#jtdoesbthb

[much-obliged-timothy]

Hit a writing slump so I challenged myself to get at least one of my BTHB prompts done today! I am making zero progress towards a quick bingo, but at least I’m writing!

For @iamtheshriekingguineapig​ who requested this :D

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Prompt: Can only move the eyes

*

Vergil caught his breath and stretched. His brother leaned against the wall, chest heaving as the last of the demons fell lifeless to the ground.

Perhaps they were getting a bit old for this. The idea was not appealing. Their father could keep at it for thousands of years, but they were breathless after a simple enough fight in their forties. 

“Hope the kid did better,” Dante said, swiping an arm across his forehead. “Jeez, I’m making these jobs his problem in the future. I’m too old for rooms full of demons.”

Vergil hated when they thought along the same lines like this. “We should catch up to him. I want to know what was leading these demons.”

“Sure, sure.” Dante pushed himself off the wall. 

Breaths back, both brothers moved swiftly now. Nero had gone ahead to take down the main demon behind this swarm. Vergil didn’t quite like the idea of that reckless fool rushing off on his own, but he knew Nero was capable enough. 

“You know Kyrie invited us for dinner tonight, right?” Dante said.

“Focus on the job, Dante,” Vergil said.

Dante grinned a little. “So you did know! You should come. That woman is going to force you to spend time with your kid one way or another. One way or another that doesn’t involve us all at risk of being killed horribly by demons, I mean.”

“Focus,” Vergil repeated. 

“I’m totally gonna tell her if you ditch,” Dante said.

Childish idiot. Vergil would stab him again if they weren’t busy.

He strode forward but slowed at the sharp, strong scent of blood hit his nose. He rounded the corner, hand on the hilt of the Yamato. Their own fight had been loud and chaotic, so he hadn’t heard anything from Nero’s end of the battle. 

He eyed the area, taking in the numerous spots of drying blood. His gaze swept the room so fast that he passed the lifeless body on the ground at first, eyes snapping back to it a moment later as his brain processed what it was seeing.

He and Dante ran forward, Dante drawing his guns as he moved about the room for any sign of lingering threat. Vergil dropped beside Nero, gripping his wrist to check his pulse.

As he did so, Nero’s eyes weakly opened. Vergil ignored his relief in favor of checking Nero over for where his injuries were, considering the significant amount of blood he was laying in.

All the blood in the room couldn’t be from him, at least. Some of it was too dark to be Nero’s, meaning at least the boy had put up a good fight. 

His pulse was alarmingly slow. Vergil released Nero’s wrist, which thumped lifelessly to the ground.

“Nero,” he said. “Can you hear me?”

Nero looked up at him, his gaze slightly unfocused. He seemed unable to move, not reacting as Vergil tested his limbs. Vergil inspected Nero more thoroughly, catching the likely culprit for his state this time.

A puncture wound in Nero’s neck, with a clear, thick liquid oozing out of it. Whatever it was, it was in Nero’s system, and it was likely paralyzing him. Vergil just hoped it wasn’t strong enough to stop Nero’s heart.

“Look at me,” he commanded. Nero obliged. “Look to the left if it’s difficult to breathe.”

To his relief, Nero’s gaze sluggishly rolled to the right. Still, Vergil got a hand under his head and elevated it slightly to make it a little easier for him to breathe.

“It’s clear in here,” Dante said. “How is he?”

“Paralyzed,” Vergil said. “He was injected with something. Go find the demon so we can identify it and know how to cure this.”

If it could be cured. Vergil couldn’t look down at Nero, so lively when he ran off, so vulnerable now. 

Dante gave a stiff nod, once again sharing his brother’s thoughts. He forced a grin for Nero’s sake.

“Don’t you go anywhere, kid,” he said, winking before running off. 

Vergil shifted Nero to get a better look at the wound. Nero looked up at him, and Vergil could see that little spark of determination in his eyes.

“Look to the left if you are in pain,” Vergil said.

Nero’s gaze started that way, then paused and snapped to the right. Stubborn as his father and uncle. 

Vergil rested Nero’s head against his leg and managed to get Nero’s jacket off him. He began to tear it into strips, ignoring the angry glare Nero aimed at him. Perhaps demons should paralyze him so he couldn’t speak more often. 

He tended to Nero’s wounds the best he could with the strips of the jacket. Nero tried to hold his glare, but the relief at Vergil stopping some of his worst bleeding slipped through.

His eyes were so full of expression. Vergil thought it was amazing that someone could show their thoughts and feelings with just their eyes. He couldn’t help but brush some of Nero’s hair away to clear his vision.

“Stop looking at me like that. You will be okay,” Vergil said firmly. 

Nero looked up at him, gaze starting to go unfocused again. Vergil put a hand on Nero’s cheek.

“Nero,” he said. “Keep your eyes open. Dante will be back soon. I will cover you until then. You will be fine.” He hesitated briefly, then added, “Look to the left if you believe me.”

And without hesitation, Nero looked to the left.

