Epiphany Of The Weak 142 Jealousy, Envy, Loathing

I glared at her. "Jessica . . . She can check on Hope by herself."

As soon as I said that, Jessica walked over to Hope and checked on him. After a few minutes, she looked at everyone. "His muscles. From the looks of it, Hope is affected by some kind of a neuromuscular-blocking drug. His body won't allow him to move an inch."

Jessia and Evgeny looked at each other.

"You are saying that . . . Someone drugged him?" said Evgeny.

"Yes. I'm pretty sure the juice he just drank allowed the culprit to administer it to him orally. This neuromuscular-blocking drug is not like in the past. With the current technology, administering it like this is not impossible."

"Is he in any kind of danger?" asked Beatrice.

"No. I must say he will be paralyzed for a while. Depends on how much of the drug had been slipped into his drink, and how his body is handling it."

The members of the People's Light turned to each other, confused. They knew what position they were in right then. Someone from their group had done this. Though, I could only guess the ones serving the foods and drinks were prime suspects.

Caesar, who was clearly disappointed by how things had turned out, decided to stand up. He pulled out a yellow javelin from his right palm.

"What are you--"

He thrust it at Evgeny before the javelin stopped a few centimeters away from his face.

"Hey!"

Freya and a few other rebels were about to go against Caesar when Jessie stopped them.

"Stop! This is not the time for us to be fighting among each other!" she said.

"Oh?" Caesar's javelin launched a few shards from its side. The shards shot upwards and hovered in mid-air, aiming itself at every present member of The People's Light.

"I can take all of you right now," said Caesar. "I'm pretty sure any one of us Lutalo can take you down without even breaking a sweat." He cracked his neck and looked back at Evgeny. "Now, who slipped that drug into that angsty blond teen's drink? Hm?"

Sweat trickled down Evgeny's forehead. "I don't know. Trust me." He looked at his fellow rebels. "Which one of you did this?"

They looked at each other, refusing to confess.

'So that's how they're going to play this,' I thought.

Jessie shook her head and then caressed her forehead. "I can't believe this." She cast a look at each rebel, and one by one, they shook their heads at her.

Finally, it was Freya's turn.

"I don't know, Jessie." She shook her head as well.

However, something felt strange. Jessie knew it and narrowed her eyes at Freya. "Is this what you want? Breaking this bond we just forged with Lutalo?"

Freya jerked her head. "No! What are you saying all of a sudden? You're telling me I drugged Hope?"

Without me realizing it, I had walked over to Freya and shoved her against the wall. "Ow! What's that for?"

"Did you do it?" I asked her. My heterochromatic eyes pulsed in their respective red and blue colors. "DID YOU DO IT?!"

"Ava." Inghild and Lily approached me, but I shot them a glare. Sofeea stopped in her tracks as well.

"I did not!" retorted Freya. "What makes you think I did it?"

"The fact that no one covers for you is a good enough proof," I said.

She looked at her fellow rebels, and each one shook their head at her.

"Freya," called Jessie. "Just confess."

"No! I did--"

White flames roared into life from the back of my Uniform. It then formed heads of multiple carnivorous beasts that stared down at Freya. Multi-colored Aegis crystals popped out of my arms.

"I'll kill you if you don't confess right now. No one here is covering for you, so if I end your life at this instance, I doubt your friends will care," I said.

"But I . . . Erk!" She flinched when the white flames started to get closer to her, hungry for her flesh. When a strand of her purple hair got caught in it, she screamed.

"Alright! Alright! I did it!"

My flames and crystals disappeared in seconds. Freya's back slid down the wall in relief.

Jessica, who had done checking up on Hope, stood up. "I don't know if our relations are still solid, Mister Evgeny. Not when one of your subordinates did such a foolish thing to one of our members."

Evgeny took a deep breath when Caesar had disintegrated his javelin and crystal shards. "I don't know what to say. All I can come up with is that . . . Please, forgive us. I apologize for this mess my subordinate had come up with."

"Freya," called Jessie sharply.

She stood back on her two feet, clenching her fists. "I'm . . . Sorry."

"This action of yours stains our reputation, Freya," said a guy who was serving the food before.

Freya clicked her tongue and glared at everyone. "I don't like Hope, okay?! He gets all the attention from Jessie, even before we let him be a part of us. All Jessie thinks is Hope. Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope! There's no one else in her mind than that stupid guy!"

I blinked.

"Freya . . ." Jessie's eyes drooped.

"I admire you, Jessie!" shouted Freya. "He's in my way, so I have to think of something to get the attention I want. Everyone thinks of Hope, and it irritates me! If everyone sees Hope lying on the floor like that, I can just mention that he's pretending. Since the drug will only last a few hours, they will surely think I'm right."

