Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a new chapter of The Raven and the Lion, #35: Blood Oath. So I'm pretty sure my last chapter caused wars in the fandom of Ness x Lucas and now has everyone rising in multitude armies of hate against Shulk, but I proclaim to you all that it shall be defeated, you will all come to love me and this story, YES! *clears throat* Ahem, sorry about that, don't know what got into me. Anyways... you will probably want to rip me apart is the better term. Enjoy the chapter!
"No. Don't say that. Nathaniel, don't you dare-"
Shulk interrupted, making a tsk, tsk noise with his tongue. "Now, now, Lucas. I would have thought you more sentimental. No 'I love you'? No, 'I can't live without you'? How disappointing."
Ness closed his eyes, swallowing hard as he tried to keep himself from crying. He wouldn't let his boyfriend hear him cry. He wouldn't give the evil blonde any more fucking pleasure than he was already getting from this. No, if this was going to be his last few moments on earth, he wasn't going to spend them looking at Shulk's ugly ass face. If he closed his eyes just tight enough, he could picture Lucas, with one of his million dollar smiles.
"I'm sorry, Ness, that things had to end this way between us. You really are quite an attractive boy. Perhaps, in another life, things could have worked between us."
"Go to hell!" the raven haired boy muttered, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to force the sound of the construction worker's voice from his mind.
"Oh don't worry, I'll meet you there eventually."
Bracing himself, Ness's eyes flew open as he recognized a voice that he never thought he'd be glad to hear.
"Surprise!"
Ness's gaze drifted past Shulk, connecting with Red's for a second and then registering the fact that the guy had a gun leveled at the blonde's head.
"Bet you didn't see this one coming you twisted little fucker. You think you can get away with raping this pathetic little shit? Wrong. See, you seem to have forgotten one thing. My brother and I, we look out for each other. And, unfortunately for you, this kid you're about to rape is hella important to him. So, here's the deal. You drop the gun and do as I say, and I won't blow your fucking brains out."
Shulk's eyes narrowed, his face twitching slightly as he hesitated.
"So, this is what you've elected, is it? Very well. I was actually sparing you in a way, Nathaniel. I assure you, there are things much worse than death, and you will learn so soon enough."
Finally, he lowered the gun, dropping it to the ground before stepping back.
"Yeah, that's right. Nice n' easy there. Now this is what I want you to do. Take your sorry ass home, and leave the three of us the fuck alone. I'm not all too fond of the idea of wasting the rest of my future on a shithead like you, but don't think I won't go to jail for my brother. I will, in a heartbeat. And it doesn't hurt that I have my own little grudge to settle with you."
Staring down the trigger of Red's gun, the construction worker dropped Ness's phone, slowly easing his way back into the darkness. The rescuer followed him all the way down the street, making sure he actually left before returning to the waiter's side.
Ness slumped against the wall, feeling his legs give out on him as he slid to the ground. What the hell just happened? Shakily, he reached forward, grabbing hold of the phone and holding it up to his ear the best he could.
"Lucas?"
Cursing inwardly, Ness realized the other line had gone dead. Shulk must've hit something when he dropped the phone and cut the connection. And fuck. He was shaking so bad he couldn't even dial his boyfriend's phone number. He kept hitting the wrong god damn buttons and having to start over.
"Here."
Ness jumped, snapping his head up and jolting slightly as he met Red's gaze. Lord, he was jumpy.
"Whoa there. Take it easy."
For the first time, the brown haired kid actually sounded empathetic, almost compassionate. Maybe it was just the adrenaline and shit still fucking with his mind. Yeah, that had to be it.
Kneeling down, Red gently pried the phone from Ness's hands, dialing the only number he knew the kid would be trying to punch in at a time like this.
"Luke… yeah, this is Red. He's fine… you can talk to him in minute… I got here just in time... yeah, he's gone… no, he didn't get to do anything to him… yeah, here he is."
Extending a shaky hand, Ness was barely able to keep the phone pressed to his ear.
