The Four Broken Souls Of Atera.

by Sylif Daring Doo

The truth comes out.

_____*The city of Atera, Apartment 192, 5:00 AM*_____

As they worked early, only Seth, Shade and Karak were awake at this hour as they got ready to go to work, Seth saw that Alice was still asleep on the couch but made no move to wake her.

Once they had eaten something and got their lunch ready, the three roommates were about to walk out when Seth stopped them.

Shade watched curiously as Seth wrote something down in a piece of paper then put it on the living room table. "Just a simple message, don't worry." She replied calmly.

______*later, 8:30 AM*______

Syrin walked out of the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, it was strange not to have Karak's wake up calls anymore, she almost missed them.

With a chuckle, Syrin pulled out a container for grape juice and poured it into a cup. "Almost." She muttered.

Syrin walked out of the kitchen and saw that Alice was just now starting to wake up, she said nothing as she set her cup down on the small table and walked over, she sat down near the table and pulled out a new book, this one was a adventure story set back in the time the old language was used, on the back of the cover however, was a detailed list of what the old words meant. "Well what do you know." She whispered.

A light yawn from the couch made Syrin look over, thankfully she hadn't started reading yet, Alice sat up slowly, her ears were flat against her head as she rubbed her eye sleepily.

Alice had dark circles under her eyes, and when she opened them, they were still slightly bloodshot. 'Was she crying all night? or in her sleep?' Syrin wondered.

"Morning." Syrin said.

Alice looked down and saw Syrin, she mumbled something before standing up slowly. "Where's Seth?" She asked.

"Work." The unicorn replied.

Alice looked down and saw a paper on the table, she picked it up and read it. 'I'll talk to Jack when I'm home, until then, there's some potatoes and eggs in a container in the fridge, and there's also oatmeal mix in the cabinet, ps. don't steal from me or anyone else, love Seth.' It read.

"Has my sister gone nuts or something?" Alice asked no one in particular as she walked to the bathroom.

Soon, Ren walked out of Seth's room and rubbed her eyes, she walked to the couch and sat down with a yawn. "Morning." She mumbled.

"Is anyone around here a morning person?" Syrin wondered.

Ren leaned back. "Maybe Wes, other than him? no idea." She replied.

it was quiet for a while until Alice came out of the bathroom, she was now wearing a light blue hoodie with gray sweatpants. "Hey.......you guys hungry?" She asked quietly.

Ren and Syrin shared a look, they looked at Alice. "Uh, sure." Syrin replied.

Alice nodded. "Ok.....i heard of this new place that opened up recently, the Waterfall, want to try it?" She asked.

Ren shrugged. "Sure, I have it on good authority that it's a good place." She replied.

With that said, Ren went to her shared room and closed the door, and about ten minutes later, all three were ready.

They left the apartment and Ren locked it, they then started walking.

_______*the city of Atera, Scorpos district, ten minutes later.*_______

Alice, Syrin and Ren walked up to the Waterfall, it was a busy day for the restaurant, they walked inside and were greeted by a warm atmosphere and the smell of bacon, French toast and cinnamon, among other scents.

They were greeted and brought to an empty table, a few moments later, a tiger waiter approached and passed around three menus. "Hey folks, I'm Milo, how are you today?" He asked.

"Good." Ren answered.

The waiter gave a nod and pulled out a small notepad. "So, what can I get you all?" He asked.

The three looked at their menus and Alice decided almost immediately. "Blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon." She said.

"Make that two I guess." Ren said. "But no blueberries." She added.

Syrin spotted something she liked on the menu and looked at the waiter. "I'll have French toast and a side of eggs." She said.

Milo nodded and took the menus, he then walked off to the kitchen.

"So, how do we pay for all of this?" Ren asked. "I can pay mine and maybe one of yours." She added.

Syrin shrugged. "I have enough to pay for my food." She replied.

Alice leaned back. "Don't worry about it, I'll pay for it, it's the least I can do." She offered.

"I'm no charity case Alice, besides, what money will you use?" Ren asked.

Alice said nothing and looked around the restaurant, avoiding the question.

Ren sighed and rubbed her eyes. 'The money she stole of course, what a stupid question.' She thought.

"Absolutely not, look, I'll pay for your food, I won't take no for an answer." Ren stated.

