A few seconds, she thought. That's all I needed. I should've been faster. Not even considering if she had left Stephanie and Cana behind, she would've made it with time to spare. No, not at all. That was who she was. She cared for them and loved them as her own. Anastasia would often tease. You're their Mistress, not their mother.
She stood where the portal should've been. The air barely moving and hot to the touch. Her fingers' pads and palm sizzled like bacon, only to heal seconds later. A queasy, empty feeling erupted in her stomach. Her eyes glistened, and tears hung on the edges.
"I can't…. I can't…." she couldn't finish the thought.
It was unimaginable for her to fathom. For over ten years, no matter where she was in the world, no matter how close or far away. She always felt Anastasia and her entire household.
"I'm alone…." Felt like her heart had been torn from her chest. Mikoto dropped to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and sobbed. It was a pain she hadn't known before. It was as if her world was collapsing around her. And for all intents and purposes, it was. Mikoto Misaka was stranded in an alien world. Wallowing in self-pity, she heard her tiny voice inside her head.
Little Misaka the avatar born of the mixing of Mikoto Misaka and Anastasia's royal blood lived inside of her, spoke, "turn around" her voice trembled, shaded as an order, Mikoto slowly uncovered her face, eyes red, puffy, and wet, looked over her shoulder, her face scrunched even tighter, and the tears flowed.
Quit it. Little Misaka spoke.
Mikoto covered her mouth and held tight, hoping to keep it inside -Respect the dead- Mikoto held her breath. Little Misaka was right.
Respect those who gave their lives to protect you. Watch them.
The Death of a vampire is both grotesque and beautiful. That's what Anastasia would often say with a smile and pain in her eyes. The grotesque, the vampire's body would break down, liquefy, and quickly dry. The beautiful was what Mikoto could see rising from the broken surface of the battlefield.
They rose like fireflies rising from the dew-covered grass. Bright lights fluttering in the breeze surrounded their Mistress in a last goodbye. She saw their faces and heard their laughter as her vision blurred and the tears dropped.
"I'll miss you…" she whispered, wiping her eyes, "I will." Takes a wet breath, collapsing into herself. She sat in silence until she couldn't take it anymore.
"We're alone." She said, staring at the ground. "What will we…." Her voice slowly faded.
We'll survive, wait for their return. Little misaka sounded so calm and mature. She did have her moments.
Mikoto thought of her avatar, nodded, wiped her eyes, "how long…" she wondered.
I don't know. It depends on if Katrina is just hurt or…
Mikoto shook her head, denying the possibility Katrina had been killed. "No…" she said, gathering a little courage, "I won't accept that."
She slowly tightened her jaws and gritted her teeth. "I won't!" She clenched her fist tight.
We need to prepare then. She nodded her head to Little Misaka's' words.
Mikoto Misaka exhaled, squeezing her fist tight. Her pale red eyes flickered, eyebrow popped. Something, no, someone… With a quick sniff, she picked up a familiar scent.
"Brym!" rising to her feet. Her eyes lit up, "Brym!" louder as she smelled the air, running in the smell's direction.
"We won't be alone… Brym is alive… Brym!" She rushed to the edge of the collapsed plateau and stood next to the rubble.
She is buried under there…
"I don't care!" Mikoto growled, swiped her hand over the large piles of debris- using her electromagnetic powers, magnetized the iron inside the black rocks- and tossed them like crumpled papers.
The rocks lost their stability and began to avalanche.
" don't think so!" another growl. Electricity flowed in bluish-white, and lightning struck the landslide. An electric barrier rose and turned the black rocks into dust.
"Brym!" dropping to her knees, digging through the loose dirt, and found her lying underneath the rocks.
Brym, an elder elite, her beautiful white face was bruised and dirty. Blood trickled from her mouth, the tips of her fangs caught in her lower lip. Her tired, soft brown eyes were no longer sparkling but dull. Her upper body looked okay, but her breathing, her lungs were struggling, and her hips and legs were covered with heavy rocks.
Mikoto quickly put her hand on the stones. In less than a few, it would be gone. But Brym laid her hand gently on Mikoto's arm, shaking her head with her dwindling strength.
The older vampire knew her fate. She was a Daywalker-a rarity-a vampire that lived in the sunlight. So, the only means to kill one is to take the head or the heart or cause severe blood loss. And at over eight hundred years old, she knew the feeling of Death and when it came to keeping her company.
With a deep breath, Mikoto knew it. She could smell it. The weight of the stones was keeping her alive. The black ground glistened like morning dew.
