Hey, you. Yeah. You. The person reading this. Do you ever read any of my serious stuff? You know, stories like When They Cry, Black Roses, or Coven? Yes? Ok, then go away. This contains MAJOR spoilers, since it's an excerpt from a later part of a story that I haven't shown to anyone.
If you have no idea what any of those stories are and don't care (AKA Justice. Just don't spoil anything for anyone else), then go ahead. Keep reading. But again, if you have read/are reading AAAAANY one of those, do NOT continue.
As I said before, this is an excerpt, so some things might not make sense. Anyway, just note that this is a videogame. Not real life. Well, not exactly. Whatever, I'm not going to spend nine years explaining.
Anyway thanks. Enjoy.
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Revelations
Everything was going wrong.
The wind blew softly, yet howled like a dying stray dog in the middle of the night. Everyone was either lying on the ground or just barely standing.
Enigma stood before the bright, shining beacon of light emitting from the machine, piercing the skies above. By his side was Sakurai, always right next to him, ready to defend him from any oncoming attack that anyone would dare throw out.
Nikolai leaned against the crumbled stone column, heavily breathing as she gripped her bleeding arm, her jacket and jeans torn and tattered. Gritting her teeth, the forced herself to stand straight, glaring at the two standing several meters away from her.
Her friends lay all around her. Mira hunched over a tree branch. Clawz against the castle wall. Devila with her own tail wrapped around her neck. Mangrove groaning and holding his hand over the socket in which his eye used to be.
Nothing was going according to plan.
The young girl gripped one of her knives, her knuckles white. “...Why?”
The white haired boy smirked, then chuckling. “I’ve explained this before, Nikki. This is just something I have to do.”
“No, you don’t,” Nikolai told him sternly. “You can stop this. You’re only doing this because of some stupid revenge plot your dad talked you into.”
Enigma turned his head to look back at her. “Do you seriously believe that? No, I’m not. I’m doing this because those sick fucks deserve what’s coming to them.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sakurai, ready the portal.”
The ninja beside him nodded and knelt down, opening up the panel on the machine and beginning to fiddle around with the keys. Nikolai began to grind her teeth, becoming increasingly aggravated as time went on. “You hold grudges too easily. You just need to learn to let things go, Enigma.”
This time, Enigma fully turned around, looking at the girl with hatred in his eyes. “...Let things go?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Sure, I’ll let it go. It’s not like getting cut open, dissected, and experimented on like some worthless animal is anything to be about! It’s no big deal, really. Killing all of my friends, ruining my childhood, ripping me away from my family -- from my sister --, no, it’s all fine.”
Nikolai sighed, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. “Look, I get what the devs did to you was terrible. I know that you’re upset about it, but… Hasn’t there been enough death because of it?”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Some poor blind girl who just wanted to play a game is dead, and you killed her.”
Enigma clenched his fists, looking down. “Stop it, Nikolai.”
“A fucking ten year old died yesterday, Enigma. And Sakurai killed him. He was only trying to protect YOU, and she killed him.”
“Nik, I’m serious--”
“Tessa!” Nikolai shouted, tears slowly filling her eyes. “My… my fucking little sister is dead…” She looked up and glared, staring Enigma dead in his eyes. “And you killed her.”
That was the last straw for the tortured boy. With an angered cry, he extended his wings and bent them back, dashing forward and delivering a swift punch to Nikolai’s jaw, sending her skidding across the dirt.
He didn’t give her a chance to recover. He easily flew over to where she was and grabbed her by the collar, taking her into the air. “I had NOTHING to do with her dying!” He shouted at her as they hovered in the air. “It was Jace’s fault, not mine. HE’S the one that shot her. HE pulled the trigger. Not me!”
Nikolai coughed and shook her head. “Tell me, then. Why’d he shoot in the first place, huh? Oh, right. You paid him to get rid of anyone in your way.”
Enigma bared his teeth and shouted once more, raising his arm and then slamming her into the ground. He divebombed over to where she lay, looking down at her body. His eyes and fists began to emit a purple mist, alarming someone who was only a ways away.
