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zombified-queer · 3 years

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It's cold tonight. They can't risk lighting a fire. Not this close. There's still lights in the distance, coming through the woods.

But Boris is right there, hand in Kamal's. He's okay, for the most part. And Kamal's got a first aid kit and plenty of rations.

They don't speak, just walking through the wilderness. Boris sometimes staggers, but he trusts Kamal to guide him.

"Shit, sorry. Bramble patch," Kamal says, pulling Boris's hand. "This way."

Kamal keeps his voice down. Not just because of the lights and shouting in the distance. But because Boris looks like a scared, wounded animal. Something ready to flee.

"Here we go," Kamal whispers. "Bit of a drop."

Boris takes it slow, finding the edge and dropping down. He stumbles without a single sound. Kamal steadies him.

"You okay?"

Boris nods, shivering.

"We're almost there, okay?" Kamal soothes. "Then we can rest."

"Alright."

Kamal worries. Boris--the Boris he knew--was never this quiet. He was always so cheerful, always talking or humming or making some little noise.

The quiet is disconcerting.

But they make it through the dark to a safe point. The guards don't come out here. Kamal watched them. They're so lazy about it, letting the elements do their work.

Digging out the supplies, Kamal makes camp. No fire here either but the sleeping bags are insulated. And sleeping close together will conserve heat.

Boris stifles a yawn.

"You too?" Kamal asks, voice low in case the guards do make a half-assed attempt at searching. "I think it's the cold."

"It is." Boris wraps his arms around himself and shivers.

"Well, don't hibernate on me yet, big guy. We'll sleep when the sun comes up and get going by dark." Kamal fishes out an extra set of clothes. "Here. A bit warmer than what they gave you."

Boris takes the clothes. He puts them on over the prison jumpsuit. Kamal nods approvingly.

"Hey, let me take a look at your face." Kamal fishes out the kit and a small lamp. It's safe enough. "I can't have you getting sick on me."

Bors nods, sitting down. Kamal turns the lamp on, training it on Boris's face. And now he can really see the damage. There's a deep bruise over Boris' cheekbone, the skin scraped. Probably from a rifle. Kamal swallows his anger.

Boris flinches the first time Kamal raises his hands. But he exhales and Kamal goes slow. No talking since the lamp's bad enough, but Kamal takes his time.

The eye is another matter. Boris said someone gouged it out. For fun. Kamal swallows and removes the eyepatch.

It's not as bad as he was expecting. Mostly healed. Treated. But Boris is going to be blind on that side for the rest of his life.

What little life he has left.

Boris brushes Kamal's hand away. "There's nothing you can do."

"Let me cover it. It's not completely healed up."

Boris sighs, but sits still. The Ursus seems too calm for all this. Too used to it.

When Kamal's finished with his face, he asks, "Did you scrape anything?"

"No. " Boris yawns again. "'m tired."

"Go ahead and rest, big guy. You've really been put through the ringer."

Boris nods. He tucks himself into a sleeping bag while Kamal turns off the light and puts away the kit.

Kamal's not tired. Not yet. He's still kind of worked up from the whole prison escape thing. So he keeps watch, his crossbow close by. Just in case.

But nothing happens. No one comes out of the brush, guns blazing. No one drags Boris back.

So at dawn, Kamal adjusts the brush to conceal them and curls up in a sleeping bag next to Boris.

* * *

The night is cold, but less stressful than before. They get to talk a little more than last night.

"You're doing alright?" Kamal asks. "Y'know with the, uh, the diagnosis?"

"I'm fine. For now," Boris answers, tone clipped.

"Sorry. I just...I mean they just took you and I worry, y'know? I've been looking at places that offer treatment so--"

"Kamal?"

"Hmm? Sorry."

"Thank you," Boris says. "I didn't get to say it before. But I'm glad."

Kamal's thankful it's dark or Boris would see him getting all flustered. "Yeah! I mean...when you care about someone, y'know?"

Boris hums in agreement. "I've heard about a lot of places that specialize in treatment."

"There was a clinic in Chernabog, but, uh." Kamal shrugs. "Reunion got to it."

"Oh." Boris tenses next to Kamal.

"But! It's okay they're in the process of rebuilding. And I have some cash so I was thinking...Rhodes Island?"

"No."

"Oh." Kamal swallows. "Yeah I imagine we'd look pretty out of place, huh?"

"Out of place," Boris repeats.

It's not the reason he's said no at all. Kamal knows because it's the same reason he would say no if their roles were reversed.

They walk in silence for what feels like an hour.

"Did the others...?"

"Yeah," Kamal assures him. "They made it out."

Boris breathes a sigh of relief.

* * *

Kamal's ship is small, meant for small-term living. There's not even a full kitchen. But Boris takes a walk around the small cabin, the Ursus dominating the space.

He turns, giving Kamal a genuine smile. No fear. No worry.

"We should make something to celebrate," Boris says. "A nice meal."

"Um, lemme see what I've got." Kamal rummages in the cupboards, the shame of his bachelor pad finally hitting him. "Mostly canned stuff. Lasts longer."

Boris rummages through another cabinet, just familiarizing himself with Kamal's kitchen. He takes it all in and nods.

"Go rest," Boris tells Kamal. "I'll handle it."

"You sure? 'cause I don't want you to not rest. Y'know with the--"

"I'll be okay," Boris assures him. "Go rest. I know you're tired."

And Kamal is tired. He takes a quick shower, puts on clean clothes, and sinks into his bed. He feels bad hearing Boris in the kitchen, but Kamal is tired. Stress always wears him out.

So he nods off.

* * *

Boris sets the table neatly. There's plenty to be done in Kamal's small cabin. Little bits of cleaning and organizing. It's a bachelor pad for sure.

But with the table set and dinner still hot, Boris rouses Kamal.

"Mmm," the Anura rolls over, smiling lazily at Boris. "Food's done?"

"Mhm. Come and eat."

Kamal gets out of bed, stretching. And then he shuffles to the table.

"Oh," Kamal takes in the little vase added to the table. No flowers or candles, but it's a nice touch. "You really went ham, huh?"

Boris nods. "I figured a nice hot stew would be acceptable."

"And you made bread? You're a miracle worker, Boris." Kamal grins. "I could kiss you."

Boris doesn't smile. "You shouldn't."

"On the cheek?" Kamal asks. "I mean I can't get infected by kissing your cheek, right?"

"Well...I..." Boris shrugs. "I suppose not."

So Kamal leans up, kissing Boris' cheek. Boris is stiff, not leaning in. Uncomfortable. Kamal pulls away.

"Sorry, Boris."

"Eat."

"Aren't you going to-"

"I wanted to...to shower," Boris says.

"Alright." Kamal watches him storm off. "I'll save you some!"

The door slams. The lock clicks in place.

* * *

In the bathroom, Boris doesn't have to pretend everything's okay. Kamal hasn't seen the patches of Originum on his shoulders. Kamal doesn't understand how much it hurts when the crystals pierce the skin.

Boris digs in the drawers for anything he can use. He finds a pair of scissors. It'll have to do.

Removing the crystals hurts almost as bad. But when he pulls those chunks of black rock from his skin, it's like a weight lifted. Maybe literally.

It's probably worse. His organs might have crystals growing within them. Or on them. He'll decline. That's just the nature of this disease.

But for right now, he's okay. The crystals are gone. He's washing the blood off himself and he's alright.

Kamal has to know he'll get worse. But the thought of admitting it makes Boris feel like he can't breathe.

He's crying. It's the first time in months he's cried.

He feels weak and ashamed and terrified all at once.

But Kamal risked his life to pull Boris out of that camp. He wanted to save Boris. From the State.

From himself.

Out of the shower, he stitches the wounds as best he can and wipes any trace of blood off himself. Kamal can't know about this. He'll worry and hover too much. Kamal has better things to do than fuss over him.

Boris braids his hair. He looks better now. Less ragged.

* * *

They work together. Boris likes to cook and will provide Kamal with a list of supplies they'll need. Kamal gets what he can. Boris makes do.

Kamal handles a lot of the business. Courier things. Gold transport and weapons running for different entities. But he doesn't return to home. He can't anymore.

They're both outcasts. But they make the little ship a home.

And for a while, they're happy.

* * *

When winter comes, Boris develops a rattling cough. Kamal panics. None of the treatments they've been using are working. Boris always seems tired. Like he can't breathe at all.

While Boris rests, Kamal considers their options.

Oripathy, when it affects organs, can kill. Kamal's seen people drop dead before, crystals clotting their airways or compressing their hearts. This seems like the crystals are in Boris' lungs.

Kamal can't do anything. He's not a surgeon. And he doesn’t have any of the tools even if he had the knowledge.

But he watches Boris' breath hitch in his sleep. And Kamal knows there's really only one thing to do.

He changes the ship's course. Not that it matters. They're between contracts. He's on his own time.

He just hopes Boris has more time.

* * *

Boris wakes in a hospital. Which makes him worry. But Kamal's right there, nodding off in an armchair by the bed.

Everything aches. Boris presses a hand to his chest. Stitches. He's had surgery.

"Kamal?"

"Hey! Oh! You're awake, okay." Kamal looks exhausted, eyes swollen like he's been crying. "Sorry. You, uh, didn't really wake up and I was worried but...you're okay? Anything hurt?"

Boris shakes his head. He's sore. But he's had worse. He'll live.

"So, um," Kamal rubs the back of his neck. "Forgive me?"

"Where are we?"

"Rhodes Island." Kamal doesn't meet Boris' stare. "I panicked!"

"You should've let me die."

Kamal stares at Boris, jaw slack. But he shakes his head. "No. I'm not letting you give up."

"I'm going to die anyway," Boris points out. "This diagnosis is a death sentence."

Kamal sighs, rubbing his face. "But Rhodes Island has better medicine! They can at least manage it. Routine operations to make sure you don't die."

"I was fine with dying," Boris argues. "You had no right!"

"You're right! I didn't! That's why I agreed to pay the expenses!" Kamal snaps. "They let me stay at least until you were up and awake. But it's not cheap. So I'm going to do some work for them. Independent contractor stuff."

"You're going to be a hired gun to keep me alive," Boris snaps back. "I won't allow it."

"Fine. Once this operation is paid for and we get the drugs to manage this, we'll leave." Kamal gets to his feet. "Just do me a favor and rest. I'll be back."

He leaves, closing the door to the room behind him. Not slamming it, just a soft closure.

And Boris is alone.

* * *

He's dozing off--there's not much to do--when the door opens. The figure's dressed in a long coat, Rhodes Island emblems stamped on it. Their face is obscured.

"How're you feeling, Boris?" the figure asks. "I'm your doctor. You can, uh, just call me Doctor."

"I'm fine." Boris doesn't offer more but sits upright.

"Good. You gave all of us a bit of a scare." Doctor nods. "Any other symptoms of the Oripathy? Amnesia? Mood swings?"

"No."

The Doctor nods. "Good. You're a very lucky Ursus. Your friend brought you in just in time."

"He shouldn't have." Boris looks down at his lap. "I'm going to die anyway."

Doctor sighs. "Not necessarily. We specialize in managing Oripathy. Even mid-stage Infection can be combated with the right dosage and routine surgery."

"It's not cheap," Boris points out. "And you won't do it for free."

"Not everyone who works for Rhodes Islands goes into the heat of battle." Doctor sounds sympathetic. "There's plenty who do go on things like escort missions or serve as reinforcements, but it's not the end of what we do."

"You think I'm crippled," Boris points out.

"The damage to your lungs is extensive. I won't sugarcoat it. But it shouldn't impact your quality of life outside of excluding you from combat."

Boris considers it. He could do other jobs. He used to be a doctor too, once.

"We could use more medical staff," Doctor points out. "A good set of steady hands goes a long way around here. Just consider it an option."

"Kamal wouldn't have to risk his life in the field?"

"Correct. And we'd be able to pay you beyond the cost of treatment. We've got living quarters too. If Kamal wanted, we could hire him full time to help with trade operations."

Boris nods. "If it keeps him safe, I'll do it."

Doctor nods. "I'll have my assistant bring the contract for you to read over and sign. Take your time and get plenty of rest."

"Thank you," Boris says. "I want to keep Kamal safe."

"I understand." Doctor nods. "There's plenty of people I want to protect too."

Boris relaxes, just a little. He's not useless. And he won't have Kamal hurt to keep him alive.

* * *

The Cautus girl delivering the contract has such an oddly cheerful spring in her step. Boris knows she's infected. There's just a way of recognizing other Infected.

"Good afternoon. I'm Amiya. Boris, right?"

"Correct." Boris nods.

She nods, turning over the clipboard. "Here's the contract Doctor made up for you. Doctor's really nice, you know."

Boris takes the pen. He doesn't have to read it. He simply signs. Initials. Dates.

"Oh." Amiya looks a little offput. "You don't want to read—"

"No. I know what they want from me." Boris finishes his last signature. "As long as Kamal is safe, nothing else matters."

She nods. "I understand."

And then she takes his hand. Just a compassionate little gesture.

"You're going to be okay. Rhodes Island doesn't single out the Infected." She gives him a sympathetic smile. "Kamal will be back soon. Doctor's really impressed with him."

"I don't want Kamal out there getting hurt." Boris pulls his hand away. "Nothing else matters to me."

Amiya swallows. "I felt the same way when I lost someone important. When I got them back, I swore never to lose them. But Kamal's safe. Doctor never sends a team out without medical staff."

"I'm tired," Boris excuses, not wanting to deal with all of the hurt and fear clumping together in his chest. "I'd like to rest for a while."

"Sure thing." She takes the signed papers and leaves the room, dimming the lights on her way out.

Boris, alone, sighs.

* * *

It takes another week before Boris is released from the recovery room. But he's fine. He can breathe. And the drugs hardly make him sick at all.

But sometimes he'll catch Kamal staring at him. They share a suite but they haven't spoken since their fight.

Boris cracks first. It's the third morning they've been living together in a new place and he can't take the silence anymore.

"I'm sorry," Boris says softly while Kamal gets dressed. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"I, uh." Kamal pauses, still shirtless. "I'm sorry too. I should've respected your wishes, Boris. Forgive me?"

"I do." Boris nods. "Thank you."

"So, um," Kamal pulls his shirt on. "Do we start over or...?"

"No," Boris says. "I never want to forget what you've done for me, Kamal."

"Aw." Kamal looks a little flustered. "I, um, really enjoy our time together, y'know? Even the rough stuff. Glad they let us have work shifts pretty much at the same time."

"I do too." Boris sighs. "Should we go get breakfast?"

"That little Colombian cafe has the best pastries," Kamal agrees. "And I know you like strong coffee, big guy."

Boris nods, guilty as charged

#hi welcome to the 11 page s4m/arknights crossover fic no one asked for or wanted #take this and come join me #for context: kamal frog and habit bear #part 2 would be 'habit adopts a bunch of middle schoolers bc Rhodes Island does war crimes' /lh

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poorvioletdraws · 4 years

Text

Tom vs. The Underworld

8. Sound System

“Following our top story, the mystery behind the massive earthquake that rocked the Underworld a week ago has been linked to a merging of both the planet Earth and our planet Mewni. Representatives of Lucitor Castle state that our Lord and Lady have met with the new leadership of Earth-ni and are discussing plans to continue the same alliance we had with the former Butterfly Kingdom. They have also assured us that the merging of both worlds has presented no effect on the livelihood of the Underworld but are still working on ways to contact the universal mobile service provider of Pixtopia to restore interdimensional communications. All global communications within our planet have not been disrupted.

In other news, there have been growing reports of resident demons and monsters going missing throughout the city. The Furies are urging citizens to remain calm as they investigate the situation further. More on this tonight at--”

“Mom, I’m leaving now.” I called to her in our den. She was watching the news and forging her latest weapons request for a client.

“Okay, my little cobblestone. Don’t be out too late.” She replied as she placed the sword in the quench tank.

“I should be back before dinner.” I told her as I was about to shut the door behind me.

Suddenly my older sisters Kivi and Shaila came down the hallway.

“Going out again? Weren’t you out with your friends all day yesterday?” Kivi questioned while pushing her glasses back up on her nose.

I shrugged my shoulders in annoyance. “Well today we are going over band stuff…”

Kivi gave a disapproving sigh. “You know, Raya, you can’t keep putting off your duties to your family for music. Having a hobby is great and all but you can’t let that consume you. One day you may be taking over for Mom or Dad. When will you see how important that is?”

“Yea, well this is important to me too, but thanks for your concern...” I said not meeting her gaze. My grip was tightening on the door handle as if for some form of security.

“Are you sure that’s all it is, or are you really meeting up with your secret boyfriend.” Shaila teased while trying to cover her devious smirk with one of her hands.

I jumped at her accusation and could feel myself turning red. “N-no!”

“Ooooh you’re blushing! It’s true!” Shaila began to giggle mischievously as Kivi shook her head in irritation.

“Y-you’re silly, g-grow up.” I huffed under my breath.

She then began to call towards the den, “Mom, guess what--”

“Bye!” I quickly shouted as I ran out the front door.

I felt like I could hear Shaila’s laughter all the way to the end of our property. She always makes fun of me like that… But she isn’t too far off the mark…

My friends and I were all going to meet at Tom’s place--THE Lucitor Castle. First of all, I was already nervous for that. I can’t believe he invited us there as if it weren’t a big deal. We might even meet the King and Queen of the Underworld! I felt myself get lightheaded just thinking about it.

Secondly, I was nervous because of what I started feeling yesterday at the arcade. It was a strange coincidence that Tom chose the same song I had listened to that morning, and even stranger still was that he appeared exactly how he did in my dream. But was this just mere happenstance? Or is there a reason behind it all and why I’m starting to develop a crush on him...

“Wait, what am I saying?! A crush?! I must be going crazy!” I babbled aloud while momentarily hiding my blushing face by pulling my hoodie over it.

Sure we had a lot of great memories in Yomi Town for that short time; he helped me shop for my friends, we watched all those setting suns in that beautiful dimension, and we made that necklace from the temple together that he still wears… He even came all the way to Lava Shores and helped me during all that horrible stuff with the Madame… We have been doing fun things together more frequently… He met my friends and somewhat became friends with them in the process… And he wants to be apart of our band … He has a wonderful voice and a kind heart… and a sincere smile…

I pushed the hood of my sweatshirt back in its previous position as my red bangs were free to poof up again. Now within the city, I stopped in front of a shop window and examined myself--more so my insecurities. My body is nowhere near as slender as Indigo, and I’m top-heavy so I try to hide behind layers or oversized clothes. Unlike everyone else, my horns are under-developed so I always wear something over my head to cover them up. And being a Stone Demon, the rough patches of rock on parts of my skin are hard to miss. How could anyone find such imperfections attractive…

Yet Tom still looks at me as if none of that matters. Others get annoyed with how clumsy or clueless I can be sometimes, but that doesn’t seem to bother him. And even though he is a prince, he treats me like I’m equal to him. I remember when I first met him, he had this happiness about him that seemed like he were invincible. I wanted to be apart of that happiness. But then, when we met again, when he must have been fighting with his girlfriend at the time, that happiness was waning. She must have been so important to him to cause such a change in him… Can I be that important for him? I can’t deny that when I see him he does make me happy, but could I really have the same affect on him? Could he one day find that invincible kind of happiness because of me?

I slowly started to walk away from the shop window as I folded my arms across my chest. I hung my head and remained deep in thought.

Who am I kidding? Why would such a great caring guy like Tom want to be with a slacker like me? Instead of planning my future as a Belmonte, I’m consumed by music and games like my sister said. What use could I be to the future of the Underworld? I’m not adventurous or wild. I’m content with the simple pleasures in life and am comfortable doing things or going to places I’m familiar with or have been thousands of times. And I’ve never even had a boyfriend before, I have no experience in that department. But despite all of that, he’s still a prince and I’m just a city girl.

However, he’s more than just a prince to me now. He’s my friend. I care about him just as much as I care about all my other friends and my family. But is it wrong I’m starting to think of him more than just a friend? Unlike them, I get a different feeling around him. I love spending time with him. I love that he tolerates my unconventional family and that he gets along with my wild friends. I even dream about him. He is literally the first thought I wake up to most days. Is this what falling in love with someone is like? Maybe I should tell him how I’m starting to feel...

“And the last to arrive like always is…” Indigo announced.

Blair did a drum roll with zir hands on zir thigh and added energetically, “Ta-Da! Raya!”

“Sorry, guys.” I apologized as Blair hopped over to me and wrapped zir arm around my shoulder.

We were all gathered in Inferno Park which was situated at the heart of Chernabog City. It was a chasm filled area with lava deposits flowing sluggishly from its various orifices beneath long bridges built above. The urban park was often a place for more active demons to exercise being a hub for various forms of recreation such as Ultimate Ouija, molten rock climbing, and Casketball just to name a few.

“Hey, you may be the last to arrive but at least you’re on time today.” Blair spoke positively but then grew a mischievous expression that rivaled Shaila as ze said, “You must be excited for where we are going.”

I felt myself beginning to blush again as I gasped, “W-what? Uhm--”

“I think we all are pretty excited, to say the least.” Tiras corrected/saved me. He had been sitting on a boulder with his arms folded while Kraven sat below on the ground munching away at some elote. George had his typical stance next to Indigo and was reading a book as Blair and I rejoined the formed circle.

Tiras jumped down from his seated position and approached me. Instead of his usual air of arrogance, he seemed to have a burning resolve within. He asked me, “You ready? This may be it. We finally might be able to reach your dream.”

Upon hearing Tiras’s words, he stirred a different emotion from within me. Although many dreams were becoming reality lately, this one was an aspiration of mine all of my friends knew too well. I had always envisioned being apart of a band. And the day I suggested we started are own, I was surprised how everyone agreed without hesitation. This was indeed very important to me not just because it was just some hobby. Music was something that brought all of us together. It was our escape from the stresses of our home life, our passion we created to share with all who dare listen, and our symbolism of our friendship.

But no matter how good we become, our voices didn’t have the strength or uniqueness of that of a lead singer. I’m not one to fully believe in destiny, but it almost felt like fate for Tom and I to meet. He was the piece we were possibly missing all along. Maybe that is where my infatuation with him grew… Was it because of his singing that started all this? I’m not fully sure…

I gazed at everyone--all of my friends. They stood encircling me and shared the same look as Tiras. I smiled contently and said, “Let's sail away then.”

Everyone agreed with a nod.

I placed my hands to the ground below and pulsed my energy through it as it began to fissure around us instantly. Tiras brought his hands up, creating a mighty gust of wind that hurled down within the cracks. Suddenly, we began to rise as the ground that divided us was unearthed to create a floating platform.

Tiras pointed his hands forward as his squall of wind moved us along. He valiantly announced, “Next stop, Lucitor Castle!”

“Reporting live from the Musty Mountain, there has been a recent influx of tourism to our nation of the Underworld. Behind me you can see that construction is underway for our new border patrol organization to properly vet out travellers to the area and maintain our homeland security. So far, businesses of Lava Lake Beach have reported a steady boost in consumerism and an increase in real estate property sales in the area. Furies have also been branched out to maintain the peace between current inhabitants and newcomers-- ”

I walked into my Dad’s study to see he was working on a few things at his desk with the news report broadcasting in the background on his overhead monitor.

