[Underneath the forest floor, 8:21 PM]
My battle with Normand had continued, trading blow for blow with him as the broken pipe was somewhere above us, I had to fight him with my fists and my new ability "Serene Garden".
Normand suddenly kicked off of me, using his tiny stature and surprising strength to propel backwards.
Normand Ariston: "You'll surely regret this!"
He slid onto the ground, grabbing dirt and rocks and chucking them at me, they transformed into zombie-projectiles mid-air.
Normand Ariston: "Zombie: Thriller Festival!"
I instinctively clenched my fist, a wall of soapy colorful vines sprouted from the floor, the zombies hit them and instantly began eating through them. The vines themselves also turned into zombies, I ran backwards before I could get bitten.
James Karawei: "That's dirty! You're resourceful, I'll give you that!"
He held out his palms to catch dripping water from a stalactite. His crown fell but he didn't care, he just stood there. Smirking.
Normand Ariston: "Should've stayed down James!"
He then threw the water to me, it started morphing into rabid zombie droplets mid-air.
Normand Ariston: "Zombie: Wretched Festival!"
They latched onto my arm, teeth sinking deep.
James Karawei: "AGHH! THAT'S ONE TOO MANY FESTIVALS!" He chuckled and picked his crown back up, firmly placing it on his head once again.
I screamed and thrashed on the cold floor of the cave.
Normand Ariston: "Kill me in under an hour, or you'll turn into a brainless zombie, not that you have any brains Karawei. Tick-tock!"
Clutching my bleeding arm, I stood up, shaking my right hand, vines came out of it alongside roses, covering my whole right arm. Another wall of vines and thorns came out of the ground and wriggled, a bunch of bubbles came out, flying towards Normand.
James Karawei: "Why an hour?! Who decided that?!"
Normand turned away from me.
Normand Ariston: "Screw you asshole, I want to fight!"
He ran away from the barrage of bubbles, growling.
James Karawei: "Cathy cares about you, moron! You— Ugh, the worst brother I've ever seen!"
Normand laughed as he turned around, stretching his hands out and letting the bubbles hit him—
They turned into zombies upon making contact with him.
He reached down, grabbing rocks and pebbles and threw them onto the now zombified bubbles, which were heading my way, causing them to split and create even more zombies.
Normand Ariston: "Zombie: Monstra Festival!"
James Karawei: "Shut up with the festivals! Get creative already!"
He closed the gap between us, his foot slamming into my chest.
My shirt came alive again, this time the upper half of it, biting into my skin as I struggled to rip it off completely.
I stood up and rushed again at Normand.
James Karawei: "I'll try my own attack then... Serene Garden: Growth Spurt!"
I once again focused, feeling the strange sensation course through my arm as I slammed it down onto the ground and onto my ripped zombie-shirt, a giant iridescent rose burst forth from the ground. Spitting out bubbles and soapy spikes in every direction, killing the other rock and bubble zombies below.
The force of the bubble's popping and the bounce of the rose carried both me and Normand out of the cave and up into the forest.
The forest fire grew brighter and closer to us.
James Karawei: "Look at what you've done! Look at it! This is the result of you... filthy obedience!"
Normand chuckled, hitting a tree with his fist out of frustration, turning it into a zombie. It snarled in frustration as it gained a twisted semi-sentience.
Normand Ariston: "What I've done?! What about what Cathy's done?! What about what YOU'VE done!"
I once again rushed towards Normand.
James Karawei: "What have I done?! Huh?!"
Aiming to slam my fist directly into his neck but—
Jack Daniels: "Manic Twister!"
Jack appeared and did a front-flipping kick, effectively punting Normand into the ground, the kid kicked quickly retaliated by kicking Jack off of him.
Jack glanced back towards me, smirking as he landed, injuries and all.
Jack Daniels: "Did'ya miss me?"
