The members of Rini Chem were walking towards a secluded place in the outskirts of Midohira. Jill was scheduled to arrive on that day, far away from the busier areas of the town to keep the meeting discreet. Rintaro and Rakuten had strived hard for two years to set up a facility which would recruit members on Daikidageda to prepare themselves for the storm of damnation headed their way. Kaaron, Sketa, Kyota, Momoku and Fusan were their subordinates, lending a helping hand in finding like minded people who would be devoted enough to join Rini Chem to fight the bad elements of Earth.
“Feeling nervous?” Rintaro asked Kaaron, as they were walking uphill.
“I don’t know, Rintaro. For the last two years, we have given up on our comfortable lives in pursuit of a mission which we could never really see with our eyes.” Kaaron responded, sounding restless. I have tried painting a picture in my head, over and over again, of how humans would transform into animals. Moreover, I am scared to meet an alien.”
Rintaro gave out a low laugh, at Kaaron’s plight.
“Here we are!” he said, as they reached the top of the hill. “This is where me and Raki saw a transformation for the first time, quite frightening. That day that changed our lives.” he added, looking towards Rakuten. She looked around, as memories of Jill’s transformation filled her mind.
There were jutting out pieces of rock that acted as natural steps to climb towards what looked like an abandoned town-hall from old times. The hill tops were thronged with dense green bushes that bore yellow flowers, with a few taller trees grown in the vicinity. As the forest got thicker towards the back end of the region, the trees had grown taller, making it difficult to look beyond.
“Look at that!” Fusan exclaimed pointing towards a tall immobile structure at a distance.
“That is a…” Rintaro screamed as he came running towards her, others following him trying to catch their breaths. “Spacecar - it has come fro-from Earth! Jill must be around!”
A nervously excited Kaaron took a few steps towards the forest, overwhelmed looking at the spacecraft that had landed in Midohira. Rintaro and Kaaron started walking towards the forest, signaling others to follow. There was a sense of urgency apparent amongst the group, which made them pace up their walk. Suddenly, Kaaron stopped as he heard a muffled conversation at a distance.
“Looks like they are here.” Rintaro said calmly, as he walked past a bush, cautiously, and greeted Jill. Mujika and Jinx had accompanied her out of the spacecraft as they stepped out from behind the bush, one at a time. For a few silent moments, the aliens stared at each other, wondering about how noticeably taller or shorter their counterparts were.
An impatient Mujika snapped in her usual sharp tone, “I hate these silences… eh! I am Mujika, deputy chief of Squad L.A, Earth.”
“Try to be polite, Mujika!” Jinx complained, as he looked awkwardly at Kaaron. “I am Jinx, we have arrived from Earth. It is my pleasure to finally meet you all. I appreciate the help and assistance you are offering.”
The awkwardness did not fade, owing to a monotonous and emotionless speech offered by Jinx. Being most experienced in communicating with humans on Daikidageda, Jill stepped forward, “I am Jizen, I am your friend” Jill said as she bowed down, looking at Rintaro and Rakuten. “You look different, Raki!”
Surprised that an alien addressed Rakuten as Raki, Fusan turned towards her. “Raki?” she whispered.
“Only my friends cal-” The familiar surge of pain shot in Rakuten’s forehead. The surroundings started turning hazy as she focused on her breathing pattern, trying to regain her control. She could hear a slew of chaotic voices in her head. She tried looking towards Rintaro and Mujika, who were standing at a fairly long distance from her and to her surprise, she could hear every word spoken by them, nearly impossible for an average human to hear with clarity.
“We meet again, Rintaro.” Mujika murmured. Rintaro gave a light nod in acknowledgement.
“How could I hear Rin!” Rakuten wondered. She focused further and heard Jinx greet Rintaro by his name.
“They feel the Gravittee?” she wondered. “What is Gravittee?” The chaotic voices in her head had turned into screams. “Jill is here, along with two other bad elements from Earth; should I give up on her? Should I trust my instinct and believe what Haizaki told me?” she thought to herself.
Rakuten spotted Jill walking towards her, “We meet again, dear! I am excited to catch up with you, Raki! Did you fly ye-”
“Only my friends call me Raki!” she screamed as she curled her fingers in a fist and tried to stand tall against Jill.
Jill was taken aback. She took a few moments to compose herself and asked rather politely, “What is it, Raki-Rakuten? I remember that you always wanted to fly and I was excited to see you transfo-”
“YOU ARE AN IMPOSTER, JILL!” Rakuten yelled as she crouched slightly, arching her back, grabbing everyone's attention towards them. “I thought I could trust my friend! But, I was wrong.” she continued in a loud voice. “However, this time-” she paused, as she donned a devilish look on her face, “You are wrong in trusting me, Jill.”
