‟ι'м noт a vιllaιn; ι've never нυrт anyone. ι'м jυѕт a тawdry cнaracтer wнo eхplodeѕ now and тнen,"
-olιver reed
•∞•
• F U N N E H •
I was always able to hold a knife, a dagger, a sword, any type of blade. It was reflex, habit, a skill I had obtained over the course of my life. Part of me relied on defending myself, hearing the noises of metal clashing against one another in attempts to either harm or deflect. I was used to it.
But at the moment, holding a blade felt so wrong.
I would never. I couldn't. I wouldn't. I wasn't like her, nor did I ever want to be. In the moment, a life was in my hands. In the moment, life and death resided in the palms of my gloved hands. And it felt so wrong. Everything felt to wrong. I couldn't. I wouldn't.
Resorting to the same methods of her wasn't an option. It didn't have to be this way. And I wasn't going to let it end this way. Everything was in my hands. But I was not like her. I valued the life of everyone, even hers regardless of everything. Call it weakness or call it naivety, it didn't matter. I had morals, and they were stronger than the will to stop everything.
There was more than just one end. This wasn't a video game where all of my actions had sent me down a gameplay path that I could not start over. This wasn't game over. This wasn't the bad ending. Whether that meant resetting, so be it. Lose all my levels, my experience, my everything, so be it. This was not the ending any of us needed.
I was not like her.
I sighed and I felt my hand shaking, maybe from fear or nervousness. Maybe it was a combination of both. But no matter how much I shook, it wasn't enough. No matter how much I feared, nothing could push me over the edge. Unlike in a story, a simplistic and happy fairytale, this wasn't a cliffhanger.
"No one is this awful," I whispered, allowing the pressure of the dagger to release on her neck, "not even you."
"Even in the face of danger, you still choose good. Amazing. I'm surprised I hadn't taken care of you first. You're naïve, but far from inexperienced," Yandere darkly chuckled, her voice staying smooth, "tell me, how? Why think I'm any different than you?"
"I had some good influences," I murmured, shaking even more, "and right now, I'm your influence."
For a second, she paused in confusion. She opened her mouth slightly to speak, but I wasn't going to let her. I meant what I said. No one was this awful, not even her. I had influences, people that changed me, shaped me, molded me into someone who refused to see the side that maybe anyone considered stupid of me to not see. But I didn't regret it. I was going to be her influence.
"Whatever do you mean—" I cut off her question, being asked in a strangely calm voice that honestly scared me more than anything.
Using my right hand, I quickly shot my hand upwards and forcefully jabbed at her temple, making sure I had hit the right point of nerves. She gasped before her legs gave out and she collapsed backwards into me, to which I caught her and rested her on the ground quickly.
"How did you do that?" Kyran gasped as I quickly cut the ropes bounding them to their chairs using my dagger.
"Uh, you tend to learn a few things when your life is usually in danger," I explained, releasing everyone, "pressure points are a godsend. Trust me, this isn't the first time I've been kidnapped and it probably won't be the last."
(mE)
Lassy screamed and I jumped in fear, remembering that they were still there. Celeste and the other boy —whose name I vaguely remembered was Elijah— were already racing back towards us and the Clowns seemed to have the same idea. I gasped and backed up warily.
"Do me a favor and don't die!" I exclaimed, already sprinting away towards Rainbow and Gold.
"Easier said than done!" Kyran exclaimed, backing farther away as Celeste and Elijah drew closer.
I dashed as fast as I could and collapsed onto my knees, sliding along on the healthily green colored grass. I slightly regretted doing so, for my knees would surely have a burn or scrape of some sort but hey, it looked pretty cool to do.
I stabbed the dagger down onto the ropes tying Gold and Rainbow, releasing them. Rainbow cheered and Gold laughed in gratefulness. They rose to their feet and quickly started running towards the rest of the Gang. I tucked the dagger safely back into its holster.
I tried running towards where Draco was kept prisoner and where Lunar was buried but it proved to be unreachable as S.C lunged right in my path. I screamed and tumbled backwards, falling onto my back harshly. I groaned and cursed my lack of balance in my head before S.C rose to his feet and dove straight towards me once again. I gasped and rolled to my left, slamming right into a chair.
