Alright! Another chapter! Yay! I left at a little cliff hanger so I hope this chapter will suffice. Will I let Heng Shi rest in peace-?
Heng Shi: Yes, please do that.
-Or will he survive his curse? You'll find out in this chapter! I have planned this from the start so I'm glad that I've gone through the middle part of my plans and gone on to the planned part. It's really hard to write the things that's coming between your plan points, really frustrating and takes up a lot of time and effort.
Heng Shi: … Have you really planned this to the end…?
Yes, yes I have.
Heng Shi: How will it end then? With me destroying the world?
If I tell you that, it wouldn't be fun to see your reaction when the story does come to an end. Also, I've planned to rewrite the beginning of the story a little, but I doubt that will ever happen… My mind is so jumbled up with other fanfic ideas that I probably will jump onto a new fanfic the moment I finish this one…
Heng Shi: -sigh- Yeah, I've heard about your ideas already. One piece fanfics all of them except the two Naruto fanfics, one with a stupid girl who lost her memories and one who dies as an old hag and comes back as a 7-year old kid with communication problems. I get it.
H-hey! Don't tell them about my ideas, dummy! –Hits Heng Shi over the head-
Heng Shi: -glares at me- I might consider it if you gave me a vacation.
You lost your chance on a vacation when you ran away, so there! I will release you at some point, but not yet! –Turns towards readers- Anyways, enjoy the story everyone! Hope it reach your expectations!
(There might be some grammar faults but I will correct them when I can.)
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Being carried by Chou makes me feel weak and pathetic, but there isn't anything I can do about that. I am weak right now… The weakest I've ever been in my whole long life… Never have the curse gotten this bad, now I'm really dying for the first time. I've gotten life-threatening cuts and shots but I've always been able to use my energy to keep me alive. But now I can't use my energy, it's the energy that's the reason that I'm dying. Or more specifically; the thing that allows me to control my energy…
When we got to the abandoned house, we were greeted by the sight of homeless people living there already. Their dirty features staring at the three of us, who have bloody clothes of murders. Of course, I told Chou bluntly to kill them and he obeyed, leaving three alive at my command. I'm now leaning against the wall, my hand placed on the second woman with the help of Chou so I can drain her energy. The first man is already aged like a wrinkly old man.
"There's a cure." I tell them bluntly, staring seriously at Quin who's in front of me. Chou immediately leans forward, eager to save me. Seriously, he shouldn't care this much. I taught him that myself, only care about yourself.
"Really!? What is it!? Where is it!?"
I narrow my eyes at Quin, since I can't move my head to look at Chou. The grey has spread across my whole skin, making me look like a talking stone with eyes and a mouth. Even my hair has turned grey. The black is slowly crawling up my neck and right arm, at a slower pace now that I'm draining time energy. But I don't have much time left. Chou moves my hand to the last one, him screaming in panic in another language, Russian, that he doesn't want to die or be touched by the monster. But it's quickly silenced when my hand is placed on his head and I drain his energy.
"It's in Xian Hong. I know that the leader of your organisation is Gim. You can use your connection to him to get inside. Chou, I've shown you the research room. Draw a map for her so she can go and get it. It's in a green vital, the darkest green, close to black. If you're unsure which to take, take all of them. My skin will be rock solid so you have to pour the substance in my mouth. I'll still be alive since I can protect my organs with energy, but it won't hold more than two days at most. I hope you're smart enough to come up with an excuse to enter Xian Hong."
"We can't trust her! Let me go instead, you can't be sure that she'll be back with the cure!" Chou shouts out in desperation. Before Quin can inquire, I scold him harshly.
"You fool! Don't let your emotions get the better of your judgement! Do you seriously believe that they think that you're alive? If you had gotten back to Xian Hong about an hour ago, it would have been believable, but it's too late now. They think you're dead! Quin can pass it off as looking for me when I escaped and get there in the morning to report. And this is a great test, isn't it?" I finish off with a mocking grin. "You said you didn't want to see me die; well now you've got my sinful life on your shoulders. Will you save the monster or will you leave it to die? Whatever you choose is fine with me. If you save me, I will owe you a favor, and my favors are very useful to have. But it would also mean that you would be responsible for setting me loose upon the world; for giving me free reins to fulfill my reason to live. Who knows; I might become an unstoppable monster who destroys humanity. The choice is yours. Chou, draw a map and be quick about it. She has to leave as quickly as possible."
Chou lets go of my hand and wander off to get some paper and a pen. I don't know what Chou's expression looks like after my scolding, but Quin has a lot of conflicting emotion in her eyes. Behind that expression of nothingness, a lot of doubt, sadness and confusion are mingling together. My grin grows larger as I see this.
"What's wrong? Can't decide now that you get my trust just enough to get my cure? Is it because what I just said, that I might destroy humanity? You out of everyone should know that I'm already long gone; I have no other reason to exist than to kill. Which assassin has a reason to live at all?" Quin's eyes narrow in a fake expression while I can see fear growing in her eyes. I change my grin to a mocking smirk.
