Purity
"Hiwatari, where are we?" Daisuke asked.
"I don't know," Satoshi replied.
They had found themselves in a strange, snowy field. Snowflakes circled around lazily and gently kissed their cheeks. The surroundings and sky were all white.
"How did we get here?" Daisuke asked, wandering around a little. This proved to be a difficult task because the snow was very deep.
Before Satoshi could answer, the wind picked up. The snow whirled around and blinded both boys for a few seconds. When it died down, the snowfall had stopped.
"What was that?" Daisuke asked. "That wind just came out of nowhere."
"Niwa, look!" Satoshi exclaimed and pointed at something in the distance.
Daisuke turned and looked. A pale blue shape was coming toward them. It appeared to be gliding on the snow. It grew closer and closer toward the boys until it was standing right in front of them. They now saw it was a person dressed in a long, pale blue cloak. When it lifted its head, the boys realized it was a teenaged girl with straight brown hair and cornflower blue eyes.
"Who are you?" Daisuke asked politely. "Can you tell us where we are?"
The girl stared at Daisuke and a sad smile slowly formed on her face. She opened her mouth and moved her lips, but no sound came out.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you," Daisuke said.
The smile faded. The girl moved her lips again, but no audible sound came out. She knelt down and wrote something on the snow.
"P-E-N-E-L-O-P-E. Penelope. Is that your name?"
The girl smiled once again and nodded. She motioned for Daisuke and Satoshi to follow her and started walking forward, Daisuke was about to follow her, but Satoshi grabbed his arm and held him back.
"Can we trust her?" he asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Daisuke asked, visibly surprised.
"We're in Ekaterina's Desperare."
"Ekaterina's Desperare?"
"Yes. It's the mirror Sana had. This is probably all a trap."
"But . . ."
Just then, a shadow fell over them. The boys looked up and realized it was Penelope. Slowly, she knelt down until she could see both boys eye to eye. Penelope smiled at them and gently pried Satoshi's hand off of Daisuke's arm. She took Satoshi's hand and, like an older sister leading her little brother, led him down the path she had just walked. A little confused, Daisuke followed them. Even if Satoshi had wanted to run, he couldn't have because Penelope was grasping his hand so hard.
"Penelope-san, where are we going?" Daisuke asked.
Penelope turned to him and smiled her sad smile. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it before even trying to talk. After a few minutes of walking, Penelope stopped. The boys looked up and saw an enormous stone structure. It appeared to be made out of white marble and was shaped like a cube. There were deep lines forming a rectangle in the structure, indicating there was a door, but no handle to grab and open it with.
"What is this?" Satoshi asked.
Penelope let go of the boys' hands. She raised her right hand and slapped her fingers against her palm. The door of the structure opened. Penelope turned around and motioned for the boys to follow here. The boys did.
The inside of the structure smelled fresh and cold like the snow outside. There were stairs leading down to a tiny room. Around the room were many candles. The light of the candles glowed on the white walls. The walls had inscriptions on them written in red paint. Or was it blood?
Penelope walked towards the walls facing east and touched the writing. She opened her mouth and started to speak. This time, the boys could hear her voice and the words, both their meanings and the tone Penelope was speaking in, broke their hearts.
"The redness flowed out
And enveloped
Everything
Unspeakable pain
Crimson rivers
Painful Cries . . ."
Penelope's voice changed. It was filled with not only sadness, but regret as well.
"'The Law of Equivalent Exchange
Is an unbalanced equation'
You told me this every day
But I didn't believe
'The Law of Equivalent Exchange
Is an unbalanced equation'
I understand what you meant
I know why you said 'don't'
But it is too late
Alchemy's law
Spilled our blood
And I have foreseen
Painful battles
Myriad tears . . ."
Penelope tore her eyes away from the wall and faced the boys, her eyes desperate. Her voice had the distinct sound of someone begging for a small shred of hope in a hopeless situation.
"Please give me answers
What shall I do?
They will die!"
"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked. "Who's 'they'?"
Tears filled Penelope's eyes. She took her hand away from the wall and pointed at . . .
"Us?" Daisuke asked, wide-eyed.
"Are you planning on killing us?" Satoshi asked.
Penelope shook her head and tried to speak, but neither one of the boys could hear her. She placed her hand on the wall and read the last inscription.
