C.H.A.R.Ms

Chapter Six: In the Darkness

Lightning would hum as she skipped around the rooftops, Ramu following her. "Lightning, would you- slow- down-" Ramu panted, finally catching up to the quick C.H.A.R.M holder as she stopped to wait on him. "I just- woke up- after all." Ramu help his hands above his head, sighing, the cold night air creating clouds out of his breathe.
    "It is a bit hard to breathe tonight. The air is quite cold... I wish Spot would've made my suit a bit warmer." Lightning shivered, rubbing her arms.
    "I've got to talk to my guardian about making my costume warmer too, believe it or not. As hot headed as they are, they sure do like the cold." Lightning laughed at Ramu's remark. "Where are we headed to first?"
    "Well, let's see..." Lightning cracked her whip, creating a hologram where the weapon hit. She'd walk over to where she could see it, and gaze at the map in front of her. "We're here-" Lightning pointed to two blue dots on the map. "And our targets are... here." She'd point at four red dots.
    "Oh. Where are we headed to first?" Ramu asked, standing beside Lightning.
    "I think we'll head to the closest one. What do you think?" Ramu looked to the side. "Well- I- uh, I don't really care." Ramu suddenly remembered Areis's words. "Oh, by the way, it'd be less obvious that you like Lightning if you didn't goggle at her, Aaron."  As the boy remembered, his cheeks turned bright red again.
    "Ramu? You ok?" Lightning inquired, looking at him.
    "Uh- oh, yes- I mean, n- yes! Yes I-I'm fine. Just cold, I guess." Ramu stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
    "What're you thinking about?" Lightning asked as she cracked her whip again, the hologram suddenly disappearing.
    Quick, quick, think of an excuse- "Just wondering who Rebelle could be." Oh, great, wonderful excuse. Ramu scolded himself.
    "I've thought about that too... do you think she's a mole? Or do you think she just... knows a lot about the organization?" Ramu shrugged. " I dunno. I'm just kind of focused on who would possibly want all the C.H.A.R.Ms. Everyone knows holding them all at once comes with the possibility of dying or going crazy. Y'know, it's funny, Eruku always wondered aloud about how powerful she would be if she had all the C.H.A.R.Ms." "Ah, that reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you; what happened to Eruku? If she wasn't just a legend?"
    Ramu froze. He didn't expect Lightning to think anything about it, if he was being honest. "Eruku... Eruku's dead. That's what Otto and Searra told me, anyway. I still feel her presence, though... still hear her laugh, still see her ice blue eyes looking out into the city..." Lightning gazed out into the city she'd grown to call home.
    "I know what you mean. Ready to go looking? We'll start at the abandoned storage unit, and work our way downtown until sunrise." Ramu nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be." At that, Lightning ran toward the abandoned storage unit, Ramu in tow. They passed the police station, a few restaurants here and there, and Lightning suddenly realised: she hadn't been home in a week. None of the C.H.A.R.M holders had, and yet, none of their parents had asked about them. She pushed the thought to the side, shaking her head; her parents had other things to worry about.
    Finally, they reached the storage unit. "Stay together or split up?" Lightning whispered to him. "Stay together." Ramu whispered back, gripping his staff. Lightning nodded, getting out of the way so Ramu could kick the door open. It was a good thing Rams were strong. The two teens entered the building, and, seeing nothing, they were immediately suspicious. "Wouldn't a storage unit have something? Or someone here?" Lightning quipped. Ramu shrugged.
    "I don't know. I've never been in a storage unit before." Ramu extended his staff, light coming from it as he did so. Lightning squinted her eyes, looking into the darkness as they walked forward. "Be on alert..." Ram whispered to her, causing Lightning to nod.
    They walked a bit more before Lightning held up her hand, causing them both to stop. A figure walked out of the darkness. Ramu lifted his staff higher, causing the light emitting from it to go farther into the impending darkness of the warehouse. "Hello there, Lightning." Rebelle's words were cold and precise, cutting through the air like a well sharpened blade.
