They’re Twinning

🜸ultra comet fire🜸

“So, you mean to tell me that in the span of one hour,” A voice says, holding up their pointer finger. “You served a guy named Nyxx, coffee, and then got saved by him from a giant mutant lizard-scorpion-whatever, and then he took you to the hospital?”

Nodding, Xen stared sheepishly at the person in front of her. “Yup, that about sums it up.”

The person in question was Xen’s friend, Sandy, who was treating her to a fast-food dinner after hearing about her hospital visit.

“Jeez, how’s that work? Did he just leave ya there?” Sandy asks, stuffing a fry into her mouth.

“No, no!” Xen denies, shaking her head. “He stayed until the doctor said I was good to go. Then he actually…drove me home?”

“What?!” Sandy exclaimed, slapping her hands on the table. “You let some random guy drive you to your house?!”

“He’s not random! And he was just doing it cause he was nice!”

Sitting back down barely containing herself, Sandy breathed deeply. Now, Xen was going to get an earful, as well as a long parental lecture about boys.

“Alright, alright. So, he saved you?”

Arching a brow, Xen answers hesitantly. “Yes?”

“And you sensed no ulterior motives?” Sandy questioned, looking Xen in the eyes.

“Of course not.” Xen replied, stern.

She may have only know him for a short while, but Xen could tell Nyxx was different. A good different. He saved her, went of his to get her help and make sure she got home. He was mysterious and a little standoffish, but he still did so much for her.

“Then…I guess there’s really nothing to worry about.” Sandy said, slumping back against the booth seat. “Just, call me next time you get into danger, alright? This city’s got a shit ton of problems, I don’t need you getting kidnapped by a league of evil-doers as one of them, got it?”

Sighing with relief, Xen nodded happily. “Will do, San! Anyway, wanna go see a movie? There’s this new one that just came out, it’s about like, aliens or something!”

“Yeah, sure.” Sandy agreed, pushing up from the table with Xen.

—

(Fifteen minutes earlier)

Smoke fills the air as a fire raged inside a burning building. Police and firefighters had rushed to the scene, conveniently not noticing a tall figure jump out of a third-story window.

“Didn’t I tell you not to make a mess this time”

Ada’s voice pierced through the comm, making Nyxx wince from the sound.

“It was tougher than expected.” He replied, landing on the sidewalk and easing through the crowds.

“Clearly! You knocked down a building, Nyxx!” Ada yelled.

“I didn’t knock it down,” Nyxx stated, turning into an alley. “That stupid Flame Ghoul was stronger than I realized. A lot stronger than Intel told us. Not my fault he’s a lousy informant.”

With ease, he climbed up an apartment buildings’ fire escape and landed on a roof.

Ada groaned and Nyxx could practically hear the pinching of her nose. “Listen, we just got another report that says those damn Imps are out and about again, so get to these coordinates and I’ll meet you there. We’ll talk about your…screw-up with the Sergeant later.”

“Whatever.” Nyxx replied, cutting the comm off.

He glanced at his wrist, where a fancy, high-tech looking watch set. A hologram appeared as he jumped from roof to roof, coordinates showing what looked to be a location not far from where he was.

Great, he thought, now I’ll get a lecture in person too.

Ada was sort of his superior, in a way. She was a third year at EDEN and had lots of experience under her belt. She was the one recruited him in the first place, actually.

However, that didn’t make her mom-ing any less annoying.

—

Xen hadn’t thought about that night very much. In fact, she’d barely thought about it at all! She had much more important things to worry about…

…is what she would have said, if her near-death experience plus also getting save by a really hot guy hadn’t totally turned her brain into mush.

When he brought her to hospital, he insisted he could pay for any expenses. She wanted to object, but she was also a poor, fresh-out-of-college graduate and had eight dollars to her name. Then after that, he insisted to take her home himself, as she could still possibly be in danger.

“I’ll get ya home, least I can do after all this. Oh, and…hold on..” He mumbled, pulling out a piece of paper and writing on it. “Here ya go, it’s my number. In case anything happens, call me. I’m not sure how that monster behaves yet, so it’s possible it might come after ya, so keep it handy.”

Did she keep the note and memorize it and reread it a million times? Maybe.

But she also didn’t have a phone, as she lost it on the train. She was mainly hoping nothing bad would happen, cause she definitely did not have a device to call him on. At the same time, though, she really wanted to see him again.

