The first sign that things had changed came in the air, which suddenly felt as heavy as the pressure of a deep sea trench. It came with a noise, the closest resemblance being static from a dead tv channel. It filled all of their ears, and burrowed into their brains. From the static came a single name.
Á̸͍̦͔̯̇̐̈́̾͝͝͝ļ̸̡̤̮͉̈́̐̾́̌̽͑̀͑͌̽̏̿̃̀̄m̵̧̜̰̣̻̘̲̙̦̰̰̳̦̟̓̌̓͐́̈́̓͒͒͆̍̕a̴͕̟͓̝̦͒́͆͑̉͊̚͝
Lucy turned to her friend, and could only stand there while trying to process what she saw. It can't be true. That can't be the expression on her face. The power's been cut, so she can't get a clear look, that has to be it…but no. For the first time since she'd reunited with her dearest friend, the first time since they'd fully harnessed their god-like power, Lucy could see a look of absolute terror on Alma's face, a look that causes the Diclonius to freeze up in horror. What kind of hellish monstrosity could possibly frighten the unstoppable force of Alma Wade?
"...Alma?" Lucy asked in a voice that felt much too soft.
Alma didn't respond, but instead shrank back into her child body, a form Lucy hadn't seen for sometime, and was caught off guard by. The little girl quickly curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth violently.
"Alma!" she shouted, failing to hide her own growing hysteria, "Alma, talk to me! What's going on? Who was that speaking in our heads?!"
"The Creep."
Lucy whirled around at the sudden voice, nearly sending out her vectors, she was in such a panic. It was Paxton and his brother, and while not as scared as their mother, their expressions were still much too unnerved for Lucy's liking.
"What are you talking about?" she dreaded the answer, but knew that she needed to know.
"It was called the Creep," answered Fettel tensely, "An unnatural phenomena brought on by Mother's negative memories of her father. It's the one thing she fears, so the peons of Armacham were quite keen to obtain it just in case."
"How dangerous is it?"
"Compared to Mother? I don't know, but I can feel its power, and it's no pushover. It knows who we are, and it's coming now."
Almost as if on cue, that same voice ripped through each of their collective mental whirlwinds.
A̴̼̣̬̞̮̙͈̐̽̈́̀͆͛̋̎̔̍̓͌͗̀̆̚͠l̷̥̱͓̔͆̑̅͗͐̓́̎̚m̶̧̢̢̨̩̭͙̺̣̼͓̖͆̉̒̏̑͂̽͒͐̅̓͊̚̚͘ͅa̸̡̡̛̦̖̥͎͕̥͖͉̯̪̿̋͘ ̸̡̻͔͙͈͍̲̤͕̹̲̪͔͉̟͓̓̾́̑̇̌̋̅͘Ẁ̴̥̺̬̜͈͉̥͖̪ͅa̸̹̗͋̐͛̊̓͗̄ḑ̸̨̳̥̤̘̞͕͈̤̠͕͔̻̝͑́̃͜ͅé̵̮̺̜̹̊̌͘͝
The voice, distorted almost to the point of being illegible. The whole world suddenly seemed to be twisting and contorting. A keening sort of noise rose up from the room. It was Alma, her fingers digging into her hair. Tears, honest to goodness tears, were streaming down her traumatized face. Lucy, unsure of what else to do, threw her arms around her friend in a tight and hopefully secure embrace.
"It's okay," she said, despite feeling like crying herself, "Alma, it's fine. I'm here!"
Paxton walked over to a nearby window and glanced outside. His malevolent eyes widened in surprise at what he saw, "Where precisely is here?"
Mayu hid in the bathtub, clutching Wanta like a lifeline. Kouta had told her to take her little friend and hide, so that was precisely what she was doing. Her eyes had been clamped shut as she listened to the gunfire and carnage that ravaged the place she had so dearly come to consider home. She wanted to close up her ears in addition to her eyes, but doing that would require the use of her hands, which were currently holding onto her canine companion. It was silly, of course, but she felt that if she let go of Wanta, even for a moment, then he'd be vulnerable to the chaos. A stray bullet would punch through the tub and kill him, or a vector would slice through the wall and cut his tiny body in two. But if she stayed perfectly still, and held his squirming self tight, then they'd both survive.
