Keiko tried to stay calm, but internally she was panicking. With everyone trying to evacuate the city, the roads had become overly crowded. They hadn't even left the suburb yet, still stuck between rows of houses. Traffic jams were reportedly happening all across the city, as cars clogged up the road bumper to bumper. It was bad enough, that even the trains were backed up. So as Minato quietly drove her car forward, barely moving an inch, she could only worry.
Looking out the window, Keiko could see hundreds abandoning their cars, and just running on foot. Quietly Keiko debated if her family should do the same, but ignored the idea. Abandoning all their supplies would only harm them in the long run.
"How hard is it to speed up?" Minato grumbled annoyed, watching as the cars ahead of him continued to move at a snail's pace. Impatiently he tapped the steering wheel, before looking in the rearview mirror. At the same time, Keiko's mother turned on the car's radio.
"Don't think now's the time for music Mom," Keiko commented, with her mother flipping through channels.
"Just bringing up the news," her mother replied calmly, finding only static the more she looked. She continued to flip through channels, yet still found nothing.
"Hmm… the radio busted?" Minato asked confused, looking over his shoulder for a quick second. Keiko shook her head no in response, confused as well.
"It shouldn't be," Keiko replied, remembering the last time she'd driven. Even then, the radio never had any issues before. Cautiously, Keiko moved to grab her phone, only to find she had no signal. That only left Keiko more confused. It was a glitch, it had to be. So she shut her phone off and turned it back on. Still no signal.
"My phone's down too," Keiko told Minato, earning a "hmmm," from the old man. Quietly Keiko's mother checked her phone, finding she also had no signal. Same with Minato, as the old man fished it out of his pocket. He had Keiko look at it though, not wanting to take his eyes off the road. It didn't make sense to Keiko though. But before she could try to figure out what was happening, a loud crash noise echoed behind them. Multiple other crashes followed before gunfire started up around them.
Yuto and Mai quickly began to scream, ducking down in their seats, while Keiko turned and looked out the rear window. There she saw an Izuzu Giga, with a massive battering ram fitted to the front. The truck drove at full speed, ramming past the cars on the street, while people fled in terror. Behind it, were two helicopters flying up, with ever more villain technicals. The massive truck rapidly got closer as time went on, ramming car after car.
Panicking Keiko quickly unbuckled her seat belt, her parents doing the same.
"Out of the car, now!" Keiko ordered, almost pushing her kids out of the car. The second they got outside Minato scooped up Yuto while Keiko picked up Mai. There they ran down the street, following the crowd of people running in terror. Some heroes that had stuck around, stood to fight back. But there were so few of them, that their attempts made no difference. The truck behind them was rapidly getting closer, shoving by ever more cars, ripping apart metal.
It knocked some cars into others fleeing, crushing them in seconds. Looking around for somewhere to run, Keiko soon spotted a small side street.
"Dad, take right!" Keiko called out, her father quickly spotting the area. Wordlessly the man turned and ran right, his wife and Keiko following behind him. Dozens of other people did the same, just as the truck behind them zoomed by, crushing ever more vehicles. Keiko had to no time to rest though, instead continuing to run forward. All the while her ears were plagued with the noise of gunfire, of metal crashing and scrapping against metal, of never-ending screaming, and of Yuto and Mai crying afraid.
Her family and the crowd following constantly turned down street after street, refusing to stop even for a second. Keiko felt like her legs would give out, yet she ran. That was until Minato came to a screeching halt. Everyone stood in a small side street, next to a few small houses. Quickly Minato motioned for everyone to be quiet before the old man slowly passed Yuto to Keiko's mother. Keiko was about to ask him what was happening before she heard the sound of tracks grinding against the pavement.
Carefully walking forward, Keiko looked around one of the houses and went pale. The street was littered with corpses, with villains walking about on a seeming patrol. With them, was a tank, driving forward over some cars blocking the way.
"There is no time to wait! Keep moving!" one of the villains ordered, the other following the tank in front. Looking around, Keiko couldn't begin to count how many of them there were.
"What of the nonbelievers?" another villain loudly asked.
"Give them the mercy of death if possible, but we cannot allow ourselves to be stalled!" the first villain ordered back, causing Keiko to quietly panic again.
"Back, back," Minato whispered, the family slowly moving backward. That was until Keiko heard new voices pipe up.
