#like i have yet to see something disgusting outside of extermination challenges

[emilypemily]

dragula series 3 feels like a step down from 2 i gotta say

[thenightgazer]

Between The Lyrids

The city is ambushed! In the middle of midnight mission, Vergil meets an unexpected person who later helps him and Dante in battle.

“Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star."

-Haruki Murakami

---

Midnight is the best time to hunting demons. At midnight, demons are in their fittest shape and strongest condition to hunt. If they are lucky enough to find a portal to bring them into the human world, then it would be the worst time for humans to walk outside their houses. As for tonight, a legion of demons was sighted near the suburban of Capulet City, causing panic among locals.

That explains why the Sparda brothers are on duty right now.

Vergil Sparda is sitting on a stack of dead demons he killed previously, reading a book while trying to ignore the nosy sound of bullets and clashing swords all around the residential area caused by his brother. He briefly glances at Dante who is making his way to cut a demon in two with his Devil Sword, leaving black blood stains over his face and red coat. A shadowy figure of a Fury ran behind him at an amazing speed. But alas Dante is quicker and manages to stop it by summoning Cavaliere, splitting it up into buzzsaws and slicing the Fury to death.

“Hey Vergil!” Dante shouts at him. “You’ll miss all the fun here!”

Vergil flips a page. “Wisdom is knowing when to attack and when to endure.”

Dante put the Cavaliere back to its motorcycle shape and mounts it. “C’mon, there are still hordes of demons to kill!”

“I think The Legendary Devil Hunter could go through with it by himself. I’m occupied with this book.”

“Boring as usual, bro. You have ten seconds to change your mind!” Dante revved the Cavaliere to disturb Vergil’s reading, which is mildly successful.

“Then I suggest you to start counting.”

“Challenge accepted! Ten—!“

Foolish, Vergil thinks as he flips another page. Why bother asking me to come if he’s capable of doing it all by himself?

“Nine… eight— C’mon Verge! Seven—”

The Dark Slayer smirks at his brother’s futile effort. “You need a better persuasion.”

“How about I rip your damn book? Six—”

“—I’ll rip you first.”

“Five— those bats are going to burn this whole city!”

Vergil watches a pack of Pyrobat flying and bursting flames around the neighborhood. He releases a heavy sigh after hearing the residents screaming for help as the wildfire consumes their houses. Vergil stands up and leisurely walks to Cavaliere and swiftly takes a seat behind Dante.

“Now that’s the spirit.” Dante chuckles, much to Vergil’s annoyance.

“Just ride.”

Ignoring Dante’s exaggerated revs and wild ride, Vergil opens his book again. He summons his spectral swords to annihilate demons that are chasing them along the ride. He can’t help but wonder where these demons came from, since the world is quite peaceful lately. It’s likely that someone opened a portal from the Underworld, but that would be difficult to execute. Without Yamato, summoning a battalion of demons requires intricate rituals and strong determination. Someone ambitious and crazed like Arkham could do the ritual, but that option is implausible.

Vergil glances at a beetle-like demon that turns into sand after get stabbed by one of spectral sword as he read a passage :

We call it a grain of sand,

But it calls itself neither grain nor sand.

It does just fine, without a name,

Whether general, particular, permanent, passing,

Incorrect, or apt.

“What?!” Dante shouts.

“What?”

“You’re murmuring things!”

Vergil decides that he needs to decrease his habit of thinking out loud, “Nothing. Just a poem.”

“Ha!” Dante chuckles. “Noticed you brought so many books lately. Don’t tell me now you accept private requests and keep the money for yourself.”

I didn’t buy the book. Those are gifts from Lyra. But there’s no way Vergil would admit that fact to Dante. “I do take private jobs, just like you do occasionally. And don’t ever think I’d pay for your debt again.”

“Twins share everything!”

“Eyes on the road, Dante.”

Dante takes out Ivory from his coat, glancing at the Behemoth behind them. “Alright, maybe not everything. That one is mine. You take the wheel!”

The red devil ambushes the demon before Vergil could protest. Dante fires at Behemoth fiercely as Vergil continues to ride the Cavaliere. It’s not a secret anymore that Vergil hates vehicles. That thing is too slow for him who values speed and precision, not to mention he has Yamato which is more efficient than any vehicle ever could be.

Dante finally landed on Cavaliere, sitting back to back with Vergil. “Dammit, that stupid hippo doesn’t want a quick death.”

“Perhaps that is because you have too much fun. Make haste!”

“Can you not be grumpy for one minute? Anyways, nice ride, bro.”

“Silence.”

Knowing that Dante wouldn’t end this battle soon, Vergil turned Cavaliere around, speeding up directly at the Behemoth. He ignores Dante’s warning to slow down or get them killed in no time, summoning Yamato and cut the demon straightaway, splitting its body into two and making an entrance for Cavaliere to get through between the split body parts .

Dante claps mockingly, “Not bad for an old man.”

“We’re twins, you fool!”

“That explains why I’m four minutes younger than you!”

They were soon ambushed by a swarm of Pyrobat. Dante shot at them like a maniac, laughing and taunting. It seems like his demon blood also burns from the urge to hunt at midnight. Vergil is aware of his little brother’s wild tendency of demon hunting. No matter how menial the jobs are, even if merely weak lesser demons, Dante will kill them all regardless. Yet he still had mercy for those demons who felt compassion, something which Vergil secretly admires. Behind his brash and carefree attitude, Vergil knows that Dante is much more mature than he looked at first glance. This side of the world has never been kind to descendants of Sparda. Spending each day of his lifetime in this world must have made him stronger.

“Dante,” he calls. “That one needs to be eliminated quickly or this city will become a catacomb tonight.”

Dante glances at the Leviathan, a gigantic whale demon that flying above the town, “Ya sure don’t wanna take that thing down?”

“You killed it once. It should be easy for you.” Vergil stops Cavaliere, quickly brushing his messy hair back. “I’ll handle the rest.”

“Okay then,” Dante takes back his Cavaliere and gives Vergil a salute. “See ya, Verge. Be careful, don’t die. No one is allowed to kill you but me.”

The blue devil grins, “Save that for later.”

As Dante heads up to the Leviathan, Vergil turns around to exterminate more demons creeping up behind him. He is slightly surprises to see a legion of demons in Angelo form. Who created these abominable things? His hunch turned out to be right all along. Someone did intentionally summon demons in the city, even went as far as to create Angelo demons. But there was something unusual about these Angelos. Their color was all black with silver, pulsating lines running across their bodies. Some of them didn’t wear a helmet, revealing their demonic faces. They were not only using swords, but also a variety of firearms.

I’ve never seen this kind of demon before.

One of them fired at Vergil with a rocket launcher, which Vergil dodged easily. His hatred towards Mundus and his time as Nelo Angelo came to surface again. He growled in anger as he started to strike, giving them no chance to attack. Sparks fly between the clashing of swords and shooting bullets, but Vergil knew he was going to win as he slashes the demons one by one with light speed and precision. He raised Yamato to block another onslaught, while invading the Angelos with brutal attacks of summoned swords.

They know they don’t stand a chance, but why do they stand still?

“Help!! Please!”

The woman’s plea distracted Vergil enough that he almost lost his guard. The woman was trapped in a burning house, surrounded by Pyrobats. The hybrid speeded up his attack, finishing the Angelos with a final blow with Yamato. The cold rushed in his blood when he realized that the Angelos were previously humans. In their final time, their demonic attires changed to their human form. There is an unsettling feeling of watching them slowly scatter, their fleshes burn and revealing their scorched bones.

Their creator must be a psychopath.

After making a mental note to investigate this strange attack soon, Vergil wasted no time and teleported into the burning house where he spotted the woman suffocating from the smoke. He lifts the woman up and teleports to the safe zone.

“Thank… you…” the woman says after Vergil puts her on the ground.

“Just go away from here.”

Vergil looks up to the sky where he witnesses the battle between Dante and the Leviathan. Unlike Vergil who always gives his enemies a quick death, Dante likes to play with his prey before eventually killing them. He can see his little brother flying around the giant whale in his triggered form, jabbing his devil sword across its belly, causing drops of blood to rain over the buildings under the demon. Although Vergil found it extremely disgusting, at least that little maneuver made the Leviathan lose its balance. He vaguely hears Dante screaming ‘Jackpot!’ while the whale demon finally falls from the sky, destroying the ground with its corpse.

Then I guess the bats are the only scum left here.

The Pyrobats seem to be triggered by the Leviathan’s death. They shriek in high-pitched screams, lashing out at the residents. Vergil jumps to the pack and creates a whirlwind of slashes with Yamato, thus leaving splinters of Pyrobats on the ground. He’s just lands and puts his sword back in its sheath when the remaining fire bats release an outburst of blaze at Vergil. The hybrid prepares himself to trigger his devil form, ready to strike back—

— But the fire never touch him.

An invisible wall stands before him, shielding him from the fury of the blaze. The fire motion seems calmer… like it’s bended by an unseen force.

Could it be Dante…?

Vergil looks at his surroundings, trying to find the force that shields him. Yet he finds nothing. Dante is nowhere to be seen, people are running away from the center of the city…

Subsequently, he sees her standing a few meters behind him.

“Lyra…?”

The librarian looks like she wants to greet him, at least that’s what her hand gesture indicates— the palm of her hand slightly waves at him. But Vergil realizes that she’s not waving at him. She looks like she’s holding… something.

The invisible shield… d id she create it?

“Oh… Hi…!” she finally greets him. “If you’re not too occupied, would you please exterminate those bats already? My hand is stiff.”

The Pyrobats start to ambush her. Before Vergil could budge a muscle, Lyra already moved her hands to bring the fire around her. She twists her body and aims the fire back to the pack until the demons are burned by their own fire, leaving Vergil in awe after witnessing her ability.

Surprise, surprise.

“Where are those demons coming from? They are already in the breaking news… scaring all the people.” Lyra mumbles as she stretches her arms.

“Who knows.” The hybrid shrugs, still mildly surprised by Lyra’s sudden appearance. “We received the call from the mayor… and turns out it’s pretty awful here.”

“I have to be honest. When I saw the flames all around the city, I thought it was you running amok again.”

“I told you before— I have no desire to destroy the world anymore.”

“I know. I’m just joking.”

Vergil silently watches her—looking at her surroundings as if she expects demons to come again. Anxiously she wraps herself tight with her black coat despite the heat from the wildfire, whimpers quietly and glancing at her leg. That’s when Vergil spots a new scar on Lyra’s left leg as he points at the wound with the tip of Yamato’s sheath. “Must be from that fire you controlled earlier.”

“Oh… it’s fine. Sometimes it happens when I’m being sloppy and can’t control my power…”

Swallowing his pride alive, Vergil kneels before her, causing her to jolt in surprise.

