Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I started editing this 79 page monstrosity this morning and it is now late afternoon my time. I really wish there was a middle stage between writer's-block and can't-shut-up-for-anything with my muses, I really do. Anyway! I'll be putting the translations up here because at the bottom of the chapter are explanations for things that might confuse you guys. Just a heads up there.
Review Response: Youko Artemis, hey there! So glad you liked it! I really love writing BadAft!Skull, so hopefully she'll be making a return appearance soon. Oh, I'll cover the Arcobaleno getting their world turned upside down eventually, I promise. Just got to get through another thing or two first. Well if that's the case, hopefully you'll like the fluff of the newest chapter too!
Dear Bookmeister999, greetings! (Bows) Thank you, thank you, I tried. Enjoy the update!
Dear StepOnLego14, hello there! Wish granted, here's a (monster) update!
Dear May Eve, aloha! (Cocks head) You're welcome, I'm glad it satisfied you that much!
Dear Guest, hi there! Aw, thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it so much. I agree with you on Skull being an awesome character, really deserves all the screen-time he/she can get.
Dear Draxsis Felhunter, hi! I'm glad you liked it! Don't worry, the girls are just messing with the boys' heads. See, you and I know what the Arcobaleno Curse entails, but as far as most of the Varia know, the girls are just shrunken adults physically as well as mentally. I mean, except for Reborn and maybe Skull, their voices do NOT sound like two-year-olds. Anyway, Mammon sees it as potentially useful and so has never bothered to correct their assumptions, and Skull enjoys actively messing with people, so that's why that's in there. Lussuria, being the Varia medic, knows the truth of the matter, but he finds the entire thing hysterical and so keeps quiet about it. I hope that all makes sense?
Dear Guest, hello! As you can see, I am continuing this collection. It just ... takes me a while to finish chapters and then edit them is all. I'm hoping to cover the Arcobaleno's reactions soon. As for more Autobots, they'll show up eventually, but it will take a while. I need to work through some stuff on the KHR side of things and keep working on AMoSC and AUW, but like I said, we should see more Autobots (or Decepticons!) trickle in eventually.
Dear buterflypuss, greetings! Glad you think so! Hopefully this update will be just as interesting!
Author's Note: So, first off, I would like to go on record as having had NO control over this chapter. Well, I had control over the first two paragraphs. Then the muses ran off with it and I was left trying to write down all their babble in a coherent structure. Secondly, this gets a possible violence/gore warning (It's the VARIA after all) but I don't think it's too bad, a censored swear-words warning (again, Varia, curses are a must), and finally a fluff warning (don't ask me how that happened, it just ... did). Also, for those of you who skipped the little notice on the top of the page, there will be more in-depth explanations of a few things at the bottom of the chapter. Now, on to the chapter! Enjoy!
Translations: Mamman - French for Mama (according to Google.)
Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, Transformers, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and my interpretation of Skull (as adopted from wolfsrainrules), who have collectively run off with my plot.
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Fifth Stanza: What Never Was
Year: 2004. Season: Late Summer/Early Fall. Country: Italy. Age: Cursed
Xanxus lounged back in his chair, dark wine swirling in his glass as he watched his Guardians make fools of themselves in the monthly Varia Drinking game. This time around was a very … hardcore version of truth or dare. Xanxus was the undisputed, if unofficial, judge of the crazy game, but preferred being the amused spectator.
Belphegor sneered triumphantly at Squalo as he completed Squalo's dare to perform a certain complicated knife-trick while balanced on only one hand. Tilting his head to one side as he flopped back into his chair, Belphegor cooed, "Do try to challenge the Prince next time, Shark Peasant."
Squalo swore under his breath as he was forced to take a drink as per the rules of the game. It was the … seventeenth round if Xanxus recalled correctly, so most of the participants were feeling a the effects of their drinks by now. Well, except for Mammon, who refused to drink anything more intoxicating than her precious strawberry milk, and Belphegor who Xanxus suspected was using his Storm Flames to burn the alcohol out of his system before it could affect him.
Levi, the next in line to pick a truth-or-dare victim, stood up, "Alright-" "Who f****** stole my umbrellas? Bel, you s***** brat, you'd better not have used them for your pranks again!"
Xanxus blinked, wait. That isn't part of the game. What the h*** is he talking about- He blinked again and the room shifted. Suddenly there was a fire in the hearth, Belphegor was perched on the back of the couch instead of sitting in a chair, openly sniggering at the howling Levi while Lussuria tried to hold back his laughter and Squalo tried to shout everyone into order.
There was a low laugh and a light weight in his lap and Xanxus looked down sharply at the unknown stranger who dared- No, not stranger, Chibi-Skull-yours-
Xanxus was dimly aware he had dropped his wine glass as a sharp sting began to form in the back of his head. He tried to stand up, unholster his guns and demand an explanation as to what was going on and why Skull De Mort was suddenly here when the world shifted again.
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Varia reflexes had him leaping to one side just in time to avoid an actual collision, his mouth opening to viciously curse whoever was stupid enough to almost run him over. Him, Xanxus of the Varia, when his Sky flames jerked forward without his conscious consent and even though the bike had already disappeared around the street corner, Xanxus felt a strong, answering pull.
Xanxus would never, ever admit to standing there stupidly for a full three seconds with his mouth hanging slightly open and his flames singing mine-mine-mine-Cloud-Cloud-mine under his skin before he managed to shake free of his daze and launch into action.
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The custom mystery bike sat perpendicular to his position almost fifty yards away, its black paint with rich violet flames glinting in the afternoon sunlight. Xanxus froze for a second, wondering why the rider had chosen to finally stop. For a long moment, nothing happened, an air of expectancy hovering in the space between them.
Cautiously climbing to his feet, Xanxus flared his Sky flames, reaching inquisitively for the pulsing, rolling Cloud flames he could sense from the other rider. Sky brushed against Cloud and there was a brief rush of strong-wild-free-untamed as the Cloud flames flared in response to the touch.
Xanxus immediately pulled back his Flames, not really wanting to set off a Cloudy Rage no matter how frustrated and furious he personally was. The standoff lasted for another minute, with both parties examining how their Flames pulled and called to the other with no conscious decision of the persons in question.
Then the mystery motorcycle's engine revved and it sped off down the highway without a word. Xanxus cursed breathlessly as frustration seethed through his veins.
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Cloud. He'd found a Cloud that actually Called him and that he Called in return. He'd chased the Cloud- Not just a Cloud. Skull. Skull De Mort. Skull De Mort who-
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Blood in the air. The thick, sluggish pull of drugs and Rain flames in his system, smothering him despite his Storm flames' steady burn. He was being carried. By whom? There were Cloud flames all around him, thick and enraged yet somehow safe. Enemies everywhere, yet falling dead to the floor within moments of Xanxus becoming aware of them. A towering stranger, Flames that felt foreign, and glowing red eyes in a large metal face.
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Xanxus held out a hand, not attempting to touch, just letting it hang in the air patiently as he asked with uncharacteristic quiet, "Would you agree to being one of mine as well?"
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Xanxus felt the last piece, his missing Element, finally click into place and something deep inside him relaxed. It was like a muscle he had never known existed had been taut and knotting, driving him to distraction without his conscious knowledge until it finally came undone and his instincts purred.
Skull was his now. His and no one else's forevermore. Skull's flames tugged desperately on the bond as a tear slid slowly down the Arcobaleno's cheek, hungry for the feeling of Home and Belonging at last. Xanxus obliged immediately, flaring his Sky flames until heat waves rippled through the room. His Flames wrapped around his new Guardian without hesitation, supplying the feeling of Home and Harmony in as great a strength as Skull desired even as he resisted the urge to laugh with glee.
The World's Strongest Cloud. Not just that, but a powerful Mist as well, one who showed signs of having freely mixed his primary Cloud with his secondary Mist in order to boost it to otherwise unattainable levels. A Misty Cloud, arguably the rarest of all flame combinations, and he was Xanxus's now.
