~ Tнє Pαяα∂σχ Hσυѕє ~ now back to regularly scheduled chaos

“Do you know how to fry things?” Nico asked after a moment, not sure if cooking methods were the same between worlds. “You basically cut the potatoes into strips and soak them in boiling hot oil for a bit until they get nice and crispy and then you pour a ton of salt on them.” He gave a small smile. “My mother would have killed me for eating junk like that probably, but hey. It kept me alive. And it tastes good.” Nico was pickier about food than he would like to admit. It had gotten worse since his time in Tartarus. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he found it harder to eat. Perhaps it was just because he’d had to ration for so long, half afraid he was going to starve to death if the fear and the monsters didn’t kill him first. “If you make some, tell me how they are,” he added after a long moment, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt. “I don’t think you need anything complicated in order to make them, as long as you have oil in your world. I can’t imagine you don’t.”
Kelsier was right, Nico was running out of other topics. He didn’t like talking that much anyway, and trying to come up with conversation topics when there was something he needed to say that he was avoiding saying… well, it was more difficult than it usually was.
He sucked in a deep breath, his gaze following Kelsier’s down to the gloves. They seemed innocent, now that Nico had spoken up. Now that he hadn’t lost a friend he had just started to earn. Now that he knew that Kelsier’s experience was similar to Nico’s, without the self-hatred and the anger and the fear.
“Am I?” Nico asked distractedly, letting his eyes close for just a moment. “Because it’s so much better than I ever could have imagined it would be. And I’m tired of being angry.” He looked away from Kelsier, going back to staring at the floor. “The world should be better than it is. And maybe we aren’t at war anymore, maybe things are better, but it’s… it’s not fair that it isn’t perfect yet. That it’s never going to be perfect.” Maybe he was angry. Maybe Kelsier was right that he had a right to be.
He shifted the drink in his hand, letting Kelsier’s words run through him. Letting himself soak in every word, soak in the intent behind Kelsier’s voice.
“I don’t talk much at all anyway, it’s not that difficult to avoid talking about this.” He gave a small shrug, suddenly feeling and looking very small. He wasn’t going to ever be able to make Kelsier afraid of him. He didn’t want to anymore. He was okay being vulnerable with Kelsier, though he didn’t know why. He didn’t know what Kelsier had done to him. He didn’t trust easily, but here he was, trusting Kelsier entirely. This time the House hadn’t forced it out of him, and Kelsier hadn’t tried to do so either.
“Thank you,” he managed after a long moment. “I don’t think… I don’t think I want anything to come between us again,” he added after a heavy pause. “I don’t… expect people to tolerate me that much, or want to share hot chocolate with me, or anything.” He wasn’t saying he liked Kelsier, even if he wanted to. He wasn’t saying he trusted him, even if he did. “I’m glad you don’t hate me for this.”
He almost laughed in the following moment, watching Kelsier react to the hot chocolate. Well… the truth about the “fake” hot chocolate.
“Don’t feel too bad,” Nico managed after a small moment, his smile a little bit more genuine this time. “If I had never tasted hot chocolate before, I would have liked this stuff too. Unfortunately, I’ve had the real stuff, and this doesn’t measure up.” His expression grew solemn for a long moment as he considered the small slight on the part of the House. “I promise,” he said, holding Kelsier’s gaze seriously, “If it’s in my power, I will find a way for you to taste real hot chocolate. And there’s nothing I hate more than a broken promise.” He let the barest hint of a smile touch his lips again before he took a long sip of the fake hot chocolate. He barely had time to look back at Kelsier to see his response before promptly blinking out.

