Ch. 10 - Awakening Pt 2

The sky was darkening ominously, but only a light sprinkle came down so far. Staring out the window, I sighed weakly. There were no lights in the room, so the three windows were the only source of illumination. Kari sat, curled up in the corner, but glanced up at me when I sighed.

"Um, I apologize again…" she muttered quietly.

I shook my head, not turning away from the window. "Again, I say you don't have to. You were caught up experimenting, and it's fine," I assured, for the fourth time. Kittra had felt badly as well, but seemed more quiet about it. I think she was more embarrassed than anything.

Looking out the window to the right, I saw Kittra in place, sitting under the eve of the building kitty-corner to ours. She looked utterly bored, but was simply staring blankly at the puddles forming in front of her. The blade I'd made for her was slung neatly across her back, hilt over her right shoulder. I'd added a few simple touches to it that should make it more useful in the battle, amongst other things. Common metal like I generated probably wouldn't have lasted long, so I laced it with a magical sigil system. Kinetic energy working upon the blade, either via Kittra herself swinging it, or someone hitting it, was converted into basic raw energy and used to strengthen the blade integrity during the same instant. Crude, but it would help. I doubted it could withstand unlimited levels of energy, as well.

Still not feeling entirely useful, I decided to scan the book for other things as well. I'd not gotten much, but one thing was workable to our usage. Now on both Kittra's and Lythis' hands were small glyphs. They were extremely simplistic, but the only solution to Karumi's short-range teleportation that I could think of. With the glyphs, I could exert limited mental influence on them and give a 'tug' in a specific direction. Thus, whenever she disappeared, I'd attempt to use my eyes to see where she was going as fast as possible, then warn the two girls that would be fighting her by giving them a tug in that direction. It was about the only way to effectively counter it before she attacked. Radios could get damaged, and I'd have to give verbal instructions, which compared to teleportation, was insanely slow.

Kari stood up gently and took three steps, pushing herself into my side gently. Sighing, I couldn't help but pull her closer. She let out her breath and melted gently into me, wrapping her arms around my waist from the side. "Can I make it up to you after this?" she asked softly, then.

"There's nothing to make up, but I planned on spending time with both of you after this, and taking the rest of the day off," I assured tiredly. I'd not slept well last night, as anticipated, and was just looking forward to this being over.

Kari nodded gently. "Kittra feels really badly for it as well. But we'll both make it up to you," she assured, smiling up at me. Her hair was still damp from our walk here, and it made it look an even darker green than what it was already. I smiled down at her and nodded.

Looking back out the window, I sighed, wishing Cuthbert would get here soon. Lisa was already set up across the way, and would be keeping vigil on the outside once I put the field up. Patrick was set up two floors above us, on the fourth floor, with his sniper rifle. Danni and Kiya were below us on the first floor, guarding the entry to the building. This entire structure was abandoned, so we didn't have to worry about anybody getting in the way, and we'd cleared it already. That left Cuthbert's team to help Lisa's with outer patrol, and Lythis to help Kittra assault Karumi directly. The two girls were expert fighters, and if Karumi couldn't use her teleport, or get any distance between them, she should go down to their combined skill. In theory, anyway. The plan had gotten more complex than I would have liked, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it.

"Plants are in place. Can you pick them up?" suddenly came through the radio attached to my ear. Raising my left hand, a large crystal array floated into the air. Ten crystal disks drifted off the back of it, and Kari smiled as they moved in front of her. She looked through each, and had a clear image of each plant the crystals were linked to.

After a few seconds, she nodded and smiled in amusement. "Plants are functioning. I'll expand the crystal barrier now," I reported, focusing on my, larger crystal. I felt the crystal attached to each plant activate, and the smaller shards spread out like a vast net over the entire lot outside. It used to be a building, until it was deemed too unsafe to leave standing. Twenty years ago, they'd removed it, and this empty lot was all that was left. Karumi seemed to need a bit of space to make one of her dimensions, and had picked this to form it.

All of the shards shifted into place and I nodded. Kari grinned and focused on the crystal disks. All ten plants started to glow, as orbs of Kari's power appeared around them. The plants, on command, flourished and grew thick around the main crystal for each one. I felt the pure life mana flooding into the crystal array and smiled. This was actually working. Although that would sound bad if I'd said it out loud, I suddenly decided.

"The plants are growing steadily. Are you getting the energy?" Kari asked, smiling over at me. I nodded gently.

"Yes, I have more than enough to manifest the field. Keep the plants growing and we should be totally fine," I replied, smirking back at her.

She giggled lightly before resuming monitoring the plants through the disks. This was definitely a weird solution, and I had the feeling Mom would laugh for hours upon seeing it, but I couldn't deny it would be useful. "Okay, final status report before the boss gets here?" I requested through the radio.

"In position and AP rounds are loaded," Patrick reported instantly.

"Maintaining a scouting patrol over the north and west segments. Nothing but clueless civilians," Lisa added after several seconds delay.

A deep sigh came from Kittra's end. "Totally bored and waiting to greet the bitch," she muttered, sounding irritated. I remembered she disliked the rain.

"Plant's growing at an extremely fast pace and progressing safely," Kari spoke up from right next to me.

There was a brief static over the radio, before Nishia reported, "Barriers up, and many civilians deflected. You shouldn't be interrupted anytime soon. Captain Cuthbert just entered the grounds."

Glancing out the window, I noted the snaking vines extending above the rooftop and heading skyward, but ever towards the center of the lot, forming a large dome. "Barrier is almost seventy percent formed, and growing steadily. Estimated five minutes until completion," I myself reported, knowing Cuthbert was listening.

"Very good, everyone. We're about ready to begin, then. Do you still feel you can counteract her magic, Keith?" Cuthbert asked, as I saw him arrive in the ally next to Kittra, Lythis and the two angels trailing after him.

I held the book open and adrift to my left, and glanced at it once more to be sure. "Yes, if I briefly inverse the field I'm making, it should be like a vacuum on her dimension, and pull everything she has in there out to the real world. I'll then re-establish the field and we'll attack." 

Cuthbert chuckled heartily into the radio. "Let's hope she doesn't have half a dozen tons of crap in there again like last time. That was a bitch for our teams to clean up," he muttered, and I could hear Kittra snickering from here.

"It is a concern. I can't exactly tell what's in there before dumping it all, so just be careful," I warned, gulping lightly as I saw the vines mere feet from the top, snaking and entangling the drifting net of crystals I had going. It was like a huge, organic bird cage over the entire area. Closing the book, I sucked it back into my left arm before flexing it.

Kari frowned and sighed. "I hope she isn't expecting this and put something nasty in there this time," she pointed out.

