I'M BACK! And ready to dish out another chapter that I hope you all will enjoy. Any reviews and comments are appreciated :D
A portal would open to a purple-colored forest, two pitch black clones stepping out with the broadest magenta-colored grin on their faces. The two were beyond ecstatic with their latest discovery and rambled on to each other out loud. The commotion was enough to stir the other inhabitants within the dimension, similar copies approaching the two with curiosity.
Soon those beings would grin too and match their joy, some jittering with energy while others let their cackles echo.
One individual had to know what was going on and so everyone would begin to flock to the center of the forest. As they trekked through the monocolored terrain, the color of it would grow darker and darker the closer they were to the middle. It wouldn't take long for everyone to reach a pitch black section of the area deprived of any life, just a void that matched the clone's body. All that could be seen were the swirly-eyed crazed grins of each duplicate along with a massive, luminous purple crystal they circled around.
Everyone would pipe down to hush murmurs and whispers, most of whom had their attention on the object in front of them.
"So...Who's going to wake him up?" One Boukyaku would ask, causing the masses to turn their attention to the singular being. They would all just...Stare at him, grins widening. "...Welp! Guess I'll do it then! Thanks for volunteering everyone, I appreciate your kindness." they scoffed and went to the crystal.
There was a lot of hesitation in the next move they were supposed to take, their grin suddenly forming into a sharp frown. They were nervous, internally wishing they hadn't been the one to do this job. It was a death contract. "Here goes...Nothing!" That said, he forced his hand forward and knocked on the giant quartz.
Everyone would go silent and wait for the object to take effect, only for nothing to happen after a good thirty seconds passing. The volunteering clone gave an awkward laugh as everyone's expression shifted to annoyance and leaned forward to knock once more. "Oops, guess I didn't knock hard enough."
"No, you did...I'm just waking up, give me a damn second." A loud yawn came from the crystal, its cloudy appearance becoming translucent. Within the mineral was just another Boukyaku. He was different though, possessing hair that went all the way down his back along and...That's about it, really. He seemed to be their leader of sorts though, all the clones patiently waiting for him to finish stretching within his enclosure.
"...Alright. What's the news, me?" He asked, pressing his hands against the inner crystal walls and looking down at his subordinates.
"We found...It." The clone who woke him up explain, a small grin arching on his face.
"...It?" He questioned with an impatient scowl. 'I don't read memories, you know, and I was having a good nap so HURRY UP AND TELL ME!" The being yelled, banging his palms and cracking the crystal itself.
Everyone flinched and it would take a second for any of them to actually respond, much to his irritation. "Well- we- uh- found the Extraction Machine. You know- the one being rumored by CC?"
"Wait what?" The encased Boukyaku's eyes widened, surprised but also perplexed and...disappointed. "That thing actually exists still? You would think it'd be dismantled after the incident with the previously determined human..."
"Well, it's still there! Two of us spotted it!" Another clone spoke up with glee.
"That's...great." The Boukyaku mumbled, not exactly ecstatic by the news.
"Is...Something wrong? We should be celebrating this! You know how important this is to your team." A voice called amongst the crowd, sparking everyone to shout and yell in agreement.
"SILENCE!"
Everyone went quiet as the main Boukyaku stepped in circles around his spot, pondering with a hand over his chin. A low rumble would emit from his throat before proceeding to bit his index finger, drawing red blood. Anger rose in him then sudden, unexpected sadness.
He collapsed onto the ground, head lowered. "I didn't think we'd find it that fast, you know? Especially with us still recovering. We have such little magic at the moment, CC's failed plan took a lot of magic out of me. Making clones, manipulating environments, it costed a lot." He cackled, lifting his head up with a smile. "This is just great! But..."
He frowned, drifting his gaze from clone to clone. "-Also sad..."
"Sad?" The Boukyaku in front of the crystal. They stepped forward, sheepishly smirking. "Why? We can go on with our-"
Shattering through his crystalized home, the main Boukyaku gripped his clone by the neck and snapped it without hesitation. For a few seconds he would allow the lifeless vessel to hang in his grip, nails digging into its flesh and drawing out purple liquid, before slamming them down. No one would bat an eye at the corpse, but no one would speak either except for him. "...Don't any of you get it?"
No response.
Boukyaku growled and clawed his hands, letting his fingers sharpen with a bright pure hue. "We barely have any magic to do anything! I made so many of you, I allowed you all to use my magic to complete a damn task- and guess what? Throughout all of that time, none of you decided to preserve yourselves or your magic. But you know what pisses me off the most?"
As he took a step forward, everyone else took a step back, many with their hands raised or hiding behind one another.
