#i wanted to play pretend scorpions like how weird little girls would play horses at recess

[cartoonsliveon]

Malevolent Intentions

After reading some fanfics on AO3, I realized that no one’s ever tried to play the “side kick being lured to the dark side” trope. Or where Sashi’s skills attract some unwanted attention.

8,716 words

Sashi swiped her arm swiftly across her forehead, wiping off the sweat that was starting to bead down her face. It was an abnormally hot day today, the humidity so thick that the moisture in the air was slightly blurring her vision through the specs. Sitting in the shade of a giant tree, was their gym coach snoring softly away. Across the field, most of her team was sat huddled in the tiny square confines of Capture the Flag jail. The group of six students were stood shoulder to shoulder uncomfortably, just desperate for the game to end so they could go back inside. But, because it was only Penn and Sashi left, they all knew this game could go on for another twenty minutes.

Sashi stood, standing protectively in front of their little yellow flag. At the moment, their goal was defense until either no one was left defending the red flag or the odds looked favorable enough for one of them to grab it. But at the moment, all Sashi could focus on was the two students in front of her, right at the edge of the line that divided the red team from the yellow team. Sashi glared as they both sized her up, clenching her teeth in determination as they glanced at each other. The Willis twins were pretty athletic, and were probably the two fastest runners on the red team.

But they didn't stand a chance against Sashi. As soon as they crossed the line, Sashi gave a blood chilling war cry as she launched herself at the closest of the brothers. Her small body rolled twice along the ground before she rose suddenly to her feet in front of him. Her hands connected to his chest, the force of her shove sending him falling flat on his butt. Then she turns, spotting the second Willis twin halfway to the yellow flag. With a growl, Sashi sprints after him as fast as she can. Pieces of the turf is kicked up with each step she takes, and she blinks furiously as sweat starts to drip into her eyes. But Sashi suddenly skids to a stop once the boy has hold of the yellow flag, and Boone can't help but be grateful he can only see Sashi's back. If looks could kill, Sashi would have turned anyone within fifty feet of her glare to pure ash.

"Oh no you don't," She whispers softly to herself, staring him down as he stands almost like a deer in headlights. He's got the yellow flag tightly in his left hand, eyes flickering to decide which way would yield the best possibility of victory. 

He runs to the right, planning to trick Sashi into gaining the momentum of that straight line before switching directions and taking off to the left. But Sashi anticipates this, seeing the way his eyes flicker purposefully to the far left side of her side of the field. She sticks closer to the dividing line, inching closer to the right side in order to bait the teen into a false sense of security. But once he starts to break towards the left, Sashi launches herself in the air to close the distance between them. She flips through the air, not caring that the specs are sliding slightly down her nose. She hits the ground in a crouch near the boy and, spinning on her heels, tackles him to the ground. She presses her hands against his shoulders before ripping the flag from his hands and standing.

And suddenly the entire class, including the red team, is cheering. Sashi turns, confused, to see Penn crossing back onto the yellow teams side with the red flag. Everyone rushes out from the pretend jails, crowding around Penn to congratulate him. No one cares who won or lost because the game is over and everyone is disgustingly sweaty. They all want to go back inside and shower and change.

"Woo! Way to go Penn!"

"The way you slid under Jefferson's leg to get to the flag was epic!"

"Good game Penn!"

Sashi sighed, throwing the yellow flag back onto the ground before taking the specs off her face to start wiping them clean. She hadn't noticed Penn make a break, all on his own, for the flag. It makes sense though, he knows that Sashi can hold the entire field on her own without any back up. When she puts the specs back on her face, she sees the entire yellow team sitting Penn on their shoulders and carrying him inside. They all head off, and Sashi takes a deep breath as she clenches her hands into fists.

'Keep it together Sashi. Keep it together.'

Sashi takes three deep breathes before making her way slowly back inside. The air conditioning immediately brings goosebumps to her skin and makes her feel shivery. But it doesn't distract her from the bitterness still sitting in her chest. She knows that at the end of the day it doesn't matter because this was just a stupid game, but she can't help wanting that praise and attention the same way Penn gets it so easily from their classmates. She just wants all her hard work and effort to be acknowledged.

'It doesn't matter Sashi. It's a game. It's not like he cheated again like in dodge ball.' But it still mattered to her, no matter how much she scolded herself that it shouldn't.

-----

"Whoa! Look at you!" Larry gasped in awe, "You're like... a really weird lion with your normal head and an insect tail."

"I'm a manticore!" Rippen growled, shaking his head as he stared down at Larry, "Judging from the fact that your a satyr, I've got to guess we're in some sort of Ancient Grecian Mythology dimension..."

Larry, however, didn't hear anything past the fact that he was a satyr. He was too busy staring up at Rippen, staring in awe at the way his dark black spikey hair flawlessly blended in to his main, the dark and sleek muscular physique of the lion body. The scorpion tail glistened a dark, deadly red and Larry was really tempted to stroke it Rippen's back to see how soft his fur was.

"Larry!" Rippen shouted, interrupting the smaller man's thoughts, "The mission!"

