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“Ah, shit.” Skull cursed glaring at the adult sized motorcycle parked at the base of the mountain.
“Watch your fucking language, Lackey.”
Skull twitched but refused to turn to the now squeaky voice of his “superior”. Instead, Skull just glared at his bike, like that would make the machine shrink so he could escape. But sadly, the poor vehicle remained just as it had been when Skull pulled up to this meeting.
He could hear the others congregating behind him as he balled up his fists. He wasn’t an angry person, per say, but at that moment all he could hear was the rushing of his blood pumping through his ears. The new chain wrapped around his neck felt especially heavy.
Breathing exercises, he reminded himself, don’t forget your breathing exercises.
Not that breathing would fix his new size downgrade. It was one thing to be over six feet tall and angry. He now barely seemed to reach two feet in height.
Not the sort of thing that would inspire caution if he threw a tantrum now.
He needed to think. He needed to plan. He needed to hurt the man in the iron hat.
So, he was a good boy. He could play the part rather well after all. No one suspected the goofy showmen of being anything other than what he said he was.
That meant wailing when Renato hit him. Meant Skull allowed himself dragged into the car Luce had picking them up. Meant spending a month being nothing but the stupid lackey the others believed him to be while they tried to figure out what happened.
He gratefully accepted Luce offer of clothes. He didn’t however accept the offer for much else. Skull might not have large networks of contacts like the others to fall back on, but that hadn’t ever stopped him before.
When the group split, Skull vowed he was going to break the new curse on his form and be free again. He didn’t really care how he went about this vow, but it was going to happen. That Checkerface bastard messed with the wrong Cloud.
Prior to being the World’s Greatest Stuntman, Skull was a carnie. He flourished among the castaways and oddities normal society called Freaks. No one looked twice at them, and with a thick layer of makeup no one really cared what they looked like in normal clothes.
Luckily, even as his wild stunts got too big for the Big Top, he hadn’t lost his family in the circuit. Sure, their main Circus was disbanded when the old Ringmaster finally kicked it, but that just meant there were now several other places Skull could go. All he needed was a good word from an old friend and he had a new home in under an hour.
His first stop was with The Extraordinary Midget Mr. M, or Micah as he was known to his friends. The three-foot-tall magician that could swallow swords and wow crowds with dazzling illusions. He also happened to be Skull’s ticket to far superior mobility aids than Verde was producing.
“So hotshot,” Micah grinned that nasty grin of his as he eyed Skull, “thought you’d finally come up to my level, huh?”
“Fuck off, maggot.” Skull snarled back before finding a fond grin chase across his face. “How’ve you been?”
Micah shrugged his shoulders before running a hand through wiry black curls. “I heard Kitty has gotten in trouble with those Nazis in PETA.”
Skull snorted to fight down a snarl. “Do you think it’d be a terrorist act if I set up a little free pyrotechnic show in PETA’s main office?”
“Maybe,” Micah said solemnly, “normies don’t understand how to have a good laugh.”
Skull heaved a large sigh, making Micah cackle.
“Anyway, how are you might height again?” Micah asked and Skull shrugged before launching into his tall tale.
No one said he couldn’t tell his family about the Mafia. Micah was a good listener all things considered. Though the midget found the “real” Mafia to be a bunch of overdramatic narcissists, which was saying something coming from someone steeped in showbiz.
“No worries, Scully, I got you.” Micah assured patting him on the back. “We’ll need to get your measurements. You’ll be up and going in no time. But I suggest tracking down Arty. Sounds like you’re going to need to brush up on your fighting skills.”
Measurements were taken, and the two parted ways with Skull’s new mobility aids already ordered. He even was getting a Fiat to be used as a main vehicle. The bright red compact had already spent some life as a Clown Car, but no one needed to know that.
Tracking down Artemis the Belle Morte, or just Arty to friends, was a little harder. The tall blond beauty that once wowed crowds with her death-defying knife throwing act, had retired. Instead, he found her in South Cali running a biker bar of all things.
She also nearly busted a gut when he sauntered into the Hangman’s Noose.
