Massacre Girls (Rated M)

Quote:

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Closed to Amari.

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The horizon was an endless sea of drab. In the lower half of the view port, you had rolling snowdrifts occasionally broken up by a smattering of green from pine trees that had not been fully covered by the blizzards. In the upper half, a blanket of clouds thick as pea soup and gray as you'd imagine the northern reaches of Salvar to be. The sky always looked ready to dump another five feet of snow on you, and was just waiting for you to look at it the wrong way.

I was thankful for just a light breeze of thirty-five miles per hour at the elevation we flew at. What was that in knots? I don't think it's too much of a difference, but it would be good to know for future reference. If I'm going to captain an airship, I would need to brush up on my aeronautical terminology.

I rose from the creaky leather of the captain's chair and strode across the cabin. The chill of the winter air crawled all over my skin, no matter how tight I pulled the fancy long coat around my body. Occasionally, a whiff of the previous owner's cologne and body odor was strong enough to break through my shitty sense of smell, and maaaan was it gross. He probably never washed it. Probably never took it off, really. He didn't seem like the kind of person who cared much about laundering techniques. But, in his defense, I only knew him long enough to ram a shard of broken glass into his throat and kick his naked, flapping body out of an air hatch.

“Our journey shouldn't take much longer,” I said to the crew. “I just hope she doesn't mind me dropping in uninvited.”

Nobody answered. Not that they could—they were all dead.

Three Alerarans with cordyceps mycelium wrapped around their necks like sapphire chokers continued their work, one manning the steering wheel, the other two doing airship engineer shit. They monitored various gauges and twitching needles with clouded eyes, twisting knobs and shifting levers up and down to keep us afloat and compensate for the wind that pounded us from all sides.

The Sinistar--well, hang on, it was still The Blade of Agnon until I could land and get one of these n'urds to paint the new name over the old one--was also crewed by ten other men that milled around the rest of the airship. They had various duties, all of them irrelevant to me, but each had a bit of combat training. The Blade was one of about five recon craft that flew along the border between Alerar and Raiaera, keeping an eye on their occupation forces as they tried to take their ancient home back from the high elves inch by bloody inch. But one day, a bipedal houseplant stowed aboard and started throwing spores and acid everywhere, and then whoops it slipped off into the nighttime sky and was never heard from again. I left a few hints near the southern part of the border where the two countries met the sea that the Blade malfunctioned and sank into the sea before turning north towards those familiar frozen wastes.

As far as I could tell, I hadn't been followed by any other ships, so the ruse must have worked.

Had to admit, I was a bit disappointed. I would've loved to notched my first cannon kill.

Over the course of the next half an hour, a certain mountain range lurched up from the snow in the distance. One I had promised never to return to many times before but hey here we are again how about that.

The Seventh Sanctum.

It was the home of a revolving door of assholes, villains, monsters, freaks, idiots, criminals, mercenaries, killers, demons, and all sorts of other things. It was all held together by a pale redhead with a penchant for saying dumb, mopey, depressing stuff about how she doesn't have any feelings anymore. And then there was the leaking black smoky shit everywhere she went thing, too. But she was incredibly handy to have around, and very good at killing things.

I would just need her to keep her hands to her fucking self whilst in my new beautiful wooden airship. The last thing I needed was for her to brace herself against the wall and suddenly I have a new view port.

“Prepare for landing,” I ordered the undead crew as I left the bridge. “Drop us down in front of the main gate.” The propulsion engines groaned in protest as their power was cut bit by bit. My knees buckled as I felt the craft lowering in the air. Two other Alerarans sensed what was happening, and rushed past me towards their posts in preparation of what was to come.

I turned the brass knob of a door and pushed it open to reveal the captain's quarters. It was a bit on the cozy side, but had everything I needed. A small chest to store my effects in, an elliptical mirror hung over a writing desk, an overhead lamp powered by a runic battery that did its job a little too well, and a bed that was little more than a five inch-thick padded mattress set on a raised area with more storage underneath.

Walking up to the mirror, I gazed into it. What stared back was absolutely monstrous. Gnarled, twisted vines wrapped in a mockery of a face. Sharpened, yellowed teeth made of bone. Four glittering amber eyes.

At least I filled out the Blade's former captain's outfit rather well.

The coat was stashed in the chest--possibly a reminder of the poor fucker's past life as a buccaneer. It was almost black, and had a healthy amount of gold and red decorative trim. Certainly not standard Aleraran Fleet garb. That I had also commandeered from his corpse before it went overboard. It was a boring olive jumpsuit, more practical than anything. I adjusted the black tricorn hat on top of my head, which was also in the chest. It fit perfectly.

Now all I had to do was wait until we landed.

It was after the events in that seedy bar, after her breakdown, after her skin had leaked oozing black smoke and her very touch destroyed everything around her. Her presence no longer filled the very air heavy with death and decay, although lingering too long would make you feel you were traversing an unkempt morgue or cemetery. It was after her recovery (If you could really call it that) and after she found out she was somehow with child. Now, after all was said and done she sat in the near-empty main hall. Legs folded underneath her as she sat in the chair made of human bone which she so readily spouted her despise for. The intricate red dress which her beloved 'Master' insisted she wore was neatly hung up on a dress-doll in her personal quarters. Instead, she wore a long woolen jumper that extended past her bare knees, its sleeves covered her hands and only her thin fingertips protruded, wrapped neatly around an oversized mug.

Steam rose from it and despite not feeling the cold Scarlet found herself leeching the warmth from the ceramic. She raised it to her lips and drank deep. Normally she was not one for hot cocoa, or anything else of the sort. Too sweet for her tastes. Yet here she was, drinking the stuff. Perhaps it was Madison's of it that had Scarlet drinking it, or perhaps it was the little writhing ball of soon-to-be-dramatic shit inside of her. Either way, she wanted it. So naturally. She had it. She wanted peace, time away from emotional drama. Away from he said, she said bullshit. Away from silver-haired broken bushidos and amber-eyed playboy dickweeds, away from half-goat self-righteous women, away from thieving little fae who were too chicken shit to do anything and away from snarky bile filled shitty plant people who sit around and complain abou-

"Mistress Scarlet!"

Well... So much for that.

Scarlet sighed as she rose her tri-coloured eyes to Advencia. "Yes Advencia?"

The demoness huffed. Her tail swishing side to side, most avoided Scarlet when she wanted her 'peace'. Not the succubus. The blonde haired blue eyed girl wasn't afraid of the red headed assassins ire. She met Scarlets inky black gaze with its flecks of fiery crimson and ring of golden with burning blue eyes of her own. "We have a problem."

Scarlet waved her hand nonchalantly. "Mmm... whatever it is, tell Ulroke I'll get to it later. Don't get his li’l panties in a twist." She closed her eyes again, assuming that'd be that. She had more or less kept to herself since the ordeal, and few knew of her 'predicament.' Those closest to her--Ulroke, Richard, Advencia and Zero (Formally Taka) those were the only ones that knew; and for as long as she could, Amari wanted to keep it that way. Let others assume she was getting a little fat. That was easier. When the time came she'd probably go into hiding. Hell, if Ulroke could do it, why couldn't she? Or she could pay Aurelianus a visit, perchance the fleshcrafter could rip out her intact womb and then she could let it do its own thing. Away from her.

"Scarlet."

"What?" Scarlet snapped back. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of an inner monologue?"

The blonde haired girl shifted awkwardly. "Uhm--no. Not really..."

Amari sighed as she leaned forward and placed the cup on the large wooden table. "Then what is it?"

"There's a, uhm.. ’airship’ preparing to land at our front gate."

"A fuckin' what?" Scarlet stood up straight. Yeah. Ok. This was a problem. "Why the fuck are you in here then? Get the guards out, light the fire arrows." Scarlet started to storm around the side of the table and past Advencia, who quickly followed behind. "Do we have fire mages? Or Wizards or whatever? I want that thing blasted out the fucking sky."

BAM! The doors to outside flung open and a flurry of cold wind struck Scarlet’s face; she paid it no mind. Cold like this was nothing to her. She stalked barefoot across the grounds barking orders at the slew of mercenaries, assassins, layabouts, thieves and other men of ill repute that lived in the Sanctum. "The fuck are you all doing?! Get up there, get that shit on fire! I want it burning to the ground HALF an hour ago,” she hissed.

The damn thing had already landed outside the gates. Scarlet motioned for the men to lower it; she'd take care of this thing herself if she had to.

"What kind of dumb fuck just waltzes up to our doorstep unannounced," She muttered under her breath.

"A dead one?"

Scarlet glanced over at Advencia, who offered a small smile. Scarlet returned it. "I suppose so."

"You know… I'm glad you're beginning to show some sort of emotion again." Advencia crooned as she stepped closer to Scarlet, keeping her hand at her side, on her dagger ready to defend the redhead.

"Really? And here I thought people preferred me stoic."

"No. Even Ulroke was unner-"

"This isn’t the time for this sort of chat. It's useless, filler. Wasting time." Scarlet said as she stopped short of the giant wooden airship, awaiting whoever would come out. "In the end, none of it will matter. Just sit tight and be ready to fire at whatever dumb shit walks out of that ship."

"Yes Mistress."

The door to the main cabin opened, revealing a welcoming party of several dozen greasy mercenaries. Each of them gripped longbows like their lives depended on it, the tips of their arrows dancing with fire and pointed directly at the hull of my beautiful and highly flammable airship.

My good mood immediately soured. “Put those fucking things out before I shove them up your asses,” I growled.

I could practically hear Advencia's eyes rolling around in her skull from fifty feet away.

“Nice to see you too, ya' fuckdoll,” I hissed at the succubus. I never could figure out what that bitch's problem was. Did she hang onto Lye's lingering grudges against me for the year he spent buried under the mountain, rotting in his own prison cells? Fuckin' whatever. I could waste her in a second. One hand tied behind my back. No, both hands. Blindfolded. If she so much as looked at me cross-eyed, I'd melt those shiny sapphires right out of their sockets.

As I continued down the ramp, a pair of zombified Aleraran airmen followed, paint buckets and brushes in hand, a pair of ladders hung on their shoulders, ready to rechristen the airship. They wouldn't take much longer than it would for me to collect my little Ar'Tuel friend for a girls' night out.

Speaking of which, Amari took a step closer. Despite being bare-foot in ankle-deep snow, she was looking considerably healthier than the last time I saw her. Her porcelain skin was healing up, there was a slight golden coloring in her eyes, and she didn't look so damn lost.

“Madison,” she said, her tone guarded after being dropped in on so unexpectedly.

With a smile and a grand gesture, I addressed the redhead. “Ah, yes, you. Pack your bags, grab some snacks, and get in the airship. You and I are going to have some fun.”

She exchanged an unreadable glance with Advencia. Well, I couldn't read Amari's eyes--Advencia, on the other hand, had her distrust for me plastered all over her stupid fucking pretty face.

The demoness opened her mouth to spurt something that would keep Amari locked up in the Sanctum, but I was close enough to slap her upside the head to shut her up. So I did. She didn't really appreciate that, but one quick glare silenced her for good.

