War of the Roses (3) (MANUSCRIPT)

Stem 11: The Boy, Part 3

     Amy's eye twitched. Natalie? Isn't that the girl who-

     "Yeah," Max shivered. "that name rings a bell. Quite a few bells. What'd you say she was?" 

     Cain's eyelids hung low as he wore a black, zipped-up sweater. "Look, I don't think it's my position to play the role of exposition, but this woman- You must know her better than I do. I only 'woke up' recently. Either way, she said she has a vendetta. Against you. I don't know what you did, but it seems like it was pretty fucked." 

     Taking a deep breath, Max's eye turned yellow. 

     In his head, a breathy, familiar voice whispered, 'Well, Max, this is important. It's about time I tell you something. A mere legend I'd once heard. I've heard many stories, you see.'

     'Hosanna? What's going on?'

     'Long ago, when the de'Navra were still young, there existed a group of other creatures on the whole other side of this... planet. The Tribunal Faeries made sure to never have us make contact with one another. They succeeded. Our kind never knew that there existed another species, save for faeries. You see, there existed a proto-people who were half-plant, and could... live forever.'

     'Wh- No way. L- Live forever?' 

     'The 'Flower Children' were one of the first instances of... analogous evolution. You see, this Earth has gone through many variations of life. Long ago, the trees themselves had decided to walk as well, just like the apes would, one day. What transpired, was a plethora -- a legion -- of variety. Every flower, every berry, and every bush had their own kind of human-like walker. And as they were plants, just as much as they were people, they could smash themselves into walls -- allow themselves to get crushed, even -- only to transform into a soft pile of leaves and vines. They were invincible, except for when they killed each other- Or so I'd heard. Overheard, actually. From the kinds of strange talks that Agnus and Malechor often had.' 

     'Agnus- He talked a lot with Malechor? Ugh, this is so much to take in, dude!' 

     'Why, of course they talked. The two weaker Tribunals always wanted to take over, and overthrow, Choronzon, and, goodness, did they ever have a lot to say. There was much to discuss in the early, chaotic days of the world, when geysers blew up at nearly every corner, and the sky seemed redder, if only a little.' 

     Outside of his head, the tops of more flowers fell lopped off from their stems. 

     "You, uh, havin' fun there?" Amy shrugged. 

     "It's a hobby of mine. I use a thin vine -- ultra-thin -- from my elbow, and just slice through these sunflowers. What a perfect field, by the way! I should 'harvest' some and sell'em." 

     "Yeah, it's pretty, alright. I wanna visit a big city sometime, though. Ever seen Dennonopolis? Lotsa trains, shopping centers, and wild buildings." 

     Cain yawned. "Can't say I have- At least, intentionally. Also, is your friend okay?" 

     "Yeah -- boyfriend, by the way -- he's just talking to the dark spirit that lives inside his head." 

     Cain licked his lips. "Ah, right. Of course. Can't get by without one of those, these days." 

     Max's eyes returned to their usual smaragdine. His hair, having bunched up in the back, now fell down like a bird's wing. Drawing in a deep breath, he looked up at Cain. 

     "So, what was your 'ultimatum', exactly? Or did you just have a warning for me?" 

      Licking his lips, Cain looked at his hand as a series of fibers formed into a long, pointy shape. "Sparing you from that bitch's wrath via my mercy, instead. She seemed pretty pissed. You see, my family has come to wage war on a few other families. That's all these families like these days, isn't it? War, war, war. And Natalie wants to tie up a few loose-" 

     Blood escaping his mouth, Cain coughed. Falling to his knees, he punched at the ground. A thick vine, thorns protruding from the sides, began to writhe through his stomach. 

     "What!" Max jumped back. 

     A voice from the interloping vine began to vibrate through Cain's torso. "What a dirty traitor you are, Cain. Trying to kill Max before me. 'Sparing him'? Hmph! That's not what we agreed to." 

     Amy looked down. I suddenly don't trust a single one of these flowers around me. 

     "Wh- Who's there?" Max pointed his sword at the tortured Cain. 

     A foot knocking the dying Cain into the ground, there shined a blinding array of blonde hair. 

     "I'm sorry I couldn't've been more dainty about this. It's been a while, Max." 

     Lowering his sword, Max felt a knot in his throat. 

     Natalie Carwell, as young as ever, stood in front of him.