And who could blame her?

Nyxx was kind and strong, and very, very attracted. And you don’t get saved by those kinds of people everyday.

“Uh, hello, Earth to Xeeeennn?” Sandy said, snapping her fingers in the other’s face.

Flinching, Xen flashed back to the present and turned to Sandy, who looked a bit put-off.

“Oh, sorry, what were you saying? Is the movie starting?”

“Uh, no, it just ended.” Sandy furrowed her eyebrows. “Jeez, you can be such an airhead sometimes. Were you sleeping with your eyes open or somethin’?”

Noticing everyone else is in the theatre leaving, Xen felt a little embarrassed. Could she really be that distracted by Nyxx?

“Ugh, whatever. Let’s just go, I already see the cleaners rollin’ in. Come on.” Sandy took Xen’s hand, leading her to the doors.

They threw away the trash and walked into the lobby. Sandy waved to one of her friends working at the counter, then stretched and yawned.

“That movie was pretty good, all things considered. Hey, wanna come over tonight? We could paint our nails and talk about our crushes!” Sandy said, posing dramatically.

Xen laughed, covering her mouth. “I’d love to, but I’ve got the opening shift tomorrow. Maybe next time.”

“Ughhhhh, why do you work so much? Try living a little, Xen. Maybe going to a few parties might loosen you up.” Sandy poked at her, smirking.

“I’m perfectly fine the way I am. Besides, the whole life of the party slash laidback misfit is way more your style.” Xen stated, nudging the taller girl.

Sandy chuckled, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “Yeah, guess you’re right. No one can compare to my utter brilliance.”

Xen just laughed, pushing past the front doors and into the parking lot.

Approaching Sandy’s beat up, Scooby-Doo-style van, the girl’s are stopped by a scream.

“Look at that! In the sky!”

“What the hell?”

“Run!”

“Holy shit!”

Both Xen and Sandy turned to the commotion, noticing a large green object heading straight toward them.

Launching many expletives out of her mouth, Sandy ran to the van, hopping in and starting the engine.

“Oh crap, we gotta go! Gotta go gotta go gotta— Xen? Xen?! What the hell are you doing?! Hurry up!” Sandy commanded, shouting from her place in the driver’s seat.

But Xen was frozen, staring up at, whatever it was. She couldn’t move. This wasn’t like the fear she got from the lizard-mutant, no, this was way different. Not even her fight or flight response was kicking in. She was utterly helpless, and there was a sick feeling that she wouldn’t be saved this time.

Xen probably wouldn’t have even had enough time to call Nyxx, let alone find some way to communicate with him.

Another shout from Sandy came from the van, but Xen didn’t hear it. A weird static was filling her head, like the buzzing when a TV stops working right. It was all she could do to keep staring, to keep calm, to accept it.

Before she can think, however, Xen is yanked away before the green thing hits the ground.

—

(All the way on the other side of the city)

Nyxx strolled alongside as Ada led him through a warehouse. He, unfortunately, had to listen to another one of his upperclassmen’s tirades.

“Oh, and don’t even get me started on your lack of discipline! You think because your so strong that you can just run around all half-cocked and then get sympathy when you fail! Like, obviously! Did you not see him prioritize getting soda over killing the damn Leech Ghouls?!” Ada complained, stomping down the poorly-lit hallway. “What’s even worse, literally nobody calls you out on it! Not even Red or Stein! And Stein is the nit-pick of the century!”

Nyxx just rolled his eyes, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. The only reason they were in this place was because they got a report of the Imp Ghouls running around terrorizing the place. Pain and Panic, loyal servants to that damned Devil.

“Ya know, I think you’re over-thinking this. I’m pretty sure the reason nobody gets on my ass about stuff is cause I make the right calls. Ya told me to save people, Ada.” Nyxx said, pointedly looking at the woman.

“Ugh, I know what I said, but that doesn’t mean you can just abandon missions. That Scorpious mutant is still out there, probably running around in the sewers. And I’m the one that gets blamed for it, remember? Cause everyone thinks you’re my protege. Bullshit..”

Nyxx only shrugged, all he had to do was bring down Ghouls and bring their souls to be exorcised or judged. It wasn’t his place to decide their fate, all he had to do was capture them.

Sure, maybe he wasn’t doing too good a job of that recently, but people still understood why.