"Forward my brothers and sisters! Reaper's Will shall be ensured!" a third villain yelled out, riding one of the villain's pickups. Other vehicles drove by, right where Keiko had just come from. They… they were surrounded, Keiko realized. Her breathing sped up at the realization, her kids quietly whimpering while she tried to look for a solution.
"We're going to die," someone muttered nearby, muttering the words over and over again. It was by some miracle the villains hadn't noticed them yet. There had to be something, Keiko mentally yelled. Her eyes quickly looked over every corner of the side street. A window to a house, someone's front door, a car they could hide in, something she mentally begged. It was all in vain.
"M-mom?" Mai asked terrified, the girl's eyes looking up at hers desperately.
"It's ok, we're going to be fine," Keiko told him, trying to hide the fear in her tone. Eventually one of the villain's technicals noticed them, turning off the main road and driving into the side street. Screaming erupted again as Keiko rushed to find cover. Ducking as gunfire whizzed by, she soon hid behind a small car with Mai still in her arms. The rest of her family quickly followed her, but so did the villains.
Peeking over the car's hood, Keiko watched as five villains hopped out of their truck, gunning down people out of cover. Keiko felt her breathing speed up again, watching as the villains cleared out the side street. Seconds later a bullet punched through the car's windshield, the villains now targeting her. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Keiko mentally pleaded, using her body to cover Mai.
Her daughter screamed out in terror, Yuto doing the same. Silently Keiko peeked up from the ground, looking around desperately. Please, someone, anyone! A hero, a police officer, somebody, Keiko begged. Slowly the gunfire came to a halt, leaving Keiko to hope someone had arrived.
"You dumbasses! They're all unarmed! Stop wasting you're ammo!" a villain loudly lambasted his cohorts, crushing Keiko's hope. Now she heard footsteps rapidly approaching them. Tears welled up in Keiko's eyes, as she looked down at her daughter, then toward Yuto. Someone, please, Keiko again pleaded. Slowly the villains got ever closer before the footsteps seemed to stop. Keiko worried that if she opened her eyes, she'd see them standing right next to her.
Instead, when she looked around, the villains stood away somewhat, looking up at the sky. Confused, Keiko slowly did the same, before hearing a new noise arrive. It sounded like aircraft, lots of them. Just as she realized this, the villains began scrambling. Explosions began rocking the city around them, causing Yuto and Mai to scream again. Jets flew by overhead loudly.
Keiko almost feared the jets were the villains. But they ran back to their truck, one of them manning the large gun mounted on the back. They seemed to tinker with it for a bit but ultimately gave up. Instead, they quickly aimed it up at the sky and fired.
"Heretics!" one of them called angrily, as Keiko spotted a massive jet aircraft flying by overhead. To Keiko's shock, dozens of people jumped out of it, with parachutes quickly littering the skies above.
"Shoot them down! Shoot them down!" another villain desperately called out, before the truck violently exploded. Bits of shrapnel shot out nearby, as Keiko again cowered to the ground. Again, the sound of jets flew by overhead with more explosions following.
"Mommy! Mommy! Look!" Yuto suddenly called out, dragging Keiko's attention back to the other side streets. More villains were arriving behind them, and quickly Keiko stood up. With her family following her Keiko ran around the now flaming truck, watching as the people parachuting got closer and closer to the ground.
"Keiko!" Minato called out, snapping her attention back to the ground. There she saw she'd been unknowingly running towards a crowd of villains. Of of them soon spotted her.
"Non-believers!" the villain called out, bringing in the attention of his allies. Keiko turned to start running again when one of the paratroopers landed in front of her. It was just as the villains opened fire. Bullets tore through the parachute with easy, narrowly hitting Keiko. A few grazed by, causing her to wince in pain, but none penetrated. As the parachute fully landed on the ground, the man wearing it quickly stood up.
Keiko couldn't help but step back, as a nine-foot-tall mutant with a bull quirk stood up. The man was coated head to toe in tactical gear, with an oddly shaped helmet for his head to accommodate his horns. On the mutant's arm, was the unmistakable skull logo of the MSF. And in the mutant's hands, was a handheld M2 Browning. It took mere seconds before Keiko heard the loud chunk of the gun firing.
