19th Fragment: -JAY-
In a blink of an eye, the entire wall exploded - smashed into smithereens by Elisabeth's bare fist. A tiny, triumphant smile appeared on her face as soon as she saw a path on the other side, and she wasted no time informing her friends, "Hurry! This way!"
All of them marched into the hidden hallway but were promptly stopped by several tall and familiar figures bursting out of the steel floor.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucy grimaced at the approaching Lacerators until Elisabeth got close to one and effortlessly busted its head open with her bare hands.
"Holy shit!" Rupert was shocked by the woman's sudden attack even though he had slain countless Distorted in his own violent way. However, seeing the black ooze dripping from Elisabeth's fingertips stirred something sinister inside him - an insatiable urge to listen to the creature's last few gasps.
"Rupe, stop staring at the corpse and move!" shouted Sam, instantly snapping the elder Nightingale out of his trance. But then, he heard a loud scraping noise to his left. 'Oh crap!' was the only thing that came into Sam’s mind before a pair of claws tore through the concrete wall and sliced into his left forearm.
Sam winced in pain as the needle-like sensation spread throughout his body; he could already see his warm blood seeping down his hand, soaking his entire sleeve.
"SAM!" the Nightingales cried out in unison. With his sickles drawn, Rupert rushed to his friend and chopped off the Lacerator's flailing hands. The monster shrieked in agony before retreating its severed arms into the hole.
"I'm...fine...," Sam spouted while pressing his hand against his wounded limb, "Just...keep…moving."
"Nuh-uh, pal. You're anything but fine. Here, let me help you," Rupert grabbed Sam by the shoulder and slowly guided him forward. Shortly after, Lucy came to their aid by applying pressure to Sam's injury.
"Ugh!"
"Sorry about this, but you'll just have to bear with it for a while longer," Lucy responded.
"The way is clear!" roared Elisabeth after she slayed the last Lacerator. She glanced over her shoulder; her calm expression twisted into a frown as soon as she noticed the trio's predicament. "God damn it - of all the time," she muttered bitterly. With the ceiling barely an inch away from the top of her head, Elisabeth splayed her arms upward - allowing the descending trap to fall into her palms.
“Argh blasted! I can't hold it for long! So, hurry your asses over here!" Elisabeth groaned; her entire body was shivering from the staggering weight of the ceiling.
The Nightingales picked up their paces, dragging along their wounded companion until they reached the other side of the demolished brick wall.
"We're out!" exclaimed Lucy, carefully putting Sam on the floor.
Elisabeth hopped backward, and the stone ceiling crashed to the ground, spewing clouds of sand and dust at her and her friends. After regaining her composure, Elisabeth turned her attention to Sam, still bleeding profusely from his wound.
"Take this," Elisabeth tossed Lucy a small first aid bag she pulled out from her robe, "Stitch him up before he bled to death."
“Alright, alright,” said Lucy as she began frantically looking for the suturing kit.
qs********************************************
[Meanwhile…]
[Desert of Ashes]
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” said Cindar as soon as he saw the ruins resting at the base of the dune. The man darted his head right and left – half-expecting to encounter the Nightingales and more importantly, Samuel Edelweiss.
Shortly after, he pulled out a white mask from his back pocket and placed it on his face. “Now, where are those mongrels hiding?” said the man as the night vision functionality switched on.
Cindar carefully slid down the black sand hill until he reached the crumbled pillar. “Now, what do we have here?” said Cindar as he noticed several footsteps which led to a large pit. Crouching down, he quietly scrutinized the hole, ensuring it was not a trap of some sort.
‘Fascinating,’ Cindar thought before picking up a pebble near his feet and tossing it into the darkness below.
KLAK!
The man grinned as soon as he heard the stone hit the bottom a few seconds later, which prompted him to jump down.
Cindar landed perfectly on his feet even though he could feel the sand scraping against his soles. Nevertheless, his focus soon shifted forward where a large doorway eerily stood before him with the mark of Disciples of Vidia carved on its metallic surface.
“God damn, that jerk was right. They are really back,” Cindar huffed.
The masked man rubbed his hands on the door, searching for a lever or a button but to his dismay, there was none. Then, he drew his gladius and stuck it into the gap between the door. After taking a deep breath, Cindar gave his sword a push.
“Come on…Come on! FUCK!” Cindar could only snarl in exasperation as the iron door refused to budge. He kicked the sturdy barrier in his anger but soon regretted the decision. "Son of a-!" Cindar squawked before limping away from the door.
However, his frustration grew exponentially when his night vision suddenly turned off on its own. “Are you shitting me, right now!?” Cindar exclaimed.
