The Red Moon Always Shines

Chapter 65: Pawn, King, and Rook pt.2

Laughter echoed through a school hallway, the sound sounding like a group of children having a wonderful time together. But as the sound got closer, it aged up, and for a long time it remained happy and carefree. Then the shadows on the walls showed up, one on each wall, and one the floor, and the laughter changed. The once unified sounds of joy were cut into thirds, each laugh changing as the shadows grew. The loudest grew crazed, wicked and uncontrolled, it sent shivers of fear down Rook's spine. One turned into grieving sobs, like the person who was crying had lost someone they cared deeply about. The last one was peculiar, as it remained happy and child-like yet it sounded hollow, fake, it was nothing but play pretend.

Rook stood still as the shadows formed into people, transparent and ghost like. The one with the crazed laughter, a white bunny hybrid, walked by first, red eyes glinting with insanity and glee, knife in hand. The dragon braced himself, for what he dared not to think, but the teen just walked through him. Following behind was a teen in blue, tears coloring his cheeks with darkened crescents, and he recognized him as one of the people he was once fighting against (once he says, not even a day wasn't that far away). By instinct he reached out for the teen, but his clawed hand just slipped through his ghostly form. A giggle caught his attention, a pair of violet eyes shining at him though the darkness. A pair of very familiar violet eyes. Xelqua's/Grian's/His (it was a lot of things he was called) eyes.

"What is this?" He asked, sweeping his arms around the hallway.

But the other him just laughed on, a grin on his face as he walked out of the shadows. And Rook balked in shock at the sight of the other him. Because deposit his happy face and laugh, he was a bloody and bruised mess. Only a few scattered parts of his face was unblemished, but it did not stop him from laughing as if he'd been told the best joke in history. It agitated Rook beyond belief.

"What's with you? Why are you laughing! This isn't funny!"

The ghost-like teen's laughs slowed into giggles as he regarded Rook, "Oh my! I really should have gone into the acting business!"

Rook's tail swished behind him in agitation, "What?"

"Oh yes I really should have!" Other-him nodded to himself, a smile on his face, "I mean look at how good I am! I even fooled myself into believing lies!" His eyes suddenly turned cooled, dead, as all traces of happiness faded from his face. "And just like an actor, my life will be nothing but an act."

With a crack the vision shattered, the hallway falling apart like glass, revealing a world of the old times where it had fallen. People were all gathered at one point in the world, laughing and talking to themselves, and among them he stood, though now he looked older. The group then soon split up, all heading off in different directions, but the air of happiness was still there. In flashes he was shown many different things, some of which sparked some locked up memories, and some he knew straight away. Like how some of these builds were in the Red Moon as well. But he was also shown how everyone interacted with each other, he saw people caring for one another so very deeply. So unlike what he had been given.

The vision froze, faded into the background, as he got lost in his thoughts. Has anyone he knew when he was with Fallacy actually cared about him? Fallacy had claimed they cared about him, at least he thought they had, but where was the action to back the words up? Nowhere, not a single place was there love for him from these people. Shaking his head he cast those thoughts away, they were for another time.

The vision flashed up again, this time of them all sitting around and talking. A bush baby hybrid stood up and raised her hand, a drink in it, "I call for a toast, for us, for Grian, and for all his and our futures may hold!" Her call was answered by happy cries of the people around her, all equally as happy as she was. "To Grian, and to the EVO family! Long may we last, loved may we be!"