Suburbs

Chapter thirteen: the only thing faster than light

Humans were once the fastest evolving species the speed at which they would create new things that had only been dreams but only a few years ago. All this speed all this creation only led to chaos as information could be spread at the tap of a button so could false information. As people began stop trusting those they could trust and began to trust lies. Humans were fated to turn on each other for no reason other than out of spite.

“So you guys new here?” Anna asked following along as the group began to walk into the suburbs

“Yea Lucy and Freyja haven’t been here before they’re from the slums” Enia said to Anna. This caused Lucy and Freyja to turn around and stare Enia down with glare saying that they would kill her.

“Cool well then let me take you to my favourite place here in the suburbs” Anna said as she began to run ahead. Rounding a corner to the groups surprise stood a building filled with people all shouting. Lucy and Freyja had never seen anything like it stunned in the moment Enia took their hands as they began to walk into the establishment. As Lucy regained herself she walked up to the door and slammed it open to her surprise the door seemed sturdy. As she did the restaurant fell silent as everyone looked her way

“Uh Lucy we don’t do that kind of stuff here” Anna said grabbing Lucy’s shoulder

“Oh, ok then” Lucy said looking only just realising how many people were inside the establishment

“Table for five please” Anna asked a waiter who then led them to free table near the back of the store placing down their menus Kristin immediately picking up the top menu and began to look through it.

“So Kristin it’s been a while how have you been?” Anna asked ignoring the rest of the group

“I’ve been doing pretty well how about you?” Kristin responded not looking up from her menu

“Yea I’ve been pretty good” Anna said tears filling her eyes “and thank you, honestly you three bringing Kristin here I kind of skipped over introductions so let’s start on fresh page shall we” as she did everyone picked up a menu

“Hey Lucy, what does this say” Freyja asked pointing to her menu

“That says Carmel waffle” Lucy responded “no idea what a waffle is though”

“They’re like pancakes except a bit tougher and they have squares which the cooks fill with syrup” Anna said the confused look on both Lucy and Freyja’s face telling her everything she needed to know

“You know what never mind they taste good” Anna said chuckling to herself

“Alright then I’ll get the Carmel waffles” Freyja said excitedly as she placed the menu back on the table.

“Alright I’ll get us a waiter then” Anna said as she stood up to get the attention of one of the staff members. A staff member approached table getting out their notepad and pen

“Hello, my names Zard and I’ll be you waiter today what can I get you all” The man asked with a smile

“Yea whatever mister can I get the bacon breakfast wrap” Lucy said her attitude rude

“And I’ll have the Carmel Waffle” Freyja said excitedly

“Can I get just a strawberry milkshake” Enia asked her voice quiet

“I’ll have the seafood platter with a side of shrimp” Kristin said finally putting down her menu

“And I’ll have a coffee with two extra shots please” Anna said

“Alright and that will come out to one hundred thirty-two dollars and twenty-five cents” The man said placing the bill on the table

“Don’t worry I’ll pay” Anna said pulling her wallet out of her pocket placing a hundred-dollar bill on the table as well as a fifty-dollar bill

“Keep the change” Anna said smugly

“Your meal won’t be a moment” Zard said as he began to move to another table.

“What the hell was that” Freyja asked

“An order?” Anna answered

“No, the notes you pulled out of your little bag thing” Freyja said reaching for it

“It’s called money gosh did you not have that in the slums?” Anna asked lowering her voice to make sure nobody else heard

“No, we didn’t we traded valuables like food” Lucy said as Freyja was too flabbergasted to even answer Anna

“Guess that means we are going to be living off my money then huh?” Anna said letting out a large sigh

“No worries I’ve got tons of money that should last us till we reach the city” Enia said pulling out her own wallet Anna seeing how much was in there relaxed a bit

“Here is what you ordered if you have any complaints, please feel free to call me over”. Zard said as he placed the plates of food on the table. As Lucy took a bite of her wrap her face brightening up

