Chapter Text
She didn’t stray too far from the cabin. Just far enough to disappear behind the trees at the edge of the clearing. She was still within a scream’s distance if anything happened. She needed this moment, out of sight, to collect her thoughts. Thoughts about the sick man she had been tending to all night, lamenting over his failures and his lost love. Thoughts about the hackers racing to get rid of their pursuers’ trackers so they could get to a hospital, and to the police. Thoughts about that terrifying woman and her cult, the drugs, the torture, and the sweet boy who was so terribly wounded by that place that he couldn’t see it….
Weaving his way stealthily through the forest, he locked on to his prey. He could tell right away it was her, with that long brown hair shrouding her form and her lacy white skirt billowing around her lithe legs. She was so tiny next to the trees she slipped into, just on the edge of darkness.
Oh, my sweet little pet, don’t you know not to walk around by yourself in the dark? He sneered as he closed in behind her. Looks like I’ll have to lock you up so you don’t wander into danger anymore.
She was about to head back in when a malicious whisper in her ear made her start. “Found you.” She opened her mouth, but before any sound could come out, a hand was over her mouth. “Uh-uh. Quiet now, you hear?” She sighed and nodded in defeat. “Good girl,” he whispered before removing his hand from her mouth and standing before her.
This must be the “other one” Ray was talking about, because this certainly wasn’t Ray. In every way the man in front of her was different, from the cocky voice, to the clothes, to the domineering way in which he loomed over her. But the biggest difference between him and Ray, the one that she could not take her eyes off of, was the gun in his hand. She stared wide-eyed at it and shrank back a step.
“Oh, this?” He held it up leisurely. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll never point this at you. Your friends, on the other hand, well….” He laughed, a low, menacing chuckle as he aimed the gun toward the cabin. “Whose dumb idea was it to put a giant gas tank next to a wood cabin?” He looked back at her with a mad glint in his eye. “Hey, how quickly do you think your friends would burn if I shot that tank?”
She had to do something. But what? If she screamed or ran, he shot. She doubted she could wrestle the gun away from him, and even if he kept his word not to aim it at her, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t misfire in a struggle. So what else? Well, she hated pulling this card, but if Ray was still in there somewhere, there might be one more thing she could do.
She forced herself to step toward him and put her hand softly on his. For a brief second, he lost his cool before recovering it with a sneer. However, his eyes were now on her, not his target. She looked up imploringly into them. “What do you want?”
He lowered the gun and giggled. “Isn’t it obvious, precious? I want you to come back with me.” She looked at him, the twisted curl of his lips, the deranged look in his eyes, the gun in his grip. She looked back at the cabin, where V, Seven, and Vanderwood were. She wasn’t sure she’d call them friends, but they weren’t bad people. And she couldn’t let them die if she could do something to stop it.
“Fine.”
“Heh. You really are such a good girl, you know that? My savior will be so happy to know you came back so nicely.”
As she followed him into the forest, she finally relaxed enough to take her eyes off the gun, now swinging casually at his side, and get a good look at him. This was definitely Ray’s body, slender frame, skin pale like the moon, mint-colored eyes flashing from beneath shaggy silvery curls tinted with magenta at the ends. But everything else was different. Instead of his magenta suit and cravat, he wore a black leather hoodie, one sleeve falling to reveal a red tank top and a tattoo of an eye on his arm. He wore leather with spikes around his wrists and neck. His posture too was incredibly different. Where Ray shrunk back, afraid to impose, this man swaggered confidently, unconcerned whose space he trampled into. He stood taller, and had no problem towering over her to show the futility of resisting him.
Who was this person?
“What?” He felt her collide as he stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw those damn doe eyes of hers peering up at him.
“Well, you’re not Ray, so…what should I call you?”
What should she call me? Tch. He wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t even sure what to call himself. He was hardly ever awake. When he was, he was just…anger. He just wanted to destroy things for the fun of it. That’s why his savior kept him asleep inside Marshmallow Boy Ray.
He couldn’t remember his name, if he had ever had one. His memory was a series of fragments, a red-headed woman’s wrath, a dark dungeon, bright blue liquid, his insides on fire, warm smiles and soft hands turning away from him. If he strained to look after those warm retreating figures, he could see a red-headed boy, bespectacled golden eyes and an incredibly tall aqua-haired man. Yes. The RFA head and his red-headed pet. Abandoning him. Leaving him with nothing but his rage. Yes. Rage. That’s what he was.
But he couldn’t exactly tell that to Doe-Eyes, now could he? Geez. What right did she have to look through Ray straight to him anyway? What right did she have to seek him out him in his darkness with those bright eyes of hers? What right did she have to…to make his heart beat a little bit faster?
“Tch. You don’t have to call me anything. You won’t need to call for me. Because I’m not letting you go again, princess.” To prove his point, he grabbed her roughly by the wrist.
