Orso Fiction 048

Orso Fiction Chapter 048-The Scary One (Part 2 of 3)
It was cold.

Adelina found herself floating through an infinite darkness. She was lost. Confused. Hopeless. Scared.

“Where am I?”, she asked the nothingness. Somehow, the lack of an answer was more painful than she could have imagined.

She felt as though she was drowning. And she didn’t know if that was so bad. She closed her eyes and prepared for the darkness to suck her down.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab hers. She opened her eyes to see a figure, glowing a faint blue, holding her, pulling her up, keeping her from falling any further.

“Nerina…”, Adelina whispered. “You came for me…”

---

The darkness had to smile to itself. The girl had allowed it this much control of her by feeling her allies fall around her…what was one more?

---

“That’s…one of the Seven Roses.”, Nicole said, a little stupefied.

“Yeah. Yeah, she is.”, Sabra replied.

“Do you know why she’s…um…helping us?”, Nicole asked. Sabra shook her head.

“Not a clue.”

“I’m sorry.”, the massive creature sneered through the pincer crushing its throat. “But I AM your sister. She and I have become...one!”

“You BASTARD!”, Nerina shouted, her ring igniting without her realizing it. “You’re lying!”

“How rude…”, the creature replied, smiling even brighter with its awful white teeth. “I have always been Adelina’s best friend, the one who shares her mind, body, and soul….She trusts me…She can trust me, because I’ll never betray her…not like you…You don’t love her like I do…”

Tiamat, following Nerina’s unspoken command, squeezed the creature’s neck harder.

“You’re the reason she’s suffered.”, Nerina growled up at the creature. “You’re not her friend. You’re her disease.”

“She was happy with me, when it was just the two of us, playing together…”, the creature said, its voice dripping like poisoned honey. “She was happy until she met you…”

“You kept her prisoner!”, Nerina shouted. “A prisoner in her own mind! And you’re doing it again! I won’t let you…I won’t let you devour my sister’s spirit!”

“She knows that I’ll never leave her side…”, the creature continued, paying the girl no attention. “She knows I’ll be her friend forever. She’s mine.”

Tiamat once again tightened its grip. The creature began to giggle.

“Nerina…I’ve always liked you…”, it said. “You and your…fond memories… of your daddy. Your mind would be cozy, I think. Nice and cozy. You and I could be friends too, if you want…”

“Go to hell.”, Nerina spat.

“You’re so mean…Adelina told me you were the niiice one.”

“I am the nice one.”, Nerina said, gritting her teeth. “But you’re the one thing I’m willing to put that aside for.”

Tiamat tightened its grip once again. The creature growled.

“You’re making us mad…”, it said. “Adelina doesn’t like it when we’re mad.”

“Adelina is not your toy!”, Nerina screamed. A malicious twinkle in the creature’s black eyes caught her attention.

It was over in a flash.

Pieces of Tiamat’s exoskeleton began to fall all around them, crashing to the ground, before it returned to the blue box on her belt. Nerina fell, a long, deep, slash running from her left shoulder to her right leg.

“Just like I told you, Adelina…”, the creature whispered to itself, giggling. “I’m the only one that will never leave you. I was the one who cured your loneliness…She left you like all the others did…”

---

Adelina shrieked as the blue figure holding her up began to fade away, and she felt herself sinking into the blackness.

Why?

Why had Nerina left her?”

It was cold.

---

The four gaped, silently, at what had just happened. Suddenly, Nicole ran to Nerina’s side, before Sabra could catch her. The girl knelt beside her, trying to cover her bleeding wound. Nerina looked up at her.

“You…”, she mumbled. “You’re helping me?”

“Of course.”, Nicole said matter-of-factly. “You’re hurt.”

“But…we’re your enemy…”

“No. The Arcoferro aren’t important right now. Right now, we have to focus on freeing your sister.”

Nerina smiled at this, closing her eyes.

“That girl…Allison…she told me she would save us from our suffering…You…all of you are like that, aren’t you?”

Nicole grinned.

“You betcha.”, she said. “’Never turn your back on someone who needs you.’ That’s what my master taught me.”

“But you can’t win…”, Nerina said sadly, her smile vanishing. “Not against ‘The Scary One’. It’s too strong…we could never hope to beat it…”

“Just what is it?”, Nicole asked.

“The Scary One is the mass of darkness living inside Adelina…but she is in there. I know she is!”, Nerina gasped. “Please…run…That thing is the embodiment of Adelina’s pain…no one can fight it! It is too strong!”

“She’s going to suffer until someone deals with it.”, Nicole said, standing. “I won’t let her agony continue.”

