29th Fragment: -TOPPLE-
“What did you say?”
Elisabeth grasped Silva by the neck, both of her eyes were brimming with rage. "You're lying," she croaked, fighting the urge to crush the man's throat. "You are just trying to get into my head."
A triumphant smile appeared across Silva's face as if he was indulging in Elisabeth's horrified expression. "Tell me, little Rosa. Where were you when the Faceless attacked? Hiding inside the ventilation shaft like a little mouse?"
"I...I was caught by one of you, and was knocked unconscious," Elisabeth's voice trembled, unable to answer the question.
"No, you weren’t knocked unconscious. You suddenly went berserk, and started killing my subordinates with the rest of the test subjects – the rest of your friends.”
“That’s…that’s not true…I wouldn’t…”
“You wouldn’t hurt your friends?” Silva giggled. “But you did. I saw everything - HEARD everything. Those little squeaks when you ripped them to shreds; their pitiful cries begging you to stop.”
Overwhelmed by rage, Elisabeth smacked the man in the cheek, and screamed at him, “SHUT UP! I’M NOT A MONSTER! I’m not…!” The amber-eyed woman lifted her ax, placing the sharp edge against Silva’s neck. However, Lucy quickly grabbed her by the forearm, telling her to lower her weapon.
“That’s enough, Liz,” said the female Nightingale with a calm, motherly voice. “He’s just manipulating you, so you could end his suffering. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”
“What other options do I have? Let him live?”
“You are not a cold-blooded murderer, Liz. You never were. Besides, we don’t know whether the words that came out of his mouth were the truth.”
Elisabeth gritted her teeth. Only one swing, she thought – one swing to avenge all the lives lost to the madness of the Disciples. Seconds later, a mischievous smile appeared across Silva’s face as if the man was mocking her indecisiveness.
“What are you grinning at?”
“You are always a fighter, Rosa, but there is always one fight that you cannot win – and that is against the truth. Why don’t you ask little Annie there about what happened?”
The four Accursed turned their heads toward the entrance where they heard Anemone gasping from outside the room. The little girl’s head popped out from behind the door, her expression was a mix between confusion and anxiousness.
“There you are. Come here, and say hi to the guests.”
“H-How did you know? I evaded all the surveillance cameras to get here,” said Anemone; her voice was breathy as if she had just run in a sprint.
“We saw you roaming around in the Quarantine Facility for a while now. Please tell me, how is your search going? Have you found any of your friends?”
Silva’s question surprised Anemone so much that she was at a loss for words.
“That’s enough,” Elisabeth nervously warned the man inside the crystal.
“Why?” Silva smirked, before directing her focus back to the little girl. “Have you been having nightmares lately, Annie? Images of your friends dying? Killed by some kind of monster?”
“T-That’s…what…how?” Anemone stammered. “It’s just a dream. It’s not-!”
“True? Dig deeper into your mind, child – let your memory unravel itself.”
“Ugh!” the girl held her head as she felt a sting at the back of her head. Shortly after, the pain subsided and she glared at Silva - her gaze filled with fear and disbelief. “I’m…dead?”
“Yes, my child. Unfortunately, you are no longer bound to the world of the living. You are simply a figment of HER imagination.”
Anemone and Elisabeth stared at each other, the former’s eyes moved up and down, quietly inspecting the amber-eyed woman. “Rosa?” a brittle voice slipped out between the girl’s trembling lips. “You’re…Rosa?”
“Annie, I….”
“You killed me – and our friends. How could you…?” Anemone spun around and bolted out of the chamber, prompting Elisabeth to yell out the girl’s name multiple times.
Then, the entire chamber was quickly occupied with Silva’s sinister, raspy laughter. “My apology. I just find it quite…amusing.”
“Amusing?” Elisabeth growled; her voice suddenly turned deeper. She could feel an intense burning sensation spread all over her chest.
“Liz?” Lucy mouthed after noticing the scowl on her friend’s face. Aside from anger, the female Nightingale also noticed a hint of madness flashing across her amber-colored eyes. “Listen to me, Liz. Don’t let him get to you!”
From out of nowhere, the Crystal of Birth gradually changed its color from bright yellow to garnet red.
"Argh!" Elisabeth exclaimed before dropping her ax to the floor. An excruciating pain soon spread throughout her body and -- it was as if she was crushed between an invisible wall – and her arms – she couldn’t feel her arms. She glared at Silva, panting heavily, "What...did...you do to me?!"
