#(acid damage specifically - non graphic mention)

[tamedstray]

Vigor couldn't forget. Their journey moved forward, but he still found himself drawn back to that night in the cabin everytime he looked at Sirius. He tried not to keep too close an eye on him, least he feel watched, but what he'd seen had shaken him. Even though Sirius seemed safe, keeping himself close to the other companions and with no sign of any fresh injuries, Vigor knew there was still trouble hidden beneath a calm surface. He wanted desperately to talk about it, and maybe tell the others, in case the tiefling had another episode; safety was more important than privacy, and having not spoken with him about that night only made Vigor worry more.

      His gaze lingers, before heavy eyes dart away. Nothing had been simple since the crash, and Sirius was just one person he worried about. Still, what he said that night made his blood run cold. Vigor decides to retire to his tent, having kept his vigil on the others all day and now in dire need of respite.

      His tent is humble, just big enough for him to sleep in with books and a lantern by his pillow, along with a few extra blankets that he hoped to expand into a collection. However, on the potion station just outside his tent, Vigor spots a curious parcel perched upon his desk. He examines it, noting its size, or any clues at to who might have left it there. Wrapped in brown parchment and string and smaller than a book. A trinket, perhaps? Maybe some leftover food, or potion ingredients. He approaches it carefully, but notes nothing strange about it. He pulls the string and the parchment unfurls into black smoke as writhing tentacles pour out of the void within.

      In an instant, Vigor is engulfed in darkness. Blinded and freezing, ensnared in a vortex of dark whispering voices. He tries to escape, blindly moving in any direction but his leg is caught in a tightening vice that writhes up his thigh and burns into his flesh as he struggles against it. The darkness is boundless and Vigor can't hear his friends amongst the whispering voices. Though one voice in particular calls out to him, familiar and inviting. ❝I've missed you, brother. Why don't you visit anymore? I'll see you soon.❞

Closed starter for @musezieren

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing: November 19th - 25th

Greetings Fandom!

Tons of great stuff for you to check out this week, make sure you leave the creators some love!

AO3 DID act up some this week when I was working on the update, so please don’t hesitate to speak up if something is missing!  I’m more than happy to revise the list, and I promise it wasn’t intentional!

Don’t forget to submit or tag us in all your neat stuff guys!  It really helps compile the update every week!

Keep up the great work!

-Mod CB

Below the cut!

Fanfiction:

(please take note of any warnings within the fics themselves, do not rely on this list as exhaustive)

@amberlyinviolet​, @yourbloodlikewine​

In This Light, Chapter 10

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12386715/chapters/29284572

Duo x OC, Trowa x OC, Solo x OC. AU, child abuse mention, Sexual Assault Mention, homophobic parents, Re-Written Characters, Drug Use, Violence, off screen murder

Duo spent the last semester working in his older brother's coffee shop. He's resigned himself to a boring spring when a stranger appears, shaking up his entire life.Eli left home last fall, choosing to spend the last six months living out of his van on his travels from the Midwest to the East Coast. By the time he arrives at Ink's, the novelty of traveling alone has started to wear off. Still, the last thing he's expecting is to meet someone who's going to change all that for him

@anaranesindanarie​

Magic, Mortals, and Gundam Gods, Chapter 3

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12667185/chapters/29141973

Pairings to be decided

Magic, Gods, Poachers, AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- Gundam Wing, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe- Avatars

In the legends of the Five Gods, it is said that the second God, Deathscythe, was very protective of the other four and would do anything to keep them alive. He would fight entire wars, taking hit after hit until he couldn’t anymore, until he used every drop of magic that he had to keep them safe. He would fade away and the others would follow. Their magic would then find its way to those it deemed worthy and the cycle would start again. And now… The Five Gods have been reborn into a world full of magic and war.

Unnatural November submission

Awareness_bringer

Odin Lowe Junior

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12815355

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, challenge story

The boy who would've been called Heero Yuy is found by OZ. How will he move forward in such an enviroment? You decide. Challenge story.

@chronicwhimsy

Spirits

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12769878

2x5

Unnatural November submission, ghost story, gift fic for @thelaughingstar​

Everyone knows about Duo's ghosts. He collects them. But when he collects them, they feel lighter somehow.Some ghosts stay longer than others.

Darkpanthress

No Other Way

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8219920/1/No-Other-Way

There have been a lot of clichéd stories. This is picking some clichés and just dumping them into a new version of the story. Heero needs an out from a difficult situation with Relena, and the out seems to be a fake engagement!

