Creeping Distress in progress

One by one the Heartless around her fell, slashed up by the burning light that came from her weapon. Some had managed to cut through to her, leaving her with cuts and bruises, but the young woman didn't stop. She continued to slash the light weapon again and again. She needed to vent, let all her anger out on these mindless beings. Even after they were all gone, she continued to lash out, instead taking it out on the worn buildings around this town.

Cheryl Mason was not having a good day. On top of the messed up stuff that happened in Fairport and her ship left behind on that world, she had found out how Valtiel wanted to go about birthing God again and ran away from Isaac the minute she did. And then before she got her new ship, she thought she could get help from someone she thought she could trust, only for him to turn out to be a jackass in the end. Nothing was going right for her...

Soon, she stopped destroying the buildings even more than they already were. She panted deeply, exertion taking over her. Pressing the button on the hilt of her beam saber, her new weapon that was made for her by K1-R4, the light blade was switched off. She was still angered, still wanted to vent...but she had destroyed enough. More than she ever could before.

The Holy Mother fell back against a barely intact house. She was convinced that there was no hope for her, that she was alone in these worlds. It wasn't just Isaac; she couldn't be with [i]anyone[/i] without the risk of bringing about the apocolypse. She didn't know what to do anymore; people kept saying to do what she felt was right, but she didn't know what right was for her anymore. Anyone she thought was a friend turned out to be completely unreliable. She had still yet to see the one friend she had left, but what were the chances that she wouldn't be of real help either, that she would just completely blow her off?

She had no one to turn to. She was lost and confused, but there was no one to help set her straight. Alone and frightened...

[i]"Birth Her......go baaaaack.......birth Her agaaaaaiiin....."[/i]

There was no holding back for her. With no one around to see how pathetic she was, she finally allowed herself to crack. Cheryl hugged her legs, buried her face into her knees, and started to bawl her eyes out. A grown woman, and yet here she was, crying like a child. Weak...pathetic...worthless...

She just wished that she had died in the fire before any of this could happen.

~*~

Unfortunately for her, there was a witness to her moment of weakness. And it was not someone who promised any good.

He remembered her from the one time his former vessel met her years back. She had changed a lot, but he knew who she was. Heather Mason...no, Cheryl now. Reincarnation of the previous Holy Mother. And also best friend to his number one enemy.

He knew she had been warned about him. He knew making a good impression wouldn't last on her; she would probably see right through him. But he doubted she would call on anyone for help against him, much less...okay, he really ought to stop bringing that boy into this, lest he will show up and screw things up for him.

Anyway, he will not step out from the shadows in which he hid yet. Even in the poor girl's moment of pity, he knew that others would soon appear. Interferences were like flies to honey; more would show up and start to band together. He had to be careful for his approach, else he would end up escaping with scars like he always had. But even then, this girl...this poor, pitiful, unstable little girl, brought to this universe by unnatural means...

Ignis Fatuus had the perfect target to practice his new powers on.

====

(A note. This is after the later mini-fanfic "Shadow of the Bat.")

A lone Soldier Heartless roamed through a house, with the two women outside of it. It could see them, see the hearts ripe for the taking. Suddenly, it couldn't restrain itself any longer, jumping over the threshold of the window...

...the bullet took it straight through the helmet. Backflipping, it dissipated into darkness. The sound was in all likelihood inaudible from this distance aside from the dissipation, but the deed was done.

A suppressed UNSC Automag was lowered carefully as the Heartless was gone. After fighting so long here to make sure her training had stuck, which she was moderately certain it more or less had, things were... quieter than usual. She knew she should go to help the woman, an ally if her VISR meant anything to her in this darkness on her brief check, but she wasn't sure if it was safe.

A Shadow Heartless jumped at her from behind. She could hear it coming, lowered her gun to the holster simultaneously, and grabbed it by the neck behind her back on a guess of trajectory. Throwing it down, she stomped hard on its neck, again to finish it off. The last one, one more Soldier, fell to a stab through the head as she spun to take it out behind her as well.

...Okay, best to be out in the open where she could get some backup. Carefully, she vaulted the window she was watching through, sheathing the combat knife once more, and walked over, her vision clear and her stance showing that while she meant no harm, she was ready for any combat to come. Two months straight of pure training with Bruce "Batman" Wayne would do that to a woman. She heard the words of the admittedly scantily clad of them, and sighed, depolarizing her visor to show her face, even if she had to sacrifice her HUD to do so.

"Is there anything we can do to help? What's your name? Both of you." She was unwilling to say much at the moment, admittedly. But with experience came paranoia. Even if they weren't there to hurt her, someone else could be around.

She couldn't have known that said person would possibly know of her from his compatriots, however.

====

At first, Cheryl didn't look up to the tan, scantily clad woman before her. However, she did stop in her sniffles and weeping the minute she heard her voice and felt the hand on her shoulder. Right when she thought she was truly alone...someone just had to catch her with her emotional shields down. This was really embarrassing for her now.

The Holy Mother then looked up at the woman through her teared up and slightly bloodshot eyes. Despite how beautiful she thought she was, she was still in an emotional state, so she glared at her. She had been about to yell that she was fine, for her to leave her alone so she could continue to wallow in her own pity..

Just before she could, she heard a small 'pwip', which made her start a bit. She was quick to keep her composure, or whatever was left of it, and thought to make nothing of it. But then she saw a woman in armor vault over the window from the house across from them and make her way over. Cheryl just glared at her as well, wiping away her tears as she did.

"...Cheryl," she answered the soldier woman, before scooting away from them. "And I don't need any help. Just leave me alone."

====

Azumi nodded slowly to this "Cheryl," and was about to state her surname and rank, as she had a few times previously, when she got the response from this "Urd" person.

...okay, so a goddess. And one part of a...sorry, a [i]bureaucracy[/i] for all she knew. Whatever. She'd seen outright [i]magic[/i] and day turning to night and back again in seconds. Again, she was going to file this under not her problem as she responded, her answer nonchalant, but with a hint of malice toward Urd's assessment.

"I haven't gone shopping for food since I was sixteen. And no, I didn't wear this when I had [i]military[/i] rations. I've got to be careful, even though I [i]do[/i] want to help. Corporal Ian, United Nations Space Command Marine Corps, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers."

Letting her expression go soft, the soldier crouched before Cheryl. The venom faded out of her speech completely. "Look, I just want to help. I can tell something's wrong. Just tell us, and we can try to help you." She saw the scrapes on her, likely from the Heartless around here. "Getting yourself hurt like this isn't going to help anyone, you know."

====

Cheryl only continued to frown at the two women in her presence. It really took all kinds, didn't it? A goddess and a marine...the latter wasn't so surprising, given her appearance, and despite her views on gods and whatnot, the former would explain the divine looks that even she could admit to. With the way they were acting towards each other, Cheryl almost thought to make a break for it, let them argue while she left for somewhere to be alone.

