Author's Note: Again, read bottom AN.
Black Rock Shooter and co. belongs to Huke.
"Isn't that right... Takanashi Yomi?" Dragon Slayer finished, a devil-like smirk stretching across her face.
Yomi looked up at Dragon Slayer, backing away slowly as fear struck her on the inside, the truth behind where she is now coming at her like a bullet train. The last thing she could remember was being in class, taking notes before everything just went blurry and spinning around her. After that, everything just seemed like swirls of black and green, dimmed and reacting like a turbulence all around her. Yomi didn't know when she was coming to, it was happening too fast for her to comprehend, but when she regained her bearing and raked her hand through her hair, that was when everything just went downhill. Yomi kept on backing away, but Dragon Slayer stopped her by grabbing her leg and pulling her back, preventing her from getting away.
"Oh, I don't think so," Dragon Slayer told her, "It appears there are some 'flaws' in you that needs corrections, primarily your reaction to 'us'"
Yomi tried her best to glare at Dragon Slayer, "Let go... leave me alone..!"
"Sorry, but I'm not the one to pass on an opportunity when it shows itself," Dragon Slayer stated.
Yomi still had her eyes locked on Dragon Slayer, but trailed them away as she noticed Chariot rushing towards them, ready to decapitate the amber-eyed other self. Dragon Slayer didn't turn her body or her head when she stopped Chariot's attack, her gauntlet covered hand gripping the sword behind her. Using a small amount of her strength, Dragon Slayer tossed Chariot overhead, sending her next to STR, who was ready to fight. Stepping away from Yomi, Dragon Slayer pulled out her sword and pointed at the duo, Maid Gunner also taking heed and aiming her sniper rifle at them as well. The air around them became heavy, laced with complete murderous intent as they stared at each other; Yomi, however, appeared scared and lost while looking at the scene right before her.
"It's not surprising you would act this protectively of Yomi, since your real self has the nature of a knight protecting its queen," Dragon Slayer stated, a mocking tone laced in her statement.
Chariot narrowed her eyes, "You're nothing more than a person who joins whichever side benefits her needs..!"
STR's Ogre Arms cocked themselves, ready to fire at any given moment, "I have to agree, whose side are you on?"
"My mistress only supports herself, everyone else is just expandable," Maid Gunner told them.
"My my, can't I even speak for myself in this situation..?" Dragon Slayer joked, chuckling slightly before tightening her grip on her sword, "Though I admit I'm not exactly the most trustworthy person, I will say Yomi will benefit from being with me instead of you two, so-"
Dragon Slayer disappeared in a split second, causing Chariot to look around for her, her sense of danger wrapping itself around her mind. Without any warning, a kick struck her spine and sent her flying towards Maid Gunner, who fired at Chariot in rapid succession. Forcibly rotating her body to the side, Chariot avoided being hit and rolled along the ground, trying to stop herself from moving away from the fight. Maid Gunner grunted before she started firing at STR, causing some separation between her and Dragon Slayer, who is grinning at the thrill of the battle. Dragon Slayer dashed forward and brought her sword down on STR, who shielded herself from the attack and glared at Dragon Slayer, who was grinning even more.
"Stand aside, or I'll make sure your real selves lose what's important to them..!" Dragon Slayer finished.
STR pushed her away and was about to shoot at her when Yomi got in between them, "Yomi, move!"
Yomi shook her head, which caused STR to get a bit agitated, "She threatened to kill us, just to make Yuu and Kagari suffer; move!"
Yomi turned around and looked at Dragon Slayer, "I... I'll go with you, just don't kill- hurt them..."
STR's eyes widened in shock the moment she heard Yomi say that, thinking that Yomi is insane to go with someone who back-stabbed B RS. Chariot looked up and stared at Yomi while Maid Gunner lowered her sniper rifle, but kept a firm grip on it as well as keeping her finger on the trigger. Dragon Slayer dropped her grin as she was straightening herself out, changing it back to her regular smirk as she stared at Yomi. Even if she was in Dead Master's body, she's still afraid of being in the Otherworld and the aura around her proved it. Dragon Slayer took a couple of precautionary steps - if Yomi backed away as well - then kept walking up towards her, a reassuring smile now gracing her lips.
"Good, I would hate to kill them, it just wouldn't put me in B RS's graces," Dragon Slayer told her, stopping just a couple of feet away from Yomi, "But, I can't take any chances..."
Dragon Slayer moved quickly and circled around Yomi before striking her at the back on her head, knocking her out instantly before anyone could even react. Dragon Slayer hoisted Yomi over her shoulder before dashing to the side, avoiding STR coming down on her, her Ogre Arms causing craters to appear on the ground. Jumping over STR, Dragon Slayer made her way towards Maid Gunner while dodging any bullets that came towards her specifically. STR was trying her best to avoid hitting Yomi, but nothing will happen if it continues like this, with Dragon Slayer taking advantage of everything coming towards her. Turning her head so she was looking forward, Dragon Slayer slid on her back against the ground, narrowly avoiding Chariot's sword making contact with her head.