“Oh, my god it tastes it so good” Lucy said taking another bite. As Freyja went to pick up the waffle with her bare hands Enia stopped her

“Sorry but you’ll have to use a knife and fork for this type of meal” Enia said pointing to the cutlery sitting beside Freyja’s plate

“Um how exactly do I use this?” Freyja asked holding her fork upside down

“Here let me cut it” Enia said grabbing Freyja’s knife and fork as she started cutting the waffle

“Man, I missed these meals so much” Kristin said grabbing another a shrimp and devouring it whole

“I’m glad you’re able to enjoy it again” Anna said as she sipped her coffee. After Enia explained how to use a fork to Freyja, she took a bite her eyes began sparkle with joy

“It’s so warm and sweet I haven’t eaten like this in years” Freyja said as she began to devour her meal. As Lucy finished her meal she looked at Anna who had already finished her drink and was admiring the scenery outside the window

“Hey Anna, how do you know you’re on our side? Do you even know what we are tying to do” Lucy asked Anna the question catching Anna off guard.

“of course, I know the ruckus you caused a little while ago with the hole flooding the slums caught the attention of a lot of folk” Anna answered

“Alright if we can really trust you need to answer a few questions first” Lucy said

“The ones that Baldemar asked?” Freyja asked Lucy with a mouthful of waffle

“yes the ones Baldemar asked” Lucy said looking straight into Anna’s soul “ so what’s your favourite colour, how tall are you, do you have any allergies and how old are you?” Lucy asked rapid fire

“Well my favourite colour is definitely brown, i’m 169cm tall but that might be off by a couple centimetres, I’m allergic to pollen so spring really kills me, and I turned 18 two weeks ago” Anna said taking her time as she answered each question

“alright I guess i’m the oldest one here then huh” Lucy said looking at Kristin who had eaten another shrimp hole as she did somebody took a seat next to her

“and who might you be” Lucy said turning to the person

“my names Eva i’ve got some information about the council you might find handy.” Eva said shocking everyone at the table

Chapter fourteen: priceless information

“Who even are you and how do i know I can trust you” Anna said standing up from the booth

“I already said my name is Eva and just let me give you this little bit of information” Eva said still seated at the table

“then take your hood off so we can see what you look like” Lucy said grabbing the figures hood as she took off her hood it revealed some extremely curly hair the colour being a deep crimson completely contrasted by her eyes which were a deep shade of gold. She looked as if she was younger than kristin she seemed harmless enough however Lucy had learnt to never underestimate anyone.

“i’ll tell you what I know then i’ll be out of your hair alright” Eva said obviously flustered at Lucy removing her hood

“So the council is five people and they all represent one concept I also know which concept one of them is” Eva said with a smug look on her face

“will you tell us?” Freyja asked

“Can you please get me a water first i’m really thirsty.” Eva asked Lucy seeing how dry their lips were

“Fine but this information better be worth it” Anna said flagging down their waiter

“How can I help you” Zard said

“Just a water please ice cold” Anna said

“thank you so much I promise i’ll repay you in the future” Eva said

“yea yea whatever tell us this info already” Kristin said staring Eva down

“Ah that’s right so one of the council members concept they represent is civilisation” Eva said

“your water” Zard said placing the water in front of Eva

“thank you” Eva said taking a sip as she did she chugged the whole thing in an instant

“Geez you really were thirsty” Enia said

“Also the council ranks the members one being the strongest and five being the weakest civilisation sits at the bottom” Eva said as she began to get up

“Hold up one moment” Anna demanded “how do you know all this?”

“it’s because my power is solved i’m able to answer any question I ask myself” Eva said

“alright then cya later and thanks for the help” Enia said waving Eva away

“I don’t trust them one bit” Anna said watching as Eva leave the establishment and disappear into the crowd

Chapter fourteen: the second meeting

After leaving the restaurant the gang had but one thing on their mind getting to the council with the new information they had obtained they figured they would have a fighting chance. But as they began their march towards the city a familiar voice called out to them

“Don’t you take another step forward” the person demanded turning around the group found themselves facing unfamiliar figure.

