Scared (Kirby, Foxxy)

[Tori Ashwood]

At night I hear it creeping
At night I feel it move
I’ll never sleep here anymore

I wish you never told me
I wish I never knew
I wake up screaming
It’s all because of you

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“And, see, you've got to chop the onions [/i]very carefully, Rissa... Or you'll end up cutting yourself. You see?”[/b]

Marissa watched with wide eyes as Tori took her hand and, placing the knife in the kit's palm, showed her how she was to slice the onions. They made very delicate, easy cuts; nothing choppy, since those were often fast, and dangerous for little fingers. Once Tori was sure Marissa had it covered, she moved to the stove; the young woman placed a pot of hot water on the top, waiting for it to boil.

[/i]“Tori!”

Victoria turned around, and then froze. Marissa's hand had a shallow, but bleeding, cut in the palm. The little vixen was starting to breathe heavy, whimpers coming every now and again. Immediately, Tori jumped forwards, grabbing Marissa's hand and sticking it under the cool, running water.

“Easy now, Rissa. It'll be okay...”

That was when things got bad. Fox happened to walk in at that moment, because he smelt the blood or perhaps a bad twist from the universe, Tori wasn't sure; but he entered, saw the blood dripping from his daughter's palm, and his eyes glazed over. She knew immediately what was going on; it was the same thing that had happened to her plenty of times before. He was having a flashback – and not a very good one, at that.

Tori scooped Marissa up, pulling off several sheets of paper towels to press against her bleeding palm. She then held the little vixen close her to her, pressing her face into Tori's shoulder so she would not have to see the pain as it fluttered across her dad's face. Or the anger that came after it.

Words got said then. Heated words that, though their meanings were softer than some she had heard before, caused her to stare in horror. Fox was yelling at Marissa; at his own daughter. Never before had Tori ever heard the anthro yell at his daughter, not even to discipline her. It was enough to make her lash out.

“Get out of my house,” she had told him, “Get out of my house, and don't you dare come back until you can control your tongue. She's just a child, and this was just an accident. Get out of my house, leave the children... And don't you dare return until you're calm.”[/b]

To her surprise, he did as he was told.

[/i]

---

Fox had been missing for a couple of hours now, and Tori was growing worried. Normally, she didn't care too much when he went off in the middle of the night, but tonight was different. Tonight... Tonight, she had thrown him out. She had made him leave her warm, safe home simply because he had lost his temper with the children, and she had lost her temper at him in result. She knew it wasn't the smartest move, looking back, but it wasn't like she could change what had happened.

So, she had a plan to make things right. After striking a deal with Falco, she managed to get the blue bird to agree to watch the kits, at least until she returned. The falcon was always looking for ways to make money and, though he would have watched the kids for Fox for free, she felt...wrong asking him to do so. That, and she still wasn't sure if he trusted her; not as much as Fox did, anyways. Then again, he could have just been looking out for his buddy.

Either way, she made sure he was well-paid.

Tugging her jacket tighter around her, Tori glanced up at the street signs, making sure she was going the right way. Even though she knew the route to Fox's alleyway by heart, every instinct in her body screamed at her to check and make sure. She knew better than to lose herself in the darkness. The dark and the shadows held so many different demons for her; she didn't need to add another in there as well.

The young woman skittered into Fox's alleyway, the beginnings of his territory and the outer ring of hers, and swallowed. Again, she tugged her jacket tighter around her. Her discomfort and fear were both obvious, especially when she opened her mouth and called out Fox's name.

There was silence for a long minute, and Tori swore her heart dropped. Fox wasn't there. Of course he wasn't there. After she had thrown him out of her home, why would he go to the one place she knew she could find him? Odds are he was sulking about somewhere, hiding where she would never find him. She supposed it was a good thing that she had his kids, then.

Tori had just turned around when she heard a voice call out, “Well, well, what do we have here?” Her heart leapt in response, and she turned on her heel.

