Latte and Velvet made their way into the Church Courtyard, the sun just rising over the hills as the fresh air swayed the trees. Latte quickly noticed the Detective sitting on a bench nearby, scratching notes onto his clipboard. The detective and Latte didn't have the best relationship, especially after the divorce.
Latte walked over, brushing aside her frown with her natural cheery look. "Hello, Almond." She didn't envy him of course, since they had separated, she, for the most part, she grew far from attached. Yet, she would still be nice to him.
Almond looked up from his notepad to see the two. "..can I help you?" He asked, a bit confused on why she was there, assuming she wanted something from him.
"I and this young fellow are looking for Espresso and Madeleine, have you seen them today 'mond?" he shook his head. "Afraid I can't help you, I haven't seen them."
"Well, that's perfect." Latte huffed, turning back to Velvet. "I'm sorry we couldn't find them, I don't have any more ideas of where they could be." Velvet glanced to the church's steeple, towering over the trees in the distance, not far from here as they were already in the Church property. Something felt.. Off.
"..I have a feeling we should check the Church." he hesitantly responded. "The Church?" Latte was a bit confused by his choice but decided to go along with it for now. She looked to Almond. "Are we allowed inside?"
"I believe so, you have your wizard's licence so you could be considered a hero, and the kid is a knight. Just don't get yourself killed." He took a sip of his coffee. Latte nodded, making her way to the church, gesturing for Velvet to follow her. "We'll shout for you if we need anything!"
The two made their way up the stairs, reaching the front doors as Velvet swung them open. He glanced around, the place was trashed, as someone had gone on a rampage. It wreaked of distress. Melted wax covered the tables, broken chandeliers laying on the ground and others just barely hanging on to the ceiling. broken glass was everywhere, it was so dark inside.
Latte formed a small light with her magic, starting to walk inside, Velvet nervously trailing behind her. He paused for a moment before yelling out, "HELLO?" ..a few moments later he could hear an incoherent call from what seemed to be underneath them, it was more than familiar.
Latte looked to him. "Did you hear that?" Velvet nodded. "..So that wasn't just me then, where did that even come from?" They could hear more faint yelling and screaming, two voices. "-that was definitely Madeleine.." Velvet said under his breath. he was relieved to know where Madeleine was, but he sounded in trouble, the blood-curdling screams ringing through his ears.
"It's coming from.. Down?" latte said, glancing around. "I've been in the basement before, I just don't know how to get there." "Well- should we continue on or go get 'Mond?" "Fuck it, we're already here and I don't plan on leaving without him." he paused for a moment. "God- where do we even start.."
Suddenly a knight came up to them, a bloody, strangely placed bandage wrapped over his eyes. He almost looked like he was.. Melting, his face distorted and deformed. The two could barely tell through the dark, but it sure startled them. The knight spoke, "Sorry, you're not allowed in the building while it's under investigation!"
Velvet glared at them. "What? Almond told us we were allowed here-" The knight interrupted him. "I'm afraid you'll have to take your leave," Latte spoke up, stepping forward. "No no, I assure you we're allowed here. We're looking for two people-" the knight interrupted once again. "Sorry ma'am but rules are rules, you need to leave. Now."
Velvet frowned, just about ready to but this guy up. Latte huffed, turning back. "Strange, let's go Velvet." she started making her way out. "What?? You're leaving just like that?" "You heard the knight, we're not allowed here." "He's in trouble, we both heard the same thing! We can't just go!" Latte glared at him for a moment before turning back to the door, leaving the Church.
The knight glared at Velvet from the darkness of the room, suddenly jumping out after Latte was out of sight, pouncing onto Velvet and knocking him to the ground, the bandages slipping off. His face was bloody, the entire top half of his head ripped off. Velvet quickly got to action, throwing the knight off as he hurriedly got to his feet, pulling out his sword from the holster on his back as he stabbed the knight in the head.
