Remnant of the Old World

 It was getting late, and Diana had just finished up what she was doing when she heard the doorbell. "Hang on a second!" She says before getting up and opening the door to see Ms. Cross. She then looks at her in anger. "Séverine." She says. "Mrs. Tivona," Séverine responds with a similar look. "What brings you here, if I may ask?" Diana says. "I'm here because your little brat insulted me." Séverine says. Diana chuckles. "I can assure you that whatever she said; I one hundred percent agree with." She says. "Of course. That's just like you. I knew there was something I didn't like about her." Séverine says. "Was it the fact that she's more beautiful than you could ever hope to be?" Diana says. Séverine groans. "I don't have time for this. I only wanted to ask you if Deacon was here." Séverine says. "Mmm, can't say I've seen him. Maybe you should try checking elsewhere. I hear there's a lovely ravine nearby. Maybe you should start there." Diana says. Séverine groans once again. "Fine. Be that way. I don't even need him at the moment." Séverine says before walking away. "Okay, toodles!" She says before closing the door. "Fucking bitch." She says, walking up to her and Mr. Tivona's room. Deep underground, a long-forgotten timer had finally reached zero, causing a door to creak and whir as it slowly slid open to reveal a female figure. She then drops to the floor on her hands and knees. After a few moments, she pounds her fist on the ground. "Abrianna." She growls as she lifts her head to reveal a set of almond and dark blue colored eyes. She then gets up and makes her way out of the underground base that had been overcome by nature. The woman with almond and dark blue colored eyes was now wandering through the forest. The light from the moon revealed her short crimson hair and lightly tanned beige skin. She was looking for a familiar landmark, and eventually, she found one: the spring. She stared at it for a long moment. She seemed to be reflecting. Her eyes then teared up slightly as she gritted her teeth. "Why'd he have to be such a-" She started to mutter before stopping herself. "No, no... It wasn't like that, and you know that, Ren." She says, attempting to pull herself together. After a few moments, she runs in the direction that she remembers the closest city being in. Adira had woken up before Deacon, and she looked at one of the holographic screens in her room. "6:00" was displayed on one of the screens. She didn't want to disrupt Deacon's slumber, so she decided to stay in bed. She then notices her dad open the door slightly. He had green eyes, brown hair, and beige skin. "Oh, sorry if I'm interrupting anything, sweetheart. I just wanted to apologize for not saying hi to you yesterday." He says. "It's fine, dad. I get that you were busy." Adira says. "Okay, good, but I see that you have company at the moment, so I'll talk with you later." He says. "Okay. Love you, dad." She says. "I love you too, sweetheart." He says before shutting the door. Adira then gently brushes Deacon's hair with her hand. Eventually, he wakes up. "Good morning, Adira." He says. "'Morning, Freckles." She says. "Is it almost time for school?" He asks. "Almost. We have about two hours." She says. "Oh, well, in that case: I would be happy to make breakfast for you." He says. "No. It's about time someone made breakfast for you, Deacon." She says, getting out of bed. Deacon's face turns bright red because she still only had her underwear on. "Oh, sorry, Freckles. I completely forgot. I'm not used to having people over." She says. "N-no, it's fine! I think you look pretty." He says. "Especially with your... Abdominals..." He mutters. "Heheh, well, thank you. You look pretty cute yourself, Freckles." She says. Deacon then seems to remember something and lowers his head slightly. "Wait, did I say something wrong?" Adira asks after putting a shirt on. "No, it's just... that compliment... has bad memories attached to it..." He says. Adira growls slightly. "Remind me to give Jade another concussion." She says as she puts on her pants. She then changes the subject. "Anyways, what would you like, Freckles?" She asks. "Hm... I guess pancakes and tea sounds nice!" Deacon says. "Okay. I'll be right back with that." She says before walking out of the room. A few moments later, Adira comes back into the room and gives Deacon his pancakes and tea. "There you go, Freckles. Enjoy." She says. "Thank you, Adira." He says. "You're welcome, Freckles." She says, patting his head. "Also, I just had an idea for what I could give you." She says before reaching into her closet. She then takes out a cute stuffed animal. "My dad gave this to me when I was eight, and I've kinda outgrown it. So, I figured I could give it to you, and when you get nervous, you can hug it and think of me." She says, giving him the stuffed animal. "I guess that sounds kinda cheesy, now that I say it out loud, but-" She starts to say before Deacon hugs her. "No one's ever given me a gift that was this thoughtful before. I love it!" He says. Adira chuckles. "You're so sweet, Freckles." She says, hugging him back. Deacon and Adira had arrived at school but had to separate because of their classes. He was just about to go to Ms. Edison's class when Jade pinned him against a wall. "Listen to me, Deacon... and listen well. You're mine." She says. "B-but Adira won-" He starts to say before Jade punches him in the cheek, causing his cheek to bruise. "I don't give a fuck about that rule!" She exclaims. He whimpers, causing her to laugh. "Oh, I will never tire of that noise." She says. "Now, agree to be mine again, and I can just put this all behind us," Jade says. Deacon is silent for a moment. "No." He says. "What did you just say?" Jade says. "I said no! I'm tired of being nothing but your pet! I'm tired of being abused! Adira showed me that I'm allowed to have affection, and you're too much of a jerk to even know what that is!" He yells. She then puts her hand around