Chapter 30: The Second Slab.
A white room stands with a reflective wall. No sign of pain dotted its clean walls. Standing in the centre of the room, Guernica stands, searching for a flash of inspiration. Yet, no matter how hard she pondered, nothing came to her.
Only a big black void that seemed to hold…something. Yet, no matter what Guernica did to reach out to it, it always felt just out of reach. It was important, and yet she could not grasp it. It was getting to the point that she focused more on this dark void than on making art. And it was annoying her to no end.
Until the flapping of wings drew her attention to a certain parrot.
"Jerri. Where'd you flap off to?" She asks with annoyance in her voice. If Jerri was bothered by the tone, she did not show it.
"Just a small errand, my dear." She replies with a chuckle. "So? Come any farther in staging your next masterpiece?"
"Yeah. I've been real busy out there." Guernica replies with a grin. Before her eyes take on a crazed look. "Crushing them all to bits, flaying them into ribbons, tearing them to shreds! With every person I kill, I can feel the void in my mind grow that much bigger… Then I fill that void with my rage, and it burns in the most incredible way!" But then, her smile fades as she suddenly looks at Jerri with tiered eyes. "Is this how birthing a masterpiece feels, Jerri?"
"Yes, dearie. Just keep holding onto that rage of yours." Jerri replies with a grin. "It's the only way you'll be able to recapture your first statement. A Guernica who fails to channel her furry with society into her art is no true Guernica at all."
Guernica's smile returns to her face, giving Jerri a grateful look. "I'll be a true Guernica soon enough. And it's all thanks to you, Jerri. I'm awfully glad you came my way."
"How kind you are, dearie. But that brings me to another matter. I saw those outsiders again while I was away." Jerri reveals, getting Guernica's attention. "I imagine they could be a great source of inspiration to you. Perhaps if you track them down?"
"Hmm, that does sound fun…maybe I shouldn't have given up the chase so quickly." Guernica admits with a grin. "Ah…the thought of killing them is getting my blood all pumped up…I'm gonna go find them right now!" With an energetic sprint, Guernica rushes out of the white room as Jerri watches on.
A sinister smile on her beak.
"This area is a disaster…It's almost hard to breathe…" Violet points out, a hand on her chest. Ever since they arrived, they were dodging constant patrols from the punks, while walking under a blood-red sky. Certainly, a different tonal shift from the calm blue sky of earlier.
"Heads up. We have a squad blocking the way ahead." Fox points out to the next area. A group of punks standing on pink paint with barrels next to them. While two mysterious figures stood on the walls.
"It would seem we have a new foe waiting for us." Crow surmises. "We should exercise caution going forward."
"Agreed. Shadow, do you think you can find a spot to snipe from?" Joker asks their resident ninja.
"Not possible, Joker. No easy areas to grapple to." Shadow replies with a shake of her head.
"Well, it's worth a try." Joker relents as Shadow brings her rifle up. At the top of the wall, she could see one of the figures just visible around the corner. Deciding to take the shot, Shadow fires a round at the figure. Unfortunately, it just clips the figure, but what happened next threw all of them into confusion.
In a puff of smoke, Shadow vanishes and is replaced by the figure who turns out to be a frog-like ninja punk. The Thieves and the ninja stare at each other for a few seconds, blinking blankly, before the four remaining Thieves jump on the ninja in a comical dust ball.
All the while, a confused Shadow looked down from the wall as her friends, and Crow, were engulfed in a cartoonish dust ball.
"Well…that happened…" She comments before glancing at the four punks standing in the centre. She smirks to herself, amazed at the advantaged given to her by the impromptu switch as she aims her rifle at one of the vats of paint. Letting a round off, she detonates the vat, covering two punks and half the area in blue paint, before firing at the second one and repeating the effect.
While the punks stand around in shock at the sudden appearance of the blue paint, Shadow moved to a different position as she spotted the second mysterious figure. Another frog like ninja overlooking the area. Feeling mischievous, Shadow moves around to its blind spot before whipping it across its back and sending it flying onto the ground below.
