Author Note: Hello everyone this chapter shall be in the history of being the longest chapter in "Finn's Soul". That lovely artistic friend of mine SneezleFreezy12120 on Deviantart finished a commission for me to share with you lovely readers! The story is all in your minds so if there are any details that bug your imagery for the story then don't let the picture ruin your imagination, I still think it's awesome! It will be in a link below so check it out and feel free to check out her other work, she is an amazing artist with some sweet skills and a passion for it! This chapter will be a bit… different so please feel free to review and message me about anything that boggles your mind in the story especially if it's any errors or issues with the writing. Also be ready for a long chapter here haha.
Also I am very sorry for the slow updates. I have been in a nasty fit of writers block, which easily is affecting me when im focusing more on details in this chapter and future chapter. Life has been rough for me lately as well so I haven't been able to work or make an update for some time due to also losing internet and issues. I am also writing a co-story so that will take some priority after this chapter.
P.S: Let me know if you readers would like a commission of Francis, since I got enough to make another commission, I will set up a poll so you lovely readers can vote on it hahaha. It's all really so I can share it with you all so any different look you may image for the characters don't worry its only art based off the worded description alone. So your own thoughts are safe and respected. Also please excuse the errors, I am tired and too exhausted to look through the entire chapter for every error.^^
You're all lovely readers!
2018 Edit: Hello, i'm alive! I will be writing again, but check out my profile for stories, and Poll to choose what gets updated.
No changes to this chapter besides the AN edit.
Picture Link: art/Commission-for-Deadfighter3-669427967
The morning sun bore down on a modern civilization. It was eighty degrees and was completely different from Ooo, there was no pre-war destruction or rubble, no kingdoms filled with odd and comedic citizens. There was only a sprawling jungle of concrete, and glass that extended in all directions as far as the eye could see. Buildings of varying size, from the massive rectangular or rarely oval shaped buildings that had one way thick windows, several smudges of dirty glass on almost every building. There was also the smaller structures that varied in shapes from squares, spheres, ovals, and even triangles. All seemed to be made from reinforced stone or simple thick steel beams for the decorative structures. It seemed as if any natural foliage was alien to this jungle of roads, buildings, and skyscrapers. Beasts of metal blared across the roads, some went up ramps onto elevated roads of concrete that would enter onto a highway of vehicles of varying size and shape, and so many that they seemed to be unending.
With the sense of deja-vu sunlight invaded the room of a young man who lived on the fiftieth story of a hundred story skyscraper. The young man grumbled in resistance to the rays of the sun, pulling his blue comforter over his head to submerge himself in darkness with the air conditioner on. The room was rectangular with a queen sized bed up against the far wall. The window on the east side of the room went for the entire length of the wall, lighting up the room enough to expose its details. Pictures of an elderly couple and the young man filled up the wall above the bed along with pictures of a woman in her late twenties in a fancy black suit and dress skirt, she had long straight brunette hair tied into a ponytail, her skin was finally toned and pink, she had a stern yet exhausted stare with lavender colored eyes. Her very picture seemed to radiate an aura of serenity and strength. The wall across the bed was lined with a dark oak wood dresser with a large mirror that almost touched the ceiling attached to the dresser. It had a smooth surface with ridges of smooth carved wood along the edges of the dresser and mirror frame. There were several items from decorations to antique family air looms on the surface of the dresser. A small glass statue no bigger than a softball of a wolf decorated in artistic golden painted swirls and symbols of foliage well having a green primary over the rest of the statue rested on the center of the dresser. It had no real value to anyone besides the young man who owned it. The top of the dresser was also decorated in various things such as a few pieces of coral, oddly colored stones, and even common or slightly uncommon gems the man had found. The room had a hard wood floor made from hickory. A large workbench cluttered messily with tools and materials for tinkering with electronics sat against the wall opposite of the window. The workbench stood out in the basically average room like a sore thumb. The walls were painted apple red, making the room have a feeling of joy when taken in completely. Yet even with the sun's illumination of the room the young man almost fell back into a deep slumber until a sweet and mature feminine call caused him to jolt up like a soldier during roll call.
"Francis wake up! You're going to miss out on breakfast!"
He quickly called back as he tumbled out of bed in a groggy state of hurry.
"Alright Mom I'm up!"
Francis rubbed his eyes free of the shackles of dried up eye gunk, allowing his beautiful violet eyes to open to the world around him. His normal black pupils shrunk slightly as his eyes adjusted to the warm sunlight entering the room. He had jet black bedraggled hair that he flattened down with his hands as he took a deep breath that was followed by a yawn. He began to get dressed after fixing his hair and grabbing clothes from the dresser. He wore black cargo pants, a red short sleeved polo shirt and blue sneakers over black socks. Francis grabbed a platinum wrist watch with a high-tech electronic screen in the circular compartment of the watch. He strapped it to his right wrist, goosebumps forming on his pale skin from the cold metal. He pressed his thumb against the screen for three seconds. The screen then came to life with a display of digital light, a Mo Co. logo animation playing on the screen shortly after causing Francis to roll his eyes as the animation played with a little jingle.
"I get it's a copyright and trademark thing, but it's so long!"
He complained in his thoughts until the screen changed to one with four rectangular tabs with icons in the center of them.
The tab in the top left had the icon of a pixelated smiley face, the top right had the icon of a chat bubble, the bottom left icon was of a book, and the bottom right icon was of a globe with the letter "I" in the center of it. Francis easily recognized these symbols and tapped his index finger on the one he knew so well, the smiley face tab.
The screen digitally slid the tabs away leaving a large pixelated smiley face to look around with its square pixel eyes as if it was looking at the world outside its digital shell. "Good morning Francis! The weather sure is hot today, what are today's plans?" The device spoke cheerfully in a computerized female voice that had a smooth British accent. He loved the device to death since it was the last thing he had from his deceased aunt, it was her dream, it was a MO designed by her. She worked under the founder of Mo Co. Moe Giovanni. It was made as a personal assistance device for students. It was inspired by Francis' relationship with his aunt who helped him when he struggled with his studies, sadly his aunt passed away two years ago from a carcinoid tumor in her heart before she could finish the project. Moe took the project in his own hands and presented Francis the only MO of its kind with improvements over its original design. LSMO. The initials of his aunt's name used for the MO's model I.D. Francis let the memory fade as he looked at the smiling face as it questioned Francis with a gentle tone.
"So Francis do you plan to see your sister today? She is in the area correct?"
The soft and captivating British accent similar to his aunt's made him ponder the question deeply before he spoke in a distant tone as he thought about his older relative.
"Well I wasn't planning it, but I know even if I was she wouldn't have the time… After all a politician that helped bring about international peace is a really busy person, obviously too busy to be associated with her family."
Francis' morbid statement was met with a frown of black pixels before it quickly changed in texture from a frown to a permanent smile.
"Well I say we should at least head out to the bookstore today, that new book you wanted to read has finally come out and is on sale at George's Bookstore."
The machine beeped in excitement at the mention of the novel, it seemed as if it was trying to create music through an expression of electronic emotion. Francis could only laugh before he walked towards his door and let his hand rest on the cold metal sphere doorknob. Turning it with a low audible twist of the bolt holding the door shut. He pulled the door inward and walked out into a short hallway of doors that lead into the kitchen and he scanned his environment. The walls were covered in a repeating pattern of painted roses on a white background. Francis couldn't help but make a scowl as he remembered the entire home seemed to be covered in such a disgusting wallpaper. He felt as if he was in a flower shop every day. He coughed as the scent of flowers overwhelmed him at the same moment he was scanning the hall.
He wandered into the kitchen as if searching for the source of the horrid stench. He wasn't one for overly sweet smells, especially when he was incredibly allergic to perfume. He sat down at the kitchen table, the room was a basic kitchen with white tile floors, a massive black fridge tucked into a corner with granite countertops, the sink a few feet down the left of the countertop with the rest of the countertop turning at the rooms left corner with a black stove at the end in front of a small window. A woman was cooking at the stove, the burner's bright red as they heated up a frying pan with what Francis could only guess was breakfast.
"Morning mom, how goes the cooking?"
Francis asked as he stretched out his arms and legs at an oval shaped kitchen table with matching chairs all made from redwood. A doorframe lead from the kitchen into a small living room with a navy blue carpet and brown love seat that appeared to be in a perfect condition, the walls of the room were covered with the same flower wallpaper well a wall mounted flat screen sat hung up securely on the wall in front of the love seat. There was a sturdy wooden door directly across from the kitchen doorframe with a deadbolt, the exit into the rest of the massive building. Francis smiled as his mother turned around with a sweat smile of her own.
"I'm cooking your favorite, eggs and sausage patties… I was hoping your sister would stop by, but she seems to be hung up with work again. Poor girl, working so hard all the time."
His mother let out a sigh, not breaking the motherly smile that helped further define her motherly nature to her son. She stood up to Francis's collar bone, but exuded an aura of authority that made her seem like a giant compared to the six foot tall human. Her hair was brunette and styled in curls that touched her back. She wore a sky blue dress with black flower patterns across the entirety of the dress. Exposing the mother for being responsible for the home looking and smelling like a flower shop. Yet Francis couldn't complain since he would feel like garbage if he hurt his mother's feelings…. As well as the fact that the last time he complained his mother apologized with a bouquet of flowers.