I exhaled in pain and yanked myself to my feet, stumbling around a little. S.C had found a new friendship consisting of his face and the ground, buried in an apparent hug with one another. I take the opportunity to hurry over to Draco, smiling at what had happened to S.C.
"Draco! Bud, are you okay?" I quickly inquired to him, grasping the metal bars to see him.
He laid on the floor, all bunched up but unconscious. In his mouth was some sort of gag, but it was tricked up with something that would knock him out. I desperately reached in, trying to shake him, but to no avail.
"Quick! Somebody help me!" I yelled out, turning around frantically and waving my hands for one of my friends to aid us.
The others were busy either defending themselves or running away from the formidable threats. Rainbow was playing a game of Ring-Around-The-Rosy with Lassy on the carousel, Lassy quickly sprinting after as Rainbow ran in a circle to avoid her.
Elijah was having sort of a stand-off with Alec, with both of them standing about five feet apart from one another. Elijah himself seemed to have some sort of sharp object, or at least, something shiny as it reflected in the sunlight and from where I was, I couldn't see exactly. Alec kept moving away, barely missing each attack Elijah threw.
Gold had rushed over to Yandere, who was still knocked out thanks to the knowledge of pressure points I had remembered from a class I took back in freshman year. The year before Gold and I had gone to America to attend Y.H.S. It seemed that Kyran was hesitant to help Gold move Yandere, as he cowered before her. But of course, Gold was not in the mood to be denied of help and she quickly —and very apparently— yelled at him to help her. He reluctantly helped her pick up Yandere and the two started to hoist her onto the closest chair where they then grabbed one of the ropes the Gang had been tied up with earlier to tie her herself onto the chair.
Aly was atop a boulder, one that was piled up besides a few larger ones that marked the actual peak of the mountain. Below her was Celeste, circling the boulder like a shark circling its prey. Aly screamed in fear, and Alec kept trying to reach them, but was held back and kept away by Elijah.
"Evan! Over here! Help me!" I exclaimed, waving my hands towards Evan, who had managed to narrowly avoid S.C's vision.
He quickly rushed over to me, running past the rows of chairs. When he reached me, I instructed him, "Quick, can you reach whatever's in his mouth?"
"Weird, but yeah, I think I can," Evan nodded, turning towards the cell and reaching in as far as his arm could reach.
His face was pressed against one of the bars, for Draco had fallen awkwardly in a position that allowed his hand to reach past the bars but leaving his face barely out of reach. I grinned slightly at how funny he looked with his face all pressed and mushed, but thankfully he gasped in celebration as he recoiled his hand with the gag. Tossing it to the side, Draco coughed after gasping for air.
"Draco! Dude, are you okay? It's us!" Evan assured as Draco sat up and looked around, still coughing.
"Y'know, it's times like this that really push back when I ever consider getting married," Draco bitterly joked, rubbing his head, "I think I'll stay single for a while."
"First off, you have to get a date to not be single and last time I checked, Lassy has been the only one interested in you," I taunted.
"Precisely. It'll be a cinch to stay single for forever. At least then I won't have to share my food," he shrugged.
"Pft, you would have to share it with your friends at least," Evan chuckled as Draco shook his head.
"He doesn't even share his food now!" I complained, "I should just let him stay in there."
"If you leave me in here, we'll both starve!" Draco exclaimed as Evan and I laughed.
Of course, an ear-piercing frustration scream from the recognizable voice of Lassy caught our attention and reminded us that our lives were not a book where we had comedic breaks just to catch our breath. This was reality, and reality was that right now, we would be killed at any moment.
"Come on. Help me get him out of here," I instructed to Evan as he nodded, the both of us grasping the bars and yanking on them.
I pressed my foot on the walls of the cell, trying to use all of my force to break the bars. Evan did the same, except he firmly planted his feet on the ground as we both tugged and pulled.
"Hurry! On the count of three, tug and push at the same time!" I directed to both Draco and Evan.
"One..... Two....." I counted down, inhaling to prepare all of my strength, "three!"
At the same time, Evan and I pulled as Draco pushed against the bars. The middle bar jutted forward, slanting outwards from the cell unstably.
I grinned widely at the success, and we all knew to synchronize another push and pull. Once again, I counted down and we all did our parts. And fortunately, the middle bar wriggled free thanks to our efforts and fell to the ground. Draco squeezed past the rest of the bars through the newly opened exit and quickly scurried out.
