[Thinking about editing or rewriting Killer Protector becauSE OH MY GOD ITS SOOOOO BAD LIKE I WANT TO STAB MY BEGINNER-SELF CHRIST I NEVER REALIZED HOW SHITTY OF A PERSON I HAD MADE ELLIE AND I WASNT TRYING TO BUT FUU--
Enjoy the chapter!]
Stay Creepy, My Friends!~
Chapter 11
Reese's POV
A bright white light engulfed my surroundings and I squeezed my eyes to protect them from the flash. When the light subsided, I opened my eyes just in time to see Ben land a hard kick across the oncoming Corrupted's deformed head. He raised his arms, staring at the beast with a stern, determined look that I've never seen before. On his arms were a pair of silvered tinted bracers. Attached to the inner sides were handles that didn't seem to go to anything. I was quickly corrected when the handles flipped and ejected into Ben's hands and a long wire of electricity shot out from the front ends. Holy. Shit.
As the Corrupted came forward to tackle into Ben, the blonde wraith reeled one hand back to whip a sharp hit. The beast was left with a sizzling gash across the leech mouth as it whined in pain. Suddenly, probably as a defense, black liquid spurt out of the mouth towards Ben. At the last moment he teleported out of the way and the black liquid only spilled onto the spot where he had stood. Suddenly, Ben showed up next to me and grabbed my arm, his handles pack against his bracers.
"Are you okay?" he asked me in a rushed voice.
"Y-Yeah--."
The loud howl of the Corrupted startled us and suddenly my world went white. I couldn't feel anything around me except for Ben and I desperately grabbed onto him to make myself feel more secure. When my vision came back, my breath had left and I struggled to inhale for a moment. Ben had to hold me up as I staggered forward. We were outside of the restaurant now.
"Dammit," he muttered, "are you good?"
I could only shake my head.
He cursed under his breath and said, "I can't teleport you back home, I feel like you'll pass out, and I can't have that." Then he dragged me away to the other side of the street towards a closed shop. The second he set me against the wall, the Corrupted's howl echoed from behind us. We turned and saw the hoofed, black monstrosity bound towards us. It completely disregarded all of the cars trying to exit the restaurant parking lot, going as far as to shove some aside.
Whatever Ben had been trying to do before he gave up on, and ran towards the beast. The handle on his right arm ejected and he slashed at the ground in front of the Corrupted. It stopped briefly, enough for Ben to yank the electric wire around his arm and land a hard punch. Electricity shot into the Corrupted, causing it to convulse and wail. Then, the blonde wraith used both handles to send the wire around a nearby street lamp. With one hard tug, he sent the pole falling down onto the Corrupted's body. The monster was now trapped under the street lamp and was still convulsing from Ben's previous attack.
He turned back to look at me and called, "How are you feeling now?"
I managed to give him a half-hearted thumbs up and he smiled. I attempted to walk forward and thankfully my steps were only slightly wobbly. With a tentative gait, I came up next to Ben, glaring at the Corrupted with disgust. It could only whine and grumble at this point and parts of it still twitched.
Ben slid out a dagger from a holster I barely noticed until now and told me, "This might be messy."
I didn't say anything as he kneeled down and wrapped a wire around the beast's neck to keep it in place. It growled and hissed in protest but was too weak to fight back. Just as Ben raised the dagger in the air to cut into the Corrupted, it spit out another shot of black liquid towards his chest. Ben fell back and groaned as steam started rising from his body. I jumped back and watched as a bulbous mass formed from the liquid.
Suddenly, a smaller, oily creature had formed, crawling up to Ben's head with snapping, tiny teeth. The blonde wraith yelped in disgust and quickly yanked the monster off of him, smacking it onto the ground with a splat. It formed again, crying out a little, high-pitched screech just before I stomped my foot hard onto it. I felt something solid squish under my shoe and the next moment I was stepping in ash.
After the initial shock had faded, Ben and I glanced at the weakened Corrupted on the ground, then at each other. Our eyes were wide with horror, and then we turned towards the restaurant.
