Shattered Gravity - Part 6 「☽」

「☽」Oℼɑ ςɑnno, Kittψ「☾」

Kitty Intro on Vimeo

Previous Chapter Summaries:

「𖤓」PT 1: Kitty and Fi-So in present day are sent to dimension O-090 to prevent the destruction of the dimension. They have taken refuge at a poor farmland. While out, Kitty learns of a dangerous chemical called moonsmoke. After a warning from their supervisor, Angel and prodding from Fi-So, Kitty reveals that she’s been prolonging their visit because they are in her original dimension.

「☽」PT 2: 6 years before present events, Kitty is fighting for a rebellious military force known as Les Cavaliers, against the king’s forces, La Masse. Her little brother, Tora, solves puzzles on a digital database known as The Library. He gets a mysterious message from someone named Baptiste.

「𖤓」PT 3: Kitty and Fi-So take the elevator to Leo Sector, the highest sector that presides above all others. The rich visit a casino and watch the ongoing war between La Masse, the king’s forces and the rebellious force known as Les Cavaliers on giant screens for their own entertainment, this spurs Kitty’s PTSD. After a run-in with some of the denizens of Leo, Kitty rewires a slot machine, earning the money to take a ride down to Mallard Sector, where she grew up.

「☽」PT 4: Kitty falls deeper into war. After killing her first soldier, she begins to realize the true horrors of the war. Over months, she is promoted to captain of her own squad within Les Cavaliers. Tora begins to deepen his relationship with Baptiste, revealed to be Prince Panda Baptiste of the royal family. They meet in the digital realm through virtual reality vision. Over months, they work to flesh out the “reality” of the library. Panda speaks to him about his family. It turns out he hid the chemical of moonsmoke from his father in order to stop an outbreak in chemical warfare. Over months, they begin to love eachother deeply.

「𖤓」PT 5: Kitty and Fi-So enter Mallard Sector, to find it has become highly industrialized by La Masse and King Baptiste. Kitty, worried that others will recognize her, has Fi assist in gaining information about the changes over the last years. They learn of a doctor who can cure moonsmoke. After Fi meets the doctor, who turns out to be Panda Baptiste, who has escaped from home. Panda meets Kitty. He calls her Tora. Bringing her identity into question. Kitty is finally forced to reveal all about her past to her loved ones.

(Disclaimer: This chapter includes strong language, violence, and innuendo. Discretion is advised!)

PT 390, Dimension O-090

The last rush and push for land. The land in the deepest depths of the isles was dark and black, leaving Kitty to question why they even needed to protect it. Because La Masse wanted it, of course. Kitty was one of two commanders who had been deployed by Les Cavaliers. She was usually deployed in the battlefield, allowing for her to strategize with her comrades in the midst of blood and gunfire. The other commander was the one to dish out true orders.

Thanks to their espionage operations, Kitty learned that Dragon would be there. So she was sent to catch him by surprise. She bid farewell to her fellow soldiers. Praying to Byakko that they would triumph in this struggle.

Kitty was equipped with special equipment that allowed her to travel under landmasses with her powers. Since her arms were much stronger when detached, she was given small handles with jets powered by draco. The process was very painful, she had to keep cutting off her arms. One arm propelled itself forward and she called herself to it, reattaching herself just as she ran out of energy, only to cut the other arm off and gain more distance. She brandished her knife just as soon as her skin began to form new nerve connections, covering herself in her own sooty blood. She had a mouthguard she wore so she could bite down to numb some of the consistent pain, which lessened as she continued.

Dragon was perched on a tall patch of land, commanding forces. It was unlike him to command his forces in a strategic way. There were simply too many La Masse soldiers. They trampled over the opposing force with no hesitation. All they needed was the king’s love. When more La Masse soldiers died, King Baptiste had more in training to join the fight.

