Hello everyone. I hope you are all well. It honestly feels like yesterday that I updated. It's been closer to three years. Time really flies when you're 'figuring it out'. Regardless, I'm back for the moment and I hope some of you are still around to read my works of fiction.
This chapter was written three separate times. This might not be the best version, but I hope you enjoy the one the universe ultimately paired us with.
Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club
Chapter Rating: M
"We can't tell anyone."
"How? How are we going to keep it from them? I-I'm a fuckin mess and you're not fairing any better."
Agitated she knocked her head back, it hurt, not having completely recovered from the last time it was banged. The pain made ripples through her skull, but at least it helped her think, a good distraction from the crippling fear she felt.
She was currently sitting with her back against a hallway wall, knees pulled tightly to her chest. She barely had time to pull the distraught specialist into the confined space with her, avoiding the concern of their friends for a minute, just for a minute.
She needed to think. She needed to think fast.
"What difference does it make if we tell them?" He asked.
"What diff…They should know!" She couldn't believe her ears. How could he even ask that?
"Should they? You saw how distraught they were over a cat, a cat, this is a person."
"We've lost people before." She whispered, thinking back over the years, her hands were suddenly very interesting. The guilt just never seemed to go away.
"Never like this, it's never been tangible like this, messy like this. It's never been real, not for you."
"That's a lie and you know it! It's been nothing but real." She seethed
"Magic and weapon combat, they're astronomically different. I don't need to tell you that. You don't see the ugly, you don't see the carnage, the slashes, the blood. You see color and flashes and dust and then it's over. It hurts yes, but it's clean, it's beautiful and worthy of envy, but it also shields you in a way I'm grateful for. You don't need to see things the way we do. You don't need to see what we see outside of Magix."
"We're strong, even without the pedestal you put us on." Her voice came out low, gravelly, daring him to contradict her.
"There's no denying that, you'd kick our asses in a heartbeat, but that's not the point.
We're already falling apart Musa, don't deny it. We can't even keep that girl from getting into your bed, you really wanna go out there and raise the stakes again."
"Have a little faith, the stakes have always been high. We need to be honest with each other, no matter the outcome." Even as she thought it, she had to swallow hard to push the words out. Doubt was starting to make its way into her mind. That startled her, because of course she was right.
"Even if we didn't tell them we'd still have to keep looking for her, no one would agree otherwise. Someone else might stumble across her." Yes, she was making sense again.
"I doubt it, she's well hidden."
"Then how did you-
"I was tracking her. Things don't stay hidden from me long."
"If you found her, the other guys could too."
"I took care of it, don't worry. They won't find her."
She didn't even want to know what that meant.
"Why are you so hellbent on keeping this from them?" If she had the energy to jab her finger into his chest she would have.
"We tell them when we get out of here. I'll volunteer to look for her when asked. I'll keep it under wraps till morning."
"So that's fuckin it then?! Who gave you the right to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? It's not a pissing contest Helia. Let us help you." She implored
"You didn't fuckin see it! The blood, the smell, she's not just dead she's mutilated. She...she couldn't have been dead for all of it either. She suffered, badly. If we tell them they'll want to see, humans are curious by nature.
"We" He gestured between them "are curious by design. It's in our training, we can't stand not seeing for ourselves."
"Helia...I-" The words lodged in her throat. What could she say to that? That they could handle it, that she could handle it? Could she?
Helia was the most composed person she knew, to see him cradling his head between his legs, mumbling through his fingertips completely stupefied her.
Would it really be better to hold off from telling the others? She could already feel bile creeping up her throat again.
"How are we going to lie to them? Your face is haunting." She sighed, coming around to the idea of keeping silent for now. They didn't need to add fuel to the fire, they just had to make it until morning.
"I can keep my composure, don't worry about me." He mumbled, raising his gaze to fully meet hers.
It was...It was almost like watching a skin walker shed its skin, replacing it with a beautiful substitute. Stitch by stitch it came together.
It made her want to cry.
His face went from anguish to a mask of complete neutrality. The transition was so natural it reminded her of water flowing down a bank.
When his lip curled up in an easy-going smile, she could almost sigh in relief. He could have easily fooled her, why would she doubt him when he smiled at her like that.
If she hadn't held him mere minutes before as he shook, she would have thought the past fifteen minutes had never even occurred.
"That's not okay Helia." Her gaze was still transfixed on his face, searching for a crack in his facade, there wasn't one.
"Toast can never be bread again Muse."
It was instances like these that led her to wonder about Helia. What could compel a man to go against all of his fundamental beliefs, to dive into a world that stretched him to his limit in violence and war and chaos. It couldn't have all been for a girl.
More compelling still was the thought of what could lead a man to go against generations of tradition and legacy in the first place. To completely reject every aspect of it in favor of a life of pacifism. Being a specialist was in his blood, but maybe it wasn't the only thing.
She didn't have time to think on it. They had a crowd to settle.
She watched him stand, face and posture as calm as ever.
She accepted the hand he extended to her, a silent agreement solidified between them as he helped her up.
They would wait to tell the others.
"Let's go." He tilted his head in the general direction of their friends as he led her away.
"Helia." He looked back at her, still having not dropped her hand.
"If... If I see her again, I'm going to kill her." She stated it like a fact, because it was, there was no other future outcome she could process.
He looked at her for a moment, before tugging her along behind him.
"I know"
"How did she even get in there?"
"No idea, maybe we missed something." She was honestly too tired to even think about it anymore.
They were all gathered in the living area at the center of the house once again.
She ran them through everything that had happened the last few days, the girl, the walls, the pet cemetery where she stayed the night before, up to that girl finding her way into her bed.
Right under all their noses
She was exhausted but she knew she would find no peace of mind until she left the house.
For now all she could do was fidget with Flora's hand as she filled everyone in on what she knew.
