#❅GENERAL: ASKS // I WON’T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MY MUSES. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

shurisneakers · 4 years ago

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shut in [1]

Summary: When your high profile mission goes terribly wrong, you’re forced to hide in a safehouse with a man you’ve never met before. With seemingly nowhere else to go, you’re forced to work together to figure out who is trying to have you assassinated before it’s too late. (Sam Wilson x Gender Neutral Reader)

Warnings: cursing, violence, guns, death

Word count: 3.2k

A/N: greetings. i have returned with a series that i have actually finished writing beforehand so i just have to post the chapters and yes this means i will not let this go incomplete shoutout to my bitch @midnightsunfae for putting up w me mwah lov u if i’ve completely butchered sam’s character, tell me so i can delete my entire account pls and thanks

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Shut In Masterlist || Main Masterlist

“Alexander Pierce.” The file fell on the table with a resounding thud.

“What about him?”

“I want him dead.”

The house stood tall; obnoxious, almost, with loud embellishments of gold. It screamed wealth spent lavishly and without any reasonable thought.

Also it was ugly.

You scaled the gate, landing on the gravel silently. There were no security measures that you could see beyond the automated entry and CCTV whose light wasn’t blinking. Must have been a power outage. An unlikely coincidence, but it just made your job easier.

You made a move towards the side of the house, staying close to the trees that lined the driveway, out of the direct line of sight of the house’s front door.

His car was parked outside; a swanky looking race car kept outside just for show. He was definitely at home.

A window at the side of the mansion was left slightly ajar. A quick sweep up the side of the house proved that the rest of them were shut.

Your eyebrow quirked up in suspicion, quickly taking a look around to see if you were being watched. For a few seconds the world didn’t seem to move, eerily silent other than the rustling of leaves.

Pierce was clearly the flagbearer of home security.

You stuffed your gun into the waistband of your pants, freeing both your hands to tug yourself into the room.

Your gun found its way into your hand once more as you scanned the room. He wasn’t on the bed. You deemed the silence as an indicator to safely to move ahead.

So far it seemed easy.

Too easy?

Ransone’s body was spread across his chair, leisurely stroking at his stubble. His other hand thrummed rhythmically at the timber in front of him. His eyes were glazed over; physically present but mind wandering elsewhere.

You waited for him to explain further, knowing better than to interrupt his train of thought.

He had the strangest penchant for drama and theatre. From what you could gather of the dim light in the room and his stance, he had just watched The Godfather. Again.

“Do you know how long it took me to build this business?” His words sounded like a musing, akin to a private thought he was letting you in on. “This empire, Y/N?”

“Twenty three years.” Your arms were crossed behind you, a sign of discipline he demanded from all members of the organisation.

“And I haven’t gotten there by being the neighbourhood church boy.” He gestured to one of the two men beside him, a rifle strung across their back at the ready. One of them-- Rumlow-- stepped forward, lighting a cigar and handing it to him.

He took a long drag, taking his time to exhale, flicking at the cigar to get rid of the loose ash. If he just got to the point, you could have left about twenty minutes ago.

“I’ve done terrible things,” he admitted, “but you know? I won’t be blamed for them. A bit of collateral damage was inevitable.”

His chair swayed from side to side as his feet thumped at the table. It annoyed you endlessly. You never told him.

“And you know how I feel about collateral damage, right?”

“Show no mercy.”

The house was silent, except for the faint sound of the television some distance away. You wouldn’t have been able to see if not for the moonlight that illuminated the space through the large windows.

Your gun pressed tightly to your side, you made your way down the open hallway. As you passed by the kitchen, the ticking of the timer on the oven made you pause. The oven itself wasn’t on but the clock was still ticking.

A bowl was kept on the marble island separating the rest of the hall from the kitchen. A pair of car keys lay mangled among a couple of dollar bills and loose change like he threw it in carelessly.

Continuing further down the hall, you came to the realisation that it culminated in a room that faced his backyard. Only a single glass sheet acted as a barrier between him and the outdoors.

You could hear the show getting louder, hidden from your line of sight by the couch in front of it.

Pierce’s head faced away from you and towards the only light source in the room. He hadn’t heard you come in.

From what you could see, he was asleep. Head slumped slightly, arm slinked over the backrest and no other movement.

It wasn’t actually a TV, just an iPad on its loudest setting with Netflix playing what looked like Horrible Bosses. A man with exquisite taste, obviously.

You took one step at a time, slowly making your way towards the couch until you were just a step or two behind him. You raised your arm, pressing your gun to the back of his head.

“Show no mercy,” he repeated, the corner of his mouth turning upward as he looked at you.

You wanted to shift under his stare. Your muscles were beginning to feel a dull burn, a sign that you had been standing still for too long.

“So tell me, after all my effort-” he stuck his bottom lip out mockingly- “should I let my fucking company get destroyed by one person?”

His hand harshly slammed down on the table as he lurched forward in his chair, eyes seething.

You nearly jumped at his sudden change in demeanour, knuckles tightening in anticipation.

“Tell me, boys, how far do I tolerate liars?” His stare didn’t waver, looking straight into your eyes.

“You don’t.” Their voices were eerily synchronised. You wondered if they ever rehearsed together. Probably did.

“Lovely.” Ransone smiled, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t.”

“Liars?” Your voice had risen by an octave or two, your surprise catching you off guard.

“Someone has been sneaking information to Serpentine for nearly two years.” A chill ran down your spine, the muscles in your jaw tightening. “They’ve been growing exponentially and someone’s been helpin’ them do it.”

Only someone didn’t fear death would turn their back on him. Someone who had nothing to lose.

“We have reason to believe it’s Pierce.”

A moment passed where you expected him to wake up, turn around and look at you so that you could deliver Ransone’s message to him, a quippy one liner about betrayal or something.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his head shifted under the pressure of your gun, falling over as if it was weightless.

Your face pulled into a frown as you made your way to the front of the couch swiftly, gun still held tightly in front of you.

Your shadow dimmed the light that fell on him from the iPad, but it was impossible to deny.

A single gunshot to the front of his head. Eyes wide open, red from the lack of moisture. The blood around him painted a gory scene that was impossible to notice from behind.

“What the-” you murmured, lowering your arm.

“I can tolerate one mistake. Everyone deserves that.” Ransone shrugged offhandedly. “But this isn’t the first one he’s made.”

“So you want him gone.”

“That would be lovely, yes.” He relaxed into his chair once again, taking another hit from his cigar.

“Why do you want me to do it?” you asked, eyebrows knitted together. Generally he would send you for something more high-profile. Raids, infiltrations. These kinds of hits were what you left behind years ago.

“A spy has security from the ones they’re working for. It’s possibly more dangerous.” His feet found its way onto the table, one over the other as he stretched back. “And I’m not sure my other agent can make it.”

“Thanks,” you spoke monotonously. “Glad to know I’m your first choice.”

“Don’t take it personally.” He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “He probably won’t show.”

His sleeve fell slightly to reveal a sliver of his tattoo. A spider, the symbol of his authority.

Each of his employees had a web inked on their skin that grew with each passing year of their service. It was how you identified each other in passing.

“You have an opening on Friday. His house help leaves at 8 sharp and he’s alone.”

You nodded, picking up the file in front of him, avoiding his fingers that had returned to thrumming on the tabletop. You acknowledged the two men beside him before making your way toward the door.

This house was all the way across the country. No wonder he gave you a bit more time as compared to usual to prepare.

“It’ll be done.”

The sound of a gun clicking away from you made the hair on your neck stand up.

You sprung up, arms extended in front of you instinctively towards the sound.

Even in the dim light of the room, you could see a man standing a few feet away from you. His hand held a glock, aimed towards you.

Neither of you said a word. Time stood still for all you cared. The only indication that it didn’t was that Horrible Bosses was still playing.

“Who the fuck are you?” you finally asked, voice surprisingly calm for the adrenaline that was spiking through your body.

“Who are you?” he questioned in retaliation, tone curt.

“I asked first.” You wondered if he could see you roll your eyes.

He didn’t reply, obviously.

A beat passed and you almost forgot the dead body that lay near your knees. Almost. It didn’t help that his fingers were nearly touching your leg like some kind of pervert; not that you could blame him for it this time.

“Did you kill him?” he finally relented, mentioning towards him quickly with a tug of his shoulder.

“What-” You recoiled, head slightly jerking back in disbelief. “No. Didn’t you?”

“He was like this when I got here.” He paused, and you let him speak. “And then you came in; thought you were comin’ back to check.”

“I just got here.”

“I can’t confirm that.” His answer was instantaneous, almost cutting you off before you finished.

“And I can’t confirm you didn’t kill him.” You took a step away from Pierce, never breaking his gaze. “The odds are kinda against you here.”

“I didn’t kill him.” He only took a step toward you, making you stop where you were. He wasn’t going to let you get out of this.

“What a compelling argument,” you drawled sarcastically. “Then what are you doing here?”

“Cookin’ him dinner,” he snapped back quickly in a manner that would usually make you smile if it weren’t for the situation you were in presently. “What do you think?”

“Who sent you?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why did they send you?”

“I can’t tell you that either.”

“Then give me a reason why I shouldn’t pull this trigger right now.”

“You first.”

It was a shame you had to kill him. You found his resilience fun.

“Well, it was pleasant-” You were cut off by the sound of a bullet whizzing past your head. It struck the vase next to the couch, instantly exploding into hundreds of shards.

“Did you just fucking shoot at me?” you yelled, swiftly raising your gun so that it was pointed at his forehead.

But he wasn’t looking at you. He was looking at the large glass, too distracted to pay heed to what you were saying.

You slowly followed his line of sight to the window.

A large fracture in the glass surrounded a small hole, nearly invisible from your distance if you weren’t looking hard enough.

You looked back at him to find him staring at you.

A split second later the glass sheet shattered, sending the pieces all over the room. You launched yourself behind the couch heavily, avoiding the barrage of bullets being shot your way.

From the corner of your eye you could see the man dive to take cover behind the couch with you.

“What the fuck?” you asked loudly, back pressed against the backrest as various items shattered around you. “Who the hell are these guys?”

“The shittiest bodyguards ever.” He looked over his shoulder but slid back down again when a shot nearly missed his face.

You didn’t even know where to shoot; the bullets just seemed to be coming from the shadows of the trees.

Taking a moment to assess the man breathing hard next to you. He was tall and muscular, a tight fighting shirt stretching across his chest. His hair was cropped, eyes dark with what looked like irritation more than anger. Hot.

Your attention was drawn to a trail of blood left on his forehead as he wiped at it with his forearm, him seemingly unaware of it.

“Dude, I think you got grazed.”

He looked at you questioningly. You pointed at his arm with your shoulder. His eyes dropped to it, letting out a string of curses as he tugged his sleeve back to look at the wound.

He didn’t have to pull it back much before the sight of a familiar design greeted you.

A spider web. Drawn intricately with the lines stretching delicately across his skin like lace.

A tattoo.

“You work for Ransone?” None of this made sense. Why were there two of you on the same mission? Who was this guy? Was he supposed to be here?

You didn’t wait for his answer, pulling your sleeve back to reveal the same tattoo, smaller in size, but indicative enough.

He took a second to process. You could almost see the gears turning in his head.

“Great,” he finally said as a bullet lodged itself in the wall you were facing, bitterness lacing his words. “It’s a set up.”

“Oh, one more thing, Y/N.”

You spun on your heel to look at him. A devilish smile grew on his face.

“Remember- we don’t tolerate liars.”

You stared at him, not uttering a word, waiting for him to make his point.

“So make sure you let him know that.” His smile only grew as you turned around and walked out the door, letting it shut behind you.

The crunching of feet over glass made you look over your shoulder, only to quickly retract before your head was blown off.

They were wearing ski masks and all black tactical suits, leaving not even an inch of their skin uncovered.

“I count four or five. There may be more,” the man next to you said slowly.

“You take the ones on the left, I’ll take right,” you instructed, seeing him nod his head. You didn’t even know his name but apparently you were working together now.

You gave a small countdown before pivoting on your knee to face them, eyes already set on your target.

Firing off two shots, you saw the first one fall to the floor, soon accompanied by his teammate as you shot a round at his forehead.

Four were down, counting the bodies next to them on the floor, but the bullets didn’t stop firing at you. They clearly were in a much larger number than you anticipated.

You weren’t sure how many more bullets the couch could absorb. The both of you were basically sitting ducks; who knew how many more were out there. You had limited ammo because you didn’t expect a fucking SWAT team when you came to kill one man.

“We need to go,” he voiced your exact concern.

“Yep,” you grunted, shifting to reload your gun from the spare ammo in your pocket.

You didn’t know how to get out of here considering that you didn’t bring your own-

“I got a plan,” you said. He looked at you inquisitively. “You know the window in the west bedroom, hall dead-end?”

He nodded. Perhaps he was the one who left it open when he arrived.

“On the count of three, make a run for it.” You winced as a bullet tore through the fabric of the couch, right near where your shoulder was a second ago.

“We can’t outrun them,” he hissed, quickly shooting behind him before rejoining you on the floor.

“Trust me.” Bold ask. You wondered if he would.

“I don’t.”

“Do it anyway.”

You didn’t really care if he didn’t. At least you’d get out.

“One.” You shifted to sit on your knee. You could see him sit still, not joining you.

“Two.” Your gun was pressed to your side, at the ready.

“Three.” Like an athlete in a race you took off, not daring to look behind you even once as shots rode the air, narrowly missing your body.

You almost didn’t hear his groan and a small “Fuckin’ hell” before heavy footsteps ran behind you.

You smiled triumphantly, until you remembered the both of you were being followed, at least four more shooters hot on your heels.

You shot a single shot behind you, hearing someone wheeze before a loud thump of a body hitting the floor. Hopefully it wasn’t the guy you were with, but you couldn’t find it in your to care much if it was.

You raced past the numerous rooms you passed on the way here before it suddenly widened into the open kitchen.

Your body moved in autopilot, a detour in the form of a quick skip as you reached over and grabbed the contents of the bowl on the counter, fumbling to hold onto the car keys as loose change fell to the floor.

The oven timer went off, not for long before you heard its door splinter into pieces as someone shot at it in annoyance.

You took a sharp right into the room, followed by the man who took the time to kick the door shut behind him, buying you maybe a second or two of time.

You nearly flung yourself out of the window, the gravel not exactly providing the softest landing as you scrambled to open the door of the car.

“Get in!” you yelled at him as he obliged, yanking the door and jumping into the passenger seat. You threw the few dollars you had caught hold of by mistake on the floor of the car.

You could hear the door of the room being kicked open, and what seemed like angry shouting as the window cracked, leaving nothing in its wake.

You revved the engine, slamming the accelerator with as much power as you could. The car lurched backwards, and you cursed, switching gears to go forward.

The harsh sound of metal on metal followed you as they shot at whatever they could. You prayed they wouldn’t accidentally hit the wheel or gas tank. They didn’t exactly seem like the best in the business, having missed most of their shots.

“Go go go!” The guy beside you was holding on to his seat tightly for support.

The car broke through the rusty gates. You cringed at the dent on the hood, but didn’t slow down even for a second as you wove through trees of the estate, not losing speed even as you got onto the highway.

Silence befell the both of you for a good amount of time, but not enough time to process what had just happened. Your adrenaline was still high as you drove well above the speed limit.

Your next step was unclear.

You were in a car with a complete stranger. You weren’t sure if you were injured somewhere. You didn’t even know where you were driving to.

“Alright,” he cleared his throat. “What the hell was that?

Part 2

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omgkalyppso · 3 years ago

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The Unforgotten King

A Dimimari drabble that fits into Fae's post canon.

The icy winds pouring down from the frigid Fraldarian mountains were starting to upset the horses with how cold they were. Many roads this far north were impassable for carriages; even the main roads, which in many cases were the only option, were made to constrict the approach of enemies and allies alike, venturing to and from the historically chaotic northern border, and the capital to the south.

They had come first by boat and then followed the trade routes carved out by the fishing villages on the eastern coast.

Marianne held her scarf against the chill, wincing and shaking her head about Dimitri, with his scarf pulled down around his smile as he spoke about his homeland. He'd long ago let his hat fall back around his shoulders, secured by a cord about his neck, and his bound hair was a tangle as a result of the gales. He was going home, and it was as clear in his person as it was in his temperament. His nose and cheeks were pink and frozen, and his beard was gelid with frost, but the Faerghan climate suited him. Marianne even suspected that the temperature might have been harsh on another man's injuries, but Dimitri was only livelier by the mile.

Some might have said he was as a boy gone to the fair, but she knew him too well now, and could see the flit of his eye as he watched the forests. He was fighting his hauntings and his memories of war, and trusting her and their guard with his insecurities. A vast improvement when compared to the dreary state of his heart and mind during the year or two past.

Marianne had worried that despite Dimitri's growth, that returning to Faerghus was going to upset him and his friends, when he and they found him without the crown, without the armour and attire one expected of a king, and with the continued trauma of never having achieved his vengeance. She was overjoyed that it was nothing so simple.

"Do you see how the trees have turned from green to blue here?" Dimitri asked, gesturing to the evergreens, brightening as Marianne nodded. "They say the Goddess took pity on the verdant evergreens of Fodlan after her first ice storm, and blessed all the trees north of Conand River with a piece of her home on the Blue Sea Star, that they might from then on weather the storms."

Marianne held her scarf from her face as she replied, "They're quite beautiful. I hear they house wildlife too? I would have expected we'd only find migratory birds out in these temperatures."

"It would be wonderful to hear an owl at night," Dimitri mused. "You are right, though. There are a variety of creatures in the underbrush."

"As stubborn as any Faerghan," Marianne joked. "Although I suspect, in regards to your tale of a blessing, that similar accounts are told of the seas themselves, rather than only of Faerghan forests. Anything blue."

Dimitri had blushed and laughed awkwardly at Marianne's initial declaration, knowing that it was true that sailors in Faerghus were revered and worried perhaps even that he had misremembered his own short yarn, but then he'd smiled and contributed softly, "It is a color dear to my heart."

"Because of your house banner?" Marianne asked as if to confirm, offering Dimitri no space to argue. "Perhaps a square or kerchief could be sewn in one of your pillows? Or some other secret space? I am sorry that you're only clad as one of my guards."

Dimitri shook his head. "An honor. I am glad to ride beside you, Mari— my lady, and ... maybe with the right materials, I could try to award myself with the gift you suggest. It would be a small and challenging project for a man of my extremely limited skill."

Upon their arrival at the manor in Fraldarius, they were escorted to the entrance hall, where Dimitri embarrassed Rodrigue with a bow and an embrace.

"Dimitri," Rodrigue said softly, as a reprimand and a prayer, testing the name, free of title and ornamentation. "It is good to see you again. If Felix had not seen you himself, I would have assumed a ruse or extortion." He pulled away, a hand still on his once and fallen king's shoulder. "To bury you, would be as burying another son—"

"Rodrigue—" Dimitri said, meaning to interrupt.

"Humor me," he begged. "Hear me. Not only am I proud to host you, in secret, in public, but should you ever need a home in Faerghus, we will never turn you away." Rodrigue swept a tear from his eyes, "Hm. I think you'll find my lack of decorum is your fault, for hugging me first—"

"My sincerest—"

Rodrigue chuckled. "Don't apologize. Just know that I intended to be more reserved, for the sake of Lady Marianne, if not for that of my son."

"Where is Felix?" asked Dimitri, as a door to the entrance hall opened at the top of a far stair, and Felix, Annette, Sylvain and Ingrid rushed out of it.

Although Felix had been to visit him in Margrave Edmund's territory three times, Dimitri could not suppress his joy at his friend's reveal, and after Rodrigue's admission, he could either hope that Felix too thought of him more fondly, or else worry that he needed to apologize to the younger Fraldarius for what he'd inspired in his father. "Felix!"

Dimitri spared a glance for Marianne, who waved him off delicately so that he could rush to his friends at the base of the stair. She shared a far more respectable greeting with Duke Fraldarius.

"Wait—!" Felix started to object, but too late or with too little conviction to keep Dimitri from fitting his arms around him and Ingrid and squeezing them to his chest.

Ingrid laughed happily, and Felix scoffed when Sylvain was greeted with only a joined hand and a clap on the shoulder, though Annette then jumped into Dimitri's arms.

"I half worried it was an exaggeration," Dimitri said softly. "That you all could make it."

"Mercedes and Dedue's boat is expected tomorrow," Sylvain said to assure him.

"Ashe won't be here for a week," Annette lamented as her feet hit the floor, "but I hear that will be long enough to see you?"

"I won't leave before," Dimitri promised. "It would break my heart if his journey from Gaspard was fruitless."

"Did you know that he needed to wait for Linhardt to take up residence in Gaspard?" asked Ingrid. "To deter the Adrestians from overreaching — even now."

"As well as general rebellion," Felix supplied. "Things aren't exactly settled that far west."

"You're helping him?" Dimitri confirmed, and a part of his heart stirred to be able to have this conversation with Felix in person, rather than over a period of days by letter.

"Fhirdiad's helping him," Felix said and then frowned when the others around Dimitri looked at him more directly, and corrected himself. "Yes, I'm helping him."

Fhirdiad had been Felix's home and his charge these past few years. He had taken up the title of Archduke and wielded his role with purpose. He always intended to return to Fraldarius, imagining that there would be an opportunity to suggest another lord be honoured with the capital region, but some days he worried he had sealed his fate. His father, and Sylvain, were less subtle in their matching inquiries about his return, but it seemed all others were slowly becoming accustomed to him sitting in that place of kings in the more temperate south.

"I appreciate it," Dimitri said carefully.

"There'll be plenty of time to worry about the shadow of dissent tomorrow," Sylvain said, looking to change the subject. "What are you wearing?"

"Oh," Dimitri said in surprise, looking down at himself, dressed as a Leicester soldier in wool and armour.

"Are you warm enough?" asked Annette, turning over a side of his cloak to assess its thickness.

Dimitri chuckled. "I'm plenty warm, I—"

"How many layers is that?" Ingrid inquired critically.

"Do the rest of Marianne's escorts have hats like this?" asked Sylvain, propping Dimitri's upon his golden hair.

"Four. No, most have wool lined leather caps."

"Four? Like this? That's not enough," Ingrid worried.

"We'll warm him with drink and games," Sylvain suggested. "Maybe dancing if Annette feels like singing?"

Annette squeaked in protest, but Felix spoke first.

"You're being ridiculous. Dimitri's had a long ride—"

Dimitri's lips tightened to hear Felix call him by name, and he spoke gently, worried he might break this simple spell of friendship when he spoke in favour of Sylvain's suggestions, "I think it would be nice to drink with everyone, but I might like to bathe first. I fear as soon as I loosen my collar my sweat will thaw from where it's frozen upon me."

Three exaggerated tongues of disgust extended in sympathy.

"Do you want to stay inside?" asked Felix. "Wood fires can heat baths in the lower levels."

"Oh, no, lets show Marianne the hot springs," Annette said, as if pleading with Dimitri, though he would have agreed without any provocation.

"I would like that," he agreed, looking at Felix for permission.

With an expression of vague annoyance, Felix nodded, and then he and Dimitri each glanced to where Marianne continued her conversation with Rodrigue.

There was a social element to the hot springs that Marianne feared, but Sylvain made a joke that set her at ease, and challenged her to try the new experience.

Dimitri half expected Felix to return home after dutifully guiding their group to their destination, and thanked him for his continued company and conversation, such as it was, while they sat together in the steaming water. Sylvain was kind and assertive, inspecting Dimitri's right side as he stretched his arm and took advantage of the heat, to massage strong fingers into his shoulder.

Elsewhere, Ingrid and Annette had Marianne giggling as the trio raced from the spring to the snow and back again each time they grew over-red from being boiled together.

Later, they drank and reminisced, and Ingrid pulled Dimitri aside, to reaffirm that she would have been his knight and protector ... and that she still would, if he wanted to pursue his place in Fhirdiad. She saw no reason to defer to the law in Garreg Mach when Faerghus could still have its own king, and if not that, then at least he could be recognized, as the rest of them were, within Fodlan's nobility.

The shock that overtook Dimitri frightened her, when she had only meant to offer him his ancestral home, and the respect many had died to get him.

Sylvain and Felix were in listening distance, and Ingrid had known that; the four of them looked to Marianne, weaving Annette's hair in a five strand braid, while they spoke of seals and bears and other creatures that plagued the harbours.

Felix hissed about how Ingrid would throw them from one war into another, reminding her that Dimitri was hidden away precisely to avoid what she was suggesting: that there would be people willing to die for their rightful king to reclaim his place in Fhirdiad.

Everything would change if Dimitri returned, and they'd lose the trust of the Adrestians, especially Ferdinand, when they had already been caught in another lie.

"You can't come back," Felix said to finish his argument. Aggressive, nervous, cruel.

"Dimitri should be given a choice now that he's recovered," Ingrid said, firm.

"He's recovering," Sylvain insisted.

With a great expression of self control, Dimitri maintained his volume as he declared for his friends' forgotten benefit, "I am right here." He waited for the shame to silence them before he went on. "And things are not ... how I envisioned them — how I wanted them? My mind and upbringing feel ... wasteful, at times; and yet I have been consulted," he sighed, "on strategy and trade, customs and etiquette — by Felix and Marianne both. My input is heard in Faerghus and Leicester, and if I willed it, I am sure that Garreg Mach is within my reach ... even Almyra."

Sylvain raised his tankard in salute as he walked away then, seeing that a fight wasn't about to break out, and that Dimitri had their conversation well in hand. He complimented Annette's hair, and strove to further distract the ladies from the dark turn of that other corner of the room.

"If Faerghus was threatened, I would find my way back here, lance in hand. But I trust the peace that's been building. And the crown, as it was, only invited duplicity and massacres. Faerghus will thrive without me." With one arm he embraced Ingrid, pressing a kiss to her temple. "And Sylvain is right, I have been recovering. I would not risk all of Faerghus' progress, all of your work," his eyes drifted to Felix for a moment, "because I could not accept the truth of what a minister said. I still struggle. I am more comfortable with smaller challenges ... and I would appreciate your reassurance of our friendship as I am."

"Of course, Mitya," Ingrid insisted.

"Thank you."

"I miss you," Ingrid clarified. "I miss... The lives I thought I'd have by now."

"Change is painful," Felix agreed, sharp and forgiving.

"Yours is a life worth celebrating," Dimitri promised. He drank at the same time as his old friends, and then fumbled after, worried about sounding too much like his healers, but still he added, "Take time to recognize success."

Their quiet conversation was interrupted by Marianne and Annette hollering with laughter, and Dimitri could not even imagine Marianne's disappointment in him if in returning to Fhirdiad he brought a new conflict to her doorstep. He could not imagine his own heartbreak if their peoples ever returned to bloodshed. Sadly, he had imagined his horror with the possibility of witnessing another day like the tragedy, his blue love desecrated, their hypothetical children screaming, and him again, a lone survivor.

He would not speak of this in casual conversation with his friends, though perhaps in private with Marianne at some later time.

He was grateful for his anonymity.

It was late in the night when they made for bed, and Marianne was as drunk as he, and Dimitri worried between her state and their locale that he shouldn't have followed behind the door of her rooms. They had lain together a handful of times, but not for weeks now, yet she pressed him against the door like it was a casual thing, delicate fingers curving over his hips.

They leaned close as if they might kiss, and then she turned her face away from him with a sigh.

"I hope I haven't made a fool of myself. Did you have a good night, Mitya?"

"Beloved," Dimitri beckoned, curving a large hand around the side of her face, his scarred fingers had been mended and shattered an embarrassing number of times in the early use of his Crest. He guided her to look at him, his shining blue eye, deep as the ocean in the dark of the room.

"Thank you for bringing me here," he said, his tone deep and sincere. "The snow, the culture, my friends... I missed them more than I realized. I've had a very good night."

His last sentence was near whispered upon her lips, his thick lower lip tickling against her mouth.

Eyes closed, Marianne hummed her approval, bumping her nose against Dimitri's; narrow and then bulbous, a pretty princely feature that somehow he still maintained despite the violence in his life.

He bent to kiss Marianne, his hands finding her upper arms, her shoulders, her neck, and her twin braids, a gift from Annette that extended nearly to Marianne's waist.

"I should let you sleep," Dimitri whispered, though he felt how Marianne's hands wandered, pressing his shirt against the muscles on his chest and stomach.

Marianne looked from her bed to Dimitri. "Let me sit," she requested, "and I'll untie your hair. Stay with me a while longer." She swayed a little and Dimitri worried he would have to catch her. "Your friends are kind," Marianne confided, "but it felt a little strange as the night wore on, and maybe it's just me, and maybe it's just the building, but I know I can rely on you. Say you'll stay."

"A while longer," Dimitri agreed, drifting a thumb through her bangs as his hand rested on the side of her tightly bound hair again.

He sat between her knees while she pulled the ribbon from his fine hair, carefully carding through it with her fingers around the strap of his eye patch, and then allowing her hands to find the muscles of his neck, thick from stress and training.

One dainty foot made it's way over one of Dimitri's monstrous shoulders, and he brought the opposite one over his other side, leaning back into Marianne's space so her skirt ballooned out around him. They shared a soft laugh.

"Did you have any trouble today?" Marianne asked, gentle in her approach of his occasional visions.