"Technically, it is the Crystal of Birth that makes you feel that way," said the leader of the Disciples. "You see, our major problem with the integration drug was the rapid degradation of the extracted genes. We've concocted a different solution to stabilize the genes, but none is much more effective than using the dissolved shards of the Crystal of Birth."
"You did what?!" Sam blurted out after hearing the new piece of information.
"Well -- sadly, we didn't anticipate strong, negative emotions will somehow affect the imbiber," Silva sighed heavily, "For that, I'm truly, truly sorry."
"You...wretch..., "Elisabeth cursed before she coughed out a vast amount of black sludge.
"Liz!" Lucy exclaimed in panic, but Sam quickly pulled her away -- just as dark, grey veins popped out of Elisabeth's brown skin - each one spreading like frost on a glass surface. The woman collapsed to her knees, spewing out more of the viscous liquid to the ground.
"Everyone, draw your weapons," Sam told the siblings while eyeing his retching friend.
"Woah, are we seriously going against Liz now?" Rupert inquired, slightly hesitant at the sudden instruction.
"I don't really think she's Liz anymore, Rupe."
Seconds later, Elisabeth(?) lifted her head -- the dark veins had enveloped her entire face like spider webs, and her once shining amber eyes were now as black as obsidian. As the woman got to her feet, she bared her needle-sharp teeth and hissed aggressively at the trio. Shortly after, Elisabeth(?) turned toward Silva whose smirk slowly faded, shifting into a grimace.
"No. I've done what you asked of me, Lady Vidia. So why-?"
Elisabeth(?) then seized Silva's hair and ripped the man's head off his mortal body.
"Holy shit," Rupert spouted, "That is just plain brutal...and cool."
After casting the severed head aside, Elisabeth(?) picked the weapon off the ground before throwing it at the trio. The ax swiftly brushed past Sam's left cheek and crashed into the steel wall, creating a large cavity. "Touché," said Sam calmly, feeling a searing pain on the left side of his face.
"You’re bleeding," said Lucy as soon as she saw blood dripping from the man's earlobe.
"Later, Luce. We need to deal with her first," Sam retorted before drawing the shock stick he snatched earlier. His mind was racing, struggling to think of a strategy to incapacitate the frenzied woman. Unfortunately, every time a plan came up in his mind, he would be reminded of Elisabeth's(?) fearsome ability which could put the three of them at a grave disadvantage. "Talk about a troublesome enemy," Sam muttered under his breath before noticing Elisabeth(?) reaching her hands out.
"What is she...?" Rupert narrowed his eyes, wondering to himself. Then, the entire room started to rumble.
Pillars of stones shot out from the ceiling and walls, and each one tried to crush the trio. Sam and the Nightingales skillfully dodged and jumped over the obstacles -- thanks to their apprenticeship. However, they were quite aware that they couldn't cheat death forever.
"This is getting pretty old, Liz," Rupert uttered after he landed on one of the pillars. After taking a long, deep breath, the elder Nightingale sprinted toward Elisabeth with a pair of kamas in his hands.
"Darn it, Rupe!" said Lucy as she saw her brother headed directly into an incoming stone column. With a swing of her dagger, she fired a large, transparent blue arrowhead that instantly cleaved the pillar in half, allowing Rupert to slip between the bisected structure.
But, in spite of the siblings' valiant efforts, Elisabeth(?) had already expected the elder Nightingale's approach. With a flick of her wrists, a myriad of black spikes sprouted out of the pillars and penetrated Rupert's feet, causing him to cry out in pain. Elisabeth(?) beamed at the sound of Rupert's voice, but her sneer quickly disappeared after a shock stick swept past her right shoulder. Before she could ascertain the perpetrator, a ball of flame hit her squarely in the face -- effectively stopping the moving pillars.
"Took you long enough!" yelled Rupert, smiling painfully at the sight of Sam with Elisabeth's ax.
"Sorry, this thing is much heavier than I thought. Do you need a hand?"
Rupert shook his head before replying sarcastically to the question, "Nah, I'm alright. It's just a little scratch."
"Uh-huh. Lucy, go tend to your brother."
"On it," the youngest Nightingale exhaled.
Sam turned his full attention to Elisabeth(?) who had already recovered from the fireball. She snarled at him, obviously displeased by the surprise attack. "I know, I know. It burns. That's what fire does to you," Sam coldly responded, "Are you just gonna keep complaining, or shall we dance?"
Elisabeth(?) grunted as if she understood Sam's scornful words. As the woman clenched her fists, every pillar in the chamber crumbled to dust and congregated at her arms -- shaping into a pair of giant claws.
"Glad to see we are on the same page," Sam held the ax with both hands.