"Anything she has in there would have to be inert. Energy, or organics other than her I could pick up," I assured, a bit disoriented at having my senses expand over the entire area. The vines wrapped about the top-most crystal then, and I felt the link establish over the entire net. "Okay, barrier is formed. Waiting for permission to proceed."

Cuthbert slipped into the building Kittra was under, and I felt him walking up the stairs and up to the second floor. "Lythis, are you and Kittra ready?" he asked, upon reaching the window.

Both girls stood up off the steps and walked fifteen feet out into the lot. "I'm ready, Master," Lythis reported.

"Ready to serve you her head, Keith!" Kittra agreed, suddenly sounding not bored at all. I chuckled at her gusto.

"Then begin, Keith," Cuthbert ordered.

Sighing to calm myself, I nodded to nobody in particular and activated a series of five sigils around the master crystal. The entire room suddenly lit up from the sheer power of all ten combined plants, and I smiled as the area went dark outside. The only light visible from inside the lot was the illuminated flecks of light that came down like snow, now, but glowed brightly. It caused the eerie effect of flickering shadows over every little shape or object, as my awareness expanded from each flake. Every dot was a little drop of magic, and I'd decided to manifest them to throw off Karumi's magical detection abilities, as well as provide a light source inside.

Several seconds passed, and I noted the field fully formed and at max power. "Field formed. Inversing it now," I reported, before signing the inversion glyph to the front of the crystal in front of me.

Kittra and Lythis dropped into a defensive stance as I announced that, and I knew we had to be ready for anything. I heard the careful cocking of a large caliber rifle above me, at the same time. A pulse could be noted, growing steadily towards the center of the lot. The distortion appeared in the air, then exploded with matter as my field sucked her entire dimension into reality within seconds.

My eyes widened as I saw the massive, ruptured bones expand across the lot, wedged in a small mountain of dirt expanding from the center. Kittra leapt backwards and landed on the eve she had sheltered under minutes ago, while Lythis took to the air with a skeptical look. The bones had to be several feet in diameter, and looked extremely ancient. They formed a pattern over the lot, as if the center were sitting in a malformed rib cage. A larger stone monument was brought into existence, similar to the one in the cemetery. This one had the twisted image of a woman over the top of it, however, who looked as if she had the flesh ripped off her while she was still alive.

A low whistle came over the radio. "Well if this isn't some messed up shit. Any sign of the woman?" Cuthbert asked dryly.

"She's in the central building," I reported, staring towards the entry of it.

"Towards the left side of the door. Trained on the estimated position of her head right now," Patrick reported, causing me to smile at the thought. The field shifted back to normal again as I erased the rune, and I simply held my breath.

Almost a minute went by with no movement from the structure. I knew I was tense, but I tried to let myself relax. My third eye saw her hazily inside the building, leaning up against the wall next to the door. That was the only place she could stay to avoid total line of sight. I watched her carefully, but she remained motionless, her ear pressed up against the wall. She was listening.

"She's listening for us," I whispered into the radio.

There was silence for a few seconds before a quiet chuckle sounded from the Captain. "She's cautious. That means she feels like pray," he deduced, and I could feel his grin from the tone of his voice. He'd been stationed here for years, purely for this moment, so I imagined he must be ecstatic.

Kittra crouched quietly and motionless on the eve, towards the back and away from sight. Lythis was almost at the top of the shield now, and landed gently on the top of our structure. "The statue's been identified. "Kirsten Volaygus, a tamer from the mainland. Last reported location being a forest ten miles north of here. All they found so far of her was a badly burned pokédex," Lisa suddenly reported. I sighed heavily. Another person had to die for this?

"She inflicts some form of pain and suffering, then uses the energy from it to make her dimensions. Kirsten is probably dead," I muttered weakly.

There was a low growl over the radio. "Damn it. I was hoping to get her before anyone else died. Are you sure it's fatal?" Cuthbert asked over the radio.

"Pretty sure, yeah. That's what happened to my father. But I'm surprised we haven't found a body in the lot prior to this. She must have moved her after using her energy to form the place, but I admit I'm not familiar with that magic," I replied, frowning at the statue over the structure. She looked in a huge amount of pain. She wasn't suffering like my Dad was, so I guess Karumi had to make her suffer.

Kittra shook her head weakly. "This is a small area she made, so she might not have killed her. But the magic needs suffering of some sort. Since I doubt she was suffering like Keith's father, physical torture was probably needed. You'll need to find her quickly, if she's still alive," she explained quietly, crouching lower and raising her right hand up to the hilt of her blade.

Movement caught my third eye suddenly, and I shifted all my attention back to Karumi. She bent low against the wall and dug into some sort of bag at her feet. "She's going for a bag at her feet. Interception advised," I reported instantly.

"Lythis, move in with hit and run," Cuthbert commanded, a second later.

Sighing, I nodded. "Kittra, keep on her and get me her head," I added.

Kittra grinned on the eve and whipped her right hand downwards, blade drawn faster than my sight could match. She was up and off the eve with an inhuman grace and intensity, doing a casual looking flip through the air before whipping herself downwards, blade first. At the same time, I felt a burst of air and a white streak shot past my window, my smile widened.

Kittra's cut was brutal, causing a hellish explosion as she seemed to add fireball to the attack on the way down. A neat fourth of the building, pretty much the entire corner, shattered off, hurtling into the surreal space I had created. I was awe inspired and had no idea how strong she was, that I almost didn't remember to react to the flying debris. My role was not only keeping the bitch inside the dome, but minimizing collateral damage to the area. My energy lashed out and halted the debris, before pulling it out of the dome and into a small pile in the alley. It gave the strange illusion of it drifting off into nothingness, however.

Karumi had barely ducked out of the way of the cut, and rolled for her life to avoid the flames, hauling the bag with her. Just as she came out of the roll, Lythis collided with her, shining blade of light slashing downwards. There was a dull shattering sound as I watched the cement give away, and shuddered as I realized how strong they actually were. This was impossible. She flipped out of the cut and spiraled away, whipping out a few small tornado-like manifestations into what was left of the building before taking to the air again, fully.

I saw a flicker, and my third eye activated just in time to see an afterimage of Karumi exiting the building and fading against the base of one of the unnaturally large bones. Giving a light tugging to each girl, I watched them both look in that direction just as she teleported. Kittra was leaping through ruins towards the area instantly, and Karumi looked up just in time to get an expression of adamant horror. Trying to estimate where she was looking, I decided that it was towards the blade Kittra held?