The Corrupted had shot another black liquid puddle inside--a bigger one at that. If the tiny one had formed...
Ben quickly grabbed my arm and we ran towards the restaurant in a hurry. Before we could get to the parking lot, a black, oily creature creeped up from around the back of the building, groaning a guttural growl.
From behind, I heard a noise and craned my head to see the leech Corrupted getting up. A long, slithery tentacle sprouted from its mouth, and it picked up and flung the fallen street lamp in the blink of an eye. I barely had enough time to force Ben down so we could duck. Wind brushed against my head as the street lamp whizzed overhead and landed onto the ground a few meters away.
We got up, and I took this time to survey our situation. There are two Corrupted coming for us: first one is weaker but spits, the other one is bigger but probably easier to cut into. Ben is the only one who can kill them. Unless...
I yanked the dagger out of Ben's hand and ran towards the leech Corrupted. The blonde man called out for me, but I didn't listen. As a distraction, I tossed my penny board as far to the right as I could. The leech Corrupted reeled back and turned its head toward the fallen board. As soon as it turned to face me, I was already ramming the dagger into its head.
The beast screeched and shoved me away. I stood away from it, my legs hunched to sprint, my arms raised in front of me to protect myself. The Corrupted shook its body and charged towards me. At the last second, I dodged out of the way and managed to catch the dagger's blade into its back. With as much strength as I could muster, I tugged the monster towards me and straddled its back. Then, vigorously, I stabbed into its side over and over again. It howled and shrieked with pain but I didn't stop. Black blood coated my hand and spilled onto the ground as I kept gutting the monster, until the long tongue shot out from its mouth and came towards my head.
I ducked to the side, sliding off of the monster to avoid getting my skull skewered. While the tongue wavered in the air where I should have been, I grabbed onto it and yanked the leech Corrupted towards me again. Growling angrily, I sliced the entire thing off and the tongue was left writhing in my grip. The leech Corrupted backed away, groaning in pain once again.
As it staggered away, I tossed the tongue to the side, stormed up to the monster and swiped a hard kick against its head. With the Corrupted's neck exposed, aggressively, I stabbed into it, piercing its black hide and flesh. All the monster could do was weakly attempt to buck me off, but I held on. Finally, the Corrupted keeled over and I was able to get to its chest.
Hit the heart. Hit the heart.
With a loud grunt, I stabbed and sliced into the Corrupted's chest, cutting it open. I kept slicing, and slicing, and slicing, until there was a loose enough opening for me to pull back the flesh and ram the dagger towards the center. I delved deep until the leech Corrupted shuddered violently, then went limp. Before I knew it, the entire body was crumbling away into ashes and I panted heavily.
When I stood up and looked over at Ben, he had just killed the other Corrupted, and its body was in the process of disintegrating. The blonde wraith looked at me, his blue eyes widening as soon as he saw the pile of ashes at my feet. I managed to flash him a smile and raised up another half-hearted thumbs up. He smiled at me and made his way over.
Just as he came within four feet of me, his eyes darted down to my left and his face paled. Before I could figure out what he was reacting to, he teleported next to me and shoved me back. I was angry for a moment since I didn't know why he'd push me away--but only for a moment.
I fell hard onto the ground, and lifted my head in time to see a mass of black, oily liquid jump up and attach itself to Ben's head. It uttered a loud screech as it completely enveloped his head and undulated. The blonde wraith clawed at the creature, desperate to pull it away, but it clung tight. Suddenly, Ben's body froze, and his arms went limp as a muffled, watery crack sounded from beneath the creature's viscous, oil-like mass.
Ben fell to his knees, then onto his side, and the creature slithered away to reveal....nothing. All that was in place of Ben's head was a puddle of blood. I sat there, staring at that puddle of blood, not realizing what had happened until the damage had been done.
Ben's headless body lay still on the ground, covered in crimson and black gunk. The Corrupted that had decapitated him squirmed and grew larger. I just sat on the ground, my limbs still with fear and shock. There were so many emotions boiling inside that I was beyond expressing them in any way.
