#listen bud it was either going to be murder or red thread | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

my-brothers-corrupted · 4 years

Text

My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter Three : Section Ten : The Sunbird Prince

Chapter One l Chapter Two l Chapter Three

Trigger warnings for death of a character, fire/house burning, intense fight scenes, graphic violence, and death threats.

Trick is excited to hear that Blue’s doctor says he’s ready to travel. It means they’ll finally be able to go back to Peru and find their missing brothers! Blue isn’t as excited at the thought of Anti getting his hands on the rest of his family again – but as it turns out, they may have bigger things to worry about.

The Sunbird Prince

“I thought you’d be happier.”

Blue shakes his head slowly, pressed against Trick’s chest as it is.

“Why not? Blue. You’re going to make it through this.”

Blue sighs and looks up at him, running his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, making Trick close his eyes.

“Yeah,” whispers Blue. “I guess we’ll figure it out.”

They’re on a dock on the river, a quiet part far from the bustle of the city, closer to the poorer part of town where they live. Still, there are trees in magenta and green and flowers to make the air sweet. Far off in the distance, there is the turning body of a ferris wheel and the loud beauty of modern architecture stretching for the sky, coated in silver and green. Trick’s feet are in the water off the dock, kicking gently as he lets Blue rest against him and shares a couple boxes of potstickers with him. For a moment, his addled mind remembers someone who looks just like him standing at the beach with his pants rolled up, walking around in the water, but he isn’t supposed to dwell on that for long, so he doesn’t. Blue is what matters right now anyway.

“It’s good news,” murmurs Trick, pressing their heads together. “I’m proud of you.”

Blue holds gently to his shirt and says nothing.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What's the good news, Blue?

Blue rubs his face. “The doctor said I could most likely be cleared for travel.”

She said it while Trick was in the room too. No lying to get out of this one.

“I’m really proud of you,” says Trick, rubbing his shoulder, trying to cheer him up. “I’m so glad you’re here, Blue.”

“Yeah, I am too, Trick. Wouldn’t leave you behind.”

Trick’s face brightens with a wide smile. His eyes are calm and happy. He wraps both arms around Blue and hums.

Anonymous asked: How's it going, Trick? Are you two doing alright?

“It’s going, it’s going. We’re doing good, right, Blue?”

“Medically,” mumbles Blue.

She said he could be cleared for travel. Preferably, he’d have another month of good rest, but Blue doesn’t expect to get it, or at least not in this country.

“Come on, finish up your potstickers,” Trick encourages him, patting his back and passing him a box. His little brother has not lost the slightly glazed look in his eyes in days. Blue doesn’t feel hungry.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Travel, huh? That's...good! Where would you go? Maybe staying put a little longer might be good for everyone?

“Anti said as soon as Blue’s well enough, we can finally go back to South America and find our other brothers.” Trick is practically glowing from the news, nodding up and down to himself, kicking his feet in the water. “We can find Dok again and make sure he’s okay. I haven’t seen him in… in… oh, how long have we - ?”

“A couple weeks, Trick,” murmurs Blue, frowning at him.

“A couple weeks.”

Anonymous asked: He’s going to move you soon then?

“I think he will as soon as he can.” Blue drags his hands down his face. “He gets more and more stressed every day, far as I can tell. He wants Dapper again more than anything else in the world. I think he’d shatter planets to have him back again.”

“I miss Dap,” says Trick cheerfully. “I want to bring everyone back here and get them all my favorite noodles. You think Anti will let us come back here once we’ve got them? I love this place.”

He takes his turn to put his head down against Blue’s chest, smiling warmly out at that rushing white river. Nothing bad has ever happened to him in this country, not since he got Blue out of the hospital, not that he’s aware of anymore.

hurricael asked: Blue, do you think you're ready to travel there?

Blue shakes his head slowly, but Trick doesn’t even seem to notice, maybe pressed too close to his chest, getting a little sleepy on a full stomach. Blue looks at him and his gaze softens, but sorrowfully, painfully, and he threads his fingers through that green grass hair.

“I still feel terrible all the time,” he sighs. “I don’t know how else to describe it. I’ve been told to accept that my eyes won’t work any better than this. They’ve diagnosed me with an immune disorder so I probably shouldn’t be on planes anyway right now. Fuck, and you know what, even if I did feel well, I just wish - I just wanted - I wish I could buy my brothers more time.”

Trick lets him ramble, accustomed to Blue’s slightly off-kilter concerns. As long as Anti isn’t bothered, he isn’t either, and he loves Blue enough to listen to him for hours no matter how much he confuses his brain.

“You’ve told me they’re okay. Maybe better than okay. They’re not with Anti. They’re having their own recovery time, and maybe they need it even more than I do. I mean, they’ve been with him for so, so long. They deserve a chance away.”

“You’re still mad at Anti for whatever happened the other night,” points out Trick, lightly scolding. “You two hold the worst grudges. But we still shouldn’t be late getting back to him, okay? Finish your lunch and let’s get going.”

Trick pushes the box to him again, demanding that he eat. Blue gazes at him. He’s been his caretaker all this time no matter how deep Anti’s wormed into his head.

Blue is tired of being sick, but he’s more tired of seeing his family hurt.

“Okay. We can go in a minute. But give me a minute longer, Trick. A minute longer.”

One more minute of just him and Trick. One more minute of feeling alright, here in the waters of a river that has never hurt him. One more minute of Red and Dok and Dapper safe on the other side of the world. Blue stares down at his white hands.

Anonymous asked: Whatcha thinkin’ Blue?

“Just… thinking about buying them some time,” mumbles Blue, staring down at his hands. Looking up, you can find the dark scar that Anti carved into his arm that night he stole his magic from him. “Ways to buy time. Slow recovery. I don’t know. Might be worth it.”

He glances over at Trick. “Got all my prescriptions, right, bud?”

Trick shakes a bag of medicine bottles. “You know it. Enough to last you a month.”

Blue smiles weakly.

spicydanhowell asked: trick, do you know that you're not you right now?

Trick gives you a slightly petulant frown, glancing between you and Blue, who raises his eyebrows as if to leave him to his own devices. Trick shrugs, throwing his hands up.

“I don’t even know what that means, cameras. Of course I’m me. Blue, this isn’t what you were going on about the other day, is it?”

“Try to listen to people other than Anti,” Blue urges him gently. Trick huffs and picks up their trash, tossing it away on the beach and coming back to hold Blue’s cane out to him.

Anonymous asked: Trick, what do you think of a future with just you and Blue and Red and Dapper and Dok? Just the five of you and Noodle?

“Hey, why just the five of us?” cries Trick. “What happened to Anti? Blue, let’s go home. I want to see him!”

“Anti’s fine, sweetie,” soothes Blue, getting shakily to his feet, his brother’s arm around his waist to settle him a moment later. “They’re probably just playing hypotheticals, okay?”

“Hypotheticals. Well, I think we’d be completely aimless and totally broken up, and we’d probably all get locked up or killed by magicians or cops or something because he wouldn’t be there to cover our tracks, that’s what I think about a future without Anti.’

Anonymous asked: You wouldn’t need to hide if Anti wasn’t there Trick. This might be useless to tell you, but the only reason you’re running is because of Anti. You’d be just fine by yourselves.

“Okay, newsflash, guys - Red alone is wanted for like, twelve counts of murder in about five different countries, and that’s just the murder, so I don’t think that’s going to just go away. Also, the reason we haven’t been harassed by fucking magicians in this country is because Anti handled them for us.”

Trick looks proud. He doesn’t know exactly what this means, but he knows Anti said he handled it, and that’s all that matters.

“Besides, my baby brother is a fucking time traveler. If people caught wind of that - fuck. We’re going to spend the whole rest of our lives in hiding so no one comes after him. Anti says people could catch him and sell him like a weapon. He’s so powerful. It’s not his fault, we just have to keep him safe. Staying hidden is important and it’s the only way to stay safe! Anti makes sure we can do that.”

Blue opens his mouth, thinking about saying something, but he’s been with Trick for a long time now and his energy is too low to fight.

“Here, give me your hand,” Trick urges gently, seeing the exhaustion in his face. “I’ll help you, come on. There’s the MRT. I’ll get you a seat in the back and we’ll rest.”

spicydanhowell asked: marv, don't let chase look but... you're not gonna make yourself sick are you?

“I don’t know,” admits Blue in a low croak. “I… I almost want to. Just to buy them some more time.”

He’s staring down at his hands again by the time they reach the subway, sitting side to side in the back. Luckily, it’s not too busy at this time of day. Lately, he struggles with hands touching him, but the only one close is Trick, and his palms are warm and familiar, set gently on his knee, a clear attempt to soothe and protect him. Blue appreciates it.

“It would be easy, you know? Horrible, the things I’ve considered. I’m already so sick that getting back in the hospital… I think I could do it. Then would Anti leave me behind? Or punish me terribly? Or go anyway and just let me suffer on the plane ride?”

He stares out at the city zipping by. Trick is right. It is lovely. Blue wishes it could be just the five of them, living in that little house, eating from the cheap stalker stands and exploring the whole island, recovering together.

“I’m scared,” he admits. “I don’t want to be worse than I already am again. I don’t want to be punished. But I also don’t want him to catch them. Or at least not yet. Not yet. Why can’t I ever save any of them from anything? I feel so passive. I’m always surrendering.”

Anonymous asked: Then don’t surrender this time. There has to be a better way to give them time without putting you in harms way. But at this point I think Anti is so desperate that a small scrape on the knee isn’t going to do anything. Do you have any other ideas?

“Killing him in his sleep,” mumbles Blue, eyes flashing. “But I’m not sure how to go about that. And Trick would hate me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, baby.”

“If you say so.”

Trick hasn’t questioned much lately.

bupine asked: blue, marvin, i am so sorry you have to go through this. the situation sucks so bad. if you have to get sick, then do it, k? be careful though. i can guarantee you that your brothers are ok. red and dapper especially. i won't say much more because last time i did i fucked up pretty bad but i swear they're alright and i know you're doing your best. good luck :D

“Haha, oh my goodness, I remember that, poor thing,” laughs Blue. “You were just trying to help, my friend. Oh, fuck. I’m glad they’re alright. If I could, I’d distract him from them forever.”

Anonymous asked: Trick, how do you feel?

“Good! Good. Really excited to see everyone again, glad Blue is better, Anti’s letting me sleep in his room again, everything’s great. I do want to make sure Blue is doing okay with mental health stuff, though.”

He squeezes his brother’s shoulder, drawing Blue out of his distraction and leaning down to help him up gently.

“Cause I love him!” he adds, grinning as Blue reaches his level, and this, at last, is enough to draw a real snort of laughter out of Blue. Something about the way he says it.

“Dumb-ass,” growls Blue without heat, smiling and shoving Trick’s shoulder. “I love you too.”

“Yay, there he is!” Trick wraps his arm around him and leads him off the subway, down the pavement that leads back to their little house.

Anonymous asked: Trick, do you even remember what you had yesterday for breakfast?

“Jokes on you. We had no breakfast!”

“I thought you finished off the last of the chicken?”

“Uh - that was early lunch!”

“Sure, sure. Such a dork.”

“No, you!”

“No, you.”

“You.”

“You, fucker.”

“Ass.”

“Airhead.”

“Idiot.”

This continues for much of the MRT ride.

Anonymous asked: Hey. Blue. If Anti can see these, then we shouldn't mention where your brothers are, right? That went badly last time?

“Yeah, it would be best to keep that quiet,” says Blue, knowing that he’ll probably be punished later just for telling you so. “I don’t know how much he knows about where they are right now - he’s been doing some fairly careful searching around and I don’t think he’s exactly clueless about what they’ve been up to - but yes, if you can keep it quiet, keep it quiet.”

Anonymous asked: So...we shouldn't tell you that they've moved locations— o o p s

“Lol,” says Trick out loud, voice dry, shooting you a look. “I don’t know if you’re trying to be clever or if you’re actually trying to help us find them, but it doesn’t matter. Anti will find them. The only reason he hasn’t been able to is because his usual ability to communicate with technology wherever he focuses his mind is limited by the new magic. Once he’s in South America, he should be able to get all the information he needs within a couple hours. From this location, he has access to most of the fucking Asian continent, so I don’t expect any problems finding them once we’re back to Peru. I’ll get to see my brothers again!”

Blue blinks at him, startled. Is this what he and Anti talk about? Does he know Anti’s power that well?