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Xanxus's hands flew up to his temples with a dark snarl as the sting in his head grew stronger and the impressions -memories- began to come faster. Images flashed before his eyes, dragging him back and forth from place to place, situation to situation. The memories hammered into his head with the subtly of an earthquake, so thick and fast he could no longer perceive them in chronological order, couldn't think past the rush of years of his life that he had lived yet not.
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Belphegor being a brat and inadvertently discovering Silhouette.
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Skull proving herself to the other Guardians, proving herself not just the World's Strongest Cloud but Femme Fatale as well and dangerous enough to stand as their equals under a shared Sky.
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Learning Cybertronian from Skull and then later Silhouette. Getting laughed at for sounding like little kids with lisps despite their best efforts to wrap their vocal cords around the harsh metallic tones of an alien language.
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Vongola HQ burning to the ground in an unseen, unprovoked attack.
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His Elements bonding, synching together until they were bonded to each other as much as they were bonded through Xanxus himself.
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Poison in the air. Poison that only affected the Arcobaleno. Affected only two members of his Pride with no cure.
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The final battle against the Six Funeral Wreaths, the battle in which Xanxus and the Varia had Raged with enough force to turn the battlefield to glass and ash because this was their revenge for their fallen. Their revenge for their own who were no longer with them, who were nothing but memories and gaping nothingness over shattered bonds because Byakuran had dared to take what was theirs.
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Losing Mammon. The agony and rage of feeling her life finally slip away, taken from him by the poison from which she had refused to hide. Skull screaming and Raging at her fellow Arcobaleno's recklessness, selfishness, because leaving on a mission without the purifying helmet Skull had built specifically for Mammon to slow the affects of the poison was suicide in all but name. The fear he had held, hidden away in the depths of his soul, that he would lose Skull that day as well to her Rage.
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Silhouette pulling Skull back from the brink, focusing Skull's pain at losing part of her Territory into missions against the Millefiore Famiglia. But even the stubbornness of a Raging Cloud could not stop the slow, relentless march of the poison through her system. Could not stop the bloody coughing fits that persisted over the next two years.
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Fran. The brilliant, annoying brat Mukuro had dumped on their doorstep to take care of while he disappeared to who knew where. The one that Skull had taken under her wing and trained into the ground again, and again, and again because she was not going to lose another one of her own. Not again. Never again.
He had Harmonized with Fran, just before the end. Accepted the juvenile Mist as his own because he was already one of Skull's and his Cloud was a good judge of character. Xanxus had helped Skull train Fran when he had the time, the two of them working together to ensure that Fran could not only make an enemy think that up was left, but could hold his own in physical combat as well.
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For a moment, the surge of memories paused, as if hesitating to show whatever was left. Xanxus growled past the agony in his throbbing, overstuffed head. He wanted this to be over with. There were pieces he was missing, pieces he needed to know. He already knew the War had ended, that Little Trash from the past- present-? had burned the b****** Byakuran to ash. That the little Sky, Yuni, had done something to save the timelines. He recalled the final battle in mind-numbing detail, as if he had just lived it and was not simply being bombarded with memories of a Future That Never Was.
But Skull had not been there in the end. His stubborn Cloud had been lost, gone, taken by Byakuran somehow and Xanxus didn't have the memory of how. What had happened to his own? What had happened to his Cloud? Show me! He mentally roared at whatever presence it was that was pushing future-past-alternate memories into his head.
The presence obeyed and Xanxus was pulled under again.
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They were all crowded around the briefing table, arguing and debating about what to do with the newest piece of intel their spies had picked up. Silhouette was on a supply run for the energon she needed, and had insisted that Skull stay behind to help plan out the latest mission against the Millefiore.
Skull had agreed, but only after Xanxus had thrown his weight around and backed Silhouette up on her demand. Purifiers similar to the one in Skull's helmet had been installed all over the castle, working to filter away the poison that only affected their Cloud and slow down the degradation of her health. Because of that, all of the Varia did their best to keep Skull inside the castle unless her strength and skill was an absolute must for a mission.
Belphegor was in the middle of suggesting a strategy when it happened. Skull went rigid on the table, sick, raw fear pulsing across the bonds she had with Xanxus and the others. Xanxus stood up instantly, eyes flitting around the room for signs of a threat, his pistols in his hands and he murmured, "Skull?"
For a moment, nothing moved. Skull didn't even seem to be breathing. Then a keening noise escaped her and Skull had launched herself out of the third story window.
They had all gone after her without even thinking about it. Chased her across the grounds, weapons out and ready to intercept a threat as she pounded her way wildly across the grass in her Mist-created adult form.
Feelings of terror, despair, and denial throbbed across his bond with Skull and Xanxus felt his Flames rising in response to the distress of his Cloud even though he couldn't pinpoint the source.
Then, halfway across the sprawling grounds, Skull jerked. Her body arched and fell as if she'd been shot, her legs going out from under her as she screamed Silhouette's name.
Xanxus would never forget that scream. A wild, animalistic noise that echoed for miles and contained nothing but despair and grief. It was like listening to a wild creature die an agonizing death, only much, much worse because Xanxus could feel the emotions behind the cry, feel them echoing across his bond with Skull as she curled up on the ground in her true form and just kept screaming.
Xanxus slid to a stop next to his Cloud and dropped into a protective crouch over her form. All around them, his other Guardians fanned out into a defensive formation, their flames physically licking at their clothes and skin with the intensity of their emotions. Holstering one pistol, Xanxus gripped Skull's tiny shoulder with a hand and pumped Sky Flames into her, trying to anchor his screaming Cloud.
He could feel the moment he failed.
Skull's screaming stopped as abruptly as it had started, her body shuddering with gasps as her Flames began to twist and warp in ways they were never meant to. Something invisible squeezed at Xanxus's throat as he felt Skull burrow into his Flames for a moment, relishing in the feeling of home one last time while sending him feelings of so-sorry-can't-take-it-anymore-must-leave-must-rage before she pulled way and slammed her end of their bond tightly shut.
Skull stood up and pulled off her helmet. No one spoke, no one tried to stop her, not even Lussuria. Purple eyes met their gazes one by one, conveying everything she needed them to know with her gaze alone before her eyes locked with Xanxus's one last time. Her eyes were glowing a bright, sickly purple, pulsing rapidly as if to her heartbeat as she whispered hoarsely, "I have to go."
Skull didn't mean simply leaving the castle. She meant to die. She had been dying anyway. A slow, unnatural death no Cloud should have to suffer through while her fellow Arcobaleno, pieces of her Territory, fell one by one despite her best efforts. Xanxus had always known that Skull only held on because she was the only thing Silhouette had left.
Now Silhouette was gone, and d*** him if his Cloud didn't follow that stupid bike everywhere.
Xanxus thought about saying a lot of things, but in the end, the only words to leave his mouth were, "Give them Pit, Chibi."
Skull gave a single, curt nod and then was gone, racing to the garage for a non-sentient bike and from there tearing down the road toward Millefiore headquarters. Fran twitched and made as if to follow her, but Xanxus pushed him back, "Don't."
Fran's apathetic facade fractured, "But she's our Cloud! We should Rage with her!"
Squalo was uncharacteristically quiet as he interrupted Fran, "That's a one-way trip and you know it, kid. By the time she's done, there won't be anything left alive within a fifty mile radius." Not even Skull herself was a heavy, bitter understanding that went acknowledged but unspoken among them all.
The Varia waited for an hour before they moved out. Taking a different route to the city surrounding Millefiore headquarters, they stood on a high ridge overlooking the city as they watched the Shattering of their Cloud in silence.
Even from a distance, the destruction was awe-inspiring. Cloud Flames smothered the air while Mist whispered through their senses like poison. Buildings shook and fell, explosions pounded their eardrums, and people screamed.
Gunfire chattered, the howls of box animals rose like war cries before turning to wails of agony and cutting off abruptly. Even through the block on Skull's end of the bond, Xanxus could feel when someone shot her. He could feel the spike of raw Cloud Flames and heard the shouts of disbelief that heralded her getting up again.
