Author's Note: Last time on Xandar's Helluva Adventures, Xandar and the I.M.P crew arrived in the Ring of Wrath to join a festival and discovered that Xandar's disguise CAN come in handy.
Now, Xandar and the crew meet a real snake and join a competition... but there's trouble brewing...
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Harvest Moon Festival Part 2
Xandar's P.O.V:
Me and Loona walked back to the farm house feeling satisfied. It was...fun, I'll put it that way. As we walked back, we saw Millie was talking to someone. It was a new demon. He looked like a snake with mesmerizing eyes and a cowboy outfit.
"Who's this?" I asked curiously taking in the snake's appearance. The snake chuckled and held out his hand. I shook it in response.
"Name's Striker," he introduced. He then observed me and grinned. "So you're Prince Xandar?" He asked before giving another chuckle. "It's mighty nice to meet you."
I grinned in reply. "Yes. It's an honor to meet you sir," I answered. Who is this guy? Aside from his name I mean. Joe walked up to us and gave a hearty laugh.
"This here's my new ranch hand!" Joe explained. "He's a good fella. Helluva good worker too!" He then thought of something stroking his chin. "Say, your highness. I don't know what you think of festivities, but how'd you like to compete with Striker and Blitzo?" He inquired.
I rubbed my chin in thought. I don't normally participate in games. But, this does sound fun. "I think it sounds fun," I reply. "I would be honored to join in the fun. What kind of competition is it?" I ask.
Striker chuckles. "It's a competition of strength and agility," he explained. He then smirked. I felt a chill for some reason. "But I don't think a prince should be competing. Maybe you'd like to oversee the event instead?" He suggested.
I growled. "Now hold on a minute! I am not a dainty prince. I can compete any time, any place. So I say...may the best man win!" I shout holding out my hand. Striker chuckles and shakes my hand. Good lord he is freaking me out. But why?
ZZZ
I was making my way near the stage. Stolas would call me, Blitzo, Moxxie and Striker up when the event began. I sighed heavily. "You ok Xandar?" Moxxie asked me with a worried expression.
I sighed again. "It's that Striker fellow," I began, "he rubs me the wrong way...yet I don't know why..." I trail off. Why does he make me scared? He's just a normal ranch hand, right?
"I know what you mean," Moxxie replied. I turned to look at him. "He made an ass out of me killing a farm creature. Said I had to use a dagger. Then said I never stood a chance," he explained.
I scoffed. "So far, he just seems to be a show off," I growled. Seeing Moxxie's look I put my hand on his shoulder. "You don't trust him either, do you?" I inquire still looking at him.
"I don't," came Moxxie's tart reply. I nodded. "Hey, Xandar?" Moxxie began as I gave him my full attention. "Do you...do you think that-" he tried but was cut off by Stolas' voice.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Stolas began in a loud voice. "It is I, Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia!" He announced. He then went on about the harvest and stuff. But something was bothering me...why is Striker smirking evilly at me? What is his-
"-And my adoptive son, Xandar!" Stolas cheered. My stomach dropped and I turned to him nervously. Striker seemed to chuckle.
"Uh, 'scuse me Xandar," Joe began with a raised eyebrow. "Did Stolas just call ya, son?" He asked.
"Oh would you look at that!" I shout earning the crowds attention. "I'm up!" I say nervously running off. As I run off, I hear Joe say:
"There's somethin' mighty fishy goin on here. And I don't mean the shark-" he was saying. Wait...this event has a fucking shark!?!? As I make my way to the stage, Stolas smiles and Blitzo gives me a concerned look. I shrug in response.
"With that being said..." Stolas trails off for dramatic effect. "Let the event...BEGIN!"
ZZZ
We did everything from running through and obstacle course, to wrangling a creature and even a Tug o War match. But now, the hard part...sparring. But I have no doubt that I'll do fine-
"And opposing Xandar...Striker!" Stolas cheered and so did the audience. Aw fuck. Striker smirked at me.
"So Xandar," Striker began with his usual chuckle. "Ready to prove yourself?" He laughs.
"Yeah," I replied with a glare.
"Ya know kid," Striker continued as the count down started. "You could throw the match. Otherwise, you'll be feeling pain. What do ya say?" He suggests though it was an obvious demand.
"Bring it on snake," I taunt venomously. Striker simply shrugs
"Your funeral," He says as a buzzer goes off and he runs at me throwing a punch, which I dodge. I throw a punch only for Striker to grab my fist and turn it in a painful way.