"Did they bury Lunar too? In the same place?" I questioned Draco, who nodded frantically.
Just then, Lassy came barreling towards us. It seemed that Lassy and S.C had swapped places, allowing her to come after us while he continued to terrorize Rainbow on the carousel.
Draco screamed in horror and grabbed a nearby chair, holding it up like a shield to keep her away from him as she screamed, "Just come here, darling! Let me love you!"
"NO! I DON'T LOVE YOU, YOU CRAZY! I LIKE BEING SINGLE!" Draco screamed, jutting the chair forward to keep her at bay and away.
(Those last two paragraphs accurately represent me and Misa's friendship minus the single part SKSK)
Part of me laughed internally at Draco's inconvenient love life before I remembered my own and found my hypocrisy ironic. Evan rushed past the two "lovebirds" and yelled Lassy's name, catching her attention as he waved his hands in the air to form as a distraction.
Thankfully, Lassy had the attention span of a fruit fly and easily took the bait, starting to chase after Evan. I started to worry until Evan assured me by yelling, "DON'T WORRY! I'LL BE LIKE FORREST GUMP!"
I laughed and Draco panted for air, placing down the chair. Draco wheezed out, "I owe him my life."
"More like you owe us whatever food you'll share," I remarked, crossing my arms.
"My appreciation and gratitude only goes so far. Don't push it," Draco shook his head disapprovingly before hurrying over towards where Lunar had been buried last time.
Both of us quickly dropped to our knees and started digging. Thankfully, both of us were wearing gloves and the dirt wouldn't stick to our hands. I clawed at the dirt, pulling out clumps of it as fast as I could as if I were digging a grave. Instead, I was doing quite the opposite.
I kept glancing over my shoulder, expecting to see any of our enemies dashing towards us with some sort of object to kill us. But fortunately, or rather unfortunately for everyone else, they were much too busy dealing with the others to come after or even notice Draco and I.
"Look! I hit something! Quick, dig faster!" Draco exclaimed, pointing to some sort of clear wall.
Doing as he advised, we both dug even faster to reveal a transparent box. It looked like a container someone would use in an escape magic trick, one that Houdini would have attempted. In fact, he had, but in a slightly different circumstance and containment.
Pushing last bits of dirt off, there laid Lunar inside the box. Her eyes lit up with relief and she started banging her fists against the wall of the clear container frantically. Finding a padlock on its side, we tried to yank it off. Sadly, it failed. Draco quickly climbed out of the hole and returned with a heavy rock, one that barely fit in his hand. He hefted it upwards and slammed it down onto the padlock, breaking it in half. After opening it, I pulled Lunar out and she wheezed, gasping for air.
"Remind me to never be alive when I die," Lunar coughed out, "I didn't even think I had claustrophobia until now."
"That makes no sense but okay," I laughed, resting my hand on her shoulder as she sighed.
"I'm just so glad to be out of that casket," she exhaled loudly, "I think I have a newfound phobia of funerals."
Just then, a scream erupted in the air, drawing our attention to the others. To my horror, I watched as Aly, Alec, Evan, and Kyran were unconsciously dragged into a pile. Rainbow and Gold laid on the floor near the rows of chairs, looking like they had been pushed down or tumbled backwards. Luckily, they weren't unconscious.
"Don't hurt them!" I shouted, already racing towards them before I could even consider the cons of doing so.
"Take a step closer and I'll do more than hurt them," Celeste threatened, forcefully pointing a knife at me, "that is, if Yandere wishes me to."
I glanced over and found that Yandere had woken up and escaped the ropes Gold and Kyran had tied her up in, which surprised me. Yandere shot a cold glance at me, one that would surely strike me down had looks been able to kill.
"That would be quite pleasing, actually. Do as you wish, Celeste. You too, Elijah. Feel free to help your sister. I'm sure Lassy and S.C would very much enjoy seeing their presents finally be opened after that.... very misfortunate interruption," Yandere sighed in an innocent voice that annoyed me more than scared me.
Elijah's face changed into an expression of contentment, which greatly irked me at the idea that he enjoyed getting to hurt my friends. Celeste started to hum to herself as she spun the knife around in her hand like she was teasing. Yandere started to approach Rainbow and Gold, who were still fallen on the ground.
