Chapter Text
Chapter 5:
Lies for temptations salvation
We reached the Grand Canyon with the skies parched with the emanating glow of rosetta entwined with the vines of maroon. The clouds wisped with a violet undertone as it drifted across the skies indicating the sun’s impending return to its slumber in the stars. The air swirled with a vivid sensation of regrets as we watched through crystal windows, our once lively and warm filled home, as it became a cold desolate wasteland. Through the distance we could see the blurs full of hues of green,blue, and the occasional violet. The sound of eccentric music could be faintly heard in the echoes of the valleys and our trailer.
“Chase, you escaped from here once just what is this newfound place you seem to feel confident we will find Kendra” Val began as she started drawing a route.
“City of Ebony, it will seem like nothing on the outside distant view but on the inside it is writhing with horrors” I said taking out my headphones recognizing I was being spoken to.
“Just what kind of horrors?” Britt asked curiously.
“It is not what we in our past would call a city you see from the outside it looks like clunks of Ebonics plates filled with vibrations and lights spewing out in what seems to be random spots” I began “But that's a false image inside lies temptations and trials of various kinds ranging from a giant room of treasure to a room with no end in store as a party rages on”
“I see so then is the goal to not get absorbed in the environment” Kendall added “Sounds easy enough”
“No that in fact is one of the ways to get caught by the city and you risk exposure to its twisted games” I added as Lysander began to wake with a yawn.
“Looks like your fuck buddy is waking up” Brie said with a smirk.
“Morning to you too princess” Lysander said pointing to David laying on her shoulder “Looks like you’re a little late for the ball”
Continuing regardless the argument next to me I stated “The goal is to blend in and stick together and look for a man with golden eyes you can trust him he will take you to a safe zone and lead you to Kendra”
“What does this man look like besides ,just gold eyes, that is nowhere near helpful nowadays” Britt said with a sense of confusion.
“He changes his appearance much like a chameleon ,because the city looks for him with eager like a warrior going to war” I sighed “There is a catch ,however only a two man group can enter, anymore and we risk exposure”
“Well then who are gonna be the faithful two?” Val asked looking up.
“I’ll go” Britt stated rising up and stretching “and Brie will follow me in it is only sensible that we go in considering we are able to resist such influence pretty easily”
Brie looked at Britt confused “The fuck? You know I’m sinful as hell”
“Exactly it is only logical those who have a lot of negative influence go into a place only filled with a lot of negative influence” Britt explained.
“I’m sorry buttercup but your rainbows and sunshine atmosphere does not make me believe that any of us are less sinful” Brie said looking at Lysander “This gay motherfucker over here might be better than me”
“You are going with Britt” Val jolted in “There’s no more questions about it not an if, but,or, and why”
“Bitch better be ready then” Brie said pulling her chainsaw between her legs and blowing a bubble in some gum she was chewing “I don't want old ladies slowing me down”
“Well now that we have our two tributes it’s best you both prepare for a journey ,because from what Chase said this will not be easy” Val interrupted.
“Stopping” Hope knocked the glass of the truck letting us know in the trailer that we were close “Get ready for whatever your plan is”
“Get ready baby mama” Brie laughed looking at Britt “We about to go sin more times than our days could allow”
Hope stopped the truck with a slow ease that seemed to glide the tires across the dirt below us as it braced for its voyagers to depart onto a new path. With the sound of rocks and pebbles slowly grinding and eventually ceasing to a still stop and opening of the trailer's doors. The sky was now so illuminated that it looked like the once existing Las Vegas before the world fell apart. Air coursed with the soothing energy of a pulse from a vibrant party below us.
Lysander and I exited first and we went to look just how far the city went and to our discovery it seemed to spread to the horizon. Its appearance was that of complete ebony making pillars,poles, and twisting paths. The city in the canyon seemed to continue its eternal party just as it once did for me. Hues of blue and green seemed to wisp into the air in forms most comparable to mist.
“What a joy to be home” I glared at the city “A pathetic excuse of a life was wasted here”
Soon the others exited the trailer and they seemed to feel relieved even though a great enemy stared at us just below our feet. They stretched and relaxed as if they had just been in a box for a few months in the same constricting position. Last to leave were Britt and Brie as they exited with a sense of revolutionary change and looked ready for the new dangers ahead.
