Well, after a very long, long wait, here it is! The update that took me forever.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. It all belongs to Capcom.
Chapter 6: Painful Memories and The Game.
They decided to make up a route to escape the castle. It took them about an hour to get ready, making sure they had all their supplies. Bella hoped that this would not affect Fiona too much, but slowly lost hope as she saw that Fiona had a glint in her eyes, and it seemed as if she was looking forward to what would happen. Bella was going to have to do her best to keep Fiona from losing her humanity completely.
They left the room, and made their way to the castle gates. Thankfully, Bella had a set of keys that would open them. They arrived at the gates, only to be stopped by five homonculus. They were there as if they had anticipated Bella's plan. They attacked, showing no mercy and an immense thirst for blood. Bella resorted to hand to hand combat, because she wasn't far enough away to use her arrows. Fiona, on the other hand, used her sword to strike them down. It was amazing to watch her fight. Bella noticed that she barely had a chance to attack. Fiona was taking care of them herself. The first four fell easily to her blade, but the last one gave her some trouble.
It struck first, knocking her back. Fiona began to get frustrated. She wanted this over with as soon as possible. She quickly stood, sword at the ready, waiting for it to launch itself at her. It did, and she forced the sword into its chest. It had launched itself with so much force, that the sword had penetrated it completely, and was now sticking out of its back, drenched in blood. She pushed the body off her sword with her foot, causing it to fall, thumping loudly. Fiona had blood dripping from sword. She whipped the sword at her side, and the blood flew away from it and onto the wall. She then turned to Bella.
She was dumbstruck. Fiona's heart was darkening more by the second, and the process of immortality would only make it worse. She truly hoped for a miracle. Fiona needed Draven, and she knew something terrible would happen if she became an immortal. Despite this, she still had to keep helping her, knowing that her destiny would be fulfilled either way.
"Come on, we better get going before any more show up." Bella opened the gate. They walked for a while until they were deep in the forest. Fiona saw a sundial and realized it was the same forest where she had lost Draven for the first time, except she did not know it at the time. She fought the wave of emotion that threatened to overtake her. Bella saw this and some hope sparked in her, that Fiona had not frozen over yet. They did not meet many homonculus, but when they did, Fiona got rid of them pretty quickly. Bella had not used even one of her arrows. She barely had to do anything at all.
"Bella? Are you alright?" Fiona had noticed her uneasiness every time a fight was over. She feared that maybe Bella wasn't feeling too good.
"I'm fine, it's just, you seem to be enjoying yourself too much."
"What are you talking about?"
"Every time you kill a homonculus, there's something in your aura. Something flashes. You are beginning to lose your humanity, little by little. You are resorting to primal instinct way too much. You enjoy the killing, and your heart is beginning to freeze over."
"Freeze over? Why? How?"
"Losing Draven affected you a great deal, and you have to learn to get over it, if not for your sake, then for the sake of others. If you continue like this, you will be a heartless immortal. The point of you becoming one is to better the world, keep control away from people like Belli. At this rate, you will do everything but that." Fiona began to think about what she had said. Bella was right. There was something wrong with her, and she would have to keep herself from changing, even if it would cost her her life.
"Oh, I'm sorry." They continued their path in silence. Finally, they reached the edge of the forest, not having to fight any more homonculus. This test seemed too easy to Bella. She knew there was something terrible ahead.
From the edge of the forest, they could see the tower where Fiona had met Draven. The memories flooded her mind, and it took all her strength to stop the tears. She shook her head, determined not to let it bother her as much as it really did. They stood there for a while, knowing that this had been their destination, but not knowing what to do next. They searched the area for some kind of clue, but they didn't see anything. Fiona walked a little, until she came to the spot where she had seen Draven in Hewie's form, bleeding. She fought the tears again, willing herself to be stronger.
Suddenly, a crimson rose appeared before her. She called Bella, to show her and ask what it was for.
"It's a transport. It will take us to the next stage. All we have to do is touch it." They did, and, as soon as their fingertips touched the rose, the world around them began to change. The air around them seemed to move in waves, until they were in a small room. There were two robes there, and they put them on, also putting on the hoods, somehow knowing they were supposed to, and exited the room. The room they emerged in seemed to be some kind of throne room. It was circular, and they could see that there were other people there, too. There were nineteen others, wearing black hooded robes. They were all standing in a line, and the two joined them. There was a man standing in front of them, dressed in a black robe, and all you could see was his face.
After they were ready, all of them were instructed to stand by each other. When they did, the man in the robe stood aside and another hooded figure spoke.
"Congratulations." The voice was female, "You nineteen have made it through the preliminaries, you will therefore be allowed to participate in the next two trials. Five hundred people had been chosen as candidates, and you are the only ones left. That last test was barely the tip of the iceberg. What you will face now is even worse. The next stage will test your strength." One of the larger robed figures made a satisfied sound. "Oh no, don't get me wrong. I wasn't talking about physical strength, I meant emotional strength. It will test how you react in situations that will take a toll on your emotions. Those of you who pass, advance to the next round." The man spoke now.
"You will go through this round without your partner. This is to see how well you work individually. You will be given thirty minutes to prepare, starting now." Bella immediately turned to Fiona.