“Hey Dad, would I be able to use the cellar today? Some friends are coming over and I don’t want to disturb you while we practice some music.” I asked him.

My Dad glanced up from whatever he was writing and smiled as he said, “Friends? Coming over here? Well, that’s great to hear, son, it’s been a while since you brought friends--or anyone for that matter--over.” He stood up from his desk and approached me. While giving me a very fatherly stare, he rested his hands on my shoulders and questioned me, “And do any of these friends happen to be that special girl you mentioned before?”

“Daaaad.” I drew out the word with a groan.

“Heh, I know, I know, no overbearing-parent-stuff... ” He chuckled to himself and stepped away from me. He placed his hands behind his back as he gazed out the floor length window of his office. “I just want you to know that your Mother and I just worry about you, son. Especially after what happened…”

“Dad, I promised I wouldn’t use my life energy again--”

“Not that, son.” He interrupted while turning to face me with a very concerned look. “I mean your breakup with Star.”

I was a little taken aback by this topic he wanted to discuss. Usually these kinds of subjects are left to Mom. And I told him already that I was over it. But he is my Dad, and he often times presents a different perspective that I’ve never realized before, so maybe it was best to hear what he had to say. Therefore, I decided to sit down in the chair in front of his desk and give him my full attention.

He proceeded to sit back down in his own chair behind the desk and explained himself further. “Your Mother and I were away on business during all of this… change going on. It’s a brand new kind of world up above now. And it is still hard to grasp that you, Star, and--Marco was it-- played a huge part in this whole merging of dimensions. You must’ve been going through so much at the time to have that AND a fresh breakup on your plate…”

“Yea… It was rough at first…” I began to say with a sullen expression but then gave my Dad a reassuring smile. “But I was able to find someone to help me along through the rough parts.”

He returned my smile with one of his own and leaned forward on his desk with his elbows. “I’m glad, son. And I’m sorry your Mother and I couldn’t be there for you. Heartbreak can be a very hard thing to fully overcome. Star was special to you, being your first girlfriend and all. Although, I’m glad you both worked it out and remained friends. I just hope that kind of pain doesn’t happen again for you because what if next time the closure isn’t so healthy. Just know, if it were to happen again, your Mother and I are here for you and want you to be safe. So whatever you plan to do, just really think it over and make sure it is something you’ve set your mind and your heart on.”

My Dad then reached over and placed one of his hands on one of mine lying on his desk. “You’re important to us. You are our legacy not because you are a prince, but because you are our son.”

Upon hearing his words, I smiled to myself as I gazed at his hand on mine. How could I be so lucky to have such loving parents? I understand where he is coming from and how much he cares about the choices I make. Star and I breaking up WAS painful. I loved her so much and for so long. I could’ve handled the situation in a way that could've been harmful for not only myself but for those around me too. However, I know now what all I can lose by letting my anger or depression take control of me. I didn’t want to let any of the ones I care about down ever again.

“Ahem, anyway…” He leaned back in his chair again and cleared his throat as our sentimental conversation came to a close. “Back to what you asked earlier. I’ll have the maids clean up the cellar for you and your friends, just give them time to do so. About an hour or two. So maybe have your friends hang out in your room for a bit.”

I gave him a toothy grin and replied, “Thanks, Dad!”

“When are they coming?” He asked.

I glanced over at the sundial near the window and told him, “Any minute now.”

“And did you remember to bring in and feed Lord Fool-leroy?”

I stared blankly at my dad and gasped, “Crap…”

The platform the arriving guests had been travelling on descended a few yards away from Lucitor Castle. It pounded down into the earth and became one with it so each passenger could dismount.

“This is wicked cool! It’s my first time seeing it so close!” gasped Blair.

“Well, if you had been invited to the Blood Moon Ball like I was, you could’ve seen it a long time ago and not be so easily impressed.” Indigo lightly goaded.

“Alas, you and I only grazed the surface of the many secrets held within. The ballroom was our only venture so speaking as if you attained some vast knowledge from our first encounter is nothing more than a mere untruth.” George corrected her.

Indigo folded her arms and rolled her eyes at the boy’s statement.

Tiras walked in between the two and brought their attention back to the situation at hand. “You both can argue later, let’s quit wasting time and head in!”

The pair nodded and began to walk toward the entrance with the others. However, they were soon stopped in their tracks as the ground began to tremble systematically in intervals around them.

“What’s going on!? Another earthquake!?” Blair blurted out.

Raya tried to say as she flopped into the air from the tremors, “Earthquake vibrations are irregular and constant, this is as if it were a--”

And as if on cue, a huge orange spotted beast came bounding from around the castle and was heading right for them.

“Uh, What is that!?” Indigo shouted.

“A guard dog maybe?” Raya answered.

The orange creature loomed over them and began to growl ferociously while showing his sharp teeth.

“He doesn’t look so happy to see us…” Blair commented while helping Raya up from the ground.

“What do we do?” Indigo cowered behind George.

“Fight or flight?” George asked, looking to Tiras.

Tiras had dropped into a fighting stance and was waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

But suddenly, Kraven stepped forward and approached the beast.

“What are you doing, are you crazy?!” Indigo screamed.

Kraven stared up at the beast with a very serious expression but then began to grin. He reached from behind him and presented a bag full of some type of jerky he had stashed for later. He slowly pulled out a thick chunk of it and waved it to the creature.

The beast was puzzled but began to sniff at the piece Kraven held up to it. Instead of a snarl, a joyous bark escaped the beast as his long tail wagged happily. It proceeded to gobble up the jerky and lick at the generous boy.

The others stood with their mouths agape.

“Of course Kraven knows when another being is hungry.” Tiras remarked.

Raya smiled and added, “Food is the universal language after all.”

“Little Lord Fool-leroy!” Tom shouted in a very disciplinary tone. He levitated down from a balcony overhead and joined the group below. The creature leaped over to Tom and rubbed his head against his body in a cuddle. “Okay, okay, down boy.”

“That’s your pet?” Tiras asked him.

“Yea, he can get cranky when he hasn’t eaten by now--” Tom replied but then focused his attention back on his orange companion as he rubbed his belly and said in a playful tone, “--but really you’re just a little ole softie aren’t you, boy.”

“Little is an understatement, don’t ya think?” Indigo questioned.

Raya giggled at the sight and walked over to both of them. She brought her hand to Little Lord Fool-leroy and he accepted her to pet him. “He’s so cute.” She said as she smiled sweetly over at Tom, causing him to blush slightly.

“Yea, when he doesn’t want to eat us.” Indigo mentioned with her hands on her hips. She was watching the exchange very closely.

Tom decided to give his guests a tour of his castle home while they waited for the maids to finish cleaning the cellar. They had all been enthralled with everything he showed them since this was the first time any of them could get an exclusive look inside Lucitor Castle. This was also his first time showing anyone around his home as well so he was quite excited about that.

“There’s the great hall, and the theater, oh and that leads out to the boneyard.” Tom pointed out various highlights as they walked down the hallway with many paintings hanging on the walls of past Lucitor royalty.

“This is wicked cool!” Blair commented giddily.

“And here we’ve reached the best part of the whole place… My room!” Tom announced while swinging the door to his chamber open.

Each one of the teenagers walked through and were now standing atop a flight of narrow stairs that led down to his inner sanctum. Tom’s room was bigger than any of theirs and fitting for the demon prince. The first thing to catch their eye was the glowing fire flowing down from the mouth of a huge skull display on his wall and into a small jacuzzi-like pit beside his bed. A pair of arcade machines aligned the wall and a casketball hoop hung on the wall by the entrance of his walk-in closet. There was a spinning torture wheel with a tub of water below it and a diabolical ping-pong table centered in the room. Skeletons of horned animals adorned parts of his walls and stalagmites protruded from several areas on the floor. If any of them weren’t impressed before with the other parts of the castle, they definitely would be now.

“Whoa…” Blair and Raya gasped.

“Okay, now THIS is room.” Indigo exclaimed.

“Très cryptique.” George applauded.

“...” Kraven’s mouth hung open in awe.

“Is there anything you don’t have?” Tiras added completely mystified.

Tom’s guests wandered down the steps and began to look around his room.

Blair picked up a trophy sitting on one of his night stands and read the plaque. “Oh! Raya look, he is a ping-pong champion.” Ze showed zir friend.

“You may have someone to give you a challenge then with such a title.” Tiras commented.

“Oh? You’re good at it too?” Tom asked her.

“Good? She rocks it!” Blair answered for her with a grin as ze placed zir arm around her shoulders. Raya blushed slightly embarrassed from the praise.

“You wanna play?” Tom asked her while picking up one of his paddles and blushing a little himself. Raya looked up at him still unsure but with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Suddenly, Indigo intervened. “Hey, we played games yesterday, let's talk about the band.”

“Oh that’s right.” Tom went along with the change of subject but then smiled at Raya. “Next time?”

Raya nodded in agreement and smiled back at him. “Sure.”

All of the teenagers proceeded to sit on the floor in a circle to converse further.

“So, your band is called the Seven Undeadly Sins?” Tom remembered from towards the end of their time at the arcade.

“Yep! Seven members and we aren’t dead sooo yea! Hehe.” Blair answered.

“Great name and all...” Tom rubbed the back of his head, unsure how to go about his next comment. “But you guys don’t get a lot of flack for it being an acronym for... sus?”

“What’s sus?” Indigo asked.

“N-nevermind.” Tom brushed it off. ‘That’s right, they don’t do social media.’

“Still sounds cool to me.” Blair beamed.

Raya piped up, “We haven’t really performed in front of an audience yet…”

“Oh, I see…” Tom replied.

It was Tiras’s turn to speak, “Well, we all decided on the name because it sounded cool AND fits all of our personalities...”

“The sins do?” Tom blinked puzzled.

“Alas, the only true sin is that of mediocrity.” George theorized.

“O.. Kay…” Tom was still confused.

“Alright, bud. Check this out.” Tiras explained further by pointing at each one of his friends as he described them.

“Blair is Pride.”

“Hehe!” Blair giggled.

“George is Greed.”

“More so for knowledge instead of monetary needs.” George theorized.

“Indigo is Envy, no surprise there.”

Indigo stuck her tongue at Tiras playfully.

“Kraven is obviously Gluttony.”

Kraven didn’t respond as he munched on his jerky from earlier.

“Raya is Sloth.”

Raya shrugged with a smile, “Can’t deny that one I guess, heh.”

“I am Lust, of course.” Tiras announced full of haughtiness while pointing to himself.

Tom caught the group sarcastically roll their eyes. He chuckled to himself but stopped immediately once Tiras pointed to him.

“And you… You’re Wrath.”

“W-Wrath?” Tom repeated his position a bit hesitantly “… Oh but I can’t be—“

Tiras leaned over and patted Tom on the shoulder lightly as he spoke, “Tom, buddy! You are Prince of the Underworld. Wrath IS meant for you.”

Tom furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed the side of his sore arm where the other teenager attacked it.

Raya noticed Tom’s change in expression so she shared her opinion. “Tom… Our sins can sometimes be considered our strengths more than our weaknesses. You were probably taught how negative your wrath can be… But in some cases it may be what’s perfect for the situation.”

The demon prince focused on the Stone Demon girl’s words but he was still uncertain.

Indigo decided to also add, “Alone we may seem… insufficient. But when we are all together and form our bond, each one of our sins is what makes us strong. What one person lacks, the other picks up the slack.”

“Quite poetic.” George remarked.

“I’m not sure if you’re teasing but I’ll take that as a compliment.” Indigo replied.

Tom glanced down at his hands remembering what happened back in the Musty Mountain. Could such power really be considered his strength?

“Do you kind of get where we are coming from?” Raya asked him concerned with his silence.

“I think I understand…” He looked up to Raya again and they both shared smiles of reassurance.

Indigo stared at their interaction with keen interest and meant to cut in when suddenly Petey knocked at Tom’s bedroom door and entered.

“Master Tom, your Mother has prepared refreshments for you and your guests.” He announced.

“Oh, awesome. Thanks.” Tom responded as he stood up.

The rest of the group joined him.

“Your Mother… as in the Queen?” Blair asked.

“Well, yea… That’s my Mom.”

“Eeeee!!” Blair shrieked with glee. “We’re going to meet THE Queen?”

“If you all want…” Tom said calmly.

“Yay! Let’s go, let’s go!” Blair cheered while holding on to Raya.

And with that, the group moved on towards the kitchen of Lucitor Castle to meet Tom’s mother. As the demon prince led the way, Indigo trailed behind pondering over a plan.

George slowed his pace to match hers as the rest of their friends moved on. He asked, “What do you dare do?”

“W-what do you mean?!” Indigo snapped out of her conscience.

George stepped in front of the girl and blocked her path. His monotone voice had a hint of caution peppered over it and his expression was much more gloomy than usual as he forewarned, “When Envy breeds unkind division: there comes the ruin, there begins confusion.”

“Are you reading my emotions again? I told you not to use your powers on me!” Indigo fumed with red cheeks as she pushed passed him.

But suddenly, George grabbed onto Indigo’s hand to keep her from fleeing.

This was definitely out of the ordinary for him to do so she slowly looked back at him with an obedient carefulness. George wasn’t one to engage in confrontation, and he oftentimes watched events play out without any type of intervention. But, having known him the longest from when they were young, Indigo held her tongue because she knew he was being serious with what he had to say next.

George released his grip on her once he knew she understood his intentions. He did not break his gaze as he spoke, “Your rivalry, although silent and unknowing to her, needs to cease. These are souls you want to meddle with now, not a contest or a game. You dare birth pure suffering?”

“You’re talking as if I mean to purposefully get in the way of something, which doesn’t exist for all you know. It definitely isn’t because Raya likes him is why I’m after him either.” Indigo noticed George arch his eyebrow while giving her a look of disbelief. She began to laugh anxiously and continued, “You forget I’m a girl and have feelings too, it ain't my fault we ended up liking the same guy. And what’s wrong with a little competition anyway?”

Indigo began to walk away from the other teen with the discussion settled in her eyes.

“Even if the result is risking friendship on both ends?” George advised.

Indigo halted her pace and seemed troubled from what he had said. But instead of having a comeback, she surprisingly continued her departure down the hallway again without saying a word.

“How grateful I am to not be cursed with such dangerous sensations that are emotions…” George sighed as he followed after her.

“There you are. Did you two get lost?” Raya asked the pair that came walking up to the group from down a long hallway. They had been standing in front of these enormous double doors crevassed into the wall and didn’t notice until they reached their destination that they had some stragglers.

“Or maybe you both wanted some alone time together.” Blair smirked impishly.

“Blair! Cut it out with your joking.” Indigo shouted rather flustered at the snickering teen’s comment.

“Lavatory.” George rused.

“Whoa, there’s a lab here too? Like the kind for a mad scientist?” Tiras asked bemused.

George slapped his hand to his forehead and groaned.

Tom chuckled at the exchange and told them, “Well, we waited for you both but here it is---” He placed his hands on the great doors and pushed them open, “--our kitchen!”

The group entered another breathtaking part of the castle. Stalactites pierced every inch of the ceiling with its central focal point being a huge flaming chandelier that made the stone of the counters glisten exquisitely from the light of the fire overhead. There were enough cutlery and pots and pans hanging on the walls to arm an army. It was humongous, bigger than his friends’ own homes even, and rightfully so. It had to accommodate the large red demon that was stationed at the counter. And from the looks of the golden crown atop her salmon-colored hair that matched Tom’s, the group knew this was in fact his mother. She was pouring a smoothie-like concoction from a pitcher into seven glasses waiting at a long island with stools for which Tom and his friends could sit upon.

“Oh… my…” Indigo murmured enchanted.

“It’s…” Raya squeaked, equally enchanted.

“The Queen!” Blair announced in a cheer and was about to take off for her when Indigo grabbed zir by the shoulders to stop zir.

“Are you crazy, that is THE Queen of the Underworld! Where’s your manners?!” Indigo scolded.

“Hey it’s alright, my Mom is totally cool with it.” Tom told them.

“Oh! Sorry, I should’ve known, silly me! You ARE the prince after all and know best, hehe.” Indigo laughed in embarrassment and released her hold on the teen. And the minute ze was free, Blair popped over to the other side of the Queen in an instant and was asking her all sorts of questions amid zir gushing. Kraven hustled over to take his seat so he could start partaking in the spread of refreshments decorating the tabletop.

As the rest of the group headed over, Tiras quickly latched onto Tom and brought him in close. “Tom, buddy! Why didn’t you tell us how gorgeous your Mom is!”

“What?!” Tom gasped as he turned red. “Dude, that’s my Mom.”

“Just saying, bro, now I see where you get your looks from.” Tiras gazed at her completely enthralled.

“Her features are that of what many demons aspire to have actually.” George added.

“You too?” Tom whined.

They all were now hanging out at the counter and relishing in the atmosphere of being such welcomed guests in Lucitor Castle. Kraven was on one side of the counter to himself and wolfing down as much as he could of the plentiful portions demon servants were constantly bringing to him. George was keeping Indigo in close proximity as he stood beside her with Tiras on the other side of her--who was ranting to Tom next to him. And Raya was on the corner with Blair by the Queen.

Although Blair had been delighting zirself in chattering away, Raya stood nervously with her hands to her chest just admiring being in the presence of such royalty. But she quickly darted her head away when she noticed the Queen look down toward her. “H-hello, erm, g-good afternoon, Your Majesty…” Raya stammered shyly with a blush.

The Queen had a very interested stare fixated on Raya.

“T-thank you for having us in your home.” the young girl bowed her head.

Tom’s mother smiled sweetly and brought her hand to Raya’s hooded head and patted it as she trilled. Raya’s heart practically skipped a beat from such a gesture.

Tom glanced over momentarily to see his Mom and Raya meeting each other and attempted to join them to give them a proper introduction but Indigo tugged on his arm.

“Oh, Tom! This is really good, have you tried it?.” Indigo stalled as she held the glass full of the smoothie up to the demon prince.

“Huh? Oh, yea, it’s demonade made from forbidden fruit.” He told her. Tiras peered over at Indigo suspiciously.

“It’s so delicious! I’ve never had it before, mmm, hehe!” Indigo praised rather excessively.

“What are you talking about, we’ve had that plenty of times at Tartarus. They make it practically everywhere.” Tiras contested. Indigo shot slits for eyes his way.

Indigo gave a shallow laugh and tried to gain Tom’s attention--which wasn’t really focused on their conversation anyway. “Oh silly me, how could I forget, well--”

“Excuse me for a second, Indigo, I’ll be right back.” Tom pardoned his way around her and headed toward his Mom and Raya. Indigo had a furious glare in her eyes as she slammed the glass down on the table. Tiras and George both shared glances with each other.

Tom came up to his Mom to introduce each other. He blushed as he said, “Raya, this is my Mom, Wrathmelior. Mom, this is… Raya.”

The Queen smiled sweetly at her son and cooed while giving his head a pat as well. She then reached down and pointed at a plate in front of the two teenagers.

“Ah, that’s rights. I remember when we went back to your sister’s shop you said you like eating the Ember Berries she didn’t sell that day and would mix them with lime and salt so…” Tom said eagerly as he reached for the plate and presented it to Raya. “I made sure to ask my Mom to make it for you.”

“Aww thank you!” Raya had that dreamlike expression fill her face, causing Tom’s cheeks to turn redder.

Blair and Kraven both seemed to smile in a way as if they knew all too well what was unfolding before their eyes. But not wanting to ruin the mood, Blair made sure to keep zir mouth shut this time.

The Queen began to chatter to Tom as if suggesting something to him.

Tom thought over what she said and then nervously looked back at Raya. He picked up one slice of the Ember Berry and asked her, “W-would you like to try it and see what you think?”

“Sure.” She said softly and, without thinking, opened her mouth and Tom went to feed it to her but then--

“Gyaggh!” Indigo yelped as she accidentally bumped into Tom’s back hard enough to make him drop the plate from his hand and spill it to the floor, shattering it instantly. The Queen gasped worriedly while Blair and the others rushed to their side.

Raya had caught Tom by the shoulder and helped him maintain his balance. “Are you alright, Tom?” She asked.

Tom straightened himself up again and replied, “I’m fine, I’m fine…” He saw the mess on the floor and became very upset, “Ugh, seriously. Look at this, they’re all ruined!”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe that happened, and to one of Raya’s favorite snacks too! I’m so clumsy, I must’ve slipped on a wet spot on the floor.” Indigo rambled as she held her hands to her face in feigned horror.

“Wet spot? I don’t see a wet spot?” Blair was crouched down on the floor and trying to look for the culprit.

The Queen and Raya booth kneeled down to begin cleaning up the litter of fruit and broken porcelain. But in her haste, Raya misguidedly grabbed for a sharp sliver and seemingly nicked her finger.

Instinctively, an overly concerned Tom bent down and clasped his own hands around her injured one, “Are you alright, did you cut your hand!”

Indigo’s heart stopped at the very sight.

Raya took a second to respond as she admired his worry for her. She explained while gazing intently at their joined hands. “No harm done… I’m a Stone Demon after all, that type of material isn’t strong enough to cut my skin…”

Indigo was about to take it upon herself to intrude again but suddenly she felt a hand clamp over her mouth to quiet her.

“Oh look at that,” Tiras spoke his objective loudly, “Some of that food spilled on you too, Indigo! Let me help you clean that up in the laboratory.”

“Lavatory.” George corrected him.

“Yea that place!” He acknowledged as he dragged Indigo out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

Tiras let the double doors shut behind him before he finally released his hold on the girl.

“What are you doing?!” Indigo raged.

“Me?! What’s gotten into you?” Tiras pointed at her, angry himself.

“I think it is rather obvious.” Indigo snapped.

“George told me what you’ve been up to. What a coincidence you just so happened to bump into them.” He confronted her.

“It was an accident.” She lied.

“And every time they have a moment between each other, were those accidents too when you interrupted them?” Tiras questioned.

“Ha! Like whatever. What are you even talking about, I don’t see how this involves you.” Indigo fumed but she soon changed her tone and asked him, “What’s with the sentiment anyway? That’s not like you…”

“You’d have to be blind if you don’t see what’s going on between those two…” Tiras glanced away from the girl’s gaze as he spoke with some dejection in his voice.

Indigo became interested in Tiras’s change in behavior and grew a mischievous smirk. “Are you the same Tiras? You of all people are giving up? I thought you had a crush on Raya for the longest time?”

Tiras blushed as he explained, “Y-yea, I may have liked her before… I mean, I still like her but now I realize it’s more of a protective brother-sister kind of like… Tom is pretty awesome… And if both of them can make each other happy, who are we to come in between that…”

Indigo’s eyes softened at the boy’s words. Knowing him for how long she has, this kind of mindset would never have been expected from him. It was almost endearing.

“Besides, I now have an eye for a new type of woman. One just like the Queen.” He proudly declared with an arrogant grin.

Never mind, this is definitely the same Tiras. Indigo sighed.

“Hey you two!” Blair popped zir head from a shadow ze formed on the door.

“Eeeghh!” Tiras and Indigo shrieked in unison from their friend’s sudden appearance.

