V. Murder
Their search through the military base yielded nothing, and as she sat in a room that at one point looked to be a communications hub, one arm across her knee and the other on her cheek, Misaya watched Ms. Tsukuda with rapt attention as she paced back and forth before a wall she suspected was actually another hidden door.
Scattered around was old, inoperable equipment and unimportant, miscellaneous documents that she had to translate to know they were because Ms. Tsukuda didn't fucking understand written English enough to do it herself even though she taught the damn subject and if she had to read aloud one more stupid report of sequential bullshit about the state of the island inhabitants she was going to—No. She had to calm down. Breath. Cool it, or else the pain would come back, as she touched the back of her neck. That now unbearable, searing pain.
Besides the military base being empty, her system was too.
The medicine had worn off and her father was still nowhere in sight and she wasn't about to waste the other two bottles she still had. As a result, she couldn't get heated up. Instead, she had to wait patiently as humanly possible for Ms. Tsukuda to do something, staring at the triangular symbol on the floor the woman called a magic sigil that she had drawn more of around the perimeter of where she believed the door lead into.
Magic sigils, as she had so enthusiastically explained, were what created bounded fields, and to make a successful one at least four of these symbols had to placed around whatever it was someone wanted to box in. So, then, she wanted to trap what was on the other side of the door. Just like chickens in a coop. Ripe for the slaughter.
Misaya knew if her father had to be anywhere, it was through there, and all she had to do was wait. Then, the moment she saw him, she was going to take the second bottle and rush in for the kill. Her father was going to die. Every instinct in her body told her to tear him apart and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out. The hate was eating her inside out.
"Hurry up, dammit," she spat loud as she dared. The outburst earned a shush from the woman.
"When I give the signal, we'll make our way down and apprehend your father." Ms. Tsukuda said, stepping back and telling her to start clearing space. "Quick and clean is how I want to do this, but if it comes to a more violent confrontation be ready."
"About time." Misaya stretched and now stood waiting.
Ms. Tsukuda nodded and began. Pulling four of those same pieces of paper from somewhere unseen, she stuck them to four corners of the invisible door and said a chant with her cross out. The papers burned and light shimmered and there was a rumble as the wall broke away to reveal another passage. She then motioned for her to follow close and they started on their way and the whole time Misay was relieved it didn't stink like shit, and when the woman finally stopped and crouched, there was light ahead, the exit in sight.
Upon nearing it her mind flashed back to that earlier dream, nightmare, or whatever the fuck it'd been, and she swooned, light-headed and slightly nauseous.
"Alright, up ahead is… Everything OK?" Ms. Tsukuda was looking back with worry.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm… fine." She bit back on the sensation and shook her head. "Just fine." There was skepticism on the woman's face. Misaya scowled. "What? I said I'm fucking fine!"
Ms. Tsukuda snapped back, "Keep your voice down." Waving on, she told her to stay low as they came into a vast space that looked like the inside of a man-made cave. There was a cluster of rocks that served as a ledge and Ms. Tsukuda pressed her body to it and indicated down. "Look."
Crouching beside her, Misaya peered into the dimly lit space and clenched her teeth in rage.
There he was. Standing at the forefront of a well-sized rag-tag bunch of red-eyed undead, facing away from them. The light from before was from dozens of torches lining the walls, and they illuminated her father and his small army of freaks in an ominous hue. To her, all she saw was a bunch of convicts in prison complex, caught in yellow-orange, exposing their ugliness to the world and she reached for that second bottle, only kept from chugging it and leaping down by Ms. Tsukuda.
She didn't know if the woman had activated the trap yet, and waited for something to happen, but Ms. Tsukuda was stock still, eyes hard and expression grave, gaze focused intently on the group. What was she stalling for?
"Don't… move…" she said without opening her mouth anymore than absolutely necessary. Afraid to even speak.
"What is it?" Misaya followed her eyes to her father. And, it took her a moment, a few blinks, but then she finally saw. That was when everything became heavy and her knees buckled. "What… the hell…?" she breathed, the air taken from her lungs as she struggled to keep from shaking.
Standing next to her father was a woman with black hair and crimson eyes, wrapped in a black dress that altogether resembled the shadow from her dream. Their eyes locked and whoever it was flashed a smile in her direction that rooted her in place. No, there was no possible way she'd seen them. Seen her, all the way up here.