He just wished Ada could as well.

For all her hot-headedness, Ada was very smart and talented. She was one of the top students at EDEN, and her combat skills were incredible. She claimed she could do anything, and so far, she made good on that claim. Out of most people at the academy, Ada was definitely one of his favorites.

Except for her nagging. That was one quality he could live without.

“Ada! Ada, do you read me?” A voice from her watch questioned, urgently.

“Intel? Yes, what’s up?” Ada stopped, putting a hand on her hip.

“Listen, I need both you and Nyxx to go to downtown, quick. Something big just exploded in a theatre parking lot and we’re not entirely sure what it is. We need you to get a read on the situation, hurry.”

“Shit, okay, I got it. We’re on our way.” Ada closed the call and swiftly turned around. “Nyxx, let’s go.”

Nyxx only nodded, breaking out into a run to follow her.

—

When Xen came to, her ears were ringing. Everything around her was a dizzying haze. All she could see what a greenish smoke, and what looked to be rubble on the ground. Something warm drips down her face and before Xen can register it, she’s being dragged across the ground.

“Dammit, Xen! Wake up! We need to go!” A distant voice yells, one she slowly recognizes as Sandy.

“S-Sandy?” She coughed, pain wracking throughout her body.

What happened? The last thing she remembered was leaving the theatre.

“Oh my god, holy shit, are you okay?” Sandy stopped, kneeling down to hold Xen steady.

“I—” Another cough, this one feeling worse than the last. “I don’t know.”

Sandy was in utter distress at this point, looking around wildly, shouting for help. But Xen couldn’t concentrate, there was this buzzing under her skin. Her head felt like it was on fire and being beaten like a drum at the same time.

Suddenly, flashes of memories fly into her mind. They aren’t her memories, though, she’s awake enough to know that. There was a picture of a desert, then a stark-white room with medical supplies everywhere, and then fire. Green fire, all around, everywhere. It consumed everything it touched, including people who looked like doctors or scientists. A sharp pain enters her head, along with what sounded like high-pitched screaming.

“Gah!” Xen shrieked, squeezing her hands over her ears.

“What? What’s wrong?” Sandy panicked.

Xen couldn’t answer. The burning feeling was worse, it felt like it was through her entire body now. The screaming only became louder as her muscles seemed to ignite more and more. Almost to the point of an exploding sensation.

She doesn’t know when it happened, but quickly, her entire body became enveloped in flames. Green fire, just like the memories. Just like the thing in the sky.

Her screams were agonizing now, and they mixed well with the ones in her mind.

Xen knew Sandy was freaking out, but she couldn’t stop it. Her entire being was in complete pain overdrive.

She can’t tell when it stops, when the screams go silent and the fire goes out. What she can tell is, is a cold darkness covering her. Whispers of something she can’t quite grasp, until she’s completely enthralled in darkness.

—

On the outside, there was Nyxx and Ada. Nyxx was cocooning Xen inside of shadows, seemingly stopping the flames. Hopefully.

“Is she alright?” Ada asked, standing above the scene with a grimace.

“I don’t know, it looked really bad.” Nyxx replied, his tone uncertain.

He hadn’t expected to see Xen again, especially not under such horrible circumstances. It had only been a week since her last brush of death, and he was certain she was out of residual danger.

Nyxx would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about her. His mind had wandered to the girl a few times, wondering if she was alright. He’d ordered one of the EDEN cadets to keep an eye on her, in case that mutant came looking for her before he could find it. The whole reason he even gave her his number was so he could help her out if need be, so why hadn’t she called?

Was he too late?

Had he failed to save someone again? Someone counting on him?

Nyxx hated that feeling, it scared him.

“Is she gonna be okay?” A girl asked, rubbing her nose as tears ran down her face.

She must be a friend of hers, Nyxx noted in his head.

“I’ll do everything I can to help her, I swear.” Nyxx assured.

He wanted to say everything would be alright, but he couldn’t say that. Empty promises were much worse than harsh truths. All he could do now was try his best to save Xen.

Nyxx didn’t get very far, though, because something exploded out of the crater in the middle of the parking lot.

Both he and Ada quickly turned, standing to attention at…whatever the hell was crawling out of that thing. They looked like a bunch oozy slime balls, but he could see their exoskeletons, which were clearly made of metal.

