Chapter Five
By Mazaki Sora
(A/N: **cries from the loss of Yo-Yo** …Indigo and Scarlet are © Me, Kell is © Tallulah, and anyone else is © Sega. R + R or I shall curse thee…muhahaha…)
"Yo yo yo, K-man here bringin' you all the tight and upbeat tunes of today! As most rudies out there know, somethin' freaky has been goin' 'round murdering other rudies! That's a serious crime, taking out the bringers of the soul to the streets… If you've been keeping count, so far a Noise Tank and a Love Shocker have bit it! Woah!! This just in; one of my informants has just found another victim! Who woulda thought – one of the GG's was just seen dead as a nail. Yo-Yo of the GG's was found slaughtered in the half-pipe in Shibuya-cho. Now, wasn't that cute little Mew out tagging with him? Where could she have gone? And does she know?"
Indigo flicked off her radio. "Mew? If she was with him, then –" She blinked a few times, thinking. "I'm going to have to find her…"
She was shoving on her skates when footsteps resounded down the ward. Voices carried with the footsteps, conversing loudly.
"Yeah, a Rudie came in last night with her chest slashed open. She's down here."
"Thanks. We'll take her to the station right away."
Ooh… You're gonna get it now… the cops are coming to get you…She sung the last few words, her voice rising and falling over them. Indigo winced at Scarlet's evil chuckle.
"Shut up!"
Hey, let's make a deal-"Fat chance. Now shut it before I make you!"
You didn't let me finish Chloe-chan… What I was trying to say is that I don't think you have much of a chance to get away from the police… so…
The footsteps were closer now, just about to round the corner.
Let me out and I'll get you out of here without getting arrested… What do ya say Chloe-chan?Indigo grit her teeth, looking between the corner and the other end of the ward, sealed by a wall with a window that would be impossible to break through unless you were the incredible Hulk.
She's right…
Of course I am, Chloe-chan.
Giving a feral growl, Indigo stood up, grabbed her scythe, and answered Scarlet.
"Quite callin' me Chloe and you've got a fucking deal."
An evil chuckle.
Smartest thing you've done in a while, Indigo.
For once in her life, Indigo welcomed the darkness that swallowed her whole.
Three police men and Captain Onishima rounded the corner, expecting to see some strange looking Rudie lying in a hospital bed, mortally wounded, but weren't prepared for what they saw. Standing in the center of the aisle was a girl with coffee skin, ratty black hair that fell in her face, and was clutching a scythe at her side. She smirked at Onishima, cat-like eyes narrowed in malevolence.
"Hello boys," she murmured, giving them a wink.
What the hell are you doing!? FLIRTING!?"Give me a second, I'm playing with 'em…"
Indigo groaned.
Onishima coughed slightly before speaking to her.
"All right missy, you can come with us down to the station quietly or we can drag you there kicking and screaming for all I care. You've got a choice."
"Okay, but I prefer a third choice. I decapitate all of you and leave a happy rudie. How's that sound?"
Onishima didn't look very content with that statement.
"You know, that's a threat to a police officer's life. You could get at least a year just for that!"
"And even longer for murder."
Suddenly, Scarlet charged forward, knocked down a police officer with the end of her scythe, kicked another one between the legs, and took a slash at the last one. All of them out of the way, she began dashing down the ward, towards the exit.
"Get back here you dirty punk!"
Rubber bullets pinged at her heels as she sped down the ward, but she paid the indignant shouts of Onishima and his gun no heed. Scarlet burst through the doors, dashed down a hallway (narrowly missing a passing doctor), rushed past the nurse's desk, burst through another set of doors, and entered a lobby. She raced across the clean linoleum floor and dashed out the front doors, into the sunlight.
Onishima burst through the front doors and looked around wildly, to find the girl rudie long gone.
"Dammit!"
Let me back out NOW-"No! Give me five more minutes. I like this."
You got us out of the hospital without getting arrested, so it's time for you to go back in my mind and let me have my body back!
Scarlet could feel Indigo shoving her presence away, trying to take her body back.
"Us? Ooh, and you were the one that said I wasn't you… are you admitting that I was right?"
A growl.
NO! You're not me and you'll never be me! So GIMME BACK MY BODY!"Okay."
Finall- wait! What's the catch?"After I kill a few people of course."
SCARLET!! Do you honestly want us to get blamed for the murders even more!!?? If you kill even ONE person, they'll think I killed them all!!
"Again with the us-"
Fuck you!!"My, my, temper, temper Indigo-chan. I can see why they want to blame you…"
LEMME OUT NOW BEFORE I HACK YOU TO PIECES!!"I don't see how you're gonna do that… Have you considered anger management classes?"
Piss off, you psychotic bitch!"Ooh, I'm so hurt…"
Oh, you've got nerve… You've got lotsa nerve…"'Course I do."
Being sarcastic won't get you anywhere!"It seems to be working just fine, in fact…"
Their bickering was cut short, however, by someone crying.
