Very Painful Times

Engel

 Groaning, I sat up, only to immediately regret it as my ass lit up in pain, the fire of which felt like it was burning my stomach.

 Hunched over, my arms wrapped around it in attempts to settle the growing hurt, failing at every turn as I could feel something rising in my throat, its form feeling as if acid was its nature.

 The pain I was feeling in my rear was discarded as I bolted from the bed and to my feet, my head swiveling as it tried to find the bathroom, yet there was none in immediate sight, so I had to go for the next best option.

 My feet carried me over to the trash can near the desk before whatever was rising expelled itself with fury.

 The stench and heat of whatever I was throwing up had my eyes watering as they snared shut in defense, hoping they could be protected from at least the heat. Still, they wouldn't have to hope for long, as a few moments later I was heaving nothing, the contents having wholly left my body.

 While huffing, my eyes came to the occasion, their forms unsealing themselves from their defense as they looked into the trash can to find a slurry of digested food, blood, and what looked to be semen, definitely Oliver's.

 My blurry mind settled when a hand was placed on my back, its form rubbing circles into it. My gaze turned to find Oliver's frowning visage. His eyes were no longer pink like I last remembered them; instead, they bore the knowing crimson pair of jewels.

 The emerald gaze buried in my own skull stared for a moment before shutting in acceptance, his comfort having been deemed acceptable at the current moment; should that notion remain true later wasn't in my repertoire of knowledge.

 "You good, Engel?" He asked, his tone dancing with both curiosity and caution.

 I shrugged before answering with my chest, "No, I'm not good, Oliver, especially since my ass still feels like it's burning," I nodded at the trash can as I continued, "And it looks like I'm hurt too if that blood's anything to go by."

 The sigh I got in return was telling: he didn't like it.

 "If you want, I can take a look at your internals; see what's going on in there, though what I can do if it is hurt would be limited."

 His words weren't something I was expecting to hear, nor was the knowledge of knowing that Oliver, of all people, knew how to do something like that; however, that did get me thinking a bit too much, as something clicked in my head. Something that I questioned out loud.

 "Are you trying to fuck me again?"

 Oliver, for his part, barely reacted, if only turning a bit darker in color as a blush flushed his face.

 "No, I'm not trying to fuck you."

 Raising an eyebrow, I motioned for him to explain. 

 His hand never ceased its comfort as he rubbed the back of his head with the other while continuing.

 "Right, you remember when I told you about my genes, and how they were that of a succubus?"

 I nodded, the memory still fresh in my mind.

 "Well, my gene benefactors had all kinds of neat little abilities to make their lives easier, including, but not limited to, 'Gaze', an ability that essentially gives the user something akin to X-ray vision; I say akin because it doesn't necessarily work like you'd think it would."

 My curiosity was piqued as I turned around, my knees slipping under me as I stood; I'd rather have the full explanation in detail while I wasn't sitting on a stone floor.

 The comforting hand broke off after the fact, its form returning to Oliver's side as he walked over to the bed, no sign of the same pain I was in before. He quickly gestured me over, and I obliged.

 Slightly limping my way back, I quickly got onto the soft bed before lying down stomach first, I pointedly ignored the large spot of sticky wetness that lay just above my pelves where my ass once resided; a shower was in my future anyways.

 After lying back down next to me, Oliver continued.

 "You see, a succubus draws its power from something we call 'Gifting'," he paused, thinking of something for a second before continuing, "Have you ever played roguelike games?"

 I nodded. "A few."

 He grinned. "Right, then you should know that almost every one of them has something akin to life drain, where they get health back every time they kill an enemy, well, that's essentially what 'Gifting' is for us; it's the ability to take lifeforce from others."

 Shock was something that painted my face as I thought of the implications of such a thing, but I quickly set those aside as I questioned, "And that has anything to do with you, 'Gazing' into me, how?"

 Oliver, unbothered by the interruption, went on. "Life force to us isn't invisible, matter of fact, to us, it's a malleable substance that we can freely manipulate in any way we see fit; almost."

 His crimson eyes flickered as his thoughts delved into something.

 Not wanting to deal with the possibility of being raped again, I quickly extended my left hand before flicking him on the nose, the action drawing surprise from the recipricant and snapping him out of whatever potential disaster was brewing inside.

 Oliver, seemingly grateful for the distraction, continued with his explanation, a playful grin now poking at his lips along the way.

 "You see because we can see this substance, we can take it, and after we do, we have it stored and assimilated inside our bodies, turning the foreign energy into our own," he chuckled as he answered the question I didn't even ask yet, "And yes, that means we are in all but body, immortal."

