Tales of the Alternate Universe

Chapter Ten: Hero

It didn't matter if they were in a hurry now. Finn knew that Tremi was obviously going to alert the rest of the gang and that they would be cornering them in a matter of seconds. But still, he felt that he had to let Flanna dry her tears first. Finn was oblivious of how it was to deal with a phobia. However, an idea of how extreme fear must feel struck his body with each shiver that ran down the red-haired girl's spine. To see the once fierce Flanna Hacksworth, weeping and literary suffering a nervous breakdown over him was really messing the farm boy up. Finn wished he knew what to do or what to say. It seemed that letting her wet his shirt with her tears, as well as stroking her back, wasn't going to be enough to comfort her.

"C'mon Flanna," he whispered in an attempt to encourage her. "It's okay, you're free now…"

"No, I'm not!" the girl cried, clinging harder onto his chest. "We're still trapped underground! Get me out of here, Finn! Please get me out of here…!"

"I will, but first I need you to calm down, okay?" Mertens grabbed her shoulders, forcing Flanna to look straight into his eyes. "You remember what I told you before we walked inside this hole, right? I told you that I wasn't going to leave your side and here I am. I came back for you. And now, I need you to stop crying… I need the annoying Flanna back…" he released her shoulders and hugged her again. "The one I like…"

They remained there, just holding each other in silence. Finn could feel how little by little, Flanna's heartbeats were slowed down. She was really trying to calm herself down this time. His words of caring had managed to drive her out of her anxious state. He could still hear her sobbing, though. But it was better than watching her freak out.

Some minutes later, Flanna had finally found the courage to stop holding the boy and wipe her tears off with her forearm. "Sorry I lost it there…" she apologized in embarrassment. "You don't know what it's like to feel so afraid…"

"Then why did you offer yourself to distract those guys? We could've switched roles and maybe then—…"

"I just wanted you, Jake, and Cecile out of this place… I thought that I would be able to fool those guys and catch up with you later, but then I…" Flanna's gaze drifted towards Finn.

The blonde boy noticed this and wondered what was wrong with her. It took him a while to understand why she was staring at him, but when he finally did, Finn looked down at his shirt and realized that it was caked with blood. His first reaction was to rub his stomach in search of possible wounds, but there weren't any. "What the?" his blue eyes glimpsed some spatters of the crimson substance staining his hands and his sleeves. "Flanna, you're hurt!" Finn cried in realization, instantly leaping over her.

"Funny, huh? I hadn't even realized about it myself until now…" the red-haired girl chuckled softly. "How come I can't leave my house without getting hurt? Dad's not going to like it…"

The farm boy sent her a look of disconcertment while he quickly laid her body on his lap. How could she worry about something like that when they were facing such a dangerous situation? No, he was no doctor, but at least Finn had to know how serious her injury was, before even trying to do something reckless. His shaky hands lifted her skirt nervously while he constantly remembered himself that this was serious and that there was no time to feel embarrassed or awkward about being (actually) undressing a girl.

"Your hands are cold…" Flanna complained weakly.

Finn rolled his eyes and ignored her. He was more concerned about the deep cut that crossed all the way down her stomach and into her pelvis, beneath her panties —No. He wasn't going to check the wound any further. His head was spinning, a violent blush had taken over his face by the time the boy had realized that his eyes were still locked on her uncovered body. Finn quickly laid her skirt down, hoping that Flanna hadn't noticed his stupidity. The last thing he wanted was to have Flanna thinking of him as a pervert.

"Is it bad?" the girl inquired with a soft moan, apparently starting to feel the pain.

"F-Flanna… How did you get hurt in this way?" Finn felt the sweat crawling down his hat and forehead. The wound looked painful, but it couldn't be that serious… Could it? He bit his lip in frustration, how was he supposed to know? He was just a farm boy. "Flanna what happened?"

