There were few pleasures allowed to those forced to live in The Abyss. Food was available, so long as one didn't mind eating out of cans or freeze dried goods and all of the buildings provided running water. That was the extent of the charity the wicked world was willing to give. Anything else needed to be scavenged from whatever sources the unfortunate had at their disposal. As such, Fluttershy considered herself lucky that her shelter had a working shower.
Her face was blank, standing bare before a torrent of lukewarm water as the dried blood washed off of her skin. This wasn't a new sight for her, the black trails sliding off of her body like dried ink down the drain below. Brief flashes of what she did the night before jumped to the front of her mind, each shooting a tremble down her spine that had nothing to do with the water's temperature.
Shuddering breaths fell past her lips, the rusted metal walls of her cubical shower feeling like they were slowly closing in on her. The pattering from the water sounded like thunder in her ears as her vision started to narrow. Her right hand felt oddly empty, her fingers twitching at the need to feel a familiar grip and weight. A dazed smile started to creep onto her lips, her eyes losing some of their luster as she mulled over where Angel went. Just when she started to fall back into the numbing void of her mind, a fleeting memory of her friend pulled her back.
She fell to her knees, panicked gasps falling out of her as water ran through her hair. An image of her friend standing defiant before a pack of monsters, her guardian spirit standing at her side as arctic winds howled through the darkness. The fire in the ivory teen's sapphire eyes still shook her fading heart, the strength they held just the thing she needed to pull herself back from the void.
Her shaking breaths slowly started to level out, the inky ichor falling down the drain thinning with each steadying breath she took. She wouldn't let herself become a monster again. So long as she had Rarity at her side, she wouldn't need to become that monster again. Everything was going to be fine.
"Is that how you see her?" a voice eerily similar to her own asked.
"G-Go away," Fluttershy demanded, eyes wide with fear.
"Is she just a tool to you? A new cleaver to cut through the monsters?"
"Please...stop," she begged, her hands clamped tightly over her ears.
"She won't always be there to protect you, you know," the voice taunted. "Sooner or later, you're going to need me again. Until then, I'll be waiting for you. Your sweet. LIttle. Angel....."
With that, the voice faded back to the shadows of Fluttershy's mind, the tension its presence had on her heart slithering away along with it. Taking a breath to steady herself, she rose to her feet and turned off the water. She tried to keep her mind blank as she wrapped a tattered, yet dry, tarp around herself, the rough fabric dragging a pained gasp out of her from the multiple shallow claw marks covering her back. Her long hair dripped around her head like a soaked pink curtain as she opened the bathroom door into her bedroom.
She flinched when she noticed Rarity sitting on her bed.
Even when she was "gone", she had quickly gotten used to being alone. To be "back" again and have actual company was something she was going to have a very hard time getting used to. Blushing and hiding behind her wet hair, Fluttershy took a seat next to her friend. A heavy silence settled between them, neither of them sure where to even start. A mountain of questions ran through Rarity's head, chief among them being how Fluttershy became the hollowed nightmare she found her as. Fluttershy was in a similar condition, her tired mind struggling to come up with the answers she knew she was going to have to give her friend.
Eventually, Rarity managed to break the silence.
"I, um, found you a change of clothes," she offered, gesturing to a bundle of fabric at the foot of the bed. "It isn't much, but at least it isn't covered in....at least they're clean."
"R-Right," she stammered, eyes locked onto the ground. "Th-Thank you."
More awkward silence, then, Rarity suddenly stood up and made her way towards the bathroom.
"Well, I'll just get cleaned up while you get dressed," she stated, a look of determination stamped firmly across her face. "We have a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it in."
"R-Right," Fluttershy stammered, briefly taken aback by her friend's display. "I...should have something prepared when you come out."
"Make it something quick darling," she smirked. "The sooner we get back to the hotel, the sooner we can relax in full."
Before she could respond, Rarity let herself into the bathroom and locked the door. Fluttershy sat there in shock for a moment, her eyes locked onto where her friend stood a few seconds ago. Sporting a small determined smile of her own, she dropped her tarp and made her way towards the pile of clothes. Rarity hadn't been kidding when she said that the clothes wasn't much. Fluttershy let out a small disappointed sigh at the tattered white T-shirt and faded khakis laid out on the bed. The heavy leather boots where a welcome addition though, the girl having long sense grown tired of walking around barefoot even when she was "gone".
