Shiro Meets Lace-One Shot

     Eliza woke at the sound of the explosion.  Her head felt heavy, and her eyes ached making her vision fuzzy.  Through the bars of her cage she saw men in armor looking around the small room that was her cell, he torture chamber, her nightmare.  Eliza could not believe that she had finally been rescued.  How long had it been?  She tried to remember and found that she had no idea how long Lace had her imprisoned down here.
     "There's another in here sir."  A woman's voice sounded loudly through the mic in her armor.  It seemed overly loud to Eliza making the girl flinch and hold her ears.  The next sound made her vision swim as one of the guards shot the locking mechanism on her cell door.
     Eliza tried to clear her vision, but now she thought she was going to be sick.  Everything was swimming before her, only blobs of shape and color could be seen.  The sound of a man's voice made her flinch again, and then a large red and black blob blocked out the light from above.  It was a man.  A man standing over her.  Eliza was able to utter one whispered word, "Father?", and then she collapsed back to the cold, hard floor.
     Eliza woke again, she had no idea how long she had been unconscious but the dizzy feeling had left her.  She tried to push herself up from the concrete but the palm of her hand slipped from under her.  She was lying in a pool of something warm and slick like oil.  The sound of a short moan made her try to get upright again.  Pulling her knees under her she was able to see that she was no longer in Lullaby's prison, but outside.  
     It was dark, where ever she was there was no light.  Only the stars and some light from a moon that Eliza could not see showed the grizzly scene that she had woken to.  There were bodies everywhere in the narrow street.  Or rather parts of bodies.  Eliza recognized the armor right away.  The ones who had taken her from Lullaby's cage, they were all dead, cut into bits and pieces as if by a machine.
     The moaning came again from a form near the wall of one of the street's tall, abandoned, buildings.  Eliza crept towards the sound.  She was unable to avoid the congealing blood, or the parts of bodies as she crawled.  Pushing the sticky gore out of the way she came to the body of a boy, and a girl.  He was cradling the albino girl against him, both seemed semi-conscious.  Both were also covered in blood and bits of guard.
     Placing a tentative, shaking hand on the boys leg, Eliza shook him slightly, "Hey."
     Ganta opened his eyes slightly and saw one of the girls the guards had been escorting looking back at him with a frightened look on her face.  "Uh….hey.  She, she didn't kill you.  Good."  Ganta looked like he was going to faint so Eliza shook him again.
     "Don't go to sleep.  Please.  Where are we?  What happened?"  Eliza looked about with her eyes wide.  Her sight had adjusted to the darkness and she could now see the total carnage that filled the area around her on the narrow street.  "Please….wake up."  She shook Ganta harder now, desparately.
     Ganta opened his eyes again, this time wide awake.  The boy pushed himself into a better sitting position, his back against the concrete wall behind him.  "I'm Ganta."  He said slowly.  It seemed hard for him to breath.  Ganta brushed the long bangs away from the girl next him.  In doing so, he left crimson smudges on her otherwise pretty, white skin.  "This is Shiro.  We were…going…", Ganta indicated a direction weakly, "When we ran into them, and you."  Ganta then pointed into the street, "And…her."
     Eliza turned her head quickly and looked where the boy pointed.  She gasped, as she just now saw Lace lying in the center of the street.  Eliza stood, careful not to slip in the blood that pooled everywhere.  She picked a path towards her once capturer that let her stay away from the larger body parts.  Lace was face down, her hands were bound behind her back.  Eliza could not tell if she were breathing, and there was so much blood all around.  
     Was she dead?  Eliza wondered as she knelt next to the girl that had kept her caged for so long.  Rolling Lullaby Lace over, she saw that some sort of mask had been fixed over her mouth to keep her from singing.  Eliza saw lots of blood, but could see no actual marks upon Lullaby's face.  Putting her hand out, she brushed the short white bangs away.  Eliza was horrified that she felt any kind of sympathy for this girl, and yet, she did.  What was wrong with her, she had been held captive, in a little cell, and tortured by this girl.  Now though, it was Lace who was the vulnerable one and Eliza realized she had strange deep feelings for Lace that had actually been growing.
     Eliza lifted Lace's head and put it in her lap, just as the other girl had done for her so many nights.  Putting her head close to Lullaby's, she whispered, "Lace?"
     Lullaby Lace opened her eyes and saw Eliza looking down at her.  First she was angry, then she remembered the hulking armored figures, the sting of being shot with something and then blackness.  Trying to speak Lace found she could not, and then she began to struggle.  Her eyes were wide with a sudden fear she had never known.  Lullaby Lace was helpless.
     "Shhh…..It's ok Lace.  You're ok."  Eliza spoke softly, and Lace stopped struggling looking up into the face of the girl she had held captive.  Their roles now suddenly switched.  
     Eliza looked down at Lace, she too seemed to realize the reversal of their situation as well.  Lace could see Eliza was thinking but she could not read the other girls face.  Behind Eliza, Ganta had managed to get Shiro up.  Leaning heavily on each other they had made their way to stand behind Eliza, looking down at the bound girl in her lap.