"You getting scared now? Doubting yourself and your own reason to live? Understandable, you haven't let go of your emotions completely yet like I have. It takes a while and a special experience to let them go completely. I felt so much better when I did. Getting more scared? You don't want to become like me? You don't have to worry about that. You won't live long enough for it to happen to you after all."
Before Quin has the chance to ask me why I'm saying all this, a paper is roughly shoved in her face. She looks up as Chou and judging by his tone, he isn't pleased at all.
"Here, get the cure and be quick about it. You have two days until I hunt after you."
Quin nods, standing up from her seated position and walks off towards the door with confident strides. I can hear the door close shut and her soft footsteps fading away before Chou sits down in front of me at the same place Quin sat on. He has one arm placed on his knee while he's looking seriously into my eyes.
"The black is spreading…" He says seriously, hurt in his eyes plainly visible. I give him one of my rare smiles; I won't be able to do it soon anyways.
"I know. This is the first time I'm dying for real."
"You mean… You didn't die, even from that shot…?" Chou asks me in disbelief, his eyes widening. I grin at his expression; it's so fun to surprise people.
"Yeah, I was never in any danger. I've lived for centuries and never truly died. My energy has constantly kept me alive. At first, I couldn't control it to protect me from death. But when it started… relelling against ne, I ha' to learn to control it nyselh."
My mouth isn't working anymore. It won't form proper words now. It has reached my chin I presume.
"No! Wait! What do you mean by centuries!? Answer me!"
Since I can't answer him, I keep my mouth open and close my eyes, letting the stone cover my face completely. I can feel the curse trying to solidify my insides but I quickly use the energy I got from the homeless to keep my lungs, heart and veins to my brain intact. It works; the stone can't get through my small barrier. But it won't be long until it breaks through. I wonder if Quin will let me die or save me. Either way, I'll experience hell.
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Darkness… Who knew that darkness could be this boring? I can't hear, can't see, can't feel, can't smell, can't taste. The only thing I can do is fighting to keep the barrier around my most important organs alive so I can breathe. I also have to keep the rest of my blood system alive so I won't get a thrombosis, which makes it even harder to stay alive. I don't think I'll be able to keep the barrier up for two days. Even though I don't have any sense of time as I only have darkness, I'm pretty sure it's only been a few hours and the protection is already fading.
It's getting harder to breathe with the curse pressing down on my barrier. It sounds like I'm at the edge of hyperventilating even though I'm not scared. I thought that I would be scared of dying after staying alive for this long but I actually feel at peace as it gets harder to stay alive. I have thought at least once or twice to just let the barrier go and let the curse crush me, but I've always pushed that small thought away. I will live as long as I can, if I'm saved I can fulfil my goal. If I die, no real harm done, I should at least live as long as I can.
Although, it would be good to kill some more, kill real people instead of fake monsters in second life. Speaking of the game, I wonder how Garel is. Maybe during my absence, he's killed a lot of monsters and gathered the loot at our cave. I might have gained another level when I log in again. I haven't checked my stats or level at all during the whole time I've played the game. I probably should do that if I get to log in again. And it has been a long time since I and Garel have rampaged on a huge mob of high-level monsters. It would be fun to do that.
And I wouldn't mind tormenting Prince some more either. And I would want to kill that bastard Gim for everything he's done. And Jing, ugh, don't even get me started on how much I want to kill her. I will have to arrange a meeting with her so we can have a little chat about her interferince... And she better not spread the things she heard, if she heard anything from the brooch that is. I should kill her for all the problem she has caused... I would like to see how good she is, it looks like she could be on par with me but I don't know for sure. I could try it in second life if I get to log in, that way I don't have to worry about getting noticed.
I wonder how Chou would react if I died for real, how would he react? Probably in a sweet, horrified way, he would be heartbroken at getting his hope awakened and then it crushing down just a few hours later. If I get to see that face at all, I would be thrilled. I like seeing hurt, horror or fear in others expressions. It's something I've come to love after the many centuries I've been alive. He might be family but that doesn't change a thing.
Hmm… I wonder how long it has been. Has it been two days already? No, I don't think so, my protection might be flickering but it still has a long way to go before it lets up. Has Quin decided to let me die? Oh well, if that's how it is then so be it. I've lived long enough anyway.
But then, I can feel… something trickling down my throat. The reaction is immediate; the substance is strengthening my time energy and pushes away the pressure on my insides. I help the substance with my time energy and soon my insides are completely free from being solid the substance, which I now realise is the cure, continues to free my body from the curse and I slowly start to feel and smell things. It takes longer to be able to hear but the sounds comes so suddenly that I wish I wasn't able to hear again. The sounds aren't loud but that doesn't change the fact that it's shocking to be able to hear after hearing nothing for at least a day.
"I told you, I will tell you what happened when he wakes up." Huh, so Quin decided to save me after all? What a bad choice it is on her part.
"But why won't you tell me your reason for doing this? It can't be just because you want him to owe you a favour." Good, Chou isn't worried anymore. I would have beaten him up if he did.
"Why can't that be my only reason?"