“Haha, sooooo the servants are cleaning up that mess but that red flying demon from earlier just came to tell us the cellar is ready for us to practice in!” Blair announced excitedly.

Both Tiras and Indigo looked to each other and seemed to get their head back into why they were at Lucitor Castle in the first place. No more playing around. They both nodded and told Blair, “Well, what are we waiting for!”

The cellar of Lucitor Castle was just as big as its structure upstairs with an atmosphere that was dark, dank, and dreary. The lighting was minimal from the torches hanging from the walls and it had a spooky echo to accompany those who spoke. It was the perfect place for the budding band to let loose.

“‘Kay, I digs it.” Tiras remarked while scanning over the area.

“Ghastly prepossessing indeed.” George commented.

“Ohhh where does that hallway lead?” Blair wondered ready to venture off but Indigo grabbed on to zir to keep zir with the group.

Tom had his hands on his hips and looked proudly at the space that would become a place they would all hang out at a lot after today. But there was still one other problem…

“Um, Tom.” Raya piped up from his side. “We didn’t think we would practice today. We totally forgot our instruments.”

Tom grinned her way and seemed to already have a solution. “You aren’t the only ones that are into music, you know. Look over there.”

The demon prince pointed over to a wall to reveal every instrument imaginable hanging there! From the smallest drum kit to the largest Tuba, there was enough to outfit multiple marching bands if they wanted to. Everyone ran over to the wall completely thrilled.

“And, that’s not it.” Tom declared as he gathered their attention. He further revealed a spot set up like a makeshift stage with surround speakers, amps, and even lights. The group of teenagers were definitely blown away.

“Totally wicked!” Blair was fired up as ze chose an electric guitar from the wall.

Tiras was strumming away at different bass guitars to figure out which one felt the best for him to use. Indigo was blowing on a trombone while George fingered a trumpet. Kraven was coming back to the wall to attain another drum to combine with the set he was assembling nearby.

Tom was enjoying the scene. He couldn’t help but smile knowing that he had finally had friends of his own down here in the Underworld. But being so engrossed in the commotion he didn’t notice Raya had come to his side.

She looked up at the boy with such adoration while she placed the strap of a saxophone around her. “This is incredible, Tom…” She murmured softly. “You’re incredible… Everything I’ve ever dreamed about… You’re the one...”

Tom took a minute to register what she just said to him. Time stood still as the noise of their surroundings seemed to quiet for only the two of them to exist in this very moment. He slowly turned his stare toward her to see her smiling at him with half-lidded eyes and in a way he hadn’t seen before. Smiling in a way that someone who loves another deeply would smile longingly at them. A way he always wished Star would have smiled at him.

Envy was watchful but silent in this moment, caving to the realization that was not that of a defeated competitor, but that of an understanding friend.

#TomVSTheUnderworldFanfic #TVTU #svtfoe #oc fanfiction #oc #starvstheforcesofevil #star vs the forces of evil #tom lucitor #The Underworld

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hitchell-mope · 4 years

Text

(Film three. After “pirates medley”. The hook sisters have just run into an alleyway near the marketplace)

Harriet: ya shouldna done kiddo

Cj: why not.

Harriet: because it wasn’t a good move

Cj: you might like men drooling all over you but I hate it.

Harriet: you agreed to it.

Cj: I didn’t think they’d try that. So I’d apprecrie you dispensing with the victim blaming if you please.

Harriet: yeah yeah whatever. Lookee o’er there

Cj: aw FUCK!

(They’ve just spotted chadeficent and Ursula some ways away)

Harriet: SEA WITCH!

Ursula: oh god. (Fake smile) Harriet! To what do I owe the

(Cj shoots her in the stomach with a blunderbuss)

The sisters: where is he.

(Ursula straightens up and the bullet flies out of her stomach hitting some poor sap in the head)

Chadeficent: that was Balthazar yes?

The other three: who the hell cares?

Harriet: where is my brother?

Ursula: hmmmmm. Dunno don’t care. That work for you?

(Harriet lunges are the sea witch but Cj holds her back. While this is happening Hadie poofs back in slightly singed and very pissed off)

Hadie: for the record Rodan. I don’t appreciate being sent to Dark Mountain. Chernabog may be insultingly attractive but he’s far too fatherly for my tastes.

Cj: shove off spawn. There’s more important matters at hand

(Hadie chuckles sinisterly. Then force chokes the sisters)

Hadie: oh look at that. Fragile necks and bravado are such an inexplicable combination. And as you will see very soon. Deadly

Harriet: he.. he he mi...dea.

Cj: he...gone

Hadie: what? What’re you talking about?

Chadeficent: oh I think you know

(Hadie’s eyes glow bright grey. He drops the sisters, takes out a silver knife and throws it at Ursula. It slashes her cheek)

Hadie: ever heard of phlegathon tempered steel? It cuts you. Then heals you. But keeps you in burning unbearable pain. Until such time the wielder chooses to release you from it.

(Ursula’s cheek is starting to burn. Steam is curling from the edges of the cut)

Ursula: I was exiled from Atlantica. Whatever petty wound you deal me is of no consequence.

Hadie: yeah but (he sighs) cut you enough and it burns away your very being. So. What’ll it be bitch?

(Ursula growls in irritation and disappears in a torrent of water)

Hadie: now that that’s over oh cripes they’re gone.

(Chadeficent and the girls have left the scene. At the Jolly Roger Hook is waiting on deck)

Hook: GIRLS! What the hell have you been doing. Dukes is dead. And the men say you killed him Cj. If you keep doing this you’ll never land a husband.

Cj: aye. And what of it father?

Harriet: oh god not now.

Cj: yes now. Our brother has been missing for a year now and may as well be dead and all he cares about is his disgusting heterosexual misogynistic bastards of a crew

Harriet (coughing): code red. Code red

Hook: what’re you saying Cj?

Cj: what d’you think I’m saying dad?

Hook: it sounds as though you’re thinking to much like your freak of a brother

Harriet: Harry was bisexual pops

Hook: like I said. A freak. Men are with women. Women are with men. It’s the law of the world. And I expect my children abide by that

Cj: yes and when they don’t you cast them out and they need to take refuge somewhere else. Say a restaurant run by a squid

Hook: if you have something to say then say it.

Cj: ok. I like girls. Always have. Always will. And you cannae change it or me

(Starkey hobbles outside with a tea set. Sees the family feud. Starts to make his way back inside)

Hook: STARKEY! Did you know about Cj’s affliction

Cj: oh here we go

Starkey (diplomatically): uhhhh. I believe that. She. Wanted

Cj: it’s ok uncle Starkey. I told him last year. Considering he was the one that raised me while you were brainswashing Harriet into being Captain Hook 2.0 and Harry was fuck knows were trying to get Tick Tock to chomp his hand off in a vain attempt to get your approval!!!!

Hook: in time this will pass and you’ll be just like your sister

Cj (scoffing): of course. Be like Harriet. The pretty one. The smart one. The obedient one.

Harriet (for once very sheepish): Ceej. Could ya please lemme outta this?

Cj: no. He’s always wanted me to be like you. But guess what. I’m never gonna be who you want me to be

(This is when “sit still look pretty” happens. After the song Cj storms off)

Hook: and do you have any oddities you’d like to share Harriet? Because if so nows the time

Harriet: yes. As a matter of fact I do. For the past seven years I’ve been in uh heh “cahoots” with Gaston junior.

Hook: like the freak and the pansy

Harriet: sort of. Except theirs was more emotional. Ours is. Purely on the physical side. And yes. I’m the boss.

(Hook goes puce)

Harriet: uncle Starkey. I’ll be back presently

(She runs after her sister)

Hook: take me back to my quarters Starkey

Starkey: of course sir.

(He wheels the captain back in side. Harriet catches up with Cj. She finds her in an alleyway surrounded by the felled bodies of ten dogs and one cat)

Harriet: what the hell did you do.

Cj: the one thing I ever got from him, that wasn’t a hand me down from you or Har, was this.

(She holds up a whistle)

Harriet: wow

Cj: yep. Turns out it’s a dog whistle. Which pretty succinctly explains how the bastards could hear it all the way across Neverland when Jane found the treasure

Harriet: and the morbidly obese demon on four legs?

Cj: Tremaine’s moggy

Harriet: right. What you did was incredibly brave you know.

Cj: I don’t like animals.

Harriet: I meant what happened at home just now

Cj: I know. Like I said. I don’t like animals.

(At the core fours old apartment chadeficent has just arrived. Only to see Jafar watching tv)

Chadeficent: hello worthless. Miss me?

Jafar: who...?

Chadeficent (Maleficent’s voice): this better?

Jafar (exasperated): you couldn’t have taken control of a pretty one?

Chadeficent (Chad’s voice): fuck off you crypt keeper

(Jafar looks taken aback)

Chadeficent: bugs are to be worked out

Jafar: what is it?

Chadeficent: spawn of Cinderella

Jafar: you couldn’t have got the ash girl herself?

Chadeficent: too strong willed (Chad’s indignant voice) hey! (Maleficent’s voice) SILENCE! (Both voices) I am creating a cult. To destroy our children. Ursula is aboard. What say you?

(The next morning. At Evie’s palce)

Mal:...and Ben found them this morning passed out on the couch with like eight tubs of deluxe rocky road ice scattered at round.

Jay: deluxe?

Mal: chocolate marshmallow ice cream instead of chocolate ice cream

Jay (hopefully): Christmas list?

Mal (generating a tin with magic): why wait?

Jay: ooh yay!

Evie: AH! No. Not yet

Jay: awww. I’ve been here for an hour

Mal: let the man eat sis. It’s the least you can do since you are stabbing him with pins when you could just use 🎶🎶magic🎶. By the way. Your hair remarkably black today

Evie (snarling): get outta workshop

(Mal leaves cackling. She goes to the kitchen where Carlos is giving a plate the thousand yard stare)

Mal: hey kiddo. What’s up?

Carlos (softly with a lot of feeling): the cake...it’s gone. An entire macadamia nut chocolate sponge cake. Gone. How? There was enough for fifty people to have two slices each. And it’s all gone. How can it all be gone?

(The twins and Gil come racing pass the room screeching at the top of their lungs with food all around their mouths)

Mal (aside to Carlos): I think I know. (Normal volume). Gil! Could you bring the kids in here please?

(Gil troops back to the kitchen with the twins trailing behind. All three look terrified. Carlos and Mal lift the twins up onto the counter)

Mal (“mom” voice in full effect): now boys. Did you ask your papa to get the cake from the fridge?

Twins: uhhhh...

Mal: it’s ok. I’m not mad. I just wanna. If it was you then that’s ok. If it was Dude then we need to get him to a veterinarian.

Carlos: WHAT?!?!

Mal: oh shit. Sorry honey.

Carlos: listen to me you rotten little————(the twins look at him with the epitome of puppy eyed innocence) 🎶dad. Where are you. You’re good with this type of stuff🎶

Mal: paperwork

Carlos: fuck

Gil: it was us. Squeaky wanted a snack and I couldn’t find anything in the fridge but the cake. We only meant to share a corner but Celia oh crap

Mal: 🎶oh Celia🎶

(The girl melts out from the shadows clutching her stomach)

Mal: did you help Gil and the twins eat the entirety of Jane’s birthday cake?

Celia: if I says yes what would you do.

Mal: give you an antacid and advise you to take it easy with the party food.

Celia: then yes. I helped.

Mal: come on then.

(They head to the bathroom. But Mal’s phone starts ringing)

Mal: it’s Ben. Do you know how to get to the bathroom?

Celia: Dizzy sent me a schematic last night

Mal: good. That’s good. If evo finds out I will plead the fifth. You do know that don’t you?

Celia: wouldn’t expect anything less. See ya

(She runs off)

Mal (answering her cell phone): hello your majesty. Any idea on your eta or should I send your apologies to Jane?

Ben: I wish I was close to being done. But there are so many papers to get through and there’s no use in denying it. People are terrified at what ever killed the guards.

Mal: I could come and help you?

Ben: no. Definitely not. Go have fun. Do the routine.

Mal: but you’ll miss it. Though a private rendition for your eyes only could also be very interes-

Cogsworth: ahem hello my lady

Mal (trying not to laugh): sorry Carlton.

Cogsworth: that’s quite alright dear. I’ll just uh go ahem away

(He leaves and bal bursts into laughter)

Mal: oh that was oh god that

Ben: I I’m so sorry

Mal: don’t be. Just sorted a domestic so a I needed a laugh

(As they’re talking Mal’s walking outside)

Mal: what on the office menu today

Ben: chargrilled Damon foie gras and quinoa

Mal: what no pizza?

Ben: fraid not

Mal: I can always zap you some sausage rolls and mac and cheese cupcakes from the party

Ben: please and thank you?

Mal: and the new cake

Ben: Celia?

Mal: along with your brother and nephews. Carlos was not happy

Ben: of course.

Mal: hey, was chad supposed to meet us at Evie’s?

Ben: I don’t think so. Is he there?

Mal: yeah. Looking like the shalka Doctor.

Ben: oh.

Mal: I’ll go see what he wants

Ben: be careful. Love ya

Mal: always am. Love you too.

(She hangs up)

Mal: hey chad. Whatcha doing

(Chadeficent turns to look at her. Their eyes glow black. And Mal enacts the safety protocols on the house keeping everyone else inside and safe)

Mal: what did you do?

Chadeficent (Maleficent’s voice): oh it’s not chad. Hello my sweet

Mal (breathing heavily): Maleficent?

Chadeficent: mhmm. Now give me my sceptre

Mal: what did you do to him?

Chadeficent: he is simply a mindless hormone driven teenage boy

Mal: yeah, I know, he’s an dickhead. Nobody likes him. At all

Chadeficent (Chad’s voice, very, very hurt): they don’t?

Mal: yeah. You’re insufferable.

Chadeficent (Maleficent’s voice): ENOUGH! Give me the sceptre

Mal: you stole the wand didn’t you. And the staff and the mirror. So why do you need the sceptre.

Chadeficent: I want everything of importance (Chad’s voice) I wanna be king (Maleficent’s voice) I want my daughter back

Mal: I’m not your daughter. And chad you hate magic. Why would you use it to be king?

Chadeficent (Chad’s voice): I uh I dunno (Maleficent’s voice) he was easily bought with a butter finger and empty promises I have absolutely no intention on fulfilling. Now. The sceptre.

Mal (mind working a mile a minute): h how, how about a story. And I can make you a cup of tea yeah? Or coffeee?

Chadeficent (Chad’s voice): ooh beer (Maleficent’s voice) very well. But be quick about it

Mal: ok. Ok um

(She turns to the drinks table. This is when “she’s so gone” happens. After which Chadeficent picks her up from the splintered table by the neck)

Mal: why...are..you...doing...this?

Chadeficent (Chad’s voice): you don’t deserve this. None of it. You belong on that slag heap. You deserve to rot. To be forgotten. I want you all dead. Don’t you see? You can’t be queen. It’s not right. Audrey should be queen. And I should be king

Mal: but...Ben

Chadeficent (still Chad’s voice): ALL OF YOU WILL DIE. YOU. THE MAGIC PEOPLE THE RUNT THE CHICKS THE TRAIOR THE FREAK OF A DWARF. ALL OF YOU. DEAD (Maleficent’s voice) as for me. I want to break you. For you to see how useless you truly are without me.

Mal (turning purple in the face now): get...bent

(Chadeficent drops her and pulls out the wand)

Chadeficent (Chad’s voice): there’s never been an ugly bitch who’s been queen. Looks are everything. Bibbidi bobbidi boo

(Mal is washed is black light which solidified into a black cloak. The houses doors are blasted off their hinges and jay stands there completely gold and absolutely buzzing with power. Chadeficent cackles as they disappear in black smoke. Jay and the others rush to Mal’s side)

Carlos: oh my god! Mom are you ok?

Mal (voice hoarse thin and cracked): yes ahem yes ye yeah. What the hells wrong with my voice

(Evie takes the hood off of Mal and cackles)

Evie: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD! YOU LOOK LIKE

Jay (unimpressed with her behaviour): your mother. When she gave the apple to Doug’s aunt

(Evie stops cackling)

Carlos: what happened

Mal: Chad’s possessed by Maleficent. He wants to kill us all and be king

Carlos: and goat lady?

Mal: wants to break me

Evie: so what do we do

Celia: isn’t it obvious? Hades. Your father.

Evie: he is not

Celia: Mal was right and you know it. So stop pissing about and help me get your sister inside the house so she can get some proper clothes on cause an old lady in a minidress is not a good look. I should know. Cruella used to come to the arcade in the warm days. It’s was horrifying. Thank you Carlos for killing her last year by the way

Carlos: much obliged Ceels.

(Mal’s phone rings again. This time Carlos is the one to answer it)

Carlos: hi yes dad. Ok brace yourself. Chad has the wand. He’s possessed by Maleficent. He wants us all dead. Barricade yourself in your office. Emergency protocols. All that shizz. You have magic so you should be fine. We’re gonna stop them. It’s what we do. Us too (he ends the call) that’s dad sorted. Now how do we fix mom?

Celia: go to the island. Get the ember. Come back here. Kick him in the balls until he’s exorcised

Mal: Gil. You coming with us?

Gil: I would but. My boys

Doug: I’ll stay with them. I have my exosuit. I’ll keep them safe. I promise you I will

Gil: ok

Evie: oh my god!

Doug: our kid is fine. She’s with Lonnie and Jane. You know. A badass and a light fairy.

Evie: oh thank god

Jay: so we all know what we’re doing. Action time?

All the others: action time

Squirmy: AAAAAH

Gil (panicky): what? What is it? What’s wrong

Squirmy: I want to give the pretty lady my present

(He holds up a bouquet of periwinkle blue tulips. Everyone relaxes)

Gil: Jane will love them. But it could be a good idea to keep them here. Just until we’re all back together. Yeah?

Squirmy (unhappily): yeah

Doug: c’mon boys. You can help me bake a new cake.

The twins: YAAAAAAAAY

(They run back in. Evie goes up and embraces Doug)

Evie: we’ll be back soon as possible

Doug: take however long you need. I stabbed someon in the junk last year. I can defend myself

Evie: oh I know that. It’s just that

Doug: Evie sweetie. Look at me. I’ll be fine. I promise. And if I need to reach you there’s our phones the the psychic link you set up.

Evie (voice breaking): I...

Doug (understandingly): me too. Now let’s go

(They all run back into the house except for one)

Mal: uh. Guys

Jay: oh. Right

(He runs back and carries her to the house)

Mal: watch the hip. Watch the hip

Jay: yeah yeah yeah.

Celia: so do we get the the island. The limos?

Evie: no. They’re all the the school garages until next week.

Celia: then we’re screwed?

Mal: not entirely

Jaylos and Evie: THE BIKES

Celia: what?

Mal: how I left last year

(At the cliff site. The six of them are on their bikes. Celia’s hanging on to Gil)

Carlos: go on mom

Mal (voice still croaky): noble steed proud and fair/you shall take us anywhere

(They drive over the magic bridge to the island. Back in Auradon Chadeficent is making their way to Jane’s birthday party)

Chadeficent (Maleficent’s voice): are you sure this shall work? (Chad’s voice) it had better. They all deserve it for hating me

#disney descendants #zendaya!mal

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askauradonprep · 7 years

Note

Do you have any headcanons for Isle culture? Like food and music and dance and clothing and stuff

You have made me SO HAPPY with this ask because yes, always.

- Okay, so I’ve already talked about how you stay as far away from sick people as you can. Getting sick SUCKS and there’s never a guarantee of survival. People generally stay out of arm’s length from sick people unless the person is dying and they still have business to settle (or you’re giving a mercy kill).

- EVERYBODY stays inside or finds shelter during full moons, especially during Witches’ Sabbaths. On full moons, Barbossa and his crew like to ransack the Isle - they’ll harass children, beat older teen and adult men and force women to eat with them. They’re creepy as heck. And on Witches’ Sabbaths, Chernabog sends his ghouls away from Bald Mountain where they dance to torment people.

- Related to point one - when someone is pregnant, you don’t say ‘congratulations’. You say ‘good luck’, typically sarcastically. And babies don’t ‘count’ unless they survive a year.

- Fashion wise, as with everything else, you take what you can get. But admittedly, people tend to emulate the more influential people in their area - a sort of ‘top down’ type trend (which, I’m told, is typically how fashion works - people tend to emulate influential people and so their looks trickle down to street trends eventually). In this case, the influential people are powerful villains like Maleficent, Cruella, Mother Gothel, Ursula, Hook, Gaston, Facilier, Jafar, etc.

- It’s really really hard to throw away food. Almost all food is rotten or mouldy or will soon expire and turn that way. For that reason, very few things get thrown out. If you can choke it down and keep it down, you can eat it. Also, while several restaurants might claim a cuisine (like Hades claims his restaurant serves Greek and Shan-Yu says his is ‘pan-Asian’) everyone knows it’s the same slop as everyone else. It’s the closest they have to cuisines though, so they just go with it. One popular food that isn’t common in Auradon is bone soup. Basically you take the bones from whatever meat or seafood are around and boil them until they’re soup stock. Pretty much everybody on the Isle can make this. I imagine occasionally the VKs just want bone soup in Auradon.

- Related note: It’s not uncommon for their to be riots when supplies run out or run low, especially after a disaster. Food riots and water riots aren’t uncommon.

- Clean water is very very rare and typically only in leftover, unsold water bottles (which is unhealthy because of leeching). So, because of that, pretty much nobody uses baby formula. Anything in the dirty water can contaminate formula and make infants sick and kill them. They don’t have the immune systems teens and adults have when they drink coffee or tea. So, formula is pretty much the one food item that always automatically goes in the garbage.

- There’s really no such concept as a drinking age. Alcohol is typically cleaner than water. So if you can find it, you can drink it.

- There are some people you just don’t mess with. Chernabog, the God of the Night and Evil, for one. The Firebird for another because you will DIE if you wake it up and it burns down the town. And outsiders should always steer clear of the Hun compound. As a security measure, outsiders are only allowed in if A) They’re invited inside or B) A member of the Hun compound will vouch for them that they aren’t there to mess everything up. Because that’s rarely a promise they can keep, most of the time a Hun will NOT vouch for an outsider. You also really shouldn’t mess with Sykes because he’s mob. He knows how to take advantage on the Isle. Another place typically avoided is the Queen of Hearts’ castle. It’s surrounded by a ‘forest’ of pikes decorated with severed heads. And if she finds you in her forest without a valid reason or you anger her at her salon, you might just join them after a brief stint as a mannequin.

- They don’t have a radio station, so any music played over the radio is from Auradon. As is most of their media tbh. Local acts like The Bad Apples and the Sea Witches are pretty much the only non-Auradon music.

- There’s very very little money. Most people will steal or dine and dash (or the equivalent). You have to force people to pay. And usually a lot of the money they have is kicked up to whoever owns the territory as part of a protection racket. If you can’t steal something, you can try paying in goods or services. You could also just break it. If I can’t have it, nobody can is a perfectly valid principle.

- Most art forms like drawing, dancing, etc. are very unstructured and ‘go with what you want’. People usually do what they want anyways, so why should arts be different?

