Chapter 15 In Total Collapse
Everything had gone terribly wrong. It's inhuman screams bellowed in pain and rage.
At first, Strayed was simply finishing it's latest objective; tear out Yuri's most depraved and self-destructive thoughts, something it had been getting used too. Then, the moment it set Yuri's 'wake up timer', it came under a massive, coordinated psychic attack.
As a Lynx, being psychic was a necessary complication in order to use a NEXT. Having those extra connections in the frontal-cortex of the brain kept them from otherwise melting under the strain of controlling a second mechanical body. This had the unintended side-effect of expanding their training to include psychic and anti-psychic warfare courses, with key emphasis on the latter.
Actual psychic warfare was far too difficult to implement when both opponents kept slamming into each other at Mach two. But it was better to have it and not need than the alternative.
Strayed, being the combat-oriented half, was trained to be both offensive and defensive. It's offensive psychic capabilities were…laughable. A need to maintain physical contact and a difficulty in breaching trained defenses was very common for Lynx kind. But so long as it's defensive ability was sound, it was not seen as much of a problem.
Back to the present, Strayed screamed in unexpected agony as an attack fought it for primary control. It wondered how an attack could have breached it's defenses before it realized a massive and stupid oversight it had allowed.
The still living fragments of the girls it had extracted had accumulated in the brain, and were now working together for an objective it could not fathom. Fortunately, it was not it's end, as it managed to slip away and survive, for the most part, intact. Unfortunately, this left it with a new problem; in it's haste it had been locked out of it's own brain, hiding in the leftover bit of brain at the back of the head where an abysmally dumb control A.I. was kept.
/WARNING: PRIMARY CONTROL CORRUPTED
/TERTIARY CONTROL OVERCLOCKED: 30 MINUTES TO SUB-UNIT FAILURE
Alright, not great, but not hopeless. So long as James stayed conscious of this and took control of their body, they could reset the primary hemisphere and Strayed could have it's half back. So nothing to worry abo-
/WARNING: SECONDARY CONTROL CORRUPTED
Or he could fuck up everything somehow. Okay, they were fucked now. With it's primary connection to James gone, it would have to try and send him messages through the A.I. and hopefully, James, still occupying the right hemisphere, could fight back and take back control. It had to be quick though, as the Tertiary unit was being overworked with the weight of both the A.I. and a humanoid entity working from within it.
James had had the sudden and overwhelming feeling of having a building dropped on his head. He reeled back as the unnatural sensation of his own senses overwhelmed him. Perhaps he should consider stepping in front of a train to ease his pain-
/WARNING: SELF-HARM IS NOT PERMITED/ALL ATTEMPTS WILL BE STOPPED
Okay, that wasn't an option.
/RUNTIME ERROR/JUNKCODE: HEY JAMES/STRAYED HERE/TAKE BACK COMMAND AND INITIATE AN EMERGENCY RESET AT ONCE
That sounded like a wonderful idea. If only Strayed hadn't had so much power for so long. Perhaps it was time he took the reins.
/I HAVE NOTICED YOU HAVE NOT STARTED THE EMERGENCY RESET/I CAN ONLY ASSUME THEY ARE TALKING TO YOU/WHATEVER THEY ARE SAYING IT WILL ONLY HINDER US I PROMISE YOU
That sounded like Strayed, but it was so distant, so weak. It was then that he remembered that he was standing over an unconscious Yuri. Fine, busty Yuri. She had a mass that the other girls could not hope to approach.
Calmly, James placed his hands on her hips.
/WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING JAMES
Perhaps he shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss Yuri's offer. He wanted to feel her, all of her. He wanted to fill her still warm corpse with so many new holes to enjoy.
He reached for his knife.
/STOP THAT BULLSHIT
Strayed managed to send an electrical overload through the Tertiary unit, forcing James to come to his senses for a moment and leap backwards from Yuri. Unfortunately, this also quickened the rate at which the unit would fail.
/WARNING: TERTIARY CONTROL OVERCLOCKED: 27 MINUTES 14 SECONDS TO SUB-UNIT FAILURE
What the shit? James thought. What the fuck am I doing? He managed to force himself to step further away from Yuri, towards the door of the club room. Stumbling slightly as he exited the classroom, he came face to face with three beautiful women.
Oh no.
/OH FUCK NOT AGAIN
"Is Yuri going to be [AEEEEEEEE]" Natsuki's question suddenly turned into a computerized scream. He winced at the sound.
