Post by The Prettiest Squish on May 31, 2019 14:16:10 GMT -5
The sun was beginning to set on the narrow streets of Heretic Cabal. Through its smoggy atmosphere, the deep orange from the skies came down as a pale, sickly peach upon the residential buildings. The night was approaching. And shadows loomed over the concrete and steel landscape where a small party of boisterous men filled up the silence.
"Gahahaha! What a riot!"
"Gahahaha! What a riot!"
"Keep it down, I'm still hungover you prick."
"Ah don't be a fucking killjoy, Damian."
"I don't want to hear it from you. It's your fault we're
out here on patrol for that pink-haired bitch."
out here on patrol for that pink-haired bitch."
"I hardly think it's fair to say it's my fault."
"You volunteered for this shit!
All because fucking Dodger couldn't finish the job
and got himself shot in the eyes. Useless bastard."
All because fucking Dodger couldn't finish the job
and got himself shot in the eyes. Useless bastard."
"Gahahaha, well at least he's dead now!
That's a consolation ain't it, Damian?"
That's a consolation ain't it, Damian?"
"You got that right kid. Boss really didn't take that kind
of failure lightly. Which is why I'd rather not be here."
of failure lightly. Which is why I'd rather not be here."
"Hey hey hey.
What's the worst that could happen?"
The two girls lurked in the shadows watching their prey. Tucked between the alleyways where sun touched naught, they stared with unblinking eyes at the three men coated in black and armed with silver. The faintest tips of pink opened and a whisper emerged, "How many are there?" the elder shadow spoke.
A moment of silence passed between them as further male bickering played out in the background. The smaller one turned to its master and whispered in her own hushed voice, "It's just the three talking. There's nobody else around them." The elder shade nodded and the two faded back into the deathly quiet until their targets were in sight. "You may want to look away for this then. It's going to get messy." From the still air came a sharp ringing of metal. A faint beam of light hit the alley where they hid and the surface of a blade shined in the fading twilight.
But before action could be made, the small one shook in its steps and grumbled, "We trained for this moment. You can't make me sit back anymore, Miss! It's like you said. There's no turning back now. We have to go into this together." The master stood silently, contemplative and pondering. But eventually, she nodded and the two faced the approaching party together. "On my mark then. Do not hesitate. Remember what you fight for. Remember what they did."
The little one stepped forward with strength in her voice as she gripped tightly to the handle of the sword in her hand, "I could never forget what they did to me." A pair of footsteps rocketed off the ground in a hurry, leaving behind a plume of dust in their wake...
"Wait, stop...do you hear that?"
What's the worst that could happen?"
The two girls lurked in the shadows watching their prey. Tucked between the alleyways where sun touched naught, they stared with unblinking eyes at the three men coated in black and armed with silver. The faintest tips of pink opened and a whisper emerged, "How many are there?" the elder shadow spoke.
A moment of silence passed between them as further male bickering played out in the background. The smaller one turned to its master and whispered in her own hushed voice, "It's just the three talking. There's nobody else around them." The elder shade nodded and the two faded back into the deathly quiet until their targets were in sight. "You may want to look away for this then. It's going to get messy." From the still air came a sharp ringing of metal. A faint beam of light hit the alley where they hid and the surface of a blade shined in the fading twilight.
But before action could be made, the small one shook in its steps and grumbled, "We trained for this moment. You can't make me sit back anymore, Miss! It's like you said. There's no turning back now. We have to go into this together." The master stood silently, contemplative and pondering. But eventually, she nodded and the two faced the approaching party together. "On my mark then. Do not hesitate. Remember what you fight for. Remember what they did."
The little one stepped forward with strength in her voice as she gripped tightly to the handle of the sword in her hand, "I could never forget what they did to me." A pair of footsteps rocketed off the ground in a hurry, leaving behind a plume of dust in their wake...
"Wait, stop...do you hear that?"
"Ehhh? I don't hear anything, sir. Maybe it's the hangover."
"You're too stressed out, Damian.
Relax! Have some fun!"
Relax! Have some fun!"
"It's not that...I heard voices. Two."
"Well now you're just crazy! Gahahaha!"
"I'm telling you fools, there's someone here with us.
Keep your guard up, watch your rear."
Keep your guard up, watch your rear."
"Hehehe, yeah. Watch my rear, am I righ-AHH!!"
"Kid!?"
From out of nowhere, they appeared.
Rémi Dermott and her apprentice, little Erina, emerged from the shadows with rusty iron blades in hand. The master, as skillful as always, effortlessly cut down the nonchalant rookie at the chest and left a bloody cut from shoulder to hip. What was once a loud, boisterous lad was now a lifeless body crumpled on the dirt road.
"You!? It's you!!" The man known as Damian cried out in panic. He struggled to get his pistol out from its holster and fumbled his fingers on the leather. In the meantime, young Erina swept in with her own blade and charged the second gangster who was definitely more prepared than his subordinate. She made a grunt as her sword collided with his and was forced to step back as he looked down at her with cruel purple eyes. "Who the fuck do you think you are kid?!" As the child struggled to hold her own, help arrived in the form of hot pink hair.
Rémi stepped behind the cocky fighter and whispered to him in a harsh breath, "I could ask the same of you." Before he could react to the sudden sneak attack, she performed the same slice done against his ally and slashed the man's back from edge to edge. He screamed aloud with pain and dropped his sword as Erina pushed back and dealt the final blow, cutting parallel to her master and painting a second red line across his torso. The brute fell to the ground motionless with fallen steel beside him.
But things were not done yet. Without skipping a beat, Rémi turned to face the final target. Unfortunately, he wasn't so helpless as before. He stood away from the two girls with his pistol aimed between the both of them. No matter which of them moved, he'd have an equal chance of shooting one. Rémi squinted her eyes and clenched her fist around her sword. "Don't move a fucking muscle. Not unless you want your brains painting the concrete." Little Eri gulped and blinked, her eyes tilting up to look at her master. What were they to do, she thought. As if he understood her concern, Damian tilted the barrel towards her, "Oh? Are you scared I'll shoot your mommy, little girl? Don't worry." He adjusted the gun in his hands and Rémi could see through her squinted eyes his finger clenching against the trigger. "You can go first."
Before the man and the girl knew was happening, Rémi took charge of the situation. She immediately rushed the gunman with her sword armed at chest-level as his attention slowly shifted from Erina to her. His eyes widened at her considerable speed and he was forced to change the direction of his pistol towards her before finally squeezing the trigger and unloading a shot towards the pink-haired dame. Rémi could not dodge nor reflect the projectile reactively but she'd been shot at by fast enough things to know when they'd hit her. Through her eyes, she saw the finger pull and raised the blade up to her face – the most obvious spot to shoot a target. By sheer luck, the bullet ricocheted off the base of the blade right in front of her cheek and sent the fragment flying down into the dirt. Damian gasped and opened his eyes with shock. "That's impossible!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs before unleashing another two rounds toward the incoming assailant.
Rémi grinned beneath the shield of metal in front of her as her target became closer and closer. "To a lowly fighter like you, of course it would be." She tilted her head to the side and heard the whizz of a bullet fly past her ear then rose the blade up to cover both her eyes, feeling the third bullet hit the metal dead square where the top of her nose would be. As she lowered the sword and revealed her stormy gray eyes to the man, he froze with terror and could not bring himself to loose the remaining rounds. "S-s-stay back!" he yelled, his feet now stepping back.
The woman with a mission had a devilish grin once she finally came face to face with the gunman. She bowed down and pulled her sword back before staring directly into his widened eyes. "Nice try." Her arms swung up and the sword slashed in an arc where the gun once was. Blood spurted out of Damian's wrists as his hands fell to the floor paralyzed around the frigid firearm. "AHHHHH!!!!" She huffed and clenched a fist with her other hand and punched him in the gut, shutting his mouth instantly while sending his body flying several meters away. With all three men down, Rémi stood up and chuckled to herself with her blade lazily propped on her shoulder. "That was easy." But the sound of Erina's footsteps behind her brought the sword girl back to the reason they were here in the first place.
The young one jogged until she was right beside her guardian and squirmed as she looked around at all the bodies they had made. Even though she was the one who wished to tag along, the sight of all this blood and violence was not easy to accept for a first timer. But she knew she had to overcome the fear and shock. Otherwise the next step would be impossible. Rémi looked to her trembling pupil and placed a hand on the little girl's head with reassurance. The two locked eyes and, after a brief moment of silence, nodded together. "Thank you...let's move on." The elder snickered at this newfound confidence and walked together with Erina toward the dazed Damian sitting in his personal dirt crater.
While the punch to his gut had shut the fool up, it certainly didn't knock him out cold – which was good for the two ladies. He muttered to himself in tongues and was drooling from the corner of his lips. Rémi sneered at the mess he was causing. She took his shirt collar and pulled him up before throwing the fool up against a stone wall. "Wake up, you stupid fu-." She paused before looking to young Erina, who was staring at the woman with a perplexed expression. "Er. Wake up, you stupid fool." She slapped his cheeks a handful of times before his blank eyes returned to normal. Erina for good measure slapped him hard with the back of her hand even after he woke up. "OW!! I'M UP! I'M UP! WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"
Rémi glared into his soul while holding the blade right between their faces, "Is that how you want to talk to us?" The man gulped and shook his head. And Rémi put away the sword for the time being. Her face lightened up with a grin before she finally got to asking, "So, now that you're ready to listen. Here's what we need to know." She pointed between her and the girl as if to indicate this was a joint effort. Damian simply nodded without opening his lips. She took that as a sign he would cooperate. "Your boss has taken something that belongs to me. But even worse, he's taken something from this little girl she can never have back. I want you to tell us where he is, who he's with, how many there are and what they have. Got it?" Damian looked nervously to the side before Rémi grabbed his cheeks with her nails and shoved her forehead up against his. A pained squeal came from inside his throat as the cracking of rock could be heard behind his skull. "Mmmk! Mmmk!" a muffled agreement rang from within.
She released her talons from his jaw and he breathed out exhausted. The two females awaited for a brief few seconds but still nothing came out. "Well?" The man darted his eyes between the two of them but was still looking in need of convincing. She sighed and cracked her knuckles with just one hand. He stuttered over his words in panic and finally caved in. "That's better." Damian sighed and sniffled as he snitched to these two sinister women. He took a long breath before divulging his gang's precious secrets "Our HQ...is two blocks southeast, large metalworking factory with a black iron fence...He has at least a dozen men in the base with him at all times while the rest of us are out on duty...All of us have at least a sword and a few of us have a handgun...We had a guy with a rocket launcher until...you blinded him." Rémi grinned remembering that moment when she chucked the rock into ol' Dodger's eyes. The bastard deserved it too.
"Anything else you like to offer?" the woman said, not expecting much. To her surprise, he did. The man sighed and swore to himself before going on, "The...the boss really digged that sword you had with you. The shiny, he called it. Gave it to his son, Michael...the Boss got his own shiny though, better Grade than yours too. Could cut through five men just by looking at it, the fuckin' thing." Rémi raised a brow at this reveal. What was this about a grade? Was her Gloirstar a special kind of sword? And if so, did that mean this Boss had an even better one than it? She scratched her chin in thought. Interesting, very interesting. Before she asked anymore questions, Erina tapped her on the shoulder impatiently. Rémi looked down to meet the child. "What is it?" She paused.
Erina stared intensely at Damian's broken face. Her teeth were clenched and her fists too. "He told us enough. Now he can die." Hearing this, the man broke out in horror, "What!? Th-that's not fair!! Let me go! I told you everything!" But Rémi paused to take it all in. Her arm was still holding the fool up against the wall and the other arm held the sword that cut off the buffoon's hands. The apprentice was also right; they had everything they needed to move along, what good was it to keep him alive? But was it right for her to do it? No. The master looked to her student and saw the anger boiling inside. It had to be her that did it. Rémi took her own sword and poked it into the dirt before using both arms to lock the man in a full-nelson headlock. "W-what is this!? Come on!! I gave you all the answers! I won't tell anyone! Please!!"
But this was no longer a conversation between the three of them; it was now a dialogue between the master and the apprentice. They both tuned him out and looked to each other with solemn expressions. "Are you sure about this?" she asked for the one and only time. Erina nodded without hesitation. Rémi closed her eyes and sighed, "Finish it then." Behind her closed eyes, she could only hear the sound of the tiny one's blade swish in the air. The manic screams of the last gangster rang out in the smoggy city air until the woman felt the impact of the cold metal slice into his flesh and the panicked voice was gone forever.
Rémi released her arms and his body fell to the dirt in a crumble. She opened her eyes and saw Erina's bloody blade still dripping with the scarlet it had reaped. But importantly, she looked to her face and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. The elder walked up to her and silently hugged the little one, slowly brushing her hair as its little arms wrapped around her body. "It's okay. Let it out. Let it out..." A few more sniffles persisted before a tiny voice came out from between the embrace.
"I'll kill them. I'll kill them all..."
"First we have to find them...And then we will kill them all."
