Hey, so this is Illusion chapter 2. I know its been a while since the last chapter, and i'm sorry about that. But i'm working on things so that I can write more, though things will have to hopefully work out for me. But yeah, again sorry for the long long wait, enjoy the chapter!

...

Deshaun's house

February 23rd, 2020

7:00AM

It was a semi bright and clear blue morning, the sky still had a few clouds but they were pretty far apart from each other. In the house, Maria was still asleep on the sleeper sofa with the blanket covering her. However, she started to breath a little heavily and started sweating, she started to hear screaming and the sounds of blazing fire. She then jolts up and starts breathing slowly to help calm herself down, she then looks around the living room but doesn't see anything. She then hears something in the kitchen, she stretches out a bit and gets up from the sleeper sofa. She then folds the blanket and places it on the left end of the sleeper sofa, she then walks over to the kitchen but notices a picture on a shelf that looked interesting. She picks it up and sees Deshaun with a girl with black hair, hazel eyes and had with white skin. She then puts the picture back and knocks on the door.

''Come in.''

She then opens the door and sees Deshaun cooking some food, but it was food that she recognized from her home.

Deshaun-''Hey, hope your hungry, cause this took a bit to make.'' He said while scrambling the eggs.

Maria-''Good morning Deshaun, and yes, i am. How did you cook these meals, they usually take a bit of time?'' She asked curious.

Deshaun-''I looked up some dishes last night that I thought you'd like, so i went out while you were asleep and started cooking early.'' He said.

Maria-''Oh, well I would've eaten anything you had, i'm not picky.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Alright, still I just wanted to make sure you ate something you'd like.'' He said.

Maria-''But still, anything you had I'd be alright with.'' She said, he then puts the food on a plate and puts it on the table. She then pulls up a chair and sits down, he sits down too and starts eating. However, before he does he sees her pray over her food. He then looks at his food, puts the fork down and pretends to pray with her. After about two minutes, Maria finishes praying and starts eating and so does Deshaun. When Maria finishes her food, she puts her fork down and looks over at Deshaun. ''What are we going to do?'' She asked, he then puts his fork down too and looks at her.

Deshaun-''First we have to figure out who did this to you, any clues, memories, or moments before and or after the incident will help. So, did you see the person that did this at all?'' He asked.

Maria-''No.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, so how exactly were you brought here from your home? Also tell me what happened before the incident happened like what you did, or what anyone else did at the time of this attack.'' He said, when he did she starts to think back to everything that happened.

Maria-''I was running late getting to Pension's Ultimo Pasto Pizzeria for a meeting with Jesus, i was in a hurry so I got ready as usual, made sure to feed the chickens and left. I said good morning to villagers on my way to the Pizzeria and greeted Judas, who...was, a friend of mine. Anyways, i got to the Pizzeria and apologized to Jesus for being late and Judas came in the Pizzeria too just to gawk at me as usual. When I sat down and Jesus started giving pieces of unleavened bread and this is when everything happened.'' She explained. ''Lightning was heard outside, the sky started turning into a fiery red color and the clouds were as red as blood...'' She was saying, for she started shaking a bit scared. Deshaun notices this, for he pulls his chair closer to her and places his hands on hers.

Deshaun-''Maria, just breath, its okay.'' He said, she nods and breaths slowly and calms herself down.

Maria-''...when the clouds turned blood red, that's when it started to rain blood. Sheep started to get struck by lightning, most of them died while some of them were just on fire and slowly died. The ceiling caught on fire, and then this portal made out of fire appeared out of nowhere. Judas tried to escape through the front door but it caught on fire and was blocked from debris. The portal kept getting bigger as lightning started to strike the building, i then start looking for a fire extinguisher, find one and put out most of the flames. Then, i found another exit and show the others, but it got blocked off too. Jesus helps survivors get out of the pizzeria, but more debris blocked that exit too. Then, some explosion goes off in the kitchen, it blew us into a wall and things were blurry for me then. But, i saw Jesus and Judas needed help and I did but...before I got to them, for a second I saw someone just looking at us through one of the windows. After that...i just heard voices and saw images of things. The fire consumed me, and then I woke up in the dirt and saw a human with some type of medal stick was walking around searching for something. He noticed me and pointed the medal stick at me, but lightning struck near the human making him miss and I ran from him. But, the lightning looked similar to the lightning storm when I was taken. Anyways, i saw your home, oh and what's your home called?'' She asks.

