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aenwoedbeannaa · 5 years ago

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Curse Meant to Be Broken | Geralt x Reader | Pt. 5

Summary: After facing your worst fear in battle and freeing your mother’s soul in the process, you travel with Geralt all the way to Kaer Morhen—but he has been hiding something.

Word Count: 2,416

A/N: Again, I know that this portrayal of a Noonwraith is not canon, but here we are.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you want to read more of my work, you can check out my masterlist, and if you’d like to be tagged, check out my taglists and I’d be happy to add you! I’ve also set up a ko-fi page. A dollar here and there would help me be able to help me start moving toward part-time work so that I can focus more on my creative work. But of course, as always, the best way you all support me is by continuing to read my stories. I appreciate it more than I can say.

Another Trial

“Kaer Morhen,” you breathe, eyes drinking in the sight of the old castle. There are places where the stone has crumbled, but it is still grand. Though, it does strike you in the way that old, deserted places do – with a sense of sadness and loss for what was once there. Though, Kaer Morhen holds no dear childhood memories for you, and so it is easier to bear that looking at your old hut in the village back home.

“Where I grew up,” Geralt nods in response. You sneak a look at his amber eyes, which seem to be searching the castle much the way yours are. You want to ask him what it looked like when he trained here, but you have no idea how long ago that was, and you don’t wish to pry.

“Why’ve we come?” You can’t help but ask the question that has been hanging on the tip of your tongue since you set off on the journey—or at least for as long as you’ve been conscious. After the first few days, the pain had gradually started to fade, even without the help of elixirs. You still took a milder potion, but it didn’t cloud your mind the way the stronger one did. You’ve seen much more of the Continent than you had ever hoped to.

Geralt looks at you with a twinge of guilt – regret. Your first instinct is to turn and run or cower in the corner. Has he grown tired of your company? Does he wish to dump you here, leave you with someone else so that he doesn’t have to deal with you anymore? All of these questions swirl in your head, making it impossible for you to voice any of them.

Finally, he speaks.

“I…” he begins, golden eyes shifting from your face down to the floor at your feet, “The wound on your back, Y/N.”

You don’t know what he is about to say, but you feel the need to cut him off. “It’s been feeling better every day!” you protest.

“Yes, but it’s only a matter of time before it…” He seems to have lost words again, and now you are panicking, heart thudding in your chest.

“Before it what, Geralt?” You can’t keep the shrill edge out of your voice as you speak, your nerves choking you. “What are you talking about?”

“There is a poison.” Geralt hangs his head, looking utterly defeated. “The wound will heal, but the infection will spread. This is the only place I know that will be able to help.”

You look at him, mouth hanging open in shock. You want to be angry with him that he hadn’t told you sooner, but the consuming panic is making it hard to see straight. Perhaps it was better that you hadn’t known this entire journey.

“W-What do you mean?” you stammer, taking a step closer to him, your voice still sounding shrill in your head. “She caught your arm as well… Does that mean…” You can’t even bring yourself to form the sentence. Somehow, the Witcher being in imminent danger is much more frightening to you than yourself.

The Witcher shakes his head, face growing more serious—more pained, by the moment. “No, Y/N. The poison doesn’t work like that on Witchers. Our mutations make us immune to disease, to infections.”

Your eyes momentarily widen as the whole world seems to blur out of focus. Your thoughts, however, somehow remain intact. If a Witcher’s mutations are the only thing that can stop the infection, and he’s brought you to Kaer Morhen, the old Witcher school, there can be no other reason than undergoing mutations yourself.

You are shocked that the prospect both excites you and terrifies you at the same time. Geralt’s face, on the other hand, betrays nothing but resigned desperation.

You know what the mutations entail—or at least, in a general sense. Nobody really knows how the Witcher mutations work save for Witchers themselves, and he is the only one you’ve met. Now you understand his unwillingness to talk about them. In the days spent traveling, he would change the subject each time it veered anywhere close to his childhood and the mutations he underwent. You only know that part of the reason his hair is white is because of extra mutations he underwent. You do, however, know that only three in ten boys made it through the mutations alive… Those are not god odds. But then, if what he is saying about the infection is true, those are even worse odds.

“The lesser evil,” you whisper, not sharing any of your other thoughts. You are sure he’s thought about it plenty.

He looks at you, taking a hesitant step forward and making your breath catch in your throat. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if there were any other way,” he says.

You trust him. But something is still nagging at you.

“I thought that only men could become Witchers.”

“It is the norm,” he says, “But it has been done.”

You shift your weight from one foot to the other, attempting to calm your nervousness but failing.

“I think,” he finally adds after an abnormally long silence, “There should be a way to use minimal mutations—only the necessary ones.” His face betrays a pain, long-repressed memories that had been shoved to the very back of his mind for decades.

“Visimir will know.”

You vaguely recognize the name. He has mentioned it a few times, if you are correct.

“He is… like a father to me.”

“Oh.”

Yes, you remember the name now. Geralt has mentioned him often. His father-figure and mentor, the keeper of Kaer Morhen who has been in charge since before he was born. You deduce that he must also be the Witcher in charge of the Trials; the Witcher who knows the correct elixirs and potions to turn an ordinary human into a Witcher… or Witcheress.

You look from the Witcher to the once grand castle behind him, the whole world blurred strangely. You are afraid, though you will not admit it to him. But, at the same time, the thought of the mutations—if you live—making you nearly invincible against those who had once wronged you is exciting.

“Y/N.” The Witcher’s voice brings you back to the moment, pulling you out of the fantasies playing through your head of returning to your shitty little town and teaching Stephic and his men a lesson they will never forget.

“Come,” he finally says, extending his arm. You grasp it without a second thought, perhaps pulling yourself a bit too tightly to his side. You are glad for the support, as your legs have turned into something akin to jelly, and your head is too muddled to follow directions. You are almost certain that you can feel a dull ache in your back where you hadn’t felt it before. You imagine it spreading like a virus through your veins—or a lit fuse with burning its way to inevitable destruction.

You walk beside him with unsure steps, eyes still taking in the wonder of this new place despite it all. It is a small price to pay, you suppose, to set your mother free. Besides, there were plenty of other ways you could have died back in that shit Nilfgaardian outpost of a town.

Slowly, your steps become more confident, your spine straightening and your head lifting higher. You survived a battle with a wraith, which could not be said for most humans. You’d survived the destruction of your entire village. You’d survived for years as the lowest ranking member of the staff for a cruel master. You can survive a few elixirs and mutations; you know you can.

When you walk through the massive front doors of the old keep, you gasp. Regardless of its state of disrepair, the hall is beautiful. You can only imagine what it had looked what it had in its golden age.

As the doors close behind the two of you, you hear the sound of footsteps echoing in the massive hall, growing closer. Your eyes move in the direction of the approaching steps, the image of a man with long hair, like Geralt’s. As he gets closer, you realize that he is older than Geralt—though it is impossible to tell how old. Witchers were rumored to live to all manner of ages, usually far longer than any average human.

“Geralt!”

The man smiles warmly, quite uncharacteristically – at least in your limited knowledge of Witchers – to hug your companion, who wraps his arms around the old Witcher.

“Visimir.”

“It’s good to see you, Wolf.”

“You too, old man.”

“Let’s not point out age,” Visimir says with a smirk.

A pause.

“And who is your companion?”

You want to open your mouth and answer for yourself, but you find that your mouth has gone entirely dry and it feels like your throat has closed up. You are not intimidated by the man; he seems warm and loving, at least the way he greeted Geralt. But still, you are in a new place where you never would have pictured yourself in an entire lifetime.

“Y/N,” he introduces you. “She helped banish a Noonwraith.”

A knowing look passes between the two men. You only notice it for a fraction of a second, but you notice it. You can’t possibly imagine everything running through their heads, but you can guess. You know that no Witcher school is currently creating new Witchers. There hasn’t been a Trial in years—even humans knew that. You wonder how long it has been, and why it has been so long.

Visimir looks at you and smiles warmly, despite the faraway look in his eyes. “Welcome, Miss, to Kaer Morhen.”

* * *

“What the fuck, Geralt?”

You are sitting with your ear to the wall, trying to pick up as much of the conversation going on in the next room over as possible.

“Lambert, you know I wouldn’t suggest this if there was any other way.” You feel a tightening in your chest upon hearing the strain in the Witcher’s voice; it is pained in a way that you never want to hear him.

“And what, you’ve tried everything?” Lambert counters, “Don’t the mages have some sort of cure? They sure are proud of their advanced magic.”