The sun finally set on Heretic Cabal as the streets turned grey and dark. In the silence, they finally left that blood soaked place and headed to the destination where their fate would be decided. In the darkness, they wandered and finally found the place they were promised. Large metalworking factory with a black iron fence...
In the shadows they hid and observed the motions of the guards just outside the gates. Rémi turned to her friend with a nervous smile, "You ready?" Little Erina inhaled, paused then breathed out a soft sigh. She looked up to her mentor with sharp eyes and a slight pout, "We don't really have a choice, do we?" The two sat in silence for a few seconds before returning their gaze to the target location. From the calm black void, the unsheathing of steel whispered in the wind.
Deep within the factory, among the hustle and bustle of churning metal, the man in the black suit sat at his throne. His domain was at the back of a wide walkway hovered right above the molten steel. He was freshly shaved, tan, with a whiff of cologne at the neck. His downcast eyes were typically a deep blue but in that moment they reflected nothing but sweet shining steel. The man's lips pulled back in a grin, just before he giggled to himself with a satisfied melody. "Can you believe it, Loras? I certainly can't. Even when I'm holding the thing, I still can't believe it's the real deal. A genuine Wazamono. Gods, where the hell did the old man fetch this from?"
The man in the black suit looked to his side and from the darkness emerged another figure dressed in similar fashion. His face was paler than milk, paler than moonlight, save for the burn scar he had on the left side of his face. From chin to brow ridge, the flesh was a sickly umber that refused to blend with the rest of his perfect complexion. The man known as Loras walked forth and began to fiddle with the white gloves veiling his hands, looking down at his superior as he did so. "I believe he stole it from the girl with the pink hair our men are looking for now."
A snort came from the chair. "A woman? You're telling me a woman held this? What kind of savage girl needs steel in her hands? The man should hold the steel, and the woman the sheath. Wouldn't you agree Loras? Fhahaha!" His acquaintance endured the poor joke in silence until the laughter subsided. The man in the black suit placed the steel at the side of his throne and leaned back with a sigh. "My first blade, a Wazamono. The old man truly loves me eh?"
Loras, who had been fiddling with his gloves up to this point, ceased his playing and turned to meet his superior in the eyes. The sitting man squinted at this challenge and hovered his hand over the shimmering steel. "Have you gone mad, Loras? Look away from me or suffer." But the pale tower continued to stare in opposition until the boy in the black suit couldn't take anymore. He rose up from his throne while holding onto the sword when suddenly an ivory palm struck out and slammed the child back into his seat. Loras unsheathed his own iron sword and held it to the throat of his superior. Through a toothy grin he venomously whispered, "Your father gave you that sword because you are weak. Because if you held the metal we use, you would be cut down by a mere pocket thief. The Boss doesn't love you, he pities your frailty and despises your arrogance....As do I." The lieutenant pocketed his blade, adjusted his glove and stepped back into the shadows behind the man in the black suit. As the boy breathed in and out, left completely speechless, Loras ended their talk with one final quip, "You may sit on the throne but it would be wise to learn your place now, Michael. Before it gets you killed."
Mike, now sweating from his face, seethed his teeth with anger and held the handle of his sword so tightly the skin turned white. He prepared to reply with a remark of his own when the factory filled with the familiar tune of a blaring alarm. The bells rang and the horns bellowed as Loras rushed past the throne without a word and exited out the door in a sprint. The son sat at his seat now alone and sweating from the heat of the molten steel around. At least, that was what he would tell the others if they saw him this way. In his isolation though, the weakling child felt the rage bubble inside him yet again. Who did this subordinate think he was to threaten the son of the boss? Loras was a nobody. A henchman. His plaything. Michael stood from his throne and held the claymore in both hands before swinging it wildly.
Metal clashed against metal as Rémi found herself facing against some real opponents. Behind the pink haired warrior were the bodies of the guards who heard nothing as she ambushed them from the darkness. Young Erina was not far behind her as she finished plunging her blade into the chest of the last watchmen. "You're getting the hang of this I see!" The mentor celebrated her student's progress with a jovial laugh just before disarming the man in front of her and slicing him from hip to collarbone. "And that's the last of them. What did that Damian say? At least a dozen guys? We're at...1, 3, 5, 9, 11. Who's our lucky number 12?" Erina chuckled at the morbid joke, which would've been far more innocuous had they not just slaughtered eleven men in cold blood.
The two wiped their blades clean for the fight that was to come and resumed sneaking into the shadows as they made their way to the open entrance. They flanked both sides of the aperture, Rémi on the right and Eri on the left. Both girls listened in for any alarming sound that was headed their way but when they heard nothing but the sound of the factory operating within, Rémi signaled and the two crept in.
Inside the foundry, the sight was like something that came out of Hell. From the second they made it in, the two began to cough from the smoke and were forced to look away from all the glowing molten steel pouring out of the crucibles. Young Erina who had lived in smog and shadow her entire life felt her eyes straining from the violent scene. Radiant, pulsing rivers of fire flowed from the ceiling into pools of bubbling inferno. Given that it was the night, all traces of light they could see came from the hellish flames rising from the dozens of vats sorted among the plant. Rémi squinted as her eyes focused and adjusted in this new setting. Despite the wicked realm they found themselves in, she chuckled to her little friend as if to lighten her up, "Hehehe, hey doesn't this feel like waking up and walking into a bright room?"
Erina simply looked to her teacher with confusion as it dawned upon the pinkhead that the child had been living in an abandoned warehouse for years. She swallowed her shame and whispered, "Nevermind..." The elder woman soon found that the light burned slightly less than it did before and began to roam her vision around the room to gain some bearings on where to head. In the eastern sector, nothing came of interest other than the scrap of metal that was to be melted down. She looked to the west and saw more tubs of molten steel awaiting to be reforged. They were standing at the northern entrance which left the only other option for entry to be...
"Pssst, over there." Erina looked up and saw Rémi's fingers pointing directly in front of them at the southern wall of the foundry. They exchanged nods and prepared to stealthily creep toward the target when voices emerged from behind them. Rémi's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh shit! There were more?" Without thinking, she dragged the little Erina and herself to the nearest corner against the western wall. They found a handful of barrels to hide behind and listened in on the commotion outside. "They must be the other men looking for you! Maybe they're here to change shifts." Rémi nodded in agreement, that's exactly what it seemed.
Outside the walls, the gangsters stuttered with alarm. "Wh-what the fuck is this?! Are they...are they dead? ALL of them?!" The two girls heard the sound of bodies shuffling and men gagging. "Oh god, they split the kid in half. Look at this shit, his guts are out and everything." The wet noise of vomit hitting the dirt sent a wave of disgust up Rémi's spine. Go away...Just go away and you'll live... But of course, life was never that easy or fortunate. One of the men hushed the others and among a whisper, Rémi could have sworn she heard the words "...footprints..." Her gray eyes looked to the dirt floor from where they entered the foundry and she saw two pairs of prints heading right to them. Her eyes closed. Fuck...
"FUCK!" The two girls immediately jumped from their seats and took out their blades without hesitation. No words needed to be shared between them, they took off running toward the south wall in between columns of vats filled with the hot stuff. Rémi dashed forward coughing and dusting away the smoke from her eyes but to no avail. The air was thick with toxic vapors and the vibrant orange in addition to the blaring did not help her orientation. She looked to her left and saw Erina trailing close behind suffering from the same conditions they were in.
In this desperate time, the mentor reached out a hand to get her attention only to hear the familiar note of a gunshot right behind them. Instinctively, Rémi dived and ducked for cover as blips of grey shot past her in a frenzy. The master sighed before looking back to check on her apprentice. Through a small space found between two vats of melted steel, little Erina curled herself up into a ball to hide her presence. The woman smiled at her proactive thinking but this was no time to take things easy. They had jumped out of the frying pan into the lion's den on fire. "Goddamn cowards. I loathe firearms."
The hissing and jets of flame hid the subtle footsteps of the men approaching her. As they drew nearer, the alarm still played in the background, eliminating any possibility of Rémi deciphering their movements through the sense of audio. But this was not impossible, not for her anyway. She breathed in through her shirt to filter out the toxic fumes and psyched herself up for what she was about to do. Cmon girl...You invaded a Navy base and took down an officer in single combat...You fought against a Daibukai of the World Government...These guys are chumps...You can do this...I can do this...
Rémi looked at the iron blade she held at the ground and tilted it so the reflection revealed her attackers – only the three she heard outdoors stood in the hall of fire. Good. In the corner of her eye, she saw Erina copying her move and nodded to affirm their discovery. God you learn so fast. I wish I could I tell how you proud I am right now. She grinned and offered a thumbs up at the confident youngster who blushed with surprise before turning back to her sword.
The three stooges grew ever closer and were inspecting every single alley between the vessels. They were less than ten meters away, roughly two vats behind the one they were at now. If Rémi hadn't felt the heat until this point she was definitely feeling it now. Beads of sweat poured from her face down to her body until they formed puddles of mud at the base of her bottom. Her breath was growing heavier and louder which meant the men would know of their location before they even had to face them. Young Erina was doing quite alright for herself despite the circumstances but it was clear she was growing anxious by the second. The little girl was fidgeting with her blade and her legs shook violently with unease.
The reflection revealed the movements and the men were less than five meters away, enough distance for a point-blank shot. Rémi's heart raced as she braced herself. Her fingers tightened around the grip. She looked to her student. Erina held the blade to her shoulder and glared at the men just beyond her vision. They were ready. Stormy gray eyes looked to the sword again and the men were just behind her. Rémi nodded. The two prepared to jump right out to strike when suddenly -
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gunshots fired from the southern wall. Three dead men fell to the floor in a flat thud. Those stormy gray eyes peered into the darkness looking for answers. And from the shadows a man emerged with skin like liquid light. His face was half scorched and still healing yet the man expressed no pain. Instead he grinned at them a sickly, demented grin of white, ivory teeth. In his left hand was the gun, in his right hand the sword.
Rémi tried to raise her voice but was immediately cut off when the phantom in black tossed the gun aside and gestured to her and the child like it was a welcoming party. Her heart did not stop racing. His smile was cold and deceitful. "Pink woman. I have been expecting you."
Huh? Rémi paused and looked at the stranger from top to bottom, she looked Erina and the same perplexed grimace reflected back at her. "Do I...know you?" The pale one laughed to himself like a lunatic. As he did so, Erina slowly walked over to her mentor and hid behind her coat. "I really don't like that man..." The girl in pink agreed but he was the only thing between them and the southern entry. They'd have to face him and the more she knew of his intentions, the better equipped she'd be for this fight. "Enough games, you know why we're here?"
The man's cackling stopped but the grin on his face remained. His head tilted mechanically as he stared into their very beings. "You're here for your sword, aren't you? As for little Erina..." Rémi could feel the child's fingers squeeze against her thigh. She glared at him with the orange of fiery lava reflected in her eyes. "How do you know who she is?..." The man opened his mouth before a tiny voice sobbed from behind her. It was the girl. He paused and smiled so she could answer that very question. Rémi heard the child's sniffling, she felt the tears wetting her coat. Her eyes made their way back to the menace in white. What did you do to her, you son of a bitch?
A tiny finger rose up to point at the black phantom standing tall above them. "I-I remem-mem-member now. He's th-th-the one. Th-th-the one. Who killed mom and dad."
Rémi felt her fists clench like never before. Her teeth cracked as she saw the man laugh at this poor girl's pain. "Hoho, the name's Loras, my little Erina. And I can't take all the credit. I was simply the one to cut their throats and make you watch." Foam formed at the corners of Rémi's mouth as her vision turned red. She rose her free hand and pulled off her white Marine coat, exposing the hardened and built muscle she spent training for this moment. Every vein on her body popped out in a green bulky tendril, pumping her rage with every passing second. The man known as Loras took notice of this and his smile vanished instantly. "Yes. You feel that right? The fury. Vengeance. The drive to kill and slaughter anyone who stands between you and the one you must destroy. Well you have given me that purpose, Pinkwoman. When you killed my brother, Dodger."
The warrior woman paused after being taken aback by the claim. Dodger? She hadn't heard that name since she saved Erina a week prior. What did he have to do with her? "Dodger? I left that fool blind and bleeding but I didn't kill hi-"
Rémi shook her head and spit on the ground. She took her sword and armed it with both hands just before glaring at him with her abyssal eyes of the storm. "And so what? Compared to what evil you've done, I'm a fucking saint. You are a monster, a demon among men and you will pay for what you've done to this poor girl!"
Loras dropped his head and his wicked giggling filled the infernal room with the sound of a devil's laugh. His hand, like a claw, spread itself upon his face. Meanwhile, his other hand slowly drew forth the serrated mirror hanging by his waist. "Two evils and two wrongs. What fortuitous irony is this? Fate has presented this opportunity to me, to satisfy my justice. It has obeyed my wishes and delivered you to me as promised. And I, to you." The iron blade escaped his sheath and the black suited phantom held the edge of light in his hand, the pen with which he would finish this story. "Come girl. Taste my rage. Taste oblivion." Loras soared into the air with blazing iron to accompany him. In the heat of the foundry, his violet wine eyes burned as brightly as a flambé. The cackling phantom dived and Rémi saw pure hatred in the maw.
