Hello everyone and welcome back to another installment of FFW. Before you dive right into the chapter there are a few things that need to be said. Starting on February 25th, FFW will officially be 2 years running so I want to thank everyone, be them part of the project or just a reader for enjoying the story. It's really for all of you so I love that you enjoy it. Soon there will be an anniversary chapter where I will answer questions submitted by all of you. So any questions or just wonderings you have feel free to send or add in your reviews and they will be answered in the anniversary.
Also, FFW now has a Facebook like page. So besides, my fanfic account t it's another place to come, leave questions, enjoy art, and love the story so check it out and leave a like as well.
Now with further ado, let's start this party where we last left off, enjoy the chapter.
"Alright everybody! We are back with the second half of this seat-gripping, exciting, heart-pumping Guild War battle between rising star guild Kurotsubasa and the murderous guild Dead Bloods!" Announced Masukomi as the crowd cheered wildly in anticipation for the fight to come.
"Pu-Pu!" cheered CAM as well.
"Up now on the field we have the mercenary Mister Grim versus the Berserker; Zaraki!" she announced just as the screens showed two said players appearing on different levels of the now reconstructed building.
Zaraki grinned and cracked his knuckles excitedly and began to move at the same time with Grim as the two began their hunt.
(Flashback)
The next match was about to begin as Zaraki stepped forward ready to begin. "After the last match I'm going to show some generosity and allow Kurotsubasa to offer up a volunteer. So who will it be?'
Shadow stood up slowly just as Illu was barely done with healing him.
"But Shadow-"
"I'm going to fight this next match," declared Shadow stubbornly until Grim placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder.
"No way Shads, in your condition right now, Zaraki will beat you to a pulp," advised Grim looking his friend in the eye. "I know Zaraki's style, he may have said all that, but his real beef is with me…."
"Grim-"
"As acting leader of this Guild War, I'm taking this match now…" declared Grim as Shadow looked at the man before finally giving a nod. Grim smiled a bit as he made his way forward.
(End flashback)
Without Doppelman to help with tracking, Grim had to rely on his natural instincts as he sped through the dimly lit rooms and passages.
"WHERE ARE YOU GRIM?! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" yelled out Zaraki in obvious excitement as he ploughed through walls with adrenaline pumping through his veins.
Suddenly there was a small explosion to Zaraki's right, blasting the man some distance away. Instead of being stunned, Zaraki grinned as he saw a figure appear through the dust cloud.
"Long time no see, Grim…" he greeted sarcastically.
"Not long enough if you ask me." Grim said as the smoke covering the field faded away. "It's really troublesome having to deal with you again after all this time. It's one of the reasons why I decided to leave this area."
"Ah yes, I remember…it was right after our last fight, the one where you stole my position from me." Zaraki's sarcasm seems to increase the more he spoke. "It's bad enough that I lose my original ranking to Shiro, but then you come along and ruin everything. Took all I had to even still remain around the guild."
"Personally, I don't see how that is my fault." Grim said. "I told Shiro I was never interested in joining. All in all, there should still be that spot as second left open for anyone to take."
"Not the way the spoiled brat sees it, but that doesn't matter." As he talked he clenched his hands, using his clawed rings to dig into his palm and draw drops of black blood that fell from his hand and floated around them. "All I really care about right now is the fact that I get another chance to tear you apart. "
"How are you going to manage that?"
"You were barely able to even beat me last time, but now things are different. I'm not going to hold anything back like I did, or underestimate you. I'll use the full power of my blood against you." Opening his palm, the blood swirled together to create a sphere that he aimed at Grim. "In fact, why the hell are we even talking?! Let's hurry and get to the fun part, the part where I slowly tear you to pieces!"
"Branch of Sin: Ganta Gun!"
The bullet of blood fired at high speeds, easily drilling into Grim's body as he was shot back.
"Wha-what?! Without any hesitation Zaraki fired his own blood like a bullet into Grim's chest. A direct hit, was the infamous bounty hunter really unprepared for Zaraki's surprise attack?!" Masukomi asked the audience through the mike.
After firing his bullet Zaraki then took to the air with a strong leap. As he predicted, the falling Grim slowly turned entirely grey before it then exploded, taking a large chunk of the ground along with it. Landing back on the ground he looked past the crater and around the area. He decided to take the initiative and made his way to higher ground to view more of the area.
"I knew you were too much of a coward to try and face me head on, I know your style! Now I just have to find you and I will! I'm not exactly patient like Doc, especially where I'm hunting for the prey that I want!" He howled to the heavens, sure that his voice could be heard from all over the battlefield.
A distance away from the blast zone was Grim who had taken shelter behind a large rock, able to keep eye on Zaraki. He kept himself in the shadows, knowing his cloak would be hard to see despite the red clouds that decorated it.
"Well that was a waste of chakra, I thought for sure he would've tried something more head-on and be caught in the clone's explosion." Grim said to himself. "It would be much easier with Doppelman around, but thanks to their rules I can't use a lot of my best plans. At least I got all the items I need from out of Doppelman." The bomber then began to strategize.
'I don't have many options but I have stealth and since Doppelman is back with the others I don't cast a shadow anymore. That makes it easier to move around the area.' As he was thinking he sent his hands into the pouches at his side to pull out some explosives. 'I may have to play hit and run for a while until I can get him to lower his guard.'
"Well Grim, if you're not coming out to party…then I'll bring the party to you!"
At that mentioned, Grim peaked from behind the rock only to his horror to turn back and find a new hiding spot as several parts of the stage was suddenly bombarded with bullets. Over on his perch, Zaraki had cut both his palms and was now firing waves of bullets at every hiding spot and covered area he saw until he reduced everything to rubble that littered the ground.
"It seems that Zaraki has no intention of mindlessly searching the ground for Grim. In fact he is trying to force his opponent out by firing all over the battlefield. He really will not stop until he's found Grim!" Masukomi said while glad that the madman hasn't destroyed one of C.A.M's cameras yet.
(Kurotsubasa)
"Man, he's not even aiming; he's just pointing where he feels like and hoping he gets lucky. I believe Grim now when he says that lunatic was the one who created that guild." DB said hearing the many crashes of the blood bullets striking various objects. "How long is he going to keep this up?"
"Not for long, no matter how crazy he is he's still human." Key says as he observed Zaraki as he kept firing his onslaught. "Fact is he probably doesn't have much ways to regenerate the blood that he loses. Just losing two pints of blood will cause anemia and after four or five…"
"You die" Shadow finished for Key. "Without a way to supply new blood, the guy is on a time limit."
"So Zaraki would bleed himself to death just to get to Grim; does he really carry that much of a grudge?" Illu asked as she continued to watch the fight. "The first two battles were insane and now this. How far will they go?"
"Hey, we can hear you all the way over here!"
All eyes then turned towards the Dead Bloods side as Whip was standing near the edge of their area. The scantily clad woman smirked, seeing as she caught their attention and continued.
"You clowns have your own morals and we've got ours! This isn't even about a job anymore! It's the way the Dead Bloods; no matter what our target is, be it by murder or assassination, our motto is 'If it can die…kill it.'" Whip finished.
