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Yui

0 · 8,222 views · located in The City of Fiore

a character in “The Beast's Eternal Roar”, as played by The_Queen

Description

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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž
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ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







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{โ˜› โ’ปโ“Šโ“โ“ โ“ƒโ’ถโ“‚โ’บ โ˜š}
Yui, it means gentle in Japanese. Her real name is Loretta Katherine Hemond.

{โ˜› โ“ƒโ’พโ’ธโ“€โ“ƒโ’ถโ“‚โ’บโ“ˆ โ˜š}
Doll || A popular nickname used by a select few.

Bloody Mary || What she was known as in the underground world.

{โ˜› โ’ถโ’ผโ’บ โ˜š}
Unknown, assumed between 15-16

{โ˜› โ’ผโ’บโ“ƒโ’นโ’บโ“‡ โ˜š}
โ™€

{โ˜› โ“ˆโ’บโ“โ“Šโ’ถโ“โ’พโ“‰โ“Ž โ˜š}
Undetermined

{โ˜› โ’ปโ’ถโ’ธโ’บ โ’ธโ“โ’ถโ’พโ“‚ โ˜š}
Manaka Mukaido || Nagi No Asukara



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โ INSPIRE US WITH A QUOTE โž
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{โ˜› โ’ฝโ’บโ’พโ’ผโ’ฝโ“‰ โ˜š}
4'9, not very imposing.

{โ˜› โ“Œโ’บโ’พโ’ผโ’ฝโ“‰ โ˜š}
About 60 Ibs.

{โ˜› โ’ฝโ’ถโ’พโ“‡ โ’ธโ“„โ“โ“„โ“‡ โ˜š}
Her hair is a rich, caramel colored brown.

{โ˜› โ’บโ“Žโ’บ โ’ธโ“„โ“โ“„โ“‡ โ˜š}
Her eyes are the deepest blue you can imagine, wide and innocent as well.

{โ˜› โ’ทโ“„โ’นโ“Ž โ“‚โ’ถโ“‡โ“€โ’พโ“ƒโ’ผโ“ˆ โ˜š}
There is of course her marking of light, which is in the shape of a Lotus Blossom on her stomach, right above her belly button. There's also an odd tattoo on the back of her neck, a sequence of numbers in a seemingly random pattern. Finally, there are plenty of scars. Most have been faded or covered up with surgical procedures to make her skin smooth once more.


{โ˜› โ’ผโ’บโ“ƒโ’บโ“‡โ’ถโ“ โ’ถโ“…โ“…โ’บโ’ถโ“‡โ’ถโ“ƒโ’ธโ’บโ˜š }

Yui is small, but mighty. There is evidence on her body of suffering, but she can't recall where they are from or what happened. She stands at a nonthreatening 4'9, severely underweight at 60 Ibs (average is about 74). Her hair is the color of delectable butterscotch, or maybe caramel candies. Her eyes are a deep blue, her complexion milky white and doll like with big round eyes and a button nose. Behind her ears, are a bit of a peculiarity. There appear to be feathers stuck there. They aren't earrings and should you pull on them it will cause her great amounts of pain. Best to just leave them alone.
Yui's fingers are long and slender, made for playing piano or weaving. As far as clothing goes, she wears whatever is given to her and does so without complaint. Overall, her entire figure seems to be doll-like and sought after, others seem to just want to put her on a shelf and admire her, but Yui wouldn't let them do a silly thing like that.

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โ™™ QUOTE โ™™
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โ˜› โ“โ’พโ“€โ’บโ“ˆโ˜š

โฅ Chocolate || While Yui is still discovering what she likes, she knows she enjoys the taste of sweets and chocolate in particular.
โฅ Colorful Lights || Very few places are permitted to have lights in the none standard colors and Yui can't help but admire their beauty.
โฅ Snow angels || Yui isn't supposed to go outside alone, but when she does get out, she likes to play in the snow.
โฅ Trees || The one thing with color in the barren wasteland, the trees stand tall and green outside of the city.





โง




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โQUOTE โž
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โ˜› โ’นโ’พโ“ˆโ“โ’พโ“€โ’บโ“ˆโ˜š
โŒฆ Needles || They are painful and make her feel weak for fearing something so small.
โŒฆ Fire || In small amounts it is fine, but bigger than say, a campfire, Yui gets very uncomfortable.
โŒฆ Small spaces || Yui is very claustrophobic.






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โ˜›โ“†โ“Šโ’พโ“‡โ“€โ“ˆโ˜š
Stutter || When Yui gets nervous she tends to stutter, which only makes her more nervous and thus makes the stutter worse.
Touch || When people reach out to touch her, Yui flinches away almost unconsciously.
Feathers || Should you touch the feather-like adornments on her ears, Yui will yelp in pain, because it hurts.


[center]โง


โ˜› โ“Œโ’บโ’ถโ“€โ“ƒโ’บโ“ˆโ“ˆโ’บโ“ˆ โ˜š
โŒฆ Physical Stamina || Having just awoken from a coma, it's no wonder she's weak.
โŒฆ Memory || Yui has no recollection of her past.
โŒฆ PTSD || Sometimes these random flashes of memory will hit her and it will paralyze Yui for a few minutes, sending her into a meltdown until it dissolves back into nothing. Quite often, the memories that disappear stay gone.
โŒฆ Attachment || Once Yui grows attached to something, she becomes very protective of it.


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โ˜› โ“ˆโ“‰โ“‡โ’บโ“ƒโ’ผโ“‰โ’ฝโ“ˆโ˜š
โฅ Ability || The usage of her light-given ability seems to come almost naturally. Almost.
โฅ Swimming || It seems as though she were born in the sea,
โฅ Learning || Yui is a quick learner, she picks up on things rather easily.
โฅ Wit || While she may not be the sharpest, she has quite a tongue and half a mind to use it. Words can sometimes cut sharper than any knives after all.


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โ˜› โ’ปโ’บโ’ถโ“‡โ“ˆโ˜š
Cages || Yui isn't sure where this comes from, she just knows she panics whenever she gets too close to one.
Needles || They're painful and Yui hates them.
Isolation || Yui fears being alone for any amount of time, whether it be short or long.

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โ™™ QUOTE โ™™
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{โ˜› โ“…โ’บโ“‡โ“ˆโ“„โ“ƒโ’ถโ“โ’พโ“‰โ“Žโ˜š}

A doll both physically and mentally, Yui appears to be very delicate. Yui has a very fragile mind, in many ways she has already been broken and is slowly rebuilding herself. The girl is sweet and kind, caring and passionate. A lot of people have taken advantage of her for those things and it is for those reasons that she is so careful. Yui has a very big heart, but if you hurt her she will shun you. To Yui there is nothing worse than betrayal, except maybe Ira Shoku. That man makes the hair on the back of her neck stand up, she hates him with all of her heart and doesn't know why. Due to her loss of memory, the blue eyed girl is crafting a new character, she doesn't know who-or what-she is and would like to find out, but no one seems privy to reveal this information.

Yui is discovering both the light and dark side of the world she lives in; there is a lot of love and hope, but a lot of pain and loss that balance it out. There is bad to every good and slowly, Yui is seeing how terribly cruel their society is. The female is deathly afraid of the dark, she hates being alone in dark rooms and always carries around a little flashlight in case she ever finds herself in a situation where she gets stranded in the shadows. Yui also hates people who think they are better than everyone because they have more money or power; those who enjoy flaunting their cash and status bother her to no end. Despite the things she hates, Yui has many things that she loves. For instance, the ocean. Yui seems to almost have a second layer of skin, it sparkles when caught in the light and has to stay wet; which doesn't seem very hard in a country covered in snow, but the water has to be salty. This second layer of skin allows her to breathe underwater, but if it isn't hydrated properly, Yui won't be able to breathe at all.

Yui is very easy to please, give her chocolate and she seems to be happy. She is, unfortunately, very easily distracted. Shiny things always manage to steal her attention and sometimes her train of thought will abruptly derail, replaced with a painful memory that will overwhelm her and then disappear like it was never there in the first place. During these instances, her ability tends to get out of hand and it's best to get as far away as possible from Yui. When she's better, she's often left shaking and crying, but with no recollection of what happened.




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โJust keep swimming.โž
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{โ˜› โ“…โ“โ’ถโ’ธโ’บ โ“„โ’ป โ“„โ“‡โ’พโ’ผโ’พโ“ƒ โ˜š}
Sterling City, which used to be Kyoto.

{โ˜› โ’ปโ’ถโ“‚โ’พโ“โ“Ž โ˜š}
Kimiko Hemond || Mother || 33 || Deceased
Eric Hemond || Father || 36 || Deceased
Finnick Hemond || Older Brother || 20 || Unknown

{โ˜› โ’ฝโ’พโ“ˆโ“‰โ“„โ“‡โ“Ž โ˜š}

Yui has no memory of her past, the Freedom Fighters have informed her that she was found floating on an a chunk of ice near the shore. Someone rescued her from there and noticed the mark, informing a private doctor that the Freedom Fighters payed underneath the table. Once she was stable, the child was moved from the hospital to the Freedom Fighter's hideout.

The truth is that Yui and her brother were the first two Light Bearer's. She was born with the mark, a small white flower bud on her stomach that slowly blossomed with age. It was this strange deviation that prompted a look-see from a doctor during their mandatory visit and Yui and her older brother were swept out of their home and into a research facility to better understand the transforming nevus. The tests that followed were painful and enough to drive anyone to the point of insanity. The poking and prodding that dug up nothing led to stabbing, burning, and torture all in the name of "science" and the "future of the Commonwealth." By the time the team of researchers had uncovered the children's abilities the two youths had been broken, their innocence stolen far too early.

Yui was separated from her brother and was forced to use her ability on people deemed traitors of the country. Her gift with blood manipulation was a terrifying thing and she was locked in the sublevels of the research building, the only light coming from artificial bulbs in the ceiling. There she was isolated, only allowed to see scientists that came to torture her with more "research" or the criminals she was about to execute. When they weren't using Yui to murder, they were testing out drugs to attempt to subdue or control the gifts; some of which had unruly side affects that caused nightmares or did odd things to her body.

It was during an escape attempt that Yui lost her memory. She was not the one attempting to escape mind you; no Yui had given up the hope of freedom a long time ago. The prisoner she was attempting to put down, however, was particularly unruly and had fashioned a shank out of a plastic spoon and spring he found in a mattress. He only managed to scratch Yui's cheek, but it was enough to distract the girl which allowed the prisoner to hit her over the head and wrap his hands around her throat. After she passed out and the prisoner escaped, he threw her into the sea, promptly getting shot now that he wasn't holding something deemed valuable. They searched for her of course, but at this point, she was already gone. Three weeks later, Yui awoke in the headquarters of the Freedom Fighter's resistance.

{โ˜› โ“„โ“‰โ’ฝโ’บโ“‡ โ˜š}

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โ’ธโ“„โ“…โ“Žโ“‡โ’พโ’ผโ’ฝโ“‰: โ“‰โ’ฝโ’บ_โ“†โ“Šโ’บโ’บโ“ƒ



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So begins...

Yui's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Yui Character Portrait: Aria Matsuri
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




It was only a bit farther until they found Aria. "Ari!" Yui reached for her, but Xavier quickly pulled Yui back. "Something wrong," Damian warned. The girl was on all fours, like some sort of dog. She was slowly inching forward, asking if she could kill. Something rounded the corner, or someone really. Ira Shoku stood before them, Ronan at his side as per the norm. "No Nemi, don't kill these three." He shook his head, stepping up to where she was. He stroked her hair lovingly. The boys froze, either through sheer terror or due to the odd power Ira had over people.

He ripped Yui from Xavier's arms easily. "Nemi," he turned back to the girl. "Fetch." Damian and Xavier took off running in the other direction. "But don't kill," Ira reminded the girl before turning away. He handed Yui off to Ronan. "Take her to the room, you know which one." Yui lashed out, scratching Ronan's arms, drawing blood. The boy pretended to drop her, holding Yui upside down by one foot. "Careful kid," he growled, throwing her over his shoulder and walking away. "Put. Me. Down!" Yui hammered her fists against his back. Ronan opened a door, throwing her inside. "Okay, you're down." He left, slamming the door shut behind him. "Wait!"

Ronan froze on the other side, Yui closed her fist, slowly, like a puppet, he moved back into the room. "Wait," A sharp pain poked her in the skull and her hold on Ronan slipped. He marched forward and Yui flinched back. The boy knelt in front of her, cupping Yui's chin in his fingertips. "I don't see why he wants you so badly." He let go, slapping Yui's face, causing her head to jerk sideways. "There's nothing special about you," Ronan left, slamming the door once more. Yui pounded her fist against the ground, cursing herself for being so weak. It was almost like they were mocking her, taunting her for having no control.

An idea suddenly struck the girl, it would take a lot of focus but she was going to try. Yui propped herself into a sitting position, staring at her legs. She was trying to manipulate the blood in them so that she could walk. At first, Yui started with one foot. She managed to get her toes to wiggle, it was just the tiniest bit. The door opened suddenly, startling the girl. A man was there, but it was no scientist, it was an enforcer, the same one she had seen in Akiharaba. "I'm sorry," the Enforcer spoke quietly, approaching the fragile child. "I don't want to do this, but I need to protect my family." He chained Yui like a dog to the wall, blind folding her.

