canis writing agape? what is this, 2016??

In this part, Red continues to be weird and Canis reminds her readers that oh right I think this fic was about Helix at some point. As a slight change of pace, this one is also not like 4000 pages long or something.

(Originally, Part 7 was going to also be the final part, but then I noticed how long it was getting and how much I still had to write, plus I found a nice place to stop, so I decided to split it in two after all. Now that I’ve done it, I’m pretty satisfied with the call, since now the atmospheres don’t mix as much.)

Enjoy!

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It had taken quite a lot of potions to fix her up from the beating she’d received, but by the time Red had finished healing her, she’d looked like she was in the best shape of her life. Her life in her new malamar body, to be exact.

Next, he washed her of her blood and anything he might have left on her. Prints, genes, et cetera. Soon it would be time for the memories.

She was a lot heavier now. That, and the fact that despite Red’s rubber gloves - disinfected, of course - her body was still considerably slippery when held, made the process a bit more challenging than he’d expected, but he managed nevertheless.

Having cleaned her and the floor she’d hung above, Red removed his gloves for a moment to retrieve his book of symbols. He’d decided to use the hour variant. He hadn’t used the day variant before, and he wanted to play it safe.

He’d have to carve it on some part of her body where she couldn’t see and nobody would think to look. Such an area would probably be small, so the strokes would need to be small as well. A scalpel would have been optimal, but Red didn’t want to risk infection of his wares, no matter how well he knew he cleaned his equipment. If he happened to deliver faulty products, he might get snitched on. Then, he wouldn’t even get to snitch on the snitch. The snitch’s connections might try to get even. Red didn’t know if the people he dealt with had such connections, but he was certain that, in any case, they would always have more allies than him. But, wait… if he were to get caught, and everything was to get out - everything - would he even end up in the same place? Would he be deemed too different? He wasn’t just some brute with an anger problem. He had access to ancient forces modern society had no idea even existed. He chose his cases carefully. Would…?

…No. No, of course not. He shouldn’t think so highly of himself.

He shouldn’t be thinking any of this now. He had things to do.





He placed the open book on the floor in clear view. He put his rubber gloves back on and retrieved the knife the mon had held to the back of his neck before. Red felt a bit of disdain for it, as if it had betrayed him itself, but it was still the sharpest.

He surveyed the malamar. For a moment, he felt a bit ambivalent. There were so many things he wanted to do to her, but he couldn’t. Maybe, in a year or two, after everyone had forgotten about her, he could…

The thought made him smile, which made him feel worse, since he knew what a stupid idea it was. She still had family, and assuming her parents were malamar, she’d still be accepted there. He couldn’t choose anyone with regular connections to others. If they disappeared, their friends and family would worry, and finally alert the police. Then an investigation begins. Then they find him. And then, all this would have been for nothing, since he’d ended up losing Him nonetheless.





He shook his head and turned his attention back to the mon on the ground.

Under the mantle? No, too much work, and probably still too visible.

Inside her beak? No, she’d most likely feel it.

Between her head tentacles?

It seemed like a safe bet. Red dug his hands in between her hair-like arms and parted them to see better. They seemed tight. That was a positive sign.

The space on her scalp was far too small to fit the carving on. He decided to use one of the tentacles’ base instead.

He picked up the knife and, after very carefully assessing how much space he’d need, sunk the tip of the blade into the skin and drew the first line of the symbol. Small pearls of dark blue surfaced to fill and flood the paper thin crevice in the flesh. Meeting the metal, the fluid stuck to it and flattened into thinner layers, revealing its true, rich range of colors - turquoise, teal, deep blue… Ah, not now.

He moved on to carving the rest of the main symbol, every now and then wiping away the excess blood that rose to view from the fresh cuts.

After finishing the final line, he had to choose the number of strokes to add beneath the seal, one for every hour he wanted to erase. He’d left a lot of room below, so space wouldn’t be an issue. But how many hours? He’d have to make her forget everything that took place right after the show, since - while there had been a lot of hours of her just being unconscious - she’d recognized him in the shower. Not that being attacked was a normal memory to have in general.

