Aquaria

Yes, I did break Rule 3 of the Deadpool Code. Which was a big mistake on my part, but then again, you can't control these things.

So yes, I do have Darktale problems. I've known Scorpio Darktale for around six years; too much.

You need to know a few things about your enemy, but I know too much. I can read him, and I'd be an idiot to say he can't read me.

And now I'm stuck up a tree with him for what will probably be the whole night. Karma, isn't it. Yes, we set up a watch system, so Taurus and I are supposed to take this watch while Leo and Scorpio sleep. It'd be helpful, since I can just pretend that's his corpse sprawled out.

Doesn't work, since it's incredibly hard to sleep after you nearly get killed, so they're both up.

I shift, edging farther up a tree branch. My skin is practically buzzing, either with nerves or with proximity to him.

Taurus peers down below. "It's way too dark to see anything, but I think that's a small creek thing."

He leans a little bit more forward and overbalances, grasping for something. I grab his arm and pull him back. He glances at me. "What did you just do?"

"What did I do?" I ask, squinting at him.

"Your skin is electric!" Taurus says. He pokes my shoulder, but nothing happens. "It was, at least. How'd it stop?"

I dig around in my thoughts. "Try it again?" I suggest. I construct a mind image of when Sagittaria accidentally locked me in my room and Carina broke me out. If the trigger's what I'm dreading ...

I feel a light buzz on my skin as Taurus hesitantly touches my arm again and shudders. "Yeah, it is — but not as bad as before."

"Well, I don't know why," I say coldly, in that tone I use when closing a discussion. Well. Crap.

Leo's propped against a branch, philosophizing. "This must be how Pisces feels every night."

I glare at him. "If you and him will shut up and sleep —"

"Planning on killing us, honey?" Scorpio interrupts with a lazy grin, draped over a branch; it looks like he's on the verge of falling.

I press my lips together and try to ignore him. Pushing him off the tree will reveal our position. Should've brought masking tape.

Taurus slumps against Leo, asleep. Leo tries to push Taurus off him, but he's not easy to push.

Dawn is breaking over the horizon and I seize the excuse to escape him.

I vault off the tree, landing easily six feet down. It's been a while.

Four years, to be exact. Four years since Scorpio, Carina, and I nearly died every night doing things that normal twelve-year-olds couldn't do without seriously injuring ourselves. I don't know how we didn't die, but that was the best time of my life.

"Catch!" Leo hisses, heaving Taurus down. I step away from his plummeting body with a grimace. But I send smoke to cushion his fall. One less Hell Zoner means one less between me and Scorpio.

Scorpio shoves Leo off the tree and slides down himself.

"All clear?" screams Sagittaria from somewhere above.

I see her plummeting down from somewhere and landing on her hands and feet.

"Smooth landing!" She dusts herself off and winces as she gets to her feet. "Gemi, your funeral is soon!"

Gemi dives out of the tree — on closer inspection, Vienna actually threw him out of the tree herself.

Click.

I glance around, expecting to see someone doing a prank. But the others are sliding to the ground silently.

Click-click.

It almost sounds like ... footsteps.

Scorpio

"Shut up!" Leilani raises her voice. We're all embroiled in arguments by now, but it sounds like she's telling us all to shut up.

So we do. She has a commanding air around her that makes you cower.

In the silence, there's the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps.

Before I can turn around, a shrill scream pierces the silence.

And I don't blame them for screaming. What emerges from the shadows is worth screaming about.

It's around seven feet tall and resembles a mosquito. It stands on six spindly legs and its skin has a whitish tinge, but is mostly translucent, which only makes it creepier. It doesn't seem to have any eyes or nostrils, but it does have a huge set of pincers. A stripe of vicious-looking spikes line its sides. It clicks its pincers, twice.

Another one, slightly smaller but with a fatter abdomen, scuttles out of the lingering shadows.

A rumble shakes the earth just below me and I throw myself out of the way just as a pinnacle of earth shoots into the air where I was just standing. Pisces grins down at me, hauling me clear.

"What was that?" I splutter.

Sagittaria, standing next to Pisces, points at Vienna with a proud grin. She spreads out her palms and seems to draw in the air with one finger. Fire trails out of her fingers and takes shape into the form of a loaded bow, which she grasps with no problem and aims.

Vienna claps her hands together, fingers pointed towards the larger insect. It has to skitter out of the way of a spike that ripples out of the ground.

A geyser shoots out of the ground behind the smaller creature and a wet Pisces appears behind it, firing a ball of water at it, stepping back into the falling water before it hits earth.

The sky clouds over and a drizzle begins spraying the ground. A bolt of lightning strikes the ground next to one of the insects — it would've definitely killed it if not for it stepping away quickly.

The distraction is all Sagittaria needs to fire an arrow, impaling the smaller creature's head. It flails in agony as the arrow sets it on fire, emitting a shrill screeching.

None of them could do this before.

It doesn't make any sense ... unless this is new.

I try to probe my mind, deeper than the sloshing water and consuming darkness. And I find creatures — no. Nightmares.

Although I doubt they'll work on these creatures, so I sweep my hand in an arc. Water solidifies into an ink-stained wave that spreads out and falls short of the currently living mosquito creature; the other has been reduced to ashes.

A concentrated gust of wind slams into the creature's flank, thanks to Leilani, who edges closer to improve her aim, hugging the treeline and trying to stay out of sight.

But it doesn't work; the mosquito creature lifts one spindly leg and swipes at the blonde girl, flinging her against a tree trunk with surprising power. Leilani slumps to the ground and doesn't move.

"Leilani!" screams Gemi; he tries to run towards Leilani, but Nia wraps her arms around his waist and holds him back with all her strength. "No, Gemi! Please — don't!"

Pisces appears again, trying to fire another bolt at the mosquito, but suddenly he crumples to the ground, along with the mosquito. Neither of them can rise, apparently.

The rain slacks, but a bolt of lightning slams down, effectively frying the thing as Aquaria steps forward and twists her fingers. The thunderstorm was Aquaria. Crap.

"What was that?" asks Pisces as he struggles to his feet.

"I ... think that was me," says Taurus with wide eyes.

"That was awesome," Pisces agrees, "but ... I meant that thing." He gestures at the pair of fried insects, releasing a disgusting smell into the air.

"That's not the problem," Caprice interrupts, swallowing hard. Vienna has run over to Leilani, trying to shake her into waking up.

But she isn't waking up.

*smiles* I did not have time to edit this enough, but oh well. It is yeeted at you anyway.