DREAM-SOULS
Rachel Seyujia Filteau
Chapter Three: Complicated Past
Chibi-usa blinked and looked around. The storm cloud was gone and she found herself in the middle of a pub. She looked around with curiosity; she's never been in a pub before, although Ami had described them to her in detail from one of her books. There were a lot of tables in the place, and all of them had at least two or three males like Chehdero sitting at them (they all had different kinds of markings, though). Some of the tables even had what Chibi-usa guessed were females; they had shorter fur than the males, and their faces were more human-like. They had more delicate paws and slimmer looks, too.
They were also rather scantily clad.
It was when Chibi-usa turned around and saw the stage that she realized just what kind of a pub it was. There was an almost completely naked female dancing erotically there, waggling her hips and artfully pulling off her bra. Thankfully for Chibi-usa's sake, the fur sort of covered anything remotely scandalous.
She was a pretty female; like Chehdero, she had yellow fur with black spots, but her hair was orange instead of a darker yellow. She also had a rosette just above the base of her tail, and a stripe every here and there. 'Mixed-breed,' Chibi-usa thought.
It was then that she noticed the exact same female standing near the back door.
Chibi-usa, no dolt, quickly surmised that this was Chena. She looked a little older than the past Chena on the stage, and she seemed upset about something. Her eyes were all red, and her facial fur was wet with tears. Behind her stood a dark shadow, whispering nasty things that Chibi-usa would hear from across the noisy bar. 'No prizes for guessing who THAT is,' the child thought angrily.
"Look at you, you little slut!" Ma-Kah-Phet laughed. "Just look at you making a total fool of yourself!" Chena covered her eyes and let out a soft wail of despair. "The only thing more despicable that you is slime!"
"Don't listen to him, Chena!" Chibi-usa shouted, stalking across the room. "He's utterly full of shit and only trying to hurt you!" (Oh, if Rei had heard THAT word, she would've hit the roof!)
"And who are you, little girl?" Ma-Kah-Phet asked mockingly. Chena didn't even look up.
'Do NOT tell him your real name!' a voice in Chibi-usa's head called out. 'If you tell him your real name, he'll have power over you in the material universe!'
"My name... is..." Chibi-usa thought quickly. "Black Swan!" She mentally noted to thank Ami for the English lessons.
Chena still hadn't looked up and was now openly weeping. "He's right, though... I'm a slut! There's nothing good about me at all!"
"That's right," Ma-Kah-Phet whispered treacherously. "Just look at yourself!"
Although Chena did not look, Chibi-usa did. The past Chena was dancing completely nude on the stage now, getting quite a few wolf whistles from the males at the tables. Chibi-usa noticed with a sinking heart that the past Chena looked awfully young.
After completing her set, past Chena got off the stage and quickly draped herself in a robe, obviously embarrassed. She walked up to the male behind the bar and said, "I did it. Can I please have the money you promised me now?" To her surprise, Chibi-usa heard Chena's thoughts as well: 'I need the money. It's for Daddy's operation; he won't live otherwise. You don't need to tell him how you got it....'
As the male shelled out the money, Ma-Kah-Phet laughed mockingly at the real Chena. "Look at you! An exotic dancer for the money! If your father only knew, he would've been so disappointed with you! He's have thought you were no better than your miserable excuse for a mother!"
Chibi-usa let out an expletive that would've made her father ground her for a month. "Don't listen to him, Chena! You didn't do the dirty dancing because you wanted to! You seem more humiliated than happy! You did it so that you could save your father! If I was desperate for money so that I could save my father, hell, I'd let someone take nude pictures of me!"
Chena finally looked up. Her eyes were full of humiliation and sorrow. "But...."
"You did it for your FATHER, and I'm pretty damned sure he would've believed you if you told him why you did the dancing! I mean, at least you weren't selling him your sexual favors!" Chibi-usa knew a little about that because she had found Mamoru's little collection of "forbidden magazines" under his bed one day and had looked through them all in complete curiosity. She'd entered the room inquisitive and left it shell- shocked.
Chena seemed to be thinking very carefully over what Chibi-usa had said when Ma-Kah-Phet out in his two bits. "But that wasn't enough, was it? You kept the job to pay for your father's medication, and where did that bring you to?" He pointed.
