AN: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1.
WARNING: OOC, CRUDE LANGUAGE
Chapter 2: Puris Omnia Pura
It was already sundown and the air began to feel chilly. Thankfully, the moon provided a bit of illumination. He had carried the two children in the building and he looked for Sera. He felt as if his heart had been caught in his throat. He felt immense relief as he noticed that she was still asleep. He blinked; with all the commotion that had happened outside, you'd think that she might have woken up.
He chuckled inwardly; she could sleep through anything.
He set the children on the floor and he turned to the boy, "You sit over there." he sternly commanded, pointing to the chair. He looked at the girl, "You make sure that he stays where he is."
He turned to leave when the girl stopped him, "Wait! Where are you going?"
He growled; he really didn't feel like answering their stupid and pointless questions, "Just wait for me."
She had opened her mouth to speak again to ask him who the beautiful sleeping girl was. But he had quickly disappeared through the door.
"That was fast." the boy commented.
"Hm…" the girl mused. They were still intrigued by their mysterious savior.
xxxxx
Heat returned to the room minutes later, a pail of water in his hand and a flashlight in the other. He walked over to the girl and gave her the flashlight, "Hmph. Hold that up for me, and make sure that you light up his leg. Got that?" he snapped at her ruder than he intended. The girl meekly nodded.
He then turned to the boy and tore his pants.
"Hey!" shouted the boy, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Calm down!" the girl hushed him.
Heat's red eyes blazed, "What the hell does it look like you little maggot? I'm tearing your god damn pants so I can look at your freakin wound!"
"Oh." was all he said.
The girl giggled. Heat turned his death-ray producing eyes at her, "What the hell is so funny?"
"Sorry mister…Marty is just touchy…that's all…He doesn't mean any harm…"
Heat rolled his eyes, "Whatever."
His eyes went to the boy's wound, "Hm…it's just a cut. There's no real damage to the tissues or muscles…"
He reached for his cloak and tore it. He then took the aforesaid piece of cloth and rinsed it in the water. Heat then proceeded to clean the wound. He frowned; damn, if only he had some sort of antiseptic. But still, something was better than nothing.
Heat bandaged the boy's leg, carefully. He was overjoyed when he found that the plumbing in the rickety building still worked. He had cleaned the wound the best he could and dressed it with a piece of his cloak.
The boy looked at him, "Mister…you're a…you're like those people back there…but…why didn't you kill us?"
Heat blinked; shocked. Why not indeed? It was then that Argilla's slap resonated on his cheek and he replied in a low tone, "Because I don't kill needlessly."
The room was enveloped by a veil of silence. The girl spoke first, "Sir, who are you?"
Heat turned to her, "My name's Heat."
The boy turned to him, "Heat? What kind of name is that?"
Heat growled and turned to him, "It's my name and that's all you need to know!"
The girl sweat-dropped, "Well, my name is Sandra. And this is Marty."
Heat grumbled but said nothing. All was quiet again. This time, it was Heat who broke it, "Who were those people?"
Marty cussed, "What do you mean who are those people? Don't you know anything?!"
Heat narrowed his eyes at him. This kid was bringing himself closer and closer to the point where Heat will just explode and kill him; eat him too. Sandra blocked Heat's view, holding the flashlight to her, "Umm…those were members of the Karma Society…"
"The Karma Society?" repeated Heat, "They are part of the temple?"
"Temple?" Sandra asked, confused.
Heat shook his head, "Never mind. Tell me about them." There was no point in asking them millions of questions. He'd wait for them to finish their narratives and then he'll ask the questions.
"Well…the Karma Society is a group of people that…eat other people…They eat people like me and Marty…" Sandra read the question on Heat's face; 'Why?' his face seemed to say. She nodded and continued, "Well…because…people like me and Marty…we get infected with the virus…so…in order not to get the virus…you have to get these shots from the Karma Society…But…the shots…they turn you into monsters."
Heat gritted his teeth; so that was why those people had transformed and why they were chasing the children. 'Damn those bastards…' he thought.
"The virus…we catch it when we go under the sun…we turn into stone if we catch the disease. That's it."
Heat touched his chin, "Then…what about your cities? Where is your HQ…? Who is your leader?"
Marty laughed, "HQ? Leader?"
Sandra smiled tightly, "Well…since that happened…the people were divided…There are their kind and ours…so…we have different leaders too. They are led by Madame Cuvier…She was the one who discovered the disease…while we are led by a guy named Roland. The city is deserted because no one goes up here anymore…We all live below…Our cities are divided too…There is theirs…and ours…"
"I see…"
"Do you?" Marty asked, chuckling. Heat was two seconds away from blowing his top. "Will you just shut up before I devour you?" Heat said, clenching his jaw.