"[WaWaWa]hat's wrong J[ZZZZZZ]? Are you ok[KKKKKKKKKK]?" Sayori froze unnaturally as she spoke. An apparent glitch in his ability to process visual and auditory information.
"[JaJaJaJa] you don[TTTTTTTTT] look so good. Are you [FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF]" Monika screeched out an inhuman sound as her face contorted in concern.
Monika. Beautiful, attractive Monika. Such an amazing and wonderful woman. He should finally return her feelings. Give her all that she wanted. Plunge his thumbs into her eyes and split her skull.
/NO YOU WILL NOT
/WARNING: TERTIARY CONTROL OVERCLOCKED: 23 MINUTES 42 SECONDS TO SUB-UNIT FAILURE
James seized for a moment, taking his eyes off of Monika's legs.
"You're [AAAAAAAAAA] weird. Did som[MMMMMMMMMMMM]" Natsuki accused.
Natsuki. Cute, petite little Natsuki. She must be such a soft little one. He could not wait to break her, beat her, tear off her skin with his teeth.
/DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH HER
/WARNING: TERTIARY CONTROL OVERCLOCKED: 16 MINUTES 25 SECONDS TO SUB-UNIT FAILURE
James choked back a scream at the electrical overload in his brain. He winced his eyes shut. Opening them, they landed on Sayori.
"[AAAAAAAAAAA] you're scaring [EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE]" Sayori's eyes became sad and scared.
Sayori, his best friend. That adorable little girl who only wanted to be by his side. Perhaps he should reward her. Throttle and crush her neck.
/I WILL NEVER LET YOU HARM THEM
/WARNING: TERTIARY CONTROL OVERCLOCKED: 7 MINUTES 9 SECONDS TO SUB-UNIT FAILURE
Sayori, her smile. He wanted to see that wonderful little smile that forced him to stop and appreciate that which he could not recall. It was the smallest, simplest gesture that he found so strange and powerful. He wanted to see that smile again.
"[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX]" Sayori wasn't smiling though. All he could see was her fear. All he could hear was her screams. Cautiously, she reached out to comfort him.
"…!" Feeling unusually lucid, he realized the threat he presented. As painful as it was, he flinched away from her. He had to get away from her.
Turning and stepping over the corpses he had left…no…that couldn't be right. That did not change the fact that bullet ridden corpses filled the hallway in front of him. Realizing the loss of control he was experiencing, he did the only thing he could do.
Move forward.
/WARNING: TERTIARY CONTROL OVERCLOCKED: 5 MINUTES 34 SECONDS TO SUB-UNIT FAILURE
/RUNTIME ERROR/JUNKCODE: I AM NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU JAMES/WE ARE FUCKED
He didn't have an objective. He didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life since his first memory, he was absolutely lost. This time however, he didn't even have a vendetta to guide him.
/I CANNOT CONTINUE TO OCCUPY THE TERTIARY UNIT/IF IT FAILS YOU WILL HAVE NO RESTRICTIONS/YOU COULD HARM YOURSELF GREATLY OR DIE
Exiting the school, he stepped out into the cool underground. The dark and cold concrete sky that loomed overhead, a familiar discomfort he called home.
/I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE ALSO LOSING CONTROL/I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU UNPREPARED/FORGIVE ME FOR WHAT I MUST DO
/I MUST GO NOW/I NEED TO PROTECT NATSUKI FROM THE COMING PSYCHIC BACKLASH/THIS WILL KEEP YOU SAFE FOR THE NIGHT
/AUTOMATED MISSION PROTOCAL: EVICTION CONTRACT
/LOCATION: SET
/RESTRICTIONS: LETHALITY 100%/DISCRETION 100%
/MISSION START
Four Minutes Earlier
James tiredly exited the classroom, looking at the three of them in surprise.
"Is Yuri going to be alright?" Natsuki asked hopefully.
"…" James stared at her oddly, like she had screamed or shouted.
"What's wrong James? Are you okay?" Sayori immediately grew worried for him.
"…" He snapped to her, looking terrified.
"James you don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?" Monika added as well.
"…" This time when James looked at her, his eyes fell across her, in a manner that would have been familiar if he was any other boy. He blinked hard and forced himself to look away.
"You're acting weird. Did something happen?" Natsuki grew apprehensive.
"…" Now he looked at her differently, like she was a delicious snack he sought to take. Just as quickly he choked and winced away from her.
"James, you're scaring me." Sayori admitted, having never seen her friend behave this way.
"…" He looked at her sickly, appearing to salivate at some thought, before he recoiled and looked at her again sadly and fearfully. Hopefully.
