::mercuryblue_22@hotmail.com::
-------------
Something ugly this way comes
Through my fingers sliding inside
All these blessings all these burns
I'm godless underneath your cover
Search for pleasure search for pain
In this world now I am undying
I unfurl my flag my nation helpless
Black black heart why would you offer more
Why would you make it easier on me to satisfy
I'm on fire I'm rotting to the core
I'm eating all your kings and queens
All your sex and your diamonds
As I begin to lose my grip
On these realities your sending
Taste your mind and taste your sex
I'm naked underneath your cover
Covers lie and we will bend and borrow
With the coming sign
The tide will take the sea will rise and time will rape
Black black heart why would you offer more
Why would you make it easier on me to satisfy
I'm on fire I'm rotting to the core
I'm eating all your kings and queens
All your sex and your diamonds
"Black Black Heart"
David Usher
-------------
The Crow: Sacred Flame
Part Eight
By Mercury Blue
-------------
"God, where is it?" Amy pushed aside the clothing that hung in Chad's
closet, muttering to herself. "Chad, where did you put it?"
She'd been there a good fifteen minutes already, and still, she could
find nothing. "It's got to be here somewhere."
With a sigh of exasperation, she fell back onto Chad's bed, running
a hand hastily through her blue locks.
The ring. The engagement ring Chad had bought for Raye, the one he'd
never had the chance to give her was missing. Amy fought back the
urge to scream, or cry. It was gone. She'd combed every inch of the
bedroom, and it was nowhere to be found.
Tears pooled in her eyes. So this was it. There was nothing. No
more reminders of the magical love Raye and Chad had shared. The ring
had probably been on Chad when he'd died; his killers had probably
taken it.
"It's not fair," she whispered to herself. "It's not fair."
* * *
Dave stepped out of the shower, and shook the excess water out of his
hair. A quick glance at the clock on his wall showed it was almost
four in the morning, and he sighed. These late night shifts would
kill him yet.
Yawning, he wrapped his towel around his waist. This case was
starting to seriously wear him down. He didn't know how much he
could take. Who was that woman he'd met earlier, he wondered. Where
did she come from? What did she want?
It didn't help at all that she looked remarkably like Amy's deceased
best friend, or that she could drop two grown men effortlessly in
the street. Something odd was going on, and he intended to find out
what.
Opening the bathroom door, Dave was immediately assailed by a stream
of cool air, and he shivered involuntarily. After the steam-heated
warmth of the bathroom, the rest of his apartment seemed cold in
comparison.
Grabbing a bathrobe from the back of his bedroom door, Dave headed
towards his small kitchenette. All he wanted was a hot cup of coffee,
and maybe a sandwich to calm his frayed nerves after all he'd seen
that night.
"Detective."
Dave nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his name. Turning
around sharply, his eyes fixed on the woman who'd spoken.
"Jesus H, what the fuck are you doing here?" Dave exhaled sharply,
a strange combination of fright and facsination filling him. "Who
are you?"
Getting up from her place on his sofa, Raye tapped the thick file
folder that lay on Dave's coffee table. "I think you know who I am,
Detective," she said. "Heaven knows you've been reading up on me."
"You're her, aren't you?" Dave asked with a tilt of his head. "You're
Raye Hino.. you're Amy's best friend."
Raye nodded, and pulled a strand of wet, dark hair out of her eyes.
"I am," she replied, walking towards him.
Dave took a step back. He'd had his suspicions before, but now, to
have them realised, he wasn't sure he was ready. "But, that's
impossible," he said, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "You died.
I saw your body. I was there for your funeral. I watched them bury
your ashes behind the shrine. There's no way in Heaven or Hell you
could have lived."
"It's true," Raye agreed, sadness filling her painted features. "And I
can't explain it, either. I woke up like this, and I've been trying to
figure it out ever since." Sighing, she sat cross-legged on the floor
in front of the coffee table, eyes fixed on the file. "Tell me what
happened." She pleaded.
