#my front wheel would not spin and tightened the bolt so bad it was hot to the touch from the friction it created

[flowersandskeletons526]

“Broken Noses and Bad Ideas” - Glitradora fanfic part 5

More plot! Enjoy!

P.S. This is up on Ao3 too!

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4

----

Catra tangled her hands in Glimmer’s hair. She tasted like strawberries and smoke, soft hands tugging Catra closer by her collar. There was a rush behind the kiss, a passion and warmth that felt right, but Catra couldn’t quite tell if the unrest in her gut was butterflies or nerves. No matter what reaction the kiss caused in her, it didn’t last nearly long enough. Catra broke away with a sharp heat in her chest as she stared into Glimmer’s wide eyes, fingers still twisted in hot pink hair. 

Catra smiled as Glimmer giggled, both of them devolving into laughter as they leaned against each other. “God, I think too high for this,” Glimmer said through her laughter. 

“You looked pretty sober just then,” Catra said. “Regretting me already?”

Glimmer didn’t catch the edge in her voice. “I still liked it.” 

“You did?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Good.” Catra kissed her again. It was harsher this time, more urgent. Glimmer held tight to Catra as she ended up on her back, with Catra’s hands on her waist and the taste of her on Glimmer’s lips. 

Glimmer gasped as Catra’s grip on her tightened. She planted her hands against Catra’s chest and pushed her back just enough to break the kiss. Catra frowned. “I know I’m too high for this,” Glimmer finally whispered. 

“Listen, Sparkles, if you don’t want this then we can just forget it happened,” Catra said. 

“No, it’s not that I… look, I just make stupid decisions when I’m like this sometimes,” Glimmer explained. “I don’t want to mess this up.” 

Catra laughed that cold, hollow laugh of hers as she bumped her nose against Glimmer’s. “Princess, you can’t mess things up with me.” She sat back and pulled Glimmer into her lap. “I’m okay if we leave it at this tonight. We can stupid decisions the next time we see each other. Sound good?” 

“Yeah, sounds good.” She wrapped her arms around Catra and closed her eyes. 

Catra’s smile faded as she cradled Glimmer’s head against her chest, and she couldn’t figure out why. She knew she was happy, or should be, but something held her back. As her phone buzzed in her pocket, she realized the weight dragging her mood through the mud. “I know this is like the worst time, but I need to get back,” she sighed. She fell back on her tried and true lie when work came calling during her time with Glimmer. “Scorpia and Lonnie have been giving me shit about being away lately.”

“I’m not keeping you from work, am I?”

“No, they’re just not used to me being out so much.” 

“Okay,” Glimmer said. Catra held onto her for a moment longer before they returned to the front seats. She rubbed her eyes as she started the car. “Wait, are you okay to drive?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve driven in a worse state before.” 

Catra drove back to the shop in silence, nodding along to the radio. She didn’t check her phone; she already knew who was messaging her and she didn’t want a chance of Glimmer seeing. She wanted to keep that bright smile on Glimmer’s face for as long as possible. 

The sun disappeared beneath the horizon just as they pulled up alongside the sidewalk. When Glimmer went to open the door, Catra grabbed her hand. “Hey, Sparkles?”

“Yeah?”

Catra pressed a fierce kiss to her lips. When she pulled back, Glimmer’s eyes were wide and her cheeks were dusted with red. Catra grinned. “I think I’m going to like that look you get,” she said as she tapped a finger against Glimmer’s cheek. 

Glimmer’s blush grew darker as she smiled. “Call me later?”

“You got it.” 

Glimmer smiled and squeezed Catra’s hand before she disappeared into the store. Catra’s smile faded as soon as Glimmer was out of sight. The engine roared as she took off down the street. She checked her phone for the address and nearly hit a garbage can in the process, but she knew where she needed to go. Reaching beneath her seat, she grabbed a pistol. 

She caught the guy just outside his apartment building. The gun was cold against her stomach, hidden in her waistband as she approached him with a cold grin. “Hey, Cole!” she called. “Come here, I need to talk to you.” 

The man stumbled to a stop, fear written across his face. With a scream starting in his throat, he turned on his heels and ran. Catra shouted after him and bolted, snagging the back of his collar and choking him as she yanked him to a stop. She tossed him face first into an alley and pulled the gun. 

“What the fuck was that, man?!” she hissed. “I’m trying to fucking talk to you and you try to run? You think that’s a good decision?”

