Claire was speechless, taking it all in. "Is this where Beast came from?" She asked. “Was he...” She swallowed hard. “born here?”
"Beast?" Dr. Keller smiled at her weakly. "Such a fitting name.” He shook his head. “No, your 'Beast' was not created here. Nor was he created by my father. His origins are far, far older, and lost. I do not believe him to be of artificial make though. It is my personal belief that your Beast predates us humans."
Claire turned back to Beast. "There is still much that I do not remember." Beast answered her silent question, keeping his eyes on Dr. Keller. "Before I was captured, that is."
"I was not here for that." Dr. Keller said. "But I do still remember the day you awoke." He smiled sadly. "We had to keep him constantly monitored, you see." He explained to Claire. "We had him suspended in a salt-heavy solution, and an electrical current was run through it, effectively paralyzing him. But his body adapted so fast we had to keep changing the electrical frequency and strength. In the end, we could not hold him any longer." He bowed his head briefly, then looked up at Beast. "Not a single life was lost that night. I thank you for that."
"Taking lives was not my goal." Beast replied stonily.
"It was that night, that your Beast approached Julius' father, the former Regent.” His expression turned grave. “You wanted them back, right?"
"No." Beast said. "That is not why I went to him."
Dr. Keller's expression turned to one of confusion. "Then why-" There was a high beeping sound then. He pulled a phone from his pocket, and put it to his ear. "Yes?" Concern knotted his brow. "Julius? When?" A pause. "I'm on my way." He pocketed the phone. He turned to Beast and Claire. "Julius has just arrived back.” He told them quickly, skimming over explanations. “He has been gone the past few weeks, and now he has returned. I fear he may know that you are here."
"What should we do?" Claire asked worriedly. She wanted to see Julius, but she didn't want another fight. She wanted to find out more information before trying to reason with him again. She hadn't had all the facts last time, and things had turned out horribly.
"I advise you to run." Dr. Keller said, turning to Beast. "He will not listen if you are here."
Beast's gaze was steady. "What you say is wise, but I cannot willingly leave Claire."
Claire put a hand on his chest. "I will be fine." She reassured him.
"No, you won't." He told her with dead certainty.
"We have no time. Let's head to the surface." Dr. Keller said.
They made their way back up the elevators. Dr. Keller told them to go on ahead. He would be fine on his own and if they stayed with him, he would only slow them down. They left him behind and ran on ahead. Even with Beast slowing his own pace to match Claires, they were out the back entry in a matter of seconds.
Claire looked wildly around. She didn't see Julius, and they were facing the entrance to the garden. On either side was a long path leading along the back of the manor. “Which way?” She asked desperately.
Suddenly there was a flash of light and a large black shape sped by them. It turned and halted for a second. Claire recognized the midnight black hovercycle. It was one of the three top of the line bikes that Julius kept in his garage. A black clad rider sat astride it. Claire stared at the broad-shouldered man and her pulse quickened. He wore a black helmet and visor that covered his face, black leather pants and boots, a black impact vest over a black silk dress shirt, and leather gloves. There was a long, blood red scabbard strapped across his back.
There was no question in her mind. Julius was here. Then the cycle sped up again, straight for Beast. Beast dodged swiftly to the side, away from Claire. The hovercycle turned sharply, speeding towards him. Beast glanced at Claire once, then leaped up to the roof. The cycle braked hard. Julius pulled off his helmet and tossed it away, glaring up at Beast. He pulled out his energy handgun and fired at Beast.
Claire shivered. She had never seen Julius like this before. She had never seen anyone like this before. But she knew what she was seeing. Julius was filled with hate, and consumed by the intent to kill.
Beast turned and ran away, along the rooftop. Julius followed him on the ground with the hover cycle, firing up at the roof. Emerald colored clay shingles were blasted apart and rained to the ground.
Claire ran after them. But they were far ahead of her. Almost to the front of the manor. She followed them desperately. Beast dodged yet more energy fire. Finally he reached the end of the roof. He paused and the section of rooftop beneath him shattered under repeated blasts. He jumped as the roof crumbled under him. He leaped at Julius, both black boots connecting with the front of the cycle.
