Chapter 8: Doubt

“Red? Red, where are you?” I cry, yet nobody answers me. Why am I still trying? I've lost track of him over an hour ago: why do I still think he might just be around the corner? Am I really that lonely?

Ever since we got separated, I began searching for my friend Red all over the city, hoping he would've waited in a place not too far away from that burning building... and it was no easy task, what with that lady chasing me down everywhere I went: she must've thought I was a criminal, or a terrorist... and I can't be mad with her, considering I literally ran away as soon as the police arrived on the scene. Maybe that wasn't a good idea, but that's the only thing I could think of in that moment... and, looking back, I think I made the right choice: better run and be remembered as a criminal than get captured by the government and get experimented on to find a way to replicate our superpowers... okay, maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic, but you get the point.

I eventually managed to lose the yelling lady in a side alley, but by the time that happened I had completely lost track of where the dragon could've went... in the end, I simply kept going in a direction and hoped he had gone there as well... and failed miserably. How could I even think that was a good idea? Man, if only Red were here: he would've solved this issue by now... then again, if he were here, there wouldn't even be a problem to begin with...

Still, I'm at a loss... this city is pretty darn big, and the chances of finding him at random are practically null; heck, that dummy doesn't even have a cellphone: how am I supposed to find him without one? It's like he was begging to get lost...

And then, it hits me: I might not find him... but maybe someone else can! Red did mention this 'Karma' guy's following his every move, and they might be following my own as well for that matter: if that's true, then they already know about our problem... and may be working to solve it right now! I don't have to find Red: he just has to find me! And what better place to wait him than... uh... oh, oh, that botanic garden over there!

Yeah, that's right: the “Urban Florae”, 'the biggest botanic garden in the city'... also known as 'the only botanic garden in the city' and 'the least visited botanic garden in the city; a large rainforest in captivity in the south-west periphery, covered by an equally large glass dome that protects it from the Sun rays, yadda yadda yadda... you get the drill. Frankly, I never bothered learning all the scientific details and stuff: nature to me is something that needs to be admired and respected, not understood... I mean, maybe there are some things that we should understand, but... where's the fun if you already know everything about something? Anyway, if it weren't for those protests of a few months ago, this place would've been demolished for sure, and a 'beautiful' parking lot (that's what the mayor called it anyway) would be standing in its place... too bad that those people who protested against the parking lot never bothered actually donating to the foundation that sustains the botanic garden, let alone visit it in the first place... what a bunch of hypocrites.

Anyway, it might've been a long time since I visited the Urban Florae, but... that's all the more reason to go! Besides, me and Red met in a park yesterday night: maybe he'll catch the hint as soon as he sees this place and come right in to look for me! Yeah, this is a wonderful idea... it'll definitely work out!

As I cross the beautiful white wooden gate at the entrance and am greeted by a myriad of luxuriant exotic plants and tall, uncontrolled trees, I feel... good, really good. If I have to be more precise, well... I feel like this is one of the main reasons why I was born: to witness, to touch, to feel... I love nature. It gives my life a meaning...

Hiya! My name's... Lepris. Yeah, Lepris... and I'm an otherkin, meaning I can transform into an anthropomorphic rabbit any time I want. So, to sum it all up, yesterday night I met a guy named Red (who turned out to be a freaking DRAGON) and, afterwards, a bunch of monsters showed up and threatened to kill us both... kinda rude, but whatever. Then we became great friends, and I decided to show him around town while he prepares to 'take back his kingdom' or whatever... until he decided to play the hero, which resulted in us getting separated... go figure...

I never understood why they built cement paths to connect the various places of interest in this urban jungle instead of... I dunno, not doing anything, really: if the whole point of this place is to run around and discover nature, why restrict your movement by forcing you to only walk a specific path? It seems really counter-productive... besides, if someone wanted to break the rules, they could simply jump over that small metallic fence, like I've seen done plenty of times the first time I visited, and do whatever they pleased; I guess I could do that myself if I really wanted to... bah, what am I even thinking?

