Born from the Ash

Chapter 4

Helen slowly nodded before going out the door, running after Bonita.

----

Bonita was enraged. Although, before she could go out the door, everyone was waiting for her.

"We heard you're getting your first mission, so we had Trender make you something."

Everyone was beaming as they presented Bonita a small box. Cautiously, although still angrily, she untied the ribbon on the box delicately and open it to find a dress.

The dress was sleek and seemed it would cling to her frame, and was completely black.

There was a black vine-like pattern forming near her hands and ending near where her elbow would be. There was tufts of extremely fluffy looking feathers at the shoulders, and it faded from a beautiful orange to a sort of blood-red color at the bottom. Attached to it were long ropes with amber-colored beads on the end. A small chain seemed to stretch across the shoulder, possibly to help hold up the dress.

Along with the dress came two necklaces, one being like the chain over her shoulder and another that was black with a flaming flower on the end. Sort of like a choker.

The dress was absolutely beautiful, but what complimented it most was the gift that the Bloody Painter handed her.

The mask was stunning, resembling that of a phoenix. It seemed to match the dress perfectly.

"I hope you like it." He smiled nervously, looking at the ground.

"It's beautiful, thank you." Bonita smiled, and decided to turn around to try it on.

After struggling momentarily to get it on, she strapped on the mask as well before walking out.

To add extra jazz, she learned that the tassles were designed to be on fire, but not to wither away and burn. Something weird Trender had made.

As she walked out, some parts of her dress were licked in slight flames.

"Woah, Bonita, look at your ankle!" Someone called.

Bonita looked down, and what appeared to be that of a phoenix with flames surrounding itself was there, inked in thick black. Where had this come from?

"Did you always have that?"

"No, I only just have seen it. It seems new, but it looks like it's been there for so long."

Bonita ignored it before going to walk out.

"I want to be alone right now... Please."

And with that, she left.

----

Bonita knew whose house this was.

After all, she had been here so many times.

With her dress licking flame up the tassles on her shoulders, She climbed inside through a window she knew would always be unlocked.

Inside, her old 'friend' was sleeping, peacefully. Almost too peacefully.

"Wakey, wakey~" Bonita cooed, venom dripping in her voice as she roughly shook him, watching as flames formed at the corners of his bed.

"Wha... Eli? Is that you? Didn't you like... Go missing? Or did you miss me?" He asked groggily, sitting up.

"You think I'd miss you, you disgusting pervert? I'm here to kill something that is far more disgusting than that deserves to exist in a world full of the innocence you destroy. Something that deserves to rot in the depths of hell so deep, that the flames will burn your soul to nothingness and that you will suffer death after death. You are something that deserves to rot in hell, in its deepest pits." Bonita spat, before making the flames lick up at his arms and legs.

As he began to scream in pain, Bonita gave a shushing motion. "Aww, don't cry out. Isn't that what you told me?"

As his hands and lower arms and legs began to turn as black as charcoal, she laughed lightly.

"Perhaps I'll brand you as my first victim as you did to me."

And with that, he began to scream louder. He tucked into himself as he clawed off his shirt, to reveal a phoenix being burned into his back. The bird was arched upwards in a battle cry, fury in its eyes as it stared right at his head. Its feathers were blazing, quite literally. The sickening smell of burning flesh and hair filled the room, as well as his pained cries.

"No one will be hurt by you anymore, for you have been burned by the phoenix."

"P- please... Let me go... I'll do anything!"

"Your soul has already been burned away, as well as your heart. This phoenix shall not spare the soulless being such as you." Bonita scoffed, her hair was now literal flames, rising up above her as though it were a literal fire. Her eyes were as black as charcoal, and her iris the resemblance of fire. Her eyes glowed in the dark, showing the faint glow of her hair and dress as they were licked up in flames.

Turning to the wall as the man slowly died from the severe burns, she let the fire etch itself a message into the wall.

You have sinned beyond compare, so thy fire shall cleanse thy soul, to live a thousand deaths within hell. A phoenix does not forgive or cry to those who have sinned beyond the comprehension of one.

-Phoenix of Athena

With that, Bonita turned and ran as the sounds of police sirens filled in the distance, slowly coming closer.