Again Archives (no posting)

[Rooster Cult]

Re: .:.Again.:.

Postby Master of Nightmares » Thu May 07, 2015 5:29 pm
It was that dream again. The dream that haunted him ever since he had seen his best friend's mind corrode. But even so, he couldn't wake himself up.
Rokko was young again, maybe only ten years old. He sat at a cafeteria table near Dylan, enclosed behind the protective Safety Glass that surrounded their small elementary school.
"Hey Rokko." His voice still had the boyish tone of it. Rokko cast a sidelong glance at Dylan. He looked like he was supposed to, slightly tanned skin, golden hair short and dark blue eyes. No scars, no feathers, no fangs. "We should stay like this."
"Hmm?" Rokko was munching on some sort of chemical protein thing that bordered on edible and toxic, it tasted suspiciously like toothpaste.
"We should stay together." Dylan leaned dangerously back in his seat, his mouth breaking out into that mischievous smile. "Never leave each other you know? I've heard of too many people being separated and I don't want that to happen to us. So let's make a promise, whatever happens we will stay together. If one of us moves to another town then the other will move too. If one of us joins the Hunters, the other will too. If one of us dies the other will too. That way we will never be alone. We'll stay best friends forever."
Rokko didn't even hesitate to think of what that proposition meant. "Yeah." He nodded. "Let's do it." He found himself staring across the rows of table and people at the dimmed safety glass. He expected an answer, but nothing. Rokko frowned and turned around. But Dylan had been replaced by a monster. Half covered in black feathers with red eyes and its lips pulled back in a deadly snarl.
"All you are are broken promises." It growled.
Rokko jolted awake, his voice coming out in a choked scream of horror. He found himself not in the school of his nightmares, but in the boy’s dorm. The darkness held a veil over the rows of cots and sleeping kids, so that Rokko couldn’t see the shoe until it smacked him on the side of his head. Slowly he lowered his face into his hands and tried to slow his breathing. The worst part, was that it was real. Every single detail of the nightmare was real. He was shaking, his whole body trembling with the panic of the nightmare he lived.
All he was, was broken promises.
It was true. He promised to stay with Dylan, but now Dylan was dead. He promised to protect Dylan. But a good lot that did him. And then he promised to protect Ahzzya then turned around and promised to kill him. Everything he swore was an unintentional lie. Rokko found himself falling back on his cot and staring at the ceiling. He tried to think of something else, but his mind kept being pulled back into his latest promise.
"When this over, I swear I will kill you."
Why the heck had he said that? Just a few days ago he had become a Christian. Murder was a sin. Hate as the same as murder. And he was supposed to love his enemies. He had sworn to kill someone who had been simply pleading for his life. Now not only Zver venom was eating away at Rokko's mind, but also his stupid conscience.
Rokko decided he would apologize. He let out a sigh and whispered a silent prayer to God for the ability to forgive. But even so something still gnawed at him, tearing him apart. Rokko entertained the thought of shaking Ahzzya awake and apologizing right now. He looked across the large room that made up the boys dorm. His dark adjusted eyes could barely make out the black hair that might’ve been Ahzzya, not like black hair wasn’t fairly common or anything. Rokko let out a silent sigh again. That plan would probably get him stabbed. Nonetheless Rokko found himself promising to find a way to make things right.
“All you are are broken promises.”
Rokko pressed his hands against his head and curled up, trying to block out all the pain and regrets with a sheer force of will. It almost worked. But he wasn’t as strong as he had once been.
“I know what you’re planning.” Rokko whispered so quietly he could barely hear. “I won’t kill anyone and you won’t win.”
Rokko could hear a throaty laugh. “Silly boy. I always win.”

