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Year of the Rabbit - December

Ascension

By XP Author

Angel felt the disorientation as she shifted to whatever the next experience would be. After so many cycles through her many lives and deaths, it had become familiar at this point. She did not bother to keep track of just how many times she had been through the loops at this point. It could be dozens, or hundreds of times. Could be more. But she had managed to keep her mind through them, if only just. The real task was actually dealing with whoever was the source of her punishment each time. Some had been easier than others. The bull had been unexpectedly easy. He had not wished to do such violence on her, but it had been his punishment for his own life as a warlord. Her accepting it as her own punishment had allowed him to deny the roles he was given as her executioner, and find a peace with himself.

A little harder was the stag, Ash. It took a lot of tries before he was even willing to talk to her. But she did finally get him to listen. After a long and emotional conversation, she had gotten him to accept the reality. That his brother had not been the saint that he thought he was, and that she was not the evil incarnate murderer that had killed an innocent. His brother had, in fact, been the murderer, an enforcer for a terrorist organization that was trying to destabilize the area they lived in. When he finally accepted that, it was his turn to finally come to terms with everything else. He forgave her, which she had not expected to feel quite as relieving as it had. And he moved on. But she did not. She was left to go to the next, whoever, and whatever that might be. Of course, the only way to move on was always the same. She had to die. She had gotten very good at shooting herself or slicing her own throat at this point. That should probably worry her.

As she snapped into her new reality, such as it was, she found she was completely naked. Though after how many times she had been raped, killed, and raped again through all the loops, she had gotten pretty used to it. Having everything out and exposed barely even phased her anymore. She looked around, and her eyes went wide. For the first time, she knew exactly where she was without having to even think about it. She would never forget this place. After all, this were where she died for real. The first time. The one that sent her to hell. The skeletal towers that were under construction. And she heard the shot from a high powered rifle. It was so familiar, it was like hearing an old friend's voice again. It was her gun, her trusty sniper rifle that had been a more loyal partner than any person.

But it was not in her hands. She looked around. The shot had come from a little distance down the way. Then she got to see a very strange sight. Herself, dressed in her all black military attire. She, or her copy or memory or whatever, had her back pressed against the low concrete half-wall. A bullet whizzed over her double's head, making her flinch. The real her knew this moment, wanted to say something, but only watched as it all played out. Her double popped up, propped the gun on the edge to aim down, and then the scope exploded into shrapnel, the back of her head doing the same as a high powered round smashed through her eye and exited the other side. The body collapsed to the floor, twitching a few times before laying still, the remaining eye left wide open in stunned shock.

It was then that Angel realized this was not the only version of herself. Several dozen other dead Angels lay on the floor, each one killed in the same way. As she stared, yet another version of herself came running down the hall, only to end up crouched in the same spot. "What...?"

"SHH!" her double hissed at her. "Keep your head down, unless you want it blow off!" The real Angel blinked, not expecting her double or whatever it was to actually acknowledge her presence. Especially as a few moments later, it also got its own head blown open by another shot. And then another duplicate came in to take its place.

Angel frowned. She knew full well just who was firing all of those shots. There really was only one person. Rex Kardia, aka, The King of Hearts. A mercenary sniper, and one of the best in the world. The man that had killed her. He was stationed in one of the other towers. After this newest duplicate got blasted, the real Angel stood up, looking out over the open air to see. Sure enough, all the way on the far tower, she spotted him. The skunk had himself propped on the edge of a low wall, his own rifle aimed right at where all of the other versions kept showing up. Though when he saw her stand, he suddenly jerked his rifle to the side and fired at her.

She felt the round hit her. It struck just to the left of her chest, right at her heart. A clean kill shot. Only... nothing. It hurt, but when she looked down, there was not so much as a scratch, let alone the bore hole where the round should have torn her open. The man across the way seemed equally confused, firing a second, then a third round, all of them hitting but seeming to pass right through her, as if she was not even there. She turned to look at the wall behind her, seeing the small trio of holes in the concrete where the rounds struck. A fourth was added a little higher, passing through her head.

To her side, another of her duplicates was propped up on the wall, aiming down sight at the skunk firing at the real version. But unlike the real one, it just stayed there, aiming, not firing anything. It would wait that way, muttering about how she had him now, but never taking the shot. It just waited, until Rex turned his sights back to it, blasting it away like all the others. The real her stood there, watching as yet another came to take its place. As this one was blown away, she decided to actually see if she could go to the other tower. As she started going down the steps, she watched another version pass on their way up. She didn't bother hurrying down the almost two dozen flights of stairs to the bottom.

