Chapter 15
(Bren's POV):Poor girl. I was speechless when the girl fell into my arms, without even a fight. If Lex was still alive and hadn't been destroyed in the big accident, then he'd want to protect this other version of himself. Just the sight of her in this state makes me angry. But I can't even imagine what Knova is going through right now. Not to mention the thought of her being mute for the rest of her life, and it was caused in our universe. I can tell her universe isn't as intense as ours; sure she's strong and has gone through many struggles. But the transfer to our universe drained her energy. Hopefully by the time she wakes up she'll be restored back to full power. Oh, and we can't forget she's now human. Not that I doubt her strength, but Knova will be extra cautious with her now. Not that she needs to, she just doesn't want to break Lexia.
We are all standing or sitting in the living room of Lex's original bunker, waiting for the sleeping girl to wake up. It won't be long before she wakes up though. There's only one question running through all our minds now. What are we supposed to do? Nobody has the nerve to speak; so basically we're all waiting in silence for this other universe Lexia to wake up.
Ring, ring, ring
Everyone looks at me, since it's my phone going off. I checked the caller ID and saw it was no other than my mate Jayne. I stood up and left the room.
"Hello?"
"Love, there's a problem here at the castle. Where are you?" Jayne asks.
Shoot, what can I tell her?
Hey hun, I'm at the bunker—No, do you know how that conversation will fan out?
"I'm, uhhh, I'm at the, listen Jayne. I'm at the bunker, but before you say anything, it's an emergency. Not sure if you heard about the Tox that crossed into Knova's territory, but it turns out that Tox was captured and Identified by Zev. The Tox is a girl named Lexia White, who is another version of Lex from another universe. I know this sounds insane but you gotta believe me!" I got straight to the point.
There was silence on the other end, then finally Jayne responded quite cheerfully.
"Cool, be right over!"
Then the call ends. Shoot! I ran back to the living room, but something was different this time. Lexia was awake. Nobody spoke, we all stayed quiet as we exchanged glances. Lexia was eyeing us up and down. An idea came to mind and I ran outta the room. I came back with a notebook and pen, I handed them to her and asked,
"Do you mind if we ask you questions?"
She wrote back instantly, 'Do you mind honest remarks?'
"Touche!" We all laughed but Lexia.
"Oh, can we keep her please!" One of the others says .
"I'm here!" Jayne says walking into the living room, she held a fruit bowl and at the sight of Lexia she dropped it and fainted.
What happened next would seem impossible. Yet, here Lexia is. Standing in front of us with my mate in her arms, and the fruit bowl is balanced on her outstretched foot rather dangerously. I immediately moved to help, and Lexia took the food and put it on the table. I lay my mate on the couch, suddenly Lexia is back and writing on the notebook I gave her. She looked quite concentrated, and almost like she was working a puzzle.
'
Bree/Bren
Knox/?
Jax/?
Xena/?
Zero/ Zev
'
I peered over her shoulder and read. I could assume that these are the other universe versions of us.
"That's Knova, my mate Jayne. And last is Arin."
Suddenly Lexia broke into tears, running up to Arin and squeezing him into a breathless hug. He gasped for air and she let go, wiping her eyes she put as much distance away from us as she could. Now what was that about? She continued writing down as I told her each and everybody's name; she probably pieced together the ones that weren't here with her intelligence.
'
Knox/ Knova
Jax/Jayne
Bree/Bren
Aviva/Arin
Zero/Zev
Nicole/Nicolas
Lance/ Lana
Zev/Zavier
Xena/Xern
'
We were making a list and I noticed she kept getting stiffer the deeper she went, not to mention she seemed to shake writing Arin. I pointed at Aviva/Arin, and she stopped writing to take a shaky breath. And began writing again,
'In my universe Aviva was killed by Nicole, since she sided with the immortal Zero. And she also became hell's play thing in the process. But when Zero put his plan into action; he went to the tv station and live broadcasted how he was immortal. Opening the eyes of humans to the supernatural community in the process. It got so bad he claimed I was a "threat" and that had the police on my trail. Suddenly the council joined the live feed and demanded I call in, and we all know you cannot deny the council. So when I called in, let's just say that's when all hell broke loose and my door was broken down and anyone who stood in to protect me was tossed to the side easily. Then I was in a jail cell; with the odd message from outside. Then I'm here in the woods and on your territory, then you know the rest.' She wrote.
The others were reading over her shoulder and began to get more and more furious.
Knock, knock, knock
I headed to the door and opened it. Uh oh, we're in deep shit!