"Wait! We.... we can work it out!" I pleaded, holding out my hand as I took a few more steps towards them, "just.... just don't hurt them!"
Yandere let out a cold laugh, one that I didn't even know she was capable of creating. That was what struck me the most, the fact that all that time I had thought she was my friend. I thought of her as someone I could trust, an ally that I thought was kind and forgiving. But it was all a lie. She was a lie herself. Everything I thought of her was just a facade, someone she used to her advantage. She was behind it all. And then another thing hit me.
I froze in place all of a sudden at the realization, the words getting caught in my throat as I gasped for air quietly. I was speechless and didn't know how to fathom it, how to comprehend my revelation.
"Were.... were you the person who killed her? Who killed Valerie?" I quietly asked, shaking once again.
Yandere smirked, a cold and ruthless grin forming onto her lips and pale face. All I saw was the definition of sinister, of pure insanity, of evil. But I couldn't at the same time. I didn't believe in evil. I didn't want to believe in evil. I wanted to believe that every person was capable of being good, that we were all pure and kind on the inside. Because I had seen it. I had witnessed it.
All of my life, I felt the rejection, the pain. I had seen the bad things people had done. I knew that I had been a part of it too. When I broke the windows of neighboring houses, when I snuck into places to trespass, when I vandalized public places with graffiti, I was the bad. I didn't believe in good. All the good in my life had disappeared, had become too busy for me. All I saw was black and white, the shades of grief and madness that the world was capable of. I thought of humanity as the end of all good things. What had we done? We had trashed the planet, polluted the earth, killed innocent living things, eliminated and discriminated against our own kind. What good had we done? We were just the bad, the worse, and the malicious.
But then, it all changed. Somehow, it all changed. People entered my life. People who were happy and cheery, encouraging and pure. Everything they touched, all the blackened hatred, it sprouted into a vibrant fountain of cleansed beauty. Everything was colorful, so bright and whimsical. Everything was brighter. And even in the rain, on the days when the droplets came down, I saw the reflection of us in the puddles left behind. In those puddles, in the eyes of everyone staring back at themselves, I saw it. I saw the good.
When I opened my eyes, I didn't see the little leak that allowed drops of water to pour into the bucket in the corner of my room. I heard the rhythm of the water, when it crashed down onto the metal. I heard sweet symphonies that the world created. I heard the vibrancy, the frequencies so wonderful to listen to. I saw when someone dropped their stuff and it tumbled down onto the floor only to be picked up and saved by an onlooker who did more than just look. Or perhaps even the time when I had been walking by myself, just around the town, and someone had taken the time to compliment something of mine or me myself. And I would smile, thank them, and then would smile, and they would nod and carry on with their day.
It was the little things, the myriads of good that I witnessed that outweighed the bad. Large problems as big as boulders were heavy, but the small piles of good was much heavier. Or maybe, the hood didn't outweigh the bad, but instead balance it out. After all, a pound of bricks is just as heavy as a pound of feathers. Those were all I needed. All I needed was a little bit of light in the middle of a dark room.
"Do you want me to tell you how I did it? Since in a few minutes, none of you will be able to tell anyone," she chuckled darkly.
I didn't speak. All I did was stare at her. Stared at her eyes, the grey, cold eyes. It was then that I saw there really was no emotion behind them. I had imagined seeing a glint in her eyes when she smiled at us. I had tried to see the good, because all I thought was that she was good. Maybe I was blind or oblivious, or even just naïve. But I was going to stay blind, oblivious, and naïve. It didn't have to be this way.
"Oh, sweet, sweet Valerie. I'll never understand what Senpai saw in her. She was in the way, and I think you've figured out just what happens to people who get in my way," she hummed.
"I don't want to know," I mumbled, "it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to do this, Yandere. You too, Celeste, Elijah. This doesn't have to play out this way."
"I don't think you understand, Funneh," Celeste calmly stated, stepping forward towards me, "you don't have an option."
"We can talk this out. No one has to die or kill; it'll be okay. It doesn't have to end like this," I tried to reason.
A muffled noise coming from behind me caught my attention and I glanced over my shoulder only to see Lassy and S.C restraining Draco and Lunar. With their hands over their mouths, Lassy and S.C tried to hold them back as Draco and Lunar kicked frantically.
"Don't hurt them, please!" I begged, turning back around to stare at the three, "this doesn't involve them!"
