I don't want to feel any of this! I don't want to see, don't want to hear, don't want to smell and especially - don't want to touch! I switch my attention, I focus on the "Valkyries" still hanging in the air above the Plant, on the body of me-Amy, which is now pulling its head into its shoulders and turning away from the screens that broadcast the picture from the chest camera of me-Taylor, who stands in the room with Jack and Bonesaw and... is under Fifth's control.
And now - I can't see this, can't hear this, don't want to participate in this! But... I also can't not see, not hear and not participate. I'm forced to... after all, this is one of my bodies... and Fifth doesn't control it directly, but by telling me what to do, there's no other way, this is my ability - multitasking in control. But right now I very, very much regret that I can't just transfer control of this body to Fifth...
"Well, there's no getting away from it," sounds the cheerful voice of Senior Comrade and Best Friend in my head: "though in the future you might be able to allocate me a separate body, but for now... for now we have what we have. Try to abstract yourself from the process, or understand it."
"Understand?! How can this be understood?! You... what you're doing is wrong! Incorrect! Disgusting!"
"Where does a smart person hide a leaf? In a forest. Where does a smart person hide a pebble? On a seashore. To hunt a monster - you need to think like a monster. Relax, Taylor... you're in good hands. We're allies. I can't live without you, I need you. Now, even if for a short moment - you need me. That's what cooperation means, right?"
"Fine. I... understood. But..." I swallowed: "please don't drag this out. If everything goes according to plan - I promise I'll allocate you a body. Whatever kind you want."
"Today you're generosity itself, Taylor. I suppose I should be wary, right?" Fifth's voice is still cheerful. Communication between us takes a fraction of a second, while outside all hell is breaking loose... Fifth and Jack are talking like old, good friends.
"...you see, such things are only done by amateurs," Fifth reasons, sitting on a chair and crossing his legs: "disgust is a strong enough emotion, but... aestheticism of the body and moment works much better, do you understand me?"
"I apologize for the frankly primitive appearance of these two," Jack shakes his head: "but most people still react to crude and primitive stimuli. Pain, fear, disgust..."
"Terrible," Fifth nods and folds his arms across his chest, looks down and chuckles: "simply terrible that you have to deal with ordinary people. Who don't understand art... but still, Jack. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes - I would never have believed that the work of sweet little Riley is so primitive. And this is your responsibility, Jack. Give her to me. I will make her truly great. Teach her to see art... for example..." he turns his head to where two creatures are fussing over my dead body. Me-Amy turns away from the screens, but me-Taylor can't turn away. I look at this...
"This sight inspires disgust, but only that," Fifth swings his leg: "only disgust. True art should inspire horror, disgust, but at the same time be attractive. Exciting. Such that you want to look at it again, do you understand, Jack? An exciting, sinful feeling that you don't want to admit even to yourself... a sight that's attractive and terrible at the same time, do you understand, Jack? No one will look at this picture, created by the hands of sweet, wonderful, so promising little Riley, a second time. People will glance and immediately turn away. Cast a glance and that's it. This picture... it's disgusting, but it's not attractive. Do you understand, Jack?"
"What are you... what nonsense are you spouting, Taylor? What stupid tricks are you trying to..."
"Jack, Jack, Jack..." Fifth swings his leg and smiles: "Riley, my girl, come here." He extends his hand and Bonesaw obediently takes several steps forward. Into an embrace. Into an embrace?! My hand, obedient to Fifth's will, embraces the fragile shoulders of the girl and seats her on my lap. My hand strokes her head and Bonesaw tilts her head to the side, enjoying it like a little kitten.
"Look here. Hey!" Fifth raises his voice and the two naked creatures, once my classmates, flinch and straighten up, obediently freezing.
"Look, Riley..." he says, stroking the little girl's head: "warts... sparse hair, pus and these contraptions... this certainly inspires disgust, but only that. Do you understand, my little one, what evokes the most feelings in us is what attracts us, not what repels us. You were on the right path when you gave these dolls Taylor's father's face. There was already a seed of art in that, a beginning of talent, a flash of genius... but only that. Everything you did after - disappointment. Simply..." he shakes his head: "one solid disappointment."
"B-but! Taylor!" Riley protests: "I tried!"
"Exactly. Do you understand, Jack?" Fifth turns his head: "both she and you are a solid disappointment."
"You dare to teach me? You're just bluffing, schoolgirl. What can you know about the art of causing pain?!" Jack's voice changes, new notes appear in it.
