CHAPTER FOUR DEAD END
"Crushing Silence"
Lisa stood back and looked in on everything going on. But one thing stood out. Her father. The girl had been observing him this whole time. She'd heard him talk about change. About redemption. But he was full of shit. She'd heard him talk about murder. About... torture. The man was becoming his prey.
She had to do something, and it had to be now, before he could hurt anyone else. Lisa fiddled with her Deagle, and raised it. She pointed the gun at her father... and pulled the trigger.
A certain Siren, head still aching heavily from being knocked unconscious with the bat, was still clearly frantic and desperate. "Alright. Whoever wants to do the damn job-.."
Ridley wasn't.. Well, her gold eyes weren't the keenest ones out there, to say the least. But it wasn't really difficult for her to spot the young woman aiming her weapon. "No! What the hell are you
doing?!" she demanded, already in motion. "
Stop!" she commanded, cool tone breaking.
But it was too late. And then, it hit her; this was her opportunity. That was
her bullet. She could get out of this. And that left only one thing that Ridley Duchannes could do...
Take what she thought was rightfully hers; and jump.
The pain was.. Well, familiar. Though, that fact didn't exactly change that the bullet piercing her chest as she dove in the way of the bullet hurt like
hell. On top of this, Rid suddenly found it difficult to breathe, chest heaving as she laid on the ground, bleeding heavily from yet another bullet(how many had it been now? Jeez!) wound.
The difference was, well.. This.. Wasn't non-fatal. And what was worse was the fact it wasn't going to be a quick and painless death.. This would be hell before she could finally fade away.
Joshua's unfortunate viewing of what had happened, was more than just sacrifice. It was so much more than just that. It was an act of friendship between all three - Frank, Ridley, and Desmond - Where Ridley just seemingly.. Jumped. He could find no words as she did, and he did little to nothing as he saw the bullet fly. It was only then when the bullet hit Ridley did Joshua actually do something out of the goodness of his heart.
His Light came out of its holster, pointed at Lisa feverishly and in anger
"Have you lost your mind!? What do you think you're doing!?"Rather than act upon revenge, Joshua let out a warning shot at the feet of Lisa to maintain her from moving.
"I care not for your reason to act so hastily. If you dare move from that spot, if you dare do anything, then your death will be slow and painful." His words spoke with venom and anger infused into one cocktail of madness, as he kept the pistol pointed directly at Lisa, he took short steps toward Ridley, before kneeling slowly and looking at her current condition. He knew this pain more than anyone,
more than God had been crucified by the Romans.
Frank processed the information much faster than Lisa. He froze with horror as Ridley slammed into the ground, a huge bullet hole in her chest... and Lisa had been aiming at his back.
Needless to say, all bets were off.
Frank saw nothing but red. Anger overwhelmed his senses. Lisa got ready to shoot again after recovering from Ridley's command, but her gun was knocked upwards. The bullet didn't hit anything but the ceiling. A powerful headbutt sent her staggering, stunned. It was followed up before she could even begin to recover by him grabbing his daughter by the head and slamming her into the wall. The girl crumpled without a sound, though she was still breathing.
Frank rushed over to Ridley. "Rid? Rid! C'mon, kid!" The old man started to reach for his first aid. "Don't you fucking die!"
Desmond knelt next to her, gently holding her head up for her weakening body. He didn't speak, knowing the importance of letting the dying have their last words in peace.
The blonde young woman hardly even processed Frank's assault on Lisa as reaction to her shooting the Siren.. If she did at all. She was a little busy trying to process what had just happened, herself.
Had she.. Had she really just thrown herself in front of a bullet? Had she really risked her life for someone else..? Someone she had only met just recently? It was an absurd idea, that Ridley would care about anyone enough to throw her life away for them..
..Or maybe, she only did this because she wanted to die. Wanted to escape Abraham's revenge, to not have to deal with the world looking at her like a monster wherever she went. Maybe the instant she saw Lisa aiming, she found perfect opportunity to finally die. That was probably it.. After all, Dark Casters didn't save people. It wasn't their nature. Ridley must've just been being selfish.. Right?
It looked like nobody would get to know.
Snapping out of the daze and shock of what she'd just done upon being spoken to, Rid's golden eyes slowly wandered back to Frank. She blinked owlishly, still shaken up. What had she
done?
After a good minute or two of just staring up at him, Rid managed to crack a weak grin, laughing lightly.. Though it didn't last long, as the laughter quickly turned to coughing up blood. "E-everyone dies sometimes.. H-Hoodie said it, h-himself.."
She did manage a faint grin at Desmond.. And if she weren't so drawn up in the pain, she probably would've given a wave. It wasn't the case. "Speak.. of the handsome d-devil.." she mused, trying to lighten the mood.
"It was me." Desmond whispered to her. "I was the one that was supposed to die. You're too... good. Let the monsters die for the innocents."
