Thanks go to BonelessSkele, EpicSlayerGuy99, MysteriousNugget, H1s4a5, Zack Frost, Doctah Sawbones, ZeroaraTheKnight, 10burgers, Wingah, Francisl13, Astreum, TiredWhiteMayge, sauceman95, elicas, and 2Strong2SignIn!
Sorry about the oopsie 10burgers; I was in such a rush to post the last chapter that I forgot to add the thanks until like an hour or so later. Don't worry, it's there now, and you still got your thanks that chapter. :)
2Stron2SignIn, I appreciated having two additions of your big enormous reviews lol. And I really think the idea of Feathers being a nickname for Prime Cter is adorable, and I thought the rest were neat and creative too! Unfortunately, the odds of a bury the hatchet pizza party are astoundingly low.
Welcome back elicas! Glad you liked the nine chapters you speed ran, there's plenty more where those came from.
Anyway! The story has finally surpassed 1,000 reviews and has now reached all the way to the number 3 most reviewed story in the Undertale section! It's been a long road here, and it's a long road ahead! I hope you guys will stick with me all the way through to the end, and I hope you enjoy Season 6!
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
The room was silent, only populated by three people. Lexi The Predator stood at the forefront, Melanie and Grillby waiting behind her in solemn silence. In front of Lexi was a table, upon which was a wooden box with a slit on its top. Slowly, she reached up, flicking up the latches on the box before letting it creak open. Inside of it, several letters were piled unevenly atop one another. They were each given a name. "CLOVER", "SANS", "SUSIE"... There is was.
"MUFFET".
Body tense and cold, Predator's hair shadowed her eyes as she reached in, taking gentle hold of the letter Swap!Muffet had left behind. Gulping silently, she took a moment to stare at the paper in her grasp. But, then she tore her eyes away from it, slamming the box shut on the other final testaments that would not need to be read. Then, she turned right around, thrusting the note out towards the two behind her without lifting her head to look either of them in the eye.
Melanie frowned with concern at Predator's lowered head and shadowed eyes, carefully taking the note from her grasp. Just touching the paper threatened to make her eyes tear up, but still she held on, taking the moment to focus on the friend who was still here. As Predator moved to hastily and silently walk past her, she reached out with her free hand, placing it on her shoulder.
"Lexi..." Melanie said with care, frowning and furrowing her brows a little painfully while Predator lifted her head some. Just enough to peer at her with one distraught eye, all while the room grew a little colder and the frown on her face dug a little deeper. Melanie smiled sadly at this, and her soft voice was the only sound on the ship. "You can stay and read it with us. I-it's okay, really..."
"... I-I'm sorry, Melanie." Predator turned her shame filled eye away from her friend, and she shook her head. Then, she shrugged her shoulder out of Melanie's grasp and continued her march towards the room's door. "But, I can't. Not right now."
Melanie frowned with worry as she watched Predator leave, tearing up just a little at the sound of the door hastily opening and closing. But, then she felt Grillby's warm hand on her shoulder, and lifted her KIND green eyes to look into the delicate gleam in his fiery eyes and the way it reflected in his glasses. "She just needs time. She's going to be okay."
"... I hope so..." Melanie lowered her head, let her eyes gloss back to the heavy letter in her hands. She read the name written on it, over and over. Muffet...
Mom...
Chapter 71: Life Is Motion
Or: The Sin of PATIENCE Part 1
... I wish my mom had left me a note.
Thunder boomed, rain poured from the ever overcast sky, and a dark haired little girl huddled fearfully in the dark of an alleyway. The gross water pouring from the polluted clouds had soaked into her coat, and she was cold. Freezing. But still there she sat, and there she waited and there she hid, because her parents would come and find her. Just like they said, just like they promised.
They never came.
She clenched her eyes shut, suppressed another shiver, let a few tears slip down her cheeks and savored their brief warmth. She thought about crying out again, once more considered standing up and looking for the two who had promised to find her. But, then she remembered the red eyed ghoul who had blocked their path in that alley. His snow white hair and beard, the glowing crimson of his eyes and the way it matched the blood dripping off the lead pipe in his hand.
... He ambushed me and my parents on our way home. I was probably only six or seven.
Her father - his face was blurry in Lexi's memory, seemed it always had been - had forced a smile when he looked down at her. He held a protective arm out in front of her, and he looked down into her confused and afraid cyan eyes and promised her... "Go find somewhere to hide, okay dear? Your mother and I will be there to find you in just a few minutes, but you have to go now."
Her mother had made another promise. She wished she remembered what she looked like, if she'd smiled or frowned, if she'd been afraid. But Predator didn't remember that. All she remembered was the sound of her voice and her promise. "Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you. We love you."
... My earliest memory is hiding. Hiding and waiting for safety that just wasn't coming.
Just a few minutes became just a few hours. Just a few hours could have been just a few days, it didn't matter to the girl freezing on the wet concrete. They had promised her they would come find her and that she would be safe so long as she waited. So she did. PATIENTLY sitting, silently praying. As her stomach rumbled, as her nose and eyes ran with what little fluid she had, as chills overtook her body despite the high temperature she must've been running. They would find her, they would dry her off, they would give her medicine. She just. Had. To wait.
I never saw my parents again. Not that it really matters to me now; I can't remember their faces. I can't remember any of the time we had together before they were killed. What I do remember, is the person who actually did come to save me.
Suddenly, just when she thought she might sit there in the cold forever, little Lexi felt the brutal jabs of the rain come to an instant stop. A dull, pitter patter sound and a new noise when all she'd come to understand was crashing water and passing cars. And Lexi blinked her foggy eyes while she turned her gaze up towards the light finally shining down on her. Her PATIENCE rewarded, she felt hope grip her once more. Her parents had finally returned, just like they promised.
"Are you okay?" Another child asked softly and with care. He furrowed his white eyebrows down at her, and even though the rain was now pouring over him and matting his snow white hair to his head, he smiled. Little Anthony held his umbrella out to protect her from the rain and the cold, and his scarlet eyes shined to guide her through the dark while he reached out towards her with his free hand. An offer, mercy when she thought there would be none.
... I should've taken his hand. I should have taken his fuckin' hand! If I had accepted him that day, if I had been his first friend instead of Angel, if I had just... If I had just taken his hand that day, then maybe things wouldn't be so fucked up now. At least, that's what my guilt keeps trying to convince me.
Lexi's eyes widened and her pupils shrunk. The sight of those glowing red eyes and the color of that overgrown hair, it was enough to send her fevered brain into a traumatic flashback and her pneumonia sick heart into a pounding panic attack. In that instant she knew that her parents were not coming, and in their place the monster they had promised to protect her from had come to kill her.
So, she shot up onto her feet. Felt motion that she thought she might not ever let herself feel again. She thought she would sit there and wait, PATIENT forever. But, one look into a Killer's eyes was enough to jump start her body. Her desire to live was stronger than her PATIENCE, so she thoughtlessly shoved her palms into the stunned Anthony's chest and sent him tumbling into a puddle. And while she turned on her heel and scurried back into the dark spaces between the buildings of that wretched city, she screamed back at him with her sickened throat, "G-get away from me! FREAK!"
... I guess it just isn't worth thinking about. Because I didn't go with him; I pushed Anthony down and I called him a freak and there's nothing I can do to take that back. No matter how hard I try.
That little girl ran with energy she didn't know she had. Her head was pounding, her throat was burning, her eyes and her nose were stinging. She could barely even see where she was going, hardly knew where she was running, but there had to be someone, anyone other than one of those red eyed monsters. If no one would come to her, then she would find them. Her mother, her father, anyone.
I don't remember what the streets I was running through looked like. I don't remember the faces I passed, the adults that turned their heads and looked away to keep themselves from getting involved in what wasn't their business.
