Chapter XXXV: Fallen Rose

Chapter XXXV: Fallen Rose

“Wake up,” is heard.

The vision is completely blurred and nothing can be really distinguished. Then all of a sudden… he wakes up.

“Dwayne, are you back to your senses?” asks Maxwell. “Damn it…” was all Dwayne could say.

“You collapsed in that battle,” says Professor Ulysses. “ALEXA!” suddenly yells Dwayne. Rushing himself he stands up from the bed he was lying, but just the sole action of standing up weakened him and sent him straight to the floor.

“They took her away! I should’ve killed them all when I had the chance!” yells Dwayne as he closes his right fist to the point of bleeding.

“Dwayne, hear me, what happened in the MET?” asks Ulysses as Angel, Guile, Shana, Maxwell, Uncle Martin, Alphonse and even Ruphir expected an answer.

“Everything’s blurry after a certain point. I was ambushed… and I tried to protect her. Then all of a sudden I lost myself, deep inside my own mind and I just remember I killed many during that moment. Eventually I could wake up, but the body gave up on me and they took her away!” cries Dwayne as tears rush down his chin.

Ruphir was watching from a distance.

“What…” was all she could think.

“I was too damned weak again… I can’t do anything!” cries again Dwayne, this time hitting the floor with his forehead, “I allowed them to take her!”

“Calm down Dwayne!” says Ulysses. “I can’t calm when the only being that truly accepted me in every sense is gone and I don’t know what is happening to her in this same moment!”

“She… she truly loved me… and I never responded correctly to that love…” he finally cries, letting go all the tension he had in his body, and finally resting over the floor.

Ruphir’s breathing was getting faster and faster, and she grew nervous every second she saw Dwayne crying on the floor.

“What I have done…” she thinks.

With haste she rushes towards Dwayne, eventually falling to her knees in front of him. She moves her head forward and whispers to his ears: “Sorry”.

Dwayne turns his head around and stares right at Ruphir’s eyes. “Don’t look at these eyes, I beg of you…” she replies.

“What are you saying?” asks Maxwell.

“South Queens… there she is….” Says the beautiful woman. She stands up and looks at him. “I did this to you,” she continues.

“She’s from the Iusta Vindicta! Be careful!” says Maxwell taking a fighting stance.

“You could kill me now… right now I don’t care, for I have been through this as well… I know the pain he feels,” she says as a tear falls down her chin.

“Rescue her…” says Ruphir as she turns around and heads towards the door.

“Sorry again,” she finally says before leaving. “Let’s get that bitch!” says Maxwell.

“Let her go Maxwell,” says Dwayne, still resting over the floor. “WHAT?!?” asks Maxwell surprised. “She’s not evil…” replies Dwayne, finally standing on his own, though struggling.

“She said South Queens,” says Alphonse. “Get ready, we are heading there… prepare for battle,” says Dwayne. “But you are…” whispers Ulysses. “I will be,” says Dwayne, turning his face and staring at the Professor.

“I know the powers this body of mine has… I am slowly remembering them all, and Professor… let me remind you, I do have a very dark side,” says Dwayne as a psychotic smile draws in his face. “Dwayne!” yells Alphonse.

Suddenly Dwayne grabs his face with his right hand. Quickly he lets go of his own face and closes his fist. After that he quickly lets go a punch to his own face.

“Something’s wrong with my mind… the nanomachines are taking over,” says Dwayne as blood falls from his nose.

“The Original Program…” whispers Ulysses. “What?” questions Dwayne. “Don’t worry, its of no concern now, lets prepare for what is coming,” says Professor Ulysses.

- - - - - - - -

Outside Ruphir was running through the streets of New York as a nonstop rain fell over her. It was very stormy that night.

“I got to get there fast!” she says to herself as she comes to a sudden stop and asks for a taxi, which promptly comes over.

“To South Queens,” she says to the driver.

- - - - - -

In the Iusta Vindicta headquarters, an old building in deserted and ugly South Queens, a man was standing vigilant. It was General Mack Mach, watching the entrance to the building.

“It’s raining too much princess,” says Lucian to Alexandra as they both stare to the outside through different windows. “I’ll get Mack to take you,” says Lucian.

Suddenly from within the rain a figure appears, it’s just a silhouette but it moves forward towards the building.

“Get the fuck off here you bum!” yells Mack from afar. “It’s me… Ruphir,” says the young woman as the cold rain ‘scolded’ her.

”Ruphir!” says Mack surprised.

“Isn’t that…” says Alexandra surprised. Quickly the she heads towards the entrance and looks at Ruphir coming from within the rain towards the building.

“I need to talk with that girl,” she says in a very depressed mood. She walks towards Alexandra, who was looking at her with angst, and grabs her by the hand. “Let go!” says Alexandra.

“I need to talk to you in private…” says Ruphir. “Has something happened, Ruphir?” asks Mack. “No, nothing,” she replies.

Lucian smiles and scratches his chin. “Who did you tell?” asks the Lord.

Immediately Ruphir falls to her knees, crying.

“Hear me well girl, don’t you let go that man…. There are not many like him,” cries Ruphir.

“Ruphir…” whispers Mack surprised by her actions. Alexandra stands in shock in front of her.

“I’ve betrayed the group I swore to fight with… because I have once again gained trust in what I long considered lost: Love. These eyes of mine, they are my power as a GenoBIO, and their sole purpose is to make men fall in love with me, they are seeds of seduction… and for long I used them to gain money and power. I seduced powerful men and made them do my bidding.” Cries Ruphir.