"Do you need any help, good sir?"
Cindar spun around as a cheery male voice greeted him. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" he said to the tall, grey-hooded figure who appeared out of nowhere. He had never thought anyone could sneak up on him - let alone a stranger. "Did the Order send you to capture me?" was his first question to the mysterious visitor. “If you are, then you should know, I won’t be coming with you willingly.”
"The Order? Ah, I see. It seems The Hawk didn’t tell you about me," the stranger replied. "Well, to answer your question, Mr. Cindar: No, I'm not with the Order. As a matter of fact, I'm the one who's going to get you inside. So, how about we cease with this…um…pointless hostility and work together as a team?”
“A team?" Cindar let out a scornful remark. "The last team I was a part of betrayed me. Besides, I have no reason to trust you. As far as I know, you could be lying to my face."
"True, but at least we could agree on one thing - a partnership built on trust can be quite fragile; one built on a mutual interest, on the other hand, usually last longer."
Cindar snorted, "You're quick - I give you that. So, stranger, what name do you go by?"
The stranger tilted his head, briefly pondering to himself before answering, "A name, huh? Back when I was disguised as one of the Disciples, I was referred to as Keith. I admit, it was a nice name, but now I preferred to be called Jay."
"Seriously? As in, the noisy, little bird?" said Cindar, his expression was a mix between disbelief and amusement.
"I know. It sounds ridiculous, but I like how it sounds. So, that’s that," Jay exhaled, shrugging unenthusiastically. Instead of continuing the conversation, Jay quietly trotted past Cindar until he was a yard away from the sealed door. "Huh, I never thought this entrance is still intact after all these years," breathed the hooded figure.
"I must confess, Mr. Cindar - I'm a bit disappointed that someone with your talent failed to open this old door." Jay's blatant criticism seemed to have rubbed Cindar the wrong way as the latter's face gradually reddened.
"Mind your tongue, boy. I'm here at your boss' behest. So, I suggest-.”"
"Oh, don't take this the wrong way, sir," Jay interjected with a sarcastic tone, "Compared to my boss, I'm not actually good at sugar-coating my words. I stated the fact as I see them. As of right now, I only see you as a liability to my organization's cause. Do you realize what I'm getting at?"
Cindar stayed quiet. He could feel a slight chill running down his spine - a sensation he thought he had conquered a long time ago.
"In my eyes, you are just an insignificant little worm who fancies himself as a mighty, fire-breathing dragon. In other words, you are expendable. So, you can keep the idle threats to yourself - they made you sound like a whiny runt. But I trust you’ll change my opinion about you," after Jay finished his sentence, he placed his index finger against the barrier, and the structure instantly crumbled to the ground into tiny, cubic pieces.
"Now, with that out the way," said Jay, reverting to his genial self, "Let's get to work, shall we?"
“Do you even know where you are going?”
“Of course, I do. Now, come along. We have an appointment with one of our clients.”
**qs******************************************
[Inside the New Complex, Desert of Ashes]
"There you go," Lucy sighed after she finished suturing Sam's wound. She gently wiped the remaining blood on his forearm with a clean gauze before bandaging the man up and putting his arm into a sling. "The laceration should be completely healed in about an hour. More or less.”
"Hopefully, because I could barely feel my fingertips," murmured Sam, realizing the Lacerator's neurotoxin was starting to affect his body. Although he knew the effect would not be as severe as in a Reprieved, it was enough to dampen his reaction time. He lifted his head, intending to apologize for his rookie mistake, but Lucy immediately stopped him by saying, "Don't."
"It doesn't matter if it's your fault or not. As someone I know used to say: Shit happens. End of story," said Lucy as she helped Sam get to his feet. “All we have to do now is think about our next course of action.”
The first thing Sam saw after standing up was Rupert beaming at him. "So, how is our esteemed Samuel Edelweiss doing? Judging from your appearance, I can safely assume that my little sister did a good job patching you up."
“Good is an understatement. Her suturing seems to have improved,” Sam complimented. “It’s safe to say that it’s almost on par with Morgana’s.”
“Well, I have to improve my suturing because you two boys are prone to injury. I’m surprised neither of you hasn’t lost some of your limbs yet,” Lucy ranted.
Unfortunately, Elisabeth interrupted the exchange by saying, "Spare the idle chit-chat for later, Nightingale. We still have work to do." She turned to the vermillion-eyed man, asking him, "Can you still fight?"
"For God's sake, Liz - just give him a moment. He nearly lost his arm a few minutes ago," Lucy scolded her austere friend.