Trick sees him staring and winks, a shy smile playing across his mouth. “Just observant,” he says, leaning back in his seat.

spicydanhowell asked: trick, you're worried about blue's mental well being, but he's upset because he's so worried about you and everyone else. anti has made changes in your brain, made you forget people that you love, even a friend you knew just a few days ago. blue wants you to be happy for real, not this fake happiness that anti is feeding you. before this, you tried to kill yourself... do you even remember that?

Trick’s face whitens.

“My - look, I - there’s a reason I didn’t want to talk to you guys for so long!” he cries, drawing attention from the volume of his voice. Blue grabs his arm and hushes him quickly. “My attempt was - my attempt was - sometimes it doesn’t matter how much anybody loves you, you just feel like you can’t - don’t act like it’s Anti’s fault!”

Tears are stinging in his eyes and Blue clings to his shoulders, holding him close. “They’re just trying to check that you’re okay, Trick, sh, sh.”

“Anti is finally treating me like something worth his time and all of you act like it’s fake,” sobs Trick. “None of you think anybody could really love me. He loves me! If Anti changed my head, he was trying to stop what happened from happening again. I don’t want to be suicidal! I feel happy! Leave me alone!”

“Trick, Trick,” soothes Blue. “They’re on your side. We’re all on your side. We’re just worried.”

“When Dapper acts different because of his Haldol no one calls it fake,” says Trick, shaking his head. “Well, I’m messed up too. And Anti’s my Haldol.”

“Fuck’s sake,” groans Blue. “Don’t say that of all things, love, please, you’re killing me. That’s horrible on a hundred different levels. If you need antidepressants - ”

“I don’t want to talk about this!” snaps Trick, turning away from him, his arms across his chest and his face red with the effort of not crying. “Let’s just go home! This ride is taking for fucking ever!”

Blue covers his face with his hands and slumps over himself, pain groaning in his chest, in his heart, across the whole of his exhausted brother.

How does he get Trick away from this? How does he get him out of a mess this fucked up?

bupine asked: you should realize people can't be or act as drugs, trick. i don't want to upset you. but people do love you apart from anti. your brothers love you. there was once a woman and some children who loved you. you even had a youtube channel with an audience that loved you. no matter what anti thinks of you, his opinion is not the be-all-end-all of your life.

“I’m sorry for blowing up. I’m sorry, Blue, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me, I’m sorry.”

“I know you are, buddy, it’s okay, just - Trick, sh, sh, come here, you’re shaking. They’re right, there are so many people who love you just how you are.”

“I don’t want other people,” chokes Trick. “I want Anti. Why does everyone act like I can’t have my own brother’s attention for two weeks? What’s wrong with me?”

“It’s not about you, Trick, it’s about Anti.”

“Well, I like Anti even if no one else does. That’s what love is.”

“Not if he hurts you,” whispers Marvin, holding his face in his hands. “Not if he makes you feel like you’re nothing without him. Trick… can’t you tell that you’re acting just a little strangely? Memory loss? Random suddenly being upset? Not missing Dok hardly at all?”

Trick’s eyes flicker.

He pulls away from Blue and doesn’t answer, turned away, shaking his tired head.

“Soon I’ll see him again,” says Trick, very soft. “And Dok makes everything make sense.”

Anonymous asked: You think no one can love you because that’s what Anti made you believe. Did he tell you the reason all your brothers left is because they didn’t care enough? He’s wrong. He’s taken so many people away from you that if given the change could have loved you or did. That girl at the noodle shop?...look Trick, you might not trust us anymore, but you trust Blue don’t you? Do you even see how he feels? You might be able to hide behind the mask Anti made for you, but don’t you dare mask Blue’s hurt

“We’re going to get in trouble for talking about this,” whispers Trick, refusing to look back at you or Blue.

Blue sits looking at him. Nothing left to say.

Trick knows he’s hurting, he does. And he’d like it to stop, but it’s just - it’s not Anti’s fault! It can’t be! Because that would make Anti cruel and that isn’t what Trick knows him to be.

“I’ll turn you off,” he warns belatedly. “I will.”

Blue brushes at his eyes, silent beside him.

Anonymous asked: Trick there are a lot of people that love you. And even on medicine things aren’t always great, they don’t turn out the way they are supposed to. We’re sorry for being so upfront about this stuff, but we really are worried about you. We do care, we care so much for you guys and that won’t ever change no matter what happens. But please at least hear what we, or even Blue for that matter, have to say- sometimes hearing the hard stuff is important to moving forward.

“I do love you,” says Blue. “I am just worried. You never listen to me when I’m afraid for you. No one ever does.”

“Last time someone listened to you when you were afraid,” says Trick, and suddenly there is a bitter note to his voice you haven’t heard in a long time. “You burned half the mountain down and alerted a flock of magicians who stole my twin from me.”

“That,” croaks Blue, his heart pulsing achingly in his chest. “Was Anti’s fault. You don’t get to blame me for that. You don’t get to. I was the one who got hurt.”

“Not the only one,” mumbles back Trick.

“Maybe you should think less about your own pain,” Blue heaves, his eyes stinging, “and more about the reasons Anti is trying to turn you against me and everyone else in the world but him. Two days ago a girl kissed you and you don’t even remember, a girl who was your friend, who brought me poetry from the library and gave you food when you were hungry and afraid the first day you came here. She didn’t want to hurt you and Anti still decided he wouldn’t share you with her, so he took her away. Call that love if you want.”

Anonymous asked: You already know what’s the truth and what’s a lie. Turning us off won’t do anything. I’m sorry, Trick. I really, really am. We don’t want to see you hurt anymore, any of you.

“You do know the truth,” says Marvin, eyes downcast. “It’s killing me - it kills us -to see you buy into a lie because you don’t believe you could be happy without it. And Dok, Trick… Dok’s going to be so heart-broken to see you like this.”

“Don’t say that,” whispers Trick. “Don’t say that. You can question anybody else’s love but not Dok’s.”

“He’d be upset because he loves you,” says Blue. “The real you.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Guys, maybe set this aside for now... especially if you're going home. You don't want Anti catching wind of this, do you?

“That’s a good idea,” says Trick. “You can’t take another… um…”

“Beating?” suggests Blue bitterly.

Trick nods slowly, unable to meet his eyes.

“Yes. Punishment.”

“Fine.”

bupine asked: trick, dok's already realized what's true and what's a lie. we've seen him. i know he'd want the same for you, but i also know how hard that will be, and i'm sorry.

Trick shoots you a bizarre look, maybe alarmed, maybe just confused. Then he shakes it off.

“Nothing going to come between me and Dok! I’ll see him again soon and everything will be fine. And if he takes a little re-orientation, that’s the magicians’ faults for fucking with his head! I’ll look after him. I’ll…”

His eyes drift. He blinks at Blue, dazed.

“Trick?”

“We were talking about something important,” mumbles Trick, rubbing at his forehead.

“Just come here, buddy,” sighs Blue, pulling him under his arm.

bupine asked: we're sorry, trick. it hurts to see you like this. i'm just glad you're at least happy.

“Yeah… happy.”

Trick stares at the window across from him. Down at his hands. At you, at Blue.

“I’m happy?” he says.

Blue hugs him tighter.

“I love you,” he says.

“I’m happy,” repeats Trick, smiling now, certain, running his fingers through his brother’s beard. “I love you too.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Marvin, can you help him remember Dok at all??? For longer than he does...?

“It makes him cry every time,” says Blue. “I mean, it kind of makes him have like… he freaks out. I could try, though, if you wanted. Just let us get home first. Come on, amata, here’s our stop.”

“Okay, Blue.”

Anonymous asked: I don’t think sending Trick into a panic attack about his twin is a good idea. He’s pretty freaked out as it is and we don’t want...a repeat. So instead just keep talking to him and be honest about how you feel.

Blue sighs through his nose. “I’m sorry, I’m… kind of tired of talking. You’re like a brick wall sometimes, Trickster, and we’ve been at it for days.”

“I’m sorry…”

“No, I - just teasing a little. I mean… it’s just… it’s complicated, huh, bud? It’s not really your fault. Don’t be sorry. We’ll talk again when you’re not so worked up.”

Anonymous asked: Hey Blue, that side of the mountain that you burned? It’s grown back with all these plants and it’s absolutely beautiful now. It goes to show that it gets worse before it gets better y’know? Don’t give up just yet.

“Oh,” says Blue, stopping short on the pathway. Trick stops with him, looking back at him.

“Everything okay?” asks Trick.

Blue looks up at him. “What? Oh. Yes. Yes. That’s good news. That’s… really good to hear.”

At least he can know that the last thing he used his magic for was something beautiful.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: So what's the plan for now, Marvin? Keep Trick happy and safe? Maybe get him away from Anti? He can't track you guys, realistically...

Blue laughs wearily, rubbing at Trick’s back as they walk. With no other way to look after him, his protectiveness manifests in constant touching and a constant eye on him. Trick’s weary and he keeps leaning back in to Blue’s touch, looking up at him like he’s expecting him to catch him when he falls.

“I don’t know,” says Blue. “I think he could find a way to track just about anyone, no matter how off the grid you try to be.”

“He found you once,” pipes up Trick, swinging their hands as they walk. “When you were still the old master’s. We hunted you for months, Blue.”

“Right… well. I don’t know. Maybe it will be easier when I have the others here, to see what needs to be done. I really, really been missing Red.”

Trick squeezes his palm sympathetically. Blue glances up to see the house in front of them.

“At least someone got rid of that weird cloth,” says Blue. “It was freaking me out, lying across the hummingbird feeder. It looked like a person in the dark.”

“What cloth?”

“This big swath of colorful fabric just hanging over the bird feeder. Someone must have forgotten and then remembered it.”

“I didn’t see it.”

“I was surprised Anti didn’t do anything about it. He can be kind of territorial.”

“Maybe he didn’t see it either. He hasn’t been leaving the house. Should I tell him about it?”

“I don’t know. It’s gone now, isn’t it?”

Anonymous asked: Um wasn’t that cloth used as like a marking? Maybe to tell other people something, like a message? If it’s gone then whatever it was there for has probably been taken care of. Just be careful when you go inside alright?

Trick and Blue exchange glances.

“Hm. Okay,” says Blue.

“Blue, if someone found us and knew we were the sort of people to leave a marking for… that’s trouble.”

“Come on, Trick, Anti’s making you paranoid. Let’s go, love. Got the keys?”

Trick steps up to the porch and unlocks the door.

“Ow!” says Blue before he can get it open, nearly dropping you.

“What?”

“The camera, like, shocked me,” Blue hisses, shaking his hand out.

“What? Bad?”

“No, no, it just surprised me.”

“Maybe you should get Anti to take a look at it. If it’s breaking then - no!”

“Trick?”

He’s opened the door.

There is a tall figure standing in the back of the living space. On the floor, Anti is writhing, breathless and trembling, as electricity courses and crackles across his body, through his coding and his blood, making him jolt and jerk and vomit down his chin, his eyes squeezed tightly shut and small gasps falling from his mouth.

Blue whispers some curse or prayer behind him, but Trick does not understand it. His eyes are fixed on his master, in agony on the floor of their home, sick sliding onto the carpet as the man stands over him and watches.

The figure’s head turns at the sight of them.

His hands glow with green power. His eyes shine brighter than Trick’s hair. His mouth is curled into a snarl.

He wears the colorful fabric, the colorful cloak you’ve seen before, the colorful wings of the sunbird magicians of Singapore.

“Good,” he says, very clearly. “You’re home, lah. Come in.”

Anonymous asked: I’m not sure if you boys are aware but Anti went on a mad killing spree and killed a bunch of magicians when Blue first woke up and I think...I think that person is here to give Anti a piece of his own medicine. I don’t know if he see you boys as enemies tho so please please be careful.

“Well,” breathes Blue, the air knocked out of him completely. “That would explain it. Thank you, Anti, for your many well-thought-out and harmless plans.”

“I said,” enunciates the magician, turning his body to them, and for a moment Anti is able to groan and slump down against the floor. “Come in.”

