Let's see here...
Somebody tried to kill me. Great.
I still haven't found Anna yet. Fantastic.
I hear somebody following me. Again. PERFECT.
It's only been, what? Three? Four? Maybe five chapters since I was last featured? I dunno for sure, as Justin's the one with powers of the fourth wall. I myself know about how we're all stuck in this show, and the others have a good idea about it, but what we don't know, is how to use it like Justin does. He just... makes things happen. Does the impossible or ironic without even meaning to. Ugh, I envy his powers, but I will make it out as far as possible by myself. In the meantime, I've been hearing footsteps literally all around me. I can't tell where they are for certain, not to mention how my hunger has been draining my energy at the same time. I haven't even done anything that bad this season to deserve any of this!
At least yet.
And the crap from five years ago doesn't count! Most of you probably don't even know what I was talking about!
I hear the small sound of footsteps and cackling fauna once more, raising my nerves to their highest sensitivity. I slow my own pace to a halt, and try to find my surroundings. A good amount of trees, with an area large enough to keep me concealed if I stay still enough. The footsteps continue getting louder, and I duck for cover, slightly poking my head out to catch a glimpse of the incoming invader. Anna runs along, constantly flicking her attention from the ground below her, to the tops of the trees above. I dare not move from my position, as Anna sweeps the area, aggressively checking around all the trees. I hold my breath, listening to my own heartbeat, and the few breaths from Anna, enclosing on my position. I lift one foot from its stationary position, and extend it forwards as the footsteps get louder and louder, until suddenly...
"KYAAAAHHHH!"
I fall over as well, quickly getting up to my feet and running over to my fallen friend. It doesn't take long for her to come to her senses though, and before you know it, Anna's back to her usual self, just with a bit more steam and a slap to the face to already start the conversation. "You idiot! What are you even doing out here?!" She stammers, not pleased with my recent intervention. I can't help but smile back at her. "Hey, are you even listening to me?!" She says, slapping me once again for good measure."I heard you following me, I stuck around, tripped you, got a good view, you got mad, and now we're here!" I happily say, catching her off-guard. "E-excuse me? Following me?! I've been following someone else this whole time! You're a big fat liar, you know that?! I've been tracking someone else, and you sure aren't as sneaky as them! How could you even have followed me?!" She rants, not pleased with the results of her brief solitude. I shrug my shoulders, giving off an impression of unawareness. "I already told you, I was here first, and I saw someone, so I set up my trap." She spits on the ground in disgust. "And I TOLD you, I was running after someone else! You probably saw them instead, and caught me instead! What kind of trap was that?! Extending your freaking leg out to TRIP me?!" She stammers, leaving me to stupidly smile like the idiot she calls me. "Better than your traps, as you haven't caught your person of interest." I remark, bringing my hands to touch her angry face.
"Or did you just set it off right now?"
I get another slap to the face, and a warning about no more nutty actions.
I decide not to take any further perverse action. Keep the bad word choice from really kicking me in the-
"Nothing to say?"
"SHINS!"
"...what?"
"Ah, it's nutti- ah forget it."
"I thought so..." She says, crossing her arms.
After a brief prank phone call from Justin, Anna resumes conversation.
"Why are you even here?"
"Um... What?"
"Don't play coy with me. You're here for a reason, and I'm probably the reason."
"Well, you're not completely wrong..."