“Now what in the hell…” Ada faltered, gagging at the way they moved. “They look like worms, but worse!”

Nyxx glared at the scene. The weird neon-colored worms kept coming out of the iron rock thing that blasted into the concrete. And they were also, forming? Into each other. Honestly, Nyxx just wanted to wipe them from the Earth immediately.

Summoning shadows, he turned them into spikes and shot them like arrows at the slime worms. They just consumed them, though.

“Well, fuck.” He swore, running out of ideas.

“Great, now I can put, defeating a giant slime monster on my list of accomplishments to hold over your head.” Ada cackled, unlocking her bo-staff and running at the things with swiftness.

Her efforts are in futile though, every hit just slides through the worms. Nyxx, whose great at multitasking, tries to figure out both what it is and how it can die.

“Okay, seriously, can we please get out of here?!” The other girl pleaded, yanking her hair in frustration.

“I need to help Ada, but how. I can’t just leave Xen…” Nyxx mutters to himself.

Ada continues her struggle with the slime monster, occasionally throwing rocks and car pieces at it.

“God! Why isn’t anything working?!” She shouts, grinding her teeth.

Nyxx doesn’t get a chance to do anything though, because the slime monster finishes forming. A loud roar emanates from its mouth, and now it looks more like a four-legged snake with multiple heads.

“Fucking fantastic.” Nyxx rolls his eyes.

“Shit, what should we do?!” The girl asks, causing Nyxx to turn back to her.

“You shouldn’t do anything, just get out of here. I’ll take care of Xen.”

“What?! No! I’m not— wait, how’d you know her name was Xen…?” The girl asked, looking at him with suspicion. “Wait a second. Tall, white hair, white coat, and an attitude…holy shit! You’re him!”

Nyxx stares, puzzled. What……?

His confusion is short lived, as a loud blast comes from the other direction. Ada, having jumped out of the way, barely missed being crushed by a slimey hand. It retracted back into the mass of ooze, which totally wasn’t gonna haunt Nyxx’s dreams or anything, and slowly came toward them.

Ada sprints back to him, barely needing to catch her breath. “Okay, okay, Nyxx, call backup. I have no idea how to kill this thing and it doesn’t seem like a typical Ghoul.”

Screeching from the monster interrupted him, though, as his attention is drawn yet again to the monster. Knives stick out of its green slime skin, but they don’t fall away, and seem to be extracting some kind of poison into it.

But just from the make of the knives, Nyxx knew exactly who it was.

Turning around, he was greeted by the sight of Red. In full EDEN uniform attire, he stood on the top of car, holding a spectacularly sharp knife.

“Red?!” Ada exclaimed.

“Intel told me you two might need some help, so here I am.” He spoke, his voice flat and monotone as usual.

“Hey, Red.” Nyxx nodded at him. “I assume you’ve got a plan?”

“The makings of one, why?” Red questioned, walking toward the group.

“Cause I need to get her to Tsubaki and the other girls at the school so they can heal her.” Nyxx stated, looking from Red to Xen, who was still wrapped in shadows.

“Right. Well, hurry it up. Ada and I can handle things here.” Red dismisses, walking past and gesturing Ada to follow. “Do be quick about it though, I can almost smell all the blood she’s lost.”

Nyxx winced, but hurried to pick Xen up and find the quickest way out.

“We’re taking her to a hospital, right?” Xen’s friend implored.

“Something like that, but we need a ride.”

“Ah. I have a van.” She states, pointing to a an almost replica of that one van from the ghost cartoon.

“Great, let’s go.” He rushes over, using a shadow to tank the back doors open.

The other girl jumps into the front seat, starting the van and pulling speeding out quickly.

Nyxx looks down, unveiling some of his shadows to see the girl. She was trembling, and her face was scrunched up in discomfort. Vein-like lines trailed from her eyes to her neck, like an infection. Nyxx didn’t know much about human diseases, but green stuff on the face really shouldn’t be there.

His arms instinctually tighten around the girl, a feeling of both anger and worry settling over him.

“Don’t worry, Xen. You’ll be alright, I’ll make sure of it.”

