An elezen sat on the edge of her bed, one hand through her hair, the other clutching a pen as it dripped ink into a blackened inkwell. The table at the foot of her bed pulled over to stand before her as she shoved sheets of messied and unfinished writings off into the darkness of the midnight bedroom below.
On the far side of the room along the furthest wall were a dimly lit hearth, the crackling of the burning fire stuck behind stone barely reached her to stir her senses beyond the rustling of paper and shifting of sheets. Aside from the low incomprehensible grumblings of the writer, there was but another sound between the shifting bed sheets.
A purring miqo’te lay at the elezen’s side, their head resting in her head on on her left thigh, favoring it as an actual pillow while she remained curled up partly in the sheets. The dim light of candle glow and cold-silver moonlight as it sifted through silken white curtains painted the small table in a somber light.
With a chewed lip, the elezen let out one final exhale as she dipped the pen back into the well gently before bringing it to a newly drawn parchment…
An elezen sat on the edge of her bed, one hand through her hair, the other clutching a pen as it dripped ink into a blackened inkwell. The table at the foot of her bed pulled over to stand before her as she shoved sheets of messied and unfinished writings off into the darkness of the midnight bedroom below.
On the far side of the room along the furthest wall were a dimly lit hearth, the crackling of the burning fire stuck behind stone barely reached her to stir her senses beyond the rustling of paper and shifting of sheets. Aside from the low incomprehensible grumblings of the writer, there was but another sound between the shifting bed sheets.
A purring miqo’te lay at the elezen’s side, their head resting in her head on on her left thigh, favoring it as an actual pillow while she remained curled up partly in the sheets. The dim light of candle glow and cold-silver moonlight as it sifted through silken white curtains painted the small table in a somber light.
With a chewed lip, the elezen let out one final exhale as she dipped the pen back into the well gently before bringing it to a newly drawn parchment…
The soft scrawling of the pen as it pressed against the surface seemed to cause the miqote’s ears to flick in the rhythm of each turn of the point. Line after starting line were ink scritched in certain permanence to an uncertain writer…
———————————————–
“Dear Lady My Sister, Enambris Rosen’Ash,
I am writing to announce my resignation from the Glass Network, effective immediately.
As your shield-sister, this was not an easy decision to make, nor should it ever be. Through the cycles that we’ve known each other, we’ve gone from idled strangers to the best of sisters. Two souls seemingly forever entwined to cross paths so closely again and again till they ran as one.
You, as my friend gave me a reason to live, hells. Not even gave, but provided it to me with a caring smile and loving embrace. You sought to keep me at your side, even as I struggled to remain. Time and time again you’ve done this, even after everything that has happened.
For this…
For that, I thank you, Sister.
Thank you, Enambris for my second…. my third and my fourth chance at life. I’ve enjoyed it every time you’ve given it. And I wished to make the best of it, every time.
This I promise you.
But I see as time turns the page, that the choices of the recent moons and coming weeks have driven me to think and dwell on the repercussions and actions that have and will have taken place by the time you read this letter. Perhaps it was my old age that changed my views, perhaps it was my jaded memory, fracturing and taking hold of my mind, or even the overload of living past lives once again.
But as fate tells us to take a side, and make decisions, my thoughts and mind have given me another perspective on what has come, and as the star turns so too do my feelings on the matters at hand. And it.. I do not agree with much of what has taken place.
Our actions, our words, our choices… I do not agree with the routes we have gone regar——”
There was an abrupt stop, the elezen letting out a frustrated groan as she willing let the ink pen drip and smear onto her writing again. She tightened her jaw, her teeth grinding as she re-read over what she could make out in the blackened scrawling of her letter.
She shakes her head with a mild grumble, the hand in her hair sweeping down onto the table to crumple up the written parchment before tossing it into the pile that remained hidden in the darkness of the late night room.
A frustrated hand grabs at the edges of the small table, her nails scraping and raking against the polished woodwork as she grit her teeth. The other lets the ink pen go, letting it spin on it’s head before clattering to the table top as fingers rush to run through tangled red and dark hair before resting the palm along the front of her face.
The weight of a held scream came to her chest as she wanted to let go, she wanted to let it out, but the purring of the miqote resting beside her seemed to draw her anger and frustration away.
The elezen shook her head again as both hands moved to rub at her face, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as she exhales sharply with as much of a shushed tone that she could muster. Despite the attempt at calm, she was shaking, shuddering ever so slightly as the tremors ran down her spine. The spikes poking through her night shirt twitched some few moments before tucking away.
Slowly her hands drifted back towards the paper and pen, tired and cold fingers twirling the pen between them before bringing the head of ink onto a new set of parchment. The scrawling of the same letter, revised came to mind as she let out a small exhale between her lips.
“– in regards to those you believe can still be saved.
I don’t believe it so easily. For I have seen this all before, and through my tired and aged eyes, I see nothing but pain down this road. But you have jumped head first into this new calamity that threatens us, how I wish I could share your enthusiasm. But I do not. My age has taught me not to.
My memories have told me not to.
And to that, my dear sister, I regret to inform you that this will be my resignation from the Glass Network proper. Those that serve under have outgrown me, and they see no need nor want to keep my presence. Even as a smile crosses my face as we embrace more and more new members of the Network, I see that my position and time have come to an end.
Far better, brighter and smarter souls now walk these hallowed halls and I am a woman of the aged past.
This… ‘war’ does not need me. This Network does not either.
No one wants an old Ranger.
I thought on my decisions and their reactions, and this… truly seemed to be the best course. I have the Farm to take care of, Haven to run as it fields research, my new Rangers to train so that they may surpass and perhaps join yours in the field. The newest personal projects of mine were prototypes for individuals still in the Network’s ranks but… T’would seem that they too have outgrown me. I find it heart-wrenching to think that my work may never see light.
I am a woman who has seen it all, and done it all. Save for one thing, heal.
In my absence, I request that the remaining Engineers, Raulin, Kal (once her baby has come), Lily, Faolan and Belldonna share the seat as an engineering coalition within the ranks of the Network.
They are to be my successors. All of bright minds and able bodies.
Lastly,
I wish to personally thank you, my dear sister for showing me that even in the darkest of times… there was always Hope.
If only we could have taught that to my younger self..
This is my Resignation.
Best of luck,
Your best friend,
Your sister,
Belladonna C. Slater.”
———————————————–
With a shuddering breath, the elezen rubbed at her face again with her spare hand as the other set down the pen, the point dripping ink as it rested near the drying signature. Finger tips brushed along the dried ink, an expression of a broken heart remained as a ghost as she read her work.
The miqo’te resting near her had turned onto their side, their magitek tail flicking lightly into the air as the covers were pulled over their body. Bell’s hand ran along the wrinkled sheets, smoothing it out over the woman’s body before pulling away.
Belladonna’s attention turned back to the table, retrieving a small envelope out from one of the side drawers. Slow fingers reluctantly folded the parchment into quarters before flicking the lip of the envelope open to slide the letter out of sight. With a shift and rustle of sheets, the elezen slowly came to a stand. The letter sealed away with a mournful darkness in her eyes.
Step after slow and quiet step onto an unpolished wood floor sifted through the darkness of the midnight bedroom before the woman reached the small animal bed by one of the windows.
The elezen stopped short a moment before turning back to see the sleeping miqo’te in their bed. The sheet’s pulled over their shoulder just enough to hide away her face. One eye was peaking open, a soft smile on her face as she watched her partner move to the window, stepping into the pale moonlight that shined down. Bella returned the smile in turn before looking back to the occupied animal bed.
There, awaited a green and blue eyed mechanical ‘dinobot’. A chrome plated mammet fashioned in the shape of the dinosaurs that can still be seen roaming the high and uncharted lands of the star.
A low greeting growl emitted from the artificial beast as Bella slipped envelope into an awaiting maw. The iron jaw ever so carefully clamping down to catch and carry the letter. A metal nub behind the bot wagged back in forth, nearly shaking its entire rear in the process as it shifted and scaled down the small animal bed to reach the wood flooring with a gentle ‘clunk’.
“Now… You know what to do with it.”
“…Go.”
The dinobot blinked it’s blue and green eyes as it looked directly up at the woman, the mechanized beast seemingly smiling as it acknowledged its orders. Slowly the chromed machine turned its body towards the door, its four legs carrying itself quietly with some pride in it’s step.
A small smile happened across her face as she watched the mammet triumphantly make its way towards a smaller door that led to the hallway. At the last second, the dinobot had turned and shifted it’s path towards the gently burning fireplace. With each step, Bella watched quietly, a hand gently running along her shoulder to her face, a small sniffle escaping her.
With gentle steps, the elezen back peddled to sit on the edge of the bed and watch her creation maneuver to sit just in front of the burning fire. The colors of burning flame licked at its chrome plates, causing it to reflect and shimmer beyond the shadows behind it.
The faint blur of vision came to Bella’s eye, the palm of her hand coming to wipe away the glistening sadness that lingered on the brim of her eye as the Dinobot itself leaned forward, the envelope still in its mouth. Embers and sparks catching the far corner of the paper, turning it into kindling for the fireplace. With a low chirp, the mammet flicked it’s head, tossing the burning envelope onto the top of the pile to let the rest of the flames consume the written words simply.