Getting up, Dragon Slayer looked back at the two girls, "A shame both of you couldn't coordinate a perfect strategy to use against me, since that's what you would need to beat me"
"Give Yomi back," STR told her, trying to keep her anger in check.
"Hmm..." Dragon Slayer hummed, pretending to think about what STR just said, "How about this, Maid Gunner, fire..!"
Without uttering any acknowledgment, Maid Gunner starting shooting the ground around Chariot and STR, causing dust and debris to rise in the air. In a matter of seconds, Chariot and STR couldn't look around them as a thick cloud of dust surrounded them. Using her Ogre Arms, STR waved the cloud away from them, squinting as she did so to prevent the dust from getting into her eyes. After the dust cleared away, they noticed they were the only ones still in the area. Chariot narrowed her eyes as she headed up to STR, who was looking around for anything that they could use as a hint as to where Dragon Slayer and Maid Gunner went.
"Which way?" Chariot inquired.
STR looked around before pointed northeast, "There, I can feel something... it's unusual for other selves, so that's probably Dragon Slayer"
"Then we have to hurry, who knows what Dragon Slayer is planning," Chariot said, dashing off with STR right behind her.
Meanwhile, Dragon Slayer was dashing through the deserted lands, Maid Gunner covering her from behind as she looked over the area. She couldn't help but think of a time when there was more to the Otherworld, when there was locations that housed other selves. She wasn't sure if the amount of other selves were decreasing or not, but it truly troubled her to a degree. Hearing a sort, low groan coming from Yomi, Dragon Slayer tightened her grip as she narrowed her eyes, many thinks swimming through her head. Maid Gunner took a glance back to check on Dragon Slayer before looked in front of her, trying to gauge how much distance was already covered and how far Chariot and STR were.
"Maid Gunner, we can't continue like this," Dragon Slayer told her, "I'll open up a rift set for my workshop, that way we'll lose them"
Maid Gunner nodded, "I understand"
Using her free hand, she snapped her fingers, causing a amber-colored rift to appear, entering it along with Maid Gunner before it closed.
Saya took a sip from her cup as she analyzed Dead Master, who was looking down at her folded hands, deep in thought. Saya couldn't think of a reason Yomi and Dead Master would swap places, it didn't make any sense. Yuu swapped places with STR because she couldn't stand the pain in the real world, but Yomi is a different case. Something must have happened for them to switch places, and Saya would be damned to let this pass by her. Saya was about to ask Dead Master a question, but Dead Master started speaking before she could question the other self.
"I..." Dead Master started, "I can't say anything about how all of you feel, but I believe I feel the same way..."
Mato looked at Dead Master, "Uh... well..."
"We can figure, but I think what we want to know is how this happened?" Kagari inquired, unnerving Saya a bit.
Dead Master didn't say anything, just kept on looking at her hands - or rather, Yomi's hands. It was hard to describe the physical sensation she was feeling; in her own body, her hands were nothing more than claws, appearing smooth despite the rough texture. Yomi's hands were different, they felt soft, completely smooth, and worm. Looking up, she noticed the four pair of eyes staring at her, waiting for her to explain what happened. Separating her hands, she looked at them, her green eyes glowing slightly before dulling.
"I woke up in an area somewhere in the Otherworld, an area that I had never seen before," Dead Master told them, "It was an area that is best described as hell, but it was there that I allied with an other self, Maid Gunner..."
Mato snapped the fingers, "Oh yeah, I know who you're talking about..!"
"Mato, you can explain that later," Saya told her before looking back at Dead Master, "Go on"
"We traveled through the area, fighting off enemies before we reached the center of the area," Dead Master said, her eyes narrowing, "There was a stadium with an other self there, one that was truly unnatural..."
Saya arched an eyebrow, "Who?"
"I don't know her by name, she didn't state it," Dead Master informed Saya, "But... her powers were something I couldn't comprehend, it was as if she controlled everything and nothing"
Saya nodded before rolling her hand, telling Dead Master to continue, "It was a tedious fight, and it seemed like Maid Gunner and I were going to win, but she blindsided me by stabbing her katana into the bridge of my nose"
"And..?" Saya pressed.
Dead Master looked down at the floor, "I'm sorry, but I can't remember anything past that..."
Saya brought her hands to her face before raking her hair, trying to process all the information she gained throughout the entire time Dead master was here. As she was doing this, Mato looked around the room, feeling the tension that was surrounding her. They're worried about Yomi, she never experienced the Otherworld like they did, which is problematic if she found herself in a troublesome situation. Building up some courage, Mato took steps towards Dead Master, who seemed lost in her thoughts. Now isn't the time to worry and over-think about things, Yomi and Dead Master need to get back to their own bodies, so the best thing to do is act now.
Mato placed a hand on Dead Master's shoulder, surprising her, "Don't worry, you'll be back in you body in no time, trust me..!"
"One problem though," Saya told Mato, "There's no exact method to fixing this other than linking up with your other self, and it might be difficult for Dead Master who doesn't have enough knowledge in doing that"
Yuu looked at Saya, "I could probably tell her what to do..."