She had simple brown slippers on her feet and a small amount of makeup on her pink face. Light red lipstick and eyeliner, her lavender eyes filled with a loving gaze. She also had a small mole on her left cheek slightly above her lips. She was in her mid-forty's, but resembled a woman in her twenties upon glance, the only thing giving her age away being lightly dark bags under her eyes. Her frame was petite yet incredibly curvaceous with a small bust.
She let out a soft giggle as she looked at her child as if she was playing a home movie of every birthday he ever had in her mind. Francis was nineteen and preparing for college soon. He was so different from his mother and sister in appearance, the closest similarity they had physically was the purple eyes, but Francis' eyes were a darker shade, filling those who stared into them with a sense of mystery and awe.
"Thanks mom, I wouldn't worry about Haley too much. I feel like she has her job under control. Now her love life I would worry about, remember that one guy in her high school days?"
Francis laughed with his mother at his remark, remembering how Haley scolded a junior that asked her out to the point that the guy was crying his eyes out at the end. Francis didn't care much for his sister anymore, but when she was still in school and not busy with keeping world peace they were the best of friends, leaving many peers with siblings in awe at the stress free relationship the two had.
Now Francis could care less, it was no wind off his sails. He had a future to worry about. He was snapped out of his trance when a plate of food was gently pushed against his chest to get his attention. He looked down to see his mother raise an eyebrow with a constant smile on her face. She spoke to Francis in a joyful tone that made smiling contagious as Francis couldn't resist the smile forming on his face.
"Now Francis I hear that there is a certain book that you wanted on sale today at George's. I think that getting both you and LSMO out of the house will do you some good. After all you won't be able to enjoy the freedom of youth for long."
Francis replied with a chuckle as he sat down at the table and hungrily ate his breakfast. His mother's cooking was so delicious that it seemed as if fireworks were being set off in his subconscious, he was almost sullen as he finished off the last bit of food within a few minutes, leaving the plate with only a few stains from the food and the utensils on it. Francis' mood sprung up when LSMO beeped on with a smile towards Francis and his mother.
"Hello Mrs. Sera! It is great to see you today!"
The computer vocalized with childlike excitement which got a giggle from the mother as Francis smiled at the machine's innocence with a bit of envy at how it was so care free to the world and could see the good in anyone.
"It is great to see you too LSMO, take good care of Francis today will you? We don't need him getting hurt or lost."
Mrs. Sera spoke with a worrisome expression, but kept her smile with great ease. She treated Francis' like a child, but he knew she was only looking out for him and his safety no matter how old he was. LSMO replied in excitement as the two went back and forth in a discussion well Francis rested his chin with a smile on his left hand as he stared at the television through the doorframe to the living room on his right, a news feed caught his attention. It was a weather report first, the anchorwoman describing a series of odd occurrences of an increase in tropical storms in the past month. Francis was thankful Mo Co. also helped to develop a technological wonder for buildings that would shield them from dangerous weather. Though they could only handle so much before burning out, making a demand for research into a better protection method from high categorized hurricanes a primary interest.
"This odd occurrence in weather patterns has baffled many meteorologists, but many theorize that the storms are caused by natural climate change over the planet's oceans, or by the moon's increased mass from the collision with a celestial body a decade back that many astronomers called the Catalyst Comet."
Francis remembered hearing about such a comet when he was in high school. The comet caused the moon to become larger in diameter and had purple chunks of ice and rock from the comet form a ring around the moon, making it seem alien to what generations knew as the moon. From the occurrence of this event, many were thankful, for if the comet had appeared at any other time then it would have directly hit Earth and most likely cause a mass extinction event. This led for the massive growth in a modern religion that worshiped the moon for saving the Earth, Francis just thought they were silly at first, but accepted them for a religion when he heard that the religion is not meant to conflict with any of the other ancient religions of the world. He let out a loud yawn as he covered his mouth with his left hand.
"I have really never gotten over this habit of opening my mouth wide as I yawn, oh well."
Francis thought to himself as the reporter on the television screen went on to talk about the weather for the week, Francis was glad that the weather for Thursday; the next day, was bright and sunny. He had made plans to go with his mother to get flowers for someone important to their family.
"In recent news the ambassador of peace Haley Sera has arrived back in her home city yesterday for an important meeting with high ranking officials from around the world to talk about trade routes, disaster relief, international space programs, and international security. This woman has proven to be the pinnacle of an age of peace and prosperity as she had brought about something that seemed silly and impossible in the past: International peace for the entire world. Criminals are still about in lower numbers, but a world without war is something that Miss Haley Sera has sought out for since the death of her father in World War Thre-"
The television phased to black as Francis turned it off with a remote on the table, a gloomy stare taking the place of his sunny expression.
"Fucking media… Don't talk like that woman was the only victim…"
Francis spoke in a sullen tone filled with agitation. His father had died during the third world war after the last nation that began the war began to develop a superweapon made from an advanced energy acceleration core. The weaponized core ended up having a meltdown, causing a great catastrophe when it went off well the military of the world boxed in on the stronghold it was in. It caused an outward explosion equal to the combined explosive power of five mushroom bombs, but the worst part was what occurred next, a high energy emitting worm hole the size of a baseball was said to have formed and absorbed almost half of Greenland before it destabilized and vanished… With the lives of seven million soldiers and civilians in the area of effect. This disaster caused a worldwide disarmament of all energy acceleration cores and nuclear weapons. Any superweapon that did not get disabled would have been seen as a treason to the entire human race.
Francis hated to think how humanity could still be so foolish after so many mistakes and lessons in the past. It was a fact Haley had taken seriously and she sought to change the world for the better if no one else would. Francis agreed with her actions, but he felt that she had abandoned her family, she had not even bothered with them excluding a rare letter or email for three years.
Francis sighed again, accepting reality. He was not left to his thoughts for long though as his mother practically squished him in a hug, a loving smile calming Francis as he tried to squirm free from the surprise hug.
"We all have our inner demons, but that doesn't mean we have to alienate them. We have to grow strong enough to accept them, for they are a part of our souls."
Mrs. Sera passed the words that Francis' father left him with before he was shipped out to Greenland to help in the countries liberation as the last frontline of the war. The quote seemed to calm the young man's emotions as his body grew calm and light as the tense feeling against his heart and muscles faded.
The two exchanged smiles before Francis left, deciding to get some fresh air and a new book so he had something to do instead of locking himself in the house all day long.
When the elevator reached the ground floor the smooth metal doors slid open in almost complete silence before he walked out, avoiding the morning rush of people going in and out of the elevator as he walked out into the lobby. A large room decorated with brown polished stone floors and decorative marble columns hiding the advanced yet vulgar looking beams that supported the room. Francis could see people arguing with the desk worker to his right as he approached the automatic doors that slithered open less elegantly than the elevator doors as he was about to exit.
"I feel bad for Jackson today, he has to deal with foreign officials all day long getting them all rooms for them to stay in until the end of the annual world peace conference."
Francis let out a sigh as he walked passed many men and women in suits, some had flags of different nations sewn to the collar of their suits, they being accompanied by body guards in similar suits. Each one bulky and muscular with an earpiece in one ear, handguns strapped into holsters at their hips for protecting their countries' ambassador from any radical splinter group that wanted to bring chaos to the peace filled world. Francis felt slightly intimidated, but he remembered he had LSMO, as well as a very obnoxious friend he initially did not want to have at first. Francis was several blocks down the road, wiping sweat from his brow when the specific friend in question tackled into Francis' back knocking and pining him to the ground with ease, leaving many people baffled or shocked.
"It's alright everyone she's a friend."
Francis said with a bit of embarrassment toward the crowd of people who stopped in shock at the sudden attack, many put their cell phones away before slowly withdrawing from the scene and continuing until the hustle and bustle of the city streets continued like clockwork.
He was a street away from George's Bookstore, which was a relatively small square building, seeming like a store out of a cartoon as it was placed sandwiched between two large skyscrapers. The bookstore was made of mortar that was painted a shade of orange that resembled a sunset. The roof was had slanted green painted metal storm drains. A metal vent box on top of the roof to regulate the air conditioning inside the building. The building had a large window with the store's name on it and exposing the aisles of bookshelves on the inside. Next to the window was a glass push door, seemingly outdated for a store in this era.
Francis' focus was taken from the store when the woman on top of him giggled and pressed his head into the concrete sidewalk, squishing his cheek as he spoke in a strange manner due to his uncomfortable position.
"Ginger you can get off of me now."
The woman named ginger laughed at her prisoner's command, giving Francis a nuggie before getting off of his back to show her dominance. Francis groaned in pain as he stared at Ginger and questioned if she actually was his friend.
Ginger was a twenty one year old woman that acted like she was seventeen by constantly teasing and acting tomboyish around Francis. He knew that deep down though she was a trained killer. She was a specially trained military agent whose job was to protect Francis from any criminals who wanted to kidnap and use him as a hostage.
