Coming...Home, I Guess? [Sins, Mercy]

[Mercy]

Ungh. Jet lag's a bitch.

Mercy trudged down the hallway of her recently-discovered long-lost brother's shitty apartment complex, trying to remember which door belonged to his home. She finally decided, after recognizing the door to the left with the upside-down seven on it.

She stopped in front of the door and rang the buzzer. It was an annoying buzzing sound, and she glanced to it irritably before taking a step back and shifting her weight. She rubbed her tired eyes as she waited for him to open his door.

[sins]

Carter rolled over on his couch as the buzzer ripped through the apartment, tearing him from his meager sleep.

Answer the damned door, Carter! Wrath screamed inside his head as the buzzer rang again. And then kill whoever's there!

I just want to sleep, thought Carter.

Good idea, said Sloth. Great idea.

The buzzer rang again, and Carter half-sat up and looked at the door.

Tell you what, Carter, you let me out, and I'll answer the door for you. You can get all the sleep you want, said Wrath.

Yes, let him. Why should we be bothered? asked Pride.

Carter took a deep breath and mulled it over for a moment, then the buzzer rang once more and broke his thoughts. "Fine," he said aloud. "Go get it." He knew that Wrath wasn't going to just chat with whoever it was, be it a Girl Scout or a Jehovah's Witness, but he was so tired, he couldn't care less - though he really hoped it wasn't a Girl Scout.

Carter relaxed and the duplicates burst forth, manifesting themselves seemingly out of mid-air. Sloth slumped down in the chair beside the couch and almost immediately fell to sleep. Pride crossed his arms over his chest and sneered at Sloth, the walked over to find the television remote. Gluttony made a beeline for the kitchen, with Envy hot on his heels. Lust looked furtively at Wrath as he walked to answer the door, then rushed to the bathroom instead and locked himself in.

Wrath opened the door and smiled widely, doing his best normal person impression. When he found Evie standing there, he grin widened into a one of real joy.

"Evie." He looked over his shoulder, seeing that none of the other Sins, nor Carter, were visible, then he took a step into the hall and closed the door behind him. "Great to see you again."

[Mercy]

Evie's weariness ebbed some as Carter opened the door. Her face broke into a smile. "Hey! Sorry I didn't warn you I was comin', I didn't even know 'till I was halfway here."

She wondered why he came out of the apartment rather than inviting her in, but who knew - maybe he had a ho in there with him. She didn't really know enough about him, not at all. But that was why she'd come back; to get to know her brother.

She stepped back as he shut the door behind him, to give him more space. "I've been all over the world since I left. South fu--" Evie stopped herself, feeling weird cussing around her brother. Which was an odd feeling; she'd never felt inhibited before. And yet it didn't feel annoying at all. "South America. Fo' real."

[sins]

Wrath smiled down at Evie and laughed at her attempts to sound tough or interesting, though he made some effort to seem brotherly and not mocking.

"Fo' real indeed."

He put a hand over her shoulders and ushered her slightly away from the apartment door. Already he could feel the mental tug of Carter's leash on him - the tether allowed little distance to come between them. Guess we'll just have to play in the hallway then.

"So what brings you back here...Evie?" He had almost called her one of the various derogatory terms he referred to women by, but thought better of it at the last second. Tipping his hand so soon would ruin most of the fun...

[Mercy]

Evie, unable to notice anything wrong with things, as she barely knew her brother, let alone his clones, walked with him down the hall. "Well, De--Wade had some, uh, stuff he wanted to do on his own, and we had to stop in New York anyway, so we decided he could keep on goin' and we'd just call and keep in touch."

There was a very short pause before she decided to add to her answer. "And this way we can kick it. Get to know each other."

"I mean, I ain't gotta to live with you. If you don't want me to," she was quick to add. Though it was bullshit; she didn't have a place to live, and she had no way to make enough money for an apartment except go back to working the streets.

[sins]

Wrath made various Mm-hm sounds as she spoke, ushering her further down the dim hallway, not actually listening to what she said at all. He was focused on stetching the already-tight tether that held him close to Carter. Finally, he found he could physically move no farther, and was immediately angered as he looked back at the door and saw he had only been able to take her twenty feet from the apartment. His face creased downwards in a grimace, then quickly changed back into a charming grin.

"And this way we can kick it. Get to know each other."

"Oh, I'd love to get to know you, lil sis," Wrath said, his smile widening. Wrath remembered suddenly, as he shared all of Carter's memories, the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the line - "My, what big teeth you have!" and the wolf's response of "The better to EAT you with!"

He had to restrain himself from screaming that in Evie's face as she continued to blather on. He also slimmed his grin into an understanding smile. Pretending to be boring and normal is extremely tiring, he thought.