Satisfied with its job completed, the dinbot waddled back to its bed, it’s eyes closing as it pressed its face into one of the small pillows. Bella fought back a weak laugh, hiding away the fact that tears had soaked into her shirt and pant legs.
A soft hand comes to run its fingertips along the elezen’s knuckles, the fingers wrapping themselves around her own to gently pull the woman back onto the bed. The candlelight blown out and the table moved, pen stowed as the sheets were brought over the elezen with a small and tired laugh as she were dragged back to lay down.
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.. And I fear no evil ‘cause I’m blind to it all.. And my mind, my gun they comfort me.. Because I know I’ll kill my enemies when them come….
“Hushhh, rest now.”
“Rest now… and Sleeeep…”
That was all a voice echoed to her through a warble and chorus of running water through one’s vocal chords. The raking sound of chain links rattling as they were pulled away clanked into the air as a thunderous rancor of a rolling storm overhead began to pour onto singed soil.
The thick scent of scorched earth and muggy swamp filled the air as wisps of ethereal blue smoke floated past rotten smiling lips. Blue and blackened eyes stared down at the wake of chaos they had wrought upon the earth nearby. With every flash of passing lightning, the scene itself turned eve more grizzly.
Each flash revealed just how much had been done more and more. A woman in Blue armor lay limp, partially embedded onto the rock hard ground, partially smoldering. Her chest gentle moved up and down, the tell tale sign that she were still alive, that she were still breathing…
The air itself seemed uneasy, feeling as if the currents of wind and water fluctuated, churning like a hurricane’s waters above the scene. Only what seemed like fleeting seconds before was the air ever still, the calm before the brewing storm that had wrought itself onto the land so quickly from the eastern ridges.
With the thunder booming, causing the earth to tremble and shudder, Bella’s daze centered and wavered just enough to hear the echoes of her memory however foggy from just seemingly seconds before chaos tossed the land asunder.
The voice of the Creator echoed in her mind as flashes of lightning bring her back to still sands and cold ground just moments before. Thumps of footsteps through darkened caves and crystalline floors as the pair of them traveled through the darkness to emerge from the earth’s depths. As they reached open air, one could easily taste the sea salt and spray that unnaturally lingered within darkened midday shadows.
“The air wreaks of contempt and of the Dead Sea. Investigate, Belladonna. I will take the Crystal to the lab. I fear for the storm that is brewing on the horizon.”
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell on this earth for ever more. Said I walk beside the still waters and they restore my soul. But I can’t walk on the path of the right because I’m wrong.
Green bolts of static shoot across the floor and course along his body to extend from his fingertips as they jolt forward, his hand outstretched. Collectively, they gather to form a tall green shimmering doorway that only he could step through. Warping electricity sounds through the air as the man disappears behind the dissolving door, leaving Belladonna alone with the shadows along eastern mesas and aged mires.
With a held breath, Bella kept her one eye searching for anything as she followed unholy sounds and scents through the bog and mire nearby only to be lead to nowhere. Along waterlogged ground, bubbles began to form and pop, seemingly to follow every step she made. A stinging tinge of fear crept up along her spine as the spikes stuck out, rattling in distaste to the situation.
“Welcome to the Depths…” A voice spoke from below as the bubbles began to collect and grow.
Before she knew it, the screech of boiling air being carved in-twain made itself known as a pulse of blue and purple shoot through the foggy mire, soaring just shy of the woman’s head. The bolt itself collides with the ground behind her, igniting the waters and earth as the smoke billowed all too quickly into the air to shroud the already dark earth with a seemingly pitch black sea-scented smog.
The hyur’s voice called out to darkened skies with panic and fear lingering lightly along her tone as the sounds of armor forming and locking along her body clank and clash to create her suit. She hadn’t even thought to Morph, her heart weak as ever still pounded with the force of a million drums as her head turned to face the source of the first attack. But she were too late, the screech of another purple hued bolt careened through the air to collide with her helmet-half formed.
The weight of the impact sent her flying to the ground as two… three… four… five more bolts of both purple and blue hues collide with her armored body. Each strike splashed and washed against the earth, soaking the dirt with scent of the sea. The force of each hit darkened her vision as it blurred and faded. The concussive waves far too strong for even her. All she could hear in the fading light was the warbled laughter of The Dead Man.
“Drink it in… Ranger.”
“Drink it all in… Every last drop. For every last soul you abandoned…”
“Every last soul you damned with your so called… "heroics”…“
As Bella laid there in her half-coherent mangle of a body, her mind faded again and again. Each word spoken to her, an echoing darkness that haunted her as the young Ranger she used to be was brought back to her now… a dark reminder that she wasn’t one to belong onto the title of a "Hero”.
“Shhh shhh shhhh….”
“Sleeeep…. Sink into the darkness.”
“Let that Hex you’ve had strain your body… take hold..”
“And when you wake…?”
“Ahahahaha….A new woman to be brought into the depths…”
Her mind was swimming in the sea of a million memories as she raced to find which ones fit with the voice she heard. Trickles and traces of fading existence passed through her mind before her mind went black again. Succumbing to the strain and concussive strikes that had struck her again and again. The strength of each strike against separate parts of her strained her senses. The Pearls she had in her ear going dark from the shear weight of it all as her body grew still from the numbing strength.
She was stuck, immobile in a trap that she had no way out of…
Perfect.
She were His prey now… And yet… The man who spoke, despite his voice of darkened drownings and strength of the churning sea… He only had words… so it seemed.
“Well You know who I am… Ranger.”
“And soon… your new Rangers will know…”
“They will know… When you wake, that the Butcher’s Bill….”
The tappings of late spring rain on a large floor to ceiling glass window were all that filled the Ranger’s workshop. Not even the thrum of magitek engines and turbines were enough to fill the eerily quiet space. Dull grey moonlight poured through the raindrops as the storm rolled over the farm.
It hadn’t even been four bells since the Incident. An accident, an unexpected result to an otherwise already untrustworthy attempt at catching demons.
“What a mistake…”
The mutant’s words were but a low huff and whisper as her one eye looked up to the dreary sky. Her lone seat creaking as she shifted her weight. Her heart shuddered beneath her heavy thoughts, mind adrift in the maelstrom of lost causes and troubled outcomes.
They won… did they not? They captured the succubus, that was the goal. That was why they lured her out from the darkness of the la noscean jungle, in an attempt to bring some manner of peace to the locals and visitors as well as pursue their own wants and needs as a Ranger.
Thanks to lady Sariel’s assistance, they had captured a succubus. A second addition to the already present collection of colorful demons. Their containment coffers stowed away behind wards of the Original Ranger Corps’ design as well as her own. Locked away behind iron and adamantite vault doors and sealed magitek gates for extra protection.
A Ranger’s work always involved the Darkness™, it was always intending to be dangerous, chaotic work with unpredictable outcomes. Yet… this… This she should have seen coming. How much of a stupid fool, how much more of a bloodied rookie waiting to plunge into death could she have been? The longest standing and remaining Ranger, last of her generation, last of her Corps and yet… she made this mistake?
What an idiot.
Belladonna’s thoughts kept drifting to hours before, during the summoning.. during the capturing. The Black Ranger, while effective was too slow to hinder the succubus containable. Blackened daggers and shadows proving slow and unpracticed against a voidsent from a tier of her magnitude. Ambition clouding proper judgement… rookie mistakes…
Rookie mistakes leading to unpredictable outcomes.
By the time anyone had realized what had happened, the succubus had already sought to posses her, cursing her or fixing her. Claiming the little hyur’s body for her own means and ends. A dreadful existence. And yet… It was not to be.
The demon… the voidsent she’s bound to… had other ideas.
You see, once a Ranger chooses this as their path. One must cast aside fear, and take unto their enemy as their enemy takes unto them. Essences of demons are taken, extracted and used… Binding to the user, to the Ranger through the magitek Morpher and use of special aetheric and arcane seals. Each one binding the essence to it’s user in the goal of co-existence in an limited range of the Ranger’s body.
Were the Ranger to become ill, the demon bound would move to cleanse their body of the pathogen, healing their sickness, keeping their health. For one can not exist without the other. And both ‘souls’ both essences, the Ranger’s and the Demon’s strive to live. Strive to co-exist.
A rare anomaly.
It was a tie that binds Belladonna and her demon that kept the succubus from gaining full control… and yet.. Even with Bella safe, all would not be left untouched. The demoness, as it were had already done her work, altering the hyur to her liking, changing her enough to be a fitting host. A fitting slave.
Slowly now, Belladonna rises out of her chair. Her arms extending as her hand reaches and presses against the cold glass. In the dim light, she could see herself there, like a mirror. Only darkened greys mixing with the reflection of magitek monitors in the background reading inconclusive numbers and unpredictable outcomes.
