A young boy, no older than fourteen.
A young, handsome boy, who was racing towards her, with that rotting corpse of his.
Akiza ran away from him, tripping over her heels as she did. She slammed on the ground; she gasped at the pressure, all the while endeavoring to sort through her alert, panicked instincts. Her heart was racing, her palms sweating at the adrenaline coursing through her body. She clenched her teeth, as she scrambled up, only for that creature to grab her ankle and twist it, a sickening crack resounding in the air.
A sharp pain engulfed her. Her eyes automatically shut, but before she could cry out, it slammed her head against the ground. A loud hiss escaped from her lips. She managed to open her eyes, only to find that tiny boy on top of her, with both claws wrapped around her throat, its nails already drawing blood from her throat.
Automatically, she gripped those hands, and started attempting to pry them away from her. Her fingers were trembling at its hardened, disgusting patterns its veins so delicately made, its ice cold skin scorching her own flesh. From the corner of her eyes, she could see her bruised ankle there, with large bruises beginning to form. She stole a look back up, and saw herself reflected back in the whites of its eyes, her own pain slowly overtaking its senses. It bore its fangs at her, with a predatory look that embedded her mind.
A boy.
A child, no older than fourteen.
And there were children, just like him.
"I'm impressed."
Akiza blinked, before turning her head toward Sarah. She was just standing there, that woman, with a simple smirk on her face. Both hands her on her hips, as she surveyed Akiza. Before long, she walked to the witch with curiosity etched into her expression. "Just a few seconds ago, you looked scared. Really scared."
A few moments of silence passed between the two, before Sarah sighed. "And now, nothing. Even if you get him off you, I don't think you'd run."
Akiza bit her lip. She narrowed her eyes, as she began forcefully shoving the monster away from her, the edge of its nails on her jugular. "You think I should?" she barely grunted.
Sarah scoffed. "You know, you're a lot stronger than you look. It's a shame you're going to have to die tonight."
"Don't…make me laugh," she scowled, as the creature drew closer.
Strange; it shouldn't be as sadistic as it is now. Frankly, with its exposed ribs and emaciated frame, it'd probably be starving as of now. And even if it wasn't, it wouldn't have wasted any time at all, simply toying around with its meal; it'd only give time for its prey to get away.
But this room was clean, and no one would dare clean up for something as disgusting as this. Bloodstains, body parts, organs; anything at all should be lying somewhere around here, scattered like a filthy nest, with little use for secrets. But what's more, if it was going to attack her, especially in a state like this, Akiza could easily avoid it. It was only running on primal instinct; she doubted it could even catch a baby, what with the way it's acting now.
But that wasn't right, was it?
Sarah cocked her head. "You've got the same, adorable expression your mentor had."
Akiza flickered her eyes up toward her in confusion, but the woman only smiled. "My, I'd forgotten his name. But he was just like you, all defiant and prideful and the like."
"What…what the hell-?!"
"But alas, he was so childish." She sighed. She closed her eyes, and placed a single hand beneath her cheek. "After everything he's seen, what with the Black Rose attacking him, and the the incident at the hospital, to think he'd lose his mind that quickly…"
Hospital.
She quickly moved her hand toward the creature's shoulder. With one, single stroke, she stopped it from moving toward her. She could feel it struggling beneath her grip, but somehow, she managed to sit up just a tiny bit. Its claws were still on her throat, and though it gave its crushing blow for a brief second, she managed to grab its fingers, and hold it in place once again. Her bangs fell toward her face, making it hard to see the creature's hopeless gaze. "What…what are you…?"
She raised her eyebrows. "You mean you still haven't figured it out? Well, here's a little hint." She leaned towards Akiza, her lips barely touching her ear. "Congratulations; you led me to a wonderful gift, a gift that I've already given Ms. Raines tonight."
"The hell-?!"
"The Black Rose."
Black Rose.
A witch.