"What are we going to do guys? The storm isn't letting up, the sisters are still missing and we're being hunted by an obsessed maniac."
Flora's question hung heavy in the air, everyone of course had an opinion but no solid plan of action.
It was Brandon who ultimately broke the silence.
"I think priority number one is findings Toya and Yaya, not only might they be in danger, but they might also have some information on what exactly is going on here."
"Doubtful" Layla huffed. "That younger sister gives me the creeps, and you can't deny it definitely felt like she knew more than she was letting on, with the way she scurried around the house glancing into rooms before opening them all the way. She knows something."
Stella's heels clicked the floor as she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, prompting the rest to do the same. Her tone was low, like she expected someone else to be listening in.
"Does anyone else find it off that they never seem to be around when something bad happens. This whole time that we've been frantically looking for Musa, the electricity outage, almost getting butchered by the girl in the walls, they been strangely absent from it all. What if the girl in the walls isn't the only one we should be looking out for. What if we were being played right from the start?"
"We can't rule it out." Timmy agreed.
"How long did they say they worked here?"
"They didn't." Timmy took a moment to remove his glasses, pressing the palms of his hands against his eyes to relieve some of the tension there."
This place was taking it's toll on everyone
"Truth be told we don't know anything about them, not anymore than what little they let on."
"Seems a bit suspect to me." Stella only confirmed what everyone was thinking.
"Hey guys?" Musa interrupted, it was pressing on her mind.
"Do you know where Riven and Sky are?" She would feel better having Riven at her side, back from wherever he got off to.
Almost as if on cue they heard a pair of footsteps coming from down the hall. They all quickly stood, already on edge.
Musa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding at the sight of the two specialists. However, she quickly reeled it back in at the sight of her boyfriend carrying an unconscious body over his shoulder.
"Toya! What happened to her?" A concerned Bloom rushed over to them.
"No idea, we found her like that, just sprawled out in the middle of one of the hallways." Sky offered in way of explanation. They looked tense.
"Here, set her down." Flora got to work adjusting the pillows on the couch before Riven set her down.
"I don't see anything wrong with her." Flora mumbled more to herself than to any of them as she looked over the younger girl.
"We'll just have to wait for her to wak-"
Just as she said the words a startling pain crashed through her skull sending her tumbling back against the wooden floor. It felt like what she imagined snorting lava would feel like.
Hmm, so that's what if felt like to get headbutted, not pleasant. She thought as she held her bleeding nose in shock.
Through blurry vision she could see Sky attempting to hold down a panicked Toya as she thrashed about. Her whole face hurt.
"I'm okay. I'm okay." She attempted to placate Helia as he helped her up, even as blood dripped into her mouth in the process. She needed a towel, thankfully Helia was already pressing what seemed to be someone's scarf to her nose.
"Chill the fuck out, it's just us!" She heard Riven yell to her right, effectively putting a stop to the girl's thrashing.
Toya's eyes scanned the room carefully, as she scooted to the very back of the couch, bringing her knees up with her.
She looked at them, not even pausing over Flora to ask if she was okay.
"What happened to you? Are you hurt?" Bloom asked, taking a seat next to the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder in the process.
"I remember turning the corner and then nothing." She mumbled, shrugging Blooms arm off of her.
"What were you doing? Where were you going exactly?" Nabu asked
"I don't have to tell you anything." She hissed. "What I need to do is find my sister and then kick you lot out as soon as daybreak hits. You've caused enough troubled."
"We have questions." Layla snapped. "And you're going to answer them whether you like it or not."
"I'd like to see you try." Her lip pulled up in a tight sneer, making the girl look almost otherworldly.
That look. Musa paused in mid-thought...suddenly it was like her vision tunneled and with it her throat, she was incapable of drawing a breath. Her entire body felt chilled from the inside out.
Her demeanor, her eyes, her goddamn smirk...but no, it couldn't be. There was just absolutely no way.
She was brought back from her spiral down the rabbit hole when a firm hand gripped her shoulder. It was only then she realized she was tilting, about to fall flat on her face if it weren't for the hand that reached out to steady her.
His expression was worried, hers must have been terrified.
He gave her a pressing look, which she responded to with a shake of her head, focusing back on the scene in front of her.
She did reach up to hold Riven's hand on her shoulder however, taking whatever comfort she could get at the moment. She had a really bad fuckin feeling.
"Listen Toya." Brandon leveled with her, coming down to just below her eye level as he sat on his hinges before her.
They all knew that smile. Brandon was about to lay down the charm and get exactly what he wanted. How couldn't he with those charming brown eyes, and a smile that just oozed charisma. They were all too familiar with the charade.
"Look Toya, we know you're scared, we're scared too, and I know you're worried about your sister. We want to help you, and Yaya. You're the only one here who knows anything about this place. We really need for you to work with us. It's the only way we're going to get out of here and find your sister before something really terrible happens. Be it to you or to us, or to her. We don't wanna see you get hurt Toya." He reached out slowly to take her hand, only half surprised when she let him.
Brown met black and he held her gaze for a long moment, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Let us help you." He pleaded with her.
The intensity in her eyes didn't let up as she took her time searching his face, tracing over the details there, slowly.
The room was tense as they held their breaths, waiting for her to say something, anything.
After what felt like minutes she finally leaned forward slowly, delivering in a low controlled voice, her verdict.
"I don't need your help."
It all happened so fast. The hand that Brandon had so graciously offered was suddenly pulled harshly forwards in her direction at the same time her foot came up to slam against his face, giving her enough momentum to flip back over the couch and make a bee line down one of the dark hallways.
"Snookums!" Stella quickly dropped to her knees examining the groaning specialist.
He sighed, knowing a broken nose when he felt one. With precision that only came with practice he quickly aligned it back into place. He couldn't risk not having it heal properly after all.