Britt wore what could best be described as wearing an armor set from a fantasy game ,but with less ass more sass. Her armor shined with a brilliant silver as the moonlight gleamed on it reflecting its own light and curving to all the metal. She fit the armor like a spartan ready for battle as her walk prepared her. Her armor texture was much like that of spiney and rickety pieces but it made the formation that seemed to make the impression of it curving instead. Cloth pieces of her once powerful mentor draped over her right leg with the belts full of anti-matter grenades draping her left leg. Her armor exposed her chest enough to show she wore the necklace of crystal she had received as a gift from her mentor as well. She wore a cape that seemed to cover her arm armor and behind her split into two separate fabrics of silver and blue. Her hair unevenly cut like layers draped over her right shoulder with layers going unevenly to her shoulder, her left side reached down to her chin. Behind her the hair seemed to reach down to her lower back in an uneven texture with strands conflicting each other in a polishing manner that made her hair flow. Her eyes glimmered with a newfound blue shine as she carried forward.
Brie walked with a seductive curve as her carefree attitude promoted her self loathing to drown in sins. The right of her hair glowed with a golden blonde that went halfway down her stomach and twirled with the light reflecting her hair like a lantern. Her left side contained small rows of braids that reached to her collarbone and the rest was black and cut short enough to look like small grasses sprouted from her scalp. She wore armor similar to Britt’s but covered with with vanity and bloodstains. She wore a skirt that split apart covering her legs with two separate fabrics of red and black. Unlike Britt she wore her breast low enough to prop her breast in a manner that would seem to be aimed into making lustful men fall for her fatal attraction.
“Remember blend in” I told Britt and Brie before they jumped off the canyon into the city.
“We got it gaylord” Brie said grabbing Britt’s arm and running off the cliffside into the city below.
Upon landing in the city with the silence of anti-gravity bombs breaking their fall. They looked up to see they were not in what seemed to be a city but rather a club with music filling the air itself with vibrations. Music echoed almost loud enough to make their bodies shake from its volume as people in the area seemed to ignore them.
“We need to blend in” Brie said “Well fuck it”
“What does that mean?” Britt asked confused to see Brie start unzipping her armor and it’s plates begin to vanish.
“It means I’m gonna let loose into a zone of my own paradise” Brie laughed as she began her new appeal.
Brie ripped off her armor to reveal a slender outfit skintight that seemed to stretch to her motions. Her boots shined with the leathers of stilettos and heels that made her at least four inches taller. Her stomach was completely exposed ,and showed her latest tattoo of a pair of guns and a skull, with the straps seeming to wrap around her. She wore a thong that was covered with a thin skirt that practically just seemed to tease her toward the others. Her loose bra now was the only thing that covered her breast and seemed to lace to her neck choker. She wore leather gloves that seemed to go up to her elbows and was complemented with a silky scarf with the colors of red and black decorated in spots.
“What the hell, Brie if that wasn’t obvious enough that you didn’t belong here now they will definitely know that they don’t know you” Britt tried to scream over the music.
“I’m sorry I can’t hear old” Brie began walking onto a stage and began dancing “I’m merely just blending in you should try it sometime”
“Well I’ll go change like a proper self respecting woman would” Britt headed toward the bathroom seeming to pass the crowd of people like a cleared path with the occasional obstacle.
Upon entering the bathroom she could smell the air tainted with drugs and sweat. It’s dampness reflected on the mirrors and seemed to be all clear as she walked over to a mirror. She began with vanishing her armor all but her cape which stayed and formed itself into a shawl that seemed to sparkle. This dress filled Britt with the elegance of a party host. It split apart at her legs on the sides and was attached only as high as her breast which her arms were covered by her cape and seemed to blend together like a ball gown. She applied eyeliner and her navy blue lipstick that matched the undertones of her dress. Satisfied with the much blended appeal she left the bathroom that seemed to stink of a dank faintness of dread.
Upon leaving Britt recognized Brie on a pole seeming to hold a title of a stripper for all eyes to admire and men to fall to their knees to. Rightfully she gained that audience and began receiving encouragement from both men and women. Her hair twirled with grace as she spun and licked her lips with a mockingly direct aim to Britt. Her outfit glimmered as the lights bounced around the room to add to the eccentric action and distraction. With the crowd entertained Britt went to a bar and sat to listen to the crowd and watch for unknown people that seemed suspicious. Music began reaching Brie to which she eventually began a dance with a group of other women in sexual attire and synced with their routine that seemed to almost be professional.