When she was finally at the bottom, she crossed through the plaza between the three skeletal buildings. Though she did notice something interesting as she made the trek. When she had been here while she was alive, there had been a big event happening. She was to kill the PM of the nation, who was giving a big speech on TV about the new projects, that being whatever the buildings were going to be. Of course, it had been a setup, and the man that had shown was only a body double. Now, however, there was no one out here. No security marched around, no helicopter chugged away overhead, no TV cameras or podium was set up. It was quiet, other than the periodic echo of a gunshot high above her head as another duplicate was taken out.

At least those shots would make finding what floor Rex was on easier. She started climbing the stairs up the building he was in. Again, she took her time, not seeing a reason to hurry. Especially since there was no security ready to tackle her and arrest her. Though that was actually a little surprising, now that she thought about it. She would have expected to find a hoard of men all ready to tie her down and pass her around as their fuck toy before putting a bullet in her head. Or after, it was a 50/50 chance with how these things had been going. This had all been very different from almost every other scenario she had been through so far. It did set her a little on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She got to the right floor just as she heard another shot go off. Then the click as he chambered another round. She had forgotten he was using a bolt action rifle. Now that she was close enough, she actually pegged the model, a McMillan TAC-50, in brushed white. She grunted. "Huh, not a bad choice."

Rex gasped, completely unaware she had gotten there. He swung the gun around to aim at her, then paused as he stared at her. She stood with her hands out to show she was unarmed. Not to mention still completely naked. "Uh... Thanks...?"

She chuckled. "Go ahead and shoot me if you want. Apparently it doesn't work."

He lowered the barrel down, though still looked at her apprehensively. "Thought that was just some kind of smoke and mirror trick..."

She shook her head. "Nope. Though don't ask me why. I'm just as confused about it as you are. First time a bullet didn't rip a new hole into me." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "Though as you can see, I'm here unarmed."

"And naked..." He felt compelled to point out. Though he did still smirk at her. "Not that I'm complaining for the show, mind you."

She scoffed at him, putting her hands on her hips. "No, I don't suppose you would mind. Considering you raped my corpse." She was not entirely sure how she knew he did, but there was no doubt in her mind that it did happen.

The skunk tilted his head. "Well, for someone that's supposed to be a corpse I raped, you look in remarkably good condition..." He blinked a few times then, as if he remembered something.

She completed what she was sure he was thinking. "Especially since you've been poking holes in my head for a while now?"

He nodded slowly. "...yeah..." He glanced over at the other building, and sure enough, he could see another version of her propped up on the wall, aiming right at him. He ducked down quickly. Only after his head was well out of the way did a bullet come whizzing past, hitting the wall behind him. "Fuck. Neat trick. So what, is this some kind of distraction?"

Angel let out a sigh. "I use a Barret .50 caliber rifle, loaded with anti-material rounds that can punch through medium armor on a light tank. That few inches of stone you're cowering behind wouldn't be much of a hindrance." She waved her hand at the open air. "That... version of me over there? They aren't trying to kill you. They are bowling pins, set up for you to keep knocking down. Over and over." She frowned, looking over where her double was sitting, patiently waiting to be blown away like all the others. "I just can't for the life of me figure out why."

The man leaned his gun against the wall, then himself. "I've been stuck here for hours. I find my target, execute it with precision. One shot, clean kill. Blood sprays, body falls. Then I find my target... and execute it with precision again. And again. And again." His eyes went slowly blank as he stared straight ahead. "And again. And again..." He looked at her with a look of panic. "It hasn't been hours, has it?" She shook her head slowly. "What... is going on?"

She moved to sit against the wall opposite him. "I think you know what's going on." He looked away. "You died at some point, didn't you? After these towers, you died. And now you're reliving this last kill. Over and over, never allowed to move on."

He grit his teeth. "That bitch!" She tilted her head at the sudden outburst. "Not you. You were worth the time. A true rival worth killing."

Angel chuckled. "Thank you?"

He grunted. "Yeah, well. It's meant as a compliment. Not many are that good at being both cat and mouse in the game. And you are one sexy bunny, for sure. Nice tight cunt, sexy ass, lovely tits. The total package."

She just shook her head. "Thanks for that, I guess, but... who was this bitch you just mentioned?"

Rex frowned. "Oh, right. That. So, after I killed you, I had some fun, then delivered your body to my patrons in the government. But it seems they didn't want to pay me for my time." He sighed. "Sent some honeypot assassin cunt after me while I was living it up in the pub. Bitch was all sweet words and big ass in my face. Then the garrote around my neck." He reached out to touch his neck. "What I get for fucking a rat."

Angel couldn't help but laugh. "So you killed me, raped me, then got used and killed for your trouble!?" She continued laughing.