“I-I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know who you were,” the man lied, scrambling back on his hands. 

“Oh, bullshit!” Catra stuck the gun in his face. “Do you think I’m stupid?” 

“No, no of course not.” 

“Then why the fuck are you lying?” 

“I’m not, I mean, I didn’t-”

Catra laughed and hit him upside the head with the butt of the pistol. He collapsed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “Wow, you are so much dumber than you look,” Catra chuckled. She crouched, inspecting the gun and cutting a sideways glance at the man. “So, listen, I don’t want to be here long because I, you know, I have a life and things to do. You owe a mutual friend of ours some money, right?” 

“I-I, uh…”

“Right?” Catra pressed. “I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t, so just say right.”

“Right.”

“Good. Now, there’s the matter of getting the money.”

“I don’t have it yet. I’ll have it in a few days, I swear. I was supposed to get a bonus and it didn’t come through,” the man explained. 

Catra hit him again. “Really! Again with the lying!”

“No! I swear to God, it’s the truth!” 

“You were supposed to have the money days ago. You know Hordak doesn’t give second chances.” 

“I know.”

“Obviously you don’t or I wouldn’t be here, would I?” 

The man lifted a trembling hand as if it would block a bullet. “I’ll have it by Friday, I promise.”

“You’ll bring it to me tomorrow. You’re going to get a message from a number you don’t know and you’re going to go where it says, when it says. After that you delete the conversation and the number. Understand?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I understand.” 

Catra smirked, rising from her crouch and holding her pistol up. “I don’t have to tell you what’ll happen if you’re late, right?”

The man swallowed hard. “No, no, I got it.” 

“Good.” Catra kicked him savagely in the gut. He doubled over as all the air was forced from his lungs. “Swear on your life you won’t be late.” 

“I swear!” he choked out. 

Catra kicked him again. “Swear on your life!”

“I swear on my life!” 

“Good.” Part of Catra cringed, wondering how many times she had heard Hordak say the same thing in the same tone, but she pushed it away. “I will see you and your money tomorrow.” 

Catra shoved her gun in her waistband and left the man curled up on the ground in the alley. As she headed back towards the house, she called Hordak. 

“Catra,” the raspy voice greeted. 

“He’ll have the money tomorrow. I made sure of it. I’ll send it in as soon as I can,” Catra said.

“Excellent. I will be expecting the payment. Well done, Catra.”

“Thank you, sir.” She held the phone away to hang up, but Hordak’s voice stopped her. 

“One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember the incident we were involved in last year in Etheria?” 

Catra’s grip on the phone tightened as her stomach dropped. “What about it?”

“It seems there have been some rumors about it being looked into again. I am still waiting on a confirmation, but I thought it would be wise to tell you now.” 

Catra slowed down. She thought she was about to puke. “Is anything being done about it?” 

“Not at the moment. I will decide what actions to take once I have a confirmation. Be vigilant for anyone who might be a threat until I contact you again.” 

“Yes sir.”

Hordak hung up. Catra dropped her phone into the passenger seat where Glimmer had been sitting not an hour before. She stomped on the brakes, and the van came to a screeching halt in the middle of the street. Her nails made marks on the scuffed leather steering wheel. She was practically hyperventilating, lips pursed so tightly that they disappeared as a car honked and swerved around her. She flipped off the driver. 

Recovering some of her sense, she pulled over and put the vehicle in park. A violent string of curses slipped through her teeth. Of course this had to come up after she just got done making out with that woman’s daughter! If Hordak found out… 

No, he couldn’t find out. She couldn’t even consider that possibility. She needed a way to spin this if Hordak decided to send people in. 

He said be vigilant, she thought. What was more vigilant than spending so much time with the daughter and keeping an eye on who she was talking to? 

Glimmer already trusted her, that was obvious, and Bow seemed friendly enough that it would be easy to cozy up to him. But Adora was another story. Did Glimmer mention how long they had been friends? What did Adora know about this whole situation? What stakes did she have besides trying to fix Glimmer the way she did with everyone? 

That thought sent a surge of feral hate through her. Adora and her incessant meddling would be a problem, but not one she couldn’t handle. She just needed to find out how Adora was involved. She needed to keep her at a distance. 

That couldn’t be too hard, could it?

