If he had, for just a moment, stopped, Aerendyl might have questioned himself a bit more- and if he'd only done that, then… gods, Aerendyl, why do you have to be like this. I come up with these massive plans- I give you leads to scour, I give you HOPE- and you just snub your nose at it!
Maybe, there's an argument to be made that I'm the cruel one- I give you all these leads and you ignore them, but I know there's almost no chance they work out. Then, am I only trying to prolong your suffering, am I the monster of the story?
The thing is, I hope- I give you these leads because just as you deviate from my plans, so too might those plans; mayhaps an answer could surface that I hadn't known of. Thus, I hope against hope that my plans, flawed though they might be, could show us a better answer, a better way…
If you don't have to listen to me, neither does the doom of what's happening to them.
…
…
…
…
…
My mistake. I forgot my place, for a moment.
As we were.
Aerendyl's car bounced along the dark, slushy road- he didn't bother with flight, as if already preparing himself for the days to come. Around him, trees skated past in naught but a dark blur, and before he knew it, he'd arrived at a run down warehouse just a short ways outside of town, brakes groaning in protest as he screeched to a halt.
As he opened the door, everything felt alien; he was all too aware of the popping of the hood as the engine began to cool, of the way the cold steel of the car door bit his fingers, of the wind roaring in his ears… but he moved as if in a trance, and when he found the warehouse doors locked, he kicked at the hinges. The kick was messy, wrong; the hinges creaked but did not give until, with his eyes burning, Aerendyl had slammed his foot against the hinge well over ten times. The crash, when the door slammed into the floor beyond, sounded as a death knell… and he knew it, but he walked inside.
It might have been a brewery, once, but it had shut down with the aggravated attacks of Elevated Demons high on some substance or another… now, it was a sad caricature of what might once have been a lively business.
He didn't call for Casmilus- not yet. Instead, the lost man unfurled his wings, glancing back at them in agitation- there had to be another way, right?
Jabari, Alice, Aurum- nobody can, or will, help- Wolfpack is barely holding on. How many more might die without them around to help?
"JABARI!!!" Aerendyl screamed, suddenly, and then caught himself, shaking his head as if that could stop his brain feeling like sludge. "I-I mean, CASMILUS!"
For a time, there was no reply- Aerendyl laughed breathlessly and paced his way between two large casks, trying to ignore the burning in his chest as he headed toward an array of bronze-colored machinery he didn't quite understand. Moments passed, and the only sound was his boots crunching on dust and the occasional patch of snow that had found its way in- no, there was, as well, the blood roaring in his ears.
"Look," Aerendyl spoke before he understood what he was doing. When he continued, the words tumbled out fast and messy, as though they themselves were the pain in his chest that he might expunge.
"If just your name isn't enough- come on, take my wings! How many are going to die if Wolfpack isn't saved- that's why you want my wings, right?!" His eyes widen- his mouth realized it before his mind had, and he laughed manically, slamming his fist into one of the bronze machines, denting the metal. "For all those I can't save, there will be them!! I'm not going to let them die, come on GODS DAMNIT CASMILUS SHOW YOURSELF!! You said you're a god of fairness, so h-hold up your end of the deal!" Finally, his voice cracked, broke.
Finally, the tears began to flow, and Aerendyl leaned against the dented bronze beside him, chest heaving- he understood what he was asking to give up, and yet, nobody else was there, with him.
Wrong.
"Hello, Aerendyl," There, indeed, was Casmilus, smiling as if he'd been there the entire time- and maybe he had. "Funny how prayers work, isn't it? They always reach their gods- I wonder why that is."
"Casmilus." Aerendyl snapped, and his tongue stopped obeying him for a moment- what was next? A greeting?
I am sorry, I shouldn't keep interrupting- but things have deviated so very far from my plan, and I'll admit, I'm not sure what he wanted to say. I hate this- I hate being the captive audience, why don't I have any control over-
"Aerendyl," Casmilus began with a smile. "Do you ever wonder if there is such a thing as fate, or a grand design?"