"I…I don't know. Everything happened so fast…" she replied. "These pair of freaks were chasing me down, I was way faster than them and I managed to fool them a couple of times… I pissed them off, I guess…" Finn cradled her in his arms carefully. Now that her panic attack was over, she was starting to show signs of pain and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or unprotected. "There were some tools scattered on the ground… One of those freaks got his hands on a pickaxe and then…" Flanna pressed her hands onto her abdomen. A painful moan left her lips as she clenched her eyes shut. "Dang…!"

"No! They said that they never touched you!" Finn exclaimed in frustration. Not because he was skeptical, but because he refused to believe that she had been severely hurt. He wanted her to be okay.

"Well, they lied…!" she replied rather angrily. "It wouldn't be the first time…"

"No it wouldn't, hehe…!" a sardonic voice chuckled.

Both Finn and Flanna gritted their teeth in disdain, recognizing that voice. Big Destiny and four of his men were standing at the cellar's door. The farm boy leaned protectively over the girl in his arms. His mind quickly considered the fact that Flanna wasn't going to get very far in her condition, and prepared himself to carry her out of that place in a huff as soon as an opportunity showed itself.

"See, boss? I told you that those two were trying to ruin our plan!" the man known as Trumo appeared from behind his pals. His glasses were broken and a ugly-looking bruise was painted on his forehead. Finn found himself hissing angrily upon laying his eyes on him. So, that guy was alive after all...

"Trumo! You're alive!" his partner, Tremi exclaimed in happiness.

"Not thanks to you, fool!" the blue-haired man growled, kicking Tremi's shin as usual. "Big-D! I say we should tie a stone onto their ankles, and throw them into the creek, so that we can watch them drown!"

His leader's smile vanished away while he impulsively leaned over him. "Are you telling Big Destiny what to do, huh?! Huh?! HUH?!"

"N-no boss, n-never…" Trumo stuttered pathetically, literally hiding his head within his thick coat.

"Tell us what are you planning to do with these pests and we'll gladly carry it out…" Tromo said confidently.

"…As painful and slowly as possible, boss." Trami added in the same manner.

"Yeah, I will…" Big Destiny glanced back at the two defenseless kids and grinned. "I want y'all out of this, hehe…"

"W-what? Why?!" the guy with the scar on his eye inquired in astonishment.

"Are you by any chance… Questioning my methods, TROMO?!" Big Destiny roared.

"Gah…! Nope, never man… It's cool! Everything you say is cool!" Tromo whined cowardly.

The rest of the Destiny Gang leaned against the surrounding walls, watching with curiosity how Big Destiny carried out "his methods". The tall buff man crouched down right in front of the frightened kids and gave them a sinister grin.

"What's this, Firefly? Are you hurt?" Big-D asked, stretching his hand towards her.

"Don't you even dare to touch her!" came Finn's furious yelling, followed by a sudden smack, which he delivered just before Big Destiny could graze Flanna's skin.

"Oh…! Hehe... I forgot there was hero in the house…!" the gang's leader chuckled as he got back on his feet and unsheathed his sword menacingly.

Finn quickly closed his eyes and turned his face away, waiting for the blade to strike, but nothing happened. The boy opened one of his eyes fearfully and noticed that Big Destiny was offering him the sword "Huh?"

Big-D grinned, a tiny hint of admiration hidden within his stern features. "I must admit that the way in which you two are constantly daring to stand in my way is impressive."

Now it was his gang's turn to gasp in surprise "B-boss?!"

"SILENCE!" Big Destiny handed Finn his sword. "You seem to call yourself a hero, so now Big Destiny's giving you the chance to show what you've got." Once the farm boy had received the blade, the orange-haired man strode towards Tromo and snatched his katana. "C'mon little hero, let me see what kind of skills are hidden under your sleeve! And maybe, I'll let you and your Firefly leave this pit alive…!"

Finn stared at the sword uneasily. As a farmer, his hands had held a great variety of tools during his short lasting life such as hoes, hammers, and sickles, but this was the first time in which he had ever wielded a weapon… How was that supposed to make him a hero?

