Walking Disasters and Me-Heart Demons Part 3 (Vol 1 Fin) – Ch 65
I pull out of the memory in a gasp, the world around me surrounded by the cracking and fracturing prismatic shield that Sandra is trying to keep up through the smoke monster of Panic's onslaught. Its warped and jarring voice fills the void around us once more as I shakily bring my mind back to the battle, "So, you have found my root~. No matter, it only serves to show you how futile your efforts here are. I am
so
ingrained in your psyche,
so
dominant in your day-to-day life that you have
no hope
of ever banishing me. Not truly. Sure, this fancy attachment to your soul, these titles and skills, can slow me down. Stave me off, for a time. But we
both
know what folly it is to think that you will ever be rid of me,
A-mel-i-a
. You wouldn't even know what your life would be like without me!"
The being laughs maniacally, the twisting barbed tendrils coalescing into one, massive fuck off spear of inky despair. I quickly funnel as much Qi as I possibly can into Sandra, before the impact blows away the rainbow wall and barrels straight toward me. My eyes widen in alarm, the fear spiking through me and rooting my feet to the ground before something that shatters my mind occurs. Sandra, still being interposed between me and the monster, dives in front of the attack faster than my shocked mind can process. Her already wounded shell fractures anew with a sickening and ear shattering
*CRACK!*
as the void hued lance breaks against her golden visage, particles of light and dark fluttering away in some unseen breeze before her form begins to dim and diminish before my eyes.
"NO!"
I shout, the amorphous arena shuddering at my exclamation before I dive to her side. The damage is immediate and heart twisting, my adrenaline spiking and threatening to send me into a different kind of panic attack as my inspection reveals the extent of her wounds. A massive, golden energy leaking spiderweb has splintered across her shell, and I can sense now that even her passive regeneration is nowhere
near
enough to keep her alive anymore. I quickly funnel everything into the connection once more, every last scrap and bit of Qi I can manage to accrue forcing itself through the now engorged prismatic connection, swelled with raw power. "No, no, no,
Sandy!
Sandy, just stay with me, everything's goi-," A sob breaks my speech, tears flowing down like salted waterfalls across my cheeks, "Everything's going to be f-fine, just rest. Okay? You did
amazing
, thank you Sands, but ju- just stay down for now, okay?" I don't even get a simple yes or no back this time, no ebbing or fleeting foreign emotion as she lays there, her wounded and round form twinkling softly at my feet.
"Well, I can't say I'm surprised." A voice sounds out behind me, and for the first time since the match with Akiko, that newfound emotion I discovered springs forth to my mind, my ears becoming deafened by the rush and thrum of lava-hot blood. I whip my head in the direction of the first thing I've truly ever
hated
, real or imagined as it continues, "For either of you." the monster says, using a tendril of inky black as a resting stick to lean on, "She shouldn't have been here in the first place, with how weak she is. And you, ever the timid and scared girl, were too weak and desperate to send her off to safety when you had the chance. You might be a bit pissy now, but don't you worry. I'll
always
be here to remind you of this moment, of
that
you can rest assured~."
My eyes flare with a scorching hot sensation, not of tears but seemingly of fire as my soul instantly clicks into overdrive without me having to feed much Qi into it at all. Whether that's because of intent or because of its proximity to the connection that's keeping Sandra alive, I'm not sure, but what I am positive about is that both it and me are aligned in our outrage and loathing of this horrid creation before me. A loud
*GONG*
rings across the space, the smokey monster showing a face of bewilderment and fear for the first time as power floods into me. I can feel my mind being encased in the iron gauntlets of royalty, the vestiges of power laying across my essence like a finely woven tapestry of works and deeds, even if they do not belong to me wholly.
As the now familiar sensations flood over and through me, sinking their purple roots deep through my core, I feel none of the fear of disassociation like I usually do. Nowhere in my mind does it even occur to me that this power and myself are not fully on the same page right now, and that liberating feeling only further washes me in power. I raise my head, looking this piece of shit directly in its non-face having ass as my words leave my mouth, overlapping between my normal voice and the steely disdain of authority:
"[Soul Empress' Domination]".
