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Chapter Text

She tightened the grip on her dagger, letting out a small sigh.  She’d been planning this ambush for weeks, studying his patterns and finding the perfect moment to strike.  She had got it down to a science at this point.  Appear out of a shrieking hell portal at 9 A.M outside the local barber’s shop.  10:30 A.M, arrive at school.  10:34 A.M, attempt to skip classes.  3:20 P.M, leave school.  Arrive at the barber shop at around 4.  Gaze longingly through the front window til 5.  After that, things got foggy, but that was fine.  It was currently 3:45, and he had just entered the alley.  As she waited in the trash can, she heard his heavy footfalls begin to approach.  Three steps.  Two steps.  One…

She burst out, savoring the brief look of surprise on Damien’s face as she launched toward him.  The dagger came down with lightning-fast speed, the demon prince only barely managing to get his arm up in time to block it.  Sparks flew on contact, and Aaravi grinned as a small splattering of blood hit the ground as she jumped away.  The demon let out a small hiss, examining his wound.

“Damn, Aaravi, you don’t disappoint.  If you vanish for weeks, I know to expect something good.”

“Be quiet, you vile hellspawn!”  Aaravi spat.  “I’ll put an end to this now!  This blade is covered in poison!  Your life is already over!”

Damien, instead of freaking out or panicking like Aaravi expected, continued to examine the wound as it began to smoke.

“Huh.  This wouldn’t happen to be, like…viper venom, right?”

“I’m not about to tell you what I used!”

Damien licked the wound.  “Yep, viper venom.  My dads drink this stuff mixed with champagne.  This isn’t even concentrated!”

He cracked his knuckles, a sinister smile spreading across his face.  “Still, it did sting a bit.  Hope you had a back-up plan!”

The following fight was swift, but brutal.  Aaravi stumbled out of the alleyway, covered in bruises and cuts.  Her dagger was still clutched in her hand, streaked with  blood.  It was difficult to tell who’s.  Damien followed soon after, waving a hand.

“See ya next time, hunter!  Lookin’ forward to it!”  He let out a devilish laugh, then leaned against the alley wall.  

He watched intently as Aaravi wobbled down the sidewalk, slowly regaining her composure.  She knelt a bit, then fully sprang up, running out of sight.  Damien let out a sigh, applying pressure to one of the deeper cuts on his arm.

“Damnnit, Aaravi…” he mumbled.  “You can’t keep doing this.”

“Jeez, you totally beat her ass.”

Damien whipped to the side so fast he stumbled.  At the other end of the alley, Zoe stood, sipping lazily from a Starbucks cup.  The contents of the cup moaned and screamed as she drank, making Damien wonder just where the hell she got it.

“When did you get here?”

“Been here the whole time.”  She took another long sip.  “Kinda surprised you didn’t notice me.”

“Well shit, shoulda said something sooner.  Not my fault you…just kinda blip in and out.”

“That was one time, and you still had your underwear on.”

Damien’s face went deeper red, and he looked away.  “You promised not to talk about that again.”

“Eh, not the weirdest thing I’ve seen.  Also, you mentioned blipping around.”  She was suddenly next to the demon, smiling mischievously.  “like this?”

Damien gave her a playful shove, then turned his attention back to the way Aaravi went.  “Hey, does she ever…jump out of trash cans and try to stab you?”

Zoe thought for a moment.  “Nope, she doesn’t really bother me.  I guess former elder gods are too high up for her to manage.”

Damien laughed, kicking a rock across the way.  “Must be nice.  As much as I enjoy beating the crap outta people, it gets kinda sad after a while.  You can only beat up the same poor fucker before you start feeling sorry for them.”

Zoe stepped out of the alley, peering in the direction the Hunter went.  She took another sip of her cup, then thrust it into the demon prince’s hand.  It squirmed uncomortably.

“Here, toss this for me.”

Before he could react she ran off, shoes pounding against the ground rhythmically.  She immediately picked up on Aaravi’s location, following the small trail of blood.  Zoe wound down alleys and roads until she could see her, still staggering a bit.  She channeled her best ninjutsu skills, becoming imperceivable.  She sauntered up to Aaravi, twirling in front of her to look in her eyes.  

Aaravi looked worse for wear.  Her eyes were narrow slits, blood still dribbling from a small cut above her brow.  She was clutching her side, hissing occasionally as she walked.  Her hair was slick with sweat and blood.  Zoe felt a pang of sympathy for the girl, and without thinking much she reached forward with one of her tentacles.  She ran it over the Hunter’s facial cut, using a bit of her power to heal it.  If Aaravi noticed she was healed, she didn’t acknowledge.  A sudden turn to the left caused Zoe to jump back.  She watched as Aaravi climbed the few steps of an apartment complex, fumbling at the door before finally pulling it open.  She stepped through, and Zoe slipped in behind her.

The girls climbed up the three flights of stairs to the top floor, where Aaravi stopped in front of the furthest door from the stairs.  As she pulled a key out, it slipped from her hand and happened to bounce to Zoe’s feet.  The eldritch cutie picked it up without thinking, only realizing her mistake when she saw the shocked look on Aaravi’s face.  With a thought, Zoe was visible again (of course, after the cloud of ninja smoke cleared).

Zoe smiled as innocently as she could.  “Uh, hi.”  She said, handing the key over.  “You, uh, really got your ass kicked.”

Aaravi scowled, taking the key.  “Did you just follow me here to insult me?”

“Dunno.”  Zoe responded.  “Just…felt like it.  You going in or not?” She pointed towards the door.

“I am, you’re not.”  Aaravi mumbled.  “Go away.”

“Well, you can try to stop me.  But I could get in if I wanted to.”

“I’d call the police.”

“Calling the police on god?  Bold move.”

She didn’t respond, instead just quickly unlocking the door and opening it just enough for her to slip by.  She tried to close the door on Zoe, but she just phased through it with a silent scream.  

The smile Zoe had faded as she took in the apartment.  She didn’t have a 100% grasp on how apartments and houses worked, but she was pretty sure this counted not as a “apartment” but more as a “shed that just happens to have a kitchen and bathroom”.  The entryway let her see a tiny kitchen off to the right, barely having enough room to fit the tiny fridge and stove/oven combo.  There wasn’t even a kitchen counter, just the little area separated from the rest of the room by a plywood wall.  The rest of the room beyond that wasn’t much better.  A single bed took up most of the main room, with a small center console with an old tube TV set at the foot.  No table, no chairs, just a bed and old shag carpet that looked older than the apartment itself.

Aaravi glared at the uninvited guest, before sighing and taking off her shoes.  She set them aside, then stared expectantly at Zoe.  It took her a moment to realize what was happening.

“Wait, you’re letting me stay?”

“You won’t leave even if I ask you.”

“Fair.”

Zoe bounded across the room, plopping herself down on the bed with a small jump.  The springs creaked noisily, threatening to finally snap.  Aaravi peeked around from the kitchen, then sighed.

“Damnit.  Guess I have to be a host now.  Do you want something to drink?  I have some green tea or water.”

“You know how to make tea?”

“Answer the question.”

“I’ll try the tea.”

“Alright, give me a few minutes.  Don’t destroy the place.”

Aaravi vanished out of sight, and after a few minutes Zoe could hear a kettle being placed down.  Once she was sure Aaravi was distracted, she immediately began snooping around.  First thing she did was hang off the side of the bed, letting her tentacles hit the floor as she gazed under.  Boxes mostly blocked her view, labeled things like “utensils” and “junk”.  Nothing too interesting.  With that done, she crawled over to the TV center console mix, finding a few drawers set in the base.  Opening them as silently as she could, she found it full of clothes.  Nothing pervy or flashy, just simple tee’s, jeans, sweatpants, and shorts.  No weapons?  She felt a little disappointed.  Zoe closed the drawers, wincing as one creaked just a bit too loudly for her liking.  Examining the TV revealed its age, not only being a tube TV but also having a VHS slot. Returning to the bed, she decided to wait patiently as asked.

After a few minutes and a bit of whistling, Aaravi rounded the corner with two cups in hand.  One was a normal white cup, the other was shaped like a treasure chest.  She carefully handed the white one to Zoe, then sat down on the bed next to her.

“After you drink, leave.”  She said coldly, blowing on the tea.  “As you can see, there’s nothing here for you.”

“Oh come on, that’s not true!  There’s lots of stuff here, like…”  Zoe waved her free hand about, mind blanking.  “…the TV over there!”

Aaravi gave her a look before bursting out laughing.  “That thing?  Unless you got some tapes, we won’t be using that.  It doesn’t have cable.”

“You don’t have cable?”

“Nope, can’t afford it.”

Zoe shook her head, finally giving the tea a sip.  “Oh, hey, not bad.”

“Well, I didn’t level up my brewing skill for nothing.”

They sat in silence for a bit, sipping from their tea while the air became thick with awkwardness.  Zoe glanced over at the Hunter again, eying her side.  Aaravi was still holding it with her free hand, and she was barely masking the pain she was in.  Every time she took a sip, she flinched.  Zoe quickly downed the rest of the cup, setting it aside and turning to face her.

“Alright, don’t bullshit me on this.  Damien broke a few ribs, right?”

Aaravi tried to lean away, but the movement caused her to involuntarily hiss in pain.  “Ow, ow, fuck…no.”

“I said don’t bullshit me on this!”  Zoe said angrily, tentacles writhing.  She wasn’t exactly sure why she was mad, she just was.  “If you’re in pain, you should do something about it!”

“Like what?!”  Aaravi snapped back, “I can’t afford the hospital, I don’t know any healing magic, and I don’t have any components to brew a healing potion!”

“You have tea, but none of that weird brewing crap?!”

“It’s not crap!  It’s ingredients, and they’re hard to come by!  You have any idea how hard it is to find the right shade of green herb?  You fuck that up, you’re poisoned for days!”

“You have someone here who can help!”

“Why would you help me?!”

Zoe stopped, realizing she didn’t have an answer.  “I-I dunno, man!  It just sucks seeing you do this to yourself!  Listen, I can help ya, but if I do you gotta promise me something.”

“I don’t make deals with devils.”

“I’m an elder god, not a Devil.  Now shut up and listen.  I’ll heal you, but on the condition that you…that..you….”

She thought for a moment, then a devious smile spread across her face.  “I want you to let me come over whenever I want.”

“Why…why the hell would you want to do that?”

“Dunno.  Just feel like it, and this gives me the A-OK to do it.  So,”

Zoe held out her tentacle hand.  “We have a deal?”

Aaravi silently debated with herself, clearly not wanting to, but not having much of a choice.  Reluctantly, she set the tea cup down and took the hand.  

“Fine.  I-ow.  Can’t really stop you anyway.”

“Good!”  Zoe said cheerfully.  “Just sit tight, this’ll be over in a second!”

Zoe leaned over, placing a tentacle on the injury.  Aaravi let out another hiss, then a relieved sigh as magic quickly stitched the injury together.  Healing like this was just her using her destructive abilities in reverse, right?  But, damn, Damien had done a lot more than she had expected.  One of the rib bits was dangerously close to puncturing something vital.  When Zoe leaned back Aaravi hesitantly pressed a hand against her side, then gave Zoe a look.  

“I hate that I’m now indebted to you, but I can at least say…..t-thanks.”

Another awkward silence.  Zoe let out a sigh, standing and patting the Hunter on the head.  

“Alright, I’ll leave ya be for now.  Glad I got to help ya, for what it’s worth.  See ya at school tomorrow!”

Aaravi grumbled in reply, taking the discarded cups and following behind Zoe until they reached the kitchen.  Zoe waved goodbye happily as she opened the door, letting it close behind her with a loud bang.  Aaravi swore from inside, causing Zoe to laugh.  The former god bounded down the hall, thinking about what she'd do the next day.

—————————

Liam tapped uninterestedly at his phone, browsing Twitter and looking for new trends to despise.  Across from him, Damien and Zoe argued about something he didn’t care enough about to listen.  They had decided to eat lunch outside, the cloudy day allowing Liam to enjoy the weather, for however long the clouds allowed.  Just when things started to look somewhat eyecatching on the bird site, Zoe suddenly lifted his head and stared intensely into his eyes.

“Hey, crypt creep!  I’m asking you a question!”

“Apologies, my brain must’ve skipped town to find something more interesting to do.”

“Dull as always, I see.  Anyway, my question!  Does Aaravi ever bother you?”

Liam let out a sharp, single laugh.  “Bother me?  She rarely leaves me be!  Honestly, I must’ve done something miraculous to be blessed with not seeing her for a week.”

“Oh, that’s cause she was on my ass.”  Damien called from his spot, picking at his nails.  “Jumped out of a trash can.”

“Honestly, doesn’t she ever get tired of it?  By the 12th failed stake-through-the-heart attack, you’d think they’d give up…”

Liam pushed Zoe away, returning to his phone.  “Really now, I thought you’d be having the most problems with her, Zoe.  Being a physical body of a GOD, maybe she’d think it’d be easy, or at the very least a big catch…”

“Apparently not!”  Damien called again.  “From what she told me, Aaravi doesn’t fuck with her!  Who’d I have to kill to get treatment like that…”

“Aaravi, if you wanted to kill a classmate.”  Liam replied flatly.

“Nah, not worth the trouble.  Plus, dad said if I kept killing classmates he’d pull me from school.  As much as I hate it here, I’d miss you guys!”

“Awwww, that’s really sweet!”  Zoe said cheerfully.  “Also, I’m pretty sure Aaravi would be so fuckin’ pissed off about being killed by a ‘filthy monster’ that she’d come back as a ghost to haunt your ass.”

“If you two are done being sappy, I’d like you to look over there.”  Liam pointed behind him without looking up.  “Five dollars she misses.”

Zoe and Damien leaned back, getting a good view of the forest behind the vampire.  There, poking out of the bushes, a crossbow with an arrow loaded was pointed toward them.  It adjusted itself, lining up for a shot.  After a second’s delay, it fired.  Liam leaned forward a bit, the arrow soaring over his head and embedding itself in the table.  Damien immediately snatched it up and began using it as an oversized toothpick.

“Better luck next time, bitch!”  Damien hollered, howling with laughter.

 Zoe sighed as the crossbow retracted into the bushes, then reappeared with another arrow set in it.  She jogged over to the bush, plucking the arrow out of its spot.  There was a pause, then another arrow was unceremoniously placed again onto the crossbow.  

“Really?!”  Zoe said exasperatedly, pushing the crossbow back as she shoved through the bush.  

Zoe seemed to use too much force, as when she pushed through the last bit of shrubbery, she toppled forward on top of the Hunter.  Their faces were mere centimeters apart, causing the hunter to yelp in surprise.  The two scrambled about, trying to untangle themselves, finally Zoe flopping to the side.  She stood and dusted herself off, then placed a hand on her hip as she stared annoyed.

“If you put another arrow on that thing, I’m gonna break it.”

Aaravi stopped mid-placement, letting the crossbow fall to her side.  “Damnit, why are you getting in my way?!”

“You’re bugging my friends.  Plus, I don’t want to see Damien break your ribs again.  I don’t have ribs to know how it feels, but I’m pretty sure it’s ‘not fun’.”

“Well…no, I’m not going to let you stop me.  If I get hurt, I get hurt.  It’s in the job description.”

“Pay must be nice.”

Aaravi’s eyes sharpened at the words, a different kind of anger passing across her face.  Zoe had seen her mad, but this was beyond that.  She could taste the bitterness of Aaravi’s anger as the Hunter stepped closer.

“You have no right to speak about things you don’t understand.  I’m the only one who can do this job now, so I will!”  She spat the words angrily, pulling her dagger from its sheath.  “I won’t let my training go to waste.”

Zoe took a step back, putting her hands up.  “Alright, alright, geez, put the dagger down.  I won’t stop you if you’re that dedicated.  Just know that I’m not going to help you if you get hurt again.”

Aaravi snarled in response, pushing the eldritch girl aside.  She sprinted out of the bushes, charging toward the seated demon and vampire.  Damien began to rise, but Liam shooed him down as he stood, turning to face the oncoming attacker.  He pointed a crooked finger at her, and his eyes flashed a bright pink.  Aaravi stopped in her tracks, eyes wide.

“Alright, let’s put a stop to that.”  Liam said, walking closer and examining the Hunter.  As he did, Zoe emerged from the shrubbery, walking over and taking place next to him.

“Hypnosis?”

“Of a sort.”

“What’re you gonna make her do?”

Liam looked at the girl, then shoved her into the Hunter, the two girls collapsing to the ground.

“Aaravi, go bug Zoe here for the rest of the day.  Zoe, please keep her out of our hair.  I can’t focus on my blog if she keeps trying to stab me.”

Zoe pulled herself off of Aaravi for the second time that day, huffing.  “Fine, whatever.  If it keeps your little blog safe, I’ll do it.”

She helped Aaravi to her feet (well, more so forced her, but the purple-haired girl’s glare didn’t seem any different from before), patting her shoulder.  “Alright, let’s get going.  Classes are SOOOO gonna be boring, so let’s ditch!”

“W-what?!  Why!?”

“Be-cause, if you stick around you’ll probably run into Damien and Liam in class.  I don’t wanna hear them complain about you again.  Or have you try shooting them again.  Plus, I got a good place in mind, so let’s go!  It’ll be my treat!”

Aaravi gave an angry glare to the vampire, then turned back with a huff.  “Do I really have to?”

“Yes.”  Liam responded flatly.  “You’re hypnotized.  You have to do what I say.”

“...Fine.  Whatever.  We’ll call this a sidequest.  Lead the way, Zoe.”

Zoe grabbed her hand, leading her away with a laugh.  Liam and Damien watched them go, then the demon leaned across the table.

“So, was that, like, actual hypnosis?  Didn’t know you could do that.”

“Oh, definitely no.  I wouldn’t use something as powerful as hypnosis on someone as weak-minded as her.  If I DID, she might never come out of it.  I merely stunned her.”

“So you CAN hypnotize people!  Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

Liam sat back down, returning to his phone.  “You already are.  Get out of my shade.”

—————————

The trip downtown was relatively peaceful for the two girls.  Only a brief near-encounter with some truant officers caused them to detour from whatever route they were on, but other than that it was uneventful.  They passed several stores, Aaravi’s gaze lingering a bit on the ornate dagger in the pawn shop and Zoe’s on a fancy cake in a bakery.  They walked for so long that Aaravi was starting to wonder if Zoe was just wandering aimlessly.  They took another turn, and recognition dawned on the hunter’s face.

“This is…an arcade.”

“Yep!”  Zoe said cheerfully, letting go of Aaravi’s hand and spinning around to face her.  The hunter had completely forgotten they had been doing that.

“This place is amazing!”  She cheered, spreading her arms to the side.  “They have old-school arcades, modern consoles, and even a few VR setups!  I love coming here to kill time on weekends!”

“Don’t we need MONEY to play these things?”

“Normally, yes!  But I’m essentially a VIP here, so we can play for free!”

“How’d you manage to do that?  I thought your social skill was still pretty low…”

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that last part.  For the first, I’m just that good!  Come on!”

Zoe grabbed Aaravi’s hand again, and they walked into the dimly lit building.  Bright neon signs hung from the walls, the ground carpeted with those glow-in-the-dark swirls and shapes arcades seem to spawn in on their own.  They wove between the beeping machines, dodging other monsters.  Zoe seemed to have one machine in mind, leading them towards the back of the place.  There, a dusty-looking pac-man arcade machine sat in the corner.  She found it a little odd to see it here, at least in its human version of the game.  Most monsters seemed to agree that out of all human inventions, arcades were the best, but would usually make their own version of it.  Maybe to avoid copyright?  However, this machine wasn’t fully original.  Someone had vandalized the side of it, writing an ‘S’ over the ‘P’ in black sharpie.  Zoe tapped the side of it, giving the hunter a big smile.

“Here’s my personal favorite.  Think this thing is busted, every time I play it the levels are different!”

“What’s so special about a glitchy cabinet?  Glitches usually break things…”

“What’s special is that you can get a wicked high score if you play well enough!  I’m in the top 3 spots on the leaderboard!”  She said proudly, gesturing for Aaravi to step up to it.

She did as asked, moving closer.  The joystick was slightly curved from use, the paint on the head worn off.  The original plastic buttons had been replaced with bottle caps.  Examining the panel where you would insert coins, a piece of duct tape held one side to the machine.  It looked like it would fall apart at any moment.  She gave the eldritch girl a look.

“Alright…I’ll give it a go.  Your high scores are as good as gone.  How do I start it with your ‘VIP’ status?”

