Chapter 4: The Truth
Virginia blinked at Gallows sudden change, it was as if someone had just threw a vat of cold water on her and then dropped the night air to below-zero for good measure.
"Gallows, what are you saying?" inquired Virginia shakily, squeezing his hand a little.
"Virginia, if you had to describe me, how would you go about it?"
There was silence for a few moments, Virginia did not want to give the Entity leeway.
"Well, you are a sweet man with a big heart…." Whispered Virginia, trying her best to keep calm.
Gallows shook his head slowly from side to side, his bitter smile warming up a little.
"Okay, that's what my sweet leader would say, now ,what does Virginia say?" asked Gallows, gently tapping the tip of Virginia's nose with his forefinger. Virginia smiled a little and looked at the ground, trying her best to hide the blush that was spreading across her face at an alarming rate.
"Umm.. I would say that, even though you are a bit of a womanizer, you are a GREAT person!" Virginia nodded her head once and then gave Gallows' hand another squeeze.
"Well Virginia, there is a reason for that, I am, by nature, a very respectful man…but…." Gallows pulled his hand away from Virginia's and started to draw pictures in the sand with the other.
"Certain circumstances have caused me to be indifferent and somewhat idiotic…."
Virginia looked at Gallows, at a lost for words out of both surprise and pity.
"Within me lies another being….. another world…." Whispered Gallows, closing his eyes with a sigh.
"Gallows, do you mean to tell me that the horrible entity that you harbor is actually a fragment of your personality? Gallows…..Please.. PLEASE tell me that the entity is not one of your personalities!"
Gallows' eyes snapped open and he looked at her with shock and agony, he felt as if someone had just ripped out his heart and then stepped on it with spurs on.
"No Virginia The Entity is NOT one of my personalities! I don't know WHERE that evil bastard came from, but I know that he did not come from me!" roared Gallows, startling Virginia a little.
(Then, if he is not speaking of THAT Entity.. Then what IS he talking about?)
"Gallows, please tell me more…I want to know more about you……and the Entity." Said Virginia, blushing near the end of her sentence. Gallows smiled a little and patted her hand warmly, making sure that there was no blood on it before he did so. Virginia smiled back and put her hand on top of his, tapping his fingers with hers lightly.
"This "being" calls itself "Rsalis….He is very intelligent and gets frustrated with me because I am somewhat of an idiot…"
Virginia shook her head "no" at this statement, but Gallows smiled a knowing smile, indicating that he KNEW that he was an idiot and that she was just trying to be nice to him.
"Virginia, I know that I am not the brightest person in the world…But, thanks to Rsalis, I have some fascinating insight on things in general…"
"Like what?" inquired Virginia, all of the sudden very fascinated by Gallows' words.
"For instance, blood, to most people, is dark red, but to me, I see all sorts of colors mixed in with the red."
"Huh? I'm sorry Gallows, I'm just not following you…"
" Blood carries ones life essence, hence it carries their aura as well!" said Gallows with a patient sigh.
"Oh, so because an aura has different colors, and because the aura is carried around in the blood, you see different colors. Am I right?"
"Precisely." Said Gallows with an approving nod.
"So what else do you know about?" pressed Virginia, wanting to hear more.
Nosy isn't she?
(Butt out buddy, you can torture me all you want later, just let me have some peace for now!)
Very well…Just remember…When I come back, I will make you suffer..
(I am quite aware of that, now….. if you would….?)
The Entity sighed, and ripped itself from Gallows' body, causing a little bit of pain in the process.
(He was fighting it again….He's incredibly strong to keep battling it off like that..)
Gallows frowned and pulled his hand out from between Virginia's.
"Have you ever seen someone die?" asked Gallows, bowing his head and closing his eyes.
"Yes, I watched my mother die….." murmured Virginia, a tear welling up in her eye. Gallows opened his eyes and looked at her with compassion, he felt like such an idiot now.
"I'm sorry Virginia, I didn't mean to dig up old bones….I feel bad now…." Sulked Gallows, trying to think up a way to make Virginia feel better. Virginia wiped her tear away and smiled falteringly at Gallows.
"It's okay, Gallows, I just get like this sometimes…."
"Did you know that when someone dies, their souls turn into a beam of rainbow colored light and it shoots straight into the heavens? It's quite pretty…." Whispered Gallows, pushing a strand of hair from Virginia's face and then dropping his hand back to his side. Virginia felt an unexpected tear fall down her face and quickly wiped it away, causing Gallows to look at her with concern.