Gasping in air that stung her poisoned throat, Lexi eventually started to stumble. What little energy was left in her started to fade, much like most of her senses. All logic and reason faded from her brain, she no longer thought about things like who might save her or where she might hide. Instead, it was just the same thought. Repeated, over and over as her knees threatened to buckle every step. As she stumbled and nearly tripped over herself from time to time, tumbling into walls and shoving off of them to keep running. Brick cut her cold and wet hands, but she didn't notice. She just kept moving, to appease the single thought left in her head.
"I don't want to die."
But, adrenaline can only get a disease ridden child so far. And with her vision hardly working, Lexi didn't see the woman standing in her path until she ran face first into her hip. And the sturdiness of this particular woman's stance did not give in the slightest, which meant that little Lexi bounced right off her. She tumbled right back onto the soggy concrete, and she was unconscious before she even hit the ground.
"Huh?" The woman tilted her head down to shoot a glance at the child now laying on the ground by her side. But, instead of kneeling down to check on this child, she instead squinting suspiciously at the sickly Lexi. One hand holding a black umbrella up over her head of brown hair - which puffed out into the natural curls of an afro around her head - her free hand felt all the pockets of her jeans, as though she was making sure everything she had left in them was still there and had not been swiped by Lexi's tiny hands. She also wore a crop top jean jacket over a black tank top.
After making sure all of her valuables were right on her person where she left them, her eyes began scanning her surroundings. If not a child's pickpocket attempt, then a distraction? Was something more sinister creeping up behind her? Was this kid just somebody's decoy? Her free hand rested over the holster on her belt loop now, unbuttoning the strap securing the handgun inside while she turned her head from side to side. No footsteps, nothing in the dark. She was alone, her and this gasping and shivering corpse of a girl.
Suddenly, she felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. A pair of eyes watched her, and the malevolent feeling she felt seethe from the shadows told her exactly who's eyes they were. So, her light blue orbs darted into the shadows down the alley, pupils shrinking within them. And the moment she spotted red eyes staring back at her, she yanked the silver of her 9mm pistol from its holster and fearlessly aimed its barrel down into The Dark.
"Now isn't this a surprise!" The Killer's jovial voice echoed from the shadows right along with his footsteps, and he walked so casually out into the open. It was sickening and unnatural, the way the darkness slipped off of him like he was walking out of a pool of water. So much of him was wrong, from the sharp teeth that he smiled with to the odd glow of his unusual eye color and all the way back to the ghostly pale white of his skin, which was a stark contrast to the darker brown of her own skin. As though he didn't understand she was pointing a gun at him, Killer opened his arms like he wanted a hug. "Jade! It's been a year if it's been a day!"
"And if it's been a year it hasn't been long enough." She responded with the lethal narrow of her eyebrows. The hammer of her pistol clicked when she pushed it down with her thumb, the nail of which was an acrylic purple that matched the rest of her finger nails. The only noise was her voice, the rain beating on her umbrella and the pounding heart that she kept hidden behind her chest. This freak didn't have to know she was afraid of him, he just had to know she wanted to shoot him. "What are ya doing chasin' little girls through alleys, Ghoul?"
"Ghoul? Oh Jade, you don't need to use my stage name. You and I are friends, aren't we?" Jade growled at his answer, and that made The Killer frown like she'd hurt his feelings. His little guilt trip didn't work on her though; coy mother fucker didn't have feelings, Jade knew that better than anyone. Anyone who was still alive, at least. Proving her theory, Killer started chuckling. He looked relieved and like he was enjoying himself; could a freak like him really miss an old friend? Didn't matter. He placed a hand on his chest and straightened out his posture while he answered. "If you must know, I wasn't chasing anyone. I was coming to be the savior that poor girl was praying for."
"She was running from you." Jade's frown creaked deeper into her face. Her brow twitched with suppressed rage, and maybe a few other nasty emotions. He had always been hard to look at, but the albino boy she'd known had only ever gotten more wretched as the years went on. She should have never let herself hope she wouldn't see him again.
"She was running from someone who looks like me." Killer corrected, wagging his finger to scold her despite his pretentious grin.
"There's nobody who looks like you." Jade refuted matter-of-factly. That was true; the exact paleness of his skin and glow of his eyes was unlike even other albinos. Not that Jade had ever met one other than The Killer.
"Give it another decade or so, you'll get what I mean." Killer waved his hand to dismiss her words and gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, but Jade didn't dedicate any focus to whatever he was prophesizing. He was always weird like that, saying words that didn't make sense. Talking just so he could hear his own voice, not so people would listen. "Anyway, the girl's cruel parents said they'd be back for her and never came! I may be a murderer, but I could never abandon a child in such a way!"
"... You killed her parents, didn'tcha?" Jade's voice sounded like she was two steps from groaning at Killer's antics. And when he poked his cheek and batted his eyelashes in a poor imitation of what being sheepish looks like, Jade's teeth grit. She knew she should just shoot him, but gunshots were loud and would draw attention. And, after seeing all The Killer had done... Some part of her was afraid a bullet wouldn't be enough to destroy him. "I'm gonna ask you one more time. What do you want with this girl?"
"Oh, so maternal. You really expect me to believe you give a shit?" Suddenly, all that friendliness dropped away. Killer frowned right back at Jade, letting his arms drop to his side and his shoulders sink. His sudden movement made her expression flinch; she may have had the gun, but she had seen how fast he could be. "The only person you care about keeping safe is yourself. If you cared about that girl or anyone like her, you would have tried to stop me by now. But you're afraid you'll end up like-"
BANG!
Killer's eyes went wide, manic glee igniting in them when he heard the whiz of a bullet racing by the side of his head. The noise rang in his ear, the metal might have even shaved a few hairs off his head. But, his head hadn't been blown off his shoulders, so he smiled at her like the madman that he was, and he listened to her snarl, "You keep his name outta your mouth if you know what's good for you."
"... I'm past my prime, Jade. I can feel it." The Killer's smile faded then, sunk into that emotionless stare. It was the only honest look he ever gave, but that didn't make it any less unnerving. Jade's brows furrowed with confusion, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead as The Killer's voice lowered. "I need a successor."
"What?" Jade asked incredulously, narrowing her eyes and letting her disbelief display clear on her face. What the fuck was this lunatic rambling about now? What business did he have to pass on, why would a being like him care about what happens after he's dead? And what did this girl have to do with it? "Successor to what? Being a murder hobo?"
"I don't expect you to understand." Killer folded one hand behind his back, flashing one of his malevolent smiles again. With his free hand, he gestured out towards the shivering and gasping child on the ground. "But someday, she might. If I take her under my wing, that is."
"That's not happening." Jade answered without hesitation, but the way Killer cackled at her words made the gun tremble momentarily in her hand. She'd heard that laugh before, too many times. It made her jaw tighten again; what was so funny?
"I need to test the different players in my game. Make sure all of them have different upbringings, different beliefs, different reasons to kill..." Killer spoke so lovingly, let his eyes roll around in his head like the talk of his game filled him with joy and passion. It made Jade's skin crawl, and she about shot at him again when those eyes darted back to her. "I haven't selected all the contestants yet, but that one! I kill her parents and then raise her myself? Now that's a Killer origin! Like something out of an old Kung-Fu movie!"
"Aw hell no." Jade shook her head, showing only about a fraction of the disgust she actually felt. Grooming children to be murderers now? She needed to shoot him. Kill him, and end this! But... Her finger locked in front of the trigger. More cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and a hundred frightening memories replayed in her mind. Still, her voice came out unshaken. "Gimme one good reason not to shoot your ass dead right here!"
"Because you're afraid a bullet won't kill me." Killer leaned forward some, his lips pulling up to reveal those wretched fangs once again. Jade grit her teeth again, and Killer watched her neck twitch as she gulped. His eyes were always like that, checking vitals and weak points. Places to crush, stab, bite... His evil voice slithered out of his throat again. "But, y'know Jade, you being here does give me an idea."
