Cringe warning. I was in the depths of depression while writing this years ago and thought I was being edgy. I tried to fix it, but there's only so much you can do without rewriting the entire chapter.
So, enjoy if you can! 😅
~Silverleone
Review:
Guest: Thanks. It's been...easier(?) than I thought it would be. I guess I'd been grieving her even before she passed on.
There was nothing for who knows how long. Either that, or I don't remember how much time has passed. Then I was in what felt like a black room, so black that I might as well have gone blind. I only knew how false that was because I could still see my own body. Even in the darkness I could see it clearly.
"H…Hello?" The room was so dead it's like I never spoke, the darkness just absorbing all sound. "Is anyone there…? This isn't funny!"
"Why don't you just fall?" That voice, it was the same one from the cave.
"What?! Who are y-!"
"You shouldn't be here…you don't belong."
"Who are you?! Where am I?! …Answer me!"
"You will learn soon, who you really are…weakling."
"What?!"
"Rai?!" I bolted upright and felt a sharp pain in my forehead. I heard two grunts of pain, one being mine, and a few footsteps. I cupped my head in my hands.
"Hiccup!" Astrid…
"I'm okay. Rai? Can you hear me?" I slowly lifted my head, blinking rapidly to get rid of the fog in my eyes.
"…Hiccup?" He was standing there, rubbing his forehead.
'I must have bashed skulls with him…'
"It's okay, we're all right here." Hiccup said calmly. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to clear my head.
"…mmmh…what, happened?"
"When we got into the cave, you froze, and you didn't respond until I stepped in front of you. You've been out for two days…Rai, what happened in that cave?" I froze minutely, then relaxed my tense shoulders. Looking around, I saw we were in my hut. I didn't meet anyone's eyes.
"…Nothing…"
"Yak dung!"
"Astrid!" Hiccup looked at her in surprise.
"We all saw him Hiccup! He could barely move, much less speak! He hardly responded to anything we did! Something happened in that cave." Hiccup gestured for her to calm down, then turned back to me.
"…Rai…Who is Akumu…?" I completely froze, my face draining of blood. My voice when I spoke, was barely a whisper, a haunting tone viciously cutting the silence.
"…How do you know that name…"
"You were calling out to them, pleading with them to stop, something. Who are they?" I almost sighed with relief.
"…No one…They're no one you have to worry about."
"Why?"
"Because they're no one important…"
"Rai…Please, we're trying to help." I turned my head away and mumbled an answer. "What?"
"I said they're gone. Forever. And I'm glad they are." Everyone in the room was quiet. I pulled off the covers off of me. I had to get somewhere quiet. I needed to think. Hiccup tried pushing my shoulders back down, but I stiffly stood up.
"Rai, you need to stay in bed."
"I'm fine." I blankly stated.
"No you'r-!"
"I said I'm fine!" I snapped and walked out the door, nearly slamming it shut. I walked around the left corner of the hut and leaned against the wall. I was mumbling to myself.
"Why are my emotions so out of whack? …Could it really be because of the portal? I don't remember…" I shook my head, "…No…I remember everything…"
"And what exactly is it that you remember?" My head snapped up to see Eret leaning against the corner of the house.
"Eret…it's nothing." I looked at the ground.
"Hmm. Yeah, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one, mate. It is definitely something." He pushed off the wall and closed the distance. He put his hand on my shoulder, making me jump slightly, jerking my eyes over to the hand.
"What's going on Rai? I've never seen you like this before. Granted we only met a short time ago, but still. You have never looked like this." I looked away again, mumbling something as my head swam. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that, you're going to have to speak up."
"I said…maybe this is the real me…" He paused, obviously not expecting that answer.
"How do you figure that?"
"You don't know who I am or what I've done. No one here does." I turned to walk off, but his hand gripped my shoulder and gently pulled me back. It was frustrating how strong he was compared to me.
"Rai, look at me…now." I slowly brought my eyes up. I could see the surprise flash in his eyes. Apparently, he never thought I could accomplish the "dead-eyes" look. "This is not who you are." I started to pull away again, but he just held firm, trying to make me listen. "You are not this, this, down in the dumps kind of guy." I threw his arms off my shoulders, stepping back.
"I don't want to hear it." I took off into the trees.
"Rai!" Eret tried keeping up with me, but I was too fast. Eventually, I couldn't hear him yelling anymore, but I kept running.
'Just run, run like the coward you are!' My own thoughts echoed out.
"Shut up!" I hissed through my teeth, pushing myself harder.
««{{¤}}»»
Eventually, my legs gave out, and I collapsed against a tree. I took a few deep breaths, trying to give my aching body relief. Then I noticed a slight concave in the ground, almost like a path. I slowly stood up and followed it, my mind blank while my body did what it wanted. It led down a thin, winding path, seemingly carved into the rocks. Then I saw the strangest thing. There was a viking shield stuck in between the rocks. I tilted my head, trying to grasp the situation with the fog rolling around in my mind.