[Rooster Cult]

Ahzzya never thought he would be so terrified of death. He thought that living in this kind of world he wouldn’t really care. He liked to think of himself as a hardened soldier. But every single time Rokko approached him, some sort of terror would fill Ahzzya that he had never really experienced before. Ahzzya was trying to be strong, he was able to push away and sort of trauma that he had experienced, closing himself off until he couldn’t feel anymore. But with everything that had happened, Ahzzya could feel everything that he had lived through crashing down on him. He was terrified. That was the only way to explain how he felt. He was simply terrified, of life, of Zvers, of Rokko, of every bump in the night, of every shadow and every time he felt something brushing against him.
Ahzzya also had a sneaking feeling that whatever Rokko wanted to finish before he fulfilled his death wish was over. Because he kept seeing Rokko approaching him. Ahzzya found himself surrounding himself with people, where there would be more witnesses. His terror over shadowing his introverted nature.
Ahzzya stood in the training room, hanging around a large team talking over strategies and bragging over how many Zvers they had killed, a prospect that now sickened Ahzzya. His eyes skittered frantically, over the sea of teenagers and young adults, watching, waiting. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, and without thinking about it, he had spun around and was pointing a small blade at the person who touched him.
“Geez lighten up a little.” The person said. It was Korom, her hands were up in a mocking gesture of surrender. “I used to think that you were a tough nut to crack, now look at you, treating everyone like an enemy.”
Ahzzya let out a shaking sigh and put his knife away. “Yeah, sorry.” He muttered. “Just don’t sneak up behind me.” Only half of his attention was directed to Korom, the other half was focused on everything around him. He would never be caught off guard again.
“Ahzzya, you’ve changed.” He could hear Korom’s voice taking on the rare note of sympathy. “What happened back there, with the whole Zver incident?”
“I already told you.” Ahzzya muttered. He had, at least he told her all his suspicions, tried to get her to see the way the pieces connected, but she had just shook her head. Not understanding, never getting it.
“No, it’s got to be more than just a stupid theory. Rokko was always full of those, but they weren’t the things that turned him paranoid.” Korom told him. “Come on, we’re best friends, we are a team. Tell me what’s been going on. No one can handle everything on their own, it’ll make you go insane.” Korom looked at him in the eyes. “No, you already have.” She said in her blunt and honest way.
“I know.” Ahzzya told her. He wanted to be more open to her. But he didn’t really want to drag her into anything. “You just wouldn’t understand. If you won't even admit that my theories have merit to them, you won’t understand.”
“Then make me understand! Stop trying to handle this all on your own. You aren’t made of freaking steal.”
“Can you stop saying that-” Ahzzya’s voice cut off, He saw Rokko. Terror once again filled him. Ahzzya cursed and started to scramble away. “Sorry Korom, I need to get out of here.”
“Wait Ahzzya. What the heck is going on with you?” Korom grabbed his hand. Ahzzya’s terror only increased.
“LET GO!” He shouted, tearing her hand off and scrambling backwards. He knew he was acting crazy, but he couldn’t help it. His heart thudded in his chest as he broke out in a full run. He got to the elevator and started to mash the up button as quickly as he could. As soon as the Safety Glass cleared he got inside as quickly as he could. He saw Korom get in after him, he could vaguely hear her asking him what the heck was going on, but all he could do was smash at the button for the first floor. The glass soon dimmed and the elevator started to jolt upwards. He was safe. Ahzzya’s knees buckled and he let himself collapse to the ground as he let out shaky breaths.
