Lucy came into consciousness, grogginess had overtaken her brain and it was in a haze she couldn't manage to clear up. She couldn't even feel the rest of her body as her cheek laid flush to a wooden surface, the only thing she knew clearly, was that she was lying face down.
She tried to move the limbs she knew she had, but the connection just wasn't there yet. Her body was unresponsive, but she did manage to open her eyes. Nothing quite registered as sensible as she looked at what was in front of her.
The room was dark and smelled of decay, she was surrounded by people that looked like they would enjoy doing her bodily harm, and maybe they did. For some unknown reason, she couldn't muster enough energy to care.
Lucy thought she was having an auditory hallucination when she heard a deep gravelly voice begin to sing a song she recognized. She could almost hear the instrumentals as she heard the familiar lyrics, "Tonight, I'm gonna have myself a real good time".
She watched as the men around her ran out of her line of sight. Moments later, bodies were flying across the room and landing at unnatural angles. The sounds they made as they landed indicated they were not going to be getting up, ever.
"I feel alive and the world I'll turn it inside out, yeah" sang the masculine voice. Lucy enjoyed the baritone sound as she watched a colorful stream of smoke floating across her vision. She watched as it was inhaled by a man who looked like he killed kittens for fun. The man fell into a heaping convulsing pile, unnatural sounds coming from his body as foam and blood leaked from his orifices.
Her attention was redirected as someone slid to an abrupt stop in her direct line of sight. A fur-lined white coat filled her vision as it trailed to a stop just after the tall figure had. Something seemed familiar about this individual but she couldn't place it in her stupor. All she could see was a messy mop of maroon spikes, a long white coat, maroon pants, and black boots.
"And floating around in ecstasy," she heard the lyrics clearly so she knew it was coming from the vaguely familiar figure. She tried to remember who he was as she watched him, without even turning his head, his arm shot out and grabbed a faceless assailant's hand that came out of nowhere.
The handheld a knife, she watched as the familiar man turned the incoming arm in a way that she heard the crack of the bone-shattering. The hand with the knife was inverted at an awkward angle so that the assailant continued moving forward and impaled themselves on their own knife, falling lifeless at the feet of the maroon haired man.
"So don't stop me now don't stop me"
She heard a chuckle that proved he was enjoying what he was doing. He turned his head to the side to glance over his shoulder. She saw a singular violet eye look down at her as he sang, "'Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time".
She wanted to smile at the sight of him singing and killing, but could only focus on the feel of the grain in the wood underneath her lips. She felt a weighted sensation in her limbs as she attempted to move and she became aware of the cool air on her skin. She realized in a moment of clarity that she was in some kind of a drug-induced stupor.
That sliver of information woke up more of her clouded brain, she watched as the man turned his attention to more individuals running at him, the volume of his voice rising as he continued, "I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky".
As the group of individuals ran at him, he inhaled deeply and exhaled a plume of purple mist toward the group. They dropped instantly grasping at their throats. She heard the deep voice again, "Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity".
Lucy watched in fascination as the man sang the entirety of the song while he took out all the men that surrounded him. It was like watching a well-choreographed scene in a movie. The mystery man moved perfectly as he avoided bodies, weapons, and magic attacks.
She heard a deep snarl from behind her as she felt a pair of hands trace down her body and over her ass. She realized she was completely naked as she felt the pervert kneading his dirty, grimy hands on her body.
The naked blonde managed to let out an audible whimper which caused the maroon-haired man in the white coat to freeze instantly in place. He turned on his heel and in a blur, he was standing before her wielding a knife. She thought she should be panicking but she knew the knife wasn't for her. He slashed at the person who had been touching her and she felt warm drops touch her skin.
She watched as the violet-eyed man knelt in front of her, his full face now in her view. Drops of fresh blood dotted his face as he grinned wickedly. She saw the dimples that accentuated his bloodstained smile. At that moment she couldn't help but think how handsome he was.
The man's smile fell instantly, something akin to confusion graced his features and she immediately missed the dimples. Lucy refocused her attention on his whole face. The one violet eye looking at her intensely. The scar over his other eye looked so familiar, she tried to search her drug-addled brain.
Visions of a mechanical fish came to mind.
"That's it sweet-cheeks, you almost got it," he said to her and as his warm breath fanned over her face, it smelled sickly sweet. A thought of poison popped into her mind.
She watched him poison and kill all those around her and he enjoyed it and it all fell into place. She was staring into the single eye of the Poison Dragon Slayer, Cobra.
"Ding Ding Ding, you win the prize Sunshine," he said as he touched something just out of her range of vision. She felt a biting warmth as something released her hand. She felt it three more times before she realized she was fastened to the wooden table.
Her eyes closed again while she groaned uncomfortably. It felt like she had been on a tilt-a-whirl for hours on end. Lucy now understood how a spinning top feels as it starts to slow down and wobble.
Her body was moved, feeling as if it were as dead and lifeless as the bodies that surrounded her.
She knew she was naked but she just didn't seem to care, let him see her in all her nude glory. She realized she should be embarrassed and offended that Cobra was seeing her sans clothing, but the indignation never came.
It was this thought that compelled Lucy to try and ask what was wrong with her. But what sounded like a perfectly coherent question in her mind came out as a garbled mess of "sh wha wro?"
"They shot you up with all kinds of nasty," Cobra responded, whatever they gave her, even her subconscious was a scattered mess. He had barely discerned what her question was amid her thoughts of nakedness. She let out a small sound of understanding.
Lucy then felt a weighted softness caress her skin as her eyes fluttered open to see the Poison Slayer. He was looking at her with a contorted look on his face that she almost placed as concern. She wondered where his coat went as she noticed he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt.
Lucy shut her eyes again, they felt like they had anchors attached to them as she struggled to keep them open. She wanted to see what the slayer intended to do as he leaned over her, feeling the weight of his body was soothing and warm.
"I am taking you out of this hell hole babycakes, so just give in to the feeling, relax. Fighting the sleep will only make it worse." his voice was soft, rough and soothing.
She knew deep down he was right but odd questions started whirling through her mind. The blonde suddenly found herself concerned with the weather in Bosco and wondered if spiders named their hundreds of children. Her brain kept turning bizarre thoughts as she began to string a familiar tune in her head.
Cobra lifted the hazy headed woman, he was surprised as she nestled into him and let out a small hum of contentment as her soul asked for one thing clear as day, "Please, sing to me again."
He couldn't deny the beaten and battered woman in his arms, she needed rest and this may just be the only way to get that fucked up brain of her to take it easy.
Her soul provided him with the song through imagery. He chuckled at her selection, considering the circumstances.
Her soul conjured up a scene from a movie that he was all too familiar with, it was one of his top ten favorite films. He was surprised she ever saw it, considering how fair and innocent everyone billed her as. No way could she have seen such a violent and bizarre film.
He softly began to hum the tune, then started with the lyrics, "I'm singin' in the rain".
Halfway through the song she was sound asleep in his arms as he carried her back to the inn.