She wished that none of this had ever happened. She wished she hadn't gotten her hopes up, because after all, what were the actual chances of getting the knowledge that she desired?
The duo relentlessly attacked the old man for leads and clues, but had only received vague, dry answers.
'Fuck him.' Xena thought bitterly.
After dropping multiple bombs on top of their head, that good-for-nothing shopkeeper Dorian had seemingly lost interest in their situation. He acted as if they weren't even there. The thought of just slitting his throat and being done with it all crossed Xena's mind, but that wouldn't change anything.
With nothing else to do, the two left the shop, but not before generously flipping the old man off and sending him piercing glares.
Dorian shook his head as they departed. "No respect for your elders," he chuckled under his breath, amused by the display.
They inspected some of the other places nearby, but found none that looked like they might be useful. A frown creased Xena's face as she mulled the fact that the best chance of selling the item was lost mere moments ago.
For the first time in her life, she was truly at a loss on what the next plan was.
Walking side by side, the space thinned out the further they moved, the usual chaos fading into something quieter and leaving them to their thoughts.
Sandra exhaled softly beside her. "That was a waste of time."
"Not completely," Xena muttered, though she didn't sound convinced.
A lamp quivered above her head, then resumed its glow.
Her eyes flickered to every alley they passed. Most were filled with crates and rotten pieces of who-knows-what, but every few seconds she could've sworn that she saw something move.
Blaming it on tiredness, Xena rubbed her face and tried to let her doubts go.
But it was hard trying to stay calm when something might be eating her alive, especially when she didn't even know what it was. Some sort of parasite digging into her core? Or it could very well just be an overreaction, and nothing was amiss.
That was far-fetched, however, because when had anything in the Undercity gone her way?
A loud cheer came from a few streets down, disrupting the calm atmosphere.
But it wasn't the type of joyful cheer that you might hear from a person hit by a stroke of luck. It was a petrifying, screeching sound, a manifestation of pure terror.
Sandra slowed. "You hear that?"
Xena had already stopped moving.
Another shout followed shortly after, louder this time and filled with laughter and something strained.
'Hells....that sounds awful.' Xena thought grimly.
Sometimes it was easier to forget where she lived, to forget what happens behind closed doors, to forget who she shared her city with. Perhaps in another reality, she would be living far away in a peaceful land with no troubles.
But she knew that wasn't real, and it was foolish to pretend it was.
As she thought about whatever poor soul was suffering just a few blocks away, a strange, unfamiliar warmth crept through her.
Deciding to stop and be of assistance for once, she changed her path towards the commotion.
A puzzled Sandra followed close behind.
As they got closer, a small group of people came into view. They were gathered at the intersection of 4 roads, no one else in sight. Each person was dressed in tattered rags and covered head to toe in grime and dirt. Their frail bodies shivering against the cold, thin like twigs.
As if a strong gust of wind could blow them all away, they swayed left and right.
It was common to see malnourished people in the streets, but to have them all in a circle smiling so insanely?
Xena hadn't seen such an ominous sight before.
The chaos of her home city would never even allow the level of peace needed for something like it to happen.
'So why is this any different?' She wondered.
Sandra tugged on her friend's sleeve, silently telling her to turn back, but Xena mustn't have felt it, or she didn't care.
Instead, she impulsively stalked forward like a woman possessed, her eyes turning misty.
When Xena was less than 10 meters away, she finally managed to snap out of the hold that had taken over her, though it was too late by then.
Dozens of heads snapped at her instantly, and a small drip of crimson began to trickle down Xena's orifices.
'...What?'
She took a step back instinctively, confused about where she was. Xena gripped her head, then wiped away the blood.
Her wide eyes trailed across the scene of the battered people and glimpsed what was in the middle of their cult-like circle.
GASP.
A pile of blood, flesh and limbs met her gaze. It writhed and contracted, staining the ground a dark crimson.
It was completely like what Mimi had described earlier, except her words didn't tell the half of it, because the scene in front of her was so disturbing, so vile, something that no human should've seen.
Xena's lunch rose to her throat, threatening to spill.
Swallowing nervously, she took a step backward and then one more, but with each step she took, she saw that the morbid individuals shuddered and shook.
Far behind, Sandra got an eerie feeling, goosebumps lining her skin.
Just then, one of the taller ones in the circle lifted their disfigured hand to Xena's pocket despite the space between them, reaching towards the manuscript.
'Huh? How do they know about that?'
Another creeping warmth was crawling up Xena's spine, getting hotter as it went up. She tried to block it out, but by the time she had even noticed it, it was already at her neck. Her back arched from an intense sensation, and her mind was clouded by something she couldn't quite place.
"Hey! What the hell is going on, Xena?" Sandra demanded shakily, witnessing the change in her.
Xena tried to respond, but her body was no longer listening to her commands.
"I know you're scared, but right now you need to act, or you and your friend will perish." A voice said softly.
She wanted to argue back, to say something, anything at all, but she was powerless.
It was the worst feeling she'd ever felt in her life.
"Reach the heart and take the source; the flesh is its power." It continued cryptically.
The statement confused her, but it pulled her thoughts away from her predicament long enough for reason to return.
Xena opened her eyes, uncertain determination shining through.