She managed to just leap backwards and out of the way of the cut. The entire bone column started to collapse, causing the hellcat to leap backwards and out of the way. Karumi threw a handful of blasts frantically as she landed into a roll. I threw up afterimages of Kittra, and cloaked Lythis' sudden descent. The archangel was brutally fast in the air, and my image couldn't totally keep up, but Karumi seemed dead set on Kittra. She accidentally targeted three of the blasts into my images, and Kittra whipped the blade around in the air as she fell out of her leap. Her hand motion accelerated out of my vision again, and I saw the only accurate blast go flying off to the side, somehow on fire now.

Lythis smashed into the ground, just missing Karumi as she barely managed to teleport. My third eye out-paced her again, and I tugged in the direction of the structure again, just as Karumi appeared again. She managed to just draw a blade of dark energy in her right hand, as she dropped what was left of the bag her left was holding. Wait, what? I glanced back to where she was before, and saw the majority of the bag severed! That was Lythis' target, then. My attention shifted as the Archangel closed the gap in a mere second, clashing blades three more times with Karumi before fluttering gracefully away again. Karumi missed with the last attack, not catching the hit and run tactic, just in time to stumble off balance as Kittra leapt in. There was a blinding cut of heat and energy, and my eyes widened as the base of the structure exploded, Karumi skipping head-first through the foundation! She skidded to a stop fifteen feet out the other side of the structure, and screamed "Fuck!" at the top of her lungs, glaring up at the grinning Hellcat, perched atop the remains of the structure. Idly, I really hoped the tortured girl wasn't tied to the consistency of her statue somehow, as I watched the statue's head roll down the pile.

Karumi had her right eye closed, blood splashed liberally across that entire side of her face. "Darn, I thought I'd take your head with that cut," Kittra pouted playfully.

"Lythis, swoop around and come in from her right!" I whispered into the headset, quickly. If she could catch her on that side...

"Too slow! And you don't command me!" Lythis shouted back, causing Kittra to roll her eyes as she leapt at Karumi again, head-on.

Lythis spiraled and tried a dive again, as my third eye flared up. "No!" I tried to shout to the spiraling Archangel.

"Listen to," Cuthbert managed to shout out before she hit ground.

Way too fast! Karumi fell sideways out of the way, spinning with her sword cut in her left hand instead! I whipped my bone spear as fast as I could and grimaced at the throb shooting through my head. I was too slow. Way too slow.

The bone spear hit too soon, barely grazing Karumi's arm. I was also off target my almost a foot. Karumi missed too, somewhat. The cut barely passed over Lythis' head, utterly severing her long hair as it went past, leaving barely a foot. Her arm collided with my spear, and I screamed out as the concussion force hit the incomplete structure of the bone as my consciousness was still in it. The arc of the swing stopped as the blade cut six inches into Lythis' left wing.

She screamed in pain and managed to leap away as Karumi recoiled from my bone. I rapidly tried to disconnected my mental tethers from it. Blood sprayed from her wing as Lythis tried feebly to flap and retreat airborne again. Kittra leapt past her and screamed in fury as she slashed. Oh shit.

Karumi barely teleported away as Kittra severed through the bone spear with one slash, breaking a six foot long crescent groove in the cement. Someone stabbed a metaphorical dagger through my head, as parts of my consciousness still trying to form the spear suddenly disappeared. Not even finding the will to scream, everything shifted a hazy gray as I fell. Seeing Karumi teleport just as my view left the window, I tried frantically to use my third eye. 

No response. The feeling just wasn't there where it used to be. I felt cold as I hit the stone floor, not really even feeling my head graze the wood. "Keith!" I heard Kari whisper, echoing in the distance. Or maybe she yelled?

Minutes passed. Or was it seconds? A dull thudding noise sounded from outside, and I watched the ceiling light up an orange and purple color? An explosion? Reality came back and suddenly it felt like a sledgehammer had been whacking my skull for an hour. My ears started ringing and I winced, looking up at Kari as she turned me onto my side. Warmth was coming down my forehead from where I hit the wood, and my nose felt plugged up. She wiped gently at it, and I was startled when she withdrew her blood covered sleeve before moving up to my forehead. My nose was bleeding?

Struggling to my feet as I regained my hearing, I was surprised when Kari not only let me, but helped me steady myself. "Damn that hurt," I muttered into the headset.

"Lythis, report!" Cuthbert ordered, ignoring me. I finally managed to look out the window in time to see two burning craters. Karumi stood hunched over at the furthest right one, newly bleeding from the arm and side, now. My eyes widened as I saw Kittra crawl out of the one on the left, a large torn area on her back, almost a foot wide.

Karumi let out a weak growl, but only managed to stumble a little. "Damn you, Kittra. That's the second time you almost blew me up," she spit out, saying her name like a curse.

Kittra managed a grin as she lifted herself to her feet, spitting out a glob of blood mixed with the saliva. "Oh come now, it shows I care," she managed to rasp out.

"I admit, you threw me off when you hurled your sword. And then if you didn't luck out like the bitch you are and hit my second blast with it," Karumi muttered, surprisingly chuckling as she managed to straighten herself.

Kittra managed to fully stand too, grinning wildly. I couldn't see the blade anywhere. Desperately trying to get my third eye to work again to find it, I growled in frustration. There was just nothing.

"Ow," was suddenly muttered weakly over the radio. Lythis slowly crawled out of the broken rubble at the other side of the crater. The other blast was aimed at her! If Kittra hadn't detonated it early, I somehow doubted the stubborn archangel would still be alive.

Looking back towards Karumi, I frowned as I noticed she was paying no attention to the Archangel at all. Wait, her right eye was still covered in blood, limiting her field of perception. I formulated an idea in my still aching mind. "Lythis! Are you okay? Status!" Cuthbert practically demanded.

The archangel weakly lifted herself to a standing position, bleeding badly. My eyes widened a little more when I saw her left wing badly burned and still hanging by sinews, and the right was bent at a terribly odd angle, hanging limply. I winced sympathetically. "My wings won't work, and I think I hurt my leg in the explosion, but other than that," she reported softly, trailing off.

"Retreat, Lythis. You're in no condition to fight anymore," Cuthbert requested. 

I frowned heavily, then rapidly got an idea. "Wait, Cuthbert? Can she perform one more ranged attack before retreating?" I asked, looking back at Karumi.

There was a long pause, and Lythis suddenly smiled. "Her right eye. That's what you tried to tell me about before," she muttered, staring at Karumi.

The Dark Queen advanced slowly towards Kittra, shaking her head weakly. "Without your blade, you know you aren't going to be able to beat me. Although I'm curious as to why you took it up again in the first place," she spoke gently as she did.

