Then an idea struck her. A
dangerous one, but it brought with it the possibility for escape. Janna
stopped and slowly turned to face Vallum. ~What would you say if I
offered you a choice...?~
//What kind of choice?//
Valium asked cautiously.
~I give you both freedom, and
in exchange, you help me break down the Wall.~
There was a long silence, and
Janna began to wonder if Valium had chose to ignore her.
//At what cost...?//
~It... may cost all of our
lives. But I believe that, with the power the Nexus has given me, I will
be able to do it.~
There was another long silence
and Janna assumed that Valium and Lithium were discussing the option she had
presented.
//...We'll do it...//
~Just remember that it may not
work. Are you sure you want to take that risk?~
//...Just do it... before I
lose my nerve. Lithium says he's not afraid of death... I am.//
Janna nodded slowly and sat down
across from Vallum. She paused for a split second, then reached out and
took his cloth covered hands, and closed her dark blue eyes.
Please let this work... she
prayed silently.
~Hear me, Nexus... let Your
power become mine, and give me the strength to accomplish this task. Bond
with me, so that I might bring the two that live in this one's mind into the
substantial world. In exchange, I will...~ she stopped, her voice
breaking.
The Virus took a deep breath and
continued with renewed determination. ~In exchange, I will give up a
little bit more of myself...~
She gripped Vallum's hands a bit
tighter. ~Make it so.~
White pain surrounded Janna, and
she felt her heart beat quicken. She had guessed that doing something
like this might be painful, but she was not at all prepared for the assult of
words and images that came with it.
A thousand things said and a
thousand things seen.
Whispers, fragments.
Screams, lives.
It was over in seconds, but it
felt like an eternity. Janna slumped to the ground, fainting from the
strain. But not before she caught a glimpse of success. The forms
of both Lithium and Valium, as she had seen them in Vallum's mind.
Valium groaned and sat up
slowly. His head ached and the ground beneath his hand was--
The ground!?
Yellow eyes flashed open, then a
slow grin spread across Valium's face. The Virus-girl had brought them
out! He was finally free again!
"But at what cost...?"
a soft voice asked.
Valium rolled his eyes in disgust
when he saw Lithium crouched beside the girl, Janna. "Who
cares? We're free..."
Lithium frowned. "Yes,
and we owe her everything."
The dark-haired boy stood glaring
down at his counterpart for a long moment. When the albino didn't budge,
Valium let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, fine..." he grumbled,
sitting down again, "You're pathetic, you know..."
Lithium ignored the angry young
man, and turned his full attention to Janna. He checked her pulse, and
was startled to find it completely non-existant. Before he panicked, his
eyes caught a flicker of movement. She was still breathing. But how...?
"Valium..." he began
slowly, "Look..."
"What?"
"She has no pulse... but
she's breathing..."
Valium, still disbelieving, moved
over and pressed to fingers to the girl's neck. Yellow eyes widened, and
he shook his head. "That's impossible..." he muttered, turning
her over to press his ear to her chest.
There was a startled intake of
breath, and Valium scrambled back. "She can't be alive!!"
Lithium shivered, but didn't move
away. Instead, he just looked down at the Virus. "She talked
about the Nexus... she... she died, Valium... killed herself."
Janna's eyes opened before Valium
had a chance to respond. She sat up upbruptly, gasping for air. Drowning!!
she thought in panic. When she looked around and saw that she was indeed
in the cell, and not underwater, she let out a small sigh of relief. Then
her dark gaze settled on Valium and Lithium.
Valium eyed her evenly.
"So... you really are connected to the Nexus..."
Janna ran her fingers through her
dark red hair and nodded numbly. A frown slowly spread over her face, and
she placed a hand over her heart. She swallowed and waited.
The two others watched as the
girl paled.
~Oh god...~ she mumbled.
"Maybe you shouldn't have
done this," Lithium said carefully.
The other young man shot him a
vicious look. "Shut up, moron. Or would you rather have put up
with me for the rest of your life?"
That was enough to make Lithium
fall silent. He did not like the prospect of having to share his mind
with that lunatic any longer than necessary. His red eyes slid back to
Janna, who was shaking slightly as she stood up.
