(A/n: This chapter and the next are going to be long and hopefully not rushed...Of course I don't plan on making them like that intentionally. Also I hope you all are well and safe! Any errors or mistakes will be fixed, please enjoy)
Chapter 49: Something Is Not Right
Continuous rain disrupts the stiff silence within the surrounding halls, lightning flashes then comes a thunderous rumble.
Sensing a threatening presence closing in from behind them as well as a trembling hand latched onto the rim of his drenched blazer, Gregory silently questions the red haired teen's eager smile ahead of them. But then notices something. "These three are from the Student Council." If it weren't for the red and black armband around their respective left or right arm, he would've thought they were just aimlessly wandering students. He recalls Token wearing a white and black one when he went to be ushered to the lost and found room to retrieve his cutlass, the very same band Kyle had the first night he and the others met him.
The closeness of the intimidating aura alerts Gregory back to focus, he looks back to see a pale man with ebony hair holding Gary captive, his arm hooked securely around his throat. Insipid teal locking with apprehensive apricot colored eyes, the man frowns, making him look as if he'd missed more than a days worth of sleep. "Oh, forgot there are humans here," he says flatly.
Damn vampires and their ability to make their footsteps sound as weightless as a feather, Gregory curses. He turns his whole body around, narrowing his eyes nervously. "Release him." Pip timidly looks to see who he's talking to, horrified to witness Gary held hostage.
Chris directs his gaze to Pip, suddenly imagining his younger-self in his position, cowering at him as if he's become...the very person-no monster he despises. Shuddering at the uneasy chill coursing through him, he lets the teen go. "No, I am nothing like her. I..." He shuts his eyes tightly and shakes his head, opening his eyes slowly with his face now bare of any emotion. He can't have such sensitivity distracting him. He advances towards his intended targets.
Pip approaches his dazed friend. "A-are you okay?"
Blinking at the sound of his concerned voice, Gary nods his head, relieving Pip of his worries. Gary raises a hand to touch his neck, his skin cooled even further by the man's own. He frowns uncomfortably, looking at the noirette's well-built back.
"W-we should hurry and continue finding the others," Pip says, reminding the two of their task, plus he doesn't want to be here any longer. He turns to Gregory who is watching the male's figure. "Gregory?"
Said teen stares at him for an additional moment then clenches his weapon, he spins around walking away in big strides. "C'mon." Sparing the three vampires a glance, Pip and Gary trail after him.
Aiden and Kou spot the humans fleeing from their peripheral while Remi has an intent focus on the vampire hunter before them.
"Alright, let's do this."
Kou tries to stop him. "No Remi wait!" But the redhead engages into combat with the hunter despite the order. Sighing, Kou face palms. "That hotheaded idiot."
Aiden shrugs. "Nothing we can do now except wait until the time's right to step in." They would lend Remi a hand right now, however doing that would only upset him. No matter how strong the opponent is, he would rather face them fair and square till the end.
Lowering his hand, Kou sees Remi and the hunter simply fighting each other with their fists and feet. "Or one of us could stay here while the other continues to search for Kyle."
Aiden looks to him with widening silver and crimson eyes. "I know you're annoyed with Remi, but leaving him here to get killed is too much." Right after he said that, their friend gets sent flying down the hallway.
Kou frowns guiltily. "Way to jinx it, and you know that's not what I meant."
Chris turns to them, a bit of blood staining his white dress shirt. His empty stare makes them feel like they're gazing into the eyes of a corpse. "Do either of you know where that Japanese prick is?"
The teenagers furrow their eyebrows, confused at first until it dawns on them. "No we don't," answers Kou. "Even if we did we wouldn't tell you." Aiden nods in agreement.
Chris narrows his eyes angrily. "Tch, should've asked those humans first." "Dumb brats I'll-"
"Hold it!" Remi suddenly appears in the middle of the three, the dark smoke evaporating into the frigid air. "I'm not down an' out just yet!" He smirks, wiping away a thin string of blood from his chin with his thumb.
"We'll fight him together." Aiden and Kou stand beside him, Remi looking ready to argue but a sharp glare from both boys renders him unable to complain.
"Hmph," Chris cracks his knuckles, smirking arrogantly. "Teaming up won't change anything, but I'll give ya props for the thought."
He strikes first, going for Remi. As the redhead prepares himself, he notices too late that it was a fluke. He's not really who the man is after. It's Aiden. The auburn haired teen catches on almost instantly, and manages to block his fist with his arms, grunting when he feels his bones cracking due to the force of the man's punch. Disregarding the acute pain, Aiden presses his toes down to prevent himself from being pushed too far back and also from falling. Chris now goes after Remi, but thanks to Kou's quick reflexes he gets in front of Remi and parries Chris' punch, delivering an attack of his own.
Taken aback by such a well-executed countermove, Chris seizes his fist before it makes contact with his face, doing it once more at Kou's second attempt.
"You're wide open now!"
Making a startled face at a swift kick trained at his head, Chris then grins and in the blink of an eye, his form whizzes from sight. His foot instead hitting air, Remi stumbles, but doesn't fall.
"Where'd he go?"
Surprised and on-edge, Remi and Kou glance around for the man, knowing that he didn't teleport because there's no traces of black smoke where he once stood. They immediately discover him right behind Aiden, claiming him by the throat. Aiden struggles to pry his arm away, his own arms in the process of recovering.