It was almost like the knight didn't take any damage, but it looked like his head was about to fall off, almost hanging upside down. Velvet quickly pulled out the sword, shortly slicing off his limbs after knocking him to the ground. Suddenly the limbs came to life, cracking and snapping noises coming from the knight's bones. "..oh my sugar-" he dropped his sword.
Velvet quickly decided it wasn't worth it, running deeper into the church, closing the door behind him.
..
Shadow walked through the door to the basement with a satchel over her shoulder, Espresso glaring at her as she stepped closer. Espresso weakly sat on his knees next to Madeleine, covering the stab wound on his side with his hand. Madeleine, with his head, held low and his eyes closed. He felt so weak, helpless. His body aching.
Espresso scooted back a bit as Shadow came closer, though she didn't seem threatening. Shadow kelt down to Madeleine's height, carefully lifting his head as he trembled. She laid him back down, reaching into her bag, pulling out a cloth and a few bandages. She soaked up the blood using the rag before carefully wrapping the bandages around the stab wound.
Espresso studied her every move. He wouldn't stop her, in fear of Madeleine losing too much blood if he didn't get the care. Eventually, Shadow's sister finished, standing up as she started to make her way out. The door disappeared behind her as Espresso watched her leave. He silently came forward, wanting to remain by Madeleine's side.
"..Feel better, alright?" Espresso frowned, glancing away. Madeleine nodded and kept his head down. "I don't think I will.." "uhm- right.. I'm trying to give you sympathy alright??" he huffed, pausing. "..Listen, I uh- don't know if we're going to make it out of this. Let's be realistic." Madeleine weakly nodded. "Just know.. I love you, alright?" Madeleine was a bit caught off guard. "As- as a friend, right-?" "Oh uh- yeah- as a friend.."
"..oh, I love you too." he smiled softly, weakly raising his head to look at Espresso who stared off at one of the candles in the distance. "..I'm scared." Espresso said quietly, he felt like he could die any moment now, it was only a matter of time.
"I know.. I am too." as much as Madeleine hated admitting to fear, he didn't want to lie. "I'm sure someone will find us sooner or later." "Yes, hopefully." Espresso took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
"I.. Perhaps should have slept, I feel like a fool for not listening to you."
"Don't be sorry, Get some rest, we'll be here for a while."
..
Pastry made her way through the Church, already starting to dearly regret her decision. Velvet had been missing for a while now, and after being told he had last entered here, she went to look for him. She took a deep breath, continuing onwards as she shivered, it was unusually cold in the deeper parts, and who knows how long Velvet's been down here. She peeked out a door. Sitting there in the moonlight was Reverend, humming to herself. A faint song played from the amulet she carried, there seemed to be a music box inside. The talisman swung back and forth, the sounds were almost hypnotic.
Reverend must have heard the door creak, as she turned around to see Pastry, standing up. "..Hello again, Fancy meeting you here." She did not seem happy, but neither was Pastry. "Shut up, just tell me where Madeleine and Velvet are and we're good to go." "Ah, you mean the lead knight? You're little boyfriend? I'm afraid I haven't seen them."
Pastry growled, stomping over and grasping her by the arm. "Don't be stupid, they're here and you know it." Reverend quickly dug her nails into her hand ripping it off of her. Despite Reverend's appearance, she was quite a strong person. "I'd appreciate it if you kept your disgusting hands off me." Reverend snarled.
Pastry paused for a moment, clenching her fists before punching Reverend in the face. Reverend took a step back from the impact, her eyes springing open. There were three irises inside each of her eyes, a sharp piercing yellow gazing into her as they glared at each other. Reverend pulled a knife from her cloak as she lunged towards her, plunging the knife into her shoulder.
Pastry yelped before grabbing the knife out from her arm, stabbing it at Reverend's legs, kicking her to the ground who quickly got back up, sweeping around her and knocking her to the ground as she grabbed back her knife, forcing her arm behind her back with one hand, grasping her head with the other as she bashed her head into the ground, breaking her nose.
