|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:40 pm
Onana headed into the shrine. There, she noticed a pair of statues. When she looked more closely, she realized there was only one statue. The other was actually an empty pedestal with a plaque on the front of it. She looked down and read it.
She jumped backwards when she heard someone speak to her while she was reading. She was relieved when she realized it was just the Goddess -- the very same one that blessed her before.
She was busy with some glowing yellow instrument. When she finished -- or at least, Onana thought she was finished from the way she acted -- she handed Onana a bag tied with string with a key of the end of it.
The Goddess asked Onana to open it up and that she had a gift for her inside. Onana opened it and looked inside. It was empty. She thought this was disappointing.
The Goddess looked surprised. She then told Onana that she could rectify this situation with her help. She asked Onana to go fetch her some spare parts inside her labs. Apparently, they'd be inside some chests and the parts were called a heart.
Then, the Goddess handed Onana a pair of scissors to use to get this heart. Onana took them and held them in both of her hands with the blades pointed towards the ground.
After that, Onana left through an opening inside a box. Even though it was narrow, she managed to fit inside. She could hear something inside. Thunk, thunk, thunk...
Now that she was inside, she could see three doors. One had a pumpkin symbol. The next, a swirl. And the last, a tree. She felt an affinity for the last symbol, so despite the bad vibes -- or was it because of them? -- she stepped through that door.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:02 pm
When Onana entered the next room, the door slammed shut behind her.
Here, the only noises she heard were a constant thud and what sounded like someone calling out for someone. "Nanao, Nanao, Nanao..." The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't figure out why.
The silence of this room unnerved her. She was used to the noise of the Ruins. The constant sound of rain beating against metal, wood, stone, and dirt. The clinks and clanks of machinery. The voices of everyone else who had came there. The silence here just didn't feel right.
It was dark. Since she had to step blindly through the hallway, she did it carefully, like how she had walked through the gift shop earlier. She could feel that the hall was moving as she walked. Every step she took, it moved a little bit more.
When she got to the end of the hallway, she crashed into something. "How curious," she said, as she inspected it with her hands. She couldn't see was what it was, but when she felt it, she could tell it was a crate. She could also hear that it was making a "thud" noise.
When the crate opened up, the red thing that was inside was clearly far too large for it. She moved closer to it, so she could get a better look at it. It looked kind of like an arm. When she grabbed it, the sound stopped. "Hmmm..." She reached into the box and felt something. It was soft, but firm. When she got closer, she could also hear a thumping noise. "This must be the heart." She wished there was more light. She didn't feel comfortable taking it out in the darkness.
She used her free hand to dig out the heart with the scissors. When she did, the arm clawed at her and she could hear something scream, "Nanao!" When she heard the voice, she remembered something. She saw someone. Her name was Tui. She was a nue with the head of a snow monkey, body of a raccoon dog, legs of a tiger, and a tail of a blue-lipped sea krait. Onana reached towards her, but it seemed like the memory ended as soon as it started.
Then, the arm flopped lifelessly into the crate again. She shivered. "That was something. That was really something." She did not let what few feelings she had stop her from doing what the Goddess had requested. She continued digging into the crate with the scissors. She could hear a steady squishy noise. Then, she felt something warm. After that, she heard a gushing noise. Then, she met some resistance against some kind of thin thing. She pressed down harder with the scissors to get through it. After this, she had to use both hands to free the heart. Finally, she got it.
She grabbed the heart out of the crate with both of her hands. When she did, she regained another memory. She remembered being completely and utterly helpless, yet knowing that she felt safe with her. That she could depend on her for anything. That she would never abandon her. That she would support her every effort. It was a memory full of unconditional love.
When the memory ended, Onana could feel that the heart in her hands had stopped beating. She grabbed it tightly with her right hand, so as not to drop it. Then, she opened the bag with her left hand and gingerly deposited the heart inside and closed it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:28 pm
Onana continued walking forward. She noticed the floor began to feel less and less solid. Eventually, it became slippery and sticky. Unfortunately for her, this was just when she had run into a dead end.
She heard a sloshing noise and something like footsteps behind her. She looked behind her, but didn't see a thing.
She continued walking and the water around her became deeper and colder. She heard the noise again too. Then, she heard someone say, "Please give it back."
When she looked behind her, she still didn't see anything. She continued walking and the water got deeper and deeper. It eventually went up to her neck and she couldn't go any further. She'd have no choice, but to backtrack.
"Please give me back my-" It was that voice again. All of a sudden, a pair of hands grabbed her and pushed her underneath the water. She couldn't breathe and no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't put up much of a fight against those arms. She felt a sharp pain and pushed down further down into the water. She began to feel like she barely existed at all.
Then, whoever it was glared at her with gray, glassy eyes and bared its teeth. "Give me back my heart."
Just then, she remembered something. She was standing in the forest. Tui was sitting down in front of her. Tui was peeling apples with her claws and disposing of the cores. When she finished, she handed Onana one. "Thank you, okasama!" This woman must've been her mother. "You really are the best!" She was happy then. They were both happy then.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:39 pm
Onana regretted what she must do. "I'm sorry. It's either you or me." She now existed for the Goddesses and their blessings. "If I become a goddess, then I'll come back for you. That's a promise."
She grabbed her scissors and plunged it into Tui's body. She shrieked and then, disappeared.
Now, all of the water was gone. She even threw up the water that had gone down the wrong way.
Light finally poured into the room. It came from an open door. She looked oat it and asked, "Is that the exit?" It looked like she'd have to find the answer herself.
When she walked towards the door, she could've sworn she saw Tui again. When she looked behind her, she saw Tui with the scissors she had used to stabbed her.
Onana's memories of Tui had all been pleasant. She knew she wasn't normally like this. She really didn't want to harm her any more, but she was armed and she was not. And she needed to get out of here.
Tui lunged at her and Onana gave her a pair of roundhouse kicks. Then, she ran through the door as fast as she had ever run in her life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