The hyur’s skin in the light could still be seen as the patchwork for what it was. An uneven body, strands of musculature visible along her biceps and parts of her shoulders through the paper thin and transleucent skin while other parts were thicker, ‘normal’ yet darker… seemingly permanent variations of bruises from the wear and tear through the passage of time and unhealed injuries.
Scars scattered along her body, her skin showing impressions of light and dark over her form where bullets, blades and debris had pierced and punctured. The scars despite everything seemed like accents to the ink that adorned her. The black ink itself in designs of the ancient and arcane, a trained eye could tell they were sigils… seals.
Beyond such knowledge, they simply looked like intensive art, ornate and unique.
Belladonna’s frame in the reflection was noticeably larger… taller. More built than how frail and pitiful she had looked before. Her facial features looked more refined, something akin but not quite how she looked prior to her mutation*.
This outcome was… more close to how she looked, were her smaller form to have aged… if it could’ve at all. But now… she was this… an unexpected outcome… through careless mistakes..
Thunder rolls across ebony and star-crossed skies as distant lightning flashes across the horizon. A sickly warm breeze billows past untouched fields of grass before meeting a lone figure along the edge of a cliff. The figure was small, a hyur no less. Fingers tangling through their messy braid of hair, hand gripping tightly as the other gripped tight the loose strands of a broken bracelet. The wind gently dancing with thee frayed edges, lightly howling against the hollow charms. Small yet worn out letters and symbols were etched onto stone and shell beads.
The hyur’s head was held low, her chin pointing up towards the gloomy horizons as the setting sun began to shy away into fields of gray. The spikes of a bloodied mutation stuck out of her spine, twitching in the air behind her quietly. The distant rain and billowing wind painting ivory and ornate carvings with a graying wetness. One lone eye of foggied amethyst hues began to dim and dull as words repeated in her mind.
Bella’s mind crossed over her reaction, how she responded to the words. The whispers of salvation… Promises for the pain to stop. The memories of hearing such promises decades before called out to her aching bones and shuddering heart. Almost thirty years have passed since the end. An end that was brought about by someone listening to Whispers from the dark, whispers of the very same salvation… promises for the very same pain to stop. She despite the ages, could remember it clearly… So very clearly. The hand around the broken bracelet tightened a bit more as jaws clenched, flashing her teeth in anger.
“León.”
A name so hated, yet one so loved. One that she trusted with her heart… once… and forever. Bella’s mind drifts once more back to that day. Back to how she was told by him and him alone that the whispers of the dark were “true”. Back to how betrayed she felt, listening to the man she loved turn fanatical, turn into something she didn’t recognize. Back to how the Ranger Corps that day, fell and never stood back up. Back to how one lone being, so loved and so trusted accepted a promise of salvation… and back to how devastation lay in its wake.
The cruel warmth of salted tears brimmed over her only eye, trailing down her right cheek before falling, gently dampening the earth beneath her boots. A choked sob escaped her lips as the hand tangled in her hair race to clutch at her chest. Her knees begging to buckle as those whispers from beyond ate away at her, dredging back up all the grief, anger and pain she had ever endured.
“Look at you.” A voice growled from behind.
“Are you to tell me this is how weak you’ve become…?” The voice was low, gravely and deep. A suit of red armor stood behind Belladonna, the burning mongrel’s iron gaze cast down onto her. Their arms crossed as the wind howled against the bladed forearms and head. “Decades pass, you change and grew… yet somehow you’re still the same girl as you were then.”
“Now tell me, Bell. Before I kill you.”
“Why did you summon me here?” The man’s hands were stationed at his sides, beneath the fold of their arms as he waited. Despite the roughness of his words and his voice, he seemed to be content with waiting for the little hyur to respond.
While the world waited with bated breath, Bella began to clench both of her fists. She was steeling her nerves as she fought to speak the words that would come to mind, attempting to give reasoning to why she called forth her traitor.
“Do you… still think about back then…?” Her voice came out slowly, unsteady and pained. Her tone was choked as she fought to keep herself speaking.
The red armor shifted, letting out a low growl in response. “What do you mean?”
“Us.” She returned plainly. Her voice low and curt as she gripped the bracelet in her hand, letting some of it dangle in the air at her side. “I do.. Sometimes I think about how we used to be inseparable.. what you meant to me.. to each other.”
There was a low growl from mongrel’s helm, their jaw tightening in a slow broiling anger.
“And then now… I think about the times after. How things changed.. About… a-about how.. you gave in to the dark.. and brought everyone down with you..”
“And how… we never said goodbye.” Bella’s tone dropped, her voice breaking as she bit back her own struggling tears. The little hyur’s heart shuddering, trembling beneath the oncoming storm and weight of fate on her heart. She was quiet now, unable to find any other words to speak. Her hand lifting up the bracelet slowly to show it to the man at her back.
The Mongrel mused quietly a hand lifting to meet Bella’s. Iron-clad fingers running along a barren and bruised hand before moving to take part of the bracelet into his grasp. “This… this is the one I gave you, isn’t it?”
The little Ranger didn’t respond, her head turning to see the Mongrel’s helmet. Her expression softening, hurting in silence. She could only offer a small nod to the man before looking back to the horizon as flashes of lightning cascade along darkening storm clouds beyond the ocean’s horizon.
“So that’s why then…” He croaked, giving an audible nod as the armor shifted along his person. “To say goodbye.” León wore a small smile beneath the forever daunting tooth-filled grin his helmet carried. Despite how fate had set these once lovers astray, something drew them closer again, decades apart only to be together for seconds. Suited arms moved to wrap around the little hyur as an armored head rested atop her shoulder. The embrace lasted for what seemed like fleeting seconds. It was a cold one, the gentle fall of evening rain coating the already cool armor in a bitter chill against the uneasy warmth of the breeze.
Bella seemed to feel at ease, an odd feeling… a missed feeling. Something regardless of how many lovers she could ever have… it’d never be the first.. But yet it was something had so very, very long ago. It was time to move on… Despite all the pain it had brought, all the foulest of foul memories it gave, it was time… Lest the whispers she had been given be something she take.. and history repeats.
“This shall be the last then, my dear..”
It was quick, the piercing hiss of a blade being drawn. Before she could recognize the sound, the kiss of ringing steel plunges into her, drawing out a strained whine. In reaction, her body and spikes began to tremble as the Mongrel moved a hand, digging his blade in, driving it deeper into her. Despite not being able to feel the pain, the *notion* of having it run through her sent ill feelings through her mind. Bella grit her teeth as her grip on the bracelet loosened, allowing León to yank it out of her grasp.
“Despite everything you’ve done… Blue never suited you. You were never meant to be a Ranger. Just a hapless tragedy. But it’s over now.”
The world was silent, the shock of it all coursing through the air. León brought his hand to Bella’s shoulder, the other gripping his dagger tight before giving one last push inward only to rip it out of her back. The remnants of a grim-dark smile beneath the helm seemingly resonating as splatters of crimson stain the teeth of his traitorous mask. Even as thunder rolled across the sky, cascading like a hail of cannon fire, the audible choke of Bella’s voice could still be heard amidst that and the rustle of the fields beside the cliff.
With a gentle nudge, the Mongrel pushes Bella down. Letting her body collapse on its own as he stowed his bloodied knife away. His other hand moved to clip the bracelet onto the breastplate of his armor, wearing it like a pride-filled medal. León began to turn away, walking the same way he came in silence, as he left little Belladonna on the ground twitching.
“Goodbye, Belladonna.”
“You were always a disappointment.”
Belladonna let her eye flutter to a close as tears mixed with the falling rain. Clothes soaking crimson now washing it away. She could see herself collapse to the ground as León walked away. He didn’t even pause to look behind him as she lay on stained dirt. Yet even as the world grew cold and dull, the words of whispers echoed once more. Those painful memories threatening to surface again as her body and mind fought for a way out, causing the offer of those whispers to come to bear.
To let them show her reprieve, to let them be her savior…
The little Ranger’s body was numb, More so than the usual. Those thoughts repeating in her mind over and over as her hourglass began to trickle out of time. The offer of the whispers eating at her as the anger she felt towards them floated to the surface.
“N-no.” She spat to open air, her breathing at a pitiful quiver.
Her mind clearing from the haze of deathly repetition. She came here to say goodbye, to move on from her lingering darkness. Not to give in to it. This is not where she had set out to die..
Only to say goodbye.
As she lay on the stained grass, her vision skewed to the side. Her hand slowly dragged across the ground towards her right wrist. Fingers outstretched to shakily reach for her communicator. The world was growing darker as she neared her point, the more she fought to signal, the dimmer the light got as it faded away. Bell’s heart thundered with the beat of a drum, rivaling the rolling thunder overhead.
Tired fingers traced along the beaten surface of the device on he right wrist, sliding along its casing to find the one button she needed. The bump of outcropping for the button brushed along her fingertips before she pressed it down as much as she could. The gem atop the device pulsing a gentle red hue of light before her vision faded away to give into the inky nothingness that crept in…
“Feels like we’re on edge right now…” “I wish that I could say I’m proud.” “I’m sorry that I let you down….” “That I let you down…”
“What… what could I have done…?” “Anything… I could have done anything.. but I didn’t…” “But I tried everything…” “And I still let them down…”
The words seemed to echo into her mind time and time again, the bittersweet warm breeze of The Bounty billowed through the air above her as sun-kissed skin felt the tingle and pitter-patter of an early morning rainfall were all that could keep her mind relatively grounded from drifting off into hurting daydreams.
