The Imperial Anomaly Chapter Two.
(I'm not back from my very impromptu hiatus, but my fiance finished editing this so I figured I'd post it lol. I'm okay, the seasonal depression just hit me really hard)
Their eyes opened as their body retched, water purging from their throat, their lungs as they hacked and coughed and struggled to inhale before it repeated. One moment talking to that…entity -Echo- and the next they were struggling to breathe. What happened? Am I back? Their fingers dug into rough gravel as they fought to ground themselves. Gravel? The stadium grounds were smooth, packed dirt…weren’t they?
Their clothes were clinging to their body, hair plastered to their skin with how drenched it was. When did I get wet? It was an instinct, more than a conscious decision on their part that had their core sparking, drawing on magic to move the water from their lungs. With one final retch, they coughed it out before gasping in a lungful of air. The ringing in their ears started to fade and they realized they weren’t alone. Someone was speaking, the voice soft and deep. Ice spiked through their veins as recognition hit. They knew that voice.
“You have more fight in you than I thought, little raincloud. I told you running wasn’t a good idea, but no. You just had to try, didn’t you? What chance did a Humanborn have of getting away from me?” Freelancer raised their head, their breathing little more than a wheeze as they glared up at the man they hoped to never run into again.
Kody looked similar to before, but there was something…manic in his gaze as he leaned down toward them. His lips turned up in a smirk as they fought for their breath. Rain pelted the two of them as thunder roared in the background. The world was muted to shades of gray and desaturated blues. They weren’t in the stadium, they were in an abandoned gravel parking lot. There was a forest that surrounded them on three sides, with some large, industrial type buildings blocking the last side. There was a road between two of them. “Awww, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t kill you, I just knocked you out a little.” A wave of his hand had them jerked to their feet, psychokinesis holding them upright even as they struggled against it. They were surprised at the move, with how Damien had talked, they hadn’t thought that the water Elemental would call on that magic.
“Struggling is pointless, little raincloud. I don’t know why you’re so interested in keeping your powers. You’ve been hiding your powers since puberty, haven’t you? Like that last little drop that just refuses to fall. You’ve been hiding from the Department, an exercise in futility. This is a errand of mercy, raincloud. Once I'm done with you, you can finally be with your family again.” His tone shifted to something soothing as his callused fingertips brushed a lock of hair from their eyes. They jerked their face away from his touch as they grit their teeth, just that brush of his fingers had their skin crawling. Kody snorted softly as he dropped his hand, though he took the opportunity to lean in closer, his breath warming their cheek as his lips twisted into a smirk. “You won’t have to run anymore. You can just be the nothing you always wished you could be.”
Something hot and volatile sparked in their chest, the heat of it washing away the confusion that had plagued them since they came to. Their forehead cracked against his nose in a satisfying crunch before he grunted and his magic threw them away, sending them skidding through the gravel underfoot. Freelancer rolled, scrambling to their feet, adrenaline pumping through them so they could ignore the aches and pains that ran through their body. Kody glared at him as blood gushed from a nose that was now crooked.
“Now now, Aquafina. You shouldn’t let those emotions of yours run too hot. It makes you irrational.” Their head snapped toward that honeyed, sarcastic tone as the staccato of heels punctuated the ground. They’d recognize that voice anywhere. Relief had their knees weakening as tears welled up in their eyes. He’s okay? He’s really here…
“Gavin-“ The breath left their lungs as magic-magic they were so familiar with- wrapped around their body and stole their movement, muted their core before they could even try and ignite it. Gavin raised an eyebrow at them as his full lips quirked up. He stepped over to them, ignoring the fuming water elemental as he looked them up and down. His gaze curious and appreciative…but it didn’t carry the warmth they’d grown so fond of. A shock went through them as they realized that his eyes weren’t exactly the same. They were still that shocking magenta hue, so bright they appeared to glow, but the whites of his eyes were black.
“Gavin? I’m sorry, Cutie but I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I don’t think I’ve ever said that before.” He chuckled as his tail whipped back and forth, his head tilted as he regarded them. A man ran over to Kody, his hands lifting to touch his face so he could send healing energy to the injury. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing? And you’re giving our leader such trouble…I do like it better when they bite.” He raised his hand, curling his fingers with a slight flourish that pulled them closer to the demon. Their heart wrenched in their chest as they could smell his scent over the rain. He sounds the same…looks the same…he even smells the same. But he’s not my Gavin…
Kody grunted as he knocked the man away from them, his nose somewhat healed. The rain washing away the blood from his skin as he glared at the two of them. “Enough foreplay, Vindemiator. Cut their threads.”
The shock went through them like a knife. Gavin was helping Kody? He was…taking their powers? Was that even possible? They recalled a footnote from one of their textbooks, that if a demon tried to infuse a human, it could burn out their threads. Was that what they were talking about? They struggled, but their body wouldn’t even twitch, their core sparked and popped but fizzled when they reached for their powers. The attempt made those familiar yet cold magenta eyes turn toward them.
They really were in another world, weren’t they? But it had the same people as theirs? Was it like an alternate reality? Echo had said that this was like their world, right? Except for a few key events going differently? What events? What had happened in this world where Gavin was working with Kody, of all people?