I pulled at the shield a couple of times and almost fell back when it came loose. I set it off to the side, and poked my head around the corner. My eyes blinked at the little oasis/hole in the ground. There was a small pond, with water so clear I could see the fish swimming around. There was a small grove of trees, along with a dead looking one sitting off to the side. A couple of rocks strewn about, sticking out of the dirt.
I finally collapsed onto one of the rocks. All the emotions from the portal came crashing down, a black void filling my mind.
'You were never strong. It was only a mask so people wouldn't see your weakness. You were never brave. You were more afraid of running away than fighting. You're a coward. You're alone. You're worthless.'
"SHUT UUUUP!" I screamed to the sky, gripping my head. "Get out of my head!" I couldn't handle it, and my body instinctually curled into the fetal position. "You don't know me…you don't know what I've been through. You can't imagine what I'm feeling."
"Oh but I can…" That wasn't in my head. My eyes shakily lifted to see a person standing there, purple hooded cloak covering their features. But I knew them. They were the one person I'd never thought I'd see again, at least, not outside of my nightmares. "I've been waiting a long time for this." They crouched down and pulled back their hood, revealing silver eyes and long, loosely curled, platinum blonde hair, almost disgustingly bright in the evening sunlight. A sneer, ugly and taunting, was evident.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it…Rai Taiki…" My eyes widened in shock, and I scrambled backwards, tripping over my own feet. I backed up against a wall of the grotto.
"…No…It's not possible…How are you here…You can't be here!" The younger girl smiled and stood up, stepping back, only for another person to step up next to her. My eyes moved over, only to widen more so than I thought possible.
"I bet you'd never expect me of all people."
"…Drago…" He just chuckled darkly. "Why are you here?!"
"Let's just say…we have a common enemy, and we make a very good team." I shakily stood up, my body still exhausted from running. I reached up to grab for my sword, only to get two knives pinning my coat sleeve to the rock wall. Then I remembered I didn't grab my sword before running off. I tried pulling my arm away from the wall, but I couldn't get a good angle without taking my eyes off of them.
"You actually thought I would allow you to do anything? I know how good you are, I won't allow it." The girl snarked. I growled and continued to try and remove the daggers. The adrenaline started pumping through my blood, breaking the fog in my head, making everything clearer. And that only served to make me angrier.
"You know…there's a saying I've heard of, "A girl with a bite is a witch with a "B". I think it fits you quite. Nicely."
*SLAP*
"How dare you!" I spit on the ground, rubbing my cheek with my free hand.
"Oh I dare, because you dared to come back after all you put me through." I shot back. Drago chuckled, stepping up. I snarled, snapping my vision over to him. "And you. I didn't think you had any brains in that empty skull of yours, and you just proved me right by coming back here!" He growled and started to step forward again, only to stop when an arm was raised.
"You know Rai, you killed someone, very, very close to me~…And I don't think I have the heart to forgive you~." She seemed to try and swoon at me.
"…I think I just threw up a little…"
"You-!"
*SLAP*
"Don't talk to me like that!"
"You're the one trying, and failing, by the way, to seduce me you sick freak!"
"WHAT?!" I flinched back at the volume, glaring to avenge my lost hearing. "Are you kidding me?! Me seduce you?!"
"Yeah. I know. You could hardly control yours-Caugh!" I looked down as her fist dug into my side. I looked up and met silver eyes, filled with malice and glee, then she punched me in the face. I spit out a bit of blood. "…I'm going…to kill you…*cough* Akumu."
««{{¤}}»»
Akumu punched me in the gut again, and I gritted my teeth in pain, trying not to cry out.
"That's for insinuating that I was seducing you!"
"I. Said. Trying." She pulled her head closer, probably to shout at me, when I brought my head back and bashed it against her's. She took a step back, crying in pain and surprise.
"OW! Grr…" While she was recovering, I jumped up and kicked her in the gut with both my feet, sending her flying into a rock, knocking the breath out of her. I spun and grabbed a dagger, yanking it out of the rock, only to spin and launch it at Drago's foot. He cried out and reached down, yanking the dagger out, shouting again.
"I'm going to make this PAINFUL!" He charged as I finally yanked the second dagger out of the wall, freeing my arm. I dodged as best I could, but the running earlier and the few blows from Akumu had weakened me. He back handed me, making me fly and hit the ground hard. Akumu walked up next to him, grimacing when she moved wrong.
"You have no chance of beating us! You are already wounded! Tired! WEAK!" The voice echoed in my head.
'Weak…Alone…Ignored…Worthless…' Rage flowed through my blood. I stood up, swaying a bit. My eyes were on the ground, my voice, when I spoke, was a calm whisper, with a dangerously curious tone added to it.