"Keep your fucked up thoughts in your fucked up head." Jade threatened, once more eliciting a manic giggle from The Killer. He was so elated by every response, he really did love talking to her. That was why he'd let her live so long. Well, that, and she'd never gotten in his way. Not until right now.
"I could raise the girl... Or you could." The Killer's grin shrunk into a malicious smirk, and he slowly tilted his head to the side while he narrowed the murderous red of his eyes. He could see from the bewilderment on Jade's usually stern face that she was going to ask what he was talking about, so he elaborated before she got the chance to ask. "You wanna pretend that you care about anyone other than yourself? Prove it. Take the girl, give her the best life you can. Protect her from me."
"Why would you want that?!" Jade snapped, panic flashing in her eyes. This was different than the other crimes Killer had committed; before she could always turn her head and say it wasn't her business. Pretend not to be involved. But now... Her eyes glossed down to the girl dying on the concrete, and she gulped again before launching her glare back towards The Killer.
"Because you're my little buddy, Jade. I trust you with my daughter." Killer was grinning again, so obviously amused by the panic in her eyes. It was hilarious, the way she flinched with disgust when he referred to the girl laying on the ground as his daughter. "I mean, you can just leave her there, too. Or, if you really wanna put her out of her misery, why don'tcha just shoot her dead right here and now?"
She'd let him talk for too long, and now that gun felt like more of a burden in her hand than a blessing. She didn't want this responsibility, didn't want this child's life or death to be up to her. This wasn't her business! She just wanted to walk to the goddamn corner store, and now she was either going to have to adopt or doom a kid? She growled, clenching her eyes shut briefly before snapping them back open and glaring at The Killer with renewed wrath. "Quit talkin' like you have any power here! I'm the one with the gun!"
"AND I'M THE IVORY MOTHER FUCKIN' GHOUL!" Killer snapped suddenly, lurching forward and barring his fangs. He let his left hand hang limp, and down his sleeve slid a lead pipe into his grasp. Jade thought the object was odd; it was a blunt force tool, sure, but it was not the trademark crowbar he had once terrorized this city with. Had he lost his weapon? Left it somewhere or with someone? She didn't have time to think about it. She was recoiling, more cold sweat breaking out on her brow while she saw the darkness behind The Killer stretch forward, engulfing the alley in which the two stood. All while she stared into those vicious red eyes. All while his deranged, monstrous voice shouted into the void of Dark that his stare created. "That gun can't kill me! Not in the hands of a coward like you! So either play my game with me or get the fuck out of my way!"
"..!" Jade's teeth ground together. Her wide eyes twitched with indecision, her frantic stare darted between the monster before her and the child laying on the ground. The rain pounded against her umbrella, beat down the dying Lexi on the ground, washed effortlessly off The Killer like its chill could never hurt him. And, finally, her body shaking with indecision and her furious eyes clenching shut one more time... Jade moved.
Shifting on her heel, she suddenly threw her open umbrella at The Killer, making his scarlet eyes widen as the plume of the umbrella's shield blocked Jade and Lexi from view. He didn't have time to throw the parasol aside however, because two gunshots rang out the moment his vision was obscured. Bullets tore threw the tarp of the parasol, and lead whizzed past The Killer, tearing across his shoulder and his cheek.
With a useless thump the umbrella hit the ground, and The Killer squinted his eyes to see Jade already sprinting down the alleyway. In her arms, she'd gathered up Lexi from the concrete, holding the girl to her chest and letting her rest her head against her shoulder. And he smiled at the sight of them, a stream of blood trickling down the slice carved into his cheek by one of Jade's bullets. It tainted the pure white shade of his beard, but he didn't mind, letting his tongue slip out past his lips and taste the iron of his own blood.
I don't know what happened between me knocking myself out on Jade's leg and me waking up.
PATIENT blue eyes opened through the crust in their corners, and Lexi tried her hardest to make out her surroundings. Immediately she was met with burning heat and heavy limbs. She breathed weakly through her dry mouth, her nose sealed shut by some vile sinus swelling. Everything looked blurry; she blinked and blinked but her vision never cleared like she wanted it to. "W-... Where..?"
She only managed to get out one word, before sputtering and coughing. Her whole body convulsed with every dry cough, but was hardly able to fight out of the blanket she was tucked into. Finally she relaxed again, eyes clenched shut tight while she wheezed for air. It was right about then that she felt a foreign hand gently remove the now warm and dry rag from her forehead, and she again forced one eye open to watch the blurry shape of a person shuffle away from her bedside.
The brief sound of water running, before that human shape returned to her bedside. Lexi recognized her as a woman, but didn't recognize a thing beyond that. Still, that was enough to spark some sort of hope in her tired body, and even though her eyes shut again, her dry and cracked lips curled upwards some as she felt the cool relief of that rag being rested across her forehead. "M-... Mom..?"
"..." Jade was silent. Her eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed painfully. She might've even shed a tear for this fevered and orphaned girl, if The Killer's cruelty hadn't numbed that part of her already. And she watched, in awe and dismay, as one of Lexi's shaky hands fumbled out of her blanket, blindly reaching out to her.
"I-I... Didn't, think you were coming..." Lexi spoke weakly, so quietly that Jade had to force herself to listen to every word. Her weak eyelids remaining closed, her hand swayed and trembled against gravity's might while it desperately reached out. A frown slowly overtook Lexi's expression again... "I... I thought you, forgot about me..."
"..." Jade reached out, and she clasped both her hands around Lexi's. Shutting her own eyes, she gulped down the lump forming in her throat. How many children? How many went without parents? How many hadn't she saved? How many laid dead in the street, how many were victim to Killer's cruel game? How many hadn't she saved? She leaned forward, and she rested her forehead against Lexi's cold fingers. She shut her eyes, because she couldn't bare to look at the delusional smile that had returned to the poor girl's face at what she must've thought was her mother's touch. Weakly, Jade managed the only comforting words she could. "... It's okay. You're safe now."
Lexi didn't respond, but that smile stayed on her face. Her arm went limp in Jade's grasp; she fell back asleep. But, even as she returned to her rest, Jade remained there. Holding her hand, hanging her head, wishing she had done more and wondering how she would mother the child that had so carelessly been thrust upon her.
The next few days went on like that. Me fading in and out of consciousness and her taking care of me. She started giving me medicine once I started actually coming to. Obviously I recognized that she was a stranger once my brain was less fever-fried, but she was also the only other person around, and was nice enough to take care of me. And I was dying, so it's not like I could afford to be picky.
Face still pale and eyes still sunken in with exhaustion, Lexi sat up in her bed, wrapped up to her ears in her blanket in hopes of suppressing her chills. Jade sat exasperated at her bedside, resting her chin on her fist while she held out a spoonful of some likely vile tasting medicine. Lexi shrunk into her blanket cocoon, scowling at the sight of her medication.
She was definitely rough around the edges, and struck me as someone who didn't know how to handle kids. Looking back, I'm not sure she was very good at handling people in general. Or, at the very least, she didn't like handling them.
Jade was prepared for this though, reaching down and pulling a cookie from it's packaging by her feet. Keeping her disgruntled expression, she held the treat up for Lexi to see. And, just like she expected, the girl's little arms were instantly shooting out the top of her blanket wrap and grabbing at the cookie. Jade pulled it up over her head though, nodding towards the medicine she was holding out. That soured little Lexi's expression significantly.
... But, she was nice in little ways.
Lexi shivered and nearly gagged on the spoonful of medicine, sticking her tongue out after swallowing like she thought the air might wash the awful taste from it. But, then she looked expectingly to Jade for her reward. Her brows furrowed and she frowned with disappointment when Jade lowered her hand instead of handing her the cookie, but then her face lit up when Jade lifted her hand back up, displaying two cookies now in her grasp. She handed them over to the needy grabby hands Lexi was reaching out with, and the two baked goods were yanked into her blanket cocoon, never to return.