Kittra stretched her legs tiredly, but managed to stand entirely upright and smirk back at her. "Some things are worth it, ya know?" she offered, not losing her mirth.

"You can't possibly mean Kit," Karumi muttered, suddenly sounding irritated.

"Kittra, get ready to charge her. Jump slowly during the attack, though, and I'll cover you with an illusion. Lythis, can you time a ranged attack on her right side to hit just after Kittra's first attack?" I asked, trying to stay focused. My vision was still faded gray, and I couldn't seem to get my third eye to work at all. I wondered if Kittra knew where the sword went.

Kittra nodded gently, but I couldn't tell if it was to me or Karumi. Lythis smiled, however, and held up her right hand towards Karumi, nodding. "Don't hurt yourself, Lythis. Retreat after this," Cuthbert reminded, causing the Archangel to chuckle.

"Somehow, I doubt you'd understand," Kittra muttered before suddenly bursting forward and towards Karumi. Lythis' wings melted gently into her back at the same time as she brought her other hand up to the rapidly forming energy ball in her hand. Kittra stumbled within ten feet of Karumi, but managed a weak jump, which was much slower than her prior forms. I timed the illusion just as she leapt, altering the image of her going through the air to the right of Karumi instead of the left.

Karumi growled and spun to her right in attempts to keep Kittra in her field of vision, just as I smiled and dropped the illusion. Her eyes widened as the real Kittra smashed into her now open left side, ripping her around the entirely opposite direction. She screamed, just as Lythis pulled her right hand back and formed a glowing white bow in her hands, arrow pulled back. "Now!" Cuthbert ordered. Lythis smirked and let go of the arrow, causing it to blast towards Karumi's now exposed back.

Kittra clawed twice, ducked under Karumi's slash, and leapt away again. Just as the pissed off Dark Queen started to turn after her, the arrow went directly into her back. The explosion of energy was deafening, but neither Kittra nor Lythis wasted any time. Lythis charged another arrow up while carefully retreating towards Cuthbert's direction, limping noticeably. Kittra sprinted and rolled directly into the fire in the crater where Karumi was. I was slightly confused at what she was doing, but she walked out the other side, trailing flames everywhere. Then I smirked as I saw she was carrying a reasonably intact blade again.

"Damn you, Kit!" Karumi screamed, pushing herself up using the side of my energy field. Glaring, I flexed the field in that area and pushed her backwards from it. She stumbled, but managed to catch herself before she fell. Blood splattered across a deep wound in her back, I noticed, and her right arm didn't look too healthy. Then I frowned as I realized another wound had appeared on her shoulder. A heavy reloading sound came from above me.

"Armor Piercing rounds are effective, but not to the degree expected. First shot missed. Switching to chemical incineration rounds," Patrick reported.

I chuckled weakly. "I think you got her," I corrected, earning a dry chuckle.

"Nah. I wanted it in her skull, not her shoulder," he returned in a surprisingly mirthful manner.

Kittra walked slowly towards Karumi, as the pokégirl in question winced and tried to pick at her right shoulder. After several seconds, she let loose a spurt of blood and gore from the wound. I watched something metallic hit the cement, sizzling still. "The archangel, Kittra with a new blade, a sniper; damn, I almost think you guys want me dead," Karumi shouted, glaring around at the darkness all around her.

"My new master wants your head, and I'm very inclined to give it to him," Kittra purred, flicking the flames off the blade. I noticed the thinner metal of the cross guard was partially melted, not that I expected it to stand up to that blast. But seeing as it was probably knocked away freely, instead of deflecting it as if Kittra was still holding it, probably saved the blade itself.

Karumi shook her head weakly and turned back towards Kittra, glancing briefly at the Archangel at the edge of the barrier, still aiming at her. "New master, huh? So, is it that crotchety old bastard, or did you actually bend over for Kit?" she asked, glaring.

Kittra snorted derisively. "Keith is my master, yes. He's a much better person than you give him credit for, not that I expected you to understand," she replied, falling into a defensive stance.

"Kit, huh? That explains your ability to predict my teleports earlier. Although I'm guessing," she trailed off, glancing at the charred remains of the bone spear to her right now. "Hurts like a bitch when you don't finish forming it, doesn't it?" she asked, in a louder voice.

I growled lightly, distinctly aware I was still bleeding. Kari had found a handkerchief and was wiping my forehead lightly between checking the crystal disks. Kittra frowned, and seemed confused, however. "You didn't notice?  He paid a hefty price to save the archangel. Getting your consciousness bashed violently, severed in half, then burned hurts like a bitch, I can tell you from experience," she informed, obviously towards Kittra.

"Bullshit. It's only a magic attack," Kittra spit out, causing Karumi to laugh.

"Do you honestly think he has genetic connections to raw mana like us? That he forms it the same way? He shapes the magic with his consciousness, and his human mind doesn't work as quickly as ours does at that. The spear wasn't finished forming when we both took turns annihilating it. Trust me, it sucks," she explained, laughing in amusement.

Kittra frowned and shook her head, raising her blade up with the point trained on Karumi's throat. "Shut up, Bitch. I'll simply make it up to him by delivering your head," she retorted, walking towards her slowly. Lythis kept the fully charged arrow trained on Karumi at the same time.

"And how are you going to do that?" Karumi asked, walking as well but to the side, keeping Kittra at a noticeable distance.

Kittra chuckled at her movements. "You're afraid of me, so you know how already. You can't escape this area, so it's inevitable that your head hits the ground," she replied, much calmer now. The look of fiery hatred was still in her eyes, but in a much scarier, gleeful manner now.

"What's to stop me from simply blowing my way out?" Karumi asked, still backing away while trying to keep Lythis in her field of vision.

Chuckling, I projected my voice through the crystals in the sky, "You're bluffing. You have no idea in what direction to attack, and if you're off by even a little, the field won't go down and you'll have used up all that energy you could have used to fend off Kittra a little longer."

"Clever," Karumi muttered, actually smiling again as she glanced upwards. Kittra suddenly flicked her right foot forwards at the lapse in concentration, sending a chuck of debris flying at Karumi. The Dark Queen whipped her blade out and knocked aside the rock, just in time to see Kittra leap directly into her face. Her eyes widened as she barely ducked a brutal cut to her neck, and leapt backwards out of a second cut I didn't even see. Just as she landed from her dodge, an arrow of light shot out of nowhere and smashed into her already wounded right shoulder. She screamed but spun with it, causing the arrow to rip through instead of exploding and sail harmlessly into my energy field.