"I thought of Glenn," Dimitri confided, "but I am uncertain if I saw him or imagined him today. There are many memories of him here. And ... at the gates, I ... I saw some violence that was not there, but I could not hear it. I'll write it down tomorrow."

"Tell me about Glenn? There must be a happy memory tucked into what came to mind."

"He would have made you feel welcome," Dimitri insisted with a smile. "He was very personable, and I was always glad to be in his company — though I was always closer with Felix, and so thought, like Felix, that I was in contest with him. Unless my Crest activated, I was always left embarrassed, and regardless of whether my Crest activated, I always lost. Felix was often disappointed in both of us."

Dimitri spoke of friends like family until well after Marianne curled up on her side. He stayed on the floor, and spoke with less frequency, though the memories didn't fade. He could picture Glenn on the opposite side of the room, a macabre spectre of the self from his memories, but it wasn't a hallucination this time, just a horrible imagining, the loss of a friend.

Dimitri kissed Marianne's forehead, and she mumbled that she was still awake, despite sounding as if she were miles away. Still, Dimitri smiled and kissed her lips, just in case, and then left for his own chamber.

#dimimari #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #marianne von edmund #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem #long post #my writing #i made this #the fanfiction i mean #i'll probably put this on ao3 later #this is what i was writing to Maybe address things i find attractive about dimitri though it turned into something else entirely

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petri808 · 3 years ago

Text

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

This chapter came out a little longer than usual. lemony teasing

Natsu’s secretary called her boss from the front office. “Mr. Dragneel, Mr. Avatar is here.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kinana. Send him in.”

Because no one in the organization was a computer whiz, he contracted with an independent IT person who was recommended by Yura. The guy, Jerome Avatar wasn’t skittish, didn’t care who he worked for as long as it paid well, and generally had a pleasant demeanor. As the accountant, Yura was in contact with Jerome the most, but for any major issues or changes, those had to be cleared with Natsu first. It was mostly quick, in and out of the office dealings.

Jerome shook Natsu’s hand over the desk before taking a seat.

“So,” Natsu questioned, “what brings you here today? Is there something I need to approve?”

“No, nothing new. I asked for this meeting because I came across some intelligence you might be interested in.”

“Oh?”

“I learned that your rival Heartfilia had been in contact with a new cyber security client, Mikage Kaishā who’s into a lot of shady dealings with government contacts.”

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds like just a typical client for her, probably has her launder money for them. I don’t really pay attention to her clients because we deal with different things. But I do appreciate you telling me.”

“Should I keep an eye on them?”

“That’s fine if you believe it’s worth it. And if you learn about anything that could hurt us let me know immediately. By the way, how did you find out this information?”

“A friend in the field told me about it, then I hacked into Heartfilia’s computers to authenticate the information.”

Natsu sat forward in his chair. “You hacked into her computer? I’m surprised her employee didn’t catch that, cause I know she’s good at this stuff too.”

The man grinned. “Well, not as good as me.” He pointed to Natsu’s laptop. “If you’d like, I can set it up so you can access her system from your computer too.”

“Oh, I don’t want to tamper with her company—”

Jerome waved a hand nonchalantly to stop him. “I wouldn’t advise it either, if you touch things, that’s what’ll get attention, but you can watch what’s going on. Keep an eye on her calendar, meeting dates, whatever you want.”

Natsu sat back, rubbing his chin. The offer was a very tempting one indeed. A chance to stalk his ex through cyberspace… someone must have mentioned to this Jerome guy their history. It wasn’t exactly hidden, but not something talked about either amongst lower ranking employees. This wasn’t the first time Jerome had brought them intelligence info, so maybe he was looking to increase his usefulness, climb the ladder so to speak? Being connected to a powerful Yakuza house was certainly handy, and what better way than to tap into such a personal subject.

“That could be interesting,” Natsu finally responded. “Alright, what do you have to do to set it up? And make sure it’s nothing I could screw up accidentally cause I really don’t want her to find out.”

Jerome looked at his watch as if calculating his options. “I could do it now. Might take me about an hour if you can go without the laptop for that amount of time.”

“You have to take it back to your office or something?”

“No,” the man shook his head. “I can do it right here, so I can explain along the way.”

“Perfect.” Natsu then called his secretary and requested she double his lunch order due to an extended meeting.

While the computer tech fiddled, Natsu just sat back with his meal, watching him work. Math wasn’t his strong suit— nor academics for that matter. Growing up, his father had always told him he would be next in line as boss, so he only learned what he needed to for that world. One needed strength, cunning, street smarts, not book smarts. Though he had to admit the things these hackers could do was scary when you thought about it. Lucy was lucky in that her best friend was just a wiz at language— including computer languages. It all looked like gibberish, but the woman interpreted it almost like a savant. According to Jerome, from what he’d seen so far, Levy was not yet at his skill level, but that could easily change with time and experience like he’d been through.

“Natsu you—” Gray paused his knock on the doorframe. “Sorry, I thought the meeting would be done by now.”

“It’s fine, Jerome is hacking Lucy’s system for me right now.” Natsu responded with a grin. “Now I’ll see what she’s up to in real time.”

Gray groaned and ran a hand down his face in disgust. “I’m not even gonna respond to that. But I will tell you I told you so when it blows up in your face later.”

“Tch. She won’t know, right Jerome?”

“She shouldn’t unless you touch something.” The man answered while continuing to type.

“See. It’ll be fine.”

“You’re an idiot. Anyway,” Gray waved a hand nonchalantly as he left, “call me when your free to go over the new orders.”

“It will be fine, right?” Natsu asked Jerome a second time with a bit of anxiety in his tone.

Jerome stopped typing. “As long as you just observe they shouldn’t see you, just don’t get excited and touch something.”

“I don’t plan to; not like I’ll know how to do that anyways.”

“I’m almost finished, but do you want me to turn on her web camera so you can see through it?”

“But she won’t see me?”

“No, for you it’ll just be like watching a one-way video feed with image and audio.”

After a momentary pause, Natsu’s eyes narrowed with a mischievous grin. “Do it.”

Being able to see Lucy every day and feed his addiction was just too tempting, ‘I’m turning into a junky.’ But Gray’s words entered his mind. What if the man was right, could this bite him in the ass later? Probably… Though how bad could it really be? He really had no plans to interfere with Lucy’s business, just her personal life— and yes, he knew it sounded horrible. What right did he have to stalk his ex? None. ‘I just worry about her, is that so wrong?’ Lucy’s tough, but she’s just a woman and their world didn’t always treat women fairly. His desire to protect her bordered neuroticism, but could anyone blame him considering the underworld they worked in. ‘I’m just doing it to protect her,’ Natsu justified it to himself. Guys like Gray who haven’t fallen in love yet, ‘they just don’t understand.’ If anything were to happen to Lucy, he didn’t know what he would do. Probably move Heaven and earth and kill any in his way for what they’d done.

It took just over an hour before Jerome finished installing the spyware and making sure the systems were still secured. Just a one-way mirror that Levy shouldn’t catch unless really digging for it. Another 20 minutes were spent explaining to Natsu how to do the accessing part, including pulling up the webcam whenever he wanted to. “Or just leave it running,” Jerome noted. “It’ll just show up in this window,” he pointed towards the screen, “and as long as you don’t log out completely from your computer it’ll stay open.”

“Who turns off their computers?”

“Actually, it’s a good idea to turn them off now and then so any software updates can be completed, but since I manage your systems, there’s not really a need to.”

“Great.” The two men stood up and shook hands. “Thanks, Jerome.”

“It was my pleasure.”

When Natsu arrived each day at headquarters, the first thing and last thing he did was check to see if there was anything new or interesting going on Lucy’s side. It was like being hooked on one of their products, because the high it gave sucked him right in. But so far, he also stayed away from the video feed. Looking through her calendar or emails were cold and impersonal, but maybe the video was too close, too real, too much of a moral dilemma in crossing that line of a peeping Tom. That didn’t mean his addiction may one day require more feeding…

October had rolled around, and the air outside grew crisp and cold. It was a beautiful time of the year with the color changing leaves, reminding that winter was soon upon them. How quickly the time sure flew. The Dragneel Yakuza clan had already started preparing for their end of year Bonenkai to happen in mid-December. This plus the Shinnenkai in January were the two biggest parties the clan threw for all their members. The first is to forget the stresses of the past year, while the other was to welcome a successful new year. Natsu spared no expense on the food and drinks to take care of the loyalty and hard work their members contributed. From the emails, he knew that Lucy’s group had also started preparing for theirs. ‘Maybe I’ll crash her party,’ he mused to himself. ‘Oh, what’s this?’ His eyes fell on a new email of an appointment reminder for the next day. It was for Lucy’s monthly massage at an upscale spa. Natsu checked his own calendar and noticed he had nothing booked, no meetings, no shipments arriving— a perfect opportunity.

The next day, Natsu went to the spa early and spoke directly to the owner, paying them a nice chunk of change to allow him access and to play along. Lucy was scheduled for 2pm and arrived right on time. So, as he waited behind the scenes, the receptionist acted like normal and directed her inside. She had a regular masseuse, something Natsu knew he couldn’t fake upfront, so that person stood inside the room to greet her.

“Welcome, Ms. Heartfilia. I’ll step out while you get ready. Please lie on your stomach like normal.”

“Thank you, Kenji,” Lucy smiled. She’d been coming here for a couple years and was aware of the routine. The male masseuse had strong, but gentle hands and knew her body well by now.

Natsu had to admit he wasn’t happy to find out Lucy’s regular masseuse was a guy but held back from lashing out. He didn’t want to do anything to mess up this adventure— and oh, he planned to have his own revenge. It wouldn’t be as sexual as the soapland incident but knowing many of her trigger points meant he could do a bit of damage well enough. Now, Natsu had noted that Kenji’s voice was a bit deeper than his own, which would be difficult to fake, but the man explained he didn’t do much talking while working and played relaxing music during the session. Perfect. Natsu could just hit play and not talk at all.

“Ready, Ms. Heartfilia?” Kenji called out through the closed door.

The muffled yes was heard, and the man stepped away, leaving Natsu to his business. He entered the room and immediately turned on the pre-set music, a light instrumental with Asian undertones. It was quite pleasing to listen to. And there Lucy was under a silk sheet to cover her naked body, with her arms up and crossed, head perched on the relaxed hands, and hair up in a loose bun, revealing her beautiful neck. Natsu almost shuddered at the sight and knowledge he would get to touch her skin… it was the one thing she didn’t allow him to do at Soapland— touch. His grin grew as he rubbed his hands together to warm them before making the first move.

He moved the sheet to uncover Lucy’s lower half, up to the thighs, then applied a film of scented massage oils to his hands with a few drops over the taut muscles along her long legs, chasing the dripping liquid along her skin to smooth them over. His hands glide through several passes to the swell of her ass, then back down again all the way to the ankles, fingers applying pressure against the tendons and ligaments to gently work out any tension it encountered. Lucy sighed wispily as his hands massaged each foot, squeezing, smoothing, paying attention to each digit and every curve. His thumbs applied pressure at the arches, kneading the tight knots there from wearing heels all day long. He stayed focused on the area, her toes curling and flexing as the mewls leaching from her show their pleasure, until Natsu felt the knots give and relax away.

“Mmm, you’re getting good at that Kenji,” Lucy purred with a little huskiness in her tone.

Natsu grinned to himself as he lowered the sheet back down, so she stayed warm and moved onto her supple ass. Using both hands, he took his time to knead each cheek through the silken fabric, using his fingers to follow the gluteus muscles, starting near the leg, and following the swell of her curve upwards, slowly riding the fibers looking for any knots or tense areas. One cheek, then the other paying loving attention to and listening to the sounds Lucy made to clue him in on where to go. Every sigh a notch in his belt, each mewling purr a win. Natsu grew bolder, fanning out his thumb each time it got closer to her thighs to touch…

“Oh, Kenji,” Lucy whined, “you’re being a naughty boy today— keep it up.”

‘What?!’ Natsu’s hands paused and tensed for a split second before catching himself. Does Kenji mess with her too?! He shook his head and finished up in the area quickly trying not to let such thoughts stop him. ‘Just focus…’ Natsu grumbled in his head.

After applying more oil to his hands, he moved the sheet down to reveal Lucy’s back and for a second time, Natsu paused on what it contained. Her tattoo… It symbolized… he took a deep breath and dropped more oil on to the skin, willing away the memories breaching his mind. He didn’t want to think about it, not now. It was too painful.

“You okay, Kenji?” Lucy questioned as if noticing the slight pause or tremble in the man’s hands.

Natsu mumbled a soft Mmhmm and dived into the massage so Lucy wouldn’t grow more concerned, missing the uptick in the corners of her lips. He slowly smoothed along the skin using the base of his palms for pressure, each hand following the muscles, moving out from the waist, up the center of her back, and flaring out towards the sides just below the shoulder blades, repeating the same movement, each time increasing the speed while lessening the pressure. Next, he targeted the upper back and shoulder blades, an area he knew Lucy held a lot of tension from carrying the weight of her voluptuous bosoms. With precise ministrations, Natsu applied careful pressure with his thumbs and follows the curve of the blades up and around to the top of the shoulder. He then searched with the pads of his fingers for any knots along her trap muscles, moving up along the spine and fanning out to the top of her shoulders.

“Oh, yeah, right there,” Lucy mewled when he reached a specific spot.

The area around her spine, between the shoulder blades held the most tension and knots from constantly holding the upright, flexed posture that wearing heels will create. Her wispy sighs signaled the release of her tense muscles, bringing another wave of pride swelling in him. Natsu continued onto her neck, his strong hands kneaded the supple flesh, fingers palpating and soothing all the knots. Her neck too, held a few tense areas, especially around the base of the head, so he did his best to melt them away. He worked through Lucy’s mewls and moaning sighs, almost sexual in nature, aroused and a little heated in the face knowing his handiwork brought forth such sounds. Ugh, how he wanted to hear more of it! Lucy putty in his hands and spread between his thighs, calling out his name…

“You’ve gotten better at this… Natsu,” the cocky teasing tone, snapped him out of his dream.

“Natsu?” He tried failingly to disguise his voice. “I’m Kenji, Ms. Heartfilia.”

“Uh-huh. You think I can’t tell the difference Natsu?” Lucy quipped back with a chuckle. “Kenji’s routine is very different. Plus, I knew the moment I smelled your cologne.”

Busted.

“Tch. Well, if you knew it was me all along, why’d you let me do this?”

“Making you work is my payback.” She settled back down, relaxed on her arms. “Now, chop, chop, finish the job.”

This little minx! He was the one supposed to be torturing her this time, not the other way around! “Fine, kitten.” Natsu gritted out a smile and took hold of her neck again to placate and lull Lucy back into thinking he would go along. He massaged the sides with the tips of his fingers Both hands wrapped around, and his thumbs pushing up through her hair against the muscles on the back of her head.

“If only you’d taken care of me like this before,” Lucy mumbled.

Natsu paused and leaned over her ear. “Why not let me take care of you now?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“No, I don’t know the answer, that’s part of the problem!”

Lucy sighed. “Natsu, I don’t want to fight right now. I’m here to relax, not fight. If you’re done, then leave and send Kenji back in.”

“Oh, yeah. Why? Because he’s another one of your boy toys? He gonna be naughty again with you once I leave?!”

“Pfft, I said that knowing it was you, idiot.”

“I think you live to torture me, Angel. But you’re right. I don’t wanna fight right now either, so—” Natsu leaned down quick and latched his mouth onto the area between her shoulder blades, sucking hard.

Lucy squealed and reached back frantically trying to claw at his face, but he grabbed her hands, knowing if she struggled any harder, she risked completely exposing herself. He held her for a few seconds, and once satisfied he’d achieved his goal, let go.

“Natsu! Did you put a hickey on me?!”

“This Angel,” he trailed his fingers over Lucy’s tattoo as he spoke, “belongs to me. Will always be mine,” he whispered close to her ear. “You know it, I know it, and your boy toys will know it too.”

“I hate you.”

“Nah,” Natsu stood up and covered her back up with the sheet. “You hate that you don’t hate me. It’s okay. I still love you too. See ya around kitten.”

Natsu heard the woman’s sigh as the door closed behind him and smiled to himself. He knew she didn’t actually hate him, their relationship was just complicated at the moment, never love the actual problem between them… Though, it had been a dick move to give her a hickey, but that’s what Lucy gets for leading him on like that. She could’ve just stopped the massage immediately if she knew it was him all along, so to let him go through the entire process, it was tit for tat— and hey, at least it’s only temporary.

‘It’s your move next kitten…’

#nalu #nalu au #nalu fan fiction #nalu yakuza au #nalu fan fic #natsu dragneel #lucy hearfilia #ch 7 #we'll take back heaven #petri808 #lemony scented

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bailey-reaper · 3 years ago

Note

Hhhhh could you write a sequel to the hades fic???? it was SOO good!!!!!!

For Dear Life (Hades & Persephone AU)

Notes: (continued from here) Hello anon, I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed the Hades/Persephone fic! As I've said before, I love mythologies!

S/O is gender neutral (they/them pronouns). Barok refers to them using petnames.

Content Warnings: abducted / hostage situation; power imbalance; intense emotions; Tia seriously screws around with Greek mythology. Like really REALLY screws around...; I'm sorry historians (again!) and mythologists

It was impossible to say whether or not the underworld met their expectations, because such things were normally so abstract and not a subject they really thought of; so, to be suddenly confronted by the literal domain of the dead, was utterly mind-boggling.

All they really remembered, as the chariot dove deep into the bowels of the earth was the feeling of the God of the Underworld holding them close and partly shielding them with his long cloak of darkness. It had surprised them to hear a heart beating in the deity's chest – surely that was something of an oxymoron?

With a firm shake of their head, they quietly wondered why they were dwelling upon that precise detail; it seemed like such a trivial thing...

They had been escorted to a garden within the deity's palace: the plants were unusual colours and shapes, no doubt thanks to the lack of sunlight they enjoyed, but it was a soothing space nonetheless and one that helped their racing thoughts to calm. As they looked around and overhead, it struck them how easy it was to forget this was a subterranean domain given how high the vaulted cavernous ceilings were.

"It is a pleasant garden, is it not?" a familiar, but terrifying, voice remarked as the tall and imposing Lord of the Dead entered the space.

Instantly the feeling of calm abandoned them and they stood with a small yelp of shock, "........" even if they'd wanted to speak, it was as if their voice was stuck in their throat.

"...." the God's expression was momentarily odd, they might have taken it as him being wounded or even disappointed, before he cleared his throat and sat on a bench fashioned from black marble, ".... I have no intentions to harm you. It may be difficult to believe that, but it is the truth... won't you come here?" he held out a hand, "I have shown you a great deal of discourtesy thus far in failing to properly introduce myself... My rashness can only be attributed to the passion you make me feel. It is... very out of my usual character."

And it was, for the Lord of the Underworld was known among his brethren as a level-headed judge who maintained utmost composure at all times. In fact, they often described him as being 'cold as a corpse' and brutal when it came to matters of logic or strategy. Impulsiveness was an unknown concept in his mind, until now...

"...I... am fine here," they replied, settling back down in grass that appeared to be more peacock blue than green.

"... Very well," once more he wore that wounded expression, but the God seemed willing to respect their reluctance, "I am the God of the Underworld, I believe your kind call me 'Hades'."

"... Hades," yes -- that was what humans called the stern God beneath the earth, but it sounded to them as if that might not be his real name, "Is... that not your name, then?"

A smile graced and lifted his features for a moment, brightening them in an unexpected way, "You are as astute as I thought... that is correct: my 'true' name is not Hades, though, mortals may call me whatever they wish."

"Then... what is your real name?" this topic of conversation made them curious: where had the names of the Gods actually come from? Were they brought to the minds of men in a dream? Or did the Gods themselves provide false identities, if so then why?

"Mmm," he looked momentarily pensive, "That is a secret, for now... a God's true name holds great power. To entrust it to another is akin to making a vow."

Their eyes widened, "Oh... I... I see."

"You will forgive me if I do not offer up something so personal at this delicate juncture, I am aware that your presence here is entirely of my doing and that you are... unhappy about it. I will not keep it a secret any longer than I must."

"...." it made sense that a God would not trust a relative stranger with something that seemed to hold a great deal of power. They wanted to ask more about it: what did it mean to know a God's true name? What kind of 'vow' did it create? But, it seemed more prudent to leave the topic for now, "... Please won't you let me go home?" they asked, eyes pleading, "I am... flattered to have caught the eye of a God, but I am a mere mortal. I cannot see what lasting intrigue I would have to a divine being such as yourself."

The Lord of the Underworld tilted his head, "Do you think me a shallow man who saw your beautiful face and thought only of that?" he shook his head, "I appreciate that we Gods have a less than glowing image among mortals, and that we have a reputation for treating humans in a superficial manner, but, that is not why I have brought you here. I do not see you as some pretty trophy to keep until I tire of you. Though you are beautiful, yes, it is not simply your appearance that has captivated me so."

"What...?" for some reason his impassioned words made their heart thud in their chest; did he really meant to say that he, a God, had fallen in love with them?

"You possess a quality of character and strength of spirit that has quite simply dazzled me... I have watched you from afar, seen how you have helped your fellows and maintained your grace and resolve even in the face of adversity. I was blinded by more than just your looks."

They blinked a few times, going over his words again and again in muted silence. How could they respond to such a heartfelt answer? It was clear that the God of the Underworld was sincere, if nothing else-- but, this was too much to take in.

"... I'm sure it must come as a surprise to hear a God's confession, but I cannot yearn from afar any longer... that is why I have brought you here. So that I might marry you and take you for my spouse."

"This... it's... this is far more than a surprise... it's shocking. I'm a simple human, surely there are other Gods and Goddesses that are better suited to wed one such as you?"

The God chuckled, "Gods and Humans aren't so different you know... We're possessed of the same diversity of thought and feelings, the same irrational sensibilities and yearnings... it is not as if for every God there is a comparable divine partner. In fact, I find a number of my divine brethren to be a noisy, irksome lot and ill-suited to my temperament. I gladly opted to rule the Underworld for it lessens the time I have to spend with them."

".... huh?" suddenly, they couldn't help but giggle, "... Are you... saying that you view the Gods as annoying relatives?"

"...." he pursed his lips, "Well... they are."

"Oh... I had no idea... So, you came here willingly?" he nodded, "That's not what our books say: apparently you drew lots with your brothers and received the underworld having drawn the shortest straw."

"...?" he looked genuinely bemused by that account, "... I've... never heard something so ridiculous in all my life... drew lots? By the Gods, no. The last thing I would want is to rule the Gods and endure the constant politics of Mount Olympus. Truth be told, I have no idea how my brother manages it..."

Once more they were laughing, for the God of the Underworld --Hades himself-- looked utterly aghast, "Oh! But what about the sea then? Wouldn't you have preferred your brother Poseidon's domain?"

"First, Poseidon is not my brother, he was a 'brother-in-arms' who assisted me and my brother... second, the sea is not much better than Olympus given its relative proximity. I find that my brethren are far slower to make the trek down into the bowels of the earth than any other place."

"I... had no idea the Lord of the Underworld was so anti-social," they mused, smiling to themself having almost entirely lost their nervousness, "But... I suppose it makes some sense, given that your domain is that of the dead. Have you... always been like this?"

"Like what?" he cocked his head.

"... Disagreeable to spending time with other Gods."

"I suppose so," he folded his arms, as if trying to recall some divine equivalent of childhood, "There are so many irksome and tedious Gods in the world, I discovered that during the wars with the Titans."

"Oh... so those wars actually happened then? Our human books are right about that much at least?" he nodded, "So... are the myths about your brother, Zeus, true?"

"What myths about Zeus?"

"That he's the most terrible womaniser who forces himself upon anything that catches his eye?"

"What?!" he stood up, clearly flustered, "Who dares to tarnish my brother's name so?! He's not some philandering hedonist! He's a man of the utmost integrity and happily married! Not to mention his wife would punish him severely were he to hold such callous disregard for the mortals..." suddenly, he stopped his ranting and looked apologetic as he sat down, "... Forgive me, that outburst was uncalled for..."

"I'm... surprised," they said, "Because our myths suggest that you and Zeus do not get along... but you seem incredibly fond of him... oh... and what did you mean that Poseidon is not your brother? Aren't all the Gods related?"

"Of course I'm fond of him," the God said, "He's my brother... and as for your other questions.... what kind of inbred bedlam do you think the Gods live in? We are not begat as generations of mortals, we all issued forth from the black waters of Chaos..."

"But how are you and Zeus related if all Gods are not born?"

"I... was a weak little God when I emerged from the primordial darkness, in fact it was questionable whether or not I would survive. Zeus took pity on me, and shared with me his ichor.... that sustained me and breathed life into me. We are brothers who share the same blood, literally."

"Oh... wow... I had no idea..."

"Why would you? It is not as if we Gods are at pains to correct the fantasies that mortals dream up to explain the world around them," he folded his arms, "I'm... glad you seem a little less nervous in my presence."

"Ah..." they blinked, "Now that you mention it, I do feel a lot calmer."

"That's good... I hope, with time, that perhaps you will... take a liking to me."

"...." funnily enough, seeing more of the God's character had endeared him to them, "I... can't make any promises," they said, while looking down and smiling.

He seemed to pick up on that coyness, "Hmmm... that's better than an outright no. Now, I should like to show you my domain. Do you feel up to a chariot ride? I won't burst up from the earth this time and grab you..."

"In that case, yes."

#barok van zieks #Barok x Ors #alt universe #request

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lov3nerdstuff · 4 years ago

Text

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.36}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 3.4k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

"And that is?" Robin raised her eyebrows at him in question and curiosity alike, immediately catching onto the spark of hope that came with the prospect of an advantage indeed.

"Me." He replied as simply as that, with an entirely, if not too straight face, and Robin couldn't help her snort in return

"How very humble of you…" She said smoothly, but with a smirk on her lips nonetheless. He was right though, they did stand two against one after all, and they always would. The thought, as always, served to calm Robin more than any piece of saving history or weapon could.

"I am entirely serious about it." Snape added however when Robin's humoured expression didn't cease even after a few seconds, and thus her smile vanished to make way for her utmost attention to his words again. "Since there have always been mutual affections between the Morgan and the Bennett heir up to this point, as well as going by the few accounts of various incarnations of the prophecy, it is safe to say that there has never before been such a disturbance. Both heirs have as of yet always opposed each other alone, because neither was free in their choice to seek out a different partner."

"And you think that whatever anomaly it was that made me not have any curse-inflicted positive or negative emotions for Morgan is the reason why the prophecy will end differently this time?"

"I believe you are the best chance to end the prophecy once and for all that the Bennett line has had in over five hundred years." He replied in open sincerity, and Robin's heart skipped a beat before it was captured by both hope and adoration. "And I can state the facts as they are: I was never meant to be part of this prophecy, nor am I part of it now. I am the anomaly in this scenario, and as we both know, anomalies tend to lead to a different outcome than the predicted one, even in any controlled environment."

"Did you just use potions logic to explain why we will win against Morgan?" Robin couldn't help the affectionate smile that took over her features once more; phrased like he had just now, it really did sound like she had a chance. She couldn't put into words how much she loved him for always cheering her up. For giving her hope, and every strength she could possibly need.

"It appears so." He mused in return, quirking an eyebrow up along with his words as he studied Robin in the flickering light of the flames. "Yet the fortunate preconditions will not change one of the core problems of the entire prophecy: in order for you to live, we will have to kill Morgan instead."

Robin's heart fell in an instant, as did her smile, and even her stomach picked up the all too familiar churning once again. For a few seconds she avoided Snape's eyes by staring into the flames, before at last her gaze returned to him in all the unfathomable sadness it brought along. "I can't kill him, Sev. I had every possibility and reason to today, and yet I… I can't."

"I know. And we will see to it that you won't have to." He replied quietly, then seemed to be lost in his own thoughts for a moment until he spoke on. "Though I admit I do not entirely understand how the prophecy treats the subject. From what I understand, Morgan will have to die at your hand and only yours, even though or especially because I am not part of the prophecy. Otherwise I would gladly have volunteered to end him myself in this very instant."

A huff, both bitterly humoured and indignant, escaped Robin's lips, and she found herself rolling her eyes at this stupid prophecy. Of course it had to be her… everything else just would've been too easy, wouldn't it? But then again… "I wouldn't have wanted you to do it either way." She said. "I will gladly spare your soul that torture at any cost."

"Morgan's death is inevitable if we want to keep you alive, you know that."

"Nothing is truly inevitable. It can't be." Robin shrugged with another sigh, then finally gathered her wits to speak up about another thought that had fostered in her mind ever since this afternoon. "You know, I looked at him while he was at my mercy today, and I realized something that only now makes sense to me. At last."

"Enlighten me."

"Do you remember what my boggart turned into, in my third year?"

"How could I forget… It was a deeply concerning and unsettling occurrence." Snape scoffed, but then sighed and motioned for her to continue.

"I think it was the prophecy that made the boggart change into that dark version of myself which we both saw. And it's also what turned my nightmares in my fourth year into such a horror show. Remember Morgan's words, at the ball: he sees in me the hollow darkness of inevitable death." Robin took a deep breath, then finally got to the point. "The boggart and my nightmares showed me precisely what will become of me if I kill Morgan like I am obviously meant to. It was my destiny in the prophecy that the boggart and the curse found in my being, not my deepest fear. Even though it might as well be one and the same thing at this point."