"Because even though having favours are useful, it's not in the assassin code anymore to save anyone." I cut in in their conversation. I open my eyes with a small smirk at seeing their surprised faces. "Isn't that right, Chou? Quin?"
Chou is the one who recovers first, a relieved look in his eyes even though his expression is blank. "That's right. You must have had another reason for betraying them and saving Heng Shi."
Quin looks off to the side, her eyes debating if she should tell the truth or not. I decide to guess the answer by the look in her eyes. I can now move, the grey area crawling away from my spine. I crack my neck, shifting my position into a more comfortable one before I look straight into Quin's eyes, making sure that my eyes have that kind of stare which will make the one looking into the eyes unable to look away.
"You hate your organisation, don't you? You hate that it's controlled by another leader. That's why you want to go against them, isn't it? I believe Gim started acting weird about 18 years ago, that's when he came to your organisation isn't it? Because you were a secret gang who fought fights for others thanks to your excellent combat skills, Gim sought out you to be his puppets in the dark. You were a kid back then and watched your 'family' become more skilled and torn away from their emotions. You hate Gim because of this. And to go against Gim, you keep me alive and away from him. Am I right?"
Quin narrows her eyes, nodding slowly to indicate that my guess is right. I grin at the revelation and stand up to stretch my legs. The other two stand up as well, Chou towering over me while Quin is pretty much the same height as me.
"So, Quin, what happened?" I ask her while I start to stretch, all the grey having disappeared thanks to the cure. Quin cross her arms over her chest and starts her story.
"I started off with going back to the school to get the weapon. Thankfully no one stopped me, but I'm sure they saw me through the cameras positioned throughout the school. After I got the weapon, I met Gim at the assigned spot and gave the report that everyone was killed and that you escaped. I told him that I searched for you the whole night but couldn't find you. When I told him that I had the weapon, he told me to give it to him. But after a debate of trust, I managed to fool him into letting me inside Xian Hong.
"Gim told me that it would be suspicious if I came inside with him so he led me to a secret passage he built and told me where the research facility was. Although, he gave me the wrong directions so I took help from Chou's map to get to the research facility. Once I reached the empty wall, I didn't know what to do until I saw the small drawing of a crack in the wall and an arrow next to the crack and the numbers 4855. When I pressed my hand next to the crack, a code plate appeared and I hit the correct numbers.
"When I got inside, the door closed and I looked around for the cure. I found it in one of the cupboards, being the only dark green substance there. I put it in my bag and used the same passage Gim got me in through to get out. I never put back the weapon in the research room. I got back here and poured the cure into your open mouth while ignoring Chou's pestering on answering his questions. It's only been a day since I left and I believe Gim will notice my betrayal in the morning when he doesn't hear that an intruder has been caught. He was planning on betraying me after all."
I nod at her story, a pleased smile on my face. That fool is so naïve, I can't believe that I looked up to him when I was a child in this cycle. Even though I have the mentality of an adult, you can never really escape from getting role models until you're a grown up. A child is seeking for someone to please after all.
"Good, he is a naïve fool. I should have killed him when I left. He doesn't deserve the spot for the main elder."
"Then why didn't you?" I look at Chou blankly, silently asking him to elaborate. "Why didn't you kill him when you had the chance? What held you back?"
I glare at him sharply. I won't tell him that I previously saw Gim as my idol and that it could be a part of the reason why I didn't kill him. I'm not completely sure why myself. I just know that I left and decided to never come back.
"Shut up." I tell him, shoving him aside so I can get to the door. "Why should I tell you?"
I can hear Quin and Chou follow me outside and I start walking in the direction of my apartment. I also drain some plant energy from the trees so the curse won't act up again anytime soon. Quin knows which direction I'm walking in and she steps up beside me to ask me about it.
"Why are we going to your apartment? Shouldn't we escape from the country? They have found you, we have to leave."
I smirk at her, she thinks just like anyone should. But she doesn't know the things I can do. What better way to hide from them than do the unexpected? Staying in the same town once could be understandable, but twice? No one would ever think that I would be so 'stupid' as to stay in the same town when they've found me. But I'm going to stay for now. I'm not leaving my parents anytime soon.
"We're going to pack. If we don't we'll starve for waiting in four days."
"Waiting? What are we waiting for?" Chou asks me, a curious glint in his eyes when I look up at him. My smirk grows larger and I look ahead, seeing the edge of the small forest already.
"You'll see. Just follow my lead."
When we part from the shadows of leaves, we're greeted by the early morning sun. I close my eyes, looking as if I enjoy the sun while in reality I search for time energy of assassins. I don't find anyone yet so I calmly walk on the road towards the centre of the city. My apartment is on the other side of the city so we have to go through it. But there's no reason to hurry.
"Heng Shi, why are we walking?" Quin asks me, not really believing that I'm walking so calmly down the street. We meet other people from time to time but the city isn't completely awake quite yet.
"We have nothing to worry about. No assassin is close to us just yet. And they need to see us for my plan to work. Besides, the city is starting to awaken; do you want to be seen running for your life for no apparent reason? It would either unnerve them or think that we're crazy. Just relax, it will be fine."
