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the-witch-of-one-piece · 3 years ago

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Hello boss! This idea just came up bcs it happened but can I request a hc with Marco during his young days of still adjusting to his full Zoan form?

I imagine him learning how to fly yet don't know how to land and just dove straight into someone (rip to the pigeon that didn't know how to pigeon and landed straight into my pool, don't worry the lil birdie is safe). And that someone is s/o who is always ready to save him unknowing that this unfortunate day she will be the receiving end of the burning turkey pineapple. You can make it as funny or fluff as you want, thank you!

Hey Boss Anon!!!! OMG THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA!!!!!!! Omg Im excited to write this! So let's base this right around the time before he joins whiteboards crew. The quote referred on her was by Anne Baxter I hope you enjoy!

Marco x Fem reader: Still new to this

"Okay okay here we go again." he said. Taking a collective breath he began to form into the phoenix. No problem forming the bird but it was flying he was trying to nail it. Taking one leap in the air he began to sore into the sky. His arms were a bit wobbly, as he flapped his wings soaring higher and higher peaking down to to see the green hills and the homes below, the walk path as people looked up seeing the blue bird in the sky. Some people looked in amazed seeing the creature pass pointing as he flew by.. He was feeling very confident about his flying as he continued to soar through the sky.

Sure he got the flying down now but how to get down would be a challenge. He was looking for a place to settle down on the ground paying too much attention he didn't see the birds coming towards him. Last mins paying attention they startled him jerk down so he wouldn't clash into them.He couldn't control his flight anymore he was falling fast.

You were sitting down under a tree trying to finished a book. But something caught your eyes as you looked up. Seeing this blue creature falling from the sky almost like it was injured. You closed you book. It was too big to be a hawk or any kind of bird you seen before. Seeing it crashing into you pool. You immediately ran to the pool seen the creature struggling up you dove in.

Marco was stressing unable to breath feeling his body becoming heavy. Who the hell has a 8ft deep pool in their back yard. Is this how he was really going to die? Crap there was so much more he wanted to do with his life. Underneath the water his vision a bit blurry the chlorine from the water slightly burning his eyes . Feeling a pair of arms lifting him up. The first gasp of air was all he could think of. Feeling a bit light headed as he was looking up at the sky feeling himself being pulling out of the pool and laid on the floor. "Hey you are you okay?" your hands were on his cheeks peeking down at him the worried expression on your face. His vision was a bit blurry till his eyes settled the vision becoming clear his eyes looking back at yours. The slight bit a pink tinting covering his cheeks seeing the dewy wide eye girl looking back at him. Did she just jump in the pool and recuse me?

He sat up quickly turning his head to the side, blushing as he was scratch the back of his head. "thank you yoi"

"I could have sworn I seen a creature like bird falling from the sky." you looked at him.

"Well it was me too. Sorry still trying to figure out how to control it."

"Control it? Wait are you part bird?" cocking your brow at him. He let out a little laugh. As he explain he ate a devil fruit zoan type mythical creatures. You were rather intrigued how he was trying to control it but he was having the issues of landing.

"Why not slowing down the speed enough to start off." you suggested to him. He should have thought of that too.

"You might be onto something. I didn't get you name yoi." He looked at you pinning your hair up.

"Its _______. how about you bird man?" slightly teasing him.

"Bird man you have jokes I like that.... Marco."

