Metalocalypse: Impending Doom

Chapter Eleven: Nathalia

Nathalia in all her dark glory walked down a path of glowing stars, completely barefoot and yet not feeling any type of burn. It was surprising she could even walk across them at all without phasing through. She was pretty much floating through space, watching planets in the distance roll by, and asteroids speed through the cosmos. At the end of the long, starry path, she saw a familiar silhouette 'sitting', if one could call it that, in the middle of dark emptiness.

Were they dead? No, there was something familiar about this dream-like state. She was unconscious at the very least, and there was a lowkey feeling of warmth and security to the idea of her own mortality that prevented her from freaking out and assuming she was dying or dead. She couldn't explain it, but she at least knew that she would awaken eventually.

Nathalia thought her foot would fall through the path once there were no stars left to stand on, but found herself continuing as if there were something underneath her to keep herself upright. She reached the shape in front of her, staring down at the man with the slightly longer, surprisingly red and braided hair, with a white strip coming down from the side.

Tobias's eyes were glowing an ominous milky white as he seemed to stare right through her, but his smile was still as friendly with familiarity as ever. "Nat."

Nathalia shifted nervously; it was like standing in front of some wise wizard, but that wizard was like, only supposed to be 25 years old. His long blue tunic's sleeves billowed as if there was somehow a wind in the middle of this vacuum to show off his pale skin and a strange, jagged mark on his forearm. A fur shawl was wrapped around his shoulders, buttoned together by an ancient looking amulet.

"You look like a viking, kinda," Nathalia pointed out bluntly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Fucking bad ass."

Tobias chuckled slightly. "Thanks." He raised an eyebrow at her. "I know why you're here."

"You do? Good, because I don't." She paused to think, suddenly her 'dream' with Nathan from before coming to mind. "Wait, never mind. The-"

"Prophecy," Tobias finished for her with a slight smile. "I know."

"You do?" Nathan's words echoed in her head. '...Who sees before it begins'. "So you're definitely some like, psychic fuck. Ha, gay."

Tobias let out a breath of amusement. "Very gay." He looked around them a little before saying, "Normally, during my 'seizures', I see visions. And this is my place for when I dream. Therefore, normally during my seizures, I don't end up here but I suppose it was time for us to meet."

Nathalia shook her head. "Yeah for no reason! You already know about it."

Tobias smiled. "Partially true. I both technically know more than you, and yet require the information I do not have from you."

"What info? What do you know?" Nathalia squinted her eyes at him.

"I don't remember," Tobias admitted honestly with a sheepish smile, causing her to roll her eyes. "I know that I know more from what the visions tell me, my problem is that I can't remember them after they've finished. I do know of a prophecy though, and the feeling of impending doom on our shoulders. Almost like it's common sense, or second nature; like breathing. I also know that this would be happening today, and I know that this meeting is crucial for the sake of this fucked up world." Tobias's face fell a little and he looked even more old and grave than before. "I know you're supposed to be here to tell me to not look away from this. As you can see though, I can't look at all." Tobias gestured to his blank stare.

"Hm? Oh. OH." Nathalia laughed a little when she finally realized the joke, but then eventually calmed down. "Poor blind dude. Uh... so like why do you wanna 'look away from this' anyway?"

"Hmm." Tobias 'looked' off into the distance with his clouded stare. "I'm not sure the original reason, if any. I do know I hold a lot of contempt for the world, though. I mean, have you seen it?" Tobias waved his arm in a general direction. "That and the fact that I always feel like the world is ending any given second, it's very difficult for me to have an optimistic outlook. After all, even if it's something that we can actually stop, morons will inevitably destroy it anyway."

"So then let them destroy it," Nathalia said simply, causing Tobias to raise a bushy eyebrow. "I mean it. Let them catch it on fire. Let them pollute the world. Let them kill themselves. That doesn't mean you stoop down to their fuckin' level and be part of their destruction. You don't want that guilt to eat ya alive, you'd feel a lot better if they just did it to themselves on their own time. Do you really wanna be the one that pulls the trigger on their miserable lives? Jeez, I thought you were smart." She tapped the side of her head, then felt slightly embarrassed when she once again remembered that Tobias seemed blind in this place.

Tobias was quiet for a moment, then smiled a little, which turned into a larger grin, then began to cackle, until he was full-blown laughing.

"What's so funny?!"

"The world's biggest nihilist wants to fix the world, that MUST mean I'm in the wrong," Tobias chuckled warmly. "Well, aside from that, I need more information. I need to know who to speak to, because unfortunately that knowledge was not gifted to me; I didn't even know it was you specifically that I was supposed to be speaking to today."

"Well Death himself is next apparently," Nathalia bluntly stated with a shrug, remembering that part of the equation. "Tell him to steady his hand and bow or whatever, and then pass it along."

Tobias nodded thoughtfully. "To whom?"

"Whoever can apparently shoot lightning out of his hands, who's gotta do some breathing exercises." Nathalia grinned when Tobias stared blankly at her. It was very obvious she was winging ninety-nine percent of this. "Who then has to tell some dumb self-proclaimed, sacrificial hero that they can't win this on their own, who has to tell some other psychic bitch who's already supposedly seen what's happened to basically not be a baby like you and stop giving up, and uh... some dumb ass who sucks the life out of people, has to believe in himself." Nathalia grinned. "I can suck the life outta you too, if you know what I mean."

Nathalia couldn't tell, but she swore Tobias had rolled his eyes. "I'm good, thanks perv. Other psychic bitch?"

"Apparently he- or they, I don't really remember- has 'seen this before' or some dumb shit. I don't know if they're also psychic, like you, or what, but sounds like it."

"Perhaps, I don't see how there could be two psychics but I suppose two self-aware people are better than one," Tobias mused. "But back to Death."

"Yeah, do you have any idea who it could be? I have no clue. It's a miracle I was smart enough to figure you out and it's literally because you're the smartest person I know, besides myself of course."

Tobias snorted. "Hm... I believe it might be Toki."

"Fucking Toki? Precious bean Toki?" Nathalia laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "He wouldn't hurt a soul..." She suddenly seemed to recall him beating Skwisgaar with his guitar in a frenzy just a few moments prior. "...on purpose."

Tobias smiled lightly. "But what if it isn't something he can control right now? Think about it." Nathalia tilted her head to the side, encouraging him to continue. "I've heard a few stories, alright? He had a guitar teacher that died, his father died in front of him, they had a cat that died- he's surrounded by death. Do you remember his little fit with Skwisgaar? The flowers were literally wilting outside after the fire erupted. Everything was... not that you knew, because you were preoccupied with Toki himself. And it wasn't just because of the fire or the storm, which I assumed was by Skwisgaar. "

Nathalia decided to ignore the minor jab in the middle of Tobias's blathering. "Skwisgaar?"

"He has lightning fast reflexes with his hands, plus the storm was happening the second there was a conflict between him and Toki. You couldn't put that together? Never mind."

Nathalia sighed. "Of course you'd crack the code the fastest. Mister observant 'I stare at clouds' having ass. So, back to Toki. He's basically killing everything by accident, and you have to make sure to tell him to like, chill I guess. Maybe in this realm he's a little bit more aware and has a big head which is why you gotta tell him to bow or whatever?"

Tobias nodded. "That, or perhaps he's SO unaware of what's going on around him, that he'll lose even more control in his attempt to resist the truth. Perhaps what he needs to bow to is his own powers and destiny."

"Welp. That's all on you, fam." Nathalia slapped him on the back, causing a wince out of him.

"I'm young but I feel eighty in this realm," Tobias scolded her, earning a laugh from the singer. "But it seems so. Luckily I'm good at being a peacemaker."

"Yeah yeah," Nathalia rolled her eyes. "Pussy." Tobias pinched the bridge of his nose, and momentary silence gave her a moment to think to herself. "Do you know who the rest are?"

