Chapter 62: Vega vs Vega?! (Part 2!)

“I’m gonna give ya the haymaker! Get it!?” Vega, swinging the vines wrapped around her copycat, flung her through the building and out in the garden. Phasing the wall like a total badass, she stared at her hand, as those vines seemed familiar.

“What the hell?” The Assassin locked eyes with her opponent, having underestimated her and her abilities. She could sense something was off between them, but this made her sure of what it was.

The scarecrow had latent powers that are yet to be known. Power yet unleashed. Belief unbound.

“Ya want to try me? Well then come on!” Vega raced up to the Assassin, playing her guitar as she did. When reaching certain beats, the vines grew around her hands.

Rising up and throwing Vega behind her, the Assassin turned and tried to understand how she was doing it. She hadn’t been able to do it before, why now?

“Ha. Don’t get cocky.”

“I don’t have a cock.” Vega responded.

“...how hasn’t Ani Arma haven’t killed ya yet?”

“I’m very-very stubborn.”

Seeing the vines retract and disappear back in her body, the Assassin rushed at Vega, pulling out a battle ax from her form. Vega swapped to her pickaxe and ran at her as well, expecting a clash you’d see in theater battles. However, when Vega went to strike, the Assassin jumped over her and changed her from back to her elf body, smiling at Vega as she did. Landing on her feet, the Assassin cleaved into Vega’s metal arm.

Not giving any time to recover, the Assassin kept swinging and swinging and swinging. She wasn’t trying to kill, she was trying to weaken. Each strike calculated to ruin Vega’s dominant arm. Barely able to block the attacks, Vega tried to summon the vines once more, but to no avail.

“Come on, I thought you wanted to party?”

“Can we-we have a timeout?” Vega ducked one of the strikes, allowing her to sweep the Assassin off her feet. Just as soon as she fell, the Assassin used her fist to slide behind Vega and slash at her back, slipping more of her hay and belongings on the ground.

Vega tried to hold her body together long enough to stitch it back together, but the Assassin kept up the pressure, never giving Vega the time to get away. As she managed to deflect one of her strikes, Vega realized how the vines came about. Like in the temple, it needs music. It needs rhythm.

“You know, you aren’t that strong when you’re alone. I could have killed you back at the boat, but I didn’t. You know why?” The Assassin hooked the beard of her ax around Vega’s neck and flung her to the ground. Her pickaxe fell far away, but the guitar only a few feet.

“Actually, no. Haha… uh, I kinda would like to know to be honest.” Vega shrugged as best as she could, with the Assassin’s foot on her and her arm hanging on by a few threads, she knew she had to make an opening.

“Whatever trick you have, it isn’t going to work.”

“Whatever threat ya have, it won’t work on me.”

The Assassin lowered her eyes as she held the ax to Vega’s neck once more. It wasn’t the expression of hate, but more of disappointment. How, how does she have friends, she thought.

“Look, if ya wanted to kill me, ya would have done it already. That Ani guy is talking to me and ya have me on the ground. There… is a reason that ya won’t hurt me.” Vega believed, but she could not help being fearful. This was an Assassin, she had to have something to make her hurt.

Wasting no time, the Assassin embedded the ax at the center of Vega, so squarely and strong that she could hardly bend up to look at her. As she pushed herself up, the Assassin had turned away, kicking the garden and wobbled as her foot phased through.

“Hehehe. You are a lot smarter than Ani gives you credit for. Yeah, there is a reason why you’re alive.”

“...and that is?” Vega reached out for the guitar, but the Assassin’s eyes darted at her, giving a freezing like effect. Vega stopped and played it off as she resting her head on her hands.

“He… needs you.”

“Hold on, I’m pretty sure I’m underage.”

“Not like that, he has a different taste in ladies. Well, I don’t personally know. Hehehe. No. He finds you useful.”

“Like a tool-tool?” Vega didn’t like the word anymore, and it sounded heavy as she spoke the word. A tool. Just a tool. “Just like Kaliber?”

“Yes. Something like that. He hasn’t bothered me with the details.” The Assassin felt comfortable, keeping full attention on Vega. The scarecrow knew she had to break her sense of ease, to make her turn around for a bit.

She got an idea.

“Hey ms?”

“What, ya going to appeal to my ‘sense of humanity’? News flash, I don’t have one. Literally.”

“No, I wasn’t going to ask that-that. I just wanted to know, since I’m already captured… What's ya name?”

“...”

The Assassin didn’t like that. Her eyebrows curled sadly, along with her lips. The scar on her face beamed a terrible blue like toxic rain. Crossing her arms, as if to maintain some sense of strength, the Assassin turned away. One of her hands reached for sharp ears, to comfort herself.

Waiting a second to see if the Assassin was playing her. She wasn’t.

“You… no one has asked that of me yet.”

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“R-really?” Vega reached for the guitar, having to stretch out her torn parts. More and more of her body spilled out, and her arm nearly split in to.

“Yeah. Not even Ani… how long… how long has it been?” The Assassin put a finger to her teeth, tracing each ruined and harmed part of her scar. For some reason, Vega understood she linked that scar with her sense of time. How long had it been since she was hurt like that? Vega didn’t want to know.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“... I don’t know what-what happened to ya, but I’m sorry.”

“...”

“... ya know, I want to find out what happened, with me. But I know it can be-be something unpleasant. That what happened wasn’t good. But it doesn’t have to define ya.”

“...”

“...what is ya name?”

“Krimm. Krimm the Fairy, the elves used to call me.” Krimm turned around, with a tear at her eye. What she saw was less than what she wanted.

“That’s a nice name.”

The scarecrow stood next to her, not holding her pickaxe and not her guitar. All she held was a hand. An open one.