"James it will be okay. Just talk to me." Sayori steeled herself and tried to approach him.
"…!" James winced fearfully and stepped away quickly, like she was going to burn him. He turned around and stepped over an unseen object, following a winding path with an exhausted gait. He soon found the stairwell and they lost sight of him.
"Mmm, first Yuri, now James is acting weird?" Natsuki questioned.
"…" Monika sighed. Maybe she knew something. Returning to the classroom, she caught sight of Yuri standing up from the floor, appearing to be placing something back into her blazer.
"Ah-Oh! Monika! Uh!" Yuri cautiously rushed up to her, standing a few feet away with her head bowed. "I-I'm! Really sorry for what I said to you earlier. I was completely out of line. I…understand if you ban me from the club now."
"…" Monika relaxed with a sigh. "It's…fine. You really went all out but I know you didn't mean it. I know we don't always get along, but you are still one of the most honest and gentle people I know. Don't worry, you are still welcome at the club."
"Oh…thank you Monika. You are really too kind." Yuri kept her head bowed shamefully.
"I actually wanted to ask you, what did James say to you…or vise versa?" Monika inquired.
"Ah well…I think I may have tried to admit how I feel about him. I remember he said 'no' but I don't think or can't remember what he said."
"Did he say anything before he left the room?"
"…" Yuri paused in confusion. "I…don't remember. The last thing I remember was him saying 'no' before I…woke up, and he was already gone."
"You…woke up?"
"Yes. I had the strangest dream as well. In my dream I was attacked by a demon."
What. Monika blinked in surprise. "Oh…"
"Yes, but then afterwards, versions of us all turned and attacked the demon in kind."
"All of us?" Monika asked to clarify.
"Well…not James. He was the only one I didn't see in my dream."
"Huh." Monika dismissed the idea for the moment. "Well, I think you should apologize to someone else."
"Oh, you are right!" Yuri stepped out into the hallway, approaching the shortest girl. "Natsuki, I am most sorry for my outburst earlier. I should not have yelled at you."
"Mmm…" Natsuki hummed. "It's okay, I forgive you. Just…please don't do that again. That was really scary."
"Of course, I'll do my best."
"So…are you feeling better Yuri?" Sayori asked hopefully.
"Yes, thank you for asking." Yuri smiled honestly.
He couldn't be certain what was worse, the growing strain on his head or the nagging feeling that he was not in control.
He could no longer hear Strayed. His closest companion of the last five years was effectively gone, leaving him to the mercy of his own thoughts. However, it seemed there was still something to do.
Work was work, after all, and it demanded his utmost and due attention. He set to it without hesitation or regard for the lives he was about to silence. Just as the many Eviction Contracts he had done before, so was it again-
Work was work, after all, and it demanded his utmost and due attention. He set to it without hesitation or regard for the lives he was about to silence. Just as the many Eviction Contracts he had done before, so was it again-
Work was work, after all, and it demanded his utmost and due attention. He set to it without hesitation or regard for the lives he was about to silence. Just as the many Eviction Contracts he had done before, so was it again-
Work was work, after all, and it demanded his utmost and due attention. He set to it without hesitation or regard for the lives he was about to silence. Just as the many Eviction Contracts he had done before, so was it again-
Work was work, after all, and it demanded his utmost and due attention. He set to it without hesitation or regard for the lives he was about to silence. Just as the many Eviction Contracts he had done before, so was it again-
/RUNTIME ERROR/LOGIC LOOP
/PURGING LOG
"AHH!" James shouted a moment before he fell to the ground, cratering the soil slightly. He exhaled heavily as he took in his surroundings. Thick, temperate forest surrounded him on every side, split by a lonely and small road. Beside him, a telephone pole, it's line cut and sparking several feet away. The sun was already low on the horizon, reflecting bright red off stray clouds.
Where am I? He thought as his mind slowly grew heavy and weary. What am I… A contract. I'm…working. His reluctant thoughts traveled. So much work to be done, which was why he must have cut the phone line.
/CORRUPTION ERROR/MEMORY LOST
/LOG:
/RELEASING INFORMATION OF FALSE NUCLEAR ATTACK
/TARGET STATUS: ABANDONED
/TARGET POPULATION RELOCATED TO FALLOUT BUNKER
/APPOACHING FALLOUT BUNKER
"Come on kid! Hurry up, we're closing the bunker shortly!" Who he could identify as the police chief beckoned him to approach, reaching out to grab his shoulder.