"Before you fell into my pool I actually was reading mythical story. Maybe it was fate you may need to hear it the quote stated It's best to have failure happen early in life. It wakes up the Phoenix bird in you so you rise from the ashes"

~~~~~~~~~~

Once Marco finally mastered his flying and landing abilities it took weeks for him to do. You cheered him on throughout the whole way. He was pretty cute too maybe a crush developing. Hearing his dreams how he wanted to see the world. You knew he could do he had a lot of determination when his mind was set on something he was going to do it. When a prominent pirate by the name of Whitebeard came to the island he join his crew as an apprentice. Now you hear seeing him set off. You were going to miss the afternoons you both spent together. "I promise to write to you yoi." You rubbed your upper arm looking down. You didn't want to say goodbye yet. "what's with the long face?"

"Well you know I'm not going to see you anymore. You will see other people and forget about me." you avoided the eye contact with him.

"I won't forget about about you I promise that." he cradle you in his hands he kiss the tip of your nose then a small kiss on the lip. "Keep an eye for for my letters I will be back for you promise yoi."

#op marco #marco imagine #marco one piece #one piece marco x reader #op marco x reader #marco the phoenix x reader #marco the phoenix #phoenix marco #marco x reader #op marco imagine #thatbadbruja #valerieswriting #request

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hey-i-wrote-a-story · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter 47 One By One

“Still not sure why we need to be here”, Stiles said, following Freddie as they hurried through the high school boys’ locker room. “You kept going on about figuring out what we need to stop your monster—“

“It’s not “my” monster”, Freddie corrected him.

Stiles picked up on his faux pas too late. “Sorry, sorry. The one you guys conjured—the monster. The Unspoken.” The exited the locker room and went out to the swimming pool area. The pool was empty for cleaning, but no one from janitorial was there now. Stiles continued, “The thing is, I appreciate your offer to help, but Scott and Kira are already working on—“ Stiles looked at Freddie, who had stopped and was gazing dreamily back at the locker room. Stiles snapped his fingers in front of the ginger boy’s eyes. “Yo! Freddie. Stay with me.”

Freddie looked sheepish. “Sorry. I just realized, walking through there, we must have passed the exact spot where you and Scott had that argument with Jackson about—“

Stiles cut him off as quickly as he could. “Yes, it’s all really thrilling, I’m sure. But let’s do highlights from our captivating previous installments later. Hell, we can all gather around Kaitlyn and her psychic TV Land channel and binge watch. But for now”, and he really stressed the ‘now’, “what have you got?”

“Got?”, Freddie repeated, almost having forgotten what they came there for. “Oh, right! I have got something for you, hang on a second.” Freddie fished around in his pocket for something, then started to draw out what looked like a thin leather strap. He tugged on it, but it didn’t budge past a certain length. “I think it’s stuck on my keys”, he explained.

“Tick-tock, Robin”, Stiles urged, keeping his tone light.

“Here it is!”, Freddie pulled from his pocket a necklace of some sort. Dangling from the leather strap was a pendant of some kind. It was green—it could have been plastic, it could been glass, or possibly some kind of polished stone—and gave off a faint glow. Freddie held it up proudly to his hero. Stiles looked at it in much the same way he might look at a gift a cat might bring him in the form of a dead bird.

“Ahh…that’s something, alright. What is it?”

“It’s a necklace I made for you. Well, Kaitlyn helped a lot, but I designed it with you in mind.” He held it closer for Stiles to inspect, and Stiles squinted his eyes trying to decipher what he was looking at. “Oh, it’s supposed to be in the shape of a detective’s magnifying glass”, Freddie offered, anticipating the question. “Like Sherlock Holmes. Since you’re a detective and all. I think I came pretty close.”

Stiles gave Freddie a weak smile. The pendant looked more like a turtle shell with the head and neck of a giraffe attached to it. “Good job.” Then shifting his gaze to the nervous redhead, “I really appreciate it, but we need to get a move-on if we’re—“

Freddie didn’t let him finish. “Stiles”, he started, with emphasis, “you have been a great inspiration to me. I-I have tried to live my life by your example.”

Stiles winced a little under the grandiose praise. “Um…you’re welcome?”

“So I’d like you to have a little something back for all you’ve given me”, Freddie said. His eyes even looked a bit moist, so as he reached up to place the necklace around Stiles’ neck, Stiles just let him. He didn’t want the kid getting any more emotional.

“It looks good on you”, Freddie said, his mouth a thin line as if he were holding back a sob.