It was the same scenario as in her nightmare, the blindfold, the collar, only this time, the whip was electrified. It hit her back, causing the girl to scream. A buzz pulsated through her entire body and when it faded, she was panting. "One," the Enforcer counted. It hurt, it felt as though her entire body was on fire, being consumed by flames. "Ten." He continued, every strike breaking her delicate skin. It left burns and electrified the blood running down her back. "Fifty." Yui's eyes rolled back into her head, her body shaking. The Enforcer cursed, throwing the whip down and undoing the chains. He took off the collar, calling for a nurse.

Two came rushing inside, they had been waiting outside the door. They turned onto her side, one nurse reminding her to breathe, the other dressing the wounds on her back. "I'm sorry," the nurse whispered. Her eyes were clouded, no expression on her face. Yui didn't reply. Her entire body felt numb. They placed her on a stretcher, wheeling Yui back to her room. Once inside, the nurse replaced her clothes and dabbed her skin with salt water so that the ena wouldn't dry out.

Yui slipped into a dreamless sleep, at least, it was dreamless until she heard whispering.

"Yui! Yui! YUI!" Startled, the blackness gave way to light. Ally and Mizuki were there, they ran towards her, throwing themselves at her. "Yui, I miss you so much." Mizuki cried, hugging the girl. "You look awful," Ally held her at an arms length. "What's with the eyepatch?"

"It was a test," Yui lifted it, wincing at the light. Ally and Mizuki were both silent. "Have you seen Aria yet?" Mizuki asked.

Yui nodded her head. "They did something to her, I-I don't know what." Yui looked up at them. "She's acting like a dog and she seems almost happy to follow Ira's orders."

"That can't be!" Mizuki didn't want to believe it. "That has to be someone else."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Don't apologize. Listen, we've gotta go. It's dangerous, we're with Fox and he's doing his best, but Yui. It's hard. Our chances aren't looking good."

"It's okay," Yui smiled, startling them. "Because I got to see you one last time."

"What do you mean?" Mizuki asked slowly. Yui didn't answer, but her smile remained. "Wait!" But it was too late.


Yui awoke with tears down her cheeks, she tried to turn on her stomach since laying on her back was painful but her arms wouldn't move.

She had lost feeling in them.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Yui Character Portrait: Aria Matsuri
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

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โAm I still here? Is this who I am now?โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#BF3B3B] โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #762D73ใ€‘

|| The Animal I have Become || Three Days Grace ||








Fetch? Nemi licked her lips with excitement. It wasn't as nice as a kill order, but fetching was fun. Her eyes sparkled brightly and the girls tensed her four limbs, ready to launch. If she did good on this job, Master Ira might let her kill later, right? She trembled with anticipation. Being allowed to end another life was far too exciting. "Yes, fetch!" Ignoring the redheaded girl, the beast focused on the two men who quickly ran off in the opposite direction. And the chase was on.

Her mind prickled yet again but nothing pierced through the fog that seemed to control her thoughts. It was better that way, Nemi figured. If it was something she was meant to hear, then she'd hear it. Since she didn't, it was nothing to worry about. Like a dog she bounced after the boys, letting out howls of joy and cheer. They were ahead, though, so she fired a blast of air ahead of them, blocking their path in rubble. The non-telepath touched the other boy and they .... transported through the steel blocking the path? The huntress's mouth widened and she let out a wild scream. This was going to be even funner than she thought.

"Nemi's strong!" The girl shouted, easily blasting past the rubble, continuing her pursuit. She was allowed to... toy with them a little, was she not? That made things more fun as well! Yes, she would. She'd hurt them and fetch them and bring them back to Master Ira. "I won't let you escape!"

She created a cloud to ride on - it was faster then being on all fours, at least. She then decided to make an illusion to trick them somehow. She had no idea where the image came from, but it was a girl that looked really similar to her, wearing this weird bird-like costume with wings and frills. For some reason the illusion stirred something deep inside, drawing forth an emotion that Nemi didn't understand, so she forced it back down and sent the fake at the boys, turning herself invisible and positioned herself ahead of them as they ran. It was enough to surprise the telepath, though the transporter shook his friend's shoulders with a shout. "It's just an illusion, Damian, hold it together! we have to get away and find Yui and get out of here, Ari's like Ronan now, she's under his control. We need to get Yui and escape for now, okay?"

Get out? What was out? Nemi was curious, but she couldn't let them go out. She had to fetch them, after all. If she fetched them, Master Ira would definitely let her kill someone! So she lunged herself at them, howling, removing the illusion but then she felt something touch her shoulder and she was suddenly somewhere else, slamming hard into the wall head first. She felt dizzy again and blood dripped into one of her eyes. Luckily it was her blood, so she wouldn't go crazy, but if someone else were to bleed out...

The idea was amazing. She turned back to her prey, grinning, and opened her mouth, her body tensing again. Then stiffened. All of a sudden, perhaps from the impact, and the girl stood up, grimacing, rubbing hard at the blood on her eye. "...You need to... get away. I'm sorry. C-can't... think..." And before either of the boys could say anything, the fog returned and the bloodhound screeched in frustration. She had to fetch them. What was she doing? She dropped back to all fours and lunged.

"What was that trick?" Nemi asked innocently, shaking her head. "I don't like it. Let me fetch you! Then Master Ira will make Nemi feel so good! Nemi's a good girl, she'll fetch you. I'll do it, I will. I'm strong."

"Damian, you go ahead." The transporter said. "I'll knock her out, find Yui, and get us all out." Before the telepath could say anything - even though Nemi pounced, sending a blast of air, it was too late. The telepath suddenly disappeared. The transporter then turned to Nemi and somehow appeared behind her. She spun on her heel, sending more blasts of air and there was a sick creaking noise above her.

"Ari, I know you're in there." The boy said in a gentle voice, avoiding her attacks even as they increased in anger and rage as time went on. "It's okay. We'll... we'll find a way to bring you back. I promise."

"Nemi doesn't understand." Her whole body was shivering. What if Master called her a bad girl? What if Master didn't let her kill because one of them got away? How could the transporter keep using his powers? She smelled the electric shocks going through him and he still kept doing it? He was weird. Nemi didn't like him. She wanted to kill this weird person that didn't make sense and be praised by Master Ira and let him scratch her hair again. "Nemi's a good girl!"

The many cracks in the hall suddenly gave way after another blast of air - everything crashing down, when suddenly the weird man ran at her, touched her face, and transported the two of them safely out of the way of the cave in. What was this? What was happening? Before he could do another trick, Nemi grabbed his head and smashed it against the floor a few times to knock him asleep. Whatever. It didn't matter anymore. Nemi then created a cloud for the two of them and floated back to Master Ira.

"Nemi's sorry." She whimpered in a sad, begging position. "They had weird powers. Nemi doesn't like it."

As punishment for letting the telepath escape, she was chained in a dungeon and kept awake all night as electricity buzzed through her. Dazed, exhausted, she couldn't very much move when the other man - Ronan - came and set her free. "Ira says if you be a good girl, this won't happen again. You can do that, right?" He had a wicked smile, like he was very much enjoying seeing the girl like this. Nemi nodded, still too tired to really make a thought.

To Nemi's surprise, Ronan lead her to the room with the red haired girl who was in a cell, tears down her face. "Remember, no killing." Ronan warned. "Or Master Ira will call you a bad girl." Nemi let out a whine and then turned her face to the mermaid, sniffing her curiously, sleepily, with heavy-lidded eyes. "Make some nice conversation, Nemi. I'm sure Master Ira would enjoy it."

"Nemi doesn't understand." She murmured softly, glaring. "Nemi doesn't like her. She wants to be a good girl. She wants to kill something."

The dog stared at the girl with the red hair. Was she a bad girl too? Maybe by being a good girl Ronan wanted her to talk to this girl? Or something? It was weird and Nemi didn't really understand but the smell of blood was intoxicating and gave her new energy. She was starving. So Nemi flipped the girl over to get easy access to the blood on the girl's back, climbed up, and started gently licking, salivating.

"...It's good!" Nemi giggled, suddenly happy. "Very good. I'm going to lick it up now! Do you have a name?" She then pointed to herself. "I'm Nemi! I'm Master Ira's dog. When I'm good, he lets me kill. It feels really good!"


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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




In the morning Yui still couldn't move. Shoku came to see her, he was able to throw her around like a rag doll. Yui could still talk though and she begged for him to kill her, to end her misery, but Shoku wouldn't let her die. "You are far too valuable," he hissed. "Only another few days and it should be over." Only another few days until her death. Until she was reborn as a bearer of darkness. Yui would rather throw herself off a building than be another puppet of his.

Shoku left, saying he had a surprise in store. Yui had no desire to find out what the surprise could possibly be. A few minutes later, Ronan returned and a girl came in beside him. "Aria," Yui whispered. The girl didn't even seem able to register her own name. She sniffed Yui casually like an actual dog and flipped the child over, removing the bandages on her back and licking at her blood. "Stop it," Yui whispered. "That hurts." The dog showed no interest in listening. "Stop it!" Yui screamed, outraged by the fact that this had been done to her friend.

Shoku was hurting them all and Yui was powerless against it. Ronan's body stiffened, blood coming from his nose again from the pressure in his skull. He marched up and slapped Yui across the cheek to make her stop. "Speak, nicely." Ronan hissed, going back to his post in the corner. "My name is Yui," this seemed to be the final straw to make her break. Yui had no more tears to shed as she had cried them all. Slowly, as Yui shivered, she lost her ability to breathe. She was choking, coughing, trying to draw air into her lungs. The world grew spotty, then it faded out altogether.

Ira came back. "Very good Nemi," he spoke, stroking her hair. "Ronan, set it loose." Ronan went into the hall, setting a businessman free. The man had been guilty of selling illegal paraphernalia that defaced Shoku's rule. "Nemi, kill." He opened the door for the dog to run free and turned back to Ronan. "Quickly, we only have an hour." Ronan picked up the corpse that was once his sister. He tripped as a vision came over him, an image of the two playing, and dropped her. "Careful!" Shoku hissed, hitting Ronan over the head. The boy turned the dropped cargo over, closing her eyes and scooping her up. He walked briskly, following Shoku who was practically skipping with glee that his project was going to finally come to fruition.

They bypassed the hall Nemesis was in, knowing not to interrupt a work in progress. The door to the lab opened, then slammed shut behind them. "I didn't expect it to be so quick." Shoku murmured as he began hooking devices and tubes and administering the necessary injections. He grabbed a paddle, shocking her heart. The first one didn't work, again, and again. It took nearly five tries to get Yui's heart going once more, it was almost as though it were unwilling to live.

There was another tube in her nose, one down her throat, a central line over her heart, a cord in her stomach, and some sort of patch laced with tiny needles over her light bearing mark. They rolled the table towards a suspended animation tank, Shoku going up the ladder himself and putting the girl in. "And now, we wait." He had all of the anticipation of a child. Ronan winced looking at it, looking away. "Did you take your pill today?" Shoku asked, not taking his eyes off of the tank as though Yui were going to awake right then.

Technically, the girl was still dead and so she was unable to dream. Her body was being kept alive through machines. It was like birthing a child, slowly, slowly the amount of darkness would build until finally she would awaken. How long that would take, it depended on Yui's will. Ira trust that Ronan and Aria had done a good job breaking it though.

In another part of the facility, Xavier's arms were chained to either wall. The collar had been clipped to the floor, his shirt removed. Every hour, ice water was poured over his head to keep him awake. The wound on his head was still dripping blood. He had hesitated to attack and had paid the price. Damian hadn't technically done anything, but he was still being punished. They wanted information about the Freedom Fighters, about HIVE, about anything, but neither boy would say a word and so slowly they removed Damian's nails, prying them off with pliers. It pained Xavier to hear Damian's screams, to know that he couldn't do a thing.

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โAm I still here? Is this who I am now?โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#BF3B3B] โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #762D73ใ€‘

|| The Animal I have Become || Three Days Grace ||








The red haired girl who called herself Yui seized up, trying to breathe in but failing. Eventually her struggle fell silent and the girl died. Nemi stared at it, feeling somehow dissatisfied, and crawled off of the girl, kneeling obediently beside her as Ronan himself seemed to be in something of a trance. Something in the man's eyes seemed to flicker. Watching the girl's lifeless body before her made Nemi feel like sitting there, quiet, as if respecting her end. Even her need to kill died down a little. It was strange and she didn't get it. She used a foot to scratch at the hair on her head above her ear, enjoying the scritching sensation. Then the fog lessened, if only a little bit.

"...Yui..."

Ronan turned his head, as if in shock. He stared at the dog for a long while, then gave her a subtle nod of the head. For the briefest of moments, the two reached something of an understanding. But before Aria could do anything else, Shoku returned, seeming pleased at his victory. "Very good, Nemi." The evil man said, stroking Ari's disheveled hair. Hatred and sadness coursed through her drug-addled body yet she looked up at Shoku and grinned mindlessly, trying to wag a tail that wasn't there. It was horrible. She wanted to die. She wanted to destroy the world - just light fire to every city and laugh as all life was extinguished. She almost wished to revert back to Nemi, just so she could hide from the pain and never come back out again. But of course, that was impossible. As Ronan walked over to release the next person she'd have to kill, Aria made half a plan to contact Raven and plan out an attack but it was half hearted. She quickly gave up, all hope was a distant mirage.

What was the point now? Yui was dead, and she had no way of knowing if Mizu was even alive. Saving Mizu was probably impossible anyways - she'd never be able to get her a heart. She'd... probably never get to see her ever again. Hell, she'd probably never get to be human again. As Ronan opened the door, he gave Aria what looked like a warning glance. But did it really matter anymore? Should she just kill herself here, and end it all? Or maybe being reduced to a dog and a slave and losing everyone she ever cared about was a fitting punishment for all the lives she stole. So Aria retreated into the recesses of her mind, embracing the enshrouding fog.

