Ever The Contrarian

CHAPTER TEN - THE LAST ONE WAS BIT TOOOOOO LONG BUT WHATEVER XD 

Merucry and Nox walked down the trail. "where are we going?" Mercury suddenly asked, shattering the awkward silence. youch. silence is good sometimes, you know? "Oh. I was just following you." Nox said quizzically, and Mercury frowned. no, she was following Nox! what was going on? "That was my line! I was following you!" she said, and suddenly Flourine stumbled down the trail, shouting, "Mercury! Nox!" 

"Huh? What is it?" Mercury asked, and Florine's voice rang out again, this time a bit shaky with fear. Mercury couldnt see Flourine, but she could clearly hear her voice as it echoed off the trees."Please follow my voice and find me." Mercury and Nox looked at each other. "Get your sword out, Mer." he muttered, carefully grabbing a dagger in his hand.YESSSS A FIGHT SCENE WE READY Mercury furrowed her brows together and took her sword in her hand. As they entered the clearing, she made sure to angle the sword in a way that made it blend in with her clothes, under the folds of her cloak. there were more assassins - and one was holding a dagger to Flourine's throat. tears dripped down her face, and she stared at Mercury with her green eyes. Mercury stared back, a bit shocked. looks like her brain was still gone."We should have known there would be more." Nox growled, and Mercury sighed, her brain finnaly lagging in. "If only we had planned this out a bit better. You could have gone in, and I could have stayed in the bushes." Mercury said. Oh, I know! Just go back into the bushes, Mercury! second attempt! Then, she turned around and walked back into the bushes. "You guys never saw me! lets try that again!" Mercury said, calling on her trump card - appearing dumb and innocent so that people underestimated her. which is not really a trump card of any sort.

For a moment, they are stared blankly, including Nox, who had no idea what was going on. the assassins were now glancing all around them, trying to find out where she would attack from. they couldnt see her moving around in the bushes, so she could attack from any angle she saw fit. Perfect, everything was going along. The assassin lowered the dagger from Flourine's neck ever so slightly, and Mercury's sword shot out of the bushes to knock the dagger away, before any harm could be done. She didnt want to see Flourine actually covered in blood, and she certainly didnt want to act out the dramatic "Save my sister" scene again. Mercury pulled Flourine out of the assassin's grip and yanked her into the bushes. Nox, who also realzied that they were distracted, started to sprint towards the bushes. Too late, though, the assassins surrounded him. Checkmate! what'cha gonna do now, Mer? Mercury then made a hand signal to Flourine to wait in the bushes, to which she nodded. Then, Mercury leaped out of the bushes, straight past the assassins, and landed right next to Nox. In the middle of the assassins. "Mercury! do you want to die next to me or something!" Nox hissed, and Mercury grinned. "They say, when in doubt, blackmail you're way to success!" The assassins started to close in on them, Nox and Mercury back-to-back. "Mercury! do something!" Nox stammered. 

"Alright. Time to spout complete nonsense." Mercury whispered into Nox's ear. She took a deep breath, for good luck. "Silk rug! desk! loofahs! dishwasher! garden! Lillypad! grass! penguin! Books! plants! gardens! coins! uhm, shoes!" Mercury screamed, listing random things off the top of her head. Completel nonsense! The assassins stopped to stare at her, and Nox muttered, "She's finally lost her marbles." 

"AHA! SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME!" Mercury screamed, and they all flinched. the main characters is good at blackmailing, but Nox doesnt think so. Nox thinks shes gone insane. Mercury cleared her throat, and began, again, "Who the assassins really are? The government has been misleading us all along!" Mercury blurted, and the assassins stopped in their tracks. "That's a good title for tomorrow's headlines, right?" Mercury said, grinning. She was, inevitably, completely deranged. However, she was deranged in a good way. The assassins didnt reply, and Mercury said, "You'd better step back, or else."

They all backed up instantly. Nox exhaled, and Mercury frowned. "No, I mean, all the way. back back back back back! more! what are you staring at!" Mercury hissed, waving her hands at them. annoying flies! shoo, just die already! Mercury parted the bushes to reveal Floruine, and Mercury helped her out. "Continue to back away. don't stop!" Mercury said, glaring, and the assassins continued until they were well out of sight. "Now, for the finale! If you had killed us first, then we never would have been able to threaten you with that blackmail! you are all so dumb, haha! Nox, Flourine, RUN!" Mercury yelled into the distance, marking the end of her speech, and they all dashed into the bushes. after about 30 minutes of running, they all stopped to catch their breaths. Mercury couldnt feel her legs anymore, they were so numb. she left like she was going to fall over. "We… definitely lost them.." Mercury gasped, and Nox clapped her on the back. "Mercury! That was amazing! But, also insane! do you not have any fear?" he said, and Mercury smiled. "I dont need any, I'm completely insane. Besides, if I go out, ill go out with a bang. Right?" Fluorine was also gasping for breath. "Ahhh, I love chaos! those assassins! haha, they were so stupid!" Mercury said, chortling. It was all in the past now, so she was free to laugh. "They were, but… we were as well. We're lost now, after all. Or, actually, we would be, but I can see the trail over there." Nox said, and Mercury hugged him. "You're the best, nox! what would we ever do without you?!" she said. Fluorine was staring at the ground. "You good, Fluorine?" Mercury asked, and the 8-year-old burst into tears. Shocked, Mercury watched her rub her eyes. Obviously, she had no idea how to handle baling kids. "You almost died because of me! I'm so sorry! I should have been more careful! Im so useless!!" Fluorine wailed, erupting into sobs. wow. more dramatic than Mercury? I didnt expect that from you, Flo! 

"Yeeesh. That's a mood, huh..?" Mercury whispered to Nox, who burst out laughing. Kind of a rude thing to do when someone was crying, but oh well. a joke is a joke. "Nonsense. It's fine, we dodge death on a daily basis. We don't mind. That was so fun! did you see their faces? hahaha, they realized that they just got tricked. Also, you're definitely not useless. you helped us a lot." Mercury rambled, gently wiping the tears on Flourine's face. she had no idea what she was saying. "r-really?" Fluorine asked, and Mercury smiled. "Really! now, let's go! we're going to be stuck here till nighttime if we don't hurry!" mercury grumped. She gave Flourine a piggyback ride, which had become a sort of ritual between them since the first one. "So, how does it feel to be tall?" Mercury asked Fluorine, who grinned. "I feel like a king!" However, even though Flourine had gained a decent height boost, Mercury was practically an elf compared to Nox, who towered over her. Since she and fluorine were both short, Fluorine only helped her case by a few inches - which meant Nox was still taller than Flourine and Mercury combined. "Im sure Nox feels like an emperor, then. Anyway, when you grow up, make sure to be tall. After all, you'd make a great king. Or queen, y'know, whichever comes first." mercury added hastily. Fluorine was now glowing from the praise, her previous tears had disappeared. "Well, I guess you're the town socialite for a reason." Nox muttered, who had also noticed the change. Mercury beamed at him. Blushing, Nox looked away. 

"Thanks, nox. I mean it." Mercury said happily.