I felt a grin creep onto my face, happy at his survival
James Karawei: "Jack! You beat that guy...? That's amazing! I thought he would've been a problem!"
I wrapped my arms around him in a hug.
Jack Daniels: "With trouble, but yeah!"
He hugged me back.
Normand Ariston: "Raijin... Lost...?"
Normand chuckled and looked directly at us.
Normand Ariston: "Second Step: Titan..."
His eyes started glowing a green hue, similar to Jack and Raijin, he was now utilizing Flow.
His skin was now shimmering, tough and almost crystal-like. Even the broken crown on his head was affected.
Jack Daniels: "He knows how to use The Ten Steps?! Woah..." Jack stumbled backwards, both from injury and shock.
Normand then grinned and slammed his hands down onto the forest floor.
Normand Ariston: "This is surely going to destroy you! Zombie: Grandé Corpse Malade!"
Every tree and anything else in the visible area, along with the ground, had become a furious zombie.
Jack quickly jumped up and climbed a tree, I lifted my hand up, wrapping vines around a branch above and pulling myself up there, perching next to him.
Normand yelled at us, again.
Normand Ariston: "You fools can't stay up there forever!"
He laughed as the forest began eating itself as one giant organism. Tree eating tree, squirrel eating squirrel, rock eating rock.
Jack Daniels: "This guy is more nuts than Raijin!"
I turned and whispered to him.
James Karawei: "Wait... Who's Raijin?"
Jack looked at me incredulously and whispered back.
Jack Daniels: "The speed guy! C'mon bro, get a grip."
I rubbed the back of my neck, looking away.
James Karawei: "Sorry... I couldn't pay attention with Normand trying to kill me."
Suddenly thunder could be heard in the distance and Raijin appeared before us, on another tree branch, perched perfectly.
A trail of skid marks could be seen on the tree, presumably from when he ran up it. He winced in pain, his leg still injured but bandaged, alongside his face.
Raijin Hogo: "Hurry up you morons! Or I'll take Gravity back to HQ, you wouldn't want your dear friend to be tortured, would you?"
He laughed, running down the tree in a blur, burning the bark.
Normand Ariston: "Hah! Now you definitely can't stay up there or you'll burn—"
Surprisingly he hugged Normand, the shimmering crystal skin on him disappearing and turning back to that of a corpse.
We couldn't hear what they were saying due to the giant maw in the ground snarling.
Just then our burning tree began turning into a zombie, I exchanged a glance with Jack and we both jumped down to where they were.
Raijin grinned and despite his injured foot he began running on top of the teeth of the forest floor at great speeds.
Normand Ariston: "Unbelievable...! Don't leave me with them!"
I hit my fist into the ground, out came a large rainbow bubble that popped, the force of the blast was so great it propelled the three of us upwards high into the sky, alongside a few trees and other zombies and sent us flying back towards the house.
Normand held tightly onto the cracked toy crown on his head as we flew, not wanting to lose it, there was a strange almost sad look in his eyes before he schooled his expression back to fury once he caught my gaze.
Normand Ariston: "You want to change the scenery?!?! Fine! But I'll destroy everything you own!"
The fire in the forest began turning green, everything was eating itself in rotten hunger.
James Karawei: "I'm not weak anymore! I'm not scared of you! Turn your ability off or else... I'll—"
Jack chuckled, holding his hands out.
Jack Daniels: "I think I've learned enough from seeing it in action, time for an upgrade! Second Step: Titan!"
Jack once again spun in the air horizontally his skin taking on a shimmering, tough and almost crystal-like matter, like Normand before, but his was white.
Jack spun forward mid-air like a human bullet, his fist connecting with Normand and punching him into the ground with great force and speed.
Jack Daniels: "Pop Cracker! That's the enhanced version! Haha... wow, this is even better than I thought... Uh oh, WAIT, WE'RE FALLING!" He suddenly began yelling and flipping around mid-air.
