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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 21, 2019 16:28:11 GMT
Sisters of SummerPrologue: Seasonal ChangeFriday, August 7th 2073, 11:50 AMToday was quite a hot day, it felt like the Sun was boiling and everyone on the planet could feel it's heat, it was good news for those who have plans for their Summer vacations while the people who couldn't stand this overwhelming heat would have to resist till Autumn comes. The city of Erinfort was quite lively in this time of the year, with the schools closed, the kids were enjoying their free time without having to worry about studying or homework by playing games with their friends, relaxing in the swimming pools or spending time with their parents on expensive vacation in a luxurious hotel somewhere in another country. However, some people found different ways to spend their summer as we cut to a building apartment positioned between a convenience store and another building, inside in the apartment '307', a 18 year old lady with long brown hair, black eyes, wearing a short-sleeved black shirt with blue jeans sitting alongside a 12 year old kid with short black hair with brown eyes, wearing a yellow T-shirt with a lightning bolt on it, green shorts and wearing socks playing the piano, specifically the song 'Clair De Lune' The Kid was playing very softly as he had his eyes closed as he tapped his fingers against the piano keys while the lady was listening to him playing. The thing to note about the apartment was that the walls were green, two bedrooms on the left and on the right was the door to the kitchen, a coffee table with a couch placed in front of it, a TV and the piano was placed at the corner of the room with a picture of the kid and his mother placed on the wall. The little boy opened his eyes and finished playing as the young lady started applauding. "Very good, Reed!" The lady smiled. "Was it good?" The kid, Reed, asked. "Of course, you've improved quite a lot ever since we started this." The lady said. Reed blushed slightly, having a nervous smile on his face. "T-thanks. I couldn't of done it without your help." Reed said. "You should practice a little bit more during your free time so you won't lose the touch." The lady said. "Okay. Thanks, Jess." Reed said. "Don't mention it." Jess said, as she looked at her wrist, looking at the time. It was 11:53 AM. "And that wraps up our session for today. Your mom should be coming back soon." Jess said. "Oh, do you have to go? Can't we practice a little bit more?" Reed asked. "Sorry, Reed, but I have to get back home to see my parents before they head off to the airport. You've done gone enough for today." Jess said. Reed frowned in disappointment as he lowered his head. Jess noticed that and placed her hand on his shoulder, comforting him with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll come back here on Monday." Jess said. "Oh, okay...well, bye, Jess." Reed said. Jess pat him on the head before she stood up and walked to the coffee table to pick up her handbag. The sound of the apartment door being unlocked was heard as Reed's mother walked in, wearing a blue business suit with a skirt. "I'm back. So, did Reed progress?" Reed's mother asked. "He did good today, with some extra practice he won't need any more lessons." Jess said. "Ah, that's good to hear. Thanks for the help, Jessica. 50 dollars should suffice, right?" Reed's mom asked. Jess nodded as Reed's mom reached into her purse to find her wallet as Reed walked into his own room, closing the door behind him. "...I think he might have a crush on me." Jess told the mother. "Oh, does he?" His mother asked. "Yeah, he was quite disappointed when he heard that I had to go. He might be starting to like me." Jess said. "Hm, I'm sure it's just a phase. Reed had a lot of crushes on his teachers at school, don't think too much about it." Reed's mother said. "I guess." Jess said. Reed's mother pulled out 50 dollars from her wallet, handing the money to Jess. "So, next week on Monday at 10 AM as scheduled?" Reed's mother asked. "Yes, of course." Jess nodded. "That's good. I can't wait to hear Reed playing the piano later, thanks for the help Jessica, this hobby will help him get his mind off his...father leaving us when he was little." Reed's mother frowned. "...Yeah, he told me about it. It's hard but as time goes on, he will eventually move on and make some new friends to keep him company." Jess said. "I hope so. Have a good day, Jessica." Reed's mother said. "You too, miss Andrews." Jess nodded as she began walking out of the apartment. She left the apartment building and got into her car. After looking through the rear-view mirror to make sure she wouldn't hit any cars nearby, she turned on the car and drove off, heading to the left. Jess Summers was the oldest daughter of Tom Summers, the head manager of Erinfort's bank and Rachel Summers, a teacher at the local school. The school her mother was working at was the same one Reed studies at and Reed's mother was contacted by the principle being told that Reed got himself into fights with other kids and his mother got in contact with her mom, figuring that Reed might need a hobby to help him with his issues since therapy din't seem to be working so well and asked if Jess could be able to give him a few piano lessons and Rachel agreed. As she was driving, Jess turned on the radio to hear the voice of a obnoxious DJ radio announcer. " Whatssup kiddies of Erinfort, your boy Franklin is here to remind you that there is one month left till Summer is over and what better way to end it off with a Top 20 of Summer hits where you can choose your favorite song to play the radio by voting through the polls on www.DJFranklin.com, for more information-" Jess turned off the radio, having enough of that nonsense. She was driving through town and looked to see a lot of people at the park who were playing with their kids while an elderly couple were gazing at a beautiful blossom tree. Jess had a happy smile before she turned right, now arriving at a small neighbourhood. She was driving past a couple of houses till she reached the Summer residence, a blue house with a garage next to it and a mailbox with the family name on it with a flyer inside it. Jess parked in front of the garage as she walked out of the car, closing the door before noticing the flyer inside the mailbox. Curious, she walked up to the mailbox and picked up the flyer ' Join the Red Moon organization and help us in our efforts of starting a future for a new world, much brighter than the last one.' it also showed the image of a blonde long-haired man with blue eyes wearing a pair of glasses and a fancy white suit standing in front of a white church. Jess rolled her eyes before she placed the flyer back in the mailbox. She heard about this 'Red Moon' organization, founded by a philanthropist from Wellham called Jebediah McArthur, who is a descendant of his family who were demon hunters back in the Medieval Times apparently, this group was dedicated to some deity who's name she has already forgotten who will come back one day to purge out the evil forces from a demonic dimension who had been responsible for the weird events that occurred many years ago. This would sound ridiculous but Jess suspected that demons could exist since she herself is a psychic, her powers granted by some gipsy a couple of years ago when she was 10 years old, wether it was supposed to be a blessing or a curse she din't know. She is able to read the minds of others and sometimes get visions of a future event that has yet to occur, despite how weird it was at first, she got used to it. However, she wasn't gonna join some cult to fight off some red devils with pitchforks, she had a lot of time to spend before college begins again. Jess opened the door to her house and walked in, quickly noticing her younger sister, Eliza, who had green eyes with short pink hair, wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt and black pants running up to her. "Hi, sis, welcome back!" Eliza greeted, with a wide smile on her face. Jess looked down at her sister, smiling back at her. "Hey, Liz. Where are mon and dad at?" Jess asked. "They're upstairs, they're finishing packing up their stuff. How did things go with Reed?" Eliza asked. "It was okay." Jess shrugged. "Oh, I see. Once mom and dad are away, we'll be the masters of this house." Eliza said. "Yeah, well you can start by helping me mown the lawn, your highness." Jess teased. "Aw, that's no fun." Eliza pouted. "Ha, I'm just joking, you goofball." Jess laughed. The sound of footsteps climbing down the stairs was heard as their parents arrived. Their father had short brown hair wearing a black business suit, dragging a luggage behind him while their mom looked nearly identical to Eliza as she had short pink hair, wearing a yellow short sleeved shirt with a black skirt who was also holding a luggage. "Alright, just one last time, we have the plane tickets, right?" Their father asked. "Yes, I already said I have the tickets, stop worrying so much, Tom, we have everything we need." The mother said. "Okay, just wanted to be sure, that's all." The father said. They turned to their daughters. "Ah, Jess, welcome back." The father smiled. "Hey, dad. So, off to Rio de Janeiro?" Jess asked. "Yup. The man who is interested in our services could be a beneficiary client for our bank, which is why me and Rachel will need to be there in person to talk to him about his decision." Her dad said. "It's a shame you two won't come with us, Brazil is a nice play to visit, you don't get chances like this every day." Rachel said. "We can go there next time when I'm not so busy with my piano lessons." Jess suggested. "Alright. So, remember, we'll be back on Wednesday, you have plenty of money on the counter to buy yourselves dinner, don't stay up late, always turn off the lights so we won't waste electricity and also-" Their dad said. "And if you order pizza, do not order one with pepperoni on it because of Eliza's allergy. I know the basics, dad, I got this. I took care of Eliza when she was five years old while you guys were in France." Jess said, rolling her eyes. "Hah, right. We'll give you a call once we land. Be sure not to destroy the house till we come back." The father smiled. "No promises there." Jess smirked. Eventually, a taxi arrived in front of the house. "And our ride is here." Their father said, picking up his luggage before kissing his daughters on the cheek. Their mother walked up to them and gave them each a kiss. "Be good to each other and stay safe till we come back." Their mom said. "Yes, mom." The sisters said. The parents walked out of the house and got into the taxi, the two daughters watched as the taxi drove off and they waved at their parents till the car was out of sight. "...Alright, so...where should we start?" Jess asked, turning to Eliza. "...Wanna play a game with me?" Eliza asked. "Sure." Jess nodded as she walked to the TV with a playstation bellow it and picked up a Smash Bros disk before turning to her younger sister. "Up for some Smash?" Jess asked. "Yeah!" Eliza agreed, immediately picking up a controller and sitting down on a futon. Jess put's in the game and turns on the playstation before she picked up her controller and sat next to her sister. "So, who are you gonna play as?" Jess asked. "...Hm..I think I'll choose..." Eliza said, deciding in her head as the opening cutscene started up while Jess already read her mind about who she would choose. "Isabelle, right?" Jess asked. "Hey, I thought I told you to stop that!" Eliza exclaimed, turning her head with a annoyed expression. "Stop what?" Jess asked. "Reading my mind." Eliza said. "Hey, if I have the power to read someone's mind, I might aswell use it." Jess said. "...I wish I had a cool power like that." Eliza said. "If we run into a gipsy, you might get lucky." Jess said, as she went to the character select roster and chose Megaman while Eliza picked Isabelle. The battle started and the two sisters began fighting each other's characters. Jess wins the first round while Eliza wins in the next one, in the tie round, Eliza won but she suspected that Jess let her win but Jess denied it. And so the day went on, with the girls preoccupying themselves with stuff to do while their parents were off to Brazil. ----- Sunday, August 9th 2073, 2:10 PMThe Sun was shining on Erinfort as usual. At the Summers house, Jess was in her bedroom, standing in front of a window, brushing her long hair while holding her phone on her other hand, talking to her mother. "Yeah, we're doing okay, we're bored but okay. Eliza saw the pictures you sent us on the phone, they're nice, she can't wait to see the souvenirs. Glad to hear the business transaction is going smoothly. Tomorrow, I'll be at the Andrews family apartment to have another session with Reed...yeah, okay mom, take care of yourselves. I love you too." Jess said, hanging up. She finished brushing and looked herself in the mirror. For some reason, she couldn't help but have a strange feeling, could it be her psychic powers kicking up or was it just stomach ache. Whatever it was, she couldn't see any visions just yet. Hopefully, it was nothing. With nothing to do, she walked out of her bedroom and downstairs she went to check up on her sister. Eliza was sitting on the couch, holding a yellow bag of marshmallows and shoving them in her mouth, watching TV before she turned to her sister. "Hey, sis." Eliza said. Jess nodded before she sat on the futon, looking at the TV which was featuring the news channel, showing the leader of Red Moon, Jebediah, standing in front of a city hall located in Newrum State City and alongside him were two other people, a brown-skinned man with brown hair and red eyes, wearing a black coat with a green army uniform beneath it and a woman with long black hair, wearing glasses, black vest with a black shirt underneath the vest and black pants, likely members of his group. They were being interviewed by reporters. "Since when did you get invested in politics?" Jess asked. "I'm not. There's just nothing new on the cartoon channel, just reruns." Eliza sighed. " Mr.Jebediah, what are your plans for the future if you succeed on becoming president?" One of the reporters asked. " My plans will involve making everything better for our hard-working citizens who are currently struggling in this time of crisis. I'm certain some of you are having doubts about my intentions, but I can assure you that what I want is world where all of us won't feel threatened by dark entities who harmed us in the past, like the demon Erebus. Red Moon welcomes any person who wants to join our cause with no catches and scams that involve money, every vote counts and those who wish to support us brings me comfort in my heart." Jebediah smiled, placing his hand on his chest. "What do you have to respond to the rumors that Red Moon is responsible for the disappearances of a few citizens who have unique abilities, like the Enzibaka girl from Mishinaka?" A woman reporter asked. " I have no doubt that these rumors are scandalous claims made up by my political rivals who want to slander my image to gain an upper advantage. We have nothing against these people, the demons are the only ones we want to fight. And you too can help us make a difference, a new era is coming and we need to be prepared for it, wether I'll become president or not. Remember, every little bit helps and Jashin blesses those with good intentions, one day we will be able to walk on the sidewalk and forget that demons ever existed. Thank you." Jebediah said. "Spoken like a true politician." Jess scoffed. "...Do demons actually exist?" Eliza asked. "I don't know, but I'd rather not find out. Besides, we wouldn't get involved in this unless we want to so don't worry about it." Jess said. " Thanks Chris. Meanwhile, the search for the local resident of Rio De Janeiro, Max Lima, continues as the police weren't able to find a hint of his location, is it connected to the other disappearances or is it a red herring? The Police haven't reached a conclusion yet as they are asking his parents about his activities before he disappeared." A reporter from another channel said as a picture of a small freckled guy with brown hair wearing a blue hoodie, staring blankly at the camera. "...That guy is small." Eliza said. "He looks to be about your size, if I had to guess...it seems coincidental that they'd be talking about the place where our parents are." Jess said, thinking about that, hoping that it doesn't connect to anything. Eliza yawned. "I'm bored. Can we get in the pool and swim around a bit?" Eliza asked. "Sure. Let's get our swim suits." Jess said, standing up. Eliza turned off the TV and followed her sister upstairs. It took a few minutes till they would find their swimsuits and take their clothes off. Eventually, the glass door that lead to the backyard was opened and Jess stepped out, wearing a blue bikini holding two towels while Eliza wore a pink swimsuit with inflatable armbands and goggles, standing in front of their pool and there was also a tree with a treehouse on top it. Jess closed the door as Eliza jumped headfirst into the pool. She peered her head out of the water. "The water is fine, sis, get in!" Eliza said. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." Jess said, amused as she placed the towels on a climbed down into the pool by using the ladder. Eliza began swimming around in a circle while Jess had her arms placed on the side, relaxing her muscles. The young sister swam up to Jess upon noticing her not doing anything. "What's the matter, sis? Aren't you gonna swim?" Eliza asked. "I'm relaxing, just give me a few minutes." Jess said. "But I thought we were gonna have some fun, not standing in the pool doing nothing." Eliza said. "I'll be joining you shortly, just go and have fun." Jess said, not moving an inch. Eliza slammed her hands in the pool in disappointment, splashing her hair before she got an idea. After moving a bit closer to Jess, she raised her hand out of the pool, splashing her older sister in the face, catching her by surprise. "H-Hey, Eliza! What are you doing!?" Jess asked. "What's wrong, it's just some water sis." Eliza laughed, splashing more water into her face. "Ugh, knock it off!" Jess said. Eliza din't stop, she kept splashing more water on Jess. "Oh, you're getting dunked for this you little rat!" Jess exclaimed, swimming after her sister. Eliza swam away, laughing as her sister was giving chase, attempting to splash her aswell. Despite being challenged into it, Jess was having fun as the two sisters were splashing each other with water. Later on, around 6 PM, the two sisters finished their bath as they got out and sat on two folding chairs. The two were soaking wet. Jess was cleaning her feet with a towel before moving onto her hair. "That was fun...except when you dunked me in the water about three times." Eliza said, cleaning her ears out. "You're the one who challenged me, remember? It's not a wise idea to mess with your bigger sister." Jess said. "Yeah, yeah." Eliza said, with a mischievous smile. Jess placed her towel beside her as she looked up to the sun starting to set. "...The Sun looks pretty beautiful in this hour. You barely can't even see it when it's so hot in the morning, it makes you feel peaceful." Jess said. "...Yeah, it is." Eliza sighed. Jess turned to Eliza, raising an eyebrow at that sigh. "Are you okay?" Jess asked. "...It's just that...it's one more month before Summer is over and I will have to go back to school, you'll go back to College and teach more piano lessons to others...things won't be as fun anymore as they are now. I wish Summer would last forever." Eliza said, looking a bit sad. "...Yeah, but it's not like this will be our last Summer or anything, there will be plenty of them in the next year, each one will be more fun than the last. Summer may not last forever, but we will." Jess reassured. "...When you put it like that...it doesn't seem that bad...hey, sis, why do you even play the piano?" Eliza asked. "Well...before you were born, our grandmother came to the house to stay for the weekend and one night when I got up to get some water, I heard her playing our piano downstairs. I asked what she was doing and she said that she couldn't be able to sleep and the one thing that she could was play the piano till morning. She taught me how to play before she passed away." Jess said, with a sad smile on her face. "...Oh...were you good at it?" Eliza asked. "Nah, I sucked at first. But, with a little help from my teacher from school, I got better...and then, I decided that teaching piano lessons to some kids can be a good job. If it wasn't for grandma, I probably wouldn't be a piano teacher right now." Jess said. "...I don't actually know what I'm gonna do when I grow up. My teacher gave us an assignment, to write an essay about a career we want to have when we become adults...and I don't know what to write." Eliza shrugged. "Well, you could become a politician like Mr.Jebediah for instance." Jess shrugged. "...I don't know anything about politics." Eliza said. "It was just a joke. Anyway, you can become anything you want, Eliza. You have a full life ahead of you, you can choose whatever you want to be." Jess said. "...My mom said I have a good voice, she said I could become a singer." Eliza said. "That could work. The only downside is that you might getting the attention of some creepy admirers who want to marry you or something." Jess said, cringing at the thought. "I'm not worried. With you at my side, you'll keep them away from me like you always do. Right, sis?" Eliza asked. "...Yeah, you're right." Jess smiled. Jess stood up. "Tomorrow later, we can look at the sunshine again till it sets. Would you like that?" Jess asked. "Sure. The sunset is nice." Eliza smiled, standing up, not looking sad as she was before. "Cool." Jess smiled, nodding. They picked up their towels and walked back into their house, deciding on what they should have for dinner and then give their parents a call. The wind starting blowing all of the sudden as a few leaves from the tree flew off, landing in the pool. It was suddenly cold for some odd reason. ------ Monday, August 10th 2073, 9:23 AMToday wasn't as hot as it was in the last couple of days, it was actually a bit colder than it normally should be in a summer day. A few small dark clouds were gathered in the sky, some of them were passing by the sun, blocking it's shine. Jess was currently in her room, reading a few news articles on her laptop on some site while Eliza was still sleeping in her room. One article she was reading was saying: 'Dangerous invaders with yellow eyes appeared all of the sudden, each carrying a yellow crystal, while they look like humans, they can turn into ferocious monsters and attack the people they resemble, quickly spreading in every area of the map. The Government don't know the deal behind these beings and are sending the military to deal with them and these strange rocks.' Jess had that bad feeling again, placing her hand on her forehead. Could this news article be fake, made up by someone who wants attention? She hoped that whatever it's happening it won't reach their city, so far none said anything about Erinfort so they'll probably be excluded from these invaders who appeared all of the sudden. She looked at her watch and it was 9 AM, it's close to her piano lesson with Reed before looking outside, seeing that it was a bit windy outside. "...I think a storm is coming. Better grab my jacket." Jess said. Jess stood up, closing her laptop before she walked out of her room and walked downstairs without waking up her sister from her sleep. She picked up her white jacket from a coat rack and zipped it up before putting on her shoes and walked outside, closing the door and making sure to lock it in case of anything. Jess walked to her car as the wind was blowing through her hair and got in her car. Once she started it up, she drove off and headed into the town. Strangely enough, not many people were outside much to Jess's confusion, she guessed that maybe it's the storm that's coming up. However, the weather cast din't say anything about a storm hitting Erinfort today, then again everyone can make a few mistakes here and then. It din't take long for her to reach the apartment building the Andrews were residing at. Jess stepped out of her car and quickly got inside the building, walking up the stairs going to the third floor. She felt something funny in her stomach as she kept climbing, it's as if she was going right into a trap or something...but why would she feel that here, what is causing this...uneasiness? Jess arrived at the third floor and walked up to the door with the number '307' on it, clenching her hand into a fist and knocked on the door once. "Miss Andrews, I'm here. Can you please open the door?" Jess asked. The door did not open. And there was no response either. The bad feeling just grew worse as Jess knocked on the door once again. No one opened the door for her. "...Why isn't she opening the door? Maybe they're not home...but..." Jess said. Jess pressed her ear against the door to hear something, all she could hear was the wind blowing. She suddenly felt a ominous presence in the apartment, her psychic powers were warning her about something, and it definitely wasn't good. She took a step back, looking quite scared, feeling like she should leave but if Reed was in there and was in trouble, she couldn't just let something bad happen to him. After thinking about her options, with a deep breath and a sweat dripping from her head, she grabbed onto the door knob. Bitting her lips, she tried to open the door and it worked, it wasn't unlocked at all. Jess slowly peered her head into the apartment. "Miss Andrews? Reed? Are you two...o..oh my god." Jess said, her eyes widening. The apartment was in a messy state at the coffee table was flipped over, the TV was smashed, the piano was intact but the picture of Reed and his mom was on the floor, shattered, the window was wide open and the door to the kitchen was open while the doors to Reed and his mother's bedrooms were closed. "...W-what happened here?" Jess asked, as she walked into the apartment, feeling a chill up her spine as she carefully examined the area and turned her head to the kitchen. She slowly walked in and the kitchen looked about as messy as the living room as the table was flipped over, the remains of a plate laying beside a uneaten salami sandwich that's gonna be a meal for insects now. Jess looked down the dusty floor to see some footprints combining with a print of a straight line that started from the kitchen wall to the living room floor, like if someone got dragged into the living room. "...Oh my God." Jess gasped. Jess walked back into the living room. "Reed! Are you here! Can you hear me!? Please, say something!" Jess said. The door to Reed's bedroom opened on it's own. Jess quickly turned her head to the door, she din't trust this at all before she slowly walked in. Reed's bedroom was small, having blue walls and a window that was opened aswell. One thing that Jess quickly noticed was that there was a small yellow crystal laying on his bed, while the bedsheet was covered in blood. Jess's eyes were glowing purple, this dread that she was feeling appeared to be coming directly from that crystal over there, sitting there like it was taunting her. Whatever it was, it might of had something to do with what happened to the Andrews. Jess got into the bedroom and picked up the crystal, glaring at it. "...Where did you come from?" Jess asked. "Hi, Jess!" Jess gasped as she dropped the crystal and turned around. Reed was standing right behind her, with his hands placed around his back, with a happy smile on his face...and his eyes were yellow instead of black and din't have eyelashes. "...R-Reed!? Are you okay!?" Jess asked, her heart was pounding repeatedly, looking ready to burst out of her chest as she looked at the boy standing in front of her. "Of course, why wouldn't I be? Come on, let's start with my next lesson so I can show you how good I've gotten at playing the piano!" Reed said, looking quite excited. Jess, still getting that ominous feeling, looked at Reed before looking at the crystal. "...Reed, what's with that crystal? And why is your bedsheet...covered in blood?" Jess asked. "Oh, that? That's just ketchup." Reed said. "Ketchup?" Jess asked. "Yeah, it's ketchup. Don't know what's with the shining ball, maybe it's from my dad, I guess he finally remembered that I exist and gave me a present after being gone for like forever." Reed said. Despite how cheerful he sounded, Jess could feel the pure resentment from his mouth. Reed grabbed Jess's hand, dragging out of his room. "What are you waiting for? Let's play the piano before our time is up and you have to go again. I have to show you just how good I am now!" Reed said. Jess, definitely not buying this, removed her hand from Reed's grasp. "Stop right there!" Jess said. "...Huh?" Reed asked, looking confused. "You aren't telling me what's going on. Why is the entire apartment like this, where is your mom, why is that crystal giving me the worst possible feeling right now!? And also, why are your eyes yellow all of the sudden?" Jess asked. "...I...I...do you...hate me or something?" Reed asked, his smile decreasing. "...What?" Jess asked. "...Am...Am I not good enough for you...is that it? I'm not good at playing the piano, am I?" Reed asked, his eyes were trembling. "W-what are you even talking about?" Jess asked, looking utterly confused by what Reed is saying right now. Reed suddenly got to his knees, grabbing Jess by her leg. "I-I'm sorry, I promise I'll do better, I won't disappoint you again! Please, just don't go!" Reed cried out. Jess looked down at Reed, he definitely wasn't like this a few days ago, she felt a dark force from him, she never felt that when she was around him. "...You...you're not, Reed, are you?" Jess asked. Reed looked up to Jess, with tears in his eyes. "...Please, just ignore all of this...and let's play the piano, like we always do." Reed said, his voice cracking. Jess's eyebrows lowered, glaring at 'Reed'. "No, you're definitely not Reed, you must of came from that weird crystal over there. Whatever you are, tell me what you did with Reed and his mom, now!" Jess demanded. "...He...was getting in the way, between us...I...couldn't...let him ruin this...he is stupid...he was gonna make you walk through the door and you would of never came back...just like dad, that's why he left, because he was an annoying idiot!" 'Reed' said, his eyes were glowing. And with that red flag raised, Jess felt like it was time to go before this thing had the chance to do something as she pulled her leg out of his grasp. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm leaving!" Jess decided, immediately heading towards the door. 'Reed' got up, his face expression changed from sadness to blank with rage in his glowing eyes as tears kept sliding out of his eyes. "... You're not leaving me alone, not this time." 'Reed' said. The apartment door suddenly closed before Jess could of left. Jess quickly turned to 'Reed' who now has a dark aura surrounding his body as he started to float, clenching his fists. "... I...I...I won't let you leave...you and I are gonna stay here and play the piano...do you understand?" 'Reed' asked, his voice sounded distorted. Jess just glared at the creature. "...Let me out of here, now." Jess said. "... You...hate me...you want to leave because you hate me and would rather teach someone else who is better than me, is it!? Am I just a nuisance, an annoying little shit who is only useful in getting you money, is that what you think of me!? If you hate me!...Then... I...I...I HATE YOU TOO!" 'Reed' shouted, the entire apartment shook. 'Reed's form changed as it grew in size, changing into a large blue frog with yellow eyes while still retaining his hair, with keyboard keys for teeth. The large frog dropped on the floor, looking straight at Jess with anger and resentment clashing it's eyes. Jess's eyes widened the moment 'Reed' turned into this creature and quickly grabbed onto the door knob, attempting to escape. The frog opened it's mouth and it's large tongue extended towards Jess, grabbing her by her arm. " If I can't have you, then no one else will!" The frog exclaimed, dragging Jess towards it. Jess wasn't able to break free and looked around the apartment, trying to spot something that might be useful against the frog. She looked into the kitchen and spotted a knife in there. The knife suddenly levitated and flew into the frog's tongue, piercing right through it, causing the frog to roar in pain. Jess pulled the knife and stabbed it's tongue multiple times till it will let go of her arm. The frog pulled it's tongue back in it's mouth before hopping in the air and landed on the same spot, unleashing a shockwave that knocked Jess on the floor. The frog hopped in front of Jess, grabbing the knife with it's holed tongue and throwing it out the window. Jess body rolled herself right underneath the frog till she was behind it and levitated the flipped table, smashing it into the frog's head and broke it in pieces. The frog turned around, roaring at Jess again. Jess levitated the crystal from Reed's bedroom and slammed it into it's head again, breaking the crystal into shards. The frog let it's tongue out again, trying to grab Jess. Jess levitated the broken pieces of the crystal, plate and table, launching them right at the frog. The sharp broken pieces stabbed the frog's stomach, it's tongue and it's eyes, the frog roared in pain again as it jumped in the air and landed down, launching yet another shockwave towards Jess. Jess levitated herself as she proceeded to telekinetically shove the broken pieces further more into it's body and in it's eyes. The frog let out a pained roar as it's tongue collapsed on the floor and fell backwards on the ground, the stabs were strong enough to put it down it seems. The frog began glowing with the same aura again. "... P-please...don't go...don't leave me...behind...again...don't...go..." The creature cried out. The creature that personated Reed vanished into nothing, leaving behind a pool of blood while the piano keys landed in that blood pool. Jess, inhaling in and out, just looked at the pool of blood, tears escaping from her eyes, only now realizing what actually happened Reed. "...R-Reed, oh my God...I'm sorry, this happened to you." Jess said. The door to Reed's mother's bedroom opened. Inside, Reed's mother was laying on the floor with a knife shoved into her back while another her with yellow eyes dressed as a widow was sitting on the bed, watching a static footage of the TV. It wasn't paying attention to Jess at all. Jess looked at Reed's mother body in horror as she stepped away from the other her. She stormed out of the apartment, her entire body consumed by fear, going downstairs and heading out of the building. Once she was out of the building, she heard a scream from the sky and quickly looked up. She saw a teenage girl with black hair who was dangling from the feet of a large yellow-eyed condor who had the same head as the teenage girl, flying in the sky that was now covered entirely by dark clouds, the sun's shine din't peer through those clouds at all as the condor dropped the innocent girl, letting her fall. CRASH! The teenage girl's body landed on the pavement, blood leaking out of her broken body. She was certainly dead. Jess's eyes shrunk as she stared in horror, she wanted to scream right now but then her attention to the dead girl was turned to the area around her as more of those creatures with yellow were suddenly everywhere, attacking the citizens of Erinfort, some of the flying creatures with yellow eyes were carrying the same weird crystals, throwing them into buildings by opening the window and tossing them and continuing on and on. Jess just watched as the residents were getting attacked by these creatures till a horrifying thought entered in her head. "...Oh, no, ELIZA!" Jess yelled. Jess, without thinking, got back into her car and quickly started it up, leaving the area and going back to her neighborhood the same way she came as police cars drove past her, the sounds of gunshots were heard as Jess was driving quickly, with only Eliza's safety on her mind, not paying attention to anything else. She arrived back at the neighborhood and got out of the car, running to her house and unlocking the door before going in. Eliza was in the living room, sitting on the couch with her arms wrapped around her legs as she was watching a news broadcast from a news station as a reporter who looked pretty afraid was announcing to everyone the situation. " This just in, ladies and gentlemen, the strange invaders with yellow eyes and crystals are quickly spreading in many parts of the world, Brazil, Mishinaka, Courtham Grove, Wallshore, Strathmore and now Erinfort are getting bombarded by these monsters, the questions about their origins are still a mystery! The police and the military are on their way to deal with these th-" A large crashing noise was heard that got the reporter's attention and his eyes shrunk. " OH MY GOD-" The screen changed turned to black with the words 'we'll be back shortly' "...T-This can't be happening." Jess said, her face was pale. Eliza turned her attention to Jess, looking relieved. "JESS!" Eliza yelled, jumping down and ran to her sister, hugging her legs. "I was worried that you got attacked by those monsters! I thought...that you were actually..." Eliza said, about to burst into tears. Jess wrapped her arms around Eliza, holding her tightly. "It's okay...I-I'm alive, and that's what matters...I..." Jess said, her words barely escaping her mouth. Jess let's go off Eliza, placing her hands on her shoulders. "We need to leave Erinfort as soon as possible. We get in the car and get out of here, we won't stay here to get killed by...those things." Jess said. "...But...where will we go?" Eliza asked. "Anywhere that isn't attacked by monsters, We'll find somewhere to stay till everything is back to normal, then we'll come back here." Jess said. "What about our parents? That news man said Brazil got attacked too...what if..." Eliza said, her lips trembling. "No, don't think like that, I'm sure mom and dad are hiding in a safe place. Eliza, you need to trust me, you do trust me right?" Jess asked. "...Of...of course...why wouldn't I?" Eliza asked. "Good." Jess nodded. She got up, looking upstairs. "...We need to defend ourselves if we run into those things on the way." Jess said, as she walked past Eliza, heading upstairs, shortly followed by her sister. Jess walked into her parent's bedroom and set her eyes on a safe with a number pad on it, it was their dad's safe. She walked up to the safe while Eliza stood outside the room, looking at her sister with fear and worry in her eyes. Jess crouched down and used the combination she heard when she read her dad's mind once and the safe was unlocked. She opened the safe to find a small revolver, a rifle made for hunting and ammo boxes next to them. She pulled them out of the safe and quickly started loading those weapons with bullets before looking at Eliza. "You still know how to shoot, right?" Jess asked. "...Y-yeah, dad taught me when we went to hunt a deer." Eliza said, with her hand placed on her arm. "Okay." Jess said, as she finished loading the rifle with ammo before moving onto the revolver. Once she was done, she walked up to Eliza and crouched down, holding the revolver. "I know you don't like guns but...this is an emergency and the two of us need to be safe. This revolver will help you defend yourself from those things and I'll keep the rifle with me. Just don't think of them as people, they are monsters and they will hurt us, do you understand?" Jess asked. Eliza slowly nodded, looking really nervous as she grabbed the gun from Jess. "...What about our house?" Eliza asked. "Don't worry, we'll come back here once the military take care of those monsters, I'm sure it won't take too long, but for now, we need to leave and find somewhere safe from here, okay?" Jess asked. "...Okay." Eliza said, sounding hesitant. Jess let out a sigh as she stood up, she held Eliza's hand while holding her rifle in her other hand. They walked out of their parent's bedroom and closed the door behind them. They got out of the house, with Eliza now wearing a green heavy coat that will keep her warm as Jess placed the rifle into the trunk and closed it off. She locked the door to their house before looking at Eliza. "Get in the back and remember to put your seatbelt on." Jess said. Eliza nodded as the girls got into the car. Jess put on her seatbelt and adjusted her rear-view mirror before starting the car and driving off quickly as Eliza, who was holding her revolved, turned her head to the window, watching as they were leaving the place they once called home. As Jess drove right into the town, the otherworldly creatures continued with their assault, the police were shooting at them but with not much luck as they are getting overwhelmed by these things through sheer numbers. Eliza looked to the left to see the park that she used to hang around at with her friends, seeing the people getting brutally murdered by the creatures while the Blossom Tree was lit on fire. "...Just...don't look and keep your head down." Jess said, slowly breathing as she din't look at Eliza. Eliza moved her gaze away from the window, staring at her revolver as she was holding it like it was her favorite teddy bear. Jess continued driving past the citizens who were attacked by the creatures and was able to successfully evade them, going past a sign that said 'Welcome to Erinfort, life is beautiful around here'. The car was now out of Erinfort as Eliza looked through the window of the back of the car, watching as her beloved city was now swarmed by the monstrous beings with yellow eyes. Fighting off the tears in her eyes, she glanced away from the city and instead looked at the floor. "...Are those people gonna be okay?" Eliza asked. "...I hope so." Jess sighed, concentrating on the road and not to anything else. The car was currently on the roadway and areas between the road were two fields filled with grass, trees were seen in the distance. Eliza kept looking at the revolver while Jess pulled out her phone, trying to contact her parents. "...Come on..." Jess said. She received no response. It appears the phone had no service, possibly from what was going on right now. "...Of course." Jess said, annoyed as she placed the phone back in her pocket and tried the radio instead. The only thing that could be heard was a lot of static, Jess kept trying to change to different channels but nothing was heard, much to her growing frustration. "FUCK!" Jess yelled out, punching the radio. Eliza raised her head, looking at her sister with concern. "...Are you okay, Jess?" Eliza asked. "DO I LOOK LIKE I'M OKAY, ELIZA!?" Jess asked, not turning to her as she kept focusing on the road. Eliza looked shocked by Jess's outburst, tearing up slightly. Jess realized what she did and let out a sigh, calming herself down before turning her head to Eliza. "...I din't mean to shout at you like that, it's just...I'm sorry. But don't worry, we'll get out of this mess and once this chaos wears down, everything we will be back to normal. I promise." Jess said. Eliza looked at Jess, opening her mouth to say something till she noticed something on the road and the car was driving right towards it. "SIS, WATCH OUT!" Eliza yelled out. Jess quickly turned her head and saw a rock that was the size of a boulder sitting on top of a crushed police car that was on fire blocking the road entirely and the car was about to crash into it. "HOLY SHIT!" Jess yelled out. Before she could stop the car, it crashed right into the large rock. Everything turned black for the two sisters. ----- In a few minutes later, Eliza opened her eyes, everything was a blur and her head was in pain as she appeared to hit her head against the car door. Thankfully, the seatbelt prevented her from flying out through the window. But the same couldn't be said for Jess who's face was pinned against the wheel and the car's horn was going off, the windows were shattered into shards that were laying in her hair while most of them were on the floor. The view was blocked by the rock they crashed into. Eliza was holding her head, looking quite hurt before she regained her vision and her eyes widened when she saw Jess. "J-JESS! WAKE UP!" Eliza yelled. Jess eventually woke up, not realizing what even happened as blood dripped from her forehead, she hit her face against the wheel pretty hard. "...U-Ugh, my head...W-what happened?" Jess asked. "Are you okay? We crashed into that...rock thing!" Eliza said. Jess pulled her face off the wheel, placing her hand on her forehead, covering it in her own blood. "...Shit." Jess said, only now realizing that she was this close to actually dying. Jess quickly turned to Eliza. "A-Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Jess asked. "I think I bumped my head into something but I'm okay. But your forehead is bleeding!" Eliza said. "...It's nothing...Let's...get out of the car." Jess sighed, removing her seatbelt. Eliza nodded, removing herself before they stepped out of the car. Jess needed a moment to regain herself as she laid her back against the car, taking a deep breath, looking at the darkened sky. "...What kind of a nightmare did we get ourselves into?" Jess asked. "...What do we do?" Eliza asked. Jess said, she just kept staring at the sky. Suddenly, the huge rock blocking the roadway started shaking all of the sudden. Eliza's eyes widened and pointed at the rock. "...S-sis...the rock...it's..." Eliza said. Jess, regaining her senses, looked at what her sister was pointing at. "SHIT!" Jess yelled. She reached her hand through the shattered mirror, pulling the car keys out and ran to the back, opening the trunk and pulled out the rifle, aiming at the rock as she grabbed Eliza's hand, standing away from it. Their car suddenly pushed out of the way as four turtle arms grew out of the rock, placing themselves on the ground to lift itself up. A turtle head with yellow eyes peered from underneath the rock which was actually it's shell and spikes bursted out of the rock shell, it let out a roar towards the sisters, angered by them disturbing it's sleep. "...It's another one of those things. Eliza, stay behind me." Jess said, not taking her aim off for one second. Eliza obeyed as she stood right behind Jess. The turtle spat fire at the girls and they moved out of the way as Jess started shooting at the turtle, directed right at it's head. The turtle creature moved it's head and limbs back in it's rocky shell, successfully deflecting it's bullets back at Jess as two of those bullets hit her left arm and right leg. "FUCK!" Jess yelled out. "SIS!" Eliza said, concerned for her sister. The spiked turtle shell started spinning rapidly crushing the police car it was resting on into metallic paste before it went off, going right towards the girls. Jess grabbed Eliza and pulled her out of the way as the turtle shell rotated right into one of the fields. As it was far away, Jess began running while holding onto Eliza, trying to get away from the turtle creature. The turtle din't stop rotating as it rotated right towards the sister's again, it was moving so fast that it was hard to avoid it. "IT'S COMING BACK TOWARDS US!" Eliza said. "WHAT!? SHIT!" Jess yelled. She turned her head and saw the turtle monster going straight for them. Jess, without even thinking, threw Eliza out of her arms so she wouldn't get hit and she safely landed on the road. Jess, however, got struck by the rotating shell, it's spikes embedded into her chest, legs and neck, sending her flying into the field in the distance. Eliza, witnessing that with her own eyes, quickly got up. "JESS!!!" Eliza shouted, running right to where her sister was, ignoring the shell monster. She eventually reached her sister who was laying on the grassy field, heavily bleeding and coughing a lot of blood out, she was barely hanging on to life. Eliza stood there with white eyes as she collapsed on her knees, crawling to her sister. "J-JESS!" Eliza shouted. Jess weakly looked at Eliza before looking at the turtle as it din't stop rotating and was charging back at the sisters again, it wouldn't stop till they were disposed of. Eliza turned around, gasping while Jess's eyes were glowing intensely, not letting this creature hurt her sister. The turtle suddenly levitated off the ground while it was still rotating before it was thrown right into the distance, landing somewhere else. Eliza looked shocked before she looked back at Jess. "Sis!" Eliza said, looking at her wounds as Jess couldn't stop bleeding. Jess looked at Eliza, with blood pouring out of her mouth. "...E-Eliza...I'm sorry...f-for not being c-careful...y-you need to get out of here." Jess said. "...W-what are you saying? I'm not leaving you behind, there is no way I'll do that! You can't die here, Jess! I won't let you!" Eliza yelled, crying her eyes out. "...D-don't make me repeat myself...you need to get out of here...find a place far way from those m-monsters...till everything goes back to normal, you need to be safe, that's what matters now." Jess said. "...J-Jess...please, don't leave me...we can do this, we..." Eliza said. Jess, with whatever strength she had left, she held onto Eliza's hand, smiling at her. "...E-Eliza...I-I...l-love y-you...s-stay a-alive...S-sunshine." Jess said, before closing her eyes. "...Sis?" Eliza asked. Eliza could feel that her sister's hand was very cold, she couldn't feel her pulse anymore. She dropped her revolver. Eliza's spirit was shattered into many pieces as she laid her face against Jess's bleeding chest, crying loudly, not caring if any of those monsters would hear her or not. Lightning struck across the sky as it started to rain buckets. Eliza raised her head to the sky, her face smeared in Jess's blood as her eyes were flowing with tears. "...I-If you exist...and you are up there...p-please, don't take her away me...I-I'll do anything just please don't take her up there and leave me here alone!...I-I...I can't do anything without her...I-I'll do anything you ask of me BUT PLEASE, BRING MY SISTER BACK TO ME!...I beg of you..." Eliza said. Suddenly, a voice was heard. " Oh, don't cry young heart. I'm here now." Eliza, hearing that voice, quickly looked around, but she din't see anyone besides herself and Jess's corpse. "...W-Who is this?...W-where are you?" Eliza asked. Suddenly, a strange red fog surrounded Eliza who was scared as she had no idea what was going on. The fog went away and Eliza was somewhere else now. She appeared to be in a large red room, sitting on a comfy red chair placed on the floor with a symbol of a red slowy sun encased in a red circle surrounded by red diamonds glued onto the wall. There were lit candles levitating in the room and in front of Eliza was a desk with a glass of pink juice and a name plate on it 'Mephisto' and right behind the desk was a movable chair that was turned around and a person sitting on it who din't face Eliza just yet. "...Um...hello?" Eliza asked. The chair rotated and Eliza was now facing a pale-skinned person with pointy ears, eyes with sclera covered in blackness and red sharp serpentine pupils, short messy red hair with two hair horns sticking out, wearing two earrings on each ear, a dark red business suit with a blue buttoned up shirt underneath it with a red tie that had the same image as the one on the floor, red pants with white crocodile shoes with a devilish grin plastered all over his face with his knuckles placed under his chin. Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't human. "My, my, it's not often I get a young costumer in my private chamber, if you know what I mean." The pale being said, hiding his giggle. "...W-Who are you? And why am I here?" Eliza asked, unnerved by the strange man's behavior and his appearance. "I heard your prayer, young heart and I answered. Twas quite a tragedy back there, that poor mortal gave her life away so you could live on, such cruel tragedy to happen to a little pure soul such as yourself. Quite a shame." The man said, nodding his head. Eliza looking even more offput before she remembered what just happened. "...Jess..." Eliza said. "But that's why I'm here. To help you, my child." Man said. "...H-help me? I don't even know who you are? Why should I trust you?" Eliza asked. The man just laughed. "My name is Mephisto, my dear. You could say I am a guardian angel, who is here at your time of need. I can help you get your sister back." Mephisto said. Eliza's eyes lit up. "You...you can? Are you going to revive her!?" Eliza said. "I'm not finished yet. I said I can help you get her back, but there is one catch though." Mephisto said, raising one finger in the air. "...What is it?" Eliza asked, willing to listen to what he had to say. "I cannot bring back a mortal to life once their soul leaves their shell, however...I can be able to send you back to the moment before your sister died, it should be...around the time you gain your consciousness back after the car crash, should be enough time for you to save your sister." Mephisto said. "...That monster will still be there, how will replaying the whole scene make a difference when guns aren't effective against it?" Eliza asked. Mephisto, with one fist placed on his chin, just looked at the revolver at her feet. "Your weapon is useless...but, I can make it powerful enough for you to slay that beast and save your beloved sister." Mephisto said. "...Really?" Eliza asked. Mephisto nodded his head off. "...Then...then what are you waiting for, let's do it!" Eliza said, standing up. "Now, now, before we get excited, I have something else to mention...we have to make a deal." Mephisto said. "...A deal?" Eliza asked, raising her eyebrow. "Think of it more as a trade. I do something for you and you do something for me in exchange, should be simple enough." Mephisto said. "...What do you want me to do?" Eliza asked, with a worried tone. Mephisto's eyes were pointed at the ceiling, hmm-ing as he scratched his foot against his other leg. "...Damn, can't think of anything for you to do right now. But I'm sure sooner or later I'll think of something, once you repay my favor, everything will be A-OK. Sounds good to you, kiddo?" Mephisto asked. "...I guess...so, anything else I have to do before I go back?" Eliza asked. Another grin appeared on the man's face as he snapped his finger and a organized sheet of paper appeared in his hand, handing it to Eliza. Eliza looked at the paper, looking confused. "A contract?" Eliza asked. "This contract represents the deal you and I will forge, as long as this exists, you and I will have a unbreakable bond. In a way, if you ever feel like you are alone, you won't be, because I will be always watching you...okay, definitely din't want that to sound extremely creepy but either way, what you need to know is that once you sign your name at the bottom of this contract, the transaction will be complete and I will give you what you need. So, young heart, do we have a deal?" Mephisto asked. Eliza looked unsure as she held the contract very tightly. On one hand, this could save Jess's life...but she din't know what favor Mephisto would have for her in the future so... "If you don't want to do this, that's fine. I can send you back to your realm, make you forget about me and you will have to live on with your long life without your beloved sister." Mephisto said. Hearing that, that made Eliza's choice a bit more easier as she clenched the contract. "...I'll do it. I don't care about what the consequences, as long as my sister lives, that's all I care about." Eliza said. Mephisto smile grew larger. "I knew you would say that." Mephisto said, snapping his finger again. A pen appeared in Eliza's hand. She looked at the bottom and she signed her name there. "Okay. Now, what?" Eliza asked, handing the contract back to Mephisto. Mephisto looked at the contract with impure glee as it vanished into a puff of smoke. "A deal has been forged." Mephisto said, his snake like tongue slipping out of his mouth as he snapped his finger and Eliza's revolver appeared in his hand. The revolver started to glow red for a few seconds before it stopped. "Ah, there you go. Good as new." Mephisto smiled. The revolver reappeared in Eliza's hand. She looked at it and there was nothing different about it than it was before. "...Um...okay...thanks." Eliza said. "Once you leave this room, you will fall into a deep sleep till you will wake up back in the car like you did a few moments ago, you need to be quick and get rid of that monster before it has the chance to kill your sister again. Remember, this is your only chance, if you screw it up, I won't be able to rewind time again for you." Mephisto said. "...No pressure there...okay, do it." Eliza said, with determination. "...Oh, silly me, I almost forgot...could you shake my hand before you go?" Mephisto asked. Eliza, staring at him, looked at her left hand and held it to Mephisto. "Sure." Eliza said. Mephisto grabbed Eliza's hand, shaking it before Eliza suddenly felt like her palm was on fire all of the sudden. "AH-YAH!" Eliza screamed, forcing her hand out of his grasp. "Calm down, it was just a little sting." Mephisto reassured her. Eliza, holding her wrist, saw Mephisto's sigil on her palm. "...W-what is this?" Eliza asked. "That's my signature, it's there to remind you of our connection. With that mark on your hand, you will never forget about me. You won't be able to wipe that off your palm, not unless something happens and our deal comes off that is." Mephisto shrugged. Eliza still felt like her hand was on fire but nodded. "...O-okay. Now, can I go now?" Eliza asked. "Of course. But, before you go, remember what I have to say...your world is heading towards hell, and chances are things aren't going to get better from here. Whatever you will do, whatever you will choose, whatever you will have to say...will be of your own volition, anything that will happen will be a result of your actions, the responsibility will be on you, young heart. Do not forget that." Mephisto said. Eliza looked unnerved by Mephisto's words as the red fog started to surround again, suddenly feeling tired, her eyes were forcing themselves to close. "Now then, Eliza Summers, it's time for you to leave. And by the way...no matter where you are...I will always be watching...don't ever feel that you are alone...cause I...will be there..." His voice echoed in Eliza's head as everything turned black again. ------ In a few minutes later, Eliza opened her eyes and she had a wicked sense of deja vu as everything was a blur again and her head was in pain. Eliza, after realizing where she was, quickly turned her head to Jess who had yet to wake up. "J-JESS! WAKE UP!" Eliza yelled. Jess eventually woke up, not realizing what even happened as blood dripped from her forehead, she hit her face against the wheel pretty hard. "...U-Ugh, my head...W-what happened?" Jess asked. "Are you okay? We crashed into that...rock thing!" Eliza said. Jess pulled her face off the wheel, placing her hand on her forehead, covering it in her own blood. "...Shit." Jess said, only now realizing that she was this close to actually dying. Jess quickly turned to Eliza. "A-Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Jess asked. "I think I bumped my head into something but I'm okay. We need to get out of the car now!" Eliza said. "...Y-yeah, we should." Jess nodded, despite that her head was ringing as she removed her seatbelt. Eliza got out of the car followed by her sister who took a moment to recuperate, laying her back against the car. Eliza, holding her revolver, looked at Jess. "Jess, grab your rifle and stay away from that rock thing, I don't think it's normal." Eliza said. Jess looked at Eliza before looking at the rock. "...Y-yeah, good idea." Jess said as she grabbed the keys by pulling her hand through the broken window and walked to the trunk, opening it up and pulled out her rifle before moving away from the car. Eventually, the turtle monster pushed the car out of the way and revealed itself to the sisters. Jess's eyes widened as she aimed her rifle at the turtle thing. "Holy shit, you were right, that thing isn't normal!" Jess yelled, ready to shoot. When the turtle monster spat fire at them and they moved out of the way, Eliza quickly shot a glowing bullet out of her revolver, piercing through the turtle monster's shell and it blasted out of the back of the shell, causing the monster to roar. Eliza looked surprised that it actually worked before she shot five more times, each bullet hitting it's limbs, making holes through those limbs. The turtle monster screamed it's head off, pained by the strikes from Eliza's bullets. Jess watched, looking in disbelief by her sister courageously taking this thing head on without any hint of fear at all. "Jess, shoot at it's head before it has the time to attack!" Eliza yelled. "Oh, yeah!" Jess said, snapping out of her confusion as she aimed her rifle at the beast's head, shooting at it's yellow eyeballs. Eliza shot one more glowing bullet into the monster's forehead, the bullet bursted through the back of the monster's head. The turtle monster collapsed on the ground, it's head and limbs vanished into smoke while it's rocky shell remained on the squashed police car. "...I-it worked." Eliza said, sighing in relief. She then looked at Jess, who was staring intently at the monster's shell. "...Are you okay, Jess?" Eliza asked. "....I hate these things...I hope each of them die slowly." Jess said, with rage in her voice. "...Oh..." Eliza said. Eliza turned to look at their wrecked car, it definitely wasn't working anymore. "...There goes our only way of getting out of here." Eliza sighed. "...Our dad got me that car on my 17th birthday." Jess said, looking at her car keys. "...I'm sorry, sis." Eliza frowned. Jess, clenching her teeth, turned around and tossed the keys in the distance, landing somewhere in the field. "Doesn't matter now. Let the monsters keep them." Jess said. Eliza could tell that the situation is having a negative impact on her sister. "...What do we do now?" Eliza asked. "We keep moving. Staying out here in the middle of nowhere is a death trap. We keep going till we find a safe place for us to stay till the authorities figure out a way to deal with these things." Jess said. Eliza nodded before a drop of rain landed on her head, she looked up to the sky as it started rain buckets again. "...Of course it had to rain." Eliza sighed, placing her hands around her body. Jess frowned before she held Eliza's hand and looked at the road. "...Let's go." Jess said. Jess and Eliza started walking, continuing forward. Eliza, to make sure she wasn't dreaming from the crash, looked at her left hand and saw Mephisto's sigil imprinted on her palm, meaning everything that happened was real. Even now, she could remember what Mephisto said. I will always be watching...don't ever feel that you are alone...cause I...will be there.
Eliza frowned before looking ahead as the two continued their long walk. ------------- Meanwhile, in a church that was buried somewhere in the underground. Jebediah was inside the church with black walls, windows with Celestial Moons on them, an altar with a bible on it, he was standing there with his arms folded as he watched the news about Erinfort's attack through a TV that was placed on the floor while his two subordinates who were with him earlier in the interview, Jehovah and Mary, were right behind him. Also there was a man with short silver hair, wearing a black coat without a shirt on while wearing black pants holding a scythe and a 17 year old girl with shoulder length brown hair, wearing a long black coat with a rose-shoulderless shirt underneath it with a necklace with a crucifix pendant around her neck, wearing a black skirt with purple boots as he was currently moving around a small marionette attached to strings, watching it dance on the floor. Her name was Rebecca. "...These creatures has been popping up in these last couple of days all of the sudden. Their targets appear to be the people they resemble and their actions are driven by malice, leaving nothing behind their destruction." Jebediah said, pondering about this. "Where the hell did these things come from?" The silver-haired guy asked. "According to my informants, that little guy, Max Lima, found a portal that lead him to a distant island filled with those crystals that created those monsters, they overrun the island and it's unknown if Lima survived or not. Those yellow-eyed things are created by a person's darker impulses, you take all the rage, sadness and trauma out of a person and you get those things." Jehovah said, pointing at the monsters attacking Erinfort. "Makes sense to me. These things don't seem to have a grander purpose outside of just attacking the people they were born from." The girl shrugged, looking apathetic. "...Do you suppose that these crystals creating those things came from one of those alternate dimensions that your superiors suspected to exist, do you?" Jebediah asked Jehovah. "That seems to be the case. This could turn into a global disaster if we let these creatures spreading their crystals everywhere and destroy everything in their path." Jehovah said. "At the same time, it could be a huge advantage to us. If we take out these monsters and these crystals, the public's faith in Red Moon will drastically increase aswell as Jebediah's chances of rising to the top of the political ladder. There is a upside to this crisis." Mary smiled, placing her fist on her hip. "We are gaining supporters as each day is passing. We need to recruit more capable people who have the necessary abilities to deal with these atrocities and we have to find them quickly before this can escalate into something more disastrous." Jebediah said, placing his hand on his chin. "Not to mention we still have yet to find two more sacrifices worthy of bringing Lord Jashin back to full power." the silver-haired man said. "And the Omnipotents are still out there, they need to be dealt with entirely." Jehovah said, clenching his fists. "Last time you got the clever idea of using the Omnis for the sacrificing ceremony, it costed the lives of three of our guys and one of them was a guardian. Do you want to lose more people just for the sake of settling a grudge against those guys, Jehovah?" The girl said, the marionette's head snapping at Jehovah at the same time she moved her head towards him. Jehovah glared at the girl. "My family died during that battle those six Omnipotents had with Erebus. I will not forgive them for what they did, I will hunt each and every one of them to the ends of the Earth if I have to." Jehovah said. "Hey, I thought we agreed not to mess with those Omnipotents anymore after the last time it blew up in our faces. Keep your damn grudge under control and do what our Lord asks you to do!" The silver-haired man ordered. "...Hikari has been missing for quite awhile, we won't have to worry about him trying to setback our plans. However, we still have a few loose ends to tie up, like the two children who are currently imprisoned for now still have the split essence of a demon inside them thanks to those three traitors and the girl who worked with the Erebus cult disappeared with the book of darkness. If we want the new era to come to fruition, we can't let any of these ties slip past us." Jebediah said. "And what about Stoneson and his doggy lawyers who keep howling those scandals at us?" Mary asked. "Stoneson is all bite but no bark, we don't have to worry about him and his campaign. Plus, we have the Harbercorn family on our side as they too are getting tired of super-powered beings messing with Newrum State City, with them on our side, my chance of becoming President is beyond 100% at this point. Things likely would of been a lot harder for us if the Guardian of Light stuck around but since he's been gone for years now, Red Moon gained a high position in society and soon, everyone in the entire world will realize that we are the ones holding the keys to a new bright future...but before that, we need to deal with these creatures first. Jehovah, any ideas on how we deal with this problem?" Jebediah asked. "My old bosses had pictures of some old looking escape pods that were there a long time ago, speculated to be from the first dimension, the one with the original Omnipotents. One of my ideas is to recruit those guys who came from those pods since they might have the expertise to deal with these things." Jehovah said. Jehovah then pulled out a file out of his coat, handing it to Jebediah. "This file contains a list of well known researchers who have the brains to come up with brilliant ideas to solve your situation." Jehovah said. Jebediah opened file, flipping through it's pages as he was looking at every researcher till he stopped at one page. "...Hm...this one sounds...promising." Jebediah said. "According to the file, they've been dead for years now." Jehovah said. "That shouldn't be a problem, with the Impure World Resurrection spell, we can bring them back. As of now, our main priority is to destroy these creatures and prevent anyone else from being hurt, and if we find any more of those crystals, then shatter them." Jebediah said. "You got it." The silver-haired man smirked. Jebediah looked up at the ceiling, lifting his hand up and a blue flame appeared on his hand. "Soon we will be rid of the ones who killed our loved ones for good...right, Jack?" Jebediah asked. ------ In Newrum State City. The daughter of James Stoneson and Juliet L'aurlethe, Amila, was in the lounge, with a laptop placed on the table, sipping some tea while a Digimon dressed as a servant was vacuuming the floor. She was reading an article about Erinfort's sudden attack by the same creatures that were responsible for assaults on other cities. "...This is not good." Amila said. ----- In Curtside. A group of people backed away in fear as they were looking at two individuals who arrived here and got in trouble with a few police officers who were currently laying on the ground with stabs wounds in their bodies. One of them was a large person with green skin, his face was shadowed but with red eyes, wearing a black open trench coat without a shirt, revealing it's chest, black gloves, a black hat, black pants without shoes and a green tail coming out of the back of his pants, shoulder length green hair, holding one officer in the air with his tail wrapped around his throat while his bare foot was shoved against another officer's head. The second person was a woman who's face was masked by her long black hair, only her sharp intimidating yellow eyes could be seen through her hair, wearing a purple shirt with short sleeves, with a black dress vest, blue pants equipped with knives, black spiky boots and holding a bloody claymore, sitting on top of a injured police officer. "...And here I thought this place might be different. Guess I was wrong, again." The woman said. The woman sat up and the crowd tensed. "...Let's go. We don't belong here." The woman said, walking towards the crowd. The crowd nervously stepped out the way and the woman walked passed them. The larger green-skinned person growled as he dropped the officer on the ground and followed the woman. The crowd decided not to mess with these two strangers. ----- Back to Jess and Eliza. They were now currently in a forest, the raining has stopped but the two were completely drenched, sitting on a log as Jess's arm was wrapped around Eliza who was resting her head on Jess's leg. They looked exhausted, what they have seen today will never be purged out of their memories, even if they would try. "...Today...was the worst day of my life, no contest." Eliza said. "...Agreed." Jess said, sounding dejected. "...Will everything return to normal, sis? Will we...ever come back home?" Eliza asked. "....I don't know, Eliza. All that matters is that the two of us stay together no matter what, everything else doesn't matter. If things don't appear to be getting better, we keep moving till we find a place secure enough for us to live in it. That's our goal, for now." Jess said. "....I hope our parents are safe, wherever they are." Eliza said. "...I'm sure they are. Go to sleep, Eliza. We have a long day tomorrow." Jess said. Eliza nodded as she closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. Jess let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes. "... I don't care what happens next. Erinfort may have fallen, but I will not let the same thing to happen my sister. I will do whatever it takes to survive in this Hell that we are living in. No one will get us, not even those monsters...no one can separate us." Jess thought in her head. And so, the day that changed everything ends. What has fate in stored for these two girls and the rest of the world aswell? Only time will tell. TO BE CONTINUED
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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 23, 2019 8:19:16 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Part 1: Hunted
Wednesday, June 11th 2081, 10:16 PM
It's been years since the fall of Erinfort, forcing the Summer sisters to retreat into the wilderness. For those couple of years, they've spent fighting for their lives against the unpredictable yellow-eyed creatures, whom had been dubbed by the world as the 'Others', trying to find a place for them to live in but every place they found so far was a ruined city or an unsafe environment and so they kept moving and moving, without stopping for anything.
In the middle of the night with the moon casting it's light upon the endangered planet.
A grey-furred wolf was currently munching on a prey it found in the middle of the woods, eating every bit of this prey without having enough of it. This creature just like any other human was eating just to survive, without food it would perish.
A glowing bullet flew past the animal, going through a tree and piercing through the back, it was a warning shot.
The wolf quickly ran off, abandoning whatever was left of it's prey as a young lady entered the scene, who had shoulder length pink hair, wearing a dirty green zipped up jacket with a backpack hanging off her shoulder, blue trousers and sneakers, holding a white revolver in her right hand, the lady was Eliza who at this point in time was either 19, close to 20 years old.
She approached at whatever the wolf was eating and what was left was the head of a bunny. Eliza let out a sigh, looking at the head of the little tiny creature with pity in her eyes.
"Did you find it?" Jess's voice called out.
"...Yeah. But that wolf got to it before us." Eliza said, still looking at the bunny.
Her older sister, Jess, walked right behind her sister, holding her father's rifle. Jess's long hair was wrapped in a ponytail while a few brown strands were sticking out of her hair, black bags under her eyes and wearing a red shirt shielded by a black leather jacket to keep her warm with a black bag attached to her back, black pants and brown shoes. She looked down at the bunny with annoyance in her eyes.
"Yet another meal lost." Jess sighed.
"...Honestly, I'm kinda glad we din't kill it ourselves, even if we are hungry." Eliza said.
"Plenty of bunnies are probably dead at the hands of those things, you shouldn't get teary eyed over killing just a single one." Jess contradicted, rather coldly.
Eliza frowned in response, guessing that it may be true, despite how harsh it sounded.
Jess turned her to the direction the wolf ran off to.
"If we're lucky, we'll be able to catch up to that stupid wolf and get ourselves some dinner." Jess said, as she walked on ahead.
Eliza looked at her sister as she was walking before deciding to follow her.
During these years, Jess has taken a cold approach to this whole situation they were in, in order to survive in this harsh world she had to adapt to it, the times where Eliza would see her sister smiling would be on rare occasions but even then, those smiles barely last a minute. Eliza, on the other hand, decided to look at the bright side of things so she wouldn't lose hope, still believing that things may go back to how they used to be but that din't appear to be the case as things kept getting worse after Erinfort.
The two sisters were now just walking through the forest, holding onto their weapons.
"If we follow it's tracks, we should be able to find it and put it down before it has the chance to attack us." Jess said.
"...Do we really need it, though? I'm not sure if wolf meat is even that good." Eliza said.
"We are running low on food and resources at this point, we are not gonna survive for much longer if we don't find ourselves some food and fast." Jess said with lowered eyes brows.
"...I...guess you're right there." Eliza sighed, not bothering to argue with her sister after having plenty of arguments with her in the past about a few things that are best left undiscussed.
As they kept walking, the two quickly heard the sound of footsteps and turned their heads to a bush, the sound was coming from there.
"...It could be the wolf, or a stupid yellow-eyed thing. Let's keep our distance and check through that bush to see what it is." Jess decided.
Eliza agreed to that with a nod as the two carefully approached the bush with caution and peered through it.
They saw a deer who was drinking water from a lake, it wasn't alarmed at all as it kept drinking water in peace.
"...It's a deer. It's been awhile since we saw a deer in the forest...one that wasn't being chased by those things." Eliza whispered, to not disturb the deer.
"...A deer is better than a wolf, I suppose. This should do nicely." Jess said.
Jess turned to Eliza.
"You can strike it's neck with a single shot from your gun, right? It shouldn't be too hard." Jess said.
Eliza looked at Jess before looking at the deer.
"...I...I guess so." Eliza said, unsure.
"Okay. Now, shoot it before it has the chance to run off." Jess said.
Eliza, peering through the bush, raised her revolver, aimed at the peaceful creature who din't sense the danger it was in as it kept drinking water.
Eliza's hand was shaking as she looked at the door, feeling conflicted. On one hand, they needed the deer to survive but she din't want to kill this innocent creature who din't do anything to them just for food.
"Eliza, what are you waiting for? Shoot it before it escapes!" Jess said, quietly.
Eliza's finger was close to the trigger ready to fire but she din't have the will to do it.
"...I...can't..." Eliza said.
Jess, frustrated, aimed her rifle at the deer, not taking the chance of losing yet another meal and with a single a shot, the bullet struck the deer's neck, without realizing what just happened as it collapsed on the ground.
Eliza lowered her revolver and looked down at the fallen deer with sadness.
Jess stood up and walked to the dead deer, using her power to levitate it above the ground before turning to Eliza, with a harsh expression.
"There, I saved you from having to kill this deer by yourself and now we have something to eat. It's a win-win for both of us." Jess said.
"...Thanks." Eliza muttered.
Jess then began walking with the levitating deer following her, going past Eliza as her harsh expression remained, she clearly wasn't happy with Eliza's hesitation.
Eliza kept standing there, replaying the deer getting shot in her mind, seeing it's blood on the ground where it once stood.
"Eliza, are you coming?" Jess asked.
"Uh, yeah, I'm coming." Eliza said, as she turned around and followed her sister, not wanting to upset her even more than she is now.
30 minutes it took for them to get back to their camp and for Eliza to find wood to lit up the campfire and Jess to prepare dinner.
The two were sitting on the ground in front of the campfire with a tent set up behind them, both holding sticks with deer meat. Eliza was eating the deer meat rather slowly while her sister ate every meat on that stick till nothing remained. Eliza thought that the moment they found themselves some food, she would eat it all but now, she din't feel that hungry anymore.
"...What's wrong, you don't like how I cooked it?" Jess asked.
"...No, it tastes good. It's fine sis." Eliza said, not looking at Jess.
Jess said nothing as she kept munching on her dinner.
"...You need to stop being so hesitant, Eliza. We could of lost that deer back there and we would have to go through yet another night without anything to eat." Jess said.
"...I'm sorry, sis." Eliza frowned, with her knee's raised up.
"We won't be able to keep this up for much, we've been staying here for three days now and we're bound to get targeted by a group of scavengers or those things again. Tomorrow, our next stop will be Wellham." Jess said.
"...What do you think we'll find when we get to Wellham?" Eliza asked.
"Who knows, probably a secure city that wasn't attacked where we can rest at or it will be yet another death trap filled with monsters and dead bodies, like usual." Jess sighed.
"I hope it's the former." Eliza said, as she laid her back against the ground, spreading her arms all over the ground as she looked at the sky that was filled with stars while being stared at by the gigantic moon.
"...It reminds me of that camping trip in the woods outside Erinfort with our parents. We used to sing songs together and spend the rest of our night just watching the stars, it was beautiful back then." Eliza said.
Jess din't even look up, she had her gaze set on the ground.
"...It's crazy that despite the crisis we are in, the night is still beautiful like always." Eliza said, smiling slightly.
She turned her head to Jess.
"Aren't you gonna look, sis?" Eliza asked.
Jess let out a long sigh.
"...It's pointless thinking about the past, all it does is just bringing back bad memories that I wish to stay forgotten. No matter how optimistic you are about it, it will not change our situation, the world will not magically get better, Eliza. It's better to just forget about the past and move on with the present." Jess said.
"...Sis." Eliza said.
Jess stood up, tossing her empty stick on the ground.
"I'm heading to bed. You can gaze stars all night if you want, but I'm tired." Jess said.
Eliza watched as Jess went into their tent to get some nap.
"...You've changed a lot sis...I can barely recognize you." Eliza sighed.
She turned her attention back to the moon before she felt that her left hand was itchy and looked at her palm to see the sigil given to her by that demon, as a reminder of the deal they made. In these years, Mephisto hasn't contacted Eliza about that favor for saving Jess's life, Eliza hopes that he has forgotten about that and forgotten about her but she had a feeling that he din't.
Eliza placed her hand on the ground as she continued staring at the sky before she had to go to sleep.
------
Thursday, June 12th 2081, 10:50 AM
It cuts to Newfort, the city where the new president, Jebediah, was residing in. He won the election against James Stoneson, who declared that the election was rigged from the start so Jebediah could win, thanks to his supporters and a few puppets designed as humans by Rebecca to increase the votes, Jebediah won and Red Moon became an official government force, dedicated to wipe out the Others with the weapons designed to counteract them and members with abilities that are effective against them, each Red Moon member was positioned in each city to keep things under control.
Jebediah moved from Wellham to Newfort, finding it to be a more quieter place to stay, which was a good decision, after hearing what happened to Wellham in these last couple of days.
The president's new home was a large white mansion that could be mistaken for a medieval castle, with two gargoyle statues placed left and right near the entrance, a nice garden with a fountain nearby and the mansion was surrounded by a fence and a large gate that was closed at the moment.
Inside, Jebediah was in the white hallway, looking through the window holding a phone to his ear talking to someone, his appearance hasn't changed at all since last time he was seen.
"...So those two individuals are still on the move. I'll see what I can do, thank you for telling me this." Jebediah said, before hanging up.
He placed his phone in the pocket, looking at the birds chirping on a tree branch with a smile to his face till a voice was heard in his head.
"I suggest we deal with these two ourselves. Our men failed to neutralize them several times now, why aren't we doing anything instead of putting an end to this?" The voice asked.
"Be patient. It would be a foolish action to fight them head on without learning more about their strengths and weaknesses, plus exposing you out there wouldn't be a good idea at all, the controversy that would ensue would be enormous. We agreed that you will reveal yourself once the war with the demons starts." Jebediah thought in his head as he climbed down the stairs.
"I can't stand to just sit here and keep waiting when these two could attempt to sabotage our plans, they need to be disposed of." The voice said.
"I know, but we need to act with caution, we can't let the demon clans know that you are inside me. Just wait a little more, that's all I ask." Jebediah said.
"Fine. But if this keeps on, I will have no choice but to step in myself." The voice declared before concluding this conversation.
Jebediah arrived downstairs and turned to the right to see that the door that leads to a room full of painting was open and he went inside.
In the room, there was a young man with long white hair wearing a black and white robe, sitting on the chair and painting something on a canvas with the paintbrush, there were plenty of paintings placed on the walls, some of them were quite old like they were from the medieval age judging by one painting that featured King Arthur and his castle.
Jebediah approached the young man as he was standing right behind him.
"Seems like you just can't get enough of art, do you, Judas?" Jebediah asked.
The young man, Judas, turned to look at Jebediah.
"Oh, good morning, Jebediah...I made you breakfast before I went in here." Judas said.
"Thank you, but I'll be heading to the White House right now, I'm quite busy with a lot of problems that need to be solved." Jebediah said.
"Ah, okay..." Judas said.
Some time in the year 2078, this young man suddenly appeared in Newfort, wounded and was found by Rebecca and was brought to the hospital. Jebediah was informed and went to the hospital to check, thankfully the young man survived but he had nowhere else to go, claiming to be from another world and was being chased around by some man working for a intergalactic organization.
Jebediah took pity on the young man, sympathizing with him as he too knew what it was like to be in a world that was completely different from the one he was born in. When Jack's soul forged with him, he had to outlive the people he once knew and watched as the era he was in faded away and soon people no longer lived in cottages and wooden houses, instead they lived in luxurious apartments, carriages pulled by horses replaced by cars and instead of bows and arrows, people these days now use a gun for protection. Jebediah for quite a long awhile, adapting to the constant changing environment, having to wear different clothes and fake names to fit in society, one of them was the hippie getup from the 80's...it was quite an awkward phase for him.
Either way, Jebediah took him under his custody and assured the intergalactic officer that he won't be doing anything bad as he long as he has his eyes on him, the officer was reluctant but nonetheless, he accepted and left. Judas was a good listener, and a little naïve and found himself a hobby by painting to keep himself distracted.
Judas was currently painting the garden from outside.
"...So, what do you think?" Judas asked.
"...Hm, the colors mix together quite nicely, but nonetheless, it's a unoriginal replica. Surely you could paint something else entirely." Jebediah said.
"...I...don't know what else to paint...I paint usually anything I see." Judas sighed.
Jebediah placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Art is diverse, Judas, plenty of skillful artists have their own interpretations of it, you just need to find your own interpretation of it and go wild." Jebediah smiled.
"...My own interpretation. Like what?" Judas asked.
"It can be anything. Going outside to socialize with the outside world could help give you an idea, staying inside the house will not inspire with anything." Jebediah said.
"...Yeah, I guess. Thank you for the advice." Judas nodded.
Jebediah nodded back.
"I'll be heading off. Contact me if someone arrives here, I'll see you again tonight." Jebediah said before leaving the art room.
Judas turned to look at Jebediah before he looked back at his painting.
"....Something original..." Judas said, thinking about this.
Jebediah stepped out of the house and turned to face the wall as the Red Moon symbol, which was a Red Celestial Moon surrounded by a red circle, lit up and Jebediah went through it, the symbol vanished before anyone could see.
-------
The sisters were currently sleeping peacefully in their tent as the sun's light peered through their tent, waking up Eliza.
Eliza let out a yawn as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"It's morning." Eliza said.
She turned to look at her sister, who's back was turned and was still sleeping as Eliza placed her hand on her shoulder, shaking it.
"Hey, Jess, wake up, it's morning." Eliza said.
Jess din't wake up, her body suddenly tensed as Eliza could hear her deep breathily.
Eliza, concerned, shook her sister once more.
"Sis?" Eliza asked.
Jess then rose up, opening her eyes with a panicked gasp and sweat dripping down her face, breathing in and out.
Eliza leaned backwards, her concerned expression din't change as she placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Eliza asked.
"...It...it was just a nightmare. Again." Jess sighed, placing her hand on her face.
"...Oh. Was it horrible?" Eliza asked.
"...Pretty much." Jess responded, before removing her hand.
She looked at Eliza.
"Let me guess, it's morning, right?" Jess asked.
Eliza nodded.
"That's why I woke you up. You said today we'll head off to Wellham." Eliza said.
"Yeah. Just give me a minute and we'll be off." Jess said.
