In a forest burned to the crisp, so eerie it could be confused with a horror movie, a pair of individuals made their way through the burned ground and ashy atmosphere, placing marks in every tree that would lead them back to their cave.
Seven days had passed and things haven't improved at all.
They had eaten rotten food and hadn't managed to find a single animal or human.
This produced in them stomachaches and migraine.
The duo didn't have anything to drink, not a single drop of water could be found, even after digging and digging, they hadn't found a single place with humidity enough to match that dry cave.
Today the pair took two bags made of fur, one with the little rotten flesh they had, the other with the stones.
Valentine and Fayette took a difficult decision, to leave that cave for good and adventure in a straight line, if they kept coming back to that cave, they would never reach anywhere, this might be the last chance, after this, they might not have any energy at all.
What would happen then? They didn't know, but refused to relent.
It had been several hours and they reached the farthest from the cave they had ever reached, Valentine would always climb above the tallest tree just to see if there was any black cloud nearby... He thought they should be able to survive day and night as long as they avoided those dark clouds, even if they slept outside, it didn't matter... There were no humans, no animals... Surely when they appear there won't be that many.
They would rotate their guarding turns and sleep periodically, then continue regardless of whether it be day or night.
Mostly hoping to hunt beasts that that hunted at night but without any luck.
***
While they walked after so long, he turned back to look at her, she was tired, very tired and her complexion was haggard.
"Let's rest..." He stated but she shook her head.
"N-No... Let's continue... We can rest at night, Valentine, if we don't find anything soon..." She said with worry and a lot of anxiety, staring at him with concern, not only for her but also for him...
Ever since they arrived here, he had put her as his priority at every exchange, having to beg him to eat, most of the remains of that beast were eaten by her out of concern.
She knew they wouldn't die of hunger or thirst, but it would surely deteriorate their mental health and at that point, would they even survive if they met any danger?
"I know... come." He crouched down, intending for her to get on his back but she shook her head.
"No, I don't... need... Valentine, stop treating me like a doll, we are... a team." She gave him a slight glare, delighted at his concern but still, she didn't want to be treated with preference.
Valentine sighed, "Fool, I'm not treating you like a doll... If we meet danger and we're both too tired... Who is going to protect us?"
"I'm giving my back... to you." he threw her a deep glare that she understood.
'I'm trusting in you... to save me if the time ever comes when I can't defend us.' She bit her lips, understanding the meaning of his words.
"I understand but still, I refuse, let's just walk together, please." She took his hand and started to walk instead of run, maybe slowing the pace a little would help.
He accepted reluctantly.
...
For the next several days, the situation only became worse... they walked and walked... but there were nothing but burned trees as if they were walking in circles.
The food they got from the creature had finished two days ago, it made them feel like vomiting and the symptoms started, but they were relentless, they never stopped walking.
There must be something, there must surely be something else other than just burned trees and fire!
Fayette noticed Valentine's steps were slow and measured, 'He's out of energy, but he's not saying anything...'
He had eaten less than a quarter of what she had.
"Valentine, I know we will make it..." She said, trying to muster a smile as she led the way.
Valentine simply nodded, the hunger was simply too much, he noticed that his body hadn't changed of complexion, which meant the hunger was not affecting their bodies, but instead their minds.
…
The night of that day, the moons dimmed as usual and the place darkened.
"Let's rest, I can sense something Valentine! Have you noticed, the trees aren't as burned as they always are! Clearly, this is a place where that accursed rain doesn't fall too often!" She exclaimed with renewed energy, for days they have walked, but finally, there was a change!
Her enthusiasm wasn't shared as Valentine simply lay against a tree, "I'll guard, you should sleep."
"..." She gazed at him, his body wasn't different, still as handsome as ever, only dirty due to the strain just like her.
Fayette could see he's struggling to keep up, all because he prioritized her.
She moved up to him and sat on the ground, patting her lap for him to lie on.
"Here... Sleep, I'll guard you this time, it's my turn." She spoke in a tone that left no way for negotiation.
He sighed and did as she said, it hadn't eaten or drunk anything in several days, that in itself wasn't weird, he had gone without eating for longer.
The problem is this environment's taxing nature, it simply costs too much to live here... the heat, the effort, they had run for so long, walked for so long and yet nothing... he'd rather be in the middle of the Amazon forest than here, at least there he knew that he could just grab a snake and eat it... But here.