"H-hello?"
He was surprised to find Lucas's voice was even more shaky and raspy than his own, his words cracking as he spoke.
"Nathniel. Oh g-od, Nathaniel."
"I'm alright. I'm fine. I promise. I'm okay." It probably would've helped if he didn't sound so god damn shook up.
"He didn't get to do anything, did he? Please tell me he didn't-"
"No. No. Your brother got here in time."
The jock let out a strangled sigh, though it was definitely far from portraying any sort of relief.
"Lucas, I-"
"I'm on my way back now. I want you to go to the hospital and get checked out just in case, Nathaniel."
"Dude, he didn't get to do anything. Really. He just-"
"Please," There was a slight pause, one that made Ness realize that even though the event itself was over, the repercussions sure as hell weren't. "Please, Nathaniel. Just in case."
The raven haired boy bit down on his lip, knowing that right about now he'd agree to just about anything to get rid of the horrible strain in his boyfriend's voice.
"Alright. I will. I promise."
"And have Red come with you. I want him with you at all times until I get back."
Ness hesitated, not wanting to hang up on Lucas. Even hearing his voice like this was helping. He felt less shaky, safer. "Do you want to talk to him?"
He could hear the same hesitation in the blonde's voice, as if he needed to hear Ness's to make sure he was actually alright. Finally, though, he forced the words out, each one coming out rougher than a mouthful of razorblades.
"Yes. I should."
Slowly handing the phone back to Red, Ness could feel his whole body finally going limp, acknowledging the fact that it had somehow made it out of his little encounter with Shulk alive. He'd been sure he was going to die. He'd gone through the whole process, weighing out the choices he'd made in his life, acknowledging what he'd miss most, the things and people he'd be leaving behind.
Funny, the whole reason he'd been staring down the barrel of Shulk's gun was the one thing he hadn't been able to accept leaving behind. And, even worse, he couldn't bring himself to regret any of the choices he'd made to bring him to this point. If he could go back in time, yeah, he'd probably change few things, like making peace with Nana sooner and stupid shit like that. With Lucas, though, he wouldn't change a thing. Which, he supposed, meant he'd end up in exactly the same place. The thing was, in his life before all this, he'd just been existing. He hadn't been living, not really. But with the blonde, yeah, things got a hell of a lot more complicated, and he ran the risk of getting the ride cut short, but with him he was actually living. He'd take a little piece of heaven over a whole lot of nothing any day, hands down.
Closing his eyes, Ness could feel what was left of his strength slip away, his body giving in to the stress induced exhaustion that had taken hold of it. He tried to stay awake, he really did, but going through what he just had had had seeped up every ounce of strength he had.
Four hours later, he was back in Red's apartment after a rather awkward visit to the hospital. The bully had been nice enough to leave him to rest in his bedroom, staying to himself in the living room but letting him know he was there if he needed anything. Actually, Red was being really nice about all of this. Ness was half tempted to ask why, except he was almost sure if he did, it would ruin whatever mood had taken hold of him.
"Where is he?"
He bolted upright, immediately recognizing the urgent voice coming from the other room. Before he could even begin to get up, though, Lucas had bolted through the door and was on his knees at his side. Holding him back for a second, the blonde appraised him with his eyes as if to make sure for himself that he was alright despite what everyone else had told him. The second he was sure he was safe, though, he had Ness pulled tight against him, his arms wrapped around him and his lips pressed to his forehead.
"I'm so sorry, Nathaniel-"
"It's not your fault Lucas-"
"I should have never left you alone."
Ness could feel his voice crack as he spoke, despite his best efforts. He'd been holding it in this whole time. With Lucas here now, though, he felt safe, like he could finally break down. He vaguely registered the fact that his fingernails were probably digging into his boyfriend's skin even through his shirt, his hands desperately clinging to the front of him.
"There's no way you could've known."
He could feel Lucas shaking too, taking a few seconds to calm himself before speaking.
"Never again. I'm never leaving you alone again."
