Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers, Teen Wolf: The Series or Twilight.
The population of Albuquerque according to Wikipedia in 1890 was 3,785. I'm going to run with this number.
Chapter 16: Alistair The Mail Carrier
Seconds felt like they stretched into minutes as they all fell into silence. Dylan got up and approached Arthur hesitantly. Arthur backed up, eyes still on the approaching blond.
"Stay back! Dylan don't you dare! H-he's some kind of feral beast!" His eyes not leaving Arthur's as he addressed the other Kirkland sibling.
"Father!" Dylan said, stopping in his tracks.
"I don't know what kind of trickery this is but I don't like it! How convenient he's one of the beasts holding your brother hostage, a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
Arthur turned swiftly and ran out the door.
"Go on! Go back where you came from! "
"Father, don't be like that!" Dylan said.
Natalya stood up swiftly, Lovino did as well. Natalya ran as fast as she could to follow Arthur.
She'd just made it down the steps. "It was nice to meet you all,...I thought my parents were bad." She heard Lovino say.
"I want no part of this," Mr. Kirkland said, "You're all going to get yourselves killed!" Then she heard the loud slam of the wooden door as he shut it.
Natalya's boots crunched against the snow dusted ground. Twigs snapped under her weight and branches brushed past the arms of her coat, they poked and prodded at her waist. Arthur's blond and furry hide got smaller and smaller as he got further and further away.
Natalya's heart thumped in her chest, her lungs were starting to hurt, burning. Breaths came out in short pants, burning her nose.
"Artie! Artie!" Natalya heard, feeling something bump past her, knocking her over and into a tree.
"A-ah! Apologies Miss Braginsky!" Dylan called back to her as he continued to chase after Arthur. Lovino slowed down to where she was leaning against the tree, now catching her breath.
"He's really going isn't he?" Lovino bent over, placing his hands on his knees. Natalya could see his breaths materialized in the cold air, cheeks crimson in color. "Damnit!"
Natalya decided to resume running. She could just make out Dylan, by the rivers edge, and when she caught up to him he was holding Arthur around the middle. Apparently having stopped him from going further by tackling him.
"What were you thinking going off on your own like that?" He sobbed, "Weredog or not, you're still my little brother!"
Arthur made a few growling noises before he wiggled himself from the blond's grasp. Dylan dropped to the ground, face meeting the scattered dusting of snow on the ground.
And then Natalya heard snapping sounds. And turned to see that Arthur was turning back into a human. She'd forgotten to grab his clothes in her haste to follow him. Natalya shrugged off her coat, an old hand-me-down from Irunya who was taller and larger than herself. Lovino stumbled from the treeline to where they were.
"Finally," He said through deep breaths, "We've stopped for good." Lovino propped himself against the bark of a tree.
Natalya walked over to Arthur who looked up at her with wide green eyes and threw her coat onto him.
"I forgot to grab your clothes."
"Just leave me be! It was foolish to try and get you all involved in a mess that I made." Arthur threw her coat back at her, which she caught, eyes narrowed.
"I know you're not behind this uprising, so how can this be your fault?" Lovino walked over to where they were, once again speaking her thoughts.
Arthur let a breath out of his nose, it being visible from how cold it was outside."Dylan, I was never supposed to be a weredog. Connor wanted it to be you but turned me by accident." He huddled in on himself.
Dylan, who was now a little ways behind her, frowned. "Connor told me nothing about this. I thought we were close, but apparently I knew nothing about him."
"Well it's in our code, we're supposed to protect you in secret…I'm sure he was going to turn you at some point, but didn't get the chance."
"He's been putting you and himself in danger, all in the name of some vow, without a word to anyone about it! I-I could have helped or something!" Dylan looked worried, as he scanned over the other blond.
"I-I don't know! Maybe he felt responsible for turning me as an accident? Maybe he wanted to appear as though he had everything under control." He paused, voice lowered, "There was a lot of talk when I was first turned about how much of an embarrassment it was in the Beavergonie weredog community because I was so young."
"How young?" Natalya noticed Dylan clench his fists at his sides.
"I was twelve."
"S-six y-years…" Dylan's voice was brittle. He paused, seemingly processing the timeline. "You were so withdrawn…the wound on your arm wasn't just some accident with a stray wolf…you'd snuck out to see." Tears spilled down his cheeks.
