Usagi is in pain.
Her back hurts, her head aches, and each breath she takes is labored. She can't recall ever hurting this much.
All she wants to do is go home.
Eyelashes fluttering, Usagi's eyes squint as she tries to readjust to the darkness. In the darkness, she can see the monster with Naru's mom's face. Her head is turned completely backwards, like a creepy owl. Her eyes are looking straight, not at all in Usagi's direction. Usagi swallows a lump in her throat and shifts her eyes to the right.
Naru's body is smashed into the wall, the force of the thrown managed to break a good portion of the wall behind Naru. Usagi can only imagine how badly the wall looks.
Naru hiccups, causing Usagi to look at Naru's face. Her eyes are blinking wildly, looking around as if she's lost. She hiccups again and blood begins to drip from her nose.
Usagi holds back a cringe, wanting to do nothing more than help Naru. She barely notices warmth of blood sliding down her face, due to a cut on her forehead.
"What are you?" Naru coughs, pushing herself away from the wall slightly. Usagi is surprised she's speaking, let along standing up, she can barely hold herself up.
The monster focuses on Naru, either not noticing Usagi or caring that she's awake. Her eyes are soft, and speaks slowly, like one would to a child, "I will give you one more chance."
"What?" said Naru.
"I always wanted a child." She says softly, a hand on her hip. "I could take you with me when I'm finished." The monster looks so familiar, a mother's comforting smile, but her voice sounds like nails against a chalkboard. It hurts Usagi's ears.
"I..." Naru stares at the monster who looks so much like her mother. Her eyes trail down, stopping at the twist of her neck, not human at all. "I would never," she pants, her knees shaking as if they're ready to collapse, "ever, go with a monster like you. You're a disgusting, revolting, so-."
The monster's eyes narrow, offended at being insulted. She hisses then stomps her foot down onto the ground.
Naru glares at the monster, but it doesn't stop her from leaning herself back into the Naru shaped hole in the wall, letting out a sigh of what sounds like relief. She looks like she's in so much pain.
"You rude little girl," she says. She lifts up her arm, ripping off her sleeve, and tosses it on the floor. After a few long seconds, her skin begins to bubble. The bubbles expand and pop, dripping onto the floor. The air smells rancid, Usagi's toes curling in disgust.
"I wonder what your mother did to raise such a rude child." She smirks, then glances in the direction of the door that leads to the basement. "I'll ask her when I'm finished with you." She smiles, the edges of her mouth extends to her eyes, an unnatural, not-human smile. It momentarily distracts Usagi from the bubbling mess on the floor, becoming a large puddle.
The bubbling puddle of gooey skin smells even worse when the mom-monster shakes her arm of the excess goo. She laughs, and says, "Rise."
The puddle begins to bubble like a pot of boiling water. It gets larger and larger, beginning to get a solid form. Within a matter of seconds, an arm grows from a bubble, then another, the air getting hotter.
Naru's nails dig against the wall, her body shaking. Usagi doesn't think she can get up even if she wanted to.
A new monster forms, pulling itself out of the puddle which quickly becomes a part of its body. It has black and red skin, looking like a hot piece of charcoal. It lays on its knees, looking small, and Usagi feels hopeful for a moment.
The moment of hopefulness passes when the creature stands up and cracks its back. It lets out a sigh of relief and stands and its full height, which was clearly taller than both Usagi and Naru. It looks even taller from Usagi's position on the floor. It cackles, a wicked smile on its face. It bows at its creator, then jumps into the air and lands right in front of Naru.
The impact of the landing on the ground makes the wall shake. The broken wall begins to breaks even more, parts of the wall drops and smashes on the floor.
Naru gasps.
"You're so disrespectful," the new monster says as it looks at Naru. It glances down at Usagi, who thankfully closed her eyes the moment before, then back at Naru. "Your fat little friend couldn't even stay awake." It laughs, its skin dripping with each giggle. "What a fool. Oh well, at least I can focus on you, now."