“Our magic is based on theirs, and apparently rudimentary at that,” Geralt continues, “Anything that they would do would be just as dangerous as this, if not more.”

You shiver, wrapping your arms around your knees and hugging them to your chest. You know for certain that you do not want to die; not when this whole new world has opened up to you.

But that would be my destiny, you think bitterly. To live only long enough to finally have something to leave behind.

“And what if it works?” a third, unfamiliar voice cuts in. “Will you start training her as a Witcher? No one in the society she’s from will give her work once she’s one of us.”

“Oh, why bother with pointless questions, Eskel?” Lambert’s voice is raised now, and you are certain you can detect a fear in it. “She won’t live. She will die an agonizing death.”

“Stop!” Geralt roars, drowning out the other voices. Silence envelopes the room, leaving only the sound of your labored breathing as you remain still, ear pressed to the wall.

“Well, Geralt?” Lambert breaks the silence, “Did you have something to say? Because I do.”

You hear no response.

“You care for that girl, I can see that.” His tone has changed somewhat, more pleading than angry now. “But trying to save her this way? You’re going to kill her, Geralt.”

More silence.

“The infection takes its victims quickly, in sleep. But to submit her to the Trial of Grasses? It’s cruel, Geralt. And selfish.”

“Not everyone regrets becoming a Witcher, Lambert,” Eskel says.

“But everyone regrets seeing people that we cared about, people that we loved die in front of us!”

You are buzzing with anxiety, anger, and words you wish you could speak. After all, it is your life that is currently being debated, very loudly, only a room over. The stone walls may be thick, but there are cracks, and it should be no surprise to the men that you can hear.

When silence has settled too long, you finally speak, loudly. You even slam your fist against the wall, as if it would help. Instead, it just leaves you with aching knuckles as you shout.

“All of these grand arguments and no thought to ask me what I want?”

You can’t hear it, but you can picture all three heads in the room turning to look at the wall. “Or does that not matter here?”

“Y/N—” Geralt mutters, and you hear a crash as someone quickly moves through the room.

You do not move from your place on the floor, even as you hear his footsteps echoing down the hall towards the door in front of you. He opens the door quickly, eyes searching for you for the briefest of moments before landing on you, huddled up against the wall, hot fury in your eyes.

He drops to his knees in front of you. You stare at him for a moment, not saying anything. He reaches out, placing a hand on each of your shoulders. But beyond that, he says nothing, does nothing, and it only makes the anger burn brighter – though you can’t quite place where that anger is directed.

“I want it to be my choice. And I choose the lesser evil.”

“Y/N,” he says, “It… You still have some time to decide, I would never force you to—”

“Geralt,” your gaze fixes intensely on his. “I want to live. I… You… I mean, a month ago, I had nothing to live for. Maybe my choice would have been different then. But now… I refuse to just let myself die, when you’ve finally given me a reason to stay alive.”

And, for the first time, you aren’t even worried about how he will react. Hell, you don’t care how he reacts. You just know that you want to kiss him, and so you do.

He reacts instantly, moving his lips against yours and pulling you against him, wishing that he could simply keep you pulled tight to his chest and protect you from all harm.

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#story: a curse meant to be broken #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt x reader #fanfiction #witcherfic #the witcher fanfiction #geralt of rivia #kaer morhen #chapter: another trial

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proxylynn · 5 years ago

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Lynchtale: File Name Game of Death #2

Chapter 2: Pay the price for your betrayal

WARNING: THIS IS A MATURE STORY THAT WILL HAVE BLOOD, GORE, PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVIVAL HORROR, HEAVY CURSING, AND LIKELY SEXUAL THEMES/BONING. I DO NOT OWN UNDERTALE, THAT BELONGS TO LORD TOBY FOX. I DO NOT OWN DEAD BY DAYLIGHT, THAT BELONGS TO BEHAVIOUR DIGITAL INC.. I DON'T OWN THE AU'S THAT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS COME FROM, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS. I DON'T OWN THE IDEA FOR LYNCHTALE, THAT BELONGS TO PUNNYSIDEUP (AKA. SANSFULPUNS). WHAT I DO OWN IS MY SELF-INSERT OC ANOMALY LYNSIE AND THE LOVE OF FAN PARODY. IF YOU'RE STILL READING THIS, THEN CONGRATULATIONS ON EITHER BEING ONE WITH STRONG DETERMINATION OR AN ENDLESS WILL TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF STOMACHING WHAT I HAVE IN MIND. EITHER WAY, IF YOU LIKE THIS AND/OR MY OTHER CONTENT, SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. HAVE FUN SINNERS. ^_^

With each step taken the fog ebbed and flowed back, never revealing the solid surface under its misty shroud. In fact, nothing was capable of being seen. At least, for now. Such is how the Entity makes these spaces between realms. The soft footfall of sneakers barely audible. Though one body walked this path, it castes four shadows. This was the Legion. Four souls bound together in a single body, with only one ever in control at a time. They don't remember much before they were taken by the Entity, but they know one thing. They oddly all share the same name. So to break any confusion they each bare a nickname. Dead-Eye is the impulsive one, quick to show off and enjoys doing so in the most hardcore of ways. Boo is the shy and naïve one, usually only doing things because they're forced or afraid to disobey. Chops is the demanding one, thinking they are deserving of more than they get and taking pleasure in earning such rewards. Then there's Bones the opportunistic leader of the bunch, they are as crafty as they are charismatic yet loyal to a fault. They are Legion. And they are on the move. Or more accurately...Bones is on the prowl.

{where are we going? this isn't the way back to the cabin.}

Boo questions.

{weren't you paying attention, twerp? there's new meat in this game. we're gonna go see if they're worth any trouble.}

Chops barks.

{oh...sorry.}

{leave the kid alone. we need to pay attention.}

Dead-Eye makes his point. To which Chops scoffs in annoyance.

"will you guys knock it off. we're almost there. and i want all of you to focus."

It's not easy to keep one's mind centered when three other voices tend to chatter on, but Bones had managed to get used to it. This was what it was like for them all the time. The only exceptions were in trials and if the Entity was feeling they earned a generous reward. In trials, the other three would be held back and allow the one in control to be fully themselves. And the generous reward...temporary separation for a short limited time. Moments to themselves are rare, so any chance to have them is highly sought after. This wasn't one of those moments, but could potentially lead up to one, so scouting out the meat was very important.

The fog begins to lessen. Tress start to come into view. The realm of the Survivors' campsite finally draws near. A sinister grin creeps up Bones' face as the sight of a speck of light is seen in the distance. His pace quickens with a sudden eagerness. A feeling of excitement like a child rushing to open their gifts on X-mas day. The light getting closer the faster he went, almost going into his Feral Frenzy state.

{geez, man, chill. ya don't wanna give away that we're here.}

Chops for once was being logical.

"i can't help it. wraith did hype me up a little bit."

{she is merely another human. there is nothing to get so worked up about.}

Dead-eye states coldly.

"that's not the part i'm hyped for."

{it's her soul, isn't it? wraith said it had more colors than the others.}

Boo innocently chimes in.

"heheh...call me curious, but a human with more than one trait to their soul is a rather interesting surprise, to say the least."

{*chuckles* bet she's some kind of freak.}

{don't be so mean.}

{we are all freaks. the only difference is if you embrace it or not.}

"shut up! all your yammering is pissing me off. i need concentration."

Their murmurers in his mind settle down as the density of the forest wanes and the smell of smoke becomes as clear as the light source creating it. Bones' movement now was but a crawl of its former speed as he crouched into the bushes near the humans' untouchable safe zone.

"okay...now, where is the new face?"

Mimicking the stealth of the very prey he's eyeing, Bones silently moves from one shrub to the next to circle the site and better spy the new odd human out.

{this has to be a record for the closest any killer's gotten to the camp.}

{what about that time one enraged huntress and she charged them?}

{i think he means closest without the entity interfering.}

{oh. then yeah. totally a new record.}

{bones, look over by that log in the back. i think that is her.}

"huh?"

From his current spot, all he can see along this log in question is a pair of arms locked behind a pony-tailed brunette head in relaxation. An easily missable sight if not paying attention. Creeping more around grants him the first view of her at a side angle. Yep. This was her. No one like her has been here before.

"bingo."

While different from what he's used to seeing, she wasn't out of the ordinary and just only contrasted from the other humans. Wearing a simple black shirt with weird white symbols across the chest, faded gray camouflage cargo pants, a dark hoodie tied around her waist, and old worn-out white sneakers that look like they've seen better days. She was new, but nothing special.