Stella blanched at the loud crack it made as it was set back, but quickly set to removing the thin cardigan she wore. It would work for the moment.
As the soft white material of her cardigan soaked red, she quickly decided she didn't even like it all that much anyways.
"Well fuck." Brandon sighed, pacing the room as the rest waited as patiently as they could for the specialists to return. As soon as Toya booked it, Riven, Sky, and Nabu were on her trail.
"It won't take them long to catch her." Timmy assured them.
"Still, I'm gonna go see where they went." Layla mumbled, skipping over Flora who was sitting by the foot of the couch.
"What! No, Layla seriously stay!" Musa stood as she yelled after her.
"It's fine!" She called over her shoulder to the music fairy.
"Really? Seriously dude!"
"Has everyone lost their damn minds?!" She asked
"In what universe is it okay for us to split up like this." She could feel the tears of frustration burning behind her eyes but she refused to give into it.
"Musa, calm down, I'm sure she'll be okay." Flora's voice was rough and nasally, a nasty bruise already forming on her usually flawless face.
She came to sit with her, easing the music fairy back on the couch. She held her hand as they waited, politely ignoring the slight tremble to them.
They didn't have to wait long. In what felt like no time at all the three remaining specialists came back down the hallway.
In a surprising turn of event, Sky had three long scratches coming down the side of his face and neck, which he was dabbing at with the sleeve of his shirt. They were deep, no doubt about that.
Nabu seemed to be holding the family jewels carefully as he made his way across the threshold back into the large living space. A grimus on his face. Riven's clothes looked stretch and out of place on his frame as he carried a thrashing Toya once again over his shoulder. His arm held both of her arms and her legs in place as she tried to desperately remove herself from his grasp.
With no regard for her comfort he tossed her back onto the couch.
"Stay put." He growled
"Fuck you!" She snapped, lashing out at the closest person she could.
Tecna saw it coming, easily dodging her flailing arms. Catching her shoulder, she used her own momentum against her.
She easily took hold of her right arm, slamming her hard into the hardwood floor. Her knee came down to press uncomfortably between her shoulder blades as she twisted her arm behind her, effectively halting the girl's movements all together.
"You're outnumbered. I'm giving you your only out. I can hand you over to Riven and Brandon, and they can take you to another room for a little chit-chat or you can sit your ass down and answer our questions. This is the only time I'm asking." Her voice was neutral, devoid of all emotion as she held the girl down. It was by far the most apathetic deliver many of them had heard in a long time. Icy was the only person they knew to even rival Tecna's level of indifference at times.
She fought for a moment, but all it took was Tecna applying pressure to her arm to get her to settle down once again.
After a minute or two she hissed out a "Fine"
Letting go she made sure to apply just slightly more pressure as she lifted herself up, as a reminder to not try anything.
With a killer glare the dark-haired girl climbed back onto the couch, this time sitting formally but rigidly.
"I'm cold, can I at least go get a jacket?"
The quick pull of a zipper was heard as Riven tossed his hoodie over to the girl. She scrutinized it with distaste before enthusiastically pulling it over her shoulders.
"Who is the girl in the walls?" Musa asked
"You know that." She rolled her eyes at her.
"We don't know shi-
"Tell you what, let's play a game." She smiled
"A what?" They murmured, had she lost her mind too?
"A game." She looked even more amused this time, pulling the large hood of the jacket over her head. They suddenly got the feeling they weren't as in control as they thought.
"We're not here to play games." Musa hissed
"I'll play with one of you, only one of you." She kept going
"We are not playing a game with you!" Stella yelled, agitated beyond words at the moment. Not only did this bitch knock her boyfriend on his ass, but now she was being difficult when she should have been an asset to them.
"Oh, but you are sweetheart. You see, there seems to be one of you missing and unless you want bad things to happen to said person, I suggest you simmer down and get ready to play a game."
"Layla." Musa groaned, dropping her head into her hands.
"Where is she?!" Nabu was halfway across the room before he even finished his sentence.
"Hey now!" Toya jumped up on the couch as she held her arm out if front of her, halting the specialist in his tracks.
"She's safe…for now." She shrugged, dropping back into a sitting position. "Keep in mind though the second I decide to scream, I can't guarantee her safety."
"You tell me where she is right now, or so help me you won't be able to scream."
"Temper, keep that in check, now….eenie" She looked around the room, pointing a finger a Stella.
"meenie" Brandon.
"miney" Sky
"mo" Bloom
"catch a" Timmy
"tiger by" Tecna
"the toe" Flora
"if he" Helia
"hollers" Nabu
"let him" Musa
"go" Riven
"eenie" Helia
"meenie" Flora
"miney" Tecna
"Mo" Timmy
"Name?" She stared down her victim.
"Timmy" He answers, facing her head on. "...but you knew that."
She grinned, confirming what he said."Okay Timmy, let's play. For every question you ask me, I get to ask you one in return. Here's the kicker though, you only have 30 minutes to get the answers you want. After that you have to let me go."
"Why would we do that?" Sky asked
"Well, that's assuming you don't want your friend hurt." She smiled condescendingly at the prince
"How do we even know you have her?" Riven asked
"I guess that's a risk you're just going to have to take, no?" She looked at them expectantly, knowing already that they would bend to her. There was no way they would leave their friend out to dry, if what she gathered from the past week was any indication. They were all a lot darker, and smarter than she originally assumed, but they were loyal, and that was her in.
After what felt like minutes, Timmy finally spoke for the group, having made eye contact with each of it's members before giving his verdict.
"We'll play your game." He announced, taking a seat directly across from her on the small coffee table that separated them.
"Excellent, give me your phone." She smiled, reaching her hand out to take his device.
He gave it up reluctantly, watching as she set a timer for thirty minutes, placing it next to him on the coffee table.