By the time she'd nursed me back to health, of course she had my trust. Once I wasn't shaking and light headed all the time, she let me explore the rest of her home. Looking back, it really wasn't a lot, but as a kid I thought it was so cool.
"This is uhh... The rest." Jade shrugged casually, gesturing out to the rest of her home from the doorway in which her and Lexi stood. From the concrete walls and the fact that the only windows were near where wall met ceiling, it was easy to surmise that they were underground, in some kind of basement or cellar. But, for a basement, it was pretty homey. Like nothing little Lexi had ever seen before, Lights hung on the beams and pipes that ran across the ceiling and shinned bright and beautiful colors. posters hung with colored sheets to help block out the unsettling grey of the concrete walls, and multi-patterned rugs coated the floor, making it look closer to a wildly mismatched carpet.
"Whoooaaaa..." Lexi's eyes were filled with wonder as she scanned the scenery laid out before her. Jade scratched her cheek with some embarrassment; she guessed her home and the interior design of a child's treehouse did share some similarities. It was no wonder Lexi was wowed, the bright colors and unique themes of this space were something a kid would dream up. Jade wasn't sure what exactly that said about her, though.
Her house was really more of a hideout. See, Jade didn't exactly work a nine to five.
Suddenly, Lexi had let go of Jade's pantleg, racing out on her tiny legs with newfound energy to explore. Jade wanted to advise her not to touch anything, but really she was just glad to see the kid up and moving. There was more than one occasion where she was nearly certain Lexi would not make it, so it was a relief to now see her happy and healthy.
"Thassa big TV..." Lexi stated the moment she reached the center piece of Jade's hideout, which was two couches centered around a wall mounted flat screen television. It really pulled the whole hideout together, it and the stand full of DVDs, a DVD player, and a few different video game systems. Jade smiled with pride as she walked up beside the girl, resting a hand on her hip.
"It sure is." She agreed with the nod of her head, looking up into the currently dark screen. She saw herself reflected in its black shade, and she saw the little girl standing at her side. And this sight was new, she had never seen herself side by side with this little one in the time she had been her caretaker. But, unusual as it was, she was not disgusted or even discomforted by the sight. In fact, something about it looked right in her eyes. "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to steeeeee-... I mean, pay for!"
Jade was an acrobatic, a gymnast, and above all else, a master thief. That was just how life was in the city then; anyone who wasn't rich had to kill and steal to get by. She'd just gotten extraordinarily good at the stealing so she wouldn't have to do the killing. And though she tried to keep it a secret while we were still getting to know each other, it wasn't long before she was upfront about what she did. We'll get there, though.
Lexi turned her head and continued to examine this new space, when her eyes caught something and her brows furrowed. On the couch, there was a blanket and a pillow. That sparked her curiosity, and upon one more scan of the room, she found only one door other than the one they had entered through and one that hung open, leading to a bathroom. And that door was shut and locked, its crude wood not matching the rest of the home's aesthetic. Outside of that, there was only a staircase leading to a cellar door that Lexi assumed was the house's exit. So, she turned her head up towards Jade, furrowing her brows. "Where's your room?"
"You been sleepin' in it." Jade scoffed, clearly just a little amused by her own dry tone. But, when she smirked down to Lexi, she saw that the girl wasn't smiling. In fact, she furrowed her brows thoughtfully, letting her eyes gloss down to the floor. She was quiet for a few moments, before speaking up.
"... Thank you for helping me." Little Lexi kept her head low, frowning at the rug beneath the two of them. Her eyes thoughtlessly examined its patterns. She had a pretty good idea of her situation, even if Jade hadn't given her the details. The last time she had seen her parents, they had been face to face with a monster in The Dark. Then, in spite of their promise, they had never came back for her. She understood that, whatever may have become of her parents, they were not coming back for her. And with those red eyed monsters lurking in the alleyways, she didn't want to step outside again. So, she lowered her head, glancing up fearfully at Jade. "But... What do we do now?"
"..." Jade glanced to the side, her eyes narrowing painfully. How was she supposed to explain to this kid that her parents were dead, and they were stuck with each other? How was she supposed to explain that, after PATIENTLY waiting for so long, the hero that came to save her was... Just Jade? Her thoughts drifted back to The Killer, and what despair this girl would have felt if she had woken up in his care instead. And that hardened her resolve, made her look back to Lexi. She knelt down, smiling with care and resting a hand on her shoulder. "I know this is weird. It's, weird for me too. But, you aren't alone. And even though I'm, new to this... I'm going to make sure you're safe and happy."
"..." Lexi didn't say anything to that, but she did look back to Jade. And, even though she was sad and afraid, she smiled. And she figured Jade would understand that enough. Reaching up, she rubbed her itchy eye with her fist briefly, before speaking up. "... Can we have mac n' cheese for dinner?"
Her sudden change in topic made Jade snerk, but she was happy regardless. She had understood Lexi's smile, after all. So, she placed a hand atop the girl's head, ruffling her black hair. Then she stood, looking to the side of her basement that was finished with an oven, microwave, and table. "Sounds good to me."
For a little while, it was kinda just me chilling in her basement. But, young kids are curious. The babykin brain is always hungry for any kind of knowledge, and Jade wasn't exactly in the place to be able to send me off to school. And she probably knew that lack of learning spelt a difficult future for me. I don't remember because I wasn't paying enough attention as a kid, but she probably tried really hard to piece together some kind of education for me.
Lexi yawned and blinked her eyes sleepily at the kitchen table, staring down at a paper with basic addition and subtraction problems drawn onto it. It was half finished, but she felt she would need to take a nap before finishing the second half. Jade sat beside her, and judging from her own yawning and slouched posture, she was feeling similarly sluggish.
I had already learned how to read before she had to take me in, so that helped. But higher levels of reading, mathematics, most basic forms of knowledge that a person would need eluded me. And neither of us had the attention span for paper work and studying. So it was frustrating and boring for awhile. Eventually, though, we figured something out.
"What are we doing out here?" Little Lexi turned her curious eyes up towards Jade, furrowing her brows. It was a pretty dark afternoon, wasn't much sunlight that could make it through the ever present clouds overhead. Things were always like that in that damned city; cloudy and muggy and generally ugly.
Now, gravel crunched beneath their feet as the two wandered through some abandoned construction site. The signs advertising whatever this place was supposed to be were long since faded, the equipment all cleared out or abandoned. All that remained was an eyesore, hollow buildings and towers of support beams. Creations never to be fulfilled, now just a strange maze of steel and stone bones.
"Well, you wanted to know what it is that I do, right?" Jade smiled down to Lexi, which only furthered her confusion.
"So, you're a construction worker?" Lexi asked, entire expression reflecting the same bewilderment as her incredulous tone. She tilted her head to the side, reaching up and poking one finger into her bottom lip while she pondered. "... How's your hair fit in the hard hat?"
Jade snerked at that line, shaking her head. She reached down and ruffled Lexi's hair, but the girl just frowned up at her from under her hand. She was getting tired of waiting for an answer, after all. But Jade figured the reveal would be worth it, and she answered. "No, not quite."
Just before Lexi could demand an answer however, Jade launched forward. Pushing off of her front foot, she raced towards a tower of support beams with nothing to support. The skeleton of some never built building, now turned into her playground. She jumped, planting one foot against a ply wood wall before pushing off of it and to the wall across from it. From that wall she swiftly lunged straight up, grabbing onto a horizontal steel pole and immediately swinging her body around it. After two rotations to pick up speed, she launched herself upwards.
She raced past the next pole almost entirely while her body ascended upside down, before catching it in her palms and swinging once around it in the same manner that she had the last. When she released her grip and flung herself again, she performed two front flips before landing with perfect balance on the thin footing of a steel girder.
