See And Believe Again

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The sky, although graced with darkened clouds to the north, was surprisingly clear in the early evening, a bright full moon accenting the reddish-purple hued above and beyond. Slowly stepping on the wide dirt path was a group of nine- warriors who had proven themselves worthy of using their undying nature of rock to vanquish a great mechanical being, The Beast, who to this day roamed the grounds with a sense of superiority; acting as though this was territory he had rightfully earned. But in the minds of the group, that would all soon change.
They did not march in a single file line, but sauntered along in sort of an oval shape, some trailing ahead, others lagging behind. There was Johnny Napalm, a notorious, mohawked punk rocker who had since changed into something resembling the superhero "Nightcrawler", blue skin and glowing yellow eyes, his face playing a wide, mischievous smirk. Spikes seemed to jut out from his shoulders and forearms, and his attire shared a similar appearance.
Echo Tesla, one of two newcomers, was known for being anti-social in most cases, alone with nothing but her robotic creations built by her own two hands. Because of that factor being noticed, her form was identical to that of a machine, a steel visor covering her eyes and her "hair", which was now a series of jumbled wires and chains, was up in two high ponytails. Her clothing was also made of metal, but it was a darker color than her skin.
Then there was Judy Nails, the pink-haired alternative rocker with a spunky attitude. Her form consisted of a mahogany-shaded bat wing sprouting out from her back, her eyes colored white, and something that looked like a blood-drop of makeup descending from her lower lip. Her clothes were sewn together in places, and her skirt had large silver hoops at the hem.
The second of the newcomers, Austin Tejas, was the classic rocker, adored with a long black cloak and matching ankle-high shoes. Now, to the others around him, what he looked like wasn't all that weird to his fellow companions, but if you had never seen him before his transformation, you wouldn't think the same- It was the fact that he was missing a head. Other than that, he seemed quite normal.
Pandora, a lovely female with blue hair, still appeared similar to her original features, despite the fact that her skin had become the color midnight blue, the same as the night sky. Her golden outfit looked like it had come from a medieval fairytale, the top and skirt conjoined at the hip by four long straps, two in the front and two in the back.
Next in the group was the mighty Lars Umlaut, who had literally transformed into something.... well, inhuman. His body still had the appearance of a human being, his muscular chest and arms still the familiar peach color, but his head was covered by a tattered brown hood, which was spiked down the front and slit open in various spots to show his now disfigured face- it was that of a rather large pig, with tusks emitting from the front, a silver ring through his nose, and eyes a menacing shade of crimson. The hood branched off at the bottom hem, where four silver hoops dangled from the strands of burlap-like material.
Casey Lynch, the harder rocker of the group, still maintained her humanesque figure, but her normally peach skin tone was covered in reptilian scales, giving her a snake-like appearance. Her eyes had an upwards tilt to them, her hair had grown longer, and her lips were now a ruby red. Her clothing and boots were lined with a light layer of fur, and she now carried a broadsword on her back.
Trailing behind the majority of the group was another female, who was not necessarily a newcomer, but unfamiliar to a situation such as this. Her name was Elise McCready, and since she had become her warrior self, she had not since looked in a mirror or any such object to show herself. She did have some idea that she didn't look exactly the same as she did once before, but how much different was vague in her mind. Nor did she have a sense of what the rest of her physical body appeared as. She could only imagine if she still looked partially human, or as hauntingly beautiful as the blunette in front of her, or as ugly as... well, you get the idea.
Her boot-covered feet came to an eventual stop by a vast, expansive lake, the sun falling behind the horizon and turning the clear sky above a light purple that mixed with the golden orange of sunset. Hesitating briefly, she took a few causal steps forward, then halted, drawing up an arm to delicately touch a finger to her lower lip, took a deep breath, and continued on. When she soon decided to glance downward into the clear, still water, she let out a gasp of shock and horror.
Elise could remember when her hair was shoulder-length, layered and brushed down to a feathery extent. Now, it was dark blonde, spiked up in a high ponytail, tied back with a thick black rope, and miniature ram horns protruded from the top of her head. Instead of the deep blue that once colored her eyes, they were now pure white, with smoky black makeup surrounding them and the same shade of black coating her lips, accenting her defined cheekbones. Her skin was nearly glowing due to the fact that the tone was such a light hue of almost white. Her figure nearly appeared skeletal because of the fact that she had gotten so much thinner, and her nails were now long, sharpened claws. The top she was wearing was spiked immensely on one shoulder, ripped in some places, and stitched up in others. Her bottoms were in a similar fashion; a long, frilled skirt with one end nearly cut off, shorter in the front and long in the back, over a set of ripped, striped leggings, and spiked almost knee-high boots. On one arm was an extremely spiked gauntlet armband, and dark tribal tattoos crawled up the other.
At what she saw, she let out a nearly bloodcurdling scream and vaulted away from the body of water, visibly shuddering and wrapping her arms around herself. Her legs buckling underneath the tilting of her weight, she stumbled down onto her knees, letting out a cry of anguish. Taking great caution to herself to not glance at the water again, she buried her face in her hands, attempting to choke back numerous sobs, but failed, her body violently pulsing back and forth as she allowed the tears to escape, soaking her slender fingers.