For a while, they just stayed like that, the blonde with his arms around Ness and the waiter clinging to him like his life depended on it. There was something about the physical comfort of being in Lucas's arms that just made it seem like, for the first time after what had just happened, everything would be alright. Something about the way he held him in his arms did more for him than any words or promises ever could.
Finally, though, Lucas pulled back slightly, keeping Nate in his arms but loosening his grip on him enough so that he'd be able to look him in the eyes.
"Nathaniel, I love you"
Ness could feel his heart skip a beat as he drew a sharp breath. He'd felt the words he'd just heard him say for a long time now, but hearing them like this was entirely different. His chest had filled with an indescribable warmth, a soft smile on his face despite all that had just happened.
"I need you to know. I wanted to wait till I was able to set up some sort of romantic moment, but…I just, after everything that happened, I couldn't wait any longer. I'm sorry if it's too soon for you-"
"No. I mean, it's not too soon. I love you too. I do. And I'm not just saying it because you did. I wanted to tell you, before you left. I just… I was worried maybe you didn't feel the same way yet or whatever."
Lucas let out what might have been a tight laugh if he wasn't still so strung out over all the shit that had just gone down.
"You know, this isn't the first time I've told you. Just the first time you've heard."
Ness's brows creased in confusion, as his eyes searched the jock's.
"Huh?"
"During our walks in the park, at midnight, when you would fall asleep… often, I would tell you. I didn't want to risk telling you while you were awake till I was sure you felt the same way with our living arrangements being as they were. If you didn't feel the same way, it would have just made living together awkward and I didn't want to put you in that position."
Ness let out something between a laugh and a sigh, shaking his head.
"God, you moron. How could you even think I wouldn't feel the same way." It was more of a statement than a question, and the younger boy could feel his chest loosen up a bit when Lucas responded with a small smile.
"Hey, you two lovebirds done with all the goo-goo ga-ga shit?" Red barked, emerging in the bedroom doorway. " 'Cause, I hate to ruin your whole 'lifetime' moment or whatever, but we've still got a few fucking huge ass problems to deal with."
Slowly, Ness felt Lucas release him, though he still kept a tight grip on his hand even as the three of them went to sit at the dining room table.
"So, I know you filled me in on all the shit you figured out, Luke, but that doesn't change the fact that this fucker is probably out there plotting his next move."
"Indeed," the blonde's tone had grown grave again, his grip on Ness's hand tightening slightly at the mention of Shulk. "He will act soon, now that he knows that we know who he is and what exactly he intends to do. We have a limited amount of time to act. And-"
Beep. Beep.
Ness flinched, still jumpy from what had just happened as he used his free hand to pull out his phone. Crap. Nana had been texting him like crazy these past few hours. Of course, she'd probably freaked when she'd finally decided to show up at Mac's Diner and he hadn't been there. After all the shit that had gone down, he'd totally forgotten to text her.
Lucas glanced over at his phone, his face flashing with recognition as he registered Nana's number.
"She should be with us, Nathaniel. Right now, she could be a liability. Shulk could use her against us, as I'm sure he knows by now that she is your best friend."
Ness nodded, pausing slightly as he moved to text her. "I mean… does that mean we tell her everything then."
Red's eyes narrowed immediately, his whole body tensing at the suggestion. "Fuck no. The more people we tell, the worse all this shit's gonna be. Besides, that chick has a fucking mouth the size of-"
"Yes, brother. I believe we're all familiar with his friend's behavior. And I agree, Nana should not be entirely informed on the situation… simply tell her that a situation has presented itself in which she would be safest with us."
Ness nodded, summing up what Lucas had said in a quick text. After a few seconds, his phone buzzed again.
You so have to spill when I see u. I'll b there in 15.
"She's coming." he said, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He wasn't sure how much they' d be able to get away with hiding from Nana with how intrusive she was, but they couldn't just leave her out there for Shulk to find.