Not a plot of dirt made the slightest crunch under her feet as Kitty moved towards Dragon. She hid behind the aircraft the La Masse soldiers came down on. She planted a bomb on the aircraft as it flew away. Through the sound of the aircraft, she moved quickly, swiping her knife from her side and stabbing it straight into Dragon’s neck. Blood spewed from his neck. He fell without sound or struggle. Kitty heard a bellowing laughter from behind herself.

“What was that? Look down. Don’t you know that isn’t me?”

Kitty looked up at the real Dragon.

“I am proud of you. You had the balls to kill me. Look how far you’ve fallen.”

“I’m ending this for real this time.”

“No remorse anymore. That’s what I like.”

“Spare me with the thinky shit. You know it’s all an act to pretend you have any stake in this war. You are only helping the king.” Kitty threatened.

“Well then, what are we supposed to take from this pointless war then?”

“Treat it as a lesson in morals. We are unapologetically human when we are here. So stop trying to bloat it with all this talk about whether killing is good, or if war is good or bad. We are here. That’s it, end of story.”

Dragon got quiet. He looked at Kitty with worry in his eyes. The stare that always pierced through Kitty’s body disappeared. He quickly came to accept what was about to happen. “If you are so eager to give up your humanity, then well…”

Dragon put a gas mask over his face while backing away from Kitty. A huge cannon was mounted on top of the aircraft as it came to the ground.

BOOM!

When it landed it was struck by Kitty’s hidden explosive. Leaving a wake of burning bodies and carnage. Even soldiers of La Masse who were far away screamed in terror at what Kitty had done. They ran away as fast as their fatigued bodies could carry them. The cannon mounted on top self-destructed. A bright white gas became airborne. Before Kitty knew it, she had inhaled some of the fumes.

She felt her mind begin to go red. Dragon was obscured from her view as she fell to the ground, wailing.

She stood weakly, calling her arm back to herself and gripping her knife with a newfound unbridled rage. Before her mind was covered in red, all she could do was try and signal for her fellow soldiers to turn around. She muttered something, and then began to scream the name. The last thought she had before her mind was fully overran by the toxin.

“Tora…Tora…TORA!” She wailed.

________________________________________________________________________

Tora slept soundly that night knowing his sister would protect them against La Masse. Through working with Panda, he could see both sides of the war unlike anyone else. Even so, he hated anybody who supported the king deeper and deeper. Did they not see that the king was only obsessed with pushing his own agenda?! Tora kept calm, because Panda was on his side.

Part of him was still in denial of what had happened. Beautiful moments only highlighted by Panda’s impulsivity. Nobody kept coming back to him the way Panda did. That was enough. Tora sat up in the morning, ready to jump into his world of wonders one last time. When the doorbell rang and Tora’s heart sank. Not out of worry, but out of anxiety. Nobody was ever at the house, and when anyone was, they didn’t bother him. He opened his door, only to be hit with overwhelming light coming in from the windows. He peeked through the peephole in the door. It was a soldier. He gripped the door tight and cracked it open, sticking his face through the small crack in the door.

“Are you looking for Kitty? She isn’t home.” Tora croaked.

“I’m looking for a Tora Alua. Is that you?” The soldier asked monotonously.

He nodded. The man at the door took his hat off, his expression unchanged.

“Your sister is classified as Missing in Action. She was afflicted by a deadly tear gas created by La Masse, we are calling it moonsmoke.” He rambled on. “Our soldiers are looking for her, but in accordance with what the gas does, we are told to shoot on site if we find her. If you need to talk to anybody about funeral arrangements, here’s our card.”

He gave the card to Tora, and closed the door in his face.

“My…sister?”

________________________________________________________________________

Tora threw his mask over his face, instantly diving into the virtual world. He shoved sensors absentmindedly onto his body, forgetting a couple. He was brought to a proverbial paradise. It was a floating island, just like Leo sector, with bars, beaches, animals, and a neverending beautiful sunny sky. It was even better than Leo Sector. Tora and Panda had been working hard on AI that would speak like normal humans. It was unimaginable, soon it would be reality. A reality that all would love. A reality that the rich in Leo Sector would be barred from. It was empty. Completely uninhabited by any “real” humans.