She'd been in this state since the house erupted into chaos, when all of a sudden, the noises stopped. The screaming, the gunfire, all of it. Mayu opened her eyes, and was just starting to poke her head out over the tub, when that dreadful voice went through her mind, and Wanta's too based on how he thrashed and howled. Then there was a sound of total despair coming downstairs, and when she looked back up from the tub, something felt…off. She carefully climbed out of the tub, clutching the tiny dog to her chest, and looked around the bathroom, not sure of what she was searching for until she looked out the single bathroom window that she found it, nearly dropping Wanta in horrific shock.
The world was…dead.
That was the first word Mayu could come up with to describe the land she saw outside. The ground was completely barren, save for the occasional odd clump of dried grass. As far as she could see, the trees were little more than oversized twigs, with no leaves or greenery. The true horror was in the sky, which had turned into a sickeningly bright shade of red that made Mayu think of infected flesh.
What had happened? What had caused the world to die like this?
Suddenly the bathtub didn't feel safe enough. Mayu needed to find someone else who could help her. Kouta, Nana, heck at this point, she'd even take Fettel. Mayu took Wanta and staggered out of the bathroom, no longer caring if she stumbled across any enemy soldiers or some such. Another door in the hallway opened suddenly, causing the young girl to wince, then sag with relief as she spied a familiar face.
"Kouta!"
Kouta made eye contact with Mayu in an instant before dashing across the hallway with panicky relief, "Mayu, thank goodness you're safe!"
Yuka followed behind Kouta, but Mayu didn't seem to notice her at first, "Kouta, what's happening? Have you looked outside?"
"Yeah, we've seen it," said Kouta warily, "And we need answers. Where's Alma and Lucy?"
"D-downstairs, I think," answered Yuka, "Whatever's going on outside…it's evil." She spoke in a soft whisper, as though afraid that someone might hear her, and take out their disapproval on her.
"Then downstairs we go," decided Kouta, and took off down the stairs before anyone could argue. The girls followed suit, and soon they were all in the main living room, where they came upon the brothers, Nana, and Lucy, who was clutching a hysterical child that took a moment for everyone to recognize.
"Wait, is that…Alma?" breathed Kouta.
"What happened to her?" asked Mayu, "Why does she look so young…and frightened?"
"Something is here," warned Paxton, "A monster, formed from the abusive memories of Alma's father."
"And I thought I had memory problems with my father," muttered Kouta, instantly wishing he could kill himself for making such a bad joke at such a terrible time, what the heck was his problem? Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice or care.
"P-Paxton says th-they call it the Creep," said Nana, clinging beside the Point Man, "It may be as powerful as Alma. M-More powerful, perhaps."
"Yes, most likely released as a last ditch effort to best us," remarked Fettel with Narrow eyes, "Well played, indeed."
"What do we do then?" asked Yuka, "In fact, what can we do?"
"We can still fight," declared Paxton resolutely. He clenched a glowing fist in determination, "This abomination is a far greater monster than mother or I, for it is based upon the wretch that conceived us. We will fight it, and we will win."
"It did something to the land," Kouta found himself saying, "Poisoned it or something. There's something wrong with the sky."
Paxton uncurled his fist to give Kouta a dismissive wave, "A mere illusion, boy. Mother herself is able to cause it. Once we defeat this monster, everything should go back to the way it was."
He took a moment to look at all the corpses strewn about the house, as well as the blood splatters on the once pristine walls, "Though perhaps a bit of spring cleaning will be in order."
In another world, Kouta might've snapped at such a callous remark, but monsters were now a normal part of his life, so he let it go, "So you, your brother, and the Diclonius can fight it. What about us?"
Paxton opened his mouth, no doubt to say something snide, but stopped as his brother stepped forward, breaking away from Nana. The Point Man took a minute to size up Kouta, before bending down, picking up a machine gun from a slaughtered soldier, and offering it to Kouta. Kouta nearly did a double take, having not expected to take up arms. He turned to Yuka and Mayu, who stared back at him with wide frightened eyes, eyes that seemed to beg for safety of any kind. He extended a hand, and took the rifle.