My eyes widened rapidly as what sounded like a cannon going off came from above me! Karumi's widened as well, just in time for her head to rock sideways and a gout of flame to explode off her skull. She stumbled and fell sideways, fire coming off her head and hair as she hit the concrete stiffly. "Incendiary rounds lack piercing power, but direct hit. Status of target unconfirmed," Patrick reported a second later, causing me to wince as Karumi twitched on the concrete. Regardless of everything she'd done, that had to hurt.

Kittra made a mad giggling sound as she walked towards Karumi slowly. "Still alive, Bitch?" she asked, smirking. I didn't think she'd enjoy this so much.

"Fuck you," came muffled from Karumi as she shakily lifted herself off the cement, hair burned pretty much off, and blood coming from the other side of her head too.

"I'll pass. I have a tamer for that, now," Kittra replied, smirking gleefully as she wiped blood off her sword with her tattered top. Blood? That's when I noticed the cut along Karumi's stomach as she managed to stand again. She hadn't quite dodged that last slash like I thought. Kittra was way better with the sword, it would seem. I wondered why she wasn't using one when we first met her.

Karumi snorted, barely managing to get herself to her feet. "You had a tamer before too, so what happened there?" she asked venomously.

Kittra stopped walking and glared irritably at her. "You already know what happened there," she shot back.

Karumi chuckled and shook her head. "You must not have told him, although I guess I don't blame you there," she commented, smirking suddenly. Wait, what?

The Hellcat's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, as flames started to trail off her body. "Shut up. You have no right to talk about that," she growled, lunging suddenly at Karumi. The Dark Queen laughed as she leapt sideways, dodging the noticeably slower downwards cut as it shattered the ground where it hit. She didn't try to attack back, but just leapt away.

"Oh? You don't seem to want to be honest to him, so is that really fair? Being your new tamer, he should at least be warned that you murdered and ate your last one, right?" Karumi reasoned. My eyes went wide and I suddenly felt numb. What?!

Kittra let out a scream of rage and leapt forwards, wildly slashing at Karumi, who teleported out of the way before the Hellcat reduced the entire area where she was to a molten crater. "Shut up, Bitch!" she screamed, hurling fireballs at Karumi, who dodged and weaved out of their way.

"Kittra, you're using up too much energy!" Kari shouted, looking back over at me in concern. I didn't know what to think. Karumi was lying. She must be. Right?

"She murdered her last tamer, and ate him after a taming session. She was in the process of butchering the entire harem when I found her and she hid with me to avoid the authorities. I figured you already knew. The shock!" Karumi continued, grinning as Kittra screamed in rage, hurling another fireball at almost point-blank range before slashing uncontrollably.

My fist started to shake. "Shut up, Karumi. You're a lying bitch," I growled, glaring at her through the window.

She leapt away from a huge blast of flames, and landed on the rubble of the building, remaining purely defensive as she clutched her right shoulder now. Blood was leaking out of it profusely. "Oh please, I'm only looking out for you, Kit. Ask your 'Captain' if you don't believe me," she told me, smirking down at Kittra.

"C-Cuthbert?" I asked weakly, not sure what to believe now. Why was I just finding out about this now? Why did she even lie to me about it in the first place?!

There was a long sigh over the radio. "I thought you scanned her pokédex history already," he muttered in a low voice.

"So it's true," I concluded, feeling uncertainty tearing at me.

"Yes, but this isn't the time to be talking about it. Kill her first, then we'll talk all you want, okay?" he reminded, and I sighed weakly.

My attention snapped back to the fight when a glow caught my eye. Karumi was slowly charging a rather large energy ball in her left hand. Her right hand re-formed the dark energy blade, and she smiled down at Kittra. "So, shall I stop your suffering now, Kittra?" she asked gleefully.

Kittra growled low up at her, but hesitated. "If you use up that much energy, you're not going to escape this dome, even if you kill me," she returned, eyes narrowing.

Karumi shrugged absently, but kept her intent smile. I was tempted to bring up Kittra's profile right now, but deep down, I realized Cuthbert was right. Even if she did lie, I'd rather wait until the situation wasn't life threatening to talk about it. Even deeper down, that resolution didn't set well with me, but I tried to swallow it.

Everything was interrupted, regardless, when an explosion sounded from my right instead. Kari frowned, but hurried over to the window facing that direction. "What was that?" I asked over the radio.

"Damn! Multiple hostiles are attacking my location!" Cuthbert shouted, and I heard another, smaller explosion though his radio.

Lythis looked stunned momentarily, but rapidly turned around and pushed against the side of the field. "Open a hole for me, Keith! I need to help master," she demanded. Hesitating, I glanced back towards Kittra, who frowned. Her eyes softened gently then, and I swallowed. Shifting my gaze back to Lythis, I opened a human-sized hole in the field directly in front of her. She limped out rapidly, and I slammed it shut behind her.

"You're on your own for now, Kittra," I informed weakly, looking back over to her.

The anger in her gaze rapidly faded, and she swallowed weakly.  "Keith, please. Let me explain," she requested, shivering. Karumi kept her smile, but raised an eyebrow.

"What's to explain? You lied to him and are using him to escape punishment, just like you used me," she pointed out, energy ball having stopped growing now. It was considerably large at this point, and I guessed it could probably punch through the shield. If Kittra couldn't dodge that thing, it wasn't looking too promising.

Kittra snarled up at her. "Shut up! I'm not using him at all!" she denied, causing Karumi to roll her eyes warily.

"Stop it, Kittra. Just focus on killing her," I reminded stiffly, shifting my gaze back towards the right, before following, "What's going on over there, Captain?"

There were several more smaller explosions as his end cut back in suddenly. "We're under attack by a single tamer using a skilled Flarea and Ninjanezumi. Both my angels are trying to hold them back," he reported.

"I'm heading your way. Hold on," Lisa added, sounding unconcerned. She underestimated the group because of their small size. Wait, a Flarea and Ninjanezumi?

My eyes narrowed slowly. "Does the Flarea have a cross shaped cut or scar on her chest?" I asked over intercom.

Kittra's auto-feed cut in instead, however, with, "What's wrong, Kittra?  You're hesitating. Am I to assume interesting things are coming over the radio?" Karumi asked in amusement. Shit, she knew about the attack. Why was she working with Zageith again?

"Keith, please? Promise me you'll let me explain?" Kittra asked, utterly ignoring Karumi's question, causing the Dark Queen to chuckle.

Frowning, I looked back to Karumi. She was just standing there, watching Kittra. Why wasn't she resuming her attack? She had obviously finished charging it. "Later, Kittra. Focus now," I reminded yet again.

"Keith!" Kittra whined weakly.

