Lapis was awoken by a large bang. She didn't move, rather turned her ears towards the noise.

Bang...Bang...BANG BANG BANG

She sat up quickly, growls rising in her throat. She knew he'd come back for her, but now she didn't want anything to do with him. She leapt from the chair, crossing quickly to the bed and nudging Parma's shoulder as gently as she could.

"Hmm? What's going on?" She slurred. In the night she'd started screaming in pure agony, so Lapis had given her a sedative to help with the pain and help her sleep.

"We need to go." She whispered, putting a claw to Parma's lips.
"Now, hush and let me help you up." She said, taking Parma hand as she wobbled up from the bed. She looped her arm under Parma's shoulder, basically carrying her as she stumbled along.

They reached the hallway, and suddenly something exploded off to her left. She gritted her teeth, shielding Parma with her own body. She whirled on the sound, the wall beside her torn apart, a cold breeze ruffling her fur. She scooped Parma up, and as she started shifting to her stronger form hefted the girl on her back, square between her shoulders.

"Lapis, what are you doing?" The voice whispered.

"I'm trying to rewrite my own story." She said, not intent on being puppeted at this very moment.

"Why would you want to do that? Your story is already written into a six novel series, my dear." He said with a chuckle.

Lapis rolled her eyes.

"Well, books never really stood up against fire." She said, and she flashed out of the glowing world, leaving the creature speechless.

She roared, the sound shaking the remainder of the building. She leapt through the still-flaming debris of the wall, landing in the square. Parma grunted from her back, but didn't try to move or get up.

"Lapis! Stop this nonsense!" She heard someone shout. She turned her head, noticing Ariko in the heat of this. Tons of dragons, armed to the teeth, had encircled the building.

"Your the one speaking nonsense." She said in the terrible two voiced pitch.

Ariko glared, despite his always calm and collected appearance.

"Lapis, this isn't your fight. Drop the girl and we can go home." He said, extending his arms in emphasis.

Lapis felt her body betraying her the moment they made eye contact. She started shrinking back down, falling to her knees as she was compelled to do so. She felt Parma slip from her shoulders, rolling into the cold concrete. Lapis was powerless to help her.

"N-NO!" She roared, the voice faltering. Ariko came close to her then, crouching down in front of her.

"You know what's funny about assassins?" He purred. Lapis snapped her teeth at him, but he didn't even blink.

"They always have a master." He said, his eyes swirling. Lapis' body went numb, and she fell to her side, feeling her heartbeat slow and pulse drop.

As she started slipping off the edge, she watched Ariko approached Parma, the daughter he'd sent Lapis to kill. She looked up at her Father, realization striking in her eyes.

"F-Father?" She stuttered, backing up quickly. Ariko stamped down on her tail, causing a roar of pain from Parma.

"I am NOT your Father, you WEAKLING!" He growled, claws sinking into the tail he was stepping on.

Tears welled in Parma's eyes as her own blood started seeping into the cobblestones.

So this was where'd he'd been all these years? Controlling some innocent girl into killing for him?

Her and her Mother had lived honestly, without him for almost twenty years. They thoug he'd died.

Apparently the opposite had happened.

He'd grown in the ranks of this city, grown an empire to his will.

Everything he ever dreamed of, really.

She was snapped back to reality quite literally. She heard a horrible snapping sound, and looked over to see Ariko bent over Lapis' unmoving body, his hands at her now seemingly broken neck.

She'd barely known her,  it still it was painful to watch. Something suddenly grasped hold of her, she felt power running through her veins. She stood up, not feeling the pain of her shoulder.

"Get. Away from her." She growled. Her voice sounded strange, as if it had gained another behind it.

Ariko looked over quickly, his eyes wide.

"Agnostos." He said, his voice shaking. He stepped back from Lapis, watching Parma with a new fear.

Something in her warmer.

"Yes, that's right Ariko." Her voice said, now no part of it her own.

"It seems you've broken our little arrangement, haven't you?" She said. Ariko's ears pinned.

"N-No! You can't possibly take this away from me now! Not when I was so close! We can still rule!" He begged, clasping his hands together.

"We? WE? I WAS MEANT TO RULE ARIKO! NEVER YOU!" She roared, the sound a ringing pain in her ears.

Ariko held his ears, screaming before dropping to his knees. He looked up at Parma in horror.

"Fine! Take them! Just leave me be!" He shouted, the ringing still plaguing the square.

"Good boy." She said, then all went black.

She blinked and she was still standing in the square, Lapis appearing dead, though her Father knelt before her. He stood up quickly, glaring at her once before taking off with his gunmen.