"I'll go first, where are you from? You're obviously not from around here, American perhaps, but there's something about you I just can't quite place." Her eyes held a hint of curiosity, and that was his in.
"First generation American, my parents migrated to the states in their teens from Italy." He lied easily.
"And the rest?" She gestured across the room.
"That's two questions." He leveled his gaze with hers.
She looked at him hard before relenting. She really didn't care that much.
"Fine, your turn."
"Who's the girl in the walls?" He asked.
"You really don't know?"
"It's my turn to ask a question." He reminded her
"Fine. She's Janeks' inbred daughter. As it turns out Jankes' daughter did hang herself, but not before giving birth to their daughter. Janeks was never much of a nurturer you see, so he lied to the authorities and told the police the baby died during childbirth, and that was why his daughter hung herself. He watched after the girl for some time, but as soon as the girl was old enough to walk, he locked her in the walls. He fed her on occasion, but not much else. Turns out she wasn't bad company however, you just had to get to know her.
Good thing my mother was employed here before I was. I spent a good deal of my childhood here. It's crazy how much adults, and even your own sister will chalk up to 'imaginary friends." She smiled.
"Figured as much, ask your question." He nodded it over, having concluded just about that
"What do you do for a living?" She asked
"We're college students." He shrugged, it was true enough
"Pretty well-off college students then." This mansion wasn't cheap, not in the slightest.
"Some of our parents do pretty well for themselves." The screen had gone dark on his phone, but he estimated about six or seven minutes had passed.
"Must be nice." She smiled bitterly
"Must be." He agreed, he wouldn't know.
Sitting back, he fixed her with a slightly amused look before asking,
"Where's your sister Toya?"
"What do you mean?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"It just seems to me that having a group look for your sister might speed up the progress, if you really were worried, and that's exactly what we offered you."
"You don't know the place. You'd get lost."
"We're not that incompetent, you're hiding something. Either your sister is in on it or you did something to her."
Musa's blood froze, her hand slipped from Riven's in her shock. Could it really have been Toya who mutilated her own sister? Why hadn't the though crossed her mind before? She chanced a look at Helia. He gave nothing away, no indication that he knew anything or that he knew she was staring. If she ever felt envy in her life, it didn't compare to that moment.
"She's here, somewhere. Where? I don't know anymore." She pressed her lips together in distaste.
"Did you hurt her, Toya?"
"She's incapable of hurt, the girl's a psychopath."
"She seemed friendly."
"She is friendly, always, because that's the façade she built. She's never not friendly, it's a conscious choice, doesn't mean she capable of feeling. She simply is. Not every monster is out to get you."
"I might beg a differ."
"That was two questions. You owe me two."
"You answered neither of my questions."
"What military are you a part of?" She blew past his words.
"What?" He blinked
"You're trained, your postures alone give you all away. The clenching and unclenching of your muscles at the slam of a door, the shift of a chair. Your eyes scan the room periodically, there's no off switch for it, is there Timmy? I know a soldier when I see one. My father was ex-military." She smiled smugly.
"We met in high school, young cadets, the scholarships were good." He shrugged. "But like I said we're in college at the moment."
"Your eyes tell me your training extends outside the classroom." Her eyes turned to scan the rest of the specialist, boldly staring them in the eyes as if to solidify her point. "but lie if you want." She shrugged.
"I doubt my eyes have much to say on the matter, on any matter really." Maybe she really did see something, but it could just as easily be a psych tactic, he was no stranger to those. He used them regularly enough, convince people you can read them, and suddenly you can.
"Hmm, it might be my turn to beg a differ." She smiled, leaning back comfortably in her seat.
The blaring of the timer brought them out of the standstill that seemed to befall the room. Check and mate.
Plucking the phone off the table she slid her finger across the screen in an exaggerated manner before tossing it back to the specialist.
"Why are you doing this, really?" He asked. It wasn't often he was generally curious anymore.
"Why does anyone do anything?" She shrugged. "We're bored and come now, no one's really figured out how to live this life yet. Just doing what feels good I guess."
"For the record you were a much funner bunch than the one before you. It's a pity Mandy seemed to take a special liking to one of you." Her head tilted in Musa's direction, a look of annoyance crossing her face. Musa couldn't begin to describe the indignation she felt at that. In what universe was her terror an inconvenience to someone's sick form of amusement.
"We could have extended your stay otherwise." She went back to acknowledging them as a whole.
"What bunch before us?" Riven's hands gripped the loveseat tightly, distain painted on his face like a permanent fixture.
"Which one, there's been plenty. All young, all out to have a good time, all naïve and unsuspecting. It's almost too easy." She sighed.
"What did you do to them?" Bloom's temper spiked her words. She was on her feet before she could even finish her sentence. It was her idea to come here. Did she really put her friends in danger once again, was there anything she could do that didn't endanger the wellbeing of those closest to her?
Her hands trembled in rage as she made a grab for the girl. Almost effectively grabbing her if it wasn't for Flora pulling her back. She wrapped her arms around her, preventing the Sparks fairy from lashing out.
They still needed answers and more importantly they needed Layla.
"You're going to pay for that." Bloom seethed
"That's fine, but talk is cheap girly and I haven't lost this game yet." She smiled still.
"What do you mean that's fine?! Bitch you just lost!" Stella was livid struggling against Brandon's hold on her arm.
"I wouldn't be so sure." She smiled wider
"You just admitted to hurting the pass guests you had here, as well as letting that thing run free!" Seriously, the nerve of this girl! If she could strangle her, she would, fuck her manicure.
"But you knew that already, didn't you Timmy?" She turned to address the specialist once more, completely ignoring the Solarian fairy. He seemed to be the only person she had any real interest in.
"What game are you really playing, Toya?" He didn't seem at all surprised by her sudden good mood.