"You kids aren't half-bad," Chris says, some life flickering into his eyes, though faintly and for a brief second. He frowns, the light in his orbs fading. "It's truly a shame that I can't stick around and play with you three longer, it was just startin' to get fun."
Remi growls through gritted teeth. "Bastard, let him go."
Chris applies slight pressure onto Aiden's throat, which was strong enough to just nearly cut off his air supply. "Don't worry I'll release him, once this guy's value is used up so he's gonna have to come with me." Chris' expression goes dark. "Just be glad I'm sparing your pathetic lives."
"Aiden!" Remi and Kou exclaim. They try to come to his rescue, but was too late. Chris and Aiden were gone. Deflated, the two boys stare at the vanishing inky fumes.
"We gotta find them," Remi says with urgency in his voice.
"It's okay," Kou reassures. "He may have gotten the slip on us, but we still have the lead."
Remi looks at him with knitted eyebrows, not comprehending what he meant. "What're you talking about?"
Kou's lips form into a line. "It's weird but it seems he's after Mr. Akuma, and him alone. It's thanks to your sudden use of teleportation that gave indication that we could use both that and telepathy again, I quickly warned Mr. Akuma about the hunter." He crosses his arms, a look of wonder crossing over on his face. "Why Mr. Akuma when the hunter also faced the Principal, Mr. Thorn, and Mr. Edgewood?"
Remi shrugs. "Who knows, but we don't have time to worry about that. We need to figure out what to do now."
Kou frowns at his next set of words. "Let's get back to searching for Kyle."
"What, are you serious?!" Remi shouts, angered by his declaration. "Aiden just got kidnapped, we can't just-"
Kou places a hand on the agitated redhead's shoulder. "I said it's okay and I meant it. The vampire hunter's only target is Mr. Akuma, he'll make sure nothing happens to Aiden."
Staring into unwavering icy grey eyes, Remi sighs. "I hope you're right. Mr. Akuma is one scary dude." He shudders at an imaginary image of the long haired noirette's silhouette encased in a blazing red aura resembling flames, his slanted eyes redder than the aura.
Kou pats his shoulder, dropping his arm to his side. "True, just don't let him hear you say that or he'll think you're praising him." They share a short laugh, getting on that man's good side is surprisingly easy. He feeds off of self-deprecation like a succubus. "Alright first I'm gonna ask Kyle himself where he is." Remi nods.
"Kyle?"
"..."
"Oi Kyle? Where are you?"
"..."
"Hello?!"
"..."
Kou sighs. "He's not responding. Could it be that we're only able to teleport?" If so then that means his warning to Mr. Akuma didn't reach him.
Remi frowns. "Maybe he's ignoring you?"
Pushing down the rising dread, Kou furrows his eyebrows. "I doubt it considering how critical the situation is."
"I bet he's with Tweek," Remi thinks to himself.
"Oh!" Kou blinks in realization. "I'll try asking Kenny, maybe they're together or he might know where he is if not.
Unfortunately he has no luck getting a hold of the blonde either. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the two proceed to look for Kyle on foot. Kou refuses to teleport, with no leads as to where Kyle is that would be a risk he'd rather avoid taking. Remi is curious as to how the Principal is fairing against Mr. Valentine, perhaps Ms. Biggle and Mr. Ashton are there helping him. That is if he needed it in the first place. He just hopes it doesn't take too long for them to find Kyle, and that Mr. Akuma defeats the hunter without letting Aiden get badly hurt.
'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK'
"Ms. Biggle?" Pete knocks two more times on the jet black door frame when he receives no reply. "Ms. Biggle are you in there?!" Still no answer.
"Guess that's a no," Joey says, sounding evidently relieved. "See, we should've started with Mr. Ashton's office first like I wanted to." He goes a little further down the short corridor to said office. "Even he wouldn't be inside that chasm." Ike, Firkle, and Pete join the curly haired noirette in front of Mr. Ashton's brown door, Joey knocks on it. After waiting a few seconds, he raises an eyebrow. "No way, he's out too?" He knocks again just to make sure.
"Just where the hell could they be?" Pete mutters. "They weren't in the auditorium, and they're not in their offices either."
Ike looks back at Principal Brimestone's office, then frowns. There's no way Ms. Biggle and Mr. Ashton would be in there, if so the three vampires he's accompanying would've sensed their presence inside the room.
"Why're you looking there for? Worried about the Principal?"
Feeling the light pressure in his hand, Ike looks over at Firkle. "A little. I know he's strong, but...I just don't get why Mr. Valentine is doing this."
"Yeah, it's a huge mystery," Firkle says softly.
A closed door with the same color as Mr. Ashton's towards the end of the hallway catches Ike's eye, he points at it. "Whose room is that?"
Firkle follows his finger. "The Student Council's. No one's in there."
"Oh." Ike lowers his arm back to his side, they must be out trying to calm everyone down and maintain order. It's pretty convenient for them to be within the same hall as the Principal and his assistants, it wasn't like this back at his previous school.
"C'mon."
A troubled Pete walks past Ike and Firkle, Joey is right behind him. "Where're we going now?" Ike asks as he and Firkle follow them.
Pete keeps heading straight. "To find everyone else. Ms. Biggle and Mr. Ashton might be helping the Student Council."