"Damn it, it looks like this part will be harder than I thought. Fiona, please try to stay in control. Do not let your guard down for a minute."
"It looks like this round was made specifically for me."
"I know, but don't let it get to you. If the ice in you is good for something, it's good when it comes to covering up emotions. I'm just afraid it will take control."
"Don't worry, it won't." Fiona was reassuring both Bella and herself. She, too, was afraid that the ice may take her. She looked around the room, trying to see the faces under the hoods, but to no avail. The large figure from before was throwing punches into the air, and Fiona could see that his fists glowed. Others were practicing as well, and she could see that all of them were extremely strong.
"Fiona, we should meditate. Come on." She led her to the side, where there were a few pillows. They sat, and spent their prep time in meditation. They both thought about the same thing-Draven. Fiona remembered how much she missed him, and knew that the next round will have something to do with her feelings for him, and she dreaded it. Bella on the other hand, remembered what she heard a few nights ago. She had heard his voice, she knows she did. He said he would come back, and she hoped that it was soon. She tried to reach him through meditation, but she couldn't. She hoped he would appear soon, that Fiona would no longer have to suffer. A bell sounded, signaling the end of their prep time.
"Alright. Each of you will now choose a door to go through. Beyond that door lies your trial. We hope you are ready." They signaled to where the doors were, and each of them chose one, at the sound of another bell, they opened their respective doors, and walked into darkness.
Fiona emerged in a forest. She began to walk, when she heard thumping behind her. She turned around. It was Debilitas.
"Fiona! Fiona!" he said, as he jumped up and down. There was something wrong, her suspicion was confirmed when he approached her, malice in his eyes. She backed away slowly, there came a point where her back hit a tree, and Debilitas was a few steps away. He lifted both his hands, and was bout to strike, when Fiona dodged to the side, causing his fists to collide with the tree. The force that he attacked with was so great, that his hands bled and he yelled out in pain. Fiona couldn't bring herself to hurt him directly, so she would stick with that pattern, until he went away.
She ran, knowing that he ran after her. She reached the mansion entrance, and once again heard her name.
"Fiona . . ." She looked up and saw that Riccardo was there, in front of the door, blocking her entrance. She heard thumping, and turned to see Debilitas. They were both after her now. She took out her sword, prepared to fight Riccardo. He shot at her, and she used her sword to deflect the bullet. She ran at him, and swung her sword. He moved to the side, dodging it, but giving her the opening she needed to continue running. She entered the mansion, running through a door that led to a hall. She could still hear them after her, so she ran faster. She needed to find a way to get rid of them or she would not advance to the next round.
She finally made it to a room where she could hide for a while. She opened the closet door, but she found that she couldn't hide there. Daniella was there, glass sword in hand.
"Miss Fiona . . ." She swung with the glass, but Fiona blocked it with her own sword. She smacked Daniella's hand away, turning around and running. She left the room, but found herself surrounded by the three of them. She moved in the only direction she could, and ran as fast as her legs could take her. She found a door and went through it, shutting it closed behind her, and putting her back to it, sitting on the floor. She tried to control her breathing, and her ice that threatened to cover up all her fear forever. She had to keep everything under control.
"My Fiona . . ." She looked up to see Lorenzo looking down at her, in his younger form. She rolled to the side, avoiding his grasp. She stood up, and held her sword at the ready. She began to attack, but he somehow blocked every move with his power, putting up invisible barriers to keep himself safe. He attacked, but she dodged it, finding her opening and running out the door. The other three were once again blocking her way, only allowing her one route. She ran, but came to a dead end. She turned around,sword at the ready. The four of them were standing before her, ready to attack. She swung at Riccardo first, but Lorenzo surprised her by putting up a shield to protect him. She was caught of guard, and Daniella hurt her with the piece of glass, knocking her down and giving Debilitas the chance to kick her like he had the last time he had chased her. He kicked her arm, making her let go of the sword. He jumped back at Lorenzo's command, making way for him. They began to close in on her, Lorenzo in the lead. Fiona was too weak to get up, and she prayed that this was all a nightmare, that it would end.
She looked at her captors, and imagined what it would have been like if she had refused the offer to be immortal. Time seemed to slow down as they made their way to her. Her eyes were beginning to close, but not before she saw a cloaked figure appear before her. The new arrival's aura caused her to strain herself to stay awake. She sensed death, lots of it. The figure made them back off enough for Fiona to recover a bit, getting up and taking her sword. She stood at the ready, letting her ice take over for a bit, but maintaining as much control as possible. Her fear froze and, with a strength she didn't recognize, she struck her captors down, one by one, completely ignoring the cloaked figure. Once she struck the last of them, she turned, remembering what had happened.
The figure was gone. It must have left while she was fighting. She wondered if the help would affect the outcome of the round. She began to walk back, making it to where she had started the ordeal. The air around her began to waver, and she appeared in a room. It looked like some kind of torture chamber. There was a fire place, a chair with a body strapped to it, and some kind of closet with spikes protruding from the floor, with a lever next to it. What now? she thought.