Eliza obliged as she crawled out of the tent, taking her backpack with her.
Jess placed her hands on her face, resisting the urge to cry.
"...Just...forget about it, Jess...just forget about it...and you'll be fine." Jess said, her voice cracking.
She put the fire out before going to sleep so it wouldn't accidently burn their tent as Eliza pulled out a bottle full of water and drank from it, feeling thirsty. After seeing that her sister din't get out of the tent, she sat on the ground a bit to stare at the sun.
After waiting a bit more, Jess eventually walked out of the tent, holding her rifle with her bag strapped to her back.
Eliza turned to face her sister, noticing her troubled look.
"...Are you sure you're ready to go? We can stay here for one more day." Eliza suggested.
"...No, I'm fine. You haven't forgotten anything in the tent, right?" Jess asked.
Eliza shook her head.
"Good. We aren't taking the tent with us, we have everything we need. Let's see what Wellham has to offer." Jess said.
Eliza got up and nodded as she followed her sister's lead, leaving the tent behind them.
They were just walking in the forest with Jess holding her rifle very tightly, focusing on their surroundings to be ready if her psychic powers will warn her of any dangers nearby while Eliza had her hands in her pockets, just listening to the sounds of cricket's chirping somewhere in the forest.
"...I just had a thought...can you use your psychic powers to see if Wellham will be dangerous or will have any Others in them?" Eliza asked.
"My visions do not activate willingly, they come to me when I least expect it." Jess said.
"Oh, okay. If you were able to willingly...this would become a lot more easier for us." Eliza said.
"...Yeah." Jess said, not adding anything else to the conversation.
Eliza sighed, kicking a small rock out of the way as she had nothing else to add to the conversation.
Jess kept walking till she spotted smoke reaching the sky, it wasn't too far away from where it was coming from.
"...There's smoke in the air." Jess said.
"...Maybe someone else is camping around here, we can't be the only people who lost their homes and are surviving out here in the wild." Eliza suggested.
"...If so, we need to be careful. Any person we meet can turn out to be very dangerous." Jess said, as she decided to take a closer look.
Eliza followed her sister, ready to pull out her revolver in case a fight a will happen.
They found the source of the smoke, it was coming from a grey metallic pod, half of it was buried into the ground with the door open. The pod managed to take out a few tree's aswell when it crashed here. If it was up to guess, it crashed for 2 or 3 days now.
Jess lowered her rifle, not expecting to find a odd metal pod crashed in the middle of the forest.
"...The hell is this supposed to be?" Jess asked.
"It looks like a space pod, the ones that you usually see in Sci-Fi action movies." Eliza said, as she walked to the pod, inspecting it from a closer view.
Jess din't leave her guard down for one second as she looked at the pod with a distrustful look, expecting something to happen.
Eliza found three letter words on the right side of the pod. I.S.P.
"...What does 'I.S.P' stand for?" Eliza asked.
"I don't know, hopefully it doesn't stand for an intergalactic invasion or something, cause that's the last thing we need." Jess said.
Jess looked at the ground and spotted some unnatural looking footsteps.
"...Whoever was in that pod is probably long gone by now, hopefully." Jess said.
"...Maybe. There isn't anything useful in this weird pod." Eliza said, tapping her foot against it.
"We don't appear to be in danger so that's good atleast. Let's get a move on." Jess said, continuing forward.
Eliza kept staring at the pod a little more before she followed Jess, continuing their path to Wellham.
-------
In the White House.
Jebediah was in the Oval Office, sitting behind the desk and signing a bill that has yet to be passed.
A knocking was heard on the door.
"Come in." Jebediah said, without looking up.
The door opened and Jehovah walked in, followed up by a person who wasn't seen before.
The man had blue hair, wrapped in a bushy ponytail, green eyes, wearing a very expensive purple suit with a white buttoned-shirt underneath it with two Epaulette pieces placed on his shoulders, with a golden insignia of a lion placed on his suit and wearing purple gloves. This man was Daniel Harbercorn, the current head of the legendary Harbercorn family. Daniel had reputation from his ancestors of the family who were claimed to have helped with the construction of Newrum State City around 1999 and gave it it's name, Daniel is quite prideful when it comes to his family's reputation.
"Good morning, Mr.President." Daniel smiled.
"Hello, Daniel, Jehovah, I'm glad you were able to make it. Now, before we get to the main topic, any updates regarding our unsolved issues?" Jebediah asked.
Jehovah walked up to Jebediah, handing a paper with the report written on it.
"The army managed to wipe out plenty of Others this month but more of those crystals keep popping up and we still haven't located the source. However, they aren't as many as they were many years ago." Jehovah said.
"And how are things going from your end, Daniel?" Jebediah asked, reading through the report.
"My execution squads had been doing their best with wiping out the ones infected with the demonic essence that was released last year around August from the bodies of those devilish children who were travelling around with those two troublemakers and quarantined the cities that were infected, however some of them are still on the loose and hiding somewhere but we are bound to find them sooner or later." Daniel stated with confidence in his words.
"I hope so. And now, onto the main matter. Wellham. Jehovah, any updates on that situation?" Jebediah asked.
"I've sent soldiers to Wellham the moment that wild creature started killing the citizens. Despite the efforts, the creature was unharmed by the attacks and overwhelmed my men, some of the civilians are still alive and trapped in that city with that monster taking full control of it. I can say for certain that monster isn't an Other, it's pattern is different, it even attacked the Others that spawned the moment that thing appeared. I'm considering my options on how to deal with it as of right now." Jehovah said.
Jebediah frowned, placing the report on the desk as he placed his hands together, looking thoughtful.
"I had sent photographs of that creature captured on camera to the lab to figure out more about this creature and it's origins. I expect receive results very soon now." Jebediah said.
There was a second knock on the door.
"Enter." Jebediah said.
The door opened and a man wearing a lab coat with a white suit vest and a white cravat, black pants with matching shoes, his skin was grey with strange cracks on it, the sclera of his eyes were black while his pupils were yellow and the color of his long hair was white, having a rather lifeless expression on his face. He had a name tag on his coat saying 'Benedict Bloom'
"Hello, Jebediah." The man with the cracked skin said.
"Ah, Benedict, how refreshing to see you out of your lab for once, you could use a little bit of sun light once in awhile." Daniel said, looking at the man with displeasure.
Benedict walked past Daniel, ignoring his snarky comment as he placed a file on the desk, it was about 'Morphers'
"The creature that's invading Wellham is known as a Morpher, an alien from another Universe who is the last of his own kind. It's a being that absorbs energy to increase it's growth, even energy from living beings, it can morph into anything and posses people, one of it's major weak points is sound, it drives them crazy. Any attacks generated by energy will prove futile against it, it will absorb them and make it more powerful than it was before." Benedict said.
"That explains why none of our attacks worked on it so far." Jehovah said.
"Hm, a creature that can absorb energy of any kind. Perhaps I should deal with this threat." Daniel said, with a finger placed on his temple.
Jebediah read through the file before placing it alongside the report.
"Thank you, Benedict. You may go now." Jebediah said.
Benedict bowed before he left the room.
Jebediah rose from his seat and faced both Jehovah and Daniel.
"First these other crystals from a ninth Universe and now this Morpher, it's becoming obvious that these other 'Universes' will continue spreading their branches to our world and we need to cut those branches before they can insert themselves here. Jehovah, send Gideon and Simeon to deal with the Morpher, their abilities combined should defeat it." Jebediah said.
Jehovah nodded.
"Daniel, contact Omesata and see if he can find a way to create barriers around our Universe so we won't get any more visitors from those other worlds, Neonytes included, and tell your men to keep their eyes peeled to any unusual suspect who have the essence of the demon inside them." Jebediah said.
"I'll be sure to get right on that." Daniel nodded.
Jebediah turned around, placing his hands behind him as he looked through the window.
"...I'll do everything in my power to keep these Universes from connecting themselves to us, especially when I'm so close to eradicating that evil dimension." Jebediah said, clenching his fists.
----
The city of Wellham was in ruins, plenty of buildings and houses were destroyed.
The streets were filled with people who were laying on the ground, their skin's were pale and were rather thing with bloodshot eyes, it's like someone sucked the life out of them.
A dead mother had her arm wrapped around her child who's hand was attached to a teddy bear who's head was missing.
Vehicles were either empty or filled with dead people. The ones who were lucky enough to survive were hiding somewhere in the city from the threat responsible for what has happened.
In a building, a security officer who was in his office, aiming his gun at the hallway as the door was wide open, waiting for something to come in. The man was breathing heavily, his eyes filled with fear while the TV laying on his desk was playing in the background, featuring a reporter talking about Wellham.
"Wellham is currently under the siege of a unknown monster who was confirmed not to be an Other, speculated to be an alien from outer space who crashed near the city with a escape pod. The monster is still in the city and hasn't made a move to other cities just yet." The reporter said.
The security guard just kept aiming his gun at nothing, sweat dropping from his forehead as nothing appeared to be coming.
A drop of red goop landed at his feet.
The guard aimed his gun at the goop before he slowly looked up the ceiling and his eyes widened.
More bits of red goop fell down from cracks from the ceiling, dropping in front of the guard as the bits started to combine with each other and began growing as a pair of blank eyes stared at the guard.
The guard let out a scream as he started shooting many times at the growing goop but it proved to be effortless as the goop formed into a red-skinned creature without clothes or hair. White blank eyes, razor sharp teeth, huge claws from fingers and toes and it was quite taller than the human as it looked down on the security guard. The creature was driven by only a single thing, the force that drove it into killing all these people, Hunger.
Red tendrils bursted out of the creature's back, the tendrils stretching themselves towards the security guard.
"G-GET AWAY FROM ME!" The security guard cried, shooting more bullets at the monster.
The tendrils grabbed the man by his throat and limbs as the creature lifted the man up.
Only the shadows of the man and the beast could be seen as the man let out a bloody scream before he eventually stopped his scream and wasn't breathing anymore before he got dropped to the floor with a sickening thud noise.
"President Jebediah declared that Red Moon is finding a solution to counteract this alien invader and warned the public to be prepared in case the monster plans to invade other cities. This was Kurt Jones, reporting live from-" The reporter said.
One of the creature's tendrils broke right through the TV screen and lifted it up, absorbing it's electricity before smashing into the wall.
"Heh, 'be prepared', what's the point?" The creature asked in it's raspy voice.
The creature turned around and walked to the window, looking outside trying to spot any people in the area, the ones who weren't dead atleast.
"There should be a couple of people left with enough energy for me to consume before I move on. Those negative creatures filled me up a little, but I need more if I want to get rid of this annoying hunger." The creature commented before walking out of the view.
------ Jess and Eliza were now standing on top of a hill, looking at the ruined city from above.
"...What happened to this place?" Eliza asked.
"Probably the same thing that happened to Erinfort and the other places that we went to." Jess said, looking indifferent as she saw this view plenty of times by now.
"...Should we even go there?" Eliza asked.
"The city should have some supplies and a working car, we can't go back now. We avoid conflict with anything alive or dead." Jess said, as she walked down the hill, heading to Wellham.
"...I was afraid you would say that." Eliza sighed, as she followed her sister.
The two climbed down the hill and walked past the city gate, with the sign above saying 'Wellham'.
They walked onto the street, staring at the dead people laying on the ground.
"What happened to these people? They look...like they got their blood sucked by a giant mosquito." Eliza said, putting her fingers to her nose, looking sick by the sight and smell.
"...I don't see any Others nearby. Whoever did this probably got them too." Jess said.
Eliza kept surveying the corpses and spotted the mother with the child who was holding onto the teddy.
"...What kind of a monster would..." Eliza muttered.
Jess looked at what Eliza was looking before doing her best not to look anymore and instead saw that the street split up in two separate directions.
"...There are plenty of stores in this place. We can search around and find anything useful to get like food, water, medicine, all kinds of stuff to put in our bags. We'll need to split up." Jess said.
"...I guess I'll go left." Eliza guessed.
"And I'll take the right. Once we get our stuff, we'll meet right back here and try to find a working car." Jess said.
"Okay...sounds easy enough. Just be careful." Eliza said.
"I will. And Eliza, remember, avoid anyone you come in contact with but if you get into a fight, remember...do not hesitate." Jess said with clear intent so Eliza can get the message.
"I know." Eliza said.
And so, the two sisters departed.
Eliza, with her revolver in her hand, was walking down the road, making sure not to step on any heads of the corpses and accidently crush them. She walked past a kindergarten and then walked next to a library.
Eliza turned around and looked at the library, seeing the windows smashed, with a sign on the door saying 'we're closed'
"...Put a 'forever' next to 'we're closed' and it would sound a lot more accurate." Eliza said.
Eliza raised her leg and made sure not to get cut by the shards of the broken window before putting her other leg inside and was now standing on top of a table.
She jumped off the table and looked around, there din't appear to be anyone in there and there were plenty of books.
Eliza walked to the books, checking them out. Most of them appeared to be boring history books, one of them was about the history of Ancient Rome. She remembered that her sister is a big fan of all this Greek related stuff and so she picked up the book, looking at it.
"...Maybe this could help get Jess's mind off once she get's to read this book." Eliza said, placing the book in her backpack.
She walked to the fantasy section and picked up three books for herself, thinking they would be a lot more exciting than any history or boring romance books and placed them in her backpack alongside the history book.
Eliza got out of the store the same way she came in and continued her walk, trying to find any stores with food in them or pharmacies with medicine but so far, she hadn't found one of those yet.
After walking past a toy store, she suddenly heard the laughter of a child from that store.
Eliza turned around, confused, thinking that everyone in this city was dead, she din't think there was someone alive in this city, she din't expect to hear a child's laughter as she walked closed to the store to have a look.
She heard the sound of glass breaking under foot before she looked down to see some yellow shards that looked very familiar, resembling one of those crystals that bring forth an other.
"...Oh crap." Eliza gulped.
As Eliza approached the toy store and looked inside, she couldn't believe her eyes.
She saw a couple of five kids with yellow eyes surrounded by dark aura's who were currently playing with toys in the store. They were clearly Others but they din't appear to be harming anyone, they were just...playing like normal kids.
Two of those others were playing with toy swords, clashing against each other while an Other that looked like a little girl was hugging her little doll, not letting go of it.
Eliza just watched as these Other children were playing. All this time, she thought Others were just mindless monsters that attacked the people they resemble and yet, these things were just minding their business being children. Perhaps there was more to these things than it meets the eye.
"...I guess these monsters can have a heart too...and maybe just don't know what they are doing." Eliza sighed.
She decided not to interrupt their fun time and walked away.
Meanwhile, Jess was walking past some cars that were flipped over and more dead bodies.
For some reason, she couldn't help but feel that this city wasn't entirely abandoned and they weren't alone...she felt some malevolent force in this city that was watching her at this moment.
She decided to ignore that and instead focusing on finding some supplies and a car that's working and get out of here before anything happens.
Jess walked right pass a movie theatre which would of premiered a new movie which reminds Jess of that time when she and Eliza went to the cinema once to watch a cartoon movie that Eliza begged her sister to go to when they were younger.
A shopping mall caught Jess's attention and figured it would have all kinds of supplies for her and Eliza as Jess went into the shopping mall.
The entire mall appeared to be abandoned as Jess could see before she looked around, spotting a shopping store nearby and a food court that was located up there once you get on the escalator that takes you to the top floor.
Jess walked into the clothes store first and began checking the area a bit to make sure no one was here. After seeing there was no one in this room, Jess began picking shirts and jackets and stuffing them into her bag before eventually moving on to pants and placed them in the bag.
"These jackets will be good enough to keep us warm when Autumn comes." Jess commented before placing the bag on her back and moving out of the shopping store.
She rode the escalator up to the next floor and went inside the food court. chairs were laying on the floor and the contents from a bag of food was splattered all over the floor.
Jess looked around and saw food inside some display cases that still looked good and din't appear to have expired. She walked behind the counter, grabbing herself a bag and placed a couple of burgers and chicken wings in the food bag, enough food to last them a week.
Jess's eyes glew purple, feeling that dreadful presence again and her head snapped towards the entrance of the food court. Bringing out her rifle, she walked out of the food court, waving her rifle around.
"Who's there?" Jess asked, her eyes flipping from left to right.
There wasn't anyone there, anyone visible that is.
Jess din't seem to like this before she went back into the food court to finish taking the food and getting the hell out of here quickly as possible.
However, from one of the stores, a pair of blank white seen could be seen from the darkness, watching Jess for the moment.
Eliza walked out of a pharmacy store that was empty, it appears someone took all the medicine without anything left for her.
"Looks like someone beat us to the punch. Sis ain't gonna happy about this." Eliza sighed.
Eliza then looked to the left and saw a veterinary store. It's possible there could be some medicine or bandages in there so it might be worth checking out.
She walked to the veterinary store and opened the door, walking inside.
Much to her displeasure, Eliza saw a couple of dead birds lying on the floor, with their cages laying beside them. And she heard the sound of someone sobbing behind the counter.
Eliza turned her head to the counter, alarmed by the crying. Her sister advised her not to get in contact with anyone but it was hard to ignore it.
Very carefully, Eliza avoided stepping on the dead birds as she made her way to the counter, placing her hands on it and leaned herself to get a good look at the person.
There was a man with dirty short brown hair, brown eyes, cracked glasses, wearing a messy white buttoned-up shirt, a torn tie, black pants and shoes, sitting in a crouched position, crying in his own arms.
"...Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Eliza asked.
"..H-huh?" The man asked.
He raised his head to look at Eliza and let out a scream.
"AAAH!" The man screamed.
The scream caught Eliza by surprise who backed away from the counter as the guy got up and pulled out a gun, aiming at Eliza's head.
"W-who are you!? W-what do you want!?" The guy asked, his hands were shaking like crazy.
Eliza quickly pointed her revolver at the guy aswell the moment he pulled the gun.
"H-Hey don't shoot! I'm not here to hurt you!" Eliza said.
"H-how do I know you are not lying? For all I know...you're some scavenger or...or you're that red thing...who s-shapeshifted to look like a human to get me!" The man said, still aiming the gun.
"...What red thing? What are you talking about?" Eliza asked.
"Y-you don't know? The monster with tendrils that attacked Wellham and absorbed the life out of every person in this city! I...It attacked my dad's veterinary store...I hid while my parents...they..." The man said, as he began sobbing again.
Eliza looked at the man with sympathy in her eyes.
"...I'm sorry. My parents aren't here either...they are somewhere in Brazil...I haven't found them yet...I don't even know if they are still alive. But I'm not the monster who destroyed this town, me and my sister came here looking for supplies and a car. I'm here because I thought I could find some medicine, I'm not gonna hurt you, so please, lower your gun." Eliza implored.
The man looked at Eliza, he din't know if he could really trust her or not...
"...Put your gun away...and I'll do the same...so I can know that I can trust you." The man said.
Eliza nodded as she placed her gun in her pocket.
"There. Now it's your turn." Eliza said.
The man's hands were still shaking as he eventually lowered the gun and looked at Eliza.
"...W-who are you?" The man asked.
"I'm Eliza Summers, I'm from Erinfort. Me and my sister Jess are the only ones who came here in this city, what's your name?" Eliza asked.
"...I'm...Scott...Scott Anderson...It's been awhile since I talked to any actual humans, every person I've know is dead." Scott sighed.
"What caused this? Was it an Other?" Eliza asked.
"...An Other?" Scott asked.
"Those things with yellow eyes that look like people but turn into monsters." Eliza detailed.
"...N-no...it was tall...red skin...huge claws..blank eyes...and tendrils that absorb the energy out of a person...it did the same to...my parents...I...I stayed hidden and watched as it..." Scott said, looking down at the floor, his eye twitching slightly.
"...That's probably what came out of that space pod...this is not good...me and my sister are looking for a place that has medicine and a working car, do you know where we could find them?" Eliza asked.
"...Um...there is a hospital, my grandma, on my mother's side, used to work at the hospital...there should be some stuff left there, I-I know where it is but...the monster is still lurking around, it will spot us and try to eat us!" Scott said.
"That's a risk we'll have to take. Come on, my sister isn't too far, let's get out of here and head to that hospital." Eliza said, holding her hand out for Scott.
Scott looked at her hand before he slowly lifted his hand and grabbed Eliza's.
"...O-Okay...you'll keep us safe from that thing, right?" Scott asked.
"Of course, I won't let that monster hurt anyone else." Eliza assured him with a smile before she dragged Scott out of the Veterinary store.
Jess was out of the Shopping Mall and was currently a trail of dead military soldiers, who looked the same as the rest of the victims.
The smell was pretty unbearable as Jess blocked her nose with her fingers as she continued walking, she let out a small gasp before she hid behind a yellow car.
There were two people who were alive and well, standing in front of a military car.
Jess peered her head behind the car she was hiding at to take a closer look at the individuals.
One of them was a guy who appeared to be in his early 20's, bald with the symbol of a red Celestial Moon on the back of his head, wearing a white short-sleeved T shirt with a skull on it, his arms were tattoo'd, wearing brown shoes with sandals while the other was a black skinned woman who was one year older than the guy with red eyes, dreadlock brown hair wearing a yellow tank top and torn black jeans, with a symbol similar to the bald guy's on her forearm while holding a crossbow in her hands. The two were currently checking on the dead military officers.
"Damn, these guys are fucked up." The bald guy said.
"Yup. Pretty fucked up. The Army bigshots won't like this shit, at all." The girl said.
"Well, these guys are dead, no question about it. We should head back to Mishinaka and tell Zeke what we found." The bald guy said.
"...Hm, it would be a waste to go back home empty handed though." The girl commented.
The girl walked to the back of the military car and kicked the door open, there were a lot of guns in there that weren't used in the fight.
"Daaamn, quite a lot of military shit in here. Zeke's probably gonna give us a bonus if we bring these to him, would be a waste to just leave them behind." The girl smirked.
The bald guy whistled when he saw the guns.
"Debby, you are a fucking genius." Baldy said.
"Yup. Be sure to watch my back while I take all this shit." Debby said, as she jumped right into the car while her bald friend just learned against the car, keeping watch though he looked kinda bored actually.
"...Who the hell are these guys? They're from Mishinaka?" Jess thought to herself, as she remained out of their sight.
Suddenly, a red mosquito swopped in and it began flying around Jess's head, much to her disbelief.
"A mosquito? Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Jess thought.
Jess waved her hand around in attempt to get the mosquito to fly away.
The bald guy, as he was looking around, spotted a hand waving behind the yellow car, getting his attention.
"The hell?" The bald guy asked.
"What's up?" Debby asked from inside the military car.
"I think I saw someone's hand behind that car over there." Baldy said.
"Then go and see if there is someone hiding, I'm busy with all this shit." Debby said, picking up every weapon she saw.
Baldy rolled his eyes as he made his way towards the yellow car, Jess was panicking inside.
"Damn it! Stupid bug!" Jess thought once again.
Jess quickly hid right under the car and din't move a muscle as the guy reached the car.
He looked behind the car and saw no one there, much to his confusion.
"Hey, is anyone in here? Come out!" The bald guy asked, pulling out two disks covered in flames, strangely enough, the flames din't burn him.
Jess remained hidden and was sweating bullets, hoping not to get caught.
The bald guy kept standing there, looking around but alas, no one showed up as he scratched his naked head in confusion.
"You found anyone, Duke?" Debby asked.
"Nope, don't see anyone. Kinda thought I saw someone." The guy, Duke, said.
"You must be high again. Get your ass back here, I've got all the cool guns, now let's get out of here before that creepy monster shit shows up to munch on us like these dorks." Debby said, carrying plenty of military weapons as she jumped out of the military car.
Duke just shrugged as he made his way back to his friend while Jess sighed in relief.
She pulled herself out of the car, just in time to see the same moon symbol appearing on the wall, activating a portal and the two strangers went through it and disappeared. The symbol then vanished.
"...What the hell was that all about." Jess said.
Jess decided to head back to the street corner where she and her sister separated while the red mosquito wasn't too far away.
Eliza, accompanied by Scott, arrived back at the street corner, waiting for her sister to arrive.
"...I hope Jess is okay." Eliza sighed.
"...How is she like?" Scott asked.
"...She is nice but...don't expect her to treat you nicely at first, she has a problem with trusting strangers." Eliza said.
Scott just slowly nodded.
Eventually, Jess arrived.
"Oh, you're okay, I was getting worried for a second there." Eliza smiled, sighing in relief.
Before Jess could open her mouth, she immediately noticed Scott before looking back at Eliza.
"...Who is this?" Jess asked.
"...Ah, right. He is Scott, I found him in the Veterinary store looking for medicine. I found him crying and I decided to bring him along with us, I figured that he could some company since...his family is dead." Eliza said.
"...I-I'm standing here, you know." Scott said.
Jess's eyebrows lowered.
"...Excuse us for a moment." Jess said.
Jess grabbed Eliza by her wrist, dragging her a bit far away from Scott so he wouldn't hear them. An angry Jess turned to face Eliza.
"Did you get hit in the head or something? What did I tell you earlier?" Jess asked.
"I just thought-" Eliza said.
"Not to get in contact with anyone unless we can avoid it, and you did the opposite! What do you want, a third mouth to feed!?" Jess asked.
"But Scott knows where the hospital, his grandma worked there, we can find medicine and maybe he can find us get a car and get out of here!" Eliza said.
"And how do you know he is not lying? He could playing some twisted game with us." Jess said.
"I don't think he is. He is too scared out of his mind to even punch a fly in it's face. Come on, sis, have some faith for once." Eliza said.
"The last time we got ourselves involved with people that we din't know about, they fucked us and nearly left us with nothing, do you want the same thing to happen again?" Jess asked.
"You can use your telepathy and see if he is lying or not. What do we have to lose here, sis?" Eliza asked.
Jess sighed, clearly what she was saying din't go through Eliza's head and it was pointless to argue when they were standing at a spot where they are easily exposed and looked at Scott in the distance.
"...Fine, we'll do this your way, but if this comes back to bite us." Jess said, as she walked back to Scott and Eliza followed her.
Scott quickly turned to the sisters.
"Scott, was it? So you know where the hospital is?" Jess asked.
"...Y-Yeah. It's not too far away. I can take you there." Scott said.
"Okay, you'll take the lead and walk in front of us. But know this, I will put a bullet in your skull if you fuck with us, understand?" Jess asked, giving him a cold glare as her rifle was aimed right at his leg.
Scott's face turned white when his eyes got in contact with Jess's.
"...Y-You got it. Just please lower the gun, it's making me nervous." Scott said.
Jess did just that, but her harsh expression remained.
"...F-Follow me." Scott said, walking past the sisters, heading to where the hospital should be.
Eliza and Jess looked at each other before following the brown-haired scared man. The red mosquito was also following them from the distance.
The two sisters were following Scott while Jess had her rifle aimed at his back in case of anything.
"...Did you find anything?" Eliza asked.
"Found plenty of food and clothes in a shopping mall, should be enough to keep us fed for one week. And I saw two people from Mishinaka checking up on dead soldiers and taking their weapons, the two had some weird red moon symbols on them and used the same symbol to get out of here, thankfully they din't catch me." Jess said.
"...Huh. Did they mention anything else?" Eliza asked.
"They mentioned someone called Zeke, but beyond that, nothing else important. Did you find anything?" Jess asked.
"...Nothing much, just a couple of books from the library when we get bored and have something to read. I got you a book on Ancient Rome, you like all that stuff about Greece stuff, right, Jess?" Eliza asked.
"...Thanks, I guess. I'll probably read it once we're out of this city." Jess said, smiling slightly. Eliza was satisfied to see her smiling like that.
Eventually, they reached the hospital building 'Heartland Hospital Center'
"...H-here we are. This is the place." Scott said, gesturing at it.
"...Do you think there is anyone in there alive?" Eliza asked.
"...I don't know." Scott shrugged.
"We'll find out once we go inside." Jess said, gesturing at Scott to move.
Scott walked into the hospital and so did the girls.
Inside the main lobby, the receptionist lady was laying face down on the counter.
Eliza walked to the lady, poking her slightly to see if she would react. She did not.
"...She is dead. Definitely." Eliza said.
"So, where do we go from here? Where can we find some medical supplies?" Jess asked Scott.
"...My grandma told me that the director of this hospital, William Shelly, has medicine in his office, located in the third floor. Probably." Scott muttered.
"What do you mean, 'probably'?" Jess asked, clenching her rifle.
"There is an elevator there. That can take us to the third floor instead of using the stairs." Eliza said, pointing at the elevator.
"Y-yeah, that works." Scott nodded, as he walked towards it and pressed the button.
The elevator door opened and the three went inside as Jess pressed the button that leads to the third floor. The door's closed and the elevator went up.
"...Sooo...do you have a girlfriend?" Eliza asked Scott.
Scott's face turned red out of embarrassment.
"...N-No...no...I don't know...I...never dated girls before..." Scott muttered.
"Ah, okay. I never dated any guys before either." Eliza said.
"...Why are you even asking him that question?" Jess asked.
"Just wanted to make conversation." Eliza shrugged.
The elevator reached the third floor and the doors opened.
The three walked into a white hallway with doors on both sides.
"Where is the director's office?" Jess asked.
Scott looked around as he was looking at each other till he found a door with a name plate on it
'William Shelly-Director'
"...It's here." Scott said, pointing at the door.
Jess walked to the door and tried to open it. It was locked.
"Ah, because that would of been too easy otherwise." Jess said, looking annoyed.
"Should be a key somewhere around here." Scott said.
"But the hospital is big, the key could be anywhere." Eliza sighed.
Jess turned to Scott.
"Do you have a power?" Jess asked.
"...I...I have telekinesis." Scott answered.
Jess pointed at the door.
"Use that to rip this door open. We can't waste time looking for a key." Jess said.
Scott looked surprised before he looked at the door and concentrated, gritting his teeth.
The door was telekinetically ripped out of it's hinges and collapsed on the floor.
Scott took a deep breath.
"Wow, that was cool. Good job, Scott." Eliza smiled.
"...Uh...no problem." Scott said, blushing.
"Come on, let's get a move on." Jess said as she marched into the office, only to stop as she was staring at something the other's couldn't see from the hallway.
Eliza walked into the office.
"...Sis, are you okay? What's...wrong." Eliza said, her eyes widened.
A old man with white hair and glasses dressed as a doctor was leaning against his chair behind the desk, his eyes looking at the ceiling with a bullet hole visible from his head, holding a gun in his right hand.
"...Is that the director?" Jess asked, looking at the old man with disbelief in her eyes.
Scott walked in, looking behind Jess and gasped.
"I-It's him!" Scott said, with his hand put to his mouth so he wouldn't puke.
Eliza looked at the director before seeing a photo frame on his desk, of him with his hands placed on the shoulders of a little girl with a bandaged head in a wheelchair with the hospital visible in the background, the two of them looked happy in the photo.
"...I hope that girl is okay..." Eliza sighed.
Jess just shook her head before she turned to look at a medical cabinet laying at the left side of the office, with medicine boxes, bottles and syringes visible through the door windows.
She tried to open the cabinet, only to find out it was locked too.
"Great, just fucking great!" Jess exclaimed.
"He could have a key." Eliza guessed, gesturing at the director's corpse.
Jess sighed as she checked the doctor's pockets and din't find a key.
"He doesn't have it. We'll have to break the windows open." Jess decided.
"...With what?" Scott asked.
"...I could use my gun." Eliza suggested, as she pulled out her revolver.
Jess aimed her rifle at the cabinet door's windows and shot two bullets, breaking through the windows.
"....Or you could do that, that works too." Eliza said, putting the gun back in her pocket.
"Find something to put the medicine in." Jess said, as she began emptying out the cabinet by levitating the boxes out of the cabinet.
Scott looked around and spotted a empty white suitcase laying next to the director's desk.
"...You can use that." Scott suggested.
All the medicine was gently placed in the suitcase before Jess closed it. She picked it up and handed it to Eliza.
"Eliza, you carry this. I don't trust Scott to do it." Jess stated.
Eliza nodded as she held the suitcase.
"Now, let's get out of here and find a car that works." Jess said.
The three walked out of the director's office, closing the door behind them and they started going towards the elevator.
The red mosquito from earlier flew in, buzzing around the three.
"...It's that stupid mosquito that nearly got me busted." Jess said, looking at the bug with an annoyed expression.
Scott gasped when he saw the mosquito.
"Are you scared of bugs?" Eliza asked Scott, looking confused.
"...It's...it's the monster!" Scott yelled, pointing at the mosquito.
"...The insect is the thing that ate everyone?" Eliza asked, looking at the bug.
"The monster can shapeshift into anything, even insects, we have to get out of here before it's gonna eat us alive!" Scott yelled, pushing Eliza aside as he ran towards the elevator.
"Shit!" Jess yelled, running after Scott and so did Eliza after almost getting knocked on the floor.
The mosquito changed back into the Morpher who landed right in front of the three, blocking the elevator.
The Morpher stood up and looked down at the three with a huge grin on it's face.
Jess stood in front of Eliza, aiming her rifle at the creature's head in case it moves while Scott's face was white as a bedsheet.
"Hello...earthliiings." The Morpher said.
"...Are you the one who's been stalking me in the mall?" Jess asked.
"Indeed. While I was feeding on these small humans, I've sensed someone with powerful energy coming in this city and I had to check for myself. You two have enough energy to fill me for an entire day." The Morpher said, pointing at Scott and Jess.
"...Not on your fucking life will that happen." Jess scowled.
"...Who are you? Where did you come from? Did you crash here with that space pod?" Eliza asked.
"I am the last of my kind, the Morpher Nexeen, I have escaped from that organization the Intergalactic Space Police and I crashed on this planet. And to my luck, this city was right around the corner, with enough people to devour on." Nexeen said, placing his hand on his stomach.
"Why!? Why would you do this!? Why would you kill all these people who did nothing to you!?" Eliza asked.
"Survival. Humans preserve the animals you grow so one day when they get big and fat, you kill them for their meat so you can satisfy your hunger. I'm doing the same thing, I'm eating energy so I can be able to survive and reach the next stage to my evolution." Nexeen said.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, buddy, but we are not buffet material so get out of our way and let us go!" Jess said.
Scott ran past the sisters, pushing Nexeen out of his way as he ran towards the elevator, pressing the button many times to get it to open.
The sisters tried to run to the elevator aswell till Nexeen threw his clawed hand at their direction and they jumped out of the way.
"You're not going anywhere!" Nexeen screeched, as his tendrils peered out of his back, going towards the two sisters.
Jess aimed her rifle and shot bullets at Nexeen, hitting his forehead and chest but the bullets got absorbed into him instead.
The tendrils grabbed Jess by her wrists and legs, knocking her on the floor, dropping her rifle as she was getting dragged towards the Morpher, kicking and struggling to break free.
"JESS!" Eliza yelled, shooting her revolver at the tendrils, cutting right through them and freeing her sister.
Jess quickly got up and levitated Nexeen, throwing him in the other side of the hallway before grabbing her rifle and Eliza's hand, running towards the elevator which now opened and the three got in the elevator and the doors closed, taking them down.
Nexeen got up and casually walked over to the elevator, putting his hands on the doors, using his claws to forcefully open the doors open before grabbing onto the cables and began climbing down to the elevator.
The three were inside the elevator as the girls were panting.
"...That thing is a fucking monster, we need to find a car and get out of here alive!" Jess said.
Scott, meanwhile, was sitting on the floor, in his crouched position, rocking back and forth.
"...Scott, calm down, we're okay now. We'll get out of here and the monster won't harm us." Eliza reassured him as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"...I...hope so..." Scott said.
The elevator suddenly shook, causing Scott to scream.
"What was that!?" Scott asked.
"Shit, it followed us!" Jess cursed, looking up the ceiling.
A red axe bursted through the elevator ceiling.
"Ah!" Eliza yelled.
Jess just quickly pressed on the button to get the elevator to stop.
The red axe began cutting through the ceiling, making a large hole that showed Nexeen, who's right hand morphed into the axe before it turned back into his normal hand.
"Going somewhere?" Nexeen asked.
"COME ON!" Jess yelled, slamming her fists against the buttons.
The elevator stopped to the second floor and the doors opened.
Scott quickly ran out, next was Jess who grabbed Eliza's hand and ran out of the elevator, running towards the stairs.
Nexeen landed in the elevator before leaping out, landing in front of the three as he started walking towards.
Jess's eyes were glowing purple as a few chairs were thrown right at Nexeen, slamming into his body. He merely shrugged them off as he kept walking towards them.
Jess then levitated two tables, throwing them next in Nexeen's direction.
Nexeen shot web out of his wrists, attaching to the tables and slammed into the walls, breaking them in pieces before he opened his mouth, letting out a purple energy beam that struck Jess in the stomach, knocking her on the floor.
"JESS!" Eliza yelled, rushing over to her sister.
Scott was shaking as Nexeen was approaching them very quickly and his tendrils were extending themselves towards the three.
"AAAAAH!" Scott screamed, as he ran to the emergy fire alarm hospital button, breaking the glass and pushed the button.
The alarm began ringing and Nexeen wrapped his hands around his head, screaming in agony.
Suddenly, Nexeen was telekinetically lifted off the floor and was thrown back into the elevator with force, knocking on the floor.
Before he had the chance to get up, the elevator began violently shaking as the cables were torn from the elevator, sending it crashing down with Nexeen it as a loud crashing noise was heard.
Eliza helped Jess get back up before she looked at Scott who was breathing and out.
"Thanks Scott, you saved us back there." Eliza said.
"...Why did that thing go crazy when the fire alarm went off?" Jess asked, confused.
"When that monster came into our store, a loud commercial jingle was playing from the TV and it screamed, it's like the song was hurting it's brain and it broke the TV...I think it's vulnerable to sound." Scott said.
"If the elevator crash din't kill it, then we should get out of here while we still have the chance!" Eliza said.
"Yeah, you're right, let's go!" Jess said, running down the corridor and making it to the stairs, followed by Eliza and Scott.
The three arrived back at the main lobby and ran out of the hospital.
"There's gotta be a car somewhere around here that works." Jess said, looking around.
"There's a gas station right there, with a car there!" Eliza said, pointing at the left side of the street. There was a black SUV near the gas station.
They ran towards the gas station and made it there. Eliza looked through the window and there was only one guy in the driver seat who was thin and pale with bloodshot eyes, another victim of Nexeen.
"We need to get that guy out of the car. Sis, you can use your power to move him out of there." Eliza said.
Jess nodded as Eliza opened the car door and the driver was levitated out of the car and was dropped on the ground.
Thankfully, the car key was already in the ignition and when Jess used it to start the car, it was working.
"Okay, it works! Eliza, you still have the suitcase with the medicine in it, right?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, I've got them here." Eliza nodded, gesturing at the suitcase.
She turned to Scott.
"Are you coming with us?" Eliza asked.
"...I...don't think so." Scott said, shaking his head off.
"Huh, why? Why would you stay here when that monster and a few Others are still here?" Eliza asked.
"...What if...everything else is terrible too? What if there are other monsters out there who are more dangerous than this thing? There could be all sorts of deadly creatures and death traps...And I don't want to die. I'm staying here. I will hide somewhere, where it won't find me." Scott said.
"Scott..." Eliza sighed.
"Forget him, Eliza! If he wants to stay, so be it, let's go before that thing-" Jess said.
A red Rhino with blank eyes smashed through the wall of the hospital before it turned to face the three.
"Oh crap!" Eliza said.
The rhino morphed back into Nexeen as he shot red web out of his wrists, going right towards Scott.
Scott, in a moment of panic, grabbed Eliza and shoved her in the way of the web, resulting in her getting pulled right towards Nexeen and dropped the suitcase with the medicine in.
Scott picked up the suitcase and started to run off, pushing a very pissed off Jess out of the way.
"It's every person for themselves!" Scott shouted, as he continued running for dear life.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jess yelled, standing up.
Jess turned around, forgetting Scott as she brought out her rifle, shooting one bullet that cut right through the web and freed Eliza before she could of gotten her life absorbed.
Eliza quickly got up and ran back to her sister, hugging her.
"Oh my God, Jess! I, I thought I was a goner there!" Eliza said.
Jess accepted her hug, looking relieved that her sister is okay before placing her hands on her shoulders.
"Let's go, I had enough of this place." Jess said.
The two sisters ran into the car, with Jess in the driver seat with Eliza sitting next to her, the two buckled themselves up as Jess started the car, ready to go.
Nexeen walked in front of their car, lifting foot and pressing it against the car's hood, preventing them from leaving.
"Going so soon?" Nexeen asked.
"YOU FUCKER!" Jess yelled, gritting her teeth.
Eliza slammed her hand against the car horn, not letting go.
Nexeen screamed in pain, placing his hands around his ears, backing away from the car.
Jess drove the car right into Nexeen, sending him flying off into a store window before she turned the car around and drove off very fast to get away from him as soon as possible.
Nexeen morphed into a vulture and flew out of the store before morphing into a cheetah and ran off, he was not letting his prey get away that easily.
"...You think we lost him?" Eliza asked.
"I hope so." Jess said.
She looked through the rear-view mirror and her eyes shrunk, seeing Nexeen-cheetah right behind them.
"NO!" Jess yelled.
"I'll try to slow him down!" Eliza said.
She peered her head out of the window before shooting her glowing bullets at Nexeen, who dodged the bullets with ease and was quickly gaining on them.
Jess, having enough of the Morpher, levitated every car they were passing by and threw them right at the Morpher, each car smacking right into him, forming a pile of cars.
"Is it still chasing us?" Jess asked.
Eliza looked through the mirror and it appears the car pile was enough to stop Nexeen from moving.
"I don't think so!" Eliza said.
"Awesome!" Jess said, as she continued driving as fast as she could.
They reached the city gate and drove out of there, making it out of Wellham.
a red worm crawled out of the car pile and morphed into Nexeen, who looked damaged by the cars slamming down on him.
"I can't believe I lost them! Now what am I gonna feed on till...." Nexeen stopped.
He suddenly sensed two powerful presences in the area, they felt far more powerful than the people he chased earlier.
"...Mmmm..looks like I found a more worthy cuisine than those three." Nexeen grinned.
Nexeen looked ahead before he decided that chasing after the girls wasn't worth it and instead should focus on the two who appeared as he turned around and walked to a different direction.
It cuts to inside the car as Eliza looked behind to see Wellham from the distance.
"...Holy, that was intense...but atleast we're still alive." Eliza sighed in relief, resting her head against her seat.
Jess, however, still looked pissed by what Scott did as she was driving normally now. ----
Later, at night, in Newfort.
In Jebediah's mansion, Judas was still in the art room, just now finishing his new original painting.
The door in the entrance hall opened and Jebediah walked in and the door closed behind him.
"Judas, I'm back." Jebediah said, turning to the art room.
"Oh, hello. How was work?" Judas asked, turning his head to his caretaker.
"Frustrating. It isn't quite easy when leading a country and having many responsibilities to bear, but every problem is solved each at a separate time as they say. But enough about me, how are you, dear boy?" Jebediah asked, walking into the room.
"I've just finished my new painting. Take a look." Judas said, as he moved out of the way.
His painting features a large shining red star, the upper and bottom points were white while the left and right points were black, shining down above the globe.
"You told me to go with my own interpretation and I did, I painted a red star, which represents Red Moon, the white and black points represent me since I wear black and white, shining above the planet Earth. Red Moon protects the Earth, right?" Judas asked.
Jebediah looked at the painting with a sincere smile on his face.
"Indeed, Judas. This is quite a remarkable work of art." Jebediah said.
"Thanks." Judas smiled.
Jebediah's phone started ringing.
"Ugh, let me take this." Jebediah said, pulling his phone out and answering the call.
"Jebediah speaking." Jebediah said.
"Arrived in Wellham. Morpher dead." A man with a thick accent responded from the other line.
"Ah, so you've managed to neutralize the pest?" Jebediah said.
"Creature died before we came. Sliced in half like pizza." The man responded.
"...Someone else killed it?...Hm, interesting. Alright, the mission is cancelled, you can head back to Wallshore." Jebediah said, hanging up.
"...Who was that?" Judas asked.
"Just president matters, nothing to worry yourself over. Anywho, you must be hungry, let's head to the dinning room." Jebediah smiled, turning back to Judas.
Judas nodded as he stood up and left the room while Jebediah remained, looking thoughtful.
"Do you think it was those two again?" The voice asked.
"I believe so. Atleast the Morpher has been dealt with, now we can focus on how to deal with them." Jebediah said.
"What about the boy? For how long are you gonna keep him in the dark?" The voice asked.
"For as long as I need to. He can't find out what we are doing, he wouldn't take this well." Jebediah said, leaving the art room.
-------
Back in Wellham.
Two halves of Nexeen's body were laying on the street while the five Other children from the toy store were currently playing around his corpse.
The woman with long black hair and yellow eyes who was holding a bloody claymore and the tall green-skinned man wearing a trench coat and hat were seen leaving Wellham.
"What a disappointment. And here I thought he could of proved to be a interesting ally but once, he attacked us for no reason. Even those children we allied ourselves with din't last for too long." The woman sighed.
"Where are we going now?" The tall man asked with a raspy voice.
"...Not sure. and I honestly don't care." The woman responded, continuing down the road.
------
The Summers were in the SUV, driving in the middle of the night on the roadway.
Eliza was looking out the window, she couldn't stop thinking about Wellham.
"...I think that thing stopped chasing us entirely. To think he killed all those people...just because he was hungry." Eliza said, before she remembered that yesterday, they killed a deer just because they were hungry to.
Eliza turned to Jess.
"...Jess, we-" Eliza said.
"If you are gonna compare the deer to what happened in Wellham, don't. Nexeen killed many people in cold blood, the deer thing is absolutely nothing like that." Jess said, her eyes were glued onto the road.
"...I guess so." Eliza sighed.
Eliza was holding onto her backpack.
"Atleast we got enough food and clothes, going to that city wasn't a waste of time thankfully." Eliza said.
"It would of been even better if we also had that nice suitcase full of medicine too if that lousy, good for nothing douchebag din't push you into that Morpher and stole it." Jess said, her anger escaping through her voice.
"...Yeah, that..." Eliza sighed.
"I knew from the start that he couldn't be trusted, and yet you still brought him along regardless." Jess said.
"But he did save us from becoming the Morpher's lunch in the hospital." Eliza said.
"And then he pushed you right into said Morpher and took all that useful medicine away from us right after he saved us. If you only left his useless ass back in that pet shop, the suitcase would be with us, it's gonna be hard surviving out there if one of us get's sick especially when Fall and Winter comes." Jess said.
"I thought he needed our help. I couldn't let someone else become a victim to that monster the moment I had the chance to prevent that." Eliza said.
"You can't save everyone, Eliza, you are not a superhero, shit happens and sometimes we can't do anything about it. Stop living in a dream world and realize that the reality you live in isn't as pleasant as you may think it is, there are assholes out there who will take advantage of your trust just like how Scott did. I hope what happened in Wellham will teach you a valuable lesson when the next time you will put your trust in the wrong person." Jess said.
"I just want to have faith in people, why is that so bad!?" Eliza asked, lowering her eyebrows.
"Because having faith in people will get you killed one day like how it nearly happened today! If I din't shoot through Nexeen's web, you would of died and I would of killed both him and Scott! Do you know how scared I was back there, do you even know what I would of done if you...I don't have the courage to even imagine that scenario...I will not let that happen ever again, even if it means having to watch over you 24 hours a day forever without sleep and forbidding you from getting in contact with any other person who can get you killed, then so be it!" Jess said.
"MOM AND DAD WOULDN'T AGREE TO THAT!" Eliza snapped.
"MOM AND DAD ARE GONE AND THEY ARE NEVER COMING BACK!" Jess shouted back at Eliza.
The car abruptly stopped.
The two sisters then just stared at each other, both of them let their emotions run wild for a moment, both of them saying stuff that they din't mean to say to each other.
"...I...I'm sorry...I...don't know what came over me...it's just...everything is so hard...and you are the only person I have now, sis...and what happened in Wellham...really scared me?...You know I want to protect you, right?" Jess asked, with a sad expression.
"...Y-Yeah...I guess...you might be right." Eliza said, wiping tears from her eyes, what Jess really hurt her.
Jess frowned as she stared at the wheel, letting out a long sigh before she continued driving.
"...Where are we going now?" Eliza asked, not looking at her sister and staring at her reflection in the window.
"...The guys I saw back in Wellham mentioned Mishinaka...I think it isn't too far from Wellham, we should go there to see what's up, they might have plenty of resources, probably than that ruined city. It will probably take a day or two with this car but we'll make it there, I promise." Jess said.
Eliza said, she kept looking at the starless sky. She thought that perhaps her sister was right about her being too naïve when it comes to trusting people and probably should of just left Scott well alone enough since he was capable to survive on his own, maybe if she did, they would have medicine. But she won't give up hope, there has to be something good to come out of this, she is sure of it, she hopes that maybe one day her sister will realize it too and turn back to the person that she loved back those years ago.
Eliza looked at her left hand, staring at the sigil, Mephisto's repeating in her head.
Whatever you will do, whatever you will choose, whatever you will have to say...will be of your own volition, anything that will happen will be a result of your actions, the responsibility will be on you, young heart. Do not forget that
"...My choices, huh? Next time...I will make the right decision." Eliza thought to herself.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 24, 2019 8:37:58 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Part 2: Lawless Town
Sunday, June 15th, 1:22 PM
The Sun was up in the sky, it was hot outside once again.
The black SUV the Summers took from Wellham was on the road, their destination was Mishinaka after Jess heard about it from the two strangers who appeared in Wellham.
They've been on the road for two days now, they stopped at a few gas stations to pick up fuel for their car so they won't end up stuck on the road and having to go on foot.
Jess was driving the car while Eliza was looking out the window with her hand placed on her cheek, looking at the tree's in the distance.
The older sister had a map in her other hand that she had in her jacket for a long time, looking at where Mishinaka should be.
"...I think we're about to reach the place in a few minutes." Jess said.
"...Cool." Eliza said.
Ever since the heated conversation that occurred in the car after leaving Wellham, the two sisters din't say much to each other after that.
"...Good thing we have that food I got from Wellham or else we would be starving to death right now." Jess said.
"Yeah, I guess." Eliza muttered.
Jess frowned, usually her sister would be a lot more chatty but instead she would just say a few words and then silence.
"...Eliza, you're okay, right?" Jess asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Eliza asked.
"...Look, about what I said back in the car, I wasn't thinking straight and-" Jess said.
"Don't worry about it, it's okay. I'm over it now." Eliza said. However, her expression betrayed her words immediately.
"...Are you sure?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, I'm absolutely sure." Eliza said, still looking out the window.
Jess sighed.
"Fine. But if you wish to talk, I'm here for you. I hope you know that." Jess said.
Eliza said nothing, she kept looking at the road.
Eventually, Jess could see something from the distance. As the car kept going, she could be able to see a large white wall surrounding an area with a metal gate in the center, the same symbol she saw on those two people from Wellham was on the gate.
"...I think we reached the place." Jess said.
"How are you so sure?" Eliza asked.
"There is a symbol on that gate, those guys I saw in Wellham had the same symbol. Mishinaka could be on the other side of that barricade." Jess said.
"...Why would they need to put a large wall around their town?" Eliza asked.
"If I had to guess the answer, it would probably be the Others." Jess said.
A few yellow shards of yellow crystals were laying on the ground that the car passed by.
As the car was reaching the area, Eliza could see a small dark cloud in the sky, which was strange since there weren't any other clouds in the sky.
"...That cloud is giving me a bad feeling right now." Eliza said.
"...Me too. Let's just ignore it and see if they'll let us through." Jess said.
A pair of yellow eyes peered through the cloud, looking down on the car that was passing by.
The cloud suddenly began expanding itself in the sky before it started raining hail, directed right at the car as a few cracks appeared on the window.
"What the shit!? Jess asked, trying to keep control of the car so it won't flip over.
"Is that cloud an other!?" Eliza asked, as the car was getting pummeled by hail.
"What else would it be!?" Jess asked.
As they were reaching the gate, there was a girl who looked 15 years old, wearing headphones, a black shirt with Metallica on it, blue shorts with sneakers, holding a crossbow with a fire arrow attached before she immediately saw the hall raining down the sky and seeing the car in front of the gate.
"Holy shit!" The teenager exclaimed, before shooting the flaming arrow into the sky, somehow piercing through the expanded black cloud and lit it on fire, stopping it's hale storm before it could of gotten worse.
The cloud retracted back into it's small cloud form and was just hanging around in the sky.
"...That was close." Eliza said.
"Hey, you! State your business!" The teenager called out to the car.
Jess stepped out of the car and looked up at the girl who was standing on top of the gate.
"Hi, is this Mishinaka?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, it is. What do you want?" The teenager asked.
"We came here looking for a safe place to stay for the time being, can you let us in?" Jess asked.
"This ain't the Salvation Army, lady, if you came here for refuge, you came barking at the wrong tree. So, why don't you take your car and get out of here before I shoot an arrow right in it's tiles?" The girl asked.
"Look, it's just me and my sister, I din't bring a crowd with me. We aren't here to cause trouble or anything." Jess said.
"You coming here got the attention of that Other cloud so I'd say you caused enough trouble by being here." The girl said.
Jess sighed, placing her hand on her forehead before looking at the girl again.
"Is there someone I can talk to beyond that gate? Like the boss of this place or something? The best thing you could is to let us to talk to them and see if they'll let us stay here or not, please, we don't have anywhere else to go!" Jess said.
Eliza just remained in the car, looking at her sister before looking at the girl from the gate.
The girl kept staring at Jess as she had no idea what to do as she pulled out a walkie-talkie.
"Hey, Zeke, do you have a minute? There are two girls here who are looking for 'shelter'." The girl said.
As the girl was talking on the communicator with 'Zeke', Jess had her arms folded and was waiting for a response.
"....Kay, I'll tell them." The girl said, before putting the walkie-talkie in her pocket.
She looked down on Jess.
"You're in luck. The boss wants to see ya. I'll raise the gate for ya." The girl said.
"Thanks." Jess sighed in relief.
She got into the car.
"Good news, they'll let us in." Jess said.
"Yay." Eliza sighed.
The girl pulled her hand on the lever and turned it up, opening the gate.
Jess drove the car into the town.
By getting a good look at the area, it wasn't...quite what they expected.
The place itself was filled with people who were just staring at the car but the town itself looked rather unorganized, with garbage thrown all over the place, some buildings were covered in graffiti aswell as burning barrels.
"...This place so...crappy." Eliza commented, just staring at the locals who were giving the car weird looks.
"...This place is the opposite of what I expected when I saw that large wall. This is just gonna be great." Jess sighed in frustration.
"What do we do now?" Eliza asked.
"Let's see what this Zeke has to say. If we aren't allowed here, we could ask for a few supplies before we leave this shit stain of a town." Jess said, as she got out of the car.
Eliza looked hesitant, looking a little freaked out by the locals as she stepped out of the car aswell.
Jess and Eliza looked around before turning their attention to the people who were gazing at them.
"...Uh, hi...we're new here." Eliza said.
The residents were whispering to each other.
"Who the hell are these guys?" One of them asked.
"I have no idea." Another one said.
"They look hot. You'd think I'd get a chance to date them?" One of them asked.
"Pfft, keep dreaming, pal."
"Those two got that Other to go haywire, we should throw them out."
"We should wait to see what Zeke has to say about this."
Eliza held Jess's hand tightly while Jess looked around to see if she could spot the two guys who appeared in Wellham.
She could see the two, Duke and Debby, who were in the crowd, just staring at the girls but din't approach them.
"Hey, you two!" A unfamiliar voice called out.
The crowd stepped out of the way as a 28 year old woman with shoulder length purple hair that covered her ears and her left eye, the color of her eyes was pink, black eyeliner, wearing moon earrings, a black shirt with a lightning bolt on it, a black spiked jacket with, blue tattered jeans and blue shoes walked towards the girls with her hands in her pockets.
Jess and Eliza turned to the punk-looking woman.
"...Hi?" Jess asked.
"Hi. So, you two are the ones who came here with that cool car?" The girl asked, pointing at it.
"Yeah, that's us." Jess said, folding her arms.
"Okay. Zeke asked me to pick you two up and take him to his office. My name is Erica, what's your's?" Erica asked.
"...I'm Jess Summers. And she is my sister, Eliza." Jess asked.
Eliza just waved, not saying anything.
Erica tilted her head slightly, looking at the two.
"...Hm, Jessie and Elly. Sounds cool. Follow me, I'll take you to Zeke's office." Erica said, gesturing at them to follow her.
Jess and Eliza looked at each other, not really sure if they should trust this girl but seeing as how there were plenty of people in the area so it would be best not to cause a ruckus and go along with Erica for now as they followed her while the crowd kept whispering to each other.
Erica turned to the two girls who were behind her.
"So, what brings you two here in this shithole?" Erica asked.
"...We were in Wellham a couple of days ago and I saw two guys who were from this place and thought it might be worth checking out....I...din't expect this however." Jess said, as they walked past a old car without wheels.
"Yeah, this place isn't exactly on the same standards as those big looking expensive cities, this place is a shitty village. I mean, it was before but things went even more downhill when those weird Others popped up. What about your town, where did you come from?" Erica asked.
"...We were from Erinfort. Our city got attacked by those things and we had no choice but to run, we abandoned our home, got in the car and drove off." Jess said.
"We've been on the road for a few years ago, but every place we went to wasn't safe or just fell apart." Eliza sighed.
"...Sorry to hear that, that must suck. Things were pretty chaotic here too, that was till Red Moon stepped in and sorted out this mess, they were the ones who built that wall with the gate to keep the Others or anything else nasty out." Erica said.
"...Red Moon...isn't that the name of the group the presidential candidate Jebediah was in charge of, the one to fight off demons?" Jess asked.
"Yup, that's the group, except Jebediah is now the president and Red Moon is kinda like the government, with each member positioned in every team to make sure things won't fly off the handle again." Erica said.
"And this Zeke is in charge of this place?" Eliza asked.
"Yup, Zeke is a member of Red Moon." Erica nodded.
"What can you tell us about him?" Jess asked.
"...Eh...he...I'm not sure what to think of him, though he did prevent this village from going to the dogs and gives a few guys super powers to collect supplies and weapons and bring them back here." Erica said.
"Super powers?" Eliza asked.
"Yeah, super powers. Red Moon can give people some really cool abilities through a mark with a moon on it, that mark is also used to teleport to any places with a clear destination." Erica said.
"...Jebediah must be pretty powerful to give these abilities for free." Jess commented.
"Actually, most of it comes from Jashin." Erica contradicted.
"Who?" Eliza asked, raising her eyebrows.
"You don't know? Jashin is like a God, you know, all mighty and shit. One day, he will appear to destroy the demons and the world they came from, Jebediah is gathering many people for the big fight that will happen, it's gonna be awesome." Erica smirked.
"...If you say so." Jess said.
"...I don't think we can trust her." Eliza whispered to Jess.
"...Yeah, it's best to keep our guard up in case she tries to pull something on us." Jess whispered.
"I can hear you know, I'm not deaf. But, it's reasonable not to trust a stranger that you just met now. I don't even know what to make of you guys either so, that's fair. But don't assume I'm gonna chop your limbs or anything. I'm not that type of person." Erica said.
"Oh, that sounds...good." Eliza said, still looking uncomfortable.
They arrived in front of a police station.
"This is where Zeke is." Erica said.
"He is a police officer?" Jess asked.
"Nah, but this place is his 'crib' to put it at best." Erica said, as she entered in the police station.
"...When I heard the word 'crib' a police station doesn't come to mind." Eliza said.
The sisters went inside the police station.
There was a fat police officer with a black moustache sitting on his chair, playing on a Gameboy.
"Hey, Joe, where's Zeke at?" Erica asked.
Joe just pointed his pinkie at the door that leads to the office, not bothering to look at the girls as he kept playing on his Gameboy.
Erica turned to Jess and Eliza and nodded as she walked towards the office.
The two girls followed Erica.
Erika was standing in front of the door before looking at the two.
"I should warn you that Zeke...can get triggered very easily if you say the wrong words. You should play it cool so you can avoid pissing him off." Erica said.
"Noted." Jess said.
Erica knocked on the door.
"Who is it!?" A voice asked.
"It's me, Erica! I brought the two girls, as you asked me to do!" Erica said.
"Well come the fuck in!" The voice yelled.
"Like I told ya." Erica sighed, before opening the door.
Jess and Eliza walked into the office.
The person was sitting behind the desk with his back turned, the sound of him loudly snorting something was heard.
"...Hi...Zeke, was it?" Jess asked, tilting her head.
Zeke turned around. He had white short hair wearing a blue beanie, blue jeans and had black eyes.
"The fuck you two want?" Zeke asked.
"...Uh...uh..." Eliza said.
"Sorry to interrupt your...activity, but we are here because we are looking for a place to stay for awhile. I'm Jess and this is my sister, Eliza." Jess said.
Zeke just kept staring at the girls, looking them up and down before he leaned against his chair, placing his feet on the table.
"Place to stay? Where you from?" Zeke asked.
"Erinfort. It felt to pieces a few years ago and we've been on the road ever since. We don't want to cause trouble or anything, we just want to stay in a place where we can feel secure but if that can't be possible, you could give us some supplies and we'll be on our way. What do you say?" Jess asked.
Zeke just tapped his foot against the desk, thinking about Jess's proposition.
"...So, you want to stay here for free?" Ezekiel asked.
"We can pull our weight by doing some work if that's what it will take for us to stay here." Jess suggested.
"What do you think, Zeke? I think these girls can be trusted not to cause a commotion, plus we still have a few empty houses for them and we could use a extra pair of helping hands." Erica said.
Zeke looked at Erica before looking at Jess and Eliza. He grinned before letting out a chuckle.
"Sure, why the fuck not." Zeke shrugged.
"You're letting us stay here?" Eliza asked.
"You can stay here, but in exchange, when I'll ask of you to give us a hand, you better do it. Wether it will be getting supplies that nobody will use from another town or something else. Some of my guys had been wasting resources by getting high off their asses so I could use some new guys who won't screw things up for me, you catch my drift?" Zeke asked.
"...Yeah, I got you." Jess said, distrustful of Zeke.
Zeke got up from his desk and walked up to the girls, holding his hand out.
"Name's Ezekiel. Most people here call me Zeke, but you can call me whatever you want." Ezekiel smiled.
Jess shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you." Jess said.
Ezekiel looked at Erica.
"They can stay in the Enzikaba's household, nobody is using that place anyways." Ezekiel said.
Erica nodded.
Ezekiel looked to the sisters.
"Welcome to your new home. Hope you get comfy." Ezekiel said.
"Gee, thanks. I feel like at home already." Eliza sighed.
Jess nodded at Ezekiel before holding Eliza's hand and walked out of the office along with Erica.
Ezekiel got back in his seat before he pulled out a bag full of powder and opened it.
Before we could see what he was about to do next, the girls walked out of the police station as Erica began leading them to their new house.
"Wow, that went better than I expected. Usually he isn't that agreeable." Erica said.
"Not sure if agreeable is the word I'd use." Jess said.
"So, what do you make of Zeke?" Erica asked.
"...He is...odd." Eliza said.
"...Yeah." Jess agreed.
"True. Though, he did have a shitty father who was responsible for how he turned out, I think he was a hit man or something." Erica said.
"Must of been rough, I imagine." Jess said.
"Yup. Parents can be assholes sometimes." Erica sighed.
Erica turned to Jess and Eliza.
"What about your folks? Did they treat you two well at all?" Erica asked.
"...They did. But we haven't seen them since they went to Brazil. After Erinfort fell...we never saw them again." Eliza said.
"Sorry to hear that. Must be nice having parents who don't treat you like a total obedient robot." Erica said.
"Do you have problems with your parents?" Jess asked.
"Eh, my mom and dad were two authoritarian assholes. Don't stay up late at night, don't swear, do your homework, don't date that guy, bleh." Erica muttered.
"Where are your parents now?" Eliza asked.
"The Others got them." Erica said, rather casually.
"...Oh...sorry to hear that." Jess said.
"Eh, it doesn't matter now. I'm over that shit." Erica shrugged.
Jess just stared at her oddly as they passed by a old abandoned school that had a massive hole in it, getting Eliza's attention.
"...What happened to this place?" Eliza asked.
Erica turned to look at the school.
"Oh, yeah, this place. This school exploded years ago." Erica said.
"Exploded?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, a cult worshipping some edgy demon overlord blew this school up many years ago, one of them, a girl with brown hair with plats and glasses disappeared and hasn't been seen ever since. The Enzibaka's girl got the blame and got killed by her asshole dad who moved to Curtside so he wouldn't get caught by the police." Erica said.
"...I think I heard the name Enzibaka on the news before Erinfort's downfall." Jess commented.
"Still, it's really fucked up. That poor girl din't really deserve any of that shit. People can be really cruel sometimes." Erica sighed, folding her arms.
"...Yeah." Eliza sighed.
"Anyway, let's move on, the Enzibaka's residence isn't too far now." Erica said, continuing her walk.
Jess followed Erica while Eliza continued to look at the school as she followed the two.
Eventually, they arrived in front of the Enzibaka family's house, looking abandoned for awhile now.
"Alright, here is your new home." Erica said.
"...This place looks pretty old." Eliza said.
"Yup. The inside is pretty messy too, have fun." Erica said.
"Thanks." Jess deadpanned as she opened the door.
"...Oh, and by the way, if you girls need someone to give you a tour of the place, you'll find me on the street." Erica said.
"Sounds fine. Thanks." Eliza said.
Erica gave her a thumbs up.
"See ya girls tomorrow." Erica said, as she went on her own way.
Eliza looked at her before she walked in the house.
Erica wasn't kidding about one thing, the house was indeed messy.
There were beer bottles and cans thrown all over the place and the kitchen had a pile of dirty dishes that no one bothered to clean up.
"...Of all the houses, we got the shittiest one in the neighborhood." Jess said.
Eliza took one step and she heard something break as she looked down and removed her foot.
There was a broken photo frame of three people.
The girl in the middle had long messy dark brown hair with green eyes, wearing a school uniform and right between her were her parents, a guy with slightly yellow skin, black hair, stubble and the mother looked exactly like the girl except she wore a different outfit. The three din't look happy in the photo.
"...That girl is probably the one who died." Eliza frowned, putting the photo down.
"Let's check out what's upstairs. If we're gonna stay here for a bit, we should clean this mess up." Jess said.
"...I'll see if upstairs is just as filthy as the rest of this house." Eliza decided as she went upstairs.
She walked to a door and opened it, walking inside a bedroom.
The bedroom appeared to have belonged to the daughter of the Enzibaka but there wasn't any of her stuff in the room as most of it was moved out presumably after the girl died. The only thing that remained in this room was her bed.
Eliza sat on the bed, spreading her arms and legs and staring at the ceiling.
"...That poor girl probably din't even know what was going on...I can only imagine what was going on in her head." Eliza sighed.
Jess walked in the bedroom.
"I checked the bedroom of the Enzibaka parents. It reeks of booze and shitty parenting, the bathroom of all areas is clean. We should start taking all this junk out." Jess said.
Eliza simply nodded, not saying anything.
"...Are you okay?" Jess asked.
"...Do you think we made the right choice in coming here?" Eliza asked.
"....Honestly, I'm not sure. We should wait and see how things turn out, if it goes bad somehow, we pack up and move on to somewhere else." Jess said.
Eliza nodded.
"...Eliza...about our conversation in the car...what I said back there was out of anger. That's it. I din't mean to shout at you like that." Jess said.
"...I know...let's start cleaning this place up." Eliza said, as she stood up and walked out of the room.
Jess frowned before she followed her sister downstairs.
Later, at night.
Jess and Eliza finished cleaning and took most of the trash outside and each chose their own bedrooms. Eliza got the daughter's room while Jess got the room of the parents.
Eliza was resting in her bed with the lights off, staring at the ceiling, she din't feel like sleeping.
She got out of bed, wearing her pajama's before she walked towards the window to get a view of the place.
Mishinaka din't look any better at night as she could see a group of guys who were warming themselves up around a lit barrel that had plenty of stuff burning in it that likely belonged to someone.
Eliza looked to the right to see two girls stealing from a person's car and running off
She let out a disappointed sigh.
"Hey guys, check this shit out!"
Eliza looked down to see a group of teenagers who were dragging four Others who were wrapped in chains and din't have any limbs, their limbs appeared to have been cut off. Among those teenagers were the two guys Jess saw, Duke and Debby.
"Where did you find these things?" One of the teenagers asked.
"We found them outside the gate. We used our awesome powers to fight these things off and cut their body parts." Duke grinned.
"They look almost cute, all chained up like that." Debby smiled, as she went up to one of the Others, kicking it in it's eyes.
The Other fell upon getting kicked and had no way to get itself up to retaliate as the teenagers laughed at it.
Eliza just frowned, even though the Others destroyed her town, she couldn't bare to watch this type of cruelty.
"Hey, ugly, eat this!" One of the teenagers, sticking a knife into the Other's eyeball, it began wailing in pain much.
Eliza cringed before she pulled down the curtain and got back in her bed.
"...I hate this place. I don't want to stay here." Eliza said.
------
In Newrum State City, in the middle of the night.
In the L'aurlethe mansion, Amila was in her room, tipping on her laptop as she was looking at something till someone knocked at her door.
"Come in." Amila said.
The door opened and a butler walked in, holding a invitation.
"Sorry for interrupting your work, M'am, but I found this at the door." The butler said.
Amila turned her attention to the butler, looking at the invitation.
"What is it?" Amila asked.
"It's a invitation from the President himself, he is inviting you to his birthday party tomorrow in Newfort." The butler said, handing the invitation to Amila.
Amila read the invitation.
"Hm, I'm surprised that he even considered inviting me to his party. Thank you for bringing this to me." Amila said, handing the invitation back to her butler.
"Are you actually gonna go there?" The butler asked.
"...Possibly. I could learn some useful information during the party, to see if all there rumors floating around McArthur are true. But I'll need to get to Newfort a different way now that no one can use the trains for travel." Amila said.
"I'll get the helicopter ready for your trip to Newfort." The butler said.
Amila nodded.
"You may go now." Amila said.
The butler left the room.
Amila looked back at her laptop, continuing her tipping.
-----
Monday, June 16th 2081, 11:06 AM
It was morning in the Mishinaka village with the sound of a rooster crowing the moment Sun rose, followed up by the sound of a gunshot and something dropping on the ground.
Eliza was downstairs, sitting on a couch in the living room, eating a burger she picked up from her sister's bag.
Jess climbed down.
"Did you sleep well?" Jess asked.
"...Not really. Din't you hear the noises outside." Eliza said.
"I did, but I decided to ignore them and go back to sleep." Jess said.
"Okay." Eliza said, taking another bite out of her burger.
Jess felt her stomach rumble.
"I'm gonna see what's inside the fridge." Jess said.
Jess walked into the kitchen and when she opened the fridge, it was full of beer bottles with a horrible stench coming out of that fridge.
"Eugh." Jess said.
She closed the fridge.
"I'm surprised no one from this house died from alcohol poisoning." Jess said.
She then walked to her bag and pulled out a burger and began eating.
"...When Ezekiel told us that we would have to work, what did he mean that he would have us do something else if not collecting supplies from another town?" Eliza asked.
"...I...don't know. But it better not be anything sexual." Jess said, continuing to eat.
"...He did look at us oddly when he arrived in his office." Eliza said.
"If he tries to pull anything on us, I'll shoot his ass till he bleeds. Don't worry about it." Jess said.
Eliza sighed, taking another bite.
They eventually finished their breakfast and Jess sat up.
"...I'll go outside and check more of this village, perhaps I could learn something new about Red Moon or about this place in general. Erica said we'd find her on the street if we have more questions, want to come?" Jess asked.
"Nah, I'd rather stay here than go outside." Eliza said.
"Alright then. Be sure to lock the door and do not let anyone else in, just in case." Jess said.
Eliza nodded her head off as Jess puts on her jacket.
"I'll be back later." Jess said, going out the door.
Eliza remained on the couch, staring at the floor, it was unknown what was going on in her head right now.
Jess was walking past a couple of houses while a group of teens were sitting next to a lamp post, smoking joint while having the time of their lives.
The Red Moon symbol appeared on the wall of a building and the portal activated as a group of three walked out, carrying supplies and going towards the police station.
Jess looked at that group before she continued on her way.
She spotted Erica sitting on the hood of a old car, with a lit cigarette in her hand and was just staring at the sky.
Jess walked up to Erica.
"Morning. Erica, was it?" Jess asked.
Erica turned her head to Jess.
"Oh, morning Jessie. Where's little Elly?" Erica asked.
"She is inside the house, she din't want to go out." Jess said.
"Is she a shut-in?" Erica asked.
"No, she is just...uncomfortable with the residents of this town." Jess said.
"Hm, that's fair. Here, take a seat." Erica said, placing her hand on the hood.
Jess raised a suspicious eyebrow as she slowly sat on the hood.
"So, were you just sitting here staring at the sun?" Jess asked.
"Yup. I stare at it for a long awhile so I can forget about all the shit that's happening around. Why spend your life being sad and miserable when instead you can enjoy the aspects of life has to give you. You catch my drift?" Erica asked.
"I guess so...life has been quite difficult for me and my sister." Jess said.
"You two seem resourceful and managed to survive for so long to get here. Being here should give you a long break from what's going outside these walls." Erica said, before taking a smoke out of her cigar.
"...About that...what else can you tell me about Red Moon, the details that I haven't heard about?" Jess asked.
Erica just shrugged.
"Uh...can't think of anything else new to tell you outside of what I just told you yesterday. You might have to ask Zeke or anyone else about that subject." Erika said.
"I see...do you have a power?" Jess asked.
"Yup, Red Moon gave me a pretty awesome power. Want to see it?" Erica asked.
"...Sure." Jess said.
Erica raised her right hand as it began charging up with electricity before launching a electric spike at a utility pole, powering it up.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Erica smirked.
"...Yup, that's cool." Jess said, staring at the pole.
The electricity around Erica's hand disappeared.
"What about you? You have something cool, right?" Erica asked.
"I have psychic powers. I can mostly levitate stuff and read people's minds." Jess said.
"That's neat. Can you read my thoughts?" Erica asked.
"...Why would I do that?" Jess asked.
"So I can be sure that you are not bullshitting me. Come on, show me what you got." Erica said.
Jess had her guard up in case Erica tries to do something as she closed her eyes and concentrated, reading Erica's thoughts.
"Well, Jessie? Can you really tell what I'm thinking right now?" Erica thought.
"Yeah, I can." Jess said.
"Cool, so you're not a liar. Sweet." Erica said.
She reached into her pocket, grabbing her cigarette pack, pulling out one cigarette and showing it to Jess.
"Want one?" Erica asked.