"That…that was you…? You're the one in my head? You're the one messing with me?" A strange sensation flooded the grotto, and Drago shivered involuntarily while Akumu glared. "You're the one putting all those thoughts in my head? You're the one driving me from my friends?" The same feeling danced through the air for a split second, and Drago looked around, wondering if Tesla was flying around. Seeing nothing, he looked back at me, only to see me standing right in front of him. He took a step back, staring in wonder.
"How did you do that?" I slowly tilted my head back. His eyes widened when he saw my own.
"This is for Stoick." I was still holding the knife I had pulled out of my coat. I spun it, and drove it home.
*Shnik*
"AAH! AAAHHHH!" He ripped the knife out of his gut and swung at me. I dashed behind him, removing myself from both of their sight lines for a second. I leaped up and did a hand spring off his head, knocking him off balance. He landed hard, bashing his head against a rock. I landed, spun, and swung a reverse kick at Akumu. She blocked it and rushed me. I ducked and flipped her over me, spinning again to face her.
"I'm going to kill you!" She shrieked.
"Funny, irony is." I snapped back.
"EERRRR!" She was almost insane looking with her hair all out of place, not too different from our past fights.
««{{Flashback}}»»
I flipped over Akumu, landing and jumping away. I ducked as a knife whizzed over my head, and I spun, facing her.
"Why won't you die?!"
"Maybe because you suck at killing me…? Hm-!" I rolled as she dove at me, going for my neck.
"Just DIE!" She kicked and punched at me, while I simply blocked all of them, staying on the defensive.
"No thanks!" I spun, bringing my right arm out, backhanding her with my fist. She stumbled back, and I let her recover. "Why do you hate me?! Why do you want me dead?! What did I do to you?!"
"Because I want you dead! Isn't that enough?!" She stared swinging again, and I switched over to an offensive stance, knocking her to her knees. She jumped up to try and clock me. I spun to the side.
"You've been at this for over a year now! You've sent countless men at me! All of them failed! Just. Give. Up!" I landed three solid punches, knocking her back. She stood up, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She crouched down, then jumped, diving at me.
"Never!"
««{{Flashback}}»»
"Akumu! Stop this!"
"I HATE YOU!" I jumped back to gain some space.
"Akumu…I don't want to do this! Please I'm begging you, stop this now!"
"Just die!" Her punches and kicks were getting stronger, albeit sloppier. I spun and ducked low, aiming to knock her legs out with my own. She jumped right over my leg and I rolled backwards. I felt something when I rolled, and noticed a piece of rope laying on the ground. She dove at me, aiming for my neck, but I grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. I grabbed the other one when she tried to elbow my face, and wrapped the roped tightly around her wrists.
"AH! Let GO of me!" She thrashed around.
"No! You've been at this for almost two years! There is something you want! Tell me! NOW!" She tried pulling out of my grasp, but I wrapped my arm around her neck, not cutting off air completely, but she got the picture. She was still fuming, but she wasn't struggling as much. I heard groaning and looked over to see Drago holding his head. He heard a sharp whistle, and turned to see me holding Akumu by her neck and arm, some rope wrapped around her wrists, keeping them behind her back.
"I would hate to do this…actually, no, I wouldn't…" Drago's eyes went wide for a second, and he threw the knife in his hand. It floppily spun through the air, and landed five feet to my right. I adjusted my grip on Akumu's throat.
"You know, you were always pathetic Drago. Now that knife throw? I almost felt bad for you."
"I'm goin-!"
"I said almost." I cut him off. "The thing that bugs me is that you think you're King of the chessboard called life, using others as your pawns." I tightened my grip around Akumu's arm, pulling her head closer to mine. "Including your little queen…" Her eyes snapped open.
"What?! You're using me?!" She was squirming in my grasp, trying to get free. I tightened my grip and slightly closing off her air way.
"Oh she's mad now. You're lucky I've got a good hold on her."
"I'll kill you Drago! I'll kill you!" Drago knew he was busted, and tried swaying her back to his side.
"Why do you believe a word he says?! I thought you wanted to finish him?"
"Because he has never lied to me! I might hate him! I might want him dead! But for all his disgusting, self-righteous, egotistical, bratty ways! He has never lied!" My eyes widened slightly and my eyebrows shot up in surprise.
'I didn't know she thought of me as bratty…huh…' I started slowly backing us away from Drago, circling him so the entrance to the grotto was behind us.
"I'm taking her to Berk now, and letting everyone know you're here. Hope you don't mind me borrowing her for a while!" We backed out of sight. After a few minutes of walking, I spun her around and pinned her to a tree with my elbow pressing against her neck, glaring right into her eyes.
"Now you listen here. If you so much as twitch wrong, there's not a lot that will save you." I roughly grabbed her forearm, and marched her back towards the village.
'This is going to be a looong night…'