—

ANOTHA ONE FOR MY GIRL @3xen ENJOY LOVELY

please guys hear me out

literally I was listening to some music and BRO Duvet by Bōa is literally Sophie’s song

like actually, I’m flabbergasted

y’all why doesn’t Sophie look like the exhausted girl failure she lowkey was in the first book😭

She was repping all the tired girlies 🤞🤞

Give me depressed Sophie Foster or give me death 💀

Sandor with an Australian accent. How do we feel? 🎤🎤🧌

we need more screentime of xen and nyxx 🙏

please i have a lamborghini, 10 mill in cash, a 6-story mansion 🙏 please

coming up

you know what Fitz is giving me guys?

Sassy man apocalypse

like

You know what I mean🙂

We know what you are, Fitzroy Avery Vacker

Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir

I tried to make him more jagged and chaotic looking compared to Ladybug, so there would be more contrast between them

Also somewhat asymmetrical cuz he can’t wear whatever he wants as a civilian

was gonna do one but had to do the entire love square :3

hehe

the orginal

Art for my gal @3xen Merry (late) Christmas!!

(also, pose ref is from Pinterest)

❀𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗁𝗒𝖺𝖼𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗁𝗌❀

Was Sandy panicking the entire drive to some random location on Giggle Maps? Perhaps. Was she also fully aware that she had what could possibly be her dead friend and a criminal in the back of her van? Perhance.

But whose to know, right? It’s not like her leg was bouncing from anxiety the whole ride, neither were her palms sweaty live a damn river. No way.

“Ya good?” Nyxx asked, peering out from the back seat.

Nervously laughing, Sandy readjusted her grip on the wheel. “Hah! That is— that’s is a great question, man! I don’t know! Haha, where are we going again?”

“EDEN Academy, they have a medical wing with some of the best doctors in the world. They’ll be able to help Xen.” Nyxx reassured, as he had a few times since the start of the drive.

“Right, right..” Sandy replied, nodding her head, trying to get her eye to stop twitching. “A-anyway, on that note, how exactly do you know Xen?”

Sandy knew the answer, or part of it, at least. She still hadn’t let go of her initial skepticism of him, considering the whole idea of being saved by the same person you served coffee was really interesting coincidence. Now would be the perfect time to figure out just why he helped Xen, and why exactly he’s helping now.

Not that Sandy didn’t appreciate it. She can’t even imagine what might’ve happened had he and that other lady not shown up, but she was allowed to have mixed feelings!

He seemed to contemplate the question. “Well, about a week ago, I kind of saved her from a mutant thing? Then I took her to the hospital and gave her my number in case of an emergency.”

Even with her mind running a mile a minute, Sandy could still tell Nyxx was on edge. That was probably the best she was gonna get out of him for the moment.

“Got it. So, do you know why might be happening to her? Like, why she exploded into weird green fire or whatever?”

“I’m not sure.. I haven’t seen anything like this before. But if I had to guess, this was probably the result of some failed experiment. Though, you’re guess is as good as mine at the moment.” Nyxx shook his head, looking down to where Xen laid, still.

Sandy kept her eyes back on the road, they were getting close to the academy. Picking up the speed, she swore when something came flying at her side mirror.

Cracking the glass and throwing the van off balance, Sandy yelled as she tried to regain control of the vehicle.

“Fuck! What the hell was that?!” The girl panicked, swiveling her head this way and that.

“Eyes on the road! I’ll take care of it, just focus on getting us to the academy!” Nyxx commanded, throwing open the back doors.

Groaning, Sandy concentrated on the task at hand. She heard an inhuman shriek from atop the van, as well as many thumps and bangs. Well, at least she wasn’t fighting it. Sparing a glance at Xen, she saw her limp on the floor of the van, barely moving. The thinnest of shadows held her in place, which must be because Nyxx was fighting.

“Dammit Xen, please be okay.” Sandy mumbled to herself, concern and anxiety almost consuming her.

Thankfully, what seemed like a very flashy government building appeared in front of her. Overcome with relief, Sandy forgot about traffic laws and sped toward the parking lot.

Swinging into a spot sharply, Sandy put the van in park and hopped out. Above her, Nyxx threw what appeared like a weird bird creature to the ground. It spit up some acid stuff, part of it hitting the van, melting a hole right through.

“Ah! My van! My beautiful van!” Sandy shouted in horror, turning to the thing. “You motherfucker! Do you know how much that costed me?! I’ll bash your brains in you damn disgusting bastard!”