Stiles looked at his new necklace. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Up close, it looked kind of witch-crafty, but in another way it was reminiscent of those rather unsightly woven friendship bracelets. Whether or not Stiles would decide to keep wearing it, he did appreciate the gesture. He looked up from the necklace to Freddie. “Thanks, man. This is really nic—urph!” Freddie had reached forward and taken Stiles’ face in his hands, and then Freddie kissed his hero right on the lips. The kiss was neither forceful nor aggressive, but it took Stiles completely by surprise. He pulled back as soon as Freddie let go.

“Whoa! Dude, give a guy a little warning!”

Freddie’s expression turned somber. “I’m really very sorry”, he said quietly.

“Hey, it’s okay”, Stiles hastened to assure him. “It’s not a big deal. But if you had just asked, I probably would’ve said it was alright for you to give me a good luuuuc-YUULPP!”

Freddie pushed Stiles over the edge and into the empty pool. Stiles landed right on the top of the incline where the shallow end of the pool dipped down to become the deep end. As Freddie had intended, Stiles could not get his footing in time, and he slid all the way down the incline to smack into the wall at the far end of the pool, on the bottom, eleven feet down from where he had previously been standing.

It took Stiles a moment to get his bearings and realize what had just happened to him. Rubbing his sore back and bruised bum, Stiles looked up at the sad-looking redhead and hollered, “Freddie! What the hell is your problem?!”

Freddie said nothing, but walked away, toward the opposite end of the pool. His soft footsteps echoed in the empty pool area. There was uncomfortable silence for perhaps half a minute, and Stiles called up to him again.

“What’s going on up there? You’re not just gonna take off on me, are you? What’re you do--?”

There was a dull, rhythmic grinding sound from above, followed by a steady squeak of hinges working. Stiles thought the sound was familiar but he couldn’t place it. In another moment, he didn’t have to. To his horror, Stiles saw the segmented metal pool cover sliding steadily forward from the shallow end, locked in it tracks, moving inexorably forward to entomb the young detective.

Stiles’ heart began to race. “No. Freddie, NO! Don’t do this! FREDDIE!”

Stiles scrambled up the slope that led to the shallow end, but even dry, the surface was slicker than he had anticipated and he slid backwards quickly to once again impact with the wall where it met the low floor at the pool’s bottom. Stiles raced forward again, clawing at the smooth surface, gaining even less purchase this time, and sliding back just as quickly as before. He looked up and saw that the pool cover already completely covered the shallow end of the pool and continued moving forward over the deep end.

“Freddie! Enough’s enough! Stop it!”, he cried. More silence.

Stiles looked to the interior side wall of the pool and spotted the depth markings painted along its surface, even as the metal cover crossed each point. 4FT. 6FT. 8FT. His heart beat faster as he clambered to the interior wall and leapt up to grab the ladder leading out of the pool. For whatever reason, he kept missing it. Once, he nearly had a grip on it, but he slipped off. The distance between his hands and the ladder seemed to be shifting. Stiles attributed it to his rising panic, and assumed it was throwing his perception off. All the same, more than once he could swear the ladder was moving. In an unnervingly short amount of time, the metal cover reached the far end of the pool and locked in place. The light of the pool area was reduced to thin shafts piercing through the slats of the metal cover, and deep shadows were cast all around Stiles.

The silence was deafening. Stiles could hear nothing over the sound of his own labored breathing and the rush of blood in his ears. He was about to call out again, to see if Freddie was still there, when the soft voice drifted down to him, muffled by a layer of segmented metal.

“Like I said, Stiles. I’m really very sorry about this.”

“Sorry about what?! What the hell are you doing? You can’t leave me here, Freddie!”

“I have to. I really don’t want to, Stiles, but I have to.”

“Freddie, you don’t have to do anything! Come on, let me out of here and we can talk!”

“There’s nothing left to talk about. The decision’s been made. I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry and let me OUT of here! Come ON! What the hell are you doing?!”

“What I have to. This monster has got to be banished, Stiles. And it’s either you or me. That’s just how it is.”

“You or me what? What are you saying, Freddie?” No response. “Freddie!”, Stiles pleaded. “I thought we were friends!”

“I thought so too”, Freddie said at last. “That’s what makes this so hard.” It was hard to tell through the heavy pool cover, but Stiles thought Freddie’s voice cracked, as it might when choking back a sob. “Goodbye, Stiles.”

Stiles listened as Freddie’s footsteps echoed his departure down the length of the pool and out through the locker room door. Stiles screamed as loud as he could. “FREDDIE!!!” There was no reply back. Stiles’ head dropped to his chest and he began to curse under his breath. His quiet expletives were interrupted suddenly by the sound of rushing water. Stiles whirled around to see the deep end of the pool behind him filling up with chlorinated water. The water rushed in at a tremendous rate, filling the pool up fast. Stiles’ eyes widened as he realized the full weight of his predicament. He swallowed hard, and could only think of one thing to say.

