Day Four: Morning

[Bra]

OOC: A bit of a warning. There's a little piece in here that gets really gory and kind of screwed up, I guess. Don't read it if you think it'll bother you.

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Bra didn?t really want to sleep. In fact, she was actually somewhat nervous concerning Exosus? increasing earnest in which she tried to persuade the princess. The violence might not have been real, but what would happen if she was killed in her own dream? Would she wake up, or was her doppelganger powerful enough to destroy her mind?

Despite all that, the cyan haired girl was exhausted. While she would have liked to stay awake for the rest of the competition, her body simply wouldn?t let her, especially with the assurance that Reijin would watch over her. She couldn?t at all figure out why, but for some reason, she trusted him.

?There you are!!? came an excited voice. Bra cringed; she knew who it was. ?I was hoping you?d return soon.?

Grabbing a handful of fabric from the back of the heiress? top, Exosus hauled the girl to her feet. A sadistic grin was played across the robed imitation of Bra, and immediately the original knew something had changed.

?I?ve got something to show you!? Exosus announced, before her eyes suddenly grew dark. ?Over here!? she waved her arm, launching the real halfling across the room and through a doorway which had appeared from nowhere in the opposite wall.

Bra slammed into the floor of the pitch black room beyond the entrance with a mighty crash, and tumbled to a halt as Exosus appeared before her. Motioning up above, a series of blue-tinted torches ignited, illuminating the room, and revealing yet another iteration of Bra, this one hanging from the ceiling by shackles around her wrists.

The imprisoned girl was beaten and bloody. Her hands had been crushed, rendered absolutely useless, and her legs had been sadistically cut off. It was obvious the blade which had removed the limbs wasn?t very sharp, as the cuts were abhorrently ragged. Strips of flesh and sinew hung haphazardly about. Gashes ran up and down her front and back, and across her face. An enormous pool of blood had formed beneath, a pool which the original Bra suddenly realized she was lying in.

?That?s...? her eyes widened as an inkling of realization set in. ?That?s Hope, isn?t it?!? she exclaimed. Hope was like Exosus, real-but-not-real. She was a reflection of the more optimistic facets of Bra?s personality, and came into existence each time she used her body split technique. To see her here, in her subconscious, was a first. To see her in such a sad state was... nauseating. It was like looking through some twisted mirror.

?What the fuck?! What the hell did you do to her?!? Bra demanded, leaping to her feet.

?Isn?t it obvious?? Exosus retorted, folding her arms across her chest.

?Wh-Why?! What did she ever do to you?!? the demi saiyan demanded.

?Oh. That. Well,? the robed girl acted as though nothing at all seemed out of place. ?Well, I don?t really have anything against her, per se. I mean, she is annoying. Really, really annoying, but the reason I did this... well,? she paused to chuckle slightly. ?Was to show you what I?d do to you the next time you fell asleep. Unless you decided to cooperate.?

?Oh, this is bullshit!? Bra retorted. ?I haven?t even used dark magic in like forever. You?ve got nothing on me, you screwed up bitch.?

?Really? I?ve got nothing on you? Then how do you explain me doing this to Hope? She?s every bit as strong as you, isn?t she?? Exosus smirked.

?She can?t fight as good as I can. She doesn?t get that people like you are out there and need to die,? the empress cringed as a weak, desperate groan escaped from the mutilated Hope. ?You better be able to fix her.?

?Oh, sure, I can fix that. But first, let?s cut to the chase, huh? I want more power, and this time, I?m not letting you leave ?till I get it. Unless you want me to make things worse for poor little Hope-less over there.? Exosus sniggered at her incredibly lame joke.

?How much more?? Bra queried, her eyes showing more concern for Hope than they should have. Real or not, Hope was part of what made Bra Bra. If that part of her was destroyed, she would be a different person.

?About twice as much as I have now. It works out to... say... twenty per cent or so. Sort of. It?s hard to put this stuff to numbers, you understand.? Exosus idly rambled.

?If I agree to this, you?ll never bother me or her over this shit ever again?? the cyan haired girl narrowed her eyes. ?Ever??

?Pretty brave for someone in your position to play hardball. Brave... or really stupid,? the clone mused. ?Especially considering I could wipe you out of existence in a heartbeat. But, you?re cooperating, so a deal?s a deal. And you?ve got one... if you agree.?

?Fine, it?s a deal. But I?m not leaving ?till you heal her.? Bra insisted, pointing at Hope. Exosus growled in annoyance, before waving her hand to the imprisoned one. In an instant, she was healed of all her injuries and released from her chains.

?Bye!? the cloaked girl smirked, waving to the princess as everything went dark.

?Huh?!? she exclaimed, slamming her elbow into something that grunted in pain. Suddenly, she crashed onto the ground, along with something - or someone - else.

?Bra, what the hell?? came yet another familiar voice. The sapphire eyed girl found herself in a pile of leaves. Pulling herself up, she brushed herself off, wincing as her broken arm made sure she knew it was still there. Reijin climbed out of the leaves as well, holding a hand to his chest. ?Is there a reason you decided to try and break my ribs??

?What? Oh!! I did?!? Bra exclaimed. ?I?m... sorry, I... was having... a nightmare. I... were you carrying me??

?Well... yeah. You?re not that heavy and I figured you?d sleep easier that way. Plus we?d make some good time if one of us kept going.? Reijin replied, trying his best to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

?Yeah, okay... I?m sorry, I didn?t mean to hit you,? she stammered. Her face reddened as she worked to change the subject. ?So... we?re practically there, huh??

?Uh, yeah. Half a kilometer out or so,? the raven haired warrior answered, pretending he didn?t see the girl blush. ?I figure there should be some decent supplies out there. Or at least, something more useful than those vines.?

Bra nodded, and they continued to walk. Soon, they found their selves at a pharmacy, which, like everything else on the island, was abandoned, and therefore locked up. The pure-blood rolled his eyes before punching through a window, shattering the fragile glass with the slightest of force.

The duo leapt through the entrance and quickly found some gauze and a splint for the girl. Reijin worked the items into a makeshift cast of sorts, tightly wrapping the gauze around the cyan haired fighter?s slender arm before using a long strip of electrical tape to hold the gauze closed, since it seemed there was little else available.

Finally, Reijin looked around for a moment, and then tore a long piece of cloth from the tail of a left-over doctor?s gown. He fashioned it into a sling, putting Bra?s arm through it before tying it behind her head.

With that done, it was the princess? turn to treat her comrade?s wounds. Though the pure-breed was resistant, he finally allowed her to remove his bandage, which he promptly took from her and pocketed for safe-keeping.

The girl tore a piece from the same doctor?s gown, and then grimaced. Reijin saw the alcohol in her hand, and immediately he knew what was to occur. He simply nodded. Bra poured the liquid freely over his gash, flushing out the dirt and grit which had worked it?s way into the sticky red fluid. The raven haired warrior winced, but made no cries.

Soon, it was over. The hybrid found some antibiotic gel behind the pharmacist?s counter and coated one side of her coat-turned-bandage with it, before carefully wrapping it around Reijin?s head. She, however, used a tiny spark of ki to fuse the fabric to itself, while carefully avoiding the saiyan?s hair or skin for fear of burning him. Finally, the two looked more like medical patients than warriors. Bra smiled to Reijin briefly. ?Let?s go kick some ass.? she grinned.