Zoe responded by smacking the side of the machine.  The screen flickered, and soon played a little animation before the game began.  Aaravi seized the controls, but was a little thrown off by what she saw.  She’d played pac-man before, was familiar with the blue maze.  This maze, however, looked nothing like how it should’ve.  It looked like walls and hallways had been placed at random, no symmetry or order about it.  Some areas were completely open, pac-dots scattered about like someone had spilled them.  The ghosts seemed to know how to manage the new terrain, though, going about their usual ghostly way.  

While she played, Zoe stood to the side, watching intently.  The hunter had become completely enraptured by the game, eyes locked on the screen.  She was pretty good.  After making sure she wouldn’t be noticed, she slipped away, intent on grabbing a snack.  Food and drink weren’t permitted within the building, but that was another perk of being a ‘VIP’.  After a bit of searching, she found a secluded spot to work her magic.  One reach through the firmament later, and she was holding two ice-cold colas.  She began to return to the hunter, when a chorus of voices called out from behind her.

“OH, GREAT Z’GORD!”

“Ah, fuck, not you guys…”

She turned, watching as several members of her cult emerged from the shadows.  Some of them had glowing swirls and squiggles on their robes.  Damn, it seemed the floor had spread.  She wondered just how long you had to be on the floor for that to happen.The walked closer, arms outstretched in reverence.  

“We were surprised when we learned you had stopped going to the ancient temple of ‘m’all’, but it seems you have found a better place of worship!”

“Guys, it’s not a temple.  It’s an arcade.”

“Arcade?  What an ancient-sounding name!”

“It sounds like ‘arcane’!”  One of the other members added cheerfully.

“Yes, the arcane arcade…”  The current leader said, rubbing their mask in the vague area their chin would be.

Zoe sighed heavily.  “Listen, you guys need to cool it with the worshiping stuff right now.  I’m kinda busy.”

“We saw!  You seem to be personally scouting a potential member!  We approve of her already, she has quite the feisty spirit!”

“She shot at me with a crossbow, though…”  One of the members mumbled.  

“Really?  Is this actually happening?  I’m just hanging out with her, not ‘scouting’ her.  Don’t you guys ever do that?  Just hang out with people?  Go do something else.”  She finally shoved past, taking a few extra turns in hopes of losing them.

When she finally returned to Aaravi, the girl was still playing, and had a score that was only a few thousand away from her lowest.  Zoe nodded approvingly.  However, as she did, the ghosts closed in on her, taking her last life.  Aaravi swore loudly, smacking the side of the machine.

“Damn it!  I was so close…”

Zoe sidled up next to her, offering one of the sodas.  “Hey, you did good for your first time!  But, I wanna play now.”

Aaravi took the soda, and also took a second longer than needed to step away from the machine.  Good, she was hooked.  Time for the master to get to work.  She set her soda down, cracking her knuckles (which was really difficult to do with only one fully digit-ed hand, but she made it work).  Before she could get it started though, the hunter spoke up.

“Hey, uh…aren’t those your party members?”

Zoe turned, and had to bite back a swear.  Only a few feet away, five of those cultist guys were stacked up next to another arcade cabinet, peering around it at them.  A few more were scattered about, pretending to play the games.  It was very obvious they weren’t, though, considering she could see the green eye of their masks meeting hers.  A bubble of anger formed in her chest.

“Seriously?”  She hissed, venom dripping both metaphorically and physically from her mouth(s).  “Didn’t I tell you guys to leave?”

“B-but, G’zord, we need to be ready to–”

“Stop calling me that.”  She said bitterly.  “I told you, it’s Zoe now.  Z-O-E.  Get it through your skulls already.”

“Ri-right, yes, Zoe, we need to be ready to serve your every need!  We are your humble servants!”

“We could get more sodas for you!”  One of the others said.

“Humble–you guys–ahg!”  Zoe took a deep breath, trying to steady her thinking.  “Fine.  You guys wanna do something for me?  Go find me…a bouquet of black roses.  That should keep you busy.”

“Black roses?  Are you perhaps referring to the withered corpse blooms mentioned in the hymns of Axell’in?”

“Sure.”

“Brothers!  Sisters!  We must go, our mission is clear!”

The cultists cheered, marching as one out of the arcade.  Zoe glared at them until they were out of view.  When they were gone, she turned back to the machine with an annoyed huff.

“Fuckin….gah.  Can’t believe those guys…”

Aaravi moved within her vision, giving her a look.  “Damn.  You really don’t like those guys.”

“I don’t… hate them, I just…They’ve been getting on my nerves more than usual lately, I just wish they'd stop and actually listen to what I say sometimes.  I’m a normal teen now!”

“Well, as normal as a monster can be.”  Aaravi added, opening and taking a sip of her soda.  “Ah, that’s good.”

“Yeah, well…you get my point.  Gotta be careful where I go, those guys are like bloodhellhounds.  Don’t know how they keep finding me.  Probably won’t be able to come back here for a while now…”  she grumbled out the last part, barely audible to even herself.

“What?  No you don’t.”  Aaravi said flatly.  “If you enjoy coming here, do something about those guys so they won’t bother you anymore.  Gotta use your SMARTS score here.”

Zoe began the game, one eye peering at the hunter.  “I put all my points towards CHARM.  Makes writing fanfiction easier.”

“No wonder you keep failing your social skill checks…”

They stood in a slightly tense silence, Zoe focusing on the game and Aaravi taking sips from her drink every now and then.  Eventually, Zoe lost, and passed the game over to the hunter again.

“You need to grab the fruits when they show up.”

“I know–wha?!”

“Oh, yeah, not the odd-colored ones.  Those subtract points.”

“That’s not a thing in pac-man!”

“It is in this one!”

This cycle continued, until Zoe’s phone rang.  Luckily, she wasn’t playing at the time.  

“Ayyyyy, girlfriend!”  Polly cheered when she picked up.  “I’m sure you already knew, but there’s, like…some sorta nerd meetup down here?  But it’s filled with hunky guys doing that ‘cosplay’ thing you told me about!”

Zoe’s eyes widened.  How had she not heard of this yet?!  “Really?!  Where is it?”

Her face fell when she heard the name.  “Polly…that’s just a strip club.  You’re at a strip club.  Just cause they’re wearing outfits doesn’t mean they’re ‘cosplaying’.”

“Well, just thought I’d let you know!  Also, hey, I didn’t see you in class today!  Where were you?”

Aaravi swore loudly behind her, slamming a fist into the machine.  A coin shot from the coin slot, pinging her between the eyes.

“Oh.  Em.  Gee.  Is that that hunter chick!?”

Zoe nodded, before remembering Polly couldn’t see it.  “Yeah, she was bothering the hippie.  So, he in his usual ‘I don’t care’ way asked me to keep her away from him.  We’re at the arcade on 7th street.”

“Ooooooh, that place!  I once gave a guy–”

Zoe hung up on her before she could say something graphic.  She wasn’t in the mood to hear more of that girl’s sex-scapades.  She turned back to Aaravi, who was trying to act nonchalant as she waited for the machine to be booted up again.  Zoe obliged, but quickly stepped forward, taking up the controls.  Aaravi glared, and Zoe stuck her tongue out at her.

“I’ll boot it for you after I lose, then I’m heading out.  School’s over, and I got things to do.”  Zoe explained.

The other girl nodded, and Zoe saw the slightest hint of disappointment.  Would she miss the game that much?  Zoe had her best run yet, beating her old high score by 100 points.  She turned, giving a triumphant huff.

“Ha!  Let’s see you beat that!”

“That a challenge?  I’m game!”  Aaravi said as she stepped up.  

Zoe zapped the machine again, watching for a brief bit while the girl got into her element.  When she was satisfied with what she saw, Zoe turned and left.  She hesitated a bit before fully stepping out, checking for any signs of purple robes.  None.  Good.  She quickly moved to a side-alley, and stepped between realities into her own personal project.  What was that project?  Why, an apartment, of course!  

She’d been wanting a more physical place to call her own for a while, but was struggling a bit with this whole ‘creation’ thing.  Who knew being an Eldritch entity of destruction would make your other non-destructive goals in life much harder?  It wasn’t like writing fanfiction, that was just words.  This was making nothing into something, with only a vague grasp on how that something looked and worked.  She floated around in the void, trying to condense it into things.  Walls, furniture, a door…oh, and floors!  Would be bad if it all fell into nothingness.  That would be saved for the trash cans.  

—————————

“C’mon….C’mon….gah, fuck this!”

Aaravi smacked the machine again.  These ghosts had only gotten faster, backing her into a corner and sending her little yellow creature spiraling in on itself.  Damn, and that was her last life, too.  Her anger vanished, though, when the scoreboard popped up.

“AHA!  Look at that!  3rd place!  One step closer to–”

She turned to gloat, but couldn’t see the purple girl.  She looked around, confused.  Hadn’t she just been here?  Oh, wait…that was right.  Zoe said she had to go do things.  She hadn’t specified what that was, but it was probably important.  There was a strange sense of sadness about that.  She wasn’t sure why.  Sure, she was having fun, but now it was over.  Like a bad sidequest without any reward.  Well, spending time with the eldritch girl hadn’t been…horrible.  

Wouldn’t mind doing that again…   She thought, leaning back against the machine.  

But, hey, if she was gone, Aaravi could go off and do her own thing as well.  Back to her main quest of hunting those monsters.  She still hadn’t fully figured out Liam’s schedule, so maybe she could do that.  She also had that dungeon to explore…But, before she could leave, one last thing.

“A-V-I.”  Aaravi spelled out as she input the name.  “There.  Now everyone can see I'm the 3rd best at this!”

…It felt a little hollow without Zoe around to hear it.

Chapter Text

“Friend Zoe.  I have detected an anomaly in our daily curriculum.”

Zoe glanced up from her fanfic at her robotic friend.  “Hm?  What’cha notice, big guy?”

“I have noticed that acquaintance Aaravi has not shown for class in the last:  2 days.”

Zoe thought for a moment.  “...yeah, you’re right!  Wonder what she’s been doing…”

“Maybe she’s gearing up for another attack, or somethin…”  Damien muttered, lining up a shot.

He flicked a fry across the cafeteria.  It smacked into scott, who was busy downing what looked like an unhealthy amount of meat.  Scott looked around, a dopey look on his face, before returning to the meat.  Vera, who was sitting next to the werewolf, shot the demon a glare.  Damien flipped her the bird, laughing.  

“I am not so sure about that…”  Calculester mused, computer screen face rapidly passing through several screens.  “Records indicate she has called out due to ‘not feeling well’.”

“You have access to the school files?”  Damien questioned.  “Think you could mark me as ‘present’ for all my classes right now?  Got shit I wanna do today.”

“That would be illegal!”  Calculester cried.

“Isn’t what you’re doing already illegal?”  Zoe noticed, rolling her pencil between her fingers.

Calculester shut down a bit, taking a few seconds to re-boot.  When he did, he gave the best glare he could manage to the demon, then went back to fake-eating.  Damien laughed again, and went back to flicking fries across the room.  Zoe was the only one who lingered on the situation.  She had been fine just a few days ago while at the arcade, so what gives?  She knew illness could be pretty sudden, but she hadn’t felt anything wrong with the girl.  Now, she had been gone for 2 days.  Along with that, students never called in if they were gonna be gone.  They just left, consequences be damned.

No, this wasn’t gonna stand.  She hopped off her seat, stuffing her W.I.P. Fic into her backpack, and blipped across town, arriving outside Aaravi’s door.  For a brief moment she debated on whether to just barge in, but decided against it.  She might be naked or something.  While Zoe had no qualms with that, Aaravi would certainly be angry.  She was trying to be her friend, not her enemy!  She reached forward, knocking three times on the door.  She heard fabric shuffling, and something tumbled to the floor with a thud.

“Ah…c-coming…” Came a groggy, but familiar voice.

When the door opened, Zoe felt her heart (or closest facsimile) drop.  Aaravi looked like she’d been tossed down a flight of stairs several times.  She was propping herself up on a sheathed sword, dozens of scratches and bandages littering her exposed leg.  Her leg was only exposed because the pant leg was completely burnt away, and not in a fun, sexy way.  Her hair was frazzled, and marred with scorch marks.  Aaravi also had a nice big bruise on her face, her left eye completely swollen shut.

The slayer tried to close the door quickly, but Zoe stuck her foot in it, forcing it open.

“No, we are not ignoring that.”  Zoe said sternly.  “Get your ass on the bed.”

Aaravi seemed a little taken aback by the girl’s sudden forcefulness, but did as asked.  Zoe sat next to her, extending her arms toward her.

“Alright, this time it’s probably…no, definitely gonna hurt to fix.  But, I’m going to.  You look like shit.”

Aaravi opened her mouth to say something, but after a second shut it.  She looked almost…guilty.  Zoe wondered, for a very brief but infuriating moment, if she’d gotten in another fight.  But, that couldn’t be right.  If it had been a fight, she certainly would have heard about it from someone.  She shook the thoughts from her head, focusing on the task at hand.  Energy poured from her hands into the wounds, and Aaravi hissed in pain.  Her good leg squirmed under the effects, but eventually all signs of injury were gone (minus a few scars, but Zoe was sure those were already there beforehand).

There was an incredibly awkward silence between them.  Aaravi adjusted her sitting position, testing her healed leg.  She ran a hand along her face, brushing a strand of hair back into place.  She glanced at the eldritch girl, then quickly looked away.

“...why’d you even come here?”  She asked, a bit of bitterness entering her voice.

“Well, Calculester noticed you hadn’t been in class for a couple days, so…I came to check on you!”

“Why?”

“I was worried!”

“Why?!”  A lot more bitterness that time.

“Because—“  

She stopped.  Why DID she care so much about Aaravi’s disappearance?  Was it just simple curiosity?  The lack of something routine bringing her here?  She had had similar thoughts the last time she was here.  She didn’t have a clear answer then, and she still doesn’t.  She shrugged.

“Can’t I be concerned about someone?”  She settled on saying.  “If you got sick or something because of me, I’d feel awful!”

Aaravi seemed to lose some of her bite, leaning back a bit and nodding.  “That…makes sense.”

“It does!”  Zoe said with a slight cheer.  “But what doesn’t make sense is what happened to you.”

“That sentence didn’t make sense.”

“You get what I mean!”

Aaravi rubbed her neck, looking away.  “Well…I had found a new dungeon a few days ago, looked pretty old.  Rent’s coming up, so I thought, ‘hey, I’ll go plunder it!  Get some loot!’  But…”

She gestured to her body.  “It didn’t go so well.”

Ooh, bad topic.  Zoe pivoted the conversation.  “You pay your rent with dungeon goods?”

“I pawn them off at a shop.  Keep some stuff, sell the rest, you know?  It’s dangerous, but it pays the bills.”

“That…actually sounds really cool!  I didn’t know there were dungeons around here!”

“There’s dungeons everywhere!”  Aaravi said, face brightening.  “There was even one in the first floor girls bathroom at spooky high.  They had to decommission it when the monsters started peeping on the students, but I got a sick-ass staff there!  I couldn’t use it, but it sold really well!”

“Can I come with you next time!?”  Zoe asked, matching the girl’s enthusiasm.

“I–I guess?  It’s dangerous, though.”

“You do know I’m a god, right?  This is just gonna be like LARPing!  Ooh, I’ll have to get an outfit and everything!  When are you going next!?”

“Does now work?”

“What!?”  Zoe nearly shouted, suddenly angry.  “You just got healed from the last dungeon that kicked your ass, now you want to go again immediately!?  You need to rest!”

“Wha–but I’m healed!  I should be good to go!”

“You still need to rest!”  Zoe said, shoving the other girl down onto the bed and pinning her arms.  “You really could get sick, and I’d hate to know it’s because I didn’t stop you here!”

Aaravi’s face flushed red, eyes darting away.  “F-FINE!”  She shot back.

“Good!”  

Zoe sat back with a huff, folding her arms.  There was a long, awkward silence between them.  She felt bad for snapping, but it had to be done!  She had read that illnesses were subtle killers somewhere, and knew a bit about that firsthand.  While ‘brain liquidation plague’ had been rather fun to come up with, she had felt bad when it got loose in one of the realms.  That had been a rather frightening learning experience.  

“...do you wanna….watch something?”  Aaravi asked quietly.

“Hm?  Thought you didn’t have cable.”

“I don’t, but…I have some tapes.  They’re in a box under the bed.”

Zoe swung over the side, tentacles hitting the floor with soft plaps.  She squinted at the labeled boxes, beginning to shove some aside.  After a bit of searching, she found one labeled ‘VHS’.  She grabbed it and slid it free.  

“F-fair warning!”  The slayer said sheepishly.  “They’re all…really old.  And from my childhood.”

Zoe looked through the box, examining each like a piece of precious archeology.  Lots of them had hand-written labels, faded with time but still readable.  ‘Winnie the Pooh, 3 episodes’, ‘Hercules’, ‘The Fox and the Hound’, ‘The Brave Little Toaster’......these were mainly kids movies.  She glanced over at Aaravi, who had become incredibly interested in a crack in the ceiling.  Zoe couldn’t help but smile.

“Huh.  These are all human-made movies and shows, right?”

“Y–!?–Y-yeah, they are.”

“Awesome!  I haven’t seen a whole lot of human movies.  Let’s waaatch…..Hercules!  That sounds interesting.”

She crawled across the bed and inserted the tape before Aaravi could argue.  Zoe turned the TV on, and quickly crawled back to Aaravi’s side.  She flashed the slayer a grin, then got into a more comfortable position as the trailers played.  Aaravi gave her a look, but then adjusted herself on the bed as well.  The next hour and some was spent just silently enjoying the movie, Zoe occasionally glancing over at the other girl.  Despite being seemingly embarrassed earlier, she was now fully engrossed in the film.  When it was finished, Aaravi let out a content sigh.

“God…hades is so good in that movie.”  Zoe said, sitting up.

“I KNOW, RIGHT!?”  Aaravi said excitedly.  “He’s so…just…ah!  He’s the star of every scene he’s in, he owns the stage.”

“Hey, let’s watch another one!”

“Y-yeah!  Sure!”

The rest of the day was spent watching old movies, talking briefly about them between starting a new one.  Zoe was having a blast, surprised that she hadn’t seen any of these yet.  She really needed to broaden her media horizons.  Aaravi always had her eyes locked on the screen, clearly enjoying reliving a bit of her childhood.  Zoe was happy for her.  She went to grab another tape, but Aaravi grabbed her arm, halting her progress.

“As fun as this has been, I…It’s getting late, so you should probably head home.  I need to get ready for bed.”

Zoe glanced out the dusty window.  Damn, it really had gotten late.  The sun had completely set, no traces of its light remaining.  Still, a small part of her really didn’t want to leave.  She was having fun!  With Aaravi!  Somehow, that made it better.  However, the look in the slayer’s eyes was firm.  She wouldn’t budge on this.  

“Aw, you’re no fun.”  Zoe pouted, but she hopped off the bed and moved toward the door without a fight.  “You should be good to go dungeon delving tomorrow, as long as nothing is sore.  It’s a Saturday, so we should have all day!”

“You sure you really want to go?  I think it’s fun, but I’ve been told my tastes are…weird.”

“I’d love to!  When do you plan on going?”

“Uh…be here around noon?”

Zoe opened the front door, turning and giving the girl finger guns.  “See you then!”

—-----------------------

It was 12:17, and Zoe still hadn’t shown up.  Aaravi wondered why exactly she was so worried.  She’d gone adventuring in dungeons dozens of times alone, just fine!  She could just leave and go now, she didn’t need to be sitting on her bed, checking her phone every few seconds.  She stood, intent on leaving.

She stood there for a few more minutes.

“...she really isn’t–”

Reality suddenly became fuzzy around the edges, and there was a crackling pop outside her door.  That was followed by rapid knocking on her door.

“Oh my god, I’m SO sorry!”  Zoe cried.  “I got distracted with my fic, and next thing I knew it was–oh, jeez, are you still home?!”

Aaravi ran to the door, flinging it open and glaring daggers at the elder god.  Zoe was still wearing that yellow hoodie with the emoji-like face on it, this time paired with a pair of ripped blue jeans.

“You’re late.”  She said, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

“I knoooow, I’m so sorry!  I got so wrapped up in my work, I just–god…I’m sorry.  T-thanks for waiting for me though, I would’ve understood if you had left.”  Zoe cast all her eyes down guiltily.

“Well, you said you’d be here, so I waited.  I’m a woman of my word.”

“And I thank you for that!  I really didn’t wanna miss this!  Let’s go!”  The god put a bit more enthusiasm back into her voice.  “I wanna see what a dungeon is like!”