The sword girl braced herself and spoke with power in her voice, "Erina, I know you're scared. I know what's he done to you. But never forget why you fight. Remember what you said you would do when we found them? Do you remember?!" Her gray hues looked down at the child's sobbing eyes when the whimpering ceased at the mention of their promise. Time passed slowly as the tears took time to fall. Among the towering pillars of ruined steel, the girl stood taller than anything the woman had ever seen. And in the chaos of flames and smoke, she was as placid as a still pond. Her tiny face looked to the woman before her and she recited those words again, "I'll....I'll kill them. I'll kill them all." Rémi beamed with pride and nodded. "Lead the way then my pupil, this is your vengeance."
The two swords-women walked forth and raised their tempered blades above their shoulders. From above, the descending demon wailed upon them with blazing ire.
Michael flinched at the sound of his father's voice. In front of his feet were the remains of his throne, hacked and slashed to pieces. He turned and saw his father at the threshold of his office, glaring down at him with arms crossed. "Father!...I...I only meant to test your gift an-"
The haughty son quivered and released his precious Wazamono onto the cold iron floor. He darted his eyes from the former throne, to the sword, to his father. "I...I don't understand, Loras has already left to intercept our intruders. I have been here making sure that we are sa-" A hard slap came forth and knocked the boy to the wall. He yelped in pain but he had suffered no true injury; instead he took his sweet time looking up at his enraged patriarch. As the old man walked closer, the trembling became more apparent. "Pl-please! What have I done?!"
The old man loomed over his feeble little son and grabbed him by the suit collar. "Nothing. You have done nothing. Nothing at all with the wealth I provided, the power I have granted, nor the sword I have gifted. You have made a mockery of my legacy and in turn have become less than nothing." He pulled then shoved Michael back into the wall where he yelped in pain again only this time with greater effect.
The Boss walked over to where Michael left the claymore and raised it up in his hands. It was unlike anything else in their inventory. They used crude, serrated iron blades that caught a fraction of the light in their dull sheen. Even in the hottest, brightest inferno like the steel plant they live in, the brilliant red and orange highlights became a dirty mustard. But not this beauty.
The Boss eyed the craftsmanship of the steel, how its mirror polish caught every single ray of light from its surroundings. Unlike their broadswords, this named blade was a classical claymore, with langets running down the length of the blade, giving its wide form dimension and depth. If he did not possess his own Ryo Wazamono, he would've kept it for himself rather than hand it to that ungrateful brat. Even better, he could have gifted it to Loras.
The mad lad was the best fighter among his men, perhaps even better than him if their swords were of equal quality. That was why despite his anger toward this lazy, pathetic son, he had complete faith that Loras would fulfill his duties and bring him the head of that wretched pink whore. And perhaps he would eliminate the last traces of that treasonous bloodline by killing that little girl once and for all.
A sad pitiful groan came from just behind him and the old man sighed an exasperated sigh. He spitefully turned his gaze only to see his miserable excuse of a son lying spread eagle against the wall. He spit at the boy's feet. "You disgust me. My own child. I should have given this blade to Loras, god knows he would put it to better use than you ever could." Just then, he heard the familiar pang of clashing swords ringing outside. His eyes glinted. "You hear that? That's how a real man fights, ya hear?! With cold iron and grit." He caressed the claymore in his rough hands like he were holding an infant. "When Loras brings me that girl's head, I'll reward him with this." Though the old man's muzzle was veiled in a thick moustache, it was clear by the way his hairs perked up that he was smiling. But the moment did not last for long as old Mikey cried out to his father, "No please! You gave that to me! I-I deserve it! I am your son!!"
The Boss growled yet again and glared with red eyes. "Deserve it? What have you done to deserve this? I took this from that woman with my own two hands and you're telling me I should just give it to you?! IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME?!" Michael stammered and refused to look his father in the eyes as he cowered on the floor. His fingers fidgeted about as he licked his lips to find the words. His old man was ready to turn around and forget the whole thing when he let out a meek "Yes?"
Silence engulfed the room save for the clanging of metal just outside the door. Michael breathed in and out heavily waiting for a response but saw his father simply standing there, petrified like a statue. He marked his hands against the wall and pushed himself up until he was standing on both feet. "D-dad?" The old man gave no answer. "Dad? Hello?" The boy in the black suit carefully strutted his way towards the Don, tiptoeing one foot after another until a hoarse voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "You want this sword, do you?" Being the oblivious type, Michael chuckled and smiled as he eased up his body for once. "Of course! Now hand it over, won't ya?"
The Boss raised his eyes at the disgraceful heir and bared his fangs. His hands tightly wrapped around the handle of the blade brought the massive claymore up into the air, looming over the boy. "If you want it, you can have it!!" The father slammed the blade down and easily cleaved through the iron wall like it was made of butter. Michael in the nick of time managed to evade the slash but was by no means tranquil in the mind. He kneeled off to the side with both hands on the floor. Sweat droplets fell from his face as if he were a water resort. His blue eyes looked back to the man who raised him, "A-are you crazy, old man!? I'm your son!" But the time for talk was over, the Boss raised his steel again and Michael screamed like a little girl. The claymore came down with a violent slice right down the middle of the hacked throne. Michael wailed with horror, "My chair!! No dad, not my chair! I can pay for the repairs!! Just don't do anymore!"
His father exploded with rage as he continued to swing the blade up and down, cutting through every surface his idiotic son stood on. "I'M TRYING TO KILL YOU AND YOU WORRY ABOUT A CHAIR!!!
FUCK IT ALL! LORAS WILL GIVE ME YOUR HEAD AS WELL!!" The two moved about the walkway in an erratic pattern as Michael would escape to a safe spot only for his father to come sprinting right behind him and slicing the floor in two. Eventually there was nowhere left to run and the two found themselves a few meters just from the entrance. Michael held onto the iron railing and pleaded with tears in his eyes, "Please father, I'll- I"ll be good from now on! I'll help Loras kill the Pink one and bring the girl Erina! I swear it!"
Surprisingly, the old man's eyes closed and his body caved. A single hand held onto the claymore as it made its way back to the floor. His barreled chest drew in heavy breath after heavy breath and Michael realized how exhausted his father must have been. "Y-you are getting too old, father. Allow me to finish the j-job, I swear to you I will get it done...If I just uh. Have the sword." His old man's eyes opened at the suggestion and the boy gulped with dread. That single hand around the claymore lifted the giant sword off the ground until it was propped against his shoulder. Michael's eyes gleamed with hope that maybe his pleas had finally gotten to the old fart. He extended his hands as if to receive the gift once again. But the Boss looked at his son with a disgusted grimace and tightened his grip on the handle. "If you love this blade so much, then go fetch it!!" Without warning, the Don catapulted the claymore from his shoulder and shot the steel straight into the opposite wall, completely missing the halfwit it was meant to kill.
The boy stood for a moment, dazed and confused. His eyes went back and forth from the man he called father and the sword pierced within the wall. "I...I will make you proud, I swear it!" The Boss huffed to himself and got down on one knee, clutching his chest. His eyes had calmed down only slightly but the bloodthirsty rage was absent from his hues. "If you bring me the girl's head, I'll reconsider what I said. Now go." Michael bowed quickly and made his way for the claymore. The old man sighed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of nose and closing his eyes as he heard his son's footsteps against the grated walkway.
Clang clang clang cl-
Why had he stopped? He opened his eyes and saw the boy's silhouette just ready to pull out the sword he had planted. Why had he stopped? He sighed yet again. "Michael, what are you waiting for? Pull the thing out and get out there." For someone who had so fervently wanted the blade all this time, the son stood frozen in place with both hands hovering just off the hilt. His body turned with the speed of molasses and the man could see the sheer terror in his eyes. "Father...There are two of them." A look of confusion came over the patriarch as he got to both feet and walked closer. "What are you talking about? I only see the one you're holding onto right n-" And that was when he saw them.
Jutting out from the other side of that wall were two rusty iron blades painted in blood. He froze. And as he froze, he saw them shrink until the last droplets of blood dribbled down the iron wall. They fell into the vat of fire and he heard the hissing of scarlet mist fill the demented air. Michael's jaw quivered as he choked on his words, "W-what's ha-happening??" His father ignored the desperate inquiry and stepped back as he saw two pairs of shadowy feet emerge from below the door. "What the fuck is this..."
They stood before the threshold, panting and sweating while the blood dripped down their skin. Fire still poured from the crucibles behind them and the machines did not stop whirring away to ease up the chaos of this moment. It was so hot and loud and even now the ringing in their ears would not fade away. BEEP!! BEEP!! rang the alarm in the distance. Rémi respired with exasperation. "God I wish someone would shut that thing off."
A hearty laugh came from the young woman next to her. The master turned to look at her pupil and was so proud that she no longer saw a child, no longer saw a little girl. Erina stood tall and confident as even with countless scars decorating her once perfect skin, she held herself together to the end. Rémi smirked and brought her crimson soaked arm around the lass and embraced her in a hug. "You did it. You killed that bastard." The tiny one raised a brow and playfully punched her mentor in the ribs, "We did it, dummy~" The two snickered together and hugged once more. Rémi looked to the last gate standing in front of them. "We're almost done. You think we got enough for one last showdown?" Erina looked up at her master then stared down at the floor. The pale faced demon in the black suit sat motionless as the river of blood poured out from his chest. The young woman smiled as she looked to the door, following her master's lead. "Yeah, I definitely got one more in me." They breathed in and gave each other a wink,
Rémi Dermott and her apprentice, little Erina, emerged from the shadows with rusty iron blades in hand. The master, as skillful as always, effortlessly cut down the nonchalant rookie at the chest and left a bloody cut from shoulder to hip. What was once a loud, boisterous lad was now a lifeless body crumpled on the dirt road.
"You!? It's you!!" The man known as Damian cried out in panic. He struggled to get his pistol out from its holster and fumbled his fingers on the leather. In the meantime, young Erina swept in with her own blade and charged the second gangster who was definitely more prepared than his subordinate. She made a grunt as her sword collided with his and was forced to step back as he looked down at her with cruel purple eyes. "Who the fuck do you think you are kid?!" As the child struggled to hold her own, help arrived in the form of hot pink hair.
Rémi stepped behind the cocky fighter and whispered to him in a harsh breath, "I could ask the same of you." Before he could react to the sudden sneak attack, she performed the same slice done against his ally and slashed the man's back from edge to edge. He screamed aloud with pain and dropped his sword as Erina pushed back and dealt the final blow, cutting parallel to her master and painting a second red line across his torso. The brute fell to the ground motionless with fallen steel beside him.
But things were not done yet. Without skipping a beat, Rémi turned to face the final target. Unfortunately, he wasn't so helpless as before. He stood away from the two girls with his pistol aimed between the both of them. No matter which of them moved, he'd have an equal chance of shooting one. Rémi squinted her eyes and clenched her fist around her sword. "Don't move a fucking muscle. Not unless you want your brains painting the concrete." Little Eri gulped and blinked, her eyes tilting up to look at her master. What were they to do, she thought. As if he understood her concern, Damian tilted the barrel towards her, "Oh? Are you scared I'll shoot your mommy, little girl? Don't worry." He adjusted the gun in his hands and Rémi could see through her squinted eyes his finger clenching against the trigger. "You can go first."
Before the man and the girl knew was happening, Rémi took charge of the situation. She immediately rushed the gunman with her sword armed at chest-level as his attention slowly shifted from Erina to her. His eyes widened at her considerable speed and he was forced to change the direction of his pistol towards her before finally squeezing the trigger and unloading a shot towards the pink-haired dame. Rémi could not dodge nor reflect the projectile reactively but she'd been shot at by fast enough things to know when they'd hit her. Through her eyes, she saw the finger pull and raised the blade up to her face – the most obvious spot to shoot a target. By sheer luck, the bullet ricocheted off the base of the blade right in front of her cheek and sent the fragment flying down into the dirt. Damian gasped and opened his eyes with shock. "That's impossible!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs before unleashing another two rounds toward the incoming assailant.
Rémi grinned beneath the shield of metal in front of her as her target became closer and closer. "To a lowly fighter like you, of course it would be." She tilted her head to the side and heard the whizz of a bullet fly past her ear then rose the blade up to cover both her eyes, feeling the third bullet hit the metal dead square where the top of her nose would be. As she lowered the sword and revealed her stormy gray eyes to the man, he froze with terror and could not bring himself to loose the remaining rounds. "S-s-stay back!" he yelled, his feet now stepping back.
The woman with a mission had a devilish grin once she finally came face to face with the gunman. She bowed down and pulled her sword back before staring directly into his widened eyes. "Nice try." Her arms swung up and the sword slashed in an arc where the gun once was. Blood spurted out of Damian's wrists as his hands fell to the floor paralyzed around the frigid firearm. "AHHHHH!!!!" She huffed and clenched a fist with her other hand and punched him in the gut, shutting his mouth instantly while sending his body flying several meters away. With all three men down, Rémi stood up and chuckled to herself with her blade lazily propped on her shoulder. "That was easy." But the sound of Erina's footsteps behind her brought the sword girl back to the reason they were here in the first place.