Red looked at the clock. It was about midday.

He decided to play it safe again and erase the whole show last night from her mind. She maybe wouldn’t forget that far with her normal drinking, but she’d probably just shrug it off nonetheless.

He chose to draw 16 strokes. He saw that a whole inch had been left unused, which made him feel a bit stupid, but he soon made himself dismiss the thought. The symbol was small and far enough down the arm to not be seen without someone specifically looking for it.

Unlike the psychic nullifier, this symbol’s effect didn’t wear off with healing - however, it had to remain for at least the amount of hours set on it, or its effect wouldn’t last for good. This meant not being able to use potions to stop the bleeding, so Red had to wait it out.

When the wounds had finally dried up, Red carefully cleaned away the blue hue and let go of the mon. The tentacles drew together again and, closing up, hid the symbol almost entirely. Good enough.





Next, he cleaned the bottles he’d had her drink. When they finally shone like new, he took them to one of her longer arms.

What a graceful arm. He had to stop to admire it.

But he had to continue. He grabbed her arm by the tip and pressed her suckers onto the bottles until her prints were all over them. He then slowly moved the bottles inside a plastic bag. Finally, he recalled her to her pokéball and, along with the bottles, placed her in his backpack.

The room looked a lot less alive without her. Only the shivering candlelight remained. He sighed, not sure if it was out of annoyance or relief.





Having blown out the candles and put away all his tools, he began to shift the bookcase. Bright light from the basement hallway flooded in, hurting his eyes a bit.

It was in that light that he noticed the seal on his wrist again. It had almost healed already, but it could still be seen. He should cover it.

After going back to rebandage his arm, Red slipped out behind the bookcase and pushed it back into its original position, leaving behind his hidden room.

He lightly bumped the bag on his back with his elbow to ensure it really was with him.

Good. He was all set.





Hanging his coat on the rack, Red couldn’t help but laugh out of sheer contentment.

It was done. It was done! He’d finally gotten rid of her for good. He’d finally be reunited with Him. Now he only needed to wait. Wait for her career to crash and Him to lose interest. And given how quickly He’d fallen for her, He likely wouldn’t miss her for too long.

Red threw his bag onto the floor, smiling, and let himself fall back on the couch. He glanced at the clock. Ah, what great timing! His lord would return home soon.

Red would make sure to be on his very best behavior and as friendly as possible. His lord would see him with new eyes, appreciative eyes. Red would always be there for Him. Red was His most humble servant, His high priest.





Red could now hear some noises from outside.

Elated, he jumped back up and rushed to open the front door. A startled Fonz was looking up at him from the front yard.

“Come in, come in!” Red greeted with great delight. The freezing temperatures stung his skin and yanked every hair on his bare arms fully erect, but he kept the door wide open nonetheless.

Fonz rushed towards the house, though slowed down when ascending the steps as not to slip. He shielded the ball of fabric with his sturdy arms. Red dodged him as he moved inside, and promptly shut the door softly behind him.

“You’re chipper today,” commented Fonz, surprised.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” replied Red, and snuck past the nidoking into the kitchen. He began to prepare a meal.

“It’s Friday, isn’t it?” he said, half to start a conversation and half to add to his previous words. Red did seem awfully chipper. He wasn’t often like that. He himself knew why he was so happy, but Fonz didn’t, and Fonz shouldn’t, either.

“Yeah, that’s true,” said Fonz, removing Helix’s scarves. “No school tomorrow.”

“You must happy about that, then, my lord,” called Red from the kitchen, a bit louder to ensure He could really hear it.

“…He is,” responded Fonz after a short pause.

“How was school today?” asked Red as he placed the basket of berries onto the table.

“It was alright for Him,” answered Fonz. Red tensed his expression. Why wasn’t He saying anything?

“That’s good to hear,” Red said and moved away from the table. “Food’s ready.”

Fonz got up, holding Helix, and silently walked by Red. Red’s eyes followed Helix the entire way to him.