"I ran away to get away from all of you guys, but you came crawling back anyways..." Anna sighs, making me feel slightly guilty, but not totally responsible for her pains. "Why do you have to mess everything up?" She angrily says, turning her face away from me. Now I feel totally responsible for everything. It's a pitiful feeling. She slowly turns back towards me, readying her weapon. I motion for her to back down, trying to appease her to the best of my ability. "Take it easy, Anna. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. I'm just trying to help." I calmly reply, doing just the trick. She lowers her armaments, letting out another long sigh. "Why do I even bother trying?" I happily grin in reply. "Because you still care about me! Making progress! Always better than nothing!" She clasps her hands together, putting on a sarcastic mien. "Oh, my hero, my prince! Why don't you start start by pulling your phone out and calling for some actual help, my knight in shining armor?" I play along with her act, bowing in her grace before honoring her request. "As you wish, milady!" I say with enthusiasm, whipping my cellular device out with great dexterity. "Here it is, one mobile communication dev-"
*Ping!*
Without any delay, the object in my hand is gone. My thought process goes blank for a clear second before I fully grasp the situation. I quickly survey my surroundings to see Anna to my left, herself in a sniping position, but without any arrows in the bow's cradle. To my right is my phone, pinned to the center of a tree, with the arrow directly impaling it in the center. "What the heck?! I worked hard to buy that for myself!" I say angrily while turning, cutting myself off at the sight of the next arrow in play. "Yeah, getting mad because of my actions? But oh what did I do wrong?" She says in a very condescending and mocking tone. "Not really, if it's you doing it." My attitude causes her to frown, as her grips tightens. "Anna, calm down. You're not thinking straight." I slowly say, trying my best to sound reasonable in contrast to my earlier statement. "You're the one not thinking! Do you even realize the extent of your hypocrisy?!" She lets another arrow fly loose, obviously aimed towards my right side. I strafe in the opposite direction, and hear another ping. I turn my head to see another perfect shot into my phone. "I don't think you know yourself." She says, getting back up to her feet. "You're in my way, just like always. But this time, I don't care what I have to do, even if it means killing you just for some respite! " I sigh at her thoughts on the matter, before staring her straight in the eyes, trying to show my seriousness. "Why must you be so violent, dear? Why can't you be as sweet as Esther?" Her face then turns even redder, seething from anger by my counterargument. "You obviously don't know me or Esther either!" She raises her bow right to the top of my head. "But enough of this! You got in my way, and now you will pay the price!" She moves her aim to my chest, obviously looking for my pain instead of my death. "You've made me suffer, and now you will know the same pains that I've had to bear!" I relax my shoulders, and bend my legs, gearing up for my next action. "Why are you driven by this vengeance, Anna? I did nothing absolutely wrong to provoke this activity!" Her grip tightens, with her bow almost bending from the tension. "Everything you do is wrong! Especially when it's all against me!" Her eyes open wide with strained anger, her eyes almost watering from the tense emotions going through her head. She must've been planning to do this for quite a while now, but didn't expect it this early. "Chill, Anna! You don't need to take a life to prove your point!" She says nothing, initiating a standoff between the two of us, with the exception that I am completely unarmed. Besides my killer good looks.
"Well? You going to shoot me like you intended to?"
"I was merely waiting for you to make a move, in case you didn't trust my words."
"Then do it! Shoot me! Do it!"
"..."
*Ping!*
"-Euuuuuagh!"
I'm taken aback and suddenly pushed back to the ground. The power of the push is enough shock to have me cringe in pain. I open my eyes back up once again to see a completely different sight from before. I wipe my eyes and see red and black encircling my vision. I move my left arm around and feel around for a tree. For the ground. For something. but after a few seconds, it's painfully obvious that the world is fading away from me as I think. Confusion starts to befall me, as I feel an increasingly hot aura around me. The colors start bursting colorfully into flames, making my mind spiral into madness over seeing fire once more. I try getting up to my feet and calming down, but the emotions gripping me take over, and I fall back on my butt once more. My legs start to go numb, with the strain already taking over the rest of my lower body. I lay, helpless in an inescapable predicament. Is this how my story already ends? Trapped in a hopeless situation? A situation that you cannot change, no matter what you do?
"Hey, are you hurt?"
I shiver in fear, not knowing where the voice came, and questioning if there even was a voice reaching out to me. I try to hide my head with my small arms, but the cover isn't enough. The person spots me, and I cower in fear with the pretense of being punished. Much to my surprise, however, I am met with a soft, gentle hand, and a calming voice to follow.
"Thank goodness, I came here just in time... Look, you'll be safe, but I need you to listen to me if we want this to work out. Follow my words, alright?" He says this, trying to be as calm in what looks to literally be the most heated situation he's been in. I am initially taken aback by his request, but with not other options, I nod my head in response. The man sighs in relief, before hearing an explosion from behind. I almost start to cry, before the stranger sweeps me off of my feet, lifting me from my fallen position below. He then looks at me in the eyes, as if trying to read my face to see if I really trust him. I do nothing to hide my eyes, but study his instead.
Those blue eyes will be burned into my mind forever.
That one singular face will be burned in my mind forever.
That memory that will never be burned away from my mind forever.