"Ok," he spoke in a surprisingly calm manner. As if taking inspiration, Yuka suddenly bent down and grabbed a rifle of her own from the tangle of corpses. She met eyes with Kouta, and gave him a firm nod.
"Can't let you have all the fun," she said, before looking at the Point Man, "Just point and shoot, right?"
The Point Man simply shrugged, causing the girl to let out a weak chuckle, in spite of herself.
"Then I guess we're all set, then," said Kouta, eyeing his rifle closely, "So, where is this Cre-"
A̴̼̣̬̞̮̙͈̐̽̈́̀͆͛̋̎̔̍̓͌͗̀̆̚͠l̷̥̱͓̔͆̑̅͗͐̓́̎̚m̶̧̢̢̨̩̭͙̺̣̼͓̖͆̉̒̏̑͂̽͒͐̅̓͊̚̚͘ͅa̸̡̡̛̦̖̥͎͕̥͖͉̯̪̿̋͘ ̸̡̻͔͙͈͍̲̤͕̹̲̪͔͉̟͓̓̾́̑̇̌̋̅͘Ẁ̴̥̺̬̜͈͉̥͖̪ͅa̸̹̗͋̐͛̊̓͗̄ḑ̸̨̳̥̤̘̞͕͈̤̠͕͔̻̝͑́̃͜ͅé̵̮̺̜̹̊̌͘͝
Kouta and Yuka clutched their rifles in terror at the noise, and had they positioned their fingers over the trigger, there might've been an accidental discharge from one or both. Alma seemed to curl into herself all the more, shaking with all the force of a seizure victim.
B̴̧͈̬͓͎̜̓̏ę̶̙̗̖̖͖͚͖͚͓̣͕̑̅̈́́̔̓̍̀͘̕̚͝ͅḩ̷̩̥͔͈͓͊̋a̴̤̖͗̐̒͊͐̆͐͝v̷̧̙̣̞̠͇̫͚̬̞̫̣̯͎̼̳͐́̆̏̈́̓̊̏̏̈̏̋̈́̀̑̂̚ͅȩ̸̧̰̝͈̬̩͓̓̉̒́ ̵̮͇͆̄͗̀̾y̷̳͈̩̺͍̖̐͗o̷͎̱̣̝̬̯̊͋̅̑̎̓̕͝͝͝͝ừ̴̠͑̔̉̀͒͊͐̃̂͐̎̑̋͘ř̸̜̙̩̤̙̪̘̱̩̲̯̈͂̓̎͌̓̊͘s̷͚͊͋̈́̋̽̈̆̇̅̄̋͋̈͋̕̕̕ę̴̩̦͖̪̖̟͂͠l̶̢̛̫͙͉̼̥̻̩̖̎͆͒͋̉̍͂̈́̄͌̕f̷̣̩̃̆̄̾̔͋͛̄̎̀͑̕ ̸̲͚̹͖̘̲͙̭̪͚̳̲̺͈͊̽͌̏̎̈́̎̋̓͜o̷̡̼̱̪̤̐͗̾̚ȑ̴̨̢̝̗͎̜̳͎̜̫̯̲̼̻̳̕ ̴̪̯͚͍͚̯͋͂̎̈́į̶̡̡̜̦̪̻͇͎̞̀̃̏̑͠͠ͅt̷̺̜̹̣̫̙̝̥̀͌́̑'̵̨̨̛̛̻͚͓̞͖̩͈̘̙̱̝͑̏̀̔̒̔̂͌̓́̍̇̎s̷̢̡̤̞̣͍̠̪̬̣͉͕̞̜̙͗́̌̅͜͜ ̴̢͉̥͈̝̙̝̰̹̭̐́͂͒b̵̡̡̧̛̜̬̰͉̪̥̹̭̀̐̀́̽̉̾̆̇͌͌͛̊̕͘a̴̠͛͌͐̎̈́̾́̋̈́́͌c̷̢̡̱͖̻̮̟̰̻̫͈͕̺͕͕͍̋́ͅk̶̫̈́̒͒́̊͆͂͘̕ ̸͓̻̒͆ţ̴͚̺̮̬̮̻̰͚̻̹̙̭̽̌̌̅͌̽̃͗̽͗̈̚ͅo̶͚͕̝͓̳̦̜̓̆̀̊̚͝ͅ ̶͙͈͉͕͉̩̝̝̱̹̟̲̞̖̼̲̟̊̆̉͘ṭ̸̢̖̭̰̈́̽̈́̓̌̃̇̄̏̑̽̈͌ḧ̴̻̾́̐̋̈́̆͗͘e̷̢̮͖̭͙͍̩̟̥̳͙̞̻̲͖͓͆̒̌̀ ̶̧̖͖̣̣̲͔̺̖̞̒̾̄͌͋̂̈͝͠l̷̡͓̩̞͙̖̹̙̭̳̱̝̼̬̝̂̄̎̈́͊̌͜a̵̡̖̹̩͇͎̺̫͉̼̗̥͗̉̑́͆̂̀̋̎̅̈͌̈̚͘͝b̷̳̈́́̉͊̓̔̈́͑̒̇̄̽̕͝͠
As that final word bore through their brains, a loud noise tore through the ceiling. It was the noise of a hundred year old wood tearing, and the residents of Maple House, or what was left of it, stood mouth agape as the ceiling of their home was ripped open, revealing a monstrosity against a blood red sky.
The Creep was large. Large enough that just its head could fill one of Maple House's ancient rooms. But what a head it had. It was completely bald, with nothing but skin to show for a face. No eyes, no ears, no nose, just a large, crooked maw with the lower jawbone split in half down the middle, looking more like a mandible than a mouth. Its figure was as emaciated as Alma, though its two scrawny arms were far larger, and therefore far thicker, than Alma's. Its bony chest seemed to only go as far down as its ribcage, before opening up to a gore-rimmed cavity in lieu of a stomach.
