(Hello! Thanks, HayBay for yet another fantastic piece of fanart! ^-^ Smol chibi is smol, haha. <3
HayBay Quotev: https://www.quotev.com/Hay0225 )
"I don't feel as though this is the most responsible plan..." Ethan murmured warily, leaning against the couch as comfortably as he could while his large antlers just barely tapped against the roof and scraped sometimes just when the man craned or moved his neck in the slightest. Ray, Mark, and you all threw him your gazes, one of which sparkled with agreement. "Throwing her out there as bait, a mortal, someone who can perish if fought or hurt..." He tilted his head slightly in a confused manner, ears folding back at the thought of a human, the very thing he was meant to represent, dying in his presence, especially because of his own ideas. "... It does not appear wise, and I do not desire to stand for something as... Dangerous as this."
"See, finally someone responsible in this room." Mark spoke up after a brief silence with both you and Ray sharing a similar gaze, the tech geek meanwhile siding very easily with the spirit of Christmas on this ordeal. "We can't just throw (Y/N) out there as bait to Xavier and just, "hope for the best" can we?" He questioned, the spirit giving an obvious nod in agreement. "I don't want her to get hurt, and putting her up against that thing, that monster is one of the most dangerous and horrible things that I never want to wish upon anyone, especially someone I care about." He stood his ground this time, gazing over at you as if trying to search for the answers in your eyes. He was beginning to wonder if you had somehow lost it. Maybe you'd been possessed when he wasn't looking or when he had past out after the car chase sequence. Just thinking about that made his stomach flip, and his gaze drop briefly.
Ray glanced between them both, now tucking his hands lazily into his sweat-pant pockets as he then gazed down at you with a knowing look. "... I know it doesn't seem like the safest idea, man..." He began in that honeyed tone, now giving a warm smile, the freckles on his face almost glowing in the dim lovely lighting of his living room. "But at the moment, we don't have that many options left. With every second we wait, his powers are going to come back, right boys? Plus, like you said, Ethan my favorite frosty type of deer-man, (Y/N) is his largest weakness. And I don't know about any of you," He did a quick glance around the room of standing, almost zombie-like people that awaited for whatever Ray had to say next. "But I don't feel like poking him to see if he has some secret off switch that is a better weakness than the only person he loves. Because trust me, love is one of the most powerful things in the world." He smiled gently, his own words melting together rather sweetly. "... And, even though I don't want to use his own human-like weaknesses against him, it's one of the only options we got. I'd prefer talking to him, although I've already tried that, and he still hasn't come back for tea. But, this is the only option we have. Now, is there anymore bad vibes left that I should know about, don't want this to be a huge downer, you know?" He questioned, acting more like a leader than you'd ever expect a hippie to do.
You gave a nod to what he said, Ray reaching happily over and throwing his muscular arm around his shoulder while there was a noticeable smile on his face. "See, even the bait agrees." He chuckled lightly, earning a roll of your eyes as you huffed out a breath.
"Yeah yeah..." He allowed you to lean against him lightly, his larger hand playfully rubbing your shoulder. "But... Really, I just want him away safely. It's dangerous having him on Earth... Extremely dangerous." You murmured in explanation, remembering all of the people he had killed while down here, most of which you still viewed upon as being your fault. "We need this done as soon as possible, otherwise it won't just be me who's put in danger."
"Alright, dudes, so... any more problems?"
There was no response now, and that showed that this would be the plan that would be put into full swing, even when both Mark and Ethan had those strange uncertain looks even now. "Look, we'll beat feat! Get in get out, burn rubber, it'll be a blitz, boys." Ray had a strange vocabulary.
Being bait certainly wasn't your favorite thing, but you believed it'd get the job done. Plus, you were the most important part of this master plan after-all, so that made you automatically important, of course. Inside, you were just trying to make yourself comfortable with this whole situation, and you already felt the heated desperation welling up in your mind. That's exactly why you did this plan in the first place, out of severe desperation for the crazed Halloween sprite to be forcefully removed and shoved back behind the moon, hopefully to be restricted from this planet for good.
Alright... Just wander out here, and you know most certainly well that he'll find you as always... You thought yourself, taking several steps forwards in a quiet manner, seemingly appearing to try and act confident even though you were shaking in your boots over here. It was obvious you were nervous of doing so, glancing around rather frequently at the surrounding area, studying how the tree's branches gently swayed in the nightly breeze, watching as a few piney needles flaked off the branches and fell to the forest floor calmly. It almost appeared peaceful, especially when you knew that Ethan, Markus, and Ray Sunshine were tracking you from afar, Ethan being the closest and Mark and Ray being the furthest back. However, the peace was short-lived, the obvious sensation of being watched beginning to way heavy the more time progressed.
