Beach Vacey [On Hold]

The Color Red I58I

The tall figure in the darkness plucked a glass shard off the floor... The glass that originated from a wine glass... What a shame it was to meet that fate... But, a key it was... An objective key. It wasn't just to tie up the strings to its victim... It tied the loose ends as well.

The tall figure rushed to the backdoor with the shard in hand, and the imp watched, but completely clueless... he shrugged.

"I have a bone to pick with you..." The imp began as the shard-armed figure rummaged into his pockets. "Why do you make me do all the dirty work?!" The imp looked away—yet only for a moment...

A scream erupted, piercing the room, but it came to quiet the split second the imp peered over to the sound. The heaving, tall figure held his hand as dark, thick liquid trickled down it.

The imp rose with alert and stumbled over to the tall figure. "W-What are you doing?!"

The tall figure wheezed, containing his pain through squeaky, breathless sounds and dropped the red-glossed shard onto the ground for it to crackle further. "I sealed..." He took a weak breath through his clenched teeth and dropped a dull, red stone onto his wounded hand, closing his palm... "I sealed the deal..." He slowly gathered his strength, clearing his voice, and soon enough... a bright, tangy light began to grow in his palm by the backdoor, lighting and filling both of their faces.

An amazed... but puzzled look widened the imp's crimson eye with amber, parting his lips and forming his brows... "N-No...! What... What is that?! Th-That's...!" Did he know something? Was he unsure?

The tall figure opened his palm, revealing the light source and his fresh, raw hand. A chuckle tickled out of him, and he picked up the glowing, amber stone, holding it to his uncontrollable, cheeky smile like a child and its toy. "Vaati...?" he snickered quietly.

Vaati bowed his head slowly. "Yes, Shadow...?"

The amber light twinkled in Shadow's aquas, and he released a low giggle at first, but... slowly did it rise in mania. "He lied... He lied to us!" his voice shook.

"The rat?!" Vaati gasped.

Shadow froze, allowing his breath to slither out from him, and his hand to jolt... but slowly did he clench his hand, crushing the amber-lit stone. "N-No... No... He..." He cackled in his throat almost wheezing, but that smile crook.

Vaati embraced Shadow's mania like a drug, and so his face lit with hysteria, widening his eye to spring. He scoffed in glee. "That forsaken, filthy, blind lab rat~?!"

Shadow chuckled and opened his palm once more to pluck the amber-lit stone from his hand, fixing it in a hold between his thumb and index. "Even more so..." he sang, and within that moment of breath, he jammed the amber-lit stone into the backdoor's lock, breaking the enclosed barrier that brought Vaati to a wild gasp and a backward stagger as a red-tinted window revealed itself in front of the door. Yet, the window would only last for a second as a wide crevasse would sink into the middle, stretching out a web of cracks before the pane could hold no more and finally... shatter. The jagged shards flew at them, whizzing by, and hitting and swiping the air near their ears.

Vaati clutched his head for safety, cowering away, and screamed. "Shadow! Shadow! Turn it off! It's going to hit me!"

But, only a classic overreaction. The amber light faded into the darkness, and the shards became as real as the old slump behind the bar.

Shadow took his hand out and watched as dark crimson globs of thick liquid oozed and dripped down onto the floor with disgust. Yet, he attempted to remove the vile liquid with his other hand, but his Macbeth hand stained more and more until he started rubbing it up his arm. Although, to no help, he let loose of the grunge, and shook his head, changing his mind. "It's a protective mechanism. It's a bluff." He chose to respond to Vaati rather than ignore.