More gunshots, the cry of a massive box animal, another spike of Cloud Flames.
Xanxus felt his own Flames lick his skin, felt the Flames of his other Guardians rising with each spike of Cloud Flames that heralded her getting up again after blows that should have been fatal.
Three spikes.
Four spikes.
Seven.
There was a pause, then Skull's Flames, both of them, lunged to even greater heights and Sky Flames lit the air like a wordless shriek of agony. Despite himself, Xanxus felt his lips peel into a feral smile. Skull had reached Byakuran.
The Sky Flames twisted and struggled against Cloud and Mist in a display so powerful it was visible to the naked eye and beside him Squalo snarled in satisfaction despite the ending they all knew was coming.
Then, without warning or time to brace himself for it, Xanxus's bond with Skull shattered and an explosion of Flames turned five city blocks in any direction into ash and fractured every other building in the city.
Xanxus roared at the feeling of losing Skull, red hazing his vision as he fought his instincts to go down there and Rage.
But this was not the time. He would avenge his Cloud later, in a place where the Flame fallout from Skull's death would not disintegrate the lungs of anyone foolish enough to enter the scene of the aftermath with its sheer potency. Even from their place on the hilltop, miles from the fallout area, Xanxus could already feel his lungs tingling from the burning air.
It was Lussuria who broke rank first and herded them all back to the castle, away from the irradiated air of the city and its surrounding area.
Xanxus bottled up his rage over the incident, over Skull's death. Pushed it into the same dark hole in his mind that he had pushed his pain over losing Mammon two years ago. His Guardians followed his lead, storing it away, saving it until the time came to turn the Millefiore to ash.
It wasn't until the final battle against the real Six Funeral Wreaths came a mere three months later that Xanxus and his remaining Guardians unleashed their pent-up fury over the loss of their own and the world trembled under the force of it.
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Xanxus came back to himself after the last memory had finished burning itself into his mind to find himself on his knees where his chair had been. All of the furniture in the room had been incinerated under the force of his Flames and that of his Guardians as they were made to live through ten years of a life that no longer existed. Could not be allowed to exist again. Xanxus's head pounded, his throat throbbed like he'd swallowed glass, and he wondered dimly if he had been shouting during the onslaught of memories.
Straightening up slowly from his doubled over position, Xanxus met the gaze of his equally dazed Guardians. Levi was the first to break the heavy silence, his voice hoarse, "What. The h***. Was that?"
Xanxus started to say something, probably a curse, when his phone rang shrilly. Yanking it out of his pocket with a breathless snarl, he looked at the screen. For a split second, he thought the number was unfamiliar and was going to ignore the call, but then knowledge from the not-future zipped to the forefront of his mind and he found himself answered it automatically.
A low feminine voice with vaguely metallic undertones panted desperately, "Tell me you recognize this number."
"Silhouette," Xanxus rasped past his throbbing throat, You're alive. I shouldn't know you exist. You really exist, which means that- "Where is Skull?" The moment the name left his lips he became aware of the gaping hole inside. The disturbing, maddening lack of a bond that should have been there. Even shattered, there should have been a piece left, a scar on his Flames from a lost Harmonization. But there was nothing, not even a trace and somehow that was worse.
Silhouette sighed of relief, "Alive. But you need to get over here as soon as possible. Skull … Skull isn't stable."
Xanxus was already halfway out the door, his Elements flanking him, before she had finished with the first sentence. "Put her on the line," he barked.
There was a pause, "I'm going to have to put it on speaker, I can't risk handing her the phone right now." Xanxus subconsciously bristled at that, but he refrained from commenting. There was a muffled collection of sounds from Silhouette's end and then a click of a phone getting put on speaker. The instant it was, Xanxus became aware of the crashing and feral snarling sounds on the other end and his newfound memories prodded him with realization. Right. Chibi throws things when she's p*****. Still, just from listening, Xanxus could tell that this was not one of her normal Cloudy tantrums. The level of destruction he was hearing was enormous.
He raised his voice to be heard over the destruction as he took the stairs down to the garage two at a time, "Chibi!"
There was a pause in the noise, then the sounds of broken debris being kicked aside in Skull's scramble to get to the phone, "Xanxus?"
His Cloud sounded horrible. Her voice was undisguised and raw, like she'd been screaming for hours, and there was a desperate edge to it that made him want to shoot whatever it was driving Skull to such extremes. Pushing away his violent urges for the moment, Xanxus answered, "It's me, Chibi. Now where are you?"
There was a long silence on the other end before Silhouette answered on Skull's behalf, "America. Usual place."
Xanxus nodded even though Skull couldn't see it, "We'll be there in twelve hours."
"…We?" Skull sounded … vulnerable. Xanxus hated it. He hated that one of his Elements was separated from him. Even if Skull wasn't technically his yet, wouldn't have become his until four years later, the part of him that had lived ten years longer than the current date was railing against his current inability to do more than just talk to Skull over the phone.
His other Elements didn't even need prompting to scramble into the car, ignoring the frightened grunts who had no idea what had happened to cause the earthquake and then the huge flare of Flames they'd sensed earlier. Levi claimed the driver's seat and Xanxus slid automatically into the passenger's side next to his Lightning, "Yeah, we're all coming, Chibi, so f****** get your house ready for guests."
"…Mammon is there?"
Xanxus huffed through his nose and put his phone on speaker. Holding it up so that it was facing the back of the vehicle where Squalo, Lussuria, Belphegor, and Mammon were shuffling into place, he barked, "Everyone, sound off!"
Squalo looked up from where he was shoving Belphegor out of one particular seat, "Voi! The both of you had better be in one piece you f****** pieces of slag!"
Belphegor took the opportunity to shove Squalo back while snapping in a loud voice, "The Prince demands his choice of the seats!"
Levi growled as he started up the customized SUV, "Stop fighting back there, you'll disturb the Boss!"
Lussuria snatched the phone from Xanxus's grasp and cradled it as if it was Skull herself, "You'd better not have cut yourself throwing things again Skull-chan~! You're already in for a very thorough checkup! You too Silhouette, don't think I've forgotten about you~!"
Mammon floated near the ceiling of the SUV, trying to stay out of the miniature war-zone that was the back seats, "Any and all repairs of your safe-house are coming out of your paycheck, Skull."
Skull gave a hoarse, slightly disbelieving laugh and Xanxus snatched his phone back from Lussuria with a low snarl. Turning the speaker function off, Xanxus held it to his ear again, "Don't do anything stupid, Chibi, just stay put until we get there. Understood?"
"Understood, Boss." Xanxus huffed at the sheer relief in Skull's tone before they exchanged quick goodbyes and he hung up. Xanxus settled back in his seat as Levi ignored various traffic laws to get them to the Varia's private jet as soon as possible. He would never admit to being just as relieved to hear Skull's voice as Skull had been to hear his.
Now, if they could just get to Skull's safe-house in time to prevent anymore breakdowns from his Cloud, then the day might be considered salvageable.
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Skull curled up in Silhouette's palm, all of the animalistic rage and pain that had overwhelmed her a few minutes ago drained away by the sound of her Sky and fellow Elements. They were really hers, she really had a Sky and a home. They were coming for her.
Which also meant that Mammon had really died. That Colonello had sacrificed himself so that Mammon could deliver the needed intel. That Verde had been run to ground by the Millefiore and killed with his own inventions. That Fon had Shattered for reasons unknown even to Skull, taking out more than half of the Millefiore's forces in China before he died. That Reborn had gone down with his guns blazing, choosing to meet his death with as much unwilling company as possible rather than let the poison slowly wear his life away.
It meant that Silhouette had died.
Skull shuddered as the memory of feeling Silhouette offline washed over her again, triggering thoughts on what had followed.
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It was the surprise and pain that had first alerted Skull, first told her that something had gone wrong on Silhouette's mission. She hadn't known what to do other than wait it out. Silhouette was strong and skilled, surely she could handle it-
But then the pain had bloomed into something much more agonizing and Silhouette had pressed as much love and apology as she could through their bond before closing it and Skull was running. Even though a part of her knew it was pointless, Skull had run as fast as she could, mentally throwing herself at the block in the bond and screaming internally for Silhouette to open it again, to explain, to be okay.
