[M] The Day the World Stopped Moving IC (Supaablee & Simple)

[Alter Ego]

Raven's grasp on her arm grew tighter as the pain grew more immense.

Rin called out for her, but she was interrupted as he went to the locked door and pounded on it, trying to get someone to tell them which vial the antidote was.

"Rin, stop!" she pleaded, her voice cracking slightly. "It won't help to act like that! We just need to think this out carefully..."

Raven hoped that her intellect would aid them in this time. Surely there was some difference between the six similar tubes?

---

Al watched with child-like glee as he watched Raven and Rin suffer. It was all too delicious for him.

Little did he know, that Aris and Arin would end it...for a short time, at least.

"This is excellent...He does realize that he will have to pick one, right? If he doesn't his little lover will turn, and devour him with no emotion or second-thoughts whatsoever..."

Now.

Aris crept up silently behind Al, quickly - but tightly - squeezed a nerve right on the back of his neck, immediately causing him to go limp in the chair.

"Now!" they cried as they thrust the door open, sprinting down the hall and to the door that Raven and Rin were trapped behind.

Their footsteps echoed down the hallway, signalling their fast-approaching selves...

---

Before Raven could say another word, she heard loud, hasty footsteps rushing down the hall and coming to a halt right in front of their door.

"Raven! Rin!" two voices panted, the sound of the door being unlocked resonating through the tiny room.

"Aris...? Arin...?" Raven breathed in disbelief. What were they doing here!? They were a part of the reason as to why she and Rin were stuck in this whole mess in the first place...

The door barged open, the twins unaware that Rin was still there. They apologized before shutting the door, making sure it was still unlocked. Aris pressed her back against the door, making sure that no one got out. Arin spoke, his words rushing out one past the other.

"Okay, listen, we don't have much time. We want to tell you which vial the cure is, but we aren't even sure ourselves. Hell, we're not even sure Al knows. But, we do know that there is tiny difference between them all."

He pointed to the flasks.

"Each of them has a teeny tiny little dot on them, all of them different colors. We think there's red, green, blue, yellow, purple, and black. Al is a tricky sort of man, so we think the colors mean something. We don't know what, but there are a few rats scampering around here."

Aris pressed her ear against the door, listening for footsteps. She knew they were running out of time...

Get to the point, Arin! she silently yelled as she impatiently waited for him to finish, each moment more agonizing than the other.

"Test a few drops of each vial on them and figure it out from there. Sorry, but that's all we know!"

"Let's go!" Aris whisper-shouted. Arin nodded, his eyes contorted with fear. If Al found out about this...He didn't want to think about the consequences.

They swept out the door without another word, locking it tightly before rushing back up to Al's monitor room.

The two shut the door, locking it just in time as Al woke up.

He groaned, rubbing his neck.

"Ugh...what happened...?" he asked, his eyes squinted closely together.

"One of the scientists came in without your permission - " Aris started.

" - and shot you with some kind of anesthetic," Arin ended.

Al turned around in his chair, glaring at the twins.

"Did you even think to take care of him?!" he barked.

The twins snickered.

"Of course we did," Aris said, a dark expression on her face.

"We're one bullet short," her brother ended with an equally sadistic mien.

Al nodded curtly, pretending as though he were satisfied with their answer.

"Good..." he murmured, standing up. Aris and Arin exchanged nervous glances. Why was he getting up? They had lied, but it wasn't obvious...

"Now, tell me..." he said, his hands clasped behind his back. "Where did you take this 'scientist?'"

"Into a closet," Aris said, her eyes calm and collected.

"Is that so?" he said.

"Sir, yes sir."

He looked off to the side, his hand slowly reaching for his pocket. Arin noticed this, and immediately grew suspicious.

"Really?" he asked again, his hand wrapped around the butt of his pistol.

"Sir, yes sir," Aris repeated, trying not to show her fear.

"I don't believe you."

In an instant, Alexios pulled out his gun. Without a second thought, he pulled the trigger...

