Shadow Hearts: Resurrection
Chapter 2: Safety in numbers
The music was what woke him. With a groan Charlie pushed himself off the ground, rubbing his cheek as he tried to remember what had happened to him, he'd stared down that guy on the ship and then-
Pain
He couldn't remember what happened next or how he got here. All he could hear was an ominous tune, it sounded like his heartbeat suffused with a strange roaring sound in the background. He rubbed his eyes wearily and dragged himself to his feet to look around where he was.
He seemed to be in a Graveyard, surrounded by twisted trees and a dark red stream flowing around the area. In the center a strange white tree seemed to be growing with shrivelled branches and dried leaves hanging off of it, it was pretty disturbing to look at. Around him, he saw 7 graves all standing proudly in sets, 6 of them had symbols etched into them but the 7th...
He approached it and rubbed a hand across the blank surface. Some faint indentations were set into it but he couldn't see what they were meant to be. Two gates stood away from where he'd woken up, one shut and bound by a plethora of chains but a faint light seemed to come from beyond it. The other had four scratches set into it that confused Charlie, they all seemed to be different colors.
This whole area seemed to be a strange composite of locations he'd been to as a child, the red stream looked like a brook that had been near his house when he was 7, the graves all resembled those of his old family members at the family plot. The only things he didn't recognise were the symbols on the graves and those gates. They were evocative though, whenever he touched one it sent a surge of emotion flowing through him. Generally negative.
Shrugging, he decided to opt for walking out the way he came in, since that stream looked distressingly like it was full of ephemeral creatures. He was walking towards a patch of mixed darkness and light until he heard a voice calling to him
"When are you coming back?"
"It can't be," Charlie murmured "It's my imagination" that voice was one he hadn't heard for years and he never expected to hear again, but just hearing it was bringing memories back in a constant flow that threatened to engulf him with every word.
"Big brother? Why won't you turn and look at me?"
"It isn't you," Charlie felt tears starting to trickle down his cheeks but kept his eyes locked forwards "I know it isn't, you died Kirsten"
"Big Brother, you mustn't be afraid of them" this last message was confusing enough for Charlie to stop his progress towards the exit and half turn to ask.
"Afraid of who?"
"YoUR mOnSTers"
-\ -o- /-
With one last placement, Kaede stuck the final talisman to the walls of the shack they'd commandeered. Using her magic, she'd managed to bring all three of them to the shoreline and after that feat of strength had even found them an abandoned hut to stay in. She'd dropped Charlie and Dawn to the sand and left them to fortify their position. Four walls, a roof and a floor of sand seemed a pretty good deal to her.
Finished with her magic, she rested against the shack's wall and found herself dropping to the ground as well. She knew that tip had been too good to be true, a beautiful heiress was going to be kidnapped by one of the dark wizards she'd been tracking. Markus had known they were coming and they would've been killed if not for that... thing.
She looked to the sleeping body of Anjou and wondered what the hell that had even been. The two of them had worked together for years, on and off, but he'd never had any level of magical power. And that transformation... he'd told her why he did this once, but she couldn't remember right now.
Either way, she kept an eye firmly locked on his sleeping body. Whatever that had been, it had killed Markus but she needed to know how he'd done it. And if she could allow him to live after such a feat.
There was a faint rustle of movement as Dawn opened her eyes, her hair soaked and clinging to her face. She seemed to take a moment to blink around the shack before focusing on Kaede across from her, the Japanese girl looking deadly serious and utterly exhausted. The brush still held in her hands, somehow brought back the memories of the previous night.
Dawn heard a loud scream, piercing everything and it took her a few moments to realise it was coming from her. She felt her face buried in Kaede's chest as the older girl crossed the room and held her close, muffling her cries of anguish. She felt the heat of her tears as she clutched desperately at any sense of normality by.
"It's OK" Kaede mumbled, forcing herself to be strong for this girl "Let it out, just let it out" It was some time before Dawn's sobs died down and Kaede could let her go. She seemed to have fallen asleep once more. Kaede checked the wards one last time before she too collapsed and slipped into slumber within their safehouse.
