Chasing Dreams (Dropped)

Chapter 73: A Dragon's Dream Part 3

"Goodbye Erica ♪." With a dark smirk Marionette raised her fingers, she had bundle of thread wrapped around each one giving it the appearance that they were wrapped in bandages. With a light twitch of Marionette's fingers the threads around Erica's neck tightened.

"Tch..?" an unexpected gasp made its way out of Erica's mouth. Although unfortunately for Erica, that was the last bit of air she had left. Erica could feel Marionette's strings grasping at her neck, constricting her even more with each passing second.

"Ha...guh" Erica tried to speak but found herself unable only to be welcomed by a blistering amount of pain. Simply speaking was unbearable, it made Erica feel as if her lungs were about to burst. 

"Fuck...Fuck...Fuck..." Erica's face twitched when her eyes rolled downwards, only to see the ground vastly approaching. 

Erica only had a few more seconds before everything would come to an end.

Ruriko's life, as well as her own. This entire mission would come to an end within a matter of seconds. 

Erica once again raised her hands and clawed at her own throat, desperately trying to tear at the strings around her neck only to tear at her own flesh instead. 

Marionette's strings were odd, they were far stronger than ordinary strings and possessed durability higher than the likes of Erica had ever seen. They were strong enough to keep someone like Erica restrained, and also capable of resisting the strikes of a dragon's claws. A weapon that Erica truly believed was capable of cutting through anything. 

"Ah..." Erica continued to struggle digging her fingers into the base of her neck, only for them to slip out on the other side of the threads. Even though it was an improvement compared to before, Erica could feel her mind slipping. 

The threads around Erica's neck had tightened so much, that they were beginning crack her vertebrae, bringing forth a pain that Erica had never felt before. If possible Erica would surely scream, but due to how closed off her throat was, Erica was only able to let out muffled groans.

With each passing second the world as Erica knew it was beginning to disappear.

The roaring strikes of the wind beating her

The panicked yells of Ruriko beneath her

and even the looming darkness of the sky above her

Within a matter of seconds everything began to fade, leaving Erica's blue face to collapse against the car roof.

"....."

"..."

A clear silence expanded in Erica's mind within that moment.

It was relieving, for once in her life Erica no longer was forced to be weighed down by the world's troubles...

For once in her life Erica no longer had to undergo an unbearable suffering...

Finally, Erica could rest...and finally be at peace...

But then...

A noise rattled in Erica's ear like a broken television, and a wave of memories followed allowing themselves to play out like an untouched scene.

"Ah..."

The first thing Erica saw was Nyssa, even though the memory itself wasn't significant simply seeing her daughter again made Erica's heart jolt. 

"Nyssa..." It had been months since Erica had seen Nyssa, and even with all of her attempts to visit her, Erica was always declined. 

What am I doing?

The only reason why I took this mission was to get her back...

Once again Erica's memories flashed, only to envision herself holding Nyssa back when she was first born. Erica had almost forgotten how small she once was, and how amazing it felt to be blessed with something as pure as Nyssa.

"Ah..."

I told Nyssa that I loved her...

What kind of mother would I be if I abandoned her like that...

For one last time Erica's memories flashed once more. Although this time she didn't see Nyssa, but Ren. Similar to Nyssa Ren was an important person in Erica's life. Not only was he the embodiment of Erica's promise to Irene, but he was also family.

Just like how any Mother loved her children, Erica loved both Ren and Nyssa equally. Erica wanted them to strive, and she wanted to live. To experience a life better than her own, and to eventually grow up without having any regrets.

"Ah..."

Erica remembered Irene, not only her promise to her. But also her final moments, not only did she have to witness Michael slaughter her, but she also had to continue on living knowing full well that Irene only died because of her mistake.

But now, these people...no the members of Lupus were using Irene's name to commit terrible deeds. To drag her name in the mud even more than before, and to make a complete mockery of her legacy.

"Marionette..." bloodied words crawled from Erica's mouth as her eyes burned in anger.

"You are..."

Erica's emotions exploded "The worst kind of evil!" 

"AHHH!" Erica let out a terrifying growl pulling onto the threads with an unbelievable amount of power. Simply gripping onto the threads was cutting deep into her skin, coating the silk in a deep red. 