Severe blood loss…little misaka said, knowing it was fatal.
Mikoto tilted her head, gazing at her wounded comrade, with cheeks red, eyes glistening, and her smile soft. Cute attack.
"Nice one…" Brym said with a desperate smile. Small tears left trails along her dirty cheeks.
"something to drink?" Mikoto asked, reaching for the utility belt around her waist.
Each vampire carried 10 ampoules of blood. Emergency rations and a few carried plasmas for that special someone.
She leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I have plenty… We could fill you up and remove the…."
Brym slowly shook her head, " I'd rather have you…" she quickly tensed, the pain visible in her laughter,
Mikoto softy smiled, her cheeks flushed, "that can be arranged if you…."
"there's nothing underneath… no bones no… nothing…those fucking teeth and claws…." She grinned, hoping to hide the pain, lying to herself.
She knew her Mistress could feel what she felt. They were joined together. A form of bonding like that of Mikoto and Anastasia.
"I hope it got indigestion." She grimaced.
Mikoto swallowed and opened her mouth, the points of her fangs glistening. "I'll… I'll order you." fighting back the tears. "Then all force you to drink." She said, pointing to the compartment on Brym's utility belt.
"I know there's plasma in there. I know…"
Brym slowly grinned, "we all know, you know… My queen." Her chest shook with laughter. With a horrible cough, blood spilled from her mouth. A shallow, wet, raspy breath came from deep within her throat. Mikoto knew Death was near. A Vampires body absorbs the blood. It doesn't expel blood.
"Read me a story…" she said, looking up at her Mistress. Her eyes told her, begged her.
It had started a long time ago in the other realm. Mikoto was caught reading in the woods. But instead of calling her out, many of them hid among the trees and listened. Yes, she was one of those who'd read aloud as she read. It was barely a whisper, but vampires have excellent hearing. And Mikoto was new to being a vampire. So she was rather weak at picking up their auras. And boy, did she blush when she found out…. the light novels were pretty racy.
That was a long time ago. Considering the time difference between this world and the outer realm. One day here equaled a hundred years in the other realm. It would be used for just getting away for the weekend and intense training.
Mikoto listened to her struggling wet breath, her heart slowing. The urge to cry filled her as her vision blurred.
She slowly nodded her head. The rims of her eyes glistened, inching over, and tears slipped down her cheeks.
Brym closed her eyes and laid her head on Mikoto's lap, "baby." She quickly spoke.
"I know…" Mikoto's tears dropped softly on Brym's cheeks. Wiping her nose with one hand, she stroked Brym's hair.
"The good parts only…." Brym whispered. Mikoto nodded, looking at her friend lying on her lap.
"Jefferies was undressed, lying naked on top of the sheets. Where they had had little sleep. He was reading, wearing his dark-rimmed glasses, and nothing else but a casual toss of the blanket over his lap.
He looked up from the book as the constant sound of the shower stopped. The bathroom door was open wide, and he barely made out the image of the shower doors hidden within the shroud of steam.
He grinned mischievously as the glass door opened and beautiful humming filled the room.
Edwards' naked body emerges from the hot steam like a God rising from the mist. His manhood engorged as he…."
She paused, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Mikoto gently caressed Brym's face, brushing away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.
"held his cock in his hand…."
Her words and mouth trembled, and the tears dropped. Mikoto couldn't say the following line. Her breath stilled as her chest sank and her heart stopped. Her dirty, beautiful face was now empty. She was empty. Brym died.
Mikoto closed her eyes, wiped them, "I know…" looking down, she cupped Brym's cheeks with her hands and held Brym's head on her lap.
"The death of a vampire is both grotesque and beautiful thing…" she said, with all the love in her heart for her friend.
She watched as her white skin turned ashen, the veins underneath went black, and small cracks broke across her perfect face. The flesh sagged and liquefied, running over her fingers and down her legs, forming puddles on the ground. Skin clumped together and dropped in loud plops like warm grease spilling on the floor.
Mikoto watched as the skull peeked out from underneath cottage cheese-like lumps, flesh stretching and falling slowly to the black rocks. Her armor sank as flesh seeped out from the neck and the sleeves, leaving nothing but white bone. The white bone slowly turned dull gray and brittle, snapped like branches of a small dead tree, turning to smaller pieces and then to dust.
The skull became brittle and collapsed in her hand.
She watched intently as Brym disappeared.