"A fun one I promise!" She laughed. "I just have one more question for you." She winked.
"You have our attention." He answered her calmly.
"I mean this game was fun and all, but did you ever stop to think why I needed you to wait thirty minutes?" Her sudden giddiness didn't go unnoticed by them as her eyes blinked up at him in a childlike manner.
The room fell silent.
"You were stalling." He tried to sound unphased, because to an extent he knew. He just didn't like the confirmation.
The lights in the room did nothing to ward off the feeling of dread that overcame the group.
There was a click and then a creak.
The opening of the main door didn't startle them, they've been in crescendos before.
On their feet they braced themselves for what was on the other side. The rain made it hard to see but there was no mistaking the four pairs of combat boots that leisurely strolled through the door, and the one pair that was dragged.
Thunder struck ominously, illuminating their visitors in dark shadows. They expected nothing less, the theatrics at least never failed them.
Musa took a moment to scrutinize the four men that walked in. They were all tall, two lanky but not lacking in muscle, two built like they earned it. Their clothes were dirty, covered in mud and wet from the rain. They wore baseball caps, except for the one in the middle that wore something more similar to a cowboy hat, his long leather jacket falling past his knees.
What held her attention most though wasn't their strides, like their cocks were too big to fit in their pants. Confidence like that was not built over night, the sureness of their presence was suffocating.
Nor was it the shiny barrels of the guns they held over their shoulders.
What pinned Musa to the spot she stood on was the look on their faces. The giddiness, the look of excitement and glee that penetrated their features. Like it was out of their spectrum of self-control to contain, it oozed out of their pores and cloaked them in a crazed haze. They were driven by it, beckoned by it, a slave to their primal needs to feel something.
Musa felt her feet backpedal, her terror taking over for her. She didn't care about the unconscious Layla who had unceremoniously been dragged through the door and deposited at their feet. She didn't care about her friends that surrounded her. All her psyche was telling her to do was run, her fight or flight instinct took over and it chose flight, flight with no hesitation.
She could see it. She could feel it, they wanted to do bad things to them, they were going to do bad things to them, and they were going to enjoy every second of it.
They weren't just going to enjoy it either, they were going to love it.
She backed into Riven, but she didn't stop, not even when he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his side.
She shook her head, tugging at his shirt, looking up at him with tear filled eyes. They needed to go, they had to put as much distance between themselves and these psychopaths.
He didn't budge, she didn't think he would. With the last of her pride shaken she wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face into his side, hellbent on tuning the world out from this moment on. She was done being brave, what happened happened.
There was a slight disturbance in the calm before the storm as Ophir dropped to his knees to examine the Tide's fairy. His hands shook in anticipation and rage and Sky was sure his own gag reflex was working overtime as he tried to swallow his own mix of emotions.
Dark eyes scanned the room before the clearing of a throat thundered through it.
"Now I'm sure all you fine folk must be wondering why we've gathered here tonight." The oldest of the group addressed them like a mayor might greet the townspeople, full of mirth and charisma. His excitement was unwavering.
Sky took the reins, stepping forward for the group. They weren't outnumbered but they were definitely at a disadvantage when it came to weapons. Diplomacy was his strong suit, time to put it into practice.
"We might feel incline to take you up on that explanation."
"Hmm, fancy college boy."
The disgusting smile that spread across his face as his eyes roamed his frame was enough to make Sky grit his teeth in agitation.
"What do you want?" His tone was bored, like it was just one more thing to add to his list to do.
"It's simple, we're going to play a little game. The best of games." It didn't go unnoticed how the remaining members of the group seemed to bouncy on the balls of their feet at that. The anticipation was eating at them.
"That would be the second game we play tonight, and if you were the prize for the first, we're going to have to decline your offer for a second one."
"You say that like you got a choice boy." Leather jacket spat what he could only assume was chewing tobacco at his feet, before pushing the tip of his hat back with the tip of his rifle. That damn smile never leaving his face.
"Choices, seems to me that's all we ever have. Some just happen to have nicer outcomes than others." He was willing to talk, that was good, it gave them time if nothing else. Sky had never been more grateful for his inability to sweat easily.
"I'll give you two." Sky smiled to himself like they were discussing dinner plans for the evening and not a possible bloodbath.
"You and your buddies can either drop your weapons and surrender or you could point one of those barrels at us and find out exactly who we are."
"Hahaha, boys got spunk y'all." Leather jacket wheezed around the wad in his mouth. The amusement never leaving his face, even as spit dribbled down his chin and into his beard. "Now then who exactly do you claim to be young man, because from where I'm standing you don't look like much more than a good game to me."
"Looks can be deceiving, all I know is there are about four of us standing between you and your daughter at the moment."
"How did you know-
"I know ex-military when I see it." It was Sky's turn to size him up, scuffing lightly at the end of his examination.
Cowboy hat scuffed, annoyance crossing his face for a moment.
"Toya, come here." The mirth in his eyes disappeared for a fraction of a second, as he lifted the barrel of his gun to point at those around him.
"Are you sure you want to chance that?"
"Now, Toya." His voice was low but not sounding entirely troubled.
Taking a cautious look around the room Toya leisurely made her way off the couch, and chanced a step in his direction.
It happened so fast, even Sky didn't fully register Helia's movements as he simultaneously pulled Toya in while brandishing a knife out of his pocket to press against her jugular. The girl's eyes widened as she felt the full intent of his threat against her throat. He wasn't bluffing.
"Now, you let her go boy, if you know what's good for you." The old bastard still seemed amused, and judging by the look on Toya's face, she herself wasn't sure how much of a bargaining chip she really was.
Helia said nothing as he held the girl firmly in place. He wasn't much up to talking at the moment.
"I believe we were discussing choices." Sky brought their attention back to him.
