I finished the 'What If...?' series on Disney last night. Angelic as an observer existed since 2015, way before that series existed. Pretty cool coincidence that Watu and Angelic share a tiny similarity. However, Angelic did not swear an oath to a higher being; she genuinely believes this is her only purpose in life. The random powers that came with that responsibility were an added bonus.
— ML
Chapter Eighteen: Séance, Part Two
Angelic.
Sayla created a successful sensory link between herself and Izumi a few days ago. The glowing pink heart on her wrist only lasted a couple of hours before it disappeared randomly.
Izumi begged Sayla to try again. She wanted her to keep trying until she could forge a link between herself and her infant son. Sayla will try again. This time, I expect a more long-term result.
They all do. It's kind of annoying.
One Night
The boiler room was colder than usual due to the cold air entering through vents that led up to the surface outside. Water recently began to drip from a pipe somewhere. It was a very slow leak that the guards usually ignored. After all, none of them were plumbers.
Sayla, Wendell, and Izumi had come together late into the night for one reason only: Sayla's second attempt at a sensory link.
At first, Sayla thought this would be dismissed as an empty promise just to benefit herself. The information Wendell and Izumi gave Tartaros Fairy so far was invaluable in a place without so much as a textbook about the modern world.
But a promise to an ally was a promise.
Izumi shifted in her spot, nervously darting her eyes toward the blind spot by the stairs. Wendell held her hand to comfort her.
Sayla held her book open in one hand. It was titled Dre Suzjubual Delil, or The Succubus Devil in Kanaji. It was an odd title for a book that covered much more than just succubus demons. Sayla had read as far as chapter fourteen, which covered basic forms of sensory link magic. And with the anti-eterano particles in the air, the first attempt seemed like a miracle. They could not feel each other's sensations due to the low magic particles in the air.
"I cannot thank you enough for doing this for me," Izumi whispered with excitement tinged in her voice. Sayla did not hear her through her concentration.
Wendell suddenly whipped his head around to face the stairs. Someone was coming.
The couple hurriedly got on their feet while Sayla still sat calmly. She could already smell Minerva among them and another presence.
"M-my..." Izumi trailed off, tears brimming in her eyes. She also smelled that familiar scent. Minerva emerged from around the corner, empty-handed. Behind her was Greg, carrying a swaddled infant in her arms, and another guard in the rear.
Wendell backed away slowly, standing in front of his mate protectively.
"What the hell is this?" he growled.
"It's alright, we're not here to interfere," Greg reassured them with a smile. Her light blue hair was tied in a neat bun. Her colleague, a purple-skinned cyclops male, had a similar style to his black hair.
"This is Greg, and..." Minerva trailed off, thinking. "What are you called, again?"
"Call me Ziggy," he said. Ziggy was one of the two guards Minerva felt safe around, the other being Greg. Ziggy resembled someone Minerva once knew on Earthland. She couldn't remember their name, however. Ziggy was also hard to remember.
Wendell walked up to Greg, still glaring.
"How did you get our son?"
"By the will of Angelic, I made sure it was possible," Sayla replied before the humanoid could. Izumi turned to her, eyes wide in shock.
"You did this for me?"
Sayla nodded. "I cannot create a link to a fetus. But with your other child, I can. Now, sit down, both of you." The hornless demon nodded to Wendell and Izumi, motioning them to sit on the floor with her.
Izumi began to weep, sitting back down with Sayla. Greg handed the child to Wendell before the ginger male joined the circle. The male demon smiled with glee at the tiny boy. Sayla had never seen a man so happy to see his child.
I guess that's what I get for looking down on humans, she shrugged to herself.
"My little boy," he cooed softly. The little one smiled up at his father, blissfully unaware of their circumstances. Sayla averted her gaze to Minerva. The pain in her eyes was impossible to ignore.
"Come, Minerva," Sayla motioned to the humanoid. Minerva hesitantly approached.
She had the option to steer clear of the couple and their child entirely. Sayla was unsure why she willingly came downstairs, knowing that she was struggling with the loss of her own daughter. Sayla would never forget Minerva's first night back from "elsewhere," as they preferred to call it. They had no idea where she had gone before going into full labor.
Minerva cried for hours, utterly defeated and hopeless. Sayla and Kyôka cried with her. Lamy and Tempesta grieved in their own ways. Jackal cried as if someone had died. In a way, someone did die that day. They just weren't dead, just gone.
Izumi leaned closer to her mate, resting her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on hers while she looked down at her son. There was so much love in her heart. All she wanted was to share it with him, no matter how far apart they would be.
"I missed you, my love," she wept softly.
With one hand, Sayla squeezed Minerva's hand comfortingly. With the other hand, she shut her book and then placed it on the floor.
Let us begin the rising action, she thought, more nervous than she wanted to admit.
