Fear Her

--Alexia's Perspective--

The splattering noise...

Myth's decapitated head hit the floor and it sounded like somebody dropped a peeled orange from a tall building. I would never forget that noise.

I couldn't even process what just happened.

I was staring at the ground with a weakened hand and Illya standing right above me.

"The weaklings of this world were never meant to live. That includes Myth, and that includes you, Alexia." Illya told me.

Am I going to die too?

No...

The saber was closing in, and I couldn't move.

No...

It was close enough to my face to force me to close my eyes... but I heard a loud collision in front of me, involving Boo's fist and Illya's face.

Boo hit Illya in the jaw so hard that her entire face was deformed, and she was launched almost a hundred feet from her old position before regaining her footing.

Boo was crying, tears dropping to the floor and all while looking at Illya, she let out a scream.

"You... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Boo shouted out.

Her voice was beginning to distort, and her magenta eyes were starting to sink into a deeper, and darker color... almost a red. The stone on her left hand was also pulsing with that same color.

Something was happening... the air around us was moving in a weird way, with one side of my body being hit with wind moving in one direction, and the other side of my body being hit with wind moving in the other direction.

"You're fast, but can you block this?" Illya's voice turned into an echo and suddenly, as if a single blink was enough to miss it, Boo moved her katana and blocked a hit from Illya's saber that would've cut into the ground beneath me, probably cutting me in half as well.

Boo's skin was smoking with heat as she stared up toward Illya, who was now floating behind me, and she smirked.

"You can't be serious... you're going through System Corruption? Now, of all times? It's going to be a pain to kill you." Illya admitted.

That was the first time she admitted anything of the sort... did that mean... Boo had a better chance now?

As Illya came in with another attack, I changed the size of the rock in between us and completely blocked her from hitting us. However, the use of my ability caused blood to spurt from my nose and nausea to take over. I was on the ground without any control over the fatigue in my mind, and Boo was showing obvious signs of concern for me.

"Boo, just focus on Illya! I'll find a way out of this!" I told her. I tried to push my body up again, but I was too weak and fell to the ground.

"Hell no! Until you're strong again, I'll defend you!" Boo told me.

"What about... Belle... and Mitra?" I asked her. I sucked in the pain, realizing Boo wouldn't take no for an answer.

No matter how much this hurt now... I couldn't fall here! I needed to stand! Come on, you weak body, stand up!

I slowly stood on my feet and wobbled a bit, but I soon nodded to Boo.

"There are some people you need to defend more than others. Save them... I'll be alright." I told her, looking toward Illya, who was finally falling to the ground.

Boo instantly ran over to Belle and Mitra as I stood between her and Illya. Then, Illya put away her saber and walked closer to me.

"You're brave. Much braver than your friends. I'll offer you this one opportunity, Alexia. Working for me could get you out of here alive... and could revive Shike." Illya explained to me. I was dumbfounded... what did she mean?

"Revive Shike? I know you're lying to me... I know you are..." I said to her.

"Don't be ridiculous, I gain nothing by offering you things like that. If you want proof, I can give it to you." Illya stated before beginning a long explanation.

"The Asterios are an indomitable race. Second to none, our blood is superior to all others... and our bodies don't simply die from a decapitation. The Mindspace, the place far above the both of us, houses dead Asterios… the only dead one, actually. Shike Asterio is up there and waiting. As soon as I disband this world, his soul will be lost with it. I cut off the connection to the Mindspace, and his strands and I kill him." She explained.

"Then, would you be able to revive Myth as well?" I asked Illya with a fire in my voice.

"Is he an Asterio? You and I both know the answer to that." Illya said again with a smile.

Getting Shike back sounded like a pipe dream. It was something she was just telling me in order to get me to switch sides, right?

No... she looked serious. She didn't have deception hidden behind her face... why tell me that?

Do I agree? It would make Belle happy... but what are the conditions? Wouldn't Illya just kill everybody here? I can't allow that...

However...

"Then... as long as you bring him back with proof, I'll switch to your side," I told Illya.

"YOU TRAITOR!" Boo shouted out again. I held my hand up to block out her voice and turned back to Illya.

"Oh? Did I interest you in that deal? I'm so glad you're much smarter than your friends, Alexia." Illya told me. She held out her hand for me to shake it, and I willingly put my hand up, slowly, to hers, ready to clasp it.

"I grew up with Shike, and he was a good man. Watching you kill him did something to me. I couldn't even react properly. You know, when somebody takes something away from you that's so important, it feels like you can't even cry over it. You can't process it. Missing your arm after an accident will leave you trying to still use it, even when you don't have it. That's what it's like now. But, you knew that when Sky died, right?" I asked Illya.

"That's right, I know that pain. I can soothe it for you." She told me, as I rose my finger behind my head.

"You have bigger problems than my pain." I told Illya as I activated my SIM.