@duointherain​

Blood on the Brain, Chapter 2

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12756882/chapters/29131014

1x2

It's wartime. Duo and Heero have just gotten together and Heero goes off on a mission that doesn't go well. Relena manages to message Duo, asking him to help Heero. Combat and medical intervention ensue.

Not Quite Single, Chapter 4

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12786444/chapters/29230788

GW x Captain America crossover

1x2, Steve x Bucky, graphic descriptions of violence

It's nearly a hundred years after the wars. Tech has kept all the boys healthy and young. While on a salvage mission, Duo recovers Steve Rogers. James Barnes has been Heero's colleague for over twenty years. There are a lot of misunderstandings. The fork in chapter two made me laugh. :)

@gw-ficrecfriday​

Double or Nothing

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12806889

4xD, old fic, not quite explicit

Games are played to be won, not lost. (Quatre, Dorothy, and...sexy chess?)

Jonginwankenobi

Amour et Boules de Neiges

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12717364/1/Amour-et-Boules-de-Neiges

En vacances dans les Alpes françaises, Heero et sa soeur Kari vont faire une rencontre qu'ils ne seront pas prêts d'oublier. UA publication hebdomadaire

@kangofu-cb

Don’t You Know, Chapter 1

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12821766/chapters/29271852

2x5, background 1x3, fluff, cop drama, FBI agents, angsty backstory but the fic is fluff, AU - Modern Setting

Cop!Duo meets SpecialAgent!Wufei in this fluffy rom-com.

Birthday fic for @chronicwhimsy​

East of Eden, Chapter 5

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12591796/chapters/29188620

2x4x5, background 1x3, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Fae & Fairies, Vampires, Were-Creatures, Blood and Violence, Sex, Magic, Angst, Death, Canon-Typical Violence

Wufei needs help to save his clan from a mysterious enemy. He leaves, looking for help from a near-mythical figure: The God of Death. He may, however, get more than he bargained for...

Lil1337

Gundam Wing Month 2017, Chapter 25

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12599464/chapters/29279403

Multiple pairings and settings - please note chapter headings for specific relationships and tags

A collection of drabbles and short fics posted one a day for the month of November in celebration of Gundam Wing Month.

LittleMouse

Warcraft, Chapter 5

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12429339/chapters/29254980

AU, fantasy

Alternate Fantasy World - A world where people have ‘Talents’ that allow them to control certain elements. Different Talents can ‘Join’ to become a specific entity - some can heal, some can repair damage to land and buildings, some are weapons. The Talents you ‘Join’ with are called your Others. The perfect Joining is of five separate Talents. One lonely Fire Talent far to the North has given up waiting for his Others - good thing they haven’t stopped looking for him.

What Dreams May Come, Chapter 2

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12772926/chapters/29254422

2x5, 1x3x4, flashback, non-con touching, violence, threesome

This is a sequel to ‘Perchance to Dream’, and I suggest reading it first. Otherwise, some things won’t make sense. Wufei and Duo are dealing with the effects of their last mission together, the oddity of a new relationship, and the threat that the war will separate them any minute.

Maldoror_Chant

Freeport, Chapter 11

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12654255/chapters/29222340

2x5. long ass fic ahoy, socio-politics, with violence and hot guys, Blood and Violence, no EW, Slow Burn, Case Fic

Freeport colony: a notorious den of pirates, smugglers and thieves. Wufei persuades one of its denizens, his one-time ally Duo, to help him catch a killer hiding there. Agent Chang thinks he knows what to expect from this case, from Freeport and from Duo Maxwell. He couldn't be more wrong.

The Source of all Things, Chapter 12

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12121344/chapters/29139225

3x4, eventual 2x5, eventual 1x2x5. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Plot Twists, fairly graphic depiction of sex, Mild description of self-harm, Mathematical Magic, weird science, crones - Freeform, Magic and Technology brawling and eventually screwing, Eventual Threesome, Kinda, Insanity of arcane origin, The universe is a pile of marbles and other dubious allegories

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12771627/chapters/29140038

1x2, fluff and humor, post canon, slightly stalkerish Relena, get together

Duo was well placed to know that Heero was a deadly cold hard-ass ex-terrorist with an attitude, so really, how hard could it be to have a girl not fall for the prickly bastard?Answer: Pretty damn difficult, actually.