"Mister…" Sandra interrupted, "Who are you? You saved us from the Karma soldiers… but you also turn into…into…"
"A monster…" Heat finished for her. He looked at her intently. She had avoided his eyes; she probably felt ashamed. "I'm not from here." Heat began, "I'm just looking for my comrades."
Sandra blinked, "Comrades?"
"Yeah. They dress like me too."
Marty snorted, "They also wear grey suits? Well…they'll stick out like sore thumbs then…Just like you…"
"God help me…!" Heat started.
Sandra interjected, "Mister…who is that?" she said, pointing to the sleeping girl.
Heat looked back at Sera and felt his anger slowly dissipate within the chilly air, "That…that's one of my comrades."
Sandra walked over to her, illuminating her face a bit, "She looks so beautiful mister…"
Heat sighed, "Yeah…she is."
"What's her name?" Marty asked, genuinely curious. For once in the evening, Heat didn't feel the urge to hurt the boy, "Her name's Sera."
Sandra left Sera's side and went back to Heat, "Sera…what a pretty name. Is she your girlfriend?"
Heat's cheeks began to burn up.
He shook his head, "No. She isn't."
"Oh." was all that Sandra said. "Why not?"
Heat snarled, "That's enough questions from you. When will I meet your leader?"
Marty spoke, "As soon as we go back to Lokapala. But seriously…you wanna meet that guy?"
Heat narrowed his eyes slightly, "Why? What's wrong with him?"
"He's…kind of a loser." he deadpanned. Sandra scratched the back of her head, "Well, Marty…has a point. Roland…drinks a lot now…and doesn't really do much."
"Whatever." Heat answered, "I'll find out my own answers. Well, let's turn in and get some sleep. Well leave in the morning."
"Where shall we sleep?" Sandra asked.
Heat rolled his eyes, "Here! Where else? Unless you want to take the different rooms…Well, in that case, if there's someone else in there, I wouldn't be able to help you. The moment I get in there, you'd have become his snack by then."
She sweat-dropped, "R-right…"
Marty pointed an accusing finger at Heat, "Hey! How would we know that you won't eat us in our sleep?!"
Heat chuckled evilly, "You won't. Just pray that I don't get hungry in the middle of the night."
"Ack!" Marty exclaimed, "There!" he said looking at Sandra, "We should just go!"
Sandra chuckled, "You won't really get very far with that leg Marty…Besides, I know Heat won't eat us!" she smiled at Heat who felt uncomfortable under her gaze.
"Er…that's enough crap from the both of you. Get some sleep."
xxxxx
Unknown to Heat, Sera had been awake since they walked into the room. She had heard every word that had been spoken. Her heart felt lighter; Heat had been here all those times…and he cared for the children…
"Heat…" she sighed.
He had changed…This was not the Heat that she once knew.
'Had he changed? Had he really?' she wondered, 'Or was it that…I never really saw him for who he really was…?'
She felt a knot in her heart as she thought it; she remembered Heat from before…He had always scared her…and that other doctor…she loved him…
'Serph…Heat…'
She was unfair…
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes once more…letting sleep overtake her once more.
xxxxx
Heat had woken up bright and early. He had made it a point to get up before the sun had risen. He walked over to where Sera was. He panicked; she was gone!
'Sera…! Oh no! Where the fuck did she go?!' he thought angrily.
He got on his feet and as quick as lightning dashed out of the room, leaving the children still asleep. He rushed outside and immediately calmed down. His ruby eyes softened as he found her.
She sat on a boulder, a few meters from the building. The air was quite chilly and a breeze passed through him, making his blood red tresses dance with it. His eyes became entranced as he realized that it wasn't just the gentle cool breeze that was among them…It was the kind and soothing feel of her voice.
She was singing.
She was singing that song…that song that had saved his soul. It was the song that had saved all who heard it. It was that song that had brought his soul back from the brink of insanity.
"Light shines on the heaven"
Heat closed his eyes, breathing slowly…
"The earth the spirit"
'Sera…'
"Light brings glory and grace"
'Don't you know what you do to me…?' he thought helplessly as he let her voice take him in a world of tranquility.
"May it open your eyes to the truth Shanti…Shanti…"
He opened his eyes; her back was to him. He blinked; she was quiet all of a sudden. She was probably sad…
'Sad because he isn't here…' he thought, hurt.
Nonetheless, he ignored the feeling and walked towards her.
"Heat…" she breathed out, without turning to face him.
