A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Stables: Part Three
Part Two
Just when all hope seemed to be lost, Victoria and Ashlee reappear. It's just after lunchtime when Patrick spots them first. They're a sight for sore eyes and Patrick immediately runs forward, ignoring everyone else. He practically tackles Victoria as he engulfs her into a hug. Pete is only slightly jealous at this, but it wears off quickly when he spots Ashlee not too far behind. She's smiling coyly and beckoning him closer. Pete can't say no to that.
"So you two made it back," says Pete, running the rest of the way before following Patrick's suit with the bear hug. "I was beginning to think we'd have to rescue you."
"You know, Peter, we may be girls, but we're quite capable of taking care of ourselves," Ashlee replies, poking him in the ribs. "Also, he let us go. Victoria's not convinced, but I am. He had to have known what we're capable of."
"And what exactly are you capable of?" It's Patrick who asks this. "Because while I have a general idea, the lady Greta didn't tell us too much."
"Teleported, just like you did to keep from falling onto the ground that night," Victoria whispers, glancing around just in case there happen to be any prying eyes and ears around.
"So where were you guys anyway?" Pete asks curiously. "Greta really didn't tell us much other than, hello, mystical beings trying to take over the world and we're the only ones that can stop them. Oh and something about weapons and working together and you teleporting back here."
"Right…" Ashlee replies, blinking. "There was a lair somewhere on this camp. That's where Gabe took us. Only it wasn't Gabe. He's been calling himself King Cobra. I don't think Gabe knows what's happening; his body's just a vessel or something. It's confusing, I know."
"That's just a little creepy," Patrick mumbles, letting go of Victoria and brushing himself off casually. "So if Gabe's not in control of his actions then we're going to need to do something to prevent Gabe from dying. Maybe that's what Greta was talking about. That we couldn't kill Gabe?"
"Probably," Pete mutters, seemingly lost in thought. The others pick up on this since they can hear exactly what he's thinking.
"Dude, we're not going to let Gabe die," Patrick reassures him. "He's your friend, he can't help what he's doing. He may be an asshole, but he doesn't deserve to be killed."
"Well, I'm glad we got that covered then," Pete replies, glancing over at Patrick. He has a small smile on his face, but Patrick isn't convinced that he's completely satisfied.
"Well, you told us that Gabe kidnapped you and brought you to this lair. What else happened? Did he tell you anything? Taunt or hurt you?" Patrick asks, trying to gauge how soon they'll need to rally their forces.
"He just tied us up. He didn't hurt us. He didn't tell us anything. It was really weird," Victoria replies, furrowing her eyebrows. "It's almost as if he led us there because he wanted us to know where his lair was. Like he never had any intentions of doing anything with us."
"We'll have to ask Greta about that later," Patrick replies with a shrug. He glances at Pete, who seems to be a little more jittery than usual. It's making him nervous and making him feel like he should be on edge and more alert than he already is.
"Speaking of Greta," says Pete, glancing at the two girls. "She wants to see you two to give you your weapons."
"Who is this Greta person?" Ashlee asks, raising an eyebrow. She seems skeptical; Pete doesn't blame her. Greta makes him a little anxious, knowing that she just appeared out of nowhere. He doesn't really trust her, but she gave them weapons, so it couldn't be a completely bad situation.
"She's like…a spirit I guess? A spirit witch from years ago. She came to tell us of a battle that she was involved in and how the battle would be revived and we are the ones expected to save the world from almost certain enslavement and destruction. She gave us some weapons to help aid us. Oh yeah we are descendants from the heroes of this battle. I think that just about sums it up, yeah 'Trick?"
Patrick rolls his eyes at the tone that Pete uses. He doesn't like the situation anymore than Pete does, but he tries not to let it show. He supposes he's sort of like the leader of their group, which is weird considering he's the last person that should be leading anyone into anything. And yet, here he was, trying to be the glue of this team.
"Yeah, that's about right," Patrick agrees with a sigh. "We'll have to go by the meeting spot tonight. Maybe after dinner, pretend we're going for a ride?"
"Yes, that sounds good," Victoria replies, glancing over at Ashlee. The two share a smile and then glance over to the boys. "Be careful, you two. King Cobra made it clear he was after you two next. But with you already figuring out your abilities, the teleporting and stuff? You were a little bit harder to catch."
"The snakes," Patrick murmurs, remembering the incident at the loft. Had they not figured out how to teleport away, they would have been captured along with Victoria and Ashlee. "Well, we'll keep our eyes peeled. Nothing will slip past us."
"I sure hope so. I don't want to find out that either of you got captured. This time, I don't think King Cobra wants to let any of us go. He gave us our chance; he wouldn't give us another one.” Ashlee sighs as she moves back over to Victoria, almost shimmying tiredly.
"Which makes me very confused,” Victoria picks up after Ashlee trails off. "Why would he want to let us go? What is the point of letting us slip away if he knew we would be able to teleport?"
"It's a game," Pete pipes up, clenching his jaw tightly. "Like a game of cat and mouse. He likes the hunt, and it's no fun if we're caught easily."
"The Cobra likes a challenge," Patrick agrees with a firm nod. "Well, we'll give him a challenge. King Cobra will not see this one coming."
"So, dinner, right? We'll meet at the same place and you can take us to the hiding place?" Ashlee asks, her hand reaching for Victoria's. Patrick notices this and can't help but smile. At least one good thing came out of this.
"Dinner, same meeting place. We mustn't be a minute too late. I don't think we're going to be given much time to prepare for King Cobra's next move. I'm sure he suspects something's afoot," states Patrick, glancing around. "Good luck and uh, have fun?" He shrugs as he feels Pete's hand take his, as if he happened to be competing with Victoria and Ashlee. He wouldn't put it past Pete at this point.
"See you then. And Pete?" Victoria turns her attention to him. "If you hurt him, I swear, I will kick your ass."
The frightened look on Pete's face has Patrick snorting and he punches Pete's shoulder as he guides him away and to their next activity. The good cheer only lasts for a little while, though, as the thought of impending doom comes back to Patrick's mind. He's not sure they'll win this battle. He knows they'll do all they can do, but his pessimistic half is starting to take over. He squeezes Pete's hand, hoping beyond hope that they can pull something off. They just might need a miracle at this point.
"We're gonna make it, you know," Pete murmurs, looking down at his shoes. "I don't do this that often, but I have this feeling. I mean, between Greta, the weapons, our abilities, and having Victoria and Ashlee back. I think we might have a shot."
"Yeah," Patrick mutters, looking over at Pete. He feels Pete's fear and swallows thickly. He's not too sure he believes what Pete says, but he knows that Pete's words are genuine. He feels connected to the other boy, like he can't tell where he ends and where Pete begins. It's the most peculiar feeling, but it's what keeps Patrick sane, somehow. It's what holds Patrick together. "I hope so. We're the world's only hope."
"We'll do it. I know we will," Pete whispers, but his words fall on ears that aren't listening. Patrick's head is too consumed with his own thoughts, and as they make their way to the pool for the afternoon's free swim, the two boys try to push all ill thoughts away so they can at least attempt to enjoy themselves.
…
As soon as dinner is finished, the foursome meet outside of Ring C, their usual spot. They say nothing, and Patrick reaches out with his thoughts to make sure no one else is out there. He can't feel anybody, so he supposes that's good enough. He would feel someone's emotions if they were out there.
"Clear as can be," he murmurs as he starts leading them to the site where they had met the lady Greta before. He can feel the most pure fear coming from all three of the others, and he knows he has his own to worry about. He's just trying not to show it, for everyone's sake.
"This it?" Victoria asks, her hands stuck in her jean pockets. "Not much of a lake, is it? More like a pond, I guess."
Just when they thought they were alone, out emerges the lady wrapped in a glowing white once again. Patrick and Pete expected her, so they don't show quite as much awe as the girls. Ashlee in particular has her mouth dropped open in surprise, falling backwards and holding herself partially upright with one hand.
"I am the lady Greta. No need to be alarmed, my children.” Her voice is like tiny little bells, soothing their worries until they wash away and are replaced with courage.
"We did as you asked, my lady.” Patrick bows his head out of respect and glances over at Pete, who seems to be showing jealousy once again. Patrick simply shakes his head.
"I see. It is nice to finally meet you, miss Asher, miss Simpson." The two girls watch Greta with some interest, still clearly skeptical, but Ashlee is the first to speak and to ignore the worries that seem to be creeping up under her skin.
"Patrick and Peter tell us you knew we were going to teleport out. And that you have weapons? That there's a battle brewing? Is this true?" she asks with considerable interest in her voice.
"That is true," Greta replies, stepping forward, the light bathing her, making her look almost ghostlike. "I knew that you were going to learn to teleport because I have foreseen it. I have foreseen the battle and that is why I'm equipping you now. You two need weapons, if you'll be defending this world."
"Weapons? What kind of weapons?" asks Victoria, her arms crossed against her chest in an almost threatening fashion. "Because I'm not sure how we're going to be able to learn how to fight in time. How are we going to become the fighters you're looking for? How can we defend this world when we've never fought before in our lives?"
"I have to say," Pete speaks up, glancing over at Victoria. "I thought the same thing but I was able to pick up archery pretty quickly. You might find the same thing. It's almost like we were born with this knowledge."
"What Pete says is true. The weapon, when you hold it, speaks to you and helps you use it. It wants you to win.” Greta turns to Victoria first and smiles at her, sashaying until she is standing right in front of her. "You, first. Tell me, Miss Asher. Do you think you will feel more confident with these in your hands?" She pulls out a pair of sai, daggers with two prongs protruding from the handles.
Victoria's mouth opens in surprise as she accepts the weapon and holds them in her hands. She looks up at Greta and simply smiles as she takes a step back. It's like she knows now; she knows everything she has to do in order to control them, to make them work.
"And what about me?" Ashlee asks with a pout, her hips jutting out to one side. Pete chuckles to himself and Patrick just rolls his eyes, mainly at Pete's reaction than anything else.
"I saved you the best for last," Greta replies as she makes her way to Ashlee, who bows her head out of respect. "Many who have been bestowed with this weapon underestimate its potential. But it takes a smart and strong person to understand its power and to use it well. I shall give you a quarterstaff and I trust that you will use it wisely.” She hands Ashlee the weapon made of wood. On the tips are metal spikes, though the weapon is too thick to be used a spear. It's more useful as a blunt object or a thrusting weapon.
"A quarterstaff," Ashlee repeats, staring at the hunk of wood before taking it and twirling it in one hand. She has done baton twirling before, but a quarterstaff is just a bit different than a baton. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be trusted with a sword.” she smirks as she holds the quarterstaff so that one of the spikes digs into the ground.
"Forgive me for changing the subject, my lady," Patrick pipes up, glancing over at Ashlee briefly before his eyes move back to the spirit before them. "But I was wondering if you know when exactly the battle is taking place?"
"You will know," Greta replies mysteriously. "I will tell you this much, though. It will happen before you leave this campsite to return to your normal lives. Keep your wits about you, my children. You will need them if King Cobra is to be stopped. And remember. You cannot kill Gabe. Gabe is not King Cobra; his body is only being used to house the spirit. You must find a way to eliminate the spirit without killing the body or you will be no better than the Cobra himself."
"It's a pity you can't fight with us, Greta," Pete mutters, moving close to Patrick and wrapping a protective arm around him. Patrick simply rolls his eyes as he leans close to Pete. One of these days, he will make sure Pete knows he's attached to Patrick but that doesn't mean he won't make starry eyes to the occasional pretty girl.
