It was unbearably dark inside the leafy glooms, the heavy foliage blocking out whatever light that was coming in from the outside. Tera stepped about nervously, her eyes straining to catch a glimpse of Rikka through the soft amber glow of her Soul Gem. The blue-haired girl had took to the woods upon seeing her friend run after her, and like a fool, Tera had followed her blindly.

Fear crept up to her, its spindly fingers caressing her thumping heart. At night, the forest looked different to when it was day. Heavy shadows pressed in everywhere; a slight rustle of leaves was enough to trigger a defensive stance; owls and nightjars called to each other, whispering their secrets to the stygian darkness. Tera hardly dared to breathe. She had never been in the forest during night-time, and she did not like the sensation of being lost and alone at all.

"Rikka? Where are you?" she called out softly, feeling hushed by the vastness of the murky woodlands. Her hands were tensely stretched in front of her, feeling for tree trunks and tall bushes so that she wouldn't crash into them and set up a din. As her fingers brushed across some spiky leaves, a small creature ran up her arm, and she shook it off with barely-contained fear, stifling a yell.

"Stupid spider!" she whisper-hissed, trembling from the shock. Shaking her head quickly, she pressed on. She couldn't let herself be bothered by a spider, not when Rikka could be in danger.

Each snap of a twig underfoot; the crunch of dead leaves from a misplaced step, made her heart jump. She tried calling for Rikka again, but this time, her voice was smaller, more timid, more scared. Where could she have gotten to in such a short space of time? She was right behind her when they entered the forest, but now, she was gone.

Perplexed and terrified, Tera could no longer tell which way was which, and how long she had been stumbling around. She could have been walking in circles for all she knew, but one thing was sure – she was deep within the confines of this dark place. Even if she shouted for help, no one would hear her. The stress of knowing that Rikka could be dead as she tramped around, as well as the unfamiliar sounds and sights of the night-shrouded woodland, was getting the better of Tera. Her breathing quickened; she yelped when something shot across her path, the passing breeze blasting onto her face.

Her fingers flew to her cheek in alarm, coming off red; that 'something' had cut her when it appeared, and it did not seem like an accident.

"Who's there?" she cried, her hands transforming into her claws out of panic. Somehow, she managed to tell herself to not set them on fire, for that would betray her location to the enemy. However, she forgot that she should have remained mute. "Show yerself!" Jerking her head this way and that, Tera tried to pick out her assailant, making a lot of noise as she did. "If you're the fudgin' Demon disguised as Rikka, then this ain't funny! Quit hidin' and face me!"

As a reply, a black dagger flew from between the trees and caught her through her shirt sleeve, grazing her skin. Yelping in alarm, Tera stumbled back a few paces. Quickly gathering herself together again, she bellowed out, "H-Hah! Y-Ya missed me! Look where you toss that bone picker next time, buffer!" Although she sounded confident, she was internally shaking in her stripes.

Besides, Homura used a bow and arrows, and not daggers... right?

An ominous, humming sound pierced the silent depths of the night as another dagger whizzed by her head, barely missing it. She immediately dropped into a crouch and rolled out of the way, right into a bed of ferns. "Damn! Stupid plants!" she yowled, scratching them away. Two daggers whooshed into the loam, lodging themselves up to the hilt a hairsbreadth away from her foot. Scrabbling up awkwardly, she dodged an overhanging branch and leapt behind a large tree just as a fourth dagger struck the trunk.

"You shouldn't have walked around with your Soul Gem alight. It gave your position away," came a low, lilting voice that was horrifically familiar. "And I advise you to stop shouting. It makes it easier for me to pinpoint where you are."

Tera's claws dug into the tree behind her. Her mouth became very dry, and she felt as if her knees would give away beneath her.

"It'll be over very soon. I'll make your death quick. Just come out and surrender, and you won't even feel the pain, my little tiger." The unmistakeable accent was betraying her true identity.

Pushing her back hard against the tree, she fought to regulate her breathing. "It's a lie... a trick... No way it's her..." Tera uttered the words like a person would on his deathbed, her face paling and her limbs shaking.

"You know it's me, don't deny it," she mocked. "I'm not attacking you yet. I'm giving you a chance to escape, just like I did before at my house. Hunting moving prey always makes the kill more satisfying... Isn't that right, Tera-chan?"

Despair clutched at Tera's heart; there was no use in denying it anymore.

Screaming like a beast, she hurled herself away from the trunk and did a swift about-turn, her claws spread apart. "You said it yerself, you shouldn't talk, cause it just gave your position away, Rikka!" The name of her best friend was spoken in a cross between a snarl and a high-pitched whine. Tackling the figure who was short of five feet away from the tree, she brought them both to the ground with a crash. Her strong arms pinned the Assassin below her, and she shoved her sharp claws into the soil to give herself a better grounding.

