KillamriX88

Royal Rumble!

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@AtomicNut@6slyboy6@Gentlemanvaultboy

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It was time for the training to begin. This kind of training wasn't exactly common at Mephisto's, at least as far as Vernon knew. It was as if someone wanted them to actually try this time. Well, being better at hurting people was always useful in his line of work.

He stood near the entrance, seemingly waiting for someone. Two people walked onto the school grounds, looking so stereotypically delinquent that one might have instinctually hidden one's lunch money. One was a boy in torn jeans with his hair spiked up with far too much gel, and the other a girl who actually had a cough-mask on but certainly wasn't sick. Vernon did not acknowledge their presence, and one could have been forgiven for thinking they weren't who he was waiting for.

"Uhhh... boss?" the girl spoke, tapping him on the shoulder. She flinched as Vernon's hand shot up, holding up a finger. Wait.

"Eyy, come on. You know better than to interrupt him!" the boy said next.

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to know!?" the girl groaned. Finally Vernon actually looked at them.

"What the hell are you two wearing?" By comparison, Vernon's hair was combed, he was wearing slacks, and he had on a button up shirt. Untucked, but still.

"You said to blend in!" the girl responded. "It's a school for bad kids right?"

Vernon pinched the bridge of his nose, "You..."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Boss-?"

"IDIOTS!" He simultaneously karate chopped both of them in the forehead. "I expected you to mug some freshmen and steal their uniforms! I told you the school has a uniform!" Vernon was missing the coat, but the rest was indeed... mostly up to code. .

"B-but what kind of rebellious punk actually wears one of those?!" the girl whined, rubbing her forehead. Meanwhile his friends had clearly gone with some romanticized rebel fantasy

"Whatever! Let's go..." It was a bit late now, so he had no choice but to present the two morons as the members of his team...

---

. . .A Week Later. . .

@Dezuel@Letter Bee

Somehow still intact after training under the woman, Vernon received a whole new kettle of fish to deal with. A message from William, his own, personal, never ending well of trouble. He wondered if he'd ever grow weary of William's habit for sticking his nose where it may or may not belong.

Currently, though, it was just another chapter in the feud between William and Galbrek.

"Well, not the world's worst idea, William, but it lacks imagination," Vernon spoke to himself after reading the message. "I'll show you how a proper criminal deals with this kind of thing." It took him a bit of sneaking around, but after a few hours he was ready, with a few fail-safes in place. He made sure to respond to William, a short message, telling him that he was under no circumstances to attend the meeting as Galbrek had asked.

Quite frankly, Vernon didn't trust William to not somehow get himself into an even bigger mess. He wasn't sure if it was naivety or just an overabundance of good will towards humanity, but William had it in spades.

No, instead, Vernon arrived, sitting upon the marked bench. Well, rather he was reclining and seemed to be taking a nap. Obviously it was a trap of some sort, but hopefully it would end with him having a pleasant chat with his overeager classmate.

Royal Rumble!

@AtomicNut @Gentlemanvaultboy @Dezuel @rawkhawk64

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"Dammit!" Vernon shouted when Vittorio distracted Bak. He'd been so close! 'Of course, that half-dead idiot can go around screaming about his vengeance, but when I want a little he can't even be bothered to take five seconds to read the mood!' Vernon ranted mentally, though his frustration was clear as day on his face. 'If William wasn't trying to save him I'd just kill him myself and save everyone the trouble!'

Answering Vittorio's question wouldn't do him any good and besides, he had bigger things to worry about. It now seemed the "Fallen One" was being pitted against him. Vernon wasn't so keen on fighting him anymore. The math was simple: Vernon had lost to Wolf, and Wolf hadn't exactly been able to beat the Fallen One. The odds weren't in Vernon's favor. But they weren't completely against him.

He'd been able to observe the aforementioned fight with Wolf. He knew the Fallen One was deceptively strong and liked to fight dirty. Also, they were clearly at least a little bit drained after scuffling with the gym teacher. One glance could tell you how much of a struggle that fight, however brief, must have been.

Vernon set his bottle aside and unzipped his cooler. He pulled out a popsicle and stuck it in his mouth... before viciously biting into it, pretty much eating the whole thing in one go.

"Well... I guess this is it then," Vernon gave a strained grin and dropped the cooler. He hadn't exactly been planning for this. He would need to stop his opponent's movements and then lock them down entirely, and he'd need to do it quickly. "Allow me to cast the first stone." And with that he unceremoniously flicked the popsicle stick at the Fallen One's chest, still sticky with saliva and melted popsicle. This was followed by an ice-ball aimed right at their forehead.

Royal Rumble!

@AtomicNut @Gentlemanvaultboy

---

Four days ago...

It had taken a day or two after the "Fallen One" had made the threat for Vernon to both think of an appropriate countermeasure... and then to gather the requisite courage to act it out. He strode into his father's office and fell into one of his chairs.

"Father," Vernon greeted the man. "How are things?"

"Shouldn't you know? You really should keep up on matter pertaining to the family," the man's gruff, weathered voice came back.

"I could have been asking about you."

"And I'd give you the same answer," the man finally met Vernon's eyes. "I am the family."

"Fair enough." Vernon conceded with a shrug. If the family was doing well, his father was, and vice-versa. He could be dying of the flu and still be an optimist, so long as the family was doing well. He'd probably survive too.

"Been meaning to speak to you. You ordered a shot to be taken in the middle of the city. Risky business, better have been worth it," the man once again lifted his eyes. Vernon swallowed. Oh good, already he was met with disapproval... this wasn't going to help things.

"I needed to slow down an enemy. Cousin should have covered his tracks well enough, so we need not worry," Vernon replied. "That... somewhat leads me to why I'm here."

"That so?" His father set the busywork before his aside and folded his hand across the lavish desk before him. "Go on then."

"You recall that cop, Alexander?" Vernon began.

"The junior officer, yes. He's looked into you once or twice. What about him?"

"I'm screwing his little brother." Well, no need to mince words after all.

". . . excuse me?" The man blinked rapidly, processing the words and probably attempting to suppress the accompanying mental images. "Are you... working on something?"

"Sorry, not a huge fan of the man. That was more crass than necessary. I should say I'm dating him."

"I. . . Are you serious?"

"Oh, the relationship is quite serious, thank you for asking."

The big man pinched the bridge of his nose, "Not what I was asking, though I suppose that answers my question regardless." He took a deep breath. "Why?"

"He's a funny little guy, what can I say. Couldn't stop myself." Vernon grinned. He smiled both at the thought of William and the humor of watching his father squirm. Also the try and quell the fear. Mostly that, actually. He'd be sweating bullets if his blood didn't run so cold.

"And you tell me this... why?" his father raised his voice, sounding quite aggravated.

"Preemptive action. Better you hear if from me rather than someone else," Vernon told him.

"I see. And what are you hoping the results of this conversation will be?" His father seemed more calm now, but that only meant the gears of reprisal could turn more quickly.

"Nothing. Precisely nothing. Someone else comes to you with this, you think I'm keeping secrets and harming the family, and so you act accordingly. Me? Well, then there's nothing for you to worry about. I have it all under control." If only, but that could be remedied long before his father had to lift a hand. Hopefully.

"I've had a lot of people tell me they had everything under control. Most of them are dead now," his father glowered, eyes burning holes right through Vernon. "You're my son, but blood only gets you so far. Don't disappoint me."

"Of course-"

"You're in bed arm's length from the police, Vernon. The second I even have an inkling you're going to harm the family, I will bring true all those fears you were hoping to side-step, understood?" And Vernon could feel the whole room tremble. His throat grew tight.

"Yes... father." Suddenly it was very hard to breathe. His father was an older man, but there was a reason he headed the family. His gut had long gone soft, but he had big hands with knuckles like knots on a tree. He shuddered to think of how many men those hands had choked the life out of.

"Good." And suddenly the air of dread cleared the room. "Might as well go tell your mother then. I'm sure she'll be overjoyed to hear you've finally found someone..." he let out long breath.

"Oh. Right." Vernon sighed as well. Of course she would be. This was gonna be a long day.

Present - One week after The Park...

Vernon walked through the courtyard at school. He was trying to be vigilant. William's biggest obsession and greatest enemy attended the school, after all. It may pay dividends to be alert. So far it hadn't, but anything could happen.

He had a soft cooler slung over his shoulder like a messenger bag and a half-gallon bottle in his hand filled more with ice than water. He needed to stay cool to function so he liked to be well equipped. It was at that moment that a flier pretty much fell into his hand.

"Training? Hm, that could be interest-"

Clang!

Vernon raised an eyebrow as suddenly someone swung off a light-pole to avoid falling to their death. Followed by the gym teacher. What?

That... that mask.

W. H. A. T?

Vernon's eye began rapidly twitching. Fallen One. Right there.

"Miss Maskono, do you require fire support?" He shook his head, coming back to reality at the sound of Bak Tsarevna's arrival on the scene. Perfect.

"Ah! Miss Tsarevna, it's good you're here! I know this masked fiend, they assaulted me and some friends not long ago, I assure you, fire support would be just lovely right now." And then he lifted his hands and staring icily at the "Fallen One." "I'll help." He spoke with just as much coldness.

'I told you I'd remember that, you little bitch!' he growled inside his head.

Royal Rumble!

@AtomicNut

---

Wolf woke up after a slightly tumultuous night of sleep. He couldn't even recall his dreams int he slightest, if he'd had any. He just knew he didn't feel all that rested or relaxed. The previous days events told him something: things were about to break from their holding pattern. No longer would each day resemble the last.

He wasn't ready -- that needed to change.

He could only think of one good way to remedy his situation. He needed to go home and start over. Go back to basics.

Once he was certain that Andras could stay in the safety of the Blackgate household, he excused himself... but not before once again thanking Meredith for what must have been the third and fourth times for helping him. As he walked home, it gave him some time to think. He couldn't say for sure, and he didn't really want to think about it, but hadn't Meredith effectively saved his life? Sure it could be argued he'd have made it to a hospital with time to spare, but he hadn't gone to a hospital, he'd gone to her. And she'd come through.

If that was the case, he truly owed her... but what could he offer? After all, owing her or not, as her friend of years there wasn't much he wouldn't do for her to begin with. There had to be something, but it would have to wait for now.

Similar to the Blackgate household, his home wasn't exactly just a normal house. There was a tall wall with an arch. The arch held a large, iron gate, though right now it was open. One had to then walk across a courtyard before finally reaching the front door. The courtyard was mostly bare dirt, but it was smooth and well-maintained, with pave-stones and benches bordering it.

The property was shaped like a 90 degree corner, as there was a second courtyard to the side of the house, but that one was even larger. However, he wouldn't be visiting that one just yet. He walked inside, and made his way to his father's study, finding the man inside. He sat in an old, cushy recliner that was aimed toward the door, as if he'd been waiting. He set a book aside before speaking.

"Wolfram, you didn't come home last night. I expected you back quite soon after your little trip with Vera. I was worried," he said. He folded his hands, looking at Wolf pensively. Wolf winced, realizing he'd failed to call home and tell his father anything. "I can see by the look in your eyes, you're quite troubled." He tilted his head. "Very much so indeed. Tell me, Wolfram, what transpired last night?"

And so Wolf told his father everything he could, concluding with the fact that he needed help. He wasn't strong enough.

"Well..." His father seemed caught off guard by the exposition onslaught, taking a moment to process it. "I confess I think anyone would be troubled by that." He then looked at Wolf, dead serious. "But if you're going to be a part of this, you can't let that get to you. Your powers may be driven by emotion, but you can't be. The moment you're not the one in control of the fight is the moment you become most vulnerable."

Those words were nothing new. He'd heard them over and over. And over.

"I... I know, father."

"I know you do, but I've seen you stray more and more. So, it's good you've come to me. There's much to be done and perhaps now you will have the motivation necessary to correct the course you've been on." He stood up, grabbing a sheathed sword from a nearby desk. "Are you ready?"

"Umm, n-now?" Wolf glanced down at his stomach.

"What? Don't tell me you skipped breakfast!" And Wolf could only hang his head in embarrassment. "Well good! You won't cramp up, then!"

Yeah... good. When was the last time he'd eaten again?

