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ICSTLY; Chapter six
Crimson woke up just as the carriage pulled to a stop. It was dark outside, as there was no light coming through the cracks of the window cover. The red-head sighed, and sat up, stretching. She glanced over at Xerxes, realizing that he was asleep. His head hadn't been leaning on top of hers, to her disappointment. He had been leaning on the side of the carriage.
The other Mary Sue in the carriage was awake too, watching her Xerxes with a tired disinterest.
Crimson felt irritated. Xerxes was hers, and hers alone.
"Stop trying to make moves on him, novice," Crimson told Semar. The cross dresser gaped at her.
"I'm not trying to make moves on him! Gilbert's the one who I'm supposed to end up with, anyway!"
Crimson narrowed her eyes. "As if I believe that, cow. You were watching him, like, the entire time. Can't you tell by your pinkie who you're going to end up with?"
"I'm a prototype. It doesn't work. I was not watching him! I was bored. And stop calling me a cow. You're the red-haired fox."
Gasping at this outright rudeness, Crimson had no witty retort. "Just- stay away from him! He's mine."
Xerxes yawned, and she fell silent, both of them watching him. He slowly opened his eye, and focused on Semar, and then looked over at Crimson.
"Are we stopped?" he asked, sitting up straight.
"Yeah. Glad you finally joined us, old man," Semar said, standing, and opening the door. "I'm gonna go get us some rooms in the inn."
Crimson frowned at Semar's rudeness. Turning to Xerxes, she smiled. "I'm sorry about Semar. I think he's tired."
Xerxes shrugged. "We all are. Besides, I don't really care what the brat thinks."
Crimson felt more relaxed. 'The brat?' Xerxes obviously didn't like Semar, so all was well.
"I'm going to go help the brat get some rooms. Obviously he can't do it by himself," Xerxes said, and left quickly. Crimson grinned. If she was lucky, her and Xerxes could share a room! How romantic...
Break felt like there was someone watching him as he left the carriage, waving thanks at the coachman, who was unpacking their belongings. He hurried towards the lighted entrance of the tall wooden building, feeling like the loud tapping of his shoes on the cobblestones was the loudest thing in the night.
Inside the small room that made up the lobby, Semar was talking to the manager.
"We need three rooms, preferably next to each other," the brunette said, but Break interjected.
"Pandora only paid for two rooms. You and I are sharing."
"Wha- What?!" Semar looked shocked. "Why?"
"Because we're both men, and to share with a lady would be improper. Plus," Break shrugged, "Pandora always cheaps out."
"I'll share with you, Xerxes," Crimson, having just come in, offered. Break's eyes widened. He was not sharing with a woman.
"No, Crimson, that would not be proper. The brat will room with me. Besides, my snoring will keep up anyone within an eight-foot radius awake all night. Rainsworth can deal."
"Alright, sirs and lady, here are the keys," the manager said, handing them three silver keys.
As she grabbed her key, Crimson glared at Semar with hatred burning in her eyes. Semar looked at Break helplessly.
"Let's go get the bags, then," Break said. He nodded to Crimson. "You can go find the rooms, if you want."
Crimson nodded, and flounced down the dimly lit hallway. Break and Semar went back outside, into the night. The coachman had already gotten all the the bags off, and Break tossed him a coin. The old man nodded in thanks, and got back into the carriage. As it rumbled off, Semar grabbed most of the bags, grunting under the weight.
"Can't let an old man like you carry weight," the brunette said. Break frowned.
"Young people are so rude these days. You know your body is only three or four years physically younger?"
Semar ignored him. They made it back into the inn, batting away the moths and mosquitos attracted to the candlelight, and started walking up the hall.
"Do you need to sleep?" Semar asked Break. "I'm not tired at all, so I could go scout out the Chain tonight."
Break felt wide awake as well. "I'll go scouting with you. Can we wait until Crimson falls asleep, though?"
Semar grinned in understanding. "What, you don't want your girlfriend to come with you?"
"You know why, Rainsworth. Would you be able to fight with her always breathing over your shoulder?"
"True. We can wait, then," Semar said, looking up and down the wooden hallway, for any sign of which one was their room.