{that's her? *scoff* wraith must be losing his mind. the only thing she looks like is an easy kill.}

{i don't know. she looks nice enough.}

{boo, i swear, sometimes ya make me want to beat the shit out of ya.}

{what? why?}

{you're both being stupid. don't dismiss the prey by of how it looks. meat is tricky. do not trust it.}

"if only there was a way to get her to expose her soul."

{we can always get a look during trial. we just need to use our moris on her and bing bang boom, it's soul time.}

"true. but there's no telling when we'd get a crack at her."

{oh! i know!}

"what, boo?"

{we can do as wraith did. we get her to come into the woods and then kill her.}

{it does sound like a reasonable idea.}

{for once, the baby said something i can agree with.}

{hey!}

"fine, let's say we do try to lure her out. do any of you know how?"

{we can always chuck a rock at her head.}

"you've got to be fucking kidding me?}

{i don't see you suggesting anything. and besides, it's not like i said we throw our knife.}

"*sigh* i swear, the more time passes the dumber we get. i mean, what the fu..."

{bones...}

"what?"

{she is looking this way.}

His attention returning to what's in the camp, Dead-eye was right, and her head was now facing his hiding spot.

"...you don't think she heard me, right?"

{no one else is looking. so my guess is no.}

{so weird.}

{weird bitch. i don't like the way she's staring at us.}

For once the shoe was on the other foot. The killer was nervous about being spotted by the prey. But he knew she couldn't possibly know that he's there. Even if he was talking to himself, she was too far away to have heard him and the fog coated bush hid him too well to be seen. So why then was her gaze just strongly locked on him to the point he could feel her eyes picking away at the leaves to find him.

{what do we do?}

{what do ya mean what do we do? it's only a human. she can't do squat to us.}

{then why does this feel so...?}

{intense?}

{yeah. like, super intense.}

{you two are pussies. bones, can ya believe the lack of balls on these dorks? ...bones?}

Bones didn't hear his companions. For that matter, he couldn't even feel their presence. He was too lost in the eyes staring into his very soul from afar. Something held him there and compelled him to keep staring at her. Then she moved. Standing up yet never breaking contact. She tilts her head, as if unsure of if she indeed sees something. But once her mind is made up, she starts to head his way and he hears something that will surely give his cover away.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

{wait...is that...?}

{our heartbeat?}

{why is our heart beating ominously?}

"i don't know."

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"'ey Luv..."

She stops at the call and approach of one of the male survivors.

"You're not really wanderin' off again, are you?"

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

When she doesn't respond to him, the man looks to where she's looking and Bones feels awkward.

"What's wrong, Luv? Somethin' over there?"

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

She rolls her shoulders and turns away.

"Nah. Just my imagination."

The man puts his arm around her shoulders and guides her back toward the log.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Bones lets out a quiet sigh.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Whatever the reason for this strange feeling, he's at least glad it was going away.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

A few beats more and internal silence fell once again...not counting the three voices in his head.

{uh...i don't know about you guys, but i say we go home before something else weird happens.}

{agreed.}

{you guys are such bitches. *huff* man...fuck this place. was a waste of time anyway.}

Bones found himself grinning. This human was already proving themselves to be interesting. She was going to be fun in trials. Every killer knows about the Terror Radius. The warning sound survivors hear when a killer draws near. But no killer could ever hear it...till now and only for her. And the thrilling part was that she probably had no idea of the effect that befell him at her coming closer, which means for him, finding her will be as easy as finding a cat in an empty fish tank.

"heh heh heh...this is going to be fun."

Having seen enough, for now, Bones made his way deeper into the forest and headed out into the dense fog. Now knowing what he did, it was time to return to their territory and go over a plan for this new meat. Perhaps he could make a rare offering to the Entity and ask for a small favor? It's worth a shot.

(UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF TIME LATER)

Time is annoying here. There's no way of knowing what is going on. Is it day? Is it night? Who knows! It's always this weird form of dark but isn't dark. Makes no damn sense. Then there's this good and bad stuff. The good, there's no need to sleep. The bad, trying to sleep because dreaming is awesome is nearly impossible due to assholes in this fucking camp! The good, there's no need to eat. The bad, I would kill for a Big Buford meal from Checker's/Rally's right now. It's a paradox! An evil and twisted hell! Only hell would deny me my favorite food! And to add to all of this...I'm so damn bored! I mean, you can only stare into a fire for so long till it feels like it's burning your very soul away with the power of absolute bullshit! Even when the others come and go, the tireless drain on my mental state remains. The only thing moderately entertaining is David. The guy, when not being a dumb flirt, has no filter when it comes to fucked up stories, that are obviously fake, and I love it.

"I went to this girl's party the week after she beat the shit out of my mate. While everyone was gettin' trashed, I went around puttin' tuna inside all the curtain rods. So weeks go by and they couldn't figure out why the house smelled like festerin' death. I only got caught because this bloke snapped a couple of shots where these guys at the party were singin' while I was in the background with a can of tuna."

"*snickering* Heheh...That story smells fishy. Cast a wider net next time."

David groans.

"Luv...Must you do that?"

"What?"

"Puns aren't funny."

"You sir just aren't sophisticated enough to appreciate the complexity of a well-made pun."

He rolls his eyes.

"Anyway...This one time, my whole class got detention because I drew a penis with a glue stick on the whiteboard. When the teacher went to wipe off the board, all the fluff came off and stuck to the glue. I never got in trouble for it because everyone found it too funny to rat me out."

"Sounds like a sticky situation."

His groan is even louder.

"Wow. Tough crowd."

"Oh? Okay, Luv, why not you give it a go."

"What? You want me to make you laugh, huh?"

"Make me? No. I want you to try."

I glare.

"Oh, you are so on. *ahem* A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the side of the road. He stopped and offered her a lift which she accepted. She got in then crossed her legs, forcing the habit slip to open and reveals some of her legs. The priest looks and nearly has an accident. After shifting gears, he lets his hand slide up her leg. She immediately says, 'Father, remember Psalm: 129'. The priest says sorry and removes his hand but is unable to remove his eyes from her leg. Later on, when he shifts gears again and has ogled at her leg for like the trillionth time, he lets his hand slide up her leg again. The Nun once again says, 'Father, remember Psalm: 129'. Arriving at the convent, the nun gets out and the priest goes on his way. Once he's at his church, he rushes to his trusty bible and looks up Psalm: 129 and it said...GO FORTH AND SEEK, FURTHER UP YOU WILL FIND GLORY!"

He just stares at me. As do some others that were in the range of my overly dramatic finish. It's actually a little embarrassing. But then...He chuckles.

"Heh. Alright, Luv. I'll give you credit, that was funny. Shame I heard somethin' like it before."

My joke pride is dashed.

"Really? Damn."

"Eh, no worries. Better luck next time."

"Oh! I got a good one. So one day this fly is flying over a pond..."

[It is time, little worm. Time to run and hide from the monsters. Do not disappoint The Entity.]

"Luv? You okay?"

Suddenly the air chills. The trees bend as if to look away. And the fog gets so thick around camp that light is inescapable. An unknown impulse beyond my control has me make myself stand. Joining me in this weird stand is Dwight, Meg, and Jake. My comprehension of what is happening is as cloudy as the black smoke that consumes us. And just like that, we are taken from camp to an unknown place.

The transition of this smoke's transportation is one that chokes the very breath out of you. The feeling of these unseen claws skim along exposed flesh and just add this creepy unsettling factor that makes this even more fucked up. Yet just as the cringe factor feels like its approaching hentai levels of uncomfortable, it all stops. The smoke clears and a very Earth looking place in before me. It's bright, cold, and snowing. Things that normally bother me. But honestly...It makes me smile.

"Psst..."

Reality comes back to me in the form of Dwight.

"Get down and follow me."

He crouches and I shrug before doing the same.

"What is this place?"

"Mount Ormond Resort. This is Legion territory. But that doesn't mean it would be the killer though."

"Yeah, I was told it can be random."

