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Chapter Text

+Chance's POV+ | {November 22nd}

"Remember to go home and do the assignments I gave you," Guest's sturdy voice trailed off, " I'm looking at you Builderman." Guest hadn't gave too much work, each member of the council had one or two papers to be dealt with, except for two; me and 007n7. Most fled the meeting room in an instant; Dusekkar went with Taph and Builderman as usual, they are always out the door first. Then went Elliot with Shedletsky trailing not to far behind, Two-time would try to leave in a hurry but drop all and any important work, leaving Noob to walk behind and help them out. That leaves me, Seven, and Guest. Seven always had extra work, it was no help that his child caused a whole separate stack of nightly paperwork alone but he also was part of the legal team that allowed us to go past enemy lines (which means double the workload). No doubt he's one of the busiest people in the company. Guest practically lived here, the office was his drawing board and his ideas to win the war were endless. I'm part of the many that judge him for not going home to his wife and daughter, it's funny that I can sympathise with Seven when he does the same thing to his son. Perhaps I pity him. I take a stand, maybe tonight I would put off my work. Me and Seven have similar jobs, the difference being while he consoles the citizens afraid of what the army is doing and comforts them by telling them it's all legal, I find loopholes to any law I can that will allow us to progress further. I make his job harder and frankly I find a bit of joy in it.

"Where are you going?" Seven speaks up, one could tell by his voice alone that he hasn't slept in days. I hunch my shoulders and worsen my already bad posture.

"Home probably." I lie,

"We have to develop a new system to bypass their map and release it to the public." Seven stands as well trying to intimidate me. He isn't much taller, in fact I'm sure we are the same height, his build isn't much bigger either with slightly more muscle definition. All in all his attempts are worthless.

"Last I checked you're the infamous hacker," I smile his way, "They even put your poster up in that pizzeria because they admire you so much!" I mock him. I can see his teeth grind and his hair grey more.

"Knock it off. He's right you are in charge of writing the code, the admin team will implement it when it's ready and only then does Chance need to write up a statement to the people." Guest often took sides, he was the type to listen but only agree with what aligned with his views. I grabbed the briefcase full of anything but work related items and left after a wave goodbye. The building itself was huge, multiple stories high and made of glass, looking out over Robloxia was a dream most could never have. I chuckled as I placed my hand to the glass wall, this town was an odd one. The team I work with often moved locations for efficiency, this time around we ended up in a city placed in the outermost region of the novel housing. This region has a huge castle in the center thousands of miles away, even though it's so far this is one of the largest populated lands known to them! This city is made of glass with the exception of motels and private businesses. Most homes, restaurants, and merchant buildings have walls made of tinted glass. Glass houses, I laughed loudly moving to ride in an elevator down to the lobby, how silly. Admittedly I am not going to my hotel room, I scoped out the land the second we got here and found a path leading straight to the border. Glass-House City was awfully close to enemy lines and it's a perfect opportunity to get my fill! The elevator sings a tune as the doors open to reveal Dusekkar getting yelled at by staff once again. Builderman stood off to the sides, cigarette in hand. It was unlit which made it easy to tell what was going on. Those two are heavy smokers, after each meeting they get together and share a pack. I usually catch them outside but I suppose they can't do that much of anywhere around here. Seeing as most places are made of glass and the soot from the cigarette easily sticks to those kinds of surfaces, most businesses have a no smoking within thirty feet rule. I look around, my eyes darting to find the smaller person in the trio. Taph doesn't smoke, but he likes to hang around Dusekkar so he is bound to be here somewhere. Kar and Builderman are close in age somewhere around mid 40s, while Taph is less than halfway through his 20s. It's always been a mystery why he chooses to hang around those old geezers when there are people his age in our group. Elliot would be a good choice, he's nice enough to accept Taph but maybe too polite to yap his ear off.

"Being mute must suck." I mumble out loud. A weird shuffling noise startled me, I turn around to see Taph stepping out from a potted plant. He has tears shaped in his eyes, crap, did he hear me? Taph always was sensitive about his muteness, bringing it up in any sense puts him in full on waterworks. I try to stutter an apology and console him, he was only a few years younger than me but he acted like a child the way he hid his face inside his robe and flooded the floor with his tears. Dusekkar stopped the staff from talking any further. It was as if a wave of anxiety and pressure loomed my way as their face filled with anger. With each step Kar took, my body screamed run. He eventually placed himself between me and Taph, his head looked down as he glared. I suddenly understood why Taph chose to hang around the geezer, protection is hard to come by.

"Lets be reasonable." I smirk, it was subconscious of course, a habit I developed when placed in distress to trick others at the poker table.

"It seems to be a habit, getting people to cry. " Dusekkar's words hinted to past events.

"Come on, you know how he gets," That helped nothing, "Let's not forget which one of us has military background!" That made it worse. I was never a smooth talker, threats only angered both of them more. We all know my military past was as a gunman, and I know I'm not going to shoot them. I figured I didn't want to take a punch from people who act as support on the field, a respectable job I confess, but one most sentinels make fun of. It's a toxic world out there and if rather not develop a nasty nickname from getting my ass pummeled in by the pumpkin man. My parents always taught me that missing a shot was fine but sticking around to see the consequence was a death wish. Of course they were referring to gambling tactics but in this scenario I assume it applies. My foot widens out in the marble floor as I shuffle myself to pivot around the two, I run at an my fastest pace (a silly move considering neither began to chase me) but I felt free running. It was nice pretending there was something to get my adrenaline pumping, something to fear.

I ran for ten minutes before reaching the forrest. It was the only separation between the city and the enemy lines. I walked slowly through the woods, without a map I was essentially lost. Luckily the forrest area was full of sounds that could guide me along, I recognized the sound of water and ran towards it. I had looked at a map of the region that led into the other territory, I know there is a river blocking off the sides from touching. As I arrive I notice there isn't a path connecting the lands just the river that settled in my way. I adjust my fedora to fit my head better. The rivers in Corrupted territory usually are poisonous to us humans, I look around the water and walk it's path downstream, they use this poison to convert it into alcohol to supply bars. What they don't realize is that the poison after being fermented stops being poisonous and becomes the most delectable booze in the world! The water on our side of the world hasn't been corrupted and thus us humans are served disgusting flavored alcohol. My mouth waters at the thought of tasting corrupted tequila. My father gave the delicacy to me as a child and I never forgot the taste, it was impossible to replicate as all bars legally allowed to sell alcohol in the corrupted lands are banned from giving out the recipe. Stores and merchants don't sell it either which means the only way to get a taste is to go directly to a corrupted bar. It's a ballsy move for someone like me, but I make sure to carry a gun with me just in case I have to take action. I eventually find a fallen tree laid perfectly over the river sides, it connects the lands well and seems sturdy so I walk over it. The corrupted territory has harder soil, easier to run on I suppose. I'm not all too sure where to go from here but there are bars all over the corrupted lands, I'm sure I'll find one soon.

Luckily the forrest was small, seeing an opening through the woods was a sigh of relief. I climb a steady hill and look out in it the open, there was a huge city not to far from the forrest, no wonder neither side dared to send bombs, we both have too much to lose. I wondered if they would notice a human in the midst. There are different types of the enemy's species and I happen to have a similar build to naturally born ones. Natural corrupteds tend to look similar to humans, the only difference being horns and darkly colored eyes. Some have tails and some have no horns at all, it was easy to make up some sob story if my hat ever fell off. My favorite was to pretend the infamous mob has caught me and cleanly sliced them off, most shut up questions after that. Of course contacts weren't hard to have stocked up constantly, it was remembering them that sucks. My glasses will have to hide my bright yellow eyes today since I forgot the most important part of my disguise at the hotel. It's no matter, at least in these lands children are encouraged to drink, I don't need an I.D or proof of anything, I just need to look like a normal corrupted. It was loud entering the city, it was pretty and there were colors all over. I always wondered why humans depicted these lands as dull and scary. It's as if we are teaching out generations to hate and fear the enemy, it's wrong. I have met all sorts of corrupts, the good and the bad they act normal and hate normally as someone should if their existence was threatened. I found a bar eventually, strangely this city had the bar be slightly far from the main paths.

It was crowded inside, bustling with music and drinks of all kinds. It was another thing that differentiated humans from them. They have higher alcohol tolerance, I suppose I was most suspicious leaving tipsy with only a few shots in my system. I'm lucky enough to be smart and not leave drUnk and susceptible. Don't get me wrong I've totally left with someone before, I'm not above sleeping with a corrupted, but I have never allowed my mind to slip away from me. I sit down at the bar, ordering a shot and scouting out the area. It seemed normal, a casual drinking environment. The usual idiot alcoholics fighting in the corner and outside mixed with the calming tone of people hitting on each other. This too was similar to human environments.

"Hey there!" A cute little thing sat next to me. I couldn't tell if he was friendly or seductive, he seemed around my size and frankly uninterested in me. I turned my head to find someone else, perhaps he wasn't talking to me. "No silly, you!" He poked my arm not so delicately, once again another feature that separates our kinds. Corrupteds are insanely strong, my feeble body couldn't handle it if they were going at me for real.

"Hi." I mumbles downing a shot with hesitancy. I made a face and smacked my lips, it was strong and tastes bittersweet.

"Your hat.." He poked the top of his head slowly to tell me it was gone. I checked and it was, it must have fell in the floor while I was drinking. Odd I usually feel it fall. I could tell he was questioning my horn situation, I simply used the mob excuse again. "What did you do?" It was fun seeing him curious, I picked up my fedora and wore it again.

"Pissed off the boss!" I laughed so casually as if I've never spoken a lie in my life. A gamber's bluff is truly a talent no man could begin to describe.

"Really?" A gruff voice from behind me speaks up. I hadn't even heard him move, nonetheless walk up to me. Did he just enter the bar? I didn't see him while scanning the area. No, now is not the time to get flustered over something so small.

"Yes really!" I huff like a child and sway my head as if to play into the drunk allusion. Worse case scenario I could fool him into thinking I'm babbling about nonsense. I turned around, the twig corrupted that say next to me was now quivering in his seat. For right reason too, the man was tall and fitted to have amazing muscles. They weren't even for show just natural beauty. He was a generously intimidating man, small shivers rocked my body as I stared up to him. My glasses hid my eyes and I noticed strangely the shadow his hat casted hid his as well. I grabbed a coin from my pocket, golden, yellow, and shiny.

"Care to bet?" I smirked as I flipped the coin. Tails.

Chapter Text

(chance's pov) + {November 23rd; 12:03 am}

"A bet?" He scared the little thing off with a sharp smile and knowing cough. A shame, he was real adorable. No matter, the man took the now empty seat and showed no pause when questioning my offer for the second time.

"If I prove the mob boss himself attacked me, you buy me a drink." I was greedy, possibly due to the drinks. They taste so good but hit so hard.

"And if I prove you wrong?" His smile never faded, this time it seemed more comfortable then intimidating. His teeth were notably sharp just like his intuition. How would he prove my bluff?

"What do you want?" I assume he would also ask for a drink,

"How about just the coin!" His words were simple and any other gambler would take that bet in an instant . It was clear I would win but I hesitated. I have some attachment to the coin, in fact it was my curse. If someone else owned it, shivers sent through my body. I could hear my parents telling me sentimental attachment was the downfall to a gambler.

"Deal." I shook his hand. His grip was firm, his word was almost convincing but lucky for me I have scars to prove my lie. I lifted my left sleeve to reveal them, nasty marks along the forearm. It wasn't a complete fib, when I was younger I got attacked by a corrupted maybe a few years older than me, it left a huge mark on my stomach. The scar ran all the way across, it had the same pattern as the claws of a corrupted. I lifted my shirt to reveal it, only slightly so he could see the mark but not enough to draw attention.

"So close!" His smile turn into a chuckled as I lowered my shirt. "Unfortunately I never harm the abdomen unless I wish to kill." I was confused, what did he mean? This conversation wasn't about him. Unless of course, it is. I researched very little, only enough to know he often attacks at night and that he dressed with the same brand of fedora I have. I look up, I should have noticed. I didn't do enough research, I should have been careful. I stood abruptly, stumbling backwards only for him to catch me. What was his name? The mob boss famous for his nightly attacks, I can't remember. I push away, getting back on my feet as I arm myself with an unfinished shot I had ordered while playing the game of a gamble.

"I-." I didn't know what lie I could use. I didn't know what he could confirm or deny. He stuck out his hand, palm up. His skin was rough and textured, the color was a soft yellow tan.

"The coin please." He still held his smile. Eyes were focused on us. Had they noticed who he was? Was it just me who was clueless here? The coin. My heart sank. I had weakness fill my body as I gripped the coin in my hand. Was running a bad idea? Would he catch up to me if I dared attempt? It was all I had. No way I could give him the coin, it was my life shaped into a small piece of metal. A gambler's mark with my mix of greed, it represented me. It was my curse. My foot shifted, he noticed immediately jutting out his hand to grab me. I threw the shot in his face and pivoted similar to what I did with Dusekkar. It always worked, they never suspected it. I ran and I heard cheers as they shouted for the man to catch me. I finally caught on to why it was far out from the main city area, it was a front for him to launder money and men. I sprinted into the crowd of pathing that was the main city, I darted down every alley and every building that would lead me back to the forest. My stamina ran low as I turned around, he was gone. Or, no, he was the infamous mob boss known for killing hundreds if not thousands for disobeying his command. He wouldn't have just lost me. I can't spot him in the crowd. The cities are busy at night. What time is it? How long has it been since eight? For such a tall man why is he hidden so well? I feel a tug against my suit and suddenly by body is pressed up to what I assume is his. My back to his chest. My mouth is covered by his hand in an attempt to keep me quiet. It was slightly peaceful, for moment the loud busy central city was muffled by the sound of his labored breathing. Did he exert himself trying to catch me? No one cares much, everyone is to busy with their own problems to notice him. Even if they did care, his body covered mine, enough to hide my distraught. Is this it? Is this where I die? A liar, a man who couldn't hold own word? My head tilted up, my glasses slid down my nose and I stared at him with my golden bright eyes. I pleaded, if not with my words then with the tool of surprise. If I was going to leave this world he would have known he was almost outrun by the very thing he was also taught to kill. We're similar me and him. Born to hate and slaughter each other. I wonder if he lived to learn what I spent years processing as well? That we aren't so different.

His hand loosened his grip on my mouth. He whispered in my ear as he pushed me back into the bustling crowd of people and disappeared. When I turned and realized he vanished I smiled. Not because I had won but because I had felt that genuine fear I longed for. Gambling was a hobby but I was rich enough as it was, could I gamble something like this? My life? If it meant that thrill I would give away anything. I pushed my glasses up and adjusted my hat once again. I didn't feel that weakness anymore. Looking down at my hand I realize it was shaking, had I been shaking that entire time he held me? Did he know I was terrified? I felt the feeling of thrill pumping in my veins, I want that danger now more then ever. I am not a man willing to have my life taken but I was taught to gamble until you yourself was sold. In other words, I suppose I'm completely insane.

I walk back to the forrest. Out of the city, up the hill, then down, two lefts, right, then left again. It wasn't until I got to the first tree of the woods and felt it's bark on my hand that I discovered I was still shaking. The initial fear has been lifted but I guess we never truly forget the experiences handed to us. The forrest path back was simple to follow, I thought I would get lost but the trees are all crooked and shaped in weird angles. I recognize the ones I passed on the way here with ease. Apart of me wondered if he would follow, it would be stupid for someone like him to naturally walk into enemy territory. Especially because its harder to explain why he has horns then me not having them over there. I wonder if he knew I was human when he called my bluff. He didn't chase me because of that, no, he caught me in a lie not a confession. He just wants the coin. The coin! I search my pockets as I walk. I remember the slick feeling of his hand digging into mine trying to grab the coin. It wasn't in my palm but..ah. I felt it. Hidden in the side pocket of my suit. He whispered in my ear as he let go of me so he must have given it back then.