...The bullet shot clean through Aris' forehead.

Her eyes went wide before she slid to the ground, her body as limp and lifeless as a doll's. Alexios smirked and went back to his chair, continuing to watch his "program."

"ARIS!" Arin yelled, his knees buckling from beneath him. He hunched over his sister's body, his blue eyes teeming with tears.

"Aris...come on, stop joking..." he whispered, his voice cracking heavily as he grasped his sister's hand in his. There was no way this was happening....there was no way this was happening...

...But it was.

"Aris...Aris...Ariiss...." Arin broke down into tears, his grip tightening. All he could say was her name. He saw Alexios reach for his pocket...Why hadn't he done anything? Was it to save himself...?

No... he thought, the water flowing from his eyes as though they would never stop. He gently pulled Aris up into his arms, cradling her lifeless body. All he could do was look at his sister's blank and empty eyes in regret...

[커비]

For a moment, the door swung open. Rin stared at the empty hall confused. He heard footsteps stampeding closer and closer to his location. The footsteps were of the twins. They were hustling to get in. Arin explained what the colors marked on the flasks. Rin lifted up the vials and inspected each of them. There were indeed tiny colored dots on them, but that still didn't tell what each color meant. Before the twin could continue to explain the issue, he had run out of time.

"Dammit," Rin cursed as he set down the vials. The twin had mentioned about rats scampering about. Surely there was no way he could find six rats in this room alone. The room was spotless, and there didn't seem to be any rat holes around here. Time was running short, and every second that had passed, Raven was dying.

Rin shouted in frustration. He began to rip at his hair. "C'mon... Fucking rats where are you?!" he exclaimed. No matter how much he was enraged, no animal ever showed. Rin's mind could hear a clock ticking away, ticky tock tick tock. He was starting to lose it. Rin's emotion became mixed. Anger and insanity had taken over his mind and body.

There was only a day more until Raven would turn. Rin didn't know that. He didn't know how much time was left, or how much time had passed. To him, it felt like he only had a couple of minutes before he would see his ... lover ... turn into one of the beasts he's been killing for the past several months.

He let out a soft sigh. For a bit, he felt calm. He kneeled in front of Raven. He held her cold hands. Her body was starting to change; he could see it. "Raven..." he whispered. His eyes began to well up. "... I... I love you, Raven......."

[Alter Ego]

Raven watched apprehensively as the twins hastily explained a way to figure out which one of the vials held the cure. It wasn't much, but it could help.

Before any questions could be asked, they went spiraling out the door, leaving a dumbfounded Raven. But, there was something new there. It was hope.

We just might be able to make things better! she thought excitedly, but was interrupted as Rin began to storm about the room, shouting to try and find a rat. Raven was no expert, but she was pretty sure that yelling only scared them off.

"Rin, calm down!" she demanded, her face wiped with concern. She tried to stand up, but her knees only failed her and sent her down in a heap against the wall. She couldn't help but chuckle at how weak she was. She didn't even want to think about how she looked...

Next thing she knew, Rin had crouched down in front of her, his hands wrapped around hers. Warmth bolted up her body. She hadn't realized just how cold she was.

Despite how much she liked the feeling of Rin's hands around hers, she looked up at him, confused. His eyes were brimming with tears. It made her want to die right then and there. Rin was suffering that much, for her own fate? She felt tears of her own start to build up. She desperately blinked them away, not wanting to worry him more.

"... I... I love you, Raven......."

"D...don't you go saying goodbyes now, Rin..." she said, trying to sound tough but sniffling in the middle. She couldn't help but become extravagantly exuberant. He...he really did love her...?

She wanted to say that she loved him too; the words were about to pour out. But, she was able to stop herself just in time. Saying she loved him meant saying goodbye, and they had less than a day yet.

"Come on, let's try and figure out some sort of code to those colors," she said softly, pointing over to the vials. Raven still couldn't stand up, so she relied on Rin to fetch the beakers for her.

**Hours later, minutes before Raven turns...**

It was a completely hopeless situation.