"Don't worry, young Peter. Just because I won't physically be fighting alongside your side doesn't mean I won't be present. I think you'll find I work in mysterious ways." She smiles as she sidles her way back to the pond, preparing to make her descent once again. "Now, if you don't need me for anything else, I must depart."
"I think that'll be all.” Patrick smiles as he watches her sink back into the water, the surface bubbling until all that remains is just a ripple effect. "Well, I guess we ought to put their weapons with the rest."
"Probably a good idea. I just hope that when this battle happens, it'll be easy to retrieve them. I don't want to find out that we'll have no time to teleport back to get the weapons and end up fucking ourselves over," Pete mumbles pessimistically. Patrick punches his shoulder in retaliation.
"Well if all else fails one of us can distract King Cobra and the rest go to retrieve the weapons. They're not exactly heavy to the point where someone couldn't hold two of them," Patrick suggests with a shrug. "Let's get some sleep after this, though. We're gonna need to regain all of our strength to defeat this Cobra guy."
Victoria places a hand on Pete's shoulder, silencing him from speaking. "Pete, we'll be fine. Just let's drop these off before we waste more time arguing or discussing the best way to go about this."
Pete shuts up and looks glumly at his shoes before nodding. "In that case, do you three want to go move the weapons while I get back to the camp? I need to check in with Bob or he'll kick my ass and have me fired."
Patrick nods and ushers Victoria and Ashlee forward. Repeating the trick he learned with Pete, he helps the girls teleport to the island and shows them to the hiding place where they hid their weapons before. Thankful that they were still there, he helps them bury the weapons and takes them back to camp.
"Do you think we'll survive this?" Victoria asks as they walk back to camp.
"I don't know. But it's not like we have a choice. It's either kill or be killed trying," he replies, glancing up at Victoria. "I would rather die in battle than live as a coward that ran away."
"I know," she answers with a sigh. "I hope we survive. But if not, just know that I love you guys?" She smiles weakly, wrapping her arms around Patrick's and Ashlee's waists.
"I love you both, too," Patrick replies, grinning as he glances over at Ashlee as well. "And I'm sure Pete would say the same, were he here. Now let's get to sleep. We need to be in tip-top shape if we want to stand a chance in this battle."
"Night, Patrick. And tell Pete good night for me, too," Ashlee states, tugging Victoria along as they break off for their own cabin.
Patrick sighs as he watches them walk off into the night. He slips into the cabin, happily going right to bed. Pete eyes him with narrowed eyes but Patrick just shrugs it off. He'll show Pete that he has nothing to worry about after this battle is over. Assuming they survive the battle, of course.
But first, he needs to sleep. And sleep he does, with no dreams or nightmares infiltrating his consciousness. And when he wakes, he knows that he feels recharged and energized. Which is good, because he has the funniest feeling, like the battle might take place very, very soon.
…
The dawn of the day of reckoning falls upon a Tuesday. Patrick doesn't explicitly believe in omens, but there is a sort of feeling surrounding all four of them as they eat breakfast. It's as if they know what's about to come. And the fact that it happens to be raining out, keeping everyone inside for the day and partaking only in indoor activities, has Pete suspecting the worst. Clearly this was set up so that the four of them could slip out unnoticed and no one would even have the slightest idea that the battle happened to be brewing around them.
"We should get the weapons around lunchtime. The Cobra, I suspect, will wait until nightfall, but I don't want to take any chances. If he does try to take us by surprise, we will want to be prepared," Patrick discusses in a hushed voice. "In any case, we can teleport to gather them between arts and crafts and lunch. Everyone will be on their way to the cafeteria and we can sneak out while they're preoccupied."
"Do we have a strategy?" Pete asks, his gut wrenching in anticipation for the battle to come. He doesn't have a good feeling at all about this. The Cobra won't fight fair; how will they ever expect to win?
"It'll be four of us against him and whatever army he has. We'll want to destroy his army first and then take care of him. We can't kill Gabe, so we'll have to injure him. Weaken him so we can force the spirit out. He can't be very strong if he requires a human vessel," Victoria explains, looking around as if to make sure no one is eavesdropping.
"Don't underestimate him," Ashlee advises, looking over at Victoria and sliding her manicured hand over Victoria's plainer one. "He would like us to believe he is weak, but I do not think he is to be taken lightly."
"Ashlee's right," Patrick agrees, chewing on his lip. "We don't know anything about his power and what he's capable of. It could be a trap. He could be trying to make us believe that he's a weakling but if that were the case then Greta would not have called upon us to help. I think he might be stronger than he's letting on so far. I mean, he's already conjured up those snakes and he's captured the both of you."
"True." Victoria rolls her eyes and sighs as she considers this situation. "Then we ought to treat him like a true villain. We'll need to find his weakness and exploit it, all the while wearing him and his army down."
"That sounds like the plan we'll have to go by," Pete nods, looking over at Patrick. There is no smile on Pete's face and Patrick catches this, frowning gently. "I've gotta jet though. I'll meet you guys on the island. Stupid counselor-ing business."
Patrick watches as Pete gets up and makes his way for the exit of the cafeteria. He feels something, perhaps a jolt from Pete's emotions or his thoughts, and wonders what this is all about. He'll have to confront Pete about it later. If there is to be a later, of course.
"I'll see you, okay?" Victoria is the next to get up, looking over at Patrick with a grim look on her face. "I promised Nate I'd help him with the horse he's taking care of before first period and I'm running late."
Patrick sighs as he looks down at the table. Then he feels Ashlee's hand on his shoulder and so he looks up, puzzled. He can't remember Ashlee ever touching him before.
"Pete's worried," she says simply. "He thinks we're not going to get through this. He's worried about you, though. He doesn't want to let you know that he's scared. He's terrified that he won't ever get to see you again, kiss you again, but he doesn't want you to know because then you'll worry." She moves around the table so that she's sitting next to Patrick. "You need to be strong, Patrick. He needs you now more than ever."
Patrick is stunned by all of this. He thought for sure Pete would be the strongest of all of them. He's like titanium and Patrick can't imagine ever feeling like Pete could possibly fall apart with terror.
"I'll be strong." He nods as he looks over at Ashlee, a sad smile on his lips. "And you be strong for Victoria. She's a feisty girl, but she's still fragile." He places his hand over hers that still happens to be sitting on his shoulder.
"I know," Ashlee replies, sharing in his sad smile. "You hang in there, kiddo," she smirks before blowing him a kiss and making her way out of the cafeteria.
Patrick sighs as he makes his way out of the cafeteria, pausing at the door to look back at all of the people sitting and still eating. They have no idea what is about to happen. He has no idea if he'll even see half these people again, but Patrick fights to keep the pessimism deep below the surface. He knows his survival - all of their survival - depends on Patrick keeping his wits about him.
As Patrick makes his way across the camp to arts & crafts, he knows that time is running out. He doesn't know exactly how he knows, but he does know that he needs to do something. Two more hours, he thinks to himself as he clenches his fists. Two more hours before he reclaims the camp as his own - as their own. He isn't about to let some spirit take away everything he loved from him. Not now, after he came so far from being terrified of riding to climbing right back in the saddle.
With just minutes to spare, Patrick knows that he has to win. He will do everything to ensure that they win because he is not letting everything he holds dear disappear. Even if it means sacrificing himself. He spots the others as he makes this decision and smiles wryly; it's now or never.
"Shall we do this?" Patrick asks, glancing to the other three. It's as if they know exactly what is about to happen. The sun is peeking through the clouds, just enough to give them some hope. Perhaps, Patrick thinks to himself, they aren't so hopeless after all.
"I don't think we have another choice," Pete replies quietly, closing his eyes and nodding. Patrick frowns, remembering Ashlee's words, and prays silently that this will all work out to their advantage. "Hey Patrick?"
Patrick looks up from the ground, his hands folded at his sides as he tries to focus himself so he can teleport with the others. "Yeah, Pete?" He has gotten so used to practically knowing what Pete is about to say before he says it that he almost forgot what it's like not to anticipate Pete's thoughts.
I love you. The thought is transmitted into Patrick's mind so that only he can hear it. Patrick can't help blushing when he realizes that neither Ashlee nor Victoria heard what he thought. A smile cracks through his lips and he breaks concentration so that he can jump forward and wrap his arms around Pete, holding him tightly.
"I love you, too, you know," he whispers, pressing his lips to Pete's. "And we'd better win today because after this, I'm going to love you every single fucking day." He doesn't even realize there are tears until they hit Pete's shoulder and Pete brings a hand up to wipe the tears away.
"Don't cry," Pete says out loud. "We're gonna make it. I fucking know it." Patrick feels a wave of uneasiness, but something in Pete's voice makes him believe it.
"Hey, we better hurry," Victoria urges in a hushed voice. "We're not going to have much more time, I don't think. The sky is getting dark again."
Patrick looks up to notice that dark thunderclouds are indeed rolling in, signaling that they will probably be fighting in the rain. That would certainly take the advantage away from them, that's for sure.
"Let's do this. Let's kick some Cobra ass." Ashlee's enthusiasm brought a little bit more hope, as if they aren't about to meet almost uncertain doom in the face of the King Cobra.
Without another word, Patrick gathers the foursome into a circle and the each place their palms in the air so they would touch. They concentrate on that island Patrick had first teleported to and when they open their eyes, they're standing in the sand, cool wind on their face.
"If only we could just spend the day here, pretend that the Cobra isn't about to wage ware," Victoria mumbles with a sigh. She grabs her weapons, staring at the twin daggers with worry etched on her face. Patrick can feel the anxiety and wants to do something, anything to calm her down.
It's Ashlee that calms her down, though. She wraps her arms around Victoria and leans her head on Victoria's shoulder. "Hey, buttercup. We're going to get through this. And then you and me, we're gonna go out for a night on the town."
Victoria smiles gratefully when Ashlee snaps her out of that. She leans back against Ashlee, letting herself become calm again. She doesn't believe they will win this, but she knows they will give it the best shot they can.
"Alright, guys, this is it. This is the moment we've been preparing for. Now, we might not make it out alive, but you can sure as hell bet we're not going down without a fight. If we can't make it out alive, then maybe we can at least bring the Cobra down in the process. Now let's go back there and deliver the battle to end all battles. Let's kick some fucking Cobra ass." With Patrick's last words, each of them grabs their weapons and let out a shout that's so loud surely someone must have heard.
They teleport back to the campsite just in time to see rain start to fall. They know that it's just a matter of time before King Cobra appears and challenges them, but they're prepared. And Patrick isn't going to let the Cobra leave this battlefield alive if he has anything to say about it.
"Hey, what's that?" It's Pete that points out the figures in the distance, coming closer. It's not Gabe, or any of Gabe's minions. As the figures grow closer, the shape becomes clearer, until there's no mistake; four of the horses from the camp were let loose and were headed straight for them.
"Looks like we have some company," Patrick muses, and his eyes bulge as he realizes what horse is approaching him. It's the same horse he rode the first time he fell off and almost swore never to ride again. It's almost fitting that this is the horse he'll be riding right now. That he will be staring his fears down - all of them - and conquering them.
"I think we're gonna need them," Victoria squeaks as she takes a hold of one of the horses - Eclipse - and starts preparing to mount her. "Look. Our enemy approacheth."