Tobias considered. "I have an inkling for the last one at least. But let's not spoil that, shall we? I can feel myself coming to, and you as well." Nathalia opened her mouth to argue, because she still felt pretty rooted to this world, when the space around them began to grow brighter, nearly blinding her. Tobias smiled and gave a small wave before the light fully engulfed the both of them. "See you in the other world."

~~~

Nathalia felt very refreshed when she woke up. Apparently any sleep felt good to her after being deprived for so long, no matter the circumstances. The only downside was a dull ache in her abdomen but she ignored it easily.

However it was short-lived, once she quickly recognized that she was back in Mordhaus, in one of those private hospital rooms. She forced herself to sit up, her breaths coming out rapidly with her eyes darting back and forth. Why was she here? Where was everyone else? Where was Salem?!

As if they had read her mind, a movement caught Nathalia's eye and she turned to see the little midget sitting up from the couch nearby with bleary eyes. Salem was clutching a blanket close to their chest while they stared almost in confusion at Nathalia, like they had no idea who they were looking at. Eventually, they grinned sleepily and rubbed their face.

"What's up?" Salem mumbled, standing up with the blanket still clutched to their chest as they walked over to the bed.

Nathalia still had anxiety from being in the bright room, but somewhat relaxed to see Salem there, acting calmly and even teasing her a little as they nudged her shoulder lightly before clicking one of the buttons near her head. She eyed them uncomfortably with her lower lip between her teeth. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A few days-"

"What happened? Where is everyone else? Let me out of this damn thing!" She tried to stand from the bed but Salem had forced her back down firmly, and Nathalia felt too weak to fight back.

"Shut the fuck up and chill." Salem's tight voice made her pause, looking at the other with mild curiosity and a little concern. Salem sighed and sat on the bed, hands still planted on her shoulders. She finally noticed how red and puffy Salem's eyes were. "Everyone's generally okay, I guess, except..."

"Except?!"

"Ivy and Raven are dead."

Nathalia remembered hearing the gunshots by her head, followed by the bodies falling to the ground, causing her to flinch, yet for some reason the pain of it seemed too far away for her to truly grasp. "I was there... I should've helped..."

Salem didn't reply, instead continuing with where they left off. "Tobias is in a catatonic state and won't respond to anything at all, but he's alive. And Charles... he's been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?!"

"By this metal looking bastard. Nathan, Abigail, and the Klokateers are trying to find any leads on where he could be. They're all a wreck..."

One of the medics entered the room but Nathalia hadn't even noticed, too preoccupied with her own thoughts. She hissed and tried wiggling away when the nurse tried checking on her abdomen wound.

"So, what do we do now?" Nathalia asked, leaning back miserably with a glance over at her friend.

"Abigail just said to sit and wait until they have some kinda info on Charles's whereabouts," Salem replied, picking at the sheets underneath them.

"What about the album? Our band in general?" Nathalia's anxiety was almost depleted now that she was making conversation with the midget and listening to their soft, calmer tone, but she personally knew her nerves were still on edge, ready to flare again with panic at anything possibly upsetting.

"I don't know." Salem's face fell blank as they looked back at the singer, which made Nathalia worry a little, but she couldn't comment on it before they added, "Apparently Dethklok has, uh... reanimated a few people before. But..."

Nathalia had seen their misshapen and shittily-stitched-together chef at least once or twice, and she shuddered. "It wouldn't be the same."

"Yeah."

Nathalia's eyes scanned the other's face, just now noticing the paleness, the fading scratches on their neck and face, and the dark circles underneath their puffy eyes. They also happened to be wearing their pajamas, which were getting bigger and bigger on them and she could see their collar bone protruding from underneath the skin.

The door to the room opened again and Nathalia looked to see Pickles poking his head in, looking about as tired as Salem was, but still healthier. He had a mid-sized bandage on the side of his neck and some gauze around one of his arms. He looked relieved to see Nathalia awake, which made her feel just a little odd since really the only time they talked was when Nathalia was to convince him to date Salem, or when Salem got ill... Which really mostly consisted of awkward laughter rather than anything truly eventful that was worth remembering (aside from getting to burn Pickles).

Salem also turned to spot Pickles and gave him a small smile, but the genuinity was missing from their eyes. He didn't seem to notice this though as he stepped inside, nodding to the medic before handing a banana to Salem. "Dank feck yer awake, maybe now Toki can calm da feck down!" He commented to Nathalia, earning an eyebrow raise from her.

"Toki? Where is he?"

"At Skwisgaar's private room, he's pretty bad but he's still kickin'." Pickles took a seat next to Salem, who was swinging the banana around like a lightsaber. "Stop playin' wit' yer food."

"Make me," Salem muttered, choosing instead to slap him in the mouth with it, which caused Pickles to smile a little.

"Okay, now smack him with your other banana," Necro scoffed with a grin when Salem's face grew bright red to those words. Whenever she was feeling the beginning stages of anxiety again, she'd usually resort to inappropriate jokes to cope. Luckily, Pickles took it in stride with a surprised but genuine laugh.

They watched with amusement the way Salem lowered themselves to the floor in a fetal position, to moan and whine in embarrassment from their friend's jokes. Nathalia wondered if anything had happened yet between them and if she missed her opportunity to spy and witness some gay ass sex, but she would ask later.

"Anyway," Pickles continued as he lifted his head back up to look at Nathalia, "Toki's been jumping between yer room, Skwisgaar's room, Tobias's, 'n', well, basically da rest o' ours while we were out, 'pparently. He hasn't rested 'n' he won't 'til everyone else is awake."

"Precious dorky bean," Nathalia sighed quietly, though she couldn't judge a lot since she did the same to Salem when they were out. "He's really worried, huh?"

"Ye, but now dat yer okie, he should calm a little. He was mostly worried aboot yew 'n' Skwisgaar."

"What happened with Skwisgaar? I only saw him getting his ass kicked by Toki's guitar," Nathalia recalled with a light snort at the fuzzy memory.

"At first he was fine, I guess, den him 'n' Toki got swarmed, 'n' after Toki got shot, Skwis tried ta shield him from gettin' beat too so he got fuckin' stabbed a couple times."

Nathalia winced. Poor baby Toki... Poor Skwisgaar, shit. She wasn't a fan of him, but he did selflessly protect the precious bean. It also angered her in a way, since she hadn't really been able to protect anyone. Not Nathan, not Salem, not really Tobias, definitely not Ivy or Raven. She grit her teeth slightly.

"Is he gonna...?"

"He'll be fine, 'n' technically he already woke up bef're yew, he jus' can't retain consciousness. But progress?" Pickles shrugged, then gave Salem a dirty look for choosing to lay on the floor still, instead of eat. "I'll fuckin' shove it down yer throat if yew don't eat dat."

"Hmmmmm, that's what he said," Nathalia smirked, and suddenly a banana went flying at her face from floor level, smacking her chin a little. "Fuck yeah, hit me again baby!"

The medic, who was still there to look over paperwork, turned her head and coughed to hide a snort.

"Yer both feckin' crazy."

Salem grumbled something, rolling away from them both and toward the door in an attempt to escape. Pickles stood up and followed, pulling them up by their armpits and forcing them to stand. "I should go ta tell Toki yer fine, 'n' maybe he'll come visit ya later. I'll tell Nate 'n' Abigail too."

Nathalia nodded, not really wanting to see anyone, not even wanting to be in the stupid room at all, and began to feel anxious again, scratching at the bandages around her stomach in discomfort.

Pickles's arms wrapped around Salem's waist and he held them for a few moments while they pressed their head against his good arm, before he pulled away and waved at the both of them while leaving the room.

Salem turned back around to eye their best friend, noticing the squirming and restlessness from her, enough to pull on the IV until the medic had to take them out to prevent a mess; she didn't seem to need it anyway. "Wanna try walking around?" The medic looked like she was going to protest, but the two obviously dismissed her thoughts before she could even say a word, when Salem pulled her friend onto shaky legs and hurriedly walked out.

Nathalia's abdomen hurt a little from moving but she felt much better being out of that room.

"Sooooooo," Nathalia said slowly, not really sure what to say. Her head, as well as her feelings, were spiraling from too many problems at once, but she didn't want to sit in silence and brood over it either, in front of her drummer at least. So she asked slyly, "You and Pickles are, uh, getting pretty close, huh?"

Salem's ears turned red, a for sure sign that Nathalia had verbally poked a vulnerable area, causing her to smirk a little.

"I guess so," was Salem's response, their hands shoved in their pockets as they both scuffled down the hall.

"You guess? Woooooooooooooow, kinda dismissive. What would Pickles think of you only 'guessing' about your feelings for him?" Nathalia teased, enjoying the way the other turned redder and redder.

"I will leave you in this hall by yourself."

Nathalia snorted, wanting to make some kind of sassy pose but not wanting to damage anything, for now at least. "Seriously, he was all touchy huggy with you. Surely you know enough to be able to explain that?"

Salem shrugged, pulling out their hands to tap them against each other nervously. "It's probably a protection thing."

"'Protection thing'?" Nathalia echoed, recalling, before she passed out, Salem hovering over Pickles's body to shield him from the attack. "As in...?"

"I dunno. Ever since I woke up, he's been concerned with me and my health. Maybe he wants to feel like a protector or some shit since I protected him, I dunno."

"Or, or, he wants to fuck you." Nathalia grinned and Salem groaned. "Or he wants you to fuck him, who knows."

"He already mentioned, a super long time ago, that he wants to take things slow."

"Sooo, he might still wanna fuck you either way! No feelings attached."

"...Fair enough."

Nathalia tapped her chin. "Also, what is this 'long time ago' thing you speak of?"

"During our drinking contest," Salem explained wearily, and Nathalia noticed with concern that Salem wasn't taking the jesting as well as they usually did, which probably had to do with the stress of everything.

"How's everyone dealing with, like, everything? Including you?"

"Nathan's a mess, Abigail's a mess, Toki's a mess as you've already heard. Skwisgaar and Tobias are unconscious messes. Pickles is struggling but not as much as the rest. I'm..." Salem shrugged. "I'm as good as I can be. Better to see you're awake."

"Ha, gay," Nathalia commented.

"Murderface-"

