Woot for teh fast-ish- update. Its not easy figuring out this plot, ya know.
Thanks to the recent and previous reviewers, it is very appreciated.
This one is semi-flash backish, and semi-character development.
New chappie up by next week!
Keep reviewing :P
Disclaimer: I do not own anything MS or MS related, including those extremely lame commercials. Yes, they make EVERYONE embarassed for Maple.
Chapter Fifteen
"Mommy!"
The young Alex cried out, rushing forward towards her mother's still form. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the gaping wound in her mother's side. Organ, blood, and a foul smelling liquid lay in a large puddle under her, the older woman's soft eyes closed, hair matted and frizzed.
"Why?" She managed to choke out, oblivious to the other presences.
"She was in the way." The voice had a very familiar ring to it… Deep and unusually cold…
"Daddy!? What happened?"
"Is my child that dimwitted?"
His voice was as sharp as his blade, a nasty feral grin on his normally handsome face.
Another sob passed through the smaller child's body, as she fell to her knees once more.
Gone where the loving smiles and happy grins. It had all been an act, she realized, an act of a heartless man and evil spy. She would receive no more hugs, no more sturdy words of encouragement, no more soft whispers of love and affection into her ears.
The shell of the man who had once been her father strode up to her, back handing her fiercely, steel gloved cutting open the area under her chin as she fell backwards.
Two types of pain spilt through her body, one cutting much more deeply into her heart. Betrayal, anger, resentment, pure fury, and sadness all rushed through her body, faster then the suffering of her cut, as she looked up into the cold monstrous eyes of her mother's killer.
No, he was no longer her father, he hadn't been for awhile. And he would never be again, in more senses then one, as his eyes went wide in shock, a magically enhanced dagger impaling him through his unprotected back. The shocked man tumbled forward, landing flat on his face. He lay motionless on the floor, as he took his last breathe before departing his cruel world.
Alex's heart truly broke then, as if the dagger had not killed the man she had loved despite his crimes, but instead had thrust into her own heart, scattering it into millions of pieces. She cried out in anguish as the blonde haired man walked right past her. His message was clear enough.
You're not important enough to kill.
She tried to get to her feet. She wanted to show him just how very wrong he was. But she was tired, so tired, emotionally, physically and physiologically. He turned back to glare at her, ripping a precious item from her chest.
The burden of guilt, compassion, love, loss, dread, shame and defeat, each a single weight, pulling her to the ground with their combined mass.
As she crumpled onto the ground, a mere couple of feet away from her mother and father, a strong emotion filled her: resolve.
She would ride the world of this man, if it was the last thing her body did, breathing or otherwise.
She would grow strong, strong enough stop his psychotic killing sprees, mindless sacrifices and hate filled killings. She would bring this monster down.
Little Alex started to crawl, with a new found strength in her arms and soul. She reached her mother's cold, lifeless corpse, planting a soft kiss on her cheek before curling up into the woman's uninjured side. Alex grabbed blindly for her hand, a ghost of a smile playing onto her lips before she passed out.
And that was how the villagers found her, clutching her broken chest and deceased mother's limp hand.
After curious glances and suppressed questions from her family, Jackie pulled Alex's unconscious body from up the stairs and into her room. She lay her friend on her comfortable bed. The whole room gave a comfortable feel, a pale pink bed, bookshelves lining the walls. A desk lay adjacent to the bed, a television set opposite of it. The bathroom door was near the TV, and the room entrance to the right of the bed.
Jackie walked into her bathroom, stripping to take a quick shower. She redressed in a more comfortable outfit, pulling on a light lavender colored tank top with matching silky shorts. Jackie tied her hair up in a messy bun, walking back into her occupied bedroom.
Alex still lay sprawled on the bed, now clutching her chest, whimpering slightly. Tears streamed from the corners of her closed eyes, running down her temples and into her messy hair.
She was grabbing at her tank top, twisting it around her ribcage. Her shirt bunched up again, like it had when she was removing her jacket. Her breathing was unnaturally shallow, she took short painful gasps of air. Jackie hesitating in waking her friend, walked over to study her face. It was twisted in several emotions: rage, pain, and suffering.
She made up her mind as Alex's breathing started to become more rapid, border lining hyperventilation. Jackie bent over Alex, wiping the tears she knew would embarase her friend from her eyes. She wondered if Alex's hair was as soft and as silky as it looked.
"Alex… Alex," She mumbled quietly.
No response.
"Alex. Wake up," she leaned down closer to her friend's ear.
Again, there was no response.
"Alex.."
Jackie laid a hand on Alex's arm, to feel the muscles tense.
Before Jackie knew what was happening, she was laying on her bed, pinned by a still half asleep Alex. The blonde struggled, trying to blink the grogginess out of her eyes. Jackie lay motionless, slightly blushing.
Finally, it seemed Alex was awake, and she looked down to see her "attacker", A tongue tied Jackie in silky pajamas.
She immediately jumped off the bed, apologizing profusely, but not quite coherently, as a red hue spread across her face and neck.
"Sorry," She mumbled flustered, scratching the back of her head, "What… weren't… didn't… wha…"
Jackie giggled at the stuttering Alex, thinking it was nice to know that no one was perfect, not even the number one rookie. Besides, she found the blushing and stuttering cu-
"Did I…."
"Oh, um… you passed out at the restaurant, so I brought you back here… and you're are quite heavy I might add. What happened?"
"Um… oh… It was just… pain from the venom I guess."
"Don't lie to me," Jackie stated bluntly.
Alex was slightly shocked, normally her friend was quiet and reserved, never pushing for information. Brad was really the only obnoxious and demanding one of the group.