"Nemi, kill." was Master Ira's command and the dog let her tongue hang low, thrilled to be allowed to chase. Nemi let out joyous screams as she hunted down the man, sending gales of wind to slash at his skin, drawing blood which only invigorated the dog further. An explosion severed one leg from his body and she clamped her jaws around it, biting hard into the meat. The man was now trying to crawl using his arms to freedom, and sure, gnawing on the leg was fun but she wanted the whole body to be hers. She used air to propel the man into the air, sending him flying into the ceiling with great force, cracking the steel as his bones were crushed. Then she did it again, howling and screeching with joy, enjoying as the sounds slowly became more liquid, more mushy, as the man finally died. Nemi's eyes darted around and she spun, watching Master Ira and Ronan take the corpse of the girl somewhere. What were they doing? Nemi chewed on a chunk of leg meat as she stared in curiosity. If there was a body, why not let her eat it? She wanted to eat it. The girl's blood was super delicious and her body might even more scrumptious! She was a good girl, and she wanted to eat Yui.

"I want Yui." The dog pouted and crawled after the two men, staying carefully out of sight. They did some... weird things with the body, shoving things into it and putting it in a tank of sorts. Nemi didn't understand - it was a waste of such a yummy body! There was another strange pang deep inside her chest that burned heavily at her. She let out a high whine but ducked away, hoping not to be seen. Sadly, that was impossible.

He looked over and waved an arm. "Nemi, come here." Master Ira called, and the dog obediently trotted over, chafing her knees and hands against the floor, still covered in blood. "Clean yourself up, then come in." She blinked, confused, then saw the blood over her hands and mouth. She sent a harsh blast of wind at herself, cutting into her skin but also literally tearing the blood off. It hurt, but it was okay. She wanted to be a good girl! She was invited into the strange room where Yui floated, kneeling meekly at Master Ira's feet. Feeling sleepy, she curled herself into a ball, nestling close to Master Ira's leg, enjoying another stroke of her hair. "Good girl. You're a very good girl. Your master's proud of you, Nemi."

A little mewl escaped her lips. "Nemi was good?" She asked hesitantly. He nodded and joy filled her chest again. "As a reward, I'll show you to a new friend."

Later, they met in a room unlike the others. It had a soft floor and the two masters were seated on chairs next to a burning fireplace. Master Kenshiro seemed upset and sad, as if afraid to look at Nemi as she knelt dutifully on Master Ira's lap, enjoying the ear scratches and the rub of his hands on her skin, dressed in nothing but the collar.

"Why, Ira?" Master Kenshiro asked in a pained voice. "Why did she turn out like a dog? I expected her to end up like Ronan did - to have her humanity intact. You promised she'd still be human, so I could raise her again. So I could be a better father."

"That was the plan." Master Ira said, still smiling over his victory. "It was probably a result of the drug already in her system that the HIVE gave her." His face was plucky and cheerful, contrasting his morose companion who was dejected and miserable. "Don't worry, we can soon launch an offensive against the Matriarch and get revenge. That'd make you happy, wouldn't it?"

Master Kenshiro shook his head, turning away. "No." He said sadly. "I just want Aria and Mizuki back. My precious daughters."

They were talking about complicated things that Nemi didn't really care about. These names being thrown around meant nothing to her as she was petted by Master Ira. His hands calmed her killing urge and pleased her. She mewled in mild pleasure, wriggling slightly at his touch. That was all that really mattered.

"Nemi's a good girl... yes she is..." The girl looked up, beaming radiantly at Master Ira, who fondly stroked her hair with doll-like gentleness. Master Kenshiro looked even sadder, if that was possible. If he was a friend, it was probably best for him to be happy, right? But she couldn't think of what to say to make him smile, unlike the nicer Master Ira. "Is Nemi's singing bad, Master Kenshiro?" She asked innocently, staring at him. "I'm sorry it was so bad you cried. I won't sing anymore if that makes you happy. Nemi wants you to smile!"

"No... sing as much as you want." Master Kenshiro's voice sounded choked. He was holding back tears again. "I really enjoy it, Ar-.. Nemi." Nemi's ears perked up, so she decided to sing again - this time another song that brought back an image of her and another girl on a beach, cradling her head in her lap. It was like a distant dream, an impossibility. It felt great to just sing and when she was done, Master Ira petted her again, scratching behind her ear just where she liked it most. Master Kenshiro didn't look much happier though.

"Nemi's sorry." She whined, pouting. "I'll do better next time, Master Kenshiro." For some reason that earned her another 'good girl' from Master Ira which made her mewl again, making something of a purring noise, squirming happily.

"...Do you really have to touch her like that, Ira?" Master Kenshiro's voice was thick, low. "That's still my daughter."

Master Ira just smiled at his old friend, stroking the girl's hair. "You raised a really pretty girl, Ken." He said casually. "There's no problem, is there? She's a dog now, and it seems like she enjoys it." Master Ira had a smug laugh. "Admit it, my friend, she's better off mindless, isn't she?"

Master Kenshiro didn't answer.

"I'm feeling incredibly happy right now, because of the experiment. I'm simply... sharing my joy with her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I finally did it." The girl stretched, walking back into Fox's apartment, where the Fox sat, heavy bags under his eyes. "I convinced my mother to help us attack Shoku's main base. With Nemesis as his pet -" Mizuki visibly flinched and hid her face, crying into Ally's straight yet burdened back - "and Yui dead, -" Mizuki let out another desperate wail, her whole body shaking -" according to my surveillance in Nemesis's arm, Shoku has the advantage. But Yui's body is being used in an experiment, so there's still hope to save her." Raven bit her cheek, annoyed. "God, what a pain, Fox. Seriously. But for now I have to put my plans on hold until we restore the balance of power."

Foxhound nodded, grimacing. Everything had quickly turned terrible. "We need to attack soon, Raven." He advised, rubbing his temples to try and ward away the headache. "Now that Shoku's winning the war, he's definitely going to go after the HIVE next. If we sit around and wait, he won't stand a chance."

Raven nodded, chewing her thumbnail in thought. "Doc, I gave you my researchers and their supplies and a lot of funding. Did you find a way to bring Nemesis and Ronan back to normal?"

The Doctor had a small sad smile on his face. "No. But I did develop serums to help lessen the effects of the drugs. They still need the will to fight back to break through, though. And Ari's situation's more complicated, since she still has your mother's drug's effects in her body. I still haven't figured out how to undo it."

"Damn." Raven cursed, but smiled encouragingly at the man. "Keep at it, okay? You're our best hope." She then turned to Mizuki, who flinched at her gaze. "Mizu, I know it's hard, but please. How is it on your end?"

The girl spoke, voice weak and trembling. "My brother and his friends within the Enforcers are willing to help me." She said timidly. "...Um, I also convinced a few small gang leaders to help after beating them in gambling and forcing them into debt. They'll ship their weapons and men to us tomorrow."

Raven smiled kindly at her, jotting down her notes. "I'm proud of you, Mizuki. You're doing well." She then turned to Ally with a more serious expression. "And you? How's your mission?"

Ally smiled solemnly. "It's ready. My dad's trusted by Shoku, so once he goes into the base, he'll have agents disguised as Chinese spies leak hallucinatory gas into the base and have his best hackers embezzle whatever funds they can from Shoku's coffers as possible. Ready at your command, Raven."

The little genius grinned, happy that all of her captains have completed their missions. "Fox and I have prepared our HIVE troops as well. Tomorrow night, we attack and turn back the tide."


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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Yui was confused, her body wouldn't respond to her commands, she wanted to swim, she wanted to breathe, but it wouldn't let her. It was like standing in a dream, in purgatory, dead but not allowed to die and it was painful, so very painful that it made every ounce of her being shake. The light and darkness were fighting a battle inside of her body. Occasionally, her back would arch in pain, machines would beep wildly, causing a nurse to come running. Yui's eyes were taped shut so as not to get the liquid in them and they twitched as though attempting to open. There were no dreams though and despite the small amounts of movement, no signs of brain activity registered on the scanners.

It would have been impossible for Ally to tap into her mind and yet somehow the girl managed to do it. "Yui," she whispered, as though sneaking in her mind in attempt to find her. In Yui's mind, she was sleeping as well, two swirling orbs circulating around her body. One was light, it radiated warmth and hope, the other darkness which embodied strength and anger. Ally moved forward, reaching out to touch the orbs and getting a shock. Even though it wasn't physical, Ally could feel the pain, the conflicting emotions, the things that had pushed Yui to death. There was no response from the girl, not even a flicker of the eyelids.


