Chapter 9
Welcome back! You can expect this chapter to set off a HUGE chain of events that'll ultimately lead to the conclusion of the story. Anyways, I hear a bunch of you guys going "will they or won't they" with L.J. and Kid. Which means I'm totally doing my job right. MWAHAHAHA! Let's be reasonable- as if a guy like Kid would just fall in love with a girl like L.J. overnight (she's a bit out of his comfort zone, you know?). But to answer your question…eh. Who knows? Well, I do, but I just like laughing at you guys. Sorry. XP
'Death is Order, Life is Chaos.'
I guess 'dear diary' was too much to ask for.
I sighed quietly as I turned the page in my mother's journal, which I'd finally mustered up the backbone to open.
'That's what I've learned during my visit. My very existence is the source of all evil in this world, and Death is its end. As Forces, or Gods as we're now called, we are meant to be objective viewers. Keepers of Balance, completely neutral to the happenings in the humans' lives. But Death has broken that code, and brought Law to this world, and by extension, the madness that is birthed from it. He thinks less of me because I refuse to interfere with the bloodshed and madness that the mortals have brought upon themselves. Perhaps he's right, but I tell him that it won't sway me from my job. And that makes me a hypocrite- my job tells me that for the sake of the balance, an 'alliance' between life and death must be made. A union- but for my pride I refuse to submit to it. Our differences are too great to bridge, at least for the moment. Now that he's chained in Nevada, he's begun to give a lot of thought to creating a fragment. He never struck me as the type to settle down and have a child, but I suppose when you're stuck in one place for hundreds of years, you begin to consider this sort of thing. He won't do it right away; this sort of decision takes a lot of thought and preparation. Perhaps I myself should consider it. I know the burden of Union will be pushed onto our children, which is something I do feel uncertain about. I can only hope that when the time comes, I'll make a Jr. Force more responsible and dedicated to her work than -'
I closed the book slowly. What the hell was this? It didn't say anything about the serum- not yet, anyway, but I had no more desire to continue reading. My mother knew what she was getting me into; she knowingly put me in this situation. And I had ended up being a failure as a Jr. Force for not living up to her expectations. Beautiful. I slid the book under my pillow slowly and hit the lights. I was just so sick of all the crisis.
It's dark. I can't even see myself, but somehow I manage to keep walking- I'm barefoot, stepping over what feels like water. The journal in my hands feels heavy and old, as if it might crumble to dust if I'm not careful.
There's something here. I can't hear anything, but somehow I know that there's movement going on around me. Immortality has no meaning here- a place between life and death. And I'm afraid.
"John?" I call out, looking around in vain. "Damian?"
And then I hear it- a deep, echoing laughter that doesn't have an end or a beginning as it circles around me.
"See how scared you are?" It purrs, causing ripples to form on the water. "It's sad, really. What makes you think you're so special? You think you can't die?"
I feel something hot and sticky creeping over me, and looking down, I can suddenly see myself, giving off a faint glow. Blood is dribbling down my arms, disappearing into the black lake below.
"You think I don't see the real you? I see you're hideous."
"Go away…" My voice was quiet as I clutched at my ears. "You can't be here. It's not real. You're not…"
More laughter.
"You don't think you're stronger than me, do you? You should have- no, you did die that day, little one. You thought there would be no consequences for the things you've done? There are always consequences, and things are about to get much worse."
"S-stop it!" I dropped book, blood staining my clothes crimson.
"You can't win. Don't you understand by now? You're dead inside."
My breathing begins to get erratic as more blood crept across my skin. My blood? Coming from the hole in my heart? My chest felt empty, but there was no pain.
"Oh, I wouldn't bother running away. I'll always find you."
"STOP IT!" My heart gave a giant lurch as I shot up from bed.
The sheets were tangled around my legs, sweat dripping down my neck. My heart was beating so violently it made me tremble. Looking down, I saw the journal clutched in my hands.
"Ugh!" I threw the diary with all my might against the wall, but it just slumped down, perfectly intact. Figures.
"L.J.!" The door slammed open and John burst in. "What happened?"
But I just shook my head numbly, my hands shaking as I tried to sit as still as I could.
"Get me a phone." I said finally, clutching his arms as though it was all that would keep me from slipping back into that nightmare. "Now."
"You know…you guys kinda suck." Kira said, sitting on a desk in the classroom tiredly.
"Hey it's, not our fault!" Damian's weapon form protested.
"Is it supposed to be this hard?" I exclaimed, catching my breath.
Needless to say, after this morning I was in an irritable mood.