“No.” That one little refusal gave them hope, they almost felt guilty for thinking the worst. Even in another world, Gavin couldn’t be cruel…
“No? What. The fuck do you mean? No? Are you forgetting our deal, Incubus?” Kody snapped as he stepped closer to the demon. He stopped before getting into the demon’s personal space. Gavin rolled his eyes as he snorted softly, leveling the other man with a disinterested gaze as he looked him up and down.
“I mean, you’re all terrible lays. And I’m bored of it. I can barely survive on the pathetic feelings I can milk out of you people and meanwhile you put a pretty little thing like this in front of me,” Their breath stilled as he trailed a finger gently down their jaw until he could take their chin between his thumb and index fingers. A touch so gentle it made them want to lean in, but the next words out of his mouth made their blood run cold. “And I see a future where I actually might enjoy sex again. Where I might not have to struggle so hard to dredge up enough power to do all your precious ‘slicing’. I want this humanborn. Give them to me.”
He didn’t mean what they thought he meant, did he? There’s no way. Gavin was a stickler for consent, despite the innuendos and the touches, if he knew you weren’t interested, he’d stop. How twisted was this world, where Gavin would just…take what he wanted from a stranger? What had happened to him? Their thoughts were so loud they almost missed what Kody scoffed.
“You are not in a position to make demands. Hiding with us is the only thing that keeps your head off the Department’s chopping block. If they were find out where you were—"
“Then you’d lose your ability to sever anyone’s connection to magic. Humans don’t have a strong enough control over magic to do that to one another. Only a demon can. And what are the chances that you’ll find another demon? We’re practically the stuff of myth on this plane. Give me my new toy or your entire Slicer plan dries up overnight.”
“I never agreed to be your toy- mph!” Their voice muffled when their jaw snapped shut with one little finger swipe from the incubus in front of them. They couldn’t help but glare up at him as he rendered them voiceless as well as motionless.
“I don’t recall asking your opinion, Cutie. Now keep that pretty mouth of yours closed before I fill it. We should save that fun for later. Unless you’re the exhibitionist type. I promise not to judge.” His lips curled up in smirk as his thumb pressed against their bottom lip.
Kody rolled his eyes at the incubus’ theatrics. “Slice them, and then you can have them.” He grit out before the man he’d shoved away tried to heal his nose again. He hissed as he waved him off “Fuck off, Blake! Your healing is terrible.”
Gavin- No, he wasn’t their Gavin. Vindemiator hummed as he draped himself over their form, his hands moving down their shoulders to their arms. They couldn’t say anything as they felt that warm rush of healing magic course through them. The gashes and bruises from sliding on gravel slowly knit themselves back together. They tried to catch his gaze, questioning why he was healing them, but Vindemiator kept his eyes on the water elemental that was glaring at him. “It’s more fun when they have powers. And it’s not like I can’t keep them in line. I’ve proven that many times over. I’m proving it right now. I want them as is, and I want them now. I need to work off a little frustration, and they look like the perfect stress reliever.”
Kody’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, the rain coming down even harder than before as if he wanted to lash out at both of them, but he kept himself in check. “This is not going to become a regular occurrence. If you want this one, then that’s the one you’re keeping. I’m not going to have you turning your bed into a revolving door of humanborns that you refuse to sever. If you agree this is the only one you plan to take, then you can have them.”
The incubus practically purred, his chin propped on their shoulder as he grinned at Kody like he was a cat that had been awarded a canary. “Done~”
Kody rolled his eyes one more time before he turned his back on them. “Then be sure not to break your toy. We all know how rough you can play.” He called back over his shoulder, a vicious little glare catching their new captive's eye.
They barely caught the heated look Vindemiator threw at Kody’s back. They recognized the agitated swishing his tail was doing, it was no longer languid like before. Even if he wasn’t their Gavin, they could recognize the signs of his agitation. Did this Gavin also wear a mask to protect himself? Cloak himself in innuendos and sensual touches so when people only used him for sex, he could pretend that it didn’t hurt? A familiarity that made their heart clench in their chest. They almost missed the scathing reply Vindemiator hissed. “You’re welcome for that. No need to be a sore loser about the fact that you’re not my type, Kody. I’ve brought you plenty of pleasure over our time knowing each other, even if I didn’t get any in return. Hold tight to those memories.”
“Get the trucks ready. We’re leaving!” Kody barked out, sending his assistant scurrying off to urge the other ‘Slicers’ to hurry.
They almost gasped as the paralysis magic faded away, sending them stumbling before there was an arm around their waist, keeping them upright against a lean, muscular frame. They were tempted to struggle, to bite and kick but they knew they had no choice with their core muted. And…could they really attack someone who looked like their love? Kody was one thing, they kinda owed him a punch after what he did. But Gavin? Or Vindemiator…. They didn’t want to hurt him. It felt too much like betrayal…
“Make sure whoever’s driving the one we’re in the back of has some earplugs! Or a voyeuristic attitude.” Vindemiator called out as he guided them forward, toward the caravan of trucks and vans that must have made up Kody’s little crew. He turned those oh so familiar, oh so painful magenta eyes to them. “Because you and I are going to have lots of fun tonight, Cutie. Or at least I will.”
