Archaic ||Peterick||

The Inexcusable Michael Way

Pete woke up upside down, with something tight and constricting wrapped around his entire body. He was drenched in something foul-smelling and sticky. Well. It wouldn't be the first time.

He let out a groan and looked around, and got shocked into full alertness. Tentacles. That's what he was wrapped in. He weakly tried to struggle free but his attempts were pointless. He harder he fought, the tighter they got. He looked across he dimly lit room and saw what should've disappointed him. Instead, seeing Patrick filled him with some sort of hope. If his heart was beating it would've leapt.

He glanced around for the source of the tentacles and came face to face with him again. Ryan Ross. Twitching like a caged rabbit, black crosses running across the red patches on his cheeks, making them look like lightning storms.

Pete felt like his whole body was frozen but on fire at the same time. Pete looked down, he was himself again. He stared over at Patrick like it was meant to wake him.

"Patrick!" He whispered loudly. There was no reply. "Pat!" He groaned out. Still not a stir. Patrick was out cold. Pete began to panic. He couldn't get out of here without Patrick.

He watched the bats flutter in the belfry. It was like being the first one at a sleepover to wake up and being stuck in the middle. He couldn't move and he was bored out of his mind. Only this was a completely different situation. This time it was life threatening.

He wondered if he could turn into a bat like this but he needed a bit more room to do so. He wasn't a pro yet.

His foot twitched as a shiver came over him. He froze straight after and stared at Ryan in fear. But Ryan didn't move and Pete sighed in relief. Then Pete felt something that made his empty stomach turn.

The tentacles were tightening. Ryan's eyes flew open and Pete held back a scream. He started to struggle, knowing there was no point staying still.

"Trick!" He grit out through clenched teeth. "Babe cmon! Wake up! I need your pen!" He groaned out. He knew it was pointless but what was he meant to do?

He heard Ryan growl straight in his ear. He let out a weak whimper. "Get off!" He wiggled around, tears rolling down his face and into his hair.

Ryan just grinned and moved closer to Petes face. "I knew it was you. You've always been weak. Way did a bad job on you." He sneered.

Pete froze at the name. Way. The Way brothers. Pete knew how powerful they were. He probably shouldn't have broken Mikeys heart, or at least not when he and Gerard were already on bad terms.

"What do you want?" He spat at Ryan. It came out forced and breathless.

"Nothing but you. And him, of course." Ryan answered, advancing slowly. "I won't need your heart. You can keep it. But your eyes... I'll take those." His clawed hands reached for Pete's face, and he tried to lean back, but the tentacles held him too tightly. He struggled in place, knowing he was getting nowhere. Ryan's hunger was etched on his contorted face as he drew closer.

Suddenly, his eyes grew wide, his jaw dropping, letting out a scream that was somewhere between a yell and a high-pitched cackle. His tentacles loosened their grip, letting Pete slide out. He was relieved for a second, until he realised he was falling, tumbling through space. He didn't panic. He closed his eyes, and dropped quietly, and shifted to bat form.

He watched on as the monster squirmed and thrashed. Looking away, he saw, falling into the black abyss, a body- Patrick. He panicked now, and flapped after him, swooping down and hooking his tiny claws through the younger man's jumper. He couldn't let him fall. Patrick was awake, but silent. He had accepted his fate. He knew he wasn't getting out of this.

Pete flapped as hard as he could, but it wasn't any use. Patrick was too heavy for Pete's tiny frame to carry. Damned tiny bat. It had to be a really small bat, didn't it? A tiny vampire bat who could fly and get out of tiny spaces and all that, but couldn't help where help was really needed. Pete cried out in frustration, and felt the bat form begin to slip away. He was desperate now.

His bones cracked, but he tried to keep together. He'd let them both fall if he changed now. He had to keep trying. He knew he was slowing them down a lot, but he couldn't hold on for much longer. He felt his body stretching out again, unrolling like a thrown scroll, and still, he thought about bats.

There was a ripping noise from somewhere above him. He barely noticed it. He was busy, and adrenaline was blurring the world around him. He flapped one last time. And this time, it worked. He rose up, carrying Patrick with him. The floor came up quickly, but he flapped, dragging his prize with him. He would not let him fall.

They touched down messily to the ground, and Patrick whirled around to look at Pete.

"P-pete? Did y- Holy shit! Back up ten feet. Wait... Pete? Is- that's you? What the fuck happened?!"

Pete stood there, incredibly confused.

"What is it?"

"You- you're all furry..."

"What?"

"You're like... batboy."

Pete sniffled. He looked at his snout-like black nose in front of him, and at the dark brown fur, the same color as his hair running down to it. He glanced up.

"Batboy?"

"Yeah. Like... a bat person."

Pete grinned.

"Bitchin'."

Patrick shook his head.

"Please never say that again."

Footsteps sounded on the concrete, footsteps from heavy boots, and the rustle of old leather and chains. The darkness drew back from the face of the approaching addition to their party, what little light there was glinting off his very rectangular glasses.

"Oh, thank God." Patrick sighed, seeing who it was.

"Well, Trick? I thought you'd be smart enough to bring a secea dagger to take a shadow neketa but obviously not. I guess I was wrong about you having good taste in men, too." The tall man said, eyeing Batpete warily. Pete glared at him with a death stare that could kill.

"Mikey. Fucking. Way." He growled.

"The very one. Miss me, Pete?"