"Oh I don't give a fuck about him."

Salem shrugged. "People have been saying some shit about him. So he's been isolating himself in his room."

"Good, fuck him. Let the rumors fly."

"Shit like he was a part of the attack."

Now Nathalia was listening. "Yeah? Of course that fucker- I'm gonna punch him again."

"Don't punch him again."

"I'mma punch him again."

"Fucking Christ," Salem sighed, smiling slightly though. "Anyway, he was apparently found hanging around the original Klokateer guy who, I guess, partially orchestrated that attack plan to begin with. A lot. But there's otherwise no proof of it I guess?"

"What about the proof of him being a piece of shit?"

"Well let's think about it logically," Salem tried, earning a groan in response.

"No, no logical thinks. Only conclusion jumpies, and then punching!"

Salem rolled their eyes. "Realistically, if Murderface knowingly helped in any way, he probably wouldn't have allowed himself to get caught up in the fight. He'd probably have gone hiding or would've jumped to their side the second we were attacked. In fact, he seemed pretty dumbfounded to begin with. You don't make plans to kill Dethklok and then become surprised when it happens."

"Well I mean, he is pretty dumb."

Salem shrugged. "I just don't see it, and for the record, Pickles doesn't either. If two actual victims of his... weird, lowkey sociopathic behavior can believe he's innocent then-"

"Then it probably means you two have severe Stockholm syndrome," Nathalia said with a roll of her eyes. Salem pouted but didn't say anything.

Since Nathalia had just awoken and there was too much information at once to just focus on anything and therefore correctly process emotions from those things, Nathalia figured knowing everyone else's emotional state was more interesting, and probably better than forcing herself to feel anything (not that she wasn't sad about her dead bandmates, but it really had not settled in fully yet, along with everything else.) "How's Nathan feel about Charles?"

"He's a fucking wreck, dude." Salem bit their lip, their eyes clouded with worry. "I swear I saw him crying a few times, but he's a fucking man, and a 'brutal' one at that so he swore he just got stung in the eyes by a bee and then hauled ass away. I didn't even ask him anything, I just accidentally walked into him around the corner."

Nathalia chewed her inner cheek to the point of it bleeding lightly, something swelling in her chest. Of course it wasn't her fault that Charles had gotten kidnapped, but she still felt... a little bad about it.

Perhaps guilty, probably because she was partially the reason for the two parting, and now Nathan most likely had his own regrets because of the messy breakup, with the possibility of being unable to fix it if they couldn't find Charles. Not to mention, the general idea of someone he loved being taken away from him, it probably hurt even worse.

"Poor guy, fuck... Do you know how it even happened?"

"He was... trying to protect us," Salem spoke softly. "It looked like the guy who kidnapped him pre planned the whole ordeal, actually. And Nathan had to be subdued because he was acting erratic."

Nathalia shook her head in disbelief. "Fuck. Who kidnapped him..?"

"Random guy in a mask who's a part of some kinda organization, but that's all Abigail revealed to me. She might be waiting for everyone to wake before she explains more, but she seemed pretty secretive." Salem shrugged a little.

As they walked, they came across Pickles again who seemed to be walking back to Nathalia's room, and stopped in surprise to see them wandering. "Oh, good. Abigail called f'r a meetin' I guess."

"Did they find Charles?!" Salem asked eagerly.

Pickles reached out to squeeze their arm gently. "'M not sure, but whatever it is, it ain't good... She's pretty upset."

Salem's face dropped and everyone's stomach in that hall clenched tightly with sudden anxiety. What was wrong now? Or were they going to get some answers now that both leaders of the bands were awake and functioning?

They all walked down the hall, Salem's hands cupped together in front of themself almost innocently, while Pickles walked beside them. Nathalia hobbled along behind the both of them, eyeing the way Salem nervously looked over at the other drummer once in a while.

Just before they reached the meeting room, someone else had turned the corner and bumped right into Pickles, who stumbled backward into Salem. Murderface flinched as he also took a step back, and Nathalia was both surprised and repulsed to see the creature without a shirt on, rather sporting a large, sloppily wrapped bandage around his shoulder and part of his chest. There were large blood spots that made her raise her eyebrow at this.

Pickles didn't seem as bothered as Nathalia would think, which actually somewhat pissed her off. Murderface deserved no kindness after what he'd done to both Pickles and ESPECIALLY to her little midget. Pickles, however, did take a noticeably large step back and brushed his shirt a little where he'd been touched, though otherwise kept his composure.

The red-head was obviously not in the mood for any awkward silences, so he pointed to the wound and asked, "Dat's STILL bleedin'?"

"Heh? Oh, y- yeah," Murderface stammered, reaching to touch his shoulder gently. "What of it?"

Pickles shrugged. "Yew should let da doct'r look at it. Yer stitchin' is messy."

Murderface scoffed as if that was the most absurd thing to ever hear. "It'sch fine, god!"

Nathalia wanted to shake her head in puzzlement but didn't want to make herself known just yet by making any sudden movements. She also noticed that Salem looked just as bewildered by the almost humane exchange.

"Whatever, bleed out I guess if ya want, I don' care." Pickles shrugged nonchalantly, which caused Murderface to look down at himself for a moment, before he turned from the meeting room to speed toward the doctor quarters, not noticing Nathalia who had shifted to the other side, further away. As much as she wanted to beat his ass, she was more curious with what Abigail had to say.

"Tell 'em I'll be there in a schec!" Had... had Pickles purposely used reverse psychology on the guy? Or was he just avoiding confrontation and thought kindness was the best option.

Salem placed a hand on their hips and gave Pickles a look that he couldn't help but catch from his peripherals. He turned to them almost sheepishly. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me. What was that?" Salem looked confused and slightly amused, all wrapped in a little jealousy bow; at least to Nathalia's view. Pickles didn't seem to catch on to their face language, or if he did, he didn't want to acknowledge it.

"'M sorry, but da guy's been bleedin' since we got back home."

"Good, maybe he can fucking die," Nathalia spoke up finally in a growl, as she began pushing her friends toward the room. "Let's get this shit over with."

Upon opening the doors, they could see Toki in his usual seat tapping on the table uncomfortably, looking as bad, if not worse than Salem. His shirt was on backwards, and covered in dirt stains. Nathan, rather than sitting in his own seat, was now sitting at the very front, right next to Abigail who had taken over on Charles's spot.

Pickles did not seem too happy about this but he sat down without a word, taking Salem's hand so that they would sit next to him. Nathalia chose to sit next to Toki since it was across from Salem and further away from where Murderface would have to be, eyeing the man's depressed looks, though he did give the singer a small smile when seeing her. Skwisgaar's, Tobias's, and of course Murderface's seats were empty.

Nathan's face was expressionless with even his normal frown a thin, neutral line, and yet Nathalia and everyone else could tell that this just meant he was even more stressed and angry than usual. Abigail had her fingers crossed together in front of her on the table, looking worn out and also displeased.

Pickles cleared his throat and spoke up. "Uh, Murderface'll be here soon. He had ta go do somethin'."

Abigail sighed softly and nodded. "That's okay, we can start without him. I just needed the majority here, especially my singer." She nodded toward Nathalia, making her chest swell with pride while at the same time it fluttered with anxiety.

"I suppose I can explain to you what happened, Nathalia, unless you've already been told?"

Nathalia shrugged. "I was told about... Ivy and Raven. And Tobias, and... Charles." She gave a quick glance over to Nathan, noticing that he looked very somber at the mention of his ex-lover, staring hard at the table in front of him.

Abigail nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'll be giving you the full truth from what I personally know. Nathan's already been told, and you all deserve to know, too. The rest will just have to catch up later." Nathalia nodded and the rest were eyeing her, waiting for her to continue.

"As you all could've guessed, Dethklok was attacked during their performance. We've determined several known facts from this: the people who did it are from an organization called the Revengencers, led by a Masked man who wants revenge on Dethklok for the supposed death of his brother who worked here as a spy, but not much else is known about that right now."

Pickles raised his eyebrow to this and Nathalia scoffed. "Seems pretty dumb. I don't think these guys have the capability of purposely killing some lame-o."

"Correct," Abigail agreed, smiling a little at the offended look on Pickles's face. "They didn't do anything. From what Charles had told me previously and in his notes, the man was a spy for someone we haven't identified yet and pretended to be a Klokateer. His death was totally accidental, and yet his brother swears vengeance on us all. That's as far as my knowledge goes."

Salem leaned against the table with their chin on their fist. "I'm assuming we're now a target for our 'close connections' with Dethklok. Perhaps because he sees us as an accomplice, or maybe he thinks he can get to them through us."

"You most likely assume correctly." Abigail, as usual, looked proud of her band's general intelligence, whereas both Toki and Pickles looked to be drooling with confusion and even Nathan was more blank-faced. "He seems to be the kind of guy to be opportunistic, so you guys need to be as protected as Dethklok."

"Gay, so why did he kidnap Charles or whatever?" Nathalia questioned, and Abigail's light smile faltered.

"Ah, that... He and the man apparently have fought before, and that's according to Nathan," Abigail explained softly. "He might see Charles as his nemesis for foiling his plans previously."

"He's attacked bef're?" Pickles looked surprised, and Abigail nodded.

"Correct. So this might be his way of exacting revenge, in multiple ways. Getting a hold of the man who challenged him and got away with it, and the loss of someone close to Dethklok." Nathan visibly tensed at those words but said nothing.

"So, as you already know, Charles was indeed kidnapped. We're doing everything we can to find out information of where he could be at. He's most likely very well alive; the Masked Man seems to be the type to rub his accomplishment in our faces, so we would hear from him should anything... have already happened. That's why it's dire for us to find them on our own before then."

Abigail then cleared her throat and leaned forward, which made the rest also move in closer. "There's been a lot of traitors in our midst. A lot of Klokateers who have ended up betraying us. I ask all of you to not confide in any of them about anything right now, until more thorough background checks are made. Make sure none are spying if you choose to talk amongst yourselves. Be safe and report anything suspicious."

