Author's Note 1: Why complain about filler chapters? They do have a purpose, don't they? C'mon, don't be disappointed because your authors write filler chapters.
Author's Note 2: … you know what? I just thought of something really, really, twisted and cruel. Oh, and Happy New Year everyone, hoping that it will be better than the 2016 crapsack... let's hope!
Chapter Five: Ever Played With Dolls?
"Here's the problem with dolls:
you think they're just pretty things
when they're actually master sociopaths and psychopaths in disguise.
Don't play with dolls,
especially the beautiful ones."
The agent looked at his Transponder Snail, thoughtful. Should he call Spandam just to listen to his annoying yelling when he'd be giving him his report on the situation he was in? That really wasn't an appealing idea. While he knew he should call his boss and fill him about the news he's just gotten from some fishermen back at Sabaody, he had a feeling it wasn't a wise idea; the incompetent chief of CP9 had a temper that would drive the most emotionless person crazy with his tantrums, and he doubted that even Rob Lucci wouldn't go as far as not dreaming of mauling his boss just to make him shut up.
Groaning in frustration, the agent just put his sleeping Transponder Snail back into his pocket and looked ahead of him, his eyes drifting off in the distance. Trailing Canterbury Lelouch and Quarin Sabertooth should have been an easy job for him, so he shouldn't be struggling this much; trusting Sicario to steal those precious informations about Spandam's target had been his mistake, and now that the bounty hunter was dead, he still wasn't sure if the assault had been conducted by this Lelouch himself or someone else. Vergo's protégés were proving to be harder to handle than he originally thought, especially if Spandam had plans for the brat – why would he want informations about him? He wasn't an official Marine soldier, nor was he even an agent of the World Government, but somehow interested their chief enough to send someone after him. Why not spill the beans so that everyone on this mission could understand their boss' keen interest in this stranger? That could be helpful.
Was Canterbury Lelouch set to become another recruit for CP9, just like that Nero guy? All possibilities had to be carefully considered to understand what was at stake here; Vice-Admiral Vergo's protégé was either ordered to become the new CP9 agent – although it still remained unknown if he had been properly trained to the insane Rokushiki martial arts to integrate the assassination faction, but since Vergo was his mentor, the brat probably knew about three or four of the Six Powers – or it was just another of Spandam's whims. The guy was ambitious enough to burst his own ego, but being weaker than an average Marine soldier didn't do really well to polish his image, so it really was a wonder as to how he managed to boss the monsters of CP9 around and not get killed on the spot (just because Spandam was their chief didn't absolutely mean that they wouldn't try to kill him, should he do something purely idiotic against them. Like, turning the World Government against their favorite assassins...). If Lelouch was to become another recruit, then he should have received a convocation from the World Government back at G-5 in the New World, where he should have been preparing to go to Mariejois and be tested.
But what was so damn special about Vergo's apprentice that he had to be hunted down outside the New World and brought to Enies Lobby? From what he's heard from Spandam, Canterbury Lelouch hadn't done anything wrong, wasn't of the same kind of Nico Robin or Dragon and wasn't even an enemy of the World Government. So what the actual hell was the deal with him? He'd last been sighted in Sabaody Archipelago and, if the agent was right about this, he was the one who took out Sicario and his goons with his friend.
Then he must have been sent by Vergo himself, the Cipher Pol agent thought, slapping a hand on his face. Really, he knew that risking his neck to steal documents from the Demon Bamboo himself would be a death sentence, but thinking that the mission could have been this easy had been such a dumb mistake of his – Sicario and his goons had been assaulted by Lelouch and his friend, most of them were dead (if not literally torn apart) and their boss was... huh, those informations had to be worth dying for in such gruesome way since that didn't end well for him either. Vergo hadn't really appreciated the theft, and if he were to discover that the chief of CP9 from the World Government itself was after his precious protégé, he'd downright be after Spandam's head. The agent had never met Vice-Admiral Vergo in the flesh, but he's heard things about him; if you looked past his apparent disgustingness when there was always food stuck on the side of his face, the man was insanely strong and ruthless. So it was even a wonder how his apprentice Canterbury Lelouch managed to stay alive all these years spent with him, training under his tutelage and everything – he might not be Garp the Hero, but still...
"We still haven't gotten any leads on Canterbury Lelouch's whereabouts, nor his friend's," someone said from behind, making Edward, the frustrated agent, turn his head to look at the newcomer. Another agent had come up, walking to stand beside him. "I didn't know Vice-Admiral Vergo's apprentice was this slippery, he's gonna be hard to catch. They're like eels, and you know how much I despise slippery preys."
"As long as the chase doesn't turn into an obsessive manhunt, I think I'll be okay with it. Besides, Canterbury Lelouch isn't an extremely dangerous person who deserves a death sentence, otherwise Spandam would have sent the entire CP9 after him and his friend." Edward mulled it over for a few seconds, before frowning. "I don't know if this fellow is anything like the Devil's Child, but bringing him to Enies Lobby sure sounds... odd."
His companion snorted, rolling his eyes. "You know Spandam and his whims, you should be used to it by now. But I must agree with you on this one: he hasn't done anything wrong, he's not a filthy pirate, he's not blacklisted like Nico Robin and Dragon of the Revolutionary Army, so... what's the deal with him? He's nothing special, is he? I don't see why we have to get him to Enies Lobby. But here's a theory, though it's actually terrifying: what if he turns out to be another Rob Lucci, huh? Let's say he's actually special, some kind of rare genius who must have mastered the Rokushiki style and excels in every technique, that would make this Lelouch guy an exceptional recruit that should belong in one of the Cipher Pol branches – not necessarily CP9, he could go to any of them if he's exceptionally gifted –, then it absolutely makes sense that Spandam wants him to work for him, right? This idiot is so ambitious and egoistical I'm actually amazed he hasn't been 'accidentally' killed by Lucci himself, but if I were him, I'd want Lelouch for myself before somebody else got to him." He shuddered, feeling sick to his stomach. "One Rob Lucci is already enough, but two? I'd cut myself right away because I don't want to wait for any of them to end my sorry life."
Edward pondered this for a moment, then another question arose from his doubts. "And what makes us think that he'd resign himself to come with us willingly? For all we know, he could decide to have our heads before we could even tell him that Spandam desires to see him. Couldn't we have asked Kumadori or Jabura to tag along, just to be sure that Lelouch wouldn't try to bite our heads off?"