Chou accepts my plan quietly and he relaxes as well. Although Quin doesn't relax that easily, she's almost shouting while she scolds me like a child.
"Relax?! How can we relax? They will soon notice that I never got caught, then they'll connect the dots that I'm working with you and then they'll chase after us with everything they've got! It seems like you do not fully understand the situation here, we are rouge assassins now. We'll be hunted to the ends of the earth. And now that we're stepping inside enemy territory, you want us to relax?! Just because you have some kind of plan you believe will work!?"
I glare at her coldly, killing intent rolling off me. She's so annoying, screeching like that. Even though she saved me, I will kill her if she talks to me in that way.
"What gave you the right to speak to me in that way? You're screaming like a banshee and it makes my ears hurt. If you don't like the way my plan is unfolding, you can leave and fend for yourself. I'm sure you don't have any problem with that. You chose to save me; you chose to keep me away from Gim. And now you can choose if you want to go through with my plan. I know how they work; I know how they think so I know that this will work. Now, you can either walk away or you could be quiet and do as I say. I don't care if you've saved me; I will kill you if you speak in that tone towards me again."
Quin frowns but looks ahead, not saying anything. I can feel the admiration and joy roll off Chou. He's always had it hard to hide his emotions, I should really fix that. A little torture every time he shows emotion could do it.
I smirk darkly at the thought of him screaming in pain. That would feel so wonderful! Although right now I have to focus on going through my little plan. They'll never realise that I could be staying in the same city.
Walking in silence, we reach the centre of the city when I feel assassins' close by. I hide a smirk behind a serious face-mask and walk a little faster. The other two quickly do the same. I don't need to tell them that assassins are following us, they already know. But they can't attack now that we're around other people. The city has woken up now and is slowly getting busier by the minute. We'll act fast so that they won't have the opportunity to attack us.
We reach the facility I'm living in, me saying good morning to a few regulars at the café who I've seen before. The number of assassins following us has increased to about 20 people now. When we reach my apartment, I lock up the door and the three of us step inside. My eyes narrow as I get a feeling over my property.
Nothing is out of place yet, but I can feel a disturbance in my protection by a window. It isn't open but someone has stepped in here. But I don't sense anyone in the apartment except for us. I'm not sure how many who've been in here. I just hope they haven't done anything which will cause permanent damage.
After a short moment of stopping in front of the door, I walk towards the living room. I have two backpacks under my couch and two more under my bed. I pull out the two dark brown back packs from the couch, a little irritated when I see a little dust fly around as I pull them out. When this is over, I will definitely clean the apartment.
I toss the backpacks to Quin and Chou and tell them from over my shoulder while I walk towards my room.
"Pack everything that's eatable. I have a cooking kit underneath the sink. We're going to be without food for a few days. Make sure to pack as many bottles of water as possible. It's going to be warm where we're going."
I know that there are assassins up on the roof who could be listening in on our conversation so I purposefully draw in the protection I have on the windows so they can hear me as I give them this order. Both of them do as I say while I step inside my room to pack all my clothes in one of the backpacks while I put all my personal stuff in the second bag. After a small debate with myself, I leave my second life console on top of my desk, silently hoping that they don't confiscate it when they'll search through my room. Everything that's hidden is something worth searching through but you never take something electronic that's in plain sight and doesn't have any special information value.
After just a minute, I've packed everything in my room and exit to get to the bathroom to pack the rest of my things. Chou and Quin are already done in packing food and water and are waiting for me. I toss my clothes backpack to Chou and enter the bathroom to pack down the rest. When that's done, I step outside and drain the last of my protection on the windows and door, holding out my hand for show and making the time energy visible to the naked eye. It's glowing in a pale blue, slightly shifting towards purple. Both a blessing and a curse, it's colours reflect the time energy so well.
When that's done, I ignore the other two's stare and march out the door, waiting for them to step outside as well. I close the door, locking it and walk up the stairs towards the roof. While we go up, I tell them the most important part of my plan.
"We're going to run to the train station. That will make them think that we have a specific destination and train to catch. They'll chase after us, maybe attack. Don't stop. I know we'll arrive when a train is just about to leave. We'll take that train. Don't question me, just run."
I can hear Chou grunt in agreement but I don't hear anything from Quin. When I look back at her, she looks doubtful. I smirk a little at seeing her face. She still doubts if it's a good thing to come with me.
"Quin, either you're a rouge with me or you can be a rouge by yourself. It's that simple. Choose before we get to the train. You could continue go with the train if you don't want to come."
Quin nods, a steely look in her eyes. I turn around again, the door to the roof being just one staircase away.
"You better keep up or I'll leave you in the dust." I murmur to them before I open the door quickly, immediately running out towards the train station when it's open enough to slip out from. I hear the assassins noticing us and I hear that both Chou and Quin can match my speed for now.
Just like I thought, they're all chasing us and in the beginning when there were assassins positioned all over the building, they tried to attack us. I easily dodge all the attacks without getting so much as a scratch but Chou and Quin get a few scratches here and there from what I can hear. They can't feel the disturbance in the time energy before the projectile is launched so it's understandable they get hit from time to time.