“Hey what are you—!”

“Just let me take a look.”

He takes something out from his coat; a bottle which contains a burgundy liquid. He pours one drop over Lyra’s wound. The liquid slowly transforms the burned skin, returning it to normal, leaving no trace of a scar.

“Wow...” Lyra murmurs. “It looks like Lucy Pevensie’s cordial.”

Vergil chuckles at Lyra’s admiration. “Similar, but quite different.”

“Could that heal my limp as well?”

“That’s beyond my capacity. The liquid can only heal minor injuries.”

“I see…”

Don’t show me that blue face. “… but perhaps I could find some spell to cover or manipulate it—“

“No no no don’t bother! And get up, sir! My leg feels better already!”

“Hey Verge! I’m done cleaning up there— oh… hoho…” The red devil in his demon form rests his wings as he lands on the ruins, clapping his hands while he turns to his human form. “What do we have here? My brother kneeling down before a lovely lady? Are you gonna propose to her, Verge?”

Damn you, impertinent brother. Vergil hurries himself to get up. “Shut up, Dante.”

Dante’s blue eyes scan through Lyra who’s smiling at him. He approaches her as he summons Dr. Faust, lifts it slightly off his head before he offers his hand, “Dante the badass devil hunter, at your service.”

Lyra politely shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you. Dante. I’m Lyra.”

“Well then, Lyra. I hope my glorious appearance earlier and my brother’s gloomy face didn’t scare you off.”

Lyra laughs as she shakes her head. “Not at all. Your brother’s quite nice. He saved me from those bats.”

“’Nice isn’t exactly the right word to describe Vergil, unless he’s really fond of you…”

“You may let go of her hand already, Dante.” Vergil warns before Dante says something to embarrass him further. “Or shall I cut yours?”

“Whoops! Someone’s jealous here. So tell me, babe. Where did ya meet my bro?” Dante winks at the librarian after he releases her hand, ignoring Vergil’s deadly glare.

“Your brother is a loyal guest of the library where I work.” Lyra glances playfully at the blue devil.

Dante lets out a laughter and taps Vergil’s shoulder, which is repelled by the latter. “Now I get where those mysterious books came from! Guess you owe me the complete story, Verge.”

“Quite the contrary, I have no obligation to tell you anything.” Vergil snarks, to which Dante responds with a careless shrug.

“Mmmm… gentlemen?” Lyra interrupts the twins and pointing at the demon in front of them. “I do believe your job hasn’t ended yet.”

Vergil makes a stance as he prepares Yamato, glaring at a colossal spider which disgorges lava everywhere. He has seen this demon in one of his hazy memories, even one of his former familiars was taking the shape of this demon, although he couldn’t recall its name. But Dante already makes his way to face the demon, flippantly mouthing off the arachnid.

“Hey dumbass!” he shouts in casual tone, like greeting his own friend. “Thought I killed you years ago!”

The spider demon seems recognize him. “You… the detestable son of Sparda…!”

“Ha! I’m impressed you still recognize me! Phantom, was it? How can you still be alive and crawl back here? Is your little nest in Hell not comfortable enough?”

Phantom wastes no time to spew lava at the three of them. Vergil quickly grabs Lyra’s waist and teleports to a safe ground whilst Dante already sits on the roof of a building. Vergil shouts at him angrily, “How thoughtful of you, little brother. You risked Lyra’s safety just to taunt that scum!”

“Sorry, babe.” Dante gives the librarian an apologizing wink.

“It’s fine.” Lyra winks back at him, which causes Vergil to automatically roll his eyes.

Their casual banter makes Phantom get more angry and finally lose its temper. “Don’t take me lightly, Sparda! I’m stronger than before! All of you will die in no time, and I will unleash the magma to melt this cursed city down!”

“Well, well, that big mouth of yours needs to be silenced!” Dante looks toward Vergil. “What do you say, bro? Should we take it down?”

“Naturally.”

“Jackpot!”

“I’ll help.” Lyra volunteers.

“It’s too dangerous. I know you’re more than capable to defend yourself, but…” Vergil takes a glance to Dante who charges at Phantom without waiting for them. “I don’t think you would like to show off your power in front of my brother.”

“Of course not.” She takes something out from her coat. “But I got this. I have it with me all the time, just in case I have to fight manually.”

It’s a devil arm, Vergil notices. Lyra holds an expandable white staff with complicated golden rune across its body. She presses the center of the staff to bring out blades on each edges. He couldn’t hold his confusion. First, she appeared out of nowhere and shows him her telekinetic ability. Second, she actually had a devil arm inside her coat all along and he had never noticed it even before. Third, all these new revelations just make him like her more than he should.

“Would you do me a favor, Vergil?” she whispers to him, taking a glance at Dante. “Don’t tell Dante, or anyone else, about my power. It’s complicated and would take me too much energy to explain everything. But since we’re friends, I’ll tell you the reason later.”

The devil smirks slyly, “In exchange of what?”

“Unless you want to lose the only supply of free books in your lifetime…”

“What in the seven hells— Fine! You better keep your promise then.”

Lyra holds her laugh as the elder son of Sparda reluctantly obeys her order. They’re soon join Dante who’s already having a good fight with Phantom. He lets the spider demon attacks him over and over again, just to see how strong his opponent is.

“That all you got?!” The red devil mocks, sending his sword into thin air. “I’m starting to get bored here!”

“You pest!” Phantom attacks Dante with its scorpion tail, only to be blocked by Yamato. Knowing Vergil joins his brother to fight, Phantom gets angrier. “You…?! You were supposed to serve The Almighty Mundus! Traitor!”

“My time as servant of Mundus has ended, and you shall die by my own hands.” Vergil spins his sword before put it back inside its sheath.

Dante scoffs as he approaches beside him. “Always making a dramatic entrance, brother. And didn’t ya forget that twins share everything?”

“Was the Leviathan not enough for you?”

“Do you two always fight like this?” Lyra asks as she tilts her upper body from behind Vergil’s back to see the twins’ interactions.

Vergil shrugs. “He is always the one who starts it.”

“That’s because you’ll always be the boring one!” Dante makes his first charge while summoning Balrog as he strikes Phantom until the demon is pushed to the burning buildings. “One point for Dante!”

“Reckless as usual, brother. That thing is still alive.” Vergil murmurs dismissively, watching the recovered Phantom. He manages to dodge the lava attack from the demon and fire his summoned swords.

Dante shrugs nonchalantly at Vergil’s remark. “I’m just waiting for the right time to kill that bastard for real— heya babe, nice shiny staff there. I’m worried it will break if you step in on the party.”

Realizing Dante is trying to stop her, Lyra snorts. She presses her staff at the center again until the staff changes its shape to a white, slim semi-automatic rifle. She aims at Phantom’s scorpion tail before she pulls the trigger, blasting golden bullets at the tail, causing Phantom to shrieks and its tail to fracture.

Lyra smiles at Dante. “We live in a world full of demons, Dante. You really expect people to be defenseless for the rest of their lives? Now if you excuse me…”

As Lyra walks to where Phantom stands, the rifle starts to change into the staff again. The shining blades on the tip of the staff blinds Phantom’s sight. The demon tries to mock her, “Human…! How dare you attack me! You cannot defeat me! You’re just a sack of blood and flesh… you won’t stand a chance! Don’t you know who I am?!”

“Eh… no? We’ve just met.” Lyra spins the staff slowly. “And it’s rude to yell at someone whom you’ve just met.”

Phantom charges his pointy feet to stab Lyra, but she is a bit quicker. She spins the staff to wind up a wide arcing swing, utilizing the length of her staff to block and reverse the attack by maneuvering a spinning hop and knock down the foot, causing Phantom to loses balance. She uses this chance to swing the staff upward shocking its skeleton, then executes rapid thrusts to its abdomen.

Dante, whose jaw is dropped in astonishment during the battle, turns his head to Vergil. “I like this woman.”

“Don’t you dare—“

“Ohh look at that pinky little blush on your face!”

“Dante.”

“Yea yea I know~ back to business! Don’t make a lady wait!”

The twins finally join Lyra. Dante lashes a huge blow to break Phantom’s back while Lyra continues to block attacks while aiding Dante by occasionally changing her staff into the rifle and shoots the demon’s abdomen to create a bigger wound. Sensing that Phantom couldn’t hold itself much longer, Vergil releases a Judgement Cut to end this battle, slicing the demon into pieces.

“Wait… what was that?” Lyra furrows her brows in confusion since her eyes couldn’t follow the movement of Judgement Cut.

“One of the exaggerated techniques of dear ol’ Vergil.” Dante replies, glancing at Lyra’s staff. “Convenient one. Looks like Gandalf’s staff. What’s the name?”

“I don’t know the demon’s real name before it turned into a devil arm, nor do I have a name for it.”

“Can I borrow it? Just to test the power.”

“Uh… it complies only to me, but do give it a try.”

As Dante reaches to touch the staff, his hand phases the weapon as if it refuses to be held by him. “Whoa. This weapon is kinda shy to strangers. You don’t have to worry if someone wants to steal this one.”

“Indeed.” She points at Dante’s gauntlets curiously. “And that one?”

“Formerly the King of Fire Hell, Balrog.”

“… did it drag you to the depths of Moria?”

The devil hunter’s eyes spark in amusement as he chortles. “And made me say ‘Fly, you fools!’?”

The sight of them laughing and bantering jokes creates a deeper crease on Vergil’s forehead. They’ve just met for twenty minutes, yet they already form a friendly conversation compared to him which took three months to even have small talk with her. Dante seems to genuinely like her— his rugged face gets relaxed almost immediately and his gaze is softer as Lyra tells him another Lord of The Rings jokes. Damn, he even lets her touch his weapons! Vergil doesn��t like it at all, this unfamiliar sensation inside him. It makes him… angry? Uneasy? Hollow? Fed up?

This is… awful.

He sheathes Yamato and sends it into thin air. “We already exterminated all demons, Dante. You better collect our payments.”

“Sure thing, bro. Hey babe, come with us to the mayor’s house—“

“It’s almost midnight. Lyra has to work tomorrow.” The coldness inside Vergil’s voice is undeniable, as if his statement was a death sentence. “I’ll take her home.”

Dante smirks, noticing Vergil’s mood swing as his older twin turns his back without waiting for their responses. He taps the librarian’s shoulder in protective manner. “Take care of my bro, babe. Adios.”

“See you again, Dante. Feel free to come over to the library whenever you want.”

Dante flippantly waves at her as he watches the two of them walk away from the ruins of of the city, slowly disappear in the crowd of people. A subtle smirk curves on his mouth, pondering since when his brother started to truly befriended someone. Mysteriously alluring. She could make that prideful, cold-blooded jackass kneel before her. Must be a hella fine lady, that Lyra.

