"GO BACK TO YOUR FUCKING TOWER YOU DEMON!"
Blixer froze mid-step as he tried to hop down the street in his crutches. The word demon echoed through his mind no matter how many times he wanted it to stop as he felt his heart go cold. He turned around to look at whoever yelled that remark at him - a gaggle of giggling teenagers, only two of which had headphones, all dressed like they were trying to be "cool". Their imp-like faces were sneering condescendingly down at him, and a couple even looked at him like he had leprosy.
"GET OFF THE STREETS, YOU'RE GONNA CORRUPT EVERYONE!"
'NOBODY LIKES YOU!'
"SCUM LIKE YOU SHOULD BE SHOT ON SIGHT!'
'YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE!'
His fists clenched around his crutches. Soon after his heart turned cold, it started heating up again as his blood boiled in his neck. He just pursed his lips and kept walking, or at least tried to given his lack of a left leg. Seeing this, the group of teenagers all laughed at him, saying things like "He can't even walk properly" and "Useless piece of pink shit."
He wanted to cave their stupid brat faces in. And he almost did, but then he remembered that if he did so, everyone would only fear him more.
Plus, what would (Y/N) think?
But... their skins... he wants to wear them...
The internal struggle to not skin those brats alive was almost tearing Blixer apart, so much that he didn't even notice that one of them had thrown a drink at him until he felt something hit him and was doused in a cold, sweet-smelling liquid. The empty drink cup fell to the floor with a clatter.
Time stood still. Blixer stared at his leather jacket, which was soaked in Cola.
His blood boiled and for a split second, his vision filled itself up with pink. He wanted to tear their limbs from their bodies one by one.
But before he was able to do anything, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw that it was another teenager, around the same age, only he didn't seem scared or malicious. Instead, he just smiled warmly and welcomingly. His skin was dark and his hair was a light minty green, as well as having a lack of headphones. He's under 16. "I'll take care of this." He assured him as he passed Blixer's shoulder, towards the gang of teenagers head-on.
"Hey hey hey, guys, let's not give the guy hell over this, all the Corrupted were purified after the Dark Days, it's probably just genetics-"
Only for the poor boy to get punched in the face.
'Says you!' One of the teenagers spat at him. 'You also got Corrupted, didn't you? Stop playing hero, if you're defending him you're just another Corrupted yourself, you piece of sh-'
"Hey." Another voice came from behind Blixer. This time it was a woman's voice, deep, stern and gruff. He turned around and saw a woman, a tall woman, glaring down at the group of brats like she was ready to rip them all a second asshole. He blinked. Her entire getup was extremely feminine, he had elaborate golden eyeliner, a long summer dress and a halter top on. But what ruined it, or rather made her seem even more mysterious and badass, was the fact that adorned around her shoulders like a scarf was a long serpent which hissed at the teenagers like it was ready to eat them alive.
'Oh my god, is that a real snake?' One of them squeaked after staring at her in silence. The woman smirked as she approached them, tapping the Snake's head twice, and it leapt down from her shoulders and slithered across the concrete to the teenagers at alarming speed. Almost on cue, they all made hilariously high pitched squeals at the sight of the rapidly approaching predator, before rushing each other back down the street away from the serpent, but not before snarling at the two newcomers.
"Jesus Christ Prochorus, are you alright?" The woman brushed past Blixer and immediately towards the teenager who got punched, who was apparently named Prochorus. He just laughed while nursing a bright red cheek. Her pet snake slithered back to its master, and she helped it back onto her shoulder.
'I'm fine, I'm fine, Phoebe!' He smiled. 'Stein doesn't even punch that hard anyways.'
"They're in that gang, aren't they? The one Austin's in?"
'Yup, they are.' Prochorus stood back up, and then his attention went to the pink-haired man he tried to protect.
A/N: In case you're horrible with names and forgot who they were - These two are Lycanthropy and Barracuda, just purified.
'Hey, Mister, you're wet, here.' He reached into his bag and pulled out a towel. 'We were on our way to the beach anyways, you can use that.'
"Thanks." Blixer muttered, lowering his crutches and taking his hat off, drying his hair. When he realised that he had just revealed his devil horns, it was already too late, and the two, Phoebe and Prochorus, widened their eyes. He swore under his breath. Now they were gonna run away from him.
But instead. Phoebe just admired them with a look of awe on her face while Prochorus's eyes widened and he smiled from ear-to-ear.