Eventually, I snapped out of my terrified trance upon the sound of the Corrupted screeching. I looked at it, surprised that it was now the size of a dog than a smaller animal. It hissed and crept toward me, its mouth slowly forming as it snapped with hunger. At its chest I could see a hint of something pulsating, beating--a heart.
And that's when I snapped.
I stood to my feet, the dagger clutched in my right hand. I stared at the Corrupted as it swayed in a taunting manner, spilling drops of liquid as it moved. The heart is right there, part of it exposed and waiting to be cut. All I have to do is hit the heart and it'll be dead. All I have to do is kill it. Kill it. Kill it. Kill it.
With one last nervous gulp, I snarled and ran forward. The Corrupted howled in a challenge and barreled towards me as well. Instead of meeting it head-on, I veered to the left and juked it. I bounced on my feet, watching it whirl around in a fit of confusion. Its body started taking a more familiar shape, like that of the leech Corrupted's. The heart was still near the front of its chest, but I had a feeling it would be covered by flesh soon.
The Corrupted howled and leaped up at me. I ducked under, and at the last second I stabbed the dagger into one of its back legs, snagging it. I pulled the monster towards me and cut into its shoulder blades. When it shook me off, I got to my feet and quickly tackled it right into its side. After stumbling a couple of feet, the Corrupted fell over onto its back and I took this chance to pin it down.
The beast thrashed under me, and it took a lot of effort to shove its front legs out of the way so I could expose its chest. In my struggle, one of its hoofed feet kicked my shoulder and I cried out in pain. It stung to raise the dagger in the air, but I was able to do it nonetheless. Once I finally got a grip on the front feet, I reeled back my arm to land a strong stab into the Corrupted's beating heart.
My attack was thwarted. I failed to see the long, slimy tongue that came out from the creature's mouth. From one split second to the next, it was wrapped around my neck and I was pulled off of the Corrupted. I was tossed away, and tumbled across the ground, gaining a few scrapes and bruises. When I picked myself up onto my knees, to my dismay, the dagger wasn't in my hands anymore. Glancing back at the Corrupted, I could see the weapon lying on the ground next to it.
My body ached and my head was spinning. It dizzied me to even sit up. The Corrupted huffed and growled at me, and all I could do was glare at it with all of the anger I had left in me. As the monster came running at me, I grit my teeth to prepare for whatever pain it may inflict on me. Just when I thought I was about to be devoured, a bright, electrified cord wrapped around the Corrupted's body, and the beast was yanked away from me. The electricity blazed brighter with intensity and the shrill cries of the Corrupted were almost unbearable to listen to.
Suddenly, the agonized howling ceased and the electricity dimmed. When I looked back, I gasped upon seeing a familiar blonde haired ghost boy. Ben held the Corrupted's disintegrating body in his arms, the dagger held in place where the heart was. He dropped what was left of the black, deformed body on the ground and ran to me. The handles on his bracers were set back in place and the cords had receded. He stood in front of me with a worried expression on his face.
"Reese, are you okay? Did you get bitten or scratched? Do you feel funny?" He kept bombarding me with questions, but all I did was stare up at him in shock. In my daze, I slowly got to my feet and faced him.
"Reese?" he called me in a quiet voice. I still didn't respond to him; I was too busy staring at him. Staring at his red and black eyes, at his elfin ears, and pale skin. Finally, I did something and gently touched his face. He furrowed his brow as I poked his cheeks, pinched his ears, and felt at his hair. All that ran through my thoughts as I did this was: he's okay.
"Reese, are you alright?" he asked with more emphasis. This time I gently pulled him close and hugged him. I rested my head on his shoulder, staring at the ground behind him as all of the panic and fear faded away with this one hug. I didn't say anything, nor did I make any sound. I just hugged him, and he hugged me back.