"Thy do agree with our sister. Thou does not have to like how our guild does things; the same way we don't care about your guild." Queen then stepped up to speak with their opponent guild. "Every guild has they own custom, thy own rules, thy own goals…and they will do whatever is necessary to achieve them. Right now, our goal is thy's defeat and thou's death." Her tone then went from her usual regal speech to a darker tone. "Zaraki may be reckless but he knows how to work towards a goal with all he has. He'll take down half the battlefield to get to his prey, Grim especially."
"Sounds like those two have some history." Key spoke back. "Care to enlighten the rest of us, or do you rather keep berating us. Either way your friend isn't doing so well." True to the Beta's words the sounds then stopped and they all saw that Zaraki was stumbling a small bit until he fell to his knee.
"It seems that Zaraki has stopped firing. Unleashing all those bullets must have taken a lot out of him, especially since those bullets were made of his own blood!" Masukomi then turned from Zaraki to the cameras that were surveying the damages.
"And as of now we're still unable to locate Mister Grim! He wasn't killed in the attack since the battle is still going, but he is nowhere to be seen! All available cover has been destroyed, where could he be?!"
"GO GRIM! GO!" cheered Doppelman encouragingly.
(Battlefield)
Zaraki continued to breathe precious oxygen as he had his black blood harden across his palms to prevent more blood loss. As he felt nausea from his huge loss of blood he was fumbling around his pockets until pulling out a black pill.
'Damn, no screams, I probably didn't get him.' He moved the pill to his mouth and bit down hard, breaking the gel capsule. 'Or maybe…he's injured and is hiding in the wreckage.'
The former leader of the Dead Bloods could already feel the effects of the pills the blurriness of his vision cleared and he rose to his feet. Mad Doc had created many inventions for the guild that helps with the drawbacks of using their branch of sin. The doctor had created sets of pills to increase blood cell count should a member use too much blood; much was always the case with Zaraki. Rested and rejuvenated he hopped from his perched and impacted the ground upon landing.
"Time to look around, I won't be satisfied until I find a body." Zaraki said stalking his way around the rubble. Unbeknownst to him there were several eyes watching him and none of them belonging to the audience.
"You can hide but you can't run, why don't you come out and show me those gears of yours?!" Hearing movement, Zaraki picked up a pipe and hurled it towards the origin. He smirked hearing the sound of steel pierce something soft but it was gone as soon as an explosion followed it.
Zaraki's anger then began to grow. "Is this all you've learned to do since last time?! Running and hiding like a coward! Are you really this pathetic without your little shade backing you up?!"
"I'd watch what you say about Doppelman if I were you. He's a little sensitive about those who badmouth him."
"The hell?!" Zaraki looked around, going a full 360 as Grim's voice seemed to originate from all around him.
"Confused, don't worry I'll dumb it down for you. It's one of the few jutsu I learned to help with my work; you have no idea how many of them looked as clueless as you hearing a voice come from all directions."
"Bastard, why don't you show your face?!"
"That's too troublesome. I rather have you surrounded like I do now."
Before any questions could be asked, many pieces of rubble began to rumble as a large amount of movement was heard. Out of every crack and niche between the rock and ruined buildings were various clay creatures. Spiders, snakes, and a few birds that had hidden in the cracks have now took flight, circling around Zaraki.
"The good news about this plan, my original power protects me from the explosion's shock waves. The bad news, you're not so lucky. Since explosions wouldn't pierce skin, don't expect to get any of your blood anywhere for a black blood technique."
"You…" Zaraki said as soon as all for the animate bombs began to light up; all of them receiving the silent order to detonate.
"This is checkmate…Katsu!"
The light grew brighter until it completely enveloped Zaraki as all of the explosions went up at once and ignited. Flames and smokes filled the area as Zaraki was caught in ground zero of Grim's attack. After the attack ended, a figure could be see bursting from the ground and landed on safe ground.
"As you would say Zaraki, no kill like over kill." Grim said as he watched the explosion settle.
(Dead Bloods)
"Hooray! Hooray! Death-Chan Hooray! Go-Go!" cheered Shiro enthusiastically as she suddenly appeared in a black cheerleader uniform with a doodle of Grim on the front as she waved about red and black pompoms in the air and bounced up and down on a trampoline.
"You do realize he plays for the other team right?" asked Whip incredulously as she watched the girl bounce up and down. "You know what? Never mind…."
(Battleground)
Grim dusted himself but didn't relax as he studied the area. While the average player would have most definitely been obliterated, he knew Zaraki had more fight in him than that. Just at that moment, the Moon shone through the clouds and illuminated the rubble. Suddenly, Grim's instincts alerted him to dodge quickly, as the bounty hunter quickly jumped in time to avoid a flurry of bullets erupting from the pile.
"GRIM!" snarled Zaraki viciously as he exploded out from the pile, as his black blood swirled into a long katana. Needless to say Zaraki was covered in burns and bruises from head to toe while his jacket was pretty much in tatters. His hair swept about wildly as his eyes blazed with the intent to kill.
Masukomi stood up in complete shock. "As expected! Zaraki is still up and about despite literally being blown up from all angles! What a frightening man he is!"
"Blood…SWORD!" cried Zaraki as he swung the blade at Grim who quickly activated his weapon's blood.
Sparks flew with a nasty grinding sound as blood blade connected with the rotating blades of a chainsaw as Zaraki grinned wildly while Grim gritted his teeth hard before forcing Zaraki back.
The two slid away from each other before launching themselves again. The sounds of metal clashing filled the air as the two weapons clashed repeatedly over and over again. Grim was doing his best to defend and attack while Zaraki showed no obvious signs of giving up yet.
"What's the matte Grim?! Don't tell me you've grown rusty after all this time?!" taunted Zaraki as he rushed and slashed at Grim who dived to the side.
"Right back at'cha Zaraki!" retorted Grim as he flipped himself over. "Saw Foot First Gear: Vortex of Carnage!"
Zaraki gritted his teeth as he began dodging the whirlwind of blades coming at him as Grim spun his body on his hands send a mad flurry of rotating blades at his opponent.
"GO DEATH-CHAN GO! KNOCK THAT POOPY-HEAD'S BLOCK OFF!" cheered Shiro enthusiastically before blowing into a whistle and blaring an air-horn.
"WILL YOU SHUT THE F-K UP YOU TINY DIP-SHIT?! WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?!" screamed Zaraki from the battle-ground.
"GET SANITIZED YOU GERM!" retorted Shiro sticking her tongue out at Zaraki while pulling an eyelid down.
Zaraki snarled, veins visibly throbbing as he turned away from his childish leader to the target of his frustrations. His grip tightened around his hardened blood sword as he saw Grim was now back on his feet, though his blades were still released. An idea forming in his head, he pierced his free hand with his rings to draw enough blood for a bullet.
"Tch, I can deal with her later, right now all I need to worry about is leaving you dead on the wreckage!" Zaraki then smirked as he then fired the bullet.
"That move isn't going to work." Grim said as he used his foot to hike a large piece of rubble that exploded as soon as the bullet impacted.
Using his sawblades, Grim began to grind on the ground, dodging another bullet as he then went in range to attack his opponent. The sawfoot reaper then lifted a leg up for an axe kick that was soon deflected by Zaraki's sword. Seeing his move blocked, he jumped back and landed on the ground just in time to see Zaraki drop his sword and assume a familiar stance.
