Anne's Fun
Anne kicked the man she defeated in the ring.
"All of the other party attendees left after hearing gunshots. And this buffoon I'm standing on began to run, too. What an idiot. He shouldn't have looked away. What good are these fighters these days," Anne complained with a smile. She wasn't in her light guardian form. Instead, she was wearing some kind of sports bra and sweat pants. Her white streaks of hair glittered with the raised lights. The man was beaten to a pulp. He was bruised and bleeding all over. His jaw was dislocated. And one rib was poking out of his skin. But he was still breathing through it all. Still alive.
"Anne, what are you doing in a place like this?" Nina asked concerned with a hand raised towards her, "Please, come back with me. We can talk about whatever happened to you."
"Talk? I'm not really in the mood for talking," Anne replied.
"I don't understand unless you talk to me."
"Why'd you bring those three? You starting a new team or just going to follow a different one?"
"No. I'd never. I just needed them as backup. I don't know what's gotten into you, but I want to help. I want to help you."
"Shut up!" Anne yelled.
Anne stared at Jack and smiled with an idea. She still desired a fight. The victory she earned from her previous fight was lackluster. There was no feeling of satisfaction.
"Alright, Nina. I'll come back with you and talk about what I've been feeling. But on one condition," Anne said then pointed straight at Jack, "I want a one-on-one fight with you, Jack. You seem like a capable opponent."
Jack exclaimed, "You want to fight me? That's not going to solve anything. I only came to help you in whatever trouble you're in."
"Oh, you'll help me alright," Anne replied, "Or you could refuse."
Then, Anne put her knees on the already-beaten fighter.
"And then I'll just snap this guy's neck for not treating me with the fight I was hoping for."
"You wouldn't do that!," Nina exclaimed.
As Jack looked at Anne, they both knew that Anne wouldn't kill the man - at most, injure him more - but Jack was aware of her look. It was a look of hate and rage. Something that Jack recognized as she looked at herself in the mirror. She hated that face, but this time it was plastered on another's face. And all she could be reminded of was herself.
"Fine. I'll fight you if it'll help me - and your friend - understand what's going on with you," Jack said as she walked towards the ring.
"You sure about this?" Yune asked.
"Yeah," Jack replied.
"We could easily help you. I doubt Anne would be strong enough to take all of us if Nina is willing," Mary said.
"No!" Jack yelled, "This is between me and her."
Then, the three suddenly went quiet. As if something had come over them, they all rubbed their arms.
All Nina could do was watch. She didn't know why Anne was doing any of this. And also didn't know why Jack was willing to fight. None of it made sense to her.
"There are some rules, though. No killing. No help from the outside. And especially, no light guardian powers. There's nobody here, anyways. So, if you care, nobody will know who you are," Anne said thrilled as she was ready for a fight. Her last fight felt like a warm-up to who she was about to fight next.
Jack transformed back into her regular human form. She was still athletic and strong enough to have enough confidence to face Anne. When Jack got onto the ring, Anne kicked the other fighter's body off.
Yune and Mary then transformed back into their human forms. It didn't matter how their transformation looked now. Now that Nina saw them with their shadowy transformation, there was no point in hiding it. Although, they didn't expect the reaction she had. They took a seat at one of the fancy tables and sat themselves down. Both Yune and Mary tried to relax themselves and just watch.
"How could you be so calm during all of this?" Nina asked them.
"We're not," Yune replied, "But we can tell that this is something that Jack needs to do."
"What do you mean?"
Then, Nina noticed that their arms glowing black with a mark. Each one of the three.
"What are you?" Nina asked them as she wasn't sure anymore.
Both Mary and Yune ignored Nina's question and just stood back as bystanders. The mark began to claw at them. It gave off a feeling that resonated with Jack's emotions. It felt as if Jack needed to finish something. Something that was left off from her past life. Jack's battle with Anne. Their feelings resonated together. The feeling of hate and revenge. And now, Anne was feeling the same exact thing. But not because of a mysterious mark, but because of her own experiences. And so, the three of them understood.