"I mean, I ain't gotta to live with you. If you don't want me to."

"Oh, don't worry about it! It won't be a problem at all," he responded. You won't be alive long enough to worry about living arrangements, honey pie.

Wrath took a step towards Evie and held his arms out, motioning for a hug. "It's good to have you here, Evie."

[Mercy]

Evie smiled at Wrath, whom she thought was Carter, as he said it was good to have her there. When she saw that he was motioning for a hug, she moved toward him and went to wrap her arms around him.

She was sliding her arms around his back, just inches from him, when a chilling, deafening screech like nails on a chalkboard sounded from all around them. Evie jerked automatically, her head turning wildly around to see what had caused it.

Over Carter's shoulder stood one of her Senses. Sound. Evie's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Why had one of her clones appeared so suddenly?

In fact, three had formed. Touch had appeared straight in front of the real Carter, within his apartment. The clones could tell which was him, though Evie couldn't. Touch grabbed Carter by the wrist and tugged him roughly and quickly towards the door. Sight had apparated in the corner, and Carter could hear her message, though it was broken and halting, and her voice was dry and raspy, as though she hadn't spoken in a long time. "Wrath. Evie. Not safe."

[sins]

Carter gave a small shout as his wrist was suddenly grabbed and yanked, waking him from his fitful rest. The creature that had pulled it was what really scared him, looking like a twisted version of a young girl, and as it pulled him up from the couch, Sloth woke up.

"Hey...what're you doing?" he asked, looking up at them with bleary eyes.

Pride dropped the remote on the carpet and shot up from his seat, eyeing the creature. He balled his hands into fist, then Carter saw him look past them and he followed Pride's gaze to another monstrous girl, lurking in the corner.

"Wrath. Evie. Not safe," it whispered.

"What?" Carter blurted at her. "Wrath?" He spun around, breaking the first creature's grasp. He saw Pride, who looked to be itching for a fight (probably feeling disgraced by the creature's presence), Sloth, and he could see Gluttony and Envy still in the kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator.

These are Evie's duplicates...that means she's here! And Wrath...and Lust...Oh my God.

"Evie!" Carter shouted, looking around the apartment. The bathroom door opened, and Lust appeared, looking pleased with himself. Carter rushed forward and peered inside, grateful to find the room empty except for the clone.

Evie's clone then tugged his arm again, pulling him...towards the hall. "Evie!" he shouted again as he rushed to the door. Suddenly, he found his arms grabbed from behind, and heard Lust breathing heavy in his ear. Pride strolled up on his left and put a steadying hand on Carter's shoulder as he struggled against Lust's hold.

"What the f-" he began, but Pride clasped a hand over Carter's mouth, tightly holding it shut. Envy approched from the kitchen, spying the commotion and wanting a part in it.

"Quiet, Carter," Pride sneered. "We don't have time for filthy little whelps like her."

"Don't worry, brother," Lust breathed into his ear. "After Wrath kills her and I have some fun with the body, we'll have Gluttony eat her remains. You don't have to worry about a thing."

Carter screamed into Pride's hand, his horror turned into a muffled moan.

[sins]

Wrath jerked back as Evie's clone shrieked in his ear. He snarled and looked between it and her.

"Why is it doing that?" he shouted over the sound.

He balled up his hands into fists and shook one at the clone.

"Shut your fuckin mouth, freak!" He pointed at the creature and looked at Evie. "Make it stop, or I will."

[Mercy]

Evie's bewildered gaze turned from the deformed vision of herself to who she thought was her brother as he lost his temper completely, roaring at her.

A frightening suspicion crept into her mind, growing with each word the young man yelled. She moved back from him, glancing toward the door of Carter's apartment. Her clone fell silent, but did not disappear. She simply watched Wrath with a stern, predatorial gaze.

"You can't touch her," Evie said frankly. "'Cause you ain't real. You're one of Carter's clones, ain'tchu? The one that tries to be hard all the time."

[sins]

"You can't touch her, 'cause you ain't real. You're one of Carter's clones, ain'tchu? The one that tries to be hard all the time."

Wrath's frown slipped from his face. He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand, his mouth then forming a small open-mouthed smile.

"You got me, girl, you got me," he laughed as he put up his hands. "You're wrong about one thing, though." He winked at her.

His right hand shot forward, snatching Evie's throat and holding it tight.

"I'm very fucking real."

[Mercy]

Evie tried to dodge away from his hand, but he moved too quickly, and she wasn't ready for the attack. She let out a strangled cry as his hand closed around her neck. It was then that she realized what she hadn't been sure of, hadn't had time to wonder. Carter's clones and her clones couldn't touch each other, but his clones could touch her.

