Began Typing: 6:21 PM 9/14/2008
Posted: 8:46 PM 9/14/2008
Murder Among Us: Chapter Eleven (How...?)
Midnight. This couldn't be real...could it? The mercenary stood not far from him, frozen on the spot, and the person who would be doing the attacking stood between them, a smug smile on his face. Marth continued to stare at Ike...the mercenary's face twisted into an effortful snarl to break free of whatever hold Tabuu had on him, his feet planted firmly in the ground but still shaking even if only slightly. Time's up.
Tabuu turned his back to Ike and squat down by the prince, yanking the gag from his mouth. Marth immediately spit the spherical orb from his mouth, crying, "Ike! He's Tabuu!"
Ike's only response was for his body to shake as if he were in an electric chair. Marth cried out as Tabuu lifted him by the bounds on his wrists, the dull aches from the blades now full searing stabs of mortification. Tabuu toyed with the knife between his index and middle finger almost playfully, as if taunting the immobile man behind him. He pressed the sharpened silver blade to Marth's left wrist, smiling at the prince. "Let the games begin."
He proceeded to tear the blade across Marth's petal pale skin, the scarlet velvet that seeped out soaking it. The aroma of iron filled the room. Marth cried desperately, Tabuu grinning. The blade was accomplishing what his own mental powers could not. They made the hero Anri's decendent cry for mercy. Marth felt like someone was wrapping their hand around his eart, squeazing as hard as possible, leaving him breathless with tears in his eyes, his wrist enveloped in heat and a searing sensation that echoed all up his arm. He choked on words that he was never planning on saying.
The second toll vibrated throughout the old abandoned clock tower, filling all the empty space around them. Marth felt like he was listening to the tolls from the bottom of the ocean, everything distant and muffled. Marth watched through bleary eyes as the silver blade, now drenched with his own fluids, shimmered as it moved to the opposite side of his body. The cold fingers gripped his forearm, pulling the skin taught. The blinding flash of the iron blade ripped across his skin, tearing across that virgin flesh. Every action was anoter searing stab of pain upon the prince, he screaming as the horrbile truth made itself comfortable. He was going to die.
Ike stood, shaking, witnessing the horror. Marth was pinned to the floor, unable to save himself and he...why couldn't he move?! His irritation got him nowhere as Marth's pain escalated. Another tone echoed throughout the vicinity and Ike's eyes widened as Tabuu pulled up the bottom of Marth's pants with haste, cutting the upper thigh of his right leg, causing him to flinch. The tolls seemed to elongate as Ike watched the horrors, still unable to move. He watched as Marth's hands tightened in pain, as his legs seemed to attempt to twist about and right what was paining him to no avail. Another ring. The left femoral artery. Ike shut his eyes, wishing he could turn his head. Marth was looking more and more pale as the torment progressed. Ike couldn't help but wish that Marth's pain was his own...to stop Marth from hurting. The next thing Ike knew, Tabuu proceeded to pull both of Marth's boots and made quick work of slashing the scalpel across his achilies tendons on the next dual tones.
Marth let his head roll, letting it rest painlessly on the floor. So much...blood...so muchh of his own...an ocean of scarlet fluids, soaking his clothes and hair. His vision was beginning to be overcome with purple and silver dots, spotting out Tabuu's face. The man's job appeared to be done. He watched as Tabuu tossed the bloody instrument down to the ground and it landed near his own hands. The prince hardly cared. His whole body was consumed in dull aches and pains. He could only assume the retreating humanity.
Tabuu, as Marth had called him, gave Ike a toothy smile that made the mercenary want to punch his teeth deep into his head. Alas, he still couldn't move. The man merely saluted to him and ran by with a deviant smile. Ike let his gaze travel back to Marth, the prince moaning. While cutting the prince over all, he had chosen to also cut the bounds, but left the daggers where they had originally been plunged. All Ike could do was watch as Marth's blood dripped slowly through the alreay wet boards, tears slipping from his eyes. He was...too late! "M-Marth..." He choked out from between his teeth, the effects of the paralysis still in effect.
God...Ike was blurry. He was there through, and he felt like a giant weight was lifted from his chest. Marth let a desperate smile play on his face. He lifted his bloodied hand slightly, fingers extending Ike's direction. Ike's mouth moved, but his words had the most incredible delay. "Marth...hand...on!..."
The room was spinning, making the young prince sick to his stomach. He felt cold. His heartbeat was soon the only thing he was aware of as his eyesight blackened, his nerves becoming unresponsive, his mouth felt like it was full of cottonballs, and his nostrils smelt nothing but blood. But he couldn't allow himself to slip off to sleep just yet...he had to know if he was going to live or not...
Snake grinned in satisfaction as a pack of te stone gargoyles crowded together and basted apart in a massive explosion. The remaining members of the group ducked behind Pit and Link's shields to avoid the flying rocks. Pit made a face as a rater large cunk made him skid back several feet. He looked away, spotting a bald man darting down the stairs. Their eyes met. The deep red eyes glittered oddly. Why, exactly, was he looking so victorious when Marth was in danger? Unless...
The angel's eyes widened. The man ignored him utterly, continuing to run in some vague direction of little importance. Pit looked to Snake, but the spy was still preoccupied with the gargoyles. It was up to him and him alone.
Yoshi and Pikachu screamed as their giant cover disappeared, the angel speeding off somewhere behind them. They quickly transferred behind Link, narrowly evading several more blasts. Pit skidded as he rounded a corner to a long hallway. The man ran fast, nearly out of sight far off down the hall and near the next turn off. The angel grit his teeth, lunging down the corridor after him. That man...did this to him. He clipped his beautiful wings, and now he'd threatened Marth. The angel pulled Palutena's bow out of its holder on his back, pulling back an arrow. He couldn't get a clear shot from the shockwaves, making his aim wiggle from his pounding feet. So...feet had to be taken out of the picture. He would have to FLY.