Violent green electricity lights up beneath their feet and you hear them both scream, Trick crashing into the entryway while Blue tumbles back onto the porch. No matter how far he goes, though, the electricity is following him, back, back -

The magician has him by the collar. He drags him into the house and throws him on top of Blue, slamming the door shut behind them. Their electricity dies out and Blue, twitching, leaps to his feet and reaches back towards the door, just in time for the handle to begin cackling with power. Blue screams and draws his shocked hand away, tripping back down to Trick’s level. The walls burn with the magician’s power. He turns his attention back to Anti and he begins to jerk again, gasping on the pain, unable to bring his own power to bear. Electricity is painful for a human, but for something like Anti?

He cannot breathe or think or move except to shudder with the power and the pain. Agony courses through him. He wishes for Red. He cannot open his eyes.

“Murderers!” screams the sunbird. “Killers, bloodhounds!”

spicydanhowell asked: uhhh dope? this is dope right? marv, maybe hold onto trick so he doesn't... idk. this seems pretty dope

“This is not dope,” whispers Trick, shell-shocked for a second, staring at the figure leaning over Anti. “This - this is not…”

“Leave him alone!” screams Trick, leaping to his feet and throwing himself at the sunbird, ignoring Blue’s cry for him to stop. “Stop it, don’t touch him! I’ll fucking kill you!”

The magician grabs Trick by the throat and sends power coursing through him, lifting him onto his toes as he spasms.

“No!” howls Blue, racing forward to help him. “He’s innocent, stop, stop!”

bupine asked: wait, magicians, stop! the two brothers that just came in, they're not at fault! they're brainwashed, hypnotized by anti, the demon you caught first. leave them be, please calm down!

“Oh, you’re innocent, you don’t deserve to die, it’s not your fault, you’re innocent? So was my fucking family!”

He fires a bolt of pure heat at Blue, making him cry out and fall back, his shirt smoldering.

“I’m going to burn you all down to blackened bones for what you did! I don’t care which one of you it was! I don’t care! I don’t care!”

“Please, listen to me!” begs Blue. “We’re prisoners here!”

“Coward!” spits Trick, choking on the hand around his throat. “That’s our brother! If he came after you than you deserved it!”

The magician howls and throws him to the ground, bringing the heel of his boot down directly on Trick’s nose. Blue wails like he’s the one being beaten, staggering back to his feet again, his hands out-stretched.

Anonymous asked: Marvin show them your raven tattoo and explain that you both didn’t kill anyone!

“I’m a magician, I’m a magician,” babbles Blue, trying to reach Trick, ignoring Anti writhing on the floor nearby. “Or I was, he stole my power from me, he’s the one who beat these bruises into my face, he’s a hypnotist and a memory-thief, I’m a magician, look, look - ”

The lapwing tattoo gleams darkly on his skin as he pulls his shirt back. The sunbird’s eyes flicker, his teeth gritted hatefully, but over Blue’s begging he is pulling handcuffs out of his backpack. Blue sees in his cloak the outline of a gun.

Anonymous asked: Sunbird magician, do you know anything about stolen magic? Like if it can be returned to the person it was taken from, anything like that?

“How do you return a heart once it has been ripped out of the chest and stolen away?” spits the magician, turning his dark eyes to you for the first time. “How do you give a parent back to their child after they have come home to find their body eviscerated on the floor of their home? You do not. You just die.”

He grabs Blue by the throat and collars him in rope, tugging it tight and tying him to the fireplace as he gasps.

hurricael asked: Sunbird magician please don't kill them, it makes sense you want revenge and I'm not saying you can't have it, but please take it out on the demon who did it instead of other victims of him

“I’ll be sure to kill the demon, don’t you worry about that!” he snarls. “Whichever one of them it is does not matter to me. And you! I know what you are! This magician is an electronics manipulator. He sends messages through cameras, then. Shut the hell up. You killed my family, my father.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: WAIT! SUNBIRD DUDE, MAGICO! Those two had nothing to do with it! One was in the hospital!!

“We were in the hospital!” cries Blue, desperate now. “I was ill and he was with me! We had nothing to do with it!”

“You live with a monster,” growls the sunbird. “You should have killed it when you were given the chance. I watched you last night, little lapwing. Sleeping sound. You’re not a fighter. You’re not a prisoner. Don’t try to trick me.”

Sudden fury lights up in Blue’s blood. He grits his teeth hard, his eyes watering.

“You don’t know anything about me,” he hisses. “About the things I’ve had to do to survive. I’ve been fighting every day for months now. Sleeping is a victory. That I’m alive is a victory. Don’t you dare pretend I’m something evil just because I’ve survived evil things. At least I haven’t let them turn me into something as hateful and violent as you.”

Anonymous asked: No no no! He’s not lying! They are prisoners! The one who you just stomped on has been brainwashed the worst which is why he’s defending him! Please just hold on okay? Let’s talk this out for a minute alright?

“Don’t hurt him,” cries Blue. “You can hurt me but not him, he’s out of his mind on the monster’s control, he barely knows who he is anymore, he doesn’t know what’s happening…”

“Shut up!”

bupine asked: magicians! it wasn't them, we can vouch for them! we swear they didn't hurt your family, and i am so, so sorry for what anti did to them. we couldn't stop him. don't listen to what trickshot says, he's extremely out of it and it's not his fault. please hear them out!

“Anti,” breathes the magician, leaning over him to grab his wrists and handcuff him too. Anti manages to open his eyes, staring up at him with bloodshot blue and green, and the sunbird knows that this one is the killer by the antlers that are pressing out of its skull in defense, same as the antlers he found broken on the floor of his home. “Is that your name, you fucking parasite? Is that what they call you? Look at you now, little Anti writhing underneath my power. Little boy, aw. You’re a shape-shifter and this is the form you choose to take? A neon green twink with a monster-fucker complex? Do you think Satan will even let an animal like you into hell? I fucking hope so. I bet he’s got circles just for things like you, you pathetic excuse for a demon, for a faery, for whatever the fuck you are.”

Anti’s eyes burn with hatred while his body shakes.

“I,” he whispers, his voice glitching and rising and falling and spasming worse than you’ve ever heard it. “Am - nothing - except - for what he made me. Do you - do you - do you know what that means, little sunbird?”

“What does it mean, you writhing bitch?”

“Nothing you can do will kill me,” hisses Anti, and his eyes shine black. “You don’t even know what I am.”

The magician drops him, handcuffed to the other side of the fireplace, leaving him splayed out at Blue’s side, his eyes rolling back again as the electricity consumes him once more. He’s glitching so badly Blue can barely see his face, and he’s stuck staring in horror at the mess of coding and his own image that Anti has become.

“You can burn for eternity, then, for all I care. I’m not in a hurry.”

Anonymous asked: If you kill them, you are no different than the monster that took your family away. This might feel right now, feel good even, to find the one who took everything away from you to begin with, but in the end it will do nothing for you. You are a magician, aren’t you supposed to protect people? Isn’t that what the order is for? You are in control of the situation so will you just take a second to look around? To see how scared out of their minds they are? Is that what ur family would have wanted?

“Let me be a monster, then,” answers the sunbird, stepping on Anti’s wrist beneath the handcuff, wondering if he can shatter it. “Doesn’t matter what they would have wanted. They’re dead.”

Anonymous asked: Magician, please let the ones who just came here go. They've been hypnotized and brainwashed by the one with two magics, the one you had before those two came in, don't hurt them please.

“Please,” croaks Blue. “I’m sorry for what happened to your family. Trick and I weren’t involved. We didn’t know. Please. What’s your name?”

“My name,” he spits. “Same as my father’s. Did you know what it was before you killed him, Anti? Did you know my father’s name? The name of the sunbird king? Did you know anything? He was a musician. His power was beautiful music. If he wasn’t speaking, he was singing. If he wasn’t sleeping, he was dancing. My name is Caleb. I’m killing you for Caleb. You can die for Caleb.”

hurricael asked: He can manipulate electronics, yes, but right now he's on the floor writhing in pain, I would highly doubt that he's able to even THINK right now. These other two have been hurt by him so much and for so long, and they've been hypnotized and completely broken for a long time. It's a wonder that Blue, the one with white hair, even knows that the demon is bad through all those layers of mental reshaping. Plus they didn't even know, did you hear what Blue said when they came in? They didn't know.

“Maybe he gets power from you,” reasons Caleb, ignoring the message, and he shatters you against the ground. You have other cameras in the room, luckily, but it’s a dick move and you see Blue’s eyes grieve.

bupine asked: please don't break the cameras, you'll regret it later, please. we've been through this same thing before, and trust us, revenge never makes anything better. it doesn't. we are genuinely sorry about your family. but we swear on our lives that these other two men are innocent.

“Don’t you get it,” snarls Caleb. “I don’t care if they’re innocent. I don’t care if they’re brainwashed. I wouldn’t care if they’re prisoners! I’ve been watching.”

He kicks Anti in the skull, eyes wild when he groans. “He sleeps with the little one half the nights. His room is covered in pictures of them. He makes plans to kill women just for kissing them. Obsessive little bastard. Do you love them, Anti? Do you love them? Now you can lose your family like I lost mine.”

Anti’s eyes gleam, but not with anger now. You’ve seen this look in his eyes some rare times before - leading cops away from a house in Norway, trying to rise from bed on Christmas Eve while Red was nearly stolen away, tearing open Christofer’s throat to make him drop Trick.

His family. His family.

“I’ll burn them down to ashes,” hisses Caleb. Blood drizzles out of Anti’s mouth as he grows weaker and weaker, but his eyes are glittering like terrible stars.

Anonymous asked: Blue, blue, he’s hurt and that makes him dangerous. If you can’t reason with him than you and Trick need to find a way to GET OUT

Get out. Get out. Blue needs to find a way to get himself and Trick out. Anti can die but he won’t let his little brother. He won’t, he won’t. His eyes scan around the room, but nothing comes to help him. He grits his teeth and tries to bring his power to bear, but nothing answers. He chokes on a sob and yanks against the fireplace to bring Caleb’s attention back to him before he can handcuff Trick, still holding his bleeding nose and squirming with pain closer to the door. Get up and go, Trick! But his little brother doesn’t. Blue can see him staring at the two of them and knows that he won’t go without them both.

Desperate, he turns his head and finds Anti’s eyes looking back at him, blue as oceans and rivers. Blue hates him. Anti hates him too. But neither are willing to die like this. Neither are willing to watch Trick die.

Blue’s eyes move. Anti blinks and coughs. Blue takes in a deep breath.

There is a conversation happening between them.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Trick, stay quiet, hun. You need to survive this to see Dok!

Trick takes advantage of the sunbird’s distraction, crawling towards his door and shoving inside, throwing himself onto his things and searching desperately for Dok’s handgun.

“Hey!” hollers the magician, turning to administer a burst of shock throughout the floor of the room. Trick screams, but so does another little voice.

The sunbird stops immediately, startled by Noodle’s yowling, calling the electricity back to himself before he shocks the cat any further and unwittingly giving Trick time to search. Noodle throws himself at Trick, terrified, and Trick scoops him up in shaking arms before rising to his feet with Dok’s gun clutched in his trickshot hands.

bupine asked: caleb. he's going to kill you. get out of there while you can. please. we can't watch more magicians, more people, die at his hand. once again, i'm so fucking sorry for what happened. you're not the first person who's life has been ruined by anti.

Caleb had believed that he was willing to die before he came in here, that it would be a noble death, that he would go to it happily for the sake of his revenge.

But looking down the barrel of Trick’s gun makes it very real and very close.

You see him frozen, staring, stuck, the electricity binding Anti dying down.

Anonymous asked: Trick don’t shoot!

“Don’t - shoot?” spits Trick. “Don’t - shoot this - this - h-him? Don’t - d-d-d-don’t - don’t - ”

He’s outraged at you for the suggestion.

But you can hear from his stammer that he’s terrified too, tripping so hard over the consonants that his head dips with the effort to try and speak, the hard edge of the letter trembling from his mouth again and again and again, a flurry of uncertainty.

“Don’t - don’t - don’t - don’t - don’t sh - sh - sh - ”

“Trick!” cries Blue. “They’re right! Don’t shoot! Caleb, let’s talk this through!”

Maybe he’d tell Trick to tie him down or knock him out if he could, but Caleb still has a gun of his own in his pocket, and Blue doesn’t know how long the protection from electricity that Noodle is currently offering will hold any sway over him. He can’t watch Trick get shot.

“Marvin,” he hears Anti whisper. “Marvin.”

Anonymous asked: Trick! Please listen to blue, don’t kill the magician try to distract him instead

Trick swallows, his eyes flickering to you. Noodle mewls in his arms, still shaking from the shock. He deserves to die for hurting Noodle, but he also doesn’t want him to have to see the blood. He could cover his little cat eyes -

Focus, Trick!