Kouta felt his mind unravel just from staring at it. Whatever this thing was, it felt like something straight out of Lovecraft, some figment of forbidden power that the world could not handle. If it continued to exist, then it would drive the world into maddening despair.
He raised his rifle and held down the trigger, feeling in that instant that it was more for his sake than Alma's or anyone else's.
His eyes couldn't stray from the Creep, a name that now seemed so trite, but his ears could hear the sound of surrounding gunfire, indicating that everyone nearby had also fired at will. The monster above let out an unholy cry, and Kouta nearly lost his balance at the surge of emotions rolling through him. Anger, indignation, pain, these weren't his feelings, but the Creep's, its feelings taking him over just like its thoughts. There was no telling how much damage their little lead bullets had done against this aberration, and Kouta wasn't about to get his hopes up, especially as he watched the Creep raise a giant fist. It rose slowly, perhaps slower than it actually was, as Kouta felt that his own stress and terror was drawing out the inevitable end.
The Creep's fist suddenly came down, shooting through the space that had once housed the ceiling to come and rend them to jelly, before it stopped all of a sudden, about twenty feet above their heads. At first, Kouta was confused about why the fists had paused, then outright baffled by the numerous lacerations that had begun to suddenly appear on its giant fingers. Then he spotted the strained expressions of two of his friends, and the puzzle slid into place.
"Lucy! Nana!"
The former hadn't shied away from the still sobbing Alma, but had raised herself over her best friend, and had extended her vectors out to catch the Creeps monstrous fists. So too had Nana, though the effort had already caused her to fall to one knee.
"Won't…hurt…no more…" she grunted through clenched teeth, her eyes starting to leak out in frustration, "Go…away!"
The Creep let out an annoyed, guttural grunt, then began leaning forward, pressing down on the barrier of invisible arms. Smoldering blood began to seep out of its cuts, dripping down onto the corpse-strewn room, but seeing the monster bleed didn't seem to reassure Kouta as much as he would have thought. Oddly enough, it just served to make him all the more anxious.
What does it matter if it bleeds? he thought miserably, It doesn't have an actual body. It's an aberration.
