Chapter 68
I growled and snapped at everything around me as Domitor continued to pull me along.
“Please, just keep moving, Shay!” he yelled as I fought him every step of the way.
My fucking eyes were gone!
GONE!
I kept stumbling and slamming into things, but he kept pulling me up and encouraging me to keep moving.
“Shh, Shayla please be quiet, it’s them!” he hissed as he took me to the floor and clamped a hand over my mouth.
Despite myself I began to chew into his hand, causing him to wince and grunt in pain. He held me down till I finally stopped fighting him and just laid there.
“They got Vanilla…” he whispered, sounding pained.
He slowly removed his hand from my face.
“I-I’m sorry…” I choked out as I reached out, wanting to be held.
“It’s okay, just… we need to go find Floria, if she’s still…” he didn’t finish the sentence as he yanked me up and began to pull me along again.
Everything was so fucked now…
ooo000<^>000ooo
Domitor trembled in both fear and pain as he pulled Shayla down the hallway, desperately hoping to find Floria alive. His severed arm was attached to his belt, as he’d grabbed it as they were escaping earlier.
He scanned each doorway, looking for a sign of where they’d come from. Thankfully he saw a door up ahead that was open, meaning that had to be where they’d been.
Upon stepping into the room he saw nothing out of the ordinary, which was exactly what he didn’t want to see.
Shayla let out a whimper as she touched her face, seeming to finally be coming down from her adrenaline high. He wanted to comfort her, but they needed to make sure Floria was okay first.
“Floria?” he called out, hearing a bit of rushing coming from a laundry basket nearby. Looking over he saw Creampuff pop his head out and start meowing at them.
“Thank God!” Domitor exclaimed as he pulled Shayla over to the basket. He began to pull the laundry out of the basket, “Floria are you-”
He stopped dead as he stared down with wide eyes, not able to comprehend what he was seeing.
“Vanilla?!” he yelped as he saw her unconscious body laying at the bottom of the basket, Creampuff sitting next to her protectively.
“But I saw you with…” his heart skipped a beat. “Floria…” he shook his head as he reached down and gently pulled the unconscious Vanilla out of the basket.
Vanilla groaned as she came too, looking around confused. “Floria… Where’s Floria?!”
“She…” Domitor began as Vanilla struggled to get out of his grip, eyes wide. “She used that charm to swap places with you… Cocoa thinks she’s you.”
A horrified look flashed onto Vanilla’s face as tears streamed down her cheeks, “no…”
“We’ll go get her back, don’t worry,” Shayla said in a shaky voice, facing to the right of the others.
“Shane! Your eyes!” Vanille cried as she collapsed onto the ground, everything becoming too much for her.
Shayla sniffled a bit, but did her best to remain strong, but her trembling body gave her away.
Then Vanilla finally noticed Domitor was missing his right arm, “Domitor… we need to… reattach your arm.”
“Domitor’s missing an arm?!” Shayla suddenly yelled, reaching out trying to find him. When she did, she pulled him into herself as she ran a hand over him, finding his stump. “You fucking idiot! You should have said something?!”
“I had other priorities,” he said as he broke free of her grasp, but took her hand with his so she knew where he was.
“You two need to listen to me,” Vanilla said as she forced herself to stand up, still shaking like mad, “we need to get to Floria before they get back to the Mansion… otherwise…”
“Otherwise?” Domitor asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“They’re going to take her Thorn, and the process is… terrible. She won’t be our Floria after that…” Vanilla answered in a shaky voice. “Please… we have to save her.”
“We’re going to,” Shayla stated firmly. “Just… how do we fight that Maiden?”
“We don’t need to, we just have to get Floria back! Trade me if we have too, just get her away from my sister!” Vanilla yelled desperately, her face a mess.
Domitor shook his head, “first off, we’re not trading you. You’re not going back with them. And two, we will get her back. I promise.”
Vanilla tried her best to calm down, but she wasn’t able to.
“Now, how do I reattach my arm?” he asked, trying to get her mind off of the situation for the moment.
“Um…” she started, trying to clear her head. “You’ll need to… make some healing gel and rub it on the arm and the wound. I’ll wrap it up after that… It’ll take a few hours to fully reattach though.”
“How do I make it?” he asked as he grabbed the arm.
She smiled sheepishly. “Well…” she explained the process to him, causing him to take on a look of disgust.
“I have to vomit up sticky shit to attach my arm?!”
“That’s nasty,” Shayla muttered as she stumbled and sat down, waving her hands around. “I’m good, just need to sit down…”
“I’ll help,” Vanilla said as she took his severed arm.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“This shit stings,” I complained as both Domitor and Vanilla performed basic first aid on my eyes.