Lexia's POV: There was a knock on the door and Bren went to get it, it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. But more importantly, who walked in the room after Bren was shocked. Three members of the council. First in the door was a female, she had glowing gold eyes and raven black hair. She wore a black leather tight dress with black stilettos. A ruby red necklace hung from her neck. She looked to be in her late thirties.
Second to walk through the door was a man. He probably stood at 5'3, he looked to be in his 80's. But knowing supernatural history he was probably over five thousand years old. His long silver hair was down. He wore all white including a white cloak with the hood resting on his back. He also held a birch wood cane, that looked more of a staff seeing as this elder looked well in his health. His eyes were glued to mine instantly. But what caught me by surprise was that his eyes were a soft blue, that they were almost grey. The corner of his mouth lifted as we had a staring contest; I was the one to break it and looked at the other male in the room.
Now he looked to be in his mid twenties. Blonde messy locks and piercing purple eyes. He had piercings in a lot of places. The male wore a formal grey suit with an emerald green tie.
"I'm Katya, this is Sean, and the eldest of us is Bane. We are here to see Lexia and ask her some questions, seeing as we made contact with her universe's council. So which one of you is Lexia?" Katya spoke calmly.
I gulped, this can't be good. I raised my hand and wrote on the paper.
'I am'
They stared at me in shock.
"Do you mind if we ask you some questions?" Katya asks.
'Fire away!' I wrote.
"Alright first, why are you here, and how'd you get here?"
'That's two questions! And I have no clue. One second I was in a cell for something I didn't do, and next I'm running through Nova's territory with hunters up my ass.' I wrote.
Their eyes widened as they continued reading.
"So you were framed?" One asked.
'More like I was put on the most dangerous species list. To be more exact, an immortal by the name of Zero got a live interview.'
I continued to write about my experience in my world; when suddenly the room started to get cold. It got so cold you could see the breath leaving our mouths. Not to mention the ground began to shake and the mirrors in the house shattered as well as the glass. The lights began to flicker rapidly before going out when the bulbs exploded. Then the wind picked up causing all of us to close our eyes; it drowned out the screams, cries and yells. I no longer felt the Presence of the others. Then just as quickly as the wind picked up, it disappeared and showed no evidence it was here at all. So when I opened my eyes I was beyond speechless.
I was still in the same room, only it looked like it's been abundant for centuries, its structure wasn't as strong but wasn't close to collapsing, so I began to walk around and with each step I took I was granted a creaking floor board in return. I heard soft footsteps above me and stopped dead in my tracks. Then the smell of burnt flesh snapped me out of my horrified trance. I didn't know what to do. So I stayed still listening for anything, any sound to notify me I wasn't alone. And the footsteps stopped directly above me. Suddenly there was a bright flash and the others surrounding me looked just confused. Then just like me, we all felt another presence. Only this presence was different. Something felt off. I noticed I was a few meters from the others, so when I turned to them and saw what was behind them I was shocked.
There stood a black hooded–cloaked figure that stood at the height of 7 feet. But the most bizarre thing was he was hovering mid air and he held a . . .
I clapped my hands loudly and pointed behind them, they turned confused. And then the cloaked being swung his weapon; I didn't think my feet would just move. But they did, and I took the hit. The cloaked being's weapon went right through me. Yet no blood was spilt. It was like I turned into a glittery hologram and when the weapon made contact with me. It turns out I sort of moved with the weapon, almost becoming one with it. It almost felt as though it was a part of me? The cloaked figure that has stayed silent this whole time froze, as if this wasn't supposed to happen. He let go of his weapon and it floated in the air.
"Impossible!" He whispered.
Then it came to me. This is the Grim Reaper! And he just killed me—Well, at least I think he did?
The Reaper stood there not knowing what to do. And just like before, the ground began to shake and color began to seep back into the room. It started out dull, but then the colors returned to normal. The ground shook so much even the Reaper fell onto the ground. The odd thing was that the ground seemed to open and a pit of black abyss swallowed the Reaper in. He fell in, but then something came out of the hole. And this thing wrapped itself around me and dragged me in. I just missed Nova's hand. She cried out, and would have jumped in after me if Bren didn't stop her. I gave him a look of gratitude and he nodded before everything went black and I was stuck in this hole with the Grim Reaper. I looked down to see the Reaper falling down ahead of me much faster than I was. I managed to get out of its grasp. I pushed off of it and flew past the Reaper, to say he was shocked was an understatement, he was bewildered.
"What are you doing here?" He yelled.
Me not being able to talk just ignored him and noticed something sticking out of the wall, so I grabbed onto it and held on for dear life. So when the Reaper flew by me I caught him by the scruff of the cloak.
"Wha—" he shut up immediately.
I looked down at him confused about where we were, and he understood.
"My friend, we are in Hell." He says.
