#406 probably got her ass beat a second time by nootmare when he saw that pest escaped

[ask-the-riders]

406 Learns A Lesson

(So uhhhh,, this is odd, it goes from action and "oh shit that's not good" to angst, then to fluff and Pest's humor (attempting to keep the mood lighthearted))

406 learns a very valuable lesson on why she should never try to make any moves on Pestilence

Her teacher? War

((Contains some unwanted flirting and advances, followed up with violence. A rat gets smacked pretty hard, but no worries, the fuzzball is totally ok))

The tip of a tendril trailed along the glitch's jaw, soon followed by the darker's fingers as he rumbled lowly, "Don't fail me, 406... I'm trusting you to keep an eye on him."

406 smiled widely, her figure beginning to glitch wildly as she purred, her eye lights blown wide in manic excitement and euphoria, "You got it, Boss... He won't be going anywhere. Not as long as I'm still here."

Nightmare let out a low rumble in satisfaction before stepping back away from her, his body warping into the shadows before vanishing entirely. The glitch waited a moment before slowly turning to look at her captive, her eye lights suddenly constricting as she smiled widely, "I'm gonna have fun with you, I can already tell."

Her captive scoffed, narrowing his sockets in distrust, "Yeah, how? It's not like you can touch me or anything." 406 continued grinning at him, her threads appearing and lowering before him, wound around a small pouch that had a medical cross stitched onto the side, "Oh, on the contrary. I can do whatever the hell I want as long as I've got this."

The prisoner's sockets widened and he stared in shocked, "When did you-?!" "When did I get this from you? Easy. After you smacked your head and passed out, I took it from you. Just like that", 406 cut him off, appearing proud of herself. He attempted to shift in his seat, the magic binding around his arms and legs beginning to cause pain.

His sickly green magic flared up, only to fizzle out again, and he furrowed his brow bones in confusion, "What the...? Why isn't it working?" The glitch tilted her head, the corners of her mouth still curled into a smile as she gestured to her neck as she approached him, "You kinda got a little somethin' right here, bud." Once she was within arms reach, she leaned down, her fingers snagging the collar around his neck and yanking it forward, cutting off his oxygen as she purred, "Oh yeah, that's right. It's a magic inhibitor. As long as this little baby stays on you, you can't use your magic."

Pestilence scowled at her, a single rat suddenly emerging from his hoodie and lunging at her hand, hissing as it did so. The glitch let out a startled yelp, roughly striking the creature and knocking it aside. Seeing what had just happened to one of his rats, Pestilence's scowl seemed to grow more intense and he muttered, "You bitch... You shouldn't have done that."

Scoffing, 406 rolled her eye lights and placed a hand on her hip, "Well then the stupid thing shouldn't have lunged at me. There's no need for violence. I mean, c'mon, I won't be violent unless you're violent toward me first." The rider continued glaring at her, his voice a low growl, "Get away from me." Arching a brow bone, 406 sighed, "Stop it with that look. I'm not ALL bad, y'know. I can be fun, too."

Pestilence didn't budge, still glaring harshly at her, and she locked gazes with him, entirely unphased as she moved even closer, "To show you just how much fun I can be, how about we play a game to pass the time? Just the two of us." He huffed, his sockets still narrowed in a mix of anger and distrust, "Not interested."

The glitch made a face, and he suddenly found her seating herself on his lap, facing him. Without an ounce of fear or hesitation, she pressed against him, a hand cupping his face, and he flinched, turning his head and trying to avoid her touch. Very well aware of what he was doing, she laughed softly, "That's cute... Pathetic, but cute nonetheless."

He growled in irritation, "What the fuck are you doing?! I thought I told you to get the hell away from me." Still completely relaxed, 406 hummed softly and shrugged, tilting her head, "I'm just sitting down, geez. We're within the castle walls and within my home, am I suddenly not allowed to sit?"

The rider attempted to lean as far back away from her as he could, only being stopped by the backing of his chair, "There's like five other chairs in this room alone. You could leave me the hell alone and go sit on one of them instead." 406's threads lowered the pouch of antidotes again and she removed a vial, calmly eyeing it for a moment before making a face, "Nah... Your lap is way more comfy. I think I'll stay here."