Growling now, I returned, "Why the hell does it matter to you now, after you've already lied to me for almost a month?! What does waiting a little while longer change? If it didn't hurt your conscience five minutes ago, why bother starting to care now?!"

"Keith," Kari muttered, looking sadly towards me as I shook again.

Forcing my eyes to blink, I wiped at them weakly. I was so sick of this. I didn't even know what the hell I was doing anymore, really. It would be wonderful if I could just go away from everything and relax on some deserted island, plenty of time to sift through everything that's happened.

Kittra's eyes widened and she looked back at me in shock. "Master! No, please, you have to believe me! It's different with you," she pleaded, and I hesitated as I saw her eyes starting to get watery. Nothing made sense anymore, and I didn't know what to believe. Part of me wanted to trust her, but what Karumi said was almost stuck in my head.

Karumi grinned in amusement suddenly. "Ah, I was waiting for that. Thank you, Kittra," she suddenly spoke up. What?

My eyes widened as Karumi looked past the Hellcat and directly at me, the same direction Kittra was looking. Kittra blinked, confused, and glanced back at Karumi just as she launched the massive energy ball. Oh fuck. Kittra's eyes bugged out and she screamed "No!" before charging after the blast, blade raised.

Grabbing Kari's arm, I hurled both of us towards the stairs, pulling her against me as I hit, back-first. Kari screamed as we slid down a good five feet before the world rapidly went to hell around me. The explosion was deafening, as the blast tore through the shield and impacted directly between the second and third floors. The stairs buckled under us as we skipped back into the air, shockwave hurling us violently into the wall. The structure was already buckling brutally in the direction of the lot, and the wall had all but lost its supporting structure. We went through it, upside down now, and much to my dismay, Kari hit first. She winced and screamed again as we fell the remaining seven feet towards the ground, bricks raining down around us. Both of us hit on our backs, and I whipped my protesting arms up as fast as I could, forming a rapid barrier above us. Two bricks got through before the barrier even formed, smashing into the ground to my right, but I managed to barely deflect the remaining debris as the wall followed us.

The building itself lurched backwards and away from us, seeming to practically snap in half under its own weight. "Oh shit!" could be heard from the top, fourth floor, as I suddenly saw Patrick bail out the window?! My eyes widened more and I did the only thing I could think of. Rapidly expanding the force field, I launched it upwards in attempts to catch him. The pain in my back intensified, and I struggled to remain focused as I managed to barely snag his waist out of the air. He slowed dramatically, and I winced as I realized I was a lot lower on energy than I thought.

There wasn't any other options. Gritting my teeth, I smashed my left hand against the ground and sucked in mana as fast as I could, immediately projecting it to slowing him down as he fell. He seemed to drift briefly, as if suddenly having a parachute, and went greatly off course as I lost concentration. He swung sideways in the air as he fell, and went directly into the top of the large tree on the edge of the lot near the corner. I felt him hit moderately softly on a branch, and grab hold of it. Gasping, I released the telekinetic barrier and my right arm fell to the side as I panted.

My body screamed in agony, as nerves danced up and down my back. Kari lay motionlessly to my left, and I turned my head to the best of my abilities to look at her. Her eyes were fluttering rapidly, and she let out a weak groan, which was rapidly drown out as the rest of the building collapsed hellishly, releasing a billowing wave of dust into the air and across the ground. A weak whimpering came from inside the building, and winced as I remembered the two girls were in the base of it.

Trying not to scream, I ground my teeth together as I managed to roll over slowly. I tried pushing myself up, but I couldn't seem to catch my breath, and my arms didn't have the strength to lift me. Managing to pull myself backwards with my legs, I got my knees under me and rested there for a few moments. The sound of rubble shifting came to my ears, as they finally stopped ringing, and I glanced back towards the building. Danni was digging through a pile of broken bricks, and rapidly uncovering a fuzzy orange form. Swallowing hard, I pushed off the ground with my chest and finally sat up on my knees. Swaying off balance a little, I barely managed to stabilize myself, and I flexed the muscles in my arms, trying to get them to move. Why did I have to be stuck in this piece of shit body?!

Finally getting my right arm to respond, I passively sucked more mana in with my left, while raising my right towards Danni.  She was pulling at Kiya's arms, trying to pull the bleeding pokégirl from under an extremely large section of the wall. Gritting my teeth, I managed to get the wall chunk to wobble, then slowly lift up, barely half an inch. Danni gave a whimper and yanked, pulling her harem sister free of the wall and the remains of the building. Letting my right arm fall again, I winced as I saw Kiya. Her left leg was going in the wrong direction at the knee, and there didn't look like there was any bone at all in the right from the knee down. She was bleeding from a deep leg wound, and another shallower wound on her left shoulder.

Danni started crying as she tore her shirt and tried to push the fabric onto the wound in Kiya's leg. Then she glanced over and saw me watching her. "H-help!" she exclaimed, dragging Kiya rapidly towards me. I swallowed weakly before shifting my weight in the general direction she was coming from. I fell over, but managed to push myself over to the spot where Danni stopped using my legs and right arm. Not seeing a choice again, I swallowed and pulled in even more mana with my left arm, channeling it into the only healing spell I knew, directly from Mom.

Danni's eyes softened as she watched the wounds seal up slowly, and the blood stop flowing. Pushing myself up onto my knees again, I just sat there, trying my hardest to stay conscious. Kari groaned again, and shuddered slightly next to me. I glanced over at her just in time to see her open her eyes and sit up abruptly. "Keith! Are you okay?" she asked, looking me over quickly.

I motioned down to my left arm, finding myself too tired to muster my voice. I couldn't seem to catch my breath, and started coughing when I tried. Kari tore another piece off her sleeve and wiped gently at the minor laceration I had on my shoulder. I mentally made a note to get her new clothes after this, provided any of us lived. Kari held me still as I coughed, eyes tearing up as I gasped for air and the spasms started again. My body was starting to lock itself up, and I tried to relax to get it to pass. "Stop, Keith. You've done enough, just rest," she muttered weakly, rubbing my chest softly.

Danni used the impromptu bandage to start cleaning up some of Kiya's wounds, and I saw she was still breathing. It looked a little ragged, but she had just gotten her legs crushed and a half ton of bricks dumped on her. Briefly, I admired a pokégirl's level of constitution. If that had happened to me, I would have splattered like a ripe tomato. "She'll be okay," I finally managed to whisper weakly, trying to smile at the flustering Chickenlittle. Danni actually smiled back at me gently, eyes softening. I wondered if she truly understood what was going on, or if it was more primal than that. I knew she could speak, but she usually ignored me most of the time.