 My eye twitched as yet another distraction made itself known in his answer, 'What did he mean, in all but 'body'?'

 I filed the detail away for later as I spoke. "Can we just get to the part where you tell me how this has anything to do with this, 'Gazing'?"

 Oliver huffed but nodded in agreement anyway.

 "Right, if I were to use this ability on you, it would essentially be an echo that bounces around in your body for a bit before returning to me with an in-depth visual of your internals, and if there is something hurt inside, I should be able to see it highlighted in red."

 I frowned, "So, not only do you have the immortality cheat code, but now you have an aprasil cheat code; what's next, are you going to tell me you have the cheat code for flight?"

 That last one was supposed to be sarcastic, a jab at the idiot's broken DNA, but a brief recollection of when Oliver first struck me in the 'Ruined Garden' popped up, and with it was a realization as I remembered the brief glimpse I had of his back, its form bearing a pair of sable bat-like wings as an equally dark hearted tail fluttered behind him.

 My eye twitched once or twice as my gaze returned to Oliver's crimson orbs, their forms finding the ceiling nice and pretty to look at while his lips quivered in an effort to stifle his chuckles.

 Annoyed, my fist found his shoulder, though the hit wasn't that hard due to my poor angle, he didn't seem to mind as the blow broke his strained restraint, its collapse soon followed by light-hearted mocking laughs as he rolled back and forth on the bed while holding his stomach.

 My cheeks puffed as I turned away; I no longer gave a damn about his help and would be fine without it, and to further prove that point, I somewhat painfully pushed myself over the side of the bed, my feet finding the cold stone floor as I flicked my head before walking to the door, the intent of the action clear.

 Prying the wooden barrier open, I stepped out, finding myself in a ludicrously large hallway. Its size seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions, reaching at least one meter in height. Oddly enough, it lacked any kind of windows, as every wall and ceiling was nothing but stone with a few red rugs here and there.

 With my gaze caught up in curiosity, I didn't notice Oliver following me out, nor did I see the light glow from his crimson eyes as he stared at me with purpose; however, I did turn to catch his smile in time.

 "What's with the smile?"

 He chuckled, "Well, aside from a comforting piece of information, I'd say I'm smiling because I like your reaction, it's so chock-full of curiosity and wonder that I just can't help but enjoy it."

 I hummed.

 "Right..." I sighed, "Moving on, where's the shower? I will literally kill you if I have to stay this sticky all day."

 I emphasized the sticky part by wiping off the lingering spots of semen caking just above my pelvis.

 Oliver seemed to find that fact nice as his smile widened at the sight, but the orbs of crimson didn't linger long as he shook his head and gestured for me to follow, likely trying to lead me to the place I was in search of.

 I followed, simply for the possibility of a clean body; I did not linger behind his bare form for any particular reason, or at least that's what I'd like to think; however, my eyes had other ideas.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. Thavel

 My hands moved with precision as I darted around the cabin, its form once dusty and messy now coming together as something near spotless.

 Usually, I'd just put this off like any other time, just telling myself it wasn't that bad and that I would do it later. But, the usual wasn't playing out right now, as I had an injured and dirty girl in my bed; it's space, the only one in the house that wouldn't risk infection due to dust.

 I had patched her up as best I could after rinsing her off in the tub, but I was no medical expert, nor did I take much time to scrub her, so I'd likely bring her to Mr. Demi in a few hours, just to make sure she was well and truly out of danger.

 My thoughts were interrupted when I felt my foot get caught, its bare form pulling on the carpet as its equalized weight stopped it from succumbing to my leg's strength. 

 Yelping, I braced before my face hit the floor.

 A loud thud rang out as my arms took the brunt of the fall before I quickly rolled onto my back, the leg that had failed me helping to prop me up again as I kept on cleaning as if nothing happened; I'd deal with the bruising later.

 Thankfully, checking on the girl yielded the same result as it did a few hours ago: unconscious.

 Sighing, I left the room while pointedly ignoring her damp tail, its bone-white visage seemingly bearing a pair of acid green eyes that stared at me with caution; ya, no, I've encountered some pretty wired shit in my life, and this has got to be the one to take the cake, even above Alice; at least she looked and acted like a human.

 It wasn't long before I had to depart to work, so I prepared accordingly, of which the process only took a few seconds, as all I did a take off the clothes I'd been wearing since yesterday morning before putting on new ones.

 After discarding them, I turned to the girl before beginning to undress her from the rags she was wearing, pointedly avoiding drawing close to the tail as its eyes still watched me, a difficult endeavor when the pants she was wearing had a lope tightened around the base of it.