@noirangetrois​

Of the Sea

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12749670/chapters/29199138

1x2, 4xC, Aro!Trowa, otp, Yaoi, Eventual Smut, fairytale my way, mermaid!au, Meroctopus!Dorothy

Heero Yuy will soon be reaching the age of majority, at which time he will ascend the throne of Wingaria. Before such time, he must needs choose a bride. But what if there are no good choices? What if someone else has captured his heart?

@remsyk-blog​

Queen’s Pleasure

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12823785

2x5xR, Smut, to the nth degree, Threesome, PWP, NSFW, This relationship tag doesn't exist, Bossy!Relena, Car Sex, Technically Limo

Charity balls have a way of pushing Relena to her limits. Luckily, she has her soldiers to help her unwind, and whatever the Queen wants, the Queen gets.

Signifying_nothing

A Room in Luxembourg

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12788985

OT5

soft, introspective duo, Post Warcoming home, wound mentions, Acid Burns, Scalping, Disabled Character (not sure that really applies but just in case)

Let it never be said that Duo Maxwell did not understand tragedy.  His entire fucking life had been a tragedy, thank you very much: could have been written by the Willy Shakes himself. Boy is an orphan, boy is taken in by a church, boy is brought back to the church several times, boy tries to save church only to have church blown up by The Man, boy becomes vigilante God of Death, et fin.

Sinspiration

Not Just a Vacation, Chapter 6

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11512800/chapters/29262546

5xOC, 1x2, 1x2x5, Threesome - M/M/M, Sexual Assault, that's the OMC part, Slow Burn, the embryonic stages of a relationship, this is being unburied and reposted, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Heero Yuy

Duo and Heero have to go undercover at a private high school to get close to the son of Archie Bravewater, a man who might have major ties to an underground slave-ring the Preventors have been trying to destroy for months.They're expecting Trowa to be their third and back-up reserve. But something comes up in Australia that he can't leave. They get Wufei instead.During the course of the mission the three not only navigate their assignment, but their developing friendships and, eventually, even deeper feelings.

Sunhawk16 (Mod note: YES THIS IS THE INFAMOUS SUNHAWK)

The Last Godchild

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12826722

1x2, 3x4, 5xS

The final part of the GodChild universe. The title, I think says it all. Death fic, but not in a sad way, I don't think. Christmas fic for 2016, originally posted in Livejournal.

Sylvieforaday

They Say it was a Concussion, Chapter 13

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12347688/chapters/29122869

2x6. AU. Surgeon Zechs.  Dancer Duo.

Duo takes a spill and Zechs is just what the doctor ordered.

Moving On, Chapter 5

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12529256/chapters/29185731

2x5. Angst,  Hurt/Comfort, eventual smut, mention of past sexual abuse, past character death

Duo is trying to find his place in his own world without his crutch - Heero Yuy.

TheManwell

May Demons Rest, Chapter 37 and 38 (Now Complete!)

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10944786/chapters/29218944

2x3, post-canon, bad language, underage drinking, suicidal thoughts

A re-write of my 2004 fanfic "Shinigami Sleeps" - To find and free Duo from his demons, Trowa leaves his uneventful life at the circus for the mean streets of an obscure colony in L2.

@vegalume​

Afterthoughts of Discourse, Chapter 9

http://archiveofourown.org/works/4095778/chapters/29229750

1x2, 2xH, 1xOC, Rated for non-graphic adult situations, and language. Please pay attention to the tags and warnings posted. Yaoi, Het, ooc, Angst, Mpreg

After making a terrible mistake, Duo must now search for the one person he loves most, in hopes of gaining forgiveness. But when they are reunited will Duo be too late?

Snippets

@gw-ficrecfriday

https://gw-ficrecfriday.tumblr.com/post/167671703046/oh-hey-i-made-myself-do-something

@lifeaftermeteor

https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/167886171231/winner-family-compound-l4-v05001-207-september-15

@softnocturne

https://softnocturne.tumblr.com/post/167678682350/sunday-snippet

@vegalume

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167869352305/snippet-saturday

Fanart

@anaranesindanarie

https://anaranesindanarie.tumblr.com/post/167703171204/for-those-curious-this-is-what-the-boys-currently

Dolldivine renditions of the pilots for her fic Magic, Mortals, and Gundam Gods

@downwarddnaspiral

@http://downwarddnaspiral.tumblr.com/post/167685943381/for-ahsimwithsake-and-laurathia-good-luck

Heero and Quatre, for @ahsimwithsake and @laurathia

@maevemauvaise

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/167862882986/chronicwhimsy-a-very-very-happy-birthday-to-you