- People don’t say things like ‘thank you’, ‘excuse me’ or ‘please’ and especially not ‘sorry’ unless they’re either being sarcastic or they’re someone’s henchperson. They’ll say or do things like nod in acknowledgement, ‘I’m glad you did that’, ‘I like that’ instead of thank you, ‘Move’, ‘back off’ instead of excuse me, or instead of please they’ll say ‘now’ or try to cajole someone into it. The best you can hope for instead of an apology is an admission that the other person shouldn’t have done something. ALSO nobody ever ever ever says ‘I owe you one’. They say, for example, ‘I owe you one meal’ or something like that. They’ll be very specific about WHAT they owe. If they just say ‘one’ then the other person can and probably will exploit that for an unpleasant favour later like cleaning muck out. Sykes told Uma once that ‘he owed her one’ and immediately realized his mistake - not quickly enough to stop Uma from demanding he stop harassing one of her crew.

- Typically, you don’t stand up for someone on your crew or your family because you love them. You stand up for them because by not doing so, people get the idea they can mess with you by messing with your people. Doing so because they’re your people and you don’t want them to be messed with is less of a gang thing and more of a ‘crew’ thing. Most crews, like pirate crews, have learned to work together or die (or suffer serious pain). So they work together because crew is crew. It’s a little liberating.

- Most people will fight with swords, knives, shivs, clubs, whatever they can get their hands on. There’s very few guns and the ones that are around are DANGEROUS. Nobody messes with Captain Hook because he’s a crack shot and he WILL fire at you.

- People like Maleficent, Hans, Grimhilde, Lord Beckett, Scar, etc. who insist on using their titles are usually listened to while they’re around to avoid a hassle, but as soon as they leave, pretty much everyone ignores those titles and rolls their eyes. Nobody is royalty anymore, you lost, get over it and suck it up, everyone else has to.

- There aren’t really many holidays everyone celebrates - everyone kinda does their own thing if they want. Honestly, I don’t think many of the villains are very religious. Frollo constantly holds services and tries to get people to come but few, if any, ever do. A couple stand outs though are Halloween (without the candy), Friday the 13th, and birthdays.

- If ‘dating’ is typically in gang activity, marriage is certainly very rare. Sure, a bunch of people who came to the Isle were already married like some of the pirates, but there’s only a handful of people who got married on the Isle. Gaston is one of them. You can go to whatever royal or noble or even Frollo and get them to sign a piece of paper if you want to, but most people who get married just hole up in their shelter together and start calling the other their spouse.

- The original villains have alliances, rivalries and such too. And yes, sometimes they’ll have ‘friends’ for lack of a better word, over for drinks or an anniversary or just to complain about Auradon. Hey, villains get bored too, you know.

- Nobody on the Isle ever asks how someone got hurt. Odds are you won’t like the answer. Especially if they’re a kid. Most people have scars.

- EVERYBODY born on the Isle has nightmares. They’re on a death trap surrounded by people who would love to kill them, don’t tell me they don’t. The originals probably do too but they tend to be better at hiding it and comfort themselves by knowing they also CAUSE nightmares.

- There are, in fact, cars on the Isle. Not many, but they exist. Cruella has her’s and I’m gonna say so does Sykes.

- Avoid the animals. It doesn’t matter which animal. Animals that aren’t dangerous don’t get sent to the Isle. Killer sharks, crocodiles, that octopus that ripped apart Hook’s ship, angry dogs, mean cats, lions, a tiger, a jaguar, hyenas, etc. It’s a wonder more people aren’t killed by rabies.

- There’s only one settlement and it’s a shanty town. At this point, it’s pretty hard not to know everybody (especially since people keep coming from Auradon to see who among the people sent there are still alive). Word travels quickly. Again, even villains get bored. Gossip and rumour mongering are a popular way to pass the time, especially among some of the moms.

#Descendants #Descendants 2 #Isle of the Lost #Isle of the Lost culture #Disney's Descendants

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lynxgriffin · 7 years

Text

Don’t Forget, You Only Get What You Give

Alllrighty! Still gonna make an effort to get Sora through all of Musketeer Country before I send either of the boys on to the next world. And here we go!

I’m just not doing as well with the bonus challenges these days…

And Mont Saint Michel is looking appropriately ominous, even as the happy music continues on

And then Sora freed all the prisoners in France!

Apparently France arrested all these elephants

And Mickey nearly drowns in high tide in a dungeon. FOR KIDS!!!!

OKAY and with Mickey rescued we’re heading back to the ol’ opera!

But I’m gonna put on a drop-me-not so that I don’t lose Sora in the middle of the boss battle

Is it just me or does Sonic Blade move even faster than before?

I remember this battle being kinda tricky so we’ll see how it goes

Aaand won! That wasn’t as bad as I remembered

So when does Sora get his musketeer hat

YAY the cute saying!

It’s hilarious now knowing that Lea is like “yeah I want a Keyblade”

Yeah Xehanort is a tactician but really his biggest asset is friggin’ cheating

Okay Lea we’ll just PUT YOU OUTSIDE TIME AND SPACE to train you

Eeeee okay we are now heading on to MY FAVORITE DISNEY WORLD

Seriously this is my favorite out of the whole series. It beat out Timeless River in KH2 as my previous favorite

This is of course FANTASIALAND

Like I wish they had included actual characters from these areas BUT I LOVE IT ENOUGH IN SPITE OF THAT

Okay I screwed that up big time but at least I competed the dive

Although the one thing I don’t like about this world is the bosses suck because Spellican and Chernabog

Sora constantly almost calling Mickey ‘Your Majesty’ is still the cutest

MmmmmMMMMMMM I LOVE

HOW EVERYTHING HERE IS THE MUSIC

No Keyblade hitting sounds and no yells from the kids! JUST THE MUSIC!! I LOVE

Uuugh I’m really sucking at the reality shifts in this area tho

Like playing through this world is simultaneously the most relaxing and the most engaging

There’s so many Spirits I can make now but I think I wanna save my materials for the good stuff like the dinos and dragons and lions and such

Congrats Riku you are now the plumber

Where are all the brooms getting water from in this scenario…?

MMMMM NUTCRACKER SUITE

Aaand YES I have completely beaten King Frog and gotten his recipe!

YOU WALK ON THE LEAVES AND THEY MAKE MUSIC AND MUNNY

If I had tons of time to spare I would just do fanart of Sora and Riku fighting through this world

*sings* You’ve got the music in you~

Xehanort flicking the lava on and off like: WELCOME TO HELL!! WELCOME TO HELL!!

And Riku just wants to get to the point

Oh friggin HELL I didn’t realize that the boss battle was now and Riku is about to drop

SO THAT SHOULD BE GREAT

OH GOOD because that battle was essentially a dive, it didn’t count towards my drop

Like it was a triple dive really

But yay Riku got the shinies and all is well, halfway!

And the combined music is Dearly Beloved awwwwwuh

I’M FULL OF FEELINGS

Also more Mickey and Riku being buds please I am always fond of that

Okay I think we’ll finish off with Sora here and then call it a night

And Sora found his half of the pretty music too!

Xehanort: Ha, Take THAT, flower petal!

Xehanort your little taunting speech really wasn’t appropriate with the Pastoral still going in the background

And once again, MUSIC COMBINING

Sora: I’ll just conduct with the Keyblade here cause I can

OKAY LET US. MAKE AN ATTEMPT. AT SPELLICAN

Is Spellican friggin using Bladecharge?!

OH WELL I beat him this time!

That was! Surprisingly easier than before

Come on Sora put on the sorcerer hat

Or open that world lock that works too

Badoop back to cutscenes

Lea: I’m gonna be the best barking cat you ever saw HA

OOPS WE MIGHT HAVE PREPARED FOR THIS IF WE HAD THOUGHT TO ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE INFORMATION

Stop leaving Donald and Goofy out of everything 2K17

OKAY we’ll just get Sora going in TWTNW and stop at the first save point

Oh hey welcome back Xigbar

It’s a little late to be hitting these plot points in any sort of order

Why am I suddenly getting a Jeff Bridges vibe from Xigbar when I haven’t ever before

*insert Wayne’s World flashback* DOODLEY DOODLEY DOODLEY DOODLEY

Oh wait is it this whole long trippy cutscene before any save points even?

This first person perspective still always weirds me out

Apparently when you’re just a heart you still gotta wear clothes when you’re time traveling

It’s raaaainin’ Soras, hallelujah

Nggh I don’t know why the first person weirds me out so much but it does

Okay apparently we’re dropping right now, all right then

RIKU’S TURN…to save as we pick back up with this later

#lynx plays 2.8 #kh 2.8 spoilers

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arcanevalves · 7 years

Text

Kingdom Hearts (PS4)

What I played: I made the utterly regrettable decision of trying to play the game on normal. I do not generally like action RPGs and am not particularly enamored with Disney so this experience was often an unpredictable, uncontrollable slog for me. There were a few times when it felt like the game came together for me (Riku-Ansem) but more often I either leveled up and came back later (2nd Ursula) or I cheesed it out (Captain Hook, 2nd Maleficent). After struggling and finally beating Chernabog, I quit the game upon getting to the first Ansem fight. I watched the ending on youtube.

OKAY SO MAYBE THIS IS NOT MY THING

There are two elements here that are very super explicitly not my thing.

The first is the Disney element. Of the worlds visited in the film, I’m only really confident that I remember seeing one movie as a kid (Aladdin) and many of the others I suspect I may have seen as a small child (Peter Pan?) but some I definitely have not seen ever at all (Hercules, Nightmare Before... Christmas? I dunno man). This isn’t to say that these films aren’t good, just that I’m not invested in them. I think a lot of the enjoyment of crossover media comes from seeing disparate elements interact in an officially licensed production (although let’s be honest here, ban copyrights and unleash fan fiction kthx). I did recently watch Hunchback for the first time and it was a pretty all right film? The Disney films are just not something that were really a part of my childhood as I have always been too cool for Disney let me assure you this is true. Furthermore, in my adult life, I loathe Disney every day as a company that acquires the rights to popular media (e.g., Star Wars, Marvel, everything it has looted from the public domain) and then advocates for policy that is harmful to the public and is generally very zealous in asserting its rights in a manner similar to your Nintendo or Apple.

The second is the Action RPG element. One of the reasons I like playing RPGs is because there’s an element of playing at my own speed. I can grind levels or do side quests and take my time in an RPG without having to worry about whether I’ve learned some enemy or boss’s attack animations and patterns and hitboxes and hurtboxes. While Kingdom Hearts does have heavy RPG elements, it includes action game elements that, to me, feel reminiscent of Zelda (e.g., spoiler alert I have never finished a Zelda game and have really only played two: Link’s Awakening and Ocarina of Time). While I recognize it is some people’s things (see Dark Souls), I hate dealing with watching animations and figuring out where hitboxes are. This is especially true for the water/flying fights where a lot of the defensive options (combat rolling) are removed because hey, who loves fun (not me). As mentioned above, I was okay with the patterns when I felt like I could try different movements as answers such as in the Riku-Ansem fight. There, I could roll, tech, glide, etc. and really try different things in a fight that took me several tries and where I had a lot of fun. Compare this to the first Ansem fight where that possession thing just keeps, I dunno, swinging until it hits you and then you just hold that L? Or the Chernabog fight where the homing projectiles were mostly unavoidable?

LET ME SAY SOME NICE THINGS THO

Shimomura’s music was fantastic! The music was really good, even though I became annoyed whenever I heard the battle music play because it meant I would be unable to interact with environmental objects to proceed.

It looked real good for a PS2 game re-textured to PS3/4 HD? The Steam version of FFVIII was to me an example of re-texturing making things look a bit odd, but I think the only stuff that really stood out to me here were a lot of the facial expressions which, let’s be honest, were already hard to animate in PS2 era anyway.

Uh, anyway, everyone say KH2 is the real shit and I’ll probably play other KH stuff in the HD collection except on the easiest easy person easy simple mode possible just for the meme.

No video of the ending, but some clips at least of various parts:

https://clips.twitch.tv/BloodyWimpyCakeCharlieBitMe

https://clips.twitch.tv/PoliteMistyShallotDoggo

Yeah, so, uh, yeah, I may have been salty during this game.

#kingdom hearts #incomplete #ps4

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poorvioletdraws · 4 years

Text

Tom vs. The Underworld

7. All My Best Friends Are MetalHeads

Ever since we met, I started having these strange dreams about him…

My golden eyes steadily blinked open to the quaint sanctum that was my room. It was an unusual start to my day since I woke up before my alarm, although I wasn’t ready to get up quite yet. I decided to find a more comfortable position in my bed by rolling from my right side and onto my back. I pushed my red bangs that were covering my eyes aside and continued to contemplate the possible meaning behind my dreams.

At first it just seemed like your typical, no-sense-making sleeptime entertainment session that occured every once in a while. But it was starting to form a pattern of happening the night before and the night after I saw him.

The first night after meeting Tom at his Lake House, my mind depicted him sledding down what must have been an endless garbage mountain in a huge metal boot while a gigantic mangy crow chased after him. I’ve had weird dreams before, mainly involving my friends and family, but why would I even imagine something like that to a person I had just met?

The night before we ran into each other a second time while my family and I were vacationing in Yomi Town, I dreamt of Tom again. This time he stood in a wooden structure full of hay and had an argument with a broom that had long blonde hair and hearts on its cheeks. Yet another vision I didn’t give too much thought to.

The night after he left Yomi Town still continued the pattern, even though it was a short dream. Tom rode in a giant panda-cat-bus, like the one from My Neighbor Torture-o, and was collecting tacos and tennis balls across the land with three large possums dressed up like people. It was a cute dream, I’d love to ride in a bus full of tacos...

But then, the night before I saw Tom again at Madame Morguerite’s, it wasn’t just a dream that I had about him. It was a nightmare. It was a foreboding premonition that felt too real. It was so terrifying that I fought to wake myself up from it loud enough that my fellow students in the dorm were startled awake and wondering what was wrong. I didn’t even realize tears were streaming down my face as I told them it was nothing. They already thought I was different anyway so I’m sure that incident just gave them more reason to ostracise me further.

Luckily for me, I don’t really remember what happened in that nightmare anymore. It was forgotten the moment I woke up. All I remember is that feeling of perpetual sorrow in an infinite darkness...

Suddenly, my Golem--which was now morphed into my alarm clock and sitting on my bedside table--began to clap its hands together in order to alert me of the time. I sluggishly pawed for its head and used my geokinesis to turn it off.

I slowly rose from my bed and wiped the sleep from my eyes. It was morning but you couldn’t tell because there weren’t any windows in my room. It was always intimately dim as the only light source came from the flickering candles dotting almost every inch of my walls. Bouquets of red spider lilies stood in black vases at my desk and bedside tables while streams of them sewn together by their stems into flower chains decorated the outline of my ceiling before joining together towards the middle and then cascading down my wrought iron chandelier. I’d like to imagine that the combination of candles and blossoms made my room appear to be whimsically romantic, but my siblings often joked about how ritualistic it looked instead.

“I should get ready, he’ll be here soon…” I said with a yawn while taking a seat at my vanity. The mirror was headed by a springbok skull and beside it on the wall hang my painting of the dimension with 1,000 sunsets. I began to smile to myself while looking at it.

My older sister, Rochelle, was able to go back and get my stuff I left at that etiquette school. There was no way I could go back after the fiasco Tom and I caused. I’ll be sure to work extra hard at her shop next week to thank her.

I need to find a way to thank Tom too… He has done so much for me every time we see each other. And he even wore the necklace we made when he came to see me. Come to think of it, the dream I had of him last night was different… It wasn’t anything weird or silly. Just him. Standing in front of me surrounded by light. He looked very handsome, not that he isn’t handsome already. He smiled at me and held out his hand and I...

I noticed I was blushing in the mirror and quickly shook my head of the thought.

Quit it, Raya. He is a prince. Don’t think like that. Especially having dreams depicting him in such a way, I need to stop that too. He just wants to be friends. I should be grateful he even wants to hang around with someone like me… And my friends… Hopefully they all like him too…

Getting back on task—I get distracted a lot—it was time to get ready for the day and I know it’s going to be great! I needed just the right music to get me started.

“Let’s see, what to listen to today.” I murmured, flipping through my CD album collection in front of me. “Oh! One of my favorites, perfect!”

I removed my Less Than Jack disc from the sleeve of the album and inserted it into the stereo. I then open the drawer of my vanity and began applying my makeup as the song started to play.

~You think it’s strange, that there’s a way…~

“Ugh, why am I starting to get nervous again.” I groaned aloud. I was flying through the air through the demon city, Chernabog, and it was my first actual time seeing it in depth. I had seen the volcanic region of the Mountain of Boom far off in the distance before coming into the city, but now my view was filled with buildings stacked too close together to the point of being right on top of each other. It was a huddled mess of clutter and heavily populated too. It kind of was making me claustrophobic from just the sight of the place. The demons that lived here however seemed to not be bothered at all.

I held up my compact phone to see where my directions wanted me to go next.

“Okay… I passed that part… And there… Now should be around…” I mumbled to myself while searching for the street name.

The area I was moving toward was heading somewhat out of the suburbs, which was alleviating some of my phobia. The terrain in this area was even more rocky and extended down into a huge quarry.

“Oh wow, that has to be her place.” I said in awe as I landed.

The home was built into the walls of the pit of rock with limestone bricks as the face. For a girl who says how ordinary her life is all the time, she sure lives in a house that was anything but. It was a rustic kind of chic and fitting for a family of Stone Demons.

There were tall torches that outlined a path leading to grand granite stairs of the Belmonte home. I walked up them entranced by the beauty of the architecture, completely forgetting about my nervousness.

The front entry was a large double door made of black stone—obsidian, perhaps? It was a nice signature quality by Raya’s father that I was starting to notice more of. After meeting him and seeing his work, I realized my parents bedroom door at our castle home was constructed the same way.

I took a deep breath and began giving myself a pep talk, “Okay, here I go. First step toward getting to know each other better. Meeting her friends… And playing some games at an arcade. I’m amazing at games so this is totally my element. How can this day not be awesome with an objective like that? Today is going to be—“

I went to knock when all of a sudden the door swung open.

“Who’s out here muttering in my doorway!” Raya’s father, Albion, roared while sticking his head out the door.

“Gyaaagh!” I screamed while taking cover on the floor.

Albion glanced down to see me and softened his tone, “Oh, Your Highness? What gives us the honor of your presence?”

I stood up and dusted myself off. “Heh. H-hey, nice to see you again.” He is going to give me a heart attack one day, I just know it.

“I am sorry, Your Highness. I have sensitive ears and pick up sounds easily.” The paternal demon apologized.

“It’s totally okay. Um, I came to pick up Raya. Well, n-not pick her up like pick her up. More like collect her... to go out… Wait! Not like that. Not like a date, sir! We just planned it but it’s with her friends. But totally not a date, sir! Um, so there’ll be others around, not just her and I… Uhh. Yea. Heh.” I gave a nervous smile as my explanation came out jumbled.

Albion was left staring at me dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Raya came hopping passed her father and told him all at once, “Hey Dad, we’re going to hang out with the gang at Tartarus, I’ll see you later!”

She quickly grabbed my hand and led me down her front stairs in a hurry.

“Honey, was that the Prince I heard at the door?” Raya’s mother, Griselda, asked sweetly as she peeked her head from around the archway.

“Yes, dear.” Albion said still puzzled.

“Oh really?” Her tone suddenly changed to a more chastising one, “And you didn’t invite him in for pie or anything?!”

Albion realized the error in his failed hospitable nature and shouted his shame so loud it shook the quarry, “Agh!! I’m dishonorable!”

Once we were on the main path heading back into the suburbs, Raya stopped pulling us along. Though I didn’t mind holding hands, even if it were for the purpose of fleeing that awkward situation I talked myself into with her father.

“Sorry, Tom. My Dad starts asking questions and would’ve had you come in and we would never leave on time.” Raya apologized.

“Oh, no. It’s okay, I understand.” I said with a half smile. “You know, next time if you give me your cell number I can call or text you when I’m close and you can meet me outside.”

“Hmm, I would but I don’t have a cellphone.” Raya mentioned as we started to walk down the sidewalk again.

“What?! A teenager without a cellphone?” I gasped a little shocked.

“Not just me, none of my friends do.”

“And this is normal for you guys?” I questioned. “What about selfies and tagging each other in funny posts on FaceScript and staying up late texting each other and just general nonstop communication any moment of the day?”

“Sounds like a lot of work.” She replied unfazed.

I gripped at my chest and had a pained expression cover my face as I muttered to myself, “Such a simplistic girl has stolen my heart.”

“Hm? What was that?” Raya asked while tilting her head in my direction, not hearing what I had said.

“N-nothing, heh.” I replied as I darted my eyes away. Why’d I say that out loud. I need to be more careful. I need to wait for the right moment to tell her how I feel anyway. I need to focus on meeting her friends and getting along with them first.

“Are you alright? You’re pretty quiet now.” Raya mentioned. I didn’t realize I was consumed by my thoughts for quite some time as we walked through the city.

“Oh, sorry. Just in my head, that’s all.” I told her with a reassuring smile.

“Are you nervous about meeting my friends?”

We stopped at an intersection and waited for a group of demon vendors pulling food carts along before we could cross.

“Ah well, I guess kind of.” I itched the back of my head and glanced at my feet. “They are your friends after all, and since you hang out with them a lot, I want to get along with them too because I hope we all get to hang out a lot together… I guess I’m nervous over that… Like, what if they don’t like me, y’know?”

Raya gave me a comforting smile but didn’t reply.

“What? Did I say something silly? I said something silly didn’t I?” I asked concerned.

“Hehe, not at all.” She giggled but then looked me in the eyes and told me, “I never would’ve expected the Prince of the Underworld to be such a caring guy.”

“Yea… I think a lot of the demons and monsters think that way… Which is why it was always hard for me to make friends… ”

“Well my friends will like the same things I see in you. So don’t worry about it.” She smiled sweetly at me, causing me to smile back at her.

“They’ll like the same things…?” I repeated curiously.

Raya was watching the road as she spoke, “Aside from being the Prince of the Underworld, you’re very interesting. You seem to be into the same kind of music and style as us. You wear your emotions easily; when you’re upset you’re upset and when you’re happy it really shows too. I can tell you’ve been through a lot of changes in your life... But most of all…” She then gazed at me and revealed, “You have a big heart, I like that about you.”

Did she really just tell me that? Was it an innocent compliment or was she starting to notice how I feel? Maybe I should just ask her now…

So I tried to tell her, “Raya… I—“

“Oh! Time to cross, let’s go!” She announced, holding on to my hand again and running us across the cleared street.

What am I doing? Why am I being so impatient? I kept telling myself to wait but when she does and says things like that I get too overzealous and want to pressure her into something I’m not sure she even wants… Maybe it was just my brain wanting her to understand how I felt. But I couldn’t be too far off. She must be starting to realize how she feels about me. Why else would she be blushing as she told me that?

“We’re here!”

Raya and Tom crossed the street and pushed through the crowd of demons in order to make their way to the arcade just ahead.

The building was crafted like a Greek temple made of a dark red stone material with the name ‘Tartarus’ in flaming block letters across the front of the tympanum. Five demon teenagers stood outside the entrance.

