Hello, my spectacular readers, another week has gone by and another chapter has traversed through the event horizon of its own universe to present itself to ours. This chapter…it gets kind of real in a few locations. I do not feel like it will spoil to much, but the concept of earth racism is brought up in the chapter. It is also brought up by a character who doesn't exactly know how to explain the horribleness of it all too well, cough Gareth cough. Because of this, and the fact I'm also addressing the issue for the first time ever in a fictional setting, I want to apologies if I accidently offend anybody by not explain ethnic discrimination the best way, or if it seems like Gareth and or Penny gloss over the issue to quickly.

On an unrelated side note, but still a heads up for a certain element of this chapter, the last section gets…a bit gruesome, not enough so that I think I need to change the rating, but it does get mildly gory.

With the serious warnings out of the way, I can now turn to my far more comical apologies for my acts against the English langue and any grammar mistakes that may appear.

Keeping with the sudden tone shift from tense to relaxed I'd like to thank those who have reviewed the story and as always will write out a reply!

Joecola00 (aka the most awesome dude ever): Thanks, Velvet getting physically involved in the Lance situation was something I debated. I needed it to happen, but I didn't want to give a self-justification for her behaving out of character. However, from what I kind of understand, her relationship with bullying would be one were if she was the victim she'd simply endure the mockery, or in Cardin's case endure physical abuse, but when another person is victimize she'd be more willingly to get involved.

(Also quick edit/thanks for the reminder): I am still looking for a beta reader if anyone's interested

Alright, with all that out of the way onto the story. So without further warnings or thanks, please enjoy Chapter 10 of Electric Lens

P.S

Should have done this earlier but,

"Speech"

'Quote'

"Electronic Speech"

"Langue that cannot be understood by the current POV character"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 10

More than once today Penny had wished she still had a physical body. Between Gareth's and Velvet's phones, she had been given a pixelated view of their arrival at school, and the event that followed.

During which she had to watch, or in some terrifying cases only listen, to their interaction with their fellow classmates Lance. Despite having urged Garth forward to help, she felt utterly helpless to stop the situation.

The feeling of uselessness had gotten so bad, that when Gareth buckled under his assault, the digital red head was about to break a million and one of her self-imposed rules. Not only had she pulled up the contact for the local police, if the situation hadn't deescalated, she was on the verge of hacking into the closest National Guard facility and ordering a military response.

Luckily, and unluckily, Velvet was able to swoop in and subdue the aggressor but the whole ordeal made one thing very clear to the computerized sentience. If a Hunter from Remnant were to physically attack the Cadarn's, or any other Earthling in a one on one engagement, there was nothing she could do to intervene in a meaningful way.

Despite this, Penny still wanted to keep an eye on Gareth and the disguised Vivian, or rather the 'blood thirsty Dane' as the other students now began to put it. Unfortunately, she had to force herself to stick to the mission and conduct mindless research trying to get her and her Faunus companion back home…meaning she only got glimpse into how the rest of school day unfold.

Luckily, she did stick around to see how their conversation with the principal would go, and Penny was relieved to hear that both Gareth and Velvet were not going to face any repercussions. Regrettably the same sentence, or lack thereof, was given to the blonde giant as well.

The way his voice switched when threatening Gareth to discussing what happened with the school's headmaster…. made the robotic organism feel uncomfortable to say the very least. Despite having been caught harassing another student, and about to shout out a vulgar term to Velvet, the young man recounted the event as a complete misunderstanding.

Having a charismatic flow that went completely against his actions, he spun his words so complexly that even Penny had a hard time making sense of what they really meant. As a result, Velvet was in the complete dark, although one didn't need to understand his words to take displeasure in them.

Whatever the case, Lance said there were faults on all sides, and was willingly to let everything slide since the last thing he wanted to do was, 'make another student feel threaten to the point of self-defense'

From the tone of voice, the principles clearly didn't believe a word, but he sounded like he had been through this same type of conversation a thousand times and was far too tired to have it again. He ended up dismissing all three, but not before Lance made his apologies.

To Vivian, he stated he would be sure to make this event up to her, which needless to say caused her to shake with embarrassment. Perhaps getting it even worse, he also assured Gareth there was no ill will, making sure to pronounce each one of the syllables in his fellow round table member's name.

After he left, Gareth and Vivian met briefly with the guidance counselor they originally stood in the main lobby for. The woman sounded nice and understanding enough, especially when believing the lie revolving around Vivian's physical abnormality allowing her to wear the hat, that Penny allowed herself, albeit reluctantly, to focus her attention on starting her research for the day.

…but for the next six hours, Penny worked with a…less than laser focus mindset. Having spent the majority of the month setting up Velvet's fake identity as Vivian Andersen, and teaching her the inner workings of two languages, she was missing the presence of another person.

Now having to scroll through files and research in solitude in the daytime, as well as at night, the robotic girl found her mind wandering for the first time in a while. Periodically, she would listen in through either brunette's phone to see how they were doing.

Sometimes she would catch them in class listening to the same, or different lecture, other times she was met with silence when either was away from their phone, or had it in their bag, but most surprisingly she had overheard them talking to each other...and more than once.

It was usually when they were walking to a class, but they were actually communicating with each other. Or at least attempting to, both still had an air of nervousness in their tone, but Gareth no longer tried to end the conversation as quickly as he could.

Perhaps it was just an anomaly but given that on two separate occasions, during lunch and their shared study hall, they spoke to each other throughout the entire time the evidence was pointing against that.

Despite conducting a full blown criminal investigation through social media and google maps, and trying to conclude how theatrical physics can be made real, the more Gareth and 'Vivian' talked the more Penny wanted to stop what she was doing and observe that...no it went deeper than that she wanted to be included.

...and although she'd never admit it, or really understand the emotion enough to know she even possessed it, the mechanical Atlasien felt jealous. Certainly not in a romantic way, but more so at how easily he and Velvet were now connecting.

Keeping it a secret solely for herself, Penny had felt proud that Gareth had been communicated to her more so then anyone else over the past three weeks. It wasn't that she didn't want Velvet and him to get along, but the fact he preferred talking to herself made the binary sentience feel...well made her feel human.

Even though she talked to her rabbit Faunus companion far more often, and far more honestly, that was produced out of necessity. By every definition of the words they were friends, but the mere fact they talked to each other in the first place was because the situation demanded it.

With Gareth though, he didn't actually have to speak with her. For all he was aware she wasn't even a person...yet over those three weeks he had slowly but surely began speaking more and more naturally with her. He wasn't forced to, or even obligated, but rather because he wanted to.

It still hadn't gotten to the point where she'd remove his 'friend' title, but she sure thought it was heading in that direction. Afterall he was timid by nature, so he would be slow to open up to anybody...or so she thought.

But now, as she not so secretly easily dropped his behavior around Velvet, she felt as if that theory had been completely debunked. The connection she had put time and effort into building with Gareth over the past month, seemed to be achieved and then surpassed by Vivian in the span of a school day.