"From your hesitation, I bet you know what this is! How convenient that there is already a full moon, saves me the waste of my powers!" Zaraki said, now braced in a waterbending stance. "I'll end this fight in a flash!"
"If you think you can bloodbend me so easily you can jus…ack!" Grim didn't get to finish as he felt something collide hard into his back before ricochet away. Now unbalance, he tried to right himself only to feel something slam in from the side. Now confused, he was able to dodged the third object and saw that it was a black blur.
'What is that thing…and what is Zaraki bending?' Grim asked himself as he kept up his dodging against the seemingly sentient projectile. All the while he looked to Zaraki and saw that he indeed was bending something, yet there was no water around and he wasn't bloodbending Grim.
"Oi Grim, you look like you're confused so I'll spell it out for you!" Zaraki called out, while forming a blood bullet. "What's the definition of Bloodbending?"
"Bending the fluids in someone's body, what's that got to do with…?" A quick dodge to the right allowed Grim to avoid that bullet but now he noticed that there were two black blurs moving around. Three more shots and misses and now Grim was able to connect the pieces. The objects repeatedly attacking him was blood, Zaraki's own blood bullets that he was controlling through bloodbending.
"Looks like you've guessed it. Bloodbending is bending a person's life fluids, but who said it had to be yours?" As he bended the blood bullets then began to move rapidly, making patterns around the stationary bounty hunter. "I learned a lot since I last fight and stepped up my game. As long as my bullets remain whole I can still bend them, of course if you try to break them you'll just have more bullets to deal with!" With that he then began his flurry of attacks, watching in maniacal glee as Grim continued to try and dodge and was hit by some of the projectiles.
"I…I don't think I've ever seen anything like this! Ladies and Gentleman, Zaraki is indeed bloodbending, but with his own blood! He's turned his bullets into a barrage of continuous attacks; Grim can only hope and try to dodge them all as Zaraki has him enclosed. Is this the end?!"
Testing Zaraki's statement, he slashed at a blood bullet and watched the blood burst into several smaller drops that continued to dash around in the air before zooming at him at high speeds. Grim kept his dodging as he continued to navigate the barrage of blood around him.
'This is some mess, I can't even really get away with all these bullets around.' Grim thought to himself as he tried to think of a way to get him some breathing room. 'As long as he still has blood to use he can keep this up right. I really don't want to do this, but I can't afford getting a loss…not to Zaraki.' Channeling some chakra to his closed hand he opened it to reveal a clay dove that flew up, impacting against one of the bullets.
"Katsu!"
The dove exploded, blanking the air with a flash and dust clouds from the explosion. Zaraki had his eyes closed from the explosions but had his bullets tear into the cloud repeatedly to try and catch Grim before he could escape from the dust cloud.
"Bastard! Don't think I'm letting you run away!" Collecting all the blood into a massive sphere he slammed it down, hearing the sound of it crushing whatever was still inside of the dust cloud. Satisfied, Zaraki released his stance, still drawing beads of sweat from the effort. "Like I'm falling for the same trick twice." He said while forming another blood sword and went over to check the remains of the dust cloud. "Come on out, what are you tunneling underground again?"
"Nope, but thanks for that idea. Would've been less troublesome than this plan." A muffled voice said from behind the smokr.
As it cleared, Zaraki couldn't help but let a flinch a bit seeing an earth dome in place of Grim. The dome was flattened and cratered in certain places and the roof had a large indent, but what he noticed was that his blood now stained the sides and was drying, making them unusable. Grim the lowered the dome and stepped out of it, dusting off some of the dirt from his cloak.
"That last attack nearly killed me, I should've chose to escape but I didn't want to waste anymore chakra than needed." Grim sighed a bit as he then looked to Zaraki. "In any case, are you ready to give up now?"
"GIVE UP, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WANT TO GIVE UP!" Zaraki howled out as he got into his stance again. "All right, there is no playing around now! I wanted this to drag on a little longer but I still haven't cut into you yet!"
At that moment, Grim felt his body stiffen as he felt the control the blood bender had on him. His feet began to move him slowly closer to Zaraki, against his will while the Dead Blood gave him an evil smirk. Once he was halfway, Zaraki kept the blood sword he dropped on the ground hardened so that he may use it.
"This was a really good show Grim, but it's time that I had my fun." As he kept his rival walking he only used one hand so that he could grab the sword. Once Grim was close enough he stabbed the blade into Grim's chest, making sure not to hit any vital organs…yet. He saw that Grim was holding in his sounds of pain but it didn't stop his face from showing the pain of being stabbed.
"It hurts doesn't it? Not as much as the humiliation I had to put up with, but I'll try to match it as easy as I can." He spoke as he began to twist the sword in the wound. "Don't be shy, go ahead and scream. It's what most people are here for when they watch the Dead Bloods fight. Of course, I would like my work appreciated so if you would please…?"
"Like…I would give you…the satisfaction." Grim muttered out.
Zaraki then smirked. "Well that's a shame. I would've kept the battle going if you did; it would give me a reason to keep looking at your ugly mug. I guess I'll settle for cutting it in two."
"Shiro-Shiro…"
"Huh?!" Both men looked over to the side.
"…KICK!" "GAAAAAAK!"
Out of nowhere, Shiro appeared on the battlefield with one of her boots pressed against Zaraki's face. The Dead Blood was sent flying while Grim floated stunned before he fell to the ground, no longer under the hold of bloodbending.
"L-ladies and gentlemen, what twist is this?! All of a sudden, a member of Dead Bloods appeared and K.O's one of their own members. Officially…I have to give the win to Kurotsubasa, since Zaraki does not appear to be moving." Announced Masukomi as Zaraki's twitching form was transported back to his guildmates.
"Shiro what…" Grim was then cut off by also receiving a kick. Knocking him a few feet away.
"I want the real Grimmy out right now!" She yelled, stomping her feet hard on the ground. She stopped when she saw a distance away Grim then worked his way out of the ground. Everyone then watched as the previous Grim turned pale white while drops of blood fell out the clay before exploding.
"Shiro, what's the reason for you to barge in like that?" Grim asked, though he felt that he knew the answer.
"WAH! DEATH-CHAN ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! STUPID ZAKI WAS BULLYING MY DEATH-CHAN~!" wailed Shiro loudly as she glomped Grim to the ground with tears gushing out like a fountain.
Grim rolled his eyes as he stood up with Shiro still clinging to him like a koala. "Would you calm down? I would think you of all people would like the idea of seeing me covered in blood…"
"WAH! That's different! Only I can beat Death-Chan bloody like that! Death-chan is mine!" pouted Shiro puffing out her cheeks while waving her arms wildly making Grim sigh irritably.
"What am I, a toy?"
Shiro suddenly stopped and stared at Grim. "Yup." Was all she said with the most serious face and straight tone making everyone sweatdrop.
(Kurotsubasa)
"Oi…she's supposed to be a kid right?" asked Db unsurely.
"That's right…I think…." Came Key's response.
Over at the Dead Bloods, the Domina-Twins rolled their eyes to each other and sighed.
"Oi! Swirly-Glasses Lady!" called Shiro waving over to Masukomi. "I want to play with Death-Chan now!"
Masukomi dead-panned a little at the nickname before readjusting her glasses. "Uh….ok?"