Anyway, I'm really having fun in this place: everything feels so natural and exotic, like hearing the chirps and squeaks of birds and squirrels, observing from up close colourful and bright flowers that somehow manage to grow alone in this weird place... sniffing the very distinguishable stink of a 'little gift' a dog left just a minute earlier... yep, sure feels like nature. I could do without the last thing, but apart from that... this park's really cool! You know, if only my laptop's battery lasted more than an hour, I could even work with my pc from here: I heard they've got Wi-Fi connection in this place... oh, wait... nope, my phone says otherwise. Guess it was too good to be true.

I reach the park's innermost location: a really big three-way intersection in the middle of the forest, full of white wooden benches and out-of-place vending machines and surrounded by trees, more trees and even more trees... oh, I also noticed that the paths that take here are so oddly curved it would take a few seconds at least before anyone coming could view this entire place without having their sight blocked by something. Maybe this isn't the best place to wait Red at... but I have to admit: this is one of the most quiet and peaceful places in the whole park. You can't hear anything, apart from the sounds of little animals and the like... it's quite beautiful.

I realize just now that I'm not alone, and that there's someone here with me: a man is sitting alone on one of the benches, silently feeding breadcrumbs or something similar to a small yellow and green bird that sits on his right shoulder. Judging from his clothes (a green shirt, slightly darker green jeans, brown shoes and a light green baseball hat) I can safely assume he's a gardener... I think... yeah, he even has a name-tag on his shirt: he definitely works here. He's got long black hair enveloped in a ponytail and bright blue eyes, and... uh... isn't he a bit young to work here? No, wait, what am I saying? He's definitely old enough to work: he's at least seventeen or eighteen years old from what I can tell, although he does look and behave kinda like a child... he's quite cute actually... no, stop that thought right there Lepris! You can't just fall for every cute guy you see, especially if he's a minor... at least, I think he's a minor... wait, why am I even considering that!? Am I insane? Man, I'm such a mess...

I must look like some kind of weirdo right now since the man has stopped feeding his bird and is now looking at me, judging me silently from the other side of this circular plaza... why isn't he saying anything? Am I so creepy he thinks I'm not worth talking to? Wait, maybe I misjudged him: he's now nonchalantly waving his left hand, his eyes closed and his lips forming a kind smile... okay, maybe the situation isn't as awkward as I originally thought. That helps.

He quietly invites me to sit next to him, and, uh... I accept. I mean, why not? I don't know how long will it take Red to find me, so every opportunity I get to waste some time while waiting for him has to suffice. Besides, he looks interesting enough: he might be a bit mysterious, but so was Red when I first met him... except that Red actually talked. A lot, in fact... I miss him...

“Hi!” I energetically greet the man before sitting where he pointed me to, but he doesn't say anything in return: he just... keeps waving at me like he did before, not producing the faintest sound from his mouth; I briefly wonder if he's actually a robot in disguise, before remembering robots don't breathe... or display emotions, for that matter. So, either this guy's really, really shy... or he simply can't speak. Looks like the latter to me... poor thing.

I feel kinda embarrassed, since I've never spoke to a mute person before... so, without any better argument to start off with, I look at the name written on his name tag: “Dexter”. Neat.

“So, your name's Dexter?” I ask, and he immediately answers by nodding gently “That's a cool name! I bet there's a lot of meaning behind it too!” his cheeks redden as his smile widens, meaning that he received my compliment quite well. He then reaches into his pocket for... what looks like a small notebook and a pen, and hastily writes something on the paper: after less than one second, he shows me what he wrote, which reads “Thanks! :)”; that 'smiley face' is a nice touch, I think. I like this guy already.

“Anyway, my name's Lepris: nice to meet you!” I introduce myself, and he answers by writing “Nice to meet you Lepris! You got a nice name as well! :)” aww, he's too sweet... I thank him for his kindness and try to find another good topic of conversation, hoping I can be fast enough before he starts questioning my embarrassment.

“So... do you work here?” I inquire, and his face lightens up with excitement; the next words he writes are small and hard to read, most likely due to his sudden happiness, but my handwriting's much worse so it doesn't take me long to decipher them “Yes, I do! I'm a gardener, but I spend most of my time caring for the animals that live here: I know I'm not supposed to pet them, but they're so fluffy! XD” and here I thought I'd never meet anyone who uses the 'XD' emoticon in real life... seriously, how come me and him aren't best friends yet?