Gripping the bottle tight, Misaya clutched her shirt and started sweating. Yet, why did she feel sick, why was it when she looked into her eyes it made her remember things she didn't? Why was it that her body burned, and her soul began to evaporate in the presence of utter dread? Why was she so afraid?
Rising to her feet, one look into that woman's eyes had brought everything back—the nightmares, the beatings, the loneliness, the hurt, the pain—and she wanted to run, get far away as possible, but Ms. Tsukuda pushed down firmly on her shoulder, squeezing tight.
"D-don't…" She strained to get the word out.
In response, it only pulled harder, that urge to flee, and before Misaya knew it she was on the ground below, those red-eyed freaks parting aside to make a path ahead where the shadow woman and her father were waiting. It wasn't long before she stood with them too. She should have ran away, not toward them, and didn't know why that was, too scared to do anything. Then, when the shadow woman touched her face with a warm smile and opened her mouth to speak, fangs flashing, she realised that whoever—whatever—she was, had summoned her—and Misaya had answered the call.
And, when she spoke, all those thousand hellish voices crawled out and formed into one. "You have grown so lovely," the shadow woman said. Her breath was chilling and Misaya shivered. The shadow woman hardly took notice, but eased away all the same, continuing to smile. "Do you remember me?" In her dead eyes was that barren wasteland and the crimson moon and Misaya averted her own, feeling them burrowing into her skull. The shadow woman's next words sounded hurt. "Ah… That is a shame…" She seemed to fiddle with something, and Misaya caught glimpse of a silver locket, before she once again spoke. "Well, I suppose it is to be expected. After all, Katashi never was one to write."
Her father stirred, and Misaya could only stare in horror and disbelief at what she saw: his skin was ashen, features sunken, body shrivelled, and looking hardly the man who'd taken her by the throat the other night. He was nothing more than a decaying husk of skin and bone. A living, breathing corpse. An undead. Then, just like that, the shadow woman said a command and he crumbled away into ash. Just like that. Just. Like. That.
Her father was dead.
"Such a shame," the shadow woman said afterward. "Such a waste."
And she hadn't been the one to do the deed.
"To think he came into this meeting to dissuade me. Now it is but the two of us, and,"—their eyes met again—"we have a lot of catching up to do."
Her father was dead.
And her anger soared.
"Before that, I would just like to take a moment to say how lovely it is to see you again. After all these years." Whatever this woman was, Misaya knew nothing she could bring to the table would leave so much as a scratch unless she got lucky, but she… But… she…She…
Seething, his death should have been by her own hands. Nobody else should have been the one—it was supposed to be her. Nobody else. Even so, she was shaking all over. But, her hate was stronger than her fear, and now she had a new target to unleash it upon.
… she was going to fucking murder this bitch.
But, as if anticipating her reaction, the shadow woman crooked a finger and Misaya found herself being compelled by that same urge to do as she wanted. The urge to obey.
She grit her teeth, fighting against whatever invisible force pushed on her, keeping her pinned in place. She wasn't about to lie down like some damned dog, and with force of will, pulled the second bottle and tried to take it. Instead, it shattered and shards of glass stabbed into her palm.
The shadow woman shook her head, "Ah, Katashi, how you have degraded. Not even having enough sense left to teach the girl some manners." Heaving a sigh, she looked down at the pile of nothing left in his place, "Again, such a shame."
Misaya winced as her blood dripped and trickled down her wrist as she now tried to bring it to closer to her mouth and lick what little was left in vain.
"I see he has not trained you either," she then said, thoughtfully. "Though I would be lying if I were to say I was surprised. To the end, he was," she paused, watching her, "such a caring man."
Teeth sinking into her gums from the effort, Misaya filled with more rage than ever as, for all her strength, she couldn't do more than claw at the concrete and split her nails, hopelessly pushing against the weight that now had her halfway to the floor on her hands and knees.
Just then, she heard a shout and something extremely hot flew over her, its intense heat scorching her back, hitting the shadow woman square in the chest and engulfing her in fire. Ms. Tsukuda appeared out of nowhere, having sure as hell picked a great time to leap into action, and helped her up, asking if she was seriously hurt.
"No? Good, then hold still." She smacked her upside the head.
"Ow! What the fuck?!"
"Your hair was on fire."
Misaya grumbled, but used the opportunity to take the third, and last, bottle. With the medicine once again coursing through her veins, she started plucking glass for her hand, the open wounds closing shortly after, and asked the woman what she'd done to kill the bitch. Ms. Tsukuda was about to respond when there was a chuckle behind them and they both turned in alarm.