He's more than convinced that this must be hell, were it not for the presence of oxigen, he'd believe that this is some kind of desolate planet!
For such a long distance, not a single living being? Could it be that those acid rains managed to decimate life to the point it was simply scarce in this forest?
That was the most optimistic hypothesis.
The dystopic one is... That this forest is simply bigger than anything he can possibly imagine, to the point the density of living things per square metre is ridiculously low.
If this was the case...
How long will it take to leave? Is there even an exit? Are they going in the right direction?
So many thoughts flooded his mind, stealing his rationality.
"UHHGGG!!"
His thoughts were interrupted by Fayette's sudden shouts of pain!
"What's wrong!!?" He opened his eyes with a headstart, he was still on her lap so what could have possibly happened!?
What he saw, was her cutting a chunk of her flesh with the knife!
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" He asked and stood up frantically!
She didn't pay attention to him, instead, his awareness made her act faster!
"UGH!" With a sharp grunt, she successfully took a considerably big piece of flesh out of her arm, her blood feel everywhere but she didn't pay attention to it.
With a pale gaze, she presented the flesh to him, trying to smile despite the horrendous pain and the blood oozing from her big wound.
"Please, eat..."
"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!?" He couldn't believe it, they had really reached this extent!
He checked her wound, forsaking the piece of flesh she was so eagerly presenting him as if an offering.
"Please eat it, you... need it." She tried to tolerate the pain, her whole hand was shivering and she fell on her back, not unconscious but breathing heavily, trying to take the pain!
"What have you done!?" He yelled with sadness, but there wasn't really anything he could do except just wait for her to regenerate, still...
Cannibalism, really!?
"It will... regenerate... please eat." Those were her words, she stared at him with pleading, pleading for him to eat, "If you don't... it will be worse."
"Damn it!" He took the piece of flesh that still held her skin, it was a part of her forearm, and even the bone could be seen from her arm, not yet regenerating.
With a lot of reluctance... He took a bite.
!!!
He resisted himself from vomiting, this had been more disgusting than eating that bear's rotten flesh!
Still, he diligently ate that raw and bloody flesh as fast as possible, knowing that it would probably cause him minor stomachache, but still, it would soothe the painful hunger that he felt right at this moment.
She saw that he finally ate her flesh and sighed in relief, leaning against him
'As long... as you're okay...'
Unbeknownst to her and Valentine, a flash of light emanated through her eyes before they closed, engulfing her in her sleep.
***
Fayette opened her eyes and stared at the metallic ceiling.
"Mother, are you alright?"
She heard a voice, a delicate sound like the breeze of spring.
"Danielle…" Her voice resounded next, but she didn't sit up.
Pain rocked her chest in waves and she felt herself incapable of moving, long tubes went right inside her nose, straight to her decayed lungs.
"Mother, how are you feeling? Forest hasn't come by for so long, Hmph! I'll draw him here!" The woman's delicate voice resonated again, sounding more playful than angry, maybe to fool her conscience into believing this was a funny environment.
"…" No words came out of Fayette's mouth, her chest hurt and she struggled to breathe, just like she had for so many years.
She couldn't see her daughter's expression, but the woman surely isn't happy.
"Mother… I just received a communication from Dr Maxwell, I just… *sob* I just wanted to tell you." The woman's voice, her daughter's it appeared more like sobs and husky wails than words at this point.
Staring up to the ceiling, she managed to catch a glimpse of a glassy figure, blonde and beautiful just like her in her prime, but without scars, physical, or mental… she made sure of that.
"…"
"He said, that you have three weeks left, the chemo… Isn't working *sob* your condition is not improving." Her daughters sobs continued, and she felt a hand grasp hers, caress her head that was no longer silky, not after so much hair loss.
Not a surprise, she didn't need the doctor's words, she felt it in her body.
"Don't… cry." She was ready for this, it was actually relieving… three weeks, a confirmation, no more reluctance, or uncertainty.
No more 'keep working hard and maybe, you will live.'
Her daughter's sobs continued growing into plain tearing and despaired howls.
"Danielle… I… love you and your brother… too… he might be stupid but… he's not… a bad person… take care of… him… he's always… working too hard." With half of her remaining strength, she uttered, feeling the lack of oxigen despite the device being connected straight to her dying lungs.
