Blood and Magic
By Princess Thil Galel
I DO NOT OWN
R&R
Please Enjoy
The first meeting
It was dark, and cold. Everything seemed so lifeless in the castle of the Skeleton King. It was certainly the last place Celty wanted to be. She'd been a normal human until just a few days ago, then somehow she came to this strange world and mysteriously become a cybernetic monkey. She'd woken up in the giant robot that belonged to a group of monkeys just like her, but they hadn't ever been human.
They graciously took her in, giving her protection and shelter. But even they couldn't have stopped the formless creatures from kidnapping her. The monsters had thrown her into a cell, and left her with only a torch on the wall opposite to her prison for light.
She hated the dark. She hated how every little noise terrified her. She hated her wild imagination for creating horrible monsters out of the vague shapes that lay in shadow. But most of all, she hated being afraid. She felt weak and useless when she was afraid.
Yet she couldn't just lay there on the hard stone floor, waiting for those things to come back. Who knows what they had planned for her. She held the bars of her cage, gazing up at the lock. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked at her tail as the hidden spike slid out of the end like a stinger. "Maybe," she wondered aloud, "If I can use my tail spike, I could pick the lock."
Taking a firm grip, Celty climbed up next to the lock and inserted her tail spike. She'd never picked a lock, but it was worth a try. Turning and twisting her tail, the monkey listened for the tell-tale click of metal that would signal her success. She worked at the lock for several minutes, and thought about giving up, when the door suddenly swung open.
With a joyous gasp, she leaped down and ran. She didn't know where she was going, but if she could find a window or door to the outside she might be able to escape. Staying as silent as possible, Celty crept down the dark hallway. Her eyes darted about, searching for any way out, or any enemies that could be lurking. The echo of a set of footsteps made her freeze in terror. She glanced around frantically, searching for a hiding place.
A door to her left offered the perfect one. She didn't think twice, and dove into the room beyond, closing the door seconds before a pair of formless came around the corner. A breath of relief escaped her as she pressed her back against the door. That had been too close for comfort.
She glanced around the room, wondering where she was. All manner of machines lined the walls of the large, high ceiling room, their lights blinking in the dimness. 'A lab?' she thought. 'I guess this could be where Skeleton King makes his monsters.' Hoping to find a possible window, Celty headed for the back of the lab.
She wrapped her unusually long tail around her, holding the end in her hands nervously as she passed by the machines. A glow from up ahead made her heart leap for joy. Could that be a way out? She bolted for it, thanking God that she could finally be free. But what she saw made her gasp in fright.
It was a giant glass tank filled with a glowing blue fluid, and floating in that liquid, was a monkey. It was black, blacker than Antauri had once been, with dark red on it's chest as well as the blaze on it's helmet. The two crests atop it's head were black-the back larger than the one in front. It's arms were nearly twice as big around as her's, and the fingers were like large claws. If that wasn't intimidating enough, a pair of sharp fangs stuck out of it's mouth.
Yet despite how frightening the red and black monkey appeared to be, Celty felt drawn in by the creature's dark beauty. As she edged closer for a better look, she spotted something near the base of the tank. A dust-covered plate. She carefully brushed her fingers over it, and discovered a letter underneath.
Curious, she wiped the plate clean, letter by letter. "F...4...N...G." she read aloud. But as she dusted off the last letter, her fingers pressed a button hidden by the dust. The tank made a loud 'BEEP!' and the glass shattered. Celty's mouth was flooded by the blue liquid before she could even gasp. She was swept backwards off her feet, and coughed up the fluid as she lay on the floor amongst the broken glass. "Ow," she breathed, rubbing the back of her head. "What happened?"
She slowly began to sit up, only to be slammed back down by a hand around her throat. The hand was tight, but not crushing her windpipe. Celty looked up at her captor, and her eyes went wide. It was the other monkey, and it's eyes were blazing red. "Beautiful," she whispered, never even thinking about what she was saying.
It's eyes widened briefly, but then became serious once more. "Who are you?" demanded the black and red simian, clearly a male by the sound of his voice. "What are you doing here?"
Celty remained perfectly still, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. "I'm Celty, I'm trying to get out of this place." she said, "Who are you? A member of the Hyper Force?"
He snarled, and pressed down harder on her throat. "You're a Hyper Force member?" he growled. When she was unable to answer, he slammed her head on the floor. "Speak, or you'll never make another sound!"
