Torments and Chainsaws

[shonosuke absesas]

"God damn zombies, god damn ghouls, motherfucking cunt-faced VAMPIRES. Can't they go find a pig to go fuck? Or maybe their mothers!"

There was a low growling sound, quickly escalating until it sounded similar to a chainsaw. No wonder; the blade practically was a chainsaw. The Chainkey, he called it, for obvious reasons.

He wasn't sure if there were other Keybearers; that's what he'd deduced the Chainkey was, after getting stuck in a sticky situation. After all, he hadn't consciously grabbed it. And it amplified his magic, which was a plus.

It was designed for brute attack, which suited him- he sucked at those fancy-shmancy skills that required like, fifty ballerina twirls, then a loop-de-loop, with a handstand as a finisher. So, therefore, it required no skill at all. Plus, it just looked awesome, especially when he decided to help out the Guardians, maybe visit his father.

He never saw anyone in the Court of Coffins, nowadays. He supposed he'd lived as long as he had, a full year, due to sheer luck. Just the other day he'd thought it'd run out. His weapon, a gun he'd swiped, had fallen from his hands, and something stepped on it. He'd curled up into a ball then, screaming his head off, hoping beyond anything that being saved wasn't a suicide mission for another person.

Then something solid in his hands, a soft purring, and he'd opened his eyes. In his hands... The Chainkey. Well, obviously he didn't die, but it'd been close.

Shonosuke Absesas counted himself lucky. Yeah, he never knew his mom, but whatever. He didn't care. So long as he was cold (it was freezing in Fantasmas, no wonder he wore such heavyduty winter clothes), he could practice the only spell he was good at, maybe even improve, and he was alone, he was fine. He was more than fine- he was happy. Ish.

[Oleander]

Oleander found himself shivering uncontrollably as he made his way through the Court. Part of the reason was his apparel; he wore little more than a white t-shirt decorated with a faded checkerboard pattern, a pair of dingy too-large jeans, and a simple pair of tan Converse. It was cold and he fancied his hyperventilating was leaving a trail of fog in the air.

The other part of the reason why Ollie was clutching his shovel in his hands while simultaneously keeping them crossed over his chest was because things were lurking. Dead things. Unnatural things.

He'd sworn up and down that no, he would never, ever, ever enter this horrible part of town. But he felt like he'd searched everywhere else for his little sister and baby brother. A leaf skittered across the ground and made him jump. He tugged dyed-blue bangs out of his face and continued slinking along as quietly as he could, teeth clenched tight and body poised to flee if necessary.

And indeed, it was necessary. Lurking behind a coffin was a deformed mass of writhing flesh. It walked on two arms and its two legs stuck out from almost cancerous bulges on its neck. Its face was rotten and decayed while the rest of its body was nothing but lumps of gangrenous skin. It sensed Ollie's presence and began to gurgle and lurch towards him from behind.

A swift kick to his back rendered Oleander stunned and he landed face-first in a well-placed puddle of blood. He sputtered the vile fluid out of his mouth and leapt to his feet as fast as he could. He blood dripped over his hands, causing his grip on the shovel to be slick. He turned to run when the monster gave a deep roaring yell and rushed towards him. It used its bulk to pin Oleander to a coffin before its face split open in a wide grin.

Ollie blinked up at his sumo-wrestler doom before doing what any smart boy would do. "HELP!!!"

[shonosuke absesas]

Shonosuke could practically hear stupidity; however, he wasn't sure if it was his own imagination, or if the things that haunted the Court had found a hapless victim. Either way, he'd planned to ignore it... until there was that scream. For a second, he hoped that they were just fighting amongst themselves- the only problem with that, however, was the fact only humans made that kind of a scream. So, with a sigh, he began loping towards the source of the disturbance, sighing in irritation. Always his conscious acting up, always, and quite frankly, it sucked.

He really should pay more attention. He knew he should have.

He quickly located the source, and was lunging to attack, like all good people should, Chainkey purring loudly, when his foot slipped on what might have been the same puddle of blood the trapped kid might have nearly swallowed. But the kid really wasn't a kid... Either way, he was sent sprawled on the ground, hitting the creature headfirst before he managed to get back onto his feet, the blood sliding off his smooth clothes. "You're an ugly little thing, aren't you?" he asked sweetly, voice rather quiet, before he jumped backwards, sliding slightly but not as bad as last time, as the putrid carcass kicked at him. "That boy isn't entertaining to kill, I'll betcha. Let's dance!" With his free hand, he grabbed one of the legs, pulling the monster forwards, away from Oleander.

Shonosuke cut out everything that wasn't the center of his attention at that moment, the monster. Good thing it held up fairly well, else rotted flesh would be scattered in his hair. And he HATED things getting in his hair. However, this thing was one of the stronger ones, it seemed, or maybe he was just worse at fighting than he thought. Within seconds he was on the defensive, and he prayed to whatever was up there, if there was anything up there, that he did not embark on a suicide mission.

His first good deed, saving someone. It would be silly if he died being something he really didn't want to be.

