~His eyes are watching me...~

Revenge and Orders

"You feeling okay? You still have to go back to school. I'm teaching for the first period. You can see me after third, and sixth, which is your last. I assume you're afraid that Ash would be in your class, but you might have to deal with him. We can't expel him from the school without reason - the principal didn't allow it." My head hung down as I realised I had to endure time with Ash. Knowing him...

"Just know that when you call my name, I'll be there." Michael flashed me a kind smile as I left the car and joined the stream of students, heading for the first period.

"Michael..." I whispered as I moved further into the school compound.

"Elise..." A voice gathered my attention. Mira's voice, to be exact.

"You've been away for long." I kept silent.

"You aren't like this, Elise. What happened?" Mira...

"Leave me alone. I have worse things to think about." I pushed her arm away from my shoulder.

Mira pulled me to a deserted corner of the school and pushed me towards the wall.

"I said... what happened, Elise? Answer me." Her eyes weren't blue. They were red.

"I can't be bothered to tell you," I answered with annoyance.

"Ash has better plans for you. I intend to do the same..." She combed back her blond hair and held me by the throat, pushing me further as I felt the wall cave in slightly to my body shape due to the sheer force involved.

"You're lucky to escape alive and unturned, my friend." Ouch. Is the bitch trying to hurt me now?

"Don't worry... Ash and I will help you out with that..." A shadow loomed over me, as I realised I was cowering in fear. Ash was now facing me as he sent his claws digging into my skin, with me praying incessantly for Michael to come and help me.

"Stop it, please! Ouch!" Me, my screams and my futile attempts to summon my spells.

I'm no power-bearer. I can't be if I'm so stressed up to the verge of that cliff.

"Oh, look at the half-breed. She's trying to resist without using any spell. How brave, isn't it, Mira? That look of despair, desperation - isn't it gratifying?" Ash's red eyes glowed as his pale face turned grayscale, holding a scythe in his hand.

"I can't wait to reap your blood and soul - take it away forever." Mira clung on to Ash like an obedient dog - some pet she is.

"Mira, don't cling on to me like that. Aren't you gonna help yourself?" As if he heard my complaints earlier, Ash's scythe was about to send itself grazing across my neck. Mira's eyes seem to glaze over as if taken over by an uncontrollable force in her mind, as she walked towards me in a daze-like manner, her hands hovering over my face.

Suddenly regaining herself, she whispered into my ear, "Imagine how Lord Xandor will be so disappointed when we bring you back a turned one. Listen to us and follow us back to him to treat you, Elise. He cured me. He cured me of my loneliness... by introducing me to the Fallen community. A world where no one is alone, where everyone holds power."

What a cliché statement, what a cliché declaration of power. Is it just me, or did I read too many books?

"May I ask, what's going on here? It's two minutes to..." The Discipline Master's voice... I'm saved!

"SHHHIK!" Ash's scythe severed the Discipline Master's head - the wound on his neck so grotesque and terrifying as it fell back.

Bad idea.

"I savoured every moment of his death. Mira... feed." The next part was actually worse than just the grotesque sight. My supposed friend in the school, turned and now a horrifying servant of darkness - feeding on flesh and blood.

The idea seemed inviting for a book, however. How about I try that out, and get them to rate it? Oh for God's sake, me and my futile attempts to escape reality in my brain actually led to more pain.

The guy's words are really getting to me. I swear.

"Let's bring out that side of you... I want to see your descent..." As if he had done this many times before, Ash held out his hand to my face, trying to entice something to awaken within me.

How Star Wars-ish. Copy-pasted from Darth Vader and Kylo Ren scenes. Like, seriously. He's doing the exact same hand action - an open palm.

Okay, back to the topic. He did awaken something, and I felt seriously uncomfortable due to the sudden cold. It's presence was cold by itself.

You are too warm to enjoy the cold.

Wait, was that just me?

You are special. Use me, and we can have a world of everything you wish for.

"GODDAMMIT, Ash! Stop this!" I protested, but Ash's scythe was now on my neck, as his smile grew wide.

"It's Lord Xandor's descent. It's no wonder you were chosen. Now, sit there and be a good girl, and let it become part of you." I brought my eyes to see my right hand refusing to abide by my words, and I thought I saw another person right before my eyes...

I am part of you now.

"MICHAEL!" I hear a distant voice becoming louder and louder... from the corridor, "Imprison!"

Ash and Mira were locked behind electromagnetic bars, while I no longer could hold myself together.

Only my left side was following me.

"Eli-" Michael stopped as if I had something wrong with myself.

"Is it just me?" He continued, creating a mirror for me to see. What I saw was just...

Mindblowing.

The left side of me had blond hair flowing down my back, a purple mask enclosed with white, holy armour along with a staff, and my right... a hood, red eye, mask, cloak, and black battle armour. A black sword was sheathed horizontally on my back, protruding at the right side of my waist with a luring dark aura.

"Go away... Michael. Before I hurt you."

"No, I'm not gonna do that. We'll face this together." He retorted. I felt the anger rise in my chest... that feeling to convey my feelings and words through action. I brought my right hand up, forcing Michael to levitate to my command and pushed him away from me.

"Don't... see me in my current state, Michael. I look awful. I look like a demon. A monster. They did this to me. I'm also one of them no matter how the Light protects me. I... need to think. Go back and teach your students. Tell the admins I've come down with a fever. Just... leave me alone." I quickly left the school into the nearby forest, hiding in a small cavern.

