Chapter 10

"Chisato!" Precis Neumann threw her hands in the air. Beads of sweat formed on her brow. "You're the one?"

"Don't be silly," said Chisato. "I just need your cooperation if we're both to get out of this alive."

"I don't understand," said Precis. "Why do you need to threaten me?"

"Because we're going to see Ashton," said Chisato.

Precis stifled a scream. "I don't want to see him."

"I know that," said Chisato. "That's why I need to use force. I don't want to take any chances. I know how strongly you feel about not seeing him now, and I can't risk you messing this up. We're both going to see Ashton, and we're both going right now. Bring Bobot."

Precis hesitated.

"And throughout this visit, you will do exactly as I say."

"This isn't like you," said Precis.

"I just want to live." Chisato frowned. "We all want to live, I think, and if acting like I'm acting makes that more likely, then it's what I need to do."

Precis shivered and listened as Chisato continued, "And what you need to do is put Bobot into a burlap sack so Ashton won't see him. You have one of those lying around, don't you?"

"I think so," said Precis.

"Do it, and then we leave."

XXX

Precis felt more than a little trapped as she marched, Chisato behind her, to Ashton's door, Bobot in tow. The man behind the door was the anvil, Chisato's gun was the hammer, and she was crushed.

I am not making up with that monster, she thought. No way. Why do I even need to talk to him?

When she stopped in her tracks to gather herself, she felt the cold metal of a pistol brush against the back of her neck. The cold rushed through the rest of her body, and she began to feel defenseless. This jarred her.

Be strong, Precis. Ain't no way out of this with a gun right up to your neck. No way. No shame in that.

The metal pressed harder against her neck, so she began moving again. She couldn't help but view each step she took as the ticking of an infernal clock chronicling her march to the scaffold. The inevitability of it all frightened her. She soon would meet both Ashton and the killer, and that summed up all of the dread she felt at the moment. Those were the two people she least wanted to encounter. Those were the two reasons she had locked herself up.

Locked myself up. That's the only way to describe it. Keep them out means I gotta make myself a bird in a cage. A cage. I'm a caged bird that no one can control.

Thump! Lost in her musings, Precis failed to notice when she reached her destination.

"Try knocking with your hand, not your head," said Chisato.

Way to look dumb in a crisis.

Precis rapped lightly on the wood in front of her. No one answered.

"Knock harder," said Chisato.

"Ashton's a heavy sleeper," said Precis. "He just kept on sleeping every time the killer came through our room to get Bobot."

"Just do it," said Chisato. The gun barrel poked its way into Precis's neck again.

"Fine," said Precis, and she knocked harder.

This time, Ashton responded. "Who is it?"

"Be polite," Chisato hissed. "Be lovey-dovey. We have to get in."

"What?"

"And hurry!" Chisato prodded her again.

"It's me," said Precis, loudly enough for Ashton to hear her. "It's Precis."

The voice on the other side poured through like a bursting dam. "Precis? Sweetie? You've come back! Oh, you've come back! Finally! I've been so sad. So…"

"May I come in?" said Precis, swallowing her pride.

"Oh, sure," said Ashton. "We've got so much to talk about. I've got so much apologizing to do. Oh, my life has meaning again!"

The doorknob turned, and the door swung open. For a second, but only for a second, Precis found herself face to face with the man she loved. Once loved. Used to love. A flurry of conflicting emotions met in her head all at once, but before she could sort them out, Chisato shoved her to the floor behind Ashton.

"Owie!" said Precis. "What was…?"

Precis cut herself off as she looked up to see Chisato, now holding her pistol at Ashton's face. She spoke with the authority of a street cop meeting the criminal punk who killed her partner: "I got you now, didn't I?"

Gyoro and Ururun hissed madly, and Ashton raised his hands over his head. "Got me? Uh, is this some kind of joke?"

"Don't play dumb," said Chisato. "Why did you do it?"

"D-do what?" Ashton stammered and stumbled backwards.

"I said not to play dumb!" Fire flashed in Chisato's eyes. Precis almost didn't recognize her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Ashton insisted. "R-really, I don't."

"I have all the proof I need," said Chisato. "You want to hear it?"

"Go ahead," said Ashton. "You've got the gun. You do the talking."

"Don't take me for a fool," said Chisato. "If you were all that innocent, why would you be armed? Why would you even be dressed at this time of night? Everyone else is asleep."

"I'm in my pajamas, aren't I?" said Ashton.

He wasn't, though, Precis noticed. What? Ashton?

Two swords clattered to the floor.

"I really don't know what I was doing with those," said Ashton. "I must have picked them up out of habit."

"Step back," Chisato demanded. "Now."

Ashton did, and Chisato kicked his weapons to the side, out of everyone's reach.

"You won't be poisoning me again," said Chisato. "And you won't be framing Bobot."

"Framing Bobot?" Ashton looked utterly dumbfounded.

"That's why you left me alive," said Chisato. "I've been blaming Bobot from the start, and you liked that. You couldn't have me identifying you when you ran into me downstairs, but you didn't want me dead. That's why you only cut me once."

"I didn't cut you at all!" said Ashton. "Honest!"

"Every step of the way, you planted evidence incriminating Bobot," Chisato continued, ignoring Ashton. "The blood. The oil in the bathtub. You even watched Bobot to see what you could frame it for doing. You knew what it was capable of. Then, when Precis locked you out, the planted evidence stopped, and a dead body turned up in the room where you were staying. You tried to poison Ernest, but you got Opera instead, so you took him out with your swords."