---

Catra found her way to the magic store about a week after Glimmer kissed her. Hordak had yet to contact her about the incident again, only more assignments to visit, but the call weighed on her the entire week. She had to come up with a plan to keep Adora from snooping in her business if she was going to stay around Glimmer. Whether she had a clue about her present dealings or not, Adora knew her past far too well. 

As fate and her cruel sense of humor would have it, Catra found that keeping Adora at a distance would be harder than she previously thought. 

They locked eyes across the shop when Catra stepped through the door. Catra glanced at some woman looking through dried plants, and the ghost of a smirk tugged at her lips. Adora forced her best retail smile. Catra noticed the slight squint as she fought a scowl. She made herself busy looking over crystal pendulums as the other customer finished her purchase. As soon as the woman was out the door, Adora spoke up.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. 

“I thought we went over that like a month ago,” Catra taunted. “Did you hit your head or something? I always knew you were dumb, but your memory was never this bad.” 

“In the store, what are you doing in the store?” Adora snapped. Catra noted that her voice still got that high squawking tone to it when she was frustrated. 

“I like it here.”

“You hate anything to do with magic. You always have.” 

Catra froze, a tiny crystal trapped between her sharpened nails. “Yeah, well, I’ve still got some old habits that I picked up from that woman, I guess.” 

Adora bowed her head as her fists clenched. “Catra, listen, I-”

“Don’t start.” There was a surprising lack of venom in her words. “Don’t act like you have any sympathy for me. Don’t act like you still know me! You have no idea what happened to me after you left!” 

This was already not going how she planned. 

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Adora protested. “I tried to get you to leave with me but you wanted to stay with those criminals!” 

“You left me with criminals! You left me with Shadow Weaver and disappeared and didn’t care to check if I was alive or dead for six years!” 

“You did that to yourself.”

“Oh, go fuck yourself, Adora!” 

“Stop screaming!” Adora stepped out from behind the counter. “This is Glimmer’s store. I’m not going to let you give her business a bad reputation because we’re here fighting and yelling swears at each other.” 

Catra huffed and turned away. “Whatever.”

Adora hesitated for a second before returning to her spot at the register. “Do you need help finding anything?”

“My band’s van has more storage space than this place, I don’t know how I could possibly miss anything.”

“That’s fair. You know, you seem like you did pretty well for yourself, all things considering. You’ve got Lonnie and the guys and that tall woman.”

“Scorpia. You know she was raised in that place with us.” 

“You said that.” 

Catra rolled her eyes. “You didn’t do horrible either, but I guess you were always good at everything the first time around.”

“You don’t know what I went through trying to make a new life!” 

“Whatever. Did you fall right in with Sparkles when you got here?”

“Her name is Glimmer,” Adora seethed. You have no idea what I call her, Catra thought smugly as Adora continued, “And not that it’s any of your business, but yeah, she helped me when I first came to Etheria.” 

“Lucky you.” Catra glanced at the portrait of the woman over Adora’s head. “Who’s that?” 

Adora’s face twisted. “None of your business.”

“Kind of looks like Sparkles.”

“She owned the store but again, it’s none of your business!”

“Then don’t answer.” 

Pursing her lips, Adora sighed and focused on something behind the counter. “How… How did you get out? I mean, with all of you. I was hardly able to sneak out by myself.” 

Catra shrugged. “We didn’t have to sneak. After you left, everything started going to shit and eventually things got shut down.” 

“What happened to everyone?”

“Hell if I know. We both know that place wasn’t legit. The only reason you had all your papers to run off with is because Shadow Weaver took some weird interest in you. I think I have my social security card and that’s it. Rogelio and Kyle might not even have that.” 

“And Hordak just what, disappeared?”

“I haven’t heard anything about him,” Catra lied. 

“I find it hard to believe that someone like that psychopath would just up and leave.”

“You think he’s going to stick around for a failed business venture? Use your head, Adora.” 

“What about Shadow Weaver?” 

Catra’s blood turned to ice in her veins. The image of dark hair and a covered face filled her mind, every thought suddenly tinged with deep, bloody crimson. Phantom pain pulsed from her fingertips and shot all the way up through her head. She turned to Adora with a savage, wide eyed snarl. 

The door opened before Catra could respond. She wiped the expression from her face as she and Adora turned to Glimmer standing in the doorway, holding two coffee cups. 

“Hey Adora, I’m… oh, hey Catra.” 