Crimson opened a door a few feet down from where they were, making them jump. She smiled brightly.
"This is my room. Your room is the one the next to it."
Semar pulled the key from his pocket, and stuck it in the old and tarnished lock. The wooden door swung open.
The room was nice, Break supposed. There were two small beds with about a foot of space between them, and a small window. There was also a desk and chair, but as for furniture, that was it.
"Well, at least there's two beds," Semar said, and dropped the bags down. "I think the manager mentioned something about there being showers and bathrooms down the hall."
"Do you have your weapons with you?" Break asked. He was itching to get out and on the streets.
"Just my sword. It's all I need, with Cardturner. Before we go, we need to check on Crimson. Make sure she won't notice our leaving. I know what will make her go to sleep," Semar said, smiling. Break grew suspicious.
"What?"
"If her beloved wished her a good night, and whispered that he would be right there with her on the other side of the wall."
"No! Why would I do that?!" Break protested. He wasn't going to make advances on a woman he despised!
"It's the one thing that will make her less suspicious, and probably want to dream about you more. Come on," the brunette said as he pushed open the door again, and beckoned to Break.
Break followed him out, and stood with him in front of Crimson's door.
"You've got to do it. Just say, 'Goodnight, Crimson. Sleep well.' In a really nice voice. She'll like that," Semar whispered.
Cursing everything in sight, Break knocked gently on the door. A light voice answered.
"Come in."
"Just you go in, okay? She doesn't like me," Semar said. Break opened the door, which he found was unlocked.
"Yes, Xerxes?" Crimson asked. She was sitting in the one large bed, holding a book, covered by a thick, creamy blanket
"Just wanted to say... Goodnight. Sleep well," Break said, as he vowed to kill the Rainsworth as soon as he was out of that situation.
Crimson's unnatural blue eyes brightened. "Goodnight to you, too, Xerxey."
Break backed out of the door, and almost slammed it behind him. Semar was leaning against the wall, and Break stepped towards him.
"She has a new nickname for me, now. I hope you're satisfied," Break said. He punched Semar in the arm. "That's for throwing me into an awkward situation again, brat."
"What's the nickname?" the pink-eyed man asked.
"...Xerxey. Without the 's' sound on the end. That 's' sound is very important to my name not sounding like a stupid pet name," Break said. Semar laughed.
"I'm sorry about the name. But now Crimson will be comforted in the fact that her target is supposedly starting to return her advances," he said, still laughing.
"Let's just go scout out the Chain."
People got off the streets early in Copperton. Break saw a few shadowed people leaning up against walls and having smokes, but that was it.
The Rainsworth man next to him seemed jumpy, looking intently at all the shadows cast by the candle-lit streetlights. His eyes, normally pink, were a dark orange color in the yellow light.
"Nervous?" Break asked, as they turned down an alleyway.
"No," Semar said, glancing at a long shadow to their right. Break smiled.
"Mad Hatter will take care of everything, Rainsworth. You're acting like a newbie on their first mission."
"Am not! I just... I didn't like the last Chain I dealt with, and this one is its twin."
"Why didn't you like it?"
"It could see into my head, all my memories, actions, and secrets. Not the most fun experience."
"That sounds-" Break began, but then then both felt a pressure on their ears that could only mean one thing.
At the end of the alleyway, face hidden by shadow, a figure stood. It was tall, and then short, shifting around.
Semar sucked in a breath, and Break glanced at him. There was sweat on the brunette's forehead, and his eyes were wide.
"Rainsworth? What's wrong?"
"It's-in-my head," Semar gasped out. "Stars, now it's going to shift into something I hate, I'm sure of it."
Placing a hand over his empty eye socket, Break focused, calling Mad Hatter. As the Chain materialized above him, he drew his sword.
Semar gasped out, his head jerking back. "Got it to leave. It's going to attack now. Cardturner!" Break saw the ghostly hands wrap themselves around the Rainsworth's neck, cards in its pale fingers.
The figure at the end of the alleyway slowly walked forward, morphing as it moved. It solidified into what looked like a young girl.
"Hello, Zel," the figure said, the light glinting off its smile. It was speaking to Semar.
Semar flinched, eyes wide with horror. "How- how dare you steal her form."