"I believe we were." They moved for the first time, standing about five apart from each other. The way their eyes crawled over them made their stomachs turn in disgust. They weren't animals, but it felt a lot like what a chicken would feel like standing in it's pin when the farmer came around dinnertime.
"Choosing which one of you lovely ladies to pick off first will be hard, but then we can finally have some fun boys." His voice sounded loudly throughout the room, raising their anxiety as all their stances instantly shifted to defense mode.
"The rules are simple, all you gotta do is survive. That's it. Now, who's ready to play… the most dangerous game?"
"Fuck you." Riven spat, pushing the music fairy behind him as he pulled his own weapon from his back pocket. They might not have the weaponry they were used to but they all carried at least something on them, just in case.
"Let's play." And with that there was a distinct click as the lights went out and a shot rang loud. Toya's cry also rang as Helia brought his knife down hard into her shoulder.
It was chaos as a powerful round of bullets came raining down on them.
Musa struggled to breath, grabbing onto Riven as he moved her faster than she could think. The thick, suffocating smoke that was produced from a series of can like objects made loud clanking noises as they rolled on the ground. They burned her throat and caused her eyes to water.
"Smoke bombs!" She heard Ophir yell from somewhere to her right. She could barely hear over the ringing in her ears though and attempted to keep as low to the ground behind the couch as possible. Riven rolled over her in the initial scramble, shielding her body against the onslaught. She winced as her previous injuries were scraped against the hard floor but it was the least of her worries.
She wasn't too familiar with guns, at least not the earth kind but she knew better than to try to get up at the moment. She was confused and terrified but she wasn't deaf. She could hear Stella desperately screaming out Brandon's name, begging him to stay awake.
Her stomach churned at the implication, bile climbing up her throat. Brandon had been shot.
"Shit!"
She turned, made a desperate grab for him, but Riven was already rounding the couch, scrambling to get over to where Brandon and Stella were. His curse scraping her ears in a panicked tone.
She could still hear the distinct whoosh of bullets flying by, her heart racing with them. She tried desperately to see where he had gone, if he got to them, but finding Riven in the chaos was an impossible task. He left her and it fucken hurt to know, but she didn't fault him for it, just felt it.
She did notice however a pair of ghostly feet making their way towards her. It was disorienting how everything went from a mile a minute to slow motion in the span of seconds.
She scooted back as much as she could, but the couch that was previously her shield suddenly became her barrier.
Musa hardly flinched as she watched through irritated red eyes as a pale white hand reached out to her, just as her assailant simultaneously dropped to her knees. The were right in each other's lines of vision, Musa could only imagine what she looked like to her.
The knife the pale white hand held came down hard, catching her right in the shoulder as she narrowly managed to avoid it making contact with her face.
She hissed but held steady, using everything in her adrenaline filled state to not allow the girl in the walls to pull it back out.
Using her feet to stomp her right in the chest she made sure to hold the knife steady. It was her only chance now.
Somehow, she managed it. The girl in the walls went tumbling back, leaving the knife behind in her shoulder. She could hear commotion behind her, fists hitting flesh, bullets popping off and the panicked screams of her friends, but it was like being in a dream like state.
A dream in which she was ripping the knife out of her shoulder and easily bringing it down on her assailant. She managed to catch her in the ribs, once and then twice before she was knocked back.
The pain was overwhelming, it made her head spin and teeth clench to the point she was sure something would crack. The girl in the walls pressed painfully against her shoulder as her free hand swung wildly in a fist, knocking Musa's head from side to side. The knife was still gripped tightly in her hand, and she used whatever strength she had left to bring it up in two sharp thrust, barely catching the girl in the back.
She was so tired now, and her head hurt, her vision was blurring and there was an incessive ringing in her ears.
She felt a hand claw its way into her hair, pulling harshly against the strands, baring her neck to everyone present.
Her breath hitched as she watched the girl in the walls bare her teeth, sharp canines covered in blood slowly descended upon her. Musa's throat was suddenly no different than the underbelly of the rat she'd chosen as prey a mere day ago.
Her arm came up to swat at the girl, but even she could feel there was no longer any strength behind her hits. The knife slipped from her hand as blood slickened her grip from where it ran down her arm.
They say you go numb when you're reaching your end, but frankly she felt it all. It hurt, it stung, it burned.
She felt the girl's nails, her hair, her cold skin, even her wet breath on her neck. It didn't fade away. It was all she felt, all she thought about, not her friends, not her parents, just fear and pain.
It was fuzzy coming to.
There was so much happening. She didn't know where to focus her eyes, or even if she could focus her eyes.
She was hit pretty hard over the head but she managed to give Timmy enough of an opening to unarm one of the men and successfully subdue him.
With shaky arms Flora managed to crawl herself across the room, narrowly avoiding the fight between Sky and the leader of the pack. The resemblance to a cage fight was uncanny, she didn't think she'd ever seen two people bleed so much. It was barbaric, flesh hitting flesh the sound echoed in her head, but that didn't matter. She had to get to Musa. She had to help her.
Out of the crossfires she scrambled to her feet, using all the momentum the five feet of space between her and the girl allowed. She slammed into her as hard as she could, effectively getting her off the music fairy. They rolled and thankfully landed far enough apart that she was able to chance a look back at Musa.
She wasn't moving and that terrified her. Thankfully Tecna was by her side within seconds, having gotten to her as well.
Turning back around Flora focused on the girl in the walls. She was covered in blood and her dress had so many tears in it that it barely clung to her skeleton like frame anymore. Her arms shook as she tried to get herself back up but she was beaten and tired and that gave Flora the perfect opportunity. It was easy coming up behind the girl, putting her in a chokehold was even easier. Her arms barely swatted hers as she applied pressure against her neck. Flora knew it wouldn't take long for her to lose consciousness and as long as she let go shortly after the girl should wake up within a short period of time.