~I'm fine. No regrets,~
she said breathlessly, as though convincing herself, ~I knew what I was
getting into when I did this, and hopefully this is the last time I'll have to
use the Nexus...~
You don't have much left to give
up, Lithium thought rather sadly.
"What now?" Valium
asked bluntly.
The Virus looked around, chewing
her lip thoughtfully. A slow smile spread across her lips as she walked
towards the door. ~When their "King" comes for us again,
I'll kill him...~
Both young men looked rather
surprised by this answer.
"Uh, do you think that's
really a good idea?" Valium asked carefully.
~What are our options here,
Valium? Do you have a better idea?~
Yellow eyes wandered towards the
door as the stranger thought. "...Not many options... but there has
to be a better way... Hey, when you made Frank disappear... how did you
do it? Can you do it to other things, like inanimate objects?"
The woman tilted her head
thoughtfully, and looked at the door. ~I can try...~ she murmured.
Lithium came up to stand beside
Valium, his face unreadable as he watched Janna. Though the red eyes
remained fixed on the woman, he spoke quietly to the one beside him,
"Valium... do we have any idea what we're toying with here?"
Yellow eyes narrowed
slightly. "Did that ever stop us?"
The albino chuckled softly.
"Sometimes... I wonder why you chose someone like me to 'share' a mind
with. I'm obviously nothing like you... for unlike you, I have a certain
respect for people to whom I owe my life."
Valium turned and gave Lithium a
disgusted look. "You're just a coward who likes to dress up his
words... don't preach to me, madman. You're just as bad as I am. It
was you who fired the gun..."
~Damn it!!~ the Virus
hissed in anger, catching the attention of her two cell mates.
"What?" they asked in
unison.
~I can't do it. I can
only break down living things, I think. Either that, or this... King...
put up some sort of ward... but I doubt he did.~
Valium sunk back down to the
floor and sat with his back against the wall, a dark expression on his
face. "I guess all we can do is wait..."
Janna slowly walked over and sat
next to Valium and watched Lithium, who lingered by the door. ~It is
strange,~ she began with a faint, bitter smile, ~Fate, or something of
the like, has brought us together... the virus, and the two madmen...~
"On the contrary,"
Valium hissed, glancing at Janna from the corner of his eye, "Lithium is
not mad... he is merely... a product of his environment."
The Virus was silent for a
moment, staring blankly at Valium, then she broke into a wheezing laugh. ~You're
interesting... and you're a little like me. Perhaps... I wont hate you,~
she said with a slight smile.
"Well, I'm flattered,"
the stranger muttered, resting his head against the stone wall behind
them. Despite the bland tone, he wore a slight grin.
Lithium threw his unwanted
companion a faint glare, then moved over to the door, looking out the tiny
window. "Hey... someone's coming this way!" he whispered, backing
away from the door.
Janna looked up, a sadistic glint
coming into her dark eyes. A small part of her, buried deep under recent
events, cringed. She ignored the feeling and stood up, moving with a
fightening, fluid grace. She was poised to strike when the door opened,
but what she saw caused her to falter.
A child. A petite little
girl with short cropped hair and large, wire framed glasses. She couldn't
have been more than nine or ten. "Come!" she said sharply,
narrowing her eyes at the Virus.
The redheaded woman let out
another rasping laugh. ~Pardon me, little girl? What makes you
think I would--~
The little girl smiled darkly as
Janna's voice was brutally torn away. "That is why. Now, you
follow me. Them too," she said, raising her gaze to the two young
men.
* * * *
Farfarello's brandy eye narrowed
slightly as he looked down at the short woman who had her hands on her
hips. He simply stared her down, ignoring the anger-reddened face and he
clenched fists.
"Nexus damn you, boy!"
the woman huffed, "What does it take to get you to cooperate!?"
The Irishman merely
smirked. "I already told you... give me my knives, and I'll
cooperate."
The woman, middle-aged and plump,
with the number twelve marked upon her forehead, let out a frustrated
sigh. "Fine, fine... I give up!" she said, throwing her hands
in the air as she turned back to the door. She glanced over her
shoulder. "Follow me, boy."
Farfarello allowed his smirk to
widen slightly as he followed the woman away. This had better be worth
it. And if it isn't, I'll kill them all.