After a fleeting moment of staring at each other in silence, both of them dashed toward each other. Elisabeth(?) shoved her right claw forward, but Sam leaped over it in the nick of time. The vermillion-eyed man swings the ax, only for it to get blocked by the other giant claw. In that split second, Sam saw the smirk on Elisabeth's(?) face, followed by black thorns growing out of the latter's arms.
Thankfully, Sam managed to back away before he was turned into a human skewer. "The Bloody Briar. Of course, you'll use the Bloody Briar," said the man as he wiped his sweaty cheeks. Then, he noticed something floating above Elisabeth's(?) head. An undulating black thread so thin it was nearly invisible to the naked eye. Much to his surprise, it was also connected to the Crystal of Birth. In that instance, Sam already knew what he had to do. But, before he charged onward, Elisabeth(?) thrusted her claws into the floor, and the ground began to ripple like the waves in the ocean.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," said Sam, swaying left and right to keep his balance.
"LIZZY!"
Elisabeth(?) wrenched out her claws after hearing a girlish voice shouting her name. She spun around to see Anemone standing nervously in front of the Crystal of Birth.
"I-It's me, Annie," said the girl with a terrified expression. She cautiously approached Elisabeth(?) who was now standing motionlessly. With her tiny hands, Anemone touched her friend's warm cheeks -- both of her eyes were glistening with tears. "This is not you, Lizzy. You are not a monster. You never were a monster," the girl whispered, "So, please come back. I want to see my best friend again."
Elisabeth(?) stayed silent for a few moments as if she was contemplating Anemone's heartful plea -- until the Crystal of Birth glowed dark purple. The deranged woman shuddered as a jolt of electricity ran along her spine, prompting her to grab the girl between her claws. "Liz...zy," Anemone groaned as she was gradually crushed by the increasing pressure.
"You've done well, kid."
Sam's voice caused Elisabeth's(?) obsidian eyes to widen. However, before she could react, the black thread over her head was severed by her own ax, prompting the crazed woman to release her hold on the girl. Elisabeth(?) let out a monstrous shriek -- the claws on her hands instantly dissolved into stones and pebbles, and the grey veins on her skin slowly vanished.
After Sam dropped the weapon in his hand, he swiftly caught Elisabeth, just as she started to fall toward the floor.
29th Fragment: -TOPPLE-
“What did you say?”
Elisabeth grasped Silva by the neck, both of her eyes were brimming with rage. "You're lying," she croaked, fighting the urge to crush the man's throat. "You are just trying to get into my head."
A triumphant smile appeared across Silva's face as if he was indulging in Elisabeth's horrified expression. "Tell me, little Rosa. Where were you when the Faceless attacked? Hiding inside the ventilation shaft like a little mouse?"
"I...I was caught by one of you, and was knocked unconscious," Elisabeth's voice trembled, unable to answer the question.
"No, you weren’t knocked unconscious. You suddenly went berserk, and started killing my subordinates with the rest of the test subjects – the rest of your friends.”
“That’s…that’s not true…I wouldn’t…”
“You wouldn’t hurt your friends?” Silva giggled. “But you did. I saw everything - HEARD everything. Those little squeaks when you ripped them to shreds; their pitiful cries begging you to stop.”
Overwhelmed by rage, Elisabeth smacked the man in the cheek, and screamed at him, “SHUT UP! I’M NOT A MONSTER! I’m not…!” The amber-eyed woman lifted her ax, placing the sharp edge against Silva’s neck. However, Lucy quickly grabbed her by the forearm, telling her to lower her weapon.
“That’s enough, Liz,” said the female Nightingale with a calm, motherly voice. “He’s just manipulating you, so you could end his suffering. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”
“What other options do I have? Let him live?”
“You are not a cold-blooded murderer, Liz. You never were. Besides, we don’t know whether the words that came out of his mouth were the truth.”
Elisabeth gritted her teeth. Only one swing, she thought – one swing to avenge all the lives lost to the madness of the Disciples. Seconds later, a mischievous smile appeared across Silva’s face as if the man was mocking her indecisiveness.
“What are you grinning at?”
“You are always a fighter, Rosa, but there is always one fight that you cannot win – and that is against the truth. Why don’t you ask little Annie there about what happened?”
The four Accursed turned their heads toward the entrance where they heard Anemone gasping from outside the room. The little girl’s head popped out from behind the door, her expression was a mix between confusion and anxiousness.
“There you are. Come here, and say hi to the guests.”
“H-How did you know? I evaded all the surveillance cameras to get here,” said Anemone; her voice was breathy as if she had just run in a sprint.