"Yay! Death-Chan let's play Tag!" cheered Shiro happily tugging on Grim's sleeve before gaining a particular look in her eye.
Grim looked down seriously at Shiro's face and caught the look. He knew exactly what she meant by that. "Oh?...What's your rules for this Game, Shiro?"
"Oh Death-Chan you~!" squealed Shiro patting Grim really hard on the arm. "How about this? The first to make the other bleed wins~!"
Grim quirked an eyebrow, not even the least bit surprised before smirking a little. "I accept." He said without hesitation.
"Kyan~! DEATH-CHAN~~~!" squealed Shiro excitedly as she whipped out a dagger and began slashing wildly at Grim who dodged every single swing before jumping back and running through the building.
"Ready or not, Here I come~!" cheered Shiro enthusiastically as she sped after Grim down a hallway, laughing excitedly as she literally was bouncing off the walls and running on the ceiling.
Masukomi and everyone else in the stadium sweat-dropped heavily. "Well…I have no idea what just happened….but I guess somehow we technically started another duel….with the challenge to see who draws blood from the other first, it's the Leader of Dead Bloods herself against the Grim Reaper…"
"DEATH-CHAN~!" Shiro called out excitedly as she appeared in front of Grim and slashed at him but narrowly missed as the man was able to draw back his head and back-flipped a few times before sliding to a stop.
'Heh, she's as fast as ever,' thought Grim to himself as he blocked a direct kick from Shiro followed by the multiple flurry of punches, kicks and stabs that the girl threw at him.
Shiro laughed in glee as she kept on her relentless attack. "Bleed! Bleed! Bleed!" she kept chanting in an excited, wild tone, the exhilarating thrill in her eyes glinting at the prospect of seeing the glistening redness of blood.
She was small but her physical attacks were powerful as Grim was sent sliding back into a wall. "Gyahahahahaha~!" giggled Shiro in a crazed voice as trampled multiple kicks onto Grim who had his arms up to shield himself.
While the bounty hunter was strong enough to withstand the kicks, apparently the wall was not as Grim was eventually shoved through the wall causing him to hit the ground rolling. "SHIRO KICK~!" went Shiro as she came raining down with a huge kick directed at him. The floor exploded as the two dropped a few storeys. Shiro appeared to be proud of herself until Grim's body became soft and melted into a mass of white clay around her legs.
"EWWW~!" squealed Shiro in disgust as she tried to pull herself out of it, only to find herself stuck in the sticky mess.
"I thought the sticky putty would come in handy," noted Grim, obviously pleased with himself as he appeared out the ground and walked towards the struggling Shiro.
"No fair, Death-chan! No fair!" whined the girl loudly as she got more tangled in the sticky putty. "I was supposed to capture you!"
"Hmm? You complaining about fairness of all things? What a naughty little girl!" said Grim darkly as a sinister look came over him as he stood over Shiro who suddenly fell silent in shock at the sudden assertiveness.
"Death…chan?" she whimpered a little when Grim suddenly stamped his foot.
"Silence! I didn't give you the right to speak!" snapped Grim making Shiro flinch as she sank to her knees.
Suddenly a sinister smile came on to Grim's dark look as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Shiro's chin, making her blush a little. "Hmm, naughty little children ought to be punished…" he sneered as he leaned in closer until their faces were almost touching. "What a nice pathetic expression…." He commented with his sneering smile as his dark gaze pressured Shiro into a small whimper.
"Shall I punish you painfully?" he whispered in a dark seductive tone as he slowly stroked a finger under Shiro's chin.
On cue, Shiro's mind became overwhelmed as she began glowing red all over. "Aga…whaga…"was all she could as she appeared to be malfunctioning as more gibberish began spluttering out.
"Ma…ma….Ma-ma-ma-ma….MANIAKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA….AAAAN~~~~~!"Shiro squealed excitedly and shrilly as a jet of blood splurted out her nostrils with such force Shiro was propelled out of the putty, through the roof and into the sky like a rocket where she disappeared into the stratosphere and exploded into red fireworks spelling 'DEATH-CHAN~!'.
"Wow…I can't believed that actually worked!" exclaimed Grim reverting back to normal.
Masukomi's glasses half-slid off her faces as her mouth hung open in shock along with everybody whose faces pretty said "What the F-K…..?"
"Um….Grim WIN! ….I think…." Announced Masukomi unsurely before chuckling weakly; she placed her hand over her mike. "These fights…are really getting crazier the longer this goes on." She said, making sure that her mike didn't catch her voice.
(With Kurotsubasa)
As Grim appeared in the guild's booth he walked nonchalantly, ignoring the faces of some of the more shocked and surprised looks the rest of Kurotsubasa was giving him. Just as he found his spot and sat down he then turned a lazy eye to the rest of the group.
"Why are you guys staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Grim asked seeing the crazy stares the others were giving him.
"Yes, that mouth of yours…what the hell was that?!" DB was the first to break the rest of their silence. "I get the first part and I saw that you were about the way, but what was that second fight about?" The vampire asked him.
Grim began to look away and rub the back of his neck. "Well after I have to deal with having to battle Zaraki without my main tools I knew it would be too bothersome to try going all out against Shiro, especially without Doppelman who has my more advance sculptures. So I basically decided on a fast way to beat her."
"Hence, the first to bleed rule." Key said with a raised brow.
Grim then sighed. "Yeah that…it was the best decision to make at the time. Going against Zaraki is a gamble without serious firepower and I rather play games with Shiro than to actually have a serious battle against her." Grim looked back at the battlefield, having the rest of them follow their gazes. "Those marks Shiro made with her knife can go deeper, and her branch of sin trumps the others. Not to mention you all saw how much stronger she is physically. There is a reason why Shiro is the leader; Zaraki can't take control because he isn't powerful enough to overthrow her."
"So it isn't why Zaraki hasn't taken back his leadership, it's that he can't. So, all he has with is his pseudo-status as a field leader. I guess that's one reason for him to be so high-end." Key thought aloud. "Though still, I still wonder what the exact difference in their power would be."
"I'll put it this way…on a full moon, Zaraki can take down a whole squad of Admin. Shiro can take out the same amount with just her bare hands." Grim painted the pictures in their heads. "Trust me; there wouldn't be a battlefield if Shiro and I had fought all out."
"You mean anything left after how Shads left it." DB reminded them.
"Drop it" Shadow said as he looked up to where their points were kept track. "That nets us two wins, next to the draw from Bella's battle. We just have to win one more fight to end this Guild War." The guild leader reminded them of the situation. "We've got a few people still fresh and ready to battle."
"But at the same time, what's stopping one of the last two from picking someone who is exhausted and still recovering. The only one of us out of the competition is Bella due to the rules." Key said.
"Bella-chan is still asleep and Rave-chan still hasn't come out from her barrier." Illu said as she looked at the glowing sphere of energy containing the last member of the guild. "And Shadow and Grim are both exhausted from their fights. We're at a disadvantage since they're the ones who get the option of who to choose to fight."
"Oh you don't have to worry about that little girl~."
Everyone then turned to see Whip and Queen, who have both finished setting their two downed teammates on the ground next to the others. Ignoring both of their conditions they then continued to speak with Kurotsubasa.