“Hey,” he greeted Him with a sincere smile as He passed by.

“…Hey,” Helix responded awkwardly. Somehow, his eyes seemed shy, even… fearful?

Red nodded and went to sit on the sofa. He let his smile finally melt away.

What was that? Had the news got out already? But He didn’t look sad… He looked anxious. Bothered. Worried. Had something happened at school? Or had He found something out about him? What was the matter? Red wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to disturb Him now that He was having His meal.

Red could hear Him and Fonz mumbling about something. What was it? He couldn’t make out any words.

Red noticed his bag was still lying on the floor from before. He dragged and lifted it to himself. Nothing explicitly incriminating there anymore, just an empty plastic bag and an empty pokéball… He should still get rid of both, just in case. But there was no hurry. Yet, at least.





After a few minutes of waiting, Red could hear the slight screech of a chair being moved. He mentally prepared himself. Steps could be heard, and they approached him. Soon, Fonz arrived in the living room with Helix in his hands. The nidoking lowered the omanyte onto the other end of the couch.

Red refrained from looking in their direction. His lord seemed stressed, and it seemed to be because of Red, or the feeling at least strengthened around him for whatever reason. But he needed to know. I should do it now, thought Red, before it gets more awkward for Him. He tried his best to appear nonchalant as he adopted a more casual pose.

“Oh, I forgot to ask,” he began, attempting to sound like he’d just now remembered to say it. “How was the concert last night, my lord?”

“I, uhh…” Helix mumbled, but stopped to look at Fonz. Fonz promptly picked him up again and held Him close to himself. The nidoking looked at Helix again and nodded in a way that clearly meant something, but something only the two understood, then looked back at Red with a stern expression.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Helix hesitantly continued.

“Oh?” Red turned to face Him fully.

He was going to tell him face to face? It couldn’t be too bad, then. At least Red hoped so, dearly. His lord wasn’t ready to hear about the worst things. Not now, not ever. Or, maybe someday, much later, but definitely not now, for several reasons. Granted, He’d already seen a lot, but wasn’t like He could even remember half of it…

In any case, He was going to be straightforward, and that was good. Red wouldn’t have to try to find out by himself.

“Getting me those tickets was… really cool of you,” Helix started, “but you shouldn’t… I don’t want you to do that again.”

Red tilted his head. “What do you mean?” he enquired. Had the press really found out already? Had He really changed His opinion of her this quickly?

“Wh-What I mean is,” He bumbled, “I don’t… I didn’t enjoy it that much after all. I don’t wanna sound ungrateful, I just…”

He searched for the right words, but couldn’t seem to ever come across the right ones. Instead, the room was left with a tense silence that just kept on going.

Red utilized this moment to review what he’d just heard.

He… He hadn’t enjoyed it? He hadn’t enjoyed the show? When she’d still been an inkay?

Before Red had ruined her?

That couldn’t be right.

Surely, that couldn’t have been right.

Helix was still trying to continue His sentence. Red didn’t want to interrupt his lord, but he saw it to be the best course of action to take.

“My lord,” he said reassuringly, “it’s fine.”

“But I haven’t even told you what it is…”

“Whatever it is, my lord, it’s fine,” he repeated. Red wasn’t lying, but he was guilty of wanting the conversation to proceed faster.

“Getting those tickets must have been hard or expensive or both… I just don’t want you wasting your money and time on something I won’t even like,” Helix said, but instantly regretted His choice of words. “I-I mean, not that I think you should waste your money on things that I do like-”

“My lord,” Red interjected again, feeling ashamed of it right after, but still deciding to continue. “No money spent for the sake of your delight is wasted.”

Fonz gave Red a strange look. Red ignored it.

“Well… okay, but still,” said Helix. “Thanks one last time for the tickets, but… I just wanna let you know that that was a… phase. Abba was right, she… She was pretty lame this whole time. I only realized it last night.”

So, a phase. It had only been a phase. A momentary attraction. A crush. A fixation spanning only a few days. Nothing serious. Nothing actual. Just a mishap.

Huh.