There were a few nods of acknowledgement from the two bands, and Abigail added, "As for some rumors being spread around Mordhaus, pay no mind to them."

"Like the rumors about some little dog running around here?" Nathalia muttered, earning a stern look from Abigail while the rest gave her a look of puzzlement, except for Salem, who sank lower in their seat while hiding a grin.

"I assure you anything that's been said, that hasn't been said by me, is most likely false and will cause future issues by dwelling too long on drama like that." She eyed Nathalia as she spoke, causing her to pout a little. She didn't trust Murderface, no matter what anybody said. She wouldn't even trust his dead body to stay dead because it would give her too much peace of mind and that man seemed to live to torment women like her. (Though he surprisingly hadn't made a move on her yet... but that was beside the point. She was probably just too intimidating).

Abigail gave an encouraging smile after a moment of deep silence. "Everything will be fine, guys, I promise. I'll do my best to keep you guys safe, and get Charles back with us."

"He doesn't need your fucking help," Nathan suddenly growled in dangerously low tone. "He doesn't need anybody's help. 'Specially a woman."

Abigail didn't seem all that surprised by the sudden outburst. She began to stand and pushed her chair in calmly while stating, "Well sorry, but this woman disagrees. Now come on, you have to help me keep looking for clues." She looked up at the others with an apologetic smile. "I'll be borrowing your co-worker for a while, guys, until we can figure this all out."

Nathalia was irritated with Nathan's sexist remark so she waved a dismissive hand in their direction as she also stood. "You can keep him, free of charge."

Nathan either didn't notice the remark or didn't care as he got up, practically flinging his chair into the table with general grumpiness, and stalked out of the room. Abigail let out a low breath of air, mumbling under her breath while making eye contact with Nathalia, "Can I put him up for adoption, too?" She then followed the man out of the room without waiting for an answer.

Pickles, Salem, and Toki stood as well, surprised by the fairly short meeting. Nathalia supposed that the most important pieces were covered at least, before Nathan had his little tantrum. She knew he was probably stressed and afraid but he needed to chill out, and stop saying stupid things.

"Sos," Toki finally spoke up to the singer, rubbing his arm almost awkwardly. "You really ams awakes. That ams goods!" He gave a brighter smile than he had previously, blue eyes gleaming as he stared up at Nathalia, who's face flushed slightly.

"Fuck yeah, no bullet wound was gonna keep me down!" Nathalia boasted, earning an eye-roll from Salem and a giggle from Toki, though his face fell slightly like he was abruptly sad about something, and it made her curious. 

During the last several days or so (that she had been conscious anyway,) she'd gotten fairly close to the man, doing errands for him only because she insisted upon it after finding him practically dying in the hallway, and of course getting his little gummies that he for some reason thought would make him overdose if he took too many. So of course any look of displeasure on his face was a red flag to her.

Pickles walked up to the other two with Salem in tow because their hands were clasped together still, though Salem looked very uncomfortable or unsure of the physical touch. They were never a really touchy person to begin with, let alone after what had happened with Murderface and the attack at the concert probably, but they didn't comment or reject the contact.

Oddly enough, while at the same time looking constipated about the touch, Salem also stuck close to the man's side, their shoulders brushing constantly against each other's while walking. There was a thick ass line between wanting affection and being disgusted by it, but by the gods if Salem didn't skip over that line like it was a jump rope all the time.

"Hey, yew doin' any better?" Pickles asked Toki softly, giving the taller man a sympathetic look to see such a wounded look on the man's face. Pickles was an oddly quiet man toward most of his own bandmates, Nathalia had come to realize, aside from possible drunken outbursts or fits of rage. However, he had a noticeable soft spot for Toki like everyone else did, which was prominent enough to seem obviously motherly or fatherly. It was kind of endearing, but it still made Nathalia slightly and unreasonably jealous.

"Nos," Toki admitted, staring down at his feet. "I ams goinks to go backs to see Skwisgaars now, I bes arounds laters." He gave a small wave as he turned and left the room too quickly for Nathalia to think of something to say that would make him stay just a few seconds longer.

"Poor guy," Salem muttered, leaning slightly against Pickles's shoulder.

Just as Toki left, another shape crept in, before pausing in surprise at the lack of Abigail and Nathan for the meeting. "Isch it already over?!"

Of course this guy had to walk in and immediately piss off Nathalia, who scowled at him. She was dissatisfied to see that the bruises she had given him were nearly all faded, leaving only various colors of yellow splotches. She hadn't really seen much of him to admire her work on his ugly face; she had been so busy between watching over Salem and hanging out with Toki or Tobias, and of course the concert that knocked her out for a while. 

Murderface needed to be worse; Nathalia needed to see those swampy green eyes filled with terror and pain as she leaned over him, laughing into his bloody, pulpy face. She needed to see him wrapped up in his own sadness, remorse, drowning in it just like he'd be drowning in his blood. Who cares how submissive he seemed now, the fake little fuck. He was merely a tick on the back of everyone's asscheek, draining them constantly, and so she needed to drain him of his life as well.

Nathalia hadn't realized she had almost a comically large and insane grin on her face until Salem shot a look of puzzlement her way, before turning back to Pickles and almost tucking themselves behind his arm and shoulder, which Nathalia noticed,  and a pang of something squeezed her chest a little. 

"Yeh, dey're basically still lookin' fer Charles, 'n' also dere's some crazy organization fuckin' wit' us," Pickles explained, his hand still tightly holding Salem's but now having his arm in an awkward position since they were technically behind him. Murderface noticed this obvious contact and his usual aloof demeanor seemed to break as his face blanked then fell slightly, which further pissed off Nathalia.

However, the information seemed to go through Murderface's thick skull to distract him from his own privileged pouting. He blinked toward Pickle as he processed what he'd just heard. "A- an organi...zatchion?"

"Yeah, why? You scared that we mighta found out something about ya?" Nathalia couldn't help but blurt and taunt, her eyebrows raised and watching with slight glee to see Murderface jump at the sound of her voice.

"...No," Murderface spoke in a shockingly soft tone that irritated Nathalia, because she wanted him to push just one of her buttons. To say something in even a slightly condescending tone, or to say anything messed up at all with or without an attitude. Literally anything that would give her a reason to smash her fist into his face one more time in a satisfactory manner.

"Well, whatev'r. We can't talk ta any Klokateers or speak of any secrets 'less we talk to ourselves." Pickles's tone dropped.

Murderface nodded quietly, not seeming to pay attention.  Nathalia twitched, waiting for any wrong move, but he just gave a small wave as he turned, heading back out of the room fairly quickly.

Salem gave a small sigh, pressing their forehead against the light muscles of Pickles's upper arm, and he looked behind himself to give them a sympathetic look, then turned to Nathalia. "I saw murder on yer face." He laughed at the slightly ironic statement since she'd just been about to beat someone who's face literally looked like murder.

Nathalia rolled her eyes, almost immediately calming down once Murderface was out of the room. The relaxation was replaced by adrenaline when seeing the contorted look of mixed emotions on Salem's face. "You good fam? Want me to go beat his ass?"

"No, I don't," Salem let out a sudden retort that surprised both Nathalia and Pickles. The smaller one looked stressed out, having let go of Pickles finally and was picking at the skin by their nails (that the singer knew was a sign of high anxiety), with their head down. Murderface was gone though, why would they be even more anxious now?

"Yew good?" Pickles asked softly, somehow knowing better than to try and touch Salem again, in comfort. Normally it was the opposite for others; they had a tendency to place their hands all over them in an attempt to calm them down, which would only make them spiral into panic. Either Pickles had already done it once and found it to be a bad idea, or he simply had somewhat of a better inkling to give other people space.

"Yeah, just..." Salem sighed heavily, another sign that their frustration was unnecessarily high.

"What?" Nathalia was confused and everyone knew that if she was confused, she would eventually become hostile with exasperation. 

 "Just don't want people to try challenging him anymore." Nathalia knew that comment was meant for her. "I don't want to deal with the... repercussions."

Some of Nathalia's irritation had already begun to leak out as she sneered without thinking, "Sorry, I'll be nicer to your boyfriend."

Salem lifted their head fully, and Nathalia spotted a hint of equal hostility on their face, something rarely seen from the shorter person. "Your actions have consequences, and I won't be pulled into it."

"Okie okie, let's all calm down," Pickles said nervously as his eyes darted between Salem's aggravated features and Nathalia's stunned face. She was too surprised to react the way she normally would. Salem had sassed her before, but never so seriously.

"Yeah?" Nathalia stuttered out, feeling the similar cold emptiness inside of her as she glared at her friend, blurting whatever she could think of. "Maybe if you were actually confrontational and learned how to stick up for yourself! Say no to a fucker once in a while?! Maybe stopped feeling sorry for the fucking dog-faced bitch?!"

Salem's lips curled but their eyes had drooped in sudden tiredness, lowering their head back to where it had previously been. "If he actually is a traitor, you don't want to give him any reason to cause more issues, idiot. But... you're not the one he'd take it out on, so I guess it doesn't matter." They turned, pushing Pickles lightly to the side with their hand, beginning to walk away.

"Don't fucking walk away from me you little turd!" Nathalia pouted, though Salem was already gone. The air felt thicker and so much heavier, making it difficult to breathe. The guilt gripped at her coldly, like kelp wrapped around her limbs while swimming in a bottomless ocean. "Damn shit stain." She wasn't sure what had caused the outburst, but it angered her, because Salem seemed to imply that she didn't care about anybody but herself. Which simply wasn't true. Was Salem just being a little bitch and trying to avoid confrontation because they were actually scared of Murderface?