Ally pulled out of the dream, Mizuki's expression hopeful. She shook her head, not wanting to get Mizuki's hopes up. "Nothing," Ally whispered, she looked away, biting her lip, "I'm sorry." She hugged the other girl as Mizuki sobbed, tears stinging her eyes. Ally wasn't allowing them to fall. She had to stay strong, for Mizuki, for Yui, Ally would bring her back even if it took all of her strength and time. "We'll save her," Ally's fists clenched, "I'm sure of it." She didn't want to, but Ally untangled herself from Mizuki and went to tell the doctor what she saw in hopes of finding a way to save their friend. Tonight Ally would go digging for Aria, try to find out if there was a way to bring her back.

~~~~~

The boys were left in the same room, both mentally and physically exhausted, but still kicking. Damian's hands were wrapped in bandages, Xavier's shirt gone, his middle entirely wrapped up. They were hurting them, using the two in experiments. Shoku's end game was to break them mentally, physically, then turn them into his puppets just like Aria and Ronan, but it would take much more to take the two down. They were not fragile. "Anything," Xavier asked hopefully. Damian would meet his eyes. "She's gone, both of them are gone."

Xavier leaned his head back against the wall. "I was there," Damian whispered. "The moment Yui-" he stopped, choking. "Aria was there, I don't know what she was doing, but at least she-she was there to comfort her." Damian was hoping that Aria was doing that, he wasn't actually sure. Xavier slammed his fist against the ground. "Dammit!" He leaned forward, scrubbing a hand over his face, through his hair. "I was supposed to save them."

"I was supposed to save all of them."

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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Damian had no fight left in him. When Shoku came in with Ronan dragging a leash connected to Nemi, he felt weak and horrified and so very tired. So when two Enforcers came to drag him out, Damian didn't resist. He allowed them to take him to another room, allowed them to tie him up and blindfold him. Damian had no idea what was going on, the collar would send shocks into his body whenever he tried to use his light bearing gift and so he stopped using it. Xavier told him to keep it together, to stay strong, but Damian didn't think he could much longer. First they took Aria, turning her into this dog, then they killed Yui. What would they do next? The thought of them taking Xavier from him, it physically hurt and so first the second time that day Damian cried.

When the blindfold was removed, Damian was in a new room. He blinked, his eyes adjusting slowly. There was someone leaning against the wall, someone tall and brooding with his hands crossed against his chest. Ronan. "You," Damian growled, pulling against the chains. The collar shocked his entire body and he yelped, pulling back. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ronan advised. The boy walked forward, kneeling down to Damian's eye level. "Not unless you like it of course." Ronan smirked and Damian attempted to lash out, but the other boy dodged easily.

"I'm told you're the real brains of the operation. Xavier was the brawn, your mighty protector, but you, you really know everything. Where to find the others, where the other light bearer's are."

"Aren't you tired of this?" Damian asked. Ronan blinked in confusion. Damian pressed on, "tired of being a dog? Bark, sit stay, good boy." Ronan was furious, he pulled Damian up by his shirt, slamming the boy into the wall. "I'm gonna make you sing," Ronan whispered, dropping Damian to the ground. The boy was on top of him, whispering words in his ears. "Shoku has his way of making people talk, I have mine. You like Xavier don't you?"

"W-what makes you think that?" Ronan sat across from him, grinning. "Because your heart's racing at the mention of his name." Damian's cheeks were bright red. "If you tell me what Shoku wants to know, I can promise to keep him safe." Damian's mouth was set in a line. He knew these tricks, the false promises, then the threats, then physical torture. "You can't do shit," Damian muttered. "I'd rather die then give away my comrades to the likes of you."

"That can be arranged," Ronan grinned, then quickly wiped the smile off his face. "But I've been told to not inflict physical pain on you." Ronan crawled forward, he was on top of Damian again. "It's been so long since you've felt love hasn't it?" Ronan whispered. Damian's eyes widened. "Your parents abandoned you, your sister threw you out. Then this boy comes along, blonde handsome, he saves you from the bullies, from yourself and you can't help but adore him." Ronan caressed Damian's cheek. The boy leaned his head back, unintentionally moaning slightly.

When they were done Damian's head was spinning. Ronan was good, really good and it made Damian wonder how many others Shoku ordered Ronan to do this too. Despite it all, the only thing Ronan had managed to get out of Damian were his feelings for his boss. Somehow, he seemed satisfied by this and it made Damian very scared. When he was returned to the room where Xavier was, Damian was snapped back into reality. "What did they do?" Damian asked quietly.

"They hurt her and there was nothing I could do." Xavier whispered. "I'm sorry," there were tears in his eyes, "I'm so sorry."

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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




On good days, Ronan had all of his memory intact, he could see his beloved sister, her smile, her warmth, he would reach out to it like a beacon. Then there was pain and fear, Ronan had rejected her, he had convinced himself it was to save her, slowly driving his sister away as drugs were forced down his throat. He hurt her, tortured her, made her kill, all for Shoku, all because some pills took his memory. He would watch her from afar, a familiar feeling taking over as he saw her cry, her struggle, wanting to die but never being allowed to. It made his heart hurt, but Ronan could never figure out as to why. "Did you take your pills today?" Shoku would ask and Ronan would shake his head. He would get zapped for it, for not being the obedient puppet Shoku wanted.

When Loretta went missing, Ronan remembered relief. He thought maybe she had finally died, but Shoku wouldn't allow it. Everyday Ronan would search and when he returned empty handed, he was subjected to the same torture Loretta was. Getting torn apart by dogs, laying naked on a table as they stuck needles into his spine. Stabbed, burned, scarred, over and over, all in the name of Shoku's precious kingdom. He would shove Ronan into a room at the end of the day, stuff pills down his throat to make him forget, to keep him in line. He came to crave the feeling of knowing he had done well and soon leaped to obey.

As Ronan grew, Shoku began to notice something else about the boy, that Shoku's sponsors were taking note of the dark brooding figure standing in the doorway. So Shoku sent Ronan to service his sponsors, he would wake up in beds with pain and no recollection of how he had gotten there. Enforcers would come to collect him, one time they found him outside laying in a snowbank with no pants and an unhappy woman who had found him in bed with her husband. Many days Shoku had him so drugged he had to remind Ronan of his own name. If he became too unruly, he was quickly reminded of his place and slowly, the rest of the world faded. Ronan's life revolved around the man called Ira Shoku; his word was Ronan's command. The boy jumped like a dog, barked when told to, obediently went to bed at the end of the day, knowing the consequences of failing to show up on time.

Despite his missing memories, his being out past curfew, Ronan couldn't help but stand in the lab where she was sleeping. Sometimes she'd move, just the tiniest bit, and a feeling of exhilaration would creep down his spine. He'd talk to her, press his hand against the glass, watch as her back arched in pain, as her expression became peaceful when he whispered words of encouragement. What was her name? It didn't matter, names down here weren't important. So he remembered her number. He remembered her screams of pain, how her nose would crinkle when she was thinking, how she seemed to glow when she was happy. Then he remembered taking it, taking her light, trying to steal it for himself because how could one person glow so much?

"Ronan!" Shoku was calling him. He left the lab, wiped any emotions off of his face. "Did you take your pills today?" Ronan hesitated, giving himself away. Shoku held out his hand, the small, white demon in his palm. Ronan took it, swallowing it dry as he did every morning. "You weren't in your room last night."

"I was patrolling your dogs cage." Ronan replied.

"Snappy this morning are we? Anyways, there's much to get done today, I need you to get Nemi." He handed Ronan something, a simple, but ultimately effective piece of clothing that would cover the female at least a bit. "Give her this to put on, there have been a few complaints of Enforcers excusing themselves to the bathroom after seeing her." Ronan bit down on his lip to stifle the laughter.

"Yessir," he turned to leave. "And Ronan," the boy froze, turning back towards Shoku. "Stay out of the lab."

Ronan went to the cage where Nemi was kept. He opened the door wide, announcing morning's arrival. "I have something for you," he had both the pill that would keep her in line and the article of clothing Shoku had given him. "Take this and put this on, we've got work to do."

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Character Portrait: Yui Character Portrait: Aria Matsuri
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โAm I still here? Is this who I am now?โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#BF3B3B] โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #762D73ใ€‘

|| The Animal I have Become || Three Days Grace ||








Xavier wished that they kept to the old torture. It would've been easier on his mind. That's now to say he enjoyed being sprayed with water hour by hour, trapped in a helpless haze of fatigue, but it had to be better than watching them break Aria before his eyes, before putting her together again just to break her again, all the while blaming him for everything. She really was a little child, believing everything she heard... as long as it came from the mouth of Ira Shoku. All the while Damian was out of reach, being tormented by Ronan someplace, gone. At least when the two were together, it gave them new resolve. But separated like this, unable to regroup their thoughts and share information, all he could do was try to avert his eyes from the canine's horrible squeals of sizzling pain. Worst was that after every burning, where they'd cool her off and rub cold water over her skin, she would stare directly at Xavier with hopeful, expectant eyes before being sent back to the cage to buck and cry, her eyes remained lucid, glimmering with hatred and resignation. And there was nothing he could do to help her.

"Not a dog person, Xavier?" Shoku taunted as the girl seemed to fall into a brief unconsciousness, eyed low and mouth slightly agape, trembling. She was present, but not all there - taking the respite to delve into the safety of oblivion. "I could reprogram her into a cat, if that suits your taste better. Would you feel pity for her then?"

Xaver's eyes, unlike his heart, was stone cold. He couldn't let anything show, he couldn't give Shoku what he wanted. "I don't know her." He said quietly. "Aria's gone, you know. You killed what was left of her, Shoku." He stared impassively at the panting girl wandering the fog of her own mind, then turned his gaze back to Shoku, hanging limp against the chains. "You can just keep hurting your dog, Shoku. The girl I care about is gone now."

As the words escaped his mouth, he found that it was horribly true. During the ordeal, as he watched Nemi's pain, there wasn't the slightest hint of Aria. He tried - he tried his very best to find where his childhood friend was - that determined little girl who wanted to explore New Tokyo's snow with him, that girl who always went to every birthday party, singing a song for him that was special for him, the girl that cheered him up when he broke up with Jenna, the girl who always stole concert tickets for him to attend. The girl with the devilish smile and the big fragile heart that reached out for too many people that she couldn't hold them, the gentle hidden behind the cruel and ruthless murderer. The girl who would stop at nothing to help her friends without giving her own life a thought at all. Wherever she was, he couldn't find her, only the mindless dog who called herself Nemi.

"She's an empty shell, Shoku. It doesn't matter anymore."

A few hours alter, Enforcers returned, dragging a protesting Nemi into the cell and chaining her limbs to the ground. Her back remained upright, though a little slumped and she hung her arms limply at her side, head down and avoiding Xavier. She looked afraid and paranoid that she was going to be hurt again. To Xavier's surprise, the Enforcers then left the room, leaving Xavier and Nemi alone.

"...Master Ira says to make nice." Nemi said, voice a little muffled from the screaming. "Nemi doesn't like you. You hurt her and don't help. You're bad." She wriggled a little, scowling in a way that was painfully reminiscent to a certain singing girl. "But Master Ira says to make nice." All of a sudden the dog's expression brightened and she smiled cheerfully. "Hello, my name is Nemi! Can we be friends?"

Xavier's first thought was that she wasn't exactly as mindless as she seemed. The girl still seemed able to make judgments and formulate some kind of thought, though they definitely seemed somewhat broken and fragmented. He was sad that this happened to his friend and that he was powerless to do anything to help. How was Damian holding up, he wondered. And what about Yui? Was she unmoving now, due to her mental degradation, and now in a horrible drug addled state? The idea horrified him. If they could do this to Aria, what could they do to Yui? Why did he fail at protecting everyone that mattered to him?

"...Sure, let's be friends." Xavier said. Still, given the girl's disposition, this could be an opportunity, couldn't it? "Nemi, was it? Do you know a red haired girl? Her name is Yui."

The dog cocked her head to the side, then nodded. She waved a finger, conjuring up an illusion - yet another similarity to a certain friend of his that only made it worse. Before him an image shimmered - a girl floating in a tank, connected to countless tubes and wires and almost definitely being used for some thing. And to Xavier's surprise, Nemi didn't look happy about it either. "Nemi doesn't know what Master Ira is doing." She admitted balefully. "But Nemi thinks it's a waste." She didn't elaborate and Xavier was left wondering what she meant, exactly, by waste.

"Nemi." Xavier said, looking hard into the girl's eyes. She perked up a little, waving the illusion away and smiled hesitantly at him, clearly listening. "I hope we can be friends. If they come to ask my questions again... please don't hate me, okay? Just trust in me. I'll find a way to save us."

Nemi looked confused, unknowing. "Escape?" It was like the term had no meaning for her. "But I like it here. I like Master Ira! He's nice to Nemi. I'm a good girl!"

Xavier could only imagine what kind of things he did to her, hidden away in his room. Violating her, body and mind, and it was debatable if her soul was even there anymore. But what if Aria was just hiding herself carefully away? He did manage to fish Aria out of the sea of Nemesis back then, so what if he could draw her out again? That one day - the last time he saw Yui alive - Aria was clearly present in there, though heavily restrained. Was it possible?

"I'll get us out." Xavier promised in a steady voice, optimism shining. "Nemi, I'll show you a world you've never seen. Snow as far as the eye can see, full of people you can make friends with and make happy. You can fly through the air, free from everything. Wouldn't that be nice?"

The girl's eyes shone with innocent wonder, and she nodded along excitedly. Xavier had a small, bitter smile that was nothing but pain. He missed the old days with the Freedom Fighters, back when it Damian was the motherly figure looking over everyone, and Aria was the girl trying to find her place, finding a suitable role in serving as Yui's big sister, her substitute family. And Yui, precious Yui, pure and sweet like the calm sea at night, unblemished and kind in every way. He missed everyone. And it was all torn away from him.

"Xavier."

Xavier's whole body jerked. That wasn't Nemi speaking, it was - and it was. The girl had a tiny smile on her face, as if peering through the fog. For some reason, Ari seemed happy. "...L-listen. It's... hard to. To think, but...." She was clearly struggling to form words, so Xavier decided to not interrupt. If she really was still in there, if this wasn't some trick, then there was still hope, wasn't there? "Y-Yui's... good as. Dead. Damian's... breaking. W-we can't. Win. Now." The broken hopeless thoughts spilling from her mouth made Xavier want to reach out and touch her - to hold her and tell her that he'd take care of everything, that everything would be okay. "If... even... one of us can. Be happy, then... it's good. It's... fine. Xavier... you g-gotaa. Forget us. Escape a-alone. So.... we win." Aria raised her head just a tad, looking deeply into Xavier's face and seemed satisfied. Aiming her palms up, there was a small blast of air, freeing his arms. Xavier rubbed at his wrists in shock.

"Be free. Ar-Ari... I will. Watch over. You." Aria was now crying openly, buckling forward. Then Xavier saw it - localized air circulating in the palms of her hands, aimed at her throat. A blast was being prepared, painfully slow. A desperately hungry look was in her eyes as she tried to concentrate on the last act to end her life. And perhaps it was due to his painfully weak body, but Xavier couldn't reach out to help - he could only stare in horrified awe. Then it was all ruined when the Enforcers came, beating the girl to the ground and she had a little broken smile on her face, resigned to her fate.

"Goodbye." Xavier, crying, touched his chest and transported himself far away - anywhere else but there, leaving behind everyone. Perhaps it was luck or maybe it was anticipated but he ended up in a familiar apartment, shivering and huddling himself in a corner when someone familiar entered the room. It was Raven.

"I heard it all." She said in an almost silent voice. "I'll take you to the base, if you still want to fight. We have a plan, Xavier. We'll get them out. But if you want to sit this out, and escape, that's fine too. I understand."

Xavier, filled with a new kind of hope, nodded. "I choose to fight. I won't just leave them to die there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No matter what Shoku did, the girl wouldn't respond. He was enraged that a tiny facet of Aria had managed to hide, but it wasn't all too surprising. The girl was an actress after all and seemed to have some modicum of thought left in her. To break her will, he had her tortured as Aria, but the girl was unmoving, unseeing. Not even her facial expression changed. She was like a doll. Was that her last bit of resistance left? Shoku wasn't going to take any chances. Even if it put extra strain on the girl's body, shortening her already short lifespan, he upped the dose. If Aria was still in there, he'd never give her a chance to emerge again. And it wasn't long until the girl's face broke into a wide, expectant smile, looking pathetic and clung to him, pressing herself tightly to his leg.

"Nemi wants to be a good girl." She whimpered. "Nemi loves you, Master Ira... but I - don't remember what... Nemi's confused. It hurts." The dog tilted her head up at him, eyes wide and lips in a weak pout. "Master Ira is Nemi's favorite master."

The tyrant sighed and stroked her hair again, enjoying the girl's little wriggle of pleasure.


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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Damian wasn't taken back to the room with Xavier. He was taken back to Ronan's room, left on the bed, but the boy didn't return. He reached out in search of Xavier, hunting minds, ignoring the painful shocks that zapped his neck every time he jumped to another head. Xavier was gone and Damian suppressed a sob, wondering what had happened to his partner in crime. Did they steal him too? Body and soul like Aria? Or had Xavier's fate ended up even worse? Was he in a floating cage somewhere like Yui? Damian looked at the clock on the wall. The clock was slowly ticking, the sound almost like a lullaby. The pull made his eyes feel heavy, his heart calming just a bit.

"Damian?" The boy turned towards his name, seeing Allyana. "Ally!" He ran towards the girl, hugging her tightly even though he knew it was fake. An illusion? Or was this Allyana using her powers? "Are you alright?" Ally asked once Damian had released her from his hug. Damian nodded his head, "Yeah, they've been trying to get information out of me, but they haven't gotten anything."

"Damian, we're gonna rescue you. You just need to hold out a bit longer." Damian nodded his head, the girl continued. "Do you have a mental layout of the place?" Raven probably already had one, but Ally was trying to distract Damian to get Xavier to go to sleep. "Yeah, I can give it to you."

"That's alright, I've already got it. I can see all of your thoughts."

