The Anima App PART TEN!!!!!

So um... at this point, it should probably be mentioned that I'm the hero of the story.

I mean, we all think we're the main character at some point; it's kind of inevitable to think that way. Maybe some people want to be the main character.

But what does it take to be the main character? Is it magic? Because if we're going off of that, Vedette's the main character; in terms of magic, she's the newest fashion, and I'm those target prairie dresses. I'm not even the nicest person. Ms. Trachard wins there. Well, won there. Or (hopefully) not I mean, aren't heroes supposed to not endanger lives? So far, two entire families have died because of me, I've broken into some rich lady's house, and an orphanage is dead. Not exactly the best track record in terms of heroism. I can't even muster the self-control to be a vegetarian like Carson.

Anyway, I think I'd like to file a formal complaint to whoever's in charge of the universe. That'd be the Anima goddess or whatever her name is, right? She's kind of like that grandma who comes to the school plays and sits right at the front of the stage because she helped her baby girl get the main part. Maybe she could read me some of the lines too?

The growls grow louder as Nœl disappears into the smoke and fog. "What do we do?" I scream, obviously sounding very heroic and brave.

"There's not much we can do," Vedette confirms, checking her bag. "Shit"

"What is it now?" Carson mumbles, a nervous tone creeping up.

"I used too much magic with those cards," she curls her fist, jumping back into the woods. "I'll need to work on a ritual"

"You use magic like that?" I ask Carson, of course to no avail. Since when has the world been like this? What world are we truly living in?

The entire world shakes as the beast before us takes another step, crushing entire trees and weeds. "Um," I call back to Vedette. "We need some help!"

And of course, the woods stay silent. If someone wants to believe that trees don't make a sound when they fall, maybe they should ask what sound the possibly lesbian time traveler makes while wasting time.

The monster finally comes into view, framed by flaming trees. So, maybe it's for the best if I erase the Pallagerkaggygo from my memory forever... of course, that's not going to be possible. The dragonish creature is scaled with metal and iron, holding ruby red eyes inside of its sockets. Instead of wings, things that look like they were torn out of the side of a battleship flank it, covered in guns and other Caddy killing machines.

"So," Carson's voice quivers. "We should run, right?"

I grab his hand, screaming in unison as the monster clambers slowly after us. The sound of gunshots and explosions echo behind me as trees crash to the ground around us. It's like our own personal apocalypse. The world ends here, at least for two crazed teenagers who tried to save the world.

"Maybe this is a secret camera show?" I ask Carson, trying to be hopeful as the monster's footsteps get closer. It doesn't help that more helicopters whir above us, shifting closer and closer as bullets pepper the ground. "Maybe there's a guy right behind that bush with a camera?"

"Caddy," Carson pleads with me. "Please don't"

"Or maybe we're just insane? Maybe this is all a dream?"

"Caddy!" Carson shouts in my face. "Mayweather may be dead because of this. My parents and your family are dead because of this mess. If you're willing to say that this is all a dream, then you might as well accept the fact that everything's been one nightmare this entire time!"

I fall silent at his words before I breathe in, stalling my legs.

"Caddy," he repeats, almost like a broken record. It's always been all about me, no matter how hard I tried to move around it. It's always been the Caddy show.

And I hate it.

"Cupio potestatem ut vivere mundi," I whisper, the words coming out all on their own accord. I can sense Carson's eyes on me as the metal monster hulks before me, towering across the red-tinted sky. "Anima, defendant!"

Pink light swirls out of my hand as the dragonish creature raises on its hackles, glaring down at me to take me out in one fell swipe. The entire world grows numb from the weight of the magic expelling itself from my body as if I'm nothing without it.

But maybe I am nothing without it.

Carson shouts my name again, but it comes out dull and muted, as if through a glass sheen. Just as I'm about to close my eyes and accept defeat, a large bang screams through my mind, almost like a headache.

"You did it!" Carson shouts, almost like a question.

"Um," I stare down at my hands uncertainly. "But what did I do?"

He answers my question by lifting my head, revealing a hefty pink orb surrounding us. The monster raises its arm to attack again, but it only thuds against the wall again.

"Gah!" my head throbs with pain as it hits. More of the time travelers shielded inside the helicopters shoot at the shield, causing a barrage of a migraine.

"It must be coming from your mind," Carson determines. "Do you know if it can move?"

