Tarot observed others, placing his hands on his hips with a smile that quickly turned grave. "And what exactly are you doing in Anison City? Are you searching for Cyber Refuge, 'cause I pretty much heard there's a pedestal around here somewhere?" Tarot wondered, rapidly scratching his itchy behind.
Timothy looked at Aurora, who gave him a slight head shake. "Yeah... We heard there's an entrance to enter the Cyber Refuge, and we're trying to find it. You're pretty dumb, so I wouldn't think you'd know how to get there Tarot." Timothy avoided sharing Tarot the truth about the reason that Aurora had gotten infected before things would get difficult for him to understand.
Tarot's nose itched, and he grunted in boredom, "I smell lies. There's a different reason you came here. And I'll figure it out." He hurriedly started smelling everyone's bodies, from their torso and faces until he smelled Aurora's skin. "It's you!" He pointed his finger directly into Aurora's eyes, between her nose, and bewildered her. She didn't know what he meant by his comment and intended to gain an answer, "It's me? What?"
He crossed his arms, shut his eyes, and grinned, "You're the reason you're looking for Cyber Refuge, aren't you? You're infected." He proudly stood with his hands on his hips and chuckled, "Whoa, Tarot. How did you know that?" Timothy inquired, startled to know he managed to tell her getting infected with just a simple smell of the nose.
He pointed at his nose, "Nothing tricks this nose! I can tell when someone's lying and tell the difference between healthy and harmed skin. I can also tell she's wearing no bra." In an instant, Aurora's eyes opened wide. She had Timothy's jacket over her torso. It covered her so others couldn't see.
However, as Tarot busted her, she reddened her cheeks and innocently covered her face, "Why would you tell them that?! And how can you know that?"
Timothy stood in bewilderment as every girl aside from Trinity blushed in surprise. "Why's everyone so embarrassed? It's just a girl's body part. It really doesn't matter whether she has a bra or not." Out of the least expected people to become embarrassed, Timothy seemed composed and stood casually without many arguments or complaints.
"Though I'm impressed you could tell that. I would never be able to. Your nose could come in handy." Timothy smirked, amused to have Tarot on their side. "Ah, it's pretty easy to tell if a woman's wearing a bra or not by the scent it gives. There's a difference in smelling skin and pieces of cloth or other material."
Aurora continued feeling ashamed, her pupils swirling from embarrassment. She couldn't ignore others' knowledge about her wear, "If I wear a bra, I get grudges on my skin, and the infection's most likely going to spread on tight spaces. That's why I need free space when wearing stretchy clothes." Aurora explained, burning like the hottest fire.
"I guess that would explain why your skin got infected near your cleavage. That illness is serious, Aurora." Ayuka replied, trying to erase and forget the comment from Tarot away from her mind. "I know. That's why I'd like to go and find the entrance to Cyber Refuge."
Timothy kept his arms in his pockets, inhaling fresh air, and then breathed it out like steam. "We're getting close, Aurora. If we find the pedestal, I know we can get the cure. I won't let you die." Aurora seemed startled a bit but appeared grateful and more comfortable around everyone, "Thank you, Tim. Though, I could really use some rest right about now. I feel like I'm going to pass out."
Aurora held her painful chest, trying to breathe with as much strength as she could, "All that running around from the ticked-off citizens sure put a toll on your body. Tarot, how long has it been since you became this messenger?" Timothy questioned, glimpsing at him with a gentle curve of his lips.
"It's been about 120 hours, but I've been here in Anison City before to deliver a message for Torque Torrente."
Everyone's faces locked on Tarot, catching them in surprise. While not many knew her, Aurora seemed horrified as if she heard her name before. "Torque Torrente... Please tell me you're messing with us, Tarot." Aurora begged, horrified, and needed to reply in confidence. Her voice sounded stressed, anxious about Torque's name.
"Aurora, do you know her?" Chiaki politely asked, seeing the pale expression on Aurora's terrified face. She seemed to lose her cool, "I do." She claimed.
"Torque Torrente is a dangerous pirate from the east. She is the head of the Cyber Refuge and is known to be a "Cyberlander." That is what the rumors suggest. She was listed online, but that was a year ago. Before we sailed to find Cyber Refuge, I tried to see if there was any fresh information about her, but her profile was nowhere to be found, and her data appeared to have been erased. I had assumed that the world government had finally locked her up, but if Tarot claims to have met the girl, then there is clearly another explanation for why her digital information went missing."
Tarot became serious and calm: it was the first moment for others to see him become composed. "The letter I got sent to deliver had that name on it. I came across Torque when she planned on going to the nightclub. I stopped her before she entered and I gave her the letter. She thanked me, and that was all. I thought she was a hooker, but that didn't seem to be the case." Explained Tarot as seriously as he possibly could.
Timothy's eyes opened wide, "A pirate? Nightclub? Earlier, we saw one when we entered Anison City, but it looked isolated and quiet. I don't even think anyone paid much attention to it. Nobody wasn't close either."
Ayuka's thoughts started piecing together a picture and abruptly interrupted them as if she got struck by a realization. "Do you think..." Timothy's and everyone's eyes opened wide and shook, "We need to check." Timothy answered and with his allies, hurriedly sprinted toward the nightclub, hopefully finding an answer.
-
They arrived in front of a silent nightclub without a guard to keep a lookout for unwanted visitors. There were no lights, and the door seemed slightly opened. Tarot's nose suddenly started hurting, "Urgh. What's this rotten smell!" He grabbed his nose to avoid the horrible scent.