That, and the strain of constantly swelling my wavelength only to have it snapped back was making me dizzy.
"We've been at this for hours."
"We can't stop now!" Kid protested. "Again!"
I think this guy had failure issues…
But again, it was no use. My wavelength was too wild for him to focus on, and his too direct and overwhelming for me to tune with.
"I'm taking a break." I said finally.
"The enemy has Excalibur, without a good defense, we'll be overpowered." Kid snapped.
"There's got to be another way!"
"There isn't!"
"Well- this plan sucks!" I shot back. "What is it with this place anyway! The Institute never got attacked."
Granted, that was because no one knew where it was. Ever heard of Lady White's School of the Musical Arts? Well, The Institute was about nine miles beneath it.
"Well, this isn't the Institute." Kid said coldly.
"Obviously."
"We just need to adjust our wavelengths and compromise-"
"Pfft. What do you know about compromise…"
"Considering I'm still standing here with you, I'd say-"
"Why you little twat-"
"Okay, STOP!"
I looked up, annoyed. "What is it?" "It's time for a time-out." Kira said, standing up.
"Finally." Damian and John returned to human form.
"This is hopeless." Liz sighed, stretching. "We must be doing something wrong."
"We've been at this for four hours. Any ideas?" John mumbled.
Oh, I had a few ideas. Like about how it was impossible. Before, I thought Kid and I weren't compatible. Now, I knew that even our very souls repelled one another.
"I'll be back." I muttered, heading into through the door Kira had disappeared through.
After walking down the hall for a little while, I spotted her leaning against the wall.
"Hey."
"Hi." I groaned. "I need beer."
Kira made a "hn" sound, as she looked at the ceiling. "The voices are getting impatient, L.J. We're out of time."
"I just can't do it!" I leaned against her, defeated. "Kid and I are just…not compatible."
"Yeah…" Kira murmured. "Well you see, the thing is-" Suddenly, I felt her grab my shoulders and flip me off the wall…and into an open closet.
"Hey!"
Slam.
I stood frozen in the darkness a moment, mouth agape.
I got conned by an impaired psycho. The hell?
Scrambling to the door, I pressed my ear against it as footsteps began echoing down the hall. Was she leaving me here? No, the footsteps were coming, not going…
"Kira, there you are. Have you seen L.J.? We should get back to work."
"Oh, sure Kid."
The door swung open again, light stunning me.
"What're you-"
I felt something collide into me, ramming us both to the ground.
"Sorry guys, but we can't let your egos screw this up." Kira said firmly. "I'll check up on you later."
"Kira, don't you dare-"
Slam. Click.
"-Great." I sighed, my head hitting against the cement floor. "Ah… Kid, you're kind of…"
It wasn't that he was really that heavy. But his cold skin against mine- it all gave me a tingly feeling that was deeply disturbing.
"Oh." Kid scrambled off me as if I were on fire, and climbed to his feet. "S-sorry."
"Right." I stood up too, and jiggled the closet doorknob. "…I guess we'll just have to kick it down."
Really, did Kira think a door could hold a Grim Reaper and a Guardian Angel?
"L.J., wait."
"What? Why?" I looked at his grip on my arm incredulously.
"…Look at the door."
"The door…?" I pulled out my phone and used it as a flashlight to help me see in the limited lighting. "What the hell-!"
So that's what Kira was doing out here. The closet door was reversed on it's hinges- the decorative design of a skull in the middle of an intricate border was facing inwards instead of out. And-
"It's perfectly symmetrical!" Kid exclaimed happily, sparkles in his eyes.
"Oh, hell no!" I banged on the door. "Kira! KIRA! Very funny, now open up! I'm not joking, Kira, get me out of here! Kid-"
I felt him restraining me, and began to kick.
"You might break it!"
"That's the point! Kid, I'm claustrophobic, I can't-"
"But the symmetry-!"
"Kid, there is no way that I'm going to stay locked in a closet with you over something as stupid as symmetry!"
1 Hour Later.
"I hate you."
"This is it. I'm going to die, here, in a closet…with Kid." I said hopelessly.
Even in the dark I swear I could see him roll his eyes at me. I was trying to keep my breathing even, and avoided looking around for fear I'd realize how cramped or small this space was. The first fifteen minutes were hard for us both, what with me kicking and screaming about the walls closing in, but now my brain felt like it had effectively shut down.
"So…" I sighed.
I had a funny feeling that Kira probably had her ear pressed against the door right now, and that we wouldn't be going nowhere until it seemed like we were making progress.
"What's with you and symmetry?" A question I was positive I'd regret asking in a moment.