"Everything involves someone. And it's so irritating to see you people fighting for your lives today only just to die another day. There's no point," Yandere frowns.
"Some days are worth fighting for, even in the end," I tried to reason, holding out my hands to try and ease the tension, "and this is not the end."
I kept hearing Draco and Lunar scuffle around with the Clowns, but I knew if I turned around I would let my guard down. But then another scream scared me and I couldn't resist the temptation to look behind me.
I didn't see it unfold, but I did see Lunar and Draco crawling on the ground on all fours, panting for air. S.C was screaming, his hands placed on his head as he stared over the edge of the mountain. Almost immediately, he dived down and my heart stopped for a split second. It didn't matter what they had done or said, I was still scared for them.
It seemed that Lunar and Draco had managed to weasel their ways out of their grasps, but Lassy had fallen. S.C jumped after his daughter, and the two of the Krew members sprung to their rescue. Draco peeked over the edge and yelled out, "They're dangling on the edge of a rock!"
"Such a disappointment," Yandere sighed, "too bad they didn't fall off completely. After this, I was going to have Elijah and Celeste off them after everyone else was taken care of."
"Business is business," Elijah added quietly, staring at the ground with a small smirk.
I glanced back once again to see that Lunar and Draco were trying to pull them back up, knowing that they too didn't deserve to fall off regardless.
I turn back around to face them but it's too late; Elijah had already taken the obligation to restrain me. He grabbed me and yanked my arms behind my back as I felt the touch of a blade pressing against the back of my neck. I tried to squirm away, but it proved to be useless.
Celeste surrounded Gold and Rainbow, not allowing them to move or run as Yandere circled around the Gang. She was mouthing something quietly, almost as if she were counting which one she would choose first. Lunar and Draco were trying to grab the Clowns and pull them back up, but it proved to be more difficult than intended.
"Let me go!" I screamed, wiggling around to try and free my wrists, "Ow!"
I squirmed around enough to move my elbow forward, and using all my strength, I jolted it back to immediately jab into his gut. He groaned in pain, allowing him to loosen his grip. Taking the opportunity, I pushed myself away and spun back around towards him. I may have believed he was capable of being good, but that sure didn't stop me from defending myself.
I tried to jab him on a nerve located on his temple like I did Yandere, but he caught onto what I tried to do and instead grabbed both of my hands. It was like we were both pushing an invisible box against one another, except I refused to lose. When it felt like I couldn't force him away for much longer, I quickly kicked upwards and slammed my knee right into his gut once again.
He shouted out in pain as he tumbled backwards and I seized the chance to hit the pressure point. Doing this allowed him to knock out, collapsing right onto the floor. From what I had learned in that class was that it was —usually— physically impossible to kill someone by just hitting fatally on their pressure points. Though, some cases proved otherwise. But nonetheless, I didn't plan to kill him. Blunt force trauma to the head could knock anyone out.
I wheezed for air and sighed exhaustedly, staring at the unconscious body of Elijah. No longer were his mismatch-colored eyes open and wide with intimidation. Instead, he was out of it, and I preferred it that way. A unique personality to accompany the unique eyes.
The sudden action of Elijah falling caught Celeste's attention, forcing her to look in my direction. A few split seconds was all they needed, however, for Gold and Rainbow to spring to their feet and book it. They darted away and Celeste realized this, huffing in extreme agitation.
When Yandere noticed her slip up, annoyance and frustration coated her expression. "Idiot! How could you let them run away? You had them right there! Make yourself useful and catch them, you fool! And don't screw it up!" Yandere screamed as a wave of conflicting emotions crossed over Celeste's face.
Rainbow managed to reach the others and quickly, she tried to pull up Lassy and S.C alongside the help of Draco and Lunar. Of course, they were still trying to grab them without them trying to attack them. As for Gold, she also raced over towards them.
All the while, I started to move quickly on my feet again. Yandere groaned in frustration once again and screamed, "Make yourself useful unlike your brother! At least get one of them, for God's sake! Over there, stop them!"
Celeste stood there for a second, just staring as Yandere turned towards me, mumbling, "I'll take care of this one." She just kept watching, her mouth forming an 'O' as numerous contradicting emotions flooded her face. Eventually, she shook her head and balled her fist to grasp the knife tightly in her hand. She started hurrying over towards the rest of the Krew.