“Hey, everyone!” Raya greeted her group of friends with a wave from afar.

“Late, as always.” A pale yellow female demon remarked. She was wearing a plaid dress, fishnet stockings, and striped hand and leg warmers.

“With good reason, you knew she was bringing someone important.” A lime green demon said as ze waved at the approaching pair. Ze had dark green dreadlocks with some dyed dark-blue strands and was dressed in typical cyber goth fashion—shiny PVC platform boots, tight black pants with matching vest containing a numerous amount of buckles, and the style came complete with a LED gas mask around zir neck.

“So this is him…” A light-blue male demon said more to himself. He had a blonde Mohawk and some facial piercings. He looked strong from his physique to his jawline. He wore a black leather motorcycle-style jacket with a red plaid long-sleeve shirt wrapped around his ripped-jeaned waist.

“Sorry if we’re late.” Raya bowed for forgiveness but came up again to present the newcomer. “I’d like you all to meet, Prince Tom.”

“Please, just Tom is fine.” Tom corrected still a bit nervous.

Raya then introduced her friends to Tom one by one.

“This is Blair.”

“Hi, Blair.” Tom gave a toothy grin.

The lime green demon greeted Tom excitedly and pulled up the black aviator goggles from zir eyes. ‘He looks like he will be fun!’ Blair delighted zirself over the possible antics their posse could get into with a prince now apart of it.

“This is Kraven.” Raya waved over to an orange demon of considerable height and girth. He wore a maroon long-sleeve flannel shirt, black jeans, and black converse.

“Hey.” Tom brought out his hand for him to shake it.

“...” Kraven continued to stare at Tom sternly, though it was hard to tell if he was actually staring since his eyes were covered by his maroon knit cap.

“He doesn’t like to be touched, and he doesn’t talk much.” Raya pointed out.

“Ah, okay. I can respect that. Sorry, man.” Tom waited for another response as Kraven continued to stare. “Heh… Cool, moving on.”

“This is Tiras—”

Tom went to greet the sky blue demon boy but he already interjected.

“Tiras Zephyrson. The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness.” He spoke with a haughty confidence and shook Tom’s hand quite firmly.

“Egh.” Tom winced quietly.

Wind began to blow around Tiras as he focused on the demon prince curiously. ‘This is the prince? I expected someone much more frightening and taller, and at least more handsome than me.’ He thought to himself arrogantly.

Tom rubbed his hand a little and continued with Raya to the last two demon teenagers.

“This is George.” Raya announced.

“Gargozoth.” The periwinkle demon boy corrected. He wore a dark-blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and suspenders hanging down his legs.

“Yeeaaa.” Raya drew out her agreement but then whispered to Tom, “He goes by that because he doesn’t think his real name is fitting for a demon.”

“Gotcha.” Tom whispered back but then stepped over to Gearge and said, “Hey, Geor--Erm, Gargozoth.” He brought out his hand with a slight smile.

George spoke with the gloomiest of spirits as he shook the other boy’s hand limply. “Your Highness’s appearance is like The Raven. Once perched and gandering down upon all of us from his chamber, but now our presence he’s commandeering. And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor…”

“Uhh…” Tom paused confused.

“TLDR version means ‘Nice to meet you’, as am I, Your Highness. My name is Indigo.” The pale yellow demon girl butted in with a curtsy. ‘He’s rather cute up close, I wonder if Raya is interested in him.’ She thought with a gleam in her eye.

“Nice to meet you both.” Tom responded. A pensive look began to grow on his face when he saw them. “I’m sorry, but you two look familiar. Have we met before?”

Indigo and George exchanged glances and were about to reply when Tiras took it upon himself to interrupt.

“The Blood Moon Ball. They were two of your attendees you selected at the outskirts of Prickly Plains, or do you not remember that?” Tiras spoke abrasively.

“Tiras…?” Raya murmured as she watched her friend concerned.

Tom quickly thought back to that time. ‘That’s right. I wanted to impress Star by making sure everything was normal for her, so I had Petey post fliers for approachable and attractive monsters and demons to audition for a chance to attend for free. Those two were there.’

~Back Then

“We’re next, we’re next!” Indigo cheered enthusiastically while gripping George’s arm and bouncing up and down.

“Please excuse my portrayal of excitement, it does not stir from the pit of my soul and overflow to an intense head as easily as yours.” George muttered

The demon pair had been standing in a line that seemed to stretch forever and they finally made it to the front.

“Alright, alright! Once the Prince sees us he won’t be able to say no. He may even be so weakened by my beauty that he will ask me to dance under the light of the Blood Moon. And once Raya and Blair find out, I bet they will be so jealous, hehehe!” Indigo swooned followed by a shrill giggle as she fantasized about how glamorous the occasion will be.

“Ugh… This is going to be absolutely dreadful…” George groaned.

“Next!” Tom called, though he was preoccupied since he was discussing preparations for the Ball with Brian and two other advisors at a judging table.

Indigo ambitiously pulled George along as they approached.

The demon girl began to say, “H-hello, Your Majesty! We think we should be considered because--”

“You’re in, collect your tickets to the left.” Tom informed them in an aloof tone as he snapped his fingers, barely glimpsing at the pair. One of the advising demons on his counsel pointed to a sizable winged demon in stocks on their left.

“Here you go.” The flying demon handed them the tickets.

Indigo accepted them without hesitation as she held them up victoriously to George. The boy demon just shrugged.

~Now

Tom was a little regretful for how he acted back then. Star consumed his world and, as a result, he neglected the Underworld and its inhabitants. But he knew now that you shouldn’t put up a false act just to win over the affections of another. He concurred ruefully, “You’re right, that’s where I saw them…”

“That’s the only place? You literally don’t remember them at the Ball at all?” Tiras chided now with his arms folded in frustration.

“Hey, you know we were just happy to go. No need to get defensive toward the Prince.” Indigo coaxed but it was no use.

“That’s not what you told me.” Tiras snapped and caused Indigo to jump at his sudden remark towards her.

Tiras kept up his heckling, “I heard it wasn’t anything like it was supposed to be. No bubbling cauldrons that melt flesh off. No garbage that destroys the universe. Was there even unicorn blood?!”

“There was that.” George mentioned aside to the others.

Tom’s eyebrows were furrowed as he stared down at the ground in silence.

“Sorry to be blunt,” Tiras crossed his arms over his chest and denounced, “But if you didn’t care about getting to know two of us then, why should we care about getting to know just you now? And making them go all the way outside of the city to be judged, that’s ridiculous. Prince or not, you should still treat others with some kind of value and not just to show off to your rich friends--”

“I agree with you.” Tom interrupted him.

“Huh?” Tiras gasped astounded.

Tom stared up at the other teenaged boy but didn’t look hurt at all from what he had been saying. He appeared relieved as he explained to him further, “My mind and heart weren’t in the right place back then. I hurt a lot of people and didn’t care how others felt. I was selfish, and full of myself. I wanted everything to be perfect for someone who found me unbelievably annoying at the time…”

Tom glanced at Raya and gave her a half smile as he continued. “It took some help from some special people to see where I was heading. I know now that being that way was wrong. I’m making amends for how I acted.” He then looked over to George and Indigo, “I’m sorry for not giving you my full attention when I should have back then. I hope we’re cool?”

“Yep.” Indigo piped up while George gave Tom a thumbs up.

Tom faced Tiras again and went on to tell him, “And I’m sorry I hurt your feelings too. Your friends are clearly special to you and you’re protective of them. I’d feel the same way you do if someone treated them like crud. Thanks for being honest with me about how I was. You seem like someone whose dignity I can respect. I just want to start over and make friends the right way…”

Tiras became flustered as if he were a little embarrassed by the compliment from Tom. He was about to come up with a counter but was quickly cut off.

“Tiras.” Raya stepped in front of Tom. “Remember, this is our Prince you choose to speak so carelessly towards. He’s my friend and I invited him here today. If you continue to try and belittle him then… I’ll lose all respect for you!”

Tiras mouth was agape in shock. “Ahh, no, no… Raya, I was just kidding. No need to be so harsh.”

“Apologize.”

“Hey, it’s all good—“ Tom began to say but Raya shot a glance at him that resembled her father’s so he quieted.

Raya diverted her attention back to Tiras and commanded, “Apologize to our Prince.”

Tiras looked back at each of his friends now eyeing him. He bowed down to Tom and mumbled, “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“Dude, it’s cool. We’re cool.”

Tiras regained his stance and turned away, walking into the arcade still with tinted red cheeks. Kraven followed.

“Don’t worry about him, Tom. He’s pretty arrogant.” Blair commented while patting the prince on the back.

“That was kind of a rough start, huh?” Tom said as he looked to Raya for reassurance.

“You’re fine, no worries. Tiras is stubborn, he’ll come around.” Raya smiled at Tom and wrapped one of her arms in his.

Tom began to blush but then Indigo suddenly did the same with his other arm.

“Come on, let’s play some games and have fun!” The other female demon said excitedly but seemed to shoot a strange glance in Raya’s direction, though she didn’t really pay it no mind.

George rolled his eyes, seeing all too well where this was going.

The remaining group of teenagers proceeded to enter the arcade.

“...” Kraven stared at the screen as the score popped up with a victorious tune indicating that he got a rank of ‘S’!

“Whoa!” Tom gasped in awe. They all took turns playing Dance Dance Revoltion but were nowhere as skillful as the latest player.

“Hehe, yep. Don’t let his size fool you, this is Kraven’s favorite game.” Raya explained with a giggle.

The larger teenaged boy stepped off the dancing platform and seemed to slowly be heading towards the food court.

Raya noticed and quickly whispered to Tom, “He always works up an appetite after playing, this is your chance!”

“Oh really?” Tom was a bit apprehensive. “But he doesn’t like to talk I thought?”

“Food is THE universal language! Go, hurry.” Raya nudged the unsure demon boy.

“Alright, here goes!” He gave in with a newfound air of confidence and jogged through the crowd to catch up to the retreating teen.

Raya called after him, “And his favorite thing to order are the Poisonberry Shakes!”

Tom waved back to show he heard her suggestion, all the while Tiras sat at one of the booths sulking while observing the exchange.

“What’s wrong? Jealous?” Indigo asked Tiras with a mischievous smile on her face.

The blue demon boy shot up from his hunched position and smirked back at her as he replied, “Jealous? Isn’t that your prerogative? A Zephyrson doesn't know such a homely emotion.”

“You mean you try not to show it.” Indigo corrected. She looked rather delighted as she leaned on the table with her chin in her hands.

“Ugh… Whatever.” Tiras scoffed. He was now watching Raya and Blair race each other on a virtual dragoncycle game. “I mean, just because he’s a prince, Raya wants to spend all this time with him. He doesn’t seem that much like one of us. What does she see in him anyway?”

“He’s handsome, duh.” Indigo swooned.

“What?! S-Stop playing around.” Tiras became flustered again.

“You don’t see it because you are so conceited.” The teenaged girl began to cackle. “But if Raya doesn’t act fast I might have to scoop him up for myself, teehee.”

“Then you have bad eyes if you think he’s more attractive than me!” Tiras argued back.

“Both of you belong together.” George said calmly as he sipped from a coffee mug in the booth behind them.

Both Tiras and Indigo gasped simultaneously after being startled by his presence. “Could you not do that!”

Kraven was standing at the counter by the time Tom got there. The employee just asked if he was ready to order.

“Hey, man! What’s up?” Tom greeted and hung over the counter.

Kraven glanced down at him but then back to the attendant.

“Yea, I’m kind of hungry too. What’s good exactly?” The smaller teen was trying to skim over the menu board.

“Well, he is a regular here, he usually always gets the same thing… 20 tacos.” The employee mentioned.

“Okay, I love tacos! I’ll take the same thing. With hot sauce on the side, please.”

“Alright, one moment sir, let me calculate your order. Is it together or separate?” The employee asked.

Kraven reached for his wallet out of his back pocket but Tom halted him.

“Hey, no problem. This is on me.” Tom offered. “Oh, and can we add two Poisonberry Shakes?”

“Sure, one moment sir.” The employee began typing in the order on her register.

Kraven seemed to stare down at Tom with some curiosity now.

The demon prince paid the total and they both stepped to the side to wait for their food. It was awkward at first since Kraven didn’t really speak but Tom was determined to get to know him.

“So… Tacos, huh?” Tom said trying to break the ice.

“...” Kraven didn’t stir.

“My best friend’s favorite food is tacos, well actually it’s nachos. He makes some killer nachos back on Earth… well I guess it isn’t Earth anymore...” Tom rambled.

The two boys stood in silence again.

“This place is pretty cool. Well, you would know, you guys come here all-all the t-time.” Tom stammered as he rubbed the back of his head.

Kraven leaned up against a nearby claw machine and folded his arms.

Tom began to think to himself. ‘This isn’t going too well. I knew he didn’t want to be bothered. And why’s our order taking a long time? How hard is it to make 40 tacos? In Yomi Town the food came out quick. This guy probably would never leave… Oh, that’s right!’

“Hey, were you the one Raya and I bought the chocolate scorpions for?” Tom asked him.

Having caught his attention, Kraven turned his head to focus on the Prince.

“It was you, right?” Tom seemed to be happy to find out he was the one to receive that particular gift. “Dude, you have to go there one day. They had all sorts of delicious food, you’d love it! Raya said a lot of the stuff was imports from up above, food you can’t get anywhere else or that has been banned for sale in other regions! We tried some of these flaming corn kabobs, Minotaur Cheese, and sugared arachnids, and this Hydra sashimi, Pegasuswings breaded in pixie dust (so good!), dry-cured pig-goat bacon, Ember Berry nectar on fresh-caught Scylla eggs—“

As Tom listed the delicacies from Yomi Town, Kraven seemed to be entranced by the wide array of food selections to the point of almost drooling. He didn’t even hear the attendant call out their order number.

“Oh, food’s done!” Tom realized from the fifth announcement. He went to grab both trays but Kraven intercepted them. The larger boy seemed to be offering to carry the trays to the table. “Oh, okay. Thanks, man.”

Kraven gave Tom a smirk with a nod and they went back to join their friends.

“Do you mind if we sit with you, Geo—Gargozoth?” Tom asked.

George fanned his hand to the empty space in the curved booth in a “by all means” kind of way.

The two boys sat down with the other and began to eat.

Tom was putting hot sauce before he took each bite. George watched him rather intrigued. “Curiouser and curiouser our demon Prince becomes.”

“Hm?” Tom looked up from his tray.

“You share a habit with another, is all I mean.” George began to turn the page of his book he’d been reading.

Tom glanced at his coffee mug on the table and was excited to ask. “Oh! You’re the friend we bought the gourmet coffee for in Yomi Town too? That griffin stuff.”

George replied, “Kopi Griff, yes. The beans are digested by griffins and the remains create the coffee.” He then took a sip from his mug as Tom and Kraven stopped eating and stared at him rather disgusted. George gave them a grin. “Heh. No need to fret, this is just regular processed coffee from the food court.”

The boys started to eat again as Blair and Raya came over to the table.

“Tacos! Can I have some, please, please!” Blair pleaded with drool creeping from the edge of zir lip.

Kraven hunched over his tray to protect it.

“Sure, all of you can if you want.” Tom offered.

Tom scooted over to Kraven as Raya and Blair sat down with them.

“Thank you!” Blair beamed happily as ze reached over for a taco, causing Raya to press up against Tom and left both teens blushing.

“S-so, what did you want to do next? Uh-not just y-you, I mean. What do all if you want to do next?” Tom stammered while he darted his eyes from Raya and focused on the tacos in front of him.

Raya was still blushing as she picked up one and proceeded to put hot sauce on after each bite. “W-Well there’s Sat-Man or Ms. Sat-Man, either one is fun. There’s some shooter games like Gloom, House of the Mewmans, and Spacaga. Or if you want to get real competitive, there’s pitchfork bowling or even flamethrower tag—“

“Oh! Like what we did in Yomi Town?” He remembered as he applied hot sauce before his bite.

“Mhmm!” She muffled a confirmation, not wanting to impolitely open her mouth full of food.

George was watching amused with a slight grin across his face.

“So you guys did a lot there, huh?” Blair asked. Indigo and Tiras in the adjacent booth seemed to be eavesdropping.

“Yea, there was so much to do! There was this awesome temple where they did rituals, and ziplining through the caves, and every hour this flaming geyser Old Fearful erupts. We raced hot air balloons powered by these itty bitty dragons--” As Tom gushed over the trip, Raya began to smile to herself remembering all the fun they had. “--and, like I was telling Kraven earlier, the food we ate at this hotel before going to the hot spring was--”

“Whaaaat?!” Blair interrupted bemused. “Raya and you went to the hot spring together? Like bathed in it? How lewd!” Blair grew a naughty smirk from such knowledge. Kraven hung his mouth open in shock while George almost choked on his sip of coffee.

“N-no, it wasn’t like that!” Raya and Tom both said together flushed with embarrassment.

Indigo quickly popped up from the booth behind them with an alarmed expression after hearing how the situation turned. She moved over to the one her friends were occupying in a blink of an eye with Tiras in pursuit.

“Oh stop your teasing, hehe.” Indigo gave a nervous laugh as she interjected. “Raya is a good girl, she wouldn’t do that. She’s never even had a boyfriend before.”

“Guys!” Raya groaned pulling her hoodie over her head and not wanting to be apart of this awkward subject.

“I swear nothing like that happened!” Tom spat out in their defense.

“Haha! I was just joking.” Blair stuck zir tongue out and winked in a playful way.

Tiras had an irritated expression cross his face as he finally sat down in the booth while Indigo and George scooted over to make what little room they had left for him.

“Soooo anyway,” Indigo tried turning the attention back to something more appropriate, and less about a possible relationship between her girlfriend and the demon prince. “You were telling us about Yomi Town.”

Tom gathered his composure again and continued, “Oh, well there was also the shopping district. It had this amazing music store, that’s where we bought some of the souvenirs for all of you.”

“Whaaa?” Indigo gasped surprised. “Raya, why didn’t you tell us the Prince helped you pick out the gifts you got us?” she said with a whine, bumping elbows with George. He shifted over to try and reclaim some of his personal space.

“I didn’t?” Raya looked actually puzzled from the thought. She put one of her hands behind her head and tipped it in an apologetic gesture while giving one of her clueless smiles, “I guess it slipped my mind. Heh.”

Indigo lightly slapped her own forehead and mumbled, “Oh Raya…”

Blair realized something and asked the prince, “Ah! So you helped Raya pick all that out? Even mine too?”

“You mean the widely-sought-after-by-fans album of THE Love Sentence with songs that hadn’t been released from when they first started out?” Tom turned toward Blair enthused, “Nah, that was all her before we ran into each other. But, let me just say, I’m SUPER jealous that you got the last copy that was there because if I would’ve seen it first I SO would’ve bought it!”

“Really, really?!” Blair giggled with joy as ze grasped Raya’s shoulders.

“Chyeah! I’m their number one fan!” Tom declared proudly.

“Whaaat?! I love them!” Blair squished Raya closer towards the demon boy by accident during zir fit of excitement--Tiras and Indigo were overcome with distress once again.

Tom was actually unfazed by their closeness this time as he responded to his fellow fan, “Love them so much it gives you an…”

“Awesome Feeling!” Both fans sang in harmony.

“And you were like oooh-aahh-ooohh.” Blair started the chorus as ze leaned in toward Raya’s left shoulder.

“And I was like ooohh-weee-ooohhh.” Tom added, also leaning on Raya’s right shoulder.

“Hey! Why don’t we do flamethrower tag!” Indigo suggested while slamming her hands on the booth’s table and trying to steer the situation again.

Blair snapped out of zir singing session and agreed, “Yes, lets, lets!”

“Ugh, now?” Tiras protested while folding his arms. “Why not let all that food settle in your stomachs—“

“Come on, it should cheer you up. It’s your favorite game after all.” Raya said sweetly to her stubborn friend.

A blushing Tiras mumbled while he averted his gaze, “O-okay…”

Tom was beginning to notice this change in emotion and the effect Raya seemed to have over the other teen. For some reason he was starting to feel discouraged.

“That’s the spirit, let’s go then!” Blair urged and pointed off as if directing everyone toward a grand adventure ready to unfold.

The part of the arcade that had recreational activities other than video games was at its center and shaped like the inside of a great colosseum. It was mystifying how all this could fit inside such a building, the cramped appearance seen from outside of the arcade was very misleading.

But I’m one to talk, I built my carriage myself and it is as if stepping into another dimension because of all the space inside.

The application of the flamethrower device was the same and so were the rules. The playing arena was much different than the Yomi Town since it went with a very Roman theme, fitting for this arcade. I knew it would be fun based on the activity and the game chosen; however, the only thing I was apprehensive about was our team dynamics. Raya, Blair, and Indigo were the opposing team against us guys.

I couldn’t lie; it was still a bit awkward with the group I was in. Kraven was still hard to communicate with since he didn’t like to talk and George spoke in confusing sentences at times. Then there’s Tiras. He doesn’t seem to like me at all. And I feel that bias has to do with Raya. If I didn’t know any better, he obviously has a crush on her.

We were traveling through the hypogeum of the arena with Tiras in front, Kraven on the tail end, and George and I together in the middle.

Tiras, who was our acting captain, halted at the edge of a long stone ruin and peered around to see if he could spot the enemy. If it wasn’t for the light of the torches, we would barely be able to see in front of us.

“Let’s hold here.” He ordered. We all huddled close behind him.

I take it being in a leader role was something always expected of him by his group of friends. He seems confident and is without a doubt strong. So having someone like me here, future ruler of all demons, must make him uncomfortable. And his reluctance to get along with me also stems from my friendship with Raya. Her and I spend time together where it’s been just the two of us. So he is probably jealous of that too the more he hears about it... How long has he known her? And how long has he liked her? I wonder if he ever told her…

I wonder if I told Raya how I felt, would she really want to be with someone like me that she hasn’t really known for very long…?

Since Tiras’s back was now all I could see from our formation, I noticed some band buttons on the lower flank of his jacket during my deep thinking.

LTJ? Hmm, I like that band too… At least we have some things in common other than our love interest with the same girl.

Tiras glanced behind him and caught me staring down his back. He became flustered and questioned me, “W-Whatcha gawking at?!” He tried tilting his head to see down his backside.

I also became flustered and began to chuckle nervously. “Heh. N-nothing. Just uh, admiring uh, your butt-uh—”

“What?!” Tiras’s blue skin color turned completely red.

“Buttons!” I quickly corrected myself.

The other teen darted his head forward again still blushing while Kraven and George could be heard snickering behind us.

Wow, I can’t believe I just said that. Now he can add ‘being weird’ to the list of why he’s uncomfortable around me.

“So…” I started to say in hopes of breaking the awkwardness, “What’s the plan?”

Tiras cleared his throat and tried calming himself enough to respond to me. “W-we’re going to head down that passage way on the right.”

I popped my head around the corner to see what he was talking about. It looked completely dark down that path while another passageway was leading back up to the main floor.

I thought over whether I should mention that or just keep my mouth shut. Maybe he doesn’t realize the disadvantage we might be in or maybe he has something up his sleeve…

I’ll just give it a shot anyway. So I suggested, “Wouldn’t it be better to head back upstairs where we could see?”