---

Prologue

One Week Later

Prologue

“Been having fun? You look like crap,” Vera said absentmindedly to Wolf as they walked down the street together. She was speaking to him, but was otherwise totally absorbed in her phone. After their night at the Blackgate household, Wolf had gone home to train with his father.

That had left Vera on Andras duty. A role she had begrudgingly accepted since with Wolf busy, she’d had nothing much else to do. A fact that was slowly eating away at her. If only something could break the monotony. Well, there was one thing, but it was the one thing Wolf would challenge her on.

She didn’t so much care that it bothered him, but she prided herself on not being petty and going behind people’s backs. Thus, it was too much trouble. Then again, her nerves were getting frayed.

If only something-

“Oh my goodness. Vera Goh!” A voice reached her ears. Like a well trained dog, her heart did a little jump and she instinctively smiled. But then she bit the inside of her cheek and forced her face to return to a neutral frown. “It’s been too long.”

Now under control, Vera let herself smirk, “Not long enough.” She looked up, pocketing her phone and acknowledging him. “Seth.” She could see Wolf in her peripheral vision, just totally lost.

“Ah, so it’s like that then,” Seth said, but he seemed to shrug it off. He was a tall guy, his hair slicked back. He dressed somewhat stylishly, but overall it was a loose, causal look. “So, this really is the new guy then, is he? Come on Vera, you can do better than this.”

“Funny, I remember thinking the same thing right before I broke up with you,” Vera shot back, not missing a beat. Seth actually made a show of taking a step back, as if her words had held physical impact.

“Just as fiery as ever I see,” he grinned, still not seeming all that perturbed. “We should really catch up, Vera.”

“We really shouldn’t,” Vera’s expression turned indifferent once more. Trading snipes had been fun, but she was done with Seth.

“Oh, but we have so much unfinished business.” He spoke with more emphasis now, stepping forward to punctuate his sentence.

“I don't think we do. Come on,” she motioned with her head for Wolf to follow as she began walking.

“Vera.” Seth grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Don’t.” Wolf immediately bristled. Seth had just gone and crossed a line.

“You heard him.” Vera just stared Seth down. He finally relented, letting go and holding his hands up in surrender.

“All right, all right,” Seth sighed. “Calm down little guy, you pout when you get upset. Not a good look.” He shot Vera a look that plainly said ‘Really? This guy?’ And then brushed past them.

“So, umm, who-?” Wolf blinked in confusion once Seth was gone.

“Oh him? Come on, you were there when I dumped him.” Vera smiled slyly.

“S-so he was the one-”

“Before you, yes. Now let’s go, I want new shoes.” She gave him a not so gentle push to resume their journey.

Part 1

At The Blackgate Household

Andras chewed her cereal slowly. Despite it being late in the afternoon at this point, she had only been awake for an hour or so. Of course, such is the price to pay for being a demon of the night.

Or at least, that’s what she would have said, but as she took another spoonful she thought about how she was surrounded by actual demons this time. It was a very good source of information about demons, but it was also not the best situation to be in for someone who went around calling herself a Demon Lady of Despair.

‘I’ll have to redouble my efforts. I know much more about what demons are like now!’ Andras nodded to herself as she read the back of her cereal box. She spotted two differences between the two pictures on the back. She studied it intently, trying to find the remaining four.

Andras would perhaps have been distracted by the sound of the household’s front door opening and closing, followed by the apparently angry clicking and clacking of heels across the hardwood floor and then the kitchen tiles.

It was Vera, of course. Much to Mona’s dismay, Vera had practically moved in along with Andras. Vera was hardly necessary, Andras needed protection, yes, but that was what Victor was for. Vera was just sort of there to observe and make sure no one did anything stupid.

That was unfortunately a highly probable event considering the residents.

Vera had a few shopping bags slung over her arms. She hadn’t stopped at just shoes in the end, though she was indeed wearing a new pair of heels with cute little bows on them. She’d felt the need for something cute to calm her down. It hadn’t worked.

No, she needed something else. And now, looking at Andras, she had an idea. Well, OK, she’d had the idea a while ago.

“Hey, Denim Lady, got any plans tonight?” Vera dropped her bags on the floor and dragged a chair over next to Andras and took a seat, crossing her legs, propping up an elbow and leaning in close. “Who am I kidding, no you don’t. Go out with me tonight.”

Before Andras could respond indignantly about her name being incorrectly said, she stopped for a moment. ‘Go out?! Like-’ Andras caught herself. ‘We’re friends… I’m sure she means as friends. What am I even thinking?’ Andras considered her errant thoughts may be due to bunking with actual demons. She couldn’t see if that was a bad or good thing yet.

“I was planning on…” She scratched her head for a moment. Nothing was coming to her head, not that she expected anything anyway. Most of the last week was resting and conferring with William. “Hanging out with you, Vera!” Andras gave a smile. Andras had started thinking that acting saccharinely friendly around Vera gave good results… Sometimes.

“Sure you were.” Vera shook her head, but whatever. That’s what she wanted anyway. She’d see just how much of a creature of the night Andras really was. “Good, then we need to dress you. I refuse to be associated with a girl who looks like a boy because of her poor fashion sense.” She got back up and began rifling through the bags. She began pulling out little pieces of cloth.

Andras would soon realize that the tiny pieces of cloth were meant to be clothing. There was no way they could cover everything.

“I don’t really understand the boy part of that, but… What is this all?” Andras twirled a piece around her finger, not sure exactly what it was supposed to be. “Demonic garb? Like the girls around here talk about?”

“No, it’s modern fashion. It’ll make you cute… Well, cuter. I think you have potential.” Vera winked at her. “Anyway, I got extra. Take a look through it. I’ll be back in a minute.” She grabbed a few pieces for herself and walked off to the guest room to change.

When she returned, she still clicked and clacked, but her heels were about twice as high as before and looked like they could kill someone. Her skirt was so short it was only just barely long enough to cover what was necessary, but she still had on shorts underneath, though the emphasis was on short. Her top was like a t-shirt, but it left her shoulders and collarbone exposed, as well as her midriff. The back of her top had many slats cut in it, as if she wasn’t already showing off enough skin. The only thing missing was it being low cut, but then it probably would have just fallen clean off.

“How do I look?” Vera asked but then turned her attention back to Andras. “Did you come up with anything good?”

Andras had a few different articles of clothing in her hands. A miniskirt was around her neck, and her expression was that of utter confusion. “How did you take this and wear it like that?!” Andras leaned forward, eyes growing wide. “Is that your power?! To wear impossible clothing?!”

Vera’s jaw just hung open when she was able to take stock of what Andras had done.

“I-it’s just a skirt. You pull it up like a pair of pants, except easier because there are no legs!” Vera snapped, totally astonished at Andras’s incompetence. “Ugh!” She stomped over to Andras, pulled her to her feet, and then in a flash dropped down, effectively pantsing Andras and then ripping the skirt off of her head and pushing it into her hands. “You were already wearing a skirt! Just replace it with this one!” She then grabbed a stringy, strappy, lime green tank-top and threw that at Andras as well. “And here’s your top, now go change!” And finally, shoved her toward the guest bedroom before witnesses could see her pantsless state.

Andras looked at the miniskirt in her hands. It was a skirt. Her eyes narrowed. Vera called it a skirt. Her eyes narrowed further. Andras had recently come to dislike skirts. Thus, Andras disliked the thing in her hands. She stood there, disliking the skirt for some time.

A sharp knock on the door (maybe closer to a pound, really) made her realize that she was supposed to at least try to put the clothing on. It was for a friend. A friend. Even if it meant wearing a skirt.

After pulling on her skirt, she grudgingly removed her hoodie as well. Andras was concerned about this color scheme Vera had given her, but she didn’t have any room to argue. Argument with Vera wasn’t… good. She felt exposed wearing something with so much skin showing. She hadn’t dealt with anything that didn’t cover her shoulders for at least a year now.

Meekly opening the door, Andras looked around for Vera. “I have some complaints about this clothing…” Andras mumbled, not really wanting to be heard for fear of what may come afterward.

Vera let out a little squeak when Andras finally showed herself, and then clapped happily. “I’m a genius!” She approved. The swirly little skirt was cuter than her own, though less provocative, but it suited Andras’s more meager frame. The bright tank top was more casual, but still showy. It was like looking at a whole other person now that Andras was finally out from under her hoodie.

She grabbed Andras’s shoulders and pulled her in, “Muah! Muah!” She kissed one cheek, then the other. “OK, now try this!” She might be getting into this a bit too much, now wanting to play dress with using all the new things she’d bought on Andras. That said, she was dating Wolf. She was used to hearing little mumbled complaints. Perhaps this was not just her messing around but a tiny apology for being so forceful with the girl.

This could be argued, because she came back with something that perhaps Andras would appreciate a little more. Shorts, and very short ones at that, and a top that had longer sleeves, going to the elbow. The sleeves were more like a crisscross of fabric, with holes going all the way down, but at least they were sleeves. That said, the top barely went half-way down the waist. You win some you lose some, or so they say. The shorts also had chains dangling from the belt for some added flash.

“Go go go, I wanna see!” And not giving her any time to protest, Andras was once more shoved into the room.

Andras was glad that the new shirt had sleeves. And the other part seemed to not be a skirt… It was still far to short. As she put on the shorts, she could feel the slightest draft on her legs.

She cracked the door and peeked at Vera. “Vera! I’ve worn underwear that cover more than these shorts!” Andras’s usual demonic prose had broke under the new experience of Vera’s clothing choices. In the back of her mind Andras knew a demon would never talk about her underwear. But this was a dire situation.

“Oh please, what are you wearing, granny panties? Your butt isn’t even showing… right?” Vera dragged the girl and spun her around to look at her. “Nope, they fit, you’re good!” And once more she gave Andras a forced about face. “Very good.” Vera smirked. “I do know my stuff! We’ll have to get you new shoes on the way. Can’t have you wearing mine. That’s gross and they need to fit right anyway.”

Part 2

Vera let Andras pick from a store on the end, with the girl choosing heeled knee-high boots, though with Vera making sure she picked a pair that didn’t clash with her outfit. Boots weren’t what she would have gone with personally, but she wanted to keep the girl from backing out on her, and so she got her way.

And thus, with the sun now slowly sinking down over the horizon, they reached their destination, now appropriately dolled up, much to Vera’s approval. That said, they’d ended up in a somewhat seedy neighborhood. The streets weren’t as clean and the usage of neon lights seemed to increase proportionally with the grime.

They were at a dingy little nightclub that Vera had visited once in the past, and honestly she was surprised it was still there. They often changed ownership and thus name, but this was almost exactly as she recalled it. Good. She needed this. She needed to let loose and blow off steam.

She suddenly linked arms with Andras and took her up to the door and the bouncer who blocked their way.

“Working here now, huh?” Vera apparently knew the man. They had a tendency to bounce, pun not intended, from club to club. “What’d you do, beat up the wrong guest?” She snarked. She then pulled Andras closer still. “She’s with me.”

The man just rolled his eyes and waved them inside. The inside resembled the outside, just louder. The music was bassy and seemed to largely be remixed rock songs rather than typical electronic music lacking vocals.

There were a few sitting areas scattered around the edge, most sporting torn, flattened cushions held together with dreams and duct tape. Then, there was the main floor filled with people dancing. Dancing might have been too kind a way to put it, considering the gross disregard of personal space and lack of grace.

Vera took a deep breath, “It’s good to be home.”

Andras felt the need to cover her ears. The music was so loud in here. It didn’t feel like it was coming from any one direction, it was like she was somehow always in the center of it. She knew deep down that covering her ears would be pointless, because she’d need to use her hands sometime. But she felt the need to. “W-What are we going to do here?” Andras asked, her voice drowned out by the music. Trying again, she tapped on Vera’s shoulder, and almost shouted, “What are we going to do in this place anyway?!”

Vera reached inside the small purse she had slung over her shoulder and then stepped up to Andras. She reached up, taking both of the girl’s hands and gently, almost sensually pulling them away from her ears.

“Shhhh, just let it wash over you…” Plop! And suddenly Andras felt something pushed into her ears. Ear plugs? Vera did the same for herself. “Just kidding, no amount of partying is worth my hearing and the following headache.” She looked directly at Andras as she spoke, letting the girl read her lips. “I’ve been at this a while and seen way too many people end up with tinnitus.”