Suddenly something snapped and we were falling again. I noticed that we were getting nearer and nearer to the bottom of this endless pit.
Finally we hit the ground and we landed in the fields of hell. A field of red grass, and it burns exposed skin that comes in contact. I've read the books, and stories of all the creatures and atmospheres here. And let me just say that it's nothing like the stories.
"Careful darling! Hell's not a playground for a young one like you to be running through, and if you can manage. Try to be as quiet as possible." The Reaper says.
Is he serious? Out of all the people to know I'm mute, he would be the first to know, since I had a near death experience. So without further ado I opened my mouth and showed him where my tongue should have been. That shut him up, and I had a grin on my face.
"You look all smug now, but I can't wait to see your face when you see the gates of H—eh don't touch that!" He yelled running after me.
I was about to touch this pretty looking red flower. That looked like a lily, when the Reaper tackled me just as the flower released some kind of mist into the air. It made a weird bird-like creature fall and die from impact instantly.
"That was a Paralyst, a type of flower that is deadly and dangerous. It sprays a deadly mist that paralyzes whenever it feels threatened." He explained.
I nodded when suddenly the Reaper picked me up bridal style and started running over the field. I was confused on why he was manhandling me like this. My head whips to stare at the hooded face and for a second I swear I saw red glowing eyes. But I was snapped out of my daze by a cry, it sounded like a cry for help and soon more came from all around us. The Reaper cursed and ran faster, holding me close as he ran. I looked around confused.
"Those sounds are from Hell Cryers also known as Sinners cross. They cry out in hopes of newcomers trying to help them; when in reality they'll drive you crazy with their cries that you will eventually fall to your doom. That is, if you don't go see where they are." He explained.
As he continued running a building came into view. Well more like a castle, that was protected by a gate? Then it clicked. The throne of Hell! And that's exactly where the Reaper was heading. To. The. Castle. I started squirming and thrashing, and I guess the Reaper understood and sighed.
"I know. I don't like this place either but we gotta go in. Let's just hope HE is not here." he trailed off.
'He?' I questioned myself.
The Reaper opened the castle's doors and walked down the hall. The castle was filled with different reds and oranges and a lot of fire. And I mean lots of it. I didn't imagine Hell's castle to be like this. I always imagined it was well, more! Suddenly the Reaper stopped and put me down. He was about to say something when there was a loud whooshing sound coming from the window behind us. I turned around to see nothing, but that wasn't the end. It was just the beginning.
"Ehem!" Someone cleared their throat and I turned around, and gaped.
The Reaper was bowing to a male that looked about eighteen, this male was looking back and forth between us with a questionable gaze.
"State your name and reason as to why you're in Hell!" He boomed.
I stayed silent and looked at the Reaper, he shook his head because he knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to give him a witty remark and action, but I took the Reaper's advice and stayed silent. Suddenly this male rose to his full height and I watched as broken wings unfurled from his back, the room seemed to darken with his energy on full display. I stood there unaffected, I mean sure I felt his power; but it wasn't that strong. But the Reaper seemed to be quite shocked at the situation, then as if he understood what was going on he interrupted,
"Prince Bates. She is human, and a mute one at that." The Reaper chuckled to himself.
What's so funny about me being mute you murderer. I wish I could growl, and if I could this Reaper would be 12 feet under in his own domain!
"Now now Pilot, is that any way to treat this lovely young lady?" Psycho Bates says.
"My friend, call me Bates! I am the prince of Hell. And soon to be king, and I'm gonna try to be the most successful king the world has ever seen. And when I say that I mean open the eyes of humans like yours of our world" he laughed evilly.
Then he stopped, and he put the wings away. So that's when I took in his appearance. He had spiked red hair and wore red armor, it was the color of red. He wore no crown, only armor and weapons. His eyes glowed red—where have I seen that?
Then I noticed it, I stumbled back a bit. And stared at them, looking back and forth between the two. I watched as a sinister grin made its way onto Bates' face. The Reaper glanced at Prince Bates and caught on; I could practically see him groan under all those dark layers.
"You think she figured it out?"
"Nah, not even our closest friends and peers know!" The Reaper says.
Pilot + Close to Hell + Red eyes + Powerful = calculating. The Grim Reaper is the Prince's brother. I used my hand as a surface and used my other hand to weigh on it signaling that I want to communicate with them. The prince grinned and looked at the Reaper.
"Awww, miss speechless here wants to communicate."
He snapped his fingers together and a pad of paper appeared with a pen in the air, I grabbed them and wrote.
'Your brothers!'
I showed them the paper and the prince grinned maliciously, and nodded his head.
"What a smart cookie, Princess. To what do I owe the pleasure of your arrival. How may I help you?" The prince asks.
