James
James stands armed before Josh who's also armed, ready for a fight. He's not going down without one because he only has a few hours and the calendar will mark day 7 and then all will be over. He grips his sword more and aims it. Josh being the pacifist he is, tucks and rolls again as he doesn't want to fight, but also has a small fear of dying, but also being a murderer.
"Come on, hey, we don't have to do this!" Cries Josh, but his pleading falls on deaf ears.
"I have had to re-live this same timeline for years again and again, but when you came into it I was forced to let go of everything as I was not prepared. I've never met mortals before, but now I'm ready."
"You're not making sense!" Josh tells him.
"Of course, you don't understand. You aren't aware of bigger plans; you don't know what it's like to be dead. Stuck wandering amongst the living world and... Well, what comes next, doesn't matter! I'm not ready to go there yet!"
"Did you kill my friends? Because I'm getting that feeling as they have been vanishing one by one each consecutive day that has passed..."
"Yes, you pathetic mortal as soon you will be! You're not an Angel. You can join your friends if you would like if you intend on giving my grief."
"Do you even know what's after you know...? I don't know what it is, but I can't imagine it would be bad. You must have family and friends, yeah? They could be waiting for you."
"....."
James just grits his teeth.
"You don't have to do this!"
"Oh, but I do! Enough talking, it's time for your death! You've made your bed!"
James rushes at Josh again and he yet again, tucks and rolls. "Oh, will you stop doing that! It's getting on my nerves!"
As he is trying to hold off James, their swords clashing, he notices Shelby's missing, but Declan's... Body has remained where it is.
"Josh!"
That voice! James's shifts his attention to see Shelby with Nari behind her, holding hands, running towards them. Josh can see they both look very sick and weak.
"I thought you were dead!" Cries Josh. "I thought I was too, but thank the Core, Shelby came back for me just in time. Any longer and I would have been dead! I can't say though I believe her crazy story she just spun to me regarding her actions. Honestly, something is wrong with you Shelby- Who is that?!" Nari stops mid-sentence at seeing someone she hasn't before.
"Blast!" Yells the James.
"When we're done with this whole mess, we're going to talk, Sherbet!" Nari adds on.
"Yes, sure, okay, whatever you want, Nari!" Responds Shelby. Josh sees Nari pull out her tree-branch and join him in standing against the figure and hits James in the face as he's unprepared, but it phases through him and James snatches the branch from her hand, it disintegrating instantly
"What the hell?!" Cries Nari.
"Nice try other mortal, but you can't kill someone who is already dead! When I'm done here, none of you will ever leave this place again. You will relieve your events from Day 1 to Day 7 forever! You and your friends! I'm done being civil and even after I turn you away and you go off, holding hands into the sunset into the nearby town or city, never been so I'm not sure which it is, you just keep coming back and I don't understand why!
Worlds only start with limited humans and I dragged Shelby here through force so you entering this world of your own volition makes no sense to me!"
"No, please! That's horrible, don't do that!" Cries Shelby with tears in her eyes.
"Sherbet, who exactly is this guy?!" Questions Nari who's now weapon-less.
"Short answer? Someone who passed on a very long time ago, he sought me how, manipulated my surroundings that I stumbled here of my own accord. Everything I saw was an illusion and before I knew, I was in too deep, I couldn't escape. I don't know how much time has passed since I've been here or if any at all as James is clearly of magical descent... You're just like..."
"Wait, so you're saying the last 6 days that passed... Time may not even have moved at all?" Questions Josh.
"Maybe? I don't know! I'm not sure how this cycle, James created, works! This is more of a question for Owen or my other friends who have some knowledge in this. I'll explain the rest of the story later!" Shelby answers.
"Who's Owen?" Nari asks.
"A old friend of mine! I haven't seen him since James, forcefully kidding me!" Responds Shelby.
"Enough! All you people do is talk, talk, talk!" Yells James. "It's time for you all to die so I can take your life force! Even though it will be less than I'd get from inhabiting your bodies, you Nari and Josh seem far more troublesome than Shelby here. Neither of you are worth the anguish!"