"You owe me." I repeat his words in a whisper and shiver, the way he mumbled it was less scary then it was gross. I shake my head, I hate that moist warm feeling of breath in my ear. Did he mean I owed him the coin? Was that an invitation to go back or a threat? Maybe I'll stop by the bar tomorrow, I'll bring a different coin a silver one this time. Perhaps he'll want it since its worth more. Just to be safe, I lie to myself.

I always was curious how a man looked when he was disheveled, shaking, tipsy at 12:30 in the morning. Walking back to my hotel, I must look like a maniac. Checking in was no problem, I went straight to my room and flopped on my bed. I had dropped my suitcase when Taph scared me from the plant. It wasn't full of anything important but I would like to have something to give him. My head lifts as I look at the him in question. I roll off the bed and shove myself against a corner where my pet, Spade sits happily. Then again, feeding him at his size is probably the reason he is overweight.

"You don't even know you're lucky." I stick my finger through the cage so he can rub his head on it. He likes it a lot when I do that. I like rabbits, I declare to myself. They are more fun the a dog or cat. Plus, I open the cage to let him hop out, they are so much cuter. I scoop him into my hands and close my eyes as I doze off against the wall. He doesn't try to leave my arms like usual, maybe he knows I'm afraid or..I smell the air. My clothes, I sniff my jacket. I smell like that guy. Does Spade like the smell? He seems to be cuddling into me more then usual. Oh well, maybe I'll go out and find the brand tomorrow, a present for Spade. I smile as I pet his soft black fur and finally get some well deserved rest.

--

One knock, light and soft. It's patient and calm.
Two knocks, a tad more aggressive, needy but not completely desperate.
Three knocks, I'm awake. They were angry knocks to my door followed by yelling.

"Chance let me in!" My eyes open slightly, I couldn't tell who's voice it was. The knocking only tells me they are impatient and desperately need me. It was a gruff voice, an older person I assumed. I recognized it, so someone from my team. I look around, had I really slept in the corner of the hotel room when there is a perfectly nice bed right there? My gaze diverts to Spade, I had let him free from his cage and of course he scratched up the furniture. An animal is an animal I suppose. Poor couch- we're going to have to pay for that. How annoying.

"In the cage you go buddy." I fill his food back up and give him some small cut up banana slices. Even though he's a pain, he is still the light of my life. I smile at Spade for a good while, in the moment it felt like I had all the time in the world to admire the beauty.

"Chance- We have to go!" This time a different male voice speaks. I recognize it immediately. Elliot. I walk to the door and open it up. Elliot and Seven stand before me. Of course I didn't recognize Seven, he sounds far more energized then usual. Or, perhaps flustered? Neither of them liked each other so perhaps he's just staying alert. It was rather funny how far apart they chose to stand, Elliot was close to the door and Seven was practically pressed up onto the back wall.

"We have to go?" I mumble and rub my eyes. The clock in my room told me it was around six in the morning. Usually I get up in a few hours, what could possibly be so important that my immediate attention is needed.

"There was a spotting, of a corrupted at the border." Seven takes charge and walks down the hall, me and Elliot trailing close behind. "He was in the forest holding a weapon." My head went empty for a second. I didn't take my clothes off when I got home, I probably still smell of alcohol and sweat. Never mind the smell, I need to know if-

"What did they look like." My voice shook as I patted both sides of my hip.

"Tall male, wore a charcoal suit-" Elliot tried remembering, "A hat I think?" I drowned out the sound of everything but my breathing. I have to stay calm in moments like these, I was trained to do so. He took my gun, that much was clear.

"What do we need to do?" I ask, pushing past Elliot to stand by Seven. 007n7 was always the smart one, he took charge and led the conversations even when Elliot wanted to take over. They were always one upping each other as if that mattered in a time of war, or well soon-to-be war. No one has declared anything, frankly I'm not so sure the killings on either side are perfectly legal. Even so, no matter the subject each meeting with them is like witnessing my own personal war. Watching them look at each other with disgust after every word is reassuringly never going to get old. on

Elliot speaks up, adding into the conversation who will meet us and where. Oddly I don't think Guest pairing these two up was any mistake or random draw. They were sent to pick me up personally do does that mean I'm meant to act as a mediator? Damnit Guest what are you up to?! According to Seven there is a car outside. Elliot said it will take us to the border to which Seven corrected it will take us past the river and into enemy territory. Going into their land so suddenly means no paperwork, Seven is a stickler for doing things by the law. How ironic considering his past. This is something more then just spotting him at the border, but the two look like they won't spill anything until we are at the meeting site.

By the time we reach the lobby I see more than one car outside waiting for the three of us. Are they trying to get caught? I thought we were trying not to be suspicious here dumbasses. It doesn't matter, I get it. Guest is the leader of our crucial work so he has to be guarded on both ends of the car. He will be in the middle. Supports will be crammed in the back car, so that's where Elliot will be going. Guest must have Two-time and Noob with him, that leaves me, Seven, and Shedletsky in the front. Odd. Two sentinels in the front? No I must be wrong. He would place Shedletsky in the back to protect some supports. Taph, Dusekkar, and Builderman wouldn't dare to leave each other. That means I get to have front row seats to Seven and Elliot arguing the whole way there. How fun.

"You should sit in the back." Seven climbed into the drivers seat, he was always the designated driver whenever we went drinking as a team, so naturally be would be the most trusted. Elliot gets car sick so he has to be in the front as well to watch the road. Being in the backseat, watching closer, it seems like today they won't make eye contact. Something happens before they came to my hotel and I am rather curious. The elevator ride down Elliot wouldn't stop shuffling away from Seven as if he was contagious. I'm so invested in their drama, to the point where it's fucking with my work ethic.

"Why is the landing zone across the border?" I pipe up in an attempt to lead this conversation to something work related.

"C00lkidd--" Elliot turned his head to look at me but his gaze met Seven's. He became quiet, he even stuttered a minor apology. If it was truly about Kidd, Seven would be terrified. It would make sense why they haven't been arguing about their past. They were bickering over current stuff, something they never do commonly, of course it had to be a touchy subject. Elliot hated Seven's guts but he wasn't someone to harp when another is in pain. The past was the past after all.

"If we're all here driving to the meet up," I begin putting two and two together, "Who is with your kid?" Seven gripped the wheel, his knuckles turned white as I could see the insanity fill his head.

"The corrupted who crossed the border." Seven had the face of someone who was about to snap. He had been warned not to use his hacking for worse regardless of the situation , I could tell he was suppressing his urge. No wonder overnight he got the entire crew to be sent out. He must have gone crazy with Kidd in someone else's hands again.

"What abou-" I attempted to fish out more but Elliot cut me off,

"You'll find out when you get there." His voice was sturdy, come to think of it, if Seven was the one to organize the meetup. .why did he pair himself with Elliot?

"Ah, I'm getting curious again." I mumbles to myself as I lean back and watch as this once bickering car ride becomes oddly silent the whole way there.

Chapter Text

(Chance's pov) + {November 23rd 7:14am} + [Part 1/2]

As we arrived at the site the three black cars spilled out passengers. The entirety of the legal counsel was together in the same place with the same objective. It was an almost beautiful sight. Seven rushed past everyone, his state was more frantic than before and it seemed like every word he had practiced in his head no longer was coherent. Guest started to help him speak to the national guard and it didn't take long to see the situation. Members of different councils were lined up ready to face the threat. Said threat was one singular corrupted standing near C00lkidd. It was him, I recognized the smile. Some council members from a different team left the zone as we arrived and it looked as if we were going to deal with this one alone. I was right of course, more started to leave with only a few officers from the city sticking around to tell everyone what was going on.

"You arrived!" The corrupted in a fedora boomed his voice. We were apart by a yard or two in distance so it was rather impressive I could hear him so well. It was obviously not meant for the kid but instead one of us. People looked around but I knew, I knew exactly who he was talking to. He bent down and said a few words to Kidd before patting him on the head and giving him a lollipop. Kidd ran back, a giant smile on his face and the sucker in his hands. Seven met him halfway as they embraced. It doesn't seem as if C00lkidd was there by anything other than free will so why would the mob boss put himself in this position? For my attention? To threaten me with his knowledge of me being in the council? How did he even know? I over question everything, I can admit it, but it's worse when the topic at hand is serious.

"I don't like when people don't give me what they owe." He shouted again.

"What are you talking about!" Guest tried to defend as he took a step forward. I inched closer, my body forcing me to move.

"We can trade," The corrupted held out my gun for the world to see, "My coin, your gun." I grunted and took a much bigger step forward. Kidd was a distraction, he wanted me here to humiliate me. Threaten me with his ability to find people close to me. He wanted that control. I began to walk the distance, no one cared to stop me as it was clear I had gotten myself into this mess. I would probably be punished when I returned, for now they all had my back. The sentinels kept their position but had their weapons ready. Dusekkar and Elliot both had their healing supplies out while Taph and Builderman were setting up turrets and bombs. Noob would be communicating with them all on the easiest pathing to take to ensure I get back safely. It was easy to read what they were doing without even looking, and honestly it felt great to be able to place my trust in them.

"You could have taken the coin." I arrived in front of him, my head was lowered but my gaze stared at him with anger. He could have just taken it instead of giving it back. Is he an idiot?

" I wanted you to personally hand it to me. " His smile turned passive as he lifted my chin. I jerked away and he let me but just for a moment I could see his dark stare. His eyes were a black , similar to an abyss. It was then I could finally remember his name.

"Mafioso..." My head tilted up on its own. The way my body shook when he touched me. The way I froze when he called for me moments ago. I crave that terror again. There must be something wrong with me to want the feeling of anxiety.

"Yes?" He responded, my gun still resting in his hand.

"I can't give you the coin-. " His smile dropped, for some reason I preferred the sharp teeth over this. He looked annoyed, no, more like he was sulking.

"You interest me." His tone ignored my comment but his face still held his disappointment. "I spare your life, threaten your loved ones, and steal from you. Yet you are still defiant." I wondered if he could see I was afraid, and I wondered if he knew I liked every moment of it. It pissed me off to no end, his actions, but I chased that gamble of my life.

"Fine then," He sighed dramatically, "Keep the coin." He waved his hand and multiple goons crept out of their hiding spots. Some were in foxholes, some behind rocks, I even spotted one trying to blend in with the bushes. He must have felt safe with them being a net to catch him if we dared attack.

"And my gun?" I held out my hand, perhaps he was giving up. He alone was no match for my team, probably. Though, his goons lose a plausible threat if he wanted to take it.

"You owe me a drink." His grin returned. The more I look at him the more I realize he is younger than he looks. His coat and hat make him seem older, mixed with his height and overall demeanor. But when you see him react to words, or his childish way of getting attention it shows he is much younger then he makes people believe. It's an act, I would guess he is only a few years older than me at most. A shame I can't count on him dying anytime soon.

"At the bar?" He nodded to my whispered words. "Then I can have it back?" He taunted his head as if to say yes. "And you will leave me alone?" I questioned further.

"I won't hoax your friend's kid into following me to the middle of a random grassland on the other side of the border, just to force you to come out and face me directly - again if that's what you're asking." His words made me blink a couple times in confusion. Does that mean he will continue to bother me? I can't tell if I should be afraid or intrigued. Whatever the case his words were good enough for me. I stepped back, and so did he. Slowly we went back to our sides. He was smart and cunning for a corrupted. I was almost looking forward to buying that drink for him.

Once my foot steps into the guarded zone of my team I can feel the pressure decline. Everyone who was holding their breath was finally breathing and it felt like a huge weight lifted from my bones. Was it odd that I was shaking? My hands tremble and my legs quiver when I'm around him. Is it because of how feeble my body is compared to him, or, perhaps, I am afraid of myself?

"What was that?" Elliot hissed in terror, his body edging forward to back me up.

"What did he say?" Builderman said out of curiosity,

"What just happened?" Shedletsky cornered me as well,

All nine members surrounded me with questions. None of them which I answered fully without someone else interrupting with another inquiry. I would be a part of the swarm of anyone else in my situation but they aren't and I can't answer anything without getting caught for crossing the border. It's a serious event, something punishable by death or worse in any region of Robloxia. As a council member doing it myself would only cause trouble for others, not that I especially mind if a few of them get re-assessed, but I would rather not curse my grave.

"What did you do?" Guest, who didn't ask a single question but was a part of the group crowding around me, finally takes a stand. I'm not quite sure when we put him in charge , legally we all have the same power and jurisdiction, but socially he is the one we take assignments from. Whatever the case everyone stops talking, a moment of silence passes before I drop my head and state at him with false unknowing eyes.

"Nothing," My eyelids fluttered,

"I beg to differ, that wasn't nothing." His voice held firm,

" I don't know him, " My lies always were so believable, "Probably someone my parents pissed off." My shoulder lifts in a shrug as I walk to one of the black cars. I didn't much care at this point the direct order we were supposed to be placed in, I just lied to a man who I deeply respect. How low can a man like me be in this world? He doesn't ever dare follow up, mostly I think he doesn't want to strike a nerve by talking to me about my parents, on the other hand I wonder if he truly just trusts me. I want to leave. The event was so fast, the scare was so quick. The fear was right there in my palm and stripped away in a second. It wasn't fair, if only time would pass faster. I want to go home to my rabbit, tell him stories about my day and eat junk until I throw up.

It's crazy how one bad thing can ruin a day. One simple lie, made because of a simple promise, caused by a single small decision. A monster, I mumbled in my head quietly as if not to awaken my thoughts, I was no different then them. The corrupted, once again another similarity. The car door that I had closed just moments before opened, Elliot stood, his gaze to the floor.

"That was dangerous." He mumbled. I scooted over to the other seat and he slid inside.

"Probably." I responded quickly, looking out the window,

"I need to check if you're hurt-" His hand grabbed my wrist which I yanked back quickly.

"I'm not."

"It's protocol." His voice was that of someone whose intentions are anything but what they say they intend to do. He wasn't here to inspect me for wounds, no, he was an idiot but not that much of an idiot. I gave back my wrist allowing him to inspect my hand, then my arm. "Take off your shirt." He digs into his medical bag of equipment. For a moment I hesitated, it took me a second to figure out what he wanted with my torso. I truly am going to hell for thinking Elliot of all people would have sensual intentions with me. The top of my dirtied suit comes off quickly. His hand trails down my center and his gaze is focused on any marks or dips. His hand stopped and for a second I winced. My right hand threw itself to push Elliot away as my left held my chest.

"When did I-.." It was a bruise that covered a section of my lower rib. I swore I didn't get myself hurt, I was-..When he held me. At the bar he chased me down and held me to his chest. I wonder if he squeezed too tight.

"Cough." Elliot searched into his bag again this time pulling out pizza-shaped gummies.

"What?"

"Just do it!" He looked annoyed, slowly he lifted himself from his seat and pressed his knee on my lap. Leaning in closer he pressed down on the bruise. I flinched in pain, bruises never hurt so bad. I did as he said, attempting to cough and as I did a sharp pain jutted throughout my body.

"Mother FUCK..." I gagged as he popped a gummy in my mouth and felt around the area again. I slightly leaned back, catching myself as he examined my chest. Suddenly, the door to the car swung open again by Seven. He took a glance at the situation; Elliot's body draped over mine, my shirt off, his knee pressed soundly near my groin, or god. This looked..well...

