Possession: Day 10

Noodle.

Noodle.

...Ah...what is...

Noodle...

...Yes?

Awaken.

Noodle opened her eyes. It was still night. She could see the bar across the street, its lights flashing in her face and around her bench. The music was loud, so loud Noodle could make out every word heard on the song. She sat up and looked around. 2D was on the ground, seeming to be asleep. Noodle smiled, silently watching her beloved band member dream peacefully.

Then, she saw the blood running down his head. It was a deep shade of red, darker than blood, and it raced down his forehead and into the palm of his hand. Noodle gasped and jumped down to his side.

"D-san! D-san, please wake up! 2D!"

Noodle hollered and screamed as much as she could, but no response came from the bleeding vocalist. The night club music pounded in her ears, deafened her to an insane extent. She couldn't hear her own thoughts, the very sound of her heartbeat, the pulsing anger pumping through her blood. Noodle seized 2D in her arms and squeezed him, attempting to awaken him but futile in action. Behind her, the axe bound to the Axe Princess glowed and rose from the bench, and, without making a sound, flew past Noodle's head, cutting her cheek ever so deeply. Noodle fell back in shock, clutching her face in pain. The blood gushed from her wound, like 2D's head was beginning to do.

The axe had landed on 2D's wrist, going straight through him and pinning him to the ground. 2D was brought back to consciousness from the pain and howled, the axe almost amputating his hand. He scrambled and panicked, pulling as hard as he could on the axe. When it finally came out, he pressed his wrist against his already blood-filled fingers. The axe began to fly away.

Noodle immediatly took after it. It wasn't very fast; rather slow, actually. She easily caught it and slammed it to the ground. The middle where she has broken it in half before was now in pieces again, this time unable to reattach. The blade threw itself onto Noodle, hopping across her stomach and stabbing her ribs. Noodle cringed in agony and attacked it, her teeth piercing its wooden exterior. It seemed to screech in pain, its cry illuminating the night and louder than the night club music was getting to be.

2D stood trembling far away, watching Noodle defend him and herself against the axe. At any other time, he would have questioned how the axe was able to move on its own. But it wasn't the time now. His wrist was starting to stop bleeding, a scab commencing to form. He thought about helping the Asian girl, but he knew he would only get in the way.

All he could do was watch, and witness his love being destroyed.

---

Do not fall to the ground...do not fall to the ground...Those were the words Noodle continued to think in her head. She knew if she fell, then the axe would end her life. The cuts in her ribcage throbbed irritatingly as she ran across the concrete ground, giving her all to keep her life. The axe was insane. Well, the person inside of it was. Maybe if she reasoned with her, the Axe Princess would listen...

"Axe Princess! You do not need to kill! Revenge will not soothe your heartbreak!"

You know nothing! Revenge is the only way to redeem myself, it's how I still survive! I must kill, Noodle, and so must you!

"No! I cannot!"

The axe poked a small indent in her back, and Noodle shrieked. She tripped, stumbling on a curb. She looked around for 2D, but her vision was blinded by blood and mud. It was raining now, which made it even worse for her to see. She couldn't hear the axe coming. She couldn't spot a thing. All she could do was lay on the ground and whimper.

Suddenly, she experienced a sharp pain in her left shoulder. She snapped her neck around and barely saw the axe slice her skin wide open, it moving at a speed she had never seen before. Noodle didn't bother screaming this time, her sobbing enough to ease the pain. She waited hunched over, shivering, wet, cold, and terrified beyond belief.

"A-A-Axe Princess...nanitozo..."

Please...what?

"...You must not kill any more..."

Silence!

Noodle could sense a presense behind her. Another prick was strained in her neck, this time her other shoulder. She clawed herself and bit her lip, making it bleed as well. It didn't matter; she couldn't feel the pain anymore. Her heart beat so hard she thought it would leap out of her chest and into the street. All she could think about was 2D, how much she felt for him, if he was safe or not, if the Axe Princess had not already killed him.