He frowned. "Yeah, laugh it up. But we're both the ones here now." He grabbed his rifle and turned to aim again. "Now fuck off. I have a mission to do." He fired, blowing away the version of herself that had been waiting all this time.

She sighed. "Rex. You can't ever finish this mission! You already did!"

"Not until you're dead!" He shouted, firing another shot. "And then I'm going to gut that fucking rat before she can strangle me!" Another shot. "And then I'm taking down that corrupt fucker in charge myself! No one betrays The King of Hearts and gets away with it!"

She let out another sigh. This was going to take a lot more effort than she thought it would. Though just as she was about to speak, a voice echoed around her. Deep, dark, and full of malice. "You cannot save him." She looked up, then around. She was suddenly no longer on the tower. She was... nowhere, really. Black nothingness surrounded her. "He is not yours to save. He is in his own hell. Where he belongs. Like you."

She knew who was talking. "Speaking of rats..." She shouted. "SHOW YOURSELF, DEMON!"

A form seemed to emerge, somehow darker than the blackness around her. Except for the piercing red eyes and wicked ivory teeth. Fittingly, the only name she knew to call him was Black. "You have been a very busy little bunny lately. Working oh so hard to save so many lost souls. But never yourself. You are not worthy of being saved, after all."

She stared at the creature in front of her with a cold anger. "I know that's a lie. I could have left with Jason. I chose to stay here."

"Giving up your only chance at redemption. Foolish woman."

She scoffed, putting her fists up. "I don't buy that for a second, either."

"You wish to fight?" There was a note of amusement to the demon's voice. "You are more foolish than even I thought. Allow me to show you just how poor a choice that is." He didn't even seem to move a hand, and yet something struck her with enough force that she felt her body suddenly torn into pieces. And not small ones, she was very aware of her body being bashed into a bloody pulp. Yet she... respawned? Reformed? Whatever it was that happened when she came to a new scenario. Only for some hand larger than her torso to grab her head and squeeze, popping her skull like a grape. When she came back, she was slashed into a dozen pieces by talons. Then she was on fire, burning to her bones. Then a blow that knocked her head off of her shoulders entirely.

The creature seemed to have no shortage of ways to keep killing her, each one more bloody than the last. It all happened so fast that she could not even scream before she had died and respawned, still feeling the last death while a new one was inflicted upon her. After a while, he added rape into the mix. Because of course he did. But it wasn't a prolonged rape. Something that was probably supposed to be a cock was rammed between her legs, spreading her so wide that she simply ripped in half. The next time, it punched through her insides until it burst from her mouth. Then it jammed through her eye and exploded out the back of her head. Another was down her throat, ripping her head off of her shoulders to stay lodged on the shaft. Another simply fucked right through her belly.

The whole while, the creature was cackling at her. She lost sense of time, not that she had much to begin with. All she knew was pain. But also a hatred. Not for the acts that were happening, she had almost expected them. But for the thing doing it to her. That he thought he could do this to her. That he thought she was so low that she deserved this. She might have thought that once, too. But not any more. Through her many, many loops through hell, she had learned to see something in herself she hadn't before. She had been killing, yes, but she had only ever killed those that did far worse. And she cared. She loved, something she had thought she forgot how to do.

Her hand came up and caught a fist, stopping it as it was about to strike her down again. Black flinched. "What!?"

Angel looked up at him. "I'm done letting you win, demon." She punched him, hitting what she was pretty sure was his face. And it actually connected. When it did, the world around her was no longer black, but suddenly bathed in light.

Black growled, pushing back with his own darkness to clash against her light. Yet she was able to make him out now. Still in the shape of a muscular rat, darker than any shadow. "You don't get to make that choice!" He lashed out again, striking her square in the jaw. Only this time, she was able to take the punch. It still hurt, a great deal in fact, but her head was not knocked off of her shoulders or her jaw off of her face.

She actually chuckled. "Oh, let's do this." She launched herself at him, throwing a series of punches that seemed to do very little... at first. Her fists struck his face and chest and belly, and for the first several, he barely flinched, but as she kept hitting, he started to grunt, until one struck his face and actually made him take a step back. He growled, reaching out to grab her, only for her to hop up so high she could plant her foot on his face and springboard off of him. "Remember this one!?" She suddenly twisted in the air, ignoring whatever normal physics should exist. She then smashed her foot into his face, then kicked again with her other leg, before smashing another for a full triple kick that sent him stumbling backwards, all while yelling "SERAPH ASSAULT!"

The demon clenched his fists and his jaws tight. "Oh, very cute." Before she could land from the jump, he reached out and grabbed her throat. "But this isn't a game!" He clenched and twisted, her neck snapping painfully. "And it would be game over for you!" Her body trembled in his grip as he pulled her head fully off in a bloody spray.

