Never Alone

Chapter 1: Part 2

Gem did not feel their presence in her dorm the next morning when she was awakened by her alarm, it seemed they took her words into consideration. But, that feeling did not last for long. The moment she left her dorm, she could sense them near her again, but further away this time. Gem's patience was running very low on fuel, she was about to snap right there in the hallway, but kept her composure. She figured it was finally time to put an end to this cycle tonight after training.

When 8:30 pm hit the clock and training was done for the day, she knew what she had to do. The moment Gem exited the room, she ran as fast as she could down a flight of stairs that lead to the lower levels of the base. She could feel them trailing behind her, so when she got to the end of the stairs, she quickly hid behind the corner and drew her sword. Gem silently waited for them to run past her, she knew they would have to if they wanted to find her. And like clockwork, a figure tried running past the corner but did not make it far as Gem quickly cut their shoulder with her blade and tackled them to the floor. "GOT YOU, FUCKER!" Gem yelled, trying to keep them still.

The one under her started screaming hysterically and squirming around on the floor desperately trying to get up, "NO! LET ME GO!"

Gem looked down at them to see who had been causing all of this trouble, but to her utter surprise, it was no more than a panda the commander had recently recruited into the unit named Lu Young. "You!" Gem said with fury, "it was you this whole time!?"

Lu broke her arm free of Gem's grip and elbowed her right in the stomach, then got up and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, holding her bleeding shoulder. Gem walked down the hall and followed them with a serious expression across her face, but eventually got them cornered at the dead end of the hall. Lu tried looking for a way out, but the only way she could leave was to get past Gem, who was holding her sword and not willing to let her through. "No, no, no!" She said in a panic to herself.

Gem's obsidian-colored moon necklace began to give off a small, dusty, black aura, "so, you're the one that has been behind ALL of this!?" She said angrily and started getting closer to her as she spoke. "Stalking me in the halls, breaking into my dorm, watching me sleep, and even having the AUDACITY to follow me into the shower! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Lu did not have the words or the courage to give a reply, all she knew was her life is now over. Gem looked at her sword, then back at Lu, who was shaking with pure terror. "You are seriously fucking scared?" Gem asked with annoyance. "You should have seen this coming. I gave you a warning last night to back off, but you refused to listen. So tell me, who's fault is that hm? It sure as hell ain't mine."

Lu continued to look around frantically but stopped when Gem placed the sword under her chin. Lu slowly looked up at her, but she was confused as she remembered Gem's eyes being scarlet before, not golden. "I am debating on where I am going to hide your body. Maybe I'll bury it up on the surface, feed it to our demons, or perhaps I could just throw it away in a dumpster... Both are decent options, wouldn't you agree?

"WHAT!?" Lu yelled.

"Oh, don't worry, it's not like anyone will ever come looking for you or even notice you are gone, not like you had any family members or friends last time I checked. You were probably too busy making my life a living Hell to really even think of getting any." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "So, again, you're at fault."

Lu tried speaking, but could only let out small stutters as tears went down her cheeks. Gem pressed the sword against Lu's neck, "what is it?" She asked as she skimmed the sword up Lu's neck, shearing off a bit of her snow-white fur. "Go on, speak, freak."

"I-I'm sorry-!" Lu replied in a panic.

"Sorry? SORRY!? You're fucking with me, right!?" Gem yelled with fury.

"P- Please...! I was only following you to protect you, I- I promise I was! I- I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, I just didn't want anything bad to happen to you, p- please, believe me!" Lu cried with tears running down her cheeks.

"Hmm... Tell me, kid, do you take me for a moron?" Gem asked.

"W-What..?"

Gem smiled, "it seems you seriously think I am stupid enough to believe you are ACTUALLY trying to 'protect me.'"

"B- but I am!" Lu begged. "I just want you to be okay..!"

Gem started laughing hysterically at Lu, which frightened her. Lu had never seen Gem laugh the way she was at that moment. "Making sure I'M ok? This is the funniest thing I have heard all week! YOU protecting ME? A small, weak, pathetic excuse for a panda like yourself?"

Lu just gave a soft blush and glanced away with embarrassment, stuttering, "I- well- yeah..."

"I haven't even seen you train before! If a demon approached you, you would be dead in seconds!" Gem wiped a tear from her eye as she laughed, "you're funny for a stalker, I'll grant you that. But, again, do I look stupid to you?"

"N- no, you don't! I'm being honest, you have to believe me! I- If the commander finds out you killed me, he would put you in prison!"

"Prison?" Gem remarked, slamming her hand against the wall and looking down at Lu with the sword still pressing against the panda's neck. Lu was blushing and trying to keep her heavy breathing under control. "No. I wouldn't go to prison. This is the underground, laws are different down here than up on the surface. If I have a good reason AND you ignored my warnings to back off, I can kill you. If anyone is getting punished here, it's you, panda."