“Oh brother… you lucky bastard.”

He hurries himself to collect the money, making a mental note to soon tell the girls about this one peculiar woman whom successfully enchanted Vergil.

---

The silence falls between them for almost ten minutes. As the temperature gets lower, Lyra feels her blood start to freeze as she watches Vergil’s back. To be with Vergil in total silence isn’t a new thing for Lyra, but this time is different. Of course she notices his drastic change of behavior, but she couldn’t comprehend the reason behind it.

“You know,” she speaks lightly. “People that walk fast are reported to be less happy.”

That makes the hybrid halt abruptly. Lyra silently giggles at her little aphorism, quickly stopping besides him. “You know tomorrow is my day off. Why did you lie to Dante?”

“… because you look exhausted.”

“I’m a little bit knackered, but overall I’m fine. You don’t like me being friendly with your brother?”

“It’s not that,” he sighs deeply. “I guess I’m just… jealous of him.”

“Why so?”

“… ever since we were kids, Dante is always a talker. He’s cheerful and full of energy. A trash mouth for sure, but… he’s a good man inside. More importantly, he makes people comfortable and trust him.” Vergil unconsciously smiles at his memory of the younger twin. “That’s something I lack. Not that I want to be like him. I just find that trait to be… extraordinary.”

“You are you. Dante is Dante.” Lyra gives him a wink. “You’re a good man too, Vergil.”

Vergil chuckles in disbelief. “… thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, in order to get rid of that foul mood of yours, how about we go somewhere exciting?”

“To where?”

“Somewhere dark and quiet, away from the fuss.”

“What are we going to do in such place?”

“There’ll be a Lyrids meteor shower tonight! According to some ancient historical Chinese text, it was seen over 2700 years ago, making it the oldest meteor shower to ever be recorded! It’s worth to witness such a phenomenon, don’t you think?”

“Meteor shower, huh?”

“That’ll be fun! If we’re lucky, we could witness an outburst of nearly 100 Lyrid meteors until the dawn!”

“… very well then. I believe I know the perfect place to observe it.”

“Splendid!”

Her eyes are already full of meteors, Vergil secretly laughs at her enthusiasm. He draws his sword and cuts the space, creating a dark portal.

“Watch your steps.” Vergil warns his companion once the portal shuts. “We’re on the top of a ravine now.”

Although the airglow and the starry sky are the only thing that lightens the dark, he can clearly see Lyra’s love for the night sky just by seeing her observe the night sky in adoration. Her mouth hums in a satisfied tone, which Vergil recognizes as a habit of hers whenever she fancies something. She abruptly turns her sight to Vergil, clumsily giggling at him when she finds Vergil gazing at her.

“Well… Thankfully we don’t have to bring telescopes to observe the Lyrids. Let’s have a better look by laying down.“ She proceeds to remove her coat to cover the ground, but Vergil grips her shoulder to stop her and taking off his own coat.

“But—“

“Mine’s wide enough for both of us.” He lies down without waiting for her.

“Aren’t your feel cold?”

“I can survive even in extreme weather.” Vergil folds his hands in front of his chest. “When will the shower start?”

“It should start anytime now. Patience, Vergil. Patience.”

Vergil’s excruciating, uncontrollable heartbeats don’t want to stop. He can’t throw the agitated feeling away when Lyra finally lies besides him. The view is almost ethereal— her deep, quaint eyes muse at the dark. Her breath is surprisingly calm, a contrast to her quiver by the chilly night breeze as she envelops her body with her coat. He tells himself to calm down and show some respect to their friendship as he pulls away his gaze from the librarian, then ignites his demonic power to warm her up.

“Thank you.” She utters gratefully, taking a glimpse of Vergil’s demonic aura. “I thought your power’s color would be red like Dante’s, since the two of you are twins. But it makes sense now, by looking at your clothes. Is your demon form similar to him? Reptile arm and leg, spiky head and wings?”

“Quite similar, but with one or two differences.” And we’re supposed to be twins, huh?

“May I see yours?”

“Not at the moment. I’m afraid I need to recharge my energy after a long battle.”

“Alrighty the— Oh look!” she cheers, pointing at one of the Lyrid. “That’s one!”

“99 more to go, if we’re that fortunate— look, another one.”

“And that!”

The blue devil seems to forget his nervousness and relish this moment, pointing at the meteors as his inner child squeals in exhilaration. How long has it been since he last felt the freedom to express his excitement without any hesitations, to really cherish the moment? He can’t believe that a small thing like witnessing celestial objects warms his heart in such a way, releasing his burdened soul.

“Aaand that’s eleven!” Lyra’s joyful voice disrupts Vergil’s secret reflexion. He chuckles softly, much to her confusion.

“What’s with the laugh, hm?”

“Nothing.” He still chuckles. “I just find it… amusing.”

She turns her position to look at Vergil, pretending to glare at him. “What is it?”

“Well, seeing you watching the Lyrids...” He points at another meteor. “It’s like the Lyra constellation watching Lyrids falling from the star Vega.”

Lyra bursts in laugh, holding herself to not stuttering. “Now that you mentioned it, it’s kind of ironic, right?”

“Quite the contrary, it’s a captivating phenomenon. Be proud of yourself.”

She doesn’t reply, which is curious to Vergil. Instead, she looks up at the sky again with an unreadable expression. Did I sound like I’m lecturing her?

“No you’re not. I’m just thinking.” replies Lyra, snickering after accidentally receiving Vergil’s thought. “Blimey, Vergil, it’s like you’re screaming inside my head.”

“I— Sorry.” He blurts, then curses himself for blurting and letting his guard down. “I mean— what are you thinking of?”

She goes silent for a while. He told me everything about him, shouldn’t I respect his sincerity by telling him something about me? “I... I’m grateful that you don’t tell your brother about my power. It’s not that I find him untrustworthy…”

“I don’t want to lose my only source of free books.” Vergil grins, half teasing her. “And you’re welcome. I’m well aware that power can lead to cataclysm.”

“Well… with great power comes great responsibility.”

“That’s an interesting philosophy.”

“I quoted it from a comic book.”

“Typical.”

“Actually I’m puzzled.” She admits. “Since I revealed my telephatic ability, you asked nothing about my power.”

“I think it would be improper to ask. It’s your power, not mine. You are the one who has the authority to tell anyone as you please.”

“Thank you for being thoughtful.” She grips her coat tightly. “As I told you before, I don’t know when and how I acquired this power. It just happened. I never learnt witchcraft, nor did I want to. Sometimes I think, what if I am like you— a half human and half demon. But demons are never interested in me aside from the fact that I’m their potential meal, nor do they recognize the power within me. And from observing your and Dante’s power, I know for certain that mine isn’t demonic power. It has no similar aura. Lately I’ve been thinking if someone intentionally cursed me.”

Her giggles sound like a lies in Vergil’s ears. He knows it all too well, to become different from everyone else. To have a constant identity and existential crisis, second-guessing his role in this world; is he a human or a demon? He never forgot the fear he felt when his power arose for the first time. He didn’t know how to control it, making it hard for him to fully reflect on the purpose of his life.

“Therefore I decided to leave it be. Thinking of who I actually am and why I have this power would only rot my brain.” She continues. “If fate decides for me to put my nose in people’s business all the time, so be it. It could be a curse, but it’s also a part of me. It’s like removing one of your organs. The more I tried to cast it away, the worse it would affect me.”

“Ignorance is definitely a bliss.”

“Acceptance isn’t the same thing as ignorance.”

“I know. I’m just messing with you.”

Vergil can sense her elbow his side.

“Where did you get your staff?” he asks.

“Antique shop.” She points at the sky again, her finger follows the meteor’s movement. “I was looking for a book there when I spotted this staff. I didn’t know it was a staff since it looked like a generic stick, but the shopkeeper told me that it’s a devil arm and expandable. She claimed that the staff revealed itself out of nowhere. No one can touch it or remove it from its place, since it would turn intangible whenever someone tried to touch it. She tried to reach the staff to make her point, and it did phase her hand like it didn’t want to be touched by her. But when I did…” she shakes her staff proudly. “I felt like I successfully pulled out Thor’s hammer.”

“I’ve seen devil arms that could change into various weapons, but I never encountered a fastidious devil arm like yours. There must be something about you for the arm to deem you worthy.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows. As long as it help me to defend myself.” She shrugs. “How many meteors fell already? I lost my count.”

“Seventeen.”

“Still a long way to go~!”

“Seeing those shooting stars reminds me of your horrendous riddle. Remember back then when we were observing syzygy at Red Grave?”

“I remember your grumpy face when I told you about it. Do you want another one?”

“If you fail to give me a good one, then you shall never riddle me anything for the rest of your life.”

“Challenge accepted. Okay, what’s the first day of the week called in outer space?”

“The Big Bang on Day One?”

“Wrong. It’s Moonday!”

“… I should’ve seen that.”

“Does that mean that I win the challenge?”

“I guess today is your lucky day.”

“Ace!”

Vergil groans at his defeat, but only for a second since his blue eyes caught a brighter meteor compared to the previous ones. Apparently Lyra spotted that too, gasping in excitement. The view lasts for three seconds, yet it’s the most beautiful meteor Vergil has ever seen.

“Have you made your wish?” asks Lyra.

“I never believe in superstition.”

“Now I understand why Dante constantly calls you boring.”

“I don’t bother with that. What did you wish for?”

“I wish my limp would heal. Probably have my own library or bookshop and grow rich. Writing a best-selling horror novel that would make Stephen King bend the knee to me. Then maybe I could get a scholarship in astrophysics, so one day I could go to space.”

“I don’t know if you’re a full-time daydreamer.” Vergil chaffs at her. “Nevertheless, I hope you can get what you want.”

“Thank you.”

“Tell me. Do you fear height?”

“Not at all.”

“Falling?”

“None whatsoever. Why?”

“I thought you fear the fall, since… the day you fell from the tree.”

Is he interrogating me? “If anything… it’s the landing that sends the chill on my spine.”

“Why so?”

“Because the landing is your latest hope; you survive or you die.”

“I see… now I understand.” The blue devil tightens his gloves and gets up. “Then I shall grant you one of your wishes.”

“What?”

“Get up. I won’t tell you a second time.”

Even though Lyra’s head is full of questions, she doesn’t dare to ask, for Vergil’s stern face seems unyielding. He pats his coat to remove the dirt on it before wrapping himself with it. The blue demonic aura around him blasts as he triggers himself to his half-demon form— a pair of wings attached to his back. He flaps it slowly, but enough to mess Lyra’s hair up.

“Blimey…” She brushes her hair back, her eyes traces the devil in front of her.