 However, either by choice or by fear, the acid gaze never showed anything more than what it did previously; a blessing in my opinion, as it made my life easier.

 When I was done dressing the girl in something presentable, I picked her up like I did the other night, with even the reaction being the same, as her head stayed close to my chest; the stupid feelings followed, their existence dyeing my head with confusion, just as they did before.

 Ignoring them again, I paid great attention to the tail, as it was no longer weighed down by the mud it had on it like before, so its maneuverability was vastly different and more spontaneous than it was when I first had her in my grasp.

 Case in point: the furry appendage was currently in the middle of wrapping around my neck like a scarf, its white form slithering like a snake, however, I was confident it wouldn't do shit, because whether it liked it or not, it was at my mercy as I was the one carrying its owner, and I was the one with the power to end its existence.

 The appendage seemed like it knew this, as a harsh glare from my hazel eyes had it settling down in its coiled position, the acid orbs of which quickly began to disappear as it went limp, a telling sign of sleep.

 I breathed a sigh of relief before trudging out of my cabin, the sun's rays warm on my body, giving me comfort in the time ahead; hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad.

 Had future me here, she would have current me beheaded for the thought, as she had to deal with so many chaotic situations and problems that it made her rethink the concept of her own existence.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Abbie

/A few minutes before dawn\

 Agony, pure unbridled agony; it wasn't something I loved, nor would I actively wish for it, but it seemed, as always, I didn't have a choice in the matter, as I could feel my chest crushing itself, its form collapsing in as everything inside fell away to decay.

 I would've tried to scream had I not felt the remnants of my vocals sliding down my ebbing throat, its walls breaking down just as fast.

 My chest heaved as it deflated slightly, the ribs keeping my muscles from crushing my organs, slowly falling away as they dematerialized.

 Bloody gurgles could be heard in my slack mouth as it started to overflow, the crimson liquid leaking onto the bed I was in the middle of sleeping on not long ago, its liquid state pooling on dips in the fabric as it glided across the white sheet I was lying on, its final destination being the dip my claim was sleeping in, her peaceful form already starting to stir as her nose retched in disgust; it was likely due to the iron my blood was currently packed with.

 As soon as the blood even grazed her skin, she bolted, her form springing up from sleep as her slit obsidian orbs ravaged the room until they eventually found my brightening orbs of gold, the dirt in them dissolving as they became pure.

 Her reaction was instant as the obsidian slits widened in terror, a notable shudder rocking her body as I tried and failed to give a reassuring smile over my torment.

 Her mouth moved, but I could not hear, and that made me sad, as I hated ignoring her.

 Not a second later, I was being cradled in her only arm, the prosthetic forgotten as she launched herself through the open window.

 I could tell she tried to make the landing gentle to save my body from the inertia, but it did little in that regard, with even the smallest of movements sending my eroding chest cavity slushing around in a slurry of gore as the starts of new tissue and bone were broken, their forms painfully restarting the process as wind wiped past us in a fury.

 Not long after, darkness overtook me, but only briefly, as when I opened my eyes again, I was no longer seeing the lights of the city blitzing past me; instead, their forms were replaced with trees, a vast quantity of trees. I wasn't able to see where we were going, but taking into the context clues of the environment whipping past my golden gaze, I could tell it was somewhere new, and very dark, with even dawn's rays falling to its maw.

 It wasn't long before everything came to a stop, with only the rapid rising and falling of Tanya's chest being the thing keeping my blurry mind alive with activity.

 My eyes had long since fastened themselves, as it was only due to the vibrations that I knew we were moving; however, even those stopped as bleakness overtook me, shoving my barely active mind into unconsciousness, the dark void of itself taking me away from the glowing pain radiating from inside me.

 It was a blissful release, but at the same time, so very terrifying, as I didn't know if I was going to wake up again.

 'What a blissful nightmare.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ms. Circle

 I was afraid, no, that was an understatement, I was terrified because, despite all the precautions and preparations I had put into place and prepared for this very moment, I was lost, unsure what to do, even though I knew what I had to do, and where I had to take him.

 My panicked mind was in a jumble as my form danced in between every tree and building in my path, with some even having the unfortunate fate of being kicked to the side, literally.

 However, my accidental terrorism was eventually stopped as I was forced to duck to the side, lest I lose my head to a beam of erasure.

 Growling, my fear was tainted with vast rage as I turned to find the one competent idiot in this pathetic city, able to at least give me a headache, his form covered by a white overcoat that hid the colorless police uniform underneath, with the only thing to give away his affiliation being the crossed blades embroidered on the upper breast of the coat, its color as red as the blood staining my bare skin, clothes having been disregarded in favor of panic.

