Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-26571677-20160316192622/@comment-26571677-20160323090917

It frowned, looking at Estelle's anticipating face, and sighed, putting away the Zeract.

"I've just realised, it's easier to break people down when they're mentally afraid! How silly of me!"

It distinctly heard her sigh of relief, and smiled at Lyko, winking in the process, as if saying How cute, she thinks she's off the hook!.

"Did you forget what I said? I was saying, that people are much easier to break, when they're mentally weak. And what....easier way to break someone, than a nice...little...game!"

Alter-Asper pulled out Arkhalis, and emptied the bullets onto the ground, letting them roll to a stop before picking one up, and placing it into the chamber, spinning it before reloading the weapon.

"Ever heard of Mistral Roulette? A game, purely chance, purely simple...and purely lethal. Only this time, I'm adding a twist, every time one of our head's aren't blown off, I add a bullet! Sounds fun, no? I'll start!"

A crazed smile on its face, it raised the barrel to its temple, before pulling the trigger.

Click

No booming, no explosion of fire, no splattering of brains.

"Guess I was lucky! Now it's your turn!"

It added a bullet to the chamber, before spinning again. The barrel was pointed straight at Estelle's forehead.

"Hope you're watching, Lyko, this could very well be the very last thing your see of her face!"

Click

The same result, no deafening thunderclap of gunpowder exploding.

"You were lucky too! How grand!"

It clapped its hands, giggling like a schoolgirl.

So it continued on like this, each time, one was lucky, and each time, another lethal, heavy bullet was added. All until the fourteenth pull of the trigger for the monster that sat before Estelle.

"Do you feel lucky? Cause I sure am!"

Without further adieu, it raised the gun, screaming and laughing psychotically, to its temple. There were now fourteen bullets in the fifteen chamber, a one-in-fifteen chance of survival.

click

Nothing. It had escaped death. And the grin on the monster was enormous, beastly, monstrous, like the dead smile of a skull, the sadistic expression of awaiting someone's death.

The last bullet slid into the chamber, it was now full. As a last gesture, it spun the chamber, before reloading, and slowly aiming it down at Estelle's forehead. It saw her face, a smile, with tears running down it, facing the heavens, as if awaiting the embrace of death. Lyko shook in the background, a rattle of chains and hoarse screaming.

"Night night."

No! No! I WILL NOT LET ANOTHER INNOCENT DIE AT MY HANDS!

White, hot, pure anger flowed through the monster's mind, and it sank to it's knees, dropping Arkhalis, screaming and pounding at it's own head.

"Get out! This is my time! My rising! GET OUT!"

No

And then the thrashing stopped, replaced by the shaking body of a human. A creature that had emotions, empathy, humanity.

Amilanthior Nightshade.

His pink amaranth eyes flicked and darted around nervously. Looking around him with horror and disgust, widening noticeably at the poor, disgusting sight of Lyko. His arm was torn and mangled beyond recognition, a simple hunk of charred, burnt meat on the side of his body.

He grabbed Arkhalis, smiling tiredly, and haggardly at Estelle, who looked audibly shocked at this change of events.

"Guess I could help ya, huh?"

And then it raised the sword, smashing it down and through Estelle's chains, freeing her arms and legs. He pointed at the table outside, which had her weapons, and normal outfit on it, along with Lyko's armaments. Then he raised the pistol, firing straight through Lyko's bindings, the chains, and the chair attached to his legs, dragging him down. Then he went and pulled the meat-hook out of his arm in one, quick gesture, to save him as much damage as possible.

Reaching into his pockets with increasingly unstable hands, he pulled out a vial of Ghoul Slime, feeding it to Lyko, all but forced it down his throat. And then Asper turned to Estelle, flashing her a sad, gesture of the eyes.