:( Hey, that's my line, Angelic wrote.
Sayla took Izumi's left hand. "Do you write with this hand?"
"I'm right-handed," she answered. "Why?"
"In case this fails, I do not want to rob you of your dominant hand," the hornless demon replied. Izumi stiffened in horror, yanking her hand away.
"W-what?"
Without missing a beat, Sayla grabbed that hand again. There was no use in bickering now. A pink light split from nothing in her and Sayla's left wrists. Izumi doubled over in agony, trying and failing to pull her hand away. She covered her mouth in a poor attempt to suppress a pain-filled scream.
Wendell did not know what to do but hold his son tighter. Was this normal? Would the baby feel that pain? What the hell was Sayla doing? The baby did not cry or scream despite the tension in the air.
Minerva looked away with a pained expression. The two guards were purely confused. Magic and curse power were supposed to be impossible in a place like this.
Obviously, they had to remember that the Tartaros demons are not normal. Greg observed the group as much as she could.
First, Minerva could slice through almost anything. Later, Sayla used something called a demon eye. And then, Jackal bloomed a flower from an entirely different region. And right now, Sayla is making light come out of nowhere! Again!
Suddenly, the baby wailed at the top of his little lungs. Something in his swaddled blanket began to glow as well. Soon enough, a little bit of blood spread out of what must have been his left wrist. Wendell's senses told him to punch Sayla.
And he did, right in her jaw.
Izumi fell backwards in shock when Sayla hit the wall clumsily. The hot pink light had vanished. The baby screamed and cried. Minerva covered her ears, groaning with discomfort. She began to cry just hearing and watching everything unfold so quickly. Greg was immediately at the humanoid's side, helping her to stand.
"It's okay, Minerva, you're okay."
Minerva sobbed and trembled uncontrollably. Greg gently guided the humanoid toward the stairs and away from the overwhelming scene. Sayla was too stunned by her crooked jaw to notice Minerva or Greg leave.
"What the hell have you done, Sayla?!" Wendell shouted at the demon. Her jaw was definitely dislocated. It did not look like she was in pain, just stunned. Izumi and Sayla's right wrists bled from that light burning something into their flesh. Izumi cried out, holding her burning left wrist.
To Wendell's slight disgust, Sayla's jaw popped back into place without much effort. She spat a wad of saliva and blood on the floor, eyeing the ginger male. She looked a little uncertain of what she had done.
"I-I think I did it," she said. Wendell shook his head, refocusing on the baby's wails. Ziggy was next to act.
"Let me heal that," the cyclops said, not waiting for the father's reply. Ziggy helped him unwrap the tight blanket. The little boy was dressed in nothing but a disposable diaper. He kicked and squirmed from the foreign fabric. His wrist bled just like his mother's. Wendell glared angrily at the hornless demon.
"If it gets infected, I'll kill you!"
Sayla watched the male guard use his handkerchief to clean the blood while dabbing a green, slimy mixture on the wound. The baby's cries decreased to whimpers. Izumi soiled her shirt in blood, carefully squeezing the fabric around her wrist. She took deep, shaken breaths.
Izumi was scared, so scared of failing. She was also confused. Her baby was hurt. She was hurt. Her body screamed.
Ziggy furrowed his brow at the sight of the baby's supposed wound. It was gone, if it was ever there. He wiped the green gel with a cleaner part of his handkerchief. The tiny marks in the baby's skin resembled a chain of some kind with a little heart in the middle. Izumi noticed the same scarred tissue on her skin as well, but adapted to her bigger wrist size.
"It... it is done," Sayla declared with a little more certainty. Her wrist looked the same. Izumi looked at Sayla, then her link. The female demon let out a nervous laugh. Her nervous laughter soon burst into tears again.
At the same time, the baby was back to smiling at his father, grabbing at nothing. Wendell stroked his little head, a smile cracking through his edgy demeanor.
"Y-you did it," he whispered.
"I did," Sayla murmured, staring at her wrist and tracing the strange scar. It looked so much like a sensory link made from magic. It was not supposed to look like this, though.
"Will it fade?" Izumi asked. "W-what about my mate? His link. Is it possible?" Izumi asked, inching closer with each question. Sayla leaned away, looking elsewhere around the room.
"I'm not sure..."
"Wait, you could've given the link to me instead!" Wendell exclaimed. Now he was next to corner Sayla. "When Izumi goes into labor, her pain will torture our son! Did either of you really think this through?!"
"Hey now, Seven—"
"I don't answer to that number shit!" he shouted at Ziggy. He was about to shut his mouth, but he continued.
"Listen, Wendell. Labor is painless unless the mother wishes to give birth naturally. There is this medicine, a numbing treatment," he trailed off, looking for Greg. "I forget the name, but it's common in this land's hospitals."