"But are you going to be okay?" Kari asked hesitantly, holding me upright still.

Sighing, I felt my body almost fully locked up, as my muscles tightened and released rapidly. "I overdid it, I guess," I admitted weakly. Kari frowned and helped rest me up against a larger section of wall, about seven feet from where we landed. Resting up against the wall, I groaned as I adjusted my posture and finally gave up trying to get my stupid body to work again. Kari looked warily towards the remains of the building, and I sighed. "Kittra, report in. What happened? Where are you and are you okay?" I asked weakly, voice rasping a little as I had inhaled way too much dust.

There was dead silence over the radio, so I repeated it one more time. After almost twenty more seconds, I winced and gave up. She had ran after that thing. What was she hoping to accomplish? I hoped she was still alive. After a few seconds, I wondered if I really did hope she was still alive. She had lied to me, and for all I know, was considering me a meal down the road.

I groaned as the radio picked up again. "Damn, this fucker is good. Had to recall an angel. Where the hell are you, Lisa?! And what's your status, Keith? The shield just dropped," Cuthbert shouted, sounding frantic as I heard a crashing over his voice.

"I'm almost there! Just hold on a little longer," Lisa shouted, sounding out of breath, and accompanied by rapid footsteps.

Sighing, I inhaled sharply before returning, "She hit the building with a powerful attack. The shield was compromised when the crystal dais got destroyed. I couldn't stop it, I'm sorry," I managed to cough out before running out of air again. My right hand managed to lift up to my stomach, where I felt it was extremely hot and giving a throbbing. Kari winced and moved over to me again, holding me gently.

"Oh hell, that means that bitch is loose! How the hell did she know where to attack?!" he asked, sounding irate. Or maybe it was just the stress?

Taking a few deep breaths again, I adjusted my posture, trying to shift the tension from my stomach. "She tricked Kittra into giving my position away," I replied simply, trying to gently exhale and slow my breathing down.

There was a string of curses before, "What's your status? Are you injured?"

"He's drained. He used up a lot of energy saving Kiya and I. I don't know where Patrick is," Kari responded for me, looking worriedly over at me again.

"Kari? You're there and okay too?" he asked, sounding slightly calmer now, and I heard Lisa's angry shout in the background, followed by more explosions.

Kari frowned weakly and glanced towards Kiya and Danni. "Keith, Kiya, Danni, and myself are here. Kiya's unconscious, and Danni's a little bruised and battered. I hurt my shoulder, but I should be alright," she reported.

"Patrick's in the tree over there," I added, nudging my chin in the direction of said Maple.

"So he's okay too? Whew. Where's Kittra?" Cuthbert shot back.

Sighing, I shook my head slowly. Kari frowned and sighed. "We have no idea. She's not responding."

"Damn it. Over half the capable fighters are down. This isn't going to work," he muttered, and I wondered if he forgot his radio was on.

Kari looked away from my headset and sighed, clenching her fist. I winced and shook my head at her. She didn't get a chance to even train, so this wasn't her fault at all. She just became a pokégirl four days ago, for crying out loud. I opened my mouth to say something, when movement caught my eye past her. My eyes widened as the absolute last thing I wanted to see turned the corner of the rubble.

Karumi walked with a slight limp, but wore a blank look. She glanced around briefly, but then spotted me and smiled faintly, before heading in this direction. "Kari, run," I muttered weakly, trying to shift my position upwards and get my arm to work again. If I could manage one more spell, I might be able to distract Karumi long enough for Kari to escape.

Kari blinked at me, before turning in the direction I was looking and gasping. She was up and on her feet faster than I realized she could manage, and held both her arms out, interposing herself between Karumi and I. Danni stared at her in confusion before looking behind her as well, then squawking sharply and doing the same thing for Kiya.

Karumi continued walking as if not even seeing the two pokégirls, and I noticed she took on a more proud movement, trying to minimize the limp to the best of her abilities. Kari growled and shouted "Stay back!" towards Karumi before launching what looked like a Power Bolt at her. Karumi raised an eyebrow before swatting the bolt to the side with her left hand.

"Just run," I coughed out, pushing myself up with my right arm, trying to force my body to move. My breath just wasn't coming back, and my left arm was already shifting to a gray color, black veins spreading up it.

Suddenly, Karumi was directly in front of Kari! Kari jumped in surprise, but Karumi knocked her hands aside and latched onto her throat with blinding speed. My eyes widened as she lifted Kari entirely off the ground with her right arm. Kari made a gasping noise, and brought both hands back together on the hand latched onto her. She struggled and tried to pull the fingers apart, but Karumi's hand wasn't budging. "Hello again, Kit. My apologies for having to resort to drastic measures like that. But you should feel proud of yourself for forcing my hand like that," she spoke softly, suddenly.

Danni spastically leapt at Karumi, flailing her wings rapidly and attempting to dislodge Kari. Karumi blinked and looked irritably at her, moving her left arm in place to keep the feathers out of her face. "Go away, you retarded bird!" she exclaimed suddenly, swatting Danni in the face and launching her fifteen feet through the air, to land in a limp pile near Kiya. Karumi's hand started to glow with energy as she aimed it in the direction of the two fallen pokégirls.

"Karumi!" I shouted, feeling my voice crack as I coughed again. Managing to push myself up, I barely caught my breath and shakily stood.

Karumi smiled suddenly, without looking back at me, and closed her hand softly, the glow stopping. "Yes, Kit?" she asked politely, finally turning her head back in my direction.

"Don't hurt them. And drop Kari," I demanded, glaring at her as I wobbled uneasily, trying to stand up straight.

Karumi sighed and glanced back towards the struggling Kari, who was still making choking noises. Her hands were locked around Karumi's wrist, and she was managing to support her own body weight, thankfully. "But why? These leeches are a bane to your existence. You're smarter than this," she asked, raising an eyebrow back to me.

"Excuse me?" I asked irritably, narrowing my eyes further at her. "They're not leeches, and if you want revenge, just take me. Let them go," I offered.

Karumi snickered and shook her head. "I was angry at you, yeah. But I think I figured you out a little bit more, now, and I've come to the conclusion your betrayal was actually my fault," she explained, lowering Kari about an inch, but not enough to put her back on the ground.

I sighed tiredly. "Then what do you want. You broke through the field, so why don't you just flee?" I asked her.

She shook her head, then smiled more softly at me, with a strange look in her eyes. "I was honestly hurt by you betraying me like that. I'd grown fond of you, really, in our time together."

I winced and shook my head. "I'm sorry, okay? You attacked the angels though, and there was no reason for that," I apologized, hoping if she was placated, she'd let Kari go.