Aaravi sighed, but nodded.  She grabbed her sword and crossbow from beside the door, slinging the sword over her back.  She stepped out of her apartment, making sure the door was locked behind her.  Didn’t want anyone breaking in.  They left, quickly moving to the woods on the edge of town.  Aaravi pulled back a bush, revealing a staircase into the earth.

“Was looking for herbs and ran into it.  With you here, we should be able to get to the boss.”

“Alright!  Hey, turn around for a sec, I need to change.”  The elder god said.

Aaravi gave her a look.  “You have an outfit for this?”

“Of course!  This is just like dungeons and dragons!  If I’m gonna be a mage, I have to look the part!”

The slayer rolled her eyes, but obliged.  There was a strange noise, a flash of light, and an inverted scream.

“Alright, done!  What do you think?”

Aaravi turned, and, well…It looked good, to say the least.  She was wearing bright white robes, trimmed in purple.  A large white wizard’s hat sat on her head, her tentacles draped down behind her to her back.  She was holding a gnarled wooden staff topped with one of her green eyes, staring expectantly at the slayer.  

“I-it looks good!”  She said, very flustered by one detail.  “But…was the boob window really necessary?”

“Very necessary!”  Zoe said as she spun her staff.  “I can use it to draw the aggro of any monsters with the horny buff!”

“I thought horny was a debuff?”

“It’s both!”

They began to descend, Aaravi’s sword at the ready.  Old brickwork and bits of plant matter stretched out in front of them, but Aaravi knew better than to let her guard down.  She remembered where some of the traps were here at the beginning, easily dancing between the hail of arrows and ducking under the swinging ax.  She gave the ax head a kick on the back-swing, snapping it off.  A big blade like that would sell well.  

“…Wait, is this the same one you got your ass beat at a few days ago?”  Zoe asked incredulously.

“You sound like Damien.  And, yes.”  Aaravi forced a stone aside, snapping the nozzle of a flame trap off.

Zoe didn’t respond.  Aaravi worried she had somehow angered the girl, until she moved forward and began walking next to her.  She had a determined look in her void eyes.

“Well then…you better be careful!”  She demanded, stopping a swinging hammer trap with a finger.  “I won’t heal you again if you do something stupid!”

Aaravi stared agape.  With her looks and casual demeanor, it was easy to forget that Zoe had a near-infinite well of power to draw from.  She shook the shock off, trying to save face with a smile and a thumbs-up.

“Heh, this’ll be easy!  Don’t slow me down!”

There was silence.  Zoe stared at her blankly.  Then, she tried to stifle a laugh.  Then she failed.  Aaravi felt her face go beet-red as the girl laughed at her.

“S-sorry!  That–haha!--that’s not –woo!--I’m not laughing at you, I–I promise, I…I just thought that was funny.  The way you said that.”

She leaned against the slayer, giving her a goofy grin.  “Big talk from someone who, as I said, got their ass beat.”

“H-hey!  I’m just saying–gah!  If you’re so worried about my health, then protect me!”

“Can do!”  She responded, moving in front of her and brandishing her staff like a club.  “I’ll be a knight to your princess!”

“...that might not be so bad…”  Aaravi whispered to herself.

Zoe turned around, giving her a knowing grin.  “What was that?”  She asked in a sing-song tone.

“N-nothing!  Keep moving, I don’t know how deep this dungeon is, and the pawn shop closes at six!”

“Ahg, just KISS already!”  Someone shouted from the darkness.  Aaravi shot them with her crossbow.

They continued on, dodging more traps, solving a few puzzles, and fighting a few dozen creatures.  Zoe seemed to really enjoy the puzzles, even if they were simple (well, by Aaravi’s standards, anyway).  She was also good at combat, so much so Aaravi wondered if she was really needed here.  The slayer knew a few spells, but the stuff Zoe was slinging around made hers look like party tricks.  Massive balls of fire, storms of ice shards…she even had one that opened a small portal on the ground, purple tentacles emerging to rip apart attackers.  Zoe seemed to enjoy using that one, making the tentacles wave and dance after a successful attack.  Aaravi peered into the portal at one point, but quickly looked away when she felt a pressure building behind her eyes.  They seemed to go on forever…

They rounded a corner, finding a large open space.  On the other side of the room, Aaravi could see a massive gilded chest.  She proceeded cautiously, Zoe right next to her.

“Oooooh, this HAS to be the boss room!”  Zoe said excitedly.  “Wonder what’ll it be!”

“We’ve mainly been walking through stoney hallways and wooden traps, so don’t expect anything special.  Probably just a golem.”

“Awww, you’re no fun!  Maybe it’s a dragon!”

“A dragon?  That’d be pretty bad…none of my clothes have fire resistance.”

“Hey, if your clothes burn away, I can–”

Before Zoe could finish, a crackling roar exploded above them.  A massive creature dropped from the ceiling, cracking the stone floor underneath it.  A massive dragon, made of stone.  Zoe smiled widely at Aaravi.  Aaravi just rolled her eyes, holstering her crossbow and brandishing her sword.

“Stone dragons, not too difficult.  Watch their stone breath, aim for the joints, and you’re good.”

“Stone breath?”

As if on cue, the dragon opened its mouth, spewing a stream of rocks and dirt toward them.  Aaravi dodged to the side, Zoe to the other.  The slayer darted forward, sword at the ready.  She hopped over a claw swing, driving the blade under one of its arms.  The dragon roared in pain, green-ish blood spurting from the wound.  Aaravi spat as some got in her mouth.  It tasted like dandelion stems.

“Pleh!  Fuck!  So gross!”  She shouted as she retreated.  

The dragon turned to breathe more stone at her, but thick purple tentacles suddenly wrapped around its mouth, sealing it shut.  Aaravi looked around, seeing Zoe standing on the opposite side of the room, giving her an enthusiastic wave.  Aaravi returned it, her wave much more subdued.  The dragon tried to fire anyway, pebbles dribbling from its nose before the rocks burst from its neck.  The dragon let out a dying wail, flopping onto the ground with a loud, rattling crash.  

Zoe came over, scooping the blood-soaked girl up in a hug.  “EEEEEEEEEE!  WE DID IT!  WE BEAT THE DRAGON!”  She cheered as she spun around.

Aaravi nodded as best she could, smothered in the god’s embrace.  She suddenly was having a hard time feeling her heartbeat.  There was a warm feeling spreading in her chest, one she hoped was just from the dragon’s blood.  Wait, she was really gross right now.  She shoved away, spitting more green blood.

“A-ah!  Don’t touch me, I’m all bloody!”  She said, trying to shake the liquid out of her hood.  

“Aw, a little blood isn’t gonna kill me!”  Zoe chided, quickly hugging her again.  “We gotta celebrate!  Hold on…”

Zoe fished around in her pocket, pulling out a phone.  She extended her tentacled hand, opening the camera.  She held Aaravi closer, face practically beaming with joy (and pressed cheek-to-cheek with her).  Zoe gave a peace sign, then side-eyed the slayer expectantly.  After a second, she flashed the sign as well.  Zoe giggled a bit, taking several photos.

“Aaaah, this is perfect!  Our first dungeon dive together!”  She said happily, bringing the phone closer and showing Aaravi the pictures.  The slayer was blushing in all of them.

“Ye–yeah!  We did good!  I almost didn’t need to be here…”  She felt a little sad as the words left her lips.

“Whaaaat?  No, you totally helped!  I didn’t see, like, ANY of those traps.  I woulda been a purple pincushion if you didn’t warn me.  So, thanks!”  

“H-happy to help!”

There was a beat of silence.

“So!  L–let’s see what’s in the chest!”  Aaravi said quickly, running over.

Zoe followed, and helped her lift the lid.  Inside, was another box, similar in design to the first one.  The duo shared a look.  They opened it, finding…another box.  This cycle repeated a few times, Aaravi becoming increasingly more annoyed.  They finally had a box about the size of a basketball, which sounded like it actually had something useful inside.  Aaravi opened it gingerly, finding…a small vial, containing several green herbs.  Her brain misfired.

“I…I’m speechless.”  She said, white hot anger settling in her stomach.  “All this fighting, for…this?”

Zoe cringed.  She could FEEL the emotions radiating off the girl.  It tasted spicy, and not in a good way.  More of a ‘get me an entire cow’s worth of milk and paper so I can write my last will and testament’ spicy.  It looked like this little dungeon diving expedition was about to go sideways, or maybe even a full 180.  She needed to think of something to say.

“Well…maybe we can sell the chests?”  She suggested.  “It’s like a matryoshka doll set, but for storage!  Someone’s bound to want that.”

Aaravi turned, eyes wide.  Zoe worried she might’ve said the wrong thing, like she picked the wrong dialogue option.  However, Aaravi’s face suddenly reddened, and she looked down at the boxes, nodding.

“We…we could do that, couldn’t we?  I mean…there’s nothing saying we can’t take the chest itself, right?  Gah, why didn’t I think of that?”

Zoe leaned against her, chuckling.  “Hey, no need to get embarrassed!  Adrenaline is just making your brain not think clearly.  It’s all…primal.”

“Really?”

“Eh, something like that.”

They set the boxes back inside themselves, Zoe dropping it into a portal.  They made their way out, Aaravi grabbing the items they had set aside to collect.  When they stepped outside, the sun was on the edge of the horizon.  They glanced at each other, then took off running, Zoe following Aaravi.  They arrived at the pawn shop just in time to watch the owner flip the sign from open to closed.  Aaravi groaned in annoyance.  The owner shrugged.

“Dammit…we were too late.”  She grumbled, kicking a stone on the pavement.  

“Hey, it’ll be fine!  That just means we come back tomorrow.  Unless you wanna camp out here overnight, but that’s usually only for late-night releases of games or movies.”

“No…we can come back tomorrow.  Can you hold onto the box for me?  I don’t really have any room for it back home.”

“Sure!  Hell, I might even buy it if I think it looks nice.  I’m in the market for decorations.”

Aaravi stifled a laugh.  “That thing…things?  Look gaudy.  A gold-lined chest would fit in mister monopoly’s house.”  

“Well, maybe I’m making it look like that!  You don’t know!”

“I expect any place you live in to be lined with anime posters.”

“Well, the gold will be under it!”

They both laughed.  Aaravi was grateful for the humor, considering this now meant her rent was gonna be a day late.  Again.  After a pause, Zoe checked her phone.

“Oh!  One of my shows is gonna air soon.  Need anything else from me?”

“I don’t–wait, no, I do.”

Aaravi pulled out her own phone.  “I realized earlier I don’t have your number.  This way, when we hang out again, we can schedule it better.”

Zoe nodded, and the two quickly exchanged numbers.  When they were done, Zoe seemed to realize something, giving the slayer a smug grin.

“Really?  ‘When’?  Not ‘if’?”

Aaravi looked confused, then blushed deeply.  “A–ah, that–you know what I mean!”  She said as she fiddled with her cape.  “T-this was fun, so we should do it again some time!  That’s all I mean!”

“Well, I look forward to our next hang-out as well!”  Zoe said, patting the other girl’s back.  “Text me later so we can plan on when to meet tomorrow.  Gotta go!”

Zoe vanished in a puff of lavender-scented smoke, leaving Aaravi standing alone in front of the pawn shop.  She looked down at her phone, unable to help a small smile spreading across her face.  It was now one of five contacts she had.  A friend.  She felt a giddy joy rise in her chest.  

Don’t get too excited.   A small voice whispered in the back of her mind.  You have a job to do.

Aaravi sighed.  She pocketed her phone, pulling out a dagger.  She’d figured out Liam’s routine now, so she needed to prepare.

…later, she told herself.  Right now it was getting late, and she was exhausted.  She needed to wash the dragon blood off, and clean her clothes.  She wasn’t abandoning her job, just taking a small break.  She could do this much, right?  Nothing wrong with wanting to be clean.  She’d gone longer being dirty, and that had led to an infection that took weeks to clear.  She almost didn’t make rent that time either.  

She shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind before they settled in.  Right now, she was going home.  She set off, thinking what her first text would be.  She was so absorbed in that, she didn’t notice the shadowy figure lurking at the edge of the parking lot, watching her.

Chapter Text

So, life continued on for the two girls.  Zoe spent time with Aaravi, and Aaravi didn’t try to stab her.  They hung out a lot, whether that be at the Slayer’s apartment, the arcade, a dungeon, or some other place they decided to go.  Aaravi didn’t understand much of what Zoe was talking about with her animes and mangas, but tried to follow along as best she could.  Seeing Zoe so excited to talk about this ‘Naruto’ guy was infectious, and Aaravi felt herself being excited as well.

One particular day that stood out was when Zoe brought over an old bulky laptop and a bunch of DVD’s, bounding into the reality of Aaravi’s room with so much energy the air crackled.  Aaravi, who had been doing nothing all day and had been staring off into space absentmindedly on the bed, jolted as the other girl appeared.

“Gah!  Don’t do that!”  She scolded, but there wasn’t any actual anger behind her words.  “What are you doing here?”

“You are not gonna believe this!”  Zoe said excitedly as she climbed onto the bed, displaying the items in front of her like they were made of gold.  “You know what these are!?”

Aaravi looked down at the DVD’s.  Most of them appeared to be titled in Japanese.  

“…anime?”

“Correct!  I got these all super cheap today at a garage sale, and look!  Look!”

She picked up one of the boxes, waving it in Aaravi’s face.  “Not all of it’s bad, but Most of ‘em are!  Here, look at these!  It’s all.  Isekai.  Garbage.  This is great!”

“…..buying a bunch of bad anime is great?”

“Yeah!  There’s no better passtime than watching absolute trash, and tearing it apart as you go!  Of course, I can sprinkle in a few of the good ones, but mostly we’re getting the trashiest I could find there!”

Aaravi raised an eyebrow.  “We are?”

Zoe’s smile faltered a bit,  “I—I mean, it doesn’t look like you’re doing anything anyway, so…”

“Ah, I-I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.”  Aaravi interjected.  “Just…uh…questioning what spurred this?”

The smile returned.  “Ah, you see, I realized I haven’t shown you any anime yet!  As a high-class nerd connoisseur, I thought I’d introduce you the same way I was.”

“By intentionally watching bad anime?”

“W-well, I didn’t know there was better stuff out there, but yes.  If you start at the very bottom, you can only go up, right?”

Well…that sorta made sense.  “Alright, sure.  But, how are we gonna watch it?  That laptop’s only a little smaller than my TV…”

“Don’t worry, I got a solution!”  

Zoe crawled over towards the TV, peeking around it and studying something.  She reached up, plucking a tendril from her head.  It squirmed for a bit, then fell still as she reached around, seeming to plug into the TV.  She pulled the other bit around, plugging it into her laptop.  The slayer rubbed her eyes, making sure she had seen that correctly.  A thin, purple cable now connected the TV and computer together.  With a smile she popped open the disk tray, gesturing towards the boxes.

“So, whatcha wanna watch first?”

Aaravi closed her eyes, selecting a random box.  “This one.”

“Oh, ‘in another world with my smartphone’!  I’ve heard it’s awful.  Let’s watch!”

They settled onto the bed, Zoe setting the DVD inside.  While they watched the first few episodes, Aaravi saw that the elder being meant.  This was garbage.  However, she could feel the girl’s eyes flicking between the screen and her, Zoe smiling widely and seemed to be drinking in Aaravi’s reactions (possibly literally, it was hard to tell).  When the final episode played, the hunter sat back with a heavy sigh.  

“That was garbage.”  She said despondently.  “The main character had literally everything handed to him, had a harem of girls chasing him which he never seemed to notice, and never had any difficulties.  What an asshole.”

“I know, right?  Isekais are usually garbage.  Some are good, but needed to temper your tastes.  Here, we’ll watch this one next!  Konosuba’s pretty good.”

The next few hours were spent watching shows of varying quality.  While Konoauba was good, she got a bit more enjoyment from the main character from ‘The Devil’s a Part-Timer’.  Maybe the concept was just absurd enough to get over some of the weirder bits.  They were watching another random anime, one about a girl with blue squid-like tentacles working at a beachside restaurant (It was getting late and Aaravi was admittedly starting to doze off at this point), when the slayer realized something.  They looked over, confirming her suspicions.  Zoe had fallen asleep, leaning comfortably against the other.  Zoe shifted a bit, head landing gently against Aaravi’s shoulder.  

Aaravi once again found herself feeling her face heat up.  What was it about this girl that just…did things for her?  She’d been feeling these strange emotions ever since they started hanging out more, and was struggling to place them.  Aaravi even found herself gloomy if the ‘eldritch cutie’ as she once called herself didn’t show up for a few days.  She had tried looking it up, but google kept giving back answers like ‘love’ and ‘infatuation’ and ‘you are a big gay idiot’ but she didn’t really trust those.  Surely, she’d be able to figure out what those emotions were.

….ah, hell.

At some point the slayer fell asleep as well, and awoke to the sun just peeking through the windows.  Zoe was still next to her, and her tossing and turning had left her on top of the other.  Aaravi’s face flushed again, this time very aware of what that meant.  A loud part of her mind was screaming at her to just stay put and enjoy the moment, and for a while she did!  Just feeling the weight of the other on top of her was nice, and calming, and made her heart beat so fast she could barely feel it.  But, the slayer did have to get ready for the day.  

Slowly and carefully she wriggled out from under the purple girl, making sure not to wake her.  Zoe looked so peaceful in her sleep….Aaravi shook her head to clear her thoughts.  She got dressed, crossing her fingers that Zoe wouldn’t pick that moment to wake up.  With that done she slipped out the door, locking it behind her.  If that girl could just blink into her room, she could surely do the same to get out, right?  Aaravi set off, hoping she wouldn’t be late.

When Zoe finally awoke, she knew immediately that today wasn’t going to be a good day.  

Well, not ‘immediately’.  It had started off seemingly good, with Zoe waking up in Aaravi’s apartment, sans one Aaravi. That made her a little sad.  Checking the time, she saw that school wasn’t supposed to start for another hour.  Did the Hunter always leave this early?  The apartment wasn’t that far away from the school, right?  Seems there were still things she didn’t know about the girl.  Like schedules.  

She blipped back to her apartment pocket dimension, and that’s where things started to go wrong.  She had left her alarm clock on, and it was ringing just a bit louder and a bit more like screams than she liked.  She walked over, turning it off.  Weird, she thought the sound was set to be lower.  And not to scream.  

The second thing was her toaster, the ding of it finishing sounding like a gunshot going off right next to her ear.  She had flinched so hard a tendril of her hair had shot out, punching right through the metal and scalding the limb.  It healed quickly, but added to the overall chaos of the situation.  

The third thing was when she set out for school, stepping through a rift in reality and being assaulted by the sounds of cheering and shouting.  Usually she had no issue with it, being able to ignore it at best and plug what stood for ears at worst.  Now, though, even having her fingers nearly to the center of her skull, she could hear it all like nails on a chalkboard.  She sat at the furthest table from the crowd, trying to distract herself with writing.  The words refused to word, however.

“HEY, ZOE!”

Reality fractured around her briefly as she jolted, looking up into the smiling face of Scott.  His tail wagged happily behind him, seemingly completely unaware of the torture the elder being was going through.

“WHY ARE YOU SITTING ALL THE WAY OVER HERE?”

“Sc-scott, please keep it down…”  Zoe stammered, gripping her page so hard it tore.

“I’M JUST SPEAKING NORMALLY, THOUGH?”

Zoe quickly debated on whether he was being truthful, and realized with a strange sense of dread that he was.  She sighed, increasing the pressure against her ears.

“I’m…not doing too well, Scott.”  She admitted, face-planting against the table.  “Everything sounds…too loud.”

“HUH.  ARE YOU DEHYDRATED?  COACH TOLD ME YOU COULD DIE IF YOU DON’T DRINK ENOUGH WATER!”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not that, Scott.”  Came another voice, much quieter but equally sharp in another way.  Vera had appeared, looking down at Zoe with her usual disdainful glare.  “Although what it could be, I’m not sure.”

“Then why are you over here?”  The entity grumbled.  

“Can’t I be worried about another classmate?”  Vera said, sitting down next to her.  “And, possibly, I need some people’s brains scrambled for a bit.  Being nice usually gets people to do what you want, and I can’t threaten you, so kindness it is.”

“Can’t.  Dying.”  Zoe replied flatly.

“Ooh, don’t let Aaravi hear that.  She might try to finish you off.”  Vera said it jokingly, but Zoe was pretty sure if she laughed her head would explode.  