“What the heck was that?” Korom asked. “What is going on with you? I don’t care if I won’t freaking understand, just tell me!”
“He promised… Rokko swore he would kill me.” Ahzzya muttered. “I was the reason Dylan died. Even though you don’t believe the monster was Dylan. Rokko want’s me dead now.”
“What?!” Korom stared at him, trying to process that. “You should report that. That is attempted murder, he could be sent to jail for that.”
“No would believe me.” Ahzzya said and let out a dry laugh. “They’d just call me crazy.”
“No, they would call Rokko crazy, they would call you traumatized.” That was her answer. He could hear the chime of the elevator door, but he didn’t want to get off. Either way Ahzzya let Korom help him to his feet and followed her out. They were on the first floor, the break room. It was empty and all the lights were turned out, casting dark shadows upon darker shadows. Ahzzya felt a familiar sense of paranoia and turned on the lights as quickly as he could. There was a silence, a tension, before Korom’s voice shattered through.
“So what now?” She asked.
“I don’t know, he usually doesn’t follow me.” Ahzzya answered quietly, not in a whisper, but almost as if he didn’t have the strength to speak up. But just as he answered, the door to the stairs opened. Rokko stood in the doorframe, his breath was coming out hard as if he had ran the whole way up. In an instant Ahzzya had a knife out, he clutched it until his hand hurt and took a step back.
“Wait. I’m not trying to kill you.” Rokko held up a hand in a stop gesture. Ahzzya notice he looked even worse than usual, his face was pale, his eyes dark and sunken in, and there were now bandages wrapped around his neck. “I’m not going to kill you.”
“But…” Ahzzya didn’t exactly understand why he was protesting, maybe it was because he didn’t trust Rokko. “You swore didn’t you, why the heck would you suddenly change your mind?”
“It was wrong. I said it in the heat of the moment and I’m sorry. I am a complete idiot.” Rokko rubbed his hand over his face in an exasperated gesture.
So that was it. No one was going to kill him, he wasn’t being hunted. It was too simple. Ahzzya didn’t let down his guard. “So you aren’t going to kill me?”
“No.”
“Promise.”
A dry laugh came in response to this. “My promises are useless.” Rokko answered.
Another silence. Ahzzya for some reason couldn’t relax, he felt like he was out of the frying pan and into the fire. “I’m not safe yet am I?” He asked.
“No one is.”
“Rokko, I’ve had a question I have been wanting to ask you since the whole Dylan incident.” Ahzzya’s voice was cold and emotionless.
“Yes?”
“Zvers are humans aren’t they? Or at least they were, and the black fog and the Zver venom turns human into Zvers. And since you were bit, you are turning into one.”
Rokko started to laugh. His smile was unsettling. “You are really perceptive you know that. No one ever really figures that one out unless they are told. You are completely right Ahzzya. And how about you Korom, I don’t believe Ahzzya would’ve kept this bombshell a secret to you. What do you believe?”
“I-I don’t know.” She stuttered. Ahzzya’s gaze flickered to her, her dark skin had turned a waxen gray. “I don’t know what to believe.”
Rokko bent down and started to take the bandages off his leg. “Well you’ve already been dragged into this. So if you don’t know what to believe, believe this.” The unraveled the bandage. Underneath it were black feathers, parted only by a horrible scar where teeth had torn through his flesh. Korom’s next breath came in a whimper, her hand clamped over her mouth to prevent a scream. Ahzzya could tell she was trembling.
“I’m sorry to do this. But I need you two.” Rokko looked down. “I know you two are probably already shaken up. But HE was right when HE said that you were special Ahzzya. There is something you guys need to know.” Rokko came towards them and pressed the down button on the elevator. “I really wish I could keep everyone out of this. But that’s impossible now.”