"Hey!" I snap back to my senses once again in the face of the stranger. "Please listen to me." He says, getting his next set of words ready. "Stay here, okay? Don't follow me at all, and I'll come back later to get you to safety. I'm going back to help if I can." He turns around, inspecting his surroundings and trying to get a rip on the situation.
The blaze takes over my peripherals, while the rest of my vision starts to fade. No matter how many times I've seen this memory, the experience is always the same. The same experience that I will never escape, as part of my past that made me today.
"Hey! Don't zone out on me now!" I can barely feel the energy to move a single bone in my body, and can only feel the pressure of another person carrying me.
"Alright, this is all under control... All I have to do, is to retrace my ste-"
*Zing!*
The blaze takes over my peripherals, while the rest of my vision starts to fade. No matter how many times I've seen this memory, the experience is always the same. The same experience that I will never escape, as part of my past that made me today.
"Hey! Don't zone out on me now!" I can barely feel the energy to move a single bone in my body, and can only feel the pressure of another person carrying me.
"Alright, this is all under control... All I have to do, is to retrace my ste-"
*Zing!*
"ANNA!"
I jolt out of my trance to see the world rushing behind me. My body still feels out of energy, and it takes a moment for me to notice that I'm being carried by TG. He carries me like a baby, not paying attention to me, but rather to the sea of trees around us. He consistently swivels his head back and forth, keeping a good watch on both his front and back. It's only when I hear shots land around us that the adrenaline starts pumping and I regain my strength.
"That!" I try to shout, only letting out a feeble whisper. He stutters his movement upon hearing this, looking at me in his arms before returning his eyes to the landscape. "Anna, thank goodness you're awake. Look, I can't explain it all right now, but someone's trying to kill us." We aren't safe here, and we need to keep moving." He urges. I nod my head, before looking back at his face. His black hair is all ruffled and sweaty, and I can feel the fatigue in his hands. He can't continue on forever, and we either both live together, or die together.
"That!" I try to shout, only letting out a feeble whisper. He stutters his movement upon hearing this, looking at me in his arms before returning his eyes to the landscape. "Anna, thank goodness you're awake. Look, I can't explain it all right now, but someone's trying to kill us." We aren't safe here, and we need to keep moving." He urges. I nod my head, before looking back at his face. His black hair is all ruffled and sweaty, and I can feel the fatigue in his hands. He can't continue on forever, and we either both live together, or die together.
Another bullet rips through a nearby tree, causing TG to pick up the pace. He dashes, he darts. He jukes, he sidesteps. But none of these methods help in deterring our assailant. The bullets continue ripping with intensity, and TG's own heavy breathing takes over as well. His grip on my body tightens, and he drives onwards, strafing in multiple directions to dodge the machine-gun-like onslaught. We seem to escape the bullets, but are instead plagued with heavy winds that sweep TG off of his balance. He stumbles around, but keeps me close to his chest, trying to guard me from nature's fury. His pace slows down to halt, and the rain of fire begins anew, causing many hit trees around us to snap and fall due to the winds. We fall to the ground together, with TG landing on his back, and me landing on him, tumbling out of his protection and knocking the breath out of him.
"Gah... Anna... Are you alright?" He moans, gripping his chest and trying to regain his breath.
"I-I'm fine... Are you?" I reciprocate, struggling to get up with my own strength. The wind has considerably died down, leaving a window of opportunity for me to get my bearings back.Now at my own two feet, I look for an exit, but to no avail, we are surrounded by the debris from the engagement, left at the mercy of our attacker.
That seems to notice the same observations that I made, and looks high at the sky, making an angry face. "WELL?!" He shouts. "YOU GOT YOUR CAPTIVE AUDIENCE! NOW FACE US!" I stand by in one corner, carefully watching and listening for any sudden movements or noises. A few seconds pass, with only a slight breeze brushing the leaves of our fallen trees. A sudden rustling is heard to my left, and a warning shot is blasted, landing a safe enough distance away from That. He scuttles away from the location, hopping around like a boxer, readying for a fight. Another projectile lands, but instead of a bullet being dropped to That's feet, a rifle clatters across the soft ground, and the wind slowly picks back up. That doesn't dare make a move for the gun, instead looking back at the source of where it was thrown. The wind blows furiously into his face, and I myself feel an inkling of the breeze. That shoots a quick glance at me, showing a clearly worried face. I roll my eyes back at him, but when we're both stuck in an inescapable situation, we can't do much else but wait for the next big play to take place, no matter how good or bad it may be.