“A dull sight is it not?” A woman leaned next to Britt.
This woman wore a white dress that seemed to slender on her figure and graced itself as loose fabrics drifted in the air. Her arms were covered in glitter and sparkles of crystals that seemed to glue themselves to her skin. Designs of the crystals ranged from as elegant as water waves to simple air waves of wind making her appearance seem almost alienating to the room. Her hair reached to her knees with the color of bright pearls as the lights of the room flashed in sync with how she moved. Her face with a smile that was all too familiar with a crack on her right cheek. Her eyes the color of amber and lips with the color of silver antique and almost seeming to be as white as her dress with a flares of blue streaking across them.
“Kendra?!” Britt said with a quick jolt “How did you”
“Oh, honey I am always here the question really is where have you been?” Kendra interrupted “At least I would like to ask that but I feel a little unpleasant in this room would you mind joining me in the company of a private room it's much easier to hear and talk”
“Oh, Well I guess so as long as it suits you” Britt complied standing up and looking at Brie.
“Excellent, let’s go” Kendra added as she signalled two of her bodyguards to back up and lead a path for her to walk through “After you”
“Too kind, But I must ask can we return here to pick up my friend later?” Britt asked glancing back at Brie now vanishing out of sight.
“Of course, the best part hasn’t even happened yet” Kendra clapped her hands smiling.
Through the crowd they made their way with the path of two bodyguards guiding them like ships cutting the ocean waters and making a trail behind them. Britt and Kendra ascended a flight of stairs with the appearance of crystal design and it seemed to curve to the waves of an ocean. Upon arriving to a door covered with an elegant white exterior the bodyguards took post and Kendra lead Britt into the silent room with a lounge filled with couches and a fish tank that seemed to circle the room creating a faint glow of LED lights and carried a much calmer atmosphere around it. As the door closed behind Kendra the sound from outside cut off and seemed to relieve Britt’s ears of the stinging music that blared for as long as it did.
“So you’ve been busy?” Kendra began while heading into a section of the room filled with dresses and makeup.
“Yeah we were trying to find you in fact, I believe you remember Chase right?” Britt asked looking at the fish.
“Like I could forget him he was my partner when this place began to change into the hellhole of a paradise and definitely someone to trust by my account” Kendra said in the distance.
“Well he needs you to help him once again, apparently you would be helpful in getting us to the artifacts we need” Britt stated.
“Just why would he want me to help with something like that?” Kendra said in a more serious tone “He should know what happened the last time we did that”
“A new planet exist ,a paradise, it’s called Eden and we need the help of someone with golden eyes to help us figure out just what it is that our next artifact is to help us migrate to that planet” Britt informed Kendra progressively making her way around the room.
“Why should I care what he wants with this new planet, I mean he is reliable but what am I going to get for risking my cover” Kendra said changing her attire to something with the sense of a gothic rockstar “I hope you realize that even I have my limits to avoid being found by this city and that includes performing to that crowd”
“Wait so that means?” Britt asked concerned.
“It means unless you want to risk an encounter with Origin and come to a swift end you better change your dress and put something together after the performance I’ll take you to the man you speak of” Kendra said as she fixed her hair “But why should I, at least tell me that and I will decide on whether or not to help you”
“It’s a pure world a real paradise a reason to hope that we can escape this bleak world ,and rebuild our society” Britt added beginning to tear her dress realizing that Kendra was almost ready.
“Well that is what I was told about this place as well” Kendra almost opened the door to Britt slamming it shut.
“The Gates are back” Britt said with a glare.
“So it seems, if you promise me that you have Allen on your side I’ll believe you” Kendra looked back coldly.
“Who is Allen?” Britt asked with confusion.
“He is the one who comes here to torture us for fun trust me we will see him tonight, but he is a valuable asset to get the golden-eyed one” Kendra pointed to the door “He always comes when the golden-eyed boss comes, like a harbinger of his imminent capture”
“I will get him on our side then” Britt said with determination “We just need to win this fight”
“Easier said than done but do it and I will join you and help you with the Origin” Kendra said opening the door back into the crowd as a stage formed on the platform where the stairs once lead to her room.