He nods and I follow behind while taking in as much of the area that I can soak in. The hollowed summit of Mount Ormond looms over desolate patches of dead trees. The abandoned ski facilities litter the ground among large patches of snow and natural rock clumps with other land bumps. Random snow machines, barrel fires, and a freaking watchtower. There's even an impressive chalet in the center, albeit it's not in good condition as far as I see and we are pretty far from it. The stale air makes the rough winds drape a heavy blanket of isolation over the bleak landscape. Oddly though, the area seems to be fenced in and gives me these dropping mice in a snake tank vibes. Humans being the mice and the snake being the killer monsters. Though seeing this barrier, it doesn't look very difficult to climb. Surely one can simply do so if given the chance. Eh, maybe I'll try it after learning more from Dwighty-boy. We continue to creeping along in tall patches of grass till we reach this weirdly positioned assortment that is almost maze-like but not quite. There are colorful pallets of wood on two sides, this red locker that is conveniently large enough to fit a person, and a hook post that looks like a miniature ski lift pylon with a yellow rubber mat surrounding the lower half. Though he ignores these things to take me to a massive generator that is connected to a light post.

"This is what we need to fix to open the gates and leave. Well...leave without dying."

I just blink in confusion.

"Dude. I don't know about you guys, but I don't know jack shit about mechanical work."

"You don't have to. Take a look."

He moves to one side and I do the same.

"The Entity made these simple. The only thing that needs fixing is the wires. They need to be reconnected to their other half. Just find two that have the same color and splice them back to make the connection. Just be careful not to rush or cross the wrong wires together."

"As dumb as it is to ask...Why?"

"It'll make the gen spark and alert the killer to our location."

"That sucks."

"It does. But not as bad when the killer attacks the gen to undo an amount of progress."

"...Now that's just shit."

"Help me with this one. Repairs go quicker when more than one person in on a gen."

"Fine. Just keep explaining things to me. I don't intend to die here."

He nods as he puts his hands in the generator. I doubt my skills are good here but I at least try and do the same, attempting to repair while keeping watch over his blind spot.

"The goal is to repair the gens to open the gates. But aside from messing up, even repairing the gen can alert the killer."

"Let me guess...The lights?"

I point up.

"Yep. They shine bright enough to be noticed and make a sound when turned on. So...It's best to run and hide when that happens."

"Is that what the locker is for?"

"Yeah, they're good for quick hiding or long-time avoidance."

"That last one sounds like a bitch move to pull."

"...It helps when your team is better than you are and you don't want to get int the way."

Ouch...That actually made me feel bad. Uh...Quick! Change the subject!

"And the pallets?"

"Oh, you use those for a few things. Mostly to block the killer. But if they grabbed someone before they dropped it, you can drop it and make the killer lose their grip and they can escape."

"Neat."

"But the killers can break dropped pallets and there's only a set number in the whole area."

"Damn."

"Other than that, there's not much else we can do. Hide, work on gens, and try not to die."

"Gee. That's depressing. So there's no way of, I don't know, fighting back?"

"Well, there are trunks scatted around that you can find one of four items in at a time."

"What?"

"A med-kit, toolbox, flashlight, or key."

"Wait...So we don't get a weapon?"

"Nope. We can't even use the hatchets that are in the lockers."

"...Say what now?"

"We've tried. They can't be removed by survivors. Only the Huntress can take them. The only 'weapons' we get are the flashlights because it can temporarily blind them, and a shard of glass to stab them with to get out of their grip. That's it. The other items are just to help us get through this."

So wait, if humans are limited that much, then does that mean...?

"...So I take it trying to jump the fence is a no go too?"

"Nea tried that. The Entity raised it higher as a warning. She didn't listen and kept trying. It killed her automatically."

Damn. There goes that plan.

"*sigh* Any other helpful tips you can give me?"

"Keep your eyes peeled and listen out for the killer's Terror Radius."

"The huh?"

"Terror Radius. When the killer starts to get close, your heart will beat loudly. The louder it is, the closer the killer is to you. Thankfully, it's only a sound we can hear. Aside from the sound, beware of the Red Stain. It's a light that shines from their eyes when they target someone."

"I'm starting to see which side the Entity favors more. Is it too late to switch teams?"

We share a small awkward laugh. But I wasn't joking.

*CLANK*

We pause at the sudden sound and notice no added light above us. Scanning the dense further out, a small blip of it is just marginally lighter than the surrounding area.

"That's one down."

"How many do we need to power the gates?"

"Five."

I pale.

"You're joking."

"I wish."

"We have to do five of these things and avoid a killer while being completely helpless? That is the most bullshit of all bullshit I have ever heard!"

"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down."

I take a deep breath to settle down.

"Sorry. It's just I can't handle stupid. Like, no joke. My mind literally can't take it."

"I'm sure you're just..."

"I once put my head through a wall after punching it to avoid hitting someone that was stating the most illogical load of crap like what they were saying was fact."

He just stares at me.

"I'm not a violent person, dude. But when my brain can't comprehend utter lack of sense, it goes primal and demands a way to unload."

"...By hitting things?"

"By hitting things."

"That...doesn't sound healthy."

I merely shrug and connect the last couple of wires on my side.

*CLANK*

Light beams down on us as the generator purrs with life.

"Now we need three more."

"Got it."

"This is where I leave you now."

"Why?"

"Increases the odds of us not being taken down in a bunch."

"...Makes sense."

"Take care, Lynsie."

"Same to you, Dwight."

Dwight crouches off in one direction and I crawl away in the opposite. The misty nature of this place and the snowfall makes for good coverage but also obstruct my sight as well...especially when it flies in your eyes.

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

Unless the killer just ripped the balls off one of the guys, that had to be Meg. What sucks is I feel I should do something. What that something is? Fuck if I know. Maybe if I find one of those chests I can get a med-kit and heal her if she's hurt. Great. Now I have to multitask. Find gens, fix gens, avoid death, and save others. Is it really too late to change sides?

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

The fuck? Nearly no time passed and a second was attacked? This isn't looking so good.

"Nope! Nope! Nope! So much nope!"

Dwight comes rushing this way.

"Dude?"

He speeds past me with a look of "I'm going to wet my pants" and I don't like that one damn bit. His urgency kicks me into "screw this" mode and I bolt. Now the idea of hiding is my only goal. Something I can effectively feel safe in or at. The chalet looks to be three stories, so maybe. The watchtower seems to be missing a ladder, that's never stopped me before. There's a shack that is very out of place. Wait...What did they tell me about that again? Oh, I remember now. And...Nope! Not going there! That's a bad spot. Uh...Fuck it! Going for the trees! I pick one near one of the odd obstacle places and use it to get up to the reachable branches since the trunk is too big around.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

That sound...

lub-dub...lub-dub...

I climb up higher and try to mold into the branch work. Maybe I can think of a plan from here. It's not like the killer can climb up here...right?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Shit, that's closer. Where is it? What am I even looking for? Just saying "monster" or "killer" doesn't mean I know what it looks like. God, I hate my teammates...except you, Dwight. You actually tell me useful stuff.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

A moving light gets my attention. From the height and angle that I'm at, I see the noticeable sight of a gingered haired maiden speed limping while trying to use a flashlight on someone in a dark blue hoodie. Such a human piece of clothing. A big contrast to the Wraith.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Meg's efforts to shake this killer have her darting around like mad. Soon though she heads my way.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I watch as she vaults through window arches and withholds from using the pallets until just the right moment. She even smacks the killer over the head with one and she gains some time to get ahead, adding more escape time by blinding the killer when he recovers. What kind of OP flashlight is that?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Though the killer can still see Meg hobbling away, it for some reason lingers here. Taking small quiet steps.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Why is it still here? Why won't it go after her? It doesn't see me, does it?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

It approaches a locker and flings it open, only to not find me...but Dwight. Unable to escape, the killer grabs Dwight and the poor guy weakly wriggles on the shoulder of the monster as it carries him over just past this obstacle thing.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

*LOW-PITCH SCREAM*

By how loud that scream is that had to be him going on the hook. Now's my chance to do something helpful! If only the killer would leave! I don't know what it's doing. But the thing won't stop stalking around this damn spot! It's making my heart go nuts!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I'm about to lose my shit when suddenly something sparks on the other end of the zone. The killer pauses, looks around, goes over to Dwight and hits him before leaving to check it out. I wait till my heart has stopped racing then slowly make my way back to solid ground and move to Dwight.

"Dude, how's it hanging?"

He cringes with a groan.

"Please don't make fun right now. I'm in a lot of pain."

"I see that. It's just how I deal with things. Now think light thoughts."

I embrace his legs and lift. He on his end pulls up with one hand and move the hook away with the other. The blood falling and the sloshing noise of the nasty hook moving through his shoulder. When freed he slumps down on me and brings us both crashing to the snow.