Just as ominous as the storm clouds have been, so is the approaching of the enemy: Gabe Saporta flanked on both sides by an army of snakes. Not just your average run-of-the-mil garden variety, of course. Cobras, pythons, even a huge fucking anaconda. They are severely outnumbered, but that's not going to stop them. They have the advantage when it comes to power, of course.
"Just because he can control snakes doesn't make him better than us. C'mon guys, let's show this snake who's boss." Pete smirks, winking over at Patrick. He's the next to mount his horse, followed next by Ashlee. Patrick is the last to mount his horse, deciding that now's the best time to overcome his original fear. Suddenly, falling off a horse seems to pale in comparison to dying in battle.
"This is it," Patrick whispers. "For Rigby's," he continues, a little louder. He looks to both his sides, seeing his friends holding onto the reins and adjusting the stirrups. "Let's do this."
Barely a second lapses between Patrick's command and the attack. As soon as the horses are jolted into a canter, the snakes rush forward, commanded by the great King Cobra. Patrick reminds himself not to kill Gabe; that Gabe is a separate entity. He focuses on the snakes, cutting them down with his blade.
Victoria sits most of the battle out. She watches as Patrick slices snakes and Pete uses his bow and arrow to target and shoot down his own snakes. Ashlee uses her quarterstaff almost as a spear. But her pair of sai doesn't make for a very effective long-range weapon, especially on horseback.
"Fuck this," she mutters, dismounting her horse and taking the snakes on by foot. It's not easy, by any means, but it's much better than sitting around and watching the other three do all the work.
Snake after snake after snake gets stabbed, sliced in half, and disappears. It seems like a victory is about to occur, when-
"Fuck!" Pete cries out, his horse rearing when the anaconda targets him, sending him flying onto the ground. A rattlesnake slithers toward him and Pete's eyes widen, trying to pull himself up so he can get out of there. Only, he sprained his ankle in the fall, and can't possible get away fast enough. The snake bites him.
It's as if Patrick's watching in slow motion. First, Pete getting knocked off the horse, then the rattlesnake biting him. His first instinct is to forget about the battle and tend to Pete. But Ashlee cuts in front of him before he can do anything. She stabs the anaconda, realizing that it'll need much more than that to disappear.
"He'll be alright. We need to focus on the snakes though. Worry about the snakes." She doesn't waste another word and she charges towards Victoria, trying to help keep the snakes from surrounding her.
Patrick knows she's right, but he can't help but focus on Pete right now. The bite wouldn't kill Pete instantly; in fact, it would take a while for the poison to do any major damage. He would have to leave Pete be for now and try to win the fight on his own. At least he still has Ashlee and Victoria.
Snake after snake goes down, leaving the King Cobra without a minion to order. Patrick, Ashlee dismount from their horses and Victoria steps forward. Pete looks up from his position on the ground, trying to muster the last bit of energy that he could to help his friends against their enemy.
"It is so good to finally meet you, all of you. I assume the lady Greta has told you about me?" the voice sounds like Gabe's, but they all know it's not Gabe that's speaking. Gabe hasn't been in control for far too long.
"Yes, King Cobra," Patrick speaks, stepping forward, trying to stop focusing on Pete and his injury. "She's told us all about you."
"Go ahead then," he beckons, smiling his slithery smile. "Kill me. If you've got the guts."
"We're not stupid," Ashlee spats with a roll of her eyes. "We'll kill you, alright. But we're not taking Gabe with you."
He sneers, his eyes darkening as he unsheathes his sword, pointing it towards the foursome. "Well then. I suppose you'll just have to die. There is no way to get rid of me without getting rid of your poor pathetic friend as well."
It's Victoria's turn to speak, and she steps forward, in front of all of them - even Patrick - to make herself visible. "That is what you'd like us to believe, wouldn't it? That's why you tried to get us to hate you, to hate Gabe. So that we'd kill him and become just as bad as you. Well you seriously must have underestimated us, Cobra, 'cause we're not idiots."
She pulls out her sai and walks gracefully up to the Cobra. Ashlee steps forward to help her, but Patrick holds her back.
"This is between her and the Cobra," he whispers, looking up to Ashlee. "Let's let them be."
Ashlee nods, confused, but lets Victoria face him alone. She knows that Victoria has a lot of strength and cunning, and also knows that she can save her if it comes to that.
"Ah, so you wish to face me alone? Are you sure that's a wise move, child?" he asks, a menacing grin upon his lips.
"Perhaps not my wisest move, but it's the only one I know," she replies. Before the Cobra can make another wiseass comment, she strikes, charging forward and faces off against him. Patrick watches tensely from the sidelines, impressed with Victoria's ability to teleport at whim to avoid attack. He's also impressed with the Cobra's ability to dodge all of her attacks as well. They seem almost equally matched.
Until of course Victoria surprises Gabe by teleporting exactly where he had just attacked instead of right behind him. She stabs the Cobra - and Gabe - in the shoulder so that she would only injure Gabe, but not seriously enough to do any major harm.
"Leave this innocent human at once, King Cobra," she commands. "I am calling you out. Show your true self and stop being such a coward."
"You truly are a stupid human," he replies, his eyes flashing darkly as he stretches his arms up to the sky. "But if you truly wish to see whom you are fighting up against, then so be it." Without another word, Gabe collapses to the ground as a swirl of smoke comes from his body. The smoke starts to take the form of a snake - a cobra - bigger than anything all four of them could ever have imagined.
"Oh…" Victoria mutters, her eyes widening in fear.
"Crap…" Patrick finishes for her, biting his lip, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. This is going to take a lot more than their weapons and strength.
"We can do this," Ashlee insists, glancing to Patrick and Victoria. "We need to work together, though. We can't do this unless we all work together."
Patrick is unsure if they actually have the power to take care of King Cobra now. It was much more realistic when the Cobra was in Gabe's body, but now, this beast looks like it'd easily kill the four of them without any sort of problem. Still, Patrick knows they need to try.
"Alright, this is the plan," he whispers, urging them to come into a huddle near Pete, who, although he is injured, still insists on being included in this plan. "Whenever the Cobra comes near enough to you to hurt you, get out of the way. Either physically jump away or teleport. We need to keep teleporting to make him dizzy. He cannot keep track of all of us. We're going to need one of us to distract him so that the other three can take him down. We need to target his weak spot."
"What is his weak spot?" Ashlee asks, looking up at the King Cobra that is still growing and taking shape. "I mean, that's one fucking huge cobra. We're gonna have a hard time figuring out its Achilles heel."
"Trust me, I know. But we need to figure it out somehow. There's gotta be a soft spot on its inside that we can get it to reveal. Eventually we just have to wear it down until we can sever its head off or something."
"I think I have an idea," Pete states, smirking as he glances over at Gabe. "It's a long shot but I think I may be able to pull something off."
Patrick looks skeptically over at Pete, but at this point he knows that he needs something to keep them from letting themselves be cobra food. Especially now that it seems that the Cobra has completely formed.
"Gabe's a bit of a cobra freak. He's studied them and even claims he's spoken to one or something. Don't ask me, that's not the point. The point is I think I might know a cobra's weakness."
Patrick looks at Pete and his eyes widen as he contemplates this idea. The only thing he isn't sure about is whether Pete is strong enough to take this guy on. He's injured, the poison still lingering in his body. Patrick doesn't want the damage to end up being irreversible.
"Do what you think we need to do. I'm willing to go with your plan. It's the only one we've got," he replies, looking up at the Cobra that is now starting to move towards them. "We've gotta do this now before he can get to us."
"Alright, this is what we have to do…"
Pete explains the plan to the three of them and they do exactly what Patrick suggested, which was to make the Cobra practically dizzy with the quick teleportations. They took turns teleporting away, almost teasing the Cobra.
The Cobra's scaly skin was too thick for their weapons to really pierce them, but Pete knows that if he has the chance, he can slice the Cobra's head off using Patrick's sword. It's their only option. But in order to slice it off, he's going to need to teleport close enough to use the blade to chop it off.
Pete nods at Patrick and watches as Patrick teleports close enough to give him the sword. Pete gives him the bow and arrows in case he needs some form of defense. He's not about to let Patrick die because he has no weapon. As the Cobra is coming towards Pete, he teleports so that he's falling onto the Cobra's neck, by the flaps in its skin. He wraps his injured leg and his uninjured leg a round the Cobra, using the sword almost like a saw.
"This is for Gabe," he grunt as he starts moving the sword back and forth, working as quickly as he can to make sure that the sword can fully sever its head. It's taking far too long and the other three try to distract it from Pete's actions, to keep its attention on them, but the Cobra isn't taking their bait.
It tries to rear Pete off, but Pete's rooted securely to its back. Pete is about halfway done when it uses its tail to try and flick Pete off. The sword is still nestled into its interior and so Pete falls to the ground with the sword still embedded halfway inside. Pete lets out a loud shout, the fall not killing him if only because Patrick slowed down his descent through telekinesis. He's too far away and the arrow that he shoots misses. The Cobra descends upon Pete.
"No!" Patrick shouts, watching the Cobra try and take Pete as its prey, and neither Ashlee nor Victoria can get there in time - not even with teleporting, since try as they might, they can't teleport right now. They teleported too much and used up too much psychic energy. Patrick knows what he must do.
He needs to muster up the last bit of energy and hightail it to where Pete is. He rushes forward, running as fast as he possibly can and almost does a baseball slide, pushing Pete out of the way. He barely gets there in time, and in fact cannot prevent Pete from getting further injured with one of the Cobra's fangs getting caught in Pete's legs, piercing it enough to deliver more poison. Pete, Patrick realizes, is running out of time.
Patrick doesn't even stop to think. He knows that he can't hesitate and before the Cobra can pick his head up, he jumps onto one of the flaps of his hood, physically sawing the rest of the Cobra's head off. He lets the anger he feels towards Pete's almost certain demise fuel him and give him the extra energy.
"You fucking fucker!" he screams, the rage filling him up just enough that he's able to withstand the wildest ride, complete with rearing and bucking, only to find himself falling once he cuts the final half of the Cobra's head off. He feels himself falling and doesn't even care. If he dies, then at least he will join Pete.
But Victoria cares, it seems. She's not about to let Patrick die after he surely saved their asses with his selfless heroics. She uses the last bit of energy she has to make sure Patrick lands safely on a nearby bale of hay.
When Patrick comes to, he slides to Pete immediately. He feels as if every bone in his body has broken, but he's not about to let go of Pete just yet. He collapses to Pete's side and tries to stay strong; tries to keep the tears at bay. But when Pete opens his eyes and smiles weakly up at Patrick, he can't hold them back. He lets himself cry, holding Pete to his chest. He has two puncture wounds from the snakes: one in his ankle, the other in the thigh of the other leg. The poison has certainly started to pass from the site of the wound and is slowly killing Pete.
"I won't let you die, Pete," he whispers, cupping Pete's cheek in his hand and wiping away Pete's own tears. "I didn't save the world just to watch you die."
Pete smiles up at Patrick and shakes his head. "You have to let me go, Patrick. We couldn't win without a sacrifice, but the world needs you. You have to let me go."
Patrick leans down to kiss Pete, trying to fight the rage that is still consuming him. He knows that he's going to have to let go of Pete eventually, but right now he just wants to take advantage of the little time left.