Jess looked at the cigarette before looking at Erica.
"...No thanks, I laid off the cigs a long time ago." Jess said.
"Come on, one smoke won't kill ya, just take it. It will help you relax by throwing away all your frustration into this cig and watch it go up in smoke." Erica smiled.
Jess felt a thirst in her throat as the temptation grew higher, looking at the cigarette.
"...Alright, give me the damn thing." Jess said, grabbing the cigarette.
Erica pulled out the lighter and lit her cigarette.
Jess placed the cigarette in her mouth, reliving it's taste that she forgot about many years ago during high school. She let one puff out of her mouth escape and started coughing repeatedly.
"Damn, you've been out of practice for awhile, huh?" Erica asked, laughing slightly.
"Pretty much *cough*. My friends from school convinced me to smoke when I was 14, one day my mom caught me and took my pack away, saying I needed to set an example for my younger sister, fearing that she might see me one day smoking and try to do the same thing. Eventually, I gave up because I din't want Eliza to start smoking either." Jess said.
"So you're playing the big sister role model for Elly." Erica said.
"Yeah...the two of us haven't talked much ever since we got here." Jess said, holding her cigarette between her fingers.
"You two got in a little sibling quarrel?" Erica asked.
"Sort of...we had an argument in the car, I brought our parents...and it went downhill from there. My emotions were running high at the time and...I'm not sure if Eliza will ever talk to me again." Jess sighed.
Erica, looking at Jess with sympathy in her eyes, placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, sisters fight all the time, Elly will eventually realize that you din't mean what you said and you two will be talking again, I know how this thing works. To be honest, I wish I had a older or younger sister who would bother me all the time instead of spending my time being worried about crap. Don't kick yourself for what happened." Erica said.
Jess turned to Erica, feeling a bit touched by her comfort.
"...Thanks, Erica." Jess said, smiling slightly.
Erica nodded before she tossed the cigarette on the ground and jumped off the hood, searching through her pockets.
"I have some shit to do but before I go, take this." Erica said.
"What is it?" Jess asked.
Erica pulled out a flyer, featuring a dance club and giving it to Jess.
"Tonight, at 8 PM, we're having a rave party at the old dance club. I know you're new here but it would be lame to keep you out of the fun stuff just because you are a newbie. You should come to have some fun and forget about everything else, you can bring Elly with you too. Summer is here, so might aswell take advantage of it." Erica said.
"...I'll consider it." Jess said, looking at the flyer.
"Cool. Don't be late." Erica winked before she walked away.
Jess looked at Erica as she left before looking at the flyer.
"...Maybe I do need to relax for awhile and forget about the outside world." Jess said, placing the flyer in her pocket before throwing the cigarette on the ground.
She walked back to the Enzibaka residence while some moth's that weren't there before were flying around. Jess din't pay much attention to them as she walked inside her house.
Eliza was just watching TV in the living room, watching a Simpsons episode as Jess walked in.
"I'm back." Jess said.
"Hey. How did things go?" Eliza asked.
"I got to talk to Erica, she is pretty nice to talk to, she invited us to a rave at a dance club, it will take place tonight at 8 PM. Do you wanna come?" Jess asked.
"...I don't think so." Eliza said.
"Are you sure?" Jess asked.
"Very sure." Eliza nodded.
"...Well, if that's what you want, then I won't force you into it. But stay inside the house and do not let anyone else in no matter what, keep the door locked." Jess said.
Eliza simply nodded as Jess picked up her bag.
"I'll see what clothes I should wear for the party tonight. I'll be in the bedroom upstairs." Jess said, as she climbed the stairs.
Eliza watched Jess go upstairs before turning off the TV.
"...I hope you know what you are doing, sis." Eliza sighed.
Later, at night.
Jess walked out of the house, now wearing a pink tank top with blue jeans and saw many people going past her and walking towards a single direction, they were likely going to the dance club.
Jess followed the people and they walked into a building with a neon sign on it and disco light peering through the windows, making it hard to see what was inside. There was a bodyguard outside who would probably get involved if trouble arose.
She walked into the club and there was loud music that surrounded the entire area, watching people dancing while holding glowing sticks and cans of beer in their hands, some of them were dancing with their girlfriends, while others were dancing with people of the same sex.
The DJ was standing right in front of his booth in the back of the room.
Jess was looking around for Erica, trying to spot her in the crowd.
"Yo, Jessie, you made it!" Erica's voice yelled out.
Jess turned around, seeing Erica walk up to her, holding two glowing sticks and right behind were Duke and Debby.
"Hey." Jess said.
"Damn, girl, you look hot in that getup. Here, take one." Erica said, handing a glowing stick to Jess.
"...Thanks." Jess said, rather awkwardly as she took a glowing stick.
"Guess Elly din't want to come?" Erica asked.
"No, I din't want to force her to come here if she din't want to." Jess said.
"That's fine with me." Erica said.
Erica turned to Duke and Debby.
"These two are accomplices of mine that I sometimes hang around with when I'm bored. She's Debby, the former star of the football team from the old school." Erica said.
"Yo." Debby said, fist bumping with Jess.
"And this guy over here is Duke, he is a stoner who dropped out of high school." Erica said.
"Sup." Duke grinned, doing the peace sign.
"...Pleasure to meet you." Jess said, deciding not to mention about seeing them in Wellham.
She looked past Duke's shoulder to see Ezekiel sitting at a table with a bottle of vodka in his hand while two ladies wearing bikini's were sitting next to him, with their arms placed around his neck, he seemed to enjoy their company.
"Looks like Ezekiel joined in the fun aswell." Jess said.
"Hell yeah, Zeke wouldn't miss the chance to have some fun in this night. And then tomorrow we go back to work, unfortunately." Debby sighed.
"So, Jessie, Eri told us that you can read other people's minds and do all sorts of trippy shit, right?" Duke asked.
"Yeah. But only when it's necessary, I'm not doing it to every person I meet." Jess said.
"Sounds cool." Duke said, taking a drink from his beer.
"Why are we standing here talking? Come on, we have a dance floor to attend to!" Erica said, as she went towards the dance floor.
Jess, Duke and Debby followed Erica, joining the crowd of dancers.
"Yo, my peeps, before I play the next song, let's have a word from our boss, my boy, Ezekiel!" The DJ shouted.
The Crowd cheered as Ezekiel walked to the DJ booth and smashed the bottle he was holding against the ground before he turned to everyone else with a grin on his face.
"Hey, dudes and gals, welcome to the party! We've been doing a shit load of progress in this year, we've been getting a lot of new recruits and a lot of supplies for us to use, with today being Jebediah's birthday, we celebrate the guy who made all of this shit possible! Have fun, get drunk and LET'S PARTY THE FUCK ON!" Ezekiel yelled.
The crowd cheered as the DJ puts on the next song as everyone started raising their hands holding the glowing sticks.
Jess looked at everyone else before Erica placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, girl, dance! Everyone else is having fun, why shouldn't you? Let's go crazy for one night and fuck everything else!" Erica grinned.
Jess nodded as began dancing while raising her glowing stick.
"Yeah, that's the spirit! Shake that ass!" Debby cheered.
Everyone continue to party like there was no tomorrow.
------
Meanwhile, in Newfort.
Jebediah was having his own party in his mansion, a lot of cars were parked in front of the place.
There were a lot of people in the mansion, some of them were Red Moon members from other cities while some were private investors who came here to talk to the president.
Jebediah was chatting with three guests wearing suits as a guy holding a camera was taking a picture of them.
Judas was in the dining room, placing some food on his plate as Rebecca walked next to him.
"Boring party, am I right?" Rebecca asked, putting some food on her plate.
"I wouldn't say that. I've never participated in any parties before." Judas said.
"Oh, right, I forgot, you were from a different world and all that. How was it compared to this one?" Rebecca asked.
"...I don't remember much of it. I spent most of my time in the orphanage before I got kicked out." Judas said.
"That must of sucked. But, you're here now, it's a good thing I found you and took you to the hospital before you could of bled to death." Rebecca said.
"...Yeah. Thanks for that, Rebecca." Judas said, blushing slightly.
"Don't worry about it...hey, are you blushing?" Rebecca asked.
"...No, no I'm not." Judas said, covering his face.
"Pff, you liar." Rebecca chuckled.
Outside the mansion, a expensive helicopter dropped by.
Amila, wearing a elegant dress, stepped out of the helicopter, looking at the mansion.
"...Fitting that the king would be celebrating in his own castle." Amila mused.
She walked into the mansion and looked around, seeing all kinds of people in the hallway. Some of them she recognized while others she din't.
Looking at her left, she recognized a member of Red Moon, Joseph, who had longer hair and wearing different clothes, as he appeared on TV once as the priest of a Red Moon church from Strathmore, the place he was born in. He was talking to some middle aged woman with blonde hair and long fingernails and right next to him was a brown-skinned woman with short braided red hair, red eyes, wearing a yellow dress, a wedding ring on her left hand's finger and had a noticeable baby bump. Joseph's wife, Theresa, a nun who's been giving food to homeless people and donating to charities, she is a rather nice woman despite how radical her husband is when it comes to his believes.
Amila kept looking till she spotted Jebediah talking to his guests and she decided to approach him, gaining his attention.
"Ah, Miss L'aurlethe, I'm glad you were able to make it. I'm shocked that you even decided to attend to the party." Jebediah said.
"Well, since you offered me the invitation, I saw no reason to refuse. It's an honor to be invited by the President himself." Amila smiled.
Jebediah looked behind her.
"Where's the rest of your family?" Jebediah asked.
"My mother and father decided to remain at home, mostly because of my grandfather and so I came alone." Amila said.
"I see. Well, it can't helped. In the meantime, just enjoy yourself, you can check out the art room to see the paintings, the newest addition was made by Judas." Jebediah smiled.
"I will. I will talk to you later, I don't want to keep your guests waiting." Amila said, as she walked away from Jebediah.
She headed towards the dinning room where she was able to spot Judas, the young man Jebediah took in and decided that it might be worth talking to you to learn some valuable information.
"Well, well, look who decided to join the party. This is quite an unexpected surprise." A voice that was familiar to Amila said.
Amila let out a sigh as she turned around to face Daniel Harbercorn, her family's main rival and right next to him was a woman who had a rather busty chest with long black curly hair, emerald eyes, wearing a thin neck collar with a golden spider insignia on it, a red dress that covered her feet with her back exposed and black gloves that reached her forearms, she had a bored look on her face.
Friendship wasn't even close to describe Amila's relationship to Daniel, who considered the L'aurlethe's to be underneath his family, with his whole 'The Harbercorn's being famous because they were one of the founders of Newrum'. Quite frankly, she could care less about Daniel but for now, she had to indulge his ego for now.
Amila turned to Daniel, greeting him with a fake smile.
"Hello, Daniel. Nice to see you here." Amila said.
"When I saw you walk through the door, I couldn't believe my eyes at first, I never imagined you would show your face here after your family suffered a humiliating defeat at the election." Daniel said, with a mocking smile on his face.
"The L'aurlethe's take their defeats with grace and dignity, losing an election won't change anything, Daniel." Amila said.
"If you say so." Daniel shrugged.
Daniel turned to the woman next to him.
"I believe you two din't meet before. This is Alexia, a dear cousin of mine." Daniel said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alexia." Amila said, holding her hand out to her.
Alexia, looked at her hand and scoffed.
"Excuse me, but I do not shake hands with those who come out on second place, dear." Alexia said, having a posh accent.
Amila's smile deteriorated, already she hated this woman.
"This is the woman that you claim to be your rival, cousin? Cause so far I am not impressed." Alexia commented.
"I'm sorry that you feel that way. But, frankly, I do not care. Enjoy the party, now if you excuse me." Amila said, as she turned around.
"Going so soon? But I was enjoying our chat, it fills me with joy to talk to people who blindly believe that they are on the same level as the legendary Harbercorn's but can never hope to catch up to us. Ho ho ho!" Alexia finished with a laughter full of mockery.
Amila gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists.
Suddenly, a flame appeared on Alexia's dress and when she looked down.
"Ah, my dress!" Alexia gasped in horror.
She poured the wine from her glass onto her dress to put out the fire while Daniel ran off to get some water as Amila walked away with a satisfied smile on her face as she walked to where Judas was.
"Hello. Your name is Judas, am I correct?" Amila asked, approaching the white-haired man.
Judas turned to Amila.
"...Yes. Who are you?" Judas asked, confused.
"My name is Amila. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Amila asked.
"I guess." Judas shrugged.
"How would you describe your relationship with Jebediah?" Amila asked.
"It's okay, I'd say. He takes good care of me and teaches me some good things. If he was a bad person, he wouldn't of took me in his house and paid for my medical bills when I got shot." Judas said.
At the very least, it appears Jebediah wasn't abusive with this man.
"I see...And did you hear anything about seven people who have powers of their own who went missing a few times and rumors claim that Red Moon something to do with it?" Amila asked.
"Jebediah said those rumors are made up by people who want to make him look bad. I don't pay much attention to that stuff, I don't think they're true." Judas said.
"Hm...do you really believe that?" Amila asked.
"Yes, I do. Where is this going exactly?" Judas asked.
"Yeah, where is this going exactly?" Rebecca asked, who was standing next to Judas and heard the entire conversation.
"...Ah, forgive me, I was just simply curious. Enjoy the party." Amila said, before she walked away from the two.
Rebecca glared at Amila with a suspicious look before she smiled at Judas.
"Come on, I have to show you something." Rebecca said, grabbing Judas's hand and walking to somewhere else.
As Amila walked back in the hallway, she saw Joseph leaving his wife for the moment as he walked upstairs before she looked at Jebediah.
"Excuse me, but do you know where the bathroom could be?" Amila asked.
"It's upstairs, third door on the left." Jebediah said, before resuming his conversation with a man with short brown hair with a white top hat and a white zipped up fur coat with white furred pants, some sort of business man who has his own industries.
Amila went upstairs and saw Joseph going into a room located to the right.
Instead of going to the bathroom, she walked to the door and placed her ear next to it to hear someone's voice.
"You are acting a little paranoid, Mary."
"No, I'm not."
Amila moved her ear away before looking through the key hole.
She saw four people inside a bedroom, Joseph, Mary, a Red Moon member from Courtham Grove who was currently pacing back and forth, Jehovah, the commander of the military who was standing in front of the window and the fourth one she din't recognize, it was a man with a moustache wearing a brown suit and a brown fedora who was shuffling through a deck of cards that he was holding, sitting comfortably in his chair.
"I have a bad feeling regarding the Harbercorn's and I always turn out to be right when I have a bad feeling about someone, just like how I suspected that Larry, Roberto and Viscenta were up to no good and we kicked them out afterwards." Mary said.
"What makes you think that?" Joseph asked.
"For starters, they accepted our offer to join us quite too quickly if you ask me, they din't have any time to think on it or anything, they immediately jump aboard without question. Daniel must have some ulterior motive and Alexia is nothing but a bag of hot air who keeps looking down on us and treating us like peasants!" Mary said.
Amila couldn't help but agree with Mary about Alexia.
Mary turned to Jehovah.
"What do you think, Jehovah?" Mary asked.
"...Personally, I don't care about them. They're insignificant in the grand scheme, what matters is the battle that will come soon, our Universe will no longer be threatened by outside forces from other dimension, if the Harbercorn's are planning something, we'll deal with them when the time comes." Jehovah said.
"Honestly, I'm not too worried about them." the man holding the cards shrugged.
"Ugh, sometimes I wonder how you can be so laid back when we are having a serious conversation here, Abraham." Mary frowned.
"Why even bother getting stressed when the guys taking the responsibility are the ones handling the situation? I'm not the type to really worry about stuff, instead I just go to wherever Fate points me at and go along with the flow. That's just how I am." Abraham said.
"...We don't actually know much about your past. Mind filling us in while we are having this chat?" Jehovah asked.
"Well, to make a long story short, I think I'm more older than the rest of you guys." Abraham said.
"Meaning?" Mary asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I was born in the 19th century, I was a part of a gangster group. They got caught but I managed to escape, I met Jebediah who had a different appearance back then and gave me the chance to live a long life so I can continue to walk on this long road and see where it takes me. I din't join Red Moon back then but I din't see Jebediah again afterwards. I've been moving from place and place and eventually settled in Brazil, had a wife and kid, got involved in a shady drug business, wife found out, took the kid and left me. With nothing else to do, I decided to repay the favor and joined Red Moon in 2077 and got my mark. And that is my story in a nutshell." Abraham said, pulling out the Ace of Spades.
Abraham looked at everyone else.
"What about the rest of you guys? Why did you guys join the crew?" Abraham asked.
"...After my sweetheart died...I felt...worthless...like I din't have a reason to exist anymore and just wanted to get it over with and end my suffering. Jebediah stopped me and gave me a new reason to live. He used the Impure World Resurrection spell to bring her back, I'll always be loyal to Red Moon no matter what, and I'll execute anyone who tries to stab us in the back, like those three traitors." Mary said, folding her arms.
"...Revenge would be my reason. I was a part of the military, working under Vladimir and then Roy, my wife and parents were casualties of the battle between the first six Omnipotents and Erebus. I was an informant, giving Jebediah the information my bosses kept secret from the rest of the world and once the branch felt apart and the Omnipotents escaped, I joined Red Moon, with my only objective to annihilate any otherworldly fiends and prevent anyone else from losing their families. Glexlam, Ceygas and Garflec are out there somewhere and I will find them and the rest of the Omnipotents, put them out of their misery." Jehovah said.
Joseph sighed, shaking the back of his head.
"My parents got me involved with Red Moon, while I always thank them for making me understand Jashin, I'll hate them for what they did to me. Me and Theresa will have a baby soon and I'm gonna treat my kid differently. Beyond that, I don't have to tell any of you fuckers anything else." Joseph said.
"Heh, quite the interesting stories you guys have. Say, did Ezekiel make it here?" Abraham asked.
"I believe he is having his own party in that shit stain of a village. It's probably better this way, he would of annoyed everyone. If we are done with this conversation, we should head back to the party." Jehovah said.
Amila moved away from the door and made her way to the stairs.
"It's sad that these people actually believe that what they are doing is the right way." Amila thought to herself.
-----
Eliza was still in the living room, watching TV.
The door unlocked and Jess walked in.
"I'm back." Jess said.
"Hi. How was the party?" Eliza asked.
"Pretty good, actually. Everyone there was having fun and me and Erica got to talk a lot more." Jess said.
"...Cool...so, can we leave this place now?" Eliza asked.
"...Why would we leave now?" Jess asked.
"...I don't like this place or any of the people here, we should get out of here and go somewhere else." Eliza said.
"Why? Nothing bad happened yet, we have no reason to get out of here." Jess said.
Eliza, with a annoyed expression, stood up and looked at Jess.
"Can't you see how horrible these people are? Putting this place aside, they've been giving me bad vibes since we came here. Yesterday, at night, I saw them torturing some Others by cutting their body parts off and kicking them constantly!" Eliza said.
"The Others also destroyed our city, you forgot that?" Jess asked.
"No, but it's sick to do something like that! And we have no idea what Ezekiel has planned for us and I'm not comfortable around Erica either." Eliza said.
"Erica is not a villain, she seems like a decent person, I doubt she has any malevolent intentions." Jess said.
"She is manipulating you and you don't even see it." Eliza said.
Jess looked annoyed, taking offense to that accusation.
"Eliza, that's enough." Jess said.
"...It's funny how a few days ago, you told me the consequences of trusting the wrong person and now you are doing the same thing." Eliza said, before she ran upstairs.
"ELIZA!" Jess shouted.
The sound of one of the bedroom doors being opened and slammed shut was heard.
Jess sat on a chair, placing her hands on her face.
"...What am I gonna do with her?" Jess asked.
----------
Tuesday, June 17th 2081, 12:00 PM
The sun rose once again.
Jess was downstairs, wearing her old clothes, she had her arms folded, waiting for Eliza to come down.
Eliza wasn't coming down and decided to stay in her room.
"...You can't stay in there forever you know. You will get hungry, eventually." Jess called out.
Eliza did not respond back.
Jess sighed.
"She is turning 20 this year and she is still acting like a child." Jess said.
Someone knocked on the door.
Jess stood up.
"Who is it?" Jess asked.
"It's me, open up." Erica said.
Jess walked to the door and opened up, revealing Erica.
"Hey, party animal. How are you feeling?" Erica asked.
"I'm doing okay. Does Ezekiel want us to do something?" Jess asked.
"Nah, not yet. I came here to see how you were doing. Where's Elly?" Erica asked.
"Still upset. She'll get over it." Jess sighed.
The door to Eliza's bedroom slowly opened as Eliza peered her head out, listening on to their conversation.
"Okay. So, if you don't have any plans, would you want to come over to my place? Duke and Debby are out of town to get some weapons and I don't have anyone to spend some time with." Erica said.
"Sure." Jess nodded.
"Awesome, let's go." Erica smiled.
Eliza lowered her eyebrows, not trusting Erica as she left the room and went downstairs.
"I'm coming too!" Eliza announced.
Jess turned around, with a surprised look.
"Wow, you changed your mind quickly." Jess said.
"...I was getting bored of staying in this house, so I'm coming with you two." Eliza said.
"Cool, the more the merrier. Let's go." Erica smiled.
Jess and Eliza walked out, closing the door behind them.
With Erica leading them, Eliza was staring at the back of her head.
"...So, Erica...Are there any other cities with Red Moon people in there?" Jess asked.
"Plenty of cities actually. There is this place, Courtham Grove, Wallshore, Newrum State City, Newfort, Strathmore, Wellham is fucked and people only go there to find supplies. But yeah, a lot of Red Moon guys are there, why do you ask?" Erica asked.
"Just curious." Jess said.
"So, Elly, you've been quiet for some time. Anything you have to say? Or do you have questions?" Erica asked.
"...I can't think of anything to say." Eliza said.
"Okay then." Erica shrugged.
The three arrived at Erica's house, the entire house was colored blue and a mailbox with the family name on it 'Serrano'
"Here we are. Looks decent, doesn't it?" Erica asked.
"I guess." Eliza shrugged.
Erica opened the door.
"Ladies first." Erica said.
Jess walked in the house, followed up by Eliza.
The house from inside looked pretty normal actually, compared to the Enzibaka's house. The floor was wooden and the walls of the house were blue, a staircase that leads upstairs, a futon where a family of three can stay on in the living room, a table with a bowl of fruit on the table, a small TV and a fireplace.
"Wow, this place is nicer compared to our home." Jess said.
"I clean the place from time to time when I'm bored." Erica justified.
Eliza walked to the fireplace, noticing a door next to it.
"What's in that room?" Eliza asked, pointing at the door.
"That leads to the basement, nobody went in there for years now. Wouldn't suggest going there, it's infested with cobweb and all sorts of nasty shit in there. Anyway, let's head upstairs." Erica said, going upstairs with Jess following.
Eliza looked at the door a bit more before she followed the two.
Erica walked to a door to the left and opened it.
It was her bedroom, colored in pink, magazines and comic books laying over the floor, a stereo with a pile of music CD's placed next to it, a bag of uneaten chips resting on a wooden chair, a wardrobe, the window was opened to let in some fresh air, her bed had moon stickers and a TV connected to a game console on the floor with two controllers.
"Welcome to my domain. Hope you don't mind the smell." Erica said.
Eliza inspected the room with precaution as Erica sat on her bed.
"Me, Duke and Debby would sit here and play some video games to pass the time. Wanna play something, Jessie?" Erica asked.
"I don't see why not. Me and my sister used to play games all the time when we were kids." Jess said.
"Cool. One of you pick up a controller and let's get started." Erica said, as she went to turn on the console and picked up a controller.
"...Actually, I need to pee really bad. Where is the bathroom?" Eliza asked.
"It's right down the hallway." Erica said as Jess sat next to her.
"Thanks." Eliza said as she walked out, closing the door.
The sound of 'Start the Match!' rang out as Eliza slowly made her way downstairs and went towards the door that leads to the basement, she needed to see what's in there.
Eliza looked up to make sure Erica wasn't coming down before she placed her hand on the knob, slowly opening the door before looking behind her back as she took a step inside the room which looked pretty dark.
Eliza closed the door behind her and placed her hand on the wall, trying to find a light switch. She found it and turned on the lights so she could see where she was.
She looked down, seeing a wooden staircase that goes down to the basement and carefully placed her foot on one plank before putting her other foot down, a creaking sound was heard when she placed her feet on it.
Eliza looked nervous as she continued going down the stairs slowly so Jess and Erica would hear from upstairs.
She eventually made it to the basement and most of it was covered in spider web as Erica said, with a bunch of closed boxes in here.
Eliza approached one box and opened it. It had a bunch of clothes that looked too big for Erica to wear, only an adult would wear these clothes, some of them were a bunch of shirts and dresses.
"...Who did these clothes belong to?" Eliza asked.
She moved away from that box and opened the next one.
This one had different materials thrown in there like photo albums, jewelry, two wallets, trophies, school degree's as such.
She opened another box, it was full of photo frames of Erica as a child, one picture showed her as a young kid with short black hair, wearing a school uniform and behind her was a man and a woman smiling to the camera, Erica looked rather grumpy.
"...That's Erica and her parents. But why would she keep photo's of herself and her family in here?" Eliza asked, as she looked through more of the photo's, Erica has her face turned away in the pictures while one picture showed her lashing out during her 13th birthday.
Eliza moved away from that box.
"...What are you hiding?" Eliza asked.
As she turned around, she smelt the air. It smelt like something burned in this basement, followed by a awful stench.
Trying to locate the source of the smell, she kept sniffing as she walked towards a white wall that looked out of place. Eliza tapped her fist against the wall, followed by a hollow sound.
"...This wall has to be fake. She is hiding something in here." Eliza said.
Back in Erica's bedroom, Jess wins against Erica, ending the tie round.
"Wow, you're pretty good at this." Erica said.
"I have experience...Eliza has been gone to the bathroom for awhile now." Jess said.
"Maybe she is having stomach trouble." Erica shrugged.
"...I'm gonna see what's taking her so long." Jess said, pausing the game as she got up and walked out of the room.
Erica let out a annoyed sigh as she stood up, following Jess.
Jess knocked on the bathroom door.
"Eliza, are you in there?" Jess asked.
"Is she even in there?" Erica asked, crossing her arms.
In the basement, Eliza kicked the wall, causing some dust to escape and get in her face.
Eliza coughed before kicking the wall again, making a crack before kicking it again till it would give in.
"...What is that noise?" Erica asked, hearing the kicking noises from bellow.
"...It sounds like it's coming from the basement." Jess guessed.
Erica's eye turned white.
"...She better not be in there." Erica said, running downstairs.
Jess looked confused before she followed Erica.
With one last kick, the door broke into pieces, revealing a secret door that was hidden behind the fake wall.
"Let's see what you got in here." Eliza said, grabbing the door knob.
She opened the door, letting out a powerful stench of smoke like something burned inside this dark room.
Eliza turned on the lights and when she looked ahead, she gasped as she took a step back.
She was in a almost empty white room and found a man and a woman laying on the floor on their back, not moving, the smell was coming from them.
Their clothes were pitch black while their skin was scorched, their eyes were bloodshot with their mouths open wide, staring directly at Eliza. The woman had noticeable stab wounds in her torso, they were dead for awhile now.
"...They...they are Erica's parents...did...did she kill them?" Eliza asked, horrified as she walked backwards, leading herself out of the room.
The sound of Erica's feet hitting the stair steps were heard as she rushed down, snapping her head towards with a Eliza with a uncharacteristic glare on her face.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" Erica asked.
Eliza quickly turned around, glaring back at Erica.
"...What have you done to these two? Did you kill them?" Eliza asked.
Erica looked past Eliza's shoulder, seeing the empty room with the two corpses, her expression growing furious by the second as she marched towards Eliza, grabbing her by her shirt, lifting her up.
"You sneaky little shit!" Erica said, her friendly demeanor replaced by murderous rage, her eyes were crackling with electricity.
Jess followed Erica into the basement and turned around, her eyes shrinking when she saw Erica holding Eliza by the collar of her shirt before she switched from surprised to pissed off.
"What the hell are you doing to my sister!?" Jess asked.
Erica's angered expression vanished, turning her head to Jess as she dropped Eliza on the floor.
"Jessie, I-I, sorry, I thought there was someone hiding in the basement, trying to steal my stuff, I grabbed them and saw that it was just Elly, that's all." Erica said, sweat dripping from her cheeks.
Eliza quickly stood up.
"She is lying! I found a fake wall hiding a door, her parents are in there, they've been fried to death! They din't get killed by Others, she killed them! Why else would she keep all her family stuff down in this basement?" Eliza asked.
Erica turned to Eliza, her murderous expression returning.
Jess turned her attention to the room Erica's parents were in, walking towards it.
"Jessie, look, I can explain!" Erica stated, getting in front of Jess, blocking her from going into the room.
Jess pushed Erica out of the way as she walked into the room to see it for herself and stared at the two scorched corpses.
"...Erica...what the hell is this?" Jess asked, not facing Erica as she clenched her fists.
Erica's eyes were shaking violently, her teeth gritting before she looked at the floor.
"...I-I can explain...so, please, don't get angry before you accuse the wrong person here." Erica said.
"Spit it out!" Jess yelled, still not facing Erica.
Erica took a deep breath.
"...I lied, my folks weren't murdered by those Others...I...I killed them." Erica said.
"Why!? Why would you do that!?" Eliza asked.
Erica faced Eliza, the angry look returning.
"Because they deserved it! Don't judge me when you don't even know the shit they did to me! Those two were pure assholes, they din't see me as their daughter, they saw me as a tool to control, a machine they can pressure and pressure till it breaks and then repair it back to how it was like nothing happened! They kept forcing me to keep studying, studying and studying without any free time for myself, any friends I made were turned away by them because they were 'bad influences', preventing me from going to any parties or doing anything that I like and every time I would argue with them, I would instantly get a slap in the face or a belt to my ass!" Erica yelled.
Erica walked towards the box that contained the photo's of her family, her fists were shaking with electricity.
"Not everyone was lucky to have goody parents like you two did, most of the people here who raise their children are total, selfish assholes, this place is the definition of torture for every child who grew up in this pig farm till we had enough. When the Others struck and Red Moon came by, blessing us with Jashin's power, we fought back against the assholes who used us and sent them to Hell where they belong. I felt so much satisfaction when I shocked them, releasing all the anger that was building up inside me, I felt like I was finally free, free to do whatever I wanted, all of us are now free and we can do anything without anyone to put a stop to our fun! SO DON'T FUCKING MAKE ME OUT TO BE THE MONSTER FOR WHAT THEY DID!" Erica yelled.
She picked up the box and slammed it into the wall, shattering all the photos as they collapsed on the floor.
Eliza backed away from Erica while Jess din't turn to Erica at all.
Erica moved her hair out of her face as she turned to Jess.
"...I'm sorry for lying to you, I should of been clean from the start. I promise I won't lie to you again, Jessie. You are a good person to talk...I'm sorry for trying to hurt Elly, I was just upset about her sneaking into my basement without my permission, I swear I won't do that again. Let's forget about this and remain friends, okay?" Erica asked, looking desperate.
Jess finally turned to face Erica, looking betrayed.
"...I'm sorry for what happened to you, but I can't be friends with someone who let's their rage get the best of them and do something like this. And now I'm more than convinced that we shouldn't of came here to this place at all. I'm taking my sister and we are getting out of here." Jess said.
Erica did not like the sound of that, her eyes still shaking.
"N-No! You can't do that!" Erica yelled, getting in front of Jess.
"Watch me." Jess said, pushing Erica out of the way.
She grabbed Eliza's hand and the two ran upstairs quickly.
Erica turned around, her expression was dark while her eyes were glowing with electricity.
"I won't let you." Erica growled as she ran after them.
Eliza and Jess were running the door.
Erica ran out of the basement, her hands charged with electricity as she aimed her hand, shooting a electricity spike at the door, striking the knob and electrifying it.
Eliza turned around, aiming her revolver at Erica while Jess glared at her.
"Let us go, Erica." Jess said.
"No! I'm not letting you walk out on me like everyone else!" Erica yelled, her shirt was lifted upwards to reveal a Red Moon symbol on her belly.
Jess levitated the table that was behind Erica and flew it right towards her.
Erica pulled out a knife out of her pocket and turned around to slash the table in half, her knife was now charged with electricity.
Eliza shot at Erica, who dodged the bullets, punching Eliza in the face to knock her down and grabbed Jess by her throat, knocking her into the wall.
"Nobody can tell me what to do! Not my parents, you or anyone else! And I'm not gonna let your snot-nosed sister get between us either!" Erica yelled, holding Jess against the wall.
Eliza, who was on the floor, picked up her gun and shot a glowing bullet from her revolver, striking Erica's right leg, causing her to wince.
"Shit!" Erica yelled, dropping her knife as she felt like her leg was on fire from that shot.
Jess headbutted her in the face before pushing her on the floor, regaining some breath back in her lungs as she helped Eliza get up.
"Are you okay?" Jess asked.
"I'm fine...Sis, watch out!" Eliza said.
Erica placed her hands on Jess's back, shocking her only to get tackled by Eliza, knocking the two of them on the ground.
"Stay away from my sister, you freak!" Eliza yelled.
Erica punched Eliza in the face with her electrified fist, knocking the girl off her.
Erica got back up, walking towards Eliza.
"Why couldn't you just keep your nose out of my business!?" Erica asked, raising her foot which was also charged with electricity, ready to stomp on Eliza's head.
Jess, holding onto the wall from the shock given to her by Erica, aimed her hand at her knife and it levitated off the ground and stabbed Erica in her side.
Erica grit her teeth and placed her foot back down, giving Eliza the chance to pick up her gun and shot another bullet, hitting her shoulder, the bullet hurt her more than the knife actually.
"AH! What is that gun made out of, magic!?" Erica asked, placing her hand on her shoulder.
Jess then charged at Erica, kicking her in the stomach, successfully knocking her on the floor.
Erica's entire body was now charged up with intense electricity as she grabbed Jess's leg, shocking her.
"AAAH!" Jess yelled, as she fell on the floor.
"Jess!" Eliza said, as she was about to shoot Erica.
Erica shot a electric spike, striking Eliza, causing her to fall on the floor and dropped her gun.
Eliza, her vision blurry from that shock and her entire body in pain, lifted her face from the floor to see Erica approaching the fallen Jess and aimed her hands at her, ready to shoot a more powerful electric shot that would wound Jess pretty badly.
"J-Jess!" Eliza said, crawling towards her gun, reaching her hand towards it.
Jess looked upwards, to see Erica who looked hesitant as she kept her hand aimed at Jess.
"...E-Erica, please, don't do this." Jess pleaded.
"...I...I don't want to kill you...but I'm not gonna let you leave either...we're gonna be best friends...As long as you do what I say, I won't kill your sister." Erica said.
"...Not, in your life time...bitch." Jess said.
Erica's glare returned, her hand charged and ready to shot.
With her concentration only on Jess, a glowing bullet bursted right through her forehead and escaped through the back of her head, hitting the wall.
The electricity surrounding Erica's body vanished as she stood there, her mouth wide open and her eyes shrunken as blood peered out of her mouth before she collapsed on the floor, right beside Jess.
Jess gasped as she moved away from Erica before turning her head to see Eliza, who was on her knees, smoke coming out of her revolver with her hands shaking as she was breathing heavily.
Jess slowly got up and looked back at Erica who wasn't breathing and checked her pulse. That shot in the head likely killed her.
"...She's...she's dead." Jess sighed, looking a bit shocked herself.
Eliza dropped the revolver on the floor as her eyes were flowing with tears. This was the first time she actually killed a human being.
"...I...I...WHY DID THIS HAPPEN!?" Eliza asked, as she broke down into tears.
Jess frowned before she closed Erica's eyes and walked towards Eliza, crouching down to wrap her arms around her to give her a hug.
"Hey, it's okay, it wasn't your fault." Jess said, trying to comfort her.
"...She...she was about to kill you...I...I pressed the trigger without thinking...I'm sorry, sis!" Eliza said, continuing to cry.
Jess closed her eyes, resisting the urge to cry aswell for both Eliza and Erica before she stood up.
"...We're getting out of here. We'll get our stuff, get in the car and get out of this hellhole. We should of avoided this place like the plague." Jess said.
"..W-what about Erica?" Eliza asked, wiping her tears.
Jess turned to her corpse.
"There's nothing we can do. We get out of here before someone comes." Jess said.
Just as she said that, someone knocked on her door.
"Yo, Erica, we're back!" Duke called out.
"Come on, girl, open the door and see what cool shit we have on us, we'll be partying all night!" Debby said.
Jess and Eliza turned pale.
"Oh no. Shit!" Jess said.
"What do we do!?" Eliza asked.
Jess quickly looked around.
"There's got to be a door that leads to the backyard or something!" Jess said.
The door opened and the pair walked in.
"Erica, din't you hear, we-" Debby stopped her sentence as her body froze when she saw Erica lying on the floor.
"HOLY SHIT!" Duke yelled, running to Erica and checked to see if she was alive.
Debby, who stared at Erica turned to look at Jess and Eliza.
"...What...what the fuck did you!?" Debby asked.
"It was an accident! Erica attacked us!" Jess said.
"...Dude, she isn't breathing...these two fucking killed her." Duke said, looking shocked.
Debby's eyes glared at the Summers, her hand glowing red.
"You bitches are gonna pay for this." Debby said.
"We din't mean for this to get out of hand. Just please, let us go and you won't see us ever again." Jess said.
"...You kill one of my friends and you expect to walk out of here alive? Sorry, but that's not how we do things around here, bitch." Debby growled.
Duke stood up, his forehead was black as he pulled out two fire disks.
Debby pulled out a whip, beginning to glow with the same red energy.
"We're gonna make you wish you din't come to our town!" Debby said.
Jess levitated two chairs from the kitchen, launching them at Duke and Debby.
Debby launched her whip at the chairs, breaking them before aiming her whip at Jess. The whip wrapped around her torso, stunning her body and preventing her from using her power.
"NO!" Eliza yelled, running towards the pair.
Duke threw his fire disks at Eliza, hitting her knees before it bounced back in his hand like a boomerang.
Eliza collapsed on the floor as Duke approached her, grabbing her by her hair.
"Let's take these worthless bitches to Zeke." Debby said.
The girls were brought in the police station, in Ezekiel's office.
Both Jess and Eliza's hands were wrapped up with Duke and Debby standing behind them and Ezekiel was in front of the girls with a pissed off expression. The moths from earlier were currently sticking to the window for some reason.
"I can allow many things around here. But I won't allow is a couple of two whores who just arrived in this village for two days tops and murder one of my own peeps!" Ezekiel shouted.
"She tried to kill us! We wanted to leave and shot electricity at us! Do you think we were gonna stand there and let her shock us!?" Jess asked.
Ezekiel punched Jess in her face.
"You shut your ungrateful ass up!" Ezekiel said.
"If you do that again, I swear I will knock you down!" Eliza yelled.
"I said shut it! Now then, which one of you whores killed...what was her name again?" Ezekiel asked.
"Erica." Debby said.
"Yeah, Erica. Which one of you fucking killed her? I'm not waiting all day for an answer." Ezekiel said.
Eliza looked at the floor, biting her lips. If she wasn't gonna say something, who knows what they would do to her sister, she had to tell him that she pulled the trigger.
"...It was-" Eliza said.
"It was me, I did it!" Jess said.
Eliza gasped, turning to Jess.
"Sis, no!" Eliza said.
"I killed Erica, she was gonna kill my sister and I killed her! Do whatever you want with me, just let my sister go! She had nothing to do with Erica's murder!" Jess said.
Ezekiel just laughed this off.
"Let her go? Do you expect me to buy this sentimental bullshit and let one of you get away scot free without paying the consequences? Oooh no, that's a big no-no, my bitch!" Ezekiel laughed.
Ezekiel headbutted Jess in the face, knocking her on the floor.
"You two are gonna pay for this. Duke, take pinky to her cell, knock her ass out so she won't have the chance to fight back!" Ezekiel said.
Duke grabbed Eliza and slammed his head against her's, knocking her out.
-----
A few minutes later, Eliza slowly woke up, feeling a massive headache, currently laying on a dirty floor while a tray full of food that din't look so good was placed in front of her.
She raised her head to see a bunch of metal bars and the fat police officer from earlier sitting behind the desk, playing on his Gameboy. She was still in the police station, in a holding cell.
"...Ugh, my head...when I get my hands on that guy, I will..." Eliza said, before realizing something.
She looked around her and din't see her sister anywhere.
"Jess!" Eliza said.
Eliza got up and grabbed onto the metal bars, looking at the police officer.
"Hey, where's my sister at!" Eliza asked.
"She's up for execution at the village center, then you're next. Now pipe down, I have one life left and I need to win this level." The police officer said.
The word executed repeated in Eliza's mind.
"I have to get out of here." Eliza thought.
Eliza looked back at the officer.
"Hey, you have to let me go, I need to save my sister!" Eliza said.
"Why should I? If I do that, Ezekiel's gonna kill me, where's the benefit in that?" The police officer asked.
"Aren't you a police officer of this village, you are keeping the wrong person in this cell, you should arrest that psycho instead!" Eliza said.
"Red Moon is in charge here, kid, not me. I nearly got eaten by one of those yellow-eyed monsters but I got saved by those people from Red Moon, why should I piss them off by freeing a girl I don't even know? Now shut your trap and eat your last meal." The police officer stated, before going back to his game.
Eliza glared at him before she looked at the tray placed on the ground. There was a chicken wing, peas, little slices of carrots and mayonnaise. She smelt the food and placed her hands around her mouth.
"Blegh, this food smells so bad, they might aswell have put poison in it to get the job done...wait...this gives me an idea." Eliza thought.
Eliza, crouched down to pick up the tray while keeping it away from her nose as she pretended to pick up the food and shove into her mouth, making munching noises. She began coughing.
"Bleh...I...don't feel so...good*cough*" Eliza coughed, placing her hand on her stomach.
She dropped the tray on the ground and fell on the ground, not moving. That got the officer's attention.
"Ah, geez." The police officer sighed, putting his Gameboy on the desk as he stood up, walking up to the cell and grabbed his keys, opening the cell.
"Don't tell me you got food poisoned or something. Hey, can you hear me?" The officer asked.
At that moment, Eliza grabbed the tray and slammed it into the officer's face, getting his face covered in that disgusting food.
"AH, YOU LITTLE BITCH!" The officer shouted.
Eliza grabbed his keys before pushing down on the floor and ran out of the cell before she locked it.
She tossed the keys on the ground before looking out the window, to see a crowd gathering around the village center as the officer stated.
"I need to stop Ezekiel before he kills my sister. Would be stupid to go out through the front door where he can see me light as day. There should be a backdoor that leads to the back of the station." Eliza said.
She quickly ran out through the door, leaving the police officer in his cell. Thankfully, there din't appear to be any other officers in the station as Eliza found a door that lead to the back of the building.
Eliza hid behind the wall as she poked her head out to look at the crowd, trying to detect Jess.
She couldn't see from the distance before she spotted a police car parked in front of the station. Looking left and right, Eliza snuck right towards the police car without making noise and hid behind the car. She rose her head to get a better look.
She was able to see Jess sitting with her knees on the ground, her hands were tied up as Ezekiel was walking around her with two AK guns in his hands.
"It's such a shame, you know? We could of worked this out, you and your little sister would of had a place to stay and I would of had two new people to get some new supplies and shit for me, we could of been a big happy family, but you pissed that away the moment you put a bullet in one of my people." Ezekiel said, pressing his gun against Jess's neck.
Jess spat in his face.
"If the rest of Red Moon are just as messed up as you and this town, then Jashin is one fucked up individual to allow people like you to exist!" Jess said.
Ezekiel just stared before wiping the spit out of his face with his sleeve, grinning at Jess.
"I suggest you say your prayer and close your eyes, I'll make it quick and painless. Once you're dead, I'll have some fun with your sister." Ezekiel said.
Jess's blood began to boil as Ezekiel kept talking.
Eliza looked furious before she noticed a trash can that she could hide behind and made a quick run over there.
One of the residents who was watching turned their heads around.
"You okay?" The person standing next to them asked.
"I thought I heard something. Guess it was nothing." The guy said, before looking back at the scene that was unfolding before them.
Eliza was now a bit closer to the crowd, but she had to find a way to get them to disperse and take a shot at Ezekiel. The question was how?
Surveying the area with her eyes, she saw the four limbless Others chained up to a rusty fence, unable to do anything as they tried to crawl towards the crowd.
"...They should scare them all of, but I need to make sure my shot cuts through all those chains in one go." Eliza said.
Eliza aimed her gun at the chains, concentrating her aim.
Ezekiel stood behind Jess, putting his guns on the back of her head.
"Say bye bye to Earth and hello to Hell!" Ezekiel smirked.
She shot a glowing bullet and it pierced through the chains.
The Others were now free as they crawled towards the crowd of people.
The people of Mishinaka turned around and gasped.
"Who let these things out!?" One of them asked.
"Who cares, just kill em!" Another person said.
One of the Others leaped in the air, opening their mouth and bit down on one person's head.
The crowd began panicking as they pulled out their weapons, shooting at the others.
Duke threw his fire disks at them only to miss, another Other jumped and shot a bear trap out of it's mouth, biting down on Duke's leg
"AAAAAAAH!" Duke yelled, falling on the ground as he tried to pull the bear trap off his leg as the Other started crawling towards him.
Debby was busy launching her whip at one Other crawling towards her.
Either way, that was enough to distract the crowd as Ezekiel turned around to look at what was happening before glaring down at Jess.
"Did you have something to do with this!?" Ezekiel asked.
Eliza stood up and ran towards Ezekiel, shooting him in his shoulder.
"GAH! FUCK, THAT STINGS!" Ezekiel yelled, grabbing onto his shoulder.
Jess telekinetically lifted a empty crate box nearby and smashed it into Ezekiel's face, knocking him down.
Eliza ran to Jess, untying her hands as Jess stood up, checking her wrists before turning to Eliza.
"Thanks, I knew you were gonna come and save me." Jess said.
"Let's find the car and get out of this loony place!" Eliza said.
The two sisters ran off, going to where they placed their car at.
Ezekiel, holding his head only grunted in pain before he noticed Jess and Eliza running off.
He grabbed his guns and stood up as he turned around to see the crowd still fighting off the Others.
"Tch, if you want something done right, you do it yourself!" Ezekiel yelled.
He leaped from the ground and landed on top of a house roof before he leaped to the next roof, doing it again and again.
The Summers were running as fast as they could.
"There it is!" Eliza said, pointing.
The SUV was in their sight.
Unfortnately, Ezekiel caught up to them as he leaped from one roof and landed in front of the girls, pointing his AK's sideways at them.
"SURPRISE, BITCHES!" Ezekiel yelled, starting to shoot at them.
Jess and Eliza jumped out of the way in separate directions, landing behind two different cars.
Ezekiel kept shooting at them regardless, hitting those cars.
"Sure, hide there as long as you want, I'll just keep shooting till the bullets will burst right through those fucking cars and put holes in your brains!" Ezekiel laughed as he continued shooting.
The car's window shattered and Eliza avoided getting stabbed by the shards before looking at Jess who was hiding behind the other car.
"What do we do!?" Eliza asked.
"If we try to run, we will both get shot! We need to find a way to get past him somehow!" Jess said.
Jess looked at the city, noticing the black Other Cloud was still hanging around the sky, it din't disappear.
"...I wonder..." Jess said.
She looked at Eliza.
"Try shooting at the air a few times, it might get that cloud's attention." Jess suggested.
"Um, okay!" Eliza said.
Eliza pointed her revolver, shooting at the sky three times.
"Was that supposed to be a warning shot or something!?" Ezekiel asked, as he kept shooting.
The Other Cloud began spreading over the sky once again, launching hails at the people of Mishinaka.
The hails were pelting Ezekiel and he stopped shooting.
"NOW!" Jess said.
Jess and Eliza stood up and ran towards their car. Eliza shot Ezekiel in his other shoulder and left leg and as they ran past him, Jess smacked him in the kisser and sent him crashing down on the ground.
Ezekiel raised his torso up while laying on the ground as he aimed his gun at the Summer's and shot bullets at point blank.
One of the bullets struck Jess's calf and she let out a pained noise before crashing on the ground.
Eliza turned around and grabbed her hand, helping her get up as they continued their run, although Jess was limping while they were running.
The two reached the car and got in.
"Are you sure you can drive, you got shot in the leg!" Eliza said.
"I'll manage!" Jess said, putting the keys in the ignition.
The car immediately drove off, heading towards the gate.
"Have fun trying to get that piece of shit out of here, because the gate is closed! There is no way you dumb bitches can get out now!" Ezekiel laughed.
And indeed, the gate was closed and the teenage girl with headphones aimed her crossbow at the car and started shooting flaming arrows at the car, managing to hit the roof and the hood.
"What now!?" Jess asked, scratching the wheel with her nails.
"We should try to weaken that gate, you can then use your power to force it to open!" Eliza said.
"Good idea, but how?" Jess asked.
Eliza's head peered out of the car as she started shooting her enchanted bullets at the gate, landing a few hits and managed to dent it slightly.
"Look, it's working!" Eliza said.
"Just how on Earth is that gun of your's so powerful I will never know." Jess said, as her attention was on the gate.
Eliza kept shooting at the gate, managing to dent it hard enough to weak it.
Jess's eyes started to glow purple, looking intently at that gate.
The gate suddenly opened up and the SUV drove out of Mishinaka, heading towards the distance till it vanished from sight.
Ezekiel approached the gate, standing there with his sharp teeth clenched, his eyes shaking as the gate collapsed on the ground.
He let out a scream full of rage before the moth's from before started to fly around his head.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, I'M NOT GONNA PUT UP WITH YOUR BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW!" Ezekiel yelled, waving his guns around to get the moth's to fly off.
The people who weren't participating at the execution were looking through the windows as it was still raining with hails outside.
Atleast 5 or 6 people were killed by the Others before they were destroyed.
-------
In Newrum State City.
Amila was back in mansion, sipping some tea as she was watching the news from the living room.
A blonde woman with blue eyes who's hair was shoulder length, her body was fit and muscular, wearing a blue tank top, black sweatpants, white shoes with a gym bag hanging off her shoulder walked in.
"Hi." The woman waved.
Amila turned to the woman.
"Oh, hi Caroline. How was your workout?" Amila asked.
"Exhausting, but I managed to get good results." Caroline said, before placing her bag on the floor.
She sat on the furniture next to Amila.
"How did things go at the party?" Caroline asked.
"I talked to that man, Judas, to see if he knew anything valuable about Jebediah, I ran into Daniel and his annoying cousin and I heard a few of those Red Moon members talking to each other in a private room. One of them was older than they looked and Jebediah was around in the 19th century, possibly even before that. This Jashin God possibly made him immortal, atleast that's what I think." Amila said.
"Huh. But did you find out more if they were the ones responsible for the deaths of those 7 people?" Caroline asked.
"No, but my suspicions have increased since the party, I'm starting to believe Red Moon had a hand in the mysterious disappearances of those people. With Red Moon spreading it's influence everywhere on the map, they have to be stopped before they gain control over everything and begin their war with the demon world that will result in a lot of casualties." Amila frowned.
"What do you have in mind?" Caroline asked, leaning against the furniture.
"Locrian and Bonita will be coming to Newrum soon and they'll bring an Omnipotent with them. Meredith is offering to ally with us, even though she is connected to the Mafia, we'll need every bit of help we can get if we hope to win this battle." Amila said.
--------
Later, at night.
The SUV was parked on a grassy area with Jess and Eliza out of the car, sitting on the ground, with their hands on their knee's, the two haven't said anything after they escaped from Mishinaka.
Jess turned to Eliza, noticing her sorrowful expression. Her killing Erica took a heavy toll on her conscience, she never killed a human before.
"...You did what you had to back there. Erica was too far gone and she would of killed us both." Jess said.
"...Maybe...but it doesn't make it right." Eliza sighed.
"...You were right about Mishinaka. I should of listened to you about Erica and left the place the moment we saw how horrible it was. It's my fault we got wrapped in that mess. If you want to shout at me, go ahead, I deserve it." Jess said, staring at the ground with tired eyes.
Eliza looked at Jess.
"...I don't want to shout at you, I don't want to fight with you anymore. Honestly, I probably shouldn't of went into the basement, maybe then Erica wouldn't of reacted like that. You liked her, din't you?" Eliza asked.
"...I thought the two of us could of been good friends, maybe our friendship would of gave me another reason for me to continue going on in this fucked up world...but it's too late for that." Jess said, burying her head into her knees.
Eliza put her hand on her shoulder.
"...You still have me. You will never be alone, sis. I will always watch over you." Eliza said, with a sad smile.
Jess raised her head, wiping a tear out of her eye, smiling slightly.
"Thanks, Liz." Jess said.
"...Where do we go now? It won't be safe to stay here." Eliza said.
Jess pulled out the map of the continent, looking at the cities.
"....Courtham Grove could be a good place to stay at and avoid any attention from Red Moon if we are careful enough, it's a small country town so no one will probably bother checking there. Unfortnately, we have to move from East to West so it's gonna take awhile and we better pick a lot of gas for the car." Jess sighed.
"...We left most of our stuff back in Mishinaka." Eliza sighed.
"That's alright. We are still alive, that's what matters. Let's get in the car and get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." Jess said.
------
The scene cuts to the white house, in the oval office.
Jebediah was sitting behind his desk, his hands placed together and his eyes were closed.
Ezekiel was there, sitting on a chair in front of his desk and looked rather nervous as he was staring at the floor to avoid Jebediah's gaze.
Daniel was standing next to Ezekiel scratching his left ear, looking perfectly calm.
"...Can you...explain to me...how...you could of been so incompetent...to let that mess happen?" Jebediah asked, finally looking at Ezekiel.
"....Well, I...that is...it wasn't my fault, man." Ezekiel said, after thinking hard about the best way to describe what happened.
"I'm pretty certain that it was 100% your fault." Daniel commented, not looking at Ezekiel.
Ezekiel snapped his head at Daniel.
"Hey, for your information, that pink haired released those Others and got everyone distracted, then I had to handle that all by myself, so shut the fuck up and give me a break!" Ezekiel said.
The door to the Oval Office opened without anyone knocking on it.
"Ho ho ho! Oh Ezekiel, you have no one to blame for your incompetence but yourself." Alexia said as she entered in the room, with her hands placed together.
Ezekiel turned his head, glaring at Alexia.
"What do you want?" Ezekiel asked.
Alexia opened her hands, releaving the moths who were flying around Mishinaka.
"My little pets were watching that whole fiasco and I can with absolutely certainty that you are the culprit to be blamed for that despicable mess." Alexia said.
Ezekiel, not putting up this he stood up, knocking the chair on the ground.
"Hey bitch, you wanna throw down with me? Let's do it now!" Ezekiel asked, getting in Alexia's face.
Alexia's expression did not change, staring into Ezekiel's eyes with a wide smile on her face.
"I suggest you don't use that filthy language against me." Alexia said, still smiling.
A rather large green red-eyed Centipede peered from underneath Alexia's dress, towering over Ezekiel before shoving it's sharp teeth into his neck.
"AAAAAAH!" Ezekiel screamed.
The Centipede was transferring maggots out of it's mouth right into Ezekiel's neck, literally filling his throat with maggots.
Ezekiel was screaming as his face was turning pale while Alexia watched with the same disturbing smile. Even Daniel was smiling at this.
Jebediah slammed his palms on his desk.
"ENOUGH!" A different voice shouted from Jebediah's mouth.
Daniel and Alexia quickly turned to Jebediah the moment he spoken.
Jebediah was staring down while his body was glowing blue.
"We are facing a big problem right now and you would rather waste time by acting like unruly children. I gave you these gifts and I can easily take them away from you with just a blink. Cease and desist with this foolishness or I will end it myself. Did I make myself clear?" Jebediah? asked.
Alexia just sighed.
"Oh, very well." Alexia said, snapping her finger.
The Centipede stopped and slid back in Alexia's dress.
Jebediah stopped glowing at the same time.
Ezekiel however still had maggots in his throat and placed his hands on his mouth.
"If you are gonna vomit, do it in the bathroom, not here." Jebediah said.
Ezekiel ran out of the Oval Office and din't close the door.
Jebediah looked at Alexia.
"What reason did you have to come here, Alexia?" Jebediah asked.
"I'm glad you asked. I wanted to offer you my support with those two sisters, especially since the little one's weapon was capable of killing one of us even though our symbols make us durable than any normal person could ever hope to be, she has to be stopped before she can hurt our powerful master." Alexia said.
"What do you have in mind, dear cousin?" Daniel asked.
Alexia clapped her hands and the two new people entered in the room.
A guy with white hair styled as a pompadour, wearing a white top hat, red goggles with two moons on each glass, a white expensive suit with musical symbols on it, a tie shaped as a Tonic, white gloves, white pants with black lines with a clarinet sticking out of his pocket and white shoes.
The other was a young woman with fair skin, blue eyes, orange hair with a long ponytail reaching the floor held by two hair sticks, wearing a long-sleeved pink kimono with a white sash wrapped around her waist, a small plastic bag containing clay sticking out of the sash and sandals.
"I believe you are familiar with Keiko Origami, the prodigy of the Origami Family from Kodama and Simeon Blues from Highton View Terrace, they are both professionals in what they do, these two are the best of the best I have to offer to you." Alexia said.
"This intriguing mission should inspire me with new ideas for my masterpiece, hm." Keiko said.
"Do not fret, Mon Cher Jebediah, I will personally take care of those two floozies before the end of my solo." Simeon said, having a thick Cajun accent.
"Very well. But remember, I do not want those girls dead, I want them brought here, use any necessary force you have available at your disposal, but I put emphasis on no killing. We have to find out more about the gun that girl has and how was it able to kill a single person with a Red Moon mark and critically injure them at the same time. Time is running out and we have to clear up all these loose ends before we head into the demon dimension and end this catastrophe. I count on you two to get me results." Jebediah said.
Simeon and Keiko just smiled in response.
-----
The black long haired woman with yellow eyes equipped with the claymore and the tall green-skinned man wearing the trench coat were on top of a hill were overlooking Mishinaka.
Deciding not to bother with that place, The two just turned around and walked away, going somewhere else.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 25, 2019 18:24:11 GMT
The Sisters of Summer
Part 3: Not Safe For Long
Monday, June 23th 2081, 9:21 PM
The girls were back on the road again, their next destination was Courtham Grove, a little country town with the hopes of being able to hide there from any Red Moon members who will be out for them for the incident that occurred in Mishinaka.
Jess and Eliza were currently walking on the roadway in the middle of the night. The area they were in was filled with trees.
"...If the car was still working, we would of gotten here a bit more sooner." Eliza sighed.
"Not my fault the tire just had to break right at that moment." Jess said.
"I never said it was your fault...we should be reaching Courtham, right?" Eliza asked.
"According to the map, yes, I think so. Hopefully they'll let us in." Jess said.
As they were walking, a shadowy figure with yellow eyes was watching them from behind a tree. The figure suddenly zapped right next to another tree and kept watching.
Jess then stopped, as her eyes began glowing.
"What's the matter?" Eliza asked.
"...We have company." Jess sighed.
Jess turned around, looking at the tree the figure was hiding behind.
"Show yourself." Jess said.
At that moment, the figure zapped out of hiding, going towards the Summers.
Jess and Eliza dodged out of the way as the figure zapped past them and was now floating in the air.
It was an Other, it's hands were handcuffed, wearing a tattered cloak that resembled a prison uniform with a prisoner hat, it din't have any legs as it was floating in the air as it was looking at the two girls.
"Can we just have one day where we don't get attacked by Others, is that too much to ask!?" Eliza asked.
The Other summoned a dark energy ball in it's hands before launching it right at the sisters.
Jess and Eliza dodged that as Jess brought out her rifle, shooting at the Other who blocked the bullets with it's handcuffs.
The Other charged itself right towards Jess who rolled out of the way as she kept shooting at the Other who blocked the attacks.
Eliza ran behind a tree for cover as she aimed her gun at the Other, trying to find a sensitive spot to shoot at.
The Other created three more energy balls and threw them at Jess who used her telekinesis to repel them back towards the Other who got hit.
The Other reached into it's chest, pulling out a pair of handcuffs before throwing them right at Jess. The handcuffs attached themselves to her legs, causing her to fall on the ground.
"Shit!" Jess yelled.
The Other then charged again at Jess, with intent to finish her off.
Eliza then shot three bullets at the Other, one pierced through the right side of it's head, one pierced through it's chest and the last one broke through it's handcuffs.
The Other let out a wail as it vanished into nothing, leaving behind it's shattered handcuffs.
The handcuffs attached to Jess's legs vanished as she slowly got up.
"You okay, Jess?" Eliza asked, walking up to her.
"I'm fine. You know, I have to ask, how is it that your gun is so effective against almost anything at this point? I don't get it." Jess asked.
"...I guess...our dad got himself a good deal at the gun store?" Eliza shrugged, with a insincere smile.
Jess just stared in response.
"...It doesn't matter, let's get to the damn town before something else happens." Jess said, as they continued walking.
After 10 minutes passed, they saw a large barricade around the area with a police officer standing there at the gate.
"...The place is just as barricaded as the last one." Eliza said.
"Let's hope this place won't be as nutty as the last one was." Jess said.
"Do you think the officer will let us in?" Eliza asked.
"Let's hope so." Jess said.
The two girls walked towards the town and approached the police officer.
The officer looked at them.
"What business do you have here?" The officer asked.
"Hi. We came here looking for shelter in Courtham Grove. Is this the place?" Jess asked.
"Yes, this is Courtham Grove. Where are you two from?" The officer asked.
"We were from Erinfort, but it's probably a giant wreck at this point and we have nowhere else to go. Can we go in?" Eliza asked.
"Sorry Ma'am, but no strangers allowed. For all I know, you could be one of those freaky Others in disguise." The officer said.
"Others have yellow eyes, we don't have yellow eyes." Jess said.
"...Oh, right. But, either way, I can't let you in." The officer said.
"It's just the two of us, not the entire family, what's the harm in letting us in?" Jess asked.
"Rules are rules. Sorry." The officer shrugged.
Jess just stared as she read the guy's mind.
She reached into her pocket, pulling out 50 dollars, wether it was her money or someone else's. She gave them to the police officer.
"There, will that be enough to convince you?" Jess asked.
The cop looked at the money before looking at the girls.
"...Okay, I'll make an exception just this once. Do not tell anyone that I allowed you or do not cause a disturbance, or you will be kicked out." The cop said.
"Don't worry, we won't do anything bad." Eliza said.
"Welcome to Courtham Grove." The cop said, as he opened the gate door.
The two girls walked through the door.
"...Cheap pig." Jess said, looking angry that she had to waste that money.
"Hey, atleast we're in. Let's hope this won't be another death trap city like the last ones." Eliza said.
The town, Courtham Grove, was in better condition than Wellham and Mishinaka, it looked pretty normal actually as Jess and Eliza were walking down the street, going past a few stores. There weren't many people around which made sense since it was now night.
Eliza looked to her left and could see a deer sitting around much to her surprise before turning to Jess.
"The place looks good enough, so far. But where are we gonna stay for the night?" Eliza asked.
"There should be a hotel or motel, somewhere around here." Jess said.
"We should ask someone." Eliza said.
The girls reached a restaurant that appeared to be still open.
"This restaurant is still open. Maybe we can ask the owner." Eliza said.
Jess nodded as the two went into the restaurant.
Inside, they saw a woman with long grey hair who had a distinctive face wearing a white sweater and a apron with 5 stars on it, who was emptying out the cash register before looking at the girls.
"Oh, hello there. Sorry, but I was just about to close. You can come back here tomorrow morning." The woman smiled.
"Actually, we aren't here to eat, we just arrived in this town looking for a place to stay at. Do you know if there is a hotel or motel where we can stay at?" Jess asked.
"Ah, sure. There is a hotel not too far from here, just go left, turn right, go forward and you'll find it." The woman said.
"Thank you, miss..." Eliza said.
"Sakura Kuota. Hm, where are you two from if you are not from around here?" Sakura asked.
"We were from Erinfort. Others attacked and we were forced to leave. We don't have any family with us." Jess said.
"Oh, that's a shame. The Others attacked this town too awhile ago but thankfully the army took care of them quickly before things could of gotten really nasty. No one is able to leave Courtham since those Others are still around but thankfully, the barricade kept them away. Atleast I won't have to be worried about my son getting hurt by those...things...anyway, I'm certain you two will feel safe here." Sakura said.
At that moment, a woman with blue hair wrapped in a ponytail, brown eyes, wearing a waitress outfit walked out of the kitchen, turning to Sakura.
"I'll be going now." The woman said.
"See you tomorrow, Katty." Sakura smiled.
Katty went past the sisters, going out the door.
"Thanks for the help, miss." Jess said, as she walked out too, followed by Eliza.
"...She was a pretty nice lady. We should eat at her restaurant tomorrow." Eliza suggested.
"First, we should check that motel and see if they'll even allow us in." Jess said, as Katty got in her car and drove off.
Eliza nodded as the two followed Sakura's direction and reached the hotel.
The two walked in, looking around.
There was a guy with short brown hair, wearing a pair of big glasses who's face was filled with zits, standing right behind the reception desk.
Jess walked to the receptionist.
"Pardon me, but are there any rooms available?" Jess asked.
"Yes." The receptionist said.
"How much will it cost to stay for 2, 3 nights or so?" Jess asked.
The guy scratched his head with his finger.
"...That will cost you about 100 dollars." The receptionist said.
Jess sighed as she reached her pocket and gave the receptionist 100 dollars.
"Do you want a room for yourself?" The receptionist asked.
"A room for two, actually." Jess said, gesturing at herself and Eliza.
The receptionist gave her the key to room '205'.
"Here you go." The receptionist said.
Jess took the keys and nodded before she and Eliza walked towards the elevator. She pressed the button and the elevator arrived, they got in and Eliza pressed the button to take them to the second floor.
They arrived at the second floor and Jess unlocked the door to their room before they walked in.
She turned on the lights and room looked decent for the most part, there was a sliding glass door that leads to the balcony, with two beds, a bathroom to their right, a table, a TV and a mini fridge.
"Atleast we are not staying in a crummy house again." Eliza said as she took her shoes off and sat on a bed.
Jess checked the mini fridge, there were soda cans in there with a chocolate bar. She took one soda cans, opening it up and drank from it.
"...Oh, that tastes good." Jess said.
"You know, this place isn't so bad after all. I think we finally hit the jackpot." Eliza said, picking up the remote and turned on the TV.
The first channel was showing a soap opera show, where the main character was revealing to her husband that the baby belongs to his evil twin brother.
Eliza switched to another channel, which was featuring a female bodybuilding contest and they were about to announce a winner for second place.
"And second place goes to...Caroline Thompson!" The announcer said.
Caroline, wearing a green bikini, walked to the announcer and picked up the trophy as she waved at everyone.
Eliza cringed before she switched to another channel, featuring a commercial for Goman Industries.
There was a man on the TV, sitting infront of a fireplace. He had short brown hair, a zipped up white fur coat with white fur pants, black gloves and holding a stange looking hammer like a cane.
"Hello wonderful people of Courtham Grove, this town you all have here is quite a lovely place with the beautiful landscape farms and all that, and we here at Goman Industries are proud to announce we are going to make our own little addition to this lovely town! I am Desver Goman and im proud to introduce to you the Goman Industries Enviormental Power Initiative! or GIEMPI! for short!
Rather then useing things that hurt the enviorment, we figured you people would rather use the world around you instead as nature intends! with things such as solar panels! wind mills! and other ways to easily power the entire town without useing things like oils that hurt the enviorment! Gone are the days of worrying about when will the power turn off! or wondering if you will have enough money to pay for cable and electricity! with our new Project, all of thsoe worries will be a thing of the past!
Production will be underway very soon if it isnt already! we thank you for allowing us to help make your lives better! And as always thank you and have a good day!" Desver said as the commerical ended.
Eliza just switched the channel again. It was the news channel, featuring Jebediah standing in front of his mansion, answering the questions of a press conference.
"A construction team will arrive to repair the damage done to Mishinaka and I can assure you that the two mysterious culprits responsible for the murder of Erica Serrano and be put on trial. Once that's solved, we'll focus on getting rid the remaining Others and prepare for the final battle against the demon kind. Next question?" Jebediah asked.
"Were the Omnipotents discovered yet?" Someone asked.
"It's been a difficult task since most Omnipotents are now using fake names to hide themselves from us, but we are sending out many search parties to find them. Sooner or later, they will be found out. Next question?" Jebediah asked.
Eliza turned off the TV.
Jess laid her back against the bed, sighing.
"This is bad." Jess said.
"They din't show any pictures of us, I don't think no one knows about us and come here looking for us." Eliza said.
"Let's hope so. But remember, Erica mentioned that Jashin members are in this place too, we have to be careful not to run into any of them. This place is secure enough, but it can't last for long if we are caught." Jess said.
"Yeah...do you think these demons that the president keeps talking about are that bad?" Eliza asked.
"After seeing Mishinaka, I'm beginning to doubt that the demons are as awful at this asshole made them out to be when his guys are a bunch of psycho's." Jess said.
Eliza looked at her left hand.
"...Yeah...let's hit the bed." Eliza decided.
------
We cut to a different dimension entirely. The dimension of the demons.
At the castle that belonged to the Maiden of Pandemonium, Nyx.
Inside a red bedroom, there was a lady with long red hair, red eyes, green skin with harpy wings, wearing a white dress and painting. She was the daughter of Nyx and Fuzen, Zoey, soon to inherit her mother's position as the maiden of the afterlife, Inferno.
Also in the room was a demon lady with blue skin, hair with long braids, brown eyes with glasses, a black cape, red armor and a red skirt who was sitting on a chair, reading a book. She was the successor to Erebus, Tara Blasco, a former resident of Mishinaka who ended up in this world and willingly became a demon. The bedroom had a large bed, paintings placed on the wall and a basket full of fruits sitting on the table.
"...I'm done now." Zoey said, putting her paintbrush aside.
Tara, or rather Tarabus, closed the book and got up, walking up to the painting of a forest.
"What do you think?" Zoey asked.
"...It's literally the same painting you did an hour ago." Tarabus said.
"...Yeah. I've been running out of inspirations lately, I've nearly drawn everything I had to see in this world. I think I'm suffering from...what do people in the human realm call it?" Zoey asked.
"Artist's block?" Tarabus guessed.
"That. I need something new to inspire me." Zoey said.
Tarabus looked at the painting, thinking.
"...How about this?" Tarabus asked, clicking her fingers.
Four of her shadows split up and stood around the corner, they merged together and formed into a replica of 'Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo except of Adam and God, it was the shadows of Tara and Zoey, nearly touching their hands.
"...Thanks." Zoey smiled.
Tarabus nodded before she sat down, picking up her book as Zoey picked up a white canvas and began painting the image
"...I think it's the stress that's responsible. Soon, I will have to pick up from where my mother left off and I'm also getting married...but, it's not really a marriage, it's more of a partnership when I think about it." Zoey said.
"Do you really want to get married though?" Tarabus asked.
"...I'm not sure. He seems...decent but I feel like he only wants to marry me for my position, not out of love." Zoey said.
"You could just reject the guy, what's the worst thing that can happen?" Tarabus asked.
"But my family already agreed to the marriage with the Ganymede Clan, the decision isn't mine to make." Zoey said.
"Ugh, forced marriage ceremonies just stink ass." Tarabus said, flipping a page.
"...I never really got to see the human world for myself." Zoey said.
"Eh, you'd get disappointed quickly. The entire world is shit and so is everyone else." Tarabus said.
"Are you sure?" Zoey asked.
"Yes, absolutely sure. If I wasn't sure, would I even still be here and willingly turned myself into a demon?" Tarabus asked.
"...You're right. I'm sorry." Zoey sighed.
"You don't need to apologize all the time you know." Tarabus said.
"Well, well, aren't you two getting along like a house on fire, heh heh." A voice said.
Mephisto appeared through a puff of smoke, holding a golden pendant in his hand.
"Salutations, dark heart." Mephisto said, bowing to Tarabus.
"Hey, Meph." Tarabus waved, her eyes glued to her book.
Mephisto then walked towards Zoey.
"How are you doing, my beautiful princess?" Mephiso asked, taking Zoey's hand and kissing it.
"...I'm fine. Tara was helping me by giving me inspiration for my new painting." Zoey said, gesturing at the shadow image
"Hm, misusing our abilities, aren't we?" Mephisto asked Tarabus.
"Hey, as long as I have it, might aswell use it instead of letting it go to waste." Tarabus said.
"Fair enough. I've come to give you a present, my princess." Mephisto said.
He stood behind Zoey, placing the pendant around her neck.
"...Oh, thank you...where did you get it from?" Zoey asked.
"It doesn't matter. Well, do you like it?" Mephisto asked.
"...It's nice, I suppose..." Zoey said, not really sure.
"Oh, don't be so shy. The two of us are getting married soon after all. Of course, your father will still need some convincing and I'm sure you can handle that part, right?" Mephisto asked, placing his hand on Zoey's chin.
"...I'll try." Zoey said, looking at the floor hesitant.
"So, is that why you came here?" Tarabus asked.
Mephisto turned to Tarabus.
"Not exactly. I have some news regarding the mortal realm, I'm sure you're dying to know what's going on." Mephisto said, as he picked up a apple from the basket.
"Not interested." Tarabus said.
"Really? You should be, after all, that group Red Moon are our enemies and they are one step closer to eventually start a war with us." Mephisto said.
Tarabus's glare intensified as she looked from her book to staring in Mephisto's serpentine eyes.
"Look, did you come here to give Zoey her present or you are here just to piss me off?" Tarabus asked.
"Tara, you misjudge me. I would never do something like that, I just want to be helpful that's all. Helping people is my forte after all." Mephisto said, with his wicked smile.
"Whatever, just tell us what you have to say." Tarabus said.
"Very well. The village you grew up in just got heavily damaged thanks to two mortal girls who are on the run and the Red Moon are after them." Mephisto said.
"So?" Tarabus asked, not interested.
"It's quite a interesting development. A few alliances are rising against the Red Moon, perhaps there is a chance they'll be taken out before they get the chance to attack us." Mephisto said, taking a bite out of the apple.
"If we're that lucky. Is that what you had to say?" Tarabus asked.
"Indeed. I think I've wasted enough of your time, so I'll be off now. I'll see you at dinner, my princess." Mephisto winked, before he vanished into a puff of red smoke.
"...The guy is kind of a prick, no offense." Tarabus told Zoey.
"...Should we be worried about the human world?" Zoey asked, thinking about what Mephisto said.
