AN: Thanks again to my beta Grey Raven 09 for his assistance!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Worm. If I did, I would be FAR more productive.
Please enjoy and let me know what you think in a review if you feel like it!
IMPORTANT AN: TRIGGER WARNING in this chapter. Attempts at suicide are present in this chapter. If you need someone to talk to, seek assistance.
AN: An Alternate title for this chapter: ItLedRune.
LuridTeen
Cassie watched Lisa sprint away, the blonde almost falling as she tripped over her own feet. Cassie could only blink and take short sharp gasps. "Where is she going? Where…why isn't she staying here?"
"Cassie, I need to concentrate," Amy muttered. "Please shut up. I need to…I need to figure something out. I need to…fuck how do I build a mind?! I don't know what the fuck I'm even doing!"
"Wait, Lisa…she said something about…about Madison? Weren't we coming to help save Madison?" Cassie whispered. She fell back onto her ass as her mind spun. Everything was wrong. How could things go so wrong in such a short period. They had Amy. Amy could fix anything!
"Artillery," Armsmaster said stepping up and placing his hands under her arms to lift her up and pull her back a short way. "You need to stop using regular names. I know you're hurting. But this is important."
"Everyone here already knows my name," Cassie replied, shaking her head. "And Taylor's. The others are an open secret. We have T-shirts. Haven't you gotten yours?"
"Artillery, you're in shock. You should come with me."
"No! No I need to stay here. I need to…She saved me. She saved me when I was just a racist fuckup. I need to stay here and…"
Hookwolf sighed and knelt down in front of her. "People die kid. It happens. It hurts, but it happens. Get up, walk it off, and make the fuckers pay."
"Weren't you going after Jack Slash?" Armsmaster snapped.
"I'm not a hunter, I'm a fighter. You people have a Mover right here. Why is Assault still here instead of pursuing them?"
"Assault is still here," Assault commented from his position leaning against the school's wall. "Because Assault can barely see straight. Assault can still kick your ass though if you try anything."
"I was here to help put the Nine in the ground. Looks like Queen and her posse did most of the work and have them running scared. Shame it took her offing herself. Who was the add?"
Miss Militia let out a breath as her power shifted forms through a gun, a rifle, a knife and back again in quick succession. "Shadow Stalker. I recognize what is left of the uniform. There was a rumor that she had been corrupted by the Nine…"
"Not a rumor anymore," Cricket croaked through her modulator. "I may not like Queen or her life choices, but I respect her dedication to her morals. She wouldn't have killed the black bitch without cause. Problem was taken care of at least."
Cassie pushed herself to her feet. Armsmaster steadied her while she clenched her fists and shook her head. "I need to get my friends. Will you watch Amy and…Will you watch them?"
Armsmaster and Miss Militia both nodded while Assault gave her a thumbs up, not moving from his spot on the wall. Dennis was still frozen solid as he stood next to Amy. She could hear him muttering to himself as she walked past. Her walk turned into a jog and the jog into a run and the run into a sprint. She was moving so fast by the time she hit the corner of the building that she nearly collided with the dumpster on the side of the small alley there.
It didn't stop her long. A clatter from further down the alley caught her attention and Cassie picked up her pace further. Her eyes widened as she saw Lisa wrestling away a piece of glass from Madison. Madison was reaching out for it, nearly climbing over Lisa, but the blonde was taller and Madison was just too small to reach. Lisa threw the glass to the side and Madison collapsed into her sobbing and beating on her chest. Cassie slowed as she got closer, and she caught side of a small bleeding line across Madison's arm. It wasn't very long.
It was long enough for her to understand.
As Lisa and Madison fell to the ground, Lisa cradled the younger girl in her arms, her eyes drawn to the red line on Madison's forearm. Cassie walked up to them and crouched down to hug them both.
"Waited too long…"
"What?" Cassie murmured, lifting her head as Madison continued sobbing and curled up into a ball on Lisa's lap.
"…Just like with Rex…"
Cassie sucked in a breath as pain lanced through her head and stars filled her vision. And across the stars, gigantic twin shapes flew across the sky…
AN: It's always darkest before the dawn. Don't worry, I'm not going full grimdark. That's Worm proper, this is fanfiction. Also, to my readers, note that there are now three chapters posted in one day.
Fanfic Rec: 'Learning to Sing' by RexHeller. On SV. This one seems like it's been abandoned but it has an intriguing premise and a decent start, plus the omakes are hilarious. In this one, the Endbringers are human between Eidolon-enforced rampages and instead of Annette being Taylor's mom, it's Ziz. Simurgh-Lite Taylor is amusing though perhaps a tad bit too naïve.