Seeing the girl in front of them abandon her fear, the monster-like people bared their teeth, spitting phlegm.
Xena looked them straight in the face.
ÆAAAAA!
Infuriated, one suddenly shrieked as loud as a train and charged forward maniacally, its limbs thrashing against the floor.
Sandra watched with horror as the creature leapt toward Xena.
It hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, muscles coiled, claws outstretched.
Just as the monster was about to hit her, she side-stepped and raised her heel up, before slamming down as hard as she could.
CRACK.
A large snap filled her ears, so loud and yet so, so quiet. Blood pooled around the fresh corpse, like a flower blooming into dark red petals.
Behind, Sandra took a step back and covered her mouth at the extremely grotesque picture.
The remaining creatures looked at their fallen comrade and then to Xena, then back again.
Even the wind seemed to pause at her actions.
Growls started to appear across the clearing, low and deadly, and aimed straight at the girl who had just slain one of their own.
'No..'
The body didn't move.
Why wasn't it moving?
'Get up. Now.'
She didn't...She couldn't have...Was it even human? Should she feel guilty? Questions that she didn't want answers to prodded at her brain until it ached.
Xena knew that if her lunch hadn't come up before, it sure as hell was going to now. One of the creatures started to move, knocking her back to reality.
Blinking slowly at it, she reminded herself that there wasn't any time for distraction.
Stones scattered over the ground as more claw-like hands pressed against them. Heads twitched as gazes locked onto Xena, eyes full of savage hunger that could only be found in wild animals.
She stiffened as they circled her, unsure of what to do.
"I'll go bring back some help!" Sandra's voice cut through the tension, and the noise of her footsteps was heard as she sprinted away.
'Is she actually leaving me here alone with these things?' She thought, bewildered.
Rage flared hotter than the fear tangled in her stomach. Her throat rose in anger, but she didn't dare shout, lest those monsters get more agitated.
She had once believed Sandra to be one of her closest allies. Now, she regretted that deeply; there was no time to mull over past mistakes because if she didn't move now, then there wouldn't be a future for her.
A breeze skimmed her neck, and her eyes widened.
She twisted frantically, just in time to avoid a pair of claws that sliced through the air where her face had been. The creature stumbled past, and another immediately took its place.
Every instinct in her told her to run after Sandra, to drag her back and make her face these monsters alone. But there was nowhere to run. One move out of place, and she could very well be diced into pieces.
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest.
She knew that she couldn't win this fight, no matter how strong or fast she was. And so, thinking quickly, she scanned the area for a way out.
Xena noticed an opening in the formation, ignoring the fact it led straight to the bloody pile from before.
'Whatever. I'll go past it. No big deal.'
Suddenly letting out a burst of speed, she bolted towards the opportunity. A few hands attempted to reach towards her, but they all fell short.
In the middle of her dash, her boot abruptly caught on a broken beam jutting from the rubble.
She pitched forward, barely catching herself with her hands before her face struck the ground.
Pain shot through her wrists. She could've sworn she heard something snap.
Behind her came the pounding of frantic footsteps. Xena scrambled to her feet, kicking up dust as she bolted forward.
'...Huh?'
A heap of horrors approached from both sides. On one side there was a pulsating pile of atrocities, and on the other there were bloodthirsty monsters wanting to tear her apart.
Xena's legs pumped forward desperately despite this, losing their usual calm composure. She gritted her teeth furiously and let out a defiant shout as the monsters caught up to her. Their screams of terror racked her head with misery and fear. No, she wanted to shout at them. No, my life is not forfeit! This battle is mine. I am Xena Mirelli, lost daughter and street thief, and I will fight!
She did not want to die today.
She would not die today.
A hand ripped viciously at her leg and pulled out a chunk of flesh. Pain like nothing she had ever felt shot through her, drowning out all the rest. She fell to the ground once more.
Xena's head smacked the concrete with a dull thud. More hands grabbed her and pushed her down on the ground, yet she could faintly feel it. It seemed she had suffered some sort of concussion.
But that would not slow her down, for she was past reason at this point. Some might call her mad, but did not wisdom come from madness?
Fingers dug into her, but she did not know where, and she did not know when; all she knew was the pain that came with it. Cuts littered her body like shards of glass, a strange red liquid seeping out uncontrollably.
'Oh, it's just my blood.'
It embraced her warmly just as the manuscript had done moments before.
She stretched one arm ahead, then a second, and clawed her way to be in front of the pile of limbs. It was much closer than she thought. So close that she could touch it if she wished.
The pain that attacked her mercilessly earlier dimmed, and the foreign touches also mysteriously stopped.
Perhaps there is nothing left of me now, Xena mused, as she had not seen the state of her figure yet.
Deciding that she would rather not witness whatever she had become and whoever had caused the monsters to halt their carnage, she instead focused on what was in front of her.
'It's...beautiful, in a way.' Xena admired.
Fighting for her life and being covered head to toe in blood changed her perspective on things.
Or possibly it was the perspective of whatever was inside her. It wasn't like the warm sensation had subsided yet, so maybe it was even that.
The pile called to her, begging for her to make contact. And she almost did, if only the darkness of sleep had not claimed her first.