"Look out!" I yelled, cupping my hands as Yandere started to dash towards me, "she's going after you guys!"
All of a sudden, Yandere slammed into me and I gasped. As I stumbled backwards trying to balance myself, she raised her hand in the air. Firmly grasping a large and rather sharp knife, she swung down. Out of instinct, I grabbed the dagger from my holster and raised it up. Both of our blades crashed into one another, sliding up and down as each of us pushed all of our force to try and overpower the other.
Of course, sword fighting is much harder without a proper sword. All I had was the dagger, one no bigger than my entire hand from the bottom of my palm to the tips of my fingers. Her blade was larger, one that any chef could use to cut numerous things at once for a dish.
I quickly pushed all of my strength against her and stepped forward, launching both of our weapons out of our hands. They were sent flying, grazing past in the air until both simultaneously crashing into the ground. Their handles sticking up and the blades firmly planted into the grass, we were left with only our bare hands.
She lunges forward and our hands ended up pressing against one another, the both of us trying to overpower the other. We stumbled around, shouting from frustration or exhaustion until we started to move backwards and neared the edge of the mountain; the trail that the Gang had used to get up here.
We drew closer to the mountain side, maybe twelve feet away from the edge. I glanced over at our knives stuck in the ground, and I forced her away to quickly start sprinting to retrieve it. She raced behind me and as I grasped the handle of my dagger, she pushed me. I lost grip of the handle and dropped it, rolling to the right and towards the edge.
Before I could even stand up, she was already standing over me with her knife. Lying on my back, she raised her knife high up once more with such an accomplished grin it seemed so psychotic.
• G O L D •
I was trying to help the others reach the Clowns, all of us desperately reaching down to try and grab them. But they kept trying to attack us and pull us down, which only worsened the circumstances.
But suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder and forcefully yanked me away from the others until spinning me around to face them. It was Celeste.
I screamed and it caught the attention of the others, but I yelled afterwards, "No, help the Clowns! I'll hold out until you save them!"
Reluctantly, they agreed and went back to trying to rescue them. Everyone knew a human chain was incredibly ridiculous and made situations even worse. In fact, they only ever really worked in movies, books, and shows. Everyone knew not to form a human chain, for it would result in more casualties or endangerment of others.
"If she wants me to not be a screw-up, then she should see how I handle you," Celeste angrily mumbled, holding up her knife.
I recalled hearing their slight quarrel and noticed the tension, then quickly came up with an idea to use it to my advantage. "Yandere doesn't appreciate your help?" I managed to ask as I barely hurried backwards to avoid her swings.
"It's none of your concern. Why should you care!It's not your business to know that she pays attention to one mistake I made throughout the entirety of our crime partnership over all of the successful eliminations of enemies! No, it's nothing!" Celeste angrily —and sarcastically— remarked, jutting the knife towards my torso to which I barely dodge.
"It's nothing? Is that what she makes you feel like?" I questioned, trying to swerve the topic to my advantage.
"No!" she screamed, even more violently trying to stab me, "why do you even care!"
"Because you don't have to be like this! Don't you get it? Yandere doesn't appreciate you, she's just using you," I started to say, holding out my hands to try and ease her as I calmed my frantic voice, "Celeste, you heard Funneh. She's right; it doesn't have to be like this. You can change. It'll be okay."
"I-I can't just.... w-what are y-you proposing? That I turn my back on the only ally I've got besides my brother? Madness!" she exclaimed, grasping the handle of her knife tighter.
"Celeste, somewhere inside yourself, you know you don't want to do this," I murmured.
"Ha! Like you'd ever know what I want and don't want to do!" she scoffed.
"You're right, I don't know what goes on in your head. And I can't properly assume what you might want, but I know that you can be better than this. Come on, please," I begged.
She paused for a second, staring at me like she hated every word I said. I didn't think even Brittany or Felicia had given me a look as wrathful as the one she gave me. But there was something in it that said she hated me not because she wanted to hurt me, but because she desperately wanted to not believe it, because she did believe it.
She paused in her actions, still holding the knife but then just standing in front of me. She looked like a weeping angel, like if I looked away for a second, she'd get closer to try and kill me.
"Just put the knife down, and we can all solve this out peacefully. No one has to get hurt," I slowly said, motioning with my hands for her to drop the weapon.