Kelsier | Trust Exercise Room | strider

“Of course I can fry things, that’s easy. You just heat up oil and stick the food in it and then wait.” He nodded seriously as Nico explained how French fries were made, and frowned slightly. “Wait...how much oil do you use? Because soaking implies they’re completely submerged and that is...a lot of oil.” He tried to imagine it, but found he couldn’t picture what it was probably actually like, considering he didn’t think Nico meant a bathtub full of boiling liquid.
He understood the need to ration food. In the Pits, there had never been enough of anything, least of all food. But he also didn’t understand everything Nico had gone through, because Nico had survived something that was arguably worse than the Pits has ever been. Kelsier didn’t even know everything that had happened to him, he just knew what trauma looked like.
Kelsier knew what it was like to be tired. So tired you felt like not going on at all, but never actually giving up. Sometimes...sometimes it was okay to give up just for a moment, though. Sometimes it was okay to let it take over, as long as you never let it destroy you. As long as you could always beat it back again. As long as, when the tears dried, you could get up and keep going.
Kelsier knew Nico, and so it didn’t surprise him that Nico thought that. It didn’t really surprise him to learn that Nico assumed people wouldn’t want to spend time around him. Yet, the Mistborn couldn’t see why anyone would object to having Nico around. He smiled. “I’m glad you told me.”
Kelsier blinked as Nico held his gaze, and he didn’t look away. He knew what a promise meant to Nico, and he was surprised to receive one now, but not unhappy. A small, very genuine smile tilted his lips up and he sipped the fake hot chocolate, enjoying the sweetness against his tongue, before he nodded. “I believe you.” He said, and then Nico was gone, and so was he.

Kelsier | Boss Battle Room | Stri again

Kelsier blinked in, a dark expression on his face and a dagger in his hand. “-sure about that?” He asked in a dangerously low voice, then realized where he was and sighed, leaning back on his heels. “Perfect.” He muttered, flipping the weapon over in his hand before sheathing it. He looked around the room, which was large and somewhat clinical, not very warm or familiar at all. It gave him a sense of foreboding.
He stepped back, scanning his surroundings carefully for something to explain his unease. Maybe it was just that he was alone, and that wasn’t common in the House.

Kelsier | Boss Battle Room | strider

“Oh, insanity isn’t so bad.” Kelsier remarked, turning to face Nico with a smile. He, too, had noticed that the living room had been forgotten, which was hardly a good sign - it seemed to suggest that the House had things all planned out and didn’t want to risk them deciding to simply not go in a room.
He spread his arms. “No offense taken.” He assured Nico, had he would have said more, but his surroundings interrupted him.
His dagger was in his hand in an instant, and he turned, facing the unknown with a sharper expression clearing the humor from his face. He was suddenly Kelsier, Survivor of Hathsin, not Kelsier the thief. The change was evident in everything down to the way he held himself.
The fog was familiar, of course, as it was a lot like the mists he was used to, but he suspected that was where the similarities would end. He risked a glance at Nico, gauging the boy’s position carefully, judging how fast he could get to him. Was it a good idea to move?

Kelsier | Boss Battle Room | strider

“Ah, I’ve lost my mind, not my wits.” Kelsier replied easily, but his attention was clearly not on quip. He was completely focused on danger now, his mind processing the situation quickly and efficiently, his body tensed and ready to respond. He stood tall, his dagger held to the side, the blade pointed outward. He, too, had never seen Nico fight anyone but himself. He didn’t want to, especially considering how dangerous this room felt.
He heard the reaction from Nico before he saw what was coming for him. Something huge, fast, and very, very unfamiliar…he had been right to assume he wouldn’t be ready. The thing dove at him and he barely dodged it, spinning to the side and slashing at it with his glass dagger, even as it turned to catch him. He Pushed on a coin and shot straight up to avoid it, the tassels of his cloak flowing out behind him like mist.
He risked a glance towards Nico, and his blood ran cold. “Inquisitor!” He shouted, though he knew the warning was useless, as Nico had no idea what that meant. “Dammit.” He hissed, but before he could explain, he was falling, the coin kicked roughly out from under him by his yet unknown attacker.
He landed light on his feet and went in for the attack, pulling out a second dagger as he did. He burned pewter as he attacked, his eyes burning and his face a mask of concentration and fury.