"Axe Princess...I know how you suffer. That is why you were able to control me, because I so desperately wanted revenge. Just like you. I got my revenge, unfortunately, and so did you, but it was not the thing to do. Hatred cannot be exterminated by more hatred. Only love and forgiveness can."

The rain fell softly on the ground. Noodle could faintly make out the heavy breathing of the Axe Princess.

"You must let go of your anger, Axe Princess. Then you will not suffer any longer, and you will be able to move on into a better place. Killing is not the answer, revenge is bittersweet. Please, nanitozo, listen to me..."

It was deathly quiet, except for the pitter-patter of the raindrops. Noodle waited, waited, waited for the Axe Princess to make up her mind. She didn't just want her to listen because she wanted to live, she wanted her to listen so she wouldn't suffer anymore. Through all of this, though the princess did try to kill her, though she should have hated the Axe Princess in return, she didn't. Noodle was mature enough to forgive the princess and apologize for her sins, even thought she didn't need to. The princess didn't realize it, but Noodle was glowing a golden color, illuminating the darkest parts of the rainfall.

I can't forgive...I can't forget...it's too much to just let go...Jacob...

"You must! You must try!"

I can't. I have to kill. Killing is my heart, Jacob is my passion. Those are the words I used to bound myself to the axe, those are the words I lived by, and those are the words I must burn in Hell because of.

The axe floated away slowly, heading for 2D, who was about 30 feet away. Noodle looked up and saw where the axe was going, and scrambled to her feet in reflex. She dashed towards the axe yelling, "AXE PRINCESS!" and clutched the edge of the blade in her hands, having it dig into her skin but ignoring the feeling. Tears streamed down her face as she used all of her energy trying to pull the axe back. But it was too strong. She called to 2D, hoping she could get him to run away.

"2D-san! Run! You must get out of here now! GO! GET OUT OF HERE!"

But 2D couldn't hear her. He was frozen in the same place he had been, frozen with fear and shock. His wrist had stopped bleeding, the pain has ceased, and the world around him had stopped completely. He was nowhere, he was everywhere, he didn't know where he was at all. All he saw was the axe coming toward him, already feeling himself getting killed.

It was closer now. Everything was silent. The rain made no noise, nor did the night club music. Noodle could feel herself being taken over. The axe was controlling her; she knew it. She raised her hands above her head, like she had done so many times before, the blade in hand, and brought it down ever so gracefully, a memory coming back to her...

Flashback

2D and Noodle were happily strolling through a meadow, Noodle riding on the back of 2D. They were both smiling, singing happily to the words of their own songs. 2D laughed heartily, something Noodle thought he'd never done. They fell on the grass, picking flowers and listening to the buzzing of the bees. The wind blew gently, and the sun shone enough to warm their chilling bodies. Noodle wrapped her arms around 2D, and his around her. They looked at eachother and smiled, gazing into eachother eyes and being able to read their happiness. Noodle was the first to speak.

"2D-san...this has been the most wonderful day of my life."

"Same here, love."

"Can we come here again soon?"

"Maybe someday."

"...2D-san?"

"Yeah, Noodle?"

"...I...I love you."

2D paused before replying, "I love you too, Noodle."

End flashback

Noodle stared at the blood mess before her, her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her mouth a gaping hole. She dropped the broken axe blade on the ground, not feeling the life that had once been inside. It was now just an empty shell, just like her heart. The former guitarist couldn't believe what lay right in front of her. She didn't want to, she wouldn't...but she did.

She had killed 2D, and along the way had detroyed the Axe Princess's beastly shell.

Noodle knelt down beside 2D's dead body, too dry to cry. She picked up his hands and held it in hers, cradling it like a baby. She placed it over his chest and said a couple of kind words, hoping that 2D would hear them in heaven. The girl looked gingerly at the place of impact where she had brought the axe upon the singer. It was a bloody hole, the same place his heart was located. Noodle guessed she stabbed him there because that was where she wanted to stab herself. Nonetheless, it was there; a place where a heart had once beat.

