Partners In Crime (Ticciwork fanfic) [DISCONTINUED]

???

"You IDIOT! You were going to tell them!?"

Ash cackled. "Maybe."

He didn't seem phased by the rope tightly binding him to the chair, or the abandoned arcade swathed in shadows around him. A circle of light, like a spotlight, was bearing down on him, darkening the shadows so whoever - or whatever - was questioning him couldn't be seen.

"Look, I woke you up from that coma because I thought you'd be useful, not so you could give away all our plans!" The voice was male, but had a strange metallic tinge to it, like he was speaking through a fan that was on high. "You were supposed to scout out Clockwork!"

"I did!" Ash said cheerfully. "Dual knives, excellent vision, despite the one eye; she's used to the handicap, she guards her left side well."

The voice growled angrily. "You told her she was next!"

"Yes." Ash said calmly. "She is."

"She's never going to let her guard down now!" The voice groaned, footsteps paced back and forth. "Should have asked Rake, he's much better at keeping a low profile."

"Thank you, sir." A slithery voice hissed from somewhere near the roof.

"Just get Toby to kill her." Ash said lazily. "She's so comfortable around him; it'll be easy."

"Well Toby doesn't know he's a traitor yet."

"You haven't asked him?"

"No, I've asked him." The voice sounded thoughtful. "He's considered, but he's not going to blow his cover so soon, and he's not sure." The voice chuckled to itself. "They're his friends. It's adorable, really."

"Sir," The Rake inserted. "What of the other two proxies? Their loyalty to Slenderman is unbreakable; as is their loyalty to each other."

"I have a plan for them." The voice said darkly. "Don't worry."

Ash had started humming the Pokémon theme to himself in the silence that followed, but the voice apparently found that annoying.

"Shut up!" It snapped. Ash laughed, rocking back and forth as much as he could with the ropes around him so tight.

"We could recruit Megan." The Rake suggested.

"I've tried." The voice sighed. "Megan is not one to pick sides. She'll stay neutral.

Another long silence.

"Where's Meta?" The voice wondered.

"Here." A feminine voice said, along with heeled footsteps, like she'd entered the room. "I was..." She paused, looking for the word. "Hunting."

Her voice glitched a little, changing pitch for a split second. A soft glow came from the direction of her voice, a straight line on an black screen. Whenever she spoke, the line jumped around, getting higher or lower according to how she spoke.

"Be careful, the hellhounds don't mind that you're mostly made of metal." The male voice said, just a fraction of a joke in his tone. Meta laughed, but it sounded awkward, like she really had no feelings at all.

"I could take a few hellhounds in my sleep."

"I don't want you getting killed, I need you." He spoke like she was a tool he could use, not something of real value. "I have an idea with Megan..."

"Oh, she's annoying." Meta sighed. "Doesn't listen to anything I say. I thought she of all people would love the Cause, but no!"

"She wants Clockwork dead." The voice clarified.

"Yes."

"As do we."

"Yes."

"Toby would sure join us if we framed one of them for her death, and Megan would join us if we offered her him in return."

"Yes." Meta said with relish. "But who to frame?"

"Helen always disliked Toby." The voice said. "Steal his knife and use it."

"This means I can't use my style, though." Meta sounded dissapointed.

"No, you'll have to use Helen's."

"I'm not a good artist... I should... practice a little, first." Meta's voice glitched again, the line flickering out for a moment but swiftly returning.

Ash had once again started humming, but stopped when a knife blade embedded itself in the chair, inches from his throat.

"Shut up!" Meta snarled.

"Oh." He said blankly.

"So we have Clocky planned out." Meta said carefully, the line turning back in the direction of the voice. "What about Jeff?"

"I promised Jane she could have him." The voice sounded amused, fading a little, like he turned his head.

The line flickered into the shape of a smile, gruesomely fake and flickering like it was hard for it to hold that shape. "Of course."

"Come." The voice said. "We still have murders to plan and betrayals to overview."

"So much work." Meta sighed, following the voice has he left.

"Starting a war is difficult, but worth it."

"I know." Meta said excitedly. "I can't wait."

"Oh, and Rake?" The footsteps paused.

"Yes?"

"Do what you will to Ash, I have no more use for him."

Rake hissed with pleasure, his pale, hunched form dropping from the ceiling and stalking towards Ash, who didn't even notice.

A heavy door slammed as the voice and Meta left, and the Rake lunged, a blur of long claws and flashing teeth, Ash's scream of pain mixed with his own insane laughter ringing through the shattered glass of the broken arcade.