~~~

Nathalia didn't want to think of the fight between her and Salem, but it kept replaying over and over in her head. She knew Salem was probably just nervous and anxious being around someone like Murderface, and simply didn't want Nathalia to egg on the issue. But what was he really gonna do? He would most likely be monitored, even if Abigail truly didn't believe he was a traitor, because of his past issues alone.

Nathalia definitely did not like being told not to act on their instincts, but Salem had their reasons for the anxious plea, she supposed. However, their attitude further prevented her from wanting to apologize or make amends, since she felt what they had said was out of line as well. After all, they knew how she was, and it was rude to push expectations onto her like that, she felt. Though that boyfriend remark was maybe a little messed up too so it kept her immobile and confused, unsure of what to do.

Salem was obviously intimidated in some way now. They weren't worried about Nathalia offending and hurting his feelings, at least not so much as the fear of possibly being brought into the middle of drama once Nathalia and Pickles weren't around to help them out. It was stupid to be so anxious around someone that stupid and useless though, so Nathalia quietly scoffed. She'd definitely gone through worse and never acted like that over a mere joke/suggestion.

Well, whatever. Had Salem caught her in a better mood, she would've pointed out her hard-headed nature, perhaps made a joke or two, or given some really good points about Murderface 'not being able to do shit'. She normally would've done or said literally anything other than what actually came out of her mouth. 

At the same time, the look and attitude Salem had given her, perplexed her and also offended her. Nathalia had started it, but the one time Salem chose to stand up for themselves and they chose to do it against their friend whom they should've known meant well? Not to mention pointing out one of Nathalia's more fatal flaws and acting like they'd been a victim to her rash behavior before, right in front of someone else. All she'd ever done in her manic moments was help fix that little shit's life.

Nathalia was too salty to properly concentrate as she paced the empty halls. Salty at both herself and Salem. While also feeling depressed and sick to her stomach. Especially with what had been last said... She knew why Salem was rarely confrontational and afraid to speak against others.

She also wasn't so sure about whether or not Salem felt bad for Murderface, or why, but if so then that probably had more to do with them being caring to the point of trying to heal really, really stupid people with their affection.

Nathalia sighed. How long had she been pacing? When should she go find Salem and apologize, or was she supposed to do that hours ago as soon as they left? Pickles had gone to do whatever, claiming to not want any part in the drama. Asshole coulda helped me track them down, Nathalia thought, though she herself had been rooted to the same spot for a long time even after his departure, ever silent and dying on the inside.

Realistically, Salem was probably just in their room sulking, and all Nathalia had to do was go up to the door, knock, and say sorry whether or not they wanted to hear it. Still, she remained pacing the hall, her anxiety flaring. She was stubborn sometimes and naturally hated apologizing when she was feeling annoyed or hostile or anything negative.

I'm not a fucking pussy, I can do this, Nathalia assured herself with a light scoff as she whipped around on her heels to march toward her friend's room, only wincing slightly from the wound on her stomach as she stretched her muscles.

The sounds of footsteps running around nearby as she turned one of the corners, set Nathalia into unease again. Two silhouettes were ahead of her, dancing around each other almost playfully. She froze in her footsteps, retreating into the nearest shadow behind one of the larger statues to watch without being seen.

Eventually they stepped closer to the middle of the hall, and she first saw bright blue eyes which startled her. She almost called Tobias's name before the full face came into view, showing off Toki's happy, childlike features, and her shoulders dropped a little. Right... He was...

Nathalia forced herself to focus back on the sight before her, before reality came crashing down on her hard. She was also surprised to see that the other shadow was Pickles, hands on his hips as he playfully glowered at the younger man. "Give it back b'fere I kick yer ass!"

"Brings it ons!" Toki taunted as he lifted something that Pickles made a wild grab for. They tussled for a few moments and Nathalia just watched the brotherly love with a sour feeling in her stomach, before Pickles finally pulled himself out of the scrap, looking triumphant. "Damnits!" Toki's whiny tone echoed down the hall, followed by Pickles's soft laughter.

Nathalia definitely did not hear any of them laugh all that much, so it was almost refreshing, if not for the unspoken worries hidden behind their manic behavior, which were the obvious cause of this.

She was debating on whether or not to backtrack and find a way around so she could get her plan out of the way, when Toki's smile died off, and she stopped to study him.

"Whet's wrong, Toki?" So it wasn't just Nathalia; Pickles had noticed the sudden change, too. "Hey..."

Toki fidgeted slightly, staring down at his feet. He suddenly looked so... old and tired, like he wasn't just acting like a cute little toddler a few seconds ago. In fact, Nathalia had never seen him look so much like his age and even beyond that, as he kept his head down with his hair in his face.

"Toki, talk ta me."

The rhythm guitarist finally looked up, such sorrow in his eyes. "Skwisgaars ams gonnas be okays, ja?"

"Ye, dey said he was wakin' up more," Pickles promised.

"Ands... ands we finds Charles?" Toki spoke in barely a whisper, making it more difficult for Nathalia to catch. She strained her ears and leaned forward instinctively.

"Of course," Pickles murmured, placing a hand on Toki's shoulder. "Seriously, yew okie?"

Toki ignored the last part, his eyes glazed over slightly. "Then why does I smells death lingers?"

Pickles blinked as he tried to comprehend not only the broken english, but the awkward sentence itself. "Not... sure I follow." Toki shook his head and dropped it onto Pickles's shoulder, who patted him softly. "H- hey..."

"I ams scareds," Toki admitted quietly. "Fors Charles ands Skwisgaars ands Nat'ans ands Tobias and yous... ands Nathalias." Nathalia ears perked up even more at the sound of her own name.

"I know, but yew can't keep mopin'," Pickles sighed, pulling Toki away by his shoulders, only to straighten him back out and force the man to look at him. "Easier said den done. 'N' I'm a bit o'a hypocrite tew. But we need yer positivity right now. Ya gotta keep our lights fr'm dimming wit' dat smile." He pinched Toki's cheek affectionately, who gave a soft whine.

"But... who amds keeps my lights not dims?" Toki asked softly.

"The rest o' us." Pickles smiled. "Er we'll try our best, anyway. Yer our gay little beacon of hope."

"Ams not gays," Toki pouted, but he looked unsure of himself on that. "I ams likes the ladies too..."

"Tew?" Pickles teased, and Toki flushed, turning his head away from the other. "I kid, I kid."

But Toki seemed to want to defend himself. "I ams probalys bisect, like you!"

"Bisexual, Toki."

"Ja, potahto, tamotatos," Toki waved his hand dismissively with a serious expression.

Pickles rolled his eyes with a light chuckle. "Like yew said bef're, Ya love who ya love." His eyes darkened for a split second but it was long enough for Nathalia to notice. "Anyway..."

"Ja, I needs to visits Skwisgaars like I promiseds..." Toki's voice trailed off, tapping his fingers together lightly.

"How aboot I come wit'? Keep yew company," Pickles offered, and Toki practically beamed at the drummer, before giving a hesitant look.

"Ams you goings to checks on Salems first? You saids they was sads earlier?"

Pickles shook his head slightly, a faraway look on his face. "Dey like deir space, I'll just talk ta dem later, or text 'em... if I ever understand dis stoopid technology shit."

Toki poked Pickles on the nose with a sudden mischievous smile. "You ams likes the Salems, ja?"

A light blush crossed Pickles's face as he batted the hand away instinctively but playfully so as not to offend Toki. "So what if I dooooo?"

"You ams never bothers learnings the ways of the technogicals untils now," Toki pointed out almost like he was proud of his accurate analysis of the situation. "You LIKES likes them!"

Pickles pushed the man away jokingly. "I... I just see myself in dem a lot." Nathalia wondered what he had meant by that, while Pickles started ushering Toki toward where she assumed Skwisgaar was located.

"That ams okays. I likes someone else toos... Beside Nat'ans," Toki commented as they turned the corner.

The last thing Nathalia had heard from either of them was a questioning, "Oh?" from the drummer, then the two were too far away to make out the rest of anything else. She was tempted to follow because what the FUCK, Toki liked Nathan? And who else did he like now? But she didn't want to get caught when she still had to go talk to Salem.

Nathalia leaned against the wall with a soft sigh. So much to process, such little patience to do so. And now her mind was on Tobias as well as her other two band members who she refused to think about because she really didn't need to get hit with reality and break down in the middle of the hallway...

Perhaps checking on Tobias was a better option for now. The fact that he was okay but unresponsive didn't sit well with her, almost like she'd been expecting him to wake up at the same time she did.

A nearby Klokateer led her to the room Tobias was located in after Nathalia managed to stutter a near-scream for his location. Anxiety made her barely functional, and on top of that it was rising to higher levels than normal. The door was already wide open so she popped her head in slowly, like she was half-expecting to see something she wasn't 'supposed to'.