"*muffled* Mind getting off my head?"

"Sorry."

He rolls off me and I shake the snow from my hair.

"Thanks for the save."

"Anytime. So long as I'm not being chased."

He smiles and picks himself up, holding the gaping wound with his good hand. Doing so makes his extra wound at his side stretch and bleed harshly.

"Say...You wouldn't happen to know where Jake is?"

I shake my head.

"Oh well. Here's hoping I find him or my own med-kit before Legion gets me again."

"That was Legion?"

"One of them. You better get going now. It's not good hanging around a wounded survivor."

"Wait, what do you mean by one of them?"

He limps off, groaning and dripping blood.

*HIGH-PITCH SHRIK*

Sounds like Meg is getting into trouble again. I got to do something. Anything productive. Where's another generator at?

*HIGH-PITCH SCREAM*

Holy shit! Okay, I need to do something. I'm too far judging by that scream. I need to buy them time to save her. I need to...

"LEGION!"

Not yell out the killer's name like a fucking idiot!

lub-dub...lub-dub...

Well, that's to be expected. Time to run now. With basically having painted a "come kill me" target on my dumb ass, I don't hold back on the speed. Rushing as if Legion were right behind me instead of just trailing from somewhere.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Need to duck it. Need to find something to disorient it. In my haste, I grab some snow and ball it before chucking it at a passing pallet. The thud sound it makes should pull its attention.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Unfortunately, it seems I'm not going to be so lucky. It's not falling for this trick.

*CLANK*

That sound means we only need two more generators to power the gates and no one has died that I'm aware of. So far I'd call this a good trial. Scary as fuck, but still good.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

It's going after the others again. I can use this opportunity to find a spot to rest for a bit. My lungs are burning from so much running. The watchtower again seems like a tempting hideaway, but if I try climbing now I'll make too much noise with all the huffing and puffing. The shack is again, something I'm not going near due to basement reasons. So the chalet will be my rest stop for the moment. Sneaking in is easy, what with all the broken spots that anyone can use. The inside is trashed. Giving off the vibes of a place used to crash in to get away from the world. Ah, teenage memories. Sadly such destruction makes some parts of it crippled or just plain blocked by debris. Which sucks because that top area is where I want to go and I'm not in the mood to go parkour crazy.

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

Jake or Dwight just got nailed. The way things are going another hit or hook will happen.

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

Oh, come on!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

You've got to be kidding me.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Son of a...Not much to go on and needing somewhere to hide, I throw myself behind one of the random couches...only to end up skidding into a downward going set of stairs and I tumble head over heel into a wall.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I shake away the stars in my eyes and come to find I'm in the one spot I've been trying to avoid. I'm in the basement. But how? I thought they said it shows up in the shed. What kind of retards am I dealing with here?!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Oh yeah, that's still a thing. Since going back up will get me spotted for sure, I hobble deeper down the steps and find the light seeping through the walls to be very unnerving. The eerie sounds don't help either. The Basement contains four lockers, a chest, and a special set of four hooks hanging all from a center post that looks more wicked than the one's topside.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

With not much time, I slip around one of the spaces in the back and hold my breath.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

The sound of grunts and footsteps get louder from above as they move towards the stairs. The grunts aren't coming from the killer. I know the voice. It's Jake and, much like Dwight, he's struggling to get free from the killer.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

There's some shuffling as the steps get closer and closer.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

*LOW-PITCH SCREAM*

I think everyone's been hooked at least once except for me. Maybe I have some luck about me after all. Now when the killer leaves I can unhook Jake and the last couple of generators will be done with ease.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Wait...Why is the killer's steps getting closer?

Why isn't it leaving?! What the fuck?!

"here's...legion!"

A dark menacing figure with eyes glowing blue rounds the opening of my little hideaway and I in panic, lack of air, plus pure adrenaline flip the fuck out. Much like the reaction that came from meeting the Wraith, instinct has me utter random shit in hopes of stunning the threat with confusion.

"*loud hiss*"

I don't wait to check if this works. I merely listen to the screaming signals my body is making to charge forward. This move takes the killer and knocks it back a bit as I do the animalistic approach to running for my escape. Sorry Jake. Maybe someone else can get you.

"this is no place for cowards!"

That voice makes my spine shiver. Though nothing freaks me out more than the rapid sprinting behind me.

"where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere I can!"

"smartasses get killed. we always see to that."

Bounding out of the chalet, it keeps chase with me and even vaults the pallets that I leap over.

"we know this place better than anyone. what makes you think you can avoid us?"

"Two words..."

Leaping over another pallet, I return to a bipedal run and grab some snow in my haste. I ball the snow hard and once I lead the killer into a straight line, I turn back then hurl it into its face.

"Snowball's chance!"

The resulting assault stuns/blinds it and I, not knowing how long this will last, rush for the watchtower. Doing what I can to scramble up some of the supports after jumping off a generator by the time it catches up to me and is not happy. Though now that I'm out of reach, I can get a decent look at this killer. He is in a deep blue hooded jacket that's partly zipped, the hood covering his head is black and there's white fur around the collar. His black pants have a white stripe that runs down the side of the legs, the ends have been rolled up near the knee. He has finger-less gray gloves that match his gray socks. He spots black sneakers with blue accents and laces. The limbs of his outfit are battened down with tape like practitioners of parkour which is done to lessen wind resistance. In his hand is a sharp hunting blade-like weapon with a jagged saw back made of bone. Such a thing is fitting since this killer is a living skeleton, the open part of his jacket showing off his ribcage. He has no eyes, just black sockets with blue eye-like lights. Other than some bloodstains here and there, there's this odd dark mark on the right side of his face. Or should I say skull? You know what I mean.

"there's no getting out of this now. we're too good at it. so why don't you be a good girl and come down here, excepting your death with some dignity."

"Hmmm...I don't know. Seems to me I have the high ground. The way I see it, I can just chill out here and be completely fine."

He attempts to climb up to get me. Though his skeletal digits can't get a real grip and he keeps slipping off on the first board. He gives up on climbing in annoyance and growls at me but then snickers.

"we wouldn't be so sure about that. once your twerpy friends get a gate open or we shut the hatch, endgame collapse starts. and if you can't escape within two minutes...regardless of your health or hiding spot, any survivors remaining in the trial grounds will be sacrificed by the entity itself."

I groan and claw my face.

"You assholes don't tell me shit!"

I shout into the air and Legion laughs.

"sucks to be you. shame you can't trust your teammates to even inform you on basic things."

"I know!"

I slump against the cold wood as he positions himself under me. Maybe he'll try to throw his weapon at me to knock me down.

"if you come down now, we might be willing to forgive that snowball thing and kill you quickly."

This is so not my day.

"Any chance we can work out a deal where I don't die?"

"heh...we think not."

What is it with this we stuff? I hate words games. It's just as bad when assholes play the pronoun game when talking about someone.

*CLANK*

Another generator goes off and we both look out to where it alerts.

"shit."

Not sure he meant to say that out loud, but it gets me an idea. An awful idea. A wonderfully evil, awful, and just plain fucked up idea.

"Say there, killer, you look a bit worried."

He glares up at me.

"worried? *scoff* what's to worry about? we can easily take down all of you before that last generator gets popped."

"Care to make a little bargain then?"

He eyes me.

"Hear me out. You want us humans dead, right? But currently, three of them are causing you some annoying trouble."

"three? not counting yourself among them?"

I hook my legs around a beam and swing down to dangle just out of reach.

"With this lot? No. It's like you said, they can't be bothered with helping me...So why don't I help someone else instead?"

This gets a grin to smear his skull.

"okay. we're listening."

I smirk.

"You let me live, and I'll make sure they don't get away from that weapon of yours when you come running. Sound fair?"

He chuckles smugly.

"you think quite highly of yourself for someone in their first trial. what makes you think we need your help?"

"Fine. Risk it. Risk them getting away while I stay here and let the Entity get me."

He flinches.

"Risk not making them scream."

He fidgets a bit.

"Risk not spilling their blood."

He gets more anxious.

"Risk..."

"alright! alright! we get it...we have a deal. but on one condition."

"That is?"

"if this messes up and they getaway, we're going to kill you. yet if this works, we'll let you live...but not without some damage."

Beggars can't be choosers. I don't think I'm getting a better offer than that.

"Deal."

I swing away and drop unsteadily. Part of me thought he'd use the opportunity to stab me the moment I came down. I guess there is some honor among killers...I hope.

