Chapter 15: We all make choices. But in the end...
"...Gab?...Gabriel. You better not be playing around."
They could hear harsh yelling followed by an explosion, before the line disconnected.
"...oh my God...," Anna choked, looking wide-eyed to her left. Luckily, Vignette was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, so she couldn't hear her worst nightmare coming to life. Raphiel on the other hand...
"Anna," she whispered sternly. "We cannot let Vignette know about this."
"(The fuck?) We have to! She deserves to know!"
"She'll go insane!"
Anna and Raphiel watched the demon-girl stumble out of the bathroom with wet hair and collapsed face-first onto her bed.
"Hey. You still chatting with Gab-chan...?," Vignette muttered tiredly in her pillow.
"J-Just got off the phone with her now! She told me to tell you to get to bed on time!"
"Snarky little loli...who does she think she is...? She's a teenager in a warzone for goodness sake..."
Vignette carried on, rambling on about her girlfriend while Raphiel motioned Anna to converse in the kitchen. Anna nodded and walked over, clutching the phone to her chest.
"You should tell her. You've known her longer than I have," Anna began with a heavy sigh. She was visibly concerned, both for Vignette and Gabriel.
"I...don't know. She'll do something stupid, I promise you."
"Like what?"
"I don't know..! Do we really have to tell her?"
"Raphie, she'll find out sooner or later. You know those two, they talk twice a fucking day. I'd rather she hear the news from your mouth than from a soldier telling her Gabriel's dead...!"
Raphiel winced at the mention of a dead Gabriel. Never has she heard those two words put together.
"Okay...okay fine. So...how should I..."
"I don't know. Just tell it to her straight. Tomorrow, when she's sober."
"Okay then. God...poor Vignette...poor Gabriel...! W-What the hell's happening over there...?!"
"I'm sure we'll hear it on the news. Let's try and get some sleep for now," Anna lamented as she ambled to her bed. Raphiel turned off all the lights, flopping down on her bed knowing full well that she wouldn't sleep a wink.
"I'm home!"
It was time. The very familiar sounds of keys jingling, a tired sigh and the door locking shut. Vignette glanced behind her excitedly, but maintained a calm facade as she stirred the pot of soup.
"Hi sweetie~!," Vignette called in response, making sure to add a bit of 'spice' to her greeting. "How'd the meeting go?"
"Eeeh...alright I guess," Gabriel groaned as she literally threw her government uniform halfway across the room. She collapsed on the floor in nothing but her underwear and bra. "Man...it's soooo hot today..."
Vignette snickered at her remark, and adjusted her apron a little bit. "Just a little closer..."
"What is Miss Tsuki cooking today I wonder...," Gabriel chirped as she stumbled into the kitchen, only to take two steps back in shock. She turned around, hands over her mouth as she tried not to faint. Vignette held back her laugh and mewled in her best 'sexy' voice.
"Gaaabriel..~," she purred, hugging the loli from behind. "Help me out with dinner pweaseee...?"
"Pftt...! O-Okay miss! C-Can I also get an apron?"
"Eh?," Vignette whispered, looking down at her apron. "...there's only one, and I'm wearing it..."
"Well...it's not fair ya know," Gabriel replied back. Their faces were now inches apart; Vignette caught a strong whiff of Gabriel's sweat from the hot day outside. "That you're..."
Vignette squealed when she felt a hand on her naked rear.
"...the only one 'dressed' here...~"
"...mmm...I wonder how we'll make things even then...?"
Gabriel giggled and gave Vignette a quick peck on the lips.
"Ugh...I stink," she laughed, smelling her armpits. "Give me ten minutes and then I'll ravish you."
"Ten? Too long! Besides...I kinda like the way you smell..."
"Creepy much?," Gabriel joked as she pushed the taller girl so her back was against the fridge. "Looks like I'll have to mark my territory then...!"
Vignette squealed loudly as she felt Gabriel give sloppy love bites to her neck while sliding a hand up her apron. Every touch was sticky and moist, and the smell was ten times more pungent, which Vignette appreciated as a novel change; aside from all the other ways they've had sex.