Kelsier | Boss Battle Room | strider

Kelsier was used to many weaker enemies, not one incredibly strong one. He had teased Inquisitors before, yes, and lured them away from places he didn’t want them to be, but even he had never killed one before. And this...thing….didn’t even look human, aside from being vaguely human shaped. It was huge, and it still managed to move far faster than it should have been able to, it’s enormous axe swinging with terrifying precision.
He didn’t have time to even look at Nico again before he was forced to launch himself out of the way again, using up more of his precious metals just to stay alive. He grit his teeth as he landed again, and flipped his dagger in his hand before throwing it at the thing as hard as he could, flaring pewter to give it even more strength.
It should have hurt the monster, at least. His aim was true and it imbedded itself right where the heart would be in a human, but the thing barely seemed to notice the blade. Kelsier swore under his breath and sprang away as the axe swung at him again, flipping in the air to avoid the other hand and rolling to his feet just in time to avoid the next blow.
“Come on, you enormous lump.” He hissed between his teeth, and raised his dagger. “Come on…”
He didn’t have a plan. He didn’t even have a weapon that he knew would damage the thing. What he did have was a dagger and an extra vial of metals, which had often proved to be more than enough. Maybe it would be enough here, too.
Maybe.

Kelsier | Boss Battle Room | strider

Kelsier knew he couldn’t keep this dance up for much longer, but unless he somehow discovered this thing’s weakness, he was going to have to. He wasn’t about to give up just because there seemed to be no way of taking this thing down, and he wasn’t about to distract Nico from his own fight, which Kelsier couldn’t imagine was going any better. He didn’t know the extent of Nico’s powers, but he had a good idea of an Inquisitor’s abilities and he had a bad feeling about anyone trying to take one down alone. There was a reason he had never tried it.
He ducked and dodged, mostly evading the thing rather than fighting it head on, since the only way he could even reach most of it was by throwing his daggers and he didn’t want to lose any more until he could work out what its weaknesses were. The hand swung at him again and he flared pewter, only to discover he was out.
The first slammed into him and he flew backwards, hitting the wall with a dull thump. The impact stunned him for a precious few seconds, and then the monster was there, one hand pinning Kelsier in place, the other one raising the axe high over its head. Its face glared down at the Mistborn and it didn’t hesitate the way so many monsters did at the final blow.
Kelsier didn’t blink. It was useless, but he fought anyway, stabbing and slicing at the thing’s hand, his hazel eyes bright with determination, and yes, fear too. Was he really going to die like this, after everything? Or would he simply come back again, the way he had in the other rooms? He didn’t want to find out, but he had a feeling he was about to.

Kelsier | Boss Battle Room | strider

Kelsier expected to feel death grip him once again. Would it hurt? He had died here before, but he knew better than to expect the House to be anything but completely unpredictable, and so he didn’t know what to expect from this death. Oh, he hadn’t accepted his fate, by any means - he still fought with everything he had to free himself from the hand pinning him - but he wasn’t an idiot. His metals were useless against this monster. His skills were not enough. He was not enough.
He heard Nico’s cry and his eyes moved towards the boy, at first thinking that Nico was crying for help. He fought harder, stabbing the hand and growling with frustration as it failed to so much as twitch away from the blow.
He turned his head, searching for Nico. Were they friends now? In Kelsier’s mind they were. In Kelsier’s mind, they were friends, and it didn’t matter because the House was about to kill them both. Probably not permanently, but the Mistborn didn’t like that use of ‘probably’. His eyes found Nico a split second before the sword skidded towards him, and they widened, shock flashing in their hazel depths.
He grabbed the sword and raised it right as the axe came down on him, and buried it to the hilt in the monster’s arm. The thing screamed and Kelsier let himself smile as it released him and stumbled back, screaming and waving its wounded arm, pain written across its huge face. Kelsier was on his feet in a moment and attacking, slicing and dancing backwards out of reach of the flailing arms. The thing lunged at him and he Pushed on a coin, shooting upward and over its head.
He landed lightly on its back and plunged the sword down into its neck, his face set, his eyes blazing.
The thing screamed again. And then, it was gone, and Kelsier fell to the ground and landed, sword pointed down and on one knee, head bent.
He didn’t give himself even a moment to catch his breath. Instead, he forced himself to his feet and turned towards Nico, his eyes scanning the situation, fear and anger warring in his eyes. “Nico!” He shouted, and ran at the fight, ready to kill the Inquisitor, ignoring the fact that he had never been able to do it before. If all he had needed was motivation, well, he had it now.

