I thought I could beat the system. Give back what I don't want.
'You can't die...' That's what Shine said.
But she didn't say that I can't take back the power and lead a somewhat normal life. Be done with boys for good. Take away the power, take away their need for me, they leave me alone and I could finally lead the life I was supposed to be living in the previous one.
I tried, but instead...
The light of the gemstone was shining so bright and before I knew it, I passed out.
Now, I'm waking up and a voice, soft and faint, a girl's, reached my ears.
"Save me... help me escape..."
"Wait, what?" I asked as my eyes were fully open and looking around.
I was back at home with Adam and Katya, surrounded by the rest of the capture targets. I saw Lori among them, back with her arms crossed.
"Are you OK?" Percy asked.
"Yeah..." I said distracted, "What... what happened?"
Percy slightly scowled, "You were holding that gemstone, then you passed out. Lori wanted to kill you back then..." he gave a look to Lori, but continued smoothly, "I saved you and the rest came to me... so here we are."
I groaned, then remembered something, "And that voice?"
"What voice?" Adam piped up.
"A voice that said, 'Save me... Help me escape...' What was that?" I asked.
All of their faces darkened. Then, Percy spoke up, "Probably a dream. We definately didn't hear it." The rest shook their heads.
Huh? That voice was a figment of my imagination... but I was so sure...
"So have you made your choice?" Scott pushed in.
"Huh?" I asked, playing coy. I know what they are talking about, but c'mon, is there any other way...
"OK," I said slowly, "Even if I want to choose one of you, is there any other... way that I can choose any of you?"
Kaspar shook his head, "Sorry Bunny, there's no other way that we know of."
Well this isn't an otome game for a reason.
"Then, I won't choose any of you. There is no way that I'm doing... that!" I said, defiantly.
Before I knew it, I was pushed onto the couch by Percy.
"What- what the heck you are doing?" I asked, trying to kick him, but he was pinning me down. Now all I could see is his face, just looking at me with desire.
"Krista..." Percy's voice was low and soft, "Do you know what happens when you don't choose? The end of the world. Do you know what happens if you choose the wrong person? Another eternity of hard life and unfairness."
"Isn't the world always unfair, anyway? That's why luck and fate exist..." I mumbled.
"But do you remember our promise? Living the lives we want? Everything does have to end soon... it's true, but don't you want to delay the inevitable. So we would have more time to uphold our promise?" Percy kept asking.
A flashback of Krista's memories before my soul went to her body enveloped me. Why did I have to say stuff like that?
"I don't really want the world to end, but I want to choose in a different way. I mean... why do I have to degrade myself while choosing a successor. Stupid, utterly stupid," I confessed.
"But... we don't have a choice," Percy whispered, fumbling my buttons.
"Wait- wait!" I shouted and tried to stop him, then I remembered we weren't alone, "Aren't the rest of you gonna do something about this?!" I tried to peek out and saw their shock states. After I shouted to them, they seemed to come out of their reverie.
"Oi, you aren't the only one with the chance to be God," Jev said, moving toward us, "Or do you want to feel my scythe?" He took it out. It never fails to send a shiver down my spine.
"Dude, I can out battle you any day," Percy scoffed.
"You Sonic types..." Jev mumbled.
"Why do you get a bite at Bunny? I'm a hungry fox, I want a shot at it too!" Kaspar whined.
Percy seemed hot at argument, of course, I used the ability to kick at him and managed to release myself out of his grasp. I quickly ran to Katya, who although a villainess, at least doesn't hate me as much as Lori... yet.
"And you agree with this?!" I asked both Katya and Lori.
"As long as you don't fall in love with our man," they both answered.
That surprised me, they seemed resign which was out of character for both. I wonder...
"Not everything is as it seems..." A female voice rang out.
"That voice!" I exclaimed. It was the very same, "Didn't you hear it?"
Everyone gave me puzzled looks. What is going on?
Percy was quick to get me and run out of the house.
"Wait, wait-" I said, but before I knew it, we were inside an abandoned warehouse.
I experienced a brief spell of diziness. I thought... one moment in the house and now...
"Now, be still, give in, please for our futures..." Percy said, as he was undoing my buttons.
I still struggled anyway. Something really wasn't right. I'm sure that Kaspar would do this, being perverted... but Percy?
He's a knight, with Gryffindor traits, but something like this?
That voice... it said that not everything is what it seems...