Timothy stretched his arm forward and placed the palm on the door. He opened them slowly, and the next moment they got met with darkness. He moved his hand forward, turned the palm toward the ceiling, and ignited his hand on fire, providing everyone the necessary light to see in the dark.
Their eyes broadened in the orange hues. They felt like their heart stopped beating, that their soul left their bodies and flew to a new life.
Before them, they saw red splattered around the floor, walls, and furniture that got ruined or dirtied. Their eyes were ticking, and the most disturbing experience they witnessed was the slaughtered corpses resting on the ground: some men and some women.
They were several lifeless bodies, and each seemed to have a different limb or a body part dislocated from the lethal wounds. Some women were missing ears. Some men were missing noses. Some even had their whole body torn or ripped apart as if they got attacked by a wild beast.
Aurora instantly covered her eyes, "I-I can't watch this... W-What is this?! Why would anyone do this?!" She asked, disgusted and terrified.
Chiaki's eyes and body shivered, sweat trickling down her face while the two sisters felt their hearts skip a beat. "This is a graveyard of people. I-I don't... did Torque do this to these innocent people?" Ayuka inquired as Timothy stepped further in, "What are you doing, Tim? You're not planning to go deeper, are you?"
Timothy spotted a goblet on the floor, lying next to a female's dead corpse. "Aurora... You mentioned a goblet to insert into the pedestal, didn't you?"
Aurora slightly peeked between her fingers, "You don't think that's the one, do you? You're not planning to use it on the pedestal when we find it, right?" She thought it would be impossible to find the entrance to the Cyber Refuge, but there was a new hope to follow.
"Whatever happened... If this was Torque's doing, she made sure not to dirty it with blood. But I don't know why she would leave it behind." He backed away from the slaughtered bodies and next to others. "Tim... Please, hold on. This could be a trace to enter the Cyber Refuge, I understand. But, it must mean Torque intended to enter it as well. Now that you know she might be in Cyber Refuge, I don't want you or anyone to go there. It's too dangerous."
Aurora pressed her palm near her heart, scared, worried, and puzzled. She tried to keep them from entering Cyber Refuge, yet knowing Timothy, he wouldn't let it slide.
He exchanged eyes with her, "I don't think Torque would leave this behind without reason. If this is the goblet to enter Cyber Refuge, and she entered it from the surface, then it must mean she either has some other entryway or a second goblet." He claimed.
"Keep in mind, this might not even be the goblet we're looking for, but I'm not going to ignore the fact she killed these people and ripped them apart. I don't want the same to happen to you due to your infection. If the cure is in Cyber Refuge, and if Torque opposes us... then I'll do it. None of you need to come with me if you're afraid. But if I'm alone or not... I'm gonna find that cure." He added, looking at the goblet in which his face reflected.
"Haven't you learned that going alone isn't smart? You don't need to go alone. I'll come with you." Ayuka answered, followed by Chiaki, "I want to come with you as well. You might need me in case things get messy." Timothy's sisters raised their hands, hinting they'll come with him. "Since I'm already here, I'll come too," Tarot answered, folding his arms and smirking.
"Aurora, you shouldn't come with us. I want you to find a safe place to hide while we're gone. So, please, if you-" His sentence became shut, overspoken by Aurora, who grabbed his wrist and looked straight into her eyes with a grave expression. "Not a chance. I dragged you into this, so I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not. If you're going down there and possibly fighting for survival, then so am I. I may not be very helpful, but I rather go down there and support each of you."
Timothy looked back at her, bewildered, but amazed she was willing to help them out despite not being a fighter and witnessing blood and death. "Aurora... You saw what Torque did. You're safer if you stay behind and find someone to help you while we go and grab a cure."
Aurora grunted with her voice and looked away in irritation, "You can't change my mind. I'll stay out of the way if you're planning to fight. I won't do the same. Not like I could do much anyway. But you know what I mean." Timothy became unimpressed, blinking his eyes and sighing. "Why are girls always so stubborn? Can they never listen to others?" He grasped his forehead and shook his head.
"I don't care what you say. You're putting your lives at risk because of me. That's why you're doing this. I will feel responsible for your deaths if I don't come with you... If you're going there, then I'm dying with you if that happens. If there's no cure for my illness, then I want to die by your side and not alone."
Her speech changed Timothy's perspective, "You don't need to worry about dying. And you don't need to worry about us. I'm sure we can confront any challenge and find the cure for your illness. But since you're so determined, I understand. You may come with us."
Timothy and the others are getting ready to locate the pedestal to enter the Cyber Refuge with another objective in mind. They fail to understand, however, that a lost soul cannot be born again.
Ayuka prepared to go with them while crossing her arms and imagining the danger they would encounter.
-
A woman moved through the pitch-black streets, bordered by neon signs and futuristic buildings. She sported short, black trousers and a pink belt around her waist while sporting a black and white jacket. She had vivid pink eyes and white hair.
"Who are you? What do you want?" One man inquired, the woman smiling, "I came to make a deal with you. I know you're playing this special game for women. So, how about we compete? I know how slutty you men can be, so if you all beat me at once, you can play with my body however you want. I'll even do whatever you ask of me."
The men looked at each other, "Hey! Hear this chick out! She's offering her body to us! Let's strip her down!"
She placed her finger on her lips and chuckled, standing in front of a bar. "Would you look at that? Fresh meat is just for me. Alright, boys. Which is the first to please me?"
To be continued...