“GET HER, SHE IS A DESTROYER OF HUMANITY, SHE IS AN INSTIGATOR OF CHAOS!” Rakuten yelled at the top of her voice, frightening her friends at her sudden outburst.
Horrified, Jill lost the color on her face. She looked towards Mujika and Jinx who had similar confused looks on their faces. Horrified, Jill screamed, “Run! Haizaki is here!”
The leaves of the dense forest started to rustle as a strong chilly wind picked up. They heard a loud screech coming from a distance sending shivers of fear down their spines. Jill fell down on her knees, as she began crying. Amidst the panic and chaos, they heard the screech for a second time, a lot closer this time around, as sand started swirling around in the air.
The screeches appeared to be getting closer by every passing second. In the next few moments, a huge human-like figure zoomed past their eyes, grabbing Jill with its large claws.
Mujika crouched and flicked her dread to bring it upfront. She attempted to shoot a series of quills towards the flying figure, but missed by a margin. Suddenly, she heard a screech behind her; it was too late for her to transform. The human-like figure dashed past them for a second time grabbing Mujika on its way. Another smaller figure followed it this time as it captivated a partially transformed Jinx. Silence followed thereafter.
Unable to comprehend the series of events, Rintaro and Kaaron looked at one another, with an expression of shock in their eyes.
“I knew you would do it, Raki.” Haizaki appeared from the opposite end, partially returning to his regular form.
“RAKI!” Rintaro yelled from a distance. “Did yo-you betra-” he froze.
“Haizaki?” Fusan exclaimed.
Haizaki walked towards Rakuten, completely returning to his normal form. “You were so naive in trusting me, Raki.” he said as an evil smile grew on his face.
“You lied to me about using Idiosyncrasy.” she gasped for breath. “You lied to me about your dream of a perfect society.”
“I never lied about my dream of a perfect society, Raki!” he winked. “The only difference being that my perfect society is driven by power and dominance. I can finally lay my hands on Daikidageda and be the strongest.” he said as his body started shivering vigorously, about to transform for a second time.
Rakuten felt the surge of pain in her forehead again, as tears rolled down her cheeks. She had helped orchestrate a ceremonious demise of Daikidageda. Losing credibility in herself, owing to her adamantly unplanned and instinctive decision making, she glanced towards Rintaro and could see disgust in his eyes.
“I lost you. I am sorry, Rin.” she murmured, depression taking over her reflexes. To everyone’s surprise, she started running away from the forest, towards the end of the cliff. She let her hair open and took off her scarf, as it drifted away in the wind.
“Have I betrayed them all?” Rakuten wondered. She had played a major role in influencing her friends to give up their comfortable lives and contribute towards a nearly impossible mission to save Daikidageda. Despite knowing the fact that animals would be hurt in the process, Rakuten had chosen to make a conscious sacrifice of hurting one today, to save thousands tomorrow. However, her recent instinctive behavior to cut corners for the greed to achieve the perfect society, had sabotaged all of their efforts and future plans. Every thought in her mind seemed to be amplified and the surging pain and breathlessness began to peak.
“Do I deserve to live?” she yelled.
“RAKI, NO!” yelled Rintaro, as he started running after her. Haizaki intercepted Rintaro on his way and he crashed on the ground, screaming and pleading Rakuten to halt.
Rakuten jumped over the edge of he cliff. The unharmonious symphony of voices in her head got louder with each passing moment, as she could feel herself move away from the edge. As her weight began pulling her down, Rakuten took a quick look around Midohira for the last time. The mountains reminded her of the evenings she spent with Rintaro as a teardrop rounded up in the corner of her eye. She looked down and saw a calm gusty river. She could see a seagull prey on a fish, far away from her, impossible for an average human to see.
“Poor fish! I wish it were strong enough to defend itself.” she thought.
“It can!” she heard just one voice in her head this time. “Idiosyncrasy.” the voice added.
Rakuten let out a low sarcastic laugh, “Idiosyncrasy is a lie!”
“Who says so?” the voice asked.
“My friend, Haizaki.” Rakuten whispered.
“Haizaki is a stranger who harmed Jill. Is he really a friend, Raki? He is the true instigator of chaos.” the voice said, rather sternly this time. “Moreover, don’t you want to be free?” the voice asked.
There was an extended silence. Rakuten felt the wind against her face as she was falling down. Awaiting her apprehensive death, Rakuten shut her eyes. She could feel a sudden discomfort in the back of her shoulders as if her skin was being peeled off. The surging pain in her forehead had vanished completely along with the chaotic voices. She could no longer feel the wind against her face. Bewildered by the series of events, Rakuten opened her eyes, gradually.
“How have I not crashed on the ground, yet?” she wondered.
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