“I have not been doing well,” I said, my voice low enough that the assorted rabble wouldn't hear. “I need to get away. I need to get back to my roots. I need to be me again, Amari. And I can't think of anyone better than you to help me do this.”

I slid an arm around her shoulder and persuaded her towards the gates of the Sanctum. Even through the thick fabric of the captain's coat, I could feel her corrosive aura nibbling away at my flesh. But I didn't care.

“It'll be just you and I. Best friends forever, right? Through the good times and the bad?” I licked the sharpened points of my teeth. “Good times for us, bad times for everyone else that is, yeah?"

Ok, ok, ok--so a dumb shit DID technically walk out of that wooden airship that Scarlet was ready to have set aflame; but godammit if it wasn't Madison herself. The Briarheart had a few Aleraran men in tow, all messed up with whatever venomous spores that the woman spewed from that gnarled mouth of hers. Whatever. Scarlet didn't care. She watched silently as Madison and Advencia had some sort of internal war with their eyes and body language.

Fuck. The two should just get a room....

A small smirk twitched at the corners of Scarlets lips as she entertained the thought of the two being left alone in a room together. Both formidable fighters, both at each other’s throats. Entertaining.

Still...Scarlet knew the distaste Advencia had for Madison. Advencia had become far too attached to the redheaded assassin, and part of her ire toward Madison was her fear of the woman taking Scarlet away.

And lo and behold guess what Madison just had planned!

"For someone who abhors the Hand and swears herself away from it… I do find it amusing to see you constantly returning," Scarlet mused as Briar had whisked her away and under her briar-knit arm--which Scarlet knew was hissing and bubbling away at the mere touch. Woman had balls; but Scarlet knew that. "And really? Slapping poor Advencia." Scarlet laid the sarcasm on thick. "She's a tad precious for that don't you think?"

Madison didn't respond but the flicker of her eyes said it all. God, this woman was like 90% snark, 5% vines and 5% questionable shit. "Right, old buddy ol' pal oh friend of mine..." Scarlet began, returning that with just as much of her own. She ignored the use of her dead name. Madison was one of the few, if only people Scarlet would tolerate using that name. Anything else from Madison’s lips… err… vines? would have sounded weird. (How the fuck did she formulate speech?)

"Really... you couldn't think of anyone, absolutely [/i]anyone[/i] better for this? Fuck me, woman--! A pet ROCK would be better at this than me. Hell, you'd be able to lob it at someone’s head and do some damage, too. Still..."

Scarlet glanced at Advencia who was rubbing her cheek, her other hand clutched at her lower abdomen as she stared directly at Scarlet. It was a sign, it was practically screaming at Scarlet ’woman you're fuckin' preggers don't be goin' out and starting shit. You're meant to be on home rest'.

Heh... Home rest... like she or even Lye could stop Scarlet from doing what she wanted.

"I've been out of sorts myself... and frankly, I’m going a little stir crazy around the compound. You'd think after all this time, I'd be used to the stench of unwashed brute by now. Give me one moment and I'll join you, oh bestest best friend o' mine."

Scarlet shrugged off Madisons arm and approached Advencia, the moment she was within earshot the tiny succubus started her hurried, hushed whispers. "Mistress! You can't possibly be thinking of doing this! You need to stay here, we need to watch you. You're...you're...." Her sapphire eyes fell to Scarlets cracked skin. "You're not… well. You're recovering and you have a child to think of! You need to be monitored. Master was very strict with-ee-"

Scarlet knew there was one surefire way to shut up Advencia, and that was either to shank her in the gut--which Scarlet couldn't do at the moment--or to kiss her. So in one swift move Scarlet whisked up the tiny succubus, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulled her in close before pressing her lips to the rosy reds of Advencia’s. The contact lasted no more than a second before Scarlet unceremoniously pushed Advencia away.

"I can handle it."

"B-buh..uh..."

Yup. Shut her up good.

Scarlet waved the men off, who were still aiming their lit arrows at the airship. Goddammit....didn't they have half a mind of their own? Sure, Madison wasn't exactly....part of the Hand, but she was a business partner of Scarlet’s. Or, apparently now best friends through thick and thin, or whatever the briarheart was spewing. At least it wasn't those damned spores. Or god forbid, like Aure--swarms of gross insects.


"Right, let's not dilly dally. Time to re-root, or plant or whatever it is you kids do these days to fix yourself." Scarlet said with an air of humored sarcasm as she stepped onto the airship. "I forgot my snacks, perhaps we should stop off and get some on the way?"

Stop for snacks? My amber eyes drifted down to her waistline. Was it me, or were her clothes hugging her just a bit more snug than the last time we met? Goodness, how long ago was it--one month? Two, perhaps? Yeah, definitely around two months. The assassin was definitely packing on some pounds. I suppose you have to keep insulated against the extreme cold northern Salvar was infamous for. Or maybe she was just getting lazy. Ulroke was gone, and her slowly growing ass was keeping his bone throne warm. Commanding this collection of cocksuckers must have kept her from getting out in the field herself.

Either way, this little trip would be good for her. Best case scenario, she's finally going to get some exercise. Worst case, a little extra marbling would make getting rid of the evidence even tastier.

“Sure, we can stop wherever you'd like.” I led her through the interior of the airship towards the main cabin, hissing orders to my elven crew the entire way. “The ship still has plenty of food stored away, as I'm the only one who's alive enough to need it. It's mostly shitty military rations, though. And fruit.”

I threw myself down into a stuffy, padded chair and motioned for Amari to have a seat across from me. She obliged. On the low circular table between us laid a faded map of the entire continent, the countries of Salvar, Alerar, and Raiaera clearly marked with separate colors. Each region was painstakingly labeled, with each major and secondary road noted with thick black swaths of ink. Big cities and smaller towns, forts, trading posts, supply depots, train and airship stations, sea ports, fucking everything was present and accounted for by the Aleraran army. Bless their obsession with detail.

My sharp grin only widened. A lust for ultraviolence swelled in the pit of my stomach. My heart fluttered with the thoughts of the terror that we were about to unleash on the world.

“I'll let you pick where.”

Amari shot me one of those cocked eyebrows that she loved to give out. “Isn't this whole trip your idea? And you're making me decide?”

Hungry amber light flashed in my eyes. “I'm not the one who grew up a princess or baroness or whatever in this frozen hellhole. I was raised in Radasanth. I don't know anything about the local delicacies, or the best restaurants, the prime places to sample the local flavor and raise a little havoc.”

The Ar'Tuel's gaze drifted back down towards the map. I felt myself growing more and more impatient.

I wanted to kill. I wanted to feed. I wanted to become the horror that I always knew I am, just once more. I wanted to remind everyone of the Scourge of Eiskalt.

I wanted to see the fear in another man's eyes before I popped them out of their sockets. I wanted to see how much blood I could pull from someone with my thorns before their lifeless body hit the crimson-tainted snow. I wanted to hear the dying screams of countless people and savor the tortured cries of their children.

It had been too long.

Far too long.

I can't wait much longer.

Scarlet stared at the map before her. "I want to be back by evening. Technically, I shouldn't be leaving the compound."

"Since when did you ever listen to that silver haired twat-faced--"

"Madison," Scarlet said. She normally didn't mind when people smack-talked Ulroke, but it was becoming a little too commonplace for Scarlet’s liking. The man was already on edge, and her being whisked away wouldn't alleviate that. "I believe that was your recommendation to him."

The Briarheart waved her hand off, hissing her contempt toward the redheaded assassin. "Fuck it, just hurry up and pick then. We need to go."

Something was… off about the woman before Scarlet. Madison was always snarky, filled with contempt for everything around her, but she wasn't… this fidgety. There was the absence of that cool and calculating demeanor, and of Hyperion. Scarlet wasn't going to question it. Instead she pointed to a rural place on the map. She would test her hunch another way. "This place has fantastic food, their meats are thick cut and well marbled, and it’s a quiet area. Rural. Barely a man, woman or child in sight. For a pair o' notorious ladies such as us, it'd be the perfectly peaceful getaway to--"

A low growl emanated from the woman before her and Scarlet felt that she was going to get a shot of acid thrown into her face at any second. "Course... that's a bit too far away now ain't it?" Her finger trailed across the map and pointed to another area. "Here, this should only be half an hour at full flight speed. We may have trouble landing the airship. It's a new township, but its very busy. Bustling with a group of crusaders. I think they were calling themselves the White Blight Knights or something shitty like that. Group of do-gooders from across Salvar that formed their own troupe. I've been keeping tabs on them since there are rumours they want to take on the hand. The pub there is less pleasant and filled with these guys and their families. But I suppose we could--"

"Yes!" Madison hissed.

Bingo. The damn fuckin' crazy bitch wasn't out for a leisurely stroll. She didn't want a nice chit-chat. She wanted violence, she wanted to let off some steam, and who was Scarlet to stop her. In the assassins eyes, this killed two birds with one stone. It would eradicate a threat to the hand and it would appease Madison. Plus, it got Scarlet out of the compound for a while. She was feeling a little too… emotional lately and it'd do good to sink her fingers into some trouble.

With a sharp whistle she called forth one of the Ravens that followed her closely. Albeit the flock lessened after her fall into insanity, at least one or two remained loyal. One of which was L'Oreal. She stared at the black eyed bird who had flown in from the open hangar. "Tell Ulroke I will be back by nightfall. I'm eradicating that group of hero-wannabe soldiers south of here." The bird cawed twice at her and Scarlet narrowed her gaze. "We're already lifting off, I'm not about to jump off an airship." The bird shook its head, cawed at her one last time then flew off, ducking out the door before it fully closed shut.

With that out the way Scarlet turned her scelera eyes toward Madison. "So Madison, I can't help but notice the absence of Hyperion. What'd you do? Tell her you're off on some book hunt?"

Ah, ha ha.

Yes. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

What did she call them? The White Blight Knights? Never heard of them. Don't care for the name. I love a good rhyme as much as the next person, but whoever picked out their name probably did so after jamming an ice pick into their ear canal. And with a name like that, they were dead ringers for heroes.

I fucking hate heroes.

Worst people on the planet. Walking around like they're better than everyone else, demanding that the defenseless rabble buy them a round at the tavern after a long day of cutting the heads off whatever local monster was blamed for the latest coincidental catastrophe. Necromancers, bandits, and the like gotta' provide for their families too--and who comes along to run two and a half feet of polished steel through their chests? Heroes. All because they don't agree with their methods. Do they even realize that they're no different from the “villains” they claim to hunt? They're murderers just as much as their prey are. Some even more so.

And these White Blight Knights Or Whatever sound like a bunch of younglings. A bunch of mewling newbies. Probably don't even know how to sharpen a sword, just how to polish one. Did they think of themselves as day-savers worthy of immortality in the songs of bards and verses of poets?