She would need to get to a hospital soon however, as her other injuries looked pretty serious. Flora felt her go limp in her arms and managed to tie her hands together using the belt she wore, she used her long headband around her ankles.
In what felt like a shock to her system the lights came back on, the brightness hurt her head as she surveyed the room. Tears sprung to her eyes as she took in the damage.
Sky was on his hands and knees, panting in an attempt to catch his breath. Blood dripped down his face and he spat red with every outtake of breath. Toya's father was a bloody mess just a foot away from him, unconscious, or so she hoped.
Brandon was motionless on the ground as Riven desperately attempted CPR on the ailing specialist. A bloody knife and what Flora assumed was a bullet laid next to him. She figured Riven was able to get it out, but the stillness of the young specialist terrified her. Stella was quiet, deadly quiet as she watched the magenta haired specialist attempt to resuscitate her boyfriend. She held Riven's shirt tightly against Brandon's abdomen in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but the shirt was soaked through. Her eyes were void, was she even there?
Layla was still unconscious, Nabu a few feet away from her, sporting what very much looked like a broken arm, another body lied motionless near him. She didn't miss the bullet wounds that exited the man's body.
A bruised looking Bloom was helping Helia stand, it seemed he might have taken a bullet to the leg. Toya laid at his feet, blood pooled around her from her shoulder wound.
The whole living space was a mess of unconscious bodies and ruined furniture. If she was a lesser person she would have blacked out as well, but for the moment she settled with the tears streaming down her face. It was quiet with the exception of heavy breathing and groans of pain. It was hard to speak, she almost thought she was hallucinating when she saw the red and blue lights streaming through the windows. A siren sounded and she was once again terrified. Was it help or more people out to hurt them?
Her questions were answered fairly quickly as uniformed officers rushed through the front door.
"Hands up!"
She didn't hesitate, shakily raising her hands, relief flooded her system.
"Holy shit, what happened here?" She heard one whisper. It must have been one hell of a scene. She almost wanted to laugh, if only they knew.
The following weeks went by in a blur of hospital visits and police stations. Half of them were in the hospital, all of them being interrogated. They had nothing to hide, other than perhaps their identities, but a fake id wasn't hard to score if you were Tecna or Timmy.
The details of what actually happened were pieced together fairly quickly after that. With the number of disappearances around the area it only made sense that the authorities would come knocking sooner or later.
They were just thankful one of the park rangers watching over the area found it suspicious that a few pickup trucks were headed up the valley in the unsafe weather conditions. It was mere luck he decided to make the call for a small rescue team to be put on standby in case things went south. He himself decided to follow close behind, but upon seeing the weapons and apprehension of a young women that call quickly became a distress call.
Being back in Magixs was liberating, after having to suffer through what earth called modern medicine. Stepping into the school infirmary and getting zapped back to full health was a blessing. Flora really felt thankful for the first time in a long time, having gotten a little use to her privilege.
She was worried however. They all went through one hell of an ordeal and as much as she would like to say it made them stronger as a unit, it would be an outright lie. They hadn't really spoken much to each other since the whole thing went down. Stella went home and stayed there. No one had heard from her in weeks, with the exception of the one word replies to their texts that she would send.
Brandon was in a magic induced coma while his body healed. The specialist was pretty much pronounced dead at the scene, but his recovery was a sure thing now. He wasn't scheduled to wake up until next week however. They just had to wait.
Musa was around, but quiet. She met where they met, ate and drank with them but she never seemed entirely present. Riven wasn't around, not around her at least.
Helia mentioned to her in confidence that Riven wasn't sleeping, not in their shared dorm as far as he could tell. Like Musa he was making his rounds but something was off. His friends could feel it in his detachment.
Thankfully the rest of the group seemed relatively unscathed. Bloom kept apologizing for putting them in danger, but that wasn't new territory for any of them. This wasn't her fault; how could it possibly be her fault? She took too much credit.
Sky once healed seemed to be back to his cheerful, optimistic self. A little paranoid perhaps, as he seemed to be attached to Bloom at the hip, but fine overall. Nabu and Layla decided to head home together for a couple of weeks, to be in the comfort of their own realm. They seemed well enough, both still cheeky and charismatic in their own right. Tecna and Timmy were business as usual.
Helia was his usual self, smiling and offering guidance, if not a little more doting to her needs than usual. She herself felt relatively fine all things considered.
What really weighed on her mind though was Musa. The girl went through hell the last few weeks, and the way she just seemed to brush it all off, it wasn't normal, certainly not healthy.
She didn't want to talk and Flora understood that, of course she did, but she had faith in her coaxing skills. Getting the music fairy to talk was priority one for the night.
Closing the journal on her bed she made the short trek across the suite to Musa's room. She hadn't seen her all day, but it was only eight. The girl should still be awake.
She knocked gently, alerting the Music Fairy to her presence. She waited a minute with little luck before knocking again.
"Musa? It's Flora, sweetie." She got no response, which didn't surprise her, but she wasn't giving up that easily.
Bracing herself she knocked again, a little more assertive than the first few times.
It took a minute, but she finally heard the click of the lock, another habit they all seemed to pick up since their 'vacation.'
"What do you want Flora?" The door swung open, a bit more aggressively than she had anticipated. The agitation in the shorter girl's voice was palpable, but what caught her attention more was the shirt she was wearing. The only thing she was wearing. It certainly didn't belong to her, she'd seen it enough times on Riven to know. Her hair was a mess, tied into a messy bun on top her head. Her eyes were red and her feet were bare. Musa was tired and it showed.
"Musa, hey, do you have a minute to talk?" She mustered the friendliest smile she could.
"I'm kinda tired Flo." She seemed to bounce on the tips of her feet, like she was anxious to get back into the confinement of her room.