"It'll take more than that to do away with me, I am afraid." Dispersing flames and patting down the ends of her dress, the shadow woman faced them. The attack hadn't done her in like she'd thought, and, worse yet, there was no visible sign that it'd even done any damage.
And without hesitation Ms. Tsukuda had her hand and cross at the ready. "Misaya, get back!"
The unkillable freak regarded her presence for a second, then said, "Please, put your trinket down. It cannot harm me." And all but ignored her. "To think, a Templar. That man, so carel—" Which, was a fatal mistake; whatever she was going to say next was cut off by the second attack.
It sent her flying back in a fiery explosion.
An inferno that blazed and roared and surely reduced anything unlucky enough to be caught in its vicinity to a shish-kebab. The shadow woman screamed and Misaya smiled cruelly.
"That got her!"
But Ms. Tsukuda was even tenser than before and it wasn't long before she realised why. The satisfaction on her face vanished as the force from before—the immeasurable weight—came back.
Ten-fold.
She immediately collapsed on her knees, the wind knocked from her lungs. Gasping for air, she clawed at her chest. It was like trying to breath inside a vacuum. Ms. Tsukuda called to her, but before she could respond a hazy form appeared in the inferno.
"I... misjudged you." The shadow woman's voice had become noticeably deeper. Beyond that, at the back of her throat, was the gurgle of blood. She came forward slowly. From her right temple and following the hairline down to the jaw was a charred, gory mess of burnt tissue and bone. Sneering, her red eyes were now golden. "To think, a mere Templar..."
Terror hit Misaya like a hammer and in those few terrible seconds she managed to break free and crawl away. She was going to die. This fucking thing was going to kill her!
"Misaya, get up! Hurry! We have to go bef—"
Suddenly, the shadow woman vanished and reappeared next to her, startling them both. "I suppose I should have been more weary, yes?" Faster than the human eye could follow, she hit Ms. Tsukuda and sent her reeling before either of them could react.
Seeing her get grabbed by the undead all but forgotten behind them, Misaya had to think of something fast or else—
"I have to wonder," the shadow woman said, looking upon the horde as it swarmed her. "Did he ever tell you even a little bit of the truth?" When she looked back, fangs were more pronounced. Sharper. Deadly. Able to rend and tear and maim without any effort whatsoever. "Or was he already too far descended into insanity?"
Her insides churned as the medicine finally started working its magic, and, at the peak of her fury, Misaya felt like her heart would implode from the strain, as she sprang to her feet and unleashed a shocking wave of energy, desperate. Launching herself at the shadow woman, her proceeding punch was welcomed with open arms.
And, fist twisting into the thing's chest, she howled, holding her wrist. Her hand was broken, the bone splintering out. The bitch was wearing some kind of armour, or, no—a bounded field?! One eye closed, wincing, she looked up from her injury only to find that the bitch had disappeared.
"That was quite unnecessary." Spinning, eyes wide, the shadow woman touched her cheek again and parted her hair to the sides.When had—?! "Attacks like this are much more effective."
Ramming her elbow into her gut had no effect, and, in the next moment, the thing placed a hand on the nape of her neck and she cried out, thrashing to the floor and writhing in a ball of sudden, horrible agony.
The thing's blood-drowned voice filled her ears again, "Was it not more effective?"
Hearing Ms. Tsukuda fighting against the undead and yelling for her to stay where she was, Misaya rolled over on her back, seeing her coming in and out of focus upside down through a sea of rotting flesh.
Spitting blood, Misaya lifted her neck and spat at the thing that now blocked her view. "I'll... kill... you!" she growled, tears running down her forehead.
Right then, as if by divine intervention, all around them, trumpets sounded.
The whole place became flushed in a pale light that washed out everything, lighting the undead surrounding Ms. Tsukuda aflame and blinding Misaya, burning her skin as she now whimpered and choked on the floor. Still able to hear and feel, she heard someone kneel by her ear and whisper into it while stroking her hair. Their breath was ice and touch like fire.
"Such a beautiful girl you've grown up to be. It is a pity that you still have yet to mature. Until next we meet, Misaya."
Then they were gone.
And, from somewhere directly above, Ms. Tsukuda's voice was in its place. Telling her that everything was going to be fine, to hold still and try not to move. As she felt herself being lifted, it was all too clear. The undeniable fact of what that thing was. A Dead Apostle.
A true one.