Suddenly, the door opened behind her and she saw Riccardo walk in, but he didn't seem to notice her. He was holding some kind of leash, and, when she followed the length of the rope, she saw that it ended at the neck of a dog. A white German Shepherd.
"Draven!" Neither of them seemed to notice her. Riccardo went right past her, and tied Draven to the lever. He then took out a whip. He began to hurt him.
"Change back!" he yelled, as he whipped Draven. He wouldn't listen, and just growled at him. The whipping continued, and it was taking a huge toll on Draven. He finally fell, too weak to resist the immense pain. When he fell, he changed back. He was dressed in similar clothes as before, except it was all bloody now. Riccardo stopped with the whip and decided to kick him in the stomach. With every thump of his foot against Draven, Fiona felt her heart breaking, little by little.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" She kept yelling the same thing over and over, even though she knew he didn't hear her. When she saw the blood begin to pour out of him faster, she lost it. She took her sword and lunged at Riccardo, hitting him with all her might. What surprised her the most was not her outburst, but the fact that Riccardo fell, bleeding uncontrollably from the hole she made in his back. Once he was out of the way, she rushed to Draven. It was all she could to stop herself from collapsing in tears. She reached out to him, trying to touch his cheek, but she couldn't. All she could do was watch him die, again. "No . . . Please, don't die, don't leave me again."
Her vision was blurred by her tears, and she couldn't even see him lying in front of her. Then, she heard footsteps behind her again. She grabbed her sword, ready to kill anyone who bothered her. She still couldn't see well, but saw the outline of a man.
"What do you want from me now? Why can't I just be left in peace? Please, just leave me alone." She saw the figure come closer, and she recognized him as the one who had helped her before. He came closer, and Fiona extended her arm, placing the sword at the spot that she thought was his neck. Her tears spilled over, and she could see. The figure pushed her sword away easily, making it look as if it were a piece of scrap metal. Fiona was too exhausted to do anything about it. Her arms fell to her sides, letting her sword fall. He came even closer and the world around her was fading into black. Fiona felt helpless, hoping that, if he was going to kill her, that it would be quick. The attack never came. He put his arms around her, lowering his head, so that his mouth was by her ear.
"Did you really think that you would be able to kill me with my own weapon?" He chuckled after he said this, and Fiona recognized the voice. It was Draven's, but she couldn't be sure, since all the clones had the same voice. She pushed away from him.
"Who are you?" She tried to look underneath the hood, but couldn't see his face.
"It's me, Draven," he said, as he removed his hood, revealing his face. It was him. She couldn't believe it. He was right there in front of her, and she had pushed away from him. Tears began to well up again, but she let them spill freely this time.
"Oh my God, I can't believe it's really you . . ." She lifted her hand to touch his cheek. As her fingertips traced his jaw, he began to fade, until he disappeared. The last thing she saw before he faded away completely, was his smile. "No! Come back!" Sadness threatened to take over, but was beaten by anger. She picked up her sword, holding the hilt tightly. She closed her eyes, hoping that this nightmare would end when she opened them.
It didn't.
She opened her eyes, only to see that she was back in the throne room. It was empty, until, a few seconds later, other people began to materialize in front of her. She noticed that her hood was back over her head, as was everyone else's. She looked around, searching for Bella's aura. She was one of the last to arrive, and Fiona had feared she had not survived.
"Bella! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. My trial was to face Daniella and the Bellis. What was yours?"
"Pretty much the same, except that Debilitas, Daniella, and all the Bellis went after me at once. Then, I saw Draven being tortured, then I saw him again, alive. I really thought he was back, but I realize now that it was just part of the trial, testing how well I handle my anger and happiness." Bella thought about this for a while. How would the immortals know about Draven and Fiona's relationship? They couldn't have seen what happened in their time together, could they? She pushed the thought out of her mind, and continued speaking to Fiona.
"That's horrible. The immortals really are looking for strong people, aren't they?"
"I guess you're right." They turned to the two cloaked figures, who were about to speak.
"Very well," this was the woman's voice, "I see only nine of you survived."
"You will be given one day to rest, so the next exam begins in twenty-four hours. Until then, feel free to explore the castle, and use any supplies you deem important. We will be expecting you in this room tomorrow." Everyone scattered then, to explore and look for any means to make this easier on them. Fiona and Bella looked for a room where they could rest and meditate. They found a hall that had labeled doors, one with their name on it. They opened the door, and saw that it was an extravagant room that made Belli Castle look like Barbie's Playhouse.
There were two large beds, one on each side of the room. It was decorated in the color blue and red, matching the occupant's auras. There was a large dresser in between, which held different clothes for them to wear. They changed out of their bloodstained clothes into dresses (ha! Back in a dress!). Fiona's dress was a dark blue, and Bella's was a bright crimson. They put their things at the feet of their beds, and left to find something to eat, both of them tired from their ordeals.
YAY! I finally updated! I thought I'd never finish. I had a SERIOUS case of writer's block. Thankfully, through the wonders of sitting in front of my computer screen all day, I overcame it. I know you'll probably hate me as you read this (disneysheep wants to kill me), but DO NOT WORRY. Only a little bit left before the end (hint, hint!).