"Maybe if you'd gotten turned like you were supposed to, Connor would still be here." Arthur frowned, gaze now at his feet. Arms wrapped tighter around himself if that were even possible.
Natalya frowned, " 's not true." She squatted down to meet him at eye level. She gripped the blond's shoulders and shook him in order to force him to meet her gaze. She furrowed her eyebrows, "Everyone made their own decisions. There was nothing you could have done to change it. It's what you've done since then, it's what you do now!"
"What if Alistair doesn't want my help? What if he reacts just like my parents did, blames me even?" He met her gaze, eyes despondent.
"You're really just going to leave your brother to fend for himself? Doesn't really seem like something you'd do Blondie." Lovino crossed his arms.
"It's written in your code, da?"
Arthur sighed, "You two really are oddly persuasive and that's quite troublesome." Natalya wrapped her coat around the now shivering blond, and he gave her an appreciative nod.
"I want to help, however I can." Dylan said, furiously wiping his eyes.
"If we're going to talk plans, can it be someplace warm?" Lovino asked, wrapping his arms around himself as a cold breeze blew past.
Natalya teleported them all to her home. Dylan seemed fascinated in being able to travel in such as short amount of time.
"Outstanding." He said, breathless, as he pinched himself.
Natalya pulled out her keys and opened the door. It was nearing evening, Irunya would be back home in about an hour.
She let the three young men into her home and said she'd put on some tea for them all before going into the next room. She'd decided to pull out some chairs to set in the living room space for them all to sit.
Upon seeing her bring out one, Dylan and Arthur sprung up to grab it from her. And Natalya was reminded again that Arthur was only wearing her coat, which usually rested at her ankles but hit the blond below the knees.
"Come. Ivan left extra clothes that you can borrow." She'd scoured any source of a trail that she could follow him by but had found nothing except a few articles of clothes he'd left behind.
"It's fine really I could just–"
"Go home and get them?" Natalya raised an eyebrow. The blond pursed his lips and let go of the chair, which Dylan merrily took from him.
"Miss Braginsky, would you like me to bring out the rest of the chairs?"
Natalya gave him a nod before going into Ivan's room to find a white button up and a pair of brown pants. She couldn't find any suspenders as she rooted around in his chest of drawers for a pair of socks. She couldn't see any extra shoes either, not that Arthur would be able to fit them anyway.
She could just give him some fabric to tie around his waist as a makeshift belt.
She handed Arthur the stack of clothes as he stood waiting in the doorway. "Wait here. I have to go look for something." Natalya walked across the hall and into her room to look for some spare strips of fabric. She found a nice long strip of brown fabric in her chest of drawers. Then she placed it on top of the bundle of clothes in his arms.
"I don't have shoes." She pouted.
"It's alright. It's my fault for not taking my own clothes. I'll be sure to return Ivan's clothes after I get this mess with my parents sorted out."
He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and pushed it behind her ear. She could feel just how cold he was as his fingers brushed her cheek, the chill made her take in a quick breath.
"The bathroom is next to us." She said, her cheeks feeling warm.
"Thank you." He said, giving her a nod and going into the room to change.
After she put on some tea, they each had warm mugs as they sat around the boiler in the living room with their chairs, making the house warmer. Ivan's clothes were too large for Arthur. The pants were too long along with the shirt, and he cuffed them so as to not have them drag along the floor. He tapped his sock covered feet on their wooden floors. He brought the mug to his lips before his eyes met hers.
"So are you turning your brother or not?" Lovino said, after a silence had settled between them except for the occasional tea sipping.
"Turning? You mean turning me into a weredog?" Dylan's eyes were wide. "If it has to be done–"
"I thought about it and I've ultimately decided against it." Arthur said.
Lovino's gaze shifted to her, a small upward quirk of his lips that he quickly flattened into a hard line.
"I-I actually wanted to turn Natalya." Natalya blinked as three sets of eyes were on her now.
Natalya had forgotten, as the months went on it mattered less and less.
"Artie, she's just a young maiden, do you really think that's such a good idea?" Dylan asked him.
She was capable enough as she was now, she didn't need to be permanently changed.
"She's the most capable woman I know, if anyone deserves these powers it's her."