Bucking and kicking savagely, Rikka tried to free her arms, but they were sinking into the loam from the force that Tera was exerting upon them. Screeching like a harpy, she did the only thing she could do. She brought her knee into Tera's stomach with a maddened power, causing the tiger to arch her back in agony. However, her hold on Rikka stayed fast due to the embedded claws. Repeatedly, Rikka lashed out at Tera with her legs in a fevered desperation to escape, screaming all the time. With no space to manoeuvre and avoid the hits, Tera endured each kick with a painful yell and watering eyes.

"Rikka! Stop-! What-! Happened-! To you-?!" Each word was accentuated by the horrific blow she received. "Please-! Stop this-! Ooff!" The last kick was aimed at her chest, driving all the wind from her. She coughed explosively, blood coming out with her spittle.

The onslaught of kicks halted as Rikka felt the blood splatter onto her face. "You've been making me... kick you a lot lately... You asked for it, pinning me like this. Just die already," wheezed Rikka, gasping from her exertion.

Tera doggedly pressed onto Rikka's arms, knowing that game would be over the moment she released them. Her nightmare was coming to life; she was seeing Rikka in her crazed state again, after months of relative peace. Afeared of losing her friend for good this time, the tiger's frightened, pleading air was instinctively taken over by an unbridled ferocity. It had worked in a past timeline, where she had scared the singer out of her irrationality and saved her, and she was banking all her hopes on it working again.

Winded, with blood dribbling down the corner of her mouth, Tera glared at Rikka, saying in a grating voice, "I'm not about to die... not when you're in this effin' state. I'm gonna help you like I did last time. I won't give up on you just yet!" Coughing, she spat out a glob of congealed blood next to Rikka's head, making the other girl cringe in disgust. "Now if you promise to not kick me and talk properly, I'll let you go."

Rikka did not look impressed. "Tera-chan, Tera-chan..." she clucked, "You should never trust assassins to keep promises. I could slay you with a single thrust from my axe, after paralysing you with my eyes, if you did that."

"Then why aren't you paralysing me now, huh?" boomed Tera, her teeth glittering in the dim light. "Go on and do it, freeze me, get me off and kill me, if that's what you're here for!"

The bluenette hesitated at the fierce tone. Pursing her lips, she stammered, "I-I shan't use my paralysing powers on you."

"Why not?"

"You're not worth my powers."

"Why so?"

"Because I say so!"

"If I'm not worth your powers, or your time, then why not just kick me until I let go, and then you can kill me nice and slow?"

"Are you that eager to die?"

"Huh, of course not! I was just stallin' for time, chattin' with you, you oaf." Slightly recovered from the beating she had received, Tera took a deep breath and closed her grip around Rikka's arms tightly. She hauled upwards, swinging the assassin clear off the ground and pinning her to a tree with considerable force. She brought her bloodied face close to a dazed Rikka's, baring her fangs.

"Talk, you piece of shit! Tell me what's going on!" she roared, smoke coming out from her throat. A faint red glow could be seen at the base of her tongue. "If you don't, I'll burn you to a crisp, and I'm not kiddin'!"

Shutting her eyes and averting her face from the vicious Tera, Rikka blabbered something incomprehensible. Tera noted that she was shuddering. Maybe her plan was working. Keeping up with her unpleasant, angry attitude, Tera squeezed Rikka's arms savagely, making her yell.

"It's Homura Akemi's doing, isn't it? She made you into this monster, didn't she?" shouted Tera, choking with emotion and hating herself for hurting Rikka. Tears sprang to her eyes, pooling at the edges.

"I hate you for being so mentally weak! I hate you for givin' in to her request so easily! Do you have any idea how much I've suffered tryin' to figure you out and save you in those past hundred timelines? I had to watch you die over and over again, and that wasn't all. I had to kill you! If not, you'll kill me, and there won't be anyone left to save your blasted soul!" Her voice cracked, her eyes were wide and glaring. "So, were you possessed by the Demon in the past too? Did she order you to kill me back then too? Or is your old bloodlust to simply kill me for the heck of it resurfacin'? Why did you even want to kill me in the first place, huh? Why?!" Tera breathed heavily from her outburst, her pupils dilated to their widest. "Talk to me! Goddammit Rikka, say somethin'!"

But Rikka could not say anything. She slackened in Tera's hold and began to cry, her tears dripping onto the fallen brown leaves.

