Sunday Free Write [Link to post.]
Each girl spun 180° to bolt away from Ballisea, and they all activated their escape skills. Dirge managed to open clear escape portals to a different AlterNet server about 10 feet in front of each girl.
[party:{Valkyrie’s Retreat} Run! -Glory] “RETREAT!” Glory shouted as she pivoted on her feet to run away. Green sparkling nanos formed wings on the back of each girl as they sprinted away.
[party:{Gazelle’s Grace} Run! -Dread] Golden nanos formed a silhouette of a gazelle around each girl in the party. Dread felt strength surge through her legs and she reached the portal after two steps.
[party:{Unique #05: El Paraguas (Shield)} Run! -Dirge] Dirge shared her shield with the group; a transparent force field surrounded each girl in a bubble as they raced to an escape portal.
“Don’t be in such a rush,” Ballisea smirked. Dread heard the woman’s soft voice behind her, but she kept her focus on the portal ahead of her. She could see through it to the server on the other side. As she stepped through the portal half a dozen small pitch black portals opened up in front of Dread on the new Earth. Bone hands and arms shot out from each portal as one; they braced against Dread’s bubble shield and pushed her backward out of the portal. Dread glanced at Dirge and Glory hoping one or both of them escaped, but she found them in the same situation as her. Skeleton arms blocked their exit.
Dirge looked at Dread with panic in her orange eyes, but Dread could only shrug at her in return. She watched Dirge release a sigh, then visibly relax. She let the escape portals close, but she kept the shields provided by El Paraguas active.
Then Dread turned her attention to Ballisea. She watched the tall, horned woman help Flutter get to her feet, and after a brief conversation between them Ballisea turned her attention to Dread. She walked towards Dread with a broad smile.
“If it isn’t the little Calavera that’s been feasting on my crumbs. I’d love to have a chat with you, but,…” Ballisea turned to face Glory. “…let’s keep it between us Uniques.” She walked to the green-haired angel.
“Glory!” Dirge yelled. Her bubble popped around her and she tried to dash forward to help Glory, but another group of black holes surrounded her before she took a single step. Skeleton hands shot out to hold Dirge in place.
“Calm down, she’s just a Zero,” Ballisea chuckled at Dirge over her shoulder. She reached Glory’s bubble then reached out to poke the bubble with her sharp, white, manicured fingernail. It disappeared.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Dread yelled. She charged at Ballisea, but Flutter stepped in to catch Dread’s bubble. It popped as soon as they made contact, but Dread’s momentum carried her into Flutter’s arms.
“You can’t help her,” Flutter advised Dread while holding the wriggling girl in a bear hug. A swarm of black holes appeared around glory; skeleton arms lifted her off the ground and spread her wings to hold her in place. Ballisea touched Glory’s forehead, and pulled a red glowing thread from her head.
[party: I had fun playing with you, Dirge. -Glory] Glory Whispered. [party: Dirge promoted to Quartermaster. -system] Dread felt the system notice tickle her ear. She watched Ballisea open a black portal large enough for a person to walk through in front of Glory, then Ballisea stepped into it.
[party: GG. – Glory] [party: Glory disconnected from server. -system] Glory’s wings dissolved into dust, her body became a dark, charcoal black featureless mannequin. Ballisea returned carrying an unconscious green-haired woman on her shoulder.
“I thought you girls might like to see this,” Ballisea said. She dumped the woman’s body on the floor, Dread recognized her instantly as Glory. A ball of red glowing energy began to coalesce in Ballisea’s hand. Dread watched the energy and she realized it was coming from Glory. She looked down at the woman on the floor. Her skin appeared to be disintegrating into glowing red dust.
Dread watched Glory’s body become a white skeleton. Ballisea brought the ball of red energy to her mouth and swallowed it. She winked at Dread at the same moment a black hole formed under Glory’s skeleton and swallowed it before disappearing again.
“I love your hair by the way,” she said, indicating Dread’s short, spiked white hair. She stepped towards the girl held by Flutter, and mussed the girl’s hair. “I’m doing something similar,” Ballisea pointed at the set of twisting, bone-white horns that protruded from under her dark black hair.
“Now. Where did you come from?” Ballisea revealed a white strand of hair in her fingers. She sprinkled Dread’s white hair into the air causing a pitch black portal to open up around them. “Here? I remember this Earth,” Ballisea smiled. “I met a lovely Mundo and his Zero wife there. Then I killed them.”
Dread struggled harder to escape Flutter, but the large woman held her tight.
“Did you know him?” Ballisea asked with her left eyebrow raised. Dread realized she could not escape and relaxed against Flutter.
“He was my papa,” Dread said. Tears collected at the corner of her eye.
“Would you like to say hi to him?” Ballisea asked. She nodded at Flutter, and Dread suddenly felt herself hit the floor. Flutter stepped away to stand behind Ballisea.
“Can you do that?” Dread asked. Dirge appeared next to her to help her up; Ballisea must have freed her also. The one dream she never let herself hope for. She made peace with her father’s death centuries ago, but she still wished she could talk to him once more and explain who she was to him.
“If you like,” Ballisea said with a smile.
***
Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day in 2018, this is #209. You can find them collected on my blog. Dirge & Dread’s weekly adventures through the AlterNet are collected: here. If you’re curious about my universe(the Hugoverse) you can visit the Guidebook to see what’s what and who’s who, or the Timeline to find the stories in order.