The scene had changed slightly. They were still in the same pub, but this time, past Chena was sitting at one of the tables with three males, drinking what appeared to be her third shot of dragon gin. Chibi-usa shuddered; Makoto had said, "Never, ever drink more than half a shot of dragon gin, unless, of course, you WANT a one-way ticket to the floor."
Past Chena giggled at something one of the men whispered to her. "I really should not," she slurred, trying to stand up. She fell right back into the chair. "I really ought to be going home."
"Just one more drink?"
Past Chena seemed to find thinking difficult at the moment. "Oh... alright. Just one, though."
"Underage," Ma-Kah-Phet stated, confirming Chibi-usa's thoughts as to the female's age. "Underage, and introduced to the wonders of alcohol. It made you forget your difficult life at home, and it made you forget just how much it hurt to have the school children make fun of you because of how poor you were! Dancing at the bar made you an alcoholic!"
Chena's face, which had begun to lighten up, fell again. "He's right," she said to herself. "I may have stopped now, but if I had never begun, I would never have hurt Silver that time...."
Once again, the scene changed. They were in a kitchen and this time, only two people were there: Chena, and another female that must've been the aforementioned Silver. This female, too, had black spots, but her fur was while and she also had a lot more black stripes. The two were arguing about something, it wasn't really clear what, when they suddenly came to blows. Chena, obviously drunk, picked up a knife from the counter and started slashing it towards Silver. Silver, not wanting to hurt her friend, picked up the rolling pin and used it to keep the knife at bay. It would've been rather humorous if Chena hadn't purposely tripped Silver and brought the knife down on her left arm, slicing it open from shoulder to elbow.
Unusually, Silver did not scream in pain, although her shock was easily read from her expression. Under the slashed cloth of the sleeve, Chibi-usa could see thick scar tissue from an old accident on the arm; not a scrap of fur was seen. It dawned on Chibi-usa that Silver wouldn't have any more nerve endings in her arm with that kind of injury.
"That's right," Ma-Kah-Phet said almost happily. "If you had stopped drinking like your cousin Silver had asked you to do many times, you would never have added another scar to her already large collection."
Chibi-usa thought furiously. How could she refute that argument?! Chena had obviously made a mistake (a rather large one), but she had said she'd stopped drinking....
'That's it!'
Chibi-usa whirled around and looked Chena straight in the eye. "So you made a mistake! Big deal! You're only mortal! At least you learned from your, you know never to do it again because you know what you'll do when under the influence! I make mistakes, too! I listened to a strange man once and almost ended up killing my own parents long before they conceived me!"
Chena blinked. "But...."
Chibi-usa nearly screamed with frustration. 'It's as if she wants to hear that's she's evil!'
'Her mind has been poisoned with Ma-Kah-Phet's mischief over the course of six months,' that voice in her head said. She had a feeling it was Chehdero. 'His hold over her is not complete, but it is strong. Believe in her, child.'
Chibi-usa glared at the female. "Chena, you made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes! And I'll repeat what I said before: YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR MISTAKE! You might've hurt Silver because of that mistake, but I'll bet she's glad that it made you stop drinking, even if it meant being chopped up like a carrot on her part!"
Chena didn't reply, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that Chibi- usa's words had been taken to heart.
Ma-Kah-Phet, no quitter, almost anxiously threw out his last ace. "Don't think it stops there!" he shouted. The scene changed one more time, this time to a bedroom. "The combination of exotic dancing and alcohol made you into a creature so despicable that you can't even look in the mirror without disgust!" The door net to then opened, and in popped a very drunk and scantily clad past Chena and a male that Chibi-usa did not like the looks of.
Past Chena hiccupped, and then glanced around the room with confusion while the male quietly locked the door. "Where are we?" she asked innocently. "I thought you were going to take me home."
Chibi-usa felt a chill go down her spine. 'No....'
"Oh, don't worry," the male said in a slimy voice, running his hands over past Chena's bare shoulders. "I'll take you home, but there's something you've got to do for me first." With movements as fast as a snake, he stripped past Chena of her clothing and threw her on the bed. Past Chena, terrible intoxicated, was unable to respond fast enough to the situation. Then the male stripped, pinned her down with his greater weight and....
Chibi-usa watched with horror for a few minutes, her mind trying to tell her this wasn't happening. After seeing too much, she tore her eyes from the scene, completely revolted. The screams of pain, however, could not be blocked from her ears, and it made Chibi-usa very angry at Ma-Kah-Phet.