[Oleander]

He began to see his life flashing before his eyes. Mostly scenes of his family life which was nothing close to sunshine and rainbows. He was just getting to the part where he'd picked up his most loyal friend, Rusty the shovel, when the mass stopped crushing him.

Ollie slumped to the ground and tried to regain his breath. His chest ached and what would he do if a rib was broken? Probably crying in pain, actually, so it was probably just a bruise. And he wasn't being eaten, which was the best part.

He looked up to see what on earth was going on when he caught sight of his savior. The way the dim moonlight shimmered off the man's indigo hair and glinted off of his weapon. It was like a chainsaw, one of the stranger weapons Ollie had come across but it only made the man before him more mysterious. He continued to gawk for a few moments, noticing the stranger's warm clothing and thinking it'd be so nice to snuggle into, when he realized that the man was having difficulties fighting the...thing.

Oleander wasted no time in wiping off his hands on his jeans, leaving bloodied hand prints on his thighs. He then used his shirt (and it used to be such a nice, clean shirt) to clean the sticky blood from his shovel's handle.

With a primal yell that exuded more masculinity than Ollie thought he had, he brought the shovel down on what seemed to be the monster's head. He had used the edge of the shovel like a blade and it sank into one of the growths before it burst open, revealing pus and rotten goo. The monster was not at all pleased with this and swiped a kick at Ollie, turning its back to Shonosuke. Oleander thankfully ducked and missed the foot that threatened to take his head off.

[shonosuke absesas]

Was this person stupid?! He'd expected them to run away, had counted on it actually, never having wanted to be thanked, but instead, this... boy starts helping him. Poorly, but helping nonetheless. "Kid, get the fuck away! You wanna end up like the owners of the blood?!" He jabbed a finger at one of the blood puddles, and in doing so, took his attention away from the beast. Bad move. The monster practically jumped him, sending him falling to the ground and knocking the Chainkey out of his hands. Eyes flicking to the weapon, he decided not to try getting it, instead scrabbling backwards, against a coffin. The monster leered, as Shonosuke stood up, legs wobbly, left hand twitching.

There was a flash of light, then the Chainkey reappeared in his hands, making him grin. "You, sir, are the roughest dancer I've ever had the displeasure to be around," he said, putting no effort in his giggle, so it sounded hiccupy. Well, he was scared out of his wits, but whatever. "Freeze!" he shouted, slapping the creature on the 'arm' (leg) with the flat of the blade, icing over the limb long enough for him to roll out of the predicament, straightening next to Oleander.

"As I said, I think you should leave. This fight could go very, very wrong. Even the best of fighters have been overwhelmed here, and unfortunately, all the good fighters besides the Guardians at the Rundown Boulevard settled here," he said softly, frowning as the monster whirled around, leg just now starting to become unfrozen. He lunged forwards, and for a few seconds, it did seem like they were dancing, awkwardly, but dancing nonetheless, until one of the bloated 'hands' slammed down on his head, making his eyes widen before he stumbled away, dazed.

Ewwww. Monster foot. Good thing he had a shower in his home. Ice-cold water for the win.

[Oleander]

Ollie knew he was risking his life, trying to bash this thing on the head. But the guy had risked his life, too. The way he saw it, they'd continue to repay the favor of saving each other from a disgusting death until the monster died or they could both flee. Then Ollie would invite the man out to a lovely dinner where he would thank the man and it would be wonderful!

But the handsome strange kept trying to get him to leave. And he wasn't a kid! He had just come up with an indignant response when the man lost his chainblade...only to have it magically appear in his hands a moment later. Ollie wished he shovel could do that!

Then a blast of ice froze the creature's leg and the stranger appeared at Ollie's side. He really didn't manage to catch most of what the guy was saying, too distracted with the color of his eyes and the determined glare on his face. He had such a lovely voice...

As Shonosuke raced away to attack, Ollie rushed after. The monster was so distracted with Shon and smacking the man in the head, that Ollie managed a blow to the thing's abdomen. His shovel merely bounced off the fat.

Well shit! "Hey, hero-guy, do a freezy spell again!" The monster lumbered to face Ollie who was backing up slowly, trying to buy the man some time. "And my name's Ollie, by the way!" Introductions, check. Next on his to-do list, defeat the monster without dying.

[shonosuke absesas]

This kid was really odd. He knew he shouldn't refer to the other as kid- looked just about the same age as him- but whatever. His head swam as he staggered against another coffin, leaning on it to clear his mind for a second, get rid of the killer headache he now had. It went away after a moment, just in time to catch the kid's name, Ollie. "Shonosuke," he replied, shaking his head a little. "And it's not that simple. I can try using Blizzard again, but it won't do too much, not until I learn the next level, Blizzara." Still, he lunged towards the creature, muttering, "Freeze," and slapping it with the flat of the blade again, this time on the head.