Perhaps if Skull hadn't succeeded in breaking through the bond block, she wouldn't have Shattered because of Silhouette's death. If she hadn't been strong enough to bypass Silhouette's last attempt to protect her, Skull wouldn't have had to feel, intimately, the Storm flames carving into Silhouette's frame.
She wouldn't have been able to see, for just a moment, through Silhouette's optics as six Millefiore White Spell squads tried to bring her down with the intent of using her. The intent of taking her apart and using the knowledge gleaned from Silhouette's frame against the Vongola. Against Silhouette's family.
Skull wouldn't have seen how Silhouette was losing the fight. How Silhouette was low on energon and how the Millefiore had come prepared to take down a lone Cybertronian without damaging her too badly for research. How there was no way for Silhouette to escape the situation alive.
Silhouette had sensed Skull overriding the bond block, sensed how Skull was, for a moment, seeing through Silhouette's optics and feeling through her frame. There was another rush of affection, a whispered, "I'm sorry, my Bright Spark. I'm so sorry." Then Silhouette had pulled out all three of her last cybertronian plasma grenades, clutched them tight to her own chest, and detonated them to prevent the Millefiore from ever using her, or her frame, against those she had claimed as her own.
The pain of Silhouette's death, the aching cold and void where there had once been constant warmth and life knocked Skull's legs out from under her. Skull had screamed at the sheer level of agony that ripped into her core, into her very Flames. On some dim level, she had been aware of Xanxus hovering over her, pushing Sky flames into her in a desperate attempt to keep her stable.
But all Skull could think about was how so many of her own were gone. Mammon, her fellow Element, her fellow Mist, her fellow Varia. Reborn and Fon and all the other Arcobaleno that had always treated her like dirt yet had been hers all the same. Her sister who had raised her and taught her so much and kept her grounded when no one else could.
But they were dead. They were gone-gone-gone-gone and Skull was suddenly so cold and so much of her Territory had been taken from her and-
And it was all Byakuran's fault.
Skull had stopped screaming as realization hit her. Her flames had shifted, warped, and turned dangerously brittle as she realized that she was going to die. She was going to die either way but by the AllSpark she was going to take Byakuran with her for what he had done.
Her goodbyes had been short, they knew what was going through her mind even without her saying it. She had buried herself in Xanxus Sky flames one last time, apologized to her Sky for being unable to stay, unable to change her mind on what she was about to do, and then left for Millefiore headquarters.
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The drive there had taken several hours, but somehow Skull could not recall it. All she could remember was the steady build of her Flames, twisting and spinning to greater and greater heights inside her until it was painful even past the numb cold that had settled in her soul from Silhouette's death. Her next, and last, clear memories started when she reached her destination and allowed herself to Rage.
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The Box Dingo screamed as Skull caught it mid-air by the throat and absorbed its flames without blinking. All around her, the city looked like a war-zone. Pavement cracked under her feet with every step she took as she advanced on the Millefiore forces. Windows shattered under the pressure of her Flames as she swatted aside a soldier who dared to come close. The man went flying, crashing though the walls of the nearest building with such force that he was nothing more than a large red stain by the end of his journey.
Skull spun underneath the swing of another Storm flame user with a scythe. Coming up beneath his guard, Skull slammed her Cloud-coated hand through his heart before whirling and using the body as a projectile against the others. The men in front of her screamed as the body of their comrade crashed into their ranks, momentarily distracted. Skull burst into a sprint, Cloud flames sending her shooting forward like a bullet in the seconds of their distraction.
The men had barely enough time to process the surge of her Killing Intent before she was slaughtering them. Heads disintegrated under the force of her blows, bodies went flying, any limbs that attempted to grasp her were ripped off or simply burned to ash. Her Mist flames rippled out, crawling up the sides of buildings and choking the Millefiore's snipers with illusions of being hundreds of feet underwater or being strangled with chains.
A shot went off in the crowd and Skull felt the bullet whip through her right lung, sending her to her knees. Her Cloud flames spiked, forcibly knitting the punctured organ back together as Skull stood up and resumed her rampage.
She rounded a street corner and a Sun Elephant slammed its trunk into her ribs, sending her skidding back into a building. Skull faltered for a second, blood welling up in her mouth from her damaged internal organs. I'm not done yet, she snarled internally. Her flames spiked again and Skull exploded into action, leaping up to land on the surprised box animal's head and drive a stake of Mist flames through its brain.
Somewhere in the flood of enemy soldiers, someone screamed, "That's impossible!" But the only attention Skull paid the cry was to use it to pinpoint her next target and throw a toothpick through his eye.
The world began to narrow until there was nothing but the fight in front of her, the enemies she had yet to kill. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she acknowledged the presence of the Varia, watching from afar, and was touched. But the rest of her was too busy kicking the nearest soldier into his fellows to really notice.
Another bullet slipped past her guard and into her chest. Not yet. She rolled to her feet, killed the shooter with Mist flames, kept walking.
Two more street corners and an untold number of dead in her wake. Then a swordsman who actually knew what he was doing drove his sword through her ribs. Not yet. Pulling the sword free, she used it to split the swordsman from head to navel before she threw it away and kept walking.
Two more box animals, a scorpion and a shark. Blood dribbling from her shoulder and leg as she ripped their flames from them and kept going. Not yet.
She was inside Millefiore Headquarters itself now. Her battle-hazed eyes settled on the figure standing in the middle of the room with a serene smile and Skull snarled. She lunged forward, hands outstretched like claws when another shot went off.
Skull's head snapped to the side as a sniper at least mile outside of the war-zone sent a bullet through her temple. She dropped to the ground and was still, unresponsive as Byakuran ambled calmly forward and crouched down next to the tiny body, "Well, well. I guess I can see why they called you the World's Strongest Cloud, Skull-kun. But I'll be taking this now-"
His fingers brushed her pacifier and suddenly both Cloud and Mist flames roared. A scream ripped from Skull's throat as she surged to her feet again and latched onto the startled Byakuran. There was no higher thought to her next actions, not tactics or reasoning. There was only primal instinct, the sheer Dying Will to see the man in front of her burn-burn-burn-burn that kept her going for those crucial few seconds past the shot that should have been instantly fatal.
Byakuran screamed, his Flames leaping with his agony as Skull grabbed the hand that had tried to remove her pacifier and pulled.
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It would only be later, much later when the Varia had settled down from the stress of receiving ten years worth of new memories and were emotionally stable enough to tell her about the final battle against Byakuran that Skull would learn just what she had done to the Millefiore Boss in her dying moments.
Though a Mist had shifted Byakuran out of the blast radius in time to survive the explosion of her flames and the best of his doctors and Sun flame users had healed the burns scars on his body and parts of his face, even Shoichi Irie and Spanner working together with the medical division had been unable to fix the damage of Skull's direct attack.
When Byakuran had fought against Tsuna in the last battle, he had done so with only one arm.
His other arm had been destroyed, ripped off at the shoulder by Skull's Cloud-enhanced yank. The nerves in his shoulder, which could have been connected to a prosthetic much the same as Squalo's sword-hand in that future, had been burned out by the Mist flames, corroded and mutilated to the point where they could no longer send or receive messages from Byakuran's brain.
Every Sun-user in the Millefiore had been called in to try to repair the damage, but Sun flames could only work when there was something left to fix and Skull had left no such possibilities.
For now though, Skull just remembered pain and rage and hate followed by … nothing. A terrifying nothing that was much, much worse than any other time she had been hit with a fatal shot. It was even worse than the very first time, when she had broken her neck and been left in blackness with nothing but an ever-slowing heartbeat and her own thoughts.
"Bright Spark?" Silhouette rubbed a finger over Skull's still body, their bond wide open so as to reassure each other that they were both alive.
Skull stirred listlessly in Silhouette's palm, "You died."
"I know. I'm sorry, Bright Spark. I had no other choice."