"Are those real horns or are you a cosplayer?"
'They're... real...?' He wasn't expecting this. He wasn't expecting such a... fanboyish... response. To test his integrity, the two of them started to feel his horns, and he flinched when they pulled them. It was real and felt no different than ivory.
"Oh that's awesome!!! Hell, Mister, you look amazing! You look so cool! Are you a biker?"
'No.'
"But you look so cool!" He was practically face-to-face with Blixer right now, and as much as he liked the positive attention, this guy was too close for comfort. Hell, this guy was even shorter than (Y/N) who was only up to his armpits, the fact that he was face-to-face with Blixer was really saying something. His smile was so wide it was almost inhuman. "Ooh, what about a gangster? Are you a gangster? Was that why they were yelling at you? How about a rock star?"
"Prochorus, if he was in a gang you shouldn't be talking to him, y'know-"
'I assure you I am not in a gang, kid.' Blixer was amused. 'I may have one eye, I may have one leg, but I am not in a gang.'
"Speaking of which, how did you lose them?"
'...I don't know.'
"YOU HAVE AMNESIA? DUDE THAT'S AWESOME-"
'Prochorus, Leave the guy alone' Phoebe chucked to herself. 'Amnesia's not even that awesome.'
"Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, My name is Prochorus, and this is Phoebe, a friend of mine, and of course, Equil the snake! What's yours?"
'Blixer.'
Before Prochorus began another round of relentless fanboying, Phoebe pried him away and interrupted him.
"Sorry about him, he can sometimes get a little hyperactive. Trust me when I say that he's not usually like this." Phoebe smiled. Blixer nodded back. The snake around her shoulders seemed to curiously sniff Blixer, getting a little bit too close. It seemed to recognise him. Phoebe picked up on this, and her eyebrow raised.
"Hey... Have we met before?"
'I have amnesia, so if we did, I wouldn't have any idea who you are. But I'll give you this. You seem familiar, the kid doesn't.'
"Hey! I'm not a kid!"
'You don't have a pair of headphones yet, you're still technically a kid.'
"I'm getting them next year, Phoebe!"
But the woman just pat his head.
"Where are you off to, by the way, Mister?" Prochorus asked, still clearly annoyed from the woman petting him like he's a dog.
'I'm off to a friend's house.'
"Niiiice! Well, it was nice meeting you, Mister Blixer! I hope we see each other again!" Prochorus chirped as he skipped down the street, Phoebe just rolling her eyes and following him after saying her goodbye to Blixer herself. As he hopped down the street to Tetra's house, he started feeling strange. He had a feeling he met the woman before, but not the boy. Yet strangely, he seems so familiar. That beaming smile, his childish disposition, and the way he referred to everyone as "Mister" or "Miss"... He knew he hadn't met him before, but he reminded him of someone. Someone whose name he didn't know. But oh well. Eventually, Blixer turned a corner onto a street he knew where the four siblings lived. Apparently the four of them got an extremely handsome reward for saving the world, which they spent buying a house for the four to live in. They acted more like a bunch of BFFs rather than a bunch of siblings. There at the end of the street was a large, multi storied, state-of-the-art house big enough for the Quartet to live in. It was completely over Blixer's head how they could not only afford this house, but also have a large amount left over. They were smart enough to get proper jobs, however.
Blixer knocked on the door. Quin answered with a warm welcome. He stepped in smiling.
Strong language up ahead folks.
Meanwhile, a group of teenagers walked down the street. Usually they would sneer and intimidate anyone who walked past, but in this particular point in time, they just quietly talked to themselves, whispering about the events that happened prior. Every time they mentioned the words "Corrupted Scum" they would sneer more, like it disgusted them to even say the words. Eventually, a man, older and much larger, approached. His chestnut hair was swept back and he wore a confident smirk. His headphone design was a black rose. Austin.
"Why the long faces?" Austin looked down at the group of children with the eyes that belonged to an eagle or maybe a shady loanshark. Though, they were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses that obscured his eyes from the rest of the world. "C'mon, you're usually more lively than this."
They looked at each other before back at the large man and smiling. If they needed anything, all they'd do would be to pay Austin a fair amount and he'll get it done. He recently joined a gang, after all. Blackmailing? He's got connections. Gathering information? Ryleigh's his go-to. Beating someone up? His favourite.