"You may not know about this since you're new here, but my sister and I have very…special rules when it comes to battling in the Guild Wars." Whip started out with a sadistic look on her face at her chance to battle.
"Thou may of have Grim, who must've taught thou all of our abilities, yet even he doth not know of the new ways the Dead Bloods work." Queen spoke from beside her sister. "Whip and I are registered on a tag-team status in the guild; do thou know what that means?" She asked in a sweet yet dark tone.
"A tag-team status, are you serious?!" Grim asked, his worry displayed visually on his face.
"Oi, what does that mean? Do they get to switch places, they get special privileges, come on don't just leave us in the dark if you know!" Doppelman asked as he tried to figure out why Grim had such a fearful expression on his face.
"I don't know much ok, it was a standard that has been around but only a few guilds ever use that system. All I know is that they get special condition in battle, that's it." Grim answered. "I've never seen a tag-team group in a Guild War or a battle before."
"Oh, doth thou not know, maybe thy should spell it out for you." Queen said in glee. Though as soon as the regal looking woman tried to speak she was then cut off.
"It means they both get to fight at the same time and they count as one fighter." Shadow said, interrupting the woman. He then slowly stood up and looked at the remaining members of the Dead Bloods. "So, if given the choice, you both can battle and it would count as one. You can fight one of us for one win or you can battle two of us for a double win." He explained.
"Well look at the smart ass over here, doesn't matter." Whip frowned for a bit seeing as Shadow had cut her sister off but she then went on to the point of them calling out to their enemies. "You don't have to worry about your little tired and exhausted friends little miss healer…since we've decided to battle you!" She made it clear by pointing in the hybrid's direction.
"W-what, me?!" Illu's eyes widened a bit in worry as she saw the finger pointed right at her.
"Thou heard my sister. Thy must say it was hard making a decision; Shiro wouldn't want anyone fighting her Death-Chan and Zaraki has already called you off limits." Queen started out her monologue. "Neither of us want anything to do with the toon girl, though she is knocked out, and after our earlier talk, thy won't mind taking a certain one out of the game." She narrowed her eyes at Shadow. "Though thou seems to have a certain power strong at this time of night, my sister and thy didn't agree to her request, only Doc, so thy will battle you another time."
"Then we started to pick out who was left. I don't know how our blood will work on that vampire shit but I don't take gambles." Whip chimed in and insulted DB at the same time. "The man in the black coat is a Beta right, so who knows what he can do. So then we came down to the two girls, and wouldn't it be convenient for us if their only available healer was…indisposed of?" She smiled evilly.
"Thus thy sister and I have made our decision." Queen added an evil look herself; causing Illu to unconsciously flinch though she held her ground.
"Hey, not only do you guys cheat but then you go and make a cheap move like that!" DB yelled in anger. "I outta…!"
"Oh, would you like to battle us shithead? Too bad, we've already made our call so you go wait in your corner or something!" Whip interrupted.
DB gave then a look like he wanted to ignite them in flames. As the situation got direr Grim then stood forward. "Is that what you're really going to stoop to, to try and win? Shiro K.O'd Zaraki and I beat Shiro, there is no more reason for any of us to fight!" The Grim Reaper said.
"Ah, but that would be too easy. Remember the rules, we don't give a damn about how much points you guys have, the name of the game is survival and being the last ones standing. The winners are the side that's still standing at the end." Whip said to them. "Last I checked we're still active so we can still fight. Or are you guys going to forfeit to us?"
"Thou do have that option, if thou really doesn't want to continue. If not, thou have to accept our decision…starting with the girl." Queen said, getting a bit impatient. "What is thou's choice, and don't try to change the arrangement, our choice was her and that's…"
"Not only do they dress horrible but they're even a pain to listen to nya…."
As that voice spoke, everyone turned to see the sphere's light get brighter for a second before it faded away as if it wasn't there to begin with. Walking out from the corner of the area was Ravena who was now standing and staring at the two Dead Blood divas with an expressionless face.
"I didn't think you girls were so weak you have to try tactics like this…." Ravena continued, while ignoring the looks that were given her way by her teammates.
"What did you say, who're you calling weak since you were the one hiding in a ball this whole time!" Whip was the first one to call back in Ravena in anger.
"Well if you were strong, it wouldn't matter who you wanted to fight right? You just want to go after Illu-tan since she can heal, guess you guys aren't really that smart either since you're going by looks as a sign of weakness." Ravena began not so much as batting an eyelash. "Just because Illu can heal doesn't mean she can't beat you guys, you just want to gang up on her for an easy win but that won't work. And let's say by some strange miracle you win, you have the rest of us to deal with, and we certainly won't go easy on you."
"Thou seem to be very confident for a mangy stray." Queen joined in the conversation. "How's about this, we're making a change. Since thou's feline friend seems so confident, let thy sister and I battle against you. All or nothing, whoever wins shall win the Guild War." The girl listed out the conditions. "Of course the other rules still apply, can thou win without the little pink furball?"
"Punnya!" Punnya hissed back and was about to fly forward if she wasn't stopped by Ravena who held the flying manju back.
"Sure, I can take you both on…or do you want to go one at a time?" Ravena asked after calming down her angry manju. "Either way, I win and your game ends right. Let's get this over with." The nekomata then made her way over to be transported. Before she left, Ravena then went and planted a kiss on the manju's head and dropped Punnya in Shadow's surprised arms.
"Look after Punnya all right." And just like that the three females then stared at one another as the battle would soon begin.
"It looks like the final battle has been decided; using their tag-team status, it's Whipmistress and Queendestruction versus Ravena Felidae. This is the round that will decide everything!" Masukomi announced to the crowd.
"But Rave-!" Illu was about to protest when Ravena turned around to face the group. The guild was slightly taken aback when they saw her eyes were a bit glazed as she smiled at them.
"It'll be alright…." She said before facing the front. "But don't hesitate to kill me if something goes wrong…." Ravena added before suddenly being transported.
Kurotsubasa stood there a bit stunned. "Please tell me she was kidding right?..." asked Doppelman nervously but nobody answered.
Illu felt extremely troubled and uneasy from the look in Ravena's eyes and the way she smiled and talked. 'Why do I feel like….she was saying goodbye?...' she thought as she watched the screens.
"Let this battle begin!" announced Masukomi.
The Twins both appeared in the same area as they looked around. "We find this most troublesome, doesn't thy agree dearest sister?" said Queen as the two began to walk.
"Indeed Queen, but it looks we won't have to waste our energy on a useless search after all," noted Whip as she pointed to a swirling mass appearing before them as Ravena levitated out of the ground and landed before them.
The Nekomata stood there and stared at them, saying nothing making the sisters a bit uneasy.
"Cease thy staring! It is most uncouth, thou unrefined Feline!" ordered Queen taking a step forward.
Ravena didn't even twitch as she continued staring with even so much as a blink.
"Oi, say something will you! What's the matter? The cat got her own tongue?!" sneered Whip hoping to get a reaction from Ravena.
She did as Ravena simply responded with a single little smirk which was apparently just enough to ignite some angry fire within the twins.
"CHEEKY LITTLE TROLLOP!" snarled Queen as she whipped out a regal looking dagger from a holster on her thigh. A silver blade with a diamond tip, the handle and sheath is encrusted with gold.