"...What? I don't care about that," The archangel snapped, and Casmilus nodded.
"I think that something like that must be real- because something cannot come from nothing, can it?" His eyes drifted up, glinting wickedly, before returning to Aerendyl.
Don't bring me into this. If I don't have any control, don't fucking bring me into this. That's fair, right? No agency, no responsibility.
"You don't want Wolfpack to die, though, do you? This is the way." Casmilus smiled, and I found myself shaking my head, gritting my teeth and backing off to observe.
"I don't, you know that, so take my wings." Aerendyl nodded, setting his jaw. "I'm… I'm not ready, but do it anyway."
"Very well," Casmilus smiled warmly, nodding. "Kneel."
Aerendyl did without question, spanning his wings and bowing his head- his eyes burned, and anxiety flared in his chest like a caged animal seeking air… but he did not sway.
"Is it strange?" Casmilus wondered aloud, slowly circling the angel, not seeming to mind the obstruction that was his wingspan, until he stood behind the angel. "Kneeling for one that you killed without a thought?"
Aerendyl didn't answer- but maybe he didn't need to. Maybe the universe was loud enough, in that moment, to answer for him- or maybe Aerendyl simply felt he didn't have the right to answer.
Casmilus did not draw tools, nor did he prepare a spell- nay, with a wolfish grin, he grabbed Aerendyl's shoulder in one hand, and the base of his wing in the other. The scream that flew from the angel a second later startled birds all round, crows soaring into the air with startled cries- but if you could hear past that, the only sounds to damn the air were that of panting, a bloody scream and the slow popping of sinew ripping apart.
"Fuck," Fox yelped, sitting up and clutching at her chest, long-since numb to the cold of the tub. She'd been wondering whether it would be cruel to curl up beside Haru as she died… but a warmth flooded her chest, slowly, seeping into her arms and belly, spreading. She hesitated, panting… and slowly, she pushed, finding herself blissfully, mercifully able to stand, head swimming, stomach growling- "HARU?! HARU I'M- I'm HUNGRY?!"
Fox laughed- I'm hungry! The thought was so simple, so mundane, that it gave her a greater joy than nigh any other, and she fled the showers to make Haru aware, not even bothering to put her shirt back on- Haru must be feeling better, too! We're saved!
Aerendyl screamed, blood splattering the ground, spilling off his bottom lip, hands beating the concrete with such force that it began to break. Casmilus asked if he wanted to stop.
"K-Keep going, you f-f-fucking bastard," the blonde snarled like a dying animal, voice breaking. Casmilus didn't argue.
Aurelia, half unconscious at her strategy table, jolted, standing, rolling her shoulders and yelping as her back cracked. She was able to pop her shoulders, and her tail began to flick about like a cat's of its own accord- she sneezed, once, and began to move for the door, strength returning like a tidal wave.
"GUYS?!"
Aerendyl's screams broke time and time again, blood flooding his mouth as the first wing finally tore free; vision blurring at the edges, he heard Casmilus say… something. The angel could only shake his head, screaming, slapping the concrete… but holding still. Part of him, deep down, knew that he could run… but he didn't consider it, and Casmilus practically purred, grabbing the second wing.
"This is going to hurt," He cackled and, planting a dirty boot on Aerendyl's exposed spine, began to yank, uncaring as the CA leader screamed again. A brutal, broken sob tore from Aerendyl, and his tongue bled… his fingers were raw and bloodied… but Casmilus held up his end of the deal.
"Lif!!" Haru laughed as he crashed into her, the taller man crushing Fox, Charlotte and Fox altogether.
"I can breathe! It is amazing- I am back!" Lif cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "If this is the work of Aerendyl, then I suppose we owe him a great debt!" He stepped back, glancing over as Jabari rounded a corner.
"It is good to see you in good health," the beautiful man smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Have any of you heard from Aerendyl? I fear he might have done something reckless- but, I am a man who has lifetimes to solve problems, and here, we were given days. I fear ze worst."