"Gah!" I shout. "Fuck!" I add.
"Give up, 'Prince Xandar?'" Striker mocked with a sneer. He twisted my wrist further causing me to fall to my knees.
"Kick his ass Xandar!" I hear Loona shout. Feeling a rush of adrenaline, I kick Strikers leg receiving a grunt of pain.
"I NEVER give up!" I roar earning a gasp from the crowd. I grab Strikers wrist now and bend it in an equally painful way. "How about you give up the match?" I mock.
"Ha!" Striker laughs. "I don't back down from a challenge!" He then pulls out a knife and stabs me in the gut. I howl in pain. After kicking me in the face and knocking me down, he puts the knife on my throat, threatening to slice it open. "Will you give up?" He demands still smirking.
Even though I can't die, my life flashed before my eyes and I see Loona, Moxxie, Millie, Blitzo...and my mother. I feel tears flow down my face and Strikers smirk becomes a toothy grin. "Ok!" I cry out. Striker Let's go immediately and I sob. "You win."
"Heh, I always win," Striker whispered. I hear laughing and realize it's the crowd. I sob and run off the stage.
"Xandar!" Moxxie yells, jolting out of his seat.
"Come back!" Millie shouts.
"Please!" Loona calls after me. I can't be any more embarrassed now-
"And Xandar is disqualified!" I hear Stolas announce. My heart shatters in two. I can't handle this...I pull out my knife and run behind the barn.
Flashback
"Xandar...I don't love you," a girl named Hailey cackled.
"What?" I ask in shock. Hailey laughs.
"Oh come on. Nobody wants a limp dick loser like you. You fucking 'little,' crybaby."
I run home...and see it in flames. "MOM!" I shout running into the house-
I roar in anger and stab the barn repeatedly. I start to punch and kick. "FUCK!" I scream. "Why do I let pricks like that bother me!?" I punch the wall again. "I'm better than this!"
"Don't be so hard on yourself," a voice said causing me to jump and turn around. Ironically it wasn't Loona, Millie or Blitzo. It was Moxxie. He held his hands up in a manner that said "don't shoot the messenger."
"Hey Moxxie," I replied bitterly. "I guess you couldn't take the Striker situation either?" I guessed. He nodded and I threw my knife into the ground, it stabs into the solid earth perfectly. "Fuck!" I shout grabbing my face. "I've never been so fucking embarrassed!"
Moxxie sighed. He seemed forlorn. Oh dear God, how can this get any worse? "Blitzo hired Striker," Moxxie growled. Of fucking course he did.
"Let's just..." I trailed off and scoffed. "Let's just head back to the house." Moxxie nodded and offered to pick me up. I sighed again and grabbed his hand. As we walked back I grabbed my knife from the ground.
I see Loona, typing on her phone. I couldn't even look at her. I hope she doesn't think I'm weak. As we are about to head to our separate rooms, Moxxie elbows me. "What's u-" I couldn't finish. There was a strange, almost angelic glow coming from Striker's room.
"That's troubling," Moxxie said and I nodded. We open the door and see a strange gun. "Oh Satan," Moxxie whispered in shock. "That's a gun with an angelic tip. This is strong enough to-" Moxxie was cut off by a sinister voice behind us.
"Kill royalty," the voice said. We turned and Striker was there chewing on a stick of wheat. He flicked it to the side and took a few menacing steps towards us. "That's kinda the point."
"I knew we couldn't trust you!" Moxxie shouted. "And I'm glad to know my distrust for you was validated-" he said as his throat was grabbed by Striker's tail. He then placed Moxxie in a chokehold and knocked him out.
He turned to me and smirked. "And you," he began taking a step towards me. "I know that you ain't royalty. You're that pathetic human. Ya know, you could step to me for a minute. But, you showed weakness when I stabbed your gut."
"Shut up," I muttered.
"You will NEVER be strong," he mocked. The way he smirked showed me he was toying with me.
"SHUT UP!!!!" I roared and flung a punch only for Striker to dodge and kick me in my leg causing me to fall down. He then put me in a chokehold. I gagged as I tried to pull him away. My vision began to swim and the world went dark.
ZZZ
I opened my eyes and turned to Moxxie. He was wide awake and he turned to me. "Glad to see you awake," he said with a smile. I turned away and sighed.
"I couldn't keep my composure. He beat me. Twice. God I'm weak," I scoffed. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Millie smiling.
"You are not weak Xandar," She comforted looking into my eyes. "You are strong, brave and wise. You can beat him. Yes, you lost your cool, but we can train you to fight better!" She exclaimed in confidence.