Deshaun-''Atlanta, Georgia.'' He said.

Maria-''Okay, i saw your home Atlanta for a few seconds but I was more focused on running, then while it was raining it lighten up a little and that's when I met you.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Alright, first thing is when you mentioned that this person named Judas was a friend of yours, but how you phrased it makes it seem like you both aren't friends anymore correct?'' He asked.

Maria-''...yeah, when we were all sixteen, i went up to him and he gave me a cigarette. He got his lighter out to light my cigarette, then some photos fell from his...skin...pocket, i don't know. Anyways, the pictures he had were some nude photos of me and...'' She stopped, Deshaun then got worried.

Deshaun-''Maria?'' He asked worried.

Maria-''I...i sorta...expected it, i always knew he always lusted over me and wasn't subtle about being perverted towards me, but what I was shocked about was that he took it that far and did it without any remorse or even feeling slightly bad like before. That and he just looked at me like they nothing was wrong, nor were the picture on the ground. So, i just left and went to Jesus's stand and that's how I was with his group going to meetings.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, and what do you mean like before?'' He asked.

Maria-''Before this when we were preteens, i've caught him beeping at me a few times, he used to somewhat feel bad and even apologized and after one point just stopped. Then a few years later he does this and looked proud and continued to light me a cigarette as if the photos weren't there and I wasn't looking right at them.'' She said getting a bit sad and a bit angry, but she calms herself down. ''Anyways, after that I haven't seen him as much, actually I rarely saw him after that and just saw him angry like usual but...one day when I was leaving one of Jesus's meetings, for the first time...I...i saw him crying...'' She said.

Ammo Domini 0029

8:54pm

It was now sunset, the sky was a bit of a dark blue mixed with a bit of red in the sky but it seemed to mix with the dark blue sky and looked violent. Maria walks out of the Pizzeria putting a golden/light brown bible in her bag, however she then lays on the wall and sighs looking a bit sadden. She looks back inside the building and looks up at the night sky, and sees the billions of stars with the night sky. She then looks inside the Pizzeria again, but this time she smiles a little bit. She then sits up and walks back home shivering a little, but she gets a blanket from her bag and wraps herself. She then hears children and sees some kicking a ball around. One of the kids accidentally kick it over to Maria, but she traps the ball using a chest trap technique, she then lets the ball drop and kicks it once with both hooves. She then catches the ball and lightly kicks it back to the kids, they're all impressed by her skill and keep playing. She then keeps walking home, but then hears someone crying. Her ears go up a bit to listen and follows where its coming from, after a few minutes she peeks behind a building and sees Judas crying. He was on the ground clutching onto himself, was surrounded by wine bottles and broken wine bottles. She looks away from him, and had an angered expression remembering the photos. However, she continued to hear him cry and her anger went away. She then looks back at him, but this time seeing him as a child surrounded by families. She then gets out her bible and looks at it, but then back at Judas who she sees as an adult again. She then puts the book back in her bag, leaves it somewhere safe and walks over to him. She then sits down in front of him and places a hand on his right shoulder, he then stops crying and looks up to see Maria. She sees that his yellow eyes have a pink/red like look and that his eyes were a bit puffy, he then looks away from her and hugs himself. She then touches his shoulder again, but felt something for she moves some of his fur to see cuts and bruises. She tries to help him up, but he pulls back a bit aggressively growling a bit. She tries again, but can tell he didn't want to be bothered again. She then gets up and walks away, after a few seconds he then looks back and sees that she's gone and looks at the cuts on his arm. He then tears up and looks at the Pizzeria seeing Jesus leaving and sees his parents and some villagers walk over to him, his parents hugging him and the villagers talk to him. Judas then gets angry and balls his fits, however his claws cut into his hands making them bleed. He sees them leave, and huddles back into a corner and falls asleep quickly. However, Maria saw everything and walks over to him with her blanket and puts it on him with a loaf a bread in a basket. Before she leaves, she whispers something in his right ear and wishes him goodnight. She then gets up and walks away from him, this time heading home.