“Panda! Where are you? Panda!” Tora called out.

He yelled out, searching desperately for him. For once, he was logged off of the virtual system. No…He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t betray his boyfriend just like that. He had this feeling of pain in his chest he only first felt when Kitty had first joined the army. His mind reeled. She was still alive. If he and Panda could work together, they could find a cure to moonsmoke and his sister could be saved! He just had to work fast.

He ripped his headset off and pulled a card from his junk drawer. There was an address on it. He recognized it as the king’s mansion. The Baptiste’s didn’t accept visits often. Maybe if he checked in as a visitor of Panda’s…maybe. He opened the door to his house. Stepping into reality for the first time in about a year now. One mission on his mind. He walked straight through town, ignoring anyone who bothered him. He entered the elevator with some others who were trying to move up in the world.

“What are you going to Leo Sector for, son?” A man asked.

Tora was caught off guard by this question. “I-I have a boy-” He paused and rethought. “I have a friend I’m going to meet. Nothing crazy.” He stumbled over his words.

“It’s good to have friends in high places!” He responded with a chuckle.

It felt like a curse. He was great, he appeared great. However, Tora couldn’t help but feel a little bit of resentment against the enigmatic Panda. He had no worries, money did anything he wanted it to. It reshaped itself into Ai, it could create whole new worlds with his limitless mind. It was both infinitely hot and infinitely annoying that Panda could essentially do whatever he wanted to.

Tora made it to Leo sector. Where he was met by what felt like a ripoff of the space they had made in the virtual world. His perfect world was bright and vibrant, while this space was almost as colorful, but slowed down by the aging of buildings, the steady decay that human footsteps offered. His world, it was perfect, it didn’t age and die. Furthermore, It wasn’t run by cruel bureaucrats. There were bars, pools, some animals, and a semi-sunny sky, along with casinos.

“Fuck, Panda and I forgot casinos.” He thought.

He walked through Leo sector with a slow but urgent walk. He was taking the time to examine everything. There were lots of things he and Panda could add. One thing that was missing from their paradise was people. They could recreate that too. Then it hit again, it was all in waves. His sister was missing. That wasn’t a problem now. He couldn’t think about that now. But how the fuck did it get out? Panda wouldn’t have given it to his father. Why didn’t he just burn them? Get rid of the blueprints? He was so arrogant. Tora went up to the gate that protected the king’s mansion. Two guards stood in front. They rushed Tora, the swords at their side were chipped, hinting at the countless bones they had cleaved through.

“What is your business here, kid?”

“I have an appointment with the king’s son, Panda.”

They each looked down at Tora like they had never heard of Panda before. One nodded at Tora and went behind the door inside of the mansion. Tora made sure to make no sudden movements as not to raise suspicion of the man standing before him. He saw a gun hanging at his hip, right next to a long sword. The other guard came from behind him with a woman on his tail. She peeked through the door.

“You’re here to see…Panda?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I didn’t know who to call.”

“Panda doesn’t like to tell us who he invites. Please follow me.”

The caretaker led Tora into the mansion. He followed her closely. Sadly missing most of the deep details of the mansion as the woman in front of him moved along at a soft jog. He glanced at great paintings that were mostly religious. Depicting land, or the great beasts that governed over the land. Most heavily, Byakko. A large white tiger with a black lined coat surrounded by a bright blue aura. The most notable thing Tora saw was a large water-spout statue of the god that spat water out of its mouth. Tora felt this was disrespectful. To make the god of your civilization be a prop that spat water into a fountain, only to have materialized draco thrown in the water below him.

They walked up some stairs, it looked more like a hotel than a mansion. There was a maze of unused rooms as they walked through the hallway. They walked past a giant dinner table that was made from pure draco stones. At the end of the hallway there was a split. A giant, red, steel door that most likely led to the king’s room himself. They went right at the split. To find Panda’s room. The caretaker unlocked the door and stood at the wall next to it.