"Oh-." Seven said, his hand covering Kidd's eyes. "In the car?..." Elliot was the first to audibly gasp and a spit out a random jumble of words.

"No-! We weren't, he was, I-" He shifted off of me and waved his arms around in a frantic motion as if begging Seven to misunderstand even more. I calmly sat up and put on my undershirt.

"And you..-," Seven looked over to me, "Well- I thought you would lead.." I smirked, at least he had me right.

"We didn't do anything!- Er...we weren't doing THAT...God you are all so dirty minded!" Elliot's face went red as he pressed his hand to his temple. "He broke a rib!" Elliot scooted out of the car, pushing Seven aside. 007n7 looked at me with a quirked eye, I nodded and agreed with what Elliot said and then hesitated.

"He broke my rib?" I mumbled,

"I don't know if the corrupted did. You just have one." Elliot crossed his arms.

"We'll head to a hospital first thing this evening." Seven said helping his son into the car. The little boy stared at me for a solid ten seconds, sugar and drool smeared on his face. Children are..disgusting. Elliot hopped in the front seat while Seven shut the door and walked around the car to take the wheel. A broken rib, I thought to myself, how funny I thought he had let me go unharmed. I settled into my seat and began playing patty-cake with C00lkidd while listening to the music of Seven and Elliot arguing.

I guess this is how it's supposed to be.

Chapter Text

(Mafioso's pov) + {November 23rd 3:30pm} + [Part 2/2]

As a corrupted, I had always wondered why we were separated from "humans." We are the same. If not, we have a few differences! Looks vary within both of our cultures, so why must it matter that I have horns and he does not? Part of the pain of being diversified and shunned by the other side is not knowing how they grow, I am a human too, just as much as they are, it can't be wrong to want to learn the customs and ways! If only, I sigh and stand from my office chair, if only we grew up as we should, equals.

A knock beckons me to the door, "Evening sir," Contractee bowed for a second before raising his head to hand me a precious bunny. White, soft, delicate things, truly they were all I wanted! Beautifully brushed and cleaned with a bow to wrap them up like a gi-...

"What happened," I croaked, a drop of sweat fleeting down his face, "What did you do." I exited my study, bunny in hand, and trotted off through the mansion. I led the way, glancing back at Tee to see which way his head nodded. I didn't know exactly what I assumed had happened, but a nice clean bunny offering means trouble. Well, usually, at least.

"One of our men came up with a fever this morning and died at 3:04pm, sir." Tee bows his head a few inches.

"And that concerns me why?" I mumble, sympathy and empathy were expected to be dulled down by a good leader, I could not be overwhelmed into a depressive state every time one of my soldiers died. His head tilted, silently asking to informally step in front of me. I nodded, and he began to walk. It was a slow pace as from where we were, the medical rooms are located only about 50 feet away.

"We've never seen it before," Tee sighed while handing me a mask and gloves, "The symptoms fit closely to Albert F Gene Disease." I nod along to his words, we both commonly used our heads to express ourselves (expressions, movements, lack of both, etc), A.F.G.D was named after an ancient deity. He ruthlessly would tear up the words by shaping the land and seas to disrupt the peace of humans before Corrupteds existed. He was truly a kind man with an awfully disrupting sense of humor, an idol of mine, his disease spread across Robloxia, honestly about half the population was deceased or sick and very few survived without being crippled in some form.

"And?" I put on the mask and gloves,

"Well -" He slowly opened the door, "He infected them all." A group of soldiers, multiple units coughing and gasping for air. Most laid down on the provided beds, but there were so many that others were forced onto the floor and into corners. A few sheets covered the bodies of fallen soldiers. I know why he was hesitant and why he phrased his wording this way. The disease was not contagious. In fact, it was widely known to be a personal disease based on fate and judgment. And either the deity is real and intends to curse the entirety of my men, or this isn't A.F.G.D. I look at Tee with the same question his eyes are asking while staring at me.

"How many." I step back from the room, allowing Tee to close the door.

"246 in counting," His eyes fluttered slightly, "If you don't count the amount that have already died anyways." Slowly, I develop a headache. It usually happens during stressful moments, but this one seems worse than usual. I had thousands of men scattered across the lands. This unit had a little over 900, and now I am working without a third of soldiers that have been put out of commission for at least the next week. I can feel my heart in my chest, ever since childhood. Any form of fear brought on the music of my chest beating. It's as if my lungs moved to my heart, I can't breathe without hearing the loud, dramatic thumps of my fear. Perhaps I can look back and remember my childhood, brought up in an environment such as this that has traumatized me a bit, enough to build a coping mechanism of drowning out all other sounds then my inner clock ticking faster and faster.

My hand swipes down my suit, partially to take off the piece of dust I had noticed and also to hide my sweaty hands from Tee. I was calm on the outside, I was sure of it, but on the inside, I could admit I'm a complete mess. Especially after meeting that interesting person from across the border. He was calm, like me, but when I cornered him I could feel his heart flutter like mine, he was like me in a way, I could never connect with another corrupted that way than again humans and corrupteds are the same species so I suppose I never met another person in general like him. He breathed so quickly, a bunny in a cage, I chuckled. Tee's eyes glaze over my face, analyzing my laugh, or more likely, he is trying to see what I think about the situation. A fair standpoint for the Head of Staff. He manages the entirety of this unit, nearly 1000 men he has to care for. I pay him well for his workload, but I swear he insists he wants more. Doesn't he know Greed is a sin?

The human.

My thought process switched back to the man who was supposed to meet me for drinks, I hadn't told him a time but from his quirk of the brow I could probably guess he would be there now. My men need me, but I am not a man who doesn't keep his word, and while I'm out I'll meet with some connecting branches and see if they know anything about this mysterious disease.

"I'm leaving. Please prepare my coat."

"Wh-..Sir!" Tee turned in his unusual military manner. He looked frantic, and for a moment, I smiled. He hated showing me anything more than his work attitude. I almost forgot he actually cared about the staff. He doesn't look it with his small body and well postured mannerisms, but he is a killer. One of my most trusted men, I nod my head as if to tell him I won't change my mind, and in an instant, he turns to notify a small group of cleaning staff of assignments. One was in charge of grabbing my coat and she did rather quickly, in fact I was putting it on while I watched Tee tell a few others to inform the much larger, lesser known staff of their duties to make the mansion look nice. He informed others of my departure, and they scurried off like rats to tell what was left of my crew. In the span of maybe five minutes, I witnessed half of my remaining soldiers of all kinds line up to bow as I left out the main door. As it usually went, the heads of each department (excusing Tee) lined up front and center and bowed the deepest, their seconds or hardest/longest working men followed to the left of them. The lineup was immaculate just like I had always wanted, and it was a statement in its own that each one of their eyes held the determination to work for me. I had always wondered if they hated it, but when I walk out this door, the respect they give is something to adore for a lifetime.

"I will be off," I wave as I stand half inside and outside of my opened door, "Take care of the sickly!" My voice is deep and scary from what I was told, but to me, it's always been a happy go-lucky cheery voice. An annoying one set at a pitch that makes people rub their ears in pain, I wondered if they heard in my tone my excitement to go. I haven't left the mansion as often, aside from the encounters with the man of the counsel. I have far too many men to just keep leaving alone. It was probably wrong to be so happy to leave when my soldiers were sick and dying, but then again, Hell wasn't avoidable in the first place.

The city I lived in next to the border was built in a sort of triangle shape, it was a very bumpy place, everything rested on a slope or in the dip between two hills and beside the shopping district there was no flat land. I lived at the edge of the city lines. It was a whole hour walk from the border to my mansion, which I suppose is a reckless place. Though the giant mansion itself is a distraction, everything inside is minimal paperwork, and most of the importance we do is set at the office only commanders like me could attend. The city is off placed from the border with a chuck of land (where I confronted the man) being uncharted territory. In fact, the people on the other side partially just assumed it was ours and drew their invisible divisive line at the river. Shame, a whole chunk of land could be theirs. Instead, it could be classified as neutral land for the entirety of the human race to come together. The city was maybe a twenty minute walk, one I liked taking since the pathing was through a beautiful section of woods. As I arrived in the shopping area, I saw just beyond the bright white spec that was the bar. The building was greyscale bricks and naturally but the dull tone was made up for by the cozy fairy lights and drunkenly laid out candles.

While I walked through the district at a rather fast pace, I noticed a rustling in my coat. A little white bunny head poked out, and for a moment, I stopped in my tracks. It wasn't shocking that my buns were always smart enough to know where to hide in case of an emergency, I just hadn't realized that leaving counted as an 'emergency'. I didn't mind her being with me, Princess was small and one of my most intelligent by far, I adored her truly, and I figured the man of the council would love her as well. He kind of reminds me of a rabbit, short, smart, and most of all stubborn. I scooped her out of the folds and played her in the coat pocket. The coat was marvelously long, fell just short of the floor, and flowered around my figure. I noticed it made my shadow bigger and me seem more scary, especially with the cotton fluff that partially hides my face.

As I arrived at the bar, a commotion of guards and corrupteds file outside. Some are carried away on stretchers, and for a moment, I captured the face of a child. He was sickly and had the same expression of symptoms my soldiers had. Out came the man I wanted to meet talking to a guard, seeing as most other corrupteds were wheezing or gagging in sickness, and he was the only one not, of course, he was being questioned. I am not a dull man. In fact, as my hand lifts to my nose and blood runs down, I realize quite soundly that he was the one making everyone sick.

It was so simple, I had never heard of a human staying around corrupted so easily. Aside from the mass amount of murder attempts on both sides, they never mixed for longer than a few hours. I could tell from the day I met him that he had been lingering around our lands, but for how long? Was he sick himself? What diseases did he drag over here?

"Hey get off of m-" His voice was cocky I noticed. It held a firm tone, I could tell as a kid he probably got his way often, not necessarily due to spoilage, but perhaps he was just really intriguingly persuasive. My body moves to block the guard from the man,

"An issue officer?" My head bows to look at him better, I smiled with all my teeth and watched as his devilish tail curved around his leg. A drop of sweat rushed down his face as he stammered his reasoning. He switched the topic rather quickly to my bloodied nose which I waved off as something else. He tried to push past me but his mediocre frame stopped any further attempt, eventually the guard mumbled something about other patients and walked off. My feet slid against the grass and I turned to stare down at him. I remembered his name, Chance, what a lovely name.

"What are y-" His hand adjusted his hat,

"Let's have a talk. " I smiled and watched as shivers ran down his spine. He stood gracefully and bravely yet he shook violently. His eyes which were now covered by dark grey contacts stated to me, I love his bright golden eyes, they were beautiful, if only he wasn't so compelling then I would have the incentive to simply take his eyes!

"Your nose-" this time he cut himself off, "You're bleeding." Chance dug into his pockets and sighed, he grabbed about twenty dollars in both his currency and mine. He softly punched his fist into my gut and gently lifted his gaze to meet mine. "Here."

"What's this for?"

"The drink I owe, we are settled now right?"

I almost nodded my head but hesitated as I remembered my soldiers. " No, I'm serious, " My voice dropped as I passed his balled up cash back to him, "we need to talk." I watched him shudder again, a small smile played on his lips and I wondered how even though the layer of his dark contacts I could see the bright interest in his eyes.

How intriguing.

Chapter Text

(Chance's POV) + [November 24th, 1:04am]

I had always been curious why people who ask a lot of questions are annoying. Maybe it was because I was that kid growing up or perhaps because I never had to deal with an avid question asker until now.

Mafioso is eye candy. He has a nice body and is proportionally tall. Under his coat, it was clear to me that he wasn't all too mean and scary as he looked with it on, maybe because it hid his rather puppy-looking face or because his demeanor became less confident without it. Either way, I'm not here to ogle at his looks, even with that raven black hair that swoops over his hairline, and that perfectly chiseled face putting on a sorry look.

"Are you checking me out?" He said, sitting in the corner of the living room. Originally, he had pleading eyes, but once he realized I wouldn't pull my gun away, he took on a more devilishly sly smile.

"--and puking at the site." I mutter and shuffle to loosen my tense body. How did we end up alone together? His body was draped on the floor while he clutched onto his abdomen, and mine was slouched on a couch holding the same gun I shot him with. What happened again?...

...*Many hours prior*...

"We need to talk." The second time he said it, I swore we made eye contact. It would be impossible given his fedora that shadowed over his gaze, but I swear I felt it on mine. He stood over me as usual. God, I just wanted him to take the money and leave me alone. My entire body trembled. If he could break a rib from just holding me tightly, what would he do with the chance to rope me into owing him money. I'm rather rich in my own currency, but the corrupted coin is worth 3x the amount of our Points.

I nodded my head to agree. I didn't know what else to do but stare up at him and wait for his command. I wasn't powerless, but what could I say? He knew I was human, and if he called it out, I would be dead in seconds, trials over the border don't go easily, and I doubt my team could get a penny out of anyone responsible. His nose was bleeding, and every time he wiped away a pool of it, more dripped down onto the grass. I heard him swear under his breath.
He reached for my wrist, but I stumbled back in caution. His firm arm clasped around my waist, and suddenly, I was closer to him than I would have been if I had just let him grab my hand. It was an awkward position for him, I could see the way he tangled his body to fit around mine. I had a smaller figure, nicely shaved, but nonetheless skinny. I have muscle, of course, but never the type that showed dramatically. For me; however, I was as comfortable as I could be. It was a nice, firm, cold pillow to be forced onto, and honestly, I was snuggled quite perfectly under him, if it weren't for the embarrassment of being so close I wouldn't have shoved him away. Or at least I attempted to do that, I felt my first try at pushing fail, and on the second, I could humiliatingly tell him to let me go and only grunted to make me feel better. What a jerk.
"It would be bad if you were caught." His voice held some sort of arrogance.
"Could say the same about you." Even with the bar being a front for the mafia he leads, he is still surrounded by the guard. He's been on their most wanted list for years, or at least ever since he became the successor.
For a moment, we stand at a stalemate. He said we needed to talk, yet we haven't left this spot. We didn't need to. My eyes watched his body language as he desperately held his gaze on me.

"May I?" He finally asked after what seemed like years. He held his hand out, at the least he learned not to grab me, I placed mine in his. He wraps his cold fingers around my hand and leans down to present me with his smile. His warm, terrifying, but still warm smile. Along the broken path we went, into the grass and away, he began his speech by saying he only wanted to talk about what I owed. I noticed every time I sighed or took a sharp breath of air he stopped speaking, in fact he did more than just stop, he changed his tone to something lighter. "You seem like a respectable man, enough to know what I want, yes?" His nose never stopped bleeding, even as I nodded my head in offset agreement and focused my eyes on the blood he continued on. I tried dropping bigger hints but no matter what I said or did he continued on about ways to pay off a ten dollar drink. Some would think he's a stickler for money and wants to extort me for more, us smart people know he wants my attention. I felt exhausted of course, it seemed like there wasn't such things as cars or even old timey carriages, everyone walked everywhere. We walked a yard past the bar, into a field of grass that headed slightly further from the border. I made sure to keep within a few miles of the other side for safety but it oddly felt safer to just walk with him. His topics about money never shifted to anything else, he wasn't scatter-brained or messy with his words, he just lingered on with what he wanted.

"You're wasting my time." I mumble as I witness him wipe a stripe of blood from his face with the fabric of his suit. "..You're bleeding." This must have been the sixth time I said it, but at this point it came out as a whisper of annoyance or a plea for him to care enough about it to do something.