"We saw this dude just then." One of them perked up. "You know how the Corrupted all had pink hair and pink skin?"
'Yeah? Of course I do.' Austin tensed up. He got a bad feeling whenever the Corrupted were bought up. Did it have to do with the fact that he was corrupted himself? Did one of them do something to him while he was corrupted that he didn't remember? That might explain the broken arm he had when he was purified.
"He had pink hair and pink skin too. We saw a real life corrupted walking down the street - and get this, the guy only has one eye and one leg! He looked so weird, he was such a freak! And like, when we passed him he looked at us and looked like was gonna skin us alive and he even chased us. We thought we were gonna die for sure. Here, we got a picture of him!" One of them pulled out a phone and showed Austin a picture of the dude. Pink hair, wearing a hat, extremely tall, hopping along on crutches.
The little shits were lying. The most Blixer did physically was flinch when one of them threw their cup at him. Austin, thinking that they were telling the truth, just scowled.
"Didn't all those Corrupted pieces of shit become purified after their f*gg*t of a king died?"
'Yeah, but this dude was. Maybe he was looked over.'
Austin simply just cracked his knuckles while looking into the distance with a knowing smirk.
"Worthless pink c*nts like him deserve to be ***ed." He sneered. His little friends all laughed and agreed.
'It's probably just genetics though.' One of them said.
"Yeah?" Austin smirk widened. "Well that'd just mean he was born a Corrupted"
After he left the company of the young teenagers, he took out a phone from his back pocket and texted a couple people of interest who also equally hated the corrupted with a burning passion and would love to see this... Corrupted... beaten and crying.
"Hey Sugar, how's it going?" He dialled a number and called someone who also ended up with several broken bones after the Dark Days. Every time he mentioned Corrupted around Sugar, she'd seem to punch a wall.
'I'm going good, thanks for asking, Austin.' The smooth, effeminate voice of a woman spoke back. 'You usually text me instead of calling. What's up?'
"Listen. Apparently there's this new guy 'round town. He's got bright pink hair and pink eyes. He probably ain't a corrupted, but he definitely looks like it."
She let out a whistle. 'Really?'
"Yup. Just thought I'd tell you, if you ever see this guy, call me. I want to cave his face in."
'Alright, alright, sure thing, handsome.' Sugar cooed over the phone and Austin smiled. 'I'll tell you if I see him. I wanna cave his face in too. But in the meantime, I'm kinda like, busy right now, so I'll talk to you later, 'kay?'
"kay." Austin hung up. If he ever gets his hands on that Pink Corrupted Bastard, he will not give him a single chance to fight back. He'll just beat him senseless.
A/N: Let's not forget that Blixer literally one-hit K.O'ed Austin, he'll be better off trying to breathe underwater than to beat Blixer up. Neither of them remember this.
He'll burn everything he loved to the ground. Hell, he'll even kill his cat if he had one.
He couldn't wait.
"Oh my god, Quin! Pi! Get in there! This guy's a genius!"
Tetra had NEVER in their life seen someone pick up an art so quickly. Sure, Blixer still had a ways to go, but the way that the harmonies and melodies just seemed to materialise in the music program, the way that he can just come up with combinations of bass, rhythm and treble that even Tetra hadn't thought of, the way that he instantly knew which instruments went well with each other, it was like he was born to do this. Tetra could tell that this wasn't muscle memory, that up until that point he had never even seen a music program, but his musical knowledge was outstanding. Pretty soon, Tetra would be running out of things to teach him.
He was even putting them to shame
But they didn't give a shit! They were proud! Their face was beaming with a warm light as they clapped their hands. Blixer, a little bit too big for their room, was amused at the look on their face. Ever since Blixer began showcasing an extraordinary musical talent, all tension Tetra had from being with the monster who brutally murdered them vanished. Music really does bring people together. Tetra hasn't necessarily forgotten what he did to them, what he did to Pi, Quin and Lumina, but they were willing to let it slide for now. He didn't deserve their forgiveness but he did deserve a second chance.
Eventually, a comfortably dressed Quin dragged a half-asleep Pi into the room, both wondering what was going on.
"You woke me up for this...?" Pi muttered. It was one PM and he had been sleeping for the last 14 hours. He didn't bother putting his headphones on, his long sunset orange hair just fell down his back in messy ringlets.
'Dude, dude, just hear this, hear this.' Tetra pressed play on their laptop, and the music began.