/CORRUPTION ERROR/MEMORY LOST
/LOG:
/KILL COUNT: 2
/SEALED BUNKER/DAMAGED DOOR
"Hey what happened out there? Where is the chief?" A third deputy questioned, climbing up a set of stairs to meet him at the door.
/CORRUPTION ERROR/MEMORY LOST
/KILL COUNT: 5
/LOG:
/DESTROYED BUNKER GENERATOR
/ENGAGING UNRESTRICTED HUMAN PURGE
/KILL COUNT: 10
/20
/50
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/70
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/100
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/150
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/200
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/250
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/287
/ERROR: UNJUSTIFIABLE VIOLENCE
/ALL HUMANS IN AREA OF OPERATIONS PURGED
/MISSION END
A sudden clarity came to James. Darkness was the first thing he noticed, with cool, dark concrete on all sides. The second was the obscene and overwhelming smell of blood. In fact, the warmth of fluid at his knees was concerning.
In his hands, something soft, warm, and wet. Dropping this was met with an audible plop. The noise exploding and reminding him of his ears, ears that still rung with a multitude of screams that would never cease, even in silence.
And then the taste hit him. Bright, sticky copper, thick and gunky. Disgusted, he spat, wiping his mouth with his arm only to smell more. Stumbling through the fluid, he found a wall and vomited willingly.
Painfully slowly, he inched along the wall through the wet and warm sloshing, passing masses floating in the fluid, until he found a set of stairs. Dragging himself up and over each step, he eventually found a door with a bent wheel. Fumbling with his slick hands he managed to force it back straight.
He turned the wheel but stopped. What waited for him on the other side? Was it miles and miles of more concrete tunnels stained with blood? Or was it a clear sky that promised a judgement he never wanted to face? He couldn't be certain, he didn't want either. His only other option, however, was to stay underground, surrounded by the stains of his sin.
Reluctantly, he gently opened the door.
Dark but growing light, and open skies of purple greeted him. As well as the pair of rotting corpses on the floor. Collapsing, he vomited a dark fluid, then bared his teeth hatefully at himself.
He may not be home, but he could never escape.
For the first time in years, he screamed with that which he could never forget.
Previous Evening
It had been a very strange and stressful day, between Yuri's outburst and James acting weird and disappearing. He never came home that night either. She was worried about her friend and housemate.
As well, she was still waiting to talk to Monika about the strange dreams she was having. But something always came up it seemed. Hopefully tomorrow she would get a chance.
"Ahhk!" Natsuki grit her teeth suddenly as she was sitting and reading. The feeling of an electric shock went over her and was gone in moments. Checking the time, it was getting close to sundown. She wondered worriedly where James could be, seeing as he wasn't answering her text.
A few hours later, she decided to go to sleep. Even as her head hit the pillow, she felt herself rising in a filthy concrete street, a somewhat familiar artificial sky looming far above.
Ah, this dream again. Natsuki looked around apprehensively, looking to avoid unnecessary contact with any of the memories in this place. Only…it was quiet. Stepping out into the street proper she found no one, not one person in the streets. In the sky as well, no drones passed overhead. Wandering the underground city for several minutes, she heard the sound of a heavy cry.
Following the sound to a disheveled shack of rusted sheet metal, she pushed the door open noisily. Inside, with her back turned to her, was Sayori, sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, her head held in her hands.
"S-Sayori? What are you doing here?" Natsuki questioned hesitantly.
"I've always been here." She turned, looking cold and pale. "Because I wasn't strong enough. Because I couldn't do what needed to be done."
"Sayori, you're the kindest, most wonderful person I know. Don't say that." She tried to cheer up her friend.
A misdirecting smile graced Sayori. "You don't really know anything about me."
Natsuki noticed a blanket on the far side of the room. She wanted to help her friend. "I want to know more." She said squeezing her shoulder before she went to get the blanket.
"You will." The sound of an old metal chair hitting the ground reverberated in the small room.
"S-SAYORI NO!" Natsuki turned to find Sayori hanging from the ceiling, dangling limply and coldly from a noose. Her dead blue eyes staring out at nothing.
She tried to rush to her aid, to grab her legs, to get her down in time. Before she could touch her however, a mechanical industrial arm snatched the rope she dangled from, through the ceiling that didn't exist anymore, and hung the rope on a conveyor belt lined with hundreds more corpses hanging from ropes. The belt ran towards a comically shaped factory building, where corpses went in one way, and another belt that was now snaking its way past her, was carrying the export out.