“Oh, shit.”

“Scott, wait up!”

Scott turned around to see Kaitlyn running toward him. Scott had been walking across an open lot which he sometimes used as a shortcut on the way to Kira’s house. Kaitlyn’s voice jarred him out of his thoughts about facing the monster with his girlfriend and his pack. He didn’t have the time or the patience to worry about the overeager newcomers as well.

“What are you doing here?”, Scott demanded. “You’re supposed to still be waiting at the house with Aadesh. Unless—did you come up something new about how to fight the monster?”

“No, not yet”, she said.

“Then you need to get back there and stay—“

“Where’s Stiles?”

Her question was so completely out of the blue that it caught him off guard. “Stiles? He’s at the high school. Freddie said he had a new idea or something he wanted to show him.” Before Kaitlyn could ask about a double-standard allowing Freddie to leave and her to stay put, he added quickly, “I wouldn’t let him go, but as long as Stiles is with him—“

Again she interrupted. “That’s just it. Stiles never showed up.”

“He didn’t?”

“We’ve been trying to find him. Has he got one of those disposable phones like you do?”

Scott shook his head. “No, he hasn’t had the chance yet.”

“Where’s Liam?”, she asked, looking very nervous.

“Kira and I are going to pick him up on the way to—“ Scott tilted his head as he considered the question. “Why would you need to know about Liam?”

Kaitlyn swallowed hard. “I’ve had another vision. Not a good one.”

Scott listened closely. Her heart was beating to rapidly for him to tell if she was lying. All he knew for certain was that she was genuinely scared. “Go on.”

“I was focusing on the monster—trying to push my visions to a point farther in the past than I’d ever—“

“Skip to the end, Kaitlyn.”

She took a breath, then, “I saw that at least once, when the monster needed more slaves, it would get them into the heaviest clothes they had—heavy coats, armor, whatever was on hand—and then cover them in his energy spores. That way he could control them longer before he burnt them out.”

Did her heart just skip a beat? “Why are you telling me this?”, Scott asked pointedly.

“Because we can’t find Stiles, and I have a terrible feeling about Liam—ah!” Kaitlyn gasped, and this time there was no hiding her irregular heartbeat.

“What?!”

“Omigod—look!” Kaitlyn grabbed Scott by the shoulders and spun him around to face the other way. “Look”, she repeated, “Right there in front of you, it’s just like I said!”

Scott was astonished to see two lacrosse players, in full uniform, helmets, and pads, bristling with the monster’s energy thistles. They were moving toward Scott and Kaitlyn. Although their faces were obscured by their helmets, the numbers on their jerseys were unmistakable. 24 and 9. It was Stiles and Liam. Kaitlyn clung to Scott’s back as if she were trying to use him as a human shield. He felt her hands all over his neck and shoulders as she squirmed. Scott didn’t think that she was the kind to panic this badly, but that was a concern for another day. Firmly, but without undo force, Scott pushed Kaitlyn back. Then he turned to her with blazing red eyes and issued his edict.

“Go.”

Kaitlyn did so immediately, racing back the way she came. Scott stood firm and braced himself for the attack. The two enslaved friends picked up their pace. With his enhanced sight, Scott could now make out the eyes of his best friend and his Beta. Their eyes were glazed and absent of independent thought. They moved like automatons, but their strength and speed was enhanced due to the possession by the Unspoken’s thistles, as was their growing rage. For Stiles, that was bad enough, but for Liam, a considerably strong young werewolf, it was much worse. Scott popped his claws and searched for the weakest points on their gear to shred first. He’d have to free them of the thistles without hurting them, as well as keep those damnable little sparkling things from attaching to himself. Scott let out a low growl and rushed forward to meet them.

“Liam, I’m glad I caught you.”

Liam had been waiting outside his house for Kira and Scott to come by and pick him up on route to collect everyone else. Then, as a pack, they could prepare for what they hoped was their final confrontation with The Unspoken. Liam craned his neck to see Aadesh running down the street toward him.

“Hey”, Liam said. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you guys supposed to be doing research stuff?”

“That’s why I’m here”, Aadesh said, catching his breath. “I have something that just might put the odds in our favor when you guys take down the monster. It just needs one thing to make it work.”

Liam perked up at the idea. He was not looking forward to a throw-down with the latest Big Bad, and having some kind of edge against it sounded like a gift. “Great! What does it need?”

Aadesh pointed at the young werewolf. “You.”

A few moments later found the two of them well into the woods behind the Dunbar house.

“Is there a reason we had to come all the way out here?”, Liam asked impatiently.

