After that talk with Kay about Ben's mom, I went out and just started walking. I was feeling, like, every emotion, ever. And it was frustrating. So, I had to clear my head. I had walked to the edge of town, and still wasn't feeling rational. So, I did the most irrational thing I could think of at the time.
“Hey, Wood Bitch!” I shouted to the heavens. “Where are you!?”
And then a man appeared about two feet in front of me, wearing a crappy opera phantom mask.
“I shall be the one to speak on her-”
I punched him in the face before he could finish talking, he stumbled backwards a bit before glaring at me.
“What the hell, man!?” he demanded.
“Personal space, dude,” I told him, pulling my brass knuckles out of my breast pocket. “So where's your boss?”
Instead of answering the question, he zoom backwards really fast, pulled by invisible strings.
“Okay, I guess we're doing this,” I said, slipping the knuckles onto my left hand.
The strings began pulling him toward me quickly. As they did, he pulled his right arm back, readying a punch. I planted my weight firmly, and braced myself. As he got up to me, I dropped my weight quickly, ducking his punch, and thrust my left fist forward, putting as much strength as I could into it and his solar plexus collided with my strike. My whole arm began throbbing in pain from the impact, and he keeled over, gasping for breath. I rose up and looked down on him.
“You see, when you have that much momentum going forward, crashing into stuff hurts a lot more,” I told him.
Granted, it hurt me too, but luckily I'm right handed and it wouldn't last too long.
He stepped back to try and pull himself together, but I didn't give him the chance. I snapped a kick right at his face, and he went down.
“Okay, now where's the REAL competition?” I asked, turning away from him. “Come out and face me, Wood Bitch!”
It was silent for a while before I heard movement behind me. I looked to see Opera (that's what I'ma call him) getting back to his feet, now holding a sword in his hand.
“I'm not out yet!” He said, wiping some blood from his chin.
“Oh, so this is a thing,” I said, summoning my sword to me.
He charged at me, and I drew my sword to parry him. I quickly learned that he's a terrible swordsman. I disarmed him easily and smacked him in the face with my sheath. He stood there, dazed from the attack.
“That's I neat mask,” I told him.
I ignited Burner, and swung it. It caught him in his left cheekbone, and he collapsed, screaming as he clutched at the smoldering gash on his face.
“And now you have a reason for it,” I said.
I sheathed my sword, and as I did, the sound of wood knocking together sounded some distance away. I looked to see he Wooden Girl standing there, clapping.
“Bravo, Daniel,” she told me. “That was quite a performance. You've gotten a lot more brutal.”
I drew my gun and took aim at her.
“Something on your mind?” she asked.
“You orphaned my friend,” I said.
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said, squeezing the trigger.
The bullet hit her in the head, but she barely flinched. I shot her a few more times before she disappeared. I stuck my gun back into my belt and reached for my sword. I wasn't fast enough, and I took a heavy wooden blow to my head as she reappeared. I lost my balance and dropped the sword. I summoned it to hand again and got back to my feet. She threw another punch at me, and I dodged it. I drew my sword and ignited it as I slashed at her, catching her in the arm and burning it. I swung again, slashing her chest. Suddenly, strings bound my right arm, and I was pulled off balance and swung through the air. I crashed into the ground several feet away. More strings bound my left arm and legs and lifted me into the air, stretching me out like a rack. I was facing the Wooden Girl, who picked up my discarded sword. Before I could summon it back to me, strings bound my fingers, lashing them together and rendering them useless. Can't summon my sword to hand if I can't use them. Strings twisted around my throat as well, choking me. She began walking towards me.
“I've been waiting a long time to end your life, Devil Killer,” she said.
I can help you, you know, the Red Cap's voice sounded in my head.
No, I thought. If I let you have control, you'll destroy me! I won't let that happen!
“And no,” the Wooden Girl continued, “I have the chance. And with your own weapon, no less.”
I never said I needed to take you over, The Red Cap said.
What do you mean? I thought.
You're my Vessel, The Red Cap said. Even without embracing my power, you can still come visit me.
My eyes widened as I caught on to the Red Cap's plan. The Wooden Girl was now right in front of me. She seemed to have grown taller on her way over, and was clutching my sword tightly, ready to plunge it into my heart. Her wooden lips cracked into a twisted smile.
“What beautiful irony,” she said.
Well? The Red Cap asked me.
“DO IT!” I shouted out loud.
I clamped my eyes shut as the Wooden Girl thrust my sword forward. But it never penetrated me. The stings binding me were gone, and I dropped to the ground. I opened my eyes to find myself back in the Red Cap's domain. Everything looked like the place I had just left, only deep blue and black, and the sky seemed to fall away into infinite darkness, with the crimson aurora of the Red Cap streaking across it. I could feel a terrible sensation as the Wooden Girl screamed in fury from the real world, shaking the foundation of reality itself.
A dark blue silhouette of a woman, coated in a crimson aura, ran up to me.
“We need to run!” it shouted. “Now!”
I wasn't arguing. I got up and started running alongside the figure. We kept running for blocks, and as we did, the world around us got more and more twisted. Everything seemed to be flaking, as if it was covered in old paint that was peeling away, and beneath it all the world seemed to be bleeding.
“So was it really necessary to ditch me in Canada?” the figure beside me asked, as we finally began to slow down. I realized that it was Lana I was talking to.
“sorry,” I said. “Forgot. Are we clear yet?”
“Yeah,” she said, and we both stopped.
“Quick question,” I said. “Why am I not tired after all that running?”
“It's because of this domain's nature,” she said. “It's screwing.”
“Right,” I said. “We know anything new about the Apostles?”
“A few things,” she said. She told me what all she had learned, but none of it seemed particularly useful.
“I don't think I can bring them down with that knowledge,” I said. “But thanks anyway. Can we go back to the real world now?”
“Sure,” Lana said.
We sort of just phased back into the normal world. I checked a nearby street sign to figure out where we were.
“Okay, I know this place,” I said. “I can find my way back to Kay's from here.”
I summoned my sword in one hand, and my sheath in the other, and slid them back together. Glad the Wooden Girl didn't break either of them.
“So you CAN summon the sheath seperately,” Lana said. “I always wondered about that.”
“The sheath is part of the sword, of course I can summon it,” I said. “I'll see you later.”
“Right, whatever,” she said. “But we need to get back to the whole Bleeding Crest thing soon.”
“Yeah,” I know,” I said. “Keep your ears open for any new Apostle info.”
“Will do,” she said.
And with that, we parted ways.