James Karawei: "You JUST realized that?! Unbelievable! Fine... I'll put everything I can into this, despite the risk of me turning into soap!"
I reached out towards him, grabbing him with a vine and pulling him close, I hugged him.
James Karawei: "Serene Garden: Covering Veil!"
Roses and vines began covering my body, each of them producing hundreds of bubbles as we fell, encasing the two of us in one giant bubble.
Jack Daniels: "W-wait! I think I can make it stronger too! Let's see if my theory's correct..."
He reached out, closing his eyes, the bubble started transforming to match the tough crystal-like matter on his arm.
We fell straight into the middle of the house, the impact was so intense it formed a giant crater in the living room.
The bubble around us disappeared and we glanced around.
James Karawei: "Come on, let's get up there and continue this mess..."
I stomped the ground beneath us, a bouncy rose forming to boost us upwards.
We glanced around the dusty and destroyed house.
Jack Daniels: "Ah man... this place made me feel so cozy. This really does suck, but I'm sure we'll find a way to get you some insurance!"
He grinned and patted my shoulder, despite the horrible situation.
James Karawei: "Yeah, a little late for that... but why is your skin like that?! What the heck is this step stuff?! You barely explained it to me earlier!"
Jack Daniels: "It'd take a lot longer than that to explain it! Plus you need practical applications."
Normand crawled into the now destroyed living room, green blood dripping from his broken nose as he clutched his head. The toy crown cracked completely and fell into two pieces next to him.
He got up slowly as he stared at us and ripped off his blanket. His eyes began glowing a deeper shade of green, he grimaced from pain.
Normand Ariston: "You made me bleed...?! Ahh.... Ahh... AGH....! FATHER! THEY HURT ME! WHERE ARE YOU?! FATHER—!"
He hit the ground hard with both hands, as debris turned into zombies and toppled down from the roof, eating themselves. The whole house shook as his skin turned crystal-like again.
I staggered, clutching my arm which was now bleeding.
James Karawei: "Oh damn... I think I'm gonna be sick..."
The world spun around me, but Cathy's voice cut through the haze—
Cathy Ariston: "Normand! Stop it!"
She flew in from the guest room, arms crossed and scowl on her face.
Cathy Ariston: "Look at what you've done! You destroyed James' house! You let that... Guy punch me!"
Her voice cracked. Normand froze, his hollow eyes widening.
For a heartbeat, the glow in his eyes receded, his face softening into the brother she remembered.
Normand Ariston: "Sis...?—"
Raijin suddenly appeared in a blur behind us and struck Cathy— A lightning fast kick hurling her into the grain field behind the house.
Raijin Hogo: "Sentimental trash. Finish them, Normand! We don't have to go back empty-handed, we can still win! Remember what I told you..."
The boy's face twisted back into a snarl, tears started falling from his eyes.
Normand Ariston: "You're all... scum... Zombie: Rotten Banquet!"
He hit the ground hard with his right foot.
A strange and putrid green flesh began growing and taking control of whatever it touched in the house.
James Karawei: "QUICK! GET OUT!"
We quickly ran out of the house and into the grain field as the house became a giant zombie, sprouting legs and yelling at the top of its newly formed "lungs"
Normand stood atop on the roof, all the zombies from the forest began running over.
Normand Ariston: "Zombies! Attention! All of you now!"
Every zombie snapped it's gaze up to look at Normand as he yelled, pointing to me and Jack.
Normand Ariston: "Eat them."
The zombies, including the house itself, all began running towards me and Jack.
We kept running into the grain field and then heard a great cry as Raijin flew past us and got knocked into Normand, Cathy was there with tears falling down her face and clearly pissed...
Cathy Ariston: "You sick FUCK! You thought you could kill me with a couch?!"
She threw the couch from the living room which was now also a zombie at Raijin but he kicked it downwards into the ground with a lightning bolt, killing it.
Cathy Ariston: "Ah... Normand?! What the bloody hell did you do?!"