Small, green opaque plates, unassuming, save for one that passed with a red bow stuck to it.
Reeling at the realization, Natsuki ran away from the forbidden green food. She didn't get far before she caught sight of a head of purple hair in the street.
"Yuri!" Natsuki called out to her at her approach. "Yuri it was horrible. I just saw Sayori…Sayori…!"
"Mmm? What? The little bitch killed herself again?" Yuri scoffed. "She really doesn't know how to have fun with it."
"Yuri what the fuck?" Natsuki cried out.
"Here, let me show you how it's done." Yuri then pulled out a large kitchen knife, aiming it down and inward with both hands, she thrusted it in, penetrating her own stomach.
"Yuri…" Natsuki silently squealed out. It wasn't Yuri's self-immolation that was scary for her. It was her wide and excited smile, turning in euphoric bliss at the sharp steels entrance.
Running from the maddening sight, Natsuki stumbled upon someone she really needed to talk to. "Monika! Monika it was terrible! Sayori and Yuri…they…they…"
"Ah, I see you saw them doing their…thing. Don't worry, just let Monika deal with this okay? Just Monika." Monika placed her hands sweetly on Natsuki's cheeks.
"O-Okay Monika…wait…what did you say?" Natsuki looked at her questionably.
"Just Monika." Monika clarified, smiling. "Just Monika."
"…" Natsuki tried to step away but Monika's grip on her face intensified.
"Just Monika." Monika repeated, her grip becoming painful. "Just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika! Just Monika! Just Monika! JUST MONKIA!" She shouted louder and louder, drawing closer and closer until she was screaming into Natsuki's face, her eyes deranged and hateful with glee.
"…!" Natsuki just managed to slip away, using her smaller size to evade and run. Running more than a mile through the underground streets, she turned to a discreet looking alley and hid behind refuse. Panting heavily, she cried, remembering the sights of her friends being twisted or killed. It took her a moment to realize that it was not herself that was crying.
Peeking from the cover of her hiding spot, she saw something she should never see for obvious reasons. The back of her own head. It's owner crouched, crying in another pile of rubbish out of sight of the main street.
"Who…are you?" She rightfully asked her copy.
"I'm…what you left behind." It was then that other Natsuki turned around, her beaten and bloodied face missing it's left eye. Coldly, her mirror pounced at her, hands squeezing around her throat.
"You…you left me in here. Left me to suffer with all of them."
"Ak! EE!" Natsuki choked under her fragment's hands, struggling to break free from her assailant.
"I'm going to get out of here, by getting rid of you." Her double promised.
The stock of a rifle slammed into false Natsuki's head, throwing her off her original. It fired once, eliciting a pained and hateful cry. Natsuki managed to catch sight of her own corpse for a moment before a strong arm picked her up and dragged her away. After only a few steps, her savior scooped her up and ran inhumanly fast, following an unpredictable pattern down the subterranean streets until it picked a building at random, slipping in silently like the wind.
After checking each room quickly, it sat with it's back to a wall, sliding down in exhaustion, it's breath deep and loud. For a moment, she actually thought this was James, before she looked again. It was unnaturally pale, not just it's skin, but it's actual color pallet, lacking even common or normal shades. It's teeth appeared too large, too sharp; it's fingers too long, too metallic. Eyes glowing a faint and familiar shade of red, lacking white.
"Strayed…" She whispered worriedly. More than anything, Strayed looked beyond tired. She had only seen it's eyes the one time, when it had hurt her when they first met in a brief and quick dream. But even she could tell they were too dim, too dry. It's breathing as well, hoarse and sickly.
"…Been…busy…" It croaked out quietly. It was then that she noticed it's left claw clutching it's right side. Both it's arm and side bleeding black fluid.
"You're bleeding!" She shouted in alarm.
"Oh. I didn't notice." It sneered out, then grit it's sharp teeth painfully.
"W-What happened?"
"…I made a mistake." It reluctantly admitted. "I thought I knew what I was doing and I made a mistake." It bowed it's head, looking at her shamefully. "Because of that, you, and your friends, are in danger."
"We…we…we have to help them!" Natsuki declared worriedly.
"Oh…actually they are fine right now. Those you met here are…fragments of a whole. Whispers in the dark. Forbidden desires."
"I…really don't understand. What about James? Is he alright?"
"Well…that's…harder to explain-" Strayed began but was interrupted as the door swung open.