Present time

Maria-''...after that night, i didn't see him for months. Most forgot about him, and from what I heard from some of the villagers, he just went back to how he was. Then, a few days later while I running late getting to the meeting, that's when I saw him again. Then, the incident happened.'' She said.

Deshaun-''How long has he been angry like this?'' He asked.

Maria-''(Sigh)...since the first day I met him in preschool, whenever he wasn't angry or drunk he was just lustful towards me. I've said that what he's doing bothers me, and that I want to help him, but he always shrugs it off and just...wallows in his misery.'' She said, her

Deshaun-''Some people can't be helped Maria, no matter what we do. Sometimes, the only person that can truly help them is themselves.'' He said, but Maria looked a bit offended by this.

Maria-''No there's always something we can do, no matter what. They shouldn't be fighting alone, feeling hopeless.'' She said.

Deshaun-''...so what about the other person, Jesus right?'' He asked.

Maria-''..yes, he's very...proud of his faith and I want to support him and help him as much as I can. Though, sometimes, i feel like i'm not doing enough or that...he thinks others and I are only helping him out of pity.'' She said a bit saddened.

Deshaun-''Why do you think he believes this?'' He asked.

Maria-''With what he had to go through as a child, he's been bullied most of his childhood for his faith by other kids, especially Judas every chance he gets. Like I said, he's very proud of his faith and that he can sometimes get really frustrated and agitated. He also has this need for attention by his piers, and usually tries to assume that everything that happens was meant to happen and not caused by him. Though, i know that he only wants peace, and us all to live better lives than we did. Most have given up, but some haven't given up hope.'' She said.

Deshaun-''I remember you said you went to meetings with Jesus, have there ever been times where he gets aggressive?'' He said.

Maria-''...yes, sometimes when things get really out of hand, and he doesn't seem to find an answer he gets frustrated. Especially when things don't go his way, it wasn't common, but when it does happen he can get violent. Before I left the Pizzeria and heard Judas crying, things didn't go well at the meeting that day and he was close to his breaking point.'' She said.

Ammo Domini 0029

8:34pm

20 minutes earlier

It was starting in a couple more minutes, Maria was helping one of the sheep with some flower. She places it in the pile, the sheep then shakes her hand and walks upstairs. She gets her bag and walks to the door, however she sees that she got some flower on her hands. So, she starts washing her hands, however she gets startled when she hears something break downstairs. She then quickly walks downstairs in a hurry in case anyone was hurt, but just sees Jesus was the one who threw a chair at the wall destroying the chair. Not only that, but papers were ripped and all over the place. Maria then hears him mumble some things, she then tries to calm him down, but he pushes her hand away and walks over to some of the papers. He looks at them again, and crumbles them and throw them to the ground. Maria then picks one up and unfolds it, seeing that the papers were of the lack of attendees to the meetings. That, and they've been decreasing for the last couple weeks. Maria has noticed this for sometime, and has helped bring new members if they chose to come. However, some have left for unknown reasons, while some she found out. She then shows him on the papers that there are still people that come, she then shows him a drawing from one of the children thanking him. He then holds the drawing, smiling a bit, but he then starts crumbling it and throwing it to the ground. He then walks to a closet and shows her a bunch of the same drawings, throwing them to the floor. He then starts yelling, saying numerous things and as he did, Maria sees the some villagers were looking at him oddly. Maria then stops him, she then tries to show him another picture, but he doesn't want to look. He then looks outside, he then points to the clock. She then holds the picture close to her, she then places it on the table. She then goes upstairs and turns the water off. She then gets her bag, puts her bible in it and walks out of the Pizzeria. She then wishes him goodnight and leaves, she closes the door behind her as it was now sunset. The sky was a bit of a dark blue mixed with a bit of red in the sky but it seemed to mix with the dark blue sky and looked violent. Maria walks out of the Pizzeria putting a golden/light brown bible in her bag, however she then lays on the wall and sighs looking a bit sadden. Jesus then calms down and cleans up the mess he made, as he did, he looks at the paper Maria had as he looks at it. He smiles a bit, he then walks over to a wall and sees an empty picture frame and puts the picture in it. He then continues to clean up, as he did, Maria saw him without him knowing and smiled a bit. She then sits up and walks back home shivering a little.