"I figured it was the case. Now I'm just trying to help you," she returned, giving Kari a shake for emphasis.

I growled low, but Karumi held up her left hand. "You're not thinking clearly. Love is blind, of course, but I'm the only one here who hasn't lied to you, remember?" she pointed out.

"What the hell are you talking about? Kari hasn't lied to me," I snarled, feeling a bit light headed as I tried to catch my breath again.

Karumi shook her head slowly. "You're smarter than this. I can read her thoughts, but I shouldn't have to tell you for you to see. Haven't you ever thought it a little 'convenient' that she suddenly admits to having 'feelings' for you a mere day after she becomes a pokégirl and realizes she's doomed to a life of practical slavery? Haven't you ever noticed how much better it is for her to attach herself to you? The person she knows isn't going to be a dick to her, and guaranties her a cushy future in light of no other options?" she asked, glaring lightly back at Kari.

"What? Bullshit. You're lying. She liked me before," I started to deny.

Karumi snorted. "Or she's a flirty slut. How would I have even known she admitted feelings for you if I hadn't read her thoughts? They're blatantly clear with how much she's debating between you and Kittra. She seems to have taken even more of a liking to our dear fur ball. Fascinating, no?" she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow back at me.

The proverbial icicle stabbed into my heart and my balance faltered. I managed to catch myself on the wall using my right hand. No, she had to be lying. But she didn't about Kittra. And she did know more than she possibly could. She had to have really read Kari's mind! Kari struggled harder, trying to kick at Karumi now, but couldn't reach at the distance she was being held at. I stared at her tiredly. All I wanted to do was curl up and sleep somewhere. Let the world move on without me.

"Look, I have no desire, nor reason to lie to you.  In truth, I respect your cunning and potential greatly. I'm just tired of all of these assholes lying to you and using you like this. You don't deserve it," Karumi added, losing her smile then and sighing. My chest felt like I'd inhaled cold water, suddenly, which didn't help with me remaining calm very well.

Coughing again, I gasped and slipped down the wall behind me. My left arm throbbed painfully suddenly, and it was like I was breathing in fluid. Trying to catch my breath, nothing came and I fell sideways. Kari made a squeaking sound, and I saw Karumi's eyes widen out of the corner of my peripheral vision. She actually tossed Kari before bending down next to me. I felt Karumi's hands slip under my shirt and stop at my chest, as a warm light suddenly drifted over me. My lungs stopped jerking uncontrollably, and my eyes watered as I gasped air in.

Coughing, I shook on the ground weakly, as I managed to look back up at Karumi, confused now. She looked back down at me, concern showing on her face. "Are you okay, Kit?" she asked softly. I nodded gently, and managed to sit up again. "I don't have much energy left, so I can't heal you fully. I'm sorry," she added, helping me sit up.

Kari coughed and wheezed weakly, ten feet from us, and slowly managed to struggle into a kneeling position, glaring at Karumi with narrowed eyes. She summoned another Power Bolt and hurled it at the Dark Queen's head. Karumi sighed and stopped the bolt dead with her left hand again, not looking away from me. "Are you pissed because I choked you, or because I just ruined the gig you had going?" she asked irritably, glancing back over at Kari.

"Bullshit! You're a lying bitch. I love Keith, and you have no right to say otherwise!" she shouted.

Karumi shook her head slowly. "Considering you just shot me after I healed him, I guess that shows where your priorities reside," she reasoned, standing up again and turning to face Kari fully.

Kari started to glare more at her, until Karumi's eyes started to glow an angry violet color. Kari's widened as Karumi formed several orbs of energy in her right hand. "Run, little whore. I'm not going to let you hurt him anymore," Karumi warned, throwing the blasts into the ground at her feet. Kari yelped and was knocked backwards from the debris blowing over her. She scrambled to her feet and barely dodged two more shots from Karumi before whimpering and actually taking off in the opposite direction. My eyes had widened when she'd been shot at, but softened now as I watched her run, tripping once and scrambling into the alley on the east side of the square. She actually ran.

I felt a warm trickle go down my right cheek, but closed my eyes. There was nothing she could do against Karumi, and she was just doing what I told her to in the first place, wasn't she?

Cloth suddenly brushed against my cheek, wiping at the wetness. "It's okay now, Kit. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. And I promise to you, I won't kill anyone you don't wish me to from now on," Karumi suddenly spoke. Opening my eyes, I looked up at her smiling down at me. "You're the boss, okay? Let's just get out of here, and we won't have to deal with this anymore," she added softly, lifting me to my feet.

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling extremely tired suddenly. Her offer to not dealing with anything anymore sounded extremely good suddenly, and I felt sleepy.

She just chuckled gently at me. "I mean you're a tamer. Fuck Kittra and Kari. I'll be in your harem and we can leave this retched island for good. I've really grown attached to you, and I'm tired of being hunted, and you being taken advantage of. And I'll help you look for the truth to why that asshole went after your family, too," she explained, rubbing her thumb along my cheek.

I frowned, feeling very sleepy now, and thought about it. It would feel so good to just pass out and let her deal with everything. Would it really be so bad? She'd proven right about Kittra, so why was I doubting her about Kari too? It was so pathetic. I'm such an idiot. Patrick was just using me too because I was able to recharge his gem.

I must have looked sleepy. "Just go to sleep, Master. I'll carry you someplace safe and we can both recover. You know I'm much stronger than Kari and Kittra combined, as well," she offered, pulling me close to her. It felt like I was starting to drift, and the strength was leaving my muscles rapidly. She really was stronger. Logically the better choice, wasn't she?

My own thinking confused me a little, and I frowned. My mind felt in a haze, and I was suddenly dizzy. I had picked Kittra and Kari because of their friendship, not how strong they were. Hell, I hadn't even realized how strong Kittra was until today. Why would I think that? My mind almost shivered, as I felt a growling sensation inside of myself.

Karumi's eyes widened as she leapt backwards away from me, just as my right hand slashed out and almost caught her across the stomach. I stared blankly at it, and wondered why I had decided to do that. Had I decided to do that? "Kit?" Karumi asked cautiously, frowning in my direction. My head didn't clear any, and instead I felt like my body got heavier suddenly. Why did I try to claw her? I didn't even have claws. What was wrong with me?

The haze drifted through my thoughts, and I sighed weakly. It would still feel so nice to just go to sleep right here. Cuthbert would probably look down at me for it, but did it really matter? Did I care, really? I'd been lied to and used by everyone I knew, really. Anger wouldn't come, though. It just didn't matter. Letting myself drift sideways, I felt something stir within my mind and push me aside.

Part 2 - End