"None of you could catch a single, powerless, useless being trapped in MY dimension." He yelled, his jaw unhinging and leaking with pure hatred.
"M-my...? You- uh- mean 'our', right?" A terrified clone spoke out from the very back of the gatherers.
Silence.
"R-right?!"
Boukyaku extended his claws out at the multiple versions of himself.
"Fuck. RUN!" A shout came right before the crowd broke into random, panicking groups to evade their leader, but It was too late for any of them to flee.
Out from his fingertips would emerge long, piercing spikes of dark perseverance, piercing through every clone it touched. Each one killed would only worsen the massacre, the magenta liquid they spilled crystallizing into jagged spikes that would aim after the other fleeing duplicates.
The true Boukyaku would simply watch in silence as the landscape became filled with streaks of purple slicing past the various versions of himself, watching them bleed and become lifeless. Their eyes and teeth would stop glowing and all of them would go limp, the sound of their artificial souls shattering under the weight of their injuries.
And then there was silence, the last soul shattering with no more screams and panicked yells. All of it happen within thirty seconds as far as he could tell. It was a swift execution he dealt, a well-deserved one too in his opinion. He had no time for his other selves anymore. "This was kind of a quick minute decision, I know, but I'm through with my own games...It's time to get competitive."
Retracting his claws as he looked out into corpse and crystal-filled scenery, his eyes blazed with fury. "All that magic wasted... I have to get it back somehow. Sorry, I had very hard feelings for all of you anyways."
With his blackened hands rising high into the air, the blood and crystallized shards of perseverance magic from Boukyaku's dead replicas would drain of color. The essence flow out and towards him, soaking into his body in one huge stream of power. His body was practically engulfed by nothing but magenta.
"But don't worry, I'll put you all to good use..." Boukyaku silently promised, eyes trained on his chest where his soul would become visible. It would fill with an ugly nightshade color until only the very tip was left empty.
He patted his soul, forcing it back into his body, and grinned "You all better be enough. Now, it's time to- Wait." He looked out into the sea of dead, magicless bodies and cringed. There was...a slight miscalculation he may of had made. "I...Forgot to ask them where exactly the extractor was...Oh well! What's the fun in a game without a challenge?"
Carelessly, he bounded past his massacre and down the forest, skipping his legs gleefully. "I'll just have to let a little friend know the news first!"
Today's weather was calm with a only light breeze, a few clouds hovering in the air, and passing by the sun on occasion, perfect for meditation. CC would find himself in such a place seated alongside a beautiful view of Mount Ebott, on top of a decently sized hill with a perfect amount of flat land to place a picnic basket and his favorite book, Soul Manipulation Magic, beside him.
He needed this moment to himself, desperately. The corrupt kid had not handled his defeat very well. At all. He was only here to cool off and hopefully blow some steam, finding this place to be perfect since it was deprived of humans and monsters.
Prior to coming here, when CC woke up he had thrown a fit of pure, unrelenting rage. There were so many things he was enraged about. As much as he despised being defeated, there was nothing worse for him than to be taken advantage of and killed.
For him to be in a defenseless state and then have his soul shattered...That brought back terrible memories, which were only amplified when he saw his worst fear from Betty's attack. That memory— It was too painful for him to think about, it made him see nothing but cruelty around him. Only cruelty.
CC wondered how she did that anyway, making him see his worst fears. He didn't know determination could do that. Actually, he believed determination shouldn't be capable of that. Determination was a powerful soul, but he was sure that wasn't in its range of skills.
He'd have to figure it out later with the latest subject his allies brought in, the only good thing that came out of their horrifically failed plan to snatch Betty's soul. For now, he just needed to relax. His rage had left his room a mess and a decomposing Boukyaku body. Thankfully he had BB around to clean it up; she was the one who recommended him to go out here in the first place.
just for an hour, he needed to be away from all his stress and anger. Away from everyone and everything.
After seating himself comfortably on the grass, he moved towards his picnic basket and took out a cold ham sandwich. Biting into it, he used his free hand to pick up his book and randomly flipped to one of the many sections. "Ah. Weapon... I never really tried this one, determination is hard to get my hands on." And mine was all apparently wasted to revive me faster.
At least that's what BB told him. He had found his syringe of the rare substance empty alongside some of his perseverance and kindness magic reserves within his cabinets. He didn't think much of it, having been too angry to focus on losing some of his supplies. What's done is done anyways.
Calmly, he continued to read and eat, his thoughts steadily being replaced with the words on each page and the taste of ham in his mouth. There were only a few signs of life aside from the floral and greenery that tied in the whole scene: birds, bunnies, grazing deer, A portal with Boukyaku exiting it... Boukyaku?!