"Are you possibly mad?" The other Cipher Pol agent looked and sounded incredulous as he looked at his partner, wide-eyed. "So the wolf-man can laugh at us for acting like complete sissies in front of a kid? Man up, Edward, we didn't pass the tests to become agents for nothing. As World Government agents, we represent the law all those lowly pirates always spit at because they won't submit to it, preaching that liberty they all worship. Even though he's Vice-Admiral Vergo's apprentice and protégé, Canterbury Lelouch is obligated to follow us to Enies Lobby to have a meeting with Spandam, and we better find him quick before the chief sends our asses to prison because we couldn't get him his damn prize. I don't want to spend the rest of my life screaming bloody murder at the Sphinx in Impel Down because it keeps spouting names of noodles all the time. My sanity is everything, I'll have you know."
Ah, Spandam's whims. These were as hilarious as annoying to everyone, not just the CP9; as the obnoxious bastard he was (probably a family trait, since his father Spandine was an even bigger bastard than his own son.), he was capable of pinning the blame of foiling whatever mission for the World Government on someone else, who really had nothing to do with the failure of said mission, and painting himself as the innocent one in the case. Edward wouldn't be surprised, but he was curious to know how Spandam would manage to get away with it – should Canterbury Lelouch be the target of such machination, there was a chance that the pink-haired bastard would be horribly executed after being hunted by Vergo's protégé. In a picture of him they've managed to capture, there was something in his visible eye that made it obvious that he was highly intelligent, but also a very sinister glint that suggested a gruesome personality he had yet to reveal.
That could work with his CP9 position if he were to be enrolled. Whatever it was.
But first, they had to catch him. The mission over Impel Down for sure, Lelouch over a life-sentence in the most guarded prison in the world, where they wouldn't see the light of day ever again.
"All we have left is hope and pray that we find him," Edward eventually sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. He slightly frowned at his own words, confused. "...since when do we pray in the World Government? Man, I'm such a damn mess..."
Sometimes, being a tool of the World Government just didn't bring only pride and power to those who knew the price of burden. Ambitious fools like Spandam and Spandine wouldn't care because they weren't human enough to feel the weight on their shoulders, but those who still hadn't cast their conscience away to embrace the dark and gruesome side of their work still remembered the nightmares. They remembered the tiredness of everything, and sometimes they'd try to remind themselves why they'd chosen this path instead of something else, because that was a job that required a full detachment from humanity.
"Dark Justice is still justice at the end of the day. Remember that."
There were times when Edward would kick himself for enrolling into the World Government. While it was a life better suited to those who were willing to detach themselves from their own humanity and watch it burn, he couldn't believe that he hadn't been enjoying his position for the last twenty years; he had figured he would break before dying, which would have resulted in him suddenly waking up and mustering the courage to run away from that dreadful organisation. But fooling the Cipher Pol? For how long? Edward wasn't Nico Robin, Dragon or even that Canterbury Lelouch guy. He didn't have their intelligence, their skills to avoid being captured in a matter of days – the Devil's Child's whereabouts were still unknown, and the years had passed. For a small child to escape the deadly clutches of the World Government for twenty years and remain in the dark, that was a huge exploit. Edward would never say it out loud, but he praised the woman's brains (if she had managed to understand how to read the Poneglyphs at such a young age, then he couldn't imagine what she'd be able to do if she were to be captured. Her knowledge alone was no idle threat.). She truly had become a master at running away from a fate she didn't deserve.
And him? The tool of the most powerful organisation in the Grand Line?
"Complete your mission, show them the meaning of Dark Justice."
In a way, they weren't so different from the infamous 'Dogs of the World Government' – even called as such, the Seven Warlords of the Sea rarely obeyed the orders, but if something major had to come up, they would all come to defend their title to remain privileged. If even the most beautiful woman in the whole world herself had to obey the World Government to protect the legendary Amazon Lily, then Edward was a dog just as much as Boa Hancock was. A tool was a tool, and a dog was a dog; bark, and they'll bend their necks. But even he wouldn't go as far as risking his freedom for something trivial. No matter what, he'll bring Canterbury Lelouch to Spandam, and that would mark the end of his career. One last ride.
His features hardened, showing a determination now engraved in steel. The boy will be brought to Enies Lobby, willingly or by force.
One last ride. He better put up a great fight before surrendering.
Suffice to say, the situation looked bad. If Lelouch took note of the amount of fear he could sense from Noctis and Nasse, despite the former's sneer on his face to put up a good front, the twins would be a major burden: the 'blind' girl was frozen stiff behind him, clutching his outfit for dear life, and would likely never budge by herself. He'd have to make her move if she didn't want to die. The level of her fear was high, feeding Lelouch and pumping his nerves with adrenaline he was dying to release, to which he was flexing and unflexing his fingers repeatedly – he really shouldn't have used his powers to scare the shit out of Captain Wen and Saber was right: it was only a matter of minutes before he went berserk on everyone (his mind was already spinning with thousands and thousands of murderous and twisted ideas to kill the clown or serve the other freaks as baits, to which his mouth was slowly curling into a sinister smile he couldn't prevent – did he even want to prevent the future execution of the jack-in-the-box that would make him smile in his situation?).
If he were to use whatever was still left of his right mind before losing his marbles, Lelouch would choose to protect Nasse from that damn jack-in-the-box, sacrifice the triplets – and maybe the brother as well, but something in his guts advised him against it – and let himself loose on the clown with his swords. His hunger couldn't fall at a better time: not just because they'd be silenced by a couple of freaks, but also because he and Saber were on tight schedule, so the freaks would have to die.
As he took a fighting stance, Lelouch's eyes darted around him quickly to take note of the surroundings; somehow, the room seemed spacious than he originally thought as he took in the multiple bars sticking out of the walls around them, going higher and higher until they reached the ceiling – the holes he could see were the traps Blacken Felicio used to set them up, and it would be a close call even for him to reach one to slip into it, contort his body out of the way of the swords and get back up to slaughter Felicio. He'd have to leave his friend down here, but that certainly wasn't going to happen, not when he was so hungry and on the verge of snapping because of his Devil Fruit. Over his dead body.
But he could make use of those bars by playing the contortionist – adding his mastery of the Rokushiki, they might be able to do a lot of damage to both the clown and the room altogether. Lelouch glanced at his monkey friend, who had his kodachis out and had also taken a fighting stance in front of Noctis, who was now whispering words of comfort to his sister. Saber looked determined and ready to raise hell around here.