“Yeah, I know... nature really is amazing. I mean, don't get me wrong, the Internet's fun and all, but... every once in a while, I just have to go out and... you know, chill out at a park, or a forest outside the city: everything's fine as long as it's not... here. Get it?” even though I explained the concept horribly, Dexter eagerly absorbs every word I muttered in his wide open ears and approves what I said by nodding energetically: never before have I met someone who loves listening to everything I have to say so much... I mean, Red does a pretty good job of listening as well, but Dexter's the only person I know that appears to live practically only to listen. Wow... just wow...

As for the next topic of 'conversation', uh... that bird on his shoulder looks interesting enough: it hasn't moved from there ever since I sat down, and it's inspecting me with the same intensity Dexter here had a moment ago... heck, maybe it's even more inquisitive than him. I ask him what's up with that bird, and the only thing he replies with is “Angie”, which leaves me quite confused; he soon adds in small letter before the name “Her name is”, making me realize what he actually meant... alright, that clears things up. I guess that... attitude of hers can now be explained, then: from my experience, girls always need a whole lot of time before finally reaching a consensus on something... I bet birds aren't that different from humans in that regard.

“Oh, that's a nice name too... is she, like, a friend of yours?” I ask, and he immediately replies with “Family”, a mixed expression on his face... is he serious? Is that bird really a part of his family... or is she all of his family? Heh, still a better family than my own... just thinking about my parents makes me... angry... and sad...

-You're a monster... a disgrace!- those darn words echo inside me, making me cry helplessly just like they did a hundred times again... I don't want to cry, but... I can't stop... stupid, stupid, stupid...

“Don't cry... :(“ I see him write through the water that is soaking my eyes “When someone starts crying, I become sad too... T-T” he does look like he's about to lose it as well, and apparently I'm responsible for that... oh, man, I'm so pathetic right now! Not only did I manage to cry in front of a stranger, I made that very stranger cry too! I'm a horrible human being... but getting that nasty thought out of my head is kinda difficult when I'm not...

Wait, now that I think about it... I could try that... I mean, there's basically nobody around, apart from him...

“A-Alright, I-I'll stop crying...” I tell the young man as I wipe the tears off my face and attempt to regain some kind of decency; later on, I ask, hopeful “I need you to answer one question for me: are there any cameras around here? Any at all?” he looks at me confused for a moment, but decides to answer my question nevertheless; it takes him five seconds to scout our surroundings and a few more to write the words “There's that one over there, but it's broken”. He then points to a small camera attached to a pole in the middle of the plaza, which doesn't seem to be active... good, that means I can show him without fear of being recorded.

“Alright then, that's good to know...” I muster up my courage and tell him “Look, you seem like a nice person, Dexter... I think I can trust you. There's something I'd like to show you... something very few people have seen before. I don't know if you'd like to see it in the first place, and you may freak out because of it, but, uh...” honestly, he already looks pretty frightened: he's slowly distancing himself from me, looking at me like I'm... oh, crap! “No! I didn't mean it that way! I don't want to... oh, screw it!” I can't run away now: I want to show him what I really am, and I can't back down! If I do, he'll just think I'm a creep or worse... and I don't want that to happen! I can't ruin this friendship before it even starts!

Fighting back against the urge to run away while I still can, I transform into my rabbit self before Dexter's own eyes, hoping he won't react badly to my little secret. As he realizes what just happened, the man's eyes dilate as some kind of small hiccup comes out of his mouth, both likely due to the sudden shock this... situation must have caused him. I mean, I can't blame him: he's reacting far better than I would've in his place.

“I'm sorry I scared you, but... this is the only thing that manages to calm me down when I think about... them...” I look at him, ashamed of myself and of my eagerness “I'm sorry I scared you: I didn't want to, I just thought that, maybe... man, I'm such an idiot... I bet you hate me now, don't you?” of course, he can't say anything... but he isn't writing anything either, which isn't good at all. I can't even see his expression now, covered as it is by his baseball hat... it's as if time itself stopped, keeping me trapped in an endless circle of self-delusion. Have I...?

Wait, is he really... rubbing my ear? Oh... my God... it feels so good! I don't know if I'm doing it on purpose or if it's some kind of automatic reflex, but my right foot is repeatedly thumping the ground with the same speed of a pneumatic hammer: he's that good. Well, I guess this means he's not... oh, yes! Right there, below the ear... oh man, I could let him do this all day...