“I will be waiting here. You are welcome to enjoy yourself with your friend.”

Tora started to feel bad about all the time he spent alone in his room. It was almost like Panda was forced to stay in his. He stepped into his significant other's room. The room itself was nearly the size of his own house.

There was a neatly made king-size bed in the right corner of the room when he walked in. To the left there was a shelf lined with prizes Panda had received in his youth along with figures from his favorite media franchises. There were plaques lining the walls, along with large papers either push-pinned to the wall or on the ground under this area. They were all blueprints to his own projects.

The entire other half of the room was filled with neatly managed wires that all led to a huge computer that ran his system, nearly touching the ceiling. Lights blinked, but there was no annoying whirring with his system. Next to this system was a neatly organized desk and a long monitor.

Next to his desk and across from his bed was something that could only be described as a tanning booth. It had a giant screen that extended and hovered over your face, sending you into the virtual world. There were many wires that would attach to the body of the user, it was done automatically upon sitting in the booth.

It made Tora feel even dumber than Panda. He didn’t only make a better system than him, he made a comfortable system that brought him to the virtual world. Completely shut himself off from his real world.

Then he saw it. There was one window in the room that became visible when Tora inched closer. It was open. Panda was clearly nowhere to be found. Panda, the shut-in who never left his room, had run away.

“What the fuck, Panda?!” He swore in his head. Angrily kicking his foot across the floor. He sat on Panda’s bed, covering his eyes. He sank into what felt like an endless spiral. It wasn’t an intellectual one, either. The same thought repeated in his head over and over.

“My boyfriend chose his father over me. He cut me off. He treated it like a game and now this is how it ends. It doesn’t matter if he gave it over willingly. He chose to keep the moonsmoke blueprints around. Because it was just a fun game of war to him. He would never be affected by it.”

He eventually went over to Panda’s caretaker, opening the door to meet her.

“Oh, are you done?” She asked.

“Panda’s gone. He escaped through the window.”

“What?!”

She burst through the door. Finding the open window.

“Why did you not tell me earlier?”

Tora didn’t respond, still mid-spiral. They sat in silence and she stepped out of the room, leaving Tora to toil in the room by himself. He heard large footsteps coming towards the room. A huge man with a long beard came into the room.

King Baptiste.

He had long, curly white hair that was tied into many ponytails, along with a long beard and clothes that seemed like they were pure draco. He was literally wearing money. He had a cane that he walked around with, but it was clearly cosmetic.

“You, boy. Do you know what happened to my son?”

“N-No. I’m not sure.” Tora responded.

“Why are you here than? What is your business?”

“I came to see Panda. We were going to hang-out.”

“In real life? I know about that library nonsense he’s been playing with. Where are you from, son?”

Tora didn’t answer. His words were stifled by the large man that stood before him. His voice hurt his ears, Tora couldn’t tell if he was well-built or fat, if he would kill him or if he would spare him.

“Does Byakko have your tongue? Where’s this boy from, Phoenix?” He referred to Panda’s caretaker standing beside him. She surprised Tora with a scanning machine that read his face with a bright red light.

“Mallard Sector. His sister was a soldier with Les Cavalieres.”

“Oh-ho.” He looked at the report with a smile on his face. “Your sister was infected with moonsmoke. Truly a shame. Are you trying to find her? Is that why you finally left your room, little boy?”

Again, Tora didn’t answer.

“When a king speaks to you, you answer.” He sneered.

“I-I…I am worried for my sister, yes. I-I was trying to find a friend to talk to, but Panda wasn’t on the virtual network, so I came looking for him.”

“Yes, yes. He’ll be getting it when he gets home too, and you, boy?”

the king stood aside and thought for a second.

“Put some armor on him! La Masse needs more cattle!”

“W-What?” Tora choked.

“I tell this to my son all the time. Don’t hurt your enemies. Use them.”