The figure crept closer, but Semar seemed frozen. Break wasn't sure if he should intervene. It seemed personal.
The Chain's face grew sad. "Zel, you abandoned me. Dad killed Mom, and he went after me too." Blood suddenly appeared on the Chain's strange clothing, of a short-sleeved shirt and blue pants made out of a material Break hadn't seen before.. It dripped from a cut on the Chain's neck.
"I- I had no choice! You- you're not even her, anyways. Go back to the Abyss, Chain," Semar said.
The Chain lifted a small hand to her neck, feeling the blood, and then held it out to Semar. "This is what you did to me. You were my role model, and you left."
The Chain was close to Semar, and Break watched in horror as the bloodied hands slowly touched the man's neck. Semar was still frozen, eyes unfocused.
"I hate you," the Chain whispered into Semar's ear, pulling him into a death embrace, but then Break's sword was in its arm.
The albino whacked Semar in the back of his head, as he yanked his sword out of the weird black stuff the Chain was made of. "Focus, brat!" he yelled as the Chain screeched. Semar breathed in suddenly, and Break could tell he was focusing. There were dark marks on his neck where the Chain had gripped him.
As Break pulled Semar out of the alleyway, and into another intersecting one, he felt something slam into his brain, and he choked.
"It's in your brain now," Semar noted. "The farther we get, the less power it has."
They rounded a corner, Break gripping Semar's wrist, and the feeling lifted.
"I think it still got something. You might have to use Cardturner after all."
"No duh, old man."
They slowed down their dash, both breathing heavily. Sweat dripped down Break's face, and made the collar of his shirt stick to his chest.
Pausing, Break listened. He heard nothing, which was what worried him.
All of the sudden, Semar's arm was yanked out of his hand (he had still been holding on?) and the mutating girl-Chain was there, pulling the Rainsworth away. It had large fangs coming out of what had used to be a jawbone, the innocent eyes turning into manic black holes. There were claws instead of hands, claws that were dark and shiny.
Semar's Chain attacked the enemy, Break could hear the sound of cards whipping through the air. The Chain who was dragging the brunette made an unholy noise, but it didn't stray from its path.
"Semar!" Break yelled, as he saw the Rainsworth's panicked eyes. Mad Hatter, sensing its contractor's wishes, grabbed the enemy Chain, and stabbed it through its shadowy stomach.
The contrast of the light and the shadows on the entire scene made Break feel dizzy, like the yellows and blacks were clouding his eyes. His Chain still fought, but it needed a Contractor to back it up. Yet, he was so dizzy...
"Xerxes!" It was Semar's cry that cleared his mind. The brat was panicked enough to use his first name. "My arms are pinned! I can't reach my sword!"
His voice echoed through Break's soul, at the same time Break's pinkie throbbed, the pain sharpening his focus.
"Mad Hatter!" Break yelled, "Offense!" He lifted his sword again, stepping quickly, jus of the Chain, which crashed into the wall above them, pulling down brick and mortar.
Break turned around to see the Chain pull back, the claws shrinking into small hands again, the fangs disappearing. Standing before them was a little girl, younger than the one Semar had seen. She had little golden curls, and was dressed nicely, in an old fashion.
Break felt heartbroken just seeing her. She looked sad, her eyes wide and watery.
"Xe-kun, you abandoned me. You said you'd always be there!" The girl broke into tears.
Break understood how Semar felt when he saw something from his past. He couldn't move at all.
Until there was a piercing pain in his thigh.
He looked down, the illusion dissipating, realizing that there was a claw stuck in him.
Semara was off, she could tell. Every move she made, it felt slow and clumsy. When Xerxes got clawed in the leg, though, she focused a little bit more.
He seemed confused, his face creased in pain, and she could tell he wasn't in a state to fight back. She had no idea who the little girl was that the Chain had taken form, but it was somebody important to Xerxes.
"Cardturner, advance King of Clubs!" she yelled, and her Chain responded accordingly.
Clubs was the most basic of commands Cardturner had. Out of the four modes, (clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts) it was the weakest, but didn't take much energy from her, as opposed to hearts, which might kill her.