“Sparkles,” Catra said with a wave. 

Glimmer set a cup down in front of Adora, whose eyes were trained on Catra. “I got your coffee,” she said. Glancing between them, she lowered her voice and leaned closer to Adora. Catra turned aside and pretended not to listen. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Adora said. She grabbed her cup. “Thanks. Hey, we got a new delivery, can you help me go through it? It’s the one with all the statues.”

“Mind ringing me up, Sparkles?” Catra butted in, holding a crystal in her hand. 

“Yeah, no problem!” Glimmer said with a smile. She touched Adora’s arm. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” 

Still scowling at Catra, Adora squeezed Glimmer’s shoulder and retreated to the back room. Catra watched her hand trail across Glimmer’s back as she left. Glimmer didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy smiling at Catra.

Catra fixed a smirk on her face and set the crystal on the counter. “Do I still get a discount?” she purred. 

“For saving my ass, sure,” Glimmer chuckled. 

Catra leaned over the counter like she had the first day she met. “Can I pay with a kiss?” 

Glimmer’s smile faded a touch as she turned aside. “Not here,” she said, her voice low. “I, uh… I haven’t told Adora anything.” 

“Well, that explains why she didn’t strangle me when I walked in.” 

“I just don't know how to bring it up.”

“Princess, I don’t care if she ever knows. I don’t have a problem being a dirty little secret if you want.”

“That’s not what I want.” 

Catra frowned, confusion contorting her features, but she replaced it with a quick smile. “Then you’ll figure it out,” she said. She handed Glimmer cash for the crystal and took the little paper bag. Catching her hand, she pulled Glimmer in and pecked her cheek. Glimmer stifled her laugh as Catra grinned. 

“I’ll call you later, okay?” the shorter girl said. 

“Sounds good. Don’t keep me waiting.” “I won’t.” 

Catra flashed one last smile before heading out into the street. The sky was dark gray with early spring thunderheads, threatening another long stretch of rain. Catra smelled a storm in the air. 

A stiff frown took over her expression as she drove home. She learned what she needed, for the most part, but it only confirmed everything that would make this harder for her. Adora would be in her way the entire time unless she kept Glimmer away from her. Maybe she could convince Glimmer to keep her “dirty little secret” for a little longer. 

There was an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. Catra tensed and reached under her seat for her gun. This is either going to be bad or horrible, she thought as she hid the weapon in her waistband. 

She edged the door open, eyes sweeping the room. “Scorpia?” she called. “Lonnie, guys, you home?”

“In here, Catra!” Scorpia replied from the kitchen. 

Catra sighed in relief and followed her voice. “Did you guys rent a car or something? If you want the van then just…” 

Her voice trailed off as she was met with a pair of sickly green eyes. Long blond hair was slicked back from a thin, sharp face, and the intruder grinned with a mouth full of unnaturally sharp teeth. They waggled their fingers at her as Scorpia smiled and waved.

“Look who came for a visit!” she said, blissfully oblivious. 

Double Trouble rose from their seat. “It is lovely to see you again, Kitten.” 

[turquoisemagpie]

An eye for an eye.

(end- 3 of 3)

Damien screamed in fright as he was pulled away from the corner and began to kick and swing punches at whoever had ahold of him. His arms were grabbed and he was held still, and he finally stopped screaming as he recognised a familiar voice.

“Damien!” Anti yelled, “Calm down! It’s me! It’s fine!”

Damien pulled his hood over his face, he felt bad for lashing out at Anti.

Anti moved his head, so he could look at Damien. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?” He lifted Damien’s head up; his little brother’s eyes were welling with tears. He rested a hand on Damien’s shoulder in comfort. “What’s happened?”

Damien sniffled and quickly wiped his eyes dry. “There… I saw the boy.” he said quickly, “The boy who you… you gave me my human form from. He’s here. He lashed out at me.”

“Oh no.” Anti said, “That wasn’t him. That’s just an illusion.”

Damien stared at him, eye wide in his eagerness to say otherwise. “Illusions don’t attack people!”

Anti glanced away, almost looking guilty. “Mine do.” He glanced back at Damien, and looked away again at the betrayal on his little brother’s face. “Their father, Chase, he’s here. I set up illusions of his children to torture him. But I didn’t mean them to scare you, Damien. I really didn’t. I didn’t expect you to find them… They’re not meant to be found.”