“Let’s hope this works like you said Chase” Britt sighed and followed after.
“Goodnight ladies and gentlemen tonight we hold a special tradition” Kendra held her arms out “Tonight we have guest singer Britt Lustheart”
Britt picked up a guitar and swung it over her shoulder “I’ll show you what a rock show was like when flames burned the skies”
“Let’s rot away like corpses my fellow dead men” Kendra gave the microphone to Britt and whispered “Let’s do my favorite it’s been a while after all”
Britt approached the center of the stage with the spotlight on her and strung her guitar. The strums echoed in the room with an awe inspired audience that showed Brie below unimpressed and Britt began picking up the pace progressively.
She leaned into the microphone and softly sang
“ Walking away with all the pain
Seeking distant destinies from within’
And after all I've seen
And everything in between
My heart's the one to tame
My heart's to blame “
Kendra could be heard in the background
“ My heart’s the one to tame”
Lights in the room began light throughout the crowd as the drum line entered with a pervasive entry that shocked the audience with its crash. Britt strummed her guitar faster with the air around her letting her forget the complexity of the situation almost as if this were her home. Back when she would perform and began living her life she could feel her old admiration of her talent reach her again.
“So where have we all disappeared
It's time to say goodbye, we’re on our own
And this is where we become the reapers”
Britt’s voice picking up she could feel the sensation from the crowd as the music filled her body. The sensation twisting she whipped her hair and jumped in the air feeling the silence of that split moment carry her along. Slamming back onto the stage she whipped her hair back up and lifted the microphone to her mouth and filled her lyrics with rage as she began again.
“So turning back is Fate calling us to a toast
It drives us toward the future of our days
I guess there's one thing left to say
With distant whispers we come here one last day
It's time to say goodbye, we're on our own”
Kendra walking up to Britt came back to back with her as they played their guitars sounding the room with the sensation of drifting energy seeming to fill the crowd and lights with excitement. Beginning again they sang with almost rage and a devil-may-care attitude as Britt ripped her dress to reveal a gothic dress that ignited itself on fire and burst with the music adding to the screams of the people below.
“I ran away from my mistakes
Death’s shadow casted so firm
The regret of an eternity of reaping for an endless chain
Learning what it all brings me to be
My heart's the one to tame
My heart's to blame”
The air around Britt screamed with the music as she begin to forget why she had come and felt herself losing grip of her sensations almost like a rush of drugs had pulsed into her bloodstream. The old talent had returned to her and she once again was able to feel her love of being on the stage and performing in the band. Kendra promoted her with a dance that seemed to mock the crowd below in an almost synchronized effort. They felt the music echo through their ears even their very own music reached them like puppets with music as its controller they could feel their rushes of energy consume them.
“Holy Fuck, That old bitch can SING, where the hell did this shit come from” Brie shouted from the crowd as she danced below with a man she had the liberty of blinding earlier.
Drums and guitars filled the air loud enough to cause their vibrations to be visible as it shook the building and filled the crowd with glee. Leaning her head back and touching the ground with her hair Britt rivaled her voice with that of a battle roar and sprung back up twirling the guitar into a jump. Upon landing the roof above her opened up and fireworks burst from the stage almost perfectly in sync with Britt’s voice.
“So we all go from here
It's time to say goodbye, we're on our own
And this is where we became the reapers
Reaping lives for all of those at the end of days
It drives us toward the future of our days
I guess there's one thing left to say
With distant whispers we come here one last day
It's time to say goodbye, we're on our...”
Britt held her breath a little as she tilted back with an almost climatic silence. The crowd in the silence could almost hear a synchronized breath. With a stomp to the ground Britt’s body emitted tattoo’s that glowed with the brilliance of violet and maroon almost like a beacon.
“Goodbye, we're on our own!”
In the back Kendra began almost echoing Britt’s words as the rhythm pulsed from the room into the skies above. Britt leaned forward as the drums and guitars eased into an almost near silence as Kendra’s voice was all that remained.