Duo as a merman for @chronicwhimsy‘s mermaid AU and birthday

@noelleian

http://noelleian.tumblr.com/post/167890294147/because-the-world-needs-more-pilots-drawn-as-cats

The pilots drawn as cats

@sawyer-sweet

https://sawyer-sweet.tumblr.com/post/167779922327/more-gundam-wing-fun-this-time-with-heero-yuy-at

Heero, injured

@sovaz

https://sovaz.tumblr.com/post/167752416995/for-chronicwhimsy-happy-birthday

2x5 Birthday gift art for @chronicwhimsy

@thelaughingstar

http://thelaughingstar.tumblr.com/post/167677965409/wufeis-voice-was-low-and-gentle-as-he-spoke

Fanart for @chronicwhimsy‘s fic Spirits.  2x5. Ghost Meilan

@vegalume​

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167620583265/this-didnt-turn-out-like-i-had-planned-and-no

13x1, vaguely NSFWish

@zer0-system

https://zer0-system.tumblr.com/post/167680438035/a-little-preview-of-what-ive-been-doing-all-this

Heero, injured

Meta/Headcanons

Gundam Wing Podcast featuring @lelola http://lelola.tumblr.com/post/167842591475/so-my-friend-jesse-over-at-the-zannen-canada

Gundam Wing social media accounts by @lifeaftermeteor https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/167681255679/what-did-i-do-instead-of-writing-for

Thoughts on Relena and her adopted father by @lelola  http://lelola.tumblr.com/post/167877077840/im-curious-re-how-relenas-adoptive-father-is

Heero headcanon by @lifeaftermeteor https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/167851094207

Gundam Wing pictures with Invader Zim quotes by @vegalume

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167803721820/gundam-wing-pics-with-invader-zim-quotes-this-is

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167864844340/vegalume-gundam-wing-pics-with-invader-zim-quotes

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167829189530/gundam-wing-pics-with-invader-zim-quotes-set-3

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167855601155/gundam-wing-pics-with-invader-zip-quotes-set-4

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/167876283740/gundam-wing-pics-with-invader-zim-quotes-set-5

Meta on the pilots and close range killing, initiated by @the-indomitable-bhg https://noirangetrois.tumblr.com/post/167819314177/the-indomitable-bhg-gundamwing-ellesmith

Meta on the pilots and drinking, initiated by @fadedsepiascribbles https://fadedsepiascribbles.tumblr.com/post/167815528842/okay-but-ive-never-understood-this-idea-that

Meta on Wufei’s motivations for Endless Waltz, initiated by @lelola https://noirangetrois.tumblr.com/post/167776717587/lelola-wu-fei-is-so-done-with-everyone-he

I honestly don’t know what to even say about this.  Gundams and babies and how Wufei entered the world and some disturbing cakes https://the-indomitable-bhg.tumblr.com/post/167761431722/lbro009-helmistress-the-indomitable-bhg

Discussion of canon support for a 1x3 ship, by @cinderellaincombatboots https://the-indomitable-bhg.tumblr.com/post/167760960457/cinderellaincombatboots-bro-fist-01-and-03

Headcanon for why Wing Zero has wings by @the-indomitable-bhg https://the-indomitable-bhg.tumblr.com/post/167682256482/the-notorious-bhg-wing-zero-appears-endless

Meta/headcanon regarding Wufei’s motivations and thoughts on using mobile suits in war, initiated by @noirangetrois https://gw-ficrecfriday.tumblr.com/post/167702938041/claraxbarton-cosmostar-noirangetrois

Meta/headcanon regarding Duo and Hilde’s relationship and colony life outside of war https://kangofu-cb.tumblr.com/post/167685479167/simulacraryn-kangofu-cb-noirangetrois

White Fang as a whole, by @lelola http://lelola.tumblr.com/post/167886567426/in-my-opinion-white-fang-makes-zero-sense-as-a

Thoughts on Ground Zero by @lbro009 https://lbro009.tumblr.com/post/167883479695/ground-zero-manga-ramble

Calendar Events

Unnatural November by @gwblockparty

Ending November 30th

A fanworks celebration of all things weird and supernatural.

Participation information here!

AO3 collection here!

Eve War Event by @gw-evewar​

Posting December 23rd - December 24th.

A fanworks Science Fiction event.

Participation information here!

Cocktail Friday by @thisweekingundamevents

Prompts post every Monday, submissions to be posted the following Friday from 3-5pm EST

Fun, open participation

Fics, ficlets, art, anything at all welcome!