“I didn’t believe Charlie when I heard. Oh, gods, you are seriously tiny!” She crowed as soon as her green eyes landed on him. “Can I have a picture?”
“Fuck off, bitch.” Skull grumbled as he accepted a tall glass of ice water. “Do you think this is fun? I had to retake my driving test!”
Arty just burst into more deep belly laughs. Skull watched coolly as she braced herself against the large oak bar she was standing behind. But every time she glanced up at him, she began snickering.
He once again wondered why he liked these Freaks he called family.
But for all that Arty was no longer in the circus, her skills were just as sharp. Perhaps more so now, as the Hangman’s Noose had its fair share of brawls. Skull adjusted to fighting both hand to hand and with a knife after only a month at the place.
Arty was even helpful in hooking him up with a bike shop that thought making a midget bike would be a fun challenge. Skull would be forever grateful to her, even if she still couldn’t stop laughing whenever she glanced at him. He had only managed to stab her twice for that, but considering it was Arty that was a feat Skull doubted even Renato could pull off.
Once he had his accessibility in order, as well as a nice set of wheels, Skull turned his attention to work. He had been surviving rather well on the money he had saved up from his stunt shows. Those shows were now down the drain, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t completely out of options.
He knew he had to take up some sort of Mafia gig. Not only was he getting sporadic messages from Luce to do so. But he wasn’t stupid and saw the power the others were beginning to wield as Arcobaleno.
Luckily for him, he found a way to avoid joining a Famiglia.
Charlene Ducas, aka Charlie, was the daughter of the Ringmaster. If she had only been two years older when her father died, maybe she would have been able to take over the circus before that gold digger that married her father sold it. Skull probably wouldn’t have gone solo and gained so much fame if that had been the case, but at least he would still be home.
Regardless, in the time between the circus being sold and Skull being cursed, Charlie had gone her own way. She fell in and out of bad crowds thanks to her stepmother and was soon left destitute with a mountain of debt. Then at twenty, Charlie had started turning her life around when she opened up a gym.
“We hold illegal boxing tournaments throughout the year,” Charlie said as they sat in the dingy office space in the converted warehouse. “I know the police are trying to ‘investigate’ our sanctioned matches. So, I was thinking of moving the underground stuff out of here. I’m going to need someone that can do the illegal stuff. You up for it?”
Skull didn’t need to be asked twice.
Not only was Charlie practically his niece, it gave him a nice little cover in the Mafia. Plus, Charlie had a pretty good setup for the underground fighting tournaments. All Skull had to do was tweak things a bit and soon even the police were wondering why they ever thought Charlie might be running anything illegal.
Skull also introduced a new fighting tournament that drew quite a bit of attention from the Mafia. He began pitting Flame Active fighters against each other in “special” tournaments. With some help from Verde, who was secretly using the tournament as a way to test equipment, Skull’s little underground fighting rink was a fast-growing success in the Mafia.
Skull however was surprised when the other Arcobaleno showed up for an exhibition match.
It had started out as a joke between Skull and Charlie. His boss had mentioned offhandedly that he should show some of the more pompous upstarts why he was considered among the strongest. Then as something of a prank, Charlie had plastered a poster up in the main fighting area of Skull’s underground rink with a date and time advertising Skull’s boast of fighting any contender.
Skull had kept it up with a bit of a snort, not really planning on going through with it. But then one of his new minions began selling tickets to the farce as a means to generate some cash. Skull beat the minion black and blue, then took eighty percent off the minion’s ticket sales.
Fifty percent went to Skull’s pocket with thirty percent going to the general upkeep of the main fighting area. Of course, Verde took ten percent and Charlie got fifteen percent of Skull’s cut, but Skull had a hard time complaining. Especially not when some of the more prominent Mafia families learned of the exhibition and began inquiring on how to enter some of their picks into the lineup.
A few quick logistical moves and Skull had a small tournament lined up for contenders to qualify for the main event. But he also found he would have to find someone to act as officials for the fights facing him. He had the Vongola pushing for him to hire the Cervello, but Skull didn’t trust them.
Instead, he laughed at Charlie’s suggestion.