Considering how worn out she still was, that wasn't possible. Instead, as the woman called Azumi crouched before her, she only gave one last scowl, before finally relenting with a deep sigh. They really wouldn't be going anywhere if she continued to act like this. However, the young woman wasn't about to explain her problem to two complete...well, not all complete strangers now. But the point still stood.

"How the hell can you help me?" Cheryl asked, almost snapping at the corporal. She kept it in as best she could, despite her condition. "If I tell you what my problem is, you're just gonna tell me 'follow your heart', or some other cliche bull that everyone else says. How am I supposed to do something like that when I don't even know what my heart is saying?"

====

Azumi just stared blankly. She didn't know what the problem was just yet, but she was [i]not[/i] that kind of person. She let Urd respond before she did. "Yeah, you can tell us. Believe me, I'm not that kind of type. Realism is really the only way we can go if we need to help you out."

She rolled her eyes when the goddess flipped her hair. Was that [i]really[/i] necessary? "Yeah, you tell us now, or we keep at it until you do tell us. Not gonna torture you to get the information," she said that rather nonchalantly, evidently having done so before, "but once you tell us, we can at least give it a shot. All right? I'm asking you to go on good faith here. I know I'm the last person to do that for [i]anyone[/i], but still. You have to let someone help before you hurt yourself even more."

She shrugged then. "Or you can try to run and fight. And when we find you fighting a mass of Heartless and pass out or we knock you out, we'll bring you back for a more forcible pep talk. It's really up to you how this goes down. Don't want to hurt you, but maybe we'll need to in order to help you."

====

Cheryl did give Urd a look to what she said at first, but left it at that. They at least knew that saying things like that wasn't going to help. Again, she let out a sigh. They were right; there really wasn't any way to know what they would say unless she told them. She might not have known these two until today, but maybe they would be a bit more helpful than the Absol was. It was probably better to ask other women for advice in a situation like this, anyway

Besides, she really didn't want to deal with an interrogation if she kept refusing. Might as well spill it now.

"Okay, you wanna know what my problem is?" the Holy Mother asked rhetorically, then went on to explain, "Part of it is guy problems, and another part is me. There's this guy I've been traveling with, Isaac Zivaku. You've probably heard of him or met him, but whatever. He's helped me out before; I don't see him in years, and then we meet up a while after I start going back out."

Since that was a long story in itself, she cut to the chase, "Before you say anything, I have no idea how I feel for him right now. But...he told me he had feelings for me, ever since we met three, almost four years ago." Another sigh, and her gaze went to the ground. "I don't know the first thing about relationships like that...but I thought of giving it a shot with him, just to figure out how I felt about him. But...I ran away from him after..."

Cheryl trailed off then, before bringing a hand to rub her sore temples. "Ugh...I don't know if I should say why I did that. It's way too complicated to explain."

====

If she were a crueler person, Azumi would have smirked at Urd from her success in making Cheryl talk. Thankfully, she was not, patiently listening to her explain the situation.

So...guy trouble. Okay, that wasn't unreasonable. And with Greg's younger brother? Hm...interesting. She was about to ask her to explain the rest....when Urd jumped on the statement.

Kilo Two palmed her facemask in exasperation. Subtle. Cheryl had just said she did [i]not[/i] know how she felt, and the corporal was pretty sure she did not want to go through what more or less amounted to mutual date rape.

A few seconds after Urd finished, she added her own two cents. "... Now, if you're in favor of ignoring that all completely at the moment, I can try my hand at helping you out in a slower way. But first, please tell us the rest of the problem. Can't get an accurate view if we don't all know the story. Believe me, I know about being chicken about that kind of stuff. But I can tell this is different from my issues with fraternization."

====

Cheryl just...stared blankly at Urd. She just jumped right onto the subject, even after she said she had no idea how she felt. If it weren't for the fact that she was too appalled by what she was saying, she would have told her off about trying to help with any romance, if there even was any.

Instead, she held it back, in favor of ignoring it all like Azumi said. The Holy Mother looked to the soldier as she spoke. At least she was being a lot more sensible about the whole thing. It was probably best to avoid another misunderstanding, so she might as well explain the whole problem as best she could. Cheryl gave another deep sigh, pondering how to go about it for a moment.

"Here's the thing..." She paused for a bit to find the right word, then started to explain finally, "There's this...thing...in my head, or heart, or whatever place in me. Let's just call him a reverse guardian angel. He watches over me, looks over my best interests, makes sure I don't die, and all that stuff. Except...it's not for my well-being. Hell, I don't even think he cares about my well-being at all. He's just using me to..." Another pause to think about how to put the next part. It didn't take long, as she decided to just spill it.

"I'll just say it: He wants me to birth an abomination that might destroy the universe."

She let the silence roll in to let that statement sink in for a moment.

====

Azumi's expression was completely blank as Cheryl explained her problem. Toward the end, there was a hint of horror, but not much else. Still, that terror was enough to show that she was hiding something. A mother of an apocalypse? Great... Either this was extreme schizophrenia (something she doubted, but was a distinct possibility) or a far greater issue. She was about to speak when Urd promptly threatened her.

The [i]nerve[/i]! She was too little clothing to be taken seriously about [i]any[/i] of this in the soldier's opinion, and she thought she had a greater say? Not to mention what she had said a few seconds prior. She had every reason to tell Cheryl to ignore such crude suggestions for help.

Still, she remained silent. Not because she was afraid. Rather because she wanted to help, not to have a fight she wasn't sure if she could win, nor to lose a potential ally. Her expression to Cheryl showed her annoyance, but she still remained silent as Urd gave her questions. Not bad ones as far as she was concerned. And, aside from that, Azumi was trying to rationalize this in her own terms in the meantime, so she could have a perspective she could speak from.

She was concerned for Cheryl, even if she had just met her. Sure, she was cautious. But she also distinctly wanted to help, and did believe she had a firmer grasp on mortal realities than this so-called "goddess."

====

The minute Urd grasped her shoulder, Cheryl was almost tempted to smack it away and yell at the goddess not to touch her. However, she held it back, as she now seemed to take the situation more seriously. The young woman stared for a minute before looking to Azumi. The soldier probably thought she was insane at this point; not like it really mattered. Everything that's happened to her in her life...well, lives, was screwed up anyway.

Looking back at Urd, Cheryl sighed once more and began to answer each and every question thrown at her, "I call him Valtiel, and he's not even a person anyway. I've met him plenty of times before; he's a monster who's supposed to serve the abomination he wants me to give birth to. Yeah, this happened before; twice, in fact." Twice in her lifetime, anyway, not counting when Alessa had been about to birth God before. "The first time, I managed to get the thing out of me before I could actually birth it," that was all she was going to say on the matter, not wanting to think back to Claudia's attempt leading to her demise, "and the second time, I killed myself to beat the damn thing for good. But...he brought me back after that. He [i]merged[/i] with me, to make sure I'd birth Her again. This time, he wants me to..."