Beatrice and a few others sighed at her ridiculous explanation.

"You don't think this through, don't you?" said Beatrice. "We have a doctor on our team. Back at the s.h.i.+p, we have a pharmacist as well. I'm quite certain you people have a few medics, so your attempt is indeed stupid. No wonder your friends won't try to cover for you. They know how much of a liar you are."

"What did you say?" Freya gritted her teeth. "If Hope just died back at the car crash, Jessie will never think of him. No one will!"

"Freya!" yelled Jessie.

"Ugh." Freya lowered her head, refusing to look at Jessie.

I sighed.

She was indeed a foolish girl. Her plan didn't even come out the way she wanted. Not even halfway, and everyone knew she was the culprit.

Pathetic.

"Freya," I called, almost a whisper.

When she looked up, I grabbed her right hand.

"What are you--Aaaaaah!"

Her hand was engulfed in my white flames, pouring out from my Uniform's sleeve. She struggled to get away from my hold but it was futile. Her scream echoed throughout the dining hall, and when I was done, she fell on both knees.

"Errkk . . . Errhhgg." Her eyes shed tears as she looked at her scorched right hand. I willed the flames to disappear.

"Lady Ava." Caesar approached me before he proceeded to calm everyone in the hall. Though, my eyes stayed on Freya.

"I want to kill her. After that, I will carve her out," I said.

Except for Freya pathetically crying, everyone else went silent. Somehow, I liked the atmosphere. The fact that no one tried to save her proved just how much of a castaway she was in her own group.

I found myself grinning and immediately shook my head.

Evgeny coughed. "If killing her will fix our organizations' relations.h.i.+p, then I have to let you do it, Grim Reaper."

"Evgeny," called Jessie weakly.

I looked back at the crying Freya. Her right hand was recovering nonetheless, but it was slow. My flames had a degradation effect on Aegis regeneration after all.

'Serves her right,' I thought.

After that, memories of Hope came rus.h.i.+ng into my mind. I was certain Hope wouldn't forgive me if I kill her. He was that kind of a person. Thinking back on it, Hope never raised his voice against Freya or fought against her. Deep inside, he was still attached to The People's Light.

"Never mind. I will not kill you," I said to Freya.

Slowly, she looked at me, her eyes were still shedding tears. She didn't say anything though, so trying to make her understand why was necessary. I could spare myself from talking to her in the near future.

"Hope never said he dislikes The People's Light. I'm sure that if you die, he will be very sad," I murmured.

Freya's eyes opened wide. She then looked down, no words uttered.

"Eh hem," coughed Caesar. "I'm sure you will allow us Lutalo to decide the final outcome of the upcoming meeting, eh? Attacking Moscow is not a problem at all, but coming out of the battle with all four limbs still attached is something you rebels want. We have a few geniuses on our own team, so it will be wise to let us decide what the plan will be in the end."

Jessie and Evgeny agreed with him.

They had to agree given the circ.u.mstances. It was a given.

,__.__,

,__.__,

Both Jessie and I waited for Hope to wake up in his room. After four hours, he finally did so.

We explained everything that happened after he blacked out. In the end, he just breathed a sigh. Hope said he knew how Freya's behavior was, but he didn't expect her to stoop so low like that. Though, he didn't seem to harbor any hatred for Freya for what she did to him.

"Where is she?" he asked.

Jessie turned to the room's door and called out Freya's name. A few seconds later, she entered. Her hooded jacket and black jeans were dirty. There were a few bruises here and there on her pale skin, slowly healing by itself.

"Freya has been thrown out of The People's Light," announced Jessie. "Jeopardizing a long-term relations.h.i.+p between our organization and Gheele Folami is stupid. No matter how you look at it, the other members despised her. It had to be done. I have to keep the organization together, even if it means throwing out the thorn inside it."

Freya was silent.

Her long purple hair was messy. The strands of her hair were strangely uneven and rough-looking.

'Someone must have attacked her, cutting her hair and all that,' I thought.

"Hope," said Jessie. "You can decide what punishment is appropriate for her."

Hope frowned. "Didn't you and Evgeny already kicked her out of the group?"

"Yes. Consider this one for personal reasons. I'll try to fulfill whatever punishment you have in mind."

Hope stared at Freya. Though, she looked down at the floor; not once did she raised her head to face us.

"I hope that after this, Gheele Folami will not let what Freya had done to shake the foundation of the established relations.h.i.+p between Lutalo and The People's Light," continued Jessie.

Hope nodded. He winced when his eyes fell upon the burn marks on Freya's right hand. Indeed, the injury my flames had done to her would take a long while before it would fully heal. After all, my flames delayed the regeneration property of any Aegis.

Hope bit his lip. "Um, Freya."

