AN: Thanks to all my reviewers, I'm so glad your enjoying it thus far nn This chapter is a bit uhh.. long. I couldn't really find a place to cut it off for a while so it's really long. In reply to some of the questions about the first two chapters, about how no. 114 knew the difference between a 'he' and a 'she' and how he knew what 'puppet' meant, those I basically threw in so it wouldn't be too confusing for the reader and the puppet part was thrown in for effect so I'd have something to go on.
And thanks for the e mails too, I love them nn Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Edit: I'm really sorry to everyone who has read this before this change but Mr. 56 has been changed to Mr. 57. It turns out that 56 was alreadly taken by a black mage in the game which would destory my plot so it had to be changed, sorry!
Chapter 3
Kill? What was kill again...? Kill, kill, kill... No. 114 racked his memory for the meaning, he knew he knew it somehow. He had never heard it used before but he knew it, what was it? Kill? It was something horrible. He at least knew that. It caused pain. Something inside told no. 114 that he was to avoid being 'killed' at all costs.
No. 114 stared at Beatrix and the queen, wondering what they were going to do. If they wanted to kill him then he knew he should try and not get killed. How would he do that? How do you 'kill' anyway?
"What a waste." The Queen snarled. She seemed angrier than before.
"...So, what's wrong with it? I know he said it was broken but what does that mean?" Beatrix wondered out loud, tilting her head slightly looking over at no. 114.
"Just get rid of it." The Queens threw her arms violently making Beatrix jump slightly.
"Here?" Beatrix asked, a shocked look came over her face at the Queens behavior.
"Of course not! Get someone else to do it, we have a tree to destroy." The Queen ordered, making her way to the door.
"Destroy...?" Beatrix asked softly, her face adopting a distressed look.
The Queen gave no answer, but instead went through the large doors into the castle. No. 114 would've wondering where she was going if he was preoccupied trying to figure out what 'kill' was.
"God, I'm sick of this." Beatrix muttered to herself. "Attacking everyone with black mages for crystals! What has gotten into her?"
Beatrix looked over at no. 114 wondering if he could hear her, and if he could understand what she was saying.
"God." She sighed deeply. "I don't trust that Kuja... Oh well, come on then." Beatrix ordered at no. 114, as she started toward the doors.
No. 114 followed. They went into the hallway and down the same stairs they went up. But instead of going through another door Beatrix addressed some guards who looked disappointed at the fact that they weren't leaving with the Queen's airship.
"You two, orders." Beatrix said simply to the pair. "Take this mage out of the castle, out to the fields and kill it. Go through the underground way, I don't want to start a panic in town with you two walking through there with a mage. Understand?"
"Yeah but... why?" The light haired guard asked confusedly.
"That doesn't concern you. Just follow through with it, afterwards come back and do your usual rounds while I'm gone." Beatrix ordered while looking through a window at the airship about to take off. She turned to no. 114 and said, "Follow their orders."
She left through a door on their right and disappeared onto the airship. No. 114 looked over at the two guards, wondering what was going to happen next. He knew Beatrix ordered them to kill him, and she ordered him to follow their orders but... he wasn't supposed to get killed. What was he supposed to do?
"Weird..." The dark haired guard sighed. "What is this all about?"
"Beats me. Oh well, something more interesting to do." The light haired one sighed. "Follow us, mage."
No. 114 followed them. He followed them down into another underground passage; there must be a lot of them. But... No. 114 felt strange, he wanted to follow orders but he also felt that he shouldn't be killed either.
"Tomorrow's me and Anthony's anniversary."
"Really? Doing anything special?"
"Hee, hee, he said we're going to do something special but refuses to tell me!"
"How sweet! I love it when boyfriends are nice like that."
"That reminds me, I was going to hook up with a friend of mine!"
"Really?"
No. 114 was supposed to follow orders. But he wasn't supposed to be killed. But he had to follow all the orders he was given. But what if he was ordered to be killed? What was he supposed to do then? Why wouldn't this make any sense...?
"You haven't seen Amanda have you?"
"Oh.. you didn't hear?"
"Hear what?"
"Amanda got killed in Burmecia..."
"What?!"
"Horrible isn't it?"
"Yeah, I didn't think we'd get any deaths with the black mages on our side..."
No. 114 was confused. It was horrible when one of the other guards got killed, so was it going to be horrible if he got killed? If it was horrible then why were these guards going to do it? Just because they were told to?
"Speaking of which, what're we supposed to do with this one?"
"Kill it, right?"
"Yeah, but what if it attacks us?"
"...It shouldn't, not if we tell it not to."
"Oh, okay."