She let it hang, instead giving both Urd and Azumi a scowl. "So there you have it. That's why I can't be with Isaac, or any other man for that matter. If I did, I risk ending the universe, or something close to that. It's not like you guys can even help me out of a situation like this; hell, I doubt anyone could. There's zero hope for me at this point..."

~*~

Once again, Cheryl's misfortune was building up even further at this point. The information she just blurted proved to be very intriguing to Ignis as he listened in. Risking to bring about the apocalypse just by being with a man...and at the moment, that unlucky man happened to be that Isaac boy. In truth...the Nightmare Illusionist would be more than happy to take his place in that regard. Maybe after he tests his magic on the girl...

But not right now. He wanted to see what the other two women had to say on the matter. So Ignis continued to remain in hiding, in the shadows behind a house not too far from the three females. He would step out and make his presence known very soon, however, and prepare himself for an inevitable fight. He knew there would be no fooling a goddess, a soldier (whom he had been told of by his partner beforehand), and the Holy Mother herself. Not that it really mattered right now...

====

Azumi just listened to all of this. She had to help, really. In actuality, she did have some kind of comparison on more human terms now. Not wanting to become pregnant, then? All right, now if she could get Cheryl alone to talk on easier terms--

And then Urd went at her. Azumi could hold herself together for until the very end, and even that by force of will. The sheer [i]hypocrisy![/i]

"You let her go right now," she said coldly. "I wasn't going to hurt her, but you get pissed at me for my behavior, then go at her like this? I don't care [i]what[/i] you call yourself. I can tell the hypocrisy. Sure, it would be good if she told us, but give her some damned space, would ya? I wasn't actually [i]going[/i] to use my questioning methods. Give her some space, or you'll see what an ODST can really do, even if I don't have any fancy magic."

That said, she looked back to Cheryl again, taking a deep breath. "Only tell us if you think you need to. I can tell [i]pressing you for information when you are upset[/i]," she began, not looking toward Urd, "is not going to do much to help in the long run. Normally I'd probably agree with doing that, yeah, but your case is...one I can kind of relate to in my own way."

====

There wouldn't be any need for Urd to remove her hand on Azumi's threat. Cheryl had already smacked it away, glaring sharply at the goddess. Even with Azumi's assurance, she was starting to get sick of being pressed on about her past. She just wanted these two women to leave her alone right now.

"You really wanna know why?" Cheryl asked now getting up to her feet. "Fine! I'll tell you! I swallowed a pill that made me [i]vomit[/i] the damn thing! And then that crazy woman [i]swallowed[/i] it and birthed an incomplete version of it!" She wasn't about to explain who that crazy woman was; they'd be here all night if that were the case.

"So there. That's how I managed to avoid the apocalypse the first time: abortion. And that's something I'm [i]never[/i] doing again. [i]Ever.[/i]" She was panting at this point, trying to calm herself. "I hope that's enough for you, 'cause I'm sick of your prodding and wanting to know so bad about my screwed up life. What else do you want to know, huh? You wanna hear about how I was reincarnated too? If not, then just--"

The young heroine was about to tell them to leave her alone right there, that she would rather continue to wallow in her own pity than deal with this. However, a new voice had cut in before she could.

"I think everyone would have been better off not knowing about that." A man's voice, deep and...why did it sound familiar to her? "You were willing to go that far to save the world? You must have very little standards; coming from myself, that is saying something."

====

So she aborted the god-fetus by vomiting it, then someone else [i]ingested it[/i] to give birth to an incomplete form? Ignoring the biological impossibility of such an endeavor, it all was extremely disgusting. She was no chemist, however, though she had some medical training, and so she couldn't just make a new emetic for her to eat so she would egest a new one. But, unlike Urd here, she was willing to more often [i]look[/i] for a way, or find some alternative method to stop it if something became an issue.

She listened very calmly to Cheryl as she started to tell them off, understanding, but still being on the verge of truly striking her to make her listen to reason, or at least her side of it. Yes, more hypocrisy, but the method by which she was handling things was beyond frustrating right now. Normally, she would be able to deal with it, but Urd's behavior made her too angry to consider it.

Then came the man's voice. Swiftly, she turned on the spot, looking at the man behind her. Subconsciously, her hands turned to fists, one reaching for her knife, the other ready to fight hand to hand if need be from this range. He picked a pretty bad time to insult one of them. Especially to say that there was a limit to go to in order to save the worlds.

Before she could react, Urd insulted her for her armor (a very unreasonable complaint in her opinion, and more justifiable than the "goddess" and her [i]lack[/i] of proper clothing), then attacked with a bolt of lightning. Taking the chance, she jumped to her feet, waiting for the bolt to fall and perhaps hit him before grabbing him and trying to get information on why he would talk in such a way. From how he acted, he did not think he himself had standards to hold him in check. Perhaps this was the villain she had been looking for to test her new skills.

====

Unfortunately, that lightning bolt would not hit its target. There was a burst of black flames from where the man stood, and then he was gone, the bolt instead striking the ground with a loud [i]boom[/i] and leaving a very noticeable mark behind. As if anyone else was going to notice that.

"Now, I would be lying if I said that was not a magnificent display..." Another burst, and Ignis Fatuus now stood beside the three women, appearing as casual as he could be, "but may I suggest we act a bit more civilized? I was only stating my opinion of the matter; I do not wish for a fight. Especially from a goddess, a trained soldier, and..."

His gaze went to Cheryl, who glared sharply at the man. Not only did another person appear when she wanted to be alone, but no matter how well-dressed and handsome she thought he looked, she did not like what she felt from him. But at the same time...something about him seemed so familiar...like they met once before...

To her surprise, he confirmed as such, "Why Heather...I never expected to see you after so long. Then again, we never really interacted before, have we?"

She grunted, caught off-guard for a minute. How did... "...who are you?"

Ignis gave a look of mock hurt, though he playfully smirked the whole time. "You really do not remember me? Why, I thought you would have at least recognized my voice!"

====

Azumi stared at the spot, ready to attack as soon as the lightning was gone, the man likely paralyzed if she knew Interference stamina well enough.

...but then she saw the last of the fire, saw him [i]not there anymore[/i]. Teleportation? Well wasn't [i]that[/i] just [i]perfect[/i]?

She heard him again, and turned quickly to face the man, keeping to her tense stance, but arms down, making her visor opaque once more as she brought up her her HUD for a possible fight. Her health was still at full for now, her weapon's ammunition high enough, but she wouldn't use it unless she knew she had to.

From the sounds of things, he knew them all at least to a degree, most likely had been spying on them. What had he seen or heard? Why was he watching? What did he [i]want[/i]?

...wait, Heather? Was that her real name? It wouldn't surprise her if there was an alias used, but it still was slightly confusing. Still, right after Urd gave her threat, Azumi gave a question, extremely wary of this individual. First, she spoke to Urd. "Careful, don't want to fry her by being overzealous." She wouldn't put it past the "goddess" to do so in any case.

Then him. "You. Your damned name and reason to be here, now, or you get a new orifice where you won't want one. Your choice."