The hands resting on her neck, cold and shadowy-feeling as always, were suddenly holding two paper-white clubs, one with red ink on it, the other with black ink. The hands stretched from her neck, holding out the clubs towards the enemy chain.
Cardturner's weight lifted off her shoulders, a shadowy form of something once human materializing in front of them both. The cold of its hands was still on her neck, as it always was.
The Chains flew at each other, but it was already so obvious that for the memory-reading Chain, the fight was over. With a few strokes of the giant clubs, the Chain was already falling.
Just as Semara was wondering where the Contractor for the enemy Chain was, another human seemed to literally fall out from behind the Chain. It was a man, a graying fat man, who began to scream. The ground was glowing with a red light, and chains wrapped themselves around both the illegal Contractor and his Chain, dragging them down to a hellish fate.
Semara felt the pull of the Abyss around her neck as well, but shuddered and resisted it. She knew what happened to anyone who went down there, Oz being a strange exception.
Cardturner's form drifted back to her, and she felt shivers erupt down her spine when it sank back into her. She looked over at Xerxes, who was leaning against a wall His face was paler than his normal albino state, if possible.
"How bad's your leg?" Semara asked him.
Xerxes smiled his creepy smile, but she could see through his facade. "It's just a little bloody. I can bandage it up at the hotel."
"Doesn't look 'a little bloody,'"she said, looking at his leg. Blood soaked through the torn fabric of his pants, dripping down almost to the top of his knee.
"I'll be fine until we get-" he stiffened, his knees giving out, but he caught himself on the wall. Semara grabbed his shoulder, keeping him upright.
"We both know you're deluding yourself, old man," she said, and threw his arm over her shoulders. "Come on. I'll help you."
He leaned on her heavily, and Semara felt herself being pushed down. Xerxes wasn't fat, but he was a full-grown man, and she would always weigh less because she lacked testosterone.
He was silent but for his heavy breathing, and Semara gave a half smile. "Don't be all embarrassed. I get hurt too, sometimes. Rarely, actually."
"Maybe I'm just in pain, Rainsworth," Xerxes said. "Because I am not embarrassed. You have bruises all over your neck, too."
"Whatever you say, Xerxes."
They were both silent after that, Semara realizing that she had called the albino by his first name. When had that switched over? Hopefully he wouldn't mind, since she didn't mean it in a derogatory form... For the moment.
Her neck throbbed, and she unconsciously reached the hand not holding onto Xerxes to the bruises left by the deceased Chain. It had actually gotten past her defenses.
"How's your neck?" Xerxes asked, not looking at her. She could tell he was limping heavily.
"It's fine. Thanks for saving me. It would've been snapped if you hadn't intervened." They turned down a street, and Semara kept them both to the side. She could seen the inn ahead.
"Sharon would have killed me if you got hurt badly," Xerxes said. Semara smiled.
"That's true. You should fear that fan of hers more than you fear any Chain."
He chuckled, but then sucked in a breath as they stepped off cobblestones onto the gravel of the driveway. He leaned on her more, and she felt his hair brush her ear. His head was nearly all on her shoulder.
They made it into the inn, Semara thanking the stars that they had a first floor room. She nearly dragged them into their room, and shoved him onto the bed.
He groaned, and flopped back. "Why'd the Chain have to be so far away from the inn?"
"Don't get blood on your bed," Semara said, as she rooted around in her bag. Her fingers closed around a roll of bandages (normally reserved for her chest, but Xerxes wouldn't know that).
"There's alcohol in my bag," he said from the bed. "We have to disinfect it."
She reached for his bag, spotting a cylindrical shape in one of the pockets. It was medical alcohol.
She stood in front of him, as he sat up. "Take off your pants."
He groaned. "It'll hurt. Can't you just cut around the wound?"
"No, because I might hurt the wound more. It'll be easier if there's no fabric in the way." Semara would have preferred that method, too, since she felt awkward around any man that was less than fully dressed, but the wound was bad enough already.
Xerxes unbuttoned the long overcoat-shirt thing of the Pandora uniform, and pulled it off his shoulders. He slid his pants off, flinching as the fabric brushed the bloody area.
