Chapter 11:Blood Brothers
Stupid Kibo.Out of all the places he went to it would be my mother's house,Lady Applejack.What a dreadful tyrant who couldn't control herself!The house was not much of a house but a small cabin that was breaking itself down.
It was isolated in the deep woods where almost nobody came.The plants were beautiful I must say but that was because my mother had plant manipulation.And for my Father…well..I never met him.
I tried to find more information about him due to curiosity but there was no hope.I found literally nothing about him. It felt weird being on the doorstep of my deadbeat mother.I knocked three times and waited nervously.The door creaked loudly as usual and dust fell from the doorframe as usual.
"My son has returned."I shoved her out of the way and rampaged the house for Kibo.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TERRANCE?YOU FOOL!"
"I don't go by that name anymore,clearly you weren't paying attention to me."After twenty seconds,the whole house was a mess.Kibo walked down the stairs nervously.
"I didn't want to frighten you brother."
"Red…"
"What are you doing here?"
"Could say the same for you."
"I'm just trying to catch up with my mother.Closing loose ends is all."
"Loose ends?"I stammered.Who did he think he was talking to?What did he think this situation really was?
"Yes.Loose ends."Kibo said with no emotion on his face. He stood by Lady Applejack.
"Y-y-you know what…WHAT SHE DID!"
"Yes,I do know.But that's stuck in the past."
"It's not justified Kibo.She abused us.Knowing it was wrong.She put us in grave danger.Even as babies!Father left because of her and we were put into various orphanages because of her!Only us two in the world. Us against the world. It is us or the sorry folks we have to face in our day to day lives now what part of that do you not understand KIBO?Don't take this good for nothing witch's side over your own blood brother."
"I'm not even sure I can call you my brother."
"YOU TWO!ENOUGH!"We both looked at her,Kibo with obedience,but I felt different.I stared with disgust.Jealousy.Hatred.
"Only two of us are leaving this house alive."I shut the door with my gravity manipulation.Lady applejack flinched at me.She twisted her head.Wrinkles all over that disgusting greenish face of hers.
"You are free to leave T-Red. It really does feel like you're a stranger to me now."
"I could say the same for you.Come on Kibo."
"You can leave."
"Not without Kibo."A vine sprouted out of Applejack's hand.And then thorn grew on it.
"You're going to harm me with that?"
"I might have to do so…"Applejack vomited vigorously.She plunged onto the ground,bawling her eyes out.Pure green skin,just like the developing plant engraved into her body.
"NO!"Vines emerged from the ground outside.They covered the entire house.Windows.Doors.Trapdoors.Any forms of exits were covered in vines.She shifted into many different forms.
"You see Kibo,a true navajo right there!"
"MOTHER STOP THIS."
"Kibo she can't.I've been telling you this for a long time but you were too ignorant to believe me."
"Ignorent."HE turned his head to me,frowning rather too hard.Before the conflict could grow even further,it was all erased by a massive thick vine separating the two brothers apart.Red was thrown out the house,getting trapped by the vines temporarily.Kibo however got trapped on a wall with vines all of his body apart from his head.
He glanced over to a small table next to him.A glowing candle.And a painting of the three of them from birth. It seemed as their father had left them before they were even born.Kibo unravelled the vines as he had plant manipulation he could get rid of them.Applejack stood up with her hand over her face.
"Kibo,stay put. I need to get rid of this brother of yours."
"Mother please don't.All of this is a misunderstanding.I'm sure we can work this conflict out before it gets much worse!"
"Kibo.You're so blind my dear boy.I'm trying to protect you.From this monster.Who destroyed my house and is trying to manipulate me."
"He's angry is all. We all had trauma and struggles. He's confused mother.Please.Let him be. He will let you be."
Would they stop?No.Actually maybe.Depends what they wanted to do.Red used the twisted vines to whip Applejack's head.She fell right to the floor.Cracks began to form on the wooden planks.Dust fell from the ceiling and the candle wiped out.All of them in the house. It was pitch black.Red activated chromo visualling.
He grabbed Kibo's hand as quickly as he could and ran out the door.Lady Applejack forced walls forged out of plants to block their path.They were trapped,again. It was nighttime outside.
There was no stars,no moonlight.Just pitch black in the sky.Grasshoppers in the grass hummed.Insects buzzed where flowers were.And that was pretty much it.Applejack kept twisting and turning her body parts.She had gone completely mad.
"Red,come on!"
"What?I'm trying to get you out of here."Red blasted the vines out of his way due to his gravitational force.They splattered everywhere.Like mushy…brocoli?Some form of a green food.
"Hold my hand Kibo,both of them.And close your eyes.I'll teleport us to somewhere far away."But Kibo shook his head. He rapidly pushed himself away from Red.