Suddenly the Creep's clenched fists opened into grasping hands, and it grabbed the vectors, its spindly fingers digging in between the invisible limbs. It then raised its arms up in a jerking motion, and Lucy and Nana were yanked up from the ground, being pulled by their vectors like puppets on strings. Nana slammed into the wall with a solid crunch, knocking off her prosthetics. The little torso of a girl fell to the floor like a sack of flour and did not move. Lucy went flying into the next room, the ceiling above her tearing as her vectors slammed through it. She smashed into a table causing splinters and wood chips to go flying everywhere. She let out a sharp cry as the jagged chips of oak dug into her skin where she lay, more from surprise than fear.
That yell caused Alma to momentarily break away from her deep rooted trauma, and she looked up with wet yellow eyes toward the downed form of her best friend, "...Lucy?"
Kouta had no time to process the fact that Alma had actually spoken a word, as the Creep suddenly opened its large mouth, and for a moment, the boy thought he saw something in its throat. But that thing he may-or-may-not have seen was quickly replaced by a rapidly growing flame, and many of the fighters on the ground didn't need abnormal mental abilities to know what was about to happen.
"F-fire!" shrieked Mayu, "We need to get out of here!"
She quickly grabbed Mayu, who happened to be nearest, and bolted toward the exit into the main hallway. Kouta picked up Wanta, the Point Man scooped up Nana, and Fettel gathered Alma.
Or rather, he tried.
"LUCY!" cried out Alma, and scrambled away from her son toward her fallen friend.
"Mother, wait!" shouted Paxton, and he hurried after her, running the opposite way of everyone else. Alma came upon Lucy, who was just beginning to pick herself up. The Diclonius, who'd killed so many in cold blood, regarded her friend with a fond, if not somewhat battered, smile.
"Good to have you back, Alm-"
"Get down!" Paxton shoved Lucy aside, and then, in a manner quite unlike his normally reverent behavior, scooped up Alma and dove to the side as a wave of fire roasted the spot they had just been occupying. Fettel hid the floor hard, being sure to land on his shoulder so as to not hurt his mother. He grunted on impact, but had no time for anything else as he heard a frustrated roar behind him, informing him of the discontent of the other, much larger, phantom in his family. He got up on shaky legs, feeling the heat of the inferno from the other room, and ran off into the house, Lucy following behind him, and Alma still in his arms. Maple House was a very large building, Fettel had no doubt it would all burn down soon. He'd come back from a bullet to the head, and his mother from so much worse, but he did not favor any of their odds against his grandfather's flames. They needed to get out of the burning home.
"We need a door," he instructed Lucy, who blinked for a moment before nodding. She ran up to the nearest wall, and smashed a large hole right through it. Paxton ran through, but grit his teeth in frustration as he saw the new entryway lead into merely another room.
"Again!" he commanded, and Lucy obliged. The next entryway she made thankfully led outside, into the barren wasteland that had once been the front yard. Paxton bolted outside, the smell of smoke thick in his nostrils. The others were out safe, and Fettel hurried to them, setting Alma down once he arrived.
Kouta and Yuka barely acknowledged their reunion, as they were too busy staring at their once luxurious house. The fire had spread with unnatural speed, until there was nothing left but burning wood and stone. Their once beautiful home, reduced to a great blazing inferno.
"...Our home," moaned Yuka quietly. Fresh tears streamed down her face, reflecting light from the flame.
Kouta put a hand on Yuka's shoulder, and his cousin instantly clung onto him, sobbing into his chest. Kouta felt like crying himself, but couldn't take his eyes off the flaming wreckage.
"Where is it?" he asked. The monster, the Creep, had seemingly vanished. Leaving them in a desolate world beneath a blood red sky.
"Still close," said Alma, who was still in her child form, standing next to Lucy. Kouta noted that she was holding Lucy's hand, squeezing it like a lifeline, "It's watching us. Stalking us."
"Then let us kill it, mother, so that we may give you peace," declared Paxton. The Point Man nodded, causing the now limbless Nana to frown in his arms.
"K-Kill it?" she asked in a quiet frightened, "Can it even be killed?"
