Twisted

Chapter 29 ~ Hansel

A/N: If you get confused, don't worry, I also did. You can thank BritBoy for that :P

Chapter 28

~Hansel

My chest hurts. So does my head, come to think of it. And my legs. My left index finger doesn't hurt, but that's about it. My eyes are the worst, there's a strange empty feeling behind them, like I've been awake for days.

Despite the pain, I can still see. I can see Rumplestiltskin, in all his disgusting, augmented glory. I can see Kiara, Gretel and Mac Tire opposite him, fangs, swords and magic bared.

"Uhh...Crumpledickskin? Look, if we could just-"

The metal monstrosity rounds on me.

"What," he growls, "the FUCK did you just call me?"

I swallow. "Sorry, Shrivelled Meatspin. You're clearly too weak to take on the four of us, so why don't you just hand over the shard and we'll be on our way? We DO have Kiara on our team."

The lights covering the front of Rumplestiltskin's machine begin to ripple and flicker. He clenches his jaw and raises his silver fist towards me

"You dare insult me?!"

I grin at him. "Well, there's just so much good material! Say, how much of you is there left in there? D'you live up to your namesake, ol' Metalman No-Cock? Or did you make yourself a nice big, metal joystick?"

Rumplestiltskin goes pink, the red, then purple. Then he bellows and charges at me. Kiara yells and Gretel lets loose a crossbow bolt, slamming it into the bundle of chains holding my arms. I pitch forward and slam face down on the floor, barely a second before a massive metal fist turns the wooden wall to splinters.

Rumplestiltskin raises a foot to crush me, and Kiara shatters my leg irons. I roll to the side just in time, only to see a second fist swinging towards me.

Suddenly, Mac Tire barrels into the metal man, barging through the tent flap to the outside. Gretel turns to follow, crossbow loaded again, and Kiara squats next to me.

"You good?"

"No. Go fight."

Kiara nods and follows my sister out. I push myself up, and stand. Daggers stab through my eyeballs and I collapse again, retching from the pain. I try again, bracing myself against the tent pole. Magic. The bastard took my magic.

"It powers him." I mutter. The glowy stuff in tubes running all over him. The same stuff in steel and glass barrels, stacked to the side of the tent.

An explosion and a flash of light boom out the side of the tent. Something solid hits the canvas and bounces off.

Staggering over to the barrels, I massage the wound over my heart. The entry hole for that damn syringe. it's puckered and red, but not infected, and incredible shallow. Clearly, he hadn't been trying to kill me.

I reach the barrels and pick one up. It's big, beer keg sized, but surprisingly light. The pale blue, swirling essence inside reacts to my touch, turning pink where my hands touch the side. There's a valve on the side, clearly suited to tubing. Perfect for Rumplestiltskin, but probably no help to me. Even so, I finger the release toggle, take a deep breath, and pull.

Nothing explodes. Nothing comes gushing out. Instead, like a cloud of smoke lit by fireflies, the magic floats out, spreading through the tent. There's a bellow from outside, then I hear Kiara yell 'No!' and a metallic clang.