Her foot slammed into his back before he was done throwing her old body away. "Jokes on you, fucker. I have infinite continues, remember?"

He twisted, slamming his backhand into her face, shattering her skull and sending her broken body flying backwards. "You have infinite pain, you cunt! You do not get what situation you're in!"

She picked herself up off of the floor, or whatever it was, her body already mended. "Oh, no. That's where you're wrong. I know full know the situation I'm in." She pulled a pistol seemingly from nowhere. "And you had better stop underestimating me."

"What?" He actually flinched when she pulled the trigger, unloading the entire magazine into him. Each place she shot on his body lit up like a beacon, ripping through the blackness of his being. "WHAT!?" He grunted, bashing the gun out of her hand. "Enough games!"

"But I thought you liked games!" She ran forward, running up the thing's body and smashing her foot down on his head to send him crashing to the ground as she flipped off of him in one graceful move. "You toyed with me like I was just a doll. Your plaything to be puppeteered around." As he started to get back up, she smashed her foot into his face again. "NO MORE!"

With a bellow of rage, the demon shoved himself back up, throwing her away. He suddenly grew many times in size, his shape deforming into something barely recognizable. "AND WHO ARE YOU TO DARE TELL A DEMON OF HELL NO MORE!?" His voice was an echo of evil around her, nothing even slightly resembling what it was.

Angel actually laughed as she could almost feel the desperation from the thing. "I'll tell you exactly who I am!" She launched herself forward again, striking the creature hard enough that it still flinched, despite its size. "I am the daughter of General Kenderson!" She followed up with another strike, slamming her leg into the thing's middle, knocking the blob of darkness upwards. "I am the lover of Jason Salano!" She brought her leg down on the thing, sending it crashing back downwards this time. "I am the woman on the wall! The Black Ghost. The secret weapon that removes the corrupt!"

She pulled out her pistol again, once more summoning it from seemingly nowhere. She fired several more shots down into the mass, this time opening great holes of light within the darkness, making it scream and writhe in agony. "I am Major Angel Kenderson! And you are_my_ bitch!" She aimed one more time, pulling the trigger as she called out "_ HOLY RAPTURE! _" Channeling yet another of the moves from her time in the fighting game scenario, a massive beam of blue light blasted forth from the pistol instead of any bullet. It slammed down into the creature, completely engulfing the thing. Black let out a scream of pure rage, but the thing was pinned down, unable to fight back against her any longer. She lost sight of the black thing as the light continued to pour out of her, through her weapon.

When she was finally dun, she twirled the gun around her finger, then put it into a holster that did not exist. Instead, she found great wings of pure white and light kept her aloft. The felt natural on her, as if they had always been there. Looking down at her hands, she saw her black fur was now also a golden white, shining so brightly it might blind her, but it again felt natural. She turned her gaze down to see what Black had become. There was little left of it now, just a black spot, no bigger than her thumb. She lowered herself down, her wings spread wide. "This is who I am."

"And you are as beautiful as ever." Her breath caught in her throat as she heard the voice. Turning quickly, she saw exactly who she thought she would. Jason, his fur as pure as her own now looked, and also sporting a set of wings. He seemed to step out of nothingness as he walked closer. "Just how I've always seen you."

"Jason!" She was suddenly against him, throwing her arms around her lover. He laughed as he held her. Both were equally aware of their nakedness, and yet neither felt a hint of shame. Though Angel still felt herself suddenly crying. Not sadness, but pure joy. "I thought I'd never see you again."

He just smiled as he held her both gently and tight. "And I knew we'd meet again. Just like I told you." He reached up, wiping her tears away as she clung to him. "Shhh. No tears, love." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

She sniffled, but did laugh a little as she righted herself. "What... what are you doing here?"

He smirked. "I got tired of waiting." She let out a soft laugh at him. "I came to take you home."

She looked back at the shriveled thing that had been the demon tormenting her for so long. The shapeless blob of darkness still squirmed around powerlessly. "What... what about him? He'll still hurt other people..."

Jason shook his head, reaching out to touch her chin and turn her to face him. "But not you. Or the people you freed from his grasp. You cannot kill a demon. Only the gods can do that. But it will be a long time before he gains any more power." He smirked a little. "And I think the greater demons above him will have some opinions about him losing so many souls to one stubborn rabbit." She laughed again, nodding slowly. He reached out and took her hand. "Are you finally ready to go?"

She gripped his hand tight, lacing her fingers through his. "Yes. I think I'm finally ready."

He grunted. "About time." He bumped her shoulder with his own, then turned and walked forward. She joined him, right by his side, as the two passed on into the blinding light. Finally together for eternity.

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