"You would dare tell her this is her fault?" she said in a deathly quiet voice. "You would DARE tell her that attracting a rapist while drunk and therefore unable to think clearly is her fault?!" Suddenly, her voice rose to a pitch that would've shattered all the glass in the Crystal Palace, and then some. "IF YOU DARE BELIEVE THIS (insert very expressive expletive here) WHEN HE SAYS THIS IS YOUR FAULT, THEN YOU HAVE LESS BRAINS THAN MINAKO ON A MANHUNT!!!! YOU WERE RAPED!!!! THAT IS NOT YOUR FAULT, IT WILL NEVER BE YOUR FAULT, AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS A SADISTIC BASTARD!!!!"
Chena looked at Chibi-usa with complete surprise. "It's... not my fault?" In the background, the male had finished his business, and past Chena's screams had turned to sobs.
"Yes, it is your fault!" Ma-Kah-Phet said quickly. "You lured him on like a fish!"
"NO, IT IS NOT!" screamed Chibi-usa. "IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!! LOOK AT YOURSELF, CHENA! LOOK! LOOK!!" She pointed behind her, where a deflowered and sobbing Chena cowered on the bed, humiliated and bleeding. "ANY MAN THAT IS TURNED ON BY THAT SIGHT OUGHT TO BE DRAGGED OUT INTO THE STREET AND SHOT WITH A GODDAMNED MACHINE-GUN, GENITALS FIRST!!!!"
Chena looked. Understanding dawned in her eyes. "It... was not... was NOT my fault!"
Ma-Kah-Phet screeched in anger. "Yes, it is!"
"NO, IT IS NOT!" Chena turned on the shadow, pulling out a baton no longer than her arm. With the press of a button, however, a dagger blade popped out of either end. "I will listen to your lies no longer! I am not your creature to control!" She slashed at the shadow. "GET OUT OF MY MIND!"
Ma-Kah-Phet, knowing he's been defeated, disappeared with curses on his lips. "Damn you, Black Swan! Damn you as well, Chena! A day will come when you both regret what you have done!"
End of Chapter Three
Chapter Three: Complicated Past
Chibi-usa blinked and looked around. The storm cloud was gone and she found herself in the middle of a pub. She looked around with curiosity; she's never been in a pub before, although Ami had described them to her in detail from one of her books. There were a lot of tables in the place, and all of them had at least two or three males like Chehdero sitting at them (they all had different kinds of markings, though). Some of the tables even had what Chibi-usa guessed were females; they had shorter fur than the males, and their faces were more human-like. They had more delicate paws and slimmer looks, too.
They were also rather scantily clad.
It was when Chibi-usa turned around and saw the stage that she realized just what kind of a pub it was. There was an almost completely naked female dancing erotically there, waggling her hips and artfully pulling off her bra. Thankfully for Chibi-usa's sake, the fur sort of covered anything remotely scandalous.
She was a pretty female; like Chehdero, she had yellow fur with black spots, but her hair was orange instead of a darker yellow. She also had a rosette just above the base of her tail, and a stripe every here and there. 'Mixed-breed,' Chibi-usa thought.
It was then that she noticed the exact same female standing near the back door.
Chibi-usa, no dolt, quickly surmised that this was Chena. She looked a little older than the past Chena on the stage, and she seemed upset about something. Her eyes were all red, and her facial fur was wet with tears. Behind her stood a dark shadow, whispering nasty things that Chibi-usa would hear from across the noisy bar. 'No prizes for guessing who THAT is,' the child thought angrily.
"Look at you, you little slut!" Ma-Kah-Phet laughed. "Just look at you making a total fool of yourself!" Chena covered her eyes and let out a soft wail of despair. "The only thing more despicable that you is slime!"
"Don't listen to him, Chena!" Chibi-usa shouted, stalking across the room. "He's utterly full of shit and only trying to hurt you!" (Oh, if Rei had heard THAT word, she would've hit the roof!)
"And who are you, little girl?" Ma-Kah-Phet asked mockingly. Chena didn't even look up.
'Do NOT tell him your real name!' a voice in Chibi-usa's head called out. 'If you tell him your real name, he'll have power over you in the material universe!'