Nyxx turned her, a bit surprised at her profanity. He watched as the girl pulled a bat out of nowhere and started beating the thing to hell. Sandy, however, didn’t really care. The bird thing tried to fight back, but she kicked it’s talon away and smashed the bat against its face.

“That’s what ya get, shit-face.” Sandy smirked, wiping the purple blood from her clothes.

She swiftly turned to Nyxx, who only blinked.

“The hell are ya doin’? Go get Xen some help!”

Widening his eyes, Nyxx nodded and quickly headed to the van, wrapping Xen up in shadows again. He lifted her with ease and sped-walk into the building. Sandy followed close behind, closing the doors of her van and wiping some brain mush off her bat.

“Gideon!” Nyxx shouted as he walked in. “Call Tsubaki! We need help, now!”

A robotic voice spoke back, sounding more like choppy text-to-speech than an actual voice.

“Of course, Nyxx.”

Sandy stared at the ceiling in awe, wondering just what the hell was going on. Nyxx began walking faster, and Sandy struggled to keep up.

“How the hell..are you so fast?” Sandy panted, running had never been her favorite activity.

“Keep up.” He said, his eyes looking straight ahead.

Sandy frowned, but kept pace. She didn’t know what to make of Nyxx, or anything right now. But her best friend was in danger, so she decided to at least trust him enough to help Xen.

—

The doors to the medical slid open automatically, and Nyxx paid nobody any kind as he rushed to the operating room.

Kicking the doors open, he was greeted by the scene of Tsubaki and Stein standing in the room, prepping their supplies.

“What’s the situation?” Tsubaki questioned, pulling on her white gloves.

“I think it might be an infection of some kind. Her body was set on fire as well, but it doesn’t seem to have actually burned her.” Nyxx told, burning holes at the operating table.

“Right. Set her down, please.” The woman said, gesturing to the table. “And remove the shadows.”

He obeyed, pulling back his ability and ignoring the slight drop of his heart when he saw Xen fully. She was covered in slashes, all of them dripping with blood. Every cut also had some green looking veins inching out.

“Holy shit..” Xen’s friend, who Nyxx had forgotten about, whispered. Her face was a canvas of pain, anger, and fear. “I-is she gonna be okay? She’s gonna be okay, right?”

She looked to him, her eyes glassy and tired.

“We’ll do everything we can.” Tsubaki assured, turning to her. “Nyxx, you should both go. You know my process requires complete focus.”

“Right,” He nodded, glancing to Stein who was already leaving. “You, come on.”

Nyxx gently grabbed the girl’s arm, but she ripped it away.

“What the hell?! No fucking way! I’m not leaving Xen here with some random lady! And my name is Sandy!” The girl, Sandy, shouted.

Her shoulders were tense and her eyes were blazing with anger. Before she can have another outburst, Tsubaki comes over, grabbing her attention.

“Listen, child, I know this is difficult, but you need to leave. If you want your friend, Xen? To get better, you need to let me do my job.”

Sandy stared at her, seemingly trying to decipher if there were any lies behind Tsubaki’s words. Deciding, Sandy shrugged off the other’s hands and looked away.

“Fine. But if anything happens, I’ll put all of you in the hospital instead. Understand?” Sandy threatened, deadly serious.

And, from personal experience, Nyxx really didn’t doubt her words.

“Of course. Now, out.” Tsubaki turned away, heading toward the table once more.

Nyxx followed Sandy out, shutting the doors behind him.

For about an hour, all the two could do was sit in the lobby. Waiting.

Sandy’s leg bounced and she chewed her thumbnail. Her eyes were trained on the wall opposite of her, and Nyxx could fully relate.

The unease in his mind hadn’t settled since he got there, and it was all he could do to not rip everything apart. Nyxx wasn’t sure why this was bothering him so much, he barely knew anything about Xen. But it was anyway, and he hated it. The shadows he commanded creeped around in his head, and he couldn’t control it once they started whispering.

Your fault, as usual.

How is it that one person can be so useless?

She was counting on you…

Worthless…

Once the voices started, they didn’t stop. And of course, it had to be now. When he was stuck, nobody there to shut them up. Had Ada or Red been present, they would’ve noticed immediately. They’re ways of snapping him out of it were drastically different, however. Where Red would have isolated him and calmed him down, Ada would’ve just punched him.

That conjured a better feeling, making the voices dissipate some.

It was about now that he realized someone was talking.