"Ah~! Gab~!," Vignette moaned pleasurably as things got heated. Figuratively and literally. "Gab...oh no! Gab! The soup! It's boiling over!"
Gabriel laughed as Vignette ran over to the stove to turn off the heat. She was too late to stop the pot from staining with curry, however.
"Laughing at my misfortune?," Vignette puffed, crossing her arms like a toddler. "I could've gotten burnt you know."
"Oh you're breaking my heart!," Gabriel sang as if she was in a dramatic scene of a theatre performance. "My poor Vignette, is thou hands okay?"
"Hands? Yes. My pride as a housewife?"
"Definteeely no. You're also a terrrible linguist by the way," Gabriel nonchalantly commented as she drank milk straight from the carton.
"(Go to Hell Miss White.)," Vignette droned in English with a smile on her face. She went put a lid on the pot of soup and began preparing the beef wellington.
"(Speaking of Hell...)," Gabriel remembered. "You wanna introduce me to your parents any time soon? Dibs not doing it you first."
"Ah, you got me. But I was thinking maybe I should invite them here. To our house," Vignette suggested. "Your thoughts?"
"Can't wait. Let's invite Raphie too! And Hensky! And Eun! And...S-Sataaania...," she yelped, holding the word 'Satania' with a bit of repulsion.
"Why'd you say her name like that?," Vignette giggled. "Sure. We'll do all of that. Wow...is the one and only Gabriel, the dedicated NEET, otaku and introvert, actually excited at the thought of having people other than me around?"
"Pfft. Course not. It's just that...you've lost your touch Tsukinose...you're...so boring ya know?"
Gabriel hesitated to say how boring Vignette was just as she stepped closer to her, looking down on the blonde and pinning her against the fridge.
"Is that so?~," she seductively teased, getting closer to Gabriel's face. "Looks like I'll have to try some new things then..."
"...en...enlighten me."
"Well first...I'll...lay you flat on your back..."
"...t-then?"
"Then...I'll lay a pillow under the arch of your back..."
"...ooh...what a novelty," Gabriel deadpanned, trying to get into the mood.
"Sh! Then...! I'll bring out the purple one!"
"Christ Vignette...I don't know why you bought that one..."
"I know babe, but I have to use it. Otherwise I'd feel kinda cheated, you know?"
"Fine, but only if I get to use it back on you."
"Um...! O-O-Okay...f-f-fine by me..."
Gabriel laughed at the classic 'flustered Vignette' trope. "Really? Cause' you don't look fine with it."
The two exchanged insults towards one another as fluently as Vignette's English, stopped only by Gabriel who couldn't stand to smell her sweat anymore. She headed straight towards the bathroom for a bath, which was already filled with cool water and scented with lavender petals, courtesy of the world's most ordered demon.
"Vignette, Vignette, my girl who never forgets," Gabriel sang to herself as she engulfed her naked body in cool water. She let out a refreshing sigh, feeling her troubles of the day wash over her like it were her sweat in a shower.
Little did she know of a mischievous Vignette, standing naked outside the bathroom, armed with her cell-phone camera.
She slid open the bathroom door, but she didn't see anything inside of the bathtub, only the water and petals she had prepared beforehand. Confused, she peered into the bathtub, an endless, blue void, the flowers dispersed across the three-dimensional landscape like it was stars in outer space. Standing out from the void was a naked body with long, yellow hair, falling further away and away from Vignette.
"GAB!," Vignette yelled desperately as she reached into the bathtub to no avail. All she could do was stretch her arms towards Gabriel helplessly, as she fell further and further, until she was nothing but a white dot in the distance-
"AH!"
Vignette quickly felt the warmth of the covers remind her that she was in her bed. She cursed her hungover mind for giving her a rude awakening and flopped back down into bed, quickly dismissing the last part of her dream, while simultaneously trying to catch the more happier moments, her logic being that if she could fall asleep this instant, she could somehow return where she left off. She did hope to get to the more lewd parts...
