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It had been almost an been almost an entire week since Mosquito had been captured for ransom.
The Freedom Pals had no luck finding him on their own. They got desperate. Desperate enough to ask Chaos for help.
"I'll kill them." Chaos swore, eyes burning into the floor. "I swear to God, I'll kill them."
"Don't lose yourself yet, Chaos." Mysterion frowned, crossing her arms. "We need you to help us find them, and then we perform the rescue mission. You can do whatever you want to them afterwards."
Chaos' intense glare shifted up, locking eyes with Mysterion. "Why can't I come along?"
"It's bad publicity." Mysterion huffed, twirling her hair around her finger. An anxious fidget. "We don't want anyone knowing you helped at all."
"Fuck that nonsense." Chaos scowled, jutting a finger into her chest. "You care more about publicity than Skeets' actual safety? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"That's far from true and you know it!" Mysterion barked back, shoving his hand off her chest with a ferocity. "I would love to let you come in and kill everyone in our way. But that's not how the government or Dr. Timothy want things done! I'm not even supposed to be offering you this chance in the first place!"
"Why're you here, then? If what the government and Dr. Timothy want is soooo important to you." Chaos leaned back, eye twitching. Mysterion's eye twitched back and she frowned deeply.
"Because, unlike the government, I actually care about Mosquito and would like him to come home alive. And, for some reason, I'm the only person who can see that your fucked-up little relationship with him is the key to actually finding him." She grimaced, looking away. "I would never come to you for help unless it was the last option."
Chaos clicked his tongue. Part of him wanted to tell her to fuck off, just out of spite. But, what she was saying was definitely true. She hated his guts, and hated his relationship with Mosquito even more. She must be desperate to be coming out here, especially against her higher-ups command.
Chaos grit his teeth and furrowed his brows. "I'll only help if I can come along."
"Chaos." Mysterion warned, eyes glowing a dangerous purple. Chaos could see the Netherborn energy pooling around her fingertips.
"Either I get to go in or I'll find him on my own." He threatened, leaning into Mysterion's space. If she was so worried about saving face, she couldn't deny this offer. Getting the help of a super villain is much better than having one work alone.
Mysterion startled back, the glow in her eyes going out. She curled her hand into a fist and grit her teeth. "Fine." She spat out, borderline snarling at Chaos.
Chaos let his face fall back into boredom and he leaned out of her space. "Good. Now, what-"
He was cut off by a solid punch to the jaw. He stumbled back, clasping his chin in his hand.
"Asshole." Mysterion hissed, voice cracking a little. If Chaos looked really closely, he could see that her eyes were beginning to glisten with tears. "If you get any leads on this at all you come straight to our base, you hear me?" She pointed a finger at him. "If I find out you went after him alone, I'm taking much more than just your left eye's vision." She waved her hand, gesturing to his entire body. She clasped her hand into a fist and Chaos startled, feeling a sharp tug on his shadow.
"I mean it, Chaos. Do not screw this up. For Mosquito's sake." She turned on her heel, releasing the grip she had on his shadow. She took a step away and dissolved into the ground, becoming a shadow herself and fleeing the scene.
"Fuckin' Netherborns." Chaos scoffed, kicking the ground. He half hoped Mysterion could feel it.
As loathe as he was to admit it, they needed each other right now. If they were going to find Mosquito they were going to need to cooperate, and they'd need to work fast.
-----
It took another week of investigating leads and furiously searching all over the city (as well as a solid 20 miles outside of it) before Chaos got any sort of reliable lead.
"Right around here." Chaos circled a point on the map Mysterion had provided. "About 10 miles out of the city. It seems like they're moving him around every so often. One of my minions found a trail of dead bugs leading to this abandoned workshop."
"Is that your entire lead?" Mysterion asked, exasperated. Chaos scowled at her. "I don't see you providing anything better."
Mysterion furrowed her brows and rolled her eyes. Chaos wondered if she even cared anymore. If Mosquito had been missing for so long that she wasn't even doing this for him anymore, but was only doing it because she had to. The thought made his stomach churn.
"It's worth a shot." Mysterion eventually sighed, reluctantly giving in. "Considering it's our only option."
"It's the right option." Chaos nodded, keeping his expression sharp. "The trail means something." He focused his eyes on the map and bit the inside of his cheek. "We will find him."