"What do I know about pain?" Fifth's voice also changes. He seems surprised, but at the same time serious.
"What do I know about pain?" he repeats: "Riley, my girl, turn around, look at my face. Look into my eyes... daughter..." his voice changes tone again, Riley jumps to her feet and grabs her mouth, covering it with her hands, tears flow down her face. Dilated pupils, pale skin...
"You see, Riley..." Fifth says and his voice becomes quiet and sad: "I couldn't cause you such pain if I showed you a disgusting scene. If I peeled skin off your leg like a stocking. If I broke your elbows and knees. No. Unfortunately, real pain is this kind of pain. Pain that comes from inside your personality. Pain that's always with you, as long as you are you. This is the pain of alienation from the world, of gaining individuality. You remember, don't you, Riley? You tried to forget, tried to convince yourself that you did everything right, but actually - it still hurts, doesn't it?"
"Y-you... how do you know?" whispers the girl named Riley and tears flow down her face.
"You surprised me," Jack says: "indeed you would be an excellent acquisition for the Nine. You even managed to hurt Riley. And Riley can't stand pain and perfected her body so as not to experience it at all. She wouldn't even wince if you skinned her. Her nerve endings have long been something completely different... even I don't know what. I admit, you know enough about pain to surprise me. But... enough to defeat me?"
"There's no need for that. You're already defeated, Jack," Fifth responds: "however... you never had any chances from the beginning."
"Wow. You surprise me again, Taylor. A bluff? You can't defeat me, and you're pretending you already have." Jack weighs his knife in his hand: "experiencing delusions is characteristic of humans. However, collision with reality can break your little heart... now your fate is on the tip of my knife's blade."
"Bluffing?" Fifth's voice changed again, barely noticeably, but I felt it.
"How can you, a schoolgirl from a provincial town, achieve victory over me?" Jack's voice is mocking and calm: "I don't have an inflated ego, but still... Alexandria couldn't handle the Nine and..."
"Alexandria?" Fifth interrupts him: "the same one who's now lying in a stasis chamber at the PRT base? Separately - upper half, separately - lower half? Yes, I remember such a one."
"Seriously? You killed Big A? Well I'll be... such talents even in the provinces. Riley! Do you hear? Huh?"
"How do you know?" Bonesaw insists on her question, addressing Fifth: "how do you know everything?"
"I don't know everything, little one. I only know what I know," Fifth's voice changes again: "but don't worry. Now you and I will always be together."
"Hey! Schoolgirl? Haven't forgotten about me?"
"Relax, Jack. We'll be together with you too. You think I'm your enemy, don't you? Jack, that's not so. You and I are allies. Comrades. Friends. I need Riley. I need her for my personal purposes, Jack. I want to resurrect Alexandria. Why? So that the Heroes, PRT, Protectorate perceive me as an ally. Too. What will this give me? Tell me, Jack, what's your goal? What tasks do you set for yourself? Whatever they are, doing it in alliance with me will be easier. And you'll be able to achieve more. If your task is simply to sow pain and horror, kill people... isn't it easier not to fight the Protectorate, but become its formal ally? Then no one will protect people. You spend an incredible amount of energy hiding. Why? You can sow chaos, destruction and pain completely officially, with permission from our country's government, with municipal approval, with an FBI document and to approving applause from boy scouts. Isn't that in the spirit of the Slaughterhouse Nine? Cynically using everything at your disposal? But... I doubt your goal is simply to be an agent of Chaos and Pain. No. Your goal is absolute power... and this thirst is so strong that you, like a child, can't wait. You need everything here and now. You know, there's such a test, Jack. When a child is offered either one candy now, or three, but tomorrow. Most children choose candy today. The concept of delayed gratification is incomprehensible to children. Same with you... if the feeling of control is so sweet to you, if you so love breaking people and tormenting them... all you need is to make the right impression. Conclude an agreement with the Protectorate and... you'll be able to do all the same things, but already in service to the state. You'll stop being a criminal and become an executioner. Look at me..." Fifth spreads his arms: "I'm a killer. In my very first outing I killed almost forty people and Lung. And what did they do to me? Nothing. Now I have a signed agreement with the PRT, no one is looking for me, I'm not hiding from anyone. And I continue to kill. Because I like it... you and I are similar, Jack. Only I'm smarter. And you were a five-year-old child and remained one."