....Attack? What did that mean again...? Why would he attack if they were going to kill him? Was that what he was supposed to do? Obliviously not, the guards just said he shouldn't, but then why would they think of it? Why were they going to kill him? No. 114 didn't understand.
They had been walking through a dark tunnel for some time now, no. 114 didn't notice. He was still trying to figure out what was going on. He wanted to remember what kill meant. But before he could figure it out they were out of the dark. The passageway led them to somewhere new, outside of the castle and town and in a large grassy field on the top of a high plateau. The guards led no. 114 into the middle of the field near the cliff edge, down below a dark and stiff forest lay surrounding a small lake made up of the water from the town's waterfalls.
"So what do we do with it after we kill it?" The light haired guard asked looking around the empty plateau.
"We could just push him off the edge here, something in the Evil Forest can eat it or something." The dark haired guard answered looking over at the forest below them. She looked over at no. 114 and asked the other guard, "You want to do it?"
"Sure, but how should I do it?" The light haired guard asked, tilting her head at no. 114 and letting her hand rest on the handle of her sword.
"Just a clean stab I guess." The other shrugged.
No. 114 felt his breath quicken as the guard readied her sword. He didn't want to be killed.
"Don't move."
No. 114 watched the guard come closer to him, the sword reflecting the sunlight on its sharp blade. No. 114 wanted to follow the order but he didn't want to be killed. His programming was clashing causing a pounding pain in his head, he had to follow the order but he wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to avoid being killed at all costs.
No. 114 realized that the guard was blocking his way out, all that was behind him was the cliff and he didn't want to fall down either.
The guard edged closer to him, no. 114 watched the blade make its way closer and closer to him. The guard was almost within attacking distance, no. 114 could see her light hair be teased by the light breeze, the reflecting world in the sliver blade.
No. 114 didn't want to be killed.
Then, at the same moment the guard started her attack, no. 114's programming took over. Losing almost all control of his body no. 114 dodged the guard's attack, the stab missing his chest. A large smoldering fire formed in his gloved hands, releasing the burning pain he experienced from before. He threw the flame at the guard without realizing the magic he was casting. The guard screamed in pain as she was engulfed by the flame, her skin burning away showing the raw flesh under her skin. He threw another at the other guard who had run in fear back to the town but narrowly missed.
He turned back to the guard that he had caught flame to. She was lying on the ground motionless, her burned body letting off smoke from the fire. Her skin was peeled off her body, exposing her flesh to the fire leaving it burned through. Her eyes were empty and her mouth hung open.
No. 114 had killed her.
No. 114 stared in horror. That was what 'kill' meant, it was horrible and he did it. Why did he do that? What did he do? How did he have that much power?
No. 114 suddenly realized that the guard's attack didn't miss as he had thought. He felt an unbearable pain that had begun to grow on his right arm. He looked down at it and saw that the guard had hacked away part of his upper arm, it had hit the middle and went out the side, the purple fabric of his coat was ripped and his own dark blood was pouring out all over him and the ground.
He went into shock. He killed a guard. And part of his arm was ripped. The smell of the burnt guard and the sight of his own blood made him gag. He started to move backwards, away from the guard, away from the pain that wouldn't leave.
One step. The other guard would probably come back to kill him, he didn't want what happened to the guard or what happened to his arm to happen to the rest of him.
Two steps. What did he do? How could he do that? He knew it was wrong but it felt so... right. Why did he feel like that?
Three steps. How did he do those things without thinking of it? Why didn't he know how to dodge and attack before, or did he?
Four steps. He needed to get away, far away.
There was no fifth step. There was no more ground to step onto, so he fell; down the cliff, far, far away from everything. He felt the wind rush out from under him, his blood dripped upwards and out of sight. He knew that when he eventually would land, it would hurt. Maybe even kill him.
So once again, after all his efforts to live, it was all blown away by the same breeze that was letting him fall. No. 114 closed his eyes and readied for the pain, for the end.
"Is he okay?"
"I'm not sure yet..."
"Did he come from up there?"
"I think so."
"Did he fall?"
"Most likely."
"What does that mean again?"
"Another way to say 'yes'."
"Oh, what happened to his arm?"
"Humans, most likely."
"Oh, are there humans up there?"
"Probably... that means 'yes' too."
"Why are there so many ways to say yes?"
"Because saying yes all the time is boring."
"What does – Hey! He's moving!"
What happened? Had he been killed? Everything hurt...
"Hello? Are you awake?"
"Maybe he's sleeping!"
"I don't think so...."
Who was talking? They didn't sound like guards...
"Why doesn't he open his eyes?"
"Because he probably hurts a lot."
"Would it hurt a lot to fall from up there?"
"Yep."
No. 114 did hurt a lot. But who was talking?