After a few minutes of running, jumping and dodging weapons we reach the train station. Like always, it's packed to the brim with people. We easily run on the railing on the waiting line, ignoring angry shouts from other people. They sometimes try to grab me so I will fall down but I kick them away, not caring if I hit their nose up their brain or not. If they're in my way, I'll simply make them get away from me. I set my course towards the train with open doors, kicking away the security that tries to get in my way.
I reach the train just when the doors are about to close and I catch the doors with my hands and foot to hinder it from closing. Slowly, I bend up the doors. They have really powerful doors now a days, that way people would have to avoid the doors from trapping them and thus letting the train leave easier. It can't leave with open doors after all.
When I manage to open the doors enough to step inside, Chou and Quin catch up to me and the three of us stumble inside the train when they connect with my back. The doors close behind us, leaving the assassins standing outside with anger in their eyes. I grin at them, waving goodbye while the train starts to leave the platform. A lot of people are staring at us, probably because of our dramatic entrance. We're just lucky that this is one of those 'not so popular' trains so we could even enter in the first place. Although, I think their shock is mostly because I could actually open the doors again when they were about to close.
Checking that nothing has been damaged in my personal backpack, I wave to Chou and Quin to follow me as I walk towards the front of the train. They don't ask any questions but just follow me just like I told them to do. Just like on the train station, I shove past or kick anyone who's in the way for me and it takes us two stations to reach the very front of the train. When we do, I turn around to address my two companions.
"This is where it will get tricky. Now, Quin. Decide, do you want to come with me or do you want to stay?"
"I'll come with you." She tells me seriously, I nod at her declaration and brings out my hand for them to take.
"Good, now take hold of my hand. Don't let go until I tell you to. I'll take some of your energy if this will work."
Chou nods and takes my hand without hesitation and Quin does the same albeit a little slower. When they're both holding on to my hand, I make time stop for us. The two of them look around in confusion as they see everything freeze. Something akin to realisation flashes in their eyes.
"This is…" Quin starts, but she never finishes her sentence. "Time has… stopped?" Chou finishes for her.
"Yes." They both look at me, Chou being the only one who looks down. "This is my reward to you for saving my life. I'll show you the power and curse I possess. I won't owe you anything after this since I'm saving your lives as well. Don't let go."
I then proceed to rewind time using the time energy I have inside me, taking some from my companions to help me. They watch in fascination as they see everything rewind, the two stations we've passed coming back. They didn't see our forms going backwards but I suppose they'll see it later. When we reach the main station, I'm panting heavily by rewinding time for three people. Stopping time is easy but rewinding it is another story. Chou holds up a hand in worry but one glare from my stops him from worrying.
While time is still stopped, I hold out my other hand, palm upwards and suck in the time energy that's been scattered around us through our time traveling. It isn't much but it's enough to take the second step in my plan. Sucking in the time energy, I turn towards the open doors and start time again. I run out from the doors, running behind a corner so I have a view of the platform. Quin and Chou quickly follow my example.
After the people on the platform have filled in the train and the doors are about to close, we can see another me keep the doors at bay. Quin and Chou flinch slightly, surprised at seeing another me. Copies of my companions appear as well, crashing into my other selves' back. The assassins come after that. Just like we did, our copies go with the train. But when our copies pass me, I meet my own gaze and with a smirk my time energy which kept the illusions intact disperses into the air, making it seem like the three persons evaporated.
I turn my attention back to the assassins who are discussing things with the security guard. But they don't leave. I frown slightly in irritation. Such persistent bastards, they're searching the platform. I take a deep breath and motion for the other two to stay while I disappear into the shadows, going for the closest person and stabbing them to death, draining their time energy while I drag him to a dark corner. Soon, the dead body is decomposed as I've drained him completely empty of energy and I return to Quin and Chou, asking them for status.
"They're searching through the platform and have informed the security that we're wanted criminals so they're on guard too. They know that you might have rewound time to get back here and they don't take any chances."
I smirk slightly; they'll be so stunned and surprised when they don't find us. And not to mention Chou and Quin, they'll be the most surprised out of them all. I change my appearance, a dim light surrounding me as I do so. I have cast a time barrier over us so the assassins will see this place as something normal.
"They don't know me at all. Such fools, like I will let them catch me. You're fools as well, speaking as if we're in a tough situation. You have no idea what I can do to live for centuries."
When the light disappears, instead of a grown up 20-year old with white hair and yellow eyes is a 13-year old with brown hair and green eyes. I grin in satisfaction at their shocked reactions and I lightly clap Chou on the arm, changing his appearance to brown instead of blue eyes and black hair. I touch Quin and she gets green eyes and blonde hair. So instead of two brunettes with blue eyes are now one with black hair and brown eyes and one with blonde hair and green eyes. They're frozen in shock.
"I've survived for centuries, how do you expect me to have not gained any suspicion? Now let's go. We can still catch up to the stream of people without looking suspicious."
I change my clothes with my time energy, making them fit me better instead of just hanging loose and grab the two adult's hands and dragging them behind me. I put on an excited smile façade as I pull them behind me.