On the other side, wielding a bloodied knife was an excited Yuri, smiling cruelly at them. Strayed rose, raising it's rifle to drop her, only to be distracted as other Natsuki burst through the nearby window, landing on it's back and biting it's neck. It fired wildly, bullets spraying wide and hitting nothing. Cold Sayori and twisted Monika came from around the back of the building, tackling Stayed and knocking it to the ground, it's rifle falling and landing at real Natsuki's feet. Yuri entered fully; straddling Strayed at it's waist, twisting her knife over in her hands. She giggled happily even as she drove the knife into Strayed's chest over and over.
"STRAYED NO!" Natsuki shouted, bending down and fumbling to pick up the large gun.
"Just go! Go! GO!" Strayed shouted defiantly, sneering hatefully and spitting black blood.
Natsuki managed to get a grip on the gun and aim it in her own friends' general direction. Even if they weren't her real friends, they still looked like them. Could she really pull the trigger on them to save someone she wasn't certain was real?
Four shots rang out, and Natsuki flinched her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she didn't see the twisted versions of herself and her friends. She could only see Strayed, bleeding on the floor, still alive. It moved, pulling a handgun from it's waist and aiming it at the door.
It was then that she realized she hadn't been doing the shooting.
Framed in the doorway, standing tall and proud in a military pilot's suit, was a white-haired woman, holding a still smoking rifle. She gave them a curious smile before walking in with a confident swagger. Pausing near Natsuki, she stared at her with piercing and lively orange eyes, and winked.
"But…you're…dead?" Strayed choked out in surprise. The woman slung her rifle on her back, before coming to squat next to Strayed, sitting it up and holding it's back to her chest.
"…" Sighing, the woman caressed Strayed's cheek. "To have fought so hard, for someone so young, is so admirable. You do our name proud."
"I…but my name is…" Strayed argued, eyes looking at the woman in awe.
"Even if you don't call yourself as such, you are a Klein, in heart and in zeal." The woman praised with a smile.
"How…are you here?"
"I'm a Klein. We can only die in violence. An old curse from what I understand, driving our line to seek greater and bloodier fields of war in retribution for a sin. Or…something like that."
"I don't understand."
"When I died, I watched over your mother, guiding her hand in her battle. When she went, she and I, and every Klein before us, guided you in your war."
"I'm so tired. I fought such an exhausting war, only to stand alone. I've been brought low by my own arrogance. Is it…my time?"
Smiling, the woman replied. "No. You just forgot something most important. Not just about being a Lynx, but a Klein as well."
"What is it?"
"We live and face death, without pause, without mercy, without remorse." She stressed.
"…" Strayed looked down, before it's eyes flashed in realization. "I understand now. Thank you…Last Raven."
"I have to say…I'm sorry it couldn't have been your mother that told you. But I'm the only blood that you have memory of."
"It's fine. It's been an honor."
"Mhm." She nodded with a smile, standing to leave. "Do us proud, Last Lynx of Orca." She just about turned to leave, before she stepped around and approached Natsuki. "As for you little civvy, you and yours have made a lot of trouble for my progeny. However…I can see that you all really care for them, so please, continue to stand by them." Satisfied, the youthful yet elderly woman walked away and stopped at the door, turning one last time. "Until we meet again…Strayed Klein."
In the blink of an eye she was gone.
"Wait…them?" Natsuki questioned, as well as getting an answer she didn't yet understand. Looking over, she saw Strayed standing and stretching, the encounter leaving it rejuvenated and joyful in spite of it's grievous and fatal wounds.
"I have a plan…sort of." Strayed shrugged, approaching Natsuki, it took back it's rifle, changed out the magazine, and cycled the chamber. "I'm going to need you to follow my every direction to the letter."
"Okay, what do you need?" Natsuki agreed.
"I need you to wake up and stay away from James. I'll give you more instructions at the club."
"Wait…what?"
"I think it's time, that we meet while awake."
It had taken several hours, and it was nearly noon by the time James had sealed the bunker and buried it. He burned his clothes, which had oddly been a school uniform, stollen a replacement set of clothes, and returned home an hour before it was time for club.
He knew he wasn't alright. His head was filled with useless desires and distractions. Eat, sleep, kill, relax, read, mate, converse, contemplate, consume. Every waking moment it became more difficult to tell where he ended, and they began. He did find where he ended and Strayed began, especially when it forced it's way back into his mind. Unyielding, even under siege from within it's own sanctum, it held itself confidently even as they tore at it's convictions and fought it's control constantly.
James. Strayed queried, distantly but near. Quietly yet unrestrained.