Cathy stopped, realizing what was happening, but it was too late.
Raijin Hogo: "Speed: Shock Pacer..."
Raijin blurred, scaling the house quickly and kicked Cathy so hard that the two of us got knocked further away with a shockwave back into the forest, which was now just a crater as it ate itself alive.
Bone and sinew and gross green flesh and blood was everywhere, a hellish landscape. Green flames still scourged the ground every other patch of dirt, especially the giant crater in the middle of the forest where the cavern from earlier was.
Raijin Hogo: "You're not getting away this time!"
Raijin held out his arms as he appeared behind Cathy, who was hovering on top of the zombified house, Normand glanced at her once and then back at us as the house kept running towards the woods.
Raijin couldn't grab her, that he realized. But he could push her.
Cathy Ariston: "Let go! You—"
Raijin Hogo: "Speed: Bolting Burst!"
With another great shockwave that almost knocked Normand off of the house roof had he not been holding on to the frame of a broken window, Raijin pushed Cathy onto the fields below and all the way into the forest and into the crater in the middle of it.
Cathy and Raijin were now fighting where the forest center once stood.
Me and Jack slowly stood up, standing just at the edge of the crater.
James Karawei: "Jack! Are you okay?" I grabbed his hand and lifted him up.
Jack Daniels: "Yeah, thanks... The second step helped soften the fall. I'll explain it to you later. Maybe."
I sighed and look back towards the zombie house, what used to be my family farm.
The grain fields were also tarnished with debris and zombies, guts and blood, and the sounds of shockwaves and yelling.
It's safe to say my neighbors were long gone.
Raijin Hogo: "Stay out of this! Gravity!" Raijin yelled as Cathy threw a multitude of dead trees and zombies and various debris at him.
Cathy Ariston: "I'll show you some REAL speed, you ass!"
The force of her attack caused a few stray trees to fly towards the house, its left leg got pierced through, causing it to fall and topple over. Normand got knocked backwards into the woods, hitting his head on a particularly big tree.
Normand Ariston: "Sister... don't leave me... please... I—"
Normand, bloodied and trembling, forced himself to his feet. His voice was raw, desperate, his hollow eyes locked onto Raijin.
Normand Ariston: "GIVE ME THE SYRINGE, RAJIN! I'M DONE WAITING!"
Raijin yelled at Normand as he ran around the crater.
Raijin Hogo: "Wait, are you sure?! It's not safe—"
Raijin dodged rocks and boulders that Cathy threw at him, he began running past us in frantic circles, Cathy stopped her attack as I locked eyes with her. Holding up two trees near her head.
Normand Ariston: "DO IT! DO IIIIIIIT!!! GRAAAAAAH!"
Normand clutched his head and frantically rolled on the ground.
Raijin smirked, lightning crackling around his fingertips as he darted toward Normand. His speed was unreal-a blur of motion that left afterimages in his wake.
Raijin Hogo: "Boss said we should inject Karawei with it. But I'm curious... Don't disappoint me, King of Nothing."
He stabbed the syringe into Normand's left shoulder, its contents glimmering with a strange, rainbow hue—The same liquid Cathy had absorbed during our battle with Keito.
Cathy Ariston: "NORMAND! DON'T!—"
She lunged, but Raijin intercepted her, running up one of the burnt trees and jumping off it, his leg extended outwards.
Raijin Hogo: "Speed: Volt Burst!"
A bolt of lightning shot out of it, forcing her back out into the grain fields and out of the forest.
Raijin quickly ran after her in a blur, cackling, continuing the fight.
The glow in Normand's eyes deepened, veins bulging all across his body and green blood pouring out of them, he started growing in size.
Normand Ariston: "GRAAAHH!! ZOMBIE: ULTRAAA!"