The hover cycle swerved wildly, the front was dented in. Julius threw himself from the cycle, rolling away. The cycle crashed right into a one of the solid old oaks surrounding the manor. The impact was so strong that the cycle was destroyed. Shards of metal and plastic flew in all directions. The tree would survive.
Julius regained his feet. He still held his energy gun. He opened fire at Beast, who dodged away. But Julius was an excellent marksman and his shots were getting closer to their mark. Beast's cloak was swiftly becoming full of holes. Beast ran straight at Julius, dodging energy fire. He leaned in suddenly. His face was inches from Julius' own and time seemed to stand still, then Beast's leg connected with Julius' side and Julius was thrown to the ground. The energy gun flew from his hands, landing a few feet away. Beast crushed it with a powerful stomp.
Julius stood again. Neither of them had said a word to each other yet. There was no point in bantering. Beast could not get through to Julius, and Julius had nothing to say to Beast. Julius reached over his shoulder, pulling a long, thin sword from the scabbard on his back. It gleamed under the weak afternoon sun. He charged at Beast again. His eyes were as black and hard as coal, determination reflected in them.
Again Beast was on the defensive, dodging the swinging blade. But Julius' sword was swifter than his gunfire. An upward stroke at the neck sliced right through Beast's cloak and it fell to the ground. Beast moved on the attack then, kicking rapidly out at Julius, trying to remove the sword from his hands.
Julius fought swiftly and powerfully, but his body was beginning to tire. His movements became a tiny bit slower, he faltered for half a second, and his sword went flying out of his hands.
Beast's boot flew out, knocking Julius flat again. Claire finally caught up, grabbing a strap on Beast's pants. "No! Please!" She shrieked. "Both of you! Please stop!"
But Beast was not looking at her. His eyes were on Julius, who was still lying on his back, breathing heavily. "We'll always be in conflict, Claire." He said.
"Revenge isn't worth all this!" Claire turned to Julius and screamed at him. "It isn't worth killing yourself!"
"We were destined to clash." Beast pulled his eyes away from Julius' prone form reluctantly, facing the back of her head. "We are linked interminably by fate. I murdered his father."
Julius threw his head back and laughed. It sounded like a howl. He gave Beast a steely stare. "Is that all you've told her? Making me the villain in her eyes, pretending that it's only that I keep going after you, seeking my revenge.” He slowly rose to his feet. “It's not only revenge that links us though, is it?" He asked, his smile was like bitter honey. “Even if I left you alone, you would still have sought me out. That's why you attached yourself to her, to get to me.”
Beast narrowed his golden eyes at Julius. “If I could, I would stay as far away from you as possible.” He answered. “It is only because Claire cares for you that I even attempt to help you.”
Julius' smile never wavered, his chest shook with suppressed laughter. "You are a horrible liar. You've known all along, right?" His voice lowered to a caress. "You could feel it, no matter how far away."
He calmly took off the impact vest, folding it neatly before dropping it on the ground. He lifted a hand up and began to pull at the fingertips of one black leather glove. Claire watched, rapt, unable to turn
away. She was only just realizing now, that she had never seen Julius without his gloves on. She had no idea what his hands looked like. Her eyes widened as he pulled the glove off slowly.
Julius' hand was the color of soot. The fingers were long and thin, they looked swift and deft. He pulled off the other glove, revealing a second dark hand. "No." Claire whispered, dread filling her stomach like lead, weighing her down with the feeling that everything around her was sinking, sliding out of the grasp of sanity.
She began shaking her head, tears spilling out of her wide blue eyes. "No!" Her scream rang out as Julius reached up to the ebony buttons of his black silk shirt. He gave them an insane grin and ripped the front of the shirt open. He pulled it off of him in tatters, revealing long black arms attached to his pale shoulders. Two long, shiny black scars separated the arms from the shoulders.