“Anti!” Salli’s voice screamed from far away.

Both the glitch brothers’ head perked up at her voice. They heard a thud and Salli scream, her voice sounded panic-stricken. On hearing this and one more call for help, Anti leaped up and rushed down the mazes of corridors towards her voice, Damien limping behind him.

“Anti! Where are you?! Anti!” Salli’s voice sounded worse and worse as Anti turned corners to get closer to her voice.

“I’m coming, Salli!” Anti called out, “Stay where you are!”

He could hear small gasps and sniffles; Salli was crying. “I can’t see!”

“Stay where you are!” Anti repeated, “I’m coming!” He turned a corner and saw Salli leaning again the wall of the corridor. She was clutching her face, like she usually does when crying, and she was howling like bloody murder. Anti rushed up to her, sliding on his knees, and hugged her close. “I’m here. Salli, I’m here now, see?”

Slowly Salli took her hands away from her face and lifted her head for her big brother to see. Tears of black trailed down her cheeks from her eyes, but as Anti looked closer he realised it was thicker, with a greenish hue, and it seems to swell from the bridge of her nose. It wasn’t tears, it was blood. His eyes widened, and his heart nearly stopped. His lips quivered in winces of anguish as he noticed a large gash that stretched from the top of the bridge of her nose, all the way through her left eye. The gash was rounded, clean, almost scorched into her skin; it was the impression of a bullet wound, shot from a side, that burned through her face as it passed. Although there was no wound around her right eye, he could still see the blood blinding her from within her eye socket.

“I can’t see!” Salli wailed, before crashing her head into his chest, letting the bloody tears soak into his shirt. “I’m blind, Anti! I can’t see!”

“Wh.. What?”

Salli’s voice, like a banshee being suffocated, muffled through his shirt, “That man shot me! He shot my eye! He blinded me!” She continued to howl in sobs.

Anti tried to hug her tight, but his arms were shaking so much he was too weak to move them. Then he felt a weight crash on his back as Damien fell between him and Salli; he forgot his little brother was there to witness what was going on. Anti simply let his body slide away as Damien lifted Salli up so he could look at her wounds; he frantically tried whipping as much of the blood away from her wound, silently chanting ‘no’ over and over to himself, but on realising how deep the wound was, and suddenly realising how much Salli was scream from the pain, Damien pulled Salli into a hug, holding her head, and cried into her hair.

Listening to his glitching heartbeat in his ears, Anti’s mind went empty. He just couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening just yet. He couldn’t register the long gory cut across Salli’s eye as something serious. He couldn’t really hear her and Damien’s weeping. He couldn’t believe Chase actually had the guts to hurt his little sister this way. He couldn’t believe he let it happen, he encouraged Chase to do it. He couldn’t believe Chase was that much of a monster.

But slowly, achingly, he started to believe it. Slowly his arms regained strength, and slowly his hand tightened into fists.

Damien finally lifted his head away from Salli to look at Anti, his face was dirty with smudged black tears. “What… what can we do?” Damien sniffled.

Anti’s body stiffened with rage, his breathing was deep and sharp, hissing through his nose and his lips were tightened under his teeth. He felt like punching a hole through something; through Chase, specifically. As he straightened his back his hand brushed against the sharp edge of his knife in his belt. He paused and thought for a moment.

There was something he could do.

It would be painful. It wouldn’t be quick.

It would weaken him, in many ways than one.

But.

No.

He wasn’t going to let another human scar his siblings for life. Not Again.

“It’s not something we can do.” Anti responded, pulling out his knife and staring at his own reflection through it. He gazed at his left eye more than his right. “It’s something I have to do.”

Anti stood up and carefully prized Salli away from Damien; Salli was too distressed to move, and Damien wasn’t keen on letting go of her. But Anti managed to separate the two, and he cradled Salli in his arms and he carried her out of the corridor, Damien, once again, slowly following behind him.

“What are you going to do?” Damien asked quietly. He kept glancing behind them, hopeful that the man who hurt his sister wasn’t following them.

Anti didn’t answer, he simply marched onwards. There seemed to be less corners to his maze of corridors now, almost as if his furious glare commanded the walls of his domain that it was no time for games anymore, and everything needed to get out of his way. In just a small stroll they reached the central room. There was now nothing in the room anymore, except on single table, and one length of wire trailing from the darkness of the endless above all the way down to the table.

