Author's Notes: Yes, well…I may be back, but I'm still a low updater. And I still love excuses. And my original fiction is still so much better and more important, since that's the great works that will actually win be some money in the future. Oh, and if you are a metal fan go find some Symphony X – very good stuff.
Psy—Yes, I am back. Yay! Let's all rejoice! I can't believe you're still here! Still having fun on this site? I'll have to look at what else you've managed to conjure up while I've been away. -.
A time will comeWhen all we see
In the end it's just a game.
Time will tell
When all these things
That have come to pass
Still remain…
Symphony X
Chapter 11: Confusion
It was dark. He was breathing heavily. It hurt to move. He felt used and abused, shivering like a little kid in a dark corner. He sat with his legs curled up, knees up to his chest, head buried in his resting arms. He took in another painful gasp of air and coughed, turning his head to get a whiff of good oxygen, tears brimming at the corners of his vision.
"Vee…" He didn't hear the voice. He wasn't listening.
He gulped down precious air, still breathing heavy and deep. Memories of what Mikirubai had done to him flooded through the gates of his mind. He scrunched up into an even tighter ball, shuddering at the evil thoughts.
"Vee…" He heard the voice this time, lifting his sweat-soaked head and tear-brimmed eyes to stare into the mature gaze of his younger-by-birth brother. He felt his brother's hand on his shoulder and he flinched away at the touch, not enjoying the fact that he was pressed into a corner. Vege sighed. "Vee, there's so much you don't know about me. I know this is the worst time to be telling you, but I plan to leave soon, whether or not someone tries to stop me."
The last part of the sentence was aimed at someone else and Vee looked beyond Vege's shoulder to see Mikirubai squatting down in the middle of the painted circular figure on the ground, the woman's long blood red fingernails tracing some other symbol on the floor. She looked up, smirked slightly when her blood red eyes caught his innocent black ones, but faced Vege with a sigh, halting the tracing of the figure to tap her fingernails against her chin.
"Now, now, Vege, you know that you are allowed to leave whenever you want. You came to me, remember? I told you when I first brought you here that all you had to do to be free was find a way out, and I wouldn't chase after you."
Vege snorted and muttered under his breath, "Kept me here over ten years, though."
Vee blinked, growing more curious by the second. "It took you that long to find a way out?"
Vege swerved to face him, eyebrows raised. "Why don't you go outside her safety barriers and try navigating through the different realms of Empty Space. It isn't easy. One wrong step and…" he snapped his fingers once before finishing the sentence, "…you're on the ground reliving your worst nightmares in a tragic state of depression."
Vee felt his mouth gape open. He couldn't help himself. "Empty Space? We're in Empty Space?" He gulped when Vege nodded sadly. "So, you're telling me that Mikirubai is just like Psyfoam in essence only female and full of magic? And when Psyfoam saved me and Reda from the planet's destruction Mikirubai 'saved' you? And as Psyfoam trained me and Reda, Mikirubai in turn trained you? Only, you escaped from her, going into Empty Space without…" Vee paused, not able to say anything else.
Vege sighed, looking deep into his brother's eyes, a gaze of experience coming through to Vee's confused mind. "In a nutshell, yes, that's basically what happened." He paused, seeing Vee's question in the shocked eyes. "And yes, I know how to navigate the Realms of Empty Space."
Vee blinked many times, staring up at his brother with wide eyes and new respect, feeling very much like a little child seeking an explanation from an older brother. "You…you can navigate Empty Space? How? How is that possible? How does it work?"
Vege shook his head and sighed. "It's complicated."
When Vee didn't reply, Vege reached out with a helpful hand and pulled his brother up to his feet, placing a strong hand on Vee's thin, bony shoulder. It was odd being older than his older brother, being more experienced, being the one offering comfort. It should have been the other way around, but time had screwed with them—in more ways than one. Vege could feel tears of sadness forming in his already misty eyes.
"You're leaving me, aren't you?"
The words hit Vege hard. They were the exact words Vege had spoken to Vee all those long years ago, the very last words they had said to each other. Only now it was reversed. Vege nodded sadly, trying to force a smile like Vee ha done to him as a little kid. He failed miserably.
"Don't leave me, brother," Vee muttered, falling onto his brother and gripping him in a tight hug.
To have been favorite brothers, like best friends, for just the few short years Vege had been alive—somewhere in the neighborhood of three—and then to have been separated for what seemed like an eternity. To have found each other again, only to go in separate directions…Vege reached around and hugged his brother back. It was hard on both of them.
"Vee, you have to be strong. Mikirubai's going to be a huge bitch for however long it takes you to finish your training."
Suddenly, he was interrupted by the Super Bitch herself. "Awe. So sweet. I hate goodbyes, but we might as well go to the exit so we can do this the proper way."
In a flash the three of them were at the front of Mikirubai's fortress. Vege and Vee were no longer hugging. In fact they were separated by a clear white force field, which operated as the exit and entrance to Mikirubai's blood red fortress. Vege kicked at the ground, now on the outside of the bitch's castle, seeing his brother as a fuzzy figure through the force field. He cursed loudly but no sound came back to him.
He was in Empty Space.
Well, I guess I better go find that chick—the one Vee can fuse with. Mikirubai plans to make Vee stronger than that girl so the two can't create Vree, but if I manage to train her enough in the Dark Magic…I think I can counteract whatever Mikirubai's planning. Oh, but jeez, my brother has to go through hell in the process…
I hate my life.