Celty patted the back of his hand, trying to tell him she couldn't breathe. He seemed to get the message, and loosened his grip. She sucked in a breath. "Not exactly, I'm just staying with them. But I'm no warrior." she coughed, "I'm just trying to get out-I didn't mean to break the glass."
The strange monkey stared down at her, growling softly, the tip of his tail moving in a slow circled behind him. A sign that he was thinking perhaps? His gaze left her eyes to trail down her body. Celty could feel the scorching heat of his eyes roaming over her torso, arms, and legs. He wrapped his tail around her's, and brought it up to inspect it. His brow furrowed as he looked down at her again, still holding her tail and pinning her to the floor by her throat.
"You have a weapon in your tail," he stated, "I left it free, and yet you didn't attempt to free yourself by attacking. Why not?" He sounded not only angry, but confused. He'd left himself wide open-given her the perfect opportunity to stab him in the back. Yet even when he'd started squeezing the life out of her, she hadn't fought back. The black and red simian took in her white fur, the splash of candy pink on her chest, her matching pink eyes and blaze of her helmet, which was trimmed with gold.
He could see that he was slightly taller than her, and clearly much stronger. Under his hand, he felt her trembling, and he could feel her pulse against his palm. Her life was, quite literally, in his grasp. A twitch of his fingers, and she was dead.
Celty looked at her trapped tail, feeling her stomach quiver at the mere thought of plunging the spike into his spine. "I didn't want to hurt you." she admitted.
He pulled back slightly like she'd pinched him, his face a puzzled mask. But he blinked it away and leaned closer, drawing his upper lip back slightly to reveal his large incisors. "Why not?" he asked with a growl, "I'm your enemy-you should try to kill me every chance you get." She blinked up at him with those big pink eyes, concern written in their candy-colored depths.
"But we're not enemies," she argued, "I don't even know your name-how could I want to hurt, much less kill, someone I don't even know?"
The male simian snarled, slamming her head against the stone floor once more. "I have no name!" he snapped, "And you should hate me, because I was created by Skeleton King to kill-to destroy your precious Hyper Force!"
"Do you want to kill them?" she choked out, finding it more and more difficult to breathe past his hand. The growl abruptly ceased, the snarl vanished. She gazed up at him hopefully. "It doesn't matter how you came into being, or what someone else says you're destined to do or be. Only you can actually choose the path you follow. If you're going to kill me, do it because you want to-not because Skeleton King says you have to."
She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see her end coming. A still, silent moment passed as Celty waited for the final clench of his fist that would crush her neck. But when a full minute went by and nothing happened, Celty cautiously peeked one eye open.
He wasn't moving, almost like he was frozen. The hand around her neck lost it's grip until it was simply resting on her throat. Slowly, the black and red simian removed his hand and released her tail. "I..." he began, carefully choosing his words. "I don't want to kill you."
Celty remained where she was, sprawled out on the wet, glass covered floor. "Then what do you want to do?" she asked.
His face looked both confused, and frustrated. "I don't know." he murmured, and glanced over his shoulder at the shattered tank. "But I know I don't want to go back in there again."
The white and pink monkey looked at him, wincing as a piece of glass dug into her side. "If you don't want to stay, why not come with me?" she suggested, when he looked at her she added "You don't have to stay here and live under Skeleton King's boot. The Hyper Force will help you-just like they did me."
He didn't look convinced, so Celty lightly touched her fingertips to his shoulder. "I'll help you." The statement seemed to have struck something inside the other monkey. He glanced at the tank, and then at her, running everything through his mind as he thought hard.
Suddenly, the black and red simian wrapped his hand around her throat once more and brought their faces so close together their muzzles were almost touching. "I'll trust you," he said, then growled low in his throat. "But if you ever give me reason to doubt your honesty, I'll snap your neck."
Instead of the scared expression he expected to see, she smiled. "Then I have nothing to worry about." she said. He frowned as he removed his clawed hand and stood. The female simian also rose to her feet, being careful of the broken glass around them, and winced at the sharp sting on her right side. "If you don't have a name, then what do I call you?" she asked.
He snorted. "Call me what you wish," he said as he looked away. "It matters not to me. I am who I am no matter what my designation is."
Celty couldn't help a shy smile, and felt a blush color her white cheeks. "'A rose by any other name smells just as sweet.'" she quoted. Her eyes fell on the plate under the tank, the fluid had rinsed it clean, exposing the writing underneath the layers of dust. F4NG. Celty tilted her head. Now that she thought about it, it did look like a whole word. "How about 'Fang'?" she inquired.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Why 'Fang'?"