“Drop the gun!” shouts Trick, cocking his own. Caleb flinches but reaches for his gun. Trick feels a thrill of fear and Blue whimpers in the corner, his body consumed by trembling.

Caleb could put the gun down. Or he could shoot Trick. Or he could shoot Anti. Two acceptable options. One impossible. Blue can’t just watch it happen. He feels Anti’s energy, the mix of his own and Blue’s, burning beside him, and he knows that Anti is not willing to leave it to chance either.

But he doesn’t want - he doesn’t want -

Anti is looking at him. Blue shakes his head. No, no. Too much. Too terrifying. I do not belong to you.

Anti’s mouth curves into a hateful smiles, coated in blood.

Like you’ve ever had a fucking choice.

And Anti possesses Blue.

Anonymous asked: For these in need of mercy, For these who are in pain, Quiet your sparking fury, Sunbird. Deal justice to the one who harmed you. Be clement to those who have not. Your battle is won, your quarry caught. Step with intent, with caution, with care. Know your enemies. Know your allies. Know yourself, and what you can do, and what you will do. And Act.

Oh, it reads like poetry, it reads like poetry, and Anti’s consciousness is rushing into Blue, and power with it, power with it, power like a flood, like a blood pact, like a death and a life and a morbidity.

Anti breathes in deep, nearly choking, freed at last from the electricity, but this - oh, this is not the best of it, this is not the best of it.

This is the tangibility the magic has longed for.

This is everything the magic has longed for.

And Anti feels whole, feels complete, feels perfected in a way he has not felt - fuck, since he was a child, since he was a child waking up in the back of his creator’s head, when the body was shared, and Jack wasn’t scared of him, and everything was well.

And Anti feels powerful.

Better than the moment he stole Marvin’s power.

This is what he should have been doing all along. The perfect mix of magic and incarnation. The perfect mix of power and control. The perfect balance, the perfect stance.

The magic belongs to him and the magic longs for the body and the body is controlled by him and everything is well. He could never control powers within somebody else’s flesh before, but this - oh, this he stole, fair and square, on the banks of the Rio Puturnayo.

He closes his eyes and everything comes easy. He’s weak, yes, and so is Blue’s body, but the magic - the magic answers so swift and so painlessly.

Small green vines bloom proudly along their body, curling their way up to the handcuffs, wrapping warmly around them and squeezing til they shatter.

It reads like poetry. You meant it for Caleb. Anti can feel the way the rhythm moves his magic. Anti remembers the poem Blue whispered to him, hateful, as he came awake in that hospital bed all those weeks ago.

“I will show you fear,” they whisper, their body rising to its feet, shaking without the cane, blue magic wisping from their eyes and open palms. “I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”

It reads like poetry. It moves like magic.

bupine asked: caleb! anti can possess people, he's taking over blue, the magician with the white hair! don't shoot him, please! shock him again, knock him unconscious, but do not kill him!

It takes about a half-second.

It takes about a half-second and Dapper isn’t there to slow it for you, and this is all you get to say. To warn him, like you warned him - Caleb, he will kill you.

Caleb realizes that his enemy is freed, grabs the gun, and turns to shoot him.

He never gets the hit off. A bullet is buried in his chest.

Trickshot - clean. Point-blank. Trick could shoot a quarter out of the air. Piercing Caleb’s heart is not a challenge.

Anti stands in Blue’s body, staring as Caleb collapses. Trick is behind him. You can hear him breathing.

Low and shaky.

Dok’s gun.

Don’t shoot, Blue told him.

You can hear him breathing.

Anonymous asked: Do anything you want to Anti, he deserves it. But please don't harm Blue or Trick, they're victims of him too. They've had people they love hurt by him, they've been hurt by him, they've been broken and manipulated and brainwashed and hypnotized and possessed by him and they didn't know he had even done anything until you came in. Please give them a chance to heal. And I think that taking them away from him would hurt him as much as killing them. More even, because he has no closure.

Trick sinks to his knees. Shaking too hard to hold Noodle. His cat hides in his lap.

Anti falls down to his knees too. Putting his mouth close to Caleb’s ear.

“Look how nicely they asked you,” he whispers, his voice layered and glitching. “How many messages did they send begging you not to hurt them, and you didn’t listen. They warned you. Look how nicely they begged you. Poor Caleb… they gave you a chance.”

Caleb spasms. His brown eyes are opened, his face against the floor. He stares up at Anti.

“If only he hadn’t given you a mortal wound,” whispers Anti. “We could have had so much fun together… maybe there’s still a little time…”

“No, Anti,” begs Trick, and then sobs are bursting from his throat, so stressed and broken they’re almost more like coughs. “No, he’s had enough. I didn’t mean to.”

Anonymous asked: Caleb Anti had electronic manipulation powers as well as fire and plants that he stole from Blue, and Blue casts through poetry so watch out for that

“Shall I show him?” coos Anti, flowers blooming around Caleb’s body, lovely at first and then thorned so thickly. Fire breathes into life in one palm. Anti leans down low, to touch his face -

Trick falls down beside him, wrapping his arms around Blue’s neck, and he begins to cry.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Anti. Back off. Let the guy die in peace. What's done is done.

“He should pay,” hisses Anti. “For hurting you - ”

“He has,” sobs Trick, holding him. “He did. I don’t want him to hurt. I just want you. And Blue. Please. I’m scared.”

Anti rises back onto his feet, bringing Trick with him. He takes his hand and pulls him into Trick’s bedroom, and all three of them collapse onto the bed.

Noodle leaps on top of them and curls his shaking body in between theirs.

Anonymous asked: Okay. This is a long shot. But Dapper. Dapper. Is it possible for you to rewind 40 minutes back? I don't completely know how your time powers work, but if it's possible can you try? And I'm sorry for scaring you, buddy, I know this is out of the blue.

Dapper’s in a car.

The sun is gold and the country is rushing past him. He’s in the backseat, buckled safely in, staring peacefully out at the world.

“I hate your fucking music, man.”

“You - hey!”

“Sorry, I do.”

“You’re a sour Juice Box today. Green apple. Okay, get my phone, pull up Dermot Kennedy, he’s the only artist we could ever agree on. For the record, your taste in music is shit too.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that.”

“No, I’m telling you.”

“Fuck you, Max.”

Laughter and jostling from the front seat. Max and Ro side by side, headed back to Peru.

Dapper takes you into his lap.

“It’s very difficult for me to time travel without my medication, and sometimes the side effects can be really nasty,” he says. “But I trust you. If you need me - if you really need me - to go back in time forty minutes, I can try. Make sure you’ve thought carefully through what could happen. Know what your outcome is and what it could be. In our lives, many options can be bad, but some are worse than others.”

“What are you talking about?” asks Red happily, leaning back to pat his knee.

“No worries, Ro,” says Dapper, trying to smile, though you see he looks weary and downcast. But he trusts you if you can come to a consensus. If you want to do this over again. If you think it could end another way.

bupine asked: caleb, we're sorry. we're so fucking sorry.

Blue’s flowers are around him.

He smells aster and begonia.

He dies.

bupine asked: dapper, anti's hurt someone. someone who didn't deserve it. we need to try and help them, if that's ok. it might not work, but i feel we have to try.

Dapper stares down at his hands. You see he’s holding a little picture.

Max gave it to him. Three siblings, dark-haired and dark-skinned, and him in the middle of all of them, their arms wrapped around him, and him smiling.

Or the him he used to be.

“Anti’s hurt a lot of people who didn’t deserve it,” he says softly, and he takes his clock out of his pocket and turns b

---------------

“You protected me,” whispers Anti, holding Trick to his chest.

His little brother is crying, crying. Anti doesn’t really understand why. He’s made him kill people before, and then all he had to do was send him to Dok and he’d be fine the next morning. Ah, he must be missing him.

“Poor thing.” Anti snuggles closer to him, rubbing his back, and reaches over him to find the music box Dok gave him beside the mattress. He winds it carefully and lets it go, and Trick is instantly quieted by the sound of the familiar music, and by Anti’s darkening eyes.

“There you go,” purrs Anti. “Stop crying.”

Trick cuts himself off with a sniffle, hiding in Anti’s chest. Anti allows it. For a moment, he is almost overwhelmed by his fondness for him.

It isn’t like with Dapper. Dapper was just… a pet. Cute and funny and entertaining and nice to hold. But Trick is… Trick is almost like Jack.

Trick is almost like a person to Anti, like… a friend, almost. He doesn’t find it entertaining, anymore, watching Trick cry, not like he thinks it’s funny when Dapper cries. Trick just needs him so much, so desperately. There was so much less force used. So much less training. And oh, oh, but he does look just like Jack…

“I suppose I could teach you that that was your name,” mumbles Anti, stroking his green hair, the thought flickering darkly across his mind. “Trickshot hardly means anything. I could make you believe your name was Jack is I wanted to.”

Trick blinks slowly up at him and nods, rubbing at exhausted, glazed over eyes.

“You did well,” whispers Anti.

“I did really well.” Trick burrows himself back in his chest again.

“You proved yourself to me, Trick. You made up for the girl in the shed. I know you didn’t kill her. You regretted that, didn’t you? You should have killed Genesis. She was the one who took your twin from you. Stole him away.”

“I should have killed her,” mumbles Trick, sounding angry at himself. “Should have protected Dok… done what you told me to do.”

“But you’ve made up for it now.” Anti entangles his fingers lovingly in his bright hair. “Forget Xin Yi, we won’t hunt her down. We don’t have time and you’ve made up for it. You’re ready mentally. Blue’s ready physically. And me, like this - I’m ready for anything.”

Trick nods again, pulled flush against his body, his blue eyes drifting wearily closed.

“Have a nap with your cat,” murmurs Anti. “An hour or two.”

“Will you stay with me, Anti?”

“Later we can rest together. For now - I have to find us a ride to Peru. We’ll be gone before midnight. Leave nothing behind. Sleep.”

Trick closes his eyes and obeys, Dok’s music box singing to him and Noodle on his chest, Anti’s fingers running through his hair.

Or he would -

But this is all undone.

---------------------------

As is usual when Dapper rewinds time, I reblogged an older post with an addition:

“At least someone got rid of that weird cloth,” says Blue. “It was freaking me out, lying across the hummingbird feeder. It looked like a person in the dark.”

“What cloth?”

“This big swath of colorful fabric just hanging over the bird feeder. Someone must have forgotten and then remembered it.”

“I didn’t see it.”

“I was surprised Anti didn’t do anything about it. He can be kind of territorial.”

“Maybe he didn’t see it either. He hasn’t been leaving the house. Should I tell him about it?”

“I don’t know. It’s gone now, isn’t it?”

Added:

Dapper opens his eyes, staring at you.

Anonymous asked: BLUE TRICK DO NOT GO INTO THE HOUSE

“Motherfuck.” Blue half-laughs, suddenly nervous. “Okay, geez.”

“You know something, Blue?”

“What?”

“I think they really don’t want us to go in the house.”

They look at each other laughing and confused, shaking their heads.

“Well,” says Trick. “Here I go - ”

“Trick, no!”

“Kidding! Hahaha, dumb-ass, that was a joke.”

“Oh, thank God,” says Blue, grabbing his hand nonetheless. “Idiot.”

bupine asked: trick. blue. don't go inside. there's a magician in there who wants to kill you. dapper turned back time because the magician died and he didn't deserve it. anti killed his family and he wants revenge. don't go inside, please trust us, please. we only get one chance to fix this.

The laughter falls out of their faces.

“There’s a magician in there?” says Trick. “What - with Anti?”

He stares at the door, his mouth drying. Blue squeezes his hand tighter.

“Bluel, we have to get in there and - ”

“No. No.”

“They could hurt him!”

“They could hurt you,” frets Blue. “Please.”

Trick looks over at him, seeing his brother standing on his cane, pale-faced and glassy-eyed, with exhaustion in every line of him, and he stays.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Whyyy don't you go for a walk around the block or something?

“Come on,” murmurs Trick, squeezing Blue’s hand in return. “I’ll take you to that park a couple blocks down and you can wait there for me.”

“I’m not going anywhere if you’re going to do something stupid,” answers Blue hotly.

bupine asked: anti, can you hear us? caleb? can anyone inside hear?