“I know,” Domitor muttered as he wiped away some disinfectant onto the wounds. “She carthilzed the wounds when she poked your eyes out, so there’s not much we can do. We need to back track and find a doctor.”
“We don’t have time,” I groaned, “we need to get Floria back first, then I’ll look into fixing my eyes.”
“I’m going to be blunt, Shay. You’re useless in your current state,” he said with a sigh as he placed a hand on my cheek.
“Nah I’m fine. We just need to hurry up and go,” I replied with false confidence.
“We do need to hurry,” Vanilla pushed, “Cocoa will more than likely take her somewhere to… punish her before taking her to the family…”
“Don’t think about that,” Domitor said as he began to wrap a strip of cloth around my head to cover my missing eyes, “we’re getting her back and killing that bitch. Okay?”
“Okay…” I heard Vanilla mutter as she walked around in front of me.
“Now Shayla,” Domitor said as he put both hands on my cheeks, “we need to go fast, are you sure you want to come?”
“I’m coming, Dom,” I said firmly. “Got that?”
“I got that,” he said softly as he suddenly kissed me. “I know you can figure out a way to fight like this.”
A smile touched my lips, “thanks, Domitor.”
“I’m going to lead you with my good arm,” he said as he helped pull me up.
I patted my chest, panicking slightly, “where’s the Watcher?!”
“Here,” Domitor said as he placed a vial in my hands. “He got knocked off when you were thrashing around earlier.”
“And you grabbed him for me?” I asked, a bit touched as I put the Watcher around my neck.
“Yeah. Despite how I feel about the whole thing, I'm not going to purposely get rid of him.”
“Please, can we go? I do not want Floria to experience even a moment of my sister…” Vanilla begged.
“Let’s go,” Domitor said as he took my hand and began to pull me along.
ooo000<^>000ooo
As I was pulled along, my mind raced. I had no idea where we were, or what was going on around us. I could hear people talking from time to time, but that just added to my confusion as I focused in on every sound.
I was a powder keg of emotions as my mind shifted through all kinds of moods. I was mad, but also terrified. How could I be useful when I had no Ego and no eyes?
Maybe… I should just hang back. I’m useless now.
“You’re not completely useless,” a new male voice suddenly said in my head, causing me to jerk in surprise. “You’re obtuse and a dunce, but you have plenty of unrealized potential.”
‘Who the fuck is this?!’ I thought harshly, not having it in me to deal with another asshole.
“You could never comprehend my true name, so you can continue to call me the Watcher,” the voice said, causing my nonexistent eyes to go wide.
I reached up and gripped the vial, ‘why are you suddenly talking to me? Now of all fucking times?”
“I’m going to admit something to you: due to being so close to you for so long, I can see your thoughts.”
Great.
‘That doesn’t answer the question.’
“I can see your thoughts, so I know you’re… ‘niceness’ towards me is genuine. So I want to help.”
‘Help?’
“Yes, help.”
I knew where this was going, ‘what do you want in return?’
“Nothing. This is the only thing I'm going to do for you as payment for being… nice.”
‘Okay, then how are you going to help me here?’
There was a pause.
“I can tell you that your Ego is very slowly trickling back into you, but it’ll be two days before it’s fully restored. And at least a day before you can talk to your mental companion.”
‘Oh, thanks for the help I guess.’
“That’s not the ‘help’ you imbecilic,” he said in such a way that I knew I’d annoyed him. “No, I’m going to teach you how to use a tiny touch of Ego to gain Virtue Sight.”
‘The fuck is Virtue sight?’
“To dumb it down for even a toddler to understand: it allows you to see Souls around you. I was once a Virtue of the Ultimate Authority Dimension, and this is a very rudimentary ability that is known by all Virtues, and those above.”
‘Uh okay, but how is seeing Souls gonna help me see?’
“My, you really are dense,” he muttered with a deep sigh. “With this sight, you will perceive the world around you in its fullest. You will be able to see Ego’s and these Thorn’s before they activate. With enough smarts and practice you will be able to predict others actions based on how their soul looks and ‘feels’. Do I need to dumb it down further?”
‘I got it… how do I learn this?’
“It takes eon’s to learn,” he said in a smug tone, causing me to frown. “Unless I give you mine.”
‘And why the fuck would you do that? What’s your endgame here?’
“You know… I’m going to be honest. I hate all current life, what it’s become. My views have never changed. However, somehow, you, a lowly wildling creature, have endured yourself to me. Amid all the filth and scum, there is you, a brash, crude, and horribly cretinous creature, and you’ve made me care.”
There is no way I’d ever know how to process what he’d just told me.
‘That’s hard to believe. You gotta have an end goal here.’
“Believe me or not, that is up to you. I’m going to offer my sight, and you will have to decide if you will take it or not.”