“..yxx? Nyxx? Hello?” The snap of fingers in his face brought him out of his haze.

He blinked rapidly, staring at the person in front of him. Sandy stood there, looking unimpressed.

“Takin’ a nap, huh?” Sandy scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Whatever.”

Slumping down into her chair, Nyxx realized just how exhausted Sandy looked. Her hair was ragged, her clothes were torn and ripped, and entire body was tense. Then, he noticed how much blood was actually covering her. And not just purple Ghoul blood.

“You’re hurt.”

“No shit, ya just figure that one out?” She arched a brow, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

He huffed, somewhat annoyed with her attitude. “You need help. Come on.” He stood up, gesturing for her to follow.

“Hell no. I’m fine and I’m staying here.” Sandy glared.

Staring, Nyxx simply picked her up and carried her to the other side of the clinic.

“What the fuck?! Put me down! Dammit Nyxx! The hell are you doin?!” She yelled, twisting around in his arm.

“Helping you.”

“Oh fuck off! Let me go!”

“Nope.”

“Nyxx!”

He arrived at the infirmary in seconds, and was greeted by the younger two of Tsubaki’s students.

“Good evening, Mr. Nyxx! How are you?” Yuki, a young girl with lavender hair, asked.

“I’m fine, she isn’t though.” He stated, pointing to Sandy, who resembled more of a dog with rabies than a human.

“Oh dear, what’s wrong?” Mio, another young girl with dark green hair and icy blue eyes, fretted.

Mio and Yuki were the youngest of the Butterfly Ladies, but they were very skilled in medicine and healing.

“She’s got a bunch of cuts and is bleeding somewhere, I believe. She’s also had a rough day, so please be gentle and patient with her.” Nyxx voiced flatly.

“Understood!” They both said in unison, standing hip-to-hip in front of him.

Slowly, he dropped Sandy from her place tucked under his arm and settled her on the floor.

“Let them help you, okay? Stress isn’t good for the body.”

Reluctantly accepting, she shot Nyxx a look before complying. “Shut up.”

Mio grabbed one of Sandy’s hands, and Yuki patted her on the back. Nyxx was surprised to see the previously rabid girl calm down, the tension in her shoulders visibly easing.

“Don’t worry Miss! We’ll take good care of you! Right Yuki?” Mio smiled, looking up at the girl.

“Yep! And you can count on us, Nyxx!” Yuki turned to him, giving a thumbs up.

He nodded, turning around and heading out of the automatic doors. With that, he was once again alone with his thoughts.

Not for long, thankfully. As soon as he reached the lobby, he spotted Dr. Stein sitting in a chair.

“Mister Stein, hello.” Nyxx awkwardly greeted.

“Heya, doin well, Nyxx?” He asked, the many stitches across his face moving as his mouth did.

“Yes sir, do you need something?”

“No, no. Just checking. You seemed really panicked when you arrived earlier, so I figured I’d check on ya. I know how your powers like to mess with your head sometimes so..” Stein explained, standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I’m okay, sir. Thanks though.” Nyxx replied, looking away.

Stein hummed, tucking a stray piece of black hair behind his ear. “Listen, kid, I don’t know why you’re so worried, but, keeping everything inside isn’t good. You know that. So, consider talking to someone, yeah? Ada or Red would do, even if Ada isn’t the best at feelings, she’d listen. Anyway, point is, talk about your feelings. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” Nyxx nodded, brushing off pretty much everything Stein said.

It didn’t matter what he did, if anyone, Red would just beat his feeling out of him. And, Red is the only person who’d actually understand. Ada would just lecture him, again.

The creak of a door opening drew Nyxx’s attention. Tsubaki came out of the room, looking a bit fatigued.

“Are you alright?” Nyxx worried, holding out a hand to steady her.

“I’m fine, Nyxx, that just took a bit more out of me than normal.”

“What’s the diagnosis?” Stein asked lazily.

Tsubaki inhaled, then began to speak. “Well, to sum it up, it seems she had some kind of ability-powered infection. It spread across her body quickly, and acted like electricity and gasoline. I assume that’s what set he body aflame, though I’m not sure why it didn’t just kill her.” Tsubaki explained, holding a hand to her chin, thinking. “I’ll have to run some tests, but for now, my power has done an excellent job at keeping her stable. She’s resting now.”

Nyxx sighed, relieved. Xen was okay. She was fine. No need to worry.