“Ha. Haha!” Krimm laughed in her face, insulted by the gesture. “You seriously think that would make me- what are you, an idiot?” Krimm punched the scarecrow in the face, sending her flying back, against her guitar. Vega only had a few moments, but managed to string together a melody just as Krimm lunged at her face.

Using the vines growing on her arm, Vega latched them onto her and launched her into the sky.

“So long!” Vega yelled at her, barely able to keep her body together. She knew she didn’t have long to hatch a plan. If Kaliber’s words were important, she had to observe their conversation before she could be captured. Tying the vines around her tears, small roses grew from the vines. “Gotta to see them. Gotta to figure it out!”

Hopping and dashing around the garden, Vega searched for where Kaliber and Ena had gone. Seeing an nearby grove with some tracks, Vega ran into it. Falling shade and leaves from the trees came as a great gust of wind passed.

Almost hurricane like, Vega had to hold onto a tree to avoid being flung into the air.

“This-this shouldn’t be happening! This is a memory!” As the wind calmed, she saw Krimm at the end of the grove, with Kaliber and Ena just behind her, playing ball like nothing was happening. “How are ya doing this?”

Krimm, although only a fairy, had to have influence over perception, powerful enough to affect the perception of memory, that’s what Vega knew.

“Stop fighting, you know you can’t win.”

“Sure, but I know I can try!” Vega ran at her, playing a more intense song. This growing noise made the thorns even stronger and sharper, that like metal spikes. Vega threw out the vines with whip like speed, but not affecting the enivorment like Krimm did.

Laughing as she flipped around Vega’s vines, Krimm could not help but find the situation silly. Moreover, how her life had developed! She was fighting a scarecrow underground while two sisters played ball, she could hardly take it seriously. Much less her supposed opponent.

“Haha! Are you even trying to hit me?”

Her animated eyes narrowed, as Vega grew ever more frustrated. Krimm didn’t hold her axe to block her attacks, she was simply dodging them. It gotten so bad that Krimm had taken to dancing. She had to throw Krimm off, but how? Vega noticed her song was intense, her fingers strumming hard on the guitar strings, what if she played more calm?

“Okay, we can dance.” Vega stopped just ten feet from Krimm, holding her stance tall and proud. Krimm rolled her eyes, snickering that Vega was going to try another big swing again.

In contrast, the scarecrow actually started to dance. More specifically, a moonwalk.

“Hah! Let’s see what you got, kid.” Krimm put her weapon on the ground and shuffled forward, holding her hands on her hips. Vega closed her eyes and imagined lyrics on the spot. If this was to be her last song as a free lady, it would have to be a killer one.

“When, I was young. If I just closed my eyes, then I could go anywhere.” Hitting soft notes, the guitar took on an echoing sound, like that of a harp. Krimm leaned back, surprised that Vega was even capable of something sounding so graceful.

“Hmm, where are you going with this?”

“Dream of any place, Imagination sets the pace and my heart was happy there.” As Vega spoke, the environment shifted once more, but not in the same stunning darkness. The sun turned an iron white, and the very tree leaves fell with autumn colors. Krimm looked all around, and felt a strange serenity.

“What a shame that ya came round and told me. Said my dreams can’t come true.” Vega spun and twisted, but not with the same wild and energy style she used to. But with the elegance of still water and the charm of a chirping bird. Krimm copied that style, dancing right behind her.

“Don’t be foolish. Give up your wish, big things aren’t for you.” Vega made a faint impression of the Voice, of Ani Arma. As Krimm danced with her, she heard more sound. Not coming from Vega, but from behind.

Kaliber and Ena were clapping along.

“And how you’d scold and chide me. Forever criticize me.” Another thing, Krimm’s serenity turned from that of self doubt. She wasn’t listening to the song, not only that. But she was feeling the lyrics, the strings, all of it with the same power Vega was. Every fiber, every step, even her very body falling apart. Krimm tried to slow down, but she couldn’t let this scarecrow win. That would be terrible!

“But now I think I know the truth!” Vega opened her eyes as they glowed a majestic blonde. As she sung, a thousand voices joined with her, and send Krimm flying back. Picking herself up from the dust, she looked to where Vega was. Around her, there were tufts of hay swirling around her, and a fierce smile on her face.

“You! Were the one! Who held me down and told me I was heading nowhere.” Vega pointed to the sky, as it cracked open. The memory changed under Vega’s own influence. The sound of her guitar turned electric, as she dashed at Krimm. As the Assassin swung, Vega disappeared only leaving the hay afterimage. Appearing just behind her, Vega dropkicked Krimm forward.

“You should know your place. Accept your fate and show good face. And be thankful that you’re there!”

“Shut it!” Krimm knew it, Vega was giving her the treatment she had given her. Depriving her time to recover, getting in her face. Even more, the scarecrow was swaggin on her with a song.

“That was so long ago when you owned me. I believed it was true.” Vega’s dance did not give up, as her attacks used kicks. And those kicks struck hard, the metal making tiny bruises on Krimm’s skin. Whenever Krimm attacked, Vega would disappear into hay and reappear as soon as she left.

“Bend me, shape me. Build me, break me. Why was I your fool?” Vega cried out once more, the very fabric of the memory cracking apart like an earthquake. Krimm stood her ground, barely able to stay on one knee.

“And now I’m so much stronger. I’m not yours any longer. I’ve got a message here for you!” Kaliber and Ena sung with Vega, as she yelled up into the sky.

“Time for you to learn, it’s my turn!”

“OBSTACLE ONE COMPLETE. AND holy shit, KEEP THE NOISE DOWN.”

“What?” Krimm said.

“What-what?” Vega said.

“TAKING constructs TO OBSTACLE TWO.”