The bell rang, and Zoe left an imprint of her face in the table from the jolt.  She stood, sighing loudly (to her, at least).  “Well, let’s just hope I can make it through today…”

Vera’s usual caustic expression softened.  “Hey, if you’re really not feeling up to it, you don’t have to be here.  You actually have a reason now, beyond just wanting to skip school.  If anything, I could pull some strings and get you marked as present if that really matters.  Not for free, of course, but we can discuss payment later.”

Zoe shook her head.  The bell was still ringing in her ears.  “I’ll…be fine.”  She said as she stumbled away.

She was, In fact, not fine.  Each scratch of the chalkboard is like nails on her skull, and each bark at an unruly student is a white-hot needle in her ear.  Zoe didn’t even notice reality starting to break down around her until halfway through first period, when the desk collapsed in on itself with a whimpering death knell.  It was suddenly silent, all eyes on her.

“…do you need to leave?”  The teacher asked cautiously.

“…yes.”  Zoe said, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

She snagged all her things (which had luckily survived the dimensional collapse) and sprinted out the door.  The halls were luckily empty, giving Zoe some much-needed quietness.  What was happening to her!?  Nothing like this had ever really happened before.  She wondered if she could just briefly remove the concept of sound, but had a feeling that’d cause a whole lot more problems.  Still, it was a close call.  She kept her head down, eyes squeezed shut.  She tried to use her powers to make it quieter, but it wasn’t working.  Why wasn’t it working!?  Zoe felt a tightening in her chest, fear slowly starting to creep into her mind.  She was fine, right?  This wasn’t the start of something worse, was it?!  She rubbed at her eyes, feeling tears starting to prick at the corners.  She just hoped no one would see–

Footsteps.  Zoe looked up, quickly wiping away at her face and hoping she didn’t look as awful as she felt.  She was expecting a hall monitor or some janitor.  Maybe even some other student who decided class was boring (which was most students).  Instead, billowing cape and all, was Aaravi.  They locked eyes.

Several emotions flashed across Aaravi’s face.  First, confusion, probably because she was out here in the halls and not in class (or just here in general).  Second was her usual boisterous smile, most likely to be accompanied by a shout of ‘there you are!’ Or ‘face me!’.  Third was back to confusion, and finally settled on worry.  The Hunter opened her mouth to say something, but upon noticing the Eldritch girl had returned her hands to clamping firmly over her ears she settled on waving her hands above her head as if they weren’t the only two people in the hallway.  She realized this a second later, face flushing a bit as she jogged over.

“Hey.”  The hunter said quietly.  “What’s going on with you?”

“Everything is just…too loud.”

She started to let out a hiss, then sucked it back in, making a weird fish face as she turned and coughed from the act.  “Do you know what’s causing it?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be suffering.”

“Have you googled it?”  Aaravi asked.

Zoe stared at her, then facepalmed.  

“You seriously haven’t?”  She asked, almost sounding offended.  “Everyone knows that when you get a sudden illness, you look it up and immediately believe you have the first result!  It’s flawless!”

Zoe pulled her phone out, and typed out her symptoms.  Google seemed to take forever to load, Zoe once again cursing the school’s awful network, then started reading through the results.  She found a few things that could’ve been it, but the causes didn’t seem to line up with what had happened with her.  She was pretty sure tinnitus didn’t just spontaneously develop.  

Aaravi leaned over her shoulder, squinting down at the screen.  After a pause she took the purple girl’s hand, gesturing back the way she came.  “Hey, let’s get out of here.  This place is just gonna make things worse.”

Zoe didn’t argue.  They slipped out the entrance, Aaravi pausing for a moment before leading them into the woods.  It was quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps and the gentle wind to accompany them.  They sat on a mossy log, neither speaking.

“...thanks.”  Zoe finally spoke, slowly lowering her hands to her lap.  “I don't know what came over me.”

“Well…uh…you’re….welcome?”  The words came out awkwardly, the hunter flashing a slightly crooked smile.  “I just did what I would’ve done.  If you’re in pain, you should tell someone.  Maybe they can help.”

Zoe smiled a bit.  “Just gotta make sure to tell people, right?”

Aaravi glared at her, clearly wanting to get loud but holding back.  She settled on a jab in Zoe’s ribs (or where the ribs should’ve been at least), but Zoe just laughed.  She leaned against the slayer, sighing.

“Ah…I hope whatever this is goes away.  Don’t think I could go to an arcade, or dungeon delving with you, like this.”  She mumbled.

Aaravi could only nod.  Her brain was currently preoccupied with other things.  Mostly, the feeling of the girl against her.  Zoe was…warm.  Soft.  Aaravi looked down at her, her green eyes meeting the small white dots floating in the black void that was Zoe’s.  She smiled, a tendril of her hair flopping over and patting her head.  Aaravi hoped her heartbeat wasn’t as audible as she thought it was.

“Like what you see~?”  Zoe said, fluttering her eyelids exaggeratedly.  “I noticed you’ve been staring at me a lot more recently.”

“U-um, uh, well, I–”

Something came tramping through the woods, drawing both girls' attention away.  A bear (the animal, not the large hairy gay man) stepped from between some bushes, beady eyes staring at them.  Neither girl moved, staring back at the brown furred creature.

“Do you have your crossbow?”  Zoe whispered.

“I left it at home!”  Aaravi responded.  “And don’t ask about my knife, I’m not getting anywhere near that thing!  Can’t you, just…blip it out of reality?”

“You want me to blip a bear?”

“You have a better plan?”

“It’s a brown bear, aren’t those usually not hostile?”

“Actually,” the bear spoke, “I’m a magical talking bear.  I also originally had black fur, but changed it.”

“...why?”  Both girls asked.

“So I could attack people in my woods easier.”  It stood up on its hind legs.  “You should start running.”

Both girls didn’t want to fight a bear, so they stood up and took off back towards the school.  The bear roared at them, then sat back down, laughing.

“Dumb brats.”  He mumbled.  “...hey, why are you still here?”

Oh?  You can hear me?  Uh, no reason.  Just get outta here.

“Alright, jeez.”

The bear wandered off, leaving the clearing empty.  With it gone, the hooded figure that had been hiding up in the trees dropped down, a hand on their chin.  They stared in the direction the two had ran, a small smirk coming to their face.  Seems Aaravi really had been slacking.

The two girls burst from the treeline, sprinting towards the closest group of students.  The closest group happened to be a massive afternoon party taking place near the old tree behind the school, and the girls slipped seamlessly into the crowd.  They sat on a bench that had been pulled around, leaning against each other.

“Man…this has been an awful day.”  Zoe said sadly.  “Just glad you’re here….that’s made it….a little better.”

“W-well, happy to—wait, is this place too loud for you?”

Zoe blinked.  “Huh.  No?  No.  Hm.  That’s weird.  Wonder what the hell happened?”

Aaravi sighed.  “Well, at least you’re feeling better.  It’d be bad if you were still out of it.”

“Oh?”  Zoe said, a knowing smile coming to her face as she leaned closer.  “You really were worried about me, weren’t you?”

“W-well, of course!  We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Oh, Zoe wasn’t expecting her to be so blunt.  Well, she wouldn’t complain.  “Of course!”

Aaravi smiled at her, and Zoe felt something inside her shift.  She’d seen Aaravi smile before, and it was always nice.  There was always a mischievous gleam in her eyes when planning something, or a sparkle when she was excited.  But, this one was different.  If she had to be honest, it reminded her of the cat-like smiles in anime.  A W-like mouth.  Combined with the small blush forming on her cheeks, and the warm, almost glow coming from her eyes, Aaravi was practically beaming.  Zoe felt her own face heat up as they stared into each other’s eyes.  

The moment was ruined by the bell ringing, startling both girls out of their trances.

“W-well, look at that!  Time–time to go to class!  See ya!”  Aaravi stammered before sprinting away faster than anyone else at the party.  

Zoe watched her go, stunned.  After a second she stood as well, jogging off to her next class.  Despite no longer having the weird hearing problems, she still wasn’t paying attention.  She couldn’t get Aaravi’s smile out of her head.  For just a brief few seconds, it was just those two in the world.  Cliché, she knew, but it didn’t make it any less true.  She couldn’t wait to see Aaravi again.

Aaravi didn’t actually make it to class.  Her gay panic at her own feelings sent her scurrying away from the school, lacking a destination but needing to move.  This wasn’t really the first time she’d felt her heart rate increase while near her, or had her cheeks flush when thinking of her, but…oh, god, she was hopeless, wasn’t she?  

“Heeeey, girl!”  A voice slurred, drawing the hunter from her thoughts.  

Polly floated down the sidewalk toward her, a bottle of alcohol dangling dangerously from her hand.  “What’s…what’re you doin’ out here?  Didn’t count ya as the–the, uh…skippin’ type.”

“Gay panic.”  She panicked, pressing her hands to her face and groaning loudly.

“Awwww, that’s so sweet!  Slayer’s got a…a sweetheart!  Who is it?  You can tell me!”  Polly said, somehow slinging a see-through arm over her shoulder.

Aaravi shrunk back, eyes suddenly wide.  “W-why would I tell you?!  You’d probably, just…blab to her!”

“Ah, so it’s a girl!”

Aaravi threw her hands up in exasperation.  She turned to walk away, but Polley put a surprisingly comforting hand on her shoulder.  Her gaze was softer, any trace of alcohol vanishing.

“No, but real talk, who is it?  Love is, like, the BEST drug out there, and I wanna help ya experience it to the fullest.  I promise I won’t tell anyone.  You don’t mess with love!”

Aaravi eyed her suspiciously.  “You promise?  I’ll stab you if you lie to me.”

“I swear on my unlife!”  Polly cheered, placing a hand over her heart.  “Now, spill!”

The green-eyed girl hesitated a second, then sighed.  Fuck it, might as well.  Plus, Polly wasn’t the worst person to have found out.  If anything, she’d just get drunk or high and forget.  Maybe.

“It’s…”  She looked around, making sure no one else was on the street.  It was just them.  “...It’s Zoe.”

Polly was silent for a second, then squealed in delight.  “AAAWWW, THAT’S SO CUTE!”

“Hey, not so loud!?”

“Ah, don’t worry, it’s just us.  But, that’s so nice!  How’d it happen?  You GOTTA give me the deets, gotta know how to help my client!”

“C-client?”  Aaravi felt a sense of dread forming in her chest.

“Well, yeah!  I’ve decided I’m gonna help you two get together!  Polly’s matchmaking service is open for business!  We take payment in booze, drugs, and good stories!  This can’t be too hard, can it?”

Aaravi groaned, plucked her dagger from her belt, and tried to stab the ghost.  It went about as well as stabbing a ghost could go.  The spirit looked down at the hand in her stomach, and laughed.  

“Ha!  Better luck next time.  Now, SPILL!”

“Can we…go somewhere else?  I’m REALLY not comfortable talking out here.”  Aaravi wrung her fingers on her hands, looking around again.  The street was still empty.

Polly nodded.  “Alright, I know a place!  Come on!”

She floated off, with the slayer following along behind her.  They turned down a few side-roads, eventually ending in a dead-end alley with a few blankets and fairy lights strung up.  There was an odd scent in the air that made Aaravi’s nose wrinkle.

“Wow, uh…please tell me you don’t live here.  My shitty apartment is better than this.”

“Nah, don’t worry!  This is one of my favorite smoke spots, but nobody ever comes out here anymore.  I live wherever I can crash and not get exorcized!”

Polly sat on one of the blankets, and patted the spot next to her.  Aaravi again hesitated, receiving a glare from the poltergeist.  

“Listen, I can’t make ya talk if you don’t want to.  If you think you can confess to her yourself, go ahead.  BUT, it really does look like it’s bothering you.  Sometimes talking helps!  My impromptu therapy sessions at the blunt rotations are pretty well-liked.”

“I don’t go to enough parties–”

“Nerd.”

“-so I can’t say if that’s true or not.  But fine.”

She sat, taking a deep breath.  This felt like the worst decision she could make, like the wrong dialogue choice in an RPG, but she had already agreed.  

“Alright, so…I don’t really know WHEN it started.  It just kinda…did.  But, I…I dunno, I didn’t want to admit anything to myself.”

“Cause it’d interrupt your work?”

Aaravi’s face scrunched up.  “I’ve stopped calling it that.  It doesn’t feel right anymore.  I don’t know what to call it, though.  I’m just…..living, I guess.”

“Hey, that’s all you can do, really!  So, when did you actually acknowledge it?”

“.....This morning.”

Polly hissed.  “Oooh, babe….alright, that’s fine!  We can work with this!  You haven’t done anything too weird, right?  You guys are both nerds, don’t think you could be too awkward around each other.”

The slayer’s face flushed.  “....I…..may have run away from her before coming here….”

Polly stared at her like she’d grown a second head.  She facepalmed.  “Okay…..not the best thing to do.  But, if she feels the same, maybe we can make this work.”

Aaravi blinked.  She hadn’t even thought about whether Zoe could even possibly feel the same.  Why would she, after all?  Aaravi was a monster slayer.  The only reason she hadn’t tried to stab her in the past was because she wasn’t sure succeeding was even possible.  That was back when she didn’t know a lot about her, but…

A hand shook her from her thoughts.  “Hey, no!  Stay outta your head.  Your mind is your own worst enemy when it comes to love!”

“It–it is?”

“Yeah!  If you keep second-guessing yourself, it’s only gonna make it hurt even more if it turns out to be one-sided.  Not that I’m saying it is, but you won’t know until you try, right?”

“Are you saying I should just…TELL her?!”  Aaravi felt faint at the thought.

“At some point, yeah!  I usually tell the people I wanna sleep with I wanna sleep with ‘em, but that’s not the same as love.”

“T-that’s–that’s just–I don’t–how could I–”

“Woah, alright, I can see that’s a bit too much right now.  We’ll figure something out.  Don’t you worry, I’m probably the best person you could’ve come to for this!”

Aaravi wanted to remind her that she didn’t really go to her, and that she sorta inserted herself into the conversation, but didn’t want to interrupt the ghost girl’s excitement.  So, she sat back, allowing Polly to ramble out a few ideas.  None sounded appealing, but it at least took her mind off the task of ACTUALLY confessing.  Wasn’t there supposed to be a lot of ceremony to stuff like that?  Y’know, a romantic spot, soft music, just the right gift to raise the affinity…

…alright, maybe she was a little excited.

Chapter Text

Aaravi spent the next few days discussing ideas with Polly, most of which sounded insane or extremely complicated.  Along with that, most of them sounded like ways to seduce Zoe more than confess.  Sure, MAYBE she’d want to do that at some point, but right off the bat?  No way.  She already needed to work up to just saying how she felt, that would be another challenge for later.  Besides, most of Polly’s ideas that leaned toward ‘seduction’ sounded just as insane as the confessing ideas.  Like, why would she need a penguin mask for one of them?  

Despite that, some of them did sound alright.  One involved clearing out a dungeon beforehand and setting up a nice atmosphere for a date.  She could probably do that, as long as the monsters didn’t respawn too fast.  Another was a classic she was already thinking of, love letter in the locker and meeting in the woods under a specific tree.  Which tree she’d have to decide, but that would only matter if she actually went with it.  

How would she do it?  That was the burning question she had.  Aaravi had no idea.  Either way, she hoped it would be soon.  Prom was coming up soon(ish), and she really wanted to invite Zoe there.  But, shouldn’t they be dating beforehand?  Maybe that was the time to confess.  Could she really do it in front of everyone?  Hell, could she even properly ask her to prom?  When she had brought it up to Polly, the ghost had gotten so excited Aaravi barely understood the flurry of words that fell from her mouth.

“Uh…repeat that, but slower?”

Polly put her hands on the slayer’s shoulders, shaking her.  “Girl, you TOTALLY should tell her then!  Just ask her to prom ‘as friends’, then let her really know how you feel once there!”

“And that’ll just…work?”

“Well, no guarantee, but there’s no guarantee ANY of these will work.  You just have to try!  If you don’t, you’ll regret it for life!”

The slayer nodded.  She certainly didn’t want to regret it.  Monster prom was the most important event of their lives (or so she’d been told, at least), so she didn’t want to miss it.  Taking Zoe to the prom…what did one even do at a prom, anyway?  Dancing?  Drinking?  According to Polly, all that and more, but ‘and more’ seemed a bit too much for the slayer right now.  Asking her to monster prom as friends, though, she could definitely do that.  

“Alright, I can do this!”  Aaravi said, pumping a fist to psyche herself up.  “I’ll go ask her right now!”  

“You got this, girl!”  Polly cheered, equally excited.  “I’ll take the more direct route, meet ya there!”

Polly stood, then floated through the nearest wall.  The slayer could hear people freaking out inside the building she just invaded, and Aaravi wondered just how many times she’d done something like that.  Well, that didn’t matter!  She stood, dusting her cape off to look presentable.  She bounded out of the alley that had become their meeting spot, and joyful spring in her step.  

She didn’t see the club coming at all, cracking against the back of her skull.

“Hey, the hell’s wrong with you?”

Zoe blinked.  A sudden chill ran down her spine, bringing her more back to reality.  She had been staring down at her paper for so long, she had zoned out.  The words were once again refusing to word properly, and she had zoned out so hard she had to catch herself from face-planting onto the page.  Damien squinted at her from across the table.

“Whuah?  Uh, what?”  She mumbled, straightening up a bit.

“You.  You’ve been staring blankly at that paper for like fifteen minutes.  I’ve been throwing fries at ya for the past ten.  They keep vanishing when they get near ya, which is cool, but most people I throw food at react with anger.  Total apathy is annoying.”

“...It’s nothing.”  Zoe said, not meeting the demon’s eyes.  

“Bullshit.  You’re almost never sad.”  He folded his arms, squinting harder.  “My dads always told me to get my problems out, usually during bloody combat, and while I think that’d be helpful for anyone, you don’t look like the stabby type.  Use your words.”

Zoe sighed loudly, letting herself fall onto her face.  “It doesn’t maaaaaattteeeerrrrr…..”  She groaned.  “Why do you even care?”

Damien leaned forward, tapping a finger harshly against the table.  “Hey, I know I can be an ass, but I’m an ass who cares!  Besides, I think I can take a guess.  You and that hunter lady have been getting close, right?”

Zoe’s eye on top of her head glared at him.  “When did you get so observant?”

He smiled evilly.  “Evil demon magic!”

Damien slumped forward a bit, waving a hand.  “Nah, not actually.  Just used my damn eyes.  I don’t know what you see in her, but you obviously see something, considering how much you two seem to hang out.”

“Not anymore, though…”  Zoe mumbled sadly.

“What?  Why not?  Did she finally try to stab you and you kicked her out or something?”

“I DON’T KNOW!”  Zoe exclaimed, throwing her hands up.  “She just…doesn’t want to hang anymore.  Doesn’t want to watch anime, or go dungeon exploring…keeps saying she’s too busy.”

“Huh.  Sounds like you’re being ghosted.”

“I know, and it sucks.  I thought we were getting closer!  But…maybe I was just pushing myself into her life…”

“Eh, nothing new for her.  She pushed herself into all our lives, usually accompanied by trying to push a knife into US.  Now she got a taste of her own medicine…minus the stabbing part, I assume.”

“...is that supposed to be comforting?”

“Hell no, but it’s true!”

Zoe sighed again, standing and collecting her things.  “If you’re just gonna insult her, I’m leaving.”

“Hey, don’t let it eat ya too much.  That girl’s a pain in a lot of people’s asses, so maybe someone took her out.  If she’s gone, she’s–”

He didn’t get to finish that thought, as Zoe glared at the demon so hard his brain temporarily forgot how to breathe from the sheer terror it inflicted.  She stormed off, leaving the man to struggle for air.  When she was gone he gasped, oxygen returning to his lungs.  

“Damn, what’s got her so mad?”

“You just insulted her crush.”  Vera said, who had been watching the situation unfold from a safe distance until now.  “Of COURSE she’d be mad.”

“Huh!?  And how do you know!?”  Damien hissed, eyes narrowing (well, more than they usually are).  

Vera raised an eyebrow.  There was a long pause between them.

“Alright, maybe it’s a little obvious!  But I don’t think she’s aware of it either, so I get a free pass!”

“The only thing you’re going to get is your soul thrown into a pit if you do that again.”

He groaned in annoyance.  “Just like getting grounded as a kid.  Damnit.”

“Well, maybe if you’re nice to her she’ll forgive you.  I’d assume elder gods hold long grudges, so I’d deal with that as soon as you can.”

Damien groaned again.  “Whatever.  I’ll deal with it next time I see her.”