“You said you want to go to space. In my devil form, I could go outside the atmosphere since I don’t need oxygen to breathe, but I’m afraid you don’t possess the same ability…” he taps his fingers on his mouth. “Therefore, I’ll take you up there.”

“Seriously?!”

“Why, don’t you want to witness the meteor shower up-close?”

She gasps, almost screaming. “Of course I do!”

That approval warms Vergil’s heart. He carefully carries her in his arms—one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back. She seems doubtful with this position, but eventually her arms cling on Vergil’s neck.

“Ready?”

She nods anxiously. “If you dare to drop me—“

“I’m not a lunatic to drop you up there, Stardust.”

The wings flap as the blue devil carries the librarian up to the sky. For a moment Lyra forgets how to breathe as Vergil caries her with rapid speed, causing the midnight wind to crawl on her skin. When she feels Vergil’s heartbeat, she knows that this is happening for real. I’m flying! That realization makes her adrenaline flow inside her body, releasing her breath slowly.

“Open your eyes,” says Vergil. “It would be vanity if you close your eyes right now.”

The first thing she sees when she opens her eyes is Vergil looking at her. He curves a slight smile at her anxiety, then looking up to show her the ocean of the stars. The view is magnificent— she can clearly see the meteors falling from every directions like raindrops. She loses her count again, but now it doesn’t matter to her. She looks down to see the lights of the city fades as Vergil takes her higher. She won’t always get the chance to observe this beautiful part of life. It seems everlasting, as surreal as fantasy.

“It’s beautiful!” she yells.

It is you that is beautiful, he ponders. “Do you want to take a closer look?”

“You bet!”

“Hang on there.”

Vergil fastens his speed while peeking at Lyra’s face. He’s sure he has never seen that kind of excitement before. Her eyes are radiant, beaming like a child. It blinds him, the urge to give her more happiness. But why would I do that? Why should I? I already gave her what she wanted. Why do I want to give her more?

Yet he doesn’t dare to define his puzzling actions.

“Searching for a poem to describe this majestic view?” asks Lyra, realizing his unusual stillness.

“I have one, actually.”

“Oh, shoot!”

Actually he doesn’t. He’s too occupied with his own head and unexplainable feelings about Lyra, but there’s no way he would admit that to her. He quickly searches a suitable poem from his brain storage before he accidentally forms mind connection with Lyra again.

“Stars, I have seen them fall,

But when they drop and die

No star is lost at all

From all the star-sown sky.

The toil of all that be

Helps not the primal fault

It rains into the sea,

And still the sea is salt.”

Vergil stops speeding up, idling his wings as he reaches below the peak of the troposphere. “This is your limit. One more kilometer and you’ll be suffocated.”

“The poem,” Lyra states, ignoring Vergil’s warning as her forehead wrinkles. “That sounds pessimistic.”

“Contradictory, I think it tells us a degree of optimism.” Vergil looks up at the horizon, a sudden memory of his fall to Netherworld sparks in his head. “Just because you fall, doesn’t mean you couldn’t get up and fly again.”

“Only if you’re not dead, of course.”

“But we survived the fall.” He breaks his gaze and turns over to Lyra. “We have scars to remind us that we survived. No star is lost it all.”

Lyra’s smile seems bitter and pessimistic in his eyes, as if she doesn’t believe him. No… it was almost like she’s reflecting another story in her head. Yet she nods, despite her perplexing behavior. “Then I’ll try to have faith in that fact.”

“You don’t have to believe me.”

“Do you believe me, Vergil?”

He stares at her in confusion. He wanted to say yes, in fact he starts to free himself from any obstacles that prevent him from believing in her. But her eyes— those eyes again— tell a different story. How could he believe those eyes? And why does he feel like he needed to find out something that could be nonexistent?

In the end, he says nothing. That makes the librarian chuckles, as if she expected it.

“Then you don’t have to believe me, Vergil.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Building trust is hard for both of us, isn’t it?” Lyra tightens her grip on Vergil’s neck. “But it seems like, to some degree, I believe in you. See? I believe you won’t let me fall.”

Lyra looks up to the sky again, followed by Vergil. He almost forgets his reason for flying up here if it was not because of her. He wonders if it’s normal to have doubts about a friend, but considering he generally doubts everything… that should make sense, right? He lets out a heavy sigh, flapping his wings slowly, “In that case, we don’t need to rush everything.”

“Agreed.”

“Though I earnestly want us to trust each other.”

“So do I.”

Their smiles say it all. They lock their promises deep inside their hearts, throwing the keys to each other. The time flows slower between them as the devil speeds up again to take her to another part of the sky, letting Lyra watch her stars falling around her. He’ll let them be for now, for Lyra was right. Building trust is difficult. It will be there when the time is right.

Hopefully.

---

You watch him walk away from your house before you lock yourself inside.

You didn’t expect to meet him tonight, yet there he was.

To be honest, that was a mesmerizing trip. You always wanted to fly and observe the skies from the space. You’ll never forget such a memory.

A surge of unexplainable emotion fills you up when the picture of Vergil Sparda comes up in your mind.

You are still not sure whether it’s a mistake to befriend him or not. But if it is, why are you smiling right now? Why do you feel at ease whenever you’re with him? When was the last time you felt like this? You don’t remember, and this probably is your first time.

Is that because he reminds you of yourself?

You head to your kitchen and turn the lamp on. You curse when you spot a knife come out from its holder again. That knife started to annoy you lately. You might be a telepath, but sometimes you’re frustrated of how forgetful you are.

You put it back in the holder, pondering why you always forget to put it back.

Your thoughts rewind to Vergil again.

You are scared of yourself, right? You know he saw it the moment he mentioned your eyes.

Now here’s the real question :

Do you want to save yourself, or save him from yourself?

---

The poems are quoted from "View with a Grain of Sand" by Wislawa Szymborska and "Stars, I Have Seen Them All" by A. E. Housman

Tagging : @harlot-of-oblivion @queenmuzz @drusoona @shiranyaaww @andieperrie18 @rubixa-seraph

Masterlist | AO3

[write-like-you-mean-it]

A Hunter’s Prey: Flowing Out like a Current

While lying on the too empty bed, a groan escaped my lips. Calling Milluki is a hell that I didn’t want to experience. Out of everyone else, he’d have the information that I needed. I took out the phone and dialed the home number. 

A butler’s voice answered from the other end of the line. This time it was a woman. Usually it was a man who answered the phone. “Hello, Zoldyck residence speaking.”

“Hi, this is Illumi’s fiance,” I said. “I was wondering if you would be able to put me through to Milluki. I’m on a mission and need some guidance.”

There was a short pause before the response, “yes, one second.” The phone clicked over to another line. 

“Who is bothering me this late into the night?” shouted Milluki. “You should know this is time for me and my woman.”

“Milluki,” I sigh while my head rests firmly into my hands. On the other side of the screen, I could hear a woman’s voice talking. It was so high pitched and fake that the sound almost made me gag. “This is Y/N. I need your help with something.”

A muffled gasp came across the line which was followed shortly by keystrokes being pounded into the computer. “I’m so sorry M’lady. I hadn’t meant anything by my statements. The butler told me it was my brother on the line. Not your beautiful voice.”

I massaged my temples as the feeling of the throbbing headache started to take over my body. “It's alright. I need you to tell me everything you know about Gon Freecss.”

There were a few more clicks of the keyboard before the girl's voice shut off. “Anything for you. It will only take a second, princess.” A cold shiver ran down my body with the pet name. If I weren’t desperate, I would’ve hung up right then and there; however, he was the only Zoldyck in my arsenal. 

“Gon Freecss,” said the voice from the other end. Somehow, it sounded more out of breath than before. Maybe this was the first time actually talking to a girl that wasn’t related to him. “He’s the son of Ging Freecss who has an impeccable track record for a Hunter; terrible record for being a good father. Gon is Killua’s friend. He passed the Hunter exam a few years ago. Him and Kill fought at Heaven Arena recently. His talent is called Jajanken which seems to be like rock, paper, scissors. He was recently part of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team. He was injured while fighting and was in the hospital for awhile. Now he resides at Whale Island with his aunt and grandma. That is all that I could find, princess.”

A small gag couldn’t have been helped. “Thank you Milluki,” I sighed. “Is there anything else that you could tell me? Are you sure that’s it?”

“I can look for more. Why do you need to know this? Is Illumi pushing you too hard? YOu can always come back to me. I’ll treat you well.”

The longer I was on the phone, the more bile rose in my throat. As much as I wanted to scream misogyny against this perverted soon-to-be brother-in-law, I had to keep him on my side. It’s a disgusting balance between morals and obligation. “Thank you, Milluki,” I repeated. “If you find anything else, please call me. Only call me for those details. I’m undercover so answering things will be hard.”

“Be safe, my love,” purred Milluki. “Come back to me whenever Illumi betrays you. I’ll be-” Click. If I’d listen to any more of his dribble, I was going to be sick. My arm cascaded back to the bed as a sign of defeat. There must be more about this boy if Illumi would tell me to see him specifically. A nice sleep will become my only solace in this mind game of my life. 

-------------------------

I awoke later than expected. Sleeping had felt like a chore before. It was an end to a mean. Last night, it was hard to fall asleep. I’d been surrounded by someone else for the past few months so that the lack of people made me anxious. 

My mind was still groggy from tossing and turning throughout the night. A cup of coffee and a warm shower should ease the throbbing head and aching muscles. Water cascading down my spine felt like a dip into my peace. A calming sensation washed over me with every inch of water. Once I got out, I felt refreshed and new. Only the cup of coffee and I’d be like myself again. 

I changed into a different pair of clothes before meeting the small boy from before. He said to go to the marketplace so that is where I will be until he returns. A single step outside the hotel showed the marketplace. The courtyard turned from a desolate wasteland to a thriving, bustling town. People shouted and called their wares for sale. A lot of fishermen’s wives were selling fish caught in the morning tides while their husbands stayed out late. 

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the little boy running around the shops. He seemed to be looking for something. His eyes fell onto a small candy stall where he bought a piece. 

“Gon,” I called while waving my hand in the air. The boy turned to look at me as his eyes narrowed. 

“Hi,” she says while walking up to me. 

“Follow me. We’re gonna get away from people.” I cocked my head before following the small boy away from the group of people. He led me to a ridge of the mountain top that overlooked the ocean. 

The ocean was a beautiful shade of deep blue in the cascading sunlight. Only a glimpse of the lighter shades would appear when the current washed over the sides. The pushing and pull of the current was transfixing. 

“Why do you want to meet Killua?” asked Gon. He was getting straight to the point. He was intimidating for as young as he was. I could see deep within his eyes that there was a caution to his tone that was not there for long. 

“To be honest,” I sigh while taking a seat on the cliff edge. “I don't know. Actually, Illumi told me to stay far away from Killua. I was only to find you.”