________________________________________________________________________

Manufactured armor was placed on Tora’s soldiers. His shoulder-length hair was shaved down so it wouldn’t get in the way. A helmet was shoved over his face, and he was handed guns and swords by other faceless “comrades”. There was no training. He was put in the barracks and left there.

He laid down and stared into the abyss. He barely slept over the night. But no thoughts came. Nothing going in, nothing going out. Night passed, and morning came. Loud, blaring alarms went off, breaking the dark’s silence. Soldiers rose, slapping hands together and preparing to go off on a day of killing and conquering.

“Hey, y’hear we got fresh meat?” One of the men shouted.

“Oh, shit. Where?”

“Right here” The man stood over Tora’s resting place. He was unresponsive.

“Fresh meat! Get the hell up! It’s go time!”

No movement.

“Oh? Don’t want to get up? Come on! Wake up, asshole! We don’t got time!”

Still, there was nothing.

“Hey. Your eyes are open. Get the fuck out of bed!”

“He’s a wise-ass. Who wants to go hard on him?”

“I’ve got this, this lazy ass is pissing me off.”

The soldier next to his bed flipped it over, slamming Tora’s body on the ground and throwing his blanket and pillows all on the ground. He was still motionless. “Really don’t want to get up? Fuck it. I’ll make it so you can’t walk!” The man’s voice blared.

He kicked Tora in the stomach. “Huh? Still don’t wanna get up?”

He sat on his stomach and punched him across the face. Tora looked through him with a blank expression. “Lazy fuck! Don’t wanna fight? I’ll knock it into ya!”

He sent a barrage of punches into Tora’s face. Leaving his face unrecognizable. The man’s friends joined in. One kicked Tora across the face, another kicked him in the gut as the other pummeled his face in. His body began to fade. But it was slow. All the hits he endured became worse as his body finally shut-down.

________________________________________________________________________

Tora woke up in the infirmary. With other soldiers who had been injured in actual war. Tora was the last priority. Besides, it was an internal matter that most nurses didn’t care about. A young nurse tended to his wounds. “Jeezus. This was an internal matter, was it not?” She tried to make conversation with him.

No response.

“You're new, aren’t you? I understand not wanting to fight. Those men will go after you again. Try and look out for yourself.”

“I don’t really care about myself.” Tora finally answered.

The nurse laughed, as if she was trying to play off Tora’s behavior as a joke. “Wow, That’s morbid.” She joked. “You wouldn’t have survived that fight if you had nothing to fight for.”

“My sister.” Tora responded.

“Your sister? Was she in the war?” She responded excitedly, the woman must’ve been used to the same type of mental torture that Tora went through by their hands. Knowing the men who worked for the king, he imagined worse, and ignored the bruises on her arms. “Yeah.” He answered.

“What side?”

No answer. The nurse continued her story. “My bro was one of the first fighters in the war. Les Cavaliers butchered him. If your sister is still alive, I’d be a lot more lively. What’s her name?”

“Kitty. Why are you so interested?”

“We are all affected by the war in some way. What about you? What's your name?”

“Tora.”

“My name’s Fawn.”

Fawn had to work through every inch of his body to make sure he wasn’t mortally injured in any area. When she had sedated Tora, they were each able to finally relax. She fed him a cup of water. “Thank you, Tora. You might just be one of the nicest patients I’ve ever worked with.”

“Why? I’ve done nothing.”

“That’s kind of it. We have to do full-body checks on men all the time. It’s tiring when they are trying to get pleasure from their experience while I’m just trying to do my job.”

“Wow…really? I can’t imagine going through that.” Tora said.

“I’d put a man in our shoes for just one day and see how they like it. I’m sure they’d leave us alone then!”

________________________________________________________________________

Tora had never seen an area this dark. His first fight was one deep in the isles. Every one of the soldiers was to wear a head-lamp so they could see straight ahead., even though It barely cut through the darkness. The same lights were switched on across the battlefield, moving around like little stars straight ahead. It forced Tora to anticipate the kill. The stars moved closer and closer to him. He wanted to cower in fear. To close his eyes and let them stab their swords through his chest. Then it’d be over.