Alice bit her lip and decided to remain silent as she waited for her food.

It took about eight minutes, but their food arrived freshly made and hot, Syrin took in the scent, the food smelled delicious and looked just as good as it smelled. "They really work well together." She whispered to herself as she cut into her food.

After they finished eating and had paid their bill, the three walked out of the restaurant and into the cold streets. "Well, I'm glad they opened this place, it really lit up the district." Alice said as they walked back to the apartment.

Ren nodded. "No kidding, this place went from boring to lively, guess some good food will brighten up a lot of people's days." She replied.

Syrin felt a strange sense of deja vu, this was very similar to when she was out with Ren and Seth, only now she didn't feel like a third wheel. "Hey Syrin." Ren said,

"Yea?" Syrin replied.

Ren started walking backwards as she looked at Syrin. "What's it like living in a Equine community? I've never been to places like Manehatten or Fillydelphia." She asked.

Syrin shrugged. "It's.....ok, they aren't as technologically advanced, but they aren't bad places to live, once you get past the paranoia phase of course." She replied.

"Paranoia phase?" Alice asked curiously.

Syrin sighed, not truly willing to delve deeper into this subject. "Let's just say that my kind aren't the most welcoming of other species at first." She replied with a nonchalant attitude.

______*later that day, 3:00 PM*______

Seth was walking home with Karak, as Shade had something to take about with his uncle, the air was slightly warmer today, and there were people walking around the streets, going from place to place.

As they walked however, Karak noticed that Seth seemed to be on edge about something, he raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to say anything at first.

Ten minutes of walking later, and Seth seemed to be skittish, Karak decided to ask what was going on since they were now in the quiet streets of the Slums. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Seth's head snapped in Karak's direction, her expression was panicked and her pupils were very small now. "Did you hear that?" She asked, she sounded......afraid.

"Uh, no?" Karak replied.

Just as he answered, Seth started to run off quickly, Karak chased after her as fast as he could, but Seth was surprisingly fast.

He followed his friend all the way into a much more decrepit part of the Slums, she ran into an alley and Karak followed.

Soon enough, Seth stopped running and she looked around frantically, she was now panting as she seemed to look for something.

"Seth?....are you okay?" Karak asked, he knew the answer was no, but he couldn't think of anything else to ask.

In response, Seth just clutched her head, as if trying to block out sound, she then froze stiff and her face contorted into one of anger. "SHUT UP ALREADY!" She cried out, she threw a punch at something that was behind her, and her fist simply broke through the wall.

Karak blinked in surprise. 'What the hell?.......what kind of demon blood is she infused with to have that kind of strength?' He wondered.

Seth looked behind her, her eyes flashed white for a second before she started running at Karak.

Karak readied himself to stop Seth's mindless charge, but to his surprise, she simply avoid him and charged after something else entirely.

With the chase back on, Karak followed Seth as quickly as he could until he saw her charge into another alleyway, this time however, he heard something break.

Karak entered the alley and saw Seth holding an unconscious Bear by his shirt collar, the Bears face was bloody and Seth's fist was as well, Karak quickly ran up and caught her fist before it landed another blow.

Seth seemed surprised by this as Karak forced her to face him. "Seth!" He shouted.

The rabbit's eyes flashed white again, and returned to normal, her breathing was now panicked again as she blinked. "Karak?.....I, I don't." She then broke down into insane rambling as Karak walked her home.

As he walked, Karak began to question what was going on. 'As far as I know, no demon blood can cause someone to punch through solid concrete on its own, and this?' He looked at Seth who continued to ramble incoherent words. 'Are these withdrawal symptoms?......I've never seen the Darket symptoms before, so is this them?' He wondered.

_____*Apartment 192, later that day*______

Seth had passed out shortly before they got back to the apartment, and Karak had began to explain the situation to the others.

After a while however, Seth groaned and clutched her head, which was giving her a splitting migraine, she opened her eyes and saw that she was in her room, she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, her room light was on for some reason, and Seth grumbled. "Damn it Ren." She said quietly.

She stood up and walked over to her light switch, she flipped it and made sure she had clothes on before walking out.

