Chapter Three

By Mazaki Sora

(A/N from Mazaki Sora: Hey peeps, I hope you're enjoying our story so far ^_^ Okay, lessee… Indigo and Scarlet are © me, Kell is © Tallulah, and anyone from the game is © Sega. R + R please! ^.^)

~

"Tab, what's with you?"

Tab jumped and tore his eyes from the street outside the window to look at Gum. She skated up beside him and leaned on the windowsill.

"Mew went out about an hour ago and she hasn't come back. What if she got killed or somethin'?"

Gum snorted in amusement. "Don't tell me you really think there's some psycho out there who's hell-bent on killing Rudies. It was probably some sick joke, or some part of an initiation. Maybe the Noise Tanks were having some sort of civil war and decided to overthrow their leader, or one of the members."

"I know, but-"

"Or, the Love Shockers finally decided to go with their 'kill all men' rep. That Noise Tank was a guy, remember? And don't forget the Poison Jammers. They're stupid enough to think it's okay to reenact their favorite horror movies. See, there are plenty of reasons. If it's just the Noise Tanks, they won't dare touch Mew. If it's the Love Shockers, they would leave her alone 'cuz she's a girl. If it's the Poison Jammers, well, she's smart enough to get away from them. And if by some freaked reason it's the cops, I think Mew's handled with the Keisatsu plenty of times to know how to avoid being butchered. So don't worry."

"I hope you're right Gum. I really hope you're right."

~

"I don't believe you."

"Miyazaki, you're being an airhead!! If you took five seconds to think about it, you'd see how wildly mistaken you are! It doesn't add up! I didn't have enough time to slaughter a Rudie, run off to clean my scythe, and run back! I've only been away from the HQ for what, five minutes? It would take longer than five minutes to even kill someone like this! You're accusing the wrong person!"

Mew clenched her fists at her sides and growled.

"Well, I still think you did it! You might've found a way, or maybe you've got an accomplice! Who is it, huh? Or, you killed her before you came to the Love Shocker headquarters!"

"Don't be stupid! I know you were following me, so you would've seen me kill her! Face it; you've got no proof! And why the hell would I have a fucking accomplice!? What Rudie out there would want to help kill other Rudies?!"

Mew narrowed her eyes and glared hatefully at Indigo.

"You killed that Noise Tank and you killed this Love Shocker. I know you did. You always had a bad temper back in school and you always liked being violent. I guess you're using the Rudies here to vent your hatred out on. If you're not killing them, then this 'Scarlet' is. And you're letting her because you enjoy watching her slaughter people. It makes you feel like you're on the top of the food chain; you know, the biggest and the baddest. And you're trying to get off scot-free by telling some bullshit story about some voodoo curse monster thing that likes killing people. Sure, people are gonna believe that. I don't, those two Noise Tanks didn't, and I have a feeling Kell didn't either. Face it, you're gonna get caught and there ain't no story that's gonna save your ass. I'm on to you, and pretty soon, everyone else will be too."

Indigo laughed slightly and threw a clump of electric blue hair away from her face.

"Think what you will Miyazaki-chan, but you're off by a major mile. I know once I show Kell what it has done to one of her Love Shockers, she'll believe me. I don't kill family."

Mew blinked.

"Wha-?"

"I used to be a Love Shocker myself. She knows I hate their guts now, but she also knows that I'd never harm my old friends. Even if I'm not their friend now, I still uphold the Love Shocker code of honor. Corny I know, but I still follow what I was told: even once a Love Shocker has quit, they must stay true to their background and never harm or hurt another Love Shocker. I'm not so low as to kill one of my old friends."

"No wonder you're psycho. A Love Shocker? Man, that's the lowest a Rudie can go," Mew said, smirking slightly.

Indigo scowled.

"I said I used to be one. I thought that their motives were evil and I left, but I'm not so low as to betray them just because I've left. And that includes killing one."

"You say you still uphold the code, but I think you're lying. You probably wouldn't give a fuck if it had been a Love Shocker or a Poison Jam for that matter! I know you and I wouldn't put it past you to kill any living thing that crosses your path! You killed that Noise Tank and this Love Shocker!"

"Which brings us back to where we started! I didn't have time to kill her! Get it through your thick skull!!"