And then something spectacular happens. With that kiss, a light surrounds Pete and he levitates off the ground. Patrick steps back, watching in awe as the wounds that Pete accrued from battle start to disappear, healing on their own. It's a miracle! How can this even be possible? Patrick is bewildered as all the poison leaves Pete's body. He is filled with such surprised joy that he nearly faints. Instead of fainting however, he pulls Pete into the biggest hug he can manage. Ashlee and Victoria watch from the sidelines, stricken with relief that all four of them have made it out alive.
"I can't believe it. You…you're alive. And unharmed! How the hell…?" Patrick doesn't finish his sentence. He is boggled with all of this and says a silent prayer to Lady Greta, sending her thanks for protecting them.
"Can we get out of here?" Ashlee begs them, shivering. "I'm soaked, Victoria's soaked, and I think we're supposed to be at some camp event right now."
"Yeah, let's get out of here. We should bring Gabe with us," Patrick agrees, pointing over to Gabe's unconscious body.
"I'll take care of that," Pete volunteers, carefully taking Gabe's body with him as the four of them march back off to the cabins. The body of the King Cobra disappears as they leave, dissolving into ash and getting washed away with the summer wind and rain.
…
The following morning brings promise of a new day and much happier times. It's like nothing happened. They walk into the dining hall for breakfast and no one seems to remember anything about the four of them coming back with scrapes and bruises. No one even remembers Gabe being unconscious. Only Gabe remembers anything from the battle.
"It was weird, y'know? It was like I was there, physically, but I couldn't do anything. At least not until you guys saved me. That fucker's been ruining my whole summer," Gabe pouts as he sits down next to Victoria. He eyes the young lady with a small, sad smile. "Oh and, for the record, that was the Cobra fucking with your head, not me. I found you quite adorable."
Ashlee raises an eyebrow as he watches Gabe sweet-talk Victoria. She is very skeptical of Gabe and his intentions; how are they to know what Gabe had done and what was the Cobra's doing?
"Y'know, if this were an Austin Powers movie," Pete states, changing the subject before Ashlee or Victoria could speak up. "We'd all be exchanging puns right now."
"Unfortunately I'm not in the mood for puns right now," Patrick replies, tossing a piece of hash browns at Pete.
"Hey Pete, you should totally teleport over to Barakat right now and toss these scrambled eggs at him," Gabe urges, pushing the eggs forward. Now that Gabe remembers everything and knows their secret, it seems silly to leave them out of their clique. Even if he does get on everyone's nerves far too often.
"I would, Gabe, I would. But you didn't meet the Lady Greta, and frankly, I don't want her kicking my ass for using my powers for evil," Pete replies with a grin. He does, however, use telekinesis to target the scrambled eggs on Gabe. They hit him in the face, sliding down his cheeks.
"You guys," Victoria warns them both before manually flicking them both with bits of waffle. "Eat your food; don't play with it," she teases with a wink.
Ashlee snickers as she flicks some food in Pete's direction but changes the direction before it hits him and lets it hit Patrick instead.
It's odd, having no one aware of how close they were to death. But it's a lot better with the knowledge that they won't be known as heroes. Because even if Patrick saved the day, and possibly the world, he doesn't feel like a hero. Not the type that deserves a medal, at least. He knows the only prize he needs is Pete, and he got Pete back safe and sound, so as far as he's concerned, he's got everything he could possibly want.
Besides, he knows fame is overrated. They're still alive and Pete loves him and that's all that matters.
…
But the story doesn't end there. Because Rigby's Summer Camp has an annual summer dance, which leads Ashlee and Victoria to picking out their very best summer dresses while the guys pick out shirt and slack combinations that, at least in Patrick's case, don't clash unbelievably.
"This is so weird, guys," Pete states, looking at him in the mirror as Patrick fits a fedora on top of his head. "I mean, just a few days ago, we were battling a ginormous fucking king cobra snake with a mind of its own and now we're pretending like it didn't happen and celebrating at a dance? It's just. Well, it's the last thing I expected, let's just say."
"Tell me about it," Patrick murmurs, fixing his tie. He was of course the only guy to bother with a suit and tie. But he wanted to impress Pete this year and he decided to go all out when he packed. "But hey, we did good. We deserve a fucking party, I think."
Pete, Patrick, and Gabe make their way to the dance hall where the dance was taking place. Victoria and Ashlee are already there, dancing with each other. Gabe's eyes widen as he watches them and licks his lips.
"Don't mind me, fellas. I'm just going to go boldly where no dude has gone before." Before Pete or Patrick could respond, Gabe waltzes right up to both girls and interrupts their attempts at dirty dancing - or at least as dirty as they could manage without Bob breaking them up.
Pete's dad is present. It's the only time he's ever at any of the activities, and it fills Pete with an odd mixture of anxiety and pride. He has reservations about being seen with Patrick until his dad spots the two of them together and smiles, waving. Well, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Would you like to dance?" Pete asks, holding his hand out to Patrick. Like hell is Patrick going to say no now. Not after what he has gone through to keep Pete alive in the past couple weeks.
"Don't mind if I do," Patrick murmurs, taking Pete's hand and letting him lead them both to the dance floor. Their timing is impeccable, as the music goes from an upbeat song to a more mellow one. A slow song. Patrick rolls his eyes and grins as he wraps his arms around Pete's neck.
"I swear I didn't bribe the DJ to do this." He winks over to the DJ, who happens to be Alex Suarez, one of Gabe's friends. Of course Pete has bribed him.
"Right, and I'm the queen of France," Patrick replies with a chuckle.
"No, but you do have some kickass moves with a sword," he whispers into Patrick's ear and his hands move down to grasp Pete's ass. He hears someone nearby choke and thinks that it's either Bob or Pete's dad.
"So hey, you live in Chicago, right?" Patrick asks, leaning his head on Pete's shoulder.
"I do indeed," Pete answers skeptically. "What do you have in mind, little man?" Patrick smiles at the nickname. It's the only time he doesn't care about his diminutive size.
"Well, I live in Chicago, too. So I'm thinking we still have a couple weeks before summer ends and we go back to school. And I'm thinking that we should take advantage of all that free time." Patrick grins as he lets his hands wander to Pete's ass. Two can play at the groping game.
"I think that is a spectacular idea," Pete replies, pulling back only so he can press his lips to Patrick's. "Hey look! Looks like Gabe has been officially inducted into our group."
Patrick pulls back from the kiss to crane his head and look over at Victoria, Ashlee, and Gabe dancing rather provocatively. Pete gives out a wolf whistle, to which Victoria gives him the finger. Patrick just laughs at the whole thing. This is a rather fitting ending to their saga.
"Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz…the Third. I need to have a word with you." Of course, men named Bob Bryar do have a habit of ruining all the good endings. Patrick turns to face Bob and shies away from Pete so he doesn't have to bear witness to what he is pretty sure is about to happen.
"What's the matter, hoss?" Pete asks, raising an eyebrow. Patrick tries his hardest not to break out into laughter at the obvious mocking nickname.
"You weren't present on July 20th from fourth period until light's out. No one at all had seen you and seeing as I gave you a warning, I'm afraid I will have to write you up. You know what this means," Bob says in a rather boring monotone. He is scribbling something on his pad when someone else comes up behind both Bob and Pete.
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary, Mr. Bryar. I had sent my son and his friends on an errand. I'm sorry that I didn't let you know but I figured that it would be okay, seeing as he wasn't needed for any counselor activities." Both of them turn around, equally surprised at the voice that is coming from Mr. Wentz, the owner of the camp and the person in charge of all the counselors.
"But, Mr. Wentz. He was supposed to-" But Pete's dad holds up a hand and silences him.
"That's enough, Mr. Bryar. You know very well what I say is final. Let it go. My son does not need firing this time around."
Pete's eyes widen because he didn't think that his dad of all people would be defending him. Especially since his father didn't know what had really happened the other day. At least that is what he assumes.
"Go on, Pete. Enjoy the rest of the night. This is your last year that you'll be coming here after all." Mr. Wentz winks at his son and nudges him towards Patrick.
Patrick pulls Pete back against him, smiling widely when he realizes that Pete hasn't been fired and that this means that his father obviously approves of them.
"So that was weird," Pete mumbles, still bewildered over that exchange. "My father knows something about what went down."
"Yeah, really weird, right? But it is his camp. So maybe he knew something about the legend?" Patrick suggests, listening as the song gets a little faster now. He starts to dance to the beat, leaning his back against Pete's stomach.
"Maybe. All I know is he wants me to enjoy this night, so I'm going to go on enjoying it." Pete grins as he pulls Patrick closer and ignores the tsking of some of the girls as he grinds back against Patrick. Well, if Pete can't get fired for saving the world, chances are his dad's not going to let him be fired for violating Patrick on the dance floor, right?
…
It ends with a procession of busses. One by one, they return to the campsite to pick up tired, homesick campers and bring them back to the places they belong. Most kids look forward to returning back to home, but for five exhausted campers, the prospect of returning to reality is a rather depressing one.
Gabe, Ashlee, Pete, Victoria, and Patrick stow all of their belongings under the coach bus that has been assigned to take them back to the train station to be picked up by parents or to go on the journey by themselves. It gives them just enough time to say goodbye properly with tearful kisses and promises to keep in touch.
"Promise me you'll call and write," Patrick whispers, huddling close to Pete on the bus ride to the train station that's an hour away from the campsite. Even though Pete's dad owns the campsite, he still has to go to the train station like everyone else; his mom will take him back to Chicago.
"Like hell I will," Pete teases, poking Patrick teasingly. "Of course. Like I would dream of doing anything different."
Patrick rolls his eyes and just kisses Pete on the cheek. "You will be the death of me."
"Nah. More like I'll be the life of you," Pete whispers, leaning in for a loving kiss. "I love you, Patrick. I can never thank you enough for saving my life."
"Yeah, well, I do what I can," he whispers back, his cheeks bright pink from that. "I love you, too, Pete. I'm gonna miss you. You'd better stay close for college."
Pete grins as he holds Patrick close while they keep on driving. Ashlee, Gabe, and Victoria sit near each other and have a similarly tearful goodbye.
"Ashlee, you'd better come visit sometime," Victoria pleas, her eyes glossed over with the promise of tears. "I'm not gonna be able to go an entire year without seeing you."
"I'm sure you will," Ashlee replies, taking a hold of her hand and squeezing it. "But just the same, I'll see what I can do." She grins and places a kiss on Victoria's hand. "And you, Gabe. You'd better not hurt my girl while I'm gone."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Gabe replies, crossing his middle finger over his index finger. "Scout's promise. I'll take good care of her." He wraps an arm around Victoria and holds her close.
A threesome doesn't seem very likely to keep going while two of the parties live close by and one lives several hours away - by plane, no less. But that isn't keeping them from trying, of course.
The bus pulls up to the train station where all five campers get off and grab their bags. But as they embark for their respective trains, they get a look at a breaking news report.
…It would seem that a giant beast is attacking the city of Chicago. Onlookers are urged to stay indoors and keep as close to the foundation of buildings as possible while the armed forces, including the National Guard, are forming to keep this monster at bay. Stay tuned for further details…
Patrick looks to all four of his friends with a smirk on his face before glancing to the suitcase where he stashed his sword. It looks like he might not be saying goodbye to his friends just yet.
"Well? Shall we?" Patrick asks, pointing towards the Chicago train.
Ignoring the announcements for the Texas and New York trains, the group of five prepares for the second biggest adventure of their lives.