Neither Ike, Firkle or Joey voice their disagreement, thinking he's probably right. Plus wandering around some more can broaden Ike's search for his friends. Their walk is spent without conversation, their footsteps barely louder than the rushing downpour. Just when Ike starts to think that the lightning and thunder had simmered down, a heavy vibration makes him flinch. Firkle gives his hand a soft squeeze, his body instantly relaxing. Blushing, he looks up and smiles his thanks. Firkle feels his cheeks heating up as well as he returns the smile.
After two to three minutes, more than one pair of footsteps come into hearing range, sounding out of sync of their own. Pete signals for them to stop, the other party keeps walking. Upon closer detection, they appear to be in the next hall over on their right. Firkle, Pete, and Joey sense that among the group one of them is a vampire while the other three are humans. Only slightly tense - for the single vampire could potentially be the hunter - Pete silently urges them forward. Despite Ike's blatant bewilderment, he doesn't question anything, trusting them.
Once they're in the center of the four-way intersection, they stop again to look down the hallway the footfalls emitted from. The other group take no further steps, then a brief silence falls over them.
"And just where were you guys 'eaded?" Questions a cynical Frenchman.
As Pete answers for them as well as tell the teacher about their search for Principal Brimestone's assistants, Ike is happy to be reunited with his friends. He wonders why they are soaked, the thought of them having to scour for him outside in the rain puts a damper on his alleviation. Even more so at the disappointment in Gregory's frown. Pip's and Gary's small smiles however lifts his mood a smidgen. But then he notices someone missing.
"Tch, talk about being unprofessional," Christophe scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. You're one to talk, the teens think but no one dares to say that to him out loud. "Well for now let's meet up wizh zhe otzers, apparently a place for refuge is still undecided." Shaking his head at the absurdity of making a simple task so difficult, Christophe teleports them to the ground floor.
Immediately multiple voices flood their ears, and grates Christophe's nerves. Pete, Firkle, and Joey are curious as to when they'd regained their teleportation and telepathy abilities, they figured they would get some sort of indication or feeling from within that would let them know that whatever curse they were under had been lifted. But it appears that neither was the case.
"Mr. DeLorne!" Token rushes towards them from out of the crowd. "Thank goodness you're here, but where's Mr. Thorn?"
Christophe glares at him. "Don't worry about 'im, what zhe 'ell are all you still doing 'ere out in zhe open for? It's like you want zhe 'unter to slaughter you." Then again perhaps staying here would be the better option. Once the hunter...Christophe mentally shakes his head, discarding the thought. Rather than being held responsible for unnecessary deaths because of his selfishness, he's just going to have to escort these bunches of idiots somewhere for now. Those three from the Student Council better stay alive until then.
Token sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. Three members from the committee come to stand beside him. "We've tried countless times to get them to go to the gym, but they keep refusing. Including most of the teachers. They think since we were in the gym last time the hunter might know so they'd rather go to someplace the hunter will least expect."
"Yeah, one being the cafeteria, the second being that we split into big groups and hide in diverse rooms, and the third one...is not even worth mentioning. It's just as stupid," explains a teen with his dark chocolate colored hair tied into a low ponytail. "We kept telling them that the hunter was preoccupied with the Principal and the teachers he'd chosen to assist him at that time, but they said they didn't wanna take any chances."
"And they've clearly forgotten the fact that even if the hunter does somehow find us, he'd be greatly outmatched," states another teen similar to Token's skin tone.
Now it's Christophe's turn to sigh, he mumbles some obscenities in his native tongue. Sucking in a deep breath he yells, "Shut up!" All voices cease their chattering and all heads swivel over in his direction, mostly students and a few adults visibly flinching at the steely irritation in his shamrock green iris'. "We are going to zhe gym and zhat's final. I don't give a sheet if you don't want to."
Not a single person moves or says anything as Christophe saunters off. Soon, murmurs debating if they should go with him or not fill the area, but quite a handful follow after the angered teacher without a seconds hesitation. Ike and his friends/roommates included.
Joey looks over at Token. "When you said most of the teachers didn't wanna go through with you guys' plan, was Mr. Edgewood one of them?"
The African-American teen shakes his head. "Actually, he just wandered off several minutes ago, saying he was gonna go check on something."
"Well seeing as how those three hooligans aren't around means he probably went to get them. Oh, my name is Nicholas by the way." The annoyance in his voice disappeared when he introduced himself, though a frown can be seen on his face.
"Mines is Fenix, spelled with an F minus the H and O," the long haired brunette articulates.
"And I'm Henry." The light brunette gives the humans a friendly grin.
Ike, Pip, and Gary greet them verbally while Gregory just nods his greeting. Ike observes his three human friends as they walk to their destination, who are a little ways behind him and Firkle. It seems Pip - although he's shivering and trying to be discreet by inching closer to the taller British teen next to him - is the only one showing an emotion or two. Both Gregory and Gary look to be lost in thought, it's not uncommon for Gregory but it is for Gary.
Ike glances down at his and Firkle's hands, then at the side of the boy's face. "Um Firkle?" The young vampire gives him his attention. "Can I talk to my friends for a bit?"
Firkle arches an eyebrow. "You didn't need to ask for my permission. You could've just done it."
Ike blushes. "Y-yeah but, it'd feel wrong not to tell you."