Whip just growled and pounced onto Ravena who side-stepped and blocked a stab from Whip's heeled boot. Whip didn't hesitate to make a roundabout as she successfully struck Ravena in the gut, sending her flying into a wall which cracked upon impact. Ravena fell to her knees but didn't even had a chance to recover as Queen stepped forward and delivered a swift kick to Ravena's jaw sending the Nekomata reeling in the air in another direction when Whip appeared and drop kicked her through the floor.
Thick dust arose as Ravena crashed through the concrete and hit the floor of the level below them. Ravena slowly pushed herself up when she suddenly felt something warm and sticky flowing from her head. With a trembling hand, Ravena gingerly touched the liquid and looked down. Her eyes began to widen in fear as her whole body shook.
Ba-DUMP!
Felis felt it too as she slashed away another attack from the Darkness. She could smell the blood that Felidae smelt and began trembling herself.
"Oh no….fight it Deedee! Don't give in!" cried Felis when she heard the Darkness begin to chuckle.
"Fool….you and I both know that resisting it is futile….She will fall soon enough…."
"SHUT UP!" snarled Felis as she charged at the Darkness head on.
CRASH! A dust cloud arose as Ravena narrowly jumped out of the way of Whip's kick while evading a stab from Queen. Ravena slid some distance away from the two as the sisters regrouped and smirked.
"I say dear sister, it looks like this kitty might be more fun to play with than we thought," said Whip aloud leaning on Queen's shoulder.
"We agree with thy sister. We sense pain and darkness in your heart, how delicious~!" grinned Queen as she glanced over to Whip. "Whip dear? Show her what you got."
"With pleasure, Darling Sister…" answered Whip gleefully as she reached for her earrings and ripped them off her earlobes much to Ravena's horror as Black Blood begin dripping from Whip's ear and mixing in with her hair.
"Branch of Sin: Whip Wing!" exclaimed Whip as the black blood morphed into multiple tendril like whips extending from her hair. "It's time to play!" declared the woman as she sent the whips flying at Ravena who quickly unfolded her wings and began maneuvering swiftly around the large room trying her best to desperately avoid being touched by the black blood.
"No! Get don't touch me!" cried Ravena as she blasted away the whips as before heading through the hole in the ceiling and upwards through the multiple floors.
Whip and Queen exchanged looks with each other and smirked evilly. That desperate tone in her voice, the look of panic in her expression, It was an emotion that the twins absolutely relished in when they engaged in torture: Fear…..
"The chase is on!" declared the sisters as Whip wrapped a whip around Queen and lifted themselves up through the hole as they gave chase to the flying Nekomata.
"It's your turn Queen," informed Whip turning to her sister.
"Thou need not tell us twice!" answered Queen as she lifted the dagger and plunged it into her arm. Black Blood spurted out of her arm and began forming multiple round sphere's of blood.
"Branch of Sin: Owl's Eyeball!" announced Queen as she flung her hand forward, sending the eyeballs hurtling towards Ravena's flying figure.
The sphere's flew like missiles towards Ravena and exploded. In her desperation to get away from the blood, Ravena was only just barely able to protect herself from the blast. Unfortunately, she missed a single sphere that had appeared directly behind her.
BOOM!
"ARRRRRRGH!" screamed Ravena in pain as she got blasted out of the sky down to where the Twins awaited.
CRACK! THUD! Ravena hit the ground half burnt with a sickening thud as the impact caused her to crash several floors down. Nearly everyone in the audience winced at the sound while some gave out exclamations.
"Ugh…" groaned Ravena in pain as she heard the twins heeled footwear click against the ground towards her. Ravena tried to move but she was too stunned by the blast and the fall. All of a sudden, she felt something wrap around her wrists and was forcefully jerked into the air. Ravena winced sharply as she hung limply from her arms.
Whip smirked as she gripped Ravena's face and looked into her eyes. "Such a soulless expression in her eyes, Queen. Pathetic and fractured. How wretchedly miserable!"
"It appears tis feline was truly all meow and no claws Whip dear," chuckled Queen as she played with her knife. "Let's show this little trollop what it means to try and speak out against us."
"Hmmm….and while we're at it…let's make an example of her to her precious guild-mates" sneered Whip mockingly as she held Ravena with her whips higher. Queen smiled in glee as she used her knife to rip away Ravena's coat until was in tatters while Ravena kept her head hung low while her badly burnt back was exposed for all to see on the screens.
The members of the audience along with Kurotsubasa widened their eyes as they all realized what was happening.
Ravena's wings hung lifelessly from her back, grotesquely disfigured by the explosion making the sisters wriggle their noses in disgust. "Ew…such a disgusting sight, a complete eyesore!" exclaimed Queen loudly before exchanging looks with Whip. "We should do this cat a favor and…how thy say, remove them?" she suggested to her sister as she handed her dagger to Whip.
"Good idea sister," said Whip in glee as she accepted the dagger and clutched at Ravena's wings tightly causing her to cry out in pain.
Before anyone could say anything, Whip slashed the dagger downwards as blood splattered across some of the screens while Ravena's blood-curdling scream could be heard erupting from the battlefield and ringing in the air.
Doppelman grabbed Amaya and shielded her eyes and ears while Illu quickly spun around and buried her face in DB's shoulder while the others turned their heads away.
"PUNNYA!" cried out Punnya in desperation while Shadow closed eyes and held her tightly.
BA-BUMP! Shadow suddenly felt a searing pain course through his body, enough to squeeze out a strangled cry from him as he sank to his knees.
Inside, Whip roughly dropped Ravena on the floor as the twins relished in great delight at seeing the Nekomata writhe about in pain.
"O…Oy! Stop this right now! I'm declaring this battle over!" cried Masukomi as she tried to cancel out the battle, only to find that she couldn't for some reason. "Wha—What?"
Ravena weakly tried to crawl away from the sisters when Queen suddenly stepped up and stabbed her heels right through Ravena's hands causing her to cry out again. "Not so fast thou little wench! Why don't you beg for us to stop?" sneered Queen only to be responded with a spat. "BITCH!" screamed the woman as she kicked Ravena in the face before pinning the girl's hands down with the dagger. "WHIP!"
"With pleasure sister!" answered Whip as she raised her whips.
SNAP! WHACK! CRACK! WHUP!
"AAAAAAAA….RRR…!" screamed Ravena loudly in pain as the whip after whip lashed across her body as blood flew in the air.
"STOP IT! STOP IT!" screamed Illu as she covered her ears trying to drown out Ravena's screams as tears flowed from her eyes. The others tried to get out from the booth but were repelled back and contained suddenly by a barrier. It wasn't just any barrier too as Illu hit her fists against it.
"This is…Ravena's magic…but why?!" cried Illu as she helplessly watched Ravena's torture continue.
"BITCH! WORTHLESS LITTLE SKANK! TROLLOP!" Queen hurled insult after insult as Whip kept lashing at Ravena while Queen also joined in whipping Ravena with the girl's own weapons.
Shadow gripped himself tightly as he too felt each lash. All of a sudden his vision blacked out as he heard sounds of a little girl crying.
"Huh?... Wha…" he wanted to ask when he suddenly found himself surrounded in darkness. The sobbing grew louder as Shadow's attention was drawn to a little girl about 10 years old with curly brown hair. She was crouched down, and crying heavily.
