V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 167: One Bad Apple Part 2

"Got you!"

Alton stopped on the spot with a blank expression entirely under Pokiero's control. Alton's eyes became droopy as he dropped his arm. Pokiero moved closer to Alton inspecting her prize. As she did, a loud snap was heard. The ice shattered down Alton's arm as bloodshot out spilling on Pokiero's face and into her eyes. She stepped back blinded by the blood as Alton managed to snap out of his trance. His sleeve ripped apart as a new icicle he had just made before attacking Pokiero crumbled apart. Alton pulled Zinnia away, swinging his blood around turning it to ice cutting deep into Pokiero's face. She fell back onto the ground as Alton watched over her holding Zinnia behind him. Pokiero began panting nagging in pain. The attack caught her completely off guard, and her lifeline was gone. She gritted her teeth spitting as she was ready to fight again only to stop halfway through her motion. Her head began to go crazy as her hands began wailing around, she started feeling her face screaming in fear. She couldn't open her eyes. She couldn't see Alton glanced over her sighing in relief. "Seems I found your weakness. You can only take control of somebody's mind if you are making eye contact with them. So, I used the opportunity to take that from you. Now you can never ruin another person's life without your sight."

Alice watched the stream in awe, she couldn't quite believe what she was watching. She was glued to the stream, ignoring the chat for a while. For that short few ten or so minutes, Alice felt alive again. She felt the same she once did six years ago, the day she was inspired to become a streamer.

"Whoa, I don't think I've seen you smile for a while…" Iris stuttered in shock. "Are you alright?"

"It's really him… You weren't kidding. It's seriously Alton Brantley… Avalanche."

Iris kneeled next to Alice, watching the stream smirking. Both of them fell silent as Alton saluted to the camera then turning away arm in the air. "It really is… I never thought we would see him again after Sunset Peak I thought he was finished."

Alice stood up, hopping around, trying to calm herself down. "Sister, you remember, you remember the goal we had six years back?"

"Goal? Hmm, wait you don't mean?!"

Alice nodded, proud of herself. "The Alice does. We were going to join Hero's Might. That was the plan and now… Team Rhapsody. We can make that promise come true."

"Father wouldn't agree to this. The idea of jumping from the network to a low ranked stream could be the death of you."

Advertisements

Alice frowned pacing back and forth. "Then, we approach them. Have them join Frizzle Tooth. Then we can team up and work together, then we can fight crime and, and…"

"Whoa, just calm down for a second Alice…"

"Oh, sorry. The Alice is just very… I'm excited."

"I can tell. I haven't seen you this worked up over something in ever." Iris admits sighing to herself unsure what to do. "Alright, we'll make it our goal. We'll get big enough with team Rhapsody, and when the time is right, we'll ask to join."

"Seriously?! For real! You would do that?!" Alice screamed, hugging her sister. That outburst of emotion suddenly faded as she died down to her dull self. "But what about father? You said it yourself. He would disapprove of such terms."

"Forget him. If my sister wants to join team Rhapsody, we are joining team Rhapsody. That's a promise!"

****

"I don't care what you think will happen. I know Alice better than anyone. She's strong. Stronger than you think, she will overcome her demons and win. We'll do it together. I'll bring an end to the Gatekeeper for Alice!"

Sending a spear towards Eve, it was snapped in two by her scythe. A blast of blinding light hit Iris as she brought up a barrier just in time. She was still blasted across the room crushed against the wall and her barrier shattering at the single attack. At her early triumph, Eve smirked only for a spear to roar past grazing her face leaving a deep wound. Eve turned in shock seeing Iris still standing panting. Through the strains of hair covering her face, a single yellow eye grazed through. "It's about time you activated your Garden form, dear sister."

Iris limped forward with each step holding her shoulder panting. Her cubes broke all of Team Rhapsody free as she held her hand up with dozens of cubes appearing. "I can't lose… Not now, not after all we've been through. I can't lose until I've made our promise come to light. Me and you Alice we're going to become members of team Rhapsody!"

Eve cackled holding her eye looking away. "Team Rhapsody? Give me a break… Begone!"