" 'A moment' is a privilege that we don’t currently have. If what Edelweiss said is true, then he only has less than an hour until he loses his mobility, and when that happens, he will be completely vulnerable. In short, he’ll be a dead weight.”
“Then, what? You’re gonna leave him behind?” said Lucy, glaring intently at Elisabeth. “Who the hell are you? The Lizzy I know wouldn’t abandon her friends so easily, let alone calling them a dead weight.”
“I’m being realistic-.”
“No, you’re being a complete jerk,” Rupert jumped into the conversation with a sarcastic smile across his face.
“Stop it, both of you!” Sam quickly intervened before getting to his feet. “What Elisabeth said was right. If I ended up being paralyzed from top to bottom, then you’ll be preoccupied with me instead of the mission. Remember what Markus taught us – no matter what happened, we must not let our emotions cloud our judgment.”
Lucy and Rupert quietly glanced at each other; both of them were conflicted with Sam’s advice.
“And besides, I think you misunderstood Elisabeth’s earlier statement. What she meant by dead weight is that she’s concerned that she won’t be able to protect me from potential danger. It's a nice gesture but all I have to say is your protection is not needed because we’re gonna finish things up down here in under one hour.”
Elisabeth opened her mouth slightly as if she was trying to say something in return but then, she decided to bow her head down towards the siblings. “My apologies. I should have been more…tactful with what I said.”
“We’re sorry too. We shouldn’t have lashed out at you as well,” Lucy regretfully remarked.
'MARVELOUS! WHAT A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY OF FRIENDSHIP!'
The four fidgeted simultaneously after hearing a disembodied, raucous voice echoing throughout the concrete corridor.
"That voice...," whispered Elisabeth, her eyes narrowed. "No, it can't be..."
'AH, WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?'
*ahem*
'WELCOME, FELLOW FACELESS, TO OUR HUMBLE HOME. DO NOT BE ALARMED. WE MEAN YOU NO HARM. FOR NOW, PLEASE CONTINUE DOWN YOUR CURRENT PATH SO WE CAN GREET EACH OTHER PROPERLY.'
The voice stopped, leaving the four in total confusion.
"Ooookay, that wasn't creepy at all," Lucy broke the silence before shifting her attention to Elisabeth, "You look unsettled, Liz. Is it someone you know?"
"I do," replied Elisabeth, grimacing to herself, "But he's supposed to be dead ten years ago."
19th Fragment: -JAY-
In a blink of an eye, the entire wall exploded - smashed into smithereens by Elisabeth's bare fist. A tiny, triumphant smile appeared on her face as soon as she saw a path on the other side, and she wasted no time informing her friends, "Hurry! This way!"
All of them marched into the hidden hallway but were promptly stopped by several tall and familiar figures bursting out of the steel floor.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucy grimaced at the approaching Lacerators until Elisabeth got close to one and effortlessly busted its head open with her bare hands.
"Holy shit!" Rupert was shocked by the woman's sudden attack even though he had slain countless Distorted in his own violent way. However, seeing the black ooze dripping from Elisabeth's fingertips stirred something sinister inside him - an insatiable urge to listen to the creature's last few gasps.
"Rupe, stop staring at the corpse and move!" shouted Sam, instantly snapping the elder Nightingale out of his trance. But then, he heard a loud scraping noise to his left. 'Oh crap!' was the only thing that came into Sam’s mind before a pair of claws tore through the concrete wall and sliced into his left forearm.
Sam winced in pain as the needle-like sensation spread throughout his body; he could already see his warm blood seeping down his hand, soaking his entire sleeve.
"SAM!" the Nightingales cried out in unison. With his sickles drawn, Rupert rushed to his friend and chopped off the Lacerator's flailing hands. The monster shrieked in agony before retreating its severed arms into the hole.
"I'm...fine...," Sam spouted while pressing his hand against his wounded limb, "Just...keep…moving."
"Nuh-uh, pal. You're anything but fine. Here, let me help you," Rupert grabbed Sam by the shoulder and slowly guided him forward. Shortly after, Lucy came to their aid by applying pressure to Sam's injury.
"Ugh!"
"Sorry about this, but you'll just have to bear with it for a while longer," Lucy responded.
"The way is clear!" roared Elisabeth after she slayed the last Lacerator. She glanced over her shoulder; her calm expression twisted into a frown as soon as she noticed the trio's predicament. "God damn it - of all the time," she muttered bitterly. With the ceiling barely an inch away from the top of her head, Elisabeth splayed her arms upward - allowing the descending trap to fall into her palms.
“Argh blasted! I can't hold it for long! So, hurry your asses over here!" Elisabeth groaned; her entire body was shivering from the staggering weight of the ceiling.