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph...shut up...," Vignette groaned tiredly, slapping the alarm clock three or four times. "...alright alright...I get it...I'm getting up..."
She opened her eyes, cursing the manufacturer of that digital alarm clock that the buttons were so small, but nonetheless got out of bed with a lazy stretch. She had training exercises later in the afternoon, so she wanted to make use of the free time she had available, even if it was while she was hungover.
"Owowowo...my head...," she muttered painfully as she washed her face in the bathroom sink. She couldn't remember anything that happened the night before other than the fact that she got wasted, although there was a phone sitting on the kitchen countertop to stir up blurry memories.
"Oh God...how embarrassing..."
"M-Morning Vignette...," Raphiel greeted with a sombre tone.
"Mornin' Raphie. You look like you haven't slept a wink."
"Yeah. How was yours? How's your hangover?"
"Could be worse I guess."
"...I...I have bad news," Raphiel hesitated, twiddling her fingers nervously. "It's about Gab."
"What...? W-What...?!"
Vignette's face quickly transformed from tired to shocked to worried.
"What happened?! Is she okay?!," Vignette exclaimed, grabbing Raphiel's shoulders. She was looking down in sadness.
"...I don't know. There was yelling and...and then an explosion and then the line cut off."
"No no no no no no...this can't be fucking real...," Vignette whimpered as she paced back and forth. It seemed as if Anna was woken up by the commotion.
"Listen...Vin," Anna began quietly. "I'm really sorry. We're all worried. W-We don't know what to do."
"Well I've...I've gotta get her!," Vignette exclaimed, holding back tears. "Fuck. FUCK! I knew this would happen. Knew it! Everywhere she goes, I swear to God-"
"We'll come with you," Raphiel stated firmly. "She'll be home before you know it. Promise."
Anna nodded furiously. "Anything. I can't stand by and watch. Where do we start?"
"Get your jackets and follow me."
It was four hours since Gabriel and the rest of her teammates had surrendered themselves to the Ares forces. They had taken over the outpost with alarming efficiency and speed, setting everything ablaze in the time it took for Gabriel to eat her dinner. She could only wonder what happened to her patients. Considering she wasn't shot after coming out of the building with her hands up, she hoped that they would spare the injured.
She looked up at the sky in internal contempt. The five hundred or so now prisoners of war were made to sit cross legged in an open dirt space, without additional clothes, heaters or anything else to keep them warm from the frigid night. All they had on them were the things that were on them during time of capture. For Gabriel, she only had her uniform and a vest without plates, so she was basically frozen in place.
A light shone over them briefly, but the group didn't notice. They were too busy shivering too notice or care.
"Eun...," Gabriel whispered, her face still buried in her knees. "I have a handgun. Ankle holster."
"Don't do anything stupid now. Maybe they'll let us go," he replied.
"I doubt it."
"Now would be a good time for a miracle...," Alvarez growled quite harshly, but Eun remained silent. He looked as if he was concentrating, not taking his glare off of one soldier who was wearing a MOLLE vest over an orange hazmat suit. He stood out in the dark, most Ares soldiers made to wear black and greys with orange trim. Other than that...it was difficult to see.
"V-V-V-Vi...gnette...," Gabriel thought desperately, huddling closer with her squad to share body heat. "I'm coming...for that...dinner date..."
It was as if Gabriel had lasted this long with the power of yakiniku. She tried to get her mind off the bitter cold by envisioning her date with Vignette: what they would talk about, the sound of meat sizzling on the grill, and what they would do after. She imagined lying in bed with her after a victorious post-climax, whispering sweet nothings into her ear as she gave love kisses around her face. It kept the ember inside of her glowing. But it was difficult to remember the feeling of holding Vignette in her arms.
And anymore time spent outside without a gas mask would likely mean she wouldn't live to see that day.
A light shone on her face, causing her to cover her eyes with a hand.
"You. Out. Now."