"So you've mentioned-.." He too looked annoyed. Why? He was the one walking me through this field. It must have been twenty minutes he's been going on about a measly ten bucks. By now the bar was a small square to the human sight. The shopping district was busy but it seems he was taking me around it, possibly to avoid foot traffic or to get me alone and secluded in order to finally off me. "If you care so much you can fix it."

"Hm?" I stare down at my feet as I walk.

"Honestly I do have ulterior motives then nagging you about buying me a drink." He was so annoying, we both knew that this was a game of following the leader with one babbling king and his servant who just wants him to get to the point.

"Which is?"

"Allow us to walk more, I want you to see for yourself." For a moment I tensed, I don't want to die though I do doubt he has that intention with me, I don't want him to hurt or threaten me anymore but at this point turning back wouldn't be an option. Apart of me, the shaking, panicking, reckless part of me wants to follow with no questions. I want to see why he needs me, why a corrupted such as himself wants to talk with a human like me, and more importantly why he's choosing to do it so respectfully.

As we walk some more, possibly another ten minutes, I hear the blaring sounds of sirens. My head turns back in a sharp turn and I feel my body be pulled. I'm tugged back to the position I met him in, my back to his chest, except this time he didn't bother to cover my mouth or hold my hands. He just hugged me with a tight grip. We slinked behind a tree, it wouldn't hide us long if that was his wish, I lifted my head in a feeble way to stare at him.

"Let me g-"

"It's for you," He whispered in my ear, "-..the sirens are for you." My heart sank as I tensed my bones and attempted to break his barrier. Did they know I was human? Did he rat me out? I felt weak, uselessly small compared to him. He could kill me, or worse, drag me to the shopping district and allow hundreds of corrupteds to tear me apart. Although, if he wanted to do that he wouldn't have brought me away from the district, no if he wanted to collect some bounty or have them torture me to ruins he wouldn't have dragged me behind this tree and held onto me like this. Does he want to kill me hims-..

..

I felt a crack, no, I heard a crack. I didn't feel much. I felt the trigger on my finger, I felt his arms let go and I saw him stumble. But that crack wasn't his, it was mine, I remember, my vision blurred. I remember us running, no, he was running. I was in his arms, bridal style, weak with enough consciousness to hear the sirens blasting. They felt closer than before. The noise was louder, or perhaps I was dizzier. I saw blood, but for some reason, I couldn't tell if it was his or mine. And all at the same time I was still shaking, did I chase this? How long do I plan to go for the thrill, to place myself in these situations for the feeling of fear? Ah..oh well, if I was going to die, at least I would die reckless and afraid, just like he said I would.
..
"..tch....SK...Ow..." A couch, a green one, comfortable and stiff. My body lay still on it, I wanted to move but when I saw him I froze. He wrapped a band or two or gauze around his bleeding waist. I wasn't shaking. His face winced every time he pressed down on his abdomen. I wasn't shaking anymore. Was I dead? Was this my karma? Having to watch him live while I sit here, dead and..well, if I was dead would my heart be beating so loud? Would my head be ringing? His head lifts and I watch his gaze focus on me, his eyes are hidden but even through the darkness shaded over his face I could see him stare at me. Why aren't I quivering in fear? "You're awake?" He takes a step forward, I don't move, he takes another and dares for a third but still I stay without movement. I watched him clear the distance between us in seconds, he stared down and I noticed he took his coat and shirt off, he has a nice body I'll admit, better than mine.
"Unfortunately." My words sort of slipped out, I could have sworn I wasn't suicidal anymore, perhaps it was sarcastic towards his words. At this point my subconscious spoke for me, I was in some form of pain in my side that clouded my thoughts completely. His hand shifted from his abdomen to my face, he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and I suddenly began to shake again. I trembled like the day I met him and reacted on my own as I sat up and punched him in the gut. He hissed and folded to hold himself. I patted my side for my gun but found it oddly laying on a small desk-like table near the couch, in an instant it was pointed at his head. He stumbled backwards when the weapon was in sight and fell to the floor.

"Don't you think once was enough?" I noticed his side, he had been clutching it dearly and I could only assume from his words that I put a bullet through him.

"I shot you.."

"Really?" He smirked, "I had no idea." I jutted the gun towards him and he raised his hands in defeat. He pressed his body into the corner of the living room and smiled. He gave off a pleading look, he had a puppy face for sure, it was almost as if he was begging me to put down the gun. I wouldn't, no, I couldn't. Every fiber of my being couldn't stop shaking, a blanket was resting on top of me (now half-fallen due to my sudden movements), did he put that there? My eyes flicked up and down him, he was a nice looking ma-
"Are you checking me out?"

"..And puking at the sight." I rolled my eyes, he was still annoying.

"Put down the gun, I'm not going to hurt you." He stopped his smiles, grins, smirks, and any other action revolving around his mouth curving up.

"You could. I need to get h-.." I look around to the unfamiliar sight, "Where am I..?" His head lowered as he started to explain the shelter was owned by a friend of his. Apparently his ally wanted a family but had to practically murder their child, they built this cozy home to live a life outside of bloodlust and crime but it failed miserably. It was a shame, this house was next to a beach, it was soft toned and held some sort of beauty in it.

"I brought you here to heal."

"Heal?"

"You passed out," He whispered, "Right after you shot me." He seemed salty about that last part and I can hardly blame him.

"Well thank you but I must go now-" I attempt standing but as I do I feel myself become light headed. I fall back onto the couch and heave my body forward to prevent throwing up.
"You freaked out and ran into the open," He started explaining, "You were hit with an Entangled Sword." I tilt my head for him to explain what I already know. A sword can be enchanted if deemed worthy with Entanglement, it forces a poison on the victim to be practically paralyzed even while in control. I am trapped with him until the effects wear off. I looked out the window, I couldn't see past the curtains but I can tell it was dark outside.

"What time is it?"

"Around one in the morning." He yawned and stood from the corner. He followed the same pattern as before, one step after another.

"Stop, stop moving!" I threatened with my gun but by the time I said anything he had already placed his cold hand around the muzzle. He tilted the gun down and gave me a stare that screamed, "You won't do it." He was right, I wouldn't, he was harmless so far and we both know I couldn't find my way back without him.

"We should sleep." He announced, I allowed the gun to slip out of my hand and into his, which I assume I only did due to the drowsiness of the poison. He placed it right back on the table and leaned down to pull out what seemed to be more couch space.

"What..?"

"Rest will help get rid of the paralyt-"

"No, what are you doing?" The couch pulled out to be a bed, my face hesitated before shifting into a confused manner that he understood very well.

"The owner forbade us from going anywhere but here and the bathroom," He sighed, "You don't suggest I sleep on the floor do you?"

"You can sleep outside for all I care, but you are not going to-" My voice muffled, it seemed like he did whatever he wanted because he had already sat down. The horribly firm couch seemed like a normal soft pillow for him. The natural strength and muscle that came with being a corrupted also accounted for a slightly natural weight increase.

"I don't bite." He pleaded once again and this time I looked at the space he requested we shared. It wasn't small, in fact if we both slept in a respected position we wouldn't have to touch at all. It would still be a tight squeeze and neither of us would be entirely comfortable but perhaps it was inhumane to ask the man with a bullet in his waist to sleep on the floor. I sighed heavily and nodded at him to lay down, we turned away from each other, I was scooted towards the edge with most of the blanket while he slept near the base with no blanket. I couldn't sleep, or at least it felt like I wouldn't, a corrupted was right next to me. The very thing I swore up and down I would hate for the rest of my life was sleeping so peacefully just inches away. My eyes locked onto the rug below, it was quite a nice design. The Entanglement must have made me very compliant because if it weren't for me actively falling asleep I wouldn't have let him turn over and wrap an arm around me.

Chapter Text

(Mafioso's pov) + (November 24th) + (10:32am)

By the time I woke up, I saw him in my arms. I could've sworn it was a pillow or a couch cushion, maybe even the blanket he hogged the whole night. But no, it was him, soft and sacred coddled into my chest. For a man who trembles at the sound of my voice, he seems rather content in my arms. I hadn't done it purposely, I too was horribly tired, and I was honestly rather surprised he allowed me to sleep on the couch so easily. I had expected a fight of some sort, I was mostly doing it to slightly tick him off. He seemed much more vibrant that way. I felt him rustle under me and slowly dig his face into my hand that was softly draped over him. If he hadn't just threatened to shoot me again a few hours ago, I might have found it rather cute. Speaking of getting shot I could feel the wound in my abdomen healing actively, a perk of being stronger than the average human was regenerating, it wasn't going to completely heal, and of course, I'd need it to be cleaned and tended to. But my body would reject the bullet eventually, and it wouldn't be fatal unless well..he would have to shoot me about 16 times in the chest to actually kill me. It still hurt, I felt the same pain as everyone else, and getting shot is a pain worse than most would imagine. I slept without a top, and as specks of blood trickled onto his white undershirt, I finally began to notice I was bleeding through the gauze.

I sat up and attempted to crawl over him. I didn't want to wake him but I could lie here and bleed out either. My body was halfway across to where my hands were pinned on both sides of his head.

A golden gaze fluttered open to meet my dark black eyes.

I wonder if it was the gods attempting to make me seem like a horrid man to protect the one below me, or if perhaps Chance planned it like this. Would it be so absurd for him to make me out to be the bad guy? Though this would be all too elaborate for him to plan out, so it seems the gods do hold grudges.

"...Oh Spectre..-" I mutter as his face turns an odd shade of pink. His skin was a honey tone, it bounced off light in such a way that the blush seemed unnaturally cartoony. From the very few times I met him, I could tell the vibrancy of his eyes and personality shone much greater when he felt strong emotions.

"You-.." His body tenses for a moment and then quivers, this time not in fear but in laughter. He moves his hand to cover his mouth but fails to do anything but cackle. His laugh was contagious and I eventually lifted my body to sit on his waist, we chuckled together me silently and him not so much. His laugh was loud, it shook his body, I watched his back arch up as far as it could with me straddled on him to heave the giggles out of his small frame. We seemed to be opposites, from two different worlds, and very opposing lives but in the end we are all human. I think so anyway.

"I," I grasp a moment of words followed by a wicked grin. "I am truly sorry you woke up to this!" My eyes looked to his. He took his contacts out sometime before bed, I'm not sure when, the yellow orbs covered by his luscious eyelashes that flowed smoothly around his lid, the way he gently bit his lip, one could only come to the conclusion he was nice looking. Oh to hell with it, he was gorgeous, a talented human with an eye for a good game of luck, a strong yet delicate frame, and a willpower greater than most others. He was immaculate.

"Not the worst site to wake up to." I watched him fumble for something, anything to make his slip of words a joke. I would like to think he also found me physically attractive, if anything and honestly, it evened the playing field with us both having a light blush tinting our faces. His hand lightly shoved my shoulder silently asking me to get up. I did nicely, I was glad to see he wasn't all too upset.

He walked steadily and shook with delight as he realized he was no longer infected. He turned back and smiled, it was softer than mine and way less sharp, it wiped from his face in seconds. I watched him decide what to do next and I stood. Our gazes both locked onto his gun, I could tell he meant to take it and leave but he was interesting, he was intriguing and I wanted to know more. I wanted to know him. I reached for it quicker than he could and held it behind me, he looked up without his head, and I could watch those eyes dance to figure me out all day long if I was allowed.

"We are not playing this game again, are we?"

"You infected half my men and all who were in that bar," My voice becomes dull, "I do believe it's not yet time for you to go."

He crinkled his nose and sharpened his stance. "So what?" He got angry quickly, it was easy to pick up on his temperament issues when he was accused of something or in a tight spot. A cornered rabbit only has the options of getting shot or playing dead. "You're going to imprison me here until you figure out why?" I shook my head no but he wasn't all too satisfied with that.

"What diseases do you have?" My eyes dropped low to stare at him without showing much thought.

"I'm not sick," He growls, "and if they got sick why aren't you huh?

"I've had every poison in the book, this plague you're spreading is nothing to me."

"Humans have come here before how am I the cause?"

"You spend time around warfare chemicals, people from all sorts of nations, and gambling districts," I slowly hand him the gun, "You picked up something your body can handle and some of ours can't."

He snatches the gun and mutters his next words. "You've done your research."

"I like to study the ones who differ from the crowd."

"Quite a scholar."

"I like to think so," I begin with a smile, "you can leave and run the risk of being caught by the guard without me to help you."

"Or?" He speaks for me.

"You can do me a favor."

"That is?"

"I don't care much about civilians or who you infect that isn't my crew. It seems that if they don't have a tolerance it will be a weapon to develop one." A plan forms in my mind. One that would keep him around me longer, an excuse to further train my men, and most of all a reason to get involved in the war.

"Get to the point." The gears turned in his head as he tucked his gun into his waist.

"We make a deal," I hold out my hand for him to shake, "I protect you anytime you choose to come over, and in return, you agree to help my men build immunity."

He shifted his body to turn a few inches west of me. "And how exactly would I do that?"

"Exposure, you come over a few times a week for hours or days on end and slowly infect them." He and I both knew the minor epidemic he was spreading was only fatal to the weak, at most to the population of the sickly it would put them out of commission for maybe a month at most. However, if multiple soldiers with the same disease come over, they may wipe out more men than the corrupted lands can handle to lose. At least I want my men to have a small, less fatal reaction to such an attack. He is smart enough to know that. "What do you say?"

His mouth opens but no words spill out..his head racks and for a moment I watch him argue with himself. "It sounds nice on paper but just how do you expect me to leave work behind for days without you seeing my company's plans?" It was a fair question, not only is it highly illegal for him to be here but it would be a million times worse if he leaked their ideas for the war to someone they deem a "corrupted".

"We make a secondary deal, neither of us interferes with each other's work." I suddenly felt a need to clarify what he didn't know, and what I felt he was going to ask.."My line of work heavily interacts with the war, I daily contact those you actively seek out and wish to kill." His head drops as he thinks even harder.

"Living expenses? I'm broke in your currency, not to mention I'm a human who can't get a job without those examinations."

"You'll work under me, my cooperation may be against my own government but I do legally pay my workers in the underground network." The underground network is a place for criminals and active-duty soldiers to connect illegally. Our government knows about it and silently, actively supports it. While it helps out murderers, thieves, and criminals of all kinds it is also is a gateway for organizations to give information to the government. It's the only lawful way a corrupted has permission to kill a human without being prosecuted. I essentially have a giant business running around the guard's feet while being funded by the government's money. I shake my hand to affirm him it's still there for him to shake. The deal is hasty and both of us are going to want to clear up any miscommunication with what is happening, but not now, not when we are here alone. I'll have my men as witnesses and hopefully someone of his will be here too. His body hesitates and I step forward only for him to flinch and reach for his gun.

"..I'm not going to kill you."

"I know."

"Then stop hesitating."

"It's not that simple-.."

"It could be."

His golden orbs shifted to my hand. I would have given up the world to see his eyes shimmer like they did in that moment again. He scans my body once more and suddenly he too comes forward. He steps into firmly shaking my hand, his head lifts up and in a passionate movement we twirl. We were rather close in proximity so when he waltzed his footing to literally spin I pulled him closer. It was odd that out bodies seemed to entertain to nicely and often, it as ever day we met that we connected together physically. Close to my chest I watched him find the turn of my heart, it was beating outside my body, I couldn't quite place it but I loved this feeling. His hand which has previously been shaking mine was wrapped around me, he wouldn't admit it but I was holding him softly, easy enough for him to push back if he wished. But he didn't. cluster

The small cluster of !movement that forced us into this position was a greeting. He explained to me while stepping back an inch that there were various freeing dances, some used to mock corrupteds others for community and a good laugh. He called it an Emote.

