Running Out of Time with You Part One

[butterflyslinky]

Title: Running Out of Time with You
Author: butterflyslinky
Characters: 80s Dan, 90s Kid, Linkara, The Entity, Mephisto
Rating: R
Word Count: 7507
Warning(s): Character death, violence, drug use
Summary: 90s Kid has a terrible destiny. But Dan’s not going to give him up without a fight.
Note: Special thanks to pompoko for betaing.

“HUUUUUUUUUUMAAAAAAAAN.”

Dan shuddered as the Entity repeated its call, but 90s Kid didn’t flinch. “Stay back, Dan!” the boy called. “What you see is what you get!”

Dan knew those words well. That was 90s Kid’s trigger to make his transformation: his black shirt became green and silver armor chest plate, his green plaid shorts metallic boxers and shin guards; and in a flash of light his gun formed in his hands, a short-barreled rifle with the ability to fight the glitches that threatened to consume the world. But this one…this one was different.

“Kid!” Dan called, but it was too late. 90s Kid was already transformed and charging in. “Kid, wait!”

“He’ll be okay!” called another voice from above them. Dan glanced up to see 90s Kid’s mentor, Linkara, on a nearby rooftop. “I AM A MAN!”

Linkara transformed instantly into his long brown coat and vest, tie neatly tucked in. Linkara leaped down from the rooftop and pulled out his own magic gun, aiming it at the Entity.

Dan was terrified Linkara would hit Kid, but with an urgent “Get out of the way!” Linkara fired a magical blast at the Entity which connected with a blare of static and light.

90s Kid avoided the blast easily and opened fire. The Entity shrieked as bullets perforated its pixelating body, white noise rebounding off the surrounding buildings. Dan covered his ears, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the fight.

The Entity suddenly sprouted tendrils that snaked out and grabbed Linkara, flinging him into one of the buildings. 90s Kid used the momentary distraction to fire another shot at the Entity, though this time it bounced off harmlessly.

Dan watched the creature closely, trying to spot a weakness. Of course, he didn’t really understand how glitches could take sentient form, let alone be fought, but he had seen enough battles in the last month to know it was possible. But this…this was unlike anything else they had ever encountered.

It was huge, ever-changing, a giant blob of four-dimensional multicolored pixels always flickering in and out of sight and existence. Sometimes it resembled a skeleton, sometimes a monster, and sometimes a human being, but always, always pixelated. How could they beat something like that?

Linkara was up and already running back into the fight. He managed a single shot before he was forced to dodge another pixilated tendril. 90s Kid jumped up, higher than an ordinary human could in his transformed state, and fired a blast at the Entity’s head, or wherever its head would be if it had a steady form. The Entity screeched and snatched 90s Kid out of the air, slamming him into the ground.

90s Kid shook it off and grinned at Dan. “This is awesome, dude!” he called, before he dashed back into the fight. Dan kept his horrified expression; this fight was anything but awesome. 90s Kid ran straight at the Entity, shooting the whole way.

Linkara hit it with another blast of magic and yelled out, “90s Kid! Now!”

90s Kid nodded and kept going, jump- kicking the Entity in the middle. Dan gasped as the pixels spread, enclosing 90s Kid, consuming him. “Kid!”

Linkara ignored Dan’s outburst. “One!” he yelled as 90s Kid vanished entirely. “Two! THREE!”

He fired his gun one more time as a blast of magic seemed to come from inside the Entity itself, as though 90s Kid were shooting from within. The Entity screamed one final time then dissolved, vanishing as though it had never been.

90s Kid was suspended in midair, glowing slightly, his eyes closed and his face peaceful. Dan rushed forward, but Linkara caught his arm. “No, Dan,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do for him.”

Dan struggled. “Kid! Kid!”

90s Kid began to glow brighter, a great light overtaking him. His body arched and then the light swallowed him and he was gone.

Dan whirled on Linkara. “What happened?”

“He died,” Linkara said simply. “It’s what happens to Magical Boys when they have to fight something like this.”

“But…why did he…why couldn’t you go in and take that blast?”

“Because I’m not powerful enough.” Linkara let go of Dan and turned away. “If I had been consumed, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my mind conscious to shoot from within. He knew what he was doing. It was his destiny from the start. So you have to let him go.”

