Strangers From Another World 17 Fittoa Valencia Part 1

"Do you think something happened to them?" asked Alex, feeling anxious for Gene and Tina.

"I don't know," said Joseph, "I don't know, but I say we can't exactly wait here forever."

"So are we going in?"

"Yes, but we'll have to be really sneaky. Stick close kid, and do as I say."

"Yes, I know."

One would think that by now, Alex would be tired of being told to stick close, but on the contrary, he would rather do anything but be left on his own, he was scared of being stranded alone and knowing no one around him. Ever since leaving the confines of the city, Alex was quick to get the sense that this world was far too vast for him to venture out into it alone. And even Gene had said it himself, that he couldn't have possibly survived till now without people helping him along the way.

They crept along the shadows, Joseph leading the way, watching for dangers ahead, and Alex followed behind, careful of where he's stepping, not wanting to accidently step on something or knock something over that would give away their position. However, once they got close enough, they saw the strangest thing. The guards, these members of the Greenhill Thieves' Guild, they had all collapsed.

"I'll go check if they're still alive, you stay here," said Joseph, but Alex tugged at his sleeve stopping him. "What? What's wrong?"

"Their hearts are still beating, they' just unconscious," said Alex.

"Is that what your eyes are telling you?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why they're unconscious?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell from here. Maybe if I move closer..."

"It's fine. Instead, let's take this chance to get to my things. They should be in the warehouse just around the corner."

"What about Gene and Tina? What if they' unconscious too?"

"We'll get to my stuff first, once we get my Esmeralda and my caravan, even if something happened, we can just grab those two and go."

In truth, Gene had told Joseph to take Alex away once he got his hands on Esmeralda and caravan. Mostly likely, Joseph thought, he didn't want to boy to see him kill this Fittoa woman. The original plan, known only between Gene and Joseph was that after helping Joseph get his belongings back, Gene will deal with Fittoa somewhere isolated while Joseph takes Alex away, out of the country if possible. If Gene lives, he'll send a messenger over and call them back, if he does not, Joseph would arrange for Alex to stay elsewhere.

But Yu, thought Joseph to himself, the boy seems pretty worried about you and I don't think I can just drag him with me. And besides, I'm pretty worried about you too. I saw the way you walk, you were leaning more towards the right weren't you? That left knee of yours is acting up again isn't it? I'm sorry, and you can scold and beat the h.e.l.l out of me later if you want, but I can't just leave you be.

"Joseph, is that the place?" Alex pointed towards a warehouse up ahead.

"Yes, that's right, that's the place."

Here too, the guards are all collapsed and unconscious, and so Joseph strode in easily, heading straight for the caravan left in a corner.

"There it is!" Joseph impatiently jumped into the back. "And everything's still here! We're good to go immediately!"

"But where's your horse?" asked Alex, not seeing anything living within this warehouse.

"Worry not, she's right here," said Joseph, holding a big brush in his hand.

"Esmeralda is a brush?"

"No, this is Esmeralda's favorite brush."

"B-but, the horse..."

"Like I said, there's no need for worry."

Above the brush, a seal can be seen, and as Joseph grasped the brush tightly in his hand, the seal began to glow with a brilliant light of magic. Then, from the shadows, a great beast was st.i.tched together, standing tall with her muscles well defined, rippling with every move underneath her l.u.s.trous coat of ebony fur, and upon her head, a pair of horns decorates her like a laurel of death.

"A horse with horns, a uni- No, it's a bicorn!"

"Impressive isn't she?" Joseph boasted proudly as he harnessed Esmeralda to his caravan.

"Is she friendly?" said Alex as he tried to caress the beast.

"I'd stay away from her if I were you, she can be moody and you don't want to be at the end of her horns or hooves when she's like that."

"I-I'll keep that in mind." Alex quickly shrinks away from the beasts, taking note of her red eyes glaring at him with unknown intentions. "Now, we can go find Gene and Tina, right?" he asked after getting far enough away from Esmeralda.

"Yes, yes we shall!" said Joseph, a little afraid of what Gene might do to him after this, but hey, that has never stopped him before.

***

"Last chance, Fittoa, turn yourself in now and your sentencing will be merciful."