Shelby runs over to join Josh and Nari, trying not to look at her beloved cat. Josh aims his sword and Nari takes the artifact of Solayo's and Shelby pulls out her shovel from it's sling on her back.
"Are weapons going to work on him? You saw what he did to my tree-branch!" Questions Nari
"I don't know!" Responds Josh while Shelby has an unsure look on his face
"Hey, James!" Yells several familiar voices. Standing there are people they thought they would never see again. They are in a different light to them indicating they have passed on, but came back or maybe none of them ever really left?
"Just close your eyes, all of you. Cover your ears too." Speaks a familiar voice who Josh heard not long ago. He's leading them all, looking human that the confusion on Shelby's face, spells it all. She doesn't know who he is. "H-how is this possible?!" James chokes out as a tall young man with short, blonde hair stands infront of Nari, Josh and Shelby, challenging him.
"James, haven't you learnt by now? Don't you feel it? Can you try to remember? Just open your eyes, please. I implore you. This may come as a shock to you all, what I'm about to say... But, you guys are the illusions. I killed you James just like you killed me, but unfortunately your death came alot later as opposed to mine.
You... You bounced around our other parallels, but also created infinite loops of them which is something you're not supposed to do and worst of all other than murdering other Angel's, you trapped Prudence, you liked her in our original world. She cannot leave and the Core has avoided going in as they're hesitant, worried they'll make thing's worse. We're maybe special, but we're also human.
Our best is all we can ask of ourselves. But there's more... You even figured out how to break out of our own system and infiltrate other system with it's own pre-determined set of Angel's. You kept whispering in his ear and before long, you influenced him. He was already falling much like you were due to a reason we're not responsible for, but you only made the problem worse.
Do you remember that?" He asks. James shakes his head, 'no' quickly. "And if things weren't already looking bad for you, you didn't allow my sister, Elsie to awaken. You kept her Human... She was the 4th Angel in our world and I haven't got a clue where you sent her after you trapped Prudence in our world. The Core is searching every system with Core worlds and parallels, but it's going to take considerable time and they've had to put it on the back-burner as to deal with a falling Angel just like yourself because his world is cracking.
Ours is cracking too, but not as fast. Do you remember this?"
James looks conflicted and then clutches his head, pain brewing inside. "I-I remember..." He stammers, eyes shaking. "B-but if I did all those things, why did I forget? If I killed you, how are you here? Why am I here if I'm dead because you killed me? I knew I was dead, but... Oh my core, this isn't making sense now. I can't recall... You've clearly come from somewhere. What's going on?"
"James. You like Shelby much like I like her and these friends here as well, like her. But you have a Girlfriend, is it worth pursuing Shelby?"
"N-no..."
"So, do you want me to explain?"
"You set your sights on her when a falling Angel named Julius, showed her to you from afar in his world you infiltrated. You dragged her around from Core worlds to several parallels. This world we're in now was our world and Carter here was an inhabiting Human off it, but it's an illusion right now. Prudence isn't here, we all lived in this house together, we were happy, we were even family for quite some time."
"How is this an illusion?"
"You forced Shelby and these Individuals who stumbled of their own accord through powers just like ours to re-live ending up here again and again, but you've also done the same thing in other worlds that's not here and even made those events happen differently, but share similarities. While, it's possible to gain a new body, it's not a good idea. What will it accomplish? Nothing.
You killed me and I learnt the truth of the thing we feared. I came back to stop you after I was deemed ready and I did, several times as you bounced all over the place, but I was still learning my ground for quiet sometime so you had the upper hand for a while until I ended it. I set your body on fire using the, 'Fallen Angel's' protocol when I had my chance and you woke up, back at the Core. I know you remember it and since then, you've been imprisoned and re-living the past inside your mind.
