Celly stood quietly, taking in the scene taking place before her. The Guardian, pleading. The Otaku, crying. The Lover, dead. Celly stepped back slightly, covering her face in her hands. Her head was throbbing. She couldn't explain it. All she could see was Nyx crying over the death of Milton. It all felt so familiar... as if this had happened before. Celly bit back a groan and again stepped away from the scene in front of her.

The downward slash of a sword...

She wanted to leave.

A splatter of crimson falling on marble floors...

She wanted to run.

The thud as a body dropped lifelessly to the ground...

She didn't want to stay here.

Nyx hadn't stopped crying... Seth hadn't stopped begging... Milton hadn't stopped being dead. Celly took another step away. In her eyes she could see something else. Half memories flitted back and forth in her mind.

The clash of swords...

No.

The sound of a cry...

No.

Shocked silver-grey eyes...

Not again.

Celly suddenly felt the Buzz of Otaku. It distracted her from her tortured memories, until a stabbing pain in her stomach caught her attention instead. Celly put her hand against her stomach and then held it before her astonished eyes.

Blood.

"No... it's too soon!" Celly cried out before darkness overtook her.

Celly's body hunched over as she screamed in a mixture of pain and fury. Her stomach wound had stopped bleeding, but would take a little while to heal. As she looked up, the shiner disappeared as her ice blue eyes turned a darker shade. Celly's features twisted.

"Accursed bitch!" she spat out. "How dare she interfere with me like this! For a millennia she has withstood me... I will take no more!"

Celly stood straight, focusing her thoughts on the Buzz she was getting. She smiled and brought her sword to her hand.

"So many Otaku, so little time..." she murmured. She took a leap that took her to the top of a nearby building. As she jumped from to rooftop, Celly grinned as she thought of the destruction she would cause.

"I'm not letting you get away this time, Hotohori no Otaku."

TBC...