Oh, we were going to give them a good thrashing. If they wanted to be in stories, then gods-dammit, they'd get their wish. It'd just be a shame that nobody was going to survive long enough to tell them. Maybe I'd paint a rude limerick in the snow with their blood. Something to let anyone who happens upon the scene that heroes--how that word brings such a horrible taste to my mouth!--will not be tolerated.

...oh, wait. Amari's still talking.

I tried to wipe my violent fantasies from my mind, but they left behind a deep crimson smear that just wouldn't go away. “I'm sorry, what did you say?”

The red-headed assassin's face darkened. “Hyperion. She's always by your side. Not today, though.”

“Hype?” Hype. Hype is a good person. The one good thing I've ever had in my life.

The one thing holding me back from being who I truly am. Always cooking something in the kitchen, those dreadful cookies of hers. Steering me away from my laboratory in the basement, making sure I stay hidden in the forest. Always trying to get me to open up. To talk to her about my feelings. My feeeeeelings. My precious, murderous, venomous, contemptible, gut-rotting, hate-filled feelings. Fuck her. She's done nothing but be a whiny, screeching, singing busybody pest since the day I gave birth to her. Always holding me back. Always trying to make me a “better person”.

Trying to be my fucking hero.

I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE HATE HATE HATE heroes.

I didn't bother to answer Amari's question. She never liked Hype either. Could rot her vines away with a brush of her hand. Tried to, once. Should've let her. Instead, I snatched the map off the table and strode over to the wheel, where a pale Aleraran stood.

I shoved the map in front of his face and jammed a briar-knit finger into the black dot that designated the village Amari picked out.

“Take us here,” I hissed. “Fast as this bloated bag can go.”

Nearly lost my balance as the dead crewman turned the wheel, The Sinistar banking hard to the left in order to change course to the future scene of some horrible shit.

Aside from being tossed and turned in an airship, the trip there was uneventful. Whenever Scarlet had tried to ask a question she was deflected with a glare, a drool-riddled, half-lidded gaze or another question about 'what would a man taste like if he were roasted using tinderwood instead of oak'. Shit that Scarlet didn't quite understand. Whatever the case, Madison had one thing right. She was messed up. Something had snapped inside the Briarheart, and whatever that thing was wanted carnage.

So...

Before all the how-to-do of said carnage the two found themselves sitting in a little pub in a not-so-little town about three hours’ carriage ride outside of Knife’s Edge. Right now it was quiet. The early afternoon sun hit the windows and cast a strong and warm light across the room. There was no need to light the candles at the center of each table. Few people were there, a family with two younger kids sat in a booth in the back corner and an old man and his wife sat by the window exchanging pleasant conversation. The waitress, a young girl no older than 23 had a smile on her face as she bustled around the place asking if anyone needed anything and for the third time, refilling water at the tables. She was either bored or way too into her job.

Scarlet and Madison sat opposite each other. Each with a cup of hot cocoa cupped in their hands and for the first time, since, probably ever. Scarlet was the calm and calculating one. Madison was practically ready to jump out her seat. "Wait a little longer. They'll come in for their pre-scouting lunch, I assure you." Scarlet said quietly as she picked up the cup and took a sip. She winced. Too sweat. Scarlet placed it back down with a sigh. She wasn't sure why she was dragged on this quest. "I don't get why I need to come along to watch you literally tear the place up, Madison."

"It's too quiet," Madison hissed. "You promised there would be many hero types here. Where the fuck are they?"

"Probably scattered about the town. Now, unless you want to play a twisted game of hide and seek, sit tight."

Scarlet could tell that the Briarheart before her entertained the thought. Before Madison could act on said thoughts, Scarlet interjected. "Why did you bring me along? It’s not like you needed me. Sure, I know Salvar--but does that really matter? That's an Aleran airship. You could've stopped by anywhere and gone on a rampage. Why bring me along--especially after giving such strict instructions on keeping me away from such things?" Scarlet asked.

“Because,” I glared at Amari over the rim of my mug, my eyes flashing in angry amber light, “all my friends are useless, gone, or dead.”

Aurelianus pissed off to another dimension where every fuckable hole was replaced by the mouth of a lamprey, where he could finally be happy. Diggs and Hedge bit the dust during some recon mission in Alerar. Philomel, as much as she said was my friend and harbored no ill will after what I had done to her precious sluts, hated my guts--I'm certain of it. Even if I had dragged her along for the ride by the curved horns on her head, that stupid flaming fleabag of hers would've protested and ended up with another faceful of acid. Nevin would have shit his prissy pants at the first sign of danger. Hyperion would've furrowed her brow and shook her finger at me, tut-tutting the entire time. Lye...

...who fucking cares about him. Probably lost in the wilds, his self-pity rotting him from the inside out, desperate for someone to see his schemes through in his stead.

...do I really have so few friends? I mean, I knew that I have a lot of enemies--

I gulped down some of my hot chocolate and set it back down on the table. “At least I can count on you. You're pretty good at the whole senseless slaughter thing, y'know? I remember what you did to those twenty-some-odd slugs that raped you your first week in the Sanctum. Fucking worthless, the whole lot of 'em, but you still took the time to give them some pretty creative and thorough deaths.”

A sly grin creased my face. I licked my lips. “You're very much like me. A natural. An artist. Someone who I know can appreciate the look in someone's eyes as they draw their final breath. Someone who revels in it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be running the Hands like you do. And I need someone like you with me for this.”

The Ar'Tuel cocked an eyebrow for the millionth time today. “And you're not concerned with—”

“That book told me that people being shitty to you is what corrupts you,” I spat at her. “Not you being shitty to others. You'll be fine, I promise.”

I paused to take a deep breath. I was itching to lay some hands on someone. Dig my fingers into their soft, pale flesh. Tear out some vital organs and have an early lunch.

“Look, if you're that worried about your soul--” I reached into my pockets and produced a few gold coins. They fell onto the table with the distinct high-pitched clinking you normally associate with money.

“I'll pay for your lunch. There! Someone was nice to you! You've healed a bit! Now you have some wiggle room for the afternoon!”

We sat in silence, nursing our drinks while the morning slowly bled into the afternoon. Where were these blight knights or whatever they were called? Amari promised that they would be here eventually. What did I have to do to get these assholes over here? Was there like some sort of danger signal? A series of oddly-colored torches that lit up to summon the heroes wherever they were needed? Did I have to start the festivities early to bring them out of hiding or something?

My lungs filled with plague in anticipation, ready to let loose a cloud of death when the tiny bell above the doorway rang, announcing the arrival of fresh meat to the little restaurant.

There were six of them. Matching leather cuirasses and fur-lined hooded olive capes. Swords sheathed and dangling at their sides. Metal pins attached to their collars, gold formed into some sort of symbol that they shared among them.

“Is that them,” I hissed.

“The White Blight Knights?” Amari sucked her teeth. “Yep. That's them.”

I rose from my seat without a word. My breathing was increasingly ragged. Blood pounded in my temples. All I could see was red. All I could think about was death. Glorious, violent, bloody, messy, squishy, steaming, loud, satisfying death.

Somewhere, I thought I heard Amari ask me if I had a plan.

Plan?

No.

You don't plan something like this.

You walk up to your victims, drape your arms around two of them, pull 'em in close for an aggressively friendly greeting, ask them if they've been looking for you, and suddenly acid explodes out of every pore in your skin.

Which is exactly what happened.

Scarlet blinked, a little surprised to hear the words come out of Madison’s mouth. "So you do consider me a friend?" She mused. "And here I thought we were just business acquaintances." She had to admit it felt a little… nice to know that Madison shared the sentiment of friendship. Scarlet didn't have much going on for her in her life. Anyone she ever considered a friend had either left her, betrayed her, died, or she had personally broken to the point that they were nothing more than an obedient pup. Oops. And her mismash stream of 'lovers'? Bah. The only real thing she had quite up and left her. Fucker. Scarlet's eyes narrowed as she thought about it. Shinsou-Vaan-fucking-Osiris. Thought to be dead, only to rise again from the ashes, canoodling some chick in a bar. Intel further suggested that the man was now fluttering about with fuzzy bitch tits. Funny. Last Scarlet checked, 'friends' didn't fuck their friends’ lovers. Then again, Philomel was always about the fucking, a sentiment Scarlet could admit she could get behind. The faun had a lady boner for him. He was the one who lead Scarlet astray. The two were better off with each other. Less drama, less pathetic emotions. Taka... he was useless. Lye? He made it clear that their relationship was nothing.

So who did that really leave? Who could Scarlet possibly ever really depend on?

She guessed it was the Briarheart before her.

"Friends..." The word sounded strange as it came from her lips. Strange… but good. Her eyes flickered gold before Scarlet closed them, rubbing the irritation she felt.

As Scarlet and Madison exchanged friendly chatter, she couldn't shake the feeling that something about the briarheart was very off. More so than usual. Pressing further, Madison promised that the book and shard of Scarlet’s soul would find its way back to the Sanctum, with all her translated notes. In the hands of Zavine. Good. Scarlet had to admit she thought Madison would have done some sort of goody-goody move and let Zavine go.

Conversations died down as Madison became more and more antsy, that is until...the White Blight Knights showed up. Madison practically jumped out of her chair to have at them. Meanwhile, Scarlet took one last sip of cocoa before the massacre began.

Screams filled the tavern and Scarlet sighed as she pushed herself out of the chair and headed straight for the door. No one would get the chance to leave, not if she had anything to say about it. The man that Madison spat a glob of acid into screamed and gurgled as his face melted away. His corpse collapsed to the floor with a thud, steam rising from the gelatinous crater that was once his face.

The older couple started begging with Scarlet.

"L-let us out!"

"Please! We're innocent."

"We just want to--" The lady's eyes widened then rolled into the back of her head. Thick, viscous blood pooled out and over her mouth before she too crumpled to the floor. The culprit waved dangerously in front of the old man, a hissing snake made of crackling red energy. Its body swung dangerously in the air before slicing clean through the old man's neck.

Scarlet would deal with the cleanup whilst Madison had fun fighting the White Blight whatever... Her scelera eyes shifted to Madison, who was currently chewing on a young man’s face. The red-haired assassin had to give the guy credit, he was still flailing about even as he was no doubt being eaten alive. Crunch! And with that horrible sound, the movement stopped. Madison gave a garbled giggle as she continued to messily slurp up the remnants.

"Geez," Scarlet muttered as she stepped on the corpse of the headless elderly man. "Do you have to eat so loudly?"

Madison paused and her back bristled. The mass of vines shifting. Scarlet could feel all four of those glowing eyes staring her down. There was another series of crunches before Madison snorted, tearing off a chunk of the knights flesh she held it out to Scarlet. "I'm sorry, where are my manners... would you like some?"

Scarlet took Madison’s offering and held it out in front of her between thumb and forefinger. "Thanks, I guess." She turned her nose up at the chunk. Parts of it had been seared by whatever pus Madison had spewed forth. Scarlet pulled it close to her nose and sniffed.

Honestly....

It didn't smell that bad. Maybe Madison was onto something. It'd certainly fix the lack of protein issue that Northern Salvar experienced.