You can see inside the house from the cameras around the room, but they seem a little pre-occupied.

Caleb is stepping on Anti’s throat. Anti spasms with electricity just like he did last time, choking and thrashing, gasping and squeezing his eyes shut, feeling like his powers are cut-off from him by this horrible lightning, frying both his physical and intangible form.

Anonymous asked: Yeah haha funny but this is really serious, we had dapper reverse because if you guys go in there it will be a very bad time. You need to leave and go far away and you need to do it now.

“Blue, you should go.”

“I’m not going without you.”

“Don’t think I won’t carry you and steal your cane, asshole.”

Anonymous asked: Stay together and stay away from the house, guys, please

“If you guys really think I’m leaving Anti to be motherfucking tortured, you can think the fuck again!” shouts Trick, whirling on you with venom in his eyes. “Sorry I’m the only one around here that gives a fuck but that’s my brother!”

hurricael sked: Guys please. Last time someone died. Stay away from the house.

“No,” Trick is saying before he’s even finished the messages. “No, I won’t leave Anti to this alone. He doesn’t have Red, he doesn’t have Dap, he just has me. You’re insulting me! You’re insulting me, you think I’m a coward and that I’d leave somebody I love behind to maybe get hurt!”

Anonymous asked: Trick if you go into that house there is a possibility that you will kill someone. You will walk out with blood on your hands. Listen to us, for once, and leave with Blue.

“If all you guys have is stupid suggestions where I live Anti behind I don’t have to listen to you!” snarls Trick.

Anonymous asked: Whatever you do, don't separate. The sunbird magician know about you two, and if he gets bored with anti, he may come looking. We can't get him to listen to reason but we can't let it come down to a fight either.

“I’ll stay with you,” whispers Blue.

This, at least, makes Trick look conflicted. He can’t watch Blue get hurt. Not again.

bupine asked: trick, anti can't save you this time. please listen to us for fucking once. are you forgetting we know what happens?

“Are you forgetting that I know you guys don’t give a fuck what happens to Anti? That you keep trying to tear me away from him? For all I know, he could be dying right now, and you would tell me to leave him behind!”

bupine asked: caleb! we need to speak to you! can you listen to us for just a minute, please?

Caleb stares up at the little beeping of the camera. If he were still struggling with Anti, he wouldn’t bother, but he feels coolly in control now, Anti struggling on the floor beneath him. He steps a little closer to the camera, cocking his head.

spicydanhowell asked: trick, there is nothing you can do. what happened last time is you were beat up and knocked out and anti was still in trouble. anti can fight off a magician on his own, and if you go back in there and get hurt again, all that will happen is dap will have to exhaust himself turning back time again and he's not healthy right now. you need to take care of blue right now. don't give him anything else to worry about.

“Well, guess what? Getting knocked out protecting him is better than not going in there and getting punished for running away later. He can see these cameras, remember?”

“Trick, if he knows we thought he was able to handle himself - ”

“I don’t believe them well enough for that.”

Mod posted:

“Stop, stop, stop!” shouts Trick, waving his hands. “Stop saying the same thing, be quiet, let me think! Too many ‘Anti can handle himself’ messages and I’m not buying it!”

bupine asked: caleb, hi. we know your name, and we know what happened to your family. we're sorry. can you hear us out? the man you have on the floor there is a terrible man. he's abused people, tortured people. but i know you're here for something else. please, get out of here while you can. leave anti. you can't kill him anyway.

Caleb blinks.

He looks between Anti and the camera, mouth twisted with confusion.

“This is what of your tricks, meh.”

Anti grits his teeth, but cannot answer. Despite his statement, Caleb seems curious still, drifting a little closer to you.

“He is terrible,” he agrees, frowning. “You have that much right.”

Anonymous asked: Trick before you do anything THINK. We don't control you or your choices but make sure this is a choice you WANT first. Ambush if you must, It's not just about you killing someone who hurt anti, anti may hurt and possess blue in an attempt to fight back. Remember possession? Do you really want to wish that on blue, as injured as he is already?

“Blue - possessed?” whispers Trick, turning to his brother, and his own fear of possession transfers quite cleanly over to his friend, and Trick looks even more terrified than Blue does.

hurricael asked: Caleb, you have to be careful. He recovers quickly from the electricity, keep an eye on him while you're here.

Caleb scowls and turns back to Anti, upping the power. Anti gives a short shriek, his skull thudding against the floor.

bupine asked: this isn't a trick. we hate anti too - he's a vile being. but if you don't get out of here - you'll die. don't ask how we know. please, save yourself. this is the last chance we'll get to save you, and i believe you deserve a second chance.

Caleb sets his mouth.

“Some things are worth dying for. I decided that before I even came here. I will pour every ounce of suffering I can out on him before he sinks his fucking claws in like he did to my father.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What ARE you here for, Caleb?

Caleb lets out a short, bitter laugh.

“Hell… revenge, I suppose, but the word is so dramatic. What would anybody want if they came home for spring break to find their whole family murdered? I want him dead. I want his family dead. His little henchman, the sick one and the gunman. I’ll kill them for what they did to my family.”

Anonymous asked: Trick, if you do go in there be careful and maybe get Noodle out of the way first? Noodle got a bit hurt and a lot scared last time... Anti is being shocked within the inch of his life right now. Don't exactly know how he'll get away this time, though.

“Noodle,” chokes Trick, and such a silly word becomes desperation on his mouth. “Oh, no, my kitten.”

Anonymous asked: It wasn't Anti that died, you don't have to worry about that

“Anti’s not going to die?” squeaks Trick desperately, trying to cull his own rising panic.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: But the others had nothing to do with the murders. Please, keep them out of this!

“He deserves to lose his family the way I did,” spits Caleb.

hurricael asked: Caleb. I am in no way trying to doubt your dedication, but this isn't worth dying for. As far as we know, he can't die. But your electricity has been the best at subduing him of anything we've seen. You can help most by living, and preparing, in case he goes after people you care about again.

“Then I guess we need to try some different tactics,” snarls Caleb, and he steps into Anti’s room, and takes out a great silver knife, turning back towards Anti. Anti’s eyes flicker. As his own form of threat or intimidation, he lets his throat open and spill blood out. Caleb wavers, eyes huge.

Anonymous asked: Caleb, if you want to destroy his family, you'll have to hurt way more than the other two guys you saw at the hospital. Are you prepared to go to South America and hunt down their three brothers just so you can kill them in front of Anti too? Where does it end? I'd tell you revenge is empty but I know you couldn't care less.

“South America, huh? Where in South America? I’ve never been and I have nothing else to live for.” He smiles coldly at you.

Anonymous asked: I mean, Anti might need someone to distract Caleb if you really want him to get free but you'd have to be careful Trick. Maybe plan out how you're going to ambush the man. He's very much revenge-driven right now and I'm pretty sure that he'll keep Anti alive just to kill you and Blue in front of him. Maybe he'd start with Blue first since he's currently the sicker one so if you want to protect Blue you should probably take the initiative. But like a reasonable and planned initiative.

“Distract Caleb,” murmurs Trick, turning back to the house, thinking. “Okay. Okay. How do I get in there, then? The window in my room is always locked, but sometimes Anti leaves his open…”

Anonymous asked: If you barge in there, Anti will distracted and he will get hurt for certain!!!

Trick hears Anti’s cry of pain as the electricity increases and his heart begins pounding harder in his chest. “Sounds like he’s already getting hurt.”

Anonymous asked: Trickshot, last time, the magician nearly killed you. Anti and Blue both agreed that they could not let that happen, under any circumstances, and that's what led Anti to possess Blue. Anti will honestly be happier that you are not in danger. If you can try to help without putting yourself or Blue in harm's way, maybe try that, but just think it through. Trust us, you guys have the time.

“I already told you several times I’m not leaving Anti alone with this.”

Anonymous asked: Caleb, the demon deserves everything you can do to him, but he very, very careful about how you proceed. He can possess people, hypnotize people, stole nature magic told through poetry, and he has two puppets under his control that we're trying to manage and keep out of your way. Keep an eye on the door - lock it out if you can. If you have a way to kill Anti, do it fast. Otherwise, you need to leave and regroup before the puppets come to kill you.

This is good information for Caleb, actually, and when he looks at you his eyes are less accusatory than they were before. He looks around and decides to lock the front door.

Trick hears it click on the other side and jumps, alarmed.

Anonymous asked: caleb you dense motherfucker. you survive for what you can do in the future, don't give up because of what you've already lost. don't you want to warn other magicians so more massacres don't happen? don't you want to pass on the memory of the sunbirds so they won't have died in vain?

“I think if I have a chance to at least try to kill this thing, I should,” says Caleb quietly, approaching Anti with the knife. “It’s not just revenge. This is a dangerous magical creature. It’s a magician’s job to destroy such things when they become violent towards humans.”

He kneels down at Anti’s side, shoving him onto his back and holding the knife over him, examining the deep cut in his throat with the blade.

“If this doesn’t work, we’ll try a couple exorcisms, salt, silver… I’ll think of more.”

Anonymous asked: And you'll have to be quiet while you're moving. Maybe shoot him in some non-lethal area? Just to disarm him and get him distracted.

“I can do that. I’m a good shot. But I’ll need my gun.”

bupine asked: caleb, anti's hurt many, many people. we've seen him take lives, seen their families crumble. we can never stop him. but we can try and talk to you. will you listen?

Caleb’s face crumples with grief.

Families destroyed and lives taken. For no reason. He still doesn’t know the reason. He still doesn’t have the first idea why. He just came home. He just wanted to come home to his dad.

“What can you say?” he spits, tears rising in his eyes. “What can anyone?”

hurricael asked: Trick, Anti can't die. We're trying to talk the magician into leaving, so no one dies and no one gets any more hurt. What would happen if you go in is bloodshed, best case scenario someone gets hurt, worse case you or Blue or both die. I know you're worried for Anti, but the best thing you can do for you and Blue is to wait.

“I’m not leaving Anti alone. I’ve seen him plenty hurt before even if he can’t die. I don’t know how many times I have to say that.”

spicydanhowell asked: caleb, the other two men are very sick because of anti, physically, mentally, and they're trapped with him. these men are absolutely harmless without anti around and they deserve to be free from him. please don't go after them, okay? it won't even hurt anti if you hurt them. he doesn't love them. he doesn't feel love.

Caleb sighs, long and shuddering. “Look, I guess this is the one who I was looking for - I can tell by these antlers - so if the other two really aren’t killers and are just prisoners, I won’t go after them if they don’t come.”

Anonymous asked: While the others are distracting the guy, Trick can you crawl towards your room or stuff without making any noise?

Trick hurries around the other side of the house, Blue following fretfully behind, but Anti’s window isn’t open like he had hoped. He growls with frustration, trying to look through the windows, but all he can see is a dark figure in a colorful cloak, his back turned to him.

Anonymous asked: Poor Anti, he was practically spitting out blood while he was being tortured by the revenge driven magician...

“He what?” screams Trick. He looks wildly around, ignoring Blue’s shouting, and sees that pole where the sunbird cloak had hung, the one meant, perhaps to be a bird feeder. He grabs it between his hands and yank, yank, yanks it out of the earth. Blue has had to sit down, looking overwhelmed by the stress and his own weakness - or worse, his own helplessness as all this happens.

Trick grunts and pulls the pole out of the earth, hefting it in his palms, feeling like Red with his fighting staff. He’ll smash in the window to his room, grab his gun, and kill him.

Anonymous asked: Uhhhh Anti? Trick's trying to get in... you might want to knock him out for a bit..

Anti stares up at you from the floor, and apparently his sheer outrage is enough to give him a little strength, because he manages to shriek, “What the FUCK am I supposed to do?” loud enough to make Caleb jump.

spicydanhowell asked: blue, we just got the word that you both will be completely spared if you stay clear. so.... do whatever you have to do to keep trick out of there. i know you're sick but... anything in your power

Blue’s mouth dries.

Unlike Trick, he believes you. He’s always been on your side. You’re wise to speak to him.

Anything he can to keep Trick out of there.

He staggers back to his feet and grabs Trick by the shoulders, pushing him back from the window before he can smash it in.

“You’ll - you’ll get glass on Noodle,” he manages.

It’s a weak excuse, but it makes Trick pause, and Blue continues rapidly, all but babbling, anything to keep Trick out of there.

“Listen, my love, do you remember the magicians in Peru?”

“I - yeah?”