The young one jogged until she was right beside her guardian and squirmed as she looked around at all the bodies they had made. Even though she was the one who wished to tag along, the sight of all this blood and violence was not easy to accept for a first timer. But she knew she had to overcome the fear and shock. Otherwise the next step would be impossible. Rémi looked to her trembling pupil and placed a hand on the little girl's head with reassurance. The two locked eyes and, after a brief moment of silence, nodded together. "Thank you...let's move on." The elder snickered at this newfound confidence and walked together with Erina toward the dazed Damian sitting in his personal dirt crater.
While the punch to his gut had shut the fool up, it certainly didn't knock him out cold – which was good for the two ladies. He muttered to himself in tongues and was drooling from the corner of his lips. Rémi sneered at the mess he was causing. She took his shirt collar and pulled him up before throwing the fool up against a stone wall. "Wake up, you stupid fu-." She paused before looking to young Erina, who was staring at the woman with a perplexed expression. "Er. Wake up, you stupid fool." She slapped his cheeks a handful of times before his blank eyes returned to normal. Erina for good measure slapped him hard with the back of her hand even after he woke up. "OW!! I'M UP! I'M UP! WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"
Rémi glared into his soul while holding the blade right between their faces, "Is that how you want to talk to us?" The man gulped and shook his head. And Rémi put away the sword for the time being. Her face lightened up with a grin before she finally got to asking, "So, now that you're ready to listen. Here's what we need to know." She pointed between her and the girl as if to indicate this was a joint effort. Damian simply nodded without opening his lips. She took that as a sign he would cooperate. "Your boss has taken something that belongs to me. But even worse, he's taken something from this little girl she can never have back. I want you to tell us where he is, who he's with, how many there are and what they have. Got it?" Damian looked nervously to the side before Rémi grabbed his cheeks with her nails and shoved her forehead up against his. A pained squeal came from inside his throat as the cracking of rock could be heard behind his skull. "Mmmk! Mmmk!" a muffled agreement rang from within.
She released her talons from his jaw and he breathed out exhausted. The two females awaited for a brief few seconds but still nothing came out. "Well?" The man darted his eyes between the two of them but was still looking in need of convincing. She sighed and cracked her knuckles with just one hand. He stuttered over his words in panic and finally caved in. "That's better." Damian sighed and sniffled as he snitched to these two sinister women. He took a long breath before divulging his gang's precious secrets "Our HQ...is two blocks southeast, large metalworking factory with a black iron fence...He has at least a dozen men in the base with him at all times while the rest of us are out on duty...All of us have at least a sword and a few of us have a handgun...We had a guy with a rocket launcher until...you blinded him." Rémi grinned remembering that moment when she chucked the rock into ol' Dodger's eyes. The bastard deserved it too.
"Anything else you like to offer?" the woman said, not expecting much. To her surprise, he did. The man sighed and swore to himself before going on, "The...the boss really digged that sword you had with you. The shiny, he called it. Gave it to his son, Michael...the Boss got his own shiny though, better Grade than yours too. Could cut through five men just by looking at it, the fuckin' thing." Rémi raised a brow at this reveal. What was this about a grade? Was her Gloirstar a special kind of sword? And if so, did that mean this Boss had an even better one than it? She scratched her chin in thought. Interesting, very interesting. Before she asked anymore questions, Erina tapped her on the shoulder impatiently. Rémi looked down to meet the child. "What is it?" She paused.
Erina stared intensely at Damian's broken face. Her teeth were clenched and her fists too. "He told us enough. Now he can die." Hearing this, the man broke out in horror, "What!? Th-that's not fair!! Let me go! I told you everything!" But Rémi paused to take it all in. Her arm was still holding the fool up against the wall and the other arm held the sword that cut off the buffoon's hands. The apprentice was also right; they had everything they needed to move along, what good was it to keep him alive? But was it right for her to do it? No. The master looked to her student and saw the anger boiling inside. It had to be her that did it. Rémi took her own sword and poked it into the dirt before using both arms to lock the man in a full-nelson headlock. "W-what is this!? Come on!! I gave you all the answers! I won't tell anyone! Please!!"
But this was no longer a conversation between the three of them; it was now a dialogue between the master and the apprentice. They both tuned him out and looked to each other with solemn expressions. "Are you sure about this?" she asked for the one and only time. Erina nodded without hesitation. Rémi closed her eyes and sighed, "Finish it then." Behind her closed eyes, she could only hear the sound of the tiny one's blade swish in the air. The manic screams of the last gangster rang out in the smoggy city air until the woman felt the impact of the cold metal slice into his flesh and the panicked voice was gone forever.
Rémi released her arms and his body fell to the dirt in a crumble. She opened her eyes and saw Erina's bloody blade still dripping with the scarlet it had reaped. But importantly, she looked to her face and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. The elder walked up to her and silently hugged the little one, slowly brushing her hair as its little arms wrapped around her body. "It's okay. Let it out. Let it out..." A few more sniffles persisted before a tiny voice came out from between the embrace.
"I'll kill them. I'll kill them all..."
"First we have to find them...And then we will kill them all."
The sun finally set on Heretic Cabal as the streets turned grey and dark. In the silence, they finally left that blood soaked place and headed to the destination where their fate would be decided. In the darkness, they wandered and finally found the place they were promised. Large metalworking factory with a black iron fence...
In the shadows they hid and observed the motions of the guards just outside the gates. Rémi turned to her friend with a nervous smile, "You ready?" Little Erina inhaled, paused then breathed out a soft sigh. She looked up to her mentor with sharp eyes and a slight pout, "We don't really have a choice, do we?" The two sat in silence for a few seconds before returning their gaze to the target location. From the calm black void, the unsheathing of steel whispered in the wind.
Deep within the factory, among the hustle and bustle of churning metal, the man in the black suit sat at his throne. His domain was at the back of a wide walkway hovered right above the molten steel. He was freshly shaved, tan, with a whiff of cologne at the neck. His downcast eyes were typically a deep blue but in that moment they reflected nothing but sweet shining steel. The man's lips pulled back in a grin, just before he giggled to himself with a satisfied melody. "Can you believe it, Loras? I certainly can't. Even when I'm holding the thing, I still can't believe it's the real deal. A genuine Wazamono. Gods, where the hell did the old man fetch this from?"
The man in the black suit looked to his side and from the darkness emerged another figure dressed in similar fashion. His face was paler than milk, paler than moonlight, save for the burn scar he had on the left side of his face. From chin to brow ridge, the flesh was a sickly umber that refused to blend with the rest of his perfect complexion. The man known as Loras walked forth and began to fiddle with the white gloves veiling his hands, looking down at his superior as he did so. "I believe he stole it from the girl with the pink hair our men are looking for now."
A snort came from the chair. "A woman? You're telling me a woman held this? What kind of savage girl needs steel in her hands? The man should hold the steel, and the woman the sheath. Wouldn't you agree Loras? Fhahaha!" His acquaintance endured the poor joke in silence until the laughter subsided. The man in the black suit placed the steel at the side of his throne and leaned back with a sigh. "My first blade, a Wazamono. The old man truly loves me eh?"
Loras, who had been fiddling with his gloves up to this point, ceased his playing and turned to meet his superior in the eyes. The sitting man squinted at this challenge and hovered his hand over the shimmering steel. "Have you gone mad, Loras? Look away from me or suffer." But the pale tower continued to stare in opposition until the boy in the black suit couldn't take anymore. He rose up from his throne while holding onto the sword when suddenly an ivory palm struck out and slammed the child back into his seat. Loras unsheathed his own iron sword and held it to the throat of his superior. Through a toothy grin he venomously whispered, "Your father gave you that sword because you are weak. Because if you held the metal we use, you would be cut down by a mere pocket thief. The Boss doesn't love you, he pities your frailty and despises your arrogance....As do I." The lieutenant pocketed his blade, adjusted his glove and stepped back into the shadows behind the man in the black suit. As the boy breathed in and out, left completely speechless, Loras ended their talk with one final quip, "You may sit on the throne but it would be wise to learn your place now, Michael. Before it gets you killed."
Mike, now sweating from his face, seethed his teeth with anger and held the handle of his sword so tightly the skin turned white. He prepared to reply with a remark of his own when the factory filled with the familiar tune of a blaring alarm. The bells rang and the horns bellowed as Loras rushed past the throne without a word and exited out the door in a sprint. The son sat at his seat now alone and sweating from the heat of the molten steel around. At least, that was what he would tell the others if they saw him this way. In his isolation though, the weakling child felt the rage bubble inside him yet again. Who did this subordinate think he was to threaten the son of the boss? Loras was a nobody. A henchman. His plaything. Michael stood from his throne and held the claymore in both hands before swinging it wildly.
Metal clashed against metal as Rémi found herself facing against some real opponents. Behind the pink haired warrior were the bodies of the guards who heard nothing as she ambushed them from the darkness. Young Erina was not far behind her as she finished plunging her blade into the chest of the last watchmen. "You're getting the hang of this I see!" The mentor celebrated her student's progress with a jovial laugh just before disarming the man in front of her and slicing him from hip to collarbone. "And that's the last of them. What did that Damian say? At least a dozen guys? We're at...1, 3, 5, 9, 11. Who's our lucky number 12?" Erina chuckled at the morbid joke, which would've been far more innocuous had they not just slaughtered eleven men in cold blood.
The two wiped their blades clean for the fight that was to come and resumed sneaking into the shadows as they made their way to the open entrance. They flanked both sides of the aperture, Rémi on the right and Eri on the left. Both girls listened in for any alarming sound that was headed their way but when they heard nothing but the sound of the factory operating within, Rémi signaled and the two crept in.
Inside the foundry, the sight was like something that came out of Hell. From the second they made it in, the two began to cough from the smoke and were forced to look away from all the glowing molten steel pouring out of the crucibles. Young Erina who had lived in smog and shadow her entire life felt her eyes straining from the violent scene. Radiant, pulsing rivers of fire flowed from the ceiling into pools of bubbling inferno. Given that it was the night, all traces of light they could see came from the hellish flames rising from the dozens of vats sorted among the plant. Rémi squinted as her eyes focused and adjusted in this new setting. Despite the wicked realm they found themselves in, she chuckled to her little friend as if to lighten her up, "Hehehe, hey doesn't this feel like waking up and walking into a bright room?"
Erina simply looked to her teacher with confusion as it dawned upon the pinkhead that the child had been living in an abandoned warehouse for years. She swallowed her shame and whispered, "Nevermind..." The elder woman soon found that the light burned slightly less than it did before and began to roam her vision around the room to gain some bearings on where to head. In the eastern sector, nothing came of interest other than the scrap of metal that was to be melted down. She looked to the west and saw more tubs of molten steel awaiting to be reforged. They were standing at the northern entrance which left the only other option for entry to be...
"Pssst, over there." Erina looked up and saw Rémi's fingers pointing directly in front of them at the southern wall of the foundry. They exchanged nods and prepared to stealthily creep toward the target when voices emerged from behind them. Rémi's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh shit! There were more?" Without thinking, she dragged the little Erina and herself to the nearest corner against the western wall. They found a handful of barrels to hide behind and listened in on the commotion outside. "They must be the other men looking for you! Maybe they're here to change shifts." Rémi nodded in agreement, that's exactly what it seemed.
Outside the walls, the gangsters stuttered with alarm. "Wh-what the fuck is this?! Are they...are they dead? ALL of them?!" The two girls heard the sound of bodies shuffling and men gagging. "Oh god, they split the kid in half. Look at this shit, his guts are out and everything." The wet noise of vomit hitting the dirt sent a wave of disgust up Rémi's spine. Go away...Just go away and you'll live... But of course, life was never that easy or fortunate. One of the men hushed the others and among a whisper, Rémi could have sworn she heard the words "...footprints..." Her gray eyes looked to the dirt floor from where they entered the foundry and she saw two pairs of prints heading right to them. Her eyes closed. Fuck...
BEEEEEEP!!!! BEEEEEEP!!!!
EEEEEEHHH!!!! EEEEEHHH!!!!
EEEEEEHHH!!!! EEEEEHHH!!!!
"FUCK!" The two girls immediately jumped from their seats and took out their blades without hesitation. No words needed to be shared between them, they took off running toward the south wall in between columns of vats filled with the hot stuff. Rémi dashed forward coughing and dusting away the smoke from her eyes but to no avail. The air was thick with toxic vapors and the vibrant orange in addition to the blaring did not help her orientation. She looked to her left and saw Erina trailing close behind suffering from the same conditions they were in.
In this desperate time, the mentor reached out a hand to get her attention only to hear the familiar note of a gunshot right behind them. Instinctively, Rémi dived and ducked for cover as blips of grey shot past her in a frenzy. The master sighed before looking back to check on her apprentice. Through a small space found between two vats of melted steel, little Erina curled herself up into a ball to hide her presence. The woman smiled at her proactive thinking but this was no time to take things easy. They had jumped out of the frying pan into the lion's den on fire. "Goddamn cowards. I loathe firearms."