“Who might you be?” Lucy asked as she did she grabbed her scythe assuming they were an enemy

“I already told you my name it’s Gaven” They yelled

“well maybe we would recognise you if you didn’t wear such a shitty mask” Kristin said pointing at Gaven’s mask which had such a pattern that made everyone think it was moving

“Fine I guess but this is your own choice” Gaven as he removed his mask revealing his face it looked as if it hadn’t been touched in his life. His beautiful golden eyes meshing perfectly with his equally beautiful tanned skin. It was as if his eyes captivated most of the group.

“Now be crushed under my iron fist” as he said this everyone feel to the fall feeling this intense pulling feeling. Of course, Lucy wasn’t fazed but she soon realised how hopeless her situation was as she watched Gaven begin to ascend to such a height that even if she threw her scythe it wouldn’t hit him.

“Don’t you think this is a bit unfair for me” Lucy declared as she did she began to look around for a way to reach Gaven

“If you climbed onto a roof you should be fine” gaven said pointing at the roof next to him which was the perfect height for a clean hit to the head

“why would you tell me that?” Lucy asked as she planned her way to get on the roof

“to give you a false sense of hope” Gaven said as he did he began to make objects surrounding Lucy float as they reached a decent high they began to fall Lucy managing to dodge most of them except for a pot that hit her shoulder shattering cutting it in the process

“Damn that hurts like hell” Lucy said grabbing her shoulder as she did

“That’s only the beginning of the hell i’m going to put you through” Gaven said as he did he began to pull up a giant rock that was laying around. Lucy releasing that she couldn’t block this one began to panic as the rock began to fly towards her if it hit her it would certainly crush her killing her instantly. The rock just barely about hit Lucy as she stood up getting ready to the most dangerous thing she might have ever done she jumped landing on top of the rock about hit her. Landing on top of the rock Freyja could have sworn Lucy was a real angel in that moment.

“You pest” Gaven said summoning more rocks she would hurl at Lucy as he did Enia could feel the weight lightning

“Hey Anna got a question” Enia asked

“What is it” Anna responded

“Do you trust me?” Enia said

“yea why wouldn’t I” Anna asked

“Do you trust me with your life” Enia asked demanding to know the answer

“I mean like yea I guess” Anna said confused

“Then don’t hold a grudge if this doesn’t work” Enia said as Anna was consumed by antimatter as it began to disperse Anna had disappeared

“What the hell Enia did you just kill Anna?” Kristin asked

“No I moved them out of the gravity field” Enia responded. Lucy had been doing her best but had received some minimal damage as she tried to climb the side of the house every item she grabbed would begin to fall to the ground she couldn’t climb to reach Gaven

“you given up yet?” Gaven asked hurling another lot of items in Lucy’s direction. Before Lucy could respond she heard a whisper in her ear although it was random gibberish she still somehow managed to understand what they said

“Whatever you say Anna” Lucy yelled as she threw her scythe in the air high enough that it went above the building the second it got high enough the scythe disappeared from view

“what the hell was that” Gaven asked getting nervous. As soon as Gaven finished their sentence their head had been chopped clean off in a flash of blue.

“That was terrifying Enia never use that again without warning” Anna said she appeared in front of Lucy within the same second as Gaven’s death

“wow you really can move fast can’t you” Lucy said getting up

“yep would you say it’s super, super?” Anna asked playfully. As the rest of the group began to get up they began to gather around the injured Lucy

Chapter fifteen: the split

After the fiasco the group sat down and decided how they would gather more information on the council. The group decided to split into two groups Anna, Kristin and Enia were group one, Lucy and Freyja were group two.

“Why did we even split into two groups anyway?” Kristin complained

“to cover more ground and find more information” Enia said

“That’s so boring though” Kristin continued to complain. As she did a strange figure began to follow them.