As she slid on her clothes, her mind wandered back to her friend and the hotel she kept mentioning. The way she talked about it, this mysterious hotel sounded like some kind of paradise, even by her friend's admittedly outrageous standards. Perhaps she had gone mad as well and this "hotel" was just a simple step up from her wear house.
Then there was her powers.
Clearly, it was some kind of magic, but how exactly did she come across it? Fluttershy highly doubted Rarity always had that kind of power. If she did, she definitely would've used it in the past at some point. Was the strange figure at her side in some way related? What was that creature? Where did it come from?
"When did everything get so crazy?" she huffed, forcing her head through her new shirt.
She frowned at her now dressed reflection in a corner mirror, only to flinch a when a startled wail came out of the bathroom.
"Rarity, are your okay?" she asked, running up to the bathroom door.
"WHY IS THE WATER SO BLOODY COLD?!" she cried.
Fluttershy blinked at that, then, slowly, a fit of giggles fell out of her. Even with the whole world falling down around them and monsters around every corner, Rarity still found something to complain about. The giggles turned into full belly laughs as Fluttershy let the insanity of it all hit her, the teen struggling to breathe as she made her way towards the room's exit. No matter how much things have changed for her, it looked like a few things were going to stay the same.
***
The streets were just as full of Shadows as they were the day before, the two teens just barely managing to find shelter in a nearby alley as a pack of Jurors staggered into view. Rarity glared hatefully at the mob, her grip on her drawn weapon like a trembling vice. A faint whimper behind her ripped her eyes away from her enemies towards her cowering friend. Fluttershy sat curled in on herself further into the alley, her eyes wide with fear as she gripped the sides of her head.
"Fluttershy? Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down to her friend's level.
"H-H-Hunter a-a-a-and p-prey. H-h-h-h-h-hunter and prey," she babbled, the light slowly fading from her eyes.
"No," she muttered, panic grabbing her heart in a vice, placing her hands on her friend's as she forced her to lock eyes with her. "Fluttershy. Fluttershy, stay with me dear. You're going to be fine. Please come back to me."
Fluttershy blinked and slowly, life started to come back to her eyes. When she fully regained her clarity, tears started to fall from Fluttershy's eyes. Rarity lightly shushed her as she delicately wiped her tears away, a fire burning hotter in her heart the longer she took in her friend's condition.
"I need you to be strong, dear," Rarity whispered, gently pulling her friend to her feet. "Just for a little bit, okay?"
Shakily, Fluttershy nodded.
Picking up her weapon, Rarity made her way to the mouth of the alley and peeked outside, a deep scowl marring her pretty face. She counted at least fifty Jurors standing in the street, all of them staring blankly at the red moon above. Far too many for her to kill in one go, even with Arachne's support. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed an empty can and chucked it into a nearby alley. LIke the countless other times she'd done this, the Shadows instantly reacted to the sudden noise and ran giggling into the alley. As soon as the last Shadow entered the alley, Rarity looked over her shoulder at her terrified friend and gestured for her to follow her . With a nod, Fluttershy followed as Rarity bolted out of the alley to another further down the street. Not even a second after they made it to their new shelter, another mob of Jurors staggered into the street.
Rarity barely managed to swallow some very unladylike words upon their arrival. At the same time, Fluttershy was having her own unpleasant reaction to the Shadows. The wounds on her back burned, her heart was pounding in her chest, and her breaths came out in pained gasps. It all came back to her in vibrant flashes; the pain as the monsters beated her and ripped into her back with their claws. All while they giggled their sick giggles and smiled down at her with their twisted masks.
Her hand grabbed hold of the cleaver belted to her side, her mind struggling to stay in the present in a slippery game of Tug-o-War.
"They want to hurt you," a chilled version of her voice whispered. "Let me hunt them. Let me cut them down. You don't have to be afraid. Let me keep you safe."
"No!" a female voice hissed. "Don't listen to her! If you disappear, you may not come back! Stay strong my mistress! Trust in your friend! Trust in your heart!"