---

The rush of despair the creature felt from Adelina delighted it. Truly, to live was to suffer. Now, she would realize that it was the only thing she could trust.

---

“Wanted to get a little closer to the action, eh?”, Sonia asked, Taylor beside her. Vincenzo, standing beside Edmondo, turned, smiling.

“Sorry I ran off so quickly!”, he apologized. “I didn’t know if Ed was going to cause any problems or not, so I decided better safe than sorry.”

Taylor looked to see Edmondo, watching the battle, paying them no attention at all.

“Well, I would hate to have to take those Arcoferro because you boys cheated.”, Sonia sneered. Taylor doubted the veracity of this claim.

“I’d hate to end today not having killed you for your cowardice.”, Edmondo growled, his hand reaching for his axe.

“Edmondo, behave.”, Vincenzo said sternly.

Suddenly, a roar from behind them caught their attention. They turned to see the creature glaring directly at Sonia, for once, not smiling like a madman. It appeared to be…holding itself back.

“You’ve been poisoning Rosie!”, it screamed, Adelina’s voice leaking into the cacophony of the creature’s. Sonia’s eyes opened wide. Oh dear, she realized. She may have been found out.

---

“My name is Sonia.”, the woman told the girls assembled. “I will be able to cure your sister…but in return, you must agree to work for me…”

As the conversation ended, Sonia passed Adelina, and felt a tugging in her pocket. When she was in her quarters, she pulled the vial of the darkness Osvaldo had given her to poison the little girl with…it had been…reacting to the girl? Like a single iron filing is attracted to a magnet, the vial of darkness had been drawn to the girl, desiring to join with her, with her hatred, with her anger, with her demons. Sonia couldn’t help but smile. How interesting…she had stumbled upon a very potent pawn indeed.

---

Sonia realized, too late, what was happening. After so much time around the black potion, Sonia had gained its scent, indistinguishable to all but the foulest creatures. Sonia had known it could happen, but the girls would never realize what she had been doing. But now…Adelina had come into the senses of a creature far darker than her little vial had been. Adelina was fighting for control, now that she knew of her treachery. And Adelina was now in the body of a monstrous demon.

She would want revenge.

An ordinary woman would have felt fear in this moment…but Sonia Ferraro was not an ordinary woman.

“That’s right!”, she cackled. “I poisoned the little slut! And look how much good it’s done me! I’m one single victory away from obtaining the most powerful weapons this country has ever seen!”

The creature, or, rather, Adelina, if they could be distinguished from each other at this point, opened its mouth, and a dark ball began to form within her jaws. Purple flecks ran across the glowing, radiant, blackness. With a terrifying roar, she shot the ball at Sonia, who only smiled at its arrival.

A black explosion, flecked with purple, shook the land. Sonia, however, stood unscathed. She smiled at the two who had jumped in the way of the blast. What good boys they were.

Vincenzo and Edmondo fell, moaning in agony.

Are you alright…Auntie?”, Vincenzo asked, eyes closed in pain. Edmondo had already fainted. Sonia smiled down at him.

“Yes, dear nephew.”, she whispered, reaching down to pick up the bag of Arcoferro, a malevolent smile on her ancient lips. “I think I’m just fine…”

Before Taylor could react, Sonia’s parasol snapped open, and a tiny jet of fire shot from each of its ribs. Suddenly, the woman was rocketing through the air.

“No!”, Vincenzo shouted, before he was reduced to a coughing fit.

“Damnit!”, Taylor shouted.

“COME BACK HERE!!!”, the creature shouted. “WE’LL KILL YOU!!!”

“Guys!”, Taylor shouted at her squad. “I’m giving chase! That thing is about to let loose all of its blind rage! Be ready for it!”

Taylor began running as hard as she could in the direction the old woman had taken off.

---

The creature roared, furious that her prey had escaped. Rapidly, wings, spikes, and additional limbs sprouted from it, not all in logical places.

“WE’LL KILL YOU ALL!”, the creature screamed. It opened its mouth once more, preparing to launch another ball of condensed darkness. Suddenly, a ray of yellow flame, and a single bird-shaped burst of blue flame, struck the creature in the face, stunning it. The four turned to see the source of the attacks.

Paige Lewis and Allison Boyd looked down at them from the top of the hill.

“Sorry about the wait!”, Paige called with a smile. “Paige Lewis and her patient, reporting for duty!”

---

“Damnit!”, Taylor shouted. “I’ve lost her!”

Suddenly, she felt an accelerating presence behind her. She turned to see Scott Deisher, the Primo Outside Advisor, atop a giant black motorcycle, an orange gem with the Roman numeral “I” overlaid on it on its front.

“Get on.”, he said calmly. “I know where she went.”

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