CC crushed his sandwich. "GOD. DAMMIT."
"Hey CC!" Boukyaku greeted with a wave and approached the irritated child as the portal behind him closed. "I asked Impa and Jessy where you went and they were nice enough to send me here!" His attention became set on the picnic basket and would snatch it off the ground. "Got any grub by the way? I haven't eaten in forever!"
Why the hell are they here...? CC thought to himself as he gritted his teeth and watched the deranged figure shake the basket. His hands would twitch, green and purple colored magic manifested within his palms. I don't got time for these stupid clones! I just want some damn peace!
Taking out a cold sandwich from the basket, Boukyaku's attention would look towards his leader. "So, CC, I- Oh fuck."
Gripped in both his hands, CC raised his magic-crafted pole saw in the air, over his head and towards the black figure. The circular blade at the end spun with killing intent and would be brought down.
"Leave me the hell alone!" he cried out loud.
The swing would strike Boukyaku but completely missed its killing intent, bouncing off his overlayed arm of dark perseverance and causing only a nick. The damage would cause the armor to disintegrate from CC's decaying magic, but it had done its job in allowing enough time for him to speak. "Woah, hold on! I'm not one of my cheap knockoffs!"
CC was ready to strike again, his grip tightening around the pole of his weapon. It took him a good, long second to realize what his 'friend' was blabbering on about. He noticed the long hair they possessed alongside a rather nervous and cautious smile plastered on their void-like face. Long hair, quick reactions, and he's being... self-preservant? Wait.
"...Boukyaku? Wait- Why the hell aren't you using your clones?" The kid asked, scowling with confusion.
"That's what I wanted to talk about before you rudely had to attack me!" Boukyaku crossed his arms and cackled. He took a moment to eat his stolen sandwich before speaking once more. "We- Well, more like I now- finally found...it."
"..." CC squinted his eyes. Hard. "I don't read minds, dumbass. What is this 'it'?"
"Oh. Right. Sorry, some of my clones rub off of me as much as I rub off on them!" Boukyaku turned towards Mount Ebott and pointed at the massive landmark, the former home and prison of monsterkind. "You know that extractor you were rambling on about far before we devised our failed plan? My clones found it!"
"Wait- The Spirit Extractor exists?!" CC dropped his pole saw and grabbed Boukyaku by the shoulders. "I thought it would've been dismantled! Better yet, I thought the project was abandoned!"
"Right? Who knew a mere side quest would bring big results? It's all still intact!" Boukyaku commented with a proud smile, which quickly faltered when CC's became a little too hard on his bones. "Also you're killing my shoulders!"
CC took his hands off his ally and looked out into the mountain forest. Who knew that monster scientist actually went through with the lab plan? Must've taken decades."I only sent you on that mission so you could get off my back-"
"What."
"-but I guess I made the right choice!" He continued on to say, his mood becoming drastically ecstatic.
"I'm going to pretend to ignore that." Boukyaku mumbled. "Moving along! We should take advantage of the situation while we have the chance and haul it out with us. Like- right now perhaps...?"
CC's mood dropped almost immediately. "Right now? Shouldn't you still be recovering your magic? You could easily die if anything happens to show up."
"Awww! Does someone care about me?" Boukyaku teased, leaning towards and pinching CC's cheek.
He growled and smacked away their hand. "Hardly. You're just a valuable asset to our plan like everyone else on the team. We cannot afford a single loss, excluding your duplicates."
Boukyaku smirked. " Yeah, I get that, which is why I killed off all my clones to restore my magic."
"You killed off all your clones? Aren't they important?" CC gasped a little at the news. He didn't know whether to be mad or just shocked at the news. To him, the clones were useful in their expendable nature. One could die and simply be replaced without issue, allowing his group to pursue their goals without putting anyone into jeopardy. They even helped save his body when his soul was shattered.
"Some of them were useful..." he went on to murmur, a bit disappointed by the news.
"Yeah, well 'some' doesn't equal 'all'. A lot of them just ran off and idiotically got themselves killed or made poor choices." Boukyaku noted with distaste, lacking as many fond thoughts as his leader did. "They knew they were expendable beings who could simply respawn and became lazy. I hated it."
"So basically you got tired of yourself." CC summarized.
"Precisely! For now, at least. I might get lonely later." Boukyaku shrugged before grabbing CC's hand and pulling them away from their picnic spot. "Now come on, let's not waste time!"
"Hold on!" CC shoved away Boukyaku and dusted off his hoodie. "Do you even have a plan?! We can't just rush in there and claim an extractor to ourselves like nothing."