Dexter really likes to cuddle animals, that's for sure: at least, that's what he did for the following fifteen minutes. After caressing parts of my face I didn't even know were so sensible for a good amount of time, he decided to stop and reassure me “Don't worry: your secret is safe with me. :) Also, you're soooo cute! XD”; I'm glad he did it, as that pretty much gave me green light to talk with him about everything I pleased. I told him about my powers, about Red, about Fortune, about those lives me and Red saved near Marilyn Square... all things I desperately needed to let out, and it felt good, you know? It felt like talking to a wall, except that wall could actually listen and reply... why couldn't I do the same with Fortune? Maybe I'm just not used to people approaching me, especially the way she did with me... or maybe it's because she's a... a-anyway, I should apologize, next time I see her.

“Wait...” I suddenly freeze as my jaw drops “I forgot my shirt...” how could I forget it!? I didn't take the darn bag containing my newly-bought shirt before leaving to 'save the day' with Red... and there's no way it's still there after all this time! Oh, man... I just wasted twenty pounds! That's a lot of time and work... gone! I'm so gonna make Red pay for it after we reunite...

“Is there something wrong?” Dexter silently asks me, and I explain him my problem; afterwards, I comment “What upsets me the most isn't the loss of money itself... I mean, of course it does, but the real problem is that tomorrow I'll have to wear a... casual shirt instead! Man, I knew I shouldn't have used this one today... I so wanted to dress fancily at tomorrow's-”

Something passes through me, and a familiar feeling courses through my veins: fear. Dexter must be feeling it too since he's looking at me scared, expecting me to explain him what just happened... the worst part is, I think I have the answer: this is the exact same event that happened to me and Red yesterday, at the park... and that means those monsters are going to attack me again! But, this time... this time there's Dexter with me: he can't possibly fight those creatures, can he?

As the light around us becomes more physical than ever, I yell to the gardener and his bird, who has somehow made it inside this cursed place along with his human friend “Take cover behind the bench! Now!” he immediately jumps over it, following my advice to the letter, and so does the bird, who once again casually lands on his right shoulder: good, that means I won't have to worry about them as soon as those... things pop up. Hopefully...

And so, after a few instants of waiting, those... 'F.E.A.R.'s, as Red called them, appear: from behind the threes, from beneath the other benches... from everywhere the light can't reach. It's as if they were born from the shadows themselves... but that wouldn't explain why they can survive in the daylight as well: maybe they're like amphibians or something?

Nevertheless, these ones are... different from the ones me and my friend fought last time: they're taller, slimmer, almost humanoid in form... they kinda look like ghouls, to be honest... they're not quite as strong-looking as that huge giant that appeared after we defeated all the small ones, but that doesn't make these guys any less dangerous. One thing they have in common with the other monsters from yesterday night, though, is that their whole face is covered by gigantic black fangs that could swallow me whole... I won't even question how they can see without eyes.

I don't want to fight them alone, since I'm greatly outnumbered, but... oh God, look at their claws! I don't want to be skewed like that calf I ate the other day! I may be alone, but I have to fight... both for me and for Dexter! Okay, now that I think about it... maybe Red did do something to me... but who cares!? Be it ghouls or ghosts: here I come!

[2-02 – Fighter's Vow - “Battle Theme 2” from Etrian Odyssey V by Yuzo Koshiro, Atlus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mpPKbiVsa8)]

“Furious Flurry!” I shout as I use my ears to fend off the first wave of attackers, eventually managing to kill a few of them and driving the rest away from me; a few kicks later, they all go down in style... but there are plenty more just begging to eat me whole! Although there aren't as many as yesterday night, there are still too many of them for me alone to fight at the same time... and they're much more resilient too! If beating just a few of them was this difficult, then...

Just before I can lose myself in my mind, another monster runs towards me at great speed, but I dodge out of its way at the last possible second, causing it to trip and fall down; before it can get up and keep on attacking me, I jump high up in the air and dive-kick right on top of its head, smashing it into a pulsing mass of goo: the rest of its body crumbles as well soon afterwards, meaning that these monsters have the same weak points humans have... I wonder if hitting them 'down there' would hurt as well...

