Chapter Twenty-Seven: Extrapolate

Note: I was today days old when I finally decided to buy an Xbox one S… I just couldn't say no to the purple one any longer, even if it is used. I just hope it works when it arrives, or there is going to be hell to pay. That eBay bid was EXPENSIVE.

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Beat by vacant beat, the young summoner's vacant little heart searched for the life providing blood that would sustain it, but failed. He could hear the blood rushing through his veins, ears ringing as he gasped for breath that wasn't there. Every nerve ending on the lower part of his body was crying out in discomfort, and he had no way of seeing or otherwise dealing with his possible injury. Whatever this patently awful sensation was, he just wanted it to stop. It was a severe detriment to his ability to function properly, and it was highly distracting from the task at hand.

So distracting in fact that he didn't register for a moment that Sirrus had said anything to him.

"V… Oh, that's a relief. For a moment, I wasn't sure that you were still alive." Sirrus said breathlessly as though he were stifling some sort of wince or another source of discomfort. His eyes were heavy, and his breath came in waves as he seemed to try and breathe deeply, only to fail moments later. It was slightly tricky to figure out what was wrong with him, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. Of that he was sure. "I'd ask if you were okay, but I know that neither of us is, so we can skip the pleasantries."

With a vacant glance between the limp hand that clasped his wrist and the rest of the body that it belonged to, the young Descendant of Sparda finally fully registered the fact that Sirrus was there. His entire body had been flooded with enough adrenaline to kill a large mammal the second that he had been touched, assuming immediately that he was under attack and freezing. Everything about this entire trip to the store seemed to be designed to cause him as much distress as possible, his fight or flight instincts running on fumes at this point. He wasn't sure how much more anxiety he could take.

Looking at his companion carefully, V suddenly registered the state that he was in as he looked him over. There were small lacerations all over him, probably as a direct result of being pulled through a hefty metal door. The fact that an object that was manifested in a place that was basically a figment of another being's imagination could still physically harm them was admittedly very concerning, and Sirrus's state wasn't helping that any. But he would have to worry about that after they figured out where they were, and how they were going to get out of this place. He didn't intend to stay in this nightmare hellscape any longer than he had to.

"You seem disheveled. I'm assuming that Belial did this to you?" V asked quietly, attempting to stand up and failing miserably at his undertaking. Although the dreaded burning sensation had eased up considerably, that didn't change the fact that he was still very sore, and he didn't know where they were. Like it or not, he was still trapped here, but at least he knew where Sirrus was now.

"Clearly. It's rare that my opponents have the element of surprise. Well played." Sirrus said breathlessly, forcing himself to sit up all the way. It seemed to cause him a considerable amount of pain to try and stand, and he stopped doing so as a result. "We need to come up with a plan. Did he say anything to you?"

"He had quite a bit to say, actually. But I feel like I might be missing some context in regards to much of it." V said as he pressed his hand against the bleeding portion of his side. Despite the pain in other parts of his back and side, he couldn't actually feel anything at the sight of the puncture wound. And while he was still bleeding, he could tell that the flow of blood had slowed down somewhat. His shirt was stuck to the wound, stifling the flow. "He said he would return to me shortly after he finished conducting some sort of business that he had to attend to. I would not like to be here when he does so."

Forcing himself to his feet with a slight groan, V shuttered slightly. More than ever, he was grateful that he had managed to keep his grip on his cane. Even as he had gone tumbling through the darkness, he had only dropped it upon impact. His encounter with Nightmare a lifetime ago had taught him that it was always an unwise course of action to go into a fight unarmed, and he still wasn't keen to make his familiars known.

Extending his left hand to Sirrus, V used his cane to help center himself. For a moment, his mind went back to memories that he didn't like to recall. He remembered being trapped by Malphas, and the sense of helplessness that he had felt when she had stripped him of his familiars and sent him into her shadow dimension. He had barely been able to walk, weak, disoriented, and very much in pain. And although he was leagues better off now than he had been at the time, he couldn't help feel his blood run cold at the similarities.

He had refused to die there, and he was adamant that he wouldn't do so here, either. He had not lost that determination. If he could survive the nightmare that was the Redgrave City incident, then he could survive this. Well, at least metaphorically. He had made it to the end of his journey in that respect, but as far as physically making it out of there alive…

It was best that he didn't let his mind wander there.

"Can you stand?" V asked, turning over his extended hand to help draw Sirrus's attention to it. Perhaps he just hadn't noticed it before? The young summoner couldn't think of a better reason as to why the young man with the fiery hair would reject his assistance. Perhaps in spite of everything, he was misguided enough to think that he didn't need it?

"Your thinking about something you shouldn't be. I can tell." Sirrus said through gritted teeth as he attempted to stand again without V's assistance, waving him off gently. No such luck. His body continued to betray him when he needed it most, but he didn't trust himself to not accidentally yank his companion to the ground. "Talk to me. This might be your only chance to do so until we escape."