The Irishman was delighted when
the woman gave him back his weapons. His single golden eye glinted as he
ran his thumb along the edge of one blade, smiling insanely as bright red blood
welled up.
The woman paled slightly, taking
an involuntary step back. Farfarello turned and saw the look of fear in
her eyes, and something inside him coiled about itself in delight. He
advanced towards her, knife held tightly, ready to be used. Just before
he took a slash at the woman, Mikayla stepped into the room.
"Go, Hannah. I'll deal
with him," Mikayla almost spat in disgust.
The motherly woman backed out of
the room and fled. The blonde turned back to Farfarello, her eyes
narrowed. "We made a deal, madman. Would you forfeite your
chance to go home...?"
"...Perhaps..." he
hissed. Despite the menace in his voice, the Irishman made no move
towards Mikayla. Only his tiny bit of restraint held him back.
That, and the prospect of not being able to hurt his own God any further...
The thief folded her arms.
"Come, then, if you wish to have any chance of going back. I've
called a meeting to discuss our plans."
Farfarello slipped the knives
back into their hiding places, and followed the woman from the room. All
the while, his mind was turning over ways to rid himself of his need for the
aid of these people. If he could somehow get back on his own, there would
be nothing to stop him from slaughtering them all.
Or, at the very least, Mikayla.
He did not like her one bit...
* * * *
"Well, well, well... we meet
again, Stranger..." the 'King' said, wearing a condescending smirk.
Janna merely sneered at him,
baring her teeth in an animalistic expression of hatred. Beside her,
Valium's yellow eyes were scanning the room for possible escape routes.
They were surrounded on three
sides by hoards of children, all of whom were carrying weapons of varying
type. And their King was sitting on a throne made of a discarded red
velvet chair. And there were older youths guarding all exits of the room,
each one carrying a long, deadly looking spear.
The King's eyes swept over Lithium
and Valium, then went back to the Virus. "Who are they?? What
happened to the diseased one?" he demanded.
"We are the diseased
one," Valium snapped. He was irritated beyond belief by the fact
that he had glimpsed true freedom, only to be trapped once more. And by
the fact that Lithium had remained silent up until this point, not trying to
aid them at all.
"Impossible!"
Janna grit her teeth, and forced
out in a whisper, "...The Nexus... you fool..."
"Nexus?" the King repeated,
rising to his feet.
The Virus nodded, watching the
strange man through narrowed eyes. At her side, Lithium shifted almost
imperceptibly.
Before any of them could
comprehend what was going on, Lithium had whipped out a gun and leapt at the
King. The muzzle of the weapon was pressed firmly to the man's temple in
a split second. Valium blinked in surprise, as he had not anticipated
such an aggressive move.
"If anyone moves, I'll kill
him," Lithium said flatly.
There was a startled cry of
surprise and a little girl rushed through the crowd. It was the same one
who had been sent to retrieve the three. "No! Don't
hurt!!" she cried desperately, flinging herself to her knees at Lithium's
feet.
The young man appeared taken aback
by the display, and did not know how to respond.
"Please... no more
hurt..." the girl pleaded.
Another child, this one a boy,
stepped forward. He was about twelve, and had bandages wrapped around his
head, and covering his right eye. "Syra..." he said quietly,
holding out a hand to the girl. His good eye strayed to the gun Lithium
held, and his hand shook slightly.
"No!!" the girl
snapped, her voice rising to a shriek.
"Go, Syra."
All eyes turned back towards the
King. He had not spoken or moved at all until now. His eyes were
fixed upon the little girl, and he bore a sad expression. Reluctantly,
the girl rose to her feet again, looking at the man with tear filled eyes.
"Would you shoot me in front
of my Children?" the man demanded quietly of Lithium.
"...I'm not about to be
killed after getting only a glimpse of freedom," the albino finally said,
echoing Valium's earlier thoughts.
"If you kill me, my Children
will kill you, fool!" the man snarled viciously, "You'll run out of
bullets all too soon..."
A deadlock... so, what do we
do? If we kill him, we, too, will perish. It's sort of funny... the
Nexus went through all the trouble of bringing me back, only to have me die
here. Nameless, by the hands of a madman's followers. Killed by
lost children...
"...Let him... go...