"Let's go, then." Mysterion nodded back, expression determined and cold. "Try not to kill all of them, for my- Mosquito's sake."
"Absolutely no promises, Mysterion."
-----
Chaos was glad he hadn't made a promise, because his hands were already covered in blood.
He didn't exactly mean to kill the guys, to be fair. Despite hating Mysterion and finding her 'no killing' rule to be stupid, he was really trying to hold back. But, ah, the guy had come around the corner, and there was no hiding from him, and Chaos really doesn't know his own strength…
He and Mysterion had split up the moment they got into the building. Mysterion was insistent on checking the main and top floors and sent Chaos to search the lower floors. Probably because there were, like, a shit ton of people down here and Mysterion didn't want to fight them herself.
A bullet whizzed past his shoulder, scratching it just enough to draw blood. Chaos flipped around, freezing the man before he could even attempt to cock his gun again. In one swift movement, he zipped behind the man, slamming his hands down on his shoulders and swiping out his knees. Literally. His arms fell to the floor in icy heaps and his body slammed against the floor, now disconnected from his feet. Chaos clicked his tongue and slammed his foot into his chest. Oops. It really couldn't be helped.
"Oh." Chaos thought, pulling his foot out from the icy corpse. "I probably should have asked you for directions, huh? Well." He hummed, appearing behind the man's backup with a flash. "I can just ask you instead."
He gripped the mans neck tightly. His hold was firm. If the man attempted to flee, he'd probably just break his neck.
"Fuck!" The man spat, dropping his gun. "Wh-whaddya want with us, man? We're just minions!" His voice shook and Chaos felt his patience slipping.
"I could care less that you're a minion, or that you're just a human, or what have you." Chaos tightened his grip, fingertips buzzing with electricity. "You have something of mine. I would like it back."
"What the fuck are you- oh, SHIT! That's who that hostage is?!" The minion twitched at the electricity threatening to flood his system. "FUCK! We were so careful! We were told to capture any Freedom Pal besides Mysterion and Mosquito and those jerkwads fucked it up! God dammit!" The minion cursed freely and Chaos had to resist rolling his eyes.
"What do you mean, exactly? You were given orders? By who?"
"Fuck, man, I just work here. I'm just a minion. I don't-" The man was cut off with a yelp as Chaos surged a charge through him.
"Wanna rethink that answer?"
"I-I…My boss. He just wanted to squeeze some quick money outta the government, ya know??" The minion's voice was twitchy and panicked. "So he tells us to capture any of them but those two. 'Cause if we take Mysterion, that's a whole issue with Dr. Timothy and like the army and junk?? And- and we weren't supposed to take Mosquito either, because you're CRAZY, man!" The minion jerked uncontrollably and Chaos felt his chest warm, even if slightly.
"Awe, good to know other villains know who he belongs to." He hummed and the minion's face twisted. "Now, can you tell me where he is? I promise if you tell me, I'll let you go."
The minion seemed like he was going to fight back for a moment before quickly giving up. "F-fine, man, just don't kill me! H-he's down in the basement. Locked in electrical. He's not even tied to anything, he's too weak to-" Chaos tightened his grip and the minion squeaked. "I-I mean the Boss has been having us starve him! Th-the key to the room is just hung up outside the door! Swear!"
Chaos mulled over the information for a moment before deciding the man was probably telling the truth. "Alright, then." Chaos nodded. "Thank you."
"Y-you're gonna let me go now, right?" The minion asked, voice shaking.
"Hmm. Well, I can't really have you snitching to your boss…" Chaos mused, tightening his grip on the man's throat.
"No, no, man, this is fucked up! You- you said you'd- you promised-"
Chaos pulled his hand away, ripping out the man's throat. He didn't even have time to scream.
"I'm not very good about promises." Chaos replied, leaning down and wiping the blood off on the minion's shirt. For a moment, the man tried to grab him, but his arms gave out before they even got close. Chaos huffed, kicking the fresh corpse on it's side.
He straightened up and cracked his back. There were probably a few more minions he'd have to go through before he could actually get to Mosquito.
He chomped down on the inside of his cheek as he ran around the floor, searching for the stairway down into the basement. Have they really been starving Mosquito for two entire weeks? And what about his blood intake? Mosquito once told him that if he went without blood for too long he'd begin to tweak. Like an addict. An addiction he could never break. If it got bad enough, he would fall into a coma, and eventually just die.