"Anesthesia?" Sayla questioned. Izumi rested her hands on her belly, looking down in shame.
"We could hurt him with this, this curse!" Wendell growled.
"No, no, shut up!" Ziggy interrupted. "An epidural makes birth so painless, the patient doesn't even feel anything. Nobody will die or suffer, alright?"
Wendell, for once, did not try to talk with fists. He thought about Ziggy's explanation. He had limited understanding of medicine in the Empire. Izumi still cried, overwhelmed with everything. The baby shifted between whining and giggles, clearly indecisive about crying. Sayla felt a fluttering in her chest, but no tears came.
Wendell and Izumi gathered around their son, comforting him in whispers. Sayla's eyes softened. Three individuals were linked. The physical link could have serious consequences if she did not sever it. She pinched her arm, watching the baby. No unusual reaction. She pinched another spot much harder, wincing in pain when her nail broke skin. Still, nothing.
"Izumi, do you feel this?" the hornless demon asked, poking her nail into her neck. Izumi touched her neck, puzzled. She still sniffled.
"N-no, not at all."
"It's just an emotional link?" Wendell asked.
Sayla pinched Izumi's arm instead. To Sayla, the baby just looked at his father, acting normal. Greg and Minerva came back downstairs after a little while. Minerva went straight to Sayla.
"What happened?" she murmured.
"The sensory link worked, but it only links their emotions," Sayla replied. "Wendell, do you want to try?"
"I-I don't think I should. A trio is a lot for an inexperienced magic user like you," the ginger frowned.
"Are you sure? Your son would feel twice the affection of both parents," Sayla added. Experienced or not, it was only fair that she tried to include the father as well. Wendell shook his head.
"Twice the amount of anything would overwhelm a baby. I'll just make sure we stay together," he smiled at Izumi. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.
"You have to take care of me, Wendell," Izumi said with a cheeky smile at her mate. He kissed her forehead. Their baby looked peaceful with his parents.
Sayla shifted her focus to Minerva beside her, expecting to comfort the grieving humanoid. However, she looked more aloof than a few minutes ago. She must have received a stabilizer from Greg. Sayla held her hand.
"Thank you for being with me," she whispered to Minerva. The humanoid smiled back, staring blankly through Sayla. She looked back at the couple and their child.
"Yes, I am here."
Meanwhile...
"Right there. Yes, there!"
Jackal watched light pink marks come to form on a stranger's skin. Her clothed body writhed and squirmed; her hands and feet tugged at her secure restraints.
The cuffs and chains reminded him of the anti-magic chains Kyôka once used on prisoners a long time ago. Light pink bangs clung to the stranger's sweaty face and chin, rendered a mess from her lack of relaxation.
Her clothes were lightly tattered here and there for some reason he would soon figure out. She wore a black and white maid dress with white thigh-high stockings and black dress shoes. Even her stockings were ripped in some places.
A whip cracked across her chest, causing the maid to cry out in pain. Jackal somewhat felt her excitement from such an unusual punishment. How did he know it was a punishment?
"Hit me... harder..." the maid meekly pleaded with the unseen punisher.
Spare my friends, please. Punish me instead!
A large, gloved palm slapped her across the face. The maid's head swung to the side from the force of that open hand, stunned by the power of her punisher.
How dare she order them around? Who did this maid think she was?
The maid accepted their treatment, and Jackal had no choice but to watch. He understood none of it. He still felt so awful strangling his own girlfriend in a selfish heat of pleasure. And here was this stranger, happily allowing this stranger to cut off her airways. What was left of her voice came as a squeak that struggled for oxygen. Her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot.
"P-please, I... hhn!" The maid's voice completely cut out when that stranger squeezed even tighter.
Jackal's dreamy vision placed him in that maid's skin, literally. The torn dress hugged his slim curves like another layer of skin. The blood rushing through his veins was so cold and foreign to him. His two working eyes gazed up at this nightmare demon, blurring from lack of oxygen. Their face was covered by a helmet that matched their spiked white and dark blue armor.
Blood choked from his throat, spilling down his chin and cheeks. His head lay on the ground, pink hair soaking in a large pool of blood. This was not good pain, not at all. He tried to lift his head to no avail. His whole body was paralyzed. Spots of light and black sparkled in his vision.
He was dying all over again, but it was so much messier. He could feel blood pumping endlessly into places no longer inside his torso. His flesh was split like a dissected frog, gushing an endless river of red onto dying organs. The dark twist was unexpected but even less surprising.
That damn clock hand stuck out of his innards like a fork picking food apart. He was left to rot on the dissection block.
Virgo
(Do you know what it's like to be gutted when you are not supposed to have organs? I am not supposed to spill blood. That was the first time I felt the true terror of my mortality. Some say trauma brings broken people together. We are all broken here.)