"Trust won't keep her alive," the other voice stated. "But I can. It's thanks to me that she's alive. Survival trumps trust, unless it's trust in doing what is needed to survive."
"Not if you lose yourself along the way," the female voice begged. "Please mistress, stay yourself. You don't need to do anything else!"
"S-Stay....myself," Fluttershy gulped, her right eye losing its life as she forced her right hand away from her weapon. "Trust....R...Rarity."
The burning from her wounds lessened as she started to come back to herself. Not even a second later, Rarity gestured for her to follow her again. With a nod, she followed her friend further down the street, her right hand keeping a firm grip on her cleaver's handle until they made it to the next alley. So the pattern repeated, with Fluttershy struggling to keep her grip on herself as a new mob of Jurors staggered into view. While she wasn't aware of every episode, the ones she did become aware of added to Rarity's hatred of the monsters.
Eventually, they managed to find a break in the pattern, the tall buildings replaced by silver suburban homes. With the sudden lack of Shadows, the two girls were finally able to catch their breath, taking shelter between two houses as Rarity fished two granola bars and water bottles out of her backpack. As the girls wolfed down their meager rations, Rarity couldn't get her friend's condition off of her mind. Just what kind of horrors could she have had to endure to turn into the thing she saw yesterday?
Seeing no other way around it, she took a deep breath and forced herself to get the words out.
"Fluttershy darling, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Um, not really," she demurred, taking a small sip from her water bottle.
"What exactly....happened to you when you came to this world?"
Fluttershy flinched at the question, then somberly stared down at the ground as her gaze turned distant.
"I....woke up in a strange house. Everything was falling apart, but the food was still good. I remember crying at my kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal when there was a knock at the door. When I opened it...."
She shuddered, hugging herself as a mob of grinning masked faces flashed before her eyes.
"F-Fluttershy?" Rarity nervously asked.
"I...remember being hurt. They punched me, kicked me, and scratched me, all while laughing and smiling at me. The last thing I remembered was grabbing a cleaver off the counter and then everything went dark."
"J-Just like that?" Rarity asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Fluttershy shook her head, some of the light starting to fade from her eyes.
"I heard a voice, my voice, telling me to survive. Every now and then, I would see what I was doing to the monsters, but the voice would pull me away before I could see too much. Even know, I can hear her telling me to come back, to let her take away the pain. I...don't want to go back."
As she said that, the life started to return to her eyes.
"And you won't have to," Rarity growled, wiping the tears out of her eyes and standing up. "I promise, once we get to the hotel, you won't have to worry about the Shadows ever again."
"A-Are you sure?" she stammered, staggering to her feet. "How do you know the monsters can't get in?"
A cocky smile spread across Rarity's lips as she said, "Let's just say, I pity the poor soul that tries to breach that particular viper pit."
***
Between the lack of Shadows and the smaller gaps between hiding places, the two girls started to make great time. This didn't mean Rarity was willing to let her guard down, though. If anything, the lack of threats put her further on guard. Even this close to the hotel, she remembered running into small groups of Jurors every now and then. Now, the streets were eerily silent, not even a trace of stilted footsteps or wicked giggles to be heard.
No, something wasn't right.
Both girls had their weapons drawn, Rarity even going so far as to have her key at the ready as they crept through the open streets. Fluttershy's right eye was void of life, the wicked voice in her head humming its twisted rhyme in the back of her mind as she stayed at her friend's back. Her grip on Angel was firm, but loose enough to allow her to turn the blade into a ranged option if the need arose. It scared her that she had that kind of knowledge, even if it was just a passing whisper in the back of her mind. Even if it was the kind of knowledge she needed to survive in this cruel world.
Rarity kept her eyes and ears trained onto their surroundings, every cell in her body ready for even the faintest trace of an ambush. She knew the Jurors were stupid, but that didn't mean they weren't capable of some tactics. Beasts were dumb, but they still had ways to hunt their prey, after all.
Slowly, the duo moved down the silent streets, their hearts hammering in their ears as they waited for the shoe to finally drop. A wait that came to an abrupt end when a sound sent a chill down their spines, both of them freezing in place in the middle of the street. Slow, metallic clicks echoed down the street, each sounding heavy as iron as their source started to close in on a turn. An echoing female voice slowly started to reach them, the merriment in its tone adding to the dread in their guts.
