-Chapter 54: Coma
"Mari!"
I look over as Aruto and the others come to a stop, ending their running. They came for me so quickly. How did they know I was even gone? How did they even find me here? I couldn't have told them my location since I just woke up not too long ago.
I look over to the right of Aruto as a woman stares at me, her face the same as mine. Who in the world is she? Why does she have the same face as me? Do I have the fact of that girl?
"I see that you have awakened, Abyss," Allen spits out and I look at him.
Abyss? That's Abyss? In a dress that is super pretty? Did she steal something from my closet? I swear, she better not be stealing all my precious clothes from me.
So, Abyss has a physical form? But why is it my form? Is she some stand in for me or something when it comes to being a Kamen Rider? I have some many questions that probably won't get answered anytime soon.
"Let her go!" Aruto shouts. "Abyss told us where she hid Mari at and that you got her. Apparently, Mari is wearing a tracker." Tracker? Abyss hacked into what Horobi gave me in order to find me?
"So, you're on their side now, huh? You're just like her aren't you? Always going behind my back and turning on me. You weren't even supposed to take on a form yet. You were going to get that once we got enough data!" Allen shouts, holding me closer to the edge of the bridge and against the rail.
"The programming I was given decided that it was time to take on a form. Since Mari is the Kamen Rider for Halo Horizons, I took on her form as a way to blend in. I lack the typical HumaGear modules due to you buying a black market HumaGear off the black market and having them remove it," Abyss states. "That is why I appear this way and how I was able to get away with moving around." So, she's me in appearance only?
"You're nothing more than a doll just like her." Allen looks at me. "I didn't even tell you take on her appearance."
"I am sorry that it displeases you, but it isn't my problem. Mari is my problem," Abyss responds.
I shake my head, glaring. "You know I am my own person, right? Who told you that you could just take over my life and drain it from me? You're the one who let her go and you should have just stopped there!"
I should have shouted this all at him ages ago. The moment I remembered who I was...yes, that is when I should have shouted all of this. I didn't need Horobi to fight my battle for me, I could have done it myself.
"You should have just kept your mouth shut."
"Hey, watch what you're saying, buddy! I will take you in on violations of the AI laws right now along with anything else you may have done to her," Isamu shouts and I look over as he points a gun towards Allen.
"I would normally stop him in a situation similar to this, but he's right. You have violated laws," Yua says, looking cold. "Let us take Mari and we'll take you in gently. No force."
Allen laughs. "Take me in? No, you're not going to be able to do that. You won't."
"Are you going to off yourself then and take me down to hell with you? Is that what you're wanting to do?" I ask, raising my voice. "You know that I've lost a lot, right? Do you think you can take much else from me?"
I lost Horobi and I was mad at Isamu at first, but I got over it. My unexplained coma gave me enough time to think. It was like my mind wanted me to figure things out and trapped me inside my own mind. And while I was doing that, Abyss was living it up as me for whatever reason.
"Oh, you're upset over that HumaGear that didn't even give a crap for you? All he cared about was his precious Ark and that stupid plan of his to kill humans. He didn't even look at you the way you wanted him to and so what did you do? You marry someone who does show interest in you that isn't me!" Oh, so he's bitter that I can love a robot and then go and marry Gai, huh? That isn't my problem.
"HumaGear? Ark? Horobi?" Isamu sounds really shocked right now and looks it. "Why does everyone keep bringing up this Ark thing?"
"You're telling me that you didn't know about them? It is such a tragic love story, honestly," Allen says, laughing. "Really? A HumaGear and human falling in love? What kind of idiot are you?"
"Hey, she's just living her life!" Aruto shouts. "Who are you to tell her not to fall in love with someone just because they're a HumaGear? Sure, I didn't like Horobi at all, but she's allowed to love someone all she wants. I get he's not my first choice for someone to fall in love with, but things happen for a reason and out of our control. Mari didn't decide that she was going to randomly love Horobi. It probably just sort of happened and we should try and respect it. Even if that the person she loves is a questionable person to love."
"Aruto..." He's defending me? I know he insulted Horobi, but that came off as a defense for me.
"Oh, you're going to defend a criminal? I really thought Gai would turn her over to the military dogs over here once I secretly sent him the documents of her activities." He's the one who told Gai about what I did? "I didn't think he would go out and marry her after taking my company from me." Well, he shouldn't trust someone like Gai Amatsu.
"You're a fool for thinking you could just do what you want with me. I didn't willing do much for MetsubouJinrai. I did what I did to protect Kairi." And myself.