"H-Hey..." Tera immediately felt very bad for acting in that barbaric manner towards Rikka, even if it was to break her murderous spirit. Deflated, she tried to placate the bluenette. "I'm sorry for shoutin'. I-I... I had to, to snap you outta your mood."

There was no reply from her. With her head lowered and her arms stretched either side of her under Tera's claws, she looked a pitiful figure. However, Tera dared not free her just yet, in case it was all just an act.

"Tera-chan... I have to tell you something," whispered Rikka finally, though she did not look up.

"I'm listenin', Rikka."

"My wish... I told you I wished that I would be able to bring happiness to people, whoever they were, right?" she said quietly. "I cannot deny people of their happiness, because it would bring me so much guilt and regret, which would in turn pollute my Gem. The Demon knew of this, and she took advantage of it. She implored me to kill you, so that there would be one less Elemental to haunt her... and I could not deny her wish. But at the same time, I couldn't deny you of your happiness either by killing you. I tried- I tried so many times to kill you, but I couldn't do it. I admit it. I had wanted to slay you in order to make the Demon happy, but it was the stupidest thing I ever did. I knew Homura Akemi was my enemy, not my friend, but I couldn't stop myself from carrying out her order."

"Rikka..." Tera had braced herself for an explanation such as this, but she was still shaken by it. Who wouldn't, after hearing your best friend tell you that she had wanted to kill you? "Rikka, it's not your fault, that's just the way your wish works. If you had told me earlier, we could've worked somethin' out together."

Shaking her head, Rikka denied Tera's statement. "I did not want to worry you. It would be selfish of me to ask for your help. Too many things were going on in my mind – my parents' death, Eruna-chan's stoic indifference that left her friendless for so many years, Kureha-chan's innocent view on the world that would make her vulnerable to others, your happy-go-lucky personality which always landed you in trouble..." Here, she gave a soft chuckle, as if amused, but she quickly lost her humour as she continued. "How I was going to deal with Shin-kun and Eruna-chan after Homura's threat to kill them, how I could stop myself from killing you, if possible... And how I should end my life if I failed to carry out the Demon's order, as well as protect you from her. I could not burden you with these dark thoughts. And so, I came to a conclusion."

"And what is that?" said Tera apprehensively, feeling the shift of muscles in Rikka's arms. She tightened her grip again, afraid that Rikka may jump her suddenly.

"Since I could not deny the happiness of both you and the Demon, I will carry out her orders yet keep you alive." She tilted her head up, smiling eerily, her face a mask of cheery suffering. "And the only way I figured for that to work was to let go of all my human restraints and become a monster. You wouldn't hesitate to kill a monster, right, Tera-chan? As you've said, you had to kill me in those past timelines because I had snapped. You didn't hesitate, did you?"

Tera shuffled uncomfortably. "I-I had to. You had turned into a Witch, or was nearly a Witch. I couldn't let you kill the people that you had wished to live happily, nor watch you turn into a monster... I had to."

Rikka smiled even wider. "Good... because before I came over to look for you, I had already mentally snapped. I'm no longer the Rikka Sayuki that you know so well. I'm already a monster at heart, and my Soul Gem has been wasted away. How else do you think I could attack you without a tinge of guilt?"

"Y-Y-You're lyin'!" Tera stuttered. "You're still you, I can feel it in me, you haven't changed. I can still help you, don't give up hope yet!"

Rikka laughed dryly. "It's too late, my beloved little tiger. Don't let your love for the selfish Rikka Sayuki blind your better judgement. I'm too far gone for help, and you know that. But please, before I go, tell me that you'll take care of Eruna-chan for me. She refused to move away from this country, and because I won't be helping Homura Akemi out as her personal assassin, she may still have a reason to kill my sister, even after I'm gone."

"G-Gone? What are you talkin' about, Rikka?" shouted Tera, feeling emotionally harassed. "You're not goin' anywhere, I'll take care of you, you'll see!"

"Always so optimistic... That's what I loved about you, Tera-chan," smiled Rikka sadly. Right at this moment, she looked like the old Rikka - pretty, charming, demure and kindly. But it was soon replaced by a grimace. Pain was creeping into her face. "I'm going very soon. Please look after Eruna-chan... Unless you haven't realised, my Soul Gem is beyond purifying, due to my foolishness."

The once-blue Gem on her ring was blacker than pitch. Tera wanted to clap a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying out after looking at it, but her claws were still around Rikka's arms.