Wait, were humans even good protein?

Scarlet bit the edge of the meat and tried to pull it away. Her teeth weren't razor-sharp and it took a great deal of effort. Scarlet finally managed to wrestle a nibble free, almost punching herself in the head in the process.

She chewed the meat slowly in her mouth. It… wasn't really that nice.

"Ptchew--!" She spat out onto the floor and wiped her mouth. "Honestly, it'd taste better cooked."

I watched as the soggy half-chewed chunk of bloody meat hit the ground with an unceremonious plop! Dark juices ran off the strip of flesh, mixing in with the dust of time and dirt of patrons' boots that already layered the worn floorboards. What a waste of good food.

Well, maybe I shouldn't judge her too harshly. It did have a bit of a musky, oaken aftertaste to it. That's what happens when dinner hasn't had a bath in a couple weeks.

“Sure, we have a bit of time.” Tattered carcass in tow, I went around the bar and through the door leading to the kitchen area. I was greeted by a pair of cooks, a man and a woman. Fear in their eyes, tears staining their cheeks, piss in their pants.

A quick cussing-out and a cloud of plague later, the two scattered out into the tavern as I was left to work the grill for a bit. It didn't take long to find a couple of pans, some salt and pepper, and a nasty set of knives. Cleaning off the prep area--making sure to wash and dry every surface and utensil, of course; I'm not a fucking monster--I hefted the dead patron off the floor and dropped him onto the polished steel surface.

Careful not to sever my own briar-knit fingers, as they were still shaking from the adrenaline rush of finally being able to cut loose and be myself again, I began to fillet the corpse. I took long strips from the upper arm and thigh areas, setting them aside on the prep table. Blood started to run everywhere, but that did not stop me from working. Hell, I even hummed a little tune as I slid the knife through the body.

Had I been Amari, I would've turned down my offer to try the snack in the first place. But I really appreciated that she took it. She may not have liked it, but I think I can make her come around to it.

Flesh really is an acquired taste. I'd have to season the hell out of it, make it more palpable to her tastes. Some light veggies, maybe a bit of mustard. A fresh bun.

Out from the tavern proper, the Ar'Tuel called for me. “What are you doing back there?”

I rolled the patron's corpse off the table. He hit the ground with a sloppy, awkward thunk. “What do you think,” I hollered back.

“We should probably leave, now!”

I picked up one strip of the man's leg and set it on a clear spot of the table. “The one n'urd I let escape is rounding up the rest of the crew. Town this size, we probably have half an hour, tops. Plenty of time to prepare lunch.”

A pause. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“We can't fight on empty stomachs, can we?” Truth is, I already had my fill of fresh meat for the day. But today was a day of indulgence.

Flipping the steak over a couple times, I slid a sharpened knife through it, taking a quarter inch off the top. Had to get all the hair off it before I cooked it. Have you ever bitten into a sandwich only to find someone's hair in it? It sucks. And it feels weird on your tongue. Pretty fuckin' gross, really. Just that strand, dancing across your taste buds. You don't know the last time it met with soap and water. Days, maybe weeks of sweat and oil and maybe worse soaked into it. You try to pick at it with your fingers, but you miss the first three or four times.

That's when the panic sets in and the bile rises in the back of your throat.

“I'm not actually hungry,” she shouted in protest.

Bullshit, fatty. “It's high in protein and will give you the energy to kill dozens more, Amari.”

Having cut away the bad stuff on five or six strips of meat, I moved over to the stove. A healthy fire roared underneath the grill. Made sense, it was lunchtime after all. I snatched a skillet off a nearby hook at set it over the licking flames. Poured a bit of oil into it. Slapped down the thin strips of mercenary and began to pour on the salt and pepper.

Grabbing a rag off the floor, I wiped my hands clean and left the kitchen.

“While that's cooking, can I interest you in a real drink?” I motioned with the rag at the rows and rows of half-empty liquor bottles that lined the wall.

Scarlet groaned as she pulled up a seat. The place was littered in blood and mangled corpses. Scarlet at least had been someone clean with her disposals. Madison just tore everything apart. Completely ripping anything that moved to shreds. That is, everything but Scarlet. Madison wanted to wait for more people to gather, more people meant a bigger slaughter. Scarlet wasn't interested in that. She was painfully aware of how much time was ticking by.

Drawing her fingers into her mouth she gave a sharp, shrill whistle. Yet another raven flew in through a broken window and landed in front of her on the table. She recognised this one as Tip, named thusly so for the tip of his beak that was missing. Scarlet sounded sincere, almost regretful as she spoke to the creature. "Please tell him I'm sorry. I'm doing my best to return on time." The raven tilted its head to the side and chanced a hop toward her. "I wouldn't. It'd kill you." The bird made a series of chirrups before jumping to the floor and ripping out an eyeball from a fallen soldier before flying out the window again.

Scarlet already had the feeling she'd be late.

"By that I assume you mean some piece of carcass that you stripped off of someone?" Scarlet muttered.

"Hey now, I flayed off all the oily skin and hair." Madison hissed back. "So you better fuckin' appreciate the effort I'm putting in."

Scarlet blinked, surprised. "Y-yes actually," she said in all honesty. "I'm surprised in you; if you've gone through that much effort, I'll have to give it a go." She scoffed. "It'd be better than what you tried to give me before."

Madison seemed content. She clasped her briar-knit hands together as she headed to the bar. "Right. Now, about that drink. You like whiskey right? I'm sure they have some of that here."

"Madison..."

"Oh, hmm, no; not this one. I've had this one before." Madison threw it over her shoulder and it smashed against the floor.

"Madison, I--"

"This one?" Madison opened up the bottle, sniffed it and immediately threw it against the wall. "Nope.. Ah!" She picked up a small round bottle. "Yurik's Firewhiskey. You like that don't you?"

"MADISON," Scarlet repeated, exasperated. "I don't want any. I need to--" She paused. "I need to keep my head clear. I'm still recovering from that whole almost exploding into a mass of writhing destructive energy thing."

"Oh..." Madison said, and she stood there for a few minutes staring at Scarlet. She made a guttural noise before stomping to the kitchen. She seemed pissed that Scarlet wouldn't share a drink with her. What was the assassin supposed to do? The last thing she needed was Lye getting even angrier at her because she chose to go and get wasted whilst she was quite possibly carrying his child. He claimed it was his but she could see the uncertainty in his eyes. If not his, then whose?

Madison returned shortly after with a plate and set it down in front of Scarlet before pulling up a dead carcass for herself. What was before her--well, IF she hadn't known it'd be hard to tell that it had just been stripped from a man. "Hell, Madison, never told me you could cook." The briarheart snorted in response. Clearly waiting for the assassin to eat.

Well...

May as well.

The plate had a large, three-inch-thick slab of meat on it. Scarlet could tell that Madison had thrown an assortment of herbs on it, she could smell them, she could see them. If anything, it was in slight excess--no doubt due to her friends exuberance to make it taste good. It was shoved between two awkwardly cut rolls of bread and it almost reminded Scarlet of something called a 'Bhurgur' that Vincent had tried to make her eat.

"You know... I think Vincent tried making something like this once. Yours looks and smells better than his." Scarlet picked up the bun and bit into it. The meat was still tough, but much easier to tear and chew through.

How to explain it?

How do you explain the taste of human flesh? Scarlet finished the meal, well, most of it. There were parts that were too gristly for her liking. "That was… decent," She finally said. "Once you get over the whole eating another human thing," She added. "Then again, neither of are exactly ones for morals right?"

I shot her a wink as I poured a small glass of Firewater. “Isn't that the truth.”

The stench of blood and death was getting thicker in the tavern. Even with my sense of smell being absolutely shot, I could catch a stray whiff of the cocktail. I don't know how Amari was able to tolerate it. Perhaps being around it (and worse) all the time at the Sanctum, she had grown used to it.

I motioned towards the broken window along the far wall with the rim of my glass. “Feel free to knock out more of that, if you want some fresher air in here.”

There had been something stirring in the back of my mind ever since the assassin almost violently turned down the drink I offered her. Just a few little details I've picked up since she boarded the airship back at the Sanctum.

A slightly but visibly bigger belly than the last time we spoke. Constantly hungry. Refusing some damn good whiskey. A kind of subdued, distant, maybe even wistful mood at times.

Actually listening to Lye.

Oh, gods. Did this mean what I thought it meant?

--It had to be! That would explain everything! How she was borderline reluctant to join me on the airship, why Advent Calendar or whatever the fuck her name is insisted that she stay at the home, keeping Lye's bone throne warm for his return. Her careful movements as she danced around the tavern, picking her targets with her magical snake tentacle whatever things.

“You're pregnant, aren't you.” It wasn't a question so much as it was a statement.

Amari's pale features immediately turned as red as her hair. “Y-yes,” she said almost hesitantly.

“Ha!” I clasped my hands together, forgetting that one of them still held the glass. Amber liquid splashed over the rim and onto my briar-knit hand. “That's wonderful!”

Hang on, wait just a second. “Whose kid is it? Is it his? Lye's?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't force out the words. Instead, she broke my gaze and tried to focus on anything else in the tavern.

“No,” I cried out, “no, if it is, that's great! It means he finally fucking listened to me!”

A look of puzzlement flashed across her eyes. Clearly not the answer she was expecting.

“That year I had him locked away in his own dungeon finally bearing fruit,” I continued. “All those lessons I beat into his thick skull, and he's finally realizing how right I am!”

I rounded the bar and took a seat next to her at the table. I tightly clasped her hands in mind, giving them a quick squeeze.

“And that message I sent, when you were having a bad time... I didn't mean for him to treat you well like that,” I said, motioning towards her expanding midsection and the lifeform that wiggled around inside. “But hey, as long as you are doing better, and you're happy, that's all that matters, right?”

Scarlet was worried that this would happen, that Madison would find out. She figured the briarheart would have given her a lecture on the do's and don't of sex (too late for that) or on why it’s bad to even think of sex, let alone copulate. Madison didn't seem like the person who would outright try to rip the thing out of her. Not that Scarlet would mind, but she'd probably mention it. Of all the scenarios that went through Scarlet’s head, she was not expecting the one that had just happened.

Madison was not only accepting of the child--not any child, but one that was supposedly LYE'S--but she was happy?

Something was definitely wrong. "Madison, I--" Scarlet found her words caught on her breath as Madison's giant briar-knit hands wrapped around Scarlet's much more smaller human hands. The action was very odd and not one Scarlet was used to still, a warmth buzzed and hummed within her and she accepted it. Hell, Scarlet even managed an actual smile. An earnest smile, good job Madison. Scarlet didn't have the heart to tell the woman that the kid was probably conceived before that, she didn't have the heart to tell Madison that she'd rather rip the writhing life form out and stomp on it’s not quite fully-formed head just for good measure.

If anything, Madisons enthusiasm made Scarlet think that maybe the thing writhing inside of her wasn't all too bad after all. "Madison..." Scarlets voice took on a soft tone, one long forgotten. One she used before the mantle of 'Scarlet' and before everything inside of her turned to shit.