-\ -o- /-
"What happened? Where is the Key?"
"Markus failed. The Key is either dead or in hiding. I knew we shouldn't have trusted this to such an amateur"
"He was one of us, show some respect. What I want to know is, why did you not intervene?"
"Me? I saw something that surprised me. It was enough for me to get out of there in one piece"
"Something flustered you? But you're-"
"I know who I am. But still. I was flustered."
"This is still bad news, the four of us are all that remains of the society"
"There is worse news. We have a Harmonixer on our hands"
"Heh, very funny, why is that-"
"A pure Harmonixer. Dark element"
"You have a talent for understatement don't you?"
"What are we to do?"
"If the key survived, he will be with her"
"Do you have any more bad news, or would you rather reveal it at the worst possible time?"
"It's fine, I'll see if the Key survived and kill the boy. For the good of all"
"For the good of all"
"For the good of all"
-\ -o- /-
Charlie sat up sharply and bit back a scream, rubbing his eyes frantically to remove the image he'd seen from them. He'd looked back and seen her, Kirsten, but all around had been. He shook his head frantically trying to make himself forget and got up unsteadily. He felt sick but he seemed to be human again at least. He walked to the door and tested the handle as gently as he could but found it unresponsive.
He groaned and tried again, still nothing. He shook it a couple of times and finally resolving that it was probably an old shack to begin with, kicked it violently. He hadn't noticed Kaede's wards all around the hut which would've explained why he couldn't open the door. It should have been impossible for a human like him but the door itself crumpled into splintered logs and allowed him to squeeze through.
Dawdling around to the side of the shack, Charlie realised he had to go to the bathroom but all he could see for miles was beach. After a brief glance around him, he unzipped and let loose a stream onto the side of the house. He heard a faint growling behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see a dog staring at him with a noticably irritated expression.
"Uhhh, sorry, was this your territory?" Charlie offered as calmly as he could.
Dawn and Kaede found themselves waking up to the sound of enraged dog barking and yelps, followed by thumps on the ceiling above them. Dawn dabbed at the mascara streaks under her eyes and noticed Kaede was looking in terror at the broken door. Her wards must've failed, but why had it broken outwards? What type of spirit could break a door outwards?
Having no time to think she darted outside, brush and spellsheet in hand with Dawn following as best she could in her impractical dress to look at the growling beast outside. The two did a brief double take upon looking at it, as it was quite obviously a chihuaha. A small one at that. Yet on the roof was Charlie, huddled away from the 'fearsome beast'
"What are you doing, you idiot" Kaede sighed, pinching her nose and putting away her spell-sheets
"It came outta nowhere! I don't know why it's so angry at me!"
"What's that smell? It smells like-"
"When you have to go, you have to go" Charlie said simply. Kaede looked disgusted, she didn't like to think about anybiological function and that one in particular was too close to home if you read the ingredients of her spell ink.
"You're disgusting!" She snarled, grabbing the chihuaha with a firm embrace and shouted up to him "I'll take the little dog away but we're having words after this, Anjou!" while she was angry, a small part of Kaede was relieved. Somehow, she doubted fierce monsters peed against shack walls.
As she traipsed over the sand, Charlie slid off the roof and landed in a small heap on the soft ground. He glanced up and saw Dawn, quietly watching him. He noticed her dress, her hair and the tear stains which struck what remained of his chivalrous instinct hard.
"Are you OK? It's Dawn, right?" He knew full well her name was Dawn, but he didn't want to let on that he'd been thinking about her a bit too much. After all, he'd been willing to get in the way of that wizard for her and then...
"Yeah, I'm Dawn. Thank you for saving me"
"Oh, don't mention it" Charlie grinned "That's what we do, me and Kaede. Her with her taoist thingy-ma-jiggy and me with a blunt instrument, we generally take care of any supernatural terrors"
"So, you're used to this? This is... this is what you do?"