"Thank you, but I can't accept."
Lovino coughed almost choking on his tea,"Natalie, are you hearing yourself right now?"
"I don't think I would need them in the long term." Natalya placed her mug down and crossed her arms.
"If that's what you want." He shrugged, although his eyebrow twitched, "My original plan still stands."
Just then Irunya returned, the sound of the door swinging back on it's hinges as signal to her arrival. Irunya shifted her gaze around the room and when she landed on Natalya she raised an eyebrow.
"Are you holding some kind of gathering, Alya?"
"We are going to rescue Arthur's brother from Albuquerque."
"Alya, that is dangerous. I didn't approve of you going into the woods before." Irunya placed her hands on her hips.
"I did it before, and I can do it again. I brought Ivan back, and I'll have help."
Irunya pursed her lips and eyed the other three young men, "I don't like it, but I can't stop you from going. You'll find a way to sneak out anyway." She shook her head before she eyed Arthur's outfit, "Are those Ivan's clothes?"
Arthur's cheeks were colored crimson as he avoided Irunya's gaze.
"We'll return them to you, Miss Braginsky. There's a bit of a misunderstanding going on at our home. It's not everyday you find out your little brother can turn into a dog." Dylan says, giving her a grin.
Irunya blinked before letting out a tired sigh, "Nothing phases me in this town anymore. Vampires, werewolves, dogs? I'm too tired to process any of this right now." Irunya turned to her, "Make dinner when you finish up, da?"
Natalya gave her a nod.
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As per their discussed plan, Irunya was going to get into contact with Mrs. Edelstein to spread the word about the possibility of the uprising spreading, and what necessary precautions they would have to take.
A town meeting would be called two days from then to discuss the enforcement of a mandatory curfew, and Constable Beilschimidt would be leading the effort. After a brief speech by the mayor, one that none would be too thrilled to hear, Dylan would be staying behind to help fight.
Arthur shared his powers with him, and then herself and Lovino. Dylan found it fascinating that Arthur could do that and planned to study the supernatural more after this whole thing was over with. Natalya referred him to Mr. Popescu.
It was nightfall, just at dusk, the night before the town meeting would be held and she'd packed a sack with an oil lamp, her spell book, a jar of wolfsbane, money she'd saved, and an apple. She'd left a note for Irunya and would be teleporting to El Paso to get Lovino now. Arthur had given her back her coat and Ivan's clothes, earlier in the day.
When she arrived Lovino was waiting just by the treeline, wrapped in his coat.
"I packed everything, Grandpa said he was upset that I would be missing work for tonight, my boss too. This won't take too long will it?"
"We don't have to travel so probably not."
"I sure fucking hope not." Lovino had a sack slung over his shoulder.
Natalya prepared to take Lovino back to Sraftbridge with her. Natalya imagined being just outside the woods of her home. The smells of oak, the hooting of the owls, the frigid air, the stars above.
When she opened her eyes Lovino was wiggling his glove covered fingers in front of his eyes. "I still don't like doing that." He shook his head.
They met up with Arthur in their usual night watching spot.
Arthur looked quite worn out, maybe there was a limit to how many people could share one weredog's powers. "You ok, Blondie?"
"Yes, I'm fine, just fatigued. I've never heard of a weredog sharing with three people, it's usually just one."
"Does that cause a different outcome?" Natalya asked.
"I'm not sure, but it matters very little as this is just a disguise for us. Hopefully, it'll let us into the city undetected."
Natalya teleported them to the outer edges of the forest near Albuquerque. Natalya could hear a low growling sound, and sets of glowing blue eyes and a set of red eyes surrounded them.
Natalya closed her eyes, and let a breath out of her nose. "Protiatis Spiritictus," she said.
A transparent dome encased them that would last a few minutes.
Lovino had his rifle out, "Blondie I thought you said we'd go undetected?"
"Well I wasn't aware werewolves would be patrolling the perimeter! I thought they'd be inside city limits!"
"I've got a clear shot on at least two."
There were at least 5? Or around 8, she wasn't too sure.
Arthur made his eyes glow.
"I don't even know how to use your powers." Natalya said.
He turned to her, and she was surprised to see his eyes flicker before going completely back to normal.
"Is that supposed to happen?" She asked.