"Right," The overly optimistic and distracted henchman nodded, tapping the side of his specs. Rippen stared at the swirling dark red image projecting from them but before Larry could begin explaining, an incredibly irritating and familiar voice spoke up from the bushes around them.

"You're the general of an army of Grecian monsters preparing to lay waste to an overwhelmed city of demigods. The city is on the verge of defeat and their only hope is to gain help from the god Ares by bringing him an offering to his temple at the top of that mountain. Your job is to destroy the offering and stop them before sunset or else... well, you should know that by now huh Rippen?"

"What are you doing here Vlurgen?"

Larry suddenly let out a high pitched gasp, as if he were excitedly choking for air, as the woman stepped out of the foliage to greet her brother. She shared the same oddly green complexion as Rippen, red eyes, pointed ears, and spiked black hair. Though her hair was spiked downwards rather than upwards, and she cast Larry a rather disgusted look as he started to jump in place excitedly. She was dressed in a beautiful, long, flowing green peplos dress with a leather satchel across her shoulders and a dark black waist length cloak.

"Relax Rippen, I'm not here to steal the spotlight from you and actually succeed," Rippen growled in response, "I've found myself in need of a right hand man. Simple as that. What better place to look than among supernatural beings who spend their entire life trained in combat?"

Rippen raised an eyebrow, about to tell Vlurgen to go hit the road and stay out of his way. But Larry immediately turned his eyes on him with that stupid pleading look.

"Oh Rippen, can she please come with us? Please? I've never met your sister before. Please? Please? Please?!"

Vlurgen started to cackle, "Perhaps while we're here, we can find you a new henchman as well."

-----

"AHHH!"

Boone shrieked as a cyclops swung a giant club towards his face, the centaur raising his arms up to protect his face. His shrieking was so loud that it completely drowned out the war cry Sashi let out as she stabbed her spear right into the cyclops neck. It exploded in dark black dust, coating Sashi as the girl dashed through the disintegrating monster to take out the rest of the attack party.

While Rippen and Larry were the general and his henchman for the army of monster, Penn and his friends were the warriors sent to deliver the offering to Ares. Penn, obviously because he was the hero, was the demigod child of Zeus himself. His jeans and t-shirt had transformed into a white chiton that was pinned over his right shoulder in a single strap and stopped at just an inch above his knees. He wore the most uncomfortable sandals he'd ever experienced and had a dark brown rope as his belt tightly around his waist. Strapped to his back was a heavy wooden shield and a short sword was secured safely to his left side. A ring of laurel leaves were tangled in his curly red hair. Boone, being the wise man, was their centaur guide. His horse body was a deep chestnut brown. Boone's hair was changed to match the dark brown coat of his horse hair, and much longer and wilder than normal. Twigs and leaves were also tangled in it and he had a scraggly braided beard coming from his chin. He had a fully loaded quiver with him, but he forgot that he even had it.

And Sashi, Sashi was just a normal mortal armed with a spear and dressed in an off white peplos dress. It was ripped along the edges, ending two inches below her knees because she had needed to improvise. It was WAY too long for her to be able to fight like she wanted to and used Penn's sword to alter it to her liking. Her specs were rimmed in a gold color, though it was now coated in the black ash of her enemies. And hanging across her back was a small brown satchel carrying their offering to Ares, a bottle of wine to burn in the sacrificial fire and a sculpture made of pure ruby of the god himself.

They were making their way up the mountain to the temple when they had been attacked by a group of monsters. While Boone ran this way and that way, kicking up dust and dirt with his hooves, Sashi and Penn were doing everything in their power to destroy them. Sashi stabbed and threw her spear at the enemies around them, not letting the weapon be her only means of delivering painful death. She kicked and punched, fighting back like they had never witnessed a mortal do before. And Penn, realizing that he had the ability to shoot lightning from his hands, was content in taking out monsters purely with his demigod abilities.

It was the screaming of the monsters as they're electrocuted to death and violently stabbed by Sashi that lured Rippen, Larry, and Vlurgen to the edge of the clearing. They lurked between the trees, Vlurgen's arm raised to signal that all she wished to do was observe.

"Really Rippen, are you not competent enough to handle three children?"

Rippen huffed, glaring as his eyes landed on the satchel around Sashi's shoulder. He silently cursed to himself. If it were Boone who had the satchel or even Penn, it wouldn't be that much of a problem. They were both immature and childish, all he would have to do was wait for their guard to drop. But Sashi was vigilante, always on the alert. There would be no way of stealing that bag from her.

Vlurgen followed his gaze, from the red haired boy shouting annoying quips and making ridiculous conversation with the centaur to Sashi. She could see her brother pulling a face, trying to think of a way to get around her. The alien woman silently crossed her arms as she watched Sashi take out three monsters at once single handedly, her entire body turned nearly black from the ash of her enemies while Penn merely knocked them out. She couldn't help the evil, malicious grin spreading across her face.

"Ooh... someone has the case of the smiles."

Rippen immediately turned towards Vlurgen, eyes widening in recognition of the look on her face, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Who's the girl?" Vlurgen asks, completely ignoring Rippen's question. Her gaze predictably shifted to Larry as the minion started to answer.