“Hey Kristin can I ask why exactly you were sent to the slums?” Enia asked turning to look down at kristin you actually seem pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things”

“Its because of the job we used to run together” Anna said butting into the conversation “we used to run a news paper we’d give the news unfiltered to the public” as she was about to finish Kristin cut her off

“I was the one handing everything out You were the one who made the paper”

“Well it’s not my fault you’re the perfect mascot” Anna argued

“just because i’m short doesn’t mean i’m a good mascot” Kristin argued back

“well you would make a good mascot because you’re cute not because you’re short” Enia said trying to defuse the conversation

“I know i’m cute but Anna says i’m a good mascot because i’m short aren’t you Anna?” Kristin asked yelling at this point

“You’re only mad because you know it’s true” Anna said smugly. As Anna said that Kristin leaned in and tried to bite Ames leg

“Don’t you even start with that seafood” Anna said trying to shake Kristin off her leg

“I thought we agreed to not use pet names” Kristin mumbled through Ames leg. In the midst of this chaos Enia stood in shock at the scene displayed before her. after a few seconds of thought Enia grabbed Kristin and tried to get her off Anna

“Thanks enia” Anna said at the same time kristin muttered out

“Don’t you get involved Enia” the situation confusing Enia even more as she began to pull on Kristin to get her off. After an eventful twenty seconds of pulling and arguing Enia finally got Kristin off of Ames leg.

“heh you still got in you don’t cha” Anna said out of breath

“Yea and you can still take a hit can’t cha” Kristin said massaging her jaw that was hurt during their little match

“So do you guys actually get along or what?” Enia said also out of breath from pulling on Kristin

“yea we’re besties after all” Anna and Kristin said in perfect synch

“ Well well well what do we have hear a couple of cuties in these suburbs?” a voice said seductively Enia could tell they were a women but was unable to identify their age. As the three turned around Anna and Kristin immediately turned back around to face the other direction

“Damn lady put some clothes on” Anna screamed covering her eyes

“what I thought couples weren’t supposed to comment on appearance” The lady said

“Sorry miss but I don’t know who you are so there’s no way we could be a couple” Enia said unfazed by the women’s very minimalist outfit

“i’ll tell you right up then I serve the council and I was sent here to take you three out” the lady said licking her lips as she eyed down Enia

Chapter sixteen: loves incurable poison

After her brief introduction the women sprung into combat getting close to Enia

“What if I steal this kiss?” she asked getting close to Enia’s face

“sorry but I only kiss after learning someone’s name” Enia said summoning a wall of anti matter in between the two

“Then my names Lilith” She said as she did Enia froze in her tracks

“You mean the Lilith?” Enia asked

“Oi you know this person?” Anna asked grabbing Enia’s shoulder

“of course I do they’re the most gorgeous person I know” Enia replied trying to get another look at Lilith

“I bet you’re confused aren’t you Anna?” Lilith asked

“Hell yea so why don’t you explain so I ain’t confuse” Anna said trying to keep Enia still

“It’s called attract” Lilith said beginning to laugh “upon laying your eyes upon me you’ll begin to fall in love, the longer you look the deeper the love” Lilith continued as she began to squirm in place

“Just the thought of you all falling in love with me just turns me on so bad” Lilith yelled her voice filled with lust

“Alright don’t look at the crazy slut and we win easy as pie” Kristin said

“Hold up Kristin let’s wait a second” Anna said still holding Enia who seemed to have calmed down a little bit

“They didn’t tell us everything about their power” Anna said signalling to Enia

“What was I saying?” Enia asked

“About how much you love Lilith” Anna responded

“God damnit we’ve gotta go up against the succubus” Enia muttered

“You actually know them?” Kristin asked

“Yea we used to be pretty close when I worked with the council” Enia said widening the antimatter wall she had made

“Awwwww Enia cmon don’t be like that I know you love me” Lilith said as she began to hit Enia’s wall

“So that’s your connection to them then how do we beat them?” Kristin inquired as she impatiently tapped her foot