“Huh?” he asked while sitting next to me. “Why were you looking for me?”

“To see where Killua is.”

“I’m not going to tell you. He’s too important to me. Plus you’re with Illumi.”

“Well I’m with him but not physically. He’s gone for awhile and I have no way to contact him.” The crashing sound of waves became the intermediate sound between our voices. “He’s gone on a mission.”

“Killua doesn’t want to be like Illumi,” said Gon. “He doesn’t want to be like his family at all.”

I turn to look at Gon’s stoic face as he stares across the ocean. But if he is to be the heir of the household, how can he not want to be an assassin? “Interesting,” I sigh while kicking a small rock off the cliff side. “Gon, what happened? I heard you were involved in an accident. Are you alright now?”

A brief pause filled the hot air. This pause was different than when with Illumi. Gon’s pause held more desperation and sadness than Illumi’s. 

“I got hurt because I was too strong. If it wasn’t for Killua, I wouldn't be here. That is why I have to protect him.”

“So, Killua means the world to you?”

“Yes.”

“He sounds like a good friend. I recently almost saw my best friend die. A few of my other ones did. It changes a person. If it wasn’t for Illumi, I would’ve been dead.”

“Illumi?” 

“Yeah. Hisoka would’ve killed me.”

Gon’s face turned to look at me. His stoic demour paused for a second to see the child-like wonder held deep within his eyes. “You almost died by Hisoka? Why didn’t he kill you?”

“Long story, kid,” I sigh while watching the water once again. “Did you hear what happened in Heaven’s Arena the other night?”

“No. Aunt Mito told me that I have to finish my homework instead. I’m lucky that she let me meet you. Normally I’d be doing my chores about now.”

“If you need help with them, I’d gladly help. I have to make up with you missing part of your day talking with me.”

“Thanks! That’d be really nice of you.” For the first time, I saw him smile. “But what happened at Heaven’s Arena?”

“Oh. Hisoka versus Chrollo battle. Hisoka lost and went on a rampage against the troupe. Which is why I’m worried for Illumi and Machi. He’s already killed-” Tears filled my eyes but I refused to let them drop. “He killed Shalnark and Kortopi. His goal is to kill the rest.”

“Wow. Hisoka lost a battle. I’ve never even seen him get close to losing. I was only able to punch him in the face.”

“You battled that lunatic?” I questioned. 

“Only because he challenged me,” said the hyper boy. “I could only become a Hunter if I was able to hit him in the face. 

“Was that one of the rules? Truly, I’m new to all this stuff. Being a Hunter was never my top priority so I never took the test.”

“This was after the test. We had to learn Nen to get to the 200th floor. We were able to train while fighting. It was so cool. I was able to-”

My thoughts shifted to the battle once again. All the chaotic elements mixed together. It must’ve been a different battle than the one I witnessed. I doubt he would have battled this child to death. Why would Illumi want to be friends with a monster that would hurt a child? 

“-So do you know Nen?” I realized that Gon was still talking as I finally came back to reality. 

“Yes I do. I’m not that great at it yet. How about you?”

Sadness filled his eyes once again. “Yeah. I learned about it. But because of the accident, I can’t use it at the moment. That doesn’t mean I won’t try. I just have to figure out how to get it flowing again.”

A thought popped into my head. “Gon, you know Nen well, right?”

“I wouldn’t say well. I still get confused with the harder stuff.”

“How about I show that I’m trustful while you train me? That way you can practice Nen even when you don’t have it and I can learn more.”

“Okay! I haven’t had a student before!” With that, I could see excitement once again fill his eyes.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Full Masterlist

[anarchy-lives-eternal]

The Nicest People

Have you ever heard the saying “the nicest people are the scariest motherfuckers when they’re angry”? Well, Angel Dust had never really thought much about it over his century of existence. However, on this particular day, that would all change.

Angel, even having grown up in a crime family, never thought much about that old saying. His family were scary to other people. Hell, Valentino was scary, but he was never nice in the first place!

Charlie though, the demoness who had brought him off the street after pissing off Valentino one too many times, who had actually cared about him and did her best to help him, was the kindest person in his little world. He didn’t so much as breathe a word of his appreciation to anybody, but he knew that Charlie knew he cared about her. Angel likes to think that his small affections and their Friday night “movie and cuddle” tradition they had started over the last few years showed her that much.

That being said, Angel had seen nearly every emotion pass over the demoness’s face. Joy, sadness, fear, anxiety, she even got annoyed sometimes! But the only emotions he had never seen in those impossibly wide doe eyes, that now were narrowed slits, was disgust and...

Pure, carnal, rage. After all, Angel and most of the others thought that such a thing was impossible.

Until, that is, during this years purge. An angel had barged into the hotel lobby where everyone was crowded together, Alastor trying to comfort Charlie with wacky little songs, or cute little cheek kisses. The other occupants were there seeking comfort either in the presence of those who had become their friends, or in the cheap booze that Husker mixed up. Angel and Vaggie in particular were there to help Alastor comfort their friend and boss.

When the angel had burst through the front door, there had been a dead silence that permeated the room. Every sinner froze, eyes wide, unsure of the reason for its presence.

Charlie, teary eyed as she was, was the first to step forward, asking if one of the sinners had been redeemed, and if not, why they were here.

The angel had cocked its head, mask firmly in place, and its simple reply had been what sent Charlie off the deep end, “Redeemed? No, I’m simply here to take care of a vermin problem.”

Before anyone could process that an angel actually just fucking spoke, Charlie was already in front of it, nose to nose. Her hair had broken from its usual band and was flaring wildly, her horns, instead of pointing straight to the ceiling, were twice their normal width and curled backwards like her mothers, her irises poison yellow, and her sclera glowing bloody red. Her teeth, while still a gleaming white, were even sharper than Alastor’s, “Then get. Out. Before I show you why I’m the next in line for the Fallen Throne.”

“Move, demon. This is a job, nothing more.”

Charlie snarled before moving faster than any of us could track, wrapping her clawed hand around the angels throat before bodily throwing him back out the front doors.

All of the residents of the hotel were still in shock, but snapped out of it quickly when Charlie began stalking forward slowly, changing even more with each step. Her height beginning to rival Alastor’s, and three pairs of black feathered wings sprouting from her back, each wing tip decorated in a gleaming talon and the end feathers looked more like black razor blades, ripping apart her shirt and leaving her in only a bralette with her suspenders.

As Charlie walked outside the hotel, everyone had rushed forward to watch from the doors, Alastor being the only sinner bold enough to walk outside.

“Hey Smiles, what do you think is gonna happen? I’ve never seen Charlie this fuckin pissed before.”

Alastor couldn’t tear his eyes away from the beauty in front of him. His smile hurt his cheeks, “Why, my effeminate fellow, I do believe that we are about to witness the death of an angel,” he paused, “you might even be able to call him angel dust soon enough.”

Angel rolled his eyes at the horrible pun on his name. Before anything else could be said though, they all heard a groan from the ground where the angel laid. The sounds of screams around them nearly drowning it out. All eyes returned to the fight about to start before them.

Charlie allowed the angel to stand, her eyes casting an eerie orange glow upon the white dressed being. She stood tall, elegance emanating from her even in all her fury.

“How dare an abomination such as you lay hands on me!”

“Correction: it was only one hand. And it laid upon you for threatening me and MINE.”

And suddenly the ground around the two erupted, magma and hellfire whipped into a frenzy by the Princess’s temper.

Angel noticed another movement out of the corner of his eye, Vaggie had finished whispering something to Razzle and Dazzle, and the two disappeared into the shadows.

Charlie stretches out her wings for the first time in centuries and felt something inside her sigh with relief. ‘This is what you were born to do. This is what you were meant for. Destruction. Razing the world. Punishing sinners’

Charlie’s snarling grin could cut diamonds at this point. She could sense everything around her. Each angel that was invading her territory. Trying to hurt her people.

It was time they leave.

Just as the angel reached for their weapon, Charlie moved. She sprung forth with all the fury within herself. Two sets of wings helped propel her, the third set reaching forth alongside her claws, ready to slice into holy flesh.

The residents of the hotel watched in horrified awe (well, Alastor was quite gleeful) as their princess made well known why she was to be feared and respected.

Moments. That’s all it took. Moments before the angel was slammed so hard into the cracked earth that it created a crater, and it’s head was torn from its body. Blue blood splattered across Charlie’s face as she rose from the crater on her wings.

That’s when five other angels showed up, brought by the sounds and commotion.

“Do you wish to challenge me as well?” Charlie asked them all at once. Her eyes burning into the masks of each one as she tossed the decapitated angel to the side, licking at the blood staining her black lips.

Before anything else could happen, another figure entered the clearing, bearing a striking resemblance to Charlie herself, only this one was male.

“Looks like daddy Luci decided to join the party...” Angel murmured.

“My little fallen angel, it’s been centuries since you lost your temper. It’s rather refreshing, I must say. As for you five, what say you to leaving? Do you truly wish to feel the ire of two fallen angels? I can guarantee that you won’t survive should you decide not to leave of your own accord.”

“Your monstrosity has committed a high crime, Lucifer. She must be punished.”

At this, Charlie laughed, “You call me a monstrosity, yet your brother tried to exterminate sinners who are working towards redemption. What would the Heavenly Father think? After all, these sinners are trying to repent.”

The angel who had spoken tilted his head a bit, “Is this true?”

Finally, Alastor decided to step forward, to act as a “neutral party”, “It is true. We had all gathered in the hotel to comfort and support one other on this... difficult day. The angel in question entered the premises and mocked the sinners seeking redemption, calling all ‘vermin’ to be ‘dealt with’.”

Lucifer, with a grin similar to Charlie and Alastor’s own, turned back to the angel, maliciousness dripping from his voice, “You see? My daughter only acted in defense of her people. Not to mention, your angel broke the rules. No angel is allowed to enter any home or establishment in Hell.”

The angel mulled over the new information for a moment, and everyone held their breath except for the three demons facing them. Lucifer and Charlie were in no way fearful of the angels. They knew that they could take on five with no issues, and Alastor simply stared adoringly to Charlie, not a care in the world that five angels stood before him. That’s when the bell signaling midnight rung out through the bloody night.

“Very well. The bell has tolled. You shall all live another year. May those seeking redemption find it.”

They all turned to fly away, but Lucifer called out once more, “Oh, and Michael.”

The angel that had spoken, now identified as Michael, stiffened and froze in place before turning only slightly to look at Lucifer.

“If I ever catch an angel breaking my simple rules again, I will take great pleasure in killing every single one of them. Even you, dear brother.”

“I can assure you that no such thing will happen again. I give my word. Oh. And Father says ‘hi’.”

Lucifers only reaction was the narrowing of his eyes.