"I… really appreciate you as a friend. You, and as much as I hate to say it, Lye... are the only two people who matter to me. I didn't really want to come on this trip and you know... that if I truly felt it, I would have stayed back but--a part of me decided to go. Only because it was you, Madison. You're very important to me. I know you don't do the touchy-feel things but..." She paused and took a deep breath. Scarlet thought she saw the slightest look of regret, then sadness flash across her multiple eyes. Still... it was difficult to tell. This felt surprisingly good. "Thank you... for everything." Scarlet gave Madison's hands one final squeeze before she let go and stood up.

"Now, I think we have some White Blight Knights to ignite."

Scarlet headed to the door and quite literally kicked it down. With the rot and bloodshed it fell away to an uproar of people. Villagers, Knights, men, all who decided to pay the girls a little visit. Scarlet grabbed the first man’s face. He screamed and thrashed as his veins darkened. He fell still and Scarlet pushed his corpse to the floor.

"Did she just kill him with a touch?"

"Where's the other one?"

"Inside! Trap them! Set everything on fire!"

Torches were lit, but just as quickly as people had tried to storm the blood-soaked bar they fell. Scarlet had drawn out her sword and whilst she wasn't very proficient with it, it was hers. It thrummed with the dark energy of 'She-the Snake' and its very strike felled those with a mighty toxin.

"Come on out Maddy." Scarlet called behind her. "Yer missin' out!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," I hissed with unbridled glee as I leaped through the doorway of the desecrated tavern.

I was immediately greeted by the sight of prey. Several dozen poorly-armed, barely organized n'urds; half wearing those damn matching cloaks, the other half looking like the bravest people that the rest of the villagers could put forth. So many juicy targets, waiting, begging for me to spill their blood all over the pristine snow.

Gonna' give a girl some serious choice paralysis here, guys.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Amari wasn't having as much trouble picking her marks. She elegantly danced from person to person, channeling the dark energy that leaked out of her soul with one hand, ramming the sharpened tip of her blade into torsos with the other.

Something stirred deep inside me. Something I hadn't felt in... shit, how long has it been? The way she moved, the way she threw herself into battle. How blood spurting from fresh wounds splattered on her clothes, masking her in crimson as she continued the slaughter.

She was beautiful. My... my friend. Behold, blessed perfection.

--That's the feeling: Respect. Admiration. That's what I felt for her, in that moment. Gone was the soft if not sassy bitch I first met prowling the depths of the Seventh Sanctum. In her place, a cold, calculating murderer. An expert of her craft, willing to practice it on anyone and anything in a moment's notice.

I'm so proud of her. I know I can count on her to see this through.

Two people broke from the crowd and tried to step up to me. With an ear-piercing scream, I fell upon the White Blight Knight. I moved to fast for him to react. I kicked the sword out of his hand, sending it back into the throng of people who couldn't decide whether to join the fight or run. Vines burst in quadruplicate from the sleeves of my longcoat, wrapping themselves around the exposed head of the fool. I squeezed with all my might as the man cried out in pain--noises that soon devolved into something more desperate and afraid as the bones in his noggin cracked and popped one by one. I threw the man's now limp form into his comrade, knocking him over.

He couldn't shove the dead weight off his chest before I was at his throat, tearing away flesh and muscle with a snap of my jaws.

I looked up at the town's remaining would-be saviors, amber eyes burning with bloodlust, bits of my latest victim dangling from my teeth. "Who's fucking next?"

FWOOOM--

A burst of heat tickled Scarlets back and she turned to see-- "Well fuck," She hissed as she stomped hard on the fallen man’s chest, extra hard to exert her frustration. A big ass plume of thick, black smoke had risen, right from where they had parked the airship. Granted, Madison may have parked it atop a park and a few kids may have died but they were just necessary casualties.

"Fuck!" Scarlet swore, and with each subsequent swear she rammed her foot down on the poor man’s jugular. He was long since dead, but it felt good to hear the sickening snaps of his bones. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK! He's going to fucking kill me. Fuck." On airship it'd take barely an hour to get back to the Sanctum. Now? Now...? It'd be well into the night by the time she got back.

"Fucking fuckers," Scarlet spat as she picked up the corpse and hurled it into a nearby shop window. Screams echoed from inside. Good. People were hiding. Fucking good. Good fucking riddance to them.

Scarlet was vaguely aware of Madison’s anger too. The briarheart started screaming about how long it had taken her to get the ship and how important and valuable all the intricate maps and books were in it. Well, they each had their own priorities.

Scarlet left Madison momentarily to head toward the shop, where people were hiding. They wanted fire? They could have it. They could fuckin' burn. The red-haired assassin picked up an oil-soaked torch which was far, far too conveniently held in a dead soldier’s hand. Great. Step one complete. She fished around in his clothes, pulling out odds and ends. A locket, boring. More oil? Great--she tossed it toward the shop and it splashed against the front door. Rusty sword… rations…

Dammit where was that blonde half elf kid when she needed him? Oh yeah… Scarlet had ripped out one of Jake’s eyes and scarred him. Well, too bad. His fire magic would have been real handy right about now.

The woman finally found what she was looking for, a small lighter, she lit the torch on fire then threw it toward the wooden door. It erupted into flames. Scarlet laughed. “That’s what you fucking get you god damn fuckers!”

The people in the shop were innocent. They had nothing to do with the airship being set ablaze. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Scarlet’s chest burned, and it wasn’t the fire. She glanced down at her hands and could practically see the cracks… well, cracking open. Oops…. So much for ‘fixing’ things. Scarlet still felt normal...she still felt emotions… so this… this was surely nothing, right?

“Hey. Hey!”

She turned to Madison who was busy ripping the arms off of a screaming man.

“Madison!”

“What!” She called back, having dropped the man, he was still screaming and crying, rolling around in a pile of his own blood. Madison grabbed another man as he tried to impale her with a spear and proceeded to do the same thing.

Must have a thing for arms. Scarlet briefly wondered if it were good meat…

She shook her head. No. Now was not the time.

“Madison!”

“WHAT! What the fuck do you want,” She spat back.

“Wanna burn the whole place to the ground?”

"Yes. Yes, very much so. Let's do that."

My airship.

My beautiful airship.

Up in flames.

Do these backwoods inbred knuckle-dragging fucks have any idea how much effort I put into taking that damn thing? How much cordyceps I had to burn through in order to convert the crew to Team Maddy? How many more corpses I left in the shadows back in the depot in order to board the thing in the first place?

And now, there it sits, a giant fireball in the middle of the fucking snowy wastes. A towering column of black smoke rising into the still air, a beacon that shit was going down right here, maybe someone should come help. Fucking let them--I would tear them all apart, limb by limb, and build a new airship out of them. Their lungs could be the balloons that hoisted the craft into the sky. The cabin could be made from the rest of their corpses. Walls crafted from legs and arms bound by intestines. A floor made of their rib cages. Buttons to operate the fucking thing made from eyeballs.

A giant nightmare ship that would announce the arrival of your doom.

I quite liked this idea.

"Everything burns," I snapped at Amari. "Every building, and every man, woman, and child you can lay your hands on. Burn them all."

I tightened my grip on the shattered arm of the man who begged for either death or mercy at my feet. I couldn't make out which one he wanted through all the tears, screams, and babbling.

I called out to Amari, "Did you hear me?" When I didn't get an answer, I turned to see what the fuck she was doing stalling. She was doubled over, one arm clutching her waist, a trickle of black shit dripping from her mouth and collecting in a smoking puddle in at her feet.

"I'll be fine," she croaked out, wiping her mouth clean with her arm.

Turning away was all I could do to hide my smile. I quickly scanned the street as the broken Ar'Tuel picked her next target, looking for a suitable building to burn down--

"--Oh, hey, a bookstore!"

I dropped the tattered arm belonging to the man that I inadvertently dragged halfway across the road and walked up to the store. A quaint little sign that read Snowdrift Books hung over the doorway. This was great, Uril Narsted recently put out the last book in his Abyssal Archives series, and all the stores in Radasanth were always out of copies whenever I made the trek to the city. Perhaps this place had one.

I tried the doorknob, It wouldn't budge. Locked. The proprietor was probably inside, hunkering down in a back room, hoping that the bloodshed would be over before long.

Oh well, I'll just make my own entryway. Turning on my heels, I strode back towards the curled form of the man I left in the street. "Come here, I need your help," I snarled at him as dug my gnarled fingers into his thick, oily hair and lifted him up to his feet. He sobbed and stammered in protest as I threw him against the storefront window. The incessant noises blubbering from his mouth stopped on the fourth try, when the thick pane of glass finally gave way. Three more slams cleared out the rest of the glass, giving me ample space to waltz in. By this point, the poor fucker was perfectly still. Blood poured freely out of a deep gash that curved across his forehead and down his temple. Ha haaa, oops. I didn't even get to thank him for his help breaking in.

"Helloooo~," I called out. The only response was the crunch of broken glass underfoot as I stepped through the window. "I was wondering if you had a copy of The Kings of Skullzfyre by Uril Narsted? Should've come out two months ago."

No response. I started looking around. No copies of the book, either. Just a bunch of shitty romance novels and writings from various members of the fucking Ethereal Sway.

I did eventually find a stash of matches and lamp oil, though. And the owner's family in the same room. Fearful, crying, defenseless.

They burned just as well as the rest of the place.

And with Madison’s anger, another building was set ablaze. Scarlet laughed at the destruction, a strange warbled laugh that shook her body and ended in chokes as she felt....a horrid burning sensation from within her. It crackled and bubbled and tore at her, the sensation was all too familiar--it was similar to that time back in the bar, except this time Scarlet had a little more control. She didn't have the emotional shock of a man who supposedly loved her come back from the dead only to be canoodling with some brown haired doe eyed woman. Of course now Scarlet knew better. Took a few deep breaths and steadied herself. Then...

An idea...

Scarlet ran into the burning bookstore.

"Amari! We're supposed to be burning them, not ourselves!" She heard Madison call out, but no--no, she needed this. Scarlet grabbed the first handful books she could find.

They were hot, the were burning her hands, not the figurative burning she felt inside of her body but literal burning. Scarlet had been through worse. She had, with many thanks to a Mister Cuckold Seth Dissinger, felt the sensation of being burnt alive. Slowly. So, a few burning books? Pah! Nothing. The redheaded woman juggled them as she stepped back out of the burning library.

"Amari what are you--"

She answered Madison’s question by throwing a burning book right in the face of the screaming woman who was standing in front of her. Boom, headshot! Down she went to her knees, sobbing. Scarlet grinned as she turned and chucked another book at the back of another persons head. The thick heavy tomes had some weight behind them. And hey, being hit upside the head with a book hurt in the best of times; but when it was on fire, well. That was a fine howdy do.

WHAM--

BAM--

BONK!