She was a tall tomboyish looking girl with a dark bronze skin tone and black pixie cut hair. She was wearing military combat boots and digital military fatigues. Yet she had her vest tied around her waist like a teenager would on a hot day, her green tank top exposing her average bosom that complemented her personality perfectly, tomboyish. Her arms were very muscular, given her job qualifications Francis' wasn't surprised. She had a muscular body tone and build and she would spare with Francis often, she was the cause of his muscular arms and legs... and several sprains and sores after sparing matches. Her eyes were as brown as milk chocolate and she had a perfect crystal white smile that seemed to bring out the playful and adventurous nature in many people. She had armored kneepads on and a pistol strapped in a holster on her hip. Showing she was on the job. Albeit not with complete seriousness when Francis looked at her attire again.
Ginger was one of Francis' only friends, not many people approached him due to his sister's position, and those who did approach Francis did not have the best of intentions at heart. Ginger was assigned to protect Francis after he was kidnapped one time in his freshman year. She was initially the one to save him. He did not get along with her at first, feeling that she only pretended to be nice to him because of her job. Yet she proved the young man wrong on his eighteenth birthday, he was depressed at the time due to his poor relationship with his peers. She went out and bought him several books he had mentioned in a conversation that he thought might be interesting. He thought she wasn't listening to his rant, but she had listened to every word and since that day Francis had opened himself up to her.
Ginger had a western country girl accent as she spoke in a fun loving tone.
"You need to remember to keep an eye out and how to handle yourself in a situation like that Franky! What would you do without me covering your tight ass all the time?"
Francis rolled his eyes at the nickname with a smile as he stood up and brushed himself free of dust and dirt, the sidewalks somehow remaining dirty no matter what cleaned them off. He countered her sarcasm with a witty comeback of his own.
"Excuse me Ginger, but I am a tight ass for a reason, and half the time you're the one attacking me. Maybe I should tickle you as revenge."
Upon the threat of a childish tickling Ginger shrunk as Francis laughed in a stereotypical evil tone as he scurried his fingers like tendrils as he threated to tickle her.
This was the relationship the two had, they were more like school children then adults when they spent time together. Francis enjoyed it though, and he would feel awkward around her if she was any different. Though after several minutes of the two going at each other Francis decided to end it with a smile as he turned and walked towards the bookstore. Ginger following behind the young man as she giggled almost nonstop. His friend stood aloof by the door as Francis scanned to valley of books for the single book he sought for. Once he found it he carried it to the register beaming with anticipation as LSMO laughed in an electronic childish tone at Francis' display of emotion. Yet the young man didn't care that his behavior made everyone in the room snicker or laugh, he was just glad to finally get the final book in a book saga he has been dying to finish.
Francis felt the purchase was money well spent as Ginger rolled her eyes as they walked out the door to a crowd of people outside standing in congested crowds. This confused the military agent and young man as they paced slowly near the crowd to investigate. Their curiosity taking over.
"What the heck is with this crowd? I know the peace meeting is a big deal, but people don't outright block the streets."
Francis said in an irritated manner as he followed a mystified Ginger. As the two grew closer they could hear the murmurs of the crowds, and it sent chills down their spines.
"Is he dead?"
One elderly man asked anyone listening.
"The sky is crystal clear, how was he get hit by a bolt of lightning?"
One woman asked her spouse, fear in her tone.
"I have no clue honey, I saw him crossing the sidewalk out of the corner of my eye and then bam! Dropped dead and fried like toast…"
The man received silence from his spouse, he looked awkward for the analogy he made, sweat beading down the serious frame of his face.
Francis felt his heart grow tight in an anxious manner, he felt as if everyone was being watched. He began to panic as he looked for the source of such a feeling he twisted his head around trying to catch someone's eyes staring at him. To no avail, which filled him with a sense of dread as the world went silent. The city that was a non-stop source of noise went dead silent. An eerie experience until a single child spoke up among the crowd, pointing their finger into the sky.
"Mama, Papa, what is that thing in the sky?"
Everyone tilted their heads skyward to investigate the disturbance, being manipulated by curiosity as if they were puppets. Francis was the last to look up, feeling something he never would experience in his life. It was as if he was going on a roller coaster for the first time, but the feeling lingered and felt as if it stabbed his spirit with talons. He was traumatized.
A massive tear lingered in the sky as if the area of sky the disturbance existed in was ripped like paper, cracks slithered off of the main tear like glass that had been damaged. Inside the tear Francis felt his eyes were playing tricks on him. It exposed a spider web like cluster of several unique colored nebulas. It reminded the young man of a cluster of brain cells stemming off of one another. Suddenly a bolt of scarlet lightning blasted out from a nebula of the same color. It struck the couple who had been chatting to each other only moments ago with a loud and thunderous crash. Gargled screams of turmoil escaped the victim's throats as many others in the crowd around them began to panic and run all in different directions to escape the scene. Francis and Ginger were the only ones left standing there, Ginger trying to pull Francis away, to no avail as if he was a solid statue. The air smelt of burnt and charred flesh, he could feel the static in the air as he viewed the horrors caused by the supernatural event. Twisted and ashen bodies curled and crumpled up like tissue paper, both bodies posed with agonizing expressions. It seemed that the black charred forms would crumble from the slightest breeze in the air. Francis felt his head get light as his stomach lurched in plea to vomit in reaction to the gruesome scene. Yet he had difficulty taking his eyes off of the sight and the tear in the sky.
He felt a sharp stinging sensation across his cheek suddenly as Ginger slapped him and spoke with an authoritative tone, an anxious expression catching Francis' attention away from the mesmerizing scene.
"We need to move now, get to shelter before we get zapped by whatever the hell that is! So pull it together Francis Sera!"
Francis let it all sink in as he and Ginger ran down the street and back into George's Bookstore, bashing against the door and slamming it shut much to the owner's complaint. Francis looked out the large glass window to see more lightning blasting random areas of the city faster and in more numbers after the previous strikes. Cries of terror and agony filled the air until it was an uproar. Francis couldn't believe what was going on outside even as he and many others watched from inside. The lightning was focusing on people he realized as he watched a civilian run out from an alleyway toward the bookstore, she could have only been a freshman in high school the young man assumed as he watched her petite frame disintegrate before his eyes in a flash of a blood red arc of pure electricity, only leaving a pile of ash and burnt and melted pavement as evidence of the gruesome force cast upon the dead girl. A click was heard in the bookstore as the screams became amplified. Everyone in the bookstore seemed to visibly flinch and snap their attention to the owner behind the counter, they had turned a television on to a local news program.
"Are we live? Jesus… Alright. Behind me you can see an odd and terrifying anomaly in the sky. No one knows what it is, but we have been getting reports of this occurrence worldwide. All with different effects. Currently people are getting bombarded by mysterious red lightning left and right, and it is coming down faster even as I speak!" Thunder boomed loudly as lightning almost struck the news reporter, he let out a high pitched squeak as he began to show signs of visible terror, his body shaking uncontrollably and his eyes darting left and right rapidly. Crowds of people running past and behind him getting struck by the lightning as if they were only lightning rods. The anomaly in the sky appeared to grow in mass ominously cracking further at the edges of the tear. "W-We have no clue what is going on or when the power will get knocked out, but please stay indoors! It is the safes-" Out of the tear a massive meteor of navy blue flames the size of a car flew down and collided with the news reporter and the cameraman. A loud shriek and explosion was heard before it was all cut to static. As if on cue the ground began to shake as an explosion echoed through the city. A torrent of blue flames growing outward from the blast a mile to the south of the bookstore, spreading across the city easily and most likely killing what Francis could only assume was thousands in the blast. Francis didn't take a second to guess what would happen next. He took Ginger's hand and ran out of the bookstore and up the road toward the skyscraper he lived in. As he assumed a shower of navy blue fireballs began to rain down on the city, smashing into buildings, vehicles, and people. Destroying anything in its path with brutal fire and demolishing buildings as if each fireball was a wrecking ball. The fireballs didn't explode like the meteor however, which made Francis ponder what was going on. This was no natural occurrence, something or someone was targeting the people and buildings. He tried to ignore the screams of agony, the pleas for help as he focused on one thing. Survival. He did not want to let Ginger die, he didn't want to die. It was all raw instinct as adrenaline pumped effortlessly like blood through his veins.
When he heard structures and rumble start to crumble above him he glanced back to see a smaller skyscraper about fifty stories tall crumble onto the bookstore, crushing anyone in the radius with a massive rumble sound and screams being cut off under the tons of metal, glass, and stone. He could only block so much out as he felt tears well up in his eyes. Splatters of blood and mangled limbs filling his vision before being encased in a tomb of concrete steel. Injured around the two being picked off easily by lightning, few were lucky to be disintegrated on the spot… Others had limbs vaporized before the blood began to gush from their wounds like a fountain, delivering a slow death full of misery.
"Is this the end of the world? Are we all going to die? Oh god… Oh god!"
He let his mind race out of sheer panic and fear. The world he knew was crumbling away, caused by a force he did not even begin to understand or fathom.