"OK, let's resume our situation before you actually loose your shit and go berserk on me," the monkey man drawled, blinking slowly. His face showed so much annoyance right now it wasn't even funny. "We docked at a winter island just to let me absorb some cold in my tuft, I... snuck into the forest, almost went to play with some elephants and build snowmen, found an aristocratic town with a circus that reeks of creepiness while you, the humanized jack-o'-lantern, were scaring the piss out of the Freesia Pirates who must still be crapping their pants. More stupid stuff, we're down here with a giant jack-in-the-box and you're hungry. It's only a matter of minutes before you go insane and try to kill the clown." He concluded with a dramatizing sigh, even more annoyed. "Try not to kill me, Lelouch. I'd hate to have to maul you just to calm down your hungry, insane ass."
Said master contortionist scoffed, mildly offended. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure you'd taste horrible," Lelouch countered. Then he rolled his eyes, just as annoyed as he was while he was willing his brain to remain set on focusing on the clown. "Alright, here's the plan: take care of the blind girl," he declared as he wrenched himself out of Nasse's hold, threw her into Saber's arms, uncaring of her surprised yelp.
This action startled the swordsman, who still deftly caught the acrobat in one arm. "Wh-what?" he gasped, green eyes wide as he looked up at his friend, who was already running towards the nearest wall and also dragging a clueless and protesting Noctis behind him by the foot. "What?! That's the plan?! You're kidding me or – oh damn!"
It really was a good thing Saber lept out of the way just in time before the giant blade of the clown could cleave him and Nasse in half, for the sound it produced when it made contact with the ground made everyone's ears ring loudly; the navigator cringed, grinding his teeth as he dropped Noctis when they reached their starting-point, uncaring of his protest, and grasped his head in his hands. From there, they could start their ascent in hopes to confuse the clown, because defeating Orion without the whole room collapsing wasn't going to be easy (especially if they had dead weights.). The ground shook under their feet, throwing everyone out of balance – save for Noctis, who was just bouncing up and down like a ragdoll on his back – as they tried to regain their footing.
The jack-in-the-box laughed, clearly enjoying this.
"Bing, bong, bang. Felicio didn't tell me I was supposed to kill friends," Orion droned in its infuriating voice, swinging the other sword in his hand. Its red eyes surveyed his preys, the smile on its lips even more infuriating since it made Lelouch want to rip something to shreds. "Noctis and Nasse, what happened to you two to be on Felicio's blacklist? What could you have done to upset him to the point he'd sacrifice his aces?"
Saber perked up, still shielding the fear-stricken blind girl in his arms. Friends, that thing said? And 'aces'? So those guys must have had further plans for whatever their leader had in mind, and since their 'aces' were finally thinking on their own and had found the strenght to oppose Felicio's orders, they were to be executed as if they absolutely hadn't meant anything to them. As if they were malfunctioning, broken dolls, he thought with disgust, glancing down at the trembling Nasse. That kind of thinking could get that filth killed rather stupidly by someone else who valued friendship like a treasure – people like Whitebeard's sons, for example.
Lelouch, who had also recovered from the loud ringing in his ears, scowled darkly at the clown. He was wondering the same thing as his friend. "What 'aces'?" he spat, making the jack-in-the-box look down at him. "They're done, broken by the betrayal of your 'master'. I doubt they'll want to keep working for someone who did nothing more than use them for his benefit and is trying to have them killed because of one little rebellion. But more importantly, do you really think that your leader can instill the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique into someone's else mind and make him learn it? Just like that?"
"Master has some resources," Orion replied simply, twirling the twin swords and bouncing on his spot a little. "That technique can be transmitted into anyone's mind if he wishes so, it's really simple. They don't even have to learn it with Master's ability," he helpfully – or stupidly – added when Lelouch looked slightly startled. "It will be instinctive to them, like good, good puppets."
"There are other ways to hypnotize people for as long as the user wants, until the triggering word is spoken to snap them out and in of their trance," the navigator said slowly, mentally eliminating all the possibilities he could think of as of right now. "The Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique is one of them, but the ultimate possibility to have someone fully hypnotized until the user has no longer use for his victim is out of everyone's reach... could it be an ability he developed through intense training?"
Fortunately for them all, Lelouch remembered he had read that the Hypno-Hypno Fruit was still securely locked away on the blacklist, so nobody could have had stolen it from Mariejois without having been killed on the spot – only his Devil Fruit had been reportedly stolen and, as he had read days ago, 'most certainly eaten'. Knowing the World Government, the Five Elders must have ordered the incident to be kept out from the population, so that they would hopefully avoid massive waves of fear from the Four Blues, Paradise and the New World. Lelouch knew he should be grateful for that, because having to sense terror emanating from loads of people from all around the world at the same time would cost him the last remaining sane parts of his mind. The Terror-Terror Fruit was already a nasty piece of work on its own and he still had a lot to master from his power, so he'd rather not have to deal with everyone's fears at the same time and having to shut down their minds along with his.
How ironic was it to be thankful to the World Government for keeping secret the fact that the Devil Fruit that contains the power of fear was on the loose? It was like being grateful to Charles zi Britannia for not having killed his precious little sister Nunnally and blinding her instead – a little bonus he should appreciate, Lelouch would say with contempt. He scowled, struggling to not give into the desire of letting his twisted mind guide him in order to slaughter the clown. The very thought of having to thank a corrupted organization made him sick to the bone.
Orion straightened his back, making Lelouch snap out of his somber thoughts, and he chuckled creepily. "It's not a Devil Fruit, to our utter disappoinment," he said, his red eyes staring at Noctis, who was slowly crawling on all fours. The acrobat flinched when he felt the force of Orion's stare on his form, gulping rather loudly in the silence. "If there was one that granted its user to practice hypnotism on people as long as he wants, Master Felicio would have stepped up his game a little more. But one day, we fortunately found quite an unexpected alternative in the hands of two children – twins, who also came from the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta."
Having taken a graceful leap to swing onto the first bar so he could begin his ascent, Lelouch nearly fell when he heard Orion's words and he paused in mid-swing, made a handstand and stared incredulously at Noctis' crawling form on the ground. The twins originally hailed from Alabasta? That certainly cleared up the most important thing of this crappy mess – the fact that a circus freak has been using a forbidden technique that could lead to his cold-hearted execution – and though Lelouch wanted to give both acrobats the benefice of doubt, that still didn't discharge them from giving the other bastard an Alabastan technique about hypnosis, since this was a blacklisted power.