On the day of the qualifying tournament, Skull had to basically take over Mafia Land. Colonnello had agreed to host the large tournament after getting the details. The Rain even entered with a grin after Skull helped him set up a large arena for the tournament.
Skull was practically howling with laughter when, instead of the Cervello who were expected, the officials turned out to be the Vindice. More specifically, Skull managed to get Jaeger to be the referee. Though, Arty happily accepted the job of being the perky announcer, much to Charlie’s amusement.
“Welcome, one and all, to the qualifying tournament for next month’s exhibition! I’m Belle your lovely announcer!” Arty announced with flare as she easily fell into her role as if she had just come home. “The winners of each nine brackets today will be facing off against Skull, the Cloud Arcobaleno, next month! Overseeing these fights, and to keep things neutral, is our honorable guest and official, Jaeger of the Vindice!”
Skull snickered yet again as lights panned to the morbid figure looming not far from Arty. The two were wonderfully contrasted, with Arty wearing a sparkly sequin dress that would have easily fit in with her old circus outfits and Jaeger head to toe in black formal. Skull once again patted himself on the back for setting things up like this, especially since Arty was a professional and easily hid any unease she might have as she practically vibrated with excitement next to her dour companion.
As Arty launched into the rules of the tournament, Skull sat back with a grin in his seat next to Charlie in their VIP box. Charlie, herself, had opted to cover herself almost fully, leaving only her sparkling amber eyes visible. It was to keep her identity secret, especially since by now most knew she was Skull’s boss.
Skull himself wore a modified stunt suit Micah, and their old seamstress Nadia, had come up for him. It had all the hidden padding and protections of his old stunt suit. But it was sleek in its design and didn’t make it obvious he was wearing anything protective at all.
It was also something he had to keep Verde’s grubby hands from. The scientist had been intrigued when he first saw Skull’s new outfit. Even now, seated on the other side of Charlie, Verde was muttering about synthetic fabrics.
Skull turned back to the tournament, which was going rather well. They were rotating fights between the brackets to give contenders time to recover a little. And some of them needed time to recover, especially since lethal force was acceptable.
Then the door to the VIP box opened.
Skull peered around his chair to check who it was.
“Fucking, shit.”
“Watch your fucking language, Lackey.” Renato grinned as he led the way. Behind the miniature hitman was Luce, Fon, Lal, Colonnello, and Viper, as well as Daniela from the Vongola.
Skull sent the Sun a silent snarl that had Charlie whacking the back of his head.
“What?” Skull yelped glaring up at his boss.
“Be polite.” Charlie reprimanded simply. “I won’t have you sinking to their level of pettiness.”
“Sure,” Skull grumbled reluctantly as he chose to make a show of politely ignoring the others.
“Signorina.” Daniela greeted sitting down in a chair that was suddenly brought in. “I was surprised to see you chose not to hire the Cervello.”
Charlie laughed as the others found seats. “Oh, that wasn’t my doing. Skull is the one in charge of organizing these little tournaments. I only allow it to keep him from causing trouble out of boredom and they generate a nice sum of income on ticket sales alone.”
“Oh?” Daniela turned to Skull with a raised eyebrow.
Skull just smiled a cool polite smile. “I have a disagreement with their boss. I don’t trust they wouldn’t be biased because of that.”
“The Cervello are never biased.” Daniela challenged making Skull snort.
“Are you sure?” He asked noting the way a few of the others eyed him. “Rules are like laws, Vongola. They can be easily misinterpreted in the right circumstances.”
Skull pointedly turned back to watching the tournament in front of him. He refused to acknowledge the sharp eyes drilling into his person. Instead, he turned a half an ear to Charlie asking Daniela where her guardians were and if she had anyone in the tournament.
It turned out that Daniela’s guardians all decided to join as it would only boost the Vongola’s image if they made it to the exhibition tournament. He also listened to the other Arcobaleno introducing themselves to Charlie. Skull had to force down a blink when Renato introduced himself as Reborn.
“Hm,” Charlie hummed at the Sun, “that wasn’t the name you gave Skull when you two met.”