"What the-?"
Scarlet dropped her high-and-mighty look for a second and stared down the alley they had been approaching. The sound of someone sobbing echoed down the alley, towards Scarlet. She frowned and stepped inside the alley.
WAIT! I know who that is! That's Mew! Lemme out! I have to speak to her!!"Mew, eh? Miyazaki, right? I think I'll have some fun first."
NO!Scarlet continued down until she saw a figure curled up in the far corner, crying their eyes out. Short blue hair, blue dress, and blue striped stockings became apparent as she approached her. Grinning slightly, Scarlet put on an imitation of Indigo's voice and spoke to her.
"Mew? What's wrong? What're you doing down here?"
Stop it! That doesn't even sound like me!Mew looked up, face stained with tears. With the alley being dark, she instantly assumed the figure to be Indigo.
"H – he's dead! A – and I think I k – killed him!"
"Who's dead?"
"Yo-Yo! I – I was out tagging with him a –and this music came on and I was dancing and when it was done, he was dead!! My knife had his blood on it! A – and-" she broke off, crying harder.
Scarlet was struck by a pang of surprise. Luckily, Indigo was waiting and used that exact moment to shove Scarlet back in the corner of her mind and take control of her body again. Slowly, she knelt down in front of Mew.
"What kind of music was it?"
Wha- HEY! Why you little-"It was some African song a –and I thought it sounded cool s –so I started dancing and when the song was done I heard someone screaming and I – I looked down and saw Yo-Yo dead! And my knife was c – covered in blood! See!" she held out a small switchblade, waving it in Indigo's face. Indigo recoiled slightly, the stench of blood emanating from the blade.
"And you don't know if you killed him or not?"
"Don't believe me if you want, but I'm telling the truth! Yo-Yo annoys m – me a lot, but I'd never – never kill him!"
Suddenly, a look of panic crossed her face. She leapt to her feet. As she pushed past Indigo, the fishnet-clad girl threw something over her shoulder.
"If you're going to go tell your gang, they should already know by now. K found out and broadcasted it a few minutes ago. All you really need to worry about is convincing them that you didn't kill him."
Mew whirled on her.
"I didn't kill him!" she shrieked. Indigo turned her head slightly to look back at Mew, who was shaking with rage.
"You honestly think they'll believe whatever you have to say? I dare you to go up to them, blood on you knife and clothes, and say whatever sorry-ass excuse you can come up with."
"You're crazy. And you know it. You and that psychotic bitch Scarlet, both of you! You're both insane, and you killed that Noise Tank, the Love Shocker, and somehow, you killed Yo-Yo!!"
Indigo turned to look at her.
"You're at that again?" Suddenly, her face twisted in anger. "How the fuck can you accuse me of killing someone when I wasn't even around!? News flash, I was in the hospital!! I was attacked by that monster you are trying so hard to ignore!!"
"I know you! You're an ugly whore who thinks she can get on top by killing people!! You're crazy! But you just crossed the line! You killed one of my friends and I won't let you get away with it! I'll kill you, I swear, once I catch you!! Once I get the proof I need, I swear to God that you – will – die!"
"You want proof!? Here's proof!" Indigo pulled up her fishnet shirt to show the three stitched gashes across her chest. "This happened last night!! After you left me with that Love Shocker's body, Kell turned up and we were attacked by the monster!! If you still don't believe me, go talk to Kell!!" She dropped her shirt back down.
"How the hell am I supposed to believe you!? I mean, you expect people to believe some lame-ass bullshit story about some monster that goes around killing people!? I mean, that story doesn't even cover what happened to Yo-Yo!! You killed him and I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!!!" She stamped her skate with each 'I hate you'.
"Mew, please, you have to believe me. Remember, Scarlet was the one who hurt you. I'd never, ever hurt anyone, let alone you. Think about it, if I had killed that Noise Tank, Shar, and Yo-Yo, I wouldn't be making a story like this. While it may be hard to swallow, it's true," she paused a second, thinking. "I know it doesn't cover what happened to your friend. That, to be honest, confuses me. You were in a conscious state at the time, so you would've seen it kill him. What I don't understand is that your knife had his blood on it…" She broke off, shaking her head.
"Listen, I don't have time," Mew said, her voice wavering with tears, "I really need to get back to my friends…"
She thought of Tab, and how badly she wanted to sit near him again, lean her head on his shoulder, be comforted…
She shook her head and turned around. She dug the back of her skate in the pavement and pushed off, leaving Indigo behind.
You know, I could've taken care of her for you…"Okay, you need to get one thing down: you can't kill people. It'll make me look even more suspicious, and I can't risk getting caught because then, it will keep killing and no one will be able to stop it."
What 'it'? Remember, I killed all of them! That monster was just your imagination…Indigo sighed.
"One, my chest is slashed open. Don't tell me you did that. And explain Mew's friend."
Silence.
"Wow, the never-stops-talking finally shut up!"
Still more silence.