Firkle blinks as a warm heat swells inside of him, more specifically in his chest...What a strangely comforting sensation. "Well go ahead then." The moment he feels Ike's hand slipping out from his grip, he nearly latches onto his fingers to stop him from leaving his side. But he staves off the impulse. Feeling more than a pair of eyes on his figure, he meets the shocked gazes of Pete, Joey, and four more vampires in front of him; presumably his roommates' friends. Knowing the reason for their expression, Firkle shoots them a glare from his violet eye to hide his embarrassment. However the pink hue in his cheeks thwarts his intimidating appeal. Joey and one other person stifle a laugh as they all turn around.
Closing his eyes with a deep sigh, Firkle stuffs his hands into the pocket of his sweatpants. "If those two pester me about what they just seen, I swear..." But he has no one to blame but himself for being swept up in the moment, or should he perhaps blame Ike for being so Goddamn cute? Shaking his head with another sigh, Firkle ignores the whispers regarding him and his 'boyfriend'.
Timidly, Ike matches pace beside Gregory, staring at the floor in shame. He shoves down the building nervousness to speak. "I am so sorry. I-I didn't mean to stay out all day yesterday, but something happened and well..." He's not confident enough to tell them that he'd gotten freaked out by thunder, and it was thanks to Firkle that he managed to sleep last night.
Pip offers him an unbothered smile. "It's okay, seeing as you were with someone you know well enough to hold hands with this whole time put us at ease. And yes even Gregory was worried about you." Said teen deepens his scowl, but doesn't deny his statement. "Oh, could that boy perhaps be Firkle?"
Ike blushes once again as he nods his head, he didn't think they'd meet so soon. It wasn't too long ago that Pip demanded to know who'd been giving him those flowers, there's over a dozen of them in their nightstand. Most of them are messily crumpled up and damp, the others are dry and wrinkled. Now Gregory knows, but he most likely doesn't care which saves Ike from further embarrassment. Pip giggles at his bashful reply, and Ike decides to switch the topic, hoping Firkle didn't hear his name being said. "Where's Stan?"
His question is left unanswered for some moments. "We don't know," Pip frowns. "We were going to look for the both of you, but got held up by the vampire hunter."
Ike lifts his head, gaping at them. "You guys came across the vampire hunter?!" His raised voice wasn't heard over the numerous vampires chitchatting, but he snapped Gary out of his daze.
"Yes," Gregory says, the faraway look lingering in his eyes. "We managed to escape thanks to the other members of the Student Council."
"I hope they're alright," Pip says, feeling regretful knowing full well that they wouldn't have been any help. Him and Gary at least. Perhaps that was why Gregory seemed hesitant to leave.
"Does Mr. DeLorne know?" Ike asks.
Gary nods. "But he said that he'd help them after he took us to safety. It was so obvious that he wanted to go after we'd told him." He chuckles. Ike hums his understanding.
Shortly after, no other words are spoken, leaving an awkward air to surround them. "You can go back to him if you'd like," Pip offers, watching their youngest friend blink out of the brief trance he was in from staring at the vampire noirette's back. But then Pip sneezes. He rubs under his nose with a sniffle, the tremble in his body increasing. "A-actually it'd be b-best if you d-do so you don't get s-sick b-because of me."
The guilt almost eats Ike whole for it had never fully subsided, even though he'd been forgiven. "O-okay." He jogs up to Firkle, who instantly grabs and intertwines their hands without even looking.
Pip smiles faintly at them, blinking when something saturated and warm drapes over his shoulders. His face already flushed, he whirls his head around to look at the platinum blonde. "G-Gregory-"
"I'll be fine," the teen reassures, keeping his dull apricot colored eyes forward. He had to endure harsher weather during his assassination missions so being wet and cold is nothing new.
Pip blinks, but quickly averts his gaze when he catches a glimpse of Gregory's muscles clinging to both his dress shirt and undershirt. "T-thank you." Pip is actually kind of glad that he's starting not to feel well, that way the redness in his cheeks can appear naturally caused by the illness. He looks over at Gary, but before he can ask-
"Same here, I don't catch colds so easily either."
Although he's doubtful, Pip simply nods. Casting his eyes to the floor, he tugs the soggy blazer securely around his frame, the sweet fragrance of vanilla knocking the stuffiness out of his nostrils.
*Earlier In The Afternoon*
"Been a long while since I've been in here." Henrietta's vibrant topaz colored eyes glanced around. The room was void of light, smelled old as if it was left unattended for months, and was about the size of someone's bedroom. Various designs of swords ranging from all across the world decorated nearly every inch of the walls - all razor sharp and deadly looking. A metallic surgery table was a few feet away from the middle of the room, behind it was a wooden table covered in a black tablecloth containing cylinders, beakers, scalpels, a box of napkins, and other items used for chemistry and surgical purposes on top of it. "Place hasn't changed one bit."
Luther didn't feel enthralled by the ominous setting like she was, he looked at Kurai who was sorting out the contents on the table. "What exactly did you turn this storage house into?"
"A torture chamber," Henrietta answered instead nonchalantly, smiling at Luther's grimace of discomfort. "Relax, this guy doesn't bring any of the students and other staff here." That slightly reassured Luther.
"Of course I don't." Kurai turned and pulled a string hanging over the metal table, bringing forth a ring of light. The alloy had lost it's shine due to the dried up blood and scorch marks, there's even muddy red splatters beneath it. "No matter how badly they get on my nerves, I wouldn't go so far as to 'torture' them." Henrietta just grinned, this man seriously couldn't handle jokes. Kurai then locked his scarlet eyes with ones akin to a green apple. "Anyway, I hope you'll keep everything you see here retained only in memory Luther. Henrietta has kept true to her word so I expect the same from you."