Really should have seen that one coming.

Red blinked.

“…You’re not mad, are you?” peeped the omanyte.

Well, was he?

Eh.

He’d think about it later.

“Of course not, my lord,” responded Red. “There’s nothing for me to be mad about.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely. Getting those tickets wasn’t that much of a hassle. And even if it had been, it wouldn’t matter.”

“…How so?”

“I got to see you happy for at least a while, didn’t I?”

It sounded so sweet said aloud. It should have been the reason he’d done it. But it hadn’t been. Why couldn’t it have been? Why, why did he always have to be so impatient, thoughtless, rash, idiotic… The list went on.

Red stared at his lord’s eyes. They were mostly avoiding him, but every now and then they still crept back to see if he was still looking at them. Every time the answer was yes, and every time they hastily darted elsewhere again.

They were so… alive. Big, black pupils and snow white sclerae. Their wet surface reflecting the light from the surrounding ceiling lamps. Occasionally blinking.

They didn’t have to be so anxious. What were they afraid of?

Then His tentacles, nervously coiling around Fonz’s fingers. From afar, they didn’t look like they were too cold, even if Red knew it to be otherwise. They moved slowly but stressfully. It didn’t feel good to look at them like that. Red wanted to take them into his hands and stroke them until they relaxed. But he couldn’t do it. Why? He couldn’t, not right now.

Then His shell. Red still vividly remembered what its surface had felt like against his lips a few days ago.

Of His beak, Red could only see a sliver. Chitinous and black, it would split through the middle and lose its color upon evolving. Red couldn’t say which member of the omanyte family he preferred. They both had their pros and cons. Omanyte were small, light and easy to carry around, but they weren’t as powerful. Omastar were bigger and stronger, but also heavier, and their big shells made it harder for them to move around… But omastar also had their beautiful beaks and striking eyes. Not that omanyte eyes and beaks weren’t pretty as well…

But, in the end, this was his lord. It didn’t matter what form He took. Red would serve Him, no matter what.





“So…” started Helix suddenly, snapping Red out of his daze. “We’re cool then?”

Red chuckled. “We’re always cool, my lord,” he replied, smiling.

Red’s smile soon slipped away, however, as he remembered his situation again. This all had been a lot to take in.

“My lord…” he began, standing up. “I would like to excuse myself now. I’d like to go for a bit of fresh air.”

“Uhh… Go ahead,” said Helix, sounding slightly disorientated.

“Thank you,” said Red, bowed slightly, and left for the hall.





Outside, it was snowing and rather quiet. The noises that could be heard were mostly the swooshing of faraway traffic or winds. The sky was a light shade of gray all around, and the snowflakes were relatively big. The temperature must have been around freezing or a bit above.

Red turned away from the wind and pulled up the hood of his winter coat to prevent the snow from hitting and sticking to his hair.

He really didn’t have to do any of it then, huh? His lord had come to His senses all by Himself. Red really should have had more trust in Him and His judgment.

And omanyte did mature fast, too. Unlike humans. Red sighed through his nose and closed his eyes. When was he going to mature? He couldn’t wait.

Had it really all been for nothing? The seal, the trip to Celadon, the abduction, the forced evolution, all of it? He’d had fun with the inkay, sure, but now it all seemed so pointless…

Was it even all that fun? Why had he even done those things? Why couldn’t he just have waited this all out? He wouldn’t have had to bother with any of this. He wouldn’t have needed to fear getting caught or found out. Any more than usual, that was.

If only he’d realized sooner, way sooner, that all he ever needed to do was wait. Perhaps the first times it wouldn’t have worked, since back then he hadn’t yet had a clear picture of how it all worked - but nowadays, he had no excuse.





He opened his eyes. He felt tired. Not in his limbs or his eyes, but in his spirit. He didn’t want relief anymore, and he’d never wanted regret. He wanted to ignore both of those feelings. He wanted to forget it all.

There was no room behind the bookcase, ShirLee had been drinking last night, and there was no reason for him to be out in the snowfall.





He decided to go back inside.