The villains were torn to shreds as they tried to fight back, some quickly running back. The entire time, the mercenary stood in front of Keiko, using himself as a shield. Some bullets struck the soldier dead on, but they couldn't seem to penetrate the man's skin. The villains shot the man desperately, but nothing came close to stopping him. Around them, more paratroopers began to land one by one and quickly joined the bull-man. After a minute or two, the gunfire began to stop, the villains falling back.
There the bull soldier began to turn around, facing Keiko quietly. News reports flashed through Keiko's mind, the word villain being repeated over and over. She couldn't help but unconsciously step backward. Of course, the soldier saw this and held up his hands.
"Hey, hey, it's ok. I'm not gonna harm you," the soldier told her, as Keiko again took a step back, "Anyone hurt?"
Keiko thought over the soldier's question carefully, before looking at her family. After a few seconds, she shook her head no. It earned a sigh of relief from the soldier, surprising Keiko instantly.
"[Shit!]" one of the soldiers angrily exclaimed though, earning the bull soldier's attention.
"[Seagull, something wrong?]" the bull soldier asked in English.
"[We dropped too late]" the soldier replied angrily while looking over some kind of holographic map, "[Enemy line's already a mile behind us.]"
"[Damn it… no matter, rally up who you can, I'll radio command]" the bull soldier told him before the other one motioned to Keiko.
"[What about the civies?]" the soldier inquired, with the bull looking back at her. It was only for a second though, as he turned back to the other soldier quickly. He said a few more words in English, before the other soldier nodded, and began walking away.
"Ok, I know all of you are terrified, but everything is going to be ok," the bull soldier told them, "Trust me, we are going to get you out of here."
It brought some small comfort to Keiko, even if she didn't fully believe the man. But it felt oddly calm as a realization set it. Not one of the soldiers was trying anything evil. A few looked over some other civilians and carefully tended their wounds. Others started digging through the rubble or running off to gather up vehicles that had been dropped nearby. She even spotted one soldier giving a frightened child a candy bar. Looking at the display, Keiko couldn't help but feel… safe.
Every few seconds Osprey could feel the C-17 shake, as AA guns fired up at them. The Air Force had cleared out most of the enemy's air defenses, specifically their missile launchers, but not all had been picked off yet. They still had fleets of trucks across the city, most with autocannons welded onto the back. Made Osprey's task somewhat annoying, as he looked over his Idroid quietly, with Tucan, Roach, Squid, and Dolphin sitting next to him quietly. Everyone had already been debriefed, but it never hurt to go over intel again.
While the 3rd and 1st Airborne Divisions were securing the frontline, other companies were being dropped behind enemy lines. All to secure other smaller objectives as quickly as possible. Osprey was part of one such company, being tasked with securing the Musutafu Pediatric Hospital. Intel said that the enemy had the place surrounded, but was having difficulty breaching the place.
The Ninth Circle tried shelling the place, however the hospital was built like a bunker. Design to withstand particularly dangerous quirks in case of emergency. Of course, Command knew that while the hospital had been able to hold out, they also knew it wouldn't be for much longer.
"Think we'll make it in time?" Dolphin asked calmly, the soldier looking over his M4 quietly. Next to him, Roach shrugged, while looking over his rifle as well.
"Who knows? It'd be a miracle if anybody's even still alive down there," Roach replied, grabbing his seat for a second as the plane shook again. The plane settling again, Roach looked down at his rifle quietly, before grumbling to himself.
"Why's it we're stuck with the old shit?" Roach asked to no one in particular, "Armored boys couldn't spare us an exo?"
"Too much weight I'm afraid. Would need a bigger chute for every man here," Osprey replied, looking up from his Idroid toward Roach.
"Don't they got a jetpack with 'em though?" Roach pointed out, only for Dolphin to wave him off.
"Nah, only Enhanced Mobility variant," Dolphin told him, before attaching his M320 grenade launcher to his rifle, "All the others don't have em. Less expensive to make."
"Hmph… think we'll get 'em?" Roach asked, loading a magazine into his rifle.
"Maybe, jetpack would come in handy for drops," Tucan piped up, the soldier deciding to join the conversation. The moment Tucan said the words the plane shook again, as Osprey heard the plane start shooting out flares. Looking around, Osprey took a deep breath, noticing the plane's jump light. It hadn't switched green yet, but Osprey could feel it coming any second now. The C-17's ramp began to lower, confirming Osprey's suspicions.
