#archetypeofnature

@archetypeofnature

In the middle of the night, Sirei went missing. The morning announcement will play like normal. But Sirei and Nigou would be nowhere to be found. The killer's bomb went off after killing Sirei, but it seemed like no one heard it. Takumi could almost hear Eito mocking him in his mind as he cleaned up his own blood. 'I told you so' he'd probably say. He left the school and disposed of the remains of the two commanding officers. They both trusted him completely. He had caught them separately. It had been easy for Nigou to be lured away. Sirei had been in the war room. Takumi knew him well enough to know where to find him. He had spent almost 100 days with him, after all.

His bomb blowing up this time hadn't been as painful. Not that he remembered the first time that well considering he was brainwashed into complacency shortly after. All of them had been. Aside from Nozomi and Eito. Takumi had found his body in the classroom that had apparently had secretly been a morgue the entire time.

Well, to call it his body was not right. He had been alive. Barely kept alive. Maybe in the event that they needed some quick cryptoglobin. Maybe the brainwashing hadn't worked on Eito. In fact, he hadn't even remembered who the hell he was until he saw his face. His blood burned in his veins. And he remembered taking Eito's cryptoglobin the night he killed him. He remembered the Eito that betrayed them multiple times. But this one looked so small. Vulnerable. He managed to wake him, but it didn't seem like he could do much. Takumi asked if he could help him. And he struggle to tell him he could. And he did what he asked. He took his hemoanima. And with it, all of his memories returned. They had decided to go against humanity. And Sirei killed them. Takumi left the school that night. He never found Nozomi or what happened to her.

And found the rebellion. Despite his efforts, the SDU could not be swayed. And the war raged on. He had brought Eito's body with him and buried it before he found his new allies. V'ehxness killed several members of the SDU in their final battle before he showed up and finished her off. He had to fight his allies, those still standing. And he killed them and took their power for himself.

And went back again.

The sun had only barely started touching the sky when Takumi approached the cage in the courtyard. He knew that when he had attempted to talk to Eva on this day last time, Sirei stopped him. But that wouldn't be an issue anymore. He glanced at Eito's cage. He was still asleep. But he wanted privacy. So he had brought some rope from the gift-o-matic. He needed to keep his image up in case anyone saw him before they were alone. He wanted to talk to her about her daughter. The very girl that had saved his life.

"Put your hands where I can see them." His voice comes out colder than it he expected. Takumi.... wasn't the same person. Maybe he never would be again. But... He wanted so badly to do the right thing. To save the people he could.

He had the key to the cage, he was going to unlock it and take her to the infirmary. That room could be locked from the inside. He had learned that when Sirei had him torture Eva in the previous timeline.

He was in his class armor. He wasn't going to hurt her but he didn't want her to know that yet. No one could know, yet. He would seem insane. For now, no one would guess that Takumi had effectively betrayed them. As much as he HATED to think of it that way.

No. He had betrayed humanity. He was saving his friends. Even if they didn't see it that way yet. Even if they hated him for it at first. They weren't even human. The only human Takumi cared about was Nozomi now. They... they could all rot for all he cared.

Eva as a Fairy for Halloween

>>>NEW PAINTING<<<  

“Spirit of the Forest”

“30x40″ acrylic on canvas

Team meeting! Another one… Eva brought snacks this time, hoping they’ll lighten the mood. She even took the time to get all of their favorites. The role of a paragon was considered a virtue by God, but it felt more like a burden. It didn’t have to be. Eva decided that even though she didn’t accept the role, she’d embrace it the best way she could until Eva could return to her daughter. Instead of spending time with her little bundle of sunshine, she was stuck listening to the kerfuffle between the paragons minus their supreme commander. In between arguments, they were partaking in her snacks, which made her happy. “What about you?” Turamtammi asked. The question was directed to Eva. In all honesty, Eva wasn’t listening. Her face didn’t hide that fact either. Though they wore their helmets, Eva could feel Turamtammi rolling her eyes behind it. A team meeting meant everyone had to contribute. That was one of the many rules. “Do I need to say anything?” Eva replied. “I brought the snacks.” Turamtammi didn’t argue with her logic and continued to speak to Parmith.  A little while later, the snack plate’s design was visible, meaning they had eaten most of her delicacies. One by one, the commanders took their lead. Quenzelle had one thing left to say, “We do it all for V’ehxness. Nothing more and nothing less.” Eva cringed. Thankfully, no one could see it. Perhaps that wasn’t good at all. Perhaps, she wanted them to hear her disdain for her sister.