Flanna noticed with fear that Finn was taking off his backpack with the obvious resolve of accepting Big Destiny's deal. "F-Finn?" she called in worry.

The boy helped her rest her back against the wall and handed her his bag. "Jake's resting inside it. Please take good care of him, okay?"

"B-but…" she whispered in disbelieve. "Who's going to take care of you?"

Finn grabbed her hands firmly and forced a smile. "If I manage to beat this guy, he'll let us leave this place. That way, I'll be able to take you and Jake to a doctor… I'm sorry, but…this is the only way."

"He'll kill you." Flanna replied sternly.

"Something worse will happen if I refuse to do this…" the blonde boy tapped Flanna's head as if he were older than her, and grinned goofily. "Don't worry. You have trained me well on how to be beaten up, heh…"

The red-haired pulled his hands before he dared to walk away from her. She held them tightly between hers and remarked. "Finn Mertens… You're one of the biggest idiots that I have ever met. But you're also… One that I've gotten to like... A lot."

"Flanna..." Finn whispered, a sincere smile gracing his face.

x+x+x+x+x

The Destiny Gang smirked in pleasure as their leader crushed Finn's head under his pink shoe. The boy moaned and grunted insistently, fighting desperately to free his cranium from Big-D's weight. All his efforts were useless. The pressure was too much. The humble farm boy could only taste the iron-like flavor of his blood, mixed with the dirt of the ground, and hope to find a way out of his struggle before his consciousness faded away.

His blue eyes glimpsed a bright glimmer only a few inches away from his hand. Finn stretched his fingers, reaching out for whatever it was. That hadn't been an easy task, but the prize was worth all the pain. He had managed to retrieve his sword and he didn't hesitate in stabbing its tip on Big Destiny's foot. The orange-haired man screeched in anger, kicking the boy away from him. Finn crashed against the cellar's door. His body hit the only lantern lighting the hallway, causing it to break and spread its fire on the ground.

Big Destiny approached the semiconscious boy and lifted him by his shirt's collar. His fist delivered several abrasive blows on Finn's face. He watched the boy spill some blood and stabbed his stomach with a violent strike of his knee, causing more blood to leak out of his organism.

"Hehe…Thus, the great hero was slayed by the immeasurable power of Big Destiny!" the ruthless man claimed as he tossed Finn's battered body into the cellar.

"Woo! Well done Big-D! Impressive…!" the gang clapped, pumping up their leader's vanity.

"That's what you get when you mess with the Destiny Gang! The Destiny Gang sweeps the floor with you!" Big Destiny laughed as he glorified himself. "Where's your courage now, hero?!"

"Look around you, butt!" Flanna's enraged voice cut his mocks off. "Finn's courage has been shed all over this tunnel and he's just a boy!" Big-D stared at her intrigued by her words. She couldn't be talking about the blood that was sprinkled in almost every wall, was she? "So what?" the girl continued with ferocity. "You jacked up a child all by yourself? Congratulations, I wonder how much courage is needed to do something similar!"

"Watch your words, Firefly…" Big-D grunted, his feet drawing him closer to her.

"Who'd you think you are, anyway?!" the girl yelled, ignoring his warning. "I'll tell you what you really are! A coward…! Even a feeble boy like Finn is greater than you…!"

Big Destiny clutched her neck, using one of his hands and lifted her feet above the ground. "I think I told you to watch your words, Firefly…" he smirked. "Look at you, so weak and sad... Who's going to save you now?"

"Heh…" Flanna's gaze flew back into the cellar. The lantern's fire had spread itself towards a crate full of dynamite. A horrified gasp was heard in the back of the room. Big-D's men had vanished from sight as he stared at the explosives hopelessly. Flanna chuckled in delight. "Look at you… So weak and sad... Who's going to save you now?"

Update: Grammar checked and corrected.