He thought about how his sister thought. What would she do in a situation like this? She’d fight! She’d fight off the enemy because they were fighting against her! He aimed the rifle on his back. Wishing to have the same accuracy as Kitty did. He held his rifle to his shoulder and brought the sight up. He opened and closed his eyes again and again. They weren’t people. Just stars. Dancing stars that he had to shoot. Like a game he used to play in his virtual world. He put his finger over the trigger, and closed his eyes.

BANG!

It felt like a brick slammed into his shoulder, snapping it loose. It hurt much worse than the haymakers those soldiers threw at him before. His gun flew up in the air and his balance was lost. He fell to the ground, his helmet protecting him from splitting his head wide open.

“La Masse soldiers are so thoughtless.” A light said, staring down at him.

The light was snuffed out just as fast as the rifle fired into the soldier standing above him. One of his comrades shot the man in the head, breaking his light and sending him to the ground. Tora couldn’t help but look at him. His head was split open, his eyeballs falling from his unrecognizable face. He got to his knees, only to see more carnage. The swarm of La Masse soldiers protected him. They trampled over him like buffalo blindly running to their deaths. Just like that, he was back in the infirmary for the night. Staring into nothingness once again. Images of the squashed, blown up limbs showed up in front of him as he tried to fall asleep. If he went to sleep, maybe they’d stop.

He woke up in the morning, or, what he thought was morning. The clock in the corner read what was their equivalent to four in the morning. Far before wake-up time. He saw Fawn tending to his wounds. She looked up at him, acknowledging he was awake. She slipped him a piece of paper. On top of it was a small gun with a tranquilizer dart inside.

“Kitty Alua is here. Inari encampment.”

On the back was a map with a circled location. Tora nodded.

“Looks like this one’s all set.” Fawn announced. Giving Tora the go-ahead.

He slipped out of his bed and threw on his equipment. As he moved out of the infirmary he felt his armor clicking at his sides. He switched the sword out for a small knife, and dropped the armor. Moving in the shadows. He put a headlamp over his shaved head and disappeared into the dark. Only turning on his light for short bursts, and using it to take peeks at the map.

An hour of walking later, he saw a light on in the distance. Shadows danced like the dead in front of the lights. They encircled the perimeter, moving and killing anything that moved in front of them.

These were the zombies that moonsmoke made.

“Kitty. I’m gonna find you.” Tora moved as slow as possible. He knew that one wrong move would result in his certain death. He slowly inched towards the first soldier, who moved and twitched erratically. Tora waited for him to move out of his line of sight. This was when he struck. He jumped on his back and stabbed the knife quickly into his neck. Once, it didn’t feel like it was enough. He stabbed again, and again, spewing blood onto his face and clothes. Until he realized what he had done. He peered down at the dismantled corpse of the man who once had a life, family, and dreams. Tora couldn’t help but sob quietly as he moved to the next one. This one, he sliced the legs out of and then pounced on his neck. Slashing it in one fell swoop. He let the tears settle, and regained control of his emotions.

He moved through the other zombies slowly. Slower than he wanted. Tora became worried he’d be attracting attention. As he sliced into the neck of another zombie, he heard the faintest sign of rustling. He turned his head slowly, as not to cause any noises.

Kitty’s knife nearly sliced his nose off as he ducked straight under it.

“Kitty…” Tora whimpered.

Her eyes were blank, her face was almost fully white. With eyebags showing severe sleep depravity. She wore her armor, but it had clearly been chipped at through battle injuries. Her hand came back to her body and snapped violently back into place as she shambled towards Tora.

“Tora…Tora…” Her voice rasped.

“Do you recognize me, Kitty? It’s me, Tora.”

She continued with meaningless rambling. The more she repeated Tora’s name it became apparent that it wasn’t because she recognized him. Tora pulled the small gun from his side. It had one tranquilizer dart in it.

“Kitty. I don’t want to have to use this on you. So please, back up!”