"My name... is..." Chibi-usa thought quickly. "Black Swan!" She mentally noted to thank Ami for the English lessons.
Chena still hadn't looked up and was now openly weeping. "He's right, though... I'm a slut! There's nothing good about me at all!"
"That's right," Ma-Kah-Phet whispered treacherously. "Just look at yourself!"
Although Chena did not look, Chibi-usa did. The past Chena was dancing completely nude on the stage now, getting quite a few wolf whistles from the males at the tables. Chibi-usa noticed with a sinking heart that the past Chena looked awfully young.
After completing her set, past Chena got off the stage and quickly draped herself in a robe, obviously embarrassed. She walked up to the male behind the bar and said, "I did it. Can I please have the money you promised me now?" To her surprise, Chibi-usa heard Chena's thoughts as well: 'I need the money. It's for Daddy's operation; he won't live otherwise. You don't need to tell him how you got it....'
As the male shelled out the money, Ma-Kah-Phet laughed mockingly at the real Chena. "Look at you! An exotic dancer for the money! If your father only knew, he would've been so disappointed with you! He's have thought you were no better than your miserable excuse for a mother!"
Chibi-usa let out an expletive that would've made her father ground her for a month. "Don't listen to him, Chena! You didn't do the dirty dancing because you wanted to! You seem more humiliated than happy! You did it so that you could save your father! If I was desperate for money so that I could save my father, hell, I'd let someone take nude pictures of me!"
Chena finally looked up. Her eyes were full of humiliation and sorrow. "But...."
"You did it for your FATHER, and I'm pretty damned sure he would've believed you if you told him why you did the dancing! I mean, at least you weren't selling him your sexual favors!" Chibi-usa knew a little about that because she had found Mamoru's little collection of "forbidden magazines" under his bed one day and had looked through them all in complete curiosity. She'd entered the room inquisitive and left it shell- shocked.
Chena seemed to be thinking very carefully over what Chibi-usa had said when Ma-Kah-Phet out in his two bits. "But that wasn't enough, was it? You kept the job to pay for your father's medication, and where did that bring you to?" He pointed.
The scene had changed slightly. They were still in the same pub, but this time, past Chena was sitting at one of the tables with three males, drinking what appeared to be her third shot of dragon gin. Chibi-usa shuddered; Makoto had said, "Never, ever drink more than half a shot of dragon gin, unless, of course, you WANT a one-way ticket to the floor."
Past Chena giggled at something one of the men whispered to her. "I really should not," she slurred, trying to stand up. She fell right back into the chair. "I really ought to be going home."
"Just one more drink?"
Past Chena seemed to find thinking difficult at the moment. "Oh... alright. Just one, though."
"Underage," Ma-Kah-Phet stated, confirming Chibi-usa's thoughts as to the female's age. "Underage, and introduced to the wonders of alcohol. It made you forget your difficult life at home, and it made you forget just how much it hurt to have the school children make fun of you because of how poor you were! Dancing at the bar made you an alcoholic!"
Chena's face, which had begun to lighten up, fell again. "He's right," she said to herself. "I may have stopped now, but if I had never begun, I would never have hurt Silver that time...."
Once again, the scene changed. They were in a kitchen and this time, only two people were there: Chena, and another female that must've been the aforementioned Silver. This female, too, had black spots, but her fur was while and she also had a lot more black stripes. The two were arguing about something, it wasn't really clear what, when they suddenly came to blows. Chena, obviously drunk, picked up a knife from the counter and started slashing it towards Silver. Silver, not wanting to hurt her friend, picked up the rolling pin and used it to keep the knife at bay. It would've been rather humorous if Chena hadn't purposely tripped Silver and brought the knife down on her left arm, slicing it open from shoulder to elbow.
Unusually, Silver did not scream in pain, although her shock was easily read from her expression. Under the slashed cloth of the sleeve, Chibi-usa could see thick scar tissue from an old accident on the arm; not a scrap of fur was seen. It dawned on Chibi-usa that Silver wouldn't have any more nerve endings in her arm with that kind of injury.
"That's right," Ma-Kah-Phet said almost happily. "If you had stopped drinking like your cousin Silver had asked you to do many times, you would never have added another scar to her already large collection."
Chibi-usa thought furiously. How could she refute that argument?! Chena had obviously made a mistake (a rather large one), but she had said she'd stopped drinking....