Damn it, Chaos thought, throwing the door to the stairwell open.
Skeets, if you're not alive…I'll kill you!
-----
Chaos felt grateful that he only had to kill two more guys before he made it to Mosquito's door.
Not because he felt guilty, or because it wasn't fun anymore, but because all this blood was getting really, really messy and he was running out of places to wipe his hands off.
Chaos tossed aside the corpse of a man he had just electrocuted to death. Oops, again. Really, it couldn't be helped. He was in the way.
Honestly, he didn't even know why he was pretending to rationalize it. He didn't care. Not even a little. He had a sneaking suspicion Mysterion wouldn't care, either.
He swiped the key off the wall. Hey, at least that minion wasn't lying. Chaos had figured he was, at least a little bit.
He unlocked the door, creaking it open. "…Skeets?" He tried, peeking his head into the room.
"Augh- god, no, please, just go away." Mosquito's voice was like music to Chaos' ears, even if it was weak and shaking. The man was cowering in a corner, arms tucked protectively over his head. "Just…just leave me alone. 'M practically a dead man, 'nyway…" His speech was slurred and anxiety peaked in Chaos' chest.
"Hey, hey, no, Skeets, hey. It's me." Chaos quietly entered the room, shutting the door behind him. The sound caused Mosquito to flinch. "It's-it's Chaos. I'm here to rescue you. Mysterion's upstairs, and we gotta hurry."
Mosquito poked his head out from underneath his arms and God he looked a mess. The bags under his eyes had never been darker, his hair was tousled and greasy, and his eyes were glazed over. Chaos didn't even register he was missing his glasses. He crouched in front of him and resisted the urge to reach out and comb his hand through his hair.
"Oh, of course. Another one." Mosquito huffed, shifting so his back was pressed against the wall, front fully facing Chaos. "You're here with Kenny now, huh? That's different."
"Huh?" Chaos blinked, cocking his head. "Whose- What're you talking about?"
"You're awful curious for a hallucination." Mosquito's head lolled forward and he jerked it back up. "Is this s'posed to be my movie moment? Where I realize the strength was in me all along, or s'mthin'?" His head tipped to the side and Chaos was growing increasingly concerned. "'Cause I got news for you, Chaos. 'S never been so over for me."
"Skeets." Chaos said slowly, carefully placing his hands on the other's shoulders. "I'm not a hallucination. I'm real."
Mosquito blinked at him before carefully raising his arm, patting Chaos' hand with his own. His eyes widened, swiveling his head to make eye contact.
"Holy shit." Mosquito blurted, eyes going from glazed over to glassy. "Oh, my god."
Chaos didn't even have time to react before Mosquito had pounced on him, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck and burying his face in his shoulder. Chaos only hesitated for a moment before hugging him back as firmly as he could while still being gentle.
"God, you're actually here this time." Mosquito's voice was muffled. "This is…such a relief. I could just…" He yawned against Chaos' skin, teeth grazing his shoulder. He suppressed a shiver. Now was not the time, God dammit.
"Wait, Skeets, don't fall asleep on me." Chaos urged, shaking Mosquito slightly. "God, we should have brought snacks, or something, Jesus."
"You're enough." Mosquito replied and oh my GOD this is not the time, Chaos thought furiously.
Mosquito shifted in his hold and Chaos checked behind them. The door was still shut, and there were no signs of anyone else coming in, so escape could be really easy actually-
Chaos' thoughts screeched to a halt when Mosquito pressed his mouth to his neck. The blond's vision nearly blacked as his heart began to hammer in his chest and his face began to burn.
"Skeets?" Chaos tried, voice breaking. Mosquito hummed against his skin, parting his lips slightly.
"You're- I only need a little…" Mosquito mumbled, continuing to mouth at Chaos' neck.
What? What? What? What? What? What? What?
"What?" Chaos asked aloud, steadying his hands on Mosquito's shoulders in case he needed to push him away.
"Just a little bit, Chaos." He teased his teeth against his neck and Chaos could have jumped out of his skin. "Just enough so I'm not dying anymore…"
It clicked in his head a moment too late that Mosquito was trying to suck his blood. Before he could push him away and offer up his arm instead, Mosquito sank his teeth into the sensitive part of Chaos' neck.