Finally, the suspense draws to an end, as the winds sweep back to my left, creating a miniature tornado that carries debris ranging from pinecones to loose pieces of grass, randomly being tossed at the two of us. I have to put my arms up to avoid getting anything in my eyes, and That is forced to his knees, being at the very center of attention. Suddenly, the flying objects drop to the ground, and our attacker reveals themselves, standing in what was the eye of the storm. I lower my arms to see for myself, and immediately take not of their features. It seems to be a fairly young girl, with brown hair, and a badly scratched up dress. She fits the whole attitude of "Fairytale Princess", if not for her clothes being worn and torn with scratches, rips, and a lot of stains, covering both her clothes and her skin. I can also see a few cuts and darker blotches of color, making me assume that she had fought before, and gotten injured from it. She holds a book in her right hand, but quickly hides it out of view, probably not meant to be seen. That still keeps his stance from before, not being able to see her face, and vice versa. She probably thought she was safe from view to put it away, but I make a special note to myself for the future. She looks over to her left, where the previously thrown gun had lain. She then turns to her right, catching sight of me, and causing me to instinctively tense up. She shows no emotion except through her eyes, which widen as she stares. Without exchanging any words, she motions for me to come closer by her hands. I take her offer very slowly, cautiously taking every step forwards. She turns back to That, and taps his head lightly, making him recoil back in fear, flailing his arms wildly until he lands back onto his butt. He sits, astonished for a few seconds, before studying the new face in the mix.
"And I am to assume that you, are the one who attacked us?" He stoically says, trying to put on a good poker face. Of course, with his most recent actions, its not a very effective poker face.
"Yes, I am." She simply responds back. "But I do not intend to kill you." She waves her left arm around her side, making the wind pick up to push the fallen gun back to That's reach. He stares at the gun in disbelief, before looking back at the stranger. "What exactly are you trying to do here, stranger?" That responds in a very monotone manner, trying to get some quick answers. The girl puts her right arm on her hip, clearly not amused with That's tone.
"I'm trying to save your life and Anna's, That Awesome Guy."
I stand back in clear distrust now, not believing a single thing that came out of her mouth. That however, is enamored by her words. "Why, thank you for the compliment." He says in a very suave tone. I myself can't catch any other intentions besides clearly flirting with the enemy. "But may I ask your name?" He gets a clear slap to the face, and is reprimanded. "You are still the same as before." She sighs, before putting back her serious mien. "Look, the real enemy will do much worse to you than what I have done today. I have come here to try and prevent this from happening, or at least lessen the pain inflicted."
"Then why did you have to do all of this to us?" I retort. "With all the shots, warning or not! With all this wind that you are manipulating! What purpose does it do to hinder the people you are trying to save?!" She now turns to me, clenching a fist in both of her hands, but releases it and sighs.
"If I just came up to your face with my intentions and stated them outright, you would not believe me one bit, and Justin would probably shoot me. With you two separated from the more volatile elements of TTL, I can get my point across smoother. It was all necessary, and you will soon hear why."
"Then tell us this, first!" That chimes back into the conversation, now standing on two feet and standing over the stranger, who is shorter when compared to both of us, maybe about Esther's height. "Tell us why you had to get Anna and I together, and just us! This is a very important matter!" I roll my eyes once more, but the stranger takes the question very seriously, taking a few moments to breathe before answering.
"I needed to save the people who needed saving the most. I needed to save my mother and father."
"...Mother?"
* * *
Arc 1 is finally done! And with that, the next Arc production will start soon! Or whenever Justin feels like it. Now, for the obligatory next season spoilers and Titlecard Art! Announcer, OUT!
"It's them! The Chicken Cult Clan!"
"You've gotta be joking kidding me!"
"This is not part of the plan... THIS IS NOT PART OF THE PLAN!"
"This cannot be true..."
"But can we really reason or prove it?"
"Well, I guess not..."
"Then we must trust whatever she says. First, your name, stranger."
"...my name..."
Arc 2: Memento Mori
Coming Soon~
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