She then grinned, like a hungry shark in her element, once more taking Andras’s hands. “And what we’re going to do… is teach you to dance. The fun way.” And so Andras was dragged to the dance floor, first at arms length, but then a sharp tug that practically had her pressed right up against Vera.

“You’re not claustrophobic are you?” Again, Vera was looking right into her eyes, close enough for them to feel each other’s breath.

Andras let out a squeak of surprise. She had gathered what Vera’s idea of “dancing” was, but she didn’t expect to be thrust into it so quickly. “I-I’m not! I don’t think so, at least…” Andras definitely was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t due to any kind of phobia. She couldn’t keep up eye contact with Vera; something about it was embarrassing her. Andras turned her head. “I’ve never danced before, so, I don’t know if we should be doing this…” Andras gave a weak excuse to try and weasel out of the situation.

“I figured, but that’s why I’m teaching you, now isn’t it?” Vera felt a bit of pity. She’d been in Andras’s position once. Overwhelmed by lights, sounds, smells, and people. But then she’d gotten used to it. Addicted to it. Surrounded and hemmed in by people and yet undeniably free. The constant yearning for more was liberating as it steadily dragged her out of her comfort zone.

It had taught her that one’s “comfort zone” was just a self-inflicted prison that locked away everything life had to offer.

“Relax, just feel the music and follow my lead.” Vera stroked Andras’s cheek with the back of her hand in an attempt to comfort her. She also positioned herself so that she stood between Andras and the bulk of the crowd, letting the overwhelmed girl focus on her rather than the mass of strangers that threatened to swallow them.

Maybe it was all too much, maybe she was really here for her own selfish desires. Maybe she’d only brought Andras along as an excuse. But still, part of her really did think she was helping Andras, even if it was just a side-effect of her own hedonistic desires.

Andras realized quickly that things were best if she just kept her eyes forward. She had to keep up with Vera’s danci- strange movements, and her desire to look at the ground or the walls made it impossible to keep up with her. ‘L-Like some kind of basilisk. Wait, that’s the opposite of the situation right now. I can’t even remember my mythical-’ Andras stumbled slightly, bumping into her dance partner. She took a quick glance at the crowd, and the lights and the entire club. ‘Should I really be thinking about mythical creatures right now anyway?’ That thought crossed her mind briefly.

Andras wasn’t really sure of herself, even when she settled into a rhythm with Vera. Personally, the music was slightly off of what she’d listen to normally… And played way too loud, of course. The earplugs helped with that, at the very least. Andras was slightly fascinated with Vera, however. She seemed less… annoyed than she was… all the time. ‘I guess this is what she likes to do?’ Andras pondered.

Andras stumbled again slightly. Though her boots only had a small heel to them, she wasn’t quite familiar with them enough to not have a hard time keeping up. “H-How do you do this all the time…” Andras wondered aloud, her breathing elevated from the dancing.

“Hm?” Vera almost seemed in a trance like state until Andras pulled her out of it. “It’s easy now. That tension you feel, you have to let go of it. What you’re feeling is your desires pulling against all those dumb shackles you put on them. I’m not saying go out and steal a TV, but I am saying that in here, you need to just stop caring. Stop assuming anyone really cares. Just let it all bleed out of you and let what’s deep inside tell you what to do.”

A devious look slipped onto Vera’s face, “I mean, once you’re really used to it, and you get used to people, you can even just go grab a stranger and dance. Watch.” She pulled away from Andras and slid back into some other girl, pressing herself back-to-back with her. “They don’t mind!” She raised her voice so Andras could at least kind of hear her. “Do you honey?” she reached up over her shoulder to cup the girls cheek, but then grinned and just smacked her ass.

“Hey!- Oh my gosh, Vera?!” The girl went from confused to overjoyed, flinging herself at Vera.

“OK, I cheated, I know this one.” Vera admitted. That said, to be fair, long before the girl had recognized Vera, she’d seemed perfectly fine with Vera’s dancing up against her and even touching her face. So maybe she’d been telling the truth.

“Come on, you and your cute little friend follow me, we have a little spot in the corner!” The girl took Vera and Andras’s hands and pulled her over to a large corner shaped sofa next to a glass table that once upon a time had probably been transparent but now was decidedly opaque. Vera was soon excitedly bantering away with the girl and a few of her friends. For a moment, almost seeming to forget about Andras.

Then, things got a bit awkward. Perhaps it wasn’t a surprise, but soon little pills were being passed around, and white sweaty with runny makeup and generally disheveled appearances, none of the girls actually seemed sick. Once could only guess what the true natures of the pills were, but some already seemed dazed, manic, or just had far-away looks on their faces.

Soon enough, a pill had made its way into Andras’s hand. Vera had one too, and she popped it into her mouth. But then, a second later when no eyes were on Andras, Vera’s hand shot out and swiped the pill from her hands, shoving it into her waistband. Vera winked at her, and faked a cough, and hid the one she’d pretended to take as well…

Andras tried to keep her cool, her stomach sinking for a moment. Putting aside her stint as a demon (which she had at this point due to everything around her), she was definitely too afraid of what could happen to try it. She knew that she was with a different crowd than she was used to… But whatever was being passed around wouldn’t have been good anyway. She nodded to Vera in a silent expression of gratitude. ‘I-I knew she was good at heart!’ Andras secretly rejoiced.

And then, about fifteen minutes later… the rush had faded. The blur the night had become was suddenly at a screeching halt. The girl that had recognized Vera had just gone and passed out. Some of the others were in a similar state or had wandered off to who knows where to do who knew what.

Vera sat there, a blank expression on her face despite being perfectly sober. She broke out of it only momentarily to tilt the unconscious girl’s head slightly so she wouldn’t choke if she happened to vomit.

And then her face just fell into her hands. A bit ago she’d seemed downright blissful. Now she just seemed… defeated, somehow.

Even Andras, who was out of her element, had noticed the shift. Keeping a respectful distance, she leaned slightly in towards Vera. “Um… Are you alright, Vera?” She asked as softly as she could while still being heard. Thinking quickly, Andras added, “And uh. Thanks for saving me before.” Andras awkwardly motioned to her open palm, to call back to a few minutes earlier.

“I didn’t want to spit it out…” Vera finally said, voice shaky. “I didn’t want to save you. I wanted to get high with you… or just take yours for myself. Either would be better than this. Just numb surrounded by a bunch of zombies.” She glanced at the people who hadn’t shown so much restraint.

Andras swallowed. “Numb? But… You were having a lot of fun before, right?” She recalled it all. “P-Plus, can’t we have fun without, well, drugs?” Andras had trouble saying that last part. She could hear the anti-drug commercial theme music playing in the distance. She felt distinctly uncool, from both her own definition and what she assumed Vera’s definition to be.

“I was having fun, because I was following my rules!” Vera snapped. “And now I’ve stepped right back into my shackles!” She leaned back into the couch, arms crossed, finger tapping away with such impatience it was practically a blur.

Then, suddenly, a pair of hands came down on Vera’s shoulders. Vera tilted her head back, actually looking hopeful, perhaps it was someone who could drag her out of the slump she’d fallen right back into.

Again. The little back-flip in her heart, the almost relieved, joyful parting of her lips before they firmly pressed back together in a thin line. Fucking Seth.

Was he stalking her now?

“Vera, Vera, Vera,” he spoke. “You look suspiciously unfulfilled. Don’t tell me they left you out,” he asked her. His fingers slid across her bare shoulders as he stepped around the couch.

“What can I say. They only had the cheap shit. Doesn’t do anything for me anymore,” she told him. It was her usual sass, yet somehow it felt subdued. Weak.

The bite was missing.

He slid down next to her, arm draped around her, forcing himself down between her and Andras. He pulled out something, not all that dissimilar from what had been passed around before.

“Then how about something a little better.” He chuckled at something. “I can tell you want it. It’s in your eyes.” Suspiciously, Vera didn’t have a comeback this time. He held it up in front of his lips and then leaned in toward her.

Vera was sure he did see something in her eyes. She could feel the pull toward what he held and... The next thing she knew they were face-to-face. She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling it away, but then she leaned even closer to him, lips parted slightly and barely more than a hair’s breadth from his.

She let out a breath slowly, “Fuck you, Seth,” she hissed and pushed him off of her. She had one rule. If she was done with Wolf, if she wanted someone else, she’d make damn sure Wolf knew about it beforehand. “Andras,” in the heat of the moment, she just threw out the girl’s fake name. “Get up. We’re leaving.”

“Oh are you?” This time Seth sounded quite impatient. “I told you, we have unfinished business. I was TRYING to be nice about it!”

“And I said we don’t!” Vera didn’t sound in control anymore the way she just shouted at him, a hint if panic and desperation in her voice.

“I don’t care what you say, facts are facts. Or have you forgotten that little break you and your little boy toy took from each other. Came running back to me right quick you did,” Seth told her, a sinister gleam in his eyes. “Got real deep in things too. And you made quite a mess when you left.”

“Fuck off, Seth! That’s not fa-”

“And my my, how many memories you left me with to share.” Seth had pulled out his phone and was swiping through it. “Particularly fond of this one.” He held it up, displaying a picture of him and Vera hanging all over each other. Vera looked out of her mind with bliss, her skin glistening, but her eyes sort of glassy and unfocused. “Went right back to the way things were! Best week of our lives, wasn’t it!?” Seth grinned madly, one hand gripping the back of the sofa like a talon. His whole body was tense, as if he were a predator ready to pounce.

“I said we’re leaving!” Vera, looking more vulnerable than ever, actually sounded ready to cry. She grabbed Andras and hurried them out of the nightclub, just picking a direction once they were outside and walking…

Part 3

“Vera! What’s the matter, Vera?!” Andras followed and grabbed her friend’s hand, trying to stop her. “I don’t know what all of that was, but I’ve never seen you like this!”

“Nothing! Forget you saw anything!” Vera made to pull away from Andras, but suddenly couldn’t find the strength. Her whole body felt like rubber and she was trembling terribly.

Andras was taken aback for a moment. Almost everyone knew Vera as, well, Vera. Synonymous with at least one swear word. But this was something different entirely.

‘Vera needs a friend right now!’ Andras knew it. Andras didn’t want to see Vera trembling like that. Andras quickly embraced Vera, hugging her tightly.

“Vera, I can’t forget something like that! Can’t I help you somehow?” Andras said, sniffling a little. She can’t imagine how Vera must feel if her normal act broke down the way it did.

Vera for the second time found herself being embraced by Andras. This time, however, it was out of pity. It made it much harder to swallow. She didn’t want to be pitied. If she was being given pity, it meant she was weak. And that meant she wasn’t in control.

“I don’t want help,” Vera forced her way out of Andras’s arms. “I just want to be left alone!” That wasn’t quite right. “I… I don’t want to see him ever again.”

Andras’s arms stayed up, even after Vera broke away from her. She thought for a moment, and spoke up again, “Then… Let’s get out of here and go somewhere else. You know of other places, right? Let’s forget about him!”

“Yeah… all right.” She had an idea. A place that’d make her feel better whether she liked it or not. Her idea was short lived as two men she unfortunately recognized stepped out of the club. She turned around and saw another man stepping out of a nearby alleyway. “Andras, listen carefully. Stay right behind me…” she told her.

She reached a hand into her purse and began steadily walking down the street, toward the solitary man, making sure Andras had listened to her.

As expected, the man blocked her path, with the other two coming up behind them.

“Decided to piss him off, eh?” he said to her, just sounding tired.

“It’s my specialty,” Vera said and then suddenly pulled a cylinder out of her purse. With the click of a button an orange cloud spurted out into the man’s face. He let out a cry of pain and stumbled back. Then, with a flick of her wrist the cylinder extended into a baton and she cracked it against the back of his knee. “Go!” she shouted to Andras and broke into a run.

Andras didn’t really have time to react to the situation. But she trusted Vera enough to know that it was time to run. Andras had a brief moment of admiration at Vera’s moves, but that was fairly short lived as Andras ran after Vera. “W-Where are we going, Vera? Who was that?!”

“No time, talk later!” Vera insisted. She’d just had to pick stilettos, hadn’t she? She’d be lucky if she didn’t break her ankle, but more likely the shoes would snap. Somehow, neither came to pass and by carefully picking which twists and turns to take through the streets, they managed to shake their pursuers.