"O-oh, fuck." Chaos hissed, shock rocking throughout his system. He tipped backward, slamming against the floor before he could break the fall.
Mosquito hummed contently as he repositioned himself, settling his legs on either side of Chaos' hips and laying flush on his chest, head tucked neatly in the crook of Chaos' neck. It couldn't have been comfortable, but Chaos figured he was saving all the energy he had.
Chaos kept on hand firmly on Mosquito's shoulder and kept the other pinned against the floor. He needed to keep a stabilizing grasp on him in case they needed to flee, but he couldn't risk having both hands on Mosquito right now. He was impressed that he was managing to keep it in his pants at all.
Just for a minute, Chaos thought, staring up at the ceiling. He can drink a little and then we can get out of here and I can deal with the consequences later, when he's okay.
Chaos steeled his resolve and swallowed thickly as Mosquito sucked lightly on the wound.
It was humiliating how quickly his resolve faltered. Chaos gripped his cape tightly with his free hand, trying really hard to keep his composure. Which was really difficult, considering this situation is, like, his greatest fantasy come to life.
Well, almost. In his greatest fantasy, Mosquito isn't half-dead and hallucinating.
Mosquito pulled back from Chaos' neck, and for a moment he wondered if that was the end of it.
"Sk-" Chaos tried, but before he could even get the word out Mosquito dove back in, pressing his tongue on the wound with vigor.
A noise slipped out of Chaos' mouth and he quickly covered it with his hand, face burning. He's just squeezing the wound so it pumps more blood, it's all logical, and- "Oh, shit." Chaos was so glad he had a hand plastered over his mouth because it was becoming increasingly clear that he wasn't going to be able to keep it shut.
Mosquito licked up the blood, humming so contentedly that it almost sounded like a moan. Chaos shut his eyes, secretly filing that sound away for later.
"Hah…blood type AB positive…" Mosquito whispered against his skin, sucking at the wound again. "Jackpot…hehe." He giggled, breath hot against Chaos' already fevered skin.
"Mmph." Chaos replied, keeping his hand firmly over his mouth. Well, he guessed it was nice to know his blood type. Universal recipient, huh? He supposed it made sense.
"Y'know, I've kinda dreamed about doing this." Mosquito murmured, drawing his tongue lazily across the puncture. It was starting to sting a little. "Me, on top of you, drinking my fill…" Mosquito pushed himself up slightly, making eye contact with Chaos and Jesus Christ he looked so pretty.
His voice was still drawling a little, but he seemed to mostly have himself under control. His eyes were clear, if not a little sleepy. They almost seemed to glow in the darkness of the room. Blood stained his lips, a small droplet rolling down his chin. He smiled, tilting his head. He reached forward, carefully removing Chaos' hand from his mouth.
"Though…" Mosquito whispered, leaning in. His words brushed against Chaos' lips and the blond felt like he was going to explode. He traced his hand up Chaos' arm, interlacing their fingers. "In my mind, you were using these a lot more." Chaos' breathing hitched and Mosquito pulled their hands up, placing Chaos' hand gently in his hair. He was close enough to touch his antenna.
"C'mon, Chaos." He removed his hand and trailed back down to the wound, gently licking up the blood that had escaped in Mosquito's wake. "Please?"
Chaos sat unmoving, too scared to move. Jesus, what was wrong with him? He had Mosquito here, on top of him, practically begging to be touched-
"You're- you're not all here, right now." Chaos croaked out, realizing what was wrong with the situation. He used his hand still on Mosquito's shoulder to push him away.
"Ng, Chaos-" Mosquito whined, and Chaos screwed his eyes shut. "No. This- this is a boundary I can't cross."
He sat up gently, positioning Mosquito in his lap, who looked at him like he was insane.
"Whaddya mean, boundary? I-I'm asking for this. There is no boundary."
"Try asking again when you're not starving and a little blood-drunk." Chaos replied forcefully, shifting his hand to the back of Mosquito's neck.
Mosquito opened his mouth to say something and Chaos zapped him gently behind his neck. If he shocked his nerves just so…
Mosquito twitched slightly before collapsing forward into Chaos' chest, out like a light. Chaos paused for a moment, waiting until he was sure Mosquito was still breathing to hoist him up and carry him out the door.
"Mysterion! Myst-er-i-on! I found him, c'mon!" Chaos shouted as he stepped back up onto the main floor.