Nico didn’t have time to see what Kelsier did with the sword. He focused instead on the metal spikes, desperately trying to get them to move. It wasn’t as easy as it was for Hazel, but he felt them shift, just enough. Evidently, the Inquisitor could feel it too, because it made a sound so inhuman it made Nico’s blood run cold. He was in the House. He was in the House fighting an almost human monster, he just… he had to remember that.
And then he didn’t have time to remember anything at all, because the mace swung up and caught him straight in the chest. His body flew back and he hit the floor with a sound he was pretty certain his body wasn’t supposed to make. A quick glance over at Kelsier told him he was still fighting the Titan, but he seemed to be winning now. Good. Nico’s bag lay on the ground beside him, the strap severed by the blow. Distantly he was aware that there was blood, but he tried not to pay it attention as he managed to zip his jacket up around the wound. If he saw how much he was bleeding, he wouldn’t be able to finish this fight.
Somehow (adrenaline, probably), Nico was able to push himself back up onto his feet, his legs spread apart a little bit wider than usual to steady him. Let the thing swing again. Let it swing a thousand times, it wasn’t going to stop Nico from doing what he had to do.
I am Nico di Angelo, he told himself, eyes narrowed as he went back to pushing on the spikes with his powers, and as Ambassador of Pluto, this is my birthright.
The spikes began moving again, even as he heard his name yelled from the other side of the room. A wicked smile spread across his lips and he pushed harder. A scream built in his throat, full of all of the anger and pain the House had caused. Full of the desire to live through this. He directed the scream – more of a battle cry, really – at the Inquisitor, just as the spikes flew out in every direction, and the Inquisitor crumpled.
Wound forgotten, Nico turned to face Kelsier with an almost-smile plastered across his features. “How does it feel,” he managed, respect and admiration shining in his eyes (with almost no attempt to hide it), “to kill something that most people couldn’t dream of beating?” Killing a Titan was, no pun intended, huge. And Kelsier had done it like it was nothing.

The battle was over, the euphoria fading, and Nico had to brace himself against the wave of exhaustion that swept over him. Whatever that had been was dead, and they were both okay, and Nico found himself staring at the lifeless Titan behind Kelsier.
“The greatest demigods of my time working together can barely kill a Titan,” Nico managed, brow creasing. “What you did is nothing short of amazing.” More often than not, they had to find ways to neutralize the threat of the Titans without actually killing them. Wiping their memory, imprisoning them, all of that. They could, technically, die, but Nico wasn’t sure he’d ever seen one actually go down.
There was something about the look in Kelsier’s eyes when Nico lifted his own to meet them that was… unsettling. Firstly, the lack of a smile was unusual, but the respect in Kelsier’s eyes was unmistakable. It almost made Nico uncomfortable, pondering whether the Mistborn actually meant that look.
It took a few moments for Nico to process exactly what Kelsier was saying. People didn’t just kill Inquisitors, much like people didn’t just kill Titans. Which meant that either their opponents here had been incredibly weakened, or they were both amazing fighters. Seeing Kelsier fight in those last few moments… Nico wouldn’t have been surprised if it were the latter. He couldn’t look at the thing he had killed. It was far easier just to look at Kelsier.
“It did something to me,” he managed, shaking his head. “It was like it… it took control of my powers.” Admitting that out loud was more frightening than Nico had anticipated. Whatever it was, if it had the power to do that… Nico shuddered. “It’s dead now, though. It’s dead.” Nico could see why people thought they were difficult to injure – even his sword had done nothing. Evidently, even though their powers were metal based, nobody in Kelsier’s world could pull the spikes out. That was an easy enough way to kill them.
Well… easy was relative. Nico couldn’t tell if the fatigue that washed over him was a result of using a power he wasn’t even confident he had, or from the wound. The wound… his eyes widened as his brain caught up to what had happened.
“I’m fine,” he said, the words more an instinct than anything else. “Lets just… get out of this room before they come back or something.” Easier said than done. Nico waited for Kelsier to leave first – he didn’t trust himself to take a step without his legs giving out. Best if Kelsier got out before that happened.