As if some divine being heard the priers of the many struck by hysteria and terror massive domes of pure blue energy phased across miles of the city, a funnel of energy pouring out from select points on the ground. The first thing he noticed was that one stream was originating from home. The second, was that the shields were only covering sections of the city not destroyed completely. Francis heard loud explosive thumps and static cut into his ear drums sharply as the shields of energy shuttered against the force of a wave of the blue meteors raining down on them with massive arcs of scarlet lightning. Francis still felt anxious, but the panic and adrenaline seemed to dissipate as Ginger took the lead and was half-heartedly dragging him back to his home, which was now surrounded by hundreds of military and medical personal. Many civilians sat shaking in broken structures with only ceilings and structural support left standing or under tarps held up by posts. Francis couldn't believe the horror, injured survivors that were covered with both fresh and dried blood, their hair dirtied by the life filled fluid and grim. Torn clothing and lacerations across the bodies of weak and sick people who barely clung to life as all the medical personal outside ran back and forth with medical supplies in a rushed hurry to stabilize as many people as possible. Francis even saw a woman whose body was covered in severe third degree burns and she had lost both of her legs, leaving exposed bone, snow white against the charred flesh. The sight caused acidic bile to rise in Francis' throat which was quickly forced down as Francis tore his vision to the blood and rubble covered ground.
As the two companions grew closer to the skyscraper Francis lived in the increase in military forces increased. Francis picked out elite military regiments among hundreds of troops marching past them to the outskirts of the shield's barrier. Tanks, APCs, and high tech armored walkers. The massive thick metal plated death machine stamped past the two, intimidating anyone in view of the three story high machine as it caused tremors with each thunderous step. The flat polygon shaped cockpit had red sensor lights on the front resembling and acting like eyes for the pilot, covered with twin missile pods across the flat top of the machine as the sun shined against the steel barrels of a railgun infused artillery cannon on the walker's back. Square holes extended down the length of the barrel to cool down the weapon in case of overheating. The Walker had cylinder armor plates around its main body rotor well the arms extended off the sides of the cockpit, shield plated armor guards covering twin high caliber flak cannons with a belt of shells extending from the cannons into the arms into an unseen ammo box. The legs were slightly short making the main body look large with bulky metal legs. The walker's feet were solid reinforced steel the size of a small tank. It shocked Francis that such a powerful death machine was in the city. Did the military foresee such an anomaly? It wasn't that thought that brought the panic back to Francis' heart, it was the possibility that there was something much worse that required such weapons of war.
(Hopefully you all have good imagery of the Walker, found out to late how hard it is to describe a mech that isn't overly humanoid looking. _ )
Ginger pushed her way through military officers, medical staff, and a few civilians as she displayed a clearance ID at checkpoints that was on par with a secret service operative yet Francis didn't care, as he was absorbed within himself, trying to numb the ocean of emotions that ushered him to collapse. Francis held himself tightly in the elevator, with his hands clamped around his shoulders tightly as if he was freezing. Yet the feeling was actually terror and confusion. He didn't know how to handle everything that had occurred. One minute he had been buying a new book, the next his world was literally ending, approaching a warlike state of calamity with thousands dying within seconds.
He began to shake as if the temperature had dropped below freezing, feeling tears rush down his cheeks as it all crumbled in on him. Ginger saw him slide down the elevator wall as he sobbed, the elevator humming silently as it rose a floor each second.
"This has to just be a dream, this is all just a horrible nightmare."
Denial seeping through him like a wound until he was pulled up slowly by Ginger and dragged along to his apartment with little resistance beyond sobbing and hysterical chuckles. Ginger remained coldly silent which did not help Francis' mental stability at the moment. His head felt as if it housed his heart, a throbbing pulse banging against his skull. He felt completely alone, even LSMO was not talking, the machine's innocence being crumbled into dust as news reports and notifications about the horror occurring sounded off like an alarm clock until LSMO muted the notification sound.
At the apartment door two guards stepped out of Ginger's way and cast Francis a pity filled stare as the two walked into the home. Francis has begun to calm his nerves enough to stop crying, viewing the room in disdain. If he didn't know better he would have thought his home was a military base. His violet eyes opening wide to the sight before him.
The living room had radios and other high tech communication and Intel equipment littered from wall to wall on folded out metal tables. He could swear he saw seven different surge protectors each filled to the brim in plugs and wires. The room seemed smaller now as soldiers in clean uniforms went from station to station with the constant chatter of communication between the personal that their speech seemed to be garbled and impossible to understand. A holographic map of the city was displayed fixed in the center of the room off of the floor, a smooth black metallic cube the size of a frying pan was shining a blue beam to project the hologram from a small lens on the top of its surface. Francis pondered why such a defined map was necessary before his attention snapped to the worried yet familiar soft voice in the room. His mother had walked into the room, her clothes dirtied with dust and small tears, but Francis saw a grateful smile form on her face as she rushed over and wrapped her arms around him protectively with a relieved expression on her face. This act helped ease Francis' state to simple stress. Free from the shackles of breaking down Francis looks up to a women stepping into his view behind his mother. His sister with an expressionless stare and serious exterior was looking into his eyes. He scanned her up and down to see she was wearing a strange form of military garb skin tight to her frame. It was a silvery metallic plated armor, many of the plates in segments, making it look like a futuristic knight had their armor cut into pieces. The lines in between each of the segments caught his attentions as trails of moving magenta light seemed to circulate with a such precision it seemed as if the suit was radiating energy, with the edges of the metal segments gleaming in the sunlight that shined through a window Francis' eyes rested on an item strapped in the largest singular piece of the suit, it made his soul fill with disgust as he wanted to scream and lash out at his own sister.
"Hypocrite! Liar! How can you preach such hypocrisy against the very thing that caused our father his life if you're using one of them!?"
Francis's internal rage bubbled and boiled as he stared at the glowing sphere of metal rings and magenta energy. A small energy acceleration core was embedded into her upper abdomen with smooth rounded metal casing of the suit surrounding it. Before Francis could even gain footing against his Sister she cast her gaze away, turning on her heel before stepping towards a hole in the kitchen wall that revealed the rest of the open city to the enclosed structure, the rain of fire and lightning began to subside, and Francis stared in awe as his sister began to levitate off of the ground. Jets of pure magenta energy propelling her to hover easily before she turned to a man in uniform and spoke, her voice mature and icy.
"I'm heading out. Direct confrontation with main enemy force will begin soon. As we predicted a little more than half of humanity has died over the initial attack. It is not hard to assume the second prediction about less than twenty percent of humanity surviving the main attack is highly likely."
As she finished the morbid statement she jumped over the edge, causing Francis to gasp off before seeing her fly off like some cliché super hero. She was not one. She was a mere hypocrite to him, a person who thought using an energy acceleration core for a powered exoskeleton was justified to them. Yet he let the bad taste in his mouth fade as he conceded, what did it matter at this point? The world was ending and he could care less about his sister's antics or even those of the people around him running to and fro as a Siren began to blare loudly after a thunderous sound that ripped at the air. Francis felt a sharp pain cross through his skull before his legs buckled from underneath him. He was lucky that his mother was still hugging him or else he would have slammed right into the floor instead of being lowered onto his knees. The pain pulsed rapidly through his mind as he instinctively gripped at the sides of his head. It was as if the sheer pain that cut through his mind was like a heated blade cauterizing the very wound it created. Francis registered his mother's voice along with Ginger's through the pulsing pain. The sweet rhythm of their voices being dulled out as if his mind was numb. Then it started. The laughing.
Loud, completely psychotic laughter echoed through his skull. Multiple voices looping in unison all in different tones as Francis felt his jaw open to scream, but all he could hear was the laughing, growing in volume as whispers began to slither across the edges of his mind like invasive tendrils. Francis forced himself to open his eyes, only abled to open them to slits. His mother was holding her head in a similar way as Francis, but still had her eyes wide open, Francis could easily read the terror and confusion in her expression. Francis tried his best to look around to find answer, but as he turned his head to look behind him vertigo set in and he went tumbling to the floor facing Ginger and several of the officers in the room all groaning in pain as the laughing continued blasting through his skull. He honestly felt insane, as if in reality he was really strapped into a strait jacket in a psych ward, isolated in his own paranoid mind. The laughter continued, but faded into intimidating background noise as the voices spoke in unison once more.
"Found another world to ignite!"
"The emotions they emit are strong, so much life and energy from dying mortals!"
"Humans, so fragile and pathetic, but with great potential and energy."
"We can smell the energy emitting from a few of you chosen mortals, that pain you feel that is greater than those around you? It is our power syncing with your very being, if you can hear us… Then you will be devoured, your world is ending, dying… And it is so beautiful to us. There are four… Four! So full of elemental energy! Two have so much potential, so close to being Forsaken, but not ready… No… Not chosen to be betrayed."
The voices filled with malice and insanity he heard terrified him to no end, he felt his blood go cold as the world around him filled with darkness. Leaving him in a cold abyss. It was so cold… He wanted to shut the voices out, but as he tried to no avail the voices lashed out at him. Targeting him, as they seemed to sense him trying to cast them out.
"You… Boy."
The voices were conquered by malice and a dark agonizing pulse crossed through Francis' skull like a corrupted muck. The tone of insanity still lingered, but was not the dominate tone any longer. This made Francis feel like a puppet, as if he was something that merely attracted distaste. It disturbed the young man to no end as he felt the prickle of goosebumps across his body even through the numbness and agony.
"You're not like the rest of them, you're the closest to being forsaken by your universe, but you refused the mantle… You're friends and world will be destroyed like the billions of others we have devoured. But you're going to die, a slow. Miserable. Death."
The voices lost all sense of insanity, a solid sadistic and hate filled tone taking over completely as the voice bellowed in his mind like a beast.