Skull shifted closer to Silhouette's chest plates, listening to her sister's steady spark-beat, "I died too. I tried to take out Byakuran."
Silhouette stiffened, then forced herself to relax, "Did you succeed?"
Skull shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't live long enough to find out."
Silhouette hummed softly and Skull mused in a distant sort of way that they were talking about their respective deaths far more calmly than was healthy. Skull supposed that they were probably either still in shock from having ten years of memories dumped in their heads, or they were automatically compartmentalizing the trauma. Again.
Both huddled in the garage in silence for hours, clinging to the feeling of their bond and not caring for anything else. Skull didn't even move to get something to eat. Food and hunger just … held no meaning to her. Not after everything she had experienced, not when the cold of her now-non-existent bonds was seeping into her bones and freezing her in place despite Silhouette's best efforts.
The duality of her thoughts and feelings was … strange. On the one hand, she knew that she had never Harmonized with a Sky, that she shouldn't miss bonds that she had never possessed. Yet on the other hand, she had possessed those bonds. She had found a Sky, her Sky, and could remember so, so clearly what it was like to feel the warmth that came from Harmony and Home. She shouldn't feel cold, nothing should feel different, yet everything felt wrong.
The only thing that felt right was Silhouette's steady sparkbeat under Skull's ear and the feeling of life and comfort flowing between them in an endless loop. But even then, the memory of how it felt for that bond to shatter and disappear plagued her, added to the numbness stealing over her limbs.
It was strange, she had never realized just how alone she was until she had had memories of what it was like to not be dumped into her head.
A demanding buzz of the safe-house intercom pushed its way through the haze of numbness and contemplation that had fallen on her and Skull listlessly stirred to stare at the security station she had set up in her garage years ago. Before her sluggish thoughts could formulate a reaction to the buzzing intercom, Silhouette whispered, "Oh, thank Primus," and keyed in the command to open the gate.
Skull blinked up at Silhouette in a silent, vague question as her sister pushed open the garage door as well and began hurrying down the driveway in her bipedal form. Silhouette gave her a relieved smile, "Can't you feel it, Bright Spark? They're here!" They…?
A voice suddenly shook the air, "Voi! There you are! What the h*** did you think you were d*** well doing, dying on us like that you stupid f****** bike!"
Squalo. Skull's eyes snapped wide open and she sat up with a jerk, leaning over Silhouette's fingers to look farther down the driveway. Her breath hitched as she saw the Varia, her Territory, her Pride, thundering up the driveway to meet them. Squalo was waving his sword and bellowing curses at Silhouette even as he fought with Belphegor for second place in the impromptu race, Levi and Lussuria right on their heels.
Her eyes jerked to the figure leading the race up the drive by at least twenty yards and a lump formed in her throat, "Xanxus…"
Red eyes snapped up to look at her and Flames blazed as her Sky suddenly launched himself into the air with his pistols. He flew just slow enough for Silhouette to register his intentions and raise her other servo into place before he had slammed down onto her palms inches away from Skull.
Sky and Cloud stared at each other for a few seconds, their Flames rising and swirling in instinctive probes, as if to double-check the other's identity. Then Xanxus holstered his pistols and crouched down in front of her, his scars fully visible as he studied her intensely, "Chibi."
The gruff word shattered the odd paralysis that had fallen over Skull and she threw herself at him. Xanxus grunted faintly as Skull collided with his chest, her arms shamelessly wrapping around his neck and her forehead pressed against his throat. There was a snap and a jolt inside them both as the Harmony they wanted to be there, remembered being there in the Future That Never Was, roared to existence.
Xanxus sat back slowly, one hand pressed against Skull's back as their Flames twisted and mingled with an uncharacteristic desperation. Memories of death, so recent to their minds even though it had technically never happened, caused them to instinctively do everything they could to confirm that everything was alright now, that Skull wasn't dead and their bond wasn't shattered and that Skull wasn't slowly withering away under the affects of a poison that had no cure.
Silhouette made a slight noise of surprised relief and amusement at something and moments later, Skull heard someone clamber onto hers and Xanxus's perch, "Voi! Move over S***** Boss! I'm gonna-" Shifting into her Mist Adult form unexpectedly, Skull kept one arm firmly wrapped around Xanxus while the other grabbed Squalo and dragged him against her other side.
Rain flames washed against Misty Cloud like a tide and Skull keened faintly in relief at the sensation of her bond with the cranky swordsman swirling back into existence like an endless, two-way current. Squalo paused in mid-word, an odd choking noise escaping his throat at her actions and the sensation of the bond bursting back into existence.
Silhouette had dropped into a cross-legged position and lowered her servos into her lap by that point, leaving a much shorter climb and more room for the next arrivals. Squalo had just begun to recover from his reaction to his re-bonding with Skull when there was a screech and Belphegor hurtled into Skull's stomach. A bond like wires and storm-clouds clicked into place as the blond wrapped his arms around her midriff and squeezed painfully tight, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, Peasant Cloud!" He hissed in a strained voice, "The Prince did not give you permission to die!"
Skull wheezed out a laugh past the blurring in her eyes, "Sorry, Bel."
Belphegor removed one arm from his bear-hug to smack Skull's shoulder roughly, "It's Prince Belphegor! You no longer have permission to call the Prince, Bel. Not until you prove you won't be such a f****** moronic peasant!"
Skull started to apologize again when Lussuria cannoned into the group, practically smothering Belphegor between himself and Skull as the Sun somehow managed to cradle her head to his chest, "Skull-chan~! Silhouette-chan! You're alright~!" Ignoring Belphegor's frantic attempts to work a hand free and stab him, Lussuria scolded, "You are grounded! Both of you, do you hear me? Grounded! You're both getting complete medical examinations and then you'll be grounded for a year! No, indefinitely!"
Xanxus, partially pinned under the growing pile of his Elements, saw fit to growl, "Only after I'm done beating both their afts into fragging slag when we get back."
Levi tumbled gracelessly onto Silhouette's crowded palms, shoving his way in between Squalo and a still-stuck Belphegor to cuff Skull's head and reinitiate their bond, "You made a lot of trouble for the Boss, both of you! You two are going to have to work d*** hard to make it up to him! And I'll be personally making sure you two don't slip up!"
Squalo head-butted Levi roughly from behind and roared, "Voi! Not until I'm done slicing the f****** idiots to pieces! And get your d*** foot off my stomach!"
Skull smiled broadly at the threats and the roughhousing that started up around her, too overjoyed at the sensation of her Pride's Flames mingling with hers to really care. A light weight settled on her head and Skull's heart skipped a beat at the sensation of Mist flames whispering almost shyly against hers.
Swallowing back memories of Mammon's bond withering away to nothing and the pain-rage-grief-denial that had followed, Skull hissed up at her fellow Arcobaleno, "I'm going to beat you into paste for what you did, Mammon. Gooey purple paste."
"… I will pay for the hospital bill in that eventuality." Skull reluctantly relaxed again, knowing that the quiet mutter was the closest thing she would ever get to an apology.
Turning her attention away from the haunting memories of the Future That Never Was, Skull gleefully joined in the roughhousing, relishing in the sensation of all of her fellow Elements mingling Flames until Lussuria accidentally elbowed Xanxus in the chest and their Sky snarled that if they didn't shut up and settle down right that instant he was going to kick them all off Silhouette's lap and shoot them. Obediently, his Elements all stopped kicking, elbowing, and cursing each other and just flopped against one another in a mass of limbs and interweaving Flames.
Silhouette looked down at them all with a bland expression and dryly demanded to know when she had been demoted to a glorified chair, but from the thrilled emotions Skull could feel over their bond, she was certain her older sister was taking a million photos of their cramped "puppy pile".
It was only after they had managed to, somehow, peacefully coexist in that position for the grand total of two hours, some of them even dozing off, that a new thought suddenly occurred to Skull and she sat up sharply. Squalo gave a loud noise of protest at his pillow moving while Belphegor grunted at being accidentally knocked into Levi. The protests started to grow in volume from various members until Skull demanded, "Where's Fran?"