"Instructions on how to do something is different to actually doing it," Saya rebuked before she started thinking, "Though, she can have someone watch over her, for when something goes wrong"
When Saya made that comment, Mato and Kagari looked at each other for a moment, their minds too synchronized for anyone in the room to figure out. The remaining occupants in the room looked at the two of them, wondering what was running through their silent conversation. Kagari broke the silence by heaving a heavy sigh of irritation, dumbfounding everyone but Mato, who seemed a bit happy than what the mood suggests. Saya took another sip from her cup, making sure it was already down her throat before caught their attention, snapping her fingers a few times. Mato looked at Saya and laughed sheepishly, eliciting a frown from Saya who wasn't in the mood for trivial things.
"Sorry, but it's obvious one of us was going to watch over her," Mato told her while adverting her eyes, "It was just a silence debate, so we can figure out who was going to watch over Dead Master"
Saya pinched the bridge of her nose, "Do I even want to know who is taking Dead Master?"
Mato laughed sheepishly again, giving Saya and Yuu a very big clue about who was taking Dead Master. Kagari glared at Mato before looking away, thinking about how she made the foolish decision to let Mato watch over Dead Master. Saya and Yuu watch Kagari berate herself before looking at Mato and a confused Dead Master, wondering what exactly is going on that they don't know. Actually, they knew what was going on, it was just the mood didn't exactly match up with what happen in the past few minutes. Saya raked her hair with her hand, an exasperated expression upon her face as she and Yuu watch Mato interact with Dead Master.
"Somehow, we'll never get a break, I just know it," Saya stated.
Yuu chuckled nervously, "Well... what was your first guess..?"
Yomi moaned as her eyes fluttered open, taking in the room she was in slowly before she started to remember what happened to her. Getting up from the bed, she reached for the door and exited the room, only to walk into an open hall with pillars lined up on the side. A large red carpet was on the floor, covering most of the checkerboard tiles. Yomi walked slowly through the open hall, paranoia running through her as her head snapped side to side, checking to see who was around or if something was creeping up on her. As she walked, a figure appeared from the one of the pillars, leaning against it with her arms crossed.
"Trying to find a way out, even without a guide or anything to protect you?"
Yomi looked back and her eyes widened as she stared at Dragon Slayer, "Wh... where am I?"
"My home, which was specifically designed to confuse people and make them go in circles," Dragon Slayer told Yomi, "Provided I use my magic to cause the effects"
Yomi stepped backwards as Dragon Slayer neared her, a friendly smile upon the other self's face. There was something about her that didn't make sense; Yomi didn't know, but that's because she never met Dragon Slayer before until now. Her amber eyes played with the various emotions in people, but only uses one when she's addressing someone or is dealing with something. It's completely discouraging and scary how she is able to do that, which is why Yomi is afraid. Dragon Slayer was picking her apart, and the more they locked eyes with each other, the more time Dragon Slayer is able to find weaknesses to exploit.
"It's rather distasteful to fear other selves after all that happened several months ago," Dragon Slayer told her, the smile still in place.
Yomi stopped backing away, "You know?"
"The stars in the sky never lie, whether they show or not," Dragon Slayer stated, "I was among those stars, and I didn't lie..."
"I... I only heard about it from Mato when she was explaining..." Yomi started before going quiet.
Dragon Slayer arched an eyebrow, "Oh, you mean the truth leaking out to you all from Kuroi Mato, Koutari Yuu, and Irino Saya that happened a few months ago?"
Yomi bit back a gasp as Dragon Slayer chuckled, "Child, nothing escapes an observer when they look for everything on one topic; picking apart your memories while you were unconscious was quite fun..!"
"You..." Yomi mumbled, various emotions flowing through her.
"Violation someone or something is natural in existence, it's one of the things that make humans who they are," Dragon Slayer stated, "Does this response irk you, or is it reasonable enough for you to understand?"
"Irk?!" Yomi thought.
The emotions running through Yomi were now rampant at Dragon Slayer's response, not because of the fact she given, but that she's aware of Yomi being angry. That was the emotion that Yomi felt all throughout her body, anger for the woman who stood right in front of her. She wanted to lash out, the foreign body capitalizing on the urge to rip Dragon Slayer apart. It was like she was riding on a roller-coaster that just kept on going down, everything that normally appears on one just connected to the downwards track. She was feeling all that, and dragon Slayer just kept on smiling at her, as if her emotions didn't mean a single damn thing to her.
So why is it she can't lash out?
Her urges couldn't match the unusual aura that radiated from Dragon Slayer, which just made her anger seem only like an ant in a city. Yomi didn't have anything that could match her, no strength, no power, nothing that is worthwhile. She was on a completely different level, and the way she handled Chariot and STR was some proof of what she was capable of doing. Dragon Slayer raised her hand and Yomi prepared herself for the worst, but instead, Dragon Slayer just snapped her fingers. A black scythe appeared in her hand, twirled around with complete precession and focus before the base of the scythe touched the floor.