====

Ignis just looked to Urd with an unchanging expression, even as she charged more of that electricity into her fists. He really wasn't all too concerned for that; he had just the spell to rectify that problem if need be. "Madam, as I said, I do not wish for a fight. I only wish to speak my mind. Besides, she said herself that she does not wish for your help anymore, so why bother wasting more of your time?" He then turned to Azumi to answer her questions. "I'm only here for a stroll. I just happened to stumble across your little talk. My curiosity got the better of me; for that, I apologize. You may call me Igna--"

He wasn't able to finish that answer. Cheryl had activated her beam saber once again and made to slash at him. However, he held his hand out and actually [i]caught[/i] the light in his hand. He was still burned; normally he wouldn't be affected, but this was a burning light doing the deed, so there was still some damage done. He tried not to let it bother him too much, however, and pushed the blade away from him.

Rather than finish his introduction, Cheryl had done so for him, getting her balance back quickly, "I know who you are. Back when I met that Stephan guy in that one place...I heard your voice." Her glare sharpened. "Your name...it's Ignis Fatuus, isn't it?"

Normally, he would try to cover it up with another lie. However, this time he instead sighed and shook his head. "And here I thought to use my alias after the fun I had last time. How unfortunate."

====

All right, so a few revelations in quick succession. First, he was not to be trusted, a liar and an enemy of Cheryl in the least, though her alignment was similarly in question so far without explicit evidence. Second, his true name was Ignis Fatuus. Odd thing to call someone, a Will-o'-the-Wisp, but naming someone after a Corpse Candle did explain his seeming fire affinity, along with how he was now...[i]holding[/i] what amounted to a modified Energy Sword handle in her eyes. That itself showed he had a degree of resilience, not uncommon around Interferences.

...and that crazed "goddess" got it in her mind to fire a blast of electricity at the guy. Someone in full capacity to simply pull Cheryl in the way of the blast, or teleport out of range again. If she had more time, Azumi would have lunged at him and used her new skills to subdue him without resorting to magic. She had to prove herself after that embarrassment in Radiant Garden, her defense of Space Paranoids aside. Eh, it was best to do the next best thing, something to help concentrate the blast further so she didn't end up with splash damage.

In one smooth motion, Azumi drew her combat knife and threw it at Ignis, hopefully conducting the blast and electrifying the knife without dealing undue harm to Cheryl herself. She did not trust Urd by a long shot, especially not after that kind of risky maneuver. But she had to use what she could.

====

Ignis looked at the electric blast with uninterest, even as it came for him. Even if they did come to mind, he didn't pull Cheryl in the way, nor did he teleport again. Instead, after the soldier woman threw the knife to conduct the blast, he waved his hand out and uttered two words, "Night Terror."

Around his hand, a black mist that crackled with red had formed. And from it, a red lightning bolt shot out, hitting the knife and knocking it away from them. Cheryl stiffened as she saw this. Audrey and Joseph never told her about [i]this![/i]

The Nightmare Illusionist wasn't done there, however. Looking to Urd with a frown, he said, "I really apologize for this, Goddess, but you leave me with no choice." He held his hand out to her and muttered, "Wraith."

The black mist then flew to the goddess, ripping something out of her that would also drain all of her magic. Now to Azumi. "A friend of mine told me about you, Miss Ian. I'm really sorry for the glassing of your world." That said, he held his hand to her. "Caesuc."

And that same mist flew into the corporal's eyes, blinding her for a time. With those two out of the way, Ignis finally turned to Cheryl once more. The young woman had dismissed the saber and instead settled for her modified handgun, to which she pointed at the man, though still with that confused look on her face.

"Whatever is the matter, Miss Mason?" he asked, the smug grin on his face once more. "You seem surprised. Did you not expect to meet me in the flesh like this?"

Though hesitating, she admitted to him, "It's not that at all...I...I was just told that you were--"

He cut her off by laughing out loud. "So you too have been fed the lies about me! You actually listen to that mentally unstable child and the girl who abandoned you before! And here I thought you were the [i]smart[/i] one!"

"...." Cheryl's grip began to shake on the gun then, almost ready to lose it. "No...that's not..."

====

Normally, Azumi would have made some smug observation as to Urd's loss of magic meaning she lost her high-and-mighty nature (not that she herself was portraying herself well). However, this Ignis' words brought her attention away from her. As he spoke, she assessed her situation.

A swear had come from her lips as the knife was blasted out of her reach. She'd have to run for it to get it, but had to be sure she could get by him to get it.

The anger turned to surprise as he mentioned the glassing of Jericho VII. It struck a chord with her, was one of her emotional buttons. But she wasn't about to cry this time, not at all. Who could have told him? ...had Cid? He was still hypnotized when she ran away. Dani could have forced him to talk. Was this guy working with those two b--

And the smoke covered her eyes. The corporal shouted, swearing as she rubbed her face, trying to get it off as she fell to one knee. Blind! She was blinded!

Still, she could hear the two talking, could hear her breaking down. She had to focus, had to remember her training.

Blindfolded, she had learned to fight better with her new mentor, learned to keep herself from fully trusting her sight in combat. She was no expert, not by a long shot. But she was competent, possibly enough to fight this guy.

Listen... He wasn't walking just yet. Listen to his voice, his footsteps... And launched herself at him, using her downward position as a spring to try to get closer. On the way, she swung her feet out from under her, hoping for a sweeping kick.

Timing was, as with before, everything.

====

Ignis would have continued mocking the Holy Mother, break down her emotional defenses to get to her easier. Sadly, he didn't expect Azumi to have known how to fight blind. The sweeping kick caught the back of his legs, making him fall back. Cheryl, snapping back before she could suffer an emotional breakdown, tried to take this chance and shoot him from here.

Sadly, she didn't take the chance quick enough. Like before, the man was gone in another fireburst. Cheryl scowled as she looked around for where he might have reappeared. She wasn't going to let the bastard hunting down her friend get away...or was she still her friend? What if he was right about that? What if she were to abandon her...no, she can't be thinking this. He was trying to get under her skin; she knew that. She had been told he was manipulative, so she shouldn't be falling for--

"Metus."

The man's voice, somewhere behind her. Cheryl would have turned to look, but that same black mist had entered her. She gasped, eyes widened. All of a sudden, fear had struck her chord. There was no trigger; it just happened. The young woman whipped around, eyes clenched shut, and began firing her gun rapidly. She couldn't think straight now, panic having completely clouded her mind.

Ignis, standing upon a roof of a house, laughed as he watched Cheryl shooting in panic, the blasts missing him entirely. This new magic of his was really useful, especially if it could break down one supposedly numbed by her previous horrifying experiences. He continued his mind games, looking down with a wide smirk at the woman.

"You wouldn't have shot to kill before you were pushed to fear, would you?"

====

Azumi scowled as she felt him disappear from just over her legs, heard his fireburst teleport him away, jumping quickly to her feet. She still couldn't see, so she would have to rely on sound to sense her surroundings. Instead, she listened....