The End…or is it?
Fanart
Just when all hope seemed to be lost, Victoria and Ashlee reappear. It's just after lunchtime when Patrick spots them first. They're a sight for sore eyes and Patrick immediately runs forward, ignoring everyone else. He practically tackles Victoria as he engulfs her into a hug. Pete is only slightly jealous at this, but it wears off quickly when he spots Ashlee not too far behind. She's smiling coyly and beckoning him closer. Pete can't say no to that.
"So you two made it back," says Pete, running the rest of the way before following Patrick's suit with the bear hug. "I was beginning to think we'd have to rescue you."
"You know, Peter, we may be girls, but we're quite capable of taking care of ourselves," Ashlee replies, poking him in the ribs. "Also, he let us go. Victoria's not convinced, but I am. He had to have known what we're capable of."
"And what exactly are you capable of?" It's Patrick who asks this. "Because while I have a general idea, the lady Greta didn't tell us too much."
"Teleported, just like you did to keep from falling onto the ground that night," Victoria whispers, glancing around just in case there happen to be any prying eyes and ears around.
"So where were you guys anyway?" Pete asks curiously. "Greta really didn't tell us much other than, hello, mystical beings trying to take over the world and we're the only ones that can stop them. Oh and something about weapons and working together and you teleporting back here."
"Right…" Ashlee replies, blinking. "There was a lair somewhere on this camp. That's where Gabe took us. Only it wasn't Gabe. He's been calling himself King Cobra. I don't think Gabe knows what's happening; his body's just a vessel or something. It's confusing, I know."
"That's just a little creepy," Patrick mumbles, letting go of Victoria and brushing himself off casually. "So if Gabe's not in control of his actions then we're going to need to do something to prevent Gabe from dying. Maybe that's what Greta was talking about. That we couldn't kill Gabe?"
"Probably," Pete mutters, seemingly lost in thought. The others pick up on this since they can hear exactly what he's thinking.
"Dude, we're not going to let Gabe die," Patrick reassures him. "He's your friend, he can't help what he's doing. He may be an asshole, but he doesn't deserve to be killed."
"Well, I'm glad we got that covered then," Pete replies, glancing over at Patrick. He has a small smile on his face, but Patrick isn't convinced that he's completely satisfied.
"Well, you told us that Gabe kidnapped you and brought you to this lair. What else happened? Did he tell you anything? Taunt or hurt you?" Patrick asks, trying to gauge how soon they'll need to rally their forces.
"He just tied us up. He didn't hurt us. He didn't tell us anything. It was really weird," Victoria replies, furrowing her eyebrows. "It's almost as if he led us there because he wanted us to know where his lair was. Like he never had any intentions of doing anything with us."
"We'll have to ask Greta about that later," Patrick replies with a shrug. He glances at Pete, who seems to be a little more jittery than usual. It's making him nervous and making him feel like he should be on edge and more alert than he already is.
"Speaking of Greta," says Pete, glancing at the two girls. "She wants to see you two to give you your weapons."
"Who is this Greta person?" Ashlee asks, raising an eyebrow. She seems skeptical; Pete doesn't blame her. Greta makes him a little anxious, knowing that she just appeared out of nowhere. He doesn't really trust her, but she gave them weapons, so it couldn't be a completely bad situation.
"She's like…a spirit I guess? A spirit witch from years ago. She came to tell us of a battle that she was involved in and how the battle would be revived and we are the ones expected to save the world from almost certain enslavement and destruction. She gave us some weapons to help aid us. Oh yeah we are descendants from the heroes of this battle. I think that just about sums it up, yeah 'Trick?"
Patrick rolls his eyes at the tone that Pete uses. He doesn't like the situation anymore than Pete does, but he tries not to let it show. He supposes he's sort of like the leader of their group, which is weird considering he's the last person that should be leading anyone into anything. And yet, here he was, trying to be the glue of this team.
"Yeah, that's about right," Patrick agrees with a sigh. "We'll have to go by the meeting spot tonight. Maybe after dinner, pretend we're going for a ride?"
"Yes, that sounds good," Victoria replies, glancing over at Ashlee. The two share a smile and then glance over to the boys. "Be careful, you two. King Cobra made it clear he was after you two next. But with you already figuring out your abilities, the teleporting and stuff? You were a little bit harder to catch."
"The snakes," Patrick murmurs, remembering the incident at the loft. Had they not figured out how to teleport away, they would have been captured along with Victoria and Ashlee. "Well, we'll keep our eyes peeled. Nothing will slip past us."
"I sure hope so. I don't want to find out that either of you got captured. This time, I don't think King Cobra wants to let any of us go. He gave us our chance; he wouldn't give us another one.” Ashlee sighs as she moves back over to Victoria, almost shimmying tiredly.
"Which makes me very confused,” Victoria picks up after Ashlee trails off. "Why would he want to let us go? What is the point of letting us slip away if he knew we would be able to teleport?"
"It's a game," Pete pipes up, clenching his jaw tightly. "Like a game of cat and mouse. He likes the hunt, and it's no fun if we're caught easily."
"The Cobra likes a challenge," Patrick agrees with a firm nod. "Well, we'll give him a challenge. King Cobra will not see this one coming."
"So, dinner, right? We'll meet at the same place and you can take us to the hiding place?" Ashlee asks, her hand reaching for Victoria's. Patrick notices this and can't help but smile. At least one good thing came out of this.
"Dinner, same meeting place. We mustn't be a minute too late. I don't think we're going to be given much time to prepare for King Cobra's next move. I'm sure he suspects something's afoot," states Patrick, glancing around. "Good luck and uh, have fun?" He shrugs as he feels Pete's hand take his, as if he happened to be competing with Victoria and Ashlee. He wouldn't put it past Pete at this point.
"See you then. And Pete?" Victoria turns her attention to him. "If you hurt him, I swear, I will kick your ass."
The frightened look on Pete's face has Patrick snorting and he punches Pete's shoulder as he guides him away and to their next activity. The good cheer only lasts for a little while, though, as the thought of impending doom comes back to Patrick's mind. He's not sure they'll win this battle. He knows they'll do all they can do, but his pessimistic half is starting to take over. He squeezes Pete's hand, hoping beyond hope that they can pull something off. They just might need a miracle at this point.
"We're gonna make it, you know," Pete murmurs, looking down at his shoes. "I don't do this that often, but I have this feeling. I mean, between Greta, the weapons, our abilities, and having Victoria and Ashlee back. I think we might have a shot."
"Yeah," Patrick mutters, looking over at Pete. He feels Pete's fear and swallows thickly. He's not too sure he believes what Pete says, but he knows that Pete's words are genuine. He feels connected to the other boy, like he can't tell where he ends and where Pete begins. It's the most peculiar feeling, but it's what keeps Patrick sane, somehow. It's what holds Patrick together. "I hope so. We're the world's only hope."
"We'll do it. I know we will," Pete whispers, but his words fall on ears that aren't listening. Patrick's head is too consumed with his own thoughts, and as they make their way to the pool for the afternoon's free swim, the two boys try to push all ill thoughts away so they can at least attempt to enjoy themselves.
…
As soon as dinner is finished, the foursome meet outside of Ring C, their usual spot. They say nothing, and Patrick reaches out with his thoughts to make sure no one else is out there. He can't feel anybody, so he supposes that's good enough. He would feel someone's emotions if they were out there.
"Clear as can be," he murmurs as he starts leading them to the site where they had met the lady Greta before. He can feel the most pure fear coming from all three of the others, and he knows he has his own to worry about. He's just trying not to show it, for everyone's sake.
"This it?" Victoria asks, her hands stuck in her jean pockets. "Not much of a lake, is it? More like a pond, I guess."
Just when they thought they were alone, out emerges the lady wrapped in a glowing white once again. Patrick and Pete expected her, so they don't show quite as much awe as the girls. Ashlee in particular has her mouth dropped open in surprise, falling backwards and holding herself partially upright with one hand.
"I am the lady Greta. No need to be alarmed, my children.” Her voice is like tiny little bells, soothing their worries until they wash away and are replaced with courage.
"We did as you asked, my lady.” Patrick bows his head out of respect and glances over at Pete, who seems to be showing jealousy once again. Patrick simply shakes his head.
"I see. It is nice to finally meet you, miss Asher, miss Simpson." The two girls watch Greta with some interest, still clearly skeptical, but Ashlee is the first to speak and to ignore the worries that seem to be creeping up under her skin.
"Patrick and Peter tell us you knew we were going to teleport out. And that you have weapons? That there's a battle brewing? Is this true?" she asks with considerable interest in her voice.
"That is true," Greta replies, stepping forward, the light bathing her, making her look almost ghostlike. "I knew that you were going to learn to teleport because I have foreseen it. I have foreseen the battle and that is why I'm equipping you now. You two need weapons, if you'll be defending this world."
"Weapons? What kind of weapons?" asks Victoria, her arms crossed against her chest in an almost threatening fashion. "Because I'm not sure how we're going to be able to learn how to fight in time. How are we going to become the fighters you're looking for? How can we defend this world when we've never fought before in our lives?"
"I have to say," Pete speaks up, glancing over at Victoria. "I thought the same thing but I was able to pick up archery pretty quickly. You might find the same thing. It's almost like we were born with this knowledge."
"What Pete says is true. The weapon, when you hold it, speaks to you and helps you use it. It wants you to win.” Greta turns to Victoria first and smiles at her, sashaying until she is standing right in front of her. "You, first. Tell me, Miss Asher. Do you think you will feel more confident with these in your hands?" She pulls out a pair of sai, daggers with two prongs protruding from the handles.
Victoria's mouth opens in surprise as she accepts the weapon and holds them in her hands. She looks up at Greta and simply smiles as she takes a step back. It's like she knows now; she knows everything she has to do in order to control them, to make them work.
"And what about me?" Ashlee asks with a pout, her hips jutting out to one side. Pete chuckles to himself and Patrick just rolls his eyes, mainly at Pete's reaction than anything else.
"I saved you the best for last," Greta replies as she makes her way to Ashlee, who bows her head out of respect. "Many who have been bestowed with this weapon underestimate its potential. But it takes a smart and strong person to understand its power and to use it well. I shall give you a quarterstaff and I trust that you will use it wisely.” She hands Ashlee the weapon made of wood. On the tips are metal spikes, though the weapon is too thick to be used a spear. It's more useful as a blunt object or a thrusting weapon.
"A quarterstaff," Ashlee repeats, staring at the hunk of wood before taking it and twirling it in one hand. She has done baton twirling before, but a quarterstaff is just a bit different than a baton. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be trusted with a sword.” she smirks as she holds the quarterstaff so that one of the spikes digs into the ground.
"Forgive me for changing the subject, my lady," Patrick pipes up, glancing over at Ashlee briefly before his eyes move back to the spirit before them. "But I was wondering if you know when exactly the battle is taking place?"
"You will know," Greta replies mysteriously. "I will tell you this much, though. It will happen before you leave this campsite to return to your normal lives. Keep your wits about you, my children. You will need them if King Cobra is to be stopped. And remember. You cannot kill Gabe. Gabe is not King Cobra; his body is only being used to house the spirit. You must find a way to eliminate the spirit without killing the body or you will be no better than the Cobra himself."
"It's a pity you can't fight with us, Greta," Pete mutters, moving close to Patrick and wrapping a protective arm around him. Patrick simply rolls his eyes as he leans close to Pete. One of these days, he will make sure Pete knows he's attached to Patrick but that doesn't mean he won't make starry eyes to the occasional pretty girl.