They found themselves in a small park. And a park mercifully meant benches to sit down on and catch their breath.

“Fuck…” Vera muttered once they were sitting. “I fucked it all up. Tonight is miserable. You’re miserable aren’t you?” She couldn’t even look at Andras.

Andras panted, holding her hands at her sides. “I’m not… Miserable…” She took a few more moments to catch her breath. “I’m amazed! I wasn’t aware you had such skills, Vera! You totally took that guy out!” Andras looked away, a little embarrassed. “It’s been so different from what I’m used to, Vera. But it’s not miserable… Because you’re a good friend.” Andras moved closer to Vera on the bench.

Vera stared at Andras, mouth open, but words didn’t come out. She just couldn’t comprehend this girl. She called herself a demon, a being of despair, and yet there was an undeniable purity to her. No one was truly pure or innocent, but compared to herself? She might as well have been fresh fallen snow.

Somehow being called a good friend hurt. She couldn’t even laugh it off. She just slowly looked away from her. For once, she was just truly out of things to say.

Andras cast a sideways glance towards Vera. ‘S-She’s quiet. I hope I didn’t say anything wrong… I can’t just ask why she’s quiet!’ Andras wasn’t sure what to do now.

“Did you really think you could just run away?” A voice echoed out, seeming to come from nowhere. It didn’t sound quite natural either. “We’re in my element now, after all. Sun’s gone. Or did you forget, Vera?”

From beneath one of the trees in the park, the ground seemed to grow a tumor, turning into a mass of shadows that melted away to leave someone standing before them. Seth. So much for Vera’s wish to never see him again.

And Vera could only stare, the fight long gone from her.

“You really hurt me, you know that? You’re with me, then him, then me, and then him again. You just can’t make up your mind, can you?” He let out a wry laugh. “I get it. I’m just too much for you. You want to be the one in charge, and that little peon just goes right along with you.” He took a deep breath. “You act like you want this life, but every time you delve just a little to deep, you end up getting scared and running off. You can’t keep up.”

That was the thing about Seth. He’d been born with dark powers, from some shadowy god. He’d always acted so fatalistic, like he was fated for the life he’d ended up in. Lying, thieving, and all manner of unsavory activities. He’d just let it become his identity. He’d acted like he’d embraced the darkness inside him and mastered it.

“You’re wrong…” Vera spoke quietly. “I was with him… because he came to me. I went back to you because he walked away. And then he came back. He made up my mind for me.” She looked up at him. “So you just shut your mouth.” She stood and marched over to him. “You’re so weak. You think you were dealt some dark hand you’ve made the most of? That’s nothing compared to what he’d been dealt and he’s still the same person. And you… you just let yourself get swallowed.” And finally Vera’s gaze regained the hard, scorching stare that burned through people. “See? I told you. I knew I could do bett-”

CRACK!

The sound echoed through the otherwise empty park as Seth’s hand same across Vera’s face.

“I’m done. You left me hanging, Vera. One way or another, you’re going to pay me back and I assure you, no amount of your family’s money will cut it,” he seethed. Black veins surged around his eyes, the shadows around him seeming to gain a life of their own as he stood over the fallen Vera.

“Stop right now!” Andras shot up, and her cards were summoned to her hand instantly. The seven pinpoints of light fanned out. “Get away from her. I won’t let you hurt Vera!”

“Run along, why don’t you. I don’t think you’re in a position to let me do anything or not.” He looked at her like she was an afterthought. An afterthought he had no qualms about crushing if she didn’t leave.

Andras’s eye narrowed, and she grabbed one of her cards. “You’re rather confident, challenging a demon.” She threw the card into the ground, and whispered a summoning chant. “Flamekin avenger… Come to me from the ashes of Lorwyn!”

The card burst into flames, and within the burst came a strange being. Wearing a gnarled wooden mask, it was a being of pure flame. It illuminated the park around it with its brilliant fire. It wielded two swords that seemed to turn red with its own heat.

Andras leveled her hand on Seth. “Protect Vera!”

The flamekin elemental dashed forward with incredible speed, its twin swords slashing at Seth.

“What?!” Seth clearly hadn't expected that. He tried to wrap the shadows around him, but as the creature closed in, they just seemed to dissolved. “Dammit!” He jumped back toward a tree, tendrils of shadow snaking out to draw him away, vanishing much the same way he’d appeared.

“Careful…” Vera said, pushing herself up to a kneeling position. “He can pop up anywhere.”

“Quite!” And suddenly, from the now stark shadow cast by the park bench behind Andras, he reappeared, vaulting over it to kick at Andras.

Andras was taken off guard, and despite her best effort at dodging she couldn’t quite evade the kick. Andras’s breath was knocked out of her for a moment, and she stumbled back, but managed to catch herself before she fell over. She reached for her cards. ‘I can’t take any chances. I’ve gotta end this quick!’ In a flash, her fiery elemental lashed out towards Seth, and at the same time she readied to summon.

“Custodian of Serra’s Realm! Banish the darkness!” Two cards streaked into the sky, and with a flash of light Andras summoned an angel. Its wings stretched out, spanning across the moon, and it brandished a gleaming sword that caught the moonlight.

For a moment, Seth was both in awe of the Angel, and horrified as it became far too difficult to manifest a proper shadow. These thoughts became secondary as the fire elemental assaulted him, leaving him scorched, bleeding, and desperately trying to crawl away.

Who the hell was this girl? Where was she getting these creatures from!? He needed to find a proper shadow! Any shadow!

The fire elemental held up a sword to keep striking, but Andras motioned to stop. “Make sure he doesn’t get away.” Her two summons surrounded Seth. Andras, on the other hand, walked to Vera. “You’re okay, right?” Andras extended a hand to Vera.

“Yeah…” Vera had to fish around for Andras’s hand for a moment, her eyes locked on the angelic being that had been summoned. Andras… could do that? She had been vaguely aware that she had cards which could summon things, but not of the full extent.

She’d completely nullified Seth’s abilities in seconds. Maybe it was just luck that Andras had possessed those cards, but it was nothing but impressive at the end of the day that it was still something she was capable of.

“One second…” Vera stepped away, going over to Seth. “So, now what?”

“G-get these things away from me!” he half-demanded half-pleaded.

“Say it, then.”

“Wh-”

“Do we have any unfinished business?” Vera glowered down at him. His face twisted up in rage, but then he glanced at the glowing swords around him. “Well?”

“No…” he spoke under his breath.

“What was that?”

“We have no unfinished business! Now let me go!” he spat out.

“Good. Just keep in mind that she’s not even the scariest person I keep around.” She then glanced back at Andras. “Maybe close competition for my favorite, though.”

She then knelt down next to him and pulled his phone from his pocket.

“What are you-”

“I just realized something. Why this has been so very hard for you,” she spoke with a false sympathy in her voice. An exaggerated crooning. She grabbed his hand to use his fingerprint and unlocked the phone. “I left you with all those painful memories right?” And then all sympathy was gone. “Delete… delete… delete...” she said coldly. Picture after picture until it was all gone. “There. The cord’s cut.” And with that she unceremoniously dropped the phone next to him. “All right, let the idiot go.”

‘For favorite?!’ Andras did a double take. She tried to keep her cool, considering she just subdued Vera’s attacker, but she wanted to squeal with excitement. She managed to contain it all somehow.

Andras motioned for the flamekin and angel to stand down. She watched Seth stalk off into the shadows. “That being all said… I think I may have gone overboard with my summoning.” She regarded the angel and flaming swordsman before them. “But we’re both okay, so it’s fine, right?” She looked at Vera, smiling a little.

“Yeah… after that I’d say I’m pretty OK.” Vera smiled back. She wasn’t in a blissful trance and she was being snarky. She was none of the things she’d been throughout the day before. She just looked… at peace. “But yeah we’re gonna attract a lot of attention if we walk back with those things around. Can you… put them away, or?” Slowly, that look of peace faded -- but it had been there.

Andras scratched her chin. “Well… Not particularly. The angel can hide out in the sky, but… Hm. I think I know a place for now. We’ll need to take a little detour.” Andras gestured to the angel, who took off into the sky with a flush of her wings.

Andras knew of a place to let the flamekin stay. She left him with the Vigilantes’s base of operations. She figured later on she could handle out what to do with him; She knew he was definitely a good fighter.

Epilogue

With Andras’s “pets” stowed away safely, one could hope, it was time to call it a night and head home. Well, it wasn’t really home for either of them, but for now the Blackgate household was where they were staying. As they reached the front door, Vera stopped Andras.

“Look… uhh… you really helped me out tonight, OK?” she told her. “So…” Genuine gratitude wasn’t something she expressed often. It felt awkward to say the least. And to some goofy nerd who called herself a demon no less. “Y-y-you use some sort of mana… contract… thing, right?”

“Vera!” Andras cried with excitement. “You’re saying that you’d be okay with it?!” Andras took Vera’s hand, almost bouncing with excitement.

Vera pulled her head back a bit. Okay with it? “Does… it hurt? Am I on the hook for anything? Should I not be OK with it?” Was this a bigger decision than she’d thought?

Andras hugged Vera tightly, squeezing her. “It doesn’t hurt! I just didn’t want to try to pressure you into it. It has to be real friendship!” Andras sniffled once more, holding back tears of joy.

“. . .” Real… friendship? “O. . .K. . .” Was she sure she was a demon? “So are you gonna do it, or what? How’s this work?”

Andras giggled a little. “It’s already done- I mean, we’ve gotta hug for a little longer.”

It was done by hugging. Because of course it was. “You are literally the second worst demon I’ve ever met.” Vera smirked. “Fine.” She was fully aware that Andras was lying to her, but... “By the way, as far as anyone else is concerned, tonight never happened…” She glanced about, just to be sure no one was watching... and decided that she was not a woman of half-measures. She hugged the “demon,” who sucked at being a demon, back properly.

---

Part 1

The sounds of fist meeting flesh and bone were not enough to rouse Rurik. He simply lay reclined atop a short, concrete wall, eyes closed. It had been a good twenty minutes into the usual 1-hour slug-fest that was being hosted. There was a group of dissidents, many, but not all, from Mephisto’s who enjoyed beating the tar out of each other.

For the moment, the sounds of fighting subsided. The latest match had drawn to a close. The winner being… who gave a shit, he was sleepy.

“All right, who’s next?” the organizer asked.

“I’ll go,” a newcomer spoke. Rurik didn’t recognize his voice, but he sounded… green.

“Good good, the newbie. Should be interesting… uhhh-”

“I wanna fight him!”

“Yeah, good luck with that. Pretty sure he’s asleep.”

“Then wake him up!”

Rurik cracked an eye open, “you talkin’ to me?”

“Damn straight! I’ve heard about you!” The green kid, head with buzzed short hair and an almost hilariously stereotypical punk look, stepped closer, pointing at him. “You’ve got a name around here. I want it.” The kid was literally wearing a leather vest with nothing underneath it. He was trying to hard to be tough.

“Sure. I now dub thee Sir Rurik the Second. Have fun.” Rurik shut his eyes again.

“Don’t mess with me!”

“I told you, kid, good luck with that-”

“Fine, fine. Be that way.” Rurik sighed and rolled off the wall, landing with something resembling grace on both feet. “Let’s get this over with then.” Normally he ignored random challenges, but today was different. Because… it just was, he supposed. This kid wasn’t even trying to steal Christine like a good fifty-percent of the people who called him out.

“Well all right then. King of the Ring stepping up early today,” the organizer grinned and chuckled. “Or rather, he’s stepping up at all.”

Rurik walked to the ring, garnering the attention of all those in attendance. Rurik was known for his unusually high win-ratio, when he bothered to participate, so they all wanted to see this.

“When I beat you, I’m gonna have the reputation around here! I’m going straight to the top!” Green smirked.

“I’m sure,” Rurik yawned. “Come on then, I’m getting bored already!”

“Well, let’s not have that! BEGIN!” The organizer called.

The kid charged at Rurik, but Rurik just leaned aside. His leg shot up like it was spring loaded, and his knee hammered the kid in the gut. Green stumbled back and collapsed to all fours, the fight being knocked right out of him. To be fair, it was hard to keep it up when you couldn’t breathe.

