Mutt frowns. "I don't want to do that. If they tell me I'm supposed to kill you..." They wave their arms around in an attempt to make sense. "Like this, I'm not doing anything wrong."
"What do you think is going to happen if there is no story ? That's what the Queen wants. A story. Right now, it's you or me. It could end up be us or them, though," he says carefully.
"You're going to have to make a choice, kid. That's what life is about. No one likes a protagonist that bitches and whines the whole time. Don't be Shinji fucking Ikari. Be someone who takes charge."
"Don't be what...? Um. You're saying that if I don't kill you, you'll kill me, or they'll kill me?" They don't like the thought of any of that, but it doesn't seem like there's any way out of it. They swallow. "I'll sit with you until you fall asleep," they repeat.
"I told you, I'm not going to-" Jack stiffens. "...oh.I see. That's how it's going to be? Fuck you, then-" He lunges, shoving Mutt to one side and racing for the top of the stairs.
Mutt chases after him and reaches him halfway to the top of the stairs, throwing themself onto him in an attempt to stop his escape.
"No, to hell with y-" He tumbles, chin slamming against the stairs. Mutt hears a loud snap, and then blood is pouring down the man's face and his voice rises in a guttural, animalistic howl of pain. He scrabbles at the steps, fingers slipping in his own blood, slips and hits the steps again. A lump of flesh is knocked down the steps with several sharp teeth still embedded in it. The screaming goes high pitched, drilling into Mutt's ears as Jack's howl becomes desperate.
Mutt lets go of Jack in a panic, almost falling down the stairs as they press their hands to their ears. "No, no, no, no, stop screaming, stop, stop, stop...."
Blood pours down the steps like wine, but Mutt keeps their balance. There's no way that much blood should be coming from one person, but it does, dripping and slowly painting the stairwell in a rich, bright crimson. Jack howls, claws scrabbling, their body warping and splitting, fingers doubling and curving into long claws, four becoming eight becoming twelve. They jerk, shudder, dig their fingers into the stone of the steps, howling to the doorway in a keening screech.
Mutt brings out their knife a little uncertainly, hands shaking. They hesitate, but as Jack's screaming gets louder their eyes go wide and they start to wonder if Legion and Even are up there, hearing this, knowing they failed. They stab desperately at Jack to stop him screaming.
The knife sinks home, carving through flesh and bone with too much ease, even as Mutt feels the bone of the blade grind against the bone of Jack's spine, then jerk through it. Jack's screaming rises in pitch, like a stuck pig, squalling and sobbing, now, desperately trying to form words in a mouth with shattered teeth and ruined tongue, each attempt flaying their lips more with the jagged broken edges of their teeth. Mutt can see things moving and flexing in the gash, the desperate flutter of pierced aveoli trying to draw in air and only drawing forth the very blood it's meant to supply with life-giving oxygen. Jack is thrashing, far less coordinated than before. His legs aren't moving, except along with the jerking motions of his upper body.
Mutt pulls the knife out and plunges it into Jack again and again until long after he stops moving. They stare at the body for what seems like a long time, not quite comprehending what they've done. Then a sob rises up in their throat and their eyes well up. They didn't have to kill him. They didn't have to do this. They're bad now, a killer. They don't deserve to be crying over this corpse. They wipe at their eyes but only succeed in smearing blood on their face. When they're out of tears, they grit their teeth and start dragging the body down the stairs. They count the steps as they go, trying to stay focused. They lose count and start over three times before they reach the bottom. There's a small space at the bottom, big enough for a couple people to sit, surrounded by scattered stones. Mutt pulls the body into it and starts stacking the stones up high in front of it, leaving bloody marks on the wall they build. They sit in front of the wall for a long time before climbing the stairs back up.
Legion opens the door as Mutt walks up, silohetted in the frame... holding a tray of something that makes their mouth water. She smiles, holding out a steaming mug. "Hungry, Mutt?"
They shake their head slowly, then raise their eyes to meet Legion's. They can't find the words for what they want to say, so they just look at her accusingly. Why?
She just smiles brightly. "Not quite how the story goes. But I think it's a good one, very...well. I'm not sure, I didn't watch. The Queen hasn't shown displeasure, however... so I think you've proved yourself very, very capable." She's still holding the steaming drink out. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. You've had a long day."
Mutt nods hesitantly. They still feel too sick to take the drink, but they don't know what they're supposed to do now. Legion doesn't seem like she's going to hurt them - in fact, she seems proud of them. So they'll do what she says for now.
Even grins out from the hole in Legion's chest, emberlike eyes bright. "Good work, we're both very proud of you." Legion puts the cup onto the tray, handing it to Even's disembodied fingers, then steps down to put an arm around Mutt, guiding them up and back towards the house, talking quietly... but not brooking any argument. "We're going to run you a bath so you can get that mess off, and a nice clean set of clothes, come on."
Mutt nods, realizing they're still covered in blood. They follow Legion without argument, and try to put their mind in order. Killing is bad. Right?