"We could dance." I said firmly with my sharp smile.

"I really should go, " I didn't move to stop him because he did it for me, "you wouldn't know the moves."

"I've been told I'm a fast learner. " His head shakes as he collects his belongings. "Chance?" His body went through four emotions as a said his name. At first he was flustered, shivers went down his spine that presented fear, he stuttered a few as he turned on his heel showing me confusion. And at last he rested at lust. It wasn't sexual for me his lust was more greedy, I could tell he reacted to fear nicely. I believe he likes the adrenaline that comes with being close to death at any given time. saying his name was a little sweet treat for him, one could say he weird or delusional, I say he's perfect. I found it cute the way he lit up at the sound of his name, more than that I liked that he looked at me that way when I said his name.

"Let's dance." He have in, it was all moving so fast for us. I met him a few days ago and I couldn't help but want more. He repositioned himself to place his hand in mine and began to spin. A dance of two, it was oddly formal yet comfortable for us. He chose a slower dance, possibly to make it easier for me to read the steps on my own or because a slow dance is purely elegant. I stepped on his foot once and he hissed so I resorted to starting down at his feet to figure out where mine should go.

"Like this?" I kick his leg, oops

"Slow down-! " He grumbled and moved forward in such a way that a stumbles backwards. With our hands intertwined he fell with me. I fought my footing so the slow dance became him and I doing a messy tangle of attempting to stay upright. I was the first to exhale in laughter, the spinning and footwork of not trying to fall on each other was far more peaceful than any other dance he could have offered. We slowly drawled to the center of the living room, my hand on his waist and his on my shoulder, our left hands joining together in one. When we slowed to a stop he was slightly bent backwards to stare up at me. He had a beautiful face that smiled genuinely at me. I had never seen someone do that without trying to kiss my ass.

"Let me take you to my place. I'll show you where to go so you don't get lost when you have to come over." My voice was smoothed and less pleading then it had been when I wasn't sure if he was going to stay. He agreed . As we let go I felt a weird pulse, an ache to do something stupid. I bent my head to leave a small pack on his cheek. "Think of it as my own greeting." It was then I finally felt a sensation of want far greater than simple curiosity. He was a dangerous gambler, one who softened roamed it all and always won. I wondered when I discovered that if he was lucky or smart. I wondered if I was a result of his stupidity of a calculated decision for his own benefit.

whatever it may be, there is something I am sure of..

He is my own gamble.

Chapter Text

(Chance's pov) + (December 1st) + (11:26 pm)

One week is all it takes to make a man go mad. It could be almost anything, hypothetical or not. For me, I discovered a simple kiss on the cheek was enough to send me spiraling.

I'm not one to care about these sorts of things, a kiss is a kiss. Simple as that. But from him? A corrupted of all people, an influential and powerful man, how stupid can he be to place his lips on me. His rough- fragile lips. I must be crazy to keep thinking about it. It's been a week, an entire seven days of worrying about what he was thinking when he did that. Or if he thought at all, it was not a greeting he and I both knew, what was the point? Why would someone, no, why would he, even do such a thing! An irresponsible, stupid thing. And here I am thinking about his actions. I put off work to go to sleep early, and yet all I can do is lie here, in these soft hotel sheets, thinking about him. Mafioso.

The creaky wood of my door slides open slowly. One step, two. I almost forgot my boss had keys to our rooms, though watching a smaller frame cross my bed and beady green eyes stare to see if I was awake, I was almost certain this wasn't Guest.

"Elliot?" I mutter and watch his body jump as goosebumps form. I sit up and he scrambles to turn on the light. I never thought of myself as all too observant, just eager and smart, especially in this scenario where the blush on his face, scrunched shirt, and half-looped belt really tell me what he's been up to. However, I pause and sigh to assess what I know, Elliot isn't one to sleep around. He's too much of a golden child to ever dream of one-night stands, and as far as I'm concerned he doesn't have a girlfriend.

"I- uh...need some advice-." Elliot squeaks. He and I knew each other in our college days, he was (and still is) studying medicine and I was studying finance. I dropped out in our second year but we kept in touch, in fact I recommended him for his role in our team when Guest was looking for a doctor whose name wasn't known at all. Luckily for me, he was fresh out of med school and I was desperate to talk to someone I knew. I guess in this line of work we only have our team members to go to, but in recent times his number one adviser was Guest and if Elliot didn't want to go to him, it must be a really big secret.

"What is it?" I get up from the bed (I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon anyway) and walk past him to the mini fridge.

"What would you do if someone, just- kissed you out of nowhere?" His words made me drop the bottle of alcohol. The glass shattered on the oak floors and spilled onto the carpet. Did he know? Was he talking about me? Is this his sick way of calling me out? No, he wasn't that smart, he was just silly old Elliot, the dumb one. How would he even-... "Are you ok?" He backed up so as not to step on the glass that was currently impaling my foot.

"How did you-.." He was a tattle tale, he would run to Guest, and I would be caught. I would be thrown in jail, shunned by the men I was oh-so close to. I could be killed or worse, Mafioso would..ah. "Get out," I mutter, I truly am a crazy bastard.

"What..?"

"GET OUT!" I step forward as if to lunge my voice at him. The glass cut into my flesh and he ran off. Out, away from me. Was I so paranoid to think a simple guy like him would know about my secrets? I've taken every measure to keep them out of my personal life, of course he wouldn't know. But now- oh jeez, now I set the bar for him to keep his eyes out for me. If it wasn't for that damn Mafioso, he's stuck in my head, a parasite.

I waddle on my heel to fall on the edge of the bed. The blood on my foot made it difficult to tear out the pieces and as I did I could feel my lungs gasp for air. Pain wasn't the issue but my own insanity was diving deeper. Documented studies have shown that humans surrounded by corrupteds may corrupt themselves if they aren't careful. The art of corrupting all revolves around the human being weak, I by all means am not, but there is still the chance. In the past week, I've spent more time around Mafioso than one ever should, and frankly, it's causing me to go...insane.

He instructed me not to start staying over until the end of this week. Tomorrow specifically. But seeing as I clearly have no way of communicating with him and my paranoia will only get worse from here, maybe it's time to visit him. I went to the bar a few days ago and saw him there but he was busy (the bar being a means of illegal distribution of product) he was stuck talking to people who worked beneath him. The bartender that night slid over a shot. My breath caught as I remembered, Mafioso had bought it for me, his stubborn corrupt eyes locked on my mouth as he made sure I drank every last drop of it. I guess it was the way he smiled after, to me it was a sign of my trust, I was giving him a sliver of power, and in return that devilish grin was a thank you. I walked out soon after almost wishing he would notice and come after me, a foolish thought of course because he was in fact as busy as he said.

This time I suspect it will be the same but at least if he is in my line of sight I'll be put at ease. I was never one to actively break the law, nonetheless one this serious. I am a monster in my own right, or an oppressed human. Funny, I could have sworn he said those same words to me one day. I stood, blood pooling from my feet, it looked more than it was but I still put band aids over it. My feet were dolls, made to be sewn and repaired when the stuffing fell out. My body was a metaphor for fear itself, I am insane. I laugh, a criminal..wicked chuckle. I don't remember when I became so fidgety, or unstable in my health. Perhaps I do need a drink-. I head for the door as soon as I can, jacket, coin, corrupted currency, the whole works.

Walking takes forever. The distance on foot is hours, so naturally I call for a taxi but even that gets me only so far. It's not that late, I don't have work as an excuse but oh well, if they truly catch me I suppose a grave will need to be dug. Seven feet, I don't deserve to be on the same level as someone who hasn't betrayed their world as they know it. Flowers I guess will be arranged, I doubt my friends would leave one in anything but pity. Maybe sadness, disappointment? I wonder if he would leave me a flower, we haven't known each other that long but for some reason I feel like he would break the rules to leave me one anyway. Mafioso is truly an odd man. The border (which I cross in seconds, truly why even declare a border if you won't dare set up defense to keep one another out,) is lined with pebbles. Rocks and boulders, sharp knives if not trotted over carefully. I don't think they were there before, it must be the schoolchildren. There is a school around here, a bigger one, I know of it because Seven's kid goes there. Must suck to be a child born during war, close to the very border you are told the enemy is behind. Do they hate humans like me? Would I care if they did?

Slowly I crept up into town, still a little ways from the bar, I guess it wouldn't hurt to browse around the shopping district as I go. I have always wanted to look around, when I first started to sneak through corrupted territory I was far too scared and never swayed from going to the bar and back. Some could say I am an alcoholic, I prefer "seasoned drinker."

The shopping district was essentially an outdoor mall, having a larger amount of body heat, corrupteds are practically forced outside. It's nicer than it is inside most buildings. The markets were set up in stands and separated by category. The food section has sub-sections: Fruit, vegetables, dairy, bread, etc. I chose to skip it since most corrupted foods don't fit a human diet, next to that were the small merchant areas. Jewelry, trinkets, knick-knacks of all kinds. A pretty gem caught my eye, it was a honeycomb color that shone even during the dull day. It was overpriced for its size, I couldn't help but wonder what its bold body, and annoyingly shiny face reminded me of.

"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice pokes at my eardrums. I turn to see a well-dressed corrupted loom an inch or two above me. He was a runt, smaller then most and honestly more human like than not.I recognized him from Mafioso's mansion. He was one of the most trusted workers there.

"Consigliere?" I watched him nod to claim the name. He pulled my arm and as I let him drag me off into the busy walkway I realized that perhaps every corrupted has an issue with touching people without their consent.

"You aren't supposed to be here yet."

"I'm not here for mafioso." I didn't completely lie. I had come to ease my mind, I was only hoping to see him, interacting was a benefit if anything.

"It doesn't matter. The more chances you give yourself to be caught the more likely it is you won't be able to keep up your end of the deal." His head swung to eye me down.

"If I get exposed it would be his fault for not doing his part." My voice became slightly annoyed, I knew we were walking towards the mansion but I desperately wanted to go to the bar. That's where he would be. Or, well I thought he would. Consiglier is a decently smart enough man to not bring me into a home of hundreds of corrupteds all waiting for the command to off me without Mafioso there to protect me. Some know and some don't I've discovered, the closer to the boss the more let in you are. I don't much care for what Mafioso says in terms of trustworthy followers, I personally believe everyone will do what is best for themselves regardless of loyalty. It's nature.

"You not intentionally putting yourself in dangerous situations was implied."

"In what contract?" My grin complements his scowl. He moved to fight back but we both knew what we did, Mafioso and I have a verbal contract that means nothing in court. Not that we would fight it in court, it would be a life-long situation. Our words are a means to get what we want and nothing else, he can't imply much else without being wrong. His lips fell swiftly together as we walked to the mafia's residency. Similar to my group they often travel, Mafioso takes a small crew that stands as his right hand to his new place of living and once he is done with his work he packs up and leaves. The mafia he leads isn't some small organization swept under the rug, it's a large connection that single handedly brings all of the council's most wanted corrupteds together. His subspecies of corrupted (Horned Corrupted) is the most common among the network he leads. More than 40% of all corrupteds are labeled under that subspecies. His network controls half the mafia, the other half are criminals actively working against humans with approval. The government supports and shines them in the light of the public as defenders. Jason, 1x1x1x1, and John Doe. There are supposed to be five however Noli has been m.i.a for years and the other was physically lost at birth. The five are the pride and joy of the corrupted lands, some of the most brutal and strong ever bred. They take the place as heirs into their jobs, each will have a child and that child will take their place and so on. Mafioso is filling in for the missing corrupted child, which unfortunately means I am 'conspiring' with the corrupted organization directly opposing the line of work I'm in.

"Reckless idiot!" A man in a suit similar to Consiglier's, yells loudly as we arrive at the mansion garden. A much younger corrupted shiver below him, she's dressed as a maid of some sort. She has blond wavy hair with a chocolate brown tint to her hazel eyes. I could see it in her gaze as she winced at every note he dared pitch too loud that she wanted out. She seemed young, possibly early adulthood, it would make sense that she made the rash decision to join such an organization and regret it immediately. He was screaming over a glass of tea. It seemed the platter carrying it had been dropped to the floor, or rather he smacked it to the floor. The corrupted next to me stepped in front of my body and pulled his weapon slowly. Most from this position might assume he would pull a gun or a taser to cover distance but I watched as this man grabbed a sword from his waist and came behind the woman softly. Gently (I followed close but not directly behind) he tapped her shoulder.

"Do we have an issue?" Consigliere spoke calmly.

"Oh Con thank you." The other man chimed in.

"I..fed some to one of his rabbits." She muttered.

"The tea?" She nodded as the other man grimaced.

For a second no one spoke. I wasn't sure why until I heard the unforgettable footsteps of a man with a devilish grin. Except this time his grin wasn't there, it was replaced by a face of seething anger.

"Are you the girl responsible for feeding my rabbit poison?" His voice boomed which sent shivers down my spine.

"It was only a sip. I'm sure it will be fine." Consigliere stepped forward a few to meet Mafioso halfway.

"You misunderstand, the poison was in the tea." The other man (who Mafioso called Tee) held his arms together and his gaze unwavered from her eyes.I

Mafioso growled in her face. She shook similar to how I did, the only difference is that this would be exciting to me.

"Take her to the neutral lands." in the neutral lands (a space ruled by halfbloods) she would be lawfully killed. It was a life I could not save which pained me, a million times they told me never to save a corrupted on the field and a million times I begged why not. A life is a life, something to be cherished and worshipped. Death was its end.

Consiglier and Tee grabbed her arms as she fought and pleaded. She screamed for help but the corrupteds nearby went back to work, their heads low and faces neutral. Mafioso sighed and our eyes met, his face changed to one of excitement within a second and for an odd reason my stomachs fluttered.

"You're early!" His tone calms.

"It's past midnight." I reason,

"I'm still working ," He mumbles looking around at the workers whose eyes are set on me. To them I'm some mysterious corrupted who talks to Mafioso a little too informally, "But I can get you a room to sleep in."

"Could it be yours?" His eyes widened and a short stutter caught his breath. I blush and slap my forehead, that's not what I meant. "F-for safety!" I attempted to clarify but the damage had been done. He begins to walk and signals me to walk with him.

"And give you access to my work?" The truthful issue was that since we were enemies sharing anything about our work could give the other ideas on how to take them out faster.

"You're not dumb enough to hide incriminating documents in your room." I heard a laugh from him as I said that .

"What if I was?"

"I'd use you." My words are honest as we arrive up the stairs and down the hall to his room. He opens the door with a key and helps me push past the guards who were previously blocking my path inside.

"For answers?" He grinned slowly. "Or for pleasure?" He bent down to my ear, cupping the side of my neck for stability . My body shakes as if to tell me to run but my mind races with thoughts no man should have for someone he views as the enemy.

"God forbid a man makes a mistake in his words." I place a hand to his chest but don't care to push.

"Boring!" He sticks his tongue out like a toddler and pulls away.

"Not sleeping with you is boring?"

"Not playing along," He corrects, "Just one little kiss?" His words taunted, in fact I hardly think he meant them at all. He bent down to my height and fluttered his eyes, his goal was to see me annoyed and strangely it was working. It was the competitive nature in me and the trauma of being called a chicken one too many times as a kid that made me want to challenge his words.