The liquefied goo of flesh dried, becoming flaky. Underneath the dusty layer, small lines of flickering light slowly burrowed their way to the surface, burst into warm amber glows like fireflies rising in the evening sky.
Surrounding Mikoto, illuminating her with warm glows that colored her tear-soaked cheeks.
She smiled like a lover bidding farewell. "Beautiful…" she said, surrounded by the afterglow of her friend. And in a fading moment, as if she didn't want to leave, Brym was gone.
Mikoto sat in the silence long after the loving display, her face void of emotions. "Nothing." She finally spoke, "I have nothing, no one…." She said, "Everyone! Vita, Rin, Brym, Scarlett, Chloe …. Even Anastasia's gone."
She brought her hand to her breasts, "I can't feel her… I can't hear her… I can't…." She swallowed, squeezing her eyes tight, clenching her teeth, shaking in a wave of growing anger.
It's fine…
"How can you say that!" Mikoto quickly growled, clenching her fist so tight that blood seeped between her fingers.
Because it's the only thing, I can say. We can't sit and pout right now. We need to gather supplies, make camp, and wait. Or do we just sit around and whine about it?
"You can be such a bitch sometime!" Mikoto said, her voice cracking. Knowing she was right.
I'm told I take after someone. Little Misaka grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yea… and when I find that someone, I'm kicking her ass!"
Mikoto stood up and started to gather supplies.
She spent the rest of the day sniffing out the remains of her friends, her fallen comrades, and more precisely, their armor and gear.
She gathered up the empty armor and the rounds of ammo, working Gauss guns, and the remaining ampoules of blood and plasma.
The ampoules were hermetically sealed, nearly unbreakable, and had years of shelf life.
Mikoto's heart fluttered, counting the ampoules, shaking her head at the implications that said what she didn't want to hear. She wanted to throw up at the thought.
"over two years' worth."
She needed to feed every 4 to 5 days, but she could drink every day if she needed or was bored or…
Despite what legends and movies tell us. A disciplined vampire could last five days without blood. Rogues and strays those portrayed in the film and books, without a strong master to control them, would feed uncontrollably like a rabid wild dog. And that would often lead to early Death. So much for being immortal.
To combat this, blood houses were set up to deal with the need to feed. Trusted family members of the same bloodline, the same household of the humans, turned into a vampire, would draw blood and or allow their ancestors or customers to feed for a price.
Capitalism at its finest.
Mikoto took a long unhappy breath, exhaled as she filled her utility belt with extra supplies and, buried the remaining ampoules next to the stack of extra ammo and rifles, walked out of the cave she had dug into the side of the mountain.
She covered the entrance with a large slab of black rock, using her electromagnetic Esper power, melted the edges to a bright orangish-red, sealing it.
As the steam and heat rose up, the face of the jagged plateau. Satisfied, Mikoto turned and walked over to the glass-smooth slab lying on the ground.
There were 29 names carved into the black stone.
She stood for a while, reading the names, remembering their faces. "You broke your vows…." She said with a smirk, "liars…" and sighed, "but you kept them also." She whispered, "you'll always be with me." Her pale red eyes glistened, her lips curled, "I couldn't find Vita… So, you don't have to worry about her stealing the blankets, putting her cold feet against our legs, or…." Mikoto's throat slowly tightened, wiping the wet from her eyes.
She coughed and cleared her throat, losing her fight to hide her tears, letting them fall.
She swallowed and wiped her nose, "it's been a week… So, I'm leaving a note." She said, "my last orders to you make sure," she raised her hand and put it on the edge of the black slab, nearly 10 feet tall and 3 feet thick, " to tell them, I'm going straight in this direction." looking at the words she'd carved with her fingernails.
"You know how many nails I broke…." She said, laughing. She heard the memory of their laughter.
None? Little Misaka spoke, you're a vampire. She said, chuckling.
A small, sad expression fell over Mikoto's face.
"They would've laughed." She replied to her avatar's sarcastic remark.
"and you can still be such a…." -A part of you. She quickly spoke, nodding her head- Mikoto laughed, "I'm glad you know your place…."
She read her note.
I am heading this way… A large arrow pointed to the top of the monument. I will walk straight and leave the trail only for signs of life. But I will continue until I find the first major city and the way home.
Mikoto Misaka, Queen of the Household of Mikoto. Blah, blah, blah. (She had actually carved that into the stone.)
PS… I'm mad at you, Anastasia. A small heart was carved after her name.
She looked up at the twin suns of an alien world. Then out to the vast black landscape of nothing that stretched for eternity and took her first steps.