"I saw some movement west of here. Not sure if other gens are there, but it's where I'm going."

He shrugs.

"go for it. we'll be lurking behind. we can't have them hearing our terror radius, now can we?"

I nod and sprint away. Not really sure if this is a good idea. Morally speaking this is worth my ass burning in hell for eternity. But in terms of not winding up on a hook or as Entity food, I'll sell out the world if I have to. Especially when they knew shit and didn't bother telling me. Granted, I will feel bad for Dwight as he did help me. But only he has my humanity attached to him. The rest are as good as dead.

Running without the need to be sneaky is a nice little perk in all this. The cold was doing a number on my hands. Taking a moment to pause, I listen for any sounds of movement or repairing.

"What are you doing? Don't run around like an idiot."

Jake moves from behind a clump of large rocks.

"Glad to see you too. Where're the others?"

"Not here, obviously. While you were running distraction, we got another gen done."

"I know. We just need one more, right?"

"Yeah. There are three others available. So we've split up to ensure one gets done."

Crap. This is going to be harder than I thought. I didn't anticipate there being more generators than the required amount. Change of plans.

"Mind if I help?"

He sighs.

"Come on. There's one around here."

I will not regret you dying, asshole. He leads me behind some trees where a generator has a shit placement. A boulder and a tree block two sides of it. I guess it's somewhat helpful. He takes a side and I take the more open side...not that he gave me a choice. He starts to tinker and I begin grabbing wires, picking opposites. I wait a few moments then make bad connections, causing the generator to blow in a loud show of sparks.

"Damn it. Be careful will you?"

"Don't pressure me. I don't do well under pressure."

I repeat this same move. Wait a little bit and then spark explosion!

"Screw this."

He crouches off and I follow in a crawl.

"Go away."

"We're a team, right? We need to stick together."

"I don't need you messing this up. Go run distraction since you're so good at it."

"You sir, need to watch your tone."

*HIGH-PITCH SCREAM*

So Legion either didn't follow me or found Meg along the way.

"There goes Meg."

"See? Go distract the killer so we can get her. That way someone useful can actually help."

That was the straw that breaks me. I tackle him to the ground and slam his head repeatedly.

"*snarling* Do...Not...Ever...Disrespect...Me...You...Stupid...Mother...Fucker...!"

After about the tenth bash, I stop because of the sickly wet sloshing sound of a cranium on slushy snow snaps me to my senses. Jake isn't dead but he is bleeding like crazy and knocked the fuck out. I've never unloaded like that before. It was so primal and yet...so satisfying. Looking around to make sure no one else saw this, I am relieved that nobody did though for some reason I find my eyes locking on to a nearby hooking post.

[Interesting, little worm. You made the meat bleed. Keep going. Do not resist. Offer it to The Entity.]

My head hurts at the whispers invading my mind. I don't like it. I move off of Jake and drag myself from this scene. It's harder than it seems. Something wants me to do it. To finish the job and hook him. It feels sick. I wander around trying to regain myself from the numbness clawing at my brain. The cold is suddenly worse on my hands, only now do I understand the reason why. Jake's blood is on my hands. Literally and figuratively. I frantically try to clean them off in the snow. Less for the reasons of this is a bad "Oh my god, what have I done" thing but more for "I can't let them see this or they'll know something isn't right" thing. Well, that and the longer I see the blood the stronger the messed up impulses get.

*YELP*

The shocked sound gets me back in my normal mindset. Finding the others.

*YELP*

"Dwight, just stop. That's only making it worse."

Meg shoos Dwight from trying to heal her while taking cover in bushes.

"I'm sorry. I get really nervous near endgame."

Poor guy looks so scared.

"Yeah, about that..."

They nearly jump at my arrival.

"So nice of you lot to tell me about endgame collapse. Real helpful. It's almost like you're not telling me shit on purpose so that you'll have better odds. But that would be a massive dick move that only lowlifes would do. And you guys aren't lowlifes...Are you?"

My tone is spiteful. Not caring for whatever the answer that comes.

"It's not like you needed to know right away."

I glare daggers at them.

"We believed you were able to avoid the killer. So we were going to gen rush for a speedy victory. We weren't counting on Legion being so aggressive. Its deep wounds aren't normally so hard to mend."

"What I'm hearing is a lot of crap. One, my so-called team made a plan and didn't let me in on it. Two, said team leaves out useful information on the killer and trial effects. And three, you thought this wasn't going to bite you in the ass."

They look at me confused when suddenly the sky rumbles. Our gaze goes upward as the part of the white clouds turns black and opens to obsidian spider-like appendages reaching down to the ground.

"What the fuck is that?!"

"That's the Entity. But it only comes into trials to claim a sacrifice. Why is it...?"

The spindly claws retract back to wherever the fuck that shit came from, but it's not leaving empty-handed. The shade of Jake is in its grasp. A small glow of cyan in his chest. Once the thing returns to the clouds, the sky returns to normal and I'm speechless.

"It...It took Jake?"

"How? He was only hooked once. If he was hooked again we would've heard him yell."

Unless he was so knocked out that he was completely incapacitated.

"We need to get that last gen."

"But you need to mend. You'll bleed out otherwise."

"I'll do it myself. You two get to a gen. I'll be fine."

Dwight looks worried but he nods and takes my arm.

"Let's hurry before Legion finds us."

I merely follow. Still too dumbstruck to comprehend the thing I just saw.

"Are you okay?"

"Big thing came out of the sky...Head very fuzzy..."

He frowns.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you everything. We're just...You get so used to things around here that it's easy to forget what it was like in the beginning. Back when this was new and hard to understand. Back when we wished there was someone to teach us what to do. I'm sorry, Lynsie."

Oh no...Not genuine sincerity! How am I supposed to let him die now after all that? God damn evil plans! He finds a generator and he begins to work on it while I pretend to do so. There's already been some progress made on this thing. That's not good. Fuck, I'm conflicted. I can get out of here at the cost of their lives and risk them finding out. Or I can help them escape and risk pissing off Legion who will hunt my ass down for betrayal. I've doomed myself. Like wielding a double-edged sword, no matter which way I swing the damn thing, I'll end up stabbing myself when the backswing returns. Fuck...I've already got Jake killed. Can't puss out now. I slowly begin undoing the connections on my side, effectively making it seem like any progress he's making like it's going nowhere.

"Weird."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm repairing, but nothing is happening."

"Really? You too?"

I'm such scum.

"Hmmm...Maybe the killer is using Hex: Ruin."

I stop and leer at him, making him laugh nervously.

"Um...It's a power that killers can use to affect our ability to repair generators."

"Let me guess...It wasn't worth mentioning at the time that killers have special powers?"

He gulps.

"Have I mentioned that I'm sorry?"

And there goes the guilt that I was having about killing you, Dwighty-boy.

"Come on, dude. Let's find a gen that isn't bugged."

"But..."

*HIGH-PITCH SCREAM*

Dwight jumps.

"Oh no!"

"What?"

"That's Meg's third time being hooked."

"So let's go get her."

"We can't. A third hooking results in instant sacrifice."

Sure enough, the sky does its freaky arcane Hellmouth thing and the talons of the Entity take Meg up into its unknown lair.

"Oh, this is bad. If we can't fix gens then we're done for."

"How many times have you been hooked?"

"Once. If it hooks me now, I'll have to struggle against the Entity as it tries to kill me for sacrifice."

So does that mean if his stamina runs out or he's tired, it'll kill him on the hook?

"We have to get this gen running. It's the only way."

I feel dumb for thing but the question leaves me without much filtering.

"What about the hatch?"

He frowns and shakes his head.

"While it's probably spawned in since we're the last two left...Only one can go through it."

"Oh."

"Unless we had a special key. Then we both could escape so long as we get in within thirty seconds of opening it."

Again? Again with the very important and useful info that could've been told to me way earlier at the damn camp that I'm only hearing about now? Know what...Fuck it! Fuck you! I blatantly connect the wrong wires and the generator blows in loud sparks, freaking Dwight out.

"What are you doing?"

I growl beastly.

"I will not be toyed with by you people."

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

With the threat of running into a killer or dealing with a pissed off woman, Dwight decides the killer is his worst problem and tries to flee past me. Big mistake. I grab the back of his shirt and yank him hard, giving him a choke before he falls back.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"Are you insane? The killer is..."

"Not your biggest problem."

I smack him so hard that his glasses are knocked off.

"I am not to be fucked with! Not by you. Not by them. Not by anyone! You will learn! You will all learn! You will all learn that your actions have consequences!"