Maybe it's because she's actually a person, the thoughts had consumed Penny for the last ten minutes, as all the information she had gathered floated usually in front of her.

With a digital reminder informing her it was two-twenty-nine, the copper head girl officially put away all the work, and tried desperately to feel something, or at least hold onto the believe that she could.

Perhaps I should say something, or see if they start a conversation on the walk home, connecting back to the two mobile devices she gained access just into time to hear the wooden legs of chairs scrape against tile, before the bell that signaled them to do so even rang, There would be a numerous number of places I could naturally jump in

The sound of hundreds of footsteps echoed in dis harmony amongst the hall. But with two ears located meters apart, Penny found her thoughts growing quiet as she heard one pair of feet come to a close, only for a different one to approach no more than five minutes later

"S-sorry about the wait Vivian, should have warned you but my history teacher never lets me out on time", the digital huntress wanted to see what was going on, and now found the idea of hacking into the school system a needed risk.

"N-no problem, I just got here myself", there was still a level of anxiety in both their voices, but for far different reasons now

That is a lie, and I have taught her enough about the Earth time system that she chose to not voice the truth, the green aura android thought this as an awkward silence began to form between all three. But for Velvet and Gareth, even this aspect of communication was now being treated differently. As instead of a time they had to nervously wait through to leave, it now was being utilized to think

"O-oh awesome", air rushed outwards as they exited the school, "...so how were your last two classes?"

"They were…kept my attention...I'm sorry is there a better word to use there?", she questioned, and Penny darted into action, although she could have sworn, she and Velvet had gone over,

"Interesting", Gareth beat her to the punch, which left Penny a little fluster since such an outcome meant she was being slow rather than him being fast

"Ah yes...they were interesting", there was small laugh accompanied by that

"Although, I do kind of like the way you put it", the male brunette said joining in, although both laughs were far from real...but yet still seemed jubilant nonetheless, "...What made them so worthy of your attention?"

He's...never done that before, as awkward, and hesitant as he was, the last question was asked in a joking way. Although Penny was far from an expert on humor, at least applied humor, she never thought Gareth would take part in any form of sarcasm that wasn't stated under his breath

"Oh, well Geometry was…"

"Math?", Gareth filled in making it clear that such a topic was far from interesting, but his monotone…tone got a small giggle out of Vivian regardless,

"That is correct", feeling the need to track their movement, Penny realized both were still inside the parking lot. With both walking at a pace far slower than Gareth normally had when returning home.

"My photography class was...different", through the microphone, the Atlasien could practically hear the smile Velvet's voice carried

"And different goods?"

"More so different's interesting", albeit sounding misplaced and unsure when there was an air of teaseingness in Vivian's voice, that Velvet lacked.

"...well played. Give it a week and you'll be better at English than me", he both continued with their small forced, but somehow real laughs, "The worst part is that it's only funny because it's true. I don't suppose you'd be willingly to give lectures on the subject"

I would, and seeing as I have, I would be fa-

"Maybe someday, but languages are a subject that don't capture my attention", knowing that she couldn't feel sick, Penny didn't think having an off day could happen. But with biological speech no outpacing her code she felt the need to run a diagnostic on herself,

"Not different enough for you?", Gareth joked, before the sound of his arm moving made Penny want to call one of them so at least once phone could see the world, a feeling only amplified when she heard him stagger back

"Not like that", the giggling and chuckles that mirrored them were putting the artificial intelligence bubbly personality to the test, "...it's just that...I've always loved taking photos, it's a habit?"

"Hobby"

"Hobby of mine, and I loved getting to learn more and more about it as I grew up...but I guess the way your ki-... country teaches it is different than mind", the stutter was now produced by something other than anxiety, which only appeared in tone

"And different is good?", Gareth repeated the initial question

"Different is wonderful, I feel like I get to relearn my hobby all over again...it's like being a kid again I suppose", finally both had crossed the street, in a length of time Penny thought was far from productive

"So, its nostalgic", there was a pause in the air, "that means...uh...when you remember something from your childhood, but it makes you feel good and stuff"

A valiant attempt, but I should inform Velvet of the proper meaning to limit any of the words misuse,

"Nostalgic...I like it, I didn't know such a specific feeling could be found in one word", there was appreciation laced in the voice. One that Velvet showed rarely when referring to Earth,

"English has its moments like that, although we're far from the best language when it comes to unique words...personally I blame the British for that, forcing everybody to learn their language...when they, you know… used to own the planet essentially"

Based on my research that is a legacy the United States has happily continued to this very day, Penny thoughts weren't stated passive aggressively, more so they were pitifully eager. As if she was thinking what she would say if she would simply join the conversation,

Velvet remained quiet, no doubt wondering what he was talking about given that the age of Imperialism had yet come up in Earth introduction class. Nonetheless, the mood remained upbeat as they now were nearing the halfway mark of their journey,

"By the way Vivian", Gareth's voice became low, and he seem to be moving his head around as he talked, "...do you know karate?"

"Excuse me?", she responded confused

"You know karate, taekwondo, judo", he seems to make a few movements, and all Velvet still seem lost to the meaning they made her giggle nonetheless,

"I don't think I know those words yet, maybe if I could get a translation", the final word was lingered upon

"I wouldn't be the guy for that...but I don't think the words would be different in Danish, considering they're not actually English"

I should make a list of common foreign words that appear in English, and inform Velvet later…,

finally releasing why Velvet had elongated the word 'translate', the thinking code immediately prepare herself to answer the faunus request

"He's referencing martials arts from two different countries, and using their untranslated names", Being text to speech the voice could not sound as rush as it was meant to be, "Specifically, these fighting styles are hand to hand"

"Oh, you mean combat", Velvet said answering two people at once, before her tone dropped in understanding, "...oh you mean combat"

"Yeah…", Gareth began with some regret as the hidden Faunus before him must have shown some discomfort to the topic brought up, "Sorry...I didn't mean…"

"No, it's fine. I wasn't trained in either of those to styles, but my older...relative taught me…", the brunet trailed off casting another line.

"Self Defense", the carrot top stated to the brunette, knowing that no amount of time would reveal an answer she wasn't taught,

"Self-defense...I'm...sorry about the scene it caused", the onset of a familiar silence was coming, only to be beaten back just before the pause between word passed the uncomfortable threshold

"Don't be!", Gareth voiced raised, before dropping back down, "I-I should have never let the situation get that bad to begin with...and you certainly shouldn't have had to be forced to help me out"

"Forced? …I think we may have been taught two different meanings of that words"

"What do you mean...by meaning ... I mean...I mean I'll stop talking", his voice trailed off towards the end

"What I mean", there was a small amount of emphasis on the last word but in a friendly manner, "Is that I wasn't forced to...get involved...I chose too"

Stumbling over a few words, whether due to the langue or embarrassment, Penny also picked up Velvet's voice dipping in volume towards the end. Although why such things were occurring were behind her...although she certainly was trying to find a quantitative solution to this social problem,

"Even still...I should have seen it coming, probably warn you that there are a few guys in school that-", unlike before, this time Gareth's voice came to an abrupt stop.