The blood loss was beginning to get to Nico. He hadn’t seen the wound, hadn’t dared look at it when he zipped up his jacket and jumped back into the fray. He had managed to convince himself that it wasn’t actually that serious, but he was quickly becoming aware that he’d been wrong.
“You mean Inquisitors can’t take away people’s powers?” There was a wariness in his voice as he finally looked down at the body strewn on the floor. Whatever it had done to him, that wasn’t what it was supposed to do. Nico didn’t like the idea of that, but he tried to shake the thought away. Maybe it had just been his imagination. Maybe he was just weaker than he anticipated. He was still recovering, after all. Maybe Tartarus had impacts on his powers he hadn’t noticed yet. Deep down, he doubted that was the case. Whatever it was, he wasn’t keen on facing the Inquisitor again. “Whatever,” he added, crossing his arms over his chest. “It doesn’t matter now, it’s dead.” He forced his gaze away, meeting Kelsier’s again. There was something wrong about the fact that Kelsier wasn’t smiling, hadn’t smiled since Nico had taken the Inquisitor down.
What were they? Two people with anger than ran deep enough that they could kill something unkillable? What was that supposed to mean? What did the House want from them? Had the room gotten colder?
Nico’s thoughts were getting fuzzier, blurring around the edges as they slid into one another. He could no longer tell where one thought ended and the next began. They needed to get out of there, and Kelsier wasn’t leaving, and Nico didn’t have the strength to shadow travel even a short distance.
He flinched as Kelsier came a step closer, then forced himself to untense, forced himself to look at Kelsier and, with trembling fingers, begin to unzip his jacket. How he was still standing was a miracle, but it was ground he didn’t want to give up.

Nico could see that Kelsier was almost as unnerved as he was, which… wasn’t a good sign. Whatever the Inquisitor could do here, it couldn’t do in Kelsier’s world. Or it was something about Nico. Nico couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever had happened, it must have been important. The House would never have allowed the Inquisitor to use that power if it weren’t important for some reason.
“Did I… do something wrong?” Nico managed, unable to see any other reason why Kelsier wasn’t smiling. Something was wrong, and he was cold and his thoughts were sluggish, and the only thing he could place as being wrong was… well, himself. Were people not supposed to kill Inquisitors? Were they good things? Nico’s heart thudded against his chest and he was starting to feel dizzy. He swayed a little on his feet, cursing under his breath as he did his best to unzip his jacket. Finally it gave way, and Nico let it fall off his slim shoulders onto the ground. It was colder without the jacket on, it was…
“Oh.” His voice was quiet as he allowed himself to glance down at the wound for the first time. “It’s not the worst I’ve had,” he managed, looking back up at Kelsier. It wasn’t, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t serious. Without thinking, he let his hand drift down to his shirt, torn and stained even darker than usual. When he looked up, Kelsier was smiling and the world felt as though it had been righted.
“I think I might be in shock,” he managed after a moment, a weak smile touching his lips as he tried to take a step towards Kelsier so the Mistborn could get a better look at the injury.

“Right,” Nico managed quietly. He wasn’t used to doing things well, if he were being honest with himself. He didn’t understand the glow of pride he felt upon hearing those words from Kelsier, didn’t know why it mattered so much what Kelsier thought of him and his actions. Kelsier already knew the worst of him, so maybe that was it. Maybe Nico wanted to prove he could do better. Maybe Nico wanted to prove to Kelsier that he was more than his darkest secrets. Maybe it was just that he was starting to understand Kelsier, and he didn’t want to let down a great man.
His breath felt… irregular. He couldn’t pinpoint why, couldn’t pinpoint whether it was too slow or too fast, it just felt wrong.
His eyes locked on Kelsier, forgetting, if only for a moment, that the man had his sword. It didn’t matter so much as the fact that he could tell Kelsier was trying to help. Why was he doing that? Something about the way he was smiling rooted Nico to the real world, tethering him while his mind tried to process the damage to his body. He tried to take a deep breath, his brows furrowing.
“I think…” he tried to take a step forward to catch the mistcloak, wobbling on his feet for a moment before his legs gave out. “I’m on the floor,” he observed distantly, gaze darting to the dead Inquisitor. “They could come back.” He frowned at that thought, trying to figure out how to get both of them out. Kelsier was going to have to leave first. Nico would just… blink home eventually. It would be fine. Right?
“I’m not staining your cape-thingy with blood,” Nico protested, looking Kelsier straight in the eye. He was already getting blood on it, but his hands were shaking too much to hold it up away from his chest.