"... Alright, Xavier!... I'm-... I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?..." You called out suddenly, just as Markus said would be the most clever idea. Most likely however, you figured Markus had told you to say that so Xavier would understand you weren't a threat, and wouldn't hurt you. Mark couldn't let you get hurt, even when he himself knew very little of fighting in general, he wouldn't let someone try to harm you even if it meant his own death. He's already proven that kind of loyalty once, thanks to the car chase sequence that nearly ended the boy's life previously.
"Do you really think that's all it takes?" The voice of Xavier sounded out of nowhere as you were lost in the memories of Markus and Kia Souls, and you whirled around to face the Halloween Spirit, figuring the source of the voice from how easily it echoed along the trees. Your eyes widened immediately, staring upon Xavier himself. Standing in the dim lighting of the cold midnight forest, the Jack O' Lantern atop his head was offering a rather frightening and ghoulish frown, as if the pumpkin were dying and rotting away, it's mouth stretched downwards in a creepy frown while it's eyes sagged tiredly. It was no longer a round pumpkin, more elongated, wrinkled, and clearly perishing. The crimson lighting flickered from within the eye sockets and deep frown, lighting up the ground before him as he found your face in the cold dark woods. "You think I'm so... Forgiving, (Y/N)? Do you think I really want to take you back after what you've done?" He questioned with an acidic hiss, a child-like squeak at the end. Slowly reaching up and removing the pumpkin from atop his head, the man appeared taller than before, much taller than you with dark circles forming under his dark brown chocolate eyes. The curly undercut he possessed drooped down in front of one of his eyes, a smear of blood going across his cheek from an unknown source. He stood tall, walking across the forested area with a grin on his face, one that was coy, but mischievous like a child's. He wore that black cloak that you had begun to loathe, covering his body with the hood down his back, all while older blood appeared to glimmer.
Where is the life that I used to recognize?... You thought to yourself in disdain and grief, taking a step away from the man with the toxic expression. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Xavier... I didn't... I didn't know what else to do..." You murmured gently, already smelling the scent of candy corn and inky blackness both crudely mixed together on his clothing and body. The man strode up towards you, as if he could not wait too long before obtaining his prized possession, suddenly enveloping you in a tight embrace with both arms locking on, which caught you off-guard easily, having expected a threat or even a slap.
"... I missed you." He murmured in the most quiet tone, as if he were scared to say such a thing. You could compare him to a child lost in the supermarket after they had just found their mother again. His hands ran up and down your back, the man sniffing at your neck as if he couldn't believe this were you, breath warm and soft. You widened your eyes, finding yourself frozen as you slowly hugged him back on natural human instinct, to both seem like you weren't suspicious, and because you suddenly felt a blow to your heart after remembering how alone he must've felt behind the moon. It was hard, finding yourself both desiring for the other to be back there again, but also to make him happy- You wanted the old Xavier, the joyful little guy who was made up of treats, not this edgy psychotic man. Had you been focusing too much on removing him from Earth? You were the only person he ever listened to in the slightest, so just possibly, sitting him down and talking to him... Would that end in some conversation far better than one that would end in him being thrown behind the moon once more for another eternity?
"I missed you, too." You muttered suddenly, feeling salty tears stinging your eyes as he hugged tighter, his hands even shaking as he did so. You'd never felt him shake.
"I thought... I thought you left me. I thought you pushed me away like all the others... (Y/N)-... I don't-... I don't want your s-..." He began, although he suddenly cut himself off, body tensing to the extreme as if he were expecting something harsh to hit him in the back. Disconnecting from you suddenly, slipping his arms free and now immediately throwing your figure behind his body protectively, unsheathing his deadly scythe and whirling around as if he had heard something, which he had, the noticeable heavy footsteps of only one creature he knew could create that type of booming vibration. A Cloud Jumper.
"Release her!" The instructive, yet firm voice of Ethan broke through the cold air, his voice tinged in frost bite as the mythical being riding atop the large Cloud Jumper leapt over a few small bushes with ease, the creature landing with a powerful thud with all six hooves, the tips piercing the soft dirt like blades through melting butter. A threatening snort left the creature's muzzle, taking several steps closer to show they weren't bluffing while Ethan continued his talking. "It's time for you to return behind the moon at once, for you've caused damage down here, and I'm only trying to do what is best for you and what is best for her and her kind." He called downwards, you meanwhile catching Markus out of your peripheral vision, and a rustle of branches. He appeared to be gesturing for you to slip away while you still could, Ray wiggling closer to him and doing the same.
You quickly stepped over while you had your chance and while Xavier was occupied, At least, that's what you thought you'd do.
"Is that so? Well, than I most certainly must be going." Xavier spoke so coldly, as if he hadn't been just nearly broken down to tears just moments before with his nose pressed against your neck, but here he stood, the dangerous psychopath he now was. As you steppped cautiously in the direction of Markus and Ray, Xavier suddenly turned around and swept you off your feet just in time for you to hear something howled out by the majestic Cloud Jumper, a deep bellow of a noise that left the creature's large muzzle. It was loud enough to rattle the trees and block out whatever Ethan appeared to scream.