"That?", for once not being the only one lost, Velvet also seemed to be confused

"Uh...well...you see...guys that are creeps", the male brunette managed to stutter off, although it was clear his choice of vocabulary had been heavily altered.

"...Okay", Velvet replied clearly not believing him, but being far to polite and or shy to delve into any more, "although I don't think your school is the only one with...unsavory people in it...my old one had a few creeps in it as well"

Apparently having dodged an invisible bullet Gareth seems to give off a sigh of relief. Unfournanlty for him, this coincided with Velvet statement coming to an end,

"I...uh...I'm sorry to hear that", he managed to stutter out trying to regain some level of mannerisms.

A shot quite followed after this, as each teenager just allowed the soft echoes of footsteps on concrete to fill the world. For how good it had been going, the topic of school yard bullies, for however cliche it may be, seems to cause at least one of them to go deep into thought. And given her tone of voice when the topic was first brought up it was most likely Velvet who was delving into her own mind.

"...uh Vivian, were passing the house", becoming a creature with no rhythm to dance around the elephant he had accidentally created, Gareth's unsureness had briefly returned,

"Oh, I'm sorry", seemingly forced up from the depths of her subconscious, Vivian emerged from Velvet's mental sea, and given the sound of her voice was willingly to let everything return to normal...or at least what had become the normal between them since this morning,

"No problem...just paying you back for early after all", with a less abrupt transition the emerald eye senior gave out an awkward series of chuckles before their pace quickened to cross the street.

Confused on multiple levels, Penny grew a third ear as she now could hear the two students enter the house. Only realizing a few minutes after their arrival that she had missed out on any chance to naturally join their conversation, as Velvet's footstep now climbed their ways towards her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Velvet's day...well it was certainly a day to say the least. As Laura had predicted that very morning, the extremely foreign exchange student had become the center of attention, in no small part due to her accents, but for all the wrong reasons.

Not that the rabbit eared Faunus would have been overjoyed if she had achieved her level of popularity through positive means either. Still...at least then people wouldn't now know her as the new student who practically upon entering the school shoulder threw a man one and a half times her size and who knows how much he was superior to her when it came to weight.

...of course, those statistics only added to the embarrassment Velvet had about the situation, due to the fact she had put her and Penny's identities at risk. Having been a trained huntress the brunette mere presence on Earth had instantly made her one of strongest people on the planet...and as seen by her encounter with Lance's earlier in the day this was made painfully obvious to her.

It wasn't as if she thought the boy didn't deserve that, but as the rumors and murmurs began to spread her uncomfortableness about the situation grew worse and worse. It was one thing to pick a fight on the first day, although such a thing was unthinkable to her, but it was also another to perform an action that, for all the people in this town, was physically impossible.

Luckily the principle had shown her, Gareth, and, much to most inhabitants of the offices dismay, even the instigator clemency. However, such a judgement didn't make the event go away, and as the story of what she did spread its way around the room, she found herself receiving hesitant, if not curious, gazes from most of her fellow classmates.

For once, the Faunus was actually glad of her primary ears' pseudo prison, for why she could still pick up the whispers that accompanied the stares, she couldn't make sense of them. So, at the very least she could be spared from any insults that would form upon her walking the hall...which made her experience in this school at least somewhat different to Beacon,

At least I'm being judged on action instead of stereotypes, the intergalactic stowaway thought with sad eyes, but a small smile, a universe away and humans still know to treat me like I don't belong...well almost all of them

Having reached the top of the stairs, Velvet subconsciously turns her head to be presented with the sight of Gareth lazily tossing his backpack into the disorganized sea that was his new room. Seemingly giving off a sigh, he almost comically stretches out an arm before releasing he has a viewer.

His face turning into the town stair heater, the young man tries to turn his muscle relaxation movement into an improvised wave. With her smile now growing slightly she returns the gesture, although far less pompously, by simply bringing up her left hand at a right angle before heading to her room.

One of the sad thoughts that Velvet had held over the past few weeks was that she and Gareth weren't going to get along. Ironically this wasn't attributed because she thought her fellow brunets' personality was too opposite to her own, but rather she was finding out their ways of going through life were far too similar. Both being quiet, reserved, and introverted to an unhealthy degree at time, expecting the two to naturally gravitate towards one another in a social environment was like asking two of the same magnetic poles to connect.

Although this would make her school life far more isolating and lonelier, the Remnant native had convinced herself such an outcome was probably for the best. Afterall, considering how quickly Laura befriended her, Velvet didn't want to make too many emotional attachments to people on Earth. It would make her unexpected departure, whenever that may be, all the harder to cope with.

But suddenly finding his voice, Gareth's newfound ability to actually hold a conversation with Velvet turned out to be the only positive outcome produced by the incident. Making a day where everybody but him looked at her like she was a starved wolf about to pounce all the more bearable.

Still finding the need to be polite, despite it being her room, Velvet quietly and quickly opened the door to her living area. Almost closing it behind her in slow motion, in her continued effort to make up for her early show of excessive force by being overly gentle. When the wood did finally manage to align itself to the wall, the rabbit Faunus showed off the evidence of her own long day with a sigh, before locking the physical barrier and pulling off her beret.

...but even he could tell something was amiss, the chocolate themed huntress thought as she occupied her hands with turning about her headpiece. Slumping halfway down the door, the Vale native was debating on whether to chalk this day up as a success, or just a downright debacle. Stuck in her mild state of emotional purgatory, Velvet was only snapped out by the turning on of Gareth's, or as of now there, computer.

Realizing she had essentially walked in on her roommate, the brunette Faunus decided that her decision on today's success rate could wait...or at the very least be discussed with Penny,

"How is it hanging Vivian"-Penny, sitting down Velvet, had imagined her electronic companion would have a lot to say to her after her first day of school. However, shocking her out of her nervous state somewhat, she certainly thought the word 'salutation' would lead the sentence off...and she definitely didn't think the greeting would be replaced by one so...awkward when being displayed by the Atlesian defender.

"...pretty good, but I thought you wanted us to speak in Danish when we were alone", as out of place as it was, Velvet raised an eyebrow at Penny, and her smile grew to normal size.

"That I do, exposure to language is key to learning it, and as I am the only one in the vicinity with knowledge on Vivian's native tongue we must converse as often as possible in it. Without saying you should not attempt to speak with any other student. In Danish that is", - Penny

Velvet blinked at the screen as the entire last two sentences appeared, then reappeared, then were mangled together only to be sorted out all over the span of two seconds. For obvious reasons the brunette Faunus had the most trouble with the European language. Although on paper it was much more organized than its western Germanic brother, most of her study was focused on English for practical use.

That being said, between the coded red head's bizarre English sentence, and now the Danish one that the second-year huntress had to reread multiple times, Velvet was unsure if her own misunderstanding was causing her to misinterpret some things. Both phrases just didn't seem...well Penny.