"It's not fair…. All I wanted was to be friends, I was just trying to help….It's not fair! It's not fair!"" Sobbed the girl in frustration when there was flash and suddenly the girl appeared to be slightly older in her teens, her head hung low which also concealed her face in the shadows.
"Why? Why is it so bad that I'm just being myself? What's wrong that I am a little different?!" the girl screamed out as tears ran down her face. "All I wanted was for them to like me…."
The girl disappeared in another flash before reappearing to be slightly older, around 18 at best. "Why won't they just leave me alone?! It's none of their business what I choose to do! I'm not hurting anyone! Why do they keep treating me like I'm a problem?! I only wanted to help!"
Suddenly Shadow was snapped back out of the vision as Punnya bit down on his hand hard.
The shock and pain racing too his head soon brought him out of the memories. Shadow then looked and saw the worried Manjus looking towards him. Despite the blood now coming from his hand he pulled his other hand from his head and used it to calm the two down.
"I know, I had a bad feeling about this match from the start, but this…this is too much." Shadow said silently while he bashes his bloodied hand against the barrier. "I don't know why Ravena would block us out like this!"
"This barrier is unbelievably strong." Grim said in irritation as another set of bombs just exploded against the wall, but it shown intact underneath the smoke. As their attempts failed the reaper then turned over to Masukomi's station. "Hey Masukomi, you can't let the fight keep going like this, end it!"
"I'm trying, but something is preventing me from doing so!" Masukomi answered back as she worked frantically from her controls to try and solve the situation at hand. As she tried, she also went to remedy the situation on the battlefield. "Hey, Dead Bloods, the battle is over! Stop or I'll be forced to…!"
"What are you talking about; of course the fight isn't over!" Whip spoke joyfully as she continued her barrage of hits against their downed opponent. "Don't tell me you dumbasses have forgotten the rules, there is only a winner when only that side is still standing!" After that she then stopped her assault, while smiling at the blood and tears that marked Ravena's skin.
"From what thy can see, the bitch is still breathing." Not even giving her a chance to recover her breath, Queen provided a kick to the wounded nekomata's ribs, causing her to gasp rapidly for air. "See, our opponent is still conscious. The battle isn't over…not while the trollop here is still drawing breath."
"Oh, but don't worry about that. We're working on that small little problem right now." Whip said as she cracked her whip against Ravena's back again, causing another scream to pour from the girl's mouth. "I just want to take my time and have fun. Besides, I'm happy that she didn't pass out from us clipping her wings. It's boring to kill someone while they're out."
"Ah, but dear sister do not worry. That is why thy am here, to make sure that that doesn't happen." Queen smiled devilishly as her hand made its way to the knife in Ravena's hand. To make her point, she started twisting the knife, causing more pain to come from the damaged limb. Hearing the girl's agony Queen then stopped. "Thou shouldn't pass out on thy sister please, not until we're done with our battle."
"You two make me sick!" Shadow called from the booth, clutching the hand that he had slammed against the barrier. "Is this the kind of games your guild is known for huh?! You think that you're really powerful when beating on someone who can't fight back?!"
Queen returned the question with a devious grin. "Oh, but isn't that thy teammate's mana holding you all back. If thou has enough to hold up a cage then thou surely is conscious enough to keep going." The girl then seemed to be struggling to hold back her laughter, though it was obvious that she and her sister were enjoying these turn of events. "In fact, thy think that if she has enough energy for a cage, then maybe she is not taking this fight seriously."
"Well isn't that insulting? The skank over here comes in with that mouth of her but thinks that she can play games with us. Hah, did you see her face when she trembled as she saw our blood?! I don't know what this bitch was thinking getting into this fight!" Whip entered the conversation as stop to appreciate her artwork.
"Oh it's a fight you want, then why don't we have a substitute." His hand clutching the barrier began to pulse with energy and it seemed to battle with the barrier, causing a small crack to form which then suddenly healed. "I'll give you two a fight…the last fight you see if you lay another hand on her!" Shadow responded with his threat, his eyes flickering from their normal state to red. All throughout the fight he felt phantom pains wherever the nekomata was hit and the mark still burned as thou it was trying to eat through his chest. However; all that was irrelevant as while Shadow should be feeling worry, fear, and pain…all that was left was rage.
"Oh, thy volunteers?" Queen asked in fake ignorance, though as she felt the power from where she was, a part of her was glad she didn't have to deal with what Doc had gone through during his battle. "Thou are quite honorable, but this is a Maidens battle. Thy expect thou to wait thy turn."
"Hehehe, we'll get to ya' momentarily. We still have that owl from before to take care of, isn't that right Ravena." Whip said as she leaned down to Ravena's face. "You thought you were saving your friend but you were just stalling for time. How does it feel to let your whole team down? You must be feeling like a sack of shit, cause you sure do look the part right now." She went to place a hand on her chin but pulled away seeing Ravena's in vain bite. "Look, she's still got some fire kicking. Tell you what Sis, I think I changed my mind."
"Oh, and what hath thou changed thy mind about Whip?" Queen asked, this time in authentic interest in her sister's plan. It wasn't every day that Whip wanted to deviant from her usual tactics. "By all means, tell thy audience your change of heart."
Whip smirked at that line but she then turned to the nearest cameras, making sure they caught every image, every word.
"It would be so~ boring~ if we ended this Guild War on this note. These black winged bastards have made our whole guild look like idiots and laughing stalks in our own turf. Now before anyone gets any ideas that the Dead Bloods have gone soft I think we should remind them who we are." Whip then turned from the cameras to Ravena as she then pressed her heal against her opponent's head. "And I definitely want you to listen to this. It's been fun beating you around, but how fair is it that we've lost three guys and you're the only one going away on a stretcher. Isn't that unfair to us? So let's make it even, an eye for an eye."
"My how ingenious of you sister. That thought has never occurred to me." Queen shared the same devil-like smile her sister has as she walked over towards the two. "We surely have to establish thy power in front of our native audience, but for the rest of Kurotsubasa to go home unscathed…they'll never learnt their lesson if they're free to leave. Thou hath proposed the perfect lesson…the lesson of despair."
"Hell yeah, after we're done with kitty-litter here; we'll stick to our old choice and take on the little birdy you're working so hard to try and keep safe. Aren't you a good friend, I'll make sure it's carved on her grave." Whip said while pressing her heel further into Ravena's hair. "And why stop there, that leader of yours so volunteered himself but your whole guild needs to learn. We'll go through them all, one by one, I'll personally make sure that they're buried six feet under. While that happens…you'll watch. Watch every single one of them get torn to pieces. Until you and your whittle master are left." Whip then turned up to Queen and smiled. "And my sister still wants some payback over what he said to her. I think we'll make a change to what we'll take from you guys after this fight."
"Oh I think thy can finish for you Whip." Queen joined the conversation. "A long and arduous torture is in store for those who defy us. Thou's teammates deaths will be slow and thy am promising them a painful demise. As the leader, Shadow's punishment shall be worse. Maybe we can use those Wings of his to prolong his suffering, we will inflict every torture we have on your whole guild to him and repeat it over and over."