Aerendyl, for his part… his screams had ceased- he lay on the ground, twitching, blood flooding his throat, barely alive, his second wing holding on by glistening threads of gore… and then, that wing, too, snapped, and Casmilus tossed it aside with a small sigh.
"I suppose," The god spoke, but Aerendyl could barely hear him. His consciousness faded in and out... Casmilus was muttering something… "Fair… Satisfaction… Necessary… right…" but try as he might, the angel couldn't focus… his world went dark. The Director of Ravenwood's Contracted Arms was dead- and in exchange, so many lives were saved.
Aerenddyl's last thoughts… they didn't exist. His girlfriend did not cross his mind, nor did Wolfpack- just the exhaustion finally crashing over him. In his final moments, he was just a little boy, finally under his blankies after a long day… and he died with a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
Casmilus walked away from the corpse with a grim, self-satisfied smile.
The crows didn't come back until sunrise.
Far away, in the mountains of Mir, Eileen finally collapsed to her knees, leaning on her staff, chest heaving.
"Dude! I can breathe- did you cure us?!" Cecil barged into her room, rushing over and throwing his arms around her. "Hey come on elf lady, don't fall, don't fall- you're okay, right? I got you, come on," He laughed, gently supporting her weight.
"I'll… I'll be fine," Eileen whispered, eyelids heavy, nodding. "I have used… a lot of magic."
"What's up?" Cecil grinned, from the doorway, and Eileen looked up, stomach flipping- a Cecil held her, and so too did one stand in the doorway.
"...What?" The Cecil holding her had looked up as well- the one in the doorway, though, offered a slow, insidious smile and shrugged, turning, walking away.
"H-Huh- Cecil, what was that," Eileen whispered, head swimming. "I… I really need to rest… that was… I'm not hallucinating…?"
"If you are, we're sharing it. You rest; I'll figure it out," Cecil muttered darkly, standing up slowly and hauling Eileen into his arms bridal style, setting her in bed with an exhausted nod. "Shit, I need some good sleep too… but that was me. We both saw it. I'll… I'll figure it out."
"We did… please be careful," Eileen whispered, nodding, and closed her eyes, breathing evening out. Cecil, for his part, was already shoving into the hallway.
"Good morning," Alexander winced, shaking his head- he'd been coming down the hall, and looked up as Cecil stepped out. "I feel like I can breathe,"
"I'm so glad you're alright, hey- but sorry, did you see another me?" Cecil snapped, shaking his head. "Like, exact lookalike- maybe some sort of shape shifting demon, I don't know, but yeah. Did you?"
"No…?" Alexander angled his head. "I'll stick with just the one, I don't need two of you trying to flirt with everyone- have you slept?"
"I haven't slept, but that's- that's besides the point," Cecil shook his head again, wincing, and turned, jogging down the hall. In moments, he burst into the dorm lounge- Ica stood there, arms crossed, staring at him the second he appeared, and Cecil couldn't help but to grin with relief.
"Ica! You're alright!" Cecil flashed a thumbs up. "Did you see another me-"
"Another you? No. Why? You snort another line, and now you're hallucinating?" Ica laughed, and there was so much venom in his voice that Cecil's heart felt as if it stopped- and Ica was just smiling like a kid in a candy shop.
"W-What? I haven't t-touched anything since we got hit with that magic- there's nothing in my system-"
"Oh sure!" Ica grinned manically, clapping his hands together and laughing. "You? Clean? You expect me to believe that, addict? You're dead weight- you do nothing but hit the gym and worship your own muscles and take enough drugs to kill an elephant, and you want me to believe you're clean? No, there's no second you," Ica snorted, rolling his eyes and turning away. "I need to go."
"Ica wait-!" Cecil shook his head, blinking rapidly, stomach turning over- something was wrong. "Back then in the pass, you said something similar- I know I haven't been present, but-"
"Save it, addict."
"I'm clean-!" Cecil snapped, chest tightening.
"As IF," Ica rolled his eyes and walked away- Cecil let him go, chest aching as Alexander came up behind him.