Gundam Wing Secret Santa Exchange by @gwsecretsantaexchange

All assignments are out!

Remember to keep your recipient a secret!

Gifts should be posted and tagged December 20th - 24th

If you need to drop out for any reason (life happens!) please let the Secret Santa blog know as soon as possible!

[aflockofbyrds]

My D&D campaign that ran a little over a year ended last night, and honestly ended on the best note possible in my opinion. I let one of my players take care of it since he had a really good idea and jesus did he deliver. Gonna put this undercut because while it does connect to characters I RP here (specifically Garrett, Rose and Dusty) I will warn that it’s a tiny bit graphic because y’know, D&D and people fighting. Also it is LONG

So, we start out Christmas eve, at the players’ mansion they owned with the players + Garrett and Rose/friends of the players since the players are friends with them, with a party. We learn from our DM that since we took over a major company in the world, we’ve had multiple hits put on us, but none successful. Out of Garrett and Rose I pick Garrett since he’s a level 10 when she’s 9 which worked better with the party. Part way through the party, Tony, our favored soul of Nerull, hears a knock at the doors, answers it and finds a letter that says “Merry Christmas” on it, and a coin. He brings the coin in, and asks if anyone knows what it is, and when none of us can figure it out, Garrett casts detect Magic. Only for it to blow up in our faces, and while part of us are unconscious, in walks in the one person we all thought was dead, a fucking CE sorcerer kolbald named Alduran, who smirks, and knocks everyone else out. 

When we come to, we find small rock on the ground, which Tony picks up and immediately gets told through a message that everyone else at the party+ one player character (who wasn’t playing) and his entire family were kidnapped. Then the rock floated and lead the way to a statue where we got a couple friends, specifically Dusty since he’s a powerful NPC (both level and socially), Tina who’s a friend who can’t be violent, and Weave, a friend of the party that works with Alduran’s (technical) brothers, Zeke and Fizz, who went missing. We go into the portal that had opened up in the statue, and immediately, all of us are separated. 

Each of us go through our character’s nightmare situation. Tony is told to kill his adopted family, and when he refuses, he’s dropped out of the hallucination. Evee, our cleric, is told to drown after being left alone in the ocean, and she refuses, breaking her hallucination. Vel, a (male) drow scout, has to cut his arm off or die in a sacrifice to Lolth, and Illya has to watch her family die in a fire to escape. Vel starts to cut his arm off, and Illya tries to pull her family out of the fire, burning her hands. Neither of them wake up yet. Garrett’s on the other hand is to cut open his (hanging) sister to get the key to escape. 

He at first refuses, but when he hears her whimper he goes to help. Once he does, Rose falls on top of him, and he hears her bones crack. Garrett carefully gets out from under her, and stands up to look at her. She’s bleeding from her eyes and twitching, but not saying anything. The DM expected me to refuse to do it, but he forgot one thing. Garrett is part of the ruling elites of a drug cartel, and he’s already seen his sister die once (in a tourney that was held). So to put her out of her misery, he ended her. 

Garrett breaks out of his hallucination with that, and joins Tony and Evee with three unconscious people: Vel, bleeding from his arm; Illya, with burned hands; and a new character, Adrian, a warlock aasimar, who is tossing and turning. Tony woke the others out with dispel magic, and a door appears which has Dusty, Weave, La Mano (a disembodied hand who’s Dusty’s best friend), and Tina. We slowly make our way out, and into a room. 

This room fills up with toxic vapors which makes us start throwing up, and we notice enough vials for all of us to drink (minus La Mano bc he’s a hand and doesn’t need it). After a few minutes, of vomiting, we suck up our fears and drink the vials. They’re poisonous, and a couple of us get hit for Constitution damage (which we instantly have fixed bc the favored soul has a spell to fix it). We move on to the next room. 

Next room, we find a bunch of shells, and a timer that is counting down. In a stroke of genius, everyone except Dusty puts a shell to our ear. Second the timer hits 0, we see Dusty start screaming and holding his ears as blood trickles out. Then, the shells start growing across our face, suffocating us. Dusty, even though he’s fucked up, manages to break the shell on Garrett’s face while our warlock shatters the rest of them. We heal Dusty, and while he looks shaken, he’s fine and we move on. 