Ridley shook her head ever so slightly, at this, trying to smile for the sake of the two by her. "Oh, don't be a drama queen.. You don't deserve this, Hoodie.."
Tears were running down the old man's face. "No! No, dammit! Not you! You aren't going anywhere!" Frank started to remove the bullet. "You can't leave yet!"
This.. Just made Ridley cringe. The process just hurt worse, and the female felt.. Pathetic. This wasn't how she was supposed to die; she wasn't a hero. She didn't save people. So why had she thrown herself in front of him?
And why did it hurt her that he was crying?
"Aw, c'mon, Guns.. Don't be all teary-eyed and emotional over a monster. I.. I ain't worth it."
"Shut up, kid!" Frank was getting frantic. "Sit still while I get the bullet out... you're going to be okay!"
Frank was having flashbacks. Those words were painfully close to what he said to his daughter. "It's just a damn bullet... no worse than the last injury."
Desmond shook his head. He knew gun shot wounds. They weren't getting that out without the healing facilities on board the Serenity. Ridley was dying, and there was nothing he could do. He gently moved the hair out of her face, leaving a faint bloody streak across her face.
He took the Apple out of his bag, and held it where she could see it. It emitted a soft glow, bathing the area around them in runes as ancient as the day her fate had been written.
"I can make the pain go away." He said gently.
Everything was already getting hazy, but despite, Ridley laughed dryly at Frank's words.. Once again leading to coughing up blood. Though, this time, more came up. "I.. I-I ain't.. goin'.. a-anywhere..." she muttered, quietly. She knew it wasn't true, though.. She was dying. She couldn't say goodbye, though.. She was never good with goodbyes.
The Siren's eyes flickered when Desmond brushed her hair back, and she couldn't help but smile faintly. "I.. I d-deserve the pain, a-anyways.."
"Damn right, you're not."
Coughing up blood. Blood in her lungs... I can't treat that. "Just hold on." Frank started screaming at everyone. "I need a fucking doctor!"
Ridley only forced a faint grin, gold eyes flickering. "Aw, h-hush.. You.. Y-you don't want to s-save me.. I t-told you; I did it. I.. I
killed people. I'm..
I'm a traitor."
"You.. You aren't stupid, Frank.. D-don't save a.. m-monster..." At this point, even trying to speak hurt like hell. That didn't keep her from trying, though.
Frank looked at her quietly for a few seconds before continuing to treat her, wiping his eyes. "Shut up. I'm n-not... I'm not letting you die!"
Gently; weakly, Ridley reached to try to move his hand away. "F-Frank.." The fact that she was using his name instead of one of her witty nicknames wasn't a good sign. "..L-let me.. Let me have this.. P-
please.."
"You told me.. to change. And.. A-and I did.." she muttered, struggling to breathe. "This.. This is my.. redemption..."
The tears were coming much faster now. "D-death... death isn't redemption, kid..."
Frank was right. Death didn't bring redemption, and it didn't solve old wrongs. Desmond's prayers over the dead was a wish, not an absolution.
In mortuum, omnis peccatis dimitterantur, si non obliviscantur, requiescat in pace. In death, all sins are forgiven, if not forgotten. Rest in peace, lost soul. The words were a lie. There was no peace, not for the living. And not for the dead. And there was no forgiveness, not for him. Not if he let her die. Not again.
She just quietly closed her eyes, trying with more struggle to keep breathing. The simple action that no one ever really thought about.. Was serving to bring a massive amount of pain. "I.. I told you.. not to.. c-call me-.."
"No!" Frank immediately tried to shake get awake. "Someone get a goddamn AED!" The old vigilante started CPR.
Joshua's eyes wandered, aiming toward her entire body as his fingers laid upon her neck, seemingly still searching for the pulse that remained, sighing. "She's still alive. And she will be feeling this until death comes slowly." His hand slowly reached into a pocket on the vests and took out the Scripture, knowing that time was still on Ridley's hands, and yet in the worst of ways, his eyes trembled as he began to pray over the, yet still alive, body of Ridley, landing on a verse that hopefully Ridley would still hear in the pain that she felt; Revelations 21:4. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
Ridley's heart still beat shallowly, but it wasn't hard to tell it was slowing to a gradual stop. The blonde would've tried to make a witty remark, or squirm away.. But she lacked the strength for even that.
All she could really do was cough up more blood, and try to get a few more words out.. Though they were in a weak whisper. "You.. You an' Desmond.. take care of each.. o-other..."
Her next words were even fainter. "A-an don't f-forget.. you st-still owe me that t-trip to the beach.." she muttered softly, smile still ghosting on her face. Though, even in her dying state, she couldn't help rolling her eyes at Joshua reading the Scripture. "C-can't.. C-can't you just k-kill me already..? Ain't.. Ain't one for religion.."
