Book Three – Chapter Eleven – Part Eleven – Shattering the Collar

“Now, I just don’t get you,” whispered Servi. She shook her head as she walked closer to Carrie's unconscious body. Like the other two had been, her body was positioned like she was crucified on an invisible cross. “You hated me at first. You sang a different tune after I slept with you, then you became all clingy? Not to mention you broke my jaw a few days ago. But out of all of them... I think you’re the one I hate the most. I can’t stand you…” Servi grabbed onto Carrie’s shoulder and gently pushed her away. Like a pendulum, her body swung back and forth.

“When I think about how I had to act…when I had to actually sleep with you… It made me sick to my stomach. Gods, I should’ve allowed you to bleed out when I ripped a hole in your chest...I should have killed you when I left Deset. Even now, I feel like vomiting...”

Servi canceled her Telekinetic hold at the cusp of her swing. Carries body flew through the air, slamming into the ground and sliding for a few meters. While the hit wasn’t that hard, it was enough to wake her.

“Oww… Wait…” Carrie leaned up, rubbing her head and shoulder, both of which radiated pain. It took her a few seconds for her memories to catch up. The giant hole just meters away helped quite a bit in jump starting her mind.

“Oh, now you’re awake? Too bad you couldn’t see what I did to Sakdu and Roger. But don’t worry, you see that soul? Wait, you can’t. Well, it’s not that important. You’re going to die, Carrie. How do you feel about that?” Servi sinisterly chuckled as she emphasized each step she took towards the shaking Singi. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m gonna pluck that tail from your ass and shove it right down your throat. You're going to die with a mouth full of fur. I wonder what color your face will turn when you can't breathe anymore? I've killed a lot, but I don't think I actually suffocated anyone before.”

“Williana, stop this!!!” Carrie scrambled to her feet and ran away towards the forest line only a few hundred meters away. As if sensing danger, her tail wrapped itself around the body it belonged to, which had the unintentional effect of lowering her sense of balance. As if she planned it, Servi cackled every time her prey fell victim to the excessive holes loosely packed with dirt.

Servi laughed, sending thrills as she leisurely jogged after Carrie. Itarr acted quickly and grabbed the bed containing Momo and her precious belongings. With over 3,000 stacks of Telekinesis, it was like the sleeping Singi was softly locked into place. It’d be impossible for even a dupla to slide under the fluffy pillow she laid on. Unlike before, there was no need to send her 15 kilometers in the air. Just keeping Momo above the tree line was enough.

“My name isn't Williana... You know, if you keep this up, I'm going to use your skull to hammer in the nail pinning Sakdu's skull to the wall. I have to go back into the hole to get it, so I hope it isn't burned up.” Servi conjured a single Shadow Shot and launched ahead. The thick, bulging arrow of darkness narrowly missed Carrie’s teary cheeks, but it also stole a little bit of her red hair. The skill demolished the tree 20 meters ahead of her, which acted as the new entrance to the forest.

If there was ever a place to lose her pursuer, that was her best bet. It was dark and nearly devoid of sunlight, which couldn’t penetrate the roof of leaves overhead.

“Nah, maybe I won’t kill you!!!” Servi shouted. She had ceased running and instead skipped after the frightened Singi. The rushing red hair in front of her slowed for a second. Carrie looked back, then doubled her speed.

“Ah, changed my mind!” Servi forcibly extracted every tree Carrie ran by, causing the ground to shake in return. For most of Servi's towering projectiles, she slammed them down, further shaking the ground and making it harder for her prey to run away. She absorbed the others when she came within range.

The sadistic cat-and-mouse game continued until Carrie ran out of the woods and onto a simple road marked with wagon tracks. Carrie's panting got the better of her, making her trip and slide on her face for a second or two. The slamming of trees and the rustling of a thousand leaves meant her frightening pursuer was right behind her. She scrambled to her feet, scratching her palms and exposed legs on the hard rocks. She eyed a signpost about twenty meters ahead. The path then split into two different directions.

There’s a fork in the road! If I hurry, I can lose her. It’s my best chance.

Her arms pumping, her lungs worked in sync with the rest of her body to ensure it wouldn't meet a grisly end by the humanoid monster closing her.

“CAAARRRIIEEEEE!!!” shrieked the monster chasing after her. “Running away will only make it hurt that much worse!!! Come on, allow me the chance to explore your body one more time!!! I’ll show you what your intestines look like!!! You like drinking blood, right? Well, I'd bet you wouldn't mind eating your organs! Hahahaha!!!” Servi acted the part of a deranged killer the best she could, which wasn't that hard since Servi was Servi, but something was off. It was like she was pretending to be the Mad Dog rather than allowing that persona the chance to manifest.

