What the--?
Day 1, MorningTokarin’s flight was not a quiet one. Her wings were not meant for stealth – in fact they were so noisy that the more attentive listeners could hear them even over the sound of traffic. The sound of the humongous appendages slicing the air at such high speeds came as a warning to demons to duck their heads or prepare for a confrontation.
However the vampire in front of Mary was in no state to notice. And neither was his inquisitor.
So Toki’s approach remained unheard. And so was the whispered “what” when she took in the sight in front of her. A look of pure horror was bleaching all of her features, giving her a ghastly appearance as her eyes darted between the woman holding the gun and what had once been a living demon and was currently definitely
not.
She took a step back, fully intending to go back the way she came… but her foot caught on some paper and the rustle made Mary’s eyes dart towards the newcomer, and Toki’s hands snap up protectively.
“Stay back!” She warned, wings folded closely, ready for a dash.
Mary paused, scanning the angel in front of her through watery eyes. Some vomit was still on her lip, and she wiped it off with a shaky hand. The gun aiming at Toki shook almost in sync with the shaking of her free hand.
Not an enemy. She sighed in relief, tense shoulders suddenly slumping.
“It’s…it’s okay.” She stuttered out in a shaky voice. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” Her instrument turned back into a ring, wrapping around her finger. “H-he was going to try to kill me. Drain my Essence. I-I had to.” She started to cry again, tears rolling down her face. “I-I’ve never killed someone before. I’m sorry...I’m so sorry…” She hugged herself as the sobs grew worse.
Tokarin’s eyes widened.
He had tried to—
Oh God…
Her body and mind were still frozen for a long moment. She should have been able to shake it off, but truth is, it was the first time she’s seen the contents of one’s head in so much detail too, and it was terribly distracting. She felt nausea rising in her throat but forced herself to get a grip – the girl in front was badly shaken and a quick scan of the futures ahead revealed that they’d be getting some nasty company soon.
“Come on,” Toki started weakly, extending a hand but wasn’t quite brave enough yet to step towards the girl, “you need help. You’re covered in blood, and-- and are you wounded? We need to get out of here, report it to the police… Call paramedics maybe?” She didn’t say anything about the vampire’s partner joining them soon but she choked on the truth slightly. She didn’t have the time to look at what exactly would happen a minute from now but she was certain it was best they weren’t around to see.
Mary shook her head, recoiling slightly from the stretched out hand. “Nonono. I’ll just get you killed too.” She took a step back. “I get everyone killed...my parents, my friends, Lazarus…save yourself before it’s too late. Just...just leave and pretend you never saw me…” She clamped down on the voices in her head, all three yelling at her to leave. She wouldn’t hurt someone else. Not again.
Toki certainly didn’t want to take another step into the alley. It would make flight impossible, not to mention the bloody mess that she’d had to cross to drag the girl out. But she also didn’t want to leave her – whatever her circumstances, the angel had the feeling that she didn’t deserve what was coming for her. And ‘feelings’ were very strong motivators for diviners. “Listen, I’m a Clairvoyant, okay? I don’t know what’s happened to you but I can assure you that we’re both in danger if we stay here. We need to
go!” She urged, leaning into the alley but making sure she still had one foot out.
“Go
where? Nowhere is safe. He’ll find me and kill you in punishment. I escaped only to doom others. I’m a fool. A foolish idiotic girl who kills people.” Her instrument turned into it’s normal, string of light shape. She shook it at Toki. “I don’t even know how to use this! It was just thrust upon me by Hazumi and Lazarus. It was supposed to help. It’s only caused more damage! Some instrument.” Talking was calming her down, bringing her back to reality. She was a fugitive from Sir. She had no idea what time it was, in more ways than one, and needed to know what happened while she was gone.
“Okay...Okay. Where are we going?” She took a few steps towards Toki, ignoring the body of the vampire.
Finally, Tokarin thought as she grabbed the other girl’s hand and pulled her out of the alley, starting down the main road at a quick pace. “It doesn’t matter where we go, as long as it’s further away from here.” She said, trying not to panic. The vampire was surely closing in and she really hoped he wouldn’t be able to sniff them out. One of her wings wrapped around Mary protectively, hoping to keep her safe from both the vampire and the suspicious looks of the passer-by. To someone watching them from afar it would have probably looked funny: two short girls enveloped by feathers hurrying down a street as if chasing a bus… It would have looked funny if one was to overlook the blood on Mary’s clothes and the hysteria that clung to both.
“How did you even get into that situation?” The angel questioned, trying not to think about just how unpleasantly eventful the last twenty-four hours had been. “And do you know anything about vampires? How do we escape them--” She cut off, realising she hadn’t told Mary why they were actually running. “Because that one you killed had a partner and I have a very nasty feeling she won’t be nice if she finds us.” She explained with a very definite full stop at the end.
