Spitefic: The Mind Reader

[pan2000]

Finn and Leah are in a strange place, which is similar to the Limbo. Pink, red and purple colors vibrate everywhere, from the ground to the sky. The Lost Souls are wandering, only a few pay attention to Finn and Leah.

But it's the massive tornado that catches the eyes of the two. There is no beginning nor an end to the enormous cyclone, and souls are swirling all around the winds. Some of them are holding each other's hands.

Outside of it are several smaller tornadoes, which Finn and Leah watch out for to avoid. A few succubi attack the duo with their whips.

But Finn shoots the first two in their heads, while Leah turns into her she-wolf form and uses a Ten-Sided Strike to tear most of the enemies apart. Then she lunges faster than the human eye can see and tears the throat of another succubus out. Finn uses his lightsaber and cuts a whip in half in mid-air, then kicks one of the succubi in the belly and stabs her in the womb.

With an aerial spin he cuts down two more succubi and blocks a kick with his leg before stabbing the last one in the heart.

Once the succubi are down, Finn and Leah continue their way.

"I took down more than you, Finn!"

"You cheated, you used your wolf form!"

Both of them continue their way towards the tornado.

And once they are right out of it, they meet a red magma demon with a double axe.

"Welcome to the Circle of Lust, mortals. The central area of the second layer of Hell. I am surprised to see living souls here... and Stormwolf themselves above all else.

I will be glad to make you pay for what you've done. But first, I want a certain someone to have a go at you."

And he summons none other than a sparkly vampire, who was one of the victims of the tornado, and gets his physical form.

"Edward! I am not surprised to find a creepy stalker like you in Hell!" Leah tells him.

"Oh, I can read your mind. You hate my guts, don't you? And this is your boyfriend? The man who stabbed my wife? I can see your thoughts. Just because you feel bad about it doesn't mean you didn't do it!" Edward points at Finn.

"Yeah, I wish I could have just killed you instead, bastard," Finn says. "You stalked her and watched her sleep, and wanted to murder her because her blood called to you in the beginning. You saw her as too weak to do anything on her own, and were willing to keep her isolated at home for her protection. Or rather, to control her!"

"Silence, you disrespectful murderer!" Edward seethes. "Don't act as if you, Bella's killer, care about her more than I, her husband, do! She saw me watching her sleep as true love, and she kept pressing me to change her! Do you know I killed myself with fire when I learned about what you did, you disgusting human being?"

"Yeah, I guess her obsession with you also nearly made her an empty shell once, and she used others to pretend that was not the case. But, for all your mutual obsession? I respect her more than you do, Edward," Finn tells him.

Edward reads his mind to find how.

"And what's wrong with seeing her as a porcelain doll? She needs protection! She needs me! I want to help her at all costs! While you say you saw her as a tough enemy! Which means you wanted to fight her!"

While Edward is ranting, Leah suplexes him from behind. "What he means, idiot, is that at least he saw Bella as someone with agency, while YOU never did! That's why I believe Finn was right to stab her, even if he had a choice."

Edward reads her mind and sees she is about to land a left hook. So he blocks it. "Agency? I know what she wants more than anyone else! But still, I wanted to protect her soul when she wanted immortality. To become like me! I just wanted to keep her safe!"

Then he reads Leah's mind. Two left kicks, one right. He blocks all the attacks, but then he reads Finn's mind, who is about to shoot him from behind. As he is about to move and dodge, Leah, being faster than him, grapples with him.

"I am glad that you at least cared about her humanity while she didn't!" Leah says.

The blaster bolt hits Edward's back, allowing Leah to punch through his skin with a Sonic Overdrive. The soundwaves damage the vampire's insides.

Finn steps forward. "I am... not as glad."

"Why?" Edward asks.

"Well... I had my own vampiric stalker as well for a short while. Her name was Armilla, and she didn't want to change me out of fear I would be her equal and stronger. She did want that imbalanced dynamic. And you, wanting to be on top of the food chain and better than everyone, wanted the same as her!" Finn points out.

Edward's POV

"You are just projecting!" I tell the human. What does he know about vampires? I am not Armilla, anyway, my eyes are gold, hers are red.

But he seems too sure... and what's this? I want to see his face when he realizes I also read his mind.

How? How can a puny human have a power like mine? That's how he knew I actually wanted Bella to always be weaker than me?

Those Force users are an anomaly. A defense mechanism of the prey to defy its role. I am the top of the food chain, Finn.

I can see Leah's thoughts. I am going to give him a left hook. But even if she is faster than me, I can anticipate and react on time! So, I block...

Ouch! Right hook? But your thoughts said...

Third Person POV

Edward is sent flying, blood coming off his mouth. He thinks of something else. He grabs a one-ton boulder and throws it straight at Leah. Then he uses his fists and breaks it apart, kicking the pieces at both the Jedi and the werewolf. He also reads Finn's mind, which says he is planning to kick it back.

So he gets prepared to dodge on time.

But Finn, reading Edward's mind, uses the Force and throws back the chunk too early, hitting him, while Leah is so fast she dodges the piece coming at her anyway.

Edward barely smashes the chunk of boulder apart, but Leah punches him several times in the face. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

Edward scans her mind to see if she got over silver. Seeing she didn't, he finds a silver dagger and is about to stab Leah with it.

Finn is about to shoot, but the demon with the axe takes the shot and stands on his feet. "I will duel you once Edward kills your girlfriend. No outside help anymore."

But Leah is still too fast, as Edward only stabs her afterimage. She thinks of getting behind him, so he thrusts at right behind himself... but she didn't say how far.

So, once he misses, she, who was half a meter away when he thrusted the knife, quickly closes the distance and stabs him with her stakehammer. So, he reads her mind and sees that this weapon, being automatic, can stake him rapidly with no movement of her hands. Aware he is doomed, he attempts one last stab, which would have struck home if Leah only used her old, normal stake. But now her rapid staking is too fast for him and he breaks apart, turning into pieces and getting forced back into the tornado.

"Good thing we only face you after we got enough experience and not during the Fall of Volterra. You almost hit me a couple of times."

Finn turns to the demon with the axe. "Do you know a way out of here?"

"I, Bueraxe, only know to guard and fight. But beat me in a fair duel, and I will tell you whom to find."