Do You Believe in Ghosts? (Triple S x Reader)

Pieces

Espio looked out over the lights flickering dimly below him, exhaustion weighing on his shoulders. And yet, even as his feet dragged on the way back inside, he couldn't find the will to try and sleep.

"Espio," Vector said as the chameleon entered the makeshift living room. "Our sensors just went off. A group is entering the Zone from the south."

Espio's eyes widened. "Now? Everyone will be locked down; the assassins will go straight for them!"

"We can't blame them for not knowing curfew," Vector said, tossing Espio a transparent blue shield. He caught it, strapping it across his back. The crocodile moved to grab his own, but Espio pressed his hand to Vector's chest.

"Stay here with Charmy," he said. "I'll make sure they get past the checkpoint."

"By yourself? The kill zone will be crawling with assassins."

"I'll try for stealth and handle the ones that see through me," Espio said, willing strength into his tired limbs. "We can't leave Charmy by himself, and he doesn't get much sleep anymore. We shouldn't interrupt him now."

"Es, we need you."

"And I'll be back before dawn." Espio started for the door, adrenaline starting to flow through him. He glanced back as he tugged the door open. "I promise."

Once outside and out of view, Espio broke into a sprint towards the border, the streets quiet and dim. He could hear distant, unnatural cries, far enough away they wouldn't be a concern to the refugees in the city.

But for the group coming in...

It took far too long for him to reach the edge of the city, the plain beyond dubbed the kill zone stretching all the way to the Burning Zone border. Black figures slithered across the grass, only shrieking occasionally.

Espio unsheathed two blades and quickly deduced the safest route across the kill zone, staying low while traveling as fast as he could. If the assassins were making noise, they hadn't spotted their victims. They were dead silent when they were hunting.

He managed to avoid drawing their attention, listening carefully for any telltale signs of the crossing group. He slowed when he heard panicked whispering, and beyond that, nothing.

The assassins knew they were here.

Espio sprinted towards the whispers, pulling the shield over his shoulder. The group came into view, crouched in the overgrown grasses of the plain.

"There's someone over there," one of them whispered, pointing frantically towards Espio. He pushed through the grass, lifting the hand with the knife and spreading his fingers as much as he could.

"I'm a part of the Chaotix," he whispered, hoping that meant at least something to them. "Stay very quiet and stay together. Everyone grab someone's hand and follow me as close as you can." Making sure they understood his instructions, Espio nodded and turned, leveling the shield in front of him and starting off at a brisk pace. No doubt they were exhausted from the crossing, but they didn't have any time to waste.

The kill zone was silent as they moved through it, dread settling in the pit of the chameleon's stomach. He held up a hand, signaling for the group to stop. He turned to the nearest Mobian, what looked like a young lynx with wide green eyes.

"How many are in this group, roughly?" he asked quietly.

"Um...maybe thirty to forty?" Not the largest group that had come through. Espio looked out over the heads of the crossing group, then over the remainder of the plain. The checkpoint blinked a steady red light in the distance - their destination.

"Alright, you see that red light?" he asked, placing a hand on the lynx's shoulder and gesturing with his shield to the checkpoint. The lynx nodded. Espio pressed a kunai into her hand. "Take the lead of this group. If you see anything that has red eyes or no distinctive shape, go for the neck or face and don't stop moving."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To get flanks for the group and then take up the rear. Get going." The lynx seemed to gather her bearings before shifting the kunai in her grip, her friend's hand in the other, and beginning to walk again. Espio rounded the edge of the group, singling out a wary looking bulldog and approaching him.

"Keep an eye out for the left flank. Anything with red eyes or no definitive shape, hit the face or neck." Then he moved to the right flank and gave the same instructions to a scruffy hawk before positioning himself in the rear. They could make it.

He cursed himself for jinxing it when a flash of red eyes appeared to his right. A shuriken was in his hand in a split second, but the assassin had ducked into the grass, Espio's visual lost. The group began murmuring to each other nervously, some pointing at the space on their flanks.

"Quiet," Espio whispered to the nearest Mobian, nodding at the rest of the group. He got the message and passed it on in a ripple all the way to the front. The chameleon looked back to where the assassin had been, a chill running up his spine as his gaze met the empty red stare of one of their stalkers.

Espio threw the shuriken in one smooth movement, but the assassin knocked it aside and, with a screech, leaped for the chameleon. The plain exploded in action, dark ghost assassins bursting out of their cover and lunging for the group.

"Stay together!" Espio shouted, cutting through three assassins and glancing at the three others with his weapons. They were holding their ground, several ghost assassins falling in their wake. Good.

A scream, Mobian, from the pitch of it, drew Espio's attention away from the black blobs collapsing in front of him. The lynx in the front was on her knees, covering her head, her gloves stained red. Espio leaped over several Mobians' heads, tackling the assassin reaching for the lynx. He yelled in pain as it jabbed it's weapon into his leg, but he slashed its neck and it dissolved. Espio pressed a hand to his leg, turning around and throwing a shuriken into another approaching assassin. They were outnumbered and there was hardly any way this ragtag group could fight their way out.

A gunshot startled him out of his deprecating thoughts, several more following. His head whipped around, white lights bobbing towards them. The checkpoint squadron. They must have heard the commotion.

"Alright, everyone huddle together! Keep moving!" Espio shouted over the shrieks and the gunshots. A few Mobians from the front passed the message back and the group clustered together, rushing towards the checkpoint squadron.

Before he knew it, they'd passed the gate and the squadron was finishing off the last of the assassins.

"Follow me! Follow me!" one of the squadron leaders called, waving the group through to the tunnel entrance. Espio brought up the rear, nodding in gratitude to the soldiers. They merely clapped their fists to their chests and dipped their heads.

Once safely in the tunnel, Espio broke away from the group, his adrenaline already wearing off. He limped back the way he'd come, dragging himself up the flight of stairs until he reached the door. He reached for the doorknob, but Vector flung open the door, hauling the chameleon inside.

"You made it," was all the crocodile said, fetching the medical kit. Espio didn't respond, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes.

Yes, they'd made it.

It was only a matter of time before they didn't.