“Pizza!” She called out; her usual response for his question of “what are we ha”--

Oh dear.

Oh no.

That hadn't been how the question had been worded. That hadn't been Fox's voice, or his accent, that had asked the question. That hadn't been Fox's warm voice at all. Instead, it was a cold, creepy voice that caused her entire body to freeze in fear. She could already feel the ghosts of bruises starting to form on her flesh, just as the goosebumps raced up her arms, to the base of her neck. She was freezing up in the middle of an alley.

This wasn't good.

[Kirby]

The Cannibal grinned.

He hadn't expected this, no, hadn't expected her... but he could smell his former target all around her. She was someone he hung around often, quite obviously. And that, that wasn't something to be taken likely.

He could use her.

"Sorry," he murmured after a minute, still refusing to show himself, but for his eyes. They glowed in the dark, just as his victim's had, dimly lighting the way in front of him. He swayed back and forth. "That accent sticks with you. You are what you eat, they say..."

And then he stepped forwards.

And waited for the scream.

He still looked like her. The ears on top of his head, the blue fur with white markings, the tail with two silver rings bound around it... Yes, every inch of him showed what he had done not that long ago. He was surprised, himself, but he had been able to hold the form for this long. He was so hungry... But this... this was the payoff.

His shark-like teeth glimmered.

[Tori Ashwood]

If he was waiting for a good scream, then he cetainly got one.

As soon as Tori realized who it was standing in Fox's alleyway, all her fear and terror built up into a shrill, piercing scream. The woman who often prided herself on her calm, collected facade could no longer hold it, and instead was scurrying backwards, like a mouse. Her green eyes were wide.

"Krys...Krystal." She sobbed out, one hand moving to cover her mouth at the sight of the blue tail and ears. Fox had told her Krystal was gone, but not that the Cannibal of all people had murdered her... And certainly not that he had devoured her. It was enough to make her sick.

If she hadn't been so terrified.

"Oh God. Oh, God... you're the one... you're the one that killed her. Oh God, no..."

The Cannibal had murdered Krystal, eaten her as he had done so many others before. And now she was facing him in the middle of a dark alleyway, where all her fears and demons resided; where they pointed and mocked her.

It took all she had to stop her trembling hands as she reached into...wherever her weapons were stored and pulled out her favorite: a very old and beat-up shovel. It wasn't the most glorious of weapons, but it had certainly never failed her before. She prayed that it would be enough to at least discourage the Cannibal from wasting his time on her.

"M-marching away now, please..."

[Kirby]

"So you knew her?" The question seemed sickly delighted, as if that had just made the Cannibal's day. Of course, he already knew Tori had known Krystal; he had watched Fox for a while, subsequently watching his wife and his...

Whatever Tori was.

But to know she was so sickened by it, that did delight him. It meant he was doing something right.

Kirby stepped forwards again, eyes still glowing in the darkness that surrounded the two. He seemed to ignore the shovel, as if it was no threat-- and to him, it really wasn't. He could easily counter it should he really feel like doing so. Especially in the delicious state she was in at that moment.

"Tell me something, Victoria... did you ever feel jealous of her?" He grinned. "After all, she had everything you wanted: children... Fox..."

On the last word, his accent shifted. It became exactly the same as Fox's.

---

The anthro in question was heading back towards home.

He wished he could remember what exactly he had yelled at Marissa. He knew it had been... bad, of course, and that it hadn't been in English (he had found himself unable to remember the language when he had broken down), but the words were escaping him just as much as the whole situation was seeming to. Even so, he felt like he could rip his own heart out.

Right then, he hated himself.

Fox turned the two boxes of candy over in his hands, hoping no one asked him where he had gotten the money for them. He just wanted to try and make amends with his daughter and friend, even with such a lame present. At least Marissa might forgive him; he hadn't bothered with sugar free this time.