No. 114 opened his eyes, it was darker outside than before. He was lying a little ways from the cliff he had fallen from, he had fallen into the forest, it was filled with trees and underbrush made of stone and there was a type "A" standing over him...
"He's awake!" The type "A" cried out happily. No. 114 was shocked, the black mage didn't look hollow or empty, in fact he was talking and acting kind of like the guards and other people he had seen at the castle.
Suddenly another face appeared right in front of his, another black mage. He looked different though, no. 114 had never seen one like him before. He seemed to be sitting next to no. 114 and had leaned over him to look into his face.
"Hello? You feeling okay?" The mage asked, his voice was softer and calmer than the type "A". He looked like a mix between a type "A" and "B", same strong structure as an "A" but had almost the same outfit has a "B" but he seemed fancier and more powerful than either of the types.
"Can you speak?" The mage asked him in an even softer voice.
"Maybe he doesn't know how..." The "A" mumbled.
"Maybe." The other mage replied, "Come on, give it a go... Tell me what your number is." He encouraged no. 114.
Speak? Could he do that? How do you do that? Maybe he should try...
"1..." No. 114 started weakly, he was in so much pain, "... 1... 4."
"'114'?" The mage asked, "I'm Mr. 239, nice to meet you."
"I'm Mr. 57!" The type "A" chimed happily.
"How do you pronounce your number? One hundred and fourteen? One-one-four? Or is it one fourteen?" Mr. 239 asked no. 114.
No. 114 groaned in pain, why were they talking about numbers when he was hurting so bad? He turned to look at his arm but was surprised to find that instead of ripped fabric and blood there were two sticks tied onto his arm with bandages, keeping his arm stiff and it looked like his coat had been re-stitched.
"I fixed it for you." Mr. 239 mumbled, sifting back to his position next to no. 114 and tightened the bandages. "Humans do this when they hurt their arms, it makes it so that it doesn't hurt so much and fixes itself. I don't know if it'll work on us but it's worth a try."
"Mr. 239 knows lots of stuff!" Mr. 57 said happily, almost bouncing up and down in excitement.
"...Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better." Mr. 239 said handing a small bottle over to no. 114's uninjured arm.
No. 114 took the drink but didn't know what to do with it. He had eaten things before but had never drunk anything before. Why was he supposed to drink it? How do you drink something?
"Come on, it's like eating but you have to swallow it faster." Mr. 239 seemed to read no. 114's mind; he was rummaging through a small ragged old bag looking for something inside of it, checking the labels of bottles and paper packages as he looked through it.
No. 114 wondered why Mr. 239 had so much stuff in his bag and what he was going to do with it all...
Mr. 239 looked up at no. 114 and realized he had not yet tried to drink the liquid from the bottle. "Drink it, it'll make you better."
No. 114 looked back at the small bottle, he propped himself up as well as he could with his good arm and put the bottle to his mouth. A sudden rush of liquid poured into his mouth and down his throat, he tried his best to swallow it all down despite the horrid taste. Mr. 239 took the bottle back when all of the potion had been consumed and placed it back in the bag.
"Feel any better?" Mr. 239 asked softly, his eyes were full of warmth unlike all the other black mages No. 114 had seen before. He nodded slightly, the pain was starting to ease but he still felt weak.
"Mr. 239 can fix anything! He's so smart!" Mr. 57 said happily.
"You were lucky, if that cut in your arm was any deeper you might have lost it. And surviving that fall..." Mr. 239 mumbled in amazement from no.114's side.
"That's silly, how could you lose an arm?" Mr. 57 asked confusedly.
"If Mr. 114's arm was cut anymore, the arm would come off... then you wouldn't be able to put it back on so he'd have no arm." Mr. 239 explained as he looked over the splint he had made on no. 114's arm.
No. 114 felt really lucky, he was happy he still had an arm. He still felt sore, he had somehow only gotten away with bruises and cuts from the fall. He wondered what was happening back at the castle, what did they do about the burnt guard? Were they looking for him? He didn't want to think about that.
It felt like the potion had done as much as it could, he was still really tired and sore but his vision became clearer. He decided to get a better look at the two black mages that were helping them. He noticed that Mr. 57 was in terrible shape, his coat had been re-stitched several times in awkward places, on his chest, arms, legs, everywhere. He also noticed that the back of Mr. 57's hat was stitched up but was rather dented, as though he had been hit really hard on the back of his head. But apart from his tattered appearance Mr. 57 seemed like a very happy mage, although his face was covered by the usual darkness, no. 114 could tell that behind it Mr. 57 was wearing a large smile.