It drives us toward the future of our days
I guess there's one thing left to say
With distant whispers we come here one last day
It's time to say goodbye
we're on our own
An almost deafening blast of drum clashes and guitars clashing all at once with the combination of Britt and Kendra’s voices. The floor below rocked as the bass began to burst the floors foundations to what seemed to be almost breaking point. Britt’s face almost displaying her enjoyment spun in as she prepared for her next thrill.
“So where do we all go from here
It's time to say goodbye, we're on our own
And this is where we reappear
So turning back is what I hate the most
It doesn't matter anyway
I guess there's nothing left to say
So where do we all go from here
It's time to say goodbye, you're on your own.”
With Britt’s voice now echoing like a beacon to all those who had open ears almost alluring the crowd into jumping and clashing as she yelled her lyrics with an almost sound ear shattering accurate tone making the air itself turn solid.
(My heart's to blame)
You're on your own.
(My heart's to blame)
You're on your own.
As the music began to die out the crowd’s cheer took over as they cheered with glee and jumped with excitement. Her tattoo’s began to disappear as the fireworks above died out with her last ring of her last word. She closed her eyes to rediscover she had never felt this kind of rush in over five years and that secretly she had wished she could do it again. Upon opening her eyes Britt was greeted with her hand being risen above her head to the crowd as Kendra stood next to her smiling.
“Miss that rush?” Kendra laughed huffing air “Don’t worry keep your promise and we can do this once again like old times”
“Yeah you can bet” Britt looked at Kendra with a smile in return “I promise”
A clap quieted the crowd almost in a sarcastic manner the man next to Brie shook his head. His hair white as snow and dressed with a suit and tie he stepped forward to the stage. Britt and Kendra turned their attention to him as the crowd backed away and began to be the most silent it had been all day.
“What a nice performance, too bad I have to be an asshole and just” the man lifted his hair and on his face a tattoo of a diamond on his left cheek emitted purple “Ruin the fun”
“Allen!” Kendra stood in front of Britt “What do you want? This is sacred ground we have a deal”
“That may be true” Allen lifted a gun from his coat to Kendra and numerous more surrounded her and Britt “But what can that man do for you if he can’t even show his face”
“Dammit, you bastard do you have any sense of duty” Kendra said covering Britt with her body.
“Oh but if you live it’s all okay so I’ll just play a while” Allen slowly pulled the trigger.
With a golden flash a man with black hair and a golden attire almost perfectly matching what I once wore appeared and kicked Allen in the face. Allen’s guns around Britt and Kendra dropped as the new stranger slammed Allen’s face into the ground. The crowd had begun exiting the building recognizing this was no longer a safe location. Golden glares emanated from the stranger's eyes as he met Allen straightforward and in terms of punches and kicks they seemed to match each other perfectly until a flash of golden energy transformed all Allen’s guns toward him and pinned him to a wall. Each gun at skin point with a blast radius of point blank should they fire.
“Oh, come on bro can’t you just chill even just a little” Allen said with a chuckle.
“You know your treaty was broken by you just stepping in this place again you’re lucky I don’t pull the trigger right now” the stranger said.
“Um, sir, who the hell are you?” Brie said as her armor began to form once more and she put a lollipop in her mouth with the raging sounds of her chainsaw blades dropping to the ground and levitating into the air “It seems we need to go over a little thing’s huh”
The stranger looking at Brie and Britt sighed “I know who sent you ,but that needs to wait we are attracting the attention of Origin” he seemed to flash the room gold once more.
Once the flash had died down the newfound place was a dimly lit room with the echoes of water dripping in the background. We all stood in our positions as we once did in the club but this time Kendra and Britt put on their armor. The three of them stared at the stranger for some time until they were certain this wasn’t an illusion.
“Why don’t we all just cool down” Allen began “After all if it's him you know he has made his part of our deal already ready”
“Kendra, dial Lysander” the stranger said “ask for the password”
Kendra did as was requested taking out her earpiece and putting it in a speaker mode contacting Lysander. In the shock that they mentioned a name Britt, and Britt were certain they would not know yet they stood in silence.
“Lysander, the password” Kendra said coldly “Rize wants to know it’s true”
A buzz came from the earpiece and then was accompanied with a cold, dry voice stating “The Gates are dancing”
Recognizing the situation Brie and Britt looked at each other with unease ,because they were sure that Lysander had not even been anywhere near them in that song. Rize let Allen fall to the ground and looked at Kendra with a look of acceptance.