Beast stepped in front of Claire then, blocking her view. There was barely a second to inhale before the battle began anew. Claire stepped back slowly, away from the two of them. Her legs were numb, she couldn't feel the ground under her feet. They gave out and she sank to the grass. She buried her face in her hands.
Her brain was numb as well. She couldn't think. She was refusing to grasp all of the implications, all of the questions.
They were all painful barbs that stabbed at her from all sides, so she shied away from them.
And still they fought.
Beast lashed out with a downward kick. Julius blocked it with one arm upraised over his head. The impact was so great that a sharp crack resounded through the air. Swifter than lightning, Julius brought his other fist up, catching Beast in the stomach. Beast flew back, flipping over and landing on one foot while the other whipped around. Julius had his arms crossed in front of him already, anticipating the move. Beast caught him square on the backs of his arms and Julius' feet slid back from the impact, his boots carving deep grooves into the ground.
Beast didn't give him a chance to recover. But his next kick was caught by Julius, who grabbed him by the ankle with both hands. Without sparing a second, he spun his body half a turn, throwing Beast into side of the manor. He made the mistake of letting go though, and Beast managed to turn in the air and planted both feet on the wall. He pushed off hard, propelling himself back into Julius.
Julius caught him by the shoulders. He fell back but rolled, flipping Beast off of him. They were both on their feet again at once. They circled each other. Beast studied Julius calmly. Sweat poured from Julius' pale face, over his toned chest and down his smooth back.
Beast said calmly, dully. "It would be wisest for you to give up for now."
Julius laughed harshly. "Because I might win." He asked with a sardonic smile.
Beast shook his head. "Those arms give you enough power to match me evenly." he said. "But your body cannot hold out forever. You will continue to weaken, while I do not."
Julius' grin turned into a snarl. A large drop of perspiration ran down his cheek, collected at his chin, and fell to the ground. "My body does not matter." He said, his eyes cold as stone. "If I can destroy you, I will use any means necessary."
"Then you will die." Beast said simply.
Julius spat on the ground. "I will avenge my father, even if it takes my own life."
"Your father was blinded." Beast said, his face still expressionless. "He fell into the same trap that is springing all around you. You can still escape it."
Julius narrowed his jet-black eyes. "And how would I do that, pray tell?"
"Remove the arms."
Julius' laugh was hysterical. "You say that only so you can have them back."
Beast shook his head. "I do not want them. If they could be destroyed, then I would obliterate them."
"Liar!" Julius shouted angrily. "You're just trying to make me lower my guard, so you can steal them back! That's why you killed my father!" He lifted his hands up, studying them. He clenched his hands into tight fists. "No one would willingly give up this power. The power of creation itself!" Suddenly Julius hunched over. The soot-black arms bulged, the hands unclenched and clenched. The fingers grew longer, thicker, harder. They continued to harden and shape, until they were wicked black claws. The arms grew thicker, muscles working under the skin. Finally, Julius stood up straight again. There were shadows under his eyes and his lips were white. The veins in his chest and shoulders bulged with strain. Without a word he lashed out, claws extended.
Beast danced backwards, unwilling to get caught by those claws. He dodged and weaved, chancing a kick every now and then. But Julius' rage-induced offense was unrelenting, and Beast couldn't land more than glancing blows.
Claire sat off to the side, her knees were drawn up. Her arms were folded across them, her face buried. A warm coat fell over her shoulders. She looked up slowly, as if she dragged her head up with great difficulty. Dr. Keller looked down at her, a sad, sympathetic look in his rheumy eyes. He leaned heavily on his metal cane. Slowly he bent his body and sat next to her, clutching the cane for support for the entire trip.
Claire just watched him mournfully. "I understand how you feel, child. I really do." Dr. Keller said in his thin, wavery voice.
Claire buried the lower half of her face in her arms again. Her sore blue eyes looked over them, at Julius and Beast, who were still battling. She remained silent.
Dr. Keller put a thin, shaking hand on her shoulder. "Julius' father was the first one to wear the arms. Since your Beast, the original owner, of course. I was the one that made the transfer, from father to son, on the High Empress' orders." He was facing the battling opponents, but his eyes took on a faraway look. "Back then, I had no idea at the evil that was contained in those arms."