Rurik just walked over and stepped on the back of his head, pinning him, “Please. Don’t get up.” He then leaned over, close to his ear. “People like you shouldn’t get cocky.” And with that, he increased the pressure, grinding the kid’s head into the ground.

Tap-tap! And finally, yet within near record time, Green tapped out.

“Well, that was barely even worth watching.” The organizer shrugged. Everyone else was similarly disappointed, but not surprised. Some newbie had challenged Rurik and lost. It had gone just about how they’d expected, if perhaps a bit more suddenly than they’d thought.

Rurik returned to his wall, once more closing his eyes, but it seemed he’d have no peace.

“King of the Ring, eh? Shouldn’t that be reserved for the strong and undefeated?” It was a female voice. He opened his eyes, momentarily startled to see another pair staring down at him. It seemed someone else was perched upon his wall.

Her. Having fought so many people, Rurik had a vague idea of the power ranking in the school. Clara was at the top, of course. Then there was Gilliam. A newcomer, but nigh unstoppable. And then there were those who participated in the fights. Rurik had earned his title for a reason. He’d been dragged into an unusually large number of battles and won most of them. But there were three who could beat him. They were the three strongest of the school in most people’s eyes, but most didn’t count Clara, and many didn’t know about Gilliam.

Then again, maybe they could beat Gilliam. Well, maybe she could anyway.

She had dyed green hair to match her eyes, cut shorter on the sides, and had a myriad of piercings. Unlike the newbie, her appearance seemed to suit her. And he knew full well she wasn’t trying too hard. She’d absolutely destroyed him, and of all the people he’d fought, she was the one he most wanted to avoid fighting ever again.

Her powers were chemical in nature. She could poison others, or make herself stronger. Much, much stronger. She wasn’t the strongest of the three, she’d probably fall in the middle, but she was just miserable to deal with. The strongest didn’t really participate in fights much anymore. No one wanted to face him.

He’d shown up to the fighting ring once, likely just to dispel any rumors that Rurik could beat him. Other than that, he was quiet and no one knew much about him. Rurik couldn’t even say for sure what his powers were, but the fight hadn’t lasted long…

“What? Jealous, Anna?” Rurik asked her, deadpan.

“Jealous of you? Never. Just let me know when you want that rematch, hm? I’m getting bored of tormenting all these weaklings.” She smiled darkly.

“Cool. I’ll check my schedule.” The way he said it made it quite clear he would be doing no such thing.

“I’ll give you one thing, Rurik. You don’t scare easily. Quite the attractive trait.” And then suddenly she blew a puff of air in his face, causing him to flinch and pull away quickly. “Whoops! Guess I was wrong about that!”

“Bitch…” Rurik muttered under his breath. “If you want a challenge, why not Caleb?”

“Oh no, I could never,” she placed a hand over her heart, looking shocked he would suggest such a thing. “I can’t get in the way of you two’s little romance, now can I?”

Caleb, number three. He had dumpstered Rurik twice. The only one of the three Rurik had actually had a rematch with. He seemed to target Rurik, and he definitely had his eyes on Christine. Not a unique trait, but he was one of the few who could actually try and muscle in on Rurik. It would have been cathartic to see him choke, literally, against Annabelle.

“Of course you can’t,” Rurik narrowed his eyes. He slid off the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. It was time to go.

“Going somewhere Rurik?” Thobias walked up to the others, his arms swung out on both sides in surprise. “I thought you were king of the arena, or something. I thought it meant you’d watch all these scrubs beat each other up."

Thobias took a quick glance around, his hypersensitive pupils quickly assessing the gathered rabble. Most of them were low tier wannabes from Mephisto, but he spotted a few who looked like though opponents. Of course, one of them was Rurik.

Oh good, it was Thobias. Rurik really wasn’t sure how to feel about this. He was pretty sure Thobias didn’t like him, and while Rurik had no strong feelings one way or the other, he wasn’t exactly happy to see him. They’d worked together well enough under pressure, but there was no such pressure bringing them together anymore.

“Anywhere but here,” Rurik replied. “But don’t worry, Mr. Taxi. Your services won’t be required.”

Thobias laughed at the notion, sarcasm hinted in the way he laughed. He didn’t like being thought of as only someone who can help them move around. After all, that was the only reason he came here after all.

“Oh, I’ll never give services to you again, puke boy.” Oh yes, he remembered that. He looked around, his eyes looking for the attention of the crowd. “Yeah, Mr King here threw up cause he couldn’t handle his teleportation.” He laughed again, but with much more joy this time. “Christine handled it better than him.”

Rurik frowned. Obviously, the crowd had found that hilarious. They were the sort that just loved seeing people take a fall of any sort.

“You know, it’s a good thing I don’t have feelings. That might have embarrassed me,” Rurik sighed. It was a mild annoyance at worst, but it changed nothing. They could laugh all they wanted, but that was about all they could do. Of course he had to grimace slightly when he saw the catty look Annabelle was shooting him. She could do something… “So did you come here just to tell stories? I didn’t think you associated with us lowly thugs.”

“Shows how much you really know.” Thobias walked up to Rurik, unfazed by the crowd staring at him. He had that “I won this place” attitude on his posture. And really, he knew that nobody could hurt him here. Not unless they were super fast.

“You might think I’m just some pretty boy, but your countryside brain couldn’t possibly see the shades of grey.” There wasn’t much to be known about Rurik since he rarely talks, but Christine did provide some relevant information. “So, what do you say potato peeler? Wanna go for a round of tussle, or you going to weasel out of this one as well?”

He’d just had to go and bring up the past, hadn’t he?

“Sorry, sorry. You misunderstood me,” Rurik almost sounded genuine. Almost. “I’d never suggest you were pretty.” And with that, he made to just walk away. He got about two steps though before something inside began pulling at him. He took a deep breath, hoping it would go away.

It didn’t.

“Fine. If that’s what you want.”

“Ohoho!! Two in a row! Clear the arena boys, this might be interesting after all!” The organizer suddenly chimed in.

Thobias had a big smile on his face as he walked up the the arena. The excitement of the crowd riled him up as well, and he felt really energetic. Maybe he should meddle with some low tier thugs like these more often.

“Just so we’re clear Rurik, there’s no hard feelings between us.” He took up his position opposite of him. “But making you fight is better for both of us. Speaking of which, let’s fight for a prize, eh?”

He looked around the crowd, knowing that many had already tried and failed to win a “prize” from Rurik. He saw their faces get excited; maybe a new champion rises today? But Thobias only grin, shaking his head gently.

“If you beat me, I’ll owe you beer, boyo.” Well, there went enthusiasm of the crowd. “But!” Thobias raised his hand to get the attention of the others again. “If I beat you, I want your famous prize. Christine, such a lovely girl. Really deserves better.”

Rurik’s face sort of lost all expression for a moment, and then he just sighed. "She probably does, but really? You too? I’m disappointed. You’re just like all the rest.” He cracked his neck. “Fine by me.”

BLAM! And then he immediately raised his hand and fired. The second he’d agreed to fight he’d started storing energy, saving up for as powerful a blast he could manage without losing stability.

The bolt flew quick, the sneaky surprise attack reminiscent of old timey cowboys quick-drawing their revolvers. Thobias’s ear picked up the sound as soon as Rurik launched the bolt, his eye trying to guess the trajectory. The world crawled to near halt in his eyes, but however he calculated, he wouldn’t be fast enough to dodge the bolt by leaning out of it’s way. With the equivalent of a mental shrug, he dropped the idea of leaning away like some ninja, and instead teleported away - only a few feet to the side, just enough to avoid the projectile.

“Ouch, Rurik! I expected more sportsmanship from the king. But now I see what kind of a ruler you are.”

The projectile, with Thobias out of the way, zipped into the crowd. One or two had had the presence of mind to get clear once it was obvious what Rurik was planning to do… but one unlucky fool was blasted back over a foot and was left writhing on the pavement until someone could drag him to safety.

Oh well, Rurik had never liked that guy anyway.

“Oh, uhhh, let the fight begin?” The organizer shrugged, feeling a bit miffed, but mostly just amused. It was always nice to see his fighters in a bad mood. The fights were more interesting that way.

“Forget where you are, Thobias?” Rurik just narrowed his eyes and fired again. At this point that crowd made sure to stand only behind Rurik, now realizing how bad the crossfire was going to be today.

Rurik had stored up plenty of energy now, and he was drawing out more with every second. He wanted every bolt to hurt as much as possible if they managed to land.

“Pssh.” This bolt was energetic too; clearly Rurik had stored his energy. But he could only maintain this output for so long. But Thobias? He teleported out of the way yet again, hands in his pockets as he looked at Rurik unfazed. “You’ve already tried this. I could do this all day, and you’ll never catch me.”

There was no response from Rurik this time. He instead spread out three fingers and fired a bolt from each, the first right at Thobias, and the others, fired a half-second later, to each side. Each only had about a third the power of the others, but he figured a spread shot might give him more luck. Maybe he’d jump right into one, but something told him he wasn’t that lucky.

Rurik’s attempt at tricking him was a little more than a show trick to Thobias. He figured he’d teleport closer to Rurik, dodging the bullet that way, but by spreading his shots he made them much weaker. And slower. Thobias instead decided to lean out of the way of the first one, watching as the shimmering bolt just missed him, while the other two flew around him harmlessly. “Hit a sore spot, did I? So you also agree you don’t deserve Christine, gotcha.”

Rurik knew this wasn’t going to work. He’d had a feeling, but now facing Thobias directly, he was sure of it. He honestly wasn’t sure he could ever hit Thobias. But he also knew that Thobias would have a hard time hitting back, and even if he did, he didn’t know that Thobias could hit all that hard… at least not compared to a lot of his past opponents. This might just end up being a wash…

Rurik instead just casually began walking toward Thobias, fists not even raised.

“So, since you chose your terms, you think you do?” Rurik asked him, now standing just shy of arms length from Thobias.

Thobias shrugged his shoulders, his eyes clashing Rurik. “I have my reasons to challenge you for it.” Thobias backed up to the edge of the arena, feet planted firmly where the crowd was standing before Rurik started firing off bolts. “You know, I have the impression we got to meet each other on wrong terms, back in the motel.”

With that, Thobias teleported across the arena, now standing where Rurik started out, essentially switching places. “But truly, you and I aren’t so different.”

Rurik sighed and turned around, shoulders sagging like just that one motion was more effort than it was worth, “You and I aren’t so different,” Rurik spoke in a mocking tone. “Really? That old cliche?”

And then he just sat down, resting his face on his palm, “Whatever. When you decide to actually fight, let me know.” If it wasn’t for the fact that Thobias might actually do it, he probably would have even shut his eyes.

“Oh, you are way too confident.” Within the second, Thobias shook his head and then disappeared. Before Rurik could react he was right behind him, kicking the back of his head with his knee. Then just as quickly as he came, he teleported right back to where he was before. “Don’t slack off kiddo, you’re not on the farm.”

Again with the farmer boy jokes. Rurik’s head had been knocked forward by the strike, though at least it hadn’t hurt too much. His hand which had been holding his face fell to his side to hold his balance. When he lifted his face again, he actually looked rather aggravated. An expression that basically dared Thobias to try it again.

It was gonna take a bit more than that to make Rurik move.

“I now see why they say you are mode of stone. You sit on your ass all day.” He looked around, waving his hand for the crowd to focus. “As the unmovable object, I’ll show you who wins the debate.” With a snap of his fingers (only for the show), a portal appeared right under Rurik, swallowing him whole.

In a flash, you could see Rurik appear some 10 feet above the ground through the other end of the portal.

Rurik suddenly felt a horrible sinking sensation. That… utter… bastard. Of course he’d used a portal. Why wouldn’t he? And then Rurik was falling. Fortunately, his hand had already been aimed down.

It was almost funny in a way, Rurik landed in the exact same pose he’d started, still sitting down. There had also been a strange lack of impact from his touchdown. Rurik took one deep breath to calm his stomach, and then slowly lifted his middle finger at Thobias.

He’d learned a bit ago that his shield could save him from falls. Every action had a reaction, but if he just negated the reaction, well, then it didn’t hurt much at all.

That said, Rurik did decide to stand up. Knowing Thobias, the next portal would just lead to another portal…

“So you can move after all.” Thobias noted with a small smile on his face, his gaze locked on Rurik. “I suggest you make your move, or you’ll be the king of boredom and not the arena.”