"FUCK-" she used her leg to knock Reverend off, turning herself back towards her as he socked her in the eye, grabbing back the knife as he kicked Reverend to the ground once again.
"Hah. I keep underestimating you don't I..?" Reverend grinned, standing herself up and taking a step back. "You know nothing of me. You may have taught me how to fight but you don't know what I'm capable of. Now tell me where they are or I'll put you six feet under this church," she growled, taking a step back as well.
Reverend saw this as an opportunity, pulling out the sacrificial knife as she charged back at her, stabbing her in the eye as she pushed Pastry against the wall, holding her down with her free hand. She dragged the knife down through her jaw and out the bottom of her face, pulling back her knife before pushing her to the floor.
Pastry let out a horrifying shriek, shakily pulling herself onto her knees as she covered her face with her hand, shock running through her body as she yanked the knife out of her face, her split eye rolling out and across the ground as she looked up to Reverend, shakily standing up and throwing the knife, hitting Reverend in the stomach.
Reverend took another step back, smiling to herself as she plucked the knife from her stomach, charging back at Pastry, pushing her back onto the floor. The dark deep red blood flowed from her stomach as she shoved the knife down Pastry's throat.
Suddenly one of the doors swung open, Velvet hurried out and shoved Reverend off of her, holding her into the wall and slamming the back of her head into the wall, knocking Mother out cold as she fell to the ground. He quickly hurried back to Pastry, a bloody sobbing mess laying on the ground.
"Oh my God.." he knelt down to her aid checking if she was still conscious, carefully moving the knife from her mouth, his heart racing. Pastry was having trouble breathing, her vision blurry yet her eyes were wide open. Half her face was cut open with a giant gash, although the cut on her arm wasn't as bad as the others.
Velvet carefully picked her up, not wanting to hurt her. He needed to get out of here soon as possible and find a healer somewhere. Thoughts raced through his head, where was he supposed to go that would be close enough? The first thing that came to mind, the bar. A few of the bar tender's friends are healers and they're closed today, he remembered sparkling saying he and his friends were spending the night there that night, so he shouldn't have to worry about other people. It seemed like a good idea at the moment, so he quickly hurried off.
He burst in through the door. "Sparkling? I hope I'm not interrupting anything- I- uh-" he was visibly panicked, unsure what to say. He hoped they would get the memo. The few cookies quickly turned around. "Oh my god-" sparkling gasped. A familiar face, herb cookie, looked up smiling, his cheery expression instantly dropping. "Oh- oh dear- how did this happen??" he quickly stood up.
"That's not what I'm worried about- you're a healer, right??" he hurriedly stepped in. Herb nodded. "Y-Yeah but to heal something like that could take hours!" "Is there anything you can do at the moment?"
Herb nodded once again, gesturing for him to lay Pastry on a couch. After Velvet laid her down, Herb quickly and carefully started wrapping her wounds with some leaf-like bandages formed from his magic, stitching up some of the wounds with a vine-like thread, trying to stop the bleeding soon as possible. Jam all over his hands.
Velvet quickly realized he needed to go back for Madeleine, it was the reason he was there in the first place, maybe he could make it back before Reverend woke up. He stood up. "I'll- be right back." he hurried out the door. Sparkling watch him leave before looking back to Vampire and then Herb. "..Alright then, goodness gracious uh-"
Luckily it didn't take long for him to get back and find the Basement door. He hurried through, rushing down the stairs as he pushed open the final door, Madeleine looked up to see him. "oh FUCK YEA-" Espresso laid asleep next to him. Velvet hurried over to the two of them. "Right, yes, now let's get the fuck out of here."