She pointed to the plate behind him. "That plate was on the tank, and the 4 sorta looks like an 'A' with a missing leg." she explained, "And besides," she tapped her lip and nodded toward him, "You do have those."
The male simian reflexively touched his protruding incisors and ran his tongue over them. "Fang," he murmured, testing the way it rolled on his tongue. Then he nodded slowly, seeming to be satisfied. "It'll do."
Celty offered out her hand to him, "Then it's nice to meet you, Fang." She greeted. Fang stared down at the hand, his expression blank. 'Maybe he doesn't understand.' she thought, and slowly took his hand in her's. "You shake it." she explained, "It's a way to greet people, or seal a deal."
He eyed her suspiciously, "And what deal are we sealing?"
Celty smiled and gave his hand a brief squeeze. "That we're friends now." she said brightly, "Isn't it great?"
Fang didn't answer, instead he took his hand back and looked away. "If we're going to find your friends, then we should get out of here, before someone finds us." he stated, then brushed past her. "Follow me." Celty paused briefly, a little wounded by his cold treatment, but quickly caught up to him in the hall.
He walked with confidence, head held high, strides long and powerful, shoulders swaying. This was a guy who was dangerous, and knew it. Celty's eyes were drawn to his back, muscles rippling under that glossy black fur with every movement he made. His tail flicked from time to time, but otherwise remained curled in an 'S' shape behind him.
A noise from the shadows made Celty jump and walk a little closer to him. "So I'm guessing you know a way out of here?" she inquired.
Fang shrugged a shoulder. "Not quite," he said, "But I know the castle's layout well enough to find one. Just stay close, if you get lost you're on your own."
The white monkey gulped. 'He's rather hard,' she thought, 'And a bit unfriendly. I hope he'll be a little more at ease once we're out. Otherwise he's going to be difficult to live with.'
As they passed through a four-way in the halls the sound of footsteps echoed off to their left. Fang growled as he snatched Celty back behind the edge of the wall. He pushed her stomach flat against the wall, his chest pressed firmly to her back, his cheek on the back of her head. The softest of growls slipped between his sharp teeth beside her antennae and vibrated through their close bodies, causing her to shiver while his claws flexed on her shoulders.
The small group of formless past by, Fang's dark coat hiding them from sight. The black and red simian waited until the sounds of their footsteps faded before sniffing the air, he paused briefly and stepped away from the female. She remained frozen against the wall, her eyes tightly shut. Setting his jaw, Fang tapped her shoulder. "They're gone," he said, "Let's keep moving."
Celty cautiously opened her eyes and quickly follwed close behind him. "Thank you," she said softly, "For hiding me like you did back there." He only grunted in response.
Fang lead them to the first window Celty had seen. He pushed it open and jumped onto the sill. "We'll have to to climb down from here." he stated.
Celty looked over the window sill and bit her knuckle nervously. "You go on ahead." she said backing away, "I'll find another way out."
Fang's eyes narrowed. "Why?" he demanded.
"I...I can't climb down a sheer rock wall." she admitted, holding up her hands. "I don't have claws like you...and I'm not a good climber." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'll only slow you down, anyway." she added, "Just get yourself out, I'll be okay."
When the white female turned to leave, a loud growl escaped Fang as he yanked her up by the tail. She gasped in fright, as well as surprise. He grabbed her arms and locked them around his waist. "Don't let go," he ordered. "And don't look down."
Before she could protest, Fang swung out of the window, his toes dangling briefly in open air before finding their grip on the nearly smooth surface. He heard Celty gasp softly by his ear, her arms like a vice around his torso, squeezing him so tight he couldn't take a deep breath. Celty pressed her face into his back, her nose buried in ebony velvet.
His fur was a bit longer than her's or the other monkeys on the team, and it was softer, silkier too. She found herself deeply inhaling, drawing in his scent. It reminded her of freshly ground coffee, a deep, rich aroma. But as pleasant as his fur was, there wasn't any warmth to his body. He felt chilly, cold even. The white female wanted to rub some heat into him, but was unable to with her arms being one of the only things stopping her from falling. Instead, she settled for breathing warm air into the fur between his shoulder blades. She felt his muscles ripple beneath her, and he paused ever so briefly, before moving on.