I hope it ain't real. I'm going to hell if it is.
Frank didn't stop CPR. He had to keep her heart beating. As it stood, it wasn't beating nearly enough and it was only getting worse. Doing CPR on someone in this state wasn't the best idea, but the vigilante was panicking. "No! You stay and look after us! I'm just... a stupid old man, and Desmond's a kid, like you! Who's gonna take care of me when I'm old?" Frank smiled.
Ridley just huffed slightly.. Something of a tolled laugh. It hurt, but she couldn't help it. "I.. I a-ain't too good w-with lookin' out for p-people.."
Desmond looked back at her, his glowing golden eyes matching hers as she slid farther and farther from this life.
"Hey. You made a couple of old monsters feel again. Pretty sure they're going to let you through the pearly gates for that little trick." He gave a little smile, trying to ease her passing. "If you don't flirt with them on the way in."
All the Siren could manage to do was muster a faint smile in return, golden eyes starting to lose their glow... Even her alluring aura seemed to be evaporating.
"Heh.. That sh-shouldn't be hard.. Only one person I wanna flirt with, anyways.." That.. Was quite possibly the blood loss talking. She always flirted.. It was just what she did. So it was... An odd idea.
It didn't matter, though.. Ridley Duchannes was fading. But it was filled with pain and taking longer and more agony than she had assumed.
Frank shook her. CPR wouldn't do jackshit and he knew it. She'd taken a bullet to the lungs. Nothing they had could help. "Ridley? Ridley? C'mon... C'mon..."
"Frank. Stop." Desmond said quietly. "Let her pass with a little dignity."
And in the momentous roar that came from the Light Shining In The Darkness, did Joshua end the story of Ridley.
If only others here could Kelt, or hear her thoughts.. Maybe they'd get the last thing the Caster could say.
I.. I-I'm sorry..
It would be the first time in a bit where Joshua felt as though he achieved his objective in avenging Bayonetta... And yet forlorn that he killed someone so young.
"Go with God." He simply stated, the silence all around him would make him look at both Frank at Desmond, holstering the pistol. "It must have been done." He then stepped away from the both of them as he dropped down against the podium, knowing that his actions will go noticed, and in which the Burned Man, simply went to being a man. A man who was now broken.
"I'll see you soon Rid," Desmond said quietly, gently lowering her to the floor.
"Such despair... Such... Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair!!!"
"The deed is done! As decreed by King Despair, Ridley has been executed!"
The slot machine on the video screen lands on Ridley's face three times.
GUILTY
"Hehehe... Upupupu! It's finally over! It's finally my turn! It's finally... the end!"
"I've lost! This... this is how despair feels! This is Ultimate Despair like I've never felt before!! I had always been Despair-inducingly Despair-inducing! I've been bored of everything since the moment I was born! There is only one thing I ever looked forward to my entire life... The first, last, and greatest Despair! The moment I die!! Ahhh! I'm super-Despair-inducingly happy!!"
"Ugh! This is so messed up! You lost, Makoto! How can you be so happy?!"
"Ahaha... Ahahahaha!! I never really cared about losing! After all, it's all the same if you win or lose... The outside world is Despair, and this school is also Despair! There's nothing but Despair for you all! Once you take down Aki, there will always be someone behind him... Despair is catching! It is like wildfire!"
"Despair will stand in your fuckin' way time after time! No matter where you go...! No matter where you try to hide...! They are two faces of the same fuckin' coin, you know...! Wherever there is Hope, there is most definitely Despair!! Do you fucking degenerates really think you can keep hold of that Hope of yours?!"
Junko moved to speak, but Makoto shook his head.
"Oh, I've heard enough. That was my final speech, I don't need a reply. It's almost time for my "punishment"... I'm about to enjoy that Despair you can only experience once in a lifetime...! The Despair of death!"
"Upupu... Upupupu...! Ah, it's so wonderful... This is death's Despair, isn't it...! Even one tenth... no, even one hundredth of this Despair...! I wanted everyone in the world to experience something like that...! I wanted to paint the world with such stunning Despair! Let's give it all we got! It's execution time! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
A conveyor belt activates from under Makoto, moving him away from his podium. He moved to the side of the trial room, where the curtains rise to reveal a student's desk and chair. Makoto sits down on it, which turns on the lights-- revealing a giant crusher at the end of the conveyor belt.
Makoto's face grows red from the anticipation. The crusher looms closer and closer.
As Makoto is moved under it, time seems to stand still. The boy glances upward, just before--
On cue, the lone Monokuma and MegaKuma at the trial appear to deactivate.
A device with a single button lands next to the crusher.
In the silence of the trial room, Ludger gingerly goes to grab the device. The mood is somber as he presses down on the red button, opening a large door at the back of the trial room.
Your communicators beep as the final two data profiles are revealed.