With that, the transformation is complete, and our synched-up minds work overtime as the creature is hit with a shockwave of radiant, white energy that flows from me like a tidal wave. We think back through everything it said, through all of my memories and failures, each time I caved and was broken down by the world or by the actions of others. A foreign feeling of empathy, care, and acceptance washes over me, not from Sandra, but from my own soul as we finish the playback in record time, noticing that the shockwave is still flooding through the arena by the time we're done.
As I'm puzzling out the answer, trying to
find
the puzzle piece that will put this bastard down and out of my life - not only for my sake but because he
hurt Sandra
- the foreign feeling feeds into me once again and it all clicks. "
So what?"
I say, my voices overlapping in perfect harmony, juxtaposed by the discordant melody the personification of Panic emits. It looks to me bewildered, recovering from this shocking turn of events and my words.
I march forward, my spear transforming without my knowledge or intent to something you'd see out in a medieval farming field. A scythe. "
So what
if panic finds its way to root in moments of duress, foul creature? You are not special, and neither is facing and dealing with adversity. You are simply one reaction out of many, and while this soul's past life may have given you power, let me remind you of how
insignificant
you are."
Images flood around us, different viewings of different moments, all of which start with me crying and broken down in all my times here on Mara. The being looks around and laughs to itself, "
This?
All I see is you proving my point,
interloper
. Look! Look at how she bends and breaks even with all the aid afforded her!"
I glare down at the slavering beast, our voices synching once more, threatening to utterly destroy this fabricated realm we walk through as we say, "
Keep watching, insect.
" The inky monstrosity cowers back at our words as it flits its formless head this way and that, waiting to see whatever it is we are about to show it.
I smile as I turn to view some of them myself, one in particular catching my eye. It was after Akiko and I first met, when she nearly gave me a heart attack on top of a panic attack. I lay there cowering and gripping onto her as hard as I could, my breaths coming in ragged, harsh gasps as I cried out incoherently into the cave. The sound of those wails still haunts me, to a degree, but the love I found afterward more than makes up for the moment in my mind.
The scene keeps playing, and then something amazing happens as realization dawns on the creature's form as I stand and leave the cave with Akiko in the memory. Sure, I got knocked down.
But I got up again, mother fucker.
Our voice rings out once more, my lower and huskier timbre mixing with regal power and certainty, "You questioned this one if she would even know what her life would consist of if you were not a part of it, correct? Look around you, odious and cruel abomination.
She already is.
You
are the one clinging to her!
NOT
the other way round. She has those that would freely offer support, care, and understanding. She is surrounded by love and compassion, so much so that every time you rear your malformed head, you are squarely put back into the nothingness
where you belong.
"
The being takes a step back, multiple spears of violence, doubt, and panic - whether its own or mine, who can say now - erupt from behind it as it growls angrily and wordlessly to us. I shake my head, following up as a brief bit of clarity takes me, "You wanna see what my life would be like without you?" I twirl the scythe in front of me before leveling it at the being, "
Why don't we fucking find out, bitch."
In a whirl of motion, I leap toward the creature as we spin the scythe in front of us like a fan of destruction. Countless jets of black crash against the radiating, pure white light of the weapon, the air thrumming and shaking with power. A mad dash ensues as the being tries to flee, to get space between us, the pure unadulterated terror wafting off its form sending shivers of pleasure down our spines as I give chase~. Cracks and explosions of light erupt from our clashes, moving at blinding speeds as my berserk laughter mixes in with the cruel smirk of disdain.
On and on we go, more memories playing out and weakening the creature each step of the way before finally the nail in the coffin arrives. The apartment scene from Earth floods the entire space, which makes both of us pause since neither I nor my soul pulled that one up. I look down and see Sandra's form, still recovering from her wound but looking
much
better with all the mountains of Qi I'm flooding into her, a beam of white gold light emitting out from underneath her shell, feeding the memory in the arena.
Sandra, with her curly brown hair - same as mine at the time - as she holds me to her ample chest, her melodic voice humming softly into my ear some tune that mom always sang to us when we were sad as kids. I'm still stuck in the throes of the panic attack, but Sandra looks down at me as she kisses my forehead softly before saying, "You are so
brave
, baby girl. I wish you'd have taken me up on the offer to live with me after Taylor, I know how much it was hurting you to live with mom and dad, much as they mean well. But I shouldn't be surprised that you'd pick the option that you thought would inconvenience everyone the least~. Too thoughtful for your own good, little Aims..."