“What? Is our prince scared of the dark?” Tiras spat out.

Dude, do you even know what real darkness even is? Or what it feels like…

Unexpectedly, George spoke up on my behalf. “I agree with Tom. Do we continue to run blindly through the madhouse to a destined fail? You know they always find a way to beat us at this game.”

“Well that’s not happening today. That’s why we are going to give them the element of surprise by doing something they won’t expect.” Tiras assured us of his view for victory.

“Surprise!” Blair shrieked while zir head popped up from a shadowed spot in the floor between Tiras and I.

“Gyaaagh!” I screamed from the sudden shock of seeing only Blair’s head as we all started to run. Ze started to laugh maniacally as ze held up zir nozzle and unleashed the flames from within zir tanks.

“And so it came to fruition as I have prophesied..” George groaned.

“Hey, we agreed on no powers!” Tiras protested while ducking behind another pillar.

“Hm? Must’ve missed that part.” Blair disputed and stuck out zir tongue. All of a sudden ze stepped out of the shadow on the floor and pulled Raya and Indigo out of it.

“Well if that’s how we are going to play then… Let’s play!” Tiras had a gleam of excitement in his eye as he brought his hand by his own nozzle. I felt a gust of wind shoot passed me and twirl around him just like when he shook my hand during our first encounter. Within an instance, as the gust blew, it merged with the fire from the flamethrower and hurled at the other team in mighty blast.

“Determined to win, are we?” Indigo smirked while commanding Raya to act quickly. “Hurry Raya, let’s show ‘em!”

“Alright.” Raya piped up as she placed her hands to the ground. All of a sudden a stone wall came up in front of their group and shielded them from the inferno. It ignited on impact and trembled the chamber.

“Are you sure this is a game? You guys are acting like you are trying to kill each other?!” I objected.

“This is how we play, Prince.” Tiras remarked. He quickly squinted his eyes as if searching for something but then became alarmed. “Oh no! We lost sight of Blair--”

“Surprise!” Blair shrieked again now popping out from the darkness in the wall. Ze unloaded zir flamethrower on us yet again.

Kraven immediately shoved us out of the way and sacrificed himself by taking the brunt of zir attack, which luckily hit only the sensor on the flamethrower apparatus he was wearing. By singeing the sensor, you would be considered ‘out’.

“Haha! One down, one down!” Blair cheered. Ze quickly retreated into the shadow before ze was tagged by Tiras’s burst of flames.

“Ugh! This sucks!” Tiras growled with clenched fists around the gun of his flamethrower.

Kraven shrugged and headed toward the lobby of the arena to wait for the game to finish.

“Perhaps would be a keen moment to take flight back to the world above.” George insisted.

“If you mean run upstairs then I second that!” I added.

Blair rejoined Raya and Indigo as they stood their ground.

“Whatever, lets go before Blair tags us all.” Tiras faltered.

As we proceed to the path that led upstairs, a wall of stone suddenly built up from the ground and blocked the way. by Raya’s doing, of course.

“Uh-uh, not so fast.” Indigo teased. “Looks like you’re going to lose again, Tiras.”

With their flamethrowers ready to fire, the enemy was closing in. George gave a sigh in defeat and Tiras had his head held down as well. I felt kind of bad for him. They mentioned that this was his favorite game but he seems to always lose from what George said. And today hasn’t been a good day for him at all. He didn’t seem to have any fun or participate during any of the games until now--one in which we are losing. Even if he didn’t like me, I didn’t want him to feel so crushed any longer.

If this is how they want to play, then I might as well get serious too. Fire is my specialty after all.

And with that, my three eyes began to glow and I brought my hands up. All of a sudden, a wave of fire exploded from the ground, too fast for Raya to create a barrier of stone to stop it or for Blair to escape into a shadow from it. The flames broke through the ceiling and sent them flying into the air above ground, hitting all of their sensors in the process.

I levitated the guys and myself above ground as the alarm was sounding off in the arena that indicated that our team had won the game. Everyone was mystified at such a feat, including Tiras.

“That was freakin’ killer, Tom! What a way to win!” Blair congratulated me.

“Definitely did not see that coming, but you are a prince and we shouldn’t have underestimated how amazing you are.” Indigo concurred as she plopped down on the couch.

We were now in one of the swanky karaoke rooms in Tartarus. There were all sorts of colorful lights on the ceiling that would move in sync with the song and huge speakers were in each corner of the room to give a solid surround sound. There was a long leather sectional couch with a table in front of it with some pizza we ordered. The video monitor on the wall was idle and waiting for its first singer to approach, but we all had been too busy discussing the session of flamethrower tag we just got back from to even begin.

George sipped from his coffee mug beside Indigo and told her, “I must admit, I was beginning to lose the faculty of enjoying that activity, alas seeing your destruction unfold for the first time has given me a change of heart.”

“Hey, stop rubbing it in.” Indigo nagged at him.

I was a little embarrassed from all the praise. It wasn’t my intention to show off, I just didn’t want Tiras to lose. I hope he understands.

I glanced at the other side of the couch where he was sitting to see his reaction. Raya was sitting next to him and flipping through an album of songs. Watching her made my heart race and almost forget why I looked over there. But instead of seeing a scowling Tiras, he was chatting with Kraven (more like a one-sided conversation) and didn’t have that miserable expression anymore. He looked somewhat happy!

I smiled to myself knowing I at least accomplished a few of my goals I set out to do today. But I still felt as if there was one more push I could do to really win them all over.

“Who wants to go first?” Indigo asked as she cradled the microphone in her palm.

“Me, me!” Blair waved zir hands as if to be picked.

“No way, you always choose a Love Sentence song so you get to go last this time.” Indigo refused to give the microphone to zir.

“Aww but I want to sing ‘Just Friends’ with Tom!” Blair whined.

Raya slammed the album shut to gather everyone’s attention. “Actually…” She stood up and stepped over to me as she suggested, “Tom should go first since he won the game for his team. And he is our special guest for today.”

I blushed as she spoke. “Well, if you really want me to… But what should I pick?”

Raya handed me the album and said with a smile so sweet I could surely get cavities from, “Anything you choose will be fine.”

“Yay! Can’t wait to hear it!” Blair cheered as ze hopped over to the couch and sat on the other side of George.

Raya returned to her spot beside Tiras and waited for my selection. Tiras and Kraven continued their side conversation quietly as Indigo and George began to eat some of the pizza with Blair.

I went over to the karaoke machine with the album and started flipping through it. I felt all this pressure on me now. What if I pick something corny or silly? What if I pick a song they hate? Maybe I should just pick anything and give it a shot…

Suddenly, my eyes caught the name of a very familiar band. I thought it over but had this strange feeling deep down that it had to be a song by them. It was as if it were fate. Of all the songs to be listed by them, the one I went to choose was my favorite. I knew all the words without the assistance and it was fun, wild, and different. Just like Raya’s friends.

I punched the song number into the machine and sat the album on the shelf next to it. I retrieved the microphone from Indigo and stood at the front of the display screen, confident of my selection.

I took a deep breath and was ready to belt it out.

As the instruments from the speakers began the intro of the song, the demon teenagers sitting on the couch all froze in bewilderment. From the horn section to the drum build up, they heard a song they all knew too well.

Tom began to sing without reservation.

“You think it's strange, that there's a way

of how you looked and how you act and how you think,

pretend they're not the same as you...

You think it's strange, that there's a way

of how you looked and how you act and how you think,

pretend they're not the same as you!”

His voice was in perfect tune and didn’t trip up at any of the lyrics that came fast. It was as if he was meant for this kind of lifestyle.

‘OMD, I love his voice!’ Indigo thought with hearts in her eyes.

George was in mid-sip of his coffee and had his eyes totally fixated on the demon prince.

‘He’s incredible!’ Blair was clapping in celebration of the prince.

Kraven’s mouth was hanging open in awe.

“Whoa…” Tiras whispered to himself as he listened intently.

“Do you know about her strength in convictions?--

Raya’s eyes had that dreamlike expression cross her face. She was holding one of her hands to her mouth and couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. ‘Is this really happening? This was the song I played this morning and…’ She thought.

--Or how she puts all her faith in religion?”

As the lights gleamed a brilliant white light against the singing teen, he glanced in her direction and held out his hand to her while singing.

“Did we take the time to really discover--

Raya’s eyes began to sparkle as she remembered, ‘This was my dream…’ She instinctively reached for his hand but stopped herself. Amid everyone getting caught up in the thrill of the song, Raya had an indescribable feeling overcome her. She held her hands to her cheeks to hide the fact that she was blushing.

--How little we know about each other!”

The lights were spazzing out with the drop of the chorus. The group of friends couldn’t contain their urge anymore. They all erupted from the couch and joined in singing along and dancing about.

Tiras, Tom, and Blair went back and forth on the mic between lines:

“Keep us from saying anything--” ~Blair

“Can't separate from everything--” ~Tiras

“And all this really means is you're one in a crowd--”~Tom

“And you're paranoid of every sound!” ~Tiras and Blair

“Another friend you won't miss anyhow!” ~Together

Everyone was rocking out with the music and enjoying every bit of it as they all took turns singing the rest of the song with Tom. Except Raya. She didn’t realize she was still seated but quickly stood up as soon as she did so to not arouse suspicion. Indigo looped her arm in hers and tried to get the other girl to skank along with her. Raya did, though only slightly since she was still bewitched by what was overrunning her mind at that moment.

As the song came to an end, everyone clapped and hollered for the prince.

“That was amazing! You’re amazing!” Blair jumped up and down while holding onto his shoulders.

“Bravo, bravo.” George clapped along with Kraven.

Indigo had pulled Raya with her into the huddle. “I can’t believe you can sing like that, and a song we all love too! How’d you know?”

“Thanks everyone, that was so fun!” An exhilarated Tom beamed. He was grinning from ear to ear because he finally felt accepted.

Tiras approached Tom and they both held each other's gaze for a moment. But then the demon boy did something Tom never would’ve expected. He smiled at him, and genuinely at that!

“You’re exactly who we’ve been looking for!” Tiras said with a toothy grin as he wrapped one of his arms around Tom’s shoulders.

Tom was taken aback by the sudden personality change and stuttered, “W-what? L-looking for?”

Indigo folded her arms across her chest and watched Tiras with a peculiar expression, “Oh, buddies now hmm?”

“Of course!” Tiras began to repeatedly pat Tom across the back lightly as he spoke, “This is our prince! He is just like one of us, can’t you see it?”

“Hmm...With a voice like that, he’d really help us achieve the style we’re going for.” Indigo commented.

“And he is fun to hang out with. I vote yes!” Blair added.

George and Kraven both nodded their affirmation.

Raya was standing outside of the group as if not wanting to be seen. She was clutching her hands together to her chest still deep in thought and not paying attention to the conversation. She didn’t hear Indigo call her name until she placed her hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, Underworld to Raya. Anybody home?” Indigo asked while nudging her.

Raya snapped out of it and faced the other girl. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just… I’m sorry, what were we all talking about?”

“You felt it too, right? The way he sings is perfect. It’s what we’ve been searching for. Let’s ask him.” Indigo told her.

Tom finally interjected, “Um, excuse me but ask me what exactly?”

Tiras stepped away from their friendly embrace and joined his friends. They all faced Tom and had a look of both admiration and determination on their faces.

Tiras smirked confidently and asked of him, “We want you to be the lead singer in our band. Will you join the Seven Undeadly Sins?”

#TomVSTheUnderworldFanfic #TVTU #svtfoe #oc #oc fanfiction #starvstheforcesofevil #tom lucitor #star vs the forces of evil #The Underworld

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hitchell-mope · 5 years

Text

First film

Mals looking in the mirror inside her locker

Mal: you can do this. You know you can do this. Just tell him. Doesn’t have to be good. Doesn’t have to be bad. Just tell———— HEY WATCH IT ASShey Ben didn’t see you there (chuckling nervously) buddy

Ben: sorry. Wasn’t watching where I was going. Heading to the showers. Tourney practice

Mal (under her breath): that explains why there’s no nutmeg

Ben: hmm?

Mal: you smell like nutmeg and the thing that nearly killed your dad

Ben: roses?

Mal: yeah. It’s weird and vaguely disturbing dragon senses. It’s...it’s stupid

Ben: it’s quite cool really. Wish I could do that

Mal: believe me. You don’t. 99% of the time it’s not a gift. Anyway. Where were we?

Ben: ummmm...shower! I was going to the showers

Mal: right! Right. Uh. See you later then

Ben: bye

He heads off

Mal: uhhhhh. Hey Ben?

Ben: yeah?

Mal: can we talk when you’re done?

Ben: sure. I’ll meet you in your room?

Mal: actually I was thinking jays room. If it’s possible

Ben: of course. Definitely. As long as you’re comfortable

Mal: thank you

Ben: you’re welcome

Mal: what is hades realm did I just do?

10 minutes later

Mal: jay I need your help

Jay: what is it this time

Mal: I need to tell him. I need to tell him...everything. And I need you to talk me out of it

Jay: why?

Mal: because. Because he’s sweet and...and kind. And and d argh!!!! That face. That damned face. He trusts us. And we’ve given him no reason too. The four of them trust us. Lonnie...made sure I was alright. Doug for some reason is enchanted by Evie. Chernabog knows why because she’s infatuated with that limp haired wretch who’s only using her for homework

Evie: hey! Chad said he’ll take to the movies if I get him an A++.

Jay: oh honey

Mal and jay: he won’t.

Carlos: nah. He’s a c

Mal (parent voice): Carlos

Carlos: 🎶sorry🎶

Jay: so what do you want me to do.

Mal: give me a reason not to tell him. Cause I really want to

Jay: I actually think it might be a good idea.

Evie and Carlos: WHAT

Jay: he knows how the system works better then us. And it gives Ben and Mal time to get to know each other

Mal: you’re enjoying this far too much

Jay (smug): I know.

Mal: Carlos. Can you hand me my book

Carlos: sure

15 minutes later

Jay: so... how’d you feel

Mal: I don’t know. How long until the gummy kicks in?

Jay: unknown could be a few minutes or a few hou

Mal: do you ever wash that damned beanie?

Jay: or it could start right now

Mal: surely you must have a bald spot by now?

Jay (fighting a smile): no.

Mal: sorry.

Jay: no. No no. Don’t be that means it’s working. Keep going

Mal: why can’t I be you. Not in charge. Second in command. Less things to do. Able to make sleeveless jackets work.

Jay: not what I thought you’d say but...that’s nice of you.

Mal: Carlos!

Carlos: oh boy.

Mal: I know. I know I mother you. I k ow I coddle you. I know you don’t always appreciate it. But I’m not gonna stop. I feel responsible for you.

Carlos (pleasantly surprised): really. Thanks. And I. Uh. Don’t really want you to.

Mal (rounds on Evie): and you!

Evie (already bored): oh here we go

Mal: you couldn’t have let me have the window seat?

Evie: you snooze you lose. Anything else?

Mal: you’re hairs drab and flat and you’re shoes look hideous.

Evie (overly dramatic look of shock on her face): I beg your pardon you little

Jay: Evie shut up. Mal. What about Ben

Mal: I don’t wanna hurt him. I do t wanna hurt any of them. Not Ben. Not Lonnie. Not Jane. Not Doug. Not fairy godmother. Not even Audrey. Even if she’s got a rancid personality. I don’t want to steal the wand. I don’t want to let him down. I like him. And I don’t know what to do

There’s a knock on the door. Jay opens it. It’s Ben.

Cue collective “oh crap” moment front the core four.

Jay: 🎶hey ben🎶 (nervous laugh) just out of interest. How much did you hear?

Ben (looking guilty): everything from “bald spot” onwards

Mal looks like she wants the ground to swallow her up

Evie: well we’re hosed. (Claps Mal on the left shoulder) see you in hell sister.

Ben: can I say something?

Carlos: well we owe you an explanation so go for it

Ben: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have eavesdropped. It’s rude and impolite and unkind and w really nasty habit. And I’m sorry I

Jay: Ben. It’s ok. Mal asked you here. Didn’t you

Mal nods remaining tight lipped

Ben: Mal are you ok

Jay: the stuff you heard was the after effects of a truth gummy.

Ben: ohhhh. Ok. Ca can I come in?

Jay: oh yeah sure

Ben: question?

Jay: go for it

Ben: why do want, or need, to steal the wand?

Mal (hoarsely): my mother. (Clears throat). My mother

Ben: ohhhh. That’s why you came here. She wants you to steal the wand so she can break down the barrier and take over Auradon. I knew you wouldn’t be here if you had a choice

Evie: you knew?

Ben: there’s a reason I believe you all deserve a chance at a normal life.

Jay: ok. Umm. I don’t know what Mal has planned for after this.

Mal is still silent.

Ben: Mal are you ok.

She doesn’t answer. She just gets up and walks to the bathroom.

Jay: I’m not sure throwing up will get rid of the gummy.

Mal: not gonna throw up. Gonna flush myself into the Auradon sewer system

Ben: how long does a truth gummy norllay last?

Jay: 36-72 hours.

Ben: ok. Mal?

Mal looks at him

Ben: I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. So how about we don’t talk for as long as the gummy is in effect. And if you want to talk. I’m sure Jay Carlos and Evie can relay messages to me?

Jay and Carlos: were we can do that

Evie: urgh fine.

Ben: I need to go to my office. I’ll see you guys later?

Jay Carlos and Evie: yeah sure.

Mal squeaks.

Jay: hey um I’ve never seen an office before. My dad only has a clunky typewriter that spontaneously bursts into flames at inappropriate moments. Can I walk back with you?

Ben: sure

On the way to bens office

Ben: so is guessing that you don’t really want to see my office?

Jay: you guessed correctly. I could sense you have more questions

Ben: just one question

Jay: ask away my friend

Ben: I could sense a kind of hierarchy between you Mal and Evie. You’re the most powerful aren’t you?

Jay: yep put me in a lamp I’d end you all

Ben: oh I’d never put you in a lamp. It sounds horrible.

Jay: well I’d only be able to end you all in your say so. Oh master of the lamp

Ben: ok that’s a little funny

Jay: I pride myself on being a little funny. So anyway it goes me Mal Evie. And Carlos is fully human.

Ben: sure.

Jay: now I have a question for you

Ben: go for it

Jay: are you sure you know what you’re doing by helping us

Ben: yes. Helping my new friends get out of an impossible situation

Jay: ok. Good to have you on the team your majesty

He shakes bens hand

Ben: thank you jay. If I may be so bold. Can I ask you another question

Jay: sure

Ben: how would you feel if I asked Lonnie Jane and Doug to help us?

#disney descendants #ben florian #mal bertha #bal #carlos de vil #jay son of jafar #evie grimhilde #zendaya!mal #jay is mal’s person

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poorvioletdraws · 4 years

Text

Tom vs. The Underworld

9. Ska Show

“Hey! There’s a Ska Show downtown this weekend, everybody. Let’s go!” Raya announced as she rushed through the cellar door.

“Ska Show?” I mumbled to myself.

Indigo looked up from polishing her trombone and said, “You know, how are you consistently always the last to arrive?”

Raya realized she was rather late this time and hastily apologized. “Oops, I’m sorry! Some really good lyrics came to me while I was getting ready and I must’ve lost track of time writing them down.”

“Hey, hey, I for one am use to your tardiness especially if you bring such great news!” Blair replied as ze put an arm around zir friend.

“We haven’t been to a Ska Show in a while, we could probably see new bands to the scene too.” Tiras pondered with a smirk. “And see how much better we will be since they would be our competition.”

I was still a bit puzzled so I asked them, “What’s a Ska Show?”

The group, besides silent Kraven, gave me a resounding “What?!”

“Dude! You’re telling me you sung a Less Than Jack song the first time you met us but have never been to a Ska Show?” Tiras questioned me with a startled expression.

I nodded hesitantly.

Tiras shook his head as he said, “Oh no, no, no. This won’t do at all. Have you been to a show before at least?”

I thought about it and told him, “Well, I’ve been to a few Love Sentence concerts.”

“Nah, bro. A show. There’s a difference.”

“There is?” I arched an eyebrow with some peculiarity in my response.

Indigo explained, “It’s mostly local bands playing and it’s done at a smaller venue, so tickets to get in aren’t outrageously priced. It’s much more intimate but so much more wild. You can be right up stage and really enjoy the music and meet the bands.”

“And the skanking in the pit!” Blair added as ze did a dance to music playing in zir head.

“Skanking?” I repeated rather confused.

Tiras succumbed to his inner excitement as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in. “Well, bro, it’s gonna be your lucky night because this weekend we are going to pop your cherry!”

“What?!” My voice cracked with my yelp. If I could see myself in a mirror, I’m sure my face would probably be pretty red right now.

Blair and Indigo couldn’t help but giggle as George rolled his eyes from the immaturity of his friends.

Raya cleared her throat and was holding her hands up to her own face. “Ahem… He doesn’t mean… in that way…” She blushed as she tried to clarify.

“It’s set. We’re taking you to your first Ska Show!” Tiras beamed while throwing his fist into the air. The others clapped in support.

It sounded fun, but how different could it really be from a concert? It was definitely a good chance to see a venue of bands that will perform music kind of like what we are doing since that is the genre of music everyone decided would work based on our instrument choices. We had been playing together for a week and our sound was really coming along. Raya was still working on original songs for us so our sessions consisted mainly of us playing cover songs from bands we liked. Blair and I even got the group to do renditions on Love Sentence which was really fun in my opinion.

Speaking of Raya, I decided to glimpse over at her amongst the chatter. Everyone was preoccupied with what to wear or who we’ll see this weekend, but Raya seemed to slowly send her amber eyes my way. She smiled sweetly at me and I couldn’t help but blush while feeling my heartbeat skip. She explained to me that me being ‘the one’ from what she dreamt was pretty much her envisioning our band finally coming together. Though I really wish she meant it how it came out and that she had feelings for me too. She may not have meant what she said to me in the way I wanted, but it really made me feel so welcomed by her and that I still had a chance. I was still fighting over whether or not I should tell her how I feel about her.

“Ugh.” I groaned in playful frustration and buried my head into Tiras’s arm which was still wrapped around my shoulder.

Tiras blinked a bit confused and asked, “You good, bro?”

- Nighttime had fallen over Chernabog City as we all returned to Inferno Park. We left Lucitor Castle much later than our usual end time since we were so fired up over the show this weekend. Our floating platform pounded into the ground and we all began to go our separate ways.

“Great practice, everyone! See you all this weekend!” Blair waved goodbye as a shadow appeared from under zir and swallowed zir up.

“Don’t forget, Tom said he’s picking us all up at Indigo’s!” Tiras called out to zir as the shadow faded away. He then turned to us and threw up a fist. “See ya!”

I waved goodbye and watched him and Kraven head off in the opposite direction.

“Hurry up, let’s go, Raya.” Indigo called impatiently to me as her and George were already heading down the path that leads out of the park and into the city.

We all walked a little ways in silence before I decided to finally say what had been building inside, “Um, Indigo? I had something to ask you...”

“Yea? Go for it.” She answered without lessening her stride.