"Oh, that's Sashi. She's Penn's side kick," Larry explained happily, "If you want we can introduce you."

"A side kick," Vlurgen hummed in thought.

"Oh no. Listen here Vlurgen, those three idiots are for me to humiliate in defeat and destroy with no mercy. If you think you can just-"

"That's funny Rippen, because I only see two idiots and one incredibly dangerous and competent potential hench-woman," Vlurgen gripped Rippen by the chin and forcibly turned his head to stare back down at the three teens, "All I want is her. The two buffoons with her are all yours for the destroying. Think of how much easier it'll be to cream them when you don't have the side kick to worry about."

"Sashi is really good at keeping Penn and Boone out of immediate death and danger," Larry supplied, though the little man didn't exactly know where this conversation was headed either.

Rippen scowled, narrowing his eyes as he watched Penn laugh victoriously at the defeated monsters around him. That stupid, smug look on his face made Rippen want to leap from the trees they were hiding behind and rip it clean off the muscle. But he couldn't do that, not yet at the very least. Otherwise he would never be victorious if he was merely following every violent, emotional urge in him. If he had, Larry would have been dead a long time ago. Rippen couldn't help blinking a lot though as he let Vlurgen's words actually set in. Sashi was a problem, always protecting her friends and fighting any and every force that got in their way. She was their smartest and strongest team member. She was always saving Penn and Boone's butt, which arguably really flipped the script. Usually it's the hero saving the sidekicks.

Without Sashi, Rippen might actually win for once. His eyes darkened at the mere thought of victory in his grasp, an evil smile beginning to morph his features.

------

"Come on guys, we're burning daylight."

"Give us a second Sashi," Penn gasped, collapsing against a large rock as he struggled to catch his breath. They had just finished climbing the steepest incline in maybe the entire Multiverse. His hands burned and ached from having to practically rock climb up here.

"Hey, you're not the only ones that are tired!" Sashi crossed her arms in front of her, "But we have to keep moving."

All she got in response was a bunch of groaning and whining. Rolling her eyes, Sashi scoffed at them as she turned her back on them, "Fine. I'll go scout the area for any more monsters waiting to stop us."

Sashi didn't even wait for Penn or Boone to acknowledge what she said, making her way quickly though the woods to scout out the area for any danger. If either of them cared about the danger, they didn't say. Or at least, Sashi didn't hear them. She was hot, sweaty, and just as exhausted as Penn and Boone. But they were so close to the top and to completing their mission. And they hadn't run into Rippen or Larry yet, so the sooner that they got there the better. Yet Sashi learned a long time ago that there was no moving either of them when they didn't want to move. So she'd give them two minutes to catch their breath and then drag them up the path some more.

Unfortunately for Sashi, there weren't any monsters in sight for her to pummel. Or to use as an excuse to go back to get Boone and Penn on their feet. Branches just smacked her face lightly, the leaves tickling or scratching her face as she went. The only sounds that greeted her were the scampering rabbits and foxes that hid deep in the foliage.

"I see you've finally ditched Dumb and Dumber."

Sashi immediately spun around, one hand firmly grabbing the satchel resting against her hip. The giant bushes rustled, revealing a grinning Larry as he came tumbling out of the foliage with Rippen behind him. The manticore stared down at Sashi, his grin revealing a row of sharp teeth that would have made any other girl start bawling her eyes out. Sashi growled, reaching for her spear.

"If you think you're going to get these offerings you have another thin-"

"I'm not here for you," Rippen interrupted, smirking at the dumbfounded expression emerging on Sashi's face before he gestured his head for her to look behind her, "She is."

Sashi glared, thinking Rippen was trying to create a diversion to distract her. But it's the sound of branches cracking and leaves shifting that make her slowly turn her head around to stare at the tall woman coming from behind her. The physical similarities between her and Rippen make Sashi a tad uneasy. Because even though Rippen always fails, it's not because he's completely incompetent. He's actually a fairly dangerous adversary when they aren't careful.

"Sashi, meet Vlurgen. Vlurgen, Sashi."

"Listen lady, no one is getting their hands on-"

"Oh I'm not here for the satchel," Vlurgen scoffed, walking closer to Sashi. She circled the girl, like a predator sizing up its next meal. Her eyes bore into Sashi, taking in the fighting stance and burning fire in the girl's eyes, "I'm here for a new right hand man, and I want you."

"Not interested."

Vlurgen laughed, before swinging her leg into Sashi's chest. Sashi went flying backwards, her head hitting the ground with a thud. She blinks, watching as Rippen starts laughing at her. Sashi tilts her head, frowning as she stares at her art teacher. Something doesn't seem right about this situation, about Rippen just letting this strange woman attack her and wanting Sashi to join her. But before she has a chance to fathom what this nagging feeling is, Sashi's rolling across the ground, swinging her legs out to trip Vlurgen up.