He blinked; had she known that he was there the whole time?
"Sera; what are you doing here? It's dangerous." he said, standing beside her, looking at her. She had that sad look on her face, her eyes having a faraway look in them. He could only wish that he could be wherever she imagined she was…
"I'm sorry…I just wanted to…to look around." She turned to face him and smiled, "Those children…"
Heat nodded, "I met them yesterday. Come on. We have to move; it's dangerous here…"
Heat took the first step towards the building and then turned back to her, waiting. She smiled and hopped off the boulder and jogged up to him. She stopped and looked into his red eyes. Heat blinked; why was she looking at him like that?
The way she looked at him now…it was…different.
"Heat…"
"What?" he asked bluntly.
She giggled, "Thank you."
She blushed as he had his eyes on her and she walked again, towards the building. Heat could only look on…
xxxxx
The two arrived within and saw that their companions were all set to move. Heat walked over to the boy, "How's your wound?"
Marty took a step back, feeling awkward, "Erm, it's fine. Thanks."
Sandra smiled, "Thank you again mister."
Heat growled, "Stop it with this mister crap! It's Heat!"
The two children sweat-dropped. The three of them stopped in their tracks as they heard a soft giggle emanating from behind Heat.
All eyes turned to Sera.
Marty's lips turned into a smile, "Wow!! It's Sera!"
"She's so pretty…" Sandra whispered.
Heat walked over to Sera, "Well…this is Sera. Sera, this is Sandra and the idiot kid is called Marty."
"Hey!" he yelled.
Heat rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Look, we haven't time to waste. Let's go."
"It's nice to meet you both…" Sera said, bending down so that their eyes were at the same level.
Heat had already walked up to the threshold of the door, "Let's go. The sooner we get outta here, the better."
xxxxx
They had walked through the city before the sun had risen. The children had led Heat and Sera through a passageway that led to their subterranean world. Heat looked steadfast at the road before him. It looked like a maze.
He looked behind him; Sera and the kids were still there. Marty was looking at him while Sera and Sandra talked.
"What now?" he asked irritably.
Marty frowned, "Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that the Karma soldiers usually begin their hunts at these times. We gotta lay low."
Heat grunted and walked on.
xxxxx
"Sera?" Sandra asked shyly.
"Yes?"
"Where did you and Heat come from?" she asked, her blue eyes burning with curiosity. Sera chuckled, "Well, Heat and I came from a place called the Junkland."
Sandra raised an eyebrow, "The Junkland? Is that the name of your city?"
Sera laughed, "No. It's the name of that place…It's a place far away from here. Our city's name is Muladhara."
Sandra blinked, "Those are pretty weird names for cities and places."
"They sure are." Sera agreed, holding onto Sandra's hand.
Sandra spoke again, "Say…what's it like there?"
Sera's eyes had that faraway look again. Heat had been listening the entire time, unbeknownst to the two. He, like Sandra, was all too eager to know what she was to say.
"Well…there…it always rained."
"Really?" the girl squealed excitedly.
"Yes…and…there were other cities too…There were six cities there…" she paused and then chuckled, "And they all have weird names…"
"Like what?" asked Marty.
"Well, there's Muladhara, Svathisthana, Manipura…Vishudha, Ajna and Anahata."
"Whoa…you're right. They all have weird names…" Marty trailed off.
Heat continued to lead them, wordless. His eyes and ears were stiff from alertness, waiting and watching out for any and every movement.
Sandra pulled on Sera's arm playfully, "Tell us more!"
Heat growled, "Would you all just shut up?! I can't hear a damn thing!" The three did as they were told and followed Heat wordlessly.
Heat walked through the streets with a hot head. He didn't mean to sound, well, um, mean, but their voices were distracting him; most especially her voice. Her voice made him want to forget that they existed in another hellhole, much worse than the Junkland.
'Sorry…' he thought.
They came upon an abandoned apartment. He signaled for the three to hide themselves by the dumpsters while he checked out the place by himself. After all, he was the only one with the atma.
Once he had secured the danger zones, he went back outside to retrieve his entourage. The children bounced happily within. Heat huffed at Sera; it was his way of saying "please get in".
Sera nodded and followed the children within. Heat walked in momentarily and snorted in disbelief as he saw a familiar-looking contraption. He neared it and stood in front of it. He then turned to Sera who was sitting on the wooden floor with the children.
"Do you believe this?" he asked mockingly.
"What is it?" Sera replied, puzzled.
Heat pointed to the contraption, "Do you remember these? These were the Karma terminals that were placed all over the Junkland…We used to download mantras from these…" He felt for something in his uniform.