"...Why is it that you detest me so much, Elise? You have nothing to fear about." My neck felt like it was on fire. A force was gripping it so hard, my airways were blocked so bad I was gasping for air.

"X...Xan...dor." I grit my teeth together as I met the creator of my living nightmare.

"How sad, you can never feel fully yourself. Half Light, half Dark. It sure feels torturous. I can feel the conflict in you... you can never decide. If only I saw you in your Fallen form so well... you'd look beautiful." He was rubbing it in.

Adding fuel to the fire.

I'm predicting that. No joke.

"All of you never give me peace for once in my life. Seriously... leave me alone. Especially you, Xandor. You are burden enough." I snap, my hand raised in the direction of his voice earlier to try and choke him.

"It's useless to kill me, to push me back, Elise. Never ever do that again..." It was my turn now, to be levitated and strangled.

"What's that you're placing on me, you darn ass?!" Another dark feeling, that felt like an endless pit that will make me regret falling into.

Xandor took out a mask resembling a pair of sunglasses that covered the top half of my face and had restrainers that extended down my cheeks, placing them on me.

"This way, you will not disobey me until you eventually take it off. Now, behave, go back to your Michael, and give me all your data on the Heavens. Fail... and I will force you to be a Fallen forever. I'll take you from your beloved." The mask on me, I forcedly nodded my head with the control it was putting on me.

"Good, Elise. Very well." He personally escorted me out of the dark cave, only to leave me there.

Ignore my words, and you will instantly turn. I hear his voice reverberate in my thoughts.

Agh, goddammit! Why can't he get out of it?

"Elise, Elise! Where are you?" A cry was in the distance... and it belonged to Michael. I instantly ran to him, hoping he would recognise me...

"Who are you?" He pointed at my face as if I wasn't recognisable.

"It's... me." Michael couldn't believe the sight of me as if I'd changed. He revealed his Knight Form and readied his sword.

"MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON!" Michael snapped away from his stance and stared into my eyes.

"Elise?" He shook his head, unable to believe his eyes.

"You were not dressed like that a moment ago!" He cried, pulling me by my collar.

"You're like someone I never knew! Your mask is contradicting my senses - why is that?!" My mask?

It was Xandor's influence - but I need Michael to trust me, right now.

"Xandor and I met. We... had a talk." His eyes perked up.

"He told me... it's useless to kill him, and he told me I had to obey him... if I ignored - I would be turned. Forever. Regardless of my current status. He will take me away... from you, Michael. Even my half-breed self couldn't do anything, I was a sitting duck."

"Is there anything that I can do to help you? I can't bear but feel worried and sad for you, and be sort of unable to help you in your current situation..." At that moment, I saw Xandor's body leave a tree, his eyes telling me something I don't want to do.

"Michael, can you excuse me from school? I need to train. So do you. It's time we prepared." He nodded, holding his hand out as I took it, and we both were sent upwards, into Heaven.

***

Unknown

"Collide has gone up, I repeat, Collide has gone up." The message from Xandor played.

"Noted. Collide will be taken care of." I smiled, as I held a glass of wine in my hand, wondering how our dear target played into his cunning hands.

***

Elise

"I will need to teleport you directly to headquarters. No resident in Heaven must see you like this." Michael landed us in his quarters, where it was neatly maintained.

"Am I that grotesque a sight? Like Mira and Ash?" Michael shook his head, but he kept silent.

"This isn't a time to play-" A mirror?

It's no wonder Michael didn't recognise me. I was from top to bottom, changed in terms of appearance.

Gather data. Gather them, and give it to Lord Xandor. You will then be free. Go.

I quickly shook my head as I realised my appearance resembled one of the antagonists in the Gundam series I had watched not long ago...

Zeheart Galette?

"I swear, the colours black and red are not accepted in the community here... do you have a change of clothes?" I swiped his hand away.

"No, I'll be fine. I don't want them to see me without my mask..." I removed it to reveal the blazing red eye on my right. Michael didn't have a mask to cover my eyes too. Only me...

The mask has been removed... I am free!

Oh no! I forced it back down as the sheer force of my hands made me fall to my knees. A searing headache went through my mind as the invading presence tried to control me, bring the mask off my head.

"Elise, you okay?" Michael placed a hand on my back, but my arms did not listen to me and held him by the neck.

"Tell me everything about the Heavens. It's an order." I blurted out the main objective that Xandor told me to do. Michael's eyes opened wide.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door as someone wearing a white uniform came in.

"Elise Taylor... please follow me."

Author's Note

;-; finished this chapter (finally got my ideas straight!) with revision for Science and Math left to do, and the worries of failing a Geography paper... I somehow feel drained emotionally. There has been many things going on. The Light and Darkness are again at war in Elise...

It's technically also my situation. To fight for my dreams, sacrifice relationships, against the Darkness within my cohort...

Or to join them in their ridiculous ideals and talk. However... I won't stoop to their level. My war with them has not ended, no matter how much they think they've won. I'll wait. The real winner will come out top at the end of this. It doesn't need to be academic. It's about empathy. Care. Justice.

Lastly, Freedom. Freedom of choice.

Peace out, readers. My ideals are clear for my world and everyone's. :)