Episode 37 Unsealed Time

Kunai glances around the main town of Ludibrium. He stares with a sober expression on his face, gasping only slightly at the amount of damage that had been done to the town.

The block towers stand wrecked and decayed, while many buildings lay smashed and in pieces. Several have been burned to crisps, while others simply blasted apart. A select lucky few remain standing.

A long procession of Alpha Platoon members dressed in black file slowly across the deck of the ship, passing by the open casket where Ivy is lying, rather pale.

Kunai stands at the back with Ryuu, Arai, Private Alvin, and Dr. Paul. “We’ll get a real close, long look after everyone else pays their last respects,” Ryuu mutters to Kunai as he stares at the line of platoon members.

“Then we’ll let you have your last words with Ivy,” Arai mutters softly. He places a reassuring hand on Kunai’s shoulder. “We’ll leave you alone for that.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Private Alvin says to Kunai.

Suddenly the crowd clears, and Kunai slowly leads the way up to the coffin, with Ryuu and Arai tailing him from behind. Kunai steps up to the open casket, drawing a slow breath as he sees Ivy lying there.

“Ivy…” Kunai mutters, staring at her motionless body. “There were so many things I never got the chance to tell you, so many things we never got the chance to do together…”

“The group won’t be same without you,” Arai mutters.

“We’ll miss you,” Ryuu growls in a low voice.

Arai shakes his head sadly, steering himself and Ryuu away, leaving Kunai to himself alone next to the casket. He turns, staring and watching them go join the other Alpha Platoon members.

Kunai then turns his attention back to the still form of Ivy. He blinks slightly, trying to hide tears. Kunai then sighs and reaches forward, grabbing Ivy’s hand and holding it in his for a moment.

Kunai stares down at her hand, his breathing heavy. “There’s still some warmth in it after all…” he mutters. He kisses her hand, choking slightly. “Dammit…if only…”

A tear slides down Kunai’s cheek and lands on Ivy’s wrist. Kunai glances up suddenly in absolute shock as warmth begins to return to Ivy’s hand. It suddenly reaches out and grabs his own.

Kunai shouts in surprise, as Ivy stirs, opening her eyes and staring around awkwardly. “Where…am I?”

Kunai shouts again in joy, tears spilling from his eyes. He reaches forward and grabs Ivy tightly, wrapping his arms around her.

“Kunai! What are you doing?” Ivy cries in alarm.

Ryuu, Arai, Private Alvin, and Dr. Paul suddenly run forward in amazement. They stop in a circle around Kunai and Ivy, staring at them with amazement on their faces.

“Kunai! What the hell…” Ryuu stammers.

“He brought back the dead!” Arai cries, “You deserve a cookie, Kunai!”

“I don’t know what happened…” Kunai mutters, his voice slightly muffled against Ivy. “But somehow, some way…she came back to life.”

“I see now…” Dr. Paul mutters, striding forward and peering closely at Ivy. “The Paradox mutation takes place as a parasitic infection that converts the body to shadow, or basically, a Paradox. Having one’s soul shattered by a Triplicate leaves one vulnerable to this parasitic attack. Should another Paradox attack the body, the parasite will manifest itself within the host body, beginning the parasitic process.”

“What does all that mean?” Kunai asks, puzzled.

“Well, it seems that right after the initial attack, the parasitic infection began taking place at once, converting Ivy’s cells into shadow matter. It seems there was some sort of malfunction with the parasite however, and it brought an imbalance to all her vital systems, thus explaining the nonexistent heartbeat and blood pressure.

“As a result, Ivy was temporarily dead, and for any normal person, should’ve remained dead. However, it seems this girl is made of some really strong stuff, because she somehow overcame the parasitic malfunction and balanced her vital systems once again, literally bringing life flowing through her veins again,” Dr. Paul explains.

“Ivy…I don’t want you to ever scare us all like that again…” Kunai mumbles in Ivy’s ear. She begins blushing immensely as Kunai does not let go.

“Tch, all this lovey-dovey stuff is making me sick,” Ryuu growls. He turns away, walking off the ship and back onto the Ludibrium Station platform. “I’ll be hanging around Ludibrium if you need me.”

Arai shakes his head as Ryuu retreats, smiling to himself. “Well, that’s certainly a load off my chest if Ivy’s okay. Well, I guess all we can do now is celebrate!” He runs after Ryuu.

Kunai smiles and lifts Ivy out of her coffin, hugging her once more. “I was so afraid that you were dead, Ivy…I kept thinking all these horrible things…”

Ivy grins and giggles nervously, looking straight into Kunai’s eyes. “Well, I’m glad you missed me, but I’m back now! I honestly didn’t like being temporarily dead…it was boring.”