Vlurgen trips, falling onto one knee. Sashi takes the opportunity to get back to her feet, but Vlurgen grips her arm tightly and pulls the teen down besides her. So Sashi turns, pulling her right arm away from the alien's grip and swinging her left elbow into the woman's nose. Vlurgen digs her sharp nails into Sashi's arm and swings her knee into Sashi's stomach as she stands. Sashi feels her legs start to buckle, trying to get the air back into her lungs. Her entire body can't help but hunch forward, exposing her back. And suddenly she's dealt a painful blow as both elbows slam into the center of her back. Sashi collapses on her stomach in the dirt, the specs sliding up her face to where they start resting on her forehead more than her nose.

When she lifts her head up, Larry and Rippen are gone. She can hear their retreating footsteps, heading in the direction she just came from. Towards Penn and Boone.

"Hey!" Sashi shouts, but before she can start hurling insults to lure Rippen back, she's picked up by the back of her neck and flipped onto her back.

Sashi growls angrily at Vlurgen and swings a left hook into her face before she has the chance to restrain her. It hits, but Vlurgen just starts laughing. And it brings a chill through Sashi's entire body.

"So much fire in such a small feeble body, I like that."

"Let go of me!" Sashi shouts, squirming as Vlurgen tightly grips both her wrists and pins them to the ground.

"Why? So you can go back to your pathetic friends and keep them out of danger?" Vlurgen asks, "You'd be so much better without them anyways. I've seen you in action. You're so much stronger, so much smarter. You don't need them. They're holding you back."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Aren't I? Look at yourself Sashi. Is this where you want to be? Some idiot boy's side kick, constantly saving him because he doesn't listen to you or have the common sense to keep anyone out of trouble? Aren't you tired of trailing behind him? Of doing all the work and not getting the level of credit you know you deserve?"

Vlurgen smirks when she sees she's hit a nerve. Sashi's squirming lightens up for a second as the girl stares off to the side blankly. Sashi's thoughts immediately drift to gym class, to the way everyone crowds around Penn when no one looks at her. Or applauds her for all her effort. Every adventure they go on, they thank Penn and cheer on Penn. They call Penn the hero when Sashi does just as much work if not more than Penn. It's not fair. But... Sashi knew that going into this what being a side kick entailed.

"That's my job."

Sashi swings her knee up into Vlurgen's abdomen, and her grip slackens. Sashi uses the moment to roll, shoving her off onto the ground as she scrambles to her feet. Sashi immediately turns her eyes to the trees, preparing to make a break for it, but just as she takes off, she's pulled back. Vlurgen has a tight grip on the strap of her satchel, and the momentum sends Sashi stumbling back. The specs go sliding backwards off her head and somewhere on the ground. Vlurgen slams her into a tree, her spear pressed painful into her spine as her feet swing helplessly. Vlurgen holds her by the neck off the ground so they're eye level and presses herself close enough to Sashi that the girl can't swing her legs. All her heels do is scrape against the bark of the tree for traction.

"No, the job of a side kick is to be the annoying little helper that always needs saving by the hero. They're the one who is useful only fifty percent of the time in a situation, who always messes up to the point where they get captured or need saving. They're constantly in distress," Vlurgen whispers, "You're not a side kick. You're nothing but wasted talent."

Sashi growled, but Vlurgen continued, "Why aren't you the hero huh? You're so much more competent than the both of them. They should be your sidekicks. You could do so much better. Be so much better."

All the anger building inside Sashi starts shifting, started redirecting away from the villain in front of her to resentment. Throughout the years, she'd dream of becoming a side kick to an amazing hero and wise man, to being an unstoppable and unparalleled team. She imagined working with serious heroes who knew maybe more about this job than she did. And instead she got stuck with Penn and Boone. They constantly needed her help, her protection, and her vigilance to keep them focused. Everything Penn did was perfect without even trying, sometimes he wasn't even trying at all and it was just... always going his way.

"You could be so much better. Do so much better Sashi."

She could do better. Sashi could be so much better. She... dare she say that maybe she even deserved better. She was tired of Penn and Boone always getting distracted and goofing around. She was tired of not being listened to. Tired of having to rescue them. Of sacrificing herself for them.

"I can give you so much more," Vlurgen promised, watching as Sashi's eyes started to gaze distantly up at her. The girl was clearly soaking in every last word, her arguments turning and bouncing around in her little human brain and converting every resistant thought over to her side. Sashi stared up at Vlurgen and her dark brown irises slowly started to bleed red.

------

"Um... Boone? A little help over here?"

Penn raised his shield, his legs shaking as Rippen slashed a large lion paw against the heavy wooden circle. His sharp claws managed to gorge out long chunks of the wood and some of the metal rivets decorating the edges.

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Screaming isn't helping!" Penn shouted, before yelling himself as the back of Rippen's paw knocked him clean off his feet.

"Is so! I'm calling for Sashi!"

"Sashi probably can't even-" Penn cuts himself off though, eyes widening in sudden realization. His eyes narrowed angrily as he grabbed for his sword and stared Rippen down, "What did you do to Sashi?"