His scream tore through the forest as his body twisted and morphed. His skin darkened, muscles bulging grotesquely beneath decayed flesh. His eyes glowed like twin cursed suns, and the mockery of a cape he once wore, his tattered blanket, tore in two, forgotten.
He wasn't Normand anymore.
James Karawei: "That's... that's different from Mr. Nakamura's transformation... This isn't right."
Jack Daniels: "Holy crap, dude! That's insane... D-don't worry, I got your back! I hope..."
Jack fought off the smaller zombies that ran towards us, his movements sharp and precise.
Jack Daniels: "First Step: Apex! Second Step: Titan! Hah... Oh man, I hope chaining these doesn't end up biting me later!"
His skin began shimmering again, and his eyes glowing, producing the same white mist from before.
The horde was almost endless, each fallen zombie spawning two more of itself.
They somehow began cloning each other from the remains of the dead ones.
James Karawei: "That's it... That's far enough, NORMAND! This one is for Mr. Nakamura! Serene Garden: Savage Burst!"
I raised my right hand, focusing all my energy. My right eye suddenly began glowing, a shiver ran through my entire body and my eye was now a vivid rainbow hue.
I began hearing whispers, my vision blurring, my head shaking.
I began hearing memories that didn't belong to me.
(A gruff man's voice) ???: "You're not good enough! Ya hear me? You think of yourself as a hero, eh? You're not good enough! You megalomaniac!"
(A bubbly, mocking laugh) ???: "You couldn't even stop a meteor without killing half the city, let alone stopping a robot army. Try harder next time, dweeb!"
(An old woman, disappointed) ???: "A flaming dagger in your teeth, cursed ears and a tail? Is this how you carry yourself, young man? I expected more from you—"
The voices grew louder, there were more and more of them, threatening to drown me. But I pushed through, focusing on the towering behemoth before me.
James Karawei: "SHUT UP! YOU'RE SO DEAD!"
With a roar, I unleashed a torrent of bubble-like swords from my hand, each of them iridescent and rainbow but still made of soap, each one shooting out at insane speeds.
They shot out in streams, piercing through the giant's body. Each impact created a burst of air pressure so intense it shook the forest.
But Normand didn't stop. He regenerated faster than I could damage him, using his own blood, flesh, and bone to spawn more of those rabid zombies.
Jack Daniels: "This guy's like a cockroach! What's it gonna take to put him down?!"
Jack fought off the other zombies as I kept shooting swords at what was once Normand—
He charged towards me but just then the ground beneath me was being levitated by Cathy who was being punted into the ground by Raijin from all directions, his speed looked like it was increasing.
The sounds of our battle could be heard for miles around...
[Easton Farm, Darrilyn, Piasu, Ryomania, May 6th, Tuesday, 10:38 PM, 2025]
Frank Easton: "Fred.... is it just me or is somebody throwing a darned rave in our good ol' woods?"
One of my neighbors. Frank Easton, who owned the Easton Farm just down the road asked his brother, Fred, as he reached for another beer bottle. They were our closest neighbors, even further down the road was Old Lady Dana, but she was too old too even hear the battle.
Both him and his brother Fred lived in Darrilyn, they were good neighbors and make a healthy living selling fruits and vegetables.
They also had a lot of chickens. They liked chickens.
Fred Easton: "Nah... could be bigfoot, only him and your grandma scream like that!"
Fred burst out laughing as the truck creaked under their combined weight, they were watching the Redwoods battle from afar.
Farmer Frank: "Must be them lil grey men that probe round' ere' in the winter—"
[Redwoods, Darrilyn, Piasu, Ryomania, May 6th, Tuesday, 10:40 PM, 2025]
No matter how many bubble swords I shot at Normand he kept regenerating.
Then, Cathy's voice rang out-raw, furious, and desperate.
Cathy Ariston: "DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! NONE OF YOU MORONS!!"
She intercepted a massive boulder Normand hurled at us, stopping it with pure gravity.
Tears streamed down her face as she screamed, her rage boiling over.