[much-obliged-timothy]

Watched Death Island the other day and it reminded me I have my BTHB card! I am...making no progress towards bingo but having fun regardless

Fandom: Resident Evil

Prompt: I should have been better

*

They ran down the corridors of the lab together, the occasionally flickering lights casting their shadows up against the blood-splattered walls. 

“His signal died off up ahead,” Rebecca said, struggling to catch her breath.

Chris, Jill, and Claire had come to investigate the seemingly-abandoned lab after cases they were working seemed to connect and lead here. Chris had gotten separated when the stairs they’d taken broke off. The plan had been to regroup at the opposite end of the building - except Chris had never made it to the rendezvous point.

Rebecca tightened her hold on the case in her hand. While the infection had been limited to some marine life and only three people, she’d managed to synthesize a vaccine. She’d tagged along on the mission, waiting outside while they investigated in case the vaccine was needed. Chris’s signal going dead was not a good sign, and she only hoped he didn’t need to be the first test subject for the vaccine. 

But the odds were not looking to be in their favor.

They rounded the corner, stumbling in their run as they nearly tripped over two badly decayed bodies. Rebecca knelt, expression growing grim. Definite signs of this altered version of T-virus. 

They’d found no sign of the person responsible for this, though Jill had discovered a small office with some incriminating documents. Still, pinning down who was responsible had paled in comparison to finding Chris. 

Claire’s hand hovered over the decayed bodies. “Your vaccine…you’re sure, right Rebecca?”

Rebecca placed a hand on Claire’s shoulder. “He’ll be okay, Claire.”

Jill tightened her hold on her gun at Claire’s worried expression. It had been Jill’s idea to risk the stairs, despite how bad they’d looked. Chris had insisted on going first to test them out. He’d been injured when they gave way beneath his weight, but was well enough to get up and agree to rendezvous with them. Still, had the injuries been enough to weaken him against whoever, or whatever, lurked in this place? 

Jill shouldn’t have insisted on those damn stairs. She knew they likely wouldn’t hold her own weight, much less Chris’s bulk. But it had been the fastest way, and if whoever was behind this was still in the lab, Jill wanted to catch the bastard before they had a chance to escape.

“We need to keep moving,” she said tightly. “We’re almost there.”

Claire and Rebecca got up and continued along the hallway. They came to a heavy door at the end of the hall, looking at each other and nodding.

Jill pressed herself to the wall. Claire grabbed the door handle and gave it a rough shove open. Jill held her gun out, peeking into the room and sweeping it with her weapon.

“Chris,” she said in surprise. “Chris!”

A cage was pressed against the wall, Chris’s back slumped against the bars facing them. Jill took a deep breath, knowing she’d made enough mistakes today.

She forced herself to enter the room slowly, clearing it before calling for the others. They hurried in, all of them rushing to the cage.

“Chris,” Claire said in relief, reaching through the bars to grip her brother’s shoulder. “Thank god you’re o-”

Chris’s head jerked upright at the touch. He spun around, a snarl tearing from his bloodied lips. His hand shot out at Claire, but Jill jerked her back just in time. Chris pressed himself to the bars, snarling and reaching for them, glazed over eyes rolling about in their sockets. 

“No,” Claire gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. “No, please, no!”

Chris strained against the bars, blood gushing from the shoulder he’d injured in his fall earlier. He didn’t even seem to notice it, focused only on the small group of women before him. 

Rebecca swallowed down bile, shaking hands popping open the case. She grabbed a vile of the vaccine. 

“Jill,” she whispered. “Claire. You need to…to hold him still.”

Jill and Claire grabbed his arms, pinning them to the bars. Chris tried to press his face through, snapping at their exposed skin like a starving animal. Hating herself for it, Jill used one hand to grab a fistful of his hair and push his head back so he wouldn’t lunge and catch Rebecca. 

Rebecca had to take a moment to steady her hand. Jill tightened her hold on Chris’s hair, met Rebecca’s eyes, and jerked his head to the side, exposing his neck.

Rebecca quickly stuck the needle in his neck, hitting the plunger and watching the vaccine drain into his body. Chris snarled louder, struggling so hard that Rebecca had to quickly jerk her hand away as soon as the last of the vaccine had emptied.

“Will it work?” Claire asked, releasing her brother’s arm and backing away.

“I don’t know,” Rebecca admitted. “I’ve never used it on someone where the infection is so advanced.”

Claire straightened her shoulders, trying to stay strong. But a helpless sob escaped from her mouth and her shoulders slumped. Rebecca caught her, pulling her close.

“Chris,” Claire whispered. “Chris, please come back to us. Please, big brother.”

Jill watched numbly as Rebecca’s eyes also watered and the two clutched each other in their sorrow. She knew there was a lot to focus on right now. Someone had to have been here, capturing Chris, infecting him, and locking him up. Were they still here? Where were they hiding? Why cage Chris instead of setting him loose on the others as a distraction? Were they hoping to capture all four of them for experimentation? 

But instead, the only question her mind would focus on was whether or not the vaccine could bring Chris back from such an advanced stage of infection.

He had trusted Jill so much, just as he always had. She wanted to use the stairs because she thought the risk was worth the potential reward, so he’d gone ahead to protect her and his sister. He hadn’t gotten angry at Jill when the stairs collapsed beneath him and injured his shoulder and leg in the fall. He’d just looked up at them with a groan of pain and announced, “Faster than an elevator, but not recommended.”