Shifting her attention back to him, she arched a brow bone again, "Besides, if I did that, then I wouldn't be able to do this." He stared at her in confusion, "...Do what?" She suddenly donned a wide smile, both of her hands cupping his face as she pressed her teeth to his. Sockets widening, Pestilence began to thrash, attempting to get out of his restraints, and 406 took advantage of his shock, deepening the kiss further.

An image of War appeared in his mind and he began to shake; no, this wasn't happening. This couldn't be. There was no way in hell.

As she forced her tongue into his mouth, he growled, biting down and making her yelp and draw back. Before she could get a single word in, the rider slammed his forehead into hers. The glitch, clearly caught by surprise released a second yelp and stared at him in shock for a moment, before chuckling softly, "...Well damn. You're a fighter, it seems. That's good... I like a challenge."

As she began to close the distance between them again, sapphire threads appeared, coiling around her neck and arms, and she was ripped backward away from Pestilence, letting out another startled cry as she was slammed into a stone wall. A hand gripped her face and slammed her head back against the wall at full force, earning another cry as War firmly stated, "I don't think so."

406 attempted to fight back, lifting a hand, but before she could create her own threads, War tightly gripped her arm. There was a sickening crack as the bone was broken, and 406 screamed, deep blue tears pricking at her sockets, "WHAT THE FUCK, YOU PSYCHO?! YOU BROKE MY ARM!" War scowled at her with empty crimson sockets, releasing her arm to roughly seize her neck vertebrae and squeeze, "And for kissing MY SOULMATE, I SHOULD BE BREAKING A LOT MORE."

From his seat, Pestilence stared, watching in shock. War's figure glitched wildly as she tightened her grip on the other's neck, beginning to choke her, "You're me, you should know how much I HATE when other people touch MY STUFF." 406's magic flared up and captured War's soul, sending her flying backward into another wall and pinning her in place. The rider roared, wars beginning to cloud her vision. Before her vision vanished entirely, she saw her duplicate moving closer to Pest again, and she growled, her threads seeking out the other's soul.

They were quick to capture it, and War hissed, "Release me NOW, or so help me, I'll fucking kill you where you stand." To prove she was serious, her threads began to tighten around the other's soul, and 406 murmured something under her breath. War squeezed her eyes shut, willing her vision to return before she opened them again. The magic that held her place suddenly vanished, and she bolted forward again, shoving her duplicate out of the way to snap the magic inhibitor that Pestilence wore, her tone void of remorse, "Use your magic to get free. I have a bitch to slaughter."

He stared at her, wide eyed as he nodded, at a loss for words. 406 attempted a surprise attack, hurling her entire body toward War, and the rider scowled, striking the other with her closed fist at full force. There was another crack, and 406 staggered back, holding her good hand over one of her sockets as blood began to drip down her face, and War fully turned to face her. She was quiet as she looked at her hand, seeing the blood and marrow on her knuckles, and when she took a few longer strides forward and raised a hand to strike the other glitch again, 406 flinched backward, attempting to curl in on herself.

War scoffed, roughly gripping the collar of her shirt instead and dragging her closer until they were mere inches apart. The duplicate seemed to shrink under her gaze, and War hissed, soft enough for only the two of them to hear, "There's a big difference between me and our original counterpart that you need to understand; unlike her, I don't care about you. She wants to help you become a better person, and as of today, I want you dead."

She jerked the other closer until their faces nearly touched, not at all phased as 406 whimpered. To conclude her threat, she decided to add, "For your sake, I hope you don't forget that. If I have to deal with you a second time, you WILL die, and that's final." The other immediately nodded in understanding, and War shoved her backward, her entire disposition cold as she spat, "Take a vial and get lost."

As 406 scurried to grab a vial and make a beeline for the exit, War turned to Pestilence again as he worked on removing the last of his bindings. Realizing that she was looking at him, Pest also shrank under her gaze, speaking slowly, "...I uhh... thanks for coming here and saving me." War looked away from him, choosing not to respond as she opened a portal to take them home. Knowing what she wanted, he offered her his hand to walk through the portal together, and she seemed to freeze in place, looking back and forth between his face and his hand.

Noticing how she hesitated, he sighed, his voice soft, "War... Babe, come on. Please. Everything's ok now. Please take my hand." She continued to hesitate, and he lowered his voice further, his tone pleading, "If this is about how she kissed me, you saw the state I was in. My hands were bound, and I could only do so much with that magic inhibitor around my neck. I fought her on it as much as I could, I swear."