It hadn't occurred to Penn, until Boone mentioned their anger driven friend, that Rippen and Larry came from the direction she left from. Which meant that Sashi would have undoubtedly crossed their path. And while Sashi was more than capable of taking care of herself, she was the one with the satchel. She was the one in the most danger because she had the offerings. And Sashi would have been lured back by the fighting and screaming by this point. Or she would have been dragged back here with the angriest look on her face.

But Rippen started to laugh, "Believe me boy, I haven't done anything to your little side kick."

Penn clenched his teeth, not at all comforted by those words. It actually made him even more nervous and worried for Sashi, with the foreboding feeling that she was in a lot more trouble than they were. And that Rippen knew exactly what. With a scream of rage, Penn charged at Rippen with his sword raised. Rippen swung his scorpion tail forward to impale the red headed hero, but he blocked it with his sword. Behind him, somewhere to the side, he could hear Boone fumbling for his bow and an arrow from his quiver. The wise man and Larry the henchman didn't really exist though in Penn's mind though, he was far more worried about getting to Sashi.

Penn stared Rippen in the eyes, and... faltered. His grip suddenly went slack around the hilt of the sword and the scorpion tail started to push past it. Penn stumbled back, rolling backwards as the tip came down onto the ground. It punctured a deep hole into the rocky earth and Rippen immediately began to step closer, left paw on top of Penn's lost sword.

Something wasn't right. Despite how much he hated Rippen, Penn knew that there was something wrong with the villain. Rippen's eyes were a much darker shade of red than normal. It's an incredibly weird detail to notice, an otherwise unnoticeable change to anyone who hadn't spent nearly every day standing toe to toe with him, staring him eye to eye. Rippen's eyes were a vivid scarlet red, not this darker, almost bloody like red. Penn raised his arms up though to shield his face as the scorpion tail became poised above him. Rippen stared down at Penn, laughing as the tail straightened. The light caught the dark exoskeleton shell and-

And then an arrow struck the top of the tail. Rippen screamed painfully, backing away and shaking his tail back and forth to dislodge it. Penn climbed quickly to his feet, planting them firmly to the ground as he stared Rippen down. Rippen growled, about to lunge, but Penn threw his arms forward and a bright flash of lightning flew from his palm. It collided with Rippen's chest and sent the villain crashing into the trees behind him.

"Whoa..." Boone whispered, coming to stand beside Penn as Larry raced to check on Rippen.

Penn was silent as he stared at Rippen, knowing that they had to run off and find Sashi. But there was a fear that maybe he took it too far, that he really hurt Rippen. And maybe even... no. No his chest was moving. Penn hadn't killed him. Rippen groaned, suddenly growling as Larry yanked the arrow out of his tail without any warning.

"Rippen? Rippen are you okay?"

Rippen snarled as Larry pressed his face closer to his, "Larry get away fr-where are we? Penn Zero?"

"Where's Sashi?" Penn demanded, the relief he felt for not committing murder thrown aside once he remembered the situation at hand, "What did you do to her?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh come on Rippen, remember? We just saw her. She was with your sister, Vlurgen."

"Vlurgen?" Boone asked, before looking at Penn and silently whispered, "Who names their daughter Vlurgen anyways?"

"Yeah! We were helping her find herself a new number 2 henchman! She said she wanted Sashi and-" Larry stopped, because Rippen's face was turning a dark red. If Penn didn't know better, and actually cared, he'd think Rippen would have smoke flying out his ears, "Don't be mad Rippen. You did hit your head really hard."

"It's not because I hit my head you idiot! That rotten-"

"Hey!" Larry shouted, interrupting Rippen before he could unleash the long and violent list of alien curses he wanted to slander his sister's name with, "Where are you both going?"

Neither Penn nor Boone needed further explaining from either of the villains. Penn hopped onto Boone's back, and the centaur took off through the woods in the direction they last saw Sashi. Neither of them wanted to dwell on what sort of trouble Sashi could be in, especially on her own against an opponent they knew next to nothing about. And sure, Sashi was tough, but that doesn't stop them from worrying about her. From wanting to protect her. They raced down the beaten path, branches smacking Penn and Boone in the face as they screamed her name.

"SASHI!" Penn shouted, pleading for her to answer them.

Penn suddenly flies into the back of Boone's head as he skids to a stop, sliding off of Boone and landing with a thud to the ground. But before he can yell at Boone or demand to know why he stopped, the weight of the entire sky seems like its crushing him into the dirty. He stares silently at the specs, watching a beetle crawl over them.

"No. No, no, no..." Penn whispers, crawling to his feet and grabbing the specs, "Sashi? Sashi!"

"Penn?" Boone says softly, bending down to pick of the discarded satchel, "Penn. She's not here."

Penn shook his head though, "N-no. No, Sashi can't be far. She has to be here somewhere. I mean, come on Boone, this is Sashi we're talking about! She's the toughest girl in the entire multiverse-"

"And that's exactly why my sister wants her as her partner."

Penn dug his nails into his palm, back tensing as he turns to look at the villain. Rippen stands two feet behind them, not daring to come any closer. Boone doesn't blame him, Penn has a look of rage that could rival Sashi's right now. He wouldn't want to be on Penn's bad side right now either.