Mew had, by now, completely forgotten about the slaughtered body between them and seemed unusually calm compared to the screaming wreck she had been a minute ago. Suddenly, she broke into a smirk.

"If you were a Love Shocker, then you know about how mean Kell can get. I have a feeling she'll take care of you after she sees you've killed one of her girls. Sure, you say she'll believe you, but I know how hard it is to comprehend a situation when you're angry. I can already see it happening. Kell will get angry and instantly assume you killed her Love Shocker. You can guess what'll happen after that."

Indigo snorted in disgust.

"You said it right there; I was a Love Shocker, so I know Kell a lot better than you. She'll believe me."

"Sure she will," Mew laughed slightly before turning away. She paused and threw over her shoulder, "You're dead-meat."

She let out a loud laugh before disappearing down the street. Indigo scowled before looking back down upon Shar's mutilated body.

"Yep, she'll believe me. Ain't no way I could've done that with a scythe."

~

Kell drummed her fingers on the windowsill, watching the darkened street.

Dammit, where's Shar? She was supposed to be here ages ago…Ugh, where's the damn food!?

"Hey Kell, see Shar yet!?" rang out one of the Love Shockers' voices from down the hall.

"No!" she snapped back. She turned back to the window and continued tapping her fingernails on the sill, waiting for the flash of pink and black that was Shar to come up the road with their food. Five seconds later, Kell's patience was gone. She skated out of her room, slammed the door, and made for the exit.

"Hey Kell! Where are ya going?"

"I'm gonna find Shar! Just go back to whatever the hell you were doing!"

Kell slammed the HQ door behind her and took off down the street.

Jesus it's cold out here… I thought it was supposed to be freakin' summer! Feels more like winter to me…

She scowled to herself and sped up, the sound of her skates scratching across the pavement reverberating around the suddenly empty streets.

Don't want to be outside when there's a monster loose…

Kell snorted in disgust to no one in particular.

Weird shit happens, but this is just too weird, even for Tokyo-to standards.  Sounds like a load of bullshit to me. Also sounds like Chloe's either been smoking something weird or she's pulling some stunt just to get some attention.

Kell shoved the thought in the back of her mind, for she wasn't out in Shibuya-cho, in the middle of the night to figure out why a former Love Shocker came up to her with some bullshit story about a monster killing Rudies because she wanted their help.

"Shar!? Hey Shar, you out there!?"

No answer. Kell stopped and cupped her hands to her mouth.

"Yo Shar!! The other Love Shockers are getting hungry!! You out there!?"

She dropped her arms to her sides and waited a few seconds. She half expected to hear Shar yell back, or appear behind her carrying their food and scare the shit out of her. When neither happened, Kell scowled to herself and took off again.

She's probably either still waiting for our food to get done, is already back at the HQ by now, or – or – something else.

Kell shuddered slightly at the 'something else'. She didn't like the sound of it, because it covered a variety of things. Things that she really didn't want to think about right now.

"Shar! Get ya ass out here before I make it come out here!"

A faint voice, probably very far away, floated up to her.

"Kell? Is that you?"

"Who's there!?" Kell called back.

"It's Indigo. Get over here; there's something you need to see."

Hiking an eyebrow, Kell dashed forward until she could see two shadowed figures ahead of her. One was standing, the other laying in a heap at its feet. As she got closer, she could make out Indigo standing over someone.

Kell skidded to a halt in front of Indigo, spattering a thin layer of dirt on her skates.

"Yea? I'm a little busy right now; I got a Love Shock-"

"Look." She pointed downwards, at the figure on the ground. Kell scowled and looked down. But the look soon melted into a thin layer of disgust, which soon turned into a look of pure and utter shock.

"Sh – Shar!?"

She looked between Shar's body and Indigo sharply, looking extremely pale.

"When – what – who –" she stammered, backing away slightly. She stopped backing away and looked at Indigo. Her expression flickered between shock, hurt, and accusation.

"You didn't – did you!?"

Indigo looked down upon the mutilated body darkly.

"No, I didn't. Remember, I don't kill friends. Now, do you believe that there's a monster killing Rudies?"

Kell seemed to have gotten her feelings under control and answered in a deadly calm voice that sent a shiver up Indigo's spine.

