I took out my blade and stared her down. The enemy I've been looking for… finally arrived. The illusive Janova hovered over me. She was holding Yuu Yuu with strings like a marionette doll.
"I get so sick of people who think they can play with my toys!"
Janova complained as she lifted Yuu Yuu's body up in the air and slammed her down on the ground suddenly. I was shocked by the level of violence as the blood in my body began to boil.
"What the hell are you doing to her?!"
I rushed in only to be pushed back by a wave of chaotic energy.
"Don't you get it, Feo!?"
Janova cried. The demon vanished and Yuu Yuu stood up slowly… bruised from the assault. I rushed over to her.
"F-Feo! Help me!"
Yuu Yuu fell into my arms… then began laughing.
"Oh my god! You really believe that this doll is a person?!"
Yuu Yuu pushed me away from her as she laughed maniacally. This… wasn't the Yuu Yuu I knew.
"When I'm not here, you think this doll is controlling herself?"
Janova reappeared beside Yuu Yuu.
"Feo, please hold me."
Janova taunted me but to my surprise…
"Feo, please hold me."
Out of Yuu Yuu's lips… was her tender voice… nothing like the cackle of the witch who fed her those words.
"What…"
I couldn't understand what was going on.
"Yuu Yuu is an act performed by me! And she nearly screwed up everything by being caught!"
Janova kicked the doll to the ground. Even my mind was... starting to call Yuu Yuu a doll.
"So you've been controlling Yuu Yuu this entire time?!"
"Feo, I love you…."
The demon cackled…. Only for Yuu Yuu to lift her head and look at me with her pleading eyes.
"Feo, I love you…."
She repeated meekly. I was… horrified.
"That's not true! You possess her and-"
"You're wrong, Feo! This doll has always been my plaything, and I seriously get pissed off when it tries to act real! When it wants you to only look at her."
Janova began beating the back of Yuu Yuu with her feet. I was mortified that she was using her body as a plaything. My rage took over, and I channeled the darkness into my blade. I wasn't going to fall into her trap and believe that Yuu Yuu, the person I sought out for, was nothing but a doll used by this monster.
"Leave her alone!"
I appeared above Janova, enraged by her assault. The demon put out her hand and deflected my attack as we battled with our elemental spells.
"Don't you see, you only fell in love with the personality I made… and that pisses me off! Nobody wants to love me for who I am!"
Her energy grew stronger as she blasted me away into the sky. I flipped and landed on the ground, a ways away from her.
"I had to be hidden within this doll my entire life! Then Yuu Yuu screws up. Yuu Yuu gets caught in a lie and can't figure shit out for herself!"
Janova continued to beat her doll with her feet.
"I'm doing all the work! Let me share Feo, too, at least! I want Feo to look at me and not just you, you UNGRATEFUL doll!"
I rushed her again.
"Stay out of this, Feo!"
Janova blasted it my way with her chaos shield as I witnessed her beating the doll.
"Yuu Yuu!"
"Don't you get it?! She isn't real."
Janova disappeared then Yuu Yuu stood up… but it was only an illusion. Janova was showing me the… truth. That she had been beside Yuu Yuu this entire time… speaking through her. My head began to hurt as the reality was seeping in. That Janova might have always been controlling Yuu Yuu… That Yuu Yuu's personality might have been a fabrication… by Janova.
"That's not true!"
I fought back.
"Stop lying to yourself, Feo! Yuu Yuu's personality was made by me! The only reason why she acts the way she does is because I wanted her to!"
Janova said.
Maniacally, Janova laughed as she kicked in the air in excitement. It felt like I was in a horror story as everything I believed was slowly crumbling. All the moments between the two of us (Me and Yuu Yuu) had actually been the three of us (Me, Yuu Yuu and, Janova) all along.
"No… that's not what Janova's saying…."
I mumbled in horror.
What Janova was saying was…. It had been the two of us (Me and Janova) the entire time.
Janova claimed that she created the persona of Yuu Yuu… a desperate doll that wanted to be… real.
I felt sick to my stomach. My mind couldn't wrap around the idea that the only person in this world that I found that I wanted to be with… may not even exist.
"Please, help me, Feo!"
"Stop it! You're trying to trick me! You're a trickster, Janova, like Maxwell told me about!"
It all began to add up. Janova was the only one who heard us… and she relayed that information to Yuu Yuu.
"Janova… are you the serial bomber?"
She appeared and pulled the "doll" to the side. She held Yuu Yuu in her arms as she floated around with her.
"Don't you mean, we?"
I thought about it when Eve spoke to me.
"At that time, I heard you talking about the bomb we placed at the knight's station. Little Yuu Yuu was too stupid to find out what you were saying. So I had to linger over you guys. How easy it was to set things up."
Everything made sense as I came to the conclusion of what happened.
"You didn't put me in a pocket dimension because you wanted to keep me… You did it to destroy Eve's alibi… and manipulate me into believing I was with you all this time."
"Fucking bingo!"
She smirked at me from above, Yuu Yuu.