Anyway, as I was saying... a bunch of creatures, ten or so I think, are now running towards me at the same time: how the heck am I supposed to defend myself against that many? I can't use my 'Furious Flurry' since there's too many of them, and if I focus only on one of them the others will no doubt take advantage of it immediately and strike me in the back... man, where's Red when you need him? If he were here, he would've already found a way to defeat these things! However, just as I miraculously avoid the first couple of attacks, I get an idea that might just work...

“Super Spin!” I shout as I begin spinning around as fast as a tornado, trying to keep my ears as rock hard as I can... and hoping to hit something while I'm at it. Incredibly enough, even though I never trained to use this... ability at all, it's still working rather fine: the monsters keep running into me as if nothing's happening and are quickly blown away or destroyed by the centrifugal force I'm generating-... man, I must look so dumb right now... but at least it's working!

All this spinning is suddenly making me real dizzy though... I can't keep up... after shoving away all the nearby monsters, I immediately stop, hoping to catch my breath: a few instants after stopping, though, I spot a black mass above me, trying to smash me under its weight... oh crap...! I try to move away, but my legs fail me and I helplessly trip on the ground, my impending doom getting closer and closer; as I look at the monster closing in on me, I see my whole life pass before my eyes... wait, since when was my life shaped like an attractive woman's backside?

[8-02 – Maiden of Redemption - “Riders of the Light” from Bayonetta 2 by Platinum Games, Nintendo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSb3W1Nq0wY&list=RDSSb3W1Nq0wY)]

Just before the 'F.EA.R.' can crush me, a woman that kinda looks like Fortune leaps out of nowhere and kicks the monster right in the face, sending it flying away at an incredible speed as its body disintegrates to blobby goo: realizing what just happened, I get up and stand before the woman... who is, in fact, precisely who I imagined her to be. Fortune stands heroic before me, wearing a pair of red sunglasses that cover her smug expression “Did you miss me?” she asks, amused, as she takes them off and throws them away as if they were trash.

“Wait, what the heck are you doing here?” I shout, to which she immediately replies with “What, are you perhaps sad to see me, dear? I thought we were friends! Not to mention, I did just save your butt right there...” well, technically, she isn't wrong: if it weren't for her... who knows what would've happened? Still... wasn't her timing a bit... odd?

Anyway, I got more important things to worry about... namely, Dexter: I turn towards him, and find him clenching the wood of the bench as if his life was at stake... from the looks of it, he's hardly containing himself from joining the fray. Unfortunately (Get it? Fortune, unfortunately? Whatever...), I have to tell him to stay away: he isn't an otherkin... or a Fortune, I guess, and if he got hurt fighting one of these things I wouldn't ever forgive myself “Stay away! She's a friend of mine: we'll defeat these monsters together!” he doesn't like my words, but agrees to my plan nevertheless and returns behind his cover, very disappointed.

"Now, I'm dying for a good fight, so you dearies better prove yourselves to be better than the common weaklings I usually face... I'd like a good challenge before I introduce you to my heels." the lady shouts at the creatures, who start charging at her all together, clearly pissed... I don't know if we can really take on all of them at once, but she does seem to be quite confident: maybe we do have a chance, now that she's here...

Before we can finally engage, she somehow takes off her coat and throws it to the wind, revealing... well, herself: beneath the coat, she wears solely a black, really, really short shirt that only covers her upper torso and leaves her belly completely exposed and leather pants that are so tight I don't even know how blood can circulate beneath them; both are full of white and grey drawings, mainly hearts, skulls and dagger and... wait, am I having a nosebleed? For her? Oh my God, she's so... no, keep it together Lepris! Stop fantasizing over your friends, especially if you don't even find them attractive... okay, maybe just a little...

“It's time to be bad...” I hear her whisper just before charging right into her enemies, far more confident in herself than I am for sure... maybe I should follow her, just to let her know I'm also here. Right before the monsters can hit her, with a spin move she jumps right up into the air, turns upside-down, and begins... rotating her legs like a freaking helicopter? “Spinning Bird Kick!” she shouts as the horde of creatures running into her is blown away like tufts on a dandelion, some of them even dissolving without ever having a chance to try again... I'm sure this isn't what I looked like while using my 'Super Spin', but I'd like to think that regardless. As she lands safe and sound on the ground, a bunch of ghouls attempt to ambush her from above... but I'm faster than them and quickly tear them to pieces in mid-air with my 'Furious Flurry'; my reflexes sure have bettered since yesterday... but all this fighting is making me feel real tired! I seriously need a vacation...