"And what proof is there that you didn't do it?"

Indigo looked taken aback.

"I didn't do it! Listen, Mew and I found her five minutes after I left the HQ. That would've given me five minutes to kill her, run off and clean my scythe, and run back to confront Mew. There's simply not enough time for me to do something like that. You've gotta believe me!"

Kell averted her gaze from Shar's body and stared Indigo in the eyes.

"I'm not sure whom or what I should believe. You're right about the time thing, but for all I know, you could be lying. You left the HQ exactly fifteen minutes ago. It's hard to believe that you've been sitting here for ten minutes, waiting for me to show up. For all I know, you could've killed her when you left, cleaned your weapon, and gotten back just a few minutes ago."

Indigo growled slightly.

"Listen, you can go ask Mew if you want and she will tell you exactly what I said, despite the fact that she seems to think that I killed Shar even though I didn't have enough time to do something like that."

It was silent for several seconds. Kell and Indigo stared each other down defiantly, both unblinking.

CRASH

Indigo jumped slightly, blinked, and turned her head towards the sound. Kell looked reluctantly towards the source.

The sound was revealed to be several dustbins that had toppled over in an adjacent alley, crashing to the ground and spilling trash and the sorts everywhere. The break in their conversation hadn't ended, however. A dark shadow shifted in the mess and began moving towards the exit, towards the two girls.

"Who's there!? What do you want!?" Kell shouted indignantly.

The figure paid her inquiries no attention and continued forward, slinking closer. Instinctively, Indigo began backing away. Kell saw her out of the corner of her eye and snapped, "Don't be a wimp! It's probably just a bum."

Indigo shot a glare at her, but pulled out her scythe all the same.

"Come any closer or I'll-"

She was cut off by laughing. It was more of an amused chuckle, however, and was low and ominous.

"What's so funny asshole?" Kell snarled.

Once again, it ignored her and continued laughing.

"What fun…"

Obviously, the voice had come from the figure. But it definitely didn't sound human. It was low and raspy, and Indigo shuddered despite herself.

The figure emerged from the alley. It had the stature of an extremely tall man, but even in the darkness of midnight, Indigo knew right away that this wasn't a man.

"K – Kell… It's him – It's the monster!" Indigo whispered to Kell, her voice trembling in terror. Kell snorted slightly and waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Listen dude, if you're looking for cash or something, go hit up on someone who actually has a house. What makes you think a couple of Rudies have money on them?"

It continued towards them. Indigo could hear its breath, shallow and threatening.

"Kell, we need to get out of here-"

"Stop being such a drama- AH!" Kell jumped back as the figure lashed out at her with claws four inches long. Indigo shrieked and began dashing away, followed by Kell.

"So do you believe me now!?" Indigo yelled over her shoulder as they raced down the street.

"Shut up and RUN bitch!"

Kell overtook Indigo and passed her. Indigo chanced a glance behind her and saw the monster bounding after them, on all fours. Gritting her teeth, she skidded to a stop and turned to face the oncoming figure.

"Indigo what're you-" Kell began as she skidded to a halt several feet ahead, but was cut off as Indigo yelled.

"Take this bitch!" she shrieked, ramming her scythe at the monster as it leapt at her. Thick, warm liquid spattered her arms as her scythe pierced its stomach.

With a pain-filled roar, the monster swiped at Indigo. Kell watched in terror as Indigo fell over, jerking her scythe from the monster's abdomen. As Kell raced towards the two, the monster turned tail and bounded away, yelping slightly.

"Indigo!" She skidded to a halt next to the girl and fell to her knees. Indigo was lying on her side, her blood coated scythe laying a few feet away. Quickly, Kell pulled her over on her back and jumped away. Indigo was awake, and laughed slightly.

"I got him good, didn't I?"

"He got you good, too…" Kell muttered under her breath. Indigo looked at her quizzically. Slowly, Kell pointed a finger at Indigo's chest area.

Three long red gashes were set across her chest, each one letting loose rivulets of dark crimson blood that were turned black by the moonlight. Indigo gaped for a few seconds.

"Is this bad?" she asked, looking up at Kell.

Kell nodded.

"Then how come I can't feel it?"

Kell shrugged.

"I think I'll pass out now…"

~