"Oh? Even after murdering eleven mystic sight holders and G.o.d knows how many others? Even after tormenting the thief and watched her die in helplessness?"

Gene held on for dear life to his fury, knowing all too well that he was being taunted. "Your abilities can be useful, on that alone, pardons can be made. At the very least, your life will be spared."

"But in exchange, I'll live the rest of my life either in a cell or with shackles, no?"

"That is the price you'll pay for your crimes."

"Then I'm sorry, Gene. I swore an oath you see, to myself, to never again be kept in cages or on chains."

"So you'd rather die?"

"Wouldn't you? And who is to say I am to die today?"

Just as she made her intentions clear, Gene instantaneously closes the distance, his staff ready to be swung with the most deadly force. However, the moment he caught Fittoa within his ranger, she opened her eyes wide and a bright flash of light burst forth from her pupils, blinding Gene and causing him to stagger backwards.

While blinded, Gene swung his staff at the last position he saw her in, hoping to strike her or at least keep her at bay, however, his swing was easily avoided as Fittoa traced the path shown to her by the [Critical Line], ducking beneath the swing and easily circled around to Gene's back, and then, with the dagger in hand, she aimed for his guts from behind.

But suddenly, she saw with one of her eyes a blank whiteness, and immediately she pulled back, just as Gene's staff swung right across where her head would be had she not moved. Many a times now, she had seen that blank whiteness, and by now she knew clearly that it was the oblivion of death.

"Missed did I?" said Gene as he turned around, his eyes still shut. "Even though I made it seem like you could surely kill me. Was it one of the eyes you stole? If I remember correctly, there was a holder of the Eyes of Foresight among you victims."

Fittoa did not reply him. In fact, she wanted to go in for the kill once more while he's talking, yet, whichever approach she chose, the Eyes of Foresight, the mystic sight that allows one to see a little into the future, foretold her death, and even her [Critical Line] saw no path that she could take to him.

Fittoa took a step to the side, and while blinded, Gene s.h.i.+fted his stance accordingly. From that, Fittoa figured that he must be following her by the sound of her footsteps. And so, swiftly, before he has the chance to regain his sight, Fittoa took off her shoes and with her bare feet, went in with nearly no sound. She approached from Gene's left, and as she does, she tossed her shoes to his right. Hearing the sound of her shoes, Gene s.h.i.+fted his stance once more, just as her Eyes of Foresight foretold he would, leaving himself open on his left. Once more, the [Critical Line] appeared for her, revealing the most perfect path towards Gene's vitals. Fittoa brandished her dagger, this time determined to strike Gene down. However, once more, she foresaw the blank whiteness of death, and immediately she pulled back as Gene suddenly s.h.i.+fted his stance followed immediately by the swinging of his staff across the air like a swooping falcon.

Feeling that he had missed again, Gene opens one eye to confirm that he had indeed not gotten a kill.

Fittoa was shocked that he had managed to so accurately swing at her twice in a row, but she hid her surprise and spoke calmly: "Gene," she said, sounding as friendly as she had been while in disguise as Tina, "don't tell me you have a mystic sight too."

"It's called experience, Fittoa, when you only ever take the most perfect course of action you become all too predictable. Did you get lazy with all those abilities you stole? How about you work a little harder?"

"You know Gene, if it's one thing I hate about you, it's that you can be so d.a.m.n condescending sometimes," said Fittoa, not at all pleased, knowing that she was being taunted yet can't help but take the bait. "I ought to put you in your place!"

Once more, Fittoa opens her eyes wide, releasing another flash of light, blinding anyone that stares into them. The flash blinded Gene, but he endured the urge to recoil from the burning sensation. Instead, he merely closed the one eye he opened, and then, opens the one he had left closed.

"A little trick like that isn't going to help!" said Fittoa as she prepares to blind him again.

However, just as she was speaking, Gene flung what appears to be, of all things, an egg right at her face. Looking closely, it was indeed an egg, but its tip seemed to have been broken and then resealed. Reflexively, Fittoa swiped it away, resulting in the breaking of the egg. And from the broken egg, a dusty cloud bursts forth, one made of ash and pepper. With the egg being so close to her face when it was cracked, there was little Fittoa could do to avoid any of it getting into her eyes.