Mary tried to settle down the intensity in the air. She offered Nina, "Why don't you take a seat and watch? Besides, even if either one of us tried to stop them, we'd probably get swatted like flies by both of them. I know that Jack get especially angry. And, now, it looks like Anne has become something similar as you told us back at our home."
Yune then said, "Maybe, Nina, you may learn something from watching Anne fight. Perhaps, you'll be able to figure out what's wrong with her from her actions rather than what she says."
She couldn't relax. All she wanted was for Anne to snap out of whatever was holding her. But there was no arguing. She was helpless for the very first in a long time. She transformed back into her human form and focused on watching standing up.
Mary eyes the leftover food and said, "Looks fancy. Wish there was service."
Jack and Anne eyed each other. They stared at each other with hate in their eyes. But their hate was not aimed at each other, but rather on their own specific circumstances.
Anne readied herself in a fighting stance.
Jack stood there with her fists up. She didn't know how to wrestle or box, but she was still physically strong. Her mark faded and so did Yune's and Mary's. Anne didn't know what those marks represented, but didn't care.
"How do we know if the fight is over?" Jack asked.
"When either of us gives up. But if you give up while I'm still not satisfied, then I'll ignore it," Anne replied.
"How quaint."
Then, Anne said, "We'll start by the count of three... One... Three."
And off the fight went. Anne charged forward with quick jabs at Jack's sides.
Jack's insensitivity to pain helped her ignore those small hits and he went in for her own punches without caring for defense.
When Jack went in for a strong punch, Anne quickly dodged it and went in with a kick to Jack's ankles making her fall to the ground.
Jack quickly got herself up while Anne slowly walked back.
"You're very disappointing," she said as both a serious comment and a taunt.
Jack tried to go in with her own set of punches, but she was sluggish and amateurish. She didn't know how to fight professionally unlike Anne who had been trained in a martial arts club. And Jack was even worse off than what she had expected since she usually doesn't do her daily exercises anymore. Nonetheless, she still kept at it.
Then, when Anne was about to throw in a hard punch into Jack's gut, she expected Jack to dodge and move out of the way. But there were no plans for that. She took the punch head-on without flinching. Then, Jack grabbed onto Anne's arm with a tight grip. Jack punched her in the face.
Jack lifted Anne up by her throat with both hand. When Anne's head was at face-level with Jack's, she spit blood out at her opponent's eyes blinding Jack. This caused Jack to let go and move back.
"Finally. There's a little bit of fight," Anne said.
Jack rubbed the blood off her eyes and face. They both breathed heavily, but neither were worn out. Jack was bruised, but had no feeling of it. Meanwhile, Anne only had a bruise on her cheek where Jack had punched her.
"But it's still only a little. Where was the Jack I knew when we fought before? The first time we fought and even the second?" Anne asked.
"I was in my guardian form," Jack replied.
"Maybe. You are very powerful when you put on that red armor. But guardian form or not, you had something the last time we fought. But whatever that was, it's dwindled now. There was a fire that kept you going. A fire. And now, I can barely feel that fire coming off of you. Yet, now I feel that same flame from myself. Weird, huh?"
"Don't talk like you know me. You were nice to me once. And because of that, I decided to come here. Not to fight you, but just to get you out of whatever this thing you've become. This is just courtesy."
"Become? This is what I've been all along, but just hidden and locked away. But enough talk. Keep fighting."
They kept going at it for what seemed like forever. Jack kept mindlessly flailing her arms. She would get in a couple of good hits, but Anne was far more proficient at it. She kept dodging and weaving those unrefined moved. She struck at Jack, and, even though Jack couldn't feel it, they were effective.
All Nina could do was watch as the brutal fight happened. She didn't know what else to do.
