::mercuryblue_22@hotmail.com::
-------------
Talk to me softly
There's something in your eyes.
Don't hang your head in sorrow
And please don't cry
I know how you feel inside
I've been there before
Somethin's changing inside you
And don't you know
Don't you cry tonight
I still love you baby
Don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight
There's a heaven above you baby
And don't you cry tonight
Give me a whisper
And give me a sigh
Give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye
Don't you take it so hard now
And please don't take it so bad
I'll still be thinking of you
And the times we had...
"Don't Cry"
Guns N' Roses
-------------
The Crow: Sacred Flame
Part Two
By Mercury Blue
-------------
Dave gazed at Amy over his mug of coffee, a tired expression on his
face. "This has been a rough year, Amy," he sighed, a lock of black
hair falling into his eyes. "The cult's getting stronger- the
killing more fierce. These people won't give up until they've wiped
out every Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine in Tokyo." He sighed,
and took a sip of the black liquid he held.
"I've heard. It's been all over the news. Are there any suspects?"
Amy leaned forward, speaking low. Dave shook his head.
"I can't tell you that, Amy. You know that." Amy sighed.
"I know, I know. It's just- I want these people to pay, so bad. I
want you to get them." The thought of Raye and her family's killers
behind bars put a satisfied smile on her face. "I need that
closure."
Dave nodded. "I know you do, Amy. And I'm sorry." He gave her a
weak smile and Amy gazed into her cup, observing her distorted
reflection in the tea. "I miss them, Dave. I really do. Sometimes,
I can't even get out of bed, it hurts so much. Other times, I go to
the shrine, almost expecting her to say hello, and beat Chad over
the head with a broom." She laughed softly. "I never thought I'd
miss her and Serena arguing." A tear rolled down her face. "Why
can't I get rid of this pain?"
"The pain will always be there," Dave offered, placing a hand over
hers. "But in time, it will decrease, and grow weaker, and
eventually, you'll be okay." He smiled. "Whatever it is that helps
you, whenever you need me, though, I'll be here." She returned the
smile.
"Thank you." They continued to look at each other, their gazes
softening. Amy started to say something, but was cut off by the
ringing of a phone.
"Hello?" Dave brought the cell phone he carried to his ear, and
answered it. "Uh -huh. Yeah. I'll be there in ten minutes." He
hung up. "Shit!"
"What is it?" Amy asked, tilting her head. "Is everything all right?"
"I have to go, I'm sorry." Dave stood up. "They've done it again."
"Another cult killing?" Amy stood up. "Dave, is that who's done it
again?"
"Amy, I've really got to go." Tossing a handful of cash on the table
for their drinks, he glanced at her. "There's money in there for you
to take a cab back to your apartment. I want you to go home, and
forget about this, okay? Get some sleep. Tonight's going to be
rough on you." He kissed her cheek. "I just want you to take care
of yourself, kiddo. I worry about you." Amy sighed.
"I'm fine, Dave. You'd better go. They need you." Dave smiled at
her, and nodded. "I'll call you, okay?"
"Okay, okay, now go." Dave snatched his keys off the table, and
left, casting a final glance in her direction. With a sigh, she sat
back down, and picked up her teacup.
* * *
In a state of mind games
It feels like a checkmate
None of us will win
And I don't think I can wait
It's all a mistake
How long will it take
When the dreams are all gone
How long till you wake
"Mistake"
Serial Joe
"Our family is growing." A tall man wearing red robes stood at a
podium in front of about eighty men and women. "As is necessary,
our territory must grow too. You are all doing well, brothers and
sisters, in disposing of the Pagans, and for that, I am glad. But
still, too many remain for us to be contented. Your assignment,
your task by God is to find these Pagans, and dispose of them. Can
I hear an 'Amen'?"
The room erupted with a boisterous 'Amen', and the leader dismissed
them with a smile, confident his 'brothers and sisters' would dispose
of some more 'Pagans' in the name of their god. Slowly, the crowd
disbursed, and people headed out in every direction.
Somewhere in the room, a shaggy blonde-haired man turned to his
brunette companion. "What're we up to tonight, Brother Jason?".
'Brother Jason' smiled evilly, and winked. "Well, 'Brother Andrew',
I'm thinking... beers?" The two laughed, and walked out of the
building.
* * *
She ran towards the shrine, her long hair flying behind her, the two
crows following. She didn't know what had happened, just that she
had to get there.