Marty could only whisper to Sera, "Hey, what's he doing?"
"Oh…uh…I dunno…" replied Sera, blushing a bit as she saw Heat feeling himself. 'W-what was I thinking just now…?' she asked herself.
'Probably thinking of how it would feel to touch his skin…Skin on skin…' the other her taunted. Sera began to feel cold sweat forming on her skin. Her body was burning up…but it made no sense; at least to her. How could she be reacting to Heat this way…?
"…"
"Damn!"
She was roused from her thoughts, albeit perverted thoughts, as she heard his low and gruff voice curse. She stood up and walked up to him, unconsciously putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't have access to this."
"What about your ring?" Sera asked, trying her best to be useful.
Heat nodded, "Well, let's see…"
He inserted his tag ring on the appropriate slot but nothing was happening. "Well, this little piece of shit is as helpful as that little piece of shit right there." Heat grumbled, pointing at Marty.
"Hey!" he yelled, "I'm not useless you oaf! And I know just how to make that thing work!"
Heat raised an eyebrow at him, putting his hands on his hips, "And how do you suppose you help me with this?"
Marty felt for his pocket, "You need one of these you idiot!" he yelled, flailing a small disc in his hand.
"What's that?" Heat asked.
Sandra interjected, "Well…that's an overriding disc that allows you to hack the system and give you access to Karma's mantras."
"Well, if that's the case, give it to me. I need to master new mantras anyway." Heat said walking towards the boy.
Marty quickly hid the disc in his jacket, far from Heat's view, "Not so fast. We have to have a trade. You gotta give me something I want first."
Heat growled, "We don't have time for this shit. Just give me the disc."
"No."
Heat gritted his teeth, "Give me the disc otherwise I'll devour you."
Marty looked at Sera pleadingly, his eyes sparkling, "Sera! Help! Your boyfriend has gone all psycho!"
Heat blinked and looked at Sera who merely blushed; boyfriend? Heat smirked smugly within as he saw the small blush on Sera's face. Maybe there was hope after all. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Sera giggle, "That's enough Heat. Leave him alone."
Marty stuck his tongue out. Sandra saw this and immediately covered his mouth with her palm, "Just give him the disc Marty!"
Heat snorted, "Why can't you be like Sandra? She's smart and you're just an idiot."
Marty opened his mouth to protest when Sandra clamped it closed once more with her palm. Her other hand felt around his jacket and pulled out the sought-after disk. She tossed it to Heat as quick as she could as Marty had grabbed her pesky hand from his mouth and attempted to grab the disc from her.
"Hey! No fair!" Marty yelled childishly.
Sera giggled and left Heat's side, kneeling down in front of the boy, ruffling his hair, "Don't worry about it Marty. Heat would bring it back. He's just borrowing it."
Heat snorted but said nothing and turned back to the karma terminal, inserting the disc.
Sera looked at him, amused at seeing him scratch his head probably trying to figure out how it worked. He looked like he could use the help. 'He's soo cute…' she giggled inwardly.
She was pulled from her musings as she felt a tug on her skirt. It was Sandra, "Quick Sera! While Heat's busy…tell us about the Junkland! What is it like there?"
Sera chuckled as Sandra and Marty pulled themselves closer to her, huddling. "Well…like I said, it always rained there…and there were six cities there…"
"What about Mulllaaaa-dria?" Sandra asked, "The city you came from…what's it like there…?"
Sera giggled again, "It's called Mulad-ha-ra! Well, it has tall buildings and they're all lined up together. Oh! I almost forgot! Muladhara is located on a crack on the earth and is the smallest city there."
Marty looked at her with disbelief, "What do you mean 'on a crack'?"
Sera giggled and motioned for them to look at the wooden floorboards, "See this here? The space in between each board?" The two nodded and Sera continued, "Well, Muladhara is located in a crack much like this one."
"Whoa!" the two exclaimed, amazed, "Wow! Who made it? Who built the city? Who's the leader there?"
Sera felt her heart ache at the mention of the word "leader".
Her eyes half-closed in sadness and she sighed, 'Oh Serph…where are you?'
She blinked as Marty waved his hands in front of her eyes, "Umm…Sera? Are you alright?"
Sandra looked at her worriedly, her blue eyes peering into her silver eyes.
Sera took a deep breath, "I'm fine. Well, um, I don't really know who built Muladhara…but I do know who the leader is."
The two smiled, "Well?"
Sera smiled again, "Well, his name is Serph."