I shrug. "I literally know just as much as you do. We don't have many options"

The Pallagerkaggygo smashes the orb again, causing me to scream out in pain. Carson edges toward me as the ball visibly shrinks.

"We can't hide in here forever," I spit down onto the ground, wishing I wasn't here. "We need to figure out something"

"Maybe Vedette will come back?"

"I'm tired of listening to what she tells us to do," an idea slowly forms in my mind.

Okay, so maybe it should be said that I'm bad at thinking, and I should never be trusted to come up with a plan. "I'm going to try to expand and move the shield," the words already sound insane as I relay them to Carson. "And you're going to take that thing apart"

"Um," Carson sighs folding his hand onto this face in exasperation. "I can take apart cars. I can work on bikes and microwaves. However, my basic engineering class has not in fact covered how to dismember a giant murdering robot dragon!"

"Yeah," I slap his back. "Too bad. Do you have any tools?"

He holds up a thin wrench from the bag. "Um, I don't know if this is going to cover it"

"Just do it!" I grunt, trying to walk under the weight of the shield. "Quickly!"

Carson runs over the joint of the metal monster, still looking unsure. "Please," I manage to make out through the pain destroying my head. Why couldn't I get any stronger powers?

While he works on dismantling the metal armor, I shift to stare up at the time travelers, looking at the fear in their eyes. In this world without magic, what does that make me? A mistake? A blip in the world, nonexistent?

"Move faster!" I extend the shield around Carson as he edges around the monster. Gargantuan plates of metal fall to the ground in clumps. Even though I cheer him on for his success, he still looks scared.

"Catch me!" he jumps from the monster's neck, still shielded by my bubble.

"No!" every nerve in my body explodes as he leaps, landing inside a cradle of pink energy.

"What was that for?" I scream, smacking him on the side of his head.

"That was some Caddy thinking right there," Carson smiles, but there's something bitter behind it. "Now you know how I felt when Vedette told me... everything"

"Shit," I bite my lip. "So, are we even?"

"Sure, but we might die first"

Okay, so maybe heroes are supposed to pay attention a little bit more. Whoops.

The dragon creature's pale skin is exposed, shifting in the burning wind. "We might be able to take it down now," Carson determines.

"Um," I stare at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? It's taller than Mayweather's house! How are we supposed to kill it?"

"Caddy," he grips the edges of my face, staring straight into my eyes. "I believe in you. I just took out the armor of a monster, and you're doubting yourself?"

"Listen," hot tears well in my eyes, burning like the ashes cascading like snow through my vision. "I'm not made for this. Before today, I couldn't even face myself"

"Caddy, I know you can do this. Please. Just... turn it into a joke?"

"What?"

"You've been making jokes this entire time. You evade questions with them because you're unsure of yourself"

"I didn't give you permission to psychoanalyze me, dumbass"

"That's my point! Pretend... well, it is already naked"

"Gross!"

Carson laughs, the noise comforting and easy. "Well, you're gonna have to decide soon, because the shield's nearly destroyed"

I look up, seeing all the cracks in the shield. Seeing how it's coming from my mind, I'm not exactly surprised that it's so destroyed. "Fine," I mumble. "But you were the one who told me to do this"

"And I'm sure you'll use that as blackmail when we're both dead"

I sigh, ignoring the biting comment. "Hey dumbass!" I scream up to the monster. "I'm Peppa Pig!"

"Um," Carson points out. "You might want to hurry up"

Wafts of pink light shimmer in my hand, destroying the shield in a single moment. "And this is my little brother George!" I shout, staring down at the mass of energy amassed in my hand-formed into a giant hammer.

Needless to say, I oinked as I smashed it down onto the fucker's head.

"Hell yeah!" I pivot to hug Carson. All I want to do is curl up on his couch with him and watch shitty movies with terrible food. Why can't the world be as simple as it was before? At least one thing never changed; I still don't have a future.

Wait. That's bad.

"Are you okay?" Carson pushes a stray hair out of my face with the back of his soft, light hand. Not creepy. Except... when Carson does it, he knows he's allowed to. He knows our boundaries and the different worlds we live in. So why are they suddenly converging, crashing, and falling into a thousand terrible pieces?