Bella sat alone atop a partially crumbling wall of ruin that overlooked a distant ocean. A gentle crackle of burning carnage in the wake behind her along with the falling footsteps of the other Rangers. Not a word was spoken as they arrived onto the scene far too late. Their helmets hid away the grim expressions and falling tears as a young and alone Belladonna rose up out of her right hand a broken bracelet.
It was a damaged beyond repair Morpher…
Bella glanced over her shoulder with somber eyes before turning back to the ocean in sight. Below her boots, sat pressed up against the wall she remained atop of was lifeless and still young girl no older than seventeen. Her expression cold and still, stuck in a gentle yet haunting smile as their eyes were cast towards the horizon beyond their little island along Thavnair’s edge.
The little highlander looked back to the Morpher in her hands, letting out an audible sniffle as she opened the device up, staring at the damaged runes beneath its metal shell. The sigils, the seals used to suppress one’s darker urges brought upon by the essence they were bound to… were all but erased along the device. A shattered green gem sat upon the Morpher, it’s energies sparking upon occasion whenever a wire within the device was moved too far.
Memories of the duel flashed into Bella’s mind as she ran her bare thumb along the runic ranger carvings. The scent of blood lingering in her nose as she shook her head, the memories flashing promptly and powerfully. The distant yet rolling thunder resonated within her like clashing punches against armor and bone.
—
“Fight it! Come on! A-argh!”
Bell’s voice cried out in pain as she felt the mailed fists of her friend collide with abandon. She could see through their cracked visors that her friend was crying as dark veins crept along their features. “Fight it! I know you’re in there! Come on! Fight it!”
The two Rangers traded blow after blow, their muscles screaming, begging them to stop as blood seeped between the cracks in their suits. One Feral and One non. “I know you’re there, please! Fight it!” The highlander called out to her friend, only to receive a dreadful silence in return.
The Feral sped towards her at full speed, a serrated fist charging towards her shoulder. In a flash of lightning, Bella swooped low, a hand running along the Feral’s forearm before gripping hard, attempting to pull them close to grab at the broken device on their wrist.
“Stop! I can help you, I CAN HELP YOU!” She cried out, her voice hoarse.
Before she knew it, the Ranger was tucked low, and spun to the ground. The thunderous pain in her ribs taking hold. The crack of bone resonating through her armor as she watched the Feral’s leg pull away, forcing Bella to the ground. The Feral Ranger let out a shrill cry as they struggled to stand, their own wounds taking their toll.
Bella could see that the Feral, the Ranger beneath was still fighting, still working on maintaining some sort control however little. Taking this as a chance, the highlander forces herself up to her feet, straining out a whimper as she felt her bones suffer beneath her weight.
“That’s it… Yes! Come on.. you can do it! Fight it!”
The flash of lightning and call of thunder catches her off guard, the bolt of levin’s might striking the earth between the two sending the two Rangers back to the earth below with a sickening crunch. The Morphers on both of their wrists were crying out, letting out alarming tones signaling that their powers were running high and dangerous.
Slowly though, the colors faded from Bell’s sight. Seemingly draining away into nothingness as her breathing began to echo through her mind. It was a quivering pace, her heart pounding as she fought to blink herself awake and aware.
Belladonna sat in a workshop, a sleeping miqo’te at her side. They were within the Glass Network’s workshop, sitting before a large window overlooking the valley beside the goblet as a terrible thunderstorm rolled through the night. The thunderous rumble following the lightning flashes resonated through the quiet workshop, sending uncomfortable waves of familiarity through her body.
Her hand tightened entwined fingers with the miqote’s beside her. A gentle shift of the small blanket that covered the girl revealed a newly printed tattoo, gently glowing along the woman’s upper back. Aetherial ink mixed with ancient magicks were used to create a Seal… a Sigil to bind away the curse that plagued Lily. The sigil’s design gave an ill remembrance to the hyur as her one eye looked over her own work once… twice… a third time.
A thought passed through her of what reminded her of such a painful memory… the memory of trust placed in her… only to let them down… a reminder of the trust placed into Rangers, their brothers in arms and even the Seals… A reminder that nothing is without loss at the stakes they play at.
It was one that was a reminder to her of an unfinished Seal from that night so very long ago. One that was never finished and in turn, turned their friend into a monster. Yet while it was years ago, the memories all still come back to her, ringing loud in her mind of the failures she had. The friends she had lost.
And how she never found time to grieve… not until it was too late… far too late.
A bold of lightning streaks across the sky, it’s trail of thunder seeming to shake the very earth beneath them in the workshop causing her hand to tighten along her lover’s fingers. With a shuddering breath, her one eye turned back to Lily, the sights and sounds shifting around her peripheral as she now found herself back into the burning field. The rain falling dimly against charred soil.
With a blink, the hand that held her partner’s now felt Feral’s Morpher. The earth beside them smoldering from a fresh set of lightning strikes. Before her stood a grotesque mutation of a Ranger now…
She was too late to pull the Morpher off… simply seconds too late.
With a cry of defiance and hatred for herself, Bella tossed the device to the dirt. The Feral in turn began to charge at her as she screamed. Fists and claws finding their marks along both bodies time and time again. Each blow sending waves of exhaustion into both parties.
The sounds of crying and grit teeth began to accompany the already growing cacophony of landing fists, pouring rain and burning earth. The scent of charred flesh and burning soil began to seep through the cracks of her helmet, overwhelming her senses as the Feral shrieked, landing strike after strike against her.
In turn, Bella reeled a fist back, ducking low before firing in return. Her eyes catching sight of her knuckles colliding against melding flesh and armor, turning it into a bound form of scale before outright cracking beneath the crash. It seemed to stagger the Feral Ranger just enough to give them pause in their daze. A brief reprieve from their otherwise monstrous rampage. A brief reprieve she needed.
With a sharp breath of air, Belladonna reared her head back up. Digging her heels into the damp dirt beneath she forced herself forward, fist after fist firing into the Feral’s chest. Her knuckles feeling the crunch and break of bone and armored scale. Every blow that landed send waves of searing pain into her form yet she pushed on. Tears streaming down her face as she screamed in a sought after retribution in this last moment.
The blows that landed staggered the Feral time and time again, stunning them nearly indefinitely as Belladonna put forth every ounce of herself forward, sending her target to a nearby wall near the edge of the burning field. Each thunderous strike seemed to shatter the air around them as she screamed endlessly. Ilm by ilm the Feral’s body began to give way, to yield to every blow. The bone and flesh beneath pulverizing as it yielded to unforgiving strike after unforgiving strike until the highlander’s mailed fists met the stone wall before her.
With stained hands, the hyur let out a yell. A cry of agony that dared to pierce the clouded heavens above before she fell to the ground beside her fallen Ranger. Beside the broken Feral in their last moments of life as the Ranger within struggled no longer. There they would lay as the storm above slowly yet surely put out the flames of struggle…
“All these voices in my head get loud…” “I wish that I could shut them out.” “I’m sorry that I let you down….” “That I let you down…”
(( Warning! It’s still sorta a long post! I promised to try and make it shorter, sorry about that! I hope you enjoy it! ))
“It will be over soon…”
“Don’t be scared.”
“Don’t be scared…”
“Don’t be…”
Those words echoed into the chamber as much as they did her mind. Yet even with those few comforts, she found herself shuddering, shaking, on the painful verge of tears as she retreated to the center of the pod, awaiting what came. There was fear in her eye, and the nurse knew it. One could even say that guilt and perhaps their own tinge of uncertainty lingered as she closed the door behind Bella. The pod sealing itself air-tight. There was a churn of machinery as the magitek machine revved back to life.
Bella couldn’t see much of the room from inside the pod, only foggy shapes as the glass doors sealed and shifted to become a foggy cloud that kept her away from the unknown shapes of the world outside. A cold sweat broke out upon her upper brow as a hand moved to cover her working eye to hide the fact that she was tearing up. As she retreated to the center of the chamber, her knees begged to buckle under the weight of a nervous heart. The thunder in her chest was deafening as the machine’s lights within the pod grew dim and gave to darkness. The only true light came in from the outside’s cool blue light behind the foggy glass.
A shuddering breath was all she could muster as the spikes along her back silently flared out to their full length. Despite the towel that wrapped around part of her body, the spikes and their sharp edges poked through and ripped the threads till there were slots to be filled by her mutation. With arms wrapping around herself to keep some semblance of steadiness in her heart, Bella could hear the sounds of shifting panels within the pod itself as the machine’s features showed themselves.
Wall and ceiling panels gave way to small capsules, each glowing a different color. Shades of blues, reds, greens and purples began to illuminate the small pod, every color giving the woman a different feeling of sickness all together. The whirr of magitek machinery humming above all else made her heart sink despite their purpose. The lights bathed the small chamber and cooling and warming auras, enough to churn the hyur’s stomach even more as her nervousness came through.