"That-..." Was his only reply for a few long seconds, until surprise was followed up by understanding in his expression. "I believe you might just be right about that."

"I don't want to become that thing we saw back then, Sev." Her voice took on an almost pleading tone, low and far too breathy for Robin's liking, but it was the price for keeping it from breaking entirely. "But I would, if I kill Morgan. Perhaps it's part of the curse… or perhaps it's just my own stupid weakness. But we both have seen what will become of me, and I don't want to be that person. I can't be. I can't kill him."

"Then we will find another way to end the prophecy. Without anyone dying."

"What other way could there possibly be? You said Morgan's death at my hands is inevitable, it's always gonna be either him or I. No third option. I kill him, or I die."

"Just as you said before, nothing is truly inevitable." He returned, as calmly serious as ever. "While I would not hesitate to end Morgan in a blink, I will also not hesitate to spare you from doing so yourself. We will find a different way, because we always do. Because we have to."

"Alright." And again, as always, Robin couldn't help believing him in the end. A half smile tugged on her lips as she looked up at him once again, in the knowledge that they would be alright somehow. "We will find a way, before it's too late."

"That we will." He sighed under his breath, then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and yet held onto her a little more tightly in return. They weren't optimists, no… but they had as of yet gotten out of even more impossible situations than this, every single time.

Robin's smile brightened ineffably as she allowed herself to be tugged closer against his chest, his head coming to rest on top of her own, and for a moment they simply enjoyed the silence of the night. It was terribly late, and there was no doubt that they both were beyond exhausted. Perhaps detention and almost dying weren't quite comparable in what they did to one's body and mind, but it was safe to say that this day ought to come to an end for both of them nevertheless. It had been too much… Hogsmeade, the room of hidden things, Morgan's office, dinner, their office, Morgan's rooms, the astronomy tower, and finally the entire struggle with the prophecy right here and now. Good gods, Robin's head felt like bursting with all the things she had just learned. They had uncovered so many horrible truths today… but they finally had gotten a step further in understanding the big picture. A step further to bringing it all to an end.

"Is there any more we can do now?" She asked after a while. "I feel like we forgot something crucial, but I can't grasp what that might be."

"We should rest, for now. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be." He replied with a subtle sigh, and finally pulled away just enough to look at Robin once more. "Perhaps we should see the bright side of things, too, for once."

"And that would be?"

"I can keep you here with me all night without any remorse."

A loud snort escaped Robin as they both got up from the ground to get ready for bed at last, and she couldn't help the smirk that just then tugged at her lips. "As if you've ever felt any ounce of guilt over that before…"

"Officially, I have."

"Officially, I shouldn't even be here in the first place for you to feel guilty over."

"Good thing we make our own rules then."

"Indeed."

… … …

Falling asleep that night, surprisingly, turned out to be less troublesome than Robin had anticipated. Once they both were curled up under the soft covers, wrapped tightly into each other's arms in the fierce comfort of utmost protectiveness, they were both out like a light within seconds. While it still hadn't been often that they'd gotten to spend the night like this, it currently was the reassurance of each other's presence that made it possible to find sleep in the first place, and while Robin would've found more excitement in it under different circumstances, it was the calmness that gifted her a dreamless sleep for what was left of the night to rest.

The morning, however, was everything but calm in return. It was Sunday, sure, but when they woke up five minutes after breakfast had started, the world came crashing down on them rather abruptly. In all due haste, it took them only a few minutes to get ready and hide the box of parchments in one of the shelves before they quickly made their way towards the great hall. Together, for once, since Snape had absolutely refused to let Robin wander through the empty hallways alone, and Robin had given up her protests before she had even gotten properly started. When Snape had set his mind to something, there was little to nothing she could do about it. And honestly, she found herself rather glad about that.

As always, they did go separate ways once they reached the doors to the great hall though, and Robin didn't hesitate to make her way inside and towards the Slytherin table already, while trying to catch her breath after almost having to run to keep up with Snape. At some point, when there wasn't such a pressing reason to hurry, she would have to remind him that his legs were about double as long as hers, which made it nigh impossible to keep up sometimes. Or at least it felt like that; she would have to remember to bring it up at some point. Unfortunately, it was only when Robin spotted Gideon and Michael that she remembered something else, namely the thing she had forgotten about last night. Their challenge, which really hadn't been one in the first place. Oh bloody hell… she had forgotten to take a proper look into her memories to check the stupid order of the stupid items on Morgan's stupid desk. But seriously, there had been so much more urgent matters at hand! Bloody fucking hell though, for she still couldn't tell them that. She still had to put on a smile and joke as if there wasn't some ridiculous life changing prophecy at work. Great.

"Got up on the wrong foot, eh?" Gideon greeted her with a smirk right when Robin reached their little group in the middle of the long table. "You look like someone's turned your shower cold while you were still under it."

"Something like that, yeah." She sighed in return, then dropped down into the seat between Jorien and Simon that had been saved for her. "Anyway, good morning to you, too."

Granted, her friends did try to cheer her up during breakfast, and Robin found herself sighing inwardly more than once while she put on a fake smile and, sometimes, could even muster up a real one. Her occasional glances towards the head table were kindly ignored like always, her 'hmm's for an answer as well, and at last she almost believed that the boys had forgotten about the challenge for good when after twenty minutes still nobody had asked about it. But of course, fate or whatever entity was currently messing with her wasn't as kind as to let her off the hook that easily.

"So, when are we finally going to talk about yesterday's evening activities?" Cas asked with a beaming and giddy smile that made Robin want to strangle her in an instant. Honestly, she loved Cas, but the girl had the most awful timing known to human history.

"Oh yes, right!" Gideon jumped right onto the train of thought, and even dropped his toast while his gaze flew over to Robin. "Where's that proof you promised, huh?"

Under different circumstances, Robin would've straight up snarled at the boy's smug expression and quieted his every inquiry with a single glare. But she had more or less promised them proof, and she had most definitely promised herself to keep her friends out of this mess. So she had to live with the consequences now, even if they majorly annoyed her. Sighing inwardly, she tried to recall the details about Morgan's desk, what it had looked like, what items he kept on there… Perhaps a rough description would have to do. Or, perhaps indeed, it would only take one single detail, a detail that almost nobody could know of. Well, unless they had carefully searched through his desk like she had, of course. Yes, that certainly would do to serve as proof for the boys! Why on earth hadn't she thought of that before?! With a mostly feigned mischievous smile, Robin leaned onto her lower arms and over the table, closer to Gideon and Michael. Unsurprisingly, every single one of her friends followed suit and leaned in closer to her as well. The fact that they were already so used to her antics rendered her smile a little more real, and a little less bitter.

"Alright, but don't judge me before you've checked the facts yourself." She started, once she was sure that all five of her friends were listening. Even Jorien and Simon, who had shown absolutely no interest in the entire endeavour last night, were intently paying attention now. "In the locked drawer in his desk, Morgan keeps a book on beautifying spells 'for the modern gentleman'."

It took a second, but then Michael and Gideon burst into laughter, while Simon and the girls simply gaped at Robin as if she'd told them that a spaceship had crashed in Hogsmeade. Admittedly, both reactions amused Robin quite a bit in return, which served as a most welcome distraction from the morning's hasty gloom. The book had indeed been an amusing discovery, now that she thought of it. One that she had previously simply ignored in order to focus on the greater good, the bigger plan, the more important matters. Well, perhaps it did her some good now to remember that there were other things in life than the big problems. That Morgan was also just a human being, with flaws and secrets and weird mannerisms. It certainly made breathing a little easier for now.

"That is absolutely hilarious." Gideon snorted a moment later, after he had finally managed to catch his breath. "I honestly hope it's true."

"Of course it's true!" Cas snapped back at him, even though the fact still seemed to irritate her at the same time. "Robin doesn't lie…"

"Thank you." Robin gave the girl a half smile and a nod, then turned back towards the boys across from her. "I consider this inane challenge completed now, but you are of course free to verify my claim."

"I believe you." Michael shrugged with another humoured huff. "Would explain why the guy's always so…"

"Pretty?" Gideon suggested with raised eyebrows, and Michael nodded in agreement. "Pretty is a good way to describe it."

"Petty would be even more like it." Robin sighed under her breath, but her own thought made her snort a second later nonetheless. Arrogance wouldn't help her, but if she was stuck in a limbo between confidence and fear already, she might as well enjoy the highs for now before the lows came back to haunt her.

"Speaking of petty, you won't believe what that pillock Justin did last night!" Gideon said, and Michael just groaned in return before shoving his friend and rolling his eyes.

"Who the frick is Justin?" Jorien asked with an indignant frown in return, which almost made Robin snort again, for the girl, as so often, displayed a copycat version of Robin's own thoughts.

"Some guy in their house." Cas answered with a roll of her eyes, but more at the subject than because of her friend's question. "He should be in Robin's year, actually, but knowing her, she probably has no idea who he is either."

"Caught me. I still don't care about the people in my year." Robin shrugged with one shoulder and kept her eyes on her toast, but she didn't cease to listen curiously to the elaborations around her at the same time.

"Anyway, Justin was helping us with our charms essays last night. Or rather, he was supposed to help us, but ended up being a stupid pillock about it." Gideon went on to explain.

"Yeah, he is really good at charms." Michael continued in a sigh where Gideon had stopped. "But he didn't even try to help us! Properly, I mean. He could've just answered our bloody questions, or pointed us to books that would have helped, but no, he had to make it all even more difficult by giving us even more questions! Questions and problems and… ugh! He honestly just made it more difficult for us to get the bloody essay done."

"I bet he didn't even want to help us." Gideon made a face, and Micheal nodded once again in agreement. "He probably just wanted to make himself look clever in front of the girls in the common room. Honestly, next time we'll just do it by ourselves."

"Or ask Robin."

"Right."

Robin nodded; of course she would help them with their stupid essays if they asked, she always did, but that was entirely besides the point right now. Her thoughts were already drifting off into another direction entirely, to something they hadn't even said, and that yet their rambling had triggered in Robin's mind. A thought, an idea… a perspective! A rush of adrenaline started burning down her veins, and her eyes just as her thoughts inevitably moved away from her breakfast and her friends, towards the head table, then towards Snape. It took but a few more seconds for his eyes to meet hers, and another for his mind to reach out to her.

'That look on your face is not about the dunderhead gang, is it?' He asked, straight to the point, which Robin was as always grateful for.

'No. We need to talk. With words. Now.' Her reply was a mere staccato, phrased like that in order for her request to even come out clear over the mess her thoughts had become once more. Going by the look on his face, he had understood her nonetheless.

'Astronomy tower. In five minutes.'

______________________________

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icecreamsundayonajulyafternoon · 3 years ago

Text

Alcina Dimitrescu/f reader

+some well meaning Chris

I also posted this on my ao3 account Homoeroticmicrowave as a part of my resident evil oneshots book the link to which is : https://archiveofourown.org/works/32351686/chapters/80202100

For context in this the reader works with Chris but got kidnapped by Alcina and ended up bonding with her

Anyway behold My dignified shit post:

Alcina tilted your head up by your chin with one of her claws with a gentle sort of care “I might just be enamoured by you my little maiden” her voice had a certain air to it as the power she carried held strong though the coldness it had been coddled by withered away.

“And I am just glad to have met someone as truly brilliant as you are you make my heart feel like it’s faltering” Alcina’s tensed muscles and rigid posture seemed to deflate as her claws retracted.

“My little human girl you truly are one of a kind you are too good for this world and it’s cruelty that it afflicts you with”

Her hands incased yours as she held them so lightly ”Stay with me” Alcina’s eyes steadily gazed into your own “I want you to stay with me in this castle forever with me. I want you to marry me and be mine and let me be yours”

You almost thought she was joking but Alcina Dimitrescu would never make such a joke and to claim that she had would be ludicrous it was simply not in her nature to be so brash with her humour. However, declarations received a treatment that was a far cry to how her delicate words of amusement were handled

“I can give you a life worthy of living for you. I’ll have you adorned in whatever clothes you would see fit to clad your body and express your beauty in all of its forms, I’ll have you living a luxurious life that would make a deity envious, your every desire would be fulfilled if you only ask and I promise you I will give you everything if only to see you relish the world you live in” there was a certain warmth to her tone that she never previously expressed to you.

��It’s a pitiful world full of devastation and tyranny and I will not have it harm you from hence forth”

You released one of your hands from her gentle grasp so that your hands could reach out

“You make me feel pink and small and like I’m fluttering like my feet could rise from the ground and I’d float in the air like some sort of silly, little cartoon character when they’re smitten by someone” you felt overheated and uncomfortable as you spoke but you continued

“I would stay with you whether or not you had riches to offer me. Castles and gowns and jewellery is all very lovely but it’s not what keeps me yearning. I want you Alcina, I want you and I want to spend every moment that I can with you” you smiled despite your inability to even glimpse her face. A coward you were and yet a lovesick fool you were all the same.

“I found a home with you Alcina.” Your eyes finally reunited with hers and as she looked at you, you had never felt more loved than in that moment. “Let me be your home too….let me marry you” the words caressed her heart and she moved your arms so that they fell around her neck and she lifted you up by your waist. “I treasure every moment I have with you my love” she whispered. “Let this world we’ll build last forever”

When you had a moment alone while getting ready you radioed into whatever members of your team were still alive and had their radios still working and on them “So I’m not gonna be able to go back with you guys but everything’s pretty good so uh yeah I don’t really know how to explain the predicament- no that’s too negative a word- situation- no, no this is not a situation that makes it sound like there’s some kind of situation- what I meant to say the events that preceded my current happenings can be perceived as a little odd however everything is fine, goodbye forever”

You threw your radio out of the window and into the snow and presumed it had broke. Chances were your teammates would not have heard your message but it was still polite to let them know you were alive and well and would simply just not be joining them on their way home or anything at all again ever because you were about to be married to a giant, homocidal lady. They could be angered by your supposed ‘disrespectful’ tone concerning how you address everyone and didn’t go over formalities but you were gifted with this thing known as manner which influenced your decision to inform them of your lack of presence on the return journey before hand.

You were just considerate like that.

You gushed over the dress you had been so graciously gifted. It truly was a work of art tailored just for you. Each detail of it was made with a passionate precision that had you gawking with glee as you admired every segment of material woven into the fabric.

It was a true marvel and you felt like a piece of artwork yourself that would be displayed with great care in an art museum. You looked like a glamorous painting that was created with such integral beauty that the expertise of the artist could not be measured by any title or prideful words.

A sense of pride ghosted your senses and you found your fingertips brushing the mirror with such a light touch that you couldn’t br sure your skin had made contact with the mirror at all. You were so subconsciously convinced what you were looking into was glazed with deceit and if you touched the mirror you would break the illusion of beauty and your true form of much lesser looks would be restored. But that didn’t happen and for a moment you could sympathise with narcissus as much like them you found yourself fawning over the being of beauty that you weren’t entirely sure was yourself.

You were truly a bride who’s beauty was beyond befitting of any title that could be bestowed upon you and you thought yourself to be belonging with angels of artwork, your place was dancing with the muses who were worth more than simple adoration and worship.

You weren’t a god but you were blessed by Aphrodite’s touch and you were sure simple folk could not help but be too mesmerised to experience jealousy at your envious appearance.

If it were a sin to be enraptured in revelling in your own appearance than you would relish the hellfire that rained down to scorch your flesh and soul. You’d paint such a pretty picture dancing in the misery of hell gifted by sins. Lucifer had treated you well and you thanked them for gracing you with what God couldn’t.

Alcina’s voice rang out like a dove from behind the door and lulled you away from the mirror your attention had been stolen by. “Perhaps you could be so gracious as to adorn me with your presence”

You turned to face the direction of her voice “of course anytime my love” you said earnestly.

“I won’t look at you now nor do I want you to see me just yet but I couldn’t help but to speak to you just for a moment beforehand…I want it to be special my dear and I won’t want for it to be any less special than either of us want for it to be because you deserve everything you want and yet lover I find myself needing to be selfish and needing to hear your voice”

”Alcina it’s okay” you couldn’t help but to let a giggle escape you “I can’t help but feel nervous to see you and yet I can’t wait to I love you and tonight is special because it’s our night it’s special because it marks the first day I get to be with you forever”

You head Alcina let out a small laugh tainted by an agitating anxiousness. “So do I”

You felt breathless as you stepped out into the night. Donna your apparent personal seamstress and now flower girl guided you to where it would take place.

Alcina stared as though she had witnessed something that couldn’t be explained by any science or rationality. While she herself was a sight to take in when she saw you she felt as though her childhood dreams were coming true as you seemed mythical.

When your eyes met her you felt like you were falling and you didn’t want to stop. Not for a moment. She was gorgeous. A wedding dress perfectly fit for her graced her elegant features. She looked ethereal and you wanted to reach out to touch her. Each step you took seemed so slow. Far too slow for your liking. You wanted to be in her arms and soon.

When you did finally meet her while tradition forbid you to kiss her just yet you at least reached out to hold her hands. Your eyes glistened with joy all of the love you had barely fit in your body as it threatened to burst out of you in bounds of laughter and tears. You felt so much and you wanted to feel like that forever. You wanted for this moment to last forever. You wanted to be held by her forever.

Your hair seemed so gorgeous and lustrous in the glowing moonlight. Fairy lights decorated the trees surrounding you and fireflies twirled in the breeze. To think you would see such beauty and wonder in what had once been a placed that had brought you such terror and havoc.

Alcina held you tenderly as though she couldn’t quite believe this was happening. She wouldn’t be isolated in that feeling as you were swarmed by disbelief, you didn’t shun all of the conflicting emotions you were feeling. Not for a moment. You welcomed them and you couldn’t help but tingle with the relief of any negative thoughts or surprise being overwhelmed with ecstatic delight. You had thought of marriage in the general sense before when considering where the events of your life might lead you and while it wasn’t conventional not anything close to what you could have ever expected you would gladly spend the rest of your days residing in Dimitrescu castle with Alcina. She really was one marvellous woman.

You had insisted on certain songs being played at your wedding from fun songs you had once joked about being played at your wedding to irresistibly romantic guilty pleasures that you would have been teased mercilessly for an infinite amount of times had you ever admitted you would want played. But that was in another lifetime and while Alcina may not always understand certain aspects of your interests she was always glad to watch you indulge in them.

You two danced, chests pounding with a romantic joy you had never thought existed in the way you felt it. As your arms wrapped around her neck as she lifted you up you couldn’t help but think how a much younger version of yourself would feel giddy at knowing how in love you were. Though knowing your child self the word ‘gross’ would also most likely make an appearance as the topic of love.

You admired every detail of her face and when you kissed her you thought about how you couldn’t wait to spend the rest of your life with her. However long you had would be amazing as long as it was spent by your side whether it be one day or one hundred years you wanted to spend it all with her. You had been bewitched by her and you couldn’t be happier.

Then your moment was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire. Violence and stubborn hatred truly had a way of ruining even the most kindest and beautiful of moments.

Alcina scooped you up and ran, throwing you over her shoulder and quickly moving so that you may escape the presence of aggression and be safe in the sanctuary she made for you.

Over her shoulder you saw Chris running, bullets blazing as he ran with a determined rage. You thought he would have been long gone by now. You had convinced Alcina to give up her part in aiding Miranda’s plan. Surely you could convince her to let these people leaves unscathed.

You moved in front of Alcina, attempting to quell her anger and bitter bloodlust with promises of trust and hope. You begged her to at least let you try to form some kind of truce so that you would not have to live knowing people you cared about destroyed each other. Hesitantly she let you go. Though her reluctance was apparent and she looked so eager to snatch you up and lock you far from those who put your life at risk.

You left the castle and approached the direction you were adamant Chris and probably his team would soon be.

Geez he really went to the effort to risk his life searching for your and stealing you back with him all so he could lecture you on your lack of formality and far too casual tone when you had radioed in as well as your blatant disrespect, poor execution of the mission and your inconsideration of the expense of the property you had been given. Sounds about right. It was a mistake to attempt some kind of means of communication really. And now look what happened your wedding was ruined.

You raised your hands up to show you meant no harm when Chris and found and approached you.

There was a moment between Chris properly processing you were there and him first catching sight of you where it felt like everything had been put on pause. He eyed you suspiciously as though you were some sort of distraction, a part of a malicious scheme Alcina had made in order to proficiently destroy any hope of Chris’s rescue attempt and mission succeeding.

”Hey” you waved awkwardly in a hopeless attempt to break through the immense pressure and tension of the situation “nice to see you’re still alive and stuff that’s cool” your voice rang out through the silence. “I’m alive too which is fun looks like we have that in common”at that point you were just throwing dumb words at him in a blatant attempt to get him to respond in a way that wouldn’t suck.

Chris grabbed you and pulled you into a vice-like hug. You felt him lift you up “It’s good to see you….Where is that thing? What did that bitch do to you?” He seethed.

”Nothing she actually had a pretty good sense of hospitality-did you come here on your own without anyone-“

He had you back on the ground but his grasp never left you as he shifted his grip so that he now had a steady hold on your shoulders. “This isn’t the time to act like nothings wrong if you’re injured or you’ve been drugged with something you need to tell me” his hold on you was just as secure as it was when he hugged you even if he no longer had you squished against him.

“I’ve not been hurt really I’m not lying to you Chris” you looked him in the eyes and tried to communicate with your facial expressions that you were telling the truth.

Chris sighed slightly but nodded “good, we need to leave we can continue this conversation when we’re safe-“

You put a hand on his chest to put some distance between you both “look Chris I’m- I’m not leaving. I’m staying here” Chris looked a mixture of perplexed and horrified.

He stepped closer to you so he was practically leering over you “what are you talking about! We’re going. Now.”

“No Chris I’m not. I love Alcina and I’m not leaving her. I won’t. You can leave I’ll make sure she won’t come after you just as I made sure she no longer interfered with Ethan finding Rose but I won’t go with you”You stared defiantly at him as you stood as tall as you could despite him towering over you.

”Alcina? Is that what that bitch got you to call her!You think you love that thing! Jesus Christ what did she do to you!” Chris looked disgusted at your words.

“Hey man I don’t ruin your weddings do I the least you could do is let me go back to her-“ Chris held your arm tightly preventing you from leaving as he radioed into someone.

”I’ve acquired S/n. Clearly they’re under some kind of influence- they must have been brainwashed or put in some form of hypnotic state!” Chris hypothesised to the person on the other end of the radio upon your immediate reluctance to leave. The moment you suggested you had no interest in leaving he stopped talking directly to you. “We’ll meet you there soon we’ll need a medic and possibly some means of restraint for them” he tucked the radio back into his pocket and turned his attention back on you.

“I’m all here I’m just genuinely okay to stay here” you implored him to recognise that you were in fact all there.

Chris ignored your attempts to defend your sanity and slung you over you shoulder. “Fuck are you doing!” You yelped at his sudden action.

“I don’t know what that freak did to you but I won’t let you suffer! I won’t leave you in this hell hole! We can fix this I promise!” He seemed so genuinely concerned and you understood why but you just needed him to listen. You knew how ugly this was going to end up if he didn’t.

”Stop calling her that! You know nothing of her! There’s nothing to fix! She’s been nothing but kind to me! Please just put me down and leave!” Your pleads were wasted as he stopped responding to you.

Panicking you thrashed in his stone like grip even going so far as to try to bite and scratch him. He grunted in response to your little attack and repositioned you so that you couldn’t easily hurt him and if you did you wouldn’t do much damage.

Your fears were ignited when you heard Alcina’s voice rampaging through the wind. Chris cursed and you began begging you to put him down and leave you. Unfortunately, he interpreted your words as an attempt to sacrifice yourself for his sake, which he refused to go along with.

He didn’t let go of you as he began running and quickly grabbing a gun which he fired at Alcina with a precision you wish he lacked. You started screaming begging for them not to fight but your words crumbled as your weeping shouts were overpowered by the insatiable violence that inevitably occurred due to both parties refusal to attempt any form of reason.

While you understood the motivation both of them had and if you heard one perspective by itself you could easily side with it if the other one remained unknown to you.

Chris set you down by a tree after tying you to it. You blubbered through your messy tears that he needed to stop and listen to you for just a moment. You were desperate for them to stop before it was too late but just as always you were ignored as Chris left you to fight Alcina.

Your thoughts flurried as paranoia and fear truly sunk in and you were sure one or both of them would die. As you were sure you would lose everything to the cruelty of bloodshed. Time seemed to drag on and you struggled to release yourself from the rope that held you securely. You were so sure that one of them were dead as horrific sounds seeped into the cold night air.

Your fears proved true when you heard Alcina’s screams rattle throughout the air. Your breath hitched. What just happened-

Your head snapped at the sound of footsteps and your whole body felt like it was burning as you saw Chris’s weathered face.

He untied you and lifted you up into his arms that seemed to tremble ever so slightly. “What-what just” you could barely get the words out of your mouth. It couldn’t have possibly meant what-no there had to be some other explanation. Any other explanation.

”She won’t hurt you anymore” with those words you fell a part.

Chris remained silent as you sobbed. He just kept walking. He was sure you were just experiencing some kind of false mourning as the result of whatever Alcina had done to you. And yet guilt threatened to creep at the doubt that teased the back of his mind. He held back his thoughts and focused on getting you home.

#lady dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu x y/n #lady dimitrescu resident evil #resident evil 8 #resident evil village #resident evil #biohazard #chris redfield #alcina dimitrescu #lgbt girl #resident evil fanfic #angst #wlw #lgbtqia

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moonflower-rose · 3 years ago

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For your boredom asks! Do you fancy talking about your fic writing and reading habits? How do you decide what to write? What's your favourite thing about fandom? Do you plan or are you a pantser? What's your favourite fic? When did you start writing? (Just throwing these out there btw, feel free to ignore any or all!)

Firstly, thank you, omg. I needed something to focus on so much! This got loooooong. You are brilliant, thank you so much for asking.

I started writing in 2004 in terms of putting fic out there online, but I used to write RPF in high school about people in my year, lol, and there were dramatic readings held on the bus on the way home. Man, those were funny, I remember one of them was about two friends of mine who had very poorly disguised crushes on each other (no clue why they didn’t just get together) and the story was about one of them visiting the other one and they start to shag, and do so with such vigour that the floor collapses beneath them and their bed ends up in the living room downstairs. This one was extremely popular with the bus crowd, circa 1998. Looking back I think I’ve always used a fair amount of humour in my fic!

I’m not a good planner, I would LOVE to be a planner. I have a lot of ideas like literally all the time, and I keep track of them all using Trello, but I very rarely do any sort of genuine planning. I generally have a really persistent idea or scene that won’t leave me alone until I start writing it, and then wing it from there and hope my muse doesn’t abandon me in the middle. It causes all sorts of problem with writing myself into a corner or having to go back and re-read a million times to remind myself of plot details from the beginning. I think that’s why I don’t have more finished work or anything long - lack of planning!

As far as how I decide what to write, the ideas kind of decide for me because it either starts flooding out of me uncontrollably or its little sluggish trickles. The floods are so much more fun because my motivation is high, it feels great to be smashing out words, that makes more ideas flow, it’s like a huge buzz. The other kind is so painful, lol, like I desperately want to write the thing but the fact that it’s so difficult makes me want to lie down and sleep. Writing for fests is a lot easier, because there’s a deadline I have no control over that forces me to buckle down, and there’s a prompt to focus on which means I can’t procrastinate over my own ideas. I don’t know if that makes sense. It’s the structure I guess that helps me be productive. I have something like 20 WIPs of my own ideas because I lose focus, lol, but I’m determined to finish them all one day.

My fave thing about fandom is that other people have the same hyperfixation/s I do, and that we can lose our minds about them together. I have tried to talk to a couple of RL friends about fanfic and when I’ve had a successful (in my estimation!) piece, but they don’t get it, lol. Like, once someone bookmarked one of my fics and said something like it made them feel like their heart had been microwaved, and I loved that SO MUCH, and I told my work BFF who just looked confused. The pure joy of frantically exchanging DMs about something you’re obsessed with, to someone who is equally obsessed, ugh, such joy.

Fic reading habits - in the early days, I would read every new thing in whatever fandom I was in, literally every single one. But since my long fandom break (2012 to about 2017), it’s been more accidentally stumbling over things, or recs from people I’m following. Normally I start following people because of THEIR fic, so 99% of the time if they love something, I’m going to really enjoy it too. As soon as I find a fic I enjoy, I then read everything that author has written in a huge binge. I also tend check out their bookmarks as well. I find it very hard to stop when I’ve started, I will 100% start a 100K fic at midnight on a Monday with no sense of self preservation, and on occasion I have made excuses for RL activities so I can stay home and start/finish a fic, lol.

I truly could not pick a favourite fic, there are too many. I try to bookmark everything on AO3 because so many wonderful fics were lost on LJ with account deletions, and old archives going offline over the years. I can re-read Far From The Tree by aideomai a million times, and Only A Kiss by @writcraft breaks me into lil teeny pieces every time. Gosh there are just so many good things out there. Now I’m probably going to re-read Only A Kiss again, lol, whoops.

#rosie answers #my asks

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felixgoetia · 4 years ago

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Geraskier Prompt: While Geralt is off on a multiple-day hunt, Jaskier picks up a stray pup off the streets of whatever town he’s been left in and has to try to convince Geralt to let him keep it.