The hissing and jets of flame hid the subtle footsteps of the men approaching her. As they drew nearer, the alarm still played in the background, eliminating any possibility of Rémi deciphering their movements through the sense of audio. But this was not impossible, not for her anyway. She breathed in through her shirt to filter out the toxic fumes and psyched herself up for what she was about to do. Cmon girl...You invaded a Navy base and took down an officer in single combat...You fought against a Daibukai of the World Government...These guys are chumps...You can do this...I can do this...
Rémi looked at the iron blade she held at the ground and tilted it so the reflection revealed her attackers – only the three she heard outdoors stood in the hall of fire. Good. In the corner of her eye, she saw Erina copying her move and nodded to affirm their discovery. God you learn so fast. I wish I could I tell how you proud I am right now. She grinned and offered a thumbs up at the confident youngster who blushed with surprise before turning back to her sword.
The three stooges grew ever closer and were inspecting every single alley between the vessels. They were less than ten meters away, roughly two vats behind the one they were at now. If Rémi hadn't felt the heat until this point she was definitely feeling it now. Beads of sweat poured from her face down to her body until they formed puddles of mud at the base of her bottom. Her breath was growing heavier and louder which meant the men would know of their location before they even had to face them. Young Erina was doing quite alright for herself despite the circumstances but it was clear she was growing anxious by the second. The little girl was fidgeting with her blade and her legs shook violently with unease.
The reflection revealed the movements and the men were less than five meters away, enough distance for a point-blank shot. Rémi's heart raced as she braced herself. Her fingers tightened around the grip. She looked to her student. Erina held the blade to her shoulder and glared at the men just beyond her vision. They were ready. Stormy gray eyes looked to the sword again and the men were just behind her. Rémi nodded. The two prepared to jump right out to strike when suddenly -
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gunshots fired from the southern wall. Three dead men fell to the floor in a flat thud. Those stormy gray eyes peered into the darkness looking for answers. And from the shadows a man emerged with skin like liquid light. His face was half scorched and still healing yet the man expressed no pain. Instead he grinned at them a sickly, demented grin of white, ivory teeth. In his left hand was the gun, in his right hand the sword.
Rémi tried to raise her voice but was immediately cut off when the phantom in black tossed the gun aside and gestured to her and the child like it was a welcoming party. Her heart did not stop racing. His smile was cold and deceitful. "Pink woman. I have been expecting you."
Huh? Rémi paused and looked at the stranger from top to bottom, she looked Erina and the same perplexed grimace reflected back at her. "Do I...know you?" The pale one laughed to himself like a lunatic. As he did so, Erina slowly walked over to her mentor and hid behind her coat. "I really don't like that man..." The girl in pink agreed but he was the only thing between them and the southern entry. They'd have to face him and the more she knew of his intentions, the better equipped she'd be for this fight. "Enough games, you know why we're here?"
The man's cackling stopped but the grin on his face remained. His head tilted mechanically as he stared into their very beings. "You're here for your sword, aren't you? As for little Erina..." Rémi could feel the child's fingers squeeze against her thigh. She glared at him with the orange of fiery lava reflected in her eyes. "How do you know who she is?..." The man opened his mouth before a tiny voice sobbed from behind her. It was the girl. He paused and smiled so she could answer that very question. Rémi heard the child's sniffling, she felt the tears wetting her coat. Her eyes made their way back to the menace in white. What did you do to her, you son of a bitch?
A tiny finger rose up to point at the black phantom standing tall above them. "I-I remem-mem-member now. He's th-th-the one. Th-th-the one. Who killed mom and dad."
Rémi felt her fists clench like never before. Her teeth cracked as she saw the man laugh at this poor girl's pain. "Hoho, the name's Loras, my little Erina. And I can't take all the credit. I was simply the one to cut their throats and make you watch." Foam formed at the corners of Rémi's mouth as her vision turned red. She rose her free hand and pulled off her white Marine coat, exposing the hardened and built muscle she spent training for this moment. Every vein on her body popped out in a green bulky tendril, pumping her rage with every passing second. The man known as Loras took notice of this and his smile vanished instantly. "Yes. You feel that right? The fury. Vengeance. The drive to kill and slaughter anyone who stands between you and the one you must destroy. Well you have given me that purpose, Pinkwoman. When you killed my brother, Dodger."
The warrior woman paused after being taken aback by the claim. Dodger? She hadn't heard that name since she saved Erina a week prior. What did he have to do with her? "Dodger? I left that fool blind and bleeding but I didn't kill hi-"
"OH YES YOU HAVE!!!...
When our code dictates that failure means death,
and YOU deprived him of that success then yes my dear.
YOU killed him."
When our code dictates that failure means death,
and YOU deprived him of that success then yes my dear.
YOU killed him."
Rémi shook her head and spit on the ground. She took her sword and armed it with both hands just before glaring at him with her abyssal eyes of the storm. "And so what? Compared to what evil you've done, I'm a fucking saint. You are a monster, a demon among men and you will pay for what you've done to this poor girl!"
Loras dropped his head and his wicked giggling filled the infernal room with the sound of a devil's laugh. His hand, like a claw, spread itself upon his face. Meanwhile, his other hand slowly drew forth the serrated mirror hanging by his waist. "Two evils and two wrongs. What fortuitous irony is this? Fate has presented this opportunity to me, to satisfy my justice. It has obeyed my wishes and delivered you to me as promised. And I, to you." The iron blade escaped his sheath and the black suited phantom held the edge of light in his hand, the pen with which he would finish this story. "Come girl. Taste my rage. Taste oblivion." Loras soared into the air with blazing iron to accompany him. In the heat of the foundry, his violet wine eyes burned as brightly as a flambé. The cackling phantom dived and Rémi saw pure hatred in the maw.
The sword girl braced herself and spoke with power in her voice, "Erina, I know you're scared. I know what's he done to you. But never forget why you fight. Remember what you said you would do when we found them? Do you remember?!" Her gray hues looked down at the child's sobbing eyes when the whimpering ceased at the mention of their promise. Time passed slowly as the tears took time to fall. Among the towering pillars of ruined steel, the girl stood taller than anything the woman had ever seen. And in the chaos of flames and smoke, she was as placid as a still pond. Her tiny face looked to the woman before her and she recited those words again, "I'll....I'll kill them. I'll kill them all." Rémi beamed with pride and nodded. "Lead the way then my pupil, this is your vengeance."
The two swords-women walked forth and raised their tempered blades above their shoulders. From above, the descending demon wailed upon them with blazing ire.
"Why are you still here?"
Michael flinched at the sound of his father's voice. In front of his feet were the remains of his throne, hacked and slashed to pieces. He turned and saw his father at the threshold of his office, glaring down at him with arms crossed. "Father!...I...I only meant to test your gift an-"
"Why are you still here??"
The haughty son quivered and released his precious Wazamono onto the cold iron floor. He darted his eyes from the former throne, to the sword, to his father. "I...I don't understand, Loras has already left to intercept our intruders. I have been here making sure that we are sa-" A hard slap came forth and knocked the boy to the wall. He yelped in pain but he had suffered no true injury; instead he took his sweet time looking up at his enraged patriarch. As the old man walked closer, the trembling became more apparent. "Pl-please! What have I done?!"
The old man loomed over his feeble little son and grabbed him by the suit collar. "Nothing. You have done nothing. Nothing at all with the wealth I provided, the power I have granted, nor the sword I have gifted. You have made a mockery of my legacy and in turn have become less than nothing." He pulled then shoved Michael back into the wall where he yelped in pain again only this time with greater effect.
The Boss walked over to where Michael left the claymore and raised it up in his hands. It was unlike anything else in their inventory. They used crude, serrated iron blades that caught a fraction of the light in their dull sheen. Even in the hottest, brightest inferno like the steel plant they live in, the brilliant red and orange highlights became a dirty mustard. But not this beauty.
The Boss eyed the craftsmanship of the steel, how its mirror polish caught every single ray of light from its surroundings. Unlike their broadswords, this named blade was a classical claymore, with langets running down the length of the blade, giving its wide form dimension and depth. If he did not possess his own Ryo Wazamono, he would've kept it for himself rather than hand it to that ungrateful brat. Even better, he could have gifted it to Loras.
The mad lad was the best fighter among his men, perhaps even better than him if their swords were of equal quality. That was why despite his anger toward this lazy, pathetic son, he had complete faith that Loras would fulfill his duties and bring him the head of that wretched pink whore. And perhaps he would eliminate the last traces of that treasonous bloodline by killing that little girl once and for all.
A sad pitiful groan came from just behind him and the old man sighed an exasperated sigh. He spitefully turned his gaze only to see his miserable excuse of a son lying spread eagle against the wall. He spit at the boy's feet. "You disgust me. My own child. I should have given this blade to Loras, god knows he would put it to better use than you ever could." Just then, he heard the familiar pang of clashing swords ringing outside. His eyes glinted. "You hear that? That's how a real man fights, ya hear?! With cold iron and grit." He caressed the claymore in his rough hands like he were holding an infant. "When Loras brings me that girl's head, I'll reward him with this." Though the old man's muzzle was veiled in a thick moustache, it was clear by the way his hairs perked up that he was smiling. But the moment did not last for long as old Mikey cried out to his father, "No please! You gave that to me! I-I deserve it! I am your son!!"
The Boss growled yet again and glared with red eyes. "Deserve it? What have you done to deserve this? I took this from that woman with my own two hands and you're telling me I should just give it to you?! IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME?!" Michael stammered and refused to look his father in the eyes as he cowered on the floor. His fingers fidgeted about as he licked his lips to find the words. His old man was ready to turn around and forget the whole thing when he let out a meek "Yes?"
Silence engulfed the room save for the clanging of metal just outside the door. Michael breathed in and out heavily waiting for a response but saw his father simply standing there, petrified like a statue. He marked his hands against the wall and pushed himself up until he was standing on both feet. "D-dad?" The old man gave no answer. "Dad? Hello?" The boy in the black suit carefully strutted his way towards the Don, tiptoeing one foot after another until a hoarse voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "You want this sword, do you?" Being the oblivious type, Michael chuckled and smiled as he eased up his body for once. "Of course! Now hand it over, won't ya?"
The Boss raised his eyes at the disgraceful heir and bared his fangs. His hands tightly wrapped around the handle of the blade brought the massive claymore up into the air, looming over the boy. "If you want it, you can have it!!" The father slammed the blade down and easily cleaved through the iron wall like it was made of butter. Michael in the nick of time managed to evade the slash but was by no means tranquil in the mind. He kneeled off to the side with both hands on the floor. Sweat droplets fell from his face as if he were a water resort. His blue eyes looked back to the man who raised him, "A-are you crazy, old man!? I'm your son!" But the time for talk was over, the Boss raised his steel again and Michael screamed like a little girl. The claymore came down with a violent slice right down the middle of the hacked throne. Michael wailed with horror, "My chair!! No dad, not my chair! I can pay for the repairs!! Just don't do anymore!"
His father exploded with rage as he continued to swing the blade up and down, cutting through every surface his idiotic son stood on. "I'M TRYING TO KILL YOU AND YOU WORRY ABOUT A CHAIR!!!
FUCK IT ALL! LORAS WILL GIVE ME YOUR HEAD AS WELL!!" The two moved about the walkway in an erratic pattern as Michael would escape to a safe spot only for his father to come sprinting right behind him and slicing the floor in two. Eventually there was nowhere left to run and the two found themselves a few meters just from the entrance. Michael held onto the iron railing and pleaded with tears in his eyes, "Please father, I'll- I"ll be good from now on! I'll help Loras kill the Pink one and bring the girl Erina! I swear it!" Surprisingly, the old man's eyes closed and his body caved. A single hand held onto the claymore as it made its way back to the floor. His barreled chest drew in heavy breath after heavy breath and Michael realized how exhausted his father must have been. "Y-you are getting too old, father. Allow me to finish the j-job, I swear to you I will get it done...If I just uh. Have the sword." His old man's eyes opened at the suggestion and the boy gulped with dread. That single hand around the claymore lifted the giant sword off the ground until it was propped against his shoulder. Michael's eyes gleamed with hope that maybe his pleas had finally gotten to the old fart. He extended his hands as if to receive the gift once again. But the Boss looked at his son with a disgusted grimace and tightened his grip on the handle. "If you love this blade so much, then go fetch it!!" Without warning, the Don catapulted the claymore from his shoulder and shot the steel straight into the opposite wall, completely missing the halfwit it was meant to kill.
The boy stood for a moment, dazed and confused. His eyes went back and forth from the man he called father and the sword pierced within the wall. "I...I will make you proud, I swear it!" The Boss huffed to himself and got down on one knee, clutching his chest. His eyes had calmed down only slightly but the bloodthirsty rage was absent from his hues. "If you bring me the girl's head, I'll reconsider what I said. Now go." Michael bowed quickly and made his way for the claymore. The old man sighed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of nose and closing his eyes as he heard his son's footsteps against the grated walkway.