Hesitantly, he opened the door to Tori's house.

"Tori?"

[Tori Ashwood]

As the Cannibal took a step forwards, Tori felt her body tensing. Even though years of her father's tortures had taught her to never tense up, to never freeze, she felt her body locking its joints and tightening the muscles beneath the skin. If she froze now, it would be just like when she was a child; there would be no way to outrun the pain that was to follow.

"Tell me something, Victoria... did you ever feel jealous of her? After all, she had everything you wanted: children... Fox..."

Pain ripped at her heart as the Cannibal used Fox's voice. It wasn't because he was insulting the memory of her sort of friend, or because he was pointing fingers and calling out accusations. It was because he was completely right. And she couldn't help but admit it to herself then.

"I would never have tried to take anything away from her; she deserved the children, and him." She said, the malice in her voice fading away into tremors. "He loved her."

---

Falco glanced up as Fox's voice cut Jeremy's off. The young boy was reading his book aloud to both his sister and Falco. It was rather an interesting story, actually; well, at least the bits his brain caught were. He was starting to get anxious from having sat so long, and so was having to twitch around a bit. But still, the story sounded interesting.

And Marissa was entertained.

But then Fox entered, and Falco's head jerked upwards. His dark eyes observed his fellow anthro, his only living friend, and the bird tilted his head to the side. He clicked his beak.

"Tori is being out searching for you." Falco told him, "Saying she would check turf, then walking 'round for bit." His eyes shifted to the clock.

"When is she supposed to be back?" Marissa asked, rolling over onto her back, so she could look at Falco, "I'm getting hungry, and she forgot to turn the oven on..."

[Kirby]

"I thought so."

The Cannibal's eyes gleamed with malice and an odd sort of glee as he looked up at her, as if she was a beautiful butterfly he was about to stab through the heart and add to his collection. His mind wandered down every path, every direction he could lead this to. Every little word or hint he could say to tear her bit by bit.

"But that doesn't erase the fact, does it?" he murmured, taking yet another step forward. His stolen tail swished back and forth. "You wanted what she had... Now that she's dead, you have every opportunity to take it. You should be happy. Or, well... I suppose not.

"I haven't eaten in weeks, you know..."

---

Fox was confused, thoroughly, when it was Falco who answered, Falco who was with his children, and not Tori. Of course, it was all settled when his old friend explained, and Fox breathed a sigh of relief. He set the candy on the nearest flat surface.

"Chudesnyĭ..." He murmured.

"I'll go find her," he said, continuing to speak in their native tongue for the slight comfort it brought him. God knows he needed whatever he could get at that point. After a moment's hesitation, he pointed to the candy. "Don't... don't let Marissa have any of that right now."

[Tori Ashwood]

The thought brought a sickening sort of joy to Tori's heart. She could have Fox. She could make his children her own. She could do anything she wanted to with the poor, broken anthro.

However, to take what was never hers to begin with, especially when it was the heart of her dearest friend, was wrong. Thoroughly and utterly wrong. She loved Fox, and she respected Krystal's memory. To try to gain the affection of a bleeding heart was to take advantage of it.

Then the Cannibal took a step forwards.

His words registered in her ears, and Tori let out a frightened squawk; a noise Falco might have made in such an occasion, if the bird was even capable of feeling any sort of fear. One thing was for certain though; Tori was certainly afraid.

Her heart was pounding painfully; her lungs constricted with every breath she took. The darkness seemed to surround her, its cold tendrils holding her in place. The perfect prey for the Cannibal. Even her arms refused to move when she ordered them to swing the shovel.

"No, please..." The poor thing whimpered.

---

Falco nodded; the sound of their native tongue brought back a small sliver of his normal self. He stopped twitching for just a moment, just long enough to look at the boxes Fox had brought, and then back to Marissa. The little vixen had gone back to listening to her brother, but he knew it wouldn't be too long before she noticed the candy.