Quickly he checked over everything one last time, just as the light turned green. With a deep breath, Osprey stood up from his seat, watching the other paratroopers do the same.
"Light is green troopers!" Osprey called out, watching as the paratroopers quickly stood up. In the back of the C-17, a pair of engineers released the locks holding onto an M10, letting the vehicle fly out of the aircraft. Osprey didn't have to order a thing, as the soldiers followed the vehicle out. One by one the soldiers jumped before it became Osprey's turn. With a deep breath, the man jumped out of the aircraft.
Falling for a few seconds, Osprey got a full view of the chaos beneath him. The city below was a mess of rubble and destroyed buildings, some still smoking from prior bombings. AA-guns fired tracer rounds into the sky, lighting up everything. Some of these guns were destroyed seconds after they started firing, a missile from an F-35 of B2 knocking them out of commission.
Some jets even shot a few helicopters out of the sky, forcing others to stay grounded. Soon though Osprey spotted his landing zone getting closer, that being a wide-open park. Pulling his chute, Osprey quickly braced himself, before landing on the ground. Once done he took off his parachute and checked out the surrounding area. Paratroopers who landed before him were busy unpacking gear, while others began running up to regroup.
"Alright, all of you form up! We move in five minutes!" Osprey ordered, watching the other paratroopers scramble, "Iguana! Get your squad, and that M10 to the park entrance! Keep the gate locked down!"
As ordered the M10 began driving off the moment they finished cutting it free. Next to it, paratroopers ran beside it, moving to the entrance. Moments later Osprey heard the vehicle's 105mm gun fire, with the soldiers accompanying it firing as well. The enemy was reacting fast, Osprey thought to himself. They needed to move.
"Tucan, where's the rest of our armor?" Osprey asked over his radio, looking around to see if he could spot the soldier. He didn't at first, but soon spotted a pair of LAVs driving past some trees on the other side of the park.
"Driving up now," Tucan replied, with Osprey watching as the LAVs' came to a stop nearby. The major let out a calm sigh at the sight. Wordlessly he pulled out his Idroid and looked over the map. They still had a long trek to the Hospital, one he knew he wouldn't enjoy.
"Covering fire!" someone yelled out, as bullets whizzed by Grizzly's head. Ducking behind a small brick apartment, he could hear the sounds of soldiers attempting to fire back at the enemy. Though it was somewhat in vain, as Grizzly hesitantly peeked around cover.
"Enemy mortar, Mcdonald's rooftop!" Marston called out over his radio, with the whirring of drones overhead. Instantly the AI linked the drone's camera to Grizzly's IVAS, displaying the captured scene. The mortar crew was around the corner, far down the street on a rather small building, with a slew of infantry protecting them. They were also scrambling to pack up the mortar, having been caught off guard by the MSF's arrival.
"Gecko, covering fire! Grizzly, ice 'em!" Ape ordered, the Lieutenant standing across the street by a different building. Next to him was Eagle, the sergeant busy firing down the street trying to provide Grizzly an opening. Gecko, who'd been standing next to Grizzly, nodded before shuffling past Grizzly and firing at the enemy with Eagle. Crouching somewhat to stay out of the line of fire, Grizzly leaned around Gecko, before holding up his arm.
Feeling the familiar cold feeling, Grizzly watched as a beam of light shot out, freezing over the exposed mortar crew. Ducking back the second it was done, Grizzly looked down at his soliton radar. Quietly he swore to himself, watching the dozen or so dots move around the area. The building he was using for cover had who knows how many guys hiding inside it, which he despised.
As he thought this though, he heard the clacking of tracks drive up nearby. Looking up he spotted a Bradley driving up nearby, with other infantry accompanying it. Moving to the open street, the IFV started firing into the street. The infantry accompanying it meanwhile kept eyes on the rooftops, trying their best to protect the armored vehicle. Seeing the street was being handled, Grizzly turned toward Ape.
Quickly the Lieutenant rushed toward Grizzly with Eagle and a few other soldiers in tow. Once he reached him, Ape wordlessly motioned for the others to follow him. Running up they soon reached the apartment building's entrance. Forming up along both sides of the door, Grizzly looked over the door carefully, before checking over his radar. Five enemies hid inside, all facing the door.