Fittoa shut her eyes reflexively and screamed as she felt the stinging, burning sensation. Tears flowed out of her eyelids as she tried to rub the dust of ash and pepper out of her eyes but she was only making it worse.

"d.a.m.n you Gene! You're the lowest of the low! You're the worst!" she cursed and wailed as the pain overwhelms her.

Meanwhile, Gene breathed easy and sighed in relieve. The pain in his knee was getting to him, and not knowing how many more abilities Fittoa may have in store, he was glad that trick worked. If he was forced to fight an extended battle, he was sure that he wouldn't win.

From behind, the sound of hooves and wheels could be heard, and even without looking, Gene knew who it was.

"Just can't help yourself, can you, Joseph?"

Riding in on his caravan, pulled by the bicorn, Esmeralda, was Joseph, and with him is Alex.

"Hey, you said if anything goes wrong, I get to make the calls right?"

Gene shrugged, though had things been going differently, he might be quite mad.

"Well, for once, you made the right call. Now help me restrain this woman."

Joseph turned towards the screaming woman with her hands on her eyes while Alex had long noticed her, recognizing her easily.

"Is that, Fitta?"

"That's right, it's Fittoa Valencia, the Sight Jacker."

"Why is she here? And..." Alex looked around, "And where's Tina."

"Tina's not here, she was never here. It's been Fittoa the whole time."

"That's... I..." Alex wasn't sure what to feel about that. He had enjoyed his time around Gen and "Tina", but to think that he had been so close to someone so dangerous this whole time, that the "Tina" he had gotten to know was not who he thought she was. A variety of feelings are all cluttered up in his chest. "But if Fitta was Tina, then what happened to the real Tina?"

But Gene did not reply him, apparently not hearing him, or pretending to not hear him, as he was busy tying up Fittoa and placing a blindfold on her with Joseph's help.

"Hands off me, Gene! Hands off!" Fittoa shouted as she struggled fiercely, making Gene and Joseph work for every step they took dragging her to the caravan.

But of course, neither Gene nor Joseph has any intention of letting her go. She had harmed too many, and she must pay for what she had done.

"It's time to pay for your crimes, Fittoa. However, if you come quietly, we can still help you."

"Never! I'm never going back into a cage ever again!"

And at that moment, Alex spots something wrong. With his mystic sight, he could see a surge of powerful magic emerging from Fittoa's eyes, the words floating before his vision warned of the Mystic Sight of Annihilation.

"Something big is coming, get away from her!" said Alex.

"Esmeralda, go!" said Joseph as he and Gene scrambles away from Fittoa.

Then, from Fittoa's eyes, a beam of light came shooting out, easily burning through the blindfold placed on her eyes. Randomly, she sweeps the beam about, leaving a burning trail of destruction wherever she pointed her eyes towards.

Fortunately for Alex, he was unharmed and neither was Esmeralda, who carried the boy as far away from the source of the destruction as possible in that short time. As for Gene and Joseph, they were not so lucky, as they were close enough to Fittoa to be caught up in her destructive sweep.

Laying on one of the trails of destruction, Gene could be seen, his cloak, s.h.i.+rt, and chainmail had all been burned right through, and on his bare skin, a line of burn marks can be seen, but otherwise he was fine. Beneath him lies Joseph, practically unharmed other than for the bruises caused when Gene suddenly tackled him to the ground.

However, Fittoa was not yet done, and in fact, she was quite far from being finished. From beneath her, shadowy limbs began to rise, tearing off the ropes restraining her as they went and eventually enveloping her in their shadowy ma.s.s.

Alex's mystic sight identified it as the [Gift], [Shadow Form]. Unbeknownst to Alex, it was something that Fittoa had taken from a Stranger who thought himself to be invincible with this ability.

The shadows continued to grow with Fittoa within them, and eventually, they formed a gigantic and vaguely humanoid shadow with several shadowy limbs strewn about its form.

Crawling up from the ground, Gene and Joseph stared at the gigantic shadow with dread.

"You see, Joseph, this is why I told you to go on without me."

"You've got it wrong, Yu, this is why I came back for you."

***

End of Chapter 17