"I-I can't shift."
"W-what?" Lovino said.
Natalya felt her blood freeze cold.
"Apparently three is the limit. I'm sure they'll be back when you've used them all." Arthur waved them off.
"Well this is fanfuckingtastic." Lovino muttered as the werewolves stood in waiting for their shield to go down.
Natalya got out her wolfsbane with trembling hands and shoved the jar into Arthur's hands.
"Use where you see it necessary," she said, holding up her fists.
A chill seeped into her bones, her heart raced, and it all happened in an instant, there was fur and glowing eyes and teeth and shots.
She hit the ground on her back. "Natalya, are you alright?" Arthur was shaking her, looking her over, "You can't freeze up now. You have my powers u—!" Arthur was suddenly pulled off of her and thrown into a nearby tree by a blue eyed werewolf.
Arthur groaned, and Natalya knew that that had to be painful.
Action now! Fear later!
Natalya scrambled up, her sights set on reaching the blond before something with the force of a horse knocked her back, before pinning her against a tree. She was met with growling and the pressure of two warm paws on her arms. Blue glowing eyes watched her curiously, its nose sniffing her briefly.
I'm in danger! Is that not enough? Work! Work!
Natalya struggled as the werewolf opened its mouth, intent fully on devouring her. She placed her feet right under the werewolf's stomach and pushed as hard as she could with a grunt, only to be surprised as the werewolf was pushed a few feet from her.
She landed on the ground, free of its grasp, eyes more adjusted to the darkness, clear almost as day. She could make out the mix of grey and brown furs of the wolves.
Natalya got up again and ran towards where Lovino was holding a brown werewolf back, its teeth clamped around his rifle, his eyes glowing.
Arthur was beside him, her jar of wolfsbane in his grasp.
Natalya kicked the werewolf as hard as she could in one of its back legs near its ankle, causing it to whine and fall over. It released Lovino's rifle.
"Protiatis Spiritictus!" she said, as she approached where the two were resting against a tree. They were all then encased in another dome.
"How many are still left?" she asked.
"Including this one, five." Arthur said, wheezing. He had a few cuts on his face.
"And I'm out of bullets. Shot three dead though," Lovino said, inspecting the tear on the sleeve of his coat.
Natalya felt a chill, and looked down to see holes on the arms of her coat where the werewolf had pinned her.
"What are we going to do?" Natalya asked.
"I suggest we make a run for it." Arthur said.
"You don't need to tell me twice," Lovino said just as the growling surrounding them increased.
With Lovino in the lead, they ran toward Albuquerque, through the trees. She was right behind Lovino, the thumps of the werewolves got louder, their pants, their forces snapping through stray branches, moving as one cohesive unit.
Natalya glanced back to see that Arthur was not following them.
"Veenyo!" She yelled and Lovino halted in his tracks. She took a step toward him before feeling like she'd stepped through nothing and plunged straight down.
She landed smack onto solid cobblestone floors.
A few seconds later she felt a weight on her back that knocked the air from her already worn out lungs.
"Natalie!" Lovino said, scrambling to get off of her. Natalya got up with Lovino's help and immediately knew where they were. Arthur was next to them, seething.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" He yelled.
"That's what I would like to know." A brunet man, with green eyes and bushy eyebrows said in some kind of thick British accent. He was tall, he was probably almost a foot taller than herself. He towered over Kiku, the mage who he was standing next to. He crossed his arms just as angry as Arthur.
"You know about the situation that has gotten out of hand here, correct?" Kiku asked.
Arthur gave him a nod.
"My master has traveled eastward to talk to the council in New York. The barrier has kept the werewolves out, although it doesn't stop people being thrown out of town from being eaten." Kiku folded his hands together. "There are still innocent people trapped inside, and I need your help to get them outside city limits so I can teleport them to Sraftbridge. Beavergonie is having a similar crisis, although there is a larger government resistance having heard the news of this town."
"Alright, but it still doesn't explain why you have my brother."
"He had been thrown out of town, with a few other mail carriers. I tried to get them all before they were mauled, but was only successful in getting two. You and your brother look similar, I mistakenly assumed he was a weredog as well."
"Artie is what he says, true? Are you some kind of beasty dog?"
"Yes, what of it?" Arthur crossed his arms.