The first was far too relaxed, and while the second was formal, it was almost a militaristic version of her proper vernaculars. Without the presence of a proper vocal box to present how the words were spoken, Velvet decided to let the situation play out a bit more before she questioned Penny on it.

"...Even if they could speak Danish...I do not think the other students want to speak to me", having to go through her mind like a filing cabinet, the Faunus's words came out disjointed, and she could only pray that she would never actually have to converse with somebody from Denmark. Not only would the whole ordeal rip her cover to shreds...she also didn't want to insult a native speaker of this tongue with how badly she was butchering it,

"That is good! Limiting your contact with other classmates should be strived for"-Penny

Looking between the door and window obviously, the rabbit Faunus wondered if she was actually talking to her robotic ally or if somebody had kidnapped and replaced her. Considering that the pastel green aura uses had been the one most excited for Velvet's first day of school and had encouraged her to end social outing with Laura in the past...this statement came across uncharacteristically cold.

"...I-I wouldn't complement me yet...I mean you translated half of what the headmaster's said to me after the...", in truth Velvet was opening blank cabinets looking for a word but Penny must of simply viewed it as her trailing off,

"Of course, I am well aware of the situation. We are fortunate that you and Gareth came away unpunished"- Penny

"I-I'm sorry about that...I don't know what really came over me-", if Penny had been unsure of what to type a few sentence ago, Gareth's desktop practically turned into a flashbang as the computer now interrupted Velvet trying to get out her words,

"Being a Huntress, you handle the situation accordingly. However, on Earth such a display is quite abnormal. Please simply wait for the proper authority figure to arrive next time to calm the situation"-Penny

For somebody who had open the conversation with such a casual greeting, Penny was sure being overcome by an almost drill sergeant level of ordering in the way she now spoke...or rather typed,

"I-I usually do, I honestly can't believe I intervened myself", thoughts of a similar situation arose, as the boy dubbed Lance's hair shifted to orange as the reason she got involved was already clear to her, "...but then again I didn't think Gareth would act either"

The flashing bar of text remained blinking as for once Velvet got the chance to speak two thoughts in a row, as Penny remained textless,

"On the bright side...he seemed pretty okay with the occasion", the chocolate eye girl stumbled over her words, not quite voicing what she had meant, "well, he still was super nervous, and I think he's definitely didn't react well to Lance's saying his name...but he did treat me differently after the event"

Not even producing a letter, Penny remained lifeless, and if it wasn't for the very fact Velvet could see her android friend brain right next to her she wonder if she was still in the room, "I truthfully didn't think he liked me very much...but throughout the day we were able to just sort of...chat. I would tell you what it was about, but considering you translate a quarter of it you already know"

Worried about whether she had caused Penny's sudden bout of reclusiveness, Velvet added the last part with a forced and nervous laugh. As awkward and embarrassing as it may have look though, it did seem to trigger a response,

"That was nice to hear. It is good he has an actual person he can talk to-", Penny

After three weeks of communication, Velvet was not nearly as blind to her usually jubilant friend's dashes. And although she didn't quite know their connection was to lying, she did know it, at the very least, signal Penny was hiding something.

"He talks to you all the time though Penny", the physical huntress stated trying to sound reassuring, all while trying to find out why she had to be.

"Yes, but I believe you have made more progress in a day then I have in a week. This is a positive- as it shows you can interact with earthlings more naturally than I. This could prove beneficial when investigating our arrival, her-"

"Penny...are you okay?", even for a person as socially anxious as Velvet, any further attempts to approach the situation indirectly was dropped.

"I am not sure I understand-", Velvet shot the computer a reserved, but knowing look causing the typing to briefly pause,

"Why do you think I am ill"-Penny

"Because you haven't talked to me yet about your daily findings", switching over to the universal language, Velvet picked her camera that was positioned perfectly between Penny processor and the Earth Computer, "...and you don't seem to be yourself...so is everything okay?"

"Yes-"

"Penny?", the rabbit Faunus said the electronic name questioningly before the artificial intelligence even had time to type it out.

"...I believe I am just having some difficulty understanding certain human and Faunus social interaction"- Penny

With how slow her friends typing had gotten towards the end, Velvet knew the source of her abnormal behavior had arisen. Given how much effort Penny had seemingly taken to hide it from her, the brunette adopted a small smile...and decided to keep her thoughts of what most human and Faunus social interaction looked like to herself,

"... so, you had a hard time...figuring out how Gareth and I were speaking"

"That is correct...although I have already stated my hypothesis."- Penny

Slowly things began to fall more and more into place for Velvet, and her smile became all the more gentle and reassuring because of it, "...Penny...I think you selling yourself a little short...but I understand what you mean"

For some reasons the Remnant stowaway could almost feel the presence of somebody cocking their head in true confusion, and took the feeling as her signal to continue,

"...I'm a very timid person...but my friend Coco, she's essentially the anti me", despite her bringing up a trait of herself she wasn't proud of, Velvet couldn't help but adopt a nostalgic filled smile as she looked up remembering the teammates she longed to get back too, "Going into the room...she'll become the center of attention in no time. Honestly, I'm really jealous of her because of that"

Taking a short pause, to see if Penny wished to voice something, the soul filled computer remained patiently silent. Although given the camera light had now turn on, she wordlessly voiced her presence,

"It wasn't that she could naturally befriend anyone, more so she has a presence that makes people want to befriend her...for somebody who struggles to talk to friends, let alone strangers, I sometimes feel disappointed in myself for not being able to be more like her"

"You seem to be on Earth though?"-Penny

For many that sentence could have been viewed multiple different ways. Perhaps to some it would seem stuck up, to others cold, and for most even flat out rude. However, the inclusion of the question mark was able to change the tone of it completely, and Velvet knew what Penny had meant, even if the bodiless huntress didn't

"Only because of you", almost to make a point, Velvet put her beret back on to mask her ears, "Your just as much of Vivian as I am Penny, and more so then that you have Coco's talent...just in a more polite form"

"I'm afraid I don't understand"-Penny

Not wanting to bring up, or really find she could, Coco's more... eccentric personally, Velvet decided to only answer the first half of the question.

"Well, for starters, you were able to calm down a panic stricken huntress on a foreign planet, and through your natural kindness befriend her in a couple of hours", the brunette smiled, really wishing she could actually see Penny right now, for truthfully the android deserved a body more than anybody on this planet at the moment, "You walked me through all my conversations with Laura, and as far as Gareth goes…well he wouldn't have been able to talk to me to begin with without your help and ability to reach him"

"Do you really think so?"-Penny

"I know so", only ever questioning her own social anxiety, Velvet was able to instantly voice her opinions on a person expressing their own timidness, "...In fact...do you need me to be anywhere tonight?"