Sarah giggled softly. "You're here. Of course your little boyfriend would come to save you.
"Still," Sarah continued, as she stood. She crossed both arms over her chest and turned away, staring off into the dark lights shimmering from afar. "I can't say I'm happy with this arrangement. Innocent people still had to die, after all. But as long as that psychopath's off the streets, I'm fine. I never expected him to be in the Arcadia Movement though, nor did I predict that, he'd still stay by your side, a mere human. Well, he always was a slippery one, wasn't he?"
The Arcadia Movement.
A man, who had stayed by her side, after all this time.
A human, who used the title, the Black Rose.
"Are you still confused, little rose?" she asked then. She twisted back around, her own, raven hair falling towards her eyes. An unreadable expression crossed her face, the smile immediately vanishing from her lips. "Then I'll give you another hint."
Akiza closed her eyes. She's managed to get its claws at least an inch away from her. Though the boy's snapping at her, somehow, she managed to stay out of reach, what with that short neck of his. Slowly, she lifted both her legs towards its chest. She tightened her grip around its fragile wrists, with the same, sharp crack echoing throughout the room.
And yet Sarah stood there, with an expectant frown on her face. Even after Akiza managed to kick that thing away from her, after she turned to Sarah, all the while eyeing that creature carefully, the two, deep puncture holes drilled into its chest, as it slunk away from her, though the same, predatory light resided in its eyes, Sarah remained calm. She looked up at Akiza then. "Sayer's dead."
Dead.
He's dead.
Are you okay?
You don't have to worry about anything.
Go back home, and sleep for a while.
Her chest began aching. She could feel the cold shrouding her mind, as that tiny boy began lunging for her again. Sarah was saying something, but Akiza merely tuned her out, the flurries of words coming back to her. And then, in that moment, she saw the monster, right in front of her.
He wasn't very human to begin with. None of us were.
She could feel its sharp claws against her abdomen, tearing apart the fabric of her dress. She narrowed her eyes, her hazy vision instantly becoming clear. She growled at the creature, as it reached for her again. Left, then right, then left again, while the holes in its chest were closing. Even if it was for a split second, even Akiza could tell that none of those organs were beating.
We were born and raised in a little hole, right in the middle of hell.
She clenched her fists, before sweeping past it. She heard an the monster crash into the iron door, before rebounding back for her. Akiza held both her arms up, her own, surging power, once again, taking over her body. No, that won't work this time; for some reason, this thing was too heavy. She needed something else.
You honestly think you can just stand there, feeling sorry for yourself?
That monster came after her again.
Did you save them because you thought it'd make you feel more human?
She cried out when it slammed her into the table. She fell on her back, but managed to catch sight of the creature racing after her. Without thinking, she grabbed the edge of the cloth, and stood. When that monster landed on the table, she shoved the cloth around its face, and forced it down to the table.
Then that makes you an arrogant fool who doesn't know right from wrong. You shouldn't be so prideful as to think you can save the people who are already lost.
The monster was writhing in her grip.
Did you want to torture them some more?
"Shut up," she muttered.
Did you want to watch them starve to death?
She tightened her grip around the cloth, its claws piercing her skin, the dark, crimson marks drawing out a bloody mess from her own, decadent body.
Did you want to see them living on the streets, like a bunch of sewer rats?
"I said shut up."
If it wasn't for those murders, you wouldn't have been able to make an example of them.
She gritted her teeth. "Quiet!"
You wouldn't have been able to escape.
"That's not true!"
If you hadn't, I'm pretty sure we'd end up like all the other failures.
She didn't know how long it was, before that monster, the little boy, stopped moving. She didn't know how long she stood there, with an ephemeral eternity passing over her. She could only see white in front of her, with her bloody stains covering the cloth.
And then she heard something.
Don't you get it?
She saw Sarah standing there, her eyes wide, her mouth open.
That's why I turned away, when you killed Meredith.
There was a bone sticking out of her abdomen.