The red catgirl ducked when a growing whistling noise became loud enough, avoiding a thrown tree that tickled her ruby hair with a branch full of leaves. Before it had a chance to obliterate the sign, the tree came to a sudden halt. Every nerve in her body told her to slam on the breaks, causing her to slide on her feet until her head bonked the oak tree’s bark. She bounced back, falling on the ground, but landing with her arms held out.

Carrie’s hands punched the ground as she tried to stand, but a hand that wasn’t hers touched her shoulder. That elicited a scream from the depths of her heart. Scrambling again and not looking back, she crawled underneath the floating tree and took refuge behind the skinny sign.

“Come on, Carrie,” Servi sang. She walked forward, touching the airborne tree with a simple hand. It exploded into fire, singeing the Singi’s eyebrows. Her face became flush with heat so hot it felt like her skin was about to melt. A second later, the pillar of nature was no more than ash, scattering in the pleasant breeze like a natural smokescreen.

To Carrie, the ash tried to obscure the piercing eyes of a monster.

To Servi, it pitifully protected the last target she had to kill.

The trembling Singi whimpered when her second-to-last barrier flew away. Her mouth was dry, and it couldn’t stay closed, and her puffy cheeks became drenched with something other than sweat. For the second time, a wet spot between her legs grew bigger. The smell of ammonia wafted around, becoming the official stench of fear. The hot sun and high humidity only served to intensify everything she felt. A sticky sweat covered her body like a swampy layer of filth.

With nowhere to run, Carrie, the girl with a craving for blood, was caught by the Human she fell in love with. Unfortunately for her, that feeling was so one-sided Servi never realized it. She felt no love or passion for Singi she once slept with.

“Williana, I loved you. You’re the first person I’ve ever felt this way about!” Carrie pleaded. She fell to her knees and touched her head to the rocky gravel. Her begging infuriated Servi, who ordered her to stand up.

“I’m sorry I hit you! I…I was scared when you talked about the worst case scenarios! I already apologized, but I’ll do it again!!”

Wordlessly, Servi took out a nadrium sword and danced it around the signpost preventing the predator from devouring the prey. As suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared from Carrie's blue eyes.

“Wait!!! Servi, remember the good times we had? Remember when I held your cup for you? Please say you remember my touch when we made love! You moaned when I sucked your nipples. You liked that, right?!! I’ll do that for you every night and day!!! I’ll even still pay you!!! I’ll give you my life savings!!! Please, don’t kill me! I’ll do whatever you want! I’ll become your slave!! Please…” Carrie’s mouth moved like a ship catching the wind of a hurricane. Her knees quaked every time Servi’s sword swung in front of her blue eyes.

“If it’s about that girl, I promise I didn’t have anything to do with it! I’ve never met her before in my life! Please, you gotta believe me, Servi!!”

“Your words are only wasted on my ears. I have a problem with the Mafia as a whole. You’re a member. You’re part of the problem,” Servi whispered. She held a hand out, pointing to Carrie's neck. The sign the Singi gripped for protection disappeared, and Servi kicked forward. She intentionally missed on purpose to force her prey to hunch over in pain that wasn't there.

Carrie fell to the ground, then crawled backwards on all fours when she realized there was no damage. Servi walked towards her, placing the sign back down behind her. “Cry all you want, but it’s not going to do a damn thing. What I’m forcing you to feel doesn’t compare at all to what Momo had to go through. It just makes me fucking sick… The only way to ‘repent...’” Servi made air quotes. “Is for you to pay with your life. That’s really about all it is. Now, fuck off, repent, and die, you mangey feline.”

Servi conjured a nadrium sword from her ring and raised it up. The two blue pulsing lines reflected off the cloudless sun. Her mouth twisted into a toothy grin as she slammed it down on Carrie’s head. She tried to scream, but nothing escaped her opened mouth. Her arms up went up to protect her red hair, but bone couldn’t stand up to nadrium.

"WHY!!!!??? WHY ME?!?!?!?! CARRIE, HELP ME!!!!!! MAMA!!!!!!! NO, I'M CARRIE-- VALI-- CARRIE-- VALI-- MAMA!!!!!!!!!!" The red-haired Singi gasped for help, crying out two different names as her body spasmed out of control.

It seemed like everything was going right for Servi. In just a quarter of a second, Carrie's head would split open like a knife going through a grape. The life of one of the remaining Mafia members would end, leaving a war-scarred girl with her reward.

That was the plan. But as Servi knew so well, plans rarely went the way she wanted them to. When her weapon was a tenth of a second away, her ears picked up on a quiet voice.

“Mmm… Servy…” said the voice. It was like Servi’s body froze into place via a force beyond her control. She turned her neck so hard it broke away from her spine and continued to spin like some sort of broken carnival toy. She grabbed her head, slowing it down and allowing True Immortality to reconnect it. All the while, her red eyes stared at the descending bed. A soft hand raised up, holding the black strap of a black bag, then fell back and scratched its owner’s chin.