Amazingly, it had stopped raining. Noodle could no longer hear the music of the club, the party finally ending after a long night. The sun poked through the clouds, shining on the Asian girl as if to tease her and say, "I am bright and cheerful and you are not!" Noodle had no idea how such a happy thing could be in the presence of such amelancholy one.

Melancholy...2D loved that word...Noodle had always used it as much as she could...

Noodle shook her head to regain herself. "There is no use dwelling around here," She said aloud, and stood up to bring 2D to a peaceful resting place.

---

Noodle carried 2D's body like a baby up a hill and back down. In the near distance, she saw a graveyard, where other souls had come to rest. This had been the place she had put Russel and Murdoc, with a proper burial recital, of course. She walked across the dirt mounds where they lay, and came to another one that she had dug, in case someone else had been killed along the way. Gently, ever so gently, she lowered the angel singer to his resting ground, never to come up again.

The former axe princess kneeled in the dirt and bowed, tears spilling from her eyes. She whispered a silent prayer, hoping someone up there could hear her.

"Please, if someone is listening, please let 2D-san rest in peace. Let him go to a better place where he does not have headaches and need painkillers. Let all the sadness that was ever inside of him wash away into the sky. Let him sing when the wind blows and watch his zombie movies whenever there's a cold, dark night. Let him be...happy."

Noodle paused before continuing on.

"And also, let Russel-san and Murdoc-san be happy, too. Let Russel eat all he wants, and let Murdoc get all of the...girls he ever wanted. But make sure he does not get an STD. And then, send Russel my apologies for...killing him. And...Murdoc, too. Help them learn to forgive me for my sins. And help me forgive myself."

There was complete and utter silence, none like Noodle had ever experienced before. Strangely, she felt a presence behind her, yet no one else ever came to this cemetary...

"If you want to apologize, then why don't you say it to us yourself?"

Noodle turned her head around so fast she thought she broke something. What she saw made her think she broke her eyes. There, in a fading mist, was her bandmate Russel, looking as well as ever. Noodle's pupils grew small.

"I cannot...I am not...seeing a ghost?"

Murdoc appeared out of thin air, in the same translucent mist that Russel was in,an unmistakable Murdoc sneer on his face.

"Damn right you are."

Noodle stared in wonder and shock at the sight before her. She felt a faint coming on, but something kept her awake and made her mind run like a speed racer. She could see both of them, clear as day, but she wondered if she would be able to see 2D...

...And then he came. Out of thin air, a specter Noodle made out even better than the other two. It was her Koiishii! Her beloved! There was 2D, standing at his tall height of 6'2", smiling his gap-toothed smile with those big, black eyes of his. And nothing else in Noodle's life, to her, had ever been so beautiful.

"2D-san...Murdoc-san...Russel-san..."

Murdoc's spirit leaned against a tree. "Yeah, we're 'ere. Only fo' a lil' bit, though. Got to get back to death."

Noodle fell to her knees and bowed before the three of them.

"I am so sorry...I never truly wanted to kill any of you, not even Murdoc. Yes, I was a little angry with him...but you know I would never...not if..."

Russel came closer to the now sobbing teenager, and put a hand on her shoulder. "We know ya didn't mean it, girl. That axe was one hell of a demon, it could've gotten any of us."

"But I-"

"Look, quit beatin' ye self up," Murdoc didn't move, but his words did. "You were always doin' that, Noodle. Always blamin' yaself for stupid stuff that other people did...even when ye couldn't speak a lip of English. Whenever I woson some fackin' rampageor summink you blamed yaself 'cause I always yelled at ya...I don't know...just somethin' about you...I don't know. I got drunk and high and went upstairs to the new kid's room...you were all happy 'n bubbly 'n stupid..."

Noodle looked up at Murdoc and knew that he wasn't talking about her anymore. He was looking at the sky skeptically, like he didn't believe it was there, or wondering if there was sky at all. The expression in his eyes was unknowing, ignorance, even...regretful? Noodle stared at him until he turned her way, and he said the most unexpected words she ever thought to hear from the bass player.