"WE ARE GODS! WE WILL DESTROY YOU WITH THE VERY ROOTS OF CREATION! WE ARE THE ELEMENT CREATORS! AND YOU… YOU WILL BE FORGOTTEN!"
The connection snapped away, the entire feeling vanishing within a second as the voices faded away, the tittle of the beings becoming seared into the human's brain as he crashed to the floor once more. Francis felt his body convulse horribly as the pain seemed strike his entire nervous system before ending. He felt the pain in his throat that helped Francis register he was screaming like a mad man at the top of his longs. Unconsciousness followed swiftly as his brain couldn't handle the stress any longer. Practically shutting down like an electronic with no power being forced to charge.
Francis' conscious was left to drift restlessly in a void of black, the only light being lavender nebulas around the young man. His hair floated outward like tendrils trying to reach for something that was far from their grasp. The light was soothing yet ominous, paying him no heed as he drifted through and near them. It was as if he was intangible, he felt like he was forgotten in the world, but deep down he tried to urge himself to wake up as time seemed to drift by. Years seeming like seconds, and seconds seeming like years to the man, it confused his numb mind to no end, but he knew that time was passing in his world as he slept.
Suddenly he felt skinny bony hands latch onto his wrists and ankles, invisible claws digging into his skin and causing him to wince on instinct. He was being pulled as his glazed over conscious tried to give the hands a physical shape, but it was impossible due to the darkness around him causing him to only see shadowy wisp like hands with no real physical depiction besides what he could feel. It was ominous, and terrifying as Francis was yanked into the deepest and largest nebula in the void, the stardust spiraling around him wildly as he disturbed to massive realm.
A deep mysterious voice bellowed out at him from seemingly everywhere, before echoing in his mind. The voice was weak and raspy, but had a tone of malice and hate as it roared.
"I am hungry… So very hungry, yet full. Do you know what comes first mortal? In a universe, life, creatures?"
The voice had curiosity fill its question as it waited omnipotent to this realm. Francis took a minute to register the question before he answered, his voice; or thought weak from his faded and numb senses.
"A beginning usually comes first, then creation is anoth-"
The voices let out a roar of laughter before growling out the true answer with an aura of pure seething hate.
"What comes first mortal is nothing, nothingness is the beginning and end. All that came before was the Void… And what will come after will always be the Void. Everything comes from nothing, as nothing gives the potential for creation, and nothing is created from destruction. Do you understand?"
As the voice finished its statement Francis' could sense pity in the beings tone. So he replied to the paradox like answer in fascination and surprise.
"I guess that does make sense… Though I seem to be losing my marbles, for all I know you're just a figment of my imagination as my world is being destroyed by insane gods apparently."
The voice scoffed at the remark before bellowing once more.
"I am very real, you can tell by the very pain implemented upon your soul by my wisps. I am shackled, forgotten by the multiverse just like you are. Your soul refused the mantle the universe tried to curse you with, making you the second one to break the bounds of creation… I am the first to do so. You have potential like the rare few in countless universes, but yours is sealed, shackled by your universe to prevent you from taking action, to make you suffer for refusing to be forsaken, so now you will be forgotten."
The voice did little to cheer Francis up as he began to sink into a depressing form of inability knowing he was powerless. Yet the voice continued before he could reply causing Francis to lift his head in the dream like void.
"There is hope though, yet in the end you will find a curse worse than Death himself.… And once the end comes I will tell you the truth and mysteries of this paradox you are struck with, then I may rest in peace with my atonement…"
The voice went silent for a breathtaking minute before finishing its statement in an exhausted tone.
"Break the shackles…Farewell Francis, continue your story to the end with all of you're might. Who knows… Maybe you can create hope from nothing unlike I…"
As the voice faded his dream like state was interrupted as he awoke from unconsciousness. He was no longer in his home, but in a crumbled destroyed hallway. As he awoke from his daze he noticed that the scope of the situation had changed drastically well he was unconscious. His eyes caught the glimpse of something zoom past the corner of his eye in the gloomy darkness of the crumbling hallway. For a second his panic rose with his heart rate as he rose from the cracked and uneven concrete floor, he noted several bits rebar sticking out from the broken and collapsed structure around him. Francis didn't want to trip on one or worse get impaled by one on accident. He heard soft sobs before he looked around further in the darkness with little light shining in from the cracks in the walls. He saw a number near a doorway blocked by a fallen pillar that supported the structure. The number was the floor and Francis found out that he was five floors down from his home.
"What the hell happened well I was passed out? Shit must have hit the fan pretty bad. Oh sweet god why does it smell so bad down here!?"
Francis covered his mouth and nose with his dirtied hands, the buzzing of flies filled the air with muffled rumbling. The air was thick with malice and decay, the stench of carrion and smoke causing Francis to panic as his senses tingled wildly in the darkness.
Suddenly he heard a disturbing combination of a sob and giggle in the distant darkness. It caused a shiver to go up his spine as he identified the voice as that of a woman's. It sounded familiar, but he was too disoriented to identify it. He stumbled through the darkness his hands reaching out against fallen rubble or cracked walls as he approached the source of the noise, it grew in volume as he drew closer. The strange mix of crying and laughter stopped along with Francis, leaving the only sound in the darkness being the rumbling from outside and the thumping of his heart beat in his eardrums. Francis gathered up the courage after several minutes and called out to the voice he heard, believing it was only a few yards down the hall way from him.
"H-Hello? Is someone there, my name is Francis, do you know what happened? Hello?!"
His voice was hoarse and disoriented as he felt his head pulse in pain. Then the giggles and sobs started again, but this time they were hysterical, almost inhuman if not for the voice he recognized from such a close distance.
"Ginger…?"
As if the name was a trigger Francis saw a figure leap out at inhuman speeds from the darkness at him, still giggling and sobbing as they startled him, causing his balance to falter as he fell on his back with Ginger pinning him to the cracked and destroyed floor. Ginger straddled onto Francis lap, but the usual embarrassing moment was taken by fear rather than childish emotions. Ginger had a small gash across her forehead that had scabbed over, but Francis could still see the dried up blood covering her face. She had an impossibly massive grin on her face from ear to ear as her eyes bugged out in an animalistic fury. Yet what terrified Francis most as he felt his heart tighten until it hurt was that she was crying sporadically as a bright symbol lit up her pupil like an ominous beacon. Her pupil had a violet hurricane symbol inside of it that seemed to bore into Francis' soul and burn it well all of his body's instincts kicked in, sending warnings through his mind and body as panic and an increased heart rate. The color of the strange occurrence in her eyes reminded Francis of his own eye color, but the symbols were a lighter shade, he would not have noticed if the two practically weren't inches apart.
"Ginger let me go, you're scaring me!"
Francis begged with the very terror he felt present in his voice. The request fell on deaf ears however as Ginger's grin grew wider which left Francis Baffled on how that was possibly. Then everything in Francis' racing mind stopped for a split second as Ginger spoke, raising a bloodied combat knife threatingly ready to plunge into its next victim.
"Die, die, die, die! Be forgotten, forget, forget, forget! They told me, secrets, secrets, secrets! I serve them, creators, creators, creators! You… Are not the Forsaken One. Die mortal."
With the final words Francis watched in horror and dread as Ginger began to bring the knife down on his heart. Francis reacted as everything began to slow. His body urged him to fight, to escape, to live. He caught the blade with his hand, wincing as it cut deep into his delicate flesh. The blade didn't stop though, the force behind it was unnatural, and he knew that the Element Creators were involved in some manner deep down. He directed the blade away from a fatal injury, but his split second actions cost him dearly as the blade slammed into his left arm socket and tore through his left hand leaving it split and useless. He screamed in agony as he heard and felt his bones become crushed into dust as the blade went straight through his left arm. Ginger kept laughing and sobbing, her voice cracking constantly from the volume of it. She began to drag the blade she held mercilessly through the rest of Francis' arm, cutting muscle, flesh, and sinew as blood gushed out of the wound like a leaky pipe, Francis' voice roared in agony and sorrow, the pain was so horrible he began to cry. He kicked and struggled, but it made the pain worse as Ginger firmly held him down with only a single hand on his chest. As the severed limb slumped uselessly on the uneven floor covered in a puddle of his own blood adrenaline kicked in before the blood loss did and Francis began to struggle for several seconds as Ginger raised the knife slowly as if to taunt him before his doom. Yet Francis' struggling managed to pull through as he brought his leg up from underneath Ginger and connected it full force with her diaphragm. The sudden act of resistance caught her off guard and Ginger was sent flying back into a nearby wall of rubble as Francis heard her wheeze as the breath was knocked out of her. She was still laughing and giggling through the coughing fit that followed as she wobbled to her feet slowly with her back slumped against the wall as her body shaking with the strain. Francis could only assume that she had been injured prior to the scuffle, but Francis had no time to confirm his theory with his life on the line.
With his remaining strength he managed to get up with his one remaining hand, scrapping and cutting it against the cracked and uneven floor, only noticing now it had small shards of glass littered about. Francis ignored the roaring pain and blood lose, he could tell it was affecting him as vertigo followed his sprint down the hallway. He bashed through an emergency stairwell door with little feeling left in his body. He ran down the stairwell that was lit in red emergency lights, jumping from time to time down a whole flight as the giggling and sobbing followed behind him as he made is escape, but it was dying down slightly as he continued on. Once Gingers voice was muffled enough in the distance Francis opened a random door into a more brightly lit hallway, it was trashed, but not completely collapsed like the horror show he was in previously. He coughed in pain as tried to apply pressure onto his wound with little success.