Jackal cried quietly. He awoke from his slumber in a mess of emotions: dread, anger, sadness, humiliation, everything and anything he thought of. He felt like a pathetic little insect because of that dream. That giant stranger mocked him through nightmares. It killed spirits at their weakest moments! It hurt to experience that every time he fell asleep.
He rested on his back with his arms and legs spread out. He could not let his friends see him in such a state over this bullshit. The feline demon could not cry in front of Yuichi Misono. What would he do, inject him with a stabilizer? Remind him that dreams are not real? There was nothing Jackal could do but break down where no one would see him.
He dearly missed his friends. He missed Lamy and Tempesta. He wanted nothing more than to be with them now, sobbing like a baby in a judgment-free environment. The silence was so much heavier when he needed comfort the most.
He curled up on his side, crying beyond mere whimpers. His chest ached with grief beyond his understanding. The weight of his broken existence erupted in loud wails that did not echo. His voice nearly cracked with every sob and scream from the core of that weight. Were those tears his own, or did they belong to Aries? It didn't matter who; he just let it all out.
He had no idea how long he remained in that fetal position, sniffling back snot and saliva over and over. The side of his face that rested on the floor was soaked in his tears.
Eventually, his eyes dried up after what felt like hours. It felt like his nonexistent heart dried up with them, leaving a cold numbness. He stared ahead at the wall near the floor, quiet as a ghost.
No fear of the dark place. No anxiety about memories. None of it existed. Nothing felt real. Hours might have gone by, not that he could tell. There were no clocks here. No guards. No doctor. No prisoners. Just Jackal, Aries, Triangulum, and this old woman sitting by the crown of his head.
... Huh?
Jackal did not need to squint his eye to see through the darkness. He had no idea how this old woman found her way into his isolation cell. Her hair was thin and white, partially covered with a fluffy reef of gray-white feathers. Her light yellow gown was covered with a cardigan made out of the same grey-white feathers with a few specks of leafy green. White eyes smiled down at the feline demon. She brushed strands of hair away from his face, her thin lips curling in a smile.
Jackal stiffly rolled onto his back, looking right up at the strange old woman. The warmth radiating from that soft expression was sickeningly sweet.
Every wrinkle in her face showed untold stories of her laughter, emotional expression, and wisdom. She was perfectly visible without casting actual light in the room. She had to be a Celestial Spirit. Her aura was too clean for this filthy prison.
"We all see you," the old spirit said. Her lips did not move. Jackal could only assume it was her words. He felt a flutter in his chest. Butterflies spilled all over inside him. Slowly but surely, his body felt like his again. She petted his hair in slow, tender strokes, careful to avoid his pricked ears.
A little flower formed around her bony index finger. Its petals were white with even smaller red splotches and yellow edges. The stem twisted around her bony finger, blending into the flesh of her warm, dry palm.
Tempesta wore that same flower in his hair just a few days ago. Jackal recalled his rather embarrassing display of affection toward the male demon. Unfortunately, he did not get to give Lamy the same energy before he came to the isolation unit. The blonde wanted to thank the feathered spirit for understanding his feelings, but his throat felt too dry. Now that he was able to think beyond his emptiness, he was thirsty. But screw that, he wanted to know this old woman. He needed to know them all, however many there were.
"I am Columba," the old woman whispered. Once again, her words passed through his head in a steady flow. He closed his eyes, taking in the deep relaxation he suddenly found himself in.
Columba
(We care about you. We need you to stay. Both mortal and spirit; we only have this one life to cherish each other. I am not a fighter, and I cannot defend. I give life through love and nature.)
This time, Jackal was prepared for a possible slip into another dream. All around him was an open abyss of nothingness. And then, stars began to twinkle overhead. One by one, the tiny dots of light spread across open sky without a single cloud blocking the brilliant view.
The male demon marveled in awe, easily losing count of the possible hundreds of stars lighting up this world. Planets also came into view. Some looked like actual land and water covered the surfaces, while others looked like swirls of spherical candy surrounded by tons of tiny moons.
Beneath his feet were uneven bricks that formed multiple circles, floating in that infinite space. He looked around and over his head at an arch of similar material. It looked like a literal gateway to this world. Bridges, pillars, and other walkable structures connected some planets and moons.
Jackal took a few cautious steps forward. The bricks tremored slightly but balanced under his weight. He followed the only path still connected to the rings brick. The space was deathly silent. He couldn't so much as pick up a single nudge of breeze. At least the isolation cell was not this quiet. He certainly would have lost his mind worse the first time.
He still could not bring himself to speak. What was the point? He might be the only creature in this dreamscape.
"We all see."
Jackal froze on his track. Columba? Aries? Who could it be? He hesitantly turned to the sight of a group of folks he had never met.