Gasping, she reached it, clutching at the door with wet and dirty
fingers. Quietly, she pulled the door open and stepped inside,
dripping water onto the clean hardwood floor in the process. The
crows cawed, and she shushed them, venturing deeper into her former
home.
When she reached her grandfather's room, she stopped. She could hear
the soft sound of snoring from inside, and for a moment, her heart
raced. Could it be she was wrong? Could this be her grandfather?
Slowly she opened the door, creeping in the shadows up to the foot of
the bed where the man lay. "Grandpa?" she whispered, her eyes
inquisitive. The figure snorted in reply, and rolled over, exposing
his face in the progress. It wasn't him. Just some fat old guy in
her grandfather's bed.
Anger flashed in her briefly, and dissipated. If it were true, if she
and her grandfather... and Chad, her one true love were dead, it were
only natural in that chain of events that someone replace them. She
would have to get used to that.
With a sigh, she cast a final sad look at the man's sleeping form, and
walked out of the room, careful to close the door behind her.
Raye creeped into the living area, and looked around her, a sad smile
on her face. It had barely changed at all. There, on the wall, a
photo of the three of them. And over there, an antique vase her
Grandpa had brought back from a training trip. She placed a hand on it
fondly, the familiarity comforting. Then it came to her in a flash.
The memories.
::"You on the floor, now!" And Chad, getting down on his knees, his
hands behind his head. A tall man with shaggy blonde hair pointing a
gun at him, his hand resting on the vase....::
Raye drew her hand back in shock, tears in her eyes. "Oh, gods, no."
In sadness and fear, she backed up, bumping into the nearby wall.
::Another man, a mop of hair brown and slicked over his ears, a gun
to her grandfather's head. Chad begging to leave him alone, take him
instead::
"No, no, no." She backed into the doorframe, tears rolling down her
face. Another image.
::Raye running into the room at the sound of Chad's yells; two men,
one with black hair and bad acne, the other fat, blonde-haired with a
goatee, grabbing her, holding her arms. Her wand in her pocket, so
close, and yet so far. The blonde man, taking a gun, running it up
her leg, lifting the skirt of her *miko* uniform, and shoving the gun
inside her. Her crying in pain, and Chad screaming her name,
standing up to fight against them...::
Raye cried hard, the memories too much to bear. She preferred being
ignorant, not remembering, but she knew she had to find out what had
happened to her at any cost. Quickly, she walked over to where Chad
had been kneeling, and threw herself to the floor, letting herself see
what the room had to tell her.
::Chad, screaming, and the man with shaggy blonde hair, shooting him
in the chest. Him crying out, writhing on the floor in a pool of his
own blood. Raye screaming, and screaming, and fighting the men who
held her, crying for her love. The brown haired man laughing,
gripping her grandfather tighter, shooting Chad again, in the leg.
Him fighting the pain, trying to get up, still trying to save Raye.
Grandpa breaking free, running to Chad's side. The brown-haired man
shooting him in the back of the head-::
Raye sobbed silently from her place on the floor, shaking her head.
"No, no, no."
::Grandpa falling, dead. Chad screaming for him, screaming for Raye,
tears rolling down his face. Blood pooling at the corners of his
mouth- the bullet had punctured his lung. Raye squirming in the arms
of the black-haired man, fighting him, feeling the gun against the
inside of her thigh. Raye screaming for Chad, who teetered on his
feet as the blood poured from his open wounds. The terrible,
terrible sound of the four men's laughter. A gunshot. Chad falling,
blood pouring from his head. Chad, dead on the floor. Chad gone,
forever. Raye screaming, screaming. Tears pouring down her face,
tears falling down, down, down her throat, into her mouth, and she
screaming Chad's name, over and over, fighting the men who held her,
and just screaming.
Gunfire.
Raye, falling. Raye, with a hole in her forehead, falling, falling
to the floor. Raye dead, dead as Chad, and Grandpa. Her blood
mingling with Chad's as if in some morbid wedding ceremony.
And more laughter. ::
The tears wouldn't stop now. Tears, her tears, poured over the place
where her and Chad's blood had flowed. She had lived through all of
this before, and now, the memories were too much for her. She longed
for the death that had so welcomed her a year before.
She could hear her crows' voices in her head, speaking to her. [You
must find them,] Phobos said kindly. [You must take your revenge
against those who did this to you. Only then will you get rest.]
