Phony [DISCONTINUED FOR A REBOOT]

CH 8 : Repentance

The same golden eyes scanned across the creases of the hijabi girl's face, searching for deceit in her worry. And when it found none, Kristal breathed a single laugh, "And why do you care?" it asked back, which pulls a slight frown on her face.

"That thing's right," a man's voice inserts, followed by a thump of a boot to a hard surface. Turning around, Kristal faced the Captain who gazes with crimson eyes. So does Yaya, and everyone else that Kristal just realized is standing near it. Other than Yaya, there are Ying and Fang who stood up front against the Captain. Then there's its sibling, Winter, who stayed with its spouse behind Kristal. Only now, the elemental noticed the invisible gap between the Captain's army and the group of 'heroes'. "You have no reason to care about a serial murderer's about," Kaizo added.

"Captain, you saw for yourself that Kristal attempted to save Gopal, a member of TAPOPS—"

"And that excuses the genocide of thousands and thousands of prisoners?!" Kaizo cuts his brother's plea, "How are you sure that it didn't try to abduct Gopal for itself? How are you sure that it didn’t try to hurt you? Did you see that mass of crystal that almost impaled you if not for your friend saving your ass?!"

"Kristal NEVER tried to hurt us!" Fang crossed the invisible line that bordered him and his brother, pushing Kaizo to rest his palm on the hilt of his sheathed sword, "And what's the benefit of bringing up that when there's a bigger, more powerful threat that's still out there and is doing galaxy knows what right now?!"

"I am not hearing your biased thoughts," Kaizo signs his men to move, "arrest the one in—"

"WOULD YOU MIND LISTENING TO ME FOR ONCE, BROTHER?!"

Kaizo turns his head away. And Fang's rage nearly peaked then and there.

"Tell me, how are you supposed to defeat three and perhaps four of those elementals after this?! You couldn't even lay a hand on Gamma and you think, getting rid of one of our best possible allies, could bring you closer to victory?!"

"You're telling me," Kaizo steps forward, to the agitated boy, "that we should seek help to that murderer?"

"Yes."

The bickering brothers turned to the time manipulator, whose deep blue gaze struck like a stab, "Yes, we should seek help from someone capable of such destruction, to defeat Gamma and Their allies. Someone," Ying turns to Kristal,

"who would—and could—do anything to defeat everything it deemed evil.

Isn't that right, Kristal?"

The crystal elemental scoffs and immediately felt a tense pressure on its shoulders. It quickly figured it wasn't from the weight of expectation, but done by the pair of hands that gripped its shoulder blades. From behind, Yaya shoots a stare that pierced the back of Kristal's back whilst keeping it in place. A stark difference from her worry moments ago.

"So that's what i am to you, a criminal, degraded to a weapon to defeat the great evil?" Kristal sighs, "I would've accepted to help if you asked kindly, you know?

After all, i too, have someone precious i want to bring back from Gamma."

Could it even defeat its own creator?

"Then swear that your target would be Gamma, and Gamma only." Kaizo grips the hilt of his sword, "If you dare lay a hand on my men, i personally would execute you then and there."

"I swear on my life and soul i would never even think about hurting the innocent." Kristal narrows its eyes, "That is, if my aid would be seen as a chance of redemption for you."