My foot stepped forward to give me an angle at which I could grab his face. My lips met his in seconds and he lifted his body to stand above me. I parted my lips softly just enough for his tongue to explore the depths of my mouth. I fought to lead but his mouth controlled mine. I stepped with him as he spun me around and pinned me to the door while his tongue moved to every inch of my mouth, exploring the taste and creases of each new zone. He licked the roof of my mouth and I quietly moaned. When he bit lightly on my lip I gasped and leaned into it for more. Our tongues intertwined in a dance as I succumbed to his oddly savory taste. Slowly his lips parted from mine as we gathered our breaths. I slumped against the door using his newly placed arm at my back as a means of support.

"How's that for boring?" I mutter as he licks his lips and returns to that oh so lovely smile.

Chapter Text

(Mafioso's pov) + (December 2nd) + (10:03 am)

By the time he woke up, I was still at work. I hadn't slept last night, even if I had the chance I wouldn't have been able to. Between his kiss and my busy schedule, my mind has been fighting itself on what to do. It was out of nowhere, he shouldn't have showed up today, his lips shouldn't have been on mine and I shouldn't have entertained it. But I did, and I can only blame myself. Once it was roughly eight in the morning, I saw his eyes flutter open. Why was I staring at him? No one needs to know.

The work below me has to deal with the C.C.C (Corrupted Council Contract) similar to Chance, the council I am a part of works to eradicate "human kind". I myself take no part in the murdering process but I do provide my team of men as an asset in exchange for the guard to turn a blind eye. Every scribble of my signature drives me mad, how can one committee give me days of work. As I sit at this desk, papers in hand and a man in the connecting bathroom's shower, I can only mutter softly to myself,

"What the hell am I doing?" I always thought of myself as soft-spoken. Quiet, and fragile in my own way, though with time and gain in power I suppose I've become more confident in my speech. I have a naturally loud voice range (one I can't control or hear myself), and in times like these one must truly wonder how with his loud mouth and a massive ego leading his thoughts he could be so silent when exiting the shower.

"Not me, that's for sure.." His voice was soft compared to my gruff one, it was a nice comparison. Something to adjust my tone to instead of guessing.

"Are you still on about that?" After our kiss, I fled. I was flustered like I had never been before, I made some excuse on the spot about work and I have never seen someone clock a lie faster. He didn't dare call me out but I could see it in the way his pink and scarred lip hesitated. "It would be unprofessional, and greatly impact the deal we made." I suppose I could have given in to his demands and paid no mind but I swore I could smell the alcohol on his person. I didn't feel it in his mouth but then again I don't often drink enough to know what booze from his side of the world would taste like. I watch his body closely, his top naked and bottom loosely covered with a towel, walk over to my desk, he bent his knees slightly to look at me with a soft pout. His eyes, a tint of pink crossed my skin, I don't know why I am so obsessed with them.

"I'm annoyed about it." He admits,

"Sorry-" My voice skips around in tune with my heartbeat. It's not that he as a person makes me stutter but that beautiful gaze is something to adore. If I were allowed I would have my men hold him to the floor while I delicately carve them out to the music of his screams. Ah- There my mind goes with those vividly horrid thoughts, I don't want to see him yell and beg for mercy. I just want his eyes framed on a wall, is that so much to ask for? He straightens his stance and throws himself on my bed. How confident does a man have to be to go on and on about his wants and his part in the deal we made? His schedule, his willingness, his basic needs, it's all so natural as if he belongs here, as if he... "Are you not afraid?"

I feel my body rise against my will. Gentle, I tell myself but my body acts on its own. "What?" He sits up and makes eye contact halfway. I can sense his trembling body, he acted so confident before but when I got close he shivered like a trapped bunny.

"A corrupted is standing over you." I remind him but he doesn't move, hell he doesn't even dare to look away. "I weigh 100 pounds more," My voice growls throughout the room "I could break your arm with a light punch." Still, he stayed where he was, eventually once the silence filled the gaps of confusion he stood.

"Am I supposed to run?" I watched his hand shake at his side with every word, twitch of his eyebrow, shift in his eyes, I watched ever so closely.

"You're not supposed to ask to sleep with me." My breath went back to its steady form, was I intending to threaten him? The whole reason I was interested in him was that he refused to run. I planned for him to stay, no, I wanted him to stay. His head turned to the side and he sighed as if to tell me he is done with this conversation. "Are you ready?"

"For?"

"We need to get to work." I walk to the entrance door and place my hand on the knob. His frown becomes a hidden chuckle as he walks from the bed while dusting his bare body off.

"Do you have some clothes?" His voice pokes at my curiosity.

"None that would fit you-."

"Does it look like I mind?" He stands below me, shorter by a head, I noticed his lack of horns and quickly pulled away from the exit. His head tilts down as if to present his golden orbs again, every shift in his step causes a breach in my mind. I hesitate to open the large wardrobe, but when I do I run my hands through a silky gown. His head shook no. My claws caught on a cotton shirt, two sizes bigger than he, his nod beckoned me to hand it over. I found a pair of shorts, too small for an average corrupted but just big enough to dangle around his hips. Consiglier must have left it with me, he is quite small.

"Put on your fedora," I closed the closet, "Do you have contacts?" He followed my instructions, instead of contacts he dressed his eyes with glasses. They were tinted, impossible to see through, as long as they didn't fall down his nose no one would know. He very much looked human with his small figure, Consiglier was slightly taller which made it easier to compare them but even then those around me would become suspicious. I made a bold decision to tell my immediate personnel. They will keep him safe when I cannot and in turn for their loyalty I up their paycheck. I wouldn't say I'm an unfair boss but even I admit I'm stingy with money. I have many soldiers to pay and people to make contracts with, Corrupteds who owe me money are a pain and if the world were perfect we'd all be rich enough to forgo bribery.

"Hello?" His hand waves in front of my face, I notice immediately after snapping away from zoning out that he stood on his toes to reach my line of view. My head was tilted up and I must have stood subconsciously while he was getting dressed. I knew he was short but oddly it was cute seeing him use my shoulder as support for his height gain.

"Sorry- are you ready? " He nods to my voice and off we go. Down the hallway to the medical bay, the wall was nothing but silence with the interruption of a cough or clearing of the throat every now and then. I had told him to be quiet, the lack of conversation was intentional. My workers spend day and night diligently keeping this place in order. Some work to pay off debt, others for the access illegal work provides, either way the workers maintain a code of silence that they must never break. It is my biggest rule, I hate the sound of constant chatter, it's clutter to the ear and a distraction to the mind. Arriving at the medical rooms was the first breath of sound, inside they were allowed to talk, the doctors informed me that when patients have connection with each other they get better at a faster rate. How that works I haven't a clue but I trust the men who are appointed medics here.

"Sirs," The head doctor bows, "The contagious have been moved to unit B, the first batch of non-contaminated soldiers is set to each bed. Group A-1. " My most trusted medical lead is named ironically Soldier. He carried a crowbar on his back and spoke with a hidden stutter, one would have to be around him long enough to notice it. He was good at his work and loyal to me so he is a part of my closest group of men.

"You will stay here and, well, infect them." I say happily to Chance. My arm sweeps behind his back as to nudge him into the room which he does without a fight.

"Are you not staying?" He became panicked for a moment, a light trickle of terror flooded his face but for only a moment, he was seasoned at hiding his emotions but I've been around long enough to sense when someone is terrified. As he should be, surrounded by corrupteds who at any given moment could lash at him is scary.

"I have work, the doctor will keep you safe." Soldier sneered at Chance which made it harder to convince him he would be fine.

"This is bullshit Mafioso.." His voice rang out in a loud and raspy whisper. The first batch of patients seemed afraid, I suppose if it was one of them I'd have their head but this one was special and they would have to learn that.

"I'll be out so if you need something, report to one of these men," I hand him a slip of paper, " And these men only. " As I walk away the door shuts along with his pleading eyes. The paper had the names of my most trusted soldiers. Contractee, Consiglier, Soldier and Caporegime. The four were the workers that have been here from the start, the most loyal and hardworking they are in my end of the deal to keep him safe. Now that he can slowly infect my men with a virus I can go to a meeting with the council.

-

When I arrive the office is cold. The door to the meeting room cracked and as I entered I saw the chaotic rhythm it's usually in. The early bird, Jason, got here two hours prior to the agreed time according to the clock in sheet. He is peacefully in his seat having an argument with John Doe over how hard they can hit. Unlike Jason, Doe is rough and loud, he pushed over his seat who knows how long ago and presents himself aggressively. 1x sits in the seat of Noli who once again is absent. I'm not supposed to be here but the child to this throne of nonsense and warfare went missing a little under a decade ago when he was born so now I fill in.

"Ah, Mawffy , glad you could make it!" 1x takes a stand and presents his voice loud enough to shut the other two up.

"Don't call me that," I say with a disgusted look plastered on my face.

"Hey Mafioso, I heard you hired a new brat." Doe teases, I keep my eyes set on the messy table stained with who knows what. Of course word got around (within hours) about the "Corrupted" who can speak freely around me. Them finding out Chance is a human is concerning but that's not what he is threatening me for, the rumor going around is split between three theories. The first which hopefully very little believes is that he has power over me, the second which Jason alone assumes is that we are equals and business partners, and lastly the one most people tend to lean towards among underground talk is that he is my mistress. Through the silence of the mansion I can hear the cracks of theories spread about me, they come full circle in the underground (unfortunate problem that comes with having your name be a staple in the crime kingdom).

"Is he cute?" 1x jumps on this nonsense train.

"We are not discussing my personal affairs."

"You aren't one to sleep around," Doe walks around the table to close in on me, " Is she that good?" He makes a lewd motion with his fingers and grins disgustingly. The only good thing is that there seems to be confusion in Chance's gender. I haven't got the chance (hah get it?) to ask personally but they seem to present male. Or at least he hasn't corrected me yet, either way it's good. It's not that Chance has necessarily female features for a human but he is quite small for a 'corrupted ', it's likely the underground assumed he was a dwarf corrupted (a trait that happens mostly in women) and sent out rumors. Others may have picked him out to be male and talked about it and through all the mix of rumors they couldn't decide reality. This could help keep him hidden longer.

"The subject is void, can we carry on with work?" My voice snarls and Doe chuckles. Jason slides a contract my way and as I read my heart drops, they want me to fight in the front lines. They want me to look a human in the eye and declare myself an enemy, to look Chance in his golden gaze and pronounce I will willingly hurt him every chance I can get.

"The kid who is supposed to fill that seat isn't old enough regardless of if he returned." 1x holds a pen for me,

"This isn't my job, I won't." I push the paper away from me. 1x holds his head back and sighs.

"I wasn't necessarily asking." he smiles fakely,

I have no tie to Chance but I promised to protect him, my word is important to me and furthermore I won't put my men through ruthless war.

"You can't afford to ensue turf war on my men. " Our eyes sank into each other, we were looking for a weak spot. 1x had Soldiers like mine, he calls them minions, if we went against each other there would be no council to fight the war and the government would be mad. He is trying to force my hand but I can bend his just the same, my pulse beats rapidly under the stress and I could only wonder how Chance is doing now..

Chapter Text

(Chance's pov) + (December 2nd) + (3:22pm)

Sitting in a room full of corrupteds isn't something a human experiences every day.

They smell, break things easily, and have an inflamed ego. The worst part is I can't figure out if they are this way because of the nature of their species or because of who they work for. He left me so quickly, said nothing, and shoved me in here with strangers. To be honest, I'm less afraid I'll get caught and more concerned with the fact that they won't stop staring at me.

"I've never seen a dwarf corrupted before.." One said with genuine curiosity. He was the quietest out of them all and stared the most intensely. I'm not all too sure what a dwarf corrupted is but I won't dare correct him. His brown hair was slicked back but frizzy and some strands swept his face because of how thick it was. He was hunched forward on one of the medical beds, his legs crossed and shoulders squared. Damn, he wasn't bad looking-.

"Mm." I nod, I had been sitting on the floor in the middle of the room for quite some time, only getting up occasionally to get some water or go to the bathroom. The doctor left quickly after Mafioso and promised to return soon, but it's been hours and frankly, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do.

"God I'm starving!" Another one says. I remember the quiet one calling him Fozzy earlier though he didn't respond.

"This is the third time you've said that." The biggest of the 5 in the room said. His name was Kingder. Corrupteds always have such odd names, or moreover, they were unique and chaotically funny.

"What kind of disease do you have?" Fozzy switched the subject, looking at me as he smirked.

"It's a secret!" I smiled back, it was a warning smile for him to back off from questioning me. However, it instead was the cause of Kingder leaning forward and laughing at me.

"Whoa, your teeth are dull as shit man!" He loudly belted out in amusement. The nice-looking man took his curiosity too far and sat next to me as if to inspect my mouth.

"Open up, I wanna see!" His grip on my jaw made me shove him away. "That-..you're weak." He seemed genuinely scared for me.

"Does this disease malnourish you?" A previously silent one chimed in.

"Is that why you're so small?" Kingder gasped.

"Don't touch me." I snarl but they don't seem to hear me or care enough to listen if I speak louder. So touchy, all of them.

"Oh my gosh, he looks like Prinny." Fozzy spoke with pride, the rest of them burst out in laughing tears. I could hear the raspy gasps for breath because of how hard they were giggling at this joke.

"Who's Prinny?" I ask and their hyena roar one by one comes to an end. Fozzy hesitated before giving me a curious look, the two previously quiet soldiers in the back of the room couldn't help but mumble words between each other, the good-looking man and Kingder stared at me as if I was an alien.

"You've never been on Prinny watch?" One of the two in the back spoke up.

"Didn't you transfer from the Hotel unit?" I answered no to Fozzy's question.

"How new are you?" Kingder added,

"Very-." I say with a hushed tone, was it a crime I didn't know who Prinny was?

"..-But boss said you were important personnel." Mumbled the pretty man. Whispers spread throughout the room, the murmurs brushed my ear but I couldn't quite hear the words.

"Are you sleeping with him?" Fozzy broke the chain of hushed judgement. Before I could answer, the door swung open with a timer resting in the doctor's hand as he entered.

"It's 3:30," The doctor announced, "Are any of you feeling sick?" One raised their hand in the back. He was laying down and had been for the entire time. He hasn't spoken one word but as he raised his arm I watched his hand droop in weakness. The doctor walked over and shuffled the man to face him, but when he did his skin went pale. The doctor mumbled something and forced the man to sit up. He presented us his face, bloodied by his dripping nose, his pupils were dilated and when he sat he slumped forward. He couldn't hold his body or breath evenly, the others looked afraid.

"You didn't even touch him.." Kingder shook. They were soldiers, yes, but they had fears all the same as normal people. "Why aren't you responding like them?" He stood from the bed, the pretty guy (who was sitting next to me at this point) got up and eyed Kingder. The both of them were in a tense stance as if to threaten each other.

"You're going to start a fight here?"

"Back off Locklin." Kingder barks. So that's his name.

"He's sick!" Locklin, the pretty man, defends me as I pull myself to my feet.

"Don't look it," Kingder waves his hand to point at me, "He's probably one of those 1x goons!"

"So what if he is? Mafioso trusts him!"

"Mafioso probably doesn't even know."

"..'Tsk Are you calling the boss dumb? " Fozzy stood with the rest.

The bickering didn't cease, I found myself in the literal and figurative middle of this mess. Back and forth they argued like animals. Fozzy defended either side as long as they spoke well of Mafioso, Kingder wanted to kill me on the spot and Locklin refused profusely. The doctor, of which paid no attention to this, treated the man. A few painkillers, water, he gave a few herbal medicines I couldn't name. Dang I should have listened to Elliot when he would go on and on about his medical findings of the day.