"Does it always feel this invading when I read others minds?" Ally shrugged and Damian smiled, just a little. Suddenly, Ally faded and Xavier appeared. "Damian! Xavier!" The two yelled at the same time, running to embrace one another. "I thought you were dead, your presence just disappeared." Xavier shook his head, pulling back. "Ari-I don't know what she did, but she somehow fought back and then she broke the chains."

"Ari's a lot stronger than you give her credit for." Damian replied, hoping that she would hold out a little longer. "Anyways, Ronan took me to Yui." Xavier froze, grasping Damian's shoulders. "Tell me everything."

"Ronan and I were-um-well he was getting confused and he said that sometimes he has fragments of memories so he took me to Yui. I don't know what they're doing to her, but I don't like it. They're forcing her to live, there's tubes keeping her alive."

"Is there any way to pull the plug?" Xavier asked, hopeful they could end the girl's pain. Damian shook his head, "they wouldn't let me close enough and my hands are tied, but Xavier," Xavier had looked away, he looked up once more, an expression of pain on his face. "She's fighting. I don't know what kind of battle, but Yui wants to live." Damian closed his eyes, biting back tears. "I just keep thinking of her smiling, even when she was confused and in pain, even when her legs stopped working-"

"I know." Xavier hands balled into fists. "But it's too late for her." There was nothing they could do, they couldn't exactly move the tank. "Ari though, we still have a chance of saving her. She's in there somewhere, I know that much."

"Xav, I have to go, someone's calling me. They're trying to wake me up." They said goodbye, Xavier promising that he would figure out a way to get Damian and Aria out of there.


When Damian awoke, Ronan had returned. The boy was clearly tired, his eyes closing as soon as he plopped down onto the desk chair, spinning to face the wall. Where his hands touched there was blood and unlike Yui's, Ronan's didn't make anything sizzle or melt. "What did they do to you?" Ronan jumped to his feet, instantly on guard at Damian's whispered words, when he saw who it was, he relaxed, sitting in his chair once more. "Why'd they bring you here?" Damian shrugged as much as he could with his hands chained. "I don't know, they don't exactly tell me anything."

"Listen, I can protect you, but I need you to tell me what you know." Damian shook his head, giving Ronan information about the Freedom Fighters would be like committing suicide. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to tell you anything." Ronan had wrapped his hands in bandages. He grabbed an extra pillow from the bed and a blanket from the closet, making himself a place to lay down on the floor. "Why are you being so nice? Really?" Damian asked, but Ronan was already asleep.

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โAm I still here? Is this who I am now?โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#BF3B3B] โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #762D73ใ€‘

|| The Animal I have Become || Three Days Grace ||








It started with the gas. One agent was slaughtered by a dog, but the other succeeded in his mission, activating the hallucination agent to weaken the forces within. Then Mizu - with the aura of a terrified girl mixed with a military general - commanded the gang lords and drug lords under her control to make the first wave, using their HIVE-Enhanced weapons to attack, as well as convince her brother to get the Enforcers on curfew patrol to go out for a night of drinks and merriment. The Doc, too, was there with his trauma kits ready, seeming almost excited to serve as a field doctor for once. Ally was standing beside Raven as Xavier and and the Fox lead the special HIVE forces on the offensive, rushing into the facility - Xavier keeping to his part of the plan by transporting connected platoons of fighters to several different locations, allowing them to launch a multi pronged offensive.

"Mizuki, dear, stay close to me." Raven called, bringing the girl back to her side. "Once the coast is clear, I'll take you to your sister." The bird of prey tapped the device on her wrist, pinging Nemi's current location - she was currently in battle, fiercely taking down whoever she could. "Once she's tired out, we'll make our move. I'll keep you safe, okay?"

Mizuki looked anxious about actually going inside but when Raven said she'd protect her, it made her feel a little better. "How though?" The little sister asked, looking over the other girl who was hardly taller than her and wasn't a Light Bearer of any kind. Raven just smiled, rolling back a sleeve to reveal a device strapped to her arm that was essentially a tiny railgun with shock inhibitors, with wires driving up into what was presumably her spinal cord. Mizuki stared and she wasn't sure if it was fear or awe.

"The Matriarch made sure I always had a tool for protection." Raven admitted, then went to her earpiece, trying to process all of the progress reports from the different teams, as well as receiving a status report from The Matriarch that she had begun her attack on the other side. "We have to go faster." Raven said quickly, prompting her forces to pick up the speed. "If we're too slow, my mother's faction will steal Nemi -" Mizuki visibly flinched and looked away "- Damian and Yui for her own research. We can't let that happen."

Raven then did a scan with her wrist device, locating the coordinates for Yui's tank. Their route would be relatively simple - go to Nemi, then find a way to break the now sealed room to Yui. The dog was still on the rampage, however, and Raven couldn't trust that she wouldn't attack her and Mizuki on sight. While Raven had a plan to escape, she didn't want to give the girl any unnecessary trauma. "It'll be okay, Mizuki." Raven smiled, excited. "We're taking losses right now, but Aria's body should be feeling the strain. She won't be able to keep it up without getting another heart palpitation."

Mizuki's eyes were wide and hopeful. "Please save them. Yui too! I know Ally says to give up on her, but I won't! Yui's my little sister, and I know Ari would never give up on me. I'll bet that there's a way to save her!"

The genius made a few more commands for Xavier and the Fox, then handed Ally a gun. The heiress took it with surprise but grimaced. "It's my turn, then?"

"You'll be closely guarded by the Fox." Raven explained. "And if it's dangerous, pull out immediately. But if you could, putting Kenshiro Matsuri and most importantly Ira Shoku to sleep and trap them in dreams would be the ideal scenario. I would say kill them, but Kenshiro's Mizu's dad, and Ira knows far too much to just kill. We need Ally to extract the info, first."

Ally nodded then stepped forward but was stopped by Mizuki. "No." She ordered, giving Raven a hard look. "It's too dangerous, Ally should stay here and help organize everything!" Raven blinked, then smiled, acquiescing. "Okay, you get to stay behind, Ally. The heiress looked almost disappointed - as if she really did want a chance to actually trap an enemy in a dream and force their thoughts out with her powers. But it was veto'd by Mizuki's firm no and even Raven felt somewhat powerless against it.

Finally it was time, as Nemi's heart rate slowed. The two girls then entered the facility, though Raven kept Mizuki's eyes covered so she wouldn't have to see the corpses of both Enforcers and HIVE alike. Ally took over as the commander, coordinating everyone and making sure they were on point as the others pressed on. So with Ally's help, the girls navigated the labyrinth of collapsed corridors and enemies lying in wait, coming across Fox at one point, burning the eyes out of an Enforcer.

"Do you want me to head back and keep Ally safe?" Fox asked. Raven nodded, grinning, pointing to her arm. "I have this under control, Fox." So the Fox made his way back outside to guard Ally and the Doctor as Raven and Mizuki continued down their walk. It wouldn't be long until they found their way to where Nemi was taking a quick rest.

"Why do you have a big backpack?" Mizuki asked. "What's in it?" Raven put a finger to her lips, shushing the girl from spoiling the surprise. She didn't want to reveal her little toys before it was time to use them, after all. And eventually they heard a loud growl to the left, and Nemi to the right. Raven calmly aimed her wrist to her left, pushing Mizuki safely back and fired - the electric shot tearing a hole through the floor and rippling the air, showing the true Nemi.

"Who are you? Why is this happening?" Nemi whined. "Too many people trying to hurt Master Ira! Nemi will kill you!"

Raven then smiled peacably and waved at Nemi. The action confused the dog and Mizuki quickly ran up for a hug. The dog's brown eyes widened and her head tilted. They were strange but they also acted like friends, so she was confused. Master Ira wasn't there so she couldn't ask him for advice, either. Not understanding, she decided to stay put and accept the ear scratches from the girl who looked a little like she did.

"You're a good girl, Nemi." Raven said gently. "We're here to move you to another base where Master Ira is waiting." But for some reason the girl shook her head, remaining on all fours, ignoring Mizuki's soothing whispers and petting. If she was a good girl, then that was fine, right? She also really didn't want to attack the scratch girl - for some reason there was a deep desire from within telling her to absolutely not hurt that girl, though it remained dormant and weak. If that was what was in the fog, Nemi didn't really care either way. She still didn't want to leave.

"No." Nemi insisted. "I - it hurts to... think but... Nemi won't go. Not without Yui. Nemi will stay with Yui."

Raven shrugged. "Then we'll take you to Yui and take her with us." Knowing full well they couldn't do it without Xavier. With Mizuki here, unplugging the girl wasn't an option, though the plan to have Mizuki subconsciously make Nemi more passive worked wonderfully. But if Nemi still refused to leave...

"Xavier, you read me?" Raven called into her earpiece. "Once you have Damian, transfer yourself to these coordinates and then transport Yui's tank to the second set of coordinates. I have a place guarded under my base where they'll plug her in immediately."

It wasn't a long walk to the lab, though it was sealed off entirely, as expected. It wasn't a problem, however. Raven took some machine out of her bag and placed it on the floor, prepping it. It was a all-sides railgun turret that would shoot any movement once it was finished warming up in three minutes. Any enemies trying to intercept would die, but Xavier could easily transport himself into the lab. Mizuki however, looked stumped at the large steel door. "How do we get in? It's a DNA scanner. I bet only Shoku and some of his best can get in."

Raven shrugged. "Don't tell anyone what I'm about to do." The girl warned, then placed her palm on the scanner. A robotic voice sounded. "Welcome, Haruka Shoku." Mizuki's eyes widened and Nemi immediately nuzzled her head against Raven's leg. "You're Master Ira's child! Nemi likes you!" Mizuki looked incredibly confused and stunned but luckily remained silent. The door slid open and Raven ushered everyone in, shutting the door yet again. She heard the warm whirr outside - the turret was read and active. The dog petted the tank, as if mesmerized by the floating girl. Mizuki let out a little sob and hugged it.

"And now we wait for Xavier." Raven said with a shrug, constantly at the alert. The railgun at her arm was put on automatic for anyone her brain classified as an enemy. If anyone tried to sneak past and somehow get into the lab another way, she'd be ready. But just in case...

"Nemi, good girls keep me and Mizuki safe." Raven said cheerfully. "You can do that, right?" The dog rose to the challenge, excited. "Yes! Nemi's strong! I'll protect you!" Waiting for the time being, Raven dug through files on the database, transferring as much as she could into her wrist device that pertained to "Bearer of Darkness". After reading a little, her eyes trained directly on Nemi, a new and amazing idea forming in her mind.


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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Ronan wasn't willing to answer any questions, just as Damian wasn't. The two seemed fine in mutual silence, knowing that they would have to bargain at some point or another if they hoped to achieve their individual goals. Damian received no more food and his stomach growled. Ronan allowed him water though and he drank until the hunger went away. They sat across from each other on the bed, Ronan trying to stare Damian down, Damian looking at his lap, wondering why he couldn't read the other boy's mind. It seemed to be blank, as though there weren't a thought in his head. Suddenly, Ronan leaned over like he had the other day, crawling over Damian's body and pressing their lips together. It was a very hungry kiss, desire laced throughout it. Like the other day, Ronan used the blindfold. It was easier on Damian this way as well, with the blindfold, he could pretend it was Xavier.

An alarm started ringing, but Ronan ignored it. He hadn't been given any orders and so Ronan stayed in his room, guarding his prisoner in a rather unusual way. The door suddenly opened, Ronan growled, like a wolf protecting its meal. Damian could hear a thumping sound and his cheeks turned red as his imagination went wild. There was a moan and then silence. Someone was standing over him, he could by the lack of warmth due to a shadow. Damian lashed out, but all he could do really was arch his back and yell at the other not to touch him. "Damian," someone spoke and the telepath stopped. He blinked at the sudden light as the blindfold was removed.

Xavier.

"You came," there were tears in Damian's eyes. The other boy knelt before him, touching the handcuffs and transferring the energy so that they were now on Ronan. He took the collar off too and rummaged through his pack, handing Damian a pair of clothes. "Right on time too it seems," Xavier stood and Damian's cheeks turned bright red. He got dressed quickly, pulling on the pair of boots Xavier had brought. They were about to leave, but Damian grabbed Xavier's hand. "Wait," he said, turning back towards the naked boy on the ground. "We should take him."

"Why? So he can touch you again?" Xavier asked, his voice coming out angry. Damian took a step back, his cheeks turning brighter. "You've got the wrong idea. He has information, it could be valuable."

"Can't you just read his mind and take it?" Xavier asked and Damian shook his head in reply. "I can't, it's like he has this mental force field that's preventing me from pene-going through it. Aria and Shoku both have it too." Xavier seemed to think on it. "Fine," he agreed and went to the closet, "but you're dressing him." Damian nodded and clothed Ronan, putting the second collar on the boy despite the fact that he knew the guy was already wearing one. Another victim of Shoku's, Damian couldn't just leave an innocent in Ira's clutches anymore, that wasn't how the Freedom Fighters operated.

"Hang on," Xavier transferred their energy to the Doctor. Damian nearly collapsed, dehydrated and hungry. The Doctor started an IV right away, giving Damian some crackers that he kept in his bag. "What do we do about him?" Xavier gestured to Ronan who he had dumped in the snow. Damian turned Ronan over so the boy wouldn't suffocate in the snowbank. "I'll take care of him, keep him sedate." The Doctor responded and went through his bag. "The truck is ready," he whispered and Xavier nodded his head. "I'll be back, I've got one more person I need to save." Damian nodded his head in understanding, Xavier didn't need to speak to tell him what he was thinking.

Then the boy was in the lab, Raven, Mizuki, and Ari all there, just as planned. It was surprising seeing Ari touching the glass, seemingly captivated by the girl floating inside. It was like a snow globe, a delicate doll inside of a fragile world that one shake could send spinning. "See Nemi, I told you I'd be back." Xavier winked, but he wasn't sure whether the dog that was using the body of his friend was pleased to see him or not.

He turned towards the tank, Mizuki had tears in her eyes, she was hugging it as though she could send Yui warm vibes. Xavier couldn't help but feel disgusted when he saw the kid trapped inside. It wasn't Yui, no matter how many times Xavier thought it, he couldn't convince himself that the girl he knew, that the girl who loved to smile and explore and learn new things, that wasn't her inside. Just like how that dog wasn't Aria.

"Hang on," Xavier pulled out the device the Doc had given to him, "Doc said this would keep it on." Xavier murmured as he placed the little metal box on one of the machine's. It hummed, glowing to let them know it was working. "Ready?" Xavier asked. Everything was going according to plan, the only thing Xavier hadn't accounted for was taking Ronan prisoner, but he didn't think Raven would protest to that. The more information they could gather, the better. Xavier touched the tank, transferring its energy first. As soon as he put it inside the truck, the Doctor rushed inside, quickly plugging it into a small generator. Xavier went back for the others, staggering as he landed and straightening.

It was obvious that Xavier was overusing his ability. There was sweat beading his forehead, the amount of transferring he had been doing effecting his stamina. "Ready?" He smiled, repeating the question he had asked earlier and transferring them once more before he had received an answer. They were back at the transfer vehicles, Ally and Damian rushing over to them. The truck with Yui was already closed, ready to leave as soon as the signal was given.

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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




It was a very difficult night. The moving of the tank had triggered many issues, including seizures that sent Yui into respiratory failure. The Doctor was up most of the night inserting lorazapam into the lines to start her heart. He couldn't take her out of the tank, he couldn't put anything into the tank and Raven was only willing to give him the information he needed to keep maintenance and ensure that Yui didn't fade on them. The Doctor was falling asleep in his chair when the alarm went off again and he stood, but this time, it wasn't an alarm to tell him she was fading, the alarm was spiking in green, showing brain activity. The Doctor could hardly believe it, it was rare for anyone to be so far gone and make a come back.

Almost as quickly as the green flickered across the screen it was gone. Despite this, the Doctor contacted Raven with the simple push of a button. He rubbed his hands together eagerly, knowing he shouldn't, but leaving a message for Damian and Xavier. He went back to work as the green light disappeared replaced by rapid flashes of red and yellow, meaning pain. The Doctor had no idea what Yui was going through, but he could imagine that having all of those tubes inside of her was not comfortable. He didn't think that Aria and Ronan were faring any better, having come off the drugs.

Ronan was going through withdrawal and it was awful. Damian couldn't think to get in the room, much less to get close. Ronan's mind was a maze of pain and anger. Any furniture in the room had been smashed, he had attempted to lash out using his ability but wearing two collars stopped him from doing much more than throwing furniture at the walls. Let it never be said that Ronan wasn't strong. He picked up an entire bed with a mattress and threw it at the doorway in an attempt to get out. A few minutes later, a few of Raven's men had gone in to sedate him, chaining his arms and legs so that he couldn't move.

Damian felt bad, but he also knew it was for the best. As far as Nemi was concerned, only Xavier was allowed into her room. Damian waited outside the door, wondering what in the world the two were talking about and knowing that some people's head were best stayed out of.

While Xavier was in there, Damian went to visit Ronan. The furniture had been fixed, Ronan was strapped down to a bed, an IV in his leg so that he couldn't rip it out with his teeth (which is what he had been doing whenever he was tied down). "You!" Ronan growled, attempting to lunge, but he couldn't move. "I protect you and you-you betrayed me!"

Damian pulled a chair out of the table and sat down, shaking his head. "This is for your own good, you may not realize it yet, but you're body has a chemical imbalance because of all of the drugs. Quitting cold turkey was the safest way to go about this."

"I hate you," Ronan growled. "You're-you're the worst kind of person!" Damian leaned his head on his fist. Ronan had been reduced to words, unable to use his fists. If his heart rate went above a certain level, he'd get a shot of morphine to calm him down. It was pitiful really. Damian picked up the cup of water from the tray and walked over to Ronan, "thirsty?" He asked. Ronan's thoughts gave him away. Damian tilted the other boy's head up, helping him drink from the cup. "Better?" He asked, but Ronan didn't answer. Instead he turned his head away.

"She's alive you know." Damian suddenly said, Ronan's head twisted to the other side so quickly that Damian was sure he could hear some bones creaking. "She's still in the tank, but the screen turned green." Ronan knew what that meant, he leaned his head back and unexpectedly, began to cry. "Why won't anyone let her die?" Damian was surprised, he stood up once more, kneeling by Ronan's bed and wiping the tears away.

"Because she wants to live."