"I think it's finally time I took you home," he murmured next to my ear. I gave no reply. As soon as sirens started wailing in the distance, Ben pulled away from the hug and grabbed my penny board from the ground a few meters away. Once the both of us were set to go, Ben grabbed my hand and I prepared myself for his teleportation. The sirens faded away as all of my surroundings disappeared from my senses. And in my hand I could feel Ben grip me tighter than he ever had before.
...
Back at my apartment, I sat down at the couch as Ben kneeled in front of me, tending to my minor scrapes and bruises. I hadn't been bitten or scratched by either of the Corrupted that showed up, and the blonde wraith went on about how lucky I was--again.
"I'm so sorry for not handling that situation better," he said as he dabbed disinfectant alcohol on the scrapes on my arms. All I did was grimace and stare at his hands. He suddenly stopped and stared up at me with those red eyes of his.
"You haven't said anything at all since I killed that last Corrupted," he pointed out. "Say one word, at least."
I wasn't sure what to say. All that was racing through my mind was the scene where Ben had gotten his head obliterated. In that moment, I was scared because I thought he was dead, and I was left alone to fend off against a demonic monstrosity. But it wasn't just the fear of having no safety. I thought I had lost him completely, and I wasn't sure how to cope. Well, I guess I should have believed Ben when he told me he gets decapitated and comes back...
As my only response, I pressed my fingertips against his hand, feeling how real he was. Ben sighed and said, "Reese, please say something--anything. You're making me worried here, hehe..."
There was no reason for me to cup his face in my hands and squeeze his cheeks together. When I stared into his eyes, his expression seemed to change to one of uneasiness. Then, I pinched his pointy ears and he yanked his head away.
"Don't mess with those, they're sensitive," he muttered, cupping his hands over them.
"How come you don't stay in your natural form...?" I quietly murmured.
He blinked as he set his hands down, and answered, "Well, I don't wear my human disguise all of the time, but I figured you'd be more comfortable if I looked normal."
"You look normal now, don't you?"
He managed a sheepish grin and said, "I meant 'human' normal. I probably won't be that kind of normal for a while until I can make a new cloaking chip. That damned Corrupted crushed it earlier..."
While he was distracted with talking, I tugged on his elfin ears again and was taken aback when they...wiggled.
"Stop it...!" Ben whined as he lightly slapped my hands away.
His ears wiggle. Holy crap, they fuckin' wiggle. Like a cat's. Or a sheep's? Dog's? Something like that. They wiggle.
"Why are you so suddenly fascinated by my real look?" he stammered. "You won't talk to me about how you're feeling, but you'll abuse my ears..?"
"I wanna touch them again," I stated bluntly and reached to grab his ears. The blonde wraith grabbed onto my wrists and pushed my hands away from his head.
"Don't touch my ears...!"
"But they're cool."
"No, they're not, so don't touch them," he grumbled.
After he let go of my wrists, I tentatively raised my hands to his face. He flinched away but I caught him anyway and pulled him closer. I wasn't sure why I hugged him again, why I rested my chin on the top of his head and held his face close to my chest. I rested my arms on his shoulders, embracing him as I kept remembering how that Corrupted took his head. But he's intact now, back with me, physical in my arms. He's okay.
When I pulled away to let him breathe, I gazed down into his eyes intently, analyzing the specks of dark crimson in his irises. His pupils seemed bigger now as he stared back into my eyes. I heard him gulp and I wondered if I was making him uncomfortable. After what felt like forever, I finally let go of his face, only to tug on his ears again with a quick, "Yoink." They wiggled like the last time and I smirked.
"Ah, I said stoooop," he whined and slapped my hands away again. "Gah, you're making this difficult."
I cocked an eyebrow. "Making what difficult?"
Ben averted his eyes to the floor as he replied, "Listen, it's been twice now that you've run into Corrupted--two instances where you could have died. Since we got here, I've been thinking...maybe I should stop hanging out with you."
I frowned. "What?"
"This is just what happens," he argued. "If you get involved with me, you end up experiencing dangerous shit. I don't want to pull you away from your life. You're still young and I'd feel like crap if anything happened to you under my watch--."