“Who was the one who stopped them from stealing Red away?”

Trick blinks. “Dapper.”

“Okay, yes. And it sounds like Dapper already unwound today once, right? And he told them what to do to make the best possible outcome happen. Don’t trust them, Trick, trust Dap. This is like every other time we hear him faint and we know he’s told Anti what has to change to keep him safe. Dapper is keeping us all safe.”

“No, I can’t just leave Anti to suffer! I won’t!”

“Amata, it sounds like he’ll suffer less if you don’t go in there. Besides, I’m your big brother, and I’m ordering you.”

Something clears in Trick’s gaze. This has always been a saving grace for him, at least in regards to punishment. He’s never been punished for following an older brother’s order even if he knew it was against Anti’s orders, like when Red and Blue would give him permission to eat peanut butter and say Anti had allowed it even if, in the back of his head, he knew Anti had not. Blue is offering to cover for him. And Anti, in Trick’s mind, would never punish Blue severely enough to do any real damage.

He stares into the house, still beneath Blue’s hands, trying to think.

bupine asked: caleb. if we told you you could save the life of another person today, would you? an innocent woman who might die if you don't help? there's a woman named xin yi who works at a hawker near the hospital. you've seen her before - the one who kissed trick. anti is going to kill her. is there any chance you could help to protect her? please, one of anti's boys is going to be forced to murder her if you can't help.

Caleb blinks.

He doesn’t know the name, but he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. The girl hadn’t looked like she was a part of any of this - she had been giggling about Minecraft and America, for fuck’s sake. And now she’s in trouble.

“I’m calling the cops,” he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I already had to tell them about my family. I’ll tell them the same person is after her. What’s her last name?”

Anonymous asked: Blue, i don't know if there's anything else we can say, the magician said he won't hurt you two of you stay out of it but I don't know if he'll hold true to that. Can you grab Trick? Anything? If he does make it in, will you follow? If he goes in alone, I don't think he'll make it out, so to speak. I'm sorry we can't redirect people who already have their minds made up no matter how much of the future we know.

“I don’t want Anti to get hurt,” says Trick, shaking his head, making up his mind. “For all we know, Dap expected me to help him. I’ll burst in, get my gun, and - ”

Blue’s cane connects with the back of his head and Trick crumples like a leaf in Autumn.

spicydanhowell asked: it's "koh"

Caleb calls the cops and warns them. They’ll look into it and set up an armed guard.

Anonymous asked: Caleb, keep an eye on Anti. He had partially recovered after this long, last time.

“Was he being repeatedly filled with as much electricity as I can muster, ‘last time?’” asks Caleb coolly. “I bet whoever shocked him last time didn’t have power like mine. But you’re right. Why don’t we try something new?”

He puts the blade down in Anti’s chest.

Anti screams, his entire body glitching horribly, but no matter how much of his own electricity he’s losing, Caleb is immune to it, watching the power surge up his hands with interest. He jolts away when Anti begins losing control of his form, though - Anti is a deer, a black dog, a rabbit, a cat, a songbird, a man again, all bleeding swiftly from the chest. He looks down at himself in a panic, grappling desperately at the wound as more blood than he’s ever seen himself simulate comes pouring out of his chest.

Except this blood isn’t simulated.

“Dok!” he hears himself sobbing. “Henrik!”

Maybe he can die after all, now that Blue’s magic is changing him.

Maybe he was bluffing.

bupine asked: we don't know her last name, and the cops can't help. do you know how many cops anti's killed? many. get out of there. save her, if you can, and it you can't, just get away. neither you nor her wanted to be involved in this. once again, i'm sorry about your family. so, so sorry. i don't know anything about them, but i think they'd like to know that you saved a life in their honour. or saved yourself, at the very least.

bupine added: oh I didn’t know we knew her last name

“If I kill him, she won’t be in danger anymore,” says Caleb, stepping away from Anti as he writhes. He’s startled by a soft mewl beside him and turns his head to see a little golden cat staring up at him.

“Sorry, kitty,” says Caleb, leaning down to scratch him. “Did I wake you up from a nap?”

Anonymous asked: Well that’s one way to do that blue

“I guess so,” says Blue, his eyes very wide.

Then he begins to giggle weakly, tears springing to his eyes, and he has to sit down again to steady himself.

Anonymous asked: Trick oh my god please calm down. You're stressing Anti out since SOMEONE told him about you trying to break in. You'll get hurt then Anti'll get even more stressed and you'll get stressed and everyone will get stressed. Calm down please

“Guess he’s calm now,” says Blue, drawing him into his lap, looking apologetically down at his still face. He strokes Trick’s hair, and then he begins to cry.

He won’t even have his little brother’s comfort soon enough. Trick will hate him for this.

Anonymous asked: Blue, whatever you're going to do you should probably do now. I don't quite remember, but I think I read that being knocked out like that doesn't last long?

“Well, what do you want me to do?” chokes Blue, brushing his tears away. “It’ll last a while! I’ll find his pressure point and knock him out again if I have to, I don’t know what the fuck is happening anymore.”

Anonymous asked: Trick, please don't kill him. Anti went after those magicians first. Please don't help the circle of revenge continue. This one had his family killed; you're ready to kill for Anti, just like the magician was ready to fight for his family. Shoot him, or hurt him, if you have to, but we're trying to avoid more death (no one has died while we're talking to you, don't worry).

“You should be careful,” sniffles Blue, putting his head down against his little brother’s. “I don’t know what’s happening, but it doesn’t really matter. Anti’s powerful. I doubt he needs Trick’s help to kill that guy. And fuck but he’s creative in his violence. He’ll find a way.”

Anonymous asked: Caleb, I know this sounds wild and random, but don't let the cat get too close to Anti. He's possessed animals before, and he might be desperate enough now to try again to get away. Its name is Noodle. Can you try to nudge it to another room? Don't hurt it please.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Caleb scoops Noodle up and lets him carefully out of the house, opening the front door again.

Anonymous asked: CALEB FORTIFY THE WINDOWS

Caleb glances at you quizzically, but checks that all the windows are locked.

Anti isn’t doing well, slumped across the floor, bleeding heavy from the chest. He stares up at Caleb with hateful eyes, and then he closes them, and focuses.

Anonymous asked: Caleb, I think we should maybe explain ourselves as far as our messages. These people Anti has with him are not his real family, he stole them away and has been brainwashing and hurting then for months. We, the cameras, are a way for him to taunt us by showing off that he's won and all we can do is watch. If you need to hurt anti, by all means: give us a show, but please spare our boys. We can only help so much and they need so much more help than we can give.

“This is all messed up,” mumbles Caleb, staring up at you. “What the fuck. Okay, well… fine, okay, fine. I won’t hurt the others.”

Anonymous asked: your ͞f͢aţh̸er͟ ͝di҉èd̷ like ́a̛ do͘g

Caleb’s eyes widen.

He stares up at you for a second and then whirls around, panting, to look at Anti.

Anti stares back at him, teeth gritted hatefully. His mouth glitches.

Anonymous asked: c̶òwa̶rd͘ bo̡ý. ͘s̨n̵u͡c̸k up ̶on me. d̶o̕ ̷yo͟u fe͘el like a ͞m͝an? y̴ou d͞id̛n't beat m̷e.̸ ͢y̛o͢u̶ sh͡o͡ck͜ed m͢e̛.̢ your ̢fa͏the̷r w̨o͟ul̢d b́e a҉s̛ha̧med

“Shut up,” whispers Caleb. “Shut up. You deserve this.”

Anti manages to laugh, rolling onto his back, his face very white, though his eyes, hateful and burning, never leaves Caleb.

Caleb looks right into them, trying to communicate his hatred. Black eyes. Deep black eyes.

bupine asked: caleb, he's sending you messages through the cameras. don't listen. do not listen. if you have any fucking sense, if you care for yourself at all, get the hell out of there. you're giving him what he wants.

Anti grits his teeth tight, and then, on your screens:

T̶hes̵e ar̴e my ̕cam̧e͠r̛as͠. You won’t ̧beat m̕e͢ wit͢h҉ them.

And your messages fizzle away.

bupine asked: blue, get away from the house. as far as trick will go. just do it, please. i don't know what's happening inside.

“I’m sorry,” says Blue, very weary. “I can barely carry myself, let alone him.”

Anonymous asked: Caleb, watch Anti, I think he's doing something! It might be a good idea to shock him again

Whether or not he gets your message, Caleb’s hatred is focused directly on Anti now. He stares down at him, getting closer, closer, looking right into his powerful eyes, and all Anti has to do - all Anti has to do -

He lets out a noise you’ve never heard him make before.

A whimper, maybe.

He doesn’t have the strength to possess Caleb.

“Look at you,” hisses Caleb, getting down and straddling his waist, shoving him to the ground, putting the blade back on his already weeping throat. “Trying to taunt me with your last pathetic words. You little monster. How does it feel to know that everyone you’ve ever met will be better off without you around?”

Anti stares up at him with mismatched eyes, lying there in the living den where he has sat so many times with Trick, listening to him talk, watching him play his games. Green hair, blue eyes. A smile on his face. A familiarity between them.

No. He’s not leaving Trick behind. He wants to go back to Trick.

He thinks maybe he’s finally found someone who really makes him happy.

“You’re a leech,” growls Caleb, even as his tears fall down on Anti’s face. “You’re a leech on the world, on these prisoners you keep, on everyone around you. No one will miss you. I hope your sleep is restless and your nightmares terrible. There is nothing you can do now. Nothing you can offer. My father is dead and you cannot bring him back.”

Shape-shift. Flickering between forms. This Anti can do. If he tries. If he concentrates. If he musters the last of his strength.

If he searches the electronics around the house… a control panel… never used… if he turns something on…

One last plan.

Caleb raises his hand. Electricity cackles and snaps between his fingers, green as emerald, ready to kill him.

Anti shape-shifts into the Sunbird King - Caleb Senior, his father, the man you saw just once, dancing around his room in his feathered robes, singing.

Caleb hesitates, a gasp on his mouth.

Anti throws him off him, into the fireplace, where the gas is turned on.

Anonymous asked: oh... blue, i'm so sorry you had to do that. rest in the knowledge that you did good, okay? you did your best to protect your brother. it's an awful, terrible, fucked up situation, but trick won't shoot someone or get shot, and anti will be weak. hang in there. you did your best, and trick will be safer for it

“I did what I had to,” mumbles Blue, stroking his little brother’s hair. “I’ve always done what I had to. I kept him safe.”

Anonymous asked: Blue I know this'll sound,,, absolutely nuts, but. Lie down and pretend you were knocked out too? Anti might win this round. He really, really might. And you're already so weak and tired, it's just- preserve what you can. If Trick and Anti think the both of you were ambushed, or maybe the magician cast on both of you to keep you out of the way, you both might get in less trouble?

Blue looks confused, but he trusts you. He lies down there in the dirt and grass, and holds Trick to his chest, quiet.

Anonymous asked: I don't know what to do either. There's a magician in there; he won't hurt you if you don't hurt him, I think. Maybe you can ask him to help get the two of you out of there? You don't have to, though, but maybe he'll help.

Blue nods slowly. He won’t hurt them if they don’t hurt him. Maybe he’ll even help them… yeah. That would be really nice. They could go away somewhere… hide together…

Blue stiffens, blinking.

Why does he smell smoke?

hurricael asked: CALEB SHOCK HIM NOW. I'm sorry. I know he looks like your father. But Anti killed him, and now he's taunting you, manipulating your decisions by wearing his face. You have to shock him now.

This is a good idea.

But Caleb is on fucking fire.

He screams aloud as his hand sparks with the gas and an explosion of flame surrounds him. His sunbird cloak is instantly on fire - and so is the wall and floor of the house. Anti chokes and drags himself away, managing to make it to the kitchen before collapsing again. Caleb writhes as the flame spreads, burns spreading up his body. You can hear him screaming wildly, trying to run while the fire spreads across him.

Anonymous asked: I think Anti just killed the magician. Play unconscious.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Blue is gasping, curling tighter around Trick, fear making him stiff. He didn’t want the magician to die. He didn’t want one more person to die at Anti’s hands. This is horrible. Tears fill his eyes.

Anonymous asked: Blue you could to wake up Trick so you can run

“I - I - ”

Blue stares at the house as the fire spreads.

“Is the magician still inside?”

Trick is out cold in his arms.

“And - oh, fuck, Noodle.”