One was a female with red and white split-dyed hair down to her waist and a similarly colored swimsuit top and back trousers. Her belt looked exactly like that one mermaid spirit if he remembered correctly. Another was a rather small dragon. Anyone could have mistaken it for a red lizard on a good day. There was also a penguin-like purple bird with a compass in its belly and an off-white eagle with a brown head and a small lightning symbol on its chest.
Jackal easily recognized an altered version of the Celestial Spirit Scorpio, but he did not recognize the other spirits. They must be some of the weak ones.
They all immediately fled the scene. Scorpio was heard faintly ordering Draco to take the other silver spirits to safety. Safety from what? A sinking feeling soured his calm mood.
Jackal turned back around only to regret letting his guard down so soon. At his feet lay Columba, or at least what was left of her. Her limp body was actively turning into light particles.
Furthermore, the landscape was different, more dark, red, and bleak. Sand and dirt soiled the old woman's blood-sprayed clothing.
"No! No, no, no! Not you!" Jackal cried in grief, falling to his knees. He tried to shake her limp body with desperation, but his hand went right through her. He silently pleaded with the supposed immortal being to wake up.
Her neck was twisted to an unnatural degree. Jackal began to cry. His tears were his own; that much he knew. The sky was cloudy and red as the Earth, assuming this was even Earth. It certainly wasn't the Celestial Spirit World anymore.
Soon enough, the sickening crack of another neck was heard. Ahead of him was that same warrior with their large hands gripping the necks of the penguin hybrid and the eagle. The reptile beneath their foot had been squashed like a roach. Scorpio was already decapitated.
Everything was moving too fast. What the hell was happening to them? Celestial Spirits don't die! None of this could possibly exist! It's just another dream!
Jackal ran at the warrior, itching to pounce and slash at whatever skin his claws could sink into. He jumped for the attack, ultimately landing on nothing. He rolled to the floor, landing on his feet while panting.
He couldn't breathe. There was too little air to take in. The more he inhaled, the harder it was to breathe. The air was so thick and so thin, something had to give. He could not go on like this, watching the innocent die for an unknown and worthless cause.
Why did they have to die? Why did they turn into ghosts that haunted him? All this time, Jackal believed he was being watched and taunted. Were those critical eyes the spirits inside him the whole time? Did they truly see him?
Scorpio
(Half of me is broken. I don't know what happened. One look at that) torta (and I knew we were fucked.) La odio. Odio a essa perra! (Worst fucking punk show ever.)
Draco
(I gave my life thinking I was protecting the others. I knew the Zodiacs would not stand a chance. All of them had their separate contracts that were forcefully severed by a monster. That did not stop me from trying to fight back. As long as the rest of them were safe, I was content with losing.)
Pyxis
(I have a new friend!)
Aquila
(I will protect you from electroshock and lightning, but you will still get hurt sometimes. It's the least I can do as a parasite you did not ask for.)
Jackal felt the foreign sense of a pounding in his chest. He grabbed at his shirt, dazed from the mental whiplashing. The pounding was gone. He groaned audibly at the pounding that decided to erupt from his head instead. It felt like somebody whacked him with a blunt object. He stretched out his arms and legs.
"Hhmmh!" he exhaled sharply, relaxing his body on the cold floor. He felt around for his journal. His tail brushed over it instead. It was lying on the floor, open with the rumpled pages down. The pen was missing. Did someone throw it?
He tried to read with his hands like before. Scorpio, Draco, Aquila, and Pxyis. The red and white lady, the tiny dragon, the eagle, and the weird penguin creature.
Torta? What does that mean? Is the warrior a woman? Hmm... Scorpio almost wrote through the page, just like that damn Ares.
The dreams had to be memories of the Celestial Spirits. Clearly, they did not know why they were hunted.
Jackal recoiled at a freezing touch on his waist. He scrambled away from the spot he sat in.
"Fuck! Bitch! It's fucking cold!" he shouted.
Sorry!
"A little warning next time, for fuck's sake!"
Jackal sighed, forcing himself to calm down. Yelling at a ghost? Seriously? He would look even more insane to everyone else. The cold presence was gone as soon as he shouted, thankfully.
The feline demon turned toward the door just as someone unlocked it. To his surprise, the blue-haired Greg stood at the door, not the handsomely ugly doctor. The disappointment on his face must have been too obvious. Jackal sat on his shins with his legs stuck out to the side. The guard smiled warmly, holding up a covered tray.
Jackal stared at the tray. It was a similar platter his supposed "last meal" was served in. He was immediately on guard.
"It's okay, I made it myself," she reassured him in a low whisper. She knelt, setting the tray down. Jackal got on all fours, hissing aggressively. He had no idea what he was doing, but Greg immediately shut the door in a slight panic.
