Assumption (Town of Salem/MCYT)

The Meeting

After quietly telling Lachlan, the night was peaceful, especially considering the previous day. When they came to a rest in Seto's house, they had dinner and talked over tea. Thankfully, Mitch seemed to avoid the subject of the reality they were in, instead asking questions about fragments Seto might know about his previous life.

While the conversation often took odd twists and turns, it was interesting, and Seto thoroughly enjoyed it. He got to know the other man, and as the evening went on, they both found themselves more at ease with the other.

Finally, as they were readying for sleep (Seto had brought up the fact there was only one bed - Mitch had told him that he didn't mind sharing), Seto started to wonder what the next morning would entail. With luck, there would be no more deaths, but he knew it wasn't likely.

"Whatever you're thinking about, don't."

Seto had just come from the bathroom and was drying off his hair with a towel. Clearly, his expression had revealed his thoughts. Mitch, who was sitting on the bed, looked at him pointedly.

"And what do I think about instead?" Seto asked. Mitch laughed.

"Sleep, and how wonderful it is. Now, come on. You need rest."

That night, the two of them slept back-to-back under the same covers.

---

Waking up to a soft clicking, like the steps of high heels, was not what Seto expected.

Groggily, he sat up - and nearly smacked his face against the wall.

Right.

Shifting slowly to not wake up his friend, he tried to turn to face the door. His efforts were in vain. Mitch was already wide awake beside him, muscles tense. Seto caught a glimpse of his flashing eyes before looking at the figure in the doorway.

With shapely hips - especially for who must have been a guy - and a tight skirt, who the intruder was was incredibly obvious.

"Well, good evening, boys. I didn't expect you to be... together. Double trouble, perhaps?" Jason's hip pressed to the door frame. A hand rested on either side, supporting him.

"Leave," Mitch said lowly. Seto froze. He hadn't heard that tone from him before.

"Why?" Jason's eyes glinted in the low light.

"Because Ty has sent you on a suicide mission, and that's not fair to you. You're a nice enough boy, Jason."

The words sunk deep into Seto's chest. He found himself unable to form words as a look of realization spread across Jason's face. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Seto didn't click the same way.

"So he was right." Jason stepped away, fear flashing through his eyes. Unable to move, Seto stared as Mitch hesitantly drew a knife.

"Go, Jason."

"He'll kill me. If you don't, he will." Jason was shaking. He took another step back, and his ankle buckled. With a crash, he fell to the ground.

And Mitch was on him, blade raised.

Seto found the strength to tear his eyes away.

---

That night, Seto sat alone at his dining room table. A knife rested in his hands.

After the deed was done, Mitch had swamped him, whispering his explanation in the shadows. Yes, it was true he was the serial killer. No, he didn't want this, but he had to win, and if Seto wanted to follow in his footsteps, then he may easily claim it. The words were like poison.

But as the group quickly suspected Mitch - and rightly so - there seemed to be little other choice. The town was dropping like flies. That night, Quentin had been killed, too, and revealed to have been the mayor. Shame. The good news was that the mafia's second consort, Jason, was dead.

Unsurprisingly, the true serial killer had been hung. Seto refused to look, turning away and covering his ears with his hands. Everything was screaming at him that this was wrong on so many levels but now he had no choice. Maybe he couldn't remember who he was, but this? This he could do.

Mitch had left a note in Seto's care. As he sat at home that night, he read over it.

At the top, 'TY IS GODFATHER' was scribbled and underlined three times. The thought sent a chill down his spine. He had liked Ty. It must be part of the greater scheme.

Underneath had that Jason, Vik, and Adam were likely alligned with him, but that the latter clearly had night immunity. Adam? Swallowing hard, Seto shook his head. Those were his two favorites.

A thought struck him. His heart of gold would be dirtied, but maybe...

Maybe he could play it.

-

The next morning, Seto found himself standing with the two.

Brice had been slain the night before, and found to be another vampire. The thought barely registered. Before anything else, Lachlan had taken center stage. "I spoke with the dead last night," he said, frowning. "They didn't have much useful to say, but our past serial killer did mention that Rob had night immunity. That's not a good thing."

A medium? Interesting. It seemed that Mitch was trying to take his apprentice's sign.

"Then hang him. It seems like we're winning." Ty. "What? Only a Godfather left, it seems."

Seto quietly agreed, and as it came time, true enough it was Rob standing on the podium. He was voted guilty by the smallest of margins, and hung, only to be found as the jailor.

Suspicion instantly flew to Ty, but it was too late to do anything. As night crept closer, Seto felt himself get more and more anxious. No one was at his door, not yet, but there was something. It would be soon.

Oddly enough, something seemed to... control him. It started slow, as an inkling, but it got gradually stronger and stronger until he had no choice but to get up and leave, dragging his knife with him.

Witch.

No. No. As much as he could, Seto tried to resist it, but couldn't. There wasn't anything to do. He found himself coming in and out of consciousness, until finally, he was slipping in through an ajar back door of someone's house. Lachlan.

His stomach went sour, and later on, he would pray to every god he didn't believe in that his awareness seemed to snap away from reality.

-

it's two a.m. and i had the literary equivalent of an earworm.

hi guys it's been almost a year since i've updated this but don't think about it.

i might update again sometime soon, i don't really know.

you can see exactly where my old writing style meets my new, so have fun with that change.