That's why this is an illusion. You're recalling the shit, battles, challenges. fights you went through over time. This is just another one of them and it's already happened and gone bye, thousands of years so it's okay for me to interrupt it, but I will say, I hate you for turning me into a Cat.
I was dragged around with you for quite some time after you trapped Prudence, sent Elsie away, not even God knows where till I had my chance, but you killed me shortly after I stood up to you later and I came back. My love for Shelby and hopping after was trying to set things right, but I also do really love her and have been trying to save her soul from suffering, numerous times over. While, there are friends here who have feelings for her also, life's a journey to experiment and when time comes to an end at different intervals, then we'll have eternity to decide who we want to be with as we had time to experience other perspectives.
Now, James. Please, wake up. You'll understand what I mean if you do..."
And then the world before him blurs, leaving the ending to a re-lived timeline unknown to him, but it's not like it's significant to him anyway. They're just a group of thousands of others who lived once or even, many times in other parallels, but never the same person, twice.
The way it should happen. That's one of the Core's rules, he remembers, but he's not the only one to break that rule... He opens his eyes, feeling dreadfully cold to see bandages covering every inch of his skin from head to toe with a pair of shorts, but nothing else over the top of them and he can feel painful burns underneath the bandages. He looks up and around, seeing he's sitting inside a dark green, mixed with blue bubble, floating in a room clearly, but it's a pale grey the walls, but looks darker as lights are off. He moves around slightly and the bubble moves around with him inside it, but he can't go far from the centre of the room.
He's eyes flicker to writing on the wall, he can only just make out. Maximum Security. A punishment, few probably ever receive even if they have fallen. He remembers Kiki lecturing him that he's the worst they've ever had so that's why he was placed here as opposed to general confinement.
And then a new thought makes his blood run cold. He's powers are gone... But he's snapped out of it by a door opening, a small patch of light flooding in, but it barely even lights up that far infront of the door. Kiki, God is standing there with three others he doesn't recognize, but there is a fourth, one he only briefly remembers.
Julius...
"If you think you can restore their world, by all means, go ahead. We'll welcome the aid. You're welcome to try and help us fix it and re-develop the, 'Fallen Angel's' protocol, I'll consider it as you on the path to redemption, but it won't save you, Julius. But it will look good though when we assess you in the future. Do know though that you're all a Team so anything one of you does, the others have to go with you. No if's or but's allowed. You do this together. Anyway, I'll allow you some time to think. I'll send you back to your cracking world and if you decide, you want to assist, know the Core is on standby and available to you.
As for him, he's detention period isn't even beginning as he refuses to even have one conversation with us so we can't work on helping him. Says alot when we look at you, Julius. Now come along."
And Kiki leaves the room, Julius and friends of his clearly that he doesn't recognize having never met and he feels he's eyes droop closed again. Is there no hope for me? He asks himself. As he's fading back into his memories, he hears a grandfather clock chime outside the room he's being held in.
It's Sunday now... Day 7. Is it really worth withdrawing back in? He shakes himself awake and a faint sound escape his mouth. "H-hello?" He stammers and a representative of Kiki appears infront of him.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNELNIlEAh
"God is busy, what do you need?" Snaps a girl with short raven hair, a nametag, reading, 'Mitzi' pinned to her clothes, but then her expression turns from subtle to anger to realization and she looks around, realizing what's going on.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdBEKX73SW
"Well, I'll be. Looks like we can get all get to work then with you! Hold your thoughts, James. I'll see what can I do for you, it's just God's engaged now so give me 10 minutes to get her attention, she's dropping some... Youngsters off." She says, clapping her hands together and she's gone in a puffing cloud of violet smoke just as she had arrived a moment earlier, leaving James alone, thoughts niggling at him that he was his own downfall and then he winces, feeling his burns become agony, his body starting to smell putrid as it's rotting, burnt off in some areas.
No wonder, he was asleep, going through motions, the pain comes and goes in mild to unbearable waves. He remembers everything.
To be continued...
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8B86XszCgu