This didn't continue on for much longer, as a concerned, harmonious voice effortlessly made its way to her ears.
"Elise? Babe, you okay?"
The blonde looked up slowly to see a familiar, broad-shouldered figured sauntering toward her- Axel Steel. Even in his transformed state, he still looked the same to her, to a certain point. His body was covered in cream colored bandages, some slightly falling off, but the majority sticking to his skin. His once soft brown eyes were now a beautiful piercing blue, and his hair was now made of bandages, though somewhat thinner than the ones that adorned his body. There were some parts that were not covered, showing a bony ribcage and parts of his legs and arms. To her, he was still immensely attractive. All she could do was gaze silently, longingly in some desperate confusion at him.
The man she had come to love.
Yes, Elise McCready was in love with Axel Steel. And she knew he would never feel the same. But that was the least of her thoughts at the moment.
Elise slowly lowered her hands from her cheeks, but turned away slightly so Axel couldn't see her tear-streaked face. "No... don't look at me. It's horrible."
Axel's gaze softened, even though it had been light-hearted to begin with. Dropping down, knees bent to be eye-level with the female, he placed a gentle hand on her hard, bony shoulder. "What's horrible? Tell me what's wrong."
She seemed to tense up at Axel's touch, but took in his words, unbeknownst to him. "Everything... I don't know... I just can't look at myself anymore." she murmured, loudly enough that only the two of them could hear her spoken words.
"Can't look at yourself?" the male had voiced, not fully understanding Elise's situation. "Why's that? What's so bad about-"
"About this?!" she suddenly jolted away and up onto her feet so Axel could see her fully transformed state, eyes red and slightly bloodshot from her previous sobbing; arms spread out so they were not touching her body, hands clenched into fists, tightly enough so her knuckles turned white even on her identically colored skin; legs shaking. "This is what's got me so worked up. This... so called 'true' side of me that's come forth." she nearly snarled as she started for him, stopping when she was not even a foot away. "Can't you see this? I'm hideous, Axel! I'm..." she couldn't finish as her face fell into the fortress of her cupped hands, sobbing once more. "I'm a monster."
After the last sentence had escaped Elise's mouth, Axel brought the weeping, shaking blonde into his arms, gently swaying her back and forth and slowly running his arms down her back to sooth her as she cried into his chest. He didn't mind the fact that the female's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck; they weren't choking him and he had a feeling it brought her a sense of safety.
Lessening his grip on her, Axel moved his hands to Elise's shoulders, wiping away the stray tears that fell down her face with his soft, bandaged fingers. "The way you look as of now is nothing to cry about, babe." he whispered. "Trust me, you still look good to me."
The blonde scoffed. "Sure, and next thing you know, Johnny's going to appear out of nowhere and whine about how we're moving so slow."
Speak of the devil, after those words had left her lips, a certain blue-skinned, mohawked male popped up from the ground in-between the two warriors, his arms crossed over his chest. "Ey, why you guys moving so goddamn slow? Get yer asses in gear and get movin'!" he complained, seemingly bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet to show he was quite impatient.
Axel ran his fingers through his bandaged "hair", chuckling. "I'm just talking to Elise, Johnny-boy. Don't worry, we'll catch up in a bit." The punk rocker gave him a nod, then winked at said female. "Feel better soon, ay dollface?" he voiced flirtatiously to the blonde, brushing his fingers on her shoulder before nearly skipping off, his laugh echoing through the air.
Elise rolled her eyes, shaking her head as a barely visible smile crept onto her face. "He tries and tries, but yet he never interests me," she laughed.
Axel looked her way. "Who, Napalm?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yeah, he keeps hitting on me. But I really don't like him like that. I feel that way towards... someone else." What came next from the male's mouth surprised her greatly.
"Who?"
The blonde snapped her head over to stare at him, utterly frozen in shock. Did he really just ask her that? "Wha... what do you mean?"
He simply shrugged, but repeated the question. "Who do you feel that way towards? If it's not Johnny, then who is it?" The next sentence would've made her laugh if she wasn't so taken aback by his statements, as he put on a posh London accent and batted his eyelashes in a teasing manner. "Who has stolen the fair heart of Elise McCready?"
Even so, she let out a giggle, then sighed and turned away. Could she tell him? Should she tell him? How much would it affect their current friendship?
"He wouldn't feel the same," she eventually murmured, looking out to the distance of the lake. "It's pointless to keep thinking it, no matter how much I still want to believe."
"Believe what? That he won't like you?" Axel finished her unvoiced thoughts. He continued when she nodded. "I know I'm gonna sound stupid when I say this, but what guy wouldn't like you, Elise? You're just that awesome. Obviously Johnny's taken a liking to you." he spoke the last part with a light laugh.
She however, didn't. She just pursed her lips together and averted her gaze to her spiked boots. "He could do better."
Axel didn't get a chance to speak as Elise voiced on, "I'm nowhere near the prettiest girl in the group. Pandora's insanely beautiful, Echo's super pretty, and Judy and Casey are just plain gorgeous!" she let out a groan of disgust. "Let's face it, I'm about as attractive as Napalm."