"Don't worry, young Peter. Just because I won't physically be fighting alongside your side doesn't mean I won't be present. I think you'll find I work in mysterious ways." She smiles as she sidles her way back to the pond, preparing to make her descent once again. "Now, if you don't need me for anything else, I must depart."
"I think that'll be all.” Patrick smiles as he watches her sink back into the water, the surface bubbling until all that remains is just a ripple effect. "Well, I guess we ought to put their weapons with the rest."
"Probably a good idea. I just hope that when this battle happens, it'll be easy to retrieve them. I don't want to find out that we'll have no time to teleport back to get the weapons and end up fucking ourselves over," Pete mumbles pessimistically. Patrick punches his shoulder in retaliation.
"Well if all else fails one of us can distract King Cobra and the rest go to retrieve the weapons. They're not exactly heavy to the point where someone couldn't hold two of them," Patrick suggests with a shrug. "Let's get some sleep after this, though. We're gonna need to regain all of our strength to defeat this Cobra guy."
Victoria places a hand on Pete's shoulder, silencing him from speaking. "Pete, we'll be fine. Just let's drop these off before we waste more time arguing or discussing the best way to go about this."
Pete shuts up and looks glumly at his shoes before nodding. "In that case, do you three want to go move the weapons while I get back to the camp? I need to check in with Bob or he'll kick my ass and have me fired."
Patrick nods and ushers Victoria and Ashlee forward. Repeating the trick he learned with Pete, he helps the girls teleport to the island and shows them to the hiding place where they hid their weapons before. Thankful that they were still there, he helps them bury the weapons and takes them back to camp.
"Do you think we'll survive this?" Victoria asks as they walk back to camp.
"I don't know. But it's not like we have a choice. It's either kill or be killed trying," he replies, glancing up at Victoria. "I would rather die in battle than live as a coward that ran away."
"I know," she answers with a sigh. "I hope we survive. But if not, just know that I love you guys?" She smiles weakly, wrapping her arms around Patrick's and Ashlee's waists.
"I love you both, too," Patrick replies, grinning as he glances over at Ashlee as well. "And I'm sure Pete would say the same, were he here. Now let's get to sleep. We need to be in tip-top shape if we want to stand a chance in this battle."
"Night, Patrick. And tell Pete good night for me, too," Ashlee states, tugging Victoria along as they break off for their own cabin.
Patrick sighs as he watches them walk off into the night. He slips into the cabin, happily going right to bed. Pete eyes him with narrowed eyes but Patrick just shrugs it off. He'll show Pete that he has nothing to worry about after this battle is over. Assuming they survive the battle, of course.
But first, he needs to sleep. And sleep he does, with no dreams or nightmares infiltrating his consciousness. And when he wakes, he knows that he feels recharged and energized. Which is good, because he has the funniest feeling, like the battle might take place very, very soon.
…
The dawn of the day of reckoning falls upon a Tuesday. Patrick doesn't explicitly believe in omens, but there is a sort of feeling surrounding all four of them as they eat breakfast. It's as if they know what's about to come. And the fact that it happens to be raining out, keeping everyone inside for the day and partaking only in indoor activities, has Pete suspecting the worst. Clearly this was set up so that the four of them could slip out unnoticed and no one would even have the slightest idea that the battle happened to be brewing around them.
"We should get the weapons around lunchtime. The Cobra, I suspect, will wait until nightfall, but I don't want to take any chances. If he does try to take us by surprise, we will want to be prepared," Patrick discusses in a hushed voice. "In any case, we can teleport to gather them between arts and crafts and lunch. Everyone will be on their way to the cafeteria and we can sneak out while they're preoccupied."
"Do we have a strategy?" Pete asks, his gut wrenching in anticipation for the battle to come. He doesn't have a good feeling at all about this. The Cobra won't fight fair; how will they ever expect to win?
"It'll be four of us against him and whatever army he has. We'll want to destroy his army first and then take care of him. We can't kill Gabe, so we'll have to injure him. Weaken him so we can force the spirit out. He can't be very strong if he requires a human vessel," Victoria explains, looking around as if to make sure no one is eavesdropping.
"Don't underestimate him," Ashlee advises, looking over at Victoria and sliding her manicured hand over Victoria's plainer one. "He would like us to believe he is weak, but I do not think he is to be taken lightly."
"Ashlee's right," Patrick agrees, chewing on his lip. "We don't know anything about his power and what he's capable of. It could be a trap. He could be trying to make us believe that he's a weakling but if that were the case then Greta would not have called upon us to help. I think he might be stronger than he's letting on so far. I mean, he's already conjured up those snakes and he's captured the both of you."
"True." Victoria rolls her eyes and sighs as she considers this situation. "Then we ought to treat him like a true villain. We'll need to find his weakness and exploit it, all the while wearing him and his army down."
"That sounds like the plan we'll have to go by," Pete nods, looking over at Patrick. There is no smile on Pete's face and Patrick catches this, frowning gently. "I've gotta jet though. I'll meet you guys on the island. Stupid counselor-ing business."
Patrick watches as Pete gets up and makes his way for the exit of the cafeteria. He feels something, perhaps a jolt from Pete's emotions or his thoughts, and wonders what this is all about. He'll have to confront Pete about it later. If there is to be a later, of course.
"I'll see you, okay?" Victoria is the next to get up, looking over at Patrick with a grim look on her face. "I promised Nate I'd help him with the horse he's taking care of before first period and I'm running late."
Patrick sighs as he looks down at the table. Then he feels Ashlee's hand on his shoulder and so he looks up, puzzled. He can't remember Ashlee ever touching him before.
"Pete's worried," she says simply. "He thinks we're not going to get through this. He's worried about you, though. He doesn't want to let you know that he's scared. He's terrified that he won't ever get to see you again, kiss you again, but he doesn't want you to know because then you'll worry." She moves around the table so that she's sitting next to Patrick. "You need to be strong, Patrick. He needs you now more than ever."
Patrick is stunned by all of this. He thought for sure Pete would be the strongest of all of them. He's like titanium and Patrick can't imagine ever feeling like Pete could possibly fall apart with terror.
"I'll be strong." He nods as he looks over at Ashlee, a sad smile on his lips. "And you be strong for Victoria. She's a feisty girl, but she's still fragile." He places his hand over hers that still happens to be sitting on his shoulder.
"I know," Ashlee replies, sharing in his sad smile. "You hang in there, kiddo," she smirks before blowing him a kiss and making her way out of the cafeteria.
Patrick sighs as he makes his way out of the cafeteria, pausing at the door to look back at all of the people sitting and still eating. They have no idea what is about to happen. He has no idea if he'll even see half these people again, but Patrick fights to keep the pessimism deep below the surface. He knows his survival - all of their survival - depends on Patrick keeping his wits about him.
As Patrick makes his way across the camp to arts & crafts, he knows that time is running out. He doesn't know exactly how he knows, but he does know that he needs to do something. Two more hours, he thinks to himself as he clenches his fists. Two more hours before he reclaims the camp as his own - as their own. He isn't about to let some spirit take away everything he loved from him. Not now, after he came so far from being terrified of riding to climbing right back in the saddle.
With just minutes to spare, Patrick knows that he has to win. He will do everything to ensure that they win because he is not letting everything he holds dear disappear. Even if it means sacrificing himself. He spots the others as he makes this decision and smiles wryly; it's now or never.
"Shall we do this?" Patrick asks, glancing to the other three. It's as if they know exactly what is about to happen. The sun is peeking through the clouds, just enough to give them some hope. Perhaps, Patrick thinks to himself, they aren't so hopeless after all.
"I don't think we have another choice," Pete replies quietly, closing his eyes and nodding. Patrick frowns, remembering Ashlee's words, and prays silently that this will all work out to their advantage. "Hey Patrick?"
Patrick looks up from the ground, his hands folded at his sides as he tries to focus himself so he can teleport with the others. "Yeah, Pete?" He has gotten so used to practically knowing what Pete is about to say before he says it that he almost forgot what it's like not to anticipate Pete's thoughts.
I love you. The thought is transmitted into Patrick's mind so that only he can hear it. Patrick can't help blushing when he realizes that neither Ashlee nor Victoria heard what he thought. A smile cracks through his lips and he breaks concentration so that he can jump forward and wrap his arms around Pete, holding him tightly.
"I love you, too, you know," he whispers, pressing his lips to Pete's. "And we'd better win today because after this, I'm going to love you every single fucking day." He doesn't even realize there are tears until they hit Pete's shoulder and Pete brings a hand up to wipe the tears away.
"Don't cry," Pete says out loud. "We're gonna make it. I fucking know it." Patrick feels a wave of uneasiness, but something in Pete's voice makes him believe it.
"Hey, we better hurry," Victoria urges in a hushed voice. "We're not going to have much more time, I don't think. The sky is getting dark again."
Patrick looks up to notice that dark thunderclouds are indeed rolling in, signaling that they will probably be fighting in the rain. That would certainly take the advantage away from them, that's for sure.
"Let's do this. Let's kick some Cobra ass." Ashlee's enthusiasm brought a little bit more hope, as if they aren't about to meet almost uncertain doom in the face of the King Cobra.
Without another word, Patrick gathers the foursome into a circle and the each place their palms in the air so they would touch. They concentrate on that island Patrick had first teleported to and when they open their eyes, they're standing in the sand, cool wind on their face.
"If only we could just spend the day here, pretend that the Cobra isn't about to wage ware," Victoria mumbles with a sigh. She grabs her weapons, staring at the twin daggers with worry etched on her face. Patrick can feel the anxiety and wants to do something, anything to calm her down.
It's Ashlee that calms her down, though. She wraps her arms around Victoria and leans her head on Victoria's shoulder. "Hey, buttercup. We're going to get through this. And then you and me, we're gonna go out for a night on the town."
Victoria smiles gratefully when Ashlee snaps her out of that. She leans back against Ashlee, letting herself become calm again. She doesn't believe they will win this, but she knows they will give it the best shot they can.
"Alright, guys, this is it. This is the moment we've been preparing for. Now, we might not make it out alive, but you can sure as hell bet we're not going down without a fight. If we can't make it out alive, then maybe we can at least bring the Cobra down in the process. Now let's go back there and deliver the battle to end all battles. Let's kick some fucking Cobra ass." With Patrick's last words, each of them grabs their weapons and let out a shout that's so loud surely someone must have heard.
They teleport back to the campsite just in time to see rain start to fall. They know that it's just a matter of time before King Cobra appears and challenges them, but they're prepared. And Patrick isn't going to let the Cobra leave this battlefield alive if he has anything to say about it.
"Hey, what's that?" It's Pete that points out the figures in the distance, coming closer. It's not Gabe, or any of Gabe's minions. As the figures grow closer, the shape becomes clearer, until there's no mistake; four of the horses from the camp were let loose and were headed straight for them.
"Looks like we have some company," Patrick muses, and his eyes bulge as he realizes what horse is approaching him. It's the same horse he rode the first time he fell off and almost swore never to ride again. It's almost fitting that this is the horse he'll be riding right now. That he will be staring his fears down - all of them - and conquering them.
"I think we're gonna need them," Victoria squeaks as she takes a hold of one of the horses - Eclipse - and starts preparing to mount her. "Look. Our enemy approacheth."