Deacon's throat. "That wasn't a request." She says. She then starts to choke him. He starts to tear up. "F-fine, I'll do it! Just stop, please." He struggles to say. "That's better." She says, letting go of his neck. She then grabs his hair, and pulls on it, causing him to yelp. "Never say no to me again..." She says. She then pushes him into the wall again before walking away. He cries slightly before gathering himself and continuing to walk to class. Once Deacon finishes class, he sees Adira. He then runs up to her and hugs her. "Jade forced me to agree to be with her again... I tried to stand up for myself, but... It didn't work..." He says, looking up at her to reveal the bruise on his cheek. Adira's look formed into one of rage as soon as she saw the bruise. "Excuse me for a moment, Deacon. I need to kill a bitch." She says, walking away. Adira had beaten the hell out of Jade. Her nose was bleeding, her face was bruised, and she had claw marks on her skin. Adira had a few bruises and a bloody nose as well. "How many times am I gonna have to do this, Jade?" She asks, stomping on her stomach. She grunts. "What happened to you, Adira?" She asks, completely ignoring the question. Adira groans. "You're hopeless." She says before kicking Jade in the head. She then walks away. Deacon then sees Adira and notices her bruises. "Adira! Are you okay?" He says worriedly. "I'm fine, Freckles. I've been through worse." She says. "Even so, would you please allow me to care for your wounds this time?" He begs. Adira couldn't help but relent to his pleading eyes. "Fine... But wait until we get back to my place, okay?" She says. "I'm coming over again?" He says, as his eyes light up. "Yes, you are, Freckles. Mom decided she wanted to keep you away from your mother as much as she can." She says. "Your mother is so nice! Do you think I could do something for her in return?" He says. "If you did, I'm sure she'd appreciate it, but you don't have to. Now, come on." Adira says before they walk off. Ren was disgusted with the world she'd woken up in. All the women she saw were rapists, sadists, perverts, and everything in between. She leans her back against a wall. "She really did it..." She says to herself. She then clenches her fist and pounds the side of her hand against a brick wall. "Well, I'm still standing, Abrianna, and I won't give up. Not now. Not after everything." She says to herself before running to an unknown destination. Once Adira and Deacon walked through the door, Mr. Tivona saw them. "Oh my! Adira, are you okay?" He says, running up to her. "I'm fine, Dad. I just had a little fight." She says. "Sweetheart, that's the fourth time this month." He says. "I know, dad, and I'm sorry. My anger can get the better of me, and you know that." She says. He sighs. "You're a lot like your mother in that way... Look, all I'm asking is that you try to be more careful, okay?" He says. "Okay, dad." She says. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, I don't believe I've properly met this young man yet." He says. "Oh, right! Dad, this is Deacon." She says. "Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Tivona!" Deacon says, extending his hand out. "Nice to meet you too, Deacon." Mr. Tivona says, shaking his hand. "I can see your day at school was a bit rough too. Sorry about that." He adds. "It's fine, Mr. Tivona. This is far from the worst wound I've gotten." Deacon says. "Yeah, I've been there before, Deacon. Asmata knows life isn't perfect, but sometimes, it can get better. You just have to have the ambition to make a change." He says, putting a hand on Deacon's shoulder. Deacon wasn't sure how to respond, so he just stayed silent. "Um, well, anyway... I'm sure you two have things to do. I'll be down here or in my room if you happen to need me, Adira." He says. "Okay, dad!" Adira says. He then sits on the couch, and Deacon and Adira walk up the stairs, and Adira says: "Oh, I just realized... you and I probably need a shower." "Oh, that sounds nice. But, you should go first." Deacon says. "I mean, there's always the option of us taking one together." Adira flirts. Deacon stammers as his face turns bright red. "I-I mean, if you're c-comfortable with that, I guess I could if you really want me to! But, I-" Deacon starts to say before she interrupts him. "Relax, Freckles. I was just teasing." She says. "O-oh, right. Sorry." He says. "No apologies needed. I'll tell you when I'm done, okay?" She says. "Okay." He says before she walks away. After they both got a shower, Deacon started to treat Adira's wounds. At one point, she made a small grunt of pain. "I-I'm so sorry, Adira! Are you okay?" He says worriedly. "I'm fine, Freckles. Pain is just weakness leaving the body." She says. "Okay. As long as you're okay." He says before continuing to treat her wounds. "Also, I've been meaning to ask... I can make an assumption based on most families, but... What happened to your dad, Deacon?" Adira asks. "Oh, father was a very sweet and kind man, but he left mother when I was ten. He wanted to take me with him, but... They didn't allow it." He says. "Yeah, I figured..." She says. "But it's fine! Bad things happen. And that leaves room for more good things!" He says. "L-like you..." He adds, as his face turns a bit red. Adira laughs. "You're such a sweetheart, Deacon." She says, patting his head. "U-um well, I'm done treating you! I guess I kinda overreacted. I didn't really need to treat all that much." He says. "It's okay, Freckles. It's the thought that counts." She says. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He says. "Anyways, is there anything you wanna do, Freckles?" She asks. "Hm... Maybe we could watch a movie or a show!" He says. Adira chuckles. "That sounds like a great idea, Freckles. Anything specific you'd like to watch?" She says. "Well, I like romance and comedies." He says. "Okay, let me see what I can find." She says, using her finger to scroll through one of the many projections in her room.