And Lexi watched, slack jawed and wide eyed as Jade slowly leaned backwards, resting her hands on the old metal. She shifted her weight carefully onto her hands, lifting her entire body up with the strength of her arms and core. Then, more miraculous than that, she walked back across the steel girder on her palms towards Lexi, never so much as stumbling or trembling. She called down to her, "So? What do ya think?"
"WHOA!" Stars in her eyes, little Lexi took a few steps closer. She was so shocked to see a person able to do something with such skill, it was a string of fluid movements that she at the time had only really thought possible on TV. In that instant she was so amazed that she had forgotten any of the troubles plaguing her babykin brain, completely focused on the brilliant acrobatics Jade was displaying.
... Watching her and all the tricks that she could do, it was the first time I ever really felt wonder or joy since losing my parents. I don't know what it was, but running fast, moving and bouncing around so easily, doing what seemed impossible... She just seemed so strong, and so free. And I think I, as someone who had been stuck waiting for others to come save me and take care of me, wanted to be that free and that strong, too.
Lexi's wide cyan eyes watched Jade continue to parkour through the construction sight, diving between steel beams and climbing temporary wood walls and sticking landings effortlessly. And it wasn't long before she found herself wondering if she could ever be capable of doing the same thing. Before she was imagining what it might be like to move so fast, to be so skilled.
And there is was, the answer to our collective attention problem.
"So, pretty cool right?" Jade rested a hand on her hip, smirking down at the giddy child before her. She was relived to see her so enthralled; she'd really been worried that this would be a dud and her planning would go back to square one.
"I wanna try! I wanna try!" Was little Lexi's joyful response. She clenched her hands into fists, bouncing them in front of herself like she was banging on an imaginary table. Jade smiled at the sight of this, reaching out again and resting her hand atop her head while she knelt down.
"I can teach you everything I know." Jade assured, widening that giddy smile on Lexi's face. And even though the sight of her so eager made her feel happy and relieved, she still gave a slight frown and a knowing raise of her eyebrows. "But, learning this will be the reward for learning the other things, okay? Reading books, finishing assignments, that'll give you more time out here learning how to do what I do."
It was honestly a really smart way to get a kid like me to focus. I was PATIENT enough to work through assignments I didn't like and read through books I thought were boring if there was an exciting reward at the end of the tunnel. Every little kid book I read bought me more time training, and the longer the book the more time I earned from reading it. Same with the assignments Jade would draw up; the harder they were and the more I learned the more time we spent teaching me all the skills that helped make me The Predator. This would be the formula for most of my childhood into my teen years.
"Ow!" Lexi cried out as she landed flat on her back in the grass, wincing her eyes shut and immediately reaching back to rub the back of her head. The first lesson she had to learn was how to fall properly; a safety precaution that was ironically painful to learn.
"Gotta tuck your chin, baby!" Jade called from the sidelines, lowering her stance and clapping her hands together to help encourage Lexi to her feet. This was far from the most fun step in learning acrobatics, mostly consisting of aching bruises and scraped knees and elbows. But, it was a necessary step and a test in whether or not she really wanted to learn how to do this.
But, to Jade's continued relief, Lexi kept jumping back up. They were in an easier space for training now, a barely kept park with grass that didn't get mowed often enough and a few trees to climb and fall out of. One of which Lexi was already scrambling back up with dirt stained and scraped hands. She'd gotten increasingly fast at climbing up to the lower branches just to purposefully fall out of them, all to land in whatever way hurt the least.
Like I said, I had PATIENCE. I knew what I was learning was hard and I knew it wasn't fun yet, but I also knew I had to learn it. So, I stuck out the early days, worked through whatever hurt, and every day I enjoyed it just a little more. The rush of plummeting towards the ground, the pride in every landing that didn't hurt. I was glad to see callouses on my hands, it made me feel less helpless.
Years went by like that. After awhile, Jade ran out of basic schooling to teach me. She only understood so much after all, I don't think she ever graduated high school. I never got the details, but I know somehow her life lead to her living in an abandoned basement in some empty corner of the Fortune City slums and that she had to rely on theft to survive. And after awhile she clued me in on that, and even taught me how to steal too. I think she wanted to teach me everything she possibly could, give me all knowledge she had - good and bad - to make sure I could survive.
And after awhile, I was thriving. By the time I was fourteen I could keep up with her on the field, and we worked together on little jobs. I was usually just a decoy, someone to talk to a shopkeep or a guard or something and keep them distracted while Jade swiped whatever we needed. The police didn't get involved in the slum's business and any gangs were too busy warring with each other to notice her stealing cuts of their blood money, so we didn't have anything to worry about so long as we were careful.
And, once I had a decent grasp of everything she could teach me about stealing and running, she started teaching me how to kick ass. First thing she taught me was probably the most standard but important one: how to shoot a gun.
"Keep your shoulders square." Jade repeated earlier instruction, arms crossed over her chest. She stood back a few feet from Lexi, who held Jade's 9mm pistol steady in her hands, aiming it out towards the line up of cans in the distance. The two appeared to be in the fields outside of Fortune City, currently emptied of any product after the fall harvest. It was a chilly day, Lexi's breath caused puffs of white smoke. And after she did as Jade instructed and squared her shoulders, the older woman smiled. "Good. Now flip off the safety and take your shot."
BANG!
One of the cans exploded off the log it had been perched on, spraying some off brand soda as it quadruple back flipped into the tall grass that loomed behind it. And Lexi turned her head, looking to Jade for approval. Of course, Jade grinned wide, giving her a thumbs up. "You're a natural!"
... I didn't tell her I was imagining The Killer on the other end of my barrel when I shot that gun. I never told her that one of the reasons I wanted to learn to move and fight like her was so that I'd never have to be afraid of him again.
Jade put the teenage Lexi in a headlock after she'd effortlessly blasted all the cans off their posts, grinning with pride. Lexi smiled too, a light red tint appearing on her cheeks. It was a little embarrassing to be praised so shamelessly, but she appreciated it. It was something she wanted to hear, after all. She wanted to make Jade proud, she wanted her approval. She was the coolest and strongest person in the world to Lexi, and really the only person she had.
Jade lived a secluded life. The world was a dangerous place after all, Fortune City especially. So, to protect me and herself, she kept us both hidden away from other people. I got to talk to people sure; She taught me how to speak with them so that I could keep their attention while she stole things out from under their noses. But I didn't really have friends outside of her. Not that I minded, at least not for awhile.
Anyway. Guns were a precaution, a quick fix to situations that got too dangerous. But Jade wasn't a murderer and she made sure I wasn't one either. And guns were too loud, drew too much attention. The pistol she kept on her hip and that I would later keep on mine was for emergencies. For everything else... That's what the training was for.
"How did you get-..." Lexi trailed off, looking up from the kitchen table before her and to Jade, who stood across from it. Over the table a tarp was laid, and on the tarp was an array of weaponry. Knives, swords, small axes... All sorts of things that could be thrown or pulled out from under a cloak in an instant. Lexi got halfway through asking her teacher how she'd gotten ahold of all these items, before she remembered who she was speaking to. That wiped the curiosity right off her face, replaced it with a knowing look that Jade returned. "Ha! Cool."
"Take your pick, hun." Jade smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. She nodded back towards the table, letting her light blue eyes gloss over the array of weapons laid out before her protégé. All things she had collected and used at one point or another, and all things she was confident in teaching Lexi how to use. "I've got enough experience with each of them to teach you how to use them."
"Hmm..." Lexi furrowed her eyebrows, let her eyes scan the weapons before her. She reached out, let her finger tips gloss over handles and blades while she tried to imagine herself wielding one. But, nothing seemed quite right. Nothing felt exactly like what she was looking for. But, that made her ponder, what was she looking for? Who did she want to be, what did she want the world to think when it finally laid eyes upon her?