'That's it!'
Chibi-usa whirled around and looked Chena straight in the eye. "So you made a mistake! Big deal! You're only mortal! At least you learned from your, you know never to do it again because you know what you'll do when under the influence! I make mistakes, too! I listened to a strange man once and almost ended up killing my own parents long before they conceived me!"
Chena blinked. "But...."
Chibi-usa nearly screamed with frustration. 'It's as if she wants to hear that's she's evil!'
'Her mind has been poisoned with Ma-Kah-Phet's mischief over the course of six months,' that voice in her head said. She had a feeling it was Chehdero. 'His hold over her is not complete, but it is strong. Believe in her, child.'
Chibi-usa glared at the female. "Chena, you made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes! And I'll repeat what I said before: YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR MISTAKE! You might've hurt Silver because of that mistake, but I'll bet she's glad that it made you stop drinking, even if it meant being chopped up like a carrot on her part!"
Chena didn't reply, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that Chibi- usa's words had been taken to heart.
Ma-Kah-Phet, no quitter, almost anxiously threw out his last ace. "Don't think it stops there!" he shouted. The scene changed one more time, this time to a bedroom. "The combination of exotic dancing and alcohol made you into a creature so despicable that you can't even look in the mirror without disgust!" The door net to then opened, and in popped a very drunk and scantily clad past Chena and a male that Chibi-usa did not like the looks of.
Past Chena hiccupped, and then glanced around the room with confusion while the male quietly locked the door. "Where are we?" she asked innocently. "I thought you were going to take me home."
Chibi-usa felt a chill go down her spine. 'No....'
"Oh, don't worry," the male said in a slimy voice, running his hands over past Chena's bare shoulders. "I'll take you home, but there's something you've got to do for me first." With movements as fast as a snake, he stripped past Chena of her clothing and threw her on the bed. Past Chena, terrible intoxicated, was unable to respond fast enough to the situation. Then the male stripped, pinned her down with his greater weight and....
Chibi-usa watched with horror for a few minutes, her mind trying to tell her this wasn't happening. After seeing too much, she tore her eyes from the scene, completely revolted. The screams of pain, however, could not be blocked from her ears, and it made Chibi-usa very angry at Ma-Kah-Phet.
"You would dare tell her this is her fault?" she said in a deathly quiet voice. "You would DARE tell her that attracting a rapist while drunk and therefore unable to think clearly is her fault?!" Suddenly, her voice rose to a pitch that would've shattered all the glass in the Crystal Palace, and then some. "IF YOU DARE BELIEVE THIS (insert very expressive expletive here) WHEN HE SAYS THIS IS YOUR FAULT, THEN YOU HAVE LESS BRAINS THAN MINAKO ON A MANHUNT!!!! YOU WERE RAPED!!!! THAT IS NOT YOUR FAULT, IT WILL NEVER BE YOUR FAULT, AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS A SADISTIC BASTARD!!!!"
Chena looked at Chibi-usa with complete surprise. "It's... not my fault?" In the background, the male had finished his business, and past Chena's screams had turned to sobs.
"Yes, it is your fault!" Ma-Kah-Phet said quickly. "You lured him on like a fish!"
"NO, IT IS NOT!" screamed Chibi-usa. "IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!! LOOK AT YOURSELF, CHENA! LOOK! LOOK!!" She pointed behind her, where a deflowered and sobbing Chena cowered on the bed, humiliated and bleeding. "ANY MAN THAT IS TURNED ON BY THAT SIGHT OUGHT TO BE DRAGGED OUT INTO THE STREET AND SHOT WITH A GODDAMNED MACHINE-GUN, GENITALS FIRST!!!!"
Chena looked. Understanding dawned in her eyes. "It... was not... was NOT my fault!"
Ma-Kah-Phet screeched in anger. "Yes, it is!"
"NO, IT IS NOT!" Chena turned on the shadow, pulling out a baton no longer than her arm. With the press of a button, however, a dagger blade popped out of either end. "I will listen to your lies no longer! I am not your creature to control!" She slashed at the shadow. "GET OUT OF MY MIND!"
Ma-Kah-Phet, knowing he's been defeated, disappeared with curses on his lips. "Damn you, Black Swan! Damn you as well, Chena! A day will come when you both regret what you have done!"
End of Chapter Three