"All because he doesn't have a bloody nose?" Locklin pressed,

"Oh it's fine I'll do it for him!" Kingder shoved Locklin with one hand and raised his fist with the next. He was faster than me, there was no way to fight back but then again a punch from him could very well break three bones in my face all at once. My foot steps back and I move my hands not to block my face, instead to-.. His fist swung, but was caught in the hand of the doctor who now stood between us. I blanked for a moment and when my eyes caught up with my mind we were at a stalemate. I had my gun pulled and readied on the trigger, the doctor held tightly to Kingder's balled up hand. Locklin looked at me like I had committed a crime and Fozzy held my coin, which fell when I moved to grab my weapon. I need to start glueing that thing to my pocket. A drop of sweat left my face, my stomach dropped. Six bullets, four targets.

"Twerp. " The doctor scoffed. "Put it down."

"Psycho." Kingder whispered. I lowered my gun and mumbled an incoherent apology. A punch doesn't warrant a bullet in his side, why the hell would I... I sigh, what a mess. No one was hurt, except the man in the back who slumped against a wall. The doctor pulled a newly beeping pager from his waist. The screen was too far for me to see but as he took out his kitchen timer from his pocket I could see him worry. His head tilted as if to warn us.

"Locklin run to find a nurse," He said softly, "Minium stay with your friend." The healthy corrupted in the back, now named Minium, reached to hold the sickly man's hand. "The rest of you follow me." Kingder eyed me down when I stopped Fozzy at the door to retrieve my coin. He gave it up easily but his dark brown orbs had regret. Following the doctor was simple, he took long strides at slow paces and meticulously stopped every minute on the dot to check his timer. It had been ticking down, I was unsure for what but something told me it wasn't pleasant.

"Consiglier." The doctor looked down as we reached a midway point to our mystery destination,

"Soldier," He nodded a greeting. It was funny to me how the doctor's name was Soldier, although one would have to think it would be very confusing differentiating between an actual soldier and him. Consiglier beckoned Fozzy and Kingder to his side. "Let's go to your rooms for quarantine." He smiled happily as they glared at me and left.

"There are four ranks of people," Soldier suddenly spoke and walked at a much faster rate, "Lackey, Soldier, Goon, and Boss. To be any of these you need Mafioso himself to approve you. Lackeys are the bottom of the barrel, maids, butlers, cooks, anything to keep this place running without doing the dirty work themselves. They are the only personnel allowed to roam these halls without an escort." His hand waved to show off the silent maids sweeping the floor and the trays of supplies being carried across the walkway by the butlers.

"Why can't soldiers wal-" I attempted to speak but he soon interrupted,

"Soldiers are expected to go on shifts. They each have curfew they must uphold or they suffer consequences. Their job is to do jobs assigned by the Goons that Mafioso can't do himself, they protect all connections and work directly in the underground. Roaming these halls leaves too much room for them to gossip and fraternize with the lackeys. It's dangerous." He says as a matter of fact and continues with his information dump, "Then there are Goons. There are only four of us, we are the most trusted among all people here. Mafioso takes us everywhere; we never leave his side except to take care of guests."

I point to my chest as if to label myself a guest.

"Unfortunately, Mafioso likes you, so you are a secret category," His words make my head spin in curiosity, "You see the boss is the top, we listen to him and only him, except for when he gets married and bares an heir. Then we listen to both his spouse and his child, as if they were too our boss. His lovers are just bellow that, more than a Goon less than the boss."

"I'm not his lov-."

"Yet you have the same permissions as one, know your place." He tilts his head and presents a false smile. Do these corrupteds have an issue with interrupting me at every turn?

"But I-."

"And the boss gave us special instruc-...." He turns and watched my face scowl.

"I am not his lover, I'm his business partner, whatever permissions he gave me aren't any concern of mine. I'll do what I wish, he does not own me, and I am not sleeping with him!" My voice spikes in a quiet shout, loud enough for passers to hear but not enough for the entire mansion to question me.

"Isn't that a bit cruel." A familiarly husky voice walks behind me, his footsteps went unnoticed and by the time I could react I noticed his arms wrapping around my chest. He leaned down, being careful not to force weight that could crush me, and nudged his head into the side of my neck. My body was shaking, my mind raced, and I could feel the red blush cross my face. "Didn't you say last night you wanted us to sl-." I covered his mouth with my hand and nervously chuckled out some excuse to Soldier, who didn't buy one second of my charade. Through the gap in the corner of my glasses I eyed down Mafioso to keep him quiet.

"Sir, welcome back!" The soldier clasped his hands together and excitedly cooed a sigh of content. I let my hand drop from his face and allowed him to straighten his bent over posture. His hands still wrapped around me, but loosely, he only tugged me closer if I dared pull away. What they see as love I call a trap.

"I trust everything went well today." He asked to the doctor but waited for my nod as reassurance. Every movement I made I could feel him adjusting to make me more comfortable. I shook his hands off, not to make him let go but to allow his arms to pass under mine. I always was quite expressive with my hands and I couldn't bare to have him hold them down, even if it was lightly.

"They tried starting a fight with me!" I complain,

"You're suspicious." Soldier huffed, "Doesn't help you pulled your gun on them either." He scolded, and Mafioso turned to me as if begging me to deny it. The big deal was that this was a peace zone, the only people allowed to have guns were high ranking soldiers and up. Presenting my gun with no consequence from Soldier was basically rubbing it in that I am different then them, that my privilege is higher. It was disrespectful in a way. Though with my life being threatened it wasn't unjustified.

"Troublemaker, " Mafioso brushed my ear with his lips, "You must be hungry!" He pulled away from my head and announced to Soldier. It was a statement not a question, he beamed with a sharp smile.

"I suppose I could eat," Soldier agreed with a bow of his head,

"Bring the others, they must be exhausted." Mafioso said before letting go of my body. The weight shift from being slightly pushed down made me feel bouncy and light. He grabbed my wrist and I smacked him away. "Ow?"

"What did I say about dragging me around?" I huff. I read Soldier quietly mouthing something about me being in "a mood" to Mafioso. "It hurts when you pull on my wrist like that, can't you ask before you touch?" It was as if he had never heard such a thing before, or rather he had never heard someone talk this way to him. My voice was arrogant, annoyed, and abrasive . It was his fault, I see no reason why the workers should be so afraid for me.

"Sorry-," He hesitates, reaching for me again but slower, "Can I?" I nod softly. He moved to wrap his fingers around my wrist again but stopped. For a moment he paused to process my words, I watched his eyes focus on my hand as he softly grabbed mine and intertwined each of our fingers together. "Is this ok?" He looked up at me, it was as if he could see through the glasses, straight into my soul.

"It's fine." I mumbled and he took me across corners. I learned there were three wings in the mansion. Sleeping quarters, medical rooms, and dining halls were all on the west wing. The center and East wing were harder to get into. There were training grounds, planning centers, important working stations and even a daycare was installed somewhere in the middle. I was not to go there unless with a Goon or Mafioso himself. He turned another corner to enter the dining rooms, a wall separated the Soldier dining from the important people eating room. Often the nice one was used just for Mafioso, his goons, and anyone who chose to meet him for dinner on a personal or business level.

"Holy-.." It was decorated beautifully with all kinds of weapons lining the wall, mixed with the color scheme of black, white, and gold. For a moment I caught myself admiring the table which was a type of wood only known to Corrupted lands.

"Do you like it?" Mafioso kept holding tight to my hand. His smile was genuine, for some reason I found myself admiring his personality. For a man who has to be ruthless on a daily basis he seemed so sweet. Soft to the touch and kind to the heart. I say yes and take a seat next to him, our hands parting.

"By the way," I mumbled to break any silence as we waited, "Who is Prinny?" Mafioso blinked with a light head tilt.

"Are you talking about my rabbit?" His mouth curves into a confused smile.

"Your bunny?" Those damn assholes, "Bastards said I look like her." I mutter softly to myself, though his hearing is impeccable and quickly I hear him muffling a laugh.

"Well, I can't say I don't see it." He smiles,

"Rude, I don't look weak and helpless!" I snarl.

"Is that what you think of rabbits? "

"Mm, how else am I supposed to take that?"

"I think," He leaned over to tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear, "that they look beautiful, and quick witted. Admired, not looked down upon." My eyes flicked to find him. Even if our gazes didn't meet at that moment I still looked to him for answers. How could a man say that so easily, a compliment, it was nice to receive them for once but from him? My hair was getting longer by the minute, it always grew fast and looked horrible short so I never thought to cut it. Then again if I just chopped it off he wouldn't have had the chance to fluster me with his inappropriate touching.

"Good evening boss." Consiglier entered first with a bow, soon after followed by Soldier with the same words and movement.

"Sir," The man known as Contractee entered and swiftly fell to his knees to show the other two up.

"Have you no honor?" A man I haven't met before kicked Contractee and bowed to Mafioso. They all took seats. Mafioso sat on the end with me to his left and Contractee to his right. Soldier sat in the next chair over while Consiglier took his place next to me. The unidentified man sat across from Mafioso.

"One question for the guest and then we eat." Mafioso announced and all eyes turned to me.

"Do you have the instinct to kill us?" Consiglier begins,

"Not as a genetic need-. " I respond,

"But you want to?" Cantractee pipes up.

"Never wanted to, but I have killed one before" My words cause a collective noise of curiosity.

"Killed what?" The unknown man asked with a stubborn voice,

"A corrupted." His face growled at my answer, "What? It's not as if you've never killed a human before!" I defend myself. Our eyes locked and we stood still, patiently trying to figure one another out.

"I had to."

"And you think I didn't?"

"I heard you pulled a gun today because he tried punching you. That sounds real fair." The mystery man glares into me with sarcastic demeanor.

"You know just as well as I that punch could ha-. " I stop my sentence and look to Soldier whose words caught my attention.

"Do you," he shrugged, "regret it?"

"Protecting myself? No. Killing her? Every day." Mafioso waved his hand once and the talking stopped. The air was restless and all I could do was wallow in breathing it. The food arrived shortly after carried in by lackeys who shuddered at the sight of all of us together. A plate was set down to all of us, they were identical to each other. Mafioso took the first bite and then we waited. For corrupteds instead of the traditional food tasters watching out for poison, it was common that the boss would take the first taste. The idea was most people with the balls to target official tables like this would go after the head, and as a sign of trust and respect the boss would sacrifice themself if needed. It all relied on the head in question having people he would trust dearly to save his life and find the culprit. After a minute he instructed us to eat. I picked up a fork and knife but felt myself hesitating. With a bite on my fork and a million regrets I felt myself gag before it even touched my tongue. I am not necessarily picky, but corrupted food was hard to digest. My stomach doesn't process the same way as theirs, it's like an herbivore trying to eat meat.

"Are you too good to eat with us? " The unknown man picks another fight. Mafioso grunted and he went silent again.

"I," Against my body's pleads I force myself to chew and swallow the bite, " I was just finding my appetite." My stomach ached. Mafioso leaned over to me after seeing my pulsing abdomen.

"You do not have to eat. " He said calmly,

"No, he's right, I should respect you all enough to eat with you." Another bite entered my mouth. I heaved for a minute, effects took place in seconds. My body would do anything to throw this up. I wobbled slightly and grabbed onto Mafioso's arm for support. I shoveled the food into my mouth, one bite after another. While the others enjoyed their food I cleared my plate (which had a smaller portion size to fit my body) in minutes. I gasped for bits of air, and stood abruptly from the chair.

"Are you alr.."

"Now if you excuse me, I am-" I gag, "Rather tired." I spin on my heels and march out of the dining room. My stomach growled and I felt my mouth water in pain. A sickly feeling swelled in all parts of my body as I ran to Mafioso's room. I slammed open the door and fell into his bathroom. I felt like a weak puppy as I crawled on the floor to pull myself towards the toilet. Suddenly I felt a hand take my arm and wrap it around their neck. He placed his other arm to the small of my back and walked me over to the toilet. I held my head over and puked,

"You could end up really hurting yourself with that stubbornness of yours." Mafioso chuckled while patting my back.

"Weren't you still eati-" I threw up again. This time he pulls my hair back for me.

"I didn't feel hungry after your stomach bubbled for the second time." He laughed loud enough for the both of us. "Plus, I wanted to tell you all about the look Caporegime had on his face when you left. "

"Was he impressed or disgusted?" I smile,

"A bit of both but mostly he Looked like he respected you for it. " I beamed at his statement. I didn't care what he thought of me but I did care that I made my point. I was proud of myself and moreover Mafioso looked proud too. A mob boss, impressed with me, that's something new. I begin to speak but hurl one more time into the toilet. "There, there, get it all out." He said as if I was a child. It felt nice for someone to be here while I threw my guts into the porcelain dump for once but strangely it was also embarrassing in a way.

"Everything hurts," I whine to which he pats me more on the back.

"Rest here for a bit, then I'll walk you back to the border." He said smoothly. I had almost forgotten I needed to head back soon. "Are you done puking?" He asks and I nod. With my approval he picked me up bridal style and softly tossed me to the bed. It was nice and soft, the sheets were comfortable and I could not have felt any more awake then right now.

"I'm not tired,"

"I am not forcing you to sleep."

"Are you going to leave?" I question,

"I was, but if you don't want me to-?" He responds.

I pat the bed and scoot to one side of it. He slowly crawls in next to me. Neither of us went under the covers or moved for comfort. It was nice, we stayed there together and just talked. We talked like people, friends, trustees, allies. It didn't matter the subject, we could lay there for hours staring at the popcorn ceiling and talking if we had the time. The atmosphere became soft and friendly with each word being an invitation to add another.

It was here that I realized the monster I was raised to fear was actually a beautiful creature. Simple just like me.

Chapter Text

(Chance's pov)

"Chance?" ..

The cigarette in my mouth was sweet. Usually it hurt my lungs but this time the smoke was like candy. It was easy to hold and light to breath out. The surrounding air felt still and burdened but my taste buds danced with the cancerous flood this cigarettes provided.

"Chance, are you paying attention?" ..

My eyes dared not find his face. I knew I wouldn't be able to stop staring if I started now. The chair was ripped yet oddly comfortable, it spun with me as I pushed to go in circles. Breath in, breath out. The wispy scent of his shirt draped over my body, mixed with the intoxicating glare of his eyes made me go mad alone. Maybe it was because of the smokes and the drinks, or perhaps he just looked delicate for once. A powerful man in such a position where he relies on my word. A corrupted searching for human answers.

"Are you going to listen or just get high?" ..

I stopped spinning, I feared if I kept going I would puke, the world around me dazzled in circles and soft colors for just a moment before turning back to reality. I face in his direction but stray from his eyes. His room was oddly dull, then again what could I expect from a man who's only pop of color is the yellow-hue the sun bounces from his pale skin.

"Chance," Mafioso's voice became a gruff serious one. I felt his shadow cover me as he bent down and pinned his hand on the rounded top of the chair. He held his face close to mine and gripped one of the chair's arms as if to trap me. He forced my gaze with that wicked smile he always had on. My glasses had been tucked away in my pocket while my hat dressed the wooden floors. "Remind me never to give you my cigarettes again." He chuckled, I grinned, he slid the chair to press it up against the bed.

"They hit stronger." I sway my head. Taking me to the bar was his first mistake, paying for my drinks with no limit was his next. The only thing stopping me before was my will to not make me an easy target and my lack of corrupted money. However, with a rich, strong corrupted (who swore to keep me out of trouble) next to me I had no reason not to down as many shots as I could. When I got there a few hours ago, I started with the hard, tough to swallow liquor and slowly (as I got progressively more drunk) began to drink fruity, less alcoholic drinks. It was my true nature, hard to get over, I loved the taste and how much longer it took to get wasted. Every sip took away another thought and replaced it with the sweet sensation of cherry or coconut, it was to die for.