"No, it's not worth our time. Forget about it." Tarabus said.
She closed her book and stood up.
"I'm heading to Kali's place. Wanna come?" Tarabus asked.
Zoey nodded, putting her paintbrush down.
Mephisto was seen outside the castle, walking off as he held a crystal ball in his hand and the half-bitten apple in his other hand, watching Eliza and Jess sleeping in their beds.
"Sleep tight, young heart. Cause soon, you will need to repay the favor I've asked of you many years ago." Mephisto grinned.
He then took another bite out of his apple.
------
Tuesday, June 24th 2081, 11:10 AM
Eliza opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the watch on the wall, seeing it was 11 AM.
"...We've slept for quite awhile." Eliza yawned.
Eliza got up and walked to the other bed, shaking Jess as she was still sleeping.
"Come on, Jess, wake up." Eliza said.
Jess did not wake up.
"...Jess?" Eliza asked.
"...Erica, no...stop...please stop!" Jess said, in her sleep.
"...She's having a nightmare again." Eliza frowned.
Eliza gave her one more shook and Jess rose up, panting.
"...Yet another nightmare." Jess sighed.
"...You dreamt about Erica, right?" Eliza asked.
"...Yeah." Jess said, holding her bedsheet.
"You have to move on from that. She is gone and there is nothing you can do about it now." Eliza said.
"...I wish there was something I could do." Jess said.
Eliza sighed as she backed away.
"Are you getting out of bed?" Eliza asked.
"Just give me a few more seconds." Jess said, her head resting on her forehead.
Eliza nodded.
Eventually, a knock was heard on the door.
"...Who could it be at this time?" Jess asked.
"Maybe it's room service." Eliza said.
Jess got up and walked to the door, putting her hand on the door knob cautiously before opening the door, revealing...
Some fat guy with black hair, glasses, wearing a white buttoned up shirt who was standing outside the hallway, with a smile to his face.
"Greetings, new comers!" The fat guy responded.
Jess slammed the door on his face.
"Who was it?" Eliza asked.
"Not room service." Jess said, as she walked away from the door.
Someone knocked again.
Jess walked to the door and opened it, revealing the fat guy again, who was holding his nose.
"Ow! What was that for!? You din't even let me introduce myself!" The fat guy said.
"Don't care." Jess said, closing the door on his face again.
"...You do realize he is gonna knock again, right?" Eliza asked.
"And we won't open the door. He is gonna get bored and he'll just walk away." Jess guessed.
Eliza shrugged as she turned on the TV.
The channel was showing some Angry Birds cartoon till the fat guy's face suddenly covered the entire screen.
"NOW THAT WAS JUST RUDE!" The fat guy exclaimed.
"HOLY WHALE BALLS!" Eliza gasped, falling off the bed while Jess just stared in disbelief.
The fat guy shoved his hands out of the TV, attempting to get himself out...only to get stuck.
"...NyeHeheheh...little help here?" The fat guy asked.
Jess levitated the fat guy out of the TV before dropping him on the floor.
The fat guy got up, cleaning the dust off his shirt.
"I have to say, you have a rude way to say hello to someone, lady." The fat guy said.
"Years of being all around the world getting attacked by psycho monsters will do that for you. Now, can you kindly tell us who the hell you are and why are you bothering us?" Jess asked, her arms folding.
"Oh, so now you want an introduction? Of fine, for the sake of being a gentleman, I shall do that. *Ahem*, my name is Hifumi Kuota! I've heard from a source of mine about two stranger ladies from Erinfort who somehow got past the police officer currently residing in this very hotel and I figured I needed to check this for myself." Hifumi smiled, putting his hands on his hips, talking like he was some overdramatic superhero.
"...Is your source Sakura Kuota, the owner of the restaurant who is also your mother?" Jess asked, blinking.
"Why, y-...whaaa? How did you?" Hifumi asked, reasonably confused.
"We met your mother yesterday and your last name is the same as her's. Also, I read your mind before you opened your mouth." Jess said.
"R-Read my mind!? That's a invasion of my privacy!" Hifumi said.
"Well guess what, I don't care. Also, you're the guy invading our privacy the moment you jumped out of our fucking TV." Jess said.
"...Yeah, about...how did you do that? You know, jumping out the TV." Eliza said.
"Why, that's quite easy. It's my POWA!" Hifumi exclaimed, zapping himself into the TV again.
The angry Birds cartoon was still playing as one of the Birds was about to be catapulted right towards the pigs.
Hifumi landed on the catapult and it collapsed before he landed on the birds, squashing them.
"...Not exactly the best way to show myself off but anyway, now you get the picture!" Hifumi said.
He stood up as the birds were now pancaked and he zapped out of the TV.
"Impressed yet?" Hifumi asked, adjusting his glasses.
"...I think I died at some point and ended up in Hell. You're existence just confirms it." Jess said, her left eye twitching.
Eliza, on the other hand, looked amused slightly by Hifumi.
"Right, so, here is my question...what are you two doing in Courtham Grove? It seems odd that two beautiful ladies such as yourselves would travel all the way to the Country. Care telling me your likely interesting backstories?" Hifumi asked.
"We don't have to tell you anything" Jess said.
"...We lost our home many years ago when the Others started showing up. Our parents were in Brazil...and we've been alone since then, looking for a place to live in place...but no luck." Eliza sighed.
"Why are you indulging him?" Jess asked.
"Hm, I see, that's a shame that is. Besides miss Psychic over here, what gift do you have?" Hifumi asked Eliza.
"I have a gun...and that's it." Eliza said.
"Hmmmm...Oh, I see now. You two represent the Red Oni and Blue Oni trope!" Hifumi said, as if he realized something.
"...The what?" Eliza asked.
"You don't know? Red Oni is passionate and defiant while the Blue Oni is more serious and boring than the other. You're the Red Oni as it seems you're optimistic and see a bright side to everything which would probably make you the main protagonist of your story while your sister is the cynical woman who is hated by the fandom because of her cynical-ness till she redeems herself in the third act. Am I right or wrong?" Hifumi asked.
"...Can I kill him?" Jess asked.
"Sis, calm down, I think he is just joking." Eliza said.
"With all the minor details out of the way, I can give you two a tour around Courtham Grove to get you familiarized with the customs. Care to join me?" Hifumi asked.
"No." Jess said.
"Okay." Eliza shrugged.
"It's settled then!" Hifumi said, looking excited.
"...Why?" Jess asked.
-----
And so, the tour began, with Hifumi in the front while Eliza and Jess were behind him, as they were currently walking on the street sidewalk.
"Courtham Grove is not that much of a big deal compared to other cities like Newrum State City or Erinfort, but it is quite splendorous even though you can get pretty bored quickly-" Hifumi continued his speech about the town's history.
Jess was just glaring at the back of his head as she got closer to Eliza.
"Let's ditch him while we have the chance." Jess whispered.
"Give him a chance, he is not really that bad. I think he...just wants to make friends and is probably lonely." Eliza whispered.
"Acting like the village clown isn't gonna win him any friendship with anyone. Besides, he could be a secret agent of Red Moon sent to spy on us." Jess whispered.
"Well, why don't you read his mind to check?" Eliza asked.
"I would. But I just ate breakfast." Jess said.
Hifumi turned around.
"Are you two listening? I'm not boring you am I?" Hifumi asked.
"Oh, no, we were just talking to each other about something. Go on." Eliza said.
"Ah, good. Anyway, this town was founded around-" Hifumi said.
"Hey Hifumi, could you tell us more about yourself? Like...what are you doing right now?" Jess asked.
"Hmm, suddenly interested, aren't we? Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you. I am on my way to become a famous Mangaka and I am a fan of all sorts of Anime's." Hifumi said quite proudly.
"You aren't working at your mom's restaurant?" Eliza asked.
"Oh, I help my mom from time to time when she needs it. The restaurant business is going quite smoothly." Hifumi said.
"...I heard on the news that Courtham Grove got attacked by Others, like a few years ago." Jess said.
"Ah, yes, that happened. That was quite a horrific attack but the military stepped in and put a stop to those weird negative monsters and built the barricade around this area. If there are any dastardly Others left around, they won't be able to get past the barricade. Still, it's annoying when you think that all this madness occurred because of a stupid midget obsessed with crystals." Hifumi scoffed.
"We ran into a Other before we came to this town. We managed to defeat it." Eliza said.
"You did? Hmmm, you two must be quite powerful together, you should do more level grinding before you will eventually have the fight the final boss of your long journey." Hifumi suggested.
"...Sure, why not. Also, are there any Red Moon guys around this place? Are you a part of them?" Jess asked.
"Eh, no. There is Mary, who is keeping a watch on everything that's going on in this town and is a nun who works in our local church but I'm not affiliated with the Demon Hunters or have any interest in joining them since...uh..." Hifumi said.
"You're scared of fighting demons since they are not digital and thus, you would be a easy target to get rid of?" Jess asked.
"I-I wouldn't phrase it like that but, it's somewhere around there." Hifumi sighed.
"...Do you have any friends?" Eliza asked.
"Do you even have a girlfriend?" Jess asked, already knowing the answer.
"MMm, getting a little personal, aren't we?...well, there are two women out there who have caught my interest but I have yet to ask them out. Both of them are from Newrum, Amila L'aurlethe who really stands out in her dress and there is of course the statuesque Caroline Thompson, a lady with brains and brawn, a nice combination." Hifumi said, blushing slightly.
"...Eeeeh, okay." Eliza said, sweat dropping while Jess was trying to mentally block out these horrifying images out of her head.
The three walked past the local church.
"So, any place you two want to visit in particular? We have a park, if you are interested." Hifumi said.
"Sure." Eliza shrugged.
"Then off to the park, we go!" Hifumi cheered as he went off.
"...I don't get that guy." Jess said, walking after Hifumi, Eliza followed.
They reached the park.
It was grassy with quite a lot of tree's in the area, there were a few people in the park, a few weasels were running around the park.
There was a fountain statue of a woman in the center of the park with water leaking out of the statue's mouth. A young lady with short blue hair, blue eyes, wearing a white short sleeved T-shirt with jeans was sitting on the bench in front of the fountain, looking at nothing in general.
"Here we are! What do you think?" Hifumi asked.
"...It's decent." Jess shrugged.
Eliza looked around, looking all the locals before seeing the blue-haired girl sitting on the bench, she looked a lot like the waitress from the restaurant.
"...Hey, Hifumi...do you know who that is?" Eliza asked, pointing at the girl.
"Hm? Oh, I recognize that girl. She is the daughter of that waitress who is working at my mom's restaurant, I believe her name is...Kara. I haven't actually talked to her." Hifumi said.
"...The resemblance is quite uncanny." Jess said, looking at Kara.
Eliza, curious, decided to walk to Kara while Hifumi and Jess just stood there.
"...So...care to tell me-" Hifumi started.
"No." Jess said.
Eliza walked up to Kara.
"Hi there." Eliza waved.
Kara turned her head to Eliza.
"...Hi." Kara responded.
"My name is Eliza, I'm new here. You're Kara, right? I saw your mom yesterday at the restaurant." Eliza said.
"I am. Did you come here from another city, too?" Kara asked.
"Yeah. You weren't born here in Courtham?" Eliza asked.
"...I was born in Newrum, me and my parents moved here a few years back...we are separated from many of our friends who are in other places by now." Kara sighed.
"Have you tried looking for them?" Eliza asked.
"I couldn't. I have to stay here for a good reason." Kara said.
"...I see. What do you think about Courtham?" Eliza asked.
"It's nice...though, I'd rather hang out at the beach than in any other place, when I'm near the Ocean, I feel like I'm back home." Kara said, looking at the ground, she had a lot on her mind.
"...That sounds nice." Eliza said.
"...Are you the only one who came here, Eliza?" Kara asked.
"No, me and my sister are here. We got separated from our parents too." Eliza said.
"I'm sorry. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here." Kara said.
Kara stood up.
"I have to go now. I have something to take care of." Kara said before she walked off, walking out of the park.
"...Um, okay...bye." Eliza said, waving at her, not sure what to make of that conversation.
Eliza walked back to Hifumi and Jess.
"How was it?" Jess asked.
"...She...seemed to be quite depressed actually." Eliza said.
"She's probably going through a phase." Hifumi suggested.
Jess glanced at him with a monstrous glare.
"...Hehehehe...so...wanna go somewhere else?" Hifumi asked, laughing nervously.
"...We could go to your mom's restaurant, if you want." Eliza suggested.
"Oh, if that's what you wish, then let's go!" Hifumi said.
"Woohoo." Jess chanted, raising a fist, sounding bored.
The three walked out of the park and made their way towards the restaurant.
Hifumi opened the door for them.
"Ladies first." Hifumi smiled.
Jess just ignored him as she walked in.
"Thanks." Eliza said, walking in the restaurant, followed up by Hifumi.
There were a few people in the restaurant, some of them were waiting for their food as the waitress Katty was there, taking their orders one by one. Sakura wasn't there.
"Hm, looks like mom is busy in the kitchen." Hifumi noted as he sat at a table.
Jess and Eliza sat at the other side of the table next to each other as they picked up their menu's.
"...We don't have enough money for this food." Jess sighed.
"Not to worry, madame, today's lunch is on me!" Hifumi said.
"Cool, just keep your mouth shut while we are eating." Jess said, as she read through the menu.
Eventually, Katty walked up to them next, holding a notepad with a pencil.
"Oh, hello, Hifumi. Fancy seeing you here. Are these friends of your's?" Katty asked.
"...Uh...well...I would say." Hifumi said.
"He is just giving us a tour of the place. That's it." Jess said.
"Alright, so, have you decided yet?" Katty asked.
"I want two pancakes." Eliza decided.
"I'll have pork burger." Jess said.
"...I'll have what Eliza is having." Hifumi decided.
Katty nodded, writing it all in her notepad.
"One pork burger and four pancakes coming up. Sakura!" Katty announced, walking into the kitchen.
"...Kara really looks a lot like her mother." Eliza noted.
15 minutes passed and Sakura walked out, carrying two plates, one with a burger on it and the other had four pancakes on it, going towards the table Hifumi and the Summers were sitting at.
"Here you go, one burger for you." Sakura said, putting the plate in front of Jess.
"And four pancakes for my special boy and your friend." Sakura smiled, placing the other plate.
"Nyehehe...mom, not in front of the women, please." Hifumi nervously smiled.
"Enjoy your lunch!" Sakura said, walking back to the counter.
Eliza picked up one pancake with her fork and took a bite.
"...Hm, it's good!" Eliza said.
Jess took a bite out of her burger aswell.
"...I haven't eaten a decent meal like this ever since we left Mishinaka." Jess said.
Hifumi said nothing, as he started to eat the pancakes.
"Hey, leave some for me too." Eliza said.
A few minutes on the clock pass and the three finish their dinner.
"Ugh..I don't think I can handle another bite." Eliza said, her hands placed on her stomach.
"Me neither." Jess said.
The restaurant's door opened and Mary walked in, going towards the counter.
"Oh, Mary, how nice to see you! How have you been doing?" Sakura asked.
Jess's head snapped towards the woman who entered in the restaurant after hearing her being called Mary.
"I've had a few difficulties at work, but putting that aside, I've been well. The restaurant is still going strong, I see." Mary smiled, sitting on a chair in front of the counter.
"...That woman is Mary?" Jess asked, turning to Hifumi, looking panicked.
"Why, yes, that's her. She and my mom get along quite nicely." Hifumi said.
"...Shit, we need to get out of here before she sees us." Jess whispered to Eliza.
"But where do we go?" Eliza asked.
"...I have an idea." Jess whispered.
Jess looked to Hifumi.
"Hey, Hifumi...can you take us to your house? I want to see your anime collection." Jess said.
"...Jess?" Eliza asked, confused.
Hifumi looked shocked by Jess's proposal, not knowing what to say.
"Well...I...why of course! Hold on for a minute, I just need to pay for the food and we'll be off!" Hifumi said, as he immediately and walked towards his mom.
"...Are you sure about this?" Eliza asked.
"We can't tell him that we are runaway fugitives from Red Moon, he'd expose us to Mary immediately. I needed to come up with an excuse to get out of here." Jess whispered.
"I hope this will work." Eliza sighed.
Hifumi nodded towards Sakura before he walked up to Eliza and Jess.
"Come on, I have so much to show you two!" Hifumi said, sounding really excited for this.
Jess nodded as she and Eliza got up, the three walked out of the restaurant.
Mary turned her head to see the door closing, she kept looking at it for a bit longer.
"Here's your coffee." Sakura said, putting a cup of hot coffee on the counter.
Mary turned her head to Sakura, her smile returning.
"Thank you." Mary said.
-----
Hifumi opened the door to his house and they walked inside.
"Oh, I just can't wait to show you two everything that my domain has to offer!" Hifumi grinned.
"Let's just get this over with." Jess sighed, as they walked the stairs.
Hifumi opened the door to his room and turn on the lights.
His had all sorts of anime related stuff, including posters, DVD's, video games plushies, a computer and everything else related to anime.
"...I think I entered in another dimension." Jess said.
"I know, right!?" Hifumi asked, walking into his room.
"...You really love anime, huh?" Eliza asked.
"Who doesn't?" Hifumi asked in return.
"...I don't see any Dragon Ball stuff in here." Jess said.
"I never watched Dragon Ball." Hifumi admitted.
"...Huh, that's new." Jess said, as she was looking at a shelf full of DVD's, her eyes spotting a Power Ranger miniseries DVD case. As a Kid, she used to watch that show and never missed an episode, she and Eliza watched all the time during the weekends.
Jess picked the DVD case and looked to Hifumi.
"You have a DVD player?" Jess asked.
"Sure, it's right over there." Hifumi said, pointing at the TV.
Jess walked to the TV, getting the disk and inserting it into the player.
"Ahem, so...are any of you curious in reading the first chapter of the manga I'm making? I want to hear your thoughts." Hifumi said.
"I'm busy watching Power Rangers." Jess commented as the theme song started playing.
"...I'd like to read it." Eliza said.
"Sweet!' Hifumi said, as he lead Eliza to his computer to show her the preview.
Unknown to them, a large puppet modeled as a bumblebee was watching them before it flew away.
A few hours later and it was night.
"Thanks for the dinner, Miss Sakura!" Eliza called out, as she and Jess walked out of the house.
"...Atleast we managed to avoid Mary." Jess said.
"Hifumi's drawings looked pretty good. I think he can make something out of this manga business." Eliza said.
"...Don't tell me you're getting attached to that fat slob." Jess said.
"Sure, he is awkward, but he is clearly not a bad guy. Honestly, I think our troubles will be over at last, this place is the best one yet." Eliza said.
"...I don't know...I still feel like something is gonna go horrible wrong, I can feel it." Jess said.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine. How bad can it get?" Eliza asked.
------
Inside the local Red Moon church.
Mary was standing in front of the altar, with her arms folded as Simeon and Keiko were sitting on a bench.
"According to Rebecca, she spotted the two girls responsible for what happened in Mishinaka. Tomorrow, you two will find the sisters and use anything you have to capture them and bring them to Jebediah, alive." Mary said.
"Forgive me for asking, but I fail to see why we need the two of them alive. You really need the gun that girl has, hm?" Keiko asked, as she was rolling clay into a small ball.
"My co-dancing partner has a point, Mon Cheri, why do we need to go through the trouble of taking them alive when we could just axe them off and be done with it?" Simeon asked.
Mary sighed, slapping her forehead.
"I don't know in what barns you dunderheads were raised in and I could care less about how valuable you two are to Alexia, but remember, if these two girls die without giving them a trial and everyone knows that two people from Red Moon did it, it will make us look bad and we'll have a huge scandal on our hands that we can't afford to have that, not when there is trouble brewing everywhere in the world!" Mary said.
She turned around.
"If you two can't follow this simple instruction, I'll just ask Jebediah to fire you both and remove your marks, is that what you want?" Mary asked.
"I, uh, of course not, Mary, ha ha, I was just joking, you're the boss here. Bring them back alive, I got it." Simeon let out a nervous laughter as he adjusted his hat.
Keiko, on the other hand, glared at Mary.
"We got the message, no need to be rude about it, hm." Keiko said.
Keiko stood up and placed her hands together.
"We will not fail." Keiko said before turning around and walked out of the church.
Simeon looked at Keiko before looking at Mary.
"...Bye." Simeon waved as he ran after Keiko.
Mary brushed her hand through her hair, letting out an annoyed sigh as a nun with grey cracked skin, black sclera with blue pupils walked in.
"Is everything okay, Mary?" The nun asked.
Mary turned to the nun.
"Yes, of course, nothing to worry about." Mary smiled.
------
At Newfort, in the middle of the night.
Jebediah was in his mansion, pacing around on the stairs.
"You are dealing with the supporters of who?" Jebediah asked.
"Some guys who are idolizing some hippie called Locrian. Some pink-haired girl and her group are in front of the church." Joseph said from the other line.
"There can't be that many of them." Jebediah said.
It cuts to Strathmore.
Joseph was inside the church, looking through the window, seeing a black-skinned girl with long pink hair, wearing glasses, a yellow hoodie with a blue shirt, yelling into a megaphone while 10 or 11 people from Locrian's group were behind her.
The buildings from the background were gothic in general and so were the houses, Red Moon banners all over the buildings.
"There's quite a few of them, they are accusing us of murdering those seven people and they say they have proof." Joseph said.
"How is that even possible? The only they would know is if one of told them that fact." Jebediah said.
"I don't know, I'm telling them to fuck off but they won't budge." Joseph said.
"Ugh, just find a way to deal with it, I'm busy at the moment." Jebediah sighed.
Jebediah hang up as he placed his fingers on his temple.
"Did I come here at a bad time?" Daniel asked, walking in the hallway and looked up at Jebediah.
"What is it now, Daniel?" Jebediah asked.
"I've came to inform you that I've got a lead on the individuals who carry the Sicrum bits, they are located somewhere in the South at the end of the continent. All we need to do is flush them out of hiding and they will be our's to dispose." Daniel said.
"Very well, but be sure not to miss one again and quarantine the area they will infect." Jebediah said.
"Of course." Daniel nodded, before he turned away and walked out.
Jebediah turned around, going upstairs as he looked rather frustrated as Judas peered out of his room.
"Is everything alright?" Judas asked.
Jebediah turned to him.
"Just some complicated political issues, nothing to concern yourself with. Go back into your room." Jebediah said.
Judas looked slightly worried but he did what Jebediah told him to.
Jebediah pulled out his phone and gave someone a call.
Daniel was seen walking away from the mansion, adjusting his gloves.
"...Heh heh, Mr.President, you have nothing to worry about for now...atleast till after the war with the demons is over." Daniel said with a large grin on his face.
----
Meanwhile, in a rather dark room.
Benedict Bloom was sitting on the couch watching a news report on Mishinaka from the TV, which was the only source of light in this room.
"...It's quite sad how little has changed in this same old dull world." Benedict said.
Benedict turned off the TV as he stood up, facing a window covered by the curtain.
"We had years and years of evolution, with each era passing and what do we have to show for it? More repetitive conflicts with the same repetitive results achieved. A lot has been going on in my temporary absence, and yet nothing new at the same time, foolish individuals are given interesting abilities and waste them instead of doing something more interesting with them." Benedict said, holding the remote in his hand.
He turned around, looking at an Other who had the form of a spider but had arms for legs, trapped in a vat made out of unbreakable glass, pressing it's hands against the glass.
Benedict walked up to the vat, putting his hand on it.
"...You Others have proven to be remarkable creatures, you are considered abominations to everyone else, but I find you intriguing. You represent the true characteristics of a human being beyond their façade, I have so much learn about you. Perhaps you are more than just the negative manifestation of a person's feelings." Benedict guessed.
The Other placed it's hand on the glass where Benedict put his hand on.
-----
In the L'aurlethe Mansion.
Amila was currently looking at a list with names on them with the cities they were born in. In the room she was in, there was a lady wearing a red wig in a black dress and next to her was a grey-eyed lady carrying a sword sheath.
The names and cities on the list were:
-Camellia Shield(Skaebe) -Morgan Brown(Wellham) -Bobby Island(Wallshore) -Spencer Price(Strathmore) -Tsumiki Enzibaka(Mishinaka) -Giovanna Kaia(Rio De Janeiro) -Roger Murray(Courtham Grove)
"...So, these are the victims of Red Moon who were sacrificed and had their souls placed in those guns to 'revive' Jashin. What else did your informant say?" Amila asked.
"It's not my informant, it's Daron's. Apparently, he met up with someone working for Red Moon, giving us information about what the group has been doing and then passing on the information to Locrian and Bonita." The Lady said.
"Hm, who is this informant?" Amila asked.
"He din't tell me." The lady said.
"Well, having a member of their group cooperating with us should give us some advantage. We have a lot of prepare before Jebediah finds out that there is a traitor in his midst." Amila said.
"According to Locrian, there is another group we have to worry about, not just Red Moon, who are travelling around every Universe and the person from Kodama that we tried to recruit is now missing. This is becoming annoying." The lady sighed, crossing her legs.
"That doesn't sound good. Thank you for giving me this, Meredith." Amila said.
Meredith stood up.
"Let's go, Lacey." Meredith said.
Meredith and Lacey left the room.
------
Wednesday, June 25th 2081, 12:45 PM
The sisters were in their hotel room.
Jess was looking out the window while Eliza was watching TV.
"Are they saying anything about us?" Jess asked.
"No, we're out of the clear." Eliza said.
"For now." Jess said.
And someone knocked on the door.
"Please don't tell me it's him." Jess said.
Eliza opened the door.
Yup, it was Hifumi.
"Good morning!" Hifumi said.
"Goddamnit." Jess muttered.
"Hi, Hifumi." Eliza smiled.
"So, where do we travel for today?" Hifumi asked.
"...I'm okay with just staying in this room, frankly." Jess shrugged.
"I'd rather go back to the park, maybe Kara is still there, I want to ask her more." Eliza said.
"If she is even still there." Jess commented.
"...Just wait for us to get changed." Eliza told Hifumi.
"And you better not take a peek or you're dead." Jess said, she meant what she said.
"Ugh, right." Hifumi smiled as he walked away, with Eliza closing the door.
Later, the three arrived the park.
For some strange reason, no one was actually there at the park, with the wind blowing through the tree's.
Kara was not there either.
"...Huh, no one is here, that's odd." Eliza said.
"People have work to do, you know. It's not really that strange." Hifumi said, adjusting his glasses.
"...I'm getting a bad feeling. I think we should go." Jess said.
"Going so soon? But you just got here, Mon Ami." A voice with a Cajun accent commented.
Jess turned to her right, seeing Simeon and Keiko who were sitting on a bench.
"...Do you know these people?" Eliza asked Hifumi, staring at their odd appearances.
"...Uh, no." Hifumi said.
Jess looked intently at the two people as they stood up.
"Let's get the introductions out of the way before we get to serious business, my name is Simeon Blues and this fine looking lady standing next to me is Keiko Origami." Simeon started.
"Salutations." Keiko smiled.
"...What do you want?" Jess asked, regretting not taking her rifle with her.
"That's an easy question to answer, we were looking for you two ladies." Simeon said, pointing at the Summers.
"...Are you two Team Rocket?" Hifumi asked.
"Please be silent." Keiko said, staring at Hifumi with one eye, her expression not changing.
"...Don't tell me you two are with Red Moon." Eliza said.
"Correct, little starlette. Miss Alexia Harbercorn tasked us with a important mission to bring you two to the Mr.President." Simeon grinned.
"You two are under arrest for the murder of Erica Serrano and for the damage that you've done to Mishinaka." Keiko said.
"...Wait...you two actually murdered someone!?" Hifumi asked in shock.
"It was an accident! She attacked us first!" Eliza answered.
"It really doesn't matter who started who, what matters is that girl died and you two are the culprits, you have no excuses." Simeon said.
"So, please, make things easier for you and us by surrendering yourselves, you will attend trial and hopefully Lord Jashin will be merciful and spare you two from a unfortunate fate, hm." Keiko said, not removing her hands from each other.
"Not in your life time." Jess said.
Simeon sighed, adjusting his goggles.
"Well, I guess we have no choice but to boogie then." Simeon said, as he and Keiko began to approach the girls.
Eliza just pulled out her gun as she looked at Hifumi.
"Are you gonna help us with these guys?" Eliza asked.
"...Well..." Hifumi said.
He looked at the Red Moon members before looking at the Summers and then he looked at the Red Moon members.
"...Actually, I have somewhere to go now. Bye!" Hifumi waved.
Hifumi zapped into a power line, jumping from one into the next, he was getting the heck out of here.
"...Did he just abandon us!?" Eliza asked.
"Honestly, I'm glad that he is just gone. Now focus on these jokers." Jess advised.
Keiko walked in front of Simeon.
"I have a question for the two. How do you two interpret art, hm?" Keiko asked.
"...Art represents creativity, allowing people to express themselves in different ways." Jess answered.
"...Um, I'm not an artist, so I wouldn't know." Eliza said.
"I see." Keiko said.
Keiko removed her hands, holding two birds made out of clay.
"I believe in a different art, the art of Recreation. Back in my village, I always analyzed the expression of a person, the smiling gaze, the clenched teeth or the angry eyes of the individual expose to me their emotions, I made sculptures made out of clay, in my own attempt to recreate those expressions to the point where it's nearly distinguishable, unfortunately no one really cares about my work, considering them too 'horrific'. With the gift granted to me by Jashin, I'm now able to give life to my art, now they can walk and express the same fear and joy a person feels." Keiko said.
The two birds made out of clay stood up, flying off Keiko's hands.
"Soon, everyone will recognize my art once I shall use it against the ferocious demons, perhaps this battle will help give me some ideas for my next masterpiece, hm." Keiko said.
The birds flew right towards the Summers, spitting out their clay tongues, extending themselves towards the girls
Eliza and Jess rolled out of the way as Eliza began shooting at the birds, missing them.
Simeon pulled out his clarinet, placing it in his mouth as he started playing a tune.
Suddenly, the squirrels and foxes who were in the area were entranced by Simeon's tune as they started running towards Eliza, grabbing onto her legs and arms.
"Ah, get off me!" Eliza said, trying to get the animals off her.
Jess levitated two park benches before throwing them at Keiko.
Keiko glanced at Jess as the clay birds spit their tongues out, grabbing the benches and threw them on the ground before they flew towards Jess, trying to claw her face off with their sharp pointy toenails.
Jess had scars on her cheeks, a bit of clay stuck to her face as she forcefully sent the birds flying and crashed into a tree, splattering into clay.
She placed her hands on her cheek, feeling the pain before she turned around and telekinetically removed the entranced animals off her sister, who has scratches on her arms and legs.
Eliza shot bullets at Simeon.
With a few clicks of his fingers, music notes appeared around his torso, deflecting the bullets with ease.
"Your little toy gun can't compete with the power of music, baby!" Simeon grinned, aiming his clarinet at Eliza.
The music notes flew right into Eliza who had to shield herself with her arms as she was getting pelted by song notes.
Keiko reached into her plastic bag, covering her hands in so much clay as it dripped into the ground.
With a wave of her hand, the two goops of clay began growing, forming into two large featureless behemoth's with blank expressions on their faces.
With a nasty sound, they opened their blank eyes, looking at Jess and copying her agitated expression as one behemoth extended his right arm towards the other and the second Behemoth extended his left arm.
The arms combine themselves, pulling the clay behemoth's right into each other, merging them into a bigger behemoth who let out a roar.
The behemoth started spinning it's arms, launching clay balls at Jess and Eliza.
Jess ran out of the way before before she could of gotten hit by the clay balls as she telekinetically launched some of them right into Simeon, getting his suit covered in clay.
"Oh, now look what you've done, it's gonna take a week to get this suit cleaned up!" Simeon said, looking annoyed.
Eliza shot a bullet that pierced through his shoulder, causing Simeon to grab onto it and grit his teeth as Eliza ran towards him with the gun.
Simeon blew into the clarinet, unleashing a soundwave that sent Eliza flying, her back hitting against the tree.
"GAH!" Eliza yelled, actually spitting some blood out.
Jess's eyes widened before she turned to Simeon.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jess yelled, ripping a tree out of the ground by using her mind and threw it at Simeon.
The large behemoth jumped in front of Simeon and grabbed the tree, it's clay spreading around the tree till it bursted into clay while using it's spinning arm to launch more clay balls at Jess.
One ball hits her shoulder and the clay stuck to her shoulder, causing her arm to feel rather heavy and was not able to move it as fast as she was before, slowed down by the clay.
"What the hell!?" Jess asked.
"...Ah, I can see the agitation and fear in your eyes, it is gorgeous. This, is what art is." Keiko smiled, the behemoth also copying her smile.
Eliza collapsed on the ground, feeling the pain in the back from her hitting against the tree but she slowly stood up, trying to aim at Simeon but she collapsed on her knees.
"Ngh!" Eliza said.
Simeon grinned as he flipped the clarinet in the air, with Jess and Eliza both reflected into his goggles.
"With just a few more successful missions, I will rise through the ranks and become Jashin's number one guy, everyone in the entire world will acknowledge my existence, they will all adore and fear me!" Simeon said.
He began played a different tune, shooting a musical scale with song notes from his clarinet, flying right into Jess's stomach as the scale kept going, heading to the left and Jess got smacked into Eliza.
Simeon lifted his hand upwards and the scale charged up, dropping both Jess and Eliza from a great height.
Keiko glanced at the behemoth as it stood on the spot and grabbed Jess and Eliza with it's massive hands, covering both their bodies in clay except their heads, they were unable to move anything besides raising their heads.
The behemoth dropped the sisters on the ground as Simeon and Keiko approached the girls.
"I'm disappointed, I expected a better challenge, hm." Keiko said.
"I cannot wait to see the look on Mary's face when she'll see what we will bring to her doorstep." Simeon said.
Suddenly, the water from the fountain erupted as Simeon and Keiko turned around.
"What the!?" Simeon asked.
The wind blowing through the park intensified.
A whirlpool formed around the statue and two mini tornadoes of wind appeared on each side of the world, both tornadoes acting as arms.
Keiko's expression darkened as she looked at her Behemoth who began launching clay balls at the fountain.
The balls got sucked into the tornado's and melted upon getting in contact with the whirlpool.
The tornado arms pointed at the clay behemoth, sucking it into the whirlpool through the tornado's, melting it into a massive pile of goop.
The intense wind sent both Simeon and Keiko flying into two tree's before they flew off the ground, getting flown into the massive whirlpool.
"W-WHAT IS HAPPENING!?" Keiko asked.
The two were being span around in the whirlpool till they were forced out, sending them both flying in the air in the distance.
The whirlpool dissolved into water and the tornadoes vanished, splashing the Summers and melting the clay that entrapped their bodies, both of them looked pretty confused.
"...What the heck just happened?" Eliza asked, picking up her gun and placing it back in her pocket.
"...I think someone saved us." Jess said.
"Are you two okay?"
The two turned as Kara jumped from a tree that she was hiding in, now holding a trident, walking up to the Summers.
"...Kara." Eliza said.
"Did you create that whirlpool?" Jess asked.
"Yes, it was me. We'll talk about this somewhere where no one will be able to see us. You two need to trust me if you don't want to be captured." Kara said.
"...Okay, we'll trust you." Eliza said, convinced that she can trust Kara.
Kara nodded.
"Follow me." Kara said, running out of the park.
Jess and Eliza followed her.
Back at the local church, a few people were there as a choir of kids were singing and the nun was playing the organ.
Simeon and Keiko crashed through the roof and landed on the floor, scaring the kids as they stopped singing and everyone inside the church stared at them in shock or surprise.
The two were covered in Keiko's clay as they got on their knees.
"...My...my clay!" Keiko screeched, looking at her hands as she was gritting her teeth.
"My suit!" Simeon said, brushing the clay off his hat.
Mary's shadow approached as the two looked up to see Mary, her sharp teeth biting her own lips and staring down at the two with shrunk eyes and clenched fists, she looked livid.
"...Oh boy." Simeon gulped.
Jess, Eliza and Kara were walking on the sidewalk, going past a few stores.
"...Can you tell us now who you actually are? From what I can read, your name clearly isn't 'Kara.'" Jess said.
"...My name is Aqua, I'm the daughter of the Omnipotents of Wind and Water. I fought with Red Moon before." Aqua said.
"...Omnipotent?" Eliza asked.
"...If you fought against Red Moon before, how come they are the ones now in charge?" Jess asked.
"Ever since a guardian, Omalley, disappeared all of the sudden, things had been going downhill. Red Moon's influence increased and the Others started appearing, the remaining Omnipotents couldn't fight so many Red Moon members and so they split up, hiding in other cities and changing their names so the organization wouldn't find us. Me, my mom and my dad fled from Newrum and arrived here in Courtham, since it was in the middle of the country, they figured that no one would bother to look for us here. And now, you two are being hunted by Red Moon too." Aqua said.
"Well, can you help us?" Eliza asked.
"I have an idea, but I have to talk to my parents first. I doubt they'll be happy to know I used my powers to save you two." Aqua sighed.
They reached an apartment building.
"This is where your family is staying at?" Jess asked.
"We din't have enough money, this was the best place affordable to us." Aqua said as she lead the sisters into the building.
The apartment was right on the first floor, apartment '110' as Aqua knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" A male voice asked.
"It's me, dad." Aqua said.
The door opened and a bald man with a few wrinkles on his face, wearing a blue-buttoned up shirt, brown pants and was currently wearing socks looked at Aqua before looking at Eliza and Jess.
"Who are these girls?" The man asked.
"They've been attacked by Red Moon too, they need our help, dad." Aqua said.
"...Is that really a good idea?" The man asked.
"Gurok, who is it?" A familiar asked.
Gurok turned around.
"It's Aqua, she brought two guests." Gurok said, as he stepped out of the way, letting the girls come in.
Katty, the waitress from Sakura's restaurant, was sitting at a table in the kitchen, counting the money she got from work before she sat up and looked confused when she saw Eliza and Jess.
"Hello...you two were at the restaurant yesterday, were you not?" Katty asked.
"Yes, that's us." Jess said.
"Aqua told us that you are an Omnipotent." Eliza said.
Katty's eyes widened before she gave Aqua a disapproving look.
"You told them?" Katty asked.
"...I used my power to save them from those two weird guys who wanted to capture them." Aqua sighed.
"Aqua, how many times have I told you by now, you can't use your power anywhere in this town, not when Jebediah's people are everywhere!" Katty said.
"Kitioagan, calm down, the neighbors are gonna hear us." Gurok said.
Kitioagan looked at Gurok.
"If Jehovah finds us, he will execute us, Gurok, or put us back into the prison dimension! We came here in the country for a good reason!" Kitioagan said.
"But they did not see me! I stayed hidden and did not let them see me." Aqua said.
"That's not the point, you could of put yourself and us in danger by pulling that stunt." Kitioagan said.
"I would rather fight the Red Moon than stay here and hide like a coward. We shouldn't of fled, we should of fought them head on." Aqua said.
"There are only a few of us left, Aqua. Gelno fled into a different timeline, Putgerr and Raluag could be dead for all we know, we lost contact with Glexlam, Ceygas and Garflec and the new Omnipotents Fawn told us about have yet to appear." Kitioagan said.
"Who's Fawn?" Eliza asked.
"...We're sorry. If we were more careful against Simeon and Keiko, your daughter wouldn't of had to use her power and almost expose herself. We're the ones to blame here." Jess said.
"...Red Moon are gonna send people to search the entire city for us. Can you guys help us somehow?" Eliza asked.
"I wish we could, but we are having our own problems too. If only all of us were together again, we could of stopped Red Moon from the start." Gurok sighed.
"There has to be a place that hasn't been touched by Red Moon. Can any of you think of a city or country we can go to?" Jess asked.
"...There is one place but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I lived in the South near the end of the continent, in a port city called Rachdale, me and my parents lived there till we moved from city to city because we were broke. Red Moon probably wouldn't bother with that city." Kitioagan sighed.
"How can we get there?" Jess asked.
"People aren't allowed on trains anymore, they are only used for deliveries and such. One alternative way to get there is through a portal or find yourselves a boat and sail to the South, it's your best shot. Unfortunately, the Ocean itself is a big enemy now with Others flying around and the unstable weather." Gurok said.
"It's a risk we'll have to take unfortunately." Jess said.
"...I can go with them, I've already rented myself a boat and my powers will be useful against any Others or bad weathers, I can take them to Rachdale and get back here in Courtham quickly." Aqua said.
"Aqua, that would be too dangerous. What if something bad happens there." Kitioagan said.
"Mom, I can take care of myself. Plus, I'll just drop them off and I'll be back here, I'll be fine. We can't help the rest of the world but we can atleast help these two out, they don't deserve to be hurt by the Red Moon." Aqua said.
"...She is right. We should make an exception just this once and help these two girls out." Gurok said.
Kitioagan sighed.
"...Okay, but be very careful." Kitioagan said.
"I will." Aqua nodded.
"...Now what?" Eliza asked.
"You two can stay here for the night and tomorrow you can go with Aqua who will take you to the dock." Gurok offered.
"...I brought some food from Sakura's restaurant if you two are hungry." Kitioagan said.
"And where will we sleep?" Jess asked.
"You can sleep in my room, the bed will be big enough for three of us." Aqua said.
Gurok got up and walked into the living room, followed up by Aqua.
"...I guess we'll be saying bye bye to Courtham when I just starting to like this place." Eliza sighed.
"There's nothing we can do. Staying here would be a huge mistake after today." Jess said.
------
Thursday, June 26th 2081, 1:03 PM
The Summers and Aqua headed out of the apartment and went to the docks where Aqua rented herself a silver boat big enough for three people.
Aqua began removing the rope attached to the boat while Eliza and Jess just watched.
"Okay, I removed the rope. If you two are ready, hop on the boat and we'll be off." Aqua said.
"We're ready. Come on, Eliza." Jess said, getting on the boat.
Eliza looked behind her before turning to the boat, sighing as she started walking towards it.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!" A familiar voice screeched.
"Dear God, why now!?" Jess asked, slapping her forehead.
Eliza turned around, surprised to see Hifumi who ran towards them till he stopped, he was out of breath from so much running.
"Hifumi? What are you doing here?" Eliza asked.
Hifumi was panting, holding his hand up, gesturing at Eliza to wait up till he regains some oxygen.
"...Phew...I went to the hotel this morning and the receptionist told me you two din't come back to your rooms a-and I went to the restaurant and Katty told me you two were with Kara, getting on a boat and leaving Courtham Grove...I-I came here to give you something." Hifumi said, after finally catching his breath.
"...What is it?" Eliza asked.
Hifumi, with a smile appearing on his face, pulling out a small bag with sandwiches wrapped in foil and a DVD keep case featuring a new Power Rangers series.
"TA-DA!" Hifumi said.
"...That's for us?" Eliza asked, surprised.
"I wanted to make up for...ahem...my shameless exit and so I made all these sandwiches last night and the DVD to a full season of a Power Rangers series that no one really liked but maybe Jess has different tastes so this one is for her." Hifumi said.
Eliza smiled.
"Thanks, Hifumi. You really can be a decent guy after all." Eliza said, taking the sandwiches and the keep case.
"Nyehehe...hey, Eliza...will you and your sister come back here one day?" Hifumi asked.
"...I'm not sure. I wish I could stay here but with Red Moon on to us, it's too dangerous to stay here and possibly put you and your mother in danger. I hope you understand." Eliza said.
"Hm..right, right." Hifumi said, sounding disappointed.
"...But, hopefully, when things will calm down, we will come back and stay here for a long awhile." Eliza smiled.
"Ah, that sounds good. I can't wait till I publish my manga, thanks to what you told me yesterday I'm sure everyone will love my work! I'm sure you will read the rest of the chapters on the internet from...wherever you will be at that time." Hifumi said.
"I will." Eliza smiled.
"Eliza, we're going now!" Jess called out.
"I'm coming!...see ya, Hifumi. Take care of yourself." Eliza waved before she ran towards the boat.
Hifumi waved back with a big smile...before it turned into a frown and watched as Eliza got on the boat before he turned around and walked away.
"What took you so long?" Jess asked.
"I was saying goodbye to Hifumi...and he gave me these, his own way of apologizing to us for bailing out of the fight." Eliza said, showing her the sandwiches and the DVD.
"...Huh...I guess dough boy isn't a complete piece of shit." Jess said, looking surprised.
Aqua started the boat and it began moving.
"We're off. It will be a couple of days before we reach Rachdale if I had to guess." Aqua said.
"We'll wait as long as we need to." Jess said, sitting down on a chair.
Eliza stood and watched as the boat departed from Courtham Grove, a tear sliding down out of her eye before she removed it and waved at it with a regrettable smile on her face.
-------
Later at night, in Newfort.
On top of a cliff, there was a cabin. Inside the cabin was a non-wrinkled old man, with red eyes, black hair, black moustache, wearing a black coat with a red shirt underneath it and black pants, sitting comfortably in his couch next to a fireplace, reading the newspaper.
The newspaper featured an image of the whirlpool with the mini tornado's that appeared in Courtham Grove park and launched two Red Moon members into the sky and landed in the local church, everyone suspects that it was the doing of a Omnipotent.
A smile was raised along with his moustache.
"The plot thickens." The old man said.
-----
The long-haired woman with yellow eyes was sitting at the edge of a beach with her hands placed on her knees, just staring at the ocean as the water splashed at her feet while the tall green skinned man was standing near her, looking at the moon.
The girl looked up at the moon.
"...It's a full moon tonight." The girl commented.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 26, 2019 16:48:04 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Part 4: Impure Rebirth
Friday, June 27th 2081, 2:22 PM
In Newrum State City
It cuts to a building that used to be a military facility till it was reopened as a weapon making factory, with two guards standing in front of the door.
The gate opened and a black limo drove in. The door opened and Daniel Harbercorn stepped out as he walked towards the guards.
The guards saluted him and let him pass as he went inside the building.
The hallway he was in had conveyor belts with weapons that were being worked on by a couple of workers as he walked towards the elevator, pressing a button. The doors opened and walked in, pressing a button to take him to the third floor.
The elevator closed and began going up.
Daniel arrived in the third floor, in a white hallway with doors on both sides of the hall as he walked towards a door with his name plate on it. A familiar voice was heard inside the office.
"You two are incompetent!" Alexia yelled out.
Daniel recognizing that shout, let out a sigh as he pressed his ear against the door.
Inside the office was Alexia standing behind a desk with Daniel's name plate on it and both Simeon and Keiko were standing in front of her. The rest of the office was rather large with grey walls, a chandelier attached to the ceiling, a red carpet covering the entire floor, a window to the left a fireplace behind Alexia and a large photo frame of a younger Daniel standing right beside a large bulky man wearing a dark suit with a golden eagle insignia, had long brown beard with long brown hair, emerald eyes and had a harsh look on his face.
The room looked more like a living room than an actual office.
Alexia slapped her palms against the table.
"Not only did you spectacularly fail in your mission, but you also made a mockery of me in the eyes of the respective Red Moon members, especially Jebediah! What do you have to say for yourselves!?" Alexia asked.
"But it wasn't our fault, miss Harbercorn, we were actually winning till some Omnipotent got involved and sent us flying in the sky!" Simeon said.
"If the Omnipotent din't intervene, our mission would of been successful, hm." Keiko agreed
"If you two couldn't handle a single Omnipotent, then clearly I must of made a error in my judgement by deciding to choose you two clowns as the best of the best!" Alexia said.
Keiko lowered her eyebrows, feeling insulted.
"With all due respect, Alexia, you were not there. We weren't informed that a Omnipotent was actually in the area, if we knew, we would of been prepared, I suggest you do not insult me." Keiko said.
Simeon turned to Keiko, looking at her in disbelief.
"What, are you crazy?" Simeon asked before he turned to Alexia.
Alexia simply just stared at Keiko before she smiled and laughed it off.
"Oh my, looks like someone here is not happy with what I have to say, well too bad." Alexia said.
And then her expression darkened, glaring fiercely at her two subordinates.
"I think I need to remind you that if it wasn't for me, you two wouldn't be here, would you? You would still be a second-rate artist who doesn't make any profit of her 'art' in that little primitive village of your's and you would still be a choir boy, getting mocked by all the peasants of your town and not getting the respect and recognition that you believe you deserve. If you two wish to continue anger me, expect to face the consequences." Alexia said.
The sound of the window cracking was heard as Simeon turned his head to see a gaggle of moth's stuck to the window, beginning to sweat while Keiko's eyes shrunk as her expression was being consumed by fury.
"Ahem, now, I hope you will learn from your mistakes and be sure to do good next time and succeed in your next mission, I have high expectations of both of you, fail me a second time and I promise you that I won't be as merciful like I am now. Crystal clear?" Alexia asked.
"...Y-yeah, you got it, miss H." Simeon said, with a nervous toothy grin.
Keiko resisted the urge to tell off Alexia and simply remained silent.
"Good, now off you go." Alexia said.
Simeon quickly turned around and walked towards the door.
Keiko stared at Alexia before she turned around and walked away.
Daniel stepped away from the door as Simeon and Keiko walked out of the office, going towards the elevator.
"...Second-rate artist, hm? I will show her who is in the wrong here. Next time I'll see those girls, I will throw everything I have at them, they can bring a group of Omnipotents with them, I will succeed." Keiko said.
"I think you are letting your temper cloud your judgement, Origami. It's not wise to piss off the lady who hired us." Simeon said.
"I do not care, hm. She is a fool who lives in her own illusion of reality." Keiko commented.
Simeon pressed the button and the two entered in the elevator, taking them down.
Daniel then opened the door and entered in his office.
"Acting a little harsh with your subordinates, aren't you, dear cousin?" Daniel asked.
"I needed to be harsh so they can understand that they cannot embarrass me to the people I work with in this organization." Alexia said.
"I din't think you cared about what the others think about you." Daniel said.
"I don't, but as a Harbercorn, I do not accept failure, not even from the people I work with. That is how my parents raised me and that is how I will act with my own workers aswell." Alexia justified.
"Heh, indeed, that is the way of the Harbercorn's after all. Winning is all that matters." Daniel said.
"Tell me, just how long do we need to keep working with these people till we finally step in charge and rule this land like we rightfully should?" Alexia asked.
"It shouldn't be long for now. Once the opportunity arises, Jebediah and Jashin won't be a threat and I will take my claim as the king of this world and you will get to rule in the new Era right beside me." Daniel smiled.
Alexia placed her hand on her chin, a smirk appearing on her face.
"Ho ho ho, the new Era, huh? That does sound exciting. I can't wait till we are finally rid of these imbeciles and the Harbercorn Age can finally begin." Alexia said.
--------
Thursday, July 3th 2081, 3:01 PM
In the middle of the ocean, there was a silver boat with three people on it, their destination was Rachdale. They've been here for a couple of days now and still have yet to reach the mainland.
The sun was hot for today as Eliza was leaning against the railing, looking at the ocean in boredom.
"...Maybe I should of brought a fishing rod with me, probably could of caught us some fish. Remember when dad took us to fishing early in the morning, sis?" Eliza asked.
"I barely could stay awake when I was sitting in the boat, holding that rod till I finally caught something...and it turned out to be a yellow boot." Jess sighed, who was sitting on a chair and eating one of the sandwiches made by Hifumi.
"Ha ha, that was fun. I remember catching a really small fish, but I din't want to eat it and so I dropped it back into the water. It was fun back then." Eliza said.
Jess took another bite out of her sandwich before she looked at Aqua who was driving the boat.
"How long till we reach Rachdale? It's been almost a week now." Jess said.
"I think we'll be able to reach the town by tonight." Aqua said.
"You said that yesterday." Eliza said.
"I know, but this time I'm sure we'll get there today." Aqua said.
"...So, Aqua, when did you acquire your parent's powers?" Jess asked, sounding interested.
Aqua turned her head to Jess.
"Oh, I was a kid when I unlocked my powers. I wasn't strong back then but as I grew, I became a lot more stronger, powerful enough to send two Red Moon people flying in the sky." Aqua said.
"Thanks again for that, by the way. You really saved our hides back there." Eliza said.
"Don't mention it, I wasn't gonna stand back and let you and Jess get taken away by Red Moon." Aqua said.
"What do you know about the other Omnipotents?" Jess asked.
"They were nice to me. Although, one of them died before I was born and when I was young, three more died at the hands of an alien. Gelno was the first one to leave and then me and my parents fled from Newrum when Red Moon started branching to other countries, got on the boat and drove off, without looking behind. It was pretty tough back then." Aqua said.
"It was hard for us to leave our city too. I wonder if Erinfort even exists today or if it's a giant crater at this point." Eliza said, wondering about the fate of her city.
"Was there ever a person to somehow posses many Omnipotents abilities at the same time?" Jess asked.
"...There is...a single person...he is my friend. His village was close to Newrum and we both hang out together a lot." Aqua said.
"Where is he now?" Eliza asked.
"...I...don't know. He told me he was gonna find a friend of our's who suddenly disappeared one day and I haven't heard from him ever since. I don't know where he is right now." Aqua sighed.
"If he has plenty of Omnipotents powers with him, I guess he'll be fine." Jess said.
"I hope so. Before Jashin and his gang became infamous, I dedicated my life to protect the inhabitants of the Ocean from corporate scum who wanted to build factories that would of been detrimental to their health and dump all their trash in the water. I scared them off by using my powers but now I'm restricted to using them because we are hiding from Red Moon. I wish there was something I could do right now to stop them." Aqua said.
"Eventually, people will know how screwed up Red Moon is and rise against them. The sooner they're dealt with, everything will go back to the way they used to be." Eliza said.
"...I'm not even sure if things will go back to the way they used to be. Everything is so different now." Aqua said.
Jess din't appear to look that optimistic either.
"...Maybe, but that doesn't mean things can't improve, they can become better as time progresses." Eliza said.
"That's what I believed once...but so far, I don't see it happening right now." Aqua sighed.
The boat passed by the remains of a sunken ship. Whatever happened to that was anyone's guess.
------
It was nighttime.
The moon was full.
At the sea, Aqua was able to see the something in the distance.
"...I think we're finally closing in." Aqua said.
"Really?" Jess asked.
"Absolutely." Aqua nodded.
As the boat was getting closer, the town of Rachdale could of been seen, however most of it was engulfed in a thick black fog.
"...Is Rachdale usually this foggy at night?" Jess asked.
"...I'm not sure. Mom did tell me that on a few occasions, the town would be covered in fog at night and it was hard to see anything through it. No one actually ventures out in the night." Aqua said.
"...That's just comforting." Eliza sighed.
"How many minutes now till we reach the mainland?" Jess asked.
"Five minutes, at best. Just wait a bit." Aqua said.
Jess sat down next to Eliza.
"...I have a bad feeling about this place. For what reason, I don't know." Eliza said.
"...Yeah, there's something funny about it. Although, it could be just nothing and it's the fog that's making me feel like that." Jess guessed.
"...Hopefully." Eliza said.
Eventually, the boat reached the dock.
"We're here." Aqua smiled.
Jess and Eliza jumped off the boat, landing on the dock.
Strangely enough, there was no one else there at the dock, as the entire area was engulfed in fog.
"...There should be people in this town." Jess guessed.
"I have to head back to Courtham Grove, my parents are probably super worried about me right now." Aqua said.
"Can't you stay here with us a little bit? This town is giving me the willies right now." Eliza said.
"I'm sorry, but I've kept my parents waiting too long now, I need to go back. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find some people who will help you find a hotel or a place to stay at." Aqua said.
"That's fair. Good luck." Jess said.
Aqua nodded as she started the boat and drove off, waving at the Summer's before the boat was out of their sight.
Eliza and Jess turned around, facing the dense fog.
"....Well, let's greet the new people." Eliza said, looking nervous.
The two held each other's hands as they walked through the fog.
They reached the main street and looked around the city.
As it was stated, it was a port city and there weren't any huge buildings, the place was full of stores on left and right but what was odd was that there were no people on the street. There were cars but they were empty, the lamp posts weren't on and the lights inside the stores weren't turned on either.
It was literally a ghost town encased in fog.
"...Where is everyone? Are we the only ones here?" Eliza asked, looking nervous.
"Everyone is probably sleeping right now, it is night after all. There is probably a curfew or something." Jess said.
"Aqua would of mentioned that before we got here." Eliza contradicted.
"There still has to be people in this town walking around. We just haven't ran into any of them yet. Let's go." Jess said.
Jess and Eliza started walking forward, going past a restaurant with a sign that featured all kinds of fish they were serving, a pie store and a library.
All of the sudden, a figure covered by the fog that was behind the sisters ran by to the left, causing the two to turn around.
"What was that!?" Eliza asked.
...There wasn't anyone there anymore.
"...Must of been our imagination. Come on." Jess sighed, shaking her head off.
Eliza din't look so sure as she turned her head and kept walking. The figure appeared in the fog, watching them.
The two walked near a school building, located in the middle of town as they looked around.
"...I'm beginning to think this town has been abandoned." Jess said.
"...There should be a hotel, right?" Eliza asked.
"I guess so." Jess said, as she and Eliza continued walking. As they walked out of sight, the light's inside the school were turned on and a few people were inside but only their red eyes could be seen, one person was hanging upside down as they were staring through the window.
Eliza and Jess continued their walk, feeling a lot more anxious as they kept walking through the empty city surrounded by fog. The sounds of footsteps were heard.
"What is that?" Eliza asked.
Jess turned around, her head shifting left and right. The footsteps stopped.
"...Our imagination is playing tricks on us." Jess sighed.
They began walking a bit more faster and the footsteps returned.
The two eventually reached a hotel, with a water well nearby.
Jess walked to the door, seeing a 'out of business' sign on it.
"...Are you kidding me?" Jess asked.
"That's not good." Eliza sighed.
"Great, not only are we stuck in a ghost town with our paranoia having fun, the hotel is closed too." Jess said.
"So now what?" Eliza asked.
"...If this place really is abandoned, we can either stay in a house that belonged to someone or we camp out in the forest." Jess said.
Eliza looked at a street sign, with a indicator pointing to the right, leading to '20 Seashore street'
"I think it's pointing us to a neighborhood nearby." Eliza said.
Jess and Eliza followed the sign and took to the right.
A head peered out of the well.
Eliza and Jess walked through the fog and arrived at a small neighborhood. There was no presence of any persons or animals nearby.
"...Looks like the entire place is empty too." Eliza said.
Jess walked up to one house, knocking on it.
"Hello? Is someone there? We need some help." Jess said.
No one opened the door.
Jess tried opening it and it was locked.
"What the hell?" Jess asked.
"Why would it be locked if there is no one in this place?" Eliza asked
"Ugh, this today just keeps getting better and better." Jess muttered.
The Summer's continued walking. The TV inside the house turned on the moment they left.
They walked past a blue house that had a bicycle laying on the uncut grass, with a dog tied to his post.
When Eliza stepped on a branch, the dog woke up, starting to bark at the girls.
The two immediately turned around.
"Wow, easy there, boy. Is the person taking care of you inside the house?" Eliza asked, crouching down and looked at the dog.
The dog just kept barking, having sharp red eyes and pretty sharp teeth, trying to run towards the girls, with how aggressive he was, he could possibly be able to break free and try to bite them.
Eliza backed away.
"What's wrong with this dog?" Eliza asked.
"It's rabid, let's go before it breaks free." Jess said, grabbing Eliza's hand and walking away, the dog's barking continued as they went through the fog.
The two reached a abandoned playground, with a forest in the background.
A few leaves flew from the tree's, flying past the girls as they analyzed the abandoned sight.
Eliza looked at a swing that was rocking back and forth despite that no one was there.
"...I think the ghosts own this place now." Eliza said.
"I'm starting to reach the same conclusion. The damn dog won't stop it's barking either." Jess said, as the dog's barking grew louder to the point where everyone in the neighborhood could hear it.
"This place is scaring me more than that monster from Wellham did." Eliza said, shuddering.
She turned to Jess.
"What do we, sis? We can't just sleep here in this town, It makes me uncomfortable to no end." Eliza said, placing her arms around her as she felt like it was getting cold all of the sudden.
Jess folded her arms and looked to the forest.
"...We'll have to camp out tonight, find ourselves some wood, start the fire and go to sleep. I'm sure by tomorrow morning, the stupid fog will lift off and we'll find someone who can help us." Jess said.
Eliza nodded...till suddenly, she felt like someone had their hands in her pocket and her eyes shrunk.
Eliza quickly turned around and...
There was a little pale girl with short cream hair with pink eyes, a hair clip with a devil face sticking out of her hair, wearing a long-sleeved shoulderless dress, holding a stuffed rabbit with a single ear and had sharp razor teeth in her right arm, not wearing shoes as she was staring up at Jess and Eliza.
"Holy!" Eliza said, backing away from the little girl.
The girl kept staring at them, not blinking at all.
Jess raised an eyebrow at the little girl.
"...Hi there?...Are you lost?" Jess asked.
The girl said nothing.
"...What is a little girl like you doing here in the middle of a foggy night? Where are your parents?" Eliza asked.
The girl said nothing, continuing to gaze at them.
"...Does she even hear us?" Eliza whispered to Jess, staring oddly at the girl.
Jess walked up to the girl and crouched down.
"I'm sorry if we are scaring you, but we just came here looking for a place to stay at and we found no person in this place other than you. Do you know what happened to everyone?" Jess asked.
The girl looked into Jess's eyes. She felt something weird as she kept looking into the girl's eyes, she felt something unnatural, something out of this world.
Jess backed away from the girl, sweating nervously.
"Sis?" Eliza asked.
"...We should leave." Jess said.
"Why?" Eliza asked.
"...This girl...I feel something sinister from her, I never felt this...dark presence ever." Jess said.
Eliza looked at the girl and noticed that her revolver was now being held in the girl's left hand.
"Hey, that's my gun, give that to me!" Eliza demanded.
The little girl then ran off, heading through a bush and went into the forest.
"Really!? Get back here!" Eliza yelled, running after the girl.
"Eliza, wait!" Jess said, going after her sister in the woods.
Eliza was running after the little girl who was surprisingly fast for someone her age as she head to the right and Eliza followed, Jess wasn't far behind.
The little girl crawled through a log and got out through the other side as she continued to run, her naked feet going through the pond but that din't slow her down and ran out of the pond.
Eliza and Jess kept running, they weren't able to see the little girl in their sight.
The Summer's then stopped running.
"Where did the little scamp go!?" Eliza asked.
"I don't know. That girl definitely isn't normal." Jess said.
Jess looked down, seeing her small footprints, leading to the left.
"Let's go that way!" Jess said.
Jess and Eliza ran to the left, running very quickly so they wouldn't lose the girl and Eliza's gun forever.
They ran through a bush and suddenly found themselves at a amusement park.
The gate was opened recently, like someone just came through it now.
"You think she is in that park?" Eliza asked.
"She has yet to be, she couldn't of went anywhere else. Let's find her, take your gun back and get out of here." Jess said.
The two walked past the gate and the amusement park also appeared to be abandoned and it was covered in fog.
They went past a carnival game booth where you have to throw balls at bottles to get the prize before stopping next to a arcade crane machine.
"...She could be anywhere in this large park." Eliza said.
Jess looked on the ground, to see if she left any more prints.
She found her small foot prints, leading to the area with bumper cars.
"She is there." Jess said, walking that way.
Eliza followed, walking past a Ferris Wheel that was moving despite no one being on it.
They arrived at the area with the bumper cars.
"There she is!" Eliza said.
The little girl was sitting in a bumper car, just playing with her stuffed bunny while holding Eliza's gun in her left hand.
Eliza walked up to the little girl, glaring down at her.
"Hey, that wasn't nice, missy! You can't just steal someone's stuff, especially when it's a gun, you could get hurt if you point that thing the wrong way!" Eliza said.
The girl din't pay attention to Eliza, just playing with her toy like it was no one's business.
"...She is flat out ignoring me." Eliza said.
Jess walked next to Eliza, grabbing her gun and pulling it out of the little girl's grasp. That seemed to get her attention as she turned to look at the two.
Jess handed the gun back to Eliza before turning to the little girl.
"Look, whoever you are, you better tell us what happened to this town and what you actually are, ever since I looked into your eyes, I felt nothing but dread. Enough with the silent treatment, now talk!" Jess said.
The little girl got out of the bumper car, holding tightly onto her doll as she stared at the girls, everything started to feel weird all of the sudden.
"...Jess, do you feel something?" Eliza asked, sweating.
"Answer me!" Jess yelled at the little girl.
The girl suddenly had a large smile on her face like she just saw the funniest thing ever.
"What are you smiling about?" Jess asked.
The girl just pointed right past Jess's shoulder.
Jess and Eliza turned around and the two gasped as there was a black haired person with a five o clock shadow just standing behind them, staring at them with sharp red eyes, who had the same ominous feeling as the little girl.
"W-Who are you!?" Eliza asked.
The person said nothing as he approached the girls.
"S-screw this, let's get out of this madhouse!" Jess yelled, grabbing Eliza's hand as she pushed the man aside, knocking on the ground while the little girl just watched in glee.
The two began running, heading towards the gate.
They stopped as suddenly there was a crowd of people blocking the entrance, staring at the girls.
"Where did they come from!?" Eliza asked.
Jess clenched her teeth as she grabbed Eliza's hand and ran the other way, only to be blocked off by another crowd.
"SHIT!" Jess yelled.
And when they tried a different path, it was blocked by a third crowd.
Jess and Eliza were back into a corner as they were surrounded by the crowds of people, who were possibly the residents of Rachdale as they gathered around, all Jess and Eliza could feel was pure dread.
"...S-sis, what's going on?" Eliza asked, looking really scared as she din't let go of Jess's hand.
Jess also looked scared as she looked at the crowds.
"W-who even are you people!? What happened to you all!?" Jess asked.
The crowds turned to look at each other before looking at Jess as one of them, a woman with messy brown hair, wearing glasses with red eyes stepped forward, looking into Jess's eyes.
"...Hi. You're new, aren't you? You are not aligned with them, are you?" The woman asked.
"...Aligned with who?" Eliza asked.
"The people with the moon sigils on them, the ones who are hunting us down, you din't come here to kill us, right?" The woman asked, her eyes staring intently.
"...No, we came here because Red Moon was after us." Jess said.
"...So you're a normal person. That's good, then you and your sister can join us." The woman smiled.
"Join you?" Eliza asked.
"...W-who are you? What have you done to these people?" Jess asked.
"We have Sicrum. Or at the very least, small bits and pieces of what he was once after Veronica and the lizard man killed the original hosts last year." The woman said.
"Sicrum? Veronica? What are you talking about!?" Eliza asked.
"Someone landed on shore one day who was blessed with Sicrum after avoiding Red Moon and infected us all. We were...reborn." The woman said, her smile taking almost the entirety of her face.
Jess was drenched in sweat, she never felt so scared in her life till now. Not even the Others scared to the point where her heart was beating out of her chest.
"...Someone is possessing you all, it's controlling you." Jess said.
"No, it's not." Someone from the crowd said.
"I feel like myself." Someone else said.
The woman took one step towards Jess and Eliza.
"You two should stay here, once Sicrum will be inside you, you will feel better than before. You will feel...puuure." The woman grinned, the lenses of her glasses were now pitch black, it was impossible to see her eyes.
The crowd started approaching the Summer's.
"S-STAY AWAY FROM US!" Jess yelled, kicking the woman in her stomach and knocked her into another person as she and Eliza started running for dear life, pushing people out of the way as they ran further in the amusement park.
-----
Back at the military facility from Newrum.
In one of the rooms, a man with combed white hair blue-ish grey eyes, wearing a white shirt was currently typing on the computer till a buzz noise was heard and a map application appeared on the monitor, showing a map of the continent and a red dot appeared in the South, specifically Rachdale.
"...Oh God!" The man said, as he got up and immediately left the room.
Daniel Harbercorn was currently in a large meeting room, sitting at a long table at the left side tapping at a tablet he was holding, there were 13 chairs placed around the table, a screen to the left that showed a map of the world with moon dots indicating which cities had Red Moon members in them, with a large window in the back of the room that showed a great view of Newrum State City.
The white-haired man ran into the meeting room.
"D-Daniel, I mean Mr.Harbercorn!" The man said.
"What is it, Omesata?" Daniel asked.
"There is Sicrum activity going on in Rachdale, the entire town is infected!" Omesata said.
Daniel placed his tablet on the table, his fingers tapping.
"...They finally came out of hiding and decided to party, it seems. Thank you for informing me, Omesata." Daniel said.
"What are you gonna do?" Omesata asked.
Daniel pulled out his phone, calling someone.
"Jehovah, postpone your mission in Curtside, you and your team have business to take care of in Rachdale. We finally got em." Daniel said.
-----
Back at the amusement park.
Eliza and Jess were running from the possessed people, going past a bunch of kids who were riding tea cups.
Jess bumped into a man who had his back turned to them. His head turned 180, staring at the girls and waving at them.
The girls screamed as they turned the other way and ran as people were riding the rollercoaster, having fun.
The hand peered out of the gate, grabbing Eliza by her leg. She looked down to see a teenager with red eyes standing there below the grate with his hand attached to Eliza's leg.
"Hi." The teenager said.
"AAAH! GET OFF ME!" Eliza yelled, kicking at his hand with her other foot.
Jess grabbed Eliza, pulling her out of his grasp with enough force that a fabric that was torn from Eliza's pants remained in his hand.
Jess ducked as two elderly people threw themselves at them and landed on the ground before bumping into a fat bouncer with red skin, black sclera and horns growing out of his head who tried to grab them.
Jess telekinetically raised the bouncer off the ground and threw him into a booth, knocking all the bottles.
"There's too many of them!" Eliza said.
"We have to hide from them!" Jess said.
They continued their run, going past the tunnel of love as two lovers who were sitting on a boat, holding their hands and their shadows resembled two devilish figures.
Jess and Eliza ran into a mirror house, running from forward to left.
Eliza looked behind there and din't see any of them following them.
"I think we lost them!" Eliza said.
The two turned right and continued running till they stopped and backed away.
They were blocked by mirrors, instead of showing their reflections, it showed a demon staring back at them.
"...W-What is that?" Eliza asked.
Jess just turned around and the little girl with the stuffed bunny was right behind them, glowing with a pink aura. She tilted her head and her smile emerged.
----
A Red Moon symbol appeared on a tree from the woods and the portal activated.
Dozens of soldiers wearing body armor and combat helmets ran out, each holding their weapons.
Jehovah walked in next, also wearing body armor as he placed his hand to his earpiece.
"Clarinda, you and your team handle the Others from Curtside, I shall deal with Sicrum. Jehovah out." Jehovah said, removing his hand from his ear.
The earpiece began ringing and he answered.
"Have you found Sicrum yet?" Daniel asked.
"No, but I can see a trail of foot prints that look recent, they might lead us to where the infected are." Jehovah said.
"Excellent. This will be a simple cleaning job, and this time, you better not let one escape from your sight again." Daniel said.
"...But do we really need to kill the residents? They're controlled, there has to be a way to purge the essence out of them without killing them." Jehovah said.
"There's nothing we can do for them, the only to expel the essence is by taking out the hosts, those people aren't humans anymore, Jehovah. Stop second guessing your decisions and just do it." Daniel said.
"...Understood." Jehovah said.
He sighed as he let go of his earpiece and put on his combat helmet before he pulled out two silver guns.
"Men, follow me." Jehovah said.
-----
In the mirror house, the sisters backed away as the little girl started approaching them.
"G-get away from us, you little creep!" Eliza yelled, pulling her gun at the girl.
The girl wasn't afraid as she kept walking.
Eliza shot at the ground as a warning shot.
The girl then broke into a run and jumped towards Jess, suddenly fading right into her head.
Jess gasped as she stumbled backwards.
"Sis, are you okay!? Where did that freak go!?" Eliza asked.
Jess's knees began shaking as she grabbed onto her head.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jess screamed out, her entire brain felt like it was on fire.
"JESS! WHAT'S WRONG!?" Eliza asked, panicking as she grabbed onto her sister.
"S-SHE'S INSIDE-AAAAAAH!" Jess yelled, collapsing on her knees.
Her eyes were turning red.
Inside Jess's mind.
Jess was inside her old house, everything around was distorted as she had her hands placed around her head, stumbling around.
"...No...I won't let you in here...g-get out!" Jess yelled.
Jess screamed as she collapsed on her knees.
She turned her head to look at the glass door that lead to the pool in the backyard, seeing the memory of her and Eliza when they were looking at the sunset.
Suddenly, Eliza wasn't there and the little girl was instead, sitting next to Jess and looking at the sunset, she was changing her memory.
"...Y-you, little shit!" Jess yelled, as she slowly got up, stumbling towards the glass door.
The little girl turned her head and suddenly, she was now in front of Jess, still glowing with the pink aura.
"GGHH!Get...out..!" Jess yelled.
The little girl's eyes glew intensely.
Jess screamed in pain once more, gripping to her shirt before she collapsed.
She raised her head, looking up at the little girl who was staring at Jess with the same damn smile on her face.
"...Y-You...think you are smart, aren't you?...Y-you...you're gonna wish you never entered in my mind, you demonic little shit!" Jess yelled.
Jess gained the strength to get up, despite that her head was in a clusterfuck of pain, she wasn't gonna give this monster her satisfaction, her eyes began to glow purple.
"...You...you are getting out of here, one way or another!" Jess yelled.
The entire area changed, they were no longer in the Summers residence, they were suddenly in the middle of a coliseum, with the sun shining above them.
Jess was wearing a armor that only gladiators were during a fight to the death, holding a sword pointed at the little girl.
The glowing girl, holding her stuffed rabbit very tightly to the point where she could crush it.
small bunny paws bursted out of the ground and a group of stuffed bunnies pulled themselves out of the group, launching themselves at Jess.
Jess, with a slash from her sword, decapitated the stuffed animals and dark energy escaped from those toys, jumping right into the stuffed bunny the girl was holding.
More bunnies bursted from behind Jess, grabbing onto her legs, biting them while one wrapped it's arms around her neck. Other bunnies jumped out, all of them were piling on Jess.
Feeling the weight of the stuffed animals crushing her, Jess's eyes grew brighter. With a single roar, she telekinetically repelled the bunnies as she stood up, smashing them into the coliseum walls.
She plunged her sword into the ground and sky started raining with boulders, each landing on a stuffed animal, crushing their bodies.
The little girl's lips twitched in annoyance, digging her nails into her stuffed doll.
More dark energy escaped from the crushed rabbits, all of them flew into the girl's doll.
Jess pulled out her sword and charged at the little girl.
The little girl dropped the doll on the ground before it suddenly stood up, glowing pink as it began growing till it was the size of a giant roared at Jess, raising it's foot as it was about to stomp her.
Jess jumped out of the way as the bunny monster's foot smashed against the ground.