Quin's eyes slowly widened and Pi was more and more awake by the second as the two of them listened to the music.
The bass supported the main melody like it was a pedestal holding up a king, its unique rhythm backing it up in a way that not for a single second did it fail to send a shiver down their spines. The harmonies and melodies joined hand in hand as they danced around the room, and Quin recognised that the tune was pentatonic. And don't even get me started on the beat. When Blixer was still choosing a drum beat for the song and listening to all the different choices, he came across one that he immediately chose without even bothering to hear the others. It was the perfect one, he insisted to Tetra despite their protests and doubts, because they weren't necessarily the most fond of that particular drum. Everything was proved wrong when they heard the finished product.
"Should we show Lumina this? Where is she by the way?" Pi, now much more awake, asked.
'Nah. She's out. Seriously doubt she ever wants to look him in the eye ever in her life.' Quin responded after a few seconds of awe-stricken silence. 'Blix... how did you do that?'
"I dunno. Just came naturally to me I guess."
'You should be a DJ just like Tetra!'
"Yeah! I agree, you should!" Tetra perked in, beaming. Blixer just raised his eyebrows.
'Y-You sure?'
"Of course I'm sure! Hell, Borealis is always open to new DJs, I'm sure they'll love you!" Tetra beamed with pride, smile from ear to ear. But Blixer just looked unsure, as his expression was sour. He didn't smile much in front of the Quartet to begin with, but this is just another level of saltiness.
"What's wrong? You don't wanna be a DJ?"
'No, I'd love to be one, I don't wanna be a freeloader in (Y/N)'s home, it's just...' Blixer trailed off. 'First of all... I don't have any of this fancy musical equipment-'
"You can borrow mine whenever you want, I don't mind."
'Secondly, you just started... I don't wanna take the limelight off you-'
"That's your reason? C'mon, it's fine!"
'I don't want it to seem like I'm stealing the spotlight, y'know? I guess it's a matter of pride.'
"Blix, it's seriously okay."
But Blixer didn't seem to budge. 'Is there another Nightclub in town?'
"Another one's Hypnotic. It's slightly shadier than Borealis but it's a good one." Quin perked in.
Blixer nodded. 'I think I might go there instead of Borealis.'
"You sure? I mean, it's perfectly fine if you come to Borealis, it's big enough for the two of us."
'I'm sure.'
Although Tetra didn't really agree with Blixer's choice, they still respected it nonetheless. "I'm gonna send (Y/N) a video of this, do you mind?"
'Nope, not at all.'
A few hours later, Blixer used his crutches to hop back down the street, a warm feeling of satisfaction in his heart. He did feel nice playing music and according to (Y/N) he was a damn good guitarist and musician in general. Guess she wasn't lying. She gave him a spare key to their home, which he took out once he arrived back. Her little apartment was too small for him, so much that he actually has to bend over to walk through doorways, and adding in the extra height his horns gave, he actually has to take extra care not to scrape the ceiling with them. Every time he accidentally did he'd yell out at the sudden pain in his horns so he learnt pretty early on that he should bend down.
Eventually he just gave up and spends most of his time sitting down. He sprawled himself across the couch (which is frankly a little bit too small) and soon enough he was snoring. After an indefinite amount of time, he heard a muffled voice of a woman outside the front door, and he immediately sat up.
"Seriously Mordecai? THAT'S why you were at Borealis yesterday and didn't tell me? I told you not to date him! Andrew's a player and you know it!"
...
"I know he's hot, but dude, all he's gonna do is leave you feeling like shit, if you're gonna date someone, date someone who actually loves you."
...
"I don't know what I'm talking about? You're saying that I don't know what I'm talking about? Dude, I have a boyfriend and- Don't give me that shit! You were literally flirting with him last night! Yes you did! No, I'm not joking, You called him sexy and you said you wanted a threesome with him!"
...
"Sure you can meet him, but it's gonna be really awkward." (Y/N) concluded as she opened the front door, talking into a phone that fit in her hand almost perfectly. She mouthed "hello" to Blixer as she closed the door, and collapsed onto the couch next to him. Soon enough they finished their conversation.
"Who was that?"
'You know Mordecai? The guy who flirted with you last night and you threw him into a dumpster?'
"How could I ever forget." He laughed.
'You're back earlier than I thought. How did it go with Tetra?'