"Dead Scythe; it's a unique weapon in term of design and the green undertones adds an... esthetic taste," Dragon Slayer noted absent-mindedly, "Though, through its use, the amount of cuts made from this was less than I expected; that might have been from you restricting your own freedom, and Dead Master being nothing more than a hollowed out matryoshka doll"
Yomi trembled, wondering what going to happen to her now that Dragon Slayer has the scythe in her hands. The tone in her voice indicated many things but never gave a clue about which one it was. There was amusement, scolding, and general questioning in Dragon Slayer's voice as she spoke to Yomi, like she was just an intriguing subject. Yomi stopped trembling and just stared at the red carpet, wondering if the color was nothing more than just red. Dragon Slayer smiled and walked up to Yomi with Dead Scythe in her hands, just stopping a few feet from her.
Dragon Slayer lifted the scythe and handed it to Yomi, "I sharpened it and made sure it's prepped for anything when you leave, you may never know what's out there in the Othe-"
Dragon Slayer wasn't able to finish her sentence, since there was no head where her body was. Yomi took the scythe and just let her anger flow, causing her to slice off Dragon Slayer's head from her body, which just crumpled to the floor. Yomi just stared at the body before reality sunk in and she backed away from the corpse, fear flowing through her like a tidal back the scream that was about to come up her throat, she turned around and ran, not noticing she just phased out from the hall into an unknown forest. Footsteps came down the hall to the corpse, footsteps that belonged to a living Dragon Slayer, who held a book in her hands.
"To break a durable mirror, you must hit it repeatedly," Dragon Slayer said aloud, "So the first crack can appear"
Underworld Vulcan came up to Dragon Slayer, examining the corpse, "Mistress, it has been a while since you used a hollow body for interaction, why did you use it now?"
"I rather not die just yet, I'd rather wait for my death to happen if someone has the power to kill me," Dragon Slayer commented, "This doll's use was for me to make a crack in the mirror known as 'Takanashi Yomi', so the image of her as she is now doesn't appear"
"I see..." Underworld Vulcan responded, hearing Dragon Slayer close her book.
"Come on, that girl doesn't know what lies out there and in the way she is, she'll die and Dead Master remains in Yomi's body forever," Dragon Slayer stated, "This would be a case where nothing's fixed; best to keep a close eye on someone emotionally unstable"
Meanwhile, Dead Master ran through the forest, passing through the area without looking back or thinking twice. She started slowing down when she reached a clearing, falling to the ground as hot tears poured from her eyes like the falling rain. Her fear shifted from Dragon Slayer to herself after she killed the other self, letting her anger take over in that moment. She never snapped like that before and the amount of grief fill her up was unbearable. Wiping the tears away, Yomi picked herself up from the ground and looked around, trying to see if there was a way out of the forest.
"Where do I go now?" Yomi mumbled to herself, tightening her grip on the scythe.
As Yomi looked around, she heard a low growl come from within the trees, the growl becoming louder and louder. She walked towards the center of the clearing, her eyes darting at every direction, trying to find where the sound is coming from. Yomi stopped turning when she saw trees falling and looked there while backing away slowly. More trees fell as a massive creature appeared from it; at least two stories tall, with a build compared to a bear, black scales encircling its body, and a head that somewhat resembled an armored tiger. An unnatural chimera, one not connected to the myth, but the Otherworld as a paranormal beast constructed from whatever structure it so chooses.
Its eyes laid on Yomi as it opened its mouth, revealing disposition, jagged teeth...
Dead Master entered Mato's bedroom and looked around, noting how basic the room looked like. Dead Master wasn't sure what to make of the real world; the differences between it and the Otherworld was something she expected, but she didn't expect peace as a part of it. Mato closed the door behind them before making her way to her bookshelf, pulling out a couple of books and laying them on the small table. Dead Master walked up to the bed and sat down, looking at the books that were laid out, examining the covers of each one. Books weren't that common in the Otherworld, only spell-casters or other selves who lived for a long time have them, but the books would either be worn out or have some pages ripped from them.
Dead Master placed two fingers on one of the books and felt the cover, "This..."
"I like reading, there's just so much you can imagine from them," Mato told Dead Master.
"Like the real world..." Dead Master thought.
In the time Dead Master was in the real world, there were many things that she just couldn't comprehend. The people, the buildings, machinery, everything just seemed unusual to her that she wasn't sure what to make of it. Mato, Kagari, and Yuu helped her out throughout the rest of the school day, before Mato took her to her house. Just looking all around her, seeing the many things that the real world has, she felt lost and yet, Mato just explained it to her like it was nothing. Dead Master moved her hand away from the book and looked at the other one, the one with a tiny bird flying with a rainbow in the background.
Dead Master picked it up and opened the book, "What is this?"
"Ah, it's my favorite book, I would just read it again and again," Mato commented as dead Master read the book, "It's amazing, even though it has a sad ending..."
Dead Master flipped through the book until she reached the end of the book, looking at the page of the tiny bird with its wings black, lying down on its side. Just looking at the bird and how it laid on its side, Dead Master couldn't help but think something happened to it. Looking back at the previous pages and examining the color of its wings, it started to come together. Going back to the last page, she couldn't help but feel sad for the tiny bird. Mato looked at Dead Master and noticed her eyes are watering, but no tears were trailing down her face.