Marissa seemed to have unnatural sugar-detecting abilities.

"Taking care, bro," Falco ordered, his beak clicking together in warning. Then, in Russian, he added, "I'll take care of the kids, bro. You just make sure the both of you get home safely. I'm not watching them all night."

"I heard that."

Falco chuckled softly at Marissa's warning tone.

[Kirby]

Fox smiled softly. "Couldn't be making you if I tried," he murmured, switching back to English, before moving for the door. "Thanking you. Seeing you, bro."

---

Kirby grinned again, tongue rolling over the tips of his teeth as his form shifted ever-so-slightly. Some of Krystal's features began to disappear, though it was still obvious who he was supposed to be; he had only let go of enough of her powers to allow him his own suction ability back, but about halved in power.

If what he was anticipating was really going to happen, he would need this look.

"You're hanging around us," he said in perfect imitation of Fox's voice, "you are disappearing too. ...Is good tip, bro."

Kirby opened his mouth, inhaling with all his might.

---

The moment he had her scent, he knew where she was.

Fox got into a half-crouch and slipped into the shadows, slinking down the street with a wary eye. He had to watch for police, and... whatever the hell else was out there. He didn't want to be caught before he found her.

That would just make a bad night worse.

All the while, he felt a tug in his guts, an instinctual reaction telling him to run. He couldn't tell why, but something... something smelled off about his usual hang-out area that night. Under usual circumstances, he would have listened to his gut, he would have padded away with his literal tail tucked between his literal legs.

Tonight, that feeling only made him walk faster towards the alley.

[Tori Ashwood]

"You're hanging around us, you are disappearing too. ...Is good tip, bro."

At those words, Fox's own words, a rough sob escaped the young woman. It tore at her heart; the back of her throat burned with unshed tears, and pain.

Fox. The Cannibal had gotten Fox. There was no other way to rational the usage of Fox's voice. He had been able to use Krystal's accent, and now... now he was taking Fox's. Toturing her with his voice. The shovel slipped from her numb fingers, hitting the ground with a clang.

"No..."

Even as she moaned that one, pain-filled word, the air around her began to move towards Kirby, as if a powerful wind was pushing against her back. Tori started to slide forwards, and it only took another moment for her to realize that the Cannibal was trying to eat her.

That realization shattered whatever hold she had on the moment. It took her back to the past, back to her father; back to the darkness. Back to the darkness that threatened to overtake her vision and, with it, her. If she was to let it win, then she was forfieting her own life. But if she fought...

Then there would be pain.

Still, her body's instinct to run from the danger was stronger than her desire to avoid the pain. Tori's ankles twisted on their own accord, causing her to spin in a perfect 180 degree turn. Her legs began to push, causing her to run as fast and as hard as was possible. All the while, little whimpering noises were coming from her lips.

"Falco, Snake!Wolf!" She called out, her voice cracking towards the end. It was useless to plead for anyone; there was no one close enough to help her. She was going to die there.

"Fox!"

[Fox McCloud]

"TORI!"

The anthro's voice cut through the alleyway, a snarl accompanying it. It didn't take him long to pounce upon Tori, knocking her out of the way of the Cannibal's inhale attack. His fur was standing on end, but he tried to make sure the fall didn't hurt her too much, or at least as well as he could with just a quick look over.

"Are you being--"

"...Fox?"

Fox stiffened, turning.

He knew that voice. But that was... impossible. Krystal... Krystal was...

The Cannibal waved his tail, his once-again dark eyes gleaming as best they could. It was as if they were still trying to glow, but just couldn't get there. But that didn't matter; his looks were enough to make Fox give a pained whimper, and as soon as he knew the canine's eyes were on him, his expression shifted from mock innocence to a sadistic grin.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii...."