"How wretched," Vedette's sly voice slinks past the scorched trees. Discarded twigs fall to the ground as she makes her way toward us, eyes glowing red. "Completely wretched"

"You're just annoyed that we took that thing down," I lean against the pink mallet, only for it to disappear under my weight.

"Your technique is sloppy," Vedette scrutinizes. "Do you honestly think you've done a good job? That beast's carcass is still lying there"

"Huh," I shrug. "Maybe I didn't notice"

"Yes," Vedette crinkles her nose from the smell. "It'd take someone as deft as you to somehow not notice"

"Why are you being intentionally rude again?" I ask, genuinely curious for once. "Is it becau-"

"I'm fine," she hisses. "It's you I'd be worried about"

"Why?" I ask, only just noticing the figure looming behind her. "Oh"

Nœl crosses his arms tight over his chest, almost like how Vedette did. With him standing over her, it's almost like seeing her for the first time again.

Like seeing a parent scold their child.

“I have to say I’m impressed,” Nœl brushes Vedette’s biting comments aside. “However, I’d have to agree with Vedette; you need work”

“Well,” I huff, trying to edge away from the god. “It’s not like I asked to be here”

“And yet!” The god laments mockingly. “Here you are”

“So what are you saying? You’re gonna smite me?”

A small smile creeps up on Nœl’s lips. “Now, where would you get that sort of idea?”

“Um, when you literally said you wanted to kill me”

A glimmer of humor lights up in his eyes. “Did I say that? Pardon my insolence; I was simply angered at my student”

“I’m not your student anymore,” Vedette hisses. “Now get to the point, or I will”

Can words be physically sharp? Because somehow, it feels like everything she’s saying is like a sword to my throat.

“We’ve decided to give you a second chance,” Nœl humbly admits. “If you can improve your Anima in a weeks time, we won’t have to imprison or kill you. You can show that you’re strong enough to protect yourself”

“And why would I do this?”

Vedette responds by shooting out, grabbing the first card from Carson’s hand. She flips over the edge of the weathered card, a wry smile on her face.

A wheel stares back at me as the only real friend I’ve ever known disappears.

“What did you do?” My voice comes out hollow and flat, dropping dead on the ground.

“Vedette never told me of the consequences,” Nœl ponders.

“What happened?” My fists smash against his chest as trees collapse around me, scarring the ground as the grass burns.

“She used her magic to take Carson,” he holds out a hand, catching a small drop of rain in his hand. “All things will come full circle one day”

“What does that even mean?”

“Vedette has a hard time determining what is wrong or right,” Nœl determines. “I’m sure you can understand where she’s coming from. However, it should be known that it isn’t acceptable. She does things without thinking”

“And that’s suddenly apocalyptic?”

“If you’re referring to the end of the world balancing above our heads, then yes”

“What’s ending the world isn’t the people you’re blaming,” I spit toward him, acid spreading into my voice. “It’s the people like you who don’t do anything to help them”

“You blame me,” Nœl’s voice goes soft, weary, and tired. “But I tried. I saw Vedette almost as a daughter. Vedette’s fate was sealed to be evil from her very first day”

“If you saw it, then why didn’t you do anything?”

He pulls out a thin gold handkerchief, catching more rain droplets in its plush fabric. “It’s what I ask myself every day. I’m the only person in the universe with the ability to change someone’s face, yet I couldn’t protect hers.

“She left you one last card,” he turns back to me, all business. “Use it wisely”

“Oh,” I take it graciously, hopeful that everything’s finally turning around. Maybe she told me where she left Carson? Except no.

“This has to be a joke,” I gasp at the crude drawing of a grim reaper grinning from the remains of the nearly destroyed card. “Does she really hate me so much?”

“Vedette doesn’t choose the cards,” Nœl sighs. “She isn’t powerful enough to do that yet. Right now, the cards come of their own will. I’m sure you recall their symbolism?”

“One’s for a villain,” I mutter. “Is this it?”

“No,” the god twists to stare at it. “And death doesn’t necessarily mean someone will die”

“But it could,” I correct him.

“It means a great change in your life”

“Well,” I snort. “I think I’ve already done that. That’s great and all, but how do I find Carson?”

“Your Anima is much more powerful than you think. Maybe you could use it in a familiar way?”

“Like with my phone?” I ask, pulling up the app.

“Anima comes from your subconscious; you’ll need to turn it into your desire”

“Okay,” I breathe in slowly.

“Then let’s try it”