She didn't look up. She just stood there, both hands behind her back.

"Remember when I first met you in the hospital? You convinced me to join The People's Light. I still remember that one sentence you said back then. Whenever I feel down, it encouraged me to steel myself and just brace anything life throws at me."

Slowly, Freya raised her head. The uneven shape of her bangs covered her left eye.

"Do you remember what you said to me?" prompted Hope. He smiled at her.

Freya thought about it and she shook her head. Still, no words uttered.

"How can you expect a good result if you yourself don't take any action?" Hope said. "I still remember that exact quote. I'm glad that you were the one who came to that hospital. You convinced me that I can make a change. You helped me to become a better person than I was before. And I don't think I have said my thanks yet."

Freya's eyes widened.

"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart," Hope said. He proceeded to walk over to her side and held his right hand towards her.

"Hope . . ." Tears started to fall out of her eyes. "How can you be so nice to me? After what I have done, there's no way I deserve your kind words."

"Well, it's not like I died or anything. It's just a paralyzing drug. Doesn't really do anything. Look, I'm standing here just fine," said Hope with a grin.

"Hope . . ." A moment later, Freya wrapped her arms around Hope and cried. She let it all out. Frustration, sadness, envy, jealousy, disappointment, regret. She let everyone saw how she truly felt.

True, she did drug Hope a few hours ago. I didn't really know how Freya was treated by her comrades, but perhaps, just maybe, she was ostracized during the time she was in The People's Light. Evgeny and Jessie were not there with her, allowing her comrades to make her suffer.

Freya stopped crying after a few minutes. She then looked directly into Hope's eyes. "I don't have any friend. No one . . . No one wants to be my friend. More often than not, I would be bullied, shunned, and laughed at."

"You let out your anger on Hope," said Jessie.

Freya subtly nodded. "I couldn't hold it in any more back then. When Hope came here, I just . . . I need to show that I deserve respect much like any other members, Jessie."

"I didn't know you had this thing going on with the rest of the group," said Jessie with a worried expression. "Evgeny is always busy, yes. I would be out in the other underground cities, doing whatever I can to help The People's Light."

"It's alright, Jessie. I always respect you, for how much effort you put into everything," said Freya.

"Hmm." Hope pushed Freya away gently and looked at Jessie. "I suppose she doesn't really belong in that group. Back in Mongolia, everyone treated her like garbage. Except for Vladimir, no one wanted to have anything to do with her."

Freya let out a forced chuckle. "I'm born with a purple hair after all. I look like a freak."

"I understand what you're going through. A few years ago, people always look down on me because I can't do what they could. I was weak, but now, I'm different. Thank you, Freya," said Hope.

"You have said this twice now . . ." Freya's cheeks reddened. She darted her eyes to the wall instead.

"Hmm? Freya's natural hair color is purple?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah . . . Oh, wait. You must have thought that she dyed her hair right?" said Hope with a smirk.

"Ugh," I pouted.

"You got bullied because of your hair color," said Jessie weakly. "I should've monitored the members myself."

Freya waved her hands at Jessie. "No, no. It's fine!"

"If she can't come back to The People's Light, then she can join Lutalo, right?" suggested Hope.

"Eh?!"

Jessie and Freya were shocked. I just shrugged at it.

"If Gheele allows it, nothing is impossible," I said.

"Yeah," agreed Hope.

"I will meet Gheele Folami in person?" said Freya.

"Not right now. He's . . . Busy," I said.

"Oh, alright."

Jessie hugged Freya and she returned it. A few moments later, Hope came up with another idea.

"Until the time comes when you can meet Gheele, I suppose I have to take care of you," said Hope. "I mean, Caesar wouldn't want to get involved in this, so the responsibility has to be on me."

Freya's face flushed after he said that. "You mean it?!"

"Oh, oh! I'll take care of Freya too! And . . . Um, sorry, Freya, for what I did before," I said to her. "Don't worry, the injury will heal completely the next day, I a.s.sure you."

"Ava." Freya smiled at me. Her left hand slowly caressed the burn mark on her right hand. "Remind me later to not harm Hope or anything along that line. I . . . Don't want to get burned alive."

She was scared of me, but, that was understandable.

"Freya, called Hope. "You want a friend, right? The two of us can be your friends."

"Thanks, Hope . . . And Ava. I never had one before, but I'll make sure to do my best."

The three of us there laughed at her, and she pouted.

We all slept in our respective rooms that night. Since Freya was kicked out of The People's Light, she slept in the same bed as me. My body was small, so she filled up the rest of the bed's s.p.a.ce. We both slept soundlessly until the next morning.

We were to have a meeting that morning. A meeting to decide the battle plan to invade Moscow and took Russia from the C.U.