For a moment, V considered pointing out the fact that they didn't really have time for this, but he decided against it. For all he knew, his past experiences with the Qliphoth might actually prove to be helpful in this situation. Sirrus's question was not entirely unfounded. It probably wouldn't hurt them if he took a moment to explain. That didn't mean that the rest of his body didn't work in the meantime. He could still look around and try to figure out their next course of action.

"Well… unfortunately, it's a bit of a long story… " He said quietly, looking around the endless expanse of darkness around them. Was there even a wall in this place, or was it just pure, infinite blackness that stretched on and on forever? He didn't want to think about that being a possibility, but he knew that it might be the case. Given his past experiences, that didn't seem entirely unlikely.

"Unfortunately, we have nothing but time," Sirrus said with a soft, pained laugh. There was a certain wild look in his eyes that V couldn't pinpoint as if there was a joke there that V wasn't getting, but he decided to just let it go. Sirrus was strange as a general rule, but that wasn't something that V could claim to dislike about him with any sort of honesty. Neither of them fit the typical definition of "normal" so it wasn't fair for him to single out his companion. And at the end of the day, he had come here to help him out, hadn't he? That was all that really mattered in a situation like this.

Looking out across the endless darkness, V lowered his head for a moment. He studied the ground below him in silence, pondering. He had always considered himself smart, perhaps not a genius, but intelligent either way. There was a lot of grey area between those two extremes. Above-average was perfectly fine with him. But for everything that he did know about the seemingly normal world that he had spent his entire life in before he had met his family, there were a dozen things that he didn't have the slightest idea about. He supposed that that was just the way that the world worked, but in situations like this, he just wished that there was more that he could do. For him, one of the worst feelings in the world was to feel useless. Helplessness came at a very close second.

"Quite right. But either way, I'll make it quick. Time is of the essence." V said as he examined his side again. He wondered how long he could bleed like this before it became a problem. He didn't feel quite as weak as he had before, more than likely due to his now much calmer state, but his question still remained, nagging him quietly from the darker recesses of his mind. Maybe the persistent lack of natural light was starting to get to him.

"That's fine by me. Ready when you are." Sirrus said as he seemed to adjust his back, turning onto his butt fully before attempting to stretch all the way out and stand again. He made it further off of the ground this time but was still clearly struggling as he moved to sit back down. His breath was shaky as though it took an unfathomable amount of energy and effort for him to attempt to do what he had just done.

"During the Redgrave City attack earlier this year, I was captured by a devil named Malphas. I don't know if you know much about her, but she was involved." V said, giving Sirrus a look that indicated that he was waiting for a response to his question.

Sirrus nodded vigorously. "Oh, we knew about her. My superiors have been keeping tabs on her for sometime now. She was quite the powerful sorceress, and as you have noted, her powers are not unlike Belial's. He is considerably more powerful, however. I'm sure you've noticed." He paused, groaning slightly. He didn't like knowing that V had been in contact with her. Nothing good ever came with interacting with that devil sorceress. "She dropped off our watchlist some time ago. We have not been able to confirm or disprove her continued existence, but I personally hope that she is deceased. Illusionary magic is a pain, and no one ever seems to use it for anything good. Belial is a perfect example of that."

V smirked despite everything. "Well, it seems that I can give you at least one shred of good news today. She is, infact, very dead. You have Nero to thank for that. She managed to pin me down, and he did not take kindly to that."

The look of satisfaction on Sirrus's face was all that it took for V to know that he had said the right thing. He looked extraordinarily pleased with that answer. "Good. Finally something positive happens. I will have to thank him once we leave this place. Please continue."

He took a moment to recall what he had been talking about before Sirrus had spoken, finally remembering what had been said. He was quickly developing a headache from dealing with this situation, and he hoped that that wasn't a result of something more sinister that he couldn't place the origin of. The last thing that either of them needed was to have their already dire situation further tampered with. It could only lead to negative things.

"A month after the initial attack, we ventured into the Qliphoth, and she stripped me of my "companions" and took me captive. We had made the mistake of splitting up. My prison was not entirely dissimilar to this place, although it was considerably easier to see things in. I can only assume that Belial is making things this dark as a means to an end." V was admittedly nonplussed in regards to the pitch black environment that he found himself in. There was nothing likeable about how things were turning out for them thus far. "You could walk to the very edge of the area, and then you simply bounced back to the place where it had all started…"

He paused for a moment, frozen in place and thoroughly confused. Sirrus motioned for him to continue, clearly concerned. The young summoner collected himself and continued. "The first night that I was back… I had a dream. Or, at least I think it was a dream. It looked just like this place. I thought that this place was somehow connected to my… " he trailed off, gesturing towards his tattoos in lue of stating out loud what he meant. Sirrus took the hint, giving him a concerned look. "For the first two times that I was unconscious after my return, I came to a place like this. Now I can only wonder if this is the same place that I recovered them from. And either way, do you think that the same approach I took towards getting out of Malpahs's trap would work against Belial's illusion?"