"Oh god, what is happening? Why is Ginger trying to kill me… No that's not Ginger… Oh god."
Hysteria and betrayal filled Francis' emotions as tears welled up in his eyes. He realized that he had lost Ginger. Lost her to some fucked up mind control the Element Creators put through her. Francis could only assume it happened when they finished speaking through his head as he got knocked out.
He slumped down against the wall at the end of the hallway so he could face the door to the stairwell. He could feel himself giving up as he lost strength. The previous burst of adrenaline fading like dust in the wind as doubt filled in its place. Francis could swear he heard the sound of a blade scrapping against stone not far off followed by giggling and sobbing. She was close, and so was his end. He would die being murdered by one of his only friends. At that moment though LSMO turned on with a stern expression.
"Francis. You need to live."
It spoke with the same sternness its pixelated expression shared. It caused Francis to scoff weakly and sigh before he spoke with a disgusting sense of regret and self-loathing.
"What's the point… The worlds ending, and apparently it has something to do with me. I am pretty sure I am suffering from blood lose, and im cornered. I'm dead…"
LSMO scowled at his reaction in anger as it spoke once more with a rushed tone as the scrapping from Ginger's blade grew louder in the air.
"Well you are if you give up like this! What about your mother, your aunt, me, and even your sister. Even the real Ginger wouldn't want this… I… I wasn't supposed to play this video log until your wedding day, but I think you need this now more than ever. At the very least as comfort and reassurance"
As LSMO finished speaking the screen blurred into a video log. Francis gave it his weakening attention as he saw his mother appear on the screen. She was a spectacular sight, clean and wearing another dress she owned adorn with floral patterns. She began to speak in her gentle motherly tone, after she took a deep breath. It filled Francis with warmth that warded off the cold invading his body from blood loss.
"Francis, my dear, sweet flower. You have been a wonderful boy over the years you know that right? We have had are fair share of happy, sad, angry, funny, depressing, and joyful moments as a family. I had dreaded the day you would leave home and… well grow up. I have raised you and your sister since you were both in diapers after all. I am sure you will one day find the greatest happiness you want, but as you may already know by now. That life has its hardships, you will be pushed around and beaten bloody, and I fear for your well-being. You have always been sensitive at heart, not opening up easily. Thankfully Ginger has shown to be quite a rival for that shell you have. Hehehe… I know you can do anything you dream of son. You are an amazing wonderful gift that I would never give up. I am so proud of you, you can do it Francis. Live your life happy and free."
Francis felt something inside of him shift as tears flowed down his face as LSMO was silent with an understanding smile as the video log ended. He felt ashamed for giving up so easily. He wanted to live, he wanted to prove he was worth the life he was given. He felt energized with a pure sense of hope.
"Die, die, die! You are feisty one boy. Kill, kill, kill! Lets end this, you will die n-aughh!"
Ginger was at the doorway holding her head in what seemed like agony, even though she had a permanent grin across her face. She spoke again in a strained voice as Francis met her eyes.
"Francis, Francis… Please, live. End this suffering please! This thing is controlling my mind! I won't be myself anymore… so please… oh God please… PLEASE LIVE! DON'T LET ME KILL YOU!"
She screamed in agony as she gripped her head again, her posture straightened as she raised the knife again in her quivering right hand, but in her other hand she held her handgun firm.
Francis closed his eyes as LSMO started to panic, trying to talk him into action, trying to contact help, anything. Yet it was pointless, they were alone trapped between their possessed friend and a concrete tomb and they both knew that. He felt deep down at his emotions as they were in a rare sense of purity. Rage, sorrow, agony, guilt… Hope.
He remembered his mother's words. His memories with Ginger and all they went through, how much she cared. Her final request to her closest friend. To live, to end the suffering.
"Live, fight, be free."
Francis thought as he heard the gun in Gingers hand get cocked and ready to fire.
He remembered who was at fault for this. The Element Creators. Then he felt something snap, give away on its strange tight hold over his very being.
"THEY WILL FACE MY WRATH!"
He roared internally as he felt his wound sizzle with an oddly cold sensation before it begin to burn up. Then the loud clap of gun fire sounded off, and Francis' eyes tore open as the bullet meant to kill him hovered still in front of him surrounded by a black translucent aura. He felt his gaze fall on the scarred wound of his severed left arm. A phantom like arm with sharp claw like fingers sizzled with telekinetic energy that was made of the same translucent black aura that surrounded the bullet in front of him. He smirked in a sense of animalistic fury and rage that caused the possessed Ginger's persistent grin to crumble. He felt the power surge in his body as he flung the bullet at high speeds back at Ginger, she reacted quickly, cutting the bullet down with the combat knife within seconds before she rushed Francis at inhuman speeds once more. She was upon the young man before he could blink. He was prepared for the counter attack as he brought his telekinetic claw arm up to clash with the blade, shattering the metal easily. Ginger had a panicked expression cross her face before pulling the handgun up once more, this time a violet glow extending from the barrel. Francis flinched before practically flash stepping behind her as she fired the gun, the bullet was followed by a gale of air pressure that destroyed the entire wall, letting sunlight invade the hallway. Francis took the opportunity to end the duel with a grim outcome. He reached for Ginger's aura with his mind as his telekinetic arm was pointed out as if grasping something and Ginger's body went stiff in his telekinetic grip before he reared his hand back and threw Ginger at the speed of a bullet out of the building and into the streets. Twenty stories down a sicking number of cracks and snaps filled the air as Ginger's body went limp in a small crater of pavement, she was breathing, but Francis was sure he had broken almost all of her bones with the power he had. He looked at his phantom hand in numb disgust and shock before he jumped out of the hole without a second thought, falling rapidly twenty stories down before his decent slowed as he levitated himself with his power, grasping control of it easily. He walked to her side and he met her eyes, her pupils still filled with the violet cloud symbol.
She spoke, weakly in a gurgled tone as blood flowed out of her mouth.
"Francis, kill me. Kill me please… Live, join your sister and mother up ahead at the barrier's core. They… They are facing the Element Creators themselves as the last of humanity fights their minions and pawns..." Francis felt tears once again flow down his face, but his feeling were numb, he had gone cold. He pressed his claw fingers together pointing straight out like a blade as he positioned his phantom hand over Ginger's heart. She smiled at him which caused the cold feeling to twitch in remorse and grief for a few seconds as his body shook with his pathetic sobbing.
"I love you Francis, I am so happy to be with you in my last moments… I guess in the end you won the final duel we had."
Francis with a roar pulled his phantom hand back and drove it deep into her heart, shattering it in a puddle of blood that formed in the crater as he killed her instantly. He killed his best friend just as they confessed their love for him. He hated himself. He felt like a monster, but he had to be a monster to kill monsters. The phantom aura began to surge off of his arm and surrounded his entire body. His opposite arm was also a phantom claw well his feet were surrounded by phantom like feet with talons for each of his toes. He truly looked like the monster he felt like as his entire body sizzled with telekinetic energy.
He stood up with an emotionless ice cold stare as his eyes were filled with wrath. He began to sprint away from the scene and towards the source of the blue dome of energy. Many civilians were running the opposite direction as him, all were injured with uncountable injuries, but each cast Francis a shocked glance as they saw Francis' visage. A loud thundering sound like that of a steam train filled the air as a small violet hurricane the size of a bus cut through a nearby skyscraper like it was paper facing a buzz saw. The hundreds of people around Francis began to scream in terror as the upper part of the cut skyscraper began to angle towards them and fall with a disturbing groan of bending metal and shattering glass that fell like rain. Francis gritted his teeth as he reached out with his mind and telekinetic energy as he raised his hands up as if to hold the skyscraper up. He did so with minimal effort as he diverted the skyscraper towards the street opposite where it got stuck angled against another skyscraper with a thunderous crash of broken glass and stone that ended with a groan of metal beams and supports bending further then becoming stable with silence. Francis panted in anger as he looked at the results of his actions. The people had run off either in fear of the falling building, or him. He was glad they ran.
"Im tired of this constant death, I will end it here and now even if I have to be a monster."
He spoke under his breath as his expression became cold and emotionless as he turned and walked towards a massive technological wonder the size of a small building and shaped like a pyramid in the center of the streets. It was covered in blue electronic lights and circuitry and Francis could see an energy acceleration fused into the top of the pyramid and being the source of energy for the barrier. Francis sighed, but he didn't get the chance to complain as his sister in her powered exoskeleton came into view with shields of pure magenta energy forming at her wrists as she blocked arrows of pure cyan colored ice. She flew off high into the air after shooting constant circler beams of magenta energy at the opponent who fired the ice arrows.