Kunai grins, laughing slightly. He stares hard into Ivy’s eyes. ‘Her eyes definitely have more of a yellow tinge than before…it’s true, the Paradox mutation’s already beginning to take place.’

“Ivy, listen…” Kunai says suddenly, “Do you know what happened?”

“No, not really…why?” Ivy asks. “In all this commotion, no one’s told me what’s going on yet…so what’s up with all this funeral stuff?”

“Ivy, you’d temporarily died. You were attacked by the second Triplicate, which means…the Paradox mutation that Ryuu told us about is going to take place. You’re going to become a Paradox…” Kunai replies.

“I see…” Ivy replies sadly. “Then it means I’m going to become a Paradox.”

“Ivy, I promise you that I am going to go look for a way to cure you from this mutation. I do not want to see you become like Ayame. I promise you that you will not become a Paradox!” Kunai continues.

“Kunai…why are you so…anxious to cure me? I mean, I know it’s definitely your good nature…but, you’re acting like your life depends on it,” Ivy replies.

“I…what?” Kunai mutters. “But Ivy…I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long while. I…love you.”

Ivy turns, and begins walking away off the ship after Ryuu and Arai. “I don’t love you, Kunai.”

Kunai stares after Ivy in surprise, shock written on his face. “What…?”

Ryuu, Arai, and Private Alvin sit around a small plastic table drinking from wine glasses as Kunai and Ivy leave the ship and approach them.

Ryuu takes a small sip from his glass, while Arai takes a large gulp and sways slightly drunkenly. Ryuu turns and stands up as he sees the two of them approach. “Heh, about time. We gotta head to the last Triplicate now.”

“So soon…?” Arai asks. He points to a trashcan and pulls Ryuu into a one-armed hug. “But look! Private Alvin hasn’t even finished his drink yet!”

Ryuu pulls Arai’s arm off of himself irritably with a loud sigh. He turns to Kunai suddenly. “And what’re you looking so depressed about?”

“Ah…nothing,” Kunai says hurriedly.

Ryuu turns and slaps Arai on the back of the head as he picks up a twig from the ground and attempts to smoke it as a cigarette. “Come on, we have to get going. The faster we get there, the faster we get our quest done, and the less I have to hurt this guy,” Ryuu says, impatiently poking a finger into Arai’s eye.

Arai grabs his eye with an exaggerated gasp of pain. “Hey! This Red Snail here just poked me!” Arai raises his Dark Ritual and sends a flurry of ice at Ryuu.

Ryuu growls loudly and draws his sword, shattering the bits of ice with its fire. “GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF, YOU IDIOT! YOU COULD’VE INJURED ME!”

Arai holds his hands up to his ears as Ryuu bears down on him. “Hey…I didn’t know Red Snails can talk. Cool! I just discovered a new monster!”

Ryuu leads the way as Kunai follows him from behind, while Ivy follows silently and Arai brings up the rear stumbling around drunkenly.

Kunai quickens his pace, falling into step right beside Ryuu. He glances up at Ryuu for a moment. “Ryuu…I have something to ask you.”

“Yeah,” Ryuu mutters, “I’m listening.”

“Yeah, well…” Kunai stutters, “You see, it’s just that ever since Ivy woke up…she seems to have grown…a lot more distant. Nothing like her old cheerful self.”

Ryuu shakes his head with a low sigh. “Kunai, don’t forget what I told you. The heart of someone who’s been attacked by a Triplicate is pure darkness. She can never love. Sounds like some kinda crappy, corny love story, but this is real life, Kunai.”

“Yeah, but…” Kunai murmurs.

“Kunai,” Ryuu says suddenly, “we’ll find a cure for her. Don’t worry about it.”

“I hope you’re right, Ryuu…” Kunai mutters.

Ryuu sighs again, and glances down at Kunai. “So you really feel strongly about her, huh? At any rate, right now we’ve gotta concentrate on defeating this Triplicate. After that, we’ll take it from there.”

“Right,” Kunai answers. He turns and stares back at Ivy, who gazes back at him with no emotion whatsoever in her eyes. “She’s so quiet…it’s tough to see her like this.”

Arai stumbles up to Kunai and Ryuu suddenly, surprising them both momentarily. He shakes his head, still smiling slightly drunkenly. “Okay, okay…I’m sober again…I think.”

Ryuu growls under his breath. “What do you want?”

“Ryuu, Kunai, about the Ivy thing…the only other person we know who’s completed the Paradox mutation is Ayame. What if we track her down, and force her to tell us everything she knows?” Arai says.

Ryuu stops in his tracks suddenly, his eyes widening. “Track down Ayame?”

Next Time: Episode 38 Kindred Souls

Arai: What if we track down Ayame?

Ryuu: Regardless, we have to fight the Triplicate first and foremost.

Kunai: Next time, a mysterious person shows up!

Episode 38 Kindred Souls coming soon!