"Noodle...I'm sorry."

And with that, Murdoc disappeared into the air, becoming the wind once again. It wisped past her hair and back up into the sky, where Noodle suspected he went to torment the angels. She looked back at the other two; Russel, who was looking at her with confusion in his eyes, and 2D, who hadn't said a word to her since she arrived. Noodle turned to Russel. He was chuckling silently to himself.

"Dang...you must be somethin' special, 'cause I ain't never heard Muds apologize to someone, much less a female"

Noodle beamed and shrugged. Russel went on.

"Look, Noodle girl, I...I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop Murdoc before he...well, you know. Just so you know, I always did care about you. It wasn't just when the others were around. I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I had whenever you were sick or at another friend's house...I just didn't want to be too overprotective. I wanted to stay fly, you know? Do you understand me, Noodle?"

Noodle nodded. Russel smiled again, without forcing himself.

"Good. Jus' remember, me and Del will be watchin' over you. And don't worry, we'll keep Muds off them angels...why is he in heaven, anyway?"

Noodle snickered at Russel's last comment before he vanished, this time riding a different wind going east, probably looking for Del somewhere. The wind blew her hair back and dried the blood on her shirt. The Asian girl gazed at the last spirit, the one of her beloved. She wondered if it was the last time she would ever see him.

"D-san..."

"'Ey, Noodle."

Ooooooooooooooo...the wind seemed to be moaning. Noodle thought it sounded a bit like the Axe Princess's world. She kicked the dirt underneath her feet and waited for 2D to speak again, just to hear his voice one last time.

"I fink Russ told me once...that ghosts and zombies weren't the same. 'Cause zombies are the living dead, and ghosts were...the dead dead. And the only reason they come back is 'cause they 'ave unfinished business."

Noodle took a few steps closer to 2D's spirit. "Do you have unfinished business, 2D-san?"

The lanky singer nodded. He went closer to Noodle as well, getting close enough to touch noses. Noodle could smell the butterscotch angel delight aroma surrounding him, and embracing her as well. Both of the former band members felt something in that moment, something unexplainable, something wonderful...enough to bring two people of different worlds together. The wind suddenly got warmer, and Noodle remembered the flashback she had before she had 2D kick the bucket.

Happily strolling through a meadow...

"What did you come back for, 2D?"

And that question just seemed to answer itself. Their lips become one, locking with them a feeling of endless glee. Noodle could feel him, she could actually feel 2D, as if he were still alive and right there with her. Her guilt came back, but it soon disappeared, as did her mind. They stood there for a while, taking it all in. Noodle the butterscotch, 2D the cherry blossoms Noodle always smelled like. It was like it was never going to end, like they would stay this way forever and never have to go.

But all good times must end.

Almost as soon as it started, it stopped. Noodle opened her eyes and saw nothing. 2D had diappeared, into the heavens, where he should have been all along. Tears stung her eyes like an angry swarm of bees, and they escaped her eyes ans fell to the hard ground below her. Noodle felt so weak, like she always hated to feel, and knew there was something more she should do. She pressed her hand against her shirt and poked her finger on something sharp. She went in the pull it out, and learned it was the bloody axe she had used to murder her three favorite men.

She grinned a sinister, cunning grin.

She took the tip of the axe and set it on her chest, between her two budding breasts. She could already feel it sinking into her flesh, and she could see the blood soaking through her shirt. This did not make her panic, however. It thrilled her, to say the least. She pushed it in farther, hating it was taking so long for it to kill her. She gave up going slowly, finally, and pulled it out. Noodle held it above her head, like she had done so many times before, and squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. This was her time, time for the Axe Princess to finally die.

She brought it to her chest.The blade went through her like a needle's shot, quick and easy, and it stayed there, sipping in the blood she spilled, while she lay there smiling and grinning like a joyful manic woman, finally set free.

The Axe Princess had finally died, not just in the axe, but in the girl herself.

Ketteiteki Uchitoru, Final Kill.

Here I come, Koishii-san...

Sayonara