Then, Jack thought about Anne's words. That her "fire had dwindled". Did that mean she wasn't as focused as before? Wasn't as strong? These questions floated in her head. Then, Jack thought of something. She realized that her strength came from her rage against Annie - the Light Guardian who inadvertently killed her parents. Her flames was was fueled by hate and rage. She realized that she didn't feel as angry as usual. She was used to being in a feeling of constant rage. Now, it had tired itself out, and upon reflection felt that she was beginning to let go of her hate. But how could this be, she wondered. All she devoted to was trying to find her, even now. Then, that is when it struck. Her time being with Yune and Mary affected her. Their time as a so-called "family" changed Jack. It was such an alien concept to her - to even have a family after so long. As she spent time with Mary and Yune, Jack began to feel like she had a place to belong. Something she hadn't felt either in a long time. A tear rolled down her eye, but Jack knew what she had to do. She had to collect her memories. She had to remember her purpose before being distracted by her new family. She remembered her parents and Annie. All the nightmares about Light Guardians. Everything she hated about them. Everything she felt. That is what she recalled and an ember turned to a forest fire of rage.
Jack screamed, and her fury returned once more. She became faster and stronger. Even without her guardian form, she started to become berserk. She just started to attack Anne from all directions pushing her back. All Anne could do was defend herself against the oncoming assault of bashes. Suddenly, Anne tried to kick at Jack's shin, but this time, Jack still stood strong.
Anne had to dodge out of the way and keep a distance away. When she did that, Jack began to calm down.
"That's more like the monster I know," Anne said, "I specifically wanted to fight you, since we never got a chance to finish either of our previous fights."
Jack ignored Anne's comments and asked, "What changed you?"
Anne smiled and replied, "Since, beating you now feels like it's going to give me an immense amount of satisfaction, I'll tell you. But still, know that I haven't changed. I always had this in me."
Anne also said this while looking at Nina. She wanted Nina to hear this as well, and Nina listened.
Neither Jack nor Anne relaxed themselves. Either one could attack, but Jack wanted to hear Anne's story. And Anne wanted to tell it.
Anne spoke straight from her heart, "I am this way because of Kira. Simple as that. Kira died. And I got angry. Angry at the Night Demons. Angry at the world. Angry at myself. But I had no outlet for my anger. Then, I found this place. This ring of dishonor. I hated it at first. It went against everything I believed in. But no matter what I believed in, the real world still existed. Kira was massacred and died alone. Her body just left in the mud for the vultures and bugs. She didn't deserve any of it. And so, why should I uphold whatever sense of honor and justice I have, if the rest of the world won't. I always believed that if you did good things, good things would come back to you. But that's a disgusting lie, otherwise Kira would still be alive and we would still be one happy group of friends."
Nina began to cry as she heard those words. Even, Anne was beginning to tear up after, but was still angry.
"I'm so sorry, Anne. I should have been there," Nina cried.
Anne paused for a moment and looked down at Nina. Anne continued, "But that wasn't the only reason. The other is because you weren't there, Nina. You weren't there. We both mourned for Kira. But in reality, I felt that you didn't want to talk about her death. So, we went hunting Night Demons as a way for payback. It was a nice gesture, but that only accelerated whatever you think I've become. I had no idea how to talk about it or how to deal with Kira's death. I can't even say that you tried."
"No... I tried... I don't want to lose you, too," Nina said with tear overflowing in her eyes. All Mary and Yune could do was watch as spectators. Those two did nothing to comfort or help Nina. They just watched as she broke down. Jack, Mary, and Yune knew the truth about Kira's death, but they all kept their mouths shut about that. They weren't going to say anything that would implicate each other the murder. If any of them said anything, it would have turned to an all-out fight. And none of the guardians of the night were planning to gamble on who would win.
Anne had nothing more to say. She went back to focusing on the fight.
Jack charged in and Anne was ready for her.