Heat's ears perked up at the sound of his leader's name. His muscles tightened; was Sera talking about him? 'Figures…' he thought sadly. Of course she would be talking about him. He wasn't here…and she was probably missing him like crazy. Suddenly, Heat felt as if his value had plummeted. It was as if Sera only cared about Serph and had forgotten all about him.
'Don't I exist Sera? Don't you see me too?' he thought.
He sighed.
"Tell! Tell!" Sandra bounced up.
Sera nodded, "Well, he's the youngest leader there in the Junkland…and he was a good leader. He was calm and quiet but very smart."
Heat could feel a knot being tied at the pit of his stomach. The way that she had uttered her words pierced through his very soul. They were filled with so much emotion and visualization. She was probably imagining him standing there as they spoke at that moment.
Sandra blushed, "Sera…was he handsome?"
Heat craned his neck towards their direction, feeling himself fill up with anticipation.
"Well…yeah…he was. He was very handsome." Sera replied. Heat felt himself sink. Sandra's blue eyes twinkled, "What did he look like?"
"Well…he was tall…and lean…and had silver hair and eyes."
"Silver hair and eyes? He sounds like a freak." Marty deadpanned. Heat inwardly smirked; the kid wasn't such an idiot after all.
"He does not!" Sandra thundered, standing up, and stomping her foot, glaring at Marty.
Marty pouted and stood too, "Does too!"
"Does not!"
"Does too!"
Heat was amused no doubt. Well, at least someone else agreed with him.
Sera sweat-dropped and stood as well; getting in between the two children, putting their "playfulness" at an end, "Okay, okay, that's enough."
Sandra stuck her tongue out and Marty sharply turned away. Sera pulled the two children towards herself and wrapped her arms around them, "Well, that's really for you guys to decide…Besides…you haven't seen him yet…" she chuckled, "So, wait until you do."
Heat snorted inwardly; yeah…wait. There was something in Heat that told him that he did not want to see his leader; but another part said that he wanted to. After all, together, Embryon was strong, but being scattered like this, they were powerless.
"Oookkkaayyy." Sandra drawled, "But he probably is handsome!" Marty snorted but said nothing.
Sera chuckled, "Well, it sounds like someone is jealous…"
Marty turned to her sharply, clenching his hands and gritting his teeth, "Am not!"
Sera ruffled his hair, "Um, I wasn't talking about you…"
Here, Heat had had enough. He had downloaded the mantras that he'll be needing. Besides, they needed to keep going and reach this…city of theirs. Being out in the open like this…
"Enough crap. Come on, let's go." Heat said, heading for the door.
Sandra walked up to Sera and leaned in, "Well…is Serph more handsome than your boyfriend?"
Sera blushed, "B-boyfriend?"
Marty walked up to them, "Yeah. Is he better than Heat?"
Heat growled from where he stood; he had heard everything that they had uttered. He hated being compared to that bastard. He glared at their general direction, "Hey, we don't have time to fool around. If you're not coming then, I'll leave without you."
The two children jogged up to him. Sera followed suit, "Sorry…" she said slowly, her eyes pleading with his. Heat's countenance softened, "Whatever. Let's go."
He walked out of the door, "It's clear!"
xxxxx
As they continued to walk along the alleys, Heat narrowed his eyes, "How much farther are we going to reach your damn city?"
Marty blinked, "It's near! Promise!"
Heat growled but said nothing, still listening for any sound. He sweat-dropped; all that he had heard were the girls at the back, talking.
'Still talking about their bullshit.' he thought irritably.
He could hear Sandra giggling.
"Well," she asked, "is he better than Heat?"
Sera sighed, "Well, there really isn't any 'better' or 'worse'…They are both equal."
"So," Sandra began, "they are both smart, strong and handsome?"
Sera blushed, "Well, I suppose so…"
"Who do you like better?" she prodded.
Heat's ears perked up once more. His heart raced as if he were in a battlefield, gaining that adrenaline rush at the mere thought of going in for a kill. He was dripping with anticipation but at the same time, he dreaded her answer. What if she said that she liked Serph better?
"Well…I like them both." she said.
Heat frowned, 'Liar…'
"Really…?"
He heard Sera began to speak but was muffled out when Marty spoke, "Hey…I can hear someone!"
Heat cursed; this damn kid had been more alert than he was! Damn it! He turned to the girls and to Marty, "Everybody hide! Someone's coming!" Sandra latched herself to Sera, fright evident in her eyes. Marty nodded and ran to Sera.
Sera looked at him, "Be careful Heat!" she whispered. He nodded curtly and pressed himself against the wall. Sera ran for the debris and the dumpsters nearby and hid there with the children.
xxxxx