Anonymous asked: Noodle has been evicted from the premises just around front! He's okay!

Blue makes it to his feet and hurries to the front of the house, but he doesn’t see Noodle.

hurricael asked: Blue Noodle's outside out front

“Are you guys sure?” asks Blue, looking around. “We have another problem if he ran off. He - oh, my fucking - ”

In through the window of the front door, he can see a little golden cat, stretched out on its side, bleeding from the heart.

“No!” screams Blue, and he does not hesitate, he does not pause - he races back around the side of the house, picks up the pole that Trick yanked out of the ground, and shatters the window to their room in one blow.

Glass cuts into him as he drags himself, panting hard, into the room, but even as dizziness reaches his head he’s moving into the kitchen. Blue scoops up the little golden cat in his arms, holding its panting body to his chest.

“It’s okay, pumpkin, it’s okay,” sobs Blue, stroking his head. “I’ll get you out, I’ll get you out. I’m so sorry, baby, I’ll get you back to Trick.”

He looks around the house as it begins to burn, panting hard, and though he does not see Anti, there, there, struggling in the living room, is the magician, aflame.

Anonymous asked: Caleb get out, get out now

He struggles to his feet, trying to throw his father’s cloak off, sobbing as the fire burns at his skin. He can’t get it off. He can’t get up. He’s going to die.

Then Blue is there, tearing at his clothes, helping him, and Caleb weeps as the cloak leaves his skin, as he is shoved to the earth, as white hands suffocate fiercely the fire that has reached his shirt, as he is pulled up onto someone’s shoulder and dragged to his feet -

“Come on!” cries Blue, tugging him along. “We have to get out!”

Caleb chokes up smoke and staggers on his feet, managing to step forward, and then the two of them are racing towards the door, their hands scrabbling together at the lock, and they tumble out onto the porch together, heaving for air.

The neighbors have come out of the house across the way and already Blue can see one with his phone to his ear. But it doesn’t much matter, he supposes. The house is already doomed.

But the magician is alive, choking and coughing and burned beside him, staring up at him with shocked, exhausted, grateful eyes. Their arms are locked together. Blue feels Caleb’s hands trace the Lapwing tattoo.

Anonymous asked: Blue the magician put noodle outside!

“Wait - what?” mumbles Blue, exhausted. “I’ve got him, it’s okay…”

Noodle’s green and blue eyes stare at you.

hurricael asked: THAT IS NOT NOODLE. THAT IS ANTI. ANTI WAS STABBED IN THE CHEST ABD NOODLE WAS ALREADY OUSTIDE. Several other people added similar messages.

Terror fills up Blue’s face. He drops the cat and staggers away, but too late - Anti is already shifting back into himself, his eyes gleaming, blood weeping out of his mouth, and he does not have the strength to be alone, he does not have the vitality -

He throws himself at Blue and both collapse as one, crashing down the porch.

Anonymous asked: Caleb. Anti possessed Blue, and in that form he can use fire and plant magic. You need to run, now. With or without Trick, the unconscious one, but you need to go RIGHT NOW. Another anon added a similar message.

Caleb is heaving on the earth beneath the porch. Burns coat his chest and arms. His breaths come in struggling gasps.

The neighbors from across the street rush over to help him and distantly you hear sirens, but he can’t run, not now.

Anonymous asked: Oh no... please tell me noodle is okay

Anti staggers to Blue’s feet.

Oh, weakness. His own essence is tattered horribly, pain echoing through the whole of his form, and Blue’s body is weak, smoke in the lungs, exhaustion in the muscles.

But he’s here. He’s alive.

And there is a… completion to it.

He feels whole for the first time in a long time.

Trick - he needs to get to his Trick.

Anti staggers around the house. Trick is laid out in the dirt, unconscious, but alive. A golden cat is darting out of the trees towards him. Anti falls to his knees next to them, heaving, as Noodle mewls and begins licking Trick’s face, settling down on his chest. He’s fine. Trick and Noodle both. Anti grips his brother’s hand and breathes.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Oooh gosh...wake trick up! Maybe Noodle will respond to his voice if you guys look and call for him!

“Trick,” mumbles Anti, shaking him gently. “Trick.”

He stirs with a groan, his eyes still shut.

Anti leans down and summons his power.

“Trick,” he whispers. “Obey me, wake up.”

Trick shocks awake, gasping, and grabs Anti’s shirt in alarm, staring up at him for a second. And then -

“Asshole!” he screams, swinging for Blue’s face.

Anti intercepts him, shoving his fist down. “Trick, it’s me, Anti,” he snaps. “See?”

He lets his right eye change to green. Trick looks up at him, shell-shocked.

“Anti… you’re okay. I tried to - ”

“I know you did,” whispers Anti, putting their foreheads together. “No matter what anyone else told you. You did well. Trick… I’m glad you’re alive.”

Trick throws his arms around him, hugging him to his chest. Anti allows it, feeling his hands shake as they embrace him.

“Don’t be scared, Anti,” says Trick, very soft. “I got you.”

“I love you,” mumbles Anti, knocking their heads together. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Come on. We have to go.”

“What? Where?”

“I’ll hack tickets for us at the airport. I think we better get out of this country.”

“Wasn’t there someone you wanted to kill?”

“Too much hassle now. Besides, I know you’re mine.”

Trick smiles at him, the light coming back to his eyes.

“We’re going to go find Dok, huh?” he asks.

“Yes,” promises Anti, helping him to his feet. “Let’s go get the rest of our brothers back.”

“I should get my stuff. I just need - ”

The realization hits Trick too late. His head whips over to stare at the house as it burns.

All his things going up in flames. His clothes, his Switch, Noodle’s toys. More importantly, Dok’s things, Dok’s gifts to him - his music box. His - oh, no. He’s wearing his polar bear sweatshirt, at least, and his crinkle paper is in his pocket. But that’s it. He stares up at Anti in terror, but his brother just stares softly back at him, his eyes apologizing.

“All our stuff,” manages Trick weakly.

“I’ll get you new things,” answers Anti softly, wiping water from his little brother’s face and taking Blue’s cane in his hand. “It’ll be okay. Come on. We have to go.”

They get to their feet and hurry away together, ignoring the worried calls of the neighbors afterwards. They need to be gone before the firemen come.

Anti casts one look back at Caleb.

The Sunbird Prince stares at him. Eyes like dying stars.

Anti shakes his head and takes Trick’s hand, moving down the pavement beside him.

It’s time to put things back in order.

Anonymous asked: Don't forget Noodle! He's just vibing around, somewhere.

“I’ve got him!” promises Trick, hefting him in his arms. Noodle just looks relieved to be with him again. “I don’t think he liked the great outdoors. He’s never been outside since I got him! We’ll take him on the plane, right, Anti?”

“Yes, amata, I’ll get him a carrier.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Since when do you call him Amata, Anti? Isn't that Blue's thing?

Anti smiles coldly at you.

“I like it. Is that so wrong? Sorry, does Blue have a monopoly on ‘sweetheart’ and ‘love,’ too? I think it’s funny. Blue can hear me.”

He smiles over at Trick, picking out snacks in an airport store.

“But I’ll have to turn you off before we go through security. See you soon, amatae. On the other side of the world.”

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Well thanks anyway dap

“Dap! What were you thinking!”

Max has pulled the car over. Red is in the back with Dap and the door open, holding his little brother’s head to his shoulder. Dapper blinks wearily around the car, blood dripping into the tissue Red holds to his nose, but he still manages to glance over and give you a woozy smile and a thumbs up.

“Did something happen?” asks Red, fretting over him. “Do I need to change something? Are we safe?”

“Don’t know,” says Dapper, frowning. “Really, really disoriented…”

Red sighs and gets into the car beside him, buckling up and shutting the door. “We better just get you to a hotel for the night,” he murmurs. “You don’t mind driving still, Max?”

“Like I’m going to let your lead-foot up here,” teases Max gently, though he’s looking worried for Dapper.

Red shoves his shoulder in revenge and pulls Dapper close to his chest. “Everything’s okay, bud. I’m going to look after you.”

“Thank you, Anti,” mumbles Dap, putting his head down on his shoulders.

End Section Ten of Chapter Three: The Sunbird Prince

#chapter three #writers of jack

9 notes · View notes

idonthinkyoureadyforinformant · 4 years

Text

The fluorescent fixture on the ceiling above her head buzzed loudly, and sounded like a fly's futile efforts at escape against a closed window. Age revealed in their darkened ends, the long pair of luminous tubes flickered, and one of the bulbs burned dim orange rather than the bright white of its twin. Someone needed to replace the failing bulb and fix that annoying buzz, Mia thought.

Mia nervously waited in the dingy room, seated in an uncomfortable chair with her hands cuffed behind her back. Her mind raced. Were these handcuffs necessary? Couldn't the police see she was a respectable member of society? How could Josh be so stupid and get them both in this horrible mess? She had warned him about this, but as usual, he didn't listen. She was tired of having to mother him.

Mia loved her husband, Josh, and overlooked his many flaws. He was a talented high school science teacher at a prestigious private school, adored by his students and their parents alike. But Josh had concealed a minor blemish -- up until this point -- to his otherwise flawless portrait of a perfect citizen. Josh liked smoking marijuana a lot. Perhaps too much. With an academic background in botany, he also enjoyed applying his scientific knowledge to cultivating the illegal plant for his personal and recreational use.

While perfectly lawful to do in some states, Josh's activity was a felony punishable by up to 12-years prison where they presently lived. Josh had converted a small walk-in closet in their house into a grow room — the reason why they were both under arrest now, treated like common criminals, and why she was sitting here frightened and alone.

She wondered how the police found out. Did one of Josh's worthless pothead friends get busted and turn him in for a lighter sentence? Was it the helicopter she heard late one evening -- interrupting her peaceful sleep with its blades tearing through the cool night air -- equipped with a snooperscope that saw the heat on their roof from Josh's 1000-watt metal halide light? Maybe their electric consumption gave it away? What difference did it make now anyway? They were already in trouble.

"Wow, this one's a real looker," Detective Sanchez mumbled to her partner as she stared through the two-way mirror at the beautiful 24-year-old suspect she was about to interrogate.

"Yeah, they had eight plants growing hydroponically under a 1000-watt metal halide light. A small, sophisticated operation," the gruff voice of Detective Earl Noyse replied. Only a few ounces of smokable bud seized, but in typical police fashion, roots, stems and even the medium the plants grew in were weighed, greatly inflating the amount and the charges.

The door opened.

Sanchez entered the interrogation room, visually raking the gorgeous blond sitting at the old wooden table. The girl stared back at Sanchez with stunning blue eyes and silky blond hair that flowed past her shoulders in threads of gold as smooth as a sheet of water.

Mia watched the older, rather plain-looking woman walk toward her. Detective Sanchez wore her greying hair up in a tight bun and had what could be described as a slightly weathered, man-like appearance. She held a folder in her hand.

Sanchez slapped the folder down in front of Mia and dragged a wooden chair out from underneath the table. The heavy chair growled in a high-pitchl as it reluctantly slid across the floor.

Sanchez sat in front of Mia, her face an expressionless mask. "Seems like you and Josh have been busy entrepreneurs. Possession, manufacture and distribution of a Schedule I drug carries a pretty stiff penalty."

"I already explained all this to that other detective — Detective Nose."

"Noyse," Sanchez interjected.

Mia rolled her eyes. "Whatever his name is — Josh only grows it for personal use. He only had eight plants. How does that amount to manufacture and distribution?"

"Listen, dearie, we confiscated over 15 pounds of weed from your house. Both you and Josh are looking at felony records and 12 years in prison unless you cooperate."

Mia's voice rose higher with indignation. "There's no way those eight little plants equal 15 pounds. You can't charge us with that! I want to speak with an attorney."

Detective Sanchez was not going to tolerate Mia's uppity attitude. She needed to bring this young girl down a few notches.

Sanchez rose from her chair, her palms remaining flat on the table, her face now red and only inches from Mia as she leaned toward her and yelled. "Listen, sweetheart, you want to speak to an attorney? Fine! But then we're throwing the book at both of you. You can say good bye to each other and to your house, your car, and all those nice things you and Josh have acquired. He'll never work as a teacher again. His career and your futures will be ruined. I'll see to it!"

Mia felt Detective Sanchez' hot breath and spittle blast against her cheeks as the angry detective shouted into her face.