Raijin Hogo: "Enough of this melodrama!"
Raijin appeared behind her, delivering a sharp kick to her back.
She crashed into the ground.
Raijin blurred past me in bullet time, his smug expression faltering when he noticed my rainbow eye glaring back at him.
Everything seemed to slow. But I could see him.
Raijin Hogo: "What the—?"
My eye narrowed and in a blur of speed I grabbed him by the wrist, slamming him down onto the ground and stomping on his chest, cracking three of them.
I was completely out of it, I was in a trance, not even thinking anymore, acting on pure instinct. The swords kept flying and flying.
I felt as If I copied Raijin's power somehow.
Jack put his hand on my shoulder, my head turned to him and I finally stopped shooting the bubble swords from my right hand.
Jack Daniels: "Dude! That was so badass... H-hey are you okay?"
I looked down at Raijing, glancing over his body with a frown as he winced in pain. I was not there mentally.
I turned towards Normand, I crouched down low...
James Karawei: "Speed: Shock Pacer..." My voice low and measured, then suddenly—
I dashed forwards, with an incredible burst of speed, a trail of rainbow lightning arcing from behind me, knocking Normand down into the crater and splitting the sky with a great burst of speed.
I'd say it was around 20000 km/h, I had dashed forwards around 100 meters in the span of 0.018 seconds, all while technically being unconscious and on autopilot.
Everyone was stunned.
My eyes were unfocused and hazy... My right eye shut as I began tearing up. The forest was now completely destroyed.
I fell from mid-air onto Normand's chest, my eyes shut and I heard my name being called as both of us blacked out.
[Glenview, California, America, 3:15 AM, September 8th, Wednesday, 2010]
Normand Ariston wasn't like other babies. He was truly special.
From the womb, his skin was green, sickly, almost corpse-like.
This was due to his Divinity, the Zombie Divinity.
He looked like death incarnate, but his father, Obadiah Ariston, was unmoved by his appearance. He sat outside of the nursery's viewing window, watching him, being lost in thought.
The Boss stood beside him.
The Boss: "Oh... this really does bring back good memories, Obie. What will you name him?"
Obadiah stared at his son, his face unreadable.
Obadiah Ariston: "Normand... That's a strong name. He'll grow up as strong as a Viking, you'll see. Plus, it fits with everything going on right now. You've managed to capture that girl, right? You can't keep slacking."
The Boss laughed, throwing his head back.
The Boss: "Oh, please! I'm not worried about Iris and their little pet project. I have someone monitoring them, Carter, the double agent. She's too young anyway... So she won't cause us trouble. Plus I think you should be worrying about Cathy. She was destined to fight you know. Destiny is such a wonderful thing... isn't it?"
He then turned his gaze to Normand.
The Boss: "Destiny... It twists the strong into the weak and the weak into the strong. It creates outcasts and freaks, divides and controls them. Truly wonderful, wouldn't you agree? I love Divinities..."
Obadiah didn't respond, his gaze locked on Normand.
Obadiah Ariston: "Promise me... Promise me you'll leave Cathy alone? She's not ready. Out of the three, she's the one I'm most proud of. She... She has her mother's eyes, you know."
The Boss smirked, patting Obadiah on the shoulder.
The Boss: "Relax. Yoshio will take her place. He's a terrifying young boy, perfect for any job, I reckon. Cathy will flourish when the time is right, of course. Besides, you know as well as I do... The House always wins, doesn't it?"
He walked away, leaving Obadiah alone with his thoughts.
Obadiah Ariston: "You're right Boss... The House always wins."
[The Ariston Household, Donlon, Risu, 3:43 PM, September 8th, Tuesday, 2015]
Cathy Ariston, eight years old, pouted as she waited impatiently at the dining table, rolling a fork around with her pinky. She sat next to her brother Normand. Both waiting for their father.
It was Normand's birthday.