Boukyaku stopped dead in his tracks, hands on his hips. "I mean- we could." he said nonchalantly, earning him an unamused stare from the corrupted child. "Damn, take a joke. You have nothing to worry about, Impa and Jessy will have our backs. They'll be providing us an escape route."
As if on cue, another portal made of patience and integrity would appear in front of CC. Moments later Jessy's head would poke out, her dark blue eyes staring at both him and Boukyaku with vague annoyance. "Are you two done yet?"
"I-"
"Yup! I just convinced him and we're about to head to Mount Ebott right now! We'll be somewhere in Hotland since that's the last location I sent myself at." Boukyaku cuts off CC while winking.
Jessy grimaced. "Never wink again and call me or Impa whenever you two are finished." Without waiting for a reply, she would disappear back into the closing portal.
"Oh well, that was brief-" Turning towards CC, Boukyaku innocently smiled- as innocently he could with his razor-sharp teeth allowed at least. "See? We have a plan!"
"half-assed at best..." the child said dishearteningly. Normally he was the one planning all the group's moves, every action they did together was made by him first. However, the tables have turned for once, which honestly worried him since he could barely trust his own team for anything without his guidance. He liked to have control when he could, but now he seemed to be lacking that.
Everyone seemed on board with Boukyaku's plan though and it was hard to go against a majority vote. He could just leave his allies to do the whole task themselves, it was awfully tempting, but he needed to ensure none of them ever die or get captured. All of them were useful assets to him after all, with him around he could decrease those chances.
Ultimately he didn't have any other choice but to participate and play along. "This better not backfire or it's on your ass, Boukyaku."
"No promises!" Boukyaku laughed before running backwards down the hill, his swirly eyes still on CC. "Now come on! let's hurry and go!"
CC said nothing and just watched as they ran off, tripped, and tumbled down. His eyes would slowly settle towards the mountain, his eyes darkening. If we can really get that extractor, we can jumpstart a new main plan... He sighed and bent down, picking up his book and then following Boukyaku towards the former home of monsterkind.
Milo, for the first time in what felt like forever, stepped out of Tulah and Null's warehouse looking rather disheveled for a froggit; torn and wrinkled cloth, a few ash stains, some patchwork on it, he desperately needed to get it repaired. It wasn't like he wanted to go outside today, especially with today having a mourning event down at Mount Ebott he had wanted to participate in. He couldn't find the dust of his parents, it had all been scattered or mixed with the ashes from the fire. he couldn't bring himself to join without it.
Just thinking about it made his soul hurt. Seeing the aftermath of Our Town burning didn't help either, almost everything was just a shell of itself. Despite that, Tulah had forced him outside since it had become apparent his mental state was less than well, and getting some sun was supposed to help fix that. Somehow. Normally he would've been alongside Mila but she had taken the news of her parent's death much harder than he did with his.
Monsters are capable of moving on within a week or so from the death of a loved one, either pushing forward with a new goal in their name or simply deciding to continue under the assumption 'that's what they'd want'. The souls of monsters were supposedly made out of love, hope, and compassion after all.
Meanwhile, humans have a significantly harder time letting go of close ones. Milo didn't know exactly why, but he bet it had to do with the determination humans naturally possessed, the unwillingness to stand down or let go of their effort. Mila had a pretty difficult time even wanting to do anything and her soul was rather pale in color, presumably weakening or even graying out. Tulah and Null's efforts to get her outside proved futile.
So here Milo was, outside of his destroyed town, alone. With nothing to do but soak in the sun. Yeah...No. I need to be anywhere but here. A long exhale left the small monster before he marched onwards, directly towards Glistening Thicket. It wasn't long until he slipped out of the streets and into some shrubbery leading to the thicket's forest.
He had always found this place beautiful, with golden leaves and flowers decorating the entire area to the point it seemed endless, it was a place seemingly made by nature to emulate peace and hope. It was the perfect place for Milo to gather his thoughts, especially with a certain area Withern had once taken him to. A river. There was nothing too special about it aside from complimenting the scenery as well as having a sandy bank, he thought it would be a nice spot to dip himself into and hopefully relax.
Getting up and close to the calm stream of water, Milo dipped his paw into the cool liquid and looked up at the sun. Its rays were warm while the river was cool, it felt like Summer when in reality everyone was stuck dead in the middle of fall. Mila would've enjoyed something like this. He stepped back and sat for a quick second. He moved his paws to his cloak, not before making sure no one was around to see.
Slipping off his outfit, Milo would let his long, pointed ears and furred back; along with the scar on the sides of his body, feel the air's breeze. Looking down at his cloak, he stared at his deflated 'head' and smirked with amusement. "This is a bit unsettling, ribbit."