“Hm…” Rurik had to think carefully. Between his ability to run and his portals, Thobias could stop any attack he saw coming. So, maybe he’d just let him see it coming. Thobias was clearly very comfortable. Comfort brought its own sort of laziness -- confidence.

The old parking lot they stood it was in a terrible state of disrepair. It was easy for him to rip out a few loose chunks of pavement. What hadn’t cracked naturally had long since been torn free by the fighting.

Rurik empowered the chunks and launched one at Thobias like a missile. It’d hurt a lot more than a regular bolt if it hit. Once he saw Thobias move, he was ready to fire the next one as well to try and catch him. And once more, the crowd ran away, Thobias having once more put them in the way of harm…

But Thobias was just about done dodging Rurik’s ranged attacks. He’d never hit him, and melee wasn’t a plausible thing. Thobias lacked the ability to do great damage. But Rurik didn’t, and that was just what Thobias hoped for.

He focused on the rock, waiting for it to get as close as possible...and then Thobias opened another portal. He was now smiling at the crowd gathered behind Rurik, while his opponent saw their own back. With a projectile going straight for them.

Rurik, quite frankly, was lucky. He’d actually considered that option. He didn’t have a lot of time to react, but react he did. The chunk of pavement exploded… pitifully. Like a party popper. A full strength one would have hit him anyway because he was sure the portal would have eaten it and saved Thobias, so he just sort of let that one go, leaving a big cloud of dust in the air for a second.

A few stray pebbles still pelted Rurik’s back, but it was better than being slammed or blown up.

And with that, Rurik crossed his arms.

“Neat trick, but I’m starting to get used to them,” Rurik said, sounding a bit bored.

“Pffft, you haven’t seen the tip of it.” Fine, if Rurik refused to fight, then he’d try his own methods. Sure, he could throw him in a portal or two again, but where was the fun in that. So instead, he cancelled the portal, now facing Rurik face to face.

“Been a long time since I dabbled with others from school. Don’t you ever wonder why you can rarely see me at school? Or maybe that never crossed your brain for that exact reason?” He looked around, hoping to get an effect from the crowd. Truly, he only rarely attended classes and even if he did he was gone before the others. “Do you wanna know?”

“Well, maybe I haven’t seen anything, Thobias,” Rurik said as Thobias tried to build up the hype. “But you haven’t seen… everything.” He’d have liked to be a bit more showy about it, but with Thobias’s reaction time, he couldn’t afford to tip him off.

Though, in hindsight, it might have been troubling that Rurik’s hands were empty. The ground at Thobias’s feet went up in a column of dust and debris as it exploded. He hadn’t been about to throw more stuff through the portal at himself, so he’d let the other chunk of pavement just gently land itself in front of the portal… and now the portal was gone.

Maybe Thobias should’ve been more careful. Indeed, he got cocky and forgot what Rurik could do. But it’s still terribly rude not to listen. The explosion nearly caught him off guard. Anyone else would’ve been encased by the blast before they could react, but not him.

The explosion sent a shock-wave through his body, sending debris upwards. Thobias teleported away milliseconds after the blast, but it still hit him. The pellets of concrete still showered the area where he used to be, few feet away from where he was now. A small scar ran along his face, bleeding gently. “Well, would you look at that. Maybe you aren’t the simple farm boy I thought you for.” This time he didn’t try to act up. No more surprises from Rurik.

“Haven’t been a farm boy for a while,” Rurik spoke coldly, narrowing his eyes. He then tapped his own cheek, the same spot where Thobias was injured. “You’re leaking.”

Thobias smeared the blood away with his hand, aware of the scar. He backed up a bit, to avoid any surprises. “You know, Katherine would be overjoyed if I beat you up here. Christine, not so much. Which brings me to my point.”

“You are disturbing things you really shouldn’t. I’ve said this already back in the motel: you’re dealing with the wrong people.” Gone was the playful boy; in his place was left the serious face of Thobias, eyeing Rurik like his prey.

“Well, since neither of those two are here, I’m free to speak my mind. I don’t care. Kath can go die in a fire. It’s just a shame she’d probably get a nice tan instead,” Rurik finally let true hostility show on his face. “You see, I’m not the problem. Everything was just fine until Katherine decided to lose her shit. She’s the problem, and if you’re gonna butt in, then so are you. So, and I’ll say this nice and clear so you know exactly where I stand. Fucking eat me.”

“Oh but yes, you ARE the problem. You just don’t know about it.” Thobias charged forward at Rurik, his fist raised for a punch. A feet away, Thobias teleport behind Rurik, the impact connecting without much reaction from the opponent. Then he proceeded to teleport away, a big smile on his face. “Before you came along, the Abigail family was peaceful. Just what I needed.”

“And how is that my problem?!” Rurik didn’t even care for strategy anymore. He threw up both arms and unloaded all of his stored up energy in a barrage of bolts that would have battered down anyone else.

“You ruin the harmony with your sloppiness.” Thobias ran along the side of the arena, dodging some of the bolts before teleport over to the other side of Rurik, delivering a punch. Then as he reacted, he teleported into his blind spot and punched him, again. And again. “Just like how sloppy your defense is.”

After the first few punches, Rurik realized he wasn’t going to stop this time. He tensed up, trying to defend his head with his arms, but Thobias seemed to be everywhere at once. This was why he hated people. This was why he had long since stopped caring. This was what happened. Every time. Life handed you something, and then something or someone else came along and ruined it all and beat you down -- sometimes literally.

He’d had a happy life, and then it was torn away. He’d tried to fill the void with friends, but then they’d gotten dumb and arrested. Again, torn away. He’d almost tried again with Bak, but then she’d turned on him. Finally, Christine. Someone so different. Someone just so borderline oblivious that there was a sort of peace to being around her. And now here was Thobias, trying to ruin this too.

And then, deep down, something felt like it broke. A great cavity, that for years had eaten and eaten until it was just so full… that it burst. Eyes that had been clenched shut against the abuse Thobias was dishing out snapped open.

He screamed. “GO AWAY!”

Thobias would have felt his fist connect with something, but far too soon, as if striking a great wall around Rurik. Perhaps he, with his heightened sense would have soon realized exactly what was happening before it happened.

As Rurik’s voice rang out, so too did an explosion. A nova of destruction and chaos. The whole ring was swallowed up and turned back to bare dirt, but it wasn’t done yet. A few in the crowd had time to dive for cover, but it made little difference. They were thrown back and scattered like toys during a child’s tantrum.

As for Thobias, well, this time someone managed to get him. Get him real good. Thobias was sure that he’d get blown all the way back to hell, and he really, REALLY wished he wasn’t here at the moment. He closed his eyes to brace for the explosion, having nowhere to teleport inside the ring.

But there was nothing. He opened his eyes to the aftermath of the explosion, the world faded of colors and blurry. He himself felt a slight nausea as he looked around the grey arena, surprised to find himself standing. Am I dead or something? He definitely, didn’t feel dead, but who knows nowadays. He looked around the arena quickly, trying to find his body (in case he WAS dead), but he noted with relief that he wasn’t.

“Not yet kiddo, but it was pretty close.” A voice echoed through his mind, but he didn’t know who it was, or where it came from. Before he could react, his vision shimmered, and things seemed to scatter into pieces as an ever intensifying rumble ringed his ears...

And then, for a moment -- just silence.

“Hoo boy! Why didn’t you do that when you fought me- BLUH!” Annbelle’s head popped up over the concrete wall, a wall now cracked and half fallen, only to receive a bolt right to her forehead. “. . . rude.”

Rurik stood there, veins popped and throbbing, arm outstretched toward where he’d just fired. He panted, amid the ruin, his own jacket in tatters, unable to fully avoid his own attack. “Go… to hell… Thobias… I’m done.” He didn’t care about the fight anymore. If Thobias wanted to call it his victory, he could go right ahead. And so he made to leave.

Thobias opened his eyes, and he found himself standing right where he was before; but everything was back to normal again.Apart from a painful migraine and serious nausea. He quickly tapped himself over to make sure he was okay, and found that he was surprisingly unscathed. Then he spotted Rurik limping away from the arena. Did it mean he won? But he didn’t come here to do that! There had to be a way to remedy this.

“Oy, Rurik, stop!” He approached the limping boy, his head still dizzy.

“You have five seconds,” Rurik stopped and looked at Thobias, if only to take the moment to catch his breath.

Thobias had to fight against throwing up as he opened his mouth to speak up. “I promised a beer if you won. I don’t know about you, but I’d go for a cold one now.”

“. . . what?” Rurik was confused. He was pretty sure Thobias had won, not that it made a difference to Rurik, and he was also pretty sure they hated each other. “So go drink, what does it have to do with me?”

“I-uhh-” Thobias opened his mouth but all that came out was his breakfast, splattered all over the floor. He really didn’t feel that good after...whatever it was that just happened to him. “Let’s call it Pyrrhic victory. Plus, I never intended to win. I was surprised you would trade Christine for a beer.” He tried to laugh, but it was just too painful. But he was determined to speak with Rurik.

Rurik had to bite his lip. He wanted to laugh. The irony of the tables turning, and Thobias being the one to hurl was almost too much. He he had to take a second.

“Oh please, you think Rurik is undefeated?” Annabelle pulled herself back up, leaning against the wall. “He’s broken up with her a bunch of times. Just gets right back together with her and pisses the other guy off. But it’s their fault for not being more specific I guess.”

“No one asked you, Anna…” Rurik glowered at her.

“And? Do something about it, I dare you,” she grinned and Rurik just pursed his lips.

“Well it’s like she says. Christine is her own person anyway, I can wager her all I want, not like it’s gonna matter.” Rurik shrugged. “Dumbasses keep thinking that it’ll mean something if they beat me.”

“I know too well, actually.” Thobias shrug, and straightened himself up, stepping away from the mess he made. “Might make a difference for me though. That’s the reason I came here for after all.”

Then he shot an angry glance at Anna, knowing full and well that they had practically nothing in common. “I fail to see how this concerns you anyway. You just get the kicks out of Rurik wagering Christine.”

“Can you blame me? Half the school wants Christine. You could make a weekly show out of the drama!” She cackled.

“Go. Away. Anna,” Rurik grumbled tiredly.

“Fine fine…” She waved them off and finally slunk away.

“So wait, did you actually want Christine or not?” Rurik asked Thobias.

Thobias laughed up in actual joy as he heard the question, but the serious face Rurik made stopped him halfway through. He cleared his throat and walked up to Rurik. “I don’t know who’s dumber: me for coming here, or you for thinking I wanted Christine.”

He shook his head, hoping to get the dizziness out of it. “Well, you couldn’t know. So, no, I didn’t come here to get Christine. You said it yourself: she is her own person.”

Rurik might have been more annoyed at Thobias if he wasn’t used to everyone at that school being just as much as or even more of an asshole. And if nothing else, him finally making it crystal clear that he wasn’t yet another rival for Christine helped him get over it.

“So then what did you want?” Rurik asked. Once the fight had ended, he’s gotten suspicions that there was more to it, and with the false motivations officially dispelled, he had to ask.

“Well, isn’t that what beer is for?” Thobias asked with a genuinely serious face. “Come before I change my mind. You’ll know either way, but I suggest you accept the offer. Doubt Anna would invite you for a round.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Rurik shrugged. He might as well go along with this, though for now he just wanted answers.

Part 2

Several minutes of awkwardly silent walking later

Nobody said a bar needs to look clean or safe, as long as they serve beer there. Before long, Thobias walked out with two bottles of cheap beer and handed one to Rurik.

Rurik wasn’t much of a drinker, so once he was handed the beer, he just sipped it slowly to be polite.

“All right, I’m here. Start talking,” he said, a little impatient. He’d been consumed with dislike for the other boy less than half an hour ago, so there was still some tension between them.

“Ey, stop with the killing glare.” Thobias looked over at Rurik, leaning against the wall of the building. He took a long sip from his beer, and sighed contently. “You should really know some things.”

Thobias tapped the neck of his bottle while he thought for a second. “Let’s see… I’ll start with the basics. It’s been, what, a year since you and Christine are together?” He took another long sip from his drink. “I’m fully aware how many times you’ve wagered her in these tournaments. I’ve actually been here a few times, watch you fight.” Thobias chuckled, shaking his head gently. “Why do you even accept? Just tell them to fuck off, not like Christine will date any of those losers?” He had to fight back the urge to say “yet she somehow dates you” to Rurik. The beer helped.