Cathy Ariston: "Come on, Normie~! Blow out the candles already! I want cake!"
She whined, despite the smirk on her face.
Normand Ariston: "Um... daddy said we have to wait..."
Obadiah came back into the room, exhausted, holding a hand-held camera and sighed, adjusting his tie.
Obadiah Ariston: "Cathy, it's Normand's birthday. At least pretend to wear the party hat."
Cathy groaned but complied, shoving the party hat onto her head.
Cathy Ariston: "Ugh, fine! But only because I want cakeee!"
Normand smiled faintly as his sister put on the hat.
Obadiah Ariston: "Alright, kids... Say cake!"
Cathy & Normand Ariston (in unison): "CAAAAAKE!"
It was a fleeting moment of happiness.
Cathy didn't care that her brother was different. To her, he was just her best friend, the weird green kid who was always there, always loved her back.
Normand was looked down upon by others, he wasn't let out of the house much, it was hard getting him into public institutions and anywhere else. Especially school.
[Yorbridge Middle, Donlon, Risu, 8:22 AM, January 20th, Monday, 2020]
Normand, now ten years old, stood in his school hallway.
Obadiah pulled a lot of strings for him to be here, so did The Boss.
But that didn't really matter when it came to bullying.
The other kids mocked him for his green skin. One boy, larger than the rest, pulled out a knife. It was his first day here, Cathy had been attending this school for at least two years now.
Bully #1: "Stay back, freak!"
Bully #2: "Kick his ass! Kick his ass!"
Normand lunged in frustration, but the knife slashed across his cheek.
The sight of his own blood sent him into a panic.
He had Hemophobia, but he didn't know it at the time. This caused him a great amount of stress, enough to awaken his Divinity.
Normand Ariston: "NO! NO!! NO!!!"
His scream echoed through the hallway as his powers manifested from sheer fear, anger and sadness.
His hand which was now on the first bullies wrist slowly started to turn the kid's flesh rotten.
The bullies turned into zombies one by one, as they started eating each other, their life force draining away and falling under Normand's control.
Normand's fear of blood had triggered something primal and dangerous, the Divinity of "Zombie".
[Yorbridge Middle, Donlon, Risu, 12:46 PM, January 20th, Monday, 2020]
Hours later, the school was in ruins. Normand walked through the bloody hallways, his breathing labored.
He had just finished snapping the neck of the security, the only man around with a gun. He was sure nobody would be coming to help.
He walked by his sister's classroom, 1-A. He saw Cathy hiding in her classroom and froze.
Normand Ariston: "Cathy...?"
She let out a loud gasp and stood up, the teacher motioned for her to sit back down and hide, she didn't care.
Cathy Ariston: "Normand...? N-Normand!"
She ran to him, but he stumbled back, horrified by what he'd done.
Normand Ariston: "I'm... I'm a monster... Leave me alone! Stay away from me! STAY AWAY FROM MEEE!"
Normand ran away from her, wiping his tears and bursting out into the courtyard of the school, he bumped into—
The Boss: "Little one, were you not told to be nice to others by your daddy?"
The Boss appeared, his red suit pristine amidst the destruction.
The Boss: "Who are you running from? You can't escape yourself. Normand Ariston, join me. I will make you a king amongst men, and your throne shall be made of the corpses of fools and their imperfect hatred. None shall reject you, for you are The King of Nothing... but I? I will make you King of Everything. Follow me, and live..."
His hand extended to Normand's.
Normand looked back at Cathy, tears streaming down both of their faces.
Normand took The Boss's hand, his eyes began glowing red.
Normand Ariston: "Goodbye Cathy... I'll always love you..."
Cathy ran as quickly as she could towards them. Hands extended for a hug that never came.
Cathy Ariston: "BROTHER!!!"
The air cracked in red, red glass shards flying out of the air around her, they both disappeared into nothing, leaving a scared and traumatized Cathy on the ground.