Home; Almost Alone
"What would you think about sneaking off and finding Shun ourselves?" Dan asks.
"I think that's a stupid idea," Runo mutters, she glowers up at them. "Face it we'll never reach the level we need to be to help him. He'd probably get hurt trying to protect us, and we don't even know where he is… Roxanne certainly won't tell us."
"I guess you're right," Dan sighs. "But we have to try at least."
"Then ya'll are braver than it seems," Miseria comments.
They look over to her, suspiciously. She winks in response happily, trying to suppress a laugh. She pulls a keychain out of some invisible pocket and throws it to them. Then she turns and leaves, laughing all the while.
"Ya'll take care of yerselves!"
"What was that about?" Julie asks.
"I have no idea," Alice murmurs in response.
"What is this?" Marucho frowns.
"A keychain… What does she think we could possibly do with this?" Claus frowns.
"Maybe she wants us to find a key to let ourselves back in," Julie suggests.
"Somehow, I really don't think that's it. There has to be something else," Joe murmurs. "Like, maybe there's a place to slot it in?"
Runo snatches it and points it away from everyone. "Look, whatever it is, we'll probably not figure it out if they won't tell us. So, find Miseria and ask her."
Suddenly, a soft musical note permeates the air. From the tip of the rock at the end of the keychain, a blue-seaweed green colour pours out. It flows through the air and shapes itself in a huge circle. They all stumble back, staring at it in shock.
"What is this?" Runo yells.
"How should I know?" Alice stutters.
The shape formed of dark colours continues to grow in size. There seems to be no end to its rapid growth rate. Then, Runo suddenly loses her footing. Dark tendrils of colour reach out, and latch onto her ankle. It drags her towards the darkness with a hungry ferocity. Julie, Alice and Dan grab her hands, but they're dragged in too.
"This is it," Claus mutters.
"Mm, what should we do?" Chan murmurs.
"The only thing we can," Joe smiles.
Without a second thought, they race through it before the Brawlers. Runo stares as they pass, full of incredulous disbelief.
"Dan, let go!" Runo yells over the growing noise from it. "We're supposed to go through it!"
"Are you crazy?" Dan yells. "That could lead anywhere!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Julie exclaims. "See you on the other side!"
"Hmm, Roxanne, is there something wrong?" Derrigan frowns.
"I just felt the presence of an ominous call," Roxanne whispers. "It called for my name."
Derrigan looks out the window, hiding a guilty look. "It's late now, why don't you rest? It's probably just because you're tired."
"I am not tired," Roxanne growls, stubbornly. Then she sighs. "However, I do worry for Shun."
Surprise flashes through Derrigan's eyes. "But… Weren't you the one who told him to go?"
"I knew I couldn't stop him. I never dreamt that he would be so foolish as to leave on his own…" Roxanne sighs. "He must miss her a lot… Ah, Derrigan, it's time you leave. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
He moves to try and stop her, but reluctantly decides not to. He leans back with a defeated sigh. A hand rests on his shoulder and he looks up at Miseria. She smiles down at him affectionately.
"Don't worry for her, she is far more capable than we are," Miseria smiles.
Derrigan shrugs her off and stumbles away. "I know… I know… Ah, but what happens when the time comes and she's too late again?"
Shun's back hits the stone ground harshly. He groans, but sits up, glowering through the bars. The armour-clad guard chuckles heartily at his predicament. If he were any angrier, he would have destroyed the entire prison cell, but that wouldn't end well for him. Instead, he lies back on the hard ground and stares up at the jagged rock face. There's no way he could even attempt a somewhat successful escape. He sighs tiredly.
"This was yours right from the very beginning,"
"Of course it was," a voice replies, sounded surprised. "Has it really taken you so long to figure out? … Dear Shun, had you really so much faith in something so frail? Friendship does have benefits, but it has its downsides too. Yes, our friendship helped me to find out much about you… Friendship truly is pitiful."
"Says someone who's never actually experienced it," Shun scoffs. "So this was all a set-up, a decoy, so you could trap me. I'll give you some credit for that."
"As you wish, but this wasn't to impress you," he voice laughs. "It was for everything you tried to have, and every dream you've dreamt!"
"You're going to take everything away from me," Shun states, glowering. "You're even going to destroy the Earth to do so."
"It's the way to get things done nowadays," the voice laughs louder.
"It's the way of a coward!" Shun yells.
"Oh, and I was right again. You are different Shun. So much so, that I can't see my best friend anywhere in you. You, who replaced me with that blundering oaf!" the person sighs. "Ah, but the past can't be erased. You can't change that you abandoned us and left us to die… You do realize that even if you did coax me back to your side, Anna is gone. She won't ever come back to us. You left us to die, to rot, and she did… Some friend you are Shun, but that doesn't matter. Nothing about you will matter soon. This will all be over soon; just not soon enough for some."
The voice fades out and away before Shun could protest. Not he would be able to, in the state of abject and utter shock he's in. He remembers Anna well, sometimes she would remind him of his sister, but she was so unique to the Thirteen…
"… Not anymore…" he mutters.
Author's Note: As with the previously mentioned, a few chapters ago, that Shun was part of a group, the Thirteen. He disbanded for the sake of everyone, and he never heard of them again, except for Elise… Well, Anna is one of those people, and the voice. The person who set it all up, was Shun's best friend in the organisation.
Strange things are going on with his sister too. Strange, strange things are afoot.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. If something confuses you, let me know and I'll try help.