    Ramu tensed, watching Lightning intently. The cheetah themed hero finally decided to swallow her pride, speaking. "Hello, Rebelle." She spat, gripping her whip.
    "Why so tense?" Rebelle smirked, her short hair covering the left side of her face. "I just want to talk."
    "The last time you "just wanted to talk"  Ramu ended up having to teleport us out of there. Which C.H.A.R.M have you brought with you this time? Wolf? Dolphin?" Lightning sneered.
    Rebelle shrugged. "I wanted to go a bit... risque, I suppose. I went with a... damaged C.H.A.R.M. One you've only heard about in legends."
    Ramu perked up. "Oh? Do tell." Rebelle's eyes softened for a moment while she looked at him, but they quickly hardened again. "Wish I could, pretty boy, but I'm afraid you wouldn't like it. Let's skip over that subject for now... I'd rather hear your theories on who I am." The two heroes couldn't see Rebelle's face under her bandana, but she was smirking.
    "We've come up with a couple." Lightning blurted, causing Ramu to snap her head towards her. They'd only come up with where her hideout was: what was she doing? Ramu watched as his new partner stepped forward. "We've fathomed so many people, but we can't seem to find the correct fit." Now she was just straight lying. This isn't how they planned their second encounter to go.
    "You have so many faces, thanks to the C.H.A.R.Ms... I almost wonder if you could be the holder of the C.H.A.R.M of deceit." At this, Rebelle snorted. "You mean Kitsune? Or is someone else holding the fox earrings?"
    "So we're right? You do have a mole; or you've known the C.H.A.R.M holders from your past?" Rebelle froze, realizing her mistake. "I-" the girl coughed. "I don't know what you think, but you're wrong."
    "Who's your mole?" Rebelle smirked. "I don't think we should continue this conversation any longer. What we should do is settle matters." Lightning tilted her head to the side. "What do you-" She was cut off by Rebelle speaking. "Domino, choose my fate."
    In a brilliant flash of light, Lightning and Ramu were knocked into the storage unit doors, the metal cold and unwelcoming. Ramu managed to look up, seeing Lightning, struggling to get up, and Rebelle, undergoing some kind of transformation. White light surrounded the villain, and that's when Ramu noticed the Yang ring on her finger. He looked down to his Yin one, which was glowing black with rage.
    The white light suddenly ceased, and Rebelle was dropped to the floor, panting. It was quiet for a moment, and her short hair had turned to long dutch braids that Ramu remembered all too well. The elk themed costume adorned her head with long, pointy antlers- that of an elk, to be specific- and her costume was white for the most part, with blue patterns here and there.
    A mere whisper came out of Ramu as she stood. "Eruku?" Rebelle dusted off her shoulders, sighing. "Finally, you realize. It took forever, my dear Ramu." The boy was speechless as she stalked towards him, her transformation faltering along the way. It was then that he noticed: Lightning was knocked out.
    "Just give me your C.H.A.R.M, and we can rule this world. We can make Otto and Searra pay for what they did to me; for what they did to you..." Eruku took his hand, helping him stand up. "Please... we can be the most powerful beings to ever walk this Earth..." Ramu backed up, shaking his head.
    "No... you're not the Eruku I know. This is an illusion: Lightning was right, it's you, Kitsune, it's always been you..." Eruku frowned. "Why won't you accept this? I am your partner, I have always been." Ramu shook his head, throwing his staff at her head. She caught it right before it hit her square in the eyes, looking back to him. "I'm offended, personally." She quipped, snapping his staff in half on her knee. 
"Calme-toi, Aaron." Ramu looked up at her. "How do you know my name?" He whispered. "I've told you, it's me. It's Eruku." Tears filled in his eyes. "How do I know? After everything- how do I know?"
"Look in the darkness, my dear, and you will find everything you're looking for."