She smiles again as she holds my head tight to her, our legs locking around each other as I hug her tightly in quiet sobs, "Amelia, one day you're going to accept yourself and rely on others. Rely on
me
. And you'll know its not a weakness to do that by then, not a burden. I know you can't hear me right now, but I
love
you
, darlin', and I'll always be right here to see you when you break on through to the other side. Like you
always
do."
The being screeches in pain, its wallowing wails nearly rocking me back as it splits off from our distracted state and rushes toward Sandra. Anger flares through me like never before as the entire realm shifts and gets bathed in starlight white. Before it even makes it halfway, a thundering sound escapes me,
"YOU
DARE?!"
The Empress' true voice sunders through the space, fractures and rifts opening spaces to nothing, the pressure and power of it sending the heart demon crashing to the ground in a meteoric impact.
We are instantly before the downed beast, its form shuddering under the weight of unrivaled power, wobbly lines of distorted air keeping it crashed to the ground. Our voice comes out steady and heavy, like we are speaking from a mountain top at an insect, one who is unworthy of our presence, "I have allowed your existence in this body
long
enough
, demon! You have seen your own demise, same as the two who stand here before you. Now, return to the pitiless void from whence you came!
[Reap].
" With a quick flash of motion, the scythe lashes out at the air in front of the monster, a beam of pure, white luminescence careening toward it as it screeches in terror.
As soon as the band of light makes contact with the embodiment of Panic, its entire form is dispersed into globules of white, before dissipating harmlessly into the air. My mind feels clearer and more unshackled than I have ever felt in my life, like someone finally went in and took away the most debilitating part of my existence so far with surgical precision. The light around the room fades and slowly returns to its inky texture, as weariness begins to cloud over me.
"
Amelia
." I hear from my own lips as I struggle to keep my eyes open, the words purely in the monarchal tone devoid of my input, "My power is yours; you need not fear of it overtaking you. Tell that to the two women who love you outside, when you awake. We will discuss things further when time and your growth allows. The quickest way for that is if you continue to banish your heart demons and shore up your soul. Listen to the advice of the kitsune and your passenger, grow in power, and heal your mate. Keep feeding her Qi, especially after these events. Now, rest."
Before my groggy mind can process much of what she is saying, the last word hits me like a sack of bricks and I'm out like a light.
I am wounded and hurt, feelings that I am not very keen to remember as much as the love and devotion from my sensation of home.
Amelia~.
My hazy memory plays out how I was resting before feeling a deeply wrong feeling coming through our bond, something that angered me to my very core. Something...
Wrong
. I rushed toward her, desperate to help whatever was happening, to end whatever was causing such a blatant discordance in my place of belonging before I was questioned. A voice still so radiant and pleasurable, so weak yet so strong, asking me if I was willing to help. Like even in these odd, wrong, and dire circumstances, it wanted to make sure that
I
was going to be safe~!
The amount of joy and rhapsody that racked me nearly blinded me, before I gave a firm affirmation and burst into some kind of liminal space housing a monster with multiple heads. I know the name of the creature... but it escapes me, the desire to protect and crush whatever is impeding my beloved too much against my healing mind as I dash forward with abandon. The battle plays out, my brute strength not enough to truly harm the creature before I notice Amelia pull back - her name still not given to me yet - and I rush to her side. She asks me for time, and time I deliver as I rush forward with renewed bloodlust. After a few exchanges, the air around us shifts and pushes as Amelia stands tall once more, my core throbbing with delight at seeing her stand tall. As she
should~
.
She expresses complicated words, some I can parse, some not, before she turns to me and the nearly mind shattering amount of love feeds through our connection and suffuses the space in our blissful, kaleidoscope pattern. In a flash of emotion and power, she single-handedly cows the monster to the floor, following up with a battle cry before she beheads the venomous snakes like the vermin they are. I follow behind, the blazing feeling I still hold radiating out from me as I sear the stumps and silence the beast for good.