Heh. Stupid bitch.
What? She's an ally! Jackal slapped his cheeks, standing on his knees. He acted too much like a dumb cat; it was getting ridiculous! The blonde looked at the spot the tray sat in. It was too dark to see it now. He was hesitant to so much as touch whatever was underneath that tray cover.
"It's quail eggs and sausage, my favorite breakfast!" the female guard called through the door. Her favorite breakfast? Why would she share her favorite food with a prisoner?
"I promise it's good to eat. I cooked it myself."
No one on their side ever shared with scum like Jackal.
The blonde crept toward the door on his hands and knees, swishing his tail. He flattened his ears, faintly recalling his moments before passing out the first time he touched a tray like this. He pushed the thought away. This was different. It was Greg! A beefy yet scrawny brat demon-human-thing who was really nice.
Jackal's hand brushed the tray. He immediately scrambled backwards. His tail must have fluffed out to twice its size at the metal scraping the concrete floor. He squinted his eye shut, lifting the tray's lid.
His ears pricked up. It smelled really good. Now that he thought about it, where did the guards even eat? Where do they sleep? He figured they either teleported to some other place or renovated a unit for guards to live at work. It was fucked up if they had to live here.
Jackal touched around the food. He did not find a fork. Oh well. He poked what he assumed was a near-fully-cooked egg yolk. He carefully picked up the fried egg, dropping it into his mouth.
Chewy... just pepper? Lame. It's pretty good for a quick meal.
"Ah! She remembered me!"
Jackal inhaled and exhaled slowly, growing irritated. He definitely did not say that. The voice was another female, right behind him. It sounded vaguely familiar. Then again, all of these spirits were somewhat similar to the ones on Earthland.
"Who's bothering me now?" he inquired, turning his waist. "In front of a fresh breakfast, no—"
He froze, his mouth hanging open in shock. Behind him sat a mermaid. Her sleek, red hair went past her waist. The red bikini top looked exactly like hers. The belt, the head jewelry, and even her bracelets; they were all the same, but accented with red instead. Otherwise, she looked identical to the spirit that defeated him.
Just like Columba, her form produced no light around her despite the perfect visibility. Be grabbed the platter, glaring at her. She was not getting a share of his food! He crept toward a corner a few feet from her, keeping the tray close to him. He kept his eye on the red mermaid. He couldn't even bring himself to name her.
"We can't eat," she chuckled. "I'm just so happy she remembered me."
"S-Shut up! Go away!" Jackal shouted at her. The red mermaid's lightheartedness did not falter. He scarfed down the eggs and sausage, then threw the tray at the mermaid. Now, she really couldn't have any if she wanted to. Of course the tray went right through her like nothing, bouncing off the other wall and hitting the floor with an obnoxious clatter.
Fuck.
Jackal's panting grew manic when the mermaid lunged at him. He was cornered in a literal sense. He screamed out in terror, covering his face and chest with his raised legs and hands.
He watched her body glide through him like swimming against a current. His own body was thrown into an empty space. Those terrified screams still echoed for several seconds, fading into nothing. Before he could even process his new surroundings, he fell face down on something hard but soft enough to break his fall.
He grabbed handfuls of grass. He lifted his head, groggy from the turbulence. Sunshine filled his one-eyed vision. With one hand as a sun visor, Jackal looked around, noticing he lay in a garden. He saw butterflies, bees, spiders, ladybugs, and all the other random insects found in a floral paradise.
He climbed to his feet. His body was sore, and it hurt to walk, so he limped. The blonde had no idea where he was going. Left turn, right turn, and another right turn. The garden was a maze of beautifully shaped plants. Many of them were foreign. Several resembled the white and red-spotted flowers Columba showed him. Wherever he was, it was far from the prison walls.
"Hello?"
He knew talking was pointless if this was just another memory. The land was eerily calm. His walking gradually improved too. Eventually, the maze opened into a rather small courtyard. There was an elegantly shaped small table with three chairs, toys scattered around, and four people in the middle of it all.
A little girl, that red mermaid, and a man faced that person in dark blue and white armor. Their face was still covered, and their back faced Jackal. The girl was the spitting image of that man: green eyes, light brown hair (the man's hair was slicked back and the girl's head was specked with white), and small noses. Tears shed from the little girl's eyes. Her arms were at her sides in a pathetic attempt to look strong.
"How long will she be gone?" the man asked grimly.
"The answer will be determined by our success rate. This is a very important mission that requires all of the Zodiacs, Mr. Thomas," the armored soldier replied. Jackal almost forgot it was a woman. Or a man with a feminine voice. Whatever.
"What is the success rate?" Mr. Thomas inquired.
The warrior glanced at the Celestial Spirit, the little girl, then back to the man.
"Forty-two percent, sir."