“I'd like to congratulate you for repaying your debt so quickly, dear, but I fear I would've managed to survive that blow on my own.” she mocks me as soon as I land, but I don't think she's being serious “I'm most certainly harder than you are, boy...” okay, now she's just mocking me.

“Oh, yeah? Well then: how about this!?” I reply as I smash the head of a leaping 'F.E.A.R.' between my ears, feeling some sort of friendly competition rising between us two “I bet I can kill more monsters in a single blow than you can!”

“Oh, it's on, kid! I'll have you know I never lost this kind of challenge!” she responds vigorously as we both begin smashing heads and blowing holes in bodies left, right and centre: now that there's someone else the ghouls can focus their attention on, I feel like I have more space and more time to react... and that is definitely helping me! Hopefully, I won't have to use that stupid half-baked move ever again... on the other hand, Fortune doesn't seem to mind spinning her head around like a hip-hop dancer or skilfully jumping from creature to creature like a parkour athlete: she must have had some kind of super training or something, there's no way a normal person could ever do what she's doing right now... but maybe I can, and so I write down in my head every little thing she does for me to replicate later on, when I feel more confident. Heck, it almost feels like she's willingly teaching me all this stuff so I can try and beat her... so cheesy!

In the end, though, I'm no match for her: you could tell she was going to win right from the moment we started... though she did lose some time in the beginning after... kicking the air for some reason, almost like she expected something to happen; she muttered an excuse soon afterwards, but I was too far away to hear her properly... I think she used the word 'weapons', but apart from that I can't recall anything she said.

“Well, it's safe to assume I won: well played, dear.” she says as she scouts the surrounding area, making sure there are no more monsters anywhere around us “Anything you wanna say to excuse yourself? Maybe you caught something in your eye, or maybe you tripped over some of this... goo stuff all over the ground...” you know, it's getting kinda difficult to figure out whether she's being serious or not.

“Nah, you beat me fair and square... nice moves by the way: do you have time to teach me a few of them sometime soon? I haven't been able to go to the gym for a long time now, and I could really use some exercise... and a free private teacher wouldn't hurt.” I comment ironically, but her answer leaves me quite speechless “Yeah, sure: I've got plenty of time. There isn't much I can teach you, since your technique is far different from my own, but... yeah, maybe a thing or two I can. But I'm not training you to do anything with those ears of yours: I wouldn't even know where to start...” she then chuckles, but I think she was serious about the training part... she's being a real friend, and that's really cool coming from... from...

-You're a monster, a disgrace! You shouldn't ever have been born!- oh God... my head... what the heck is this? A headache? Man, it hurts... and why can't I stop hearing that... stupid insult? I hear Fortune first asking, then shouting something... but her words are confused, garbled, impossible to decipher... and utterly meaningless. I cannot even see straight, for crying out loud... I feel like I'm going to pass out in a moment's notice...

I try to communicate, but, before I can say anything, I notice a huge... mass rapidly, far too rapidly building behind my friend... a monstrosity much, much bigger than the one me and Red fought yesterday. I try to warn Fortune, but my attempts are meaningless: something shoots out of the monster's body, something big and... definitely not good... I barely have enough time to shove away the lady before that thing hits my entire body, sending me flying backwards in the most painful way possible...

I'm a monster. I'm a disgrace. I shouldn't ever have been born.

I immediately get up and shout Lepris's name, worried for his well-being: I find him lying on the ground a good twenty feet away from me, very close to that bench his friend was hiding behind. As that green dude, who had already jumped out of his cover way before his acquaintance got wrecked by... whatever that thing was, rushes over him and attempts to reanimate him, I cannot help but worry that he might have just lost consciousness... or worse. Whether the case, it's payback time.

I turn towards the thing that hit him: what looks like the upper torso of a legless giant emerges from a huge pool on the ground, its fists far bigger than the rest of its body... I don't know what the Hell that thing is, but I sure as Hell am going to send it back to the abyss where it came from.