Silence fell like a death knell over the group. The non-Cloud and non-Mist members exchanged frantic looks as they realized that Fran, Skull's unofficially adopted Baby Mist, wasn't with them. He hadn't even been recruited yet in the current timeline and in the rush to get to Skull and keep their Cloud from doing something suicidal, again, they had kind of … forgotten about him.
Finally, Mammon broke the silence with a hesitant question, "Who is Fran?"
Xanxus grumbled and unearthed himself from the pile of Elements, idly shoving Levi off of Silhouette's lap for more room as he answered, "Fran's one of mine. He joined after you went and got yourself killed like a d*** idiot. Find him."
"Right now?" Mammon sounded vaguely surprised.
Skull, whose good mood had faded somewhat at realizing the absence of her Baby Mist growled, "Now."
Mammon tensed a bit at Skull's tone, it was the tone she used right before throwing people after all, before she obediently floated into the air and fished out a piece of paper from under her cloak. A grumble about working for free and a sneeze later and Mammon announced, "France. He's in Jura, France."
Silhouette gently put down the rest of the Varia, her voice laced with thinly veiled amusement as she said, "A road trip, then?"
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Fran splashed listlessly in the stream, trying to push memories of the Nightmare out of his head.
He was only partially succeeding.
It had been two days since the Nightmare, but no matter what he did or what his Grandma said, he still couldn't stop thinking about it, about the people in it, about what it meant. It certainly didn't help his efforts of denial that the freaky magic powers he'd had in the Nightmare, "Mist Flames", muttered the voice in the back of his mind, were now real.
He stared down at the stream as it splashed around the rock on which he was perched and glared at his distorted reflection, just a stupid nightmare. None of it was real, just like Grandma says, it's all in your head-
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Smoke clogged his nostrils and made it even harder to breathe as the house went up in flames. Tongues of fire danced ever closer, choking the air and threatening to catch onto his clothes as he pushed himself farther into the corner and begged for his grandmother to come save him, to wake up and put the fire out. The fire came closer, there was nowhere to run, and he knew he was going to die. He was going to burn and no one was going to miss him because his grandmother was already dead and- and-
He didn't want to die. He refused to die. He wanted out.
The flames leaped closer, ready to consume him, when he suddenly wasn't there anymore. He had been pulled away, jerked through the wall of the burning house and onto the grass of the lawn by … something. Indigo fire that curled up his fingers and arms yet brought none of the heat and damage that the orange fire consuming his home did.
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Blood. Blood that dripped onto the floor into ever larger puddles while They sent in yet another fighter, another captive like him to burn in Flames. He stumbled to his feet, struggling to keep his left leg from crumpling out from underneath him as the world-weary Sun in front of him fell into a combat position and he despaired. Why did They make him do this? What did They even want from him? Didn't they have enough Mists locked up in Their cells? Didn't They have enough soldiers? Why? Why-why-why-why-
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A flick of the fingers, a twist of his Flames, and his target dropped to the floor, an illusionary hang-noose wrapped tight around his neck. Fran walked away, numbed to his act, numbed to everything after three years under Their harsh training.
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Fran hunched in on himself, hands flying to his temples as he hissed, "Stop it, s-stop it! Stop making me see-!"
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A stranger who freed him from Them. The man who killed Them but spared him, trained him, taught him to survive even if his methods were rough and his tongue sharp. His Shishō. Mukuro Rokudo.
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Strangers, assassins who called themselves the Varia. So angry, yet somehow warmer than Mukuro had ever been. Warmer than anything Fran had felt in a long time. He had learned to fight with them, stand alongside them, had been one of them, been part of the same Sky even after their Cloud, the first of them to accept him, had shattered and died.
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"You need to go find them. You need to go find your Sky-" Fran growled and mentally slammed down a wall between himself and the Nightmare, locking away the voice that pushed and prodded at him to move and search and believe in what he'd seen that night. Fran jumped into the stream, trying to convince himself that the mental wall would last this time and that the Nightmare would stop chipping away at his attention, stop pushing those horrible images and feelings and loss onto him.
None of it was real. If it was, he'd be eighteen, living with a bunch of crazy assassin people, the world would be very close to ending because of an even crazier person with white wings, and his family would be missing a member because she had gone and- and-
But that wasn't the case. He was only eight, if a very smart eight, and he lived with his grandmother in a little house high up in the Jura mountains. The world wasn't ending, people didn't have wings, and he didn't feel like his insides were frozen from the gaping lack of Flame bonds because those things didn't exist in the first place.
And maybe if he kept telling himself that, the little voice in his head that sounded like eighteen-year-old Fran would go away and take the memories of the Nightmare with him.
Fran mindlessly jumped up and down in the stream, getting his clothing soaked before he huffed and decided to go play in the lake instead. He splashed his way upstream, muttering to himself the entire way. Maybe catching frogs would take his mind off of the Nightmare.
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A cackle and the whistle of metal flying past his head, "Run faster, Froggy!"
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A snarl as he dodged around the corner, his pursuer no less that a few steps behind, "Hold still so I can skewer you, you d*** Froggy!"
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Flames like lashing rain and a roar that shook the walls, "Voi! Get moving, Froggy! You're on patrol with the S***** Prince!"
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The flashes were only dull impressions compared to the in-depth details they'd been earlier, but Fran sighed and tightened his mental wall anyway, so much for that. Who calls a kid "Froggy" anyway? Fran blinked as he caught his reflection in the stream water again and he scowled when he realized that his magic powers, "Mist Flames", snapped the muffled voice behind the wall, had subconsciously made a frog hat just like the one he'd worn in the Nightmare.
Just to be contrary, Fran forced the hat to change shape into the furthest thing he could think of from a frog. The gleaming red apple hat settled into place and Fran grunted in satisfaction at his work before he moved on. He managed to escape thoughts of the Nightmare, and ignore the nagging little voice in his head, for about an hour by playing in the lake.
Then, just as he sat down to eat the box lunch Grandma had made him, a twig snapped loudly not very far to his right. Fran looked up sharply, his mouth clicking shut as he studied the area with care. He was about to dismiss it as nothing when the little voice in his head hissed, "Shishō", and the boy noticed the tingle of foreign Mist flames in the air. Swallowing down his sudden fear, Fran stood up, looked directly into the patch of Mist flames, and called, "What do you want?"
There was a pause, then the Flames rolled away to reveal three figures that made Fran's throat close, no. No-no-no-no- "Kufufufu. Hello again, Fran. It's been awhile."
Panic tugged on the edges of Fran's mind and some instinct that hadn't existed before two days ago made his face fall into an expression of utter disinterest. He was dimly aware of waving his arms in his Grandmother's go-away-spirit dance and babbling about Pineapple Fairies, but in reality he was much too busy trying to keep himself from screaming and running the other way.
They couldn't be real. They had to be his Mist flames acting up again, or another dream, or something because if they were real the rest of it was real and that meant she was dead-dead-dead-
Shish- the Pineapple Fairy, was yelling at him now and Fran shot off the first sarcastic thing that came to mind even as he looked around subtly for the best escape route. "It's just Shishō," sighed the voice in his head. I don't want it to be Shishō! Fran snapped back viciously, I don't want it to be real!
By this point, the Kokuyo Ga- the Pineapple Fairy and his minions, were striding closer, the two minions spreading out in a manner that threatened to box him in while the Pineapple Fairy scowled and demanded that Fran had to remember him, because surely he'd gotten the same future memories as the rest of them?
Memories. He knows about the memories, which means I'm not the only one, which means- Fran bolted, diving between Chik- Fairy Minion One's legs and sprinting off into the forest. Get away, get away, get away!
The underbrush crashed and snapped behind him, signaling that he was being chased, "Wait! Get back here-byon!"
"It's Ken. He's faster than you." Murmured the voice, I don't care! Just shut up! Fran twisted around a tree trunk, trying to shake his pursuit. Just as he spotted a thicket and made to dive into it to escape, there was a flash of darkness in front of him and then Fran was suddenly crashing into a pair of legs.