Present time

Maria-''Some nights, i think about that day and think maybe there was more I could've done for them. I worry about them both, now more than ever with everything that's happening.'' She said.

Deshaun-''When did you meet Jesus?'' He asked.

Maria-''At the preschool, i met them both on the first day.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, so from what you told me about them both, do either of them have any powers of any sort?'' He asked.

Maria-''Judas no, but i've seen Jesus glow sometimes, though at random times but that's it.'' She said.

Deshaun-''At first I considered that the one responsible could've been either Judas or Jesus, I mostly was thinking Judas with his anger, lust and want for companionship in which from my opinion is one of many of the reasons he lust over you other than being a stalker and a dangerously obsessed prevented bastard child. That and anger due to not having what Jesus has. For Jesus, he's a misogynistic prick that plays victim when things don't go his way. His anger is seen by the villagers and they fear him, especially of what he may think of him if he ever found out, so they keep quite about it and chances are he knows or is slowly putting the pieces together. But with all of this, it can't be either of them, with what you told me especially with the incident as it happened, they both had no idea what was going on. Then you saved them both, and for all we know they're both okay and wondering what happened to you. You said that someone was looking at all of you through a window, do you remember what the person looked like?'' He asked, she nodded and tries to remember the person.

Maria-''The person looked female, and was a bright blood red...i'm not sure, she looked like she was on fire or just surrounded by fire.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, so if that's the case then we're dealing with an unworldly force. Also, what were the voices and images you saw?'' He asked.

Maria-''All I heard was, screaming and just saw people dying...i saw...i saw, a lot of people scared and running from something.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Alright, so we'll need to go to Bethlehem. By the way, did you see any type of symbols, objects, artifacts, buildings of any sort that could give us clues as to what we're looking for?'' He asked, she then thought about it and thought about something.

Maria-''The Pizzeria, its where the portal was and its where Jesus held the meetings, maybe we can find something there.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Alright, we'll leave in a few hours. Though I need to tell my chief that i'll be gone for a few days, hopefully it doesn't take long.'' He said, he then got up to get his phone.

Maria-''Wait, how are we going to get there, i can't be seen?'' She asks him.

Deshaun-''I can have everyone see you as human, both from their own eyes and cameras so no one will know who you really are other than me.'' He said.

Maria-''Okay, but how will we get there?'' She asks.

Deshaun-''We'll take a private jet, i can have the gate agents get us a private jet so we don't have to deal with anyone finding out about you.'' He said.

Maria-''What exactly is a private jet?'' She asked.

Deshaun-''Its an aircraft for a small amount of people, it'll just be us though.'' He said, he then makes a phone call to Chief Brian. Maria then hears children laughing, for its coming from upstairs. She then goes upstairs while Deshaun is on the phone, she then sees a window with a bright light and walks towards it. When she gets to the window, she sees her home again with children sheep playing catch. However, the children sheep were all catching the toy balls at the same time with blank stares, as always. She then sees herself as a newborn in a blanket while her mother holds her, Maria smiles a bit seeing her mother again. However, the mom then drops the newborn for it to actually be a picture frame as it breaks and burns. Maria is taken aback by this, as she sees her mother take her clothes off and starts to burn alive while the sheep slowly move towards her going inside her womb. Maria is horrified by this as her mother looks up at her crying blood. Maria then backs away shaking and runs downstairs towards the bathroom closing the door. Deshaun then hears this and hangs up. ''Maria?'' He asks, he then walks over to the bathroom and knocks on the door and he only hears her vomiting. He tries to open it but its locked from the other side, he then sits outside the door to wait for her. ''Maria, what happened?'' He asks her. Inside the bathroom, Maria was in the bathtub hugging herself shaking. She then looks up from the tub and sees a picture, she then climbs out of the tub and looks at it. She sees that its a picture of Deshaun and his parents at his high school graduation, she then puts the picture back and looks at the door. She then unlocks it and opens it, Deshaun gets up as she hugs him. ''What happened Maria?'' He asks her.

