Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th

(Chapter 27)

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[<<]

He gives chase and fires another lightning bolt just to it's left. He repeats it several times. Something's wrong with it. That lightning bolt that tweaked purple—it must've had some sort of hidden attack. It rockets forward and swipes at Arthur. It's too fast to evade so he's compelled to guard. It breaks some of his ribs.

"GAAAHNN *breathing*"

Seems like it can't fight anymore. It heads off to the right instead; got the idea that he doesn't want it to go there. He doesn't need to act tough anymore and drops down on a knee, holding his chest.

"{I want to chase after it but I can't defeat this thing without a decoy.}" His vision's blurry. He waits for it to get out of sight before he spews out blood and passes out. Rib must've pierced his lung.

"{It has to be a Legendary}"

[>]

[Morning]

It's a beautiful morning, but that doesn't assure anybody that the afternoon or night will continue in like fashion. The dew gently drops onto the mulch below from the leaf tips. The birds lighten up the air with sweet song. We eventually come to focus on Valentina, who happens to wake up before Elmus.

She's thinking about the guy behind her for a change. Weird things have been happening with him lately. She doubted the story that mom told her. How convenient it is that no one could touch her, so no one'd know, but of late…Things have actually been pointing out to the fact that Amitha's real, just like how he talked to her before. There were things he shouldn't have known.

"{That's it. If I don't take this opportunity, I might give in to this bull crap story.}"

Valentina tries reaching around the trunk with her right arm but she's got a long way to go before she could possibly grab her. She would have to untie her legs and turn around before she'd have a chance. They're so high up that a fall would certainly end up in an injury, but her name isn't Bravo for nothing.

She unties herself and carefully turns around. She hugs the tree immediately and takes a look down below.

"{Just because I'm an I.M.U doesn't mean my bones will survive this. I have to be very careful.}"

Still hugging the tree, she stretches out toward Amitha's hilt. That won't be enough. She gradually shifts her weight forward, but retreats. She's taking a grave risk. What if the curse is true? She'll DEFINITELY fall to her death. She ties her left ankle to the branch as contingency, sticking close to the trunk while she's at it.

"{Elmus, I feel like Tina's trying something strange; wake up.}"

She stretches out as far as she can, arm vibrating and all. It's just two inches away from her fingertips.

"{Elmus! Wake up!}"

She shifts her weight even more, gripping a slit in the bark with he left hand and she's practically hanging now. She's just off by a centimeter, just one.

"{Elmus!}"

"{He's tied to the branch right? If I leap and grab it, none of us will fall. Here goes nothing.}"

"{ELMUS! WAKE UP!!!}"

"AAH!" He's startled and falls over just as she leaps. Her finger misses the hilt by a hair's breadth and she falls over too. She swings backward, and comes back to make an impact with the tree. From that point on, she's just dangling by her ankle.

"What the?! What's going on Tina?"

"Nothing! I was just trying to wake you up and you freaked out."

"Really? For a second there, I thought it was Amitha."

"{It WAS me.}"

"Well, can you help yourself Guy-whatever?"

"Yeah. {What is it Amitha?}"

"{Nothing. I was probably just being a little paranoid.}"

[Veteran]

The foreman of the berry fields meets them as soon as they wake, and they take a stroll with him. He tells them about what happened, the progress they've made.

"We don't have any logical explanation for this." He points to the new patch in the berry fields. "It avoided all the berries that we pricked. It's as if it could somehow hear us."

"That's nonsense."

"Alexandra."

"—With all due respect…Wild animals should have instincts for traps. Besides, I wouldn't want you to kill it yet."

"And why's th—?"

"Daddy—daddy—daddy!" the little girl calls as she meanders over.

"What is it little sweetheart?"

"Look at what I made!" She exclaims as she presents a pink flower bracelet. "Isn't it pretty?"

"My, it's lovely! Is it for me?"

"…Flowers are for girls," she says as she turns to Alexandra. "Thank you miss." She takes it.

"You are very welcome. So ethereal…it'd fit perfectly on my wrist. Could you please help me put it on—?"

The Giant Raven swoops it out of her hand just as she's about giving it back to the little girl. It takes a while for both of them to process what just happened. The girl's still flustered a little while longer.

"Did it just—?Aie! Aie! Aie!"

"My flower bracelet! *tear* Waaaah!" she bursts into tears.

"Don't cry." She scoops her up with her right arm and hushes her. "Just pretend as if I were wearing it."

"But I worked so hard!"

"Then I'm gonna get it back. Just give me 24 hours."

"You're LYING to me. Your arm's BROKEN. Waaah!"

"…Fine. Brother, could you please give her my band?"

He takes the expensive hair band out of her hair and lets it loose. "I always thought you looked better like this. Here you go little one."

"…I don't want it. It's nice but I didn't make it," she calms.

"Elle est trés difficile(She is very difficult)," she comments as she rocks her. "I'm only giving you a gift in exchange for yours. Now the flower bracelet is mine, so you don't have the right to cry over it anymore."

"…That's not fair…"

"I said I would retrieve it. I never break my promises."