_______________________________________________

As all of the remaining angels vacated Hell, Charlie and her little motley crew remained outside. Finally, she lifted up her hand and sent the usual signal for the end of the cleansing into the sky, and demons from all around came to investigate what they had heard. Once many got a good look, they quickly retreated to a safe distance.

Alastor and Lucifer both approached Charlie, who was still in her full form

“Here, my darling/fallen angel” both said at the same time, then glared at each other as they each went to hand Charlie their coat.

Charlie took Alastor’s coat, not putting it on yet, before glancing at her father, “What? You can’t answer a call, but you hear about a fight and you come running? Do you still think I can’t handle myself?”

Lucifer looked away, seeming almost apologetic, “Charlie, while I admit that I have been rather callous, I have my own reasons for not supporting your idea. I know you could fight every angel in heaven and win, but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t worried. I should have been... more understanding. I realize that now.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. This was the closest to an apology as she was ever going to get. That didn’t erase her anger though, and her wings shifted of their own accord, showing her irritation.

“Darling, not to interrupt, but I do believe that you are making our local population a tad nervous at the moment.” He handed her his handkerchief to wipe off the blood, and she took it gratefully, her form shrinking to her normal state while she wiped her face.

“You missed a spot, Sweetheart.”

Charlie looked confusedly at Alastor when he reached out and swiped a finger at the corner of her lips, bringing the drop of blood to his own and licking it off.

Charlie just rolled her eyes, “You couldn’t resist, could you?”

“Why would I even try my dear?” Alastor said with a staticky laugh.

Charlie chucked as she put Alastors coat on.

Lucifer looked suspiciously between the two, “And what is your relationship with my daughter Radio Demon?”

Alastor laughed again, “I’m her Beau, of course! I simply couldn’t resist the charms of my little belle!”

“What! But Charlie—!”

Charlie raised her hand, palm facing her father, and used the same stern look she remembered her mother giving on multiple occasions, “Dad, you haven’t got a leg to stand on right now. I’m happy. He treats me right.”

Lucifer looked almost like a kicked puppy, muttering that his sweet little fallen angel had a new man in her life and didn’t need him anymore. Then he stood straight once more, “Well, I suppose that’s all I really need to know,” he turned to Alastor, “just know, Radio Demon, if you hurt her, I will not be nearly as merciful as my daughter.”

That’s when the moment was broken, by Angel of course, “Merciful! Babes just tore that saps head off! I ain’t ever seen her so pissed!”

The field went silent, but it was broken with a small chuckle that turned into full blown laughter. Charlie doubled over, her guffaws bringing tears to her eyes.

After near five minutes of her laughter, she stood upright again, wiping her tears away, “Yeah, I guess you weren’t down here the last time I lost my temper, huh? But you see, that’s why I try so hard to be kind, and to help you all. I know exactly what I’m capable of, Angel. I know I could raze all of hell if I wanted to. Because if I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that true kindness is only true when you are capable of true cruelty as well.”

That seemed to resonate with the sinners. After witnessing her fury, they finally understood why she was so pure. It wasn’t because she isn’t capable of depravity, it’s because she is, and chooses a better path.

“Well! Not to diminish the moment, but shall we go inside? I’ll even ale my mother’s famous jambalaya. How does that sound, love? Alastor held out his hand to Charlie, who took it, smiling widely beside him.

“I think that sounds grand.”

[leesacrakon]

Sanders Sides Appreciation Month: Roman Week, Day 4 &5- A Creative Approach/A Battle Waged

Sorry, I’m posting two days late. It was 3 am and I still hadn’t finished so I gave it up for the next day. And then I saw the prompts for yesterday and was like *gasp*! This would be perfect for today too! So I combined the days! Day 4 and 5 of @cefmua56  ‘s Sanders Sides Appreciation Month. I didn’t really like any of the challenges for Day 4, but I put a twist on the first challenge, and instead of taking a song and changing the words to fit Roman, I just wrote a songfic. 

Day four challenge a:  Change a song’s lyrics to fit right in with Roman’s character! (If you feel so daring, sing it for us!)

Day five challenge c: What would happen if Princey’s ego was destroyed? How would he bounce back from his pride being torn down? Or would he bounce back at all?

Tag List:  Tag list:  @romananalogicality @tiny-mudkip @lovely-chaotic-goddess @the-sun-shines-bright @pattonpending@edgeworthsnoodle @the-babysitter@sunnyside12pershon @aph-curls-n-dimples @cup-of-blue @xix-leiloves-xix  

Fandom(s): Sanders Sides, YouTube, Thomas Sanders

Warnings: Eating Disorders, Body Dysmorphia, Food Mention, Self-hatred, Self-deprecation, Depression, Blood, Self-harm, Suicide attempt. Really, really heavy stuff. Please don’t read if any of these things trigger you. 

Ship(s): Platonic Logince and Platonic Thomas/Roman. Platonic LAMPT at the end. 

Song: Friend, Please by Twenty One Pilots

I feel for you, but when did you believe you were alone? You say that spiders crawled inside And made themselves a home where light once was

Roman swirled his fork through his now cold spaghetti noodles, not really feeling like he should eat anything. Today had been fruitless, just like always. He needed to earn his food, not just eat it while being a useless scum. It was no wonder the others avoided him so much, he couldn’t even do his own job. He looked up to see Virgil and Patton cuddling on the couch, Logan sitting in an arm chair next to them. All of them were watching a Disney film together. They hadn’t even bothered to ask him if he wanted to join, they hadn’t noticed he wasn’t eating, and no one had comforted him when he’d messed up earlier. Logan had even called him a failure.

Roman shoved his plate in front of him and got to his feet, not even bothering to put it in the sink as he stormed up the stairs. Patton and Virgil kept watching the movie, but Logan watched after the prince with worried eyes, setting down the book in his hands and following Roman up the stairs. He hadn’t even made it into his room and was leaning against the railing at the top of stairs, trembling slightly, his head in his hands.

“Roman, are you alright?” Princey gasped and flinched, whipping around to face the bespectacled trait. His eyes hardened and he hugged his knees to his chest, leaning his back against the railing. Logan stared at him, waiting for an answer. He gave Princey a once over, noting how his clothes were considerably baggier and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in a while. The bags under his eyes could compete with Virgil’s.

“Why do you care all of a sudden?” Roman hissed. Logan blinked in surprise and Roman chuckled bitterly. “I don’t know why you’re caring, but you can stop. I’ve been just fine being alone for this long.” Logan blinked again.

“When did you ever get that idea? You’re not alone. You have all of us, don’t you?” Logan huffed, his tone almost irritated. Roman flinched, and Logan’s worry returned. He tried to help Roman up, but the fanciful trait lowered his eyes and refused to take it. He withdrew his hand reluctantly and went back down stairs, leaving Roman to wallow in his self-pity.

Petrified of who you are and who you have become You will hide from everyone Denying you need someone to exterminate your bones

Roman locked his bedroom door and rushed over to his mirror, practically tearing off his shirt and sash. His ribs and hip bones jutted out horribly, but that’s not what he saw. As Roman looked in the mirror at his fat, disgusting body, tears slowly began to roll down his cheeks. No wonder Logan had been staring at him. He was so ugly and fat, he was certainly a sight to behold. Why couldn’t he be perfect yet? Why couldn’t he be handsome? All of the others were.

I need to eat less. I’m eating too much. There probably isn’t enough food for the others because of me, Roman thought bitterly. He pulled on some of his skin and grimaced. So flabby, it was disturbing. Not even bothering to put his shirt in, Roman walked over to his bed and sat on the edge, running a hand through his soft brown hair and sighing. The diets weren’t working, not eating wasn’t working, what was he doing wrong...? Sniffling, Roman curled his knees to his chest and laid down on his bed, letting himself cry, He was too useless to do anything else anyway. He might as well just hide up in his room away from all the others. It wasn’t like they would miss him. Maybe after a little while, he’d die and be rid of the horrible place.

Roman started to sob, clutching the blanket beneath him and trembling hard. He needed to be perfect for them. He had to be, he couldn’t keep being a failure! Roman had tried everything; less flashy clothes, stopping his insults, letting the others come up with ideas once in a while, and when none of that worked, he punished himself for every time he messed up. Roman had hoped the others would notice and maybe be proud that he could control himself in such a way, and that he was doing it all for them! But no one cared!

“Roman? Roman, are you alright?”

Friend, please remove your hands from over your eyes for me I know you want to leave But friend, please don't take your life away from me

Logan stood outside Roman’s room. The crying had immediately come to a halt when he called out to the other trait,  but Logan would still make out some muffled sniffs and hiccups. He was about to grab the door handle but hesitated. He hated it when the others invaded his privacy, would it be right to invade theirs? Logan quickly shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside. This was different. If Logan had observed correctly, Roman had been indulging in self-destructive behavior and wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. He needed to help.

“Roman, I’m coming in!” Logan said, grabbing the door handle and shoving it open. His eyes fell on Roman and his jaw dropped with horror. He stared at Roman’s thin and emaciated body, horrified by how much his friend resembled a skeleton. Roman froze, in the middle of putting on a shirt, trembling slightly under Logan’s gaze. Tears welled up in his eyes and he crumpled to the ground, his entire body shaking as he hid his face in his hands. Logan swallowed back the lump in his throat and approached Roman slowly, not wanting to startle him.  He knelt by Roman’s side and rubbed his back, trying to ignore the way he could feel every vertebra in his spine.

“Roman, can you look at me please?” Logan said softly, taking his free hand and gently wrapping it around Roman’s wrist. Roman flinched and whimpered, but let Logan pull his hands away from his face. The logical trait’s heart nearly broke upon seeing Roman’s gaunt, tear streaked face. Roman looked up at the other aspect, his brown eyes wide and filled with unbridled fear.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll do better, I-I’ll...I-I’ll lose more weight, I’ll be less loud, I won’t make fun of you anymore, just please...please don’t...please don’t hate me, please...” Roman’s voice trailed off and he let out a heartbreaking sob, curling up on himself and shaking so badly Logan was afraid he would shatter. Logan cautiously sat Roman up and wrapped his arms around him in an embrace that Roman immediately melted into.

“I don’t hate you Roman, I could never hate you.” Sobs wracked Roman’s body, making him jerk against Logan’s chest. He buried his face in the bespectacled man’s chest and gripped the front of his shirt like a lifeline, his bare chest heaving as he gasped for breath and cried. Logan rubbed his back gently, taking advantage of the close contact and taking a closer look at Roman’s body. The ribs and hip bones were prominent, faint scars littered both Roman’s chest and arms, and his hair looked and smelled as if he hadn’t had a shower in ages.

Choking up a bit, Logan said, “How long have you been like this, Roman?” He recoiled slightly when he saw Roman look up at him, glaring at him with contempt.