“This way guardians, we have a lot to explain” Rize began walking out the room.
The door creaked as he left and turned out of sight with a light that seemed to surround him. Britt and Brie unsure of how they should react otherwise choose not to ask questions and follow silently feeling a change in the air as it became more cold. water ran next to their feet like a river with the laziness of a lake as they began down a long hallway. Kendra and Allen begin walking behind Brie and Britt.
Their footsteps being the only thing heard as it echoed against the walls of this now chambering hall that fit most like a jail cell. Drops of water rippled into the river next to them like a hazy bog of rain drops. Soon however the air began to smell strongly of blood like it had been painted around the room. On top of that flesh seemed to mix with that smell as blood began smearing on the walls around them as if appearing like it was transforming into a butcher's house. Stilling silence made the tension grow as corpses with their flesh seemingly eaten off. Now it sat against the walls like dummies as flies and rodents flurried in the hollow stomachs of the now dead people.
A crunching echo soon began to echo into the depths of the chambers like someone were to be enjoying a meal full of soup with bones. As their lights reached chamber doors screams of women began violently shattering the air with the light entering their rooms. Through glimpses they could see women with bodies mutilated like toys in a toy farm. All alive, some with their uterus expanding from their small bodies as a large amount of worms swirled in them like vipers. Other well alive as their body was filled with their own ripped out bones and jabbed in like a pin doll as their gut’s dripped to the floor and blood filled all these chambers like a wallpaper.
They walked behind Rize as he headed into a room with a familiar tone with it as the door sat wide open. As Britt walked in her stomach swirled and she felt her blood rush from her body into her stomach. She turned to puke into the water right next to their feet as Rize, Kendra, and Allen nodded appropriately and made a knock on the door showing their arrival. Brie unable to help looking inside saw a woman hanging with all fours tied in chains with her entire frontal body missing from her jaw to her crotch.
“Well isn’t this a little surprise” A familiar voice hummed “The feast of a many lifetimes and you have to witness it I would call that a sin but where are those going right?” the man stepped into the light that was flickering for the woman's body.
Lysander held a baby’s arm in his hand and threw it into his mouth as if it was a snack. Not even phasing his pupils changed from before when he was with me this time they were dilated and his eyes shifted into a purple aura. A sickening grin across his face with blood dripping covering his body like a decoration but mostly centered around his mouth.
“You’re a sick fuck” Brie said pointing at the woman's body “The hell is up with this bullshit?”
“Oh?” Lysander asked with a sarcastic glare “hehehehe, well if you couldn’t guess already but this isn’t the first time you have seen this oh trust me” he said with a husky sound.
Britt’s eyes widened as she felt the memories of all the once happy children and she began screaming. In her head began the screams of children compiling on top of each other she began laying on her side gripping her head. With shock Brie ran over to Britt to see her befallen ally on the floor with tears of blood dripping out of her eyes and twitching in her body.
“I-I-It’s them” Britt murmured.
“What? what’s them?” Brie said shaking Britt “snap out of it dammit”
“It’s the Gates” Britt whispered as she began to clutch her head again.
“Oh it seems you don’t know” Lysander leaned next to Brie “You’re the thing you hated so much, the ones who killed your family and your friends like sheep” with a laugh Lysander backed into the chamber “You’re a Gate, Brie”
“What the hell did you say you homo-sadistic bastard” Brie said pulling her knife from her belt and holding it to Lysander’s throat.
“Their deaths still haunt you I see” Lysander chuckled “It was you who killed them after all, you just refuse to believe it or rather you block it out”
“I should kill you right now you cannibalistic fucker” Brie said slightly drawing her blade into Lysander’s neck causing blood to drip.
“Oh, but then” Lysander glared “Who would be the one to prevent us from tormenting her over there not like you would understand just how fucked up she has become”
“And what would stop me from killing all of you and leaving with her” Brie insisted “If I am such a Gate then what would stop me”
“Brie-” a voice echoed the room “Brie is that you?”
“W-Winona” Brie gasped as she turned to see a figure standing next to the door covered in bandages as if recovering.
“We have a lot to talk about Brie” Lysander said grinning “If not me to tell you I’ll let her”