The little girl burst into more tears, wrapping her arms around the red mermaid's scaly waist. The mermaid petted her brown and white-specked head.
"It's okay, Lucy," she reassured the little girl.
Fuck. They even have the same first name, Jackal frowned.
The girl looked like a miniature version of the blonde bim— girl—but slightly different features. He wondered if this was an alternate Fiore called "Eroif" or something. Anything was possible these days.
While Jackal was distracted with his thoughts, Mr. Thomas instructed Lucy to break her contract. Lucy obviously refused; "Aquarius" (barf) was her last living connection to her mother. The armored woman said nothing.
Lucy hiccuped between sobs. She clutched the water bearer's key in her little hands. Mr. Thomas knelt beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Repeat after me," he said calmly. Lucy shook her head. "Aquarius" hovered away from her key owner, her eyes downcast. Her expression was so glum. "Please, Lucy. It's for a good cause. Your spirit is going to do great things for Zentopia," Mr. Thomas smiled reassuringly at his daughter.
"Zentopia?" Lucy questioned. She wiped her eyes, sniffling. "T-that's the place Mama was born."
"That's right. Think of it like this: we're doing this for the family of your mother, which is your family as well," Mr. Thomas smiled softly. "Now, say the incantation after me."
"B-but I don't wanna lose Aquarius," Lucy mumbled.
"Lucy, I'll come back once we complete the mission," "Aquarius" said.
"I promise I will come back."
She couldn't even lie with a smile, Jackal thought, his ears. The irony was sickening. He almost felt sorry for the little girl.
The red mermaid and the little girl hooked their pinkies together in a pinky promise. Shit, that girl's gonna regret this...
Mr. Thomas continued. "Now, repeat after me: By the power of the Celestial Spirit King..."
"By the power of the Celestial Spirit King," Lucy repeated, closing her eyes.
"I hereby sever this contract."
"I... I hereby s-sever this contract," Lucy murmured. A magic circle opened above the Celestial Spirit's head. She glanced up with that same somber expression. "... releasing myself f-from..." Little Lucy teared up again, opening her eyes. Mr. Thomas wrapped his arm behind his daughter's shoulders. Little four-point stars glowed in her green orbs. "... from all ties to the lava bearer Zodiac spirit, Aquarius!"
After the incantation was complete, the light of Aquarius' magic circle eventually spread onto the spirit herself, evaporating her form. Jackal decided not to question the ass-backwards logic of a lava bearer having a name that meant WATER.
What a fucking oxymoron.
Lucy held onto the key even after the gate was closed, crying loudly without a care. Mr. Thomas looked like he also held back his own tears, hugging his daughter tightly. The stance of the armored warrior did not soften. And oddly enough, Jackal did not feel like crying.
He looked to his left to find that very red mermaid floating beside him. Their eyes met. She smiled sadly. The blonde demon stared blankly.
"I see all of you," Aquarius whispered.
"What does that mean?" Jackal inquired.
"Your fears, your strengths, your memories, everything. We all see you." The blonde demon looked ahead. He had not noticed the change of scenery. The anonymous warrior stood with the red mermaid outside of a gate. Beyond that gate was a massive estate home to a small village, a scenic view of mountains, and a lot more nature than the one garden Jacjal wandered in.
"I gave a feeling you know what is to come," the armored warrior said.
"Of course. I could never let my master or her father know what you've done in your world," Aquarius replied. "I must know, though. Why did you lie to them? The spirits of this world are unscathed."
"Correct," the warrior answered. "You are a special case with a different purpose."
"What do you—"
Aquarius's voice cut short abruptly. Jackal's blood ran cold. The red mermaid looked down, her body shaking uncontrollably. In her stomach, that Potemelian etched clock hand jutted out. The sharp end had gone through her lower back, grazing her spinal cord, assuming spirits had those.
"You are going to be used in a different mission," the warrior said factually. Jackal heard no emotion in her voice.
At the round base of the clock hand, a keyhole was visible just below the round center of the base. The tall warrior calmly inserted Aquarius' key into that hole. At that moment, Aquarius' body turned to dust, starting with the area around that hole in her belly. It had no time to bleed before the spirit slowly disappeared. The dust was absorbed and sucked into the clock hand.
The red Aquarius beside Jackal looked away after the clock hand punctured her past self. The scene became hazy as the past Aquarius disappeared completely. Eventually, Jackal and Aquarius stood alone in an empty space. The red mermaid sighed, turning away.
"You hate me, but you at least deserved to know why I'm here," she murmured. "What you didn't see was my key being destroyed by that strange device. As far as I'm aware, it did not respawn for some reason."
"I'm sorry," Jackal whispered. "I-I'm not scared of you, just... You two look exactly like them."