Why I followed you, after all this time.
There was hope in her eyes, as she reached out to Akiza, begging that she be saved.
If you were anything else, you wouldn't have spared Alexis or Jaden.
There was someone standing behind her.
You would've killed them, the moment you saw them.
Akiza couldn't help but straighten, the moment she saw that familiar face.
Belial.
As of this point, they probably didn't know what to think.
Jack and Crow were staring at him, the shock of the betrayal enveloping them. Neither of them had said anything, but he could read the silence clearly, the very instance of misery coming away from them. And the thoughts in their minds were as clear as day; after all this time, their childhood buddy had been keeping secrets from them, and big ones, at that. The comrade they knew, the duelist who fought by their side, the best friend they've all relied on and trusted for so long, the handyman, the King of Turbo Dueling, Martha's little angel, was now crumbling before them, revealing a stranger they knew nothing of. Yusei knew, because the first question Crow asked, was "Why?"
But rather, Yusei ignored him. Instead, he turned his attention to sister dearest, who was sitting smugly in front of him. His eyes fell to the grotesque feast before him, the familiar aroma of Death surrounding it, along with the scent of bitter almonds shrouding it. "If you're going to poison someone," he began, "you shouldn't have made it so obvious."
Belletrix clapped her hands. "So, you've still got some sense after all."
His eyes swirled over to the two duelists, who were now staring down at their food, their jaws open. "What're they doing here?"
Belletrix only smirked, before turning her eyes to Jack. It took a while, but finally, the blonde clenched his fists.
"What'd you think we're doing here? We heard some bloc talking about you, and we decided to come! Yusei, what are you wearing?! And what's with the dead flower on your neck?!"
She cocked her head. "You heard him. Go on; answer him."
Yusei settled back in his seat, catching the confident gleam in her eyes "I don't need to say anything though, do I? Seems you've already told them everything about me."
"Only on the surface. As far as I'm concerned, I've told them everything I know. It's up to you a to whether or not you want to tell them the rest."
Once again, Yusei's eyes fell to the feast before him.
"Yusei!"
The witch flickered his eyes toward Crow.
"Why the hell aren't you saying anything?!" he demanded. "Is…is she right about everything?! Are you really hurting people?!" When Yusei didn't answer, Crow gritted his teeth. He stood, the loud scratch echoing throughout the ballroom. "Come on man, say something!"
Yusei could feel both Jaden and Alexis closing in on the room. Any moment now, from the corner of his eyes, he'd see their silhouettes along the corners of the feast, with Alexis ogling the feast. And Belletrix wasn't too far away from him either. It'd be quick. Afterwards, he can just erase their memories later.
"Nikolai," she said then, snapping him to attention. She leaned towards him, the golden strands of her falling over her collarbone. "I've heard you've been doing some spring cleaning. Is that true?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What I said before still stands; Neo Domino is Black Rose territory; just because some of your goons are already here, doesn't mean I have to put up with them for much longer."
She smiled. "I know. Some of your allies have actually begun attacking Amrbosine. And might I say, you're doing a wonderful job of it."
"What?"
"She never really was a good successor anyways," she explained, as she grabbed a single, silver fork, and began digging through the turkey in front of her. "She was nothing like you, or Christoph, for that matter. She was so naive, thinking that she could help people in the sorry state she was in. She didn't realize she was nothing more than a simple pawn, and a disobedient one at that. So annoying-"
"Yus…Yus what is she talking about? And…and Black Rose? The hell is all this?!" Crow shouted.
Yusei felt the slightest shock flicker across his face. All the while, Belletrix kept playing with the tucker now slopped onto the plate. "So she was like Mree?"
Belletrix looked sharply at him. "She was pathetic. She can't even begin to compare to Meredith. And I'd rather you not say her name again. You did betray me after all."
"I didn't do anything," he snapped. He stopped himself then. He took a deep breath, before continuing on. Where were they? "You killed her then? Amrbosine?"
