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There was a moment of silence, raw expectation. The three could not register anymore how close they were to each other. Not with such a thing in their frozen sight.
What had been huge already had grown to sickening proportions, ones that should have not been naturally possible. Flesh had been ripped and bloody before, and yet it twisted to a degree that made that memory tame in comparison. Blinding colors had emerged with a deep guttural howl, first a sickly green, then with a range of dispersing hues. Worst of all, was the stance of such being; what had been their friend was now a monster gaping down at them, sharp maws open in what could only be a devilish grin.
“What the fu-“
Arthur was the first to unfreeze. Vivi and Lewis flinched as he let out a scream much more panicked and loud than the ones before. It would have been funny, if they were not in dire danger.
Neither she nor the ghost had time to ponder the situation, the irony of them standing together. Before either could blink, Mystery did.
A ghostly grunt echoed, much more startled than the ones Lewis made when he watched Arthur fall by his hand. Arthur and Vivi were pushed sideways as a big green claw slammed around the ghost’s frame and yanked. Lewis had always been huge, even in death, and yet he seemed small in that grasp.
Violet plasma filled the air as Mystery heaved Lewis backwards and over his tails. The skeleton somehow fell noisily by a burnt truck with a thud, even if he could have not possibly made a sound, not while being a ghost. In fact, for a moment, perhaps he had flickered as his living self in the whiplash.
Did not matter, Vivi did not see that. Her sight was blocked; because in a second, Mystery lunged with a swift turn, pinning the ghost far away from the other two. Fast, direct and calculative, the beast knew to strike without giving them a chance.
This time, no one can rip my hold off. Not while I control the ripper now.
It could allow itself to mock them inwardly, whispering in Mystery’s mind; for its mockery was directed at the Kitsune, and less so at the insignificant youngsters at its mercy.
Lewis trembled and slammed his hand up onto the claw over him, his angry tired growls not as loud as the ones of Mystery. He set himself ablaze, his skull engulfed in pink fire; but it only seemed to make the monster laugh, unmoving.
His arms would have been crushed under the weight, his ghostly ribs shattered… if not for a thud echoing behind it. With that sound, it froze. Not because it felt hurt, but because it was surprised.
Slowly, ever so slowly, its huge neck and head turned back, its body staying hauntingly still while it did so. Its three eyes narrowed, fixing on the bat that had struck its hind legs. One single strike… Vivi still panted behind it, shaking as she fought the thought of who she had hit.
Her expression twisted a little when she met those eyes; her hold on the bat loosened a bit. She had doubted to lunge, her swing hesitant. And still, while looking now at that thing, she still thought she could see Mystery.
But it wasn’t him. All knew when it acted next.
A shadow dashed over her, fast as lightning. Her blue eyes widened as she glanced up, just in time to spot the tail swinging downwards towards her. Blue as her dress, much more brighter and longer.
Lewis’ sockets emptied for a moment, wide as his eyes would have been. His heart skipped a beat. However, she was not crushed; that instant was not only seen by him.
Vivi huffed as something slammed onto her faster than the tail. Her huff was not the only one to echo as she tumbled with something a few feet away. Arthur could not afford to be careful and not end up tangled up with her on the ground after his tackle; he somehow found himself rushing towards the monster, who had him frozen just mere seconds ago.
His eyes wobbled, as he tried and failed to stand with an arm that would not stop trashing about, now even more erratic. Vivi hissed as some sparks brushed her, busting out of the metal over her. When they both managed to untangle from each other, it was too late.
Arthur gulped, sat in the same position as when the ghost ripped that locket out of his hold, much more terrified however. He did not register her sitting up and raising her bat with a snarl, shielding him slightly. Time frozen around him, his eyes wandered all over the beast.
No, not beast. Mystery. Perhaps one and the same, as he could not tell the difference between the time his arm was ripped and this. His right hand latched instinctively around his shaky unorthodox limb, a phantom pain shooting up from it. Those teeth were leaning down, towering, much less fast this time. All the moments in which he doubted to lay a hand on his friend struck him back, right then.
It was only one thing that made him realize Mystery was not there. His heart twisted, as he dwelt on the sickly green on its eyes and claws. They did not hold the same black shade of its fur or skin.
Like…
He had not been able to recall anything past the instant in which he felt his arm shiver that night, not clearly. Not until now. Now, something hammered down all the pieces together in his head, forcefully and brutally. He breathed out shakily as he remembered a little more, something that made him realize why looking for Lewis had been pointless. He now knew why Vivi had seemed to block that memory. He remembered losing sight of him, in a blur, then pain, then blackness. Something did happen, he had known. But he had not imagined he had taken advantage of those spikes below…
Took you long enough to figure it out…
Arthur did not need to hear that unvoiced whisper. In just a moment, he finally pieced together why he had blacked out, why Lewis had disappeared, and why he could not find him. There was no accident, no mystery anymore.
I pushed him.
He did not move an inch when a claw moved over them, not even if Vivi still crouched at his side with him, much less out of it. Her teeth showed as much as Mystery’s did, returning the look of those annoyed but amused eyes.