Suddenly, as red lights began to fade she felt a sharp pain shoot right through her. It felt like a heated cattle brand stuck through her gut and pierced straight through her body. The pain screamed at her senses as a hand reached forward to grab the close yet distant wall as she fell to the floor, curling onto her knees as the other hand grasped desperately for her stomach.
Searing pain was all she felt as her stomach seemed to churn and twist within. The lights pulsed save for the missing red within the chamber, the pulses quickened for some few seconds before slowing to a gentle heart’s beat. Yet despite this, the pain traveled along her body and spread to every corner of her person. No inch of her was left alone by the pain as it ached and stabbed at her mind over and over, driving her to the floor in a sob. Tears were fought back as she cringed and tried to forget the sharp pain as it ate at her.
For so long had she be bereft of pain, any injury she had sustained in combat or elsewhere was met with a muted numbness that she felt ever so disturbing. Yet even as she was without such a factor, she could still feel it. Whenever the spikes along her back would fall out of place and grow back, the pain she felt as they grew back to full length was indescribable. Belladonna never mentioned it to her friends, her loved ones that she felt this pain, she never would. Even as she would be healed by a conjurer or something other,the magic they wield caused more pain than heal.
This, what she felt in the pod was something so close to that, eerily close. One by one the lights began to fade properly, the panels slid to a close, yet as the lights faded, the stabbing and searing agony she felt surged more and more. It drove her to heave, choking on her own air as she retched what little she had onto the pod’s flooring before her. Choked sobs were all she could muster now as she attempted to wipe her mouth clean, a hand gripping at her gut.
Time passed as she folded in onto herself, trembling as the pain began to subside. The waves of anxiety, fear and the crippling ache washed over her as her meek heart clocked over-time to keep the little mutant alive. The humming of machinery thrummed in the background as the results came to the medical staff in droves while the nurse and assistants stood at the door, ready to retrieve the patient when the process was done.
Slowly the doors gave way, opening the small pod to the rest of medical staff. What they saw was bleak, an ill-promising outlook on the woman’s condition entirely. The poor mutant was curled up along the floor, trembling as the spikes were flared out at full length. A mix of vomit and blood turned red pooled the floor of the pod as tears trickled down her face. Without so much as another word of utterance, the staff stepped into the small pod, and lifted her. One after the other nurses and assistants would help the woman to her feet at as the others worked on covering her up once more in a larger towel, guiding her back to the curtain where her she could be cleaned and change back into her clothes.
As the time ticked away, Bella was given the help she needed to come back to her fairly regular self. Nurse Cecilia remained at the mutant’s side throughout the ordeal as others came and went. Bell sat in one of the chairs, still recovering from what she had experienced in the chamber. Her mind drifting to the faces of the staff, their expressions, their reactions to her and the data that streamed to the monitors from the machine.
Not long after, a man in a pristine white coat parted the long curtain to step in. A knock against the wall signaled his entry. “Miss Slater.” He gave a bow. “The report is ready for your viewing.” The doctor stepped forward as nurse Cecilia returned the bow, scooting to the side as he handed the mutant a small magitek tablet. Written on the viewing screen were the results of what transpired, of what the machine did to Bella.
Her eye traced over the data, the resulting graphs, and even the descriptors of what each and ever light did. Much of what she saw… unfortunately she already had guessed and or knew. Each graph she glanced over gave her less and less confidence as each defined a piece of her that would never be fixed. That her condition was truly, and officially… irreversible, unfix-able, and unending. That if, and when she steps back onto the field, the more injuries she sustains the harder it will be for her to keep going, that traditional means of healing… practical and without magic might be her only source of true health… As true as it could be. How she looked now would be permanent and, her age, truly registered at fifty-years plus, yet she looked ever so young. The scars will never truly heal, the pain from injuries untold will always weigh her down… and her mutation… is forever.
In the end, she knew that. She knew it all along, the mutant didn’t need something to tell her that she was going to be a monster, that she wouldn’t be able to feel the shining sun or the pouring rain for what they truly were, that they would only be whispers in the the wind to her. This day just confirmed it, sealed it with a cruel mark. It brushed away any uncertainty that she may yet be… feel… even seem “normal”.
She wouldn’t be.
She couldn’t be.
“Miss Slater…?” With a sharp inhale she blinked back up to stare at the doctor, a weary expression painting her face in all manners of sadness.
“Is there anyone you would like to send this medical report to…? I’m sure that there’s st-”
“N-no.. I’ll take it, don’t… d-.. there’s no one to send it to.”
“A-ah… I see.” The Doctor came to a stand, nodding his head solemnly “I understand.”
Moments pass before Bella’s bid farewell by the doctor and the medical staff. With Nurse Cecilia at her side, she’s escorted out back into the white hall beyond. Before Cecilia exits the room, she’s flagged by the Doctor yet again. The man hands her the small tablet and steps away.
“See this to the Creator.”
With a silent nod, she slips it hidden before joining Belladonna in the hallway. The nurse gestures back down the hall, and with small steps they make their way out.
“Don’t be scared, Miss Slater..” “Don’t be scared of the change..”
((Warning! It’s a bit of a long post! But I hope you enjoy it! I promise part 2 will be shorter…. probably.))
How many moons does it strike now? How long have I been this way? How many bloody days have i spent in pain, in a pain i can’t eve describe to someone. How many does am i gonna keep going..?
Questions. Those words, these questions that always seemed to cycle the little mutant’s mind during every waking hour of the day when her mind wasn’t taxed down by the nigh near millions of tasks that she was assigned, either by the Glass Network, or by her Ranger Duties. They ate away at her, viciously like wild and rabid dogs on a freshly hunted meal that was their first in days. The hunger for an answer drove her insane, her thoughts and mind swelling over and over till it all grew blank.
Belladonna sat alone in a long white hallway, her chair was of a soft cushion’d weave that sat her a fulm or two off the white tiling. Her feet would just slightly dangle were she to sit tucked into the chair itself. Doors lined the hallway in gentle indents, each own blank and without a handle on the outside.
A small stained glass windowpane decorated the upper half of every door. The design of the glass pane was ornate, each colorful in various different shapes. Every design telling a different tale of trial, and triumph that the ocean-side city had bore witness to. Despite the hallway being of a lone shaded hospital white, across the doorways sat large windows, two fulms high off the ground and climbing to the ceiling.
The windows mimicked the ornate stained glass designs that the doors had, each different to match what sat across from them. The late afternoon sun could be seen pouring through in vibrant colors along the white tiled floors. Bell’s eye idly danced along the shades of blues and reds, remembering each battle the told. She had lived through almost all of them, been present in some fashion, as a child or as a Ranger.
A painful sting of pride resonated in her heart as she recalled the perilous battles that she and the Rangers fought to protect their isolated city. The pride swelled only to give way and mix with sorrowful heartache as the memories faded and changed to the pain of losing them all to the same old war.
The bone spikes along her spine flared our quietly, stirring her her mind from dwelling too deep. In the distance, heeled footsteps could be heard clattering down the way on her left. The woman’s eye trailed the floor till it found the source, the nurse dressed in a white dress, an apron of vibrant skyblue and a white cap could be seen making her way towards the mutant. In their hand and arms sat a small magitek tablet, she was humming some faint and familiar tone.
A simple child’s song no doubt. Something that all children in Grisana were taught in some fashion at some point or another in their lives in the city academy. The nurse was young, her hair was kept in a small ponytail, tucked and hidden by the white cap she wore. Age hadn’t tarnished her young beauty, she was twenty-five, pushing twenty-six by Bella’s guess.
Belladonna sat as still as she could be, her hands together as her fingers intertwined, thumbs fighting the dreadful anticipation of simple waiting for news or even interaction. Her nerves despite her age were getting the best of her, her little heard pounding away in her chest causing the rest of her body to shiver in the seat despite the warm air of the city that crept through the hall.
The seconds droned on as the Nurse down the hall made steps closer and closer, the click and clack of heels echoed louder as she closed the distance between herself and Belladonna. The spikes along the mutant’s back were idly filling the otherwise silent hallway with their twitches and rattles as they shifted along Bella’s spine.
Bella seemed to tense as the nurse came close, nervousness plagued her face as she shied away and cast her one-eyed gaze to the floor, choosing the stare at ornate colors rather than the nurse as she arrived. With a sympathetic look, the young woman approached, a hand keeping her tablet close before lowering herself to a slight kneel, offering to have gentle eye-contact. Now near eye-level, Bella took in a shuddering breath as her head turned hesitantly over to the nurse, her body shifting and tensing more.
Despite this, the nurse offered a kind smile to the mutant. She paused to glance at her magitek device before nodding to herself. “Miss Slater..? The room’s ready.” Her voice was gentle, and comforting. Light as a feather yet could carry pride and the duty that she needed to as a medical professional. Bella gave a nervous nod to the Nurse before they spoke again. “I… recognize you from the museum. And your name’s pretty big in the city. It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Cecilia, you and the Rangers saved me when I was little.”