"The matter on finding transportation is still in its infancy stage, and the investigation through images and social media post-

With how well the conversation was going Velvet shivered nervously, knowing full well who Penny was trying to find through her internet browsing. Despite having become complicit with Earth, to the point she could at least image staying here for a few months if needed, she still wanted to get home more than anything else...however, the thought of who she may have to face to do so made the idea of morphing into Vivian, while not appealing, more tolerable then she would like. That being said, the last thing she wanted to do was ruin her chat with Penny by becoming consumed by the ideas of the other Remnant natives on Earth,

"Has yet to produce any results that require in the field deployment"

Velvet gave out a sigh of relief, only to try and mask it halfway through,

"As of now there will be no break in you evening routine"-Penny

"I wouldn't say that '', the Faunus replied switching back to English rather than Danish. The foreign tongues coming out of her mouth at the fastest pace she could manage, as she forced the conversation from its previous, if not brief, topic, "...Gareth offered to do homework together...why don't I invite him up so we can all get started on it together"

"I don't think we should do that- As discussed my plan was to accomplish your homework for you so, when field missions due arise, you can use this time to rest"- Penny

A small smile being produced at the sight of the hiccup, Velvet reached for her phone, as her thought process turned into one more akin to Laura for a moment. Although she would certainly find the situation of studying with Gareth awkward, and there would be no shortage of nervous small talk, it would help Penny feel more included...and that was something the Faunus thought was crucial not only for the mission but her friends as well,

"It's a good thing no evidence showed up then, besides he already told me about his friend P who kindly got me out of the park. I really do want to meet her, thank her properly", pulling up the text screen, Faunus squinted her eyes at the phonetic letters as a message appeared above her.

"I do not think that is wise, Gareth simply believes me a virtual intelligence, but will have to act as if I'm a real person since that is what he informed you"-Penny

Her brief moment of confidence having subsides, Velvet's fingers hovered over the text bar. The situation for her was going to be brutal. Social anxiety at its worst...but her phone's hitchhiker wasn't stopping the plan from preceding. She could easily shut off the Earthen scroll, or simply prevent any texts specifically meant for Gareth.

However, even as the blank screen displayed all the invisible texts she and her fellow Brunette had yet to send, she knew Penny wanted her to act. So, on behalf of her friend, and her brief show of social ingenuity, she typed out a message, and watched as it was ushered out of her mobile device to his.

"...What should I say"-Penny

Having most likely gone through a million and one social simulation before Gareth could even type a letter, Velvet quickly realized that she wasn't the only anxious one in the room. And while extroverts were more outgoing by nature, Penny, even if she herself disagree, was showing her human size...or Faunas as her current companion would put it,

"...as simple as it may seem...my teammates always tell me to just be myself", Velvet look at the phone screen sending a smile to the code inside, "Although it's a lesson I'm a long way from mastering...I think 'salutation' would be very you"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gareth had never felt so uncomfortable in his room then he did at his very moment. Sitting in his computer chair felt strange, and the idea of being on his bed right now would likely make the sheet catch fire if put into practice. Honestly if standing straight up wouldn't be so rude or weird, he'd have planted his feet no more than a few inches from his door and rooted himself into the wood.

That being said, such a situation was far from what reality was showing. Instead, he was sitting in his now unfamiliar chair, in a posture so uptight that if the furniture was sentient it would have been convinced he was a different person. Hell, at the moment, he was starting to think he was an imposter as well, and given that there was a human of the opposite sex sitting on his bed he was wondering when a missing persons case would be called to find the actual Gareth Cadarn.

However, with the rooms other occupant face glued into a notebook, and her ever expanding brunette hair encasing her brain apartment close his doppelganger hypothesis was put on hold. Although the idea of their being another person his age in his room was unthinkable a mere month prior if the situation had arisen it would definitely be this comedically quiet.

With both teenagers making eye contact with the floor whenever talking to the other had to occur, they kept the topic of discussion far more professional than their earlier conversations had been.

Luckily the room had a third inhabitant as well, and she was more than willingly to start up a conversation,

"I do find the idea of quarks quite fascinating as well, with the subcatgorie-"

Being the closest to the computer, out of necessity in order to read it, Gareth produced a small smile even if he couldn't find the interest to politely read the rest of the sentence. With how uncomfortable he thought he'd made Vivian when bringing up Lance's on their walk home, he really didn't think she'd take him up on his early offer of studying together.

...More so than that, he definitely didn't think Vivian had kept communicating with P after the electronic program helped her out in the woods. But to his surprise the had been talking throughout the last couple of weeks...of course the Danish exchange student didn't know the full truth of her not actually being a person, as far as Gareth was aware at least,

"That's really cool Pe-", seemingly having some wind get trapped in her throat the foreign brunette had to give out an emergency cough, "P...but what's a quark?"

"It's the things protons and neutrons are made of...but not something we'll actually have to know for class", as if on cue, Gareth had turned his head back towards the floor when speaking, but was glad he could join in on the conversation.

A conversation, that while initially revolving around actual chemistry homework, soon morphed into one where P simply voiced her interest in particle physics. In fact, with how far they diverged from the actual topic of their assignment, Gareth wouldn't be surprised if, like him, Vivian had only written down her name on the worksheet.

Not that he periodically cared for his lack of productivity at the moment. Surprising even himself, and despite the awkwardness displayed by two people in the room, this pseudo form of social activity was quite nice...even if a computer was being the most outgoing.

"O-oh I see...you sure know a lot about science P, where did your interest in subject come from"

"My father, he's very interest in studying how the universe works and how to rearrange natural aspects to new forms"-P

"Sounds like a cool dad", for being a virtual intelligence system, or at the very least was originally designed to be one, Gareth was astonished how easily P was able to lie about being a human. Honestly, a small part of him still believe she was, but considering she was operating on a completely different level twenty-four seven the logical part of his brain new better.

"That is affirmative, I could not have asked for a better father figure!"-P

That makes one of us, the emerald eye boy thought, unaware that his fellow brunette was thinking the exact same thing. However, despite the implication of the statement, the small smile never faltered from forming upon his face. As unfortunate as it was, he probably didn't even register the words his mind conjured as they simply appeared to him as second nature now, and in no way did they impede his growing enjoyment in the conversation.

...This whole thing, it was nice. As broad as that may sound, Gareth never got to experience true companionship, regardless if it was in its budding stages or not. Simply being here in his room, even if he and one other member were too shy to make eye contact and the third was literally just a string of ones and zeros, was a basic thing in his life never knew he needed until know,

"So besides discussing physics at a graduate student level, what else do you and your dad do for fun", the senior replied, now taking part in the lie, unaware that his want to believe it was true had already been fulfilled.

"All kinds of activities! When allowed we would go for walks around the entire circumference of Atlas"-P

"Atlas?", cocking his head in confusion he saw Vivian own eyes snap up towards his computer. Although given his focus was also trained onto his desktop, he didn't exactly know why the Danish girl possessed such a reaction, "You mean like the Greek Titan?"