Gabriel complied and stepped over the people sitting in the dirt in front of her to get to the front of the crowd. She almost tripped into a hole which people had dug where they can vomit in, the feeling of which she had tried to ignore ever since they sat down. She was guided to sit behind an Ares guard, which she did. The man dressed in the hazmat suit sat down in front of her, exhaling in relief as he took off his gas mask.
"Phew...I hate wearing masks...don't you?," he remarked casually.
"Sure," was all Gabriel could mutter, looking into his eyes cautiously.
"Don't look so concerned Miss White," he said. "It's a far cry coming from where I'm sitting, but you'll get out of this unscathed, I'll make sure of it."
"What about everyone else?," Gabriel spat not so politely. "Will they..."
"I wouldn't be so sure. There is no good reason not to send them all home without their eyes."
"Y-You're gonna...take out their eyes?"
"Yes ma'am," he nodded, happy that Gabriel understood. "Blind them with a few drops of acid and...what's the word...(voila!) They go home to be a drain on everyone's time and resources."
Gabriel remained silent.
"Ah. Where are my manners. My name is Doctor Tama Haruo, from the Ares Biomedical division. Pleasure to meet you."
"...G-Gabriel White," was all she muttered, thinking of ways to stop the mass mutilation of five hundred men and women.
"Private White. I've heard great things about you. It's been quite a while since I've heard of a story as...inspiring as yours. At least...ever since they stopped making movies, that is."
A soldier walked over and handed the doctor two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He continued talking as he poured both him and Gabriel a drink.
"I love it. The fearless hero fighting to protect her love with Vignette, while facing the tyrant that is Ares himself."
He clinked her glass, which was still on the ground, and took a small sip of the liquid.
"Hell, if I didn't know any better...I'd consider you the main protagonist of this little story we find ourselves in."
Gabriel instinctively felt her body paying very close attention to her eyeballs, as if it was savouring the last few moments that she would be able to see. She looked up at the man, who had a small smile on his face as he conversed with her.
"M-Maybe I am...?," Gabriel bitterly quipped, letting out a small laugh. "With you as the antagonist."
"I don't doubt it."
"Fuck. You," Gabriel snarled internally. Of all the things she wanted to do to the man sitting in front of her, ripping his intestines out was probably the most tame.
"How is Vignette, by the way? I hope you've been...calling...her."
He lingered on the word 'calling', which made Gabriel's eyes widen. He reached into his pocket and laid her cell phone on the dirt, between the two of them.
"Why don't we find out? You wouldn't want to keep her worried after all, right Gabriel?"
His polite smile slowly faded from his face, leaving an expressionless Haruo to stare at Gabriel, who was trying not to show her concern for the demon girl. She followed his suggestion, although it was more like a threat, and pressed the middle button on the cell phone keypad.
"Vignette?," Gabriel said, masking her feeling of terror. "Hello?"
"GAB!," Vignette yelled over the speaker, causing Haruo's smile to return. It was like he was watching some kind of film. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"
The two stared at each other in tense silence. "Yeah. Everything's fine. Turns out it was just some rogue drones that landed on us, that's all."
"R-Really?," Vignette gasped. "Phew...you have no...idea...how much that means to me..!"
"Vignette," Gabriel whispered with intensity. Her voice was trembling. "I know you're here. I know you're close somewhere. Please, for the love of God, just get out."
"I'm gonna fucking kill him Gab."
"You'll get your head blown off the moment you pull the trigger. Just...please..."
Haruo's smile grew even wider as he heard heavy, laboured breathing over the phone. Vignette could have been standing right behind him, with a Glock pointed to the back of his head, and he still wouldn't have shown any signs of fear or nervousness. It was how excited he looked which chilled Gabriel down to the bone.
"Ooo! You're telling me I could cut off your fingers and I won't get shot?," Haruo laughed, imitating a knife slashing through his fingers, presumably to anger Vignette.
"I think she'll just put me out of my misery," Gabriel stated, pointing at her forehead.
"Looks like we're at a stalemate here, huh?"