"... I'm sorry, but are there any other options?" Lexi asked pensively, lifting her head to glance up at Jade. She winced at the sound of her own words, fearing sounding ungrateful. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate everything Jade had laid out for her, of course she did. But, she didn't want to be a copy of Jade. She wanted to stand out, present herself differently. Be, herself. But, that was hard to do when she wasn't yet sure who she was.
Jade didn't frown at Lexi's question, though. She understood, seemed like she almost always did. She placed a hand on her chin and glanced thoughtfully to the side, furrowing her brows. Then, finally, she shrugged. Looking back to Lexi, Jade shrugged hesitantly. "I mean, I guess there's one more thing, but even I'm not all that sure how to use it."
"Lemme see lemme see lemme see!" Lexi perked up, leaning forward and resting her palms on the table before her while she stood on her tippy toes. Jade laughed at the sight of her bouncing giddily, uncrossing her arms and rolling her eyes.
"Okay, okay! Just a minute." Jade chuckled, waving a hand to dismiss Lexi's demanding chant. It didn't quell the girl's excitement though, just left her giddily watching Jade make her way across the basement and towards the locked door at its other side. Of course Lexi was excited, the idea of using a weapon that even Jade couldn't get to work fed into that desire for individuality. Something of her own, that only she could do. A way to step out into the light as her own person...
Jade reached into her pocket as she reached the door, retrieving a silver key and giving it a look to make sure it was the correct one. When she ascertained that it was, she slid it into the keyhole in the doorknob to a room that Lexi had not once seen inside of. She had asked about it several times growing up, and had always been told it was private and no space for her. When she was younger she had understood and respected this rule, but the older she got and the closer her and Jade became, the more curious of the room she became. Clearly it was where Jade kept less than safe items, such as these weapons she had never seen and even the mystery tool she was retrieving now. But why would she keep that secret from Lexi, especially now that she was really getting involved in the same things Jade did?
Her teacher disappeared inside that private room, and despite her curiosities, Lexi still didn't dare take a peak. This was a clear boundary that had been set very early in their relationship, and she would not overstep it so casually. A few seconds went by, and finally Jade returned. And what she held in her hands tore Lexi's attention from that mystery room, made her eyes go wide with wonder.
"I know it looks cool, but I promise using it is a pain in the ass." Jade was quick to give a disclaimer, only slightly worried by the wonder she saw in her student's eye while she shut the door behind herself. In her spare hand she stretched out a scythe.
You know the one.
The metal of the handle was painted and designed to resemble wood, but Lexi knew from the moment that the item rested in her hands that it was some sturdy steel. Whatever the long handle was, it must've been hollow, because it rested pretty light in her grasp. Her wonder filled eyes scanned up the snath of the scythe, along its strange bend and to the inward curve of the blade. The curve was a cool grey, almost a shade of blue in the right lighting. And when she looked into it, she could see the reflection of her own giddy expression. Lexi stared into her own eyes, and her expression relaxed some. She smiled at herself, and in that instant she felt clarity and certainty. More at peace with herself and more sure of the person she wanted to be. "... This is the one."
"I was afraid you were gonna say that..." Jade muttered, her shoulders sinking while she exhaled a long sigh. She shut her eyes briefly, but when she opened her eyes and watched the girl before her run her hands along her new weapon with such excitement in her eyes, she couldn't help but smile. It was the same wonder that had been written on her face when she had first shown the girl her acrobatics, and that was all Jade needed to see to know that scythe was in fact the weapon for her. Still, she felt the need to warn. "I know scythes look cool, but they're actually really weird and not very practical. And I don't know how to use the thing, so you'll be going in blind on this one."
"That's okay!" Lexi assured, turning her grin up towards Jade. Her hands wrapped around the cool metal of her scythe, and she bounced giddily in place. She was glad to see that, despite her warning, Jade was smiling in silent approval. Her support was exactly the thing she needed to pursue this, and she didn't hesitate to proclaim. "I can do this, I know I can!"
I didn't start using the name until I was working for Xander, but right there in that basement when I got that scythe? That's when The Predator was born.
I was fourteen and some change when I started learning how to use that scythe. Day in and day out, going out to the construction sight with or without Jade, learning how to move with my weapon of choice in tow. How to attack with it, how to protect myself with it. And MAN, it took AWHILE! Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to years. But, by the time two years had went by, I had it figured out. I wasn't as good then as I am now, obviously, but I could cut up some street thugs if need be.
"This is some course you've set up." Jade commented, arching a brow while she turned her head from side to side. She examined the construction sight around her, noting the cardboard cut outs painstakingly set up between half finished buildings and in open windows and standing in the open. They were taped to walls or weighed into place by stones, some looking like they were stolen from the front windows of stores and others looking like chunks of cardboard that had been cut into vague person shapes.
"And I'm gonna ace it!" Lexi assured, madgirl grin on her face. Jade snerked at the sight of that face; it was something she had come to learn about her over the years. PATIENT and dedicated as Lexi was, she was almost certain it was all to feed some manic desire to be in perpetual motion. It became apparent early in her training that she didn't have a problem with getting a bruise and didn't mind the sight of her own blood. That moving fast and training hard gave her a rush, and that that rush is what kept her coming back. The kid had fight in her, more so than Jade ever had. And she admired that.
"Well then go for it, hun." Jade smiled, gesturing out to the course in front of them. She thought about saying something about how it would be okay if Lexi didn't quiet ace the test she'd set up, or if Jade still didn't think she was ready. She didn't want to upset her, but her job could get dangerous. If Lexi wasn't ready, Jade would have to deny her any role beyond decoy until she completed more training. And she hoped she would understand that; Lexi had her whole life ahead of her. She rushed so much and worked so hard, but Jade hoped she wouldn't be hurt if she didn't think she was ready yet.
I was.
Lexi stepped up to what Jade interpreted as the starting line, which was a circle spray painted on the ground. Surrounding the circle were three cardboard cut outs, and when Jade looked closer... Her eyes widened with some surprise. On the ground, between the lines drawn in a circle around where Lexi stood, were measurements. Painstakingly calculated and written out, to gauge the distance between herself and the cut outs. But why?
Lexi took a deep breath, shut her eyes for a moment. Then, suddenly, her hand reached back. She grabbed the bottom half of the scythe strapped to her back, the blade of which reached up over her head and loomed in a sharp crescent behind her. Then, before Jade knew it, Lexi had drawn her weapon. In a brutal slash, the scythe had been pulled from her back and swung through the air in one fluid motion, and all three of those cut outs were now in half.
Jade's eyebrows raised with surprise as dots connected in her head; those measurements were the reach of her scythe in different positions. It's awkward shape and size had been what made her drop trying to learn how to use it in the first place, yet Lexi had taken the time to understand exactly how to maneuver the odd shape of the weapon, and she didn't appear to be done yet.
From the starting circle she sprinted forward, running low to the ground and holding her scythe up over the shoulder opposite to the arm that held it. She was heading straight for two more cut outs, one to the right and one on the left. They were not evenly spaced, and yet when she swung her scythe forward, she slashed through them both with ease. She really had figured out the range of her scythe, understanding the shift in its reach depending on where she was in her slash and letting its handle slide up and down her palm to extend or retract its range. She always knew just when to close her grip so as to not lose her hold on her weapon.
Continuing her sprint forward, Lexi reached a wall of concrete and jumped, planting her feet against it and backflipping off of the wall, landing on the scaffolding that loomed in front of the wall - or more accurately burying a kick in the chest of the mannequin that had been looming there and sending it plummeting backwards off the scaffolding and onto the gravel below.
Landing crouched, Lexi lunged forward in an instant, once more holding her scythe back over her shoulder. Jade realized that she had switched hands, however. Had she taught herself how to be ambidextrous with the tool? Jade got her answer when Lexi launched herself through the glassless window that the scaffolding had been level with, kicking through a cutout to do so. Jade had to start jogging forward at this point just to make sure she could watch Lexi through the one missing wall on the side of the building she was now inside of.