Gareth gave out a small awkward laugh at his own poor joke, but it quickly became apparent that nobody else in the room seemed to get his quip. The chuckle coming to an even more embarrassing end, the brunette could barely see his electronic friend type and delete multiple responses before finally sending one out for his eyes to view,

"My mistake Gareth, I meant to write Atlin. It is the city I live in, not the name of a Mediterranean deity-"-P

Focusing far more on the fact his name no longer had its repetitive title displayed before it, the brunette's brief, but genius tooth filled grin, signaled to all others in the room he was oblivious to the one actual lie that had emerged. Briefly hearing a sigh of relief come from Vivian, he turned to notice she didn't retreat back into her hair walled home,

"That's a first for you P, your usually the one to correct me on all my grammar errors", he said unaware that the tension in the room, while having suddenly spike, had rebounded entirely as more comfortable atmosphere grew, "So where is that anyway, I know people online don't usually like to give away their location, but I've never heard of a place called Atlin in New England"

"That is because the city is not even in the United States, rather I live in Canada-"-P

"...You know that makes a lot of sense", Gareth said, as if two gears in his head fell into the palace for the first time.

"I-it does", Vivian seemed to quietly voice on P's behalf, placing down the notebook and worksheet she had previously hid in.

"Well yeah, you're like the nicest person I've ever met", with three eyes now on him, Gareth felt two minds fill with confusion even if he could see the puzzled person on one person's face, "y-you know the stereotype...all Canadians go around apologizing, saying sorry even when they've done nothing wrong, or were on the receiving end of somebody else's wrong doing"

"T-there's a stereotype about people being too...nice", Vivian's response came out delayed, and it was with the way she reacted it was almost as if she heard the sentence twice.

"...yeah...I mean I think so based on what I've seen on T.V.", the emerald eye boy stated, cheeks picking up a bit of color worrying he may have made a complete jerk of himself by insulting...his computer, "...guess it must be different in Denmark"

"It is…", the response had a sad undertone to it, but came out as if it was second nature, "Where I'm from, most stereotypes only have negative connotation connected with them"

"Oh...I'm sorry", Gareth looked away, only able to glance at Vivian long enough to realize she was reminiscing about something. Although as he looked at his blank assignment sheet, he couldn't help but wonder what it could be about.

Obviously, he didn't want to assume too much about her life, but from what he understood not a lot of bad things were connected with the Danish people. In fact, the only thing he could think of was that they were jokingly referred to sometimes as the 'Canadians of Europe'

"If it makes you feel better...there are tons of negative stereotypes about Americans, and one is that we always say stupid stuff because our mouths dwarf are brains", a few seconds went by, and Gareth slowly found himself wanting to converse with the ground again. However, his words did seem to reach Vivian, although not when spoken by him.

Seeing her head peek up towards his own one's retreat, she offered a small smile and laugh. Still dwelling on something but no longer consumed by it, "I-I think that one maybe true Gareth, i-if my experience with Lance is anything to go by"

His sigh of relief being cut off by the mention of the blonde colossus, the youngest Cadarn turned towards the exchange student not expecting her to bring up the conversation that had unnerved her earlier, "Y-yeah..."

He paused as Vivian's gaze met him, with her showing signs of being more curiosity in what he was about to say then a silent signaling telling him to stop, "Vivian are you okay?"

"...I'm fine, he di-", forcing a reassuring smile for his sake, Vivian was cut off halfway through. In truth Gareth's mind was screaming at him not to pry any deeper, to not make the same mistakes twice when they had we're just starting to recover from when he brought up the topic earlier...but he also knew they couldn't dance around Lance forever, and he made it abundantly clear he would remember them going forward,

"I-I don't mean it like that...I'm wondering if your...y-you know emotionally okay?", he didn't know how to phrase the true question he wanted to ask, but his words managed to form one that at least showed the what he was attempting to communicate.

The room was quiet, and for a few seconds it seemed like Vivian was not only trying to find the correct English words to respond, but debating whether she should voice them as well,

"...I've dealt with…", she paused, biting her lower lip as the environment of the room grew from awkward to sorrowful. However, just as it seemed the sleeping area would remain silent forever, the computer completed Vivian's sentence.

"Discrimination"-P

Gareth grew confused at that specific word choice, and even more so when his newfound Danish friend nodded her head at its proper use,

"...Do you mean you were bullied for…", he asked wondering if she just didn't know the full definition behind the first word, but didn't feel he had any right to bring up the reason why she wore the head piece "…it's just that Discrimina-"

"Is the more accurate word", in no way was her interrupt rude, and while spoken under her breath it was merely her way of correcting what Gareth was about to say, "I-I was bullied...but it was because of discrimination"

"But you're from Denmark...and white?", despite not implying it in a racist way, the youngest Cadarn immediately regretted his words. And Immediately began stumbling over new ones for his explanation, "S-sorry I didn't mean it like that, or you don't face discrimination...or you even face it based on ethnicity…but in America…well the first thing that comes to mind when somebody says discrimination is that somebodies on the receiving end of racism...and …that usually involves white people being… disrespectful to other ethnic groups"

"...I'm sorry", Vivian looked over to their now shared monitor as if seeking P's approval to keep speaking, "I don't understand what you mean by white...or what colors have to do with race"

She said the word colors...as if they were just that, visual signals on the electromagnetic wave. It was almost beautiful in a sense that she held the true fact that it had no connection with what made people human…Unfournanlty though, history had to many people believing in the falsehood.

"...I mean color doesn't have any connection to race, but...well you know", Gareth rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, clearly worried he might offend somebody while trying to explain the topic. Unfournanlty, given Vivian's quick shake of her head, and P's accompanying silence he'd have to continue, "...did they not teach you about imperialism in Denmark?"

Admittedly Gareth didn't know a lot about the southernmost Scandinavian nation, but at the very least, despite it being more homogenous than his own country, they were far more progressive then America...Enough to the point that they'd teach a more accurate account of history and the horror of racism then his own country,

"I-I'm...I don't think so...sorry", the emerald eyed boy darted his eyes around the room at that response. Wondering how'd he'd even begin going about explaining the horrors and atrocities people with both their color tones committed against other based on pseudoscience belief that had no basis in reality...that and he was also perplexed with how any school system in Europe would skip over the portion of history literally dubbed 'European Imperialism'.

"I...how do I put…", he eventually sighed, realizing that there would be no organic way to bring up the topic, and it was far to mature and real of a problem to be sugar coated, "People with our skin color, that is to say Europeans, they thought they were the most evolved humans on the planet"

"...And Denmark's...in Europe, I'm so sorry", piecing together the information too quickly, and incorrectly Vivian jumped to a conclusion. More so than that she also apologized as if she just committed an act of treachery.

"You don't have anything to apologize for...", given the tightening of her lips his fellow brunette seemed to disagree but remained quiet, "Besides I wouldn't be the one to apologize too. I mean, I'm a European too essentially"

"But you live in America?", not that Vivian wasn't treating the topic with respect, but the more obvious questions she asked the more Gareth wonders if her history class today was the first one she's ever had,

"Which was colonized by Europeans...and although they eventually called themselves Americans...they're in part responsible for the worst acts of racism on the planet", Gareth shook his head, knowing that he was speaking about problems way out his league, but also aware he was skipping ahead, "We'll get there...but people in Europe...they called themselves white and started placing people into different categories based on skin color"

"...because of this they came to the self-made conclusion that people who didn't look like them...were a different and less developed species and therefore society", as he trailed off, Gareth saw Vivian's eyes widen in confusion and horror, and while he still thought it was impossible that this was the first time she's ever heard of racism...her genuine reactions were showing otherwise.

