Vitae

xvi

June and Rick gasped at the sight of the face of the reanimated corpse. Her skin was blue and pale and some of her bones protruded through her face, but one could not deny that she was still beautiful. June gasped again when she realised who she was looking at. "Nyx!" She cried and ran over to the dead girl, hugging her tightly. "Oh hello," Nyx smiled, hugging her back, before turning to Rick. "I need to go back to Belle Reve." Rick nodded his head, still in awe of what had happened. As Nyx turned to walk to the car, she suddenly fell to the ground.

"Nyx!" Rick ran to see why the girl had fallen. "Oh, sorry." Nyx apologised and reattached her leg. "There we go." With the help of Rick, Nyx stood up. When she went to retract her hand, it came off into Rick's hands. "Let me give you a hand." He held up her hand before putting it back into place. Nyx laughed at his pun, before climbing into the vehicle. Rick got into the driver's seat and began driving them to the prison. She was worried about the state her friends, it was her fault that they went through the torture. Nyx, with the help Rick, ran to the hospital. "Why are they?" She asked, looking at the terrified doctors. "In their cells," One doctor squeaked, scared of the undead woman in front of him. Nyx nodded, before taking off out of the hospital and to the cells. Rick apologised to the traumatised doctors before quickly chasing after the dead girl, hoping she didn't give anyone else a heart attack.

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El Diablo shut himself off in his tube cell again, refusing to look up when any of the guards tapped the window,ignoring anything he was given. He no longer cared about how the guards treated him; he had lost one of the most important people in his life. He ignored the tapping at his window, turning away from it when it persisted. Diablo heard the person sighing in frustration, and their footsteps as they walked away. "He's not looking at me. Open the door, Rick. Now!" A woman's voice rang out across the yard. Diablo listened to creaks of his cell door, wincing as they reminded him of his times with Nyx. He listened to the sound of the woman climbing into the tube. "Hey, El." She said, reaching out to him. Diablo lifted his head the nickname that Nyx had given him. "Nyx?" He whispered and turned to the woman in the tube. He was shocked to see the reanimated corpse of his closest friend. "You're... you're..." He whispered, lightly touching her face. "Dead? I know." Nyx laughed, "But I need to check you're okay." She said, checking him over for any injuries. He smiled at her worry, shrugging her off. "I'm fine, hermana, but how are you not dead?" Sister, Nyx smiled at his question. "My siblings saved me." She whispered, before shaking her head, "I'm sorry that I put you through that torture. I should have disconnected the mental connections." Nyx wrapped Diablo in a hug, "I have to go check on the others, but I'll be back soon." She told him, clambering out of the tube with the help of Rick. Nyx waved before running off. "Good to see you back," Rick said to him, before shutting the tube door and running after Nyx. "Slow down," He called, "We don't want you losing a foot again!" El Diablo laughed, watching the man who once hated the criminals with every fibre of his body chase after the girl. He was glad to have Nyx back in the land of the living.

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Harley swung from her self-made hammock, sighing sadly. She had shed all the tears she had, leaving her eyes red and puffy. She no longer cared about the guards seeing her cry; she had lost the people she loved the most in a day. Harley had never expected Nyx to die, she was always there, always strong, even Death seemed to bow down to her wishes. She felt like it was her fault that Nyx was dead. If she hadn't been visiting her that day, Nyx would've never met the Joker and wouldn't have run away with them. If only she'd try harder to keep the Joker away from Nyx, she'd have been fine. Harley looked up at the sound of her cell door opening. "Hey Rick." The mad woman said, seeing the army uniform, lying back down. "What are you do- Nyx!" Harley shrieked as she saw the face of her best friend, wrapping her arms around the girl. "You're cold." She said, pulling away and looking at her friend. Nyx smiled at the girl. "I know," Nyx whispered, "I'm dead, Harley." Harley shook her head hurriedly. "No, you can't be. I promised I'd look after you." As tears started running down her face, Nyx swept the woman into another hug. "It's okay," She cooed, "It's not your fault." Having calmed Harley down, Nyx started to check her over for any injuries, making sure she was okay. "I'm sorry I put you in mental and physical torture." She whispered. "You are okay, right?" Harley nodded in response, making Nyx smile. "I'll be back soon; I've got to check on the others." She kissed the mad woman on the cheek before running out of the cell, waving at her friend. "Nyx, you are giving me a workout," Rick said as he ran after the dead girl. Harley watched her leave, waving and laughing as she swung around happily. Nyx being alive was better than seeing her Puddin' again.

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Waylon watched as his lunch was dropped through the drainpipe, listening as it splashed into the water. He hated the inhumane way the guards treated him. The only person to treat him like an actual human was Nyx, and now she was gone too. She was his only friend in the cruel world, the squad tried their best but they are extremely wary of him still. He sighed, turning off his TV; it just wasn't as enjoyable anymore. Waylon looked up at the echoing sound of two sets of footsteps; the guards usually left him alone after 'feeding' him. "Be careful." He recognised Rick's voice as his door creaked open. "Hello, beautiful." Waylon gasped as he turned to see Nyx standing there. "How are you alive? The doctors said you were dead." He spoke as softly as he could, which turned out to be a soft growl. "I am dead." Nyx smiled at him, "Now I'm just as beautiful as you are." Waylon laughed, hugging the dead girl to his chest. "Now, are you okay?" She asked, checking him for any injures. "I'm fine." Waylon grinned, he couldn't believe that his only friend was among the living again. "Good, good. I'll be back soon; I've got two more people to check up on." She waved, before running out again. Rick sighed, locked the cell door and chased after the girl, hoping that Nyx didn't lose any more limbs.

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Nyx snuck over to Floyd's cell, checking to see if Zoe was visiting today. She peaked through the window, watching the father and daughter interact; only hoping that she could have had a childhood with a father like Floyd. Nyx let out a screamed as a hand clapped her shoulder. "Rick!" She slapped his chest lightly, before returning to the window. "Can you let him know? I don't want to give Zoe a heart attack." Nyx asked him, and without waiting for an answer, ran off to see Digger. Rick sighed he watched her retreating figure, before opening the door. Floyd looked up as Rick walked into the room, he didn't think that his time was up yet. "Already?" He asked his new found friend. Rick shook his head. "I just have some news you might want to know." "What is it?" Floyd was confused, normally news waited until after the visits. "Nyx is alive." Floyd's eyes widened, he hadn't expected that. "Really?" He almost didn't believe Rick; it was too good to be true. "Yeah, she'll swing by later, when the visits over." "Tell her I'm looking forward to it." Floyd grinned at the army man, before turning back to his daughter, who was just as happy. Floyd had told her stories about the goddess, about her amazing feats and how she sacrificed her life for her friends. "Bye Floyd, Zoe." Rick shut the door behind him before taking off to Digger's cell, knowing that everything will be alright in the end.