But that explained some things. However, they should have known of the implications of using the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique because that would lead them to be executed along with the maniac upstairs – not that Lelouch would actually mind, that'd be a relief. The less people knew about that technique, the better. He'd give Noctis and Nasse one last earful before ending the twins as mercifully as possible (and that was sarcasm, of course.). And of course, their master had to be silenced as well because of his knowledge; once the hypnotist is gone, the victims would be free of his hold, so Lelouch had to get Felicio pronto if he wanted to have his head.
The clown was still blabbering and swaying around like a broken jack-in-the-box, but the navigator had long tuned him out. It was now time to get actual revenge on the freaks for playing with them and waste their energy for nothing; having decided what to do, Lelouch swung once again to launch himself at a higher steel bar, barely avoiding the sharp blade as it hit the rocky wall pretty hard and embedded itself in it.
"That's not very convincing, you need to do better than that if you want to cut some of my hair at the very least," he declared as he skillfully swung to stand onto the steel bar he was now on. Standing on his toes, he smirked mockingly at the clown, intentionally taunting him. "If you can't even touch me, how can you expect to behead a monkey while he's jumping around?"
"SHUT UP, JACK-O'-LANTERN!" came the angry reply from said monkey, whose scandalized expression matched the tone of his voice. Hanging from a steel bar on the opposite wall, a bit higher than Lelouch's position and still having Nasse as his package to save, Saber glared down at the navigator. "And kill that thing so we can get the hell out of that place, I'm going crazy down here!"
Lelouch looked back at the blade still embedded deep in the wall, which prevented the clown from retrieving it, and quickly traced it to the long, mangy arm attached to the big freak. He could do something while he was being distracted by his friends and the others, and the fact that one of his blades was stuck was a plus for him; severing an arm with a powerful Rankyaku would severely weaken Orion, since he was a swordsman. And a swordsman with one useless arm would have to give up on his career. The waist and the neck were also critical spots to kill someone as painful and slow as possible, only to stall the inevitable last minutes before dying and fulfilling a psychopath's sickening glee. Lelouch's eyes shone with a cruel grint as he flexed his fingers, a creepy smile slowly creeping its way on his face.
Now I know where to hit. And I know how to get in your head.
He'd already witnessed Doflamingo doing it to someone else with his Devil Fruit (which was quite deadly, Lelouch had to give him that since the madman also took a recent interest to train him personally.), so the Rankyaku would work better if the clown was of flesh and bone. And since he hadn't heard any grinding noise with all his moves, the clown was human. So he could bleed. So he could die painfully.
So Lelouch could laugh while watching him die with a horrified look on his face. All he needed was to give in to the rising, gruesome and twisted consequences of using his Devil Fruit – gods, he was so going to devour lots of food later on after decapitating those clowns and destroying the circus. All he needed was to give in to the madness for a limited time.
For a moment, it seemed that the world around them stopped – there was a silence that only the navigator could hear as his macabre mind locked itself on slaughter mode on the jack-in-the-box, so even Noctis' teeth chattering sound down there was blocked. Lelouch's breathing even stopped as he stared dead on, completely focused on his task and perfectly balanced on his thin steel bar. He counted, using his Observation Haki to monitor everything in the room so he could time himself with Orion.
Just a second before the giant clown could get his blade out, Lelouch shot down from his position like a bullet, as fast as a snake. He angled his body so he could slide down Orion's arm, expectantly startling the jack-in-the-box, who yelled in surprise and tried to cleave him with his other blade. Thus he forgot about Saber, which was good: once again, Lelouch easily avoided the attack with his Haki, using the retracting arm as a trampoline to jump out of reach. Once in the air, he backflipped several times and unwrapped his arms from his legs when he was high enough, thus facing the threat from above. And he still wasn't seeing anyone else but Orion, only Orion. His eyes were gleaming with such malice and his entire body was radiating killing intent that it was making the room vibrate.
Ten seconds. Lelouch smirked, locking eyes with the atrocity below him. "Hey, Orion..." he called out, flexing the fingers of his right hand.
The clown didn't dare blink, as if he knew that would cost him something – his life or something else that would kill him later. But he still prepared himself to receive Lelouch head on, readying his twin blades.
"Are you ready to die, little doll?" Orion chuckled creepily, swirling his swords. He nodded his head many times like a maniac, still laughing. The jack-in-the-box was so focused on his target that he had already forgotten about the others he should have been trying to kill, since there wasn't just only the mismatched-eyed boy to execute, but for some reason he couldn't explain, Orion felt the need to kill Lelouch first. "Such a shame, an incredibly handsome boy like you would attract so many preys for our master's desires. You would be so happy, so loved by master. If only you could –"
The rest of his sentence died in his throat, which constricted uneasily due to the sound of Lelouch chuckling almost hysterically (and here everyone thought that only clowns could make creepy sounds.), and this gained the attention of all those who were still conscious or alive at this point; though Saber was holding a blind girl in his arms, he still covered her unseeing eyes with a disturbed expression, closing his and trying to occupy his mind with happy memories just in case his friend might have decided to give in the sweet temptation of madness. If Saber faltered, Lelouch's powers would get through him way too easily, even if he put up a darn good fight to block the nightmares the Terror-Terror Fruit would dig up.
When the others – Orion, Noctis and the triplets – looked up at the navigator, they weren't aware that they fell deep into his trap (even though Lelouch didn't have to look at his victims in the eye to ensnare them in his illusions, it still felt good to witness the fear in their eyes.); Lelouch's eyes visibly darkened and the irises suddenly widened, making the mismatched colours disappear. As soon as the phenomenon registered in their minds, horrible memories flashed right after that, causing the jack-in-the-box to gasp in surprise and falter.
The kind smile, that cute chuckle... and the mad glint in his eyes.
Orion bit hard on his painted lips to prevent himself from screaming, drawing blood on the busted lip. His red eyes, which had shown an incredible amount of fear only once in their life, were now as wide as they could be. No, that's impossible, he mentally thought, shaking uncontrollably.I thought I had buried that part of me long ago, so what the hell? Even before he became what he was forever, he had never talked about the most secret terrors and shenanigans that made his former self to anyone – not even Felicio. So what the hell was that?
"...ever played with dolls? Especially the prettiest ones that hide monstrous personalities?"