Naru tries to push herself away from the wall, away from the monster, but the monster grabs her throat and slams her against the wall. Naru screams, her body jerking out on reflex.
"No, no," Naru gasps, trying to loosen the grip on her neck. With each attempt, the skin drips between her fingers and hardens. Naru's eyes widen in fear as her fingers stick together. She's stuck.
Usagi breathes in, and pushes herself off the ground, pain cracking throughout her body. She grabs the hand choking Naru and tries to rip it away, tries to claw at the creature's face. Tries, tries, tries. It does nothing but make it growl, and tighten its grip on Naru's neck. Using its other hand, it grabs Usagi and throws her into the wall.
"You're even more of an idiot than this one is. I would've made your death quick and easy for you." The monster snorts, and Usagi can feel the goo hardening around her, holding her in place against the wall. "I'll make it painful, now. I'll make you scream."
Naru's gasps for air get more desperate, drool drips from her chin, mixed with the blood from her nose. Usagi screams. Her pulse races, everything burns. She has to save Naru, she can't let her die. Naru's eyes are beginning to roll, and her body is losing its fight.
Pain runs throughout Usagi, starting from her stomach and racing throughout her body. It all gathers in her forehead. It's excruciating, but Naru probably is in even more pain. Usagi does the only thing she thinks to do, and focuses on the pain, and then she feels nothing.
It takes Usagi a moment to come to.
All she can see is white. Every direction she turns to look, it's white. Endless white. It goes on forever and ever. It is comforting. Usagi's body feels light, the muscles in her body relaxed. She could be floating. Maybe she is.
Naru flashes in front of her. An image of Naru in front of her, frozen in time. Even without the movement, Usagi can see the tension in Naru's body. She can see how Naru's eyes have begun to roll back into her head, how Naru's arms just hit her sides as she loses the fight in her.
"NARU-CHAN!" Usagi screams, and runs forward. She doesn't get closer to the image of Naru. It's not as if she even moved. Her eyes wet, and she covers her face. "Naru-chan," she whimpers.
"Do you want to help her?"
"Yes!" Usagi jumps and answers quickly, then looks around. She thought she was alone, but in the endlessness of white, she can see a form from far away. Her eyes can't adjust enough to see it as anything more than a distortion in the whiteness.
"Do you think you can?" The form says, and Usagi nods, clenching her fists. "You're not strong enough," said the voice, bluntly.
Usagi stares. She couldn't even get the monster away from Naru. What can she do? A tear falls down her cheek, and lands on her stomach. Usagi numblessly realizes she is naked. Somehow, it doesn't bother her. It doesn't matter. After a second, she swallows back a hiccup and says, "Please. I... I don't know how but I want to help."
"This happened before," the voice says longingly. Usagi finds the voice comforting, familiar, but she can't place where. She feels as if she can trust it.
"When?"
"You'll remember eventually." The voice sounds so nostalgic.
Usagi stays silent, trying to get a better look at the form. It stays blurred, distorting the whiteness behind it.
"But this time, you'll be able to help."
Usagi nods slowly, a determined look on her face.
"You have power. This time you have power. You can help."
The voice is closer, and Usagi can feel the finger touch Usagi's stomach. "Your power, you hold it here." She trails to Usagi's chest, placing a finger over her heart. "And right here is why you have power. It's right here. Summon it, direct it," The finger goes from her chest, up her neck, against her jaw, then in the center of the forehead, "here."
"How?" Usagi asks, and her throat is so dry.
"Focus on how much you want to save her. You need to focus like nothing else in this world matters. Focus on how much you want to save your best friend."
Usagi focuses. She closes her eyes and thinks about how much she wants to save Naru, focusing on how terrified Naru looked. Something painful and powerful rushes through her body, coming together in her forehead. It gathers, getting more and more painful by the second. It huts worse than it did to be thrown into the wall. It hurts more than having to stand on possibly broken bones. It hurts so much, until it bursts.
"Good luck, Usagi." The voice sounds far away. "You'll do better this time around."