 Like most people involved in the school's existence, his hair was pitch black and sported in a long ponytail that reached past his lanky yet muscular arms, only stopping as it held just inches above the ground.

 His face sported a challenging grin as a pair of near-invisible glasses rested on his face, their existence doing nothing in stowing away the orbs of ever-changing fire that were his eyes; they were often described as two miniature suns by those who got close enough to get a really good look at them.

 Sitting in the middle of the orbs, not too far up his forehead, was an iridescent horn that shot upward in a curve, its form looking to be made out of solid glass, however, I knew better as that was actually his bone; it was an awkward fact he threw at me when we first met, but one that stuck with me none the less.

 Leaning on his shoulder while being grasped by his left hand was the weapon that shot the beam of erasure, its form slightly smoking as the energy it fired put the object under heats scrutiny; it was a blade, about eight feet long, with symbols of unintelligible origin engraved on almost every inch of it.

 The blade itself was as white as his coat, while the symbols and hilt were of bloody origin, with the red and white contrast doing well to hurt most people's eyes so they would be forced to look away; it was a tactic known as 'Advantage Kaiser' an idea of distracting and disorienting any who let their eye linger on the hard colors for too long, giving the one wearing the color the advantage; it's self-explanatory after that.

 "Xiezhi!" I roared, fury overtaking my voice as I looked at the bastard with potent hate.

 The horned bastard only grinned harder as his sun-kissed eyes glared back with excitement equal to my hate.

 "Ms. Tanya, I must say, I'm genuinely surprised to find you, of all people, pronouncing around this early in the morning, void of any clothing, while causing so much damage to this lovely city," his eyes narrowed as they focused harder on Abbie, "and with a child as well," he rubbed his chin while keeping the smile, "poor boy, must have had a rough night with you."

 I didn't bother listening as I thought up some ways I could get the idiot to leave, or at least stall him long enough that I could slip away.

 He continued regardless, uncaring of my unfocused eyes.

 "Wow, tough crowd, but then again, the joke wasn't very funny, was it?" The smile on his lips turned feral, as his sunny orbs narrowed, "especially when it isn't too far from the truth."

 I froze for a brief second before I recalled what kind of entity I was dealing with.

 The Folklore of Justice, Xiezhi; a beast rought from the very concept of order and justice, with a pair of eyes that could discern the truth of any it gazed upon and a horn that could peel back even the thickest of wills, with the only known archived exception being Alice, her very presence blinding the myth for more than a week.

 I was done with his probing, as my form launched at him with deathly speed, my leg outstretched to take his head.

 Sadly, it wasn't going to be that easy, as at the very last second he dodged, ducking under the lethal blow with milliseconds to spare.

 However, the encounter ended just as fast as it started. My aim was never to attack but to get past, and I did that with relative ease.

 The entity saw this but did nothing a he waved goodbye, his eyes likely already showing him the truth of the situation, but that wasn't to say he gave up completely as another beam of erasure spontaneously burst from the sword, clipping my side as I leaped off.

 Immediately, pain ravaged me, but I hastily bit down on it as I didn't want to waste any more time.

 Trees blitzed past me as I kept pace, until eventually, I came to an empty clearing, a large dead tree stump sitting in the center, with a tombstone sitting atop it.

 Limping my way over in pain, I stopped before reciting the passage written on it, each word dredging up the memories of a past that had long since been lost.

 "To enter is to die, to enter is to unsnare time. Should you enter, one must die, while the other fades with time. Do you enter?"

 My teeth ground as I finished before I gently placed Abbie's own on the stump, before going to fetch what was necessary, and after returning, I held in my hand two lifeless corpses covered in marks and symbols that represented life.

 Tossing them before the stone, I grabbed Abbie before moving on with the chant from memory, as I had destroyed the second part of it on the stone when I first discovered this blasted thing.

 "Two leave, and two enter, unmare the chains and let thy enter."

 The stone shone for a moment before it went dark, the words turning to midnight as the bodies in front of it swirled and distorted before erupting into gore that was hastily absorbed by the ground.

 After that, the stone cracked down the middle, and an ethereal energy seeped out into the air. Its form swirled in place for a second, and then a hole that looked like it led into nothingness opened, its maw awaiting those it was allowing in to step forth.

 Looking down at Abbie, I frowned because I knew that doing this was going to put him in a lot more pain than he was now.

 I gritted my teeth and held him just a bit closer before stepping forward.