"La~La~La la la~." it hymned, then giggled.
As the steps grew closer, the fear in their hearts grew thicker. Finally forcing enough will to move, the duo ran into the nearest alley. Not a second too soon, as the first "step" could be heard right down the street. They crept into the shadows of their alley, eyes and weapons pointed at the opening as the creature moved further down the street. Their hearts sank into their guts when the creature came into view.
The Shadow's main body was a silver human head, roughly the size of a human torso with a dark blue mask covering its face. Its "face" was locked into a wicked smile, the eyes and open mouth dark voids that seemed to eat the light around them. Five long tendrils made of black hair grew out of the top of the Shadow like oily black spider legs as they held it up, the head swaying playfully back and forth as it hung ten feet in the air. It stood there in front of their alley, humming its eery lullaby as it stared further down the street.
Rarity stared at the creature with narrowed eyes, her mind struggling to think of a way to get around the Shadow. It was alone, so it was possible for her to fight past it if she needed to. Running was also an option, but she wasn't sure if they could outrun something like that. She shook her head at both options, sure that even if this Shadow was different from the rest, it should fall for the same tricks. Pocketing her key and still keeping an eye on the new threat, she reached down and picked up a rock.
With practiced aim, she threw it over the creature into the alley across the street. The Shadow flinched, its singing taking a sudden stop as it turned slightly towards the alley. Rarity pulled out her key and was about to congratulate herself for her cunning, when the Shadow suddenly turned towards her.
Her eyes widened, shock holding her in place as the Shadow started singing again. It was thanks to a hard push from Fluttershy that she snapped out of it, just in time to follow her under the creature as a jet of fire shot out of its mouth. Neither of them said a word as they ran down the street, sheer terror adding speed to their heels. The Shadow's singing and metallic steps were quickly gaining on them, adding to the fear hammering through their veins. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed their fears, the Shadow towering over them with only a trace of an inch's worth of space separating them from it.
Plan B it is then, Rarity thought with a frown.
At the first turn, she shoved Fluttershy into it, and turned to face the Shadow.
"Descend, Arachne!" she cried, stabbing her key into the air in front of her.
Her Persona appeared a second later, hand outstretched just in time to send a blast of frozen air into the Shadow's face. As it flew down the street, Rarity risked a glance at her friend. The dead look in one of her eyes unnerved her, but she forced that down and gave her attention to the already recovering Shadow.
"Go down the street and make a left, then a right, and keep going straight. That will take you straight to the hotel," Rarity frowned, eyes set into a fierce glare as she pointed her weapon at the Shadow. "I will join you as soon as I can, dear."
"B-But Rarity-"
"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!" she roared. "Get to the hotel, now!"
Fluttershy let out an "Eep!" as she ran, taking a large weight off of her shoulders as her friend's steps faded away.
"Now then," she frowned, eyes as cold as the wind swirling around her as she stared down her enemy. "Let's make this quick."
***
Fluttershy's heart hammered in her chest, fear and worry swirling within her like a thick sludge as she followed Rarity's directions. The mix didn't help her keep the dark away, the corners of her vision starting to fade to black as a familiar numbness settled in. She fought against it, refusing to let it eat her when safety was so close, but its voice still managed to creep past her defenses.
"Yes, leave her to her fate. Survival is all that matters in the end."
"N-No," Fluttershy gasped, her steps turning into staggers as everything started to spin. "Sh-She said she'd make it. "
"Does that matter?" the voice egged. "So long as you live, what does it matter if she dies? That just means she was prey."
She froze, an image of Rarity laying dead on the ground in a puddle of blood shattering her heart in ways she never knew. Slowly, she turned her head back down the empty streets she had just left, flashes of fire and gouts of steam peaking past roofs in the distance. The darkness slowly started to cloud her vision, her grip on Angel turning a lot more steady.
"That's it," the voice cooed. "Come back to the dark. Come back to the safety of your sweet little Angel."
Just as the darkness started to take hold, a kind hand pulled her forward, snapping her back into the present.