Just as the Thieves come out of the dust ball and see all five foes standing helplessly on the blue paint. Needless to say, the punks were soon evaporated by an onslaught of spells as the team regrouped in the centre.
"Are you alright Shadow?" Fox asks, looking over her in concern.
"I am fine. I admit it was disorienting to be suddenly teleported like that, but it worked to our advantage." Shadow replies, glancing around.
"It certainly helped us avoid a drawn out fight. Hopefully we can avoid any more conflict in this area." Crow replies with weary eyes.
"That ruckuses could have brought the wrong type of attention. We better hurry." Luca agrees as she begins to sprint for a nearby alley. Only for a certain person to drop down in front of her. "Oh no…"
"There you are…" Guernica says slowly as she stands tall. "I've been looking for you. You're not getting away this time!"
"The one person we did not want to find…" Joker comments quietly. As Guernica eyes the Thieves, he eyes suddenly land on Luca as she folds her arms in contemplation.
"Well, look who's teamed up. Aren't I lucky? I've been sick of you getting in my way… Now I can crush you all into paste, and paint with what's left!" She brings out her paint gun, aimed squarely at Joker.
"Don't do it Guernica!" Luca shouts, placing herself between Joker and Guernica. "Just listen to me!"
"I don't think she's in any state to listen to us." Joker tells Luca, seeing the crazed look in Guernica's eyes.
"We have to stop her ourselves, won't we?" Violet asks, although she already knew the answer.
"Take cover!" Crow shouts as Guernica opens fire on them. The team duck behind vents and trash suits, while Shadow manages to get to higher ground once again with her chain. Just as four punk guards appear around Guernica, adding their own fire into the mix. As paint rains down around them, Joker grits his teeth in annoyance.
If he tried to take a step out there, he would be shot to hell. But the longer he stayed here, the more at risk he would be at getting flanked. Just as he pondered what to do, a strange feeling emerged within him. A power he hadn't felt before.
It continued to grow inside him, until he could contain it no more. But for some reason, he wasn't scared. In fact, for some reason, he knew what this was. So, with a confident smirk on his face, Joker spins on his heels as Arsène appears beside him. With hands outstretched, darkness coursed around their hands until it could be contained no more.
"Phantom Judgment!" He cries, sending the powerful curse spell towards Guernica and her posey. The blast was great and damaging, as it sent not only Guernica to her knees, but also the four punks as well. Despite the fact they were hiding around cover. "Now! While they're down!" He shouts, charging in towards Guernica. The rest of the team follow suit, with Shadow taking the rooftop, as they managed to encircle Guernica in a fiery triangle. Unleashing a powerful All-Out attack on the five.
While strong, it wasn't enough to take Guernica down as she jump back to more cover. Summoning more punk guards to her side as they open fire on the Thieves.
"Damn it. Joker! Can you use that spell again?" Crow shouts, firing rounds down range. Joker closes his eyes, searching for the feeling but comes up empty.
"No, I can't. Must have a long time to charge." He reports, summoning Arsène and sending a Maeigaon down range. The spell manages to hit two of the punk, as they run out of cover in fear before being gunned down by Fox and Violet. Another punk pokes his head out, only to lose said head to Shadow as she snipes it off.
"I see. I suppose such a spell would have its drawbacks." Crow admits, summoning Robin Hood to his side. "Megidola!" Sending the almighty magic down, it slams into Guernica's cover, evaporating the last punk as Guernica jumps to the side. Slightly singed but otherwise unharmed.
"She's not going down!? Even after Joker and Crow's attacks?!" Violet asks in shock, stunned at Guernica's resilience.
"It would appear she is no ordinary foe." Fox comments, reloading his rifle.
"Oh, not bad you guys!" Guernica praises, the singed part of her clothes mending themselves. "I have no clue who you are, but this is real fun!"
"Guernica! They are the Phantom Thieves! They came here for you!" Luca shouts, grabbing her attention.
"Phantom Thieves…?" She asks, as though she was hearing them for the first time. And yet, she sounded as through she recognised the name, if the slight change in her eyes was anything to go by. Even if it was brief. "I don't give any shit about any 'Phantom Thieves', so I don't know what you're trying to pull!"