"What the hell was that about… are you actually an addict?" Alexander asked quietly, and Cecil faltered, sitting down slowly on the nearest couch, drawing a breath.
"I am," He spoke, wrinkling his nose, eyes burning. "When we went to save the summoned heroes- Aurelia threatened to remove me from the team; I-I… I was sloppy. Made mistakes- that mission was important, but it was also heavily supervised. Things went fine… and when we got back, I…" He exhaled slowly, looking down. "I went back to the needles."
"The mission that saved my life," Alexander nodded, taking a careful seat beside Cecil and planting a hand on the jet-haired man's shoulder.
"Yeah," Cecil nodded, swallowing slowly. "I… then, when things went sideways- The Giant, the outbreaks… I wasn't there. I thought things would be fine without me," He added, shaking his head, eyes glassy. "I… I've been trying- when we got to the mountain pass, Ica snapped at me for how absent I've been, and I just… he was right. I promised myself I'd get clean, and then with this magic stuff… I swore I'd get clean. That I'd pull my weight. Even if we don't need me, since we have Charlotte," He added with a humorless laugh and a little self deprecating grin… Alexander started as Charlotte appeared behind them, grabbing Cecil by the hair and hurling him. His world spun, and Cecil hit the lounge wall with a sharp cry, vision flashing white before he hit his hands and knees, world spinning.
When he finally came to, Charlotte was there, eye twitching with barely-suppressed rage as she paced in front of him, Alexander watching nervously from the couch.
"That's what I am, right. A weapon," Charlotte agreed. "Well, since I'm so good at killing, might as well start with the people who made me feel this way- I'm giving you what you want, right? RIGHT?" She snapped, and before Cecil knew what was happening, he was against the wall, world spinning, Charlotte's hand on his throat, pressing. "This is what you wanted, right? A mindless, killing machine?" The lavender-haired girl snarled, squeezing harder, and Cecil's vision began to go gray…
"Get off of him!!" A scream, and Haru came from the side, kicking Charlotte's shin with such force that bone cracked- The Cheshire Cat was, for just a moment, knocked off balance, and Haru managed to pry her off of Cecil- Charlotte recovered and slammed her fist around with every intent to crush Cecil's head… but a shimmering, golden light stopped her, and Eileen limped out of the hall as Cecil's knees hit the ground. He, Cecil, tried to breathe, to listen, but all he could do was lie there helplessly, breaths ragged as Eileen advanced, Charlotte straining as Haru fell back against a wall, chest heaving, eyes dilated with something like panic.
"There…" She, the elf, coughed, limping forward as the cheshire cat snarled, unharmed but unmoved. "The virus created… it wanted to make us die and… reanimate us. It was alive… we'd become monsters… killing our own people… the virus isn't dead… it's separated from us… all of our darkest impulses… Starrian King wanted to… make sure… nobody supported… our cause, I… think…"
"I'm not some dark impulse," The false Charlotte snarled, trying to slam her fist forward still- but she could not move. Cecil just watched, unmoving- and for just a "I'm trying to give you what you wanted- a WEAPON. One who erases problems, starting with this worthless addict who's never been around for one important event."
"I killed the other Eileen," Eileen whispered. "Charlotte is here. The others are… unaccounted for," She whispered, shivering. "Kill Charlotte, my strength is failing… hurry up, before she kills, everyone…"
"K-Kill Charlotte?!" Haru, standing against a wall, shook her head, laughing breathlessly, eyes wide as Fox caught up, hovering awkwardly in the doorway before rushing to hug the badger girl.
"Yes, quickly," Eileen whispered as the False Charlotte snarled- she was making progress now, hand moving an inch toward Cecil… and then, in a flash, her head fell from her shoulders. As the False Charlotte's knees hit the floor, the real one stopped her run a few feet away, left arm gloved in crimson, and glanced back as the clone of herself dissolved slowly into gray ash. Eileen, for her part, finally collapsed, and Charlotte flashed again, holding the elf carefully.