Each breath, harder than the last.
"MOTHER! I LOVE YOU TOO! SORRY THAT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE! I WILL! I WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT FOOL!" The last thing she felt of her daughter, was her warm hand caressing her head.
"Good… now… go… don't make your husband…. wait for you, come visit me… tomorrow…. I want to… sleep, at least. Give little Eddie…. A kiss… In my regard… l-love you *sob* dear." Tears rolled down Fayette's eyes as she moved her head briefly, making her daughter the center of her gaze.
Her daughter she was so proud of, unlike her who had to struggle through the bureaucratic ladder in the army, selling her soul, dignity, purity and mind… All for the sake of escaping the fate her mother had in stake for her, one where she was but a puppet belonging to a bastard, a piece in a game.
Her daughter turned to be a very smart and independent woman that studied a career in biomechanics and became a notorious individual in France, she married the man she loved, gave her a precious grandson and lived merrily.
All she ever wanted for herself when she was young and uncaring.
That was until she fell with lungs cancer, since then she had been her daughter's source of stress, sadness and tears.
Even now her daughter her daughter is pregnant with another child, this stress is not good for their health.
'I can't allow you to… keep suffering for my mistakes, dear… I'm sorry.'
Her son, Forest wasn't much different, but her poor son wasn't so lucky, he had to work harder for his dreams, and every woman he met disappointed him, all she wanted was to say her farewells to him too… But she knows he despises her.
…
"O-Okay mother… I'll bring Eddie next time." Her daughter gave her a kiss on her cheek, the last one, and left the room.
*THUD*
She didn't manage to see her daughter's back when she left.
"…"
Fayette stared at the ceiling, it had been such a long life.
"No need to wait… for three weeks."
Weakly grasping the tubes that had many joints going straight to her lungs, she pulled them hard enough until she disconnected them.
And then…
She just left time and her lungs, to do the rest.
…
'I have committed so many mistakes in this life, killed so many innocents… my c-children *cough* I would get my hands dirty for you… a-any… time.'
***
Her eyes opened again, this time in the middle of a burned forest, the warm feeling of a hand caressing her silky but dirty golden hair.
Her hazy eyes opened and stared at the man that accompanied her through this painful but otherwise, thrilling adventure.
Fluttery feelings arose in her hearth as her heterochromatic eyes glanced at his silver ones that moved around, seeking any possible threat.
Fluttery feelings she could recognise, way more intense… than ever before.
Way more pure, outrageously delightful.
But she bit her lips, suppressing her smile, suppressing that foolish gaze so characteristic of women with this ailment.
'Not yet…'
…
"Valentine..."
"...?"
The two waited for the night to pass, still not the slightest wisp of people or threats...
He lay against a tree and she lay against his shoulder, the two stared at the three moons, not really in the mood to sleep.
"Why do you take care of me so? We just met each other not too long ago." She asked, giving him a sidelong glance as if fishing for something... at some point, her arm finished regenerating.
"... You said it yourself before, we are a team..." He rolled his eyes, aware of her intentions, a lot more clear-minded, even if just temporarily, at least he managed to fool his brain and his stomach wasn't rumbling.
"Is that so? Are you sure it is not because you have a crush on me?" She asked, it sounded like a joke... and she certainly employed the tonality that would make anyone think it was, but it wasn't.
"And what if I do? we are in no circumstances good enough for something like that..." He stated matter of factly, and she nodded reluctantly, wanting to continue this topic.
Wanting to unravel her companion's feelings, to see if they were in the same sync.
But he clearly didn't want to touch upon it.
"Indeed..." Fayette 'pouted' and proceeded to lie against his shoulder, embracing his body tightly happy that the night wasn't cool, but disregarding the 'need' to cuddle for warmth.
...
"Do you think if you eat a chunk of my flesh, we will be able to make a run tomorrow?" Valentine inquired next, awaiting an outraged response, but it never came...
"Maybe..." She said simply, what could she do? They had reached this stage.
She wanted to survive... She had realised that she would do anything to survive... with him.
Her beautiful eyes opened widely, 'I want to live? Yes… I want.'
…
This place... It's hell, full-fledged hell without the slightest doubt, it can't be anything else.
Is as if God was merciful enough to give them oxygen, but otherwise there wouldn't be any oxygen either.