"I-I..I-"
"Stop stuttering Kibo.Say it."
"I can't…"
"Can't what?"
"Go with you.I can't with the chaos.And the war.I don't want to live in a world like that.I want to help people.I want to help mother."He pointed to the navajo slowly approaching them.Then he took a second look and realised she looked even more of a monster than Red.
"Mother?"Kibo questioned
"Applejack?"Red giggled,not being too surprised obviously. It was common for navajos who shape shifted into humans to turn back to their original form.She smelt of rodents from afar.Meters away.
Her skin was green and bloated.All her facial features were gone.She had vines with thorns carved into knives meant to kill.Applejack grew fatter,bigger and less human.
"Not like she was human anyways."Red turned and grabbed Kibo hand but he pushed him away.
"I don't think…why did I come here? Mother why?I came here for you and you want to do this?"
"You're too blind Kibo.Not even a pint of light could reach the tip of your eyes to make you see that Applejack is clearly wrong. It's obvious she's always been like that."
"It's not her fault though!If you're born a navajo,you'll be like this.Human form is temporary for them.And why she smells so bad now…"
"It is her fault.Even if she was born with this,there'd be a way to fix it,I'm sure."
"With absolute certainty?"
"Completely."
"Alright but…my journey and time can't be wasted. We need to do something with her!"Kibo turned to Applejack.She grabbed him with her uncomfortably enormous hand,bloated in diseases of some sort.
A real witch.Crooked teeth.Wretched and bloated green skin. No soul,just pure evil.The embodiment of pure evil.Red stomped on the ground twice to bring her down by increasing the gravitational field. He brung Kibo towards him and stuck with him like glue.
"We're all we need brother. It's the world against us.THINK about it.They see us as outsiders.But we will show them.And we will dominate!"
"Alright Red."
"Not,alright Red.I want some enthusiasm!Have faith my dear brother.Have hope. We will get through this.Push back the struggles and hatred of the world. We will make a living."Kibo let out one final smile.But Lady Applejack couldn't go longer without a mouth.Suddenly,a mouth formed due to her total concentration of wanting to speak.She let out a deep toned gasp.Her body began to deform and dissolve.
"NO,MOTHER!"
"KIBO DONT.LEAVE HER!"Kibo wiped the tears rolling down his face like a waterfall. He stopped running and walked above Lady Applejack.She was back to her original size.But her skin was meltling.And there was steam rising from her body.She was almost unrecognizable.
"K-Kibo.Whatever you do..don't go with Red."
"Mother I wanted both of you to get along,like a proper family!But all you two want to do is complain or argue with each other.Now look at you…what even are you anymore?Are you even my mother?Can I truly call you my mother?"
"Can you truly call Red your blood brother after everything he did over the years.Siding with that monster over something I can't control?There isn't much medicine in the world for some reason and nobody in the history of ancient books has wished for medicine. So please. Be a doctor,be better than me if that's what you hope.More importantly,be better than Red. Be moral in this world.I wasn't the best mother,sure.I can agree on that with all my heart and soul. To be honest,maybe don't do it for me.Just do what you think is best.What makes you happy.What keeps you alive and going in this wretched world.There's too much grey and not enough colour in this canvas and I hope there will be an artist to do so.You have the potential Kibo.Paint the world with colour"
"You mean…make the world a better place?"
"Yes.The actual planet Earth it's beautiful.God's creation is truly amazing.But the people.Most people have no colour.They're plain.Dull.Evil.Desperate.Paint unfinished areas of the world.For yourself Kibo.Please.That's my…final…wish…"
Red watched from afar. He was going to turn his back with regret of coming here but in the corner of his eye he saw Kibo grab Applejack's hand.
"KIBO!"He bolted towards the two but by the time he got there,they were both dissolved into…some gooey substance.Like acid.Green stone.Red took off his mask. He gasped for air and clutched onto his chest.His blood brother died.Kibo died.KIBO DIED?KIBO IS DEAD?KIBO IS…he couldn't comprehend it.
The one person he grew up with most of his life was…dead.Forever.Red gulped slowly,placing his mask back on. He left the Applejack house,burning with nothing but rage.
No sadness.Pure revenge.All the destruction he was going to cause.This day would be remembered by Japan. It would be remembered by the entire world for the rest of this universe's life.The true day of the ILO was going to happen.The true day of the rebellion.
This one death had sparked something inside of him. He regained memories of his past lives.All the things he did.And he died in all of those lives trying to figure out his true purpose in life.
And he found it. He just needed to go back to the void dimension and speak with the other two ILO members.Lunar awakened her soul but Iris has yet to be on Earth.