"I thought he was hanged!" said Ashton. "I saw him."

"You thought it was obvious, so you covered up the sword wounds before throwing him over the railing. You didn't count on the cuts turning all purple. Like this one."

Chisato pulled her collar to one side, revealing her purple scratch.

"Anyone could have done that," said Ashton. "I swear it wasn't me."

"You made a mistake, though," said Chisato. "You haven't been paying enough attention to Precis's Bobot programming. See, you thought you could cut Ernest up just like Bobot would in his Holo-Holograph mode."

Ashton looked pale as a ghost. "I didn't…"

"You did," said Chisato. "But you forgot something. You're a lot taller than Bobot. Most of its sword swipes hit down low, and only the final one hits up high. The injuries to Ernest were all on his chest and shoulders."

"Lots of people are taller than Bobot." Ashton was clearly on the verge of tears.

"Not people who know the sword techniques of the House of Anchors. Why did you do it, Ashton?"

"Chisato," said Precis, "what are you doing?"
Chisato said nothing in reply, but Precis just barely noticed her left hand pointing at the sack containing Bobot. Precis nodded and fell silent. Feeling strangely brave, she crawled along the floor to a space several meters behind Ashton, pulling her sack behind her. She then began untying the top of it.

"Why?" Chisato repeated. "Why, Ashton?"

"He didn't," said Ashton's voice.

Chisato looked startled. "What?"

"You almost got it right," said the voice, "but you overlooked something. Two things."

"What are you talking about?"

The voice spoke faster. "You always overlook us! Everyone does! Especially that idiot, Ashton, and that dweeb, Precis."

A look of understanding came over Chisato's face. "Gyoro? Ururun?"

"Quite right, my dear reporter," said the Demon Dragons. "We tire of being attached to this fool, and we know the only one who can fix us is the girl."

"You've been controlling Ashton? Why kill everyone, though?"

"You can probably figure it out."

Chisato thought for only a second. "I see. You felt Precis was ignoring you in favor of Bobot. You wanted me to destroy Bobot so she would work on freeing you."

"Exactly," Gyoro and Ururun said.

"Then, when Precis and Ashton began fighting, you got nervous. Clumsy."

"Did we?"

"You wanted to bring them closer together during the crisis, like Claude and Rena drew closer. You wanted to stop the killing while there was someone left, so Precis could sympathize with Ashton and help free you two. But when the opposite happened, you got frantic. All you wanted was for me to trash Bobot."

Precis gawked at Ashton's shoulders. His personal demons appeared to be growing larger by the second, but Chisato didn't seem to notice.

"And you won't be killing us with a mere gun, reporter."

"Won't I?" Chisato gritted her teeth and swung her pistol upward and fired. A burst of energy spewed from the mouth of the gun and hurtled toward Ururun's head, but Ururun dodged at the last second.
"You underestimate a demon! That, my dear…"

"That…?"

"Is fatal!" Gyoro and Ururun lunged together for Chisato. Precis yelped as each demon took a bite out of one of Chisato's shoulders. Bits of fabric from her jacket fell to the floor, blood drained out of the wounds, the gun slipped from her fingers, and Chisato slumped down onto the floor in defeat. Precis looked on in horror.

"That'll be the last of our intrepid reporter," said the demons. "So much for the winner of the Nedian Journalism Prize."

You want freedom? I'll free you. "Holo-Holograph!"

In a flash, Bobot leaped out of his sack, scampered toward Ashton and the demons, and began his cutting motion. Right, then left, then right, then left, and then flip, he took his best shot. Ashton let out a wail.

"Again!" said Precis. "Holo-Holograph!"

Bobot repeated the routine. Ashton's body tried to turn around, but the sword strokes paralyzed it. The demons began to howl with their own mouths.

"One more time!" shouted Precis. "Make it count!"

And six strokes later, Bobot's swords cut through demon flesh and came out the other side. Gyoro and Ururun fell silent, and they tumbled to the floor.

I'll free you, Ashton.

XXX

The survivors gathered at the door to Ashton's room. Bowman Jean attempted to tend to the injuries on both Chisato and Ashton, while Claude and Rena dealt with Precis.

"He's going to be okay," said Rena, patting Precis on the shoulder. "You did great."

"She's right for once," said Claude. "You saved us all."

Rena plowed her elbow into Claude's stomach. Precis let out a giggle.
"I did, didn't I? I got the bad guys."

"And I hope you aren't mad at Ashton anymore," said Claude. "He lost himself completely when those demons took control of him."

"I understand," said Precis. "I know it wasn't his fault, and I know I need to apologize to him."

Rena gave her friend a hug. "Everything will be fine between you two. I'm sure he even forgives you for cutting up his legs."

"His…"

"Bobot's targeting needs some work."

"Oh," said Precis. "Yeah, I already knew that."

"He's in a bit of a shock now," said Rena. "You ought to say something to him."

"Maybe I should," said Precis.

"Let's go." Rena took her hand and led her over to the bed on which her lover lay.

"Ashton," she said, "there's someone here to see you."

Precis leaned over and looked directly into Ashton's eyes. She took in the sight as best she could, but she only lasted a few seconds before tears welled up and blurred her vision. "Ash!"

"We're both going to be fine," said Ashton. "Bowman says Chisato got the worst of it, actually, but it's nothing he can't fix."

"Ash, I'm so sorry," Precis sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry."

Ashton said nothing. He just reached up, hugged his wife's neck, and smiled.