Luther frowned at his lack of trust. "I see now the real reason he was upset when those two students came across this place that day. If they had of discovered all of these weapons, they would've undoubtedly told Principal Brimestone and he would've fired him on the spot...Probably..." At this point the Principal was just as much of an enigma himself, though his youthful character was definitely authentic. Luther nods. "You have my word as well."
After staring into his eyes for some additional seconds longer to see if he was being truthful or not, the seriousness on Kurai's face lessened, meaning Luther gained his approval. "Good, now let us discuss an appropriate course of action. We're dealing with more than just one enemy this time."
Folding her arms underneath her chest, Henrietta and Luther approached the flat metal table. "Mr. Valentine is the main threat so let's figure out how to take him down first," Henrietta stated.
Kurai nodded in agreement. "We know for a fact that his hypnotism is one of his key abilities, however we can't act with just this information alone. There's more we need to know in order for us to avoid any casualties and deaths if possible."
"Actually, Micheal did tell me this once before," Henrietta mused, frowning. "That he and Mr. Valentine often trained together in the past."
"So he also has combat experience," Kurai muttered. "Would honestly be surprised if he didn't. I'm sure Principal Brimestone will be able to fair well against him then."
Henrietta deepened her frown, recalling Micheal also revealing to her how poorly the sparring sessions went for him. "Are we gonna leave Mr. Valentine to the Principal?" Luther asked.
Kurai pondered over his question. He couldn't really say since he didn't know how good either of them were at fighting, one could be far stronger than the other or could be evenly matched. He didn't want to assume the latter, mainly because both men had very identical personalities and a few other reasons. Before he could reply, though indecisive, Henrietta spoke first. "No, you and I will back him up while Kurai takes care of the vampire hunter. It's obvious that bastard came back to get revenge."
"But we don't know that for sure," Luther argued. "He was here for everyone before, not just Kurai."
Henrietta waved off his concern. "It doesn't matter, as long as they all stick together they'll be fine. Plus once he's in Kurai's grasp you aren't gonna let him go, right?"
Kurai felt insulted. "Did you even need to ask? This time I going to bring him here as I intended to do in the first place, I'm quite eager to know if there's any differences between a Pureblood's body and a body that was once human. Surely there has to be something powerful residing within him for him to be so smug." Smirking, he acquired an evil gleam in his eyes.
His sarcastic, indirect statement about dissecting the vampire hunter caused goosebumps to sprout along Luther's skin. Henrietta snorted. "Alright, now that we know who's gonna go after who, I know precisely how we're gonna do this. Well for me and Luther—sorry Kurai but you're on your own." She gave the Asian noirette a sympathetic smile to which he only shrugged at, not feeling prejudiced in the slightest. "But I do know this applies to all of us—and it's timing. We have to act when their guard is down."
"Timing is no issue for me. I'll just ensnare him in another illusion be it a waste or fruitful, it's only suitable that I toy with my prey first before claiming it as my own."
A voice speaking through the intercom comes from inside the school building, sounding muffled from their position outside. "For now let's lay low and come up with a foolproof plan," Henrietta declared.
*Present Time*
It is awfully obvious that something strange is going on with Craig. No matter how many times Butters tries to figure out how to break Craig free from whatever spell he's under, nothing comes to mind and he doesn't have all the time in the world either since Craig is so adamant on killing him.
Since he took Clyde's life...
With every ounce of strength he can muster, Butters raises a leg and kicks Craig in the stomach, just in time before the noirette pierced his heart. With a startled grunt, Craig ends up dropping Butters and skids backwards a few feet. Landing on both knees with a hand hovering near his bruised throat, Butters coughs then groans. He's going to have to bear with the pain for about several seconds, glad that the healing process is already getting to work. He needs to stall even for a little until it's finished. "C-Craig, y-ya gotta listen to me! Clyde-"
"I told you to shut up fucker!" Craig hurls himself at Butters, who manages to evade by jumping back a meter. Rage induced eyes glare into Butters' sky blue ones, the blonde wincing at the pure hatred they are directing at him. "Clyde's dead and I'm gonna make sure you join him in hell."
"He isn't dead!" Craig pauses at the assertion, eyes wide in shock that later narrows into disbelief. Before he snaps, Butters speaks again. "If he is then where's his ashes?"
Craig frowns. "His ashes?" He scans around for said pile of powdered remains, but finds nothing of the sort. In fact, Clyde's head is nowhere to be seen. "W-what..?!"
Butters stands on his feet, lowering his hand to reveal the red marks and punctures where Craig's nails dug into around this neck entirely gone. "I didn't kill him Craig, no one did. You're just hallucinatin', and you need to snap out of it already!"
"It..was a hallucination?" Craig clears his head with a shake, he's not going to be so easily deceived. "If what you said is true, then where the hell is he?"
"That's what I wanna know."
Craig's whole demeanor changes. "Oh so you have no idea huh?" He says, sounding eerily calm. His face is blank, even the animosity he's been showing all this while seemingly abated. But only for a mere second, his body starts racking with tremors as he bares his fangs. "As if I'd fucking believe you!" He once again launches himself at Butters.
"Leo!"