I wrote, 'Ask your brother since I was dragged in with him by some black thing.' He stopped reading and froze. He turned to his brother and they started whispering, the prince's eyes only widened with each sentence.
"So, this is unexpected. I guess we need to call the upper department; and get them to send one of their own down and say 'the package is delivered' as the key words."
"I'll be back." He adds.
Then Bates flew out of the room and I was left with Pilot.
'So–' Before I could write he grabbed the items and they burned at his touch.
I stared and gave him a blank expression. Then he did the unexpected, the Grim Reaper walked over to me and phased right through me. His words echoing in my ears before he is nowhere to be seen.
"We are now one!"
I stood there not sure what to do, when suddenly Bates entered the room. And seeing me alone he nodded as if he knew what happened. And deep down it felt like he did. Bates wasn't alone though, he was followed in by a 10 year old black haired girl, she had a bright red dress and black flats, the dress reached her knees and her hair flowed in coal black waves. She instantly began looking me over head to toe. And the weird thing was she was intimidating for a ten year old. She also wore the same kind of sinister grin the Prince did. And she displayed small dimples on her small freckled face. I shuffled my feet nervously and they both seemed to notice since they were both chuckling.
"Scarlet, go do what needs to be done. But she can't answer you because she is muted."
Again, ouch. I am still here, you know.
"Yes my Prince!" She spoke so sweetly.
She walked up to me in silence, the only sounds were her light footsteps, and the way her shoes clicked on the floor. She stopped in front of me with her hands folded in front of her.
"Kneel." She commanded in an authoritative manner.
Despite her being ten I still did as she said. Which left me staring into her brown orbs; but soon she blinked and her whole eye turned black. Not just the iris. Her whole eye was black, except the two white dots in her eyes. She no longer looked innocent.
"tHis wOn't hURt oNe bIT!" Another voice mixed with the girls.
Only leaving me with one thought before the darkness overtook me and I blacked out. I was in the presence of a demon!
Two hours later I sat up on the floor, only to look up into black eyes. The ten year old, right!
"gOoD yOuR aWaKe, wE cAn cOnTinuE!" She says.
Then without warning, the demon in the child's skin suit licked my forehead. Suddenly I'm overflowing with knowledge, strength, and something else. I closed my eyes to stop the pounding in my head, it felt like one of my energetic friends shook me up like chocolate milk for an hour.
"Scarlet, be a doll and get our guest a cloak, a scythe, some Advil, and some Blood syringes!" He says.
The small girl grinned and ran off. Leaving me alone with the Prince, he turned to me and grinned at me again.
"Well, phase one is complete! Now we wait for phase two and three to come to us—"
He was cut off by a loud bang, and suddenly wind flew in the door making it super hard to use my other senses. Then it stopped, and a blonde male came in with ocean blue eyes. His gaze immediately met mine and he gave me a bright grin. He walked up to me, picked up my hand and kissed it, then released it.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance darling. Adrian at your service!" He winked and pulled away.
"Woah woah woah, who let feathers in?" The prince mocked.
"I'm here for the girl, and that's it." Is all he says.
"But I can't let you take her, you see—" he was cut off.
"I don't really care, I had a hard time getting in myself, I'm grabbing her and leaving before you can do something bad to her." The guy says.
The blonde's attire was a pair of plain white dress pants and—that's all he wore since his bronze chest was on full display, along with his muscles, he was obviously built. Then what caught me by surprise other than his beauty was what came out of his back. Attached to his back were the purest white feathered wings I've ever seen. They were tucked behind him and not exposed outwards the way Bates skeletal ones were. Adrian was an Angel!
"Sorry feathers, but no can do! Now Scarlet!" He roared with power in his words.
I spun around just in time to see Scarlet lunge at me with two vials of blood. I felt wind beside me and suddenly Adrian was right there taking the shot for me. And I watched horrified as he began to transform into something else. When the red liquid was injected; Adrien's eyes widened, he stared at the Prince and I in shock.
First it started with his eyes, they began to turn black. And his irises brightened and had an eerie glow to them. To be honest they looked highlighter blue, and where the white should be in his eyes were now black his pupils turned to slits that changed when his emotions changed. His two eye teeth sharpened into fangs, and two horns grew on his head. One red and one black, and then his hair was a mix of blonde and black streaks. Adrian's wings lost white feathers and were filled with new black feathers. His pants were now black, the only thing that didn't change other than his skin color was his voice. Sure some words would sound weird because of his fangs but that's about it. He stared at me looking worried, then he roared,
"Behind you!"
I spun around just for Scarlet to plunge the syringe into my chest, but not just anywhere. She hit directly on my heart and since the liquid entered instantly it killed me.