bitch avenger #1

[ Mizuki traverses through the fog seeps through the very walls of the maze. Perhaps she hasn't even realized that she's been separated from whomever she was traveling with. When she hears that voice, perhaps she doesn't even care. ]

Hello, Mizuki.

A... Aiba? [ Mizuki's voice cracks. She hasn't seen her in so long, hasn't heard her voice. Hasn't even worn her defunct form in her eye socket. ]

[ There is hope in Mizuki's voice, but then dark shadows emerge, pooling from underneath the walls and the ceiling to create her form. The glowing white color remains, though the red that snakes so elegantly around her body only radiates a wispy black. There is no warmth in this Aiba's voice. It is almost robotic. ]

Aiba! [ Mizuki repeats. The urge to hug her partner suddenly dissipates like smoke. ]

Oh, Mizuki. Look what you've become. I never thought that just a few short months without me would be so hard on you.

[ Short months, she wants to scream. Short months? It's almost been a year! Where have you been! Mizuki wants to yell it until it echoes the walls of the cave. But the words don't come out, and Aiba continues. ]

It's alright. I am here now. You never have to feel worthless again.

[ By now, Mizuki is on edge. When she sees the figure of a man, slumped over face-first like a discarded trash bag across the way, she is so out of it she nearly steps over him, but she will suddenly snap to her senses. Perhaps a Chosen has been hurt. Perhaps she can help.

But he's not a Chosen at all.

When she bends down to flips him over, the figure's head is on her lap. She is stricken at first, nearly jumping out of her skin, and it only worsens when he opens his eyes. Blood is actively seeping from his clothes, and even in the maze's darkness, she can see the bruises and cuts all over his face.

It's Ryuki. ]

Mizuki, you're here.

[ His voice is weak. A smile seems to brighten his face, and she wants to say something. To apologize, even yell at him. But at this point, she doesn't even know if he's really here. She wants to push him away, put him in a box and never think about him again, but she can only place a shaking hand on his head.

She can feel him, even as the shadows seeping from him seem to drain her energy. ]

You couldn't save me, Mizuki. You weren't strong enough. But it's okay. I forgive you.

[ Is this it? ...Is there more?

Mirrors are creepy things, Mizuki thinks, yet as she navigates around them, nothing seems to happen at first. Then she'll start to see it: a grassy green texture she can almost smell. The light snow falling against her face.

It's the stadium.

A sea of men in both orange and grey protective, hazmat-like suits alike are charging, and Mizuki can be seen swinging her pipe, beating them back. The details wouldn't be clear to anyone but Mizuki, but there are others fighting by her side as well, and they are all counting on each other.

Everything feels more real with each step. In another mirror, Mizuki can be seen swinging again, but more haphazardly this time. There are no enemies to be seen this time, yet compared to the others (including one figure who fights with an identical pipe to hers), Mizuki fights far less elegantly. it's clear: Mizuki can't see anything. And in the final moment, there's a bullet that pierces her shoulder. Blood explodes from the wound before she collapses; yet even in her apparent death, it doesn't seem to end.

In one final mirror that seems further away than the rest, there's nothing. There is just one thick book, floating in a vast darkness, not unlike what you might find in a video game save screen. The book looks like a childish storybook that might pop out with colorful characters and images and simplistic words.

There is the silhouette of a cartoony-looking space rocket, and the title simply reads: ]


Don't you want to know how this story ends?|
[ All she has to do is reach for it, but no matter how hard she tries, she's unable to penetrate. She is pounding on the mirror in frustration, but her superstrength amounts to nothing. ]