“If you’re still alive by then, you mean.”

“Can’t kill me, I’ll just come back from hell and stab her!”

“Then die again?”

“...You are NOT fun.”

“Not trying to be fun, trying to be realistic.  I can’t exploit your strength if you’re dead.”

“Oh, glad to see you care!”  He said with an annoyed twitch of an eyebrow.

“Heeeeeey!”  Came a familiar cheery voice, drawing the two’s attention.  Polly floated over, arms crossed but still smiling.  “What’s up with Zoe?”

“Oh, nothing much.  Our resident demon said the wrong thing again.”  Vera chided, flipping her snake-y hair dramatically.

“Hey, I just said what was on my mind!  Not my fault she didn’t like it.”

“Oh…well, hopefully any sorta angst she’s feeling will wind up being positive for what happens next!”

Her eyes widened a bit, and she turned away, avoiding eye contact.  “You, uh, didn’t hear that last part.”

“...What have you gotten yourself involved in now, Polly?  Hopefully something you won't need to bail somebody out of?”  Vera asked in an exasperated tone.  

“Nothing like that!  I just gave Aaravi the little push she needed.”

“Hm?  Weird.  I didn’t say her name.”  Now Vera was smiling, almost never a good sign.

“Oh?  What?  Did I say some–I didn’t say anything, ahaha!”  Polly fumbled.

Vera continued to give an all-knowing smile, and Polly eventually relented.  “Alright, I MAY or may not have been talking with the slayer and trying to get her to confess.  But, in my defense, I thought they’d be cute together.”

“No one’s blaming you for trying, what we’re blaming you for is keeping those two away from each other!”  Damien said with a wave of a hand.  “Zoe said she hadn’t seen Aaravi in days!  That’s gotta suck for her.”

“Well, it should all work out in the end!  Aaravi was on her way here!”

“...and now Zoe got up and walked away.”  Vera finished, staring off in the direction the girl went.  

“...I should go talk to her.”  Polly said, zooming off.

Zoe had stormed off completely, leaving the school yet again to wander the streets of the town.  As she walked, she tried to decipher why Aaravi wasn’t hanging out with her anymore.  Had Zoe bored her with all the anime and nerd stuff?  She knew not everyone was into it, but Aaravi didn’t seem like the type to lie.  Especially not to make someone she didn’t like happy.  Oh, god, what if she’d completely misread their interactions?!  What if she hated her!?  The thought was more crushing than she could’ve imagined.  Zoe stopped, taking a deep breath to steady her thoughts.

“That’s…not true.”  She mumbled quietly.  “She’s my friend.  She’d say something if she was upset.”

She felt another chill run down her spine, setting her nerves on edge.  Something wasn’t right again.  Felt like some sort of…disturbance.  Her legs were working faster than her brain, taking her down the streets of the town.  Zoe didn’t know where she was going ,but she had to move.  Something was WRONG, and wrong in such a way it made her head spin with dread.  She skidded around a corner, just in time to watch a hooded figure dart from an alleyway up ahead.  She began to chase after them, but was stopped dead in her tracks when the unmistakable scent of blood hit her nose.  She slowly turned, every fiber of her being telling her not to, gazing down the alley.  She froze at what she saw, blood draining from her face and terror blooming in her chest.  She wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

There, slumped against the alley wall, was Aaravi.  Blood drenched the front of her clothes and audibly dripped from her head.  It pooled on the ground, slowly growing larger.  Zoe approached, willing this all to be a horrible, fucked up dream she’d wake up from at any moment.  But, she didn’t.  Some other part of her body fished for her phone, dialing 911 and handling all the important stuff.  The more present Zoe knelt down in front of the slayer, eyes welling with tears.  

Aaravi had a large slash across her chest, and a nasty tear above her eyes.  Could she do anything about it?  No, there was way too much blood.  The wounds were too deep.  If Zoe tried, the slayer might not survive.  Just healing her leg had been painful for her, healing her here might kill her.  

“A–Aaravi?”  She whispered, voice on the brink of breaking.  “Please…god, please don’t die…”

The slayer didn’t respond, eyes closed and face pale.

When Polly finally caught up with Zoe, she felt like she’d stepped into one of those detective shows.  Police tape was put up everywhere, and a perimeter had been set to keep the public at bay.  Not many were standing about, but one of the few who were was Zoe, sitting on the curb and face devoid of all emotion.  She floated over to the purple girl, sitting down next to her.

“...hey….what happened?”  She asked, feeling like she already knew the answer.

Zoe was silent for a long time before responding.  “.....Aaravi got attacked.  They….don’t know if she’ll make it.”

Zoe balled her fist (and tentacle) up, body trembling.  “I….I couldn’t do anything.  She was b-barely hanging on, if I-I-I had tried to help, she….she wouldn’t have…”

She stifled a sob, turning away and covering her face.  Polly hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a soft squeeze.

“Hey, she’s a tough girl.  She’ll make it through this, I’m sure of it.”

Zoe nodded, but her posture didn’t change.  

“.....listen, we…should go somewhere else.”  Polly said gently.  “Staying here isn’t going to help anyone.”

The eldritch girl nodded again, standing.  Polly led the girl away, beginning to wander the town again.  She wasn’t sure where she would go, but knew staying near the scene of the incident would only cause more stress.  Any more, and Zoe looked like she’d completely crack.  Eventually, their meandering led them back to school.  Wordlessly, Zoe entered the building, leaving Polly outside to spread the word of what had happened.

Word spread fast.  By the end of the day, even if they didn’t know who Aaravi was, everyone knew that SOMEONE had been stabbed.  Stabbings were usually of little problem, but this one had almost left the victim for dead.  Zoe, for her part, remained silent on the matter.  A palpable gloom surrounded her wherever she went, clearing a path through crowds as people ran for safety.  No one could get close.

A few days after the incident, and still no news on Aaravi’s status.  Zoe’s despair had burned away to a quiet, seething anger.  Her eyes were sharper, piercing through everyone who looked into them.  Teeth and eyes undulated and morphed across her face, emitting low growls.  Once again, no one could get close to her, but now for fear of their safety.  Zoe was sitting at one of the outside tables after school, staring blankly down at the paper in front of her.  Calculester watched from a distance, Polly hovering next to him with a worried expression.

“Man…this is awful.”  She said, lacking any better words.  “This wasn’t how it was supposed to go!  Aaravi was gonna come here, ask her to prom, and….guh.  I can’t help feeling like it's my fault, too…”

“It is not your fault, friend Polly.”  The robot man said, shaking his head.  “No one could have known this would happen.  All we can do now is offer our support.  I will talk to her.”

He walked over, standing just outside of the bubble of reality distortion.

“F…friend Zoe?”  Calculester attempted.  “We are…worried about you.  You look….as one may put it, ‘wobbly around the edges’.”

She turned slowly, eyes seeming to stare right through him.  “One of my friends got stabbed.  How do you think I’m feeling?”

The android shuffled on his feet.  “I am aware.  But, there is not much we can do now.  All we can do is hope that things will be okay.  It is not the answer you want, but it is the answer we get.”

The eyes on her head flared red, before settling back to green.  “.....I know…but that doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Do not forget, there are many people here who are willing to lend a shoulder.  We want to help however we can.”

She nodded again, straightening a bit.  “....actually….”

Zoe stood, sticking her hand out in front of her.  She spoke in an unknown tongue, and suddenly a small group of Z’gord cult members emerged from the forest.  Their faces were obscured by masks, but excited energy radiated off of them in waves.  The leader stepped closer, raising their arms in jubilation.

“Oh, great Z’go–”

Zoe let out a shriek, tentacles writhing and red lights flaring from her eyes.  The leader crumpled in on themselves, vanishing with a wet pop.  After a pause, another member stepped forward, mimicking the pose from the first.

“Uh, g-great….Zoe?”

“Hm.  Good, they’re learning.”  Zoe mumbled, crossing her arms.  “Listen up.  One of my friends got attacked a few days ago.  I’m sure you already know who.  You guys always manage to know where I am, even when I try to hide from ya, so put that skill for finding things to use.”

Her voice dropped several octaves, the air around her beginning to visibly fractal.  “Find who did this, and bring them to me.  Alive.”

The cultists bowed, then dispersed back into the woods.  When they were gone, Zoe turned, and began to walk away.

“F-friend Zoe?  Where are you going?  Lunch is almost over.”  Calculester called out, synthetic voice laced with worry.

She waved a hand in the air without turning around.  “Going to check on Aaravi.  Go to class without me.”

She blipped away, leaving the robot to stand awkwardly by himself.  Polly floated over, shaking her head and patting him on the shoulder.  

“I think she still needs space.  And…some time to clear her head a bit.  I don’t…. think this will end badly?”

“Hm.  Let us hope.”  Calculester replied, face displaying his ‘ :/ ’ face.

Zoe appeared just outside of Aaravi’s hospital room, trying not to get her hopes up too high.  She wanted to believe the girl had awoken, but knew the chance was slim.  The wounds had been deep.  The blood loss was massive.  The fact she didn’t die already was a miracle.  That’s what the doctors had said, at least.  Her body had shut down to preserve its vital functions, and they weren’t sure when she’d wake up.  Zoe knocked on the door, waiting.  With no response, she slowly opened the door and stepped into the dark room.

Aaravi hadn’t moved much from when she had last seen her, laying on the bed with wires attached to her head and arms.  Zoe came around the bed, pulling up the chair and leaning against the bed.  Aaravi’s breaths were quiet, face twitching occasionally in her sleep.  This felt wrong.  Like the genre had changed half-way through a series.  They were supposed to be spending the best days of their lives hanging out at school, goofing off and doing things they wanted.  Instead, Aaravi had nearly died.  And, worse, some small and irrational part of her brain told her it was her fault.  It didn’t make sense, but a tiny voice in her head was telling her it was undeniably true.

“…I’m sorry…I couldn’t help you…”  Zoe apologized again.  “…if I had been faster, maybe I could’ve…”

She stifled another small sob.  “....I’m gonna find who did this….I don’t know if you’d want that, though….I–I realized I don’t know as much as I’d like about you….I wanna…know more about you…if that’s okay with you….”

She took the slayer’s hand, squeezing it a bit.  “.....I hope you wake up soon….I miss hearing your voice, your laugh…I miss just being around you….is that too sappy?  Not like you can hear me….”

Zoe rested her head against the bed, closing her eyes.  “....I think I wanna ask you to prom…but I don’t think I’ll get the chance…I don’t care if I don’t go, I just….I want you to be okay….”

Monster prom came and went.  Zoe didn’t attend.  No one questioned her on it.

Chapter Text

Everything was foggy.  Aaravi struggled to see through the haze, waving her hands in front of her.  Even her arms were fuzzy around the edges.  Was this place filled with smoke or something?  

“...Hello?”  She called out, voice echoing in the space.  “...someone gonna tell me where the he–”

“DON’T SAY THAT WORD!”  A voice shouted from above.

Aaravi looked up, glaring at the billowing black and gray.  “Well, then come down here and tell me what’s happening!”

The fog parted, and a figure descended from the sky in a pillar of light.  Pure white wings fluttered as the figure landed, body difficult to make out from the blinding white.  A clang of metal, and the light seemed to melt off the figure.  The wings connected to a surprisingly scrawny man wearing a white toga.  The still-fluttering wings were significantly bigger than the man himself.  Gold rings jingled from the hem of the cloth, and a shining halo floated a bit above his head.  Said head was shaped like a diamond, with a pointy chin, wide face, and a flat top.  His black hair was cut short, with an obvious attempt to style it in some form or fashion, but it was such a vague attempt that placing said style was impossible.  He wore circular gold-rimmed glasses, and the left one had a crack in it.  Aaravi got massive ‘accountant’ vibes from this man.  In one hand he held a clipboard, and the other, a golden scythe.

“I-if you say that word, I’ll–I’ll have to fill out so much p-p-paperwork!  Do NOT make my job harder than it already is!”

“...am I dead?”  The slayer asked, afraid of the answer.

“Half dead, my dear.  We’re in what w-we in the b-b-business call the ‘waiting room’.  Not…not used much, considering most people either die right away or are alive.”

“Huh.  so, you’re an angel?”

“Ah!  Y-yes, I am.  You may call me Ashreital.  Ash-ray-tall.  Three syllables.”

“Yeah, I heard ya the first time.  So, what do I do now exactly?  I don’t wanna die.”

“Ohoho, very few do.  But, that’s not really for me to decide.”

“Well, then who is!?”  Aaravi took a threatening step toward the angel, who cowered back.

“T-there isn’t really anyone!  It just d-d-depends on what t-the people around you do!”

“So I’m screwed!?”

“M-maybe!?”

“Well, that’s just GREAT!”

Aaravi sat down with a huff.  “Guess all I can do is wait…”

There was an awkward silence in the space.  “.....you’re t-taking this rather well.  Compared t-to others.”  Ashreital noted.

“Well, I kinda can’t see shit in this haze.  Don’t wanna go anywhere either in case, like…a door opens or something.  Don’t wanna get stuck here.”

Ashreital nodded, shuffling on his feet a bit.  Aaravi watched him for a bit, then turned her attention upwards again.  As she squinted, she could faintly make out what looked like swaying branches.  Static seemed to have replaced a sky, with wisps of monochrome smoke billowing around her.

“.....does this happen often?”  She asked the angel.  “Like, you said this place isn’t used much, but…how much is ‘not used much’?”

“Oh, I’d say…a-about, ten or so times a month?  Lots of people die, but it’s usually quick, or t-there’s no debate about whether they’re dead or n-not, so this place is usually empty.”

Aaravi squinted in thought.  “What even happened to me?  I was going to see a friend, then…nothing.”

Ashreital coughed awkwardly.  “Well…we’re t-trying to figure that out as well.  Your guardian angel was supposed to keep us updated, but-“

“I have a guardian angel?”

“HAD, I’m afraid.  Turns out he’s be-been slacking on the job, a rather g-g-grave sin for an angel.  Seems Sloth managed to wiggle her way into a-another angel’s mind…how t-tragic…”

She huffed in annoyance.  “Well, that explains some of it.  Damnit…so this is possibly the end.”

“Unfortunately, yes.  Bu-but, maybe it’s not!  We have to have faith.”

“…I didn’t have any faith to begin with.”

“Well, t-that’s common, especially amongst those living near monsters.  However, we learned quickly that d-dis-discriminating against those who have, generally good souls, but no religion, was leading to yearly heaven quotas not b-being filled.  Compromises have to be made in a-any business, it s-s-seems.”

“So if I do die here, I go to heaven?”

“N-not immediately.  You move to the next step of soul processing, where your sins and good deeds are weighed against each other.  If you were gen-g-generally more good than b-bad, you go to heaven!  If not, well…you k-know what happens.”

She sighed.  “Alright so I’m going to h–”

“SSSSHHHH!”  He put a finger to his mouth, spittle flying from his lips.  “If you MUST say it, use ‘the bad place’!”

“Fine, fine.  I’m going to ‘the bad place’ then.”

“Only possibly!  Your file here from the last time your guardian angel checked in says you wanted to be a….a ‘monster hunter’, yes?  That can be seen as a g-good thing, depending on who you…uh…took out.”

“So killing people can be a good thing?  I never actually managed to finish anyone off for good, y’know.  Unless you count dungeon folks, but those guys come back after a while, so I don’t know if they count.”

“W-well, then that would be classified under ‘assault’, which again, CAN be a crime, but we need to look at the nuances.”

“...I have an acquaintance from…’the bad place’.  Wonder if that’d do anything for me.”

“Oh!  Well, then, um…that may disqualify you if you sold your soul.  Then again, I think you wouldn’t be here, then…”

“I didn't sell my soul!  I just know him.  He was one of my targets.”

“Oh.  W-well, killing a demon would be a good thing, so if you do live, and are not sure if you’ll ma-make the c-c-cut, then, uh…kill him.”

Aaravi flopped onto her back, staring up into the void above.  She felt like this conversation was going nowhere.  This guy clearly didn’t know what was going on with her (but it sounded like she couldn’t really blame him), so all she could do right now is try to figure out what happened to her on her own.  Clearly she was attacked, if she was here, but by who.  Sure, she had a lot of enemies, but she’d been smacked around before.  She was usually better after a week or so.  Even when she had her ribs cracked or bones broken, that only put her out of commission for a few days.  Sure, when every day counted to make rent, that wasn’t good, but she’d made it work.  Never really questioned it, either.  Her natural regeneration had always been weird.  She wondered what had changed.

Alright, who could’ve done this?  Damien was a top choice.  He was the most brutish of all her enemies, and he loved fighting.  However, he also didn’t usually sneak up on people.  If he wanted to kick your ass, you knew exactly why and exactly when he was gonna do it.  Liam?  He didn’t seem like the killing kind.  He was also usually too busy with his blogs or posting some random image online that he thought was ‘hip’.  Had she pissed off Vera in some form or fashion?  Aaravi didn’t bother her if she didn’t have to, that gorgon was scary.  She wouldn’t get her hands dirty directly, but hiring some muscle to take the slayer out didn’t seem out of the question.  

Maybe….this was some kinda punishment.  She had been slacking in her duties.  Most of her time recently had been spent hanging out with Zoe.  But, was that really a bad thing?  She still made rent.  She still trained.  Now, there was just a bit more fun and enjoyment in doing those things.  Zoe really liked going to the arcade, both girls fighting for the high scores across the various machines.  They went dungeon diving together, finding cool things that sometimes she didn’t even sell.  Zoe found a small piece of quartz that was shaped like an arrow, and Aaravi had kept it as a memento of that trip.  They still went to that crystal-filled dungeon every now and then, just walking through the massive caverns as light reflected through the shards.  Those were dates in everything but name.  

….Huh.  Zoe.  Her entire life changed when the eldritch cutie stepped into it.  And now, there was a good chance she’d never see her again.  Never get to ask her to prom, or do anything more.  She probably had no idea what happened to her.  Oh, god, was Aaravi just bleeding out in a ditch somewhere?  No, if she was she’d probably just be dead.  She must be in a hospital somewhere.  Shit, she couldn’t afford that.  That was kinda sad.  She couldn’t afford to be saved.  

A soft murmur finally came to her ears on the wind, drawing her from her thoughts.  She tried to listen closer, but it was too faint.  Aaravi spun in place, trying to figure out where it was coming from.  Eventually she began walking in a direction, Ashreital stammering a bit in protest before following behind.  As she left the area she woke up in, Aaravi stumbled into a grayscale forest.  The wind was getting stronger, and she could make out the voice more and more.  It was Zoe.  It was still difficult to make out most of it, but she could hear her.  

“.....Aaravi….sorry…”  Zoe’s voice echoed in the space.  “I’m sorry….”

“Wha–why can I hear Zoe’s voice!?”  Aaravi turned toward the angel, trying to glare him to death.

“Uh, um, I–I believe it’s because she’s close to you!”

“Is that how that works?”

“I believe so!  I–I’d have to double check the…the handbook to confirm, but…”

“....I wanna…..know more about you….”  Zoe’s voice echoed from above them.  “..Ask you….prom…”

Aaravi felt her face flush.  Zoe wanted to ask her to prom!?  And she was too busy being UNCONSCIOUS for that to happen?!  No.  This wasn’t going to continue.  She loomed over the angel, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking vigorously.

“I need to wake up.  NOW.  There’s gotta be something I can do!”

“T–there’s nothing!  We just have to wait until your b-b-body decides it's time!”

“If it’s MY body making the decision, can’t I decide to wake up NOW!?  It’s MY body, after all!”

“I mean–I suppose–technically, you could–gah, I don’t know!  There’s no official protocol for this!  I’m playing this by ear!”

“You guys need to get your shit together!”

“I am well aware!”

Their argument was interrupted by the sound of glass breaking overhead.  

“The he–what the fuck was that!?”  Aaravi looked up, seeing the sky had cracked like…well, glass.

“I-I think that means you’re waking up!”

As he said it, the area around them began to glow.  Ashreital jumped back, flipping through the various pages on his clipboard.  

“Um, yes, it seems so.  Please do your best to live a virtuous life so you don’t end up in hell—ah, Damnit!”

He was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning, and Aaravi’s vision filled with blinding light once again.

Aaravi’s eyes opened slowly, squinting at the light.  Was she back in that gray void again?  No.  This felt real.  She was laying on something that could graciously be called “soft”, a thin blanket put over her legs.  She sat up, reality slowly coming back into focus.  She was in a hospital bed.  Good, they had found her.  Her chest felt like it had been pulled open.  That’s probably where she’d been injured.  Her head was hurting.  That was probably the second injury.  Something warm was wrapped tightly around her hand.  It was something purple, connected to a blob of yellow and purple.  Aaravi rubbed her eyes, everything finally coming back into focus.