She hurried over to Lapis, flipping her over to her back. Her chest had stopped rising and falling, though her eyes remained wide open. They were pitch black, soulless.

Then a little white light appeared, flashing her way before fizzling out.

Then claws seized around her wrist, and she grimaced before all went black again.

She stood up gently, her body floating over the soft, plush grass.

"Welcome, Parma." A familiar voice said. She looked up, but saw nothing but Lapis, standing close to her. She squeaked, floating backward a bit.

"Wait...but you were dead!" She wailed, sure she'd seen the dead body in front her her.

"Silly girl, you have so much to learn." Lapis said with a cold chuckle. But something in her expression softened.

"Yes, my Lapis is right." The male voice said again. A shadowy figure materialized in front of them, faceless and shapeless.

"Who are you?" She asked, gripping the grass with her claws so she wouldn't float away.

"I am Agnostos, guardian of Lapis over here." He said, nodding her way, to which Lapis nodded respectfully.

"I only met him recently as well, but I assume he's some sort of conscience. He takes partial control whenever I use my power." She said, the double voice echoing for a moment before becoming just hers again.

"Parma, you saved my life." She said suddenly, and Parma blushed a bit.

"What? That can't be possible...I could never..." she said, scared at the idea. She'd never dreamed of hurting a fly, much less saving an assassin from her own Father.

Her face faltered at the thought of him. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned, looking at Lapis' equally sad expression.

"We've all experience some betrayals today, let's not dwell on them." She said, smiling softly.

Parma nodded, then turned back to the creature.

"Where are we, then?" She asked, looking around at the impressive world around her. Little fireflies bounced around in the air, blinking in near unison.

"You are nowhere." He said, and Parma had to do a double take.

"But...we've got be somewhere?" She said, dangerously confused.

"Parma, what matters is we're both alive, right?" She said, her eyes on the grass shifting softly below them.

"Yes, I suppose so." She said, smiling. Though, she'd prefer to be on solid land.

"Alright, fine. Just give me a moment." Agnostos cut in, almost as if he'd read her mind.

In seconds everything went dark again.

She gasped, sitting up. Vines were curled around her legs and wrists, tickling her arms. She shivered.

She heard a familiar chuckle, and turned her head, seeing Lapis leaning against a tree.

"It seems you've gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle, hm?" She purred, eyeing the vines climbing up her leg.

"H-help me out?" She questioned, the vine touching her knee.

"But this is too fun to watch." She said, crossing her arms. Still, she walked over and tore the vines away. Parma sighed in relief, they were a little to close for her liking.

"What are those things?" She asked, brushing dirt off her shoulder.

"Not sure on the name, but I'm guessing they probably sensed fear." Lapis said with a shrug. Parma's eyes widened.

Lapis stood up, eyeing the jungle around them. Wherever Agnostos had dropped them, it wasn't a place Lapis had seen or heard of before.

It was perfect.

They could hide out here for eons without anyone finding them. She breathed in the smokeless air, and it filled her lungs with a friendly force.

"Isn't this perfect?" She said breathlessly. Parma appeared beside her.

"Well, two days ago I was living a life of comfort, but sure. This is pretty alright." She said with a laugh.

Lapis liked her laugh, a lot.

They started walking towards the treeline. Lapis could swear she heard running water. Her mouth went dry at the thought.

They found it eventually, and Parma hurried over, sitting and putting her feet in it. She smiled, little fish nibbling at her toes.

Lapis climbed up a rock face, jumping off into the water with a large splash. She resurfaced, spitting out a fish. Parma laughed again, doubling over onto her back.

"You should've seen your face!" She squealed, laughing hard now with her eyes closed. She opened them, and saw Lapis standing over her, dripping wet. The water made her fur stick to her muscular frame, and Parma found herself looking over every inch of her.

"Parma..." She whispered, causing her to blush.

"Uh...Lapis? What are you doing ?" She said, though she didn't move.

"I'm sorry I got you into this mess." She said, sitting back on her haunches. Parma sat up, frowning.

"It...it's not your fault." She tried. Lapis chuckled.

"Actually, it's all my fault." She said. "I came after you, didn't kill you, brought your father after you, and nearly got you killed again." She said, a growl rising in her tone. Parma placed a hand on her arm.

"Hey, it's over now. We're safe." She said. She felt Lapis' muscle tense under her touch, and she moved her hand.

"S-Sorry. I'm not used to having a friend." She said, smiling softly, eyes trained on the ground.

Parma grinned.

"Well, guess we'll have plenty of practice." She said, and they flopped backwards, laughing in the grass as the moon settled in the sky.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

WORDS : 1817