"Dare to teach me about life?!" A knife appears in Jack's hand, he waves it.
"Iuppiter iratus ergo nefas... Jupiter, you're angry, therefore you're wrong," Fifth calmly states: "when you lack arguments, Jack, you grab for a knife. Interesting, right? No one can argue with you? Or are you afraid to lose even in small things? So unsure of your strength? Well then... go ahead. Kill me. After all, you can't handle me in a simple argument. Go ahead, call upon your powers, wave your knife... admit your defeat, Jackie."
"Shut up. You know nothing. And... your speech just makes me laugh. I need power? That's funny! I can't stand rules and norms, working with the government... yes, they've offered me this a hundred times! But working with them means constantly licking someone's ass, and if you have no problems with that, I'm not going to do it. I do what I want, when I want and that's true freedom! You're all just slaves. And the Nine are free. Today we're here, tomorrow we're there. And if I want to kill the country's president - I'll do just that. You and I are on different levels, schoolgirl. I can do what I want when I want. And you obey orders, run on a leash for the PRT, even planning to resurrect Big A. If I had killed her - the next day I would have hung her remains on the flagpole at PRT headquarters in New York. That's freedom, Taylor. You're still a brat, you've obeyed someone your whole life... you're used to sucking and licking for money, for small handouts, for forgiveness of sins... and you'll do this your whole life! Therefore I offer you - join us! Become part of the Nine! Gain freedom! You're already a killer, you know this sweet feeling of power over a living being at the moment when you turn the knife in a wound... you don't need to be convinced of my rightness... you already want to kill... for example - these two who bothered you at school. Kill them and join us. It's a simple test, isn't it? Just kill your classmates, cut off everything that connects you to the past. Stop running on a leash like a little dog. You have enormous potential, Taylor. Are you really going to bury it in the ground?" A mocking smile returns to Jack's face, he tosses his knife in the air.
"Well... I must say there's truth in your words. A share of truth," Fifth admits: "indeed, I'm forced to follow some rules, only there are very few of them. For example - 'help in Battles with Endbringers'... but I myself want to kill an Endbringer someday. This gives me... goosebumps. Wouldn't you like to kill the Unstoppable? Eh, Jack?"
"A smart person knows his limits, Taylor. I have no need to fight Endbringers. I'm a harbinger, a conductor of change. The old world must fall..."
"You're just afraid, Jack. You're just chickening out. You know what? Let's make a bet? You show up to an Endbringer Battle, and I guarantee everyone will observe the Truce. Just once, huh? Just prove you're not chickening out... otherwise all your smart words now don't sound very convincing. You know what would be convincing? When you show up and kill Behemoth. Or Simurgh. Then I'll be the first to bow my head before you, but now... words, words, words. You're all talk, Jack."
"I see," Jack smirks: "and you? You say you're not bound by any rules except 'help in battles with Endbringers,' but you yourself strive to follow unspoken rules, try to look good... what about the rule 'Don't kill Alexandria'? Or 'don't kill your classmates'? You're an ordinary schoolgirl, Taylor, albeit with abilities. You know what irritates me about people like you? You get opportunities that even ancient gods couldn't dream of, and you still behave like schoolchildren. You obey elders, go to school, let some petty bugs command you. You no longer fit within society's framework, it's bursting at the seams, but you're afraid to break it. And if anyone here is a coward, it's you, Taylor. You can't even kill your former classmates despite the fact that they tormented you. They poured juice on you, stuffed you in a locker with garbage, ruined your textbooks, cut your clothes with scissors and called you a stupid slut. And you're not even able to stand up for yourself because you're still afraid of them. And you dare to teach me? Very funny, Taylor. You're still the same frightened schoolgirl inside."
"So you and I, two adults, two capes with a threat rating of twelve plus, have moved to 'I dare you' arguments?" Fifth smirks and easily rises from his chair. Turns his head.
"Emma Barnes," he says with my lips and my mouth goes dry. I know what he's going to do... but I can't stop him.
"Madison Clements," he continues and these two raise their empty eyes.
"I always wanted to do this in an intimate setting. But... fine. Let it be so." Fifth lunges from his spot, a bloody blade grows in his hand!
Swing! Strike! Another strike! And another! The bloody blade dissolves in the air, and Fifth walks to his chair. Behind him, pieces of bodies fall to the floor, these two are no more.
"So," he sits on the chair: "I've fulfilled my 'dare.' How about you, Jack? Will you chicken out?"