"I will not let you fall again!" a second voice hissed. "If you fear for her, then let us lend her our strength! What say you, my Mistress?"
The voice's warmth moved from her hand to her heart and as it did, a raging tempest starting to take form within her. She could feel the darkness in her heart glare at it, hissing like a poisonous viper as it was pushed back. Again, she felt something shift into place, only now it was a more complete fit. A surge of power filled her soul and poured into her body, her love for her friends and family turning the tempest into a howling hurricane.
"Yes, your heart is finally awake! Let us form our contract and lend our power to those we love! I am thou. Thou art I. A piercing gaze that freezes the hearts of the wicked. Through love's penalty, may darkest venom be cleansed from this world. Call my name, and let the guilt of a cold heart be forever broken!"
With a determined smile, Fluttershy reached her left hand into her pocket and pulled out a golden key, a card showing a heart and two figures holding each other close hanging from its ring by a silver chain. Holding its point over her heart she softly said two words. A torrent of air flew up around her as a door appeared above her head, the rough outline of a face with glowing red eyes decorating it as it slowly crept open.
***
"Perhaps, I have bitten off more than I can chew," Rarity panted, barely managing to keep herself standing.
Fire and frost covered the battlefield, the Shadow happily singing at its heart without even a scratch. Rarity was far less lucky, with the dozens of fresh burns covering her blouse and pants. If it wasn't for her own quick thinking, the burns would've been on more than just her clothes. The heat combined with all of the Spirit Power she was burning through was taking a heavy toll on her, her vision blurry and body sore from exertion.
Gritting past the pain, she stood her ground, panting as her Persona flickered in and out of existence at her side. Using what power she had left, she summoned a row of icicle spikes out of the ground towards the Shadow, only for it to counter with a flaming whirlwind. Cursing under her breath, she willed Arachne into firing an icicle spear, but a jet of fire breath was more than enough to deal with that.
"Fire. Why did it have to be fire?" she groaned, what was left of her strength slipping further away from her.
A bitter smile graced her lips as she added, "At least Fluttershy managed to make it out of this. Mission accomplished, no?"
Arachne scuttled towards the Shadow, frozen air surrounding her claws as she threw herself at the approaching monster. The beast knocked her aside with a swift kick, sending the Persona through a house, pain from the blow knocking Rarity to her knees. She could only watch as the Shadow approached her, a ball of fire slowly forming in front of its mouth. In a feeble act of defiance, she pointed her blade at the Shadow, all the while, bracing herself for the pain that was to come.
Before the final blow was struck, a blast of wind threw the Shadow down the street, shattering its attack before it could be fired. Rarity stared dumbly where the Shadow had been for a moment, before her brain finally caught up with her eyes. A second later, a familiar set of boot steps announced her savior's presence.
"Are you okay, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked, kneeling down to her level.
"Flutter...What are you doing here!?" she demanded, staggering as she was dragged to her feet. "I told you to escape!"
"We're not going to leave you to fight that thing," Fluttershy boldly stated. "If we're going to the hotel, you're coming with us!"
"We?" she blinked.
https://youtu.be/JzwPmzzpwZw
"Yessss," a female voice hissed. "We."
A second later, a woman appeared behind Fluttershy and lovingly hugged her from behind. She was dressed in a simple white female toga that hugged her sleek build very well. A thin sheet of fabric covered her eyes, but the mass of snakes that made up her hair seemed more than enough to help her see. Instead of skin, the woman sported emerald green scales that shined beautifully in the moon's crimson glow. A long tail took the place of her legs, said coils lovingly embracing her friend where she stood, completely unbothered by her presence.
A furious roar down the street tore their attention away from each other, the Shadow furiously stomping towards them. Fluttershy and her Persona separated, the teen brandishing her cleaver with menace while her summon let out a furious hiss.
"Medusa, heal Rarity," she frowned.
"Yesss my Mistresssss," the snake woman nodded, pointing a palm at the girl in question.
Rarity gasped as a green aura surrounded her, her wounds and sore muscles mending to much more manageable levels. Nodding with a pleased smile, Fluttershy stepped in front of her friend and pointed her weapon at the incoming Shadow.
"Let's tear this thing apart," she growled.