" I didn't know that Gallows. It sounds beautiful."
"It is… I never thought that death could be so bright and proud…."
"Gallows, do you see spirits sometimes?"
There was a brief silence and then:
"Yes, I do."
" How often? I mean, where do you see them?"
" I saw a visage of your mother once…. "
Virginia gasped and grabbed Gallows hand, forgetting that, just moments ago, he had killed someone.
"When did you see her? How was she? What was she doing?" stuttered Virginia, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a frenzy. Gallows smiled gently and scratched his chin, trying to think of the best way to answer her questions. After a couple of moments, he dropped his hand down into his lap and frowned.
" It was the night before we went to Yggdrasil, everyone was asleep except for me…I heard you crying in your sleep, so I looked in your direction and saw a beautiful woman standing by your bed. I was about to say something, when she turned toward me and put her finger to her lips in a silencing motion.."
"….. Did she say anything?"
"No, she just smiled sadly and then bent down and kissed your forehead…." Gallows smiled at this point and fell backwards suddenly, startling Virginia as he did so.
" Gallows?!" exclaimed Virginia, rising suddenly to make sure he was okay. Gallows laughed and sat back up. Virginia scowled at him and sat back down in front of him.
"Sorry…I was just admiring the stars…"
All of the sudden he felt a painful pressure on his heart and a throbbing dullness in his mind.
Enough Gallows…I am back.. it is time to go….
Gallows sighed and closed his eyes, he knew that he could not win against the Entity at this point.
"Virginia, I must go now….Simulacrum is beckoning….." Gallows stood up and looked down at Virginia longingly… wishing only to talk to her as himself for a couple of more minutes.
"Gallows, can I come with you? I know that I could…" Gallows silenced her by holding up his hand.
"No, I will not put you in danger…..I can't put you in danger….You are my other half…."
"WHAT?!" cried Virginia, both embarrassed and surprised by Gallows' strange words.
" In my heart lies the god of death….Within yours, lies the goddess of life…I can't let such a beautiful light die so suddenly… I am….." Virginia stopped him by pulling him into a tortured embrace.
"Gallows, I don't want you to fight alone! If I am your other half, then we should fight together! What is darkness without light?……"
"……… Virginia…. I don't want to see you die…. I don't want to see that beautiful light flow from your being so coldly! Virginia, I don't care if I die! I….."
"Gallows, I won't die…." She smiled and grabbed his hand with great enthusiasm. " I can't die! I'm with you! Two halves make a whole, you can't win without me, and I can't win without you!" She dropped her hand to her side, still smiling as big as she could.
No, we can't have dead weight following us you FOOL!
" ……. Okay Virginia….but…." he faltered, swallowed hard, and then continued. "If I try to hurt you…You must promise to kill me…. I will not let your light be swallowed by my darkness.."
"You have my promise… " said Virginia, holding her hand out for him to take. With a smile, Gallows took her hand and shook it.
"Then we have a deal!"
Virginia nodded and reluctantly let go of his hand, looking him in the eyes as she did so.
Sa's Riso laso KANA
(… What the hell are you doing?)
The Entity snickered and all of the sudden the ground beneath the two shook violently.
(You son of a BITCH! You summoned a monster, didn't you?)
The only response that he got was an explosion of sand in front of him.
Virginia grabbed his gun and threw it at him, he caught it perfectly and smiled at her. She smiled back and pulled out her twin pistols, and unlocked the safety on both of them.
"Let's rock!" laughed Gallows maniacally, watching as the earth gave birth to a gigantic half organic-half mechanical sand worm with a spiders body as its head. Virginia took in a deep breath and aimed at its head. The creature let out a harsh scream and lunged at the target that reflected in its eight eyes: Virginia.
Virginia's eyes narrowed as the monsters arms swung down at her, at the last moment, she dodged its swipe and shot at the spiders midsection as she fell down to the ground. The creature screamed as black blood poured out of its stomach and onto the sandy earth. Gallows flashed Virginia a thumbs up and then aimed at the worms exposed belly. For some reason, his eyes seemed to zoom in, and he pointed his gun at one of the grooves on the sand worms body.
