened skin of Bebe's face, her fingers stabbed into the other girl's eye.
Even with her newfound power, her body was still technically human, and the instincts hardwired into her system reacted accordingly. She flinched backwards, unconsciously releasing her grip on her captive as her hands flew to her face.
Mami had a brief moment to tumble before she hit the ground in a heap, scrambling back to her feet. Every moment was infinitely precious. Without thinking, her intact hand pried the shard of glass from her dislocated arm as she charged forwards in her final gambit.
The size difference between the two of them was enormous, with Bebe standing almost twice as tall as she was. But she had several factors in her favor in that brief opening. Bebe was off balance, having been caught by surprise, and she had yet to fully adapt to her new height. For that reason, when the girl-shaped missile slammed into her, she couldn't hope to stay upright, toppling backwards and landing heavily in the mess that covered the floor.
Mami struck like a viper, swinging her improvised weapon down with frantic strength on the creature's throat. Her aim was true, and the blade of glass bit deep into Bebe's neck, sinking in with the repulsive sound of tearing flesh.
But it wasn't enough. Even as the monster beneath her bucked and convulsed from the injury, Mami was already drawing back, stabbing down furiously again and again, the memory of her friend pulling the knife from her head as easily as a splinter still fresh in her mind. She stabbed through the blood and tears streaming across her face, through the torment of trying to keep her balance on the body of what had once been Bebe, through the blind haze of panic and desperation that had been swallowing her whole since the onset of the conflict.
Even after the daemon ceased to move, she continued to lash out, utterly unable to stop herself. Only after the world seemed to fall silent in horror, with the only noise being the constant wet rending of flesh being parted, did she finally pause her frenzy.
It was dead. In her maddened assault, she'd continued to savage the creature's throat until it had parted entirely, leaving a decapitated head before her, an expression of shock permanently etched onto its distorted features. The glass she held was much smaller now, having broken several times during the attack. She could feel numerous shards embedded in her hand, but the fiery sting of her damaged flesh barely even registered.
There was no relief. No sudden joy at the realization she was still alive. As her urgent all-consuming drive was released, only emptiness was left in its place.
The weapon fell from her hands, joining the wreckage that surrounded her. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She simply stared down, numb, into the eyes of the person she'd killed. The friend she'd killed.
There was no choice. Her mind said. You would have died.
Funny. She didn't feel particularly alive.
It was a mercy. Bebe was already gone.
There was nothing merciful about this. Not even in her most deluded moments could she have hoped to convince herself of that.
It wasn't your fault.
No matter how much she tried to convince herself of that, there was no way to undermine the crushing weight that strangled her chest.
You are alive.
And Bebe was dead.
Eventually, her thoughts lapsed into silence, falling into one massive chasm of isolation. Nine hours passed outside. The outbreak in the city was brought under control by the nearby Guard forces, commanded by an Inquisitor who had been investigating in the area. The conflict was bloody, but short lived thanks to the decisive bravery of the men and women of the Imperium.
Mami knew none of this. Not the war going on, nor the passage of time, nor even the way her body slowly began to sag as the delirium of blood-loss started to eat away at her. She was there for mere moments. For an endless eternity. There was nothing else but her and the evidence of her betrayal.
That is, until the footsteps arrived. Small pittering ones, racing across the mansion and storming the individual rooms for signs of enemy activity. Two larger ones, thudding through the ruined halls with a definite purpose. Voices she didn't care to try and decipher, coming from all around her, and finally, the bang of the banquet hall doors being kicked in.
For a long while, there was silence after that, the only noise being the steady clicking of what she assumed were weapons being aimed in her direction. Mami wondered distantly if they were going to kill her. It would have been fitting she supposed, to die here after what she'd let happen, but she couldn't muster the energy to care, or even look in the direction of the newcomers.
Then she heard it again. The heavy, thudding footsteps of a large body striding slowly towards her. She remained looking down, even as the figure drew up right beside her. It must have been observing the scene, because a long pause followed before it spoke.
"Did you do this?"
It was a man's voice. Every bit as deep and imposing as she would have expected from the sound of his footfalls. But there was restraint in it. His tone held neither accusation nor praise. It was a simple question for the purposes of confirmation.
She nodded.
Another noise reached her. The steady whine of servos adjusting as the man knelt down beside her. She continued to block it out, holding her gaze straight down until she felt armored fingers tapping under her chin, forcing her to look up.
She must have been worse off than she imagined, because her eyes were no longer working properly. Her vision was blurred worse than she'd ever remembered it being, and a strange tint was swimming at the edge of her awareness, giving the entire exchange a disturbed, dreamlike feel.
Even with that haze, she saw what she needed to. The face of the man carved with age and beaten by weather. One who held himself with a solemn air of authority, yet a strange amount of concern that she didn't understand the reasoning behind. There was nobody to pity here after all. This was a room of daemons.
"It's all right." He said, his voice echoing in her ears. "This fight is over."
Drearily, she nodded, collapsing to the side as her body finally gave out. When next she awoke, her path among the Ordos would begin.
