#im very upset about neteri :( she is my girl

[brutal-nemesis]

If you’re wondering what’s going on it’s just me being very stubborn and wanting to use the legacy editor 🤪 this really is ch23 you’re in the right place!! 

Anyway, this one is shorter compared to usual and a little more tame and yet I still expect it to have all of you yelling at me all the same :)

I’m sorry in advance

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Ingredients: dehumanization, manhandling, a little electrocution

“Welcome back, Neteri.”

“H-hello, Hjáll, I, um, wasn’t expecting you back for another week.”

“And I wasn’t expecting you until later today. Funny, how plans can change.”

Neteri’s grip on Erebus’s hand tightened as she shifted slightly, placing herself more in between him and Hjáll. They’d returned from the desert early so Neteri could finish healing his leg properly, but now Hjáll stood in their way, the guards flanking her not having a single thing to do with the threatening air she gave off. 

“Well, Erebus has an injury that I need to tend to, so we’ll be on our wa-”

“Stop.” Hjáll held up a single finger. “You’ve been avoiding me, Neteri, and now that your part of the experiment is complete, I have more right than ever to examine your test subject.”

Neteri’s face hardened as she swallowed. “I simply…he’s not ready yet. You don’t want this to fail, do you?”

Hjáll smiled, not a hint of warmth in her eyes. “I don’t. Which is why I think it’s time I took matters into my own hands.” She waved a finger, and the guards were on them in a second, ripping Erebus’s hand out of Neteri’s, chaining his wrists together in front of him and forcing a muzzle onto his face before he could say a word. Neteri tried to stop them, commanding them to let him go, but one of them just swatted her away, shoving her back into the wall and causing her to fall to her hands and knees. By the time she’d stood back up, a chain had been attached to Erebus’s collar and he’d dragged over to Hjáll, the leash handed to her. She grinned at Neteri, who was straightening her rumpled coat, fire in her eyes. “Well, that was easy enough.” 

“No, no, you-you can’t do this, Hjáll, I won’t-”

“You won’t let me? What,” she stepped closer to Neteri, looking down at the smaller woman, “are you going to do? What can you do? You’re a healer, Neteri.”

All at once, seeing Neteri standing there, fists trembling at her sides, Erebus realized just how powerless she was. She was small and weak and mostly knew healing spells and he’d been scared of her but all of her threats had been dependent on guards to drag him around and strap him down but take that away and…she was just one person. She couldn’t protect him, she never would have been able to, not from Hjáll or the Empire or anyone. 

But that never stopped her from trying.

“I won’t help you. With the spell. You need me for it. You can’t do it alone.” She gulped, trying to keep her voice steady. 

Hjáll rolled her eyes. “Like I won’t be able to find another person who can use water magic.”

“You know as well as I do that that spell is far too complicated for anyone who hasn’t studied it to just jump in.” 

That got a satisfied smile out of Hjáll, and Erebus suddenly felt sick, like this had all just been part of her plan. “Rightly so. Perhaps I’ll just have to…force you to participate. Come, I’ve got everything prepared.” She beckoned to the guards and started to walk along, pulling Erebus behind her. He shot a worried glance at Neteri before following, wanting so, so badly to fight back, to even just stubbornly sit on the ground, but he knew it wouldn’t matter. The guards aside, he was painfully aware of how quickly Hjáll’s magic could render him helpless, especially with his leg still wounded. There was nothing either of them could do.

She led them into a room he’d never seen before, and he felt the air leave his lungs at the sight of the massive magic circle painted onto the floor, the design so complex he could hardly pick out the details. What…what were they going to do to him? 

The guards pulled him to the middle of the circle and forced him to his knees, securing the chain between his wrists to a hook on the floor. Hjáll came to stand behind him, and he shuddered as her hand slid into his hair, feeling the base of his horns. Neteri glared at her as the guards dragged her in, eyes scanning the room for something she could use to help, but there didn’t appear to be anything besides a couple of desks and some papers. There was the sword at Hjáll’s waist, nearly hidden in the folds of her robe, but even if Neteri managed to get ahold of it, he doubted she could even lift it, let alone use it. Even after Hjáll dismissed the guards, Erebus knew there was nothing either of them could do to stop her. 