"Looks like."
He stood up, slowly and gently lifting Gabriel up to her feet by her arm, before gesturing to the crowd of captured JSDF soldiers.
"Well you know...," he whispered just loud enough so that Vignette could hear over the phone. "These people are going to blinded soon. And I'm sure you and your beautiful girlfriend wouldn't dare stand by and watch. So here's my proposal..."
Vignette trained her crosshair on the wretched man, deliberately breathing in and out to steady her hands.
"I'll let these soldiers walk out of here with their sight intact. But only if you'll never be able to see again."
"GABRIEL!," Vignette screamed. "DON'T YOU DARE!"
Gabriel looked down at her feet, and back at her soldiers.
"...okay."
"Excellent!," Haruo sang as he silenced Vignette's screams of anguish by taking the phone from Gabriel's hand and ending the call. He held a knife up to the air, so that any purple haired sniper could see, before violently shoving Gabriel to the ground. The crowd noticed and roared in anger, only stopped by their restraints and the guns pointed at their chests.
"I admire your bravery, Tenma-san," Haruo whispered. "Your sacrifice will not be forgotten."
"STOP! NO!," Gabriel shrieked, and much to her surprise, Haruo took his hand off her mouth and backed off two steps. She grit her teeth as she got up from the mud.
"You fucking liar. What...you have the authority to just...let five hundred soldiers walk free? Bullshit!"
Haruo blinked. He looked over at the commander who was also watching the whole ordeal, and he shrugged, as if he was saying: "She's right. Your word is not good enough."
He laughed, sheathing his knife and pulling the blonde in for a tight hug.
"My little Gabwiel...," he cooed, stroking her hair. "You're a smart girl aren't you? That's right..."
Gabriel spat in his face as he pulled away, which made Haruo to slap her right across the left cheek. She fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"You're right. I wasn't gonna let them go. But I was trying to make it easier for you, you ungrateful brat. Fine! Let their loved ones take out your eyes instead!"
"...argh...that'll never happen...!," she snarled. "It wasn't my fault!"
Haruo nodded at the commander, who spoke the magic words into his radio.
And like that, Gabriel and Vignette were forced to watch, as each and every individual had they eyes ripped out; quickly, painfully, efficiently. She could hear the screams of agony echo in her head as she closed her eyes shut in pain, her face pinned down on the dirt.
"GABRIEL! YOU FUCKING WHORE! I'LL CUT YOUR EYES OUT MYSELF!"
She clamped down on her tongue as she tried to ignore the horrifying screams, cursing her name. It was accompanied by gunfire, between Ares soldiers and Vignette who was desperately trying to stop the war crime.
"...please...," Gabriel sobbed at Haruo's feet. "...cut my eyes out...please!"
"...you made your choice."
Gabriel was left in the mud, sobbing and screaming uncontrollably as slowly, as the night progressed, the deed was done and the soldiers left. Vignette, Raphiel and Anna ran down the hill they were shooting from, illuminating the field with their flashlights. Only one of their own remained intact with their eyes, while the rest were writhing around in the dirt, clothes or bandages wrapped around their bleeding faces.
"Gabriel!," Vignette called with relief. "Oh my God..."
She dropped her rifle and got on her knees next to Gabriel, who instinctively buried her face into Vignette's belly while sobbing even louder.
"...shhshhshh...it's over now...I'm here Gab," she comforted as she stroked her messy blonde mane.
"T-They...t-t-they..."
"I know sweetie...I know...we'll get through this, okay?," Vignette consoled further. "Gabriel White. Look at me."
She slowly looked up with red eyes, her arms still wrapped around Vignette's torso.
"This wasn't your fault. They'll understand. The best thing we can do now, is take them home, understand?"
Gabriel sniffled and gave a small nod, her mind becoming a bit clearer simply by the sound of Vignette's voice alone. She ran over to a victim near her, and applied a tight bandage around her eyes, before moving on to the next, and the next, all the while hoping that...she doesn't get stabbed in the chest by one of them.