"Marston," Ape stated, the sound of footsteps coming in quickly. Seconds later a pair of robotic soldiers ran up next to them. Both stood around five foot six, with oddly human-like arms and limbs, resembling the prosthetic limbs Grizzly had seen the MSF develop. Instead of normal joints though, they had a gray artificial muscle. One robot had an M4 Remington, the other had an M7.
The heads meanwhile were different. One had the triangle wedge-shaped head of the defunct Walker Gear program. The other had a more human-looking head, with a holographic screen for a face. Nothing was on display on said screen though. And of course, both robots had cowboy hats placed on top, one a dark brown, the other black.
Grizzly could only sigh at the sight, while the two robots shuffled past them toward the door. Wordlessly Ape held up his fingers, counting down from three. The second he reached zero Marston had the robots kick down the doors. Gunfire shot through the doorway, with both robots tanking the rounds quite easily. The robots fired back quickly, with Grizzly and his squad soon joining them.
Moving forward the robots continued to tank round after round, both clearing out the room while Grizzly followed behind them. Other soldiers outside began to join them, everyone moving into the lobby quickly. Already knowing the drill, Grizzly watched the robots walk toward the nearby stairwell, before again kicking the door down. There was no gunfire this time, so Grizzly kept up behind the machines.
Moving up a floor, Grizzly found himself looking down a hallway of apartments. As this happened one of the apartment's doors opened, and a cultist leaned out of it. Rifle raised the enemy fired down the hall, while other apartment doors opened up as well. Ducking back behind a nearby wall, Grizzly grabbed a grenade and chucked it down the hall behind him. After a few seconds, the grenade exploded, eliciting screams of pain from the cultists.
It hadn't killed all of them, but they didn't dare stick their heads out now.
"First apartment," Ape ordered, with Grizzly quietly nodding. Quickly Marston's robots began moving down the hall, providing some small amount of cover. With that cover, Grizzly's squad moved up to the first apartment in the hallway. Forming up around the door, Grizzly saw Gecko pull out a flashbang, while a soldier with a shotgun moved up with them. Looking at his soliton, Grizzly could see three contacts in the room. They weren't behind the door though, instead farther back in a corner.
Good Grizzly thought, watching as Ape again started counting down. The moment he reached zero the shotgun soldier kicked in the door. Quickly they rushed inside, filing into what was a torn-up living room. It was the soliton said, no enemies present. Grizzly did, however, spot a closet tucked away in the living room's corner. Silently Ape motioned for Grizzly to investigate, while the others began clearing out the rest of the apartment.
Slowly Grizzly approached it, not seeing any of the dots move on soliton. Reaching the closet, he stood off to the side of the door and grabbed the handle. With a deep breath, Grizzly yanked the door open and aimed his rifle into the closet. He was instantly met with screaming, the soldier finding the three dots to be a small family. A father stood in front of his wife and child, trying his best to shield them.
"[D-don't shoot! Don't shoot!]" the wife begged, trying her best to shield her daughter. Kid looked no older than a toddler to Grizzly, and currently cried as she looked at him. Quickly Grizzly lowered his weapon, stepping back to give the family some space. Other soldiers hearing the commotion rushed over, only to stop as they saw the closet.
"Gecko! Some help over here!" Grizzly called out, spotting the mutant rush toward him. Stepping to the side he let Gecko come in to a quick halt. He held up his hands to show himself as unarmed, while his rifle was slung around his shoulder.
"[Its fine, we're not going to hurt you. We're just here to help]" Gecko told them, trying his best to appear as friendly as possible, "[Is there anyone else in this apartment? Any villains?]"
The father thought over his question hesitantly, gulping for a moment.
"[N-no, just us]" the father replied, earning a small sigh from Gecko.
"[What… what do you want?]" the father asked afraid, while Gecko took a second to scratch his chin.
"[Well right now I want to get you three out of here]" Gecko replied quickly, leaving the father stunned for a few seconds. Relief quickly took hold of the man, as Grizzly spotted a few tears form in the father's eyes. He turned away though, finding Ape walking into the living room from the bedroom.
"Lieutenant!" Grizzly called out, "Got a family of three here."
Ape looked the family over quietly, before turning to the other soldiers in the room. He looked over a few of them, before pointing at two.