"But don't get me wrong… this dumb doll and I had a deal. We will trap you forever within a perfect world and visit you daily, have intimate moments with you. Embrace every part of your body… together. We were going to share you."
"Share me?"
She laughed maniacally.
"Yes! I get to feel you, then she'll get to feel you. But no, this dumb doll would start taking over! Who the hell do you think you are?! I want someone to love me too! I want someone to love me too!"
She sounded like a spoiled brat.
"I hate it when people like my toys more than me! I am so sick of it all! She doesn't learn, and I have to pick up the pieces."
The demon turned to me.
"I loved you too, you know, Feo! I grew to love you on the first outing… and I was pissed when you only started thinking of Yuu Yuu! What about me?!"
In a fit of rage, she kicked about in the sky. I watched as she childishly threw a temper, like a kid not getting the candy they want at a store. This woman was delusional. Janova was acting like we'd had a conversation before this moment.
"You are fucking insane, Janova! Tell me, why are you bombing Radiant City?"
"Don't you mean, why are we bombing Radiant City?! You believe that a doll is a person, don't you?! Or… have you accepted that it's only me?"
I was shocked that I… pushed Yuu Yuu out of the equation. I just said without thinking that… Janova was the only one doing this. Janova turned to the empty lake.
"You have no idea the pain Yuu Yuu and I faced in the past. All the blood we saw. All the people we saw murdered right here in this lake. All of our friends and family were killed because of who they worshiped."
I looked at the lake. It was dead like the world wouldn't allow anything to ever grow here again.
"What happened here, Janova?"
"Wouldn't you like to fucking know?! Why don't you ask your favorite doll?!"
"I swear if you kick her again."
I warned.
"What?! She's my fucking toy! If I want to kick her, I will. If I want to stab her, I will. If I want to tear her from limb to limb, then I will! She's mine, and I can do what I want!"
Janova brought Yuu Yuu in the air.
"Yuu Yuu moves when I want her to! She dances and plays because I want her to. Yuu Yuu gets punished when she starts to think she's real. That makes me so angry!"
Again, she attempted to slam her down, but I rushed over, appeared below her, and caught Yuu Yuu in my arms.
"Give her back!"
Janova screamed. I began running. I didn't know what to make of all this. Yuu Yuu was… no Janova is… no…
No…
Yuu Yuu and Janova are the serial bombers of Radiant City?
"Give her back! I'll pull her apart if you don't! I'll rip you to pieces, Feo, and make you dance like a puppet too! Then you'll always love me! I can make you do all kinds of unspeakable acts with me as a corpse that never rots!"
This was madness. The timid loner was actually this unruly monster?
"No…"
I whispered. This was a lie. It was all a lie that Janova was playing on me. She wanted me to believe that Yuu Yuu was nothing more than a doll so I wouldn't look at her as a person anymore.
I looked down at the beautiful person in my arms as I ran through the forest. Her wonderful pink hair danced as she lay motionless in my arms. Her body was warm and soft and it only added to the disillusionment that Janova was sprouting out.
"You're not a doll... you're Yuu Yuu."
I felt the tears starting to race down my cheeks.
"I don't know what happened in the past… why you are doing such horrible things…"
I held her tight as I escaped, deeper into the forest.
"But I said I'll protect you! And we'll figure this out together… because I love you, Yuu Yuu. I love you!"
Suddenly a claw-shaped spell of chaos energy came out at me. It materialized out of nowhere and cut me at the side. I flew in the air, and Yuu Yuu went in another direction. She rolled and hit a tree. Her body slumped over like a ragdoll as she lay there motionlessly. I stood up and raced over to be by her side.
"Stop playing with my toys over me! I'm the one who loves you! That doll can't feel anything! Don't you get it?! It was all a lie, Feo!"
Janova screamed as she vanished again, but she wasn't reappearing like before. I stood in front of Yuu Yuu as I scanned the dried-up lake. My heart was pulsing because Janova could mask herself to an abnormal degree. I… couldn't perceive her.
"I'm going to kill you and get my Yuu Yuu back!"
The devil's voice echoed from all directions. She was like the wind, there but invisible to the naked eye.
"You can try, but I swear I won't hesitate to cut you down!"
I screamed, trying to draw Janova in.
"You don't get it, Feo! If I die, this doll will never wake up because she's fake! She'll rot like a corpse, and it would be so hilarious to see you try and sleep with it!"
Janova cackled.
I pointed my blade at the sky. The rain began to come down as the lightning amplified the desperation of the moment. My hair started sticking to my cheek as I yelled to the crazed demon.
"I promised to protect her... I promised that I wouldn't let anyone hurt her… especially you, Janova!"
I didn't plan on backing down on it either. I will understand Yuu Yuu… before I conclude anything about her. At the stroke of thunder, a shadow emerged. There I knew Janova was right in front of me.
"Ha!"
I cut to the side, sending a wave of darkness her way. Janova reappeared and brought out a shield, tossing my shadow craft to the side. It destroyed a few trees around. Enraged, Janova rose up towards the heavens and began charging a spell.
"I will rip off your head and play with it for my amusement, Feo!"