~~~~~~

Xavier sat across from Nemi with a cookie. He had gotten it from the cafeteria and was waving it in front of her temptingly. "Nemi, I know Aria's in there somewhere. It might be painful now, but I need to speak to Aria. I'll give you this cookie if you let me."

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โAm I still here? Is this who I am now?โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#BF3B3B] โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #762D73ใ€‘

|| The Animal I have Become || Three Days Grace ||








"That's good news." Raven said in a cheerful voice that cloaked her true intentions at the Doctor's news. In truth, she really wanted Yui to die somehow, though she knew it'd be very hard to fake it. Even though she could easily just twist dear little Mizuki's mind but if she kept doing it there was a risk of breaking her altogether, turning her into something that wasn't Mizuki at all. She couldn't risk that. "Keep me updated. I want her to be okay."

"No problem." The Doctor said, shutting the communication line.

Mizuki's heart was failing. She didn't have very long - the estimation was two years, but given recent events, the mind welder wouldn't have been surprised if her time was cut even shorter. The girl was kept on strict medication but Raven knew it wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, they'd need a donor. Yet with the fact that Mizuki Type-O, and that Type O blood was becoming more and more rare, not to mention the genetic similarities of the organs, finding a replacement would be incredibly difficult. Even with her vast intelligence network, Raven only knew of Yui. And Mizuki would never let Yui die for her sake, but if the girl were to die through unforeseen means, the girl would be happy to receive the heart and take care of it as a tribute to the mermaid.

"Fox, we need to finish the mental block research as quickly as possible." Raven ordered to the man behind her, gnawing her thumb, drawing blood. "Damian makes everything more complicated than it has to be."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nemi gave Xavier a strange expression. All this talk about Aria this, Aria that. Who was Aria? There was no one in the room except for her and Xavier, except this time it looked like she was the prisoner, collared and leashed and wearing lots of clothes that made her feel too warm and uncomfortable. No clothes was better, Nemi thought. It was more natural to have nothing. But this group were traitors - there was no Master Ira here at all. She longed for his touch, his tongue in her mouth, hands on her body. His kind scritching of her ears, calling her a good girl. But that cookie was tempting too.

"Who?" Nemi asked, voice subdued. The more she thought about the name the more aggressive the fog got. Usually the fog got worse when the white thing was fed to her but this time there was like a whole other thing inside of her, trying to push everything away. "Nemi doesn't know her, and thinking makes it hurt. Go away. Nemi wants Master Ira and Yui."

Xavier had a sad smile on his face as he regarded the dog. "The fact that you still care about Yui is proof that you're still in there, Aria. We're all here, it'll be okay. You're safe here."

Nemi glanced around the room again, seeing no one. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, growling slightly. All of this talk made her head feel like someone was beating it with a hammer from the inside. She hated it. And that dream in the truck was weird too - about this one girl who kept trying to call out to someone named Aria behind a door. What did it mean? Nothing made sense. Nemi liked it better being with Master Ira. But Xavier wasn't being mean either, just saying weird things. He had a cookie, too! Enemy? Ally? The girl couldn't differentiate, her mind far too scrambled to think clearly on the matter.

"Nemi wants Master Ira." The girl whined pathetically, scratching at her ear with the nails on her feet. "Master Ira makes her feel good. She wants to be his good girl!"

"You can be my good girl." Xavier said, but he made a face that Nemi knew he didn't like saying those words. "I'll even scratch your ears."

That certainly got her attention. Nemi shrugged - if someone was willing to do that for her, then they couldn't be bad, right? And since Master Ira wasn't here, she had to figure things out on her own for now. So she decided that Xavier was a maybe good person for the time being, and gave her imaginary tail a slight wag, opening up. "When I say Aria, it makes Nemi's head hurt." She explained, trying to formulate thoughts that might help the search for this "Aria". "There's... a fog that covers things in Nemi's mind. Sometimes Nemi can feel something there, and Nemi thinks that is what you mean?" Her face scrunched up and she cocked her head to the side, clearly having difficulty.

"Can Nemi have a cookie now? I'm hungry."

"Not yet, but soon. Promise." Xavier made a strange expression but still scritched her ear, making the dog twitch and wriggle happily. A childish smile was on her face and everything felt nice. It felt so nice that she let out a little song, enjoying her voice echoing throughout the room. Then Xavier stopped scritching, a miserable frown on his face. Was he expecting something to happen from scritching? Was her song bad?

"...Huh? Why did you stop the scritch?" Nemi tilted her head invitingly, pointing at her ear with a smile. "Keep doing it, please!" The girl grinned. "Nemi will sing better next time!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mizuki and Ally were in the latter's room, left to their own devices more or less. Mizuki felt odd - there was clearly some super important detail but she couldn't remember it, try as she might. The more she tried to focus and think, the worse it got. It was like this one bit of info kept running from her, making her feel dizzy, chest tight. Her breathing hastened as she tried to think.

"No, I don't remember." Mizuki said sadly. "It's lost. What was it? I know it was super super important, Ally, I promise!"

Ally hugged her gently. "I know. Don't force it, you'll remember it over time. I know you can."

But even with everyone back, they were no closer to bringing Yui and Aria back. It was sad and frustrating - the closer they got, the farther away the goal seemed. She wanted to break down and cry again but she also wanted to be big and strong and be able to take care of herself. It made her really upset. Why couldn't she help at all? Even Ally was contributing, even if it was just diving into Nemi's dream and failing to draw Ari out of her cage.

"It's so hard." Mizu whispered. "I hate this."

She felt another painful hitch in her chest and her whole body felt cold, unresponsive. This familiar feeling -

"Damian! Xavier! Doc, someone!" Ally screamed, clutching the girl. "Mizuki's having a heart attack, someone please, help her!"


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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Damian heard the mental distress signal. Ronan wasn't talking anyways, so he got up and left, making sure to lock the door behind him before signaling the Doctor who grabbed his bag and left the lab. They rushed to Mizuki's aid, the Doctor stabilizing the child and Damian picking her up, carrying her to a different lab. Ally frantically held Mizuki's hand, wanting her friend to be okay, wanting everyone to be okay. "It's alright Mimi," Ally promised. "You're gonna be alright." They needed a heart and with each ticking day, Ally could practically feel the weight of the world bearing down on her friend. Then, sleeping in the other room, possibly never to wake up, was a perfect match. Instantly Ally felt guilty for having these thoughts, she knew Mizuki would never accept it and Yui was her friend too after all, shouldn't Ally want her to wake up? What about Ari? could she be a match? Ally knew that the older sister would give everything for Mizuki to be safe, for Mizuki to be healthy. "Please, just make her better." Ally clutched Mizuki's hand, terrified that Mizuki wouldn't recover, terrified that she would lose her only friend.

~~~~

"Why don't you just die already?" It didn't take much digging to find the girl, she circled the child who was clutching her ears, darkness and light waging a war inside of her. "You're a match you know, you could end your pain and let Mizuki live. But no, you're too selfish." Raven hissed. "The world would be so much better without you, you know. Ronan wouldn't have to suffer, Aria wouldn't suffer, Damian and Xavier could be happy. Just think, everyone you love, finally satisfied and all you have to do is die."

Harsh lines of red and yellow bounced up and down on the screen, but there was no one there to hear the alarm.

The huddled form on the ground didn't move. Raven didn't need to use physical force, the child before her was already broken. "Or I could make you mine," Raven picked the girl up, Yui who weighed nothing, who had no use of her limbs, who couldn't even breathe on her own. She twirled around in a circle, holding Yui close to her, hoping that something would push the girl over the edge. "You can be a doll, my own toy. You'd like that wouldn't you?" It was a rhetorical question, Raven already knew that Yui couldn't respond. She allowed the girl to fall to the floor.

"Pathetic." A dart of darkness hit Raven square in the chest, bowling the girl over. Raven straightened, grinning. "Interesting." She knelt down, stroking Yui's cheek. "Maybe I should keep you alive after all." Raven laughed, "another pawn for my chessboard!" Another shot of darkness struck Raven, pushing her away from Yui. The orbs of light and darkness were battling and they seemed to believe that Raven was getting in the way.

"Well, that's my cue to leave. Goodbye Yui, I've arranged for your funeral to be lovely."

~~~~~

Why? Why did everyone want her to die? They whispered to her, pleading almost. Did they not like Yui? Was she a burden? Had all the smiles been lies? All the laughs she had shared with Mizuki, Ally, even Aria. Those couldn't be fake... Right? The Doctor returned after having stabilized Mizuki, he noticed the colors on the screen, the spiked levels in bodily stress, as though someone had pumped pure adrenaline into the child's veins.

He worked quickly to correct this, to fix the pain, to reverse the stress. "Please Yui, for the sake of your friend, please pull through."