"It's just that yer a wee twig." Arthur's brother held up his hand and brought his forefinger close to his thumb but not touching.
"You know, I should have just left you here to die."
"Who said I needed ye to come rescue me? I'm no wee lass!
"You want to go back out there? I'll throw you to the wolves myself!"
"I don't care if you're a beasty! I'll still kick yer arse!" Arthur's brother waved his arms in a motion to invite him to fight him.
Natalya was very confused.
"Could we refrain from violence please?" Kiku the mage said.
"So, what is the plan?" Lovino asked, cutting through the tension between the siblings.
"We'll go in and start teleporting the civilians to Sraftbridge. If you could sneak us past the weredog guards we would be free to teleport as many as we can find."
"How many people are still left?" Natalya asked.
"Seven hundred and ninety people."
"How are we going to get all of those people out without being seen?" Lovino said.
"I would suggest splitting up and taking small groups."
"And Alistair what are you going to do?" Arthur asked.
"I'm going to send out a phone call to this magical high council in New York, so they can restrain these Beasties and stop the other ones from lurking around."
"Do you need me to come with you?"
"Tsk. If you could somehow learn to be charismatic enough to distract the guards maybe you could come along."
Natalya was suddenly struck with a memory and grabbed Arthur's arm. "No. He's coming with me."
"Really Natalie? You're going to stick me with him?" Lovino gave a weary glance to Alistair.
"Veenyo, you will be fine. I think you are very charismatic."
"You think so?"
Natalya nodded.
"Oh but you don't think I'm charismatic."
"I think you are too charismatic. It should only be for me."
Natalya noticed his cheeks were scarlet.
Lovino puffed out his cheeks, and walked across the room to extend his hand to greet the Kirkland sibling, "Lovino Vargas."
Alistair returned the shake, a grin on his lips, "Alistair Kirkland. You're a friend of Artie's?"
Lovino nodded.
"Why you'd put yourself through that is beyond me, but aye yer cheeks are like a baby!" To which Alistair pinched Lovino's face. "Ahh and yer so little!" To which Lovino seemed frightened.
"Alistair he isn't one of your son's, you're scaring him." Arthur said.
"Bah! Yer just mad because I don't say that about ye."
"I don't need you to say shite about me!"
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Natalya, Arthur, and Lovino stood in a way that looked normal but allowed Kiku and Alistair to be surrounded by them. They were invisible, but only for a few minutes. Natalya still had a little bit of Arthur's magic left. Lovino did too, probably.
A brunet with brown eyes, and a brunet with blue eyes were standing guard around this section of the woods.
"Hey, this isn't your jurisdiction!" The brunet with brown eyes shifted his gaze to Arthur. He took a sniff of him, apparently they know his scent.
Natalya's eyes widened.
"Well of course it isn't his jurisdiction. You know how much of a disgrace this one is, huh? We're lucky to be out in one piece, all those humans, please!" Lovino said, resting his elbow on Arthur's shoulder.
"I heard about that! Aren't you the one that left your post before, and a werewolf attacked your town?" The blue eyed one asked.
Arthur grit his teeth, but gave a curt nod anyway.
"All because your brother got killed. I heard a human killed him, that is so sad." The blue eyed one continued.
"And where are you two from?" The brunet with brown eyes asked, taking a sniff in their general direction.
"El Paso. We're dropping him off. Could we stay the night before going back home? We're starting our own uprising, you know?" Lovino said.
"Getting a headstart? Well I suppose you could for being so nice to him."
And just like that they were allowed entry into the city, Kiku and Alistair shuffling behind them. She felt one of them bump into her, but ignored it.
It was more or less a ghost town, the once lively city reduced to a barren stretch of land with barely a stir.
They split up, Alistair and Lovino towards the switchboard operating building, she, Arthur and Kiku would split up to teleport people.
Signs had been posted on houses labeled "Human" the curtains were drawn and everything. Natalya knocked on the door, hesitantly the door opened a crack and she could see half of the face of a man, stubble on his chin, blue eyes.
"What do you want? They say we can go now?"
"Can I come in?"
"You're one of them aren't you? You come to collect us and throw us out to the wolves? We didn't do anything! We stayed put like you told us!"
"It's not like that sir."