“Vampires. Surface Class demons. Supernatural physical traits and senses.” Mary muttered, almost unconsciously. She came to an abrupt stop, registering what Toki had just said. “He had a partner? I-I can't let her run around. Not after what they did. What they plan to do.” She gave a shaky smile at the angel. “After this, if we're in a safe place I'll tell you everything. You probably won't believe me. But I'll tell you.”
She couldn't stop shaking. But she had to do this. It was her job as a Musician. Her instrument turned back into a gun.
“You said you're a Clairvoyant. I need you to tell me every move she'll make when I shoot at her and try to chain her like I did her partner.”
“What?!” Toki stopped dead in her tracks. “I'm not helping you
kill someone! How do you know they're even evil - everyone would be upset to have their friend killed! No, we are running away. And then we're calling the police!” She said firmly and grabbed Mary's hand gingerly. A pain was starting in her right temple like a nail being slowly driven into her skin and soon it would reach a nerve. They were wasting precious time. Unlike their hunter.
Mary’s eyes hardened, despite the fear in them. “Because I heard his taunts as he drove me into the alleyway to kill me. “ She took on an impression of the vampire. “‘We’re going to drain you like we drained all the others.’ ‘Run, run little girl. It won’t matter in the end. I catch and share you.’ ‘My, my, all that fear. You’ll barely be a snack for us.’ ‘Maybe I’ll play with you before. Tell me girl, are you a virgin?’.”
She stopped, unconsciously and unnecessarily clicking off the safety on her weapon. “Unless you’re going to assure me she wasn’t his partner when he said ‘we’, I’m going to judge her. Then kill her when the truth comes out. I’m a Musician. It’s my duty. I’m not going to let someone else die because of me.”
Tokarin shivered as Mary reenacted what she’d been through just minutes before, her mind going blank for a moment, possibly overwhelmed. “What do you...” She started and trailed off, realising what Mary was talking about. If those demons were out on the hunt, then sooner or later they’d pick another victim if they fail at catching whom they intended.
That may be so… but she was still unable to bring herself to aid in killing a living being.The thought alone was too much to bear. She couldn’t even consider it. “Okay,” she said, “listen, I’ll help you stay safe. I’ll tell you when to duck but the rest is up to you. I… I don’t want to be a murderer.” Her wings slumped at the shame in her voice. Her head was really giving her grief now, the vampire would be here any moment.
Mary smiled gratefully, arms going out to hug the girl before she stopped. “Still covered in blood. You don’t want any on you.” It was easy to be calm when the threat was far away, but she could feel the fear coursing through her veins, making her ready for action at the slightest hint of trouble.
I won’t be alone anyway.No. You won’t. We’re not fighting this battle for you though. Vengeance replied.
Why not?!Because you can’t call on us to fight every fight for you. You did fine last time. Mercy spoke up, her voice soothing and calming.
I nearly died, puked, and then broke down in tears!It’s progress. You ran away all the other times. The Abyss put in mildly.
Shut up.She focused back on Tokarin. “How far away is she?”
Tokarin looked into the future. The glowing strands of possibilities unfolded in front of her like a spider web, possibilities laid out in front of her and branching out into a grey haze. Among the dozens she had to pick the ones to concentrate on, to prepare for. The majority involved flight – there were so many ways to run or hide and some of those would even work in the long term… but she couldn’t flee. She had to look at the ones where they would fight… and make it out alive.
“How far away is she?” Mary’s voice bled through the fog of her physical perceptions.
“
twenty seconds” Toki whispered, her eyes darting at the scenes far ahead. On the horizon she could see very unpleasant things. Injury.. death.. She didn’t want to see anyone else die today, yet she couldn’t escape it – Mary dying in so many ways, and herself too. She quickly dismissed those futures and changed the lense, browsing through the events in the middle.
It felt like changing glasses rapidly – from short-sighted to long-sighted and back again. It was confusing and it took time and normally she only looked at snippets at a time, working her way forwards, rather than backwards. This time was different because this time mistakes could be fatal.
Seven seconds left. Toki wanted to avoid all the possible injuries any of them, or anyone else for that matter, could sustain. She had to find the one strand where it all went their way, the one strand that would make the fight look like insane luck, like a miracle.
Not the one where a bus-driver swirled around to miss Mary who would end up on the street, and crash into the shop opposite.
Not the one where during the fight, the vampire would get a hostage that Mary would have to shoot.
Not the one—
“She’ll be here in five seconds. Duck to the left in four, you won’t see her. ” She’d used up all her time to read and now she didn’t have the time to instruct Mary. She really hoped her reactions were fast.
“Close the distance, keep her jaw shut and react to everything I say a second later!” She yelled just as a body slammed right where Mary had been standing.
Four...three...two...one… Mary leapt to the left, feeling the wind tear at her clothes as something tore into where she had just been.