"I thought they sent you a video of me?"
'They did?' She raised her eyebrows and immediately went to her texts. He was right, there was a video from Tetra, its thumbnail displaying a smug looking Blixer over a laptop that looked like it had some kind of musical program on. She pressed play and the moment she heard the music her expression visibly changed from indifference to a wide-eyed pleasant surprise, which Blixer immediately started bursting out laughing at. He thought it was adorable. As soon as the video ended, her expression still had not changed.
"That's-That's it?"
'Yeah?'
"I wanted it to go on for longer! Fresh- I mean- Blixer, I knew you were musically talented but like... How did you even do that? It was even better than Tetra's performance!"
'Better than Tetra?'
"Well, in my opinion at least." She beamed as she threw her arms around him warmly. He just smiled and hugged her back.
'They said that I should be a DJ. I liked the idea.'
"So do I!" (Y/N) smiled. "Oh my god I can't wait to tell my co-workers that my Boyfriend's a DJ-"
'I'm sorry, you see me as your Boyfriend?"
Immediately (Y/N)'s face went from a beaming, smiling sun to a sickly pale moon.
"S-Sorry, do... Do you... Mind me... You see me the... Erm... Same way... Ah shit-"
'Hey. I know that we dated for a while before I lost my memories.' Blixer placed a warm hand on her shoulder. It was just slightly smaller than her bicep. 'I know that we were close then, but to be honest, right now I don't know you. I may feel warm when I'm with you, but I haven't known you for even a week. I know it's different for you, where you have had memories and experiences with me you remember and cherish, but, bitch I don't even know your birthday! Frankly, I'd rather get to know you for a bit before we can officially... well, y'know.' He shrugged. (Y/N) bowed her head.
Silence.
'Don't get me wrong, I-'
"I know. I'm sorry, Blixer, I should really slow down, should I?" She lifted her head up to meet his.
'Yeah. That would be much appreciated.' He smiled. Fuck he just made things a little bit awkward.
"So, Blixer, what're you saying is that you're gonna turn up to Borealis someday and-"
'Actually... Do you know that nightclub Hypnotic? Tetra told me about it.'
"Hypnotic?" (Y/N)'s eyebrows raised. "You... You want to go there?"
'Hey, Tetra can have Borealis, I don't wanna take the limelight off of them, I think I might start somewhere else. There a problem?'
"No, nonono, I don't have a problem, I'm just surprised. And to be honest, from what I've heard, I think Hypnotic suits you a little better."
'What do you mean by that?'
"It's a little shady."
Blixer just snorted and the two laughed.
"You need a stage name." (Y/N) raised her index and thumb to her chin in a thinking position. "Since Tetra's Cyan, you should be Pink!"
'No. Just no.'
"What, do you have a better idea?"
'I can think of millions! Hell, I'd rather have a stage name like, I dunno, Tiddy_slapper69 than Pink!'
"Alright then, smartass, let's hear your ideas!"
'...Shit I actually don't have any ideas other than Tiddy_slapper69.'
"IF YOU GO ON STAGE CALLING YOURSELF TIDDY_SLAPPER69 I WILL STRANGLE YOU"
Blixer roared with laughter, coaxing his companion to do so as well.
"Alright, alright, in all seriousness - what about Neo?"
'Nuh-uh.'
"Nitro Fun?"
'There's nothing Fun about you.'
"Ouch. What about... erm... Excision?"
'Nope. Suits you, though. Just a bit too edgy.'
"Far Too Loud?"
'That's far too cheesy.'
"What about Danimal Cannon?"
(Y/N) was about to say no, but then she stopped and reevaluated her choice. Not a bad name. Suits him well.
'That's not bad. I guess you can call yourself that.'
So it was decided. (Y/N) texted the managers at Hypnotic, and they did agree to have Danimal Cannon on, on the condition that they listen to his music first and then give their approval. Which was VERY easy. The quartet also offered to go as well, to offer support, though Lumina seemed to be a bit displeased at the idea and dropped out. But the three remaining siblings didn't care. Might also because Tetra doesn't want their equipment being stolen.
Blixer was looking forward to it! He didn't want to be a freeloader in (Y/N)'s home, as much as she didn't seem to mind it, but he felt happy at the thought of performing.
Never did he guess that an event would happen within that club that'll send him running back to Borealis, vowing to never step foot in Hypnotic ever again.