Clang clang clang cl-
Why had he stopped? He opened his eyes and saw the boy's silhouette just ready to pull out the sword he had planted. Why had he stopped? He sighed yet again. "Michael, what are you waiting for? Pull the thing out and get out there." For someone who had so fervently wanted the blade all this time, the son stood frozen in place with both hands hovering just off the hilt. His body turned with the speed of molasses and the man could see the sheer terror in his eyes. "Father...There are two of them." A look of confusion came over the patriarch as he got to both feet and walked closer. "What are you talking about? I only see the one you're holding onto right n-" And that was when he saw them.
Jutting out from the other side of that wall were two rusty iron blades painted in blood. He froze. And as he froze, he saw them shrink until the last droplets of blood dribbled down the iron wall. They fell into the vat of fire and he heard the hissing of scarlet mist fill the demented air. Michael's jaw quivered as he choked on his words, "W-what's ha-happening??" His father ignored the desperate inquiry and stepped back as he saw two pairs of shadowy feet emerge from below the door. "What the fuck is this..."
They stood before the threshold, panting and sweating while the blood dripped down their skin. Fire still poured from the crucibles behind them and the machines did not stop whirring away to ease up the chaos of this moment. It was so hot and loud and even now the ringing in their ears would not fade away. BEEP!! BEEP!! rang the alarm in the distance. Rémi respired with exasperation. "God I wish someone would shut that thing off."
A hearty laugh came from the young woman next to her. The master turned to look at her pupil and was so proud that she no longer saw a child, no longer saw a little girl. Erina stood tall and confident as even with countless scars decorating her once perfect skin, she held herself together to the end. Rémi smirked and brought her crimson soaked arm around the lass and embraced her in a hug. "You did it. You killed that bastard." The tiny one raised a brow and playfully punched her mentor in the ribs, "We did it, dummy~" The two snickered together and hugged once more. Rémi looked to the last gate standing in front of them. "We're almost done. You think we got enough for one last showdown?" Erina looked up at her master then stared down at the floor. The pale faced demon in the black suit sat motionless as the river of blood poured out from his chest. The young woman smiled as she looked to the door, following her master's lead. "Yeah, I definitely got one more in me." They breathed in and gave each other a wink,
"Kill them all?" "Kill them all."
Rémi kicked in the door and the iron gate slammed open to reveal the two inside. One skinny, scared, pretty boy and...him. Her fist clenched around that rusty weapon. "Long time no see, old timer."
The wrinkly old fart she had met all those days ago stood at the center of the walkway flanked by cascades of flowing fire. He stared at her through those grayish blue eyes. His moustache dipped in a frown. "Pink one. What have you done to Loras?..."
She slid her lips back in a smirk and sharpened her eyes with a glare. "When we're done with you, go and ask him yourself." The short partner at her side growled at the ready. Her rusty edge captured the orange glows from the flames around them. "You die today, Boss Vito." Rémi gestured to the young lass and playfully raised both brows, "You heard the lady...But first, where is my sword?"
Knowing the tension that his pitch black blade brought to the room, Vito paced about from railing to railing never taking his eyes off the two women. He paused and held his fingers at eye level as if he meant to crush them in his hands. "You presume to command me in my home.. Fools...It was my assumption that those minions would prove far inferior in the face of your tactics."
Rémi scoffed and flexed her arm unashamedly. "You sent them to be killed. Even when you knew we would win...I fail to see the logic here." She matched his dull blue gaze with her cloudy vision, "Were their lives the price to pay for our reunion?" Erina spit at the grated floor and listened as the heat sizzled it away instantaneously. "Monster."
Boss Vito chortled and advanced slowly toward them as the boy stayed behind and peered with nervous eyes. "Women, you are but stubborn and foolish. A journey through Hell and you come away with delusions of hope and safety. Hah! A fact that tickles irony's judgement." The old man was stocky and short yet the way he walked about the grated floor created no semblance of noise. The black blade he held only slightly grazed against the iron and scratched an eerie, unpleasant note. The boy behind him cringed but the two women did not budge.
Rémi sighed and shook her head, this little drama had played its course. "Enough. Your words only delay the inevitable. Now before Erina receives her justice, I have come for mine." In a flash, the sculpted warrior unsheathed two swords from her waist, one covered in rust and the other bathed in a milky luster - it was Loras' saber. Vito's reaction to the reveal only served to amuse the pink soldier. She aimed both razors at his stocky, fat body and roared louder than the fiery jets blasting through the foundry, "I have come to reclaim! What is rightfully mine!!"
The Old man's bushy 'stache parted to reveal a rotten grin, full of blackened teeth and empty slots. His immense blade slashed through the air as its tip fixed upon his bastard son holding the woman's steel. "GLÓIRSTAR!" The boy turned white as he realized all attention was on him. Vito looked to his adversary with renewed resentment. "That is what you seek!! And that is why I wait in your path!!!" With the announcement of those last words, The Boss directed his pointed edge towards the two who opposed him.
A sinister smile overtook the brawny duelist as she removed her white coat from her shoulders one last time. The men shared the jubilant sentiment the moment he witnessed how many cuts and bruises Loras had delivered onto his enemy. Her skin was covered from neck to knee in tiny but bloody lines and the sight caused him to howl with amusement. Rémi dragged her right foot back and joined in on the party, "Hahahahaha!!! You will fumble in your opposition of my quest!!"
Beside her though, the young one stepped back. A pause occurred between the fighters. For a split second, both Boss and Mentor conveyed confusion in lieu of animosity. "Eri?" But the young woman simply smiled and put down her sword. She shook her head and waved to Vito. "This is not my fight, Miss Rémi. Now is the time for your vengeance."
The sword girl looked to her pupil and noticed for the first time that her eyes were brown. No cloudy skies, no damp warehouse could hide those beautiful brown eyes of her anymore. The shadows of her monsters haunted her no longer, Erina was truly free. Rémi's pink lips peeled back as a single bead dripped down her cheek. "Thank you...I'll make this quick. And then we can go home."
"Home?!" cried the aging dwarf. "The last thing you will see is my blade running through your neck! Gods, I have been waiting long enough!! Pinkwoman, Erina! Your corpses shall hang here forever!!! " Without waiting for the two warriors to finish their moment, Vito charged into the fray. And Rémi with a cold sneer on her face soon followed.
The two sprinted full speed toward the center of the walkway and clashed their blades in a violent explosion. The shockwave alone sent Michael and Erina tumbling away from the collision and the iron rails themselves bent from the force. Without waiting though, the two continued to smash their metal arms against one another. Black met rust and silver in an unholy crash and the orange sparks danced in the hellfire. Rémi cut across but found only darkness shielding her enemy. The man cut right and the girl moved to parry. He shoved the lightless comet into her ribs until she was forced to jump away. He quickly moved forward in a dash and brought the sword down on her as she recovered.
Rémi grunted under the weight of the enormous claymore. Its width exceeded even that of both her blades and its sharpness was unreal. The rust on the surface of her inferior arm began to give under the cleave of Vito's edge. Nonetheless she held her ground and moved her blades into a cross guard.
The old man's knuckles grew hot and white as he forced the ebony titan down harder and harder. Rémi struggled until she felt the mass balance on both her blades. She flexed her thighs and bulged her arms before pushing up and screaming with fervor. Vito's face turned as he felt his weapon slowly rising up into the air. Another impassioned scream filled the smog and smoke.
Against his wishes, Vito's obsidian monolith shot up above his head. The man's eyes bulged as the sculptured woman turned her edges against him and sliced in a clean cross motion, branding him from clavicle to abdomen in two swift strokes. Crimson life water fountained out from his torso and the man screamed with pain.
"FATHER!!" cried the young man who had been hiding in the corner. His outburst stole Rémi's attention for only a moment but the distraction provided sufficient time for the Don's recovery. Without missing a beat, the old man thrust his right hand and clutched the girl's flannel collar tight in his leathery strong hands. Her wide cloudy eyes said it all. Vito threw his head back a few inches before rocketing his thick skull right into the girl's nose.
An audible CRACK roamed the hellish halls before it returned to a blaring, infernal nightmare. Vito stepped back and exhaled immensely, grabbing onto his chest for dear life. Rémi stepped back and fell to one knee. A splatter of blood fell before it sizzled at her feet.
"MISS RÉMI!!" The muscled fighter groaned into her palm. Her vision went red only this time not out of rage. She felt the warmth pooling up in her fingers and dripping down her arm. Then, a shadow crept its way toward her. She forced herself to look up and swiftly grabbed the iron blade with her left hand.
Vito did not hesitate for a second. The Boss used both grips to swing the mighty blade down right at the woman's shoulder. She saw it coming and with a single arm held that rusty thing up to defend herself. Erina screamed in the distance. The boy in black cheered. Vito's claymore came down hard and the rusty blade shattered into pieces. Ebony cleaved into Rémi's shoulder and her left arm went limp over the cold steel.
The old man giggled with satisfaction. She saw his dull blue eyes laughing at her. She felt the edge carving her flesh effortlessly. Her legs went numb. She heard Erina. She heard her crying. Rémi's blood poured out in a river. Her palm shivered as it held the bones of her nose together. Her panicked gray hues looked down. There sat the other blade. But her left arm felt frigid. And the other plugged the bleeding. She heard Erina's cries again. Her palm shook. Beneath the blood, her teeth bared. The woman's arm swelled and the quivering was no more. Rémi pierced the old fool with bolts of madness brewing in her eyes. Vito's smile vanished.
Her bloodstained hand sunk down to the floor and seized Loras' saber with haste. Vito recognized her action and quickly pulled on his sword...It did not budge. The Don looked at her limp arm. He gasped with despair. Her undying grasp held tight to the black cleaver. "Impossible..." Rémi roared with unbridled fury, her face painted crimson. The pink beast thrust the moon skinned man's glowing steel into the heart of Old Boss Vito. His breath blasted out in one violent ejection and the monster fell to both knees, releasing the deathly sable from his grip. Once again a voice called out from the edges, "FATHEERR!!!" The boy fell to his knees in tears.
Rémi loosed her dead arm and allowed the claymore to escape her clutches. The thing fell into a slam that sent the whole walkway shaking. She trembled for a moment but climbed onto both feet and watched as Vito choked on his blood. The old man scurried off to the railing like some desperate insect, clinging onto however many seconds it had in its life. She would have smiled if not for the pain. Tiny footsteps approached her from behind until the young lass was right beside her bawling her eyes out. "Miss Rémi! I'm so sorry! I should've helped you! I'm so sorry!" The mentor smiled. Even under all that blood.
"Hehe. I'm alright. Just need a day's rest is all...Erina?" Her pupil looked up to her with freshly moistened eyes. "Could you fetch my sword for me? I don't think that boy has any use for it anymore." The young woman nodded and made her way to the broken son, still sobbing like an infant. Rémi smiled one last time before facing the stocky old dwarf before her.
He was still alive somehow, holding on to that last thread of life before he croaked. She respected his resilience, at least. But now was the time for justice. She removed the saber from Vito's chest and threw it into the molten steel. No one needs your filth anymore. He choked as the blade left his wound open and further blood ran down his body. The battered beast then bent down and wrapped her hand around the troublesome sword behind all this agony. "Heavy fucking thing aren't you?" She was forced to wield the thing with just one hand but was capable enough to raise it up and lay it atop the old fool's chest. He still breathed but his eyes had gone pure silver.
Vito barely sighed when Rémi entered into his view. The old man was finished. "I should have killed you the first time we met..." She couldn't help but laugh, albeit slightly due to her wounds. Her hand pressed the claymore and felt the bone separate like she was carving into gelatin. A guttural sound left Vito's lips. "But you didn't...And now here we are. Funny how hesitation works out huh?" The Don gulped while still staring through his undead lenses. Rémi scowled. She wanted him to beg. After all they had fought for, she deserved to hear his meaningless pleas. "Any last words?" Yet the man stayed silent. Rémi exhaled. Her arm tensed up and began to dig into his flesh. She enjoyed this. The steel went deeper. Vito gurgled. And that was when she heard the gunshot.
Those grey eyes widened to their fullest. When she looked to the side, she saw the boy holding the gun in one hand and her Glóirstar in the other. Under her blade, her precious blade, lied little Erina. The poor girl bled from her knee and was curled into a ball. Rémi froze.
"Get away from my father or the little bitch dies."
Rémi couldn't breathe. She stared so long her eyes began to dry. The old man guffawed while drowning in his fluids. "Kill her Michael! Avenge me, my boy!!" Rémi turned to shut him up but her throat stuck at the core. Her hand shook. The blade was too heavy.
"Did you hear me!? I said get away from him or I'll kill your friend!!"
Rémi felt her heart. It thundered within her bust. What do I do?!....What...What do I do!? She darted her eyes from Michael to Vito, absolutely torn between two choices. She felt her grip loosening on the handle and took one foot away from the dying father. I-I...I have to. I can't just...Eri. I can't let her.