"Not much to say," Dave murmered, taking a seat across from her in a
nearby armchair. "For the past two years or so, Tokyo's been ravaged
by a secret religious sect known only to us as the Church of the
Truth. To them, worship apparantly includes the raiding of shrines
or temples, and the murders of those inside. On the night of April
seventeenth- one year ago today- their sights fell on the Cherry Hill
Shrine." He softened his gaze slightly and looked into her eyes
sympathetically. "Late that night, several members of this cult
broke into the shrine, and upon finding you, your grandfather, and his
apprentice, proceded to execute each of you, one by one." Dave
stopped speaking as he noticed the tears filling Raye's eyes,
trailing down her cheeks, over the black lines that covered her them.
"I'm sorry," he said, running a hand through his thick black hair.
"Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt."
"It's alright," Raye replied. She traced a finger over her tear-
stained cheeks, careful not to smear her make-up. "I needed to know."
She paused. "What about- what about Amy?" she asked, remembering her
earlier encounter with her former best friend on the street.
"After the murders, she was distraught, verging on obsessive. She
couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep- she could barely dress herself," he
said, recalling the early days after meeting Amy. "I saw her for the
first time after the murders at the funeral. She stood alone, by the
cherry tree in the back, the one you were buried under, and watched
as everyone else- especially that group of friends you'd loved in
life- crowded around your grave. There was a look on her face akin
to hatred as she stared at them- at the blonde one with the pigtails
especially- as though she blamed them for all that had happened."
Dave's voice grew distant as he recalled that day.
"But why?" Raye asked, "It wasn't their fault."
"In Amy's eyes it was," Dave said, a sad smile on his face. "They'd
known about the shrine massacres happening throughout town, yet
they'd done nothing. They hadn't kept it from happening, and Amy
hated them for it. I think, most of all, though, she blamed herself.
After all," he added, cupping his chin in one fist, thumb under his
chin, "she loved you the most."
Silent tears crept down Raye's face as she heard Dave's story,
picturing the friend she'd known in life believing such a thing.
"I'd never realised," she whispered, eyes downcast. "We'd always
been close, but I never thought she would react like that."
"Well, she did," said Dave, standing up. He needed a cup of coffee.
Behind him Raye looked down, at the thick file on the coffee table.
With a heavy sigh, she flipped it open, curious as to what it held.
Nothing much. Pictures, notes. Sadness twinged her heart as her eyes
fell upon a picture of Chad. Then she saw it.
"Kami-sama," she whispered to herself. He had her henshin wand.
"I don't suppose you'd like something to drink," Dave called from the
kitchen. There was no reply. "Raye?"
Dave walked out of the kitchen, curious as to why his nighttime
companion hadn't replied. Suddenly he stopped, and sighed heavily.
She was no where to be found. "Raye?" he called again.
Noticing the file was open on the coffee table, Dave strode towards
it. "She didn't," he said, eyes fixed on the thick stack of papers.
She had.
The mysterious wand Dave hadn't been able to place; the device that
looked something like a pen, was gone.
* * *
Gabriel was still awake.
He never slept anymore, it seemed. Two hours here, a half hour there,
rest was something he never really bothered to worry about. Afer all,
as leader of the single most dangerous criminal-ring-slash-cult in
Tokyo, he had much more to worry about than keeping a healthy sleeping
schedule.
The woman he'd been with earlier was gone now. Not long after Moose
had arrived, clutching his broken hand like a fragile bird, Gabriel
had woken her up, and sent her home. This new development was
something he needed to think about in privacy.
Sighing, Gabriel reached over to the table next to him, and poured
himself a glass of scotch, then, leaning back in his chair, he gazed
at the amber liquid he held.
"Who the fuck is she?" he muttered to himself. He drank the scotch.
Running a hand through his thick auburn hair, he wondered idly who the
bitch could have possibly been that killed Pockets, and wounded Moose.
If he actually believed in any of the religious shit he'd been spewing,
he might have actually thought God was sending someone for revenge
against him.
"Gabriel!"
Gabriel was knocked out of his reverie by the sound of Needles slamming
open the door to his private chambers.
"For fuck's sake, Needles," Gabriel muttered to himself. "Learn to
knock."
"You've got bigger problems than that, Gabriel," Needles panted,
shaggy blonde hair falling into his eyes. "That psycho bitch torched
a warehouse south of the city. Snake is dead, man."
-------------
Again, a short chapter.... but I was tapped for ideas. Watch for
chapter nine!!!!!