"…alright; for one day."

"Deal! Now put it in your hair and run a few laps so I can see how good it looks on you."

"Okay!" Alexandra puts her down and wipes her tears as she puts it on. She skips off momentarily.

"WOW!" her father exclaims quite briefly.

"…Something wrong?"

"She NEVER stops crying that fast. You must really have that maternal touch."

"Hell no! I'm only 18…That darn bird!" She clenches her fist.

"Wanna kill it NOW princess?"

"No need. I only wanted to pet it. I've never pet a bird before."

"Because they know you're dangerous. Thank God you don't have wings to chase them."

"Why should my own twin brother say that?"

"Because it's true."

"It isn't," she denies as she crosses her arms. "ALL animals adore me."

"No they don't. You just kill every single one that doesn't. We're looking at a 100% mortality rate here."

"Which means I'm telling the truth. All living creatures called animals love me…What're we gonna do now? I have a promise to keep Grandpa."

"I have an idea."

[The Twins]

Seems like Tamar and Paz are still asleep. Jedi's doing the usual, sitting with his legs crossed. The carriage is getting some major sunshine so it's quite relaxing for him. Morning sun's warm like no other.

"Paz."

"*yawn*…I didn't stretch or anything. How'd you know I was awake?" she asks as she pulls herself to him.

"I told you that your soul was humid….Once you came to, smelled like drizzles on a cobblestone floor in the sunlight."

"I can't say that I find that hard to believe, but it really sounds a bit farfetched don't ya think?"

"You believe what you believe. I believe my soul is at peace, and I'd like to share that with you. That's why I always ask you to join me."

"I'll have to pass. I can't sit around doing absolutely nothing for hours."

"I'm not doing nothing; I'm praying. It's a war fought in the spirit."

"And I'm rather attached to my body. I'm sorry but, I'm not compatible with this stuff. If you asked me to dance or sing in church, that'd suit me way better."

"And here I was thinking all the fun had left your body. Tamar's working hard to help you back up, isn't she?"

"Yes, she really is. I MUST admit that I actually do feel better when she's around. She even taught me some of those gypsy moves."

"I doubt you can pull them off with your body. You're all skin and bones."

"Hey! That's not nice to say. Tamar's years older than me! So what-if she's a fat cow? Hmph!"

"Hey! I'm not fat! I have all the right proportions. What get's better than this?"

"Oh, you were awake. I was just speaking figuratively; you're lovely."

"Hmph. Driver!"

"We're almost there!"

[Western Berry Fields]

Taking it from the perspective of the Giant Raven, through the branches. It admires the flower bracelet on it's right leg. It's also keeping a keen eye on the red lanes. A few of the berry farmers have brought baskets full of needles down to the red berry lanes.

"Hey, you know what these are for?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the poisoning yesterday was all part of the plan. The Raven truly didn't pick from lanes that were tampered with, just like he predicted. So now, we're gonna use these needles to detoxify these berries and toxify the rest. It won't know which to trust, so it'll starve to death. They'll be done detoxifying before afternoon and we can harvest them. He's a true veteran; the plan's genius."

"But aren't these poisonous as well?"

"If you consume the toxic berries, it'll probably cancel out. Let's get to it!"

[Shadow]

They've been up all night, progressing towards Banlieue de Porto Novo. Arthur's still not back either. They put Angelica down and drop down on their butts, against the tree.

"I guess it's about time to take a nap."

"I second that."

"…" Daara's too famished to speak.

"Sir Daara, we have some rations—" He shakes his head no. He probably means it's not gonna do him any good. He hands the Mal-Hecate's mana-crystal to Emily, and goes 'ZZZ's.

"Ain't THAT interesting? We're probably gonna have to carry him too."

"…If they're like this, we'd definitely die if we were ambushed by a Mal-Hecate."

"No we wouldn't. We have powerful legs to run away remember?"

"And what about the stealth bullet? First one'll definitely make contact."

"But Angelica detected it in time to save Arthur. We've fled a legendary before, remember?"

"Don't remind me about that."

He caresses her hand gently. "But it's because of that decision that we're alive. I.M.Us and E.M.Us have their disadvantages. If you're facing a terrible line-up, no need to stay and die. Dying doesn't kill the enemy FOR you. It's that lack of superior intelligence, the ability to make a tactical retreat; that's why they keep on getting slaughtered by us."

"I don't know... What if we've been fighting babies?"

"?"

"We take them on one by one up till now, but their numbers suddenly swell up when something like this happens. Why are Common Emerged so common? I feel like they're overpopulated in the trench, so they send the weaker units out. Emerged without Mana-Crystals should come about easily right? If they truly don't possess superior intelligence, kicking the hungry babes out'd be easy, wouldn't it?"

"It's not half bad. Get some rest; I'll keep watch."

[Arthur]

He's still out and wheezing. Must've been hard to go through a night lying on his damaged ribs. The morning dew's settled on his armor. It doesn't look like he'll be waking anytime soon. I'd give him a few hours.