The man stared at her, she hoped he wouldn't take too much longer before he opened the door. Natalya was thinking about forcing her way in when the man opened the door wide and stepped aside.
He closed the door and in the room stood a woman and two younger maidens. Natalya could assume they were the man's wife and children. They eyed her wearily and the wife had a tight grip on the little ones.
"I'm going to get you all out of here, just stay calm."
Natalya closed her eyes and took a moment to visualize the bank, town hall and the church which were in the same area, a nice spot where the family could receive help if they wanted it.
"Just what is this all about?" The husband asked.
"Obliitus Noctortia." She whispered.
When she opened her eyes the family was gone.
Natalya went through a similar process about 20 times, some families were large around ten members, and others were quite small. She ran from house to house, marked "Human" using Arthur's powers for speed.
It was later in the night, just past midnight and Natalya was fatigued. She was sure she'd used up Arthur's powers by now. They met at the farmer's market. What used to be a crowded affair was now barren and desolate, only the tents remained but there was no fresh food being sold.
Arthur looked even more fatigued than she did, leaning heavily on Lovino for support, which the Italian was struggling with. Does this mean he did his entire run without his powers?
"We got all of them, right Mister Mage?" Alistair asked.
Kiku was silent for a moment, before he said, "There is one family left."
"But I already called the council. We have to leave, those beasties are definitely on to us now."
"You all may go. I will make sure the last family is teleported to Srafbridge. I am very grateful for all of your help." He gave them a bow before walking in the opposite direction.
And suddenly the heavy trudge of boots against snow vibrated around them, and they were surrounded. There was the click of a pistol, pointed straight at Kiku.
"I suggest you go back with your accomplices."
Kiku the mage rejoined them where they were gathered in the abandoned market.
Forced to raise their hands in surrender, Lovino moved, and Arthur fell to the ground, exhaustion having overtaken him causing him to faint.
"We have marked you all as trespassers! And as being responsible for the displacement of hundreds of citizens and for that you are being punished through death."
Swiftly Natalya was put into a hold, a strong arm around her neck was making it hard for her to breathe. Natalya squirmed and kicked, but it was useless, Arthur's powers were all used up.
Maybe she should have taken him up on his offer.
Her vision was going dark around the edges, and she could see her companions in similar states, except for Arthur who was still unconscious.
And then everything went dark.
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When Natalya regained consciousness she was aware that she was tied tightly to something rough. The rope dug into her skin. Her ankles were bound as well.
They were up very high, she was tied to a large wooden pole and Lovino was on another pole that was next to hers. Below she could see rocks and branches, the makings of what could be used to sustain a fire.
"Natalie, you're awake! I think everyone else is still knocked out. But it doesn't matter, you can teleport us out of here right?" He said when she looked over at him.
"I will try." Natalya closed her eyes and focused on visualizing the bank, town hall, and the church, the open area safe away from this nightmare. The cool night air, the dusting of snow, the stars above, the darkness. "Obliitus Noctortia!" When she opened her eyes, they were still tied to the pole in the same place, the spell didn't work.
"It is not working," she said.
"Oh mio dio! We're going to die!"
"They haven't lit the steaks yet, so we still have time."
She heard a heavy thump as another rock was added to the pile at the bottom. Paper was littered around too. Everyone looked so small from up this high. The splash of water or was it gasoline sounded, she could see someone pouring gasoline over the rocks and branches of Lovino's pile.
"I don't want to die Natalie!"
"I don't want to either, Veenyo. Arthur is not tied to a stake, da?"
"I don't think so."
"He will either save us, or we will die."
"I thought you were supposed to be encouraging me to stay optimistic!"
"No, I am just stating facts."
"They may break our bones but they can't break our spirits! We can't give up now, mates,"
Alistair said, presumably tied on the other side of her stake.
"Yes, it would be in our benefit to stay calm, and remain hopeful," Kiku said, presumably tied on the other side of her stake or Lovino's.
Natalya wasn't sure about their odds. They were going to be burned alive. Could her protection spell work against the flames? Maybe she could expand it to around both of their poles? But how would Arthur get to them if the spell kept him from getting in?
At least she could slow down the process and buy them more time.
"Protiatis Spiritictus!" The dome encased them, from the top of their stakes to the ground below.