It threw it's hands down, smashing Jess before grabbing her and lifted her to it's face.
The little girl was sitting on the head of her toy and waved at Jess as the monster held Jess with it's hands, opening it's mouth to eat her.
Jess concentrated and it's paws turned into stone, shattering in fragments and Jess was landing down.
She landed on her feet and began growing till she was the same size as the stuffed animal, raising her sword.
Dark shadow hands peered out of the stuffed bunny's sockets and stretched themselves to grab Jess's sword in attempt to pull it out of her hands.
Jess kicked the toy in it's stomach and knocked it into the wall while the little girl held onto it's head so she wouldn't fall.
Jess cut through it's shadow arms before she brought her sword down, stabbing the stuffed bunny in it's chest, bursting through it's back.
The little girl stared as her eyes were shrinking in shock.
Jess pulled her sword out and watched as the bunny monster began inflating till it exploded, with the little girl caught in the blast.
The dark energy residing in that doll flew into the sky, abandoning Jess's mind.
In the hall of mirrors, the little girl was forced out of Jess's mind and painfully landed on the floor while Jess was panting, looking tired.
"What happened!?" Eliza asked, confused as the little girl was now out of her sister's body.
"...T-that girl tried to infect my mind and turn into one of them...but I kicked her out." Jess said, sweat dripping from her nose.
The little girl was lying on her back as she raised her head, looking pained before she collapsed, closing her eyes.
Her body began shaking violently as a dark sinister horned figure phased through her body and turned right towards the Summer's.
"I-Is that the thing that's possessing all these people!?" Eliza asked.
"...Y-yeah, it is." Jess said, glaring back at the creature.
The dark figure charged itself at Jess who din't have the strength to get up.
Eliza looked scared as she looked at the figure before looking at Jess.
Her hands were shaking but she wasn't gonna let this thing hurt her sister again as she got in front of Jess, aiming her gun at the monster.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Eliza shouted.
"ELIZA!" Jess yelled.
Eliza shot the glowing bullets at the dark figure but the bullets phased through it and jumped into Eliza's body instead.
"NO!" Jess yelled, holding her hand out towards Eliza.
Eliza stood there, her mouth wide open and her eyes were white, every part of her body suddenly shut down before she hits the floor right in front of her sister.
Jess got up and run towards her sister, crouching down to hold her up.
"Eliza, say something!" Jess yelled.
Eliza's eyes were closed and she din't move a muscle, she remained comatose.
Jess smacked her fist against the floor.
"Fuck, I should of been the one, not her!" Jess yelled.
She picked up Eliza's body and her gun, holding her in her hands and looked at her with a worried expression, she couldn't even begin to imagine what that monster was doing inside her now.
Screaming was heard from outside the house of mirrors, accompanied by sounds of gunshots.
Jess turned her head towards the entrance and walked slowly. She peered her head out of the building to see what was going on outside.
She saw the body of a teenager with a gunshot wound in his right eye hitting the floor and another dark figure with horns left the body, heading towards the soldier who killed it's host.
One of the soldiers, holding a purple laser sword, slashed the dark figure in half and it dissolved into nothing.
Jess watched in horror as she saw soldiers shooting at the crowd infected with Sicrum's essence, innocent residents were shot and crashed on the ground, with more dark figures rising from their bodies before being destroyed by the soldiers.
However, some of the residents managed to take out a few soldiers as a man jumped right into a soldier's body who began screaming as something began bulging through his back before the man bursted through the soldier's back, covered in blood while the soldiers collapsed on the ground, dead.
The brown haired woman from earlier opened her mouth, a large shadow snake with red eyes launched out as the woman dropped to her knees from the weight of the creature before grabbing two soldiers with it's mouth, starting to crash them till it's teeth pierced through their bodies.
One soldier jumped from the ground and brought his axe, cutting the giant shadow snake in half while the woman collapsed on the ground.
Jehovah raised his leg and slammed it on top of a bouncer's head, sending them crashing on the ground, followed up by a crunching noise as Jehovah crushed the possessed individual's skull, releasing yet another being made out of dark essence before it was killed off.
He pulled his guns out, aiming them left and right and started shooting rapidly at the people who still had Sicrum's essence in them.
Jess's eyes were trembling as she watched the massacre, clutching Eliza's shoulders, she witnessed people dying before but she never witnessed a flat out bloodbath taking place right in front of her. She backed away from the scene.
Eventually, the fight was over and the residents were dead at the soldier's feet, however, half of the soldiers also got taken out by the possessed citizens.
Jehovah looked over at the piles of dead bodies before he turned to a soldier behind him.
"How many of us were taken out?" Jehovah asked.
"16." The soldier responded.
Jehovah looked at some of the residents who were killed, some of them were teenagers. He crouched down and closed their eyes before he turned to his squad.
"Search the entire park and flush out any survivors left. We can't leave a single loose end behind." Jehovah said.
"Yes sir!" The soldiers said as they spread out.
Jess was sitting on the floor, holding Eliza as she began shaking her.
"Come on, Eliza, wake up!" Jess said, fearing the worse.
A soldier entered in the hall of mirrors, quickly spotting Jess and aimed his AK at her.
Jess gasped.
"Don't shoot!" Jess yelled.
The soldier put his hand to his ear.
"Sir, we found two more women, one of them is awake and the other is unconscious, please advise." The soldier said.
Jess looked scared, she din't know what was gonna happen next.
The soldier nodded before he gestured at Jess to move outside with her sister.
Jess slowly got up and did what the soldier ordered, carrying Eliza with her as she walked out of the mirror house while the soldier continued checking the rest of the area.
She walked out with her unconscious sister and the soldiers surrounded them, pointing their guns at them.
"Please, don't shoot! We were running from these...people and one of those things entered in my sister! You have to help us!" Jess said.
Jehovah approached Jess, looking at her before turning his head down to look at Eliza. He looked at Jess again.
"...You are the Summer's, the ones responsible for the death of that girl and the destruction of Mishinaka. You two are coming with me." Jehovah said.
"I'll do whatever you say, just please, help my sister! One of those demon things is inside her, you need to save her!" Jess pleaded.
Jehovah stared at Eliza as he pulled out a small device, pointing at it towards Jess and Eliza, he needed to be sure. The detector beeped at Eliza, the demon energy trace was positive.
Jehovah placed his hand on his earpiece, contacting Daniel.
"Harbercorn, the people of Rachdale are dead and the essence inside them was eradicated, all except for one." Jehovah said.
"You din't let them escape, did you?" Daniel asked.
"No, the person infected is the Summer girl, Eliza, her sister Jess confirmed it for me." Jehovah said.
"Ah, the two girls Jebediah wanted to arrest. You've hit the jackpot, Jehovah." Daniel said.
"What should I do about Eliza?" Jehovah asked.
"That answer is quite obvious, put her down and get the demon to come out, then exterminate it. Once that's done, quarantine the entire place and bring the older sister along with the gun and let Jebediah handle the rest." Daniel said.
"But Jebediah said we have to bring them back alive." Jehovah said.
"The situation has changed the moment that girl got infected with a piece of Sicrum, you have to put her out of her misery before she get's the chance to escape and infect other innocent civilians." Daniel said.
"It's just one person left, surely we can flush out the demon out of her without-" Jehovah said.
Daniel slammed his palm against the table.
"Do not get soft-hearted now where there is one target left, you've killed dozens of these freaks before, why should one make a difference? I don't care if you were ordered to bring them back alive, just kill one and bring the other one back here! Now do your job or I'll do it for you, and be prepared to face the consequences for disobeying my orders." Daniel scowled, his fingers clutching onto the side of the table, nearly crushing it.
Jehovah sighed before he removed his hand, aiming his guns at Eliza.
"Sorry." Jehovah said.
Jess's eyes widened as one soldier grabbed her while the other tried to pull Eliza out of her arms.
"NO!" Jess yelled.
She kicked the soldier's face shielded by his helmet before headbutting the one who grabbed her. She ran through the gate and went into the woods, holding onto Eliza.
"Get them." Jehovah said.
The soldiers ran with incredible speed, going after the Summer's.
Jess was running in the forest, running as fast she could.
"Those fucking animals!" Jess yelled.
A bullet pierced through Jess's arm.
"AH!" Jess screamed.
She dropped Eliza on the and collapsed on her knee, placing her hand on her arm now bleeding.
It din't take long for the soldiers to catch up to her, surrounding her and pointed their guns at her.
"Don't move!" The soldier said.
Jess glared at the soldiers.
"I won't let you kill her!" Jess yelled.
Two soldiers stepped out of the way as Jehovah walked in, gazing down at Jess.
"The moment that girl wakes up, she will go on a rampage and infect many more. We can't let that happen." Jehovah said.
"She won't. Not as long as I'm here, I won't let that monster take control of her." Jess said.
"Are you certain about that? The moment Sicrum gains control of her body, she will attack you and infect you with his essence, then we'll have no choice but to put both of you down." Jehovah said.
"Eliza is strong, she will not hurt me! And I'll be damned if a couple of obedient drones are gonna kill the only person I have left in this damned world that's going to hell!" Jess yelled.
"We are trying to save humanity from getting completely infected, is that what you want?" Jehovah asked.
"Humanity was responsible for the Others being created when that small asshole just had to tinker around with those crystals, and with assholes like Jebediah and you are making it worse! If you ask me, humanity deserves what it get's for putting me and my sister through all this shit, especially when you give me that bullshit you feed yourself with so you can sleep at night while your hands are covered in the blood of dozens that you killed!" Jess yelled.
Jehovah's eyebrows lowered.
"If that's what you think, then you have no idea who I am and what sacrifices I had to make so people like you would have the comfort of sleeping in their beds while I get nightmares every damn day, just to keep you all safe. Men." Jehovah said.
The soldiers aimed their guns, directed at Eliza.
"NOOOOO!" Jess yelled.
Eliza's eyes opened, with her back laying on black water.
The sky was pitch black and only a full moon was in sight.
"...W-what...what happened?...Where am I?" Eliza asked.
Eliza who finally had some feeling in her body, slowly stood up and looked around.
"...Jess?" Eliza asked.
Suddenly, a dark horned being merged out of the water, standing in front of Eliza.
Eliza quickly backed away as the being appeared.
"Y-you! You are the thing from that little girl who attacked Jess and jumped in my body!" Eliza yelled.
The dark being did nothing, as the black water reflected both it and Eliza.
"...What do you want from me?" Eliza asked.
The figure pointed down as the water showed an image of an unconscious Eliza, a wounded Jess and soldiers who were aiming their guns at them, ready to shoot.
Eliza gasped.
"They are gonna kill me and my sister! I have to do something!" Eliza said.
The dark being offered it's hand towards Eliza, much to her confusion.
"...You want me...to take your hand?" Eliza asked.
The being nodded.
Eliza folded her arms, not trusting the being at all.
"What's the catch? If I take your hand, you might try to posses me like you tried with Jess." Eliza said.
The dark being shook it's head as the sound of guns being cocked was heard and the soldiers had their fingers placed on their triggers.
Eliza's eyes widened before she looked back at the being. Either she get's possessed or she stands still and watches as these men will gun down her sister and she won't be able to do anything about it.
Eliza clenched her fists, gritting her teeth before she turned to the being.
"Fine! Let's do it!" Eliza said, as she grabbed the being's hand.
The dark being then turned into smoke, surrounding Eliza, enveloping in her darkness.
Eliza let out a gasp, her hair hiding her eyes.
Jess turned her head to Eliza.
"Eliza!" Jess said.
Eliza placed her hands on the ground and lifted herself up, not facing anyone, she appeared to be staring at the ground while soldiers had their guns aimed at her head.
Jehovah grimaced.
"Shit, she is awake." Jehovah said.
Eliza started walking forward and picked up her gun that was laying next to Jess before looking around her surroundings, looking at Jehovah before turning to look at the 10 soldiers who were surrounding.
"...Eliza...is that you?" Jess asked, sounding nervous.
Eliza looked towards Jess, looking at her holding her bleeding arm. With a clench of her fists, she turned to face the soldiers, gritting her now suddenly sharp teeth.
"Take her down!" Jehovah yelled.
His men fired at Eliza, bullets were flying towards her.
She raised one foot and stomped it against the ground, it cracked beneath her feet and opened her mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Eliza released a roar which shattered the bullets into fragments, sending the soldiers backwards while Jehovah's coat was waving in the wind, putting his arms together to shield himself from being flown off.
Eliza removed her hair from her eyes, revealing them to be colored pink, staring at Jehovah with a pissed off look.
Jess looked very concern, she wasn't sure if this was Eliza or it was the demon who was in control.
"...Congratulations for pissing me off. Now here is your prize!" Eliza yelled, her hair starting to float.
The pink aura engulfed Eliza's right arm before it enlarged, her nails turned into sharp tiger claws.
With her gun in her left hand and her right hand covered in aura, she launched herself off.
The soldiers opened fire and Eliza used her large aura hand to shield her from the bullets before she rotated her arm around, smacking the soldiers aside.
She extended her arm out and pierced through a soldier's chest, her claws bursted through his back.
The soldier then exploded into pink flames, engulfing every part of his body as he let out a scream that echoed in Jess's mind till there was nothing left of the soldier but dust.
Jess gasped, placing her hand on her mouth.
"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" One of the soldiers screamed as he dropped his gun and instead shot a fire beam at Eliza.
Eliza turned around and jumped in the air, as she was descending down she brought her aura hand down, squashing the soldier into the ground.
She lifted her large arm and backhanded the soldier right behind her, sending him flying through dozens of tree's.
Two of soldiers shot her in the back with two bullets.
"ELIZA!" Jess screamed.
Eliza stumbled when she got hit but that just pissed her off more as she turned to the two soldiers as she started running towards them.
She leaped into the air, twirling in the sky as she landed on the head of a soldier and pointed her gun upside down on the forehead of the soldier who was standing next to him and the bullet flew off, piercing through the helmet and struck the soldier's forehead before she jumped down and smacked the soldier she was standing on with her fist, sending him flying to the sky.
Jess's eyes were shaking, seeing her sister just mindlessly killing these soldiers, it's like she was acting like a wild animal who freed itself out of it's cage and it's attacking the people who kept pestering it while it was sitting in it's cage.
One soldier started shooting energy balls at Eliza.
Eliza, sensing the projectiles coming towards her, turned and grabbed the balls with her large hand before throwing the balls back at the soldiers, hitting two of them and they were horribly burned to death.
She stretched her arm out, grabbing another soldier by their throat and started spinning her arm around with the soldier in her grasp before letting him go and watched as his body crashed into a tree, his blood splattering all over the ground.
"...S-stop...just stop..." Jess implored, she din't want to watch this anymore.
One soldier dashed right towards Eliza, punching her in the face before kicking her in the stomach, grabbing her by her hair and placed a glowing knife right next to her neck.
Eliza shot the soldier in his foot before shooting him in his other foot. The soldier let go of Eliza, feeling immense pain in his feet before Eliza grabbed him by his torso with her large arm and smashed his head against the ground before tossing him away.
Only one soldier remained, who saw most of his colleagues getting killed by this young girl, his hands were shaking and aimed his gun at the back of Eliza's head.
Eliza glanced at the soldier with a uncharacteristic grin to her face, as if asking if he wants to go next.
The soldier dropped his gun and immediately running off. Jehovah watched as the remaining soldier ran off like a chicken who lost it's head and turned to face Eliza, unfazed by the death of his colleagues.
Eliza was panting, having unleashed her animal fury on the soldiers who tried to hurt her sister.
Jess, with tears in her eyes, crawled towards Eliza.
"Liz?" Jess asked.
Eliza turned to Jess, her expression softened upon looking at her face, not realizing that her sister watched her brutally murder all those men.
Jehovah placed one gun in his pocket and pointed his finger towards Eliza.
Eliza turned her attention Jehovah, gritting her teeth before she charged ahead ready to slam her aura fist into him.
Jehovah's finger began glowing and shot red energy that struck Eliza, stunning her body and let out a scream.
"Stop, you're hurting her!" Jess yelled.
Eliza's color changed from pink back to green and the aura that engulfed her right arm vanished.
Jehovah stopped his attack and Eliza collapsed on the ground, closing her eyes and dropped her revolver.
"That should put her to sleep for a good awhile." Jehovah said.
He pulled his other gun out, walking up to Eliza with his guns pointed at her.
Jess got up and stood in front of Eliza, shielding her from Jehovah.
"You will have to get through me if you want to kill her and I will die before I'll let you put your dirty hands on her!" Jess said.
Jehovah glanced at Jess.
All of the sudden, a large shuriken with dark flames peering out struck Jehovah's shoulder, the shuriken bursted into black flames.
A spiky claymore glowing with energy flew past Jess and landed right beside Jehovah, a small explosion occurred that sent Jehovah flying into a tree and knocked Jess on the ground.
Jess stared in confusion, as she had no idea where that came from before she turned around to see two guys she never saw before walking right in front of her.
One guy had black hair with a long ponytail, black eyes, wearing a black shirt with a black coat, blue pants with shoes and holding two swords in his hands, his weapons were covered in dark flames.
The other person standing next to him appeared to be bigger and had a goatee, he din't appear to have any eyebrows and had strange clawed fingers, having a light blonde mullet with brown highlights and wearing a green murky jacket.
The bigger guy went to the spiky claymore and pulled it out of the ground as he looked around, seeing the dead soldiers.
"Aw, man, looks like we missed a wild party and we weren't invited. Yo, Arashi, look at this loser, which one of us should take him?" The mullet guy asked.
His partner, Arashi, look straight at Jehovah, not bothering to indulge his bigger friend.
Jehovah slowly got up as his shoulder was burning with those dark dangerous flames as he faced the two new people who appeared.
"...Arashi Kuro, now you finally decided to show your face after being gone for so long." Jehovah said.
He then cast his gaze towards the mullet man, noting his weird features.
"...You aren't from around here, I can tell. From what backwards dimension did you come from?" Jehovah asked.
"I came from home, duh." The guy said, dodging the question entirely.
"...Who are you guys?" Jess asked.
Arashi said nothing as he charged at Jehovah.
Jehovah aimed his guns and started shooting at Arashi.
Arashi blocked the bullets with his swords as he reached Jehovah and stabbed him in both of his arms with his flaming weapons, forcing him to drop his guns.
As he shoved the swords deeper into his arms, he flipped himself over Jehovah, pulling the swords and stabbed him in the back.
Jehovah grunted before he turned over, roadhouse kicking Arashi in the neck, sending him flying but he landed on his feet before he could of hit against the tree.
Jehovah pulled the swords out of his back, tossing them aside as he reached for his guns.
"Just as skilled as your parents when I fought them back those many years and killed Elijah and Christopher, but do not expect the same tricks to work twice." Jehovah said.
The guy with the spiky claymore charged at Jehovah with a grin.
Jehovah turned and raised leg, kicking against his claymore and blocked it.
Another explosion spontaneously happened and Jehovah was flying towards Arashi.
Arashi placed his hands on his ground and delivered a kick to the back of Jehovah's head, sending him flying upwards.
He rushed over to his swords, picking them up while the guy with the mullet's claymore was charged with that weird green energy again.
Jehovah landed back down and charged at the two, shooting multiple bullets.
The bullets disintegrated upon hitting the spiky claymore while Arashi cuts through the bullets and jumped up, bringing the swords down on Jehovah.
Jehovah tossed his guns aside and grabbed Arashi's swords by their tips, despite getting his hands burned.
Thus giving the mullet guy to launch that green energy right at Jehovah which exploded when it reached his chest and sent him crashing down on the ground while Arashi landed back on his feet.
The mullet guy charged at Jehovah and leaped in the air, bringing his claymore down on Jehovah's head.
BOOM!
A bigger explosion occurred, that was nearly size of a nuclear blast that sent Jess nearly flying off and landed on her knees.
She opened her eyes and there was a crater from where Jehovah was once, smoke peering out of that crater.
The mullet guy landed right beside Arashi.
"Damn, that was disappointing. And everyone hyped up these Red Moon guys to be something but they are a bunch of scrubs, I hope this Jashin better be worth all this trouble." The guy sighed.
The smoke cleared out...and Jehovah was still standing, but he din't appear to be in a good shape either.
Half of his clothing was eradicated by the blast, exposing the Red Moon mark on his chest while the right half of his body was sickly green, half of his lip was missing, his clenched jaw was exposed, his right cheek's skin was teared, his right eye was bloodshot and was missing his right ear. He was badly damaged, but he was still kicking.
Jess couldn't believe her eyes, no ordinary person should be alive after that.
"Woah, you're still alive? I'm impressed." The guy grinned.
Jehovah's eyes turned completely red with rage as two horns grew out of his head, pointed at each other.
"D-Damn interdimensional impudent scumbag!" Jehovah yelled.
A small red energy ball appeared between his horns before it got bigger till it was the size of a miniature sun.
"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Jehovah yelled.
Jehovah launched the big energy ball, it was fast enough to reach the mullet guy.
The guy blocked the energy ball with his claymore, the ground beneath was breaking and claymore was starting to get cracked.
Gritting his teeth, the guy let out a yell as he smacked the energy ball into the sky.
"Woah! That was close! Din't know this guy had it in him! So, how about we finish this sucker up and wrap this mission up?" The guy asked Arashi.
Jehovah still looked pissed as he took one step towards them.
"That's enough! I will stop you before you make a complete fool out of yourself." A voice unfamiliar to Jess said.
The Red Moon symbol appeared on the tree and a portal appeared, Daniel stepped out of the portal with his hands placed around his back, with a disapproved look on his face.
"Hey, Arashi, look, another playmate!" The guy said.
"...Harbercorn." Arashi finally spoke.
Daniel stood in front of Jehovah.
"It appears it's up to me to clean up this mess, you head to the hospital and deal with your...scars." Daniel said.
Jehovah stared, still looking pissed but he turned around and walked into the portal, leaving the battlefield.
Daniel glanced at Arashi and his partner, a confident smile appearing on his face.
"So, may I ask what's your business here? Did you come here to save these girls or did someone send you? Well, I am waiting." Daniel said.
"We have nothing to tell you. Emynx." Arashi said, turning to his partner.
"Gotcha." Emynx grinned, readying his claymore.
Daniel din't look intimidated, his smile remained as he held both of his gloved hands in front of him.
"Go on then, make your call." Daniel said.
Emynx charged at Daniel and plunged his claymore into his left palm, tearing through his glove, causing yet another explosion that sent Daniel on the ground.
"Alright, now what?" Emynx asked, hoping to see Daniel doing something impressive.
Tatters from Daniel's left sleeve landed softly on the ground while Daniel got up and walked out of the smoke.
His left arm was exposed, the hole in his glove revealed a Red Moon mark on his palm, his suit was dirty but putting that aside, he din't look damaged at all, as he stood there calmly, his expression was unaltered.
Jess looked baffled as she was holding her unconscious sister.
"...That other guy nearly lost half of his body to that big explosion, this guy however doesn't have a scratch on him!" Jess said.
"Huh, looks like you might be worth the challenge unlike your loser pal after all, Danny." Emynx grinned, placing his claymore on his shoulder.
Daniel adjusted his gloves.
"Crushing you two interlopers like ants is sport to me. I will be glad to show you a demonstration of my power. Who should I start with I wonder?" Daniel asked.
"Okay, big man, let's go!" Emynx said, ready to charge at him again.
Arashi placed his hand on Emynx's chest.
"No." Arashi said.
"No? What do you mean no?" Emynx asked.
"Our mission was to save the infected civilians but we failed, we need to take these two out of here, we'll deal with him later." Arashi said.
Emynx sighed as he backed down.
"Fiiine." Emynx said.
Before Jess would realize, she, her sister and the two guys got engulfed by a pillar of light and vanished just like that.
"Hm, they ran away just like rats. And a single trace of that demon is inside that girl. What a bothersome development." Daniel said.
Daniel put his hands right behind him as he turned around and walked into the portal, the Red Moon mark disappeared.
Two familiar silhouettes, one with red eyes and the other had yellow eyes stared at the Red Moon mark as it disappeared before they vanished out of sight.
The fog surrounding Rachdale was gone, all the citizens of this town were now dead.
----
Arashi, Emynx, Jess and Eliza appeared in a white hallway.
Jess dropped to her knee's, looking horrified by the experience she witnessed before her eyes.
"...You, okay?" Emynx asked Jess.
"...No, I'm not. This entire world is a complete and utter nightmare that I can't wake up from!" Jess said.
Jess glanced down at her sister who has yet to wake up.
"And now, Eliza has a monster inside of her that forced to kill all those soldiers, I was it's target and she saved me when it should of been me instead of her!...It should of been me." Jess sobbed, releasing all her tears that she held back during this traumatizing event.
"...Ouch, that smarts." Emynx said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
Arashi walked to Jess.
"We will find a way to expel the demon out of her. Soon, she will bring this world back to how it was." Arashi said.
Jess raised her head to look at Arashi.
"...Who's 'she'? And where are we?" Jess asked.
"We are in a space ship, flying in the middle of space, near your planet actually.. As for she-" Emynx said.
The doors at the end of the hallway opened.
"You're back. Did you succeed?" A female voice asked.
Arashi and Emynx turned to whoever opened that door.
"The civilians were killed and the demon essence was wiped out, except for one who is hiding in this girl's body." Arashi said.
"On the bright side, we did save these two from a guy we fucked up." Emynx grinned.
A lady with white eyes aswell as long white hair that reached her back and wearing a white robe with a necklace walked into the hallway, going past Arashi and Emynx and approached Jess.
Jess looked up at the lady, feeling a calm radiance emitting from her eyes, it's like she was standing in the presence of a angel who descended down from Heaven.
With a warm smile on her face, she held her hand out.
"My name is Verita Aestrae. We're here to save your world." Verita said.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 27, 2019 10:00:45 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Part 5: Alien World
Thursday, July 3th 2081, 11:40 PM
In outer space, a white circular prism was floating, a space ship that no one would think to build on planet Earth.
Inside the ship, Verita and her two accomplices, Arashi and Emynx, were walking down the circular hallway with Jess, who was holding her sister in her arms, following behind them.
"...If only we got here sooner, this tragedy could of been avoided. Those people of Rachdale could of been saved." Verita said.
"You should seen us back there, Verita, that was intense! You should of seen the look on that guy's face when I fucked his face up!" Emynx laughed.
Verita side-eyed her ally with a look of disapproval.
"...Just who are you exactly?" Jess asked.
"As I said, I am Verita, I am a Guardian from another Universe that is far different from your's." Verita said, as she kept walking.
"...Another Universe?" Jess asked.
"Wait, you din't know there are other Universes out there?" Emynx asked.
"Not everyone knows, Emynx. It's natural that not many people would know about the existence of the Universes." Verita said.
"...If you are from another Universe, then what are you doing in our's?" Jess asked.
"That's simple, we are here to eradicate the evil responsible for the downfall of your Earth. The evil that is responsible for the creation of those Others who spread across the planet and destroyed your city." Verita said.
"And what is this evil that you are talking about?" Jess asked.
Verita turned to Jess.
"Emotions. The negative emotions." Verita said.
"...I...don't think I follow." Jess said, confused by that statement.
"Don't worry, you will understand once I'll explain to you." Verita said.
They reached a staircase and climbed up.
Jess looked hesitant but followed the three and arrived in another white room, which was designed as a meeting room and there were 9 people in there.
There were 15 chairs in total, but numbers 1, 2, 11, 12 and 14 were empty. The people sitting on those chairs had their attention to Verita, Emynx and Arashi and the two girls they brought in.
Jess gave the people in that room an odd look before she looked at Verita.
"...Who are they?" Jess asked.
"They are members of the group, some of them are friends of mine from my own Universe while a few are from other Universes we went and accepted to join us to help achieve our goal." Verita said, as she turned to present the members.
"Lea-Maria, Omnipotent of Mentality." Gesturing at the lady with flowing black hair in a green dress sitting on chair 3.
"Liern, Omnipotent of Others" Gesturing at a green-haired man with yellow eyes sitting on chair 4.
"Leonard, Omnipotent of Order." Gesturing at the long haired blonde man with blue eyes who looked quite similar to the president but had a few different features to difference them both, sitting on chair 5.
"Lake, Omnipotent of Smoke" Gesturing at the lady with short white hair wearing a fur jacket, sitting on chair 6.
"Lemures, Omnipotent of Glass" Gesturing at the long browned hair lady who was eating a chocolate bar on chair 7.
"Lyle, Omnipotent of Plasma" Gesturing at the guy with red hair wearing a parka, who was fiddling with some cue cards on chair 8.
"Nike, he is a Neonyte from Universe 4." Gesturing at a noseless man with weird dilated eyes and white hair, on chair 9.
"Shihk, a Florian who is from the same Universe as Nike." Gesturing at the Florian who was completely wrapped in bandages, on chair 10
"And Shannon, she is from Universe 5." Gesturing at the lady with long pink hair wearing a purple scarf, on chair 13
Jess just looked over at each of these people, confused when she heard numbered Universes and noted how majority of her group were Omnipotents who came from the same place as Verita.
"You already met Emynx, Omnipotent of Nuclear from Universe 1 and Arashi, who is from your Universe. He joined us when we arrived in this Universe, we found him outside Newrum State City after his father was arrested for attempted assassination on a member of the group Red Moon and we helped him move on from his grief of losing both his mother and father, he's been helping us ever since." Verita said.
Jess looked as Emynx and Arashi walked over and sat in their chairs, numbers 11 and 14.
She looked around and spotted portraits of the members, she saw the portrait of a girl with round orange hair wearing a seashell pendant between Verita's and Lea-Maria and the one between Emynx and Shannon was a young eyebrowless guy with short black hair who's portrait was dyed blued.
"...Who are those guys?" Jess asked, pointing at the portraits.
"...That girl is a dear friend of mine. And that one, Inun, is from the same Universe as Emynx. A month ago, we were in Universe 10, we sent him to find the core and acquire the help of the Omnipotents from that Universe but they din't seem to need our help and so I told him to leave it at that and focus on other planets. Despite what I told him, he went against the wishes of the people from 10 and got a Guardian involved in his mess, Inun had the wrong idea of what we were supposed to do, I had no choice but to expel him from our organization." Verita answered.
Jess noticed that Verita din't bother mentioning where this friend of her's is but din't want to open up any personal questions, instead she was curious about this core Verita was talking about.
"...A core, you said?" Jess asked.
"There are 12 Universes in total, technically 13 if we count Universe 0 but that Universe hasn't been active for ages now, each one has it's own Earth and it's own set of Omnipotents, 144 in total. Each planet has a core, our objective is to find all those cores and cure each Universe of the evil surrounding those Universes." Verita said.
"...You told me that emotions are the source, but I still don't get that, I need more clarification on that." Jess said.
"When I'm talking about emotions, I'm talking about the ones that causes anger, depression and drives people to do awful things like the Red Moon group from your Universe led by Jashin and these emotions created the Others in the first place." Verita said.
"And how is getting to the core of the planet gonna fix anything?" Jess asked.
"...She really doesn't know much about this stuff, does she?" Lyle whispered to Nike, only to get shushed by Lake.
"When we find the core, we seal off the negative emotions, the people from Earth and other planets will no longer experience those awful feelings and will be happy, crime rate diminishes and no one has a reason to be nasty or mean to each other." Lea-Maria explained.
"...But aren't those awful feelings a part of who we are?" Jess asked.
"Those feelings are what gave birth to the monsters who ruined Erinfort and other cities. Jebediah and his friend, Jashin, are both driven by anger born from Erebus killing their loved ones." Verita said.
"...Friend? I thought Jebediah worshipped Jashin." Jess said.
"Jebediah was friends with Jashin, who was Jack Colorado in the medieval times. Erebus destroyed their village one day and Colorado gained his powers and wanted to kill every demon he saw but the people of his town turned against him and his spirit is residing in Jebediah, it's thanks to his spirit Jebediah lived for so long and has been recruiting a number of bad people to start a pointless war against the demons, even though the main person responsible for his pain has been long gone by now. Their minds are so clouded by their blind vengeance that they don't even realize all the horrible stuff they have committed and think it's okay to justify the murder of innocents by putting the blame on the demons." Verita said.
"James Stoneson was supposed to be the likely candidate but Jebedick's crew helped him win the elections and abused his authority as president and enabled many assholes to do their thing and overlooked their share of crimes, he killed 7 people and shove their souls in Colorado so he can become stronger than before, it's really sickening. And the ISP isn't doing shit about it, they're worried about stopping crime than actually helping people" Lake said, folding her arms.
"That group's actions have disturbed the Order of their world, they need to be stopped." Leonard commented.
"When we heard and saw the events that transpired in your Universe, we came here to put a stop to this but it appears we arrived a bit too late. We are planning on dealing with Red Moon soon. You and Eliza could stay with us in the meantime till we manage to find the core and lock away the negative emotions." Verita said.
Jess looked pretty confused by all this information crammed into her head after an entire day of all the horrible shit she witnessed today.
"...I...honestly have no idea what to say...it's....a little too much for me to handle...but what about my sister? That demon...thing...whatever it is, is trapped in her body, you have to help her." Jess said.
Verita walked over to Eliza, crouching down and placed her hand on her chest.
"...Hm, we never dealt with anyone possessed by a demon before, I'm not really certain what we could do here without risking getting Sicrum's essence in all of us or unintentionally hurting Eliza in the process." Verita said.
"But is she gonna wake up?" Jess asked.
"She will, but it might be awhile. Once she wakes up, we will find a way to help your sister. All of us have our own bedrooms but there should be enough space in one room for both of you to sleep in for the time being." Verita said.
"They can sleep in my room." Shannon offered as she sat up.
Verita nodded before looking back at Jess.
"We have a few rooms in this ship just to pass the time when travelling to other Universes, there is a cafeteria, a gaming room, a library and other rooms that you might want to check out if you need to do something to pass the time. You two will be safe here." Verita said.
"...Thank you." Jess nodded, still trying to comprehend all of this.
Shannon walked up to Jess.
"Follow me." Shannon said.
Jess followed Shannon as they walked out of the meeting room.
Verita looked at them as they left as she sat on her chair before turning her gaze towards everyone else.
"Now then, it's time we let Red Moon know of our presence and inform them that we won't stand for this anymore." Verita said.
Shannon lead Jess into a another white hallway with doors on each side with a name plate, indicating which room is who's.
Shannon opened the door and let Jess walk in with Eliza and went after her.
The room was white like the rest of the ship and looked a ordinary bedroom, with a bed that was big enough for two people, a bathroom, a couch and there were some items in the room that belonged to Shannon but Jess dared not to touch any of her stuff.
"You can place Eliza on the couch and you can sleep in my bed." Shannon said.
Jess nodded as she gently put Eliza on the couch before she moved away and continued looking at her sister.
"...Eliza." Jess sighed.
Shannon walked behind Jess, looking at Eliza with sympathy in her eyes.
"...I'm sure she'll be fine. We'll find a way to deal with that demon and your sister will be back to normal." Shannon assured Jess.
"...I should of been the one to be hit by that demon, not her. She doesn't deserve to have that thing in her body." Jess said, clenching her fists.
"Are you okay?" Shannon asked.
"No, I'm not, my sister is possessed by a demon and now I'm stuck in a space ship after a really horrible day and now I learn a lot of stuff that just confuses me. Jebediah being really old, multiple Universes, cores...it's too much for me to bare. I feel so miserable right now." Jess said.
Shannon frowned, she wasn't sure way to say to make Jess feel better.
"...If you want, I could talk to Verita and ask her to get rid of your guilt and pain. You won't feel that way ever again." Shannon offered.
"...Thank you for the proposal, but I'd rather focus on someone else's pain than mine at the moment." Jess sighed.
Shannon just nodded.
"...You're from another Universe. 5, was it? How is it compared to mine?" Jess asked.
"...Before Verita arrived, it wasn't a place for people like me and you to live in. One of the Omnipotents, Athena, who possessed the element of Chaos, killed the rest of the Omnipotents except for one who has the power of Life so she is immortal in a way, she put a law against people with powers and if one get's caught, they'd get executed. I was kicked out of my home and people feared me because of my power, it was pretty awful back then." Shannon said, but she din't sound sad or anything like that at all.
"...It seems other Universes are going through their share of crap like we are now." Jess sighed.
"But Verita changed everything and made it all better. Athena is dead and with the seal placed on the core, people no longer fear me, everyone is happy and now I can help Verita save other worlds from the same fate. Your Universe will no longer be in danger once we find the core and you and your sister can go back home and be a happy family again." Shannon smiled.
"...That sounds hopeful...but I'm still not sure about this, the whole sealing off emotions to make things better...I need time to think about this." Jess said.
"That's fine. Do you want me to show you the rest of the ship?" Shannon asked.
"...I'd rather go to sleep now. I had a long day." Jess sighed, walking away from Eliza and sat on her bed.
With her sister unconscious and having to stay in a spaceship with a crew of people from other Universes, all Jess could do is try to get some sleep, if she could even sleep and think hard about Shannon's offer, if she would really go along with this or not. Then again, it would be good if Verita's plan will fix everything, then she and her sister would no longer have to go from place to place and put up with Others, people trying to kill them constantly and worrying about running out of food and supplies, it would be perfect. Right now, it would be best to rest and think more clearly about this tomorrow.
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Friday, July 4th 2081, 10:50 AM
Jess opened her eyes, somehow she din't have a nightmare as she stared at the white ceiling, she wasn't even sure what time it was if it was morning or evening as they were currently in space and din't spot a clock anywhere in the room.
She looked to the right to see that Shannon was already up, sitting on a chair and looking at Eliza, who had yet to stir.
Shannon turned to Jess.
"Oh, good morning." Shannon said.
"How is she doing?" Jess asked.
"...She isn't awake." Shannon answered.
Jess sighed as she got out of bed.
"Are you hungry?" Shannon asked.
"...I haven't eaten for an entire day so, sure." Jess said.
Shannon got up.
"I can take you to the cafeteria and show you the entire ship so you won't get the lost." Shannon said.
Jess nodded, glancing at her sister before going out with Shannon. Outside the bedroom hallway, Lake was standing next to her room, talking on the phone with someone called Lekulia, some friend's of her's she guessed but din't pay attention to their conversation as she followed Shannon.
After a few of minutes of Shannon leading Jess around the ship, they arrived in another hallway with doorways that leads to different areas but had tags to tell what areas were.
"The route should be easy to memorize now, right?" Shannon said.
"Yeah, I've got it." Jess said.
"You can ask anyone else in the ship if you have any more questions. I'm going to Newfort to find any people who might want to join our group. Take care of yourself." Shannon said, as she walked away.
Jess glanced at Shannon and she turned to the cafeteria, walking in.
The place looked more like a giant kitchen with tables and chairs placed around like in a school lunch break room with cabinets that likely contained food inside them.
The only people in the cafeteria were Lemures, who had a bag full of food placed on the table, eating a sandwich and waved at Jess, Nike and Shihk were staying at a different table as the two of them were talking to each other.
Jess walked to a cabinet and opened it, there was a lot of food in it. If the apocalypse ever occurred, these people would probably have enough food to survive for months.
She picked up an apple and a candy bar before closing the door and walked to the table Lemures was sitting at. She decided to sit next to her since why not and also learn some new information about Verita's group and the Universe they came from.
"Morning." Jess said, turning her head to Lemures.
"*Munch* Morning." Lemures said, while munching on her sandwich.
"...So, you're the Omnipotent of Glass?" Jess asked.
"Yup, that would be me." Lemures smiled.
"So, you can like control windows and anything made out of glass?" Jess asked.
"Hm, yeah, I can also control this cool glass dimension so that's neat." Lemures said, her smile remaining on her face.
She grabbed a bag full of potato chips, offering to Jess.
"Want some?" Lemures asked.
"...Thanks, but I already have food." Jess said.
"Suit yourself." Lemures said, before taking a big bite out of her sandwich.
"What can you tell me about yourself?" Jess asked.
"....Hmm...well, before we set off to other Universes, the group saved me and took me to their castle, then Verita helped me get rid of my depression and everything has been swell ever since!" Lemures smiled.
"What were you depressed about?" Jess asked.
"...Eeeeeh...I don't want to talk about it and it really doesn't matter. My life sucked before but thanks to my friends, I'm okay now. So, is your sister awake yet?" Lemures asked.
"No. I'm starting to get worried." Jess said.
"You don't need to be, your sister will be fine. As long as she is in this ship, no one from Red Moon can hurt her." Lemures said.
"I guess that's true...so, are there any repercussions to what Verita is doing? You know, sealing off those cores or whatever she is doing?" Jess asked.
"Well, with the cores sealed off, nobody will ever have to go through depressing stuff ever again, people won't have reasons to hate or hurt each other, murders will stop, the Others will probably disappear forever, crimes will drop and no one will have to be sad about anything anymore. Take all that depressing crap, throw it out the window and you get world peace!" Lemures smiled.
"...So, that's it? Nothing will bad will happen, right?" Jess asked.
"Nope, no negative side effects or anything like that." Lemures said.
Jess thought on that as she looked at Nike and Shihk.
"What can you tell me about those guys?" Jess asked.
"Nike was born on the planet of the Florians who were being treated like slaved by their Neonytian overlords, Nike saved Shihk and helped bandage him up. Verita showed up and the two helped get her to the world's core that was being guarded by a guardian and now the Florians are treated like people instead of tools. Their friendship is pretty cute, don't you think?" Lemures asked, tapping her feet against each other.
"...I guess." Jess said.
Lemures grabbed her bag and stood up before she looked down at Jess.
"I can tell you're scared but you don't have to be. All we want is for everyone to get along and not kill each other anymore, when we find the core, the Others will poof away and Red Moon won't start a war against demons and get many people killed. If you don't want to deal with your sadness and constantly worrying about your sister, you can talk to Verita and she will help you." Lemures smiled.
"...I'll think about it." Jess said.
"Kay. See ya later." Lemures said, patting her shoulder as she walked off with the bag in her arms before she left the cafeteria.
It appears what Verita was talking about was true and there din't appear to be any negative consequences to her goal so maybe...
Jess decided not to postpone for decision for a little awhile as she began eating her breakfast as Nike and Shihk got up and left, leaving her the only one in the cafeteria. A few minutes passed and walked out, deciding to go into another room.
She looked at the training area and walked in, hearing the sounds of swords clashing.
She saw Arashi combatting Leonard as the two separated from each other.
Leonard vanished through a pillar of light and appeared behind Arashi who blocked his blade with his sword before he jumped out of the way.
With just a glance, he summoned two of those dark shuriken's and threw one at Leonard while the other one went behind him like a boomerang.
Leonard deflected the shuriken's with his sword.
"Your skills are remarkable, but you need to improve your strategy." Leonard recommended as he charged at Arashi.
Seeing that they were busy, Jess walked out and went into the gaming room instead.
Emynx and Lyle were sitting on a furniture, playing a game on a TV placed on the table, there were a few Arcade games inside the room aswell.
Lyle din't seem to be putting much effort as Emynx's character beats the crap out of him.
"Oh no, I lost again." Lyle said.
"Dude, you weren't even trying! Let's play again, this time be serious." Emynx said.
"We played like 10 times now. I'm bored." Lyle said.
Lyle placed the controller down and walked out of the room, going past Jess.
Emynx sighed before he noticed her.
"Oh, hey, it's you? Eliza, right?" Emynx asked.
"It's Jess." Jess said.
"Sure, whatever. Come on, let's see what you got." Emynx said, gesturing at the controller lying on the floor.
Jess raised an eyebrow, guessing that was a challenge as she sat next to the Nuclear Omnipotent and picked up the controller.
Jess chose her character and the battle started. Her character was getting roughed up a bit by Emynx from the start but after seeing his strategies which was unleashing powerful attacks when the meter was full and managed to avoid them before beating his character till he lost health.
"Damn, you're pretty good at this." Emynx said.
"I used to be a gaming master before Others appeared. Wanna a rematch?" Jess asked.
"You're on." Emynx grinned.
And so, the two gamed on for an hour, any conversation Jess had with Emynx was just that he was excited to fight against Jashin and kick his ass while mentioning some guy called Kelou, some Omni from 11 he partnered up with in a Tournament, saying he couldn't wait till he joins the group and have some fun together like good ole times
From what she could tell, Emynx din't seem to be the type to care about world peace and just wanted to get into fights with powerful people, she guessed the only reason Verita would allow him to join her crusade is because of his power, which would make him the muscle of the team and nothing else.
Jess walked out of the gaming room as Emynx fell asleep and ventured into the library next.
It was really a small area with only bookshelf and a long table with chairs placed around it so anyone who wanted to get some peace and quiet would come here and read to pass the time.
Jess saw Lea-Maria sitting behind the table, her elbows placed on the table reading some literature before she turned her head to Jess, greeting her with a kind smile before going back to her book.
Jess walked towards the bookshelf, looking around. Most of these books appeared to be from Verita's dimension, with only a few books that were about the history of these other Universes, which would probably contain useful information about the location of the cores Verita is looking for.
She picked up a book which contained the history of Universe 9's Earth.
Jess sat next to Lea-Maria as she opened the book, reading it to pass the time really.
According to the books, the elements of this Universe belonged to someone called Providentia's, who's Other, Hemera, is guarding her crest in a cave and place is divided in four major locations. The place the Omnipotents were stationed at was the City of Providence, who became heroes after saving the world from a giant moon with a face on it, which reminded her of some video game she played once. Others are common to this Universe and there are plenty of crystals in that place, some that don't necessarily summon the others.
"Our Universe's history is very intriguing to you, I see." Lea-Maria commented, not looking up from her book.
Jess gave her an odd look as she din't say anything.
"...I never really knew that there is a giant Multiverse outside the Universe I live...the fact that there are 11 other worlds makes me wonder just how different they are from the one I came from." Jess said.
"Majority of the Earth's are mostly the same, each having their own Omnipotents. They differ from each other but also have their own share of flaws that need to be corrected." Lea-Maria said.
"...I guess so." Jess said.
Lea-Maria closed her book and got up as she walked to the bookshelf, placing the book she was reading back to where it was.
"...That is why we are here, to correct these flaws and make these worlds better. But you don't have to be afraid about what Verita has to do to keep your world from being destroyed by Jashin, she knows what she is doing. If you accept her help, then you will understand the benefits of our work. It could help your sister too in the long run." Lea-Maria said, not turning to Jess before she took her leave.
The Omnipotent's words pierced through Jess's mind like an arrow. Maybe what she was saying was correct and she shouldn’t be afraid of this. Maybe removing the negative emotions will make the Others disappear and Red Moon will stop from what they are doing. Although, it would be wrong to decide without her sister's input, to see what she thinks.
Jess walked out of the library and went out of the hallway, going back to the floor where the sleeping rooms were at.
She entered the bedroom she and Shannon were sharing, hoping to see Eliza back on her feet.
Eliza was still lying still in the couch, with Liern and Shannon standing in front of her, discussing with each other.
"...She is not awake is she?" Jess asked.
The two turned to Jess, shaking their heads off.
"She's been sleeping for a nearly a day now. I'm not sure what we can do to help her wake up." Shannon said.
"I was thinking about summoning her Other out, the demon could jump into it and leave Eliza's body entirely then we could eradicate...but I don't think that would work." Liern said.
Jess walked up to Eliza, placing her hand on her left hand.
"...Sis...please wake up." Jess said.
Jess felt something as she touched Eliza's hand, like something was on her palm. She removed her hand, seeing the symbol red sun surrounded by a circle with red diamonds surrounding the sun embedded on her palm.
Jess looked at the symbol oddly, as she never saw that on her palm, then again she never bothered to check her palms throughout these years. Where did she get that symbol?
"...W-what is this?" Jess asked.
Shannon and Liern walked closer to look at what Jess was seeing. Judging by their looks, they had no idea what they were looking at either.
Jess turned to the two.
"Do you know what this it?" Jess asked.
"...I never saw that symbol before." Shannon said.
"Me neither. For long how did she have that symbol?" Liern asked.
"I don't know, I never saw it till now and Eliza never mentioned this to me." Jess said.
"...It doesn't look like Red Moon's symbol." Shannon commented.
"Whoever gave her this symbol must of been from another world, it was probably yet another demon." Liern guessed.
Jess frowned as she placed Eliza's hand down.
"...Sis, with who did you get yourself involved with? Why din't you tell me?" Jess asked, she sounded broken by just hearing her voice.
"...Are you alright?" Shannon asked.
Jess placed her hand on her face.
"...I tried to protect her from all this horror for all these years, and instead I failed her every single time, instead of having a happy childhood like any normal kid, instead she went through hell because I dragged her to every bad place with me, and now, she has a monster stuck in her head and probably dealt with some other monster without telling me about it. I...I'm not a good sister, I'm a failure." Jess said.
Shannon and Liern looked a little worried as Shannon walked up to Jess, placing her hand on her shoulder
"You can't blame yourself for your sister's decisions." Shannon said.
"...I wish I could believe that." Jess said, wiping tears out of her eyes.
"...Maybe you should see Verita. She will help you get rid of your pain." Shannon said.
Jess looked at the ceiling.
"...Where is Verita now?" Jess asked.
"She should be in the meeting room. I'll take you to her." Shannon said.
Jess looked at Eliza and nodded as the three walked out of the room.
They made their way to the meeting room, where Verita was discussing with Lea-Maria.
"Are you ready to go there and talk to them?" Lea-Maria asked.
"Yes. Jebediah needs to know that he can't simply do whatever he wishes." Verita said.
Verita then became aware of Jess, Shannon and Liern's presence.
"Oh, hello." Verita said.
"You said you can remove the negative emotions right?...Will you be able to...remove mine with your power?" Jess asked.
Verita looked at Jess a bit longer before she turned back to Lea-Maria.
"...Take Leonard with you and head over to the Red Moon's headquarters. Contact me if things go downhill on Earth." Verita said.
Lea-Maria nodded before leaving the room.
Verita walked over to Jess.
"Have you made up your mind yet?" Verita asked.
"...If what you and what everyone else was saying was true...then yeah...but...what will happen if I let you do this? What will become of me? Will I be a different person?" Jess asked.
"Your memories and your personality will remain the same, you just won't feel tormented by your sadness and guiltiness about your sister's condition. Those nasty thoughts plaguing your mind will be gone, I will take that heavy toll off your heart." Verita said.
Jess still seemed unsure as she placed her hand on her chest.
"...What you say might be true...but is this even gonna work? We are talking about removing some of my own feelings out of my body, it's like cutting a part of myself and throwing it away in the trash...I want to do this but I'm just scared!" Jess said.
Verita sighed in response.
"...Perhaps you need a example if it will help you make up your mind. Just wait here." Verita said, leaving the room a bit.
Eventually, she returned with Nike.
"Why do you want me to teleport you all the way back to your planet?" Nike asked.
"I want to help Jess by letting her know that she has nothing to fear if I show her how Earth currently is back in my Universe." Verita said.
Nike nodded as he, Verita and Jess were suddenly gone.
They reappeared on top of a castle, they were somewhere else entirely.
"...Where are we?" Jess asked, looking confused.
"We are on my Earth. In Universe 9." Verita said.
Jess looked up the sky and the sun was somehow shining even more brighter than in her Universe, that much she can tell.
Verita walked to the edge of the top, looking at the distance.
Jess walked next to her and she couldn't believe her.
She saw a town that had crystal like buildings, grassy fields were covered with beautiful flowers and could spot some kids playing without a care in the world, she could see some fireworks coming from that town, a crowd of people gathered around and they were having a good time. She is only seeing a small portion but she can tell that this world that was alien to her is different from her Universe in many ways than one.
"When we began our work, we first started with our planet, we sealed our core and look at the results. The people we protect are now happy, crime is down, children are playing and their parents are treating them well, no one is getting into fights, no one is sad, no wars or conflicts with meaningless deaths. This is how every world should be." Verita said.
"...This place...is beautiful...it feels surreal." Jess said, now that she got to see the achievement of Verita's goal, she din't feel that scared anymore.
Verita turned around, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"I apologize for not coming to your Universe sooner, Jess. If I did, Reed wouldn't of been killed by his Other, Erica wouldn't of drowned herself in her own grief and desperation for attachment, Red Moon wouldn't of gotten so far and your sister wouldn't have a demon's spirit inside her. But now that can change, you can help us defeat Red Moon and erase the Others from your Earth by getting to the core. We can fix what has been broken." Verita smiled.
Jess looked at the ground, she was now more than convinced that this had to be done. By the time Eliza will wake up, she will see a better Jess who won't be as foolish as before.
"...Okay, I'm convinced now. I will help you." Jess said.
Verita looked at Nike who nodded as the three teleported and were back in the meeting room.
"Are you ready for this?" Verita asked.
Jess nodded.
Verita placed both her hands on Jess's chest.
"I promise it will not hurt. Now stay still as I unchain you from these dreadful feelings." Verita said.
Verita began to glow white before Jess began to glow with Verita's color at the same time.
Jess was suddenly feeling...warmer, all her worries, guilt and shame was taken off her chest, it's like she was taking a warm shower, the best one yet.
"...This...feels..." Jess commented.
-----
At the military facility from Newrum State City.
Jebediah and 12 major members from Red Moon gathered in the meeting room, with him sitting at the end of the table.
Six each were sitting on each side of the table.
On the right side from left to right was Daniel, Alexia, Jehovah(half of his was still green as a side effect from Emynx's nuclear explosion but his disfigured features were atleast sewed up), a woman with bronze skin, brown fauxhawk wearing camouflage clothes and a cap(Clarinda Eaton, a member of the military who is a major player against the Others), the blonde middle aged woman from Jebediah's party(Martha Sitz, in charge of the Red Moon church from Wallshore) and Benedict.
On the left side from left to right was Joseph, a small stocky man with grizzly features with long brown hair tucked into his scarf, wearing a Ushanka hat and a white coat(Gideon Isaev, in charge of the Wallshore Patrol), Mary, Abraham, Rebecca and Ezekiel.
Ezekiel looked over at Jehovah.
"Dayum, Jeh, your face is fucked up." Ezekiel laughed.
Jehovah glanced at Ezekiel with a ominous stare.
"Ezekiel, not now." Mary sighed.
"Thank you all for coming. As you may all know, the situation took a turn for the worse if you each of you read the reports and this can't be ignored anymore. The extermination of the demonic population from Rachdale was a success, all except for one part of Sicrum that jumped ship into one of the Summers girls we were chasing and have been taken who knows where by Arashi Kuro and some weird friend of his from another dimension all thanks to two people who weren't able to stop them for some reason." Jebediah said.
Daniel just brushed his hand through his hair while Jehovah's glare remained.
"Not only is Jessica's sister because of that gun of her's, but with a piece of Sicrum inside her body, making her even more dangerous than before and with the possibility of some interdimensional group getting involved, I am afraid things are becoming problematic for us with each passing day." Jebediah sighed.
"Don't worry, Jebediah, we will come out of this situation victorious, Jashin is on our side after all." Martha smiled while Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"And the problem doesn't end there. This...crew that is associated with a person called Locrian has been giving us a headache by doing protests in front of our churches in each city and have quite a lot of dirt on us. I've tried to suppress all these rumors but they just keep climbing back up." Jebediah said.
"How can these obnoxious freaks know so much about us?" Joseph asked.
"...I believe there may be a traitor in our circle of trust, leaking information to our enemies." Jebediah said.
Some of the members looked shocked by what their leader said while a few din't change their expression.
"A traitor?" Rebecca asked.
"Who would have the gal to betray us?" Martha asked.
"Ready to confess to your sins, Harbercorns?" Mary asked, giving Daniel and Alexia judgmental looks.
Alexia just stared at Mary, offended.
"Excuse me? I have no idea what you are talking about, if anything you are the suspicious one, Mary. When Simeon and Keiko were dealing with those girls, you were strangely absent. Care to explain?" Alexia asked.
"For your information, I was attending to my own church, and you were the one who assured us that your workers would solve our problem and so I had no reason to get involved. Plus, I've been with this group for a longer time than you were, I would never betray my organization, right Jebediah?" Mary asked.
Jebediah sighed.
"Indeed, Mary has no reason to really betray us especially after giving her everything she wanted." Jebediah said.
Mary grinned at Alexia, sticking her tongue at her while the Harbercorn woman just stared, unamused.
"Do you have any clue on who the traitor could be?" Clarinda asked.
"Not yet, but I will start an investigation to check on each member, including the rest of you just to be sure." Jebediah said.
"So, all we need to do is flush the traitor out and then what?" Abraham asked.
"Foolish treachery is paid. Payment is execution." Gideon said.
"Correct. If we are gonna fight a group from another dimension, we'll need more powerful weapons. Benedict, how is progress on the new weapons?" Jebediah asked.
"The new models are still in the testing phase but the soldiers will be able to use them in combat soon enough." Benedict said.
"Excellent." Jebediah said.
The door suddenly opened and everyone turned their heads around.
Leonard and Lea-Maria walked in.
"Greetings." Lea-Maria said.
"...Oh my, you never told us you have a twin brother, Jebediah." Alexia said, placing a hand on her chest.
Jebediah stared intently at the two.
"...And you two might be? And how did you get past security?" Jebediah asked.
"It's not hard to guess after meeting both Emynx and Arashi. My name is Lea-Maria and this man with me is Leonard, we are Omnipotents from Universe 9." Lea-Maria said.
"And what are you two doing in our Universe, exactly?" Daniel asked, glaring at the two with his eyes the moment they came in.
"We want you to stop from damaging this world, it's broken enough as it is." Lea-Maria said.
There was a grate on the ceiling and a pair of yellow eyes could be seen peering through the grate.
-------------
Eliza's eyes opened, experiencing the worst headache she ever had since first grade, all she could see was white.
"...Ugh...my head..." Eliza said, placing one hand on her head.
Eliza slowly rose her head up and looked around, finding herself in a couch in a white empty bedroom.
"...Where the heck am I now?" Eliza asked.
And then she remembered what happened, she accepted the demon's power and used it against the Red Moon soldiers who were about to shoot her and Jess, then Jehovah neutralized her and passed out.
"...That guy somehow managed to knock me out...ugh, my head really hurts...ah, Jess!" Eliza said.
Eliza noticed her sister's absence in this room before she sat up.
"I have to find her!" Eliza said.
Eliza could suddenly the aura of the people who were inside this place, some of their aura's felt really powerful, with only one person who had a very powerful Aura, she could feel Jess's aura...but it was different, for some reason.
The door opened and Shannon walked in.
"Ah, you're awake." Shannon said.
Eliza turned towards her, raising an eyebrow.
"Who are you?" Eliza asked.
"I'm Shannon. Your sister placed here while you were unconscious after being possessed by that demon." Shannon said.
"...I wasn't really possessed...I was in control, I just used the demon's power to...wait, where are we?" Eliza asked.
"We are in Verita's space ship, we arrived here in your Universe's to find the Earth's core and seal off the Evil poisoning your world." Shannon said.
Eliza just looked confused.
"...A space ship? And who is 'Verita'?" Eliza asked.
"Verita is a guardian, she saved you from getting captured by Red Moon. They won't find you and Jess in this ship." Shannon said.
"...Where is Jess?" Eliza asked.
"Your sister was blaming herself for not being able to prevent you from being possessed by that demon, she went to Verita to remove her negative emotions out of her." Shannon said.
Eliza's eyes lit up as she took a step back.
"...R-remove her emotions? What do you mean by that?" Eliza asked.
"We are not hurting her if that's what you are thinking. I can take you to your sister to see her for yourself." Shannon said.
"...That would be great." Eliza said.
Shannon walked out of the room and Eliza followed her. Clearly she did not trust that girl but she wanted to find her sister and see if she is okay.
Eliza and Shannon arrived at the top floor, walking in the hallway.
Verita, Arashi and Lake were standing in front of Jess who had her back turned.
"Sis!" Eliza yelled, running towards her sister.
Jess turned, a smile appeared on her face.
"Eliza, you woke up." Jess said as Eliza ran into her arms, giving her a hug.
"Oh, Jess, I'm glad you're okay!...I'm sorry about what I did back there, I was just so mad, I'm sorry, I promise I won't do it again!" Eliza said.
"Eliza, it's okay. I'm not worried about it anymore." Jess smiled.
Eliza's happiness turned confusion as she broke away from her sister.
"...You are not worried?" Eliza asked.
"I was frightened at first, but now I realize that you did what you had to in order to protect us. It's all good." Jess said.
"...It's all good...Jess, are you okay?" Eliza asked, she felt something different about Jess.
"I feel just fine, I don't have any reasons to be worried anymore. My depression...it's all gone. And it's all thanks to Verita." Jess smiled.
Eliza looked concern before she turned to Verita.
"...You're Verita?" Eliza asked.
"That's correct. It's a relief to see that you are awake, now we can try to find a way to get Sicrum out of your body." Verita said.
"...What did you do to my sister?" Eliza asked.
"Your sister was being tormented by the guilt and sorrow generated by her belief that she failed you in some way and I removed those feelings out of her. You and Jess won't have to be worried about anything anymore, we will deal with Red Moon and reestablish order on your planet." Verita smiled.
"She is right, Liz. Now that Verita is here, we are finally safe and no one will have to suffer anymore. Soon, the Others will disappear and we can go back to Erinfort like you wanted to a few years ago. We can be happy again." Jess smiled.
Eliza couldn't believe what she was hearing right now, her sister's aura felt hollow.
"...Sis, please stop it...you're weirding me out, this isn't like you!" Eliza said.
"What are you talking about? I'm just happy that you finally woke up, what's the problem?" Jess asked.
Eliza glared right at Verita.
"...You brainwashed her." Eliza said.
"I did not do such thing. Your sister came to me and asked me to release her from her pain, and I obliged. But she is not the only one, many people on your planet are suffering at the hands of Red Moon who are influenced by their radical emotions, when I put the seal on the core, those emotions will be gone, the Others will be eradicated and no one will have to die anymore at the hands of that group or the Others, I can't understand why you are against this. Isn't this the hope you were looking for?" Verita asked.
Eliza walked towards Verita and stood in front of her.
"...No! This isn't what I want! This isn't how I want my sister to be!" Eliza said.
"Aren't you the one who was getting tired of getting into arguments with your sister? Now that we cured her of her depression, you and she will have a common ground. What's your problem?" Lake asked, folding her arms.
"The problem is that you turned my sister into a smiling hollow robot without my own consent! Sure, she can be grumpy and sad, and we get into fights sometimes but that's perfectly normal! Then we patch things up and move on, that's part of being human! You can't just rip away those emotions from someone and throw them away like they were garbage! I don't know who gave you this bright idea to do this but no one gave you the right to come here and force us to be deprived of our feelings because you say so!" Eliza yelled.
"Hey, we are doing you and your planet a favor, don't shout at us." Lake said, glaring at Eliza.
"...I think you are misunderstanding our intentions here. It's clear that demon inside your head isn't making you think straight and you are jumping to conclusions, we aren't turning anyone into robots, we are just removing the emotions that cause anger, sadness and hatred, if I left your sister be, she likely would of taken her own life if I ignored her suffering." Verita said.
"You don't know that! My sister is stronger than you think, she would never do that!" Eliza said.
"Are you certain about that? From what I understand, you are the only person Jess has left now, if you happened to die in a accident or murdered by someone, that would of been her breaking point. What I'm doing is better than the alternative, in which I leave and Red Moon engage in their meaningless war that will result in many casualties if I decide to go back to my Universe and ignore this." Verita said.
"No one even asked you to help us! We can handle our own problems without you meddling in our affairs!" Eliza yelled, her eyes turned pink.
Eliza walked towards Jess, grabbing her by her arms.
"Sis, snap out of this! Be angry, shout at me or something!" Eliza said.
"Why would I yell at my own sister? That would be just mean, you're overreacting Eliza. As I told you, I'm perfectly fine now." Jess smiled.
"No, you aren't! And I'm gonna show you!" Eliza said.
Verita went up to Eliza, grabbing her by her shoulder rather forcefully.
"...I think you need a time out and go back to your room because you aren't thinking straight." Verita said, her tone and her attitude was suddenly different.
Eliza grabbed Verita by her hand.
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Eliza roared, throwing Verita aside, smashing her into the wall.
Shannon let out a small gasp.
"Hey!" Lake said as she rushed over to Verita and help her get up.
Arashi pulled his swords out, ready to fight.
Eliza placed her hand on her sister's chest and closed her eyes.
Eliza reopened her eyes and found herself in the ruined neighborhood from Erinfort and everything was grey except for her, with police tape covering the area.
She felt her sister's aura in their old house as she turned around, seeing the entire house covered in chains.
Eliza walked towards the house, only to see the door blocked with chains. She went right into the door, phasing through it was and was inside the house.
Everything inside the house looked to be in a good condition as she saw Jess in front of the pool in the backyard.
Eliza walked towards the glass door and opened it.
"Jess." Eliza said, walking towards her.
Jess, who was completely grey like the entire area, stared at the sun, entirely wrapped in chains as Eliza grabbed her by her shoulders.
"Sis, you need to wake up!" Eliza said.
"...Everything is so broken now...what's even the point of waking up, when all I can do is just disappoint the people around me...even my own sister. Maybe she'll like the new me better than the old one, who did nothing but cause her pain." Jess said, she sounded miserable.
Eliza stood in front of Jess.
"That's not true, sis! You did nothing! You need to free yourself of these chains, Verita is crazy and turned you into a hollow shell! You can't let her control you!" Eliza said.
Jess looked at Eliza, her frown remained.
"...I'm not a good sister, am I? I spent all these years wallowing in my own pity, you suffered because I dragged you to every bad place, you have a demon inside your body, it's my fault you are caught in this situation. I failed you." Jess said.
"It's not your fault, sis, I was the one who took the bullet for you, I din't want that thing to take control of you again! You din't fail me at all." Eliza said.
"But I said all sorts of bad things to you when I got mad, now without my negative feelings holding me back, I won't have to yell at you ever again. I won't make you feel bad anymore...I won't feel bad anymore either." Jess said.
"I'm okay with how you are right now, sure it hurts when you said some things but...I got over that, I want you to be yourself sis, I don't want you to be a smiling robot who just nods her head and laughs, I want you to be a normal human being with feelings." Eliza said.
The chains surrounding the Sun started to shake a little.
"...But if I go back to how I used to be...the pain will come back, if we let Verita do her thing, no one will have to suffer anymore, all of our problems will be over at last." Jess said.
"And in exchange for getting peace, we won't be ourselves anymore, no one will be the same again, all of us will be hollow, that's not what I want, I don't want Verita do to this. We have to leave and go back to Earth." Eliza said.
"Why? So we can go back to being hunted by monsters and insane people? Go to every city and then leave it when trouble comes? Repeat the same song and dance over and over again? We have no chances of winning against Red Moon, it's hopeless." Jess said.
"It's not pointless. We can be able to win against them and survive the odds." Eliza said.
"How?" Jess simply asked.
"...By being together." Eliza said, holding Jess's hands.
"...T-Together?" Jess asked.
"If the two of us are always together, nothing can stop us. When I'm next to you I feel invincible, like nothing can stop me and I'm sure you feel the same way. If we are united, nothing can beat us, not Jashin, Verita, the Others or anyone else. You are strong, Jess and together, we can be even more stronger than before." Eliza said.
"...Stronger...than before..." Jess said, with disbelief in her tone, like she somehow forgot about this.
Erinfort was suddenly regaining some of it's color back and the grey was slowly fading away.
"Sis, if you ever feel blue, you can always come to me to help make you feel better, you know that right? I won't let anything get between us ever again. You can cry on my shoulder and let it all out, not like this, throwing away your sadness is not the right call, your getting rid of something that's part of you." Eliza smiled, placing her finger on Jess's chest.
"...E-Eliza..." Jess said, her eyes were tearing up.
The chains spread all over the house snapped.
"...You're right...how could I have been so blind? I really shouldn't of done this." Jess said.
Eliza just grabbed Jess, pulling her into a hug.
"...Now, let's get out of here and go back to where we belong." Eliza smiled.
"...Yeah...let's go." Jess smiled, placing her hands around Eliza.
The chains that trapped the Sun faded away and everything was now bright again.
Eliza opened her eyes and backed away from Jess who let out a gasp, Shannon's expression din't change.
"...She broke the seal." Lake muttered.
Verita was now up and looked intently at Eliza, the color of her eyes changed.
"...What have you done?" Verita asked.
Eliza turned to Verita.
"I'm taking my sister out of here and you can't stop us!" Eliza said.
"...And then what? You'll go back to Earth, Red Moon will hunt you down and you will get killed, and for what? As long as that demon is inside you, you are a target to them." Verita said.
"Let me worry about that and bud out of our business. Go back to your world and leave us alone." Eliza said.
"...We aren't going anywhere." Verita said.
At that moment, Arashi got right behind Eliza, wrapping his arm around her neck, he wasn't trying to kill her, he was restraining.
"We're gonna deal with Sicrum now before you will even try to ruin everything." Verita said, as she started going towards Eliza.
Eliza's just elbowed Arashi in the stomach and pushed him off her as her right arm was covered in pink aura and it grew, her nails turned into claws as she was ready to defend herself while Shannon stepped away from her.
Lake opened her hands and the hallway was covered in fog, making it hard for Eliza to see anything and giving Arashi advantage.
Fortunately, Eliza could sense everyone's aura as she felt Arashi heading towards with his swords, he was about to stab her.
Eliza dodged out of the way before she pulled her gun, shooting at Arashi's shoulder.
Arashi blocked the bullets before he stabbed the ground and black flames bursted beneath the floor Eliza was standing and launched herself in the air, getting a bit of fire on her shoulder but she din't appear to be in pain as she landed down, smacking Arashi away with her large aura fist.
Jess turned to Shannon.
"Shannon, tell him to stop before Eliza hurts him or he hurts her!" Jess said.
"...I can't. And she provoked us." Shannon said.
Arashi lunged at Eliza, placing his feet around her neck and knocked her on the floor, holding her down.
Eliza was slowly losing consciousness before she pressed her gun against Arashi's leg, shooting a bullet before shooting his other leg.
Arashi gritted his teeth but despite the pain, he din't let go of her.
Eliza shot more bullets in his legs and his hold on her weakened before Eliza grabbed him by his leg with aura arm and her arm started spinning before tossing him into the fog.
A few Lake clones peered out of the fog, shooting fog bullets at Eliza who deflected them with her arm before she launched her arm at them, splitting the clones in half who exploded into more fog.
Suddenly, two dark fire rings flew towards Eliza, when the rings hit her, the flames burst out and wrapped themselves around her body like chains.
Arashi stepped out of the fog, with his swords pointed at Eliza.
"It's useless to resist, you won't be able to break free. We're destroying that monstrosity hiding in your body, one way or another." Arashi said.
The dark flames tightened around Eliza's body, causing her to scream.
"Verita, get him to stop, please!" Jess called out to Verita.
Verita said nothing, Jess's pleas din't affect her at all.
Eliza grit her sharp teeth as her body was now covered in aura and broke free from Arashi's flames.
Arashi's expression showed confusion as Eliza dashed right behind him, grabbing him by his arms and placed her foot on her back, forcing him to drop his blades.
"I wonder how tough you will be with those swords when you won't have any arms to use them!" Eliza yelled, as she proceeded to pull his arms back with force.
Arashi let out a scream and fell on his knees.
"ENOUGH!" Verita announced.
A beam struck through the fog, hitting Eliza and she was suddenly frozen. Arashi broke free out of her grasp and landed on the ground, holding onto both of his arms.
The fog cleared away and Verita was seen with a winged circle floating above her, she din't look pleased as she began approaching the frozen Eliza.
Jess run towards Verita and stopped in front of her.
"Don't go near her!" Jess said.
"That girl nearly ripped Arashi's arms off, she is a threat not only to us but to you aswell. I'm not gonna hold myself back because she is your sister." Verita said.
"So, what, are you gonna kill her? I'm not gonna tell you that what Eliza was doing was right, but I won't let anyone harm her, not even you. I thank you for trying to help me, but now I realize that I don't need my emotions removed out of me to get rid of my pain. My sister will be there for me and I will be there for her. So, please, just let us go back to Earth instead of making things worse." Jess said.
Lake and Shannon ran over to Arashi to check up on him while Verita stared at Jess and then Eliza before she turned around and folded her arms, she was silent.
Jess tried to take a peek into her mind.
"We should probably just let them go." A female voice said.
"What, after what she did? Besides, if we let them go, Jashin and his assholes will kill them." A secondary female voice disagreed.
"Not if we can stop them. Eliza could end up breaking everyone else's seals and Sicrum could try to escape into either one of us." The first voice said.
"Which is why we need to destroy that thing now, put a seal on Jess again and then her sister, then we focus on Red Moon." The second voice said.
"You know, Eliza having Sicrum around could effectively fuck up Red moon's plan, with how powerful she is, could help give us an edge. Just saying." A third voice said.
Jess tilted her head as she heard those voices.
"...Is Verita talking to herself? What the hell is going on in her mind?" Jess thought to herself.
The freezing effect on Eliza wore off and she was able to feel her body again as her eyes were back to normal and the aura around her vanished.
Verita sighed before she looked back at Jess and Eliza, looking unhappy.
"...Okay, you two can go back to Earth, it's really unfortunate and I genuinely wanted to help you two, but if that's what you want, fine. But, know this: your sister's opinion does not reflect the rest of the world, everyone is suffering and we need to be here to stop this chaos before it escalates further. Soon you will understand that what we have to do is for the best, do not paint me as the villain because I don't want anyone else to die just to retain some emotions that are leading you down the wrong path." Verita said.
Eliza just folded her arms and stared at Verita.
"Shannon, take Jess and Eliza to Newfort. I'll attend to Arashi." Verita said.
Shannon raised her head and nodded as she left Arashi and looked at the Summers a bit before she turned her expression away with her eyes closed.
"...Let's go." Shannon said, as she walked down the hallway and the sisters followed.
Verita walked up to Arashi and placed her hands on him, starting to heal him, her unhappy look din't change while Lake continued to glare at Eliza as she left.
-----
Back in Red Moon's meeting room, Lea-Maria and Leonard were still there.
"While I can give you points for you handled the Others, how you handled everything was poorly done. Mishinaka is in a worst state than it was before when you put that man in charge of it even though all you clearly know how mentally defective he really is." Lea-Maria said, gesturing at Ezekiel.
Ezekiel sat up.
"The fuck you saying, bitch!?" Ezekiel asked.
Lea-Maria cast her eyes on him and he sat back down, much to Abraham and Rebecca's confusion.
"And further more, your choices for allies is questionable, especially when you have that man, who shouldn't even be here, sitting at your table." Lea-Maria said, looking at Benedict.
"You know, I do not like your tone." Alexia said.
"And I wasn't speaking to you." Lea-Maria said.
"If your organization means well as you say, then how come poor Jehovah ended up in the hospital yesterday after your man caught him in that nuclear explosion?" Martha asked.