I interrupted him by tugging on his ears again and not letting go. He whined and stared up at me with wide eyes.
"Don't pull this 'I'll protect you by leaving you alone' bullshit," I grumbled. "Even without you, I ran into that first Corrupted on my own. It was thanks to you that I survived. It was thanks to you that I survived again earlier. If you think for a second that any of this was your fault, you're a damned idiot."
"But--."
"You're not backing out on me," I said. "Not when we've done so much. It'd be a major dick move if you left."
"You're guilt-tripping me," he murmured.
"It's not guilt-tripping, it's pointing out the truth," I rebutted.
"Reese, I'm telling you you'll end up getting in trouble because of me," he said. "Why can't you realize that? Why are you being so stubborn?"
"I told you that's how I am, but you shrugged it off," I said.
"Just see reason, dammit--."
"Maybe I don't want to," I growled. "Maybe I want you to last."
His exasperated mood faltered and he murmured, "What...?"
I scowled. "You heard me. Don't leave. Especially not for something as stupid as 'protecting me', when that's all you've been doing when you're with me. I want you to last, even if you end up seeing all of the horrible parts of me."
Ben stared up at me, his eyes still widened but with less surprise and more awe. When I let go of him, he sat back on his heels with one hand on my knee. He squeezed his fingers tight around it and steeled his gaze. I could see how hard he was thinking, and I frowned knowing he was contemplating so much. Firmly, I wrapped my hand around his and murmured, "Stay."
Ben pursed his lips, trying to hide his frustration but I could see it, and I hated it because he's uncomfortable and he's easier to deal with when he feels okay. Then, the blonde shook his head and loosened his grip on my knee. I tried to hold onto his hand, but he managed to slip out and get to his feet. I stared at him as he packed up the basic first aid kit (Mom's), then stepped away from me.
Ben opened his mouth to say something, but then he caught himself and flashed a half-hearted smile. After waiting a few moments, he said, "I...I'm sorry, Reese. I don't want you to get hurt. Please, understand."
"Don't bother dragging this out longer than it needs," I muttered. "Just go."
He looked taken aback by my response, but nonetheless affected. His gaze fell to the ground and he scratched his arm out of discomfort. "Alright, well...I'll be going--."
I didn't bother to stick around and watch him disappear out of my sight--out of my life. Without a word, I walked right past him towards the hallway so I could go to my room. After I shut the door, the apartment was completely silent, save for the noises of the city beyond my window. They usually calmed me down, gave me something to focus on, but even now it wasn't of help.
When I glanced at my nightstand, I opened the drawer to see the Majora's Mask cartridge safe and snug in a corner. I glared down at it, knowing that I could do something to it at any moment. I could toss it out the window, smash it on the floor or against the wall, douse it in water--anything. Because it was in my watch, in my hands.
I reached for it, but stopped myself. Clenching my hand into a fist, I slammed the drawer shut and fell onto my bed. The glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling looked down at me, pale in the light of day (and just plain dark at night). I could still feel the aches in my body, especially in my right shoulder, but I didn't care for any of it. I felt too...empty, too deflated, too pissed off to be pissed off.
A few minutes had passed and I wondered if Ben had left already. Of course he would have. Why the hell would he stay longer when he's the one wanting to leave? But then I remembered the first aid kit left in the living room and groaned, knowing I'd have to put it back or else Mom and Hunter would get suspicious.
When I left my bedroom and entered the living room, I was half-expecting and half-surprised to see that it was empty. No sign of Ben was left, and I grit my teeth. I picked up the first aid kit and put it back in Mom's room where it belonged. Afterwards, I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water to calm down. It was as soon as I opened the fridge did I remember something important, and I cursed at myself.
I forgot to buy the fucking milk and eggs.
...
Ao's POV
The mansion was quiet, save for the noises outside from Ladon and Jack playing. I was sitting inside Slender's old study (in a way, it was mine, but I wasn't willing to call it mine), looking at maps and marking places. I examined all of them with intent, like maybe the answer was there, but it has never been there. After staring at lines and city names and legends, I tossed my pen onto the desk and fell back against my chair.
