The Encounter Table Oneshots

Devils Game

Dex/Dex x Clarissa

"Marvin... We Needa Talk"

That's all that was said as Dex looked up toward the sky holding his Superman ice cream as his tail flicked side to side and his ears twitched back toward the group to make sure nobody followed. 

"What about?" Marvin said with a click of his tongue.

"Getting out, I want to talk about getting out-" 

"Easy finish the game, survive, if you die here you die here, you can't come back," Marvin's voice drilled Dex's mind and cutting him off. Dex knelt to the ground before he fully sat and crossed his legs in front of him, thankful that he was away from the ear shot of the rest of the party, what was going to be said next was something he didn't want them to hear. 

"No." Dex said sharply, "I don't want to go back," he said, "I want them gone, and I want to get them out, I don't care about getting out," Dex relaxed his shoulders, inhaling and taking a bite of his ice cream and letting the flavor dissolve on his tongue as he looked at it, "I will make a trade with you, you get them out safely... without any painful harm, and I will stay here, I will do your bidding here." Dex said seriously. 

"What would I want with, you?  you're in my game, that's not apart of the rules," Marvin's voice sounded confused, frustrated, intrigued with the offer.

"I have Tony," Dex answered coolly.

"Who the fuck is Tony?" 

"Oh... you don't know Tony?" 

"No? Should I know Tony?" 

"Nope" and with that Dex got up and started to leave the conversation, leaving Marvin puzzled beyond belief for just a moment. 

"You've got a deal," Marvin took the offer, "But you're going to have to do something for me," he said as he sat back in the big circular chair that faced the table of the D&D table, as if he was able to see down on them, watching them. 

Dex stopped in his tracks before his tail flicked with irritation, "what? what is it that I need to do?" Dex asked as he looked back up at the bright blue and clouded skies. 

"You're going to need to go visit some... people while you're there, I tell you later on, but you're going to need to abandon your party, this Tony of yours sounds... like a problem and well, that... well that makes you a problem, so I need you to leave your friends, you want to keep them safe? You have to abandon them," Marvin tapped the side of his chair in thought. 

Dex tightened his grip on the base of the ice cream before it popped out of the bowl and onto his knuckles before he inhaled deeply and exhaled heavily, "okay" he said with gritted teeth before his head got lost in thoughts before he walked toward the group.

~~~

Dex looked around the group as the thoughts ran through his head, every outburst he snapped toward his companions drove himself further from them, this was the plan. This had to be the plan. 

He needed to leave them, to keep them safe. 

The words Marvin said to him echoed in the back of his mind, 'that makes you a problem,' when Dex hugged Clarissa, he felt her muscles relax, as his heart thumped in his chest, heavy with guilt, but yet he couldn't bring himself to say a meaningful sorry, he couldn't, this was the plan. Marvin told him, and he only wanted Marvin to keep his word. 

Dex kept his head down while they walked, his claws digging into the palms of his hand, his ears slumped just like his shoulders, "Dex?" Clarissa sniffled as she looked sideways at him. 

"Hmm?" the cat hummed his response. 

"You are loved. You're appreciated, without you... well without our jokester, you're right, we'd always be stressed, we got sucked into this game, if that's what you even want to call it, and we are here together, we want everybody, all of us to be happy," Clarissa's hand smacked against his while they walked side by side. 

"I know that," Dex said softly. 

"If you knew that... you'd know there's also a time and a place for your jokes, we want to get out together," Clarissa spoke quietly, she didn't want to hurt his feelings, she was really trying not to sound like she was. 

"I know that too but, I can't," Dex said as he looked at his fighter. 

"What does that mean?" Clarissa asked and tilted her head in the process. 

"Nothing, I will always remain your jokester, because without me, you guys would be stressed, and we can't have a stressed party because if we are stressed, nobody is getting out alive," Dex agreed with her. 

"Because this isn't just a game, this is our lives on the line," Clarissa bumped knuckles with Dex's hand for a final time before she grabbed onto it and intertwined their fingers together causing Dex to flinch and pull from the touch causing Clarissa to look down at him and then at their hands before she noticed that her palm was covered in a thin layer of blood. 

Preston and Scott walked in front of them while they headed to Professor Insights building, Clarissa looked at Dex with a concerned glance before she ripped off part of her shirt and grabbed carefully onto Dex's hand again before she wrapped it around his hand and tied it off before she wiped the blood off from her own hand on the inside of her shirt. "We aren't here to destroy one another, we are on the same side, trying to survive, we are a family, we cannot be pitted against one another, without you guys, I'm unimportant," Clarissa reminded Dex softly before she walked forward toward Preston and Scott leaving Dex in the back. 

"Then I'm sorry for what I have to do... I'm so sorry... I'm a fool. Not a jokester... I'll hurt you all... to save you all," Dex said in a whisper as he looked down at the wrap over his palm and he squeezed it in his hand and felt tears fall from his grasp.

~~~

Not canon and filling in the blanks that I think should have been there but I loved the newest episode for how it was and then how I imagine the talk between Marvin and Dex going after episode 17.

(1038 words)