One of the stones Fang used as a foothold suddenly broke, Celty's heart leaped into her throat as they dropped. Fang sank his claws into the wall, burying them deeply with a snarl. Celty shook violently against his back, her fingers tangled in his fur.
Fang hissed softly through his clenched teeth in discomfort. "Loosen your grip." he snapped, "I can't climb with you constricting my movements." Her tight death hold relaxed slightly, allowing him to breathe once more, but her fingers remained tangled deeply in his fur. Fang slowly began their downward climb again, taking a little more caution in where he placed his hands and feet.
He could still feel Celty's warm breath against the nape of his neck, coming in rapid gasps in his fur. With her chest pressed firmly to his back, Fang could feel her fluttering heartbeat within her trembling body. Her arms quaked around him, and the scent of her fear was heavy in his nose. The short drop had terrified her, and she was seeking not only protection, but a sense of comfort.
Their feet finally touched ground. Celty collapsed as she released him, her entire body shaking uncontrollably. "I don't ever want to do that again." she panted. "It feels like my muscles all turned to jelly." Fang snorted, clearly unshaken by their fall. He brushed past her, not even sparing her a passing glance. Knowing he might just leave her behind, Celty got up on unsteady legs and followed.
He kept them in the shadows and under cover whenever possible, his scarlet eyes darting all around, seeking out scouting formless guards. They continued across the rocky wasteland for what seemed like hours, avoiding the flat ground which offered no cover and held the occasional formless on a skeletal bike. As time passed, Celty slowly began falling behind. Her aching sides heaved for air, forcing large gulps of it into her burning lungs. The soles of her feet were scratched and blistered, her legs throbbed, and her knees refused to hold her any longer.
The white simian collapsed, the sharp stones digging into her skin. Fang stopped, and looked back over his shoulder. She slowly forced herself back onto her feet, only to fall once again. This time, she didn't have the strength to get up. The black and red male waited to see if she'd stand up again, but she didn't.
Curious as to what the female was doing, he went back to her. He could hear her ragged panting as she lay on the stony ground, her body trembling weakly. Fang stood over her for a moment, waiting for the white and pink simian to move. But when she remained where she'd fallen, he tapped her helmet with the tip of his tail.
Celty managed to turn her head to look up at him. "Sorry," she said, sweat dripping from her brow. "Looks like you'll be going on alone. I'm afraid I can't get up." Fang watched as her pink eyes closed weakly, heavy with fatigue. She wouldn't be going anywhere for quite a while, not with the state of exhaustion she was in. He could go on without her, she'd only been slowing him down anyway. He'd simply turn around, and walk away, leaving her to whatever Fate had in store for her.
A clawed hand grabbed the scruff of her neck and hauled her off the ground. She was swung over Fang's shoulder, then shifted into his arms. "I didn't waste my time and effort to get you out of there just to let you rot out here." he stated as he continued on. "Besides, you said you'd help me. I'm not letting you back out of your promise that easily." Celty was too tired to argue, so she settled her head against his shoulder and let the rocking of his movements lull her into a light doze.
Even with Celty's dead weight in his arms, Fang moved near effortlessly over the uneven ground. He climbed over a jagged rock supported by another large stone. Together, they created a small shelter. Fang paused at the entrance, glancing skyward. It had been dark all day, but now he could faintly make out the moon through the thick clouds. The air was also getting colder. In his arms, Celty shivered.
It was time to stop for the night.
The black and red simian ducked into the shelter, he sniffed the air as he peered about. When everything appeared to be safe, Fang set Celty against the wall and began digging up the dirt floor. Some sort of animalistic survival instinct seemed to guide him. He dug a shallow pit and lowered the female into it. Then he pushed the soil towards the entrance, using the mound to help block the moaning wind and to disguise the opening.
Once he felt satisfied that he'd done everything, Fang joined Celty in the shallow pit. Her body heat was already gathering in the sand around her still form as he settled down beside her. He pulled her against him, keeping himself between her and the entrance. Silently, he cursed her white coat. It made her so noticeable, and it drew attention in such a dark and bleak landscape. But in the shadows of their hiding place, with his black fur, no one would be able to see them.
The warmth radiating from her was unlike anything he'd ever known. Throughout his entire life, Fang had only ever felt the touch of cold metal and agonizing punishment. As Fang's eyes began to close, he felt Celty cuddle closer and entwine her tail with his.