"It'll only take a minute. You seem stressed, are you okay?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She rolled her eyes "I'm fine Flora, reeally." She stressed the word, before cracking a smile good naturedly. Flora wasn't fooled.
"Well, can I come in?" She asked, looking pass her shoulder. She knew he was in there, seeing Riven fast asleep on her bed was a good sign at least. Getting Musa alone was her goal however and she had no qualms going in to coax her out.
Musa looked at her hard for a second. "We can talk out here." She relented, closing the door behind her.
Walking into the communal area they both took a seat on the couch, Musa on the very edge as she fidgeted with her hands.
"How are you?" Flora reached out placing a warm hand over hers to steady them.
"I'm doing swell." She sighed, not looking forward to this conversation.
"Is that so?" She frowned. Musa just nodded like she wasn't even paying attention.
"Musa, anyone can look at you and see you're not okay."
"Well what do you want me to say Flo, I'm sorry? It's not like I almost died, blacked out, woke up in an ambulance to someone zapping me, before waking up a week later to feds and therapist asking me about things I had no fuckin clue about." She said through gritted teeth. Pulling her hand out of Flora's she chose to cross them tightly against her chest instead, slouching back into the couch.
"Musa, no one's blaming you for feeling the way you feel. It's not your fault." She assured her.
"That's the thing Flora, I know that. I'm dealing. I just hate the dark and I'm angry, give it a month or two. It'll fade." She said, simple as that.
"You can talk about-
"I really don't want to Flo." Musa rubbed her face in agitation, and Flora could see she was moments away from leaving her sitting on the couch alone.
"Okay okay then, we don't have to." She reassured her.
"Let's talk about something else, like you and Riven."
"What about us?" She shrugged, her exhaustion making her a little less willing to pick a fight. Maybe if she just went along with it, she could convince Flora things were fine and once again try to get some sleep.
"I haven't seen the two of you together recently. If I didn't know any better, I would say you're avoiding one another."
"He's in my room." She stated the obvious
"During daylight hours." Flora specified, giving her a teasing smile as she looked her over once again.
"What can I say, he puts me to sleep." She seemed to shy away at that, but not out of embarrassment, it was something else.
"Is he okay?" She asked.
Musa nodded, staring off into one of the corners of the room.
"Musa, whatever is going on you can talk to me. I would never judge you or repeat any of it."
"I know." She mumbled, before sighing and giving Flora a somewhat mean glare.
"If I tell you what's on my mind do you promise to let me handle it. You won't try to fix it." She asked.
"Musa, I only want to help."
"You can help by listening, that's all I need you to do." She interrupted the nature fairy.
"I promise Musa, I won't meddle." She wasn't particularly fond of the idea of doing nothing, but she understood and respected the music fairy enough to do as she asked.
Musa took a second to judge the sincerity of her voice before nodding to herself. She could do this, she could let Flora in.
"I can't sleep." She sighed
"Nightmares?"
"Yeah." She nodded
"That's not surprising, considering what you went through."
"That's not the worse part." Musa looked exasperated as she blinked back tears.
"I need him to sleep." Flora nodded, knowing how hard this was for her.
"I don't like needing him. I like wanting him, but not needing, and it sucks Flo. It fuckin sucks. It really does because I'm angry, but not at him, at myself. I know that, but when I feel it, when it comes out it's at him." She looked at her through teary eyes and Flora could almost not resist the urge to pull her into a hug, but she doubted the music fairy would continue if she did that.
Instead she curled her fingers into her palm and attempted to keep her emotions in check for the both of them. Her friend was hurting and as much as she would like to share her burden she first and foremost had to be the support she needed.
"I'm a horrible person. He saved Brandon's life, but all I can selfishly feel is abandonment. He's a hero, he saves people and he's good at it…but…but I… stupid as it is to admit, needed him too and he wasn't there." She sniffled, the tears finally falling.
"What is wrong with me? I don't need saving, so why do I feel cheated? Why am I angry at the wrong person?" She asked
This time she didn't hesitate to pull the girl to her. "Musa you almost died, a deranged girl almost killed you. You're allowed to be angry, you're allowed to feel whatever you feel."
"I can't look at him without wanting to fight him, without being a downright bitch to him." She struggled to get her words out as she sobbed.
"The worse part is that he just takes it, like he deserves it or something. He doesn't deserve it Flora, but he thinks he does!"
"And I…I just can't seem to stop myself." She finished
"Oh, Musa it's okay." She pulled her even closer, laying her cheek on top her head.
"It's over now. You're here, you're safe, you're home."
"I don't feel it. I feel miserable. I almost killed her Flora." She sighed, wiping her face with sleeve of the shirt she was wearing.
"You protected yourself, that's expected. Your anger is expected, but like you said your current target may not be so deserving of it." Flora spoke softly.
Musa nodded, seemingly out of words for the moment.
"You're aware of how you feel, and you know it's misguided, that's good. You're in control of your feelings. Take control. Don't let them keep winning, they've done enough to us." She clenched her hands in anger, referring to the people on the hilltop.
"Take control." Musa nodded, a look of clarity flashing in her eyes.
"Talk to him, tell him how you feel. You're not weak for feeling it. I'm sure he'll understand." Flora coaxed her.
"He'll think I'm selfish, worse… heartless." Musa's voice was hollow but her eyes showed worry.
"You love him. You couldn't be heartless." Flora smiled, this was progress, she could tell.
Musa was quiet for a long time, nodding her head ever so often. Flora wished she could hear whatever internal monologue she was having with herself, but she wasn't selfish enough to intrude. Shifting, Musa turned to face her fully, taking her hand in hers, a sad look of contempt on her face.
"It's really over?" She asked
"Yes Musa, it's over." Flora smiled.
It's over everyone.
Thank you for your time.
Please stay happy.