Soul Trade AU

Faerie Folk Part 4: The Rescue

Scar felt his strength returning, just as Cub felt more of his freedom, his control, slip away. He looked up at his mast- no. He wasn't theirs. Not yet. He only then realised Scar had dragged him away. 

Scar had set up a campsite in the woods, since Cub was still in a semi-catatonic state. He was cooking dinner over a campfire. But then, just as the two thought they were safe, two Vex materialised. They whispered Cub's name in insidious tones, telling him, making him believe, that the fire was safe. They told him it would welcome him with open arms.

Cub's screams of pain echoed through the forest as Scar dragged him out, furiously stomping dust at the flames. Cub was shaking, covered in burn wounds. Scar stared the Vex in their glowing eyes, his cocktail of negative emotion bubbling to the surface.

"What do you want?" He snapped at the two Vex, upset at Cub's pain.

"Oh, nothing much." The Vex grinned at Scar, unnatural teeth flashing for a moment.

"Just your true name." The other replied, eyes glowing brighter.

Scar shook his head, tears streaming out of his left eye. He knew what would happen if he gave something that precious away. The Vex punished him for disobedience, reigniting the glowing embers of the campfire, making a Cub go for it again. Scar couldn't hold Cub back fully, as one of the scientist's arms was engulfed.

Scar's soul ached even more than usual at the horrified screaming, the tears, the inability to pull away. Scar swallowed, and he looked up at the Vex. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but sobs threatening to escape his throat held him back. Little did he know how much time that had bought him.

Because as the phrase "My true name is O-" escaped his throat, he recognised a presence so powerful even his suppressed abilities could pick it up. Python leapt out of the bushes, sword drawn.

Wait, where did he come from? That's not- hmph. I hate these stupid happy endings. Reverse time skip I suppose.

Python and Jevin woke up in the snow. The area a was still and cold. They cautiously explored, finding many campsites. Both had found a trail of the other empath of their kind, and was following it. Python had to physically drag Jevin away from the cake. They had to stay focused, after all.

Python let out a half-hissed growl of frustration. He rested his head on one of the impossibly tall trees, seething. And then Jevin said the most stupid thing anyone could ever say in that particular situation.

"Why don't you just calm down?"

Python, understandably, snapped. He was sick of it. He was sick of being told to just calm down down. He had powers, powers that came at a price. The price was that he could never calm down. He had hoped that Jevin, being a fellow empath, would be understanding, but that was off the table, Python supposed. This was all explained to Jevin in a snarky whisper-shout.

Jevin was about to defend himself when a blood-curdling scream broke the air. The two looked up and around, rushing to the location. The screaming fell silent for a moment, then reappeared with renewed vigour. They reached another camp like the others they'd found, but in use.

Two Vex stood over a Scar and Cub, the former trying to drag the latter out of the flames. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. Scar swallowed, and began to speak.

"My true name is O-"

Python leapt out of the bushes, sword drawn.

Python screamed threats and battle cries as he drove at the vex, using every scrap of rage he had ever collected to fuel the fire behind his blade. He parried every blow, hissing as he went slightly feral. Jevin, meanwhile, helped Scar drag Cub out of the fire.

Soon it wasn't needed, though. Python killed both the Vex, freeing Cub and Scar. And releasing essentially the armies of hell on them, but that's irrelevant. The four didn't seem to think it was, as they bolted back to where they'd woken up, struggling to find a way out. The Fae-like entities were closing, and there seemed to be no escape.

Until Cub weakly opened one eye. He waved a hand, using his magic to open a gateway back to the server, before passing out for good. They went through the portal, hoping it would take them home.

It did. Well, it took them to what Cub and Scar would call home. And so the adventure was over, and a silent pact was made between the three conscious empaths to never let that happen again.

And that's the first sub-Arc finished! The next sub-Arc, the secondary to Feliz Cumpleaños, will be called Frozen Heart. But first, oneshots and backstories.

Autocorrect, signing off from the past!