Making up my mind quickly, I became still and Percy smiled, taking it as a go, but underneath, I could see his smile was... evil. It repulsed me. He started to my pants, while I caressed his face. He was coming even closer until...
Bzzt!
"Ubba, ubba, ubba!" Percy yowled as I tased him and he fainted.
I immediately removed his dead weight off me and ran to the entrance of the warehouse until I was... back at the house where the others were. Their smiles were gone... and now everything was off. Immediately, something was off. How could I gone from warehouse back to the house with one flip of the door.
I might be in some illusion, so then...
"What do you want with me?!" I shouted, knowing immediately they were obviously impostors.
Their smiles were the same evil ones as that fake Percy given.
"You..." They hissed at the same time.
That did it, I ran back to the door.
"There is no escape..." they hissed.
'Sure...' I thought. But everywhere there's an escape route.
I wasn't surprised to see I was back at the warehouse. At least the fake Percy was unconscious, but the others wouldn't be far behind. I quickly looked around and saw a window, I smashed at it and immediately jumped out of it.
I was now out of town, but it was empty... save for the impostors.
"Hee hee..." They said as one, "What were you planing to do? How will you find a way to escape? We will just trick you... and trick you..."
I didn't even bother hearing anymore, I just ran.
I went through my repertoire of Hell's creatures, but... nothing really fits. As for their 'trick', what can I do? Isn't there a source for escape. There's always a weakness.
"Aim at the hearts," the female voice whispered.
That voice again...
But so far, it was the only thing I could trust, even if I don't know who's its owner...
I stopped, and they were in front of me.
"Are you tired?" They cooed, "It will be over soon, and finally we can, we can-"
But I didn't let them finish. Using the powers I inherited, I was a blur, tazing their hearts, one by one.
"Ahh..." They said as they dissolved in smoke.
I only did about the three of them when they wised up on me and fought back. But I couldn't allow them. I summoned the power in me, and ice encircled me and pierced the remaining hearts. Then, it was silence.
But I was still stuck here.
Did the voice lie?
"Gotcha!" A voice shouted at me, and caught me in the waist.
"Ahh!" I shouted, recognizing the voice. It was the fake Percy.
"You have given us a lot of trouble, it would have been easier if you have just succumbed to us earlier and just become one of us," he said.
"'One of us'?" I repeated.
"You brought this on yourself," Fake Percy said, as he threw my taser away, "And don't try anything funny, you can't use your powers this time!" He hit me with some power, and suddenly I felt weak...
"Yes, that's it. Give up," Fake Percy cooed, and suddenly he was on top of me, "You have really been a piece of trouble, but now..." he was licking his lips.
What do I do now?
"Ugh!" Fake Percy said, and I saw that a knife jutted out to his heart, He dissolved into the shadows, and then, along with it, the scenery into...
A medieval forest where a bloody black corpse was in front of me and behind it...
"Percy? Lori?" I asked, guarded. Are they the real ones?
"You are really a troublesome woman..." Lori sighed, "Shouldn't you at least say thank you?"
Percy looked at me with some kind of joy, as he stepped over the corpse and hugged me.
"What the heck were you thinking? Doing such a reckless thing and putting us in this situation?!" Percy scolded, then his tome softened, "But... I'm glad you are alright."
Those words, lovey dovey though they are, were enough to make me believe that it was indeed Percy.
"What- what happened?" I asked again.
"We woke up to this forest, you see, and not knowing what to do, we just wandered around until we spotted you. You were engulfed in shadow by that... Umbra."
"Umbra?" I asked.
"We thought they were a myth..." Lori piped up, "But this proves otherwise... it was said that there were plenty of angels who wanted to gain the power of the Chooser to approach the gemstone so that they can receive it, but they never returned."
"According to legend, they were sucked inside the emerald, and their hearts darkened... darkened until they become these... Umbras. And they multiply... by performing..."
"Performing?" I prompted, but it was Percy who supplied it.
"STD."
"Oh," I said. It made sense because the Umbras wanted me to succumb.
This was Angel's Love for you, despite the innocent name was more PG-13 than anything.
"So that means we are..." I said, but Lori finished for me.
"Sucked inside the emerald," she said, giving me a look, "How do we escape?"
'Save me... Help me escape...' I remembered the voice.
"I have an idea," I said, getting away from the corpse and gesturing for them to follow me.
What will this lead to... I wonder.