“We saw you roaming around in the Quarantine Facility for a while now. Please tell me, how is your search going? Have you found any of your friends?”
Silva’s question surprised Anemone so much that she was at a loss for words.
“That’s enough,” Elisabeth nervously warned the man inside the crystal.
“Why?” Silva smirked, before directing her focus back to the little girl. “Have you been having nightmares lately, Annie? Images of your friends dying? Killed by some kind of monster?”
“T-That’s…what…how?” Anemone stammered. “It’s just a dream. It’s not-!”
“True? Dig deeper into your mind, child – let your memory unravel itself.”
“Ugh!” the girl held her head as she felt a sting at the back of her head. Shortly after, the pain subsided and she glared at Silva - her gaze filled with fear and disbelief. “I’m…dead?”
“Yes, my child. Unfortunately, you are no longer bound to the world of the living. You are simply a figment of HER imagination.”
Anemone and Elisabeth stared at each other, the former’s eyes moved up and down, quietly inspecting the amber-eyed woman. “Rosa?” a brittle voice slipped out between the girl’s trembling lips. “You’re…Rosa?”
“Annie, I….”
“You killed me – and our friends. How could you…?” Anemone spun around and bolted out of the chamber, prompting Elisabeth to yell out the girl’s name multiple times.
Then, the entire chamber was quickly occupied with Silva’s sinister, raspy laughter. “My apology. I just find it quite…amusing.”
“Amusing?” Elisabeth growled; her voice suddenly turned deeper. She could feel an intense burning sensation spread all over her chest.
“Liz?” Lucy mouthed after noticing the scowl on her friend’s face. Aside from anger, the female Nightingale also noticed a hint of madness flashing across her amber-colored eyes. “Listen to me, Liz. Don’t let him get to you!”
From out of nowhere, the Crystal of Birth gradually changed its color from bright yellow to garnet red.
"Argh!" Elisabeth exclaimed before dropping her ax to the floor. An excruciating pain soon spread throughout her body and -- it was as if she was crushed between an invisible wall – and her arms – she couldn’t feel her arms. She glared at Silva, panting heavily, "What...did...you do to me?!"
"Technically, it is the Crystal of Birth that makes you feel that way," said the leader of the Disciples. "You see, our major problem with the integration drug was the rapid degradation of the extracted genes. We've concocted a different solution to stabilize the genes, but none is much more effective than using the dissolved shards of the Crystal of Birth."
"You did what?!" Sam blurted out after hearing the new piece of information.
"Well -- sadly, we didn't anticipate strong, negative emotions will somehow affect the imbiber," Silva sighed heavily, "For that, I'm truly, truly sorry."
"You...wretch..., "Elisabeth cursed before she coughed out a vast amount of black sludge.
"Liz!" Lucy exclaimed in panic, but Sam quickly pulled her away -- just as dark, grey veins popped out of Elisabeth's brown skin - each one spreading like frost on a glass surface. The woman collapsed to her knees, spewing out more of the viscous liquid to the ground.
"Everyone, draw your weapons," Sam told the siblings while eyeing his retching friend.
"Woah, are we seriously going against Liz now?" Rupert inquired, slightly hesitant at the sudden instruction.
"I don't really think she's Liz anymore, Rupe."
Seconds later, Elisabeth(?) lifted her head -- the dark veins had enveloped her entire face like spider webs, and her once shining amber eyes were now as black as obsidian. As the woman got to her feet, she bared her needle-sharp teeth and hissed aggressively at the trio. Shortly after, Elisabeth(?) turned toward Silva whose smirk slowly faded, shifting into a grimace.
"No. I've done what you asked of me, Lady Vidia. So why-?"
Elisabeth(?) then seized Silva's hair and ripped the man's head off his mortal body.
"Holy shit," Rupert spouted, "That is just plain brutal...and cool."
After casting the severed head aside, Elisabeth(?) picked the weapon off the ground before throwing it at the trio. The ax swiftly brushed past Sam's left cheek and crashed into the steel wall, creating a large cavity. "Touché," said Sam calmly, feeling a searing pain on the left side of his face.
"You’re bleeding," said Lucy as soon as she saw blood dripping from the man's earlobe.
"Later, Luce. We need to deal with her first," Sam retorted before drawing the shock stick he snatched earlier. His mind was racing, struggling to think of a strategy to incapacitate the frenzied woman. Unfortunately, every time a plan came up in his mind, he would be reminded of Elisabeth's(?) fearsome ability which could put the three of them at a grave disadvantage. "Talk about a troublesome enemy," Sam muttered under his breath before noticing Elisabeth(?) reaching her hands out.