"Think about it Penn, every mission you won was because you had Sashi on your team to keep you safe or to keep you focused. Without her you're both scrambling in all directions like headless chickens. We all know that," Rippen told him.

"Sashi wouldn't join the dark side," Penn spat, "She wouldn't betray us."

"Not on her own free will. You're not the only one with supernatural powers here boy, so does she. The power to enthrall and enchant people to do what she wants and see things her way with just the sound of her voice. That's why I didn't remember, because the wretched woman did it to me so I wouldn't get in the way."

"Why are you even telling us this?" Boone demanded.

That same thought was on Penn's mind too, as he held Sashi's specs tightly in his hands. As Rippen's explanation sunk in, he couldn't help feeling incredibly worried for Sashi. Sashi was tough and all hard edges, but she didn't want to hurt them. She didn't like hurting her friends. Not like this, not like they were the enemy. Yeah, a couple of punches and kicks were one thing. But trying to actually hurt them hurt them like they were the enemy she needed to vanquish, Sashi would never want to unleash that wrath on them. But why did Rippen care about what happened to Sashi? It meant one less hero to deal with. One less threat to get in his way. Isn't that what Rippen wants?

"I thought you wanted to be rid of us."

"I do," Rippen narrowed his eyes as a snarl started to form in the back of his throat, "But I loathe the idea of Vlurgen getting anything she wants more than the idea of you idiots winning another mission. She left that here because she wants you to go to the temple. She wants to show off," Rippen rolled his eyes before turning around, "Come on Larry."

"Wait... you're not going to help us?"

At that, Rippen let out a barking laugh, "Isn't it enough that just this once, I let you go scott free and don't try to stop you? If, by chance, Vlurgen and Sashi annihilate you both, I have to be ready to lead an army of monsters onto a helpless city of demigods."

Penn narrowed his eyes, glaring into Rippen's back as he made his way down the mountain with Larry in tow. He looked down at the specs one final time before sighing and glancing up at the sky. The sun was beginning to sink down towards the horizon. They were running out of time.

"Come on Boone," Penn says softly as he hops back on to the wise man's back, "Sashi needs us."

------

They arrive to the temple a few minutes before sunset. It's not at all what Penn was expecting. The temple was just four white Grecian pillars standing tall and straight at each corner. There's a giant pyre in the center, a hot fire already burning. A pillar of dark black smoke rises into the sky, and standing at each side are two towering dogs made of glistening bronze. They stand to attention, facing out away from the temple as though to guard it. Slightly behind the pyre is a stone pedestal, most likely the place where Penn and Boone are meant to put the ruby statue.

"I knew you'd come."

And then there's the woman sitting at the very top of one of the pillars. Her feet dangle and her cloak flutters slightly in the breeze. Just beneath her, sat silently in a meditation like pose is Sashi. She's silent beside the pair of abandoned sandals and doesn't even open her eyes to see what brought on the sudden conversation. Penn has to force himself to stare at Vlurgen instead of Sashi. The familiar similarities between her and Rippen strike him like a fast ball. They have the same weirdly colored skin, the spiky dark hair, and piercing red eyes full of malice and hate. Vlurgen holds his stare with the same intensity as her brother, jumping gracefully off her perch and landing besides Sashi. That still does not rouse Sashi, who remains completely still despite the villain towering over her.

"Heroes, always so predictable," Vlurgen sighed, "Always rushing to do the right thing and save the day."

"Give us back our Sashi."

The response was not at all what Penn expected. Vlurgen starts to laugh, eyebrow raised in challenge at Penn. Besides her, Sashi finally opens her eyes and turns to stare coldly at her two friends. Boone and Penn both freeze when they see a pair of dark red eyes staring at them.

"Your Sashi?" Vlurgen couldn't help the high pitched tone her voice took as she laughed.

"I'm no one's property," Sashi hissed softly, eyes narrowing at Penn. Penn's mind couldn't help going back to when she answered death vision in a choice between super speed or super strength. He felt grateful she didn't have those powers or else he'd be toast.

"Sashi-"

"And as it stands anyway, Zero," Vlurgen interrupted, "Sashi's here on her own free volition. She chose to come with me."

"That's a lie and you know it," Boone argued, "Rippen told us everything. That you have some weird magic voice power to trick people into doing what you want."

The laughter had died down, and the sly smile that graced Vlurgen's features vanished. She stared at Penn and Boone with an unimpressed expression, mouth morphed into a straight line. Sashi finally climbed to her feet, gripping the spear in her hand.

"Not that much time left," Vlurgen observed, "Best make those offerings before my brother finally does the impossible."

"Not without Sashi."

Penn could feel the panicky look Boone sent his way. The words had came immediately, but Penn doesn't regret them. Completing the mission means going home and he doesn't know if Sashi will come with them or not. Will Phyllis bring Sashi with them? Would Sashi still be under Vlurgen's weird control? Penn couldn't stand the idea of leaving Sashi behind or leaving her in this predicament.

"Then I believe you're going to become very disappointed."