“Now you made me mad!” I shout as the creature attempts to punch me once again, now with even more speed and power than before... but this time... this time I'm ready.

“Let's go! Super Gatling Kick!” I yell as I kick the goliath's fist with my right boot: once, twice, thrice, left, right, left, right... faster, faster, faster! After not even a second, I've already lost count of how many times I've hit this darn thing... there's no more room for thinking here! Faster, faster, faster... I can hear the goo forming the monster's hand cracking like marble, rapidly disintegrating after witnessing my power first-hand, literally... but I can't stop now: I will finish this thing, once and for all! I put all my effort in the last blow, all my strength and willpower: with a sonorous 'crack', the fracture in the giant's hand quickly spreads to the rest of its arm, then to the chest, the other arm, the head, even the pool of goo beneath it... it's working! After what appears to be a final, desperate cry of pain, the monster crumbles to nothingness, vanishing from this world once and for all... suck on that, you-

“Wait, Lepris!” I rush to that idiot's aid as the world around me changes in luminosity, meaning no more of those 'F.E.A.R.'s, or whatever the Hell Karma dubbed them, will appear... for now, at least. I hope I'll at least have enough time to check on that stupid wannabe hero...

“Hey, are you alright?” I shout right in his face as I grab his whole body and start shaking it like a maraca, trying to get some sort of response out of him “Come on, wake up! I won't allow you to die on me, especially now that I owe you one! Come on... wake up, you dummy!” incredibly enough, after a whole lot of shaking, his eyes do open... but they're pitch black, as if a black hole stole the light out of them and replaced them with its dark nothingness. I see some kind of black smoke come out of the rabbit's mouth as he utters “Yesterday, Red saved me; then, earlier today, you saved me as well; and now, you saved me once again. And yet, I've only known you for so long... why would you save someone you don't care about? Why risk your life for someone... like me?” this voice... it's his alright, but it's more grave, distorted and manipulated: something's not right. Moreover... what kind of point is he trying to make? And why make it now?

“Well, this is awkward...” I reply, trying to find a way to awake him from this... day-dreaming session of his “Come on, you aren't as bad as you think you are... you are-”

“A fool.” he gets up of his own, almost... shoving me away “I thought you saved my life because we were friends, because you cared for me... but that's not it, is it? We're not even friends, we don't know anything about each other: you don't know what I've been through... and you don't want to know it either.”

“I never said that!” I reply aloud, hoping to snap him out of this trance “What the Hell did that thing do to you?”

“Admit it: the only reason why you helped me is because you want to look like a hero... just like Red does! Everyone either sees me as a monster or as a tool to use! You're both hypocrites... just big plain hypocrites! And I don't want anything to do with you!” he yells as he hops away, losing himself in the forest around us, still looking like a gigantic rabbit... this is a far bigger problem than I originally thought.

“Screw you, you idiot! It wasn't Red who saved me this time: it was you!” I scream in frustration as I punch the ground with both of my fists, leaving a mark of my fury on the cold stone beneath our feet: I've got to run after him, but ) need to grab my coat first... now where is...

Ah, there it is: in the hands of mister... Dexter here, who offers it to me calmly and respectfully, his expression telling me all I need to know; funny, how a shy smile and a timid posture can work better than a hundred 'thank you's.

“My, someone feels like being a gentleman today... why, thank you dear: you saved me some time. Also, thanks for looking after that crybaby for me: I'm sure he'd thank you himself, if only he were still sane...” I pretend to go away, but then turn back and add, hoping to sound intimidating enough “Oh, one more thing: if you tell anyone about what happened here today, I'll give you a treatment far worse than the one I gave that giant bag of goo... do you understand me?” he doesn't look bothered by my statement at all, and instead makes the gesture of sealing his mouth like a zip with his left hand... and throwing away a non-existent key. That's how I like my boys: gentle, obedient and silent. I'd love to spend more time with this guy, but there's a rabbit on the loose and I have to catch it before it gets too far away “Well, thanks for everything: goodbye, dear! See you soon!”

As I run in the direction that dumb bunny went, I grab my phone and dial a familiar number, hoping the man I'm looking for was called here as well “Dante...!?”