“Let’s make sure everything’s in order before we start phase two, shall we?” Hjáll grabbed his horn, tilting his head to the side so she could better examine it. “I have to applaud your work in attaching these, Neteri. It’s like this has always been a monster.” 

“Erebus is not a monster,” Neteri growled, tense as she leaned forward ever so slightly, fists tightening every time Hjáll shifted her grip on Erebus. Her touch made his skin crawl, and he wasn’t sure whether or not to be grateful that he didn’t want to lean into it. 

Ignoring Neteri’s argument, Hjáll crouched and undid the ties on Erebus’s shirt, shoving it away so it pooled around his wrists, exposing his bare back. He shivered as she ran her hands up the scales on his spine, causing her to laugh while Neteri only grew more obviously upset and frustrated. “Oh, Neteri, this really is fine work.” Hjáll’s every word dripped with genuine fascination, the fingers exploring his back feeling almost reverent. “Truly only a job you could have carried out. None of this would have been possible if it weren’t for you, you know. Your brilliant, insane ideas and your incredible skill.” She laughed. “That, and your perfect little test subject.” Hjáll stood, walking in front of Erebus again, and her smile made his blood run cold. “I think it’s ready.”

“He can’t fly very well yet, and he can’t go until he-”

“Necessity is often the best teacher.”

“I-I don’t know if he’ll be able to fight them and win-”

“It used to be a prince, didn’t it? Should’ve had some sword training in there. And if my research is correct, it won’t matter as long as it wins eventually.” 

“S-still. I won’t do it.” Neteri’s hands balled into fists, shoulders squared. “You need me for this, and I-you can’t make me perform the spell.”

Hjáll simply pointed at Erebus and muttered a spell, and his whole world lit up with white-hot pain. He screamed into the muzzle, teeth clenching so hard around the metal bit that it hurt, the manacles around his wrists burning hot, his every muscle convulsing all at once, and then it was over, and he was lying limply on the cold stone floor, breathing strained. He could vaguely hear Neteri calling out to him through the ringing in his ears, see Hjáll holding her back through the black spots in his vision, keeping her away from him. 

“-ver and over if you don’t do it.” The ringing cleared up in time for him to catch the end of Hjáll’s statement, and he had a guess as to what she had said before. “I’ll just keep it and make its life hell until you let go of your stupid emotions. This is the point of the experiment, Neteri. You knew this would happen all along. It’s inevitable.”

“But he…I…” Neteri’s shoulders sank as she scrambled for some sort of solution, another objection, something she could do, but given her expression, she was coming up empty. “Can…can I at least explain it to him? Alone?”

Hjáll huffed, rolling her eyes. “You can tell it, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.” She walked over to the far wall and leaned back against the door, arms crossed. “Explain away. And don’t take that muzzle off.” Neteri frowned, her hands already reaching to undo it, but she didn’t protest. No sense in pushing their luck, as much as Erebus wished he could talk to her.

She knelt down in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Erebus. I…here.” She got up and pulled his shirt back up his arms, going around and tying it back on. She stroked him ever so slightly as her fingers brushed his back, and he wished it was enough to ease his fears. Once she was done, she knelt in front of him once more, taking his hands.

“The…the whole point of this project is…” she took a deep breath and sighed. “I know it sounds far-fetched, but…you know how the great elder demons were sealed away thousands of years ago?” Erebus nodded apprehensively. Everyone knew the legends, about the days before when the most powerful demons roamed the land, enticing humans into doing their bidding, until the hero Herja banished them and ushered in a new age of peace for humanity. But what did that have to do with him?