“Do you think a guy and a girl who are friends could ever be anything more than just friends?”

Suddenly, I noticed her freeze up and spin around to face me in a flash as she said, “So you do--Uh, I mean, how would I know about that, heh.”

I paused and began to twiddle my fingers together to collect my thoughts before clarifying, “Well, you and George have been friends since you were little and I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been anything going on between the two of you that would be mistaken as a ‘more than friends’ kind of relationship.”

“Affirmative.” George quipped.

“Hey! Butt out, girl talk.” Indigo stuck her tongue out at him.

I cleared my throat and continued, “Anyway… You’ve had boyfriends before… I guess, I just want to know is how do you know if you should remain friends or pursue something more with them…”

“Hmm… Well…” She put her hand to her chin and seemed to think really hard about what she wanted to say. “You kind of just know. It is a different kind of feeling so it’s hard to explain. You have your friends, but then you have someone else who is just something more to you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Well… Like maybe you have a lot of stuff in common, or you have a lot of fun together no matter what you both do. Or you just find them attractive in ways other than physical appearances, or if they are literally a person you can’t get out of your head and always look forward to seeing. It’s that kind of feeling I guess. And they feel the same about you. They want to see you happy from loving you in return as well.”

George halted in his tracks and suspiciously turned back to the girl as he said, “Who is this imposter disguised as Indigo?”

“Oh, cut it out!.” Indigo fumed and lightly swatted at his shoulder. George gave a content grin to himself and continued walking forward.

What Indigo said, it is definitely true. I have been feeling exactly what she described towards him. I still had one other doubt hanging in the back of my mind however.

“Do you think I can make someone happy one day?” I asked her.

“You already do.” She responded instantly.

“Hm? Really?”

Indigo stopped and stared at me as if I already knew the answer. She gave me a half smile and replied, “All of us.”

Upon hearing her words, I couldn’t help but smile. I’m definitely grateful all of my friends came into my life. And Tom most of all because it does feel like he was meant to be so much more to me. I tried to tell him how I felt about him but I regrettably chickened out and used our band forming as an excuse to hide my confession. Next time, I’ll be more confident.

I smiled back at her and said, “Thank you… You’re such a great friend, I knew I could ask you since you are so much more experienced at this kind of stuff than me...” We started walking again as I decided to open up further to her, “I was unsure but now after talking with you I think I’m more confident in following through in asking him if he feels the same about me…”

Indigo grew a mischievous smirk across her face as she commented, “Awww, our little Raya is growing up. Who is it, who is it? Heh. Definitely not George, and I’m sure it isn’t Kraven… Tiras, eh?”

I shook my head and blushed a bit as I was ready to actually confirm my feelings about Tom to someone for the first time. “No, none of them… It’s--”

“I’m going to need you all to back up!” A shrill voice pierced through our conversation, gaining our attention. A group of demons seemed to be forming at an alley in front of us.

“What’s going on over there?” Indigo questioned as we all headed toward the commotion.

There was the law enforcement of the Underworld, The Furies, at the center trying to keep the crowd back away from what appeared to be a crime scene of a bloody assault painting the alley walls.

“Another demon has been abducted, but this time there’s evidence of a brutal struggle.” We overheard a bystander speaking with another next to him.

“Abduction?” Indigo whispered back to our huddle.

Having remembered something relating to this incident, I just had to share with my two friends, “Oh! My Mom was listening to this on the news last week. Monsters and demons have been going missing within the city.”

“From what?” Indigo asked.

I shrugged, “I have no idea--”

A tall green monster shoved passed us to be heard among the crowd. “It’s the Mewmans fault! They’ve been coming here in droves and call themselves something else!”

“Yea, hoomans or sometin’.” A flying demon added.

“Why are we allowing them into our world?!” Another monster growled.

“Now that our treaty is void, they are trying to takeover and are starting by getting rid of us one by one!” The tall green monster shouted his objection.

“Yea!” The crowd roared in agreement.

One of the Furies tried to give a directive to the lead protestor. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down, we are doing our--”

“Calm down?! Calm down and wait until I’m next?!” He interrupted her.

Another one of the Furies tried to reason with the other monster, “Our alliance still stands, our Lord and Lady--”

“Our Lord is a Mewman! I knew he had a hidden agenda since he married Lady Wrathmelior! He probably planned this all along!” The tall monster snarled as the crowd became even more riled up.

“Sir, if you are going to speak ill of His Majesty, I’m going to arrest you for--”

The tall monster continued his onslaught, “I say if the Furies won’t stand for us, then we need to get those Hooman-Mewmans out of our city ourselves before another demon goes missing!”

“That will violate our alliance and we will arrest you for conspiracy!” The Furies said simultaneously.

“AGH!!” The tall monster screamed as he shoved one of the Furies closest to him. And with that, an all out riot broke out amongst the bystanders and the Furies!

As a demon came flying back towards us from the fight, and barely missing us, George began to say, “Perhaps it would be prudent to—”

“Run!” Indigo finished for him while grabbing our hands and leading us away. We weaved in and out of the ruckus and sprinted off down the street until we couldn’t hear the shouting any longer.

We caught our breath at an intersection a few blocks away and saw more backup Furies rounding the corner to head back the way we came from.

“What’s—happening—to the—Underworld?” Indigo huffed.

George had a foreboding look as he watched the Furies pass us, “Years of love have been forgot, In the hatred of a minute...”

“They spoke badly about Tom’s Dad… Do you think he knows this is going on? Should we tell him about this…?” I said worriedly.

George and Indigo shared troubled looks of uncertainty.

As I gazed up to the towering buildings above us with the twinkling of the city lights emitting from them, I had a feeling that the world we knew was about to get a little more complicated. -

I exited my skeleton-horse-drawn-carriage eager that the day has finally come. Well, night actually. The night of the Ska Show.

I decided to pick Raya up first, partly because I wanted to spend some time with it being just us since we haven’t really had much of that after meeting her friends, and then the other reason being that I didn’t know where everyone else lived. Heh.

Raya was waiting for me at the edge of her property line, which she had instructed me to do to avoid her parents or siblings being overbearing/nosy. Though I didn’t mind their antics, they were a pretty fun bunch after all.

“Hi there, Tom!” She said in that sweet tone of hers that made my heart melt. I was about to greet her back but then eyed her attire and became confused.

“H-hey… You look… totally normal?” Compared to how I was dressed that is. She was dressed in her typical attire of hooded jean jacket and shorts while I went all the way out. I had searched on the Underworld Wide Web for Ska outfits and, although not as flashy as I thought it might be, I definitely looked like a poster boy for the culture.

“Oh no, I’m so overdressed, aren’t I?” I asked her worriedly.

“Well…” She looked me up and down a little hesitant as she said while blushing, “You look great though…”

“Ugh…” I groaned and hunched over in defeat.

She explained, “You’re going to want to be in something comfortable that you can really move in. So yea, you didn’t have to get all dressed up. I guess we should’ve told you that, come to think of it.”

I stood up to face her as I admitted, “I’m sorry, I guess I just want to impress you with this being my first time at a show, heh.”

I noticed Raya pause for a moment. She smiled softly at me and placed a hand to my shoulder, “Don’t apologize, you still look great no matter what you wear.”

I felt a warm feeling envelop me from her words. I blushed as I told her, “Thanks…”

She turned our attention to my carriage and asked excitedly, “Is this your ride?”

“Yep, I made it myself.” I told her modestly while rubbing the back of my head.

“You made it? That’s amazing!” She beamed with awe.

“Wait ‘til you see the inside.” I hinted as I regained my confidence. I opened the door for her and we both entered.

I quickly peeked my head from inside before closing the door and commanded my steed, “Let’s go, Skeleton Horse!”

Being inside of Tom’s carriage was like stepping into an extension of his room. He had a lounge area with six flat screen tvs, a photo booth, a karaoke machine, a cereal dispenser, and even a vintage five disc cd player with automatic shuffle! All of us could definitely occupy our time in this one place for the night if we wanted, it was wicked cool!

I can’t believe how much he has done for us. For me… An ordinary, city girl. He is every bit a prince but he is so much more than that to me. Even without all the materialistic stuff, he is an incredible guy inside and out. And we may not have known each other for a long time but I feel like we just clicked. However... Will I have the confidence to tell him how I feel? Am I prepared for how he might feel in return? What if it’s rejection? We will always remain friends regardless, right…? Should I really go through with this…?

I had been admiring Tom’s throne chair and thinking about how he couldn’t possibly be any more amazing than he already is when he came up beside me and asked, “Snack?”

He presented a bowl of cereal to me and I gladly accepted it. “I can’t believe you built all this. It must’ve taken such a long time. Your friends must really enjoy it.” I said between bites.

Tom ruffled the back of his hair and gave me a hesitant pause before telling me, “Well, actually, the person it was intended for was my ex. But she never really got around to seeing it… You already know how the story goes though...”

I stopped mid-munching and looked his way a little surprised from what he said.

“Hey, it’s totally okay, really.” Tom responded while taking a seat on his lounge sofa, “I’m glad I get to share it with you… You and all of your friends.” He gave me a gentle smile and then proceeded to take a bite from his own bowl of cereal.

I was overcome with a strange feeling, like a need to make him feel acknowledged for all he has done. I instantly sat beside him with my own bowl of cereal now in my lap and held onto his elbow in a way as if he were going to disappear if I let go.

Tom was startled by my sudden approach and quietly said my name, “Raya?”

I took a deep breath and let my emotions flow, “I know you say it’s okay, but… But it hurts me to hear someone would take you for granted! It’s just so hard to believe. Since I’ve known you, you’ve always been… someone who made me feel like I matter. And... I hope you never feel like you don’t matter because… Anyone would be glad to have you as a friend. I f-for one definitely am!”

Tom was speechless but seemed to have an intrigued gleam in his eye from what I was telling him. So I continued.

“And I’m so sorry if whoever made you feel like you didn’t before… B-but you’ll always matter to me. I’m so glad we met… Thank you for everything!” I felt my eyes beginning to well up in my emotional state. My whole face was probably glowing an embarrassing bright red but I felt this was the right moment to confess. But these were tears of elation. It’s exactly like Indigo said. I was happy to be with him and want to always be with him. I wanted him to always be happy too in return. I needed to tell him now.

So I looked into his eyes intently and mustered the courage to finally confess. I tried to keep my voice from shaking as I told him, “W-what I said before, about you being incredible a-and everything I dreamed of... It wasn’t just about the band... What I really meant to say was that--”

“Oomph!” Tom and I yelped in unison as we bumped into each other due to an abrupt halt of the carriage.

We could hear what sounded like Blair gushing over the skeleton horse from outside as Indigo scolded zir for running into the path of the carriage.

“Must be at Indigo’s, which is why we stopped… Sorry, what were you saying?” Tom asked me with equally red cheeks.

I regained my composure and shook my head while I told him, “N-nevermind.”

Ugh, why am I such a coward. T_T

- Since we picked everyone up at Indigo’s place, my carriage was pretty packed and I didn’t have a chance to ask Raya what she wanted to tell me--which was making me very anxious. How she looked in that moment was so enticing... Just thinking of it, my arm even started to tingle from where she had touched it. Was it my imagination or was she about to tell me something I have been wanting to hear? Now I’m even more confused as to what to do!

Tiras came up behind me and gave me one of his friendly pats to my back. “Nice, ‘fit. Excited, bud?”

Having been spared from my inner turmoil, I regained my composure and responded, “Oh, yea, yea.” I almost completely forgot where we were all heading. I need to try and keep myself occupied instead of on my yearning heart. It is probably just my overactive imagination anyway.

Suddenly, George came walking up beside me and began reciting, “When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face, Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace, Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance; And when I feel, fair creature of an hour, That I shall never look upon thee more--”

Tiras stepped in front of him and interjected, “None of that right now, come on, man.”

George rolled his eyes and sat down on the lounge chair behind us. “So…” I started off saying to try to get back on topic, “What all are we going to do at this show?”

And as if on cue with my statement, we came to a stop once again. “Tom, bud, you are about to find out.” Tiras declared while holding onto my shoulders.

We all exited my carriage to a sidewalk in downtown Chernabog City. The street was pretty busy at this time in the evening--though I was coming to find that it always seemed busy here in the demon city no matter what time of day. I turned to my skeleton horse-drawn carriage and raised my hands, creating a flash of fire that engulfed it from below and consuming it into the earth. Before Blair could get excited over what I just did, Indigo hurried us to the entrance of the venue.

We stood at the back of a growing line that fed into a building shaped like a black mountainous structure. ‘Isles of the Blast’ were in bright blocky lettering headlined above while the entrance had huge brimstone double doors guarded by monstrous gargoyle statues.

“‘Kay, this is pretty metal.” I gasped in awe.

The showgoers waiting in line before us were dressed in styles ranging from all over the place. There were those in typical punk rock attire and those with button up shirts and fedora hats. Some demons wore studded vests and bondage pants while others wore flowery shirts and shorts. Despite how they were dressed, they looked comfortable while I definitely stood out amongst them all. Some eyed me and looked intrigued to know who I was, though I wasn’t sure if the attention were a positive or negative at this point.

“Are you in one of the bands?” A female demon dressed in a polo dress like the other group of girls she was with behind us asked me excitedly.

I was a bit perplexed by the sudden question and didn’t really know how to reply, “Uhhh…”

Luckily, Tiras came to my rescue. He held onto my shoulder and seemed to puff up his chest proudly as he spoke, “Nah, we aren’t any of these bands playing tonight, but just you wait, we will be playing here soon. We are the band the Seven Undeadly Sins!”

The group of girls all seemed to become giddy from Tiras’s statement.

“Ugh, we haven’t even practiced any of our own songs yet and he is already spreading our name.” Indigo grumbled to the rest of our friends.

“Yea, yea! I play lead guitar in the band too.” Blair announced from the side of her, completely ignoring her complaint.

Indigo muttered, “OMD, can this line move any slower?”

“A very little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal of patience.” George remarked.

Indigo’s groaning continued.

“It’s alright to be excited for our band to perform one day, we—eh?” Raya had started to assure her friend but noticed how interested the newcomers behind us were becoming in me.

“Yep, he is the lead singer and when he sings he’ll blow everyone away! You should hear him.” Tiras boasted to them.

“A singer?!” One squeaked amazed.

“Oh! That’s so cool!” Another girl demon chirped with admiration.

The group of girls chatted away and encircled me, begging to hear me sing. Honestly, I didn’t want this kind of attention. Especially in front of Raya. I don’t want her to think I’m easily infatuated by swooning girls, or even give her the idea of me being interested in anyone else but her.

“We’d love for you to sit with us at our table, then you could sing to us! That would be mad rad!” One of the female demons suggested.

While the other girls in her group agreed, totally in love with the idea, I saw Raya turn away from us. I only caught sight of her expression for an instant, but that was all I needed to see. It looked like she was disappointed.

I had to stop this.

I cleared my throat and told them, “Thanks for the offer but, actually, I came here with my friends and since this is something special to them and they are all special to me...” I looked in Raya’s direction as she turned her head back to me surprised. I smiled as I finished saying, “... I want to share in this special event with them too. Especially our songwriter...”

Raya smiled back at me and blushed. For a small moment, it felt as if her and I were the only ones there.

“Aww thanks, bud!” Tiras praised me with a strong hug, obliviously taking my comment to heart.

“Hey, that’s cool. We can’t wait to see your band play live one day then. Hope you all have a good time at the show.” The female demon was very understanding in her response while throwing a horned hand sign up. Her and her group turned away and proceeded to talk amongst themselves again. I let out a sigh of relief.

“See that! We already have fans.” Tiras gloated delusionally.

Indigo scoffed, “Fans? More like groupies if you kept running your mouth.”

“Huh, what’s wrong with that, any exposure is good exposure right?” Tiras theorized.

Indigo folded her arms and dismissed his philosophy completely. “Ugh, you’re hopeless. And you say I don’t know how to read a situation.” She then peered over to Raya and smiled in a way that seemed as if both of them had their own secret. “Luckily Tom has his eyes set on what matters.” I caught her winking at the other girl. Raya blushed again and looked away from us.

Could what I’m thinking really be happening? Could what I’ve been waiting for really be coming together?

Kraven suddenly stepped forward, his loud steps alerting us that the line was starting to advance.

As the rest of my friends conversed with each other about what to do once inside the show, I remained deep in thought deciding on what I should do over my conflicted heart. And I realized up until we made it in, Raya had been quiet too.

It was dim inside the venue. Flickering light from wrought iron chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the stage lighting were the only means to see. It was already loud inside with the growing size of the crowd, I wondered how it would be once the bands started playing. There was a row of booths lining the perimeter walls and a dining section to order food and drinks on the opposite wall of the stage. Shirts, bags, and other merchandise were being sold from table setups by the bands to perform tonight. Staff were setting up instruments and sound equipment for the first band on stage while rock music played over the ceiling speakers during the wait. There was a second tier up above for viewing the bands and all the mayhem the pit would surely create. However, the stage was on a much smaller scale than the ones at the huge concerts I’ve been to with an even smaller area before it.

“Are we all going to be able to fit? Won’t it be kind of crowded?” I asked them while we walked over to choose a booth.

“That’s where the real fun begins.” Tiras explained. “This isn’t your typical screaming fans kind of pit. We get wild!”

“Moshing, skanking, crowdsurfing, you name it!” Blair added excitedly. “In that small area?” I was still apprehensive.

“Yep, yep, real close! But if you bump into anyone, don’t take it personal.” Blair grinned with a thumbs up.

“It comes with the territory. It’s all done around in a circle. Don’t worry, you’ll definitely see what we are talking about when the music starts.” Tiras seemed to chuckle mischievously with his statement.

Seeing how they all play at the arcade during flamethrower tag, I’m sure I’m in for quite the surprise from this group.

We all stopped at a booth somewhat in the center of the row lining the wall left of the stage.

“Anyway, this will be our spot right here, got it?” Tiras pointed out. “Lets link up in front of the stage once the music starts. I think the first band opening is one of the ones we heard last time.”

“Oh yea, I saw on the flyer. Dance To Fire. They were crazy good.” Indigo remembered.

‘Hmm, sounds cool, but that acronym though? Yeeesh, not so much.’ I thought to myself with a shudder.

“Hey, there’s one of them now. Catch ya’ in a bit!” Blair said as ze took off through the crowd and toward the stage.

I looked after zir a little confused but realized everyone else was starting to disperse as well. Kraven began to head off toward the dining area for--you guessed it--food. Indigo dragged George away with her to check out t-shirts being sold. Blair was already talking to bandmates and Tiras was mingling with female showgoers in a booth down from us. Which now left Raya and I standing at our own booth together. Alone together.

I itched the back of my head and stared at the floor. She probably wants to go do something on her own like the rest of them... Maybe I should do the same? Although, I was hoping we would all do stuff together…

I cleared my throat and said to her, “So… I guess you are going to head off too--”

But before I could finish, Raya interrupted, “You ready to see what a show is all about? I promise I’ll try to be the best tour guide I can be.” She smiled sweetly at me after her sentence.

I couldn’t help but smile back as I told her, “Lets go!”

We went around the venue looking at different tables set up by the actual bands to play tonight. They were selling their own merchandise like shirts, buttons, patches, hats, CDs, and all sorts of stuff. We spoke to a few of the band members and I even took a few pics with them using my compact phone. Now that was going to be a great memory to look back on for sure!

As we went on our way, we caught the attention of some of the other showgoers and chatted with them too. I definitely see the similarities between a show and a concert, but I also noticed some differences too. There was WAY more of a female audience presence at a concert (considering it was a Love Sentence concert) than there was here. The overall mood seemed a bit intimidating at first with some of the male crowd, but a lot of the impression came down to how they were dressed; they were actually pretty friendly despite their punky appearance (and they were digging my outfit a lot). So I’m actually glad I wore what I did, it was a real icebreaker for my first show experience!

For a change of scenery before the first band was set to go on, Raya took me outside for some fresh air, yet there were just as many people outside as there were inside. There were some patio chairs and tables (all occupied) and a section for smokers (not going over there, yuck), but there was some space by the railing that outlined the area. We stood over there at a spot where I could see the busy downtown street of Chernabog City in all its bustling glory.

“Geez, does this city ever sleep?” I remarked.

“You get used to it. It’s probably fairly quiet around the castle, right?” Raya said as she placed her elbows on the rail and stared at the tall buildings, the lights from them danced within her eyes romantically.

I tried to snap out of my trance and blushed a little, hopefully she didn’t catch me watching her like that. I placed my hands on the railing and looked at the city while telling her, “It’s pretty boring, honestly… I mean, I’d probably be at home watching something lame on TV right now or playing a video game instead of here with you if we.... never met up again...”

For a moment, we didn’t speak after what I said. Why’d I even say that? I mean, it was true considering how things ended up with Star and Marco... But how pathetic that sounds. Ugh.

“... Tom?” Raya finally murmured my name as if unsure to ask me something.

“Y-yea?” I replied a little hesitant.

“Do you think if you were never a prince… do you think we would have still met?” She almost mumbled her question into her sweater.

That is a rather strange thing to ask right now. Why is she thinking of something like that all of a sudden? I never really thought of something like that… Would we still have ever met if I weren’t Prince of the Underworld? I don’t really know how to answer her…

Finally, I said while gazing at my hands on the rail, “You know, remember how we talked about destiny back in Yomi Town?”

She nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Well, you said something along the lines of starting out on the paths of others and then branching out to getting where you’re destined to be...and…” I brought my gaze to meet hers and continued, “I’m glad I branched out on this path of meeting you. So much so I don’t even want to think of how it would be if we never met…”

Raya appeared to blush but kept her eyes on me.

Could this be it? Was this the perfect time? We were alone together and the mood was right. I should tell her how I feel. My whole face was probably glowing an embarrassing bright red but I felt this was the right moment to confess. I was happy to be with her and want to always be with her. I wanted her to always be happy too in return. I needed to tell her now.

So I looked into her eyes intently and mustered the courage to finally confess. I tried to keep my voice from shaking as I told her, “And even if I w-wasn’t a prince, I’m positive I would still have found a way to have met you because I… I really like yo--”

“Raya, Hey!” a green demon girl dressed in an obnoxiously all pink lolita style dress glomped onto Raya as if they were the best of friends. Another group of similarly dressed demon girls came to join her and stood by energetically.

“Oh? Hi Trudie.” Raya said in one breath hesitantly.

More like intrude. Seriously, the timing was perfect!

“Hey, where have you been hiding?” One of the demon girls said.

“Yea, we haven’t seen you or the others for a while down here.” Another demon girl mentioned.

“You guys are always so fun to hang out with at the shows!” Trudie squeed while hugging Raya more. Were they even close like that? I haven’t heard of Raya ever speak about other friends she hangs out with other than Tiras and the rest.

Raya started to say, “Oh um, yea, well--”

“Oh yea remember when Blair got on stage and dove into the crowd, hehe!” Trudie giggled with her friends.

“Hehe, I remember!” Another girl laughed, triggering others to giggle and chime in with their own past experiences with Raya and her friends.