This time, the male took action instead of words. He reached out to place his hands on her shoulders again, forcing the girl to glance back up into his piercing blue eyes. "Elise, don't tell yourself that. You are-"
"No, I'm not, Axel. Look at me! Look at... this!" she nearly sobbed again, but took the male's bandaged face in her skeletal hands. "Now, honestly Axel- tell me the truth from the bottom of your heart. Look me in the eyes; look at me as I am. And tell me what you see."
There was a long, foregoing silence before the male sighed inwardly and spoke in a hushed tone to her, "Well, if I wasn't someone you knew... I'd look at you and see a person who was uncomfortable in her own skin, looking for some sort of sign that someone could accept her. I'd see someone who just wants to be cared for and appreciated for who she is." he paused, then continued, "But I know you, and I see all of that already. There's just one thing you may not know, though."
Axel lowered Elise's arms to her sides, so he could softly hold her face in his hands, his fingers gently caressing her cheeks as one hand moved down to her chin, tilting it up so her white eyes could look into his piercing blue ones. Then he spoke in a hushed whisper, "In my honest opinion, from the bottom of my heart... I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life."
The still moment lasted for only two heartbeats before Elise had wrapped her arms around Axel's neck and did what she'd wanted to do for the longest time- she brought her body close enough to his so they touched at the waist, and gently, but longingly, crashed her lips to his. It wasn't long after that the male responded to her kiss with fervor, his arms reaching themselves around her, one resting on the small of her back while the other lightly untied the rope that held back her ponytail, his fingers working wonders as they ran through the strands of her blonde hair and lightly massaged the back of her neck. She shuddered with obvious delight, her lips parting unknowingly, but soon realized it as Axel's tongue darted inside her mouth, her own soon responding in a dance of dominance, the slight roughness tickling her deliciously. As if they hadn't been close enough before to be nearly conjoined at the hip, Axel had pulled Elise even more towards him, so that no part of their bodies were disconnected.
After what seemed breathless ages of this, his lips separated from hers to place themselves delicately on her neck, causing her to sigh at the loss of his mouth. He brushed his lips against her shoulder, then moved to her collarbone, kissing a trail up from her neck back to her mouth, letting a groan emit from his throat as he tasted her lips hungrily. Then he nuzzled against her, kisses that licked her like flames, teeth that grazed her skin just hard enough to sting. She brought his head towards her and raked her fingers through his bandaged hair before lowering them to caress the breadth of his back and shoulder blades. They soon broke apart, breathing heavily as their foreheads touched one another, eyes open just a crack, but enough to see each other's faces.
"Axel..." the blonde sighed, "I love you. Fuck, I love you. I love you so much." she spoke her sentences between a series of fiercely stolen kisses.
The male held her face in his hands, effortlessly kissing her back numerous times. "Oh God, Elise, I love you too." he murmured, resting his lips on hers so they delicately brushed against them.
Elise eventually reached one hand up to Axel's face, her fingers caressing his cheek. "I... I have to tell you something," she whispered. "This whole time, the one who I felt these feelings towards; the one who'd stolen my heart, from the very beginning... it was you, Axel." she could finally allow a smile to creep up onto her features. "Ever since I laid eyes on you, I knew I'd felt this way towards no one but you. You make me feel so alive, as if I'm on top of the world. Right from the start, it's always been that way."
Tears of joy fell slowly down her face. "I'm in love with you, Axel Steel."
He returned the genuine smile. Oh, his smile. It was beautiful. As beautiful as his bright blue eyes. But nowhere near as beautiful as him. He brought the female's body to his again, leaning down to clasp her hands. "Good to know. I feel the same way." he breathed in her ear, kissing away the tears on her cheeks before pressing his lips against hers again. "And I'm in love with you, Elise McCready."
She could've died happy right then and there. Hearing his name on her lips was like a lullaby to her... a prelude to the soft kiss that followed, sending a light warmth throughout her body, his mouth less demanding now, but still enough to force a chill of desire down their spines. Elise's eyes then fluttered open, not wanting to lose sight of Axel as she whispered against his lips, "But then there's the final battle with the Beast we all have to deal with together... I still don't know if I'm strong enough for that."
The male brushed a loose strand of blonde hair away from her face as he stared into her eyes. "Elise, babe, you have the heart of a lion. You've never given up in any situation, nor anyone you care for. You shouldn't give up on yourself now, since you're this far." Axel tilted his head down to softly take her hands in his, weaving their fingers together as he brought them up to their eye level and placed a delicate kiss on each of her knuckles. "More than that, you've made my life whole now," he murmured. "Don't cut off your beliefs just because of your physicality. You need to look inside of you and find out what you're truly made of."
She glanced upward to give him a smile that spread from ear to ear, nearly beaming. "Then that's exactly what I'll do."
Axel returned her gesture with a grin of his own, planting a kiss on her forehead before the two soon started walking ahead to join the others of the group that were farther up. Elise barely noticed the bandaged-up male giving her hand a light squeeze.
'You are beautiful, Elise." his thoughts resounded through his head. "You just needed to see and believe again."
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