Tobias laid peacefully in his hospital bed, chest rising and falling ever so slightly. Nathalia realized she hadn't been told, nor really asked why he hadn't woken yet. Was it because of his seizure? Some kinda coma? The guilt of having not really been concerned until now, ate away at her while she stared down at him. He was her oldest and dearest friend. Maybe Salem was right, maybe Nathalia was very full of herself sometimes.

From an angle it looked as though Tobias's eyes were only half shut and he was looking at Nathalia through heavy lids, yet was unfazed by the prodding and tapping of her sharp nails.

"If you don't wake up in five seconds, I'm giving you a titty twister," Nathalia whispered to the unresponsive man. She swore she saw Tobias's chest fall ever so slightly deeper, like he was sighing at her even in his unconscious state. Or perhaps he was actually conscious and just couldn't move for some reason. Nathalia figured though that the medics would have realized that by now, what with sciencey technology or whatever. Then again, she really didn't have much info on anything about him.

"I'm sorry," Nathalia murmured to her friend even though she didn't really know why, let alone know if he could hear her.

Nathalia didn't know why she started throwing things in the room. Perhaps it was to make her not feel so weak and powerless, or to keep her mind preoccupied to stop it from processing things, or maybe because she was secretly hoping it would startle Tobias awake.

Whatever the case, glass went flying as well as vases, medical equipment that wasn't directly attached to Tobias, and a mix of everything else. Nathalia could only make small grunts of rage while she tore the room to pieces, teeth gritting with anger. Why was she angry? She didn't even remember anymore.

A few minutes later, the only noticeable thing about Nathalia was the heat blazing in her eyes once she walked out of the room, hands in her pockets as she slumped down the hall. For once, she told herself she didn't want to be questioned about any blood on her, but didn't make her appearance any smaller as she took up the whole hall with her shuffling. 

