Saint's Apex
Morgan and the others walked to see Merlin, wondering why he was late. Even Manson and Xiro tagged along, fed up with waiting around for results. Then Shikom sniffed the air, his hair standing on end and a worried look on his face as he ran faster. Then he witnessed Merlin's limp body, and his heart instantly sank into his stomach. "No no...no no no NO!!!!" he yelled in distress as he saw Merlin laying there. He didn't know what to do, what to say. All he could do was stand there shaking in fear, anger, and sadness. Morgan ran up too, shocked to see Merlin laying in his own blood as the wounds on his body shown. She gently touched his head, and realized that he was somehow still warm, but Shikom was already too angry to notice, his fear gone as tears streamed from his eyes, and his face red hot with anger.
"Shikom, don't! We don't know who did this, this isn't-" she was cut off by Shikom dashing away, demonic wings appeared on his back as he started to look more like a feral demon wolf. Rikusa couldn't even calm him down as he was being suppressed by Shikom's aura, worrying him as Shikom came face to face with Pazuzas, the ground boiling under his feet as he growled a cloud of steam. "You....YOU KILLED HIM YOU BASTARD!!!! I'LL KILL YOU 100 TIMES OVER!!!" Shikom roared, his fangs bared and the tips red with his own blood filling them. Pazuzas just looked at him, not caring at all and only asked one question. "Who?"
Shikom rushed at him with his bare claws, his tears evaporating as melted ground formed hands and grabbed Pazuzas and squeezed him with enormous pressure, but it was blown apart and he was hit with a barrage of punches to his chest, stab wounds appearing as he rushed in again. Pain meant nothing to him. His emotions were gone other than rage. He wanted Merlin back.
Rikusa finally managed to emerge, creating shadow tendrils to stop Shikom from moving, then teleporting in an orb of darkness a good distance away. "Shikom! Stop it! He's gone, you want to end up dead with him, huh?!" he yelled. Shikom began to calm down, his rage being replaced with an overwhelming sadness as he began to cry. He screamed into the empty air, the rain beginning to pour as if it responded with his tears. He hit the ground, he cried Merlin's name, clawing at his hair until his hair drew blood, he wanted it to be a nightmare. But all he could do was cry, until.
"Don't cry. I'll play with you." Pazuzas said as he kicked Shikom into a building. Rikusa shielded the blow, but the force of it still knocked the wind out of him. "Shikom get up and fight back!" he yelled. But Shikom didn't respond. "Shi-"
"NO! I...I can't....I want Merlin back. I don't care, I just want him..." he said feebly. Rikusa couldn't understand what he was talking about. "Dammit would you stop with this crush? You barely even know the guy, you just have a crush. Get the hell up!" Rikusa yelled. Shikom didn't respond, making Rikusa more upset.
"Jeez, stop being a baby! I admit I like Merlin, but you don't know him. We just tease him sometimes and that's it. You. Are going. To die! Get over it and-"
"SHUT UP!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I FEEL!!" Shikom roared at the top of his lungs. Tears still streamed from his eyes as he felt a rush of hot anger again. "You don't know how safe he makes me, when he pet my head, when he tells me everything's gonna be okay! You don't know! He was the only one who I felt safe with, safe enough to call my first love and he's gone!! It hurts....it hurts so much that I don't care about dying anymore! At least I can be where he is...at least I..." he couldn't finish his sentence anymore. His throat was clogged as he could only cry. He didn't know how to convey his feelings, he just wanted to feel Merlin's embrace again. Rikusa softened up, starting to understand more, mainly because he had a crush on Merlin too. "I wanted to tell him I love him...I wanted to..." he tried to talk again. Rikusa comforted him this time, gently rubbing his head, but to Shikom, it didn't feel the same.
They both waited for the next attack, Shikom just wanting it to be over already. But the attack didn't come, which made Rikusa look out the hole to see everyone else fighting Pazuzas, but he was fighting them all back with relative ease. Shikom finally stopped crying, but his expression was blank. He didn't want to feel, he couldn't be angry or sad. Suddenly blood splattered on Rikusa's face, seeing Morgan's limp body fall on the floor while her neck was cut open from behind, barely attached to her shoulders. Pazuzas grabbed and yanked at Shikom's head, seeing his already dead expression, and had a devious smile on his face. "Wow. You're just pathetic ain't you? Everyone died and you don't do shit? Not even your familiar can do anything. You're not even worth killing, just lay down like a pathetic dog and croak." he said, dropping Shikom to the floor and walking away.
"These kids were easy. This new power is amazing, crazy how...old it is. And I finally got rid of these little pests. Now to-"
He broke out in a cold sweat, his arms shaking, a chill ran up his spine. Something was there. Someone was right behind him. He saw the bodies, no one got back up....except for....
"Ayo. Ya get the number of the punk ass, no girl gettin', ass eatin', pussy ass bitch that shanked my dome piece? Man did that hurt, getting sneaked by a wimp ass loser using a power I just now found out about from the back. But hey, why expect someone who would kill and probably non-consent teenagers to have an honor code when he himself gives the pimp game a black eye? I mean it only makes sense, pimps do things for the fashion around here selling fruits and trinkets, but you actually think that whoring out people makes you mister big bad. I never seen a bigger pussy, and I my ride or die bestie is very feminine."
Pazuzas slowly turned around, and saw that Merlin was standing there, blood in his hair, his clothes drenched, a crazed smile on his face. And he just kept rambling. But something was different, but it wasn't clear what it was. Maybe it was his ghost or temporary necromancy.
"Oh hey you guys! What are ya doin on the ground there? Oh you done got deaded." he said, suddenly erupting into a fit of laughter, falling on his back, and somehow bouncing on the ground like it was made of rubber. "They're dead! That's crazy, and I thought it was weird I saw multiple souls in my inner subspace, holy shit! I better keep their bodies safe or they won't wake up. Now where's my shishi baby?" he asked out loud. Shikom didn't respond though, and Merlin instantly appeared in front of him.
Shikom started to look up at him, and Rikusa couldn't believe that Merlin was standing in front of him. "Ey, Shishi baby. I'm back up and kickin sweetie, gimme a big hug real quick?" he asked. But Shikom pushed him away, scratching at his head in anger and confusion. Merlin's expression changed, this time looking more somber, and gently held Shikom's hand. "I'm really here Shishi. I can't explain it properly...but I'm back. And the world feels....so big now. There's just so much I've seen, so much I have yet to know. Don't be upset. Cry if you need, but don't ruin that lovely hair." he whispered softly in his ear. Shikom hugged Merlin tight, crying as he did so, feeling relief and sadness.
The sun began to shine, showing Merlin was kissing Shikom passionately on the lips, holding his face and stroking his head. Shikom wasn't sure if this was a dream, or real, but he didn't care. He finally got the kiss he wanted, tears still streaming down his face. Merlin then gently bit onto Shikom's neck, leaving a sigil marking on him. "You're mine tonight, Yokai boy." he whispered erotically before everyone else began to stand shakily back up.
"Welcome back to the land of the living y'all. It's time to have some real fun."