I should have been better, Jill thought numbly. She knew the stairs were dangerous. She knew there were signs of someone still being in the lab. She knew it was dangerous to send one of them off on their own. But she’d done it anyway. She’d made bad call after bad call and now Chris was…was…

He was straining against the bars again, more blood pouring down from the wound in his shoulder. His blank gaze was fixed on her, his teeth snapping hungrily as he tried to grab her.

“I’m so sorry,” Jill said quietly, kneeling just out of his reach. “Please come back to us, Chris.”

She closed her eyes, tortured by all of it. The sound of Chris snarling and throwing his own slowly decaying body against the bars of the cage, the sound of Claire crying for her beloved brother, the sound of Rebecca crying for her friend.

Jill should have been better. But instead, she’d been reckless, and now Chris was paying the ultimate price for her mistakes.

[much-obliged-timothy]

Finally tackling @badthingshappenbingo​!

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Prompt: Coughing Up Blood

*

“Well, this is…different,” Dante said, looking around.

They’d been hired to investigate demonic activity inside a rather large greenhouse. It was filled with surprisingly beautiful greenery and exotic flowers and plants that none of them had ever seen before. Nero stepped forward, inspecting a brightly colored group of flowers.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Vergil said. 

“Hey, don’t complain about a change of scenery,” Nero said. “I was getting sick of subway stations and creepy, abandoned buildings.”

“Gotta go where the job takes ya, kid,” Dante said. “This is a nice change of pace, though. Anyone see anything demonic?”

Vergil shook his head in irritation and moved forward to explore the place. Nero and Dante glanced at each other and shrugged, fanning out to join the investigation. 

“You ever seen Little Shop of Horrors?” Dante called over to Nero. 

“That took place in a flower shop, not a greenhouse,” Vergil said.

“...did you just admit you watch musicals?” Nero said. 

“Did you?” Vergil said.

Nero opened his mouth, reconsidered, and closed it. He instead went back to inspecting the plants, wondering if something demonic could possibly be hiding in such a nice place.��

Kyrie had a nice little garden she cared for. She’d love this place, and Nero wondered if he could take her here sometime after they’d cleared out the threat. 

“Anyone find anything demonic yet?” Dante asked after a few minutes.

“No. This is turning out to be a waste of time,” Vergil said.

“Let’s go back to the owner. Maybe he can give us more information,” Dante said.

“This is why I hate that you’re in charge of accepting the jobs. You never ask for information about them,” Vergil said in irritation, heading for the exit. 

“It really shouldn’t surprise you at this point,” Nero said, turning and heading down a different row to join the twins.

He’d just spotted the large, bulging plant in time to see it burst out at him in a shower of purple dust. 

Nero stumbled away, choking on the dust and trying to wave it away. It clung to his skin and clothes, scratching at his throat and burning his mouth and eyes.

“Nero?” Dante called.

“Fine,” Nero said, moving cautiously past the plant and coughing into his arm. “Fucking plant.” 

Dante was laughing at him. “You- You really just got attacked by a plant!”

“You fool,” Vergil snarled at Dante, shoving him back as he went to pat Nero on the shoulder. “Demonic activity. Does that look normal to you?” 

“I- Oh. Oh shit,” Dante said.

“Don’t be over…over…overdrama-” Nero had to stop to double over and let out a hacking cough, blood splattering on the floor. The burning had spread down to his throat, growing worse. He clutched at his chest as it began to burn too, coughing harder, blood dripping from his mouth.

“Don’t touch him!” he heard Vergil snapped. 

“He’s coughing up blood! Am I just supposed to watch?!”

“Well it won’t help him if you start coughing up blood too!” 

Struggling to breathe, Nero hit the ground on his hands and knees. The blood was filling his mouth, clogging his throat. He coughed harder, hoping to clear his airway, panic seizing him.

Something thumped his back a few times. He gagged up more blood, glancing up to realize that Vergil had torn off part of his jacket to wrap around his hands so he could touch Nero without risking any of the dust - pollen? - getting on himself. 

Vergil pushed Nero into a better position, trying to keep his airway clear. “Dante, find a hose, or some way to wash him off. There’s got to be something here. Nero, take your jacket and shirt off.”

Vergil helped Nero get his jacket and shirt off, tossing them a safe distance away. Vergil kept a grip on Nero’s shoulders, thumping his back whenever he began to choke too hard. 

“Here,” Dante said, out of breath. “I found a hose.”

“Spray him. We need to wash it off, and try to wash it out of his mouth,” Vergil said.

Nero expected Vergil to move away to avoid getting wet, but he stayed where he was, shifting just enough that the water would spray the dust back onto him. Nero opened his mouth to thank Vergil, but coughed up more blood instead. Vergil only tightened his hold and hit Nero’s back again.

Alright, maybe he wouldn’t take Kyrie here. Still, as he choked up more blood just before the spray of cold water hit him, his only relief was from the firm hands on his shoulders, keeping him steady through this nightmare of an experience.