“No, but in order to help distance myself from who I was before the curse I changed my name.” The newly dubbed Reborn said with a smile. “I’m currently in the process of making sure all info linking me to the previous greatest hitman in the world has been eliminated.”
“Ah, that makes sense.” Charlie conceded with mild amusement. “Skull had to do something similar with his public image.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Luce cut in and Skull had to fight not to tense, “how do you know, Skull-kun?”
Charlie took a moment to eye the miniature Sky, then the corners of her eyes curved upward in an obvious smile.
“How could I not know my uncle?” Charlie asked sounding amused as the other Arcobaleno all froze. “I admit it’s nice being reunited with him after all this time. Ever since dad died and we lost touch when mother moved us elsewhere, I had been missing my dad’s side of the family.”
“Oh?” Daniela asked with a raised eyebrow.
Charlie nodded solemnly. “Dad was the only good man mother ever married. Unfortunately, my uncles and aunts couldn’t gain custody of me and I was still legally obligated to remain in her care. But now I have Uncle Skull watching my back again, and Aunt Belle has been helping where she can.”
Skull watched as the others in the VIP box snapped their attention to Arty down near the rink. She was energetically offering color commentary with the flair of a seasoned sports broadcaster. Skull snorted as one of her comments made one of the combatants try to shoot her, but she just deftly twisted out of the way, with a move that looked unintentionally dramatic, as she turned to address the crowd to keep the audience excitedly engaged.
“I’m surprised she hasn’t stabbed anyone yet,” Charlie commented fondly making Skull snort.
“Kid, Belle might be an ex-entertainer, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still one of the best professionals you’ll ever meet.” Skull shook his head fondly.
“If you say so, uncle.” Charlie mused lightly as if the others in the immediate area weren’t eyeing the two of them with intensity.
In the end, the tournament was an utter success. Unfortunately, Colonnello was forced to withdraw thanks to Luce putting her foot down about two Arcobaleno fighting one another. Skull, however, easily dominated in his own exhibition tournament when his opponents realized in mounting horror that Skull was exceptionally durable and had an insane pain tolerance.
In the end, Viper was chosen for the next year’s exhibition match, much to Charlie’s bemusement.
The tournament was a changing point in a few things. Charlie, for one, suddenly had Luce and Daniela butting in to help the younger woman become a strong independent Donna of a new and growing Famiglia. Skull, on the other hand, was happily surprised by his growing connection to the Vindice.
Skull had been wanting to get in their good graces from almost day one of the curse. He figured if anyone knew anything about the Arcobaleno it would be the ruling body that enforced the rules of the mafia. But he hadn’t been too sure on how to contact the Vindice without offending them.
It still took a few years before he was confident enough to start making his inquires. But as soon as he mentioned to Jaeger that he was looking into how the curse worked, the Vindice enforcer whisked him away. Oh, he knew that Jaeger wasn’t the Vindice leader, like most in the Mafia assumed, so he was surprised to suddenly find himself across from the true Vindice leader.
Skull blinked at the mini-Vindice. They were the same size and Skull almost assumed this was another Arcobaleno, but quickly spotted the clear pacifier around the other’s neck. Even Lal had a murky pacifier, so Skull wondered what a clear pacifier meant.
“Skull-sama, the Immortal Stuntman.” The Vindice leader greeted. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I am Bermuda von Veckenschtein. I have been wanting to meet you for some time.”
“Pleased to meet you, Meister Bermuda.” Skull managed still lightly dazed before a slow sly smile began stretching his face. “I’ve been wanting to meet you for some time as well. I was hoping you could help me with a little problem I have with a slippery checker faced bastard and this little ball and chain.”
Skull dramatically motioned to his purple pacifier.
“Oh? And why do you think I can help?” Bermuda asked suddenly sounding amused.
“For one,” Skull began sitting back with a grin, “you’re the Vindice. The oldest establishment in the Mafia, created to enforce Omerta and the other laws of the Mafia Conduct. But now, for another, that clear pacifier you’re wearing tells me you probably have a far better understanding of the Arcobaleno Curse than I do.”