They had spent the entire day perusing over the poorly-labeled bottles, but had no success in decoding what they could possibly mean. Raven had thought of every kind of pattern or sign under the sun, but nothing came to mind. Time was running out, and she could feel it.

Her skin had grown as pale as a ghost's, showing all of the black veins lining her body. She had heavy bags under her eyes, and her breathing had become shallow. Lesions dotted her body; a sickly green that looked as though they were ready to unleash more venom. Even her eyes had become dulled down to an almost-lifeless, drunken blue.

She knew it was too late. There was no way they'd be able to find the cure...Besides, she'd rather just be...taken care of...rather than having to turn and risk hurting Rin.

Raven turned her head slowly; it was unbearable stiff and shot pain through her body.

"Rin...there's not much time left..." she breathed, her words painstaking to say. She didn't want to say goodbye. Goodbye meant they'd never see each other again. But if she didn't, she'd leave without telling Rin how she really felt...and what she wanted done.

She closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again reluctantly. She looked up at Rin with an almost sleepy expression; but it had pain, fear, and worry in it.

"I don't want to be one of them...please, Rin...make sure that doesn't happen..."

Tears started to appear again, but she had no strength left to try and blink them away. She wanted them to be seen. But, they came out harder and faster than she wanted them to. Why, though?

"Rin...Rin..." she cried, clutching his hand tightly with everything she could muster. Even then, it wasn't much. No matter what she did, though, she couldn't stop crying.

Her breathing hastened even more. Not much longer, now...she needed to hurry.

She heaved a bone-rattling cough, doubling over at how powerful it was. When she had finished, she looked back up at Rin, her face tear-stained.

"Rin...I...I l - "

Everything stopped.

Her chest rose up and down at such an incredible pace it was hard to tell if she was having a seizure or trying to breathe. Raven's eyes rolled into the back of her head, right before her body went limp. Her grasp on Rin's hand loosened, her fingers no longer capable of moving.

Her entire body ceased all movement. Her legs, arms, fingers, even her toes could no longer move.

Raven...was gone.

The process of turning would happen within another hour, leaving Raven's lifeless body with Rin's until then.

---

Throughout the entire day, Arin hadn't moved an inch away from his sister. He had stayed in the same position all day. Using his thumb, he wiped away the cold red that had trickled down Aris' nose. He stared at her wordessly; he had nothing to say. His whole world had fallen and shattered into a million pieces, right in front of him. The worst part was that he was unable to do anything.

He only stirred from his vigil when he heard wicked cackling break out from the chair where Al sat. He glared at him. There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop him...Killing him wasn't an option. Aris was the only one with a gun, and Al had stripped her of that. His emotions had gotten the better of him, draining him of his strength.

"Ah yes, the best part has finally happened! The girl has turned!" Al laughed like a mad man. "And now, we just wait for her to turn and sink her pretty little teeth into her lover's neck..."

Al looked admiringly at the computer screen, enjoying every part of Raven and Rin's problem to the fullest.

Arin did nothing but smirk, chuckling quietly. His hand reached up to the door behind him, turning the lock to the left. A small click was heard, but only by Arin. Al continued to laugh to himself why Arin only waited for Rin to come storming in.

He and his sister had faked locking Raven and Rin's door. They weren't sure what would happen, but they knew that one of them would come to look for Alexios and kill him with their own bare hands. They would have helped, but they assumed Rin and Raven would want to take care of the monster themselves.

"Better watch out, Al..." he whispered, brushing his sister's hair behind her ears. "Rin is comin' for you..."

[커비]

Time had stopped. Raven's hard had stopped beating. She was lifeless. Cold. Like a doll. She was gone. Rin wiped away the final tears from his eyes. He gripped the woman's hands tightly. "I love you." He kissed her on the hand.

Rin chuckled to himself. He got up and picked up the fallen revolver. He slowly made his way over to the door and opened it. It had been unlocked this whole time it seemed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. What the fuck, huh? The door was opened this whole fucking time?" He turned around to look at his breathless lover one more time. Then he raised his arm with the pistol and shot her in the head.