"You're tough and strong, Jack. Physically, you're even stronger and faster than me. But..." Anne said right before grappling Jack into a choke-hold, "I'm just more skilled."
Anne began to choke Jack until she was on the verge of feinting. Then, Jack tapped her arm to say that she surrendered. She was losing consciousness. If Anne had been fighting another fighter in the ring, she would have just knocked her out, but instead felt an ounce of mercy. She felt satisfied with this victory.
Anne muttered, "There's one more reason I'm like this. I found that winning is a better feeling than anything else."
Anne was about to let go of her choke-hold and in that second, Jack became fully conscious. Jack broke out and began to choke Anne as she collapsed on the ground. Jack squeezed tightly as if she had no control over herself.
"Annie... Annie...", Jack muttered angrily as if she was in a trance. She began to salivate like a dog with rabies.
Anne couldn't believe what was happening. She tried to break free, but Jack was too strong. She tried everything, but nothing worked. Jack's hot hands began burning Anne's neck. Jack's eyes blackened with her irises turning crimson red. The look of death was painted all over her face.
But Nina wouldn't let Jack hurt Anne. No more. She quickly transformed into her light guardian form and held her blade to Jack's throat.
"Let her go," Nina threatened. She was crying in one moment, but as soon as she saw Anne in danger, she only had one thought. She had to save her.
Then, Mary and Yune transformed and began to hold their weapons against Nina to threaten her if she did anything to Jack.
The cold steel from Nina's katana didn't wake Jack up from her furious trance. Instead, she began to slowly come out of it by herself. Her eyes turned back to normal. Her grip loosened slowly. And when Anne could finally breathe, she kicked Jack and Nina away. Jack began to relax and sit herself down on the dirty ring floor. She was finally tired from the fight. Nina stood up and wanted to confront Anne. She now understood what Anne was feeling, but she had no idea how to respond to her problems.
Anne quickly got to one side of the ring and became frustrated.
"Damn it," Anne cried, "You should've just let me die after I was beaten like that, Nina."
"I would never let that happen," Nina replied.
"We let it happen to Kira. She was alone and died alone. How can we be so sure that it won't happen again to one of us, hmm?"
Anne ran off towards the exit with tears in her eyes.
Nina gave chase while Mary and Yune stayed with Jack to make sure she was okay.
Anne got to the top and as she was about to leave, she knew that Nina was right behind her.
"Please, Anne. I know I wasn't there for you, but I am now," Nina said compassionately.
"I know. I know you've been trying. And I'm sure you took it the hardest. You were our leader. We both looked up to you like a big sister. And I'm sure you blame yourself for what happened the most," Anne replied with looking back. She shuddered and was on the brink of crying, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Nina reached out a gentle hand and Anne swiftly slapped it away.
There was only a silence that filled the room.
"Please, don't follow me. I need to follow this path. I need to know where this path leads. I decided to become this way and I have to see it through. Just... let me go. Please. I just can't... be with you right now. I need to sort things out," Anne said as if she was trying to convince both Nina and herself.
"We can still be a team," Nina said, but Anne wasn't listening. She walked through the exit where the door had been tossed aside leaving behind only a hole.
"The team died when Kira died. I'm sorry," Anne said quietly before transforming. Sheets of metal covered her and she leapt up into the sky. Nina ran out, but Anne was already gone.
Nina could do nothing, but look at the cold ground. There was nothing more she could do, but she smiled as a tear flowed down her cheek. At the very least, she felt that Anne would be safe. Nina knew that Anne was strong. And this didn't change that. Nina walked away out of the dark alleyways and went back home. There was nothing more she could do. She had only wished that she had done what she could sooner, but she couldn't change the past. The world kept spinning. Nothing could stop that. And so, both Anne and Nina went their separate ways. Both continued to get stronger alone until the time was right for the both of them to come together again. Even though neither knew when that would happen, both still held onto hope for the future.