“Always.”

Living like a ghost, you walk by everyone you know You say that you're fine, but you have lost your sway and glow So I stopped by to let you know

Logan had left Roman’s room that night feeling like a failure. The next morning wasn’t much better. When Roman had come downstairs that morning, he ignored the plate of eggs Patton had set out for him, avoided eye contact with any of them, and sunk out of the mindscape to talk to Thomas about an idea he’d had that morning. Maybe he could actually be useful now. Maybe he could stop disappointing everyone and do something right for once. When Thomas walked into the Common Area, Princey forced a smile on his face and struck a dramatic pose.

“Good morning, Thomas! I had an idea for a new video!” Roman said, and he nearly began to tremble with excitement when he felt that familiar rush of self-accomplishment he got whenever he had a good idea. He was doing it! He was doing his job! He was going to prove Patton wrong, he just knew it-

“Really? What’s it- Oh, my God, Roman, are you okay?” The grin that had been on Thomas’ a second before had quickly faded away to become an expression of shock. Roman shrunk down and almost covered his ears, but stopped himself in the nick of time. Why was Thomas asking him if he was okay? He was perfect. He had an idea. He was doing his job. He was giving himself what he deserved. He was getting better.

“I don’t know what you mean. I’m fine! Great, actually! Now, about my idea-”

“Roman!” The prince-like trait winced and closed his eyes as Thomas yelled at him, cutting him off. He started to tremble, biting down on his lip to at least stop himself from whimpering. What was wrong? Did Thomas not want to hear his idea? Involuntary tears started rolling down Roman’s cheeks and he quickly wiped them away. The others all thought he was weak. Logan had caught him looking at his ugly body. He couldn’t let Thomas think he was a failure as well.

“Roman...does this have anything to do with the argument you had with Patton?” Thomas asked slowly, making his way over to Roman with an arm stretched out to rest on his shoulder. Roman stared at Thomas, saying nothing, eyes wide and shoulders trembling. He suddenly burst into tears and buried his head in his hands, wrenching away when Thomas tried to touch him. Friend, please remove your hands from over your eyes for me I know you want to leave But friend, please don't take your life away from me

“Roman, buddy, please look at me,” Thomas said, somewhat firmly. Roman shook his head and just shrunk back, even more, trembling and getting onto the ground, shaking his head violently when Thomas tried to reach out to him again. Thomas sighed and kneeled in front of his trait. He was at a loss for what to do, and almost called up Patton, but given the circumstances, he figured that wouldn’t be the best idea.

“Roman? You know Patton didn’t mean what he said, right? He was just angry,” Thomas said, hoping his voice was reassuring. Without removing his hands from his face Roman let out a dry chuckle, the normal humor Thomas had grown so used to absent from it.

“Of course he did. He never gets really angry unless he means it. I’m worthless and unnecessary, just like he said,” Roman said bitterly. Thomas put an arm around him, and this time he didn’t flinch away. He scooted closer to Roman and put a hand on both of his shoulders, not forcing him to look at him or to remove his hands from his face.

“You know just as well as I do that he didn’t mean it. Roman, you’re destroying yourself. I can’t believe you aren’t dead yet if I’m being honest,” Thomas said, shaking his head in disbelief. Roman’s lip quivered and he let his hands drop, giving Thomas a weary smile.

“I wish I was dead. That would be nice,” Roman whispered. Thomas’ heart stopped and his grip on Roman’s shoulders tightened with shock. Roman cast his eyes down, swallowing the lump back in his throat and preparing for the worst.

“Please don’t say that, Roman. If...If I lost you entirely, I don’t know what I’d do,” Thomas admitted. Roman blinked and looked up at Thomas, his eyes dull and emotionless. Thomas side and pulled Roman into an embrace that he did not return, praying in his heart that his side- no, that his friend would be okay. Would you let me know your plans tonight? Cause I just won't let go 'til we both see the light And I have nothing else left to say But I will listen to you all day Yes, I will

Logan and Thomas were working together on editing the video all of the sides had been working on earlier that day. Joan and Talyn were in another room, finishing cleaning up the equipment and props from earlier. Both Logan and Thomas were excited; this was one of their best videos yet. Logan had tried to get Roman in on it, knowing that as the creative side, he would have a lot of ideas in mind that could help them out. But, the princely trait had refused, telling Logic that he planned to have some alone time in his room. Logan hadn’t liked the sound of how he said “alone time”, but he needed to get this done. He could worry about Roman later.

“Ah, this is going a lot smoother than I thought it would! Looks like we didn’t need Roman after all,” Thomas said, chuckling. Logan shot him a scathing gaze.

“Don’t say that. Even though this has gone smoothly, it probably would be getting done a thousand times faster if Roman was here,” Logan said, his tone sharp. Thomas nodded, ashamed, and turned back to the computer.

“Should we summon him? We still aren’t done, and he really needs to feel wanted right now,” Thomas muttered. Logan nodded and called for Roman to summon him, but got no answer. Roman’s part of the common area stayed empty. Logan’s eyebrows furrowed and he tried again but got no response. 

“What do you think’s going on? You don’t think he’s-” The familiar trumpet ringtone ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAKbaGW71ig ) that Logan received whenever he got a text from Roman sounded loudly throughout the room and he quickly took his phone out of his pocket. Thomas got up from his desk and looked over Logan’s shoulder. 

Prince👑: I can’t do this anymore. 

Logan’s heart stopped. 

👔Nerd👓: What do you mean? 

👔Nerd👓: Roman, please answer me. 

👔Nerd👓:  This isn’t funny! Tell me what’s wrong!

👔Nerd👓: Are you feeling lonely again? Do you want me to come up? 

👔Nerd👓: Roman, come on! 

👔Nerd👓 : Roman, please tell me what’s happening.

👔Nerd👓 : I’m right here. I’ll listen to you. 

👔Nerd👓 : Roman, please. 

Prince👑 is typing. Logan’s hands trembled as he awaited the new message. 

Prince👑: Help. 

Friend, please remove your hands from over your eyes for me I know you want to leave

“Oh, my God, we need to help him!” Thomas said from behind Logan, grabbing the logical trait and sinking into the mindscape with him. Logan took off into a sprint as soon as they touched the ground, grabbing Thomas by the wrist and nearly stumbling over his own two feet in his desperation to reach his friend. Up the stairs he went, dragging Thomas behind him and ignoring the tears running down his face. He’d messed up. He should have known Roman was in trouble, that he was going to do something to himself. He should have seen the signs and helped him, not ignored his problems and spent the night with Thomas. 

They reached the door and Logan tried to open it, but it was all in vain. It was locked tight. Logan couldn’t hear anything on the other side. No crying, no one shouting at him to go away. He could hear someone screaming as he banged on the door, trying to knock it down, or get it to open, or something, but from the way Thomas was staring at him, he knew he was the one screaming. 

“What are you two doing?! It’s two in the morning!” Logan and Thomas whipped around to see Virgil and Patton standing behind them, Patton yawning sleepily and rubbing his eyes while Virgil glared at the two of them. Logan was still sobbing and crying, but neither of them, not even Patton, seemed disturbed. 

“R-Romans in there! I think he-he’s in trouble! He needs help!” Logan sobbed, still yanking at the doorknob desperately. Virgil looked irritated, but Patton pushed past him gently, a determined look on his face. He rested a hand on Logan’s shoulder gently, as if to reassure him, before gritting his teeth and kicking the door as hard as he could. It burst open and the four of them crowded into the room. 

Roman was lying spread eagle on the ground, his eyes open and glazed, blood from his wrists and arms pooling around him, soaking the carpet and his clothes. Patton screamed. Logan nearly fainted. Virgil burst into tears. Thomas stared at the body in shock, his face pale.

“N-No...No, this can’t be the end. H-He can’t...He can’t d-d...die!” Patton stammered, stumbling forward and scooping Roman’s body into his arms, feeling how and bony he was. He’d seen it all, noticed how Roman had been suffering. He had noticed the skipped meals, the tears, the way he’d been acting strangely. Why hadn’t he done anything? Why had he let Roman suffer alone? Tears soon spilled down Patton’s cheeks and he held Roman’s corpse to his chest, trembling as he felt how cold he was, how lifeless he was. 

“There’s a note,” Thomas whispered, kneeling beside Patton and picking up the neatly folded paper speckled with drops of Roman’s precious blood. Patton made no reaction to the news, his face almost as pale and lifeless as Roman’s as he held him close, stroking his hair gently. 

But friend, please don't take your life away from me

“Let me read it, please,” Virgil choked, reaching out for Thomas to take the notes, trying and failing to hold back his tears. Thomas handed him the note silently before walking over to Logan, who had collapsed to the ground on all fours, gasping for breath and crying. Virgil unfolded the note carefully, trying not to tear it. 

Dear Logan and Thomas,

It seems that the two of you are the only ones who would care if I was gone so I will address this letter to just the two of you. You know of my struggles, my thoughts of death, my apparent inability to do anything right. The two of you have helped me in ways I never could have imagined, and I will forever be grateful to the two of you. But, it was all fruitless. My existence is pointless and unnecessary, just like Patton said all those months ago. I never wanted to believe it but I came to accept that it was true. I tried to change, to become better. I was less loud and let the others speak more often. I sang less, I wore clothes that weren’t so flashy, and I even stopped fighting the Dragonwitch. When that didn’t work, I thought there was something wrong with how I looked, so I stopped eating. I just wanted to be loved. 

But no one noticed. No one ever notices when I try to help, and I was sick of it. I’m sorry that it came to this, but I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I can’t deal with all of your hateful glares and constant corrections of my behavior, as if I was a child, and not a full grown man who could make my own decisions. So, I suppose this is goodbye. I know none of you will miss me.

Love, Your friend,  Sincerely, 

Princey, Creativity, Roman, Me. 

Virgil started to cry and crumpled up the note, tossing it aside and glaring at Patton, who had completely frozen. 

“I told you, you should have apologized! I told you it hurt him! Why didn’t you listen to me?!” Virgil shouted, tears rolling down his cheeks. Patton carefully set Roman back down on the floor, caressing his cheek gently before looking up at Virgil with sad eyes. 

“I didn’t think. I was so wrapped up, I-I didn’t...this is all my fault,” Patton choked out, looking back down at Roman and muffling sobs. Logan, who had been successfully calmed by Thomas, staggered over to Patton and wrapped him up in a tight hug, ignoring how he tried to push away, insisting that he didn’t deserve it because this was all his fault and he was a monster, but Logan wouldn’t let go. 

“This isn’t just your fault Pat, we’re all to blame. We’ve insulted him, put him down, told him how horrible he was. Your fight with him was the last straw, but it wasn’t what made him feel like this. He’s been like this for a long time. We’re all to blame,” Logan murmured. Patton sobbed and buried his face in Logan’s shoulder, gripping his shirt and crying apologies to Roman into his shoulder. 