Comments, questions, flames, as always go to mercuryblue_22@hotmail.com
Ja,
Mercury Blue
-------------
Something ugly this way comes
Through my fingers sliding inside
All these blessings all these burns
I'm godless underneath your cover
Search for pleasure search for pain
In this world now I am undying
I unfurl my flag my nation helpless
Black black heart why would you offer more
Why would you make it easier on me to satisfy
I'm on fire I'm rotting to the core
I'm eating all your kings and queens
All your sex and your diamonds
As I begin to lose my grip
On these realities your sending
Taste your mind and taste your sex
I'm naked underneath your cover
Covers lie and we will bend and borrow
With the coming sign
The tide will take the sea will rise and time will rape
Black black heart why would you offer more
Why would you make it easier on me to satisfy
I'm on fire I'm rotting to the core
I'm eating all your kings and queens
All your sex and your diamonds
"Black Black Heart"
David Usher
-------------
The Crow: Sacred Flame
Part Eight
By Mercury Blue
-------------
"God, where is it?" Amy pushed aside the clothing that hung in Chad's
closet, muttering to herself. "Chad, where did you put it?"
She'd been there a good fifteen minutes already, and still, she could
find nothing. "It's got to be here somewhere."
With a sigh of exasperation, she fell back onto Chad's bed, running
a hand hastily through her blue locks.
The ring. The engagement ring Chad had bought for Raye, the one he'd
never had the chance to give her was missing. Amy fought back the
urge to scream, or cry. It was gone. She'd combed every inch of the
bedroom, and it was nowhere to be found.
Tears pooled in her eyes. So this was it. There was nothing. No
more reminders of the magical love Raye and Chad had shared. The ring
had probably been on Chad when he'd died; his killers had probably
taken it.
"It's not fair," she whispered to herself. "It's not fair."
* * *
Dave stepped out of the shower, and shook the excess water out of his
hair. A quick glance at the clock on his wall showed it was almost
four in the morning, and he sighed. These late night shifts would
kill him yet.
Yawning, he wrapped his towel around his waist. This case was
starting to seriously wear him down. He didn't know how much he
could take. Who was that woman he'd met earlier, he wondered. Where
did she come from? What did she want?
It didn't help at all that she looked remarkably like Amy's deceased
best friend, or that she could drop two grown men effortlessly in
the street. Something odd was going on, and he intended to find out
what.
Opening the bathroom door, Dave was immediately assailed by a stream
of cool air, and he shivered involuntarily. After the steam-heated
warmth of the bathroom, the rest of his apartment seemed cold in
comparison.
Grabbing a bathrobe from the back of his bedroom door, Dave headed
towards his small kitchenette. All he wanted was a hot cup of coffee,
and maybe a sandwich to calm his frayed nerves after all he'd seen
that night.
"Detective."
Dave nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his name. Turning
around sharply, his eyes fixed on the woman who'd spoken.
"Jesus H, what the fuck are you doing here?" Dave exhaled sharply,
a strange combination of fright and facsination filling him. "Who
are you?"
Getting up from her place on his sofa, Raye tapped the thick file
folder that lay on Dave's coffee table. "I think you know who I am,
Detective," she said. "Heaven knows you've been reading up on me."
"You're her, aren't you?" Dave asked with a tilt of his head. "You're
Raye Hino.. you're Amy's best friend."
Raye nodded, and pulled a strand of wet, dark hair out of her eyes.
"I am," she replied, walking towards him.
Dave took a step back. He'd had his suspicions before, but now, to
have them realised, he wasn't sure he was ready. "But, that's
impossible," he said, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "You died.
I saw your body. I was there for your funeral. I watched them bury
your ashes behind the shrine. There's no way in Heaven or Hell you
could have lived."
"It's true," Raye agreed, sadness filling her painted features. "And I
can't explain it, either. I woke up like this, and I've been trying to
figure it out ever since." Sighing, she sat cross-legged on the floor
in front of the coffee table, eyes fixed on the file. "Tell me what
happened." She pleaded.