“Anti?” Damien asked again, less confidently this time, “What’s going on?”

Anti carefully sat Salli down on the table, and she lolled in his arms. Realising she had passed, probably from the exhaustion of the pain, he lay her down on the table. It was probably best she had passed out. She wouldn’t have to know what was going to happen.

Anti grabbed the wire, and just as he put his knife to it to cut through it, it was yanked out of his hand and flew into Damien’s grasp.

Damien hurled the wire out of Anti reach and screamed, “Tell me what you’re going to do!”

Anti simply stared at him, and he walked over to grab the wire from his brother, but he was suddenly thrown away across the room and onto the floor.

“Tell me, Anti!” Damien boomed.

Anti slowly stood himself up, keeping his head turned away from Damien. His low glitching voice mumbled, “Don’t stop me, Damien. Salli is worth saving more than me.”

“That’s not true!” Damien said suddenly, even sending a small shock to his own system. He didn’t mean it like that. “You’re both worth saving! You both deserve to be happy!” His face felt hot with fresh tears again. “Don’t make me choose!”

Suddenly there was a bright swoosh of glitches as Anti suddenly appeared right in front of Damien as he yanked the wire out of his hand. Quickly Damien held his hand out towards Anti chest and he clenched his fingers. Anti’s body went stiff as he froze in place. His face winced as he tried to move, but Damien’s telekinetic grip on him was too strong; deep rumble filled the room as the two energies were forced against one another.

“Don’t do this, Damien.” Anti coughed under the pressure, “Please. An eye for an eye. That’s all it is.”

“No!” Damien cried, “It’s more than that! If you do that, you’ll scar yourself! If you do that, you won’t be able to come home! You’ll be taken away from me! And Salli! I don’t want that!”

Anti managed to look up. Now Damien could see him crying. “I’ll be fine.” He wheezed, “Salli doesn’t deserve to live her life blind. She doesn’t deserve what happened to her. I do.” With Damien’s force weakening on him, Anti managed to reach out and press his hand against Damien’s outstretched palm. “I’ll be cast away… but I won’t go away. I will not go. I promise.”

Anti stumbled as Damien released him. Damien crashed into him and hugged him tightly around the shoulders. “You promise?” Damien asked in a whimper.

Anti returned the hug. “I promise.”

After a silent moment, and the two of them finally gained the courage to part from their hug, Anti and Damien returned to the table Salli was resting on. On seeing Salli’s wound once more Damien turned away, and decided to completely walk away, knowing he wouldn’t want to see what Anti would do next.

Anti took the wire once more and sliced through it with his knife. The end that was still connected to the darkness above sparked and flashed with ribbons of tiny lighting bolts. Slowly and carefully, Anti lined the wire against the handle of his knife, letting the exposed electricity contact and illuminate the metal blade with ripples of glimmering energy. Taking a few deep breaths, he readied himself.

And slowly dragged the electrified blade across the eyelid of his left eye.

...

The clicks were starting to get on Chases nerves now, and his thumb was hurting from spinning the spark wheel so much. At last there was a small flash and a few spins later his lighter was lit. But it still wasn’t much help, the darkness of the room seemed almost thick enough to be smoke. Chase looked around and realised he hadn’t moved from where he was since he last passed out. He couldn’t remember what happened, and how he got to where he was. He wondered what caused the power to go out, if there was even power at all in the seemingly lifeless place. He decided to carry on following the distant sounds of children’s laughter, and he slowly walked through the darkness and up the stairs, just as the laughter turned to screams.

He had arrived. Finally. The red surge of vengeful expectancy that followed through Anti, as he heard Chase’s footsteps behind him, filled him to the brim. He felt as if it could fill the room.

“Who’s there?” he heard Chase call out weakly.

Anti turned around to face him, and his manic vision, the eyes he had not seen through in a very long time, returned to him. He could see the ripples of glitches pulsing from himself, along all the walls around him, and towards Chase, bouncing off of the man’s body as they hit him. Through the centre of Chase’s cold and bluey silhouette Anti could see the warm pulsing reddish glow of the man’s panicked heartbeat, that suddenly glowed a little more black as his heart quickened even further.

Anti smiled, and as his demonic mania surged to the surface, his right eye glowed a blinding green.

His left eye would have done the same.

If he had his left eye, that is.