“Guys...Guys, look!” Thomas said, gaping at Roman, his eyes wide. Patton pulled his head away from Logan’s shoulder and gasped. Color had begun to seep into his cheeks. The deep incisions in his wrist and forearms were soaking up the blood that had dried into the carpet and onto his arms, instantly becoming liquid again and returning to his body. The four watched with horrified fascination as the cuts healed rapidly and closed, and even the scars had somewhat started to fade. There was a moment of silence. Thomas moved closer to his creative side, hands trembling and he gently touched his cheek. Roman’s eyes flew open and he gasped, sitting bolt upright and nearly smacking Patton in the face in the process. 

“Roman!” Patton shrieked, tackling the other man in a bone crushing hug. Roman laid on the ground with Patton lying on top of his chest and his arms wrapped around him, mouth pursed and eyes wide, glancing around. 

“I-I’m...I’m not dead?” Roman asked weakly. Logan shook his head and took one of Roman’s hands, smiling softly as he felt how warm it was now. Roman looked up at him. 

“God damn it, I’m so useless I couldn’t even kill myself,” Roman hissed, wincing when he realized who was holding. Patton instantly let go of him, hugging his knees to his chest. Logan and Thomas sat on either side of Roman and Virgil sat next to Patton in front of him, but they all stayed away so he didn’t feel crowded. 

“You did die, Roman. You just...you came back,” Logan explained, still dazed.

“I...what?” Roman gasped, utterly shocked. 

“You came back!” Patton blurted, getting to his feet and pacing. “You came back Roman because it wasn’t your time. Thomas still needs you. A trait can only die if they are no longer needed by their host, and even then, they just fade away. They don’t do it themselves! And they don’t have fellow traits who cause them to want to die or to hate themselves or- or-” Patton sniffled loudly and wiped his eyes, still continuing to pace, wringing his hands and glancing at Roman guiltily as he muttered to himself under his breath. 

“I’m still....I’m still needed?” Roman whispered, disbelieving. Thomas nodded and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Roman closed his eyes and rested his head on Thomas' shoulder, sighing shakily. 

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry,” he said, grimacing. Thomas closed his eyes and nuzzled into Roman’s hair, sighing. 

“It’s alright Roman. It’s not your fault. We’ll get through this. We’ll help you get better, I promise,” Virgil whispered. Roman gave the darker trait a watery smile and reached out to him, welcoming him onto an embrace. Virgil immediately curled up to Roman’s chest. Logan joined in not long after. Roman looked up at Patton expectantly, shyly offering the fatherly trait a hand. Patton smiled through his tears and took Roman’s hand, joining the embrace. 

It would take time, and maybe Roman would never heal completely, but this was a start. They would work through this together. They would help their friend heal. They needed him, after all. 

[wasteland-wanderin-blog]

Hiiii! I loev your blog! Okay so I am not sure it has been done before but... Sole Survivor + Companions+ Maxson reactions to Curie going into Human killing mode?

Why thank you! I decided to add all base-game companions in this one since the replies are shorter than usual. It doesn’t include Curie because she is the one going around trying to kill every human.

Cait -

She would be impressed to say the least. Cait did not expect to see this side to the former Miss Nanny, and it was an interesting sight to see when she wasn’t trying to kill the red-head. It was obvious that she would enjoy this more violent side to the woman, however, the moment would eventually lose its value in entertainment. She didn’t want everyone to parish at Curie’s hands, so she would eventually help in taking her down. It wouldn’t be certain if she wanted to just repair the part that had sent the synth into her murderous rampage or if she wanted to just kill her all together.

Codsworth -

This poor Mr. Handy would be frantic. What if he turned into the same bloodthirsty machine? He had thought about asking Sole to turn him into a synth as well, but he was having second thoughts at the sight of Curie’s newly found thirst for human bloodshed. If that was what happened when robots like him were transformed, he would want to pass up on that. The immense shock would remain for quite some time and he’d be of little help to stop her. It was just all too much to see one of the kindest women he knew turn into such a monster.

Paladin Danse -

Danse knew it. He knew that synths were capable of becoming corrupt. Like Codsworth, he would be terrified of what could happen to him. Only this time he was already a similar machine to Curie, so he was one step ahead from the Mr. Handy. He would help Sole stop the destructive path she was creating, but would constantly doubt himself along the way. The survivor would have to constantly reassure him that he wouldn’t turn the same way, it was an accident in the first place that Curie had rushed into a frenzy. They were sure that it would not happen to him. However, even after the event was fixed up, Danse would continue to distrust any sort of synth, including himself.

Deacon -

There wouldn’t be any sort of way to talking himself out of this situation. Curie would not listen to reason, she only wanted the bodies to pile up in a trail behind her attempt at extermination. Teaming up with Sole, he’d refuse to actually get rid of her. He knew that it was only some sort of malfunction in her synthetic programming and that if they could somehow get her to Tinker Tom, he’d have her back to normal in no time. It was the Railroad’s duty to ensure every synth was safe and sound, and if they were to allow this to continue, it would ruin their already fragile reputation. It would be a challenge, but they would eventually strap her down into a chair to be corrected.  

Dogmeat -

Since he was not a human, Dogmeat would not have anything to worry about. Nevertheless, the pup would be extremely hostile towards her, seeing as she wanted to kill every human in sight. He would bite at her ankles, trying anything and everything to stop her from continuing her “mission.” He knew the true Curie, he did not want to actually hurt her, but if she were to get close to Sole, there would be no restraints. Dogmeat would protect his owner with his life, no matter what.

Hancock -

How high was he? At first, Hancock would blame the jet for making him hallucinate. There was no way he could’ve seen Curie, the sweetest, most innocent woman in the Wasteland, trying to strangle someone in their sleep. He’d be surprised at the fact that it indeed happened and that she was hungry for death. Sole had brought her to Goodneighbor and happened to be staying within the Rexford Hotel when it all went down. Hell would have to freeze over before Hancock would allow this type of behavior to continue. He would try to put an end to this immediately, demanding that the survivor either put her down or bring her to someone who can help, such as Doctor. Amari. There wouldn’t be any sort of unnecessary danger running around in his community, not while he was alive.

MacCready -

Oh shi– Shoot. He did not expect this. Not at all. After all his years traveling around as a mercenary, he had seen a lot of different things. The fact that Curie, out of everyone, would turn into a homicidal maniac proved that he had now witnessed everything. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to take her down, seeing as he was one of the best gunmen within the Commonwealth. He’d feel bad about it, waiting for Sole to come up with some sort of alternative to clean up the problem. MacCready didn’t know very much about synths, and needless to say, the malfunction in Curie’s functions would leave a negative effect on him. It would be difficult to keep an open mind around such things when he was trying to make a safer place for his son to live in.

Nick Valentine -

Being an older model of the Institute’s creations, he would be surprised that he wasn’t the one to become defective. Assuming it was some sort of sabotage to get rid of Sanctuary in an act of revenge, Nick would search into the cause behind her sudden change of heart. It was possible that it happened to be an accident, either way, Curie would need to be stopped. At first, he would use his excellent talent of reason in attempts to capture her so a properly skilled man or woman could fix the issue. If, or when that would fail, then he’d use his knowledge of synthetic parts to disable the woman on a rampage, there honestly would be no way he’d just sit back and watch something like this happen.

Piper -

There was no doubt that Piper would write up something about this. A synth gone mad? The Institute must have something behind it! How could a delightful, kind-hearted woman like Curie suddenly want to kill everything in sight? People needed a warning about synths “going mad” and it wouldn’t be to talk down the humans-turn-robots, but it would be an ominous calling that everyone should be careful. There was no way to know if she would be the only one to malfunction. Sole would have to take charge of the situation, as per usual, since Piper would be busy trying to spread the word. She’d help as much as she could, but she would be more concerned about the safety of her business and her little sister with such a dangerous threat on the loose.   

Preston -

The moment he’d know of what had happened, Preston would immediately inform every settlement under the Minutemen’s control. They would go into some form of lockdown until the situation was taken care of. He would assign various men and women to keep watch around the largest of communities, including Sanctuary and the Castle. Feeling rather upset that he’d be unable to help those who refused or had yet to join the cause, Preston would want to work as quickly and efficiently as possible to restore the synthetic Mrs. Nanny back to her original personality. Killing her off would be out of the question, seeing as it wasn’t her fault that her AI happened to glitch out. Sturges would certainly have his work cut out for him if they were able to capture Curie.

Strong -

Similar to Cait, this super mutant would be surprised that Curie would have such a vicious side to her. He’d be extremely pleased with this, since he would finally have someone close to his own thirst for carnage. It would still be difficult for Strong to communicate with her about this, seeing as his intelligence was well below hers and she had suddenly developed harsh tendencies towards him, even if he wasn’t exactly human. He’d be of no help to Sole, if they wanted to stop her, since he would want her to continue on this path of brutality. If anything, Strong would do anything and everything to prevent her recovery, preferring this personality over the pacifistic and overly affectionate original.  

X6 - 88 -

Capture. Pacify. Return. It would be simple enough to the Institute courser. Hell, this was part of his job! He was supposed to return escaped, or newly created synths, back to the old C.I.T. building. Since Curie was technically created outside of the Institute, she was already on his list of confiscations. He’d find her acts of violence a violation against the Institute’s reputation and the fact that she was trying to kill every living human in sight did not help at all. It would be a disgusting display to X6, to lose control like the Mrs. Nanny had, and she would be back in tip-top shape the moment an Institute scientist got his/her hands on Curie.

Sole Survivor -

Depending on their alignment, Sole would have the choice to take action or to leave it be. If they were the good-natured type, they would obviously try to stop Curie on her frenzy. They could disable her movement and fix the problem themselves or allow someone with enough technological knowledge take over in hopes to restore her original personality. If they were bad, they would not care at all. It wasn’t their problem that she had bugged out and turned into a blood-starved killer. They would allow her to run rampant on the Wasteland, killing everything in her path. Neutral sided Sole would be in between, the only thing that would force them to step in and stop Curie would be if she tried to kill them or anyone close to them, including any other companion or Shaun if he is present.

Maxson -

Curie would be a menace to the Elder of the Commonwealth Brotherhood. He already had a poor speculation on synthetic people, and the fact that one of them had managed to turn into a heinous murderer only made his opinion worse. It wouldn’t be that big of an issue to his brotherhood, however, it certainly would be brought up often. He’d eventually send a group of soldiers off to deal with her, not caring if she survived or not. The only way she would make it out alive would be if a Scribe convinced Maxson to keep Curie for research, to see how the “Institute worked around their synths” to get the upper hand in future battles.