Indigo blinked a few times, before a fountain of anxiousness welled in her stomach.
"Scarlet?"
Still no answer. Suddenly, Indigo wanted Scarlet to answer, to at least snap at her or start bickering so she knew that she was still there.
"Scarlet, answer me!"
Isn't this what you wanted…? For Scarlet to be gone from your life forever…? Didn't you used to fall asleep with her whispering in your ear, secretly wishing inside that she would just leave you be…?
Indigo shuddered violently at the low, hissing voice reverberating inside her head. She turned her head this way and that, looking around the alley for the source of the voice.
"Wh – who's there?"
Didn't you? Didn't Scarlet used to scare you? She hurt you… she enjoyed watching you suffer… Isn't it good that she's gone?
"What did you do to Scarlet!?" Indigo yelled.
The voice gave a long, malevolent chuckle, but didn't answer.
"Answer me!"
Silence greeted her once again.
Mew hit the pavement and looked back at the Garage door, tears stinging her eyes.
"Show your face around here again and we'll tag you so hard you'll get paint poisoning, murderer."
Gum's words stung, like acid.
"But I didn't -!"
The door slammed before she could finish. Slowly, Mew picked herself off the concrete, vision swimming with tears.
"You killed him, didn't you?""What makes you say that?"
Mew shuddered and began stumbling away from the garage, suddenly feeling inept in her skates.
"Don't play innocent! There's blood all over your knife!"A hand grabbing her wrist and examining her nails.
"How do you explain the blood under your fingernails?!"
"I didn't -!"
"You know what, it would seem very likely that you killed that Noise Tank and the Love Shocker, too!"
Mew wrenched her hand from Gum's grip and shrunk away, eyes wide with fear.
"But-"
"You killed that Noise Tank, ran off and cleaned yourself up, ran back to the body, and started screaming, hoping someone would show up! It makes a lot of sense to me!"
Mew shook her head and hugged herself as she skated along the sidewalk. The sun was shining far above, beating down on the neighborhood.
Gum let go of her wrist and turned to the others.
"What do you guys think?"Mew dug her fingernails into her arms, ignoring the numb pain. They'd agreed. Well, most of them. She remembered one or two who didn't vote for her out of the GG's. But she couldn't believe it. Gum, her best friend. Beat, who was like a brother. And Piranha! All the times they hung out, chatting about girl stuff! Slate, Combo, Garam, they all hated her. But…
Cube and Tab.
Did they still believe her?
Did Tab still like her? And what about Cube? Cube always ignored her, but maybe it had something to do with the way she was. She probably thought Mew was too weak or helpless to do something of the sort. Maybe Tab thought that too.
Mew scowled to herself.
"Think I'm helpless, huh? Well, you'll want me back once I find out who's doing this… You'll be sorry you ever kicked me out of the GG's… Tab, Cube, I don't know what your reasons were, but I'll show you that I'm not weak like you seem so inclined to believe."
Mew kicked a stray pebble ahead of her and watched it bounce several feet up the sidewalk. She was jerked out of her thoughts, however, by the growl of wheels across pavement directly ahead of her. Her head shot up to see Indigo dashing her way, obviously in a state of panic.
Indigo showed no signs of stopping or even seeing Mew. Yelping slightly, Mew jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, Indigo tripped over the back of Mew's skate.
Quickly, Indigo scrambled to her feet and was about to take off again when Mew seized her arm.
"Yo! Stop for a second!!"
Indigo grabbed her hand and tried to force it off, but failed miserably.
"Let go of me!"
"What is wrong with you!?"
"Lemme go!!"
Mew slapped Indigo.
"Cool it! Now, tell me what's wrong!"
Indigo glared at her.
"It's none of your business!" she snarled, digging her fingernails into Mew's hand. Mew gritted her teeth, but didn't let go.
"Well, whatever it is, you might as well spill because secrets don't seem to stay under cover very long around you!"
Indigo stopped struggling.
"It's Scarlet – she – she's gone."
The GG's sat sullenly around the garage. Gum looked on the verge of ripping out her hair and screaming, Beat had his face hidden in his arms, Tab was sitting in a corner by himself, brooding, and everyone else was either busy being gloomy or shocked.
Silently, Cube crawled over to where Tab was sitting and plopped down next to him.
"So… why'd you vote for her to stay?"
"I know she didn't kill Yo-Yo, or the other two. She'd never do anything like that… I know her… Why'd you -?"
"Same reason. I know she doesn't – er – didn't like Yo-Yo, but she'd never kill him because of that."
Tab clenched his fists at his sides. "I can't believe they'd do that to her! Throw her out there to get killed by whatever's killing those rudies!" he growled.
"Well, they do think she's the one killing them…"
Suddenly, Tab stood up.
"Fuck this! You people are so –so immature! How dare you accuse Mew of killing one of her own friends!? I'm out of here; I won't be back until you bitches get your heads out of your asses!"
With a slam of the door, he was gone.