Arietta
Partners In Crime ~ Set It Off
Sagittaria
A Deadpool trait is to be impulsive. Yes, I'm trying to excuse my behavior. With a sigh, I step back, wishing I hadn't said those last pointed words. If only Aquaria and Pisces could hurry the fuck up and come back -
Ari tips his head to the side, confusion written over his infuriating face. Sometimes I think Ari must be thicker than Carina, who is an emotion reader but thick as concrete. "...what?"
"You're so stupid," I bury my head in my hand, feeling my face heat up. Why did I even befriend this moron?
"Or maybe you're being confusing," he adds before hesitating. "I ... I fucked up with Peridot. But I don't understand why you would care about her if we were friends, so I never talked to you about it!"
"You thick ..." I mumble again, sinking into a seated position, keeping my face buried in my hands so that he wouldn't be able to see my flushed cheeks and expression. "I care about you."
"Yeah, well, you're my best friend. I care about you too!" Ari's voice becomes more heated as he places a hand on my shoulder and I seriously contemplate how dense he possibly can become.
"No -" I start, only getting more flustered by the minute. "It's not that, I mean, it's not just that, I -" I pause in the middle of the sentence I wouldn't have ended anyway as Ari places a hand under my chin and tilts my head up, orange eyes analyzing my face with a strange sense of calm.
"Sagittaria, I'm serious when I say I do care about you. If there's something you want to know, I will truthfully tell you about it. I want you to be able to trust me. So, is there anything you want to say to me right now?" Ari's voice dips low and quiet, my breath softly catching in my throat. I know he seems really thick, but he's always been there for me.
"I mean, yes ... yeah there is," I match his quiet tone. "I've been hoping that someday we could have an actual relationship."
As Ari doesn't respond to that, I go a step further. "It's been some time that I've ... liked you a lot," I finally pull my head back, my eyes magnetized to the floor as if it's the one thing that can save my life. Please don't think about that. Don't think about what I just said.
"Ah -" Ari's voice rasps slightly in surprise as he grips my chin again gently, his fingers cupping my face as he crouches down to look at me. I wonder if I could run in the opposite direction, or if a wall could conveniently become liquid - "uh. Thanks?"
I raise my eyes to his, noticing a deep red coloring his cheeks as he splutters something, "That was not what I meant to say!" he defends, a snort of laughter escaping his lips. The vise over my chest loosens a little as I realize that I'm not the only one being awkward here. I can't help a little cackle.
"What did you mean to say then?" I ask, a little teasingly. I guess later I can worry about our friendship changing with the event of my stupid little confession.
"I meant to ask you if I could kiss you," Ari mumbles, exhaling a long breath that blows over my face, but I don't pay the ticklish feeling it causes any mind as I mentally freeze. Did I mishear that? Am I delirious? As I don't answer, Ari adds quickly, "if you don't want to that's really fine I just -"
"No," I interrupt, my mouth barely forming the words I want to come out, "I do. I really do."
Ari lifts my chin slightly until our noses touch, angling his head slightly to press his lips against mine. I let my body lean into his, my hand holding his shoulder lightly. It only seems a few seconds, a few seconds where my mind is buzzing and frozen and I can't really think, I'm just waiting to wake up.
"Pisces, come here," the authoritative voice of my older sister declares.
"That's disgusting," Pisces's voice complains, most likely in mock childishness.
"I know, child. And that's why we don't fall in love," Aquaria's voice turns a bit more motherly.
Ari separates from me, his hand still on my chin as he glares at Aquaria, who has Pisces embraced in her arms. She's covering his eyes with her hands.
Though my mind is still blurry, I automatically snap back at my sister. "You're seventeen, act like it!"
"Aqua, I've seen worse," Pisces whispers in a honeyed innocent voice. "You left your phone open once and I think that was the day I lost my innocence -"
Aquaria covers Pisces's mouth fast enough that her hand is a blur, snapping, "Why would you look through my phone?"
"Because I'm innocent baby?" Pisces's false innocent voice is even more mocking.
"You're going to die," Aquaria sighs, her gaze flicking to me. "And you too. Caprice will kill you, sister. I ain't wasting time coming to your funeral."
"I wouldn't want you there," I answer cheekily, my lips spreading in the shit-eating grin I would wear during whenever we were bored of fighting the Darktales and instead fought each other.