From the son's direction, a whimper called to her. Rémi looked to her. Erina looked back. Her tiny hand stretched out covered in blood. The master felt her strength drain away from her. Water welled up in her view. "Eri...no."
"Miss...Rémi..." Michael looked down and shot his gun beside her fragile head. "Not another word, you bitch!" Rémi bit her lip until the skin broke. But her hand was still ready to leave Vito's chest. She had one foot off the ground just about to step back. Then Erina smiled and winked to her teacher. The woman blinked.
"AGHHHH!!" Blood spewed from Michael's thigh as Erina brought forth her sword in an upwards slice. The girl rolled to avoid his jab and screamed with her tiny lungs, "KILL HIM, MISSUS RÉMI!!"
The muscled warrior clutched the handle with her right hand and shoved the blade all the way into Vito's chest. As he died, the old man held onto the black steel he cherished for so long. Rémi spun her face to cheer with her student. Until she saw the blood.
Michael's hands drove the claymore straight through Erina's belly. Her little brown beads had gone black. And the scarlet mist wrapped around her fragile frame.
Rémi exploded.
Her left hand – soaked in the stench of drying blood – swept up and crushed the claymore handle with a crunch.
She ripped the blade straight from Vito's belly, spilling his contents all over the iron grid.
She stomped her feet in a mad sprint, holding the bloody steel by her eyes.
Droplets of death showered over her manic face as her skin turned to a sickly violet.
Michael jumped back in terror. He removed the sword and cried for mercy.
But the pink demon blasted through the petrified child and slashed with all her might.
The sound of a wet plop followed the silence.
And the blade followed after.
.....
.....
.....
Rémi dropped to her knees beside the young Erina. She held the girl's head in her hand and felt the warmth still dormant in her flesh. The woman choked and sobbed. She was alive.
Those brown beads blinked and began to glow again. They rose up to look at their gentle master. "...Missus...Rémi..." A finger came over the girl's lips. Rémi smiled brokenly as her tears fell to Erina's cheeks. "Shhh...Save your strength." Erina's warm grin broke her heart. "...H e h e...did we...did we win?" The pink one sniffled while maintaining that smile. "Yeah!...yeah...we won...you finally avenged your parents."
Erina suddenly coughed and a splatter of blood came out from her lips. Rémi's smile wavered at the sight. She took the girl's head in her hands and tried to stand up. "Wait..." came a whisper. The mentor was confused. "Wh-what do you mean wait? I'm getting you to a hospital!!" But the child lifted her hand with what little strength she had and gently laid it down on her guardian. Rémi closed her eyes and set her body down. Erina looked to the ceiling but it was clear that she was watching for the stars. She began to speak but it was so faint the woman knelt down to her mouth to hear. Tell me, my dear... Her voice cracked.
"...For 2 years, I've been running...
So alone...so scared...
Rémi kicked in the door and the iron gate slammed open to reveal the two inside. One skinny, scared, pretty boy and...him. Her fist clenched around that rusty weapon. "Long time no see, old timer."
The wrinkly old fart she had met all those days ago stood at the center of the walkway flanked by cascades of flowing fire. He stared at her through those grayish blue eyes. His moustache dipped in a frown. "Pink one. What have you done to Loras?..."
She slid her lips back in a smirk and sharpened her eyes with a glare. "When we're done with you, go and ask him yourself." The short partner at her side growled at the ready. Her rusty edge captured the orange glows from the flames around them. "You die today, Boss Vito." Rémi gestured to the young lass and playfully raised both brows, "You heard the lady...But first, where is my sword?"
....
He he he he he.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
To the surprise of everyone else in that room, old man Vito threw himself back and cackled out loudly. The boy in the black suit beside him took several steps away out of fear. Even Rémi squinted with a perplexed glaze in her sullen eyes. And that was when from behind the old man, she saw a glint of familiar silver that her eyes could never forget. "Glóirstar..." Without thinking, the pink haired woman walked forward in a daze when Erina's tiny hand pulled her back to earth. Rémi felt prepared to retort when the young one's index finger pointed in the direction of Vito's hands. "Look." She turned back and saw in his possession another claymore, black as death and sharper than steel. "Oh..."He he he he he.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
Knowing the tension that his pitch black blade brought to the room, Vito paced about from railing to railing never taking his eyes off the two women. He paused and held his fingers at eye level as if he meant to crush them in his hands. "You presume to command me in my home.. Fools...It was my assumption that those minions would prove far inferior in the face of your tactics."
Rémi scoffed and flexed her arm unashamedly. "You sent them to be killed. Even when you knew we would win...I fail to see the logic here." She matched his dull blue gaze with her cloudy vision, "Were their lives the price to pay for our reunion?" Erina spit at the grated floor and listened as the heat sizzled it away instantaneously. "Monster."
Boss Vito chortled and advanced slowly toward them as the boy stayed behind and peered with nervous eyes. "Women, you are but stubborn and foolish. A journey through Hell and you come away with delusions of hope and safety. Hah! A fact that tickles irony's judgement." The old man was stocky and short yet the way he walked about the grated floor created no semblance of noise. The black blade he held only slightly grazed against the iron and scratched an eerie, unpleasant note. The boy behind him cringed but the two women did not budge.
Rémi sighed and shook her head, this little drama had played its course. "Enough. Your words only delay the inevitable. Now before Erina receives her justice, I have come for mine." In a flash, the sculpted warrior unsheathed two swords from her waist, one covered in rust and the other bathed in a milky luster - it was Loras' saber. Vito's reaction to the reveal only served to amuse the pink soldier. She aimed both razors at his stocky, fat body and roared louder than the fiery jets blasting through the foundry, "I have come to reclaim! What is rightfully mine!!"
The Old man's bushy 'stache parted to reveal a rotten grin, full of blackened teeth and empty slots. His immense blade slashed through the air as its tip fixed upon his bastard son holding the woman's steel. "GLÓIRSTAR!" The boy turned white as he realized all attention was on him. Vito looked to his adversary with renewed resentment. "That is what you seek!! And that is why I wait in your path!!!" With the announcement of those last words, The Boss directed his pointed edge towards the two who opposed him.
A sinister smile overtook the brawny duelist as she removed her white coat from her shoulders one last time. The men shared the jubilant sentiment the moment he witnessed how many cuts and bruises Loras had delivered onto his enemy. Her skin was covered from neck to knee in tiny but bloody lines and the sight caused him to howl with amusement. Rémi dragged her right foot back and joined in on the party, "Hahahahaha!!! You will fumble in your opposition of my quest!!"
Beside her though, the young one stepped back. A pause occurred between the fighters. For a split second, both Boss and Mentor conveyed confusion in lieu of animosity. "Eri?" But the young woman simply smiled and put down her sword. She shook her head and waved to Vito. "This is not my fight, Miss Rémi. Now is the time for your vengeance."
The sword girl looked to her pupil and noticed for the first time that her eyes were brown. No cloudy skies, no damp warehouse could hide those beautiful brown eyes of her anymore. The shadows of her monsters haunted her no longer, Erina was truly free. Rémi's pink lips peeled back as a single bead dripped down her cheek. "Thank you...I'll make this quick. And then we can go home."
"Home?!" cried the aging dwarf. "The last thing you will see is my blade running through your neck! Gods, I have been waiting long enough!! Pinkwoman, Erina! Your corpses shall hang here forever!!! " Without waiting for the two warriors to finish their moment, Vito charged into the fray. And Rémi with a cold sneer on her face soon followed.
The two sprinted full speed toward the center of the walkway and clashed their blades in a violent explosion. The shockwave alone sent Michael and Erina tumbling away from the collision and the iron rails themselves bent from the force. Without waiting though, the two continued to smash their metal arms against one another. Black met rust and silver in an unholy crash and the orange sparks danced in the hellfire. Rémi cut across but found only darkness shielding her enemy. The man cut right and the girl moved to parry. He shoved the lightless comet into her ribs until she was forced to jump away. He quickly moved forward in a dash and brought the sword down on her as she recovered.
Rémi grunted under the weight of the enormous claymore. Its width exceeded even that of both her blades and its sharpness was unreal. The rust on the surface of her inferior arm began to give under the cleave of Vito's edge. Nonetheless she held her ground and moved her blades into a cross guard.
The old man's knuckles grew hot and white as he forced the ebony titan down harder and harder. Rémi struggled until she felt the mass balance on both her blades. She flexed her thighs and bulged her arms before pushing up and screaming with fervor. Vito's face turned as he felt his weapon slowly rising up into the air. Another impassioned scream filled the smog and smoke.
Against his wishes, Vito's obsidian monolith shot up above his head. The man's eyes bulged as the sculptured woman turned her edges against him and sliced in a clean cross motion, branding him from clavicle to abdomen in two swift strokes. Crimson life water fountained out from his torso and the man screamed with pain.
"FATHER!!" cried the young man who had been hiding in the corner. His outburst stole Rémi's attention for only a moment but the distraction provided sufficient time for the Don's recovery. Without missing a beat, the old man thrust his right hand and clutched the girl's flannel collar tight in his leathery strong hands. Her wide cloudy eyes said it all. Vito threw his head back a few inches before rocketing his thick skull right into the girl's nose.
An audible CRACK roamed the hellish halls before it returned to a blaring, infernal nightmare. Vito stepped back and exhaled immensely, grabbing onto his chest for dear life. Rémi stepped back and fell to one knee. A splatter of blood fell before it sizzled at her feet.
"MISS RÉMI!!" The muscled fighter groaned into her palm. Her vision went red only this time not out of rage. She felt the warmth pooling up in her fingers and dripping down her arm. Then, a shadow crept its way toward her. She forced herself to look up and swiftly grabbed the iron blade with her left hand.
Vito did not hesitate for a second. The Boss used both grips to swing the mighty blade down right at the woman's shoulder. She saw it coming and with a single arm held that rusty thing up to defend herself. Erina screamed in the distance. The boy in black cheered. Vito's claymore came down hard and the rusty blade shattered into pieces. Ebony cleaved into Rémi's shoulder and her left arm went limp over the cold steel.
The old man giggled with satisfaction. She saw his dull blue eyes laughing at her. She felt the edge carving her flesh effortlessly. Her legs went numb. She heard Erina. She heard her crying. Rémi's blood poured out in a river. Her palm shivered as it held the bones of her nose together. Her panicked gray hues looked down. There sat the other blade. But her left arm felt frigid. And the other plugged the bleeding. She heard Erina's cries again. Her palm shook. Beneath the blood, her teeth bared. The woman's arm swelled and the quivering was no more. Rémi pierced the old fool with bolts of madness brewing in her eyes. Vito's smile vanished.
Her bloodstained hand sunk down to the floor and seized Loras' saber with haste. Vito recognized her action and quickly pulled on his sword...It did not budge. The Don looked at her limp arm. He gasped with despair. Her undying grasp held tight to the black cleaver. "Impossible..." Rémi roared with unbridled fury, her face painted crimson. The pink beast thrust the moon skinned man's glowing steel into the heart of Old Boss Vito. His breath blasted out in one violent ejection and the monster fell to both knees, releasing the deathly sable from his grip. Once again a voice called out from the edges, "FATHEERR!!!" The boy fell to his knees in tears.
Rémi loosed her dead arm and allowed the claymore to escape her clutches. The thing fell into a slam that sent the whole walkway shaking. She trembled for a moment but climbed onto both feet and watched as Vito choked on his blood. The old man scurried off to the railing like some desperate insect, clinging onto however many seconds it had in its life. She would have smiled if not for the pain. Tiny footsteps approached her from behind until the young lass was right beside her bawling her eyes out. "Miss Rémi! I'm so sorry! I should've helped you! I'm so sorry!" The mentor smiled. Even under all that blood.
"Hehe. I'm alright. Just need a day's rest is all...Erina?" Her pupil looked up to her with freshly moistened eyes. "Could you fetch my sword for me? I don't think that boy has any use for it anymore." The young woman nodded and made her way to the broken son, still sobbing like an infant. Rémi smiled one last time before facing the stocky old dwarf before her.
He was still alive somehow, holding on to that last thread of life before he croaked. She respected his resilience, at least. But now was the time for justice. She removed the saber from Vito's chest and threw it into the molten steel. No one needs your filth anymore. He choked as the blade left his wound open and further blood ran down his body. The battered beast then bent down and wrapped her hand around the troublesome sword behind all this agony. "Heavy fucking thing aren't you?" She was forced to wield the thing with just one hand but was capable enough to raise it up and lay it atop the old fool's chest. He still breathed but his eyes had gone pure silver.
Vito barely sighed when Rémi entered into his view. The old man was finished. "I should have killed you the first time we met..." She couldn't help but laugh, albeit slightly due to her wounds. Her hand pressed the claymore and felt the bone separate like she was carving into gelatin. A guttural sound left Vito's lips. "But you didn't...And now here we are. Funny how hesitation works out huh?" The Don gulped while still staring through his undead lenses. Rémi scowled. She wanted him to beg. After all they had fought for, she deserved to hear his meaningless pleas. "Any last words?" Yet the man stayed silent. Rémi exhaled. Her arm tensed up and began to dig into his flesh. She enjoyed this. The steel went deeper. Vito gurgled. And that was when she heard the gunshot.