"Come on mom! Dad! Hurry up!" I shout at them as we pass a security guard. Chou is the first to recover from the shock of seeing the most powerful part of my power and chuckles at my fake enthusiasm to play along.
"Yeah, yeah. We're coming. No need to hurry, we have all day."
"But there's just so much to see!" I shout out, pulling on their hands harder. We pass by a pair of assassins who doesn't give us a second glance. "Come on, come on!"
"Yeah, yeah. We're coming." Quin tells me softly, and I smile brightly. We wave through the crowd, me acting like an excited child all the way out. Once we're out, we go into a dark alley and I immediately drop my act, turning towards my companions with a sly smirk.
"Impressive acting, you recovered pretty fast for seeing my age change." I change myself to my normal age after my statement.
"Anything is possible when you control time." Quin states emotionlessly while staring at me. Once I've changed completely, my hair and eyes being its normal colour since I don't like them being in another colour than my own, I crack my neck in satisfaction. I then touch them and drain away the time energy that alters their appearance. After that's done, I take my clothes backpack from Chou and start changing my clothes a little so it'll look different, putting a cap on to hide my white hair.
"That's true, but it's still impressive that you got over the shock so fast. You're not the first ones who get to know about what I can do with my power. Of course, they're already dead. Some swore secrecy and lived their full life and some I had to kill because they wouldn't have shut up." I sling my backpack over my shoulder, looking at them with half-lidded eyes. "So which ones are you? Talkers or keepers?"
"Keeper." Chou answers immediately, him changing his clothing the best way he can by turning it inside out, the white fabric underneath being visible instead of the black fabric. "Since when haven't I been loyal to you when you took me in?"
I snort in amusement, smirking at Chou as I remember the time when he was a useless brat. "I can think of many times when you were a little brat."
Chou frowns, grumbling slightly as I won over his argument. I look over at Quin, who is also changing her clothes so it looks different from what she wore a few minutes ago. She doesn't meet my gaze at first, still thinking over her decision. When she meets my eyes, she tells me that she is a keeper as well. I smirk, tossing them each a pair of sunglasses so they can hide their blue eyes. After they've put the glasses on, we slide into the crowd of people walking towards the buses. I drain small snippets of energy from everyone I touch to not raise suspicion by someone suddenly collapsing to death.
We take the bus which goes towards the outskirts of town, I being the one who pays for us. By now, I've drained enough time energy so I'll be able to last at least two weeks. After a five-minute ride with the bus we step off at the outskirts of the central district. Now there are fewer large skyscrapers. I go between two houses, taking a shortcut to where my father is buried. After ten minutes of walking we reach the dumpster we're going to hide in for the next days. Chou and Quin are a little wary that we're entering a dumpster but they follow me anyway.
With a small smile, I enter the dumpster, my gaze on the largest stack of junk. When we get closer, I raise a hand in greeting.
"Hey father, we're going to crash here for a while."
In response to my words, a small can tumbles down from the stack. That means yes. I nod in thanks, going towards the broken couch at the foot of the pile. I grip the sides of the middle back pillow and lift it upwards, a small resistance being there because of the hatch I've attached to it. Behind the pillow and the hatch is a hole large enough to crawl through. It's going in a straight line into the darkness of the dumpster pile. The hole is much larger than it needs to be for me to fit in but I guess it's just enough for Chou to get inside.
I nod my head towards the hole, lifting up the hatch for my companions for them to climb inside. Chou walks forward and starts crawling through the hole on all fours. Quin follows him after a short moment of hesitation. When I've entered the hole, the hatch close behind me and leaving the path in complete darkness. The silence is broken only by our shuffling through the path and it doesn't take long until Chou has reached the end of the path, crashing into one of the furniture I've placed inside the hideout since he can't see.
"Ow! Well, that's the end of the path. Now what?"
Quin do almost the same as Chou but hits him instead. I smirk in amusement, standing up since I know when the path really ends. I reach behind me and press a button I've installed in the wall. A small light flickers to light, hanging from the middle of the room. It's small, but it's enough to make us able to see.
The small hideout I've built is meant for two people but three doesn't make that much of a difference. The roof is shaped like a round cupola, the highest point being about 6'6 feet tall where the lamp is hanging from. I can stand perfectly fine, the shortest part of the roof being 5'7 feet. Chou will have to bend down a little to fit in the shortest part of my hideout.
Chou and Quin stand up as well, looking over my little hideout. It's as large as a small one-room apartment with the room being round. To the right of the opening are two cupboards that serve as the kitchen part. To the left is a leather chair and next to that a bed, both of them covered with white sheets to keep away the dust. The thing Chou bumped into is the low table that's in the middle of the room. Behind the table are a leather couch and a curtain that's hiding a small john toilet in the room. The couch is also covered with a white sheet. Between the 'kitchen' and 'bathroom' is a chest holding pillows to sit and sleep on. Over the chest is a wooden window which can be opened. The window leads to the 'shit and food waste' part of the dumpster so it's only opened when the toilet has to be emptied.