The nurse’s words stirred nerves and gave Bella a bit of comfort in the situation, her heart starting to slow and ease its thunderous beat within her chest. A moment passes between them before the mutant could respond, visibly she was at a loss for words and she was struggling to play catch up. As Bella looked over, her voice audibly struggled, the nurse couldn’t help but smile and offer a hand in return. “It’s alright.” she said reassuringly. “I’m here to help you, we all are, Miss Slater…”
Without a verbal response, Bella rose a shaking hand to take the nurse’s as she came to a stand. The woman’s hand as strong, despite her gentle appearance, the firmness of it gave the mutant a moment of reassurance through it. Bell was given an assuring squeeze before being let go. “The room’s ready, if you’ll follow me?”
Giving a nod, Bell slowly gestured for her to lead the way. Soon the hall was once again filled with the click clack of the nurse’s heels, but it was met and joined with the mutant’s rattling spikes as they made their way past several doors down the hallway. Their destination door held yet another ornate glass pane design on its upper half, the design spoke of the Ranger’s creation, that it was prophesied long ago in caves and ruins long forgotten on their island. It was a tale all too familiar with Belladonna. Something that she took to heart yet buried it away for as long as she could remember when she became a Ranger so very long ago.
Cecilia brought up her magitek tablet up to the door, a her right hand pressing against the flat metal door devoid of any actual detail aside from the ornate glass. A low chime of some melodic tone akin to a child’s rhyme, it was something similar to what the nurse was humming previously but yet still different entirely. A moment passes before the door yawns open, the door swinging outward. A stream of blue lights pour into the already bright white hallway from within the room beyond. The churning of magitek machinery could be heard humming in the room before they stepped in.
The warm air from outside was soon stripped away to give into the colder and cool air within the service room. The room was large and square, yet the corners were no where to be seen as if the design of it was made to give a feeling of endlessness as the lights dimmed along the walls to bolster that thought. Along the edge of the room sat medical console and tables with magitek machinery atop, screens blinking light greens and blues, displaying zeroed vital signs and medical reports of the would-be subjects. Medical staff were seen in the room, by Bella’s count at least eight others without counting Cecilia and herself. On the far side of the room sat some few chairs, a medical examination table and curtain that hang off a metal rail extending from the left-most wall. The curtain could curve along the metal railing, to provide privacy of the table and chairs.
In the center of the room sat a large magitek machine, the hum of it’s power source was what churned and seemed to be what was exhuming the truly cold air in the room. The machine itself was large, it stood from floor to ceiling, bundles of wires led from it to the machines and monitors on either side of the room along the walls and atop the tables. Within the machine, down its center was a clear glass pod, it was big enough to house the largest Roegadyn in the world no doubt about it. Belladonna could feel like nothing but an ant in comparison, yet even then that was an exaggeration.
“Miss Slater?” Cecilia spoke up, “Follow me to the back and we’ll get started.” Without another word she headed towards the curtain, with a nod to the other medical staff within the room. The doctors and nurses stood attentive to who walked in, silent for some small few seconds before turning back to their work. Few spying eyes sneaked glances to Belladonna’s rattling and flared out spike mutations, some curious, some fearful.
Slowly they stepped further into the room, passing the machinery. Bella’s singular eye, despite being hindered by the lack of sight, could still see fine details in everything. A small trait she had learned and picked up to try and adapt to what she had lost, and what had changed. She saw her own name along some of the monitors in passing, her medical history over the years, both Imperial and local. Height and weight changes, and even some slight documented facts of her mutation as well, nothing she didn’t know already.
Finally they reached the curtain, in which the nurse ushered Belladonna behind it, and moved it closed. “You can start removing your clothes here. When you’re done, Miss Slater, there’s a towel over by the table that you can use to cover up and then we can begin.” With a bow she stepped out of the curtain to give Bella privacy.
To say that she was nervous still was an understatement, the spikes along her spine were rattling, they had been the entire time they entered the room, truthfully. Despite this, she took shaking hands to her clothes. Slipping out of her boots and socks, stripping herself of her clothes one by one, piece by piece till she stood bare. Even though she couldn’t truthfully feel the cold, the senses that remained, what little there was told her all that she needed to know of the air. Her body was beaten, bruised and scarred, something she had only slightly gotten used to seeing. Imperfect skin, blotches of discoloration, thin and thick patches in variation. Something she found disheartening in a way, a grim and bleak reminder that she could never be fully healed to a degree that could even be deemed “fixed”. It was a change that she found to be crushing in the weight of it all.
With a shaking breath, Bella walked over to the table. Her hand reaching down to take hold of the blue towel that sat neatly folded. As she reached out, she found that her arm, had seen better days. Her hands and arms were in a poor state, but the distraction of the nurse’s kind words and face were truly that, a distraction. It was another insult to injury, something she hadn’t noticed all this time. The fact that her condition was everywhere along her body, and there was no fixing it. Her skin looked burned, beaten and bruised, matching the rest of her body. Even if she had come to terms with seeing it on occasion, it was still just as jarring to see it elsewhere, whether in the mirror or places that make-up couldn’t hide. Her heart sank deep into her chest, the heartstrings she had felt like they were going to snap at any moment.
Pulling the towel to her chest, she sunk to the floor on the verge of a silence collapse as she curled in onto herself. Grit and clenched teeth as she fought back any sound that could’ve been taken as a sob. The hum of magitek machinery wouldn’t hide it if she lost herself now. On her knees, she curled in, a hand hiding her eyes as the other pulled the towel close. She was shaking, shuddering… crying in silence. She wanted to wail, she wanted to sob. The reminder that she was so poor in health, the reminder that she looked this way, this… freak… this mutant ate at her till she was a shell, always.
Did she ever tell anyone how she felt…? Did she ever say anything to her sisters…? Did she ever say anything to mother… to father… to her brothers…?
No.
Not even fabled all mighty Creator had been spoken to about it… Yet he knew. He somehow always knew.
Her mind was blurring into her sobbing shell, only to be interrupted by a gentle knocking against the wall nearby.
“Miss Slater? Is aught amiss?” It was the nurse, Cecilia.
Taking in a quiet yet heavy breath, she fought to calm herself, wiping her tears into the towel before uttering a small response. Moments pass before she pulled herself to a stand, wiping her eyes one last time before the towel was wrapped around her torso. With a small “yes" the curtain was pulled open gently, allowing Bella to step through.
Despite Belladonna’s best attempts, her fight to hide the fact she was in tears only moments ago resulted in failure. Cecilia gave a small frown, fighting her own expression to keep professional. A hand was held up to stop Bella from moving as the nurse pulled out a small set of tissues, moving to wipe around the mutant’s eyes before moving to her shoulder to give a reassuring squeeze.
"Right this way, okay?”
Leading the way, Cecilia looked to the other medical staff who offered a silent thumbs up to her as she guided Bella to the chamber in the center of the machine. Her hand along the mutant’s shoulder was firm, comforting, reassuring as she led her in.
“You don’t need to do a thing, there may be a few scary noises, and the lights within the pod might turn off, change color and a few other things.. but that’s normal. Okay?”
Bella nodded in silence as she stepped into the small chamber. The pod itself was of a glass make, the opposite door of the chamber seemed to harden, and fog up forcibly, offering some shielded privacy while the other door remained open. The floor was admittedly cold, a slight mixture of metal and glass. The entire chamber was spotless and clean. Overhead hung warm lights, coating the small pod in a wave of comfort, no doubt made by design to reassure patients before scanning.
The hyur’s heart was thundering deep within her chest, but the air of the small chamber helped to calm her to some degree. Behind her nurse Cecilia grinned, giving her small words of encouragement and assurance before pressing a few buttons along the door’s console.
“Just stand there, okay? The process will be over soon, I promise.”
The setting sun cast its ever loving warmth onto the Island city of Grisana. Golden rays painting the city in the shimmering glory it prided itself with in the late hours of the evening. High atop a cliff overlooking the city sat a pained woman, looking through idle window panes down to the bustling city below. The entire estate had been lodged in a deafening silence, not a word had been uttered between housing staff and tenant, not since the day before, no. The only true sound was the idle sniffling and flicker of a mutant’s spikes as she seemed nothing but a statue against the windowsill.
The echoes of a burning memory was all that claimed Bella’s mind. Every aspect, every facet and detail that could’ve ever been taken in were circling in an endless maelstrom of painful memories. As light poured through the larger than life window, her reflection gave her own eye all the information she needed on her health.
Poor.
Nearly every piece of visible skin was laden with unforgiving bruises and scars that still threatened to break their stitches. Every thought of movement hurt her, despite the notion and lack of feeling she knew her body was suffering. Her reflection as all she needed to affirm. Yet, despite the lack of feeling, the warmth… the bitter warmth of tears idly began to brim over and trickle down her beaten cheeks. The memories she had burned her more and more as she found herself unable… incapable of turning away from the city and her reflection proper.