Skull had a growing reputation in the mafia as The Skull from Hell. And in that afternoon, over a cup of tea no less, an unholy alliance was forged between two equally ungodly figures. Skull not only learned the history of the Tri-ni-sette but also that Bermuda viewed Kawahira with the same black contempt Skull did.
“It won’t be easy,” Skull said as the two sat over dinner. “While I’m sure your Flame of Night can sustain my pacifier, we’re going to need some way to transfer it to a new container.”
“Do you think so?” Bermuda asked with a tilt of his head indicating he was frowning.
“From what you’ve told me and from what I remember from what little the checker bastard told us, I say the Arcobaleno Pacifiers will seek out new hosts if not contained. Even if you feed them all the Flames you can, it won’t sate its need to siphon Cloud Flames.”
“So where will we find a container?” Bermuda asked solemnly.
“I think I might have a solution. But it means dealing with the Vongola.” Skull muttered with a slight grimace. “Maybe I should just ask Daniela. No offense to her, but her son is proving to be an arrogant idiot.”
Bermuda darkly chuckled at that. “And we will need a way to draw out our checkered bastard.”
“Yes,” Skull purred darkly, “we can’t have him getting in our way.”
“Another opinion of our containment cell wouldn’t be remised either.” Jaeger put in from where he was looming not far away. “While I have full confidence in our cell for Kawahira, there might be something we have missed. I recall him having Mist Flames after all.”
And so, one dreary day, Skull went to visit an aging Daniela. The former Donna of the Vongola had just recently stepped down and given control of the family to her son. Skull wished she hadn’t, but he understood why the Vongola Rings were so important.
“I’m going to be a grandmother soon.” Daniela sighed as she tended to some of her houseplants. “How’s Charlie?”
“She’s well,” Skull said with a small smile. “She still hates you for suckering her into creating a Famiglia. She’s sworn to fake the death of herself and her immediate family to run off to live a quiet life in the country.”
“She’s your niece, she needed the protection,” Daniela said dismissively. “So, what do I owe this visit? Ever since the Arcobaleno appeared to have splintered and crackdowns have happened to your fighting tournaments, you don’t come by for chitchats.”
Skull smiled viciously. “The Vindice and I were wondering if you could get us in touch with Talbot. We have need to consult an independent consultant about a special holding cell for a dangerous target.”
“They must be very dangerous to have you on board,” Daniela noted with a raised eyebrow. “Not even the Carcassa sends out the Immortal without reason.”
“Oh, they are.” Skull agreed. “But the payoff will be glorious.”
“I’ll contact Talbot for you then,” Daniela said with a warm smile.
“Thank you.” Skull gushed before sobering a bit. “And Daniela…”
“Hm?”
“We never had this conversation.”
“What conversation?”
Nearly five years later, the Carcassa was burning. Charlie and her family were reported dead from an uprising in her Famiglia. As for Skull, among the burning wreckage of the Carcassa mansion base was a familiar cracked purple pacifier.
There was an investigation of course, but as far as anyone in the Mafia could tell, the Cloud Arcobaleno was dead.
The pacifier was delivered to the Sky Arcobaleno, Aria. The Arcobaleno hosted a lovely little ceremony for their fallen Cloud, with a tiny empty coffin. The Immortal Stuntman was surprisingly well mourned since he had done so much with his tournaments.
Still, there were a few that couldn’t quite believe the Immortal Stuntman was really gone.
Reborn was tired. A soul aching exhaustion that hurt in his bones. Despite his infernal toddler body, he found himself waking up most days stiff with cracking joints.
He was an old man trapped in a baby’s body. Once it hadn’t bothered him so much. But that was before he was reminded, just because he was an Arcobaleno that didn’t mean he couldn’t die.
Viper had gone completely underground. Verde was reportedly locked in his lab. Fon was taking on several students but refusing to leave China. As for Colonnello and Lal, the two had gone off to find themselves and Reborn hadn’t heard from them since.
None of them blamed Aria. She assured Reborn the others all checked in when they could. But the gaping hole left by Skull was still a weight heavier than the chain around their necks.
Reborn just wanted to lay down and not wake up.