A fire lance appeared in her hand. With all her might, Janova thrust it down at me. I brought my blade back, channeled my inner darkness, and linked my spell with the chaos element.
"Screw you!"
My blade connected with the lance, and it swung around, aiming itself back at the sender alongside my wave of darkness. The spell was amplified, too, causing the horrid purple and bright red to merge as it speared at Janova.
Janova screamed in frustration as her attack aimed her way. She took hold of the spell using her chaos shield and deflected it away, to my surprise. Her hand heated up as she shot a fire beam. I deflected the attack, clearly aimed at Yuu Yuu.
It was clear that Janova would kill Yuu Yuu without a second thought. The timid loner wasn't safe here, with Janova enraged.
Suddenly, strings appeared behind me. They attempted to latch on my back, but I moved out of the way. Again, she tried this, but I swung my blade, cutting them in half. The cut strings would vanish, then more would reappear, trying to capture me.
"I can't let Janova get a hold of me!"
She repeatedly tried to capture me in her web, but I skillfully evaded her. But then it came to me… what she was trying to do.
"Yuu Yuu?!"
I turned back to the ragdoll slumped over as strings appeared on her again. Her body shot to Janova, and like a large doll, the crazed woman floated above me, holding Yuu Yuu in her arms.
"Give her back!"
I cried out to the demon.
"She's my toy! And because you won't stop thinking about her, Feo…."
She smiled like a devil as the lightning struck behind her.
"You'll never see Yuu Yuu again."
In an instant… she vanished before my eyes. I couldn't tell which direction she went because… Janova was that skilled at hiding.
"Janova! Janova! Give Yuu Yuu back!"
I screamed to the sky to no avail.
"I'll find you… and when I do, I'll kill you and take Yuu Yuu back!"
I tossed my sword to the ground and yelled at the clouds. The rain was relentless as I gritted my teeth. The storm was getting heavier as my heart sank into my stomach.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
After all the frustration finally died down, I picked up my blade and put it away.
"I need to do one more thing…."
I raced off as the rain poured around me. My clothing was drenched, but I had to make sure of something. In the real world, this lake is destroyed. Everything is dead… even the lake is dried up.
But in Yuu Yuu's reality… it was perfect… likely how it used to be in the past. I assumed that's how it used to be.
"Something bothered me… about the home… about Yuu Yuu and Janova's home."
Those tracks stopped right before the door. I think I understood what happened when I went there that day to search for Yuu Yuu. I sped up, making sure I could get to the cabin before something else happened. As I shadow walked in the rain, the relentless drops hit my skin, making the cold night unbearable.
When I reached the cabin of Yuu Yuu and Janova, I looked at the wood.
"That's what happened that night. I was tracking them…."
I found out why the tracks stopped suddenly.
"It's because when I chased them… I was within Janova's world. I was inside of her barrier."
I nodded… as the truth revealed itself.
"But Yuu Yuu and Janova escaped from that world I was in… and made their way back to this reality."
I faced the cabin now. Yuu Yuu and Janova left me in the fake world… so I explored the manufactured house. But what stood in front of me was the real world's version of it. That would mean…
"All the secrets of Yuu Yuu… are inside here."
I touched the door, and it opened. It didn't have a lock on it…
So, I walked inside and what I saw… shook me to the core.
"Oh god…"
There were mountains of ore and other fire starter materials. Bombs littered about the home and even stacked into the kitchen and around the bed. On the desk weren't the medical pages I found… no, it was nothing but bomb-making materials.
"That smell."
I remembered I smelled something when I was inside here the last time. I now knew what it was because of my research in the pocket reality…
"I smelled iron… something I shouldn't have the last time I came. It's because I was within Janova's reality where there were papers around here."
I touched the top of a box and opened it. It was full of irons and shards to construct the bombs they needed.
"I smelled… the bomb-making materials which was the inconsistency of the fake reality. If I had noticed back then… I might have broken out and seen the truth."
It all came together as my stomach turned…
What I was looking at was all the evidence of things I didn't want to believe. How could the kind, timid loner that looked as though she couldn't hurt a fly… be involved with this?
"This has to be because of Janova…."
But my mind was telling me that they were one and the same. That Janova was the vessel and… that the girl I had feelings for was just a doll, being strung along by the ringleader.
"No, Yuu Yuu is real. There's no way that… I'll go ever accept anything else."
I knew what I had to do. As I looked at the mountain of evidence before me, I reached for my phone and dialed a specific number. It took a while to connect, but eventually, Jade picked up.
"Jade… I found something in the woods. I… I think you need to get the Radiant Order over here… right now."
After her acknowledgment, I held my stomach. All the people in town were harmed by these weapons of destruction. It made me sick… to think that I still didn't want to believe it.
"What am I going to do?"
There was too much evidence here to deny it any longer... no matter how much I wanted to.
"I promised that I'd protect you. I-I promised that I'd keep you safe and be beside you, Yuu Yuu."
But how could I keep my promise to protect her...
When Yuu Yuu, the timid loner with the sweet voice and starry eyes, and her elusive mentor turned out to be…
The Radiant City Serial Bombers...
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