“Not long ago, I fell down in the middle of a street, and then this one man came and helped me get up. For the first time in my sorry life I felt the feeling humans call love, and he also fell in true love with me, I didn’t even have to use these cursed eyes of mine. I… I was happy for the first time in my life. But humans are selfish, and one night we were assaulted by some people… he was killed in front of me. His blood fell over my face and body. Then, for the first time I felt hate and sorrow… and I killed them all with my own hands… standing in the middle of an alley as rain fell over my bloody face. I lost faith in humanity… and decided they were not worth a shit. I swore allegiance to the Iusta Vindicta… I swore to eradicate all humans. But… then I met him… I met Dwayne. He’s not human I know, but you are. I thought you were immature, just another young girl in love, and that for him it was just a temporary thing. Even though I seduced him, he never felt to my knees as I wanted him… he stood strong against me, which showed me that he was really in love with you. And this night I saw him crying in the floor, crying for you… and I… I felt that… love can still exist, even if he’s different than you. I felt that there are still humans out there that are worth something, because of you! I regained my faith in love. So, I ask of you… don’t you let go of him, hold on to him at all cost,”. All that Ruphir told, while crying and kneeling over the ground, but always looking straight at Alexandra.

“You…” whispers Alexandra as tears fall down her chin. Immediately she embraces the red-dressed woman, the symbol of seduction. “Thank you…” shouts Alexandra to Ruphir’s ears.

“I have now freed my soul…” says Ruphir.

“Oh dear…” says Lucian, “What have I said about traitors, huh Ruphir?”.

“No!” yells Alexandra. “Mack… escort our princess out…” says Lucian. “What will you do her!?” asks Alexandra worried.

“The price to pay for treason inside the Iusta Vindicta… is life,” says Lucian as he walks towards Ruphir, who is still kneeling over the floor, “but I don’t want to soak with blood this building, so her life will end outside, in the mud… with the rain, a depressing setting for a depressing being,”.

“Remember… I am a GenoBIO… but I am a woman first of all, and I have the feelings of a woman!” yells Ruphir at Lucian.

“Those feelings are created by yourself, you aren’t a woman… you are just a created machine, created with living cells and human organs, but you are still a machine! You have no soul, nor can you love either,” says Lucian, raising his tone of voice with every word he shouts.

The NanoBIO walks towards her, and grabs her long black hair. “Come..” he says, pulling her from the hair, heading outside. “STOP!” yells Alexandra. “Mack, give our princess here a good bye, leave her at her house,” orders Lucian.

“My body doesn’t move…” she whispers as her body hits the mud of the ground outside. The drops of water fell over Lucian as he headed to a nearby building that is half demolished. “STOP!” yells Alexandra as she passes by Mack and follows them

Suddenly Gregori appears in front of Alexandra. She stops in her tracks and skids in the ground, hitting it with her back. Behind her appears Alexander. “These are the rules of our organization,” he says. Mack heads outside as well, under the constant rain. Adrian, always wearing his white tuxedo, follows Lucian and Ruphir instead

”I got to call them in someway!” thinks Alexandra. She quickly stands up and runs away from them all as the water hits her face.

“Let her,” says Alexander, turning around and heading towards his Lord. Mack does the same. “Bye, my lady,” says Gregori, following his other companions.

The young woman runs away as fast as she can.

“I got to advice them!” she whispers to herself. Suddenly, she hears her name. It was a familiar voice. She stops and looks around.

“Alexandra!” she hears. She turns to her left and sees Alphonse running towards her, with Dwayne transformed as Crnobog and with his wings deployed behind.

“A miracle…” she says as she runs towards them.

“YOU GOTTA SAVE RUPHIR!” she yells as hard as she can from away.

Behind them both was the whole group of the Terra Contego: Maxwell, Ulysses, Shana, Angel and Guile.

“Who?” asks Dwayne as Crnobog when he reaches her. Just at that moment he gives her a hug. “Dammit…” he whispers. “Save Ruphir, that… that woman who you met earlier! The very gorgeous one!” she replies. “Where is she?” asks Dwayne. “Your brother is going to kill her!” she yells.

“DAMN!” replies Dwayne. “They are that way!” says Alexandra, pointing at the correct direction. “Come!” yells Dwayne as he follows the direction Alexandra gave them.

Just in front of the demolished building, Ruphir kneels over the muddy ground as water falls over her face.

“You betrayed us,” says Lucian, grabbing a sword that Adrian handed to him.

“You will fail… Lucian,” says Ruphir with anger in her voice. “Silly robot, thinking that she can love as a human can,” says Lucian.

“Pfft… I damn you, Lucian,” says Ruphir one last time. He smiles and quickly stabs her in the stomach, just a bit below the chest. The blade pierces completely through her.

“You die now,” says Lucian, pulling the blade out. A burst of blood comes falling down out of her body, and she opens her mouth widely as her face hits the dirty and muddy earth below. “So much beauty, wasted,” he says. Then with one final hit, he impales the back of her head with the blade.

“May this be a lesson for any who betrays me,” says Lucian.

“Sir!” yells Mack. A thunder comes falling, striking the roof of the demolished building. In the background the silhouette of seven people can be seen.

”She gave out our location!” says Adrian.

“Bitch!” yells Alexander. “Take battle positions,” says Lucian with a sarcastic and cocky smile.

“Ahead!” yells Dwayne. “Get ready!” yells Alphonse.

“Brother…” whispers Lucian as he extends his left arm, aiming at them. Lightning begins to surround the hand as he smiles.

Then in one quick second he lets go a massive shot of lightning from his hand. The lightning heads right towards the Terra Contego.

Crnobog extends his right arm and the Dark Scythe forms. Then with great speed he waves it horizontally, and from it an even more powerful lightning bolt is shot. Both lighting shots collide and create a massive explosion that breaks the wet ground and creates the illusion of an earth wall