"No. Your sweetheart did."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
She laid one hand against her cheek. "My, you're just as confused as she is, at the moment." Her hand fell back down to the table then, a disgusted frown plastered on her lips. "One of your Queens had already hacked into those files. You should know who she is."
Jaden said they had one new member.
And that…was Amaryllis Nite.
And experiment that he killed, long ago.
"Now, I know what you're thinking," Belletrix continued. She clasped both hands together, as she taunted his shock. "Aki? My Aki? Working with the likes of you?! Impossible! Blasphemy! She wold never do something like that! After all…I have been drugging her."
After what seemed like a forever of quiet, Belletrix snickered. She straightened herself, the mocking tone falling from her voice. "I've done everything I could to keep her safe. And after what she told me the other night, I'm not going to drag her down anymore. I'll let her keep her sweet dreams. I'll let her live with her broken promises, even if it means I have to suffer the same fate. She is my king-"
Yusei stood up promptly. How'd she-?!
"Nikolai-"
"Yusei."
Belletrix sighed. "Really now, after everything that's happened, you're still going to cling to that name. In all honesty, I-"
"I don't give a damn about what you think," Yusei growled, causing her to fall silent. He straightened himself then, as, once again, his eyes come to the food. Those two had stopped for some reason, Jaden and Alexis. He forced himself to return to the situation at hand, the millions of emotions torrentially coming undone. "It was you, wasn't it?"
She raised a curious eyebrow. "Be more specific."
He clenched his fists. "You're the only one I know…who could pull off cloning shit like this. Aside from Jaden, that is."
A brief pause passed between the two. Belletrix stared at him for a single moment, then turned away, a saccharine smile on her face. "Memories are a troubling thing."
"What?"
Belletrix looked back at him. All three duelists bombarded her with silent questions, demanding the answers only their hearts would know, the atmosphere beginning to choke on the tension. She placed her fork down on the table, and gazed up at them, first at Crow, then at Jack, and finally, at Yusei, who was seething. It wasn't long before she finally turned away, her eyes demurely lowered to the table.
"Don't pretend you haven't seen it Nikolai," she said. "The fact that you're here somehow, under a different name, living a different life, with a different fate in store for you. All of a sudden, you've got our mark on you, and everything and everyone you've ever known…it's all just lies, though some part of you refuses to believe it."
Yusei's lips parted.
"You came here to find Akiza, along with those two brats in tow. You heard that she was alive, that she was living here, in Neo Domino."
He stiffened. "So you've been stalking me?"
"I was curious."
"About?"
She placed her elbows on the table. "About whether or not your were still human."
Human.
"Enough games Belletrix." Yusei said angrily, as he stepped out. "Why don't you start answering my questions first? Like how you could possibly know all of that. What right do you have to mention her at all?"
"Oh?" Her eyes flickered to Jack and Crow. The words were lodged in their throats, their clouded expressions still trying to understand what was going on, why this was all happening. Despite their thinking, they couldn't think of anything that satisfied their memories, anything at all that lined up with their own, rotten expectations. "You're not going to keep up appearances anymore? Weren't they Akiza's friends?"
He narrowed his eyes, his fists tightened. "You were using her…"
Belletrix shook her head. "No."
"Liar."
She smirked. "You know, you're really loyal, you know that?"
And then something clicked.
After the Signer's victories, everything finally fell into place, and it things were looking up. Everything was perfect, from the city restructuring itself, and discrimination simply falling to pieces. The heroes have defeated the final villain, and good triumphed over all.
It was like a fairytale Akiza loved repeating to herself.
A story that she wouldn't allow to end.
"Still, I admit, I'm shocked," he heard her say. "Even after you disobeyed her that evening, I didn't think Akiza would go this far, just to keep her promise."
"…A promise…that-"
That we're still us, by the end of the day, attached to a burden called humanity.
"That you are, in fact, still human."