From the sound of the gunshot, the alarm of the fortress began to go off. "Mayday, code red. We have an infiltration. All units report to Level 3B. We have an armed hostile. I repeat. All units report to Level 3B. We have an armed hostile." As soon as the message ended, a soldier fully armed was the first one to arrive. He equipped an M16A4. "Don't move!" he shouted at Rin.

Fearlessly, Rin raised his arm again to fire. But when he pulled the trigger, nothing came out. There was only one bullet in the gun. Instead, he threw the gun at the soldier right on the nose. The man was caught off guard and fell holding his nose. Rin took the time to pick up the dropped weapon of the soldier. "Heh, see you later." He shot him in the back of the head. Blood slowly trickled out of him.

From there on, Rin went on a chaotic rampage. Nothing was stopping him. He had no moral thoughts any more. He had become totally insane. A lunatic. He laughed maniacally as he slaughtered everyone in his sight. One by one, everyone fell, even the innocents. Screams echoed through out Level 3B. Soldiers couldn't do much. Rin was too quick.

Then came his time. Rin pulled the trigger once more at a group of armed soldiers. Click click... Empty ammunition. Rin chuckled to himself. "I guess I'm out... See you soon, Raven..." He shut his eyes and waited for the bullets to strike him.

"Fire!" he heard the soldier cry. Rain of bullets tore apart Rin's body. He fell down letting out a moan, and his entire body collapsed onto the floor spilling dark green blood. Green... "Seize fire!"

All was quiet again. The fight had settled down. Everyone on the floor gathered around the dead boy. "Why is his blood green?" one asked...

Al stared at the screen. All this time, he had been chuckling to himself watching Rin that he couldn't hear anything else. Aris stared at the monitor in front of him watching Rin make his last stand. He cursed to himself that Rin wasn't able to make it to Al.

Aris brushed his sister's hair one last time. "I love you, sis." He rose from the floor and took out his dagger. "Son of a bitch." He stabbed the mastermind of the entire scene right through the heart and through the chair he was sitting on. Blood oozed everywhere. Al grabbed the knife, but he was too late. He, too, was dead.

From the man's other hand, a vial dropped to the floor. Luckily, it did not crack to spill whatever it contained. The liquid inside it was green. Aris stared at it in surprise. "Could it be?" he asked himself as he picked up the now blood stained tube.

---

One week later...

"Well?" Aris asked the scientists and doctors gathered around the underground laboratory of the fortress.

The head scientist of the experiment had a blank look on his face. Then he smiled and gave Aris a thumbs up. "It works."

Aris grinned with much joy.

"However, we cannot save those who have turned. We can only save those who had been infected."

"Still... A cure is a cure..." Aris let out a sigh of relief.

"You're a hero, kid. Without you, this antidote to this madness would not be in our hands. It is thanks to you, humanity can once more survive another day. I will immediately reproduce more of this cure. I am so relieved. Thank you, soldier."

Aris nodded and smiled with a salute. He turned around to make his leave.

"W-Wait," the scientist tried to stop him, "Just what is your name? Surely this cure will save the world. So might I get your name to give you credit for finding this cure?"

Aris turned around and looked back at the men. "Rin. Rin Maximus." He walked out of the laboratory without another word.

---

On the third day of the eight month of the year 2020, the chaos had finally ended. Humanity was back on its feet. Curing the rest of the world of the new antidote people began to call, God's Wine, only a handful of the undead remained. But that was no problem. Humans were now immune to the insane virus. No one shall ever turn again. Thanks to Rin Maximus.

A statue had been dedicated the Rin. It was sculpted to look like him with his two favorite revolvers. In front of the statue was the tomb where he was buried. Survivors of the incident have come to thank him for everything. Humanity was now safe.

Or was it?

That night, the tomb of Rin Maximus shook violently followed by a low moaning. "Raven......"

THE END

[Kris]

*Moves to HoF*