Jaskier had absolutely nothing to do that day while Geralt was off on another hunt one that would last a day or so and left Jaskier to fend for himself in this town that the bard had already forgotten the name of. Jaskier had his lute slung on his back, perhaps he could find the town square to perform at to earn some extra coin. It was the third day of the hunt and Jaskier had grown bored of performing indoors at the inn.

Jaskier asked directions for the square from a merchant. “Excuse me, my good man, where would I find the town square?”

“It will be a few streets east,” the merchant pointed a thumb in the general direction.

Jaskier followed the man’s directions, hoping that there would be a good crows of people during this beautiful, warm day. He could see it now. Jaskier having his lute case opened on the ground while Jaskier sang of the White Wolf’s praises and other popular songs he had with the crowd cheering him on and throwing coins into the lute case.

As he cut through a side street, Jaskier could hear small noises and what seemed like whining or whimpering along with rustling sounds coming from some trash. Jaskier frowned, wondering what the source of the commotion was. He placed his hand on the small dagger on his belt as he slowly moved toward the noise. He knew that he would probably get a lecture later on from Geralt, but he didn't care at the moment. The noises sounded almost animal like or perhaps it was some drunkard.

Jaskier had gripped the hilt of the dagger, ready to use as he slowly crept to the tarp, seeing a lump moving around. He slowly drew it and had it at the ready as he gripped the cloth then jerked it off the lump. His eyes widened. There was a puppy, a scruffy puppy no more than a few months old. The puppy seemed a little thin for it's age as well, it looked up at Jaskier. The puppy had gray medium fur, a white cross on its chest though tan from he dirt and floppy ears. Jaskier sheathed his dagger.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Jaskier picked up the puppy and held it in his arms. “Where are you owners or mother?”

The puppy replied in licking Jaskier's face.

“You shouldn't be in this dirty street,” he tutted, petting the puppy's head. “Don't you worry, little one, I will take care of you. I'm sure Geralt won't mind another animal companion. You could keep Roach company!”

A while later, Jaskier had gone back to the inn and had the puppy in his and Geralt's room. Jaskier had requested a maid to bring him a large pot to his room along with a bucket of warm water and some cooked meat. The puzzled maid had fulfilled his request and now Jaskier was bathing the puppy in the large cooking pot, his sleeves rolled up as he gently scrubbed the lathered soap into the puppy's fur. Jaskier cooed sweet nothings to the puppy as he was knelt on the floor. The puppy seemed to enjoyed being pampered and licked at Jaskier's arm.

Jaskier giggled a little at the affection and rinsed the soap from the pup's fur then scooped it out, drying it. He let the puppy go and it shook what little water was left from it's fur. Its fur was now brighter, the gray and white colors more pronounced Jaskier placed down the bowl of cooked meat, watching the poor thing devour the food.

“Let's see...we need to come up with a name for you. I see that you are a boy,” he mused. “Can't allow Geralt to name you, he is horrible at picking names. If he had his way, he would name everything Roach! Not that there is anything wrong with that name, mind you, just he is not the most creative.”

The puppy had his tongue stuck out, as he looked up at Jaskier with his gray eyes.

“I got it! Klaus!” Jaskier smiled, picking up the puppy.

Klaus licked his face and gave a yawn.

Jaskier laid the puppy on the bed and Klaus fell asleep as Jaskier cleaned up the room and called for a maid to take the pot, bucket and towel. He sat down at the small table and picked up his music journal, deciding work on the lyrics of his new song. Geralt should be back at any time since he had said he would be back today.

Sometime later, Jaskier looked up when he heard the door open and a very sweaty and dirty Geralt came through, closing the door behind him. Jaskier smiled, hurrying over and started to undo the clasps and laces to Geralt's armor.

“I take it the hunt went well?” Jaskier asked.

“Yes, though the werewolf was quite good at staying incognito.” Geralt removed the swords. “Was able to lift the curse off him. Got paid 400 crowns.”

“Ugh, what is that in your hair?” Jaskier was picking at dried monster bits.

“Rotfiends. Hit a nest of them on the way back. Nasty bastards.” Geralt pulled his shirt off, it reeked. “I'm going to—what is that?”

“What is what, dear?” Jaskier asked, looking through the bags for a new shirt for Geralt.

“There is a pup on the bed.”

Jaskier looked to Geralt seeing the man had a cocked eye brow. “Yes, there is,” Jaskier said.

“Why?” Geralt asked.

“Well, I found him and decided to clean him up,” Jaskier found some clean trousers as well. “So, I was thinking maybe we could...” he trailed off.

Geralt crossed his arms, giving the younger man a stern look. “Keep it?”

Jaskier sheepishly nodded, but smiled. “Yes, Geralt, can--”

“Absolutely not,” Geralt said, taking the trousers from Jaskier.

“But why?” Jaskier frowned deeply.

“We don't have the coin for another animal.”

“He costs less than Roach,” Jaskier crossed his arms this time.

“Roach is a necessity, that pup is not.”

“Oh, come on!” Jaskier continued arguing. “It isn't like having a pup around will hurt anything! You could train him to hunt animals with you!”

Geralt rolled his eyes and shook his head. “He could have an owner or rabies or some sort o other illness.”

“Horse shit, the pup is as healthy as it can be besides his weight,” Jaskier scowled.

“We are not keeping it,” Geralt used his authoritative tone.

“Yes we are,” Jaskier was not afraid to stand up to the White Wolf. “We can't just let it die out in the streets! That's so cruel!”

“That is life, life is cruel and unfair,” Geralt told him.

“You're such a horse's arse!” Jaskier scowled darkly.

“Tough shit.”

Both men stared each other down, Klaus now awake and just watching them unaware of the tension, neither men wanting to give in. After a few moments, Geralt growled, pointing a finger at Jaskier.

“If you want the damn pup so badly then fine, keep it! But you are the one going to be caring for it's well being and training it. I do not want to hear you bitching later on about how tough it is to handle a pup, got it?”

Jaskier grinned and hugged Geralt, not caring the man was dirty. “Oh, Geralt, thank you! It's going to be so wonderful! You'll see! Oh ad he will be a great attraction for earning more coin!”

“Whatever,” Geralt gently pushed the bard away, not admitting that he gave in. “I don't want to hear you go on for days on end with your high pitch whining tone, damn near makes my ears bleed. I'm going to go take a bath.”