Close the distance with a vampire, not freaking crazy at all! She thought, her mind a whirlwind of fear as she reacted more to Toki’s commands then anything else.
Mary’s instrument blared out war horns, changing shape into two spiked gauntlets that covered her arms as she lunged to grab and slam the Vampire’s mouth shut.
Instead of grabbing the vampire’s jaw (or missing, as the case might have been) Mary was knocked to the ground. Instinctively, her hands shot up to block any lunges towards her throat.
Nononono crap crap She thought in almost a complete panic, waiting to be torn into. Nothing happened. Looking tentatively up, she saw that the vampire had a new enemy. A woman with white hair, demonic horns, and most notably, and axe far too large to be practical.
”Well well well. And here I thought today was going to be boring.”The vampire was struggling against the axe, holding the blade from sinking into her head. The demon, Fran, was forcing it down using just one hand, letting its immense weight put pressure on the vampire.
”And to eat out a lovely lady in such a dingy place like this. You have no class!” Fran delivered a quick jab into the vampire’s stomach, buckling her and allowing Fran to cleave the creature in half, from shoulder to hip. Her axe sliced through her body smoothly like a hot blade through warm butter, splattering blood against the succubus, her weapon, and the alley around her.
Spinning on the tip of her toe, Fran looked towards the other two on the street. Her quarry, the mysterious winged lady, and now this stranger with a magic instrument. Originally she didn’t intend to save them so much as she was hunting them, but seeing that this vampire was going to steal her prey away, Fran had to do something. And now that her competitor was half the woman she used to be, the succubus smiled at the two and bowed.
”My my, where are my manners? My name is Fran. And to whom do I owe this pleasure?” Fran spoke politely, almost sophisticated, despite being covered in blood, gore, and dressed like a sexualized demon knight.
Tokarin stared at the hellion in shock, her sudden appearance coming as a complete surprise. Why hadn’t she seen her coming? She should have. She really should have! The only explanation was that “Fran’s” appearance was part of a future she’d dismissed for one reason or another. Her carelessness could have cost Mary’s life.
Her eyes glazed over as she took another look at what to expect. Luckily, the chances of Fran attacking them were slim. At least not in the violent way, for now. Toki blushed slightly and came to.
“Um… Fresia.” She uttered, coming up with it on the spot. “Thank you for helping.” The angel looked at Mary, hoping she was just as ready to make an exit as she was. The traffic to her right was getting more serious and some cars were starting to slow as they passed. It wouldn’t be long before the first horrified scream was heard.
Fran turned her head towards the winged humanoid calling herself Fresia. She walked over to her, placing an armored finger on the girl’s chin to get a good look at her.
”Oh it was my pleasure. Such a ruffian like her can’t treat a good girl like you right. Now how about we go somewhere more… Pleasant, and talk about what’s all this about, hmm?” Despite the chastity belt making Fran physically unable to pleasure herself, she still felt arousal and attraction. And if her theory was right, all Fran needed to do was get this angel to remove her chastity belt and she’d be back to business.
”Come along. I know of a shawarma shop near by. I don’t know what shawarma is exactly, but it smelled delicious.”Toki was trying her best not to look as horrified as she felt inside. Her heart was making loops in her chest and all she wanted to do, desperately, was to spread her wings and flee. But that wasn't an option. Not for Mary, anyway.
As she was trying to think of a way out it struck her that she wasn't really fit for living in a city like Loom. A city where victims became predators in the blink of an eye and where disfigured corpses lay unnoticed as people went about their daily business. A flashback to her failure from just hours before scorched her brain and made the choice for her. A sudden resolve flashed in her eyes and she stepped back from the demon, grabbing Mary’s hand in a firm grip.
“I'm sorry but we're leaving. We have to be elsewhere and we're running late.” Although her voice was still a bit unsteady, her tone left no room for dispute. She would leave, one way or another.
Mary was too relieved and dumb founded that she wasn’t dead, or fighting for her life, that it took her a few moments to do anything more than stare at Fran in dumb surprise. It took the grabbing of her hand to snap her out of it. “...Right, Fresia.”
Liar. Vengeance noted. “We’re late. I hate being late.” That much, at least, was true. Punctual, Pretty, and Prepared. The three P’s her father had hammered into her when it came to meetings and the like. “Thank you for saving us, but we really should be going.”
”Oh? Right, just a spot of heroics before finishing up with your business. I’m sure you mortal types are soooo busy.” Fran sighed. She wished she could be busy sometimes too, but without being able to indulge in herself, she had nothing but free time, wasting away. So why not waste time keeping these girls company?
”Well then, let’s be off! I grow tired of this gruesome scene. Perhaps we’ll find something new and exciting, yes?” The succubus said with a smirk. While Toki spoke with a tone leaving no room to argue her leave, Fran spoke with a certain seriousness that, like it or not, she was going to follow them.
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