I stumbled along, trying to decide on what to do. On one hand, I could gain a form of sight and not be useless. But on the other hand, it’s the fucking Watcher!
What do I do?
My mind drifted to Floria and Vanilla’s memories, causing me to cringe at the thought of Floria being subjected to any of that.
That made my mind up for me.
‘I’ll accept it,’ I thought as I sighed. I’ll take the risk to save my friend.
“I know you don’t trust me, nor would I expect you to. I know who I am, what I’ve done. Yet I regret nothing.”
There was another pause.
“I need you to focus the tiny amount of Ego you’ve gotten back into my vial, I will do the rest.”
I really did not like this, and I knew Rosemary would be screaming at me to stop, but Floria needs us, needs me to be useful…
With that thought process, I slowly focused on the vial in my hand, pushing my own Ego into it. I felt it instantly, the feeling of something else entering into me, into my soul.
The Watcher was no longer in his vial… he was now within me! I knew it! I fucking knew he’d-
Then the feeling passed as I felt him move down my arm and back into his vial, causing me to feel a great deal of confusion.
“I’m just as surprised as you are,” he said with a sigh. “I had the chance to possess your body, yet here I am.”
I was at a loss. He’d chosen not to gain his freedom by taking my body over… I really do not know what to make of that.
“It’s best to not put any thought into it,” he said, “you have my sight, you just need to activate it. It’s as simple as opening your eyes. Just will it to be.”
‘I… have no idea how to do that.’
“Fine. I’ll bring it down to your level; activate it by thinking about it. If this doesn’t work for you, then I’ll want my Virtue Sight back.”
I tried to do what he said, but I honestly couldn’t figure it out. So I decided to try and do it the same way I use my Perception Field.
Almost immediately a new sense took over, revealing the world around me. Or at least, the world within six meters of me.
It wasn’t like seeing with my eyes though, as I could perceive everything around in all directions. It was like a third person view in a way. I could see the outlines Domitor and Vanilla as they walked ahead of me, pulling me along. I could clearly see their souls too, right in the center of their chest. It was just a glowing ball of light, and strangely beautiful.
Seeing Domitor’s Soul calmed me immensely, as it gave off a loving and peaceful aura towards me. Vanilla’s was a bit jumpy, like even she couldn’t figure out her own emotions.
I could easily see their movements, and even the movements of everything around me. It was exactly like my Perception Field, just so much more in-depth.
“Well there you,” the Watcher said, “maybe there’s hope for you yet.”
There was nothing more for me to say to the Watcher as I played around with this ‘Virtue Sight’. This is clearly something I should mess around with before trying to use it in combat.
So I pulled my hand from Domitor, startling him as I began to walk on my own.
“What’s wrong, Shay?” He asked, reaching out for my hand again. But I just moved my hand out of the way, avoiding him as I almost gracefully stepped around a puddle on the ground.
“… can you see?” He asked in shock as I navigated on my own.
“Kinda, but it’ll be a bitch to explain,” I replied as I gave him a smile.
I could see they were both confused, just by the feeling their Soul’s gave off.
“Just trust me, I’m good to go now,” I assured them as I jumped over a table, just because I could.
“I knew you’d figure something out,” Domitor said happily as he watched me practice my movements, getting accustomed to moving with this new sight.
“I guess nothing keeps her down for long,” Vanilla commented with a small smile.
“Yep, that’s my Shayla,” Domitor said proudly with a beaming smile.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Rig stepped out of his office, a sour look on his face. Not only had the two contract breakers gotten into the Social District, they’d also completely disappeared. His men who’d been sent to follow them lost track of them after some kind of confrontation at a security gate.
So now things were a bit more complicated.
He stepped into the main meeting room where the majority of his men awaited him.
“Tell me,” he growled as he stepped up in front of the crowd, “how a group of mismatched misfits got away from us!”
“Sir, once the security forces got involved, it was hard to-“ one of his men began to say, but Rig’s glare shut him up.
“Change of plans,” he declared as his shadowy Contract Enforcer loomed up behind him, causing everyone to fill with dread, “every single one of you will go into the Social District and find them.” His eyes shifted over all of them, landing on his right hand man, “that means you too, Talio.”
The large Halwen in question didn’t respond, which irked Rig.
“I want Floria Feit and Shayla Beltosh’s heads on my table by the end of the day, or you’re all good as dead!” He roared, causing everyone to flinch back.
Right at that moment the doors at the back of the room burst open, causing everyone to turn and watch with confusion as a Kejtdra and two strange creatures walked in. The trio casually walked down the middle of the crowd, seeming to not have a care in the world.
“And who are you?!” Rig demanded, eyes ablaze with rage at this sudden interruption.
The lead creature just chuckled as her single eye locked with his, “me? Just one very disgruntled momma.”