 Reality seemed to shatter in my perspective as everything twisted and warped before scattering, the bountiful forest now nothing but pitch black as the once gentle wind stilled.

 This was a place where nothing existed, and I meant nothing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. Grace

 I looked at my watch again before sighing in defeat, as this would mark the first time Ms. Circle would be absent this year. 

 I've tried calling multiple times, along with numerous texts, but none yielded any results or explanations; there were even some thoughts swirling around that suggested a visit, to check up on her for old times' sake, but those were quickly brushed to the side as the bell rang.

 Now I was here talking to Ms. Bloomie about her taking over Ms. Circle's class, because if she didn't, it would have to be canceled until further notice, likely not a bad thing in the eyes of the students, but definitely a bad look on the school should word of its cancellation get out.

 "I'm sorry, Ms. Grace, but I'm still tied up at the moment, so I have no moments to spare; forgive me."

 Shaking my head, I urged her to leave with a gesture before plopping back down into my chair, thoughts of retirement hot on my mind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. Bloomie

 As I made my way back to the workroom I was using as a temporary lab, a faint buzz in my back pocket drew my unfocused ocean orbs, the pupils of which barely reacted as they saw the number I had phoned not long ago.

 Pulling the phone up to my ear, I spoke. "Might I assume you're calling about the query I had a while ago, 'Stranger'?"

 There was a still silence on the other end for a moment, but it was soon filled as a soft voice peered through, its tone deceiving in the fact that it was indeed a man on the other end.

 "I am, and I must say, whoever it is that has them isn't going to be too happy with the attention the answer we found has placed them in."

 My brow quirked at the phrasing.

 "What do you mean?"

 The 'Stranger' on the other end sighed, "Well, the tallys, you asked about, were a hard thing to figure out, but with the help of basically the entire 'Company', we were able to decipher what they meant."

 I rolled my eyes. "And that is?"

 "...Lives, the tallies represent how many lives they have, or more specifically, how many times they can cheat death; it's fascinating, there has never once been in our history of humanity any gene-seed that would allow one to get what is essentially a get out of jail free card, yet here we are, with a character sown together with Wolf-Brine DNA bearing the very tallies that allowed the beasts to hop into our world in the first place. If I were you, I'd throw a warning toward the bearer of these marks, as everyone, and I mean everyone, wants a part of them, literally, and I have no doubt they will use even the most absurd methods known to man to get it."

 There was a pronounced silence from the other side afterward as my shocked visage registered the end dial of the other party hanging up.

 After a second, an exhausted sigh left my vocals, it's from carrying with it all my woes and sorrows.

"...Fuck."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Narration

 With Ms. Bloomie walking the halls in exhaustion, and Ms. Grace waiting idly in contemplation, we cut to Ms. Thavel, her arms occupied by a girl of hidden origin and mystery as she walks the neat path leading to school.

 Her destination? Mr. Demi, it's just unfortunate that she'd have so many complications before she could even get there, as the girl chose to make her life very difficult, with just a few words.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Asrel

 It took a second, but I could slowly feel the darkness edging away as a warm light pierced it, painting my once-dark vision blurry as my eyes fluttered open to find a sight of confusion.

 "Mother?" I whispered.

 The motion I could feel myself in halted as I could see a blurry pair of hazel eyes staring down at me, along with them were the acid green eyes of 'Kane', the white bush of fur looking down at me with as much shock as the hazel ones were.

 After a few seconds, my vision cleared, and I was left to look at the blank face of a stranger as they carried me in their arms.

 Now, I wasn't one to feel much in terms of emotions and stuff like that, but at that very moment, and at that exact time, I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment as I crossed my arms with a click of my teeth before looking anywhere but at them.

 I could just feel their stares, burning into my head as I clicked my teeth harder, really trying to emphasize that it was their fault, even though there was nothing to take fault for.

 I thought my point proven when the stranger sighed before continuing with their walk, seemingly discarding the loose lips of mine, which was preferred.

 However, after a moment of nothing but silence filled with the light steps of the stranger and brief flicks of 'Kane' as I could feel the idiot's fur brush against my cheek in mockery, and had we not been in company, I'd have taken the base of the stupid sentient tail before throttleing it, hoping to 'Eko' that it would've been enough to castrate it. 

 Kane, the snake, seemed to have heard my thoughts, or at least guessed them, as it started swaying side to side in smooth strokes, playing out the scene it would've been in had I not been afraid of being dropped on my ass due to the scuffle it would inevitably cause.

 I clicked my teeth again before leaning into the stranger's chest, opting to just enjoy the comfort they seemed to want to provide, despite their demeanor saying otherwise.