title - Parched (also known as, I'm Thirsty and I Will Any Drink You Hand Me)

prompt - orange juice

disclaimer - Self-destructed after you looked away

warning - Out of Character, Angst

notes - This shot is long overdue; I started it last year and just finished it now, people. T-T

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He trudged onward on shaky legs, head turning back every now and then. Time inched slowly, and still no sign of Paula, Jeff, or Poo. Worry gnawed at his guts, his thoughts forming scenario after possible scenario of what became of them. The swamp was wide with no end in sight, and each step dumped out more bits of optimism out of him.

Ness blinked and swallowed a sudden bout of homesickness; being in his own bedroom beat staying stranded here alone. He fought the urge to just collapse where he stood in the murky expanse and give up. His body hurt so bad, mind spent from all the PSI use. He was ready to throw in the towel; however he wasn't too keen about dipping into the swamp.

Despite the burning protest he pushed on. His lack of strength made moving against the already dense terrain so sluggish. Ness sunk a bit into the murky depths, uncertain if he would see the other side. His legs weighed down, tugging him below water…

He gasped as he was yanked underwater. His breathe already limited; he struggled against the hold on his foot, not needing to open his eyes to know what had grabbed him. Anything in this desolate swamp with a hostile air that grabbed him from out of nowhere was an enemy in his book.

Concentrating against the exhaustion he felt, he tried to summon a PSI Rockin' Beta. Any of the higher spells would be too much at this point; too little and he knew the creature wouldn't be fended off. But he was at his breaking point, and just as he imagined the multi-color technique he called his own, it dimmed, breaking away from his grasp. In a spark of panic, he tried envisioning it again. His power sparked powerfully, spreading out before him to his intended target.

The blast was so great, catching even him in the subsequent attack. Despite himself, he cried out inside the water, the PSI burning away at any part of him it could reach, skin and clothes tearing away. The force of the attack pushed him away from whatever threatened him, his body sailing right out of the water. He landed roughly on the harsh land, whatever limited breathe he had leaving him upon impact. He coughed out whatever the heck was in his mouth, wheezing for much needed breathe.

Struggling to his knees, his body lifted up as much as his tired arms could push him up before immediately collapsing afterwards. He moaned, stretched out and incapable of moving after that. Sobs started to erupt from his throat, shaking his body in their effort to be let free. Tears even started to emerge, nothing done to stop them from flowing down.

How long he remained there he didn't know, but when his tantrum faded into silence, he became acutely aware of the general stillness all around. Such a rarity considering the mishaps of the last few hours, and unease swept through his every pore.

He tried to get up again, this time with a little bit more success, until his vision swerved and his limbs locked. He probably lost his balance, falling back into the ground, but his sight did not return to normal. Tears swam in front of his eyes making the vision twist worse. He tried blinking them back, only for them to swirl into the mix.

In his vulnerability, he groped around, trying to find some type of leverage. He dragged his body forward, backward, sideways – he didn't know. Moving around brought no relief, but he was doing something.

Then his hand made contact with – something. At the feel of it, Ness pulled his hand back like it had been stung.

A smooth, cold surface. His sense of touch translated it all with that minimal contact. Still unable to see, he tried to back away, or at least try.

Not even a moment later, something grabbed his hand.

Ness's first reaction was a scream. When nothing else happened in the following minute, he screamed again and again. The grip on his wrist tightens, dragging him towards whatever – whoever – had grabbed him.

His heart clenched, mind rapidly preparing with a PSI Rockin' spell regardless of his exhaustion. Whatever took a hold of him brought him closer to it.

His breathe stilled. His tears had somewhat cleared away, his vision not as deformed as before. And yet he couldn't believe his eyes. He was left as a blubbering mess as he tried to gather his nerves, his thoughts, and his composure. His body refused to obey him at all, enthralled in his shock.

In front of him, his captor grinned.

"Aren't you lost?" His captor laughs, his words like a personal joke to him. Just as quickly as he started, he stopped, a frown replacing the smile.

"You're still following me around."

Ness wanted to speak at that moment. Of course, he was following him around! He wanted to save him. He was still his friend, regardless of everything. He couldn't turn his back to him! He-!

Another laugh, this time sounding far crueler than the last. "Ah, you're such a fool, way in over your head. This path you walk, you realize it's only going to get you killed."

He froze at those words. His bottom lip began to quiver as his captor continues to whisper harsh words to him. All Ness wanted to do was start crying, but he couldn't wrench his eyes from the person in front of him. His other hand twitching at his side, he felt the urge to reach out for him and embrace him just to see if he was real.

But he still held his left hand in a harsh grip – more than enough proof of his authenticity. Behind those blond fringes, he saw a glint of blue, mischievous as always with a mix of ill-intent. It sent a shiver down Ness's spine.

"You're such a twerp. You do know this can get you killed. You're even all alone. How pitiful."

His other hand materialized in sight; that's what it seemed like to Ness. It caressed the side of his face before harshly impacting against his cheek. The boy cried out in pain, the force of the blow sending him back, though the grip his assailant had on him prevented his body from meeting the ground. In fact, the hand tightens further.

"See? You can't even defend yourself at this point." There was something in his voice, like he was happy to see that. "How do you expect to continue?"

Ness started to wheeze, wanting to say anything to prove him wrong, to show him he can do this, to make him stay-

"Here." Was all his companion said. He held something in front of him, but with his cloudy vision he couldn't distinguish it.

He whimpered as the grip on his arm tightens, near ready to break.

"Ness!"

"Ness!"

"Lord Ness!"

His friends called out to him, but they sounded so far away. He opened his mouth to call out to them, a croak slipping out rather than a yell. A dry sob escaped from his mouth as he tried desperately to speak again.

His arm was violently yanked back again. The face of his friend – it looked like a stranger but he could recognize those blue eyes even on skin so pale… The face was mad, a large grin near splitting his face.

He pulled his arm back, a bottle in hand which he brought close to Ness' face. The boy thrashed in the iron grip, but a headlock soon restricted him close to his assailant's body. At some point he stopped moving, drained of energy and his face stilled by a hand on his chin. The pressure of the fingers caused his mouth to hang open, and into it the bottle was shoved in, cool contents sloshing into a parched throat.

Ness choked as some of the substance went to the wrong direction but just as soon as it began, it ended. The bottle was pulled away, the grip around him loosens, and the boy fell to the ground coughing.

He looked up, and took one more look at the assailant, the stranger – his friend.

Below the curtain of bleach hair, the largest of grins was on his face.

He turned and left.

Ness remained on the spot, oblivious of everything – his surroundings, his injuries (or lack thereof), his approaching friends yelling in worry.

It didn't matter then.