"Married?" Aruto asks.
"He registered it," Allen answers, keeping his eyes on me. "Right, Mari?"
"Yes, that is right. I'm legally his wife." I can't believe that he knows that. How did he figure it out?
"It doesn't matter that he legally married her on paper." He squeezes my wrist even harder and I look at him, still glaring at him. "Mari, you don't give a crap for anyone that truly cares for you. Like Mr. President of Hiden Intelligence over there. He's just sitting on the sidelines because he can't tell you how he feels." How does Aruto feel about what now?
"What are you talking about?" I am so lost right now. What does he mean? "I don't get it."
"He's saying that he likes you," Yua says and I look over at her. "What? Did you seriously think he just wanted to be friends? He wants to be friends with a girl like you? Yeah, sure thing." Hey, she has her gun out! I hope she fires it at Allen and I get away for good.
"Hey! Can't I say how I feel on my own without everyone else doing it for me?" Aruto asks, sounding upset. "Allen, you don't want to hurt the woman you love a lot, right? Just let her go."
"Love? Him?" I roll my eyes. "He doesn't love me at all. He loves his late wife, Elise! I was born with the same face as her and that is why he even bothered marrying me in the first place. I lived in hell my entire marriage with him."
I am not going to hide it anymore. I want everyone to know what he did to me. He's not going to get away with his crimes. Never again. Besides, he put my marriage out there without my permission.
"You keep your mouth shut!" Allen pulls on me, getting in my face. I look into his eyes, shaking my head. "You're going to defy me now that you're not mine anymore? Your husband is using you like toilet paper. He'll just toss you into the toilet and watch you go down once he is done with you." What a sexy way to refer to what he is doing to me.
"I rather be used by him than you. At least he's not treating me like a doll that he can dress up and make it do what he wants! I have my own will!" I am tired of having to live life trying to be someone else that I am not. It is debatable how Gai treats me, but he doesn't need to know about that.
He pushes me against the rail and laughs. "Your own free will? No, you don't have that. You do whatever everyone else wants you to do. Horobi got you to do what he wanted to do, right?" How can he bring up Horobi like that?
I can't scream at all. I have to remain calm or else it will make the situation worse. He always hated when I would cry. It is best to let the situation play out before it gets worse for all of us here to see this.
"Get your hands off of her!"
Allen stumbles away from me, letting me go. I look to my left as Aruto shakes his fist at his side, probably trying to get rid of the feeling he is having there now. That must have felt awful to do, but so good on the inside. I am glad someone finally punched him. I'm just upset now that it wasn't me who got to.
"Are you okay?" Aruto asks me, placing a hand on my arm. "He had you there really close to the edge and I just panicked."
Was he worried that he would toss me over the edge? I don't see why he would be super concerned for me. I get we're friends and all, but he is overly concerned about me.
I nod my head and move closer to him, wrapping my arms around him. "Thanks, Aruto..." There is a lot I want to say right now, but it isn't the time or place. We have to take Allen in.
Aruto wraps his arms around me and rubs my back gently with one of his hands, trying to soothe me. "You're safe now."
"You think you can just go and leave me after all the trouble I went through to have you?" Allen asks and I turn my head a bit, looking over my shoulder at Allen. He moves to the edge, looking over it. He's going to jump.
"Allen, don't you dare think about it!" I shout, pushing Aruto back from me. "You're not going to end your life here and not pay for what you did to me. You have to pay for your crimes and redeem yourself somehow. Do it for Elise." I feel bad for shoving Aruto away, but I don't think we need to be super close together right now.
"I think if you weren't born with her face, maybe I wouldn't be this way right now." He's blaming me for being unlucky enough to look like someone else? What a shocker! Not.
"Stay where you are or I will shoot you right now!" Isamu shouts, ordering Allen.
"You're officially under arrest for violating the AI laws," Yua tells him. "It is over, Allen."
"Me? Under arrest? Over?" Allen laughs, sounding wicked. "I won't be taken in by you people. You can't stop me from following you all for the rest of your lives. Juli, I left my mark on you. You'll understand that you only love me soon enough." He looks over the edge, smirking.
"Allen, I hope you go to hell if you jump!" I was going to be nice if he didn't and he owned up to what he has done, but he's not going to do that. He's a coward. "You're nothing more than a coward if you take the easy way out in this situation. Pay for your sins, please."
"I hope we go down there together one day." He looks back up at me. "Elise is someone you will never be and that is a good thing." How good was she that he really wishes that he can make someone else into her?