Francis watched as a women dressed in clothes made of fur pelts and adored with several trophies like teeth of wild beasts and claws of similar hunts. She had icy blue skin as her clothes ended at her knee caps well she wore snow boots made of similar fur pelts. The women's hair was pure white in a braided pony tail that went down to her collar bones. She had the appearance of an adolescent girl probably no younger than sixteen. Extending from her back spinal cord were two wing like appendages made of pure cyan ice. Each wing was the size of her body as they ended in sharp pike like tips across the edges of the wings. Francis caught the sight of her pupils having a cyan snowflake glowing brightly within them. They glowed far brighter than Ginger's symbols glowed when she was possessed. The strange women also had a bow in her left hand that was completely cyan, the weapon had decretive swerves and shapes that mimicked the pattern of ice across the metal of the limbs and had a layer of cyan ice across the riser of the bow and tips of the limbs. Francis watched for a bit longer until the strange women was out of view within the clouds and skyscrapers to continue the battle with his sister.
"Why does Neve get the fun one? It's no fair, we haven't had a mortal last more than a minute in combat in eons and she can't even share! Tempest are you even listening to me!?"
Francis whipped his head to his right to find who had spoken. He saw the visage of three beings floating effortlessly in the air each with breathtaking wings similar to the strange women know as Neve he had seen briefly.
The one who spoke had a rough high pitched masculine tone and seemed overjoyed and childish amongst the chaos. He was a lanky limbed humanoid looking being with skin that was orange in tone. Yet what Francis found most disturbing was that the man had a second pair of fire orange eyes above his first set, he had black solid keratin plates for eyebrows over his extra set of eyes. His skin had the texture of scale which shocked the human, he thought the women with blue skin and wings was odd, but compared to the man in front of him he was awfully wrong in his judgement. Francis spotted a serpentine tongue and shark-like fangs in the man's mouth as he complained to his allies more. His hair was spiked in a modern quiff style that was charcoal grey. He was wearing a tattered thobe, the right sleeve was torn at the shoulder and had a rounded shoulder pad tied to his shoulder. He had leather sandals that strapped up to his shins, exposing his razor sharp toe nails that came to a point. He was holding a navy blue combat knife in the hand with the torn sleeve. The knife at a distance looked about ten or eleven inches long and had a serrated blade, it also appeared to have patterns decorated like maze all across the blade. The eyes caught Francis' attention again as he saw in all four of the man's pupils was a brightly glowing navy blue symbol of a fireball, he also had fiery navy blue wings extending from his spine, it reminded Francis of a phoenix. Yet he could tell this man was not as mystical.
"Shut up Cole, you couldn't even control your meteors so I had to save your foolish self with my electricity. So before you complain to Tempest about Neve not 'sharing' why not remember that the last universe we devoured you burnt the planet to a crisp before we could even punish the mortals with terror for being so weak."
"Oh Baal, you hurt me my red friend, maybe I should stab and fry you to death after this game of ours? Hahahaha!"
Francis felt a chill go down his spine as he listened to the conversation between the two deities. Francis already could assume by what they said that the odd beings he had observed were the Element Creator's themselves.
The one know as Baal had a deep angry voice seething with hatred with every word. He was to the right of the being known as Tempest, and across from Cole.
"Why did they treat the destruction of the universe like it was a game!?"
Francis thought in disgust and fury before he took the visage of the Element Creator know as Baal. He had dark rough skin and short twin mohawks on each side of his head crackling in a hostile manner from scarlet static coursing through it. A pitch black horn was curving up from the center of his forehead with a decorated gold ring that fit snug to the base of his horn. He was shirtless, exposing a bare muscled chest littered in scars that spoke more than words possibly could. He wore a chain mail skirt covered in stained linen that reached his knee caps and had more tears in the linen the further it went down, exposing the chain mail at the ends of the frayed fabric. He was bare foot, but had a shin guard of solid gold strapped on his left shin with a blue gem increased in the center of the shiny armor, the rounded plating shifting slightly as his feet dangled in the air as he twirled his weapon in his left hand. It was blood red spear the weapons length being seven feet long from the bladed head to the end of the shaft. The shaft of the weapon was a rune covered spiral of a strange scarlet metal. The tip of the weapon curved out two sharp horns at the base of the blade as the main point continued to twelve inches in length in the shape of a sharp spade. The middle section of the blade was the same red metal as the rest of the spear. Yet the horns of the blade were covered in copper plating for an odd reason. Then Francis' attention snapped to Baal's wings. The limbs and fingers of the wings extending from his spine were like a bats, muscular with barbed bone endings at each finger. Though the wing membrane was not flesh, but a solid field of electromagnetic electricity arcing to each finger to form a scarlet membrane of pure lightning. It was breathtaking, and honestly intimidated Francis' more than Cole's wings of pure fire.
"Alright you two, we didn't come here to bicker about playing with our food. We came here to devour the massive amount of elemental energy in this universe… It also appears we have a pest to deal with… Isn't that right boy?"
The last being known as Tempest was a women who had albino chitin plated skin, four slender arms. She had a thickish figure that was displayed with a sense of superiority despite the woman's stout size. She wore a violet kimono covered with a spider web design across the gorgeous traditional wear. She was barefoot and her feet were like that of an insects, chitin covered with two front talons and a third long talon extending out from the heel of her foot. Two small antennae extended from her forehead, and twitched in a lively manner. She had two thin long fangs that were observable even with her lips pressed into a thin emotionless line well her pitch black bangs from her bob-cut covered her right eye. Extending from her spinal cord were violet feather covered wings, similar to that of a prehistoric bird, it did not contrast well with the insectoid appearance she had in Francis' mind.
She was holding four hurricane shaped throwing stars. The blades were barbed with sharp points, making the design of a hurricane more visible as a smooth set of lines covered the weapon in layers that glowed with a low violet light. Francis watched in baffled amazement as she brought the weapons together in her hands, a wry smirk forming on her face as the throwing stars became pure balls of violet light as they were pressed together. Francis shielded his eyes behind his aura covered hands as the light grew too bright for his sensitive eyes to handle, yet what the young man saw as the light dissipated caused him to gasp. Tempest was holding a single massive throwing star that had the same design and color, but was half her size and the glowing lines of light were much brighter and leaking small particles of violet energy from them.
Francis was easily intimidated by the three Element Creators, each exuded a sense of lunacy and seemed to be bathed in an atmosphere of chokingly thick evil. He was afraid he would die even with his knew found power, he was severely outnumbered and he was without a weapon to combat the weapons the Element Creators held.
Then Francis felt his fears and uneasiness drop away as Tempest opened her left eye. Revealing a blue eye with a violet hurricane symbol in her pupil glowing brightly. The Element Creator stared at Francis in sheer disinterest, before she smirked, her face filling with the same lunacy as her comrades.
"Those eyes… You..! You're the one who killed her!"
Francis' voice was booming in complete unbridled rage as he got into a battle stance, spreading his telekinetic claws out in an intimidating stretch. Francis was barely clinging to reason at this point. It all snapped away as Tempest replied.
"No mortal you're the one who ended her life. I merely manipulated her like a puppet, she was a strong one which made the final moments so adorable to watch. You murderer."
Francis roared a mighty battle cry in defiance as he flash stepped into the Element Creator's face and brought his telekinetic left claw down onto her neck with a left hook slash. Francis' hit would have connected if it wasn't for a strong gale of wind blowing him into a skyscraper on the opposite side of the road, smashing a silhouette of his body into the metal and concrete structure. Francis winced in pain, the telekinetic aura around him had taken the brunt of the attack leaving him with only a sore feeling as he pulled himself free with ease, and growled as he glared at the Element Creators. Tempest had an emotionless expression once again as she pulled her massive throwing star back, ready to throw it full force at Francis as he levitated freely in the air. Francis took the first action before he felt the force of the throwing star when it was thrown. He grabbed at a nearby APC that had been abandoned to his left and he yanked it up with his left arm, wrapping it with his mind's hold then he brought his left hand diagonally toward Tempest. The Element Creator acted fast to the attack, shifting her position and weapon to use the throwing star as a makeshift shield to take the brunt of the hit as her wings folded wide out to push it back. She was unlucky though since Francis predicated the defense and he launched the vehicle full power into the Element Creator, causing her to get pushed away with the APC as momentum took charge as Francis released the military vehicle from his kinesis. He watched in satisfaction as Tempest went flying a few mile away with the APC, a barely audible 'shit' coming out of her mouth as Francis was left with only two Element Creators.
Cole was the first to act, racing across the air with flaming wings as he maneuvered quickly to Francis' left side to strike at his wounded arm with his combat knife Francis was barely able to react in time, having to twist himself to face Cole as he back handed his weapon with his energized claws. Francis then brought his right fist up to right hook Cole in the jaw with a fist that was being propelled with Francis' kinesis. Though Cole must have thought something similar because a fist covered in blue flames collided with his telekinetic fist. Causing a shockwave of pressure to blow the two in opposite directions well windows exploded into particles of glass. Francis looked down at his fist to see his skin had nasty burns where it collided with Cole's fist. Francis thought to himself as he studied his environment and opponent with more precision. Many buildings were ripped apart or on fire, only the one he crashed into was still standing. The streets were littered with pools of blood and burns from slashes from several attacks. Bodies were littered around with many forms of injuries and dismembered limbs. A wide ratio of military weapons littered the ground and Francis spotted a singular figure standing at the base barrier's generator with their hands extended out at their sides with flat palms. Francis' eyes widened when they met his mother's eyes, a soft smile formed on her face before she snapped her attention back to what she was doing, she had created a small dome of golden aura that protected the generator and herself. It was most likely impenetrable as Francis gawked at the sight of Baal blasting massive bolts of scarlet lightning at his mother's shield as he circled it with the great flaps of his wings.
