Chapter Six

A Game

Cherubs (Caliborn) / Dirk Strider

Rated: E

"HEY DIRK. DO YOu WANT TO PLAY A GAME?"

Dirk groaned and awoke slowly. He'd had enough run ins with the Condesce's minions to recognize chloroform, and a variety of other drugs. This didn't seem right.

His head was pounding and his body was sore. He reached out to his dream self on Derse, finding that, for once in his life, he couldn't awaken it.

"TRYING TO WAKE uP DREAM DIRK? NOT GONNA HAPPEN, COOL GuY." The voice had a strange hitch, as if every soft "U" sound was spit with hatred. "NOW, DO YOu WANT TO PLAY A GAME?"

Dirk finally found that he could move his body again, but the body in question was bruised and battered. Even during an ambush, Squarewave or Sawtooth would've had his back. What was happening?

"Yes," Dirk replied, grimacing at his dry and scratchy voice. "I'll play a game."

"HA. HA. HA. GOOD. YOu MAY EVEN WIN - MINuS MY TWIST AT THE END!" Dirk didn't like the sound of that. "GET uP." Dirk complied.

The room was a dark gray colour and there was a bed - upon which Dirk lay - and a door to the next room. "IF YOu WANT TO SAVE YOuR FRIENDS, PROCEED." Dirk did as he was asked and entered the next room. A glass wall separated him from Roxy.

"Roxy!" he cried, beating on the glass.

"I WOuLDNT DO THAT. SHE'S ASLEEP, AND WHEN SHE WAKES uP..." Dirk saw the mechanism hooked up to her. It was apparent that, if she moved, it would kill her rather quickly and messily.

"Alright, you fuck, fine. This is some Saw shit? What do I do to save her before she wakes up?" A panel opened in the ground and a drawing tablet appeared.

"YOu ARE GOING TO DRAW ME SOME PICTuRES, DIRK. VERY... SMuTTY PICTuRES."

"Alright, yeah, sure. I can do that." He picked up the pen, awaiting instruction.

"DRAW THE ROXY BITCH AND YOuRSELF GIVING A HuMAN... HuG." Dirk paused.

"A hug?"

"IF YOu CAN'T DO IT YOu COuLD JuST WATCH THAT BITCH DIE."

"Alright, jeez." He focused all of his artistic prowess into the hug. The placement of the arms, the pressing bodies. Even a nuzzle. It was vulgar.

"Done," he said. The tablet retracted into the room and the mechanism deactivated.

"VERY GOOD. AND WITH ONLY... THREE SECONDS LEFT." Seconds?! He hadn't realized it was timed. He'd have to be quicker. He moved into the next room where Jane was strewn up in a similar contraption.

"Alright, what do I do to save her?" He asked. A panel opened in the floor. Unsurprisingly, a tablet lifted. "Oh for the love of-"

"DON'T GET SO FRuSTRATED, DAVE."

"Dave?"

"DIRK. I SAID DIRK. DRAW THE ROXY BITCH AND THE JANE BITCH DOING A HuMAN... KISS."

"A kiss? Dude, I draw hentai. This really the whole game, me drawing you stupid softcore porn of my friends?"

"I DON'T RECOGNIZE THE WORD HENTAI. NOW DRAW!" Dirk sighed, putting less effort into this picture but hurrying due to the unseen time constraint.

"Happy?"

"YES. GOOD. NOW, ONE MORE CHAMBER." One more? That would mean-

Dirk sprinted, forcing open the door. Lying on a bed was a green figure in a green jacket.

"What is this?" He circled her. "Do I draw some smut of this skull monster? Actually, it looks really familiar. The weird skull thing."

"SHuT uP. NOW KISS HER."

"Kiss? This thing?"

"JuST DO IT YOu MORON." Dirk grimaced but kissed her.

"Happy?"

"HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. VERY GOOD WORK, DIRK. NOW FOR THE TWIST."

"Oh yeah."

"SEE, A VERSION OF THIS GIRL IS DEAD. THE DREAM SELF."

"Alright?"

"BY KISSING HER, YOu SENT HER REAL SELF TO REVIVE THE DREAM BODY."

"...alright?"

"WHERE I'LL KILL HER AGAIN! HA. HA. HA."

"Can I go home?"

"DO YOu NOT EVEN CARE ABOuT YOuR DEAR FRIEND CALLIOPE?"

"Nah. I just want to go home."

"YOu'RE AS BLOODTHIRSTY AS ME. MAYBE I JuDGED YOu WRONG, DAVE."

"Dirk."

"RIGHT. THAT. PLEASANT DREAMS."

He awoke in his room with a splitting headache.

"Ugh... what a nightmare." He rolled over and fell back asleep.

Author's Note: Sorry, no smut, not even any real romance (unless you count Dirk kissing Calliope as "romance" - after all, Caliborn found it rather vulgar). Here's the deal: Struggling with writer's block, which is sad because I have lots of new fans and followers. Also, I changed "Calliope" to "uu/UU" since they share one body and I'm super lazy and already have to write 253 chapters.

So thank you guys so much for the review, drop me a request or something for the next chapter!

~_u