Claire turned her eyes to the aged doctor, but didn't raise her head. “Evil?”
He continued, talking in an awed voice. "Beast is a creature of creation. His body only changes, evolves. It does not grow tired, or weak. It does not age, or die. Each piece of him is a pinnacle, hundreds of years, maybe even thousands all leading to an ultimate." He turned his head back to Claire. "Not... perfection." He said. "Definitely not. More like..." He paused, thinking. "A concentration. Each piece of him is concentrated. From years and years building one on top of the other." He turned back to the fight. "In his arms, destruction collected. Many, many years of breaking, tearing down, ripping up. But, not through his own desires. He was used, very badly used..."
“Used?” Claire asked hoarsely, her voice raw from crying. “By who?”
Dr. Keller put a shaky, gnarled hand over his chest. "Love is the most painful burden, the one chain that no one can break."
"I know that Beast loved someone, a long time ago." Claire said. She stared at Beast, watching him fighting. “He never said anything about her.” She reflected a moment. “Or if it even was a her, I suppose.”
"He did indeed love someone, in the worst possible way. He probably would still, if..." Dr. Keller faltered.
Claire tilted her head to the side, so she could look at the doctor out of the corner of her eye. "If?"
Dr. Keller sighed sadly, his eyes closed as if in pain. "My father was there when it happened, I only know what I know from his notes and journals. But he wrote down that Beast's heart was just as concentrated as the rest of him. And he loved more purely and completely than any human is capable of. He did the most heinous things for that love. Because the object of his love ordered it so. She made him hurt, maim and destroy,
concentrating evil and destruction in those arms. And it would have spread through his whole body if Beast himself had not put a stop to it."
Claire stared at Dr. Keller. "What did he do?" She whispered.
Dr. Keller bowed his head. "He removed his own heart."
Claire's vision blurred with tears, she drew in a sharp breath. "So... he..."
"Yes." Dr. Keller nodded. "He can no longer love. He can't feel anything any more. His existence is just a series of grays. He has no desire to live, but cannot die. He wanders, and takes no intere
st in anything he sees. He fights, but there is no determination behind it. Taste, touch, smell, sound, sight... All are featureless and uninteresting."
"Yet he continues on. How can he? How can he live?" Claire asked. She remembered back when she had first met Beast, at the bottom of a pile of trash, not even caring enough to move away under his own power. It was only when she had told him to go away that he had gotten up. There was no point in arguing how he could function without a heart, as he obviously could. "Why does he follow me, then?" She asked, looking at the ground, her mouth and nose still pressed against her arm.
"I cannot fathom his reasons." Dr. Keller said. "His mind is also a concentration. It works much faster than ours, humans, calculating angles and sides that we cannot comprehend. Perhaps that cold rational mind of his recalls once having a heart. Perhaps something about you resonates there."
"I've made him fight." Claire said sadly. "It's my fault he's here now. He uses his legs now. They'll be like his arms, causing nothing but destruction."
"That, my dear lady, I believe to be entirely untrue." Dr. Keller told her matter-of-factly. Claire looked back up at him. Dr. Keller turned, watching as Beast ducked and dodged Julius' attacks, trying to push him aside with a kick every now and then, trying to find some small opening. "He does not fight now to destroy, but to protect." He looked at Claire. "To protect you, and even Julius, from harm. The concentration is building up more and more inside of him. The desire, the need to protect."
Claire watched the two fighters. "The concentration of protection, against the concentration of destruction." Her eyes swam again. "Oh, poor Julius." She buried her face again.
Dr. Keller patted her back softly. "Julius is in grave danger." He said. "And I do not know how to save him. The power of the arms is taking over now. They cloud his mind, filling his body with adrenaline, keeping him from rational thought as much as possible. His body will eventually give up, and he will die fighting, just like his father."
Claire raised her head, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. "I don't want him to die." She said. "I don't want either of them to hurt."
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