He hit the ground with a grunt and barely had time to look up and see Shish- the Pineapple Fairy's stern face when hands roughly grabbed him from behind and a voice cheered, "Gottcha-byon!"
"Let me go!" The cry burst from him, laced with panic that he couldn't hide.
Shish- the Pineapple Fairy crouched down in front of him and waved a trident menacingly, "Fran. I do not appreciate all this melodrama. You know who we are, so come along."
"I don't remember you! I don't!" Fran's breath came in sharp, short pants and he could barely hear Chik- Fairy Minion One, telling the person holding him that Fran was hyperventilating.
"Stop it. Calm down right now." Snapped the little voice, much clearer now that Fran's mental walls were crumbling under his stress, "Panic will only make it worse."
"Shut up! Let me go!" Fran lashed out with his Mist flames, a snarling dog bounding out of the bushes to attack the one pinning him down.
A wave of stronger Mist flames dispelled the dog before it could reach its target and Shish- the Pineapple Fairy started to say something when a dark feeling, "Killing Intent," the little voice supplied, flooded the area. A low voice snarled from the side as twin "clicks" filled the air, "I'm only going to say this once, Trash. Get your hands off what is mine."
The hands holding him down vanished immediately and Fran scrambled to his feet. He spun in the direction of the voice, his heart in his throat as the little voice in his head suddenly went from a stubborn mutter to a screaming chant of "He's-here-my-Sky-he's-here-my-Sky-!" The Pineapple Fairy took a cautious step back as a new group stepped out of the woods, the sensation of furious Flames smothering the air with danger.
It … It's really them. It's really… then that means… The Pineapple- no- Mukuro Rokudo smiled thinly, "You forget, Xanxus, he was mine first."
Xanxus gave a primal growl and Fran saw his scars start to extend warningly, "You aren't a Sky, trash."
Mukuro's eyebrows shot upward at the implication before he retorted, "Kufufu, but I am his Shishō. Surely you'd at least like to wait until he's fully trained again before you have to deal with him?"
Sky flames spiked, "Mammon can train the Brat."
Mukuro subtly stepped back and the little voice stopped shrieking long enough to inform Fran that the older Mist was well aware he was pushing boundaries that shouldn't be tested, "I defeated Mammon, remember? I would make a much better teacher for him."
Xanxus's lips curled dangerously, about to growl something else when he was interrupted by a low hiss. Another, even more aggressive Flame spilled into the clearing and a figure pushed through the rest of the Varia and started stalking toward Mukuro with gleaming purple eyes. Fran felt his mouth go dry and even the little voice in his head went utterly silent as he watched the newcomer swat aside a bristling Ken, go nose to nose with a now wide-eyed Mukuro, and snarl, "Fran is mine and he is coming with us. Right. Now. Understood?"
Mukuro huffed softly through his teeth, a decidedly nervous gleam in his eyes now, "Perhaps we should just ask Fran who he wishes to go with, then?"
All eyes swung to Fran, but Fran was still too busy staring at the newcomer. Purple eyes blinked down at him and her voice dropped from its dangerous snarl to a soft and concerned, "Fran?"
Fran blinked back the sudden blurring in his eyes as it finally sank in that, while the people from the Nightmare were apparently real, she was somehow still alive. She was alright, she was right there and … and …
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Glittering purple eyes bored into his own from across the training ground, "You're in the Varia now, youngling, and I'm going to make sure you survive long enough to learn just how lucky you are for that."
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Hours and hours of harsh training, beating him into the ground again and again with either illusions or fists until he could barely see straight from exhaustion. He would have thought she hated him just like Bel-senpai did were it not for the gentle touches, expertly applied bandages after every session, and whispered praises of, "Nice try, my youngling. You'll get me next time."
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Saving his life on a mission she wasn't even supposed to be on. Shortening her lifespan by weeks, if not months, by being outside just to ensure he made it home despite his mistakes.
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Tiny hands draping a cool cloth on his face after he'd come down with a nasty flu, "Stupid youngling. Why were you training out in the rain at such an hour?"
His own voice as he rasped out his chosen lie, "Eh, you know, just bored listening to Squalo-taichō's screaming. Thought the rain would drown it out." I have to train more, I have to be stronger than this so I don't get left behind.
Wise, tired amethyst eyes that already seemed to know what he wouldn't say and a quiet reply of, "We won't abandon you, my youngling. You're one of ours now, and we protect our own."
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A scream that tore through his soul and made him clench his fists until he bled because despite all his training, despite how far he'd come, there was nothing he could to do fix this.
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A wordless goodbye. A turned back and a revving motorcycle while his desperate protests got stuck in his throat.
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A final, defiant scream of Cloud and Mist flames that seared the air itself before, without warning, without time to prepare, she was gone and Fran was left with nothing but a gaping hole in his soul.
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Sheer, overwhelming emotion drove him to his feet and he tackled her, both him and the little voice in his head sobbing aloud, "Maman! Maman!"
Skull dropped into crouch immediately, her arms wrapping tightly around him as something snapped into place between them and Fran's Mist flames cried with relief and Skull, wonderfully alive, whole, undamaged Skull whispered, "Shh, my youngling, I'm here, it's okay now. It's okay…"
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Xanxus silently strode forward, his other Elements sweeping out to protectively surround his Cloud and his Baby Mist. Placing himself directly between them and Mukuro, Xanxus rumbled in a deceptively soft tone, "I'd say Fran just made his choice, trash."
Mukuro raised his hands placatingly and backed up, away from the seething full set of Elements and their "Cub", "Kufufufu, so it would seem." Xanxus channeled a small amount of Sky flames into his right X-Gun, causing it to whine and glow dangerously. Mukuro's hands crept a little higher and he subconsciously bared his neck in submission to the snarling Sky in front of him, "Ken, Chikusa, we're going. There is nothing for us here."
For once, the animal trash didn't whine or bark about his orders, he just mumbled an assent and hurried away after his leader.
Xanxus stood guard over his Cloud and Baby Mist long after Mukuro and his trash had fled the area. His Sky flames hummed beneath his skin as he restlessly patrolled the small clearing, unable to calm down while the sounds of his Baby Mist's tears drilled into his ears. His other Elements circled tightly in sync with him, their Flames automatically rising in an attempt to reassure their crying cub and a warning to any strangers who might dare intrude.
Lussuria hovered mere feet away from Fran and Skull, occasionally reaching out toward the boy before pulling back with a sad frown and visually scanning the area for non-existent threats.
Levi stood stoically at Skull's back, ready to defend in an instant, static Lightning flames arcing off of his hair and shoulders every time Fran's sobs crested in volume.
Squalo prowled in uneven circles, his pulsing Rain flames most likely being the only thing keeping Xanxus from snapping and shooting at something to ease the tension in his shoulders. For once, his Rain was silent as he moved. He didn't bellow or complain about the breakdown their cub was experiencing in the center of their defensive circle. He just drifted from the outskirts of the clearing to mere feet from Fran's and Skull's side, waiting unhappily for their Cloud to soothe the distress of their youngest.
Mammon lurked nearby, her Mist flames curling around the perimeter, no doubt using illusions to mask the sounds of distress from anything that might overhear and come looking. She had never seen Fran before, so she was not quite as tense and agitated as the others, had no idea just how wrong it was for the boy to show so much emotion, but she was a powerful adult Mist and she was in the presence of a distressed juvenile Flame. That was enough to make her bristle subtly with the desire to defend.
Xanxus shot a glance at the last of his Guardians. Belphegor was snarling low in his throat as he skirted along the farthest edges of the clearing, his fingers whirling his knives into agitated patterns as he searched for a target upon which to vent his frustrations. As he watched, Xanxus spotted Belphegor turn his head toward where Skull was cradling the crying Fran, his lips twisting into an expression of concern before he hissed and resumed his restless patrol.
