zekeke descend

Danaus ran out into the stairwell landing breathing heavily. She shouted. “Wait Zekeke, st)Oop!” Zekeke remained where she was in the elevator with a large rucksack on her shoulders. She had a serene smile on her face. Her hand fell away from the buttons. “e'm zorry,” she replied, “toneght hasn't changed my mend.”. The elevator shuddered and began to descend.

Danaus rushed forward and ran down the stairs. The elevator was slow and had no doors: it wasn't built with safety in mind, in fact easy access to a very large drop was considered a feature. Danaus thought if she was fast enough she could catch Zekeke on another floor. Danaus shouted hoping Zekeke could hear her “Y)Oou had already made y)Oour mind up! Y)Oou actually enc)Oouraged them!” She got to the next floor in time to see Zekeke's head disappearing and saying, “they had every opportunety to turn away from temptateon and sin”

“That's n)Oot fair!” Danaus shouted. She didn't hear any reply but she knew what it would be. They've talked about this enough times before. The world isn't fair. There were some nights when it felt like they were the only ones who saw that. But that had changed for Danaus after she met Zekeke, why doesn't she feel the same?

Every time Danaus got a new floor Zekeke was further and further away. Elevators were designed to be quicker. Danaus could hear Zekeke softly singing to herself. Danaus wrapped her sleeves about her hands and jumped into the shaft. She grabbed onto the cables and slid down to the car. She took out a pair of handcuffs and took a deep breath. She busted open a roof panel and swung into the elevator car. Zekeke reacted and threw up a shield of psychic energy. Danaus slammed into it and rebounded to fall into a corner, dropping her handcuffs.

Zekeke looked down at her with pity. “when e saed e dedn't want you here, et was enterely for your own protecteon.” Zekeke crouched down. “all that zecrecy, et was all to keep you unconnected. safe.” Danaus was too angry to be relieved that her paranoid fears of the past perigee were unfounded. She still took Zekeke's offered hand and they both stood up.

There was a bing. The elevator reached ground floor. Zekeke slipped off her rucksack and took a step out of the elevator. “once e start thes et'll only end weth my death. e won't let myself get captured and they won't leave me aleve. go now. tell you everyone you never knew me.” Zekeke tried to walk away but there was a click and she couldn't pull her arm away. Danaus had got her handcuffs back and the two of them were now locked at the wrists. “I'm staying with y)Oou if y)Oou d)Oo this,” Danaus said with determination.

Zekeke's eyes widen with shock. Then, a smile grow on her face and Zekeke fell onto Danaus in embrace. Tears threaten to escape her eyes. “e'm zo happy. e alwayz wanted you by my zede dureng my fenal ztand but e could never ask you to jeon me. we can dee together en battle. martyrz to our cause.”

Danaus was glad Zekeke couldn't see her horrified face while they hugged. This isn't what she wanted at all. She felt like she was losing Zekeke, like she couldn't recognise this girl anymore. Danaus wanted them to stay together more than any grand vision of a world that wasn't rotten to it's core. And she didn't have anywhere near the faith in the afterlife that Zekeke did. That had always been a thing between them. But it gave Danaus an idea, one last thought on how to stop Zekeke.

Danaus pulled back and half-faked a smile; that is it was a happy smile masking a sad pitiful smile. She put both hands on Zekeke's cheeks. “Are y)Oou that sure paradise awaits y)Oou?” Danaus squeezed Zekekes head and forced the other to look into her eyes. Danaus psychically entered Zekeke's memories and from the outside the two trolls appeared to freeze there.

Danaus sifted through the short term memories. The party. Zekeke leaving early. Zekeke setting Danaus up to confront Spokoi. Zekeke lecturing Danaus about the evils of the world, from the vantage point of the future it was like saying she told Danaus so. It confirmed that Zekeke was never going to let tonight change her mind. It was her fault. Zekeke made Danaus kill Spokoi. It was her fault.

Danaus angrily delved deeper into Zekeke's memories. Zekeke could do nothing as Danaus forced Zekeke to relive every little mistake she made. Every little awkard social moment. Every time she said something stupid. Every time she cowardly backed down from something. Every time she thought something stupid. Every time she broke her own moral codes. They were the worst. Zekeke hadn't realised how many times she had fallen bellow her own standards. All these moments were so small and insignificant but they added up to a picture Zekeke didn't want to look at. She felt terrible. “ztop...please ztop...” Zekeke whispered.

Danaus didn't stop. Bang! Zekeke took in a very sharp draw of breath. This memory. Three. Two. One. Bang! In the memory Zekeke curled into a shaking ball. Three. Two. One. Bang! The ground shook. Zekeke shook, to the very core. Please stop. Three. Two. Please. Bang! The explosion made Zekeke scream. She prayed to be saved. She prayed to anything. Whatever was out there. There had to be some kind of power, a cosmic being, even dark forces that'll make a contract with her. Anything! Three. The worst thing was she couldn't help counting down. Two. The worst thing was knowing each time this could be her last. One. The worst thing was accepting her death. Bang! Please please wake up from this. Please don't suffer forever in the afterlife. Anybody! Please listen!

In the real world the two trolls were slumped down on the floor in each other's arms. Zekeke was breathing heavily but still trapped in her own past by Danaus. The orangeblood stroked the redblood's face.

A young Zekeke ran through a garden. A clear night let the light of both moons shine down on plants and trees making so many colours. It all looked so beautiful and perfect to the young Zekeke. She reached up to grab a fruit from a tree. How wonderful that the garden provides everything she needed, which at this early point in her life consisted of just food and play. When she realised it was too high, even when she stood on her tiptoes and jumped, she clambered up the trunk of the tree. She reached out and grabbed the fruit, in both hands before she slipped and fell to the ground. It must of hurt but she doesn't remember that. She still had her fruit in her hands and she bit into it. It tasted all the sweeter having been won through hard effort. Then the fruit got ripped from her mouth. In front of her was her lusus. The cat chomped down on her prize right in front of her.

Zekeke came running home with a shiny coin in her hands. She had never seen something so fascinating. She was so excited she didn't even see her lusus's paw sticking out. She hit hard ground, this time she did remember the pain. Her lusus took the coin in her mouth and walked away. Another memory. Climbing up the later to her lusus's stash. Zekeke was so curious about what could be there, what was so important to her lusus. Maybe then they could connect. Her lusus! Why hadn't she seen her lusus sitting on the step apparently minding it's own business. Zekeke fell, her lusus getting further away. It deliberately tripped her. It betrayed her. Zekeke fell, her lusus looked down on her. It betrayed her. Zekeke Fell. It betrayed her.

“This is h)Oo I feel” Danaus let go and Zekeke got down and put her head between her knees, sobbing. “Zekeke?” Danaus touched the redblood's back and only got a shudder as a response. A terrible guilt fell over Danaus, seeing Zekeke like this. She didn't do this, it wasn't her fault. Zekeke had to be shown herself for her own good. It was the party, all the other sinful trolls that lead both of them to this. It was anyone's but her fault! Zekeke whimpered.

Danaus stood up. Zekeke clung to her leg. Danaus looked down in horror. She couldn't do this. “G)Oo)Oodbye, Zekeke I'm s)Oorry I can't” She walked away into the streets and with effort made sure not to look back.