Scarlet laughed as she hefted the several books at people and the remaining few onto flammables. A flowerbox, inside a potions shop--which were apparently highly flammable. There were a few hisses and fizzles before the entire shop literally exploded, sending Scarlet several feet back and throwing her body hard against the side of the shop opposite. There was a sickening crack as her body fell limp to the floor, her neck having snapped.

"Fuck," Madison spat, but before the Briarheart could react there was a thunderous clap that rang loud through the streets, and a sudden drop in temperature despite the raging fires. Then, a flash of bright light and Scarlet rose with a groan. That revival...didn't feel too good. She hunched over and vomited again, black viscous liquid splattered the pavement. She groaned as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. This...wasn't good was it? She pushed herself up off the ground feeling groggy. Staggered footsteps sloshed in the dead carcasses of their massacre. "M-Madison… I think.. I need to go soon," Scarlet mumbled as she noticed the leather jacket she wore begin to fizzle away as a black smog began to emerge from the cracks in her skin.

Son of a bitch, ah shit, and other such obscenities.

That explosion fucking hurt. Probably cracked a couple ribs on impact. Lost a couple teeth. Can't see out of one eye. I'll be okay soon enough.

As I picked myself up from the snow and smoldering rubble that frosted the ground, I hear Amari wretch once more. Another puddle of smoking black goop, another horrible coughing fit.

"You're fine," I groaned as I dusted off my longcoat.

I slapped her lightly on the back. The skin of my fingers tingled, countless little sharp needles of dark energy poking me even through her thick leather jacket. "You're doing great, sweetie. Come on, we're almost finished. Only a little ways to go, now. Best friends see each other through to the end, yeah?"

All around us, there was fire. Billowing columns of black smoke pouring into the bright afternoon sky, casting shadows on the bloodied streets of this nameless little town. Fire poured out of doorways and broken windows, destructive tendrils licking at the air and spreading quicker than I could have ever hoped. The heat was intense, almost unbearable. I was cooking alive in this thick-ass fucking coat.

"I don't see anyone else," Amari hissed through the pain that was wracking her own body.

Without a word, I knelt down and dug my vines into the frozen earth. I took a deep breath, and lost myself in the pulse of the world.

In the black abyss of my mind, I saw several dozen pale little dots. Each of them growing distant. Each of them fading as they fled the burning wreckage of their lives.

"Everyone is--" I began to say, but then... something weird appeared.

Four bright red dots flared to life, one, maybe two-hundred yards away. They were approaching Amari and I with incredible speed.

The vision faded from my eyes as I violently ripped my vines out of the ground. My jaw ached horribly, but I could not stop smiling. Teeth bared, a hungry grin splitting my face ear to ear, I welcomed our new arrivals.

Four figures dressed in fur-lines leather coats and wide-brimmed hats emerged from the thick clouds of smoke. All those unnecessary buckles, the sigils that they wore on their collars, the crossbows and swords they brandished... Add the cold looks of determination that were etched on their stony faces.

Witch hunters from the Sway.

"Dessert's served," I muttered under my breath as I licked my remaining blood-stained teeth.

One of the witch hunters stepped forth and opened his mouth to speak. "Murderers. Heretics. Saint Denebriel has judged you guilty--"

"What took you guys so fucking long," I howled at him. "Too busy fingering your sisters to save these fuckers? Two in the pink, one in the stink? I hope you washed your hands before you swing them at us!"

The hunter inclined his head slightly, his hands tightly gripping his crossbow and ever-so-slowly raising it into the air. I cut him off before he could continue his judgment rights or whatever the fuck they recited before they killed someone. "I don't have time for your religious horseshit. If you came to fight, then fight!"

Without a wasted movement, the hunter brought up his crossbow, aimed down the sight, and pulled the trigger. I immediately juked to the left, but it wasn't enough. The bolt caught me in the bicep, ripping through thick cloth and vines. Just a flesh wound. You can still move your arm. Suck it up, Madison, fight through the pain. It's almost over. You've come this far. You can't let these knee-bending cocksuckers kill you. You're so close... You're so fucking close--

Amari kept in step with me as we rushed the quartet. The hunter who shot at me moved to reload his crossbow. I went straight for him. One of his comrades stepped between us, sword drawn, ready to use my momentum against me and run me through to the hilt of his blade. I spat a mouthful of acid at the bastard, catching him in the face. He immediately dropped his weapon and ran off screaming bloody murder, and I was upon the first hunter. I could hear the curse on the tip of his tongue as he dropped back, planted a foot in my chest, and flipped me across the road.

We both rose to our feet at the same time. He drew a steel dagger from inside his coat. My lungs filled with plague, ready to be unleashed on this asshole--but he swiftly ducked to the side as I exhaled a thick plume of purple miasma.

I didn't have time to react before I felt the cold steel slip between my ribs. I screamed in pain, as one is wont to do when some of their juicy bits get a few extra unnecessary holes added to them. I desperately tried to grab him, but he snaked out my grasp before diving in and plunging his weapon into my side once more. This time, I caught him across the jaw with an elbow.

Over his shoulder, I saw that Amari was faring well enough with her own two witch hunters. One had already succumbed to her, clutching his throat, trying to hold shut the massive hole in his throat as his life quickly spilled onto the ground.

Actually, she was faring a little too well.

She was so close. So close to breaking. The cracks in her skin that grew with each passing moment, the vomiting fits that took her with increasing frequency...

She's so fucking close to blowing up.

Why hasn't she blown up yet? Why why why why why?

Amari's teetering on the edge. I can feel it. She's right fucking there. And yet, no matter how much hell she's being put through, no matter how much death and destruction she's spread today, she keeps hanging on.

To what?

What does she have to hold on to? What is giving her that spark of hope, that one thing she needs to keep going for?!

Maybe the bitch just needs a little push.

Wrapping my briar-knit hands around the wrist of the witch hunter and his dagger, I tore the thing from my flesh before falling in step behind him. Thankfully, he was still a bit stunned from having his jaw damn near broken, and I was able to push him across the battlefield closer to Amari. The Ar'Tuel had her back turned, occupied as she was by the remaining witch hunter.

I had my opening.

I guided the witch hunter's hand as he--we jammed it into Amari's shoulder. Her scream ripped through the cold air as a burst of black smoke erupted from the wound. It was a nasty, horrible, animalistic noise that felt like nails digging into my soul and hot knives carving up my flesh.

So close. So close.

It's almost over.

I pulled the witch hunter away from Amari, finishing him off by latching onto his neck with my teeth and tossing his bleeding corpse aside.

Scarlet reached around and pulled the knife from her shoulder. Her skin crackled in a golden light surrounded by blackened sparks that threatened to engulf it. Her wound sealed itself shut, painfully so. The corruption was getting worse and if it kept up she wouldn’t be able to regenerate as quickly. “Fuck...” She grit her teeth and used the momentum to shove the knife into the underside of the remaining hunter’s jaw. “You FUCKER,” the assassin swore. The man fell forward and Scarlet caught him. Using her fingers to sear into his flesh, she twisted them up into his ribcage. Her eyes widened at the sensation of his insides still wetly pulsing against the pads of her fingers.

Why…

Why did this feel so… right?

Scarlets lips twisted into a lopsided grin as she pushed down, straddling him as the corpse fell to the floor. Since when was this so damn easy? Her fingers slid through his skin, his flesh, even bone as though it were nothing more than soft butter.

Rip--

Slash--

Riiip--

She tore at the dead carcass like a wild animal. Blood dripped from her face and caught in her mouth but she didn’t care. Her soul screamed at her to both stop and to continue to drive deeper and deeper into his flesh till he was nothing more than a husk.

Then suddenly Madison broke down into a fit of hysterical laughter. Its shrill octaves pierced the crackling sound of the burning village around them. the sound momentarily snapped Scarlet out of her own maddening rage. She dropped the corpse she had been tearing her fingers through and glanced over her shoulder at Madison. The briarheart was on her knees, repeatedly slamming her fists into the ground. Her laughter died down into choked sobs. The harrowing scene plummeted Scarlet back to reality.

Madison…

A look of worry flickered across her face. Why was Madison acting like this? She had been... off the entire trip. Her emotions flipped from rage to happiness to bloodlust to sadness at such speeds Scarlet struggled to understand what lead Madison to this. Why Hyperion was absent. Why the insistence on all this destruction and death.

Scarlet knew she couldn't keep this up, but what else was there? Everyone around them lay dead and dismembered in the burning rubble. Both women had literally torn through their adversaries with relative ease. There was nothing left. No one left. Just the two of them. Scarlet glanced down at her own wounds as black smoke hissed from the cracks in her skin.

I’m beginning to lose sense of myself…

Scarlet kicked a dismembered head out of her path as she approached Madison. "Oi. That's enough eh?" She wasn't good at this whole 'comforting’ thing, especially at times like these where she struggled to concentrate and keep hold onto a thought. Her soul raged and burned within her and she felt like she was going to quite literally explode if she wasn't careful. Her very skin couldn't contain the seething corruption that swelled within her. The only thing keeping her intact was the shriveled form of her only friend curled up in the rubble.

Now only a few feet away from Madison, Scarlet kneeled down beside her. "C'mon. We're done here. Let's take a break and..." She furrowed her brows. Damnit… since when was it so hard to concentrate on mere words? "And... get you a new airship, shall we?" Scarlet went to reach out to Madison to help her up but the Briarheart slapped her hand away.

Madison screamed in Scarlet's face, her acid-spit landing on the red headed assassin's cheeks, it stung, but not as much as the words that followed. "WHY haven't you EXPLODED YET!?"

Scarlet felt her heart stop, pained at the outburst.

Did Madison… want her to die?

No--that couldn't be right. Not after everything. Scarlet lowered her head and took a few deep and shaken breaths to steady herself. She could feel herself losing her grip but she couldn't let that happen. If that happened....she'd cease to be, not only that, but Madison...

“How the fuck are you still here,” I roared at her a second time, fists clenched and knuckles white. Every muscle, every fiber of my being wound tightly and ready to pounce.

This was not how it was supposed to go.

All this murder... All this violence and bloodshed... Supposed to push her over the edge.

Her soul was supposed to rupture, unleashing a devastating blast of dark energy that would annihilate everything around. Real apocalyptic glass the earth kind of stuff. I do not know how big the blast was supposed to be, but I remember reading in that book of hers that absolutely nothing would survive it.

Including myself.

“Why?” I stormed closer to her, my eyes stinging with tears that froze the moment the cold Salvar air touched them. “Why why why why why WHY?!”

Amari flinched slightly, the black smoke pouring from the cracks in her skin quivering as she quickly regained her composure. “I am in far greater control of my power,” she asserted, her blackened eyes holding my own hateful gaze even as I was inches from her. “And I have so much to live for.”

“Like what,” I hissed.

“Because I have--” The redhead paused for a moment, the words caught in her throat. “Because I have you. Because I have Lye.”

“Lye?” I interrupted. “Lye? You don't have him. He has you.”

Amari opened her mouth to object, but I immediately cut her off.