Pisces speaks in a muffled voice from behind Aquaria's hand, "Seriously Aquaria, your search history traumatized me."
"WHY WERE YOU LOOKING THROUGH MY SEARCH HISTORY?"
"Why did you have a porn stash on your phone?"
-
Aquaria and Pisces dragged their sorry asses back because they'd found another vent in the system and were tired of venturing through trap-infested ventilation ducts, understandably.
And that's the short story of how I'm standing on Ari's shoulders, my outstretched fingers barely brushing the vent top. Before I can open it, it's flipped open by a hand belonging to a girl I vaguely recognize.
"You guys really do make dramatic entrances," Peridot says in disappointment. "Want a hand up?" she addresses me offhandedly.
I hook my hands up, gripping the floor as I haul myself up. It's painfully slow, but pettiness runs in my blood.
"How the hell are you here?" calls Aquaria in vague curiosity, seeming slightly offended at the fact that Peridot exists.
"I was born," answers Peridot sarcastically, "like all of us."
"I genuinely don't care unless she can tell us if there's a way out," Pisces mumbles.
"The way out is back where I've come, in case you want to know," Peridot instructs.
"Ooooh, I care now," Pisces whispers to Ari, who rolls his eyes.
Taurus
Multiple people shouldn't be walking through this passage at the same, since we all slam into each other and the tramping of feet against the floor is offensively loud to my ears.
Also, Leo is singing, and that's more offensive to my ears.
"Carina," Leilani's voice is muffled, "if you lead us somewhere insignificant instead of out this hellhole I will personally kill you."
"That will be funny," Scorpio concedes. "Can I get a ticket?"
"You're supposed to be on my side," Carina whines.
"I was until you started aimlessly talking to yourself next to my ear," the older Darktale answers.
Leilani snorts to herself before I interrupt, squinting to see ahead. I think I see the shimmer of a wall ahead, and if I'm correct ... "Guys, I think this is a dead end."
"Carina, I'm gonna break your bones," Vienna says sweetly.
"Damn," Leo whispers under his breath, but he's in front of me. I get a good reason to backhand his ankle, which kicks out at me but misses.
"That's a ladder, idiots, you climb it," Carina deadpans, pointing at what seems to be an empty space on the wall.
"I don't see a ladder -" I start before I notice two pipes crossed with wires tightly wrapped around them in the place of ladder rungs. "Oh, that is not a ladder."
"Yeah, but that is a hatch that might lead us out of here," Leilani reluctantly comes to Carina's side.
"We could kill Carina anyway," Leo considers.
-
The heavy hatch does lead out into the dusty day. As soon as I drag myself out of it, something sharp lightly raking my skin, I close my eyes, turning my face up to the light.
"We're out," I whisper in shock. Everything hits me in that moment. The amount of times we've all almost died, the amount of horror and trauma we automatically pushed away because we had to survive now, and we were all good at this because we did this in less apocalyptic situations. How Ari, Pisces, Sagittaria, and Aquaria might also be dead, but I don't let that thought in my mind because I won't believe it until I see their dead bodies to cope.
Hell, we might still die. We've just got out of this place, but it isn't like we're immortal now.
"I would ask you if you're okay, but we don't have the time," Caprice offers me her hand to help me up, distracting me from the flood of thoughts breaking down my mind.
"I'm not okay," I confirm, "is the end of the world imminent?"
"Not really," Caprice pulls me up and lets her hand stay on my shoulder, "but the others are missing, and we need to find Nia."
"Right ..." I trail off. "We came here to find Antares, so we should probably actually find them. And Miasma."
"For purely selfish reasons, totally not because you care about them?" guesses Caprice with a knowledgeable smirk.
"You got it," I match her expression. "I'm a Hell Zoner. I don't care."
"That's what they all say," Caprice brings her hand back to her side and walks away without saying anything else to me as I shield my eyes automatically, though I can't see any sun, scanning the fields.
"Ah, Cemetas," I murmur as my eyes lock on a shred of neon green. "Don't tell me ..." I recall jokingly labeling that color 'Nia green' since she wore it so often in order to be an eyeburning little brat.
I start walking towards it carefully, in case Antares decides I'm hostile on a whim, but nothing happens. Until it does.