"I'm sorry, it truly was a sad ending," Dead Master said as she handed Mato the book.
Mato looked down a bit, frowning before she looked up at Dead Master, a small smile forming, "Well... I wrote different endings since I didn't like the ending either..."
"I'm guessing yours would be cheerful, correct?" Dead Master questioned.
"Yeah," Mato said, "Though, I did that when Rock was fighting against... well, you"
Dead Master looked down at the floor, "Oh, I see..."
"I just wrote down ending that any girl would dream about," Mato said, staring at her ceiling, "Grades, marriage, stuff like that, but..."
"It's nice to have dreams like that, in the Otherworld, dreams are impossible," Dead Master said, causing Mato to look at her, "We fight for our survival, but also for the reason we are here, existing"
Mato nodded, "I know, Rock just wanted to make people happy, but it just caused the opposite effect..."
"There were many factors, don't single her out," Dead Master told her as a thought popped into her head, "Now that I think of it, the ending for the book and you writing your own endings... it seems like what happened to B RS"
Mato's eyes widened slightly, thinking about what Dead Master just said right out of the blue. Thinking over what happened several months ago and what's been happening now, there was no way she made that connection while she was sad. While Mato was adjusting herself to what she learned, Dead Master was thinking about how all this seemed to connect. At first, she wondered if Mato has an unnatural gift for premonitions, but thought about it and realized it's not possible at all. Even so, this made Dead Master think about possible futures, and if there's anything she knows about it, it's that the future is never set in stone, and neither is the end.
"Mato, if you could, can you write a story?" Dead Master asked her.
"Eh, what are you talking about?" Mato questioned.
"The connection between the two events was something I didn't expect to discover, but maybe that means something," Dead Master told her, "Write your own story, with your own ending, because all that's been happening is the story that you started, and someone needs to create the end when the story reaches that point"
Figuring out what Dead Master was telling her to do, Mato nodded, "Y-yeah, count on it..!"
Dead Master wasn't sure what she was feeling, but she did feel her lips curl slightly upwards, "Thank you; I think we should start fixing my problem now"
Mato got caught off-guard by Dead Master smiling, not expecting her to smile at all, but snapped back to reality and laid Dead Master down on her bed. Mato didn't have much experience in how to connect with an other self, since the times it happened was either due to an outside force or emotional disturbance. Even so, Mato has a feeling that whatever an other self can do to speak with their real self, the same thing can happen with transferring bodies. Dead Master looked at Mato as she relaxed herself, ready to link up with her body and help Yomi out. Mato looked at Dead Master and grinned, confident that everything will be alright, and Dead Master took the grin with reassurance.
"I'm not a complete expert but I do know this," Mato told her, "Focus on Yomi as you fall asleep, try to find that connection between you two and grab it"
"I see, wish me well," Dead Master said.
"Good luck, Dead Master..!" Mato told her.
Dead Master nodded and closed her eyes, sleep slowly coming to her as a sensation enveloped her before pulling her down...
The chimera roared loudly as it tossed Yomi to the ground, making her body hit it hard as well as breaking a few bones. She was sure that if she was in her original body, she would already be dead, with the chimera ripping her apart and eating her carcass. Opening her eyes, Yomi noticed the creature was holding a huge boulder and it was hovering right above her, big enough to have her within its shadow. The beast released the boulder as Yomi got up and started running, narrowly escaping her death as she ran far away from the creature, heading back into the forest. The creature got on all fours and started chasing Yomi, who was deep in the forest, hiding within a bunch of trees.
Dragon Slayer looked down from a top of a tree, "Well, this isn't getting us anywhere..."
Underworld Vulcan jumped to a tree close to Dragon Slayer, "It seems you'll need to intervene, mistress"
"No, it's best that I wait, you may never know," Dragon Slayer told her, "Besides, it wouldn't be helpful for Yomi if I intervene"
Underworld Vulcan looked back to the forest, watching the creature demolish anything in its was as it relentlessly searched for Yomi, its hunger insatiable. It sniffed around, trying to pick up on Yomi's scent and follow it back to where she is hiding. The chimera growled as it prowled through the forest slowly, looking back and forth as it trailed the scent. Yomi could hear it getting closer to her, each step makes a sound as well as a slight vibration on the ground, startling her a bit. The fear caught up to her, causing Yomi to get up and run from where she was, inevitably alerting the chimera of her location and which direction she was running towards.
Right behind her, Yomi could hear the chimera rush through the forest, pushing against the trees and snapping them from where they stood. The tremors with its footsteps and the trees hitting the grounds felt like tiny earthquakes, the vibrations causing Yomi to nearly trip as she ran a few times, each times she had to stop to regain her center of balance. The chimera ripped a tree from its roots and tossed it at the green-eyed girl, who dived down to the ground to avoid getting crushed by the giant wooden plant. Getting up, Yomi noticed how close the chimera was from her position and the tree that it tossed blocking possible routes for her to take, which meant she has no time left to escape. Staring at the beast as it reached her, Yomi tightened her grip on the scythe and tried her best to glare at the creature, which failed when it just roared right in front of her face.
"I don't think so, mutt..!" A voice ranged up above them.