"Time to say goodbye, you nasty worm!" growled Gallows, focusing his energies into his ARM and pulling the trigger. A black void was expelled from the gun and rushed toward the worm at ungodly speeds. Virginia could have sworn that she saw the monster twitch right before the void hit.
The creature screamed as it was ripped inside out and into the hole, it's inwards falling out of the void and onto the already bloodstained desert floor. Virginia's mouth hung open as the monster disappeared into the nether world, sans its innards. Gallows put his gun away and looked at her with a slightly insane look on his face. Virginia gave him a wary smile and put her guns away and glanced over at the innards with a cringe. She almost felt sorry for the monster……almost…
(Where the hell did that thing come from? I have never seen that type of creature before!)
"Gallows?" asked Virginia in a shaky voice, looking up at him.
"Hm?"
"What was that thing?"
"Kanas La' Masih…" responded Gallows, sounding rather unimpressed.
"Kanas….La'…Masih…?"
Gallows nodded at her question and looked at the monster.
" An ancient monster spawned from the union of a spider demon and a sand worm….Rather gruesome combination…" He looked at her, the insane light of blood lust still prevalent in his eyes. "Wouldn't you agree?" finished Gallows with a superior smirk. Virginia nodded her head "yes" at his question and looked at the innards once again.
"It's kind of sad really…. The creature I mean….It went down…." Virginia's sentence was interrupted by the ground quaking again. Virginia lost her footing and felt herself fall backwards, unable to regain her balance. She cursed inwardly at her clumsiness and waited for the painful impact, that impact never came however, Gallows had caught her in his arms and held her steady for a moment.
"Are you all right, Virginia?" asked Gallows with worry, pushing her gently to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for catching me!" smiled Virginia, closing her eyes briefly.
"Save your thanks for later! We have a slightly BIG problem on our hands!" snarled Gallows, readying his gun and glaring at Virginia. Virginia nodded and pulled out her guns and got them ready.
A screech of fury resounded behind them and they whirled around with their guns at ready. Virginia gasped and then said a small curse when she saw a demon the size of a house glaring down at her. With a snarl, she aimed her guns at its knee caps, the weakest area of its body that she could aim at with ease.
"Gallows, what should we…?" Virginia's question was cut off by Gallows' insane laughter. She looked at him in a rather confused manner and raised her eyebrow with concern.
"We kill it, of course!" He snarled, loading bullets into his Modified Coyote.
(Of course…) Thought Virginia dejectedly, her heart sinking down into her feet.
"Okay Gallows…" she said, narrowing her eyes and pointing her guns at the Demon.
"Ah, Roka….It has been a while…." Roared the demon with gusto, clicking his tongue against his blood caked teeth. Gallows nodded his head in acknowledgment, but said nothing.
(Why am I nodding to this demon? I should be SHOOTING it! Who the hell is Roka? Damn it you son of a bitch, ANSWER me!) Thought Gallows, his heart about to explode with rage. There was no response from the Entity and the eerie silence continued. The Demon looked down at Virginia and smiled a sharp-toothed smile. Gallows looked at her, a smile playing across his lips, a pained expression in his eyes.
(Gallows, what's HAPPENING to you? Why are you staring at me like that?)
"Ah, so you have bought yourself a harlot have you?" laughed the demon cruelly, spitting a small shower of blood and rotting flesh at his feet.
Gallows looked at the blood and then smiled at the demon menacingly, his eyes flashing gold for a brief moment. Virginia gasped and stepped away from him, knowing that he was not himself.
"Yes." Said Gallows in a strangely flat voice, "She is my whore…."
Virginia glared at him and, with a snarl, aimed her guns at the demon's midsection.
"What did you DO to him, you son of a BITCH!"
The demon laughed at this and glared down at her with his blood red eyes aglow.
"I did nothing to him, THIS is Gallows! This is the man that had his.."
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" screamed Gallows, grabbing the sides of his head and shaking it side to side. Virginia looked at Gallows, at first with confusion and then with a certain degree of warmth and moved toward him slowly. With a groan, Gallows aimed his gun at Virginia, his eyes flickering between gold and blue. Virginia backed off and dropped her guns to her side dejectedly, he was almost gone now, she could feel it…Hell, she could TASTE the stench of evil around him. Gallows started to pull the trigger and Virginia smiled a little, with a glance at the demon, she ran forward and tackled Gallows with all of her strength, knocking him down and causing her to plummet forward toward his downed and angry form. With a grunt, she landed on her hands and half flipped, half rolled over Gallows , grabbing his hands and pinning them to the ground in a smooth movement, causing Gallows to snarl something fierce.