The sight of the oozing pus and goo, slowly freezing, was enough for a disgusted look to slither onto his face before he slammed the Chainkey into one of the arms serving as legs. The purr grew into a roar as the blades sank deep into the flesh, cracking the bone with a loud snap. Finally, he wrenched it free, shaking off the muck on it off, prancing away backwards to try and avoid the flailing creature as it suffered what must have been an excruciating case of brainfreeze. Pun fully intended. But it was obvious he'd grown bored with this game, if it was even a game, since he quickly retaliated, Chainkey slicing through sinew, bone, and throat with a sound akin to someone saying "Die motherfucker die." Swiftly, as the head fell to the ground, he began mutilating the body to ensure it would never again get up, finally finding a large rock and dropping it on the head, destroying it.

"Hm. Seems a shower is in order," he muttered, grimacing. "You. Ollie. You can get washed up at my place, get new clothes, whatever, or you can see if you can get back to your own home. Take your pick." He hoped Ollie would choose to go home, but he was polite enough to say so; he had to be nice, since the kid had helped him with the monster. He refrained from reminding himself that if Ollie hadn't come anywhere near the Court of Coffins, then the monster wouldn't need to be killed.

[Oleander]

And just like that, the creature was beheaded and completely for-good dead. Ollie whispered a praise of thanks to his guardian angel before approaching his living savior. He wasn't sure what to say to a dude who'd just kicked major ass just to save a stranger's butt and he figured a simple 'hey, thanks, mister' wasn't going to cover it.

His mouth opened but the man, Show-no-sue-kay, beat him to it. One more kindness after another! He felt his ears and face get heated as the man pretty much invited him to his place. "Th-thanks, Mister," he managed to stammer. "That's really nice of ya, y'know?" Considering Ollie was homeless at the moment thanks to his self-imposed quest, there was no way he'd turn now a nice hot shower (the blood he'd fell in was beginning to dry in his hair, ew!)

"Umm, I do have a bag of clothes but they're in...um...where I'm staying." He wasn't going to tell Shonosuke that where he was staying was nothing more than a glorified cardboard box in an alleyway.

And Shonosuke was such a long name to repeat over and over again. "Say, you got a nickname or something?"

[shonosuke absesas]

Was he blushing?! The kid certainly looked like he was! Shonosuke decided to pin it on the fact the kid was not dressed for this weather, which was odd, considering that, while this was the warmest point in Fantasmas, it was by no means tropical. "Mhm, whatever. Go get your clothes, then, or do you need someone to watch yer back? Considering the fact that had I not been there, you'd have fared poorly." He smirked, gloating like he occasionally did, when he'd proved he was superior to someone.

He thought for a moment. "A nickname, you mean?" he said slowly, frowning now. "Never had a need for one. Shon will work." He shrugged, clutching tightly to the Chainkey. Now that the whole fight thing was over, he just felt... awkward. Great. Now what was he supposed to do?!

Oh, yeah, feed his hamster. "Anyways, I'd like to hurry. I have... something... I need to do." He left the something ambiguous- to show how concerned he actually was for his hamster would be ridiculous.

[Oleander]

He started to shiver again now that the adrenaline was leaving his system and he wrapped his arms around himself. He had an inkling that Shon was kinda pissy about the whole situation and it made Ollie feel even more awkward and embarrassed than usual. He chuckled to try and disperse the tension in the air.

"Yeah, we'd better hurry in case that thing has any friends." Ollie tried to not look at the monster and the oozing blood and other ickiness lest he made an ass out of himself by throwing up. "And we should probably stick together; better safe than sorry."

Ollie grabbed his shovel and slung it over his shoulder before nodding in the direction he'd come from. His 'home' wasn't too far and hopefully the way back would be considerably less deadly.

[shonosuke absesas]

His left eye twitched. In his opinion, no they should NOT stay together, but again, too polite to say so. He just grunted, letting Ollie decide if he was agreeing or not; he felt incredibly tired now, and his head hurt. Possibly because when the creature had kicked him, it had hit the top of his earmuff/phones, which had bitten angrily into his scalp. Absently, he touched the top of his head, where it hurt the worst, staring at the glistening red that suddenly coated the tips of his fingers, eyes half-closed. Finally, he mumbled an "Ow," like he didn't really care. Which he didn't, actually.

The Chainkey was silent now, but he didn't try to attach it to his belt or something; what if it buzzed to life suddenly? Oops, there went a leg. Whoops, that was an arm. Um, he didn't really need that organ to live, right? Idly, he chuckled, following the kid (Ollie would forever be a kid in his mind, acted too much like one) to whatever home he had.

Something finally occurred to Shon that kind of offended him. "You know, is my name really such a bad one that you have to hide your humiliation of saying it by saying a shorter version? Yeah, it's long- but is it bad enough to use a shorter version? There's three different ways to pronounce my name, you know." All of the heroic strength was gone; now he just sounded weary, tired (well, he was tired), and well, that was pretty much it. His shoulders slumped, his back was slouched, and the Chainkey hung limply from his fingers. He even looked like he was suppressing a yawn.

He was not a hero-guy, really. Just someone who wanted to be alone, but also didn't want people to end up murdered when he could have saved them. He held no regal stance, didn't even seem to have any pride in his actions. But he had a smirk on his face; whether it was a friendly smirk, or not, was something to be questioned.