The claw came down.
Lewis let out what would have been a yell, a ghostly wail instead. He deflated slightly under the talon that had him pinned, believing he had not freed himself in time. It was only when he saw the other claw shake that he realized it had not gone all the way down. It was struggling to slam, because something was pushing it up from below.
Her push against it would not hold for much longer however. Vivi panted and heaved, flinching as her legs fought to stand upright under the weight. Her hands did not let go of the creaking icy bat, not even when she casted a glance backwards, towards Arthur. Even if looking terrified, he was not backing off on the ground, still frozen.
“Arthur, get your ass up, dammit!”
That did it. It did not erase his daze completely, but it did the job.
Lewis growled, not really caring that the blond had finally run off like a coward with a gasp. As much as he had felt troubled about letting him hit those spikes, he still loathed his guts. He still could not understand why he cared about Arthur, why he still remembered enough of their past for him to be in his locket. It hurt, enough for it to have made him go down on his knees inside that truck. Seeing his enemy so scared and clueless, so capable of putting a surprised concerned façade… it made black tar pour out where tears should have gathered.
It made him feel anger, fury… And so, he used that feeling to focus on what he most loved; it was a love with no clouded doubts or indecision. It would not shift, or change, or end.
Vivi.
The devil gasped, as it felt a scorching feeling on its right claw, so contrasting to the icy coldness on its left. Before it could blink with any of its three eyes, a blast of violet shoot all over, blinding them.
Lewis had stood. He was not pinned anymore; his arms were raised high up against the green palm. And all the while, he screamed ghostly, almost hidden in between the flames that surrounded them.
Vivi gasped, relieved that the bat had stood the weight one second longer. Her eyes glinted as she watched the flames, amazement sinking in for the fact that they did not burn.
No, they wouldn’t. Not her. Mystery let out a trembling growl this time, a nervous grunt. At last, it was the one to take a step back, away from both of them.
However, that did not mean it cowered and fled. Vivi yelped when Mystery arched forward suddenly, closing his maws around the skull of the ghost. As quickly, it leaned back, leaving the spirit headless, with a gaping hole at the neck of his hollow suit.
The demon smiled, seeing the body jolt for a moment. A pause, flames still tangling. Its contentment began to falter, as slowly, ever so slowly, smoke pushed out faintly from in between its teeth.
“Mfh…pf.” It tried to swallow. It tried to keep it cool. But it could not hang on with a ghost pepper burning up in its maws. “B-r-raaaaaaawh!”
Like a missile launching off to space, fire shot wildly and rapidly from its throat. A skull bounced out with it, its expression pissed off and done.
As Mystery coughed, whined and wiped some multicolor tails on the scorched tongue, Lewis stepped near his skull and picked it up from the ground. After letting it float over his hollow neck once more, he patted his suit in apparent annoyance, and gave it the same look it had given Lance not too long ago.
It’s on, mutt.
The devil had the same regards for him. It laughed again; Vivi and Lewis subconsciously stepped closer to the other, facing the murderous being as it lost it. Its wild growled laugh echoed, this time much more uneven and maniacal, afraid deep inside but still defiant.
It let them stand together as it lunged with both claws, at the same time.
It did not manage to swipe any of the two. Vivi did not flinch when a gloved hand grasped hers and moved her, pulled her. She twirled instinctively as he swung her sideways, gently but strongly, calculatedly. Somehow, it reminded her of a dance move, one that she somehow felt familiar.
She did not focus on that feeling. As the ghost arched her away from the slamming claws, she build up a yell and outstretched her bat in their motion, taking advantage of the gravity pull. The bat slammed right on Mystery’s ribs, a burst of ice shooting all over the fur and towards the tails.
Lewis smiled as much as he could with only a skull. She regained her balance and then found herself in his firm hold, from which she could free herself easily. They stared at each other for a moment, both seeming to get lost in it… her eyes with wonder, his with affection.
The ghost sighed when that had to end, when a loud crack echoed a few feet away. Mystery’s left side had been completely encased with ice. But as he recovered from the hit, it forced a jolt and broke it off its frame. As the ice hit the ground, it melted due to the heat of Lewis’ flames, which still kept hot at a distance. Water drips fell from its fur and mixed in red, Shiromori’s stab wound open once again.
It was tiring. They could see. Those three eyes were blinking erratically, like if they were fighting to look at different things at once, with multiple minds.
Lewis felt he could win… until it let out the loudest of howls.
Much like when it had first awoken, its body pulsed. Green mist emanated and blasted from its fur, bringing in a brutal rush of air against them.
Vivi screamed and tumbled back; she would have hit her head if Lewis had not slammed his feet and muffled the hit in his arms. The bat fell forgotten a few feet away, as they found themselves pushed towards the scorched remains of a truck.
The yell continued, as the tails untangled and whipped up like snakes. Instead of covering his nonexistent ears with his hands, like he did with the first howl, he shielded hers from the deafening noise. He could do nothing as the sound of nearing steps echoed to them, the screech never stopping or lessening.
