Blood Red Blades

Chapter Seven

Five feet apart,

Jason Todd

          For the record, I had no idea about the glowing blades. I was watching the zombie throw a little hissy-fit and the two vigilantes chickening, wondering how I was going to explain this to Roman. My perch on the crumbling wall was rather solid, but I did not account for the sudden pickup of wind. A sudden gust sent me toppling, crashing through and efficiently breaking layers of weak scaffolding until I hit the ground in a tangles mess of limbs, pain and a solid umph.

My poor side, I mentally sobbed before sobering up and wobbling onto my feet in a particularly ungraceful manner.

I waited for that pessimistic voice to mock me or tell me to concentrate, but instead I got silence.

Did I hurt its feelings?

Do you hear how stupid you sound?

Not really, no.

"-ck Mask, report!"

My limbs locked together as I stared in front of me, hairs rising and shivers running down my back. All I could say while staring at the silhouette of a hunched person was rather concerning.

"Please hold."

"What?" Came the stunned response, but I ignored it.

I'll tell you later, just when there are no zombies right in front of me, m'kay?

The figure gave another groan and hobbled off rather quickly, dragging the injured foot behind him to create a sensation worse than nails running down a chalkboard. Goosebumps riddled my skin, shivers still vibrating on my spine. It was pathetic – frozen in place by the undead, more helpless than before.

There was nothing I could do but stand there and try not to go hysterical at my ever-decreasing sanity.

I mean, how do you even kill a zombie?

It was then that the blades appeared, golden and glowing.

Okay. That's how I kill a zombie. With the blades that appeared out of nowhere. Sure.

I'm going to die.

I felt something cool seep through the layers of jackets I had on, but when I looked, nothing was there other than inky darkness. I tilted my head, but nearly jumped out of my skin as a voice spoke out into the cold air, soft and very clearly feminine: "At ease. Remember your training with Ducra, with me."

My jaw hung as I turned around to find the speaker, only to be met with darkness, crates and rotting structures. The glow of the blades was the only source of light, but it was too bright for my liking – ruined any form of stealth. If the zombie was attracted to light, I was done for. There was also those vigilantes running around, but that wasn't my concern: hearing voices was.

I was going insane.

"You are not just hearing things," the voice chuckled as if reading my mind, "I am here."

"W-who?" I squeaked, wincing at my tone, "Where?"

Sure, talk back. Idiot.

The darkness started to lighten, a darkened silhouette against it. I swung my sword in a moment of panic, thinking it was the zombie.

It was not.

I would have preferred the zombie.

The woman had dodged the swing, her silver hair fluttering after her. Pale lips twitched, neither down nor up. Black clothes blended in perfectly, contrasting against her braids and fitting her lithe frame like a sock – not that I looked too closely. I was concentrating on the blood red blade on her back, and her pitch-black eyes that stood out against her peach skin.

There, in front of me, stood a dangerously beautiful woman with a nasty looking sword.

            "Hmm," she stood up, scanning me with those obsidian eyes, "Ducra would be ashamed. You've gone rusty."

"Lady," I carefully said, trying to push back my ever-developing crush and thoughts of oh god, she's hot, "who are you? What are you?"

Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

She tilted her head, lips twitching upwards. "You may call me Essence. Think of me as your... guardian."

I gulped and turned away, opting not to cut myself open by crossing my arms, attempting a scoff. "Listen, Essence, I didn't order a guardian or anything like that. I don't know who you are-"

"I told you, I am Essence," she breathed, seemingly exasperated.

"- or what you want from me-"

"I want to keep you safe and guide you to your destiny."

"- but I... wait, what?"

Essence nodded, serious as Roman. "Yes. S'aru has seen that you are lost; I have taken it upon myself to guide your path."

My path? Destiny? Safe?

Suddenly she didn't seem so hot.

"Who is Saru?" I asked, tilting my head and leaning on the glowing blade.

The silver-haired guardian eyes my movements with distaste but did not hesitate with her response. "S'aru. He is unimportant for now."

"But-" I protested like a little kid, only to be cut off when Essence held up a hand to cut me off.

"Later," she cooed, as if talking to a child, "Now, the soulless monster is our top priority."

"The soulless monster?" I muttered, before realizing what she meant, "Oh! The zombie?"

"A crude term," she sighed, before mumbling something else.

"Come again?" I asked, smirking under the mask at how sturdy my tone was.

"Nothing," she decided, taking a few steps closer to me. "You need not worry."

I tilted the glowing sword up, stopping her before she got too close. The edge of her mouth twitched upwards, an arched eyebrow accompanying it. Instead of stopping, she edged it aside – you idiot, why are you letting her? – and got right into my personal space. Raising a hand, she rested it on the wood of the mask and gazed into the carved eyeholes. "W-well, the zombie is worrying."

"Use the All Blade against the soulless," she replied, eyes twinkling.

I glanced at the glowing weapon in my hand. "All Blade?" I echoed, looking and examining the blade.

Anywhere but her.

"All Blade," she agreed.

"Oh," I swallowed the dread that came with learning one must stab a – what did she call it – soulless with a lightsaber.

"It is okay," she smiled, "I know you can do it."

And then she disappeared into the darkness, along with her red blood blade and equally sharp eyes.

~×~

Anyone ordered a filler chapter?

We're still in the warehouse scene. I am starting to hate the warehouse scene.

Why isn't the plot moving?

Also, where did Essence pop out of? She was nowhere in the plan.

Also, fun fact: The topic, Blood Red Blades, is a memorial to Roy. In RHatO (volume one) he used to say "BRB." (It annoyed me - why couldn't he say be right back?) The shortened form of the title is BRB, which is something I noticed in the original topic that I kinda switched. (Red Blood Blades, I slip up and call it that time to time)

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. Did Roy have to die?