"The virus given form," Cecil echoed, panting, staring at the ashes. "Maybe she was right…"
"No." Alexander snapped, shaking his head. "Prove her wrong, don't wallow."
"Hey," A voice, from the hall near Haru- Haru and Fox both looked up- it was Fox. "It's me," She smiled, as the others watched cautiously, and approached. "I'm um… I'm not the real Fox. I… I really want to hurt you, Haru, but… I'm controlling myself, for now. It's- it's like, fire in my veins, please-"
"Why do you want to hurt me?" Haru angled her head and wrinkled her nose- the clone shook her head, chest rising and falling rapidly.
"I want to keep you, you're, you're everything, it- I want to trap you, keep you, kill anyone who looks at you- please, please before I lose control please kill me I love you I don't wanna hurt you but I'm gonna I can't think right-"
"I've got this," Charlotte spoke carefully and set Eileen down on the couch, walking slowly toward the False Fox, hands raised placatingly.
"S-See, I'm not the real me," The False Fox continued, taking out a knife and cutting her forearm- the blood that spilled out was not the ruddy black of a demon, but gray, like ashes after a fire- like what the False Charlotte had dissolved into. "I- I want to- I can't think, Haru I hate anyone who looks at you I hate you I hate you for making me- CHARLOTTE PLEASE," She suddenly snarled, grabbing the Cheshire Cat girl's arm as she got close enough, drawing blood.
For a moment, Charlotte looked down as if surprised this clone had managed to draw blood, and they all froze.
"Fox," Haru panted, panic creeping into her voice, but the real Fox hugged her tighter, and the False one shook her head.
"I love you, Haru- I love you so much and I know this is best for you- Charlotte TAKE ME SOMEWHERE PLEASE-!" She screamed, voice warping at the end, and in a flash, both herself and Charlotte were gone. Haru just fell back against the wall, eyes glassy, panting, looking down at Fox- her Fox, the real one.
"I'm here," She, Fox, whispered. "...and, yeah. I get some pretty scary urges. If I love you though… that means trusting you. Maybe that's why I don't mind the idea of Charlotte… it's one thing, when you have me, and might leave, and you're tied to me... It's another, when you have multiple people, and keep choosing me anyway… I hated that too, I'm here…"
"I need a drink," Haru whispered, eyes wet, and from Cecil, a weakened laugh.
"I'll raise a glass to that… a glass of ginger ale, maybe, though," He added, leaning back against the wall.
"Guys," Alexander began carefully. "We need to be careful. This means that somewhere, there's a Cecil, an Aurelia, a Haru, another me, Ica and a Lif walking around based on our absolute worst traits and desires."
"We'll figure it out," Cecil wheezed, nodding. "I… I need to sleep," He added, slumping sideways and hitting the floor. Careful, Haru started forward.
"Charlotte deprived him of air," She whispered, and, body aching, she knelt, slowly picking the jet-haired man up and depositing him in an armchair. Once she'd straightened, she glanced back at Fox. "I think… I think we all need some sleep. I'm… first, I'm going to find Aurelia… make sure she's okay…"
"She is," Jabari spoke, leaning in the doorway to the offices. "She's in ze strategy room- sleeping with her head on ze table. Cameras caught the alternates of you all leaving- those that are not dead. Lif, Ica, Aurelia, Haru, Cecil, Alexander. Aurelia stated zat you will work to track them. It is time I go, though- I am a doctor, not a warrior."
"Who are you?" Haru asked slowly, closing her eyes for a moment. "I… saw you earlier, but…"
"I am Jabari, a doctor from Alcantore. I was hoping to find a solution zat would kill nobody- but, Aerendyl has not responded in hours, and I fear ze worst. Still… it is time I return home and report my findings."
"Aerendyl- no, no no no, he can't be dead," Haru laughed, eyes widening… but Jabari just smiled wistfully and turned, walking away. Her, Haru's, mouth froze in shock- she wanted to shout at him to come back, explain, but…
Aerendyl can't be dead, right?