"Good," Lucas said, looking a bit more tense than he had a second ago. "So, at this point, there is only one option that will afford us any chance of coming out of this unscathed. Retaliation. We must find some way of evening the odds, something incriminating on Shulk. We cannot go to the police and report what he's done because if we do, he will reveal my past with my mother. However, this also gives him the opportunity of acting as he wishes until he succeeds in carrying out his plans. If we arm ourselves with some leverage to even up the score, we can perhaps at least keep him from acting as he did."
"What the fuck type of plan is that? What if we can't find any shit on this guy and-"
"Red, do you really think you are the first person he raped?"
Holy crap. Shulk had raped Red? What the fuck? Not even in his wildest dreams could Ness imagine the bully being overpowered and dominated by anyone, even a guy with ten years on him. He just seemed way too hard for that.
The room fell deathly silent for a minute as Red's face contorted, his teeth clenching till Ness was sure one of them might chip. For a second, he was almost sure the brown haired teen was going to jump across the table and beat the shit out of his brother. Something in Red's eyes, though, made him think twice. Yeah, there was definitely hatred there, but it wasn't for Lucas. It was for himself.
Finally, though, the blonde continued, clearing his throat before he spoke.
"Yes, I assumed as much after I learned what I did about Shulk. Red, you should have told me. You know I-
"It doesn't even fucking matter, alright. Just shut the fuck up about it." he growled, obviously not comfortable talking about what had apparently transpired.
Lucas's eyes narrowed, obviously not intended to do as his brother had requested.
"Fine, Red, I will respect your wishes about not wanting to talk to me about this. However, I do want you to see someone, a professional that can help you talk it out and-"
"Oh for shit sake. You've got to be kidding me. There's no way in hell I'm going to sit in some god damn chair spilling my guts out to some shrink-"
"Well you cannot just proceed like nothing happened, Red."
"The hell I can't."
Lucas let out a stifled sigh, leaning in towards his brother slightly. "Do you really want to end up like Shulk? This is going to destroy you if you don't deal with it properly, Red. I have forgiven you for doing what you did to Nathaniel because you also just saved his life, but make no mistake, I will not forgive you for playing a hand in destroying yourself. You can put up whatever façade you want to, brother, but I know you. You intentions are pure, though you perhaps go about them the wrong way."
Red looked mortified at what Lucas had just said, his eyes glaring daggers in the jock's direction.
"If I wanted to sit down and have a nice little chat about emotions and all that shit, I'd watch Oprah. Now we've got more important shit to deal with right now. So screw off and let's get back to the real issue."
Lucas pegged his brother with a hard stare, as if to tell him he'd lay off for now but this definitely wasn't over.
"Very well. Shulk must have an apartment. If my assumptions are correct, and this wasn't his first rape, I'm sure he took trophies and such. We need some form of palpable evidence, some type of proof, which will require breaking into his apartment. Doing so will be dangerous. I don't want either of you participating-"
"There's no way you're going alone," Ness interjected, joined by a grunt of protest from Red. "You said yourself that it's too dangerous."
"Nathaniel, I will not allow you to be put in a dangerous situation after what just happened. Shulk's problem is with me alone-"
"Yeah, well, I'm with you. So if he has a problem with you, then he has a problem with me."
Red leaned forward, obviously having had enough of staying silent on the issue.
"Listen, little brother, here's the deal. Ness and I aren't down with your little plan where you act like a dumb ass and end up getting yourself killed. So, here's how it's gonna be; if you don't agree to the three of us going in, Ness and I will just go by ourselves without telling you."
The blonde's eyes flared, his jaw tightening as Ness chimed in.
"Yup. And we're dead serious, too. So you'd better agree to the three of us going, unless you'd rather just the two of us go alone."
Lucas paused slightly, his gaze drifting from Red to Ness before he allowed a tight sigh to escape his lips.
"You know, I think perhaps I liked it better when the two of you weren't getting along."
Ness grinned, raising an eyebrow at Lucas. "Well, you know what they say: Be careful what you wish for."