"Jehovah was trying to kill Eliza and both Arashi and Emynx stepped in to save them, Jehovah was the instigator there." Leonard said.
Jebediah had his palms placed together before he opened his eyes and sat up.
"I think I heard enough. Your intentions sound well, but here is the problem:I do not condone the actions of strangers from some dimension who come here and think they can have their way like some other person did many years ago who ruined my town and declare me to be the evil one, especially when I can sense that you are trying to manipulate the people of this room against me. You can tell this Verita woman that I have everything under control and she can go back to whatever Universe she came from." Jebediah said.
Jebediah sat back down, placing his hands together again.
"If you don't have anything else to say, I suggest you leave now, you have taken enough of my time." Jebediah said.
Lea-Maria and Leonard just looked at each other before looking at Jebediah.
"...I figured as much." Lea-Maria said before she and her accomplice left, but had a satisfied smile on her face.
"Tch, what a disrespectful woman." Alexia scowled.
"It appears the brains behind this operation is that guardian woman called Verita, she is probably not gonna leave us be after what her allies said." Daniel said.
"What do we now, Jebediah?" Joseph asked.
"...We need to tighten our security and keep a close eye when Verita's group will make their next move. I suggest each of you be on your guard and contact me if any of her friends appear again, we can't let this woman get her way and find this core those people were talking about." Jebediah said.
The 12 members nodded their heads.
"Meeting adjourned." Jebediah said, getting up.
Inside the grate, a small man with short black hair and yellow eyes watched and giggled to himself before he crawled out of there through the air duct.
-----
In Verita's space ship.
Verita and the members of her crusade, except Shannon, gathered in the meeting room, sitting in their chairs.
"She broke the seal?" Lea-Maria asked, sounding concerned.
"She used the demon's power to get into her sister's heart and vanquished the seal. She was too dangerous to keep around and I had no choice but to send them both back to Earth." Verita said.
"I bet I could of beaten her up, probably would of done a lot better than Arashi." Emynx commented, causing Arashi to glare at his partner.
"Emynx, not now." Leonard said.
"What did Jebediah have to say for himself?" Verita asked.
"Jebediah and Jashin are too far gone to reason with at this point and his followers will follow his command, that much I was able to gather." Lea-Maria said.
"...Hm, it appears we might have to fight them off after all." Verita said.
"Red Moon has gained a lot of members spread across the planet, it would be risky fighting all of them at the same time. A more logical approach would be to ignore them and try to locate the core. Once we seal that off, the Others will vanish and Jashin won't have any reasons to fight the demons if his anger will vanish." Lea-Maria suggested.
"Yeah, that definitely seems like a good idea." Lyle said, looking at his cue card.
"Plus, we can try to turn their allies against them and decrease their number of supporters so we won't have too many people to fight and help us find the core much quicker this way." Lake said.
"It might take awhile, but this is the best approach without getting any innocents caught in this mess." Leonard said.
Shihk nodded.
Verita looked thoughtful before she let out a sigh.
"...Very well, we can try to prevent Red Moon from getting more allies and try to locate the core but I doubt Jashin and Jebediah will stand aside and ignore us. We should be prepared to face his followers who will get in our way." Verita said.
"I could just go up to those guys and finish them myself." Emynx said.
"No, I don't want you to accidently detonate in the middle of a city if Jashin pushes you too hard. I will not risk that." Verita said.
"Aw, fine." Emynx sighed.
"...Those girls don't even know what they are doing." Liern muttered.
-----
n Newrum, in the middle of the night.
The small man with black hair and yellow eyes arrived at a bourgeois building that belonged to the Edelwood family and was in a large room with a stage in the middle.
Amila and Meredith were there, aswell as a man with green eyes, Tan skin, wearing a white shirt and numerous bracelets. donning a tattoo of a dragon rising from flames, with black hair with two blue floofs sticking out and various blue and white highlights, next to him was the black-skinned lady with pink hair and glasses who protested in Strathmore in front of Joseph's church and a guy with brown hair wearing a white cloak with musical patterns and notes on it sitting on the stage with his hands in his pockets.
"Verita's allies showed up at their building?" Meredith asked.
"Yup, two of them were Omnipotents, one of Order and one of Mentality. Both of them were basically critiquing Jebediah and his guys before he told them to leave." The small guy with yellow eyes said.
"Hm, with Verita including herself in the mix, this could become problematic. Besides Arashi, other members of her group are Omnipotents and she is a guardian." Amila said.
"Hey, can't you contact the Omnipotents you were with? Or the ones who are still around?" Meredith asked the brown-haired person.
"I got separated from Glexlam, Ceygas and Garflec when Jehovah, Gideon and those other guys showed up. I don't know where they could be and I don't have any of their phone numbers either, and I can't exactly call any of the guys I was with during Aeon's tournament." The brown-haired guy commented.
"That's just great." Meredith sighed.
"However, those two girls, Jess and Eliza Summers, they were mentioned in that news segment about the Rachdale massacre, and Eliza has the power of that demon who split himself into many people and they were taken by Verita's men. Assuming they escape, they could be of some vital help to us." Amila said.
"Or they could be a hindrance. If Eliza can't control the demon inside her, she could easily turn against us and get all us infected, with someone like her here she can be a major threat." Meredith said.
"It sounds more like to me that you are afraid of her being a threat to you personally." The pink-haired lady said.
Meredith gave her a stern glare.
"Bonita, don't put more wood into the fire, let's all be friends and try to work together to put an end to this fighting before things come to blows if Red Moon and Verita clash against each other." The guy next to Bonita said.
"What about your informant? Can they give us more information about Jashin's weakness?" Amila asked the small guy.
"The person I'm communicating with told me Jashin is weak to demon magic, they said they're gonna give us weapons powerful enough to take him down, but that will take some time because Jebediah just found out he has a mole in his organization and will investigate his guys to make sure they are clean." The small guy shrugged.
"Alright. Right now, we shouldn't act just yet, we need to stay under the radar till the time is right and keep an eye on both Red Moon and Verita's crusade, make a list of their members, know their strengths and weaknesses and form a strategy on how we can beat them." Amila said.
"Agreed." Meredith nodded.
"We have quite a lot of work on our hands." Bonita said, adjusting her glasses.
-----
A pillar of light appeared and Jess, Eliza and Shannon were in the woods, right close to Newfort actually.
"...This was the only place I could think of where you two could stay and hide from Red Moon." Shannon sighed.
Jess turned to Shannon.
"I'm sorry for what happened back there and I appreciate for helping us, but I know now that we can take care of ourselves, Verita doesn't need to do this." Jess said.
"...There are many people on Earth who are suffering, they need our help, Verita will not simply ignore this. My Earth is better now thanks to her and she can do the same for your's." Shannon said.
"It's not her call to make." Eliza said.
"...Take good care of yourselves." Shannon said, before a pillar of light appeared to take her away.
"...I don't think anything we would of said would of changed her mind." Jess sighed.
"...We should probably find a new place to hunker down, away from Red Moon's eyes." Eliza said.
"...Before that...I need to ask you a question and I want you to answer." Jess said.
"Uh, sure, sis." Eliza said, sounding worried, hoping she isn't referring to what she thinks she is referring to.
Jess turned around, grabbing Eliza's hand and showing her the symbol.
"What's with that symbol? Who gave it to you?" Jess asked.
Eliza began sweating, looking nervous.
"...Uh...I had this for a long time...it's not a symbol, I got burned when I tried to make the bonfire at camp, you remember that right?" Eliza asked.
"This image looks pretty unique to be a burn mark. Eliza, please, tell me what this is. I promise I won't yell at you, I just want to know where did you get it." Jess said.
Eliza's lips trembled before she sighed, it was pointless to hide it now.
"...It's...a long story...and I'm not sure if you are ready to hear this." Eliza said.
"Don't worry, I can handle it. Now tell me from start to finish." Jess said.
Eliza began telling Jess that after they escaped from Erinfort and crashed their car into that Other, Jess perished and Eliza found herself in a strange room where the pale man with pointy ears calling himself Mephisto gave her an offer to save Jess's life by rewinding time but in exchange, Eliza would have to fulfill some favor of his, she signed the contract, enchanted her gun and gave her the mark as a reminder that he is always watching her. Eliza woke up back in the car and made sure that Jess lived this time.
"...And, that's the gist of it. Pretty surreal, huh?" Eliza asked, sitting on the ground.
Jess had a look of confusion and disbelief mixed together.
"...So...I actually died?" Jess asked, her voice sounded shaky.
"...Yes, you died in front of me...I couldn't let you go and Mephisto said he could help, I had to do it, I wouldn't let you die on me, I din't know what else was there to do. I din't care what would happen next, as long as you lived, that's what mattered to me." Eliza said.
Jess looked at Eliza in the eyes, looking sorrowful before looking at the ground.
"...Looks like you are caught yet in another mess thanks to me." Jess said.
"You believe me?" Eliza asked.
"...Honestly, it's too hard for me to believe any of this...but, that mark on your palm is proof enough, and it also explains how your revolver was so ridiculously powerful enough to damage the Others and hurt the Jashinists, it all makes sense now. After everything we've seen and been through, I can believe anything now....but still, you should of told me about this many years ago instead of keeping it as a secret from me." Jess said, shaking her head.
"I din't want to tell you because you already had a lot on your mind and I din't want to add more pressure on you if I told you that you died after we escaped from Erinfort and made a deal with that stranger to save you, I was afraid you would of gotten angry at me and so I just let it well enough alone. I'm sorry, Jess." Eliza sighed.
Jess had every reason to get angry, but she din't really want to, her sister had been though enough as it is and if it wasn't for her, she wouldn't be here at all. Instead, she sat up and walked to her sister, placing her hands on her shoulder.
"...I...understand. If I was in your position, I probably would of done the same thing if you died in front of me, I'm not angry at you sis, I'm just glad you finally told me." Jess said.
"...I'm glad I can finally talk to you about this without hiding my left hand all the time." Eliza said.
"...This 'Mephisto'...can we really trust him to keep his word and not screw us over somehow? And what does he want from you?" Jess asked.
"I don't know, he said he would think about it and tell me what to do so both of us can be even, I hope that he forgot about that...but I'm not sure." Eliza said, looking at the sigil.
"...If he tries to do something to us, we will be ready for him. As you said, as long as we are together, nothing can beat us down, not even this devil. Right, Liz?" Jess asked.
Eliza looked up at Jess, smiling.
"You're right." Eliza said, as she sat up.
"...So, about the demon...was it controlling when you attacked those soldiers and Arashi?" Jess asked.
"...I was in control. The demon and me had an agreement, it stays in my body and allows me to use it's power to protect myself and you, and I won't let it get killed by Red Moon..but it's power made me lose my mind two times now, I need to find a way to control it so I won't go berserk again and accidently hurt you." Eliza said.
"I'm sure we'll find a way to control that. But, now, we have to find a place where no one from Red Moon will find us." Jess said.
Eliza turned to left, spotting a cabin on top of the cliff.
"...I can sense a person inside that cabin. We could ask them." Eliza said.
"Let's hope they'll be friendly." Jess said as they made their way to the cliff.
They walked to the top and reached the cabin, there was a old black classic truck sitting nearby, quite odd considering the year they were in.
"...From what century did this person come from?" Eliza asked.
"Must be a fan of the old classic cars, I guess." Jess said, as she knocked on the door.
A few footsteps were heard as the door opened by a old man, with red eyes, black hair, black moustache, wearing a black coat with a red shirt underneath it and black pants. His eyebrows were raised as he looked at the two girls standing in front of him.
"...Well, this is unexpected." The old gentleman said.
"What is?" Jess asked.
"I din't expect to be visited by two young women who appeared on tv and after chased by the military for instance." The old man said.
"...Welp, if we weren't famous before, we are now." Eliza sighed.
"I don't know what you heard on TV, but we are innocent. I don't expect you to let in a couple of strangers that you don't know about but we don't want to hurt anyone and we need to lay low for awhile, I understand if you won't help us and we'll be on our way." Jess said.
The old man placed his hand on his chin, thinking as he kept his gaze on the Summer's.
"...You two don't appear to be murderous. Well, I don't see any reason to refuse seeing as how I am quite lonely and could use some company." The old man said.
"...Oh...thanks?" Eliza guessed, she din't expect him to accept that quickly.
The old man stepped aside.
"Please, come in. Make yourselves at home." The old man said.
Eliza walked in while Jess looked weirdly at the old man, not sure if she could trust him or not but walked in anyways as the old man closed the door.
The inside looked exactly like a ordinary cabin, there was a table with a chess board on it, a TV, furniture, a couch, a bear rug resting in front of the fireplace, stairs that lead to the upper floor and to right was the kitchen, there was a pot of tea on the stove, and also a piano just sitting near the corner of the room.
"My name is Manuel. It's been for so long since I've had any quests when I moved into this place, the only ones who bother coming here are the mailman and the milkman." Manuel said.
"You're not from around here?" Eliza asked, as she sat on the furniture.
"I'm from a old country far away from here, it's very snowy and I arrived here in Newfort after getting tired of my house being pilled by snow. It's rather small unlike the rest of the world." Manuel said.
Jess was expecting the place to see anything suspicious and saw a picture of Manuel, who looked younger back when, wearing a grey army uniform with medals on his chest with the sigil of a crow on the center of his uniform standing behind a lady with light brown skin and a buzzcut with light brown eyes, wearing a army uniform beneath a long brown overcoat with rolled up sleeves and a red scarf and other soldiers in the background that she could identify were: a young adult wearing a camo jacket over a kevlar turtleneck and a pair of trousers covered with pockets and military boots with a spiky black fringe poking out of his beanie; a tall guy with slicked black hair and matching eyes with a scar along his cheek wearing strange, ancient looking armour with blue lines; a light tanned guy with freckles and cloudy grey eyes holding a rifle, matching long ruffled hair fanning out behind him, with a small tuft poking upwards at the crown of his head and wearing a grey fur cloak wrapped his shoulders; a woman with dark skin, bright neon eyes and white hair in a bob style, wearing a black tank top and a pair of grey jogging shorts without shoes, some bald man wearing a uniform and the rest were mostly some other soldiers wearing similar outfits.
"You used to be a military guy?" Jess asked.
"I was the commander of the army I was in charge of but I retired. It's been an honor for me to serve the country but it's time to let a new generation carry on the fight while old timers like me rest." Manuel said, looking at the photo.
"Hm, I suppose that's true." Jess shrugged.
"Would you two like some tea? You must be tired from your journey." Manuel asked.
"Sure, I'm thirsty." Eliza said.
"Tea would be nice." Jess nodded.
Manuel walked to the kitchen, pouring tea into three cups.
"...He is kinda odd." Jess whispered.
"Eh, old people are weird in general." Eliza shrugged.
"I don't know, something about him just weirds me out. I don't know why." Jess said.
Manuel walked back in, handing Jess and Eliza a cup of tea before he sat down on the couch, holding his cup before he looked at the two.
"Since I've told you two a bit about me, it would be fair if you two told me about yourselves." Manuel said.
"...We have quite a long story. All you need to know is that we ran from our city when the Others appeared and got ourselves involved in a lot of crazy shit that I'm not even sure you'll be able to believe in." Jess said.
"I had my own experiences with weird things so I'm certain I'll be able to believe your story. It is quite a shame to see so much tragedy happening all over the world, if only someone managed to make a difference in this insane world we live in." Manuel sighed, taking a sip from his cup.
"We've been trying to go to place to place but left every time something bad happened. Can you let us stay for awhile till everything calms down out there?" Eliza asked.
"You two can stay here for as long as you want, things had been boring recently and I wouldn't mind having some people to talk to." Manuel said.
"Thank you, it means a lot to us." Eliza smiled.
Jess noticed the piano and looked at with a nostalgic look.
"...You play the piano?" Jess asked Manuel.
"I did, but that was a long ago, I'm not sure why I am still keeping it around here, it's taking too much space." Manuel said.
"My sister used to play the piano before everything went bananas, she was a teacher." Eliza said.
"Really? It must of been a interesting job for you." Manuel said, looking at Jess.
"...I din't make a lot of money, but it was nice teaching other kids...I wish things din't turn out this way." Jess sighed.
"...Hm, do you think you could still play?" Manuel asked.
Jess glanced at Manuel, with a unsure look.
"It's been a long time since I actually touched a piano, I think I probably lost the touch by now." Jess said, brushing her hand through her hair.
"It doesn't hurt to try. Go on." Manuel suggested.
"You can do it, Jess." Eliza said.
Jess looked awkward as she turned to look at the piano and took a deep breath.
"...Let's hope I still know the basics." Jess said.
Jess sat right behind the piano and had her hands over the keys. She slowly pressed her fingers against the piano keys before shifting them to other keys, slowly she began playing the piano, reliving the old days when she played this instrument like a pro.
Eliza smiled as she and Manuel were listening and Jess looked quite happy aswell as the scene slowly zoomed out of the cabin.
-------
The Summers resided in Manuel's cabin for a long awhile as Jebediah sent police officers and army soldiers going to city to city, ever since Verita made her entrance known, security reached to maximum levels to the point where people wouldn't be able to leave their cities, no one comes in or goes out.
For these 5 months and a half, Verita began making her appearances to the public, turning them against Jebediah while the members of her crusade would try to locate the core and remove the emotions of everyone of the entire world but had been thwarted each time by Red Moon. Fights happened but no cities were devastated.
Another person with tanned skin, green eyes and a ridiculous haircut appeared on TV, his name was Locrian who spoke out against Red Moon but wasn't in favor of Verita's group either, he was a third party. People were starting to get scared as tension began to rise, at this point a full fledged battle between the two organizations was unavoidable and everyone had no idea what could happen next.
Eliza and Jess had been practicing their abilities during their stay with Manuel who had quite a lot of knowledge about these things despite being from a poor country encased in snow and Jess learned to use her psychic abilities more effectively while Eliza learned to control the power of the demon without losing control.
Eventually, Autumn was over and Winter finally came.
------
Monday, December 15th 2081, 3:59 PM
Snowflakes were slowly falling from the sky and merged with the large snow that now surrounded the world.
Jess was looking through the window from inside the cabin, wearing a white comfortable sweater as she overlooked the city of Newfort, she could be able to see military trucks with likely a lot of soldiers in the area, who were ordered to keep watch if any of Verita's guys appeared or in case she and Eliza would ever turn up in the public, no one had yet to check on Manuel's cabin.
Eliza, wearing a blue hoodie was playing chess with Manuel as the TV was turned on in the background.
"Checkmate." Manuel said, as he knocked Eliza's queen off the board.
"...I really suck at chess." Eliza sighed.
"It's all about strategy and using the right people to defeat your rival king." Manuel said.
"I kinda wonder what the king and queen from the separate sides of the chessboard are planning right now." Jess said, with her hand placed on her cheek as she kept looking through the window.
"And now, an official announcement from President Jebediah McArthur."
Jess and Eliza turned their heads to the TV, broadcasting Jebediah in front of the white house with two bodyguards standing next to him with a crowd of people standing there.
"It is unfortunate to announce that despite all of our efforts, Verita and her group are not gonna back down and a full out battle between Red Moon and her group seems pretty likely now. Which is why I'm commencing a full evacuation of Newrum State City as I'm very sure that's where Verita will plan to strike and all the citizens will be moved to other cities so they won't get caught in the cross fifre. As for everyone else, if a member of Verita's group or the two girls who are on the run are in your city please contact the police or the military and we will know, these people are not to be messed with, they are very dangerous. But do not worry, Jashin will write their wrongs. This is Jebediah McArthur, and may Jashin help us through this hard time." Jebediah said.
Jebediah walked away while everyone began yelling questions and accusations at him.
"...Oh, man." Eliza sighed.
"It appears a war is about to break out and Newrum State City will be the battlefield." Manuel said.
"...If those two groups clash, it will be a disaster of epic proportions, especially since one of Verita's guys has the power to blow up a continent with that nuclear power of his if left unchecked." Jess said.
Eliza got up.
"We have to get there and stop both Jashin and Verita from fighting each other before they could get everyone killed." Eliza said.
"I doubt we can pull it off by yourselves, it would be two of us against their armies, we wouldn't stand a chance." Jess said.
"There is that Locrian fellow, who's group is against Jashin and Verita. Perhaps you could get in contact with him or someone from his group once you reach Newrum." Manuel suggested.
"Probably, but it's not like we'll be able to leave this place on foot with soldiers and police officers crawling in Newfort, we would get caught." Jess said.
Eliza turned to Manuel.
"Can you be able to help us get to Newrum with your car?" Eliza asked.
"I could, but Newrum is quite far from here, it will take 5 days to get there if we don't take pauses. And that's assuming the city will still be intact if they start their battle." Manuel said.
"But how are you gonna get the car out when the guards won't let anyone get out of the city?" Jess asked.
"I have my own ways of persuasion. I'll start my car, you two should pick up whatever belongings you have and we'll be off." Manuel said, as he walked outside to start the car.
Jess and Eliza looked at each other.
"...Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jess asked.
Eliza nodded.
"Yeah." Eliza said.
Jess puts on a black cardigan while Eliza had her hoodie on as the two walked out of the cabin and got in Manuel's car, with them sitting in the back while Manuel was in the driver seat.
Manuel drove off, going down the cliff and headed into Newfort.
There were two army soldiers standing near the city gate holding their weapons and signaled at Manuel to stop his car.
They walked to his car and knocked his window while Jess and Eliza obscured their faces.
Manuel lowered the window and looked at the soldiers.
"Where are you heading?" The soldier asked.
"Oh, just off to meet up with my family, it's nearly Christmas and I'd hate to miss my grandchildren opening their presents." Manuel smiled.
The soldiers looked at Manuel a bit before they looked at each other.
"...Okay, you can go." The soldier said.
"Thank you." Manuel said.
The soldiers moved out of the way and the car drove out of Newfort with success.
Eliza and Jess held each other's hands as now they were waiting till they would reach the city where the conflict between Red Moon, the Crusade and Locrian's group will reach it's climax. Whatever is gonna happen when they reach Newrum, they'll be ready.
----------
The black haired woman with yellow eyes and her tall green skinned companion were walking on the snowy road as they were getting pelted by snowflakes, their next destination was also Newrum State City after hearing about the commotion.
A few Others were lying in pieces in the snow after they got in their way.
----------
In the red room where Eliza was once summoned by Mephisto.
The demon had his elbows resting on the table, his fingers tapping against one another before gazing down on three cards placed on his table.
The first card depicted a man wearing a royal robe, his hair was black holding a sword stabbed into a red person's chest, the moon was in sight, it was the Emperor card.
The second card depicted a woman wearing white clothing, her hair was a mix of violet, orange and black colors, sitting on top of a chained heart-shaped tower with the sun in the background, the Tower card.
And the third one depicted a young man with green eyes and black hair, dressed as a Messiah, crucified on a cross, the Hierophant.
"Heh, three leaders who want to change the world in their own image. Who will come out on top at the end of this slaughter of lambs, I wonder. And who's soul will land on my finger tips?" Mephisto asked, giggling slightly.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Post by Master Psychic on Feb 28, 2019 17:09:36 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Part 6: Calm Before The Winter Storm
Saturday, December 20th 2081, 4:49 PM
It's been 5 days since they've been travelling on the road, on their way to Newrum State City, to prevent the forces of Jashin and Verita from wiping out the continent from their future fight.
Manuel's car was driving on the road and inside, Jess was looking out the window, watching the snowflakes while Eliza was resting her head against her shoulder, sleeping as Jess had her arm wrapped around her sister.
The car suddenly stopped moving.
"What happened?" Jess asked.
Manuel tried to start the car again, it made a noise but it din't move.
"We ran out of gas." Manuel said.
"Did you bring any extra fuel with you before we left?" Jess asked.
Manuel shook his head off.
"Great." Jess frowned.
Eliza woke up, rubbing her eyes.
"Are we there yet?" Eliza asked.
"No, we ran out of gas. Why din't you fuel your car when we passed by those gas stations from earlier?" Jess asked.
"I din't have any money on me. And I thought we were gonna make it before I ran out of gas." Manuel said.
"So, what do we do now?" Jess asked.
"Newrum shouldn't be too far now, either we go on foot or we miraculously find someone who might give us gas." Manuel said.
Eliza looked out the window, turning to the right and saw a farm nearby with a rusty fence surrounding it.
"I can see a farm. Maybe someone can give us a hand." Eliza said.
"Are you coming?" Jess asked Manuel.
"I'll stay in the car just to make sure no one steals it. I'm sure you two can handle this." Manuel said.
"Okay then." Jess said, as she and Eliza stepped out of the car and closed the doors behind them.
They started walking towards the farm and opened it's gate, with a sign saying 'Wellington Family Dairy Farm'
They could see a rather old looking brown house, the land itself was covered in snow, a red barn on the left, a tractor was sitting around and there weren't any farm animals nearby.
Instead, there was a thin man wearing a baseball cap hiding his black-grey hair, wearing a yellow sweater with a black open vest, blue pants with belt, white gloves and wearing black boots as he was currently shoveling a pile of snow.
"Damn snow, now there won't be any vegetables before Spring comes by." The man grunted, tossing the snow aside with his shovel.
Jess and Eliza walked to the man.
"Hello, sorry if we are disturbing your work but-" Jess said.
The man turned to the girls, giving them a glare the moment he set his eyes on them.
"What are you doing on my propriety?" The man asked.
"...Uh, the car we were in ran out of gas. We figured you could help us if you have any fuel available, but I'm not sure if tractor fuel is the same thing." Eliza said, as she din't expect this man to turn that hostile very quickly.
"I moved my car in the barn so the fucking snow wouldn't pile on it. I have fuel but why should I give it to a couple of strangers like you?" The man asked.
"We wanted to get Newrum State City." Jess said.
"That place is getting evacuated because some white lady decided to pick a fight with the president, why would you go there?" The man asked, looking suspicious.
"...Uh, a friend of our's invited us there, they need help moving their stuff out." Eliza said, saying probably the dumbest lie ever.
"Uh uh, yeah, I can tell you are bullshitting. No dice. I had a couple of strangers come here before, asking for help and they ended up stealing my shit and got away with it. My momma's sick and now I have to attend to the farm while she rests in bed, I'm not gonna be tricked again by some damn trespassers again, so get the hell off my land and take your piece of shit car with ya." The man said.
"Dude, what's your problem?" Eliza asked, lowering her eyebrows.
"Eliza, don't aggravate him. Look, Mr..." Jess said.
"Name's George." George said.
"George. I can tell you don't trust us and I don't blame you, but we need to get to Newrum and fast." Jess said.
"Newrum is just a few miles up ahead, you can go on foot it's not that hard." George said.
"But we'll be snowmen before we'll even reach Newrum." Eliza said.
"And that is my problem, how?" George asked.
"Look, buddy, we are not here to steal your shit or anything, just give us some gas and we'll be out of your hair." Jess said, getting ticked off with the farmer.
George's expression darkened as he aimed his shovel at the girls who backed away.
"Listen lady, the fucking government din't bother helping me and my mom because we weren't important enough in their eyes so why the fuck should I help you two? You have five seconds to get off my fucking property or you will regret this." George said.
"...Was that a threat?" Jess asked, glaring at George.
"That was a warning." George said.
"...Jess, we should probably go." Eliza said, already predicting how this will turn out.
Manuel suddenly stepped out of the car after waiting for the girls to come back and walked to the farm.
"Is there a problem?" Manuel asked, as he walked to the girls with his hands placed around his back.
"This guy is going ballistic on us and he won't give us any gas." Eliza said.
Manuel looked at George and walked up to him.
"Hello, friend." Manuel said.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" George asked, glaring at him.
"Please, do not be upset. My car is out of gas and me and my friends need fuel so I can help them get to Newrum State City, it's urgent that they get there. Surely you can find it in your heart to help a couple of three people who need your assistance." Manuel said, placing his hand on his chest.
George appeared to have calm down slightly as he lowered his shovel, thinking about this.
"...Fine, if giving you some gas will get you assholes off my land, then I'll do it." George said.
"Thank you." Manuel said.
"...Wow, that was...quick. He changed his mind instantly the moment Manuel came in." Eliza said, her eyebrows were raised.
Jess cast Manuel an odd look.
George placed his shovel down.
"I'll get the fuel." George said, as he went towards the barn.
A few seconds later, he walked out, holding a red gasoline container, handing it to Manuel.
"There, satisfied?" George asked.
"Yes, that should be enough." Manuel agreed.
"Good, now get out of here before I change my mind." George said, as he went back to his shovel.
Manuel turned to the girls and smiled before he went back to the car.
Jess looked at Manuel suspiciously before she followed him, Eliza just looked confused as she followed them.
Jess and Eliza were back in the car while Manuel fueled it up.
"...Wasn't it odd how George refused to give us gas but when Manuel appeared, he gave in and handed us the container?" Jess asked.
"I guess he has a soft spot for old people." Eliza shrugged.
"Maybe." Jess said.
Manuel opened the door and got back in the driver seat before closing the door as he tried to start the car and it was working again.
"Ah, it works now. Let's continue, the city can't be too far now." Manuel said.
The car drove off, continuing it's destination to Newrum State City.
-----
At night, the city was now in their sight.
"We are close to our destination now." Manuel said.
Jess and Eliza looked out the window.
As they were getting closer, they could see many military cars stationed outside the city gate, likely to transport the civilians out.
"...How are we even gonna get into the city?" Eliza asked.
"Well, Manuel should be able to persuade them like he did with George, right?" Jess asked.
"That would be correct." Manuel nodded.
The car was predictably stopped by a few soldiers who told them they can't get through till Manuel talked to them and just like as expected, he somehow convinced the guards to let them pass.
The soldiers moved out of the way and the car drove past the gate, heading into Newrum State City.
With the car driving on the road, Eliza and Jess turned their heads to see a lot of people getting into their cars with their luggage's with a few soldiers helping them out. One kid was crying not wanting to go while his mom was calming him down, convincing him that they'll be back once everything calms down.
"...It's kinda sad to see these people leaving their homes behind." Eliza said.
"But if they stay here, they would get caught in the middle of battle." Jess said.
"That's true. This is a smart move on Jebediah's behalf, that way it won't result in many casualties when the battle will commence." Manuel said.
"...I really hope we can be able to put a stop to this before the city get's destroyed." Eliza said.
The car then stopped in front of a motel and Manuel turned to look at the Summers.
"I believe this is where we part ways." Manuel said.
"Aren't you gonna stick around?" Eliza asked.
"I would but...it's just...I was involved in wars before and...I'd rather not relieve that experience ever again. Besides, you two can take of yourselves." Manuel said.
"Yeah, that's fair." Jess said.
She and Eliza stepped out of the car and looked at Manuel.
"Thanks for all the help, Manuel, we really appreciate it." Jess said.
"Of course. Good luck, girls." Manuel smiled.
Manuel turned the car around and drove off while the girls watched.
There was a black skinned girl with pink long hair and a hoodie, who was leaning against the motel wall, reading a comic book and she had yet to turn to Jess and Eliza.
"...He really is a nice person." Eliza mentioned.
Jess turned to the motel, seeing that it was closed, seeing as how the entire town was getting evacuated, causing Jess to sigh.
"I doubt we'll be able to find any other hotels or motel's to sleep in with every person leaving this city." Jess said.
"So where do we sleep?" Eliza asked.
"I don't know. We should keep a low profile and avoid meeting face to face with a Red Moon member or any of the soldiers, there should be someone from Locrian's group hanging around and ask them for help." Jess said.
"Well, if that's what you are looking for, then you're in luck." The pink-haired girl said.
Jess and Eliza turned around, looking at the girl who looked up from her comic and took a good look at the sisters.
"Hi, nice to meet ya." The girl said.
"...And you are?" Eliza asked.
"...Let's talk somewhere where no one can hear us. The walls have ears after all." The girl said.
"...Okay." Eliza said.
The girl lead the sisters to an abandoned alleyway, one where no one would bother to come here.
"Kay, we should be able to chat here without any soldiers lurking by." The girl said.
"So, who are you exactly?" Jess asked.
"I'm Bonita, I heard from a few sources of mine that you two were coming to this city and I was waiting here till you two showed up with that older gentleman." Bonita said.
"...Is that so?" Jess asked, folding her arms, her look filled with suspicion.
"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm not with Red Moon nor am I with Verita for that matter, I work for a third group, one that doesn't want either one of those two sides to win. And also, trying to read my mind is a little bit rude." Bonita said, looking at Jess.
Jess did not clearly expect that.
"...Right...so, you are with that Locrian then?" Jess asked.
"Yup, he is my boyfriend. The two of us are working alongside the L'aurlethe's and the Edelwoods who funded the group to begin with, we've been keeping ourselves out of Jashin's prying eyes and waiting for the moment to strike, and that moment is nearly here." Bonita said.
"So, why were you here waiting for us?" Eliza asked.
"We heard about you two ever since stuff went down at Mishinaka, you've been running away from Red Moon for quite some time now and you have some unique abilities that could be of some help to us make a difference. But I understand if you two want to keep a low profile and we'll help you stay in a safe shelter while we take care of the rest. What's your call?" Bonita asked.
Jess and Eliza looked at each other and nodded before looking at Bonita.
"While we really shouldn't be involved, we realize how powerful both sides are and how destructive they are, they could mess up the entire planet if they let loose, we want to survive and if stopping both sides from fighting each other will ensure our survival, so be it." Jess said.
"That's right. We'll help you guys as best as we can." Eliza nodded.
"Sounds great." Bonita smiled.
Bonita peered her head out, looking left and right before she turned to the sisters.
"We should go before we get spotted, I know where the meeting place is." Bonita said, as she grabbed them by their hands and made a run for it.
They arrived at a van and Bonita opened the back of the van.
"Get in here." Bonita said.
Jess and Eliza got in the van and Bonita closed the doors before she quickly got in, sitting next to the driver and nodded to him.
The driver slammed his foot on the pedal and drove off, nearly knocking Eliza and Jess on their butts.
Bonita turned her head to the girls.
"Sorry I had to rush you in like that, but with so many Red Mooners around, I couldn't risk any of them seeing me out in the open, I'm quite infamous after speaking out in front of their churches, they really hate my guts." Bonita smiled.
"Somehow, I can buy that." Eliza said, holding her head so she wouldn't get car sick.
"Where are you taking us?" Jess asked.
"Everything gathered at Amila's house, her parents haven't moved out and are keeping any soldiers from coming into their house." Bonita said, looking through a deck of tarot cards that she was holding.
She turned her head to the girls again.
"Hey, would you two want to pick three cards each? I'm curious about your past, present and future." Bonita said.
Jess and Eliza raised their eyebrows.
"...Sure." Eliza shrugged as she pulled three tarot cards at random.
She had Devil, Star and Sun.
"...Hm...you were attached in the past, you have hope in the present and you will be successful in your future." Bonita said.
"Oh, that's good." Eliza said.
Jess pulled three cards out and looked at them.
She had Death, Hanged Man and the World.
"...Huh, you went through a change in the past, you have a new perspective in the present and in the future, you will accomplish something or have closure. Maybe this is a sign that things will get better once the battle is over." Bonita smiled.
"Maybe, I'm not much of a believer in all this tarot card stuff." Jess sighed, as she and Eliza handed the cards back to Bonita.
Eventually, the L'aurlethe mansion was in their reach.
"We're here." Bonita said.
The van stopped and Bonita got out while the driver remained in the van.
She walked to the back of the van and opened the door, letting Jess and Eliza, gesturing at them to follow her.
Jess and Eliza jumped out and walked after Bonita who knocked at the door.
The door opened and a butler poked his head out, looking at Bonita before looking at the girls.
"Are they the girls you were looking for?" The butler asked.
"Yup." Bonita confirmed.
The butler nodded as he opened the door.
"Please, come in." The butler said.
"Thanks." Bonita smiled and nodded at the sisters.
They walked into the foyer before going upstairs.
"...Wow, this place is clean." Eliza said, looking around.
"And very expensive." Jess noted.
"Yeah, one of the advantages of having a mansion as our headquarters is that there is plenty of space for all of us." Bonita said, before she stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.
The door slowly opened and Lacey peered her head out.
"Oh, you're back. And you brought them too." Lacey said, looking at Jess and Eliza.
"Hi." Eliza waved.
"Is everyone else inside?" Bonita asked.
Lacey nodded before she opened the door, leading to the lounge.
Bonita first walked in as Lacey turned her head to the sisters.
"...Come in." Lacey said.
Jess and Eliza walked in before Lacey closed the door.
Inside the lounge were Amila, Locrian, Meredith, Caroline, the small guy with black hair and the guy wearing the cloak with musical notes on it, who was strumming his guitar which looked pretty old. They turned their heads when Bonita and the Summers walked in.
"You're back." Locrian said, getting up.
"Did anyone see you come in here?" Meredith asked.
Bonita shook her head and turned to Eliza and Jess.
"Found them at the motel and accepted to help us in our fight against the two organizations." Bonita said.
Amila sat up and walked to Jess and Eliza, holding her hand out.
"Greetings, my name is Amila L'aurlethe, welcome to the resistance group." Amila smiled, waiting for a handshake.
"Hi. I'm Eliza." Eliza said, shaking her hand.
"I'm Jess. And you are Locrian, right?" Jess asked, looking at him.
"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you." Locrian said, shaking her hand.
"So, you're the guys who have been opposing Jashin and his group all this time?" Eliza asked.
"That is correct. Our group formed after Jebediah became president, who had support from the Harbercorn Family, my family's sworn enemies, I've suspected that Red Moon was up to no good after seeing the pattern of disappearances with seven people with abilities, when each of those people disappeared, a Red Moon member was nearby. What we know so far is that Red Moon killed those people and took their souls to 'revive' Jashin and recruited several people to go at war against another dimension filled with demons, who aren't all necessarily malevolent. Then things got complicated the moment Verita appeared." Amila said.
"You were taken to Verita's headquarters after what happened to Rachdale, right? What happened there?" Locrian asked.
"Verita wanted to keep us around but after she put a lock on my emotions, a fight broke out and let us leave but she made it clear that she is not stopping and she will cleanse the Earth of all negative emotions. She has a group of Omnipotents and a few guys from other Universes, even a person from our world is with them." Jess said.
"You mean Arashi, right? He went missing after his father was arrested and we thought he was killed by Red Moon but he jumped onboard on Verita's crusade instead." Caroline said.
"Yeah, that's him." Jess nodded.
"Also, who are the rest of you?" Eliza asked.
"Oh, I'm Caroline Thompson, I'm friends with Amila and decided to help her out in her fight. Girls gotta stay together, you know." Caroline smiled.
"My name is Meredith Edelwood. I'm only assisting this group because I don't want Jashin's war to get me and my family killed nor do I want Verita to turn us all into robots, that's all you need to know. This is Lacey, she is my bodyguard and this one is Daron Filch, he's been working under me since 2079." Meredith said.
Jess looked at the small guy, Daron, who just smiled at her for some odd reason.
"I'm Putgerr, Omni of Sound." Putgerr waved.
"...Putgerr...I heard your name from Aqua's parents." Eliza said.
"You mean Gurok and Kitioagan?" Putgerr asked.
"That's them. They and their daughter, Aqua, were staying at Courtham Grove, they thought you were dead." Jess said.
"Well, I got close, I managed to escape but I got separated from three Omnipotents who were pals of mine, then Locrian and Bonita picked me up and I've been with them ever since." Putgerr shrugged.
"Yeah...that's kind of a long story and I'm sure you don't need to know all the details." Locrian said, scratching the back of his head.
Jess turned her head to Amila.
"So, what's the plan regarding Jashin and Verita?" Jess asked.
"We've been keeping tabs on them for a long awhile and made a list of their members and supporters. Jashin is supposedly invincible and Verita is a guardian and she is powerful in her own way, but luckily, we have a agent in Red Moon who's been giving us information on how to combat Red Moon and according to Daron, they have weapons that will give us advantage in the battle and hopefully defeat Jashin." Amila said.
"My informant told me he'll hand us the weapons tomorrow, at the factory he is working at which is now owned by the Harbercorn's." Daron said.
"Thankfully, Daniel and Alexia are in Newfort right now so tomorrow, we'll be able to avoid them but we need to be careful, if we get caught then it's all over for us." Amila said.
"In order for this to work, we should send out a single team of a few people so all of us won't have to go together. Daron is going since he knows where his informant is at and so is Lacey." Meredith said.
"I'll be going too. If there any areas we can't be able to go through, I can use my ghostly power to get us in." Caroline offered.
"Well, if this is gonna be a sneak in operation, my power will be useful to not get anyone's attention." Putgerr said.
"I think you guys can handle it so me and Bonita will remain here. If you guys get in trouble, we'll be there to get you out." Locrian smiled.
Amila looked at Jess and Eliza.
"And will you two assist them? If you don't want to participate and stay here in the mansion, that's fine." Amila said.
"...We've been practicing our abilities for months now, this mission should be a good opportunity to put our powers to good use." Jess said.
Amila looked at Eliza.
"From what I heard, a piece of Sicrum's essence jumped ship into your body correct? Do you have control over that thing?" Amila asked.
"...Yeah, I can handle it. I've spent these months learning to keep my cool and not lose control when I battle." Eliza said.
"Oh, that's good. I suppose if you have control over what you are doing, everything should work perfectly then." Amila said.
"If this is all we had to discuss, I'll be heading back to my house, I need to check up on my husband and son." Meredith said.
"Very well. Good night, Meredith." Amila said.
Meredith gazed at Jess and Eliza before she walked out aswell.
"Are you two coming?" Meredith asked Lacey and Daron.
The two followed her.
"...I don't think she trusts us that much." Jess said.
"She doesn't really trust anyone else in general, she's too paranoid." Bonita said, adjusting her glasses.
Locrian walked to Jess and Eliza, shaking their hands.
"It must of sucked to lose your home and survive out in the wilderness. If we come out of this battle alive, me and Bonita can help you two find somewhere where you can live in safe and sound." Locrian said.
"...That would be comforting, thanks." Jess sighed.
Locrian nodded before he and Bonita left aswell.
"Where will we sleep in?" Eliza asked.
"There is a room for guests who stay here for the night, there is a bed big enough for both of you. Palsy will guide you there." Amila said.
"Sweet." Jess commented.
Amila went to a bell tied to a rope attached to the ceiling and grabbed the rope, ringing the bell.
Palsy walked in.
"You rang?" Palsy asked.
"Palsy, please take Eliza and Jess to the guest room." Amila said.
Palsy nodded and lead Eliza and Jess out, who were pretty confused by this digimon thing entering in the room just now.
They arrived in the guest room, which looked to be the size of a normal bedroom.
"Enjoy your stay." Palsy said, before walking out.
Eliza sat on the bed, bouncing on it slightly.
"Wow, this bed is bouncy. Wanna try it, sis?" Eliza asked.
Jess was looking out the window, having a noticeable troubled look.
"...Sis, what's wrong?" Eliza asked.
"....I have butterflies in my stomach. I feel like something big is gonna go down tomorrow." Jess said.
"Well, yeah, we are fighting two groups at the same time, that has to be difficult." Eliza said.
"It's not just that...I feel like something bad will happen, it's like my psychic powers are trying to warn me of something but I can't make out the details." Jess said.
"...That sounds worrisome." Eliza said.
"Yeah...I just hope we'll be able to survive what tomorrow will bring." Jess sighed.
Eliza got up and wrapped her hand around Jess's shoulder.
"We survive all the odds by now, what else can possibly wrong?" Eliza asked.
"...That's true. We survived everything else, we will make it through the end. As you said, nothing can beat us, not even Death can keep us down." Jess said.
"You got that right." Eliza smiled.
-----
Sunday, December 21st 2081, 10:59 AM
It was morning and it stopped snowing.
Most of the streets were empty, putting aside the soldiers who were lurking around. There was tension filling the air, as something big is gonna down today that everyone will know about.
Everything was calm for now.
In the L'aurlethe mansion.
Amila was in the foyer, talking to the phone with someone.
"Don't worry, grandfather, I'll be okay. Please take good care of yourself and do not stress yourself, I'll be fine." Amila nodded.
Jess and Eliza walked downstairs and Amila ended her conversation on the phone before she turned to the two.
"Good morning." Amila nodded.
"Hi. Where is everyone else at?" Eliza asked.
"They're outside the gate. Did you two sleep well?" Amila asked.
"We've rested long enough. We're ready for action." Jess said.
"We should atleast eat something before we head out to...where are we going exactly?" Eliza asked.
"The factory you will be going belonged to the old government branch my grandfather, Roy L'aurlethe, used to work for. Daniel got the rights to that building and it's now a facility to produce anti-demons and Others weapons. Daron's informant is there and he knows a shortcut to get there. Your breakfast has been prepared before you two woke up, you will find it in the dining room." Amila said.
"Wow, you really think of everything, don't you?" Jess asked.
"Well, I have to be prepared for anything in general, after all. Now, if you excuse me." Amila smiled before she walked away into another room.
"Come on, I'm starving." Eliza said, grabbing Jess's hand and headed into the dining room to eat their breakfast.
Once they were finished, they walked out of the mansion and spotted Putgerr, Daron, Lacey and Caroline standing in front of the gate. Caroline was wearing a blue comfortable jacket to keep her warm, Lacey was wearing a white coat with her sword sheath wrapped around her waist, Putgerr buttoned up his cloak while holding his guitar and Daron was wearing a red jacket as Jess and Eliza walked out through the gate.
"Hey." Jess said.
"Morning." Caroline said.
Putgerr waved and Lacey just gave them a nod.
"Finally, you're here. Now let's get to the facility, my agent is waiting there." Daron said.
"How will get there without getting blocked by soldiers?" Jess asked.
"That's easy. We go down into the sewers and make it to the building that way, I've been there a few times now." Daron said, pointing at the manhole cover.
Putgerr and Caroline din't look comfortable with that proposal.
"...Aren't the sewers...nasty?" Caroline asked.
"...Isn't there a faster way to get to the military building?" Putgerr asked.
"Well, you could march down on the street and get shot by some Red Moon guys if you want." Daron shrugged.
"...If you are gonna put it like that." Putgerr sighed.
Daron removed the manhole cover and began climbing down the ladder.
"Come on, head in before you get spotted." Daron said as he went down.
Lacey held her nose as she made a jump into the sewer.
Caroline and Putgerr still looked disgusted as they climbed down.
Jess and Eliza looked at each other.
"...You're the oldest, you go first." Eliza said.
Jess glared but sighed before she climbed down.
Eliza grabbed onto the ladder before placing the cover back to where it was and slid down as the team was now in the sewer.
"Follow my lead." Daron said, as he headed towards the right before turning left and the rest, indeed, followed his lead.
hey were walking down the sewer while trying to ignore the awful smell.
"...Of all places, why a sewer?" Caroline asked.
"If I could do this on a regular basis, then so can you, now quit whining." Daron said.
Putgerr turned to look at Jess.
"...So, you mentioned Gurok and Kitioagan, how are they and Aqua doing?" Putgerr asked.
"Kitioagan is working at a restaurant but I don't know what her husband was doing. Aqua helped save us from two Jashinists and got us to Rachdale before she went back to Courtham. She definitely wasn't happy about her situation really." Jess said.
"Yeah, it sucks. Maybe once this Red Moon and Verita stuff is finished, I'll probably head to Courtham and see how they are doing, they'll be very surprised to see me." Putgerr said.
"You mentioned you were with three others, care to tell me more about them?" Jess asked.
"Ceygas is cool, Garflec usually hangs around with us...never really talked to Glexlam that much but I heard he got himself job in some dead angel world, but then Red Moon happened and we tried to aboard a ship and a couple of Jashin guys showed up, we got split but the three managed to get out before they could of been caught so that's good." Putgerr frowned.
"How does one usually become a Omnipotent?" Jess asked.
"...I unno, I just got this power one day, I got into a fallout with someone I used to date and ended up in a prison in another dimension, I've stayed there for awhile till those Unigard guys and that orb just opened a portal for us to fight that Erebus guy who wanted to conquer the world or something. I got invited to a Tournament and ended on sixth place cause of a dick dressed as a Mariachi stabbed me for no reason." Putgerr said.
"Ouch, tough break." Jess said.
"Yeah...so, you and your sister had been travelling on you're own, huh? That must of been tough." Putgerr said.
"No fooling there...it hasn't been easy for either one of us, I just hope that we will be able to catch a break at the end of this clusterfuck." Jess said, looking at Eliza.
Eliza was walking next to Caroline before looking at her from head to toe.
"...I saw you on TV once, you were at some bodybuilding contest." Eliza said.
"Oh, you did? What did you think?" Caroline asked, turning her head to Eliza.
"...I was flipping to channels but I only caught a glimpse of you winning second place. Why bodybuilding? Isn't that a thing for guys?" Eliza asked.
"...It isn't just that...I had a messy relationship with a guy and I ended in the hospital one day, my power awakened at that moment." Caroline said.
"...Oh...sorry to hear that." Eliza said.
"It's okay. I went to therapy and I eventually started working out so I wouldn't be a victim anymore, to become strong enough to defend myself from anyone who would try to harm me. A woman can be just as strong as a guy, you know the ole saying behind every man there is a stronger woman? Well, I'm following that example." Caroline said, flexing her right arm.
"Huh...well, I guess I am strong...though, I'm kinda relying on a demon's power so...does that count?" Eliza asked.
"...I guess? I wanted to become an author but I was pretty preoccupied with the resistance group and also attending to those contests. I'm off the dating business." Caroline said.
"There is this guy In Courtham who has a crush on you and I think he wants to date you." Eliza said.
"Is he nice?" Caroline asked.
"...Eh, he is not exactly a macho man but he can be a decent guy if you get past his antics." Eliza said.
Caroline just raised a single eyebrow at that.
Jess looked at Lacey and Daron who were walking ahead.
"You two are working for that Meredith woman, for how long?" Jess asked.
"...I was born in Kodama but my caretaker agreed to have me working for the Edelwood family, I've been her family's bodyguard for years now. That's all I'm willing to tell you." Lacey said.
"...Uh, I was in Brazil when shit the fan, went places and then I began working for Meredith in 2079." Daron shrugged.
"...You were in Brazil?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, the places got swarmed with Others thanks to that asshole Max who ruined everything for everyone." Daron said.
"It seems like you know him personally." Jess said.
"He is a unlikable sociopath that no one likes, that's all you need to know. Will that piece of information prove vital to you in some way or fashion?" Daron asked.
"...I was just curious." Jess said.
"Well, you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat and I don't think you have nine lives, do you?" Daron asked.
Jess stared at the back of Daron's head, something about him was off.
The group reached another ladder.
"Okay, the facility is up there. I'll scout out the area to make sure we're in the clear." Daron said, as he climbed up the ladder.
He opened the manhole cover and poked his head out, quickly spotting two guards standing in front of the door and moved his head back down.
"Shit." Daron frowned.
"What's up?" Eliza asked.
"There are two guards standing in front of the door, this could be tricky. Think you can use your sword to get them out of the way?" Daron asked, looking up at Lacey.
Lacey just pulled her sword out of her sheath before Caroline grabbed her by her hand.
"I think there is a better way to take care of those guards without killing anyone." Caroline said.
"How?" Jess asked.
"I can use my power to go through the ground right behind them and knock them out without making a noise." Caroline said.
"Okay, do it, we don't have all day here." Daron said, getting off the ladder.
Caroline phased through the wall and vanished.
Back on the surface, she pulled herself out of the ground and was right behind the soldiers before she grabbed by their heads and slammed them against each other, effectively knocking them out before dropping them on the ground.
Caroline walked up to where the manhole cover was and looked down into the sewer hole.
"The coast is clear." Caroline said.
Daron, Putgerr, Jess, Lacey and Eliza climbed up before Daron closed off the hole with the cover.
"Nice." Putgerr said, high-fiving Caroline once he saw the unconscious guards.
"We'll need to hide them so no one will see them." Lacey pointed out.
"There is a big garbage container there over there. Maybe you could use your cool psychic abilities to dump them in there." Daron said, looking at Jess.
Jess just levitated the two guards over to the container while Eliza opened it up and the guards fell into it and Eliza closed the container.
"Alright, so, we go inside that building now?" Eliza asked.
"Assuming there aren't more guards in there." Jess said.
Caroline walked to the wall and phased her head through it, taking a good look inside before she peered her head out and looked at the rest.
"I saw people at the conveyer belts, working on some weapons." Caroline said.
"Putgerr, you can use your sound power to make us unhearable right?" Daron asked.
Putgerr shrugged as he snapped his finger.
"Yeah, no one will hear us make a sound." Putgerr confirmed.
"Cool, let's go. My agent is in the second floor of the building." Daron smiled, walking in first.
Jess still stared at Daron with distrust before looking at Eliza.
"...If that guy pulls anything, shoot him." Jess whispered to Eliza.
Eliza nodded before they went into the building.
There were people wearing lab coats who were standing in front of the conveyer belts that weren't moving were, doing some adjustments to some weapons as the group of six walked past the workers and headed right towards the elevator and Daron pressed the button.
"Make sure not to let them hear the elevator coming down." Daron told Putgerr who just waved.
The elevator's doors opened and the group walked in and Daron pressed another button and the elevator closed, going up.
"...Amila said her grandpa worked at this place but...what did they do before?" Eliza asked, folding her arms.
"The Government was intercepting all sorts of interdimensional creatures and kept them as a secret from the rest of the world so people wouldn't panic and shit, some Omni of Death killed Roy and after the Omnis got out, no one bothered taking charge and the building closed off till the Harbercorns took control of this place." Daron said.
"Anything to tell us about the layout of this place?" Jess asked.
"The first floor is where they build their weapons, second floor where we are going has two rooms, a shooting room and a lab, my agent is in the lab, the third floor has offices and Daniel has his office there and the fourth floor has a meeting room." Daron said.
The elevator arrived at the second floor and the doors opened.
The group walked out of the elevator, walking into a long white hallway that split into two separate path's with a window on the wall of the center that showed a view of outside the factory.
"The shooting area is on the left and the lab is on the right, that's where we need to go. We get what we want and get out of this place." Daron said.
"Cool." Putgerr said.
They turned to the right and walked down the hallway.
As they were going down the hall, they passed by four glass windows, two on each side of the wall, four Others were right behind those glass windows but couldn't get out, they were in their human forms and were just standing there calmly.
"...Why are Others in here?" Jess asked, looking nervous.
"These guys captured some Others and kept them trapped here so 'study' them so they can learn more about their weaknesses." Daron explained, who had a pissed off look as he ignored the Others and kept walking towards the lab door.
Putgerr poked at one of the windows, to see if the Other would do something but they just stood there.
"...Huh. Thought it was gonna try to bash the window or something." Putgerr shrugged.
"Let's just go." Lacey sighed, ignoring the Other's presence.
Eliza and Jess still looked uncomfortable as they followed Daron who was knocking on the door.
"Hey, it's me, come out." Daron called out.
The door slightly opened.
Benedict poked his head out, staring down at Daron.
"Oh, it's you. You made it." Benedict said.
"Yup, I did say I was coming here, din't I?" Daron asked.
Benedict turned his attention to the rest, who looked mostly weirded out by his eyes and the cracks on his skin.
"...Hello." Caroline said.
"...Are they with you?" Benedict asked.
Daron nodded.
Benedict continued to stare before he opened the door.
"Come in." Benedict said.
Daron smiled and walked in first.
Everyone else hesitantly went in before Benedict closed the door.
The lights in the lab were turned off and the window was blocked off by a curtain, it was rather dark. There was a couch in the middle of the room with a TV set near the wall, a glass vat stuck to the floor with a spider Other with arms for legs sitting inside, a table to the left with two yellow crystals and some unorganized papers sitting on the table and two white suitcases sitting next to the table legs.
"...It's a little too dark in here." Jess said.
"I concentrate better in the dark, sunlight breaks concentration." Benedict said.
"...It's cloudy outside." Lacey mentioned, staying far away from the Other trapped in the vat.
"What are you actually doing in this room?" Eliza asked.
"I was assigned as the head scientist of the research team dedicated to analyze the Others and study their movements and patterns, see what makes them tick and then build weapons to destroy them while the elite members of Red Moon with powerful abilities handle the larger masses, eradicating them became a easier task over the years. I kept this one here to see what else I can learn." Benedict said, gesturing at the Other in the vat.
"...I feel like I've seen you before, you look and sound familiar." Putgerr said.
"You probably have." Benedict shrugged it off.
"Hey, Benny, you got the stuff I asked you to get for me, right?" Daron asked.
Benedict picked up the two suitcases and placed them on the table, opening them up, revealing sets of glowing guns inside those suitcases.
"...Shiny." Caroline commented.
"These guns contain bullets enchanted with demon magic while some are powered up by the blood of the dead subjects who carried the pieces of Sicrum in their bodies and found their way into the morgue." Benedict said.
Daron grinned as he picked one gun up from the suitcase.
"With just one bullet to the head, Jashin will be history." Daron said, putting the gun in his pocket.
Benedict opened his hand, aimed at Daron.
"I've done my part, now give me what I want." Benedict said.
"Oh, right." Daron nodded, as he pulled out two files, one named 'Xyn' and the other 'Hemera'
Benedict grabbed the files, looking at the covers before he nodded, placing them in his pockets.
"Our transaction is complete." Benedict said.
"...What's up with your skin? Why is it cracked? And...your eyes...just what is up with you?" Eliza asked.
Benedict tilted his head towards her.
"You really want to know?" Benedict asked.
"...Yeah." Eliza said.
Benedict faced Eliza.
"Pick up your gun and shoot me in the chest." Benedict said.
"...Huh?" Eliza asked, in a confused tone than actually shocked.
"...Why would you want her to do that?" Caroline asked.
"She wants to get her answer, doesn't she? I'm helping her find out." Benedict said.
"But won't that kill you?" Lacey asked.
"Guys, trust me, he'll be fine." Daron said.
Eliza looked unsure before she pressed the trigger and the went bullet went through Benedict's chest and bursted through his back and it went into the wall.
Despite the hole viewable through his chest, Benedict was still standing, unaffected by that shot.
"...How are you still alive?" Jess asked, looking confused.
"I'm not." Benedict said.
Suddenly, the hole made by Eliza closed off as his skin regenerated and so did his shirt and coat, it's like he never got shot in the first place.
"...Can you explain to us what just happened?" Caroline asked, looking freaked out.
"I was long dead before the Others appeared. When they came to be, Red Moon brought me back using a cursed spell, restoring me as a reanimated corpse, if I get shot, stabbed or decapitated, I won't die, I will regenerate and my wounds will disappear and I won't feel pain. I even got crushed once to test out the technique's limits and even if a single trace of my body is destroyed, I will come back like nothing happened. My hair color changed when I was reanimated, it wasn't always white." Benedict explained.
"...So, you're a immortal zombie?" Putgerr asked.
"I suppose that would be the accurate term for it...it's funny, I dreamt of living forever and now I am a immortal...but I feel hollow, I don't feel the same satisfaction I felt when I was still alive." Benedict said.
"...So, what were you doing when you were alive? And is Benedict really your real name?" Jess asked, folding her arms.
"It's a long story and it doesn't even matter now. Besides, you don't have a lot of time to hear it, a battle is coming after all." Benedict said.
"Why are you betraying Red Moon and helping us win?" Eliza asked.
"I'm not interested in Red Moon or what it plans to accomplish by destroying the demon dimension nor am I interested in the other groups, I'm merely offering my assistance because I became interested in these creatures and wanted to know more about them through Daron...although, if you take out Red Moon, then that means I'll be free, that would be a bonus to me." Benedict said.
Jess still looked distrustful of Benedict however.
Daron closed the suitcases and picked them up, holding them in his hands.
"Okay, we have what we need, let's head back to the mansion before anyone notices us here." Daron said, walking out of the lab.
The five followed him out.
"You, with the pink hair, stop." Benedict said.
Eliza turned around.
"What?" Eliza asked.
Benedict walked up to Eliza.
"...You must be quite special if you posses the mark of the top member of the Ganymede Clan on your hand." Benedict said.
Eliza looked surprised before she looked at her left and looked at Benedict.
"...You know about Mephisto?" Eliza asked.
Benedict raised his left hand, he had the same symbol on his palm.
"I too made a deal with him when I learned about him from a accomplice of mine who had the same mark." Benedict said.
Eliza looked surprised.
"...What was the deal between you and him?" Eliza asked.
Benedict stared upwards at the ceiling, as a scene began replaying in his head.
"Here is the deal, I'll give you the ability to get a second chance at life in case you happen to die at some point in this little journey of your's to get power, with a little bit of dark magic as a bonus of my courtesy, you'll be able to get back to life no matter what in which afterlife you end up in. Got it?"
"Crystal"
"I will expect something nice and valuable from your end of the bargain, if you try to screw me over, I will find out and I will know where to find you. The sigil on your palm is a reminder of the pact we made today. Do you accept these terms?"
"Yes. We have a deal."
"Excellent. Just sign your name on this contract and we're done here."
"...It was long ago when we made the pact...I was a fool to accept it. And it seems you were foolish enough to accept it to. What hold did he have on you?" Benedict asked.
Eliza looked at her left hand.
"...My sister died in front of me and Mephisto appeared, he gave me the chance to save her, in exchange, I'd do him a favor in the future...but he din't show up for years now." Eliza said.
"...Hm, family is always the excuse when making a deal with a demon, it's fortunate that I do not posses that same attachment...however, you need to know this. Mephisto isn't the type to play fair by the rules, it doesn't matter with who he deals with, one way or another, he will get what he wants." Benedict said.
"What does he want?" Eliza asked.
"It can be anything. Memories, knowledge, abilities, the soul of a powerful entity, those are always his interests. Chances are your alliance with him won't stop if you pay him back, he will continue to have you do more favors for him and if you do not repay his favors, you will suffer greatly. That is the price to pay when playing his game." Benedict said.
Eliza looked nervous.
"...How can I get Mephisto to get off my back and leave me now?" Eliza asked.
"I do not know. You can either please him by giving him what he wants...or you find a loophole." Benedict said.
"What kind of a loophole?" Eliza asked.
"It's not up to me to figure out, it's up to you." Benedict said.
"Eliza, are you coming?" Jess asked from the hallway.
"Uh, I'm coming!" Eliza said.
She looked at Benedict.
"...Thanks for telling me...and good luck." Eliza said, before she ran out of the lab.
Benedict closed the door and just stared at nothing.
In the hallway, there were five moth's stuck to the window, watching the group as they left the lab.
------
At Newfort.
Jebediah, Daniel and Alexia were sitting in the living room while Jehovah was standing there.
Simeon and Keiko were also there, standing in the doorway and Judas and Rebecca were sitting on the stairs, the former looked pretty worried.
Alexia's eyes were closed as she was concentrating before she opened them with a smug smile on her face.
"Well, look who the spider dragged in it's web." Alexia said.
"What did you see?" Jebediah asked.
"Benedict is the traitor, he invited the L'aurlethe and Edelwood's thugs and the Summers are with them, he gave them weapons enchanted with demon magic to take down Jashin. He will be punished severely for that." Alexia said.
"Tch, I never did trust that man to begin with, I knew bringing him back from the dead was not worth the effort." Daniel said, with his arms folded.
Jebediah closed his eyes.
"We used Impure World Resurrection to bring him back and he is still ungrateful. But oh well, this is good." Jebediah said, adjusting his glasses.
He turned to Jehovah.
"Verita hasn't appeared yet, has she?" Jebediah asked.
"Not yet." Jehovah answered as he shook his head.
"Then there is still time. We need to take them out and make sure those weapons don't reach Locrian and the others." Jebediah said.
He looked over to Simeon and Keiko.
"You two will be rewarded handsomely if you neutralize these threats and bring Benedict to me, he needs to be taught a lesson in treachery." Jebediah said.
"You can count on me, Mon Cher, and this time I won't make a spectacle of myself." Simeon grinned as he did a bow.
Keiko just crumbled some clay into a ball, not looking at anything.
"...They will fear my art, hm." Keiko said.
The Red Moon symbol appeared on the wall and a portal to the facility appeared.
Simeon and Keiko went through the portal.
Judas looked very worried while Rebecca placed her hand on his shoulder.
-----
In the facility.
"So, we come back the same way we came?" Caroline asked.
"Yup, let's go." Daron said, holding onto his suitcases full of guns.
As the group started walking...they suddenly froze, all except for Eliza.
"...Guys?" Eliza asked.
No one moved their body parts at all.
Eliza walked in front of Jess, waving her hand in her face.
"...What the heck is going on?" Eliza asked.
"It's been for too long now, young heart." A familiar voice said.
Eliza felt the shiver in her spine when she heard the voice as she slowly turned around to see Mephisto, in all his glory, leaning against the wall with a glass of pink wine in his hand, greeting Eliza with the same devilish smile he had when they first met a few years ago.
"...Mephisto." Eliza said.
"Ah, you haven't forgotten about me! You can't tell just how happy I am right now." Mephisto said, placing his other hand on his chest.
He suddenly appeared right behind Eliza, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and she looked very uncomfortable.
"My, my, look how much you've grown, you were this small when I first met you...and it appears you have someone living in your head." Mephisto said, his face was getting closer's to Eliza, getting a good luck into her eyes.
The image of Sicrum appeared in her eyes, much to Mephisto's delight.
"Ah, if it isn't Sicrum, or atleast a small bit of him. Poor Sic, if only he wasn't so stubborn, he probably would of lived a long life instead of living in pieces. I see you've gotten used to his abilities by now." Mephisto said.
"...Did you come here to ask me about the favor?" Eliza asked, getting right to the chase.
"Hah hah, you are a sharp cookie." Mephisto grinned.
He vanished into a puff of smoke and appeared in front of Eliza, with his back turned.
"Things turned quite interesting in this world. I mean, a war between two powerful fractions lead by two powerful entities, one with deity like powers and the other being a guardian? I just couldn't pass this chance. With this going on, it gave the perfect idea on how you can repay your debt." Mephisto said.
"...What do you want me to do?" Eliza asked, sounding nervous.
Mephisto slowly turned his face to Eliza, he had a large smile on his face.
"...I want you to bring me Jashin's or Verita's soul to me." Mephisto said, his snake tongue slipping out.
Eliza's eyes shrunk.
"You want me to do...what!?" Eliza asked.
"You remember when I enchanted your gun, right? Not only can it damage a powerful enemy, it might also send their soul right to me. All you need to do now is when you have the chance, use your gun to kill either Jashin or Verita, or if you get lucky and manage to get both of them, their essence will belong to me. I believe that should be simple enough, don't you think?" Mephisto asked.
Eliza looked at her gun in her pocket, she was basically given the job of a hitman and assassinate either one of the leaders from the two organizations and send their souls to Mephisto, which will cancel Eliza's debt...but, will that be the end of it? What if he asks her to kill more people and send their souls to him, she won't kill people for a living.
"...I...I can't...I don't like either one of those two but I'm not gonna murder them so you can get your hands on their souls. Can't you have me do something else? Something that doesn't involve sending people's souls to you?" Eliza asked.
Mephisto's smile remained but the hand he was using to lift his wine glass was shaking violently before the glass shattered, his hand balled into a fist.
"...Hehe...I think someone is getting a little greedy here and is abusing my own trust." Mephisto said, as he slowly approached Eliza, showing off his massive sharp teeth.
Eliza backed away, looking afraid before Mephisto grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her up to his face.
"When you were crying in despair and asked for help, who was the one came to help you? Me. Who was the one helped you get your sister back? Me. And again, who was the generous person to enchant your weapon to make your struggle in life a bit more easier? Oh, that's right, ME!" Mephisto yelled, his voice filled with rage.
"P-please, don't hurt me!" Eliza begged, looking really scared.
Mephisto punched a hole through the wall.
"Don't think you are the only one who tried to sleaze their way out of a deal, kid, plenty of guys tried that and paid the price for trying to stab me in the back. Don't forget, I'm the one who gave your sister a second chance and I can easily undo that with a snap of my finger and I will take her soul instead and you will be alone forever, is that what you want?" Mephisto asked.
Eliza's eyes shrunk.
"N-NO! I'll do what you say, just please don't do anything to her!" Eliza yelled.
Mephisto's grin returned.
"Then we won't have any problems then." Mephisto said.
He dropped Eliza on the floor.
"Either one of those two clowns or your sister, young heart, it's your call on how you want to repay me." Mephisto said.
Eliza just looked up to Mephisto, her eyes were filled with fear.
"See ya." Mephisto waved before he vanished into a puff of smoke.
Eliza slowly stood up, still looking shocked as time resumed back to how it was and everyone was moving again.
"...Eliza?...Eliza, are you okay?" Jess asked.
"...Y-yeah, I'm fine." Eliza said.
"You looked spooked, what happened?" Putgerr asked.
"It's nothing, okay...let's just head back to the mansion." Eliza said, looking off to the side.
"No, please, don't go. The party is just getting started." A voice replied.
That voice sounded familiar to the Summer's as Simeon and Keiko walked in the view and turned to face the group.
"...You." Jess said with intent.
"Uh, not these guys." Eliza sighed, as she wasn't in the mood to bother with them.
"Hello, Mon Cheri's, it's been awhile since we last saw each other. And look who else we have here, we have Amila's confidant, Lady Edelwood's trash bags and the infamous Putgerr, I believe Jehovah was looking all over the continent for you." Simeon said.
"Who are you calling trash, trash?" Daron asked, his eyes glowing slightly while Lacey just pulled out her sword out of her sheet.
"...You know who these weirdo's are?" Putgerr asked Eliza.
"I wish I haven't." Eliza said.
"It appears you two have grown stronger since the last time we faced, hm. But I wonder, will that be enough to defeat us?" Keiko asked, her hands placed together.
"It won't be like last time, we are now aware of your tricks. You two losers better get out of our way or your heads will hit the pavement." Jess said.
"Oooh, confident. This should be quite fun before the war starts, right, Keiko?" Simeon asked.
Keiko opened her hands, revealing tiny clay spiders.
"Let's cut this short. We have a battle to attend." Keiko said.
The spiders jumped up, releasing web that went towards the group.
Eliza's eyes turned pink and her right arm was engulfed in aura and pulled her gun out and used her aura claws to slice through the web, like it was nothing.
Putgerr made a note to mute the sound in the entire block so no one else from the building will get involved before he smacked the floor with his guitar, releasing a shockwave that knocked both Simeon, Keiko and her spiders backwards.
The spiders kept going towards the group, shooting their web while Simeon pulled out his clarinet and blew into it, releasing a soundwave that smashed the glass windows into pieces and released the four Others out.
Simeon began playing a tune that entranced the Others, putting him under his control as they changed into their monstrous forms.
One Other was a large crystal lion with yellow eyes who roared.
One Other was the painting of a woman wearing a straight white jacket, with the background featuring a asylum.
One Other was a floating swirling eyeball.
And the fourth one was a large arm with a mouth on the palm, looking hungry.
"Alright, now get em, my adoring creatures!" Simeon commanded.
The large lion leaped and landed on Caroline, knocking her on the ground before it opened it's mouth to eat her up. Caroline grabbed the lion's mouth with her hands before she kicked it with enough force to knock it away from her.
Two freaky long arms phased through the painting, attempting to grab Lacey who sliced the arms and jumped towards the painting, cutting it in half and landed on the floor while that Other vanished.
The Large arm with the mouth made it's way towards Putgerr who just launched a soundwave that sent the arm flying and knocked it into the ceiling and it vanished.
Daron just ignored the Others as he pulled out his glowing gun and shot at Simeon and Keiko, one glowing bullet hitting his shoulder while the other made a hole through Keiko's sleeve.
Simeon winced before he snapped his finger and the lion grabbed Daron's leg in his mouth, chewing him up as he screamed in pain.
A bunch of small clay spiders jumped right Eliza, beginning to turn themselves into clay around her body before till her body was lit on aura, burning the clay around her as she made her way towards Keiko.
Suddenly, the swirly eyeball appeared in front of Keiko and shot a laser that struck Eliza, who now had swirling eyes and looked dizzy.
Jess ran towards the eyeball, levitating the glass shards from the glass windows and avoided the eyeball's lasers before stabbed the eyeball with the shards before shoving them deeper into it's eyeball before it collapsed and vanished.
Lacey jumped in the air, launching her sword down on Keiko who pulled out a kunai and blocked her sword, holding Lacey up in the air.
"It's a shame you turned your back on your home by working for that vile woman and became a total disappointment, hm." Keiko said.
"If I'm a disappointment, what does that make you?" Lacey asked, before she jumped behind Keiko, about to stab her in the back.
A muscly clay arm peered out of Keiko's clay bag, grabbing Lacey's sword and began to cover it in clay.
The lion was shaking it's head repeatedly while holding Daron in it's mouth who was still screaming before Putgerr ran towards it and strummed his guitar, unleashing a powerful sound that cracked the floor and the ceiling, shattering the lion crystal statue into pieces and Daron landed on the floor.
Daron looked hurt before he picked up his glowing gun and started shooting again at Simeon.
Simeon, with a hand to his shoulder, dodged the bullets this time as Caroline ran up to, throwing her fists at him. He dodged the blows before he blew into clarinet, releasing yet another soundwave that sent Caroline flying.
Putgerr immediately counteracted that with a soundwave powerful than Simeon's, sending him into the left half of the hallway and landed on the ground.
Eliza got back to her senses after the effects of the swirly eyeball wore off and ran towards Keiko and Lacey, clenching her aura fist and smacked Keiko aside, her body smashed through the window and was descending down.
Eliza jumped out, going after Keiko.
Lacey pulled the clay off her sword before she jumped through the broken window aswell while Caroline just phased through the wall, she was going after the three.
Simeon stood before he looked around to see he was cornered by Putgerr, Daron and Jess.
-----
Keiko landed gracefully outside the building and pulled her hair off her eyes as Eliza and Lacey landed on the ground, facing the kimono wearing lady with clay.
Caroline phased out of the building, standing next to the two.
Keiko glared at the three and snarled.
"I will show you just how powerful my art can be. When I take all of you down, then Alexia will shut her annoying mouth, hm!" Keiko said.
More clay flew out of her bag, splattering on the ground.
The clay formed into the torso of a bird with the head of a swan as she jumped on it and it started flying off into the sky, floating above the three women.
Clay was dripping out of the clay bird's wings, covering the ground in clay.
The clay splatters morphed into the clay behemoth's, who walked slowly towards the three and extended their arms towards them from a long distance.
One behemoth grabbed onto Caroline's arms, covering her arms in clay and she backed away, suddenly her arms felt heavy and couldn't move because of the clay.
Lacey cut through any arm that tried to reach her while Eliza dashed left and right, punching a hole through a clay behemoth and jumped through that, she leaped towards another behemoth and shot their head off before she extended her right arm towards a clay behemoth and grabbed them by their neck and pulled herself towards it.