Neteri rubbed the back of his hand. “There have been signs that the demons are…breaking out. But it’s not possible for humans to go there, to the Untitled world, where they’re imprisoned. We, uh, don’t know what it’s like there at all, hence the placeholder name. But anyway, we…we thought it might be possible to go there for someone who…who wasn’t quite human.” Erebus flinched, his arm turning red, causing Neteri to frown. “I didn’t mean it like that, Erebus, I’m sorry, you’re not-” Hjáll cleared her throat, cutting Neteri off, tapping her finger impatiently. Neteri glared at her before returning her attention to Erebus.

“Hjáll has been experimenting with combining human and demon souls, but I wanted to see if purely physical combinations would be enough. And that’s…that’s why I did this to you. With all of these parts from each kind of demon, and some of their innate magic, you…you might be able to go there. To go to the Untitled world and fight the demons, keep them from breaking out and returning to our world.” Erebus’s mind reeled as Neteri squeezed his hands tightly. It all sounded so…bizarre. He was supposed to save the world all of a sudden? To fight demons? He…he was just Erebus a…a pathetic monster who couldn’t do a thing to change his own fate. 

If that were the case, then he didn’t really have a say in this new destiny, did he?

He squeezed Neteri’s hands back and nodded blankly. If this was why all this had happened to him, and if he could still help people this way, then what was the point in trying to fight it? Neteri gave him a sad smile and pulled him into a hug, and he melted into her arms, wondering if this was the last time he’d get a hug from her. “I’m so, so sorry, Erebus,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m going to try and make it so you get sent back here when you kill them all, okay? Hjáll doesn’t want to bother with bringing you back, but I can’t let that happen. So please, trust me. I promise I’ll take care of you when you come back.” Erebus nodded into her shoulder, stomach dropping at the possibility that he might never come back, something he hadn’t even considered yet. It…it was all just too much but Neteri was pulling back now, letting him go, straightening up, motioning Hjáll back over, th-this was all going to end and he didn’t even have time to cry.

Neteri stood on the left side of the circle, watching as Hjáll walked over and unbuckled the sword from around her waist, gently laying it in front of Erebus. “You have to kill them with this, or it won’t work, got it?” He nodded numbly, staring at the sheathed blade in front of him, still not believing he was going to be expected to fight. “It’s been enchanted to not rust or dull, so there’s no excuse for failure.” She grabbed his hair, tilting his head back to look him in the eye. “Shame I never got to really play with you, but Neteri’s finally agreed to cooperate, so I guess I can’t complain.” She shoved his head back down and went to the edge of the circle to his right, crouching down before giving Neteri an expectant look. “Well? Come on.”

Neteri swallowed and nodded numbly, not even bothering to adjust her skirt at all when she knelt, which was unusual for her. She placed her hands on the circle, and Hjáll did the same. Dread started to pool in Erebus’s stomach, he didn’t want this, the life he’d had here hadn’t been great but it had at least been bearable and Neteri was supposed to save him but now-

Water droplets began to materialize in the air around him, sparks of electricity flying between them, as the two women started to recite the spell, the glow of the painted circle lighting everything from below, hauntingly beautiful despite the cold terror in twisting his gut because this was really happening, he was really going to be sent away to an unknown world with no guarantee of ever coming back.

He-he’d never been so scared, and the only comfort he could find was in watching Neteri, seeing her hopeless expression shift into a determined one, the sparks of lightning reflecting in her glasses lighting a fire in her eyes, her hands tense against the stone floor, the pink of her nails the same shade as the bow in her hair, her white coat spotless despite the number of times he’d seen it splattered with his blood, her voice steady as she spoke the ancient words he couldn’t understand, but her tone was shifting, confidence wavering, and she was looking up at him now, her eyes deeply sad now, but still shimmering, but it wasn’t fire, no, those were tears, and he found himself straining against the cuffs, trying to reach her, to hug her one last time before-

But everything was gone, and he was somewhere else, and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever see her again.

END PART II - MONSTER WITHOUT A NAME

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E&T: What Was All This For?