Three hours and two pizzas later, they'd managed to fill Nana in on as much as they could without telling her what Lucas had done to his mother. As far as she knew, Shulk had just tried to rape Ness because he was still hung up on him, and now he was dead set on getting back at the blonde jock for stealing his old crush from him.
Thank god she had never been the brightest girl, seeing as they'd had several near slip-ups where they'd had to do a whole lot of backpedaling to cover their tracks. The four of them were going to crash at Red's, at least the next few days. It was pretty much an overall consensus that there was safety in numbers, and after hearing as much of the story as they'd been able to tell her, Nana had insisted on coming with them to break into Shulk's apartment. Thank god Thanksgiving break had just started, so they wouldn't have to worry about school for the next week.
Lucas was set to head out and figure out where Shulk lived and when he'd be gone for his job in construction. He'd insisted that Red stay back at the apartment with Ness and Nana just in case their 'friend' decided to make another charming appearance.
The raven haired boy had tried to stay awake most of the night, but seeing as it was about three in the morning, he didn't feel all too guilty for crashing on Red's bed next to Nana. Thank the lord she didn't snore.
Drifting in and out of sleep, Ness could feel his mind being pulled out of whatever transitory state it had been in, something pulling it back to consciousness. Two people were talking in hushed voices… Red and Lucas. There was something about the total and complete seriousness with which the two brothers regarded each other with that made him worry. Keeping his eyes closed, he pretended to be asleep as he listened in on the two figures standing in the doorway.
"Brother, I'm trusting you with him. You know how hard that is after all that's happened."
"Yeah… I know. And I swear, I won't let anything happen to him. I mean, you're only going to be gone for a couple of hours anyways, right? It can't take that long to figure out where the son of a bitch lives and get his work schedule."
There was a pause for a minute before Lucas spoke again.
"Red, I need you to promise me something."
"Alright, shoot."
"I need you to promise me that you'll put Nathaniel's safety first, no matter what."
"Yeah, I will. I mean, second to yours of course."
"That's not what I asked, you know it."
Ness could hear Red make a sound of protest, obviously catching his brother's drift.
"You can't ask me to do that, Luke-"
"I need to know someone's going to be watching over him just in case."
"You're not going to have to worry about that, Lucas. We're going to make it through this-"
"Red, you have no idea how it felt to be on the other end of that phone when Shulk had Nathaniel at gunpoint. For the first time in my life, I felt completely helpless and utterly terrified. He means everything to me, Red. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something happened to him."
The boy cursed under his breath, and Ness could hear the guy began to pace back and forth in the hallway.
"Shit, Lucas. I know you love him and all… but, shit."
"You- you of all people remember how much of a complete wreck I was after losing mother? I couldn't go through that with Nathaniel. I just couldn't."
Ness could hear Red stop his pacing at the mention of their mother.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck… fine. Whatever. But only because I remember how you were after her."
"Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me-"
"Yeah. Do me a favor and don't mention it, alright. I don't want the little shit thinking I actually like him or whatever."
Lucas let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head.
"Well, you two do seem to have bonded in my absence."
"Oh, shut up and get to figuring out where Shulk lives."
There was a slight pause before Lucas spoke again, his tone much softer.
"Thank you though, Red. I'm serious."
"Yeah. I know. And you're welcome."
Ness could hear the sound of footsteps, and then the front door open and close. Lucas had left, and Red was somewhere in the dining room.
Holy shit, though. Ness so didn't like the sound of that little promise Lucas had just made his brother swear himself to. It reeked of all sorts of ominous and foreboding. Yeah, it was a possibility that one of them might end up getting hurt, or worse, but god, to make Red promise something like that… after all, Ness's favorite thing about Red had always been the way he put his brother's safety above everything. He hoped to god, that the brother had just been bullshitting the promise to put Lucas at ease, because he really didn't like the idea that his brother wouldn't have someone watching his back when a psychotic bastard like Shulk was out there plotting all sorts of ways to hurt him. Nope. He really wasn't cool with what had just gone down. Not at all.