Just as ominous as the storm clouds have been, so is the approaching of the enemy: Gabe Saporta flanked on both sides by an army of snakes. Not just your average run-of-the-mil garden variety, of course. Cobras, pythons, even a huge fucking anaconda. They are severely outnumbered, but that's not going to stop them. They have the advantage when it comes to power, of course.
"Just because he can control snakes doesn't make him better than us. C'mon guys, let's show this snake who's boss." Pete smirks, winking over at Patrick. He's the next to mount his horse, followed next by Ashlee. Patrick is the last to mount his horse, deciding that now's the best time to overcome his original fear. Suddenly, falling off a horse seems to pale in comparison to dying in battle.
"This is it," Patrick whispers. "For Rigby's," he continues, a little louder. He looks to both his sides, seeing his friends holding onto the reins and adjusting the stirrups. "Let's do this."
Barely a second lapses between Patrick's command and the attack. As soon as the horses are jolted into a canter, the snakes rush forward, commanded by the great King Cobra. Patrick reminds himself not to kill Gabe; that Gabe is a separate entity. He focuses on the snakes, cutting them down with his blade.
Victoria sits most of the battle out. She watches as Patrick slices snakes and Pete uses his bow and arrow to target and shoot down his own snakes. Ashlee uses her quarterstaff almost as a spear. But her pair of sai doesn't make for a very effective long-range weapon, especially on horseback.
"Fuck this," she mutters, dismounting her horse and taking the snakes on by foot. It's not easy, by any means, but it's much better than sitting around and watching the other three do all the work.
Snake after snake after snake gets stabbed, sliced in half, and disappears. It seems like a victory is about to occur, when-
"Fuck!" Pete cries out, his horse rearing when the anaconda targets him, sending him flying onto the ground. A rattlesnake slithers toward him and Pete's eyes widen, trying to pull himself up so he can get out of there. Only, he sprained his ankle in the fall, and can't possible get away fast enough. The snake bites him.
It's as if Patrick's watching in slow motion. First, Pete getting knocked off the horse, then the rattlesnake biting him. His first instinct is to forget about the battle and tend to Pete. But Ashlee cuts in front of him before he can do anything. She stabs the anaconda, realizing that it'll need much more than that to disappear.
"He'll be alright. We need to focus on the snakes though. Worry about the snakes." She doesn't waste another word and she charges towards Victoria, trying to help keep the snakes from surrounding her.
Patrick knows she's right, but he can't help but focus on Pete right now. The bite wouldn't kill Pete instantly; in fact, it would take a while for the poison to do any major damage. He would have to leave Pete be for now and try to win the fight on his own. At least he still has Ashlee and Victoria.
Snake after snake goes down, leaving the King Cobra without a minion to order. Patrick, Ashlee dismount from their horses and Victoria steps forward. Pete looks up from his position on the ground, trying to muster the last bit of energy that he could to help his friends against their enemy.
"It is so good to finally meet you, all of you. I assume the lady Greta has told you about me?" the voice sounds like Gabe's, but they all know it's not Gabe that's speaking. Gabe hasn't been in control for far too long.
"Yes, King Cobra," Patrick speaks, stepping forward, trying to stop focusing on Pete and his injury. "She's told us all about you."
"Go ahead then," he beckons, smiling his slithery smile. "Kill me. If you've got the guts."
"We're not stupid," Ashlee spats with a roll of her eyes. "We'll kill you, alright. But we're not taking Gabe with you."
He sneers, his eyes darkening as he unsheathes his sword, pointing it towards the foursome. "Well then. I suppose you'll just have to die. There is no way to get rid of me without getting rid of your poor pathetic friend as well."
It's Victoria's turn to speak, and she steps forward, in front of all of them - even Patrick - to make herself visible. "That is what you'd like us to believe, wouldn't it? That's why you tried to get us to hate you, to hate Gabe. So that we'd kill him and become just as bad as you. Well you seriously must have underestimated us, Cobra, 'cause we're not idiots."
She pulls out her sai and walks gracefully up to the Cobra. Ashlee steps forward to help her, but Patrick holds her back.
"This is between her and the Cobra," he whispers, looking up to Ashlee. "Let's let them be."
Ashlee nods, confused, but lets Victoria face him alone. She knows that Victoria has a lot of strength and cunning, and also knows that she can save her if it comes to that.
"Ah, so you wish to face me alone? Are you sure that's a wise move, child?" he asks, a menacing grin upon his lips.
"Perhaps not my wisest move, but it's the only one I know," she replies. Before the Cobra can make another wiseass comment, she strikes, charging forward and faces off against him. Patrick watches tensely from the sidelines, impressed with Victoria's ability to teleport at whim to avoid attack. He's also impressed with the Cobra's ability to dodge all of her attacks as well. They seem almost equally matched.
Until of course Victoria surprises Gabe by teleporting exactly where he had just attacked instead of right behind him. She stabs the Cobra - and Gabe - in the shoulder so that she would only injure Gabe, but not seriously enough to do any major harm.
"Leave this innocent human at once, King Cobra," she commands. "I am calling you out. Show your true self and stop being such a coward."
"You truly are a stupid human," he replies, his eyes flashing darkly as he stretches his arms up to the sky. "But if you truly wish to see whom you are fighting up against, then so be it." Without another word, Gabe collapses to the ground as a swirl of smoke comes from his body. The smoke starts to take the form of a snake - a cobra - bigger than anything all four of them could ever have imagined.
"Oh…" Victoria mutters, her eyes widening in fear.
"Crap…" Patrick finishes for her, biting his lip, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. This is going to take a lot more than their weapons and strength.
"We can do this," Ashlee insists, glancing to Patrick and Victoria. "We need to work together, though. We can't do this unless we all work together."
Patrick is unsure if they actually have the power to take care of King Cobra now. It was much more realistic when the Cobra was in Gabe's body, but now, this beast looks like it'd easily kill the four of them without any sort of problem. Still, Patrick knows they need to try.
"Alright, this is the plan," he whispers, urging them to come into a huddle near Pete, who, although he is injured, still insists on being included in this plan. "Whenever the Cobra comes near enough to you to hurt you, get out of the way. Either physically jump away or teleport. We need to keep teleporting to make him dizzy. He cannot keep track of all of us. We're going to need one of us to distract him so that the other three can take him down. We need to target his weak spot."
"What is his weak spot?" Ashlee asks, looking up at the King Cobra that is still growing and taking shape. "I mean, that's one fucking huge cobra. We're gonna have a hard time figuring out its Achilles heel."
"Trust me, I know. But we need to figure it out somehow. There's gotta be a soft spot on its inside that we can get it to reveal. Eventually we just have to wear it down until we can sever its head off or something."
"I think I have an idea," Pete states, smirking as he glances over at Gabe. "It's a long shot but I think I may be able to pull something off."
Patrick looks skeptically over at Pete, but at this point he knows that he needs something to keep them from letting themselves be cobra food. Especially now that it seems that the Cobra has completely formed.
"Gabe's a bit of a cobra freak. He's studied them and even claims he's spoken to one or something. Don't ask me, that's not the point. The point is I think I might know a cobra's weakness."
Patrick looks at Pete and his eyes widen as he contemplates this idea. The only thing he isn't sure about is whether Pete is strong enough to take this guy on. He's injured, the poison still lingering in his body. Patrick doesn't want the damage to end up being irreversible.
"Do what you think we need to do. I'm willing to go with your plan. It's the only one we've got," he replies, looking up at the Cobra that is now starting to move towards them. "We've gotta do this now before he can get to us."
"Alright, this is what we have to do…"
Pete explains the plan to the three of them and they do exactly what Patrick suggested, which was to make the Cobra practically dizzy with the quick teleportations. They took turns teleporting away, almost teasing the Cobra.
The Cobra's scaly skin was too thick for their weapons to really pierce them, but Pete knows that if he has the chance, he can slice the Cobra's head off using Patrick's sword. It's their only option. But in order to slice it off, he's going to need to teleport close enough to use the blade to chop it off.
Pete nods at Patrick and watches as Patrick teleports close enough to give him the sword. Pete gives him the bow and arrows in case he needs some form of defense. He's not about to let Patrick die because he has no weapon. As the Cobra is coming towards Pete, he teleports so that he's falling onto the Cobra's neck, by the flaps in its skin. He wraps his injured leg and his uninjured leg a round the Cobra, using the sword almost like a saw.
"This is for Gabe," he grunt as he starts moving the sword back and forth, working as quickly as he can to make sure that the sword can fully sever its head. It's taking far too long and the other three try to distract it from Pete's actions, to keep its attention on them, but the Cobra isn't taking their bait.
It tries to rear Pete off, but Pete's rooted securely to its back. Pete is about halfway done when it uses its tail to try and flick Pete off. The sword is still nestled into its interior and so Pete falls to the ground with the sword still embedded halfway inside. Pete lets out a loud shout, the fall not killing him if only because Patrick slowed down his descent through telekinesis. He's too far away and the arrow that he shoots misses. The Cobra descends upon Pete.
"No!" Patrick shouts, watching the Cobra try and take Pete as its prey, and neither Ashlee nor Victoria can get there in time - not even with teleporting, since try as they might, they can't teleport right now. They teleported too much and used up too much psychic energy. Patrick knows what he must do.
He needs to muster up the last bit of energy and hightail it to where Pete is. He rushes forward, running as fast as he possibly can and almost does a baseball slide, pushing Pete out of the way. He barely gets there in time, and in fact cannot prevent Pete from getting further injured with one of the Cobra's fangs getting caught in Pete's legs, piercing it enough to deliver more poison. Pete, Patrick realizes, is running out of time.
Patrick doesn't even stop to think. He knows that he can't hesitate and before the Cobra can pick his head up, he jumps onto one of the flaps of his hood, physically sawing the rest of the Cobra's head off. He lets the anger he feels towards Pete's almost certain demise fuel him and give him the extra energy.
"You fucking fucker!" he screams, the rage filling him up just enough that he's able to withstand the wildest ride, complete with rearing and bucking, only to find himself falling once he cuts the final half of the Cobra's head off. He feels himself falling and doesn't even care. If he dies, then at least he will join Pete.
But Victoria cares, it seems. She's not about to let Patrick die after he surely saved their asses with his selfless heroics. She uses the last bit of energy she has to make sure Patrick lands safely on a nearby bale of hay.
When Patrick comes to, he slides to Pete immediately. He feels as if every bone in his body has broken, but he's not about to let go of Pete just yet. He collapses to Pete's side and tries to stay strong; tries to keep the tears at bay. But when Pete opens his eyes and smiles weakly up at Patrick, he can't hold them back. He lets himself cry, holding Pete to his chest. He has two puncture wounds from the snakes: one in his ankle, the other in the thigh of the other leg. The poison has certainly started to pass from the site of the wound and is slowly killing Pete.
"I won't let you die, Pete," he whispers, cupping Pete's cheek in his hand and wiping away Pete's own tears. "I didn't save the world just to watch you die."
Pete smiles up at Patrick and shakes his head. "You have to let me go, Patrick. We couldn't win without a sacrifice, but the world needs you. You have to let me go."
Patrick leans down to kiss Pete, trying to fight the rage that is still consuming him. He knows that he's going to have to let go of Pete eventually, but right now he just wants to take advantage of the little time left.