“That’ll make sense once you see what I’ve got for you”, Aadesh replied. “Now look at this.” He pulled a small bundle from his jacket pocket that looked like old cheesecloth. Aadesh unraveled the cloth to reveal twin cylindrical tubes of some kind, six or seven inches in length. They were made of a thin metal, with unusual engravings scratched into them.

“What are those?”, Liam asked.

“If I’m right, they’re your ace in the hole”, Aadesh smiled. “Hold out your arms.”

Liam grimaced. “You’re not gonna inject me with something, are you?”

“Hardly.” Aadesh clamped the twin artifacts onto Liam’s forearms, where they locked in place with a sharp snap. Liam held his arms up and saw that he was now wearing matching wrist bands that extended from just below his palms to halfway down his forearms.

“Um…so I scare the monster away with my terrible fashion sense?”

Aadesh ignored the jibe. “Look at those gems in the center of each band’s underside. Liam turned his arms over and indeed, there they were. Liam saw that each gem radiated a soft glow from deep within it.

“I see them.”

“Now press one gem on top of the other and rub them together in a circular motion—but always clockwise!”

Liam looked at Aadesh with furrowed brow. “Really? Do I get three wishes then?”

“Just trust me”, Aadesh said.

Liam followed the directions, and in a moment he started to feel woozy. “Whoa, what’s going on? What are these things doing?”

“Relax”, Aadesh urged. “Just relax, they’re making the connection with your body.”

“They’re what??”

“Close your eyes and take deep breaths, slow and steady. In just a few seconds you should be able to feel your balance returning.” Liam nodded. His feeling of lightheadedness faded. “Now you should be very aware of your own strength.” Liam grinned. He could feel something. It felt good. “And soon, very soon, you should feel your strength increasing. That’s what these do. They magnify your strength.”

Liam flexed his arms, making his biceps bulge. “Oh, man…I can feel it!”

“Their power doesn’t last indefinitely”, Aadesh warned. “So only use it when you have to. But you are going to feel pretty damn powerful as long as you’ve got ‘em.”

Liam swung his arms back and forth, feeling the energy build in his body. He felt like he was all muscle and he could take on the world. “These could make a big difference for us. Thanks!” Then, a thought occurred to him. “Wouldn’t it be better if you gave these to Scott? I mean, with this all relying on him to—“

“The other thing I needed to tell you is vital”, Aadesh interrupted. “We think the Unspoken could be enlisting other supernatural creatures to add to its army of minions.”

“No way. You kidding me?”

“Deadly serious. And the thing that we were most worried about, and why I brought those to you—“ Aadesh’s voice trailed off. His eyes grew wide and his lower jaw trembled.

“What is it?!”, Liam cried.

“Oh no…”, Aadesh whispered.

In a flash, a massive form rushed past Liam and impacted with Aadesh. Liam barely had time to register that what struck the boy was a massive fist thrust forward by an arm like a pile driver. Aadesh flew through the air, his body limp, and landed with a sickening thud a few dozen feet away.

“Aadesh!”, Liam cried. But before he could move, Liam looked up to see what had struck his new friend and now stood before him. It was taller than Liam, peering down on him from above, with various animal skins bound to its body which was a mountain of solid muscle. Its face was covered with a bleached bear skull. It made no sound, but peered down at the terrified Beta. It was a berserker. Liam started to back up, to put some distance between himself and this near-unstoppable juggernaut. He hadn’t made it very far when he heard something heavy hit the earth behind him. Liam turned to see a second berserker had arrived, and was stomping on heavy feet toward him. One of these atrocities was bad enough, but two?

Liam worked all his will to get a grip on himself and stop shaking. It wasn’t easy. As the two powerhouses strode toward him, the young werewolf wondered if his new magic bracelets would enhance his power to run.

“So you think he might be right?”

Mrs. Yukimura looked at her daughter and weighed the question before answering. “Given what Dr. Deaton has said…yes. Quite possibly, with the combination of the roar of a True Alpha werewolf and your sword backed by the power of the kitsune…” And she paused, looking for the right word for encouragement without sounding overly hopeful. “…this tactic does show promise.”

“So you’re saying we can win?”, Kira said hopefully. “Do you think we can beat this thing?”

Mrs. Yukimura sighed. “I think there is still much we do not know about The Unspoken. It is dangerous to become overconfident.”

“Right now I’d settle for just regular confidence”, Kira lamented.

“You will have the rest of the pack with you, then?”, her mother asked.

“Yes. All of them—all of us. Malia, Liam, Lydia, even Stiles. No one’s going into this alone. I’ll be backing Scott, but he’s leading the charge.” Kira’s phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw a familiar number with the smiling photo of Scott looking back at her, straw hat and all. “And speaking of whom…”

Kira gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek. “Gotta go. Wish me luck.”