Yomi looked up and watched two figures drop from the tree-tops, hitting the chimera and forcing it back several meters from where Yomi was at. Blinking a bit, she couldn't help but stare at STR and Chariot as they kept glaring at the creature right before them, trying to figure out why it was going after Yomi. Their first thought was that Dragon Slayer sent it after her, trying to get some information or something, but thought again as it doesn't exactly seem like something that the amber-eyed witch would do. The chimera growled before rushing towards the two other selves that's in front of its prey, hellbent on devouring the two that decided to intervene during its hunt for food. Chariot and STR moved to the side as the chimera rushed by; STR using her Ogre Arms to grab the creature by its leg and smack it around before tossing it away.
"I won't let you harm Yomi," STR told the chimera as it got back up, "I intend to get her back to the real world, in her own body and I'll smack around anyone who gets in our way..!"
Yomi took a couple of steps back as massive amounts of shock and relief resonated throughout her body, thankful that Chariot and STR managed to find her in the forest. As she took another step back, Yomi felt a tugging sensation as time just seemed to slow down for her, everything spinning, twisting, and becoming blurry. Yomi felt the tugging sensation take her full force, pulling her into a cloudy sea of green as she was slowly pulled down to a watery surface. Touching the surface with her feet, she was slightly surprised that she fall into the water and drown. Examining herself, she noticed she looked like she was back in the real world, clothing and all with no horns and claws as a part of her.
"What is this..?" Yomi mumbled, looking around the new area.
Yomi heard the clacking of heels as well as a voice from behind her, "This is the limbo between us, our connection with each other"
Turning around, Yomi noticed her counterpart, Dead Master, "So I finally get to meet you... Yomi"
"So... you're Dead Master..." Yomi said, hesitation in her voice.
Yomi didn't know what to feel as so many things were happening to quickly for her to comprehend, primarily how she wound up in this "limbo" with Dead Master, talking to her. She was even supposed to fear Dead Master and tremble in fright, but there was nothing but a twisted form of comfort and security that Yomi was feeling, and that scared her more than anything else now. Dead Master walked up to Yomi, out-stretching a hand for her to grasp, but Yomi only backed away as her mind swarmed with what happened while she was in the Otherworld. Dead Master dropped her out-stretched hand to her side and stared at Yomi, her eyes expressing emotions that her face doesn't naturally show. Physical contact wasn't needed, at least for now, until Yomi can calm down and accept it from her.
"Yes," Dead Master started, "You are probably wondering why I am here?"
Yomi shook her head slightly, "No... more than that"
"... We switched bodies due to an attack by an unknown other self," Dead Master explained, frowning as she did so, "I do not know how she has that kind of power, or why it corrected our vision, but it is obvious that tried to kill me... and failed at it..."
Yomi felt anger rising in her, but tried to restrain it, "Is she dead?"
"I do not know," Dead Master told her, "And you have no reason to restrain your anger, it is better to release it"
"No it isn't, I don't want to feel like this, I already..."
Dead Master's eyes widened slightly, "Did you kill someone or something?"
"I don't get it, why do you sound so archaic," Yomi said, staring at Dead Master right in the eyes, "Why can't you just sound more..."
"Like an average person?" Dead Master finished before speaking, "It is because who you are now is restraining things that needs release"
"Stop it..."
"You will feel trapped for the rest of your life, thinking you have no control over yourself," Dead Master continued.
"Stop it..!" Yomi repeated, an edge in her voice.
Dead Master narrowed her eyes, "You show no amount of courage and let others torment you without having them do much of anything; truly worthless-"
"STOP IT!"
The shout shocked Dead Master a bit but, the biggest shock came when Yomi tackled her and started gripping around her throat, trying to suffocate her. Dead Master didn't do anything but just rest her hands on top of Yomi's while staring right at her eyes, seeing how much she is trying to restrain the rage inside her. Frowning, Dead Master reached out with one of her hands and slapped Yomi across the face, moving her away as Dead Master rubbed her throat. She just watched her real self pull her knees in and lower her head, shaking with various emotions flowing through her. Dead Master thought that it was best that they just parted until she heard Yomi mumble something, despite it being muffled by having her head against her knees.
"Could you please repeat that..?" Dead Master asked.
Yomi lifted her head and stared at Dead Master, no emotion upon her face, "I didn't want to feel like this, but that Geshumaru... she screwed everything up by manipulating Kagari and having Mato wound up in the hospital for a while; I hate her, I want her dead..."
"Then why don't you let that anger flow?" Dead Master inquired, walking up to Yomi.
"I don't want to lose it, I-I just can't accept those emotions, not after..." Yomi stopped herself mid-sentence, leaving it in the air.
"If you continue to hold to the past, you'll be tormented by the memories and it will impact how your emotions work," Dead Master stated before looking up, "You couldn't do anything to protect yourself, nor use my body to its fullest; quite pitiful..."
Yomi got up and glared at her other self, "Well it's not like I can do anything, too much is happening for me to even understand!"
"Then don't understand it, accept it," Dead Master barked back, "Your past experiences, your emotions, everything and don't let anyone control you or twist your life around..!"