Maria-''We need to go, now.'' She said, she then lets go of him. They then start backing, for Maria helps so they can leave sooner. ''I...I saw my mother, my home...she was carrying me when I was a newborn. She dropped me, but it wasn't me. S-'' She was saying, but looks up to see Deshaun walk into the kitchen. ''Deshaun?'' She calls out to him, she then looks in the kitchen to see him look at her. He slowly walks out of the kitchen towards her, he goes through a shadow and is revealed to be the red female goat. Maria backs away from her in fear, as the red goat walks towards her. ''W-who are you, what are you?'' She asks in fear. The red goat then holds her left hand out, fire then burns her hand as a bleeding heart appears with a photo of her home. The red goat then gives her the heart and picture, but takes the heart back and puts it on a table next to six bleeding hearts, the red goat then gets a picture of earth and a calendar. The red goat gives Maria the calendar, for she looks at it and sees the 24th gets marked with an X, and then next six days are crossed out too. Maria then looks back at the red goat and sees her hold a globe of earth, the red goat then points at the seventh day on the calendar, and after that the red goat then sets the globe of earth on fire as it floats in the air until turning into ashes. Maria then looks at the ashes in horror and back up to see her home again, in flames with blood and burning human corpses everywhere, along with corpses of unknown beings. ''Who are you?'' She asks her again with a bit of anger in her tone, however she then feels warm and starts to get dizzy. She then falls to the ground as she starts to burn, the red goat walks towards her and looks down at her. Maria tries to look away, but can't and they both stare at each other. Maria then closes her eyes, but opens then a bit to still see the red goat look at her but with tears in her eyes.

''Maria!''

She says in Deshaun's voice.

''Maria!''

She says again, for Maria blinks and sees Deshaun for they were in his bathroom. He then helps her up and they both walk to the living room, she then sits down on the couch next to him holding the photo.

Maria-''W-What happened?'' She asks him.

Deshaun-''You started vomiting, i unlocked the door but you felt warm and went unconscious for a few seconds.'' He said. ''Maria, what happened?'' He asks sounding worried for her.

Maria-''T-The one who brought me here, i saw her. She showed me in a vision, that I need to find seven bleeding hearts and only have seven days to do it. If I don't, she'll destroy your world like she did to mine.'' She said tearing up.

Deshaun-''Did she hurt you or anything?'' He asks.

Maria-''I'm not sure, but...before I woke up she looked sad and said my name in your voice.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Did she say what her name was?'' He asks, but she shakes her head.

Maria-''No, Deshaun, i don't know what she wants, but whatever it is it has something to do with me. I have to go alone.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Maria..'' He says, but Maria looks away from him.

Maria-''Deshaun please i-'' She was saying, but he interrupts her.

Deshaun-''No, Maria i'm not l-'' He was saying, but she interrupts him.

Maria-''I don't want anyone else to die!'' She yelled at him with tears in her eyes, she then looks away. ''I don't want anyone else to die.'' She whispers while wiping her tears away, Deshaun then holds her left hand as she looks at him.

Deshaun-''I promised you I'd do everything I can to get you home, and to make sure that whoever did this to you and your home doesn't get away with it, right?'' He asks her, she then nods. ''And that's what i'm gonna do.'' He said, she then smiles at him a bit and gives him the photo.

Maria-''She gave me a picture of my home, along with one bleeding heart but took it away and showed me six more.'' She said.

Deshaun-''What did she look like?'' He asked.

Maria-''She was a goat, she had fire red fur, yellow eyes, black horns on her head and where her nipples should be.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, i'll call my chief and use as many sick days as I can, then we'll leave to the nearest airport.'' He said, he then gets his phone and calls his chief. ''Hey Brian, i haven't been feeling well recently and I need to take some sick days off. At least 14, yep, alright thanks.'' He said and hangs up, they then start packing some things in two bags. ''Okay, i just need to pack some clothes, and other stuff and we can go. Then we need to get you some clothes too before we go to the airport. By the way, do you wear clothes at all or no?'' He asks.

Maria-''No, i don't. Where I live, it never bothered anyone but if it did then I don't have any issue putting clothes on. So, in this world everyone wears clothes right?'' She asks.