"I know," the red mermaid nodded. "You were a bad guy, and they took your life to keep their peace. I do not blame you for fearing me. Luckily for you, I have no power to kill you," she shrugged. Aquarius turned to face the blonde demon. Tears filled his eye. Aquarius floated closer, pulling him into a hug.
The blonde demon choked back his sobs, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Jackal felt like a coward. This Aquarius was powerless, reduced to a liquid in his veins. And yet, one look at her face brought everything crashing back to him.
Lucy Heartfilia, the incredible human who stood up to an otherworldly being. (Water) Aquarius, the angry spirit who sacrificed her own key to defeat Jackal.
The lava bearer also sacrificed her key, even though it physically hurt worse than the emotional toll.
Lava Aquarius
(I don't belong to this world. You are the only person I trust with my life. I hope that we can be friends. In my world, spirits eat sometimes. The guard who fed you happened to know just what I like. It was an honor to share that with you today.)
The dreamy space between his ears slowly bled back into the real world, unfortunately. Jackal did not remember Aquarius pulling away from the hug. The light was gone. The empty space was replaced with isolated darkness. Jackal still hugged something, and it was neither himself nor the Celestial Spirit.
The figure hesitantly patted his back. Jackal opened his eye. Because it was close to his face, he noticed the hideous zigzag pattern of a bowtie looking back at him. The tie was paired with some kind of solid-colored dress shirt under a white coat. Jackal immediately shoved Yuichi away from him. Yuichi stumbled backwards, almost falling against the closed cell door.
"What the fuck!" Jackal shouted in anger at the doctor's sudden intrusion. That punchable doctor looked too calm in the dire situation.
"Get out! You're not supposed to be in here!" the feline shrieked at the human.
"The guards know when to let us out. Now you aren't alone," Yuichi replied, crossing his arms. Jackal buried his face in his hands, leaning his head back.
"Noooooo," he groaned loudly. Did he sleepwalk into that disgusting human's embrace? He must have been a crying damsel, a little bitch to do that!
Damn you, Aquarius!
You wanted a hug. I regret nothing.
Screw you!
"I don't want your fucking company," Jackal shot back with a glare. Yuichi said nothing at first, then his footsteps approached. Jackal backed away cautiously. A solid object poked him, causing him to smack the area.
A small object flew across the room, smacking into the wall. It was Jackal's pen.
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to poke you," the doctor said with a glum tone. Jackal rolled his eye.
"Your glasses are useless, you idiot."
"You and I both know my glasses are not the problem."
"Right, it's your lack of fucking personal space."
"Actually, it is the total darkness—"
Javkal had had enough of the doctor's technicality. He shoved the human back, listening as he fell to the floor with a pained grunt. He smirked widely. What was this feeling? Triumph? A predator that finally got its prey cornered?
Suddenly, he smelled a familiar scent wafting from where the doctor had fallen. His confidence froze over in fear, recognizing the very drug that sedated him the day he broke that chair in the cafeteria. He backed away until he pressed himself against the wall. He was cornered by a single needle. His breaths came panicked and shorter, preparing for the worst.
But then, the dangerous scent vanished. Yuichi stood back up.
"I did not come unarmed, Jackal," the human said calmly. "I will only use it as a last resort. Understand?"
Jackal could not speak. He was petrified of that needle. One wrong move and everything would be over. All of this self-work would go to waste over a stupid, pointless power trip.
"I'll take your silence as an agreement."
Jackal's shaken breaths were the only sound he could process. He slid down to the floor, hugging his knees. He burst into tears. He was angry at his weakness. Angry at his fear. He was angry that the human brought that weakness into his space, threatening, no, promising to use it if he had to.
He did not notice his sobs increasing in volume. He could barely feel the ache in his scalp as he grabbed and pulled handfuls of hair. His legs kicked a body that grasped his wrists, urging him to stop hurting himself. He did not feel the hair that actually ripped away from his scalp while Yuichi tried to restrain his hands at his sides.
Jackal definitely remembered claws piercing a rib or maybe a leg; it was too dark to tell. Yuichi did not cry out in pain no matter how much the blonde fought him. He clawed, scratched, bit, kicked, and punched. He struck flesh, clothing, wall, and floor in his violent meltdown.
But he never once felt or smelled that awful needle. Yuichi did whatever he could to avoid resorting to chemical-based sedation.
Use it to your advantage! A voice suddenly tore through the red blankness of Jackal's mind. He cringed in pain at the piercing sensation in his skull.
"Get out! Get out, you bitch!" he shrieked, hitting his palms on his forehead. Yuichi had not spoken. Even he knew that his words were useless.
But all of that soon slowed down. At last, the needle pierced his neck, its liquid content emptying into his veins. Even through darkness, Jackal knew the world spun out of control in seconds. The floor made contact with his face. He was out like a popped lightbulb.