Xanxus rumbled himself, no active Flame-user with properly functioning instincts could stand the sound and sight of a distressed Baby Element. It set off every primal protective instinct they had even if the child was a stranger. Considering that Fran was theirs, had been theirs for almost two years in the memories of What Never Was, it was a wonder that the forest was still standing. All they needed was the slightest provocation, the tiniest hint that Fran's distress came from an outside threat and not an internal problem, and they would level the landscape to remove it.
Finally, the sobs lessened in volume and Skull poked Xanxus over their bond, signaling that Fran had calmed down enough that reestablishing their bond would not send him into shock. Xanxus turned away from his prowling and strode to her side, holstering one X-Gun as he did so. Skull sat back, Fran cradled in her lap and as the boy blinked silently up at him, Xanxus was struck by how much younger the Baby Mist was. Not just physically, but mentally.
There was no permanently flat, emotionless mask to hide his thoughts, no sarcastic quips. Even though Fran clearly recognized him, had certainly gotten the memories of the Future That Never Was, the sharp darkness that had clung to his second Mist wasn't present. Or at least, it was thoroughly buried under the wary yet childish hope gleaming in Fran's gaze.
Xanxus carefully reached out a hand, making sure to move slowly so as not to startle the boy. His fingers carded through Fran's hair with almost uncharacteristic gentleness, his Sky flames curling possessively in the air and his bond with Fran settled back into place. The boy instantly sagged with relief, a hundred emotions flickering over the new bond as he clung to it. Xanxus carded his fingers through the aquamarine hair again in a silent show of reassurance before he stood up and made room for his other Elements to approach Fran.
Lussuria bounded forward first, grabbing Fran's hands with his own as he cooed, "There we go, Fran-kun~! Everything's alright now, see? Doesn't that feel so much better~? We were so worried about you Fran-kun~!"
Levi grunted from his position at Skull's back and reached over the Cloud's head to pat Fran roughly, "About d*** time you calmed down, brat. You were beginning to annoy Boss."
Squalo swept over and lightly cuffed Fran's shoulder before straightening up and roaring, "Voi! You better not think you'll f****** get away with this a second time, Froggy! There are no d*** crybabies in the Varia!"
Mammon floated over into Fran's line of sight but refrained from touching as she droned, "I am your new Shishō, child, so you had better be a good investment of my time." Fran nodded wordlessly to Mammon, the first physical reaction he'd given to the other Elements aside from Skull so far.
He then tensed as Belphegor stalked over to him and Skull narrowed her eyes warningly at the Storm. While the older Fran was able to return Belphegor's snide remarks and threats with unflappable sass, this one was younger and currently vulnerable and Skull was clearly not about to tolerate any overtly violent displays.
Belphegor crouched down and stared at Fran for a very long time, long enough that Lussuria made a cautious move to step between them. Belphegor waved Lussuria back and then barked at Fran, "You broke the rule, Froggy."
Fran blinked once, then twice, then his apple hat morphed obediently into a frog hat and a flicker of the older Fran peaked through, "But, Bel-senpai," he complained in a deadpan voice, "it's so lame."
Belphegor huffed and roughly poked Fran's forehead with a finger, "The Prince's orders are never 'lame', stupid Peasant Frog."
Fran reached up and touched the place Belphegor had poked before his lips twitched with a hint of mischief and he droned, "Aw, Bel-senpai, I knew you missed me. You're aim is so terrible after all." The last part was a poor stage whisper and had Belphegor twitching for his knives.
Skull made a warning noise and Belphegor backed off with a sneer, "Just wait until your precious Skull isn't around, Froggy. Then I'll just you just how 'terrible' my aim is, ushishishi…"
Fran hummed and Xanxus interrupted before one of the infamous arguments between the two could really get started, "Alright, move it trash. Back to the d*** car."
Skull stood up smoothly, using her illusionary adult form to carry Fran as she fell into line with him without question. Fran tilted his head, confusion flashing across his face, "Car? Where are we going? What about grandma?"
Squalo rolled his eyes from his position on Xanxus's right, "Voi! Where the h*** else would we be going? We're going back home!"
Lussuria hovered by Skull's side, "We already cleared everything with your grandmother, Fran-kun~! That's what took us so long to get to you. All of your things are already packed up and waiting in the car~, and you grandmother had promised to call you every week to see how you're doing. Isn't that nice~?"
Belphegor sniggered from his place on point, "Ushishishi. Stupid Peasant Froggy. Can't even remember where his pond is."
Levi, hovering on the group's flank in case of trouble, grunted, "You're going to be trained back up to Varia Quality. So no complaining and don't disappoint Boss, got it?"
Xanxus glanced at Fran out of the corner of his eye, "You got a problem with all that, trash?"
Fran stared first at Xanxus, then at the other figures who had stepped out of the Nightmare-Which-Was-Apparently-Real, then up at Skull. Skull smiled at him warmly, adding to the glow of warmth and Harmony swirling in his soul from his bonds. Inside his head, the little voice had fallen into a wordless purr of contentment and for the first time since he'd first experienced the Nightmare, he felt … calm. The memories were still there, lurking in the back of his mind, but now there was the feeling of warmth-home-safe-ours steadily pushing it back.
Settling his head on his Maman's shoulder, Fran looked back at Xanxus and sent a happy hum over their bond as he murmured, "Ne, Xanxus-Boss…" he hesitated and then admitted even more softly, "I think I already am home."
The little voice in his head paused in its purring long enough to snort at the sentimentality of his words, but from the flood of pleased, proud feelings from those around him, Fran knew he had said the right thing. But then, it was the truth after all.
He was already home.
Explanations: First off, I think it states somewhere in the Manga that Skull can in fact survive having his/her brain completely destroyed, but is hospitalized for a while after. So, my reasoning behind why the sniper shot killed her when Bermuda didn't is that Skull got back up after the headshot. Normally, that kind of head wound would force her into a comatose state while her Cloud Flames rebuilt all of the neural pathways in her brain. In this instance, not only are her Flames in the process of Shattering, but instead of going comatose and letting the repairs happen slowly and carefully, Skull's Will to destroy Byakuran at any cost forced her destabilizing Flames to rebuild the necessary neural pathways in seconds while sending neural commands to her limbs almost at the same moment the repairs were taking place. It's like building a bridge and then running a large semi-trailer over it while you're still putting all the supports in place. If the semi is going fast enough it might, MIGHT get across in time, but the bridge is going to collapse behind it in an even worse condition than before because of the strain. So, that's essentially what happened to Skull's brain, and then her Flames finally Shattered and boom, she died. Make sense?
Secondly, about Fran. I remember reading somewhere that Fran in the manga claims to have lost all memories of the Future That Never Was because he got hit over the head with a large block of cheese. ... No offense to the wonderful author of KHR, but I call bull. The fact that Fran didn't simply go "Huh?" when talking about the memories tells me that he does remember but seeing as how he would be a kid (eight in my head but who knows) who suddenly gets about ten years of Mafia/War/Death/Who-knows-what-else memories stuffed in his head, he's compartmentalizing and suppressing them like crazy. I could rant for a while on the improbability of a single blow from a single block of cheese erasing TEN YEARS WORTH OF MEMORY, but I won't. Instead, I'll just point out that this is an AU one-shot collection, so I am free to keep Fran's memories. I am also free to have him go with the Varia instead of the Kokuyo Gang because in this universe, Xanxus and his Elements harmonized with Fran and even began to form inter-Element bonds with him. That puts the Varia (overprotective!Mama!Skull in particular) well about the Kokuyo Gang when it comes to loyalty-ties. I hope that all makes sense. If it doesn't ... (shrugs) no idea how to make it more clear. Sorry.
Lastly, yes, Fran has a little voice in his head, it will go away eventually as he grows up and his maturity level rises to match his old self from the Future That Never Was. The reason he has a voice at all is because he's trying to hard to compartmentalize and suppress the memories of The FTNW memories and the maturity that comes with it. But his newfound eighteen-year-old side keeps trying to rise to the fore and thus, Fran perceives that intrusion as a "little voice". Mammon will help him work it all out off-screen, so don't freak out on me or climb on any soapboxes.
There, I think I covered everything.