Those grey eyes widened to their fullest. When she looked to the side, she saw the boy holding the gun in one hand and her Glóirstar in the other. Under her blade, her precious blade, lied little Erina. The poor girl bled from her knee and was curled into a ball. Rémi froze.
"Get away from my father or the little bitch dies."
Rémi couldn't breathe. She stared so long her eyes began to dry. The old man guffawed while drowning in his fluids. "Kill her Michael! Avenge me, my boy!!" Rémi turned to shut him up but her throat stuck at the core. Her hand shook. The blade was too heavy.
"Did you hear me!? I said get away from him or I'll kill your friend!!"
Rémi felt her heart. It thundered within her bust. What do I do?!....What...What do I do!? She darted her eyes from Michael to Vito, absolutely torn between two choices. She felt her grip loosening on the handle and took one foot away from the dying father. I-I...I have to. I can't just...Eri. I can't let her.
From the son's direction, a whimper called to her. Rémi looked to her. Erina looked back. Her tiny hand stretched out covered in blood. The master felt her strength drain away from her. Water welled up in her view. "Eri...no."
"Miss...Rémi..." Michael looked down and shot his gun beside her fragile head. "Not another word, you bitch!" Rémi bit her lip until the skin broke. But her hand was still ready to leave Vito's chest. She had one foot off the ground just about to step back. Then Erina smiled and winked to her teacher. The woman blinked.
"AGHHHH!!" Blood spewed from Michael's thigh as Erina brought forth her sword in an upwards slice. The girl rolled to avoid his jab and screamed with her tiny lungs, "KILL HIM, MISSUS RÉMI!!"
The muscled warrior clutched the handle with her right hand and shoved the blade all the way into Vito's chest. As he died, the old man held onto the black steel he cherished for so long. Rémi spun her face to cheer with her student. Until she saw the blood.
Michael's hands drove the claymore straight through Erina's belly. Her little brown beads had gone black. And the scarlet mist wrapped around her fragile frame.
Rémi exploded.
Her left hand – soaked in the stench of drying blood – swept up and crushed the claymore handle with a crunch.
She ripped the blade straight from Vito's belly, spilling his contents all over the iron grid.
She stomped her feet in a mad sprint, holding the bloody steel by her eyes.
Droplets of death showered over her manic face as her skin turned to a sickly violet.
Michael jumped back in terror. He removed the sword and cried for mercy.
But the pink demon blasted through the petrified child and slashed with all her might.
The sound of a wet plop followed the silence.
And the blade followed after.
.....
.....
.....
Rémi dropped to her knees beside the young Erina. She held the girl's head in her hand and felt the warmth still dormant in her flesh. The woman choked and sobbed. She was alive.
Those brown beads blinked and began to glow again. They rose up to look at their gentle master. "...Missus...Rémi..." A finger came over the girl's lips. Rémi smiled brokenly as her tears fell to Erina's cheeks. "Shhh...Save your strength." Erina's warm grin broke her heart. "...H e h e...did we...did we win?" The pink one sniffled while maintaining that smile. "Yeah!...yeah...we won...you finally avenged your parents."
Erina suddenly coughed and a splatter of blood came out from her lips. Rémi's smile wavered at the sight. She took the girl's head in her hands and tried to stand up. "Wait..." came a whisper. The mentor was confused. "Wh-what do you mean wait? I'm getting you to a hospital!!" But the child lifted her hand with what little strength she had and gently laid it down on her guardian. Rémi closed her eyes and set her body down. Erina looked to the ceiling but it was clear that she was watching for the stars. She began to speak but it was so faint the woman knelt down to her mouth to hear. Tell me, my dear... Her voice cracked.
"...For 2 years, I've been running...
So alone...so scared...
I never had anyone I could rely on...
No one to turn to..."
Her fading brown hues longingly looked into those raining clouds. She managed a weak smile. The two held each other's hands tightly. "Hehehe . . . When I first saw you, I thought you were some drunk farmer marine." Rémi tried her best to laugh but her lips just couldn't stop quivering. She lowered her head into her student's chest.
"When you saved my life, I knew you were a hero..." The little one's hand hugged hers so strong. A single tear formed in the girl's eyes. She let out a whimper, "I'm so sorry you couldn't save me this time." Rémi rose up from her prayer. "NO!! Don't say that! Pl...please don't say that to me, Eri." Her fingers squeezed the youngling's palm so tightly it could burst. "You can't die, remember? Your daddy needs you to be here for him. Keep him in your memories Eri, keep him alive!"
Erina's face glowed even as the life left her in a torrent of roses. She brought her hand to her friend's cheek and wiped the tear away. "It's okay Miss...I'm going to see him again...My work is done now. I can go home." Her heart sank. She closed her eyes in defeat. There was nothing more she could do. Well, one last request.
Her head dropped to the floor as an act of appeal. The tears had run out but the pain remained. "Then please...fight it for me...Keep my memory alive as I will keep yours." Erina gasped so meekly and the guardian shot up in alarm. Blood was trickling down her chin and her smiled had faded. Her whisper became a ghost and forced the mentor to bide by her lips. Rémi waited seconds that felt like years until Erina's last words echoed through her mind.
"After all the time we've known each other...Miss Rémi. I still never understood one thing... What do you want to be remembered for? Fame, glory, love?...Tell me your dreams and maybe I'll..." Her hand went limp.
Rémi sat there without another word. She took the babe in her arms and carried her as she would a child. Her other hand reached out and grabbed ahold of the two swords. She stood and walked past the two bodies. As she neared the door, a slump hit her step. She looked down and saw her white coat of justice. Her expression then shifted to the side of the railing, where the hellfire bubbled and boiled.
She held that coat above the pit and dropped it in without hesitation. She watched as the pale fabric burst into flames and scattered to ashes. As her hand hovered over the red pool, her eye landed upon the work gloves equipped to her hands. Some drunk farmer marine... She tore them off and threw them in with the coat. Her hand dropped the blades and ripped the holster that held her liquor for so many years. A third splash went into the drain. Rémi sniffled over the edge. A fourth splash. She moved to the door.
In the darkness, the fighter moved past the columns of light and the fields of smoke. She carried the reminders of her shame on that trek beyond the nightmare. In the distance she saw the hints of a sun rising. Her wounds burned and her bones cracked. But through the fire and the flames she carried on.
The morning never felt so warm.
Outside the hospital walls, birds chirped and danced in the glorious sun.
No one to turn to..."
Her fading brown hues longingly looked into those raining clouds. She managed a weak smile. The two held each other's hands tightly. "Hehehe . . . When I first saw you, I thought you were some drunk farmer marine." Rémi tried her best to laugh but her lips just couldn't stop quivering. She lowered her head into her student's chest.
"When you saved my life, I knew you were a hero..." The little one's hand hugged hers so strong. A single tear formed in the girl's eyes. She let out a whimper, "I'm so sorry you couldn't save me this time." Rémi rose up from her prayer. "NO!! Don't say that! Pl...please don't say that to me, Eri." Her fingers squeezed the youngling's palm so tightly it could burst. "You can't die, remember? Your daddy needs you to be here for him. Keep him in your memories Eri, keep him alive!"
Erina's face glowed even as the life left her in a torrent of roses. She brought her hand to her friend's cheek and wiped the tear away. "It's okay Miss...I'm going to see him again...My work is done now. I can go home." Her heart sank. She closed her eyes in defeat. There was nothing more she could do. Well, one last request.
Her head dropped to the floor as an act of appeal. The tears had run out but the pain remained. "Then please...fight it for me...Keep my memory alive as I will keep yours." Erina gasped so meekly and the guardian shot up in alarm. Blood was trickling down her chin and her smiled had faded. Her whisper became a ghost and forced the mentor to bide by her lips. Rémi waited seconds that felt like years until Erina's last words echoed through her mind.
"After all the time we've known each other...Miss Rémi. I still never understood one thing... What do you want to be remembered for? Fame, glory, love?...Tell me your dreams and maybe I'll..." Her hand went limp.
Rémi sat there without another word. She took the babe in her arms and carried her as she would a child. Her other hand reached out and grabbed ahold of the two swords. She stood and walked past the two bodies. As she neared the door, a slump hit her step. She looked down and saw her white coat of justice. Her expression then shifted to the side of the railing, where the hellfire bubbled and boiled.
She held that coat above the pit and dropped it in without hesitation. She watched as the pale fabric burst into flames and scattered to ashes. As her hand hovered over the red pool, her eye landed upon the work gloves equipped to her hands. Some drunk farmer marine... She tore them off and threw them in with the coat. Her hand dropped the blades and ripped the holster that held her liquor for so many years. A third splash went into the drain. Rémi sniffled over the edge. A fourth splash. She moved to the door.
In the darkness, the fighter moved past the columns of light and the fields of smoke. She carried the reminders of her shame on that trek beyond the nightmare. In the distance she saw the hints of a sun rising. Her wounds burned and her bones cracked. But through the fire and the flames she carried on.
The morning never felt so warm.
...3 Days Later...
Beep.
...
She slowly rose from her bed and looked around the room, confused and tired. Then it occurred to her. Her brown eyes popped. A bed? A room? She frantically looked down to see a white blanket draped over her tiny frame. Her breath stopped.
Her hand quaked as it peeled back the cotton sheet from her belly. Slowly, slowly it pulled away until...There was only white. A discolored patch of white, for sure. But where the cold silver slithered into her gut she saw layers of bandages holding it all together. Erina gasped.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
She looked to her right and found the large contraption behind that monotonous note. Numbers and symbols adorned its glass surface but she couldn't make sense of the words. Her head shook with confusion until she glanced down and saw a blank note beside her bed.
BeepBeepBeep.
She carefully plucked it off the nightstand and turned it over to reveal a letter. The young woman gulped and began to read...
...
Beep.
...
Beep.
...
Beep.
"...Hello?..."
She slowly rose from her bed and looked around the room, confused and tired. Then it occurred to her. Her brown eyes popped. A bed? A room? She frantically looked down to see a white blanket draped over her tiny frame. Her breath stopped.
Her hand quaked as it peeled back the cotton sheet from her belly. Slowly, slowly it pulled away until...There was only white. A discolored patch of white, for sure. But where the cold silver slithered into her gut she saw layers of bandages holding it all together. Erina gasped.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
She looked to her right and found the large contraption behind that monotonous note. Numbers and symbols adorned its glass surface but she couldn't make sense of the words. Her head shook with confusion until she glanced down and saw a blank note beside her bed.
BeepBeepBeep.
She carefully plucked it off the nightstand and turned it over to reveal a letter. The young woman gulped and began to read...
"Dear Eri,
If you're reading this, you fought like hell to make it here.
I couldn't be any prouder of you, my dear.
The doctors couldn't believe it when I brought you in.
They told me it was one of the worst they'd ever seen.
But you proved them wrong. Thank you...
I'm sorry I can't be there for you.
Your last words got me thinking and you're right.
All these years I thought I knew what I was fighting for.
I truly believed it didn't matter what I was remembered by.
But I was wrong.
You made me act in ways I never imagined
Before we met, I never would've given my life for a complete stranger.
Yet after all we've been through, I can't think of anyone else I'd give it up to more than you.
I'm sorry I have to go but there's still a world waiting for me.
One day I'll find my dream, and then we can talk again...But in the meantime.
Never stop fighting Eri, even if you feel the work is done.
The people and the friends that we have lost or the dreams that have faded,
Never forget them.
Keep you in my thoughts forever,
Love, Rémi Dermott."
If you're reading this, you fought like hell to make it here.
I couldn't be any prouder of you, my dear.
The doctors couldn't believe it when I brought you in.
They told me it was one of the worst they'd ever seen.
But you proved them wrong. Thank you...
I'm sorry I can't be there for you.
Your last words got me thinking and you're right.
All these years I thought I knew what I was fighting for.
I truly believed it didn't matter what I was remembered by.
But I was wrong.
You made me act in ways I never imagined
Before we met, I never would've given my life for a complete stranger.
Yet after all we've been through, I can't think of anyone else I'd give it up to more than you.
I'm sorry I have to go but there's still a world waiting for me.
One day I'll find my dream, and then we can talk again...But in the meantime.
Never stop fighting Eri, even if you feel the work is done.
The people and the friends that we have lost or the dreams that have faded,
Never forget them.
Keep you in my thoughts forever,
Love, Rémi Dermott."
Erina sniffled as her tears pitter pattered atop the note. She looked out the small window hanging to the left of her and saw the smoke beginning to part. The morning sun shot down its rays and the girl bathed in its warmth. She embraced the letter in her arms and smiled, "I'm finally free, mother, father. Thank you so much, Missus Dermott. Until we meet again."
Outside the hospital walls, birds chirped and danced in the glorious sun.
--------
THE END