“I will wish you skill and precision. You haven’t the luxury of leaving anything to luck.”

Kira nodded, opted to skip any kind of remark or comeback, and was answering the phone call as she walked out the door. For a moment, her mother paused, wondering I thought Scott had lost his phone. Outside, Kira accepted the call and was met with a crackling sound interspersed with hissing.

“Scott? You there?”

“—hiss-crack Kira crackle—“

“I can barely hear you”, Kira said, raising her voice.

“—hiss-need help crackle-screech come quick-hiss—“

With that, the line went dead.

“Scott!” Kira received a text with brief directions. She was on her way without a second thought.

Kira reached where she believed Scott had sent her, one of the many forested areas around town. Silently, Kira cursed that she couldn’t reach anyone else on her phone. Why wasn’t anybody answering? After a few more attempts, all she got was more interference. She exited her car and looked around cautiously. There was nothing to see in view.

“Scott? I’m here.”

Before she could ask again in a louder voice, a swirl of smoky clouds encircled Kira. The cloudy mass was dark, but within each billow was that hideous orange glow now associated with the monster. Here and there, the gleam and shine of energy spores danced within. Kira’s sword was in her hand before she knew she was reaching for it. Her posture shifted instantly to a fighting stance as she looked around the surrounding cloud. She could see nothing beyond it, so she opted not to venture into it. Best to let whatever was in there come to her. She did not have to wait long.

A figure fell forward from one of the cloud banks, landing clumsily on the ground in a heap. Kira recognized immediately who it was.

“Scott!” She moved to rush to his side, but he looked up and held up a hand to stop her.

“No! Wait!” He looked a mess. His clothing was torn, he face scratched and cut. “Kira, the monster…it’s found a way to…I don’t know how, but it was able to…” he coughed, spitting up a bit of blood. “It got the others. Liam, Malia…oh, God…”

“Scott, what happened? Tell me what to do!”

Scott tossed a small cloth bag to Kira, who caught it easily. “It’s after that. Whatever you do, don’t let them take it.”

“Them? There’s more than one of it? What are you saying?”

There was a rumbling within the dark cloud behind Scott, and then the sound of something sharp piercing soft flesh. Scott screamed in pain. “Can’t change…they took my powers…Kira, it’s up to you…”

The rumbling from the cloud became and angry growl as Scott was pulled backwards swiftly into the darkness. “Don’t let them get it--!!”, was his final cry and then he was gone.

Kira had no idea what had just happened. Who were “they”? What had been done to Scott? And what was she holding? Kira looked at the bag in her hand. It barely filled her palm, was made out of some kind of rough cloth, and its top was tied with a leather string, knotted tightly in place. It had a strange aroma that Kira could not place. Was it a spell bag? Did it contain mistletoe, mountain ash, or some other magical substance? What was it for, what did it do? Kira looked up to call to Scott again, ready to march into the swirling darkness to save him. And she would have, had not something else not emerged from the dark clouds to stop her. There were four figures now standing before Kira. Two were workmen whom Kira recognized from the power station. They were still dressed in their work uniforms, with hardhats atop their heads, tool belts strapped around their waists. Their work boots and legs up to their thighs were scorched and flayed. Kira recalled how she had warned them away from the open doorway too late to prevent the Erin zombie from electrocuting them. They looked thoroughly electrocuted. Smoke still rolled off their clothing, and their faces were badly scarred. Dancing all around them were the monster’s energy thistles, holding them upright and moving them forward. Beside the two workman was the man Kira cut down from the chain link fence. He was a charred mass with blackened skin that was cracked and bleeding. Bits of the fence were still melted to his body in different places, and most of his hair had been burned off. He too was infested with the monster’s thistles. Last and worst of all was the reanimated remains of Erin. Kira knew that her corpse had dissolved inside the power station, but here it was, after a fashion, half-melted, mostly burned, its disfigured face stuck in a violent scream that hung low past where her jawline used to be to blend with her chest and shoulder. The cut through its neck was still readily apparent from where Kira’s sword had sliced through. The neck was off-center, with bits of flesh and sinew sticking out at odd angles, as if the head had been reattached in haste by unskilled hands. Erin’s corpse glowed from the inside out, its gaping jaw showing the many thistles inside it. All of these abominations stared at Kira with blank, glowing orange eyes. They began to shuffle forward, arms reaching out, groping to retrieve the pouch Kira held.

Kira swallowed hard and stepped back, gripping her sword tight. Letting out a slow breath, she whispered to herself, “Oh boy.”

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