Mystery advanced, shielded with such howl… unbothered by the figure that trembled behind near a shattered van.
Arthur hissed, one of his hands on one of his ears. He was not able to raise his other one, because now it was trashing about again, even more wildly. He trembled as the sparks shot all over. His eyes widened as the arm seemed to try to yank him forward, like it had done for the first howl.
He froze, as by looking at the motions of the arm, he spied past the wreckage of the van. The devil was mere steps away now, from them. Inching closer… and with each clawed footstep, his arm mimicked the motion, pulling, outstretching, trashing wildly on their direction.
Arthur knew those maws would stop yelling soon, in order to slam around their bodies, once near enough. The mess would be much harder to fix than a ripped arm, he knew.
And so, he panicked. He began to look all around him, trying to spot anything that he could use to help. He could not care any less about the noise and ringing in his ears, it was lesser than theirs.
Shotgun. Where? Can’t see it. How then? A rock? None, and too weak. Myself? Maybe, if-
An echoing splash stopped his thoughts. Slowly, in a frozen instant, he laid eyes on the puddle of water where Mystery was standing. Its fur was soaked, still cold from the melted ice. Its claws were right on it… surrounded by a conductive trap.
Arthur dashed, hand outstreched. This time, under his own terms.
Mystery screamed now right at the ghost’s face, over his skull and her head. With a shake and gurgle, it got ready to stop howling… but it did not close its maw in a lunge, but in a flinch and jolt.
Sparks shooting through, Mystery’s fur pulsed even more than it could have done due to any possession. An electric current had flowed from a puddle behind his hind legs, quickly running through the stream and up into him. The kitsune let out sounds that would have sounded familiar if not tainted by that unnatural echo.
Lewis and Vivi blinked as Mystery convulsed, scream dying out; he was out of it, those three eyes open wide and unfocused. In a few seconds, the blinding electricity stopped coursing, dying out in smoke.
But it was enough.
A loud thud, a huge gasped growl. Mystery crumbled at their feet, sending a rumble through the ground with his weight. The kitsune did not move again to maul them; fur still pulsing… but less black and green. Both of them stood frozen as he convulsed, mutation seemingly twisting and fading.
As it did, his size was once more less towering and overwhelming. And with that, both could see past his animalistic body. He was not the only one thrown down on the ground, immobile.
“Arthur!”
Lewis frowned as she bolted, spotting the blond sprawled some feet away behind Mystery. She crouched quickly by him, hissing as she brushed a spark that shot out of his still electrified arm. She began to move him away from the puddle, fearing the worst. And as she did so, the ghost watched in animosity, not daring a step towards them both.
He let a few flames rise up on his shoulders, as he glared at the blond with conflicted emotions. Arthur was alive, fainted, perhaps hurt badly, but alive. Still breathing, still able to feel touch or warmth.
Vivi was trying to get him far from any water, deadly afraid they both could get shocked. Her eyes quickly glared at his prosthetic, seeing it twitch and malfunction continuously. She did not know how it could still jolt, not with the smoke coming out of it or its busted outline. The cables that were peeking were barely holding on to the inner battery.
When she reached to take it off… Lewis finally seemed to realize something; something quite obvious, clear as water to anyone with a functioning brain. His ghostly eyes fixed on the metallic arm as Vivi threw it away angrily, letting it tumble on the ground. Slowly, ever so slowly… he pondered on the fact that Arthur was, in fact, crippled. As well, it was important to note which limb he was missing.
Lewis tensed. A cold shiver flowed in his shattered locket. He swore he could feel that left hand on his back again… as he heard a rustle near his feet, fleshy and bloody.
When he glanced down to Mystery with a shudder, it was far too late to see what had crawled out of his bleeding wound.
His fur was no longer black, his claws no longer a sickly green. There were no blinding hues on his tails. His eyes were closed, the two of them. His chest was raising and falling with troubled breaths, severely affected by the bloody hole in it. It was deep, brought by two huge shears… a perfect opening and opportunity.
Something had torn itself out of it. He could only stare at the small trail of blood on the ground, which something had seemed to leave behind as it crawled into the dark.
His eyes moved wildly, glancing into the darkness around them. His locket gained a new crack on it, as the thoughts began to mix into his feelings.
He saw nothing, found no trace of what he feared to see. He wished it was only his imagination, a simple delusion. But as he looked down to Mystery and then towards them… the dark tears could not be stopped, he could not help but shudder.
While avoiding listening to her worried calls and averting his gaze from his fainted figure… he grasped his heart. He opened it slowly, dreadfully. He feared looking into himself, into his own emotion and memory.
The photo had changed again. He stared at it, now much more painfully. They were still there, but not the same. He noted the glints in her lost gaze, the worry in Mystery’s shameful stance, and the pain in his own eyes, his chest showing the deep stab that did him in.
However, all that, he had already known. He could not stop looking at Arthur, his left eye a sickly color; his expression, one of horror.
It was no murder.