Instead of Butters defending the attack himself, a man swiftly appears right in front of him grabbing Craig's hand, getting scratched as a result. Droplets of blood slowly drip from their closed palm, Craig glares into the being's brown orbs.
"Tch, this bastard doesn't know when to quit." But it doesn't matter how many of these lookalikes come at him, he'll kill them all.
Coming to from the shock, Butters gapes at curly peach colored hair. "Mr. Edgewood?!" What impeccable timing, he is so glad this man is here.
Craig's breath hitches. "E-Edgewood?!" He blinks and in that instant, his older brother now stands in the brown eyed clone's place. Gritting his teeth, Craig tries to pull away, however Leon tightens his grip making sure he doesn't escape. "L-let me go dammit!"
"Don't hurt him," Butters says. "He's actin' weird."
Leon frowns, looking into the noirette's demented red eyes. "Yeah I noticed." He releases Craig's hand, and the teen distances himself from the two. "Wonder what set you off this time," Leon thinks as the wound on his palm heals.
"Did Clyde send you?" Butters asks, hoping that was the case.
Hearing the brunette's name rekindles Craig's anger. With an infuriated growl, he darts towards the blonde once more. Leon doesn't budge from in front of Butters, prepared to take the blow in his stead.
Craig skids to a stop, just inches away from penetrating Leon's chest. He curls his hand into a fist. "Why are you protecting him? Clyde is gone thanks to that asshole!" He nearly shouts, his sadness just barely able to overpower him at the depressing reminder.
Leon knits his eyebrows, looking both puzzled and worried. "He thinks I killed Clyde," Butters clarifies.
"I saw his decapitated body with my own eyes you bastard! I don't care if you're just a fake, I'll kill you and your real body if it's the last thing I do!" He scowls solely at Leon. "I'll even kill my own brother if I have to."
Now only concern rests on Leon's face. "So Clyde being supposedly dead is the cause." His features soften into a smile. "Craig, Clyde is still alive. He's okay." Craig obviously doesn't believe him, in fact he looks even more pissed off. Leon expected as much. "Since you think otherwise, how about we go see him? He did tell me where you two were and what was happening. He along with everyone else are in the gym."
Both Craig and Butters are skeptical, but Butters says nothing, trusting Leon to handle the situation since he can't discern for absolute certain if he's telling the truth or not. After a close minute of silence, Craig looks equally livid and offended, the dark bangs of his hair casting a spine-chilling shadow over his narrowed eyes. "I just keep being lied to, over and over again," he seethes through clenched teeth. "You have to be fucking stupid to think I'll believe such bullshit!"
He doesn't even have a chance to lash out for Leon appears behind him at the speed of a lightning bolt. He chops the back of his neck, fighting to stay conscious but quickly loses the battle. Leon catches his slumping body with one arm, then slings Craig's arm around his shoulder and hoists him up to hold him properly.
Butters frowns nervously. "Umm, was what you said true?" He really hopes so, fearing that once Craig wakes up he'll be in an even fouler mood if it was all a lie, and who knows what he'll do then.
Leon sighs. "No, well not entirely." He gives the unsettled blonde a small smile. "We both know that Clyde isn't dead, the main problem is finding out where he is." He gets the deepest feeling that the trouble-making brunette is no longer in the school. "But for now let's go to you guys' room."
Butters nods, still frowning although a little comforted by his words. "Can we teleport now?" Leon confirms that they can with a nod. Butters teleports to his and his boyfriends' room.
Leon stares at the fading black haze. Once it completely vanishes, he narrows his eyes and gazes out the adjacent window. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Rosa." Shaking his head in disappointment, he follows after the blonde.
/
Leon with Craig in tow disappearing from view reflects through the mirror in Rosa's blue eyes.
"Happy now?" She deadpans, uncertain how to feel after witnessing the altercation that just transpired between her brothers. She is certain, though, that Leon is immensely upset with her, it was very clear on his face. But she knew he would feel this way once he pieced things together thus she doesn't care. Unlike him, Yuna, and Ed she at least wanted to get back at Craig without letting 'karma' do the deed for them, it sure as hell hasn't been kicking in all these years.
The teen stood behind her takes a step back, the agitation in his bright lavender eyes shifting into relief. "Yeah cuz I really didn't wanna kill you. You're still just a kid and a girl on top of being Craig's sister."
Rosa makes a face. "Like you could do anything with those brunt arms," she sneers. The stench of his seared skin is starting to get nauseating.
"Hey I have my ways." Rosa just rolls her eyes. "Aww, gonna cry now that your plan's been ruined?" The teen mocks as if he's talking to a baby.
Rosa's seated posture tenses. "Shut up, you're so fucking annoying."
Her irritated retort gets laughed off. "Yeah I get that a lot. So anyway, now that your sibling feud is over you gonna release me?"
Rosa heaves a heavy sigh. "Why ask when you can just leave?"
"Umm cuz I don't know where I am? Nor how far we are from the school." He scans the room more thoroughly since he didn't get a chance to after being crudely brought here. "Wait, are we in Japan?!" He asks, astonished.
Rosa turns to glare at him. "Will you keep it down? And no we're not in Japan, we're still in the states. This is Vin's house."
Visible confusion can be seen on the teen's face, just where exactly in the states and who is this 'Vin' person? "Uh huh..." He doesn't really care, he just wants to get back to Craig and Butters already. As for his arms, those are going to take at least five days to heal on their own, unless he goes to Dr. Kero to get proper treatment. Actually that will be the first thing he does once he returns to school, he'd rather tell the male nurse how he got these burns than tell his boyfriends, especially Craig. Craig would seriously kill the girl. "What about that guy in all black? Where's he at?"