Dust flies as a miniature explosion occurs, gusts of wind slamming me to the ground. I gasp for breath, sitting up to see Miasma standing at her full height above Antares, "Do NOT look at my search history," she demands coldly.
The pink-haired male gets up slowly with a pained smile, "That worked better than I thought it would."
"Hey guys," I wave slightly, deciding to enter the conversation at this point. "Remember me?"
Miasma and Antares both turn to look at me. "Not necessarily," Antares answers sincerely.
"Who are you?" Miasma questions, just as I'd hoped the woman who'd assigned herself to be my guide would remember me.
"I live with this brat," I gesture at Nia's prone body, "that's who I am."
"I remember you now," Miasma says with a gasp as if she's just accomplished something before adding, "slightly."
"We're alive, in case you cared" - Antares shakes his head - "and four of us are missing" - Antares shrugs nonchalantly - "and you should come with us because we came for you and you have her."
Miasma ruffles Antares's hair slightly, standing behind him. "You're carrying her, though. She should be light. Isn't she, like, twelve?"
I pick up Nia resolutely, stepping over a large pipe embedded into the ground. I'm about to have two feet on solid ground as someone shoots out of the pipe, bowling me and Nia over. I choke for breath as Pisces sneezes onto my face and rolls off me, getting up briskly.
"I hit a speedbump," he calls down, "you guys are good." A second later, both Ari and Aquaria are spat out of the pipe, both of them narrowly missing me and landing on Nia. As Peridot and Sagittaria are ejected from the pipe, I try to get up only to get knocked back down.
"We're all alive, then?" I ask, relief weighing me down, as well as pain from being Pisces's speedbump. The others have noticed us and gradually start to make their way over.
"I can get you guys off Mortaen and Deleias," Peridot starts, brushing her hair back. Her voice is neutral now, no hint of her annoying tone left. "But first, I think I should tell you guys that this happens to be my alternate identity."
"What's your actual name?" Vienna immediately asks.
"Why did you have to tell us?" Scorpio asks in disappointment. "I didn't care."
"Does that mean I have to remember your other name now?" Leo sounds annoyed at this. "Because I won't."
Peridot flashes a tight smile. "It's Electra Orion."
Unknown
Paradise hisses angrily, standing at a glass table filled with water, where several black fish swim around in the bleak makeshift tank. "You mean they're out of our reach?"
"Yes, it seems they're off Mortaen," confirms Solaris in a businesslike tone. "I don't know more since I've only been in the labs. I do know that you don't have enough retaliation mobilized to wipe them out, though they're vulnerable right now."
Paradise glances to Paranoia, who is seated and simply watching the fish. "What do you think?" she snaps at the dark figure.
Paranoia spreads out her hands. "Hear me out, sister. We cannot risk everything on these thirteen. They will walk into our arms eventually and you know this. We have more important things to do, do we not?"
Solaris bows slightly to Paranoia, this having been the first time she's spoken during this tense emergency meeting. "Your subjects are questioning your lack of presence, Lady Paranoia, so you are correct."
Paradise fumes angrily, pacing the length of the meeting room. "You're going to tell me there's nothing I can do right now, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately, Lady Paradise, that is correct," Solaris answers sincerely.
"Sister, we have a kingdom to run, forget you not?" Paranoia adds, her voice tired. She slumps in her chair even as she speaks. "We cannot risk being absent over mere teenagers. They're fools who haven't grown into their powers."
"You're correct ..." Paradise admits, "As much as I wouldn't say this usually, we should go back."
"Solaris, I will entrust you to find someone," Paranoia stands, splaying her fingers out as she places her palm on the table, the fish scattering to a distant corner of the table. "And this someone had better clean this up."
"Some parts here are irreplaceable and very broken thanks to quite a few monsters running free," Solaris answers, "so some systems will not work well for a while. But if you say so, I'll find someone to get everything else operational."
"We appreciate your work, Solaris," Paranoia says stiffly, inclining her head.
"I am in deep gratitude, my Queens," Solaris bows slightly again. "Shall I arrange your transport back to Relixia, Queen Lorelai and Queen Lorelia?"
Pisces is the only victim here, but he deserved it for looking through someone's search history. Cloudy Sky is done! Oh, wait, I have an epilogue ... not to celebrate (yet).