"Grab Lyko, run to your teammate's, your rescuers, leave me here, and lock the door. When you're safe, send an execution squad. I don't deserve to live. That monster that did all of this...he's a part of me, and something that depraved...it can't be allowed to breath and live on this realm, or the next. It's as much fault mine as it is his for this stuff. I don't want my friends to see me in that state."

Then he broke down, gasping in pain, the pain of restraining his other self was wearing down on him, eating away at his very soul, banging on the walls that Asper'd created, smashing away at his own sanity, the only barrier that held him back.

He heard Estelle hurry out, and the locking of the door behind him, so that he himself was left alone, with only his mad, insane thoughts for company.

''Now you've done it, Ami-boy, you've let them go! We're gonna die now! Are you proud of yourself?''

"I would rather die, than to allow all this to happen again."

''I don't think you mean that, Ami-boy! You don't have the guts.''

"You're right, I'm afraid of dying, but I'm even more afraid of hundreds, thousands of people dying, simply because I didn't have the courage to do what was right. A better fate, to die a hero, than a monster, no?"

''But the hero... never gets to see that ending. ...They’ll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They’ll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith!''

"Ain't that a bitch?"

Asper smiled, and sat on the chair, awaiting death.

-

Inside Estelle's pocket, he had placed a small letter, and a hard-drive.

The letter read:

''Hey Zhu-Li, this is Asper talking, if you're hearing this, then I'm probably dead! But don't worry, I'll always be at your side, Semper et ubique praesens sum apud vos I'll be with you, always, and forever, right?''

''I want you to know, that everything I may have said, everything that I used to hurt you? To drive you away? All a lie. All anyone could ever love, could ever wish for in a girl, is in you. I'm sorry, if I chose to go down my path, alone, it's just part of my inner nature, I guess. Forever a loner.''

''You might hate me right now, may want to curse my grave, everything I've ever done, my very soul itself, and I don't blame you, I probably deserve it, if anything! Heh. Funny thing, isn't it? I don't know if this is even reaching your ears!''

''My mum used to tell me stories, and there's so many stories where some brave hero decides to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everybody lives happily ever after. Heck, maybe I'm one of them! One of the peole that wanted to play hero!''

''But the hero...never gets to see that ending. They’ll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They’ll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith.''

Ain't that a bitch?

Love, with all my heart, Amilanthior Nightshade, the Poison Berry, who's heart was stolen by one, beautiful, playful mouse with the soul of a wildfire, uncontrollable and warming.

''P.S. I recorded a song! You're lucky! Someday, people'll be paying big money to hear me sing!''

Inside the hard-drive, was a single recording,

For now you can stay, Right here we will play, Until somehow you can find, A slightly different Frame of Mind

Right here in my arms, Away from all harm, You'll be safe from all the flares, Although I know you don't care.

You can lift your head up to the sky, Take a deeper breath and give it time, You can walk the path among the lines, With your shattered Frame of Mind

Or instead you could always stay, We can wait right here and play, Until somehow you can find, A slightly better Frame of Mind

...

When you lift your head up to the sky, Take a deeper breath and give it time, You can walk the path among the lines,

But always know that you'll be safe, I'll be here throughout your days, Come find me and we will play,

The recording stopped, and in its place was silence, shattered by a small chuckle between him and, and then a message.

"Is this on...yeah? Ok, cool."

"Hey Zhu-Li, it's me! Obviously, heh, um...I just wanted to say...uh...My life...was a mess, my dad had turned into a stone-statue, my mum was long dead, and I had no friends, only enemies. When I met you, it was as if my world had turned from a stark grey, into a place of colour, of vibrancy, of life."

"Just by waking up, each, day, knowing I had friends, and that I would see your smile again made me eager for each morning, for each start of day, for each break of dawn. If, out of time, I could pick one moment and keep it shining, always new, of all the days that I have lived, I'd pick the moment I met you. Since that was when my life really started."

And then it was cut off, with a few words exchanged between him and Kinaver.

"Okay! Bye Zhu-Li, see ya tomorrow! Happy Birthday!"