She drew a breath as best she could - a shallow and ragged breath - and gave the loudest scream she could. It wasn't very loud at all, with his fingers squeezing her throat closed. As she was rammed back into the wall by the sheer force of his arm, her hands shot out and shoved at his chest - with little success. She was about to give up, though. She knew how to fight.

First, the cheap shot. She knew a guy's weakest point, and if she could get him down with one hit, it'd be the cleanest and fastest way to get away from him. She lifted her knee, putting all of her shock and anger behind it. She glared straight into his eyes as she took her shot.

[sins]

Agonizing pain ripped through Wrath's groin, sending shocks through his stomach, chest, and legs. He never minded a bit of pain, always loved the way his knuckles busted open when he was pounding into someone's flesh and bones, or when the pistol slide bit his hand just behind the thumb, cutting a piece of flesh from his hand and sending a trickle of blood and gunpowder running down his wrist.

But the pain he felt now wasn't like any of that, not at all. His muscles weakened and quivered throughout his body, and try as he might, his grip was loosening around the bitch's neck.

With furious eyes and his teeth bared, Wrath let out a moan, released Evie's neck, and fell to the floor.

[Mercy]

As soon as he started to fall, Evie darted to the left down the hall, toward Carter's door. She stopped and hovered after a few steps, though; the odd tendency that sometimes falls on someone in immediate danger. Seeing that he was definently down for the count, Evie took a step back toward him and kicked him hard in the shoulder. She would have been better to have left it and run for Carter's door, but she had taken on a bit of the attitude of the hood having lived in it for so long - nobody fucked with her and got away with it.

After landing a sharp kick straight to his shoulder, she turned and made for Carter's door. She furiously tried to turn the knob when she reached it and found that it didn't budge. The door was locked. She pounded on it with the palm of her hand. "Carter!!! Carter!" Anxiously, she looked down the hall to where Wrath lay. If he started to move toward her, she'd get her ass out of that apartment building as fast as she could and call Carter when she got far enough away.

[sins]

Wrath tried to stand as Evie came back towards him, intent on throttling her until her head snapped off. But the pain in his groin was not subsiding, and a subsequent kick from the bitch sent him crashing onto his back.

"I'm gonna hurt you so bad, whore," he groaned out as she ran back to Carter's apartment.

On the other side of the wall, Carter struggled against the dupe's hold. He thrashed from side to side, but he couldn't break free. With Envy and Lust holding him tight, and Pride standing by, he didn't stand a chance - they were clearly as strong as him, if not stronger.

Suddenly, Evie pounded on his door and screamed his name. She sounded more frightened than in pain, and for that he was thankful. Gluttony moved from the kitchen towards the door, licking his lips. He threw a glance towards Pride, who nodded.

When his attention was turned, Carter leaned back, gaining a fraction of freedom from Pride's hand over his mouth, then lunged forward and bit into Pride's fingers, his teeth shredding the thin skin and colliding with the bones.

Pride howled and grabbed his hand away, tears welling in his eyes.

"Evie, get away from the door now! Get out of here!" Carter screamed.

Greed rushed forward and pounded Carter in the mouth with his fist. "Shut up! You're always ruining everything!" the Sin shouted at him.

Carter's head hung low, his body suspended by Lust and Envy, his blurred thoughts holding out the thin hope that his sister could get away.

[sins]

Wrath pushed himself up off the floor, his crotch and thighs throbbing with sharp pain. Standing felt like he had knives jammed through his genitals, but his hatred burned far stronger.

With a burst of energy, Wrath sprung from his crouched position like a sprinter, blowing past the girl's demented clone.

As he reached her, her back still turned to him, he grabbed for her throat once more while keeping his other hand low, protecting his wounded groin.

"You just done about the dumbest thing of your life, sugar."

[Mercy]

Mercy backed away from the door as she heard her brother's command, her head turning wildly to see--

--to see Wrath reaching out for her neck.

She started to swing at him, but he caught her neck first. She rerouted her arm for his stomach, aiming underneath his arm even as the force of his speed sent them both stumbling away from the door. But her hit didn't have much speed behind it, and probably would barely be noticed. She let out a strangled cry as her shoulder hit a wall, and both of her hands lifted to fight back.

Her hands went for his face, palms out. Her nails latched onto his cheeks just below his eyes, and she dug them in as hard as she could. She began to pull down, her intention being to claw chunk out of his skin. fingers clawed at his skin as she tried to get a solid hold, and as she panicked as he squeezed her throat. Her fingers clawed their way up, until she started to attack his eyes, which would force him to shut them and hopefully loosen his hold on her neck.