Yomi stared at Dead Master, who just reached out and snatched her glasses before crushing them, "Looking through the glasses doesn't mean you can see everything, it just gives you that option to choose between seeing everything or nothing"
Yomi blinked a few times, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She could see, everything appeared clear and vivid like waking up from a dream and being able to remember it all. Looking around, she wasn't sure how this happened or when, but Dead Master's words ringed inside her head and she just accepted it for what it is. Looking back at Dead Master, she watched her other self outstretched her right hand towards her, like she wanted Yomi to take a hold of it. She was about to reach for Dead Master's hand, but stopped herself and arched an eyebrow at her, wondering what Dead Master is planning.
"I help you control your emotions, just let me guide you on to the path," Dead Master told Yomi.
Yomi went through what Dead Master told her before smiling, "At least it'll make things easier..."
Laying her hand on top of Dead Master's and grasping it, Yomi watched as the area light up into a white blur...
The chimera tossed Chariot deep into the forest as it slammed STR against the bark of a tree, snarling at her as she tried to remove herself from its grip. It truly wasn't happy since its left arm snapped apart like a twig from the fight. Several minutes ago, STR capitalized on a distraction caused by Chariot and took the chimera's left arm before popping it from its shoulder and punching the elbow with enough force to shatter a boulder. Now, karma was coming back for her as the chimera closed the distance between them, its teeth now shown as the creature ready itself to feast on STR. STR tried shifting her left Ogre Arm so she could shoot the beast, but the creature applied more power to its grip, forcing her to relent.
"Well, at least I tried..." STR mumbled before closing her eyes, ready to be devoured.
The creature was mere inches from STR's head when it felt power surging through the wind, its origin coming from where Yomi was lying on the ground. The chimera turned and looked at the comatose body, which caused STR to open her eyes and stare along with the chimera. STR noticed movement coming from the body before it started to get up slowly, the scythe gripped tightly as green eyes penetrated from the bangs. The chimera dropped STR as it eyed its original target with pure ferocity, a powerful roar originating from its mouth before it started charging towards her. STR looked towards Yomi before noticing something within the green eyes, something that caught her off guard as she watched Yomi sidestepped before slashing at the chimera, cutting its right arm from the elbow.
"How sad, thinking you could challenge me without being aware of the risks," Yomi told it, her voice mixed with another voice.
STR's eyes widened as she heard Yomi speak, "Wait... Dead Master is here too..?!"
The chimera howled in pain before turning around and glaring at Yomi, who twirled her scythe with a sense of grace and experience, something that belonged to Dead Master. STR got up slowly as she felt her healing abilities start, watching the chimera charge towards Yomi again with no hesitation. Yomi kept twirling the scythe before slowing down and striking up, hitting the creature with the back-end of the scythe. As the beast tried to regain its balance, Yomi spun herself before incapacitating the chimeras' legs, bringing the creature down to the ground bleeding. Yomi walked up to it before planting her heel against its head and chopping off its remaining arm, causing the creature to howl again in agony.
"Yomi... how..?" The question died on STR's lips as she just watched Yomi raise the Dead Scythe.
Yomi stared at it before bringing the scythe down, planting it right next to its head, "Consider yourself lucky; I'm not like you..."
Yomi looked back towards STR, causing the orange-eyed girl to noticed how her eyes glowed an aquatic green before disappearing, leaving only one presence behind. Dead Master sighed as she walked towards STR and helped her up, despite it not needed due to the healing factor. Chariot walked out from the forest to the area, attaching her dislocated right arm as she watched Dead Master support STR. Walking up to them, relief coursed through her body as she thought about what they worked for while Yomi was unconscious. Seems like their real selves were doing the same thing with Dead Master since they wanted their friend back.
"Are you okay?" Chariot asked Dead Master.
Dead Master looked at Chariot, a small smile gracing her lips, "I'm fine, don't worry..."
"While I'd like us to know what happened in each others end, it's best that we leave this place first," STR stated.
Dead Master nodded before snapping her fingers, summoning one of her skulls to her location. Helping STR and Chariot get on top of the skull, Dead Master gestured with her scythe and they took off, leaving the battlefield intact. The chimera growled at their disappearing form and roared in fury before it heard something follow the wind. Before it could even react, Dragon Slayer beheaded it swiftly, who watched everything play out to the end. Stepping off from the corpse, Dragon Slayer flicked her sword around, removing all the blood on it before sheathing it.
Dragon Slayer walked away as Underworld Vulcan walked up to her, "Dispose of the corpse, I don't want any ravenous beasts stepping on to this area searching for food..."
"Was this all a part of your plan to fix things?" Vulcan inquired.
"Why would I answer that?" Dragon Slayer responded before walking away, "I have important issues to deal with, you and Maid Gunner are responsible to watch over the castle while I'm away"
Vulcan didn't respond, instead, she summoned a giant rotary gun and fired at the corpse, turning it into mere bits before halting her fire and walking away.