"I cannot lose, not here!" Dragon claws began to glow with a bright green energy "Because if I die, then Nyssa will die as well..." A thunderous spark burst within Erica's eyes as her kuso transcended to the next level. Both Erica's Reiki energy, and Kuso energy were in perfect sync allowing her to dwell into a pool of power she hadn't shown before.

DRAGON CUTTER

With a powerful wave of her claws Erica ripped through Marionette's strings with ease, causing them to fondle in the air and vanish into the night. But even then Erica didn't stop, she slammed her hands forward pulling open the car roof revealing Ruriko who was still stuck inside. Erica thrust her hand forward tearing apart the threads and yanked Ruriko out, leaving Ruriko with a stunned expression.

"Erica how did you~" Before Ruriko could even finish her thought Erica threw her back, causing her to be immediately carried by the wind. Of course, Ruriko wasn't bothered by this after all the skies were her calling.

With a series of spins Ruriko regained herself, bringing forth a smile one would only see on a child. Ruriko took a deep breath, pumping out her chest before shouting so loud that people could hear her voice for miles "SHIROKUMO!" 

As if summoned out of nowhere a white cloud flies throughout the air catching Ruriko in a matter of seconds. 

Erica on the other hand was still on the car, merely seconds from crashing into the floor. Similar to Ruriko, Erica was used to being airborne so with a powerful jump Erica launched herself into the skies, only for her dragon wings to tear from her back moments after.

"Are you alright?" Erica quickly asked turning over to Ruriko. Although oddly positioned, sticking her large rear in the air Ruriko raised a thumb gesturing that she was fine. 

Erica smiled somewhat, she held a close bond with Ruriko going on several missions with her back when they were still considered rookies. During that time their bond forged, becoming much stronger than one would initially expect.

Among all the Heroes Ruriko was the last one she'd ever want to see killed.

"What the hell even happened?" Ruriko asked quickly repositioning herself. 

On the other hand Erica remained quiet, silently scanning the area with her Kuso to locate her target. Eventually Erica's thin smile became a scowl, and her stare grew cold "It was Marionette I am sure of it..." Erica's voice sounded, a bit more frustrated than normal causing Ruriko to raise a cautious brow.

"That isn't good..." Ruriko then stood up and looked down at the canyon only to see their car covered in flames "Most of my gear was in there too."

"At least now we know that the reports are true." Ruriko muttered "The members of Lupus really are from here." Ruriko placed her hand on her hip while she waited for a response, only to be left empty handed.  "This could be good info to relay back to HQ...lets get moving."

"Lets get moving?" Erica turned her head and eyed Ruriko before looking back at the desert city "We can't leave now."

"...?" Ruriko paused for a moment before tilting her head in disbelief "Huh?! Yes the fuck we can!" Ruriko shouted "Don't tell me you are going to go after her Eri!"

Erica kept her angered stare "If we capture her now all of this will be done and over with, just like Michael said..." Erica retorted brashly. Erica's nose twitched as it caught a familiar scent, it seemed like her nose was far more useful than her eyes for once. Erica stared in the same direction as the scent before moving forward, only to have her arm grabbed by Ruriko.

"Don't be stupid Eri! We can come back once we have a proper plan." Ruriko insisted, only to have her hand swatted away by Erica's "I am finishing this now." 

It was pointless, Erica's mind was far too consumed by rage to think rationally. The calm, and reasonable Erica had long vanished, only to be replaced by a vicious dragon. With a powerful thrust Erica's wings expanded conjuring up a gust of wind.

Ruriko was blown a few feet away by this gust, and quickly shielded her eyes from the pressure "Wait Eri!"

Without even bothering to listen Erica burst forth tearing through the skies like a fighter plane. It didn't take long for her to cross most of the desert only to find herself in a run down city. Although similar in design to Ashe City none of the buildings were engulfed in flames. Erica hovered around the city for a few seconds before allowing her feet to touch the ground.

Erica looked around carefully only to see nothing, even with the addition abilities presented by her Kuso Erica was unable to see anyone nearby. Which to her seemed odd, from her view any living organism would produce a variety of colors in the form of their respective shape. But even now Erica was unable to see a thing "...They must be blocking my Kuso somehow."