Nathalia slunked into her room and shut the door before flopping belly-first on her bed. She felt like she was forgetting to do something, but at that point, she didn't really give much of a fuck.

~~~

Heavy eyelids blinked open and Nathalia clouded mind was forced into consciousness from a loud knocking on her door. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep or what time it was now that she was awake, but she knew she wasn't ready to wake up fully. She rolled over onto her other side with a grumble, ready to go back to sleep.

The sounds of wood snapping caused her to jump into a sitting position, seeing Nathan's thick arms gripping her door halves with an unreadable expression on his face, Toki standing next to him with his eyes gleaming brightly.

"Happy days of birth, Nathalias!" Toki chirped as he skipped into the room, holding a package sloppily wrapped in white paper that had been colored on with crayon. He thrust it in front of himself and toward Nathalia's stunned, frozen body.

"Uhh... thanks," Nathalia spoke unsurely as her hands numbly gripped at the present. "You guys didn't have to destroy my fucking door, though." She would've been angrier about it, but seeing Toki's beaming face staring at her almost like an innocent child would, was catching her off guard, and the warmness of being acknowledged on her birthday was making her giddy.

"It'll be fixed later," Nathan grunted as he tossed the pieces onto the ground. "Not by me, but uh, whoever fixes them." He stayed by the entrance while Skwisgaar slid past the brute man with a disgruntled look on his face, covered in bandages and holding a pair of crutches that he was only half-assed using to walk with.

"Oh look, pretty boy's awake," Nathalia's commented, rubbing her eyes a little to wipe away the sleep before standing, placing the present gently on the stand by her bed.

"Ja," Skwisgaar replied, his eyes seeming to cross every so often and not really processing Nathalia's nickname for him. "Happy uh... ums... births..."

"Skwis ams a littles hopped ups on the pains pill," Toki spoke in his cheerful tone, "but I gots hims to come outs anysway!"

"Good to see he's not dead, I guess." Nathalia saw Pickles come in next, the brightness of his eyes almost seeming to outshine the permanent looking dark circles etched under them; almost.

"Happy birt'day, dude!" Pickles crowed as he tossed a smaller sized present toward Nathalia, who caught it before it landed on the floor. He was clutching another soft looking gift, one with Skwisgaar's name on it in bold lettering. "Or dudette... whatever."

"Gross, just call me dude. Or anything that isn't girly." Nathalia shrugged as she placed the much neater red parcel on top of Toki's. "Thanks, though."

Skwisgaar snapped out of it for a split second to hand over his gift he'd taken from Pickles's hands, looking mighty proud of himself. She took that one as well, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. "Thanks but how'd you guys know it was my birthday?" Had they spoken about it before? She hadn't even remembered it herself, let alone if they ever discussed anything on that subject.

"Me." Another present came flying into the room from behind Pickles, and Nathalia snatched it out of the air. The short-statured drummer pushed their way into the room, hands on their hips. "Happy birthday, bitch."

"Fuck you!" Came Nathalia automatic response. The two stared at each other for a while which seemed to unnerve poor Pickles and Toki (with Nathan and Skwisgaar not even really all there to notice the exchange), before they both snorted playfully at each other at the same time.

"Open your shit then come get the rest of your fucking presents," Salem ordered the singer, who scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me what to fucking do!" She retorted, though she began ripping into the present that had sailed into the room last, like a rabid animal.

It was a cute zombie dog with one of its eyes blacked out and 'blood' staining its snout. It complimented her gory, edgy aesthetic. "Looks gay," Nathalia commented, placing the stuffed animal on the stand next to the presents. "Fuck yeah."

"Opens mines next!" Skwisgaar whined, so Nathalia purposely grabbed another gift from the pile that was not from him.

"What, this one?"

"Nos, it-"

"Too late." Nathalia peeled off the red wrapper from Pickles's gift, revealing two bottles of some good ol' whiskey. Luckily she hadn't let it just drop to the ground, and she'd been suspicious of its size and heaviness. "Well fuck yeah! Where'd you get this, though?"

Pickles shrugged with a smirk. "Nobody questioned me goin' out to da store f'r a present."

"Fuck yesssss." She placed them down and grabbed Toki's gift before Skwisgaar could beg again, much to his disappointment.

It was literal drawing paper that had been taped onto the box, which she gingerly peeled so as not to damage the pretty coloring. Inside was a stuffed, white bunny rabbit with fluffy ears and blue eyes.

"Does you ams likes it?" Toki squeaked, catching Nathalia's attention and causing her to look up. Toki was practically jumping up and down in excitement, grinning widely. His smile must have been contagious because the corner of her lips pulled up as well.

"I love it, thank you Toki," Nathalia spoke sincerely as she placed it gently next to the zombie dog.

"Woooooooooooow," Salem complained. "Not even a thank you for me or Pickles?"

Nathalia walked over to the two drummers and punched Pickles lightly on the arm. "Thanks, you fucks."

Salem patted Nathalia lightly on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I have better presents for you in the living room, once your ass hurries the fuck up." 

Toki practically jumped in front of Nathalia to get her attention once more. "Waits! Ams you gonna names the bunnys?"

Nathalia blinked. "Uhh, sure..." She looked back at the stuffed animal. "Uhhh... I'll name it... Toki."

"Really?" Toki gasped. "That ams my names!"

"Whooaaaa, no way." Nathalia placed her hand on her chest. "That's crazy."

Skwisgaar had finally had enough of Nathalia's stalling (whether or not he actually realized she was stalling was up for debate) and had snatched at his present to shove it into the brute singer's hands. "If you ams dones here, I would likes yous to see what you ams gots from me!"

"Alright, alright, shit." Nathalia rolled her eyes at him. She began to peel the wrapper and immediately through thin colorful paper that wrapped around the object, she could already see half of Skwisgaar's face on the present. Everyone, aside from Toki and Skwisgaar himself, groaned. Pickles facepalmed, Salem pretended to gag, Toki was admiring the present, and Nathan wrinkled his nose slightly.

Nathalia reluctantly finished unwrapping it, holding a large head pillow with Skwisgaar's winking expression covering the top of it- the back of his head was located on the other side. Skwisgaar gasped, and she gave him a suspicious glance.

"Fucks, I forgots to signs it!"

"Really dood? Yew gave her one tew?!" Pickles scoffed at the idiotic narcissism of his friend.

"He's given you a pillow of his face too?" Nathalia couldn't decide if this was funny or pathetic; maybe it was both.

"Well not exclusively a pillow," Nathan grunted, leaning against the doorway with his thick arms crossed over his chest. "I once got a rug of his entire nude uh. Body."

"It ams calleds arts!" Skwisgaar sniffed, looking offended at everyone's reactions to his gifts. "Toki likeds his!"

"Toki's gay," Nathan grumbled, not noticing Toki's cheeks growing bright red to this.

"Nos, he just has goods tastes!" Skwisgaar protested, placing his hands on his hips.

"Hey, ya wanna go burn dat?" Pickles asked, pointing to the pillow. "He gave me his calendar 'n' burnin' it was da most fun I ever had on a birt'day!"

"Duuuuuuude," Nathalia hissed. "Fuck. YEAH!"

And so the group walked out into the yard to start a bonfire, with Skwisgaar trailing behind in a wailing mess and Toki trying to comfort him with a shoulder pat here and there. Skwisgaar was mostly bitching in Swedish but she caught a few words like "Dildoes" and "Gays".

Nathalia had an extreme obsession with fire and 'used' to be a pyromaniac; and any contact usually pulled her back into the mania of those crazed, unhinged days like she was a rabid wolf. She could hardly contain herself over the idea of getting to toss something into a burning pit.

Nathan was quiet and brooding as he hoisted large chunks of tree and branches into the gigantic pit that was supposedly used for their burn piles. Nathalia imagined it was due to the general stress of trying to find Charles, who also happened to be his ex and whom Nathan was probably still upset with in general. She could picture them finally seeing each other again and Nathan simply deciding to just yeet the poor man because of their previous fighting. Salem and Pickles were sitting side by side on one of the benches, talking quietly amongst themselves. Nathan poured almost an entire gallon of gasoline over the wood before he tossed the container to the side.

"Gonna need someone to light this," Nathan growled.

"Let da birt'day bitch do it," Pickles slurred a little, like he'd already gotten into the alcohol (and knowing him, he probably did).

Nathan took a step back and offered her a match, which she lit with the matchbox after a few measly attempts; she was a bit rusty, she supposed. She tossed it in without a warning and the entire thing blew up in flames, nearly burning her and Nathan's face off. Nathalia flinched slightly and took a step back, whereas Nathan calmly patted some of the flames out of his shirt with his hand.

Skwisgaar remained pouting even as Pickles tossed the pillow to Nathalia and she lifted it over her head in a defiant move, before throwing it into the pit and watching Skwisgaar's face burn to a crisp.

Salem clapped their hands in amusement with Pickles leaning into their shoulder, his chipper laughter ringing through the air. Nathalia caught Toki's eyes which were darting between her and Nathan. He quickly turned his head, instead staring into the deep flame, looking troubled about something.

Nathalia ended up sitting next to Pickles and Salem, with Nathan to the left of her, Skwisgaar actually sitting on the ground despite initial complaints about getting dirty, and Toki sitting on the far right of Salem.

They passed more gifts to her that they had brought out with them, Salem getting her a new black crop top and knee high studded boots since her others had ripped a while ago, Pickles getting her (not surprisingly) more booze and some free beer tickets he had snagged from someone, Skwisgaar handing over her very own Dethklok styled Nathalia coffee mug (of course with his small signature in the corner), and Toki giving her a cute homemade card with a drawn bunny on the front.

Nathan was the only one who hadn't given her a present yet, which made her slightly salty but she wasn't gonna say anything... well, except maybe a passive aggressive comment here and there, later. While everyone began to break into bottles of whiskey and vodka, she admired the cute and sloppy handwriting that was Toki's:

Happy birthdays Necros! I hope it ams goods ones, you deserves it!

-Loves, Toki

Bitter fluid filled her throat eventually and she began to unwind, leaning against the bench on her hands while admiring the fire in front of her. Salem and Pickles were getting a bit too comfortable with each other, to everyone except Nathalia's discomfort. Salem's hand had trailed over Pickle's pale neck and then held him there with a tight grip while their tongue lined his jaw sensually. Pickles's eyes were closed with his mouth hung slightly open, hands squeezing the midget's sides to hold them tightly to him.

"Wowie!" Toki exclaimed in astonishment.

"Wow, you guys ams worse than mes," Skwisgaar snorted after downing another shot.

"Uhhhh," was all Nathan could say.

"Now FUCK!" Nathalia all but shouted.

hThey all began to chat and joke about regular and normal things, and even Skwisgaar's egotistical tendencies couldn't put a damper on her mood, in fact they didn't actually seem so annoying. Rather, it just gave her fuel to make fun of him, which he didn't seem to mind, at least not a lot.

Pickles found his head in Salem's lap while they played with his dreads, and Toki was 'wrestling' with Skwisgaar on the ground (gently, and more or less consisted of Toki batting at his hair or face almost like a literal kitten while the Swede knocked him over dismissively). Bottle after bottle was emptied, and Nathalia could barely concentrate enough to wonder exactly how Pickles managed to sneak this much alcohol into Mordhaus when they weren't supposed to be consuming any. Then again, did Abigail really care about those kinds of rules right now when she was hunting for Charles?

Too many depressing thoughts. Nathalia downed another bottle to forget about them.

Nathalia didn't know how much time passed before everyone was face-first in the dirt with a bottle clutched tightly in their hand so they could hold onto dear life. Nathalia was draped over the back of the bench, draining the last of her alcohol. Nathan was the only one physically standing, leaning against the nearest tree with a bottle hung loosely in his grip. His face was difficult to read.

Their eyes met and suddenly Nathan lifted a finger to motion her over. Nathalia felt a lump in her throat; it still felt weird being able to socialize normally with someone she practically used to pretend to be, because she'd become so obsessed with him and Dethklok as a whole.

Nathalia decided that the best and obvious way to get over there would be to fall off of the bench's backing and hit the ground hard with her head. She gave a small cackle before she scrambled onto her feet to join Nathan.

Nathan raised an eyebrow at her poor decision making but didn't comment on it, rather grunting, "Here," while handing her a package that he had pulled out from behind his back. Where had he been hiding this? Where had he been hiding it just now?! Either way this surprised Nathalia, since she hadn't really expected anything, mostly because he hadn't made it known he had actually gotten anything for her.

Of course since she was also drunk, this just made her feel compelled to sass him. "Woooooow, you waited this long to gimme anything?" She scooped the gift up and peeled off the paper, while Nathan crossed his arms over his chest as he usually did in awkward social interactions.

"Yeah, well. Happy uhh, birthday." His voice was an oddly quiet growl. He watched carefully while she opened the box and saw several items inside. She drunkenly dropped to the ground with the box in her lap so she could dig her hands through the stuff.

She pulled out a Dethklok shirt with the band itself pictured underneath the logo, which she figured was a typical thing until she saw herself toward the front with Nathan, the both of them singing at the same time. It was an obviously photoshopped thing since they never sang together in front of a live audience, but Nathalia held it to her chest and gave a scream of joy, which startled the others awake momentarily.