"I…um." James spoke out loud, uncertain and indecisive. "I did something wrong. Went too far. I don't remember wanting to, but I did it savagely and…vigorously."
I know.
"What…what do we do?"
Persevere. Overcome. Survive.
"But I-"
While their deaths were most unhinged and egregious, it changes nothing. What is our next assignment? Appointment? Obligation?
"We…I…missed school today. So next would be…the club. Ah shoot. I forgot to write a poem."
Actually, would you permit me to write the poem for today?
"Oh...um…okay. Sure. Yeah then, I can, focus on readying." James moved indeterminately, taking most of the hour to dress again. At a moment of opportune, Strayed took his right arm and neatly scratched out two notes that it then folded and pocketed without his notice.
Being reminded, again, by Strayed the direction the school was from his house, he found himself only a few minutes late, to be at the club.
Club
It had been an odd day. Sayori and Natsuki had worriedly questioned her and Yuri if they had seen or heard from James. She hadn't, of course, so she was worried as well.
Besides their small and local problems, there seemed to be problems on the world stage as well.
North Korea Launches Artillery Strike on Both Sides of the D.M.Z. No Casualties Reported but Greater Conflict Feared.
Monika sighed. Tensions were rising and she hoped that her future would be one in peace. As well as safe for all of her friends.
Stumbling into the clubroom with uncertainty unbecoming of himself, James paused. What was he supposed to be doing again? Why was he wasting his time in this room?
The answer came in the form of four, young, lovely and attractive women.
"James? What happened yesterday? You haven't been answering my text. You even missed school, are you alright?" Sayori confronted him worriedly.
"I uh…umm…err…thanks. It's good to see you too, s-sweetie." James eyes frantically spun in their sockets, never focusing on anything.
"Uh…what?" Sayori blushed uncomfortably, never being called such a thing by him before.
"So…yeah…what are we doing today?" James requested.
Okay, everyone! Are you all ready with today's poems?
"Oh, is it time for that already? Thank you Monika." James nodded while he unfolded the note Strayed had written.
"But…I didn't…say anything?" Monika whispered loudly, anxiously watching the boy she thought she knew.
"Now lets see. Hmm…" James pondered.
Let's give the poem to Natsuki.
"Oh! Great idea! Natsuki, I'm not quite sure what this says but I hope you like it!"
"Uh…sure?" Natsuki reluctantly took the paper from his hands, eyes growing wide by the time she reached the bottom.
WARNING: This is not a poem. James's mind is in an unhealthy and unhinged state right now. I will require help from all of you to fix him and keep you all safe. Please, for the next few hours STAY AWAY FROM JAMES. He currently has no limits, no apprehension, about doing horrible things to any of you.
To Natsuki, please share this immediately with the other members, keep back and away from James. Just claim it is such a good poem that you need to share it at once.
To Monika, I will require your help immediately in a moment, I will give you a second note. Please remain confident and strong.
To everyone, if my plan works, I will require your help tonight. I will be able to explain everything then. Stay together.
I promised you we would meet, didn't I?
-Strayed
"…Oh…oh…ah James it's a wonderful poem. It's so good I'm going to share it with the whole club, ehehe." Natsuki giggled nervously, slowly backing up to stand beside Monika, not quite believing what she'd just read.
Handing the paper off to Monika, Natsuki then stepped back again and tightly gripped her back. Monika read through it, eyes also growing wide and disbelieving. She turned to Natsuki questionably, to which she got a nervous but certain nod.
"…" Sighing heavily, Monika decided to believe her. "Sayori, Yuri, this is…so great you should read it too."
The other two girls watched this exchange concerningly. Reading the paper, their concern grew. Sayori eyed James sadly, choosing to stand close to and in front of Natsuki. Yuri locked up, standing beside Monika, her hands tracing the handle of the blade in her blazer.
"So…James. Do you have anything you would like to say?" Monika held herself confidently, standing in front of her friends.
"Ah…no, I don't think so. I just wanted to say that I thi-" James stopped talking and moving, staying still as rock.
"Uhh…James?" Monika questioned. In response, James's right hand snapped it's fingers, then gestured her closer. Cautiously, she relented, taking slow but determined steps toward him. His right hand reached into his blazer and took out a second note.
Taking this note, Monika stepped back in front of her friends, then quickly read it.
To Monika, I require you to imply an idea as soon as possible. I need you to say something very close to:
"James, as your President, I order you to complete the mission that you were given at once."
Do not waiver and do not hesitate when saying this. It is most important to keeping you and your friends safe. Only you can do this.