Sanchez sat down, resumed a calm demeanor and continued as if her previous rant never occurred. "Or you can cooperate with us. All of this can go away and your husband, Josh, can continue teaching. Otherwise, you're both looking at lengthy prison time away from each other. It's your choice."

Tears began flowing from Mia's eyes. "What do you mean, 'cooperate'? I don't even smoke marijuana, you can give me a drug test right now. I told Josh not to grow that stuff."

Mia spoke the truth. She very rarely used marijuana. It made her too paranoid and nervous, but Sanchez didn't care and wasn't buying anything Mia said. Bigger fish swam in the ocean of scum and Mia looked like perfect bait to catch them. "We have a big drug problem in this city, which you can help us solve. We know who distributes the drugs, but we need to find sources, who else is involved. We want to bust Reggie Johnson, but first we need to find out who he gets his drugs from."

Mia sniffled. "Who's Reggie Johnson?"

Was this girl serious or was she just playing stupid? How could she not know about Reggie Johnson? Everyone on the street, and part of the drug trade in this city, knew about Reggie Johnson, the high-ranking gangster responsible for murders, heinous crimes, and the area's rich supply of illicit drugs. Detective Sanchez was going to bring him down, and this hot young female was going to help her do it.

Mia's suburban life had sheltered her from the likes of Reggie Johnson. Her anonymity was perfect, and perhaps her ignorance was for the best too.

"Stand up for me," Sanchez barked.

"What?"

"Just do it and turn around."

Mia timidly rose from her chair, with her head down and shoulders hunched over in fear as she turned around.

"Stand straight!"

Mia's back straightened upon command. The baggy sweat pants she wore poorly concealed what could only be described as an incredibly tight and sexy ass from hours she had spent working out at the gym.

"You'll do just fine," Sanchez mumbled to herself as she studied the perfect curves of Mia's beautifully slender figure. She was exactly Reggie Johnson's type — young, white with perky c-cup tits and an hour glass figure; a gorgeous face with big blue eyes and silky blond hair.

*****************

They lived in a well-kept, modest sized home — the only house on a secluded street in an otherwise suburban area populated by soccer moms and dads who coached little league baseball on the weekends for their young children. An ideal place for kids of their own they planned to have soon. The yard was neatly trimmed and heavily shaded by two large oaks that reached over the house like two giant hands about to shake with each other.

Mia stood in the living room. "I have to do it, Josh. I'm sorry, but it's the only way. If I don't do this for them, they'll send us both to jail. You'll lose your job, have a felony record and never teach again. Why didn't you just listen to me? I told you not to grow that stuff and to stop smoking it."

Josh stared at her as she spoke, his face wearing his confusion. At 5' 10" tall and perhaps 145 pounds wet, he was never much of an athlete, his frame best described as wiry. How could the police suddenly send her off as an informant without any preparation? It didn't seem safe or right. "Well, where are you going?"

"I'm not sure," Mia answered. "Detective Sanchez didn't tell me yet."

Above his wire-framed glasses, his eyebrows now knitted together with concern. How could she not know where she was going? "When will you be home?"

Detective Sanchez hadn't told her that yet either. "I don't know."

"You're not sure; you don't know," Josh mimicked. "Well, what can you tell me?"

"Nothing — all Detective Sanchez told me is she needs me to find out about some guy named Ryan or something. I can't remember his name. I was so nervous."

"Oh that's just great. You don't know who this is, where you're going, what you'll be doing, or when you'll be back." Josh sat in his chair, crossed his arms, and pouted like an angry child. "You're not the five-o, Mia."

"I don't want to do it, Josh. But we don't have a choice."

A car horn honked for Mia from their driveway and Josh jumped from his chair.

Mia wrapped her arms around her husband, gave him a big hug and kiss. "Please, Josh, I have to go now. I'll call as soon as I can, but it may be a while. I'm not supposed to contact anyone I know while doing this."

Josh melted in her embrace and returned her hug. "I'm sorry Mia. You're right — this is all my fault. But I didn't mean to do this to us. The laws in this country are so fucked up. You know why they originally illegalized weed back in 1937?"

Mia shook her head.

"They thought black men used it to seduce white women. Isn't that ridiculous? It's all because of racism. And here we are in 2016 suffering the consequences of unjust laws based on bigotry."

The horn honked again.

"Please be careful and call me as soon as you can," Josh added.

Mia tore herself away from him. Josh followed her to the front door, where she grabbed her packed suitcase.

He stood at the doorway and unenthusiastically waved farewell as Mia entered an older Honda Accord Detective Sanchez drove.

***************

A man and woman shouted curse words at each other from the neighboring unit while their baby cried, and the sound of distant sirens drifted through the air.

"I don't want to wear this stuff," Mia complained, pulling down at the short, tightly-fitting mini skirt so it would cover more of her legs. "This is too short and I feel uncomfortable wearing a thong underneath it like this. Please let me put on something else."

"You're either going to do this and get the information I need, or I'll file those charges with the DA. What's it going to be? I'm getting tired of hearing you whine."

Mia didn't like any of this. Sanchez made her share this disgusting rat infested apartment in a bad inner-city neighborhood with some crack whore, and now she made Mia wear this slutty outfit. "Aren't you going to give me a wire or something?"

Sanchez believed Mia and her husband were low-life drug dealers. Small fry perhaps, but not much better than Johnson. Sanchez' only concern for Mia as her informant was in using her to catch Johnson, nothing more. To that end, she was expendable. Mia obviously didn't understand their working relationship yet. "You're an informant, not an undercover cop. Reggie Johnson will likely check you for a bug anyway. That's if you ever get near him. We can't risk him finding out that you're working for us."

"But it's been three days already. Please, I want to see my husband. When can I see Josh? I'm tired of hanging out at that stupid club with all those black men hitting on me all night. How am I supposed to make friends with this Reggie Johnson guy anyway and find out all this stuff for you? I haven't even seen him there yet."

Sanchez squinted her eyes and looked at Mia angrily. "That's your problem. Use your imagination. I'm sure a cute girl like you can put your good looks to use and figure something out, but you better do it quickly. The sooner you do, the sooner you can see Josh. The clock is ticking and you're running out of time. If you don't get me some information soon, I'll have you and Josh prosecuted and sent to prison."

"No, please don't do that. I'll get the information you want..."

While Detective Sanchez prepared Mia, her colleague, Detective Noyse, secretly met with Reggie Johnson.

Steel and glass skyscrapers contained fiery reflections of the setting sun like the surface of a calm sea. From Reggie's penthouse apartment, Noyse gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at a breathtaking view of the city. "Funny how nice it all looks from way up here. It's only when you're actually on the ground and part of it that the filth and ugliness become apparent, I guess."

"It's on the desk," Reggie replied, finishing his last rep of bench presses. The muscles in his arms and chest looked like they were about to rip through his tight brown skin as he gritted his teeth.

Noyse placed a folder he had brought with him on the desk and picked up the thick envelope Reggie had left there for him. He opened the envelope and briefly thumbed through a stack of hundred-dollar bills it contained before quietly placing it inside his jacket pocket and returning to the view outside the window.

Reggie sat up from gym equipment in the middle of his expansive living room, and used a white towel hanging around his neck to wipe sweat from his face. He glanced at the closing stock prices running across the bottom of an enormous LED TV hung like a picture on the wall. He had made over $800K in the market today, he silently noted, pointing a remote control toward the set. The screen went black. "Anything I need to know?"

His six-pack abs noticeable, Reggie walked to the desk.

Noyse turned from the window. "You might want to look over the contents of that folder carefully. Sanchez is on a high horse again and she's after you and your suppliers. She recruited a new informant we busted a few days ago."

Reggie opened the folder containing Mia Warren's mug shot and arrest record. "Nice," he muttered out loud to himself, the picture less than flattering to Mia, but her beauty apparent to him anyway. He read through her report. "Hmm —married, 24-years-old, and no kids. Busted for growing weed. Tsk-tsk — naughty girl."

"The husband admitted it was his. She seems pretty straight-laced, but you never know these days."

Reggie looked up from the folder. "It's an election year. A sizable contribution to a certain incumbent's re-election campaign should take care of Detective Sanchez' investigation. In the meantime, I gotta check Mrs. Warren out. May wanna tap me some that fine white pussy. Keep that cute little informant preoccupied."

"The husband should appreciate that very much," Detective Noyse dryly replied.

Reggie returned Noyse's sarcasm with a grin. "That's what he gets for breaking the law, cutting into my business — and not doing it very well, I might add."

*************

From across a crowded, dimly lit dance club, her golden blond hair and beautiful skin stood out like headlights on a deserted road at night. Very few Caucasians frequented this establishment, and none of them had ever looked as good as her. Reggie studied how the softer features of her nose, eyes, and mouth accentuated her sharp cheekbones to produce the loveliest face. The tight miniskirt she wore only amplified an equally gorgeous figure that could easily belong to a supermodel and drew unwanted attention from practically every male in the joint.

Unaware of Reggie's presence, Mia stood by the bar watching some black couple dance next to her, the girl obscenely thrusting her pelvis into the guy's leg, oblivious it seemed to all else around her. An offensive rap song blasted, making even the floors and walls vibrate.

Mia hated this place, but Sanchez said this was Reggie Johnson's hangout, although he had not appeared here for the past three nights.

"Damn, you beautiful. Let me buy you a drink," she heard a voice say with a familiar African American accent. She was so tired of hearing that stupid accent and having to tell these ignorant black men that she was not interested. She rolled her eyes up and sighed. She had lost count of how many men had already hit on her this evening. She wanted to get out of this place and be with Josh. There was no way in Hell she would ever cheat on her husband or be with some nasty black guy.

Mia irritatedly turned around to tell whoever it was this time to buzz off and leave her alone.

Her eyes climbed up the muscular stature of an enormous black man, as if trying to find the top of a skyscraper. In the darkness, she somehow missed the monstrous bulge in his pants. She almost blew it, about to tell him to get lost like all the other inferior black men she had encountered this evening, before her eyes finally reached his face.

Mia suddenly realized that the gigantic man speaking to her was Reggie Johnson — the man she had been waiting for. He wore a Polo shirt and a thick gold necklace, grey silk slacks, and an expensive sports jacket. Diamond rings that looked big enough to sink the Titanic adorned his fingers.

Mia nervously forced a smile. Her opportunity finally arrived, yet her mind was blank as to what to say. "Hi," she managed to squeak out.

Reggie looked at the almost empty glass Mia held. "Whatcha drinking?"

Mia was not much of a drinker, and her tumbler contained remnants of ice water — the only substance she ever intended to consume here. But she remembered Detective Sanchez' threats — Josh's career in ruins, criminal records marring their future, 12 years in prison. Little time remained. She needed information about Reggie and his suppliers to give Sanchez. Too much was at stake to let her nerves get in her way now. This was her chance and she could not let it slip away. "I'll have whatever you're drinking."

Reggie turned to the bartender. "A Crown on the rocks for me and this lovely woman. Make 'em doubles".

The bartender briefly raised an eyebrow, thinking he might have misheard Reggie. The only thing Mia had ordered from him the past three nights was ice water. He proceeded to fill two tumblers with ice and generous amounts of the amber liquid without question. "Anything else, Mr. Johnson?"

Reggie gave him a fifty-dollar bill. "Not now. Keep the change."

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson."

Reggie handed Mia the glass. "Come on, let's sit somewhere quiet and talk."

They sat at a small table away from the music. Mia remained incredibly nervous. She quickly forced down the contents of her glass and felt fire form in her stomach.

"Wow, you really slammed that down. I ain't seen many women drink like that. I'll get you another. I don't want to drink by myself."

Mia stared blankly at him a moment as she waited for the fire in her gut to simmer. Although she rarely drank, she possessed the ability to hold her liquor well.

Reggie signaled a nearby server. "Bring my pretty friend here another double of Crown, on the rocks."

Mia began to feel the calming effects of alcohol she just consumed enter her bloodstream. "What's your name?"

"Reggie Johnson — and who, may I inquire, do I have the pleasure of meeting."

"I'm Mia."

"Where you from, Mia? I never seen you 'round here before. No way could I ever miss someone as beautiful as you."

She caught herself from almost fumbling the whole thing by telling him her real address. Mia's nervousness returned. She had forgotten the address where she was staying with the crack whore. "I just moved here — to a place on North 89th Street and Milton Avenue. Do you know the area?"

Ch. 2

0 notes