Geralt left Jaskier to the puppy, thinking that the bard would get bored of it after the week was over, but he did not know how wrong he was going to be.

~~~

Wow, that was a lot of fun to write, I’m thinking of adding this to my AO3 account and making a part 2! Credit will be given for the prompt!

#the witcher 3 #the witcher #the witcher series #geraskier #geralt x jaskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #dandelion x geralt

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drwcn · 5 years ago

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Think lan zhan and jiang yanli could be friends like wei ying and wen qing are friends? If they had the chance I could see it. Totally imagining lan zhan being bewildered at first, but than actually seeing why wei ying loves his sister so much. Also totally see them silently judging idiot people together and working together to keep wei ying mentally safe. Yanli teaching him how to cook and things about her brother.

YAS！ LWJ and JYL judging people together is Mood. I will die on this hill.

(and bc i hate sleep, i got inspired by your ask and wrote this brain vomit from my btsf!verse that no one asked for, and yet i shall shamelessly impose on the world. It’s a different take on jiang yanli chewing out jin zixun and lan wangji being there and being generally awesome. )

Jin Zixun is causing a scene.

Again.

In broad daylight in the middle of one of Jinlintai’s gardens no less. The Jins had planted lovely peonies, which are all in bloom now. Jiang Yanli had intended to enjoy them for an hour or two, but it seems her morning plans are about to be ruined. What she initially dismissed as a minor nuisance is quickly becoming an irritating fixture in her life. She has half a mind to be rid of this no good Jin cousin for good, and for that matter, she can count a good number of people who would oblige her.

Standing toe to toe with Jin Zixun, Wei Wuxian is shaking with fury from whatever the other man had said. Not that anything even remotely tasteful has ever been produced by Jin Zixun’s mouth. It’s only productive function is eating, as that seems to be the only time he’s quiet and therefore marginally tolerable.

Jiang Yanli already feels a headache looming just from the reminder of his mere existence.

Lan Wangji is the first to notice her. He has one hand wrapped around Wei Ying’s wrist and another around Bichen’s sheath, pressing it across Jin Zixun’s chest to deter him from taking another step closer. Upon seeing her entourage approaching, he steps back and bows respectfully.

“Sect Master Jiang.”

Like wise, Jin Zixun reluctantly gives a half-hearted bow. She ignores him. For now.

Remembering himself, Wei Wuxian flinches and quickly follows suit. “Zongzhu.” He greets her quietly. [zongzhu = sect master]

He doesn’t call her shi-jie anymore, at least not in public.

Since the day she declared herself Sect Master of Yunmeng Jiang, A-Xian has been on his very best behaviour. Every word, every conduct, has strictly been adherent to what is expected of someone in his status and station. But Jiang Yanli could only frown. True, he is her left hand man, her lieutenant, her zuo-hufa, but he is firstly her brother, and she will not stand for him being pushed around by some second rate cultivator just so she could be spared “conflict”.

Turning her head slightly over her shoulder, she makes a small motion for Binghu (冰湖) and Shuangxue (霜雪) to stand down. Dealing with a gnat like Jin Zixun is too menial a task for upstanding cultivators like her personal guards. No, A-Xian is her brother, so Jiang Yanli will deal with this herself, and those who crosses her will only ever be sorry.

“A-Xian, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, zongzhu. A minor disagreement is all.” Clearly lies.

Jiang Yanli looks to Lan Wangji. The younger man does not let go of his betrothed’s wrist, but he does lower his eyes out of deference to her. “Zhangjie, Jin Zixun-gongzi suggested that your brother Jiang-gongzi should be disqualified from tomorrow’s hunt on account of his unorthodox cultivation method. He said that he who could not protect his own golden core has no place amongst cultivators.” [zhangjie = a formal way of saying older sister]

Zhangjie. Rather bold of him to call her that, seeing he and A-Xian are not yet legally wed. But perhaps his choice of words is deliberate, used to remind her that Wei Wuxian is not just her subordinate, but her family. She’d be offended if the gesture isn’t so genuinely endearing. Lan Wangji is a quiet one, but so fiercely protective of Wei Wuxian. Out of this wretched war and all the underhanded maneuvers she’s been forced to take, nothing has pleased her more than this marriage alliance that she and Lan Xichen arranged.

“Lan Zhan…” Wei Wuxian frowns and admonishes him quietly.

“I spoke the truth.”

Jiang Yanli casts Jin Zixun an aloof side glance, then says, “Perhaps I have confused the rules. Clarify for me, Wangji, is spiritual cultivation required for the hunt tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Does cultivation affect the participant’s performance and ability?”

“No. Not if they follow the rules of conduct.”

“The Hunt is a strictly skills based competition is it not?”

“It is.”

“Well then, I think that settles that. A rather simple mistake, Jin Zixun-gongzi, but I wouldn’t fret too much if you didn’t remember. This has been trying times for us all.”Jiang Yanli’s smile is bright but scorching, like the desert sun.

Colour rises in Jin Zixun’s cheeks. He turns up his nose and huffs, “Has Yunmeng Jiang fallen so low that there’s no one left but deviants, servants, and women?”

Wei Wuxian starts towards him, fully intending to throttle the man, but Jiang Yanli calms him with a gentle hand. Unflustered, she turns her full attention to the Jin cousin. The smile on her face does not dim, but her eyes are glacial.

“Deviants, servants, and women. It’s true. We are that. But what can be done? It is unfortunate that there’s not enough reliable cultivators to count on, that even deviants, servants, and women must be forced to take up arms against a tyrant. How tiresome that we must not only fight our own fights, but you cultivators’ fights too.”

“How dare you -” Jin Zixun bristles, which is about as intimidating as an angry ferret, in Jiang Yanli’s considered opinion.

“Shall I remind you when you led your troops into enemy territory last winter in a bullheaded attempt to boast your ego, whose squadron came to your aid when you were trapped, starving in the snow? Whose food fed your men’s bellies, whose blankets and tents warmed your bodies in that storm?” Jiang Yanli does not raise her tone, but holds nothing back. “And who, after you so pitifully grovelled, omitted your incompetence from the report to your uncle and Sect Master.”

“I -” Jin Zixun darkens from red to purple, unable to come up with a single word of refute. Typical.

Jiang Yanli plows on.

“If we deviants, servants, and women are not befitting polite company and the gentlemanly sport of hunting, then you sir, with so little grace and gratitude for the people who saved your life and the lives of your kinsmen, are not fit to even stand in our presence.” She takes a step closer, forcing him back. “You’re right. I am a woman, but Wei Wuxian was raised along side myself and Jiang Cheng, as close to us as flesh and blood. That you have called him a servant is untrue and a grave offence, which I will not accept. So remembering that, Jin Zixun-gongzi, you will apologize to my brother, Yunmeng Jiang’s zuo-hufa Wei Wuxian. Immediately.”

It is Jin Zixun’s turn to shake, too humiliated and furious to say a thing. It’s clear that he’d rather the ground swallow him than apologize, but as servants and disciples start to crowd around them, whispering and pointing, it seems he has no choice. Jiang Yanli is still a sect master, and Wei Wuxian is a much respected hero.

“Apologies, Wei-gongzi.”

“What’s going on here?” Behind Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, Jin Zixuan and Qin Su can be seen making their way towards them from the other end of the lang. The latter of the two dips in a proper courtesy of a gentlewoman, but the former only manages an awkward cultivator’s bow without meeting Jiang Yanli’s eyes.

“Nothing that needs to worry you, Jin-gongzi. Just a small misunderstanding, all cleared up now. Is that not so, Zixun-gongzi, Wangji, A-Xian?”

“Barely a tiff.” Lan Zhan lies with a straight face. Wei Ying says nothing.

Jin Zixun forces himself to nod once.

Jiang Yanli quickly forgets that such a person ever existed. Stepping up to the two that just joined them, she offers her usual sweet smile. “I don’t believe I’ve had the opportunity to congratulate you both on your upcoming nuptials. Such wonderful news! Qin-meimei, Madam Jin has asked me to consult on the design of your fengguan, I hope we shall see more of each other so I can make better judgement of your preferences.”

Qin Su blushes. “Jiang-jiejie - eh - Jiang-zongzhu, you tease me! There’s been so much to do lately, we’ve not had time to send out the invites. I - Congratulations to your family too, Hanguang-jun, Wei-gongzi.”

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian return her well wishes politely, though somewhat with a stiff back. Jiang Yanli internally frowns, wondering perhaps things aren’t going as well she is led to believe… A matter she needs to think on later.

“Well, I must be off now. I wish I had the endurance of a cultivator, but alas the summer heat is somewhat getting to me. Do enjoy the peonies though, Qin-meimei, Jin-gongzi, they are lovely this year. Wangji, A-Xian, come.”

Jiang Yanli leaves the garden at a leisurely pace, her head held up high, followed by her brothers and her entourage. As she turns at the round archway, she spares a discreet glance towards Jin Guangshan’s son and his future bride, a pairs of unfortunate siblings trying to fit into each other’s lives and unknowingly heading towards a disaster.

She decides to let that one stew a little longer. For now no real damage is done - Jin Zixuan is far to awkward even if Qin Su finds him handsome. The marriage won’t go through; she’s not so cruel that she will actually let that runaway carriage go off the proverbial cliff. However, the key to every offensive strike is timing, and now is not the time to reveal the truth to them. As long as Madam Qin is medically incapacitated, the secret holds, and she will stay that way for a while yet. Jiang Yanli muses that she rather likes the landscape now the way it is, and longs to see the day Jin Guangshan and Qin Cangye gets what’s coming to them.

1. zongzhu = sect master2. zuo-hufa = the “zuo - left” hand man of the sect master. Their function is to serve and protect the sect master, as the word hufa literally means protector. 3. Binghu (冰湖) & Shuangxue (霜雪) - YJL’s bodyguards. Binghu means ice, lake, Shuangxue means frost, snow. 4. zhangjie = a formal way of saying older sister.5. lang = A long, belt-like structure, Lang, the covered corridor is a roofed passage usually with low railings and long side benches. 6. meimei = younger sister. jiejie = older sister. When used in conjunction with last names, this is a way for women who are familiar with each other to address each other. I7. fengguan 凤冠 = it’s the term for the headpiece that brides wear on their wedding day.

#cql #the untamed #jiang yanli #dark!jiang yanli #sect leader jiang yanli #wangxian #btsf #engaged!wangxian #arranged marriage wangxian #i have no idea why the read more is malfunctioning and making this post so long #again #corie replies #corie fics

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voidfcllen-a · 6 years ago

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❥ For Albedo and Ben with the ship meme. Clearly I like the idea at how they keep being rivals. Still, it's funny to see Albedo correcting Ben each time he makes a mistake xD

Very specific types of ship meme❥ - Enemies/rivals who don’t remember how their rivalry started or why, but keep it up just because they feel like they should

Always Rivals, sometimes Frenemies, they just get more complicated as time goes on and at this point the salt is both petty and personal yet somehow just routine and sometimes they even have conversations like normal people

Sometimes.

They can’t cooperate for more than 15 minutes but god help you if you’re fighting them during those 15 minutes.

#feltbrve #(I honestly love ben & albedo they're both such disasters)#(omniverse blessed us with more albedo content than af/ua combined)#❅ (MUSE) B. TENNYSON // IF LIVES ARE ON THE LINE. IT’S HERO TIME.#❅ (REL) BEN & ALBEDO // & I’M A LOSER. IF THAT MEANS I’VE BEEN LOST BEFORE.#❅ (GENERAL) ASKS // I WON’T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MY MUSES.#❅ (GENERAL) OOC // TAKE THE SHOT PIGLET. TAKE THE SHOT.

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frcgmentmuses · 6 years ago

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"I've saved the world from Zim MULTIPLE TIMES! Why can't anyone see what's really going on???" Dib to any muse

“Well like, in my experience. Folks don’t really like, see what’s in front of them all the time. It’s like, this thing were you rationalize anything not normal into something normal so you don’t have to deal with it.”

Then again, it wasn’t like Shaggy had any room to talk. If he hadn’t seen so much real supernatural activity, he’d probably be just as bad.

But at this point, he was more miffed at an evil alien giving aliens a bad name on earth.

“Or– was that like, rhetorical?”

#katsmuses #(shaggy: thinking about that one time he dated an alien)#❅CHARA: SHAGGY ROGERS // SCOOBY DOO. WHERE ARE YOU?#❅GENERAL: ASKS // I WON’T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MY MUSES.

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jimlingss · 5 years ago

Text

A Memory Without You

➜ Words: 10.4k

➜ Genres: 50% Fluff, 50% Angst, Superpower!AU

➜ Summary: Jung Hoseok is your saviour. Sure, he might just be a government worker tasked to investigate your life and ask a bunch of intrusive questions with his little clipboard, but he’s also the key to solving your troubles. You just hope he still remembers you when it’s all over.

➜ Warnings: Mentions to mental illnesses and discussions on issues related to memory loss.

Cr.

You step forward. The office is small and it makes you afraid that the ceiling will close in on you, suffocating you to death. But your attention is stolen by the individual standing behind the desk, wearing a small smile. He’s a handsome man, casual suit, dark hair with surprisingly warm eyes. You don’t dwell in case he is a mind reader. “Hello. It’s nice to finally meet you.” “Likewise.” You shake his hand, nervousness beginning to chew at your bones. He motions for you to take a seat and there’s some more small talk made, introductions exchanged. He is seemingly friendly, but you can never trust your judgment when it comes to people like him. “I’ve been personally assigned to your case,” the man, Jung Hoseok, tells you. He shuffles his paper, taking the pen from his blazer breast pocket. “Today, I’ll just ask some questions and clarify some things, okay? And then we’ll discuss the next steps. Sound good?” “Yes.” He nods and begins to flip through your file, hundreds of reports and claims, tests and health evaluations that are somehow supposed to summarize your existence. “It says here that you’ve only recently identified your ability?” His eyes flicker up and you recognize the curiosity since it’s been presented in so many before. You’ve just found it and now you wanted to remove it so soon. It is an odd situation. “Yes.” Your hands are shaking in your lap and you grip the hem of your pencil skirt to get a grip. “I’ve-uh….actually discovered it when I was sixteen, but it’s only been five years since doctors have diagnosed it officially.” “That’s a long time,” he muses, scribbling something down and it adds to your anxiousness. You know you’re an unusual case — it’s supposed to take professionals minutes or seconds to identify abilities. Never days, weeks, months. Or in your case, years. You nod in confirmation. “They….they didn’t really believe me. There was a lot of testing I had to do.” “That’s unfortunate,” he sympathizes politely. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” “It’s alright. I’m just happy they identified it.” Even if you belong to no real category. You’re labeled as miscellaneous and it always garners strange looks at city hall or when you have to travel for work. The government worker continues, “How has your health been lately, Y/N?” “It’s been...better.” Hoseok lifts his chin, connecting his eyes with yours. “On the fourth health examination, you’ve been diagnosed with mild depression and generalized anxiety disorder?” “Y-yes.” “Is that affecting your life drastically these days?” “Ummmmm……” You’re not sure what kind of question that is or how you should answer, but it’s protocol and you manage, “There’s been a lot of improvement in my life. I feel better. I’ve been going to work consistently. There hasn’t been much of a problem….” “That’s good,” he nods and writes it down, taking note of it. It feels like an interrogation, a spot light shined on you, someone firing question after question. You shift uncomfortably and Hoseok notices, reading the expression on your face. He sets his pen down. “I’m sorry for putting you through this. I don’t mean to be so intrusive.” “No, it’s okay. It’s your job, I understand.” You’ve been through worse in these past five years. The moment your ability was officially documented, you worked towards this. There are tens of steps, process slow and painful but it’s understandable. Even if this is a government service, they don’t want to be held accountable. The practice is already looked down upon. They have to ensure there are substantial grounds for doing this. Everything must be careful and calculated. Jung Hoseok asks a few more questions and once satisfied, he claps his hands together. “Okay, I think that’s all I need to fill out the report.” “Then you’ll contact me next week?” you ask, unsure. “Yes,” he reassures and then goes on to explain, “In the coming weeks, I’ll give you a call and for several days, I’ll be observing you. The length varies depending on the case, but it’s typically really short term. I’m going to see how this ability affects your day to day life and if it’s detrimental or not to your health or general well-being. You don’t need to do anything differently. As normal as possible is actually better. Just go on about your day and I’ll shadow you.” The observation week doesn’t sound too bad when he explains it like that. At least, it can’t be any worse than the week you had to spend at the psychiatry department of the hospital. He’s a professional. A good judge. He won’t criticize your life or look down on you, you know that much. Still, with all these facts you comfort yourself with, it doesn’t make you any less nervous. The thought of a stranger intruding in your routine makes it hard to cope. There’s no way you can control what he thinks. And whatever decision he comes up with at the end of his investigation will drastically affect you…. But you’ll do this at any cost. “Okay, t-that sounds good.” “Great.” He slides over several documents. “Here are some forms to sign. It’s just a disclosure that says you want to go through with this investigation and so the government won’t be held responsible if you decide to sue or press any kind of privacy invasion charges. Take your time reading it and when you’re ready, sign here and here. Feel free to ask any questions if you have them too.” “Alright.” You take the pages into your hands, having a difficult time reading when you’re this nervous. The words almost scramble on the paper, lines too close to one another, font too small. But you manage a long glance and you take the pen, signing it, staining the white with ink swirling the loops of your name. He takes it after you’ve set it down. “There we go.” Hoseok stands and shakes your hand with a reserved smile. His skin is warm, and you notice that his palm is larger as it clasps yours. “I look forward to working with you, Miss. Y/N.” You meet his warm eyes, swallowing hard. “Thank you for all of this.” “It’s no problem.” // The wait is slow and excruciating. It’s drawn out with days and nights you spend staring at your phone, waiting for that call or maybe a text message, any indication at all that might signal his arrival. It’s difficult to remain calm and patient when you’ve been counting down the days, hours, minutes, seconds. But finally it arrives. Three weeks after the first meeting, your phone rings and it’s him on the other line, smooth voice, undertones of chirpiness that you wish you had. “Good morning.” Jung Hoseok is wearing a bright smile as you open the door. He’s dressed more casually than before, no suit and tie but plaid shirt and cargo shorts. He would look like a tourist if not for how he carries the clipboard in his arms — it makes him more reminiscent to a summer camp counselor. “Good morning,” you greet him with a polite smile as well, widening the door for him to step inside. “Nice weather, isn’t it?” “Yes, it’s really nice.” You’ve never been more awkward in your home before. “H-have you ate breakfast yet?” “I’ve had some coffee.” “That’s not a real breakfast,” you say with a smile, joking around a bit to ease the tension. “I’m fine, really,” Hoseok insists and you nod. “Just don’t mind me. Go about your day normally and I’ll follow you.” “Okay.” You shuffle backwards, body turning slightly. “I’m just having some cereal right now.” “Alright.” The man is like a house inspector as he scans the premise of your home. “Is it alright if I take a look around?” “Sure, go ahead.” Everything is organized and in neat condition. It wasn’t too difficult to clean the place when you live alone and just have to pick up after yourself. You leave to the kitchen, finishing your food before you’re late for work. A glance over your shoulder, you find him peeking at the knick-knacks on your shelves, staring at the pictures of yourself from childhood that you put on display. He scribbles something down on the clipboard and you would feel severely scrutinized if not for the smile he has. As you wash your dishes, Hoseok comes strolling in. “I really like your home. It’s cozy.” “Thanks.” You smile. “Um...I usually leave in five minutes if that’s okay with you.” “Yeah, don’t worry about it. Just go on about your day.” Your life is rather normal and mundane. Plain. It’s probably less dramatic than some other cases he’s investigated — you wouldn’t be surprised if he’s deathly bored. You also know that it doesn’t look good for your situation. It’s not like you’re suffering immensely or directly inhibited due to your abilities, but there’s no way for you to dramatize your circumstances. You can’t show your pain. There’s no physical evidence. It doesn’t come through direct actions or shown through horrible crying sprouts. It’s the little things in your life that aren’t visible — and you’re not sure that’s enough cause for them to help you in the way you want them to. Nonetheless, you push the thoughts aside as you drive with him sitting beside you. “Can you tell me a little more on what you do for work?” Hoseok inquires to fill the silence, drawing up a conversation. “It’s just a customer service job at a marketing firm. I...uh..pick up calls mostly, answer people’s questions, schedule appointments, write up order forms and get payments. It’s not much, but it's honest work and it pays the bills.” “No, that sounds great. Do you enjoy it?” “Sometimes,” you answer. “It’s alright on most days.” By the time you get to work, the cubicle next to yours is empty. You settle down and he trudges over with his bag full of his own belongings, setting up to do his own work while you do yours. Your boss was already given a notice and understands that he would be shadowing you for a short period of time. Your coworkers, on the other hand, are curious. They glance over, murmuring amongst themselves who the man is. Yet, no one asks you any questions. You do your own work as normal, answering calls and filling out reports. Every once in a while, Hoseok looks over and it feels like he’s a colleague of yours more than someone investigating your lifestyle. By lunch, you eat by yourself at your cubicle, Hoseok mimicking you, and one more bathroom break is taken before you work straight until five o’clock. People clock out and you finish as well, waiting for him to pack up and stuff things back into his bag. Hoseok follows you out. “Where to next?” he asks with a small smile. You’re sleepy, but made awake by his question. “Umm...just home. Is there anything you’d like to eat for dinner?” “Oh. I’m fine with anything,” he chirps and it feels better when there’s someone more full of life beside you. The energy is almost infectious. “Don’t mind me.” “D-do you have a preference though?” The elevator reaches the ground floor and you walk off. “Between macaroni and lasagna.” Hoseok hums a low note. “Lasagna sounds good.” You smile. “Okay. I’ll have macaroni then.” Sadly, the food you offer him isn’t freshly cooked or bought from a restaurant. You stand in front of the machine in your pajamas, listening to the whirring, watching the yellow light and how your dinner spins on the dish slowly. Hoseok doesn’t mind eating frozen food as much as you thought he would. He says it makes him nostalgic on his childhood and he sits down across the table to you. It’s nice to have someone here that you can make small talk with. You ask about his job and he tells you he works from nine to five much like you, partly in the office and the other part out on the field investigating cases. He seems to enjoy his line of work and his enthusiasm is inspiring. But in the middle of the conversation, it strays off from him to you. Hoseok calls your name and you look up. “Can I ask you something?” “Of course.” You offer a reserved smile. “You’re allowed to ask any question, right?” “I guess.” A tiny laugh comes from his mouth. “But I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” “It’s fine,” you reassure. “Is there something the matter?” “No. I’m just wondering if you’re always this isolated,” he’s blunt and his sharp eyes narrow in on you, assessing each of your movements. You swallow hard, perspiration from your hairline and he continues, “You don’t seem to speak a lot throughout the day. No pets, family, or friends at work?” “I...umm….” There’s no lie to conjure up when the evidence is so obvious. “N-not really.” “I’m not trying to insult you or anything.” Hoseok brows furrow and he tips his head to the side, staring like you have something on your face. “I’m genuinely curious.” “I can’t…..really...get close to anyone.” The food is stale and you can’t swallow it down your gullet anymore. Your mouth is too dry. “I’m not that close to my friends anymore.” “Is there a reason…?” he pries not for his own knowledge but to fill the report, figure out if you’re suffering enough. As if suffering could be definitely measured. “I..umm…” You brace yourself with a deep breath, diverting your vision elsewhere. “I can’t really. If I ever love someone or someone loves me...they forget.” His brows lift. “They….forget?” The information is only known to few. All he knows is that you’ve been categorized into miscellaneous, the details of your ability are protected for your own privacy. But you nod anyhow, confirming his disbelief with hope for his aid. “They lose their memories about me. Everything that links me to them disappears. Pictures. Belongings...so I-uh can’t really um-...love anyone….” “Oh.” He processes the gravity of the situation, grasping an understanding of why you’re trying so desperately to get rid of it, why you’re willing to go through this excruciating process. “I’m sorry.” As inappropriate and even insulting as it is, it’s instinctual to apologize. He hasn’t seen a case like yours before. You smile, understanding his sympathy. “No, it’s okay. It’s no one’s fault really and it’s out of my control. It’s not….as terrible as you might think.” The only way you can cope is through optimism. “It’s unique and I like to think I’m kind of like cupid.” The corner of his mouth quirks. “Cupid? What do you mean?” “Sometimes, they don't just forget. They end up meeting their soulmate.” Those who forget you often meet the person they’re supposed to be with, the person that isn’t you. You’re a matchmaker to those that you love. “At least I can help people, right?” Hoseok stares. He watches you shrug, playing with your food before trying to take a bite. It’s quiet and he exhales. “That’s one way to look at it. It’s definitely unique.” He tries to match your chirpiness, but it comes up grimmer than intended. You recognize the pity and look away. “I’ll do my best to help you, Y/N,” Hoseok murmurs, finishing up. Tears cloud your vision and you nod, grateful for his sincerity, grateful that he’s recognized your hardships. “Thank you.” // It continues for the next few days — Hoseok shadows your quiet life, but he now knows your downlow existence isn’t purposeful. You were forced to live this way. Gradually, you begin to enjoy his company. You become more comfortable with one another. It’s not so strange or nerve wracking anymore to be in his presence or have him accompanying you from place to place. If anything, it’s less lonely when he comes around breakfast, leaving after dinner. You share your meals with him, small talk becoming deeper and more interesting, and you don’t even see his clipboard anymore. It almost feels normal. It’s a Saturday morning with Hoseok helps you run some errands. He escorts you to the grocery store, picking up his own things as the two of you weave through the many aisles. He insists on carrying your bags and you eventually relent. But as he pays for his own things, you decide to leave first, wanting to stop by the thrift store next door. Though your steps come to a halt when you find an older lady struggling with her bags in the middle of the parking lot. She’s an old woman, hunched over, frail hands and shaking arms. It takes less than a second for her to drop her groceries and for fruit of all sorts to go tumbling out. You step forward. “Oh my goodness— oh, thank you so much for helping.” “No, it’s...fine…” You reach down, collecting her produce and stuffing them back in the bag. “You’re so sweet. Thank you.” “I can bring it to your car if you’d like.” “Would you? My back is feeling awful these days.” “It’s not a problem.” You assist her with her bags, relieving the tension in her arms and shouldering the weight. By the time Hoseok exits the store and goes looking for you, confused at how you’ve disappeared, you’re finished loading her things in the back of her car. He soon spots you and approaches. “Y/N?” “Hey…” The lady gently closes the truck of her small car. “Thank you so much for helping. I really appreciate it.” She looks over Hoseok and smiles softly. “Your wife is so kind. You’re very lucky to have someone so compassionate.” “Oh...we’re…” “Umm…” There’s no use in clearing up the misunderstanding, so you settle for, “You’re welcome.” “Have a good day now.” You’re left standing there, watching her smile and get into her vehicle. Hoseok walks towards the direction of your parked car with you, holding onto all the groceries. “What happened?” You stop momentarily, looking over your shoulder to observe the way the car drives off. “I was just helping her with her groceries.” But as your eyes are strayed off, Hoseok’s own are pinpointed on your face. There’s an expression that he can’t decipher, that seems conflicted and sad all at once. He’s not sure what spurs the next question, though it tumbles from his lips anyhow, “Did you know her?” Your head turns, gaze meeting Hoseok’s. “She’s...my mom…” And she didn’t recognize you whatsoever. Your own mother gave birth to you and raised you. There’s not even a single inkling or sign of awareness. The realization slams into Hoseok and while you smile, walking off to the car, he can’t help but let his eyes bore into your backside, brows knitted together. His heart aches. It squeezes in his chest, making him uncomfortable. His words clog into his throat, creating a lump that hurts. He can’t imagine — you, a sixteen year old, who believed you’re one of the few unfortunate who are powerless, only to have your abilities activated unexpectedly. And have your own family love you enough to forget about your entire existence. For no one to believe you when you went to the hospital, city hall, the police. For you to be lost without anyone to love. For it to take this long for someone to recognize this terrible ability. For it to be this painful for you to try to get rid of it. “You don’t have to feel bad,” you pipe up in the middle of the highway, breaking him from his thoughts. “It is what it is. I’m used to it. And my parents are doing well. That’s all that matters to me.” “I’m not pitying you,” he clarifies, staring at the profile of your face. “I just….want to put myself in your shoes to get a better understanding.” The corner of your mouth tugs and you glance at him. “I thought you weren’t supposed to become emotionally attached to your cases. Isn’t it bad to get too personal?” Hoseok scoffs, leaning back. He admires your bravery to continue persevering so long in this kind of condition. He doesn’t know if he’d be able to do it. “I’m human. It’s natural to be compassionate.” “You’re kind.” It’s a comment out of the blue but you mean it. A part of you was scared he wouldn’t care and it wouldn’t be a surprise considering the amount of people who saw you more as a case study than a human. “You’re very kind, Hoseok.” “I try.” A soft laugh bubbles from his lips. “I think empaths do a better job than I do.” “Empaths are forced to feel. They have no choice,” you muse. “Even when you don’t have that ability, what counts if that you’re trying. That’s admirable.” A gentle smile pulls onto his features. “Are you curious on my actual ability?” “A little.” You steal a peek at him before gripping the steering wheel tighter. “But I wouldn’t force you to share.” “I want to. I feel like I know so much about you and your ability, but you don’t know that much about mine.” It’s a personal detail after all and you’re moved that he wants to treat you as an equal, not someone of higher authority. Hoseok’s smile grows. “It’s only fair, right?” “Can I try guessing?” You offer and he tells you to go for it. “I don’t think you have a mental-based power. You can’t seem to read my mind and you’re not an empath either. I don’t think it’s strength-based. You don’t look like you have super strength.” He scoffs. “What’s that supposed to mean?” At his pout, laughter squeezes out of you. “Can I guess…..emission category. Your smile makes the room warmer.” “That’s….really beautiful.” He wonders why you would say something like that. But it’s meaningful, one of the highest compliments he’s received. “I wish. Unfortunately, my actual power’s a lot lamer. I’m a divine creationer. I can fabricate memories.” “That’s not lame at all.” The blinker flickers on and you merge onto the street, getting closer to your apartment. Once you stop at a red light, you turn to look at him. “That’s amazing. It has to be better than labeled as miscellaneous, right?” Hoseok grins. “I guess, but it’s not like I can make my own memories and at the end of the day, they’re fake.” “I don’t think so,” you lightly refute. “I feel like it’s one thing to experience something for yourself in the moment, but the memory is what lasts. If you can make your own memories without experiencing it, then that’s limitless. You can feel like you’ve lived through anything. There would be no such thing as missed opportunities.” “You’re right,” he softly murmurs. “I don’t use my ability a lot, but it doesn’t inhibit anything I do which I’m thankful for. I don’t think I’m in any place to complain. But I used to be really jealous of mind-readers and teleporters or people who can fly.” “Same here.” You laugh, finding something in common with Hoseok. Your childhood was full of envy, watching other classmates discover and play with their abilities as you remained powerless. “I knew someone who could fly actually. They took me up to the sky once…” You wistfully sigh and he grins, curious. “Really? Isn’t that illegal?” “Don’t arrest me,” you tease. “This was a good decade ago and it wasn’t that dangerous. His name was Jungkook. We...uh...dated for a while...but I remember he carried me in his arms and yeah...it was fascinating. Really quiet up there actually. Would not recommend if you were scared of heights.” You brush it off, but Hoseok can’t help asking, “What happened to him?” “He ended up forgetting about me.” You’re nonchalant, looking straight ahead, but your voice is strained and your hands grip the steering wheel tighter. “And he met his soulmate. I think he’s married and has a kid now. Haven’t heard of him much after that.” There’s silence and you break it with a small laugh before it suffocates you. “I’m glad he’s with someone who’s meant to be with him. In a sense, I bring people together.” You turn, parking the car in the lot. But as the engine dies out and you remove the keys, he doesn’t get out. No one moves. “You know, I don’t believe in soulmates,” Hoseok tells you quietly. “If everything was left to destiny, then no one needs to try, right? And if everything was predetermined, that means there’s no such thing as mistakes. I don’t believe in that.” Your eyes are glossy, stirred from within. Fate. Destiny. Soulmates. All those that you’ve spoken with wished to some degree or another that such thing existed. That way, no one would have to be alone. That way, they could be comforted that someone out there was meant for them. But that also meant you were terribly alone and it would be out of your control. “You don’t believe in soulmates?” “I don’t.” He shakes his head, gaze locked into yours. “I think we get to choose the people who we want to be with. We all have a choice.” It’s moving. These are words you wished to hear. From anyone. Someone. They are comforting more than you ever thought was possible. It gives you a sense of hope that you hang onto, like a lone raft in the middle of the ocean. His voice is soothing, a lullaby. It’s reassuring. // It’s late at night when Hoseok’s tapping away at his keyboard relentlessly without a moment’s break. It’s near midnight, no one else on the floor of his office. The fluorescent lights are flickering above his head and it burns his eyes, giving him a throbbing headache. He takes a second to rest before downing the coffee in his thermostat. It’s still not enough. None of it is. No matter how much effort he pours into your application, he doesn’t know if it’s good, if it’s sufficient. Your diagnosed depression and anxiety disorder is understandable — if he were in your circumstances, he’d be in constant devastation. Frankly, Hoseok’s surprised you’re still up with a job, living in society despite your ability. But it doesn’t matter how he feels. He knows the facts. They’ve rejected people with less cause before, and he has no doubt others would be scared that your mental state would inhibit your decision making. After all, the guidelines are tough for a reason, tough for protection when they’re not protecting who they should be. Still, Jung Hoseok tries his best to draft up a personal attached letter — strongly recommending that this case receive the request they have submitted, that the quality of life for this person would drastically improve if their ability is made obsolete. In his professional opinion and of all the cases he’s investigated, he’s never seen a case where the risk of the surgery has been more worth it. Hoseok finishes the final draft after hours and stamps it with a special request emblem, red so that it’s seen. But he still doesn’t know if it’s enough. If any of this is enough. “Hoseok?” “Huh?” “Are you alright?” He’s stopped eating, mouth hanging open to collect flies. As he catches himself, he seals his lips and sets his spoon down. “Is everything okay?” “Sorry...I was just lost in thought.” “Yeah, you looked like it,” you laugh. Yet, Hoseok isn’t as bubbly as before. He’s resorted to playing with his food and after a moment, his eyes flicker up to you. “Y/N, I want to offer something to you.” “What is it?” “I think I can help you. And I want to.” He swallows hard, hands falling into his lap. “Let me fabricate memories for your parents.” You sputter, choking on your food. It’s trapped in your throat and you grab your glass of water, downing half of it and then pounding your chest. “P-pardon?” It’s too personal. Out of the scope of his job. Hoseok is becoming too emotionally invested in this case, too close, but if there’s any use for his ability, he wholeheartedly believes it’s now. “I want to try fabricating memories for your parents. They would remember that you’re their daughter and I’m sure those memories wouldn’t change or be removed by your own power.” “I-….why?” You don’t understand why he wants to go this far to help you. “I don’t know if your application will be received,” he delivers the news bluntly. “Your….circumstances are difficult to write on paper. And your diagnosis might work against you. I don’t know if it’ll go through.” “Oh.” “I’m trying my best, but I want to help you if I can. In any way possible.” “I...I’ve already accepted this.” As much as you appreciate the gesture, you’re uncertain, unsure. “A-and….their memories would be fake.” �� “But their love for you wouldn’t be. I can’t create emotions,” he tells you sincerely and it makes you nervous beyond belief. “You deserve better than this. You deserve to feel loved. It’s okay.” The small home is silent, pins able to be heard if they were dropped on the floorboards. Hoseok wonders why himself — why he wants to help so badly when he’s never gone this far before. He just knows it’s not because of sympathy or pity. Maybe because you remind him of himself. The constant acceptance, taking the path of least resistance, living a quiet life