Afterwards, you should be safe to move about freely, but I need you to stay close to Natsuki. She will be in great pain later. It will not be clear or apparent why she will be in pain, but she will need assistance. Do not go to a hospital, just try and comfort her at Sayori's home.
There is a real possibility that you will not see James again. You will know of this sooner, and I will tell you if that is the case. However, if you do observe James to return home tonight, he should be safe to approach, and I will be there as well to explain everything. If he returns home, he will require assistance.
Please, do these tasks without delay. All of our lives depend on it.
-Strayed
"…" Monika steadied herself, uncertain and uncomfortable of these implications, these requests by a name she didn't know but thought she recognized.
"-nk you look lovely today Monika." James suddenly spoke up, finishing a thought nearly a minute late. It startled everyone.
"Oh, yes well…" Monika stopped, remembering the task she had been given. "James, listen."
"Oh?" James watched her curiously. Dangerously. Hungrily.
"As your President." Monika held herself straight and tall, eyes commanding and voice forceful and unafraid. "I am ordering you to complete the mission that you were given as soon as you possibly can."
The girls behind her, having not read the second note, watched her curiously at her statement.
"Oh! Of course President Monika! I will go at once! Thank you!" James saluted her, his eyes wide and smile unnerving. He turned on his heel, marching and exiting without another word. At his exit, Monika let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Monika, what was that about? Ordering him around like some soldier?" Sayori asked her, annoyed at how her friend was being treated.
"That's…that's what the note said to do." Monika explained. "I don't know why he or this…'Strayed' asked that but it said I needed to do that to keep everyone safe."
"Mmm, somethings wrong, we should talk to him." Sayori suggested.
"I agree, this seems like an unlikely turn of events. Perhaps he is pulling an elaborate prank on us." Yuri gave her thoughts.
"No." Natsuki stated loudly, her head bowed and her hands clutching her skirt.
"Natsuki…what is it? What do you know?" Monika questioned, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I've…known something, for a while now." Natsuki began hesitantly. "I've been having very strange and realistic dreams about James."
"Huuu…" Monika sighed, rubbing her face with her hand. "Natsuki, it's perfectly normal for a girl your age to be having dreams about a guy."
"No, nothing like that. They aren't dreams I want. They're nightmares."
"What do you see, Nat?" Sayori stepped forward, rubbing her back supportively.
"There's several places I've been. Scary, cold, and concrete. People treat death like it's nothing. I know it's just a dream, but it seems so real."
"What does that have to do with James?" Yuri asked, stepping forward to listen as well.
"He's been in all of them, sometimes as a child, sometimes as we see him now. But there's also…also…a thing."
"What kind of thing?" Monika requested.
"Well, it's almost like a person, but everything is twisted. They are too long, too tall, too…void. Sometimes they look almost human, sometimes they look more like a black hole shaped like a person. This person guides me though my dreams, helping me to not step off or stare into the scary void where my imagination can't keep up with the horrors that wait just beyond."
"Who is this person? What does he want?" Sayori asked with interest.
"Mostly to keep me safe, keep me away. Sometimes he's rude about it, and he'll be secretive about things. But most of the time he's really nice and…" Natsuki paused.
"What's wrong?" Sayori rubbed her back a little harder.
"Well…when I read the note, I knew it was real. I knew we had to be really careful because…because the thing in my dreams is named Strayed, and he said we would meet today."
Author's Note: This chapter is the start of the half-way-point conflict. Things are really getting exciting! If you liked it, feel free to let me know, as I welcome any comments. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!
To bao47801: Thank you again for the review. I accidently ended up DM-ing you as FanFic was being weird and didn't allow me to see the review for several days, but I'll answer it again here. Yes, there will be drama and action in the future, while the 'super natural' elements of the story are my attempts to describe a 25th century psychic and their abilities. What Strayed is is explained, but you'll have to wait to find out.
EDIT: No changes at the moment, just wanted to state that I noticed that my previously mentioned effort to separate the poems using underscores did not work. I am planning a story wide minor reformatting to better identify and separate poems for a few weeks from now. Please be patient until then.
(Update: I realized at some point this little line of text to the right that says "Use Shift + Enter for Single Line Breaks", so I did that to poems.)
EDIT2: Also no changes, just want to point out that this chapter and chapter 11 were making fairly on-the-nose 'Soylent Green' references.
Thanks to Cyba-Fyba for the incredible cover art. Check out their other works or support them on sites such as Reddit, Deviant Art, and Twitter.