"I… ugh… don't know…er… what you're talking about really…" She managed to pull out, looking away from her obvious lie.
Jackie boldly walked up to her, grabbing Alex's chin lightly and pushing her head back around to face her own.
"Your eyes…" she whispered simply, softly.
"Your face gives way to no emotion, but your eyes bare your soul. It's been hard to decipher them, but I am finally starting to understand them. And you are lying."
Alex was frozen in her place. No one in her life, save her deceased parents, have ever cared enough, wanted to know the real Alex enough, to befriend her long enough truly understand her. She hadn't been caught in a lie in years. Alex let loose a sigh.
"Just… promise you won't leave until I finish."
"Okay."
Jackie led her friend to her bed, sitting down eagerly to here her story.
A young farmer shook her awake.
"What 'appened 'ere, girl?"
"I-I'm not entirely sure myself, sir."
"We reckon you mus' know sumthin'. Did ye kill all these here folk?"
"N-No sir. When I came, they were already gone. I came to find my parents… but I found the killer."
"Did ye kill him?"
"No."
"Try ta stop him?"
"He… he was too strong."
"So you didn't even try ta protect our lan' or folk?"
"I… I couldn't…"
The crowd roared in outrage.
Mass genocide, and no one to blame. Some one had to be punished. The people wouldn't rest until someone paid for these crimes.
Alex was dragged to a small courthouse, thoroughly dazed. In less then twenty four hours, her world had come crashing down around her, and now she was being lead somewhere by complete strangers.
It was somewhat unsettling.
The quaint courthouse was in an uproar, and the farmer quickly told the story. The young blonde girl remained silent, still shell shocked and in a state of denial.
"Order!" the gavel banged. "Order in these here courts!"
The room quieted down.
"I hereby order that this girl be branded as an outcast, for refusing to uphold citizen laws, acts of cowardice, and improperly representing the fine land of Victoria."
The mob shouted their approval, and before she could realize what was happening, rough hands had pinned Alex down. One greasy hand had wrapped itself around her mouth, more held down her arms, legs and torso.
Seeing that she already had a wound under her chin, the eager villagers tilted Alex's head back, brandishing a hot iron brand and a contrastingly cool metal scalpel. The farmers mercilessly cut and burned her flesh, using swift, deep, uneducated strokes.
Not deep enough to kill, no, then there would be no scapegoat for them to place their entire emotional burden on.
Alex was meant to live, but in a way, they stole her live from her during those ten painfully long minutes.
In the end, she was left with a gruesome picture: A sloppy T, with a bloody sword running through the letter.
It was a common mark given to murders and thieves, usually on an arm or shoulder blade.
The crowd has also engraved a thick box into her skin, serving as a perimeter and boundary to their work.
As soon as it was done, Alex was thrown into the muddy streets.
It took most of her will to keep her tears inside.
When she was halfway back to her now empty house, she broke down, unable to carry the stress on her heart and soul.
Her barriers crumbled as she sobbed in the darkness of an alleyway.
"Shhh, what's wrong child?"
Little Alex looked up into the warm face and musical voice of a strong women.
Jackie's face twisted in anger and disgust. She had heard about a massacre, but never this way. The history books had always given vague details, and then continued about The Snail Shell Incident of 1876.
How could anyone… do something like that to an innocent child?
It was revolting, disgusting… so inhumane it would seem impossible.
But yet, here stop psychical evidence, a living memoir of the faults of humans. Her blood boiled, repeating the words Alex had said in her head over and over…
How could they sleep at night? She wondered, amazed.
"Um… well… I'm sure you could get a team change. They haven't chosen the new teams yet, I don't think, so I'm sure one of the Four would have no problems finding you a new squad to work with…"
Jackie looked confused, before it clicked.
Lack of conversation, disgusted look on her face, it must have give Alex the wrong impression.
She would have had no idea that the utter disproval and hate was for the currently unnamed village. She must have thought…
It was too much for Jackie to bear, seeing her friend utterly exposed and vulnerable. The distant air was gone, making Alex actually look her age. She was no longer the strong independent girl, wise beyond her years, with a face just as weathered. Alex looked like what she was: A scared, hurt, sixteen year old girl. It made her much easier to approach and handle, Jackie noticed, when she looked so… so normal.
She hugged her friend impulsively, trying to comfort her for the mistaken implication.
"No… No silly… How could they do that… I could kill them all…"
"It's not that big of a deal," was the soft reply.
Some told Jackie that Alex had accepted what had happened, tried to move past it, but just couldn't. Holding her normally strong friend in her hands, Jackie murmured in her ear.
"Yes, yes it is… Which village was It Alex?"
Alex looked down at the ground again.
"Alex," her tone was warning, "Which village?"
"Henesys…"
Jackie shuddered. The two sat in silence, content in each others comfort.
"Jack-ieeeeeeeeeeeeeee dinner's ready!"
Jackie eased out of Alex's grip, grabbing her hand before lightly pulling her down the stairs. Alex let herself be dragged, knowing that Jackie, and perhaps Rick, were too far into her life now to ever get out.
She couldn't tell if that was for the better, or worse, but Alex planned to find out.
Hope this didn't bore anyone, but it was definetely necessary. At the rate I'm typing, it seems like we will get to the major plot line by chapter twenty for sure. Not that these chapters aren't important, but we must get to the title, no?
Chapter 16 teaser:
"On guard!"
He called out with glee, charging.
Alex pulled out her strange sword and parried his blow.
It would be a long fight.
Reviews would be greatly appreciated, like i said before, expect the next chapters 1-1.5 weeks, like always, maybe sooner this week.
Your faithful writter.
- Dak