The only other person left was Addamaque. It was hard to speak to him sometimes. He was known as the Paragon of Hatred. Hatred did describe the type of man he was. There was one last treat left on the plate. Eva used it as a peace offering to maybe open up a conversation. “Oh, look! It’s calling for you.” She teased.

“Addamaque~ Eat meeeee!” 

Screams tore at Takumi's mind. It had been days since the success of the tort — procedure that Sirei had him help with. But still, when he was alone... Then it returned to him. The screams of pain, the way Eva's personality twisted into something different.

I had no choice. This is war. I had to do it. If I didn't, someone else would have. If I didn't, she'd be killed.

All the excuses rang hollow in his nightmares, drowned out by those screams. Takumi woke a gasp. His mouth was dry from breathing heavily, sweat matting his hair to his forehead. Another dream about it. He looked at the clock. It was well after midnight. His heart was pounding in his chest, even deep breaths didn't ease it. He ran his hand over his face.

He needed to clear his head. He slid off of the bed, his legs a little shaky. He still couldn't even out his breathing as he moved in the dark to the sink. He ran the cold water, cupping it in his hands and splashing it over his face once. Then he repeated the first half of the gesture and drank the tap water from his trembling hands. He makes sure not to look at the mirror. He didn't want to look himself in the eye right now.

The academy was eerily quiet at night. Everyone else was probably sleeping. He walked down the stairs slowly in the dark. And, still moving slowly, he reached the courtyard. A constant source of anxiety for him now that Eito had broken free and escaped. He could show up and attack at any moment.

But what Takumi didn't expect was to see TWO empty cages. He stares at Eva's cage as if it would change back to how it SHOULD be. But what he saw was a door partially open, the bed made neatly, and the cage totally empty.

Panic took hold of him again as he ran. He ran down flights of stairs, his lungs burning as his feet touched the first floor. He'd gotten better at controlling his breathing. At moving in general. He was barely even out of breath when he reached the entrance hall to see.... The fire extinguisher still sitting in its rightful place.

Thank goodness.

Eva was still in the school. He checked around, walking almost the entire academy once before he got too exhausted to continue. He returned to his room and thought of what he had done to her. What if she remembered it and wanted revenge? He searched all of the hiding places in his room before locking his door and collapsing into his bed.

Sleep did not come easy.

When he was in the cafeteria the next morning, no one was alarmed. In fact, apparently Eva had been cleaning earlier. He ate quickly, mostly focuses on drinking the coffee he had made to give him SOME energy before he tracked her down in the library. There was no one else here. Good. The last thing he wanted was for them to end up back in the infirmary. He didn't know if his soul could take doing that again.

"Good morning, Eva." He puts on a smile that he's surprised he's capable of. He approaches her, trying to ignore the anxiety and guilt. "Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you."

He leans against a table, just a little. His muscles are sore from searching the school. Going up and down the stairs as fast as he could in a panic.

"Where were you last night? You weren't in the courtyard. It was after midnight when I went there and the cage was empty. So... What were you doing?" What if Eva had broken free of her brainwashing? What if she was biding her time? Was he overthinking this?

Eva was told to do this… Eva was made to do that… Eva was unable to say no… She was stocking books in the library by order of importance. At least, what Sirei deemed important. Items that could contain information about the Futurums. From myths to old textbooks, and even collections of children's stories. Eva was indirectly removing pieces of her history without being able to stop it. It stung. Why did it sting? It shouldn’t. Sirei made sure every piece of the old Eva was locked away in the recesses of her mind. With that, a single tear fell down her cheek and fell on the top book. 

The book in question was a famous children’s novel. It was one of the many books she used to recite to her daughter. Wait… her daughter? Who is that? Who is she? No.. Eva was hunched over on the pile of books, now sobbing quietly, covering her face to hide her emotions. Emotions, she wasn’t supposed to have. Eva breathed in. But there was an intense pain in the back of her head that wouldn’t subside.