"Not much to say," Dave murmered, taking a seat across from her in a
nearby armchair. "For the past two years or so, Tokyo's been ravaged
by a secret religious sect known only to us as the Church of the
Truth. To them, worship apparantly includes the raiding of shrines
or temples, and the murders of those inside. On the night of April
seventeenth- one year ago today- their sights fell on the Cherry Hill
Shrine." He softened his gaze slightly and looked into her eyes
sympathetically. "Late that night, several members of this cult
broke into the shrine, and upon finding you, your grandfather, and his
apprentice, proceded to execute each of you, one by one." Dave
stopped speaking as he noticed the tears filling Raye's eyes,
trailing down her cheeks, over the black lines that covered her them.
"I'm sorry," he said, running a hand through his thick black hair.
"Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt."
"It's alright," Raye replied. She traced a finger over her tear-
stained cheeks, careful not to smear her make-up. "I needed to know."
She paused. "What about- what about Amy?" she asked, remembering her
earlier encounter with her former best friend on the street.
"After the murders, she was distraught, verging on obsessive. She
couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep- she could barely dress herself," he
said, recalling the early days after meeting Amy. "I saw her for the
first time after the murders at the funeral. She stood alone, by the
cherry tree in the back, the one you were buried under, and watched
as everyone else- especially that group of friends you'd loved in
life- crowded around your grave. There was a look on her face akin
to hatred as she stared at them- at the blonde one with the pigtails
especially- as though she blamed them for all that had happened."
Dave's voice grew distant as he recalled that day.
"But why?" Raye asked, "It wasn't their fault."
"In Amy's eyes it was," Dave said, a sad smile on his face. "They'd
known about the shrine massacres happening throughout town, yet
they'd done nothing. They hadn't kept it from happening, and Amy
hated them for it. I think, most of all, though, she blamed herself.
After all," he added, cupping his chin in one fist, thumb under his
chin, "she loved you the most."
Silent tears crept down Raye's face as she heard Dave's story,
picturing the friend she'd known in life believing such a thing.
"I'd never realised," she whispered, eyes downcast. "We'd always
been close, but I never thought she would react like that."
"Well, she did," said Dave, standing up. He needed a cup of coffee.
Behind him Raye looked down, at the thick file on the coffee table.
With a heavy sigh, she flipped it open, curious as to what it held.
Nothing much. Pictures, notes. Sadness twinged her heart as her eyes
fell upon a picture of Chad. Then she saw it.
"Kami-sama," she whispered to herself. He had her henshin wand.
"I don't suppose you'd like something to drink," Dave called from the
kitchen. There was no reply. "Raye?"
Dave walked out of the kitchen, curious as to why his nighttime
companion hadn't replied. Suddenly he stopped, and sighed heavily.
She was no where to be found. "Raye?" he called again.
Noticing the file was open on the coffee table, Dave strode towards
it. "She didn't," he said, eyes fixed on the thick stack of papers.
She had.
The mysterious wand Dave hadn't been able to place; the device that
looked something like a pen, was gone.
* * *
Gabriel was still awake.
He never slept anymore, it seemed. Two hours here, a half hour there,
rest was something he never really bothered to worry about. Afer all,
as leader of the single most dangerous criminal-ring-slash-cult in
Tokyo, he had much more to worry about than keeping a healthy sleeping
schedule.
The woman he'd been with earlier was gone now. Not long after Moose
had arrived, clutching his broken hand like a fragile bird, Gabriel
had woken her up, and sent her home. This new development was
something he needed to think about in privacy.
Sighing, Gabriel reached over to the table next to him, and poured
himself a glass of scotch, then, leaning back in his chair, he gazed
at the amber liquid he held.
"Who the fuck is she?" he muttered to himself. He drank the scotch.
Running a hand through his thick auburn hair, he wondered idly who the
bitch could have possibly been that killed Pockets, and wounded Moose.
If he actually believed in any of the religious shit he'd been spewing,
he might have actually thought God was sending someone for revenge
against him.
"Gabriel!"
Gabriel was knocked out of his reverie by the sound of Needles slamming
open the door to his private chambers.
"For fuck's sake, Needles," Gabriel muttered to himself. "Learn to
knock."
"You've got bigger problems than that, Gabriel," Needles panted,
shaggy blonde hair falling into his eyes. "That psycho bitch torched
a warehouse south of the city. Snake is dead, man."
-------------
Again, a short chapter.... but I was tapped for ideas. Watch for
chapter nine!!!!!
Comments, questions, flames, as always go to mercuryblue_22@hotmail.com
Ja,
Mercury Blue