And then something spectacular happens. With that kiss, a light surrounds Pete and he levitates off the ground. Patrick steps back, watching in awe as the wounds that Pete accrued from battle start to disappear, healing on their own. It's a miracle! How can this even be possible? Patrick is bewildered as all the poison leaves Pete's body. He is filled with such surprised joy that he nearly faints. Instead of fainting however, he pulls Pete into the biggest hug he can manage. Ashlee and Victoria watch from the sidelines, stricken with relief that all four of them have made it out alive.
"I can't believe it. You…you're alive. And unharmed! How the hell…?" Patrick doesn't finish his sentence. He is boggled with all of this and says a silent prayer to Lady Greta, sending her thanks for protecting them.
"Can we get out of here?" Ashlee begs them, shivering. "I'm soaked, Victoria's soaked, and I think we're supposed to be at some camp event right now."
"Yeah, let's get out of here. We should bring Gabe with us," Patrick agrees, pointing over to Gabe's unconscious body.
"I'll take care of that," Pete volunteers, carefully taking Gabe's body with him as the four of them march back off to the cabins. The body of the King Cobra disappears as they leave, dissolving into ash and getting washed away with the summer wind and rain.
…
The following morning brings promise of a new day and much happier times. It's like nothing happened. They walk into the dining hall for breakfast and no one seems to remember anything about the four of them coming back with scrapes and bruises. No one even remembers Gabe being unconscious. Only Gabe remembers anything from the battle.
"It was weird, y'know? It was like I was there, physically, but I couldn't do anything. At least not until you guys saved me. That fucker's been ruining my whole summer," Gabe pouts as he sits down next to Victoria. He eyes the young lady with a small, sad smile. "Oh and, for the record, that was the Cobra fucking with your head, not me. I found you quite adorable."
Ashlee raises an eyebrow as he watches Gabe sweet-talk Victoria. She is very skeptical of Gabe and his intentions; how are they to know what Gabe had done and what was the Cobra's doing?
"Y'know, if this were an Austin Powers movie," Pete states, changing the subject before Ashlee or Victoria could speak up. "We'd all be exchanging puns right now."
"Unfortunately I'm not in the mood for puns right now," Patrick replies, tossing a piece of hash browns at Pete.
"Hey Pete, you should totally teleport over to Barakat right now and toss these scrambled eggs at him," Gabe urges, pushing the eggs forward. Now that Gabe remembers everything and knows their secret, it seems silly to leave them out of their clique. Even if he does get on everyone's nerves far too often.
"I would, Gabe, I would. But you didn't meet the Lady Greta, and frankly, I don't want her kicking my ass for using my powers for evil," Pete replies with a grin. He does, however, use telekinesis to target the scrambled eggs on Gabe. They hit him in the face, sliding down his cheeks.
"You guys," Victoria warns them both before manually flicking them both with bits of waffle. "Eat your food; don't play with it," she teases with a wink.
Ashlee snickers as she flicks some food in Pete's direction but changes the direction before it hits him and lets it hit Patrick instead.
It's odd, having no one aware of how close they were to death. But it's a lot better with the knowledge that they won't be known as heroes. Because even if Patrick saved the day, and possibly the world, he doesn't feel like a hero. Not the type that deserves a medal, at least. He knows the only prize he needs is Pete, and he got Pete back safe and sound, so as far as he's concerned, he's got everything he could possibly want.
Besides, he knows fame is overrated. They're still alive and Pete loves him and that's all that matters.
…
But the story doesn't end there. Because Rigby's Summer Camp has an annual summer dance, which leads Ashlee and Victoria to picking out their very best summer dresses while the guys pick out shirt and slack combinations that, at least in Patrick's case, don't clash unbelievably.
"This is so weird, guys," Pete states, looking at him in the mirror as Patrick fits a fedora on top of his head. "I mean, just a few days ago, we were battling a ginormous fucking king cobra snake with a mind of its own and now we're pretending like it didn't happen and celebrating at a dance? It's just. Well, it's the last thing I expected, let's just say."
"Tell me about it," Patrick murmurs, fixing his tie. He was of course the only guy to bother with a suit and tie. But he wanted to impress Pete this year and he decided to go all out when he packed. "But hey, we did good. We deserve a fucking party, I think."
Pete, Patrick, and Gabe make their way to the dance hall where the dance was taking place. Victoria and Ashlee are already there, dancing with each other. Gabe's eyes widen as he watches them and licks his lips.
"Don't mind me, fellas. I'm just going to go boldly where no dude has gone before." Before Pete or Patrick could respond, Gabe waltzes right up to both girls and interrupts their attempts at dirty dancing - or at least as dirty as they could manage without Bob breaking them up.
Pete's dad is present. It's the only time he's ever at any of the activities, and it fills Pete with an odd mixture of anxiety and pride. He has reservations about being seen with Patrick until his dad spots the two of them together and smiles, waving. Well, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Would you like to dance?" Pete asks, holding his hand out to Patrick. Like hell is Patrick going to say no now. Not after what he has gone through to keep Pete alive in the past couple weeks.
"Don't mind if I do," Patrick murmurs, taking Pete's hand and letting him lead them both to the dance floor. Their timing is impeccable, as the music goes from an upbeat song to a more mellow one. A slow song. Patrick rolls his eyes and grins as he wraps his arms around Pete's neck.
"I swear I didn't bribe the DJ to do this." He winks over to the DJ, who happens to be Alex Suarez, one of Gabe's friends. Of course Pete has bribed him.
"Right, and I'm the queen of France," Patrick replies with a chuckle.
"No, but you do have some kickass moves with a sword," he whispers into Patrick's ear and his hands move down to grasp Pete's ass. He hears someone nearby choke and thinks that it's either Bob or Pete's dad.
"So hey, you live in Chicago, right?" Patrick asks, leaning his head on Pete's shoulder.
"I do indeed," Pete answers skeptically. "What do you have in mind, little man?" Patrick smiles at the nickname. It's the only time he doesn't care about his diminutive size.
"Well, I live in Chicago, too. So I'm thinking we still have a couple weeks before summer ends and we go back to school. And I'm thinking that we should take advantage of all that free time." Patrick grins as he lets his hands wander to Pete's ass. Two can play at the groping game.
"I think that is a spectacular idea," Pete replies, pulling back only so he can press his lips to Patrick's. "Hey look! Looks like Gabe has been officially inducted into our group."
Patrick pulls back from the kiss to crane his head and look over at Victoria, Ashlee, and Gabe dancing rather provocatively. Pete gives out a wolf whistle, to which Victoria gives him the finger. Patrick just laughs at the whole thing. This is a rather fitting ending to their saga.
"Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz…the Third. I need to have a word with you." Of course, men named Bob Bryar do have a habit of ruining all the good endings. Patrick turns to face Bob and shies away from Pete so he doesn't have to bear witness to what he is pretty sure is about to happen.
"What's the matter, hoss?" Pete asks, raising an eyebrow. Patrick tries his hardest not to break out into laughter at the obvious mocking nickname.
"You weren't present on July 20th from fourth period until light's out. No one at all had seen you and seeing as I gave you a warning, I'm afraid I will have to write you up. You know what this means," Bob says in a rather boring monotone. He is scribbling something on his pad when someone else comes up behind both Bob and Pete.
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary, Mr. Bryar. I had sent my son and his friends on an errand. I'm sorry that I didn't let you know but I figured that it would be okay, seeing as he wasn't needed for any counselor activities." Both of them turn around, equally surprised at the voice that is coming from Mr. Wentz, the owner of the camp and the person in charge of all the counselors.
"But, Mr. Wentz. He was supposed to-" But Pete's dad holds up a hand and silences him.
"That's enough, Mr. Bryar. You know very well what I say is final. Let it go. My son does not need firing this time around."
Pete's eyes widen because he didn't think that his dad of all people would be defending him. Especially since his father didn't know what had really happened the other day. At least that is what he assumes.
"Go on, Pete. Enjoy the rest of the night. This is your last year that you'll be coming here after all." Mr. Wentz winks at his son and nudges him towards Patrick.
Patrick pulls Pete back against him, smiling widely when he realizes that Pete hasn't been fired and that this means that his father obviously approves of them.
"So that was weird," Pete mumbles, still bewildered over that exchange. "My father knows something about what went down."
"Yeah, really weird, right? But it is his camp. So maybe he knew something about the legend?" Patrick suggests, listening as the song gets a little faster now. He starts to dance to the beat, leaning his back against Pete's stomach.
"Maybe. All I know is he wants me to enjoy this night, so I'm going to go on enjoying it." Pete grins as he pulls Patrick closer and ignores the tsking of some of the girls as he grinds back against Patrick. Well, if Pete can't get fired for saving the world, chances are his dad's not going to let him be fired for violating Patrick on the dance floor, right?
…
It ends with a procession of busses. One by one, they return to the campsite to pick up tired, homesick campers and bring them back to the places they belong. Most kids look forward to returning back to home, but for five exhausted campers, the prospect of returning to reality is a rather depressing one.
Gabe, Ashlee, Pete, Victoria, and Patrick stow all of their belongings under the coach bus that has been assigned to take them back to the train station to be picked up by parents or to go on the journey by themselves. It gives them just enough time to say goodbye properly with tearful kisses and promises to keep in touch.
"Promise me you'll call and write," Patrick whispers, huddling close to Pete on the bus ride to the train station that's an hour away from the campsite. Even though Pete's dad owns the campsite, he still has to go to the train station like everyone else; his mom will take him back to Chicago.
"Like hell I will," Pete teases, poking Patrick teasingly. "Of course. Like I would dream of doing anything different."
Patrick rolls his eyes and just kisses Pete on the cheek. "You will be the death of me."
"Nah. More like I'll be the life of you," Pete whispers, leaning in for a loving kiss. "I love you, Patrick. I can never thank you enough for saving my life."
"Yeah, well, I do what I can," he whispers back, his cheeks bright pink from that. "I love you, too, Pete. I'm gonna miss you. You'd better stay close for college."
Pete grins as he holds Patrick close while they keep on driving. Ashlee, Gabe, and Victoria sit near each other and have a similarly tearful goodbye.
"Ashlee, you'd better come visit sometime," Victoria pleas, her eyes glossed over with the promise of tears. "I'm not gonna be able to go an entire year without seeing you."
"I'm sure you will," Ashlee replies, taking a hold of her hand and squeezing it. "But just the same, I'll see what I can do." She grins and places a kiss on Victoria's hand. "And you, Gabe. You'd better not hurt my girl while I'm gone."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Gabe replies, crossing his middle finger over his index finger. "Scout's promise. I'll take good care of her." He wraps an arm around Victoria and holds her close.
A threesome doesn't seem very likely to keep going while two of the parties live close by and one lives several hours away - by plane, no less. But that isn't keeping them from trying, of course.
The bus pulls up to the train station where all five campers get off and grab their bags. But as they embark for their respective trains, they get a look at a breaking news report.
…It would seem that a giant beast is attacking the city of Chicago. Onlookers are urged to stay indoors and keep as close to the foundation of buildings as possible while the armed forces, including the National Guard, are forming to keep this monster at bay. Stay tuned for further details…
Patrick looks to all four of his friends with a smirk on his face before glancing to the suitcase where he stashed his sword. It looks like he might not be saying goodbye to his friends just yet.
"Well? Shall we?" Patrick asks, pointing towards the Chicago train.
Ignoring the announcements for the Texas and New York trains, the group of five prepares for the second biggest adventure of their lives.
The End…or is it?
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