Trembling fingers gripped onto her crimson-stained sleeves as her one only eye shut tight now, refraining, fighting herself in every sense of the word from going back to the night before. From remembering how the pouring rain pattered against the metal of her armor, and how the words of regret and despair were all she could hold onto as the embers of destruction lingered beyond the City’s great wall. Grit teeth began to grind as she struggled to stifle her whimpers of dwindling faith. Her mind began to slip, further and farther away from where she wanted to be, and back into the abyss.
The mighty thunderclaps of a maelstrom cracked high above the outer streets beyond the wall. Wild fires licked at the buildings hidden amongst the corpses of demons and man as blood soaked into the muddied dirt beneath a Ranger’s boot. Hands gripped the shaft of the gun-lance ever tight as a beaten helm turned their gaze upward to see the maw of a spawn of the dark draw open to reveal the grotesque tongue that slathered along a thousand, thousand teeth. Before the voidsent sat a frightened child, cowering against the mud, making herself as small as she could to shy away from the demon. Behind the beast itself stood a man in Red Armor, his visor’s eyes shimmered beneath the pouring rain with crimson ferocity as the teeth lining his face-plate drew upward, as if mimicking a sickening smile.
“Nooo!” The Lance-wielder yelled above the cacophony of nature’s thunder against the pouring rain and churning seas beyond the coast.
Blood seeped through punctures along the Ranger’s torso, their body beaten to its very core, threatening to be crushed under the weight of the world that stood against them and everything they upheld. “You… You can’t.. You WON’T have her!” They exclaimed again, pushing their body to every limit and beyond. Every muscle in their body screamed to stop, pleaded to give up and accept that there would be no saving them, yet onward they stood. With a roar that threatened to pierce the highest of the seven heavens, the Ranger came to a full stand before refreshing their iron grip of the lance, lurching themselves forward to launch onward toward the beast of the shimmering darkness.
Each step was that of a raging auroch, every step forward splashed and quaked the very earth beneath as they raced forward. Each movement seemed animalistic as they lurched and dragged themselves across the muddy burning street to a child facing death’s crippling embrace.
Further and further they rushed, hands crippled by exhaustion pushed and danced across the lance, flipping switches and breaking buttons as the distance closed. The lance in their hand flashed a brilliant green light along the visible circuitry as the cannon beneath the blade began to prime itself for one final discharge. A blinking eye gazed forward, as their body arched back. The Ranger’s boots splashed and sloshed against the mud, leaving parting puddles in their wake as they came to a skidding stop. With a twist of their body and a roar bellowing from their broken helm they fired their lance forward like a javelin-turned-missile into the belly of the Dark Beast before her.
Following the twist of their body, the ranger stomped forward to turn on their toes to face the child, their back to the gaping monstrosity behind. A bloodied gaze caught the Ranger’s sight, the child had only just now just accepted their fate and the sight of a savior moved them to stalwart silence. Dirtied gauntlets reach down to grab the child and yank them out of the mud, into their arms, the ranger’s hold. Not a moment goes by as the Demon lets out a guttural and struggling cry as their prey became hidden and the lance became lodged in their throat. The Ranger of Blue only manages to make one step away from the beast before an explosion wraps around them, erupting from the center of the demon to billow outward, sending everything to dirt.
The demon in the blink of an eye was met with a firey end. Plumes of smoke billowed into the pouring rain as a small crater replaced where the monster once stood. Amidst the explosion the Ranger them self was sent to the muddied earth with child in hand. The fires lapped away at their armor as they tucked the child to their body as much as they could, shielding them from the rain and fire. With a crash of metal and bone, the Ranger’s body lit and flashed a dull shade of blue, the armor having taken its beating was brought to its limit and beyond before de-materializing back from whence it came.
A battered and beaten hyur could be now seen huddled against the dirt. Her shirt was torn and tattered, pieces of the accenting clothing was eaten away by fire, her boots were scuffed and broken as nearly as much as her pants were torn. Blood oozed past the threads that clung to her body, splotches of crimson stained every bit of her. In her arms lay a child wrapped in their own arms, dreadfully still. Moments pass as the rain continued to pelt and shower the island around. The silence was deafening, dreadful and heart-wrenching as the hyur eventually began to stir.
Survivors of the battle before, both civilian and guard stood behind rubble beyond the street, watching in both horror and awe of the spectacle. It had been sometime since they laid eyes on an actual Ranger. Years, really. Decades, even. The only true remnant of such a warrior was in the museum within the inner city. One by one, man of uniform and of citizenry came rushing to where the woman remained, struggling to rise.
Tired hands of The Creator and citizen alike reached down to help her to her knees as they separated savior from the saved. Words were without use here as the panting and gasps of breath were all that filled the air below the clapping thunder. The child remained ever still, and people rushed her away, silent in their actions.. But it was more than enough to speak of what possibly became of her.
The painful realization came crashing down onto her as without a word of utterance the men and women that pulled her up out of the ground simply gripped her shoulders, their heads cast to the ground, the pouring rain soaking them all to the very bone. Belladonna’s expression teetered on the edge of broken and loss as her mind raced through all the things that happened, racing to find where she could have changed the outcome, racing to find where she could have been the hero she once was. Her beating heart struggled as it reminded her of the condition she lived with, of how her body can take all the beatings, yet despite that… her heart would need to keep up, as weak as it was.
Rain did well to hide the tears that fell from the edges of her eye with unending, ceaseless streams of regret and torment in her mind. Her thoughts swirled, mimicking the maelstrom that lingered overhead. The warmth of comforting hands on her shoulders were all that kept her from screaming high up into the heavens for someone to take her away from this life, how she burned with every regret and misstep up till now.
“A Ranger was supposed to fight…” "A Ranger was supposed to win…” “A Ranger was supposed to save…”
“Yet you did not.”
The victories to her were ever always outweighed by the price of which they were bought. Prices too high for her to continue carrying and yet the Gods above seemed willing to let her struggle, to let her suffer. Oh how she dared to believe in the Twelve, how she dared to let such a thought slip into her mind that the Gods above truly cared for a soul such as hers.
No.
They didn’t care.
They abandoned her…
—————
“Abandoned by Gods…”
“What a pitiful existence you lead, baby girl..” A voice pierced through the pouring rain with a low rumbling chuckle.
Across of the small crater still stood the Red Armor, his voice rumbling and grizzled, ever the brutally condescending tone. The falling rain did little to hide the turn of her head, her eye widened with fear as her body trembled. The few men and women remaining in the rain with their lone Ranger stood tall, their faces turned toward the speaker with looks of everlasting disapproval. Tall and proud they stood, moving to be between her and the one of Red. Despite the exhaustion of hours long fighting against the dreary day’s enemy, Bella’s expression did not change as she looked forward, towards León.
“Don’t all jump at once, now.” He chortled, a sharpened dagger twirling between armored digits. The man shifted to stand on the cusp of the crater, his faceplate’s snout aimed upward towards the sky, the teeth along the front remaining in a daunting grin. “Why do you stand with such a failure?”
“Why do you? When you know that she isn’t enough to save you all?”
“It’s pitiful, useless… such a drawn out cliche.” His hand tucked the dagger away to one of the holsters before throwing his arms wide, bellowing out a mocking laughter.
“It is… good to be back home.” The words lingered on his tongue, the smile on his face matched the one displayed on his helmet. Prideful, vengeful… full of wrath.
His gaze fell from the Great Wall’s horizon down to the streets of the outer city, centering on Belladonna’s gaze. “Did you really think I’d be gone? I mean.. sure, you put a bullet or two in me… but tip for next time, babe..” He leaned forward a moment, the faceplate ‘ghosting’ to reveal his ageless features. “You’ll need to aim a bit better. ‘Course I can’t fault you for that though. It’s been a struggle to adjust with only having one eye, hasn’t it?”
He flashed a toothy smile before standing up fully. The Red armor her wore was bladed along the forearms, shoulder, and knees. Dangerous to wear… even more dangerous to wield. “Like I said before.. This whole thing is rigged, we’re just glorified soldiers in colorful gear. And.. well.. I fixed that. I made us heroes, the heroes we supposed to be! I gave us the bloody honor we deserved! Sure it was at the price of our city.. but we got it nonetheless. Isn’t that what we wanted?”
As he spoke, the people before Bella parted wordlessly. The beaten and battered hyur strode forward till she stood in the center of the small crater, her one eye trained up towards León. Her body was screaming to the end, for the rest she wanted, the rest she needed but deep down she knew nothing would come… Not till he was gone.
“I’d ask you to fight, but.. last I checked.. that armor of yours has some time till it’s done fixing. You’re powerless now.” The visor on his face lost its opaqueness, turning back to solely be the Mongrel he was.
– “You forget who I was.”
“Oh no, I know who you were.”
– “Then what was I?”
Lightning flashed as he gave a low snarl, his head tucking down as his body tensed up. Within the blinding clatter of the light and booming thunder, Bella’s form became wrapped in billowing hues of blue only to reveal a second armor of our Ranger. As the light died out into the evening sky of the hurricane that hung the island city-state, Belladonna’s second Ranger form stood at the ready in her place. Billowing wisps of blue energy flowed from her here faceplate’s eyes, the Ranger simmering with the rage of a beast, about to strike.