Zoe.  Zoe was here, leaning against the bed with her face resting against the slayer’s legs.  She was asleep, face twitching and all her mouths frowning.  Thin streams of tears poured down her face and head, an odd sight considering she had eyes all over her head.  

“....Ravi….I’m sorry….”  She mumbled in her sleep, hiccuping slightly.

Aaravi leaned forward, using her free hand to shake the sleeping girl.  Zoe shuddered, then sat up, stretching a bit.  She blinked wearily at Aaravi, wiping away the tears.  They stared at each other for a few seconds, Zoe rubbing a bit harder at her face.  She still had a tentacle wrapped around Aaravi’s hand, and the slayer could feel the other beginning to tremble.

“A–A–Aaravi!?”  She whispered, leaning closer.  “P-please, tell me I’m not dreaming…”

“I hope not.  I just had a talk with an angel, and he seemed like a pushover.”

Zoe was silent a bit more, then let out a sharp laugh.  Tears began to pour freely down her face as she continued to laugh, the sound echoing in the small room.

“Oh my god…I–I was so scared…”  She managed to get out.  “I–I thought I’d never see you again!”

“D-do you want to go to prom with me?!”  Aaravi blurted out, bringing hers and Zoe’s hands up to her chest.

Zoe was stunned for a second, then laughed again, this time a little more sadly.  She leaned forward, poking Aaravi in the chest (luckily not near any wound).

“Dummy.  You’ve been out for so long, we missed it.”

Oh.  That sucked.  “W-well, did you at least have a good time?”

She shrugged.  “Didn’t go.  Wasn’t really in the mood.  Plus, if you weren’t gonna be there, I didn’t see much of a reason.”

“…. S-so you would’ve said yes?”

Zoe’s face flushed a bit.  “Ah, uh…y-yeah, I…god, why is this so embarrassing?  I feel like a manga character…”

“Hey, as long as it’s not one of those stupid wish-fulfillment ones, you’re good.”  Aaravi joked, feeling them fall back into the swing of things.

“Hey, they’re not all bad!  Wouldn’t be if you were there, at least….”

Both girls were now blushing furiously.  It was at that moment a nurse stepped in to check on Aaravi, both girls scrambling away from each other.  If she had noticed what the two were doing, she didn’t say anything.  She did a check-up, called a doctor, and they decided that she’d be good to be released in a day or so.  Aaravi felt a strange mixture of relief and sadness.  It was good to finally be out of there, but now she had to face what would be a massive hospital bill and any other expenses she’d missed while out.  

Like her apartment.  

…..shit.

Zoe met with Aaravi when they were finally discharged.  She brought a change of clothes for the girl, as her old outfit had been tossed out after the incident.  The slayer was still a little unsteady on her feet, not used to being confined to one spot for so long.  She leaned against the outer entity, who seemed perfectly content to let her do so.  A pill bottle rattled in her pocket, antibiotics to take just to make sure nothing got infected.  They slowly walked off, a thought bubbling in Aaravi’s mind but too afraid to say it.  Zoe spoke up first.

“Soooooo…..”  She started, kicking her foot anxiously.  “Don’t get mad.”

“Never a good start to a conversation, but continue.”

“Weeellllll, I kept an eye on your apartment while you were out.  Or, tried to, at least.”

“…is all my shit out on the pavement?”

“It’s not, luckily!  But…for a time, yeah, it was.”

Aaravi was somewhat surprised to find herself feeling almost nothing at the revelation.  Was that concerning?  Probably.

“But, before you freak out, I took care of it!  Grabbed everything and moved it to the safest place I know!”

Before the slayer could ask what that meant, Zoe made a symbol with her tentacles.  The air in front of them rippled and cracked, separating and revealing what looked like a normal apartment living room.

“Alright, come on in!  Mind the edges, they’re a little sharp!  Still ironing out all the kinks…”

They stepped into the room, the tear vanishing behind them with a sharp *crack!*.  It looked vaguely familiar to Aaravi, but she guessed it was from some anime she’d been shown.  The windows displayed a bright sky, but no buildings or trees in sight.  She wondered if there was anything actually out there, or just an illusion.

“Alright, this way!  I set it up with all your stuff, so until you get a new place you can stay here!”  Zoe said cheerfully, leading her to one of three doors.  

It swung open, revealing a bedroom about as large as her entire old apartment.A few dressers, her old TV…A large bed was set in the corner, her old sheets piled on top.  Boxes littered the floor, all carefully placed and unopened.  Aaravi stepped in, amazed.  

“And….I can just live here?”

“Yeah!  Oh, wait, you’ll need this too!”

She reached into one of her jacket pockets, pulling out a small purple key.  “Here, when using it just imagine a place you want to go, like school or the arcade, and pretend you’re inserting it into a lock.  Turn it, and reality should open for ya!  We’ll give it a few tests later, but I think you’ll want to settle into this place a bit first.”

She handed it over, Aaravi taking it carefully.  It was slightly warm to the touch, and the eye in the head of the key blinked at her.

“...is this a piece of you?”  

“Technically, almost everything here is me!”

They stared at each other.  Aaravi’s brain slowly tried to piece all the information together.  All this was Zoe.  The walls, the floor, the ceiling.  How was that possible?  Who knew.  Well, Zoe did, but she probably couldn’t explain fully.  She was inside Zoe.  Inside her friend.  INSIDE Zoe.  INSIDE.

“-ey!  Hey, earth to Aaravi!  You still there?  Your nose is bleeding…”

Aaravi blinked, feeling the warm blood dripping down her face.  Her face went beet-red, turning away and wiping at her nose.

“N-nothing, absolutely nothing, just a little shocked!  Don’tlookatmerightnow.”

“Alright, just, uh…let me get you a tissue.”

She reached around Aaravi, holding a box of tissues.  Aaravi took it, but hesitated.

“This isn’t…made of you, is it?”

“Nope, not those.  It’s mainly just the walls and–oh.  OH WAIT.”

Zoe’s eyes widened as she too put together what she had been saying.  Her face flushed a bit as well, but along with that a small smile formed.  She started poking Aaravi in the back, giggling.

“IS THAT–OH YOU’RE TOTALLY THINKING SOMETHING DIRTY AREN’T YOU!?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  

Zoe laughed loudly.  “It’s not like that, dummy!  It’s more like…a pocket of my mind.  We’re in my head, not anywhere else!  You’re not gonna open a cabinet and find my heart, or…anything else.  Get your mind out of the gutter!”

“Couldn’t you have built it…I dunno, between dimensions or something?  Build it out of bounds of reality?”  Aaravi stammered, switching subjects.

“I tried that, but un-reality kept leaking in and it was getting to be a hassle to clean it up.  Plus, for someone like you, I think it’d just…spaghetti-fy you.  Not fun.”

Aaravi shuddered.  “Yep, not fun.  And, uh, thanks for…letting me stay in your head, I guess.”

Zoe slung an arm over the slayer’s shoulder.  “Of course!  You’re my friend, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do something.”

Aaravi turned into the side-hug, turning it into a full hug.  Zoe was startled a bit, but then leaned into it.  The slayer let out a sigh, tension she didn’t even realize was there finally leaving her body.

“Thank you…for caring.”  Aaravi whispered, squeezing the eldritch girl tighter.  “I don’t think I can properly explain how thankful I am.  But I’ll try.”

“W-woah, no need to get too sentimental!”  Zoe said.  “.....but, maybe we can stay like this for a bit longer…”

Chapter Text

Aaravi spent the next few days trying to get back into the swing of things.  It wasn’t easy.  Turns out, dungeon diving, training, and really any physical exercise was rather difficult with a massive chest wound that was still healing.  Zoe was pretty adamant that the girl stay in the apartment resting, but Aaravi wanted nothing to do with that.  There were skills to grind, potions to make, loot to take…not for rent this time, but for the hospital bill.  They were still waiting for that, but did they even have an address to send mail to?  Maybe it’d just find its way to her like a blue shell.  

Living with the otherworldly girl was rather interesting.  Most of their time together was spent on the couch, watching random anime or playing games.  Aaravi had found her old game console in one of the boxes, and they’d been working together to grind to the endings of the games she still had.  Aaravi had been so focused on life that she’d forgotten just how fun some of them could be.  That, and having her crush lounging on the other end of the couch providing colorful commentary was a nice touch.

Plus, being this close for longer periods of time offered a better glimpse into Zoe’s personality.  Her eyes would turn to squiggly stars a lot more often than Aaravi expected, whether it be seeing her favorite characters do something cool on screen, getting to eat her favorite food, or just being told something funny.  Sometimes they seemed to just naturally become stars when she and Aaravi caught glances at each other, but neither was willing to look deeper into that.  

Zoe was also a lot more punctual than Aaravi could’ve ever expected.  She knew the time down to the second, without even needing to look at a clock.  Whenever a new episode of a show was being released, she’d switch it to the channel right as it started.  Food put into the oven was taken out right as the timer reached zero, a truly impressive feat if Aaravi had ever seen one.  If she ever missed a time, she was extremely apologetic.  It was nice to see a more human part of the girl, and Aaravi being one of the few who knew that made it special.

Not all was well, however.  An incident had occurred on one of the earlier nights staying there.  Aaravi had gotten up in the middle of the night, and with a dry throat (a side effect of the meds she had to take) she had set out to get a cup of water.  While moving to the kitchen, she was startled to see Zoe still awake, sitting at the dining room table.  She was surrounded by crumpled balls of paper, and looked about ready to do the same to the one on the table in front of her.  If that didn’t tip Aaravi off to her friend’s mood, the slight buzz in the air did.  The slayer got her cup of water, drank a bit, then glanced back at Zoe.  She hadn’t moved an inch, still staring down at the paper.  Aaravi approached slowly, sliding into the empty chair next to her.

“What are ya doing still up?”  She asked bluntly.

“Writing.”  Zoe responded just as bluntly back.  “Can’t go to sleep until I’m done.”

She looked over at the time.  12:04 in the morning.  “Girl, it's midnight.”

“And the words refuse to word.  No sleep until they do.”

“When was the last time you actually got some sleep?”

“Sleep is for the weak.”

“You saying I’m weak?”

Zoe face-planted into the table instead of responding.  Aaravi sighed, realizing she’d have to do something.  She stood, weaving her arms under the purple girl’s and effortlessly lifted the girl into the air.  Zoe was limp like a doll, only murmuring a low ‘mmmmm….’ as she got carried down the hall.  After a second of hesitation, she nudged the door to Zoe’s room open with a foot.  She had expected it to maybe be more…eldritch, being kinda like the heart of this realm.  Instead, it was a similar room to her own, just with more anime.  The walls were covered with posters, most of which Aaravi recognized.  She set the now-snoring girl down on her bed, grabbing the blanket and throwing it over her.  

“Get some rest.”  She said quietly.  “Pretty sure everyone needs sleep.”

“Fiiiiiine…..”  Zoe mumbled.  “....goodnight….”

Aaravi patted the girl’s hand, half-asleep herself and not realizing exactly what she was doing.  One of Zoe’s tentacles gently curled around the slayer’s hand, tracing a thin scar.  Aaravi didn’t move, letting the wandering limb do as it pleased.  It squeezed her ring finger, then fell limp.  Aaravi quietly left to her own room, planted her face into her pillow, and silently screamed gayly into it.

That incident was a few days ago.  The slayer was again laying in bed after a particularly trying day of attempted training.  Her limbs felt like jelly, and her chest hurt.  Was it the injury?  Was it her lack of exercise after so long of extensive training, followed by a long break, throwing her body out of whack?  Who knew!  She didn’t.  Aaravi’s phone rang, interrupting her brooding.  She sat up from bed, groaning.  Her phone told her it was a little past ten at night.  Squinting at the name, she saw it was Polly.  She answered, holding the phone out at arm’s length.

“OHMYGODAREYOUOKAY!?!?!?”  Polly’s voice exploded through the speaker.

“I’m fine!”  The slayer said once the voice had returned to safe volumes.  “Just stuck in bed all damn day.”

“Oh, thank god!  Zoe mentioned you got discharged but I couldn’t find you anywhere!  Finally remembered we traded numbers and called!  Where are you right now?”

“...in Zoe’s head.”

“...what?”

“Listen, I don’t know the specifics, but the simplest way to say it is that I’m staying with Zoe for now.”

“Oh.  Well, that’s definitely easier to understand.  Should’ve led with that.”

Aaravi groaned.  “What do you want?  It’s late.”

“Alright, so, I’m pretty sure Zoe already told ya you missed prom.”

“Unfortunately, yes.  She was even gonna ask me to go….”

“Oh, you’ll have to explain that later!  But, don’t give up hope!  Prom fucking sucked, and not in the fun way.”

“...Okay?  How exactly?”

“It’s kinda hard to explain, it just was.  People were really bummed out, the music wasn’t the best, nothing even caught fire!  There was just a weird air of seriousness that made everything really sour.  Most of the couples that tried to get together are on the rocks.  Me and Vicky are still going strong, though!”

Something crashed to the ground on the other side of the phone, followed by people yelling.  Polly yelled back, then seemed to move away.

“Sorry, don’t worry about that!  But, now the other reason I called!  Because prom sucked so much, the school made a vote, and we’re striking that prom from the records!  We’re hosting another prom next week.  We’re hoping whatever funk ruined the first one won’t bother us here.  You can totally still ask her to second prom!”

“We can do that?”

“Apparently!”

This was great!  She still had a chance!  They were kinda right back to square one, but that’s where she was anyway considering she never got the chance to ask, so no issue!  Aaravi felt herself getting excited.  

“A-alright, yeah!  I will!”

“Good!  I’ll put her on the line!  HEY ZOE!”

Aaravi had to stop herself from throwing her phone across the room.  “N-not over the phone, you idiot!”

“What?  I thought it’d be a good idea!  Don’t need to wait or anything!  Where is she…”

A hushed voice joined Polly, and a brief discussion was held just out of range.  When Polly returned, her voice was suddenly once again very serious.

“Someone said they saw her suddenly storm out of the building.  Something’s wrong.”

Aaravi was out of bed in an instant, struggling to get her shoes on.  Zoe never stormed.  “Does anyone have any idea where she could’ve gone!?”  She demanded.

“No idea, but–oh, wait, this is really bad!  She sent her cult guys out to find the person who fucked you up!  I think they found them!”

Well, they’d probably be no match for Zoe, but even then that wasn’t good!  She threw her spare cape on, fumbling with the key.  The movement was aggravating her wounds, but she didn’t care.  Zoe was most likely about to murder someone, and she didn’t really trust the cultists to get it right on the first try.

A small part of her also wanted to see the bastard for herself.

“I’ll handle it.”  Aaravi said, fumbling for the key in her pocket.  “Keep getting prom ready.”

“O-oh, okay?  Do you know where she is?”

“No, but I’m gonna find her, I know I will.”

“That doesn’t sound very convincing, but you got this!”

Polly hung up, and Aaravi finally found the key.  It was warmer than normal, the eye blinking rapidly and the teeth of the key twitching.  Kinda gross, but that was to be addressed later.  How exactly would she find her?  Would just thinking of Zoe take her where she needed to go?  Where would one take a…sacrifice?  Was that who this person would wind up being?  With what little she’d learned of the cult that followed her friend, that seemed the most likely.  

She imagined Zoe.  An easy thing to do, considering the girl was on her mind constantly.  She thrust her hand forward, turning the key.  Space opened up in front of her, and she dashed through.  This caused her to run face-first into someone, both tumbling to the ground.  Before Aaravi could figure out what was going on, warm and soft tendrils of SOMETHING slithered and constricted around her body, lifting the slayer into the air.

“ WHO DARES– Oh, Aaravi!”

The tendrils dropped her, Aaravi stumbling a bit but finally able to get her bearings.  She was in a forest, kneeling on a stone dais.  Torches ringed the dais, basking the place in a dim orange glow.  Said glow ringed the much taller figure that had spoken in Zoe’s voice.  Aaravi squinted, and as her eyes adjusted she saw it WAS in fact Zoe, just taller and with much longer tentacles that seemed to overflow from the stone platform and vanish into the darkness around them.  Well, ‘tall’ was an understatement.  Aaravi would have to stand on the shoulders of a clone of herself to even look her in the eye.  Not her face-eyes, but the massive green eye that had appeared just below Zoe’s neck.  Oh, and now that she was looking a little more closely, she noticed that her crush was wearing significantly much less clothing than normal.  None, to be exact.

“Oh my god WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?”  Aaravi squeaked as she looked away, blushing so hard she was sure she was glowing.

“I-it’s for the fear factor!  Plus, it lets me stretch out my powers a bit without going full god.  Besides, there’s nothing down there, I’m as smooth as a barbie doll right now!”

Aaravi’s brain barely had time to register why she felt disappointed at that revelation when another voice interrupted them.

“So, you’re alive.”

Aaravi slowly turned, feeling a chill run down her spine as the voice rang a familiar bell.  Well, that confirmed it.  Behind her, sprawled out on a stone altar was a hooded figure, blood dripping from under it rhythmically.  Their arms were bound behind their back, and legs were secured to rings in the floor with thick iron chains.  Just on the edge of the clearing behind the altar, Aaravi could make out the shining masks of the cult.  

“Thought I had done a good enough job.  Guess I should’ve stabbed ya in the heart.”  Despite not being able to see under the hood, the slayer could tell he was smiling evilly.

“ Silence. ”  Zoe ordered.  “So, you confess you did it?”

The figure laughed, voice deep and dripping malice.  “Doesn’t matter.  None of this matters.  You live, you die, who cares.”

“ I CARE, you bastard!”  Zoe shouted, an echoey scream reverberating through the trees.  “She’s my friend!”

“Ah, yes, a monster hunter being friends with a monster.  How ironic.”

“Why do you even care?”  Aaravi asked, taking a step closer to the man.  “I don’t even know who you are.”

“...that’s right, you don’t.  No one here does.  Why don’t you take my hood off, see if you recognize me.”

Aaravi hesitated, then reached forward.  She didn’t get far before Zoe grabbed her and pulled her close, wrapping an arm tightly around the now smaller girl.  A tentacle snaked out from the darkness, pulling the cloth back.  Aaravi blinked at the sight.  It was clearly a human, but…something was off.  His features were too sharp, skin too…textured.  Her brain refused to recognize more than that.  When she tried, her head began to hurt.  Zoe’s hand moved from around the slayer’s waist up to her eyes, shielding them.

“Don’t look.”  She whispered.  “Now everything makes sense.”

“Oh, does it?  And what are you going to do about it, squid?”

“Right now, nothing.  But, looking at you, I can tell you’re just like me.”

There was a long silence.  “....What?”  He growled.

“Yeah, I was in a similar situation.  I bet you’re feeling a little cramped right now.  You’re not from around here, just like me.”

“The hell are you talking about?”  The man attempted to stand, but the chains kept him close to the altar.

“You’re an outsider.  You’re from somewhere else, like an isekai!  But instead of acclimating to the new setting, you stay in your old ways.”  Zoe began to pace back and forth.  “You’re bending the world around you to try and force it to be like yours.  Tell me, was it common for people in your world…”

Something shot from the darkness, lashing the man’s face.  He hissed in pain, more blood falling to the ground.

“ ...Bleed? ”  She finished, voice warbling.

“....Heh.  You really are a monster.  And you, Aaravi…Do you really want to spend your time with this….this creature ?  You’re a slayer, like me, take pride in your work!”

“I do take pride in my work!”  Aaravi said, offended.  “But I also know I can’t fight everyone.  B-besides, right now I’m perfectly content to just exist.”

“Hmph.  Existing.  Don’t you want to be known?  Have your name feared by all who hear it?  Living in a dingy apartment isn’t the life of a hunter!”

Aaaravi squinted at him.  “…No?  Why would I want to be known like that?  If you’re trying to take out a target, you don’t want people going ‘oh, it’s her, the famous monster slayer!’ They’ll know you’re coming!”

The man’s smile faltered.  “W-well, obviously, but that’s not what I meant.  Are you really fine with–”

“No, we’re not skipping over that.”  Aaravi folded her arms.  “Why do you think I do this job?”

The outsider fell silent.  Zoe and Aaravi looked at each other.  

“I’m getting sick of this guy.”  The slayer said, glaring down at the man.  “He’s sucking all the fun this conversation could have away.  Like a mood vacuum.”  