"But...but that's stupid, what does skin tone have to do with being a different species", through her shock and confusion, Vivian voiced her opinion truly frustrated. Normally being as timid as him, this sudden outburst, with no immediate embarrassment for reading her voice, caught her fellow brunette off guard,

"I-I agree, not only is it stupid and hateful, it's just painfully unscientific", even with his social IQ of four, the high school senior knew that none of Vivian's anger, justifiable anger at that, was aimed at the idea rather than him. Still he felt the need to calm her down somewhat and let her know he was in agreement, "After all, any biologist will tell you skin color doesn't have anything to do with being a human... a black person can have more genetic similarity with a white person, then either of them could have with another person sharing their skin color"

Vivian's normally reserved and shy face still remained twisted up in anger, and with him speaking so fast to ensure she felt the same, she probably didn't actually catch a lot of his last sentence. Luckily his computer finally decided to help him out,

"What Gareth says is true. Humans on this planet don't display nearly enough genetic variation to warrant ethnicity be categorized as a different species. In fact, the DNA that codes for the brain has no difference at all, and therefore skin pigmentation has nothing to do with intelligence or advancement"-P

"P...I don' think Vivian's lear-", more focused on the use of such large vocabulary words, Gareth completely overlooked the weird use of the word 'planet'. More so concern that his European classmate may be more confused by her definition then his...although he was quickly proven wrong,

"...fine...but if you all know you're the same species now, why does discrimination still exist", she now pouted, and while not looking directly at Gareth, she wanted an answer. Not in tone that voiced she was expecting one, but almost a quiet plead for an explanation.

"...B-because people like to feel like their better than people Vivian, and they'll use any reason they can find to justify feeling better, no matter how illogical, hurtful, or down right idiotic it can be", with the conversation having started around chemistry, Gareth didn't think he'd have to explain American's race problem, and being part of the ethnicity that had caused all the hatred he also felt he could never do justice in explaining all the horror and atrocities people who looked like him had caused.

"Before science shined light on the same species thing, people in the U.S. used racism to justify their worst atrocities. The indigenous people here were murdered so Europeans could take their lands... and black people were enslaved and forcefully brought over from their homes because of these awful beliefs. Even as things got better, and slavery was abolished..."

"Harmful beliefs never disappear overnight", for somebody who had apparently never heard of this topic before, Vivian's sorrowfulness returned as if she was speaking from a firsthand account.

"Y-yeah...I mean, it's not as bad as it was...but to say there's not a racism problem in America would be a flat out lie, and a harmful one at that", Vivian nodded, but it seem to be about something else, "...which is why I was confused when you said you faced discrimination...n-not that you couldn't but...I mean when awful stuff like that happens, white people tend to be the ones discriminating against other people"

"D-do you?", Gareth's eyes went wide, and he himself felt somewhat hurt that she would think so. For all his negative attributes, being a racist wasn't one of them. He was about to shout out no, and say it clear and defensively enough that the message was clearly understood.

However, as he looked at Vivian, he was able to see her eyes for once. The situation had become far more awkward then the one revolving around Lance could ever be, but as emerald iris met chocolate, he knew she was asking him a genuine question.

"I'm not racist. Considering you and P are truthfully the first two friends I've had in a while I can honestly say I would have wanted to be your friends regardless of skin tone."

Scanning his face for a bit, Vivian seem to find the genuineness in his words and began to smile, "Really, you wouldn't think your better than other people"

"Vivian, I'm a seventeen-year-old loser who spends a large chunk of his time basking in his own filth. On top of literally having the muscle mass of a twig, I in no way would I ever say I'm better than anybody else on the planet. As far as I'm concerned, all my bastardized pink skin grants me is an allergy to the sun. At the end of the day, a human's a human, and as cliche as it may sound, you judge somebody by their character not appearance"

Her eyes continued their analytical gaze, but the smile opened up into a small, but genuine laugh, before dying down to a gentle, but yet again more serious, expression "...and what if one of us wasn't human?"

The question was completely odd, and Vivian's phone pinged as it was finished. She seemed to give it an apologetic look, but luckily Gareth's mind was focused too much on the question...although he took it in a different direction.

Technically I'm already friends with a different being at the moment, he said smiling as he unknowingly looked at the same person his fellow brunette was, so as far as species goes…

"If one of us wasn't human", his grin became one with a knowing undertone as he continue starring at his monitor, "I'd be confused…but once I got over the initial shock I'd be too caught up how cool talking to something non-human would be to even think of having an idiotic urge to discriminate against it"

A bit too focused on P for the moment, Gareth failed to notice another smile now fixated on him. As in a serene moment of general except, produced by the most scenic route possible, had finally been reached. As the seconds ticked by in silence, the unknowingly beautiful display seemed like it could last forever...until the universe literally came knocking through.

"GARETH WHAT DID YOU DO", the door to his room thundered open, as all three occupants were met to the sight of an angry, concerned, and murderous eyed Laura. Wondering how she had made it up without anyone noticing, Gareth's face was growing red.

Not only was he embarrassed about the situation he was in now, and how much his mother would question that, he was also wondering what he had done wrong. For as awkward as him hanging out with Vivian was, his mom should be enthused about such a thing. However, the answer quickly presented itself to the emerald eye boy when he saw his mother's hand and the phone it held.

Displaying a video, with text large enough for him to read, Gareth's face went brighter as he made out the thumbnail picture. Accompanying his reaction, the long-distance exchange student behind him turned a similar shade of red, until a second reaction to the evidence on the phone was made clear. Luckily Gareth and Laura were too focused on the video to catch this, but if they had tilted their heads in different positions, they'd see the terror form on Vivian's face as she looked towards the computerized core of P.

Hot Danish Chick Curb Stomps Perverted Flirt

2,347,988 Views

"Care to explain what happened", her gritted teeth held back her clear frustration towards the situation. Clearly retaining enough logic to know the structure of the house would be in jeopardy if she used her full volume again.

"...Technically speaking, the title sort of does that already", the voice came out in a whisper, and as he saw the amount of views became visible to him, the boy felt like crawling into a shell.

...so much for being a fly on the wall...brief internet fame doesn't attract actual people though, right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bullets rattled in their chambers, hellbent to bump into each other in every direction besides upwards. Disappointingly, despite the incredible level of poor firearms displaced on display at the moment, there would be little no chance of a misfire...considering that the sources of its never ending vibration was the result of it still being holstered to a terrified man's waste.

Duncan had bought the gun thinking he'd never have to use it. Standing well above six feet tall, and muscles toned through years upon years of care, his psyche was all he had ever needed to dissuade people from a physical confrontation.