[Rooster Cult]

The three of them stood in complete silence as the elevator slid down. A few moments ago Rokko called Edward and told him that it was time, and to meet in the usual place. Now the tension was so thick that Ahzzya could feel it, or was it just him that was tense?
“What are you going to tell us?” Korom asked, she was still pale, but somehow seemed more warmed up to the idea that Rokko was a monster.
“The truth.” That was the only answer that came, so blunt and solemn that no one spoke after that. When it came down to it, Ahzzya wanted to believe the lie. If there was more to the truth, enough to make Rokko snap, Ahzzya didn’t want to know it. But Rokko was bringing Ahzzya down with him, there was no escape from that.
The elevator dinged. It was floor one, the sick bay. When the glass cleared, Ahzzya could see Edward sitting on one of the cots, staring at the elevator, other than him, the room was empty.
“So you’ve decided to tell them? And why the girl too?” Edward asked as if Ahzzya and Korom weren’t there.
“Ahzzya found out on his own. I haven’t revealed anything special yet. And as for Korom, She needs to know how dangerous this is. She might spread rumors.”
“I’m not deaf you know?” Korom muttered. But Ahzzya could tell she was shaking. He was shaking to, his hands clenched in his pockets to keep it from showing.
In answer Edward gestured with his chin to the cot across from him. “You two should sit down.”
As they sat, Rokko sat next to Edward, his eyes down cast and his fingers fiddling with his string, as if he was trying his best to stay calm, or keep control of himself.
“What do you two know?” Edward asked.
“Oh nothing, just that Zvers are essentially zombies and that you can turn into one.” Korom said in her usual sarcastic tone.
“You don’t know how it works though, do you?” He didn’t give them a chance to answer. “The Zver poison is a virus, which literally changes your DNA structure. But just that won’t turn people into monsters. They would still have their humanity; that is until the virus reaches the brain. When that happens, the virus replaces neurons, sends out fake signals, gives out commands that are as impossible to control as muscle spasms, and creates auditory hallucinations that take the form of a commanding voice. But the thing is, that in every case we have heard, the voice has the same personality, way of speaking, tone, and it all calls itself by one name.” at that part Edward paused. “The Beast Master. That is the HIM that Rokko often talks about. We believe that The Beast Master is an actual person, and that he sent out the black smoke in the first place.”
Silence… That was the only thing that came beyond that point. Ahzzya could hardly breathe. Finally he managed a weak stutter.
“I-I don’t get it.” He said. “How is th-that possible? And why did Rokko pass out when he was trying to tell me that before? Why isn’t he explaining anything?”
“The Beast Master doesn’t want you to know. Whenever I tried to warn you, he would make me pass out. I don’t know why he doesn’t want you to know so much. I do know that he wants me to kill you. Every five second he’s sending out the same stupid command. ‘Kill Ahzzya, kill Ahzzya.’” At that Rokko made his voice sound deeper, almost with a tone of amusement in it. Rokko put his hands over his ears and his head went down. “It must have something to do with you figuring it all out so quick. I don’t know. I don’t-”
“Rokko! Calm down!” Edward snapped. “Ahzzya. I know this is hard for you to understand. And you too Korom. But you are our only hope.”
“What does that mean?”
“You need to kill The Beast Master.”
“WHAT?!” The shout came from both Korom and Ahzzya as the bolted to a standing position.
“Are you crazy? He’s just a kid, how the heck do you expect him to kill the person who is single handedly destroying the human race?”
“Yeah, I’m just a kid. I can’t do crap like that. I’m not even that skilled. I’ll get myself killed, or worse.”
“You two don’t understand!” Edward shouted back. “The Beast Master wants you dead. That means that you are dangerous to him. Can you imagine how many other people will die or turn into Zvers in the next ten years while we wait for you to grow up? We could all be extinct by then. At least now we have a chance. Maybe we can even save the Zvers, turn them back to human. Stop being selfish brats and think about humanity!”
“B-but,” Ahzzya stuttered. Edward had a point. But he couldn’t kill The Beast Master. He just couldn’t. “How can I even kill him?”
“Just one shot.” Rokko explained weakly. “When a person is infected, they have a time called the medium. It’s when they know the most and have enough control to tell someone out loud. During Dylan’s medium, he said ‘I’ve figured it out. Just one shot. It will kill him. No one could survive that.’ He wasn’t able to expand, that was how long his medium lasted.”
“So all I have to do is shoot him in the head or something?” Ahzzya asked.
“That’s the thing.” Rokko muttered. “The Beast Master isn’t human.”
“You’re kidding me?” This time it was Korom who answered him.
“No, just think about it. He is called The Beast Master, he can mutate creatures into almost invincible killing machines. If he was once human, why the heck would he stay that way?” Rokko asked. “All logic points towards him being an invincible god like being with a billion guards. Uh, sorry, not very encouraging.”
“So he must have a weak point right? I mean, that’s the only explanation?” Ahzzya asked. “But I’ve never handled a gun.”
“Then I’ll just have to teach you how to shoot.” Rokko said. Once again an uncomfortable silence went over them.
“Whatever happens, I’m going with Ahzzya.” Korom muttered. “I have pretty good aim. I could help. And I’m not planning to throw him out to the wolves alone. We’re a team. And I’m not abandoning him.”
“I was hoping you would say that, we’ll need the most help as we can get.” Rokko said and then smiled. “And yes, I said we. I made a promise to protect Ahzzya, and that one promise I will keep. Plus, I have a bone to pick with The Beast Master. We’re a team right?”
Korom smiled back and Ahzzya let out a little chuckle. “Yeah the three of us are a team.” Ahzzya looked up at Edward. “Alright, I’ll do it, as soon as I learn how to shoot, I will kill The Beast Master.”