So Thobias was watching him. He wasn’t sure if that was more annoying or creepy to find out.

“Normally I do,” Rurik said. “But some of them are more stubborn. I beat their asses to make them stop annoying me more than anything. One fight beats a month of pestering,” he explained to Thobias. “And sometimes I get bored. Your point?”

“Say, why did you accept my challenge then? Got bored?”

“. . . reasons.” Rurik narrowed his eyes. He still wasn’t entirely sure himself. Something about Thobias’s taunting had somehow gotten to him, he supposed. The way he’d brought up his farm heritage. He never really talked about the past, he had no reason to. So most people didn’t use it against him. Christine knew, it had come up, and… “. . . dammit, Christine. . .” he mumbled to himself.

“Got you with the farm boy, didn’t I?” Thobias looked at Rurik, watching his facial expressions with his heightened senses. He knew EXACTLY, what made him react. “Well, you might wonder why I know that. Wanna ask, or should I tell?”

“You know Christine’s family. Christine knows. It’s not that hard to figure out…” Rurik rolled his eyes. “Of course she wouldn’t think any harm of telling people that.”

“Yeah, I know the Abigails well. Knew em since I was a toddler.” He figured he might as well tell Rurik. After all, it won’t change things if he knows. “Thing is tho, you really made a ruckus. You’re familiar with Kath, no need to introduce her.”

“Too familiar, yes.” Violently so. “Hmph. Not my problem she’s obsessed with her sister. I never did anything to her.” He said that, but she’d kinda made it his problem by trying to kill him. At least it sure felt like she wasn’t gonna stop beating him until it was too late. “She’s crazy.”

“Well, I say you are crazy one.” Thobias watched in amusement as Rurik’s face changed as he thought of Katherine. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about rich families, but don’t worry, I’m here to help you out.”

“You… want to… help me?” Rurik said it slowly, still trying to process it as the words came out. “Why?”

“For a long time time I loathed the idea of ever forgiving you.” Thobias took a long sip from the beer. He needed the alcohol to get through this conversation. “You barged into my life without knowing it, and you done fucked up so royally it questions your origins.”

To avoid showing his tension Thobias shrug, hoping it would help him ease up. “You really couldn’t know, but me and Kath were together for probably a good two years by the time you met Christine. And I really thought 'hey, maybe this’ll be not like the other jerks.' And you aren’t but you are sure as hell dumb.” He laughed, shaking his head in denial. Some things stay bitter forever.

“That’s neat and all, but you didn’t answer my question,” Rurik told him. He hadn’t asked for Thobias’s life story, and he really didn’t much care for what he’d supposedly done to the other guy. He made it a point to keep to himself, so whatever Thobias was getting at must have been roundabout as hell. “So?”

“Maybe you should care a bit more about what others think. Being a tough cookie is cute and all, but if Kath gets you, you’ll wish you listened to me.”

“Anyways, since you are clearly not in the mood to learn anything, I’ll make it quick.” Thobias sighed and downed the last of his beer, throwing the empty bottle across the street, smashing it on a brick wall. “Kath’s rightfully angry at you for playing with her family’s name whenever you wager Christine in a fight. To her, she’s the only family, and I don’t see why she wouldn’t be upset at you.”

Thobias wasn’t about to give Rurik some life lecture, even if he wanted to. The sooner the issue gets resolved the better. “If you don’t want to get sent to the hospital anytime soon, then live by this advice: stop with the wagers. I don’t care if they don’t change anything in your eyes, it’s not your pride that matters here.”

“Yeah, well that’s great and all, but you know damn well until I leave this school people are still going to come at me over her,” Rurik responded. Probably not too many, he’d beaten most of them into submission at this point. But was that really the problem? Katherine had gotten wind of the whole thing and upset over it? From the very first time he’d made that wager, he’d never once intended to follow through on it. The only reason he’d even “broken up with” Christine was because he thought it’d be funny to do it and then “get back together” just to watch the other guy get mad.

After that, it had been a little joke between him and Christine and, as far as he could tell, it didn’t bother her. She wasn’t even fully aware of what was going on, to his knowledge, just that he occasionally made bets with her on the line. In a roundabout way, he almost looked at it like a complement, as it said something what with just how many people wanted her.

But that also meant he had no reason to keep making the wagers if he wasn't going to follow through anyway. And besides, it wasn’t like they’d been his idea in the first place. If it’d save him some trouble, then fine.

“Ugh, whatever. Fine, I’ll stop. I’m still going to break their legs if they try to fight me, though,” Rurik finally relented.

“Hey, don’t whatever me kid.” He leaned forward and snapped his fingers in front of Rurik, pointing at him with his index finger. “I’m doing you a big favor, whether you see it or not. You won’t have peace till you settle this business with Kath. Don’t tell me you never once had to abandon the idea of going to the Abigail mansion because of her.”

Thobias wanted a lot of things to go right, and he only had Rurik to rely on for them to work. It wasn’t the prettiest of outlooks, but he had certainly met worse prospectors. Plus, nobody else could’ve did what he needed, so there wasn’t much of a choice. He still held grudge, but he knew overcoming that was the way forward.

“You break as many legs as you want, but I don’t want to hear anymore from Christine, no matter what Anna taunts you with.” He told Rurik, dead serious. “I’ll make some arrangements, so you stay tight, got it?”

“Arrangements?” Rurik just looked exasperated at this point. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

“Because you won’t.” Thobias pushed himself away from the wall and patted Rurik’s shoulders. “It was great talking to you kid.” Then he walked past him, the quiet sound of the portal opening disturbing the silence. Before he entered he stopped and looked back, a bored expression on his face “Oh, and don’t tell anyone about our chat. Especially not Christine. Believe me, I’ll know.” With that said, he walked through his portal that looked like it led to another part of town, and then it closed once he was through.

To be honest, that just made it so Rurik’s first instinct was to go find Christine that very moment and immediately do the exact opposite, but the first fight with Thobias had been tedious enough, so he put those thoughts to rest. No, instead he’d just go back to doing things exactly the way he had been before -- minus the wagers, he supposed.

He wondered if that would result in more or less fights.

He took one last sip of his still almost full beer and then set it aside with a frown, “Christine… why is everyone you know so awful?”

@Hammerman @Gentlemanvaultboy

Royal Rumble!

NPC Badasses for Mephistos (Strongest to "Weakest" in order)

#1 (AKA not Jotaro, I swear)

Name: Gabriel Brekke
Age: 18
Grade: Mephisto's Third year

My Hider

Bio: A quiet, reserved student. Hardly shy, and has a very intense aura, and is known to scare people off with a look. He has a reputation for being the strongest student at Mephisto's, second only to Clara... (most people don't count Gilliam for lack of knowledge). To attest to this, when Rurik was beginning to earn a reputation for being strong around Mephisto's, he decided to dispel that... and beat him in less than a minute. This speaks to an underlying pride this he is willing to stomp on people to maintain.

He is a big guy, seeming well trained physically and more than capable in a fist-fight. He perfectly embodies tall, dark, and mysterious.

He is on the student council, but strangely has a worse attendance rate similar to Rurik's, probably seeing it as beneath him, though if he's told it's especially important... he might show up.

Powers: Most people are not fully aware of his capabilities, as they are subtle unless he goes all out.
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Astral Guardian: He can project an aspect of his soul to fight for him, either consciously or autonomously. When fighting on its own, it is very quick to react to danger, but fights on sheer, dumb instinct, lacking much creativity, and will not stray far from him. When guided, it can go about 100 feet from him and does whatever he wishes. It is a little slower once it starts approaching maximum range.
Double Strike: He can project his guardian at rapid speeds to strike an enemy and then draw himself to it to follow up in rapid succession. Can also be used simply for rapid movement. Loses effectiveness at longer ranges.
Enshroud: He uses his guardian to simply enhance all of his physical attributes, but loses its ability to defend him from harm. However, the trade-off seems worth it as the power increase is rather dramatic. This effect briefly activates every time he uses double-strike, at the moment he meets up with his guardian.
Sever Soul: He can break his link to the guardian, granting it full autonomy for three minutes before it fades away. He can do this multiple times, granting him two severed guardians and one still connected to him. After that, the process becomes painful and dangerous... though in theory he could go farther.

#2

Name: Annabelle Belleza
Age: 17
Grade: Mephisto's Second Year

My Hider

Bio: She quickly made a name for herself, jumping in head first once she found out there was a street fighting ring around Mephistos. She is currently undefeated. No one has even come close, though she has made sure to steer clear of Gabriele. She makes it quite clear that she is not on his level, which seems to have spared her an official beating, while also retaining her undefeated title. She is energetic and selfish, unable to care less for others feelings. She's the kind of person who will wait til' she's done laughing before she even thinks about helping you with that broken leg... that she probably gave you. Seems to have a mild obsession with teasing Rurik, perhaps because he's the only one to have ever properly challenged her.

Powers:
Toxic Girl: Many of the glands in her body have been replaced or re-purposed and now secrete various toxins. These toxins are body dangerous to others, and beneficial to her, in many cases taking on the function of what they replaced in addition to their other properties. This also gives her a very strange, but highly resilient biology. Her poisons have three states: Liquid, gel, and gas, though all start as a liquid when excreted, but one can quickly become the other.
Reinforcing Venom: She can flood her own body with the toxins, granting her superhuman strength, resilience, and regeneration. She becomes nigh unstoppable unless she takes an absurd amount of damage all at once, or until she just runs out of toxins. In this state, her blood is highly toxic to others, as this only works on her modified biology.
Paralytic Venom: She effectively sweats a poison that sticks to opponents on contact, seeping into their skin or evaporating into gas after some time for them to inhale. This leads to dizziness, nausea, and, in high concentrations, full paralysis. The more she uses this, the faster she runs out of toxins to reinforce herself. It takes a little prep time, but she can also exhale a thick cloud of this venom.

Burning Touch: Her most dangerous venom that she is "nice" enough not to use most of the time. It takes great effort from her, but she can highly concentrate her toxins into an acid-like substance. She herself is mostly immune to it, but it is extremely painful to others and can even damage normally resilient materials like stone and metal. If she makes it strong enough to more quickly eat through such strong materials, then even she can't stay in contact for too long.

#3

Name: Caleb Carner [Still have a personal use for this one, will "unlock" him later if that's OK]
Age: 18
Grade: Mephisto's Third Year

My Hider

Bio: Rurik's arch nemesis. Definitely has a big thing for Christine, though he's hardly unique in that. What is unique about him is that unlike most others, he actually can kick Rurik's ass, and thus the asses of any other suitors who might get in his way. He is generally more refined than many of the thuggish students who attend Mephistos, but he is one-hundred percent up his own ass and has a massive superiority-complex. Is rather upset he's not on the student council...

Powers: TBR

Note: Yes, they are all connected to Rurik in some way in their bios because I came up with them as a part of his backstory at Mephistos... but now they're up for use in general.

Goldi

Name: Goldi Locksly
Age: 16
Grade: Mephisto's First Year

Appearance

Bio: A timid girl who only ended up at Mephistos because of her brother. Has a strange relationship with Gabriel. Is a prime target for bullying, but oddly enough no one seems to bother her.

Powers:
Core:
Troisours:
She can summon teddy bears. Generally speaking they are mundane, aside from being almost sinfully soft and fluffy. No bears on the market can match what she makes. She can make these bears permanent, but it uses up a bit of power and thus takes longer for her to recover. That said, it makes gift giving easy for her... as long as the person likes bears. She can cheat and put the bears in costumes. Also a myriad of props and accessories. They can be anywhere from handheld size, all the way up to a towering 11 feet tall.

When not making permanent bears, thus cutting them off from her abilities, she can have three summoned bears.

1. Ourson:
She summons a bear that can be no smaller than 1 foot tall, and no greater than 3, that has the strange property of drawing people to it. This can be resisted, but once in contact, the victim feels the overwhelming urge to cuddle it and protect it. If Goldi is holding the bear at the time, this protective urge will spread to her as well. This can also be resisted, but it many magnitudes stronger than the original draw.