The Mongrel himself straightened up, his head tucking back in a failed attempt to hide his surprise. The roaring thunder above them only seemed to accent the raging tempest storm that was swirling beneath the surface of that Blue Ranger.
“There’s the fire I’ve been waiting for… But will it be enough?”
“Give these nice citizens a show..”
“Show them that this.. ‘Hero’ of theirs..”
“Is a failure to her very core.”
In a second flash of lightning Belladonna shot forward, rushing up the small incline of the crater with swirling blue energy trailing behind clenched fists. Her voice pierced the highest of heavens now, roaring with the rage of all she had left in her. Thunder echoed into the night sky as fists raced to find their mark over and over again. Thuds and crashes of metal and bone sounded out against the burning rubble as onlookers rushed to pull those they could away from the duel. As the Ranger’s calling edged Belladonna ever onward.
She would answer, as she once had… as she ever would.
Bella stood on the center platform on a rather oddly cold night, her heart thumping deep in her chest as she gazed out to the patrons, their warm bubbling drinks in hand while they talked amongst themselves before her drummer dared to strike the snare. The gentle warmth of the crackling fires pits nearby brought the whispering waves of oaken wood burning into her lungs. A welcome feeling to help sober the poor woman up.
Her mind was in a daze, foggy and filled with so many mixed feelings as she recalled everything that had happened prior to Starlight Eve’. She fell for a woman of magick, only to have them go away and leave her with a book to study to help with the Ranger project. She met with her Ex-wife after a year of absence and silence. That entire night filled with mixed feelings, yet in the end, when that morning sun came, they were in each other’s arms. Taking in what they had missed over the year since their falling out.
The hyur’s thoughts were all a simple mix of confusion, unsure how to feel, yet glad they happened. But.. perhaps that was why she was here? Standing before a crowd for a night of simple post-holiday reverie. Heavensturn had yet to be announced but people were already lining the event-boards with day-to-day activities till the yearly turn.
There was a sharp whistle that called her attention, nearby, perhaps even beside her. A blink of her one eye spotted her old guitarist, grinning like the madman he was. “Don’t blank out on us yes, old girl.” he laughed, tuning his amped six-string one last time before his fingers took a metal pick, strumming the metal chords to signal the start.
Bella’s voice, sorrowful yet strong as ever as her boot’s heel stomped against the metal mic’s base. Her eye seemed to take in the starry night’s sky behind the bright spotlights and the torches that lit the stage. She brought every word up with a hint of pain to amplify the power that the lyrics could every provide in her starting solo, setting the mood properly.
♪And every time you walk out, the less I love you Baby, we don’t stand a chance, it’s sad but it’s true ♪
♪ I’m getting way too good at goodbyes ♪
As if in unison the band leaped into the air, bouncing with their heads bobbing up and down as their hair, first clean and straightened began to jump up and down over and over as the music washed into the air, sending the waves of the guitar’s thrumming, the bass’ rumbles and the drums’ beats resonating into the La Noscean air.
Bell gripped the mic and it’s silver stand as she bounded on her toes, her one eye shut as she wore a pained smile before stomping onto the stone stage once, yanking her head up to press her lips against the microphone, her voice close and personal as she spoke her lyrics. Her one eye half-lidded as she looked to the patrons, as if making every letter she spoke give a more personal feeling, no doubt stirring the minds and hearts watching.
♪
You must think that I’m stupid You must think that I’m a fool You must think that I’m new to this But I have seen this all before
♪
♪
I’m never gonna let you close to me Even though you mean the most to me ‘Cause every time I open up, it hurts So I’m never gonna get too close to you Even when I mean the most to you In case you go and leave me in the dirt
♪
♪
But every time you hurt me, the less that I cry And every time you leave me, the quicker these tears dry And every time you walk out, the less I love you Baby, we don’t stand a chance, it’s sad but it’s true
♪
Now Bella was gently rocking from side to side on her heels, her hips rolling as she brought the metal stand close to her, dragging it across the stone, forcing it to tilt’s base as she led her faithful old band in the first chorus. Every first line she’d pull the mic close for her to speak, only to pull it away as the back-up vocals picked up and amplified over and over.
♪
I’m way too good at goodbyes (I’m way too good at goodbyes) I’m way too good at goodbyes (I’m way too good at goodbyes)
♪
The hyur picked up the entire stand, slamming it into the stone, her boot clamping down on top to keep her grounded as she leaned forward, pressing her body against the metal as she shut her eye again. Her voice rumbled low as she carried every phrase with the pain it inflicted on her, recalling every memory in the passing year that brought her pain. Starting with the loss of her marriage, and every heartbreak that came after in her attempts to keep what she had lost with someone else.
Every memory she brought up as she song dared to push a silver tear over the lip of her eye’s lid, glistening pain as she rocked herself from side to side, her boot’s heel thumping against the metal base over and over to keep herself in the rhythm as the band behind her continued to bound up and down, their expressions clear as things became less obstructed that they understood the meaning of the song and took it, playing every note with pride and sorrow all the same. No doubt it was a spectacle of emotion for the full crowd enjoying the music fully.
♪
I know you’re thinking I’m heartless I know you’re thinking I’m cold I’m just protecting my innocence I’m just protecting my soul
♪
♪
I’m never gonna let you close to me Even though you mean the most to me ‘Cause every time I open up, it hurts So I’m never gonna get too close to you Even when I mean the most to you In case you go and leave me in the dirt
♪
With her voice raising to continue the song, she pushed herself away from the microphone stand itself, surely to catch and rouse the attention of the crowd once more, keeping them on their toes. A step away from the stand made the mutant’s spikes flare out behind her as she bent backward only to lurch forward, keeping herself a few ilms away. Her hands cast up to the sides of her head, grasping at the air with a burning passion as she centered, her words practically shuddering as the emotions hit her like hammer over a burning iron from a roaring forge.
She kept herself animated, the emotions rolling over her were only to help her portray how the lyrics made her feel; pained yet proud to sing, hurting yet wanting to send her message of how she truly felt. Every memory that brought this song to her was something she knew she didn’t want, yet deserved it for every action she had made.
The shine of the lights did well to mask the gentle tears that would fall in between the bounds she’d make, whether it were side to side or to take the microphone and it’s silver stand with her across the stage.
♪
But every time you hurt me, the less that I cry And every time you leave me, the quicker these tears dry And every time you walk out, the less I love you Baby, we don’t stand a chance, it’s sad but it’s true
♪
♪
I’m way too good at goodbyes (I’m way too good at goodbyes) I’m way too good at goodbyes (I’m way too good at goodbyes) No way that you’ll see me cry (No way that you’ll see me cry)
♪
♪
I’m way too good at goodbyes (I’m way too good at goodbyes) No Oh, no, Oh, no, Oh (I’m way too good at goodbyes) No, Oh, no, Oh No, Oh, no (I’m way too good at goodbyes) (No way that you’ll see me cry) (I’m way too good at goodbyes)
♪
Bounding over and over on their toes, Bella did what she could to hide the glistening shimmer that welled over her eye as the final chorus was sang loud and proud by her and the band. It was clear that she and the others enjoyed being able to perform, this much was true but how the song made the singer feel was struggling to be hidden, which.. perhaps played out, helping their performance as the crowd seemed to be grossly captivated by her words and the emotion behind them.
The faces in the crowd could relate to the words in one way or another, this much alone caused their voices to join the band in the ending chorus as they began to give way to the final words.
Belladonna ripped the mic from the stand, bringing it to her lips as she bent forward, the other hand gripping the top of the metal stand as she bellowed out the last refrain. Every word she cried out was forceful, yet her voice never carried beyond the tone she needed to match the ferocious end to her song. Each line spoken started herself low only to raise her voice to the heavens above, the hand holding the magitek mic firmly raising into the sky above as she cried out her lyrics.
♪
‘Cause every time you hurt me, the less that I cry And every time you leave me, the quicker these tears dry And every time you walk out, the less I love you Baby, we don’t stand a chance, it’s sad but it’s true
♪
♪
I’m way too good at goodbyes
♪
The tears she had been doing her damnedest to hide through the song began to quietly stream across the side of her cheek as the song’s guitars started to die away. The drummer’s cymbals were ringing after the final crash, as the rest of the band came to a gentle stand, burned on their energy for the music itself.
Their eyes were closed as they stood tall, heads dipping low to hide their faces. Bella stood in the center between the band, both hands were gripping the microphone before her. Her breaths were shaking while the woman’s body shuddered from the adrenaline that coursed through her tired veins.
The applause of the crowd could scarcely be heard over the thumping of her aged heart. Words were muffled as she felt that this… this night after everything that happened, was agood way to say goodbye.
————————————–
It’s not a Happy Starlight night, but this definitely could help her.
Apologies for not writing something a bit more cheery for tonight, but I thought you’d enjoy this one regardless!
It’s been quite a crazy few years on this blog, and I’m happy I can create content for you. Hopefully you found this one just as enjoyable as the others.
Merry X-mas if you celebrate it, happy holidays regardless if you don’t!
It's Morphin' Time - XIV 