Seth Immediately regretted her decision once she saw that everyone was out in the living room, they looked over at her and Ren in particular looked very angry. "If this is an intervention, can it wait? I need to go to the bathroom." She asked.

A few minutes later, Seth exited the bathroom and walked into the main room. "Do you remember what you did earlier?" Karak asked suddenly.

Seth raised an eyebrow. "I was walking home with you and the next thing I know I'm in my room." She said. "Why? what happened?" She asked.

"You went crazy." Karak answered. "You were running after something that wasn't there, you were afraid of everything basically, then you assaulted a man." He explained.

Seth scratched her head. "I.....don't remember any of that." She replied honestly.

"So.......when were you planning to tell me you've been using Darket?" Ren asked as she glared angrily.

Seth felt her body go stiff, she took a shaky breath and answered. "I......I was hoping to never have to tell you, I just, i don't know.......how to answer." She replied quietly.

"Maybe by telling the truth." Alice said as she sat down in front of the couch. "I'm not one to talk, but you lied to your friends and family, about something that obviously tears you apart." She stated.

Shade spoke next. "While I have no experience with drugs, I do know what addictions do to people, I know how easily they tear friends and family apart just by them being there." He sighed. "In short, we are all concerned." He added.

Karak continued. "I won't say I understand why you first used it, and I won't try to justify why you still use it, but I do know where you are coming from, or at least I have an idea, I went through a very similar experience myself." He said.

Ren was the last to speak. "At the very least Seth, tell us WHY you use the damn drug, why would you risk so much just for a temporary high?" She asked.

Seth took a breath and sighed shakily, she blinked and looked away, she bit her lip before looking at everyone. "I......I need to feel, something........anything at all!" Anger quickly rose up. "These blasted nightmares, the pain, the fucking stress!" Her anger seemed to subside as she chuckled in a psychotic manner. "Lust, greed, sadness, joy, anger, fear, love, envy, all of these are preferable to a waking nightmare." She laughed hysterically. "That drug?......it made everything clear! I just need some more and I'll be just fine! no anger, no fear, no mental breakdown." She whispered the last bit.

"Is that why you take it?......to avoid a breakdown?" Karak asked calmly.

Seth twitched and she looked at Karak. "Quiet, that's personal you prick." She hissed.

"Your argument with Ren pushed you past the breaking point, patching up your relationship brought you back, but when she was attacked, you felt that you were going to lose everything, so you got ahold of some Darket and used it, then in your drug induced state, you went to the docks and went on a rampage, you don't remember what happened because you don't WANT to remember, afterwards you became addicted, and used the drug to keep yourself stable." Karak explained, and the stunned look on Seth's face confirmed it.

"Shut up." Seth warned dangerously.

Karak continued despite her warning. "After Ren went on her weeks vacation, you were committed to the detox center, you were the most violent patient they had, and before the week was out, you escaped and returned home, at which point you continued to live your life, attempting to get things to calm down, but they never did." He explained.

Seth grunted. "What's your point?" She asked angrily.

"My point is obvious." Karak narrowed his eyes at Seth. "You've become comepletely reliant on a drug to get you what you've had for a long time, you just can't see that, or you won't accept the truth." He stated.

For a moment, Seth looked like she wanted to attack, but a few moments later.......she shook and her breathing rate increased. "What the hell is happening to me?" She asked quietly as she broke down into tears.....and for the first time since he met Seth, he could sense her emotional state, and she was comepletely devastated.

Ren walked up to Seth and knelt down to comfort her, Karak looked at Syrin and Shade. "We should give them some time alone, there's a lot to be said." He stated as he walked out.

Syrin and Shade nodded in agreement and followed Karak out, leaving Seth alone with Alice and Ren.

Once outside, the three roommates stood in silence outside the apartment. "I never took Seth for the type to use drugs." Syrin said quietly.

Shade nodded. "Yea, she always seemed so easygoing, but I guess now we know the truth." He replied.

"Your right." Karak said. "But now we need to deal with the aftermath, and we need to help her through this.....somehow." He added.

Author's Note:

This chapter might just warrant me throwing on the narcotics tag, but hopefully not.

Anyway, now the truth is out in the open, and Seth has nothing more to hide, at least, to most, it won't be easy for them, but the four/five roommates are going to work hard to help Seth through this.