I thought about it and smiled. "You're right Millie! Thank you!" I crowed in happiness. Wait a minute. How are we gonna get out of here? "Ok, first we have to get out of here-" I begin but stop as I hear a gun shot. We turn and see the door to the basement open.
"Yeah I guess I could've used this before huh?" Moxxie asked blushing.
"Moxxie," Millie began. "I love ya, but for fuck sake." She stated. I nodded in agreement.
ZZZ
Normal P.O.V:
Striker had his gun aimed at Stolas. He had a job and by Satan, he was going to carry it out. As he started to pull the trigger, he heard the familiar sound of a gun clicking behind him.
"Excuse me," Blitzo began aiming his flintlock pistol at Striker. "THE FUCK!?" He yelled in a mix of shock and anger.
Striker knew he was caught, so he tried to cover it up. "Blitzo! I thought you were at the festival?" He asked.
"Did you really think I was going to stand with a bunch of farmers with a thirsty owl on stage?" Blitzo answered rhetorically. "Now tell me. Why would you, someone I trusted and hired, try to kill my only means outta Hell?" He demanded.
Striker clicked his tongue. "Ya know Blitzo, ya don't need any of them," he began as he stood up from his sniping position. "You could be stronger. And I can give that to you."
Blitzo felt shaky. It was a truly tempting offer. But would he do it? SHOULD he do it? "Besides," Striker continued pacing around Blitzo. "You can become more. You can do anything and you can-" he pushed Blitzo into the wall and got dangerously close to his face. "-Kill the unkillable," he finished. Blitzo swallowed hard. He knew what he was going to do.
"Damn," Blitzo whispered slightly turned on. "That was a good fuckin' pitch," he moaned.
"Been workshopping it," Striker replied with his evil grin. He knew he had Blitzo right where he wanted. But the true success...would be for Blitzo to accept.
"Ya know what?" Blitzo began with a smile. "Fuck it. I'm in."
Striker grinned evilly. This was almost too good! Now that Blitzo was on his side, he'd be able to-
"Hey there!" Xandar exclaimed causing Striker to turn around in surprise. "Remember me? The weakling?" He asked rhetorically.
"Took you guys long enough!" Blitzo cheered. He then laughed as Striker's grin changed to a sneer. "Wow. You shoulda seen your dip, shit, face!" He mocked. He then heard a sharp sound as he turned to see a knife aimed at his back. "Ok, cliche much?" Blitzo inquired as Striker pulled away and shot Xandar...with his gun!
Blitzo growled. "Oh you daddy fucker!" He roared biting into Striker's shoulder. Striker threw Blitzo off as Xandar punched the snake demon directly in the back. Striker gasped in pain.
Striker however, got the upper hand. He used his tail to fling Blitzo to the floor, kicked Xandar down...again and flung Moxxie into the bed.
"Nice try. You forgot something fucko!" Blitzo said before blowing into his fingers creating a whistle. Striker looked up and expected, something. However when nothing happened Blitzo grunted. "Fucking damn it Loona," he growled to himself.
Xandar gasped loudly. "Heh, what's wrong brat?" Striker demanded mockingly. "Ya gonna cry-"
"HEEEEEEEEEEELP!" Xandar shouted. It was so loud, it could be heard for miles.
ZZZ
Loona's P.O.V:
I heard Blitzo whistle and scoffed. The hell does he want? I shook my head as I read my article. Maybe it isn't important. I don't really care-
"HEEEEEEEEEEELP!" A familiar voice shouted causing me to drop my phone. I picked it up and looked to the house.
"Xandar!?" I yelled in shock before bolting into the house. As I ran I heard a gunshot. Fuck! Is he ok!? I find the room where the shot came from and kicked down the door. "Xandar!?" I shout in shock. I see Xandar on the floor and run to him. "Are you ok!?" I demand.
"Yes...it's Striker, he-" he tried to say. Before anyone could do or say anything I saw Striker run up to the window. He took a look back and smirked. I growled.
"Maybe you'll get me next time, Blitzy!" He shouted jumping out. Blitzo ran up to the window pointing his gun. Shit.
"Xandar, we gotta get you help. We-" I was cut off by a throat clearing sound. It was Millie's dad Joe.
He frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Y'all get a LOT of explaining to do." His wife Lin stood next to him nodding crossly. Fuck.
Author's Note: Next time on Xandar's Helluva Adventures, secrets are revealed, discussions are had and more demon horniness occurs.