[i]There![/i]

The fireburst again, a rooftop relatively close by. She could hear him say that spell, unsure of what it did but not willing to find out, and grabbed for her gun, knowing she would need the range from that weapon, even if she had to guess his location.

The gunshot hit her in the shoulder, causing her to stagger back but not actually piercing the armor. The next hit her in the knee on the opposite side to cause another step back, and some actual damage, though she fought through it. Was this Cheryl? Was she [i]crazy?[/i]

"Calm down!" she shouted through her pain, trying to get closer, hoping to keep him off-guard as she actually drew the weapon. "I'm not gonna hurt you! Just calm the hell down!" A few steps closer and a bullet in the thigh of the shoulder wound, almost bringing her to the brink of her stamina into actual wounding. She had to get him, had to...

Two things happened at once. Another bullet hit her, this time in the other shoulder and causing some real damage, a grunt. She raised the gun in one, smooth motion and fired, the gun aimed directly at where she assumed that laughter was coming from. Three shots in succession.

Seemed it had to be the luck of the draw.

====

Indeed it did. Ignis had his eyes on Azumi as she moved, even as she started to take damage. After the stunt she pulled, he knew to keep an eye on her, in case she had any other tricks up her sleeve. Then she fired her own gun towards him; the first shot had grazed his arm, but he waved his arm out, sending his trademark black fire to the other two bullets, burning them away. With that out of the way, rather than teleport again and draw more attention, Ignis instead jumped off of the roof, landing on the ground behind Cheryl.

Cheryl didn't even acknowledge Azumi's words. She was still firing like crazy, in a panic over nothing. It was as if she were surrounded by the horrifying apparitions of her subconscious for the first time again, unprepared, inexperienced. She continued to shoot...even after her gun had overheated and would fire no more.

That was when she felt it. A hand whipping to her left wrist, yanking it back, and the other grasping her hair tightly. Cheryl winced and grit her teeth, struggling with all her might, doing everything she could not to scream out despite the sudden fear. Then, she was turned around to face the man that now had her incapacitated, his hair now moved back to reveal the glowing red eye. And the next thing she knew, before she could continue her attempts of escaping his grasp, the eye flashed in her face.

She was paralyzed the next moment. What she saw now...her hands were now long, rusted blades, like those of the Scrapers. And before her...Harry Mason, on the chair, the blades stabbed through his chest, his face contorted with agony. Again, and again. She couldn't stop. She couldn't turn away.

She was killing her own father.

"To think he would die so easily..." Ignis' voice, though she could not see him now. "You could have saved him, could have made it back in the nick of time. But you didn't. It wasn't that crazed woman like you continued to claim, nor was it the monster you faced on the rooftop. It was you. You killed your father. You were responsible for his death. You...you are the monster..."

Cheryl had no words to say. She couldn't turn away from the scene before her, couldn't look away from her father's face as he looked right at her, the shock clearly on his face. This...this just couldn't be...

Around them, the scenery had converted for a brief second, from the ghost town to a darker world, before going back again...

====

She could hear the words of Ignis, his taunts as he stood so much closer, hear the gun cease to fire. She had to take aim, to fire...but she couldn't risk accidentally hitting Cheryl, patricidal or not. She was not the monster. He was.

Finally, the smoke began to fade, twisting off of her, allowing her sight. She blinked as the spell wore off, still not used to this kind of thing, and looked around in the sudden light, glad she had not brought up her VISR and blinded herself once more with light instead of darkness. There! She dove for it, gripping the handle and jamming the thing into her chestplate, turning on the spot on her back and firing a quartet of rounds at Ignis once more before rolling to her feet again, taking her practiced firing position.

...it was then that she could see the change going on around her. The ground, the walls, it all began to flake away, revealing rust, ruin, blood. Something sinister beneath, something that could really get under her skin. Was this Cheryl's doing? Urd's? Ignis'? She was uncertain, but knew one thing, even as she heard the, admittedly irritating, call of the "goddess". Something aside from how she knew she needed to ask about this later.

As the normal textures grew back for a moment, she took aim at Ignis, aiming down the sights directly at his head, then moving down to his neck. She wanted to make sure she could get information, and to keep her technical pacifism intact. Aiming carefully, she pulled the trigger once more.

She had to save the traumatized woman.


Many things happened at once. First was the goddess' shout, meaning she had regained her magic somehow. Then the soldier's sight returning, and the rounds firing directly towards him. He had been so focused on keeping the illusion up that he didn't have time to avoid them. The shots pierced his arm, making him grit his teeth to hold back a pained cry. Because of this, Ignis was forced to lift the illusion off of the Holy Mother.

But even with the dreaded scene gone, Cheryl continued to just stand there, wide-eyed, not making any other attempt to escape the man's grasp. Even as the Metus spell began to wear off, what she just saw had rendered her almost catatonic. Seeing her father's face as she stabbed him repeatedly...did she really do that? Had she really let it happen to him the entire time? All her anger, her need for revenge before...was it all a lie...?

Then the next shot came. Ignis saw it coming this time, and moved both himself and the young woman away from the bullet. It seemed like he would have to make his escape soon. But not now; he still had Cheryl under his captivity at the moment. He could still make her fully open the Otherworld. He just wanted to see what that hellish realm could really do for him.

So he fell back to one option. The Nightmare Illusionist brought Cheryl close, and then forced his lips onto hers...

And even in the state she was in, she could still feel that. If she had not already been rendered into a state of shock before...only this time, it snapped her back to the reality of what was going on. In all her life, she had never kissed a man like this. She never felt anyone's tongue slither to the back of her throat like he was doing now. The fact that it was this sick bastard, whom she had been told was a serial rapist, doing this to her...stealing away her first kiss...

[i]"Birth Her......Birth the vessel.......do it nowwwww........."[/i]

Once again, Valtiel's demanding. But this time, a different contributor...

It was too much for her. Once the man pulled away and finally released her from his tight grasp, Cheryl fell to her knees, gripping her head tightly. The familiar sharp pain stabbed through her head. The crank from the valves turning. Chanting voices. And finally, the damned siren.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liJfyxmzkMQ[/youtube]

Everything began to flake away once more. Peeling away, pieces turning to ash, transitioning to the dark world. It didn't take long before it was all converted fully. The ground was now a rusted, grated floor. The houses were either burnt or pulsing, fleshy, and bleeding. And the sky was now a red glare over the dead village.

The Otherworld had broken out once more.

====

The soldier's rage increased as she saw the forced kiss, saw it deepen as she hastily switched magazines on her weapon. "You son of a b****!" she shouted, and took aim once more as he dropped the woman. "Hands up, shut up, and interlock fingers behind your head!" Normally, she would kill him for this, but he seemed as though he might know of her enemies, and anything would do.

And then it happened. She heard the insulting name from Urd from the edge of consciousness, felt herself shout her rank and last name at her in response, but was truly looking at their surroundings, as that world came back, as that dread returned, whatever it was.