Sirrus seemed to consider his partner's words for a few moments, thoroughly racking his brain in an attempt to come up with a satisfactory answer to that question. Failing that, he shrugged nebulously, wishing that he had something more profound to say, but willing to admit that he didn't have all the answers. As much as he would have liked to not have to tell V that he wasn't sure, he would be lying if he said he was. "To my understanding, basically every illusion of this sort works like that. Once you reach the edge of the boundary wall, you will always "reset" back at the beginning. In our case, that would be the exit and the entrance, which we could very well be heading towards or away from. Either way, we would end up there eventually. Well, that is if Belial doesn't crush us both to death first. That's always a possibility."

A reedy cough escaped Sirrus's lungs as he wiped his hand across his before clearing this throat and sighing heavily. Shuddering in obvious discomfort, he looked up at the young man that Belial was after. One could only guess as to his motivations for doing something like that, but far be it that he would ever try and understand the machinations of a devil prince. V got the impression that his companion was probably trying to conceal a more grievous injury than he was letting on. "I get the impression that your worse off than you look."

Nodding, Sirrus attempted to stand again, this time not ignoring V's offer to assist him. While he hoped that he would not cause the young white haired summoner to fall over and hurt himself, it was the path of least resistance in regards to standing up before continental drift eventually led to the reformation of Pangea. They didn't have that kind of time. "You would be correct. I'm somewhat sure that I have several broken ribs at this point. It's unfortunate, but it is far from the first time that I've had something like this happen to me. You get used to it."

While he didn't doubt that, the youngest descendant of Sparda was admittedly concerned for his health. A wound like that was no laughing matter. If one of his ribs punctured an organ or pierced a lung, he could easily die, and that was the last thing that V wanted right now. To see the look on Magnolia's face if he had to tell her what had happened to her nephew… he sincerely hoped to never have to experience that. And that was to say nothing of the fact that he simply didn't wish that kind of pain and suffering on his companion. He had done nothing to him to merit that kind of thing, not that deserving it had much to do with it.

"But regardless, I think that we should go. I would not like to continue being his prisoner." V said calmly, helping to steady Sirrus as he clambered to his feat. His balance seemed to be slightly unsteady as he adjusted his posture, clearly uncomfortable but unwilling to allow it to keep him down. As much as he didn't like it, there was no time for him to lick his wounds and attempt to better manage his less than stellar condition. He could do that after they were safe, and they were far from it where they were right now.

"Neither would I. Let's get out of here. I don't like cat and mouse games at the best of times." Sirrus sighed, turning in what he assumed to be the direction of the edge of the illusion boundary. Even as powerful as Belial was, he liked to believe that he wasn't powerful enough to make an illusion that was too much larger than this. If he was, then they stood even less of a chance than he had originally thought. "Catch and release is only alright when I'm the one doing the hunting."

Everything within their vicinity began to shudder, the atmosphere around them changing as the very air they breathed seemed to press down on them, making them short of breath. A potent sense of undeniable anxiety overtook them as, from the depths of the darkness, a low, maniacal chuckle echoed off of the walls and a set of five familiar but unwelcome eyes opened just a short distance from them. Dread hit them like a brick wall as they realized that they were no longer alone. Belial had returned. They needed to act. Fast.

"Oh nestling… I think it's a bit too late for that."

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Ok, so this is really funny, but I have fallen asleep at least three times working on this chapter! I started it on monday, then fell asleep. Got about two pages done, then fell asleep again. Tried to get something done yesterday, but I was busy. And guess what: I fell asleep again! IDK what's wrong with me! Trying to adjust my sleep schedule is strange.

In regards to an update on the books: The final edits are done, and the cover art is in the process of being created! I got to see the first outline yesterday, and so far, it is BEAUTIFUL! I have a feeling that those of you who frequent Tumblr might recognize the artist…

Due to legal reasons (you can't sell fanfiction, even for charity purposes. Not that I was trying to sell it in the first place since I wasn't taking payment. But still!) I can't take direct payment for a fic, so what I'm going to do instead is open my kofi account, and if you'd like to help me cover the cost of shipping and creating the books, you can buy me a ko-fi as a "tip" in support of my overall work. I'll post a chart with the cost of each book type and the cost to ship to each country to give you something to work off of, but either way, it's optional!

There will be more details on there as soon as I get them worked out, but even if you don't donate to my ko-fi, I encourage you to find a charity that you care about, and give them something. At the end of the day, that's what I wanted to do with this fic donation idea! Once I have the book samples, I'll get you a link of good charitable causes that you can donate to or just spread the word about! Pay it forward, and all that XD See you next Wednesday!