Orion didn't understand, as the sentence itself didn't really make any sense to him. But it still stunned him long enough to not pay attention to Lelouch as he drew one hand forward, as if slashing in the air without a sword – however, he saw the slashing attack a little bit too late, and he wasn't fast enough to fully avoid it. The pain hit him at full force all at once when the attack cut right through his entire arm, even severing the bones, and he couldn't prevent his eyes from rolling to the back of his head because his whole body was throbbing.
Who the hell could send a Rankyaku just by using one hand instead of the leg?
That was when the screaming finally started, with Lelouch laughing.
About ten minutes later...
The wild sobbing was shaking Nasse's body all over and though Saber really wanted to comfort the blind girl, he still couldn't find the words she needed to hear, because he just knew she wasn't in the right mind to listen; he had never had the unfortunate chance to experience his best friend's terrible powers, so he didn't know what it could do to him. It would certainly break him – the chances of succeeding were damn high, the World Government knew their shit when they put Lelouch's Devil Fruit on that blacklist. Those with weaker minds and wills would be easy preys to him, should he lose control of his Terror-Terror Fruit. And that had almost been the case with Orion right here, whose giant, limp corpse was all messed up, mangled and bloodied on the floor; due to his hunger, Lelouch had snapped and his powers had not only touched and mentally slaughtered the jack-in-the-box, but they had also reached the twins and the triplets. Since they had been scared of the jack-in-the-box and what he'd do to them, should they fail to defeat him, the Terror-Terror Fruit still allowed its master to sense their fear and play with it. So they had a very light taste of the monstrous power his friend was hiding. Very, very light indeed. Vergo warned him against Lelouch's upcoming abilities years ago, after he made him swallow the forbidden fruit, stating that it would change him forever.
Looks like the bastard was right about that. But still...
So he just held onto Nasse, since he really couldn't do anything else because she was clinging to him for dear life. Unprepared to this as they were, Saber had still covered the blind girl's eyes for some reason he still didn't understand – as if something in his guts told him to protect her from the haunting madness and terror Lelouch had been about to unleash. His green eyes searched around, bypassed Orion's dead body, and found Noctis. His gaze slightly softened as he took in the boy's terror-stricken expression; he was trembling like his sister, huddled in a corner with his arms wrapped around his legs, balancing back and forth. His golden eyes were wide, still showing the shock of seeing the nightmares and his darkest fears in his mind. Saber cursed, grinding his teeth. Lelouch really hadn't been kind.
And the hybrid still had to go after him, since he wasn't in his right mind and must be hunting down Felicio. But before going, he had to know something.
"That's how your sister can see, isn't it?" he murmured to Noctis. "The brotherly bond between you two must be damn strong if you're linked together. You see for her, which is how and why she can't really be considered as fully blind. She's able to see through your own sight. Amazing," he muttered as he glanced down at Nasse, who was both panting and crying at the same time, though a little quietly. "Has it been like this ever since you two were born?"
No answer. Not that he was expecting one, especially in Noctis' current state.
"Alright. I...have no words adapted to this situation and to comfort you after what my friend's powers put you through," Saber continued, closing his eyes with a serene expression on his face. He sighed, feeling the nerve-wrecking tension the twins were both subjected to. "I can't even say I'm sorry for whatever you've seen under his illusions, because that won't matter and fix you, but what I can say is that it's not real if you know it's not. Your fear turned you into easy preys for him, and his powers automatically took advantage of that, which is something you sometimes don't pull out completely sane afterwards."
He tore his gaze from Noctis, looked up to where Lelouch had headed out. Turned out that Orion's body had been hiding a secret passage built deep into the wall all this time, leading towards the surface and back into town, and since Lelouch had made such a huge mess around the room, he had managed to make the gigantic jack-in-the-box crash into the wall, thus discovering the passage. The navigator had flown up the stairs, still covered in Orion's blood and smiling like a madman.
Determined to find Lelouch and knock him out before he could take out innocent victims (because he still had to perform the counter-spell to nullify the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique, and he needed to be in his right mind to do so.), Saber tried to pry himself out of Nasse's nearly choking hold.
"You've been hypnotizing people all this time, and Lelouch caught you. Whether he decides to execute you or not, it's up to him, but he has to cancel the spell after taking out Felicio. And for that to happen, I really, really need to get moving," he grunted as he forcibly wrenched himself out of Nasse's arms, but he still held her by the arms before moving her trembling form to her brother, who suddenly jerked to life as soon as her skin touched his. "You. Take care of your sister," he firmly ordered Noctis, boring his serious green eyes into his golden ones. "You're her rock as much as she's yours. If you both falter, you'll sink. Trust me: I have siblings and two twins I'm always worried about."
Something so personal shouldn't be said to a stranger such as this Noctis guy, but when there were siblings involved in a very messy situation, Saber himself couldn't remain indifferent. Twins always had a more special bond than siblings with an age difference, they were practically connected to each other and that had always been so wonderful. Saber being a triplet, he couldn't deny that he loved his connection to his two other twins. Why was he so kind to them after they had tried to kill his best friend? Just because Noctis and Nasse were their enemies didn't mean that their brotherhood had to be overlooked – Lelouch would have hesitated, perhaps, but Saber wouldn't have overlooked the bond between siblings.
These two kids just needed to survive, so they took the first hand that wanted to help them up and give them a path to follow, whether it was a bad or good one. Saber knew it could have been the same with his siblings had they been captured by, so he couldn't judge Noctis and Nasse for fighting for their life.
Heaving a sigh, the hybrid dropped to one knee and firmly grabbed the boy, who jerked a little in his hold, and brutally brought him to an eye-to-eye level. "Understood?!" he barked, his green eyes shining with a feroce determination.
"Y-Yes!" Noctis yelped, nodding fervently and clearly intimidated. He took several breaths to calm himself, having been brought back down from his shock, then shook his head, his golden eyes now more focused. "Yeah!" he growled with more conviction in his tone.
"Good. I'd feel down if something happened to you two, because brotherhood is everything to me." Realizing what he said, he used a small amount of Haki to look for the triplets because he had actually forgotten about them. When he found them unconscious and injured in another corner of the room, he was relieved to hear their heartbeats and breathing. "I have to go," he said, getting up and fingering his swords and the sniper rifle. "My friend needs me."