“Torrraaaa!”

She threw her knife at Tora and rocketed towards him like an animal. He stepped over to the side and slashed his knife across her stomach. It hurt his soul to see the blood leak from his sister’s belly. She turned back over to him, only to be angrier. She sliced each of her arms off. Creating a massive distance between Tora and herself. As her arms moved towards him, he held up the gun and shot it. The dart sunk into her neck.

“Yes!” He thought.

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell backward. She barely resisted the numbness that she had to have been feeling. Stepping forward, she bellowed “TORA!”

Tora’s soul was sucked right out of him as she screamed, waking soldiers up. All they could do was watch. She tackled Tora to the ground and tore at him like an animal.

“Kitty! Stop!” He screamed until he couldn’t anymore. “Please! Please…god please!”

His face was almost unrecognizable. Her knife came to her hands and she stabbed him in the chest with all her might. Opening a crater in the ground, shattering his ribs and lungs. She kept stabbing down, even as he stopped breathing. Once she used up any strength she had left, she fell over, finally succumbing to the tranquilizer.

________________________________________________________________________

Tora awoke. The black that he was met with was simultaneously infinite and brief. It was like he had a bad dream. His bones were weak and felt frail as he slipped off the covers of his bed. He was chained to the bed by electronic wires. He grabbed them in bulk and ripped them from his body. He brought his bare feet to the cold floor, and had to use the wall to help himself stand. He bumbled around the mysterious building he found himself in. There were two women talking together. One in a white lab coat and another in maid’s clothes. Her seering red eyes distinguished her from every person he had ever seen.

“H-Hello?” Tora caught himself on his words.

The voice, it was both gravelly and high-pitched. It sounded like Kitty’s. He gripped his neck, grasping at his voice box as if trying to readjust his voice. He looked around frantically before turning to a nearby window. It wasn’t his face he saw.

It was Kitty’s.

There were bandages all throughout his body. Especially around his head. He began to rip the bandages off to feel his skin. Or, well, his sister’s skin. All the wounds that were there had healed. So he ripped the bandages around his head off. There were stitch marks all around his sister’s head. Kitty was staring back at him in the mirror. Not Tora. He had died in the fight against his sister.

“S-s-sis? Is that…?” He stammered.

He jumped back with a shout, staring at his body in the mirror again.

“What’s happening…? What’s happening?!” He shrieked.

He began to break down into a clump of flesh lying on the ground as he screamed. The doctor ran over to her, and others began to surround Tora as the woman with the red eyes stood back, watching blankly.

“I want my sister! Wh-Where’s my sister!?”

The doctors pushed Tora against the wall, trying to keep him from squirming. They were shouting things back and forth.

“Patient 1’s out!”

“Stop her! Get a sedative!”

“...You don’t think that will….?”

Tora’s screams overwhelmed the voices.

“Move.” The woman in maid clothes commanded. “Sleep.”

The woman opened her palm, her skin bubbled for a second, with a snap a metal rod popped out. A sleeping gas was forced into Tora’s face. Allowing him to go back to a restless sleep.

________________________________________________________________________

Tora’s eyes opened. But he couldn’t say anything. He tried to open his mouth, but no words came out. It was Panda! Panda was standing over him!

He looked sad. Why?

It was the king’s voice.

“Why the hell did you even bring him of all people back to life? And in his own sister’s body too? What is it son? Did you get tired of dick, finally wanted to try it the old-fashioned way. You’re a damn creep, y’know that?”

Panda was silent.

“It’s going to a new home. This woman here is taking her…him…whatever it is. Time to say goodbye to your little fling.”

Panda looked down at Tora. If he wanted to say something, he wasn’t saying anything with his father standing behind him. He looked down with glistening eyes, and left the room.

“Well, it’s going with you, right? What is your name, again?” King Baptiste questioned.

The maid who had sedated Tora earlier stood in front of the king. He towered over her by comparison.

She ignored his question, “You will never see this person again.” 

Note: [Next Time...Finale!!!]