"Narwhal, Shark, get them out of here," Ape ordered, before motioning toward the door, "Rest of you, next apartment!"
Quickly Narwhal and Shark rushed toward the family, while Gecko translated the order for the family.
"[Follow them, they're going to get you to safety]" Gecko told them, before walking toward the door. Grizzly did the same, taking a deep breath to steel himself for the next apartment.
"[T-thank you!]" the family called out, catching Gecko by surprise, with Grizzly wondering what was said. There wasn't time to ask though, so he stayed quiet. Reaching the apartment's door, Grizzly found gunfire starting up again as some cultists began trying to fight back in the hallway. Peeking out the door Grizzly began laying down cover fire, while the other soldiers.
"Go! Get them out of here!" Ape called, out, with Grizzly watching as Narwhal and Shark rushed by, shielding the family as they ran out of the apartment.
"[Keep your heads down! Don't stop, just keep running!]" Shark told them loudly, while Grizzly took another deep breath. One apartment down, a dozen more to go.
The room was cold. It was always cold. Even though it was a different room, in a different building far from Overhaul, it was cold. The only difference between the rooms was the decor. Eri's new caretakers had covered the place in toys and painted the walls to look like a mural. It was filled with a sprawling forest, with unknown animals prancing about. In the corner of the room, was a massive bed, covered in pillows.
To Eri, it was more comfortable than anything she'd had before. Though, that wasn't a very high bar to beat. Overhaul had always cheaped out on everything, except security when it came to Eri. It was either a concrete floor or a barely built bed. And yet, even with all the seeming luxury she was given, Eri never felt safe. The skull people were fine, they treated her nicely and always gave her gifts. Even the guy with weird chains around his wrists brought her food once in a while. But the real issue was the smiling man.
Something about him dug up an almost primal fear that Eri couldn't understand. Everything about him screamed that something was off. Even as the smiling man seemed to comfort her, saying she was safe, Eri never believed him. So, the room was cold. It was always cold… Why, Eri questioned. Was it because she was cursed? She wanted to be safe, but… Chisaki was right.
She was cursed, and this would always be her fate. Locked away in a cold room, fearful of whoever would enter the door. Eri could feel tears welling up in her eyes at the thought. She was cursed, and this was the fate she deserved. Chisaki had said so, and it seemed the smiling man agreed. However, he masked his thoughts with lies. Quietly Eri cried into one of the many pillows her bed had.
This was her fate, her punishment. She was a disgusting little thing, an abomination, a freak. The more it went on, the more Eri cried. All she wanted was for her pain to stop. Did she deserve this? She didn't know. Maybe she did, but then why? Slowly though, Eri began to notice something. The room was cold, and yet, Eri felt… warm. Sniffling, Eri looked up confused, wondering where the warmth had come from.
"Oh, you poor thing," a voice called out, Eri turning to face it. Standing nearby, was a caucasian woman with dirty blond hair. Her outfit was some weird white garb, that almost seemed skin-tight. The weirdest thing that stuck out to Eri, was the woman was almost see-through. Eri instinctively moved back, only for the woman to hold up her hands.
"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," the woman told Eri. Her voice was… soothing Eri thought surprised.
"What's your name?" the woman asked, taking a few slow steps forward.
"E-Eri," Eri replied cautiously, watching as the woman sat down on the foot of her bed.
"Eri… that's a nice name," the woman told her, a small smile gracing the woman's lips.
"What's… what's yours?" Eri asked, watching as the woman thought the question over.
"Mine? Well… you can call me Joy," Joy replied, scooching a bit closer to Eri. Eri almost scooted back a bit instinctively but stopped. It felt, warm being next to Joy in this cold room. Eri didn't know how to describe, the feeling in the air she got from Joy. But it was… it was nice, Eri decided. Joy stayed quiet for a moment, seeing that Eri hadn't moved away. The woman brought a finger to her lip in thought, before she seemed to gain an idea.
"Would you like a hug?" Joy asked, looking down at Eri calmly. Though Eri looked back at Joy confused, tilting her head to the side.
"A… hug?" Eri asked confused. It earned a shocked look from Joy, though that shock quickly turned to anger. Instantly Eri paled, thinking she'd done something wrong. Seeing Eri's fear though Joy calmed down, taking a deep breath.