The blade in Servi’s hand dropped, bonking the Singi, who came closer to death than she knew. Her internal self argued about taking the abandoned weapon and running her opponent through, but she knew that wouldn’t work. Perhaps it would if her opponent belonged to the world of mortals, but Servi had left that lonely place months ago when she died.

Instead, Carrie silently crawled away. When Servi turned her body so it faced the same direction as the sleeping girl, the Singi who held an unrequited love dashed away, slinging piles of pebbles behind her. The Human on a rampage turned away from Momo’s sleeping body and started to dart after Carrie.

Once again, there was a soft murmur coming from the bed. “Servy…” the voice said. Hearing her nickname being spoken for a second time extinguished the rage within Servi. Her face and body relaxed, becoming more natural and resembling the Servi of eight days prior.

“No... I've put Momo off for long enough... It wouldn't be right me to leave now when she's right there... I can't keep making her wait... Should I run across Carrie in my travels, I'll wring that bitch’s neck...” Servi growled. She absorbed her fallen blade and jogged over to the bed, bypassing the little wooden sign detailing which forks in the road led where. The sleeping girl twitched her nose and eyes like she was on the cusp of waking up.

The fist wrapped around the handle of a thin longsword relaxed. Slowly, it was brought to Momo’s eyes. She rubbed the sandman away, sending him packing as two blue orbs spring to life. They blankly stared up at the cloudless skies. The smell of nature floated through her nostrils. The warm sun blessed her sleeveless arms, warming them.

“Wait… Why am I on a bed…and I’m outside?” Momo leaned up, stretching her arms up and out while scratching her head. She swung her body to the left, dangling her legs over the bed. Her empty hand brushed against the immaculate blade of the thin sword resting beside her. Her other hand remembered it held something. Gripping, she felt the worn-down leather of a shoulder-pad. It slid down, allowing her fingers to rub against the flawless material it protected.

“Grampy's stuff...” she whispered. The girl known as Momo wouldn’t be Momo without her signature items. “Wait, if they’re here, then…” her heart almost stopped. Flicking her head up, she stared into the red eyes of her very best friend. “Good morning, Servy… Morn—Servy—SERVY!!!” The gears in her head kicked into overdrive, allowing a flood of harsh memories to infect her innocent mind.

Momo’s eyes leaked the most tears she had ever cried as she leapt from the bed to jump into Servi’s outstretched arms. She closed them around her, using her nearly indestructible body to absorb the impact of the two falling on the ground. The two tumbled twice on the dirt before coming to a halt with Servi on the bottom. Momo leaned back until she practically straddled her best friend’s waist, the corner of her lips quivered in anticipation of an emotional outburst. Her eyes looked so big and glossy, and the waterworks were about to begin anew.

Servi only looked up, meeting her gaze as she raised a single hand. It brushed Momo’s thinned cheeks, feeling the warmth they emitted. Her thumb slowly slid under the Singi’s left eye, wiping away a few tears that had already started to fall.

“May I touch you soon?” Servi sang the last verse of Momo’s song in a quiet whisper. It was just loud enough for the recipient to subtly nod. Servi’s other hand joined in, cleaning the dirty spot under Momo’s right eye. She had both her hands raised up, feeding her avaricious desire to physically connect with her best friend.

The strained cries of a particular girl, who had thought she was going to die, erupted into the world. Her two powerful lungs went above and beyond in giving the emotional Singi a chance to vent. Her twitching face scrunched up, then she bent down, burying her face into Servi’s chest. Her hands went to her stomach as she attempted to make herself as small as possible.

“SERVY!!! SERVYYYYY! SEEERRRVVVYYYYY!!!!”

Servi joined in on the name shouting, but it wasn’t a joke. Her heart finally had the chance to rest and relax after a stressful week of uncertainty. It relished the prospect of having a few moments of utter peace, and it was more than happy to pump oxygen-rich blood to fuel her cries.

The Singi pushed her head deeper into Servi’s chest, staining both her shirt and head with greasy pink hair. Days of being unkempt had soiled it, leaving it battered and abused with a horrid stench. Servi’s hands had repositioned around Momo's face to her slender back, tightening their embrace. Her body as a whole was narrower, and it made her realize just how much strain her best friend went through. Evidentially whatever food she was being fed did a terrible job maintaining her toned yet slim physique.

Servi felt her body rumble slightly whenever Momo took a deep breath to fuel her howling. Her shirt became wet with tears and snot, but that wasn’t a problem. Servi only returned the words, shouting Momo’s name to the skies while enjoying the weight of her body.

The two best friends cried each other’s names with a passion they hadn’t felt before. With the sun and sky as the perverted witnesses, a cloud soon swam through the sea of blue. It gave the pair the privacy they needed until their primal emotions ran dry.

And after that? Before they could go back to Canary, the two needed to have an urgent conversation.

But that could come later. Their reunion was the most important thing, after all.