The singer's body began to curl up painfully. She managed to rasp her last words through clenched teeth as Tera released her and hugged her close, refusing to believe what she was witnessing. "All I can ask of you now is that you slaughter my Witch and live on, for that would be the only way for me to keep my first promise to the Demon, yet keep you alive... Kill me before I manage to kill you, Tera-chan... Please, fulfil my last request to you! I know- ugh! -you can do it! "

With an ear-splitting crack, the Soul Gem of the Assassin was rent apart, hatching a Grief Seed of the blackest black. Rikka went limp in Tera's clutches immediately after, without so much as a murmur. Dark flurries flew around the girl and the corpse, and Tera held onto the body to prevent it from being swept away. Vortexes of neon blue and midnight purple swirled in ominous patterns, solidifying into dirty, checkered walls that pressed upon them from all four corners. A high ceiling formed overhead, trapping the tiger in the vast, empty barrier.

Tears flooded Tera's wild orange eyes as she gave vent to a terrible scream, like a winter gale upon storm-lashed seas. Cradling Rikka's dead body close, she glared defiantly at the hideous monstrosity that stood tall before her, that she grudgingly knew so well. It wielded twin axes, exactly like Rikka's, and it stood on its hind legs, its ugly hyena head balancing on a torn-up neck. Where it's heart was supposed to be, there was a gaping hole instead, crisscrossed with stray blood vessels. Mad, black eyes bore into her mind, and Tera looked away, snarling poisonously. Those very same eyes once belonged to Rikka, and they could paralyse her if she stared into them for too long.

"Bellatosa..." she hissed through her tears, slowly standing up with Rikka's corpse in her arms. "I've fought you so many times, in so many different timelines; you're my sworn enemy... A sworn enemy that stood in the way between Rikka and her happiness! This will be the last time you breathe, you slug-faced hyena. I swear, I will send you to the gates of hell for Rikka!"

The Witch howled in an off-key, throaty growl, her slobbering chops sending saliva flying as she shook her maned head. A shadow fell around her and she disappeared instantaneously, only to reappear beside Tera to knock her off her feet. Rikka's body tumbled from a shocked Tera's arms, rolling a few feet away from the impetus. A cruel footclaw landed on the dead body's head, stamping hard on it as the Witch jabbered excitedly. Blood and mashed brains splattered around, some of the gore streaking onto Tera's distressingly convulsed face.

"NO!" A hoarse cry ripped from her throat as she reached out a useless arm. Bellatosa took off her foot, picked up the body and promptly bit Rikka in half, at the torso. She spat the two mangled lumps to either side of her. Tera watched in revolted horror as the flesh ran off of Rikka's bones like water over rocks. No matter how many times she had watched this, she could never get used to it.

The Witch bared her disfigured teeth in a twisted grin, licking the blood dripping from her jowls. Appalled and crying with rage, Tera transformed into her full battle garb and scrambled up, flying at the Witch with vengeance burning bright blue at her claws. "I will kill you, for Rikka's sake! I WILL KILL YOU!"

The fight had commenced!

***

The damp loam squished underfoot as Shika weaved around the trees and shrubs with the expertise of a seasoned jungle trekker, tailing her dog, Yuki. All those hours spent wandering in the forest to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life was now paying off. Even if she couldn't see properly in the dim conditions, she knew where she was; getting lost was out of the question. The two forged onwards, with no light to guide them, for having a light in soft darkness was like a beacon to the enemy. Shika paused, hearing a frenzied scuffle. A semi-large, furry animal burst onto the path and scurried across her, yelping in alarm.

"Tanuki..." she breathed, staring after the beast as it fled the scene. "It's a tanuki, running away... Something bad is happening up front."

"Tanuki? We have tanuki in this little forest?" perked up Yuki, ears erect. "Great, I could come hunting for them when I'm bored. A dog needs her exercise and fun too-"

"Now's not the time to be talking about this," said Shika, intercepting the garrulous Yuki. "We have to hurry there."

"True, true. I heard some screaming up ahead. Sounds awfully like Rikka and Tera having a jolly old shout at each other. Up on my hunkers, Shika. I'll get us there in a flash." The faithful canine knelt to the ground as Shika placed her Soul Gem atop her head, watching as her dog grew larger and larger. When she was of a desired size, Shika removed the Gem and swung above Yuki, urging her on.

"Let's go, before we're too late!" If two good friends were shouting at each other, it could only mean bad news.

***

Hi guys ^^ Hope you enjoyed reading this short chapter (filled with screaming). Poor Tera is forced to kill Rikka once more, and you'll soon learn her full backstory (along with another character that has been escaping interrogation so far)
The next chapter is coming very briefly after, so stay tuned. The action scenes are coming XP

As usual, thanks for reading!

~SaitheVivana