She saw Cheryl in pain. Was this due to her after all? No matter. She had to concentrate, couldn't leave the bizarre nature of the multiverse take her off track. So she called again. "Now, Fatuus! Give up or I blow off your [i]f***ing[/i] head, the one of your choice!"


Despite the threats the soldier gave, Ignis completely ignored Azumi as he looked around at what the world had become. A wide grin was plastered on his face as he breathed in the air of this nightmarish realm, inhaling the scent of burning, death, and despair. It may have been Hell for anyone else, but for him, it was perfect. His red eye, still revealed, was glowing brightly, the dark energies of this dimension surging power into him.

"You truly have a gift, Mother Alessa." He referred to the young woman to her final alias, of who she really was. "To have this world locked within your heart...to have the power to unleash it in full force. How can you not appreciate this power in all its splendor?"

Cheryl couldn't find it in her to respond, to the shouts of the two females, or to the evil man's rambling. She was still in shock, in pain, in absolute horror. This world, after keeping it held in as much as she could...she had now lost her grasp on it and unleashed it once more. This...this couldn't be happening. She didn't want to see this realm again, not ever. But now, it was unavoidable.

[i]"Do it......bring our God back......."[/i]

Valtiel...she could see him below the grated ground. With all those pipes, two bodies hung and covered in thin, red veils. And the angel himself, turning the crank of the valve, working the nozzle...changing the flow of the world...

She couldn't handle it anymore. She wanted it all to end...all of her pain, all of her misery...

...was what she would have thought not five minutes ago. But now...now she realized how ridiculous this was. How she had fallen apart so easily. No, this wasn't like her at all. She was not a scared little girl wanting to hide from her fears, her problems. No...she was a woman capable of facing them head on, just like she had done four years ago. She wasn't about to let this smug, sick, twisted [i]freak[/i] bring her down this easily, no matter what lies he showed her.

Slowly, her hands lowered to her sides. Then, she reached for the next holster on her belt, the one that held her switchblade knife. Slowly taking it out, finally, Cheryl Mason looked up with a sharp, vengeful glare.

"Shut your [i]stinking[/i] mouth, bastard!"

Now this caught Ignis' attention full on. He whipped around...just in time for the woman to lunge at him, prepared to stab him with that knife. The Nightmare Illusionist barely dodged, only for her to whip around and slash across his chest. He cringed; he couldn't move fast enough as she slashed at him again. And again, again...

The Silent Hill 3 protagonist was back in action.

====

Azumi was enraged still. Here he was, smug, confident. He seemed to be getting stronger, possibly to beat them. The soldier could see that eye, the glow that probably caused the woman to freeze up, but was lucky enough to be ignored. Therefore, she was able to see it and not delve straight into insanity (or at least that's what she assumed was what happened), but also wasn't quite sure on what it actually did. Not that she intended to tell him that, nor that she had much desire to find out what had happened from him directly.

"Mother Alessa"? What was [i]that[/i] supposed to mean? Another thing to ask about later, it looked like. Okay, best not to get her hopes up about [i]surviving[/i] to see tomorrow. It was always the underestimated (or overprepared) enemy that killed soldiers in her experience, if not the one that wasn't accounted for in the first place.

Still, he was acting like this...this [i]infernal[/i] industry was a blessing. Was he [i]out of his mind?[/i] ...all right, possibly, yes. After seeing other villains in her time, she really couldn't say.

In all of this time, she had been spending her time trying to line up a good shot, to make absolutely certain she could hit him this time, preferably deal some considerable damage, but maybe just a distraction so she could get in close for her new hand-to-hand skills.

She could hear the crank turning down below, briefly looked to the direction of the grating. That thing, with its constantly vibrating head, was beyond disturbing. She had to rationalize it in order to move past it, however. It was like the Flood, as Kira and Greg had called that infection on the Shield World. Some kind of space zombie thing. For now, that would be enough for her as she turned back, passing Cheryl drawing a switchblade, back toward Ignis Fatuus.

...wait a second. She looked back toward the other relatively normal woman (what qualified as "normal" here was beyond her, not that it mattered anyway), saw her shout her defiance and charge. Perfect distraction, especially as she actually started to land a few hits with that blade of hers. Could have used better technique, but not everyone was trained, after all. It did look like she had at least some training, though.

She was about to charge, too, when she saw the other person among them. The woman with black hair on the right side of her head, white on the left, all of it long. with a white and black wing on the same sides as the hair, and...little more than a bikini top over her torso and some kind of swirling white power around her waist and below. The relatively straight-laced soldier rolled her eyes, assuming from her rather lacking attire and direction of travel that she had come from Urd. Was [i]everything[/i] surrounding that woman somehow sexual?

Still, she had other things to worry about, so it was best think on that later. Firing at this point would be too dangerous, too likely to hit an ally (or Urd's; hard to tell if there was a complete distinction). Better luck in getting straight to the punching. Running to Ignis' side and making sure to avoid any splash damage from the electric punch of Urd's ally just in case, she jammed her gun back into her holster before taking the offensive once more.

Her moves were quick, but strong. A hard punch aimed at the temple turned to another down on the head from the back, turning then into a roundhouse kick toward his back. This was followed up with two upper cuts and a hard, straight chop with her fingers extended to try to stun him for a moment by hitting him in the spine. If he was stunned, she hoped to throw him to the ground using judo so she could do some [i]real[/i] damage.


At this time, Ignis had finally managed to move away from the enraged young woman that was out for his blood. He noticed the sultry woman with white and black hair and matching wings, coming for him with a lightning-filled punch. He had managed to dodge just in time, and sent another red lightning bolt at her in response.

Unfortunately for him, this gave Azumi the chance to attack. The punches hit him hard, too quick for him to dodge or block. He tried to avoid the following kick and uppercuts, to no avail. And then came the chop, which did indeed stun him long enough for the woman to throw him to the ground. However, while that indeed did a good deal of damage to him, the Nightmare Illusionist was quick to get back up in time, teleporting away from the opposing women. He reappeared not too far away, only close enough for him to focus on each of them at once. His eye still revealed, it gave one last flash, in an attempt to trap all of them in an illusion.

Again, there was no way for Cheryl to avoid it. She was now in the chapel, pain coming from her stomach, threatening to tear open like in her nightmare before. However, despite the excruciating pain she was dealing with, the horror of another nightmare coming true...she ignored it all with all the willpower she had. Ignored it all, and continued her way forward, towards where that man reappeared, even though she couldn't see him in the illusion. She could still feel the heat as she came closer, and slashed forward when she felt where he was. A success, as she heard a grunt in response. The second, however, missed, but she felt the sparks from the flames, indicating he teleported.

Still, the illusion cracked slightly, including whatever the other two women were trapped in. And in reality, the dark world slowly began to melt away, back to the ghost town it originally was.

====

A grin at her success as the soldier reached up for her knife, ready to plunge it into his chest, to wound him so she could interrogate him more easily. She began to pull it out as quickly as she could...but he was gone.

The expression turned to a scowl as she looked around. "Damn it," she whispered, turning toward the next burst... and on came the red flash.