“You don't have him. You don't fucking have anything. You are a tool, Amari. You are his to command, his to use as he sees fit. It's in your fucking name and all, isn't it? Ar'Tuel?”

That's it. That's the look I wanted to see. The venomous words that were spilling out of my mouth struck a nerve. Oh dear, now I've hurt her feelings!

“I am not Ulroke's tool,” she protested between clenched teeth.

“Oh, you're not?” A fire was building in my belly, one that burned as hot as the day I orchestrated the assassin's ousting as Master Hand. “Let me tell you something, Amari. To Lichensith Ulroke, everyone is a tool. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone is expendable. No matter how much you may think, no matter what nice things he's forced himself to do to you these past couple months, he only does it because he knows that he can keep stringing you along, keep you loyal as long as he finds you useful.”

I jabbed a finger into the firm flesh of her abdomen. “Lucky for you, that should be for at least another year or so. At least until he can convince Advencia to care for the heir you're giving him, yeah? And after that--” I made the universal hand signal for “explosion”.

The look that Amari gave me was almost indescribable. A mixture of uncertainty, of confusion, of anger.

Good. Come closer to the edge. I beg of you.

Stop questioning yourself, and just let go.

It'll be wonderful. I promise.

“I'm no different,” I continued, my voice low. “I'm just a tool. Always have been, always will be. I know why he recruited me. I know I fell for it hook, line and sinker.” My voice shook as long-forgotten memories burst forth in my mind. “Bastard knew that I was from a long line of successful assassins. Knew I was good with the kill, and never let any frivolous morals get in the way of doing what needed to be done. Knew I would take his coin, with all the shit he promised me with that silver tongue of his. All he needed to do was point, and I’d end it.”

I shook my head. The memory of that first week in the Seventh Sanctum, where he showed me the space that would quickly become my laboratory. He catered to my every whim, acquiring the best equipment and test subjects money could buy. How he prodded me to develop the devastating plague that I'd unleash upon Eiskalt, simply because he knew I'd do it. The asshole took advantage of me, used me like the rest of the lot, then was ready to accuse me of treason and cast me aside after I took away his cause to start another war with the Ixian Knights.

My throat tightened up. A single tear managed to slide down my left cheek. “I'm so tired, Amari.”

“I'm tired of all the killing. I'm tired of all the running. My entire life, it’s all I’ve done.” I took a step back, the weight of my years and the horrible shit I've gone through crushing me. I could barely stand. I couldn't hold her fiery gaze. I... I just...

“This thing's been nothing but a curse,” I spat out, my hand weakly beating against my chest. “This fucking briarheart thing... I... I don't want it anymore. I don't want to go on. I can't do it. But I can’t get rid of it. I can’t get rid of this fucking thing!”

Twenty. Before I showed up at the Sanctum earlier this afternoon, that's how many times I've tried to kill myself. Each time more creative and devastating than the last. Each time, my stupid fucking heart would just grow me back, like a weed, and I would try once again with even more desperation.

I looked up at her. My best friend, to the very end. “I can't do this anymore.”

“Do you know what it's like living a life with your hands stained by the blood of thousands? Do you know what it's like having your body, mind, and soul corrupted by the Forgotten Ones? To only know death and hatred and fear?”

She didn't respond. Even with the crackling of the fire that encircled us, the silence was deafening.

“Of course you fucking don't,” I growled. “You were pure, once. You were whole, or complete, or whatever the fuck you want to call it. You knew happiness at one point. You weren't born corrupted, like I was. You became it. You also have the choice to leave it all behind and walk a path of good again. Just like you chose to stay by his side after he kidnapped you, tortured you, had you raped... Like the good little tool you are.”

It was getting harder to speak. My throat felt dry. I wanted a drink. Water, whiskey, anything.

Smoke continued to leak out of the fissures in Amari's skin as I continued. “I don't have that choice. I've been damned since day one. And I'm tired of it. So very, very tired.”

I drew closer. I could feel her hot breath on my skin. Her breathing was shaky. This tempest of emotion swirling around in her, the rush of adrenaline from the massacre slowly receding...

Seconds ticked away, moments that passed like hours. Around us, the village continued to burn. We stood in the middle of the slaughter, just two girls enjoying one final night together.

“Amari, I think I'm ready to go now.”

Driving my shoulder into her chest, I knocked her on her ass. Clouds of blood-soaked snow exploded as we collapsed to the frozen earth. Before she could defend herself, I pinned her arms to the ground and wrapped my hands around her neck.

She was close, so very close to letting go. It was the only way. The complete disintegration of her soul would unleash a wave of malevolent energy that was strong enough to eat away the powerful magic that powered my briarheart. That cursed organ would rot away to nothingness. No chance of regeneration.

I could finally get the peace that I so dearly craved.

Amari's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she struggled underneath me. Her face began turning purple from the lack of oxygen.

I squeezed tighter. I could feel her trachea starting to give.

“Just... let... go!”

A fresh round of tears spilled down my cheeks. “Please!”

And let go she did.

Scarlets eyes rolled into the back of her head, unseen veins bursting from lack of oxygen in the blacks of her eyes. Her chest gave one last feeble rise before it exhalled, Before Scarlet completely lost her grip on the world of the living she could feel tiny droplets fall onto her searing cheeks, it was oddly cooling. She could hear the pained whimpers in her friend’s throat.

”Please…”

Scarlet reached out and grabbed Madison’s arms, they sizzled and hisssed. The pressure on her trachea eased. This was her chance. This was her revenge. This was her...no… Madison’s reprieve.

“Gaaaa!” Scarlets fingers sank into the vines and tore through Madison’s flesh. Scarlet pushed herself off the ground and tore the disembodied and writhing hands from her neck. She wanted to die that badly? Fine! “YoU’Re a SHITTY FRIEND!” Scarlet spat.

They’d fight to the death, they’d kill each other here and now. No regrets. Nothing left behind. Just a raging fire that’d turn into ashes. Carried away by the wind to be lost to time, forgotten.

Madison opened her mouth to speak no doubt more hurtful, and oh so truthful words. Scarlet didn’t need to hear them anymore. She KNEW what she was, she didn’t need to be fucking reminded of it. Black tendrils erupted from Scarlet’s back, all four in the broken shape of hissing snakes, barely able to maintain their form due to the Ar’Tuels own instability. They lunged in unison at Madison’s throat, tearing it open. With a gurgle the briarheart fell backward. A spray of very dark crimson, almost black blood rained down on Amari then continued, creating a halo around the nearly decapitated briarhearts head as she collapsed to the floor. Her neck hung on by mere threads. Mere writhing threads that attempted to stitch themselves back together.

“No!” Scarlet spat as she jumped onto Madison to pin her body to the floor. “YoU DoN’T GeT thAt LuXuRY!” Scarlet wouldn’t let Madison reform so easily, she wouldn’t allow her throat to reconstruct to spit more vile words her way. No. Fuck that.

Scarlet’s hands dug deep into Madisons chest. She clawed her way around until- SNAP. The assassin ripped apart the Briarhearts ribcage. The vines that surrounded her body and that writhed in her flesh tried to quickly pull themselves back together but Scarlet started ripping handfuls out. Handful after handful of bloodied vines and sinew were thrown over her shoulders. “WhO caRes if I’m a ToOl?” She hissed at the unresponsive woman. “At LeaSt I’m SOmETHinG! I cAn CreaTe! I caN dEsTROY!” Her warbled words were hissed through clenched teeth.
“YOu CanT do THIS?” Scarlet stopped to reach out around her. The area was engulfed in flames, burning hot embers tickled Scarlets skin and singed her wild red hair. “THIS! THIS is what WE WeRE bOrN FoR!” And with those words Scarlet lunged straight back into Madison’s chest cavity and with great force found her heart and ripped it out, vines snapped and rotting away at her touch.

She could feel the heart’s vines twisting around her arm. Threatening to envelop her. The briarbarbs hissing against her cracked skin. Scarlet squeezed tighter, clenching her teeth. “YOU wanted THIS!” She screamed at the unresponsive woman before her. Madison’s heart refused to give in, it’s dark magic practically screamed against Scarlet’s grip, an unheard sound that rang in her ears. The miasma around her continued to violently swirl. It was a parasite, unyielding and doing whatever it possibly could to keep its host alive.

Two irrevocable dark and vile forces trying to suppress each other within a raging inferno. It was hell. This life, this moment was truly hell. Hot tears dotted Scarlets hands as they fell from her scrunched face. “I’lL KiLl YoU. I’lL FuCkinG KiLL YoU!” She screeched, pressing tighter. Scarlet bore her weight down hard on the tiny, thrashing heart in her grip. How dare she! How dare she turn the few moments of joy into this inescapable purgatory.

In a last ditch effort for survival the vines lashed out at Scarlet, piercing her chest, ensnaring her organs, snapping her ribs. Scarlet coughed, a splatter of darkened black blood covered the heart. It’s struggles began to weaken. “JuSt...D-d-DiE!” Scarlet sobbed. “YoU waNted This! You PleaDed for Thi-[i]hurk[/]” A flailing vine had landed its way into Scarlet’s own heart. She could feel it...she could feel it trying to infect her with its own spores in a last ditch effort of survival.

But Scarlet was too far gone.

Her thumbs dug into Madison’s heart and it finally stopped moving, its vines unravel from her shaking form. “F-frEnDs….” Her vision blurred. “TiLl...tHe EnD…”
The briarheart stilled. Then finally...it crumbled to dust in her hand and with it, the vines fell away. Without the thrumming magic of her heart it all just...crumbled. Dried up into ash. Scarlet slumped over and forced her eyes shut. Her tears stung her lunged burned, and she waited for death to take her. She waited for the extravagant explosion that would destroy anything and everything around her.

Kaboom

Just like Madison said. No more Scarlet, no more Amari. No more hell.

…

But it didn’t happen. Scarlet had a parasite of her own, that refused to let the woman die. Refused to let its mother just explode into a raging ball of pure destructive force.

Streaks of gold erupted over her skin, healing her wounds - repairing her broken bones and the tear in her heart.

Scarlet’s eyes shot open.

No… no…. No… No… NO…...NO…. NO

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this! It wasn’t fair. Why did Madison get to die? Why wasn’t Scarlet afforded that same escape? It wasn’t fair! IT wasn’t FAIR!

The broken assassin curled over, hiccuping as she held back sobs. Blackened fists clenched tightly. It was supposed to be friends till the end. Right? So where was Scarlet’s end?

The wind began to pick up the ashes, scattering them to the winds. “Don’t you DARE!” She hissed at the non sentient force of nature. She bought her hands to her chest, desperately clasping at what little remnants of Madison’s heart remained. “She’s MINE! MINE MiNe! ”

Her crazed cries turned into pained mutterings as she repeated the words over and over. “S-she’s mine...mine…mine...my friend….” Her attempts were in vein as the dust slipped through her fingers.

“Please...she’s...a-AlL I hAvE….”

All that was left was a thin handful. The woman didn’t dare let her hands go. She could burn alive for all she cared.