Upon reaching the clay monstrosity, she landed on it's head and made a jump towards Keiko and her bird floating in the sky, shooting at her.
Keiko avoided getting shot while two bullets struck through the bird's wings, making two small holes.
The swan head opened it's mouth, releasing a large amount of clay that landed on Eliza and she crashed on the ground, with her torso stuck in clay while her head was exposed.
----------
Simeon stood as Putgerr, Jess and Daron surrounded him.
He simply grinned as he gestured at them to come.
Putgerr launched a soundwave, Jess launched some shards while Daron shot glowing bullets at Simeon.
The musical barrier appeared around Simeon, repelling their combined attacks before he snapped his fingers and more musical notes appeared, sending towards the three who got hit by the notes, knocking them back.
"This guy's power reminds me of Acynna, that's not good." Putgerr said.
"Can't you do something to beat this guy!?" Jess asked Putgerr.
"I can try to blast through his barrier maybe." Putgerr said.
"Then do it!" Jess said, before she hit by yet another musical note.
Putgerr closed his eyes and pointed his fingers at Simeon.
Suddenly, there were two loud screeching voices screaming, making Simeon covering his ears as his barrier shattered.
Daron quickly shot at Simeon, pelting him with glowing bullets.
"Gah!" Simeon said, his suit was filled with bullet holes.
Simeon blew into his clarinet, releasing that musical scale that charged towards Daron and wrapped itself around him before the scale retracted back to Simeon like a yo-yo and extended itself towards Jess, smacking her with her scale before retracting back and smacked Putgerr in the face, knocking him on his butt.
Daron looked hurt as Simeon kept throwing his scale around at his two opponents, injuring Daron in the process.
Before Putgerr could counterattack, he got smacked again by the scale before rolling back to Simeon.
Jess got up and waited for the scale to reach her as her eyes began glowing purple.
The moment Daron and the Scale rolled towards her...it suddenly stopped right in front of Jess.
"Huh?" Simeon asked, as he stopped playing his clarinet for one second.
The Scale rolled back towards Simeon, smacking him in the stomach.
"AGH!" Simeon said, spitting something out from that hit.
The Scale and Daron rolled back towards Jess before rolling it back into Simeon, smacking him again.
"H-HEY, WILL YOU STOP THAT! I'M NOT A YOYO!" Daron yelled, his face was turning slightly green.
Jess rolled the scale back into Simeon one more time, hitting him in the chest.
Simeon dropped to his knees and his clarinet fell on the floor, wheezing out a pained noise as he put his hand on his chest.
The scale vanished as Daron fell on the floor, who was about to vomit all over the floor if he got pulled into that scale one more time.
Simeon reached for his clarinet till he got blasted by a soundwave from Putgerr.
-------
Lacey sliced a clay behemoth in half before she made her way towards Eliza, beginning to cut through the clay cocoon, managing to release her.
Caroline slowly reached her hands towards her arms and grabbed onto them, tearing her clay covered sleeves off and threw them on the ground, her bare arms feeling free as she stretched them to regain some feeling before she looked up the sky and aimed her hands, launching two large ghostly hands that grabbed Keiko's bird by it's wings, stopping it in it's place.
Lacey, seeing the opportunity, ran towards Caroline and grabbed onto one of the ghost hands, climbing her way to Keiko's bird.
Keiko, gritting her teeth, kicked the ghost hands till Lacey climbed her way and launched her sword towards her.
She blocked Lacey's sword with her kunai and the two began clashing against each other with their weapons.
As she was standing on top of the bird, Lacey's feet were getting covered in clay.
Lacey, while trying to break through Keiko's defense, she felt something and looked down, seeing her feet stuck in the bird and tried to pull herself out while Keiko stood in front of her.
She stabbed her in the leg with her kunai, causing Lacey to drop on one knee as the clay began extending towards the rest of her body.
"Hm, sorry Forrester, but my art is far too superior for your sword and combat skills. When everyone will see the result when they see you as a clay sculpture, maybe then they'll actually start appreciating my work." Keiko said.
Eliza looked upwards before she ran towards Caroline.
"Hold on to that bird just for a little longer!" Eliza said as she jumped on the ghost hand, running her way towards Keiko.
While Lacey was getting clayed, Keiko looked past her shoulder to see Eliza reaching them.
"Tch, you again, demon?" Keiko asked, looking annoyed.
As she got on the hand, Eliza jumped high in the sky and descended back down with her large fist flying in Keiko's direction and slammed it into her head.
"GAH!" Keiko gasped.
Keiko collapsed, bursting through her clay bird's chest and Eliza, Lacey and Keiko were flying down before crashing on the ground while pieces of clay were raining down from the sky.
Caroline ran to Lacey, helping her get the clay off her while Eliza got up and walked towards Keiko, who was sitting with her knees on a pool of clay, clutching onto her kimono.
"...H-how? How could this happen? My art is supposed to be pure and unbreakable, how can it be destroyed so easily by some snot nosed half-demon girl!? Just how!?" Keiko asked, with her eyes closed.
"...This fight is over. I'm not gonna kill you, even if you are a member of Jashin's group, you are still a person. Just surrender yourself to the law and make this easier on yourself." Eliza said, holding her hand out towards Keiko.
Something that Eliza said struck a nerve in Keiko who looked up, looking enraged, her hair looked very messy.
"...S-surrender? Myself? The nerve of you saying that!...I-I am the prodigy of the Origami family, a powerful family of artists with pieces of art that were adored and loved by many from my village for centuries, they have high expectations that I need to fulfill!" Keiko yelled.
Keiko slammed her fist into the ground covered in clay.
"But no one appreciated my work! I was mocked and insulted several times, 'Oh, Keiko, your art is too weird, can't you make something nice for a chance!?' And stupid simpletons who have no idea about true art tried to make profit off my work, abusing it's purity! This damn world just doesn't know what art is even if it stared them in their stupid ugly faces! Even that sow of a woman Alexia mocked me, and now to surrender to some foolish brat with a demon stuck in her head is unacceptable! I REFUSE!" Keiko yelled, she was having a complete meltdown as she kept slamming her fists into the clay, getting them covered in clay.
Eliza, Lacey and Caroline watched as Keiko was losing her mind before she continued to glare at the three, breathing in and out.
When she looked at her hands covered in clay, she smiled and began giggling to herself.
"...Of course, of course! If I can't beat them with my art...then I will just have to become art myself to crush them!" Keiko laughed.
"What is she taking about?" Caroline asked.
Keiko ripped the hair sticks out of her hair, her long hair released from her ponytail before it started to float, revealing a Jashin mark on the back of her head that started glow as the clay pool around Keiko started to intensify.
"She is about to show off her true power." Lacey said, clutching her sword.
"What does she plan to do?" Caroline asked.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Behold, idiots, watch as I shed off my mortal coil and transcend into my ultimate masterpiece!" Keiko laughed, spreading her arms to both directions.
Her body turned into clay and melted into the pool and it grew bigger.
The clay pool started to shape into a large tree that grew and reached towards the sky, going past the building at this point.
The tree was entirely made out of clay, with Keiko's arms stretched left and right, her fingers turned into branches, her toes turned into roots shoved into the ground, spreading in the underground and the top of the tree was covered with orange leaves that resembled strands of her hair, it resembled a Katsura Tree.
"...Is that...Keiko?" Eliza asked.
Two eyeballs and one large mouth with big teeth opened in the center of the tree, the left eye was looking up while the right eye was upside down and the mouth roared with laughter.
"I HAVE BECOME ART! GAZE UPON MY BEAUTY WORLD AND DESPAIR!"
The clay pool began pouring from beneath the Katsura Tree and the ground started shaking as clay Behemoth's, spiders and birds began bursting out of the ground.
"She is extending her roots in the ground..." Lacey said.
"Is she trying to turn the entire area into a extension of herself and create more of those clay things?" Caroline asked.
"HA HA HA HA! YES, THIS IS ART! IT EXTENDS AND EXTENDS, PASSING THROUGH GENERATION AND GENERATION! WHO IS UNORIGINAL NOW, HUH!?"
Caroline launched some ghost hands at the armies of clay, smacking them aside before they could reach her.
Eliza charged right towards the Katsura Tree, stretching her aura hand to the tree and grabbed it before she started to climb on it.
Eliza's arms and feet got stuck in the clay tree, she was unable to move as she was getting plunged into the tree.
"OH SHIT!" Eliza yelled, looking horrified.
"HOW IS THAT, DEMON!? YOU TOO WILL BECOME A PART OF MY MASTERPIECE!"
Lacey jumped from a clay behemoth to another till she reached the tree and slashed at it, managing to cut through it but more clay poured in, closing the tear off.
Caroline grabbed Eliza with a ghost hand and pulled her out, dropping her softly on the ground.
Eliza's hands were covered in clay and looked at the clay tree.
"What do we do? If we can't climb on her without getting stuck, how are we supposed to damage her?" Eliza asked.
"...If we can't damage her from the outside, maybe we can from the inside. Can you use your power to detect a weakness in her?" Lacey asked Eliza.
Eliza closed her eyes and concentrated, she could feel Keiko's heart beating rapidly inside the Katsura Tree replica.
"...Yeah, I can feel her heart beating just fine inside the tree...maybe if I hit that, it will damage her!" Eliza said.
"I'll stay here and fight off these things, you and Caroline go into that tree and get to her heart!" Lacey said, as she slashed the incoming enemies in half.
Caroline and Eliza nodded as Caroline grabbed Eliza's hand and the two ran towards the tree.
Caroline used her power and both she and Eliza phased right through the clay tree.
------
Simeon got himself off the wall and stretched his arm, the clarinet floating back into his hand.
He blew into his clarinet and a soundwave repelled Putgerr, Jess and Daron.
As the three got up, Simeon launched another soundwave that struck them, he was gonna use soundwaves to keep repelling them away from him.
And he blew into his clarinet, suddenly it din't make a noise.
"What the blues?" Simeon asked.
He blew again and nothing was heard, no soundwave was launched.
Putgerr, with a smirk, muted the clarinet, preventing Simeon from creating more attacks.
Taking advantage of this, Daron shot glowing bullets into Simeon's body and wasn't stopping.
Jess levitated glass shards from the Other Lion and the windows and stabbed Simeon with them.
Putgerr then ran up to Simeon and smashed his guitar into his face, unleashing a powerful sound blast that shook the hallway, cracking it.
Simeon's goggles shattered, getting shards in his eyes as he got launched into the ceiling before he dropped on the floor.
Jess and Daron approached Simeon while Putgerr was ready to launch yet another sound blast if he got up again.
Simeon's body was in a critical state, with shards sticking out of his body, his once fancy suit now tattered in holes while bleeding out of his chest, his hat had holes in it and his pompadour was messed up. He slowly got on his knees, breathing heavily as he pulled the shards of his goggles out of his eyes.
"It's over, Blues. Stop now before you will die." Jess said.
Simeon just let out a chuckle as he grinned to himself, despite how much in pain he was in.
"S-sorry, Mon Cheri, but I ain't stopping now. Not when I still have one last trick up my sleeve." Simeon said, finally looking up at her, revealing two celestials moon in both of his pupils, grinning at Jess.
"T-the mark!" Jess said.
"That symbol is literally in his eyes?" Putgerr asked, taking a closer look.
Simeon slowly got up and remained in one spot as he kept bleeding out of his body.
"...If I fail this one, my ass will be booted out of the team, I'll lose my mark and I'll be going back to nobodyville, and...I don't want to be treated as a joke anymore, I'm gonna become the most feared member of Red Moon once Lord Jashin sees how valuable I am once I wipe the floor with you three!" Simeon said, his eyes started to shine.
"Shit, he is gonna change!" Daron said, ready to shoot him again.
Simeon swung his clarinet, pointing it at the ceiling.
"WATCH OUT, LADIES AND GENTS, KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED, CAUSE THIS IS SIMEON BLUES'S LAST STAND! I'LL GO BIG OR GO HOME, IT'S NOW OR NEVER!" Simeon announced.
Daron shot his bullets only to be repelled by a white sphere that surrounded Simeon as his form began changing, light peered out of the sphere, causing the three to close their eyes.
The sphere shattered and Simeon now had white angel wings for arms, bird feet with sharp nails, wearing a bright robe with musical notes on it, white feathers covering his body, a beak for a mouth and two glowy eyes with celestial moons in them.
"Oh, shit." Putgerr said, as he got a look at Simeon.
Simeon flew above the three and let out a screech that hurt Jess, Putgerr and Daron's ears, shattering every window in the building and sent them flying.
He opened his wings, launching glowing feathers that exploded into light upon getting in contact with his three opponents.
Daron's form was distorting slightly as he shot at the transformed Simeon.
Simeon clapped his wings, launching a sonic wave that cut through the bullets and hit the three, knocking them further.
"Are you kidding me right now!?" Daron asked, annoyed that his bullets weren't working.
Putgerr got up, his eyes glew before he launched another sound blast at Simeon, knocking him back.
Simeon kept floating before he opened his beak and began humming very beautifully, his voice sounded majestic.
Putgerr and Daron's eyes turned white as they were entranced by Simeon's voice.
Jess's psychic barriers repelled Simeon's humming from taking control of her mind before she looked at both Putgerr and Daron, realizing that she was toast.
"Oh, fuck." Jess said.
Putgerr, with a strum of his guitar, launched Jess flying and Daron shot at Jess, hitting her legs.
"AH!" Jess yelled.
------
Eliza and Caroline were now inside the Katsura Tree and inside was filled with as much clay as it was outside.
"...I never want to see clay in my life ever again after this." Caroline said, getting tired of clay.
Eliza used her senses to track down Keiko's heart and looked up.
At the center, Keiko's beating heart was wrapped in branches, preventing it from being damaged or stabbed.
"There's her heart, we have to get up there and hit it with all we got." Eliza said.
At that moment, branches started peering out through the clay walls, reaching towards Caroline and Eliza.
"Shit, she spotted us!" Caroline said.
Eliza used her aura arm to cut through the branches that got close to her before she extended her arm, grabbing onto a distant branch and reached it before jumped her way up to Keiko's heart.
Caroline just phased through the branches trying to stab and used her ghost hands to grab onto every branch, climbing her way up.
The two fight their way through more branches that got in their way, slashing at them into clay pieces as they were reaching Keiko's heart.
Eliza extended her arm again to grab onto the branches wrapped around the heart and launched herself at it.
Caroline just used her ghost hands to grab onto the heart and arrived there next to Eliza.
"Okay, the hard part is done, all we need is to rip these stupid branches off and damage her heart." Eliza said, as she used her right arm to rip the branches apart while Caroline used the ghost hands to tear the branches up.
Keiko's heart began beating rapidly as she sensed what was going on and vines from above, grabbed onto Caroline and Eliza, pulling them away from her heart.
"NO!" Eliza yelled, as she and Caroline were held in the air by the vines.
"DID YOU THINK I WOULD LET YOU GET CLOSE TO MY HEART WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT, YOU SIMPLETON!?"
The vines that were holding Caroline and Eliza started to cover them in clay, starting with their torsos and then making their way to their legs and necks.
"Damn it, I can't move my arms!" Caroline yelled.
Eliza's aura arm was extinguished as it was being covered in clay.
"YES, I AM WINNING! THIS PLACE WILL BECOME A PART OF MY MASTERPIECE, AND EVERYONE FROM THE ENTIRE PLANET WILL GET TO SEE THIS TREE WITH THEIR OWN EYES AND BASK IN IT'S BEAUTY, MY ART WILL BE RECOGNIZED BY MILLIONS FOR YEARS TO COME! THIS IS THE ART OF RECREATION!"
Eliza and Caroline's neck were getting covered in clay quickly, soon they would become a part of this tree if they din't do something now.
Eliza, holding onto her gun, tried adjusting while having a difficult time with her being stuck in clay before she aimed it right at the heart.
"ELIZA, DO SOMETHING! I'M GETTING-!" Caroline shouted before her move got covered in clay.
A glowing bullet bursted out of clay wrapped around Eliza, piercing through Keiko's heart.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Keiko's scream echoed inside the tree as it was shaking.
"NOW, LACEY!" Eliza yelled at the top of her lungs.
Back outside, Lacey was slashing through every clay creature that popped out of the ground till she saw them stop, screaming in pain before looking at the tree, the large mouth shouting it's pain.
Realizing what Eliza has done, Lacey charged towards the tree and with one slash of her sword, she cuts the Katsura tree in half.
The tree splattered all over the ground, melting into clay.
The clay monster dropped to their knees as they dispersed into clay aswell.
Lacey ran to Eliza and Caroline who pulled themselves out and coughed clay out of their mouths before they dropped to the ground.
"Are you two alright? What happened?" Lacey asked.
"...We were nearly done there for a moment, if I din't hit her heart, we would of became a part of her messed up art." Eliza sighed, getting clay off her shoulder.
"I never want to see or hear the word clay in my life, ever, ever again." Caroline said, spitting more clay out.
The clay pool then formed back into Keiko, she was back to her human form, laying against the ground as her long orange hair was spread all over the ground, she stared at the sky with sad eyes as she was bleeding out of her chest.
Eliza, Caroline and Lacey turned to see Keiko and they walked up to her.
"...My...my masterpiece was a failure too...a complete utter failure. Hm, it appears nothing that I made turned out to be good and or was even noticed...I failed as an artist, I'm a disgrace to my family." Keiko said, starting to tear up.
"...A disgrace?" Eliza asked.
Keiko turned her head to Eliza.
"...I wanted to make my family proud, they showed me their works of art that were appreciated by the people of my village and I wanted to follow their footsteps, to create art that will last forever, art that will be appreciated and treated with love and care by many...but I was just fooling myself. Not even Red Moon cared about my work, what am I even good for?" Keiko asked, her kimono was getting covered in blood.
"...You just wanted recognition, to be able to create something that people will enjoy and appreciate you for your efforts. Is that what you wanted?" Eliza asked.
Keiko nodded.
"...I guess this is it for me, I die without any gratitude, a fitting end to a disappointing journey, hm. Atleast I won't have to put up with Alexia anymore so that's good." Keiko said.
Eliza just frowned, even if she tried, she couldn't be able to hate this woman, all she felt right now was pity for her.
Keiko looked at Eliza.
"...Will I be forgotten? Will I be remembered just as a failure who tried to be an artist but failed in every step, hm?" Keiko asked.
"...No, you won't be forgotten and you won't be remembered as a failure. You will be remembered as an artist who just had a different view of art even though none of us can understand it, no one will forget what you did today. I will always remember you." Eliza said.
Keiko smiled, it was a genuine smile.
"...Then, perhaps, my life had a meaning to it after all...hah, I guess is what the Art of Decay represents, art that doesn't last forever but it is beautiful as it slowly rots away...yes, I understand now..." Keiko said.
Keiko closed her eyes, her smile remained.
Eliza, Caroline and Lacey looked down at the now dead artist, they din't have any words to say.
Lacey crouched down, gently picking up Keiko's body and placing her in her arms.
"...I wonder how the three are handling the other guy." Caroline said.
------
Jess had a hard time getting up as the bullets were burning through her legs while the Simeon bird was floating above her, letting out another screech that sent Jess flying into the wall.
The entranced Putgerr launched another soundwave that pushed Jess further into the wall.
Jess collapsed on the floor, she was injured but she wasn't gonna lose to a Red Moon mook, as she too had her own trick up her sleeve.
Her eyes glew purple as she faced Simeon's eyes, using her power to break through his mental defenses and penetrated into his mind.
Jess found herself standing on a scale floor with musical numbers on it, wearing a pink gown, finding herself in a area covered in light before she heard the sound of humming as she looked up, seeing Simeon standing on top of a circular red platform in his human form, wearing a murphy robe and his hair was normal, humming beautifully.
Jess concentrated and a staircase appeared, leading her to Simeon's platform. She began running up the stairs, going towards Simeon.
Simeon looked down and a musical barrier appeared around the platform, preventing Jess from entering in.
A sword appeared in Jess's hand, the same sword she used to fight off the little girl infected with the Sicrum essence and used it to slash through the musical barrier before she jumped on the platform, pointing it at Simeon.
Simeon, while humming, turned to Jess as a tonic appeared in his hand, using it as a weapon.
Jess and Simeon charged at each other, their weapons clashing against one another.
The scale floor suddenly turned into a piano and the piano keys were being played by themselves, Moonlight Sonata began playing in the background, echoing in Simeon's mind.
Simeon's humming got louder, sending Jess flying but grabbed onto the platform and pulled herself back up, aiming her sword in the air as piano's started raining from the sky, each directed at Simeon who dodged the piano's.
He aimed his tonic, shooting a musical wave that was deflected by Jess's sword and he got struck by his own attack, causing him to stumble slightly as he walked backwards but din't fall off the platform.
The piano music was playing louder in the background as Jess charged towards Simeon, sending slash waves at him, tearing through his robe.
Five clarinets appeared around Simeon, each shooting musical scales that wrapped around Jess, holding her tightly as Simeon charged his tonic at Jess.
The piano keys hit the high note and the entire area shook, disturbing Simeon's concentration and the scales shattered, releasing Jess who landed back on the platform.
Moonlight Sonata was being louder than Simeon's humming as he tried to shoot the musical scales at Jess, but his clarinets did not shoot, he was losing power over his area.
Jess charged at him again with her sword and Simeon blocked it with his tonic,
The tonic shattered and Jess stabbed him right in the chest, causing Simeon to scream very loudly as cracks appeared all over him and he shattered into pieces.
Jess opened her eyes and she was back in the hallway as the Simeon bird stopped humming, his mental hold over Putgerr and Daron was shattered as their eyes were back to normal.
"...Huh? Ah, damn it, don't tell me I got mind controlled for a second time!" Putgerr said, noW looking really pissed as he turned Simeon.
Simeon clapped his wings again, launching a sonic wave at the three but Putgerr launched a very powerful sound blast that pierced through the sonic wave and struck Simeon, doing incredible damage as he was sent flying backwards into a wall.
Daron shot many times at Simeon, hitting every part of his body with glowing bullets.
Simeon let out a pained screech before he dropped to the floor, blood peering out of his body. He changed back into his normal form, he was in a worst shape than before he transformed as he laid against the wall and coughed up blood, dropping his clarinet on the ground.
"...Well, shit." Simeon frowned, blood coming out of his mouth.
Daron had his gun aimed at his head while Putgerr still looked pissed as Jess walked up to Simeon, looking at him.
Simeon slowly looked up to Jess.
"Good job, Mon Cheri, you messed me up pretty good, I never could of imagined *cough* that you were that good. I salute you." Simeon smiled, tipping his hat to her.
"...You said that you worked with Red Moon so you could become Jashin's right hand man and din't want to go back to nobodyville if you lost this battle, what did you mean by that?" Jess asked.
"...Let me tell you a little tale. There was a little lad who's daddy had money troubles and borrowed loans from the bank and his mommy was horribly sick, the little lad was choir boy in the church from Highton View Terrace, he din't have many friends and always got bullied by bigger ruffians and one day, the Others started popping all over the populace and the poor lad's family got caught in the attack, the lad probably would of been next if Red Moon din't come in and save him and his town at that moment, the lad pledged his allegiance to the people who saved him and worked for the rest of his life to become a important man who would be treated with respect instead of being treated like gum on someone's shoe...and that lad is now sitting here in front of you, puking his blood out, who failed to...become a man of high importance..." Simeon said.
"...Your town got attacked by Others and you lost your parents...just like me and Eliza did." Jess muttered.
"...I wish things would of been different for all of us *cough* maybe in another life...I could of been someone important, maybe a better person, maybe have a family of my own...but I can't be that person, can I? After all, who cares about a nobody like me, right?" Simeon asked, chuckling slightly.
"....I honestly dislike you and Red Moon but...I agree, I wish things would of been different, for all of us...I'm sorry for what you had to go through. We'll take you to a hospital where someone will attend to your wounds." Jess said.
"...Hah, I'm afraid it's a little too late for that. Here is a fun fact, that little trash bag over there, holding that gun...he is a bigger piece of shit than even me...he was the one who-" Simeon said.
A glowing bullet flew past Jess and struck Simeon's forehead.
More blood escaped from his mouth before he laid there and closed his eyes, he stopped breathing.
Jess just stood there, her eyes white before she turned to see smoke coming out of Daron's gun, who had a satisfied grin to his face, Putgerr had the same expression as Jess.
"...What did you do that for!?" Jess asked.
"What? I looked at his hand and it looked like he was gonna attack you, I saved you from what he was about to do." Daron shrugged.
"...He wasn't in any condition to fight back...you literally shot the guy at point blank." Putgerr said.
"Well, he was trying to kill us a few seconds ago, wasn't he?" Daron asked.
Daron then suddenly realized he forgot about the suitcases and saw them on the floor, he rushed over to them and opened up, sighing in relief after seeing that they weren't damaged.
"Okay, good, the guns weren't broken during the fight." Daron said.
He picked up the suitcases and turned to Putgerr and Jess.
"Let's see if the girls took out crazy clay girl too and get out of here before security comes in and sees that guy embedded in their wall dead." Daron said, as he walked past the two, going towards the elevator.
If Jess din't trust Daron before, she certainly din't trust him now.
"...So, do we just leave that dead guy right there?" Putgerr asked, as he still looked at Simeon's corpse.
"...There's nothing we can do for him." Jess said, as she walked towards the elevator.
Putgerr still looked shocked before he left the hallway.
Outside, there was a grave that was recently made to put Keiko's body in it.
Lacey, Eliza and Caroline turned to see Jess, Putgerr and Daron walking out.
"Oh, you guys are okay, I'm glad. Where is the other guy?" Caroline asked.
"...He is dead. And I'm guessing Keiko died too since I don't see her anywhere." Jess said.
"...Yeah." Eliza frowned.
"I made a grave for her and placed her there, it was better than letting her body out open in the cold." Lacey said.
"Why would you do that? She was Red Moon trash, why would you make a grave for someone who tried to kill you?" Daron asked.
"Shut up, just shut the fuck up and never speak again. Now let's get out of here." Jess said, as she walked towards the manhole cover.
"...What's with her?" Caroline asked.
"I unno." Daron shrugged, as he followed Jess.
"...We'll talk about it more when we are not standing here in the middle of the cold." Putgerr sighed as he walked away too.
Eliza looked at Keiko's grave one more time before she followed the group back into the sewers while a group of moths were watching from above.
Benedict was no longer in his lab.
-----
Alexia's eyes opened, with a infuriated expression.
"Curses!" Alexia yelled.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.
Alexia slammed her palms on the table.
"Those imbeciles failed spectacularly at their jobs again and died! Those people are on their way to their hideout and that traitor Benedict is missing! This is a disaster!" Alexia said.
Jebediah sat up.
"...I know, Jack...I know." Jebediah said.
"What is our next move? Not only do they have the weapons to take us down, but Verita is likely on her way now with her army." Jehovah said.
"...We lure them out of their hiding hole." Jebediah said.
Jebediah turned his head to Daniel and Jehovah.
"You two know where the mansion is. I want you two to deal with them and put a stop their nonsense now. I want to save my strength for Verita." Jebediah said.
"It will be my pleasure." Daniel smiled, placing his hand on his chest.
"...Those scumbags will rue the day they embarrassed me." Alexia scowled.
------
It was now 6 PM.
In the L'aurlethe mansion, everyone gathered in the main lounge,
Meredith's agents were there, holding their glowing guns while Meredith was pacing back and forth was she was holding the phone, talking to her son.
"Honey, it's gonna be okay, just stay there and once everything will be over, I'll pick you up and bring you back home, I'm gonna be okay. I love you." Meredith said, with the tone of a reassuring mother.
"...Stay safe in your bunkers, I will contact you when the battle is over." Amila said, as she was talking to her parents on the phone.
Locrian was holding a glowing gun, looking unsure.
"You don't want to use it, do you?" Bonita asked, who had a golden winged gun instead of a glowing one.
"...Yeah. I know these will be necessary...but I don't really want to kill anyone." Locrian said.
Jess and Eliza were outside the longue as Eliza told her what Mephisto asked her to do.
"...That smirky little shit. I'll rip his throat out the moment I will actually see him." Jess said, looking pissed.
"...He said if I don't kill either Jashin or Verita, he will take your soul instead...what do I do, sis?" Eliza asked.
Jess folded her arms, sighed.
"...Honestly, it's not a easy call...but if you must...then you may have to do it and then Mephisto will hopefully leave us alone." Jess said.
"But what if it won't be the end of that, sis? I don't want to kill people for a living, I really don't want to." Eliza sighed.
Jess placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, we'll figure this out, we were in bigger jams before, we can find a way out of this mess like always." Jess said.
"...I hope you're right." Eliza said.
"Hey, are you getting your weapons or not?" Daron asked.
"...Let's go." Jess sighed.
Jess and Eliza walked in the lounge as Jess telekinetically pulled a glowing towards her, grabbing it in her hand.
"Okay, now what?" Jess asked.
"Now it's time we finally take down Red Moon and Verita for good." Amila said.
"So, anyone we should be aware of outside of the obvious threats?" Putgerr asked.
"Outside of Jebediah and Jashin, there are Jehovah and Rebecca, who have armies of soldiers and puppets at their back and call, Daniel and Alexia would likely be the perfect candidates to take over Red Moon if Jebediah fell, they need to be dealt with before that happens. I'm not sure if Judas will get involved or not." Amila said.
"...Daniel tried to kill me and my sister back in Rachdale, if I see him I'll be glad to settle the score with him." Jess said.
"And what about Verita's group?" Lacey asked.
"The ones we need to watch out for are Emynx, Lea-Maria and Liern, Emynx can devastate an entire planet with his power, Lea-Maria can control minds and Liern can summon Others, the rest should be on the scale of normal difficulty." Amila said.
"Kay, so, now do we attack those guys before-" Daron said.
"Amila L'aurlethe, would you please come out here?" Daniel's voice rang out.
Outside the mansion, many military cars gathered in front of the gate, with many soldiers holding their weapons standing outside while Clarinda Eaton was standing on top of a tank while holding her automatic rifle.
Daniel and Jehovah were standing in front of the army as Daniel had a satisfied smirk to his face.
"We need to talk." Daniel said.
------
In the demon world.
Mephisto was standing in the hallway of Nyx's castle, holding a crystal ball that was showing him Newrum right now as Zoey and Tarabus walked in, noticing his presence.
"Mephisto, what are you watching?" Zoey asked.
Mephisto turned to them, smiling.
"Oh, hello. You were just about to miss the show." Mephisto said.
-------
Manuel was standing near his car from a safe distance as he was viewing Newrum from his binoculars.
"...Hm, war, it never changes, does it?" Manuel asked.
He then looked to the right, spotting The black haired lady with yellow eyes and claymore and the tall green skinned man with red eyes sitting on top of a cliff, also viewing Newrum from the distance.
----------
Verita and the members of her crusade were in the meeting room, everyone had their attention towards their leader.
After opening her eyes, she looked at them all.
"...They've gone too far. Let's end this." Verita declared.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Post by Master Psychic on Mar 1, 2019 9:12:26 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Part 7: Storm's End
Sunday, December 21st 2081, 6:10 PM
Daniel Harbercorn and his army were standing in front the L'aurlethe mansion, with the soldiers aiming their guns at the house.
Amila and Meredith looked through the windows and so did Eliza, Jess, Caroline and Bonita.
"...It's that Jehovah guy from Rachdale." Eliza said.
"And that scumbag Daniel is with him." Jess frowned.
"Amila, please come out. I'd rather not have my men waste their bullets by ordering them to shoot at your house just to get you to come out. I just want to talk." Daniel said.
"...That ass of a man is lying through his teeth. I can tell through his eyes that he wants them to shoot to his heart's pleasure." Amila scowled.
"Are you actually gonna talk to him?" Caroline asked.
"Obviously, no, he wants to kill us, we need to fight our way out of here." Meredith said, holding a blaster in her hands as she was ready to pull the trigger.
"Hey, maybe he actually wants to talk. Let's hear him out." Locrian said.
"Or we can just shoot him in the head and get this over with." Daron said, holding his glowing gun.
Amila began thinking before she turned to Putgerr.
"If you hear my finger snap, use your powerful attack to knock them down." Amila said.
Putgerr just nodded.
Amila turned around and stepped out of the lounge.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Jess asked.
"Amila, this is your last warning. Come out now or we will shoot if five minutes pass." Daniel said.
The door opened and Amila walked outside, facing the group of soldiers standing outside with their guns pointed.
"I'm here." Amila said.
Daniel smirked.
"And here I thought you wouldn't come out at all, I figured you would hide inside that large mansion of your's and expect us to walk away. Atleast now we can settle this without having to shoot anyone." Daniel said.
Amila simply smiled.
"Well, this is a surprise, I took you more as the type to shoot first and then ask questions later. But oh my, just look at how many soldiers are here, is today Fool's parade and I have forgotten?" Amila asked.
"Cut the sarcasm, Amila, you know why we are here. You are under arrest." Daniel said.
"Under arrest? What on Earth are you talking about?" Amila asked.
"You know what I mean, you have plenty of charges against you, for harboring dangerous criminals, breaking and entering in my facility, conspiring with one of my workers, killing two agents who were working under my cousin and all sorts of illegal crimes that you and your group have possibly conducted right under the president's nose." Daniel said.
"...That's rich, considering the amount of crimes Red Moon have done over the years and had been overlooked because the main leader of that group is the president, if it was someone else, you wouldn't have the authority right now, Daniel and you wouldn't had the legal right to execute people like you did with countless others who had small bits of Sicrum in them. Quite frankly, I'm sure Jashin and Jebediah only see you as a ladder to get them to the top, I doubt they'd care that much if something happened to you, you'd be replaceable." Amila said.
Daniel's mouth twitched but retained his calm.
"...Hm, even though I'm standing here with many men pointing their guns at your face, you are still talking smack. You never change, Amila, and that arrogant attitude of your's that you inherited from your father and grandfather will be your downfall. But since I'm a gentleman, I'm giving you a choice here." Daniel said.
"And what are my choices, if I have to ask?" Amila asked.
"You and your team will surrender yourselves and once we come out victorious from our battle against Verita, you and everyone else will be trialed and will be given many years in prison, but if you behave yourself, you might be released early. Or you can decline and these soldiers will have no choice but to gun you down and everyone else inside that house of your's." Daniel said.
"...Like I would ever surrender to that pig." Meredith said.
"What is she gonna do? Is she really gonna surrender." Eliza asked.
"I highly doubt it. Amila's pride won't let her back down, even if danger is staring her right in the face." Jess said.
Amila placed her finger on her chin and thought about it.
"...Hm, I'm gonna go ahead and say...no." Amila said.
"Well, I saw that one coming. So, can we shoot them now?" Clarinda asked, who was just chilling on top of the tank.
Daniel rubbed the tip of his nose, sighing.
"And people wonder why the Harbercorns and L'aurlethes can never be friends and this is why. Oh well, atleast now I won't have put with your insolence no more, it's been fun chatting with you one last time." Daniel said.
Daniel turned around, walking past Jehovah.
"Clean this mess up and report back to me." Daniel said, before a Red Moon symbol appeared on the wall of a building and walked into the portal before the symbol vanished.
Jehovah raised his arm and pointed his finger at Amila, as his soldiers took aim and were ready to fire.
Amila, unfazed, just raised her hand and snapped her finger.
At that moment, a powerful sound blast broke through the windows of the mansion, sending the soldiers flying away.
"ALL OF YOU, MOVE OUT!" Meredith commanded, as she and her agents ran out, and so did everyone inside.
Amila lit the military cars on fire as everyone ran out of the mansion, Meredith and her Mafia agents were gunning down every soldier they saw.
Clarinda aimed her rifle and shoot glowing bullets, killing a fat guy with a katana and a one guy with white hair holding a machine gun.
Eliza suddenly charged in, bursting right through the tank and then came out through the back and the tank exploded, sending Clarinda crashing down on the ground, landing on her butt.
Everyone escaped from the mansion while some of the soldiers were either unconscious or dead.
Jehovah slowly got up, coughing some smoke out before he placed his hand on his earpiece.
"Jebediah, the situation has been compromised, everyone retaliated and escaped, but they have nowhere else to go. You need to get here now." Jehovah said.
----
In Jebediah's mansion, Jebediah sighed as he stood up and walked into the entrance hall with Judas and Rebecca standing on the stairway.
"...It's time I step in and put a cap on this situation." Jebediah said.
He turned to Rebecca.
"Rebecca, get all of your puppets to Newrum State City and contact every major member of Red Moon, we can't let his chaos go on anymore, it's time we make a move." Jebediah said.
"On it." Rebecca nodded.
"...I'm going too." Judas decided.
"No, you are not. I won't put you on the frontlines." Jebediah said.
"But everyone is gonna fight, I won't just stay here in the house while everyone get's hurt or killed, you are the only person who cared about me, I'm not gonna let anyone get to you." Judas said.
Jebediah looked at Judas and sighed.
"...Very well, but stay as far away from any opponents and shoot from the distance, understood?" Jebediah asked.
Judas nodded.
Jebediah walked out of his mansion, with a angered expression as he started to glow blue.
"I will crush these two groups and the demon dimension will be next." A different voice came out of Jebediah's mouth.
-----------
The crowd from Newrum was currently running on the empty streets, as every person who were in the city evacuated and were transported to other cities.
"Where are we running, exactly!?" Bonita asked.
"Very far away from those nutbags, that's where!" Meredith said.
"This way!" Amila said.
The group turned to the right and ran into that direction before they stopped.
They were blocked by a large crowd of soldiers and puppets and standing in front of that large crowd were top members of Red Moon such as Jehovah, Joseph, Mary, Abraham, Rebecca, Ezekiel, Gideon, Clarinda, her husband Emil Eaton and other members who weren't seen before, with Jebediah in the front.
Judas and Rebecca were standing in the far back of the group with a large bumblebee puppet floating above them.
Some of the residents from Mishinaka were there aswell like Duke, who now had a shotgun for a leg and Debby, who's whip was glowing with red energy.
"Great, the entire group is here." Caroline said.
"I don't see Daniel or Alexia in that crowd." Amila noted.
Jebediah stepped forward.
"May I ask what are you all trying to accomplish here? Everything that I have been doing at this point was in your best interests, to make this world a safe place for all of you, so this planet won't suffer the same fate as my home town centuries ago. And yet you all are going up against me, acting like unruly toddlers who are mistaken me for the enemy when the ones you should be fighting against is Verita and the monsters from that awful dimension. So why?" Jebediah asked.
"When you killed Camellia, Morgan, Bobby, Spencer, Tsumiki, Giovanna and Roger to harvest their souls, was it in their best interests? Did they ask you to kill them?" Amila asked.
"I did not take joy in what I did, trust me, I can admit that my hands aren't clean but sacrifices have to be made if that is the price for a era where we won't be threatened by forces from other dimensions ever again. One day, you will see the same picture, Amila and the rest of you aswell." Jebediah said, adjusting his glasses.
"And do you think killing my sister just because a demon jumped in her body will bring you one step closer to peace? Cause if that's your idea of a perfect world, I don't want to have any part of it." Jess said, as she and Eliza stepped forward.
Jebediah looked at them.
"Ah, it's you two. You girls have cause quite a ruckus in these last couple of months, but I need to ask:who enchanted your gun exactly, Eliza? Which demon did you conspire with to get that weapon?" Jebediah asked.
"Like I need to explain myself to you. You and your god are going down today." Eliza said.
"Well, it's unfortunate you won't be here to witness it, because you and your sister are going somewhere else." Jebediah said.
"...What are you talking about-" Jess said.
A Red Moon symbol appeared beneath her and Eliza and the two got sucked in through a portal before it closed off.
"W-where did they go?" Bonita asked, as she caught off guard.
"You don't need to worry about them. Now, surrender yourselves so we can put this mess behind us already and move on." Jebediah said.
"I couldn't agree more." Verita's voice said.
Amila, Meredith and their group turned around as 12 pillars of light struck down.
Verita, Lea-Maria, Liern, Leonard, Lake, Lemures, Lyle, Nike, Shihk, Emynx, Shannon and Arashi were there.
"This is not good..." Caroline muttered.
"...I shouldn't of waited so long, I should of stepped in and did this the moment I arrived in this poisoned world." Verita said.
Verita started floating.
"Jebediah and Jashin, your reign will end today. I will no longer allow you to ruin this world anymore." Verita said.
"Ruin it? I beg the differ. It's you and plenty of other dimensional monstrosities like Erebus who are ruining everything for everyone, putting yourselves in charge of a world that isn't yours. I suggest you go back to your home world cause I will not show you mercy if you decide to continue this charade." Jebediah said.
"Then bring it, blondie! I have been waiting to take a crack at Jashin for months! Let's do this!" Emynx yelled, aiming his claymore.
"Who do you think you are talking to, you fucking numbskull!? I will take pleasure in ripping that thick skull of your's off your neck!" Joseph declared, pulling his scythe out.
"WAIT, STOP!" Locrian yelled.
He stood on the centre of the road, pointing his hands at both Red Moon and Verita's crusade.
"This doesn't need to end this way! Can't we find a solution that will make everyone happy? We don't need to kill each other for nothing!" Locrian said.
"You've been going against me and my group for months and now you want to find a common ground? Sorry, but I'm just tired of this and I'm gonna end it now." Jebediah said.
"There's no point in negotiating with evil people like them. When I will seal off the negative emotions, that's when this conflict will end and order will be restored. You will fall down the same way the demon that you hated did." Verita said.
With a raise of her hands, two tree's of light bursted out of the ground and extended their branches towards Jebediah to impale in, as he teleported out of the way and appeared in the sky. In a similar gesture, he raised his hands and two Jashin symbols appeared on two building, shooting large blue beams that struck through the tree's, ripping them in half.
Locrian's form changed as wings appeared on his back, his eyes were glowing and had sharp fingernails as he flew towards Jebediah, stabbing at his leg only for Jebediah to teleport again to the left as now Locrian was standing in the middle of Jebediah and Verita.
The battle then commenced, with the three sides charging at each other.
Red Moon soldiers and Mafia members started firing at each other while puppets were swarming everyone else.
Joseph and Emynx charged at each other, their weapons clashing against one another.
Mary aimed her bazooka, launching two fireballs at Shannon, who levitated them out of the way and instead sent them back to Mary who dodged out of the way.
Arashi and Lacey slashed at each other, blocking each other's attacks.
Meredith was just shooting at every direction, not caring who she hits.
Caroline used her ghost hands to squash the puppets who were approaching her while Bonita shoot harpoons made out light that pierced through the puppet's chests.
Daron was running, avoiding anyone and trying to find a safe hiding place to shoot Jashin from.
The final battle has started.
----
In Nyx's castle, Zoey, Tarabus and Mephisto were watching the whole event through Mephisto's crystal.
"..This is horrible." Zoey said.
"It's quite sad, isn't it? They all would rather fight each other than find a solution to all of this. It goes to show how really dumb mortals can be, even the powerful ones." Mephisto said.
Tarabus's eyes glared at the crystal fiercely.
-----
Jess and Eliza fell out of the portal and landed on the floor.
"...Ugh, now where are we?" Jess asked, as she got up.
"...I think we are back in that factory." Eliza said, getting up aswell.
They were back in the facility, in the conveyer belt area, no one was there and the conveyer belts weren't moving.
Another Red Moon symbol appeared on the ceiling and a swarm of moth's flew out, heading right towards Jess and Eliza.
"Shit, look out!" Jess said.
Jess and Eliza dodged as the swarm flew past them.
The swarm flew upwards before going downwards, floating above the floor in the center of the area.
The moth swarm breaks up, separating from each other, revealing Alexia, holding a rocket launcher who's dress was held by a few moth's before she landed elegantly on the floor and the moth's flew above her head.
Alexia glared at the two girls.
"Well, if it isn't the two renegades who had been getting on our nerves since June and made a mockery of me by taking out those two ridiculous characters." Alexia said.
"...Are you talking about Simeon and Keiko?" Jess asked.
"Who else would I be talking about, Ezekiel and Mary? If those two lived and escaped, chances are I would of killed them both myself for embarrassing me." Alexia said.
"Those two were people just like you, they weren't puppets. Just because you haven't died doesn't make you better than them." Eliza said, glaring.
"Was that a threat? Ho ho ho! How amusing! WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE!?" Alexia asked, her tone changing drastically from posh to just sounding pissed off.
She aimed her launcher at the Summer's.
"In the name of Harbercorn Family, I, Alexia Harbercorn, sentence you two criminals to death." Alexia said.
"Where's the other Harbercorn at?" Jess asked.
"My cousin has other things to attend to than to participate in a futile bloodshed, once this storm passes, we have a city to rebuild, it is my duty to preserve this land founded by my ancestors, and I will not let that L'aurlethe woman and her crew of imbeciles stick their noses into our affairs no more! I will take you and all of your little friends down, even if I have to do it with my own bare hands!" Alexia said.
"You talk too much, lady." Eliza said, not taking her seriously at all.
"It's us versus you, you have no chance against us." Jess said.
Alexia just smiled as she placed her hand on her neck collar.
"Hah, I believe you are mistaken, little girl. You aren't dealing with a normal Harbercorn." Alexia said.
She ripped the collar off her neck, revealing a Red Moon symbol that was glowing.
"YOU ARE DEALING WITH THE QUEEN OF THE SWARM!" Alexia laughed, as antennae's popped out of her head, along with two bug wings that bursted out of her back.
She began to grow as her appearance started to change before she bursted out of her red dress and floated towards the ceiling.
Alexia was now a large moth creature, a green large centipede with red eyes like tail was attached to the bottom of her body, her tiny moth arms carrying the rocket launcher, her yellow bugged out eyes looking at Jess and Eliza, her hair remained, two antennaes out of her head with a bumblebee stinger peering out of her forehead and her bug wings were flapping.
"Ugh, gross! She is a giant bug lady!" Eliza cringed.
"And here I thought this day just couldn't get any weirder." Jess said.
As Alexia was flying near the ceiling, she launched a rocket that flew down and exploded behind Jess and Eliza, sending them flying.
"HO HO HO! Tonight, I will dine on your puny little bodies!" Alexia said, as she launched yet another rocket.
Jess lifted herself off the ground before she saw the missile heading towards Eliza.
"Liz, watch out!" Jess said.
Eliza gasped as she rolled out of the as the rocket hits the floor, bursting into flames.
Alexia kept shooting more rockets at the sisters from a great height.
Eliza used her aura arm to punch some of the rockets out of the way and they explode on the walls before she turned to Jess.
"We have to reach that giant bug and squash it!" Eliza yelled.
Jess looked at the conveyer belts.
"We can reach her by jumping on these conveyer belts!" Jess said.
She and Eliza went separate ways, each getting on a conveyer belt and jumping to the next one above them.
Alexia kept shooting rockets and Jess and Eliza dodged them as they reached the last conveyer belt as Alexia was flying in their middle.
Eliza launched herself and sliced at Alexia's chest with her aura claws, leaving three claw marks with some green liquid peering out of Alexia's chest.
"GAAAH!" Alexia screamed.
Eliza landed right next to Jess who pulled out a glowing gun and shot three bullets, hitting Alexia's stomach, doing damage.
Alexia screamed before she shot a rocket, destroying the conveyer belt they were standing on.
The centipede stuck to Alexia opened it's mouth, releasing a swarm of moth's covered in flames, flying very fast towards the Summer's.
As they were in midair, the moth's flew right into the girls, pulling them into the swarm.
-----
The battlefield was covered in fog, courtesy of Lake.
Two Hulks from Meredith's mafia were currently punching some puppets and army soldiers while the rest of the Mafia were just shooting at everyone else.
Abraham was leaping around from rubble to rubble as a guy who resembled Will Smith, a bald guy, a blonde guy and a guy with black hair, a single yellow eye with a scar on his left were shooting at Abraham who dodged all the bullets, as he held some cards in his hand.
"You guys are all younger than me and yet you are all so slow!" Abraham said, as he launched his cards at the four guys, exploding on them.
Gideon stomped his foot and the ground was covered in ice, reaching towards Lemures who was standing there while ice pillars bursted out of the ground till one ice pillar stopped right in front of her as the ice shattered into glass, all the glass flew right towards Gideon who summoned a ice wall to block the shards.
Ezekiel jumped out the fog as he aimed he aimed his AK's, shooting glowing bullets at Liern.
"EAT DEATH, FUCKER!" Ezekiel yelled.
A wall made out of fog appeared in front of Liern, taking all the damage as a group of Lake clones started shooting fog bullets at Ezekiel and the Mishinaka thugs.
Liern's eyes glew yellow as the Others of Ezekiel and the Mishinaka crew appeared in front of them before Ezekiel's Other started shooting at all of them, two explosive bullets take out five thugs.
Meredith kept blasting at every area with her blaster till she rolled out the way as a fireball flew towards her with Mary standing on top of a car, holding a bazooka.
"It will be a pleasure to see you hit the pavement, Edelwood!" Mary grinned, as she readied her bazooka.
Caroline phased out of the ground, uppercut-ing Mary in the chin, sending her flying.
Leonard and some ninja from Meredith's group clashed against each other.
Putgerr launched a shockwave that sent every puppet flying into pieces as Jehovah descended down from the sky, crashing right in front of Putgerr as he got up, staring intently at the Omnipotent.
"I was looking all over for you, Putgerr. Now we can finish this." Jehovah said.
Locrian charged at Jebediah with his glowing fingernails, stabbing them into his torso before Locrian got repelled by more beams from the Jashin symbols.
The winged circles were flying around Verita as she was about to shoot at Jashin till a dragon made out of fire appeared, headbutting her in the face and sending her flying.
Verita stopped herself in midair and saw Amila floating right above the dragon as she lit Verita's dress on fire.
With a annoyed expression, she launched beams from the winged circles that hit Amila and the dragon, freezing them before she flew towards Jebediah and Locrian.
Daron, who was hiding behind some rubble, smirked as he aimed his gun at Jebediah's head.
"Oh, this is gonna be good." Daron said.
As he wasn't looking, a small dark creature with yellow eyes appeared behind him, wrapping it's arms around his body, catching him by surprise.
"H-Hey, get off, whatever the hell you are!" Daron said.
He got blasted by a dark beam, sending him flying.
Judas, standing near Rebecca, had his glowing hand aimed at Daron, glaring at him.
-------
The Summer's were getting swarmed by the fire moth's, eating away at their clothes.
"AGH, Get off us you stupid bugs!" Eliza yelled.
Eliza's aura covered her body, burning the moth's till they were dust.
Eliza and Jess landed on the floor, Jess's cardigan was tattered and both of them had scratches from the moth's as Alexia was floating around them.
"HO HO HO! What's wrong, girls, can't handle a few bugs?" Alexia asked.
She launched herself down, aiming her stinger.
Eliza got in front of Jess, trying to shoot and Alexia's stinger pierced through Eliza's torso and flew towards the ceiling, crashing Eliza into it.
Eliza spat blood out before Alexia grabbed Eliza by her leg and threw her down on the floor.
"Eliza!" Jess said, running up to her.
Eliza stood up, holding her hand to her wound, it hurt but she was still able to stand.
"This bites." Eliza said.
Alexia's centipede opened it's mouth, releasing more fire moth's and surrounded the girls.
"It appears your luck has run out, girls! Now, go, my children, devour them till there isn't a hint of skin on their bones!" Alexia said.
The moth's were getting closer to the Summer's before Jess summoned a psychic sphere around her and Eliza.
"Those moth's are coming out of that centipede stuck to Alexia, we need to destroy that." Jess said.
"Leave it to me." Eliza nodded.
The sphere went away as Eliza made a big jump towards Alexia, she stretched her aura arm and grabbed Alexia's centipede by it's neck, causing Alexia to lower down slightly.
"G-GET OFF!" Alexia ordered, trying to shake Eliza off her.
Eliza held on, clutching the centipede's neck very tightly, so tight that it's head was inflating like a balloon.
She applied more pressure till the centipede's head popped off and green disgusting liquid bursted out of it's neck, followed up by small maggots.
"GIAAAH!" Alexia screeched before she shot Eliza at point blank with a rocket, sending her flying down.
Smoke was coming out of Eliza's body and stretched her arm again, grabbing Alexia by her neck and went towards her, shooting a bullet into Alexia's chest, her yelp cut off by Eliza's hand grabbing her neck.
Eliza reached her body and grabbed onto her torso and climbed behind her back before she let go of her neck, raising her hand and shoved her claws into Alexia's back, tearing through it as her hand went down.
Alexia screamed and her body got consumed by pink aura flames, dropping her rocket launcher.
Jess's sphere protected her from being attacked by the moth's as they flew towards their queen after hearing her scream and the sphere vanished while maggots were raining from above.
She levitated the rocket launcher towards her and grabbed it, moving it upwards before adjusting her aim towards Alexia's burning body as the moth's were attacking Eliza.
"Did someone call for an exterminator?" Jess asked, before shooting the missile at Alexia.
Eliza quickly jumped off Alexia who looked down and her eyes widened.
"HO-HO-HO-NO!"
The missile struck Alexia and the moth's were caught in the blast.
Eliza landed right next to Jess and the two looked up.
Alexia's human naked body fell from the smoke cloud and crashed on the floor in front of the Summer's, her body was pitch black and it was engulfed in flames and wasn't breathing and her moth's landed right beside her.
"...So much for the swarm queen." Jess commented.
"...I think I swallowed a maggot when I was holding onto that centipede." Eliza said, still looking disgusted.
"Daniel should be nearby, we need to deal with him too." Jess said.
"...I can sense his aura in this building...he is in the fourth floor. We might need to be careful, his aura is different from Alexia's." Eliza suggested.
"I'm ready for anything that guy will throw at us. Let's go." Jess said.
She and Eliza went towards the elevator while Alexia's body was still burning.
------
Duke launched his fire disks at his Other while shooting at it with his shotgun leg before a lady with black hair and red eyes struck him in the head with a mace, starting to bash his head in.
Debby just stunned her Other with her glowing whip before she tried looking around for Liern but the fog was too thick to see him anywhere.
Emynx's claymore and Joseph's scythe clashed.
"Is this really what you got? Show me more!" Emynx said, basically challenging Joseph to unleash his power.
"I am just getting started!" Joseph grinned.
He smacked Emynx's weapon away before kicking Emynx right into Leonard who's back was turned.
"Ah, I found you, Jebediah!" Emynx grinned as he din't take a moment to see Leonard's face before he plunged the claymore into his back, bursting through his chest.
"GAAAH!" Leonard screamed, blood escaping from his mouth.
Leonard turned his head to Emynx, glaring at him.
"E-Emynx, you I-diot!" Leonard said, pulling the claymore out of his chest before he collapsed on the ground.
The ninja stood there, confused and tried to slash at Emynx who stabbed the ninja and exploded into pieces before Emynx went to find the actual Jebediah instead.
The Red Moon soldiers who din't get slaughtered aimed their guns at Locrian, who was still clashing against Jebediah, ready to shoot him.
Suddenly, Ezekiel, who's eyes were glowing yellow jumped in the way and got shot several times by the soldiers before he collapsed on the ground, his body riddled with bullets.
Ezekiel raised his head up, looking at the soldiers in disbelief.
"T-The fuck you guys shot at me for!?" Ezekiel asked, before his head dropped.
Lea-Maria's eyes were glowing as she manipulated Ezekiel to take the shoots instead before a woman who's hair was dyed in different colors suddenly jumped in and grabbed her by her head, giving her a shock treatment.
"GOTCHA, BITCH!" The woman said.
Lea-Maria screamed as the soldiers turned around and shot the electric lady in the head and let go off Lea-Maria, who stumbled as she was holding her skull before she held onto a abandoned car to not lose balance.
Putgerr sent Jehovah flying off with a sound blast and he landed in the distance.
Suddenly, some bandages grabbed onto Jehovah's torso as Shihk and Nike, who was holding a weapon, stood in the distance as Nike began shooting lasers at Jehovah, piercing through his body.
"Tch, more intergalactic garbage to dispose of." Jehovah grunted.
Jehovah pulled out a knife and cuts through the bandages before he grabbed one bandage and pulled Shihk right towards him.
Holding onto his bandage, he smashed Shihk onto the ground before pulling him up and smashed him against the wall, hurting him pretty badly. Jehovah pulled out his gun and shot Shihk at point black, striking his chest.
"Shihk!" Nike said, shooting a laser that cut through the bandage Jehovah was holding on and teleported right beside the Florian, who's chest was dripping with green liquid.
He grabbed Shihk and the two teleported out of the battlefield.
Amila and her dragon were flying towards Jebediah and Locrian before Rebecca's bumblebee puppet got in the way, smacking it's stinger into Amila's left eye.
She incinerated the puppet and it fell down from the sky, crashing on the ground.
Amila pulled the stinger out of her damaged eye, placing her hand on her eye before she looked down to track down Rebecca, seeing her standing next to Judas.
Rebecca was suddenly lit on fire and screamed before she dropped to the ground, the puppets she was controlling suddenly collapsed on the ground.
"REBECCA!" Judas gasped, as he grabbed onto Rebecca. Her entire skin was scorched with bloodshot eyes, staring at the sky with her mouth wide open.
Judas tried to feel her pulse but her burned hand was cold as tears flown down on his cheek.
"Rebecca..." Judas said.
Judas turned his attention to Amila as he started to glow black, looking furious.
"...You're...you're gonna pay!" Judas said.
Suddenly, the right half of Judas's face was covered in dark flames and he fell on the ground, screaming.
Arashi was standing there, staring at Judas from the distance before Lacey was descending down till Arashi intercepted her, blocking her sword.
Jebediah got distracted from Locrian as he heard Judas's scream.
"JUDAS!" Jebediah yelled.
Jebediah got blasted by a beam of light from Verita, blasting him through buildings before he crashed into a wall.
His clothes were torn up from that blast and bleeding from his forehead before he opened his eyes and both were blank as he started to glow blue.
He floated off the wall and a blue sphere surrounded him, getting everyone's attention.
------
The elevator arrived at the fourth floor and Eliza and Jess stepped out, walking down in the white hallway, at the end of the floor was a door that lead to the meeting room.
Daniel was inside, his hands placed around his back as he was looking at the explosions on in Newrum, with a distasteful look on his face.
The door opened and the sisters walked in.
"Hey, asshole, remember us?" Jess asked.
"...I take it you two fought Alexia and took her out, I suppose?" Daniel asked.
"Make your own conclusion." Eliza said.
Daniel frowned as his hands curled into fists.
"...Alexia was too stubborn for her own good, she tried too hard to protect the family name and had a tendency to overestimate her opponents. She was a little too spoiled if you ask me." Daniel said.
"And how are you so different from her?" Jess asked.
"Because I am not a fool, I know who I am dealing with. Once this farce is over, I will bring Alexia back to life." Daniel said.
He finally turned to Jess and Eliza, his smile returning.
"Hm, you two are like cockroaches, easy to step on but hard to kill. I am quite impressed that you managed to pass every obstacle by now, escaping from your city full of Others, facing a Morpher and live to tell the tale, beating every Red Moon member you came across and managed to control the power of a demon that we tried to kill for an year. Unlike Alexia, I can see potential in the two of you, perhaps you girls could be useful to me." Daniel said.
"I am no one's tool and neither is my sister. You can forget it." Jess said.
"Wait, aren't you working with Jashin? Why would you need us?" Eliza asked.
"...Heh, do you really think I would put all my trust into that fool Jebediah without getting something out of it?" Daniel asked.
"What are you talking about?" Jess asked.
"The Harbercorn's were here before the L'aurlethe's and the Edelwoods, my ancestors helped build this city and gave it it's name, Newrum State City is my family's legacy that I need to protect from the likes of demons, aliens and tyrants from other Universes who think they can claim this place as their own! When Jebediah came to me to help him win the elections, I accepted so he can give me a mark like the rest of the Red Moon members and once I would of gotten close to him, I would of taken him out and take Jashin's power for myself, then I would of used that power to crush any interdimensional interlopers and enemies who would dare to challenge my home!" Daniel said.
He turned around to face the window.
"As soon as Verita and L'aurlethe's group are finished, with Jashin exposed, I shall take his power and the Harbercorn Age can begin. I will rule this world as a King!" Daniel grinned, he looked unhinged.
"...Do Harbercorn's usually monologue this long?" Eliza whispered to Jess.
"I think this is a hobby for them." Jess said, rolling her eyes.
Daniel turned around to face Jess and Eliza.
"Perhaps the three of us could be able to take down Jebediah and dethrone him once he let's his guard down. If you two help me, I will repay you with anything you want, a new luxurious home, food, running water, protection, maybe even nice stable jobs that pay well, I can give you anything your hearts desire. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen. So, Jessica, Elizabeth, do you accept?" Daniel asked, holding his hand out.
The Summer's looked at Daniel's hand before they looked at each other and looked back at Daniel.
"...Sorry to piss on your parade, Bonaparte, but no. If we couldn't trust Jebediah or Verita to keep us safe, what makes you think we can trust you? You're too power hungry and you have delusions of grandeur, the only ones who we can trust is ourselves and no one else. I doubt you'd keep your end of the bargain." Jess said.
"Besides, you tried to kill me back in Rachdale, you'd think a nice home and a job would make me forget that?" Eliza asked.
Daniel lowered his hand, staring at the girls blankly.
"...I gave you both the chance at a normal life again and you'd throw that away and fight me? Hm, I will never understand you people. Oh well." Daniel shrugged.
He suddenly pulled a sword out of nowhere with the Harbercorn emblem on it.
"I suppose I'll just have to clean up this mess on my own, like usual." Daniel said.
Eliza's aura arm returned while Jess aimed her glowing gun at Daniel.
"Bring it." Jess said.
-----
The blue sphere around Jebediah shattered and his form looked completely different.
He had long black and yellow hair, black armor with two wings peering out of his back, one made out of water and one made out of fire, black armor pants and opened to reveal his blank eyes, staring at everyone.
"Ah, Lord Jashin!" Joseph said.
"Finally, now I can fight this guy!" Emynx grinned.
With a explosion that sent him flying, Emynx was about to strike Jashin.
Jashin grabbed Emynx's claymore by it's tip before he suddenly got flown right into the ground, causing a explosion that likely killed a few Red Moon soldiers. Jashin turned to face Locrian and Verita.
"For months and years, I've been biding my time till my confrontation with the demon world would of began, but now I am forced to take action. I have given you warnings over and over again, now you will face my full wrath." Jashin said, his hands were glowing blue.
He launched two blue beams out of his hands and blasted Locrian and Verita, sending them flying.
Locrian hits the wall while Verita stopped herself and removed her hair out of her eyes, they were suddenly yellow.
"...So, you finally stopped hiding like a coward and came out. Good. Now I can finally let loose." Verita said.
Verita began to glow as her form changed aswell. Now wearing a Ethereal dress, wearing a pearl necklace with the Crest of Friendship inside it, two large winds, black markings under her eyes with longer hair before she summoned multiple winged circles that started shooting beams of light at Jashin who summoned a sphere to shield him.
Locrian flew back up and shot a beam of light that combined with Verita's, piercing through Jashin's barrier and hit him but it din't do much damage while Amila proceeded to lit him on fire.
Daron, who was limping and his form was distorting slightly as he looked up the sky to see Jashin, Verita, Locrian and Amila clashing.
"I-I can get him now without that dick with the dark beam to hit me this time!" Daron said, as he aimed his glowing gun at Jashin.
Suddenly, a glowing bullet pierced through his shoulder and he ran off before he could of gotten shot more.
Smoke was coming out of Clarinda's rifle before she aimed at Lyle, who was shooting plasma at Red Moon soldiers and Mafia members to keep them away from him and shot at him, he quickly saw the bullet flying and stepped out of the way.
Meredith and Mary were shooting each other while they were hiding behind rubble and Caroline was grabbing cars with her ghost hands and tossing them at Mary who shot them with fireballs.
Abraham and Gideon joined forces as they launched explosive cards and ice at Lemures and Shannon, who deflected their attacks with levitation and glass barriers.
Putgerr screamed loudly, trying to send Jehovah flying off who kept walking towards Putgerr as his coat and shirt were tattered to shreds from Putgerr's yell.
Jehovah's form changed, horns grew out of his head and now had horse legs, looking like a Centaur as he charged at Putgerr and shoved his horns into his stomach, pinning against the wall of a building.
A red energy ball gathered in Jehovah's hand.
"Just close your eyes, this will be quick and painless." Jehovah said.
A harpoon of light pierced through Jehovah's chest, catching him by surprise as he turned to see Bonita standing behind him, aiming her winged gun at him.
Putgerr reached into his pocket and aimed a glowing gun at Jehovah's chest, shooting a bullet that hit his heart.
Jehovah's horns fell out of Putgerr, covered in blood and crashed on the ground.
Bonita ran to Putgerr who held onto his stomach and was stumbling.
"Are you alright!?" Bonita asked, looking panicked.
"Y-yeah." Putgerr said, despite him saying that, he looked to be in total pain.
-----
Tarabus's eyes were twitching and her hands were shaking with rage.
"...Tara?" Zoey asked, looking worried as she could feel that this battle was angering her friend.
-----
Eliza and Jess shot glowing bullets at Harbercorn.
Daniel landed his feet on the table and deflected the bullets with his sword before he jumped off the table and landed right between Eliza and Jess.
He stabbed Jess in her left leg before he pulled his sword and stabbed Eliza in her right leg and jumped, kicking both of them in their faces, knocking them into walls.
"Ugh!" Jess said.
Eliza slammed her fist against the floor, covering it in aura flames that were extending towards Daniel.
Daniel just jumped out of the way but the flames flew upwards, covering his arm in aura flames.
The flames din't seem to hurt Daniel as he landed down and slapped Eliza across the cheek, knocking her down. The flames around his arm appeared to have vanished.
"...How did he do that?" Eliza asked, confused about how her attacks din't even damage slightly at all.
Daniel walked over to Jess and grabbed her by her hair, lifting his sword towards her neck.
"This could of been avoided if you accepted my offer. Someone shouldn't of taken the 'Ignorance is Bliss' saying too seriously." Daniel said.
Jess just stared at him before she shot him in the leg with a glowing bullet and pulled the sword away from her neck, kicking Daniel in the stomach three times before she pulled the sword out of his hand and roundhouse kicked him in the cheek.
Eliza grabbed Daniel with her aura arm before she slammed him into the table, breaking it into pieces and then slammed him into the ceiling.
She dropped Daniel on the ground who's expression remained the same as he slowly got up.
Jess levitated his sword and launched it at Daniel, with intent to stab him in the chest.
Daniel lifted his right hand up and the sword pierced through his palm, tearing through his glove. However, he still din't appear to be in pain as the sword fell out of his palm, he smiled again.
"...Tell me, do you have any idea why your attacks aren't working? You can read my mind, can't you?" Daniel asked.
"...No, apparently, I can't. Your somehow blocking me." Jess said, as she tried to read his mind but couldn't.
"Then allow me to explain." Daniel smiled.
He took his gloves off, revealing to have two Red Moon symbols on his palms.
"Two marks?" Eliza asked.
"You see, my power is similar to the Morpher's. I can absorb anything thrown at me, wether it's energy beams, gunshots or stabs, I can absorb the energy of the attack used against me by using my hands and make that energy into my own! I have absorbed enough energy from many others and I became so powerful that none of you would even be able to withstand it's weight!" Daniel laughed.
"...That explains how you were able to survive Emynx's blasts. You absorbed his nuclear energy into yourself." Jess said.
"What do we do now, sis?" Eliza asked.
Daniel continued to laugh as the marks on his palms started to glow.
"Do you understand now? With enough quantity of energy stored inside me, I will be able to blast Jebediah in just one shot and absorb Jashin's power into me! Newrum will become my kingdom and everyone will worship me! I am one step closer to become a God!" Daniel yelled.
Daniel's form burst into green flames as he was beginning to transform.
"His aura is now changing like Alexia and Keiko did." Eliza said.
"These guys just can't fight against someone without having some stupid second form up their sleeves, now can they?" Jess asked, looking annoyed than anything else.
The flames vanished and Daniel's new form was seen. He had black sclera with red pupils with green veins spread across his cheeks, his blue hair din't have a ponytail and was spread around his neck and reached his back, resembling a lion's mane, his skin was dark green, not wearing a shirt and exposed his muscular torso, wearing a green flaming floating cape, armor shoulder pads and black armor pants with red boots, his hands were glowing different colors.
Daniel looked at his hands and smirked.
"Ah, this is what true power feels like. Here, have a taste." Daniel said.
He pointed his hands and shot two rainbow colored lasers forged out of different types of energies, blasting Jess and Eliza into the walls and collapsed on the ground.
"...I-I felt like I got hit by seven different beams at the same time, this is crazy!" Eliza said, holding onto her chest.
"We are not giving up. Not to him." Jess said, determined to the very end.
She levitated the chairs and threw them at Daniel who simply raised a hand and the chairs stopped, floating in midair before Daniel telekinetically tossed them aside. He then levitated Jess and Eliza off the ground and flew right towards him.
Daniel's hands were charged with Emynx's nuclear energy as he raised his fists and slammed them into Eliza and Jess's heads, causing a small explosion that tore through the floor.
The Summer's fell through the floor and crashed through the floor of the third hallway and landed into the second hallway, which was already devastated by their fight with Simeon.
Jess and Eliza's clothes were torn and were both slightly bleeding from that explosion, they both looked pretty injured.
-----
Jashin was floating in the air, launching fire and water balls at Verita.
Verita, who was holding a shield of light with light swords floating around her, deflected the hits before she shot a beam of light at Jashin and launched her swords at him.
Jashin telekinetically repelled the beam away, destroying a empty building instead.
Locrian and Amila charged in, Locrian shooting glowing bullets from his gun at Jashin, hitting his shoulders while Amila sent Verita flying away with a gust of wind before setting her on fire.
The black-haired girl with red eyes crashed on the ground, dropping her mace as her body was riddled with bullets from Red Moon soldiers as she tried to smash Lea-Maria's face with her mace before forcing the soldiers against their will to shoot themselves in their heads.
Emynx avoided Joseph's scythe slash and stabbed him in the chest, causing a explosion that sent Joseph flying into Daron, who once again failed to take a shot at Jashin.
Debby found Liern and smacked him with her whip, stunning him before a few Others jumped on Debby, dogpiling her.
Emil had 12 elemental knives levitating around him as he stabbed the Lake fog clones with knives enchanted with fire, lightning and sound elements.
----------
Jess and Eliza got up, both heavily bruised.
"A-are you okay, Eliza?" Jess asked.
"No. How do we stop this guy? He absorbed so much energy into him, he is unstoppable!" Eliza said.
"No, he isn't. Just like the other Jashinists, there has to be some weakness to him that we have yet to discover. We din't survive just to get bodied by this supreme prick." Jess said.
"I think the word you are looking for is Supreme 'Ruler'." Daniel said.
He floated in the hallway through the floor in the ceiling and landed his feet on the ground, smirking at the Summer's from the distance.
Eliza charged at Daniel, stretching her aura arm towards him.
Daniel grabbed Eliza by her wrist and slammed her into the wall to the right before blasting her with green electricity from his fingertips.
Jess's eyes glew purple, staring Daniel in his eyes, trying to get herself into his mind and go through yet another psychic battle.
Jess, wearing medieval knight clothing, was standing on a mountain in the center of Newrum State City and on top of that mountain was a large house structured as a castle with two lion statues sitting near the entrance.
She walked towards the house only to be blocked off by a green forcefield, preventing her from getting in the house, Jess pulled out her sword and tried to cut through the forcefield but it din't make a scratch.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?"
The image of Daniel appeared behind Jess, dressed as a king, wearing a green royal robe and a crown, his hands placed around his back and smirking at Jess.
She tried to stab Daniel but the sword phased through him.
"If you weren't even able to read my mind, what made you think you could of tried to battle me mentally?" Daniel asked.
He aimed his fingers and Jess got struck by electricity.
"Now please be a kind dear and get out of my mind if you will, thank you." Daniel smiled.
Jess got petrified into a statue and shattered.
Jess got knocked on the floor, placing her hand as she now felt a headache while Eliza got tossed right next to her.
"What happened?" Eliza asked.
"Good news, I got in Danny's mind. Bad news, he kicked me out." Jess sighed.
"Now what?" Eliza asked.
Without wanting him to hear, Jess sent a mental message to Eliza.
"We could try to shoot him from opposite sides, front and back, left and right. If we shoot him multiple times, he won't be able to absorb the demon energy out of the bullets." Jess thought.
Eliza nodded as she got up and dashed past Daniel, shooting him in the back with her gun.
Jess got up and shot Daniel in the chest as he took those hits.
The Summer's then changed their positions, Jess to the left and Eliza to the right, both of them were shooting at Daniel, hitting his torso with glowing bullets.
Daniel raised his hands to block the bullets, and the sisters then changed positions again, shooting from front and back.
Daniel's hands then began glowing white and clapped them, releasing a shockwave that sent Eliza and Jess flying, knocking them on the floor.
The glowing bullets stuck in Daniel lost their glow as he absorbed the energy into him, brushing some dust off his shoulder pads.
"Clever tactic, I'll give you that but if you were expecting me to stand still and let you shoot at me all day, then you're sadly mistaken." Daniel said.
"Great, so any new ideas?" Eliza asked.
Jess began thinking. Clearly, anything they would try involving energy would be useless since Daniel would absorb any powerful attacks with ease, she wasn't even sure if Eliza's demon power would...and then Jess got a idea.
"...This will be risky...but this is the only thing I have, if this doesn't work then damn it, nothing will. I just hope Eliza can take it." Jess sighed.
Jess got up, staring at Daniel said.
"Hey, Harbercorn, if you think you will be able to get to my sister and absorb her demon energy, then think again, I'll die before I'll let that happen!" Jess said.
"Jess, what are you doing!?" Eliza asked.
Daniel just held his hand out.
"You really think so?" Daniel asked.
Eliza got levitated and flew towards Daniel.
"Eliza!" Jess yelled, before she ran towards her.
Daniel used his other hand to shoot her with a laser beam, blasting Jess into the ground.
He grabbed Eliza by her shoulders and his hands started to glow, beginning to absorb Eliza's energy.
"Killing you back in Rachdale would of been a mistake. From what I learned, Sicrum has a variety of mental abilities that could prove useful against future enemies, even a single trace of him is enough to wipe out an entire army as you demonstrated when you received this power." Daniel grinned.
"AAAH!" Eliza screamed as the pink aura appeared around her body as Daniel could feel Sicrum's essence seeping into his hands.
"Ah, yes, I can feel it! With Sicrum's essence added to my collection of energy and with Jashin's god like powers, nothing will stand in my way and Newrum will be safe for-...for-...ugh!" Daniel said, he felt a sting in his chest.