Her eyes dimmed as the darkness crept a little forward from the back of her mind, Medusa's scales taking a darker hint in response the shadow's influence taking form. Both of them charged forward, shredding gales covering Medusa's claws while Fluttershy pulled her weapon back, ready to hurl it at her prey. With a savage scream, she let her weapon fly, a green aura enveloping it while it flew. The Shadow summoned a fiery whirlwind around itself, an almost mocking laugh mixing with its song. A laugh that turned into a pained wail when the cleaver sliced through its defenses like a hot knife through butter. It's wail turned into a howl when Medusa sank her claws into the monster's face, the Shadow staggering back with black blood oozing past its mouth. The Persona quickly yanked Angel out of the Shadow's face and tossed it over her shoulder, her mistress easily plucking the weapon out of the air.
The Shadow let out a furious roar as it belched out a raging inferno at the duo, sending a spike of terror into Rarity at the sight. A fear that parted just as suddenly as the flames, a raging tempest blasting them away like one would a fly. A few burns could be seen on the girl's exposed arms, neck, and hair, but a quick flash of green aura washed them away a second later.
"I'm so tired," Fluttershy whispered, her eyes hard as diamond as she slowly approached the Shadow. Said beast staggered back, its blood soaking the ground. "I'm tired of being scared, of being in pain, of watching the people I care about getting hurt. But most of all, I'm tired of being the one everyone has to keep protecting. Now its my turn....."
She raised her cleaver, her burning eyes never leaving her target as she reeled her arm back.
"to protect someone else! Envelope it, MEDUSA!!!"
A green aura surrounded the weapon and slid down her arm, taking she shape of a great serpent. Medusa appeared behind her, her right hand hovering over the blade while her left and coils embraced her mistress. The eyes of her serpent hair and the ones hidden behind her covering glowed a burning teal. With a savage scream, Fluttershy threw the cleaver, the aura connecting the thrown weapon to her arm retaining its serpentine form. The air howled as the attack slammed into its target, The Witness letting out one last agonized cry before it was split down the middle. While the two halves fell to the the ground, the aura pulled Angel back into Fluttershy's hand with a soft hiss. A second later, both the aura and Medusa faded away. Life slowly shined back into Fluttershy's eyes, but a deep exhaustion started to join it as Medusa's rush of power started to fade away.
Recognizing the symptoms, Rarity ran to her friend's side just in time to catch her.
"A-Are you okay?" Fluttershy drunkenly mumbled.
"I think I should be asking you that, darling," Rarity chuckled.
"Are you okay?" she frowned, a bit more force sitting behind the question.
"Yes darling," she smiled. "I'm okay."
"Good," she nodded, her eyes rapidly growing heavy. "That's.....good."
"Hey," a familiar female voice cried, making the two jump. "Now's not the time to start nodding off, honey. I've got a hotel a few blocks down for that."
Startled, the two girls turned towards the voice. While Rarity simply rolled her eyes at the person, Fluttershy was able to work up enough energy to look confused. Viper Lily smiled at them, looking winded and leaning against a light pole across the street from them.
"S-Sunset?" Fluttershy stammered.
"You know, you're the second person to call me that," she smirked, sauntering towards them. "Might have to start charging people if that keeps happening."
"Certainly took your time getting here," Rarity huffed.
"How was I supposed to know a Witness was coming through town?" she snorted. "Besides, it looks like your friend had things under control."
Before either girl could react, Viper snapped her fingers and a Homunculus appeared at her side. With a few quick gestures, Viper delivered her instructions to it. The construct nodded and picked Fluttershy up bridal style, earning a small "Eep!" then yelp as she was quickly carried down the street towards the hotel. Rarity watched it go with wide eyes, then an indignant frown as her host walked past, her cigarette and holder summoned while she walked.
"I hope you weren't that rough when you found me," she huffed, keeping pace with the older woman while she sheathed her rapier.
"Of course not, sugar," she chuckled. "I just figured she would want to get home as soon as possible. Plus, we need to get a Spirit Vial in her before the drain hits her."
She gave the staggered teen a quick look and added, "Better make that two. Maybe a good soak in the springs would do the both of you some good, too."
"Darling, you have no idea," she groaned.