"Yeah, it's not that bad..." Charlie drifted off "Anyway, we should probably try and get you home. I'm sure your family are worried sick" Kaede was returning from across the dunes sans dog when Dawn finally blurted it out.
"He was after me! He called me a... a Key. Do you know what that means?"
"That you... open something?" Charlie offered "Honestly, I don't know but if you like... I'm sure we could protect you"
"What are you doing, Anjou? Are you making decisions again?"
"I can so make decisions! We aren't married are we?" Charlie replied hotly, but immediately cowered under the icy gaze of his partner "Or, uhh, you could decide. I just said we could protect Dawn since she's this 'Key' thing"
"Yes, I think so too" Kaede nodded
"Well, I was only suggesting I mean- Wait, you agree?"
"Of course, she needs our help. Now, on to more pressing matters. What was that technique you used?"
"Technique? You mean... I don't know. Honestly, I have no idea what happened but... it hurt. At first, anyway, it felt easier after the pain but I lost control. I think it puts stress on my psyche, I probably shouldn't do it when I'm mentally exhausted or freaked out."
"Can you do it at will?"Kaede asked, taking Dawn's hand carefully and drawing her back, her eyes still wary and looking at Charlie. Dawn seemed not to have noticed but Kaede had seen something that meant she was still uncertain. Charlie rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. It looked like he was going to try.
There was an intense light from his body, wisps appeared in the air and were drawn into him, Kaede recognised this as being remnant spiritual energy it seemed he was absorbing extra energy for the transformation. His face was the important part, one eye shut and his hands clutching his head
"Nnnggh, it still hurts but it isn't.. GWAAAAAAH!"
With a brilliant flash, Charlie was standing on the same thin spikes and his eyes replaced with glowing purple spheres. Kaede held her brush forward and waited for a reaction as Charlie breathed deeply in this new form
"I'm still here" he said, with effort "There's a voice in my head, it says this is. He's. called Gallas. I'm gonna turn back now" there was that same sound as before, shattering glass and the same white light as Charlie collapsed to the ground.
"I understand," he panted "Gallas is made of all the Dark element monsters I've killed, all their malice is just stained into my soul. Oh god, why is this happening?" Charlie heaved a few deep breaths into his lungs before staggering to his feet again, wiping the sand off of himself.
"Charlie, your eyes" Dawn started, before Kaede silenced her with a look. Charlie frowned, what had she meant by his eyes. He fished inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a small shard of glass he carried for an extra weapon. He dropped it in shock and backed away hurriedly.
His eyes were red.
"Arrrgh, what the hell! Why is this happening now? Did that wizard guy do this?" Charlie looked to Kaede and Dawn as he asked. Kaede seemed to think about it, why would Markus curse Charlie with a monstrous form? And if he did, why did he give him free will? She finally sighed, no point fretting about it.
"I think we're in Atami, I saw some familiar sights over the rise. For now, let's just work our way back to Tokyo before we decide on the best course of action." Kaede looked at the still freaking out Charlie and wondered how they were going to cope. An old ally with a terrifying new ability and a girl with no combat experience.
To her surprise, both seemed to have calmed down and looked ready for the trip. Charlie seemed to have, if not come to terms with this new development, regained most of his composure and was busy rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles. Dawn seemed to have clenched her fists and was looking bravely at Kaede to show her own preperation.
It impressed the Taoist wizard, to see that the two of them had overcome their fear enough to stand with her, she'd expected it maybe of Anjou but from the girl too?
"Let's get going then" Kaede smiled, starting the brisk stroll towards the small town followed by Charlie and Dawn. The beginning of their journey, observed by a mysterious figure in the sky sent to steal the key and destroy this new Harmonixer. As the trio started their walk, they're unknown observer smiled. This would be easier than they'd thought.
Party So Far
Charlie Anjou
Role: Harmonixer
Element: Dark
Weapon: Folded Chair
Dawn Tyler
Role: Unknown
Element: Neutral
Weapon: None
Kaede Abe
Role: Taoist
Element: Water
Weapon: Holy Ink (Navy)