He dropped Eliza on the ground.
"...S-something is wrong, my chest feels like it's on fire! W-what is this!?" Daniel asked, placing his hand on his chest.
"Why of course something is wrong." Jess smirked, as she got up.
Daniel collapsed on his knees, his body began sweating as he felt a fire building up in his chest.
"What have you done to me!?" Daniel asked.
"Don't you get it, the demon's power is too unstable for any person to control, even I had a hard time fighting it when it tried to jump into my mind. It took Eliza months to learn how to control it's power and you just tried to forcefully absorb it, it probably had a few negative side effects by trying to combine it with your mix of different types of energy, it's like having indigestion after eating too much food. I knew something like this would happen if you tried to absorb my sister's energy." Jess said.
Eliza had a surprised look on her face, she din't expect Jess to plan out that far ahead before she got an idea, if Daniel had some of her energy into him, then perhaps she could manipulate her aura into his body as she clenched her fists.
Pink aura flames burst out of Daniel's body.
"AH! THIS POWER IS TOO IMPURE! MAKE IT STOP!" Daniel yelled.
As the essence was damaging his body, Jess took the opportunity to jump back into Daniel's mind to see if it had a effect.
She found herself now inside Daniel's castle in his throne room, everything was being distorted by the demonic essence.
Daniel fell to his knees, his crown dropping to the ground as he held onto his chest as Jess walked to him.
"What's wrong? Can't handle a little taste of your own power?" Jess asked, mockingly.
Daniel looked up at Jess, gritting his teeth.
"You tricked me!" Daniel said.
"Duh, that was the point. You talked big about power but you can't handle eating it all up without getting a stomachache. This fight is over, Harbercorn." Jess said.
"S-Silence! It's not over yet! This world is mine and I will not fall to you!" Daniel yelled.
His sword appeared in his hand and he sprung up, his sword clashed with Jess.
The two began sword fighting but the effect Sicrum's essence was having on Daniel's mind was weakening him so greatly he wasn't responding fast to Jess's attacks as he got stabbed in his shoulder.
He kicked Jess away and she easily dodged his slash before she pulled her sword out of his shoulder and stabbed him in his other one.
Daniel let out a frustrated scream.
"What's wrong, your highness? Is your power weighing you down?" Jess asked.
His eyes turned bloodshot, punching Jess in the face and knocked her on the floor, he walked towards her and lifted his sword up.
"Begone!" Daniel yelled, bringing his sword down.
Jess rolled out of the way before she delivered a fatal blow by stabbing Daniel in the chest.
Daniel gasped as his sword vanished as he dropped to his knees and collapsed on the ground, fading into nothingness.
Jess plunged her sword into the ground and the castle exploded, the mountain cracked and collapsed into pieces.
Daniel let out a scream, with blood dripping out of his eyes, nose, ears and mouth.
Jess reopened her eyes.
"It's over." Jess said.
The pink aura around Daniel vanished and changed back into his human form before he collapsed on his back, his muscles were badly damaged by the impure energy he absorbed as he was now laying there, staring at the ceiling with a shocked expression to his face.
Jess and Eliza looked both exhausted, that battle took a lot out of them and had a few number of bruises on them.
"...Are you alright?" Jess asked.
"My head will hurt for a entire month, but I'll be okay. What about him?" Eliza asked, gesturing at Daniel.
Jess walked up to Harbercorn, staring him down.
"Had enough food for one day?" Jess asked.
Daniel was gritting his teeth as he glared at Jess.
"H-how can this be? I am Daniel Harbercorn, the top elite member of the family, how could I lose to two daughters of a banker!? I have so much power and yet I lose to you of all people!?" Daniel asked.
"You still don't get it, do you? The reason you lost is because me and my sister worked together, as long as we are next to each other, no one can beat us, not even you. You, on the other hand, spent your entire life living off your elite family's status and tried to get so much power that you lost sight of yourself, you become so disillusioned that you saw yourself as some demi-god and viewed this city as your kingdom. Do you even care about Newrum?" Jess asked, folding her arms.
"...Of course I do. This city is my family's legacy, how could I not? Do you think I don't care about what happens to this place or the people residing here? Do you think I enjoy watching this place being used as a battlefield by those two fanatics? I just wanted to save it from all these creatures from those weird dimensions that don't belong here...huh, I guess even I am now just as much of a monster as Jebediah and Jashin turned themselves into.." Daniel said, looking at his bleeding hands.
"...What do we do about him, sis?" Eliza asked.
"...Let's leave him be. He is damaged beyond repair, he can't do anything to harm us now, when Red Moon falls, he will go down along with them." Jess said.
She turned to Eliza.
"We have a battle to win. Let's see if Locrian and Amila are managing fine without us so far." Jess said.
Eliza nodded as she grabbed hold of Jess and jumped out through a broken window and leaped into the air, heading to Newrum.
Daniel tried to lift himself but collapsed on his chest, as he began crawling, he din't have the strength to get up.
"...D-Don't go...don't leave me behind to die..." Daniel said, he was in absolute pain.
Footsteps were heard, approaching the hallway.
"W-who's there!?" Daniel asked, turning his head to the right.
He saw someone walking out of the shadows, it was Benedict.
"B-Benedict!" Daniel said.
Benedict walked up to Daniel, staring at him without pity, sadness or anger in his eyes, he looked indifferent.
"Please, you have to help me, my body is damaged, that girl's demon energy was too unstable! Y-you have to do something, please don't let me die!" Daniel yelled, reaching his hand out to Benedict.
"What happened to you Harbercorn? You stood your ground with might and now here you are, crawling on the ground like a weak maggot. What a interesting parallel." Benedict said.
Daniel grabbed Benedict by legs.
"If you help me, I'll give you anything you want! I'll give you your own laboratory, money, anything just please don't let me die!" Daniel said, tears were flowing out of his eyes.
Benedict still looked indifferent as he kept staring at Daniel.
"...You remind me of myself. The two of us wanted power but our bodies couldn't take it, I too used to be lying on the ground, crawling to escape. But the difference between you and me is that I never begged, not even when death was a inevitable certainty." Benedict said.
"W-what are you talking about?" Daniel asked, confused.
Benedict crouched down, he had a sly smile.
"You and I are parting ways, Daniel. It's been interesting working for Red Moon, but I have my own pursuits to follow. This is goodbye." Benedict said.
"N-no, you can't leave, you have to help me!" Daniel said.
"Why of course I'll help you, Daniel. You have my word." Benedict smiled.
"...You will?" Daniel asked, looking happy.
"I'll help put you out of your misery before you suffer more." Benedict said.
"...W-what?" Daniel asked, sweating.
Pairs of yellow eyes peered out of the shadows, staring at Daniel.
"Benedict, what is this!?" Daniel asked.
Benedict pulled a yellow crystal out of his coat and placed it next to Daniel.
"If I left you be, chances are you would end up in prison and you'd stay there till the day you die. This way, it will be quick and painless, you won't feel a thing." Benedict said, with the same disturbing smile on his face.
The spider Other with arms and a few more Others walked out of the shadows, approaching Daniel.
Daniel's eyes widened in fear as Benedict turned around and walked away from him, heading towards the elevator.
"Farewell, Daniel." Benedict said.
"BENEDICT, DON'T GO!" Daniel yelled, crawling towards him.
The crystal reacted and Daniel's Other appeared before him, holding a sword in his hand and lifted it over the real Daniel's head.
"A-AH!" Daniel screamed as he turned his head to see the Others crowding on him, it was impossible for him to escape.
"N-NO! N-NO! DON'T GO!" Daniel plead.
Benedict entered in the elevator, not turning to Daniel as he pressed the button.
"BENEDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICT!"
Benedict was still smiling as the elevator closed while Daniel's scream echoed in the building, the sounds of stabs were audible inside the elevator.
------
The battle kept going as Verita and Jashin blasted at each other with huge beams.
Tarabus at this point was glowing with a dark aura, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Tara?" Zoey asked.
Tarabus got up.
"This was the last of the straws, these stupid fuckers crossed the line for one last time! I'm ending this stupid shit!" Tarabus claimed as she ran out of the room.
"T-Tara, wait!" Zoey yelled, running after her.
Mephisto just watched them leave before continued watching the event unfold through his crystal.
-----
Jess and Eliza arrived on top of a rooftop and viewed the battlefield from above.
"Holy shit!" Jess said.
The streets were filled with fire and many buildings were damaged during the fight, they could see a number of people laying on the ground and not moving.
From up here, Eliza could see Ezekiel covered in bullets and just laying there, Emynx kept clashing against opponents, most of Meredith's men were dead except for Lacey who kept fighting Arashi and some guy with brown hair, both of them had bruises on them, Daron was crawling on the ground at this point, Bonita was attending to Putgerr's wounds while Jehovah was dead, Meredith was still battling Mary.
"...This is horrible." Eliza frowned.
"...This is a actual war. I had a feeling like this would happen." Jess said.
They turned their heads to see Jashin and Verita who kept charging at each other, with Locrian and Amila getting in between them to attack.
"...That's Jashin and Verita looks different." Jess said.
"They're both evenly matched." Eliza commented.
Eliza looked at her gun and remembered what Mephisto said. Either Jashin or Verita or if she got both of them, that would satisfy him. If she doesn't, then Jess will pay the price.
Eliza got into position, pointing her gun to Jashin's head, from a safe distance, she should be able to.
"ENOUGH!" A loud unfamiliar voice echoed in the area, getting everyone's attention.
"...Who was that?" Caroline asked.
"LOOK!" Bonita yelled, pointing at the sky.
Everyone turned to see at what Bonita was pointing at. They saw a demonic looking lady with blue skin, glasses, hair with long plats with red armor floating above everyone and glared at each and every one of them.
"...Who the heck is that!?" Eliza asked, not recognizing the woman.
"I don't know...but I can tell that she is pissed at all of us for some reason." Jess said, sweating as she had a horrible thing about what will happen next.
"...No, it can't be! It can't be him!" Jashin said, he felt a familiar aura from that woman.
Tarabus pointed her finger down, directed at everyone.
"You idiots had done enough! Now it's time you disappear of the face of the Earth!" Tarabus announced.
Tarabus lifted her hands to the darkened sky and big, dark beams shot from the sky like bullets, thankfully they weren't directed at the building the sisters were on but everyone else weren't so lucky.
Lea-Maria, Meredith and Mary looked up and their eyes shrunk as they get struck by those three dark beams, only their silhouettes could be seen by everyone close by as they screamed in pain before their bodies faded into nothingness. When the beams cleared away, there was nothing left of them. The remains of Meredith and Mary's weapons were what remained.
Lacey and Shannon din't have the chance to react as they got struck and disappeared, Arashi barely avoided the blast as he was close to Lacey and got knocked on the ground.
Daron, who was being helped up by Meredith's agent with brown hair, looked up to see a beam coming towards him and he pissed in his pants when he saw it closing in.
"No, please do-"
The beams got him and the other guy, the two were killed aswell.
"NO!" Eliza screamed.
Jess's eyes were shaking, as those people who were just standing there vanished without a trace like they never existed and heard the screams of everyone who just saw that.
Jashin, Locrian and Verita looked equally shocked as they saw their comrades getting blasted into nothingness. Forgetting about their fight, they turned their attention to Tarabus and launched their beams at her.
Tarabus blocked their beams with a dark sphere and spears appeared, floating around her before launching them at her three opponents and the rest went towards the people from below.
Arashi, Caroline, Bonita, Lemures, Lake...
And Emynx got stabbed in the chest with a spear, letting out a gasp.
Everyone turned their heads as Emynx began shaking violently as Verita and the remaining members of her crusade who weren't dead knew what would happen next as they ran towards Emynx, trying to get him out of here before he could detonate.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
A bright light erupted from Emynx's body and anyone who happened to be near him got caught in the blast.
Jashin, Verita and Locrian got caught in the blinding light aswell.
Jess grabbed hold of Eliza, wrapping her in her arms as the light blinded their eyes and they couldn't be seen through the light.
The entirety of Newrum State City was engulfed in light.
At the Wellington Family Dairy Farm.
George was just sitting on his porch, drinking from a beer bottle before the entire area shook violently, causing him to drop his bottle and nearly fell off.
"What the!?" George asked.
Many birds flew past the barn as the snow that covered the trees fell off.
The violent wind blew through the woman with yellow eye's black hair and the tan green skinned man's coat, both of them looked rather disappointed than shocked.
George turned around to see a big mushroom cloud rising from the distance, it was coming from Newrum State City was once.
"Holy shit!" George said, he couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing.
TO BE CONCLUDED
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Post by Master Psychic on Mar 2, 2019 8:09:23 GMT
Sisters of Summer
Epilogue: Farewell, Sunshine
Sunday, December 21st 2081, 8:30 PM
As the mushroom cloud faded away, all that was left of Newrum State City was a giant crater from the nuclear explosion.
The air was filled with toxic gas that was spreading around, all there was in the crater were pieces of rubble, fire and unidentifiable corpses that were caught in the blast. There din't appear to be a person out there who survived the battle.
Tarabus was currently floating in the air, looking over the crater with the same disgusted look on her face before she spat at it.
Zoey flew down from the sky, landing right beside Tarabus and had a sad look on her face.
"...Don't you think you went a bit overboard?" Zoey asked.
"Fuck em, they deserved it. Let's go home." Tarabus said.
A dark portal appeared behind the two demon women as Tarabus grabbed Zoey by her hand and dragged her into the portal before it closed.
As dust faded away, a large ice dome that somehow survived the destruction was seen in the crater before it shattered, revealing a few Red Moon members who survived the blast thanks to Gideon shielding them with a ice dome.
Gideon dropped to his knees as he looked exhausted from using all his focus on that ice dome.
"...Holy shit!" Emil said as he looked everywhere around him.
"Where Jebediah at?" Gideon asked.
"Forget that, we need to get out of here before we get radiated and end up like Jehovah!" Abraham suggested.
A Red Moon symbol appeared beneath the Red Moon survivors and they fell in it before it vanished, taking them out of the battlefield. There din't appear to be any traces of other survivors in the area.
A remains of a building collapsed on the ground, making more dust as a pink sphere that shielded both Jess and Eliza from the blast was seen.
The pink sphere vanished and Jess nearly stumbled after using most of her energy to protect her and her sister from the explosion.
"I thought we were done for in that second." Jess said, breathing in and out.
"...That girl's aura is gone, she left the battlefield." Eliza said.
"Just who the hell was that woman and why did she do that!? It doesn't make any sense!" Jess said.
The sisters then looked ahead and only now are seeing the collateral damage caused by the death of Emynx. They couldn't see anyone in sight and just stood there to marvel at the awful remains of Newrum.
"...Oh my God." Jess said.
Eliza collapsed on her knees, looking devastated.
"...We were too late, how could we have let this happen? We should of stopped that woman when she was right in our sight, then no one would of had to die! This is...bullshit!" Eliza said, punching her fist against the ground.
Jess looked at Eliza, placing her hands on her shoulders.
"There's nothing we could of done, no one was able to stop that lady so I doubt the two of us would faired better, we probably would of gotten killed by those dark beams too if we interfered." Jess said.
"...But still...I should of done something, not just stand there and watch." Eliza sighed.
Jess frowned as she felt a little guilty herself before she looked at the toxic clouds filling the sky.
"....We will get poisoned by radiation if we keep staying here. We have to get out of here." Jess said.
As Eliza began to focus, she could feel the aura of a few who were still alive somehow.
"...I can feel other people's aura's...they're somehow still alive, we have to help them and get them out of here." Eliza said.
"Then let's fish them out and then get out of here." Jess said.
Eliza got up and the two began walking forward, heading to where most of the fighters were positioned at before the explosion wiped them all out.
The sisters were passing by the scorched corpses and weren't able to tell who is which with how disfigured the bodies were but they were able to see a few things that belonged to the people they've met from all sides laying on the ground.
Lyle's torn parka and cue cards, bloody glass shards remains that resembled hair and eyes, Bonita's shattered glasses and winged gun, Daron's glowing gun, the remains of Putgerr's guitar, Joseph's broken scythe, Mary's bazooka, Meredith's blaster, pieces of puppets scattered throughout the battlefield and dust that was once Emynx's sword, covering the spot he was standing at before he got vaporized.
"...All these people fought against each other because they believed in what they were doing was right...they died for nothing." Eliza said, looking at the belongings.
"...They knew the risks and knew there was a high chance they could of died today by getting themselves involved in this war, we couldn't done anything to save them all." Jess said.
Despite what Jess said, Eliza din't look convinced as she felt responsible for some of these people's deaths before they continued their slow walk.
A few of remains of Kodama could of been seen as the village was close to Newrum and was caught in the blast but the villagers were thankfully evacuated and weren't victims of the blast.
Jess and Eliza eventually came across Caroline, who was lying face down on the ground with a spear peering out of her back but Eliza could sense her aura still going strong so she was unconscious.
"Caroline is still alive. But how?" Eliza asked.
"I guess she must of phased through the ground before the explosion and then pulled herself out once it was done and passed out." Jess guessed, as she levitated the spear out of her back.
Eliza looked to the right to see Arashi also on the ground with his face covered and his swords were shattered, she sensed that he was alive as he was in the distance when the explosion happened but it did manage to knock him out pretty good.
"He is alive too." Eliza said, before she looked at the spot of ground where Lacey stood once with smoke peering out.
"That's two out of the many who were here. Anyone else?" Jess asked.
Eliza turned to the center of the crater where smoke was peering out.
"...I can sense more aura from there." Eliza said, pointing at it.
"Then we should make a quick check over there and then move on." Jess said.
Eliza and Jess walked over to the crater as they did, Eliza nearly tripped over someone's body and got caught by Jess before she could fell.
"Woah, be careful." Jess said.
"I think I tripped over som...eone." Eliza frowned, as she looked down.
The body she tripped over was Locrian's, who was lying against the ground with a pool of bleed peering from beneath his back, staring at the sky with a shocked look and his mouth was wide open.
"...Locrian." Eliza said, placing her hand on her mouth.
"...I din't get to know him that much but I could tell he was a nice guy, he would of helped us when the war would of ended." Jess sighed.
"...Why did that woman do this? What did all these people do to make her so angry at them, she din't even know thESE people and yet..." Eliza said.
Jess looked around and saw a hand peering out of some rubble while the rest of their body was stuck there.
"...There's someone trapped in that rubble." Jess said.
Eliza turned around and tried to sense if the person in that rubble was alive.
"...It's Amila. Her aura is faint but she is still alive, we need to get her out." Eliza said.
"On it." Jess said.
The rubble levitated off Amila and was tossed aside. She was badly damaged from either the explosion or the rubble that fell on top of her, her clothes were torn up and was bleeding from the left side of her face, Eliza could sense that she was struggling to keep herself alive, defying death even now.
"...Do you think she will make it?" Eliza asked.
"A ambulance from another city should arrive to pick her and everyone who is still alive to a hospital." Jess reassured her.
Eliza then turned her attention back to the center of the crater.
"...I can sense one more person...but their aura feels like...Jashin's." Eliza said.
"...It can't be." Jess said, not wanting to believe that the man who tried to get her and her sister killed was still alive.
Eliza and Jess walked to the center and looked down.
Jebediah was lying on the ground, his body was badly damaged by the explosion since he and Jashin were close to it and smoke was coming out of his body. Eliza could sense that he and Jashin were alive, somehow.
"...He is still alive." Eliza said.
"But what about Verita?" Jess asked.
"...I can't feel her aura anywhere. I think she is dead too." Eliza said.
Jess looked to see three girls who were lying on the other side of the crater. None of them were alive
She had no idea who even one of those girls were but one of the girls who had violet hair was wearing Verita's tattered clothes and the orange haired girl next to her was the same one from the potraits Jess saw in Verita's ship, the one who never appeared in person before only to appear now and there was a small girl with black hair with yellow eyes who's body was glowing before she faded away from Jess's sight, Jess sensed that girl was somehow an Other.
Jess could tell that these three girls had something to do with how Verita came to be despite how impossible that may be, which would explain why she was able to hear three voices in Verita's head at the time.
"...I think we found Verita." Jess said.
"...Who are these girls?" Eliza asked, with a confused look.
"I don't know. But one is wearing Verita's clothes and that girl next to her appeared in one of those portraits in their meeting, there was a third girl who was an Other but she disappeared. I think these three somehow combined themselves to form Verita, I heard Verita talking to herself in her head with three different voices talking to each other." Jess said.
"...But why would they combine into a single person?" Eliza asked.
"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter since they're dead now and we can't ask them. And you can't take her soul to Mephisto either." Jess said.
Eliza turned to look at Jebediah's body.
"...But Jebediah and Jashin are alive...which means..." Eliza frowned, as she looked at her pocket where her gun was placed in.
"...Are you really gonna kill them?" Jess asked.
"....I...I really don't. But if I refuse then...Mephisto will take his rage on you, sis. And I don't want you to die after I went through all the trouble to keep you safe for so long." Eliza said, as she was staring at Jebediah's body.
Jess walked to Eliza, placing her hand on her arm.
"...Just...do what you think it's right. No matter what you choice, I will support you." Jess nodded.
Eliza looked at Jess before she looked at Jebediah.
With her hand placed in her pocket, she slowly pulled her gun out and aimed at the center of his chest.
Eliza was sweating as she was placing her finger on the trigger, her hand was shaky as she was ready to shoot one more bullet that would kill off Jashin for good and send his soul to Mephisto. That way, Jess will be alive, Jashin won't hunt them down anymore and Mephisto won't probably bother them anymore. Eliza was now ready to pull the trigger.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Someone screamed.
Eliza and Jess quickly turned around and they din't believe their eyes.
A young man with messy white hair who was somehow still alive was stumbling rather than walking towards the girls. The right side of his face was completely covered by Arashi's flames while the other side of his face was covered by his hair, he was missing a left sleeve and his robe was covered in dust. It was Judas, he survived the blast.
"...Y-you're still alive?" Jess asked, sounding shocked.
"I din't sense him till now...but his aura...it's getting consumed by blackness." Eliza said, sounding worried than relieved.
"G-get...get away from him!" Judas said, as he continued stumbling.
The sisters moved out of the way as Judas approached Jebediah and collapsed on his knees. He held Jebediah's hand and lowered his head down as the young man began to sob uncontrollably.
"...S-She is gone...and now you're gone too...d-don't leave me here alone...please don't leave me alone." Judas cried, tears falling out of his left eye while blood was dripping out of the right half off his burning face.
Jess backed away from Judas while Eliza looked at him with sympathy in her eyes, she could relate to him since she felt the same way he did when his sister was dying in front of her till she was able to save her because of the deal she made with Mephisto.
Eliza stepped forward, looking at Judas.
"...I'm sorry for what happened, I don't know who you are but I can see he meant a lot to you. I'm sorry we couldn't be able to stop that woman from doing that, I know how hard it is to lose someone you care about right in front of you and feel like you will be alone for the rest of your life." Eliza said.
Judas grit his teeth when Eliza opened her mouth before he let go of Jebediah's hand and turned to face Jess and Eliza.
"...You...it's all your fault...all he wanted was to keep me safe...and you and everyone else just wanted to kill him. And now, look, he is dead! Are you happy!? ARE YOU!?" Judas asked loudly.
Jess had a bad feeling where this was going as she grabbed Eliza by her hand.
"We have to get out of here and leave him grieve." Jess said.
"But we can help him get through this! We can't just leave him here to..." Eliza said, who felt Judas's aura becoming darker and darker with each second passing.
Judas got up, his fists were shaking as the wind blew through his hairs, revealing his pitch black eye while his right eye viewable from the flames was bloodshot instead, he had a livid expression on his face.
"...You're not going anywhere." Judas said, it sounded more like a growl as the ground beneath his feet was now covered in darkness.
Dark clouds were gathering in the sky blocking the toxic gas and Jess and Eliza looked up.
"...We really need to get out of here, now!" Jess said.
Judas grabbed onto his head as he started to glow black, his hair was floating while he was becoming more angrier and angrier.
"YOU TOOK AWAY THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO MEANT ANYTHING TO ME! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS, I WILL KILL YOU TILL THERE WON'T BE A PIECE OF YOU LEFT BEHIND!!!!!!!!!" Judas screamed.
Judas exploded into blackness that reached towards the sky, with two large yellow eyes peering out of the darkness, gazing at the sisters with determined vengeance in it's eyes.
"W-what's happening to him!?" Jess asked.
"His aura became so dark it's nearly suffocating, his own darkness turned him into something consumed by malice and hate!" Eliza said, her pink eyes and aura arm returning, ready to defend herself and her sister.
The blackness formed into a large muscular being of darkness that was floating above the crater, with long white hair that covered most of it's face except it's glowing yellow eyes and wasn't wearing any clothes.
"Great, this is just what we needed right now!" Jess said.
Judas let out a scream as he lifted both of his hands and launched them down at the Summer's.
Jess levitated herself and Eliza out of the way as the hands crashed on the ground.
Judas removed his hands, shooting black beams out of his palms, the beams tore through the ground as they were heading towards Jess and Eliza.
"SHIT!" Jess yelled.
Jess levitated some rubble and it floated in front of her and Eliza, blocking the dark beams.
While using that rubble to shield themselves, she telekinetically levitated more rubble and launched at it at the dark being's face.
Judas's beams were interrupted as he placed a hand to his face before he aimed his other to the ground.
A dark void appeared out of the ground and two massive creatures with yellow eyes jumped out, they looked like a bigger version of the small creatures with yellow eyes that Judas summoned during the large fight as they extended their arms out at Jess and Eliza.
One of them grabbed Eliza by her wrist as the aura surrounding her arm was now being engulfed by darkness that was extending towards the rest of her body.
"AH!" Eliza screamed, as she tried to break free.
Jess pulled out her glowing gun, shooting glowing bullets that teared through the arm of the darkness thing that was trying to grab her before shooting off the hand engulfing Eliza in blackness. The arm fell onto the ground, covered in bullet holes and the blackness around Eliza shattered.
The two darkness beings then changed into spiky rolling balls that charged towards Eliza and Jess.
Eliza charged forward, aiming her aura fist and teared through one of the rolling balls, bursting out of the back before it vanished into blackness.
Jess levitated the rolling ball off the ground and smashed into a crashed building behind her before she levitated the ball again and smashed it into Judas's chest. The rolling ball merged right into Judas's body.
Judas held his hands to the sky, two massive balls of dark energy appeared on his hands and threw them at the crater, flying very fast at it's targets.
"WATCH OUT!" Eliza said, stretching her aura arm to grab Jess and whisked herself and her sister out of the way as the sphere's exploded into darkness, the bodies who were near sent flying while Amila and Locrian slid off slightly.
Eliza and Jess got knocked on the ground as smoke was peering out of the two holes made by Judas's attack.
"...Holy shit." Eliza said, before she sat up and helped her sister get up.
Jess got up and looked up at Judas.
"His mind is too consumed by anger, he is not thinking straight and is gonna destroy everything till there is nothing left." Jess said.
"We have to calm him down." Eliza said.
"We can't help him, Eliza, he is too mad to listen to us." Jess said.
"But we have to try! You can project yourself into other people's minds, maybe you can go into his mind and try to reason with him! We shouldn't kill a grieving person when the two of us were grieving us when we lost our parents. Please, Jess, just try." Eliza said.
Jess sighed before she took a good look at Judas.
"...I'll try but I can't promise anything." Jess said.
She looked into Judas's eyes as her eyes glew purple.
Jess founded herself in a pitch black void, wearing a black funeral dress, her feet standing on black water that reflected her image.
Going forward, she was walking past a few paintings floating to the left and right, most paintings were featuring Newfort and faces of people that Judas met, some of them were showing Jebediah, Rebecca, some Red Moon members, an orphanage, the original painting Judas did with the star was there and eventually she found Judas.
He was wearing a funeral suit, crouched down with his knees buried in the water, his hands placed on his face as there were two painting floating behind him, one on the left featured Jebediah's scorched body marked by claws, lying in the crater while the one to the right showed Rebecca's burned body, staring right into Jess's eyes.
Jess walked towards Judas who din't remove his hands but he was aware of her presence.
"...Go away." Judas said.
"...We aren't your enemies, we weren't even here when that girl on the painting died and we couldn't do anything to stop that demon woman from destroying the city. There was nothing we could of done." Jess said.
"Why couldn't you save her? Why couldn't you just stopped everyone from fighting? Then Jebediah and Rebecca would be alive...just why!?" Judas asked.
"We were taken out of the battlefield by the Harbercorn's, we were forced to fight them while the battle in Newrum went on without us. By the time we arrived to help everyone, the demon appeared and killed everyone, we couldn't of stopped her. I'm sorry." Jess said.
"...I-I don't believe you...I was alone ever since I was a kid...anywhere I went I was kicked out and was forced to fight back, then Jebediah saved me from Jaden and I finally found people to make my life have a meaning...and now they're gone, there is nothing left for me to do now..." Judas said as he was crying into his palms.
Jess crouched down, placing her hand on his shoulder with a sad expression.
"...I know how you feel. A few times, I actually wondered if my life even had a purpose anymore after I lost my city and my parents are most likely dead now. The only person I have left is Eliza...I can't imagine what I would if I lost her...If I had the power to prevent all of this from ever happening, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I am not a God or a superhero, I can't change what happened. But me and my sister can help you get through this." Jess said.
Jess held her hand out towards Judas.
"Just let us help you." Jess said.
Judas removed his hands from his place, his face was filled with black tears as he glared at Jess.
"...Keep your excuses to yourself." Judas said.
A black spike burst out of Judas's chest, impaling Jess's neck.
More black spikes peered out of the water and none-existent ceiling, stabbing Jess in every part of her body, even her eyes before she was consumed by darkness.
"GAH!" Jess screamed as she opened her eyes and landed her knees on the ground.
Eliza turned to Jess, startled by her sister's scream.
"What happened!?" Eliza asked.
Jess's nose began bleeding as she was breathing heavily.
"...He is too unstable to even talk to, he won't listen to me. He kicked me out when I told him we can help him, there's nothing I can do to help him at this rate." Jess said, removing the blood with her fingers.
Eliza frowned as she looked up at Judas.
"...So what do we do? Do we kill him?" Eliza asked.
Jess sat up, she din't look happy either as she looked at the massive being.
"...I think his plan is to kill us and then he will take his own life. He has nothing to live for, all he is doing is taking out his grief before his sorrow will kill him mentally. All we can do now is put him out of his misery before he puts us down. I'm sorry." Jess said.
Eliza closed her eyes, not letting a tear escape before she reopened them and nodded.
With one leap, armed with her gun and aura, she went towards Judas and grabbed onto his leg. She began scratching with her aura hand, causing some pink flames to burst out of his leg.
Judas felt that before he aimed his hands at Eliza, ready to blast her with his beams.
Jess levitated off the ground as she pointed her gun at Judas and shot glowing bullets at him, hitting his torso.
Eliza climbed up to his stomach, shredding with her claws and more pink flames to burst out and shot a few bullets at Judas's left arm.
Jess was helping by shooting Judas's right arm and his chest to prevent him from attacking Eliza.
Eliza then climbed to his back till she reached his neck and shoved her claws into his neck, she jumped off his neck while pulling her claws from his neck right down into his back, tearing right through it as more flames engulfed Judas's back and neck.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Judas screamed, as his massive being feel from the sky and crashed his knees in the crater, the injuries inflicted on him damaged him pretty good.
Jess was knocked back by Judas's collapse before she looked around for Eliza.
Eliza, with a guilty look, was currently climbing off Judas as she was hanging off his torso.
Suddenly, two long arms peered out of Judas's chest, grabbing Eliza's body and din't let go off her.
Eliza gasped as she tried to break free but the grip of these dark hands were too strong as she saw Judas looking down on her and his eyes were glowing. He shot two yellow beams from his eyes that struck Eliza, sending her crashing on the ground, sliding past Jess.
"ELIZA!" Jess screamed, running towards her sister.
Judas, while on his knees, lifted his hands and put them together, releasing to create a really large darkness ball that would do a lot of damage once it would hit someone.
Jess looked behind her and her eyes widened upon seeing the energy ball directed right at Eliza. If that hits her, there is a high chance she will die from that and she can't let that happen, not on her watch.
Judas threw the darkness ball, it was going very fast and it was about to hit Eliza.
Eliza looked wounded from Judas's eyebeams and was unable to move out of the sphere's way.
Jess got in front of Eliza, stretching her arms and a pink sphere appeared around her and Eliza.
"IF YOU WANT MY SISTER, YOU WILL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME!" Jess yelled.
"S-sis!" Eliza said.
Jess turned her head to Eliza, smiling.
"Don't worry, I will protect you. I am your big sister, after all." Jess said.
The darkness ball hits the pink sphere.
Jess, sweating heavily, kept the shield up and tried to repel the ball back towards Judas to hit him instead.
Judas launched yet another black beam from his palms, hitting the dark energy ball and it exploded, shattering the pink sphere and sent both Jess and Eliza flying, with blackness covering the area.
Eliza and Jess crashed on the ground. Eliza looked fine for the most part as she was standing behind Jess and slowly got up, with dust in her hair and her clothes.
She coughed slightly before she turned around and her eyes widened when she turned to her sister.
Jess was lying on the ground, her body was badly damaged by the ball's explosion that shattered the sphere, she was bleeding from her chest and mouth, her long hair escaped from her ponytail and was now spread all over the ground and her eyes were closed.
"NOOO!" Eliza yelled.
She quickly turned to Judas, her sharp teeth were clenched and her eyes were covered in pink flames, any sympathy she had for Judas was gone the moment he hurt her sister.
"...How could you...all she wanted was just to help you and you do this to her, YOU BASTARD!" Eliza roared, her body was lit on pink aura and a small crater appeared beneath her feet.
Eliza launched herself off the ground, her eyes targeting Judas's chest and her aura fist was clenched. Her fist punched through Judas's chest, going right through it and burst out of his back, her fist was covered in his blood as she left a circular gap in the monster's chest.
To make sure he stays down, Eliza turned and aimed her gun, pressing the trigger and a bullet was sent flying, piercing through the back of Judas's head and flew out of his forehead.
Judas's eyes shrunk, his arms dropped to the ground before he collapsed on his back in the crater, the area shook when he collapsed as Eliza landed on her feet, still looking pissed.
The massive being evaporated into darkness that faded into nothing and Judas was back in his human form, with a hole in his chest, blood flowing out of his forehead and his eyes were covered by his hair with his mouth open as the dark clouds vanished, allowing the toxic gas to escape.
Eliza's eyes turned back to normal and her aura vanished, she din't even turn to Judas's corpse as she ran towards Jess and crouched down.
"Jess!" Eliza said, lifting her torso up.
Jess wasn't awake and more blood was escaping from her body.
Eliza held her hand and it was getting cold, she was losing blood quickly and won't be able to hang on to her life for long. This scene was too familiar to Eliza as she had a horrible realization that her sister was gonna die again and she already used her chance to save her from her original death.
"...No...not again! I...I won't let you die on me, again! I will fix this!" Eliza yelled, tears escaping from her eyes as she hugged her sister in her arms.
She looked up the sky.
"MEPHISTO!" Eliza shouted to the heavens.
Right on cue, a red puff of smoke appeared and Mephisto was here as he looked around the crater he was in.
"...Dark Heart made a real mess of this place." Mephisto said.
Upon noticing a corpse laying at his feet, he disrespectfully kicked it out of his way as he placed his hands in his pockets and walked towards Eliza.
Eliza turned to Mephisto.
"You're here, please, you have to save my sister, she is dying!" Eliza plead.
"Sorry, young heart, but I can't do that. I already gave you a second chance to save your sister and it seems you blew it, I can't give you a free revival this time...not unless you have the soul of those two guys I asked you to get for me?" Mephisto asked.
"No, I din't! Look, I'll get you a very powerful soul later but please, just save Jess like you did before! I'll do anything you ask me, I'll work for you forever, just please, don't her die!" Eliza said, at this point she was willing to beg for anything to save her sister from dying.
Mephisto placed his hand on his temple and let out a annoyed sigh.
"Geez, this is a disappointment. I'm currently standing in the middle of a crater, lots of dead bodies and now I'll have to go back home to my family empty handed with no soul of a semi-deity or a guardian. I'm starting to regret actually making that deal with you, kid." Mephisto said.
"I don't care, just help me out and I'll do anything you say, now do it!" Eliza said.
"You're not in a position to demand me of anything, young heart. This pact hasn't been beneficiary for neither of us and it's gonna affect future deals I'll make with new clients, you have nothing to give me and I have nothing to show to my clan, thus making my trip to this wasteland for nothing. I can't go back with nothing, so your sister will have to do while she still has some breath in her lungs." Mephisto said, as he started walking Jess.
Eliza gasped before she placed her sister down gently and turned around and shielded her from Mephisto.
"No, you can't take her! I won't let you!" Eliza said.
Mephisto was unimpressed as he grabbed Eliza by her head and tossed her aside, sending her sliding on the ground.
"Look, kid, I have a reputation to keep up and your feelings for your sister do not really matter to me, even if this deal failed, I'll still get something out of this even if it's very small." Mephisto said as he continued his walk towards Jess.
Eliza crawled towards Mephisto, grabbing him by his feet.
"Please, don't!" Eliza said.
"You're really starting to tick me off, kid. I'm done dealing with you." Mephisto said.
"Don't you have someone that you care about? Don't you have a brother or a sister that you care for and want to protect? Think about it from my perspective and then you will see where I am coming, is a reputation really that important than the life of a person?" Eliza asked.
Mephisto din't even turn his head to Eliza as he looked at the sky.
"...I had a brother, once. I was younger than him and he was the center of attention while I barely existed to anyone else, I was nothing more but his shadow and he treated me like a pest in his way, just because he had the power to collect souls more faster it made him better than me. With him around, I couldn't do much of anything without him always getting in my way to my success." Mephisto said.
He then started chuckling as he raised a finger to the sky.
"But then I got a very nasty clever idea. I worked a deal with the head honcho of the Tartarus group, Orpheus, to have my brother serve him and establish a partnership between my family and his. He accepted and my brother got into a unfortunate accident in the first realm before your's was blessed by the elements of Evolution and with him gone, I became the most successful member of the family and got them a lot of souls from all the deals I made for almost a millennium now!" Mephisto said.
Eliza's eyes were shaking, she couldn't believe that he would be that greedy enough to sell off his own sibling to someone else.
He turned his head to Eliza, with a smirk on his face.
"So, to answer your question, I cared about my brother as much as rats cared about the sinking ships they jumped off and latched onto another ship to keep themselves comfortable. Now, buzz off." Mephisto said.
He kicked Eliza in the face and she let go of him.
Mephisto stood in front of Jess and aimed his right hand as it started to glow.
Eliza raised her head, her eyes turned pink and she began glowing with aura, she looked angry. She got up and her arm got engulfed by her aura before she stretched it towards the pale demon, grabbing him by his neck, catching him by surprise before she turned and smashed him against a large wall buried into the ground, not letting go off him.
She ran towards Mephisto and got in his face.
"If you try to put a finger on my sister, I will kill you before I will let you take her away from me! I went through hell and back to protect her and I'm not gonna stand aside and let a evil asshole like you take away the only family I have left!" Eliza yelled.
Mephisto's teeth were clenched as Eliza's fist was wrapped around his neck, unable to do anything but was still able to smile at Eliza even as he was being chocked out.
"...While it's a noble gesture and it goes to show how undying your loyalty to your sister is, it will just make things worse. If you kill me, there is no way my family will let this slide, what happened here will be nothing compared to what they will do to this wretched realm and these silly mortals if my demise happens now. Would you still take the risk to potentially doom everyone on this planet just to save a single soul who is gonna die anyways in any moment now?" Mephisto asked.
"She won't, because I won't let that happen again and you will not get near her." Eliza said, glaring in his eyes.
"That's...touching." Mephisto grinned as he raised his lift hand, snapping a finger.
His sigil on Eliza's palm began to glow red and Eliza suddenly felt like her heart was on fire.
She let's go of Mephisto as she held onto her chest, her body was in immense pain and could barely stand on her feet.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Eliza screamed, before she collapsed on the ground.
Mephisto adjusted his tie as he looked at Eliza.
"Did you really think I would let you kill me that easily, young heart? I left that symbol on your palm for a good reason, I figured that at some point a client of mine would be unsatisfied with my service and try to take me out and that symbol will prevent them from trying to lay a finger on me. Now look at you, you can't even crawl your way to save your dear beloved sister." Mephisto smirked.
The sigil was still glowing and Eliza's body was entirely stunned, she couldn't be able to grab Mephisto or even attack him.
She watched as Mephisto continued his walk towards Jess and slowly reached for her gun before aiming at his head, slowly pressing her fingers against the trigger.
Her revolver suddenly melted in Eliza's hand much to her shock.
"Oh, yeah, don't think I forgot about your gun, too. I enchanted that after all and now without you getting in my way or any weapons to threaten me with, I'll just take your sister's soul and get out of this dump while I still can." Mephisto said and he continued.
All that Eliza can do is raise her head and watch as Mephisto was getting close to his sister now.
"N-no...I have to do something. I can't let that heartless monster take her...the only way he will leave her alone is if I offered him a soul but will my soul even be that valuable to him? Ugh, I can't do it...it's useless, my sister will get her soul taken away and I will be left alone...there is nothing I can't beat him...unless..." Eliza thought to herself.
Suddenly, she remembered what Benedict told her.
You can either please him by giving him what he wants...or you find a loophole
"...A loophole...wait, there is another soul residing within me...if I gave him that then maybe he will leave her alone...I don't know what will happen to me if I get rid of Sicrum, I'll lose my power but my sister will be saved, whatever happens to me doesn't matter as long as she get's to live." Eliza thought.
Mephisto raised his glowing hand, aiming it at Jess.
"Now, let's get that sweet essence out of your body before your heart stops beating." Mephisto grinned.
"STOP!" Eliza shouted while laying over the ground.
Mephisto let out irritated groan.
"I'll give you this, you are more stubborn than a cockroach." Mephisto said.
"I...I have a soul to give you, I bet it will be more valuable to you than my sister's." Eliza said.
"If you are talking about your's, not a chance. Sorry, kid, but your sister's soul is more precious to get than your's." Mephisto shrugged.
"I'm not talking about my soul...I'm talking about the demon inside me. I'm giving you his soul and in exchange, you won't take my sister and you will save her from dying." Eliza said.
Suddenly, Eliza's sigil stopped glowing and so did the pain.
Mephisto's hand stopped glowing and he turned around, placing his finger on his chin, looking interested.
"Oh, that's right, Sicrum's essence, I completely forgot about that. Any mortal being would kill to get their hands on his essence, no matter how small it may be. Sure, I can do that." Mephisto said.
"I'm not finished. I have something to else to add to this deal." Eliza said, as she slowly got up, placing her hand on her chest.
"...What is it?" Mephisto asked.
"...If I give you the demon's essence...I want you to save my sister and break up our contract and remove this stupid symbol off my palm then move me and my sister away from Newrum. I don't want you to get involved in my life ever again, leave us alone and go back to hell where you belong. You can either take this deal or go fuck yourself, what's it gonna be?" Eliza asked.
Mephisto's teeth clenched, his eyes glaring at Eliza as they appeared to glow with rage before his grin returned, chuckling to himself.
"Hah, me, of all people, getting extorted by a little human brat instead of the other way around! Ha hah...you are one clever little snitch, young heart." Mephisto said.
Mephisto turned around and aimed his hand at Jess as she started to glow red. All her wounds vanished and was breathing again.
Eliza looked relieved till it was cut short as Mephisto turned his attention to her.
"You do realize that If I have remove Sicrum from your body, it might damage something since I am taking something that's glued to your soul, correct?" Mephisto asked.
"...As long as my sister lives, that's all I care about. I'll deal with it for the rest of my life if I have to." Eliza said.
"...Heh, you are one foolish creature." Mephisto grinned.
He raised his glowing hand at Eliza, shooting red energy out of his fingertips that struck her body.
Eliza began screaming as her eyes were covered in blackness before Sicrum's dark essence escaped out of her mouth, separating from her body and aura covering Eliza was now gone.
The essence inside Eliza was extracted with success before she collapsed on the ground as the essence flew into Mephisto's hand, forming into a small black orb.
Mephisto smiled before he looked down at Eliza.
"It's been a pleasure dealing with you, Eliza. Even if you forget me, I will not forget you." Mephisto said.
The contract Eliza signed appeared in Mephisto's hand as he tore it to shreds, cancelling their pact and the sigil on Eliza's palm disappeared.
Red smoke covered both Jess and Eliza, removing them from the battlefield before Mephisto himself vanished through a puff of red smoke.
Standing near the edge, Benedict was overlooking the crater as he smiled to himself, the wind blowing through his hair and looked upwards at the sky.
"...It's time for a new change of wind." Benedict said.
He turned around and began walking to a different direction.
Back in the crater, the long black haired woman with yellow and her green-skinned companion were currently standing in front of the corpses of the two girls who were once Verita, they looked very unsatisfied by this outcome.
"...These people led themselves to their own destruction. We came here all this way for nothing, what a embarrassing conclusion. This world is not worth living in with these imbeciles." The woman said.
"It's a quite a shame, isn't it?" A voice asked.
The two turned around as they saw Manuel approaching them, with a gas mask covering his face to prevent himself from getting killed by the radiation.
"This conflict could of been prevented but there were too many minds with conflicting ideals that led to this chaos to happen. If only there was someone who had the power to give them the right idea on what they should do." Manuel said.
The green skinned man growled at Manuel's presence while the girl just stared at the old man.
"...What do you want?" The woman asked.
"I came here looking for you two, actually. I have learned about this timeline and came here to meet you two to see if you are interested in my proposal." Manuel said.
"...This timeline?" The woman asked.
"I come from a timeline that's far different from your's and in my timeline, Newrum State City still exists, Red Moon and Verita's crusade were defeated long before their forces ever clashed. I have been forming my own group, working together to find jewels that will restore a relic to it's original power and I will use it to make the world a better place and prevent a outcome like this from happening anywhere else. If you two will help me, I will make your wildest dreams come true. What do you say, Sin, Veronica?" Manuel asked.
Veronica and Sin looked at each other before looking at Manuel.
"...Hm, your proposal sounds intriguing. And who might you be, Mr?" Veronica asked, with a smirk.
Manuel removed his mask.
"You may call me the Black Crow." He smiled.
------
Jess and Eliza were lying in the ground covered by snow, with the crater where Newrum State City was once being seeable from the distance.
Jess opened her eyes, feeling dizzy as she looked at the sky.
"...W-what happened?" Jess asked.
Jess turned her head and saw Eliza next to her, her eyes did not open nor did she move a muscle.
"Eliza!" Jess said.
Jess got up and went to Eliza, crouching down.
"Wake up, it's me, Jess." Jess said.
Eliza did not open her eyes, nor did she hear Jess. She wasn't moving at all.
Jess looked a bit worried as she shook her sister a little.
"Liz, come on, this isn't funny, just wake up already." Jess said.
Once again, Eliza did not wake up.
Jess's concern was getting worse as she held Eliza's hand, she felt rather cold and she wasn't moving.
"...No, no, you better not fucking do this to me, okay!? This isn't fucking funny, Eliza, WAKE UP!" Jess yelled.
Jess began shaking her sister a few times.
"COME ON, WAKE UP! WHAT HAPPENED, WHY AREN'T YOU OPENING HER EYES! SAY SOMETHING, DAMNIT!" Jess yelled, she refused to consider the possibility that her sister might of died.
Despite her efforts, Eliza was still not getting up, nor did she open her eyes.
Jess stopped shaking Eliza and placed her head against her chest, she din't appear to hear any heart beat and her worst fear was slowly becoming reality.
"...No...No, no, no...NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jess yelled at the top of her lungs.
Jess buried her face into Eliza's chest, crying loudly as she was convinced that her sister was dead.
"...We shouldn't of came here, we should of remained in Newfort, I knew this was gonna happen, I should of followed my own instincts!" Jess cried.
Jess continued to cry before she removed her face from her sister's chest, her eyes filled with tears, she looked to be broken from outside to inside.
"...Don't do this to me, Eliza...I can't go on without you, you are the only person who makes this world worth living in...I won't be able to do this without you." Jess said.
She spotted her glowing gun sitting on the ground and she picked it up.
"...If you are up there, I won't stay here to suffer. I will join you and we will be together again. Not even death will keep us separated." Jess said.
She placed her gun against her temple and closed her eyes, she was still sobbing as placed her finger against the trigger, ready to end her pain forever.
Eliza's hand reached forward, grabbing Jess by her wrist.
Jess opened her eyes, gasping before she looked and saw Eliza who opened her eyes, shaking her head while her hand was stuck to Jess's grip, not letting her end herself.
Jess, with shock and relief clashing in her eyes, dropped her gun in surprise to see that her sister was alive.
"...E-Eliza!?" Jess asked.
Eliza lifted her torso up and looked up at Jess with a small smile.
Jess placed her hands on her mouth, tears of joy flowing out of her eyes.
"Oh my God, you're alive!" Jess said.
Jess wrapped her arms around Eliza, hugging very tightly, she never hugged her so forcefully ever since the day Eliza was born and hugged her as a baby.
Jess then broke the hug as she glared at Eliza, looking angry.
"Do know how worried I was, you idiot!? You gave me a heart attack, do you think it was funny to play dead on your sister!? I swear, I will never talk to you again for what you did! What if I actually shot myself!?" Jess said, she was angry but relieved at the same time.
Eliza frowned as she looked at the ground, she din't really mean to make her sister think she was dead as she looked at her palm to see that Mephisto's symbol was now gone at last.
Jess sighed, removing her tears from her eyes.
"I din't mean to shout but you really scared me there, Liz. Do not do that to me ever again or I swear." Jess said.
Eliza looked at Jess, ever since she woke up she hasn't said a single word.
"...Eliza, why aren't you saying something? I'm sorry for yelling at you but I was scared, alright? Come on, say something." Jess said.
Eliza opened her mouth and began coughing, putting her hand to her neck as she felt a sting, she couldn't get anything out of her mouth.
"E-Eliza? What happened, why aren't you saying something?" Jess asked, looking worried.
Eliza tried to say something but she couldn't, she couldn't say anything at all. It appears losing Sicrum damaged her vocal chords or so.
"...You...literally can't speak?" Jess asked, confused.
Eliza shook her head.
"...What happened when I passed out from that attack?" Jess asked.
She looked at Eliza's left hand.
"...Mephisto's sigil is gone, did he break the deal you did with him?" Jess asked.
Eliza nodded.
"But how? The only he would of done that if you gave him either Jashin or Verita's souls but...wait." Jess said.
She placed her hand on Eliza's forehead, trying to sense Sicrum's essence in her.
"...That demon...it's gone, I can't feel it inside you anymore. Did you give it up to Mephisto and it damaged your voice somehow?" Jess asked.
Eliza nodded at that again, it really sucked not to be able to talk but losing her voice was worth it to save her sister's life.
Jess sighed before she grabbed Eliza, hugging her again.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Sunshine. Anything else doesn't matter now." Jess said.
Eliza smiled as she wrapped her arms around Jess aswell.
The two broke their hug as Jess helped Eliza get up and the two looked at the crater from the distance, seeing a few ambulance cars arriving and people wearing suits that would protect them from radiation poisoning got out, climbing down to see if anyone was still alive down there.
"...Let's go, we have to find a new place, far away from anyone who will try to find us." Jess said.
The two held each other's hand as they turned away as it started to snow again.
"Major breaking news:Newrum State City has been wiped out by a nuclear explosion that destroyed the entire city and killed dozens during the battle between Red Moon and the forces of Verita, the Scourge of Universe 9! According to Caroline Thompson, one of the survivors who finally woke up, during the battle, a demonic woman who strongly resembles the young girl from Mishinaka, Tara Blasco who vanished for a long time, appeared and killed the fighters who were there with powerful black beams and killed a Omnipotent who unleashed the Nuclear Explosion that eradicated Newrum. Randolf Stoneson and a medical crew found a few survivors and transferred them to Wellham while anyone else who is alive, dead or injured are currently at the Stadium from Newrum. Daniel and Alexia from the elite Harbercorn family who founded the city were confirmed to be dead. Could this be the interlude to a invasion by the demons as Red Moon predicted? The sign of yet another war coming? And where is the president right now, did he perish during the final battle? As many questions arise, we advise the people at home to stay cautious and not panic. As now as we hear updates, we will let you know."
-------
It cuts to Wellham as the fighters who were unconscious were stationed in the Heartland Hospital Center from Wellham now that the Morpher was dead and it was safe to go there.
The doctors were checking on the survivors, Arashi was among them but he wasn't waking up any time soon. A old man with red eyes and dark grey hair wearing a silver suit was standing right beside Amila and held her hand.
Outside, Scott was sitting on the ground against the wall of the veterinary, holding a gun in his hand. He avoided getting into contact with any of the people who arrived in Wellham, it was too dangerous to get in contact with potential strangers who might endanger his life as he was sitting there and was breathing heavily.
------
In Mishinaka, things haven't improved much and everyone is currently arguing about what to do now without Ezekiel being around and if Red Moon will help them anymore.
Debby, who survived the battle as she got out of there before the explosion but din't escape without a few scars as she was sitting in front of Erica's house, holding a beer of booze in her hand as she was currently dealing with the fact that both Erica and Duke were gone.
She threw the bottle against the wall of someone's house before she covered her face with her hands, starting to cry
-----
In Courtham Grove, Kitioagan was currently cleaning up the counter before the news segment of Newrum's destruction appeared on TV aswell, getting her and Sakura's attention.
Hifumi was in his bedroom, working on his manga with the TV turned on in the background showing the same thing.
Aqua and Gurok were watching the news broadcast from their apartment and she did not look happy.
------
The news reached Strathmore aswell as Joseph's wife, Theresa, was in her room, crying in the arms of the nun from from Courtham's church, who was also saddened by the passing of her best friend, Mary.
-----
Somewhere in Spain.
A lady with short orange hair, another lady with blonde hair and a guy wearing trench coat were watching the news from a TV from inside a store.
The blonde lady grabbed the orange haired woman's hand as they and the guy walked away before anyone else noticed them.
-----
In a hospital room, Caroline was resting in her bed, looking at the ceiling as she couldn't get sleep with the images she witnessed at the battle replaying in her mind nonstop, chances are she won't be sleeping for quite awhile.
She turned her head to the right, to see a little girl with cream hair transferred here from Rachdale who was sleeping in her bed, with a balloon attached to her bed saying 'Get well soon, Maggie'
------
Meanwhile, in another Universe.
A girl with brown hair wrapped in a ponytail was hugging onto a guy with blonde hair and purple eyes who was also from another Universe as they were at a funeral of her friends who died in the battle in Newrum as evidenced by the pictures sitting on top of their coffins.
Two other Omnipotents, one with long brown hair and one who was muscular were there aswell.
-----
George and his mom were in a car, driving away as it wasn't safe to stay at the farm anymore thanks to the radiation spreading, despite George's protests, they had no choice to but to pack up and leave.
George just sighed as it was hard for him to leave their home and animals behind and now they had to find somewhere else to stay from now on.
----
In the demon world.
Zoey was in her room, painting the crater where Newrum State City was once with a frown on her face.
Her friend, Tara, wasn't there as she was currently cooling off in her castle.
Mephisto was discussing with Fuzen and Nyx about his marriage with Zoey.
-----
In Skaebe.
A blonde guy who was wearing a zipped up blue hoodie was walking on the street with his husky before he turned his head to see the footage of Newrum State City from a TV in a local stare.
Shrugging it off, he turned around and he and his dog walked towards a park as a flyer of the missing person 'Max Lima' flew past him and landed in a pile of snow.
-----
In Newfort.
Jebediah’s mansion was completely empty and people were talking amongst themselves about what happened to their president.
The cabin on top of the cliff was no longer there.
-----
In the old Red Moon Church.
The remaining members were discussing each other about what to do without Jebediah being here to lead them.
Martha, with a teenager sitting next to her, declared that she will take charge of the group. While Jebediah may be gone, Jashin is still with them and have a lot of work to do.
------
A funeral was held for Daniel and Alexia by the members of the Harbercorn family who weren't there during Newrum's explosion, swearing that they will get their revenge on whoever killed their family members and on whoever destroyed Newrum.
-----
Eliza and Jess were walking on the road, holding each other's hands as snow was falling slowly from the sky. The members of Red Moon and the Harbercorn's might want revenge and so, they had to stay away from any cities and find a place where no one will ever bother looking for them, no one had to know that they were still alive and survived Newrum's destruction.
------
Monday, August 9th 2100, 6:10 PM
A log was placed on top of a stump before the axe was raised down and cut in two halves.
The person wielding that axe was Jess, who had shoulder length hair, the bags under her eyes disappeared and was wearing a brown sweater with long sleeves and blue long pants before placed the axe down and picked up the log halves, placing them in a bag full of food, enough to make fire before she looked up at a tree next to her, seeing the orange leaves falling gently on the ground, it was a sign that another Summer was coming to an end and Fall was coming, which is why she was here to gather as much wood she needs to keep herself warm.
Jess looked at the tree before she left, seeing that she collected enough wood for today and was walking on the road while everything else was surrounded by grass.
A few years ago, Jess and Eliza landed themselves at the countryside to avoid getting found by any remaining members of Red Moon or anyone else, the countryside was quite barren for the most part and found themselves a abandoned household and stayed there ever since. The countryside wasn't that bad actually, there were a few Others who sprung up but they were easy to deal with and we're able to grew some vegetables by using seeds and would out go out to hunt for some animals. They haven't heard any news regarding the rest of the world as far as they were concerned. Now they had to prepare themselves when Autumn was gonna come as yet another period of Summer was reaching it's end.
At a normal house made out of wood surrounded by a fence with a garden in the backyard, Eliza was sitting on the porch, reading a book as she now had short hair, wearing a shoulderless pink shirt with black shorts.
Jess arrived back at the house, opening the gate and walked towards her sister.
"Din't take you as the type to read boring stories." Jess said, sounding amused.
Eliza looked up, smiling.
"Oh, welcome back, sis. Couldn't find anything else to do so I just found this old book in a shelf and decided to read it till you came back." Eliza said, who regained her voice after some time has passed since Sicrum was released from her body.
Jess placed her bag full of wood on the ground as she sat next to Eliza.
"Is it any good?" Jess asked.
"Nah, it's just a lame romance book. Whoever lived here din't have any taste in good books." Eliza said, placing the book aside.
She turned to Jess.
"How was your day?" Eliza asked.
"I managed to find enough food that will last us for awhile when the cold times arrives. We have enough clothes to survive during winter but the garden will likely be ruined by the snow." Jess said.
"Guess it's back to deer hunting, huh?" Eliza asked.
"Yup. I'm surprised you finally had the courage to actually shoot one." Jess said.
"I had to get used it, sooner or later. I guess it was time for me to grow up, I guess." Eliza said.
"And I'm proud of you for that. I was getting worried that you wouldn't be able to talk ever again, I missed hearing your voice." Jess said.
"Yeah. It's good that it only lasted for a few days, I'm not very good at sign language as evidenced when I tried to show you that I needed to go to the bathroom." Eliza sighed.
"Still, it must of took you a lot of guts to pull that off." Jess said.
"If I din't do that, Mephisto would of taken your soul instead. I couldn't let him do that and I had to figure out a way to get him to leave us both alone, I think this was for the best anyways, it was uncomfortable having someone else's spirit living in my body." Eliza said.
"It looks like it worked, Mephisto never came back to bother us again and Red Moon haven't made any efforts to track us down, if that organization still exists today." Jess said.
"Without Jebediah and Jashin around, I doubt they lasted for much longer, but I wonder how the rest of the world has been doing ever since Newrum was destroyed. Do you think that demon lady ever came back and people dealt with her?" Eliza asked.
"Who knows. It's up to the world to decide what they will do while the two of us will only have to worry about ourselves and no one else." Jess said.
Eliza nodded before she looked up the sky, seeing the sunset.
"...Seeing this sunset is giving me a flashback to the day before all this craziness started, when we got out of the pool and we were just looking at the sunset and promised to do the same thing tomorrow, but that never happened." Eliza said.
"...Yeah. That was probably the best day of our Summer till the next worst day happened." Jess said.
"And now Summer is coming to an end again." Eliza sighed.
"Still, this was one was a lot more better than the other Summer's we had in these last couple of years. The ones that din't involve dead people atleast." Jess said.
"The countryside has been pretty good so far, we avoided running into any bad people and managed to keep ourselves out of trouble, I'm thankful we finally found ourselves a place to stay at last without having to move from place to place for once." Eliza said.
Jess nodded.
"Those were really hard days for us but now, we made it. While this place isn't as comfortable as living in a city would be, I'm still enjoying the peace and quiet as opposed to all the carnage we've been involved in." Jess said.
"Yup...let's just hope it will remain that way for a good long time." Eliza agreed.
"Hey!"
Jess and Eliza turned their heads around as they saw two silhouettes waving from the distance.
"...Well that din't last long." Eliza sighed.
Jess quickly got up and walked closer to take a better look at the two silhouettes, she couldn't be able to tell how they looked like with how far they were. However, they appeared to be coming towards the house right now.
"Who are they?" Eliza asked.
"I don't know, but if they are here to cause trouble, we'll have to scare them off. You have your gun?" Jess asked.
"It's in my pocket. You?" Eliza asked.
"Same. If they try anything funny, we'll take them down, let's greet our guests." Jess said.
Eliza nodded before she turned to look at the two who were now approaching the house.
The two of them had cream skin, the first person was a guy with blue eyes, shoulder length black hair, wearing a blue track jacket, black pants and his left leg was wrapped in a cast and was holding two crutches and the other was a woman with black eyes, black hair wrapped in a ponytail, wearing a black sweater, white baggy pants and black gloves.
Jess opened the gate as she and Eliza walked to confront the strangers.
"Hello there." Jess said, folding her arms.
"Hi, we saw you back at that tree. We were curious and wanted to see if you were living on you're own." The woman said.
"It looks like you and your friend are living here, in the middle of nowhere." The guy said.
"She is my sister. Might I ask what are you two doing here?" Jess asked.
"Oh, we aren't from around here, we were looking any people who are lost and don't have comfortable homes to stay in. But it seems like you two are living in a comfortable house." The woman said.
"It's not exactly comfortable, but it's manageable." Eliza said, still not sure if she would trust these two people.
Jess also looked at them with suspicion.
"Are you two working for a organization called Red Moon that sent you to find us, or anyone else sent you?" Jess asked.
The two looked confused as they turned to each other before turning back to Jess.
"Uh, no, no one sent us. We don't have any idea what Red Moon even is." The man said.
Jess read their minds to make sure they weren't lying, it appears they are telling the truth and weren't sent by Red Moon to capture them.
"...Okay, I believe you. So, when you said you aren't from around here, where did you two come from? By looking at your skin, I can tell you're from somewhere else far away from here." Jess said.
"We're from another Universe actually. We came here with our own vessel, we heard that this Universe was suffering and there had to be plenty of people who lost their homes and we needed to be here to help them out." The woman said.
"We found quite a lot of people from other Universes who din't have anywhere to go and are staying in the shelter, giving them food, clean water and new clothes. It's been going good, so far." The guy smiled.
"...Hm, can you tell me what your names are?" Jess asked.
"I'm Alison, and he is my friend, Janosch. Who are you two?" Alison asked.
Jess and Eliza looked each other before looking at the two.
"...I'm Eliza. And she is my big sister, Jess. We've been staying here on the countryside away from everything else, we've been through a lot since we lost our parents and city many years ago." Eliza said.
"Oh, that's a pretty darn shame. No one deserves that." Janosch said, shaking his head.
"If you two want, you could come with us to see the shelter for yourselves and decide if you want to stay there or stay here, we need to get back home soon. What do you say?" Alison asked.
Jess looked unsure, while they din't appear to be working for someone, she wasn't sure if she could really trust their intentions without being up to something.
"...I guess it would be worth looking at. What do you think, sis?" Eliza asked.
"...Honestly, nothing bad happened while we've been staying here, we have water and clothes and we can find food for ourselves, I think we can manage just fine without a shelter." Jess said.
"I guess, but...is staying here isolated from everything else a good option?" Janosch asked.
"If it will keep us away from danger, then yeah, it is a good option. Besides, I'm not exactly if I can trust you two when I just met you." Jess said.
"We understand. If that's your choice, then we'll just leave." Alison said.
"Come on, Jess, if they are telling the truth, this could be good for us. Plus, if they are lying, you would know about it from a first glance, wouldn't you?" Eliza asked.
Jess looked at Eliza before she sighed.
"I suppose your place should be checked out before we come to a decision. Alright, take us to this 'shelter.'" Jess said.
"Cool. Just follow us." Janosch smiled.
Janosch and Alison turned around and began walking.
Eliza walked after them and followed but kept her distance, still being weary of the two.
"You guys mentioned you are from another Universe. How is it?" Eliza asked.
"It's been covered in snow and ice ever since we were born. We live in villages as most of the community was split up when everything was covered in snow. This place is quite sunny compared to my home universe." Alison said.
"But thankfully, with the new Universal alliance blooming, our people will no longer live in tribes and we'll be able to live together. So far, they find a person to represent Universe 3 so it might take awhile till your Universe will be included and hopefully resolve whatever issues it has." Janosch said.
"We actually have no idea what the rest of the Universes are. I've been in one before but...it was a long time and only saw it for a few minutes before I went back." Jess said, as she remembered when Verita took her to Universe 9 to convince her to give up her negative emotions.
"We've been going to Universe to Universe to find homeless people and bring them to the shelter to live better lives. It's been our goal ever since we survived the Erasure Wave." Alison said.
"Erasure what now?" Eliza asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, right, you don't know. Don't worry, it's been taken care of a long ago, nothing to worry about." Alison said.
"...Okay." Eliza said, sounding confused.
A small blue lizard popped his head out of Alison's pocket, getting Jess's attention.
"...There is a lizard riding in your pocket." Jess said.
"Oh, that's my long time companion, Victor. Anywhere I go, he goes with me. My planet is full of lizards like him." Alison smiled.
"...Odd choice for a pet." Jess said.
Eventually, they arrived in front of a large metallic mansion with windows made out of tough glass that was placed under a large tree.
"And here we are. This is the place." Janosch said, stopping in front of the house.
Both Jess and Eliza looked up at the mansion, this wasn't what they were expecting.
"...Woah, this place looks enormous." Eliza whistled.
"Do you have houses like this in your Universe?" Jess asked.
"A girl from a rich family had a few people work on this place and made it big enough for any people we come across. We get food and clothes supplied to us by people from Universe 7." Alison said.
"This looks more like a hotel than a regular shelter. How many people you've got in there?" Eliza asked.
"Quite a lot, actually. Most of them are aliens but we have a few humans too. Once you take a look inside, I'm sure you'll want to stay." Janosch said.
"...I suppose we'll find out." Jess said.
They followed Alison and Janosch into the shelter.
The foyer was just as metallic as the outside as two tanned girls were sitting on the stairs, one had shoulder length white hair with cat like eyes, wearing a red raincoat as she was currently painting the view from outside while the girl sitting next to her had short red hair with a blue jacket and appeared to be spacing out.
"...This place is pretty metallic in the inside too." Eliza said.
"Are there more people in here?" Jess asked.
"The three floors are packed with Neonytes, Kschlvokyans and Kheogs but the fourth floor isn't occupied. This mansion has 20 floors in total, each with 20 rooms. It's big enough for everyone here." Alison said.
"...Kschl-Kslckyn-blah, I can't say that without biting my tongue off." Eliza said.
"Can you show us the fourth floor then?" Jess asked.
"Sure." Janosch nodded as he placed his crutches on the stairs and began walking, with Alison, Eliza and Jess following.
They were walking down the first floor which had quite a few Neonytes in there who were talking to each other, one of them had short yellow hair, wearing a lab coat with a robotic hand who was giving someone a injection to cure them of their cold. Nike and Shihk appeared to be there but din't make any eye contact with anyone else as Alison and Janosch lead the sisters to the second floor, packed with a shit ton of orange lizards with helmets and the third floor had these orange creatures with spikes in their heads who were occupying the rooms.
As they were walking on the stairs, they walked past a giant blue robot man with a single red eye and a pale bald guy wearing a black belted jacket with gloves and pants till they arrived in the fourth floor and Alison walked to a door, opening it.
"You two could stay in this room, if you want. It's big enough for you two to sleep in." Alison said.
Jess and Eliza walked in and the bedroom was metallic like the rest of the house but besides that, it had a nice comfortable bed, a door that leads to the bathroom, a bookshelf, a TV with a table and two couches with a window that shows a view of the outside.
"...Huh, this looks pretty nice." Eliza said, sitting on the bed, placing her hands on it to feel how comfortable it is.
Jess looked inside the bathroom, it had a toilet and a shower along with towels.
"...Looks legit." Jess said.
"Well, what do you think?" Janosch asked.
"...I still need to see more of this place before we come to a decision. I need to make sure it covers all the bases and no funny stuff is going on around here." Jess said.
"We can show you the rest of the mansion if you need to confirm it for yourself." Alison said.
"Sure." Eliza said, as she got off the bed.
Alison and Janosch began showing Jess and Eliza the rest of the large house. They were shown the kitchen and the fridge was stocked with a lot of food to feed everyone who would eat in the dining room at morning, lunch and breakfast or eat in their rooms, there was other rooms like a gaming room, a library, a gym, a pool room, a movie room and all other sorts of activity rooms in different floors.
After a long hour of touring, They arrived back in the first floor and walked to a set of huge doors as Alison opened it, revealing a control center with a lot of monitors in it.
"...Woah, I've seen rooms like this in Sci-fi movies." Eliza said, looking at the room in awe.
"We navigate the mansion as a whole from this place and travel to other Universes. We can also turn into a battleship if we get attacked by hostile forces to defend ourselves." Alison said.
"Outside of a few rogue ships who were busy with their own stuff, we din't get attacked by anyone thus far so you wouldn't have nothing worry about as we are the ones doing most of the work while you and everyone else can relax and enjoy your time here." Janosch said.
"...This place is pretty dang amazing, it literally has everything for us. What do you think, Jess?" Eliza asked.
Jess had her arms folded, thinking about this before she looked at Alison and Janosch.
"If we accept to stay here, where exactly will you take this place at?" Jess asked.
"We'll take the shelter back in our Universe. If you want to stay here, you won't have to live on the countryside anymore and stay here, it's well secured and we have food and clothes delivered to us every week so we won't run out. What do you have to lose here?" Alison asked.
"Or you could refuse and stay at your house, that's fine with us too. You girls can choose how you want to live your lives from now on." Janosch said.
Jess looked at the ceiling. So far, this place doesn't appear to be a sham and they don't seem to have any suspicious motives, the mansion has literally everything she and her sister wanted all this time, a secure place where they won't be threatened by anything anymore and live the rest of their lives in peace. So, maybe, this won't be a wrong option after all, hopefully.
"...I suppose this place isn't that bad actually. However, will we have to leave our Universe forever and stay in your's?" Jess asked.
"You can visit it a few times if you want. We would appreciate it if we would get some help with finding more people in other Universes by scouting the areas and then bring them to the mansion, if you two want to do that." Alison said.
"...Finding people who are lost like we were and don't have anywhere to go could be a good way to spend our time instead of just sitting in the mansion all day." Eliza figured.
"So, will you two stay here or not?" Janosch asked.
Jess and Eliza looked to each other and nodded.
"...Yeah, this place is good enough for us. Just let us pick up our stuff from that house and we'll come back here." Jess said.
"Okay, we'll be waiting for you to come back and we'll pilot the mansion back to Universe 10." Alison nodded.
Jess held Eliza's hand as they walked downstairs, going back to their house to pack up.
Jess and Eliza were standing in front of their house, both of holding boxes with stuff in them.
"...You know, this place was kind of a dump but...strangely, I will miss it." Eliza said.
"We can come back if things go south again and stay here once more." Jess said.
Eliza nodded before she and Jess made their way back to the mansion. The two tanned girls weren't at the stairs and arrived back in the first hallway, going up to Alison and Janosch.
"Okay, we have our stuff." Jess said.
"Good, I suggest you hold onto something cause everything get's shaky when we'll leave the planet." Alison suggested as she and Janosch headed into the command room.
A minute later and the mansion lifts off into the sky, leaving the atmosphere.
Jess and Eliza held onto themselves as their knees were shaking while their boxes landed on the floor.
"Wow, they weren't kidding!" Eliza said.
"I think I'm gonna be sick." Jess said.
Eventually, the shaking stopped and the girls let go of themselves.
"Well, that was fun. It's probably gonna take awhile to get used to it." Jess said.
Eliza walked up to a window and peered through it, looking amazed when she looked down below.
"Sis, check this out, we can see the Earth from down here!" Eliza said.
Jess walked to the window and looked down as the ship was flying above the Earth, they had a good view from up here and now they can see the Earth at it's finest.
"...You know, despite how many times I said that I hate the Earth...I will miss it." Jess said.
"...Yeah. I have a lot of good and bad memories and met a lot of different people...I hope we'll get to visit it again someday to see if things have improved at all." Eliza said.
"Alison said we can so we'll come back to this place one day. Things will have to change sooner or later." Jess said.
"...I wish mom and dad were here to see this too." Eliza frowned.
"...I'm sure they are, from whatever place they are now. They're probably with us as we speak." Jess said, deciding to be optimistic.
Eliza and Jess turned their heads to see the Sun from the distance, they now had the chance to see it a lot more closer.
"...This might be the end of Summer times, which means no more gazing at the sunshine." Eliza said.
"To be honest, I've been getting tired of Summer, wouldn't mind Winter for a little awhile. I'm sure we'll get to see the Sun again when this place will travel to the rest of the Multiverse." Jess said.
"...What do you think we'll find in these multiple Universes? Do you think things are worse in those places than here?" Eliza asked.
"Who knows, we'll find out soon enough. But I'm sure whatever will be waiting for us beyond the stars, we'll be ready. As long we're together, nothing can stand in our way." Jess said.
Eliza held Jess's hand.
"...This will be a new beginning for us. Aren't you scared?" Eliza asked.
Jess turned to Eliza.
"No, I'm not. As long as I have you at my side, I'm not scared of anything." Jess smiled.
Eliza smiled back.
"Everything may change, but the two of us will always remain the same. No matter what." Eliza said.
The two then looked back through the window and continued looking at the Sun.
And so, after years of travelling and facing many obstacles in their way, Eliza and Jess finally achieved their goal and found a place where they can feel safe at last, but new adventures will be waiting for them in a new Universe and possibly more to come. Whatever will happen in the next chapter of their story.
As long as they're together, they won't have to worry about anything.
(Credits)
THE END
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