This interruption just made everything tricky. As they conversed, I noticed Raya didn’t want to seem impolite and brush them off so she was trying to add more than one liners in response. Did she realize they totally killed the vibe? I didn’t even know how I could even bring up my confession again. I may not even have another opportunity for the rest of the night… Maybe I am letting my heart get the best of me. Should I even go forward with this anyway? I feel so conflicted right now. I need to clear my head.

“Hey Raya, I’m going back in for a bit.” I quickly told her as I turned to head inside the venue.

She glanced at me with a startled look and asked, “Oh, y-you sure?”

“Yea, yea, go ahead and stay and catch up.” I assured her, walking away from the group. I felt bad for leaving her alone with those girls she clearly wasn’t that close with, but seeing how she reacted to them gave me a weird feeling. Like, if I were to tell her how I felt about her and she rejects me, would she be just as awkward with me after that as she was with those girls back there…?

I found myself back at our booth completely consumed in my thoughts. I already told myself that I wasn’t going to pressure her with my emotions and there I go about to do it again. I value our friendship but want it to become something more so how do I go about making it happen..? Ugh, why is this so hard?

I ruffled my fingers through my hair and landed my forehead on the table. What do I even do? It’s like my heart wants one thing but my mind is causing me to question that want. Although the possibility of being turned down is there—which would make our friendship super awkward if that were to happen—my heart is still telling me to go for it.

“Perhaps you should listen to it.” George’s voice pierced through my thoughts.

“Gargozoth!” I exclaimed, not having noticed his presence beside me in the booth whatsoever. “Dude, you gotta start warning people before popping up like that, you’re going to give someone a heart attack.”

George watched me rather peculiarly. Though he was almost always expressionless, he stared at me in a way like he was trying to read something about me.

I slumped over the table at our booth and groaned, still frustrated from my recent failed attempt with Raya.

“Why are you so troubled over something so apparent?” George finally spoke to me.

“Hm?” I glimpsed up at him.

George continued, “You may think it difficult but oh so much you will witness if you just take a second glance and let your inner truth free. It’s fascinating how much distance one truth can fill between two people.”

“Huh?” I gasped a bit surprised from what he said. We don’t ever hold a conversation like this because usually I can’t understand him. But despite his poetic way of speaking at times, he is still pretty smart so of course he would catch on. Or was it just that obvious how I’ve been acting toward Raya that even her friends see it?

I shot up from my hunched over state and pressed him with an onslaught of questions. “Do you know? How do you know? Who told you? Do you all know? Am I really that obvious?”

He just stared at me with that blank and careful gaze of his and didn’t provide an answer.

I groaned again while lowering my forehead to the table and ruffled my hands through my hair in frustration.

“You like her.” George asked in a monotone but his statement was powerful for me to hear. I froze and didn’t know how to respond. Aside from my parents, this would be the first time I actually get to talk to any of them about how I’ve been feeling towards Raya--and out of all of them it was shockingly George I was deciding whether or not to unload my emotional baggage on. Well, here goes.

“That obvious, huh?” I mumbled into the table.

“If it were any more evident, it would have manifested into a snake and taken a bite out of you by now.” George quipped and sipped from his coffee mug.

I lifted my head up from the table and buried it into my hands while leaning back in the booth. “Ugh, I’ve never been more conflicted in my life. I don’t know if it is because of my recent breakup or that we haven’t really known each other that long but I don’t want to let any of that stop me from asking her out. Like, none of that even matters to me but I just don’t know how she will feel in return. My brain and my heart are practically battling with each other at this point.”

George reclined in his seat a bit as well and told me, “Oh for a life of Sensations rather than of Thoughts.”

Honestly, I felt as if I was speaking to a therapist right now; however, it felt like such a relief to finally let someone else know my feelings for Raya. So I continued to gush, “And I have this feeling so strong at times that I feel like I have no control and I might just act upon it and ruin everything. Like if I say the wrong thing, or just not the right thing even, I’ll end up getting rejected and ruin our friendship. Ugh, I’m falling apart here, man.”

“To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring upon ourselves…” George replied to my rant in such a calm manner. Seriously this guy has the perfect response to anything presented to him. Doesn’t he understand this is kind of a big deal?!

I looked to him as I said, “What if she doesn’t want me?”

I could hear the first band on stage beginning to sound check their instruments. George fixed his eyes on me to say, “Worse is knowing you want something AND not knowing if you can have it…” He grinned slightly as he instructed me further, “Confess.”

“But what--”

“Confess.” George repeated. He then stood up from the booth and gave me a thumbs up while he headed in the direction of the pit to join the others, leaving me alone to collect my thoughts.

He’s right. I can continue to argue with myself over whether I should tell her how I feel, or I can just tell her. I’ll never know how she feels in return if I don’t say anything. I’m only hurting myself more by not confessing. What would be even worse is the possibility that I could lose her to someone else if she never knows how I feel about her. And that would be a type of heartbreak I don’t ever want to experience again.

So I shot up from the booth and followed George’s path to the stage. He was already out of sight by the time I was on the main floor and there were so many demons and monsters shoulder to shoulder that I felt unsure if I would make it through. But I had to join the others like Tiras told us so I continued my trek onward. Dance To Fire was doing an introduction on stage as I tried to maneuver through the thick crowd of showgoers. No matter what, I had to get to the front of the stage. That’s where Tiras said we will all meet up. That’s where Raya will be. And that’s where I’ll tell her. For real this time.

The lead singer of DTF wore a studded vest over his bare upper half and leather pants below. He drew out his wings from his back as he screeched, “Chernabog how ya doin tonight!”

The crowd answered him in an uproar.

“Excuse me--Sorry--My Bad--Coming through--Coming through--Excuse me!” I pardoned my way through each person, practically shouting for them to hear me.

“Hope you’re ready because I want to see everyone get wild!” The lead singer declared as fists from the crowd shot into the air with their eager cries. He carried on with his spiel, “That’s why this first one is by a band you all will sure enjoy! So sing along and skank with me! We are Dance To Fire and welcome to the Ska Show!”

‘I’m almost there, just a few more.’ I thought to myself, feeling my anxiousness burn into an ambitious confidence. I finally was making it through what felt like an endless sea of people and was beginning to see the horns on the heads of the demon band members on stage when all of a sudden they started playing and that’s when the crowd lost it!

“When I'm in the pit

I'm going to punch and kick

When I'm in the pit

Don't you know I'm going to f*ck up sh*t!”

The tempo came out fast and intense with the brass section blaring away against the guitar riffs like some kind of melodic battle; obviously a much more aggressive and speedy version of the original song they were covering. And a crowd favorite from the looks of it. The stage was nothing more than a memory at this point because I was pushed back by demons shouting and shoving everyone away from the front. All my hard work of getting up there was for nothing. Was this a fight? Is this what I’m supposed to do back? I’m so confused!

But soon I realized what the method to the madness really was. The bigger demons created an opening towards the front of the stage by pushing those standing by away from the moshers who were now moving around in a circular motion--away from being harmed. This kind of pit was like a merry-go-round of organized thrashing beasts showing emotional gratitude to the glory of the music with their dance skills. Participants were doing a sort of running man motion by striking out their elbows while alternating their legs to the beating of the drums--the infamous skank dance I’ve heard about.

And there, going around this massive spectacle of artistic expression, were my friends. Even Kraven was doing it! He was leading our group and swatting others away that dare get too close to the pit and upsetting the flow. Tiras was pogoing behind him with his fist in the air as Blair was screaming the lyrics after him and spinning about. Behind them was George and Indigo who both were doing a low skank and really digging each step into the ground. It seemed aggressive and violent at first but the more I saw, the more I understood the consensual camaraderie among the showgoers. Indigo tripped and almost lost footing but one of the bystanders outside of the pit caught her before her fall and helped her to keep pushing on. It was actually pretty awesome...

“And you want to be just like me

Wish I could be myself

And you want to be just like me cause I

Can't think of no one else--”

And then there was Raya who was trailing behind our group of friends. My heart sped up when I fixated on her. The combination of the music and her graceful dance style was hypnotic to me. She moved very nimble and almost untouchable by the ones around her. Even her eyes were shut as if this were a natural experience for her. The time and even the music seemed to slow while she went around the circle pit with each action perfectly executed--well, perfect in my eyes anyway. It was beautiful. She was beautiful...

“And you know it's really greatTo punch somebody right in the faceGonna push some little girls tonight…Look out now there’s gonna be a fight when I’m--” As she came around in the movement of the pit, closer to me, she finally opened her eyes and our gazes met. Being as mesmerized as I was from watching her, I didn’t realize until I was already swept in that she had reached out her hand to me and pulled me along with her by my upper arm.

“--In the pit--”

Reality returned to its normal pace and I tried to regain my senses. I told her with a shout in order to be heard over the loud music, “What am I supposed to do?”

“--I'm going to punch and kick--”

She smiled at me as she playfully replied, “Well lucky for you, you’re going to have a partner that is THE best dancer at the Ska Show.”

“--When I'm in the pit--”

I blushed a bit once I noticed her call back to what I had said to her when I first saw her again at the etiquette school. She really remembered that?

“--Don't you know--”

“Follow my lead or just dance how you want to, we don’t judge here.” She assured me with a giggle.

“--I'm going to f*ck up sh*t!”

Raya held onto me as we moved together through the circle pit. Our eyes stayed locked on each other as we went through the motions and she showed me the basic rhythm, still moving together with the rest of the group. I did some and we both laughed together if I made silly overexaggerated gestures with my movements. But I soon caught on and we both continued through the rest of the song skanking together; and Raya still remained connected to me as we went.

“(DTF) straight down to you whoooaaaa!”

As the song came to its end, the crowd roared and everyone in the pit stopped to face the stage and give DTF their much deserved applause. Everyone around us was screaming and shouting with their hands clapping in the air for more. But instead of clamoring for more and watching the stage, I was watching Raya completely enthralled by her.

I was remembering everything about her all over again. From Yomi Town until now, she was always such an amazing girl. Even with my angst and insecurities, Raya always treated me as if none of that matters. And although I am a prince, she treats me like I’m equal to her. I remember when I first met her, she had this innocence about her that seemed like she were invincible. And the more I got to know her, I realized it was a happiness that was different from any other. I wanted to be a part of that happiness. I want to be a part of that happiness now and for as long as she will have me. She needed to know that.

Raya glimpsed over at me to make sure I was still enjoying myself and caught me gazing at her. But I didn’t look away in fear I would chicken out. I’m not back down now. The timing was perfect.

“You alright?” She asked me curiously.

“Love your energy tonight, lets go right into one of our own now!” I heard the lead singer yell to the crowd but it just sounded like background noise to me. I gave her a half smile and told her without breaking my stare. “I’m better than alright. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else with anyone else.”

Raya seemed to stop listening to the surroundings as well as she focused on what I said. Her eyes were dreamlike and her lips were slightly parted, almost as if she were anxious for what I was about to say next.

“Here we go!” DTF shouted in unison with the crowd’s cheers as they began blasting an intro to a song at the very same time I tried to confess to her again.

“Raya, I really like you a lot, will you--”

“YEAH!!” A demon with dreadlocks screamed while headbanging his way between the both of us with a shove to Raya.

“Hey! Who do you think you are pushing her like that!” I fumed at the demon with clenched fists.

“What did you say to me?” The dreadlocked demon stopped jamming to the music and faced me.

“Tom, it’s alright, I’m fine.” Raya coaxed in a way to deter conflict as she held my shoulder.

But I was too angry over the fact that he put hands on her so rudely; we weren’t even in the pit anymore for him to have done that. So I continued to defend her as I told him, “You owe her an apology.”

“How ’bout you make me.” The dreadlocked demon argued but then glanced over to Raya and smirked. “Better yet, how ’bout I make you show me how much you want that apology, babes.”

That’s it, I couldn’t take how he was treating her any longer.

“I’m gonna pound you into--” I wasn’t even thinking at that point anymore as I went to grab the other demon by the collar but a light blue hand beat me to it.

“Watch what you say to my friends.” Tiras growled and tightened his grip around the other demon’s shirt collar.

“Oi! Get your hand off our bud!” Another group of dreadlocked demons stepped up behind their friend. Indigo, Kraven, George, and Blair came running up to Tiras’s side as well after realizing what was going on.

“Oh yea? Well tell him to watch his disrespectful mouth and nobody would have to put him in check.” Tiras let go of their friend with a push of his chest hard enough to send him back toward his calvary.

“Sup bro, you want to get down, let’s go!” The newly freed demon challenged. I noticed that some of the showgoers were now focusing their attention on our confrontation instead of the band. The venue staff were beginning to take notice too which definitely couldn’t be a good thing either.

“Let’s go? Ha!” Tiras grew a smug grin and warned him, “Don’t want to embarrass you but you better be careful how you speak to our Prince of the Underworld and his council.”

“Council?!” Indigo questioned with furrowed brows.

Seriously, why are you telling them all this? -_-

“You’re the Prince of the Underworld?” One of the demons asked me.

Tiras wrapped his arm around my shoulders and drew me in to him. “That’s right, so you might want to start groveling for forgiveness."

The entire venue was now observing our conversation, even DTF had stopped performing and were listening to us.

“Whaaaat?” The lead singer gasped through the microphone. “THE Prince? We are so honored you came to see us tonight, Your Highness! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the Prince of the Underworld!” He announced enthused.

But instead of more cheers, there was an odd reaction from the crowd; a mix between awe, confusion, and… hesitation?

“The Prince of the Underworld is here?!” A demon whispered.

“Where? I want to see!” Another demon said.

“That was the Prince that we spoke to when we were in line!” One of the female demons from earlier squealed to her friends.

“You’re really the Prince of the Underworld?” The dreadlocked demon questioned me. “So your Dad is the King?”

Tiras scoffed, “No duh, so you better--”

Suddenly the dreadlocked demon spit on the floor in front of my feet, leaving Tiras and myself speechless.

“The King is a Mewman. You’re half-Mewman.” The dreadlocked demon sneered.

“So what? Why would what he is or what I am matter?” I responded, equally agitated.

“Because he doesn’t care about the Underworld!” The dreadlocked demon hissed.

“Wha?” I gasped with a loss for words.

“My Dad said his family allowed the Mewmans to come here.” One of the other dreadlocked demons mentioned to his group.

“Yea, and that they’re the reason for all the abductions that have been happening.” Another one added.

“Uh-oh, not this again…” Indigo mumbled to George.

“Psshhh, what are ya’ll? Some conspiracy thumpers? What bull…” Tiras folded his arms, refusing to believe any of them.

“Tiras!” Indigo chided him.

“The Queen and King are amazing, they care about the Underworld, so shut up!” Blair angrily responded to them.

“Blair!” Indigo chided zir also.

“If they cared about the Underworld then why let the Mewmans come here and infest it? Why are demons going missing every day and they are doing nothing about it! How can we trust and respect a leadership like that, let alone his son?!” The dreadlocked demon snarled.

“Call the Furies.” I heard a venue staff shout to another in the distance.

The crowd was beginning to gossip amongst themselves unsure of how to process such devastating information.

Raya quickly tugged at my arm sleeve and told me in a concerned tone, “Tom, we should go. None of this is true, you know that.”

“What are they talking about?” I looked to her as if she could provide an answer for such unfounded nonsense. This is the first time I’ve ever heard about any of this. Is this really what some of the populace in the Underworld thinks of my parents? And what some of them think of me?!

“Now, now, everyone,” The lead singer on stage began to say to calm the crowd, “Let’s keep it chill. We’re all here for fun, especially with such an honored guest--”

“Down with the King!” A demon shrieked while throwing a drink at the stage.

“Shut up, anarchist!” Another responded to him from another side of the crowd.

“Throw out the Prince!” A demon demanded.

“No! Don’t harm our Prince!” Another argued.

The scene was becoming even more riotous now. Raya was right, we should go before--

“Agh!” A demon came running towards us with his arm pulled back and every intent to make me the target for his fist.

Tiras pushed me away fast enough so my assailant’s fist missed me and plunged into the face of another demon to the side of us.

“Gah!” The demon that was punched shrieked as he pummeled the other back into yet another demon, causing a chain reaction of a massive all-out brawl in the venue. This is exactly what I expected would happen earlier about having such a confined space to move around.

“Huh, a fight broke out a lot sooner this time than the last time.” Tiras seemed to brush off the fact that we were in the middle of a giant free-for-all which started over my very existence.

“You’re kidding right?!” I exclaimed.

“Furies on the way!” A teenage demon shouted while running through the front entrance. Sirens were heard in the distance.

If it wasn’t utter chaos before, it sure was now. The entire venue went into complete pandemonium as everyone--including DTF--started fleeing before the authorities came.

“Hey, isn’t it a good thing that they are on the way? We haven’t really done anything wrong?” I asked while running alongside Tiras and the others.

“No, dude, it doesn’t matter! They’ll take in whoever they catch and hold you for 24 hours as they investigate the situation and I’m not trying to get in trouble with my Pops again!” Tiras shouted back to me.

But to our dismay, we came to a sudden stop because our exit was blocked by the countless showgoers trying to feed out all at once.

Tiras was trying to push through with the rest but it was no use, it wasn’t happening soon enough. Amid all the commotion, I searched frantically for Raya but couldn’t find her.

“Raya! Where are you?!” I called.

“Tom?” I heard her yell. “Tom!”

She came running up to me with Indigo by her side.

“Hey, are you both alright?” I asked them and they nodded an affirmation.

“Well, no one is getting through this way, that’s for sure.” Indigo scoffed.

“Where’s the others?” Raya questioned while peering around for the rest of our friends.

“Blair probably used zir shadow to get out. George I’m not so sure.” Indigo responded.

“Where’s Kraven when you need him--” Tiras began to mutter but he soon found his answer. Almost immediately, Kraven came running toward the exit and, thanks to his massive girth, he plowed through the masses and cleared the way.

“Haha! Way to go, bud!” Tiras cheered.

I began to say, “Where should we--Oooff!” But suddenly I was pushed forward by another incoming horde of fleeing showgoers and was swept outside.

Once on the street, there were flashing lights from the law enforcement of the Underworld, The Furies, coming from a block away as they shouted for us to comply with stopping our evasion. I tried to find the others again but it was no use. All I saw were strange faces trying to get away.

“Tom!” Raya called my name as she shoved her way out of another wave of demons exiting the venue and caught sight of me.

“Raya!” I called back to her. I had my arms out as if to hug her but instead of slowing her pace, she grabbed onto my upper arm and pulled me with her as we ran away from the ruckus.

“Hey, I got two fleeing this way!” One of the Furies alerted their fellow officer and a team of them were now after us.

As we ran, I asked her, “Raya, what about the others?”

“Time to head home.” Raya answered but didn’t lessen her pace.

“Huh?”

“Whenever this happens, we all split up and head home. Then we meet up in the morning at Tartarus to make sure no one was caught.” She explained.

“Seriously?” I remarked. This is exactly the reason why they all need mobile phones.

Raya and I weaved in and out of the crowded sidewalk in hopes of losing the Furies that were tailing us. But they were steadily approaching faster and faster no matter how busy downtown was at this time of night.

“Quick, in there!” She shouted while pointing to a narrow alley entry.

We darted into it but instead of continuing any further, Raya tugged on my arm and stood firm to bring me to a stop. She kneeled down to touch the ground, making the earth suddenly rise and seal the alley off as if the entrance never existed at all. We heard the Furies unknowingly run by our hiding spot.

We waited a bit before Raya took down the wall. I then scanned the area to make sure it was clear of any Furies before we ventured through the crowd again. Raya pointed out a park at the center of the city that we could cut through to get back to her house faster. So we entered it.

Even though the circumstances leading up to our abrupt end of my first Ska Show experience was a bit hectic, I still had a great time for what I saw. I’m going to have to ask my parents about that stuff some of the demons were saying--is that what’s been going on in the Underworld? I wonder if my Dad knows that’s what some of the people think about us... And I hope the others were alright. Though I don’t think I really have to worry seeing as they are used to this lifestyle and they are a strong group. Plus, Raya didn’t seem too worried either. I guess we will see tomorrow when we meet up at Tartarus. And despite such controversy, they really had my back back there. They really were such great friends...

As Raya and I were able to regain some form of comfort again while making our way through the park, I realized something. The park was pretty deserted considering this time of night, so we got to walk through it just the two of us. And seeing as I was still determined to finish what I had started at the venue seeing as I kept getting interrupted, this was it. This moment of just the two of us was what I’ve been waiting for all night.

This is my chance. This is the perfect opportunity. But how will she react? Will she accept me? Should I really do this… Yes, I should. Like George told me. I just need to go for it no matter what. This feels right. I want her to know how I feel about her...

I decided to make my move as my heart began to race.

As we were walking, I carefully brought my hand to hers and laced my fingers with her own. I began to blush and quickly glanced away, now staring at one of the torches of a lamp post seated in close proximity to the path we were on.

Raya was slow to realize what I had just done but suddenly stopped walking once she did. She steadily turned her head in my direction and with cheeks as red as mine she murmured my name, “Tom?”

I nervously smiled and placed my unoccupied hand behind my head. “Y-yea? W-what’s wrong?” I tried to be smooth but I’m pretty sure she could see I wasn’t being as 'smooth' as I thought I was.

Raya was speechless as she was now watching our hands. They were still intertwined. That must be a good sign if she didn’t pull away, right? I felt the courage to confess to her starting to build inside of me again.

“Well… You see…” I cleared my throat but still had my eyes fixed on the burning flame from the torch. “I’ve been waiting for us to be alone and… I know this is sudden, considering what just happened but I just wanted to ask you…”

I can do this. It feels right. I feel like she wants this too... I repeated, “I just… wanted to… ask…”

My heart was pounding harder in my chest as if it were knocking for her own to answer. I must look her in the eyes and tell her. If I don’t, if I can’t do that… Then I don’t deserve her. She has to know I’m serious about this. About us.

I finally met her gaze and that’s when a nostalgic feeling sparked from inside of me. Looking into her eyes as the fire from the torch danced within them gave me hope. Like a sunset… I began to remember our time in that dimension and how beautiful it was. How beautiful she was. Her eyes glittered just like when we were there on that beach. I should’ve seen it all before; all the signs. How could I have been so oblivious? I didn’t want to miss my chance again.

So I took a deep breath and asked her earnestly. “Raya, would you like to go out on a date with me?”

For a moment, she still didn’t say anything. She had an almost dreamlike expression cover her face which made my heart race even more. Was it from the anticipation of her reply, or just that she looked so cute right now?

Raya finally broke her silence and said, “You… You’d really want to… Go out with someone like me? I mean, you’re a prince--”

“That doesn’t matter to me.” I interjected. “I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now… And I’m kicking myself over the fact it took me so long to ask you but I just wanted it to be the perfect time…” I paused for a breath and felt my hand tighten slightly around hers as if afraid to lose her. I continued with my confession, “But you know, every moment I spend worrying about if it is the perfect time is another moment I don’t have you… So, will you go out--”

“Yes.” Raya answered without hesitation. She then placed her hand on top of her other one that was linked with mine and gave it a firm squeeze of affirmation. Raya was all smiles as she said, “Yes, of course. I would love to!”

#TomVSTheUnderworldFanfic #TVTU #svtfoe #oc fanfiction #oc #starvstheforcesofevil #star vs the forces of evil #tom lucitor #The Underworld

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