[Yes, little worm. Teach them of their wrongs. Make them learn. Unleash the beast that dwells within.]

A sharp pain grips me. I grab my head and roar out trying to fight this unknown force. My vision is blurring, something is attempting to take control and I fear it might win.

"Holy crap..."

Dwight, understandably afraid for his life, scrambles to get as far from me as he possibly can. But his efforts and lack of good eyesight have him running right into the blade of the Legion to get a critical deep wound.

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

Dwight goes down and Legion grins to himself.

"too easy."

He goes to pick Dwight up but pauses when it notices me harming myself. My nails are clawing into my arms and I'm ramming my head into some wooden fencing, hoping this trauma will make the force cease its efforts. These actions blind me to his approach and my system gets knocked out of it at this sudden sting in my back.

"don't move."

The feel of his blade leaving me is strangely painless and I can't help the smile that comes to me as things feel so much clearer...even if I drop to my knees.

"stay put. we'll be right back."

He retrieves a futilely crawling away Dwight and goes to hook him somewhere. If I were a more sane individual, I probably would be trying to run away at this moment. But I think that's been proven not to be who I am. What I'm more focused on is figuring out what the hell was happening to me.

*LOW-PITCH SCREAM*

Dwight's on the hook now and no one is around to help him. I know I'm not doing it. I am all out of fucks to give.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Legion makes his return and I don't blame him for looking shocked that I remained where he left me.

"Surprised to see me?"

"a little bit. normally you humans try to getaway. even when in the dying state."

I look at him funny and he sighs.

"wow. they really don't tell you anything. okay...um...that guy we just hooked..."

"Yeah?"

"remember him being on the floor and only able to crawl? that's the dying state."

"Oh. Kind of a disappointing name."

"well if left alone he would bleed to death."

"Now that makes more sense."

He snickers.

"you are a really weird human."

"As I told Wraith, I prefer quirky."

"quirky doesn't even begin to start with what we'd call you. but it's fine for now."

He huffs a small laugh and closes the distance between us before hiking me over his shoulder. The sky rumbles and we look as the Entity comes once more to claim another victim. With that done, he starts wandering off and I'm amazed that something with no muscle mess whatsoever is this strong. Makes me wonder how his bony body works.

"Can I ask a somewhat personal question?"

"depends."

"Well...and you don't have to answer...But you're a skeleton, right?"

"last we checked."

"But are you completely skeletal?"

He pauses.

"...where are you going with this?"

"I'm just curious is all. I'm not a light girl. For you to pick me up and be walking so comfortably with no muscle is amazing."

He shakes his head in amusement while starting to walk again.

"What? It's a legitimate reason to be curious."

"oh, like you humans are so normal? what with your weak fleshy bodies full of blood and guts."

"I'm not saying it's normal. Normal is overrated."

"then would you be willing to answer one of our questions?"

"Only if you explain this usage of plural terms you've been using."

"we are legion. four killers in one. only one can be in a trial at a time but we're never alone."

"That is fucking cool. So do you all call yourself Legion or...?"

"ah ah ah. you answer our question first."

"Sorry."

"what was happening back there? you know...when you were going nuts?"

My head hurts thinking about that.

"I'm not sure. I got really mad and this creepy voice started talking to me."

"creepy voice you say?"

"I've heard it a few times. But that was the first time...I...Argh, my head is killing me."

"we bet it does. after all, you were hitting it into shit."

"Yeah, but it's fine. I'm thick-skulled."

His body shakes a little with held in mirth. Is he...?

"ah, there's that pesky thing."

Apparently, he's been carrying me this whole time for a reason. He's been listening for this odd and very ominous sound. Funny enough, we find this strange cue at the location of the watchtower where this deal of ours was made. The cause of this sound is the hatch, open and full of dark fog.

"Spooky."

He drops me off of his shoulder roughly near it and then very blatantly gets his weapon out.

"Um...Nice bone you got there."

"thanks. it does its job well."

I am not going to like this.

"you look worried."

"Only because I know what's going to happen next."

His grin is bone-chilling.

"a deal's a deal, human. you held up your end and now it's our turn. the hatch is your way out. but like we told you...you're not leaving unharmed."

He twirls the blade so that it's stabbing end is downward in his grip.

"This is going to hurt like hell, isn't it?"

"only if you struggle. but please do...it's more fun that way!"

He lunges at me, weapon aiming my chest. I panic. My hands come up to grab his wrist but I'm not one that knows how to properly do this in quick time. I do stop the blade from hitting its target. But now the thing is skewering my hands to give them stigmata. The grinding of the blade on bone is nerve shocking. He uses this to grab my wrists and pin them above my head with his free hand before removing the weapon, his lower half pinning my legs with his.

"now this is a tempting moment. we could do just about anything to you and nobody will stop us. the only limit is our imagination."

With the blade, he slices open my shirt and the smugness he has makes my insides churn.

"Dude, don't be a creepy pervert like this."

His grin falters and color faintly comes to his skull. Is he...is he blushing?

"that is not...we are not like that! this is strictly sadistic torture and nothing more!"

"But doesn't that mean you're getting pleasure out of causing pain?"

The blush gets worse.

"quit making this weird!"

The blade comes down into my stomach and the sound of pain I make is guttural. This keeps up for quite a few more stabs done to my side, ribs, shoulders, and this really painful one at the hip.

"no more talking! understood?"

I nod weakly through whimpers and a sense of impending death.

"good. now behave and this will be pleasant for all of us."

Like an artist with a sculpting knife, he takes his blade and slowly begins carving into the top of my chest. There are many things my pain tolerance allows me to handle. Cuts, stabs, falls, blunt force, sprains, piercings, and some other stuff I can't think about at the moment. And that's because it all happens typically very fast or instantly. This? No. This isn't fast. This is slow and painfully delicate. My eyes are drowning in tears and melting snow. My hands claw at the ground. And my heels dig into frozen soil. This reaction doesn't go unnoticed. Legion enjoys it. His smile coming back and growing with each wince the blade brings out of me.

"there we go...just a little bit more...almost done."

I feel a chill as the blade leaves me for a moment and hope fills me that he's done. Only to be shattered with a quick slash that has me roar in anguish.

"perfect. the entity may heal it away but you'll feel it even if it's gone. you'll never fort it. you'll never forget who you belong to now."

He nudged my head up with the hilt of his weapon so that I can see what he's done. He's etched the word "LEGION" into me. He's marked me as his. Well...at least this is over.

"now say it."

I eye him and he quickly stabs my side.

"say who you belong to!"

"Legion! I belong to Legion!"

It almost sobs out of me. My dignity and strong will were turned to dust way back at the start of all this. His delight is written all over his face. A twisted smile and eyes that burn with gratification.

"good girl. now we want one last thing from you before you can go."

"*whimpers* What?"

He leans down and I feel the pressure of his aura. Dark, threatening, and very very heavy.

"show us your soul."

I bite my lip and gulp.

"I...I don't know how."

The bone blade is stabbed right beside my face.

"you're not leaving till we see it. so you can either figure out how to bring it out...or we can have more fun cutting into you like a pumpkin on halloween."

"How am I supposed to...?"

He yanks the weapon from the ground and rears back ready to slam it down wherever on me he sees fit. Visions of any of the possible ways that bone blade can end up sinking into me flash before my eyes. My heart races and times seems to slow down as he brings it down. My eyes shut tight and all I can do is pray. Pray that this isn't the end. Because I don't want to die. I don't want to die!

"heheheh...we knew that would work."

My eyes open to see the tip of his weapon hovering over the colorful heart that springs from my body.

"fear is a motivator like nothing else."

I think I just pissed myself. It's either piss or blood from the stabbings.

"wraith was right. your souls is interesting. so many colors all swirling around like crazy. it's almost what we'd call pretty."

He gives my souls a small teasing touch before he sits up and moves off of me, letting me go.

"you can go now. we've had our fun this trial."

I'm not sure what to do. Part of me knows better and should leave while given this chance. The other part wants to beat the shit out of him. And another part is too broken to do anything.

"hey, we said you can go."

"Give me a moment...I...I'm trying to remember how to move."

He can't help but laugh at me.

"you can't be serious? did we really scare you that bad? your shitty teammates aren't even that easy."

"Hello, I'm new. Sue me for freaking out when a skeleton has a knife aimed at me!"

He just keeps laughing.

"*chuckling* and here we thought we were the ones without guts."