to not disturb others. Placating others, never fighting for yourself, for what you want, for what you believe in. He wants to do something meaningful. He wants to fight for you. “And if it doesn’t work?” He smiles gently. “Then we’ll think of something else.” It’s an old address that you barely remember. But once you’re standing in front of it, the house, the lawn, the mailbox, you realize nothing’s changed. It takes hard work and mental persuasion for you not to burst out crying. Hoseok must realize your turmoil, so he gives you a pat on the back, reassuring you before he approaches the path to the door. The man ahead of you rings the bell and together, you listen to the parade of footsteps on the other side. The door swings open. “Hi.” Your mom is aged, wrinkles decorated around her eyes, not recognizing you from a week ago when you helped her in the parking lot. “Can I help you?” “Oh, we’re just wondering if you’d like to install a new air conditioning system in your house.” Hoseok makes up the lie on the spot and he’s bad — never a destined deceit manipulator. “Is your husband home?” “Well, he is, but I don’t think we’re interested. I don’t even know if we ever use our air conditioning.” She still shouts for your father’s name over her shoulder. Hoseok hums. “Oh, well, please contact us when you’re interested then.” The man’s arms extend, palm open for a polite handshake. It doesn’t mean much. And your mother reaches out, shaking it without hesitation. The moment she touches him, you watch as his eyes cloud over. Her grip becomes limp. Tension releases from her shoulders. You don’t know what’s happening, if it will work. Your breath is held in your throat but Hoseok isn’t nervous, staring at the woman before shutting his eyes in concentration. He conjures up the fake memories — envisioning a happy day when she announced the pregnancy to her husband, a younger version of herself carrying you for nine months. Hoseok imagines how she would’ve felt like holding you for the first time, soothing you in the middle of the night as you cried, the times when you first walked, when you babbled her name. He passes on as many childhood memories that he can possibly convey through his touch, recalling his own memories so they’re not completely groundless and baseless. Hoseok stitches together images of the first time you held her hands, the first time you entered school, when you graduated, when you got your first job, endless, endless memories…. And then he lets go. There’s a pause. Your mother’s eyes zone back into reality, crashing down from her trance. Her head falls to the side and her brows furrow. Most of all, her gaze is filled with recognition. “....Y/N?” It’s the first time she’s called your name in a decade. “M-mom?” She scoffs, looking between you and Hoseok. “What are you standing out here for? Who’s this?” “Ummm….he-he’s a friend….selling air conditioning.” You laugh, bubbling out of you unintentionally and tears cloud your vision, clinging to your lashes as you blink. You wipe your face quickly before the tears can shed down your cheeks. It hurts that the repair of your life was so simply found but the pain was drawn out for so long. You’re relieved, overwhelmed, upset. “Honey, who’s at the door?” Your father approaches and glances at both you and Hoseok. “Who’s this?” “It’s nice to meet you.” Again, the man beside you extends his hand and your father shakes it out of courtesy. The same thing occurs, strength lost, grip limp, eyes glossed over. It puts a strain on Hoseok to use his ability to such an extent, but he pushes through and tries his best through breaths staggering past gritted teeth. It’s a strain as he imagines the big events of your life, the little ones, allowing the other man to fill the spaces in between. Hoseok fabricates the memories, drawing them out inside his own head, painting them and filling them with colour, bringing them to life. In ten seconds, he’s created a whole lifetime and he lets go. “This is Y/N’s friend,” your mom introduces, pleasantly surprised. “It’s a boy,” your father comments, eyes sweeping at his figure up and down, sizing the man up. They act as if it’s always been like this — you, their precious daughter, a constant in the lives that they feel the need to protect. You’re emotional, hands shaking, knees weak. And you push past Hoseok, running up to the pair of them and engulfing them in an embrace. You hold them as close as you can, nearly sobbing into their shoulder. “W-what’s going on?” Your mother laughs awkwardly while your father is as stiff as a stick. “What are you doing?” “I love you,” you repeat in a broken whisper. It’s been years since they’ve last recognized you as their daughter. You’re no longer ostracized from your family, an outsider against your own will. They know who you are and they love you — your love is no longer a weapon used against yourself. Your father calls you by your name seconds later, confused, and you let go. They don’t know what’s going on, befuddlement etched on their expressions, wondering if you did something wrong and now you’re trying to butter them up, but it’s nothing of that sort. “Well….I’ll go get refreshments for your friend.” Your mother brushes off your odd behaviour when she finds Hoseok still awkwardly lingering at the front door step. She returns his kind smile and goes off into the kitchen. Your father, on the other hand, steps away from you and grunts, remembering the stranger in his presence. “You have a job, boy?” “It’s um….a government job.” “Good pay?” “Dad,” you whisper, but you can’t find it in yourself to be embarrassed. “C-can you give us a moment?” His eyes narrow onto Hoseok, but he reluctantly walks away and you wait until you hear your parents talking in the kitchen, mother chiding him for being so stern. Your mind is still unable to wrap around it. It’s surreal and you’re about to have an emotional breakdown, overwhelmed that the people who saw you as a stranger finally recognized who you really were. You can still remember the morning where the tide turned and you woke up with them shaking you, not knowing who you were, throwing you out and believing you were sick when you said they were your parents. “I...I don’t know h-how to thank….I….” “Don’t.” He smiles. “You don’t need to. I’m supposed to help, right? Just doing my job.” “No. This is….way more than that….” He knows it too. “I should go.” Hoseok turns reluctantly, hitching a thumb over to the road. It’s not what he particularly wants, but what he knows he should do. “Let you have some time to catch up. I’ll see you soon….the application is almost done...so….” “You should stay,” you insist, not wanting him to go so soon. “F-for dinner, I mean….d-do you want to have some dinner?” “No, I’m okay.” He grins and quips, “I’ll go have some lasagna instead.” Hoseok ends up bidding you farewell, giving a wave when he’s standing by his car and you watch as he drives off. But when he’s gone, you’re not left in quietness on your lonesome. The warm laughter of your family fills the space behind you. It was Hoseok that had given that back to you. // While the night is still young and you’re off surrounded by family in the warmth of your home, Hoseok sits alone at the desk inside his apartment. He spins around in his swivel chair, staring at the ceiling, reliving the moments of today inside his mind — playing back the memories like they’re tapes, recalling the way you looked at him, the way you smiled as he stood at the doorstep. He sharply inhales, forcibly wrenching himself from remembering and he shakes off the emotion that’s been placed at his feet. Instead, the man composes himself and reaches for papers in his drawer, taking a pen inside the cup he has in the corner. And Hoseok begins to write. Journal entries, scribbles, anything that comes to mind. He writes all he can remember, the first time he ever had an encounter with you to the little quirks he’s noticed in his days of observation. He writes papers upon papers, afraid that he’ll forget. Afraid that one day, he won’t remember this anymore. // “I’ve sent the paperwork off. Everything looks good.” He tells you the news over coffee instead of being in the quietness of his office. This is one of the last times Hoseok might ever see you again — his job is finished. He can’t go any further than he already has and knowing such, he savours the moment. “I’m glad.” “It was nice to meet you.” The man tries his best to remain professional, but he slips, showing his faults when he becomes too sincere, “I...hope things work out for you, Y/N. You deserve it.” “Thank you...for everything that you’ve done for me. Helping me with these documents, trying to understand where I’m coming from...um...and helping with my parents. I don’t...I just don’t know how I can ever repay you.” “Don’t.” Hoseok grins, coffee cup warm in his hand as he stares at you. “I don’t do things to be repaid.” “Let me at least take you out for dinner,” you offer after spending nights brewing over it. You don’t know how you could ever express your gratitude or pay back this debt you owe, but this is the only thing you thought of. “It’s the least I can do. I haven’t offered you a real meal when you stayed with me, and I want to thank you.” “I...ummm...don’t really go out with any of my clients.” It’s definitely strange, but deep down a part of him wants it too. Hoseok reminds himself that it’s over — his part is done. It’s okay to see you again. “But I’ll make an exception this time.” You smile. “I promise I’ll make your time worthwhile.” He scoffs, leaning forward over the table, closer to you with mischief glimmering in his eyes. “You better or I’ll charge you for my time.” It’s a simple dinner, a place he picked that’s rather modest and intimate. You order a soup and he orders noodles and you chat while waiting, while eating. For the first time, his questions aren’t asked to answer forms he has to fill out later. Conversations aren’t about his work or your ability. Nothing like that at all. The two of you speak about childhood memories, where you grew up, where he grew up, exchanging similar school stories before ranting about kid shows you used to watch and celebrity scandals that those actors ended up getting in. It’s fairly mundane, ridiculous even, but easy. It’s easy to talk to him, comfortable, and you aren’t nervous like the first time when you sat across from his desk. The food ends up being cold, but none of you mind over some heated conversations on the topic of how plausible Spider-Man's abilities are in real life. The debate aside, the outing goes well. Before you know it, it’s ended and he’s walking you down the street, hands deep in his pants pocket, steps synced to yours. “I..uh parked here.” “I parked over there.” “Oh.” You laugh, the coldness nipping at your nose and making spoken words into clouds of condensation. “What a coincidence. I..um...guess this is goodbye then.” “Yeah.” For a few seconds, Hoseok’s eyes flicker down to your lips. His skin is glowing underneath the lamppost’s yellow light and you notice how the pink of his tongue peeks out to wet the chapped corners of his mouth. But instinctively, you step back, refusing to kiss him — for his sake, more than yours. Hoseok must notice your apprehension since he quickly focuses back onto your eyes again, swallowing hard as apologies clog his throat, never coming out. He takes a deep breath to compose himself and says, “I-I’d love to see you again.” “What?” “I don’t know about you, but I had a really good time tonight.” His fists curl and he desperately wishes he had some liquid courage. But he grabs at the chance anyhow before it passes through his fingertips. In the past two weeks, he’s gotten to know you well and he likes you a lot. “And...and I’d love to see you again some time. If you want to.” “I….” You’d like that, very much. Except— “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m not in a position where I can have a relationship.” Your abilities prevent you from getting close to anyone and it’s the responsible thing to distance yourself from others before you end up getting hurt. But you’re beginning to feel particularly reckless and you don’t want him to leave. You want to see him again. “As friends,” Hoseok adds on quickly. “We can see each other as friends, right?” It’s a lie. He’s not a destined deceit manipulator and he knows for a fact he can’t just be your friend, but Hoseok doesn’t want to fabricate memories with you. He doesn’t want to daydream and wonder ‘what if’ tomorrow or in the next ten years. He wants things to be real with you. He wants to have the experience, to be in the present, even if the memories don’t last. You’re conflicted. The man who stands in front of you on this cold night is dangerous. You don’t know if you can take the leap, bear to be hurt again, muster up enough courage. But as he gazes at you in a way you’ve never known before, you step forward. “Okay.” It’s a soft whisper that means everything and a smile tickles its way onto your face. “But you better make my time worthwhile, Hoseok. Or I’ll charge you for my time.” A grin spreads into his cheeks and he has to resist the urge of cheering. “I promise I’ll make it worthwhile.” // Accepting Hoseok’s one request turns to two, three, four. A simple dinner and movie becomes long walks in the parks and afternoon picnics, conversations shared between glasses of wine or in the car driving to somewhere. You end up sharing breakfast, brunch, dinner with him, holding hands while window shopping, going out for ice-cream before ending up at your house again, this time with him laying on your bed. It’s wrong. Guilt, fear, terror boils in the pit of your stomach, but he somehow makes them silent in his presence. You can’t bear to end things, so you hope for the best, that the application will go through quicker and someone out there can help remove this ability from you before it’s too late. Before Hoseok succumbs to your curse. But your wish takes its time, just like all the years before. And in the meanwhile, time spent with Hoseok makes days fly, years short. He squirms his way closer to you without warrant, flashing grins and smiles, telling you not to worry. He knows what you’re afraid of and he assures you nothing will happen. It doesn’t work. He doesn’t have the gift of persuasion or of speaking honey words that could hypnotize you. The more comfortable you become with him, the more terrified you are. What begins as casual starts to become too serious. You try to not let him close, but the effort proves futile. It’s wrong. Wrong to be with him. Wrong that you could ever be with someone. Wrong that to let this happen when you knew better. All of it is wrong and goes against what you’re allowed. And the fear eventually boils over. Only, it happens on a Tuesday evening. During the first argument. “—I mean, would it kill you to at least rinse the plates?” you’re muttering at the sink, scrubbing furiously at the dishes and a sauce stain that won’t come off for some ungodly reason. Hoseok scoffs. “I did.” “Obviously not well enough.” “Why don’t you just move over and let me wash.” He joins your side and the way he offers to do it isn’t because of a good heart, but made from annoyance at how you’re irritated. It’s a cycle that both refuse to break because of stubbornness. “You don’t wash them right.” You’re done anyways, piling the dishes on top of the rack to let them dry. He’s unimpressed. “There’s a right way to wash them?” “Yes.” Your tone is curt and it’s humiliating how childish and dumb this fight is. You can’t back down for the sake of your embarrassment. “You just have to make them clean. Just cause they’re my dishes doesn’t mean you can just half-ass it.” “I don’t half-ass it,” he defends, pitch lifting. “Then why are your dishes at your place always cleaner than mine?” The tap is turned off and you turn to him with hands on your hips. This was definitely the stupidest thing the two of you have gotten mad about. “Then maybe we should just share the same dishes!” “How are we supposed to share the same dishes, Jung Hoseok?!” “Move in with me!” He shouts it suddenly, but not exactly impulsively. It’s as if he’s been thinking about it for a while now, considering it carefully and looking for a time to say it to you. The time isn’t perfect now — not at all close to how he imagined bringing it up, but the pair of you have never had time on your side after all. Hoseok’s heaving his breaths, catching up on breathing and you’re reeling, brows lifted, confused. Your voice is soft like he just personally attacked you, and in a way he did. You’re not hurt or damaged, just….caught off guard. “W-why would I do that?” He realized it now, standing in the kitchen with you, at both your ugliest, fighting about dishwashing. He doesn’t walk away. Neither do you. And Hoseok realizes he wouldn’t want to be with anyone else doing this, that if the rest of his life is filled with this stupid shit, he wouldn’t mind at all. As long as he’s here with you. “Because I—” “No!” You rush in urgency, pettiness escaping you. The dumb fight is forgotten in an instant and you can’t bear it. The words have caught in your throat, stuck and causing a thick lump that makes it hard to swallow. You know what he’s about to say and you don’t want to hear it. “Don’t fucking say it, Jung Hoseok. Don’t you dare.” He whispers your name, pleading with you and trying to get your attention. He has to. You step forward, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, head slumped. “Please, Hoseok,” you beg him. “Don’t say it. Don’t tell me.” A secure hand curls around your wrist, an arm wrapping around your waist. His head falls onto your shoulder. “Nothing will happen.” “It’ll happen,” you sob out. “It’ll happen, so don’t. Please. I don’t want to hear it.” “I have to.” He holds you tighter, grip full of unspoken apologies. “No, no, you don’t.” You’re crying pathetically, voice cracking unpleasantly, tears shedding down your face and falling onto the floor as if it’s raining. “I can’t change how I feel about you,” he whispers with a ghost of a smile on his lips, pressing it right on the juncture of your neck. “I can’t hide it, so I might as well say it out loud, right?” “N-no...please…” “I want to tell you before it’s too late.” “Hoseok—” “I love you.” He declares it boldly and without hesitation, wearing a soft smile tinged with sadness. Sobs break out of your throat and you tremble in his grasps. Hoseok holds your face in his hands, making you look at him past your blurry vision and he repeats it with conviction, “I’m in love with you.” You hug him, holding on like you’re an anchor, afraid he’s going to float away. You’re unable to say anything or choke out a coherent syllable, so he leans in to kiss you, dying to do so after the first date. Hoseok tilts his head and when his mouth meets yours, it’s soft, though not entirely sweet. Your salty tears linger, his touch bitter to you, but he remains gentle, gingerly kissing your lips over and over again with staggering exhales of regret stolen from the seam of his mouth. Hoseok soaks in your expression with half-lidded eyes before he shuts them, relishing in the feeling alone. This is what you were so apprehensive about. It’s your worst nightmare. And when it’s over, you’re left with heartache. Hoseok leans his forehead against yours and he promises something he can’t, “I’ll remember you again and I’ll fall in love with you again. Over and over. As many times as we need.” You embrace him close, but it doesn’t matter if he’s an arm’s length away or pressed against your body. He’s leaving, body here but mind not. He’s confident that he won’t forget, blindly so, believing in the letters he’s written about you, journal entries, pictures, that you’re here with him. He’s wrong. Once he’s fallen asleep against his will, giving in to the heavy seduction of slumber, you slip away from his grasps, grabbing clothes to cover your naked skin and you leave your own home. You can’t bear to stay and watch as confusion takes over his face, wondering who you are, why he’s in a stranger’s home. Once he takes the traces of himself out of your place in the morning, you’ll be left solely with his scent clinging to the bed sheets and your own quiet mind. And as you had imagined, when Hoseok awakes hours later, he is bewildered. The home is empty and he picks himself up slowly off the bed, clothing himself, calling out to no one. He is utterly confused and glances at the picture frames on shelves, photographs of a woman he doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand, clutching his own head and deducts that this was a one night stand. Whoever you are, it was a one night stand, a reckless mistake he made while drunk. His memory is void. All the dark ink of the letters and entries he’s written about fades into the paper, becoming invisible. The pictures snapped of you and him together erases you until he’s alone in the frame. Every effort made vanishes. It’s wiped away from his brain. He doesn’t know your name. While Hoseok can fabricate memories, his own are ripped away from him. But he cannot even mourn for such a tragic irony. He simply digs his feet in his shoes that are placed near the entrance in a neat fashion. He digs his hands into his pants pocket. He leaves. And just like that, Jung Hoseok is gone from your life.

[Epilogue] There’s something important on his mind that he can’t quite pinpoint. Hoseok feels like he’s forgetting something very important. It’s one of those things that he recalls his past self told his future self that he definitely needs to remember. But it isn’t an errand he needs to run or something he has to pick up from the grocery store, he knows that much. Still, it’s on the tip of his tongue, the edge of his mind and it drives him crazy. Hoseok doesn’t know what it is and he can’t dispel this discomfort from his chest. “Umm...excuse me.” There’s a tap on his shoulder and he turns to find a pretty girl with sparkling, brown eyes smiling brightly at him. “I think it’s your turn.” “O-oh…” He follows to where she’s pointing and rushes forward to the counter where the worker is waiting patiently. Hoseok makes his coffee order and walks over to the other station while his drink is being made. The girl from behind him also makes her own order and then comes over. He burns in embarrassment and for some reasons out of instinct, he strikes up a conversation instead of brushing it off. “S-sorry about that.” The female giggles. “It’s no problem.” She looks away and then steals a glance at him. “I don’t blame you. Monday mornings can be tiring and sometimes I forget where I am.” “Yeah.” He releases a long exhale, smiling. “I was just really lost in thought. Hopefully the coffee will help.” “It probably will. It always does.” He nods and before the conversation can die off, he asks, “Do you come here a lot?” “Sometimes.” She fiddles with the fabric of her floral dress that hugs her frame. Hoseok feels nervous in her presence and he’s certain he’s never felt this way before, but the emotion isn’t foreign to him. He’s not sure why. “Actually, I don’t know why I went to this one today. I just got a feeling that I should. Usually, I go to the one on fifth avenue.” “Oh. Is fifth avenue’s coffee shop better?” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think it depends on the person.” Hoseok swallows hard and goes in for the kill. “I should check it out then. I’ve never been. But I wouldn’t really know what’s good to order. I think I would need someone...to join me…” The girl blinks and laughter bubbles up her throat — it’s pleasant to the ears. “Are you suggesting that I be the one to join you?” He shrugs, playing it casual. “If you want, I’d love to take you out for coffee some time.” She lightly scoffs, smile still spread into her rosy cheeks. “Just because you’re so smooth, I’ll agree. But I don’t even know your name.” “Jung Hoseok.” He extends his hand and she shakes it. “Seo Soojin.” The woman grins and his chest feels a flutter. “It’s nice to meet you.” His smile expands. “Likewise.” // Jung Hoseok’s met his soulmate. He’s confident in it. While he doesn’t even believe in the concept of a kindred soul, his mind is consistently boggled over this girl. How easily she fits into his life. How much she matches him, compliments his personality, makes up for what he lacks. She is a puzzle piece, fitting right into his life like she was always meant to be there. She loves to help people as much as he does. She gardens in her spare time, a hobby that she adores and she eventually teaches him how to keep flower bushes alive. Soojin is bright and beautiful, chirpy and cute, reminding him of sunshine itself. She is everything he could want. A date turns to two, three, four. He’s happy and he thinks he’s never felt like this before. Yet, something feels missing. “Hoseok?” “Hmmm?” “Are you okay?” she asks over a candle light dinner, restaurant filled with murmurs from patrons around them. Hoseok lifts his face to find her frowning in concern, having gone quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. Was just thinking about something else.” He’s holding himself back. It doesn’t feel right. It feels— It feels wrong. Hoseok’s uncomfortable and his instincts make him lean away from her touch, makes him keep her at a distance. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with him, why he’s acting like this when the perfect girl is in front of him. “Jung, you there?” His boss is at the door, leaning on the frame, interrupting his stream of thoughts. “Boy, you look tired.” “Yeah, I’m sorry.” He leans back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose to get a grip of himself before he gets fired. “Well, just wanted to tell you that case number six four three seven is moving ahead. They were going to throw out the application, but your special request letter ended up changing some minds up there. It’s usually not your style to be anything other than professional. But even I gotta admit it was pretty touching. You’ve never personally vouched for anyone so that was a surprise.” The older man shrugs. “I know it was a special case to you, so I thought I’d let you know.” “W-what?” Hoseok is more confused than before. He has no idea what the man is talking about. He searches through his computer. Nothing. There aren’t any files on this case number. He’s baffled and ends up dropping his knees, fingertips running through the files in his file cabinet. There’s no paperwork whatsoever in his belongings. Hoseok becomes fixated on the issue, obsessed. It’s like he’s an inch away from scratching an itch on his back that’s been driving him to the brink of insanity. And he is compelled by a sixth sense to spend a late night at the office, skipping dinner out on his girlfriend and sending a delayed text message as an apology. He leaves his office to the main floor, going to the very back in the room of cabinets where they keep copies of everything. Hoseok files through the numbers until there’s white paper coating the carpeted floor. He pulls everything out that he can. It bothers him. Bewitched him. He needs to know what’s going on. And after hours of drowning in the sea of paperwork, he finds the file folder with the correct string of numbers. Euphoria fills his body as he holds it and he doesn’t waste time to flip it open. Hoseok finds your application, the report he filled out, the letter he wrote attached to it — he doesn’t understand. He didn’t write this. He doesn’t remember doing this. But these are his words, his writing, his signature marked at the bottom. “Are you alright, Seok?” It lingers on his mind and he’s only shocked out of it when Soojin hugs him from behind when he’s at the sink, washing the dishes. Her arms wrap around his abdomen, tight, scared at how distant he feels. It gives him a sense of déjà vu, but it still feels wrong. Wrong. Wrong! He pulls her off of him. Hoseok shuffles away in discomfort, escaping from her grasps and wandering hands. “I’m….fine. You should go to bed,” he mumbles. “Didn’t you say you were sleepy?” His girlfriend ends up walking away in silence, hurt. He doesn’t know what’s going on. This is his soulmate. There’s nothing he can complain about, no faults in her at all that he can nitpick. She’s perfect for him, a flawless couple that makes others ooze of envy. But he’s the sole cause of the rift between them. Hoseok is self-sabotaging his relationship. And he doesn’t know why. “We haven’t had a date in so long,” she is curt, angry and he feels guilt overwhelm him when he realizes he made her this way. “We’re going to the movies this weekend.” “I’m busy—” “No but’s, Hoseok.” Soojin is done and walks away, forcing him to begrudgingly oblige. It happens on a Tuesday evening. The sun is falling from the horizon, painting the world in golden hues. His eyes are bleary, muscles aching from the long day of work, and yet he has to drag his legs forward. Soojin is stomping ahead of him, steps heavy, marching straight ahead with a frown. He lags behind her with his hands deep in his pockets, sighing. But something catches in his peripheral vision. It’s a flutter of someone's skirt, their hair brushing in the wind, a sweet scent that he used to know wafting over to overwhelm his senses. It’s someone familiar. And his heart stings. His head whips away from the front and he looks over, eyes locking with this person’s. You’re standing across the street. Feet rooted in the ground. Shock. Fear. Relief. Longing. And above all, a sorrowful regret etched on your beautiful features that takes Hoseok’s breath away. He knows you from somewhere, though he can’t pinpoint it. Maybe at some point you had sat across his desk from him nervously fiddling with your fingers in your lap, maybe he had sat across from you at a restaurant table….maybe this….maybe that…. All Hoseok is certain about is that he can’t move away. You can’t either, staring, watching, frozen in time as people pass by on the street towards their homes. Hoseok softly gazes at you, the way the golden dusk light makes you shine somehow. He can’t look anywhere else. It takes ten seconds before Soojin realizes he’s no longer following her and she turns around on her heels. “Hoseok! What are you doing?!” But he ignores her. He can’t hear her whatsoever. It’s instinct that takes over Hoseok, making him cross that street. He takes a step forward. And like he promised, he doesn’t need his memories.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #hoseok fanfic #hoseok fluff #hoseok angst #I know this got some Jungle Park vibes - but it's different #I swear hahahahahha #I thought of the concept a long time ago #but I felt like Hoseok fit it best #and looking at the outcome I think he did in the end #:D

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crusherthedoctor · 5 years ago

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Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Dunes of Intrigue

“...What do you mean it's all connected? In what way?”

That was the question Espio demanded to get an answer for, as befitting of the Chaotix’s mystery solving status. Eggman continued to share his prideful superiority in generous quantities for all to see, no matter how dirty of a look everyone else in the room gave him.

“It's a small world, don't you know,” he said in an upbeat manner, with another stroke of the famous 'stache. He still refused to make any secret about his enjoyment of the proceedings. “This big blue globe of ours may have so much to see, but when you get down to it, all the mysteries of life have a relation. Some more than others, perhaps, but always to an extent.”

“Stop speaking in riddles, breakfast bozo!” Vector cracked his fists. “Get to the proper details!”

Charmy attempted to mimic his partner by cracking his own fists, but he wasn’t quite able to master it. Espio stoically rolled his eyes, as he often found himself doing, through no fault of his own.

“We're still here, if anyone cares...” a depressed lion muttered in his cage. He was on his side, head on hand, resigned to the fact that him and the rest would probably have to wait some more before they were so much as acknowledged, let alone set free.

“If it involves Chao...” Sonic pondered, rubbing his chin all the while. “Then it involves... Chaos?”

Eggman paused... before letting out a sudden, bizarre cackle. He puffed his chest, rubbed his hands, and leaned forward dramatically to confirm the hedgehog's interpretation.

“No.”

Sonic blinked in utter confusion. He exchanged looks with Tails, then back to Eggman. What on earth was he trying to get at then?

“How about the Black Arms?” Tails randomly guessed.

“No.”

“Little Planet?”

“Nope!”

“The Gaias?”

“Noooope!” Eggman's merriment only grew with each incorrect answer.

Sonic stared at the ground dejectedly. He was struggling to think of any other potential candidate for the correct puzzle piece to Eggman's mystery jigsaw. He threw his hands in the air.

“...Babylonians?”

“Ha ha! NO!”

The doctor cackled once more, clapping his hands like a seal, and fist pumped the air multiple times in triumph. “Clueless! Completely clueless, all of you! You're not thinking big enough! This is how it feels to be me, surrounded by nothing but idiots 24/7! And here I was considering lending you another hint, but since you lost the game, it's time for... the penalty.”

Right on cue, a small quake began, which increased in intensity every couple of seconds. The heroes zipped their heads around as poles were knocked over, banners fell over, and even the cages in the arena opened up with how aggressive the quake was. The scared witless inhabitants immediately got out of dodge, as if knowing things would only get even worse if they stuck around... which, considering it's Eggman, they had every right to assume that.

Despite losing his prisoners, Eggman didn't seem to mind, as he was far too giddy at his visitors’ reactions to the rumbling... which eventually simmered down... and at last came to a halt completely. The anthros weren't stupid though, and every one of them, young or older, put up their dukes. Something was coming, but they didn't know what.

“Alright, what's going on?” Vector pointed a finger at the scientist. He snapped his jaws menacingly, ready for some Scrambled Eggman if need be.

The madman fiendishly kept his mouth shut, crossed his arms, and wiggled his eyebrows knowingly.

Then, calmly, he clicked his fingers.

As soon as he did that, the entire roof of the tent was violently ripped to shreds by an unseen force. Everyone struggled not to fall on their sides as an extreme breeze suddenly filled the ring, though the doctor avoided its pull or push by protecting himself with a purple plasma shield. His throne soon broke off from where it rested, as did the mini-thrones that Orbot and Cubot sat on beside him, and it floated in the air triumphantly as his enemies witnessed exactly what he wanted to share...

To their horror, an absolute behemoth of an airship was now floating directly above them. Far greater in size than the Wing Fortress, the Flying Battery, the Egg Carrier... any and every airship he had made in the past positively paled in comparison to the gargantuan scope of this grim monument to one's ego. A far cry from the reds he was prone to plastering over his modern ships, this one instead took on a jet black colour scheme, though there remained several red accents. It took on the general shape of a blimp, yet it remained armored with high-tech to the last detail. If you could even see them from the tent's smaller frame of view, four lengthy wings could be spotted, two on each side, at symmetrical angles, in the shape of curved blades. A twisted parody of the doctor's own face could be seen on the front end, in pristine silver steel, with glowing red holes for eyes.

And of course, countless cannons and engines were planted all over. Because when you're Dr. Eggman, the dial starts at eleven.

“Oh my god...!” Amy gasped, as she struggled not to fall on her behind with the gale force at work.

“What's THAT ugly thing!?” Charmy questioned. He flapped his wings as fast as he could to combat the wind.

“Ran out of resources, doc?” Sonic called out to his nemesis, feigning a lack of interest, though he had to admit it looked pretty fearsome. “What happened to all your armadas that I smashed up? No more cash to rebuild them?”

Eggman belted out even more jolly laughter, as he stood on his throne like a little boy playing make believe with his action figures. His throne floated directly in front of the ship's view, and he gesticulated wildly. “This time rodent, I'M the king of the wind! One is all I need! In exchange for quantity, I have more quality than you could ever know! It has all the power of the Egg Carrier-NO, all the power of the entire Eggman Fleet combined! Behold, my greatest flying fortress yet! THE EGG CLOUDBURST!”

He sat back down on his throne with much pride, not bothering to acknowledge that neither Orbot or Cubot were in fact inside his purple shield, and thus were likely to get sucked away. They were both hanging onto their own thrones for dear life. “And I didn't pick that name for no reason, boys and girls! With this baby, so long as it’s nearby, any destination's wind and seas bow down to me and me alone!”

“...Sorry, what?” Tails blurted out in absolute bewilderment. “Are you saying you can control the weather now?”

“That doesn't sound nice...!” Cream held tightly onto a banner, as her ears billowed in the wind, with Cheese holong tight onto one of them.

“You fool!” Espio cursed as he attempted to stick to a wall, to no effect on account of just how powerful the wind proved to be. “No mortal can control such forces!”

Even Sonic couldn't deny that Eggman's claim was not a light statement. “How is that even possible? Is that what you're using the crystals for, which AREN'T yours by the way?” Even as his life depended on not poking the proverbial tiger, he never ceased the opportunity to jam a pencil through the doctor's bluster.

“Hohoho, you think this is all I have to offer? As glorious as it is, this is merely an alpha-project of mine, a small teaser of what's to come in a future paved with my brilliance! I have even more fun surprises in store, and boy oh boy, I can hardly WAIT to show you them... but until then, have a free sample of my fully operational Cloudburst! TTFN, ta-ta for now!”

“Don't let go!” Orbot advised to Cubot, as they continued holding onto their small thrones while their creator flew away to head inside his new Egg Cloudburst. On the ground, everyone was trying desperately to hold onto something, anything, even each other... But it was no use. As the eyes of the Cloudburst glowed brighter, the gale force dialed it up a notch, becoming an outright hurricane in the process. One by one, they were sent tumbling and flying across the night sky, while the tent finally caved in and crumbled into pieces entirely.

“Ahhhh!” Amy screamed.

“Woahhhhh!” Tails cried out.

“Don't get sick...! Don't get sick...!” Lutrudis struggled.

“I swear I'll get his money...!” Vector echoed.

Sonic glared at the Egg Cloudburst for as long as he could still see it, and cursed the doctor as he too was sent flying. “You won't get away with thiiiiiiiissssssss...!”

---

“URK!”

“Eck!”

“FFUH!”

“Ungh!”

Each of our heroes landed right onto the ground in a tragic heap. Sandy ground, to be exact. Tails and Cream had some leeway in that they were able to soften their impact with their tails and ears respectively. The latter instantly checked her bag in a panic, but to her relief, not a single Chao was lost in the hurricane.

Amy was not so lucky, landing squarely on her posterior, and while Lutrudis managed to soften her own landing with her own tail, it was to a more limited extent. If there was any consolation to be had about all their landings, the sand itself was not rough at all. In fact, it was some of the softest sand one could find.

And Sonic?

Well, naturally, he landed face first.

He grumbled incoherently as his face was deep into the substance. Lutrudis and Amy quickly helped him up, and he gave a small, somewhat distracted salute to both of them... before abruptly spitting out some sand from his mouth.

“Yuck... Why does this-” He paused to spit out more sand. “Why does this always happen to me...” he asked to himself, as he tried valiantly to remove the taste. “You'd think I could land on my back just this once?”

“Now we're far away from where we were, thanks to that stupid ship,” Amy mused. She turned to her left and right, and soon realised not all of the group was with them. “What happened to the Chaotix?”

“Must have got sent flying someplace else,” Tails reasoned, as he directed his spinning namesake away from his friends so that when he was getting the sand out of his tails, they wouldn’t accidentally go in anyone’s eyes.

“Oh no, will they be okay?” Cream worried, with her hands clasped tightly. Even if she barely knew them, she'd hate to think they got hurt, or worse.

“Ah, don't worry about them Cream, they'll manage.” Sonic sniffed as he looked around, scratching the back of his head. Something that stood out to him was that due to the night time, the sand was not yellow or orange as he would expect, but rather a soft shade of pink, which complimented the deep purple sky nicely. Sonic had to admit that this desert was a pretty pleasing one for the eye, even if he still hated the taste of sand.

“This is pretty common anyway,” he added, still looking around. “I meet up with pals, we get separated, then I meet up with them again. Happens all the time.” He snickered to himself. “Who knows, by the time we regroup with them, they might have actually solved a mystery!”

“So anyway, where are we now?” he asked Lutrudis, the one group member who would be the most likely to have an answer. “You know, aside from 'the desert', which could mean anything.”

“I'm not familiar with these parts on a personal level, but I know it's not that far away from home.” She took a moment to snort out that one speck of sand from her nostrils, which caused her a bit of embarrassment due to realising it was a rather unflattering look. Still, she continued without a fuss. “There's a train system around here. I don't think it's been used in an awfully long time, but it'll make our path easier, I know that for certain. Though with all the dangers that might be out and about in such dry conditions...”

