Their eyes locked over the glowing axe.
For a second Melody felt like she was back in her old life, sitting on the couch with Ryan, both of them finishing their slices and realizing only one piece of pizza was left.
“Dibs!” Leo yelled, lunging for the artifact.
Melody jumped for it too, but his smaller frame and lower center of gravity let him slip right past her reach. He grabbed the axe. Soft blue-white light immediately began flowing into him, not as bright as the monster cores but clear enough that she could see him taking in more mana. His golden fleece hoodie glowed faintly in the dark office. When the light finally faded, Leo stood there holding the axe by the butt end, staring at it like it was the best Christmas present he had ever received.
“You little goblin,” Melody muttered in disbelief.
Leo stuck his tongue out at her and went right back to admiring his new toy.
“I wonder what it does,” he said, still transfixed.
“Maybe it cuts trees really well.”
Leo gave her a sly smile. “Jealous?”
Melody wanted to laugh at the boyish grin, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. Instead she reached behind her, pulled the snake blade free, and began slowly rubbing the towels of its makeshift sheath along the curved edge like she was polishing a trophy.
“Oh no,” she said in a dramatic, tragic voice. “Whatever will I do without an axe? Man, my whole childhood I used to just dream about having a magical… axe. Woe is me.” She even acted out a faint, one hand pressed to her forehead.
Leo watched the entire performance with the flat, unimpressed stare of a child who had already lost all patience.
“You done?” he asked, sounding exactly like a tired mom.
“Oh, woe is me! The agony!” Melody added an extra moan of sorrow for good measure.
“I hate you,” Leo said, and walked off toward the blankets carrying his new axe like a prized possession.
Melody smiled to herself and silently applauded the act. If only she could have been a mom before dying, she would’ve been great at it.
…Wait. Mom?
The thought hit her strangely. She walked over to an antique mirror leaning against the wall, one of those large ones that used to hang above a sink. The girl who stared back was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. Her long red hair was tangled and unkempt. Her emerald eyes gleamed with a soft, unfamiliar energy.
“…energy?” Melody mumbled, leaning closer. The irises shimmered faintly in the dark. “Mana,” she whispered in quiet amazement. “Hold on, I was having an existential crisis.”
She pulled back and looked at the whole reflection.
“Who am I?” she sighed.
After the excitement from the axe faded, they found the most comfortable spots they could in the cramped office. They reinforced the door and windows with whatever junk would make noise if someone tried to get in, then finally settled down for the night. Leo curled up with his Bluey backpack as a pillow and the glowing axe within easy reach. Melody pulled the old quilt over herself and closed her eyes, still turning the question over in her head.
Melody snapped upright under the old quilt, heart hammering.
“AHHHH!”
The scream came again—high, human, close. Leo was still dead asleep on his side of the office floor. Melody stared at him for half a second, half-dazed, then the scream tore through the night once more.
Someone was alive out there. And probably not for long.
She didn’t think. She grabbed the fang dagger and the snake sword, shoved the bookcase aside, and tore the rear door open hard enough that the handle came off in her hand. The alley swallowed her.
“AHH—MMM—HHAAA!”
The sound was muffled now, like someone was trying to quiet the woman or drag her away. Melody ran toward it, boots skidding on rubble, pulse loud in her ears.
She rounded the first corner and froze.
The alley was alive with plants.
Thick vines climbed the brick walls. Enormous flowers the size of car tires hung from them, petals soft and fleshy, glowing with soft bioluminescent bulbs that pulsed in slow blues and violets. The air smelled sweet and heavy, like overripe fruit mixed with something richer. The flowers seemed to shift as she passed, petals turning toward her like they could sense the heat of her body.
The scream came again.
Melody forced herself forward, weaving between the moving blooms. Another corner—
And she saw it.
A skinny Black woman hung upside down in the air, held aloft by a massive flower whose thick, glistening tentacles wrapped tight around her waist, thighs, and wrists. One thick tendril was buried deep between her legs, slowly pumping in and out with wet, rhythmic sounds. Another had just pulled free of her mouth, leaving her lips shiny and open so she could gasp for air.
“AHH—my god—fuck—MMM—AHHHH!”
Her whole body shook hard. Her back arched. Clear fluid dripped down her stomach and over her breasts as she climaxed, the flower’s tentacle still working inside her.
Melody’s brain short-circuited for one full second.
Then the only conclusion it could reach slammed into place: a woman was being raped by a plant.
She lunged.
The snake blade flashed. She severed three of the holding tentacles in one clean arc. The flower let out a wet, high-pitched shriek and immediately began to wither. The remaining tendrils loosened. The woman dropped hard onto the pavement with a startled “Ow!” landing on her shoulders, legs still spread, torn clothes hanging off her in useless strips. Her bare pussy and ass were fully exposed under the soft glow of the dying flower.
Melody stood over her, sword raised, ready for the plant to fight back.
Instead the entire bloom collapsed in on itself like a reverse time-lapse, shrinking, drying, and sinking straight back into the cracked asphalt until nothing remained but a faint wet spot and a few scattered petals.
The woman scrambled up on shaking legs, hair wild, eyes furious.
“NOOO!”
She lunged for the last disappearing tip of the flower, fingers closing on empty air. The plant was gone.
“No! No, you fucking bitch!” She spun on Melody, pointing an accusing finger, completely unbothered by her own nakedness. “The fuck was that for?! You trying to step on my spot?!”
Melody’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
“I… what?”
The woman in front of her was striking even covered in sweat and glistening plant slick. She had a lean, athletic body with tight, defined abs and long toned legs. Her skin was a smooth medium-dark brown that caught the faint bioluminescent glow still lingering in the alley. Short, tight natural curls framed a sharp, pretty face with high cheekbones and full lips currently twisted in pure outrage. She stood completely bare, breasts small and firm, the soft folds between her legs still shiny and slightly open from what the flower had been doing to her. The sheer absurdity of the situation left Melody completely blank.
The woman jabbed a finger harder. “That was my flower! I spent two days teaching that thing exactly how I like it! Two days! And you just cut it down like some goddamn bitch cockblocker?!”
Melody stared.
“…You wanted that?”
“Of course I wanted that!” the woman shouted, still breathing hard from the interrupted orgasm. “You think I’m out here screaming for fun? That plant was the best dick I’ve had since my boyfriend dumped me! And now it’s gone because you decided to play jedi!”
She took a shaky step forward, still completely bare from the waist down, and glared up at Melody with pure outrage.
“So what the hell are you gonna do about my dick plant, huh?”