And precisely because of that, she couldn't imagine herself going through this by herself, no matter how strong she is, she would have surely stayed in that cave.
Valentine's mind wasn't much different, he tried to rationalize and think, where would he be if Fayette hadn't been accompanying him, he'd argue with himself, once again his two sides, yelling to each other.
The rational side would say that they could have reached farther without her, that she's just dead weight.
But the emotional side would say she's been a very important emotional support for him.
And the two of them were right...
Be it as it may, he was more than content to stay by her side for the time being.
"You had a relationship before, right? Could you tell me about it?" Fayette asked abruptly, stealing him away from his thoughts.
"Why all of the sudden?"
"I'm just curious... if you want, I can tell you how I was with my ex-husband... I truly only married once in my life, begrudgingly. I spent most of my life training in my military career."
"My last relationship... There is not really much to say... Her name was Rose, she was actually a lot younger than me, fifteen years old to be exact..."
"Ah?! So she was a minor!?" She yelled as he grabbed his knife, preparing to take out a chunk of his flesh for her.
She knows that he's thirty years old, but didn't expect that he would get on with a fifteen years old girl!
"Could it be that... Do you like them young? Like, really young?" She made it sound like a mock, but her curiosity was authentic, she stared at her mature and developed body, and couldn't imagine an instance he wouldn't be turned on by it... Yet ever since they met, he hadn't shown any reaction... She cupped her big chest in wonder.
"Uhg! N-No... I don't..." He started to cut, restraining his pain.
"..." She bit her lips, not liking to see him in pain but there is no option.
The first one was an experiment, now they know... They can truly feed on each other, even if just to trick the brain until they find appropriate food.
It took several seconds, but he finally presented a nice piece of flesh to her, she didn't even think, resisted her urge to vomit and ate it whole.
…
"... Don't stop... Tell me more..." Anything to get rid of this sour mood, she cleaned her bloodied mouth against the ground and lay against his shoulder again
"I saved her and a friend of hers from a terrorist group in Gaza, she was fourteen years old and her bastard of a friend was seventeen... Initially, I only planed to take down the leader of that terrorist group, but they were two kids sent with bombs in their bodies when I saved them."
"... I imagine that 'friend' betrayed the two of somehow." She could more or less imagine how everything went down from here, but she let him continue.
"He did...I joined them to my undercover group, they were very mature for their age and also quite smart..."
"The Undefeated... That was your group, right?"
A terrorise group that committed heinous acts so dangerous yet so straightforward without even being captured, that they were labelled as the undefeated.
It is said they once planted a bomb in a building in London, financial district, Canary Wharf… Well known for its anti-terrorist security measures.
The blew a whole J.P Morgan Chase building that hosted a meeting of several of the most powerful people on the world, including South American and North American politicians as well as European Mafia bosses.
One of their most aggressive achievements, and the one that placed them in the eye of the world.
History however, didn't portray this even as a nice feat… Thousands of innocents died because of it, and it created a power vacuum that produced even more deaths later on…
He nodded, "The rest is as you can imagine, she fell for me and pursued me for a long time... I always rejected her due to her age, until she managed to get me off-guard in a hotel during a mission... And from then on I guess I had to take responsibility" He scratched his head with a smile, not truly regretting having 'taken responsibility'.
"... Quite the scheming witch, huh~?" Fayette pursued her lips in surprising annoyance, she could imagine it, him sleeping peacefully just to wake up to an underage beauty jumping on his crotch, taking a full load and smiling cutely as if she just did the best thing in the world.
"Yes... After that, we started going out and it lasted until she died... before my death, she was pregnant and didn't tell me." His mind reminisced about his time with rose and he sighed, at least he knows, she's not here... She didn't take a life directly through her whole life, he never allowed her to, and she shouldn't have committed any sins that he knows.
Fayette sighed, feeling sad about the loss of his child.
"Do you think she came here?" The question was apparent, 'was she an evil person?'
"I believe she's in heaven now..." He asserted with joy, just like his mother, Francesca and Romina... They should all be in heaven.
"I see, that's indeed rather simple. In my case I stayed single most of my life, having one night stands here and there in the military... I was born in a noble family and my mother was a very strict person, maybe a lot like your father..."
"..."