[Tori Ashwood]

Fox's body slammed into hers, his arms moving to keep her from hitting the ground as he twisted to land on his back - or tried to, anyways. He only managed to spin halfway, leaving the both of them to break the fall. Luckily, the most it did was scrape up Tori's arm and knock the breath out of her lungs. 

As soon as her mind registered she was safe, Tori curled up. Her arms wound tightly around Fox's middle, and she buried her face in his side. Rough, frightened sobs made their way to the surface, causing her entire body to tremble. She had been this afraid only once or twice in her entire life, and the feeling was not a welcomed one. 

"Fox..." She hiccuped, raising her head just enough to look at him. To her surprise, there was horror and pain in his gaze. In only took her a moment to realize why, and another to realize what she had to do. Grabbing out a record, the young woman threw it at Kirby's face. 

Her throw was a weak one, but right on target. She just hoped it would be enough to break whatever hold the Cannibal had over Fox. 

[Fox McCloud]

"AUGH!" Kirby yelled as the record smacked into his face, finally releasing all of Krystal's powers and looks. "You little..."

Fox shook his head, snapping out of it, though he continued to tremble. Even so, the fear and horror could wait for now.

He had to get Tori home safe. If not himself... at the very least, Tori.

He owed her that much.

"We are running now, yes?" the anthro murmured, before picking his friend up and breaking into a sprint. With any luck, any at all, the cannibal wouldn't give chase... and they would be safe.

[Tori Ashwood]

Tori felt Fox's hands slip under her, lifting her off the ground, and immediately her arms wound tightly around his neck. She buried her face in his shoulder, whimpering out, "We are running now," as the tendrils of fear that had wound around her heart squeezed tightly, reminding her that she was not out of danger.

She sobbed into his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Fox. I'm sorry-" she broke off to hiccup, "-I'm sorry about Krystal. I'm sorry." Her voice was trembling as badly as her body was.

She couldn't help it. Being alone, in the dark, with the monster of her nightmares was enough to strike fear into anyone's heart, let alone hers. If you combined your fear of the dark with all she had just gone through... There was no way she could handle it coolly and calmly, like Tori Ashwood was known for.

"I'm sorry," she choked out again.

[Fox McCloud]

Fox was silent as he ran, though he tried to show her it was an attempt at an understanding silence; he pulled her closer to him, tilting his head just enough so he could give her a quick nuzzle.

Truth be told, he was... surprised, to put it at the very mildest, that he wasn't breaking down just as she was. He had really, truly loved his wife, and being reminded of her and her untimely death was more then enough to make him revert to nothing more then what he truly was: an animal.

Perhaps it was the need of higher intelligence in this situation.

As soon as he was sure they were near Tori's house again, far away from the alley and the Cannibal, Fox skidded to a stop. He moved one hand so he could reach down, shifting Tori's head just enough so he could press his own forehead to her's. It was his own way of silently saying "I'm here", and the same gesture he had given Jeremy that night two weeks ago he didn't want to think about.

"Is not being your fault."

[Tori Ashwood]

Tori felt an odd surge of warmth in the middle of chest when Fox nuzzled her, though she quickly felt guilty about it. Kirby's words still rung as painful in her heart as they were true, and she couldn't help but choke back a sob. She wasn't the one who needed to be comforted here; Fox was. Fox was the one who had lost his wife in the most horrible way possible. Fox was the one who had seen what was left of Krystal displayed on the Cannibal's body.

She buried her face into his shoulder.

The motion of Fox running was soothing, so much so that Tori nearly fell asleep in his arms. Of course, that small luxury was taken from her when fingers brushed across her cheek. Her eyes shot open, pupils dilating in fear, at the unwelcomed touch. But then her eyes met Fox's, recognized the familiar green gaze, and Tori relaxed considerably.

She reached up, touching her hand to his cheek in what she hoped would come across as a comforting gesture. She smiled through the tears, despite the pained expression on her face, "Is feeling like it," she said, wincing at the roughness of her voice. Her eyes shifted away.

"Thank you."