Rosa shrugs. "Dunno."
Lavender orbs give her a dull stare. "Guess I'll go look for him then so he can send me back." He nears the sliding door, once he lifts an arm to open it he bites down on his bottom lip to keep from cursing as the pain in his limb becomes insufferable to endure.
Rosa leaps up from her chair. "No stop!"
But it's too late. Just as the teen pushes the door over to the side, a startling sound of shattering glass resonates throughout the abode. Soon two voices asking about the noise come from somewhere nearby, eventually the sound of a door sliding open and rushed footsteps follow.
"Tch, great." Rosa rushes over to the alarmed teen, places a hand on his shoulder then transports them to the academy before her younger siblings caught them.
No one utters a word inside the nurses office, nobody can muster up the courage to break the discomforting silence. Just seven minutes ago, only three people were in here but now it's five. Two teens occupy both beds, one is recovering from his fever and the other...is bleeding all over the pure white sheets.
Neither Kenny or Mark dared to ask what happened to Tweek, getting the dreadful suspicion that the vampire hunter was the culprit. Plus Kyle wouldn't have responded to them anyway if they did. The redhead looked so distraught when he suddenly teleported inside the room holding a severely injured Tweek close, and has remained this way even after he'd laid him down on the other bed next to Stan. When he went to grab the stool, a smear of red was detected on his forehead. Instantly the sweet and bitter scent of the blonde's blood circulated throughout the cool air around them.
After a minute, Kenny is the first to push his reluctance aside to ask the question he and Mark have been anxious to have answered. "Hey Ky-" He covers his mouth when a cough slips out. He continues to cough, pressing his hand closer to his mouth hoping to somehow reduce the disruption.
"Kenny what's wrong?" Mark asks, concerned. He glances at Kyle, but the redhead has a sad, fixated gaze on Tweek.
After coughing three more times, Kenny clears his throat, grimacing. It feels dry. He lowers his hand to show Mark a weak smile. "I-it's nothing, I'll be fine." That is if he consumes some blood. A vampire cannot overcome a cold or fever by any means of healing, neither can they take human medicine. A humans blood is the only remedy. Kenny doesn't even consider drinking from neither of the fives humans in this school. He didn't think of the consequences until now, that was his first time kissing a human and the revelation stuck prior to Kyle and Tweek's arrival. But he doesn't regret his decision. Knowing that Stan no longer has it is all that matters to him.
Mark feels himself getting annoyed, just why does Kenny insist on not telling him anything? Him coughing all of a sudden definitely has something to do with what he did to Stan...Then it clicks. "Kenny, did you transfer Stan's cold into yourself?" Kenny's smile drops, and he averts his gaze towards Stan's peaceful form. Mark frowns. "The lengths you'd go for a human."
As the tense silence resurfaces, Kyle can't stop the vexing mental image of Ingrum slashing Tweek like a madman from replaying in his mind as he stares at the cuts on the crazy haired blonde's torso. They all differ in sizes, most are long and some are short; there are a few miniature ones on both of his arms. The stab wound in his chest was what he was most distressed about, though after giving it a closer look his heart was spared. Kyle clenches his fists on his lap, he will never forgive himself for putting Tweek into such a dangerous predicament.
"Sitting here blaming yourself while he bleeds out isn't gonna solve anything, it's only gonna hasten his death." Kyle flinches with a grimace, aware that Luke is right. "See, he's barely healing." Though the same can be said to him, but unlike Tweek he hasn't recovered from his injures at all. This is one of the flaws to having a counterfeit body, it's basically a carbon copy of Kyle's sans the essential attribute: Self-healing. He has the speed, power, telepathy, and teleportation at least. Regardless he doesn't feel like a vampire if he can't heal himself, in fact he doesn't feel like he's his own person. If he didn't have his red eyes—or a different eye color in general, he'd just be a flawless clone of his twin. That is where Master Ingrum got the twisted idea from after all.
"But what can I do? I can't heal him like Dr. Kero can." Who Kyle wishes was here, then again he doesn't know what's going on or where everyone else could be. They could've ran into the vampire hunter for all he knows...
Luke is silent for a couple moments, collecting both his composure and thoughts. Living again was something he wanted, it didn't matter the circumstances. As long as he could remain by Kyle's and their grandmother's side he'd do anything... "Remember when you gave Tweek some of your blood?"
The hollowness in Luke's voice doesn't go unnoticed, but the memory of him doing exactly that flashes in Kyle's head. He blushes. "Y-yeah?"
"Do that again."
Blinking, Kyle makes a doubtful face as the pink in his cheeks fade. "Will that even work? I only did that to keep him from going on a rampage. How will my blood be of any help?"
"Try it and find out."
Luke is once again being cryptic, but Kyle figures he can give it a shot nonetheless. It beats waiting for Dr. Kero. Turning his wrist over, with smooth precision he slides a finger across his skin, right over a vein. The sharpness of his nail brings forth small bubbles of blood from the thin cut. Just like before the bristling pain doesn't faze him. Standing up from his seat, he reaches for Tweek, carefully using the hand that isn't bleeding to sit him up some. He extends his arm further behind Tweek's back, his hand gently gripping his arm.