Dan fell to his knees, sobbing. Linkara patted his shoulder awkwardly. “I’m sorry,” Linkara said.

“Go away,” Dan mumbled.

Linkara patted his shoulder again and then turned and walked away. Dan remained on his knees, crying, his tears mixing with the rain that had started to fall.

“Well, well,” a smooth, soft voice said. “Another soul consumed by grief. How… sad.”

Dan looked up to see a tall dark-haired man standing before him. “Who are you?” Dan asked.

The man smiled handsomely. “A friend,” he said. “One who comes to every grieving soul and offers them a chance to change their circumstances.” His smile, though charming, was cold and Dan could see no genuine feeling behind it. “So, Dan Johnson, you have lost the one you love above all others.”

Dan nodded, not even caring how the man knew his name. “He…he was everything to me.”

“Oh, I know,” the man said. “He was a rare soul indeed. Kind, good, brave… loving. The perfect angel. The type of man you’d give anything for.”

Dan shivered at the man’s words. “Who are you?” he asked again.

The man chuckled. “You’re a clever one,” he said. “But there’s no good answer to that question, because I have many names and countless forms. They call me the Prince of Darkness, the King of Hell. They call me Mephistopheles and Beelzebub. They call me Lucifer, and Crowley, and numerous other things. Listing them would take all night, though.”

Dan backed away quickly. “You’re the Devil,” he realized.

“That is one word for it,” he said. “Though they have the concept wrong. I don’t seek to make people miserable, you understand. I seek to make them happy on this Earth. You may call me Mephisto for short.”

“But then you torment them for all eternity.”

“Hmm, yes. That is a rather high pay-off, I admit.” Mephisto looked thoughtful. “Well, maybe this was a mistake. After all, you seem like the perceptive sort. You know what making a deal with me is like and you want no part of it.” He turned to go. “And here I thought you’d do anything to get your wonderful love back.”

Dan watched Mephisto start to walk away. “Wait,” he finally called.

Mephisto turned back. “Yes?”

“What’s your contract?”

Mephisto smiled. “Three wishes, Dan Johnson. Three wishes in exchange for your soul. Think carefully, though, because you can’t wish for more wishes.”

“Can you bring 90s Kid back?”

“Alas, no.” Mephisto seemed apologetic. “Normally, bringing a soul back to life is simple. It’s just a matter of retrieving it and returning it to the body. But with Magical Boys, it’s not so easy, mostly because there’s no body to return the soul to, and creating a new body always causes problems. Hard to get the brain to muscle coordination set up correctly, and that would make your lives miserable.”

Dan nodded. “I see.” He thought for a moment. “But I can still save him.”

“You can try,” Mephisto agreed.

Dan nodded again. “I’ll take it,” he said.

Mephisto smiled and produced a scroll and a knife. “Excellent,” he said. “Sign here.”

Dan looked over the contract carefully before he cut his finger and smeared his blood at the bottom. Three wishes, exactly as he asked, for one soul. No complaining about consequences, no making a deal with an angel to undo it later. Simple, straightforward, non-negotiable.

Mephisto cut his finger in return and signed beneath Dan. He then reached into his pocket and produced a pocket watch. “This is our connection,” he said. “Whenever you make a wish, touch the watch and it will be granted.”

Dan took the watch in his hand and held it tight. “I wish to be able to go back to the day I met 90s Kid as many times as I need to save him.”

Mephisto’s smile grew. “Your wish is granted. Just wind the watch backwards.”

Next

Comments

[ocelot-l.livejournal.com]

Wow, this story is starting off amazingly! I am a big fan of this anime as well as AT4W of course, and I love how you're managed to blend these two different universes together! Poor 90s Kid, of course he would make for a very pure and powerful Magic Boy, who would willingly give his life to save others. Not to mention poor Dan, who I can see willingly selling his soul to the Devil, perfectly cast as Mephisto I should say, in order to save his sweet 90s Kid. I know what a rough journey he's in for, so I hope he's prepared for it. Poor Linkara as well, since I know it must him up to know he's not strong enough to save his comrades. I'm very curious as to why he became a Magical Boy too but even if that's not revealed in this fic, I'm glad to be able to read about him as 90s Kid's mentor. :)