“we‘ll have to rapidly go at her one at a time” Enia said as she began to really think of an idea

“that might be a bit difficult to do considering how different we all fight and how different our speeds are” Anna said as she also began to try and plan something

“Fuck it i’m going first i’ll be back in a couple seconds alright by then you should have figured who’s next” Kristin said as she began to climb the anti matter wall

“Oh is one of my cuties coming out to play” Lilith said as she looked up to see Kristin who was looking away from her

Chapter seventeen: rapid assault

“Shut your pie hole you meanie” Enia yelled over the barrier as she did Kristin dived from the top of the barrier baring her trident as she did

“You don’t think that’ll work will you” Lilith said as she was able to dodge Kristin’s assault

“you’re pretty flexible huh?” Kristin asked

“Well you gotta be in this line of work” Lilith said getting a clean hit on Kristin. As she did Kristin retreated to the antimatter wall which had opened up so she could crawl through.

“Now where are you going darling~” Lilith said as she did she felt a fist hit her face incredibly fast as she did she began to fly

“Geez you’re a bit rough not that I’m not used to it” Lilith said getting up

“God you’re one horny bastard aren’t you” Anna said retreating behind the wall again

“I’m pretty sure I know what’s coming next” Lilith said ducking behind cover to avoid Enia’s attack

“Wrong way baby” Enia said throwing a ball of Antimatter at Lilith

“It’s been a while so I imagine you would forget wouldn’t you” Lilith said looking eye contact with Enia as she did Enia feel to her knees on the floor she was completely infatuated with Lilith

“That’s right Enia once I lock eyes with my target the speed at which you fall in love is speed up exponentially.”

“Shit they got Enia” Kristin said hoping up over the wall to see the scene play out. Kristin retreated down the wall to Anna

“We got to think of a new strategy” Kristin said

“How about we both go at her at once” Anna suggested

“That might work” Kristin said as they got ready to go the antimatter wall dispersed.

“My my Enia you’re so strong just what I needed” Lilith said stroking Enia’s hair. It appeared that Enia was completely under Lilith’s spell.

“it’ll take more than Enia to take us down” Anna said as she flung herself at Lilith

“A bit predictable with that aren’t you” Lilith said getting ready to block Ames attack

“You honestly think I’d do the same thing twice?” Anna asked as she threw Kristin at Lilith

“Can’t say I expected this” Lilith said

“No point in trying to defend yourself” Kristin said yielding her trident as she rapidly approached Lilith Before she could hit Lilith a wall had appeared in front of her stopping all momentum.

“Enia what the hell” Anna said

“You won’t lay a finger on Lilith’s beautiful face” Enia said.

“this might mean we have to replan” Kristin said getting up off the ground trident in hand

“Let’s tag Team em” Anna Said

“Just like we used to” Kristin said. Anna began to charge Lilith while Kristin went to Enia. Anna hitting Lilith’s left and Kristin hitting Enia’s right Enia was able to block but Lilith wasn’t so lucky getting a hard hit on the side of her chest

“switch” Anna yelled as she did Anna and Kristin swapped partners

“what a fun little dance” Lilith said as she did Kristin began to try and land a hit Lilith ultimately ending up hitting the right side of her chest with her trident. Anna hitting Enia square in the face Enia however was able to stay strong supporting herself with a bit antimatter

“Switch” Kristin said as she jumped of Lilith landing Ames back as Anna began her assault on Lilith being lucky enough to hit Lilith square in the chest Kristin was able to slap Enia with her trident.

“Switch” Anna yelled however instead of switching places Kristin chucked her trident Anna catching it and stabbing Lilith in the chest with a final hit Lilith fell to the ground lifeless. Enia snapped out of her confusion and regained her senses as Kristin hit her square in the face.

“Ow” Enia said

“Ah you’re back thank god” Kristin said helping Enia off the floor

“it’s a shame we couldn’t get any info about the council but at least were able to stop a threat to the others” Anna said checking Lilith’s pulse which had faded.