The Nightingales picked up their paces, dragging along their wounded companion until they reached the other side of the demolished brick wall.
"We're out!" exclaimed Lucy, carefully putting Sam on the floor.
Elisabeth hopped backward, and the stone ceiling crashed to the ground, spewing clouds of sand and dust at her and her friends. After regaining her composure, Elisabeth turned her attention to Sam, still bleeding profusely from his wound.
"Take this," Elisabeth tossed Lucy a small first aid bag she pulled out from her robe, "Stitch him up before he bled to death."
“Alright, alright,” said Lucy as she began frantically looking for the suturing kit.
qs********************************************
[Meanwhile…]
[Desert of Ashes]
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” said Cindar as soon as he saw the ruins resting at the base of the dune. The man darted his head right and left – half-expecting to encounter the Nightingales and more importantly, Samuel Edelweiss.
Shortly after, he pulled out a white mask from his back pocket and placed it on his face. “Now, where are those mongrels hiding?” said the man as the night vision functionality switched on.
Cindar carefully slid down the black sand hill until he reached the crumbled pillar. “Now, what do we have here?” said Cindar as he noticed several footsteps which led to a large pit. Crouching down, he quietly scrutinized the hole, ensuring it was not a trap of some sort.
‘Fascinating,’ Cindar thought before picking up a pebble near his feet and tossing it into the darkness below.
KLAK!
The man grinned as soon as he heard the stone hit the bottom a few seconds later, which prompted him to jump down.
Cindar landed perfectly on his feet even though he could feel the sand scraping against his soles. Nevertheless, his focus soon shifted forward where a large doorway eerily stood before him with the mark of Disciples of Vidia carved on its metallic surface.
“God damn, that jerk was right. They are really back,” Cindar huffed.
The masked man rubbed his hands on the door, searching for a lever or a button but to his dismay, there was none. Then, he drew his gladius and stuck it into the gap between the door. After taking a deep breath, Cindar gave his sword a push.
“Come on…Come on! FUCK!” Cindar could only snarl in exasperation as the iron door refused to budge. He kicked the sturdy barrier in his anger but soon regretted the decision. "Son of a-!" Cindar squawked before limping away from the door.
However, his frustration grew exponentially when his night vision suddenly turned off on its own. “Are you shitting me, right now!?” Cindar exclaimed.
"Do you need any help, good sir?"
Cindar spun around as a cheery male voice greeted him. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" he said to the tall, grey-hooded figure who appeared out of nowhere. He had never thought anyone could sneak up on him - let alone a stranger. "Did the Order send you to capture me?" was his first question to the mysterious visitor. “If you are, then you should know, I won’t be coming with you willingly.”
"The Order? Ah, I see. It seems The Hawk didn’t tell you about me," the stranger replied. "Well, to answer your question, Mr. Cindar: No, I'm not with the Order. As a matter of fact, I'm the one who's going to get you inside. So, how about we cease with this…um…pointless hostility and work together as a team?”
“A team?" Cindar let out a scornful remark. "The last team I was a part of betrayed me. Besides, I have no reason to trust you. As far as I know, you could be lying to my face."
"True, but at least we could agree on one thing - a partnership built on trust can be quite fragile; one built on a mutual interest, on the other hand, usually last longer."
Cindar snorted, "You're quick - I give you that. So, stranger, what name do you go by?"
The stranger tilted his head, briefly pondering to himself before answering, "A name, huh? Back when I was disguised as one of the Disciples, I was referred to as Keith. I admit, it was a nice name, but now I preferred to be called Jay."
"Seriously? As in, the noisy, little bird?" said Cindar, his expression was a mix between disbelief and amusement.
"I know. It sounds ridiculous, but I like how it sounds. So, that’s that," Jay exhaled, shrugging unenthusiastically. Instead of continuing the conversation, Jay quietly trotted past Cindar until he was a yard away from the sealed door. "Huh, I never thought this entrance is still intact after all these years," breathed the hooded figure.
"I must confess, Mr. Cindar - I'm a bit disappointed that someone with your talent failed to open this old door." Jay's blatant criticism seemed to have rubbed Cindar the wrong way as the latter's face gradually reddened.
"Mind your tongue, boy. I'm here at your boss' behest. So, I suggest-.”"
"Oh, don't take this the wrong way, sir," Jay interjected with a sarcastic tone, "Compared to my boss, I'm not actually good at sugar-coating my words. I stated the fact as I see them. As of right now, I only see you as a liability to my organization's cause. Do you realize what I'm getting at?"
Cindar stayed quiet. He could feel a slight chill running down his spine - a sensation he thought he had conquered a long time ago.