War attempted to blink back tears, her body glitching again as she looked away from him, "...Just go through the damn portal already." Pestilence frowned, reaching out to her, before stopping and withdrawing his hand. Shoulders sagging in defeat, he nodded and whispered a soft apology before slipping through the portal as instructed. His soulmate followed close behind him, closing the portal them once they stepped out into their shared room.

Immediately turning her back to him, War lifted the hand she'd used to damage 406's socket, carefully peeling off her glove to see her hand directly. She instantly took notice of the visible crack that began near one of her knuckles and wound around her phalange, hissing softly as she attempted to flex her fingers.

She felt Pestilence approach her from behind, offering no protest as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to himself. Looking over her shoulder and seeing her injured hand, his magic began to heal it, and she lightly leaned back against him. Everything was silent for a moment before War murmured softly, "...I know you fought her as much as you could. I... It just... really hurts. I arrived just as it happened, and I wasn't sure what to do." She paused, a blue tinted tear dripping down her face and rapidly transforming into a single thread, "I know it wasn't your fault, Pest, and I know you didn't want it. I can't get that image out of my head though, and it feels like my heart was just put through a shredder."

Pestilence made a soft sound of understanding, pressing his face into the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply, his voice low, "I know, and I'm really sorry... If I had any control over the situation, I would've fought her even more." Finally breaking, more tears rolled down her face and, like the first, transformed into threads.

She pressed her uninjured hand over her mouth, trying to muffle whatever sounds she made, and upon feeling the way her body shook in his arms, Pestilence loosened his grip on her and gently slipped around her. Standing in front of her now, he wrapped an arm around her again to hold her close, and she reciprocated, hugging him tightly.

For a moment, they were both silent, and he held her flush against himself, gently rubbing her back as she hid her face in his shoulder and sniffled. Full of guilt and sadness, he prompted her to look at him, and when she did, he very delicately placed a hand on her face. War leaned into his touch and placed a hand atop his, her eyes wide and holding what almost seemed to be a sense of desperation as he spoke, "I'll do anything to make it better... Whatever you can think of. Name it, and I'll do it."

The female rider quivered, nodding and mumbling, "Then make me forget, please. I don't care what it takes, just get that image out of my head." Pestilence stared at her for a few seconds, before he leaned closer and pressed his teeth to hers. War immediately pressed back, her body trembling as she returned the kiss and clung to him like a lifeline.

As he kissed her, he rested a hand on the back of her head, his magic beginning to flare up as he deepened the kiss. He didn't like the idea of using his magic to erase her memories, so he did the next best thing; he altered them. Rather than the painful image of 406 kissing him, she'd recall the event as though it was a dream she'd had, in which she took 406's place. To make it as dream-like as possible, he threw in a few odds and ends, making it seem just as random as an actual dream would've been.

As he slowly pulled back from the kiss to gently press his forehead against hers, he sighed softly, quietly gazing at her. Her cheekbones were now dusted a soft shade of blue as she moved closer to kiss him again, and he allowed it, more than happy to reciprocate. Unlike the kiss he'd given her, the kiss she gave him was much softer; she just wanted him as close as possible, and she didn't want to risk him having to leave again.

When they parted again, he smiled softly at her, gently taking one of her hands and intertwining their fingers. Giving a gentle squeeze, he lifted their hands, pressing a kiss to the back of hers and maintaining eye contact with her as he murmured, "I love you, War... With every fiber of my being. My heart and soul are yours, as long as you'll have them." Her blush visibly darkened and his smile widened a bit. Wanting to keep the moment lighthearted and give her some sense of normalcy, he playfully winked at her, "And my body? That's yours too. By all means, help yourself to it whenever you want."

Her blush darkened even more and she rolled her eye lights, grumbling, "Pervert." Pestilence laughed softly, flicking his tongue at her, "Maybe. You love me though, and you know it." War made a face, still appearing flustered, "Yeah... I do. I can't deny that one." Pest's cheekbones became a soft shade of green and his smile widened.

Despite what had happened with 406, he had a feeling that things were going to be alright. To seal the deal, however, he'd have to ask one of the others to wipe the bad memory from his mind as well. As long as no one told him or War once it was gone, then they'd be able to move on.

He'd do whatever it took to make sure his lady love was happy.