Chapter 3- Safety dance

[7:48 PM]

The harsh smell of seawater, fish, and crime permeates the air. I move closer to Filia, I know how this part of town is at night.

Somewhere around here should be a sushi place, if I remember right, that's where the Fishbones would meet up at.

"So what the hell are we doing here anyway?" Samson snapped, clearly unhappy with the salty sea air.

"If anyone knows where she could be, it'll probably be the Fishbone Gang," I said as I looked around for the shop.

Samson laughed, "The Fishbones have been wiped out for a year now! You ain't gonna find shit!" My eye twitched.

"You're telling me this now!?" I snapped, and Samson laughed again.

"Never told us what you were doing, dumbass!"

"But you had to wait until we got here to ask me?"

"Why the fuck would I need to do that? You're the leader here!"

"If you weren't attached to her head..."

"Oh! You wanna go!?"

"STOP!" Filia shouted, interrupting the two of us. "Samson stop taunting him."

"But he started it!" Samson defended, and received a tug on one of the tendrils by Filia, causing his eyes to bug out slightly.

With a sigh and a shake of my head, I walked over to a sushi bar, "I'm just gonna ask for directions to the nearest bank. Might as well get that dealt with." I entered the little restaurant, which was in the process of closing. A small but wide Dagonian was sweeping the store up.

"Hey! It's closing time, we ain't takin' any orders!" he shouted.

"Terribly sorry, but this will take but just a second. Do you know where the nearest bank is?" I asked, not wanting to get on his bad side.

He grunted, "Nearest one is in New Meridian, Innsmouth isn't large enough for its own."

"Thank you, sir, have a nice ni-" I was interrupted by the sound of shouting outside. Looking out the window, I saw Samson yelling at this lady with a snake around her. The snake was getting into a large argument with Filia's parasite. Running outside, I heard the snake's voice, memories flooding as I heard it speak.

[7:51 PM]

"You've gone too far, Samson!" it shouted, and the girl and snake got into a stance, that could be seen as elegant, but also ready to strike.

"Come at me, worm! I'll put you back in the dirt!" Samson taunted, as Filia reluctantly got into her fighting stance. The new girl and snake charged forward, and I felt my limbs fill with electrical pulses. I intercepted the strike at Filia, blocking the strike from hitting myself or my friend.

"Get the hell out of the way Arcee! This is my fight!" Samson shouted.

Ignoring him, I looked at Filia, "Go to the square with the casino, nearest bank is in the city, meet you there!" Filia nodded then ran off.

"Sir, move away so we can teach that leech a lesson!" the snake shouted at me, more memories filling my mind.

Shaking my head, "Can't do that, I need that leech, as much as he annoys me." The two charged at me, and I dodged just out of their way.

Let's see if this is who I think it is.

I readied a swing, and they twirled out of my path. The two of us continued to exchange blows, however, neither one of us hit the other. We simply danced around the other nearly perfectly.

"There's only one," I paused to jump over the tail of the snake, "Girl I've ever met that can dance like this."

"Oh?" She asked, her voice seeming to echo from the snake, "Who might that be? I could use the dancing partner after we finish this."

With a small chuckle, I smiled at her, "Now that I hear that lovely voice of yours," I jumped over her and stood directly behind her, "It's nice to see you again Sienna, and you too Leviathan."

Leviathan shoved me away, and Sienna dipped backwards and Leviathan tried to strike me with his outstretched tail, but I dipped myself, dodging it narrowly, "And who might you be?" He asked, trying to snap at me.

"I was present at your mother's party, Squigly. We danced for a few minutes before some more unfortunate guests showed up," I replied. Her attacks were getting more varied as she tried to hit me, and it nearly tripped me up.

"Arcenel...," Finally Leviathan was able to grab my arm and held me in front of her. "You," Her eyes narrowed and she scowled, "YOU TRAITOR!" She socked me in the face, casing me to fly backwards. Touching on the wooden dock, I continued to dodge more of her strikes. "Medici scum! You will pay for what you did to us!" She was relentless in her anger, not allowing me to talk. Once she had an opening, I snagged Leviathan's tail and gave a quick tug, causing her to be coiled in his body until she had stopped.

"Look at me Squigly! I too was slain on that night, thanks to that bitch," I said as I gave them a slight shove to put some space between us. I don't want to really fight her, I just want her on my side.

"You look nothing like us, you just seem to be slightly dirty," Leviathan spat, and they uncoiled and charged again, this time she tossed Leviathan's tail at me, instead of dodging it, I let it go through the hole in my chest. As the tail pulled back, it ripped part of my shirt, revealing the bruised, rotted, and dying flesh that made up my torso.

"Am I still a living human? No one gets shot in the heart and lives. You saw the weapon Dahlia was using, it nearly explodes what it touches!" I shouted, and the two of them seemed stunned. "If you would let me just talk to you, like the friend I was, I'll explain everything."

The two of them continued to stare me down, "Speak, you have five minutes," Squigly said, crossing her arms.