"Fucks, don'ts do thats," Skwisgaar complained from the pile of body parts nearby; Pickles was draped over the Swede's legs and completely knocked out with Skwisgaar's hand on the red-head's back like he'd been trying to comfort him half-assedly, and Toki had somehow managed to land knees and elbows on both of their bodies, face green. Salem was a bit further away, face down and ass up as they usually liked to be (Nathalia smirked at this). They looked like... A giant, messed up family.

"Sorry!" Nathalia called to them, then added shyly, "I likes it." Damnit, she was starting to speak like Toki and Skwisgaar. She placed the shirt down gently on her lap and dug deeper to find a limited edition poster within the box too, and a CD of a Dethklok album that had apparently not been released yet to the public. "Lots of Dethklok stuff in here," Nathalia teased him.

"Well if you don't like them, I can take them-"

"NO!" Nathalia's shout made everyone else grumble again.

"Excuse me, Nathalia?" The singer lifted her head to see one of the Klokateers standing there awkwardly and stiffly.

Uh oh, busted, Nathalia thought vaguely but externally grinned drunkenly up at them. "Yeeeeeeee?"

"Somebody's calling you on one of the monitors, they won't say who they are," the Klokateer explained.

"Rude. Alright, I goes talk to them." Not even remembering how weird it would be to get a call since she hadn't told anybody else the Dethklok number in specific, because she didn't even talk to anybody else, Nathalia wobbled as she stood up, making sure to place her new belongings back in the box. She tucked the package under her arm and began to stumble toward Mordhaus, with the rest of them following behind like groaning, moaning zombies, the fire forgotten and left for someone else to clean up.

Even though Nathalia knew someone was waiting for her, she stopped to wait for Salem, who was dragging a half-conscious Pickles with them. She foggily remembered their fight and how she basically neglected to apologize to Salem for being rude, but at this point in time, she figured it was much too late to say sorry.

So once the midget had finally caught up with Nathalia, she punched them lightly in the arm. "Hey, we good, right?" Smooth, so smooth.

Salem shrugged the punch away, looking physically exhausted but not angry or upset. "Yeah. Can you help?" They motioned with their head toward Pickles, who was slumped over and not in the direction that would probably help Salem drag him. Nathalia wobbled to the red-head's other side and grabbed a hold of his arm, helping him walk to their destination even though she was also basically crippled.

Once in the living-room, they proceeded to crash in there. Salem fell onto the couch with Pickles following suit, Skwisgaar and Toki were laying on the ground whispering in foreign and giggling to themselves, and Nathan decided to lean on one of the nearest tables, accidentally knocking a statue over and watching it smash into pieces with a disgruntled look.

The Klokateer motioned to the T.V that would supposedly play the call; a video call, great. If Nathalia wasn't so wasted, she'd have felt anxious about that.

However, it didn't matter, because she immediately sobered up when the call was finally answered and two faces she didn't think she'd ever see again, sat smugly right in front of her face. Visions and memories of long ago buzzed through her brain painfully and she cringed to see her siblings Hannah and Trevor standing in front of her through the monitor.

"Turn it off." Nathalia's voice didn't even sound like her own. It felt hollow and void of emotion, as well as her face. The fog in her head became even cloudier, and it wasn't just the alcohol that kept a barrier up to keep her from processing the situation and any questions she should've been thinking of, like why they would call or how they knew where to call.

The Klokateer must have been a slow one because they just stood there in slight confusion as they gawked at Nathalia, almost like they didn't understand her very simple request. She was about to repeat herself when that obnoxious baby voice she hadn't heard in years interrupted her, making her stomach drop to the floor.

"Why, sis? Don't you want your siblings to say happy birthday to you?" Hannah's big brown eyes stared at Nathalia in fake sweetness but there was very obvious distaste in them, which began to irritate the singer. The numbness that spread through her chest started getting washed away, with frustration and hatred taking its place. How dare they contact her? How dare they try and play her as a fool?

"Fuck off and die," Nathalia snarled. A shift on the couch behind her made her hyper-aware of the possible audience in the room, and it made her all the more angry. She was supposed to be having fun and hanging out with her friends. People who actually enjoyed her presence.

Hannah tsked at Nathalia with a sad shake of her head, giving a look of defeat and betrayal to the other. Nathalia knew it to be a lie; she'd grown up with the monster, she knew every exaggerated move she made. Nothing about her seemed naturally real, even after all these years.

It was a disgustingly dramatic facade that somehow managed to trick everyone else, though. She was as fake as a barbie doll. Even her hair was probably sprayed to death to look straight and 'perfect', and her clothes ironed to hell to keep it from wrinkling. It just made her look even more plastic.

Another voice spoke this time, causing Nathalia's harsh eyes to snap toward her brother, Trevor. No, not her brother. They weren't family, just little crotch spawns that had the audacity to torture her in her early life, that was all. She didn't claim them.

Nathalia hadn't actually heard what Trevor said to her, which very obviously irritated him. He'd always been a rash and angry person. He wrapped his arms around his chest, and Nathalia could hear his foot tapping lightly against the floor from where he was. Their background was difficult to see with no lights on, but it looked like a very clean, pristine room with white walls. It probably had some doilies, crosses, or generic 'Live Laugh Love' signs as decoration somewhere, whatever would make Nathalia cringe the most.

Neither of them had really changed all that much from when she had seen them last; even though it had been literal years. Aside from maturing physically, like thicker muscles and more defined features, they kept the same grossly 'precious' aesthetic. Hannah was wearing some type of pink turtleneck sweater, Trevor had on an ugly blue polo shirt, and both of them looked like the kinda people she'd love to smash with a brick.

Apparently Trevor had had enough with being stared at without a response, so he glared heavily at Nathalia, deciding that playing nice just wasn't going to cut it. "I can't stand you even after all these years; you just stare at everyone with that stupid face because you don't understand shit." Hannah slapped Trevor on the arm, which looked genuine enough- but the intentions behind it most likely had more to do with him ruining whatever fake sweetness they had planned for Nathalia.

It seemed like Salem had finally gotten up from the couch and realized what was going on, because Nathalia heard a faint, "Ah, shit." She couldn't focus on that though, instead processing the words being thrown at her face. After a moment of silence while she fell into her thoughts, she abruptly tilted her head back and gave a barking laugh.

"I literally give no fucks what you pathetic fucks think of me," Nathalia said snarkily with an eye-roll as she walked toward the T.V in preparation to turn it off herself. "And I give even less of a fuck about two fucking cunts trying to ruin my birthday because they probably still don't have a life after all these years!"

Hannah gave one of her oh-so-fake looks of surprise and hurt. "Of course not! We just wanted to say happy birthday, and remind you of your karma, dear sis."

"What-"

"After all, it's been years since you killed Father and you still haven't gotten punished yet, it seems."

The silence was deafening, as Nathalia's brain seemed to short-circuit. "Me, kill my father? ME? Not your stupid cracked out mother?! ME?" Nathalia's barking laugh echoed throughout the silent room, much to her 'sibling's' displeasure.

Dethklok was beginning to see the change in attitude with Necro. She went from numb and careless, to angry and frustrated, to nearly a hysterical madness as she grinned up at Trevor's growing red face. Of course being drunk didn't help her case, and neither did years of pent up loathing.

"You're crazy," Trevor accused Nathalia. "You always fuckin' were. You're the reason you made our mother actually go insane, I hope you know."

"She's been crazy since she was a sperm swimming in some nuts," Nathalia sneered in response. "And nothing you say hurts my feelings or will ever hurt my feelings. I'm fuckin' perfect and you guys are bottom of the barrel scum. Say, are you two living together? Alabama, am I right?" She gave out a high pitched giggle. "Fuckin' disgusting, all of you."

Nathalia could feel a presence near her body, much too close for her comfort. When a light hand touched her shoulder, she whirled around and slapped whoever had made contact with her, sending them into the floor then turned back around, nostrils flaring and eyes wild. Her brain was foggy again, but this time with mixed emotions. Memories she'd prefer not to remember flooded her entire existence, pushing her head under in an attempt to drown her. Sweet laughter of a past so distant made her wince and she clenched her hands into fists.

"Actually we are living together; we're doing something really top secret that involves a lot of us." Trevor sneered. "This is our payback for the death of our father, and abandoning your family. By the way, I'll tell Charles you said hi. "

Whatever Nathalia ended up throwing, went right through the T.V, the last thing Nathalia saw being Trevor's triumphant smirk and Hannah's flinch and nervous glances. "If I ever fucking see either of you, you're dead," Nathalia whispered just before the call cut out completely.

The room filled with a heavy, dark silence, before Nathan growled in a deadly voice, "They said Charles. Why would they know about Charles?!"

Nathalia wasn't about to comment on that situation, because frankly she didn't care too much about it, when Nathan slammed his fist into the nearest wall. "Why would they attack him as part of their vin- vengeantse toward you?! Why'd you break the T.V?!" Nathan's voice was getting louder, until Salem finally stepped in with their hands up toward the brute.

"Listen, just ask the Klokateers about tracing the call," Salem spoke softly. "They obviously did this irrationally to gloat, and whoever was in charge of this whole thing probably wasn't supposed to know from the way the girl acted and how dark the room was. That means they probably in general slipped up with covering their tracks, because they don't seem very smart to begin with by doing this. Even if there's no way to track it, we can try picking apart the room, okay? This is actually helpful for us. And they didn't kidnap Charles themselves, so blaming them or Nathalia is useless."

Nathan seemed to grow calmer with every word until his shoulders were sagging from the release, sighing deeply. Without saying a word, he nodded toward the Klokateers so they could go report this to Abigail.

However, Nathalia didn't seem to care about any of this. She felt the walls were closing in on her and so she ended up stumbling toward the exit, past Toki who was on the floor with his hand on his face in surprise and fear.

She could hear the voices of her past talking to her while she wobbled out into the hallway, leaning her hand against the wall while she gasped for air. Every 'I love you' from a man's voice she hadn't heard in even longer than the rest of her 'family's' felt so bitter- not bittersweet but just horribly rotten now. She didn't know how to feel about what Hannah had said, the audacity of pinning the murder on her...

Nathalia could only let out a few tears by herself before she heard movement in the living-room and straightened up, allowing the earlier booze to cloud her head until she could no longer notice her own emotions that were just begging to surface.

A minute or two passed before Nathalia saw Salem walking down the hall with their hands in their pockets. Their laidback expression almost irritated her, but the tiny logical side of her pointed out that it would be worse if Salem tried to act any other way out of helpfulness. They would discuss it when Nathalia was ready to discuss it, and that helped ease her mind a little.

The problem was Nathalia's obsession with unhealthily bottling everything up and keeping herself from talking about anything... And Salem would never see the unheard cries and begs of needing to be forced into the conversation, nor would they be brave enough to try even if they did, since Nathalia would try to only fight back with even more resistance.

And so the two friends ended up standing side by side, Salem looking off into the distance and Nathalia staring at what couldn't be seen by anybody else.

Salem cleared their throat gently and then said, "We plan to go back outside and burn more of Skwisgaar's shit. You can join, if you'd like."

Nathalia blinked back all the tears, the frustration, the pain, the anger, the irritation, and everything else for a good long moment. Then finally she gave a small sigh and replied, "Sure, as long as Pickles gets more booze."

Nathalia didn't remember much after that point. The alcohol made her practically black-out as she tossed old presents of Skwisgaar's into the fire, watched everyone laugh and talk and drink, and felt concerned pats on her shoulder that made her jerk every time.

At some point she noticed Toki's swollen cheek and loudly demanded for whoever hit him to speak up so she could beat their ass. When Nathan pointed out that she did it, she ended up rolling on the ground to punch and bite herself, and everyone laughed and cheered her on (or booed her, depending on if they were on Nathalia 1's side, or Nathalia 2's side as explained by Pickles matter-of-factly). Everything seemed back to normal.

Until the night dragged on and everyone had either stumbled to bed or fell into the dirt to sleep, and Nathalia was alone with fuzzy thoughts that she couldn't comprehend at the moment. It royally pissed her off, and she found herself trailing through the halls of Mordhaus, tears once more threatening to fall while she bit her lower lip so hard that she bled just to keep herself under control. She wasn't a sad drunk, she was a happy drunk; and it was her birthday. She wasn't going to let it get ruined...

A familiar pig-faced man entered her blurry vision. Nathalia had to squint to figure out if someone had actually let a pig run free in Mordhaus or if it was just one of the most loathed persons she knew.

When Murderface's face came closer and became clearer, Nathalia ended up balling her bloody fist while she pointed at him with her other hand, a crazed look in her eyes as she bellowed to the man, "YOU! GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!"