She was standing on her world. It had been... it had been so long. Long enough that she was truly shocked to see the wide plain of palm trees, the vast green ocean in the distance, the four silver moons that had risen high into the sky. How she missed it all. How she...

Here they were. Coming right at her. She could see her countrypeople, all of those she had left behind. But...something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

Their bodies were torn, shirts and pants torn to show greenish-gray, decaying flesh. The tendrils had torn through shoulders, sprouts coming from the fingers of hands that seemed to almost drag behind them as they screeched animalistic cries. Those mutated appendages were flung around every which way, even sometimes hitting the head that had been forced to rest on one shoulder to allow a mass that was once the Infection Form to spring from the other side of the neck.

She tried her best to hide her horror as she took aim at once of the chests with a gun that she barely even remembered drawing, internally praying that none were her parents. Then she heard it, felt the heat...and turned.

Her mouth fell agape in horror at the sight. The three beams of purest plasma falling from Covenant ship glassing ports, a fire she could all ready see raging toward her, across her world. She could see the green sea boiling in an instant as it was passed over, the end of her world...

The screech was back. Between two horrors, even as she was slashed across the back, grunted in pain as she was forced to stagger from an oncoming Flood Combat form. What could she do, what could anyone... Another, male grunt of pain nearby, off to her side. Finally she realized where she was, what was happening at least to a degree. Cheryl, she remembered her now. She had been lost in horror at...something herself. Something that had terrified her. Was this not real? Wait, it couldn't be. Jericho VII was dead. It didn't keep her from fear, of course, but it provided some slight solace, especially as she felt the image around her freeze for an instant, fracturing like a glass along its edges, spidering inward...

She raised the gun, too scared not to, and fired everything she had, praying she would escape with her life and kill this monster. Not interrogate. She wanted him [i]dead[/i].


Things were going downhill. The angel and the soldier began to fight against his image he had created for them, and it wouldn't be too long before they would try to hunt him down as well. Though to be perfectly honest, Ignis was expecting this, even with the dark energies of the Otherworld giving him more power. He had hoped he would get a bit farther after testing his magic, but it seemed this was far enough for now.

He stepped away before Azumi's shots could dig into him. He had been about to teleport out of this world, escape while he had the chance. But then the lightning bolt from Urd's angel had struck him, stunning him in place.

Cheryl caught the bolt hitting its target, saw the outline of that bastard right then. The image of the illusion gave another crack, and the pain in her stomach began to lessen down, though still threatening to tear open. Again, she did not let it get in the way whatsoever, not with that man still here. This was her chance now. The Holy Mother ran up to where the man was now and pushed him down, pinning him down right after. With her knife, she began to stab him, again and again, yelling out each time.

He was no different from any of the monsters she's faced. No, that wasn't true...no, he was [i]worse[/i] than the creatures of her personal nightmare. Worse than the angel who continued to beg her to birth the Goddess, worse than the woman who took her adopted father's life...worse than the mother who burnt her alive and kept her alive to suffer a worse fate for seven years...

This man...this inhuman being who threatened this universe just by [i]existing[/i]...he needed to die. Right now.

The illusion continued to crack with each stab she continued to give, some pieces even breaking off. The fractured lines began to widen, more pieces shattering to nothing. Then, finally, it all broke away. Back to the hellish realm they were in before.

However, the Nightmare Illusionist was no longer on the ground, no longer pinned down by the young woman. She had felt the heat before the image was released. Where he was now, she could not see. But she heard his voice, somewhere.

"This is where we part ways now." How could he even still [i]live[/i] after the number of stabs she had given him?! "I would give the cliched line of 'you won't get away next time', but I know better to expect otherwise. Perhaps we'll meet again, perhaps not. But it will take more than your combined efforts to truly rid of me.

"And Cheryl..." She snapped up as he began to address her. "I'd suggest you check up on that 'friend' of yours very soon, if you still care about her that is. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't..."

And then it was gone. There was no sign of that Ignis bastard anywhere now. Once again, he had retreated.

The Otherworld slowly melted away right then. She could hear the crank once more, changing the flow of the world yet again. Soon enough, it was all gone, the three village back in the deserted village it originally was.

====

Azumi grinned as she heard the repeated stabbing, felt her illusory surroundings crack a bit more with each hit...and finally shatter. She was back. Back in that infernal mirror of the town around them, and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it!" She shouted, shoving the gun away. He was off, he knew her, knew everything...and probably was going to tell Rikka and Dani, if she was right about his alliances from how he spoke to her.

Finally, the original textures, the faded remnants of the town, simply grew out of the iron and bloodstains. It seemed that whatever had happened was no more. Finally, she could rest, if she could just have a few seconds to calm down.

...Not that Urd helped any. The self-proclaimed (as far as Azumi was concerned) "Goddess" was calling her that insulting name. This was [i]not[/i] the time to test her. Turning on the spot in her direction, her eyes half-crazed behind her opaque visor, she shouted. "Corporal Ian, you damned [i]b****[/i]! Titanium and ceramic composite, and at least I'm not dressed like a two-bit w****! This is [i]not[/i] the time to test me, damn it!"

She took a deep breath, though. Even if she was falling back on her irritated defense mechanism, she knew it was not a good choice. She had to remain calm for Cheryl, at least.

Turning back to her, she spoke. "Any explanations you can give would be appreciated. About that weird thing that happened, what we saw, that guy."

====

At first, Cheryl didn't respond. Neither to Urd's questioning of their safety, or Azumi's questioning on what that all was. She just looked out, on her knees, with an unchanging expression. Even though everything was back to normal, even though she no longer felt the pain that illusion gave her...the bastard got away. Survived, ran away like a damn coward...and the warning he gave at the end...

Deep down, there was still the burning rage of that man getting away like he did. She had never felt so angry over one person in so long, not since the bastard who took over her friend's life four years ago. Now she could see why he was a major enemy to most Interferences, why he was a major threat to the worlds. She had to let Audrey and anyone else know what she had just dealt with soon.

Slowly, Cheryl did all she could to calm her angered self. There was nothing she could do about that man now. She heard Valtiel, back in her mind, mumbling once more. He was no longer demanding her to birth God, or telling her to 'go back' to do it. Why was that...?

The Holy Mother left it for now. Instead, she finally responded to the two women. "I'm alright," was all she said to the Goddess, before she turned to look at the soldier. "What you saw was the Otherworld. A world of someone's nightmarish delusions come to life." A statement once said by her father years ago. "You can say that was a hint to what might happen if I give birth to that 'god'."

She then looked down, taking a deep breath before she explained the last part. "And that bastard...I didn't know too much about him until now. I remember hearing his voice in that guy, Stephan Shepherds' head, and I only met that boy once. I...I was told he was a serial rapist, and that he...he's after my best friend, Audrey..." A clenched fist, before she sighed. "That's all I know..."