Seeing how sickly pale the blonde is stings his eyes, his lips are faint shade of blue. Kyle squeezes his eyes shut so as to not cry. He sincerely hopes that by doing this Tweek's life will cease to be in danger. Relaxing his posture and without any contemplating, he raises his bleeding wrist up to his lips and sucks in more blood compared to last time. Leaning forward whilst closing his eyes, the second Kyle is about to press his lips onto Tweek's, he stops with a flinch when someone goes into a coughing fit.
Kyle looks to the person with a frown, deepening when he sees that it's coming from Kenny. Mark is softly patting the blonde's back. "S-sorry," Kenny apologizes, his voice muffled behind his hand.
"He's sick," Mark says, answering the question that hadn't even popped up in Kyle's head yet. Though he can already assume that being the case thanks to Kenny's fatigued figure. Usually Luke would make an unnecessary comment at a time like this, fortunately he doesn't. It's rare for Kenny to fall ill, which means he...
Unable to tolerate the disgusting liquid that's getting warm any longer, Kyle goes back to what he was doing. Once their lips connect, he gently opens Tweek's mouth with his tongue, a trickle of blood slips out as he does so, then he pushes the remaining blood little by little into his boyfriend's mouth. He enjoys the feeling of Tweek's freezing lips against his, and soon he blocks out everyone and everything around him.
Kenny's second bout of hacking stirred Stan from his sleep. It takes a couple seconds for him to realize that he'd dozed off, rubbing his eyes before blinking them open. Sitting up, he feels a presence on both sides of the room. Curiosity getting the better of him he checks his left side first. What he sees leaves him aghast, and wanting answers posthaste.
"Don't say anything." Stan whirls his head around at Kenny. "Kyle might explain after he's done."
Stan frowns, wanting to know exactly what Kyle is doing to Tweek so as to not jump to conclusions. But now he's equally worried about Kenny. "Why do you look sick?" And now he has a question for himself. "How come I'm not sick?"
Kenny gives him the same smile he gave Mark, though with a bit more effort. "Don't worry about me. Unlike your kind if a vampire gets sick they can get over it after a short while so I'll get better pretty soon."
Stan mentally smacks himself as he looks away, vampires can heal themselves from any infliction, colds included apparently. Which probably means Kenny relieved him from his cold...at the cost of getting it in return. Stan clutches the bed sheets over his lap, yearning to slap himself for real this time. "Kenny, I'm sorry." He tightens his grip. "I'm sorry for being a stubborn idiot. I should've taken some medicine when you offered to look for some for me, now you're sick in my place."
Kenny blinks, then frowns forcing back the arising cough. "It's okay I-"
"No it's not," Stan calmly interrupts. After re-acknowledging Kenny's good nature when he was being carried..like a female in his arms, Stan now feels he's taking him for granted. Without even meaning to. "Twice I've troubled you, and even though I've already apologized both times...I still feel guilty..."
"Stan."
Stan flinches when a cold palm touches his shoulder, looking over to see Kenny standing right next to him. Up close the vampire's pale cheeks are a deep shade of pink, which somehow makes his smile seem...cute. The thought instantly makes Stan blush, and he looks at his lap. "Why the hell did I just think that?"
"Think what?"
Kenny just had to hear him. "N-nothing."
Seeing the human's sudden shyness brings about a sudden urge to tease him. "C'mon tell me what you were thinkin' about." He lightly squeezes Stan's shoulder, a bit surprised at the slight deflation of his muscles. Stan did tell him before that he was a quarterback on the football team back at his school, seems he hasn't been working out lately even though one of his classes is Gym.
Mark watches the two pairs with brooding dark blue eyes, they are obviously in their own world. Completely neglecting his existence. He understands Kyle's reasoning for being so preoccupied with Tweek, the redhead now sitting back down on the stool holding the blonde's hand, albeit the initial shock for what Kyle did hasn't diminished yet. But Kenny, to think he'd be engrossed with a human other than him. He knows Kenny is a very friendly guy, and he can't hinder him from choosing whom he wants to hang and be friends with. But deep down he fears that not only Kenny but Kyle as well—the only two friends he has in this school—are drifting away from him. And eventually he'll be...Before he sinks any further into his moping, he picks up a presence just outside the door. "Oi someone's here!" He warns the others in a panicked, hushed tone.
'THUD'
The loud, abrupt sound of something landing to the floor catches the three distracted teenagers by surprise. All eyes, except Tweek's, peer towards the doorway. The sky deems this a suitable opportunity to produce a low rumble of thunder.
Dr. Kero stares down at his unhinged door with his hand that was about to unlock it still held in the air, after merely tapping the doorknob with a key the door fell like he'd kicked it. The lenses of his glasses has a foreboding glint, his dark grey eyes obscured behind them. Slowly, he looks up at Kenny. He may be silent, but the teens know that his blood pressure is skyrocketing.
The corners of his lips twitching upwards into a sheepish grin, Kenny sweatdrops. His impending doom drew nearer than he expected.
(A/n: Tired to squeeze in as much as I could since the next chapter is the last...Probably. But it will also be long so it all depends, don't know for sure if it'll be longer than this chapter. *9,000+ words sorry* I won't be uploading another chap to Stenny Short Stories until I finish with this so I apologize for the short hiatus it's gonna be on. I hope you enjoyed and the final chapter? will be up soon)