“She’s here.”

“Quick Grab the carts!”

“I am NOT fuckin’ having her die on my fuckin’ watch!” A small voice chimed from the blazing inferno around Scarlet, whose harsh words were not befitting of such a childlike tone.

Scarlet’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of three voices. Voices? Hadn’t they killed everyone? Was there more? Should she….Scarlet pushed herself up off the ground with a growl.

Kill…

KiLl

Her blurry vision focused on a tall figure with wisps of long silver hair and her thoughts stopped. Lye? Her cracked voice called out to him. “LyE?”

The man came into focus and to her disappointment… it was not… it was… Zero. The fallen Ixian Knight formerly known as Taka. He reached out to her but a tendril whipped out and slashed his skin. “NoT lYe!” She hissed! “BrING mE LYE!” Scarlet started screaming at the man as he bore down on her. Grabbing her shoulders. “I’ll FucKINg KiLl You!” She spat as another tendril struck him in the shoulder. He winced and pushed Scarlet to the floor.

“This is for your own good.” He muttered as he took a vial out from beneath his robes, he pried off the cork and tried to pour the contents into Scarlets mouth. She wasn’t having it. She writhed and kicked and screamed from beneath him - another tentacle tore through his skin. The man was resiliant. His skin was tainted black, the onis corruption seething within him. It allowed him to withstand her attacks.

“Scarlet please....” His voice filled with a concerned determination.

“BrinG HiM To ME!” Scarlet screeched. “I’lL FuCKInG KiLL Y-mmmff….”

In a swift motion Zero had thrown the contents of the vial into his own mouth and forced his lips to Scarlets, he pressed the bitter liquid into her mouth and forced her to swallow.

Her world quickly began to spin. THe writhing etheral snake-like tentacles fizzled away and she felt heavy. What the hell had he done. “InSuborDinAte FUcK!” Scarlet spat.

“Well? Ya done making out? Fuckin’ load her onto the cart before we all burn.” Advencia spat as she approached Zero from behind with Caellus in tow. “I ain’t touchin’ her - you and your fucked up healing body can do that.”

Zero nodded as he tried to pick Scarlet up, but she screamed a warbled cry of protest. “N-NO! ILl LooSe HeR!” She still desparately clutched to the pile of ash that was once Madison Freebird.

With a heavy sigh Zero grabbed the vial and with a great deal of effort pried Scarlets fist open, letting the contents fall into it. He corked it back up and shoved it in his robes. “Whatever it is. She wants to keep it…” He mused.

“Fuckin’ lets GO!” Advencia snapped, clicking her dainty fingers.


With a great deal of effort, Scarlet was hauled onto the back of a carriage by Advencia; the buxom succubus, Caellus - Lyes right hand man and Zero. The corrosive smoke her skin leaked already began to warp and rot the wood of the carriage.

They didn’t have much time.

The carriage barely made it. The two horses threatened to break free of the reigns Caellus held as they burst through the forest lined horizon. The back of the carriage was in disarray, parts of it had been falling off, rotted away by Scarlet’s touch. Her screams for Lye had finally died down into whispers as she talked into the pile of dust in her hands.

“WHY would Madison do THIS?” Advencia spat. “Wasn’t she the one who was all ‘you need to look after her!’ Fuckin’ selfish cow.”

Caellus grimaced as he reigned in the horses to a slow trot as they entered the compound. “I’m more worried about what Master will do. It’s not like he can kill Madison. Mistress has done that already.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we returned to half the compound dead…” Advencia muttered as she crossed her arms over her buxom chest. She shot a glare toward Scarlet. “Why the fuck he still keeps her around...even when she’s like this…”

Caellus remained silent. He had no answer for her.

This has been submitted for workshop and condensed. EXP and Gold will be granted when condensed judgement is done.

Cost for Workshop taken from Amari (2 AP).

Massacre Girls (Rated M)
Condenscened Rubric
Participants: Briarheart and Amari

Plot - 23/30

Both:
This story is undeniably powerful. It has excellent rises and falls and a great deal of passion thrown into weaving a tale of excellence, excitement and sorrow. Setting was one thing that I felt could be worked on for both of you, but this is being picky. Overall the story is concentrated around Maddison and Amari's friendship, and ultimately Maddison's death, and this was carried well.

Briarheart:
A great strong point that you have throughout this entire thread is reason – why Maddison stole the airship in the first place, why she wants to go on a killing spree, and lastly, why she wants it all to end. This fits in with character, but also with plot for it is core to understanding the story itself. This is a believable storyline, with a good amount of complex history behind her that you show with diverse pacing, rising and falling it to increase tension. You also show skill in general storytelling itself, including use of single setence paragraphs (see end of post 5), sentence structure, and a variety of word choice. You opened the piece well, with a well-written setting, and the idea of the dead crew and the death in the village is used brilliantly as a backdrop, although in general I would have liked to see this more developed as time went on. You excellently have a foreshadowing on her evenutal death with the simple fact that she is flying an airship with a dead crew she herself as murdeed, and is talking to them as if they are alive.

Amari:
For yourself story is told from the portrayal of a person who has a best friend who they eventually lose. You start with Scarlet on the Bone Throne, forced there partly by Lye, and from there write a story of an adventure wanted. Your mix of paragraphing, with short and long ones – the latter filled with strong descriptions – works well to build the scene and carry on the action. Setting is something that could be worked on, with a look at technique to pull in the details of the landscape, for instance, but it has a good basis for what you want. You have good sized posts as well, which are easy to read and fit well with Briarheart's, finishing just when it feels right for them to do so. The top of post 22, for instance, carries from Briarheart's one before. This one, although longer than the others, fitted well as an epilogue. You carry the plot well also, with good death scenes, enough balance of emotion and gore.

Character - 24/30

Briarheart:
You show character invariably brilliantly through dialogue most powerfully. This can be seen in such posts as post 21 where Maddison says: “I'm just a tool. Always have been, always will be.” This shows her realisation of her existence and shows one reason why she is willing to end herself. You also use the method of internal thoughts: Actually listening to Lye. This helps to display persona to the reader.Small details such as the Firewater were great, and helped to carry the idea of what your character is like. You have her smile, despite all that is going on around her, and little actions such as describing that she gestures to the window with the rim of her glass in post 13 helps to add more structure and depth to your character. In terms of her death, and the grim acceptance of such a thing is coming she talks to the dead like they are real, and plays with corpses. The desperation for just simple adventure is clear in post 7 with, “What did she call them? The White Blight Knights? Never heard of them. Don't care for the name,” and continues to be written well. Post 21 of course is ultimately where your character comes to a climax in her life (literally) with fantastic use of honesty, thoughts and dialogue that is very powerful and gives good reasons as to why she wants to end it all.

Amari:
Throughout this piece you show a person who is desperate to understand themselves, their situation and life, but also a person who has a best friend and is truly sorrowful to lose her. You use great dialogue that shows some of her torment and mixture of feelings, some good internal thoughts and also actions to build up your character. Details such as what she is wearing – the large jumper instead of the red dress in post 4 – tell what mood she is in. You also gain a lot of insight into her feelings, such as in post 6 you have her attitude towards Maddison: “Bingo. The damn fuckin' crazy bitch wasn't out for a leisurely stroll.” Great dialogue can also be seen in posts, with an example from post 8 that goes, “Now, unless you want to play a twisted game of hide and seek, sit tight.” You keep up a consistency with the tone of her voice, which is always good to see. You make also her build up into sorrow extremely believable too. This is shown in her stacatto dialogue, flowing with a mixture of capitals and small letters, and repetition of her thoughts, with “No, no, no ...” One thing that you could consider trying to build on is the general overall reading of your pieces, for sometimes you have a heavier concetration on dialogue over action and persona, but this is a minor point.

Prose - 24/30

Briarheart:
From beginning to end you build up some very good use of technique. For example, in post 21 you use repetition - “Why why why why why WHY?!” with use of italics, capitals and bold letters to show the desperation and anger of your character. Punctuation use is also varied and strong, used in all the right places. One example is from post 13: “--It had to be! That would explain everything!” You do miss a couple of question marks, such as the start of post 13 with, “Isn't that the truth,” but it is clear you have done some editing and made this a powerful piece. You also have a good hold of linguistic technique, with an opening of a well-described setting by use of colour imagery and a similie: “thick as pea soup.” I would have liked to see more of this, however. Listing also was another technique that you use well in post 1, when Maddison lists the people who make the Seventh Sanctum their home. The last post of yours, however, shows some tremendous skill, with such uses as the “blood-soaked snow” and “Twenty … that's how many times I've tried to kill myself.” You use thirst, fire, blood and tears to elude to what is about to happen, setting a painfully enchanting scene. Excellent imagery use all around, and perfectly good clarity.

Amari:
Overall you have a good grasp of prose, with no noticable clarity issues, aside from when your use of capitals and small letters becomes distracting. There are a few minor technical errors such as in post 14, “Scarlets” should be “Scarlet's.” Generally your use of is punctuation strong, when you use a variety of words, capitals and so on. This can be seen in post 14 again, “Madison was not only accepting of the child--not any child, but one that was supposedly LYE'S--but she was happy?” One thing I would say about punctuation is try to use the same amount of dots in ellipses (…) for consistency. There is also some excellent use of language, for example the following collective noun from post 14: “an uproar of people.” Another thing you do well is use sound, such as in post 16: “FWOOOM--” - adding dynamism and full liveliness to the piece. One thing I would discourage from doing, that is a little jarring in the overall read of the piece is using numbers, but rather write them out, for example in post 4 you write, “90% snark, 5% vines and 5% questionable shit”. This is a minor point, however, for truly you show massive amounts of skill in the final post, where your use of language, sentence changes and paragraphing truly shows the despair of your character. It begins with a connection to Maddison's last post of, “And let go she did,” then leads into something amazing. The pointant description of the falling apart briarheart is beautiful and truly haunting at the same time.

Wildcard - 8

Both:
Honestly, this thread has been one of my favourites, easily, this year. It is not just because Maddison dies, but because it is also clear that you have put a lot of effort into it. Wildcard points here are going to emotion portrayal, which I feel is extremely well put across to the reader, through various techniques that I hint to above. All around it made me cry, and there are not many threads that will do that. You also write excellently together.

Final Score - 79/100

Rewards:

Briarheart receives:
2785 EXP
175 GP

Amari receives:
2320 EXP
200 GP

This thread is to be nominated for a JC.

“Friends are a strange, volatile, contradictory, yet sticky phenomenon. They are made, crafted, shaped, molded, created by focused effort and intent. And yet, true friendship, once recognized, in its essence is effortless.
Best friends are formed by time.
Everyone is someone's friend, even when they think they are all alone.
If the friendship is not working, your heart will know. It's when you start being less than perfectly honest and perfectly earnest in your dealings. And it's when the things you do together no longer feel right.
However, sometimes it takes more effort to make it work after all.
Stick around long enough to become someone's best friend.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

All rewards have been added.

Decision on JC award will be decided in due course.