Lithium..." the woman hissed.
Bright pinkish red eyes shifted
to Janna. "He would kill us, if the tables were turned."
"The tables aren't turned
right now," Valium said, deciding to speak up, "If you kill him,
these kids are going to tear us apart..."
The young man's grip on the gun
tightened, and then he remembered something. Something Valium had said to
him earlier, when they were all locked up in the cell...
"You're just as bad as I
am. It was you who fired the gun..."
"Damn it," the young
man muttered. He turned his attention back to the King, "You're
going to let us leave. Peacefully."
The ragged looking man nodded
mutely, and breathed a sigh of relief as the gun was taken away from his
head. He gestured with a shaking hand when his Children started to move
forward. "Stay where you are... if they want so badly to leave, they
shall. But I'll have no bloodshed here..."
Valium stood still as Lithium
stepped away from the King. Something was bothering him. "Why
haven't you asked a single question about us?"
The King smiled
enigmatically. "Perhaps I'm not as crazy as I seem. And maybe
I might know more than you think," he said in a low voice, so only Valium
could hear.
Valium frowned, still not
satisfied with this answer. But he knew that was all he would get from
the strange man, for the crowd of gathered children was parting for them.
Something told Valium that this would not be the last time he saw these people.
Janna blinked, feeling her mental
voice coming back to her. As she strode forward, a little girl stepped
out in front of her. The same one who'd taken her voice not not even an
hour ago.
"You go, now. But you
come back... I know," the girl whispered, expression and voice unreadable,
"And It will be waiting for you, then..."
The words struck fear into the
Virus' heart. She was only too glad when the child melted back into the
crowd, and they were allowed to escape. Once they were back outside in
the cool night air, the woman breathed a sigh of relief.
~Will Mikayla still be waiting
for us, or will she have declaired me dead?~
Lithium flinched slightly at the
obvious hatred in Janna's voice. "...She would come looking for me,
if she thought something had happened."
~Just what connection do you
have that makes her so protective of you?~ the Virus asked bluntly.
The albino looked away, coughing
in embarressment. "It... really shouldn't matter..."
Valium smirked slightly.
"What, you don't want to brag about--"
"Shut up, Valium,"
Lithium snapped.
The dark haired man shrugged,
turning his gaze back to the road in front of him. The three walked in
silence for a long time. Janna began to let her mind wander.
Will I really be able to take
down the Wall...? No, I want more than that... I want him. Want him
to suffer like I did...
A dark scowl settled upon her
features at that thought. It isn't enough to tear down Their
Wall. He has to die, too... and by my hand alone.
"Virus-girl? It looks
like there's someone up ahead..." Valium said carefully.
Janna blinked and looked up.
She could see a small figure standing far off, silhouetted by the fading
sunlight. Sebastiaan...?
When they reached the young man,
Janna was surprised to see that he looked as though he had been in a
fight. His right cheek was bruised and he had a few cuts on his face and
hands.
~What happened?~
Sebastiaan smiled
mirthlessly. "Mikayla didn't want me to look for you. I guess
it isn't wise to go against her wishes..."
Janna raised a brow. ~She
did this?~
"No, her 'loyal followers'
did it... her bodyguards beat the holy hell out of me when I tried to
leave," he said, shrugging slightly, "But I left anyway. I knew
I would find you..."
The woman took a breath, calming
her rising anger. The thought that Mikayla would have this young man
beaten for trying to find someone... it made Janna's blood boil.
Sebastiaan finally seemed to
notice Valium and Lithium, and blinked in surprise. "Who are you
two??"
Valium grinned widely.
"Why, don't you remember Vallum...?"
The young man's face grew
pale. "...You can't be serious."
"Why not ask the
Virus?"
Janna shot Valium a rather
annoyed glance before turning her attention back to her friend. ~Don't
ask me to explain it now, but what he says is true. They were once
Vallum... I used the Nexus to do this...~
Sebastiaan frowned slightly, but
accepted her reply. "Ah, at any rate, I came to tell you that
they're making plans for an attack. Mikayla, despite her shortcomings,
took your idea to heart."
A small smirk touched the Virus'
lips. ~Oh, really? Well... it might be interesting to see her
face when she finds out that I'm not gone yet... let's go.~