A Lost Memory: Alitheia

Episode 16: Slag Machis Allegra End

"Oh, well that sucks," Akira replies and Fitz nods her head in agreement.

"How do you know all of this?" Eliza asks Gherro.

"Because we, Mandisa and I, were the first residents in this mansion and I'm always in background observing," he flicks the toothpick onto the floor.

"Sure you've brought up some pretty useful information but why didn't you help us with the Kapnos demon and only decide to show up now," Fitz with a raised eyebrow and the group murmurs in agreement.

"Oh, no, don't blame me my dear," he whines and adds that Mandisa is the one who told him not to manifest in front of others beside herself.

"Sure blame it on," she rolls her eyes.

The night rolled in and the residents slept on the floors in futons and white sheets in the room, without notice the door unlocks and creaks open. Kacey hears this, slowly shifts her weight and attempts to wake up the group.

"Kacey! It's way too early for this," Fitz whines and this wakes up Akira and Colchester.

"Something's wrong," Kacey whispers and adds that she doesn't know where Mandisa is, looking at her empty sheets. They then wake up the rest of the group and attempt to switch on the lights, but a crashing sound can be heard coming from the corridors.

Allegra is the first to get up and peak through the slit of the door.

"It's Mandisa and the-" her words are cut short by the figure of a man wearing a suit being sent flying through the door.

"O yeelen tersebut dorchadas ," Mandisa says while holding her arm stretched out and palm glowing gold with a symbol written on it at the Kapnos demon while it screeched and took on various faces and animals. It then adjusts itself on the floor and breathes a mist in her face.

[Translation; the splitting of light and darkness]

"No! Get off of me," she begins crying out while witnessing frail hands of old men poking and grabbing at her legs.

"What's happening?" Kacey alerted and Gherro steps out from the shadows in the corner of the room to explain.

"Deoxygenating hallucinations, by removing oxygen in the air with that mist it breathed it causes hallucinations," Colchester asks how they get rid of the hallucinations.

"By getting rid of the mist of course," Gherro smirks though this was more than enough information for Akira as he springs into action, heading to his room.

"Where ah-?" before Fitz finishes her thought, he reappears with a fan in hand and turns it on in her direction as he does this the Kapnos demon flees in the form of a monkey. While this happens Mandisa recollects herself and thanks him.

"How did you know that would work?" Colchester queries him.

"It was a hunch but I'm just glad it worked," he informs them.

"Mandisa what were you thinking doing this by yourself?" Fitz whines and they all chip in a few words of agreement.

"We can defeat this thing but only if we do it together," Kacey announces with her head held high.

"So, explain to us what it is you're doing maybe with more hands we can juggle through all those faces faster," Akira sets down the fan and points to his hand before asking what is the symbol on her palm for.

"It's a Krowix talisman that evokes Agma Devva and demonic entities," Mandisa says and motions the circle around a cross around its path on her palm.

"It makes them disappear?" Jiro queried.

"Not exactly, it just weakens their manifestation," she tells them.

"And the funny words you were saying?" Eliza adds as they all seat themselves in a circle with a few snacks on hand.

"Slovvik scripture from the Armanic language, it's one of the most powerful spell and it can expel beings of all kinds. So, it shouldn't be used lightly" she continues to say.

"Why do you know how to use it?" Colchester asks and she responds that Gheroo taught her a few things about it.

The next morning after sleeping peacefully throughout the night, they found themselves gearing up once again, this time with Krowix markings on each palm.

"Are you ready?" Akira questions them while holding onto the door handle and baseball bat in the other hand, bracing them to leave.

"Ready!" they inform in high spirits.

Each one tiptoed out the corridor, down to the broken banister and queried why they haven't seen it yet.

"Usually this thing is so eager to get us," Fitz whispers and just as they nod their heads in agreement, Jiro sees a figure of a little girl peaking from behind a pillar. He instinctively raises his arm in that direction and repeats the Slovvik scripture Mandisa says. They notice this and follow suit.

The Kapnos demon makes it way closer to them though screeching in agony as it transforms itself into various people and creatures. It stood behind Eliza this time and moaned the name Chesa, loud enough for the group to hear. She immediately turns towards a figure of a woman; she stretches out her arms in protection and tells them not to hurt it.

"Eliza! What are you doing?" Fitz yells at her, while attempting to point her hand at it.

"Who's Chesa?" Jiro asks, still pointing his hand in her direction.

"Wait, guys please!" she yells back and as she does this the figure shifts into a black bear with thick fur and large teeth, in front of her and growls. She's startled, turns back around and slowly mouths the words 'help'.

The group begins to say the Slovvik scripture and it begins shifting once again this time to only animals and Mandisa informs that they should keep going as it now grows weaker while they move in closer it steps backwards towards the stairs.

This time Allegra moves in closer and her palm glows various shades of pink and purple, she now stands directly above it at the top of the stairs and it transforms into a white swan with red eyes.

"Now!" Mandisa screams at her and tosses her a pair of scissors, she catches it and as she is about to hit it, it tugs at her pants and she loses footing and tumbles down the stairs with it. The residents stare in shock and watch as they both turn to dust.

In silence they make their way down the stairs to the kitchen and prepare themselves a meal as it was nighttime although the moon light up the sky in a pastel blue. They eat a mac'n cheese dish Kacey prepared and to fill the silence, Colchester asks who Chesa is. Eliza takes a deep breath before answering that that was her real name.

"Chesa is your real name, who's Eliza?" Akira queries her.

"Eliza Fanning was a maid that worked for my family. She came from New England and was my only friend," she tells them and continues to explain her family dynamic of her real father being a soldier and her mother living with a treacherous man who abuses her. She lets them know that she travelled to New England to find her and that she would prefer it if they just call her 'Eliza'.

"So you're a princess well not exactly but you used to be?" Fitz asks and she nods in agreement, a momentary silence.

"Are we supposed to call you Chesa now?" Mandisa asks and fills the silence.

"No, I've left that life behind please call me Eliza," she asks and they agree.

That night the residents all slept in their respective rooms and noted they would wake up early the next morning for breakfast.