“That’s not entirely inaccurate…”  Zoe said, beginning to make strange movements with her tentacles.  “It takes a lot of time and effort to adjust to a new setting…if you don’t you can really mess up the tone of a world.  That’s probably how you got so fucked up, that’s probably the usual response to being stabbed from where this guy’s from.”

“I thought it was kinda weird that it was so damaging…I’ve been stabbed before, but never like that.”

“You two are insane.”  The man growled.  “When is a stab wound never not serious?!  Why is THAT what I am concerned about?!”

“Maybe our world’s getting to ya.”  Zoe said, her tentacles beginning to glow.  “But, if you’re gonna attack people like that, you can’t stay here.”

“Wait a minute!”  Aaravi held a hand up.  “Before you finish….whatever it is you’re doing, I got a question for this guy.”

She stepped forward, drawing a knife from her belt.  The man didn’t react, just stared up at the slayer as she approached.  She knelt down in front of him, focusing on his eyes.  She stuck the knife under his chin, pressing it enough not to sink in but clause a drop of blood to run down the blade.

“Why did you attack me?”  She asked coldly.  “I don’t know you, but you seem to know me.  How?”

“Hm.  Wouldn’t you like to know?  If I’m going to die, I’ll take my secrets with me.”

She expected that response.  “Alright, suit yourself.  We’ll get something out of you.  Hey, cultists!”

Aaravi stood back and pointed at the man, turning her nose up at him.  “Run his pockets.”

“W-what?”

The cultists emerged from the darkness, descending on the man in an instant.  The sounds of a very one-sided struggle filled the space, clothing and objects tossed aside as they worked.  When they were done, the man remained on the altar, stripped of everything but his arm bindings and his underwear.  In front of him, a pile of old clothing, random gold coins, various leather sacks, a fancy-looking dagger, and a wallet lay haphazardly on the ground.  Zoe bent down, picking up the wallet and examining it.

“.......Your name is Mitch?  Rhymes with bitch?”

“You are not clever.”

Aaravi rifled through the pile, pulling out the dagger.  She unsheathed it, finding a brilliant blue metal underneath.

“Oooh, fancy!  This should cover a decent amount of the hospital bill if I can find the right buyer.”  She said, pocketing it.

“Oh, oh, there’s twenty dollars in here!  I wonder what the conversion rate is now…”  Zoe slipped the bills from the wallet, passing them to Aaravi.  “We should go get something to eat after this!”

“Is anything even open this late?”

“Gas stations?”

“Eh, that works.”

“DON’T IGNORE ME!”  The bound man shouted.  “You have humiliated me enough!  If you are going to kill me, DO IT!”

“Kill you?  Oh, no, I’m not going to kill you.”  Zoe said, resuming her symbol-making.  “As I said, I'm gonna send you home.  Now, with a little less dignity.”

The area began to fill with an otherworldly glow, casting odd shadows.  Zoe began to chant, accompanied by the cultists.  Lightning flashed, bits of rock exploding where it touched.  The eldritch goddess’s voice rose above the cacophony, an icy warning above the typhoon of noise.

“ If you EVER return, I will not be so merciful. ”

A nearly deafeningly loud clap of thunder followed, along with a blinding flash of light.  When everything settled down, the altar was empty, scorch marks around the aged stone.  Zoe stood in the center of the dais, lines on her skin faintly glowing green.  Despite everything that had just happened, once again, Aaravi found her thoughts wandering to just how beautiful the purple girl was.  Her eyes were lit up like torches, drawing the slayer’s own to them.  She was radiating power, but she didn’t feel intimidated.  It was almost comforting.  Zoe stepped closer, a small smile coming to her face.  God, it felt like the sun was beaming down on her…

Zoe leaned down, snapping Aaravi out of her thoughts by picking her up like a toy.  She squealed in surprise as the much larger girl squeezed the slayer to her body in a warm hug.  The girl’s tentacles cascaded over her as she nuzzled the slayer, sighing happily.

“Glad that’s finally over with!”  She said cheerfully.  “Was stressing out about what to do.  How’d you even know to come find me?”

“Polly called.  Said you were probably off to deal with this guy.  Then, I….I wanted to see for myself.”  Aaravi adjusted herself in Zoe’s grasp.  “I don’t remember what happened to me, so I wanted to confirm if it was them or not.”

“Well, saying he should’ve stabbed your heart confirms it pretty well, right?”  Zoe asked as she swayed side-to-side.  

“Hmm..yeah….”  Aaravi closed her eyes, suddenly feeling sleepy.  “…hey…do you wanna….go to….”

She didn’t get to finish her question, dozing off before she could get the last few words out.  Zoe adjusted the slayer a bit, unable to stop herself from laughing a bit.  She’d admit it now, Aaravi was adorable.  She could be loud and boisterous, overconfident some might say.  But, Zoe loved that about her.  Even with her injuries, she had found her way to Zoe when she heard things were going down.  Along with that, Aaravi was just…grounding.  Her appearance in the clearing had helped clear the goddess’s head.  If she hadn’t, that man certainly would’ve met with a worse fate than death…

…that, and having your crush appear directly in front of you while you’re basically naked can really change your priorities.  

“Oh, great Zoe…” came the voice of one of the cultists.  “What is your next command?”

Oh, right, these guys.  What to do now…they had worked pretty fast the first time around…

“…alright, got another job for you.”  She gestured toward the pile of stolen goods.  “Sift through that, see if you can find anything.  That guy knew about Aaravi, and I wanna know how.”

“Yes, your unholiness!”

They dispersed, leaving Zoe there to cradle the sleeping slayer against her chest.  While she was perfectly content to stay like that until the heat death of the universe, Aaravi would probably die of embarrassment if she woke up in Zoe’s arms.  So, with a heavy heart, she blipped back to their home and gently set the other girl down in her bed.  

“Goodnight, Ravi.”  Zoe said, slowly shifting her body back to her usual smaller self.

She waited a second to see if she’d respond.  Her heart was pounding, unsure if she was really about to do this.  Another second of hesitation, and she went for it.  She leaned down, gently kissing Aaravi’s cheek.  After the deed was done she sprang across the room in embarrassment, almost knocking over another stack of still unpacked boxes.  Zoe fled, face literally steaming.  Why did she do that?!  What part of her brain told her it was a good idea?!  Yeah, she’d wanted to do that for a while, but only when Aaravi was awake and could be embarrassed about it!  She slumped against the door, squealing quietly to herself.  Damnit.

“...I’ll do it properly next time.”  She promised herself.  “Just you wait.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, Zoe?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you wanna go to prom with me?”

The purple girl looked over at her.  They were laying on the couch, having spent the last few hours grinding in one of Aaravi’s RPG’s so they could beat that stupid water dragon boss fight.  The sun had set hours ago as well, the room illuminated by the TV only.  Aaravi was staring at Zoe,  face flushing so pink it practically glowed in the dim light.  Zoe smiled warmly.

“Couldn’t think of a better way to ask?”  She asked with a small laugh.

“It was either ask you now or never get the courage again.”

“Hm.  Understandable.  And, yes!  I’d love to.”

Aaravi nodded, the breath she’d been holding finally releasing.  “Good.  Glad we got that settled.”

Zoe laughed more.  “You sound like you just told me you were going to war.”

“With how everyone talked about prom, could you blame me?”

“Well…”  She shuffled over, throwing herself against the slayer and hugging her tightly.  “I’m glad you did!  That means I don’t have to!”

“Oh yeah?  Well, if you had to, what WOULD you have done?”

The other girl let out a contemplative hum.  “Don’t know!  I was just as lost as you, I think.”

“Well…tell me the first thing that comes to mind.”

Now it was Zoe’s turn to flush a slight pink.  “W-well, your first ideas are always really cheesy, are you sure you wanna hear it?”

“Why not?  Maybe if it’s good we can still do it.”

“O–okay…well, if I was going to ask…”  She tightened her hug a bit.  “I’d…probably take you to…the arcade, and after a few hours of playing, I’d ask.”

“Ah, you thought I wouldn’t like that?  That sounds like a blast!”

“I-It’s not that I didn’t think you wouldn’t like it!”  She fumed, tentacles lightly slapping against the slayer’s face.  “I just…wasn’t sure if I’d have the courage to ask at the end.”

“Beat ya to the punch, then.  Another victory for me!”

“Still can’t beat that dragon, though.”

“We’re working on it!”

They fell back into a comfortable silence, Zoe nestled gently against the slayer’s chest.  Aaravi focused on the game, but slowly her mind began to wander to just what going to the prom would entail.  She probably had to get a dress, right?  She didn’t own one, so she’d need to get one.  What color looked good on her?  Red?  Purple?  Zoe said she looked good while drenched in monster blood while in a dungeon once, but Aaravi was too distracted with fighting to tell if that was sarcastic or not.  Showing to prom covered in blood probably wasn’t allowed.  Maybe Valerie would have something, she always did.  She’d have to ask her tomorrow.

…ah shit, tomorrow was her first official day back at school.  That was gonna be interesting.  She could generally move around with no problem, but at gym she’d have to be careful.  Which sucked, because she loved gym.  Getting to spike nerds between the eyes with a dodgeball was a favorite pastime of hers.  Alas, she’d have to hold off for now.  She saved the game, adjusting the purple girl.

“Alright, it’s late!  Time for bed.”

Zoe mumbled in response, clearly not happy about being disturbed from her rest.  “Fiiiiiine.”

“Alright, what’cha got?”  Aaravi said, slamming her hands down on Val’s shop counter.

Valerie looked up from counting a stack of bills.  “Good to see ya too.  Got lots of stuff.  Kinda need you to be more specific.”

“Second prom is coming, and I need a dress.  All I own is mainly leather.”

“Kinky!”

“Not like that!  Besides, leather isn’t really formal attire.”

Val set the stack into a register she always seemed to have on her, propping her arms on the counter and smiling at her.  “You don’t NEED to be super formal.  I’m pretty sure Liam didn’t even change from his outfit he wore to school that day.  Just get, like…a dress.  Nothing too fancy.  I think purple would suit you.”

“Prom’s supposed to be special, right?!  Just a normal dress doesn’t seem right.  Besides, I’m not normal!  Normal doesn’t fit me at all.”

“...hey, you said it, not me.”

“Do you have anything or not?!”

Valerie thought for a moment, then clapped her hands together.  “Thinkin’ about it, I think I do, actually!  Gimme a sec…”

She began going through the wild assortment of items with her, tossing them aside as she went.  Books, magazines, a big bag of cocaine, a bottle of some red liquid that made Aaravi’s eyes hurt when she looked at it…finally the cat girl emerged with a rolled-up map.

“Got this off a crazy adventurer-type a while ago.  Mentioned a dungeon with only a ‘gaudy dress’ at the end.  He didn’t take it, and seemed like the kind of person who didn’t really appreciate the finer arts of dress-making, so I’m assuming it's still there.  Don’t know if it fits, but getting it refitted shouldn’t be…too difficult.  Maybe you and Zoe can make a date of it or something.”

“W-we’re not dating!  Yet, at least…I mean, I wouldn’t mind….B-but that doesn’t sound like a bad idea!  How much for the map?”

Valerie looked over the map again, then tossed it to the slayer.  “It’s on the house.  You two have fun.”

Aaravi took it with a nod, unable to hide the smile spreading across her face.  “Thanks!  And, uh, really, thank you.  For being nice to me, just in general.”

The cat girl waved a hand, smiling a bit as well.  “Hey, don’t go talking like that.  Makes it seem like you’re gonna run off and get stabbed again.”

“Almost dying can make you a bit sentimental to the people you know.  Sue me.”

“Alright, alright, don’t start crying on me.  If the dress does need refitting, I think I know a guy who can.  Keep in touch!”

“I will!  Thanks again!”  Aaravi shouted over her shoulder as she sprinted away, unfurling the map.  

Valerie watched her go, then rapped her knuckles on the table.  “Alright, she’s gone.  Come on out.”

Zoe emerged from the shadows under the counter, face bright pink.  She planted her face on the cool countertop, letting out a quiet squeal.  Valerie rolled her eyes.

“Girl, just tell her how you feel.  You two already asked each other to second prom, right?  Just tell her you wanna start dating for real!  I’m pretty sure you could show up covered in blood and she’d still want you.”

“It’s stressful!  I wanna do it right, but I’m not sure what being in a relationship entails!  In all my years of not-technically-alive, I’ve never dated anyone!”

Valerie sighed, beginning to shove the girl around the counter.  “Well, then this’ll be your first!  I’m no relationship expert, not legally anyway, so just do what feels right!  Now, do you want this perfume bottle or not?”

Zoe nodded.  “Never really used something like this before, but it smelled nice and I wanna feel my best for this!”

“If you don’t know how it works, look it up online or something.  Or pour it all over yourself.  Whichever works best.  Then, ‘just so happen’ to bump into the slayer and go on that date.”

“It-it’s not a date!”  Zoe said, flustered.  “And yes, I will take it!”

“Kinda weird to see a dungeon so…empty.”  Zoe said as she smacked down another cobweb.  “Don’t monsters usually respawn or something down here?”

“They usually do…unless the dungeon wasn’t completed?  I’ve never left a dungeon half-way, so we’re in uncharted territory right now.  Dungeons are weird.”  Aaravi stepped carefully over an untripped trap.  “This palace still isn’t safe, though.”

“Is any place ever truly safe?”

“Hey!  No philosophizing!  Doing that’s reserved for late nights or near-complete inebriation!  Apparently!”

“You get that line from Polly?”

“Possibly.”

The duo turned another corner, finding themselves in a large, circular room.  On the ground, the desiccated bones of some large monster were scattered about.  Beyond it, the remains of a wooden door, exploded off its hinges.  Beyond THAT, a stone chest that had been opened.  The two girls looked at each other, then approached the chest.  Aaravi reached in, fingers finding a mix of soft cloth and smooth metal.  She pulled it out, finding a beautiful dark-gray dress.  Most of it was chainmail, but had a few pieces that were made of sheets of metal.  These acted as connector pieces for the chainmail to attach to, mainly along the waist, neck, and shoulders.  Well, it was a shoulderless dress, but the metal attached to the sleeves connected to the neck piece, but that was arguing semantics at that point.  She compared it to her body, hearing the metal jingle softly with the movement.

“This…this is like a battle dress!”  She shouted, practically vibrating with excitement.  “This SCREAMS slayer!  We’re taking this!”

Zoe ran a finger along the fabric.  She tried to imagine how Aaravi would look in it.  Hm, not bad.  

“Alright then, let’s get outta here!  You probably don’t want to change here in this crusty dun–”

She was interrupted by the sound of snapping and grinding outside.  Both girls stuck themselves against the wall, peering out around into the boss chamber.  The bones were pulling themselves together, flesh and muscles re-growing.  Aaravi had heard this was how monsters respawned, but had never seen it happen before.  She was also pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to happen this fast.  When it was done, the now fully-reformed cyclops looked around rapidly.

“....wait….why’s it so dirty here!?  How long have I been dead!?”

It ran to a wall, pressing a secret panel and opening a door.  As it ran inside, Aaravi and Zoe quickly dashed  for the exit.  Before they could get far they heard the cyclops coming, quickly squishing themselves against a corner as it passed.

“EVERYONE, EMPTY YOUR PIGGY BANKS!  WE’RE SEVERAL MONTHS PAST RENT!”

There was a gradual sound of panic from deeper within the dungeon, voices shouting and animals shrieking.  Aaravi and Zoe shared a look, before Zoe blipped both of them back to their home.  Aaravi ran to her room, eager to fully try it on.  She stripped, then began undoing the various clasps, zippers, and buttons holding it all together.  It took a while, but after a few minutes of work it was all on.  Aaravi took a few steps around her room, testing its flexibility.  She could walk just fine.  Next, she tried hopping around, from bed to dressers to floor to wall to bed.  Again, no restrictions on her movement.  Plus, the sound of the metal jingling as she moved was rather satisfying.  

There was a knock on her door.  “Having fun, Ravi?”  Zoe teased.  “I can hear ya jingle-jangling from down the hall.”

“D-doing just fine!  Don’t come in!  Just testing the dress out.”

“Sounds like it's working.  Not too tight?”

“If anything, it’s a little loose on the arms…but I think I can tighten the straps here…”

“Just making sure you’re all set.  Second prom is in a few days, how do we wanna do this?”

Aaravi thought for a moment, swaying side to side.  “Well…we’ll leave school, come home, eat before going, get dressed, then head to prom for a few hours?  I don’t know how these things go.”

“Neither do I, so let’s go with that!”

“Great!  Let me change, let’s try to finish that damn dragon off!”

“Aaaww, not gonna let me take a peek at ya?  I wanna see what ya look like in that!”

“We–we got it for prom, so you’ll see it at prom!”

“Aw, you’re no fun.  Fine.  Now, hurry up!  I looked up what happens after the fight and you’re gonna love it!”

“Come ooon, Ravi!  We’re gonna be late!”

Aaravi tried once again to get one of the clasps on, but it just didn’t hold properly.  She groaned loudly, trying in vain once again.  “This was working just a few days ago!  I can’t get–Gah!”

She angrily threw the metal shoulder clamp across the room, letting out another huff.  “Fuck it, I won’t wear that part!”

“Hey, hang on!  Let me help ya, what’s wrong?”

“...but I don’t want you to see me without all of it…”

“Well, I can’t see all of it if you can’t get the last part on!  Now, unlock the door and let me help!”

Aaravi sighed again, then did as asked.  When Zoe opened it, both girls were stunned at what they saw.  Zoe was wearing a simple yellow dress, with dozens of yellow bows tied in her tentacle-hair.  On her left hand, a gold band held a large pink flower on top, with what looked like a yellow eye in the center.  The slayer could see Zoe’s eyes tracing her body, irises slowly warbling between normal shape and hearts.  She suddenly felt very, very exposed (despite wearing literal armor).  

“O….oh….wow….”  Zoe breathed, face flushing pink.  “Y-you look…amazing.”

Aaravi had to resist with herculean strength the urge to kiss Zoe right then and there.  “You…you look….you…”

Zoe laughed, stepping closer as the metal clamp appeared in her hand.  “Speechless?  I’m glad to see I have that effect on you.  Now, let’s get this back on, right?”

She began fiddling with the metal clamps, but quickly discovered the same problem Aaravi was having.  One side was fine, clasping firmly around the metal nub and holding it to the rest of the dress.  The other was so loose it might as well have been a piece of thin string.  Zoe frowned at it.  Then glared.  The metal briefly turned icy in her fingers, then cooled.  She easily attached it then, standing back with a smile.

“There, now we should be set!”  Zoe said, clapping her hands together.

“Le-lead the way!”  Aaravi returned the same energy.

Zoe made a portal, and the duo stepped through, ending up just outside the school.  Dozens of people milled about outside the gym, excitement buzzing in the air.  It even popped and crackled near a few groups, scattering the now-startled students.  Aaravi unconsciously moved closer to her prom date (that’s what this was, right?!) and intertwined her fingers with the eldritch girls’.  Zoe turned to her, smiling widely.

“Alright, let’s go!”  She said, and before Aaravi could respond she dragged the girl toward the gym.

Chapter Text

Only a few minutes into them arriving, and chaos was already spreading through the masses like a plague.  Several small fires had started throughout the gymnasium, the staff rushing to put them out.  Several people, both winged and not, had tangled themselves in the light fixtures high above.  Zoe tried to look for some familiar faces, but any she saw were rapidly swallowed back up by the mob.  She briefly saw Scott, downing an entire bowl of punch before being chased off by Polly, holding a flask of some sort.  Calculester was standing near the DJ booth, apparently chatting up one of the speakers.  Damien was currently shirtless, attempting to fistfight Dahlia (who was also shirtless) on the dancefloor.  Staff were milling about on a makeshift stage, trying and failing to corral the damage from their elevated spot.  Overall, from what she’d heard prom was supposed to be about, this matched.

Zoe herself, though, wasn’t really having the best of times.

She had expected prom to be chaotic.  She had expected it to have a lot of people.  She had even expected it to be very, very loud.  It was kinda like a con or fest, but somehow a thousand times more daunting.  Something just wasn’t sitting right with her.  Maybe it was because she wasn’t in any sort of cosplay.  She wasn’t Naruto, or Garfield, or Alucard, she was just Zoe right now.  Zoe in a nice dress, but Zoe nonetheless.  

She looked toward Aaravi, who seemed to be in a similar situation to her.  All the previous energy she had was gone, now floating awkwardly through the crowd as they looked for a still-standing punch bowl.  It was almost certainly spiked with something, but they wouldn’t know what until they found it.  This was a surprisingly difficult challenge, as there seemed to be more people here than there were students, creating a thick throng of people they had to move through.  Zoe wondered who was supposed to be acting as security here.  They weren’t doing their job well.