Another person who came to throw water on her stake was splashed in the face as it bounced off of the dome. The raven haired man shook his head and placed a hand on the dome before looking up and locking eyes with her.
"They're awake!" The man yelled and went to alert more weredogs as they quickly gathered around the dome with various weapons: axes, hammers, chainsaws, their claws, their fists.
"How is Blondie going to get to us now?" Lovino said looking down at the mob of glowing green eyes pounding onto the dome.
"I thought it would buy us some time."
"I think it was a great idea!" Alistair said.
"The magic council should be on their way soon. So, anything to give us more time."
And suddenly a blue rune circle opened up just in between their stakes, on the ground. Natalya could hear some cracks as the dome was weakening. Time was running out.
"Oh fuck, two of those bastard dogs figured out how to teleport!" Lovino said as two blonds materialized from the circle.
Natalya couldn't make out what they were saying but recognized Arthur's voice before he said, "Up you go!"
And all she could hear next was screaming. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Dylan soared up before he hit the top of the dome and scrambled to grab onto the top of their stake.
"Dillie?" Alistair asked.
Natalya looked up to see the man trembling as he gripped their stake for dear life. She knew how that felt. Man should not fly. He was wearing his fireman outfit.
"A-Ally?" Dylan looked down on the other side.
"Ah! I'm so happy to see ye!"
"Blondie, I knew you'd save us! You better hurry up though, I don't think this dome thing is going to hold." Natalya looked over to see Arthur on Lovino's stake, swiping at the ropes with his claws.
"I'm going as fast as I–"
And just then the dome shattered, as though thousands of pieces of glass broke apart and fell to the ground.
Natalya saw as the mob rushed surrounding the stake but her attention was on the small orange glow being held by a man with ginger hair. There was so much noise, so much yelling, so much screaming.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Was from the crowd below.
She heard a few thumps as Dylan swung something at the ropes tying them to the stake.
Her eyes were still focused on the man who locked eyes with her before flicking the match onto the pile.
Orange flames sprouted and burned the pile below. The flames crawled up the wood, the wood cackling as the thumps became more frantic. It was hot, she started feeling perspiration rolling down her cheeks, or were those tears? Her heart thumped in her chest, as the heat started to sear her skin. She squirmed as the burning started to cause pain.
But soon the ropes loosened and she started falling, closer to the flames, she couldn't think of anything else beside the pain.
And then there was a rush of cold, something soft, something wet, on her face. It was snow. She looked up to see Lovino laying beside her, his clothes starting to have burned and by extension torn from the fire. His face was red. Kiku and Alistair were in similar states, having received burns from the fire. They were on the other side of her, laying down in the snow. Kiku coughed. He met her gaze.
They were in the open area by the bank, church, and Town hall. The spell had worked after all but apparently not while she was bound to the stake.
Kiku helped her up. "Miss Braginsky, would you like to receive formal mage training?"
Natalya, although her skin still tingled, and there was a throbbing pain all over, nodded.
"I'll have to ask Master Wang, but you would go in front of the magic council and you would be indoctrinated into the program. You would have to leave home for five years to study."
Leave home?
"I-I don't know if I–!"
And suddenly Natalya was pulled into a tight embrace. "Natalya you're alright!" Again she was still in pain from the burns. "I was so worried." Arthur said, still hugging her so much that it hurt.
She was happy that they were all fine and would have liked to enjoy being in his embrace but right now…"I am in pain, the burns."
He let go of her quickly, "Apologies."
Dylan was helping Alistair up, and then Lovino.
"I will talk it over with Master Wang and when I report back, you may give your decision." Kiku said. "Where is the nearest phone?"
"In the bank." Natalya gestured to the building and Kiku gave them a bow before walking off in that direction.
"Do you not need medical attention?" Arthur asked.
"The magic counsel needs me, I will attend to my medical needs at a later time." He said before going into the bank.
"Going to a hospital sounds like a good idea. Carry me?" Natalya said, before Arthur gathered her up into his arms.
"That's fine by me." He gave her a smile and Natalya felt warm and tingly inside, lessening the pain just a little.
A/N: Holy hell this chapter is 6,000 words! It took me so long to think up this final battle/ the climax, but I hope you liked it.
Thank you for reading!
Criticism welcome.