My heart once again soars as she rushes up to me in the aftermath, asking quick questions that I again cannot sift through before flooding me with renewing energy. I don't care about the weakness that has begun to seep through me again, but her care and devotion warms me more than any fire in a cold night~. She says, "I
love
you" and once more the bond erupts into starlight and dances of color as I feed back as much of the feeling as I can~! I can sense the hesitation through our bond as she begins talking once more, parsing out that she wants me to leave but finally agree to her last request, to protect myself in case things become dire. I lie, and say yes.
Our brief reunion is cut short by a powerful and malevolent force, one that even I can feel the strength radiating off of in my unusual state. Words are shared, and that is how I discover her name, before lines of
wrongness
are launched from the new arrival, aiming at Amelia! I move between the two, forcing as much energy from the connection as I can to put up a wall between us and protect her with my life. I strain and feel my power wane as the impacts hit, growing stronger and stronger as I feel her fear feeding into the connection, but I'm too preoccupied to reassure her now. All I can do is weather the storm, this tornado of violence, with all my strength. Unfortunately, one does maneuver around my barricade, and anger floods through me as it lashes against her leg.
I feel her connection dim slightly as more and more of those tendrils push past me despite my best efforts. I scream at the creature, eager to see its
death
for harming something so essential to me. So
necessary
for my life which coincides with a blast of pressure from my wounded Amelia. There is a pause in battle as I move to her side, my aching and sore form floating up to her gently. She asks me again for time, and I am eager to supply it. She tells me she will feed me more energy than what we have done previously, and I am eager to have it. She tells me to run if I am in danger, and I am eager to not have to lie this time as I tell her no.
With a few more words, power is flooded into me like never before and I instantly erect the barrier with its flowing efforts, stronger than before. Impacts rain down on to it from the monster, but I push everything I can, everything that is me into its protection to give Amelia the time she needs. Some newfound clarity pauses the assault as the being speaks and then lashes together its weapons into an impossible form. With lethal intent, it rockets forward and shatters my protection, aiming directly for my home, my purpose, my everything. With a soft whisper of remorse that I don't have time to say, I leap into the attack, funneling as much of the protective energy around myself as I can before it impacts, and my world goes gray.
I find myself back to awareness as Amelia is bathed in soothing white light around her form, while her body is filled with inky black void. A soft, golden white crown sits firmly on her head while she swings some long-bladed weapon around with expertise against the creature that has hurt us so. I expand my vision, trying and failing due to the renewed weakness that now cradles me, before I sense emotions and thoughts from the bond, but not from my beloved. "
Rest
, my love. We are dealing with an entity that can only be defeated with love and understanding. You did
marvelously
, let us handle this now." Suffused in an almost suffocating amount of care, worry, and gratitude, the voice that I have no trouble parsing through fades from my mind.
I let that confusing sensation wash through me before my resolve returns. If that's what it takes to defeat this monster, then I will supply Amelia with whatever she needs! I pull inward and focus, trying desperately to regain any piece or fragment of information that will help, before something settles into place in my mind and the scene unfolds before us. I gasp internally at the sight, seeing me hold my anchor,
my desire
, my
everything
so close yet still held away so far as I whisper soft words of comfort to her. Lost in my reverie, I fail to notice the enemy had dashed towards me before righteous power crumples its form in an orchestra of zealous strength.
The empowered Amelia floats down, her form vast and all-encompassing in this space while she towers stories above the crater, a purple cloak made of energy waves behind her regal form, her arms adorned in bracelets of gold while white fire erupts from her eyes. With a final word of power, the curved bladed weapon which is now wreathed in the same white fire erupts in a slash and silences the foe once and for all, the regal form fading as she whispers words to nothing, or maybe herself? In either event, I feel the presence of Amelia fade and subside, the imposing and fading figure of power standing before its broken foe before it looks toward me.
I sense... peace. And love, though different than that I share with my
home
. Still powerful though, as it walks up beside me and kneels down, its words coming in clear and unmuddied, "Hello again,
R@ph13l
. Or rather,
Sandra
, in this time. I am glad you both are here, and our efforts weren't for naught. I miss you,
my darling
, and when you both are strong enough, I will be sure to fill your ear with my displeasure at your
absurd
idea that led us here. But for now, Sandra, you too should rest."
Before my confused mind can process much of what she is saying, the last word hits me like a weight and I'm out like a light.
.
!
Heart Demons Part 3 (Vol 1 Fin) – Ch 65
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