[Rooster Cult]

So that was it. They were really going to kill him. Rokko had expected a more negative reaction to their discussion, but instead he could only hear laughter.
“Good job, Boy, lead them right to me. It will only make my job easier.”
Rokko felt himself sinking further into depression with everything The Beast Master said. Ahzzya and Korom seemed a little more upbeat than they had even been. But Rokko couldn’t feel even the slightest bit happier knowing that The Beast Master would probably kill his friends, and Rokko was helping him. But what could he do? This was their only hope. If they didn’t at least try, all of humanity would die. He let out a defeated sigh and got to his feet. How would even teach them to shoot? Rokko couldn’t even hold a gun without having an urge to kill everyone. As he started towards the elevator, he felt someone grab his jacket sleeve. He looked behind him to see Edward holding onto his sleeve.
“I want to talk to you in private.” He said.
Rokko just nodded. “Hey Rokko, you coming?” he heard Ahzzya called.
“Nah, you guys go on ahead.”
As soon as they were gone, Rokko turned to Edward. “What do you want?” He asked in a tired voice. He saw Edward scrape his fingers through his buzz cut hair.
“Look, I don’t want you take this the wrong way. But I have a pill that might be able to help with the Zver poison.” Edward said.
“What?” Rokko felt like the floor dropped out beneath him. In an instant it was like everything had disappeared, crumbled around him.
“It’s very experimental but it-” Edward was cut off by a harsh slap. Rokko didn’t even notice he had struck out, but he felt a rage in him which he had never felt before. His heart pounded and his whole body was shaking. For once, the intent to kill came from him.
“Dylan descended into madness and you had the cure this whole time?” Rokko hissed. “What is wrong with you, with all of you? In the basement there are at least a dozen people who have been infected, and you have never used the cure?”
“This isn’t a cure!” Edward snapped. “In a way, it only worsens the effects of the poison. It’s a drug, it deadens the fake signals that are sent out and allows person to think clearly. But it only lasts for a short time, and most all of the pills were used in experiments.”
“So.” Rokko probed, his hand was still raised, he was still trembling. To him, even if it was just temporary relief, it should’ve been used on Dylan. Dylan should’ve been saved. “What do you mean about that whole worsening the effects crap?”
“Rokko, at your current state. You would probably never actually succumb to the poison. True, you would still live in agony. Also you would eventually look completely Zver. But you would probably be able to go without attacking anyone. You are very strong willed, and the amount of poison in your system is probably very low. But if you take this, your mind will, without a doubt, succumb.”
This time Rokko’s knees buckled and he let himself fall to the ground. “You mean. I would never become a Zver. I could stay sane. How? How does this medicine make me weaker? How?”
Edward leaned closer. “Rokko, as you’ve probably already found out, the time it takes for someone to feel the full effects of the poison is different. It’s like a pound being added to weights at varying times. For Dylan it would be like a pound being added to a weight every hour, eventually he would buckle and give up. For you it’s like a weight being added every week. No matter how heavy it gets, as long as you keep exercising, you would get strong enough to handle it. Taking this pill would be like taking a year vacation to go and lay on the couch, while the weight keeps getting heavier and heavier with each passing week. When you come back to it, you won’t even be able to lift the weight of the ground.” Edward took a deep breath. “If you take this pill, when it wears off, you will immediately succumb. But if you don’t, then you will be able to keep a small amount of your mind.” He pulled out a small white pill, which almost seemed hysterically anti climatic. “It’s your choice. I won’t force you to do anything.”
In an instant Rokko’s hand grabbed the pill and he put it into his mouth, swallowing it without any water. He smiled at the astonished look in edward’s eyes. “If I don’t take it, I won’t be able to teach the others how to shoot, I won’t be able to help them. I won’t be able to do anything. At least this way I can speak to them without passing out.”
“But, if you took the pill later, you might’ve had more time.”
“I would’ve wimped out.” Rokko explained. “I know me.”
“What if it wears off before the fight?” Edward asked.
“Then, I’ll have Ahzzya kill me.”

The End

[Rooster Cult]

decided to put a collection of artwork made for Again. I will put proper credit where it is due if it was fanart.
If no credit is put, that means I drew it.


drawn by my friend over tumblr, her username is Hikaritheartiststuff


















drawn by Padlock Heart


Drawn by lessonlesson
And here we have our "Mature content." in other words they depict images of blood, and self harm. Proceed with caution

Depicts a bloody Dylan. Pretty tame

gore, depictions of self harm. Still not crazy bad