"You're right," she whispered, staring down at the ground before pausing, "but you're wrong on one thing: someone has to get hurt."
"Huh? Celeste, listen to me, no one needs to get hurt. What are you—" she interrupted me by pushing me down to the ground harshly, then marching away.
When I saw where she was walking towards, I gasped and felt my heart stop. I tried to get up as I yelled in advance.
"Celeste!"
• F U N N E H •
"It's nothing personal, Funneh," Yandere smirked, "it's just I'd love nothing more than to push the nosy thorn in my side off of the cliff."
"Yandere, you don't have to—" I started to plead, backing away as she forced me to move closer to the cliff.
"Save it. I don't think you'd want your last words to be, 'you don't have to do this'," Yandere scoffed, "now, goodbye." She smiled widely as she raised her leg to kick me off.
But as she was pushing her foot towards me, I saw someone come running behind her. And before I could warn her or react, Yandere was also pushed down with me. The two of us were sent rolling alongside each other until I felt the ground no longer underneath me.
Both Yandere and I screamed, a scream I didn't think I was even capable of making. It was distress and absolute fear rolled into one, like all of the terror I couldn't convey into words had expressed themselves into a horrific sounding noise instead.
I looked down, my hair pushing against my face and eyes before glancing up as Yandere also tumbled above me. I spotted a ledge, one that stuck out enough to fit at least two people on it. I saw our chance.
I quickly did what all cartoon characters did in the time of need when falling, I swam in the air. I reached out and felt my fingers barely grasp the edge. I yanked myself forward and my stomach slammed right into the hard stone. I groaned but didn't care about the pain. I pulled myself up and quickly turned around, reaching out to grab Yandere.
I heard the screams of everyone fill the air as I grabbed Yandere's wrist. I held her with both of my hands as she dangled, all I heard was their voices.
"Oh, my God!"
"Oh, thank God you guys woke up! Help us!"
"Gold, be careful!"
"Funneh! Are you okay!"
"Please, we have to help them!"
"We're gonna get you up!"
"The Gang woke up!"
"Come on, we have to hurry!"
"I guess you could call this a.... real cliffhanger, huh?" Rainbow nervously laughed, "I'm sorry, I just can't help but try to lighten the mood. We'll save you!"
They couldn't hear us from how far down we had fallen, but we could hear them. I felt my heart racing and the adrenaline pumping in my veins. I stared down at Yandere, and yet she still had a sinister look in her eyes.
"It seems that we're both at the end of our roads," Yandere sighed, "and I suppose my dying wish would be this: have you ever wondered why Alec always got so many phone calls?"
(*cracks knuckles*)
I paused for a second, my eyebrows slightly furrowing and words getting caught in my throat. "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, dear Funneh," she deadpanned, "truth is, your 'friend' has been lying to you. Everything I've ever done? He helped me."
I froze for a second, so much to the point I thought I would accidentally let go of her. "Y-you're.... y-you're l-lying," I mumbled.
"You wish I were, don't you? Then why not ask him about the night when the girl at the Christmas party was killed, about why he lied and said there was no snow mobile in the garage? Or when he was the one that killed Momo to threaten Valerie? Or perhaps when you two were at the concert on Valentine's Day and he had to leave early? Or that time in art, when he left the room to take a call? All of that, all those calls, those were from me. He worked for me. He willingly lied to you and everyone. He willingly went along with everything. He lied about everything to you," Yandere smirked.
"S-stop! Stop it! You're lying," I denied, shaking my head and refusing to believe her.
"You refuse to believe me because you know it's true. Deep down, your gut feeling is telling you that I'm saying the truth. And you don't want to believe it. But it's true. All the confidants come together like a fluent poem. A poem twisted with lies and deceit, with masks and facades. Your 'friend' has always known what's been going on. He stood by and watched as a bystander, a bystander that when the lights went out, became the shadow that lingered around the murderer.
"He was my eyes, my ears, and my hacker. All the evidence crumbled at his digital fingertips. At our disposal was a genius with technology, someone who was voluntarily willing to ruin lives for the sake of a little money. All those people, those grieving families dressed in black as they stared down at their beloved child's grave, they'll never get closure. Their only hopes were destroyed by him. There the four of us stood, also dressed in black, solemn looks on our faces and yet we knew exactly what was happening. We knew these families would never be the same. He knew it.