“You should get some rest, Nyxx. You’ve been pushing yourself rather hard these last couple of days, go eat something and then sleep.” Tsubaki insisted, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“No, I’m fine, really. I can stay—” Nyxx reassured, but was cut-off by the older woman.

“I’m sorry, that must’ve sounded like a suggestion. Nyxx, go eat something, take a bath, and sleep. Now. Doctor’s orders.” She smiled threateningly.

Gulping, Nyxx nodded and headed to the dorms. He may be on edge, but that was better than disobeying Tsubaki.

So, with much reluctance, Nyxx forced himself to do everything she ordered. Though his mind was strictly on Xen.

Was she really okay? Was she awake? Did she need something? Maybe he should go grab Sandy and tell her the news?

All these thoughts swarmed his head as he went along, finally reaching the bed of his dorm. Laying down, he stared at the ceiling. One of the tapestrys Ada had gifted him hung above, decorated in moon cycles and flowers. That was enough to get him to sleep, especially when his pet came in and began to snuggle.

Chimera, which was basically the same as it’s name, had the head of a lion (plus some horns), back feet of a goat, and a snake for a tail. As well as some fleshy wings that reminded Nyxx of a dragon. The little guy found a place against Nyxx’s chest, and immediately started snoring.

Nyxx huffed a laugh, pulling Chimera closer, then shutting his eyes.

—

When she woke up, Xen was instantly bothered by the amount of light on her face. Grumbling, her brows scrunched up and she squeezed her eyes closed.

“Sorry, is the sunlight bothering you?” A voice that sounded like honey asked.

Xen only nodded, not really capable of making her vocal cords work. She heard footsteps cross the room, and then the sound of curtains being pulled.

“Is that better?” The voice asked again.

Warily opening her eyes and blinking, Xen was the met with the sight of a rather comfy looking hospital room. And also, a very, very gorgeous woman.

Her black hair was tied into a bun, with two long pieces falling out and framing her face. Her eyes were a dazzling purple, and she wore a pink lab coat over a dark uniform.

Xen was in awe, just how could anybody be so beautiful?

“Pardon? Are you okay?” The woman asked again, closing her eyes with a perfect smile.

Xen nodded harshly, which spiked an intense headache. Holding her head, Xen once again heard footsteps and some clinking of objects. Then, the woman was sat on her bed.

“Here, drink this, it’s for migraines and headaches. It should make you feel much better.” She offered a cup of what seemed like pink lemonade.

She took it, drinking it carefully. It tasted like spring, and Xen wasn’t even joking.

“Good, right? I call is the Sakura Cure, named after my sister. From my own experience, taking medicine is a bit of a challenge, so I figured, why not find a way to make it enjoyable?” The woman shared, placing the cup on a across the room. “Then, I discovered that with the right sequence, I could mix flowers into the medication! That made it much easier, and I could rely less on my ability.”

Xen listened as the woman explained, not understanding a word of it but listening anyway. Ability? Flower medicine? Cool.

She decided that whatever had happened was probably fine, seeing as this lady wasn’t concerned in the slightest. But, curiosity suddenly stormed in and forced Xen to use her voice.

“What’s your name?” She asked, her tone garbled.

The woman looked to her, a bit shocked. “Ah, apologies. My name is Tsubaki, I’m the head doctor here.”

“Great, uh, where is here?”

Tsubaki chuckled, holding a hand to her mouth. “You’re at EDEN Academy, darling. We specialize in ridding the world of monsters, or, Ghouls, as we classify them.”

Xen stared in confusion, but ultimately decided on getting answers when her brain was working.

“Okay…” She slid back against the pillows, sleep overcoming her senses.

“Hm, yes, do get some rest. I’ll have Nanami bring you something to eat.”

Xen just nodded, not noticing any of changes in her body.

Like her hair, for example, which was a much brighter shade of green compared to the almost black color it was before. Her eyes were green as well, with only her pupils being dark. She also missed how much strength she gained, but she wouldn’t realize that for little while anyway.

—

HOLY SHIT THAT WAS CRAZY

Anyway, please enjoy, and stay hydrated. Don’t be like Sandy and not do the bare minimum of taking care of yourself!!

Also, ANOTHA ONE FOR MY FRIENDS @3xen and @skeletonsk1

IM WORKIN LIKE A DOG YALL