"Then you'll be the only one left, alone with all that pain and guilt. Isn't that great, how lucky are you that you get to be spared." Whip said with much glee in her voice. "Maybe if you beg, we'll make the rest of this a little less painful~." She said in a sing-song voice.
"Gggg-go, ttto hhell" Ravena struggled to say as she glared back.
"Aww, is that a no? Well good thing I was lying." Sneered Whip as she kicked Ravena square in the jaw.
The two women cackled as they continued their torture while Ravena kept her head down. 'I should have known my efforts will go to waste…they always do….' Thought Ravena bitterly as she bit down on her lip. 'All I want to do be useful to others…. But it always falls to nothing…'
(Flashback)
Ravena recalled a flashback when she was ten. She was in school, holding back tears as another girl yelled her while others looked on. A project lay on the floor broken.
"You ruined everything! I told you not to move anything and now its broken!" yelled the girl before turning and stomping away while everyone else disappeared.
"I'm Sorry…." Said 10 year old Ravena meekly…"I only wanted to help…"
FLASH!
(Middle School)
"Abby's so weird! All she ever does is sit and read or draw her little cartoons," one faceless girl said as she leaned on a wall talking to two other girls.
"I know right? And she's such a suck-up to the teachers!" chimed another girl.
"And she's is such a loser! At least we don't have to buy our own lunches thanks to her, since she is soooo desperate for friends she'd do anything~!"
"Ooh! Maybe we should ask her to do our homework too!" laughed another girl.
"Oooh, we should!" snickered her as the group laughed unaware that Abby was hiding behind a wall with tears running down her face.
(End)
'That's right…every time I help others….I sacrifice my own convenience for theirs…it's always been in vain…even if I kept this going….Kurotsubasa….they would get tired of me anyway…. The only person I can trust… is myself…'
'Then we should protect ourselves….' A new voice spoke out in her mindscape.
'Felis?' Ravena asked unsurely until she was responded with a cackle.
"Felis? You mean that sorry excuse of a protector? HAH! You don't need her…."
'Wh-who are you?'
"Hmph…silly girl, the answer is obvious. I…am …you…."
'Where's Felis? Where is she?!' demanded Ravena looking around her mindscape which was in complete darkness.
The new voice, chuckled in amusement, a dark ominous feeling echoing around. "I said so before…she is not worthy of protecting you Ravena…you are not worthy of protecting yourself… so that's why…"
At that moment four red eyes appeared behind Ravena as a pair of hands reached out and wrapped around Ravena's shoulders as the girl felt herself get pulled in to an embrace. "That is why…I'm taking over from here…." A dark sultry voice purred into Ravena's ears as the darkness began to wrap around Ravena. "Drown into your darkness….where nobody can ever hurt you again…"
Ravena relaxed a bit as her eyes glazed over. "I will…"
(Back to the fight…)
"This is the end…." Announced Queen as she pulled out her dagger from Ravena's palms while Whip formed a pike in her hand out of her Black Blood.
Everybody, especially Kurotsubasa widened their eyes as they watch Queen and Whip raise their weapons.
"DIE!" cackled the two as they brought their weapons down.
"RAVENA!" screamed Kurotsubasa in despair when suddenly….
FLASH! CLANG!
"ARGH!" grunted the two women as they suddenly got repelled back by a sudden force.
Both women skidded some distance away to stop as they looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to Ravena's body which began shaking as laughter can be heard emanating from it.
"She's laughing?" Queen asked out loud as a cold chill went up her spine.
Ravena said nothing but kept on laughing and laughing as she slowly and shakily stood up. All of a sudden the shadows began to emerge from the darkness as they crept towards Ravena as began covering her entire person. Everybody watched as Ravena's body slowly began to change.
Her body visibly became taller as her claws elongated slightly and her tails became sleek. The shadows suddenly began to disperse as fast they came, revealing Ravena's new appearance. Visibly all her wounds had healed themselves up although she still remained wingless. Her clothes had taken on a new appearance as well. Firstly, her outfit had become a torn, sleeveless coat over a red tube top while she wore form fitting black pants with a gold studded belt while her boots had changed to a pair of killer black high heeled stiletto boots. Even her hair had changed as Ravena's hair remained short became more wild-looking and less curly. Her fringe had grown long and shadowed her eyes as the girl suddenly raised her head as four glowing red beast eyes stared out.
"It's finally my turn to play~" said Ravena in a more dark, sinister gleeful tone as she gave a crazed smile.
Crowds within the audience were shocked and surprised at these events while many of them watched on in silence. Many of them tried to make heads or tails of what was going on, but many just watched in enjoyment and curiosity on where this battle would go to. Still sitting in her perch in the stands, Yukari had her own curiosity but it didn't show behind the calm demeanor as she stared at Ravena's new form.
"So that's what happened…it wasn't reeled in, at least not by Shadow alone. Still, one must always be careful when they tamper with darkness. To those not trained in it, it becomes a parasite; one that feeds off insecurities." Yukari spoke sagely as she saw Ravena smile gleely as she admire her new image.
"That being said, how do you plan to stop darkness that comes from your own heart Madame Ravena." She spoke her curiosity.
(Kurotsubasa)
"Great, what's happening now?" DB called out as they were all looking to the screen.
All of their worries were still present, though there were small traces of confusion or fear from both Ravena's change and her smile.
"No clue, but none of this looks good." Shadow said, having calmed down from earlier. He continued to ignore the pain the mark was giving him as he focused on the battle. 'This feels just like…" He thought to himself as he showed a silent feeling of guilt as he could do nothing but watch the madness that was taking place.
(Scene Change)
On the battlefield, Whip and Queen quickly got back on their feet and looked at their former punching bag in confusion.
"How…no, what is this? Thou was groveling at our feet just moments before and just now she blew us away as if it was nothing." Queen then found her dagger had been thrown with them and picked it up, without taking her eyes off Ravena. "She should be paralyzed, if her fears were true there is enough blood to leave her in a panic."
"Maybe the bitch was stalling or she might have been f*cking around with us since the beginning." Whip glared at Ravena as her grip on her whip tightened. "No one takes a beating like that and just stands back up. Hey four eyes, why'd you keep us waiting so long if you had all that strength in you?!" She yelled out to the girl. Her anger seemed to grow as it looked as if Ravena was still admiring her appearance. "Oi, I'm talking to you!"
"Ravena", finally seemed to have acknowledged the girl's presence and turned to her. "Oh, still here? I figured you both would've run with your tails between your legs by now."
Whip's eyes narrowed in rage and she lashed out with her Whip Wings, hoping to strike a blow across the girl's chest. That hope faded when as soon as it came close to Ravena, the nekomata slashed the hardened blood to pieces, cutting the whip in half. As the two stood stunned, Ravena pulled her, now bloodied, nails to her mouth and licked them cleaned. Four red eyes, followed by an eager smile appeared on the girl's face as she then flexed her, blood free, sharpened claws.
"Ahahaha~! YES! This is going to be…SO~ MUCH~ FUN~!" The twisted Ravena exclaimed excitedly at the top of her voice as she then charged at her new prey with a crazed smile on her face.
TBC…
A killer cliffhanger, but have to leave you with some suspense. Stay tuned to see where these turns of events lead to now! Remember to review the chapter!
Shadowlight0982 out.