All of a sudden, there was frantic knocking on the door, then it swung wide open and Ben was standing at the doorway. I stared at him, startled, and said, "Uh, hey, Ben. Are you okay...?"
"N-No," he stammered.
I frowned and motioned him inside. "Come in. Take a seat."
He went ahead and closed the door behind him as he walked towards the mahogany desk. With an awkward mien on his face, he pulled up one of the cushioned chairs and sat in front of me. I leaned forward, with my hands on the desk, and asked, "Is there something wrong? Did something happen with the Corrupted exterminations?"
He shook his head energetically and I added, "Then, why do you look so bothered?"
I noticed him gulping as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. A few seconds of silence had passed before he inhaled and said, "Uh, I wanted to talk to you. I know you're busy, but I figured you're the only one I'd feel comfortable with."
I gave him a kind smile to ease his nervousness and remarked, "Go ahead. I'm all ears."
He managed half a smile and scratched at the side of his face. "Okay, well... You know that kid that I brought to the mansion?"
I nodded. "Did something happen to him?"
"No," he answered, but then furrowed his brow and rephrased, "Actually, yes, but he's okay."
He went on to explain what had happened just recently: how the boy--Reese--had called on him for help when a Corrupted showed up, and how Reese had fought and killed one again (this time without getting poisoned). Ben didn't seem troubled when he told the story. In fact, his voice was elated as he described Reese and what he had done; how cool and scary he was when killing the Corrupted, how idiotic yet daring it all was. But it was at the end of Ben's story that his expression dulled.
"I told him I wanted to leave him alone since I know he'll get dragged into danger," he stated quietly.
"That's a reasonable idea," I commented.
"But, he didn't think so. H-He wouldn't understand, even for a second. He just...he didn't want me to leave, and I felt like shit when he told me to stay even though I knew I couldn't. And the poor kid doesn't have friends--they always leave him, but I don't know why because he's a good kid, and yeah he has issues and he's stubborn and sometimes an asshole, but he's still nice and clever and I just wish he didn't get so upset."
I looked at him with a gentle gaze and said, "Well, Ben, he's just a normal human. He has no affiliation with what we do, and I think you weren't in the wrong by choosing to leave him for his sake."
"He was so upset though..." Then he leaned his elbows on his knees, resting his head in his hands as he muttered, "I shouldn't have kept seeing him. I was afraid something would happen, and I just--I don't know. It was dumb of me to make friends with him...."
"Ben..."
"I took him to New York City, for crying out loud! I bought him a new penny board--he loves riding those, a-and he taught me how to use it, too. And then we kept hanging out, and talking about stuff, and I call him nicknames, and he has a nickname for me, too--even though it's not exactly a polite one, but it's nice when he calls me by my nickname because he's just joking and having fun...!"
"Ben," I called to him again but he was too wrapped up in his ranting to notice.
"He gave me his hoodie!" he blurted. "I still have it, and it's green--my favorite color! It's really soft, and cozy, and I probably should give it back if I won't see him again, but it's so soft and I don't want to give it back. Plus, if I return it, I'll have to see him and I don't want to feel like crap all over again. He doesn't deserve this. He's a good kid...! And I--."
"Ben, calm down," I finally spoke up, having to raise my voice a bit. "Take a moment to breathe."
He nodded, but as soon as he sucked in a breath, his expression contorted in frustration and he held his head. "Ao, I don't know what to do...! I'm scared. Very scared."
I reached across the desk with my palm facing up, and with one hand he brushed his fingers on mine and squeezed tenderly. "Why are you scared...?" I asked in a gentle tone.
There was a few seconds where I only looked at the top of his head as he faced the floor. All I could feel was concern as I waited for him to speak. Finally, he looked up at me and his red and black eyes were big and glittering with sadness.
"Because," he murmured, "I think I'm in love with him."