Sooner or later he ruined my fun. A tall man, that looked like a turned corrupted instead of a naturally born one, focused his seductive behavior towards me. He sat on the chair to my left while Mafioso occupied the right one. He hit on me, which wasn't an issue until I did it back, and took over Mafioso's job of buying me drinks. His name was Collin, he had dirty blonde messy hair and green eyes with pupils the shape of diamonds. Both arms were lined with small purplish-black spikes that protruded just enough to be dangerous if scraped across someone. He didn't have horns or dark eyes like the naturally born ones, he was a turned corrupted so I took note of understanding he had been previously human. At one point in his life something infected his body and forced enough bloodlust for him to corrupt, due to that unfortunate process, some are made strong or weak, others mutilated and dead on the spot. His tailbone had long, fish-like spikes that followed the curve of his sharp tail that was made up of a material similar to barbed wire. I remember him in such detail because every time I pointed something out on his body Mafioso gritted his teeth. At one point I slipped in a question about humans, in my mind it would be funny to watch a man who hasn't been human for years try to describe human life to a non-corrupted.

Mafioso found my words dangerous and stupid and nudged me until I changed the topic. Collin's hand slipped to my arm, he brushed a finger under my short-sleeve and caressed my shoulder. His hands, unlike Mafioso's, weren't as sharp. They softly tickled my skin and I found myself teasing him to touch more. It was a game to me, the drinks had only to do with my confidence not my decisions and I couldn't help but want to play with the corrupted more. It was a toy in my toddler hands, dangerous and fun, oh gosh I loved the thrill. But he didn't make me shake, no I was in control over this one, I called the shots to what he could and could not say or do. It didn't bring the amusement I wanted or the adrenaline I craved, I played further into it less for him and more to see Mafioso eye us down, adjust his shoulders and cough when I did something he didn't approve of, or simple snarl at the man.

The real fun was when he dragged me out (Collin not Mafioso). I was drunk, violently so, I went far with my words and annoyed them with my laugh. I giggled and screeched the whole way out, I felt so light and at ease with myself. Collin wanted to take me home or to a hotel, he whispered something about 'having a little fun' and I bit my lip to snap myself from it. I was far gone at that time, honestly the only memories I have are snippets of in and out screenshots my brain took to keep me on edge, it was like my memory had been wiped.

"Boss, I'll take care of him." I remember Collin's words, his voice fit his face. It amused me that I keep forgetting the bar is littered with his soldiers. Collin being one of them was the cherry on top to him hitting on me. He came from a different unit, just transferred, so I'm sure no one told him. From the rumors I heard around the mansion I'm more than important. To some I'm Mafioso's intel, someone special and needed for the company, to others I'm his secret lover, temporary and mysterious. Either way, I'm just about special enough to where people whisper about me in the halls.

"Cut your tongue before it's chained, Collin." Mafioso said as he ripped my stumbling body away from the man. It was a common saying among corrupteds, it meant to stop talking before your words tie you to something you'll regret. Like a lie, responsibility, or in this case before he unknowingly signs himself up for a job he'll hate. Collin put both hands up in the air and bowed his head in submission. Mafioso soon after held my hand the entire walk home, occasionally letting go to carry me on his back (which I was informed I asked him to do many times). I blacked out a few times on the walk, I remember coming back to my senses with a puffy face and my hands wrapped around him. I don't know what happened, I don't know if I cried or wanted him at that moment but when I was coherent enough to feel his body heat I felt oddly peaceful.

So here I am now, hours later. Coming down from my drunken haze, getting high, and watching this stunning man eye me down in this chair.

"Isn't it time you go home?" He asks while pulling away to adjust his suit.

"They don't miss me, why should I miss them?" I huff and blow a puff up towards the ceiling.

"It's hardly a matter of missing them-..more of the work you have to get done." He corrects,

"I can just do it here, you can help!" I smile as I turn to push off the bed. I send me and chair flying in a spinning motion to the middle of the space, I almost hit him but his reactivity is high so he moves perfectly on time.

"We made rules remember?" I stick out my tongue to his words, "We can't talk about work." We set firm boundaries that neither of us was supposed to talk about work. It wasn't to keep the place stress free but to keep each other from learning about the plans we made. Of course he is under constant watch, I'm observant enough as it is and being in his home 24/7 surely doesn't help much. Though in turn when I come over I often get some documents signed, written, and read through. It was our way of confirming the trust we had set for each other.

"Are you asking me to leave?" I grin and stand to face him. My body wobbles and I felt my knees buckle. If it weren't for him arm resting at the small of my back pulling me to press against him I would be flailing on the floor in a puddle of cigarettes and despair. I place both hands on his abdomen for support, he was nicely built and had abs for me to feel up, though he hissed when my fingers pranced to his chest.

"No, but if you want to stay you'll need to sober up a bit." He smiles back. I suppose Kingder wasn't completely wrong for laughing at my teeth, Mafioso's was pretty sharp. He ordered, received, and gave me a glass of water in a matter of minutes. It wasn't a lackey that came in, it was another Soldier (one I hadn't met before) that delivered it himself. He was training his footsteps, I often saw soldiers like him being escorted around by lackeys to train their feet. All lackeys while getting this job have to be silent with their steps, it didn't matter what they were being hired for, they were not allowed to clank or clunk on the floor. They were so traumatized that the Goons saw it fit they could teach.

As I drank the water, I felt droplets hit my chest. I swallowed what I could and spilled the rest. I was distracted, the soldiers here all wore suits. They had rooms together, private restrooms, a dining hall, there whole life was paid for as long as they stayed loyal. They ate what they wished (upon request) and trained under the hands of respected underground social network politics. I oddly envied them.

"Such a lavish lifestyle they live huh?" I say as I pull away from his chest just enough for him to wipe off the splatter of water I got on him.

"They are willing to give their life for me," He nods to my statement, "The least I can do is make it a good one." How dare he, how dare a corrupted who kills and beats and pulls people into debt for his own gain act so perfect. So nice and wonderful to those he cares for but hatred to anyone else. I wonder if he secretly hated me too, if this was all a ruse for his wants. What happens when he gets bored of me..?

A frantic knock interrupts us, I hear the voice of Consiglier scream for 'the boss'. "Sir!"

Mafioso hesitated, he didn't let go of me in fear I would fall to the floor. Suddenly the door swung and I saw a bright glow of green hit my face. A forced corrupted (the rarest of the four types of corrupteds) enters with long, forbidden strides. He had bones like mine in proportions only known to the dead, he was covered in a green ooze that tightly hugged his black structure. His eyes were a deep, scary red, they shined so bright that in the center was a white ball of light. His hair was a horrid black that spiked in a ponytail down his body. He sent shivers similar to how Mafioso did down my spine. Mafioso turned our bodies to shield me for a moment, he took off his jacket and swung it around me. He instructed in a whisper to cover my head and duck my body, "Don't let him see your face." He said in that beautiful whiskey-sweet voice.

"Is that him?" The man beams and moves to walk towards me but Mafioso blocks his path.

"He's shy,"

"Or perhaps you're just greedy." He huffs. He seemed more playful than scary, but something about the large sword attached to his back kept me grounded even when Mafioso let go of me. I spooked and gasped when I saw mini daggers encoded with the entanglement poison attached to his hip. I could feel a wince in my body reliving what it felt like when I was hit with it. "Tell me, what's your name?"

"Cha-" I begin,

"Don't answer that." Mafioso interrupts me, "You barged in here in the middle of the night, this better be good."

"Can't a friend come chat every now and the-"

"1x. Get to the point." Mafioso's voice was softer than the ladder. The mansion was always quiet and it must have painted the picture that he was loud and scary. But standing here with him and 1x you can tell which one of them is the worse opponent. 1x brushed his shoes along the carpet, dragging without a pep to his walk, his eyes sunk and his head tilted to stare at us. My eyes lingered just barely below the jacket that I had wrapped around my body and head, I watched him fight to find my gaze, I knew I should look away but those eyes captured mine. He smiled, his teeth weren't as sharp, his giggle sent shivers to my bones. His voice was deep and hallow, it shook my core, he loudly breathed and then gagged and choked on what seemed to be his voice breaking. It sounded like a walkie-talkie glitch, his voice coughed out in a static haze as he fell to the floor. His knees hit the wood, and his hands wrapped around his throat, I froze but Mafioso reacted quickly. He stepped two feet and bent a knee.

"Consiglier, get Soldier." Mafioso spoke in a low tone. 1x gasped for air, not that he entirely needed to breath, he clawed to grab Mafioso's shoulder.

"No-..No doctor." 1x struggled, but with Mafioso for support he stood. 'Oso waved off Consiglier's orders and politely asked him to leave. "I ran out of supplements, I nee-"

"You need to leave." Mafioso stepped away from 1x.

"I need them."

"Not right now."

"Is it because your toy is here?" 1x sounded hurt, or offended. He was pissed, was it a fix he was looking for? What supplements?

"He's not a toy." Mafioso sighs, and dusts off his clothes.

"That's true you never have partners like that," He steps closer to Mafioso but pushes past him, "So what? A boyfriend?" 1x grabbed ahold of my arm and yanked me a foot forward before Mafioso firmly held onto 1x's wrist to stop any further movement.

Mafioso hissed a threat that my tipsy ears couldn't quite pick up, "Let go."

"I NEED THEM." 1x shouted through his glitching vocal restraint. I jumped physically and reached for my coin with the other hand, it was odd I didn't dare feel for my gun.

"Do you think he has it? For Spectre's sake walk away." Mafioso held a tight hold. He didn't let 1x budge with me, my body was already shaking but now I felt woozy. 1x clicked his tongue and let go. I stumbled slightly backwards but managed my footing.

"What is he to you?" 1x nudged Mafioso.

"An ally."

My stomach fluttered. Gosh I felt like a little kid entering my first casino. The bright lights, the smell of smoke, the addicts and the crazed druggies. Only now the bright lights are the effects of my head spinning, the smoke is from my burnt out cigarette, the addicts are the people in front of me bickering about some deal which I can only hope doesn't involve me labeling them as druggies. Come to think of it ever since I saw this 1x man my brain has melted. My feet felt like I was floating but my head felt heavy. It was like my steps dug into the floor, deep enough to be my own grave. Maybe I was still drunk? Maybe corrupted cigarettes are different from human ones? My foot stepped forward but gave out almost immediately. I fell head first, luckily his jacket covered my head fully, I felt weak. Weaker than usual, my eyes couldn't see properly and everything was cluttered with green and black squares. It's as if a pattern formed in front of me, I was mesmerized the bright colors and silly movements they made, they popped up and left at times. I waved my hand near my face, oh, there was a scratch; bloody and infected. The squares oddly formed one big clouded maze in my vision, I saw through the green, white, and black hue, everything past it was inverted in color. My eyes felt numb.

"He's drunk." I remember Mafioso saying. It wasn't hard to hear but I kept tuning it all out. For some reason the noise gave me a huge headache and the flashing lights in my mind wouldn't stop blaring the strong taste of rotten flesh (which had formed in my mouth a few minutes after hitting the floor). Screaming and yelling ensued, one of them left so quickly and all I could feel was the urge to run. I strangely had so much energy and it all was brought crumbling by the intoxication of the liquor and smokes, I could run a mile in a minute if I would get up. But I wouldn't get up, I couldn't, not when he turned around after cussing his friend out for me. Not after he sat on the floor and caressed my hand, not when he apologized and told me I'd come down after a few minutes. I couldn't run from him, he wouldn't hurt me if I did, and I respect him too much now. "How are you doing?"

I laughed internally that he just let me lay there, like a dead puppy in the sewage wells. There was a perfectly good bed but no, he'll sit beside me crisscross while I lay with my cheek on the floor and a million colors infiltrating my mind.

"Better," I say, he was right, after a few minutes the colors died down. My brain fell silent again and I wondered what the hell could have made me like that? For a moment I had to pause and realize I could move on my own, my body has always been able to move but perhaps I was shocked or too emotionally drained to pick myself up. Oddly I was waiting for him to help me move around but he dared not touch me except for my hand. I sat up with him and allowed his jacket to fall on the floor.

"No horns," He whispers and stares at the top of my head. He smiled for some reason, he looked happier sitting on the floor with me than with his friend. Although something now tells me 1x used "friend" sarcastically.

"Did I forget to mention I'm human?" I laugh. It wasn't funny but I laughed, and when he didn't chuckle even as a courtesy our gazes fell on each other's eyes in silence. Silence. Very...funny silence. My poker face cracked, his smile quivered and in a split second of dreadful quiet our voices erupted. We laughed over nothing but every time we came down from the happy high our faces met and one small curve of the mouth made me forget how to breath.

His hand cusped over his lips to try and stop the sounds, "What are we even doing?" He chuckles through his words.

"Stupid things?" I respond with equal smiles and stupid giggles.

"How are WE stupid?" He asks in a playful manner,

"A human and a corrupted, laughing in the same room?"

"Yet," He leans back, "Both of our governments trust us with highly undisclosed information that if released to the apposing side would cost them the war." His words hit a little too close for comfort. Ouch, yeah just go ahead and remind me how horribly I'm betraying my team, my people, my side of the world. It must equally hurt for him too though, he hides it in that sharp terrifying smile but he hurts the same way I do.

I lean in to get a better look at his face, "So our governments are stupid?"

"Very!"

"Well then we should rule this world if we're so much smarter," I say in a sarcastically sweet tone,

"Obviously, we'd do better than the dipshits running this war." I could hear how genuine he was in his gruff voice. It was nice to have someone to just talk to, god without the burden of keeping up a conversation I don't want to be in, just talk, slow and easy. He gets it, "Let's go to bed?" He phrased the statement like a question.

"You want me to sleep with y-?"

"Literally sleep," He interrupted me, "Not metaphorically." I shrug and he stands first, he offered me a hand and I took it to be on his level. There is something so satisfying about a man actually pulling you up instead of acting as a support beam,

"That's what I said." I go past him with a sly smile. I walked to his bed quick enough to pounce on it, it was so soft and cold to lay on. What was the point of all this? Maybe just to talk to him again? It felt weird having a safe person (who oddly didn't drink or smoke around me) help me keep friendly while I rerun my bad habits over and over. His bed was so much more comfortable then mine, I would be here all the time if I could, but my work forced me back tomorrow. He got in bed beside me (climbing in instead of jumping..boo...boring.) he shuffled to the side and mumbled a "goodnight". For some reason I was colder than expected, freezing in fact. It must be cold outside, or his air conditioning needs to be checked. I was shivering, and tossing and no matter how much of the cover I bundled over myself I couldn't get warm.

"Can you stop moving?" He said in a husk tone,

"I'm cold."

"I'm not?"

"You have the body temperature of a sun." I mutter still shaking from the cold.

"You are so annoying," He growls and turns over again, "If this is a weird ruse to get me to sleep with you, I'll kill you." This is the first time he offered to kill me, well besides if you count the actual attempt when I first met him. He was grouchy when tired. We had originally been facing opposite directions of each other (until he turned) so naturally when one of his monstrously shaped hands felt down my stomach to pull me in I screamed. His face looked utterly done with it.

"Sorry-"

"Go to bed." He said, tightly he secured me in the crook of his chest. He was warm and I felt myself stop shivering, I still shook but now it was because I was afraid of him. I always am, my heart was beating fast and my internal instinct wanted to flee at all costs. But, right now, here, with him seconds away from beating me over the head if I don't sleep, I felt peaceful. I wondered if it was normal for him, sleeping so close to someone like this?