“Please make it stop.” 

He had come back to the past to save everyone. To reach a happy ending. But that seemed like an impossible goal now. Not only had they been ambushed during an exploration... Takumi had decided to try to lead the enemies away from the rest of the team and then find his way back. He had been confident he could do it. But he was chased for too long. The ruins were like a maze and... he got lost.

He had lost the majority of the invaders. And the ones that still chased him had been easy enough to pick off. But... The sun had fallen and risen twice since then. He was lost. Exhausted. His steps had become unsteady. The days were scorching hot and the nights were freezing cold.

"I can't stop now...." Sleeping out here alone would be a death sentence. He hadn't eaten anything in days. And the small amount of water he had brought with him was gone. He was so thirsty. His pace had slowed to a crawl. He had a massive headache. Finally, the thirst got the better of him. It had rained during the ambush. In a hole on the street, he found some water. It was brown and dirty, but he needed something. He collapsed to his knees and scooped it up in his hands. He drank it. The taste was awful. He couldn't even pinpoint the taste. He gagged but forced it down. He took a few more drinks out of it. It made him feel sick almost instantly... But he forced himself to his feet and continued walking.

....

The sun had sunken again. It was cold. He hadn't slept in a long time. The hunger faded into nausea. And his stomach hurt. Badly. Maybe drinking that water wasn't such a good idea. His legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees. With a painful retch, he emptied the little bit that was in his stomach. He heaved over and over after even when there was nothing left in him. He fell onto his side. And sunk into darkness.

....

....

He woke up to the sun beating down on him. His head ached worse than before. His body felt weak. He couldn't rise to his feet. It took considerable effort to drag his body along, crawling on the broken asphalt. Until he saw something. It looked like a person in the distance. Impossible, right?

It didn't matter if it was. He had no other options. His fingers dug into the ground as he pulled himself forward. He wanted to call out to them. But his mouth was so dry. He felt... like he was dying. Dying out here meant dying for good.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…. Several clocks hung along the walls of Zen’ta’s abode; each was delicately crafted by a different artisan and featured a new animal that appeared when the hour struck. They wouldn’t be so insufferable if they weren’t a second off sync. Zen’ta had some uncanny tastes, and that wasn’t just in her decor. It was the mismatched coloring on the walls. Muted patches that were nonsensical. Thankfully, Eva wouldn’t be here for long. She was awaiting orders. She didn’t know if the nerves she felt were misplaced or not. There was one thing for certain: Eva didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be with her daughter.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…. Now, it was getting annoying. It had been exactly 20 minutes since she was called here. Waiting wasn’t exactly her specialty. While she waited, Eva contemplated how to pass the time. Before she could pique that interest, she heard some noises from the other side of the doorway. “An invader?” Were words she could make out from the muffled voices. The curious paragon placed her ear on the door to try and listen further. “Yes he said he was on our side. Do you believe him?” It was Zen’ta and Nyewgank. At this point, Eva didn’t care if they knew she was listening in. She opened the door and made her presence known. “Who?” The other two were shocked by her outburst. They didn’t respond right away. Instead, Zen’ta ushered her closer. Several hours later,  Eva met everyone at the rendezvous point. They weren’t going to let some invader know any of their secret locations. V’ehxness finished “negotiations” with some locals, then introduced her to the Earthling traitor. He was in the distance, possibly checking his surroundings. She had no idea what could be lingering in the mind of an invader. But Eva gave her sister a quizzical look as if to say, “HIM?” V’ehxness nodded like she read her mind. The tall white white-haired boy resembled them so closely. He could be some distant relative or even someone from a far-off land. “You will be giving our new… visitor a recap of what we do here.” V’ehxness’s eyes squinted. Eva took that look as a way to say, “Not too much information, though.” The Paragon of Hope walked off, and Eva walked along. She cleared her throat to get his attention. “Hello, inva— newest ally.” Her voice remained soft despite the series of mixed feelings. “Are you truly one of them? Why are you here?” Questions lingered in her mind. She was saving them for later. The most she could do now is be a gentle hostess. Eva showed him a table full of treats and drinks for him to partake in, then took a seat.