Serval beams of light flickered and burst blowing the room apart. The dozens of cubes negated the attack while the others picked Iris up flying her around the room. She had one small orb in her hand which rapidly spun between her fingers before igniting and flowing through the room bashing past Eve, knocking her off balance serval times. Eve turned focused on Iris as she shot an arrow of light towards her. Iris pulled up a wall that took the attack, this wasn't clearly enough as it instantly broke through it. More walls pulled up, pushing Iris back as each one was destroyed with ease until the tenth wall held it in place. The wall crumbled apart as the arrow fell to the ground.

Iris walked up, holding her arm wincing in pain. "I always looked up to you, Alice… I saw you, and I knew that's who I wanted to be like. You never let anything bring you down, you are strong, cool-headed and amazing. I'm not. I'm always in your spotlight acting like that was alright pretending that was all that mattered to me. That's not true though. I've been jealous of you since birth, always in the line of sight, always beloved by the world. You keep climbing the ranks and showing the world who's the number one streamer while I'm left behind again and again! If this is how you intend to get to the top, with the Garden and the blood of innocent lives, then I will crush that dream of yours. No one, not even my sister, can get away with bloodshed. You won't be number one…" Iris held her hand to her chest, clenching it tightly crying out. "Because I will!"

"Iris…" Zinnia whispered. "This isn't right… None of this is right. They shouldn't be fighting."

"It's Riley all over again," Scarlett spoke in pain.

"Hans, you bastard…" Alton hissed, pulling himself up through sheer willpower. "I won't let you tear these sisters apart anymore!"

Alice and Eve collided at each other's throats with unmatched power. Neither one barged as they had each other's lives in the front lines. Iris sent a cube at herself, flinging herself over Eve. Holding one finger forward, a small spear roared past stabbing Eve in the shoulder pinning her to the ground. The cubes clumped together into a massive meteor of power and order. Iris held her hand up swinging in down, screaming. The meteor with unholy power behind it was seconds away from crushing Eve when Zinnia stepped in swinging her katana cutting the meteor in half. "Stop it, Iris, before you kill your sister!"

Iris stared onwards floating her cubes darting back and forth. Her blank expression staggered into a sinister smile. "Good. Better to cut off the tumour then let it grow any further."

"What?!" Team Rhapsody yelled.

Hans stared at his daughter is shock shaking his head. "This can't be… How was I so blind to not see this?"

"What is he talking about?" Zinnia yelled.

Alton bit his lip gulping. "That isn't Iris anymore…"

Iris turned to Alton giggling. "Correct. Twins who could have imagined by soul and mind split in two. In front of you Eve Hawthorne. And then there's me the one above all stages, they call me Salvation."

"No, that can't be," Eve whispered. "I am…"

"Out of your league dear sister of mine. Always so hellbent on holding us back! Well, I think that ought to change around here. There's a new star in Frizzle Tooth, I will be the next number one streamer. Iris Hawthorne. But worry not dear sister. I still have uses for you."

"Oh no, you don't!" Scarlett barked, letting out a focused explosion the attack vanished leaving Iris unharmed. Scarlett flinched stepping back. "Impossible!"

"Did you honestly think such futile attacks would have any effect on the likes of me?" Iris taunted calling upon dozens of cubes. "I have no time for weaklings if I am to wake the others Eve and I are that ticket. So, Team Rhapsody this is goodbye."

The manor was bombarded with meteors leaving no chance of survival as a worn-down Eve was flown away by the cubes. The dust settled as Team Rhapsody's demise was postponed by the combined work of all of them to destroy the almighty artillery of attacks. Each of them was exhausted as Alton dragged himself through the rubble. "This couldn't get much worse…"

"What the hell is going on?!"

Hans coughed lying in the rubble dumbfounded. "Was all my hard work for nothing? I focused on the wrong child? How could I make such a mistake?"

Alton stood over Hans picking him up. "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

Hans scrunched his face up, blowing Alton back with vines. "I have no such feat to fall to your level. The Garden has blessed me with two unmatched daughters one's who powers rivals none. This is the way to achieving my goal!"

Alton coughed standing up. "I've had just about enough of this shit. I'm taking you down right here right now!"

"Not alone, you aren't," Gale spoke standing alongside him.

Emil smirked patting Alton on the back. "You've hogged enough of the villains to yourself already. Pokiero, Paradox and Eyes over Reality. How about you save some for the rest of us?"

"We'll help too." Zinnia said.

"No. You and Scarlett go after Iris. There's no time for all of us to waste here. Go."

"But!"