With a war cry, Sashi rushed the two teens with her spear held high. She swung it down, aimed towards Penn's chest. Penn swung his battered and broken shield around, watching as the spear cut cleanly through the wood. The tip rested half a centimeter from his heart when Boone started screaming. He turned on his front hooves and kicked backwards at Sashi. Sashi slipped beneath Boone, back hitting the dirty as she kicked upwards with both feet to his underbelly. Boone, still only balanced on his front two legs, screamed as he went falling forward onto his face.

"Sashi stop!" Penn shouted, grabbing her by the wrist as she reached for her spear. Sashi pulled it free from Penn's useless shield, clearly intending to make a Boone shish-kabob with it, "You need to listen to me."

She immediately stiffened, pivoting on her heels as she ripped her arm free from Penn's grasp. The red irises only exaggerated the fire burning in her eyes, the rage radiating from Sashi's small figure enough to level hundreds of cities. The pure look in her eyes turned his intestines to jelly.

"No," Sashi hissed, and her fist landed with a large crack as it connected with Penn's nose, "You need to listen to me, Zero."

Penn stumbled back, pulling his hands away from his nose to find that it was thankfully, not bleeding. Though he didn't have the time to really appreciate it because his sword was instantly drawn, trying to deflect the thrusts of her spear so they didn't impale him. While electrocuting Sashi would be an incredibly quick end to the fight, Penn refused to use his demigod powers on her. Sashi was his friend, she had to be in there somewhere. There had to be some part of her that knew this was wrong. To fight her and treat her like a villain would only make the situation and its consequences all the more worse.

"I've worked my butt off for you. Keeping you idiots safe, keeping you idiots on track and focused, getting you to your end goal. I worked so hard protecting you, helping you," Their weapons clashed. Sashi growled as Penn did everything he could to keep himself grounded and balanced, "But it doesn't matter. It never mattered. I put my blood, my sweat, and tears into everything to help you succeed. So we can succeed. But you get it all. You get all the credit. All the attention. All the thanks. You wouldn't have won Capture the Flag if I hadn't protected the flag. You wouldn't have been able to get Boone in the water to get that stupid trident if I wasn't holding off Rippen's army. You and Boone spent so much time organizing a stupid wedding, but I was the one who called the princess out on her superficial garbage!"

Penn gasped, her spear came dangerously close to hitting his stomach. She ducked under his sword swing, and came back up to punch him in the throat. Boone, finally back on his feet, came charging towards them to help, but Penn waved his hand to stop him. Behind him, he felt the intense heat of pyre burning the back of his neck. A few more steps and he would be literally in the fire.

"But is this really what you want Sash?" Penn asked softly, forcing himself to hold eye contact with her, "Sashi, I-I didn't know you felt like that. I-I know Boone and I are always telling you how awesome you are, but..." Penn couldn't afford to falter right now. He had her attention, as she drew her spear back in preparation for her next attack.

"End him," Vlurgen ordered, "End him now."

"Please Sashi. I'm sorry that it never occurred to me that you don't get the thanks or credit you deserve. Every time we're thanked together, as a team, I assumed we were all valued at the same level. But that's not always the case. And I've been too stupid and hyped up on a victory to realize you want thanks and applause from more than just Boone and I. But Sash, you know how awesome you are. Every day, Boone and I are so grateful for you. You're the reason we're still alive. I'm sorry that you feel shadowed, ignored, or forgotten at the end of the mission," Penn hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder, "But is this really what you want? Sashi you spent 13 years training to be the best side kick in the multiverse. You are the best side kick anyone could ever ask for. Do you want to throw that away and be a henchman? Will joining evil really make you feel better?"

Sashi immediately jerked away from Penn's hand, back handing him across the face. The blow causes Penn to fall back and, seeing the spear poised over him, squeezes his eyes shut. Penn holds his breath, waiting for a swift demise. But nothing happens. Instead, he opens his eyes hesitantly to see Sashi dropping her spear. With both hands, Sashi grips her head. Penn pushes himself into a sitting position.

"Sashi?"

"No!" Vlurgen shrieks.

"P-Penn?" Sashi groans as she blinks, the red fading from her eyes. Penn pulls himself to his feet, about to wrap his arms around her to steady her when she shakes her head, "T-the offerings... Ares..."

Boone comes trotting over, tossing Penn the satchel as he sets a hand on Sashi's shoulder. Sashi blinks, one hand drooping as she looks around quietly. She's silently taking it all in, the surroundings as she rubs her head. Everything that happened after Vlurgen pinned her down in the woods is a blur, she can't remember what happened after that. All she remembers is suddenly hearing Penn's worried voice right in front of her. And Penn, the satchel hanging loosely from his shoulder, reaches for the bottle of wine. Twisting the cork off, he turns to face the fire and holds the bottle over the flames.

"You little-"

"Not another step closer!"

Vlurgen stares down at Sashi, the smallest of the heroes standing directly behind Penn. Her spear, now gripped in her hand again, is pointed towards the villainess, eyes narrowed as she holds the tip just under the woman's chin. Somehow, despite her confusion and headache, Sashi has the strength to keep Vlurgen at bay away from her best friend.

"You're pointing that thing at the wrong person my dear. You would be so much better off without them."