Well, at least there was one who didn't want her to die.


~~~~~~

Damian stayed beside Mizuki in the lab, telling Ally to go get some rest. Technically, Damian was supposed to be on bed rest. He was allowed to visit Ronan only if he sat down and was supposed to stay away from Nemi lest she try to attack. Mizuki was Aria's sister, which indirectly, made her Damian's little sister. He would take care of her, try to be the older figure Mizuki currently didn't have while Xavier tried to fix Aria and Aria was Nemi. At least Mizuki had Ally and Raven, two good friends who weren't using her.


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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




They were all so relieved to have Aria back. Xavier and Damian caught her up to speed, hinting that she may have been in a long sleep but neither confirming nor denying it. Eventually the drug had made its way out of Ronan's system and his memories returned, slowly, painfully. He spent most of his time in isolation, but sometimes, they would let Ronan out to go to the lab for five or ten minutes. He would watch, entranced, as sleeping beauty slept, waiting for her prince to rescue her. Damian would stand with him, albeit a bit behind him. Xavier would come, glaring at Ronan's back the entire time as though to ensure that Ronan didn't touch his precious friend.

Time ticked on and each day, her prospects looked grimmer.

Raven entered Yui's mind as she did everyday. She had slowly been chipping away at the girl's interior, attempting her to give up, to give in, to move on past this life. Sure, it would hurt Aria, sure it would cause them grief, but the pain would fade and help them fight against Ira. Today though, in Yui's mind, something was different. Normally, when Raven came, she had a bit of fun. She would use Yui as a doll, a toy that she could easily manipulate and dress up, spinning around in an almost carefree manner. Today, where Raven had last left Yui was missing. She had slowly built up cages and chains to ensure the girls demise; the binds had been ripped free. "Come on Yui, you coward," Raven took a step back. There was someone behind her. Slowly she turned; Yui was standing upright, on her own. Her light bearing mark was in tact, but it was embellished with black leaves, not completely taken over. She was naked, bearing psychological scars as physical ones.

"No one can take away the light that shines my path. Even if I can't hear anything, even if I can't see anything, there's a light inside of me that illuminates my tomorrow."

And with that, Yui expelled Raven from her mind.


Her back arched painfully, hands twitching, legs kicking. The Doctor pushed his glasses up his nose, confused at first. He saw the commotion, the machines beeping wildly and went to drain the tank. It was the middle of the afternoon and the floor was mostly empty. Slowly the Doctor extracted Yui from the machine. He unpeeled the tape from her eyes, waiting for her vitals to stabilize. The Doctor had to make sure it was safe before he took out the machines that had been circulating her blood, that had been breathing for her. Yui's hair had grown long from the last time Ira cut it, it was down to her bum and she could nearly sit on it. The feathers behind her ears seemed even whiter, if that was possible.

The Doctor removed the breathing apparatus and Yui spluttered, coughing up water. He inserted a different tube into her nose, this one to remove the water that had filled up her lungs. The Doctor contacted several people at once, Aria, Damian, and accidentally The Matriarch rather than her daughter. He dried her off with a towel, washing her skin with salt water. She was even lighter and weak from not using her muscles, it would take a bit of physical therapy to get Yui back on her feet, but there was hope, she was strong.

Slowly her eyelids fluttered open and closed, Yui was terribly tired, but she had been asleep so she attempted to force herself up. Her expression was numb, she stared at the ceiling, unable to speak currently due to the liquid buildup in her lungs. Damian and Xavier were the first to arrive, they burst through the door at the same time, kneeling beside the bed, wanting very much to pull Yui into their embrace but frightened all the same at how fragile she appeared. Yui turned her head towards them as a way of acknowledging their presence. There were tears in Damian's eyes, Xavier pat her head reassuringly, telling her to rest up.

There was only one person Yui wanted to see. She needed to confirm it for herself, that Aria was a dog and that she may never come back.

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โI keep walking the wrong path, this broken me won't heal any more.โž


ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#762D73 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #BF3B3Bใ€‘

|| Daughters of Darkness || Halestorm ||








Over the days, Aria felt strange, more than anything else. She wasn't an idiot, she knew there was some kind of secret being held from her. Even Mizuki's eyes continued to dart awkwardly around after she recovered from her cardiac arrest, doing her best to avoid Ari's gaze. She had faint flashes of consciousness throughout the long black that her memory was, but according to Xavier and Damian's vague words, she was in a long sleep. That didn't sound as if it was the whole truth, and Aria definitely remembered chains and a hunger, in the vague recesses of her mind.

Raven denied it as well, on the days when they spoke. Raven often seemed busy but still had her mysterious little smile. Raven often dropped vague words that didn't exactly make sense in the situation, and for some reason enjoyed shortening her alias as Nemi. Just hearing it brought shivers up the girl's spine and made the blank fog threaten to shroud over. How exactly did Raven know of her weird new enjoyment of being scratched on the ear, anyways? And often Raven would say little things like "good girl" during her flights through New Tokyo late at night, hunting down Enforcers.

"While I don't mind hunting, is it really this necessary?" Aria hissed, cleaning her hands of the blood. She felt a strange urge to lick the blood up and it was disgusting. She had so much more fun than usual and often utterly tore the enemies apart even when there was no need to. Every night, Raven assigned her to patrol, to hunt. And Nemesis did so, though wondered why it felt more satisfying than usual to just let loose with her air powers. "You never made me do this before.

"Don't worry." Raven would say, smiling cheerfully through the arm monitor. "It's a way to help me gauge if your abilities have degraded during your rest, as well as lower the amount of Enforcers we have to fight later. You're a good girl, Nemi, you are."

Yeah, there was that. Being called a good girl brought forth a strange surge of happiness and delight that she quickly tried to suppress with an angry scowl. Why? Just... why? Nothing she could think of could possibly make sense of this. And this happened every night. Once she even asked Ally why Raven insisted on calling her Nemi and Ally just gave a nervous awkward laugh and darted away to play with Mizuki.

This night was different though, Aria noted, as she flew back to the new base. Her arm rang and she picked it up, expecting Raven or Mizuki. Instead, it was someone who immediately made the girl need to puke. Ira Shoku. She always hated the man but now she felt sick and disturbed just looking at him, as if her entire body rejected his face.

"So you're back, aren't you, Ari?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Aria snapped, glowering. "You know something, don't you? What happened to me in those two days? Why can't I remember anything?" She knew not to trust Shoku, but she also knew that she needed answers. More then that, she wanted to cure Yui and there might be something lost in her memories that might help revive the girl. It killed her every day, watching the mermaid floating lifelessly in the tank. Just another crime she'd make Shoku pay for eventually. She'd made fucking sure of it.

"You really should consider Caller ID on that." Shoku smiled smugly. "Have a nice night, and be a good girl, will you?"

"Yes, I'll be a- ... just eat my shit and die." What happened? What the hell was that? Then she received another transmission, this time from Mizuki, squealing excitedly in the highest pitch she had ever heard. "Hurry, come back home!" She screamed. "Hurry! It's a surprise, sis, it's a surprise!"

Surprise? Did they find a donor who was willing to give Mizu a heart? Excited, Aria returned. What she saw wasn't Mizu with a heart... but the now awoken mermaid. Overflowing feelings burned through the idol's body like flames tearing her veins. She casually chewed on a cookie and walked closer, flicking Yui's forehead and angrily staring at her.

"Y'know, you said before that you wanted to be stronger." The grey haired girl snapped, looking down at the mermaid. "That you were gonna be more like me. And then you go and die like this? Are you stupid, Yui? This isn't how you get better at all! Dying is obviously bad for your health and you should be ashamed."

Aria then turned around, intending on retreating back to her room before she broke down in embarrassing tears of relief. However, she tossed a chocolate bar at the mermaid and looked back with a tiny grin. "Welcome back, idiot. Do better this time."

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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Slowly the water cleared from her lungs, her breathing became clearer, her eyes brighter. Mizuki, Ally, Damian, and Xavier were all speaking excitedly at once. Ally and Mizuki were filling her in on what she missed, the rescue, what they've been doing to combat Shoku's force. It was a bit overwhelming to have such a sensory overload as soon as she awoke. The Doctor seemed to notice this and he sent the two girls away, it was late anyways, he said; they should go to bed. She had been moved from the table to the little bed they had brought in. It had soft, silky blue sheets that reminded her of ocean waves. Damian assisted her in getting dressed, Raven had prepared clothing, how she had managed to get Yui's measurements just right, the girl didn't even want to know. "We're so happy to have you back, we were all falling apart without you." Xavier was holding back tears, he didn't want to make Yui's awakening sad after everyone else sobbed. "There's someone who wants to see you." Damian left, they were just trying to fill in the time until Ari arrived.

The liquid from her lungs was finally gone, Xavier held her shoulders down so that the Doctor could pull it out quickly. "Can you speak? Does your throat hurt?" Yui shook her head. "No, I can talk." The girl replied, her voice flitting like the warble of a bird. Xavier hadn't realized just how much he had missed that sound. Yui had only been apart of his life a very short time, but Xavier couldn't imagine living with on without her. Without Yui, Aria, or Damian, Xavier had no will to live. Damian returned, trailing behind him on a leash of sorts was Ronan. His expression brightened as soon as he saw the girl and he knelt in front of her bed. Yui moved back, looking between Damian and Xavier with a mix of fear and confusion.

"It's okay, he's on our side. Sort of." Damian stayed right beside Yui, Xavier ready to transfer Ronan's energy in case he attempted to lash out. On good days Ronan was present, on bad ones.... Well Raven had gone through a lot of furniture. "Loretta," he whispered, relief in his eyes. "I-"[/color] Yui cut him off. "My name is Yui."

"Right, Yui." He looked like a beaten down dog that was trying to find its way in life, a new home, a new owner, Ronan needed directions, orders, he wasn't used to living his life free of the strings that made him dance. Yui could see that, she could see his apprehension and sorrow and she reached out to him. "It's okay, I know you didn't want to do those things." Yui hesitantly wrapped her arms around him and Ronan seemed to exhale a shudder of relief. "I'm so sorry Yui." He whispered. "I kept trying to fight it, but then I'd get angry and I didn't understand why."

"I forgive you." Yui replied. She pulled back and smiled. Xavier and Damian shared an expression of something Yui didn't understand. Relief? Happiness? Yui couldn't tell. Xavier clapped Ronan on the back, "Well, that's it for you tonight. Damian, why don't you take him back?" Damian nodded, leading Ronan away. Xavier leaned back against the wall, smiling at Yui. Yui returned his smile, her mind was a tumult of emotions and her stomach clenched painfully at what had happened in her brain. "Xavier, Raven she's-" Yui stopped, it was almost as though she couldn't speak about it. Her mind kept telling her not to utter a word of what happened during her sleep. It gave Yui a headache and she frowned. "What is it?" Xavier asked.

"Never mind." Yui replied. Damian returned and Aria burst through the door moments later. Her words stung with the ring of truth, "I know, I'm weak." She whispered, holding the chocolate bar in her hands. The Doctor gently pulled it from her grip, placing it on a shelf Yui couldn't reach. "She'll be able to eat it once she becomes used to food again," the Doctor explained. "Being in a sleep that long, your stomach forgets how to digest." While his words were devastating, Yui understood. She nodded her head sadly and turned back to Aria. Yui smiled up at Aria with renewed vigor. "That's why I'm going to get stronger." It was a promise.

Yui now had the power she needed, a blend of light and darkness constantly waging war inside of her body. She wouldn't tell anyone though, not of the dark leaves that crested her pure white marking. Yui wasn't going to allow the light inside of her to be squashed so easily, but at the same time, she knew that light could not exist without darkness. "Ari," The girl looked back up. "Can you sleep with me tonight?" Yui didn't want to lay alone in the lab, it reminded her too much of the room in her nightmares.



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Character Portrait: Yui Character Portrait: Aria Matsuri
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โI keep walking the wrong path, this broken me won't heal any more.โž


ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#762D73 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #BF3B3Bใ€‘

|| Daughters of Darkness || Halestorm ||








Yui was back. She was back and it was great. The idol couldn't help her happy grin which she luckily kept away from everyone else. After all of that, after being captured, Ira Shoku still hasn't broken them. Not yet. And not ever. The reason they got caught last time was because Aria was strapped up and helpless. With Raven keeping her on the hunt, she'd be able to sate her killing urge leftover from the Matriarch's drug. She'd never feel that weak and powerless again, if she could help it. She couldn't afford it - not with Yui back and Mizuki still recovering.

That's right. Something had to be done about Mizuki. And and the Doctor discussed it a few times in rushed, fevered voices, trying to keep the girl in the dark. Her time limit was rapidly approaching and they still hadn't had a heart, nor the ability to create a ghost heart out of tech to implant. Neither of them even mentioned Yui - Aria would never give her up and the Doctor knew not to be suicidal.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Aria snapped, flustered, torn out of her thoughts by the mermaid's invitation to sleep later that night. It was supposed to be a secret, and she was going to do it regardless! This mermaid never stopped getting on her nerves in the strangest of ways, did she? "When have I ever done that? I'm definitely not-"

She was met with Mizuki's disapproving frown. The girl was definitely aware of her big sister's odd sleeping habits when she felt stressed and anxious - having had Aria as her own sleep buddy many times over the years. Aria glanced back at the mermaid, winking conspiratorially at her. "Don't expect anything, Yui."