“Come on….come on….ah, there!  Move it!”

Aaravi shoved through another near-solid wall of people, dragging Zoe along behind her.  They popped out near another table, with a large bowl of off-pink liquid sitting in the middle.  A few red solo cups were scattered on the table as well, but most were damaged or just missing.  Zoe and Aaravi grabbed some, pouring themselves a cup each.  Zoe took a sip, and immediately recognized the taste of alcohol.  

“It’s spiked.”  She said, glaring at the liquid.  “Not even with anything good.”

“Bleh.  What is that, strawberry punch?”  Aaravi said, holding the cup away from her disdainfully.  “Horrible mix.”

“My money is on this being Polly’s work.”

“Nah, don’t think so.  She told me she knows how to pair drinks.  This wouldn’t fly with her.”

They both stared in the direction they had seen Polly go, finding her floating above a crowd of people with another punch bowl in her arms.  The flask she had been carrying earlier was floating in the bowl.  She was happily pouring the mixed contents into the open mouths of the people below like an alcoholic mama bird.  

“Well…we drank the punch.  What else is there to do at a prom?”  Aaravi asked, setting the cup down.

“....mingle with people?  See how everyone else is doing?”

Before they could move, Damien came flying between them, crashing against the table and sending the bowl flying into the air.  Zoe grabbed Aaravi and pulled her closer, putting a hand up and stopping the flying liquid and moving it to the left.  It then continued on its trajectory, soaking a few other unfortunate monsters.

“Gah…dammit!  Oh, its you two!”  The demon said as he pulled himself from the wreckage of the table.  “Seems ya finally got together!”

“Having fun getting your shit wrecked?”  Zoe asked half-joking.

“Ah, I got her on the ropes!  Watch me!”  He charged back into the fray, Dahlia egging him on before chucking him away again.

“Well…that’s damien down.”  Aaravi said, beginning to make her way through the crowd again.  “Let’s see if we can get Polly down here.”

That proved to be difficult, as Polly had gathered a gaggle of other partiers and was currently creating a massive vape cloud that made approaching difficult.  Aaravi reached in, pulling out people until the ghost girl herself was removed.  It took her a second to recognize the two, but when she did she squealed in delight.

“Awwwww, you two!”  She pulled both into a group hug.  “You look amazing!  How’s prom so far?”

“Pretty chaotic!”  Zoe said, returning the hug.  “Is this supposed to be this crazy?”

“Most parties are!  Definitely better than the last prom, at least.”

“Definitely feels like there’s more people here than normal…”  Aaravi commented, taking another glance around them.

“Oh, that’s because there is!  Parties are people magnets, after all!  More so now cause it’s prom…but again!”

“People can just show up?  That sounds dangerous…”  Aaravi said, reaching for a dagger that didn’t exist on her belt.

“Nah, it’s totally safe!  If someone starts crashing a party, everyone else will descend upon them like those bees that vibrate wasps to death!  Sometimes that comparison is literal!  Oh, and a lot of undercover cops show up as well.  Like, that guy over there?”

Polly pointed to a fish man wearing a “I’m not a cop” shirt and tinted aviator glasses.

“That guy’s totally a cop.  He busted a party I was at last week, total mood killer.  I heard the fun kept going on at the jail though, so maybe I missed out.”

Zoe made a face of mock shock.  “The great party queen Polly MISSED a party?  Are you sure you’re the real deal?”

“Hey I can’t be everywhere at once!  Not yet at least…oh, did you guys try the punch over there?  Someone got to it before I could!  Total lack of class.”

“Oh, you saw my handiwork?”  Came an obnoxious voice from behind them.

All three girls turned, dread turning to frustration as they saw Leonard standing behind them.  The only difference from his normal attire was a gaudy green suit top.  He was still wearing his brown cargo shorts, and had a piece of paper taped to the shirt that read ‘send nudes’ in hastily scribbled red pen.  He sneered at them, holding up a dirty flask of his own.

“I knew people were gonna spike the punch, so I beat everyone to the punch!  Haha, get it, punch?  I’m so funny.”  He chuckled.

“I thought they preemptively banned you from prom.”  Polly hissed, glaring at the kappa.

“They did!  However, this is second prom, and no notices were delivered to me, so here I am!  And, now that I’m here…”

He extended a hand toward Aaravi.  “May I have this dance, M’lady?”

Several glass objects around the room shattered one after the other.  This did not disturb the general ambiance of prom, except for the few monsters near those glass objects who got showered with them.  Zoe moved between Aaravi and Leonard, tentacles morphing into a menacing maw.  

“B̶̧̻̞̫͕̳͂̐̃a̵̢̦̲̼̔ç̶̛͓͌͑͗k̴̜̊̊̄̕͜.̵̢̞̫̤̖̃͒͊͗ ̴͉̲̦̠̃ ̷̝̗̪̈́͌͊́̚O̵͓̲̮̽͂͋f̸̙͈̼́̐f̴̢̪̱͇̠̩̈́͒̀̎́̃.̶̥̯̯̞͑̆́̆͜͝͝”  Zoe growled, the lights directly above them flickering.

“What?  I can ask someone to dance.  You afraid I’ll steal your girlfriend or something?”  Leonard sneered again, completely unaware of how quickly his imminent death was approaching.

Aaravi suddenly stepped around Zoe, kneeling down in front of the kappa.  He smiled, before Aaravi suddenly grabbed him by the neck, making a squeaky-toy noise.  She stood, lifting him into the air.  Her face was a blunt expression of complete disgust and disdain.

“I’d rather disembowel myself than dance with a neckbeard like you.”  She growled.  “You are not welcome here.”

“I’m–welcome–anywhere I–want!”  He gurgled, still unaware of the danger his life was in.

“...Zoe, send him to the dimension.”  Aaravi said, turning the flailing kappa towards her friend.

“Oh, with pleasure. ”  

The ground shimmered, a circle of shadow growing larger until it was about the size of a manhole cover.  A series of shadowy tendril emerged, lashing at the air before pointing at the now-still tiny monster.  Aaravi hung him over it, then unceremoniously dropped him into the mass.  The tendrils closed in on him, dragging him down into the shadowy pit before it all vanished in a puff of inky smoke.  The people who had watched it applauded politely at the removal.  

“And good riddance!”  Zoe said, high-fiving Aaravi.  “Won’t be seeing him for a while!”

“Might be a little too good for him, but whatever.  Not our problem anymore!”  Aaravi agreed.

“Is he dead?”  Polly asked, waving a hand through the dissipating smoke.  “Not too worried if he is, but just wanna know how to feel right now.”

“He’s not dead, just in a shadow realm where he’ll be endlessly harassed by those tendrils.  They’ll get bored of him in a few days and spit him out back here, and hopefully he’ll learn not to ask my date to dance right in front of me.”  Zoe huffed, folding her arms and pouting.

“Oooh…glad to see you care so much for your date , Zoe!  Glad you two are that close.”  Polly said, a knowing smile on her face.  “Hey, try some of this punch over here!  I think it’s the best I’ve made so–”

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”  A person shouted, a path clearing in the crowd as the fish man cop from earlier stepped closer.  “You can’t just use the punch bowls as your personal drink mixing station!  You’re coming with me!”

“Whoops!  That’s my que to leave!  You two have fun!”  Polly said, before vanishing into the floor.

Zoe briefly glanced at Aaravi to see if she had heard the slipup.  She wasn’t making eye contact, face tinged pink.  Yep, she definitely heard.  Well, might as well lean into it.  She moved closer, wrapping her tentacle arm around the slayer’s hand.  She didn’t respond verbally, but did rub her thumb along the soft tendril.  Zoe had to stop herself from just whisking them both away to sloppily make out.  There was an order to this!  

“Sooo….what do we do now?”  Aaravi asked, blushing a bit more.

“Well, I’d say we go to the dance floor, but…”

They looked over at the wreckage of what was once the colored floor in front of the DJ booth.  It looked like a tornado had gone through, with several tiles ripped up or torn into pieces.  Most people were avoiding it, but some were attempting to join in on the slowly growing brawl still going on.  In the center, engulfed in a ball of fire, Damien and now Brian were throwing hands with each other.  It seemed the zombie man had lost his shirt too, and Zoe couldn’t tell if Damien had any clothes on at all anymore.  Dahlia sat on the ‘sidelines’, drinking a cup of punch and cheering the chaos on.

“...don’t think we wanna go near those two.  Seems they’re getting along well, at least.”  Zoe finished.  

“Alright, dancing is out.  That’s…probably a good idea, I’m not a very good dancer.”  Aaravi admitted, shuffling a bit.

“Oh?  You don’t?”

“Never learned.  It looks just…kinda like a wiggle.”

“Hey, I could teach ya!  Not actual dancing, but like, ballroom dancing.  Maybe not here, either, too much fire, but I certainly could!”

“...I’ll take you up on that.”

Prom continued, the two girls floating through the crowd much more comfortably now.  Valerie had taken up shop behind one of the tables, selling a variety of prom-themed items:  sashes, crowns, bouquets of flowers, bottles of a sparkly liquid that she insisted wasn’t champagne, wink wink.  Miranda was having her dance serfs trying to regain control of the battlefield while still boogying down.  They couldn’t get Liam’s attention, as he was busy ignoring the still-somehow-going disaster up in the rafters with the other post-neo hipsters, or whatever they were calling themselves now.  Vera was selling ‘prom insurance’, a vague promise that if you got hurt during the night, she’d do something about it.  Zoe was pretty sure that something would just be ‘laugh at you while she takes your money’.  

The music suddenly cut, and Principal Giant Spider scuttled out onto the stage.  “Hmph!  Settle down, everyone!  Someone, go put that fire out!  It’s time to announce this year’s prom king and queen, or king and king, or queen and queen, or whatever it is you youngins’ use.”

There was a ripple of excitement through the crowd.  Hushed whispers filled the air, before being quieted again by the principal.  

“Alright, now…after counting all the votes, and turning down the bribes, and outing the paid off voters, and banishing the mind-altering spells…not necessarily in that order…we have our winners!”

He unfolded the piece of paper he was holding, reading and re-reading the paper.  “Hmmm….looks like our prom queens are Polly and Vicky!”

There was polite applause (along with a few boos from the more sore losers), and Vickty ran up onto the stage in a black-and white spotted dress.  Polly picked that time to emerge from the floor, posing dramatically with Vicky up front as confetti began to rain down around them.  Proper sashes and crowns were brought out, the two girls giddy with excitement as they took the items.  

“Thank you, everyone!”  Polly said once handed the mic.  “I’m so glad all of us could come together and make this second try great!  Seems we managed to shake off whatever gloom covered us earlier.  Now, we finally got the prom we all deserved!”

Everyone cheered at that.  Vicky threw her arms around the ghost girl, laughing happily.

“Hope everyone’s been enjoying themselves!” The Frankenstein girl said, flashing a peace sign.  “I also hope everyone who got together during this has a happy life!  Get some, everyone!”

Everyone laughed.  Zoe and Aaravi shared a glance, smiling warmly at each other.  They interlocked fingers again, the air practically electric.  They leaned closer, closing the distance—

“EVERYONE, HANDS UP!”  Came another voice as the doors to the gym exploded off their hinges.

A series of cops ran in, most equipped with drug-sniffing monsters.  “This is a bust!  Get on the-“

The cop was interrupted by a piece of broken dance floor being chucked at him.  It nailed him between the eyes, sending him to the ground.

“Fuck the feds!”  Someone in the crowd shouted.

Even more chaos erupted around the gym, as people began fleeing or fighting in every direction at once.  Zoe saw Damien power-bomb a cop through another table, while Vera’s snakes sunk their fangs into another who tried to grab her.  Polly grabbed Vicky and the two phased through the nearest wall.  Principal Giant Spider was trying to calm the crowd, but got a baton to the chest for his efforts, causing him to throw said cop across the room like a doll.  Zoe grabbed Aaravi’s arm, and the two blipped outside of the school, and beyond a police barrier.  They took off before anyone noticed them, vanishing into the night.

“Wh-where are we going?!”  Aaravi cried out as they ran down more streets.

“Don’t know!  Just away from the school!”  Zoe fired back.

“If we don’t have a destination, I have one in mind!  Follow me!”  Aaravi surged forward, Zoe now being dragged along behind her.  

They turned down a few more streets, Aaravi pulling the girl into an alleyway.  Several blankets were set on the ground, and fairy lights dangled from nails dug into the mortar of the concrete.  A few new things had been added as well, namely an old couch with a makeshift overhang above it, and a small nightstand next to it.  Zoe looked it all over, then gave Aaravi a questioning look.

“Polly showed me this place.”  Aaravi explained.  “Helped me drag some more stuff here as well.  Don’t think anyone will be coming through here, though.”

“Huh.  Well, it’s definitely out of the way.”  Zoe walked over, flopping down onto the couch.  “Although, if we were running from the cops, going back to the apartments would probably be a little better.”

“M-maybe!  But…”  Aaravi sat down next to Zoe, leaning against her.  “....I don’t really want to go back just yet.”

“W-well, that’s–Oh, wait!”  Zoe jumped up, grabbing Aaravi and pulling her up as well.  “I know what we can do!”

Zoe pulled her phone out, opening Spotify.  She typed rapidly, and eventually soft music began to play from the speaker.  She set it down on the nightstand, taking a few steps back and extending her hand toward the slayer.

“May I have this dance?”  She asked, a smug smile on her face.

“...Alright, but you’re gonna lead me.  I have no idea how to dance.”  Aaravi stood, taking the hand.

“That’s the plan!  Now…Step a little closer, put your hand here, I'll put my hand here…and we go like this.”

They began to move, Zoe gesturing with her foot where Aaravi needed to move to.  They moved in a small square shape, going back, left, forward, right, then back again.  The only sound in the alley besides the music was her voice, and the occasional bubbly laugh as Aaravi stumbled a bit.  Slowly, Aaravi was able to follow the movements, keeping in pace with the other girl. 

“Great, you got the basics!”  Zoe cheered.  “Alright, now we’re gonna get a bit more complicated.”

They sped up, beginning to move in a more figure-eight fashion.  It still kept the six-step beat of the previous move, Aaravi finding it much easier to pick up.  One-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-five-and-six.  The slayer still stumbled a bit at some points, but Zoe helped keep her upright, voice like honey.

“You’re doing good!  N-now, we’re gonna try…this!”

Zoe got a little faster, turning them in a circle.  Aaravi tried to keep up, but she finally ran out of luck and stepped on Zoe’s foot, immediately getting tangled.  They both stumbled, struggling to stay upright but ultimately failing.  With one last effort, Aaravi three both of them toward the couch, springs creaking as they landed.  The eldritch girl was laying on top of the slayer, now both girls staring into each other’s eyes.  

“S-sorry…”  Zoe said with a small chuckle.  “I was…gonna try and do, like…a fancy dip.”

“Hey, it's not your fault.  I stepped on ya.  That…would’ve been nice.”

They fell silent, just staring at each other.  Aaravi’s hands slowly slid up to Zoe’s waist, holding her in place.  Zoe’s tentacles were draped down around Aaravi, creating a small little place just for them.  The slayer reached up, cupping Zoe’s face.  She could feel she was blushing just as deep as the purple girl was.  Zoe leaned down, eyes closing slowly.

They kissed.  

Aaravi had expected something like fireworks, or a chorus of angels.  Instead, it was just…warm.  A loving, warm feeling in her chest that bloomed through her whole body.  All the stress and anxiety she had shoved to the side completely vanished, replaced with such a serene feeling of calm Aaravi briefly worried she’d fall asleep right then and there.  She tightened her hug, not wanting to separate.

Zoe was in a similar boat.  The kiss felt so…right.  Like a lock sliding into a key, or the last piece of a puzzle falling into place.  Her skin was electric with emotion, head swimming with thousands of possible futures together.  She had to reign her thoughts back in before she went too far into fanfic territory.  Zoe could feel Aaravi under her, arms tightening as the kiss went on.  She never wanted this to stop.

But, Aaravi had to breathe, and she pulled away first.  Even Zoe was a little winded, despite not having lungs.  Zoe went limp, resting her head against Aaravi’s chest.  The slayer sighed contently, bringing a hand up and patting the girl’s head.  Absent-mindedly she began scratching Zoe behind the ear.

“Hmmm….”  Zoe purred.  “I can hear your heartbeat….”

“Really?....cause….I can’t….feel it….at….all….”

“It’s beating super fast….ba-bump.  Ba-bump.  Ba-bump.”  She patted Aaravi’s chest as she spoke.  “Like a drum.”

“And that’s….a cheesy line…”  The slayer said, poking Zoe’s cheek.  

She stuck her tongue out at her, then they both descended into giggles.  There was another lull in their conversation, the two just existing in each other’s company and enjoying every minute of it.  In the back of Aaravi’s mind, she knew that they’d eventually have to part.  They couldn’t stay on the couch forever, and the night would soon get so late she’d be unable to stay awake.  But, before that happened, she had a few more things to say.

“....I love you, Zoe.”  The slayer said, voice barely above a whisper.

Zoe’s soft humming stopped for a heart-freezing second, but then continued at an even stronger vibration.  The tentacles on her head squirmed, lightly tapping at Aaravi’s hands and face.

“I love you too!”  She cheered quietly.  “God, it feels really good to finally be able to say that!”

AAravi sat up a bit, Zoe propping herself up on her arms and staring at her quizzically.  “C-can we…kiss again?  Please?”

Zoe smiled, a little bit of smugness appearing on her face.  She leaned closer, breath tickling Aaravi’s neck.

“I’d love to.”

They kissed again.  They pulled away again, then kissed again.  And again.  Time slipped away from them, just lost in the sheer elation and warmth of each other’s bodies.  A small voice in the back of both of their heads reminded them that they had no idea how relationships worked, and that there was no guarantee this would last.  They both kicked that small voice in the nuts, not letting it ruin the moment.

For now, it was just them, and their love.  Nothing else mattered.

Sunlight peeked over the edge of the building, shining a beam directly into Aaravi’s face.  She hissed in annoyance, trying to pull the covers over her face.  Her hands grasped at the air, finding nothing.  Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes, being blinded by the rays.  She hissed a little louder, causing the weight she had thought was her blanket to shuffle and groan a bit.

“Hhm…mornin….”  Came Zoe’s voice from somewhere in front of her.

Aaravi sat up properly, wiping her eyes.  Blinking, she saw that they were still in the alleyway, lying on the couch.  Draped against her body like the world’s cuddliest blanket was Zoe, still half-asleep and a few graphical settings down from normal.  She slowly shifted back into focus as she woke up, blinking at the slayer.

“.....we’re still in the alleyway, aren’t we?”  She asked, looking around.

“Yep.”

“Hm…we should get breakfast, I’m–”

Zoe stopped mid-sentence, staring at her intently.  Her purple face suddenly flushed pink, looking away.

“What?  Something on me?”  Aaravi asked, bringing her hand up and feeling around.

“Y-you can;t go out in public.”  She said quickly.  “Not–not without a scarf or something.  Oh, that’s…guess we got pretty intense last night, haha…”

Aaravi’s hands finally found a series of small indents along her neck and shoulders, several small dotted lines that formed….her face flushed as well.

“....didn’t know you were a biter.”  She said, smiling a bit with embarrassment.  “...we should go home first, change outta these dresses.”

“Good idea.”

They blipped back to their apartment, both girls quickly running to their rooms to change.  Zoe was out first, and after a thought knocked on Aaravi’s door.

“Hey, I think I’m just gonna make some eggs and bacon.  Want some?”

“Sure!  I’ll–gah!--be out in a bit–stupid buckle!”

Zoe laughed, then set to work.  As she did, a thought came to her that had briefly appeared in the haze of emotions the night previous.  She pondered the question for a bit, but luckily Aaravi came out soon after, giving her the perfect opportunity to ask.

“Hey….are we, like, dating now?”  She asked.

“......I think so?”  Aaravi said, coming over and snagging a piece of cooked bacon from the plate next to the stove.  “Like I said, I don’t know how this works.”

Zoe smacked her hand away as Aaravi reached for another.  She finished the eggs, bringing the plates over to the dining room table and setting them out.  The slayer followed, digging into the food like she hadn’t eaten in days.  

“....Well, if we don’t know…” Zoe started, coming over and kissing Aaravi on the cheek.  “Maybe we can learn together.”

Aaravi nodded, leaning against her now-girlfriend.  “I’d like that.  A lot.”