"I hope I never become like her." I don't need another personality inside of me. It is bad enough I am about Juli and Mari at once. The human mind is tricky. "Isamu, stop him! Please, make him pay for what he has done!"
Isamu fires and I close my eyes, not wanting to see any bloodshed. I may dislike him, but I don't want to see him die. That's just not me.
~.~
Aruto holds my hand as the HumaGear nurse stands up, no longer kneeling before me. Our fingers are laced together and will be hard to break apart after what we just saw. I just hope Isamu is holding up just fine.
"Everything is fine with Mari," the nurse says, smiling. "Her vitals are stable and her mental health seems to be just as stable right now. If anything changes, please return, Mari."
"Thanks..." I would be mentally shaken up even more, but I feel free now. Allen is no longer holding onto me.
"Thanks," Aruto tells her. "Can I be alone with her for now?"
"I will leave you two alone then." She turns and moves forward, heading to wherever she is needed at.
"Allen ratted me out to Gai and got me stuck in my current situation." I can't even begin with how much I wish to beat that man up. Well, I won't be able to anytime soon.
"It isn't your fault that you ended up like this. You didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Gai was willing to send you to prison by turning you over to A.I.M.S. and let you suffer."
I look down at our hands and nod. "And now that Horobi is gone, I have no way of escaping my marriage once again. I am sorry I didn't tell you about the legal marriage. It happened so fast."
"You might have a chance. We just have to figure it out over time." He squeezes my hand. "It is fine if you need to keep some things to yourself. It is sometimes best not to tell certain things to certain people at a certain time. Do it when you feel like you can." He's not going to push me to tell the truth more often to him?
"He's going to come here for me. Now that he knows that I'm awake and that Abyss isn't me." I don't know what is going to happen now. With Abyss becoming her own thing, things are bound to get complicated.
"Hey, how are you two holding up?"
I look up as Yua stares down at us. "We're doing alright for what we saw. How's Isamu holding up right now? It must be hard for him to have to do that." Especially since Allen wasn't a HumaGear and is human. A corrupt, crazy human.
"Fuwa is doing alright. He's a bit shaken since it didn't go as planned. We didn't know he had his own gun and that he was ready to take his own life. I would say that we're sorry for your lost, but you didn't lose anything." Yua bows her head a bit. "They haven't found his body yet, but we're sure he didn't survive his wound to the head. If we find his body, we may need you to identify him." How did Allen get a gun besides making weapons? It isn't like he can just take one from work, right?
"Thanks..." I'm free of him, but now I have to deal with Gai. The man that I sold my soul to is going to do everything he can to keep me with him now that he probably knocked Horobi out of the way by manipulating Aruto and the others.
"Please make sure to get mental health treatment if needed and Mari...I'm sorry for assuming bad things about you. I know now that you had little control over all your issues." Yua bows again and turns, heading away quickly.
"Did she just apologize to me?" I'm surprised.
"I think she did."
I look at him, smiling. "At least that is one good thing that has happened to me today besides you punching Allen. I just wish I could have done that for all the hell he has caused me." Smiling is the only thing I can really do right now. It doesn't make it all better, but it does cheer me up a bit.
"I'm sorry I didn't force myself to get to know your relationship him better. I knew there was issues, but I didn't want to press you for them. I know I'm the kind who usually does get in there and do that, but I couldn't to you." He shouldn't blame himself. He didn't know how bad it was.
"It is fine. I didn't want you to know about the things that were happening behind the scenes with Allen." I have to be honest now. "I thought you would judge me and see me differently. But now that I'm understanding that I am both personalities, I am evolving." I am both Juli and Mari. I'm changing slowly, but I am becoming who I need to be. Well, I think I am.
"What is your plan?"
I shrug. "I don't know. But you should meet with Gai soon and see if he has anything to say to you. I suspect there is something that he is hiding from me."
And I want to know what it is and when he's free to see me, I'll see him.
A/n: Here is the weekly update to Senseless Abyss (it isn't Sunday yet for me, but we're going to pretend it is). We're explore more about Abyss in the future and all (this is the first half to the story so it'll be within one hundred chapters). The next part of the story will focus on other Zero-one things, so we'll see how things go (I don't know yet, but I do have the ending to the story in mind. Do not ask me what it is because I won't tell you). :)
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy. Also, is this the last time we're going to see Allen? I won't give out spoilers for you all and just want what you all think.
Again, thanks <3
Also, check out Wishful Nightmares (spin-off to Wishful Dreams but with a new MC and it takes place in Zero-One. Also, I'll probably update my Zi-O story soon). Thanks again <3