The relief that Damien had probably safely carried Salli home at this point was making him smile. The fact that Salli would wake up and be able to see again through her new eye made him smile more. And the growing distraught look on the Chase’s face was making him smile even further.

“Where are they?!” Chase screamed, “What do you want from me?!”

But Anti didn’t hear him. He strode towards the terrified man, not stopping even when he dropped the lighter and pulled out a pocket knife.

Anti looked forward to killing this monster.

And he didn’t care if he’d get scarred a second time.

Fin. 

[worldofl0re]

I ran up into the brick wall of the alley, kicking of and planting my feet onto the other wall. I jumped off it, too, and landed on the top side of a wooden fence. I hoisted my leg up, and clambered over the fence, hitting the ground and running.

Behind me, I heard the fence rattle, and the grunts of a man trying to climb over it himself. I heard him curse something, and smirked.

My enjoyment was short lived, though: at the other end of the alley, I saw another man, crossbow in hand and raising it to me. I heard a sharp twain, and watched a long something fly at me.

The bolt then entered my shoulder. I dropped to the ground like a sack of wet meat being thrown down the street. Red oozed down the side of my body, and I put my arm to the shaft of the bolt, trying to pull it.

It was lodged in there, dammit.

I looked up at the Dragon Hunter, loading another bolt into his crossbow and walking towards me while chuckling. I stood up, and looked around; to my sides was brick, behind me a wooden fence, and in front of me a man blocking me.

But what about... up? I looked up, seeing the bright blue sky dotted by clouds, and had an idea.

"The power of our kind will give you the strength, speed, and agility of our kind, young one, as well as our magics," The voice of a dragon repeated to me in memory.

I concentrated on a concept, imagining myself springing into the air above the Dragon Hunter and past him. A burning sensation formed in my bones, the magic gifted to me burning as I molded it as I wished.

The air beneath my feet began to swirl, and then suddenly, there was only air beneath my feet, and the ground got smaller, and smaller. The Hunter down below exclaimed something surprised, and shot as me with his crossbow, narrowly missing me.

I flew past the red rooftops of the city, and then started to go down again. I made a peep of panic, and pivoted my body, keeping my feet down and knees bent.

I landed on the roof in a roll, my forearms and shins complaining about the sudden landing, but not suffering any worse. I sprinted across the roof, climbing over chimneys and running to the main street. The roof ended at the street, and without looking, I bent my knees, and jumped off.

This is generally a bad idea. You should always try to keep a target in mind when jumping anywhere, or else you're gonna land on something you shouldn't, and then you'll be screwed.

I was not that smart in that moment, I'll admit. But, I did get lucky, slamming into the wooden roof of a carriage, drawn by two horses. I rolled on my side, grunting in pain and almost falling right off. I reached up before I missed it, and grabbed onto the edge of the roof.

"What the bloody 'ell?" A voice exclaimed. I looked over at the mustached face of the carriage driver, gawking at me.

"Just keep steering!" I yelled back at him. He thought for a moment, and then nodded affieningly, turning back around. I guess he wasn't one to question people yelling at him, hanging off the side of his carriages.

Speaking of which...

I reached down, and opened the door of the carriage. I then swung my legs back, and hopped into it, closing the door shut. Thankfully, no one was inside with me, so I just made myself small, and stayed hidden.

"Where'd the Dragon go?!" I heard a voice yell a few minutes later.

"Search for it!" Another did. I held my breath, and waited inside, embracing the relative quiet of the wheels spinning on the ground.

"She could've warned me that cool dragon powers would bring the Hunters all to me," I groaned to myself.

Wait... I'm forgetting something... Oh yeah.

I looked at the bolt in my arm. I touched it with my hand, and tugged on it, my nerves screaming with white-hot complaints. I gritted my teeth, and yanked on it harder, still failing, and making the pain even more hot.

Finally, I tugged with all my energy, and ripped it out, drawing blood onto the seats of the carriage. My face tightened, and I bit my tongue to keep myself from yelling.

With a sigh, I tossed the bolt aside, and looked at my shoulder. Already, the wound was beginning to close on its own, and the pain slowly became less and less.

"I guess it has some perks," I sighed, leaning against the plush leather seats for a moment of calm.

Before its death, the ancient dragon imparted you the knowledge of dragon magic, which was a true honor to receive, but now every dragon hunter arounds think you’re just another disguised dragon. Turns out they can smell dragon magic, not dragons themselves.