"But none of it mattered. We all got our share of what we wanted. I wanted everyone out of the way, just so my precious Senpai would finally be mine. Celeste, she was so blinded by my masterminding that she willingly stood by my side and helped me kill. Elijah, he was no different from his sister. He served as our dumper, the gravedigger. He disposed of those whose faces would never be remembered. And Alec, he needed money. He was good at what he did, at hacking. He was the first employee of mine too; it's a real shame that your friend has been working for me the entire time.
"He's a manipulative, secretive, masterminded, selfish, scheming, corrupted shrewd of a criminal who allowed us to continue with what we were doing. He's just as guilty as me. Maybe not as much blood is on his hands as are on mine, but a sinner he is nonetheless. It amazes me to see how such a few saints managed to run with a few sinners. How noble you were, how curious you were, it irked me. But of course, you had everything stopping me. You had the friends, the witnesses, the family, everything. And you just couldn't mind your business. And now, do you still believe everyone is capable of good? Even your beloved friends, the ones who backstabbed you? The ones who betrayed you, who lied to you? The ones who took away your other allies and kept quiet? The ones who buried the bodies, who swore their secrets to their graves, who spilled blood on their hands?" Yandere grinned.
I froze. I locked up. Everything inside me had crashed down like someone had taken a rock and smashed my heart into a million pieces. All my morals, my ideologies, they were tossed down the drain and ripped to shreds. Out poured the imagery, the flashbacks that entered my mind to reconsider every situation knowing what Yandere told me.
And then I heard Gold scream too.
I looked up and watched as the ground below Gold's feet gave in, breaking apart. She screamed a horrific-sounding scream and tumbled down the mountainside. In reflex, I stuck out my left hand and reached for her too. I hefted her towards me and she collided into the stone, but I managed to pull her up beside me. At the moment, it was distracting from the revelations.
(my knuckles: *cliCK CLACK*)
"Gold! Are you okay?" I frantically asked, panting for air as she coughed.
"I could be way better. But come on, we have to help her up!" Gold instructed, reaching for Yandere's right hand as I continued to hold her left hand.
I struggled for a second. My mind was not functioning. I felt like the world had faded, like all the color I saw was gone. I didn't understand how the feeling felt. I didn't want to believe it. Part of me wanted to drop, to just fall off the edge and hit the ground. And then maybe, just maybe, I'd wake up in my bed. The storm never happened, our home was still safe, and everything was okay.
I wanted to let go.
But I wasn't going to.
I grasped on tighter to her wrists, trying as the both of us tried to pull her up. No matter how much I didn't want to believe her, I refused to let her fall. No one deserved that.
And then the ledge started to shake. It started to crack from the middle down, and it was then that little pieces started to crumble off first. But then, it cracked off completely, letting us fall down into the air.
All the saints and all the sinners.
All the angels and the devils.
Except, this "angel" had lost her wings.
• E L I J A H •
Finally.
• E V A N •
This couldn't be happening.
• C E L E S T E •
This was it.
• R A I N B O W •
I couldn't believe it.
• D R A C O •
This wasn't real, it couldn't be.
• L U N A R •
Please, let me wake up from this nightmare....
• A L Y •
No, no, no! Please....
• K Y R A N •
Please, save them! Do something! Anything....
• G O L D •
I'm not ready to die, please.....
• Y A N D E R E •
Sweet, sweet lullabies, sing us to sleep.....
• A L E C •
No..... I'm so sorry.....
• F U N N E H •
This was the end. The edge of a mountain.
Off of an edge.
A cliffhanger.
•∞•
‟wнen yoυr тιмe coмeѕ тo dιe, вe noт lιĸe тнoѕe wнoѕe нearтѕ are ғιlled wιтн ғear oғ deaтн, ѕo тнaт wнen тнeιr тιмe coмeѕ тнey weep and pray ғor a lιттle мore тιмe тo тнeιr lιveѕ over and over agaιn ιn a dιғғerenт way. ѕιng yoυr deaтн ѕong, and dιe lιĸe a нero goιng нoмe."
-тecυмѕeн
|| Thank you for 17.1k reads! ||
|| Word Count: 7354 words ||
|| A/N: No, this is not the end of the book. I can assure you, there's still four chapters left :) ||
|| LUNA is typing...... ||