I spread out my arms to the room, smirking at Chou and Quin who are hiding their surprise fairly well.
"Welcome to my little hideout. We're going to stay here for the next five days then we'll go back to my apartment. During these five days, the assassins will look for us in this town and when they realise that we aren't here, they'll think we've escaped to another country and they will deem it impossible to track us. We'll have a few years of peace if my plan goes right."
Quin's eyes widen a little as she finally realise what my real plan is and she looks at me in slight admiration that I thought this up right on the spot.
"I see, so we hide just underneath their nose when they're searching everywhere else than here."
"Great plan, pa." Chou says, the admiration in his eyes shining brightly. I frown at his slip-up, crossing my arms over my chest.
"What did I say about calling me pa, Chou? In this cycle I'm not your father."
Both of us ignore Quin's surprised stare and Chou rubs the back of his head sheepishly but his face remaining blank.
"Ah, sorry Heng Shi. It just slipped. I can't help it; it's just so good to know that you're alive."
I snort loudly, dumping my two backpacks on the table before I walk over to the chest. I take out one yellow dust cloth and a simple brown cloth. I toss them one each, the brown to Quin and the yellow to Chou.
"Put the backpacks on the table, we're going to clean this place first. Quin, you fix up things behind the curtain. Chou, you fix up the kitchen part, the chest and table. I'll fix up the bed, couch and the leather chair." I also take out three surgeon masks and hand them one each. They smell strongly of perfume but it's needed. "Put these on, I'll open the window so the dust can fly out."
I then close the passage by placing a concrete block over it and when I open the window, the smell is horrible. The perfume from the surgeon mask helps but not much when it stinks outside. Without blinking, I get to work, shoving past Quin and Chou who are desperately putting on their masks.
"Get to work." I tell them and start taking off the sheets placed over the couch, bed and leather chair. I hear them follow my command without complaining. Maybe a groan from Chou but no verbal complain.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
After a few minutes of cleaning, we're done and I close the window, making Chou breathe silently in relief. I remove my mask, putting it in the chest again and letting Chou and Quin do the same to theirs and the cloth they used before I close the chest and state what's been on my mind since we started cleaning.
"Someone has found this place a long time ago so they might be back. The dust on the sheet was disturbed, probably only a week worth of dust layered on the disrupted place. They might come back."
I walk over to the armchair, my arms on both armrests and one foot placed on my knee much like how a king would do. Both of my companions regard me with impassive faces.
"If they come back, we'll question them and then kill them."
"How can you be so sure that there was more than one who found this place?" Quin asks me, raising an eyebrow to show that she clearly doesn't believe me. I snort at her doubt; I don't have a reason to lie right now.
"Because I saw the dust being disrupted on more places than one, idiot. Who exactly do you take me for? Obviously not the White snake with the doubt you show over my abilities. What will make me convince you that I really am what I say I am? Should I kill you to prove my point?"
When Quin is about to speak, I hear some shuffling far away from us and I hold up a hand to stop her from talking, leaning forward so I can listen more closely. There are voices… and shuffling… People are coming here.
I give them the sign language that someone is coming and to turn the lights off. Chou turns off the lights while Quin presses herself against a wall. I remove the concrete block from the opening and stand beside the block, waiting for the victims to come inside. We can soon hear the voices talking to each other.
"This tunnel is pretty long… Are you sure you found a 'cool place' in this junk?"
"Yeah, I'm sure! I saw it with my own eyes! Ling was with me!"
"Yeah! Someone built this a long time ago and it hasn't been used in a while. The tunnel wouldn't be in a junkyard if it didn't lead anywhere. The room is round and almost looks like a room you use for evacuation; it's perfect for us three!"
So they're three teenage boys who just happened to find my place in the junkyard? Too bad for them, they're going to live a short life. Kids shouldn't stick their nose where it doesn't belong. But we'll make it look like an accident, a lot of kids die while climbing on junk. A simple slip could kill you. These kids are too curious for their own good.
"I don't know about you guys, but I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Oh, come on. The place is harmless, what could happen?" Oh, you don't know how wrong you are kid.
They've now stepped inside the base, the first one bumping his head on the table like Chou did.
"Ow! We're here guys! Ling, do you remember where the light button was?"
The second boy steps out from the tunnel, standing up and putting his hands on the wall behind him to search for the light button. The third and last boy also bumps into the table but simply sit there, not helping the second boy in finding the light button.
"It was on the wall next to the tunnel I think… I think it was on this side…"
"Great, we'll just chill out by the table while you find it then."
"Lazy asses…" The boy searching for the button mutters loudly, still searching. I can feel that the 'leader' is about to shout something, so I distract them with the sound of the concrete block sliding over the tunnel. I feel the tension rise in the room when the boys hear the sound and it's quiet in the room for a few seconds. The 'searcher' is the one who speaks up first.
"Hey… Guys… D-did you just hear that…?"
"Y-yeah, I did. Sounded like something slid across the floor…" The 'leader' answers, the fear plainly visible in his voice. The third boy crawls forward to where the tunnel is.