     "Who is she?"  Ganta asked.
     The boy's question seemed to cause Eliza to come out some kind of trance.
     "She…", Eliza thought, "Her name is Lace, Lullaby Lace, and she held me as her captive."
     Ganta was doing all he could to keep Shiro from sliding back down to the street, "I don't understand."
     "I…it's hard to explain."  Eliza was still looking down at Lace.  
     Lullaby was growing angry with her situation, she tried to say something again, but it was completely muffled by the mask on her face.
     Eliza nodded, "Roll over."  She pushed Lace onto her side and then unsheathed the wicked dagger Lace kept on her belt.  The plastic cuffs cut easily with the sharp blade.  Eliza was surprised at the quickness Lace came up on her knees.  
     Lace grabbed the mask and tore it from her face.  "Now…give me the knife my little beauty."
     Eliza hesitated a moment.  She knew Lace could 'make' her give over the weapon, still, was she willing to put the blade back in the hand of her once captor so easily?  It seemed she was.  She turned the blade and gave it over to Lullaby, handle first.
     Lullaby jerked the dagger free of Eliza's grasp before the other girl could open her hand.  Eliza squealed in pain as blood flowed from her hand, down her wrist.  "Thank you dear child."  
     Lullaby stood up, the dagger gleamed evilly in the faint moonlight, it matched the evil smile on Lace's face.  "Now, what a pretty mess we have here.  Who should I add to it first?"  Her voice was melodic, and made Ganta weak in his legs listening to it.
     Shiro though seemed to be strengthened by the sound.  The albino girls eyes fluttered open, and she was the one holding Ganta up.  "What, what happened Ganta?"
     Shaking his head Ganta looked at Shiro, "Shiro?  It…the MGS it, it's destroyed, and I think the plan only partially worked because…."
     "I…she did this, didn't she?"  Shiro looked around at the incredible carnage around them.
     "Yes, but it was to save us.  I don't know why, but I didn't have the strength to do anything, so…you did."  Ganta hung his head in despair.
     "My my…what a wonderful creature you are…Shiro is it?"  Lace looked the two others over.  She smoothed her red and black babydoll dress down.  It was smeared and covered in gore as were all of them.  The black lace choker at her throat contrasted deeply with her pale skin which seemed to shine in the moonlight.  Lace looked almost as pale as the albino girl.  
     Again, Shiro seemed to grow stronger at the sound of Lace's voice, though it was not so sing-songy this time and did not seem to affect Ganta as much.  "It's too bad Shiro, you would make a fun playmate I think.  Sadly, I don't think I want anyone to play right now.  It has been such a dreary night.  So I think I'll let little Eliza watch as I do something fun with the two of you."
     Eliza grasped the hem of Lace's dress with her good hand, she was pathetic looking, the other hand clenched shut, blood flowing down her arm to drip from her elbow.  Eyes wide, Eliza looked up at Lace, "Please."  She begged, "Please Lace, don't kill them….I….I will stay with you.  I promise, I won't ever leave you if you won't kill them."  Eliza could not believe the words she was speaking.  She could not believe how much she meant them.
     "You promise do you dear child Eliza.  No, you will, you'll leave me, just as all the others do."  Lace looked sadly back at Eliza.
     Eliza shook her head starting to cry, "No, I promise Lace.  I won't, ever, I swear.  Please, I want to stay with you, forever."
     Lace, thinking about Eliza's words, knelt down and put a bloody finger under the other girl's chin.  Lace lifted Eliza's head so they were nose to nose, "Oh sweet, sweet Eliza, I do believe you."  She kissed the girl on the lips, lightly, "So I will let them live, for you."
     Eliza smiled slightly, then frowned, "Sing it, sing your promise to me, so I know you mean it."
     Lace grinned, it was something horrible to look at, her pale face covered in blood, "Oh, dear Eliza.  I have let you live too long haven't I?  You know me too well, that isn't nice.  Give me your hand."  Eliza raised her bleeding hand and Lace put her face in it, lapping at the blood.  "With that you seal your fate my love."
     Eliza nodded, "And you, will you sing it?"
     Lace took a deep breath and then she sang.
     "Oh sweet child promises both we make today,
     And so my knife and my song I promise to stay,
     I tell you now these two I will spare.
     Only for you Eliza my dear.
     Though also I promise, there is a 'but'
     If Eliza is lying it is YOU Lace will gut."
     Lace pressed her lips to Eliza's again, this time she kissed her deeply, and passionately.  Eliza could taste her own blood on Lace's lips and tongue as she kissed her back.
     Still standing, Ganta felt Shiro shudder against him as Lace sang her tune of murder promised.  Ganta noticed that Shiro felt like she was standing taller, and steadier as the other girl sang.  When Shiro looked at Ganta her eyes were clear, but there was something deep in them he could not read.  It was there only a moment, and then gone.  Then Shiro was smiling at him, her normal happy smile.  Suddenly Ganta was very afraid of this girl, Lullaby Lace.