It wasn't like froggits ever took off their clothing, they were in a literal sense a part of his species. They're born with it and the item itself was imbued with their own magic. It was how he was able to express, eat, and even see with it; He had taken off a part of himself. Culturally for his species, they are heavily discouraged from taking it off in front of any monster or human and shouldn't show themselves since it's considered...weird.
Of course, since no one was around, Milo completely disregarded that. He could freely do what he wanted and let his whole body soak into the water without drenching the cloak. It felt nice, not having his fur rub against fabric, even if he knew it would only be temporary.
It wasn't like anything back in the underground when he had lived in the ruins with his family. The place had its own charm and was large in its own right, there was even a small waterfall that was popular with its inhabitants, but it just paled in comparison to being outside in an open forest. The light wasn't artificial, the feeling of being trapped wasn't evident, and privacy was much easier to obtain. It was freedom.
For a moment he would forget everything, although it would quickly go as fast as it came when his mind felt like it was gnawing at him.
Why did it feel like everyone around him wasn't free?
He began to feel horrible- his family was dead, Mila's too and she was suffering, Tom is in critical condition, Withern and Kumu were nowhere to be seen, Tulah's soul was damaged- he shouldn't be here relaxing. He didn't believe he deserved it, but would try to reassure himself otherwise. Mom and dad would've hated me to sulk too much, moving forward is the only way...But Mila is sad still and my friends are in turmoil, why am I enjoying myself? Is it fine?
The water felt way colder than it was just a few moments ago, ice cold along his back as if there was some kind of sin pushing him to get out. How could he move on when Mila hasn't? Wasn't he supposed to be by her side right now? It felt selfish to enjoy anything without her. He felt like he was leaving his friends and her side. Everything he has been through ever since emerging from the underground was with her, even the worst
No! If I keep moping around then I can't help myself or Mila or anyone! I have to move forward no matter what...
He forced himself to stay in the river despite the chills and sank himself lower. It didn't work and only made him feel like he was freezing, forcing him to stumble out of the river and onto the bank, his fur soaking wet.
"What do I do...?" Milo spreaded himself out on the sand, looking up at the sky past the golden-colored canopy. "Whatever I do, I feel like I'm making the wrong choice."
And it's not like I can do much anyways. I'm just a froggit! The monster internally told himself, further pressing him into lostness. He felt powerless to do anything to fix his situation. It just felt too complicated for him.
He swore he could just hear his own angel and demon fighting. One wanted him to go back and sulk with Mila so she won't be alone, the other one wanted to move forward despite everyone else still suffering. Neither choice really helped improve the overall situation except for himself. It was infuriating.
"Why can't Mila just move on?! If she could, then I wouldn't be having this issue! Ribbit!" Milo croaked out loud, kicking sand up into the air with his hind legs.
He paused. If only Mila moved on...
There's a third option.
Super Short Story
"-After the attack by four unknown humanoid suspects, a town in the Amikeko district was ambushed and burned down by a group of pitch-black individuals who have yet to be identified. Over forty lives have been lost in the attack, with only a handful of survivors who has some loose connection to the determined human known as Betty. It has been declared the destruction has a correlation to the attack made on Determino's arena, the total death toll now exceeding a hundred."
"throughout the week many funerals and mournings have been planned, including a public gathering around the arena and a pilgrimage to Mount Ebott devised by the former king and queen of the now defunct monster kingdom. AMD has not yet made an official statement on the recent events as their leader, Jessica Grey, is nowhere to be-"
The TV came to an abrupt end, blipping into black.
Jessica sighed and moved her attention back to a handful of papers and files: Milo, Mila, AMD, Sicko. She had a lot in her hands, a lot of ends she had to wrap up if she wanted to get any semblance of normalcy. The recent events had shaken her, doubts and regrets filled her mind. She had been an advocate for anti-monster acts and laws, even protests and rallies, especially after what she learned monsters had done to her only daughter...
But now? Now she didn't know. It was clearly humans who had attacked the arena, killing countless monsters and humans in their short-lived massacre. Monsters had become victims and growing in her was the fact that she couldn't pin her hatred on an entire race. Was it even justified anymore to hate them? Better yet, was that what her sunshine would've wanted?
Her idea of subtle revenge has pretty much collapsed, even as the AMD leader she couldn't find the strength to pursue her disdain for monsterkind. It seemed irrational when a group of humans was out there causing more damage than an entire army of sentient creatures. She had caught a glimpse of what her revenge could look like and she hated it.
"I hope I'm making the right choice..." Jessica murmured.