2. Pereours:
She summons a bear that can be anywhere from 6 to 8 feet tall. Its weight more than quadruples and it gains a strong, defensive property, basically becoming a wall. Dangerous if dropped on a person.

3. Ours de la Mere
A bear from 6 to the maximum 11 feet tall. This bear triples in weight and can move. This bear can be very aggressive, and take advantage of any props given, though they will usually be blunt, and often just hard plastic... but at that size, does it really matter? Can only use this once a day and tends to be lightheaded for a long time afterward.

Also gives deadly amazing hugs.

Royal Rumble!

_____________________________________________________________

---

Rurik Alexeev

@Hammerman @6slyboy6 @Gentlemanvaultboy @RoflsMazoy

---

Rurik began to come back reality as Clara and the others were freed from the burning trap above them.

"Cool, so we're leaving now then?" he pushed himself back to his feet. However, the look Clara gave him told him that they wouldn't be taking the fast way, at least not in front of witnesses. He just shrugged and began looking for the way out of the floor they were on, hoping that the door wasn't buried.

"Hey!" He was stopped before he got far as Cassius intercepted him.

"Look, we worked together once, that doesn't make us friends." Rurik sighed, trying to brush the kid off.

"That's not it!" Cassius insisted, grabbing Rurik's shoulder. Rurik stared at Cassius's hand, and then lifted his gaze to meet Cassius's. Cassius got the hint and quickly let go. "I just wanted to say... you're dating my best friend's sister, so be careful OK."

"Careful?" Rurik raised an eyebrow.

"You know, watch it, all right?" Cassius crossed his arms.

"Really?" Rurik straightened up a bit so that he was now looking down at slightly shorter Cassius. "And what drove you to say all this?" To Cassius's credit, he didn't seem all that intimidated.

"Well like I said, it's my best fri-"

"No no, you told me to watch it. Watch what? What makes you think you need to say something to me?" Rurik narrowed his eyes.

"Well, you know, you're... uhh..." How to say this tactfully?

"I'm what? Come on. Out with it," he sounded quite like an adult trying to get the truth out of a guilty toddler.

"I mean, you do go to... that school..."

"So it's stereotyping then," Rurik said, causing Cassius to wince. There really hadn't been a good way to put it in the end. "I'm the bad guy, so obviously I must be planning to do awful, awful things to her." He rolled his eyes. "You know, by that logic, Christine's just as bad." And then just smirked in amusement, grabbing Cassius's face and patting him on the cheek. "Relax, we are talking about Christine after all. She can take care of herself." He let go and took a step to walk away, but then turned back to Cassius. "Oh, and while we're talking about Christine."

Suddenly Rurik's expression turned... dark, "Did you enjoy the view?"

Cassius had a brief moment of confusion before it hit him and he swallowed hard, breaking into a nervous sweat. That wasn't fair! It wasn't his fault she'd pulled up her coat! Just the memory caused him to clench his eyes shut. "N-n-n-no! I didn't-" But when he opened his eyes, Rurik was already walking away, hands casually shoved into his pockets.

"It's been real, dude. Let's do it again sometime never, huh?" And with that, Rurik finally found the doorway out. Cassius, wound up as he was, flinched badly as Rurik kicked the door clean off its hinges. "Come on Christine, we're done here!"

Cassius meanwhile took a deep breath to gather his wits. Normally he was god at it, but he just couldn't read that guy! "No wonder Kath hates him..."

---

Wolfram

@Crowvette

---

Wolf fell into bed and shut his eyes. He didn't even bother doing more than taking his shoes, socks, and jacket off. For the moment, he even stayed atop the sheets. Within seconds he felt his head swimming as sleep clawed at him. He'd just gotten back from a plane ride, followed by multiple fights, followed by being hit by a car, followed by one more fight.

Exhaustion might no longer have been a strong enough word.

But he knew he couldn't take more than this one night to rest. It was time to go back and buckle down. He was in the middle of something serious now and he had to be ready...

. . .

. . .

Plop!

A few moments into Andras's worrying and something would have landed on her bed next to her. A phone that still glowed with life. 43% to be exact. Enough for at least 3-4 hours, depending what she used it for. It must have come from Wolf, but by the time she could have even looked up to thank him, he already looked like he'd passed out...

Royal Rumble!

Wolfram & Vera

@Crowvette @AtomicNut

---

Vera noticed what Mona tried to pull, leaving Wolf open for Meredith to grab. Vera wasn't all that concerned, though. Meredith knew better, and if she didn't, Wolf did. Of course, it didn't hurt to send a message to anyone who might be having... thoughts.

"Hey," she spoke to Wolf who turned to her attentively. "Just in case you were thinking I didn't notice you got hit by a car for me, well, I suppose you did well enough tonight."

"Oh, uhh, tha-"

"And I guess you've earned something." With that, she grabbed his face and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. Far too much so, considering they had witnesses. And it lasted just long enough to be weird for them. Finally, though, she did pull away from a rather bewildered Wolf. She stuck her tongue out tauntingly at Meredith before shoving Wolf away. "Good night." She then grabbed Ana firmly by the shoulder and guided her away. "Nice try, but you're about ten years too young to try and steal a man away from me. Be a good girl, though, and maybe I'll teach you something... and you'd better not squirm in your sleep."

Anna was a pest, but she was a pest that Vera could get along with... usually.

Wolf meanwhile, just stood there, still stunned. It wasn't the first time she'd done that. In fact, she always did the same thing. A sudden kiss, usually after Wolf had in some way demeaned himself in order to unwittingly earn it, and then he'd be pushed away and left there before he could ever think of trying to kiss back or even understand what had happened.

He just averted his gaze from everyone, suddenly finding the floor to be riveting, face burning red. He managed to stutter out, "I-I'm... good... wherever..." It wasn't like anyone would be sleeping naked, after all. Right? He'd had plenty of sleepovers with Meredith as a child and Andras and him weren't strangers. So long as he and whatever roommate he ended up with weren't literally in the same bed, it probably wouldn't be too weird.

Royal Rumble!

Well I'd argue that not everyone needs to get a hit in. And most people have had a chance to do something at this point anyway. Too many people in some overly grand finale would make it chaotic and feel like we're playing hacky sack with what is supposed to be an intimidating enemy.

At this point it's probably best to just do a small(er) collab with just the necessary people.

Royal Rumble!

Wolfram & Vera

@Crowvette @AtomicNut @Bartimaeus

---

Vera pursed her lips so hard one might have thought they'd fuse together. In one breath Meredith had suddenly been cooing over the fox girl, and in the next she'd been asking for cab money...

She chose to ignore the brief mention of Wolf fitting in Meredith's bed. Anna was just straight up ignored. She'd burst a blood vessel if she got any angrier.

"Don't remind me," Vera muttered in response to Meredith mentioning the "lack of utility" in her outfit. "Yeah, whatever, I'll take care of it! Ugh!" Useless. Everyone around her was useless. She was too good for this and she was quickly forgetting why she was still there. Perhaps there had never been a good reason to begin with.

But whatever. Bad things happened to good people all the time right? And right now, she was the only one who could bail all these losers out. It was hard being the responsible one, but she'd persevere.

She pulled out her cellphone and dialed in a number. The odds of them catching a regular cab right now were slim to none, so she'd special order one.

She soon got a service that ran late at night on the phone and gave them the address, "Yes, I know it's chaotic over here right now. That's why we're trying to leave! Yes, we can meet you across the street to be safe. Five minutes? Oh, thank you so much!" she said the words with the sweetest smile on her face, which rang through in her oh-so-polite voice. It was almost enough to give the illusion of flowers blooming around her. And then the call ended and all was back to normal. "Now either put your wings away and use the jacket or give it back! It's freaking cold out here!" The sun had been gone for quite a while after all. "And hurry up, I don't wanna be here when the police arrive!"

Without waiting to see what Meredith chose to do, she stormed off to where the cab would be picking them up.

Wolf could only bite his lip and offer a weak, "I'm sorry..." once Vera was out of earshot before slinking off after her. Now was the time to endure, not fight back, or at least that was what experience had taught him.

Royal Rumble!

Wolfram & Vera & Vernon 2.0

@Letter Bee @Crowvette @AtomicNut @Bartimaeus

---

(Rewinding time a bit because I missed something in my last post but it's not too late...)

Vernon grinned at Masami's spontaneous hug and then even more at her flinching away from him, "Oh, I assure you dear fox lady, I am a very bad guy." A sort of malicious wildness crept into his eyes, his grin growing lopsided and predatory. But then it was gone, prompting the question of if it had perhaps all been in Masami's head, and replaced with a simple smile. "But fret not, I am on your side. Well, William's side specifically. So as long as you're also on his side, you don't have too much to worry about."

---

Vera was too busy contemplating whether or not she'd really almost gotten her boyfriend exploded, while simultaneously warding off any perverse onlookers with her patented "Death Glare From Hell"™, to realize what Anna was up to. Thus, she was left there, eyes wide and one twitching in disgust as Anna's tongue was dragged across her face. In the end, her only response was for her horrified eyes to turn to look at Anna, displaying just how fucked up she found it all deep down.

That said, the feeling of her pain subsiding as the wound knitted back shut was enough for her to just forget it had ever happened. This time.

Meanwhile, Wolf was in a similarly relieved state. He could breathe again and that was a huge plus.

"Sure thing," Wolf said in response to her asking for dinner. "And don't be too hard on Vera this time. I'd rather not dissuade her when she decides to be ni- err, less mean," he told her, mostly as a joke. That said, he was still trying to process the fact that Vera had actually not gone ballistic.

But it seemed he'd spoken too soon. Or rather, he shouldn't have spoken at all.

Now healed, Vera had no trouble standing back up and rounding on him.

"Fuck you, Wolf! I'm not a fucking dog! I do what I see fit to, when I see fit to do it!" she spat at him. "I don't give two shits what Meredith thinks!" She twisted Meredith's name in her mouth as if it tasted bad.

At that moment, Wolf received both a gift and a curse. William passed out.

Vera, who had been hit in the head and nearly run over by a car, looked at the boy who had just fallen unconscious... apparently because he was sleepy. William. The one who was supposed to be in charge. The one who supposedly had a plan.

Wolf who, for the sake of consistency, had actually been run over by a car, just sheepishly shrank back as Vera slowly turned her head back to him. She wore a look that forced him to swallow any retort he might have had in defense of himself or Meredith. A look that asked on, simple question: 'What the hell have you gotten me into?'

Vernon raised an eyebrow at Alexander's words, but made no move to stop him, though he did fall in step with him, a few last words to share before he went his own way,

"Now now, don't be getting soft on him just because he's your baby brother," Vernon gave him a wry smirk. "It's our job as those closest to be the most critical, isn't it? We've only barely cleared our first hurdle here, and if not for the timely arrival of Mr. Fights-With-Cars and the world's bitchiest girlfriend, we might have been in real trouble." Then his expression turned a tad more serious. "Point is it's likely only to get harder from here on out, so don't go encouraging him too much. I think we'd both like to see him come out the other end of this mess alive."

He then gave Alexander a perhaps overly heavy-handed slap on the back, "but hey! I'll keep doing my best to keep him in one piece, and you just make sure you tuck him in real good tonight!" He smiled, but he obviously wasn't happy.

No, they'd only just begun with William's insane idea. Practically day one and they'd already gotten into an all out brawl and just barely managed to keep their most important piece in hand.

'You may have plan, William, but are you really ready to see this through? Something tells me this isn't going to go the way you hope it will.' With that, he split away from Alexander. "Hey, Wolfie, keep Lady Demonface safe tonight, all right? I almost died keeping her from getting stolen." And then he went on his way. He'd be back when William needed him.

"So did we, dickhead! Fuck off!" Vera snapped at him. "Don't give us orders!"

"Well, he's right, though. We need to keep an eye on Andras for a bit," Wolf told her, trying to hide his embarrassed blush at the nickname. Dammit Meredith. "What do you think Meredith? There's definitely no place safer in Rhea than your home. No one could get past your parents. But if you don't want to, my house is probably just as safe with my dad around." Of course, none of that mattered if Andras didn't want to go with them. "Would that be all right with you?" he asked the girl in question.

"The correct answer is yes," Vera stared Andras down. She didn't want to drag the girl around the city all night. She wanted to find a bed to fall into and get to work on turning this night into just a bad memory.