Deimos agreed, adding her voice to Phobos'. [Yes, yes. We will show
you where to find them. You must do the rest, Raye. It is your
destiny.] Then Phobos again. [Yes, oh yes. Your destiny. Take
your revenge, and be with Chad again. We will show you how.] [Oh
yes, oh yes.]
Raye nodded slowly, her face wet with the tears that still crept down
her face. "I will," she whispered. "They will die. Every one."
* * *
"Chug it, chug it!" Chanting filled the room as 'Brother Jason'
downed the tequila shooter he held in his hand. Laughter erupted,
and a black-haired man with bad acne called out, "Shit, Snake, I can
do better than that!" 'Snake' laughed, and tossed the half-empty
bottle of tequila at the man.
"You go for it, Pockets." Pockets gripped the bottle in one hand and
opened the cap, swallowing a mouthful of tequila as several other men
looked on. "See?" he belched, "No prob!"
The room smelled like piss and vomit. Like sweat, and cigarettes.
It was the kind of place that was filled nightly with the kind of men
who'd commit murder for a nickel, and fuck for a buck. A tough-ass
knuckles joint. These guys loved it.
'Brother Andrew' leaned back in his chair, and sneered, a half-chewed
cigar between his thin lips. "Fuck you," he yelled with a snicker.
"Ain't none of you drink half as good as me, you mother-fuckers!"
He tossed a casual glance at his fat, blonde companion, and nodded
towards the two. "Have you ever seen anything more pathetic than
these two pindicks here, Moose? Holy shit, what a fuckin' load of
pansy-asses!" Moose laughed, and Pockets threw the empty tequila
bottle at him. "Shut the fuck up, if you know what's good for you!
Look at this dick head over here! Needles thinks he's a fuckin'
almighty shit-kicker!" Pockets laughed, an annoying shrill of a
laugh, stopping only at the sound of a safety being pulled. Slowly,
he turned to glare up the barrel of Needles's gun.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, man? Get that the fuck
away from me!". Needles put his gun away, glaring right back at
Pockets. "You just wait, mother-fucker," he laughed. "I'm gonna get
you one day." Pockets laughed.
"Bull shit, man. Bull SHIT."
-------------
Part two... as always, comments, questions, and flames can be sent to
mercuryblue_22@hotmail.com.
Ja ne!
Mercury Blue
-------------
Talk to me softly
There's something in your eyes.
Don't hang your head in sorrow
And please don't cry
I know how you feel inside
I've been there before
Somethin's changing inside you
And don't you know
Don't you cry tonight
I still love you baby
Don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight
There's a heaven above you baby
And don't you cry tonight
Give me a whisper
And give me a sigh
Give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye
Don't you take it so hard now
And please don't take it so bad
I'll still be thinking of you
And the times we had...
"Don't Cry"
Guns N' Roses
-------------
The Crow: Sacred Flame
Part Two
By Mercury Blue
-------------
Dave gazed at Amy over his mug of coffee, a tired expression on his
face. "This has been a rough year, Amy," he sighed, a lock of black
hair falling into his eyes. "The cult's getting stronger- the
killing more fierce. These people won't give up until they've wiped
out every Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine in Tokyo." He sighed,
and took a sip of the black liquid he held.
"I've heard. It's been all over the news. Are there any suspects?"
Amy leaned forward, speaking low. Dave shook his head.
"I can't tell you that, Amy. You know that." Amy sighed.
"I know, I know. It's just- I want these people to pay, so bad. I
want you to get them." The thought of Raye and her family's killers
behind bars put a satisfied smile on her face. "I need that
closure."
Dave nodded. "I know you do, Amy. And I'm sorry." He gave her a
weak smile and Amy gazed into her cup, observing her distorted
reflection in the tea. "I miss them, Dave. I really do. Sometimes,
I can't even get out of bed, it hurts so much. Other times, I go to
the shrine, almost expecting her to say hello, and beat Chad over
the head with a broom." She laughed softly. "I never thought I'd
miss her and Serena arguing." A tear rolled down her face. "Why
can't I get rid of this pain?"
"The pain will always be there," Dave offered, placing a hand over
hers. "But in time, it will decrease, and grow weaker, and
eventually, you'll be okay." He smiled. "Whatever it is that helps
you, whenever you need me, though, I'll be here." She returned the
smile.
"Thank you." They continued to look at each other, their gazes
softening. Amy started to say something, but was cut off by the
ringing of a phone.