She raced between support beams and all sorts of obstructions to the long reach of her scythe now. This had been one of Jade's concerns, how her weapon would function in close quarters. Lexi was quick to dispel this worry though, choking up on her scythe's snath until she held it just under the blade. Now she swung it like some kind of sickle, racing up close to cut outs and mannequins just to cut them down. Finally, she darted towards a dead end, jumping up and kicking the head clean off a mannequin. In the same motion, she swung her scythe out, hooking its blade around one of the steel poles that populated the concrete room and using it to swing herself back around, launching herself towards the one missing wall of the building, which Jade now stood in front of, watching in awe.
But Lexi wasn't done. She could do more, she could go further. Mad grin a permanent addition to her face now, she sprinted towards the missing third story wall and dove right out of it, making Jade jump with her reckless abandon. Before Jade had time to shout out to her though, Lexi swung her scythe backwards, hooking its blade around one of the steel beams that made up the unfinished roof of the building in another display of excellent spatial awareness.
She swung herself right up onto the the roof, which was entirely skeletal. And Jade watched, with the same shock and awe that Lexi had watched her with nearly a decade ago in this place, as her student raced across the roof. Jumping from beam to beam, balancing on horizontal poles and walking them like tight ropes, using the curve of her scythe like some extra long arm to grab onto poles and beams and swing herself around them. And finally, Lexi had made her way to the opposite side of the roof and back, and stood triumphantly over Jade.
"Hah... S-so? Whaddaya think?" A little gasping Lexi asked, smiling anxiously down at the dumbstruck Jade below her. Some sweat beaded down her forehead, and it was a little harder to breath, but that was mostly just from how she was feeling. She had worked so long at this, spent so much time perfecting something and making it her own... Had she done it?
Up until that moment, all I had ever thought about was how important she was to me. How she had grown on me when I was younger, how safe she made me feel and how supportive and inspiring she was. How badly I wanted to impress her. I never really thought about what she might have felt about me. I didn't know if I was a burden that had been thrust upon her, I didn't know if she cared about me or if she just pitied me.
"..." Jade was silent, and she began nodding her head slowly. She reached up, clapping her hands together over and over while she continued to nod her approval. And for a moment Lexi thought it was strange that she hadn't said anything, until she heard Jade sniffle. Suddenly, she could see the tears starting to overflow down her teacher's face, all while she smiled with pride like Lexi had never seen before.
... But, right then and there, I knew that she loved me just like I loved her.
Tearing up some herself at the sight of Jade's joy, Lexi immediately began speeding down the building she had climbed so rapidly into. She scrambled downward in a far less elegant and skilled manner than she'd ascended, sliding down metal bars and running down stair cases until she was running out the front of the building and diving into Jade's arms.
"I'm so proud of you..!" Jade said through her shaky voice, expression tensing some around her similarly shaky smile in vain attempts to stop the flow of tears. She never expected this kind of reaction, even if Lexi had aced her test like she promised. She didn't understand the overpowering bitter sweet feeling that seeing this girl grow up brought her; so much of her life had been spent caring about herself and no one else, watching others die in the street and pretending she didn't care when she stepped over their corpses... Seeing Lexi gave her hope, watching her grow reminded her of what was good and worth living for in this world. She inhaled sharply, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I just..! You're growing up so fast, I-... When I was your age I wasn't half as good as you are..!"
"I-it's because I had y-you..!" Lexi returned Jade's praise with her own, burying her face in her chest while she hugged her to hide the tears trickling down her face. She wasn't sure why she was crying, either. She didn't understand how much she'd wanted Jade's approval, how much she'd needed to see her real emotions, how happy it would make her to see such genuine care from the woman she looked up to. "You took me in, you trained me, y-you raised me..!"
"N-now don't you start that..!" Jade reached up with one hand, sniffling while she wiped away tears that were immediately replaced. She laughed with her weakened voice, unable to stop smiling in spite of her tears. "I'm trying to stop bitch crying, n-not cry more..!"
Lexi laughed at Jade's words, her own voice similarly shaky. She squeezed Jade tighter, shut her eyes and clung onto this moment. She didn't know how to properly thank her, she didn't know how to say that she knew it had to have been hard to take her in and that she was sorry for the time she had taken from Jade. She didn't know how to bring up how weak and helpless she had felt all those years ago, and she didn't know how to thank Jade for helping her feel like more than just that scared girl waiting for someone to save her. So, instead, she just hugged Jade tighter, and she choked out. "... Thanks, mom..."
Jade jolted some when she heard that, her expression relaxing momentarily. But, then she was smiling again, suppressing a sob while she hugged Lexi close to her. Of course even more tears streamed down her face, how could they not after hearing her pride and joy call her mom? It was a level of genuine happiness and closeness that Jade was not used to, and the raw emotion made her cry like she never had before.
"A-aww, c'mon..! You're doing this on purpose..!"
After that, Jade and I went home together. We laughed and talked the whole rest of the day; I remember feeling weightless. So accomplished and so happy, it felt like I was on top of the world. Nothing could hurt me. Finally, after sitting on the couch and just talking like best friends for hours on end, Jade looked like she remembered something.
"Hold on, hold on!" Jade jumped up from the couch then, Lexi furrowing her brows while she watched her hastily make her way to that secret door. On the TV the local news yapped about problems neither of them cared about; Lexi was too busy thinking about that mystery room again. She was older now, had come even further... Would she ever see what was hidden behind that door?
Jade disappeared behind the wood once more, and Lexi waited patiently for her to return moments later. When she popped back out, she held an armful of black cloth and wore a giddy smile. Not bothering to shut the door behind her, Jade raced right back to the couches. And Lexi watched, curious and excited as she laid that cloth out on the cushions of the seat across from her.
"I'm not sure if it's your style exactly, but I thought it might go with the scythe." Jade explained, standing back up to her full height and stepping aside to let her see. Lexi stood up and took a few steps closer to get a better look, and when she did, her eyes went wide.
That black fabric formed a cloak, big and dark. It looked like shadow, its purposefully uneven pointed hem making it look reminiscent of some Grim Reaper's cloak. She was sure that if she put the hood up and stood in the dark she would look like a creeping specter, and with the addition of the plastic mask that laid atop the cloak, the look would be complete. It was a skeleton themed mask, looking like the face of a skull. Fabric lined the back of the mask, covering the eyes and making certain that no facial features would be made out. Hands clenching into excited fists and face yanking up into her madwoman grin, Lexi turned her giddy gaze to Jade. "Is this-?!"
Jade stood there with one hand on her hip, holding up her own trademark mask at her chin and covering her face behind it. Her mask had similar blacked out eyes, but beyond that and its white color it looked nothing like Lexi's. While Lexi's resembled a skull to give a sort of soul hunter theme, Jade's mask resembled some Egyptian cat. Gold lines curling down from beneath the mask's blacked out eyes and large cat ears branching up from the top of the mask, a golden ankh was painted on the forehead of the face covering. "Can't be seen in public without a mask, right?"
For her more serious missions, Jade always wore that mask to hide her identity. Her giving me a mask meant that she would no longer be keeping me hidden, and that I would be debuting by her side soon enough. And that was all I had wanted for a very long time.
"Whoa!" Jade exclaimed as Lexi suddenly darted forward, once again clinging to her in a hug. She smiled at this, slowly wrapping her arms around her daughter and returning the hug. "Does this mean you like it?"
"I love it..." Lexi muttered into Jade's chest, and her muffled voice made the older woman laugh some. She was glad though, gently rubbing Lexi's back while a sweet smile remained on her face.
"Tomorrow we'll get you started in the field, okay?" Jade smirked lightly, glad to feel Lexi hug her a little tighter as thanks. "Nothing too intense; just like everything else there's gonna be a learning curve. But I know you can handle it."