"That's it! I've already had enough of this place. Let's get out of-" He tells them, but stops short when he collides with something. Something that previously wasn't in front of the tunnel before.
"H-hey, guys! D-did you do this! Is this some kind of sick prank you're pulling on me!? There's a huge concrete block in the way!"
"W-what? No, man, we wouldn't joke about this kind of stuff! Can't you move it?" The 'leader' asks him, crawling forward to help with the concrete block. I pull back so they won't touch me, a grin spreading on my face. Time to have a little fun…
I snicker at their fear, making the three of them freeze up, looking around wildly. I snicker again, the sound echoing in the small room.
"W-what the hell?! Who're you?!" The 'searcher' shouts out, moving a little closer to his 'buddies'. I snicker again and start to mock them with a voice which has made many other shiver.
"Poor children… Scared and lonely… Don't know what's going on… But I know what's happening, yes I do… You stuck your nose where it doesn't belong… This… This is my domain…" I slink behind the boys, standing on top of the concrete block with the boys in front of me in a half circle. I lean forward so I'm whispering in one of their ears.
"You shouldn't be here…" The boy I whispered to scream out, lashing out his fist towards me but I duck, making it seem like he hit thin air. I stand up again, gathering energy in my eyes and mouth so their colours are showing with a faint blue glow around them. The boys step back when they can see my eyes.
"This isn't a 'cool place'… This is my place… My domain… And you have found it… How did you find it?" I ask them, ending my question with a snicker. I can feel them shivering. Aah, scaring people is so much fun.
"W-w-w-w-we w-we… E-e-explor-ring." The 'searcher' stutter out, stepping closer to the other boys. The other two does the same as the 'searcher' although nodding instead of speaking up. I narrow my eyes at them mockingly.
"'Exploring'? So you explore junk yards now a days? I made this here so no one could find it… Yet you found it… I hope you haven't told anyone else about this place…"
The boys quickly shake their heads, not trusting their voice anymore. I nod my head, pleased and move my hand towards the light switch.
"Good… Wouldn't want anyone to find out that this place exists. It would cause some problems for me…" I tell them, pressing the light switch on so I don't have to use my energy anymore to see and glow in the dark. The boys jump at the sudden light but blink in shock when they see me.
I'm a little bit shorter than they are; they're probably in their late teens to be that tall. And now that they see me, they don't find me as scary anymore, even gaining confidence at seeing my appearance.
"Pfft-hahahahaha! A kid!? He got us good guys, he got us good!" The leader laughs out, slapping one of his 'buddies' backs. The weary one, who got slapped on the back, stumbles a little but is still staring at my grinning face, mumbling a 'yeah'. My grin is still in place while the leader laughs his heart out and my eyes take on the more maniac glint when the leader looks at me again.
"Oh? And who said that I was joking? I'm not a kid, boy. I'm much older than you could ever wish to be." I flip out my hidden knife holding up for them to see. "Foolish mortal, I did build this place. I did notice that you've been here. And since you found my place, you're going to die here. No one can find out, people are after my head after all." I tell them, easily stepping down the concrete block and walking towards them. The boys start to back up and I give a signal for Chou and Quin to take one each, they do as I tell them and leave the 'leader' to me.
I rush at him, getting my face really close to his, giving him a moment to get terrified before I grab his neck and slam him down on the table behind him. I can hear the other two shiver as they're held by Chou and Quin. I get the knife close to his face, looming over him with a pleasant expression, the malice still visible in my eyes.
"You seriously can't expect that a secret hideout suddenly pop up for you to use? This room has always and will always be mine. An assassin must have their ways to escape, am I right?"
The boy beneath me widens his eyes in shock, trembling harder than before. My grin comes back full-force at his fear.
"A-assassin…?" The boy asks meekly, flinching when I bring the blade a little closer to his eye.
"That's right, an assassin. This is an assassin's hideout you just stumbled on. We'll erase you like it seemed natural, of course. Don't want to stir up unnecessary trouble. A lot of kids die while climbing on junk yards, a lot more than you think. Some bodies just aren't found." I bring my knife up to the middle of his forehead, the tip touching the skin and making a few droplets of blood leak out. My grin widens even more, snickering at how he's petrified with fear.
"Let's begin the fun part, shall we?"
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Aaaand, done!
Heng Shi: Weird end for a story…
Not the story, dummy. The chapter! I really like how you look as a child, so young and innocent. And gosh, you're just so cute when you're smirking with that chubby face of yours!
Heng Shi: Why did you make me alter mine and their appearance anyway? Couldn't we just have hid there and fooled them in another way?
No! I wanted to see you as a kid! –Does a wiggly dance at the cuteness he had-
Heng Shi: -Shakes his head while looking at me weirdly- Why do you think I'm cute? There's nothing cute about me.
Yes there is! And my opinion won't change! I'm sure Fishy thinks the same, gosh, why can't you always be a child?
Heng Shi: Because it's annoying and frustrating to be a child.
Ok, ok. Well, the chapter is done and posted so now I'm going off to a convention! Summer vacation has started and I will try to write as much as I can. Can't promise anything though… Have a fun summer everyone! See you soon~!