Crusade ~ World from Ashes {Complete}

7

"Tell me about Crusade, Takye," Kilia said as she was doing my checkup. It had become routine, despite being in someone else's home. Though it had taken some time, I had finally started being able to talk to the group without Ryker next to me. I still had problems walking around without him, but I was making good progress, or so I thought anyway.

So, it was just Kilia, Valkyrie, and I in the room as Ryker had left to do something with Jace. He didn't say what it was, only that Jace needed him for a little while and he'd be back. It didn't bother me though, not like it normally would have. I took a moment before I answered her question though, not really sure how to explain it or describe it to her. I nibbled my lip for a while as I stared at her, slightly confused as I struggled for words.

"Do you feel sick?" Valkyrie asked.

I shook my head, "No."

"Well that's good."

"It's... different from Excalibur and Holy Grail."

"Were you tested on with those too?" Kilia asked gently, her fingers rubbing my arm with the numbing stuff she used so she could draw blood without having me freak out with being pricked.

"Yes. Crusade is... more volatile, yet at the same time it's not going to destroy my body. It only enhanced the changes that Holy Grail began. My hair and eyes were never red, not until they gave me Crusade. With Holy Grail I had claws like Valkyrie does when he uses that drug. But, Crusade took it a step further. They're like swords all on their own. You can't break them, no matter how hard you try and I can practically cut through anything.

"In addition to that, I can break my body down to nothing but particles. Like a black mist or smoke if you want. The black substance is the drug itself completely taking over my body. I move so much faster in that form, though I'm still fairly quick when using Crusade in a solid form. I can go through things and people too."

"Whoa... That's... trippy," Valkyrie said, his eyes growing wide as he listened to my explanation, "What's it like? I mean... how do you see?"

I shrugged, looking at him oddly, "See? Same way I see you now."

"That's pretty neat! Nifty too..."

Arching an eyebrow, I stared at him in confusion, "Seriously?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, could you imagine the pranks you could do with that?" He grinned at me.

For a moment, the joke fell flat but then it dawned on me and my eyes grew wide for a moment. My lips twitched into an expression I was unfamiliar with and I made a weird sound. My smile and laugh -which I had never heard before- were odd to me, but I couldn't help it. The way Valkyrie had said it, the expression on his face... it was too much. I laughed and he giggled with me. It was a nice feeling that spread through me, one that I hoped would happen again.

"Jace..." Valkyrie's eyes grew wide, his grin growing even bigger, "Could you imagine..." he started giggling before he could even finish while Kilia rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You are just determined to add to Jace's irritation. Ryker is bad enough with that poor man."

I grinned at Valkyrie, the two of us enjoying the laughter. It was hard to stop once I got going. Not that I wanted to either. The way it felt... The way it made me feel. I liked it a lot. Kilia tapped my arm to tell me that she was done and I straightened up on the bed, a smile still on my lips. Valkyrie looked happier than ever too as he crossed his arms and leaned off onto one leg.

"You look good when you smile, Takye. You should do it more often."

It startled me, what he said, but nodded all the same, "I'll... try," I offered.