Mr. 239 looked very different from Mr. 57. He seemed to be in perfect condition apart from some stains on his white pants. He had beautiful armor on as well: brass bits on his knees, wrists and the same brass emblem of Alexandria that no. 114 had dangled off Mr. 239's belt. No. 114 also noticed that he had a large gold coloured staff, it looked heavy and really powerful, just like Mr. 239. How did he know so much? Where did he learn all that?
The sky was slowly getting darker, Mr. 57 and Mr. 239 scavenged the stone forest for wood, they didn't get much but there was enough to make a 'fire'. No. 114 didn't understand what they were talking about. What was a fire? No. 114 watched them as they piled all the sticks they found in a pile, and then Mr. 239 made the same flames in his hands as No. 114 had done earlier, the flame caught onto the wooden sticks which instantly lit up. The fire made a pleasant light and warmth, it made no. 114 feel nice and cozy, he had never felt like that before. It was quite nice. Soon after the fire was set Mr. 57 curled up under a tree next to the fire and feel asleep. Mr. 239 sat close to the fire, his chin resting on his hands; he looked over at no. 114 who hadn't spoken since he told them his number.
"So, how did you get down here?" Mr. 239 inquired, the light from the fire dancing on the shiny brass bits on his coat.
"Down here?" No. 114 asked, he tried to look up at the cliff from which he had fallen but the night made it disappear. "I fell down."
Mr. 239 nodded slightly, "How did that happen?"
No. 114 looked down at the ground in front of him, the image of the burnt guard haunted him. His mind kept re-visiting the plateau and the castle; he wished his mind wouldn't. It was too much to bear.
Mr. 239 seemed to understand no. 114's silence, "Did some humans attack you?" He offered gently.
Shocked slightly at Mr. 239's understanding No. 114 nodded, "They... wanted to..." He stopped as his throat tied itself up, he couldn't even say the words.
Mr. 239 nodded, "I see. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He looked over at Mr. 57 sleeping and sighed, "Why don't you get some rest? You'll feel better in the morning, then we can get out of this forest..."
Rest. That sounded good to no. 114, he felt so tired. But Mr. 239 didn't look like he was going to rest; he just sat there looking over at Mr. 57.
"What about you?" No. 114 asked, Mr. 239 looked tired, why didn't he rest?
Mr. 239 seemed surprised by the question, "Oh um, I have to keep watch on Mr. 57..." He looked back at the sleeping mage, his expression showed concern and a small touch of fear.
No. 114 didn't understand. "Why?" He asked, his head tilting to one side.
Mr. 239 hesitated but decided that if Mr. 114 was going to stay with them he might as well know. "Mr. 57... he doesn't work properly. One minute he's happy and aware, the next he's empty and casting magic on every single thing he sees."
'Magic', that was the fire that no. 114 and Mr. 239 had released from their hands. That was how to 'attack', how to 'kill'. No. 114 shuttered slightly upon his realization of the meaning of these words.
"How...?" No. 114 started but his voice died off.
Mr. 239 sifted uncomfortably, he hated remembering it. "About two days ago, I found Mr. 57. It was just after an attack on a city full of rat-humans and Mr. 57 got left behind and some rat-humans found him." He paused not wanting to continue. He didn't want to scare his new friend, but he felt he might as well finish. "They almost killed him. They beat on him, and beat on him. They used spears and... they hurt him really badly. I saved Mr. 57, but he almost stopped and he was hit really hard on the back of his head. I was able to make him better but... there's something wrong inside of his head and... I can't fix that. Type 'A's don't have the mental strength 'B's and 'C's have, his mind broke I think. I wish there was more I could do for him..."
No. 114 was silent. He didn't understand some parts of what Mr. 239 had said but he understood it for the most part. It was horrible, why did humans want to kill and hurt the black mages? Why did they hurt Mr. 57 so badly? Was that what the guards wanted to do to him? The whole thing terrified no. 114, humans trying to kill them, what was wrong with Mr. 57, everything.
"Are you okay?" Mr. 239 asked no. 114 when he noticed him start shaking. He felt bad for telling Mr. 114 the story, he was probably shaken up from whatever had happened to him and he felt like he had made it worse.
"Don't worry about it okay? Everything will be fine." Mr. 239 reassured him, although feeling rather shaken himself. "Just try and get some rest okay?"
No. 114 was tired and scarred. He didn't want to be scared but the images of the burnt guard, his blood dripping upwards as he fell down the cliff and his made-up images of Mr. 57 almost being killed were cursing his mind. But slowly the warmth of the fire, the light breeze and the sound of Mr. 57's and Mr. 239's breathing clamed him and he slowly slipped into a deep sleep.
AN: So did you like it? Strange turn eh? It was pretty hard writing that whole chapter without using the words 'death' or 'died' or otherwise. So please leave a review to tell me what you think!