After sharing a final look of understanding with Noctis, Saber dashed away to find Lelouch and, if possible, Felicio in one piece and his mind still intact. The fight with Orion had wildly shaken the foundations of the passage, and his fall to the ground when he was finally defeated by a mad Lelouch must have made pretty serious damages; some heavy blocks of rock had fallen, created some worrying cracks on the steps, thus making the ascent a little bit dangerous for a normal person. But certainly not for the hybrid: it was just another climbing game, as if he had to climb a particularly difficult tree. This is partly why I'm grateful for being half-monkey, he thought with a cheerful smile as he used his impressive agility and flexibility to climb the severely damaged staircase. Lelouch must have both contorted and used the Rokushiki to get back upst airs, but with his current state of mind, getting him to calm down would require lots of food and a good night's sleep. He would be, at the very least, out cold for two days straight or three if everything went well after Felicio's defeat.
Only if everything went well, which included that the inhabitants of Coral Village better not try something bad when he and Lelouch actually saved them from being enslaved by freaks and the Freesia Pirates better still be back at the bay where they left them. If the latter problem turned out to be true, Saber would have to bomb them once they caught up to them – if his friend doesn't sink them first with cannons, trying to send them to a watery grave for betraying them.
"That wouldn't be good for them if that actually happens," Saber muttered as he gracefully swung to hop onto a banister, his tail wrapped around his waist. "I'd so not want to be around if he throws them to Sea Kings as food, which is something he might do."
And that was partly why he had to get Lelouch before he could do something really bad. Not that he'd get in the way of his best friend, but still; they were on a tight schedule here, and if they wanted to get to Alabasta before the battle between the rebellious army and the Royal soldiers of Alubarna could begin, they had to leave this place. When he finally got to the top floor, he rolled his eyes in relief as he wrenched the door open, also hurling a surprised obese clown, who must have been clinging to the handle, out of the way.
"Whoa!" Saber exclaimed as he sidestepped to avoid the collision, which would have sent him falling back downstairs. And that was the case for the clown, as the hybrid watched in amusement as the clown fell with a girlish scream. "Going for a ride down the stairs? Didn't see you coming, but I'm not sorry for that!"
The swordsman stepped into what seemed to be the backstages of the circus, and it was currently crawling with lots of defeated clowns – just how many of them were there? Since they were still all breathing but moaning in pain, Lelouch must have blocked all their pressure points to disable them completely, thus preventing them from doing anything. That couldn't have taken more than ten minutes with his speed and precision (heck, not even five if he remembered that they were in a rush, that he had to perform the counter-spell for the hypnosis and get the hell out of Quasar.), he just didn't feel like taking them out permanently.
Nevertheless, he still did have to take care of one of them; he unwrapped and straightened his tail, snarling, and brutally brought it down on the clown's head by using the massive tuft as a Haki-infused mallet. Three times. Then he sauntered off, leaving an out cold freak with missing teeth and a bashed face. Never try to grab a monkey's tail, because they were nastier than prey mantis when they were mad.
"Lelouch!" Saber called out as he ran straight towards the stage, sometimes dropping on all fours and doing a little parkour to avoid the dangling bodies in the ruined backstages – his friend really didn't go easy on them all. Good, that should calm them down until they threw their asses to the wolves. Upon reaching the stage, his green eyes widened in disbelief and he stopped dead in his tracks, surprised. "You must be kidding..."
He'd been expecting many things, like a bloodied Blacken Felicio barely alive after a good beating, screaming his head off because of Lelouch's terrifying Devil Fruit powers – but not a mass of civilians attacking his friend all at once. There were already many of them knocked out on the ground, immobilized by Lelouch's swift and efficient chi-blocking, but there were still a lot of them attacking – were they from the crowd? What was worse was the fact that all of them were still hypnotized, and therefore were obeying Felicio's orders to stop Lelouch from reaching the master of this circus and ending his life; their glassy eyes were all the more upsetting, and though his friend was doing a very good job at not killing them while in this unstable state, Saber could tell it was slowly pissing him off by the exasperated expression on his bloodied face. Having others to do your deeds, he thought with a disgusted sneer as he shook his head, is the best you can do, coward? This was exactly why hypnosis shouldn't be used on naive people who wouldn't suspect a thing at first and wouldn't be able to fight back.
Coward. Bastard. He should be offered as a sacrifice to Sea Kings.
Felicio being nowhere to be seen at the moment, the swordsman groaned in annoyance as he jumped in the fight, using the flat side of his blades so he wouldn't really hurt any civilian. Avoiding them wasn't so hard since they didn't have formal training, but it was just the fact that there were tons of them coming all at once, not giving the two friends any rest, that was really annoying.
They were soon fighting back to back, Saber having managed to slide his way in towards Lelouch, and they were performing a formidable combination; when Lelouch backflipped to do a handstand after disabling and kicking yet another civilian, the hybrid took it as his cue and nimbly jumped on his extended legs, that were stretched out until they were doing a flat angle, to stand on them, his tail swishing and ready to knock out their attackers without killing them. The extra weight didn't seem to have perturbed the expert navigator, as he started to spin on his hands. This new combo didn't startle the civilians, as their expression remained infuriatingly aloof.
"I hope I'm not too heavy for you, jack-o'-lantern!" he shouted at Lelouch, an excited smile stretching his lips and his green eyes twinkling. Swinging his sheathed twin kodachis off his shoulder expertly, he cast a mischevious look at their hypnotized 'enemies'. "'Cause we're about to make this circus really not so fun!"
"Do not kill any of them, monkey!" Lelouch shouted back, spinning a little bit faster. Then he smirked, mischief shining in his eyes. "Oh, and don't fall!"
"And you better still be sane and awake after we deal with Felicio, 'cause I need you to break the hypnosis and restore peace and order in this city! Then only after that you can fall asleep!"
Their combination worked: with Lelouch doing a handstand and spinning on the ground, the expert navigator kicked those who lunged at them, and with Saber balancing himself on his legs, the hybrid used the pommel of his swords or the tip of the sheath to strike the civilians on their pressure points to either disable or knock out those who dared to come at them in the air (because yeah, some actually tried to do that.). Unfortunately, the ride ended when one woman grabbed his tail, tugging at it rather painfully, which caused the hybrid to snarl angrily at this, and the unexpected action brought the trio to crumble down like a foundation.