"Is that what passes as a joke in Britain?"
"You don't want to know."
"Symmetry is what makes the world beautiful!" Kid said determinedly, folding his arms. "Everything must be aesthetically pleasing or there's no point. My art, my being, is symmetry. If you can't understand that-"
"You'll what? Divorce me?" I challenged.
Kid folded his arms with a huff. "Haven't you ever had something that made you feel like you had a purpose?"
"I'm the Angel's daughter. 'Purpose' isn't something I'm very short on." I said wryly.
"Fine then. Was there ever something you loved? Something you had complete faith in?"
Loved? Faith? Uh…
"I guess…there was someone." I said finally, scuffling my feet against the ground.
"Oh. Who was he?"
"What? It wasn't like that." I waved my hand lightly. "Kid…you want to take over your father's position someday, don't you?"
"To be the symbol of order, law, and balance in this world? Of course. But…" Kid paused, "You don't want to be the Guardian Angel."
"Ah…"
"You want to be normal."
"'Normal?'" I repeated, a little taken aback. "Can't say I haven't wondered what it would be like. When things get rough at home. When I wonder how much easier everything would be, or how much pressure there is for me to succeed. I've never been good enough for my mother, you know. So I just stopped trying…everyone expected her to be the one to take over, I was always just second best."
Kid looked up. "'Her?' Who's she?"
I must've gone a little pale, because his eyes narrowed slightly.
"I guess I thought you knew. But it was a long time ago, and there's no reason for your dad to have told you, so, I…never mind. Please forget I said anything." I said, trying to laugh it off as much as possible.
Kid didn't press it, but he still looked suspicious.
"Now would be the time for you to change the subject." I nodded at him.
"Alright. I suppose I am curious about your certain habits."
I balked. "W- The what?"
"Just about every time you open your mouth it's to say something unpleasant, usually about yourself or your situation. And you're always acting like you don't care, even though you obviously do. I don't really understand it. I mean you're smart, capable, pretty-"
"'You think I'm pretty?"
"Ah- my point is, you've got a lot going for you and I don't see why you'd use such an acerbic defense mechanism."
I felt at a loss for words. Defense mechanism. Really?
"I'm sorry." Kid said finally. "I shouldn't have assumed. I'm sure it's just-"
"Uh, no. It's just that well, I… guess I never really thought of it like that." I leaned back. "I just can't help but say things sometimes. Certain…incidents in my life have caused me to view the world a little differently that I did before. You can never let yourself get too close to someone- all it does is get them hurt and you disappointed."
An awkward pause.
"...I understand that you don't want to marry me."
Oh, fantastic. An even more awkward topic.
"But I do want to get along with you. And threat or no, it would be beneficial if you and I could resonate together." Kid continued.
"Oh." I blinked. "Uh, sure. I mean…I'm willing to try again."
Kid seemed a bit more relieved as he nodded. "Good. Because we still don't know much at all about who managed to stamp that phoenix symbol on the school and in the cave-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What kind of symbol?" I looked up sharply.
"Ah…a phoenix. I know it's just an assumption, but that's what it looked like to me, so-"
"Kid…" I said slowly, realization dawning. "I just remembered. On my way here I bumped into Patti, and she was talking about how she'd gone home at lunch to rearrange all your portraits."
And just like that, I saw Kid's eyes grow wide and his arms began to shake.
BANG!
I squinted at the sudden flow of light as the door was knocked clean off it's hinges, yet miraculously unscathed as it clattered to the floor. Climbing off the closet floor, I peered out into the hallway- Kid was already a cloud of dust in the distance. It was dirty tactics, telling that kind of lie, but I needed to find John and Damian.
"Hm." I said to myself thoughtfully. "Maybe Kid and I do have something in common."
We're both really screwed up.
"Guys, no one's seen her!" Adam said exasperatedly, meeting the others in front of the school. "John and Damian and are gone too."
"They're not at the apartment." Mary added, catching her breath.
"They went on a mission? Out?" Leah suggested.
"No one in town has seen them since yesterday." Isaac shrugged.
"Excuse me?" Kid said, walking over. "I was wondering if any of you had seen L.J.? I'd like to have a talk to her about a certain sick joke."
"You and everyone else." Mary sighed. "But she, John and Damian didn't come home last night."
Kid folded his arms thoughtfully. "…Does the phoenix mean anything in particular to you?"
You will not believe all the crazy hell that's about to rain down in the next two chapters. I swear, it might start looking like an episode of Lost.
-OriginalAlienSuperspy
Saving the world. One nap at a time