"Hello?" Dave brought the cell phone he carried to his ear, and
answered it. "Uh -huh. Yeah. I'll be there in ten minutes." He
hung up. "Shit!"
"What is it?" Amy asked, tilting her head. "Is everything all right?"
"I have to go, I'm sorry." Dave stood up. "They've done it again."
"Another cult killing?" Amy stood up. "Dave, is that who's done it
again?"
"Amy, I've really got to go." Tossing a handful of cash on the table
for their drinks, he glanced at her. "There's money in there for you
to take a cab back to your apartment. I want you to go home, and
forget about this, okay? Get some sleep. Tonight's going to be
rough on you." He kissed her cheek. "I just want you to take care
of yourself, kiddo. I worry about you." Amy sighed.
"I'm fine, Dave. You'd better go. They need you." Dave smiled at
her, and nodded. "I'll call you, okay?"
"Okay, okay, now go." Dave snatched his keys off the table, and
left, casting a final glance in her direction. With a sigh, she sat
back down, and picked up her teacup.
* * *
In a state of mind games
It feels like a checkmate
None of us will win
And I don't think I can wait
It's all a mistake
How long will it take
When the dreams are all gone
How long till you wake
"Mistake"
Serial Joe
"Our family is growing." A tall man wearing red robes stood at a
podium in front of about eighty men and women. "As is necessary,
our territory must grow too. You are all doing well, brothers and
sisters, in disposing of the Pagans, and for that, I am glad. But
still, too many remain for us to be contented. Your assignment,
your task by God is to find these Pagans, and dispose of them. Can
I hear an 'Amen'?"
The room erupted with a boisterous 'Amen', and the leader dismissed
them with a smile, confident his 'brothers and sisters' would dispose
of some more 'Pagans' in the name of their god. Slowly, the crowd
disbursed, and people headed out in every direction.
Somewhere in the room, a shaggy blonde-haired man turned to his
brunette companion. "What're we up to tonight, Brother Jason?".
'Brother Jason' smiled evilly, and winked. "Well, 'Brother Andrew',
I'm thinking... beers?" The two laughed, and walked out of the
building.
* * *
She ran towards the shrine, her long hair flying behind her, the two
crows following. She didn't know what had happened, just that she
had to get there.
Gasping, she reached it, clutching at the door with wet and dirty
fingers. Quietly, she pulled the door open and stepped inside,
dripping water onto the clean hardwood floor in the process. The
crows cawed, and she shushed them, venturing deeper into her former
home.
When she reached her grandfather's room, she stopped. She could hear
the soft sound of snoring from inside, and for a moment, her heart
raced. Could it be she was wrong? Could this be her grandfather?
Slowly she opened the door, creeping in the shadows up to the foot of
the bed where the man lay. "Grandpa?" she whispered, her eyes
inquisitive. The figure snorted in reply, and rolled over, exposing
his face in the progress. It wasn't him. Just some fat old guy in
her grandfather's bed.
Anger flashed in her briefly, and dissipated. If it were true, if she
and her grandfather... and Chad, her one true love were dead, it were
only natural in that chain of events that someone replace them. She
would have to get used to that.
With a sigh, she cast a final sad look at the man's sleeping form, and
walked out of the room, careful to close the door behind her.
Raye creeped into the living area, and looked around her, a sad smile
on her face. It had barely changed at all. There, on the wall, a
photo of the three of them. And over there, an antique vase her
Grandpa had brought back from a training trip. She placed a hand on it
fondly, the familiarity comforting. Then it came to her in a flash.
The memories.
::"You on the floor, now!" And Chad, getting down on his knees, his
hands behind his head. A tall man with shaggy blonde hair pointing a
gun at him, his hand resting on the vase....::
Raye drew her hand back in shock, tears in her eyes. "Oh, gods, no."
In sadness and fear, she backed up, bumping into the nearby wall.
::Another man, a mop of hair brown and slicked over his ears, a gun
to her grandfather's head. Chad begging to leave him alone, take him
instead::
"No, no, no." She backed into the doorframe, tears rolling down her
face. Another image.
::Raye running into the room at the sound of Chad's yells; two men,
one with black hair and bad acne, the other fat, blonde-haired with a
goatee, grabbing her, holding her arms. Her wand in her pocket, so
close, and yet so far. The blonde man, taking a gun, running it up
her leg, lifting the skirt of her *miko* uniform, and shoving the gun
inside her. Her crying in pain, and Chad screaming her name,
standing up to fight against them...::
Raye cried hard, the memories too much to bear. She preferred being
ignorant, not remembering, but she knew she had to find out what had
happened to her at any cost. Quickly, she walked over to where Chad
had been kneeling, and threw herself to the floor, letting herself see
what the room had to tell her.