Erica continued to take steps while she faded into the darkness. The surrounding area was so dark that it was difficult to even see a few feet ahead. But even without the use of her superior vision, Erica relied on her other senses to maneuver her way around. Both her sense of smell, and hearing were good enough to tell if something was nearby.

Erica could sense a snake slither near her, even if she was unable to see it.

"Eri ♪." A shadow ran past Erica within a blink of an eye. Erica quickly looked around, unable to pick up on its presence. 

"Don't you think you've suffered long enough ♪?" Marionette's voice came across as if she were singing, rather than directly speaking to someone. 

Erica stopped walking and looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Marionette's shadow like before "Marionette..." Erica's brows furrowed growing more intense than before "Come out and face me!"

"..." There was an eerie silence, Erica was no longer able to hear Marionette's strange voice nor was Erica able to see her. So Erica waited, expecting some sort of signal to indicate her presence. Green scales shifted up Erica's body bracing themselves for a possible sneak attack, only to be surprised by the outcome. 

"Say Eri ♪" 

"Lets play a game ♪." 

An irritated twitch shook Erica's face in an instant "A game? A fucking game!" Burst of fire leaked from Erica's mouth as Erica tried to quell her own anger. The lack of seriousness of this confrontation was shameful, and Erica couldn't help but feel as if she were being mocked.

"Oh come on, its been a long time since we played right ♪?" 

"What?" Erica momentarily paused "Since we last played...?" Erica already had an idea that Marionette was most likely from the dragon temple, but she couldn't match a face to the voice. But like Michael said, it could have been possible Marionette was someone, who was far to young to do anything back when Irene died.

"Who are you?" Erica finally asked, looking around at the surrounding buildings awaiting a response.

"Hm..." 

"Eri ♪ If you can guess which building I am in, then I will gladly reveal myself too you ♪" Marionette chimed. 

Even though Erica was irritated by the childish nature of Marionette she agreed, willing to play to get this mess over with as soon as possible. "You want me to guess what building you are in?" Erica repeated almost dumbfounded by the rules. 

"Yes, its a simple game but a fun one ♪. However if you get it wrong, you'll never be able to find me." 

Erica lightly frowned before closing her eyes, of course she was surrounded by buildings, but she could tell by the volume of the voice that Marionette had to have been on one of the nearest buildings. 

But which one was it?

"Focus..." Erica recited this as if some sort of chant, Erica's ears twitched broadening their hearing to keen in the slightest of movements. 

After a period of time eventually Erica heard something, it was very quite almost nearly inaudible but it sounded like a rustle of clothing. So with a quick twist of her body Erica opened her mouth releasing a wave of fire that completely consumed the building behind her.

But with that attack Erica heard no screams, or even movements conjured by Marionette, only a eerie silence that Erica grew to hate. 

"There's no way...surely I must have~" 

"ERICA!" Erica's face lit up when she recognized Ruriko's voice "MARIONETTE IS BEHIND~" 

Similar to Erica, Ruriko's warning was cut off by an almost god-like amount of lightning. The thunderous bolts nearly took up the entire sky, and was launched with the force of a nuke, with a burst of yellow Ruriko was hit dead on and was sent spiraling from her cloud to crash onto the ground motionless.

Without much time to react Erica's mind quickly split, internally she was screaming at the top of her lungs completely petrified by Ruriko being killed. While on the other hand, her mind was sending her  signals reminding her of Ruriko's final warning. 

With a quick dash Erica lunged back, but to her surprise her vision had been split. The faint light produced from the star lit sky was visible enough on her left, but on her right she wasn't able to see a thing.

"Ugh..." After another moment Erica's entire face felt like it was on fire, an inextinguishable pain that she couldn't abandon "AHHHH!" Immediately Erica's left eye noticed the devil-like smirk present on Marionette's lip, and now the weight of her body sunk in as well.

"Congrats Eri, you guessed the right building ♪" Marionette quickly snapped her arm back, pulling out a pronged dagger from Erica's eye socket carving out the mush that was once her eye.

Erica stepped back and slammed her hand over her wound only to let out another painfilled groan "Hah..." Erica slowly pulled her hand from her eye socket only to see blood and mush smothered over it. 

"What's wrong Eri? Don't you remember what I said earlier..." Marionette raised her hands revealing two medium length curved swords, the same ones from her wanted poster "I promised that I'd make you suffer, the same way Irene did ♪"

Chapter End.