You felt yourself be yanked into the air, Xavier racing off across the ground and teleporting dangerously quick, flashing from one point to the next in thick smoggy clouds.
As you felt your figure dragged so easily away, swept up like a paper bag in the hands of Xavier, you looked back as you watched the charging frost beast with his antlered rider atop. "(Y/N)!" You heard the frost spirit call, the beast now trampling over the undergrowth with great haste, in desperate desire to save you, powerful huffs of breath leaving his snout and icy glowing eyes wide with adrenaline. "Let her go!" He yelled, the icy frost forming below that beast's powerful hooves, as if with every loud stomp an avalanche occurred on the other side of the world. Although with the speed of teleportation Xavier appeared to possess, and the complete perseverance he had when trying to defend you, you found yourself watching as the frost sprite slowly began fading off in the distance, Lixue unable to jump as the trees blocked his pathway to the sky.
Markus appeared ready to strangle Ray, the tech geek's stamina running out quickly, tears staining his cheeks. "We have to save her!" He screamed in a loud, sputtering noise all while he cried and ran, stumbling and tripping over his feet as he struggled to have the same kind of agility as a frost spirit and a teleporting madman. Ray easily kept up with the poor man, jogging alongside him and beginning to murmur for him to slow down, and stop...
"Markus... Markus, stop... Look we can't..." Markus was balling his eyes out, trembling visibly as he tried tearing through a bush to get deeper and further towards you, all while he gazed through those cracked glasses of his.
"(Y/N)!" He wailed, just as Markus swept the man up off his feet and prevented him from running any further. "Ray, stop! Stop, no, no, we need to save her! Please! Put me down!" He was kicking at the man now, crying and freaking out to the fullest extent all while his chest heaved, and his heart ached.
"Markus-... Markus it's okay-... I'ts okay..." Ray muttered, holding the brutally fighting Markus in his arms as he watched you fade off in the distance. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep up if Ethan couldn't, and he swore he could feel his heart beginning to tear.
How could I have been so... Idiotic?... He thought to himself, biting the inside of his lip. Every man had their fair share of mistakes, but what he had just put you into, what he had just done... He couldn't forgive himself... However, he took in a deep breath, clutched on tighter to the screaming panicking Markus to comfort him, and calmed his nerves carefully. We'll find her... I can't change what I've done, but I can fix this. I will fix this... For her, for Markus... For us.
"You'll be safe here... Safe with me, (Y/N). Just like we've always wanted!" Xavier chirped gently, the man offering a gentle grin, the freckles across his face glittering in the dim buzzing lighting. He appeared nervous, obviously spooked of you trying to escape again or something along those lines. When you had left him, you could tell it had definitely put a shock in his system. "Because, I love you... You know I love you, right, (Y/N)?" He questioned for clarification, now tilting his head to the side gently as he gazed down upon you with those calm eyes. You wondered about the black circles. Xavier must've stopped sleeping to find you....
You had believed that escaping once would be the last straw for Xavier, and you'd find yourself dead if you were to be caught by the man outside of your home alone. However, your heart suddenly skipped a beat as if you had realized something so important to this whole thing, it almost made you want to throw up. You had finally gotten through to him.
Something had gotten through....
You now had found yourself locked up in an old prison cell, aged after years of neglect inside of an abandoned building on the outskirts of your town. On the outskirts, not many people roamed as they used to, so it was very unlikely someone would even explore within this place, the insides lacking any sort of spray paint, or even visible foot steps after so long. You stared up at him, and his taller more slender figure, but still having that small pudge to the thinness he had. You'd just kill it, "skinny fat". You bit the inside of your cheek, sitting on the cold metal cot in the room that was meant for prisoners to sleep on beginning to make you feel weird the longer you stared up at that strange facial expression he had. It was beginning to look more... Like the old Xavier. "Prisoner" however, was still a fair word to use in this situation.
"... Thank you, Xavier." You murmured in response, eyes glancing away from his, but not before you could see a small pale grin forming on his lips. You wouldn't say you loved him back, but you would at least thank him.
"Of course-... You're welcome, my sugar-bell... I... I must leave, I must organize a few things, then I'll be right back here, and I'll-... I'll hold you tonight, alright?.... I promise-" There was a smoggy poof sound as the man teleported straight through the bars of the cell, the door rusted completely shut to the point that he had to teleport you in here rather than even try the cell door. "Oh- and I love you-" He added as he stood on the outside of the cell, a soft childish hum at the end. "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." He smiled so calmly, glancing over your crouched figure as if he saw nothing wrong here.
As you were left alone, staring at the floor, you recalled the words Markus had uttered so shakily on that fateful dare he dared to look upon the scythe's shimmering blades and wicked handle. It almost hurt to think of them now, just staring at this strange new version of Xavier made you uncomfortable with the term...
"It was like looking at the Devil himself."