Nico’s eyes narrowed as he tried to piece together how he had ended up on the floor and why Kelsier was closer now. Close enough that normally he’d be freaked out about it, but wasn’t paying it much heed now.
“Were you trying to catch me?” he asked after a moment, tilting his head as though he didn’t understand. He didn’t. “I’m not that tall, it’s not a long fall.” The words rhymed, which was odd, but he had a feeling that wasn’t what he was supposed to be focusing on. His chest hurt now, and he took a breath in to steady himself. It was better he feel it than not – the pain might keep him awake and alive. Kelsier was trying to save his life, which seemed… incredibly stupid given the circumstances. They didn’t know how long the bodies would stay there before the House decided to test them again, and Nico doubted even Kelsier would be able to fight off both a Titan and an Inquisitor at once.
“My point is that the House might generate… more.” He tried to stand back up, but the dizziness forced him down again. Kelsier was probably right about the cloak, they needed to stop the bleeding before anything else.
“Are you really bragging about getting blood on your cloak?” Nico asked, brows raising incredulously. “Cause that seems like a pretty stupid thing to brag about.” His eyes closed for just a moment before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing and pressed the cloak against the wound.
“I don’t think I’m applying enough pressure,” he murmured after a long moment, dark eyes lifting up to meet Kelsier’s. It was as much of an invitation as Nico was capable of giving. He didn’t know if Kelsier knew him well enough yet to understand that even just saying that was equivalent to him pleading for Kelsier’s help. He was good at dealing with things on his own. He was good at getting rid of his desperation. But now… he didn’t want to.

“Yeah,” Nico admitted, his eyelids fluttering back open. “It hurts.” An almost smile appeared on his lips as he turned his head to better look at Kelsier. “I was struck in the chest with a mace, did you think it’d feel like the physical embodiment of rainbows?” While the comment could have been a sarcastic one full of biting ire and plenty of vitriol had it been directed at someone Nico hadn’t wanted there, it was softer when directed at Kelsier. Almost a joke, if Nico were capable of such a thing.
He frowned as Kelsier said he’d fight whatever the House threw at them. He had no doubt that Kelsier meant what he said, and he supposed he had no right to doubt Kelsier’s skill after watching him best a titan, but the House could do plenty of damage now that it saw what they were capable. Maybe it was as much about proving themselves to the House as it was proving themselves to each other. The thought didn’t sit well with Nico, but it was, at the moment, the least of his worries.
“That’s dumb of you,” he commented, but he couldn’t stop the gratitude from seeping into his voice. “I can probably think of at least a few hundred reasons you should leave me here. But you’re stubborn and I’m tired, so I doubt that’s going to work.” He managed another breath, blinking a few times before adding, quietly “I’m stubborn too, for the record.”
Nico barely reacted as Kelsier came closer. His eyes narrowed just a little bit before he forced himself to breathe, to remember he was okay. He couldn’t get over his fear just by forcing himself to, but this was okay. This was baby steps, and he trusted Kelsier. That was almost a shock. He’d realized before that he trusted him, but only on a superficial level. This was real I place my life in your hands kind of trust. And for once, Nico wasn’t afraid of it.
“Ow,” he mumbled quietly at the force of Kelsier’s hands pressing against the wound. He wondered distantly if the cloak had been designed to soak up blood on occasions like this, but he didn’t ask. All he did was look back up to meet Kelsier’s eyes and murmur a nearly inaudible “Thank you.”