"Does she not recognise the Phantom Thieves?" Violet asks, surprised.
"I don't think its that Violet." Shadow replies, dropping down next to them. "It was faint, but her eyes changed slightly at hearing the name."
"Surprised memories then? If that's the case, then things will be more difficult." Crow surmises with a grimace.
"That's enough of your babbling! It's time to get back to the pain." Guernica suddenly shouts, reloading her paint gun. "We're not done here…I have to witness each one of your deaths!" She shouts with insanity, aiming her gun at the Thieves.
"Time for a tactical retreat. Shadow." Joker says quietly. On que, Shadow retrieves a smoke bomb and engulfs the thieves in a thick cloud of smoke. By the time it dissipates, the Thieves were gone. Leaving behind a fuming Guernica.
"The hell!? Were are you going!? I'm not done experimenting here! HEY!" She shouts before rushing off towards a nearby alley. Unknowingly, heading down the same path the Thieves took.
As the Thieves ran for the second slab, they cam under fire from multiple angles by several punk guards. Paint splashed all around them as the punk tried to slow them down. Some even managing to land hits on Shadow and Violet.
It was then that Fox managed to summon three clones of himself to confuse the punks. Who changed their aim towards the clones, leaving the Thieves unhindered as they continued for the second slab.
"How did you manage that Fox? I don't remember you being able to summon clones of yourself." Joker asks as the team hunker down in an alleyway. Safe from detection.
"To tell the truth, I have no idea how. When I saw Violet and Shadow get hit, something inside me screamed to be unleashed. I had no clue what I was doing until I summoned those clones. And they acted before I even told them what to do."
"Maybe it's a ability unique to this world?" Violet suggests, though not with confidence.
"It is possible. The only downside is that we apparently have no control on how we use it. It appears to come whenever it wants." Crow adds with his own views. "But we can talk more about this later. For now, we should find out how close we are to the second slab."
"Actually, were are almost there." Luca suddenly says, pointing out across the road. True to her word, the second slab was waiting for them in a second trash pile, a mirror reflection of the first slab.
"Well, that was easy. But I'm guessing this one has its own guardian as well." Shadow comments, looking around the area.
"Yep. And there he is right now." Luca admits as a white version of a hulk stomps into view. Leaving behind a trail of pink paint wherever it goes.
"Well, this will be interesting. The last one left giant pools of paint. This one leaves a line where it goes. Kind of like Guernica in a way." Joker points out.
"As intimidating as it looks, I believe the strategy we used before would work the same." Crow says, pointing at the grates. "So long as we lure it over the grates, we will be able to take it down."
"So long as the pawns stay out of our way." Shadow remines, pointing at several punks patrolling along the walls.
"Then lets take them out first before aiming at the big one." Violet suggests. The plan agreed on, the team head up a nearby ladder allowing them to sneak up to the patrolling punks. Sneaking up behind them without being seen, the Thieves ambush them with their melee weapons, sending them tumbling down to the ground below.
Before the punks had a chance to act, Fox freezed them all with a Mabufudyne. Shattering them into tiny shards of ice over one of the grates. The sound of the ice shattering drew the attention of the Slick Slammer, splashing paint all around as it rushed to the scene.
While the Thieves pondered how to trap it in a triangle, Crow and Violet spotted a red and white arrow platform pointing to one of the other walls. Letting curiosity get the better of them, the two of them step onto the platform, only to be tossed to the other side. Thankfully unharmed.
But more importantly, it but them behind the Slick Slammer who was none the wiser of their travel. With a hand sign to Joker and the others, Violet shoots the Slick Slammer in the back of its head, sending it plummeting to the ground with the pink paint to protect it. Leaving it vulnerable to an All-out assault from the Thieves.
Unfortunate, the Slick Slammer proved to be just as stubborn as its madder cousin, as it stumbles back to its feet. Only for Fox to cap it in its knees and bring it back to the ground, repeating the All-out onslaught. It was then that the Slick Slammer was finally brought down, as the team regrouped over at the slab.