Deshaun-''Yep, its pretty much law to not be nude in public. Though some people only wear a few bits of clothing and some don't wear anything other than being in public, all for different reasons, situations and so on. But yeah, we can go look for clothes for you at some stores nearby.'' He said, after a few minutes they get finished packing. ''Okay, i need you to hold both my hands and remember that if anything goes wrong, i'm right here.'' He said, she nods. Deshaun then holds her hands for a few minutes, afterwards he lets go and forms a moving cubic like orb that's grey, black and white moving and morphing. It then goes into the air and spreads across the city unknown to anyone, Maria then puts a coat on and they both leave. They put the bags in the back, get in the car and drive off to the nearest store. After an hour, they stop at a local store. They then get out and walk inside, when they did Maria notices other humans and how none of them seem to look at her. ''Alright, look for some clothes you like, you can try them in the dressing room.'' He said, she then looks for some clothes and finds a few shirts, non sleeve shirts, pants and two jackets she likes. She sees the prices for the clothes and sees they are a bit expensive, but puts some back anyway. ''You alright Maria, why are you putting them back?'' He asks.

Maria-''I know I need clothes, but I don't want you to spend all of your money on me.'' She said.

Deshaun-''It's alright Maria, you need them, i'm fine spending money, as long as they're what you want.'' He said, she's a bit hesitant but knows that she needs them to avoid suspicion and breaking the law.

Maria-''..okay, as long as your alright with it. But, i'm going to repay you for the clothes and everything you've done for me.'' She said.

Deshaun-''You d-'' He was saying but she stops him.

Maria-''No Deshaun, you've done so much for me, and you still are, i want to repay you as soon as possible, okay?"' She asks him.

Deshaun-''Okay, so are these all the clothes you like?'' He asks, she nods and they then go in the dressing room, though he waits outside her room. After about 10 minutes, Maria has tried on all the clothes and got the ones she liked, also that they were clothes that would cover her in case anything happens. Deshaun then pays for the clothes, and they drive to the airport. Twelve minutes later, they get to the closets airport and park in an empty spot. Deshaun gets out, but Maria doesn't and gets nervous. Deshaun then gets back in the car to help her. ''What's wrong?'' He asks her.

Maria-''How long does this spell work for?'' She asks curious.

Deshaun-''I'm not exactly sure, i've never had to use this spell. Maybe, as long as i'm focused it'll work for that's how most of my abilities work by concentration. But just in case, we should hurry as soon as possible. I already got the tickets last night by ordering them online, and I got them early this morning.'' He said. ''You'll be alright Maria.'' He said.

Maria-''I'm not worried about myself, does anyone know about your abilities other than me?'' She asks.

Deshaun-''Just my parents, lets go, don't wanna miss the flight.'' He said, she then gets out and closes the door. They both carry their bags and head towards the airport, a few minutes later they're walking through the airport and Maria looks around marveled at some things. She also notices a lot of different people, shape, sizes, color and all both male and female. They then have to show ID and Deshaun shows his and secretly gives Maria his.

Security-''I need to see yours to ma'am.'' He said, she then shows him for the security guard looks at it. ''Alright, your both good to go.'' He said, they both then leave and she gives him his ID back. They then put their luggage on the conveyer belt and security sees nothing suspicious, they're then let through. They then go to the gate agent and gives them their tickets. However, Deshaun holds one of the gate agents hands and the gate agents eyes turn black for a moment.

Deshaun-''Doing alright Maria?'' He asks, she looks at him and nods.

Maria-''Yes, though what did you do to her?'' She asks curious.

Deshaun-''I wanted to make sure we got a private jet, if not then to see how long we have to wait for one.'' He said, after 54 minutes the gate agent comes back.

Gate Agent-''There's one available, have a safe flight.'' She said, they both then go. When they did, the gate agent then comes back. ''The hell just happen?'' She asks, but shrugs it off and gets a drink. They then get on the jet, when they do Deshaun meets both the pilots and puts his hands on both of them just in case the spell on them and the city fails. After an hour, the jet then takes off. Though as it did, the red female goat watches them and disappears in the shadows.

...

...

...

So this has been chapter 2 of Illusion, sorry for the really long wait. A lot has been happening, and I wanted to add more/really think about this story and the future plans I have. This is a bit of a short message, but still I just wanted to clarify that i'm still here and i'm still writing. But yeah, thank you for reading, and i'll see you in chapter 3.