"Yeah I can!" Lexi assured with absolute certainty, stepping back from Jade and grinning wide up at her. She bounced in place, looking like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. Jade was glad to see that childlike wonder alive in her still, and she hoped it would persevere through whatever this wretched city threw at her.
... Like I'm sure you guys have been expecting, this happy life'a mine was about to go tits up.
"Tonight marks the third reign of the Ivory Ghoul it seems, as photographs and eye witness accounts link him to the cannibal killings that have been springing up all week."
That got both of their attentions. Jade looked mortified in an instant, watching the joy fade immediately from her daughter's face at the sound of the news anchor's voice. Her heart dropped into her shoes, and her first instinct was to cover Lexi's eyes and ears and turn off the TV. But she couldn't, not now. Lexi was too old, it would be an insult to try and shield her like she was still just that little girl in the alley. So, Jade could only watch as the wide eyes and shrunken pupils of her daughter turned to the TV screen.
"Compared to his short resurgence nearly a decade ago, this outbreak of homicides is much more sporadic and violent." The women giving the news looked tired, Lexi thought. Fear swam in her blue eyes, which were sunken in and exhausted. She was burdened by this news in a way that Lexi didn't quite understand, despite the knot that formed in her gut hearing it herself. She went on, "Blunt force trauma as his usual trademark, but it looks like in his time away the Ghoul has only gotten more deranged. Now he's truly living up to his name, taking bites from the bodies of his victims and feeding on their corpses."
"..." Lexi's arms dropped limp to her sides, her mortified eyes unblinking. She just slowly shook her head, like she couldn't believe what she was looking at. When the police sketch of that red eyed freak appeared beside the news caster, she was forced to remember standing in that alley again. Seeing her parents for the last time. Running, hiding...
"Old women murdered brutally in their own homes, young children missing, teenage boys beaten to a bloody pulp. People of all shapes and sizes killed and eaten!" Fear cracked the anchor's voice, and she leaned forward, cracking her fist down on the table before her. Lexi could see it, the nightmares in her eyes. The sleepless nights, the panic attacks that every bump in the night caused her. How many others lived like her? How many died like her? "Whoever this man is he is hunting us. Please, stay indoors, lock your doors and your windows, sleep with one eye open. And if you see anyone who resembles this sketch, report it to the police immediately!"
*Click!
The TV screen went dark. Lexi was left staring at her own reflection in the black screen, and Jade's reflection loomed behind her. The older women couldn't stand to watch anymore, her arm still extended with the remote in hand. And Lexi's hands slowly balled into fists as she stared into her own eyes, jaw tightening. What was once a fearful tremble was now a shaking anger, and when she turned her head and glared over her shoulder with one eye to Jade, she only had one thing to say. "We have to stop him."
"What?!" Jade recoiled instantly, throwing up one hand and planting it on her chest as emphasis to how taken aback she was. What did she think they were, superheroes? The two of them were thieves, not fucking Batman!
"he can't keep getting away with this!" Lexi spun around to face Jade, throwing her hand back to gesture towards the blank television. "We can stop him now! We're strong enough! I'm strong enough!"
I wasn't.
"Lexi, that isn't what we do. I know you weren't around for his rise to power, but I was." Jade's face had went pale. Any semblance of her personality had faded out, replaced by the same terror Lexi could see in the tired eyes of that news anchor. "The Ghoul is too dangerous for us. Too dangerous for anyone. That's why he's able to keep coming back."
"He's able to keep coming back because people like you are too afraid to stand up to him!" Lexi snapped, taking a step forward and pointing an accusatory finger at her mother. "How many more people have to die?! How many more kids have to end up like me or WORSE before somebody takes a stand?!"
Jade recoiled again from Lexi's words, pain reflecting in her eyes. Once again, she was staring down the barrel of her own cowardice. Once again she was trying not to ask herself how long she would let this go on. Once again her memories were making her tremble. How could she explain that the last man to take a stand was murdered on a grand stage? How could she explain the good that The Killer had strangled from this city with nothing but his bare hands and a crowbar? Her eyes glossed back towards the still half open door to her secret room without even thinking, narrowing painfully.
Lexi's eyes followed hers to the ajar door of that forbidden room, and her jaw tightened at the sight of it. Her pupils shrunk with rage, and she turned her head back to Jade in an instant. Her voice low and combustible, she demanded to know. "What's in that room?"
"What?" Jade looked back towards Lexi, and panic immediately flashed over her face. She was caught now, and she knew it. But with what? Lexi had to know, and she had to know right that instant. Jade desperately tried to deny, "Baby, you shouldn't worry about-"
Lexi turned on her heel without any warning, marching right towards that half open door with one fist of iron and the other of steel. Jade's eyes went wide, pupils shrinking within them. Something inside her screamed to tackle the girl right that instant and stop her from seeing what she had hidden away all this time, but her feet wouldn't move. She knew this had to happen, she knew Lexi had to see it, and she knew she had to face what she had hidden from the rest of the world.
Lexi stomped right up to that door, the very same one she'd stared at with curiosity and with worry and with excitement and with fear. Now, she felt nothing but rage, her PATIENCE stamped out by her DETERMINATION. And when she reached that wood, she yanked up one foot, crashing a kick into the slightly ajar gateway and sending it whipping open.
The first thing she saw was his picture on the wall. Some kind of freeze frame from an old news report, zoomed in and a little blurry. She hadn't seen it in almost a decade, but Lexi knew that face as The Killer's the moment she laid eyes on it. He was smiling wide, blood spattered across his face and sticking to his teeth and his beard. He waved right into the camera with a hand that also held a blood soaked crowbar, and his free hand looked to be holding someone up by the hair. Lexi didn't have any idea who this person was, as only the top of their head was in the frame of the photo.
Staring in mortified silence, Lexi slowly let her eyes gloss along the corkboard covered walls. Police reports and obituaries were pinned up so plentifully that they almost formed a solid wallpaper, red yarn connecting them all in a web thick beyond her understanding. Thoughtlessly, Lexi took slow steps deeper into the room while she scanned the black and white photos pinned up all around her. News reports, stolen morgue logs, dating back as early as a few days ago and as late as several decades ago.
Finally, her lead weighted footsteps carried her to the table at the room's center. Without a chair, no doubt because no one in a room like this could ever sit and relax. When Lexi's horrified cyan orbs glossed down to the table, the first thing she spotted was a map of the city. Filled with red thumbtacks that were surrounded by orange thumbtacks, and red yarn lines that connected the tacks. A map..? A map of what?
Her eyes lowered further, and her eyebrows rose. Her pupils shrunk further in her eyes, and she felt a chill creep across her skin. There, laid over the table just beneath that strange map, were two reports. Likely from the morgue or the police department or both, both showed an image of a separate person. On one, a young woman with bright blue eyes and a wide smile. She looked so happy, and it was a stark contrast to the red word stamped across the bottom of the photo. Beside this woman, a young man with straight black hair. He too smiled in this photo, and he too was marked with the brutal word stamped at the bottom of his picture. DECEASED.
"Go find somewhere to hide, okay dear? Your mother and I will be there to find you in just a few minutes, but you have to go now."
With shaking hands, Lexi reached slowly down to the papers logging her parents' murder. And as she heard slow footsteps reach the doorway behind her, she slowly turned her head back to look behind her. She stared with wide, emotional eyes at Jade, who couldn't bare to look her in the eye.
"... Jade..?" Lexi's fingers curled into the papers that they grasped, her voice shaking in the same way that her entire body did. She didn't know if she was going to scream or vomit. She didn't know if she wanted to read every paper on the walls or dump gasoline on the floor and throw a match into it. Her voice was nearly a whisper, but the whole world had went quiet to let her speak.
"What the fuck is all this?"
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