"Get OFF of me!" snarled Gallows, trying to pull himself up, but, to his surprise, Virginia had him in a position so that he could NOT get up!
(Wow Virginia, you got me good…Don't let me go…I don't want to hurt you!)
Virginia sulked at the infuriated Gallows and then smiled at him a little.
" Oh baby, you weren't saying that last night!" she snickered, her smile widening. The demon closed his eyes and then blinked a couple of times. Had he heard what she had said correctly? Gallows stopped struggling and looked up at her dumbfounded, for the first time, the Entity AND Gallows were at a lost for words. The demon snarled with impatience and started to advance on Virginia, Virginia's glare made him freeze in his tracks. Her eyes were fiery, hateful, and a bit desperate. The demon cackled and with a screech of agony, pulled a sword from his stomach! A river of blood flowed from his mouth and cascaded down to the ground in a silent rush, some of it splashing onto Gallows and Virginia.
"I know who you are…ROKA!" spat Virginia, glaring down at Gallows' golden eyes. His eyes narrowed and he spat in her face. With a smile, she returned the favor and then stuck her tongue out at him.
The Entity named Roka, glared at Virginia and closed his eyes with annoyance, secretly drawing upon Gallows life as he did so. The demon howled and swung his sword down, Virginia watched in horror as the sword descended in its deadly arc, unable to move or speak. Her breath caught in her throat and she pressed her feverish forehead against Gallows' cold one. She let go of his hands and placed her arms protectively across his chest. She felt the wind from the sword crush the sand beside her, and she knew that soon…
(I am going to die….)
She waited that eternal second, waiting for the blade to slash cleanly though her soft flesh….Her dreary thoughts were interrupted by the demon's enraged screech, she opened one eye and then the other, afraid as to what she would see. She gasped as she looked up the blood stained sword, it was hanging several feet above her, with its owner was trying desperately to push it down to kill her. She looked down at Gallows and smiled a little when she saw HIS smile, and not the Entity's looking back at her. A fine line of blood trickled from his lips and his eyes were tinged with gold. With a shaking hand, he caressed her face, and the smile fell from his lips. Virginia grabbed his hand and held on to it as tight as she could.
"Gallows…" started Virginia mournfully, Gallows silenced her by putting his finger to her lips.
'Run." He whispered, removing his finger from its trembling resting spot. Virginia nodded and stood up, looking at the demon as she did so. The demon doubled its efforts with an enraged scream, and spat on the invisible force field protecting Virginia. Virginia gave Gallows one more pitiful glance and ran between the demons legs as fast as she could. The demon snarled as he watched Virginia run over a sand dune and disappear. He slowly turned his head and looked at Gallows' with malice.
"Why did you let her go?" snarled the demon, dropping the sword down to his side with disgust. Gallows smiled and fought Roka off a little bit more.
"Why, you ask? It is an emotion that you would not understand…" spat Gallows, sitting up slowly, still scowling at the demon quite a bit. The demon looked at Gallows/Roka with confusion, raising his sword a little in defense. Gallows felt a hot pain rip through his skull and blood poured from his ears. He fell down to the ground, writhing in agony and defeat. Roka was winning and Gallows knew that his time of being himself was short.
" I fight….. for…..Virg……ia…." he said through a bloody smile. He closed his eyes solemnly, his last fleeting thought was that of Virginia's sweet face. His body twitched and blood flew out in strings from his mouth as his head tossed back and forth in anguish.
Seconds later, Roka (In Gallows' body) opened his golden eyes and dusted the dirt from his jeans.
"It feels so good to be given a vessel once again!" laughed Roka, rubbing his stomach happily. The demon fell down to his knees and looked at Roka pitifully. Roka glared at him and signaled for him to rise with a wave of his hand. The demon rose and looked down at Roka nervously.
"Master Roka, your body is bloody….." stuttered the demon, cringing as he shoved the sword back into his empty abdominal cavity. Roka smiled coldly and pushed his long brown hair behind his ears.
"You are not looking to good yourself, Rlaza.. In fact you look like shit if I maybe so bold.."
The demon laughed and knelt down in front of Roka. Roka climbed on to his shoulders and Rlaza rose with pride and then started to sink into the ground, carrying Gallows' shell into the underworld.