“Pfft, those dangers will be no danger at all.” Sonic stretched out his arms, ready to go out into the great unknown. “We've done swell so far, what's the worst that could happen?”

Lutrudis simply looked at him, then switched her view to the endless mounds of arid dust. It's not been all that easy for her, as evidenced by how she had previously been sent flying by a hurricane summoned by a giant airship. But their combined skills have proven to work wonders, and there was no reason to start doubting its effectiveness now. Not when despite everything, she felt oddly secure, even in the midst of all the danger.

“You coming?” Amy called out, knocking Lutrudis out of her thoughts. Everyone else had already started exploring. “As if we'd leave you behind!”

The horse stared at Amy thoughtfully. Maybe this was just how it felt to have friends to turn to...

---

Dune Borders Zone

Act 1: Dark Canyon

Lutrudis’ Badnik Logs: Roller - “There's only one Sonic, so these armadillo bots have come to kill and replace. They come in two forms: blue ones are straightforward and roll around without a care, while the red ones have more advanced AI, and can block your attacks if they're too conspicuous. Uncouth ripoffs, so they are...”

Sol - “The desert is overwhelmingly blistering as it is, do we really need to start a fire? They'll keep their fireball projectiles close by, but if you get closer, they'll expand their range by a significant margin, creating a widening circle of fur-intolerant flame... but they’ll also leave themselves open. ~Oopsie~”

Scarabesque - “Atop the dusty cliffs will you find these wily beetles, who use their plethora of boulders to disrupt your progression. At least the boulders are made of steel, and not... what Eggman is full of.”

Cactinaut - “The latest and greenest innovation from the Orbinaut family, not only can they spread their spiked projectiles - a common courtesy with this model - they can also inflate their heads afterwards. Not to imply a lack of faith in your independent rationale, but don't touch them when they do that.”

Bulldust - “Predictably, these rowdy sorts come charging at you on sight. Less predictably, they can kick up sand to obscure your vision, therefore giving them more chance of making your internal organs particularly unhappy. Perhaps Amy should consider a change of wardrobe...?”

Deputy Pawn - “I question the validity of their promotion. These yellow gunners don't just play out the part with their bizarre strutting, they're actually halfway decent shots. I'd say they've had their six, but I’ll bet they’ve got six billion more to spare.”

The deserts in Viridonia are the epitome of vast, and as you'll discover, it's not exactly a static desert, shall we say. You'll see what I mean soon enough... if you can make it out of here alive. But what's a couple of Sand Hills for a tourist like you? This may be a Dusty Desert, but you've been through loads of Desert Ruins before, so as long as you don't lose your mind and stumble into the Mirage Road, you'll make it through the Arid Sands in one piece... something something Sandopolis.

And I mean it when I say vast. This area is truly huge. The empty fields of sand can be spooky in its own way, but that's not to say there's nothing of interest out in the open at all. The sandy terrain is broken up by a selection of gigantic purple mesas, and wooden windmills that are larger than life. While the moon is the only thing that can be found in the purple sky, its sheer size casts some much needed light onto the pink sands below.

The colour of sand is not the only oddity around here, though. What else can you see all around you? Well, you can see cliffs... lonely trees... watering holes... crystals...

Amy: More crystals?

Tails: Out here in the open?

Sonic: Grey crystals, just like in the mountain!

That's right Sonic, the dunes are packed with the grey variety of crystals. No doubt Eggman's robots are after these ones too, so do your bit and knock them out for even entertaining the thought. The mining areas out here likewise contain plenty of them, but because it's nighttime, their muted shine does little to dispel the shadows that cloud the mines. Shallow pools of water serve as your main light source indoors, aside from the rotating flames of the Sol units.

Not that the outside is any less dangerous. It's not a complete desert package without everyone's favourite desert-flavored obstacle... quicksand. And oh boy, there's a LOT of quicksand around these here parts. It pulls you in, and it pulls you fast. But don't bring out the blubbering hysterics, for there is a way out of the situation should you need it. All you have to do is tap the jump button rapidly, and you'll be out of there faster than you can sue me for giving your thumb a blister. Remember that quicksand is a lighter shade of pink, so that's how you can tell it apart from the regular, safer sand.

Also note that an easy way to avoid quicksand entirely is by skimming along the oversized bones you see spread around the wilderness. What sort of fantastic creatures do these bones mark the remains of? Who knows, but hopefully they won't be spinning in their grave at the sight of bite-sized hedgehogs and foxes running along them like it's a skate park.

When you're up on the cliffs, or inside the mines, you can use the rickety pulleys to get yourself around. Do be careful however, because not all of them work the same way. Some of them go slower, some of them go faster, some go left, some go right... and if you're really unlucky, they can fall apart halfway through. Know the risks, and make a bold leap if it comes to that. Aside from the pulleys, you can also use the rotating windmills to get through the desert extra quick, though you're hardly any safer, for the Deputy Pawns will make a boisterous effort to shoot you down from below, when they're not occupied with their harmonicas.

Halfway through, you'll get to explore an abandoned western town. Any trace of civilisation here is long lost, but the town remains tall and proud regardless... Even if the red paint is a little chipped on some buildings, and some doors are half broken, and Eggman's goons are going full method actor and shooting the place up in search for you and your bundle of friends...

The noose in the center of town is also kind of discomforting.

Cream: What's that rope thing over there?

Amy: Um... you'll find out when you're older... maybe...

Tails: Maybe it's a weight system of some sort?

Sonic: I wish it was, Tails. Yeesh...

Lutrudis: Probably for the best that I wasn't around in the old days...

Interestingly enough, you can tell how far you are into the level by where the moon is positioned. See, it starts off high in the sky as you'd expect, but we're slowly reaching the early morning period, which means the moon will lower that little bit more with the further you go on. Whenever it lowers, it can have the side-effect of temporarily blinding you, so if you want to avoid the blinding moonlight, then simply hide behind a mesa for a second.

Not too often that you see a moonset, is it?

Towards the end, the moon has disappeared completely, and in its place, an equally mesmerizing sun slowly begins to rise into view. But pressing matters are afoot, for you can see plenty of patches where crystals should be... but aren't.

Lutrudis: These ones have already been taken... but by who...?

Sonic: Someone fast, by the looks of it... Really fast... Hmm...

The end of the stage is marked by the presence of a single building, even grander than the empty town we saw earlier. It looks even older, and equally worn out, yet it's still standing. As you crack open the capsule to free the local critters, you can only wonder what's inside... if there is anything inside...

---

Act 2: The Badland Express

Lutrudis’ Badnik Logs: Turbo Spiker - “You can't touch them while they've got that huge drill, but be patient, and it'll fire away and let you do them in... you'll need to then avoid the flying drill at the same time, though. How kind.”

Bomber - “The name is commendably honest, if only to compensate for its unoriginality. When it opens the dome on top, it dispatches bomb after bomb, and will not stop in the slightest until you put it down. They never run out, because defying us is apparently worth defying logic.”

Vultron - “Well... they fly, otherwise they wouldn't be effective bird-based bots. But they're also crafty, and enjoy confusing you with their fancy loops and daring maneuvers. Let's hope their choreography is the only thing they're killing.”

Coalision - “These miniature choo-choos store an endless supply of black coal, and they'll be glad to share it with you while it's still hot... literally. It's a waste to be sure, but that holds true for many of the doctor's career choices, doesn't it?”

Returning Enemies: Roller Cactinaut Bulldust

The title is a bit misleading, because if we want to get onboard the train, we have to go through the station first. Luckily, since it's seemingly abandoned, we won't have to worry about needing a ticket... Unless that's what the robots are after us for.

Anyway, you start off just outside the station, lit up by a row of tall lamps. By this point, the sun is still rising, so now the surrounding sand is given a lovely shade of deep red, with a redder sky to match. Too bad you'll be spending most of this level indoors then, eh? If you want though, you can take a quick peek at the books in the nearby info center, which mention in great detail the once proud history of our poor station. It also name drops the Great Oasis, which is apparently where the train would be headed for if it were still in business...

Unfortunately, since the station is abandoned, the interior has seen better days by comparison...

Sonic: This place could sure do with some of Amy's decorating magic...

Amy: I'll say! All this dust can't be healthy.

Lutrudis: If I've got enough spoons in me, I'll gladly lend a hand.

Try not to get too spooked in here, because with the creaky echoing of the oversized rotating gears, intertwined with the cobwebs and scrambled papers, it can be easy to get a heart attack at the slightest thing... and I don't just mean the prices.

Your enemies are all too aware of this, particularly the Coalisions, who love to make a beeline at maximum volume, which echoes throughout the station. The bombs ejected from the Bomber units also cause an echo, but at least it gives you an idea of where they are. It's brighter in here than it was in the canyon’s mines, but it can still be pretty dark, though the sunlight that shines through the windows and the occasional glass ceiling will get you through. And yet, even the glass here can become an obstacle, as the Turbo Spikers are fond of sending their drills through them to make a dynamic entry.

Despite mostly taking place indoors, there are still the occasional outside sections, which include the rooftops. The rising sunlight is at its most gorgeous here, so feel free to bask in the sun despite being in a rush in the context of the actual story. Rollers are especially plentiful up here, in red and blue. They can even gang up on you if they feel like it, so don't stay in one place for too long. They're easier to deal with if you're playing as Tails, since a tail swipe is sufficient enough to deflect them while they're in ball form.

You'll know you're nearing the end when you enter an old diner in the station. Sadly, it too has long since decayed, but the “employees” will still do all they can to serve you... literally. On a plate. To Eggman. The Vultrons love to poke through the windows in the diner, so be on the watch for them, lest their fancy maneuvering cause your eyes to start swirling. If it weren't for all the decay, Amy would find an appeal in the cutesy aesthetic of the diner.

And not long after, you'll finally make it to an outside chamber, where the titular Badland Express rests in all its rustic glory... You know, this level felt a bit short, didn't it?

Nevermind that, are those burn marks on the ground...?

Has someone visited here recently...?

---

“Well, this is it... ~ta-da~” Lutrudis made use of appropriate jazz hands to befit a proper introduction for what rested before the lady and her friends. A red locomotive with golden accents sat alone and isolated, and even though it hadn't been used in years, it looked surprisingly healthy for its age, moreso than the depressing station it was cast aside with. Both Amy and Cream looked as though they might as well have been in a candy store.

“Ooooooooh...” Amy let out.

“Ooooooooh...” Cream repeated.

“Ooooooooh...” Cheese completed the rule of three.

“Doesn't look half bad for a crusty old train,” Sonic rubbed his chin as he examined the entire vehicle. “And this will take us closer to home? Er, your home?”

“That's the idea,” Lutrudis inspected the locomotive herself with hands on hips, and her tail swished out of interest. “Unless its course has drastically changed and it takes us to the arctic or something, but I'm willing to estimate the unlikelihood of that.”

“Shall we get going then?” Amy anticipated, anxious to see what the train looked like from indoors. Her own tail wagged slowly in excitement. “I love a romantic train setting...”

“Hang on, aren't we technically kind of... stealing this thing?” asked Tails, with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. “Are you guys sure this is a good idea?”

His friends all exchanged looks with one another. Back, then forth, then back, then forth again. They returned their gaze to Tails without a word, all sharing the exact same blank expression.

---

“Good thing I learned how to do this,” Tails cheerfully quipped as he mastered the controls, and got the train rolling along without issue. “Or else this would be a lot harder.”

“Thatta boy,” Sonic ruffled his foxboy pal's head with a proud grin, to which the latter let out a humble chuckle as they walked into the next room. As it turns out, the Badland Express proved to be charmingly old-timey despite its lingering glamour. The dark green walls were filled up with muted diamond patterns, and the floor was softened by a comfortable red carpet. The curtains, sharing a similar shade of red to the carpet, were made of soft velvet, which Amy couldn't help but constantly brush inbetween her fingers, clearly enjoying the texture of it. Wooden banisters lacked any trace of dust, which in some ways was almost eerie, but they couldn't exactly complain. Even the seats were soft and snuggly, and they looked just as clean as the rest of the inside.

“So that's it then?” Amy asked Tails. “We're up and away?”

“Well, it's already moving,” he looked back at where the controls dwelled. “So unless something completely unexpected and unpleasant happens, we'll be totally fine.”

“...Yeah,” Sonic stated, out of slight concern. His eyes darted between different windows.

“Agreed,” Amy added. Cream simply nodded.

They all stood around for a few seconds, almost aimlessly so, until Tails piped up again. “Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think I could do with some shut-eye. I've barely had any since we arrived in Viridonia.” He looked back at the control room again. “Although... I guess I should stay awake to pay attention to the controls if something unexpected and unpleasant does indeed happen... But there won't be anything unexpected and unpleasant, surely... I mean, if I keep bringing it up, it won't happen, right...? I know how reverse psychology works...”

“Dude, chill. It's okay, you can go right ahead,” Sonic put a gentle hand on the fox's shoulder, and gave him a warm smile. “I'll stay up in case anything happens. You deserve the sleep.”

Tails looked up at his big bro, and slowly returned the smile in earnest. After all these years, the innocence in his blue eyes remained perfectly intact. “Thanks, Sonic,” he uttered gratefully, before he started looking around to find the nearest seat.

“I think I could go for a sleep too, to be honest,” Amy muttered groggily, as she rubbed both of her eyes.

“Me three,” Cream yawned as both herself and Amy sat down. This was followed up by Cheese letting out a yawn of his own. “And um, him four,” she added with a giggle.

“So...” Tails peeked at the window to remember the time of day. “I guess it'd be correct to say... Goodnight?... ...Good morning?... ...See you later.”

And with that, the orange fox instantly conked out on his seat as if he were inebriated, and the pink hedgehog and creamy rabbit similarly went into a fast snooze. Cheese snuggled up with his owner, and slept peacefully, as if sensing that no matter what struggles Eggman and his mechanical menaces would put them through from here onwards, everything would work out okay in the end. Once they were all asleep, Sonic made sure to carefully, quietly, move their bodies a little bit to ensure they were resting extra comfortably. He did this with all three of them, and he took an extra minute to slowly move Tails' namesake so that the three of them could lay their heads on them.

Satisfied with his work, he dusted off his hands, and gave his dozing friends one last look. As he watched them sleep, he realised how nice it felt to be on an adventure with the gang again. Not that he minded going out on his own by any means, but it had been so long since they were all together on a journey... Well, Knuckles wasn’t here, but luckily for them, they had someone to fill in his place...

He tried not to make too much noise as he tip-toed over to the table that Lutrudis was sitting by on her lonesome. Contrary to the rest of the group, she looked wide awake as ever, and her gaze was focused on the view from outside.

“Figured you'd be fast asleep as well.”

Her head briefly tilted left to acknowledge the blue speedster coming over to her, before it turned back to the window. “Eh, I'm not tired. My sleep schedule has a mind of its own, to my own chagrin.” She scoffed, albeit quietly so as not to wake her other friends up. “That's what this body does to you.”

Sonic looked at her silently for a couple of moments. Slowly, he took his hands off the seat he was standing behind, and sat down opposite of her at the table. He looked to his left, as if to find inspiration for a conversation starter. In the process, he took the time to admire the desert plains in all their vast glory. The sun was hiding behind several towering red mesas, but it wasn't enough to obscure the light completely. He didn't say anything at first, but after his brain focused on the endless red sand outside, a small burst of nostalgia sparked within him.

“You know, all this sand reminds me of my time in a book.”

“In a book...?”

“Yeah, the 1001 Arabian Nights... What, you're not familiar with that one?”

Lutrudis pulled up the arm of her long glove. “I'm familiar with the tale, obviously, but my knowledge of your time in it is unfortunately more limited, since you know... it's a book. It's considerably more challenging to locate records of what you went through compared to your other achievements.”

“Hmph, and I thought you were the Sonic Expert.” He grinned lightheartedly.

“Well then, perhaps you'd care to share the details, o brave adventurer?” She leaned her right elbow on the side of the window playfully, and rested her head in her hand. “I'd love to hear it. We've got plenty of time.”

“Err, actually, there's not too much to say in all honesty, heh.” He took a moment to adjust himself on his seat. “Just mostly me and a friend running after a genie.”

“An evil genie?”

“Unfortunately so. He had a few screws loose, that's for sure. Wanted to burn his world to the ground and remake it in his own style.” He scratched an itch inside of his right ear. “Kind of like Eggman, I guess.”

“All would-be conquerers do tend to feel similar after a while, don't they.” The horse's eyes looked to the side, at the desert fields. “Different flavors, but always the same greed... the same lust... gluttony... wrath...”

“Yeah... well, this guy did a bunch of uncool things,” Sonic continued, trying his best to not dwell for too long on what those things were, at least when it came to his ally from that journey. “Even turned a king into an undead husk.”

“Oh dear, really?”

“Yep. AND he cursed me with a fire spell. If I didn’t do as he demanded, the flame within would force me to kick the bucket.”

“Goodness...”

“I know, right? Guy was mental. But he wasn't free to be an evil dude for long. Because...”

“You came along?” Lutrudis couldn't help but add an affectionate ring to those words. “And made everything all better?” Her face lit up, and she didn't bother hiding her smile at the thought.

“You bet I did!” Sonic winked with two finger guns. “Sent that genie packing, literally! I beat him, humiliated him, sent him back in his lamp, never to be seen again. So the story could continue living, without his interference!”

“Of course it could...” Lutrudis sighed contently. She looked rather diffident, as if she wasn't all that sure on how to word herself. “You sure are a paragon to the people, aren’t you... a ray of light to everyone you meet...”

Sonic blinked twice, as the green equine's flowery compliments once again left him unsure of how to respond. If he wasn’t imagining it, he could feel his cheeks getting a little warm, and with possible hesitance, he let out a soft chuckle.

“So... you're just gonna believe all of that?” he asked jokingly. “Just taking my story about going inside a book at face value? For all you know, I could have made it all up.”

“Oh, I believe it. I utterly believe it...” The lady's expression grew even wider, as if the mere thought of Sonic doing his thing was enough to fill her with internal solitude. “There's so many crazy things out there, but so many beautiful things too. And you've stepped up to the plate no matter what comes your way, no matter how alien, or ancient, or ridiculous. So, when you say you went inside a book, to save another world from a corruptive influence... there's no doubt on my end.”

Her eyes opened up slowly, and they locked with the hedgehog's own. “It's hardly beyond your capacity, is it? You're like another world all on your own, in a strange sort of way... a world of majesty, and wonder...”

Her smile grew softer, and in time, so did Sonic's. The hedgehog failed to respond verbally to yet another kind remark, but deep down, he knew he didn't really need to say anything. His quills lowered, and he rested a single hand on the table, its distance not too far from her own. If it were to remain undisturbed, it's possible they could carry on with their quiet exchange forever.

Revealing herself to still be partially awake all along, Cream had secretly witnessed this scene for herself. Despite being half-asleep, her and Cheese exchanged delighted looks with each other at the display. They weren't necessarily sure what to make of it, but as far as they knew, their friends were getting along, and that was all that mattered.

As the rabbit turned back around, she noticed a closet that looked a bit ajar. Deciding to fix it herself, she quietly walked up to the closet, and grabbed the door handle, until her curiosity suggested she at least take a look inside to see if there was anything in there, after all these years of the train's disuse.

Alas, there wasn't much to write home about. Just some old-fashioned shirts, dresses, Metal Sonic...

Wait.

“AIEEEEEE!!!!!”

“What the-” Sonic stood up in an instant, as did Lutrudis. Amy and Tails likewise woke up just as fast at the sudden noise, and all of their eyes widened as Cream, now more awake than ever, stood in paralyzed fear at the sight of Metal Sonic standing right there in the closet, towering over the poor bunny like a cybernetic grim reaper. Not a moment too soon, the robot immediately raised a claw, ready to strike down at Cream and grab her bag of accompanying Chao in the process.

Sonic was predictably the first to react, and ran up to give his copycat an uppercut, which appeared to dislocate the robot's head... before it jolted back down as if nothing happened, complete with a hellish metallic clang. Thinking fast, even at the expense of her sensitive limbs, Lutrudis made a daring leap over a table and kicked Metal back into the closet before he could lay a finger on either Sonic or Cream, and instantly followed it up by putting one of her arrows through the door handles as a makeshift blockade. Picking Cream up by her side, she turned tail as fast as she could.

“I've got you, honey,” Lutrudis assured her friend. “But we must hurry, he won't be stuck in there for long!”

Lo and behold, mere seconds later, Metal's fist came shooting straight out of the wooden door, and his second arm used its strength to create an even bigger hole in the now ruined closet. He stood once more, stepping slowly out of the closet's remains, and not once did his gaze turn away from Sonic’s, who was standing directly in front of him, with his friends at his left and right.

“He's been on board this whole time?” Amy let out a disturbed glare. Her grip on her hammer tightened, as she was all too familiar with this machine. “That’s not creepy at all!”

“What's he spying on us for?” Tails wondered, his tails tensing up at the presence of Eggman's notorious exterminator.

“Let's hope he's not around long enough for us to find out,” Sonic muttered, as he directed a sneer at the peeping tom. “Nice of you to drop in, Metal! I'm the one you want, right? I'm the one you want to prove you're oh so superior to! So what are you waiting for? Wanna be Sonic? Come and get it!”

Metal stood still for what felt like forever, until he raised a single finger, and ominously waved it across his own neck. He then clenched his fists, and started marching through the hall, slowly, towards his eternal rival. As Sonic extended both of his arms to defend his friends, the metal menace started up his engine, ready to go...

---

BOSS: Metal Sonic

It was only a matter of time before Metal Sonic interfered with our affairs. He may be different from our regular, heroic, green eyed, sociable Sonic in a lot of areas, but if there's one trait he has in common with his organic counterpart, it's a ruthless level of persistence. This will become very obvious over the course of the encounter, so you better be quick on your feet for this one. You have no excuse if you're too slow, given who you are.

The unique thing about this match is that you'll be going through all the different sections of the train, as you do all that you can to keep Eggman’s top enforcer off your back. But it's also not merely an escape sequence disguised as a boss, because you actually have to make an effort to fight back at the same time. Amy will be your main assistance here, since Lutrudis will be occupied with keeping Cream and all the Chao on her person safe and far away from the mad robot... that, and someone has to make sure the train is going where it's supposed to while it's being terrorized by a killer machine. A train delay is the least of your worries.

You start off where you were in the previous cutscene, by the tables, and all you can do for now is avoid the lasers that come shooting out of Metal's chest. It's possible to use the tables for cover, but don't rely on them for too long, since with enough laser power on Metal's end, they will eventually break apart like tissue paper. If you want to fool around with him, you can spin dash under him as Sonic, or fly over him as Tails, though if you get too cocky, he can halt the proceedings by grabbing you and slamming you on the floor. Amusingly enough, you can actually throw broken table pieces at your opponent, which you'll want to do since although it merely annoys him, any brief distraction is everything here, and you'll be given time to properly damage him without getting swiped at by his claws. Pretty straightforward so far, right?

After four hits, Metal will change tactics by flying outside the train. What's he doing? Why, he's absorbing electricity from the nearby power lines! He's never done this before... not in his regular form. Granted, a power line may not be on the same scale as a living being, but wasn't he only able to do this vampiric business when he took the form of Neo Metal Sonic some time ago? Perhaps he's been given an upgrade by the good doctor... one that doesn't require an undignified appearance.

Let's not ponder for too long about it, because now Metal's lasers will cover two thirds of the ground, which is bad news for you due to how little free space there is on the train. He'll also throw in some new moves, namely charging straight at you, and firing one energy sphere after another, which have a tendency to home in on you. You'll want to get beside Amy during this, as she's quite good at knocking them away with her hammer.

By this point, you'll be chased through the different bedrooms, all of which are fortunately empty, but if you VERY QUICKLY search the drawers, you might nab yourself some ring capsules to help you out. Although be careful of a jump scare, for one bed inexplicably has a skeleton inside... Seems to be a recent skeleton too... was this Metal's doing...? Let's forget we ever saw it, and hope we don't end up the same way.

Tails: I think I'm too young to be seeing stuff like this...

Eventually, you'll end up in the engine room, which is filled to the brim with old pistons and gears. As you may expect, these count as obstacles, so try not to get crushed by them while you're focused on Mr. Lookalike. What you want to do here is time it so that a piston comes crashing down when Metal is underneath. He'll grab it effortlessly with his robotic strength of course, but in the process, he'll accidentally leave himself open for you to do your thing. A spin dash or tail swipe will do the trick in this case. This will get more difficult each time, as Metal proceeds to destroy the piston you used against him afterwards. So what happens when all the pistons are destroyed? With nowhere else to turn to, there's only one option... out the window.

You are now climbing the side of the train, and don't think the awkward position will convince the evil duplicate to go easy on you. Luckily, your climbing speed is fairly quick, though diagonal movement can be something of a minor inconvenience. Know the right times to go vertical and horizontal, and you should be golden. Where is Metal Sonic during this sequence? He's the camera apparently, as it switches to Metal's perspective as he fires his lasers at your climbing self. You'll also have to navigate carefully around more homing spheres at the same time, because you know what they say... so you don’t need to be told. Keep a cool head, and you'll get through without getting your tail(s) singed.

Finally, at last, you end up - where else - on top of the train. Metal isn't playing around here, and he makes that clear by pulling out a couple of grey crystals from that magical area that all anthros place their belongings when they don't have pockets. Seeing them in his hands is quite alarming, to be sure...

Sonic: So it was you who took them... bring it, faker.

Not wasting any time, the robot absorbs more power, this time from the crystals. His limbs shake violently, as if he were struggling to adapt to his new energy. A shadowy aura surrounds his body, which provides an eerie contrast with the sunrise behind him. His eyes light up brighter than ever, glowing with malicious intent, and he beckons his enemy to come forward with the back of his hand... Well, who are we to disappoint? Let’s show him what we’re made of.

In this final section, you run and hop along the roof, and you'll want to keep track of time here, because if you take too long, you'll reach the end of the train and have nowhere else to go. Metal will make a projectile of himself here, by zooming through here, there, and everywhere, with dark energy seeping from his being. He's also fond of whipping out his famous Black Shield here, and he can rev it up like your own spin dash. This has the side effect of ripping up the roof a fair bit, even creating a few holes in it. Jump at the right moments to avoid the holes, swerve at the last possible moment to avoid the zipping Black Shield, and when Metal is about to turn around to give it another go, quickly pounce on him like a man possessed. He'll bring out the lasers again at this point, which are now given a darker aura of their own, but you've got this in the bag.

Once you give him four more hits, the next cutscene will commence. Congratulations, you've bested the notorious Metal Sonic... for now...

---

Sonic and Metal Sonic were still on the roof, kicking and swiping away at each other as they both got closer to the front of the train. Tails and Amy ran as fast as they could to make sure Sonic wouldn't fall off the train entirely, but Metal wasn't making that easy for them by firing devastating lasers in the middle of his scuffle with the hero, all the while he was pounding Sonic's body into submission.

They soldiered on anyway, dodging the blasts left and right, until they managed to dogpile onto the robot themselves. Despite the three on one advantage, Metal was more than capable of taking all three of them on at once, and announced that in no uncertain terms by clutching Amy and Sonic by their heads. As he choked Sonic by the neck, he stared straight into Amy's eyes, as if to inject the same fear that he instilled in her during her youth on the Little Planet.

Before it could have any lasting effect however, Tails slammed down on Metal's head with both of his tails, and while he was rewarded with an eye laser for his troubles, Amy seized the opportunity to whack the droid on the side of his chest with her hammer. Regaining some of his energy once his neck was accidentally let go, Sonic then spin dashed Metal's body in the air not once, not twice, but three times. Yet the doppelganger recovered, and made a threatening beeline towards the one he despised above the rest.

While all this was going on, Lutrudis and Cream were at the controls, and they could see from the increasing amount of holes on the roof that things were getting serious... and that they also just had an idea. With a firm nod from both of them, they quickly looked all over at the controls. It went without saying that neither of them had driven a train before, so to say they were unqualified to drive would be something of an understatement. Luckily however, in this urgent scenario, there was only one thing they needed to do...

“Hold onto me,” Lutrudis said to Cream, which the bunny immediately obeyed, knowing what was about to happen. Lutrudis then called out as audibly as she could to her friends above. “Guys! Quickly! Grab onto the roof!”

Initially fearful as to whether they heard her or not, her doubts were put to rest by Sonic staring straight ahead, his eyebrows raising in realisation, and he soon repeated the equine's words to his teammates. He then planted his chest on the roof and grabbed onto two edges of the nearest holes, which was followed by Amy and Tails doing the same thing.

Metal Sonic, meanwhile, tilted his head, as if he were amused by their sudden action. But he got over it quickly, and slowly raised a claw to tear into Sonic's undefended back...

...that is, before he was abruptly sent flying off the train and out into the open desert at insane speeds, like a twinkle in the distance.

As the train itself grinded to a halt, the three on the roof hadn't quite grasped what just happened. Realising the coast was clear due to both the train stopping and Metal disappearing, they slowly let go of the holes, and looked all around them to make sure they weren't about to get a nasty fakeout from their enemy. As Tails and Amy took a moment to catch themselves, Sonic looked down at Lutrudis and Cream, who both grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry for the jolt,” Lutrudis muttered with a nervous shrug. “You okay up there?”

Sonic, not quite able to speak at the current moment, simply gave a half-dazed thumbs up. Cream couldn't help but giggle to herself at this.

“How much do you think this will cost in repairs?” Tails asked with a hint of dread, as he examined the sorry state of the entire train. Amy let out a shrug of her own, followed by a nervous laugh.

---

After Lutrudis reassured her friends that she would pay for the damages once Eggman’s activities were dealt with (assuming anyone found out about what happened to the train), they took a collective moment to analyse where they actually were now that the train had arrived at its one and only stop... and to say they were experiencing a mild form of culture shock would be accurate.

For although they were still in a desert, with the immense heat and intense sands that came with it, it was not at all like the one they had just been through. Far from the foreboding western cliffs and abandoned shanty towns, the tastes they were witnessing now were undeniably of the eastern variety. Even from afar, the streets were glittering, decked out in majestic blue carpets, and the tallest towers in view were purest white and gold. Townspeople were freely exchanging idle chatter with each other, a far cry from the lonely wilderness they had seen beforehand. And although they had spotted the occasional watering hole prior, here you could find water everywhere, including by the streets themselves. All completely fresh, at that. Shops of all shapes were also inviting their intrigue, beckoning for them to check out their contents.

And for that last detail alone, Amy was instantly smitten.

“Good timing, I think we could all use a drink,” Sonic suggested, fanning himself in the scorching heat.

“This place looks wonderful! Let's have a look around!” Amy bounced merrily, seemingly unaffected by the heat, as she clasped her hands together in excitement. “I love places like this! So full of culture! I wonder what dresses they have here?”

Not necessarily arguing with her insistence, Sonic marched on down to the exotic streets, his team following after. Of course, it didn't take long for them to split up. Cream stayed with Amy, and Lutrudis did the same with Sonic, while Tails went on his own. A grand total of five seconds ensued before Amy dashed inside a clothing shop in an adorably gleeful frenzy, with Cream being considerably more relaxed as she happily followed.

Even Sonic had to laugh at his friend's constant energy. He knew full well that she always had a taste for exquisite fashions.

He turned around, and instantly grew curious as to what Lutrudis was paying close attention to. Upon witnessing, he couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle. By the window, in three rows of ten, were a selection of identical silver necklaces, each of them customized with a different colour of jewel, and a simplistic pattern of the same colour. As far as he could see, Sonic could spot them in ruby, sapphire, emerald, garnet, amethyst... and a bunch more that Tails would probably recognise before him. He was reminded heavily of the Chaos Emeralds he was all too accustomed with... and all the other colorful minerals he had seen in his young life, including his friend's own crystals.

“They look gorgeous, don't they,” Lutrudis muttered dreamily, with adoring eyes. Not that she had any intention to buy any for herself, simply getting the chance to observe their beauty was enough for her. They were probably more deserving for someone else anyway.

“Oh yeah, definitely, they look stunning.” Sonic's eyes went to the sapphire necklace. “Heh, come to think of it, I bet that one would look spiffy on you,” he casually commented, and carried on walking with a carefree smile. Lutrudis looked as if she was caught off guard by his comment, and after a few frozen seconds of taking it in, she shyly fiddled with her ponytail.

As she got ready to follow the Blue Blur however, she immediately paused, and looked back at the necklaces, glancing up at the emerald and garnet ones in particular. She turned her head to Amy, who was far away in complete and utter awe at something else. Her focus turned to Cream, then back to Amy, then back to the necklace selection. Her own smile grew as she rubbed her chin in thought. They're a bit pricy, certainly, but it would be worth it...

Tails was examining a bunch of unique gadgets in a different store. All of them appeared to resemble clockwork animals... or at least he assumed they were meant to be animals, but they still looked pretty eye-catching all the same, even without taking their shiny coat of paint into account.

“Any you fancy?” asked the camel shopkeeper, as he drank his glass of water. He was clearly hoping the young fox would buy even one, not least because it would provide a fair bit of dosh.

“Just passing through,” Tails politely declined. “Where did you get these things, out of interest?”

“Oh ho, they're relics of a bygone era, my friend!” the camel boasted, as he alluded to what may or may not be an elaborate ruse. “The Ancients of Viridonia were very advanced in their time, you see.”

“Right...” The kid seemed unsure about the story’s legitimacy, but he wasn’t going to argue with the man. “Are those... crystals you have, back there?” he questioned, pointing towards the small hill of grey shinies behind the shopkeeper. The casual display of them in a shop was weirdly offputting.

“Oh no, not the genuine article, I'm afraid. They're merely... fantastically sculpted replicas. Definitely didn't pluck them anywhere, no siree.” He crossed his arms and nodded firmly, though his eyes betrayed him by shifting left and right.

“I see... well, see ya!” Tails happily waved farewell as he left the shop. Once he knew the fox was gone, the camel muttered to himself out of annoyance. Getting anyone to buy these gadgets was hard work these days.

Resigned to his job, he took another swig of his glass... then promptly spat the contents back out upon seeing a green robot standing beside him, with a katana right at his throat. Where did he come from...?