"I won't allow it!
Please, help them!
Please, help me . . ."
Penelope's voice was loud and stubborn in the beginning, but by the end, it grew softer and sadder until it was nothing more than a sad plea. She sighed and sank to her knees.
Daisuke ran toward her and knelt in front of her. "Penelope-san, are you all right?"
Penelope shook her head. She drew back her cloak and Daisuke gasped. Her other arm was missing!
"What . . . what happened?" Daisuke whispered.
Penelope moved her lips and, although no sound came out, Daisuke understood her. She had already repeated the words a few times.
"Equivalent Exchange?"
Penelope nodded. She turned to Satoshi and several tears spilled out of her eyes. Satoshi stared at her, not quite sure whether or not he could trust her. She motioned for Satoshi to come toward her. When Satoshi reached her, Penelope finally spoke without the aid of the wall. In a hoarse voice, she said, "Sa . . . sa . . . ya. . . death . . ."
I . . . I need to catch my breath! Wait a sec. Why am I running?
Chie stopped running and immediately collapsed, breathing hard. Her heart was pounding madly in her ears. It was raining very hardand the raindrops hurt Chie when they hit her. They felt like a million little punches.
Where am I?
Chie scanned the area. She could make out what appeared to be mountains surrounded by a misty fog. Chie sat up with great difficulty and shivered.
How did I get here? The last thing I remember is that mirror and . . . that girl hitting Anko-chan.
"Anas."
Chie jumped up at the sudden voice and turned around. What she saw made her smile.
"Ku-chan, hi!"
Sasaya stared at Chie without any hint of emotion whatsoever.With her exhaustion seemingly gone, Chie ran up to her sister and started rambling.
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Ku-chan! Do you have any idea as to what's going on? I really don't get it. Do you know who was hitting Anko-chan? Oh, silly me! You don't know who she is. See, there's this thing and---"
Chie stopped talking abruptly when Sasaya grabbed her by the shoulder and pointed a sharp, flat stiletto to her neck.
"Ku-chan?" Chie asked, wide-eyed.
"You killed me," Sasaya said.
"What?"
"You said nothing would come between us. You promised me nothing would come between us!" Sasaya screeched, her eyes filled with hatred. "But you went back on your promise and killed me!"
Chie gasped, pushed Sasaya away, and started to run.
Oh, my God! My sister . . . my sister's gone crazy!
Chie didn't watch where she was running to and accidentally ran into a cave. In the cave, she saw someone with red hair running toward her. Chie immediately recognized the person.
"Anko-chan!"
Chie ran until she noticed something a bit odd. Why was Anas wet and why did she have the same frightened, breathless face Chie knew must've matched her own. Chie stopped and reached out to touch Anas's hand. Anas also reached for her hand. However, all Chie's hand touched was a cold, smooth surface. With a start, Chie realized that wasn't Anas at all, but a reflection in a mirror. A reflection of herself.
"What's going on?" Chie asked out loud, running her hands through her now red curls. "How can this be? Why do I look like Anko-chan?"
"ANAS!"
Chie turned around a second too late. Sasaya grabbed her and pushed her. The mirror broke, sending hundreds of tiny, bloodstained shards flying.
I have finally updated! (like anyone cares) The reason I had taken so long was because my previous computer had completely crashed. Poor Yasuko-chan (that was my computer's name). I will miss her dearly! ;; My new computer's name is Miho-chan. I adore her, but she can never replace Yasuko-chan. Since Yasuko-chan is no longer with us, I had to pretty much rewrite everything and since my memory's not good, most of the new chapters will suck (and I had Motherland completely finished, too). I also had half of The Land Beyond the Door finished and six chapters for I Will. Now Ryokichi-chan will scold me for messing with people (again). You see, I don't publish a fanfic unless I have at least ten chapters all ready to go. The reason I don't update as often as I should is because I kind of like making people wait. It's a really bad habit, but I'm a procrastinator with an essay due by Friday so . . . ehh. Besides, I don't have internet at home, and when I do, I can use it up to thirty minutes (sixty if I can get away with it) a day and only under the guise of schoolwork. Basically, I never got around to it and paid for my laziness with the rest of my fanfics. The Law of Equivalent Exchange really sucks!