He had only brought it tonight in order to earn browning points with his date. Being well toned, with flawless chestnut hair, and a confidence that never falters, the sidearm was just a stylistic choice to his outfit in all honesty.

He had been pining after his coworker Jessica for the past six months. Being fresh out of college, and still climbing towards his peak, he thought the golden hair goddess would be easy to hook up with. But in practice, her beauty was every bit as rivaled as her evasiveness. It was only when he had overheard her talking about her university days skeet shooting, did he find a way to catch her attention.

Offering to let him inspect his current model in a more private setting, Duncan had found himself purchasing the pistol three days ago. The sudden easiness of appearing on Jessica radar, only matched by how fast it took to procure a weapon.

Bringing her back to his place, and having her now in his preferred territory, he was able to fall back into his naturally charismatic charm. Making the weapon a talking point, before naturally driving the conversation into a much more preferred direction.

Strolling through his gated community, he had gotten her to laugh, flirt, and even blush. So much so that he had forgotten all about the hundreds of dollar ice breaker attached to his leg. Far more focused on how he could make it so that his sword was unsheathed tonight instead.

With the moon shining overhead, and enough time having passed that it was more polite for Jessica to stay the night then creepy, Duncan pulled out his phone planning on creating a friendly atmosphere before things got more serious.

Pulling her in close, he pulled up a mindless viral video that had sneak its way upon every office computer day. Given how much Jessica had laughed when shown it earlier, it was the perfect tool to show her that they just so happened to have the same taste. However, just as he pressed play his blonde hair interested gave out an all too different reaction.

Gasping, due to physics rather than shock, Jessica dropped to the ground like a puppet without strings. With the reflexes of a knight in shining armor, Duncan sprang into action to make sure everything was alright...only to have his naturally courageous and picturesque personality shredded into a million pieces,

"Aw really, I would have thought you'd have shot me by now", a snake like voice hissed at with parental like disapproval, "She certainly thinks you should have"

Kneeling up from his demonic crouch, the source of his fear brought time back. A doubled head axes following its user's lead as it slid out of Jessica's cranium. Moments ago, Duncan could have described the woman's appearance perfectly, but as terror shorted out any thought process not tied to this exact moment, he couldn't even remember that her crimson hair had once been a golden hue.

With a skintight white suit, the improvised barber who dyed her stretched his back. Nearly leaning it to an unnatural ninety-degree angle, as his midnight toned pony tailed skimmed the red pools emerging from his date's chest.

Ticking his head to the side, and unleashing bone chilling crack, the man's eyes trailed upwards from his work of death to the shivering pile of fear that quivered before his every move,

"Come on, don't be shy", he continued in his unknown tongue that only conveyed horror, "It's not very often I get to sneak away from the kiddies and have some fun"

The taller man dwarfed the sadistic man, and his arms were almost the radius of the psychopath's entire head. Yet he still was overcome with enough raw instinct to no he was going to die,

"...which is why I'm so upset you don't want to play with me", the true human predator pouted, his puppy dog like gaze only making the situation all the more horrific, "I know that's a weapon, defend yourself, slay the demon and reclaim the maidens honor"

Forced into the natural instinct of freeze, the taller man couldn't even bring himself to flinch as the serial killer outstretched a hand. Placing it on his chest, the killer tenderly traced his digits down toward his holster like a stream of molten lead.

Effortlessly releasing the Glock from its restraints, the blacked haired demon forced the edges of his lips into a carnivorous grin. Stepping closer, the murderer became a true puppeteer, grabbing the Duncan's hand and resting it on the weapon's grip.

His own nervous system following the signals of his assailants' brain, the brown-haired man watched as his appendages were moved into place like an action figure. His right arm stretched out with the Glock; the sociopathic jester took delight as the weapon was now trained at his own head.

Truly acting as a child setting up a toy, the skin suit cladded man took a step back. The barrel of Duncan's gun aligned with Jessica's killer pupil, the man facing the bullets grew eager. Behaving like a kid on Christmas, waiting excitedly for Duncan to pull the trigger and deliver the presents.

...But the chestnut-haired man's fingers remained still. Unable to move without their master, Duncan wasn't even aware there was a gun in his hand at the moment. His thoughts are too scared to even convince him that this situation couldn't be real.

Childlike innocence turning to rage, the assailant smile went flat. Darting behind Duncan at a speed he couldn't register as impossible, two pale hand grasped his face,

"You're no fun at all, I can't fight the better toys without upsetting the mistress", eyes instinctually going wide, Duncan's pupils moved based on pure biology as the arm holding his gun was forced to point it next to his head.

Encased in the grip of a third limb, the brown hair man wanted to wake up. Not knowing how the presence of a black scorpion bulb gripping his wrist didn't shock him back to reality,

"All I've been able to do it play with you pathetic hand me downs", the unknown words got closer, as the arachnid tailed man brought his temple parallel to Duncan's, "And even then I can't do it as often as I like...I mean I could but then I'd have to play with the kids"

He licked his lips at his last statement, seemingly not caring that his murder was now set up as a suicide as well, "and as entertaining as that would be...I'd be in a lot of trouble when mom comes home"

Still debating over his words evidently, his face morphed into that of an infant debating whether stealing a cookie from the jar was worth the repercussion. Seemingly coming to conclusion, the psychopath sighed,

"No, I could never disappoint her like that...not like the way you've disappointed me", the animal part of Duncan knew his fate was sealed as soon as he saw this man over Jessica lifeless body, and as the disguised demon's puff of air was hidden behind a wire like smile the way in which he'd depart this world was put into stone as well, "I didn't even pretend to hunt you, and I tried to catch your attention so many times. I even stood beneath the light to make up for your handicap"

The prehensile stinger pressed the barrel of Duncan's gun to his skin,

"But you were so focused on her. To distracted on sex's to actually fight", the pony tailed man kick Jessica lifeless body over, and if any part of his human mind still work Duncan would have puked at the sight of a surgically bisected skull, "Such a shame it was a useless endeavor...but to be fair, although leagues more pleasurable, grabbing your gun would have been just as idiotic as holding you-"

"Let go you-", the script was altered as both the psychopath and Duncan were drawn to his phone. Briefly forced from destiny as the video that ushered in these events had been playing the entire time. The images on still clear despite the droplets of blood sticking to the screens corner,

It's only been 50 seconds, Duncan's first thought this entire time was said in curiosity. Not one produced by fear, or dread... just pure interest. His terrorizer shared a similar reaction, he looked upon the screen and his eyes shone with recognition, as the brown hair man could now only take solace in knowing his last emotion on earth was just confusion.

"I take it back", the sadistic murder whispered squeezing his temple even closer to Duncan's, as the point of his biologically impossible stinger cocked ushered in the noise of a cocked hammer, "Drawing your gun would have been far less entertaining"

Any more emotions or thoughts Duncan could have where ripped apart. A brass and lead dome violently parted his neurons before, covered in everything he ever was, it exited his skull the same way it came in.