Just a moment later, he saw the spot where he had left the car up ahead. Good. He could use a change of pace. He turned to her again, pulling a blindfold from his pocket.
“Time to close your eyes. There’s dangerous secrets past this point!”
She looked up at him and he watched her eyes silently close for him. So compliant. God, so cute. He tied the blindfold behind her head, his fingers brushing against soft hair. Soft, everything so soft. Not the time to think about that, though. He had a job to do.
He slipped his hand under hers. “Don’t worry, princess, I’ll keep you safe.” His mocking laugh was cut short as she grasped his hand and turned her face up to him. Even with her eyes covered, he felt them boring into him.
Her lips parted. Those soft-looking lips. “Umm…th-thank you.” Not even a hint of sarcasm in her voice. God damn. This soft creature in front of him, reaching for him, thanking him, looking for him even behind the blindfold he himself put on her. So god damn enticing. His heart was beating so fast, blood was coursing through his veins, and he pulled her close, knowing he could not resist anymore.
He had pulled her forward so fast; she had no chance to balance herself before falling helplessly into his chest. And then his hands were on her, one wrapped around her back, pinning her to him, the other on her neck, forcing her chin upward. And his lips were on hers. His hand was on the back of her neck, holding her in place as his tongue forced its way into her mouth.
She did not resist. Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t know what she should be doing. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think; he wouldn’t let her. The entirety of her existence had been temporarily captivated by this man and his kiss that demanded all of her.
And then he pulled away just the slightest bit, still hovering over her, panting heavily onto her lips like he might kiss her again. His hands showed no sign of letting her go.
Her mind returned to her slightly, just enough for her to wonder what the hell had happened. She was being forced back to Mint Eye, on the savior’s orders. She knew that. That made sense. But this?!?!
She struggled to keep her breath even and her voice level as she asked, “W-why did you do that?”
He made no effort to keep the panting out of his breath as he answered in a low, terrifying, electrifying voice: “Because you’re fucking intoxicating, that’s why.”
From the distance, she heard the faintest call of a gruff man’s voice, calling her name. Vanderwood. Seven must have realized she was gone and sent him after her. If she screamed, if she tried to run, would this guy shoot her? If she followed the sound of the calls, could she get back before he caught her?
He heard it too, and swept her up and carried her off, dispelling any notion she had of being able to escape. “Damn, just when I was having fun too! Oh well, we’ll have tons of fun at Magenta! Hehe…I’m tying your hands up next time too! You’ll look so cute!”
She didn’t even have time to process this before he put her back on her feet. She swayed at the suddenness of it, and he caught her hand and steadied her. “Now, now, my pet, that’s enough action for you.” He opened a car door she realized was right in front of her. “Now get in and rest!”
She sat still in the back of the car as it took her back to Mint Eye. She wondered what would happen to her now. Rika had been messaging her this whole time, pleading with her to come back before the RFA corrupted her mind. Maybe if Rika worried for her that much, then she would be safe on return. But she couldn’t overlook what Rika had done to Ray. Sweet, scared Ray. Wasn’t it because of Rika that this other persona was now here in Ray’s body?
And this persona, what would she do about him? How long would he be here? Would Ray ever come back? What was she to do in the meantime? This man was unhinged, dangerous, terrifying…and he sent pure electricity through every bit of her.
She shook her head as her face started to flush. She heard a soft “tsk” from the driver’s seat, and her cheeks grew hotter. It’s nothing; he didn’t see anything, calm down!
She replayed the encounter in her mind. It hadn’t been her choice kiss him. She had been trapped, blinded, she hadn’t stood a chance. But a terrible voice in the back of her mind asked: even had she been able to see and move, would she have stood a chance against him…?
Honestly, just what would she do about him?
He drove the empty road back to Mint Eye but couldn’t help stealing glances at her in his rearview mirror. He wondered what she thought about. If she was thinking about him. Not that it mattered much. All he needed to worry about was getting her back to the Savior.
He checked his mirror again. She sat silently, dutifully leaving the blindfold alone. Good girl. He looked closer when she started shaking her head, and he saw how red her cheeks were. He couldn’t entirely suppress his giggle. Trying to get me out of your head, huh?
She was honestly so god damn cute. He hadn’t planned for this. But he already knew he wouldn’t be leaving her alone now. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t even want to give her over to the Savior. Heh. But keeping her for himself…that simply wasn’t an option. He’d deliver her safely to the Savior, because that was his job.
The Savior may not trust him like she trusted Ray, but he was at least sure he could do a better job at this. That damn marshmallow would let Doe-Eyes drag him off who-knows-where. But he wouldn’t let her. He would keep her on a tight leash, right where she was supposed to be.
He glanced at her again, sitting so obediently in the back seat. Face forward, blinded, trusting him with her life. So cute. He imagined a leash around her slender throat. He imagined himself holding said leash, pulling her toward him. No choice in the matter for her. Not that she would resist. No. She was such a good girl, after all!