Over the next few hours until nightfall, if you listened closely outside Aria's room, rumor had it that you'd hear relieved and desperate crying as well as a quiet pep talk about something or other. Mizuki smiled to herself - Ari really did care for Yui. Everyone did. The team wouldn't be the same without her. Mizuki touched her chest gently with a little sigh. Unlike her, Yui was useful and could fight. She was good for something. All she was good for was being good at gambling. She decided to call Raven who gladly invited her to sleepover for the night.

Once the moon rose and the sky turned dark, Aria slipped as stealthily as possible into the lab, making sure she remained invisible. The mermaid was there, all fragile and weak. The solution wasn't to pamper or coddle her, though. That didn't work - but an approach she didn't yet try was helping Yui grow stronger and become reliable on her own. Ari stared at the still murky grey color of her own mark with a little frown. It bothered her, yet she kept it hidden from everyone. If it meant what she thought it did, she'd need to get Yui strong quickly.

"I'm here." Aria said quietly, cuddling in next to her favorite redhead. "Yui... I'm sorry for trying to hide everything from you. You're a Freedom Fighter like the rest of us, you deserved the truth. Coddling you and protecting you isn't the right way to do this. We're equals, after all." She deliberately turned the topic away from what might've happened when in captivity. Aria could focus on regaining her lost memories another time. She had to set things right with Yui.

"We're gonna have to do more practice fights." Aria decided. "I'll be your mentor, of course. Don't disappoint me! I fully expect you to be able to control my blood soon! If you can't manage that, I'll go back to keeping you safely away from the important things, understood?" Her tone was rough but she knew Yui could feel the affection and love hiding beneath the surface. "Let's get some rest. It's... so good to see you again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mizuki felt exhilarated as she managed to navigate the whole way to Raven's base without getting caught by anyone at the Freedom Fighter's borrowed base. She waited for all sounds to die before heading out, though she had an idea Ronan might've heard her leave. His eyes peered at her through the darkness when she thought he was asleep and she ran in a panic. But it was all good - she arrived happily at Raven's base. Wanting to surprise her friend, the sickly girl snuck in the secret passage Raven once showed her, to make the least amount of noise as possible. Mizuki crawled through the ducts, finally popping out on the other side, shaking the snow off of her. She made it! She was in!

The biggest reason she felt the need to run for a night was that she was very aware of how people were becoming more and more worried about her. While they could've been focused on the next attack, they were instead wasting time trying to help her. She appreciated it, but it was unneeded! Yes, her heart was weak, but that didn't mean postponing missions against Shoku was the solution, right? That wasn't the way it was at all.

As Mizuki crept the halls, she found a room still glowing with light. So Raven was still awake, then? The girl had a little grin on her face as she moved, doing all she could to stifle her laughter. This was going to be so fun!

"...I'm not letting Mizu die, Fox. No matter what. Why did that stupid mermaid have to wake up?" Mizuki overheard Raven speaking to to the Fox - and about something very intriguing. The girl then stopped moving, stopped breathing, wanting to overhear the conversation. She suddenly realized it was a talk she really wasn't meant to hear at all. "If only Yui stayed dead, we could've taken her heart and saved Mizu. What are we gonna do now?"

The Fox seemed to take a while before responding. "We could try to assassinate her." He suggested. "Make it seem like Shoku's agents, and then take the heart and give it to the girl." Mizuki saw the shadow of Raven's head move, as if in disagreement. "No way, they'd never fall for that. They know Shoku wants her alive. We can't get caught, otherwise Nemesis won't ever join us."

Then everything seemed to make sense. All of the worrying really was because of her, wasn't it? Mizuki felt horrible and a chill spread through her fingers. So it was true. Yui's heart was the only one that would be compatible with her own, and everyone was probably conflicted about it. It was horrible. She never wanted to be so much trouble. But... then Mizuki realized that the past few days, being with her sister again, and the time she spent with Yui and Ally... it was enough. Enough to last a lifetime. She didn't regret it at all. So the girl dashed into a room and typed a message to Aria on her wristpad.

Sis, once you read this, Iโ€™ll be dead.
Donโ€™t worry. Itโ€™s not that Iโ€™m sad or anything. Iโ€™m actually really happy! Iโ€™m so happy you came back for me and saved me. I thought I was going to die and never see any of you ever again, you know? The fact that I got to taste freedom and family again is more than enough for me.
I chose this because it was the only solution. Unlike someone useless like me, Yuiโ€™s crazy talented. She can do so many wonderful things and I know sheโ€™ll only get stronger. I donโ€™t want her to feel guilty for living if it means I die. And I donโ€™t want to burden any of you with the decision either. Itโ€™s my own sick body, and Iโ€™m going to take responsibility for it. Like this, you all can go back to focusing on the war like you should be. Iโ€™ll be watching over you, so do me proud, okay?
I love you all. Especially you, sis. Take care of Yui for me. Her heart is my heart now. Treat her as if I was a part of her too. Donโ€™t ever let her go, Ari, promise me. Okay?
Donโ€™t mourn for me. Iโ€™m making this decision of my own free will. I have no regrets, promise.
Mizuki


She pressed sent on stealth mode so the message wouldn't buzz or wake Aria up. She needed her rest, after all. The girl then rushed out of the base, unseen and unheard.

In the early hours of the morning, agents sent by the Matriarch located a body in the snow, clearly dead from the cold. Once the Matriarch saw the body and identified it, she smiled. Now she had the perfect way to control her rebellious little daughter. Taking the body, the Matriarch began a new research project: Project Eurydice.



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Character Portrait: Yui Character Portrait: Aria Matsuri
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โThey didn't like the castle, so they burned it to the ground.โž

ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#50A6C2 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #388E8Eใ€‘

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||




Yui spent the hours between wakefulness and sleep. Every so often, the Doctor would try to coax her to eat the soup Damian made. Yui would drink it down, then try to keep it down, forcing herself to swallow whatever threatened to come up. If Yui wanted to eat the chocolate, she was going to have to get used to other foods as well. Yui definitely wasn't going to allow perfectly good chocolate to go to waste. Xavier stayed with her after Aria left to her room. Ally had prepared a whole basket, the rich girl getting supplies from her dad. She presented it to Yui who hugged the girl tightly. Just like Ari, Ally tried to remain cool, putting up a bit of a fake fight as Yui smothered the other girl in hugs. Mizuki seemed happy, but she was awfully quiet and when she left, Yui wondered if she had done something wrong. "Don't worry, Mizuki's just tired. She had a hard day, you know?" Ally reassured her and went to go comfort her friend, leaving Yui with Xavier. The boy had gone through the basket and pulled out a hairbrush, sitting on the bed with Yui leaning against him.

He certainly wasn't as motherly as Damian, but brushing a girl's hair was one thing he could do. "Is it my imagination or did your little ear feathers get bigger?" Xavier asked with a grin. Yui brushed her fingers along them, noticing the change in length. "I think they did." Yui replied with a surprise. "You seemed to have gained half an inch too while you were in there." Xavier taped her nose with the hair brush. "You're growing, that's good." Yui smiled, she was finally on the track to being healthy again. When Xavier left the Doctor declared it was time for bed. He put a bracelet around Yui's wrist, assuring her that it would beep if anything were to happen, which he wasn't expecting since her vitals had been stable throughout the day.

Yui snuggled down in the blanket, hugging a stuffed rabbit that had been in the basket Ally had given to her. She waited, watching the door. Aria had teased her this morning, saying not to expect anything, but Yui knew better. The door opened and Aria came inside, closing it behind her. "You came." Yui whispered happily and moved over for Aria to climb onto the bed. Aria hugged her around her waist and Yui curled into the girl's side like a child would a mother.

Aria spoke to her as an equal, saying that she deserved the truth. "When I lost feeling in my legs, I was so scared." Yui confessed. "You guys kept looking at each other and I pretended I didn't notice. I thought if I could keep being happy, then everything would turn out fine." It was so nice being able to speak openly, with no one listening in on their conversations. Except maybe Damian, but he didn't count.

"I'm gonna get stronger." Yui promised, quickly fading. "I promise, I'm gonna be as strong as you." With those final words, Yui drifted off, falling asleep easily with Aria beside her.

Ronan stood outside the door, listening. Damian was with him of course since Ronan wasn't supposed to be anywhere alone; he was still a prisoner after all. A small smile danced across his lips. He was gonna hurt Aria if she didn't keep her promise to Yui, promises were serious business after all. "Can you stay with me tonight?" Ronan asked Damian teasingly, attempting to do his best impression of his sister. Damian smacked him upside the head, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"Don't start with that, they're right inside." Damian hissed and took Ronan back to his room. Once he locked the boy inside Damian went to join Xavier in his room. "Xav," Damian knocked. The blonde opened the boy for the brunette and welcomed him inside. Damian sat crossed legged on the floor while Xavier sat on the bed. "I'm worried about Mizuki." Xavier confessed, scratching beside his eyes nervously. "She's been... Off. I think she's getting worse, but the Doc won't tell me anything. He keeps saying to ask Aria or Mizuki herself but neither seem at liberty to answer any questions." Xavier scowled.

Damian sighed, they seemed to have a problem. "It's not for us to dig into, they're family yes, but if Mizuki and Aria want to keep some things between them it should be fine."

"Last time Aria kept things to herself she turned into a dog."

"You have a point, but it's not for us to decide." Damian shook his head, he realized what Xavier was trying to imply. "I'm not gonna invade their heads, it's an invasion of privacy."

"So now you take the high route."

"I can't help but hear drifting thoughts. Those things though, they stay locked away." Xavier was scowling. He stood, going to the door, Damian took that as his cue to leave. "Just, relax. Okay?" Damian said, trying to give the other boy a comforting smile. "I'll see you in the morning."

The sun rose quickly. Yui was still curled into Aria's side, the bunny in her arms as she lay in Aria's embrace. Yui awoke slowly, curling up closer to Ari for warmth. She didn't want to get out of bed yet, even though she would have to take a bath soon.


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Character Portrait: Yui Character Portrait: Aria Matsuri
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โAll that remains is a thirst for revenge and a wish for death.โž


ใ€ษ—ฮนฮฑฦ–ฯƒgฯ…ั” cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั:#762D73 โ™™ ั‚ะฝฯƒฯ…gะฝั‚ cฯƒฦ–ฯƒั #BF3B3Bใ€‘

|| My Name (Wearing me Out) || Shinedown ||








When Aria awoke, she felt warm and fuzzy. Her dreams were of a pleasant sort, starring primarily Yui, Mizuki, and Ally, the three of them living out carefree lives of no consequence. It was meaningless, but it was nice. It was also impossible. After all, Aria still intended on ending her life once the war was done. She's done far too much to simply be allowed the luxury of living a happy life, after all was said and done. She shrugged, accepting Yui's warm body, cradling it in her own body heat. The illusionist then received a transmission, and unfortunately, Aria had to get back to business for the day, peeling her arms off of Yui with a tenderness she wasn't used to.

"I'm going to go take a shower." Ari murmured. She brushed Yui's hair out of her eyes softly, gently. "I'll only be gone for a bit."

Aria stripped once she was in the shower with the door safely shut, accepting the transmission. It was Raven, who looked surprisingly morose, staring at the wind mage with a grim expression. Her eyes were blotchy, as if she'd cried nontstop. For once she wasn't the evil scheming genius, but just a vulnerable girl. What could've happened? "Are you okay?" Ari asked, concerned. "Do you need me to come over?"

Raven shook her head, gulping hard. "N-no. No, that's... Ari. Ari, I'm so sorry. I never... I didn't think it'd come to this. You... should check the files on your arm. There might be something..." Aria was confused, and she had a horrible sinking feeling. What was she talking about? It had to be about Mizuki, why else would Raven be like this? Something happened and the older sister automatically felt the jaws of fear wash over her body, knees shivering and knocking against each other. The idol flipped through a few documents and then she saw it. And then her mind reeled, body forced down to the ground, as if suddenly she no longer had the strength to stand.

Why had she killed all those people if Mizuki was just going to die? Why had she sacrificed so much if it was just going to turn out this way in the end? What was the meaning of anything anymore? The little sister Ari had always doted on, always protected, the girl whose laugh and tricky mischievousness always brought a smile to her face after a hard day. They were more than just siblings. They were meant to be unbreakable. And then the girl felt another surge jolt through her body and she puked again, retching her guts out through her mouth, choking as she struggled to draw breath. Ally rushed in, hearing the commotion and using her powers to bring Ari to a half-sedated state, helped her get dressed and called for a team meeting.

After Ari let everyone read Mizuki's last words, she somehow instinctively knew her mark was growing darker. With Mizuki gone, was light was there left? The whole reason she joined was because of her devotion to her little sister after all. Wasn't she supposed to have protected her? As Ally explained everything to Damian, Xavier, and even Yui, Aria just sat there in silence, not meeting anyone's eyes.

It's over, Aria thought. It's all over. What was the point of struggling? Yet she wasn't even allowed to die because Mizu would never forgive her for leaving Yui all alone. She wasn't even allowed the mercy and bliss of death. And more than ever, the singer wished her life would just end. All she wanted was to go on a suicidal rampage and kill Shoku with her final breaths. But, of course, that wasn't an option. She tuned out Damian, Xavier, and Ally's voices. None of it really mattered now. Ari wanted to grab Yui and escape with her, to somewhere far away where no one would ever be able to touch them again. Sadly, she couldn't do that, either. There was still something else she was keeping from the Freedom Fighters, and once again the girl felt like an outsider looking in. Of course she didn't belong.

Aria balled her hand into a fist, trying to draw air in. Xavier was the first to notice, reaching across the dining table at her arm, yanking it down. "Whatever you're doing, don't. Ari, listen-"

The idol sighed. That wasn't it at all. A deathly smile was on her face. "I quit. I'm done." She said softly. "I can't fight anymore. Mizuki was pretty much everything. I can't even use my powers anymore. If I'm such a light-bearer, why can't I control the air now? Why is my mark almost completely black?"

Aria, grinning, removed the glove she usually wear on her left hand, revealing the darkened spider lily. Only the bud in the middle still shone.