He sat in gray boxers, and a white undershirt shirt that was untied, revealing pale chest underneath. Semara ignored that. The wound on his thigh looked deep, but clean.
"This is gonna hurt," she warned him, as she unscrewed the cap on the bottle of alcohol, and dumped it onto his thigh.
His back stiffened, and his head jerked forward. His teethed were clenched, and Semara felt bad. "Sorry. It's better to get that done quick."
"Just- bandage it."
She did, as gently as she could. "That's it, then," the brunette said, standing. "Put on your pants. I'm going to bed." She flopped face-first into the bed opposite Xerxes.
"In your clothes?" Semara turned her head slightly, watching the albino pick his pants up, and stuff them into the bag he had brought.
"It gets chilly during the nights," she replied, which was true, but not the full truth. It would be an awkward situation if Xerxes woke before her, and noticed that his sleeping partner had grown breasts in the night.
Xerxes left the room, with his nightclothes. Semara presumed he would be going to the bathroom. She flipped onto her back.
It would be alright if she loosened the bandages around her chest, just a little bit. Semara reached a hand around to her back, underneath her shirt, shifting the bandages around so they were less tight.
Blowing out the candle, she pulled the blankets over her. The throbbing in her pinkie had receded. Finally, you're working, she dreamily thought, as sleep started to overtake her. Gilbert's miles away, you know...
Oh, it did know.
When Xerxes returned from cleaning up for bed, he found the room dark. The other occupant was snoring loudly.
"Guess your girlish face doesn't apply to your sleeping habits," he muttered, falling into the other bed. It creaked loudly. The Rainsworth across from him mumbled incomprehensibly, and then settled again into snoring.
Sleep didn't come fast for him. He fixed his pillow, shifting around for a while. His pinkie was hurting quite a lot.
He held his hand up, the moonlight from the window glancing off it. Is this a sign of my body breaking down? He curled his fingers, dropping his hand down. I must be old already.
He began to drift off, and right when he was on the edge of sleep, the door to their room opened.
The yellow light from the hall outside hit him, and he winced. "Who is it?" he said, groaning.
"Um, it's me." The voice was timid.
It was that blasted Crimson.
"What's wrong?" Xerxes said. She took a few more steps into the room, shutting the door behind her. The red-head was wearing a short nightdress, that barely reached the middle of her thighs. Xerxes tried not to roll his eyes. What kind of woman would walk into a room with men, wearing something like that?
"I- I had a nightmare." Crimson dramatically paused, as if he was supposed to say something.
"Sorry," Xerxes said.
"Could- Can I sleep with you? I just need... someone to be near me."
Xerxes sighed. He doubted Crimson had actually had a nightmare, but he couldn't very well be rude to a woman. No matter how virtue-less her clothes were.
"You can't sleep in the same bed as a man, Crimson," he replied, in an obvious tone. "I'll..." Xerxes thought fast. He couldn't carry Semar to Crimson's room, no matter how skinny the man was, Xerxes' leg prevented that. "I'll sleep with the Rainsworth, and you can sleep in this bed."
Crimson frowned, but obediently crawled into the warm place where he had himself had slept only moments before.
Xerxes shoved Semar's body over, being less than gentle, taking out his frustration on the sleeping man. Semar grumbled. The albino slid next to him, yanking some blankets away from the brunette. Putting his back to the other man, Xerxes closed his eyes. Semar shifted slightly, his back against Xerxes. He fell asleep quickly.
The throbbing in his pinkie had ceased.
Some hours of the night later, Xerxes woke up. He didn't really know why, but it happened often. He had shifted around in the night, and was facing Semar.
The man's lips were moving, and he was muttering something. Xerxes listened intently.
"mmshadow... hazel... forget hazel..." Semar breathed in, then sighed, the words stopping.
Maybe he had been having a nightmare, a real one, unlike the woman in the bed that should've been Xerxes. The albino pondered that. Even if Semar were woken up by a nightmare, Xerxes doubted he would request close company. Despite his annoying way, Semar wasn't that kind of a man.
Note: this story is AU from the original canon, in the way that Sharon and Semara's mother is still alive, and there's no Emily. I hope this doesn't inconvenience anyone.
Thanks for reading! :)