Madeleine nodded as Velvet knelt down and tore the chains out of the floor using his claw. "Right! How did you get past her and shit?" "Not important, you should grab Espresso and bring him home." "Huh? Alright." Velvet removed the bladed cuffs from his wrists and ankles as Madeleine carefully picked up Espresso. "Where are you in such a hurry to get to?" the two started making their way up the stairs. "Bar." "..what??"
..
Velvet walked back inside, nervously keeping his head down a bit. "I'm back." Herb looked at him. "Good news and bad news. The good news is she's Breathing and Alive, the bad news is she might not be able to talk for a while. I won't be able to recover her eye and this'll most likely leave a nasty scar. She'll need lots of rest. Oh yes, I also snapped her nose back into place."
Velvet silently nodded, sitting down nearby and taking a deep breath as he rested his head in his hands. "..Are you okay as well?" Herb asked. "I'm fine, I wasn't there for the fight." "No no, Mentally." "Absolutely not." "Listen, I promise she'll be okay."
Madeleine walked in the door. "Sorry I took so long, now what are you- oh holy sugar what happened to Pastry-" Velvet peeked out of his hands to see him. "..You good?" He walked over to Velvet. "Just uh- worried." he lowered his hands and closed his eyes, his head pounding. "Why don't you come to sit down, sparkling could make you whatever drink you'd like?" "This is a really fucking bad time, Madeleine." "I didn't mean alcohol, he could get you a water or something?" "No, no thank you." "all alright then.."
Pastry flinched a bit, her eyes shut tightly as herb gently rubbed her shoulder, tears freely flowing down her face, her body shivering. Herb frowned and stood up, leaving the room to give her space. Madeleine tapped Velvet on the shoulder and motioned to Pastry before sitting up and also leaving the room.
Velvet lifted his head, reluctantly standing up and walking over to her. He gently put his hand over her's, not wanting to startle her, but wanting to let her know of his presence.
She sat up and hugged on to him, having gained a bit of energy back. She couldn't tell why she was crying. Was it the pain or the fact half her face was torn apart? She wasn't sure. It was hard to speak, she wanted to say something, anything, so bad, yet she couldn't.
Velvet gently placed his hand on the back of her head, supporting her up and kissing her forehead softly. "You're safe now, relax.." Pastry shook her head. She could barely move, she felt cold as ice, her body trembling. Velvet could feel her bitter skin against his, taking off his jacket and laying it over her shoulders. He hoped to would keep her somewhat warm.
pastry took her non-injured arm, hugging herself and holding the jacket close to her. His body heat warmed up to her as she nearly melted into him. She peeked open her eye, opening her mouth to speak, nothing coming out. Velvet quickly noticed. "uh.. You might not be able to speak for a few days, I'll try and find a notebook or something in the meantime when we get home." she nodded.
Herb entered the room again. "Ah, here, I have some Pain Medication on me.. If she's in pain you can go ahead and try this. Swallowing might be a bit hard but it should help." He smiled handing Velvet a small bottle. "..Yes, thank you." he paused for a moment, taking the container. "I should probably take her home." Herb nodded. "Yes, it's getting late. I suggest you stay home with her until she's a bit better."
"Alright, I will. Please notify Madeleine I will be off work for a while." Velvet carefully picked her up, her head leaning into his chest. "Will do!" Herb waved as he made his way out.
Velvet made his way inside the but, placing Pastry on the bed and covering her with the sheets before he sat down on the side of the bed, reaching into the nightstand in the side, taking out a notepad and a pen and handing it to Pastry. "Here, that'll have to do for now." Pastry took them and turned to her side facing away from him, taking off the jacket and hugging it.
Velvet went over to the fireplace, grabbing a match and lighting it before throwing it in. It was already past midnight, his eyes felt heavy. He yawned, stretching out his arms.
Pastry took the notepad and started writing from under the sheet. It was just a little note with, "I love you" written on it. She put the note on the side table near Velvet before pulling the sheet back over her head.
He walked over and sat back down on the bed, glancing at the note. "..Love you too hun." he smiled softly.