"It's ok, I'm not angry at you," Joy told her, trying her best to remain calm, "How about I show you what a hug is?"
Eri thought the idea over cautiously, unsure of this mystery woman. Hesitantly Eri nodded, with Joy again scooching close to her. She held out her arms in an almost wide circle, before wrapping them around Eri. The warmth surrounding Joy enveloped Eri, the small girl finding herself wanting more. It just felt… comforting, and Eri subconsciously pulled herself closer to Joy. That was until she felt her horn begin to itch. Eri's eyes widened in fear, knowing her curse far too well.
Desperately Eri tried to pull away from Joy, not wanting to cause her harm. Not wanting to lose this warmth.
"N-no! L-let go!" Eri pleaded though she found her attempts to escape in vain. Joy simply ran a hand through Eri's hair, keeping her in a tight hug.
"Shh… it's going to be ok," Joy told her, continually running her hand through Eri's hair. There Eri felt the energy of her curse surge out, running rampant. Tears welled up in Eri's eyes, and the girl shut them closed quickly. For a few minutes she felt her curse go crazy, the energy surging around her. Yet Eri could still feel Joy's warmth, it confused Eri as the last of her energy was burnt out.
The chaos dying down, Eri hesitantly opened her eyes and found Joy still hugging her tightly. Her almost transparent form still sitting next to her calmly.
"There we go," Joy commented, keeping Eri in a hug, "See, everything's ok."
Her… her curse didn't hurt her, Eri realized. The girl quietly celebrated this fact, now no longer struggling against Joy's grasp. The tears in Eri's eyes now began to fall, as Joy continued running a hand through Eri's hair. That's how it was for a few minutes before Eri ran out of tears. At the same time, Eri heard Joy sing quietly. Looking up at Joy, Eri found the woman with a small smile. It seemed genuine, but Eri felt something almost… sad about it.
"Sing, sing a song. Let the world sing along," Joy quietly sang, pulling Eri in close for a moment. The tune sounded nice to Eri's ears, and the girl now found herself feeling oddly tired. She blissfully yawned a little, before Joy stood up with Eri in her arms, and began placing her in the large bed. Joy shuffled a few pillows about, before pulling the covers over Eri. Again Eri yawned, as Joy smiled quietly.
For a moment though, Joy looked over her hands, as parts of her seemed to slowly disappear.
"Hmm, I'm afraid my time's up," Joy told her calmly. Were Eri more awake, she would have leaped out of bed afraid. Instead, her eyes widened just a bit in surprise, the small girl reaching out to try and grab Joy. Slowly the warmth was beginning to fade from the room.
"You're leaving?" Eri asked worried, with Joy nodding. She grabbed Eri's small hand, holding onto it calmly.
"I am. But I'll be back soon, ok?" Joy replied. Quietly Eri nodded, watching as Joy let go of her hand. Or more, phased through her hand. Joy looked over Eri quietly, watching as the small girl yawned again.
"Eri, do you like this place?" Joy asked though it sounded like she already knew the answer. Eri didn't notice though, and instead thought over the question. It didn't take much thinking.
"...No," Eri tiredly replied.
"Do you feel safe?" Joy inquired.
"No," Eri answered.
"Do you want to leave?" Joy asked, with Eri thinking this question over. Did… did she want to leave? This room was always cold, every room she went to was cold. They had no warmth like that of Joy's. But… Eri was cursed. She was a freak. A monster. Maybe cold rooms were what she deserved.
"...What will happen if I leave?" Eri asked, dreading yet another cold room.
"Well, I know a very nice man you can stay with. He'll take good care of you, and you'll feel safe there," Joy replied, with Eri quietly dreaming of the prospect. Somewhere safe. Somewhere warm. Someone who would care. Eri wanted it, but…
"But… I'm cursed," Eri muttered tiredly, only to find Joy's hand resting on her arm.
"No one is cursed," Joy told her, "Especially not you."
Eri didn't believe the words, but she could still feel the warmth from Joy. She could see the sincere smile the woman had before more of Joy began to phase away.
"I'll see you again soon," Joy stated, the woman quickly becoming more and more transparent. Eri tiredly watched as the woman disappeared, yawning briefly.
"Goodbye… Joy," Eri tiredly said.
"Goodbye Eri," Joy replied, just as Eri felt the last of her warmth leave.