There we are guys! So, was there a gunshot? Was there not a gunshot? Hmm... it depends on which gun fired it, because I clearly didn't mention it in this chapter. Maybe it didn't even fire and Ness heard it in his brain? We'll have to see, won't we? I hope this chapter provided a nice bowtie on the chaos that's been happening lately, makes me feel better to have a wind down chapter since we are so close to finishing. *wipes brow* Wooh, reviews replies inbound!
Summer Halos- Awwww, that is so sweet of you to say! Thank you so much! None of the names are changed, Lucas is still Lucas, and so on and so forth. None of the characters have been changed. Originally, rewriting this, I wanted Cloud to replace Shulk, but that would've been a BAD move on my part so I didn't go for it. I love Lucas more, despite Ness being the main character. Lucas... just, he needs to be a mix of power and weakness, clearly favored towards power.
YuukixMitsuru- If you think I'm gonna hold it against you for being busy, there's another thing coming, dude. I understand life, it runs me over with a tractor every two days. Haha, yeah, I can imagine it was a lot getting told in the chapter, but these last six (counts in head, yep, six), will be busy and just as long, if not longer. Be prepared. Well... Shulk is messed up. No other way to explain it, and I'm not gonna try to, lol. Nope, no Marth! Sorry bud!
Ender2412- I love how you used the M rating to justify all the swearing. I find it super adorable! Nana isn't that mean... and it's a good thing she didn't show up. That'd be bad, I mean Shulk couldn't necessarily keep both at bay without a super bad consequence of someone who's totally innocent. Maybe we'll see Nana go all ninja and shit! You are very emotionally attached to these characters. It isn't a bad thing.
The Almighty CGA- Why, thank you for reviewing! So sorry for the tears! And no character death... yet. It's hard to write a story without character death in it, and this story is no exception. I'll spoil it for you right now... guys, someone is dying. And... that's all you will get. Love that little tidbit.
Ninten64- *whistles* Damn dude, look at you calling the shots. What next? Predict who dies in this story? You've got a five character choice, my friend.
SpiritWolfay- Man, you're too cute! *offers hug* I'll never find out truthfully why people get so happy when I update, it is just a story after all... I'm sorry about the tears... that's something else I've caused a lot. Hopefully that cliffhanger didn't piss you off with all that somesuch glaring. I... man that is a good question. I really don't know when I'll have a new Nesscas story. I probably write them less than a few of my other Smash pairings. Strange. I do have Ness as a main character who'll show up in my other Smash WIP at the moment, though. And you flatter me, Cross Examined is very beneath me now except like Chapter 45. Heh. And stop! You'll make me blush so much my skin will officially be pink.
Mr. Squirtle6- The details in this story are very important, they'll come back and bite unexpected people in the ass with them. Glad to see the old twists returned? I don't have as many plot twists in this then I did in Cross Examined (where there was like a cliffhanger each and every chapter, lol). Shulk is a human, they all are... that one incident just messed him up. You'd think it is like that's all he knows. Glad to see you piecing everything together, that makes me SUPER happy. And awww, thank you! :D Stop being so amazing.
mother-sins- I sort of figured that the chapter would destroy you, which is why I wrote it like this instead! We need to find you an aqueduct where all the tears can go, it's like whoa! So sorry to have ruined your life!
And that's all for this time! Our next update will be on Sunday, May 1st! So close to the end of school, I cannot wait. Man, sophomore year has been crazy. Like, for real. Now, when this story is over and finished, and even currently, if you all want to still read more of my work, I have a piece of mine called Icarus Chronicle that I'm writing about the Icarus twins, and it's a magical AU with Pit, Kuro, Robin (F), Peach, Roy, Ness, Lucina, Palutena and Shulk. It is definitely one of my more adventureous pieces I've done in awhile, so go check it out while you wait. It'll have frequent updates as my summer Smash story. Alrighty, I love you guys! Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought, I'll be responding to them all below like always. Have a great day! Bye!
~ Paradigm