So, with some quiet malaise, Reborn accepted this last assassination mission. He was supposed to be heading to Japan afterwards to train some young Sky for the Vongola. Reborn would much rather just put a bullet between the kid’s eyes to save him from this world.
He heard that prior to the deaths of Timoteo’s kids, the young Sky in question had been sealed to protect him. Reborn thought it was the most idiotic thing anyone had ever done. Now he was supposed to be going to make sure the kid could take over the Vongola.
Reborn had to force himself to refocus back on his assignment.
He was sneaking up to a private boarding school in England. It was supposedly an academy designed to help troubled children. One of those children was his target.
The Famiglia that had hired him had sent twenty other assassins before him. All they got back for their efforts were twenty corpses to dispose of. Apparently, they couldn’t get past the security of the place and whoever ran the establishment was well connected enough to know who sent them offending assassins.
But Reborn was the World’s Greatest Hitman and he wasn’t about to let a little security stop him from eliminating a target.
It turned out that the security was the student body itself. One moment everything seemed just as normal as any other school Reborn had seen. The next he was facing a wall of automatic gunfire when one of the underclassmen spotted him lurking through the halls.
Still, Reborn prided himself on his skills. He managed to dodge the all-out war his presence started. He was about to escape so he could reassess his strategy.
Then the butt of a gun slammed into the back of his head… with force.
He was in a heavy daze as he lay sprawled on the ground. His focus was swimming and he could feel Leon quickly scuttling somewhere safe. The chameleon would know to stay out of sight until he could safely reach Reborn.
“But…Yellow Pacifier… should really… Headmaster…cuffs.”
Reborn’s ears were ringing as he tried to focus on the heated debate above him. Luckily, it seemed the kids weren’t inclined to execute him right there in the hallway. Instead he found himself quickly wrenched back with cold metal being slapped onto his wrists.
He had to admit he was vaguely impressed when, instead of cradling his small form like a child, two boys hoisted him up by his shoulders between themselves. He was dangling helplessly even as his Flames sluggishly began helping to clear his stunned mind. He mentally cursed himself for his inattention and wondered just what horrid person ran what appeared to be a school for assassins.
He didn’t have to wonder long as he was dragged into a rather nice office and unceremoniously dropped into a plush but uncomfortable chair. He only paid half attention to the two boys giving a rather succinct report as he tried to get his bearings. Then as he focused on the man behind the desk, he heard the door shut.
The two boys having left to find Leon.
“Well, shit.” The man drawled in a familiar voice.
“Watch your fucking language, Lackey.” Reborn found himself snapping without thought before his eyes widened.
The young man looked like Skull if Skull hadn’t been so purple. The man’s short black hair was slicked back in a fashionable cut, but his dark blue eyes shimmered with a hint of violet. Outside of the fashionable dark grey three-piece suit, the man had the same facial features and body structure that Reborn remembered prior to the curse.
The mysterious headmaster even had the same lopsided smirk Skull sometimes wore prior to the curse when he had been mildly amused.
Reborn’s throat tightened yet he managed to force out a small hopeful whisper.
“Skull?”
The man snorted and leaned back with a shrug. “Been a while since anyone has called me that. What’s up, Reborn?”
“But… you’re dead.” Reborn shot back feeling an intense rage begin building in his chest.
“To the mafia, sure.” Skull chuckled. “Charlie demanded I fake my death if she helped me break my curse, so…”
Reborn let his eyes roam around the man, finding that the pacifier was indeed gone.
“How?” Reborn asked faintly.
“Really Renato,” Skull purred darkly, “do you honestly think I was going to sit by idly while that checker faced bastard dictated my freedom?”
Reborn found himself slowly gulping as he saw the bloodthirsty grin spreading across Skull’s face. Skull was the strongest Cloud in the world after all. The Sun quickly conceded that if anyone had been able to escape the curse, it would be this wily bastard.
A week later a fake cracked Yellow Pacifier was delivered to Reborn’s client with a letter addressed to Aria.
A month afterwards Reborn, his true age restored, was still slated to tutor Tsunayoshi Sawada. He found himself pouting as he’d much rather stay at the Academy teaching math. And despite the circulating rumors, his attitude had nothing to do with the Headmaster.