“E… nigma... “ Sakura managed to choke out, her breathing ragged and uneven.
He looked back, his expression suddenly turning from one of rage to one of horror. Seeing one of his closest friends like that… Back against a wall, pole through her stomach, tears in her eyes. The purple faded from his eyes and hands as his back straightened out. “P-please… stop this…”
Using his vulnerability as an opportunity, Nikolai used her one remaining knife to stab Enigma in the back of his knee, causing him to scream. She held down the red button on the bottom of the hilt, sending a wave of electricity throughout his body.
Through the pain, Enigma raised his free leg and kicked backwards, slamming his boot into her nose and looking down at her with malice in his eyes. “...That was a cheap shot. Then again, you’re not above it.”
Suddenly, the blue beam emitting from the portal machine began to flicker, before dying out. Not four seconds later, it was replaced with a vibrant purple light. Sakurai stood and looked back, nodding.
Enigma smiled widely. “...Don’t forget, Nikolai. We’re not the bad guys here. They are.” He began to walk towards the portal with every intent to enter it, leaving Nikolai alone.
She stood up, shaking her head and spitting blood in the mud. “Enigma. Stop.”
“You’ve tried and failed to stop me from doing something twice before. What makes you think this is any different?” He asked, not stopping his stride towards the portal.
“You can’t just murder people, Enigma! Please, stop!” Tears slowly filled Nikolai’s eyes as her voice broke.
“I’m not going to apologize, Nik. This is just something I’ve gotta do.”
“Please, Enigma, I’m begging you!” She pleaded, her lip quivering. “Just stop!”
Enigma ceased his walk, putting his hands in his pockets and sighing. “I. Can’t. I’ve told you that again and again. Why can’t you just let me do this?”
“I’m not just going to let you murder people! Enigma, please!” Tears dropped down onto the ground.
“I have to.”
“Please-”
“This is something I have to do-”
“Just stop!”
“You just wouldn’t understand-”
“You don’t have to do this!!!”
“Yes, I do!”
“Enigma!”
“Nikki, stop it!”
“Just-”
“Nikki-”
“STERLING!” Nikolai fell to her knees, breaking down as tears streamed down her face, staining her pale face.
Enigma turned around slowly, sadness in his eyes. He too slowly began to cry, tears filling his eyes. “...Vanessa…”
Shaking her head and sniveling, Nikolai looked up at him, staring into his eyes. “...Please…” She whispered. “You can stop this…”
He stood there for a while, staring down at the broken girl before him. There was no denying it now.
This was his little sister. The little girl he used to love and care for. The girl he use to push on the swings at the nearby park. The girl whose cuts and bruises he used to bandage. This was his sister. His little Nessa.
And here she was, in a fit of tears, crying hysterically on the dirt. It wasn’t her physically, of course, but it was still her. She was all he had left in terms of family. Like she said before, he killed his only other sister. At least, he caused her death. And it was his fault his baby sister was crying like this.
He wasn’t sure how she had found out. He didn’t care. He had her back, and that’s all that mattered. And yet, he still had a decision to make.
He looked back at Sakurai, who hid her face under her bangs. It was usually hard to read her, though, judging by the shaking, it was clear she was affected by this, too.
Enigma looked at Nikolai. How long had she known? Originally, she was against him for moral reasons. But when she found out he was her brother who had been dead for nearly ten years, did anything change?
...He couldn’t. This didn’t change anything. He’d put too much work into this, too much effort. He wasn’t about to let it all go to waste because of some stupid emotional bullshit. That wasn’t him.
Enigma shook his head and smirked, taking his headphones off and walking towards Nikolai. He knelt down and placed them at her side, then standing. He began to walk away once again, not being able to bare the sound of her sobbing. He wiped a few tears from his face with his palm, sighing. “...Sorry, Sis.”
He took one final step. The moment his boot hit the ground, he de-pixelized, the pixels ascending into the air. He was quickly followed by Sakurai, who went in with her arms crossed and her head down.
Nikolai looked up. They were gone. She had failed. Dozens of people, possibly even more, were going to die.
“And it’s my fault.”