"In my eyes, you are just an insignificant little worm who fancies himself as a mighty, fire-breathing dragon. In other words, you are expendable. So, you can keep the idle threats to yourself - they made you sound like a whiny runt. But I trust you’ll change my opinion about you," after Jay finished his sentence, he placed his index finger against the barrier, and the structure instantly crumbled to the ground into tiny, cubic pieces.
"Now, with that out the way," said Jay, reverting to his genial self, "Let's get to work, shall we?"
“Do you even know where you are going?”
“Of course, I do. Now, come along. We have an appointment with one of our clients.”
**qs******************************************
[Inside the New Complex, Desert of Ashes]
"There you go," Lucy sighed after she finished suturing Sam's wound. She gently wiped the remaining blood on his forearm with a clean gauze before bandaging the man up and putting his arm into a sling. "The laceration should be completely healed in about an hour. More or less.”
"Hopefully, because I could barely feel my fingertips," murmured Sam, realizing the Lacerator's neurotoxin was starting to affect his body. Although he knew the effect would not be as severe as in a Reprieved, it was enough to dampen his reaction time. He lifted his head, intending to apologize for his rookie mistake, but Lucy immediately stopped him by saying, "Don't."
"It doesn't matter if it's your fault or not. As someone I know used to say: Shit happens. End of story," said Lucy as she helped Sam get to his feet. “All we have to do now is think about our next course of action.”
The first thing Sam saw after standing up was Rupert beaming at him. "So, how is our esteemed Samuel Edelweiss doing? Judging from your appearance, I can safely assume that my little sister did a good job patching you up."
“Good is an understatement. Her suturing seems to have improved,” Sam complimented. “It’s safe to say that it’s almost on par with Morgana’s.”
“Well, I have to improve my suturing because you two boys are prone to injury. I’m surprised neither of you hasn’t lost some of your limbs yet,” Lucy ranted.
Unfortunately, Elisabeth interrupted the exchange by saying, "Spare the idle chit-chat for later, Nightingale. We still have work to do." She turned to the vermillion-eyed man, asking him, "Can you still fight?"
"For God's sake, Liz - just give him a moment. He nearly lost his arm a few minutes ago," Lucy scolded her austere friend.
" 'A moment' is a privilege that we don’t currently have. If what Edelweiss said is true, then he only has less than an hour until he loses his mobility, and when that happens, he will be completely vulnerable. In short, he’ll be a dead weight.”
“Then, what? You’re gonna leave him behind?” said Lucy, glaring intently at Elisabeth. “Who the hell are you? The Lizzy I know wouldn’t abandon her friends so easily, let alone calling them a dead weight.”
“I’m being realistic-.”
“No, you’re being a complete jerk,” Rupert jumped into the conversation with a sarcastic smile across his face.
“Stop it, both of you!” Sam quickly intervened before getting to his feet. “What Elisabeth said was right. If I ended up being paralyzed from top to bottom, then you’ll be preoccupied with me instead of the mission. Remember what Markus taught us – no matter what happened, we must not let our emotions cloud our judgment.”
Lucy and Rupert quietly glanced at each other; both of them were conflicted with Sam’s advice.
“And besides, I think you misunderstood Elisabeth’s earlier statement. What she meant by dead weight is that she’s concerned that she won’t be able to protect me from potential danger. It's a nice gesture but all I have to say is your protection is not needed because we’re gonna finish things up down here in under one hour.”
Elisabeth opened her mouth slightly as if she was trying to say something in return but then, she decided to bow her head down towards the siblings. “My apologies. I should have been more…tactful with what I said.”
“We’re sorry too. We shouldn’t have lashed out at you as well,” Lucy regretfully remarked.
'MARVELOUS! WHAT A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY OF FRIENDSHIP!'
The four fidgeted simultaneously after hearing a disembodied, raucous voice echoing throughout the concrete corridor.
"That voice...," whispered Elisabeth, her eyes narrowed. "No, it can't be..."
'AH, WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?'
*ahem*
'WELCOME, FELLOW FACELESS, TO OUR HUMBLE HOME. DO NOT BE ALARMED. WE MEAN YOU NO HARM. FOR NOW, PLEASE CONTINUE DOWN YOUR CURRENT PATH SO WE CAN GREET EACH OTHER PROPERLY.'
The voice stopped, leaving the four in total confusion.
"Ooookay, that wasn't creepy at all," Lucy broke the silence before shifting her attention to Elisabeth, "You look unsettled, Liz. Is it someone you know?"
"I do," replied Elisabeth, grimacing to herself, "But he's supposed to be dead ten years ago."