It took less than a second for the woman to pop out of Chaos' shadow, looking both wildly concerned and extremely relieved to see Mosquito.
"Is he-"
"He's just asleep, don't worry. We gotta get out of here." Chaos grunted, shifting Mosquito's weight in his arms. The man may not weigh much, but it's still tiring to carry him for so long. He briskly walked towards the entrance, Mysterion following suit.
"But, wait, is he actually alright? Was he asleep when you found him? Because he might be in a coma from lack of blood-" Chaos twitched and shook his head.
"No, he was awake when I found him. And I took care of the blood issue, so it's fine. He'll wake up." Chaos grit his teeth, doing everything he could to not look Mysterion in the eye. He felt grateful the moment he got outside, taking in a deep, steadying breath.
"You…took care of it? You-you didn't." She sped ahead of him, forcing him to stop in his tracks.
"You did." Mysterion snarled, eyes locked on Chaos' bruised neck. He grimaced. "I can't believe you. For all your talk, you really are just- pure fucking evil. I guess I thought you'd never stoop as low as taking advantage of-"
So much for that steadying breath. "Mysterion, I promise you there's an explanation and I will explain it to you the moment Skeets is in a hospital, alright? Can't this discussion wait that long?"
"No! You- fuck!" Mysterion shouted, pulling at her hair. "I should've known better! Of course if you found him you'd just- have your merry little way with him! God, it was stupid of me to believe you actually cared!" She had spun around, screaming into the wilderness around them. Chaos felt his gaze turn icy and his blood rush through his system, lighting his muscles afire.
He could kill her now. One twitch of his eye and a lightning bolt could rain down upon her. A click of his tongue, and a minion could have her bound and gagged before she could slip into the shadows. He could kill her.
No, he grimaced, feeling Mosquito shuffle into his chest. No, you need to be better than that. For Skeets.
God, what was this boy doing to him?
Mysterion continued to curse and swear into the sky and Chaos laid Mosquito down gently on the ground.
"Okay, fine." He barked, putting his hands up and stepping back from the man. Mysterion whipped around, kneeling before his body and glaring at Chaos. It wasn't really intimidating.
"Fine, you can take him wherever he needs to go. I'll split. You don't mention me in the rescue attempts, whatever." He grit his teeth and curled his hand into a fist. "But you will let me explain."
"I don't want half-baked excuses-"
"I don't have an excuse, alright? Fuck!" Chaos blurted, digging his hand into his hair. "I found Skeets, he was all delirious, he got on top of me and just bit me before I really registered what was going on! And then I let him drink what he needed, without really fighting him back, and I only cut him off when he tried to-" He suddenly remembered who he was talking to and cleared his throat, crossing his arms.
"I should have tried harder to fight him off, should have offered my arm, what-fucking-ever. I know that was kind of a shitty thing to do but I had mostly good intentions letting him drink, considering if I hadn't he would be dead right now." He gestured at Mosquito, who looked mostly dead anyway. "Okay, yes, it was actually a really shitty thing to do and I feel kind of bad about it but it felt right in the moment. Fuck, whatever, I'm sorry." He jerked his head away, grinding his teeth together. "But I didn't 'have my way with him'. Even I have morals, Mysterion, shit."
Mysterion was silent for a moment. Chaos refused to look at her.
"…Okay, I went a little too far." Mysterion forced out, reaching out to caress Mosquito's face. "That was a shitty thing for you to do, but…" She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "It was what you thought was right. Even…even heroes need to be a little morally grey. F-for the greater good." She stood up, crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry, and thank you for helping me find him." She looked at the ground. "Well, not that sorry, but- God." She pressed her fingers into her temples. There was a very clear fight going on inside her head. "I never would have found him without you, so thank you."
Chaos huffed, still feeling prickly. "Sure. Anytime." His voice was laced with poison and he turned around, intending to disappear in a flash of light.
"And- and I know you really do care about him. I hate it, but it's true." Despite not facing her, Chaos knew she was grimacing. "You're the only one other than me who cares about him this much. I'm- I'm glad that there's someone else who…understands. Someone else who would do anything to save him."
Chaos huffed, throwing a look over his shoulder. Mysterion's face looked conflicted, but determined. "You really don't know the half of it, Mysty."
With that final goodbye, Chaos snapped. In a flash, he was gone.