"That would have taken more work than expected if we didn't eliminate the guards first." Crow admits as the team pauses. "Anyway, let us leave with the slab before—"
"Ah, finally found you! Awfully rude to leave without a good bye…" Guernica suddenly says, dropping in from behind. "If your gonna trespass in my Streets, then entertain me at the very least!"
"You have to be kidding me…" Shadow comments with a shake of her head.
"It appears we underestimated her resolve to find us." Fox admits with a grimace.
"Guernica! Snap out of it already!" Luca shouts forcibly. "How long are you going to—" A hand on her shoulder stopped Luca from continuing as Joker calmly pulls her back.
"It won't work. Focus on getting the slab out of here, we'll hold her back." He tells her quietly. With reluctance, Luca agrees as she dashes for the slab while the Thieves ready themselves for a fight.
"Urgh, more whispering? What the hell are you all talking about? And what is that you are hiding anyway?" Guernica asks, as he eyes catch the slab behind the Thieves. "What's that? Some sorry excuse for art?" She asks, unimpressed before suddenly gripping her head in pain. "Ahh, my head! It…It burns!"
"Guernica!" Luca shouts, rushing to aid her only for Shadow to hold her back gently.
"It's too dangerous." She tells her calmly as Guernica continues to thrash about.
"Urgh…my head…this is killing me…" She shouts, kicking a rouge pebble near her feet.
"Guernica! Can't you recognise me yet!?" Luca shouts at her, drawing Guernica's attention.
"S-sis?" Guernica says weakly, causing the Thieves to raise an eyebrow in shock. "But you can be—! Don't lie to me you little shit!" Guernica shouts, aiming her gun at Luca, only to fire widely and miss not only her, but the Thieves and the slab as well. "Dammit…what's with this brat…driving me up the wall like this!?" With great reluctance, Guernica turns around and walks away, still clutching her head in pain. "I'm going home…but the next time I see you…you're dead!" She shouts, before vanishing into the alleys.
Leaving behind a group of concerned Thieves.
"Are you alright, Luca?" Joker asks, placing a hand on Luca's shoulder. She nods silently, before turning back to the slab and creating a manhole with the Thieves jumping in after the slab, with many new questions on their minds.
"This agony…why won't it…go away!?" Guernica asks to no, stomping around her pristine room. "Ever since I saw that…damn graffiti…Am I…rememberi—"
"What's wrong Guernica? You're downright trembling…" Jerri asks, flying into the room and landing on a metal pipe. Guernica looks to Jerri, her arms trembling.
"Jerri…I…I'm…What am I doing here? Why am I… doing these things?" She asks, confusion and horror in her voice.
"Really now, have you forgotten?" Jerri asks with a sigh of disappointment. "All of this is simply what you wished for. You were slowly losing your artistic vision. No, your ability entirely. You attempted to get back to your roots, to rediscover your rage. Remember?"
"Yeah…that's one thing I remember." Guernica admits with a grimace, hands by her side. "That disgusting hellhole where the strong make excuses so they can shamelessly use and abuse the weak. That stupid goddamn world took the most important thing in my life!" She slams her foot into the floor, cracking the immaculate tiles.
"And that's why you created the Streets. To find and stoke that fury." Jerri eggs on. "Eventually, your rage will burn so hot, that it won't be able to be contained within you. It will spread from person to person like wildfire until the entire world is nothing but cinders!" Jerri flaps happily on the spot, before pulling one wing to cover her beak. "Your wish is within your grasp. Understand?"
"Yeah, I can tell that's what I want. No mistake there." Guernica agrees, before placing her hands on her head. "But, that's not all… What was it that I lost? No matter how hard I try, I just cant seem to remember…"
"What does it matter what you've forgotten?" Jerri's word cut through Guernica like a knife through butter. "The flames have already been stoked. All that's left is to set them loose and watch the world burn. And it will be all thanks to your precious artwork." Guernica didn't know why, but Jerri's words were sending a big old alarm bell of in her mind.
"Jerri! What's happening to me..." She asks, desperate for answers. Before a sudden and splitting headache races across her brain, almost sending her to her knees.
"Don't worry. I'm simply taking care of you." Jerri replies with a gentleness in her voice. "There's no need to worry about anything anymore." As the words leave her beak, Guernica is enveloped in a aura of darkness. Seemingly seeping into her very bones. All the while, Jerri looked on with an evil smirk.