::Chad, screaming, and the man with shaggy blonde hair, shooting him
in the chest. Him crying out, writhing on the floor in a pool of his
own blood. Raye screaming, and screaming, and fighting the men who
held her, crying for her love. The brown haired man laughing,
gripping her grandfather tighter, shooting Chad again, in the leg.
Him fighting the pain, trying to get up, still trying to save Raye.
Grandpa breaking free, running to Chad's side. The brown-haired man
shooting him in the back of the head-::
Raye sobbed silently from her place on the floor, shaking her head.
"No, no, no."
::Grandpa falling, dead. Chad screaming for him, screaming for Raye,
tears rolling down his face. Blood pooling at the corners of his
mouth- the bullet had punctured his lung. Raye squirming in the arms
of the black-haired man, fighting him, feeling the gun against the
inside of her thigh. Raye screaming for Chad, who teetered on his
feet as the blood poured from his open wounds. The terrible,
terrible sound of the four men's laughter. A gunshot. Chad falling,
blood pouring from his head. Chad, dead on the floor. Chad gone,
forever. Raye screaming, screaming. Tears pouring down her face,
tears falling down, down, down her throat, into her mouth, and she
screaming Chad's name, over and over, fighting the men who held her,
and just screaming.
Gunfire.
Raye, falling. Raye, with a hole in her forehead, falling, falling
to the floor. Raye dead, dead as Chad, and Grandpa. Her blood
mingling with Chad's as if in some morbid wedding ceremony.
And more laughter. ::
The tears wouldn't stop now. Tears, her tears, poured over the place
where her and Chad's blood had flowed. She had lived through all of
this before, and now, the memories were too much for her. She longed
for the death that had so welcomed her a year before.
She could hear her crows' voices in her head, speaking to her. [You
must find them,] Phobos said kindly. [You must take your revenge
against those who did this to you. Only then will you get rest.]
Deimos agreed, adding her voice to Phobos'. [Yes, yes. We will show
you where to find them. You must do the rest, Raye. It is your
destiny.] Then Phobos again. [Yes, oh yes. Your destiny. Take
your revenge, and be with Chad again. We will show you how.] [Oh
yes, oh yes.]
Raye nodded slowly, her face wet with the tears that still crept down
her face. "I will," she whispered. "They will die. Every one."
* * *
"Chug it, chug it!" Chanting filled the room as 'Brother Jason'
downed the tequila shooter he held in his hand. Laughter erupted,
and a black-haired man with bad acne called out, "Shit, Snake, I can
do better than that!" 'Snake' laughed, and tossed the half-empty
bottle of tequila at the man.
"You go for it, Pockets." Pockets gripped the bottle in one hand and
opened the cap, swallowing a mouthful of tequila as several other men
looked on. "See?" he belched, "No prob!"
The room smelled like piss and vomit. Like sweat, and cigarettes.
It was the kind of place that was filled nightly with the kind of men
who'd commit murder for a nickel, and fuck for a buck. A tough-ass
knuckles joint. These guys loved it.
'Brother Andrew' leaned back in his chair, and sneered, a half-chewed
cigar between his thin lips. "Fuck you," he yelled with a snicker.
"Ain't none of you drink half as good as me, you mother-fuckers!"
He tossed a casual glance at his fat, blonde companion, and nodded
towards the two. "Have you ever seen anything more pathetic than
these two pindicks here, Moose? Holy shit, what a fuckin' load of
pansy-asses!" Moose laughed, and Pockets threw the empty tequila
bottle at him. "Shut the fuck up, if you know what's good for you!
Look at this dick head over here! Needles thinks he's a fuckin'
almighty shit-kicker!" Pockets laughed, an annoying shrill of a
laugh, stopping only at the sound of a safety being pulled. Slowly,
he turned to glare up the barrel of Needles's gun.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, man? Get that the fuck
away from me!". Needles put his gun away, glaring right back at
Pockets. "You just wait, mother-fucker," he laughed. "I'm gonna get
you one day." Pockets laughed.
"Bull shit, man. Bull SHIT."
-------------
Part two... as always, comments, questions, and flames can be sent to
mercuryblue_22@hotmail.com.
Ja ne!
Mercury Blue