Pit bit his toga's neck roughly. This was going to hurt. He kicked off of the floor in a giant leap, his wings faltering. He bet he looked really silly, stumbling like a wounded gazelle to retain his balance and speed. It took several tries of take-off, his wings losing more and more feathers with each failed attempt. He kicked off, biting down hard as the pain filled his back, but his wings had finally caught the updraft of air, letting him fly directly towards the man. Okay, fine, it was more of a glide, but he was still catching the man by use of his wings.
He pulled his arrow back, nailing the man in the back. The angel grinned as the dark figure stumbled, looking back. He had apparently just noticed he was being followed. "Stop!" Pit yelled, but the man continued to run.
Pit slammed into the man, clutching to him as they skid across the floor. "Get off!" The man roared.
The angel bit into the man's hand as he pushed on his face, hearing him yelp in pain. Pit proceeded to land several punches on the man's upper body and face, his eyes shut as he put all the force he had into his punches. He halted only when he remembered that this might not be their perp and what he was doing was commonly called assualt. Pit held the man up by the front of his shirt. "You." He stated venomously. "You have two options. You can come with me to Smash Manor on the grounds that you are now a suspect of the recent attacks."
"Or?"
Pit smiled pleasantly. "You can die."
The angel wasn't kidding and the shadow man knew it. "Fine." The man beneath stated. "I'd rather not be blamed for what I didn't do, anyways."
Pit made a face like an angry cat dunked in water. "Liar!"
The angel grabbed him by his hood, dragging him backwards across the floor, heading back the way they came in from. He wasn't buying this guy's crap at all...
Ike finally felt the long awaited scream erupt from his lips, it pouring out of his soul. It was almost like his body was trying to catch up on all that it had missed, throwing punches wildly in the direction Tabuu had once been. But he didn't have time for that. Marth still lie on the floor, probably in blinding pain, bleeding out any remaining fluids. He tripped over his own feet as he rushed to Marth's side. First thing's first, he pulled the blades from the prince's hands, getting nothing more than a twitch of his bloodied fingers in response. Ike pulled the body into his arms, the blood soaking his pants, arms, and shirt. "Marth! Marth!! Answer me!"
The prince's eyes opened, half-lidded just about all he could appear to accomplish. is face did not change, nor did his body. Ike pressed his head to Marth's chest. His heart thumped dully within his chest, slowing even as he listened. "Marth, can you hear me?!" Ike felt tears slide involuntarily down his cheeks as he shook the boy.
"Y...yeah..." He was whispering.
Ike felt his throat clench shut, making him want to swallow. "M-Marth! You're alive! Tell me, what should I do?! There's...so much blood..."
Ike watched in concern as the prince's head lolled. "Uh...bleeding..." Ike frowned as Marth began to lightly chuckle.
Ike cupped Marth's chin, aiming it to the ceiling so the light outside shone brightly in his eyes. The cerulean orbs darted left and right warily, a hazy glaze coating them, looking at little to nothing. Now, Ike was never sure what the pupils were, but the little black olive in the center of Marth's eyes were really, really large. Something told him that wasn't a good thing. Marth's breathing was erratic, rapid, and shallow probably due to his sympathetic nervous system. Ike didn't know what to do, as he was not a nurse, nor in any health profession. He did notice, however, that Marth, although shaking with a look of insanity in his eyes, clutched at a small strand of cloth nearby. Ike picked it up, feeling how soggy it was. Damp with blood...Ike looked to Marth. "This?" He asked.
Although Marth giggled strangely, he nodded swiftly. His arm flopped uselessly, his opposite hand open. Ike placed the cloth in it, watching as the slipping boy wrapped it just above his elbow, fumbling to tie it as tightly as he could. Ike grabbed it from him, tightening it as tight as he could. It was a tourniquet. The mercenary pulled his cape from his neck, tearing the fabric across the bottom, holding one end in his teeth. "Hof onf, Marf!" He cried, lifting up the unbandaged arm. "I'll gef you ouf of hewe!"
Marth's hand clutched his collar suddenly. "S-surgery..." He mumbled, body shaking spastically.
Ike nodded. "I'll take care of it, okay?! Just relax and if you see a bright light, stay away from it!"
Ike almost felt like tings were normal as Marth's back clumped to the floor loudly. He mumbled under his breath with a slight smile as his body shut down, "...idiot..."
Completed: 8:37 PM 9/14/2008
FYI: Oh, for those who are confused about why Tabuu is an actual person, it's because in this particular story, Tabuu in Subspace is an entity created by the real Tabuu's mind when he was in a coma. I know i've never really addressed this, but there was really no place for it from here on. Tabuu as a person is supposed to be a bit of a physic, that's why he could control Ike until Pit caught him and broke his hold. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad Tabuu...
Back to Author's notes: Okay, I know I said I was going back to normal postings, but here's my excuse. I live in (guess where?) Texas. Ike is mad at my story. So, the football game that was supposed to be on Friday was pushed back to Thursday, when I was supposed to be posting, and then on Friday, I had what one may call an Ike party. We were just making fun of the hurricane while playing brawl. Yeah...Ike ruined just about all my plans. Postings will probably become more and more sparse as my parents are getting divorced, we're trying to sell the house, my mom has to get a job, and I'm moving in with my mom in a house we don't have yet (or know where is)! Needless to say, I'm a bit frustrated. Oh well. Your reviews continue to make me want to post, so keep reviewing and I promise to post sooner! Yay!