Yomi groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, her vision sharpening as she took in the room she was in. It didn't look like she was in the Otherworld, but making sure, Yomi took a look at her hands and noted that she was back in her own body. Getting up, Yomi took in the room as the door opened, revealing Mato entering the room and catching Yomi off guard. It took Mato a bit to realize that Yomi was up as her brain was translating what she was seeing into her brain. When it did process what she saw, Mato bolted towards Yomi and grasped her by the shoulders, overreacting by checking her all around.
"Yomi, is that you? Did Dead Master did it or- Dead Master, are you still stuck..?!" Mato said, surprising Yomi.
Yomi grabbed Mato and moved her away, "Mato, it's me, I'm back"
"Good, I was worried for a moment..." Mato sighed.
"You call that worrying..?" Yomi thought to herself before saying, "So, this is your room... what happened while I was in the Otherworld?"
Mato debated about whether to tell Yomi about what happened, but decided on something else, "I'll... tell you tomorrow"
Yomi wasn't sure why Mato couldn't tell her now, it wasn't like she was out for the day. Looking out the window, she noticed the deep violet hues in the sky slowly turning black with stars appearing one after the other. Looking for her bag, Yomi found it and pulled out her cell phone, realizing what time it was now. The green-eyed girl wasn't sure whether to vocalize her frustrations or groan at the fact that her mother could be worried about her and wonder where she is now. Mato laughed sheepishly, causing Yomi to look at her, wondering what it is that's potentially funny and embarrassing.
"I wouldn't worry about it... I mean, your mom already knows that you're here," Mato told Yomi before falling victim to an inquiring glare, "Uh- I didn't exactly know the number, so... I looked through your bag and, uh-"
Yomi raised her hand, "Mato, stop... I can understand using my cell phone to call my mom, but if you saw something that you weren't suppose to see..."
"I'm sorry..!" Mato apologized as she bowed.
Yomi stared before chuckling and rubbing Mato's head, "Don't worry, I'm not mad"
Mato sighed as she dug through her pocket, pulling out Yomi's glasses, "Uh, I'm not sure what you're going to do with these, but..."
Yomi took them and looked over her glasses as if they were a new toy for her to play with. She hasn't forgotten about them, but there was no point to wearing them since her vision got corrected through some unnatural force. Getting off from Mato's bed, she picked up her bag and placed her glasses inside her blazer. Mato got up from the floor and watch as Yomi thumbed towards the door with a slight smile, meaning that it was time to go. Mato and Yomi exited the room and walked down the stairs before reaching the doorway.
"So, before you go, how was it being in the Otherworld?" Mato asked.
Yomi finished putting on her shoes before looking at Mato, "How about this, I'll tell you the story tomorrow after you tell me what happened here with Dead Master"
"Fair..!" Mato said as she nodded.
Yomi smiled before she left the house, feeling lighter than before with determination flowing through her veins. Beating the chimera close to death with Dead Master helping her was something she never thought she would experience. Her emotions still felt like a turbulence, but it wasn't as bad as before now she picked up on something thanks to Dead Master. This was control unlike what she or any other person would have, but she wasn't going to tell anyone about it soon. To her, the most important thing now is to get home, lie to her mother about why she was with Mato, and figure out what to do with her glasses.
Yomi looked up at the sky as she walked home, her mind free of worries or concerns for the time being.
B RS groaned as she got up, pieces of rubble coming out from her back from the fall caused by Dragon Slayer. Grabbing her ax, she leaned against the wall and walked forward, unsure about where she was. The fall from the abyss was quite long and the sudden impact knocked her out completely for who knows how long. Seeing the end of the path, B RS rushed towards it, her onyx eyes blaring like it was ready to be surround by flames. Stopping herself right at the end, B RS straightened out her body as she looked around the area.
"What in the world..?" B RS mumbled.
The area was in ruins, but it looked like a five-story castle that was about ready to fall apart, only staying together by the chains around it. Several pillars stood around it, reaching from the floor to the high up ceiling that was probably meters above B RS. Taking a step forward, B RS picked up on an unusual source of power originating from within the ruined castle. Narrowing her eyes, B RS took off, ignoring the healing wounds as she dashed towards the structure. She knew something was off about it and she was going to find out about it, as well as figure out why Dragon Slayer dropped her to a place unknown to anyone.
"Maybe I can get some answers here about everything..." B RS thought silently as she closed in on her target.
Author's Note: Well, happy late New Years fellow readers and writers. Another unexpected hiatus caused by inspiration going dead and a lot happening. Coming down with bronchitis, ordering three band scores from Japan, and focusing on my Senior Project took most of my time. I can't exactly apologized, but I can give you all a very late Christmas present. I wanted to continue the last segment, but I decided to hold that off for the next two chapters.
Also, I heard about the death of Kei "K" Goto from Pay Money To My Pain (PTP) and I got to say, I was sad. I wasn't exactly a fan, but I did listen to the band's songs and I liked them. It was sad how he passed away a day before New Years Eve and he wanted to see his friends in the new year. I suggest listening to some of there stuff and pay some respects to K. It's nice to do, especially to someone who, with his band, made people connect with their songs with his voice.
Please review and I'll see you all when I can get the next chapter up. You may never know when I'm going on another unexpected hiatus.