Curse that hypnosis technique. Lelouch clearly hadn't expected someone to hold onto Saber's tail, and with the woman now spinning around like a lasso, he couldn't retain his balance because of the extra weight and he faltered on his hands. His eyes widened in surprise as he felt his friend's weight and the hypnotized woman's suddenly leave his legs, and he fell rather gracelessly on his back with a groan, while Saber and the woman went flying until they brutally crashed into the wooden benches. As surprising as it was, it wasn't enough to really perturb Lelouch while in his current state: he exhaled harsh breaths, suddenly rising on his legs like a puppet, from the other way around – his legs went behind his head, and once his feet landed firmly on the ground, he pulled up his torso effortlessly until he was standing on his legs completely. His arms swung back and forth a little, but Lelouch didn't care as he slowly cracked his neck, his eyes closed. Really, he was going to thank Sphinx for putting him through this insane training – being a master contortionist happened to be fun and damn useful when he needed to get out of sticky situations.
Even in his half-mad state, his senses were able to pick up the movements of the target he'd wanted to hunt down, should she escape him out of the circus and into town; ragged breaths were escaping his lungs as he struggled to get out of the mess of his ruined home not far from Lelouch's position, sometimes cursing. His heartbeat was wild and unwilling to calm down because of one emotion that was causing his voice to crack and waver, his body to fail him. Not even freaks could block out such terrible emotion when it was gnawing at them, because there would always be an animal to sense it.
Fear. Absolute terror in the form of a mismatched-eyed boy with a terrifying smile. He knew he had to get the hell out of here – right the fuck now. He had turned into the prey, terror-stricken, and the hunter was bloodthirsty, dying to get his hands on him.
Amid the low chorus of pained moans, his voice stood out in a creepy tone as a feral smirk emerged slowly on his face. "Hold on a second, Felicio. Where do you think you're actually going?" he said, raising his head until his smirk was fully visible, his eyes still closed. "Don't you want to play with new dolls before we say our final goodbye to each other?" He cocked his head on one side, his fingers twitching to hurt. "Or do you wish to declare your swansong right now before I shred your wretched mind to pieces like an angry kid rips paper when he's frustrated?"
The sound that escaped Felicio's throat came out as strangled, as if he was trying to choke on his cries. His eyes, which had always been sickeningly gleeful because no one had dared to put a brutal end to his fun, had become so fear-filled that it looked unsettling on him (oh, the irony. He was supposed to be the one having fun with people, not the other way around). Though he was willing his body to move, it wouldn't budge one damn bit, and the wild shaking in his limbs wasn't helping. If only he could get out of the circus, his ruined circus that had unfortunately met his demise in the mismatched eyes of a monster, he'd be ready to crawl on all fours. He wouldn't even have time to feel ashamed and humiliated, he'd just want to get the hell away from the monster who triumphed against Orion – and viciously slaughtered him.
Getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaway...
So that's what terror does to you: it cripples your mind until it can no longer think coherently and all you do is run away, anywhere you think fear can't get to you. But how in the hell could that kid do this? Was he using some kind of toxin – a fear toxin, somehow? That would be the most logical explanation his crippled mind could muster, because there was absolutely no freaking way that a Devil Fruit could allow a user to get and use such a terrifying ability. No way. Felicio could swear that his now fragile mind was screaming at him, even though it was heavily clouded by fear and couldn't really focus on the present. All he knew was that he had to scramble out of here, run out into the wild without looking back and –
"Ack!" he choked out, his arms crumbling under the very sudden extra weight on his back. He was slammed against the dirt, coughing harshly, and when he feebly tried to move, he was brutally slammed back. The feeling of fisted hands, and nothing else, as if Lelouch was doing a handstand on his own back was utterly painful. The bastard was a little bit heavier than he thought – and he looked so slim and lean. But even so, Felicio had to give him credit for having a perfect balance.
A dark chuckle from said bastard above echoed, sinister and chilling, making the clown go still once again. "You wouldn't love to hear a story from my childhood, it's not really the kind of story you'd find funny and endearing, so I won't bother. Instead," he said, swiftly shifting into a standing position on Felicio's upper back by contorting until he was on his legs, causing the clown to curse and groan in pain. Then he dared to place one knee on his shoulder blade, earning him a hiss that he brushed off. "I'll just guess yours while we're still at it, that might light up my mood until I decide to get rid of your ass and turn it into bloody Sea King food. Let's see...once upon a time, there was a sad little boy who who, despite the world being this unfair and sometimes unkind place, desperately tried to give it a smile even though it could fail unpleasantly." The smirk on Lelouch's face grew larger, if it were possible. "There was no father to guide him, probably abandoned his family or must have tragically died. So that leaves the little boy with his mother, who loved him very much. Since there wasn't a father figure in his life, everything fell down on her shoulders. She had to raise a child on her own, sometimes wondering when they'd be thrown out for not making ends meet, and God only knows how tough it is to raise just one child without having the means to give him happiness. Still, he decided to smile and say that everything would be alright. Am I right so far, Fe-li-cio?"
This time, Lelouch could witness a thunderous expression spreading over his face; the frown became a harsh and offended scowl, the grimace turned into a nasty snarl. The transformation was very sudden that it was almost endearing to watch. It replaced the pained one so easily and quickly that he nearly gawked at it, but he held his composure with a smirk. That was the reaction he needed.
"Shut up," the clown hissed coldly, sounding like an angry snake. "You don't even know what you're talking about."
"I sure don't, but I can try," Lelouch countered sweetly, almost childishly – but in a mocking way. When Felicio started trashing around, he restrained him quite easily by pressing his knees even further on his shoulder blades and trapping his arms behind his back. "You see, you alone think it's quite amusing to make fun of people when you're in control, but what happens when you lose that control over them? You get to be the prey for the hungry wolves, making you suddenly vulnerable and cornered. Especially cornered," he emphasized this specific word by snapping the clown's right wrist in his grip, rolling his mismatched eyes in annoyance when Felicio kind of muffled his cry of pain by biting his lip so hard that it bled. "I'm no hero, I'm not trying to be one, but I deeply despise people who use other people to do their dirty work, and you using hypnosis like this is sickening."
He lowered his head until his mouth was right next to Felicio's ear, snarling. "So here's the proposition: you're going to put an end to this freaky nightmare along with the hypnosis charade, because that's going to get all of you killed, even the citizens you've enslaved. Do you think the government is going to spare their lives if they find out they've been hypnotized? It's not just the fact that you had twins to use a forbidden Alabastan technique – it's the hypnosis in general that scares the heck out of them. Why do you think they put all hypnosis techniques on a 'forbidden-to-practice' list? I won't waste my time explaining to you how much torture you'd be exposed to both in your jailtime in the hands of the World Government and in your next life in hell, I have a better idea."