With a heavy thud, the second slab lands in the hideout next to the first. Creating an almost perfect symmetry between the two pieces.
"We're almost there. Only one more piece to find." Violet points out, laying a hand on the second slab.
"I am trembling with excitement at the mural restoration. Even in this form, I feel more hope and love than before." Fox admits, framing the two pieces. "It may even lead to inspiration for my own."
"Before you go and do that Fox, I think we have a more important question to ask Luca." Joker interrupts, looking at the mouscote in question.
"Right…It's time I told you about my relationship with Guernica." Luca replies with a frown. "I swear, I was not hiding it from you for negative reasons. I just didn't think it was important enough…"
"While I can understand that, as well as the personal reason why you didn't, we would appreciate it if you told us regardless." Crow states, with an open hand. With a nod, Luca turns back to the mural, placing an hand on the first piece.
"You see…I'm…Guernica's big sister."
"'Big' sister?" Shadow asks, slightly sceptical at the claim.
"More accurately, I'm not her real big sister. I'm more of a memory of her. A cognition, in other words." Luca continues, staring at the mural. "The real Luca…died a long time ago…" Violet gasps, placing both hands over her mouth while Crow winces, looking at neither Violet nor Luca. "I don't really remember how it happened. Just that I was hungry, and tired. Just so tired."
"How terrible…" Fox quietly comments, looking away from Luca.
"Guernica and I were abandoned as kids…we never knew who our parents were. And since no one wanted to help us, we lived off the land. Scavenging from whatever scraps we could find."
"Abandoned by uncaring parents…I think a lot of us could relate to that…" joker comments, glancing at the floor.
"We were just two more sewer rats living in the streets. People never even spared us a look, let alone any help." Luca continues, still not meeting eye contact with anyone. Her tone carried hurt and sadness on every word. Before her tone brightened up. "That's when Guernica and I first started painting."
"Which was the first statement, correct?" Shadow asks.
"That's right!" Luca happily reveals. "We both made it together. And once we both started, it became our whole world. We came across this one mural in a back alley, and it inspired us to make out own. We worked on it all night long. We were so absorbed in it we forgot how hungry we were."
"As a fellow artist myself, I admit that I have had the same thing happen to me." Fox admits proudly. "It is a beautiful trance, bringing a work to life while the world around becomes but a void. Even if I come from it feeling awfully hungry myself…"
"And that's why we keep telling you to manage your income Fox…" Violet remarks with a shake of her head. Though she was sporting a small smile.
"Yeah. Take it from me. Starving to death is not fun." Luca adds before turning back to her mural. "Anyway, doing graffiti was our way of leaving our mark on the world. To let them know that we were here. That we existed, and refused to go away quietly. And that's why this mural represent. That no matter how tough things got for Guernica, she always had that memory to keep her going."
"I think I have it now. That statement is more than a memory. It's the cornerstone for her heart and soul." Joker remarks, glancing at the slabs.
"Which means that, since it has been broken up, Guernica's soul no longer has that foundation to keep it stable. Hence her current personality." Crow surmises with a hand on her chin. "And I find it hard to believe that Guernica would ever do something like this to herself. Leaving only one suspect. That flying bird."
"That's right." Luca replies, her gaze hardening. "If we can just get the final piece and bring it to Guernica, I know she will go back to normal!"
"Indeed. I will say this that you will always have my support. I know what it's like to lose a sister." Crow reveals, looking away.
"The both of us do…" Violet adds from his side. "After all, we are stepsiblings in a way. And my twin sister died earlier this year, so we both still have that pain fresh in our hearts."
"I see. I'm sorry about that." Luca replies, her head down. Joker, Shadow and Fox remain respectively silent. This was a subject that none of them wanted to intrude on. "Anyway, let's take a moment to rest before we go for the final mural. I need to plan a safe manhole for it as well. Well, safeish…"
"Take your time, Luca. We're not leaving until Guernica is saved." Joker reassures as the team settles down to rest. They were almost done now. Just one more slab to find.