[Boundless]

They're consuming some rations they brought along, to regain some of the energy they lost yesterday. Looks like riceballs and some other carbs. They're sitting on buttress roots but…

"Why do you look so uneasy? Please don't take those things off again. I'm sure you've mauled Eris' image of me."

"It's not the concealers. I just can't help the feeling that I'm wet down here."

"*clears throat*"

"…I don't think I sat in water or anything."

"Oh! It's the morning dew."

"The precipitation from a colder night than day?"

"What? Whatever you're trying to say, I'm sure you understand me."

"Maybe you're right. There is dew all around us. Maybe I was a bit careless…Why aren't YOU feeling it?"

"Amitha did a little evaporatin' for me," he says, laying back with a smug look on his face.

"Wait, so you—"

"EXCUSE ME," he interrupts, raising a brow. You played a few pranks on me yourself so you haven't the right to talk."

"You pervert."

"Pervert?!? What'd I do?"

"You must really want me to take it off."

"Hold your horses. Let's just rewind. If I can remem—"

"Don't you try. In all the romance novels I've read, a guy only wets a girl because—"

"Slow it down! You were teasing me with Solaris yesterday, remember?"

"But men don't like to stick with 1 for some reason—"

"I'm a boy."

"But you're 18."

"If I said I'm a boy, I'm a boy; therefore, I can't be a pervert either." She raises a brow at him for quite a while, then bursts into laughter. "Did I say something funny?"

"I was only playing a trick on you LITTLE BOY."

"Hey! I said I was a boy, and I. get to choose whether it's little or big."

"Whateves. Aren't you interested in learning about our next targets?"

"They might've migrated, but—let's hear it."

[Mom]

She's sitting with Malchus in the compound living room. He seems quite uncomfortable.

"You're still acting distant, what's wrong now?" she asks, resting her chin in her palm.

"I can't wrap my head around it no matter how hard I try."

"And what's that?"

"When a woman becomes a mother…does she transcend to a different creature?"

"…I don't know. I think I'm pretty much the same if you ask ME."

"You're cute and kind beyond reason. You know I'm aware that your son's gonna be out for a while, but you still untie me. Do you insist on dying?"

"On the contrary, I believe kindness and cruelty are acquired characters. Maybe the world was bad enough to turn you into what you were, SO what? That only goes to say if I treat you with kindness, your heart's gonna hear me the same."

"That's why my mother died. She was a lot like you, and of course, she didn't listen to me. That's what led me here in the first place. If you were to leave your son, he'd end up like me no doubt."

"Not entirely. I know it will devastate him, but my son is no murderer, nor will he ever be."

"He's no murderer? *scoff* If only you had seen his eyes earlier."

[Shadow ]

Axel's eyelids have put on unusual weights. Sitting around isn't helping him stay awake so he rises to his feet, but it's not helping. Something's up with the air; it smells like…pheromones. Those aren't Emily's so there's only one person left to suspect. Angelica's face is twitching and her hand's been thrown into a spasm again. She grabs hold of Emily's wrist and clutches with crushing force.

"*scream*" She tries to pull out but her grip's too strong.

"Gelica! You're hurting her! LET GO!" He forcefully pries her hand open and she starts to moan out. The wavy blonde's eyes flash open. She shouts hysterically; it's ear-splitting.

"What the HECK?!"

"Calm DOWN!" Emily slaps her and she regains consciousness. For the first few moments, it's as if she were without pain. Her breathing's out of control and you can see her heart racing fast through the bandages.

"Arthur! Where is Arthur? Arthur!" she calls out anxiously.

"He's not here—"

"What do you mean he's not here?! Where is he?" she cries. Her emotions are all over the place. She's literally drenching the forest floor with her tears already.

"Why're you crying? Sorry if I hurt y—" Axel starts.

"My ARTHUR is HURT!!!"

"What? You're not making any sense! Take a deep breath first."

She takes a few deep breaths and the adrenaline's magic fades. She's red and addled with pain for a few moments but comes back to her senses for the sake of her beloved. "Arthur is hurt *whimper*. I saw it, in a vision." She can barely speak because of the pain.

"No way."

"You don't understand; I can feel it. We have to go back for him-WE NEED. TO SAVE HIM."

"Sir Arthur ordered us to make sure you returned safely—"

"No! You just don't get it. There's a menace—nearing him as we speak. ARTHUR IS OUT COLD. I—" She gets up to her feet but Axel grips her hand firmly to pull her back.

"Don't touch me!" She surprisingly shrugs him off and casts him aside with hysterical strength. He lands okay because he's weary of the dangers associated with female hysteria. Emily holds her instead, but there's not much resistance.

"You can't go! You'll just be a burden. What if YOU are the one who makes that vision true? Ever thought why your eyes witnessed it in the first place?"

"But he can barely breathe. You don't get what I saw. I'm gonna have to do it again!"

"You're not making sense woman!"

"There's another one! There's…there's another Mal-Hecate," she cries.

-------End of Chapter 27-------

Chapter 28 Teaser

Arthur's in deep trouble, 'cause a woman in the clutch of despair is never wrong. Can help make it in time?

To be continued…