"We were able to shoot it a bunch," muttered Kouta, "And you and Lucy were able to cut it with your vectors."
"But it wasn't enough," sniffed Yuka, her face still buried in Kouta's shirt, "And now we're trapped in some nightmare. Did we die? Are we in Hell?"
"Not quite," replied Paxton casually. He took a moment to survey the area before looking toward the Point Man with an odd little smile, "Doesn't this just take you back, brother?"
The Point Man responded with a silent glare, as if Paxton had just made an obscene joke.
"This is the world according to mother," explained Fettel, "A sort of dreamlike reality of total devastation."
"How do we escape?" asked Mayu. She sounded calmer than anyone else, and was quietly holding Wanta close to her chest.
"We find this monster, and we freaking kill it," said Yuka, surprisingly. She raised her head from Kouta, who saw that her tear-stained face was now narrowed in anger, "We won't let it get away with burning down our home."
She broke away from Kouta, picked up her assault rifle, and walked up to Alma. For one wild moment, Kouta wondered if she was going to shoot Alma, but she didn't aim her rifle at the child, but simply stared at her with a sort of grim determination.
"Alma, where is the Creep?"
Alma looked at her for a second, before pointing off toward a line of trees. Yuka nodded, then began heading off in that direction, not bothering to see if anyone else was following her. She only made it a few feet though, before someone else spoke out to her.
"Yuka," said Alma.
Yuka stopped, but didn't turn, "What."
Alma looked toward the treeline, where the leaves had all fallen, and the wood had withered away, leaving the trees to look like great wooden skeletal hands, eager to grab and ensnare, "It wants us to come."
"So let's not keep it waiting, then." She marched off, and did not look back at the others even once.
Paxton chuckled at the young girl's resolution, "I think I'm starting to like this one. She's determined, if nothing else."
He followed Yuka into the forest, and the rest of the group followed them as well, venturing forth to defeat an evil that felt well above their combined ability.
Kurama had expected someone to stop him before he could reach Maple House. One of Kakuzawa's corrupt cops, or Genevieve's soldiers. He'd tried guiding Mariko through back alleys and in between buildings on their way to Maple House, but she was reluctant to go through such a complex labyrinthine route, when she instead preferred a more simplistic and straightforward path. Though for all of their numerous detours, it started to seem as though there was no one actively looking for them. Kurama didn't see any jack-booted soldiers, and the only form of law-enforcement he saw were simple unarmed security guards standing watch over the occasional park or school. Mariko might've acted up if she believed them to be security, but Kurama felt that their authority only went as far as a jumped-up crossing guard, so he paid them no mind, and saw to it that Mariko did the same.
Actually, as he regarded his daughter, Kurma was surprised by how docile she was becoming. There was no attempt or urge to murder everything in her wake. As they walked down the side of a surprisingly empty highway she remained silent, staring straight ahead into the night, where Maple House lay.
Kurama felt hesitant to speak. He would never admit it, but part of him was worried that a single word from him might set her off, and he'd end up diced by his own daughter and her unnatural vectors. Yet in the end, his paternal instincts got the best of him, and he found himself speaking to the monster beside him with a calm voice, "Mariko?"
"Yes, Papa?"
"How are you feeling?"
"...Like the world will go goodbye."
Kurama wasn't sure what he'd expected her to say, but somehow this answer didn't surprise him. They were getting close to their destination now, and more and more did Kurama feel that everything was coming to a great and catastrophic end. Lucy, Alma, the Institute and Armacham. It'd all come to be settled tonight.
"Papa!" Mariko's voice shook him from his personal visions of doomsday, and he looked down at his daughter, "Wha-"
Then he felt it, too. A ripple passed through his mind that nearly brought him to his knees. This was different from anything Alma had done. This felt massive. He shut his eyes and waited for the migraine to pass through his skull. His ears rang. His throat felt dry. Mariko was tugging on his sleeve, shouting something, but it took a moment before Kurama could open his eyes.
He blinked.
He blinked again.
Something had happened to the world around them. Everything looked lifeless, faded away into oblivion. The only light was from a blood-red sky.
In his mind Kurama could only think of one word.
Goodbye.