“Crystals. Now.”

Meanwhile, Sonic was walking around aimlessly, taking in the environment more than what there was to buy. It was typical that he recalled the Arabian Nights adventure to Lutrudis beforehand, because this scene made him reminisce all over again, to the point where he questioned whether this place or that tale came first. His mind went back to his guide of that world...

Shahra... Another friend he hadn't seen in a long time, but one that he nonetheless hoped was doing well. He knew for certain that she ended up better than she started, with her former partner no longer having any control over her.

The hedgehog frowned, as the memory of Erazor Djinn came flooding back to him. He only had to deal with him once, and he was grateful for that, lest he be continuously confronted by one of the vilest evils he had ever faced. He shivered in disgust at the memory of all that he did, whether it related to Shahra or otherwise, and he could only be thankful that the malevolent spirit was last seen in his lamp, in a pool of magma, never to be released again.

...Unless Eggman found out about him and used one of his lava-resistant machines, but he hoped that wouldn't happen. He's already doing enough as it is with all the mayhem he's sent the hedgehog's way in Viridonia. The last thing he needed right now was for Erazor to come back.

His frown deepened. Speaking of the doctor, his own actions were getting pretty concerning as well. His risks were still growing in scale, and his cruelty was still growing in scope...

“Hey there, blue boy.”

Sonic looked dazed for a moment as his contemplations were interrupted by another voice. He looked all around him to figure out where it came from, only to express surprise as he turned to a familiar face, who was currently relaxing in the shade on a carpet.

“Rouge?” He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here? Where’s your groupies?”

“Oh, they're busy with other things, dearie,” she casually announced, as she took out a small mirror to check her tufts of hair. “So I decided to spend some time over here, my home away from home. I mean, it's partly on business for G.U.N. as well, but that's the great thing about being me, isn't it? You can work and play at the same time.”

Her eyes went to Sonic, who was still kind of shocked to see her on her lonesone. “Why so surprised? With all the treasure around here, surely it'd be more of a shock if I wasn't here.”

“Well, yeah I guess, I just...” He sheepishly looked to the side. “It's been ages since I've seen you on your own.”

“Hmm, has it?” The bat continued adjusting her makeup without a care in the world. “I'm not handcuffed to them, you know. I have my interests, and they have theirs... although Shadow could really do with pursuing more of them.”

“And how has Knuckles been doing? Haven't seen him since the last time we all teamed up.”

“What, am I his caretaker?”

Sonic remained awkwardly silent, not sure what to say in response to the accusation. Rouge let out a light chuckle, and carried on.

“I'm kidding, he's doing fine. He seemed pretty pleased with his latest defense system for the Master Emerald... ~but let's see how long that lasts~”

The hedgehog turned his head slightly, and his suspicions arose. “You're not thinking about nabbing anything in THIS place, are you?”

Rouge mockingly put her fingers to her mouth, as if she were deeply considering it. “Well, who knows? We'll just have to see, won't we? Sure is a good thing I have money, right?”

Sonic paused again to take her words into account, before finally smirking at her joke. With all the tales that go on about her thievery, it made sense that they could be a little exaggerated sometimes.

“Besides,” she added. “Someone else is hard at work with the stealing around here. Believe it or not, but I’ve actually been attempting to track them down... and not just because I’m slightly bothered that they’ve been beating me to the punch.”

“Someone else...?” Sonic thought. Who could she be referring to? Metal Sonic?

As this was going on, Tails and Lutrudis came on over to where Sonic was, and it didn't take long for them to notice who he was chatting with.

“Hey, it’s Rouge!” Tails greeted. His own history with the bat may be something of a complicated and frankly weird one, but he was happy to welcome her regardless. Lutrudis likewise gave a little wave of her own, even though this was her first time meeting her.

“Oh, hey!” Sonic was all too eager to make the necessary introductions. “Rouge, this is Lootru-...Latrue-...Trudy. This is Trudy. Trudy, Rouge.”

“Another playmate of yours, hedgehog?” Rouge raised an eyebrow of her own, followed by another chuckle. She rested her chin on her hand. “My my, where do you get all of them?”

“...Pleased to meet you as well,” Lutrudis replied as she shook her hand. Her body language made it obvious that she wasn't quite sure what to make of Rouge, given the latter's somewhat mixed history, but she was willing to give her a chance, since she was aware that the batgirl had helped her friends out plenty of times before. “Liking what you see around here, I presume?” she asked to strike up friendly conversation, with her hands clasped behind her back.

“Truly,” Rouge answered. Her voice was dripping with bliss. “Believe me, this place is a treasure of its own.”

The horse looked a tad puzzled at her comment, but before she could ask for an explanation, Amy and Cream soon arrived. Both of them appeared to be incredibly overjoyed, and the amount of bags on Amy’s person did not make it a mystery as to why.

“We have GOT to come back here when Eggman's done with! You'll never guess what we found! So many dresses, so many hairpieces, even found a new bowtie for Cheese...!”

The pink hedgehog paused, as she acknowledged Rouge's presence. Her arms lowered a little, and her head shifted slightly away. While not wanting to be rude, she was certainly conflicted about this twist.

“Oh, hey Rouge,” she muttered with a somewhat half-hearted wave. Cream's wave was more enthusiastic by comparison.

“Hey,” Rouge said back. The pink girl's suspicions were not lost on her, but she didn't bother commenting on it.

As if sensing the potential awkwardness of the situation, Sonic quickly changed the subject, as he clapped his hands with much gusto. “Say Rouge, I know you don't normally hang with us, but uh, Eggman's doing his thing again and endangering the planet like always, and we thought maybe you'd like to help us kick him up the butt again for being a maniacal idiot?”

The bat let out an overly dramatic sigh, with a raised leg in the air, as she prepared to stand up and stretch her wings out wide. “Well, if you care that much about my assistance...” She fluttered her eyes at the blue one, to which he just sort of looked in the opposite direction, clearly used to this behaviour. She laughed, even as Amy proceeded to put her hands on her hips in mild annoyance.

“Go on then, I'm game. Might find that thief along the way, and I do love a good thrill, almost as much as I love my precious jewels... Almost.”

With a roll of the eyes, Sonic sped off further into the desert in search of more robots to bust open, with his friends - and Rouge - in pursuit. Seconds after they left, an oryx walked out of the building that Rouge had been resting beside, holding a sizable glass of fresh lemonade. Preparing to serve, he looked down at the carpet she was using, and quickly realised the carpet was now on its own.

His smile turned upside down... until he looked to his left, then to his right. Checking the coast was clear, he started gulping down the lemonade himself.

---

Act 3: The Great Oasis

Lutrudis’ Badnik Logs: Clamer - “Resting by the oasis are these brightly colored clams, who just so happen to conceal a portable cannon. It's a risk to take them on while they have it out, but it's an unavoidable one since you'll merely bounce off their azure exterior otherwise.”

Skorp - “Now this is a vexatious one. They already have a good defense as it is, but not only that, they can sling their pointy tail in your direction, and considering how far it can reach, it's extremely easy to underestimate. I suppose even a maniac can make an effective design twice a day.”

Sandworm - “They're worms, and they come out of the sand... Yes, that's right, yes indeed. They do like to catch you off guard though, but with a keen eye, you can catch their shuffling through the substance.”

Swordsman Pawn - “These purple guards are full of showmanship, but those scimitars prove they can back it up. Their skills are as sharp as their blades, although they do like to goof off if left to their own devices.”

Neo Djinn - “Now the doctor thinks he can improve mythology! Goodness sake... They appear to have some control over the wind, as they can strike you down with lightning, or hit you hard with weaponized gust. Never had a foe like him, huh?”

Floatin' - “I'm not sure if anyone informed the doctor, but these are meant to help save lives. These flotation rings are essentially circular blades, and should you catch them while they're spinning, you might not have anything left to catch with.”

Returning Enemies: Sol

The previous half of the desert may have been sparse in civilisation, but this area more than makes up for it. Life is brimming everywhere in this exquisite landscape, and with the sun up well and high now, the sky is now a subdued mix of pink and cream. It's a more inviting sight than the canyon, so what are you waiting for? Head on down to the Arabian... Days!

In town, you'll find rooftops to climb, and just as many marketplaces to vandalise to your gamer's content. Indeed, you actually can interact with several of the fruits on the market, to the point where it's possible to use them as projectiles against Eggman's robots, just like in the Tricky Tropics. Though I imagine the dealers won't be too pleased that you’re messing around with their fruit like it's no big deal...

“Could you, uh, stop that please?”

“Hey, that's not yours!”

“How am I supposed to ship these to Sapphire Tundra if you're spreading them all around on the sand!?”

“I don't care if it's for 'hero business', the least you could do is PAY for it.”

The snazzy carpets won't be the only drop of blue you'll be seeing around here, for even in the center of town, there's a reason why this is known as the Great Oasis. Small river trails can be found along the perimeters, large fountains can be found aplenty, and specialised domed houses even come with minature waterfalls. Even within the bazaars, there are plenty of blue roofs and patterns along the walls, though if you take a closer look, you can see more specific patterns involving anthropomorphic creatures, with claws outstretched.

First there were the carvings in the Gleaming Meadows... then the carvings inside the mines of Zephyr Valley... now we have these patterns right here. What's the full story? It pertains to the Ethereal Zone, that much is obvious, but to what extent...

Anyway, if you think the streets have got more than enough aquatic brilliance, wait until you see the oasis itself. Bright green grassy patches surround the round lakes of healthy water, and the palm trees remain arched, as if to pay respect to the tranquility of this land... either that, or the coconuts they hold are really heavy. Marble pillars are free to traverse and knock over, and you can also find plenty of statues and monuments, which remain magnificent in scale despite the expected rust collected over the decades. These statues seem to resemble... something reptilian possibly, but it's hard to make out for definite...

Ironically, despite all this water, there's barely any underwater sections, although it is possible to have a swim for some Lightning Shields and other goodies. Or maybe you just want to admire the scene, as when you're underwater, everything has a turquoise sheen, and the schools of fish you can find come in many a healthy colour. Watch out for the Clamers though, they can hide under the water just as they can by the side of it.

And remember, Tails is more suited for swimming than Sonic, since he has the distinct advantage of actually being able to swim. Though like always, it's far from impossible to explore under the blue as Sonic anyway.

Out of all the enemies here, the Skorps and Neo Djinns will be those ones, if you know what I’m saying. Skorps need no introduction or explanation, and I regret to inform you that the 3D plane has done absolutely nothing to diminish the obnoxiousness of their fiendish strategy. As for the Djinns, because they can attack in more than one way with their wind magic, it means they can attack you directly AND push you into other hazards. Doesn't help that they like to hang around with the faithfully stereotypical Swordsman Pawns.

When you reach a particularly large river, a cruise ship will be bobbing along it, known to all as the SS Sandline. It wouldn't be out here if it was meant to be ignored, would it? Hop aboard the cruiser, and pay no mind to the folks on board who are no doubt perplexed as to where you arrived from, and why you're here.

“Is that Sonic the Hedgehog? I thought he wasn't good with water...”

“Who cares about that? Get me his autograph, pronto!”

“Did he get in for free? I had to pay an extra 50...”

They'll have to wait for their autographs, because we're too busy avoiding the pack of Floatin' that managed to find their way on board without anyone noticing. They blend in by hanging on the walls outside, but their colours make them easy to spot in spite of that. As for inside the Sandline, there's not much that will kill you, but you're welcome to spin around the roulette tables, go for a splash in the jacuzzi, and swing along the chandeliers. Contrary to what your gut is telling you, they won't fall off, though they can go a bit wild with their directions if you swing on them for longer then necessary, so best to not spend too much time on them in any case.

The end of the cruiser is characterised by the use of a jacuzzi fountain, which will send you soarin' through the cloudless air like a free bird. During which, you're treated to yet another gorgeous view of the sky and the dunes alike.

Cream: It's so pretty out here!

Sonic: *pulls out a camera* Heh, this would make for a great group photo! Lean in, everyone!

Amy: What? Up here!?

Tails: Seriously?

Lutrudis: I hope my anxiety isn't showing...

Rouge: Be sure to get my good side, please.

The end of this stage is represented by a considerably emptier segment of sand, with little water to be found. This will last for a small while, with seemingly no progress made... but eventually, from a distance, you will start to spot some pools containing another liquid entirely. A black liquid, to be precise.

And along with that, a peculiar cavern system that appears to be part stone, part machinery, with a spider web’s worth of pipes poking in and out. Wanna bet our rotund arch-fiend has a hand in this?

---

Act 4: Petroleum Province

Lutrudis’ Badnik Logs: Tunnelbot - “This machine was present during the regrettable destruction of Angel Island's ruins, wasn't it? Well, there's a bunch of them now, and they're equally as fond of using the rubble against you, alongside their twin hydraulics.”

Flybot 767 - “See those alarms on the ground? Please make an effort to not set them off, for if you do, you'll get a small handful of these divebombing fowl on your tail... Although, maybe we SHOULD set the alarms off, since that way we can bust them open and get their living batteries out...? I'd hate to leave those adorable critters inside their robotic cages...”

Spitlick - “I think this is based on the gila monster, but you never know half the time with these do-no-gooders. Pure venom in design and demeanour, they'll happily lob a blob of it straight from their mouths... Why doesn’t it melt them...?”

Motor Pawn - “Using their hot new rides, these red daredevils leave a brief trail of fire wherever their wheels take them. Almost makes up for their tacky leather jackets.”

Rock Golem - “What the... This isn't a robot at all! It's a creature made entirety out of arid stone! It doesn't appear to be sentient, yet it follows the doctor's commands... How...?”

Sand Demon - “This isn't a robot either! These... entities seem to emerge from the desert itself, with the desire to provide you a sandy burial. What on earth is going on here...?”

Returning Enemies: Sol Bomber Skorp Neo Djinn

Another immediate segue into the next act, and no surprise that Lutrudis has her bandana over her face for this one.

Eggman is no stranger to oil profiteering - after all, he's got an ocean of it to his name - but this facility is more complicated not just in design, but also in navigation. Sure, you have your expected pipes and catwalks, even sharing an identical purple and green colour scheme, but since this place goes in and out like a rollercoaster, it can be easy to get lost. Not only that, but quicksand has returned, this time a murky brown, so you'll have to avoid that along with the black pits of oil you see all around. Note that it's still very much possible to prevent yourself from sinking in either of them by constantly jumping, though in the case of quicksand, you'll have to be that extra bit faster.

Oil Ocean is not the only Eggman compound you'll be reminded of in this level. There are also gimmicks and even visual references based on the infamous Launch Base, which largely include its twisty tubes, its yellow and semi-arabic structures, and those irksome Flybot 767 models. Don't be fooled into thinking this is merely Oil Base however (Launch Ocean?), for despite the resemblance to both past zones, there's some original flair to be found as well. Not so much on the outside perhaps, but on the inside?

The interior sections are where this place gets very intriguing. You've got your hollowed out tunnels, your cavern railways, your palace hallways... hang on, palace hallways? For whatever reason, Eggman has decorated the inside as though it were an actual middle eastern palace, complete with golden elephant statues, cobra-shaped pillars, and exotic chambers. Why has he done this? Come on, you know the answer to that. Why does Eggman do anything?

Unsurprisingly, Neo Djinns can be found in heavy abundance in these areas, and while they don't hang around other robots as much in this stage, they instead hang around with other Neo Djinns. Try not to get caught inbetween their wind elemental antics, or else you could end up being the unwitting ball in a game of wind tennis.

Tunnelbots will also be all too happy to welcome you, by drilling the roofs above, in the hopes that the resulting debris will knock you clean out. As for outside, you'll have cylindrical, armored trains to deal with. It’s evident that their purpose is to transport the oil to wherever and whatever Eggman needs it for, so we might as well smash them up to reduce the amount by at least a little bit, although try not to get splashed by oil in the process. It won't kill you, but it'll make your movements rather sluggish for a brief period of time. Shouldn't it be seriously unhealthy for our heroes though? Shhhh, Sonic doesn't care about it, and neither should you.

Their cleanliness, on the other hand...

Sonic: Trudy's got a shower in her castle, right?

Tails: I hope so, this oil is kind of hard to get off.

Amy: This better not stain my dress too much...

Rouge: A high quality bath is in order, I reckon.

Cream: I think the Chao would appreciate being clean again too...

Lutrudis: It's unsanitary, but if it means putting a stop to the doctor's doings, then I'm willing to trudge through... And yes, I do have a shower.

Sonic: Whew, what a relief!

Lutrudis: *giggles* Surely you wouldn't seriously think I'd lack one?

Sonic: Well, no, but...

It's at this point that the Badniks will start using the oil against you. The fireball-toting Sols will use an old strategy of theirs by dropping their fireballs above their respective pool of oil, thereby setting the whole pool aflame, and Bombers will set off explosives that unleash unstable geysers of oil, which you can spot early on by paying attention to the cracks in the hard sand. If all this wasn’t enough, Motor Pawns love to leave their blazing trails near oil.

But as Lutrudis acknowledged in her Badnik Logs, some of our enemies here aren't Badniks at all. Or at least, not your typical Badniks. The jaguar-esque Rock Golems and snake-like Sand Demons are equally common here, and both of them will cause an extraordinary amount of trouble for you if you're not careful. Of the two, Sand Demons are the greater evil, since their tendency to hide in the sand itself makes them harder to spot before it's potentially too late. The Rock Golems are more straightforward, and will settle for pouncing on you with all their rock hard weight, but since they're big boys, it can still be somewhat hard to avoid them.

If you're not too preoccupied with them, you might spot an Egg Robo perched atop a single catwalk, paying close attention to your progress. Rouge recognises him right away... and so do you.

Rouge: There he is! There's the REAL thief you're looking for!

Sonic: Ugh, not THIS guy...

Shinobi: Hello.

After a polite wave, he'll then disappear as if he turned invisible... then he'll reappear on top of a different catwalk, as if he came out of thin air. A new trick in his ninja guidebook, from the looks of it. If Espio were with us, he might be impressed. For now, you'll have to chase down the lime green Hard-Boiled Heavy for a bit. Don't panic, it's not a true chase, there's no timer or anything. You just need to not die while you're following him. You can do that, right? Although with the increased amount of deserty beasts and oil fires, you'd be forgiven for kicking the bucket once or twice. (Three times is pushing it.)

Once you seemingly have Shinobi cornered, you know in your heart that he won't be going down without a fight. And that's very much true...

Shinobi: You, all pests. Interceptors will be vanquished. Observe, and despair. The guardian... shall rise.

...only, it's not him we'll be fighting today, as he mysteriously waves a single hand in the air, rhythmically. Puzzled at first, our heroes aren't sure what to make of it... until it becomes apparent that it's some sort of enchanting hullabaloo, and before even Sonic can react quickly enough to interrupt his routine, he's successfully summoned something real bad. REAL bad.

How bad, dare you ask? Out of the desert pit below erupts a tower of sand, chiseled into a muscled physique, and we see its full appearance in all its terrifying glory: a grimacing, multi-armed, weapon-wielding... thing. Is it a monster? A robot? A statue? It really doesn't matter for the time being, because all we're focused on is putting it back to sleep.

Amy: What the heck is THAT?

Rouge: You're asking me!

Sonic: Come down and face me like a true Eggman robot, ninja man!

Shinobi: No. Important matters to attend to. Your opponent lies here, today. Let battle, commence.

BOSS: Desert Goliath

And with that, Shinobi has left the scene as quickly as he was introduced. The disappointment is understandable, but don't worry, we'll see him again one day, and we’ll be ready. For now, we'll have to focus our attention on... this lovely fellow.

A desert-themed boss in the middle of a circular ring arena. This feels familiar, doesn't it? But since this guy has four arms, each with a weapon in hand, you'll have more on your plate here. And on top of that, each arm has a different weapon. Those weapons being: a scimitar, a cannon, a clawed clamp, and a morning star. The good news is that Rouge will frequently drop rings from the air to help you out. The bad news is everything else.

You can guess how each of the Desert Goliath's arms will operate here. When he uses the scimitar arm, he'll slash at the arena, creating two fiery shockwaves from both sides that you must leap over. With the cannon arm, he'll aim at three different areas and launch balls of green plasma energy. This is probably the hardest weapon to avoid due to how fast he is with it, and how fast he turns around, but you'll know where he'll fire away because there's a brief pause before he does it. Should he use the clawed clamp, he'll reel back the appropriate arm for a few seconds... then IMMEDIATELY make a grab for your character. Finally, with the morning star, he'll put the unique strategies aside and simply attempt to crush you into dust with it, a total of five times to be exact.

So what's our strategy then? It's not like there's a giant button on his head. No, there isn't, but there is a way. It'll require a few steps... and it'll also require good ol' Miss Hadeer to whip out her bow again. This time however, it's not the yellow crystals she'll be using... It's the blue ones.

First, notice that the arena includes six metal pillars, each of them sporting a circular pattern that just so happens to resemble a bullseye mark. When the Goliath uses the cannon arm, you'll want him to aim at one of these barriers so that the plasma will come right back at him. As expected, this alone will not hurt him, but it will temporarily paralyze him... and grotesquely, his chest will ever so slightly open, revealing a stone structure within that looks a lot like a heart. That's your cue to go, Trudy!

Lutrudis: Here I go! Time to... chill out!

With a launch from her bow, an ice crystal-imbued arrow will be fired straight at the monster's chest. She might miss on the rare occasion, but not as much as she would miss in previous boss battles, for her aiming is still improving even more as she grows used to the heat of battle. This will freeze the Goliath's “heart”, thereby immobolizing the entire beast even further through the power of video game logic. Well, it worked with Chaos aboard the Egg Carrier back in the day, didn't it? Waste no further time and strike that chest while its stone organ is encased in ice. You'll be rewarded with a pained scream from the titan, and the match will resume.

But that's not all there is to it, is there? Ha ha, you're getting savvy about this, aren't you. Sure enough, he'll predictably get more aggressive with each hit, he'll increase the amount of plasma shots, the amount of morning star slams, he'll get a bit faster each time... But then, after the third hit, he'll suddenly and jarringly change tactics completely, a fact that he makes apparent by sending all of you flying far away from the original arena. The Chao staying safe in Cream's bag are rather shaken by this.

Chao: Chaoooo!!!

Cream: Hold on, little guys!

Sonic: Jeez, this big lug needs a chill pill... and we've already given him three!

You land on your derriere on an open terrain, and after some rumbling in the sand, the Goliath will rise once more, letting out a furious roar despite not a single muscle moving on its stony, frowny face. Now he'll try combining the powers that his arms bestow upon him, often using the clamp to throw you onto the ground before slamming you with the morning star right after, or using sword slashes and plasma shots in unison.

And it's only getting from bad to worse, because a fifth arm comes bursting out of his back. Unlike the initial four arms, it doesn't resemble an arm at all, but rather a horribly mutated scorpion tail. This tail will be the absolute bane of your existence if you don't stay on guard, because it comes with a special kind of poison that - should you be unlucky enough to experience the full injection - will slow you down to 2006 speeds for a whole fifteen seconds. Not pleasant, to put it nicely.

You could use a little leeway here, couldn’t you? Well never fear, Rouge is on the job. You'll have to wait and avoid the Goliath's attacks for a while, but soon enough, using her bat expertise, she'll belt out a couple of sonar waves to distract the beast. It won't distract him fully, since he's got multiple arms to spare and all, but two of his arms will be swinging away at Rouge, leaving you with the other three to deal with. Which three arms remain your own problem is randomized each time, so cross your fingers that the scorpion tail isn't one of them. Since he's stretching out his body between you and Rouge, his chest will keep opening again without him noticing. Lutrudis doesn't even need to use her ice crystals now, since its rocky heart is already weakened and sensitive from all the prior freezing. Quickly bash it with all your might whenever the chest opens, and keep away from him at all other times. He'll get angrier and angrier, and predictably faster in the process, but you'll manage.

Three more times, and with a final ear-piercing scream, the titan will fall, crumble, and clutch the ground as he slowly sinks back into the sand. Looks like Shinobi's pet needed some extra lessons.

---

“So what was up with that thing?” Tails asked to the group, as they all took time to gather themselves after the confrontation. The fox's heartbeat was still thumping. “I don't remember the Heavies being able to do THAT.”

“I don't remember ANY of Eggman's junk being able to do that,” Amy added, still out of breath herself, resting on a stone wall nearby. “First a giant airship that can control storms, and now this... This is just getting crazier and crazier!”

“On top of sending Metal Sonic and the Heavies all after us... and that Wraith thing,” Sonic thought to himself, with a clenched fist. He didn't look pleased about their growing power. “It's like the Phantom Ruby... but it’s all real. And those bolt brains were bad enough already.”

“Maybe that Mr. Robot was using crystal power too?” Cream suggested. In all fairness, there was no reason to doubt it. The Chao poking out of her bag were at least relieved that the giant sand abomination was gone. Cheese, meanwhile, was hiding behind the rabbit's ear, still unsure as to whether or not the sand abomination really was gone.

“We can't afford to let them obtain too many,” Lutrudis firmly stated, after she caught her own breath with her hands on her legs. “As powerful as they are, an individual crystal isn't enough to summon a giant raging sand fiend, and I also suspect a single one cannot command the weather like it's nothing, though at least the latter seems to have limited range for now...” She briefly paused to fan herself. “We know the crystals can stack up or combine their abilities if used together, and it's possible that the more they have on them, the closer they are to getting a taste of the Ethereal Zone's true potential...”

The horse's eyes widened subtly, as another undesirable thought came to her. “And the only crystals we saw around here were grey crystals... the less potent ones. Yet they were able to power up Metal Sonic greatly. If they got their grubby mitts on colored crystals, and started stacking them up... mixed with Eggman's unique imagination... we cannot let that happen.”

“Funny you mention that,” Rouge raised a playful finger, with her other hand on her hip. “As it just so happens, I've gathered a few reports of what I've learned about them while I’ve been visiting.”

“Reports? For G.U.N?” Sonic questioned with much suspicion, as he placed both hands on his own hips. “For what reason?”

"Oh, you know, safety of the population, yadda yadda,” the spy replied, as if it were basic knowledge. She soon frowned at Sonic's tone. “Unless you expected something else?”

“Well, I wouldn't put it past them to have shadier motives...”

“They're not the same as they were back then.”

“They DID go after me like a bunch of crazies,” the hedgehog muttered with great distaste, eyes closed. “I still can't believe they mistook me for Shadow.”

“Look, they didn't actually mistake you for-”

“Don't care.”

A brief moment of silence ensued. Tails and Amy weren't sure how to address Sonic's lingering thoughts about the G.U.N. ordeal, and Cream barely knew anything about them anyway. At the same time, Rouge knew the hedgehog well enough to know deep down that he probably wasn't going to be convinced otherwise about the current state of the infamous military organization for the time being. And true, she couldn't exactly blame Sonic for feeling that way, but...

Lutrudis' eyes switched to and fro between Sonic and Rouge. With a deliberate clearing of the throat, she decided to break up the tension. “Well, if Miss Rouge is okay with the idea, how about we go back to my place and go over her reports there? We're a lot closer to my area now, thankfully.” She gently nudged Sonic with a wink and a cheeky smile, to lighten the mood. “You can finally get that shower you wanted.”

“Oh, sure!” Sonic perked up in an instant, and rubbed his hands in childlike glee. “I can't WAIT to be clean again!”

“The Chao could do with some breathing space too, I guess,” Amy motioned towards Cream's bag full of them poking out. The desert heat was doing a number on them. “They've been in there for a while now, poor things.”

“Fine with me,” Rouge agreed, with a casual shrug. “And don't worry, I won't take anything... important.” Another smirk couldn't help but manifest on her lips, as she glanced to her side at Sonic. "Lover boy has provided much entertainment already.”

“Whuzzat?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh, before I forget,” Lutrudis switched her perspective to Amy, as they began marching back home, with the green one in front to lead them the way. “They might be a little messy thanks to the oil hijinks, but I found something for you while we were in town.” She looked down at Cream, who was nuzzling up against the horse. “You as well.”

“Ooooooh...?” Cream beamed brightly.

“Ooooooh...?” Cheese repeated.

Amy's intrigue was also clearly piqued. She smiled humbly at her friend's generosity. "You shouldn't have, really. But what is it?”

“You'll see,” Lutrudis smiled in return, and playfully winked, with a tap of the finger on her own forehead. “Just, uh, might want to clean them off first when we get back.”

---

In the middle of the barren desert, Heavy Shinobi appeared out of thin air once again. The round ninja glanced at the beautiful sight around him, yet its luster did not appear to enrapture him, so much as it was merely given acknowledgement.

As he stood on his own - or seemingly on his own - a mechanical claw came bursting out of the sand, followed by an identical claw. As they scrambled through the sand, creating a round pit in the process, the ominous figure of Metal Sonic slowly raised from the pit. He stared directly ahead, in the same direction the ninja was facing. His fate had left him visibly banged up, but he didn't seem to notice... or more likely, he just didn't care. Not when that accursed copy was on his mind, as it always, always was. He continued staring straight ahead, his body tensing up, with cold, bitter hatred coursing through his circuitry. He was down, but as long as the fake was out there, he would never be out.

Shinobi turned to Metal Sonic. He shared the latter's silence. With how stiff his own body language was, it was unclear as to what exactly his thoughts were on the robotic hedgehog... If he had any particular thoughts, they would have to be saved for later, as a third presence revealed itself.

“Well?”

Metal and Shinobi both looked up to see their master hover down in his famous hovercraft. Despite cleary knowing from Metal's dented state that Sonic and his friends were still alive and at large, Eggman's shining optimism shared throughout his Viridonian operations remained consistent even now...

“Crystals have been obtained,” Shinobi explained, as his scarf swayed seamlessly in the hot wind. “Weak crystals, but plenty. They are yours.”

“Greeeeaaaatttt,” Eggman replied in a jolly sing-song tone of voice, his grin refusing to falter even once. He turned to Metal, not fazed in the least by the latter's defeat. “Roughed up my boy, did they? Well don’t be glum, we'll get you into shape for Round 2 very soon. Perhaps you're in need of some practice with those crystals of ours... and we've got plenty of them now. They may have messed up my lovely refinery too from the looks of it, but there's no time to worry about such smalltime matters.”

He opened his arms at the sun, confident as ever. “The sun is shining on me, gentlemen. And it shall remain that way.”

“In addition,” Shinobi spoke up. “He has footage.”

“Footage...?”

He nodded his head towards Metal for confirmation, and without a word, the droid looked down at his chest. After a few seconds of charging up, it released another beam of light, a completely harmless beam this time around. Within Eggman's line of sight, a rectangle was formed from the light, creating the illusion of a screen. Said illusion became even moreso, when it began to play the promised footage... the footage that Metal recorded aboard the train... It didn’t take long to catch his interest... all of his interest... He leaned slightly back, and crossed his arms, as he kept watching.

“You came along? And made everything all better?”

“You bet I did! Sent that genie packing, literally! I beat him, humiliated him, sent him back in his lamp, never to be seen again. So the story could continue living, without his interference!”

“You sure are a paragon to the people, aren’t you... a ray of light to everyone you meet...”

“The tale that he mentions... could be of use,” Shinobi mused.

Eggman didn’t respond, despite the promising offer. While the talk about great and powerful genies may have caught his interest on any other day, his attention today was already taken...

“So... you're just gonna believe all of that? Just taking my story about going inside a book at face value? For all you know, I could have made it all up.”

“It could be worth looking into, sir,” the green robot mentioned again, though deep down, he had already subconsciously acknowledged that the doctor was completely uninterested. He did not give a single rudimentary thought to that aspect of the footage. He was captivated by something else entirely.

“It's hardly beyond your capacity, is it? You're like another world all on your own, in a strange sort of way... a world of majesty, and wonder...”

Eggman kept watching. His goggles were glued to the screen, as if it was of utmost urgency. Even after the footage ended, and the screen provided by Metal Sonic faded away, the scientist stayed perfectly still, taking a few precious seconds to contemplate exactly what he just witnessed. Because even though it was, by all accounts, a mundane conversation between two of his enemies...

“...Something's up,” he finally stated.

Shinobi turned his head to Metal, in what could be interpreted as puzzlement. When the blue robot predictably gave no verbal response, the Heavy returned his gaze to Eggman.

“I thought this was business as usual,” the doctor started, with his usual compulsive gesticulating. “Another pig to the stew. Fiery cats, telekinetic hedgehogs, chocolate-obsessed dog-imp... thingymajigs, now posh horses. Sure, why not. They overfilled ages ago, what difference is one more at this point? More for me to put down.”

He quickly sneered. “But there's a... look he shares with this one. I've seen that look. I see myself in the mirror every morning, I KNOW that look. And let me tell you, this is not like him at all...”

His Egg Mobile slowly turned 90 degrees to the left. The scientist rubbed the side of his head, as if he was still taking in his newfound information. And yet, he looked oddly invested, maybe even... excited...?

“Could it really be...” he continued, practically muttering to himself, as if there was no point to his two accomplices being there. “Never in my wildest predictions did I expect him to...”

“His habits do not differ to me,” Shinobi commented, as if to question what the doctor was getting at.

“No, not externally,” Eggman emphasized, as he leaned over with a clenched fist. “He ACTS the same as always, yes. Same stupid face, same stupid swagger, same stupid everything. ‘Hi, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, please punch me in the face’. It's all the same... But it goes deeper than that. It's the little things, the details that the average joe wouldn't notice... But I'm not your average joe, and when I see that stupid smile curve a tiny bit differently, when I see his eyes grow ever so slightly, when I hear his cocky swagger grow lesser, even a tiny modicum... I don’t write it off as nothing.”

“Your initiative, sir?” the Heavy requested, as he slowly pulled out his frosty katana. His subsequent tapping of it against the palm of his hand made it not too subtle that he already had an idea in mind himself. “Suggestions on what to do?”

“Oh, we won't DO anything, not yet,” the doctor firmly answered, though the smug glee in his voice made it perfectly apparent that this was not in any way a benevolent decision. “We'll carry on as normal for now, and we'll let this little panto continue on for a while longer... see if my theory has merit. I've got a new surprise party to deploy, and that's plenty of time for you to brush up on those crystals, isn't it Metal?”

As still as a statue otherwise, Metal Sonic responded by projecting a miniature illusion of the organic Sonic into his own hand... before crushing the illusion slowly, digging his sharpened digits into it with violent intimacy, until it faded out of existence. He stared up at his creator the entire time, and although his expression remained the same, as it always did, his body subtly shivered, as if he were eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to brutalize the alleged copy.

Eggman's Mobile spun around clockwise in a perfect 180, as he continued to bask in his new revelation. The sunlight reflected in his goggles, making them appear pure white.

“And if it IS true - and it will be, because I'm never wrong - then oh... oh ho ho... this is gonna be sweet...”

A chilling laugh echoed throughout the desert.

---

Back to Chapter 5...

To Chapter 6-7 Interlude...

#Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars #Crusher's Fanfiction #Sonic the Hedgehog #Fanfiction

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