Francis was caught off guard as Cole was suddenly in his vision with a childish grin on his face as all four of his eyes pierced into Francis' deep violet eyes. Francis flinched and hesitated as Cole spun and slammed his massive flaming left wing into the young man's stomach, sending him spiraling into the pavement. He landed flat on his back with a loud thump as he bounced slightly off the ground and began to cough, feeling his body hyperventilate as the air was knocked out of the boy. He still had enough strength through his gasping of air to dodge the next attack by flash stepping away. Francis caught his breath after a minute and began to pant in exhaustion as he watched Cole pry his combat knife out of the small crater of pavement he made by trying to dive bomb onto Francis.
"dang it… I am practically being toyed with, and those weapons… If I had to guess that dagger Cole is holding can do something like Baal's spear."
Francis said to himself in his head as he got into an alert state, Cole began to speak with a cocky sadistic tone well he twirled his knife.
"Your entertaining boy, but you abandoned the mantle, so you're not even on par with any of us, even with your full potential. You're not even worth using Tanin against, the other's may have used their Element Weapons on you to end it quickly, but you're not worth it! I want you to watch your world and hopes die as you are forgotten!"
His voice echoed through Francis' mind before he began to laugh like a maniac. Francis had enough of dealing with supercilious gods destroying his home, of waging mass genocide for something Francis did not understand. Francis exerted his kinesis throughout the street, the black wavy aura of his telekinesis surrounded hundreds of guns and raised them into the air one after the other behind him in a wall of military hardware that appeared as if the ghosts of the damned were exerting themselves through Francis, a full wrathful pulse filled the atmosphere as Cole watched in a surprised expression, his smile fading slowly as the transparent insides of Francis' aura darkened to the point it was barely transparent and tendrils of energy extended from the monstrous phantom form around his body. His eyes were closed as he levitated just barely off the pavement of the streets, more firearms gathering in the wall behind him followed by the growing atmosphere of wrathful energy that was heavy enough in the air to crush anyone under its weight. The thunderous claps of lighting had even stopped, but Francis didn't noticed, he was too consumed by the ever increasing rage and hatred, he would make them feel the wrath… For everything.
Francis slowly opened his eyes, revealing that his once beautiful and mystic violet colored eyes were now replaced by black onyx liked irises that vibrated with an ancient power. The Element Creator in front of Francis was taken aback by the sudden change before Francis attacked, the wall of hundreds of floating guns firing off in a thunderous chores as Cole was peppered to the brim with thousands of bullets. He reacted by forming a twister of bright hot fire around him that melted the first wave of bullets, but several got through and weakened the god-like being causing his torrent of fire to simmer down and allow the bullets to strike in vitals, flesh, bone, and organs. Francis didn't let the attack stop until the guns were out of ammunition completely, the heat and smell of gunfire filled the air easily as each gun was dropped lifelessly with a clatter of weapons. Francis stared on with an icy expression at his gruesome work. Cole's body was flat against the ground with less holes than Francis expected across his body, but still too large in number and positioning for anything to survive. His wings wore ablaze still, but dimmer than before. His irises were glazed over, but the symbol in his eyes still persisted as his jaw hung agape like he was about to gasp. He laid lifeless in a pool of his own blood still clutching the dagger he called Tanin. Francis let out a soft sigh as her turned his back to the defeated god. Francis walked over in a threating manner towards his mother, well the element creator Baal only followed the boy's movements with his eyes as he flew backwards into the air and away from Francis.
His mother was awestruck, but managed to give her son a forced smile, he could tell she was afraid of him. Who wouldn't be? He had just gunned down a genocidal being with ease by simply using his mind well his eyes had shifted color. He could see that his eyes were still onyx colored in a reflection from a nearby mirror that had snapped off of a nearby truck. It was damaged with spider web cracks covering the once smooth reflective glass, but Francis could still see his eyes. Dark and foreboding. Francis's eyes rose back to match his mother's as his aura continued to sizzle wildly with a life of his own. Suddenly his mother's eyes snapped open wide with a sense of terror as her golden dome shield dissipated into particles as she ran towards Francis at a speed that caught her son off guard before he was slammed to the ground with a firm and strong shove.
Francis's eye opened in a shocked reaction as the blue blade of Tanin was driven through his mother's chest cavity with a sickening crack and gurgled scream of pain as Francis watched his mother's face fill with pain, but she kept her smile as time slowed between the eye contact her and Francis had at the last moment before Cole's form filled Francis' vision, he had a disgustingly sickening grin across his face as he used his wings to apply more force into his attack, his eyes were filled with a sadistic pleasure at Francis' expression before he speed past and impaled Francis' mother to the technological pyramid that created the barrier. Shattering it across its surface with a loud crunch and thump of a body against solid metal before the metal itself seemed to distort and bend as the machine began to lose power and cease operation. Francis felt a scream rise up in his throat, but as he began to rise all the anger dissipated into sorrow as he weakly stumbled over to his mother's corpse, as it was left to fall limp to the ground as Cole removed his blade from its victim, as pleased sound echoing from his throat as he grinned at Francis who was now kneeling and holding his mother's corpse. She looked so fragile, her whole torso had been ripped open with horrible burns all over her flesh. That was when Francis noticed that Tanin was ablaze with navy blue flames that flared wildly over the strange metal, it did little to Cole who held the flaming weapon with gleeful pride.
Francis wanted to die, he wanted it to end, he wanted it all to be a messed up dream as he began to cry with little to no sound or change in expression, just the constant face of shock and disbelief as tears flowed from his gem black eyes. A loud thump sounded behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder with little intrest until he saw his sister pinned to the ground by several harpoon sized arrows of cyan ice with blood flowing out of the sides of her mouth. She struggled and growled in pain and resistance, but it was futile, they had lost. Everyone was gone, dead. The Element Creators had one, but Francis felt sick at himself for giving up deep down. Then his sister did something he thought was impossible. She ripped her own hand free, snapping the thick ice arrow as she brought her hand up to the energy acceleration core fused with her nervous system. She gripped it caringly as not to break it, but she yanked it from her being with a roar of pain and agony that was ear splitting. She was clinging to life by a sliver before she tossed the core at Francis who caught it with his telekinesis with little effort. She then spoke her final words with no emotion as a rare smile formed on her lips.
"Live, that's what Dad and Mom would want…"
Then as if with a final insult a volley of ice arrorws pelted her bodies to the point Francis had to turn away with tears and mixed emotions from all that had transpired. His family and friends were all dead. His world was dead. His very existence was dead. It was like he had been…
"Forgotten."
He thought in a flurrying spiral of emotions as he sensed the Element Creators surrounding him. He gritted his teeth as he wanted them dead, he didn't care what happened anymore, he would not be pleased until every last one of them had met their ends. Until they felt everything be taken from them as he chocked them with their own power. At the thought he felt a mad grin form on his face as his eyes opened wide with his head to the sky. As if mingling with a god that had been forgotten like he had.
A dark spiral of shadowy wisps and purple energy formed around the broken boy as the Element Creator's faces filled with terror before all four of them acted in sync as they blasted him with a full force attack with their powers. Gales of unbelievable winds tore and roared into Francis' being. Lightning coursed through his veins like a parasite. Fire burned his skin horribly. Well Ice froze his organs solid and black from frostbite.
He laughed through it all as he felt a dark energy greater than everything fill his mind and being, a symbol formed in his pupils as his mind wished for everything to become its truest form. Nothing.
A violet spiral symbol formed in the void of his once lifeless eyes, he was no longer human, he was one of them, an Element Creator, but he felt stronger then the four around him, he felt it. To him they were like a lake of energy, but he was an ocean, full of wrath and truth.
Francis roared out in glee as he absorbed the attacks of the Element Creators with a pitch black sphere of power around himself, he stole their energy as they used it on him, he began to learn some of their tricks and abilities before they caught on and tried to escape by scattering. He scoffed at their attempts to flee as they screamed out in furious sync within the coils of his mind.
"He is a Primordial Element Creator!"
He smirked before his mind replayed the events of this outcome. He would end it, it needed to end. He outstretched his arms like his mother had to form the golden shield around herself. Yet he let out everything as his kinesis fused the magenta energy acceleration core into is chest cavity like his sister had it. His energy blasted out in a shockwave that affected time and space, shattering it and devouring it in a fit of wrathful anger. Black magic circles forming at the ends of his palms, the spiral symbol in his eyes dominating the center of the magic circles before his very body was surrounded in a dome of runes and magic symbols. The shockwave turned into an explosion as a massive black hole swallowed everything and threw reality out of place in the destruction. The Element Creator's had been swallowed whole, but he could not kill them he felt their energy in simple embers at the time well two energies lingered brightly, but he could hold them to keep them prisoner for their crimes until he could end it. The world he once knew was devoured by his wrath and anger, being devoured into nothingness that left Francis in a void of only purple nebulas of forgotten energy and the black space of nothingness. Everything had been devoured by his element in a rushed cataclysmic event he knew as the Big Crunch.
Everything had been consumed and returned to the Void. He was the Forgotten One.