"What is she...?" Rupert narrowed his eyes, wondering to himself. Then, the entire room started to rumble.
Pillars of stones shot out from the ceiling and walls, and each one tried to crush the trio. Sam and the Nightingales skillfully dodged and jumped over the obstacles -- thanks to their apprenticeship. However, they were quite aware that they couldn't cheat death forever.
"This is getting pretty old, Liz," Rupert uttered after he landed on one of the pillars. After taking a long, deep breath, the elder Nightingale sprinted toward Elisabeth with a pair of kamas in his hands.
"Darn it, Rupe!" said Lucy as she saw her brother headed directly into an incoming stone column. With a swing of her dagger, she fired a large, transparent blue arrowhead that instantly cleaved the pillar in half, allowing Rupert to slip between the bisected structure.
But, in spite of the siblings' valiant efforts, Elisabeth(?) had already expected the elder Nightingale's approach. With a flick of her wrists, a myriad of black spikes sprouted out of the pillars and penetrated Rupert's feet, causing him to cry out in pain. Elisabeth(?) beamed at the sound of Rupert's voice, but her sneer quickly disappeared after a shock stick swept past her right shoulder. Before she could ascertain the perpetrator, a ball of flame hit her squarely in the face -- effectively stopping the moving pillars.
"Took you long enough!" yelled Rupert, smiling painfully at the sight of Sam with Elisabeth's ax.
"Sorry, this thing is much heavier than I thought. Do you need a hand?"
Rupert shook his head before replying sarcastically to the question, "Nah, I'm alright. It's just a little scratch."
"Uh-huh. Lucy, go tend to your brother."
"On it," the youngest Nightingale exhaled.
Sam turned his full attention to Elisabeth(?) who had already recovered from the fireball. She snarled at him, obviously displeased by the surprise attack. "I know, I know. It burns. That's what fire does to you," Sam coldly responded, "Are you just gonna keep complaining, or shall we dance?"
Elisabeth(?) grunted as if she understood Sam's scornful words. As the woman clenched her fists, every pillar in the chamber crumbled to dust and congregated at her arms -- shaping into a pair of giant claws.
"Glad to see we are on the same page," Sam held the ax with both hands.
After a fleeting moment of staring at each other in silence, both of them dashed toward each other. Elisabeth(?) shoved her right claw forward, but Sam leaped over it in the nick of time. The vermillion-eyed man swings the ax, only for it to get blocked by the other giant claw. In that split second, Sam saw the smirk on Elisabeth's(?) face, followed by black thorns growing out of the latter's arms.
Thankfully, Sam managed to back away before he was turned into a human skewer. "The Bloody Briar. Of course, you'll use the Bloody Briar," said the man as he wiped his sweaty cheeks. Then, he noticed something floating above Elisabeth's(?) head. An undulating black thread so thin it was nearly invisible to the naked eye. Much to his surprise, it was also connected to the Crystal of Birth. In that instance, Sam already knew what he had to do. But, before he charged onward, Elisabeth(?) thrusted her claws into the floor, and the ground began to ripple like the waves in the ocean.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," said Sam, swaying left and right to keep his balance.
"LIZZY!"
Elisabeth(?) wrenched out her claws after hearing a girlish voice shouting her name. She spun around to see Anemone standing nervously in front of the Crystal of Birth.
"I-It's me, Annie," said the girl with a terrified expression. She cautiously approached Elisabeth(?) who was now standing motionlessly. With her tiny hands, Anemone touched her friend's warm cheeks -- both of her eyes were glistening with tears. "This is not you, Lizzy. You are not a monster. You never were a monster," the girl whispered, "So, please come back. I want to see my best friend again."
Elisabeth(?) stayed silent for a few moments as if she was contemplating Anemone's heartful plea -- until the Crystal of Birth glowed dark purple. The deranged woman shuddered as a jolt of electricity ran along her spine, prompting her to grab the girl between her claws. "Liz...zy," Anemone groaned as she was gradually crushed by the increasing pressure.
"You've done well, kid."
Sam's voice caused Elisabeth's(?) obsidian eyes to widen. However, before she could react, the black thread over her head was severed by her own ax, prompting the crazed woman to release her hold on the girl. Elisabeth(?) let out a monstrous shriek -- the claws on her hands instantly dissolved into stones and pebbles, and the grey veins on her skin slowly vanished.
After Sam dropped the weapon in his hand, he swiftly caught Elisabeth, just as she started to fall toward the floor.