I flinch with recognition.

"Was that...a pun?"

His brow cocks.

"maybe?"

I smirk.

"I hope that wasn't your only one. Because I have a skele-ton of them."

His face blanks and I feel like I may have messed up. Either that or I'm bleeding out to the pint this might be a hallucination. But then...He busts a metaphorical gut in laughter. This is a reaction I'm not used to getting when I pun. It feels nice. And he seems different when he laughs. Like, a guy that you wouldn't think enjoys killing people.

"that...that was a good one."

"Thank you. The idiots at camp don't appreciate them. So I'm glad someone has a working funny bone."

That again cracks him up. But that isn't the only thing cracking. My sides aren't doing so well. It's time to go. Regaining the use of my arms, I press my soul back into me and then pull myself to sit up which I immediately regret what with the amount of coughed up blood that is being forced out of me.

"yeah. you're going to want to go now. not sure how much longer you've got before your body quits on you."

"Probably a good...*coughing* A good...*wheezing* I go now."

Crawling my fucked up form to the hatch, I share one last look with this killer.

"what? there something in our teeth?"

I meekly snicker.

"My name...*gagging* It's...*hack* Lynsie."

He smirks.

"so that's the name of our new plaything? heh...good to know."

He averts his gaze and I move to enter the hatch feet first.

"human..."

He's still not looking at me.

"Y-Yeah?"

"...call me bones."

Something about him telling me his name fills me with this oddly warm feeling. The kind of feeling that makes you smile even when you know you shouldn't.

"Later...*coughing* Bones."

I hope that does something for him. Not sure why or what, but it's something I hope for as I slide into the hatch's dark unknown.

*CLUNK*

The hatch closes and Bones leans back on his hands, an amused grin on his face as the fog of the Entity begins to consume the realm. Time for the world to be reset for the next trial.

"heh...not a bad time. not a bad time at all. the guys are going to get a kick out of this one."

Maybe the Entity won't care that one got away. He did feed it three humans. That should be enough for a decent snack. It's not like one of the other killers can't finish the job of feeding it. He just hoped that after such an exhausting trial that he'd have a chance to rest for a while. The fog rolls over him and takes him away. The world entirely disappearing into the darkness. Now it wouldn't be long before it was to reform as the Entity fed. No matter the reset, the chalet remains and in there so will the Legion.

(AT THE SURVIVOR'S CAMPSITE)

I wake up gasping for breath and gripping my chest. The hatch was an escape of sorts, but the feeling of slipping through the intangible grasp of something I can't even begin to describe is horrifying.

"There she is!"

Jake shouts and my attention is gotten. The others cast judging eyes at me. David not so much. But the others for sure. Thank god my clothes are healed. Otherwise, this would be even more awkward.

"Is it true? Did you attack Jake?"

Bill asks but it doesn't feel like a question. This is not how I wanted to wake up.

"Answer the question, kid."

I glare.

"I don't have to answer shit."

"So you admit it? You cost us the trial!"

Jake shouts and I snarl.

"No! You did that the moment you decided to use me!"

I get off the ground but I'm wobbly as hell. Something isn't right.

"We're the Survivors. We're supposed to help each other make it out alive. But none of you want to help anyone else but yourselves. And I'll be damned if I'll let you get away with trying to use me as a damn distraction for your gain!"

I start seething and Dwight steps forward.

"Please, don't get her mad."

"The hell do we care if she gets mad?"

"You weren't there, Nea. You didn't see what I saw. You didn't see her change."

I settle down out of curiosity but it's not like that helps the others.

"Oh, she changed? Big fucking deal! That doesn't excuse her for attacking Jake in the trial."

"You don't understand. It was the Entity...it was turning her into one of them."

My confusion is shared with the rest of them and Dwight looks at me.

"It's true. Your eyes...Your eyes were making the stain. Only killers make the stain but they can't see it."

This...this makes some sense for what was going on at that moment.

"That explains the voice..."

I think aloud to myself.

"Voice?"

Claudette repeats in puzzlement.

"Talk to us, Luv. What happened back there?"

Not sure if David cares. But he's at least giving me a chance to explain.

"Since I get here, I've been hearing this strange voice sometimes. Calling us meat and other things. During trial..."

Recalling the events makes my head spin and I drop to a kneel, not able to keep balance enough to stand. David and Dwight move to approach but others hold them back till the story is told.

"During the trial, I got so mad. I kept finding out you guys were or had withheld important things from me. It was just building this raw feeling inside. One that boiled over into something...I can't really put it into words. I had these urges..."

I grip my head in pain.

"I wanted to make a point...but IT wanted that point in blood. *groan* Fuck, don't make me remember any more. It hurts."

I feel so weak. Like being here is draining me. I don't understand what's happening to me.

"What do you think? This kind of sounds like your line of work."

Bill asks Ash.

"Hmmm...It does sound something close to possession. Maybe corruption? Influencing her to kill when angered. That's a theory anyway. Anything is possible in this place. Not knowing the Entity's full ability scope or what her soul is capable of really makes this a hard question to answer."

Nea doesn't like this one bit.

"Are you guys for real? It doesn't matter if she's possessed, corrupted, or some other bullshit. The fact is she attacked another survivor. She's a threat and a liability. I say we kick her out of the camp."

Nea is only pissing me off. Not a good thing to do.

"You don't get to make that call, Nea."

Detective Tapp calls her out.

"After all, the same can be said about you when you act so toxic that the killers try to attack us here despite knowing that they can't."

David comes over and kneels with me.

"You alright, Luv?"

"I...I don't know...I don't feel very good..."

"Take it easy. You look like 'ell."

"Legion...had fun with me...lost lots of blood...great sense of humor..."

"'umor? Luv, killers can't make jokes. 'ell, they can't even talk."

But...they can talk. What does he mean that they can't?

"Luv? 'ey, what's wrong? Why aren't you 'ealed?"

My kneeling trembles. I'm getting weaker. My mouth moves but no words come out.

"'ey! Somethin's wrong with her!"

My eyelids are so heavy. It's getting harder to stay conscious. Their bodies look like blobs to me. I don't even know who's coming over to aid David. Everything's getting dark.

[Do not think you can escape, little worm. The beast hungers. It will feed. It is only a matter of time.]

Yay! This got done super fast and I had fun. Now to establish some stuff and clarify things that went down in this chapter.

#1: Killers/Monsters have better relations than the Survivors/Humans...I hinted this one in chapter one, but I think it really shines here. Even if some killers piss off other killers, they still communicate and teach their skills to their allies. Where as the humans share very little and assume others will get good. This leads to toxicity among the survivors and it's not unheard of for survivors to turn on each other. This happens in game too.

#2: The Survivors can't communicate with the Killers...In game, no one talks. All you get are sounds like screams, grunts and other basic noises. For the story, I'm making it so that both sides can speak but the humans can not understand the monsters. This langue barrier keeps tension high and further divides them. All the humans hear are monster sounds. The monster hear English but think the humans are just ignoring them because they're assholes. Lynsie is the exception to this rule and for one reason, which leads into out next point.

#3: The look and feel of Legion/Sans...For this, we turn to this AU's creator punnysideup who has made some awesome pics of our bone boys. Since ffnet won't let me post links, I recommend looking him up on twitter to see all 4 sides to our killer. Though note one thing, I will be changing the look of Dead Eye from what his creator depicts him. It doesn't really fit well, while looking cool, so expect something close to the other 3 in terms of looks.

#4: The Corrupted Survivor...This was a concept I made up for the game and think it makes things a bit more interesting here. Since Lynsie is the anomaly and her soul is all wonky here, the Entity with its crazy powers can influence her into becoming a pseudo-killer. If fully unleashed, this state allows her to hunt and sacrifice like a normal killer, but she still counts as a survivor and there for can be killed by real killers. There are triggers for her entering this state and snapping her out of it. We shall see them done in time.

#5: The Terror Radius...As in here and in game, only survivors can hear the Terror Radius. But...The story has an anomaly that the game doesn't. Due to Lynsie's ties to the Entity and being a pseudo-killer, this gives her a unique radius that only the killers can pick up on...The Tainted Radius. With this, killers can locate her and trigger her into her killer state in trials to terrorize the other survivors.

Other than those points, I can't think of anything else. If there are any questions or if you want to see a certain killer show up in the next chapter, feel free to let me know. Thank you all for reading and I hope you have awesome days/nights. Laters! ^_^

#undertale #dead by daylight #Anomaly #Lynsie #lynchtale

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