====

Azumi would normally have brought up that Urd's [i]very insistence[/i] that she didn't actually do anything herself was detracting from her argument, but she just didn't care at the moment. The outburst was an instinct only. Instead, she tactfully pretended Urd just didn't exist at all, concentrating on Cheryl's words.

So, a world of nightmarish delusions? That kind of made sense. She still wasn't up on the mechanics of magic, but assumed that, as [i]magic[/i], she'd have trouble figuring it out anyway. On this Ignis, however...

"Audrey... damnit," she grumbled. Audrey was a good friend of hers, the person who first told her about Interfering. If he was after her, she had to stop him immediately, or at least warn her. The training had helped, but she still needed to have a defense against those kinds of magic. Ignoring Urd's call for an alcoholic beverage (something she normally would have called her on), she gave her own talk.

"Cheryl, you can't just fight alone. You can't keep to these worlds on your own without getting help. Believe me. I've been in a situation kind of like yours to a degree. Not the same in terms of magic, but boy trouble. If you'll let me, I can talk to you a little. No magic necessary. No interrogatory methods, nothing. Just a talk, woman to woman, without going into...less tactful methods as were noted previously by a certain...[i]someone.[/i]"

She still felt a little pained from the gunshots, but forced it out of her voice. Just a little gasping every now and then, not a lot. She could handle it. It wasn't like the wound that had earned her a Purple Heart.

====

At first, Cheryl had to look at Urd skeptically when she said she thought of a solution. However, despite her personal opinion on gods and whatnot, she knew this Goddess meant good will, even though the soldier didn't believe so. She just hoped this 'solution' didn't involve her going through what she did before again; once was enough for her.

"I don't have any sake," Cheryl first bluntly told her. "Look, just tell me what it is. You'll find more somewhere else."

Then the Holy Mother turned to Azumi and listened to what she had to say. She had to give a sigh; she was right. She knew she shouldn't have to go at it alone in these worlds; she just didn't know who to trust anymore. After what she had gone through before, she had learned to be more open with others. Whatever it was that reverted her to hiding away again, she had no idea.

But that was beside the point. After what they had just gone through, Cheryl knew she could trust both Urd and Azumi, even if they didn't trust each other. The soldier seemed to have a little experience to what she was going through right now, minus the screwed up stuff involved.

"Alright, I guess some small talk wouldn't hurt," Cheryl said, though had to frown when she heard the gasps Azumi gave. She knew that was from when she had gone trigger happy in a panic; sadly, she had no healing items to help her at the moment. So for now, she was just going to have to listen to what the woman had to say.

====

Azumi waved off her frown. She'd had worse wounds, and could see to her own state later with medical equipment. It wasn't her fault. She was about to give her own response when Urd spoke up.

That tore it. She turned to the "goddess," glaring at her through her visor. "Didn't it get through your thick skull the first time? Or is listening to the person you propose to help the one thing that can't make it through your 'armor'? She [i]told[/i] you she would not do that. [i]Never again.[/i] That doesn't mean 'the one thing you come up with'. Even a last resort, we use another method. I'm not forcing her to go through an abortion of any sort ever again, and you [i]better respect her opinion.[/i]"

Swiftly, she turned on the spot. Though she kept Urd in her peripheral vision, the soldier took a deep breath in spite of the difficulty to help her calm down, then spoke to Cheryl.

"I...had a crush on my CO." She had a bit of trouble talking about this with many, but it wasn't like it meant anything anymore, what with being twenty years off and in a different universe besides. She hoped Urd wasn't going to press her about it. "Service relationships in a single unit tend to be frowned upon due to how we might leave a large amount for a smaller one, but I still couldn't help but fall for him. He had an ex-girlfriend, said about her pretty regularly. I couldn't..." Another breath before she could go on. "...couldn't bring up the courage to let him know until it was too late. Until he...he had to die to save our lives, took a few rounds from friendly fire for his trouble. I told him how I felt, and... and Greg rejected me. Kindly, but still did nonetheless. Found his ex again, anyway. And then he died. He walked off and died without looking back, left us to cry for him."

By the end, she sounded a bit choked up in spite of herself. She had been hiding a lot for a while now. But if she could let it out and speak her mind...

...it closed up again, snapped shut as she forced her emotions back behind her mental barrier. She couldn't be weak, had to stay strong. Sniffing it back, she gave her summation. "You might be afraid to be with a guy, but if you don't face your feelings, be they for him or not, you might run out of time before you know it and leave him without something to keep him around. Try to find Audrey if you need more help. She helped me out once."

====

For the longest time, Cheryl stared at Urd in absolute disbelief. She couldn't believe the Goddess was even [i]suggesting[/i] doing something like that, even as a last ditch effort. She was ready to take back her initial thought of her and yell at her for it, when Azumi had gone right to that before she could. Instead, she stayed silent, only glaring at the Goddess while the soldier went off on her. Granted, what she was saying wasn't how she would put it all, but it got the point across...though knowing how the two acted with each other, that was unlikely.

The young woman decided to brush that aside once Azumi was done, now going back to the other subject in mind. A frown crossed her lips as she listened to her story, about her unrequited love. It was sad to hear, really, how she had been too late to tell and...wait, Greg? Isaac's brother, or someone else by that name? If it was the same Greg, hasn't he been brought back now, or so she had been told? Part of her wanted to tell the woman such...but she held back. Not because she wasn't sure if this is was the same guy or not, but rather she would let Azumi find out for herself.

Still, when she heard her choke up a bit, Cheryl couldn't help but feel sorry for her, for what she had to deal with before. She had been about to reach a hand to touch her shoulder, to help sympathize with her...but held it back when she managed to keep her emotions in check. She still felt bad, but it was no use to keep going on the subject matter.

Instead, she listened to the rest of what the corporal had to say. It was true; she was afraid, but she couldn't keep running away like this. She had to face her fears and feelings like she had faced the nightmares of Otherworld many times before. She said she wasn't hiding anymore; she didn't have to hide from this either.

However, she wasn't ready to confront Isaac again just yet. Even with a new resolve, the Holy Mother needed more time to think things through before she could try to find him. When Azumi suggested looking for Audrey for more help, she nodded, considering it. Despite her doubts, Cheryl really did feel that her best friend would help her through this more. Knowing how long she had been with Sorin, knowing that she was still with him after all this time, she felt the Dream Mage would know the first thing about the subject matter.

Keeping that in mind, Cheryl finally straightened herself up. "I...I need to get out of here. Been here long enough." She turned, ready to leave. "...thanks for helping out. I'll keep what you said in mind."

She then started walking, but then stopped right next to Urd. She gave one last glare...before she sighed and decided to relent, "If you really want to know, it was called Aglaophotis. All I know is that it expels demons. I doubt you'll find anything like it outside of my world, and I really don't suggest going to look there. But even if you do make something like it, I'm not ever going to use it, last resort or not. You can help all you want, but when I said I wasn't going to do that again, I meant it."

With that said, Cheryl continued her way, making her way out of the dead village. After what she had gone through today, she really needed to clear her mind out from it all.