Sashi glared, hissing as her head throbbed with unwanted thoughts. Boone stepped forward, trying to get between Sashi and Vlurgen as if he could protect the side kick.

"That's nothing but garbage!" Sashi hissed.

Penn glanced back and forth, from Sashi to the sun sinking towards the horizon to the wine evaporating into the fire and back again. The moment the last drop of wine dripped out, Penn threw the bottle aside. He heard the glass shatter somewhere in the distance but didn't care as he raced to the alter. His hands dug into the satchel, trying to grab the statue.

"These idiots don't deserve you. Join me and I can turn you into someone."

Penn wanted to look back, heck, he wanted to run back and restrain Sashi in case it was becoming too much for her. He could feel the weight of Vlurgen's words on his shoulder, and they weren't even directed at him. But the sky was growing darker and darker above them. Boone rose onto his back legs and kicked forward, knocking Vlurgen away. Or at least, he tried to. Vlurgen moved out of the way and grabbed one of Boone's horse legs, tossing him off to the side like he weighed no more than a piece of paper. Sashi ducked beneath Boone's flying body, before giving a scream of rage.

"No one throws my friend around!"

Sashi lunged, rushing to stab Vlurgen through the chest with her spear. Vlurgen grabbed it though just beneath the point and stared Sashi down. She opened her mouth to speak, lifting the spear up in the air. Sashi, holding on with a death grip to her weapon, was lifted off the ground. But before she could try to put Sashi under her control or influence again, the sky darkens with dark, heavy storm clouds. Thunder echoes across the sky but there is no lightning to be seen. Everyone's eyes turn to Penn, standing before the alter with the ruby statue resting on its new pedestal.

"It seems I'm the one who's run out of time," Vlurgen scoffs, looking off into the distance. Below, in the tiny distance, the fighting was taking its turn. Monsters began a swift retreat, their screams too far away to be heard as a tall, hulking figure in a glowing red aura stood before the city gates, standing side by side with veteran demigod soldiers. Another win for the heroes. Another loss for the villains.

Vlurgen looked back at Sashi, releasing the girl's spear. Sashi fell with a thud on her butt, and the alien woman backed away as both Penn and Boone ran to their friend's side.

"It appears I've underestimated you," Vlurgen mused, watching as their bodies started to take on a blue glow, "A mistake I won't make again."

------

"Ow!" Sashi hissed, pulling her arm away from Penn as he wiped disinfectant on the deep scratches Vlurgan had practically gorged into her arm. One look at Penn's worried and guilty face has her reluctantly stretching her arm back towards him though, averting her gaze to her shoes and pushing the specs slightly higher up the bridge of her nose.

"I'm almost done," Penn reassures as Boone hands Sashi another ice pack for her head. Ever since they snapped Sashi out of it, her head has been killing her.

"It's all my fault the mission was almost ruined. If I hadn't gone off on my own and-"

"Vlurgen would have found way to separate you," Phyllis intervened, staring down at the group from the balcony as she worked.

But that still didn't make Sashi feel any better. She drew her knees to her chest and pulled silently away from Penn's assistance, "She knew just the right words to say to... to persuade me or whatever. But-"

"But no matter how annoying we get, you would never trade any of this for a life of being evil," Boone finished for Sashi. Sashi nodded, staring at the ugly carpet rather than their faces. Penn and Boone both took a seat on either side of Sashi, setting their hands on her shoulder.

"You know, no matter how many missions we go on, you'll always be our hero," Penn told her, "You're always keeping us safe. And even though people tend to not pay attention to that, which is their fault and their problem for not seeing how awesome you are, we'll never not be grateful and appreciative for everything you do for us. And you should never have to bury those feelings down Sash."

"Yeah," Boone reassured, "And if you were feeling so ignored and a tad jealous that no one was giving you anywhere near the credit you deserve, you can talk to us. Don't forget she also put some of those thoughts in your head for you, all those feelings might not even have been yours to begin with."

"I know," Sashi whispered, "I know. I just... it had never been a problem like that before. All the frustration, it just boiled over. It's never been like that, so uncontrollable. I'm still sorry, for everything I'd done back there."

"The only one who ought to be sorry is Rippen's sister."

"Yeah, hopefully we never see her again."

"Do not speak so soon," Phyllis interrupted, much to Boone's disappointment that he would be wrong, "Vlurgen is dangerous villain. She won't stop until she have what she wants. If she wants Sashi, she will not stop."

"Well that's not going to happen," Penn snapped, turning to look at his two best friends, "No one's turning one of my best friends to the dark side. She has another thing coming if she thinks Boone and I will just let that happen."

"Thanks PZ," Sashi whispered, wincing as the sudden flashing light of Phyllis blow torching something aggravated her headache.

Sashi was grateful that the conversation ended there. She had a bad feeling deep in her gut that this wouldn't be the last time Boone and Penn would almost lose her. And that thought terrified her, not because she would need saving and protection at every turn, but the thought of hurting her best friends made her feel physically sick. She'd come way too close to hurting them both, especially Penn. She didn't ever want that to happen again. Ever.

#Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero #fanfic