And without going into further details, Lelouch lifted his hand, readied his fingers, and deftly struck a pressure point behind Felicio's neck. He gasped, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, and went lax on the ground, out cold.
The navigator breathed slowly – once, twice, thrice – and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate as he stood up and stepped off Felicio's body. The urges were still surging through him with great force, clashing like wild mavericks against the ramparts of his own body and mind – they were clawing at him to be let free, to express that killer intent he was trying so hard to repress. Lelouch had never felt such amount of killer intent, not even back when he was still Lelouch Lamperouge and possessing a Geass; dismantling Britannia would have required the will to make sacrifices and the strength to not look back on the wasted lives, and his Geass really changed him for the worst. It severely damaged his humanity to the point he'd enjoy torture and manhunts, but he couldn't deny that his Devil Fruit fully completed the transition.
Killkillkillkillkillkillhimkillhimkillhimkilltheclownkilltheclownkilltheclownkilltheclown...
He clutched his head, grunting and tumbling backwards a little. "No... I still need the bastard to face... pure fear and horror," the navigator growled savagely as he forced his mind to concentrate on something more important – Alabasta, the counter-spell for the hypnosis. He still had to perform to free the hypnotized civilians from the powerful technique, but the calling of terrified screams and broken minds was just that strong.
If Lelouch chose to unleash his powers onto Felicio right now, while taking advantage of his unconscious state, the damage on his mind could be greater than expected because of the amount of fear he could sense from the clown before he knocked him out – that awakened his hunger, enticed by the 'smell of terror' that lingered on his target when he realized that his circus was falling apart due to Orion's death at the hands of Lelouch. But that would drive him to be incredibly exhausted after using the Awakened Nightmare, and damn hungry. More than he already was as of right now. He'd learn to get rid of those inconvenients with time, but that would require lots of training with Doflamingo, Vergo and Saber.
Damn Devil Fruit.
Slowly, Lelouch opened his eyes, and they immediately zeroed on Felicio's body – he couldn't help it, the fear surrounding him like a halo was just too endearing to ignore. And it made him even hungrier just to think about feeding on the clown right now, just to satiate his Devil Fruit's hunger and get his shitload of sleep afterwards. His pupils slowly got larger and wider, blackening his eyes as he started to breathe harder. He flexed his fingers repetitively, as if attempting to restrain himself from grabbing the bastard.
Killkillkillkillkillkillhimkillhimkillhimkilltheclownkilltheclownkilltheclownkilltheclown...
"Snap the hell out of it, Lelouch!" shouted a voice just a second before the navigator was violently slapped.
The force of the blow managed to knock him over and he fell to the ground, eyes tightly shut and gasping for air as he desperately tried to sort out the rampaging emotions inside his head. His cheek stung due to Saber's slap, but the pain was very welcome as of right now: Lelouch really was about to commit an insane act that would have driven him to become some kind of dream eater. Bless the monkey, he always seemed to sense his friend's distress even over a thousand miles away!
"Easy, my friend," the hybrid coaxed as he put his hands on Lelouch's shoulders to steady him. "Listen to my voice, Lelouch. It's gonna be okay, alright? Just breathe, breathe deeply."
Lelouch's voice was raspy when he acknowledged Saber's words. "The counter...spell...I..." He couldn't finish his sentence as a raging coughing fit overtook him, shaking his body.
"That can wait a few moments," Saber snarled, his hands tightening around Lelouch's shoulders. He had to contain his rage and control himself for a few seconds before being able to talk calmly. "Your health comes first before theirs, Lelouch, and I'll always put yours first before anyone else's."
His health first. Always.
As he looked at the duo with expressionless golden eyes, Noctis thought about everything that happened to him and his twin Nasse ever since they were taken in by Felicio and his band of creeps. Leaving the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta after the disappearance of their parents had been a decision he would never think of looking back, because it could have meant starvation until death for him and his sister. The journey to Alubarna for two children would have killed them, even though they were aware of the dangers of the desert, so he had taken a drastic decision. He took a book of martial arts, his precious twin sister and his pride, and made his way to Nanohana so they could both sneak into a boat.
Felicio had found them in a spring island, when the twins were practically dying of starvation. Noctis was wary of nature, but the aura the clown had exulted that day had somehow comforted him and Nasse – anything that could put his blind sister at ease was a welcome blessing. And Felicio... that guy extended a hand towards the twins, smiled at them both, and said something strange.
"How about a ride, lovelies?"
Even after years, he still couldn't understand that question. All he knew was that he and Nasse had accepted his hand, his affection and anything he could offer them. He hadn't questioned Blacken Felicio back then, and Nasse was just so happy she had a roof and a warm bed to rest – that had been enough for Noctis. But it was slowly after encountering and fighting against this Lelouch guy and his hybrid friend that he finally understood how wrong he'd been about Felicio's nature. The bastard was twisted enough to sacrifice his own tools just to save his worthless life, trying to get away with crime (because hypnosis had been deemed as a crime by the World Government). The fact that this betrayal came from the very man who had offered them a 'new life' left a sour taste in his mouth, but the worse blow was Nasse's tears. His sister crying was a sight he never wanted to see again. Never again.
The son of a bitch had to be punished.
Having taken a decision, he coaxed Nasse into walking with him in his arms and made his way towards Saber and Lelouch. The mismatched-eyed boy was hunched over, trying to gather his senses and breathing – was it a result of the terrifying horrific technique he pulled in Orion's lair before he killed the gigantic clown? It seemed to have taken a toll on him, and the monkey man was whispering words of encouragement, concern written over his features. As he looked him over, Noctis heard his words once again.
" You're her rock as much as she's yours. If you both falter, you'll sink. Trust me: I have siblings and two twins I'm always worried about."
They seemed so genuine that he had wanted to believe him on the spot – Felicio having betrayed him and Nasse was enough to be judgemental about people, and that was understandable. But there was something about Saber and Lelouch that made Noctis want to... believe.
Vibrant green eyes snapped up at them, stopping them dead on their tracks. The concerned expression faded into a frown as Sabertooth observed the twins, now silent. Then his gaze found Noctis' golden eyes and stared right back, inquiring. The elder twin swallowed slowly, nibling on his lip. This was the first time he was being nervous around someone so intimidating such as this hybrid, and that was kind of irritating. Especially when he wanted to do something right.
Nasse, sensing his distress, searched for his hand and grabbed his right one to squeeze. He squeezed back.
And that worked just fine. "Can we help?"