"I enlisted in the military because I wanted to escape, but in the end, I couldn't... I was asked to marry at the end of the day and had to leave my crush from back then, maybe if I had some more backbone then, I would have married him instead of the trash I married, he insisted that we escaped together, but I had a duty to accomplish, duty was always more important to me... Still, only because 'he' was the son of the prime minister and whatever, my mother betrothed me to him... That other man, he was the love of my life." She sighed and suddenly felt like smoking even if just out of habit.
At least she became strong enough to not be a toy.
"Was...?" He knew how she felt, after all, there was such a person in his heart, and he wouldn't consider it a matter of the past.
A figure appeared in his mind, she still is the love of his life, even if they won't see each other again.
"Yes, he was... Now the love of my life is you..." She gave him a serious glance, her perfect and immaculate eyes, all too beautiful.
Valentine smiled wryly, "I will give you a 10/10 for the delivery." She confessed just like that.
"Thank you~ So yeah, he and I had a daughter named Danielle at first, I didn't like him but I was determined to accomplish my responsibility as his wife... And that was to give him a son, so we tried again and luckily my son, Forest was born..."
"..."
"After that our marriage became sour, he started cheating on me and I didn't care, after all, I wasn't bedding him anymore, we were just a public appearance, on the back I kept accomplishing my responsibilities, scaling on ranks and getting rid of my rivals... Having romantic affairs here and there, none long lasting… things had changed a lot by that time and genetic modifications were available for those with the money to afford them, that's how I got these eyes, this hair and this body... Before I was a bombshell, but not like this..." She cupped her big breasts and flashed him a teasing glint.
"..." Were she not the most beautiful and hot woman he had ever seen, he would have called her a narcissist, but he wouldn't deny her charm, she's a woman men would kill for, how do Chinese say again?
'A woman capable of toppling kingdoms.' It was
"Those modifications also gave me an edge above my peers, sharper senses, better calculation capacity... It is called 'Eugenics' starting from the 2200s, but those test had a comeback as they weren't properly developed and tested yet... I developed cancer rather early in my life, it seemed that 'being' a smoker produced the cell, but the Eugenics just made the disease spread faster."
"One day some newspaper published a picture of the bastard fucking some air waitress and our reputation came crashing down. I divorced him, but that wouldn't be enough to clear my name... Therefore, I cut his members and his balls before killing him, no one knew it was me, but the message was implicit... And since he was the prime minister… You can guess, whatever happened to that bitch, I leave it to your imagination~" She gave him a sharp glare and he could only smile wryly.
"What can I say? that's how I deal with cheaters~"
"..." He felt some goosebumps for some reason.
"After that, I simply died on my hospital bed after feeling a lot of pain and found myself falling from the sky until my body burst into thousand pieces, met the best man in the world and the rest you already know." She giggled and awaited his reaction, only to be disappointed.
"... Good for you, now sleep... We're going to run a lot tomorrow..." He forcefully placed her head on his lap.
"The man is supposed to be the one to confess in these circumstances, you know..." She pouted like a little girl and made him roll his eyes, a woman in her forties at her prime, trying to act like a little girl...
"Yes yes, I will once we leave this forest." He showed her a kind smile, one that she had seen for the first time.
"Hehe~ You smiled." She extended her hand and caressed his cheek.
"I'm not going to die like her, Valentine... We can't even die, So... You don't need to treat me... As if I'm her… I'm me, I'm Commander Fayette Blanchet... The one that shall become the pirate king!" She yelled with a toothed grim!
"... H-Huh?" His mind seemed to have gone through the biggest dejavu of his life.
Wasn't that, that famous Japanese series that kids watched those days?! How does she know!?
"I remember my son and daughter used to see that series a lot, it's a very long series that dates from your age... Curious… Even after my death it wasn't yet finished. What was it again? One rule? One line? Hmn~?!"
She mumbled to herself, only to realise that her lips got sealed in a searing kiss...
It took her a while, but she answered it with equal passion until their lips separated.
"... Sleep, Fayette..." He said sternly but also with care, she seemed like she won't sleep unless he does this.
"I'll give you a 10/10 for delivery... Good night~" She touched her lips and lost herself in between his silver eyes and his lips.
A smile crept on her face, and for the first time since she arrived in Hell... She had no nightmares.
'This hell is my paradise, as long as you're here...' which of the two thought those words in their minds that night, it was a secret.