The next hell hole, is a room with a pendulum swinging back and forth. We have to roll a will save, which Weave (our tank), the warlock, and Evee fail. The three that fail see us that succeeded as monsters, and start to attack. The fight has Tony getting stabbed in the side by Weave, Illya having her arm stabbed through by him, Vel temporarily paralyzing Weave, and Dusty trying to kill him before he became unparalyzed. Eventually, Illya turned Weave into a lizard, and we figure out the only way to progress is to kill someone with the pendulum. Weave volunteers since there’s no way he’s useful as a lizard, and we can’t change him back. Second he’s dead, we’re teleported out of the room. 

We find ourselves in front of a map for a maze, and Tony and Garrett manage to take a picture before the party is hit with some kind of mostly debilitating spell. Tony and Tina manage to pass their checks, and are told by Alduran that we have to draw our own blood to proceed. Slowly and surely, all of us that are fucked up manage to draw our own blood. Evee by dropping her weapon on her own foot. Tina and Weave are the last ones, and all of us out watch on a TV screen as she tries to help Weave. Eventually, Weave makes it out, and we are stuck watching Tina on the TV. She tries to draw her own blood, but because of her vow of non-violence, she can’t. Her knife breaks when she’s tries, and we get a heartfelt good bye from her, in which she reveals that she’s not actually  aasimar like we thought, but a dragonborn. The video feed cuts out before she dies. 

Next room we enter, it’s a small platform with a pit on the other side, and a wall covered with half inch holes with the phrase ‘marry me?’ written over them. A feather is slowly falling to the ground, and as it comes closer we get more anxious for some reason. Even though we all have an idea about what will happen when we stick a finger in the hole, Vel goes ahead and does it, and he disappears leaving the hole he used bleeding. Eventually we all work up the courage and do the same, including La Mano. Last one was Illya who tries to catch the feather and when she gets close, is hit with a wave of extreme anxiety, and she almost runs into the pit to escape. She doesn’t and then we all get to the next room. 

This room is sterile white, and all of us are dripping blood from where our ring finger use to be, a black vein up our arms connecting to once finger, while the other arm has the word “forever” branded on it. The vein burns and hurts like hell. La Mano is also missing at this point. We slowly head out of the room through double doors with no puzzle in sight, and find a keypad that asks “How many are gone?” 

We answer three, and after video of our friends dying, the door opens to a cell block. There are multiple skeletons at first, but as we go down we see other races in them. All of them have scales and horns growing out of their skin, all in weird places. A tail growing out of a man’s side, horns growing into another’s eyes, etc. We walk down, ignoring them to another keypad. “How many are you willing to lose?” 

After some debate with Dusty wanting to put in 7, the remaining number of people, and other wanting to put in another number, we try 0 first. incorrect. We type one, and the door open. Tony takes a step in, and the door close before we can follow. We type in 6 and the doors open again, with Tony on the other side, and we head up the flight of stairs. 

At the top, we find a platform with a catwalk leading to it, and cages on either side. Adrian flies over to look at the cages and the person on the other side of the platform, then comes back to tell us it was Aldarun and our missing friends/family. Vel and Dusty moves first, casting invisibility on themselves and going to sneak attack Aldarun because they’re assassins and they studied him long enough to try and death attack him. Second Dusty steps on the catwalk, lights come on and Aldarun notices the party. Specifically, the party minus Vel and Dusty. 

We get a little monolog, and the platform drops after Aldarun mentions that “well, guess either Dusty or Vel are alive still since one of you set off the lights…” Dusty just barely keeps from falling, and Aldarun disappears into a glowing red crystal behind him. We realize this is a problem, but we need to save our friends, so we set about doing that. We manage to get Zeke and Fizz out before Aldarun reappears, as a horrific dragon. Second he steps on the platform, it collapses under him, and Adrian, Tony and Vel fall to the ground with him, with Vel and Adrian invisible. Dusty, Garrett, Evee and Illya are still on the other side, and Dusty casts feather fall on all of them, before shoving them in the pit to help out their friends. 

This dragon is pure white like Aldarun was, with red eyes, and a glowing red crystal on his back. Of course, this shit scares everyone except Death Jesus Tony and Illya, Dusty drops darkness, and the fight starts. None of us do any damage at first because of the fact Dusty covered the monster with a giant black void, but Garrett formed a plan to distract him after Alduran breathed a cloud of acid, lightening and fire at Evee, Illya and Garrett. The plan failed, and Aldarun immediately grabbed hold of Garrett because he want to prove how useless the distraction plan really was. Vel and Dusty stay off to the side, studying what they can to try and attack him, while Tony climbs his way along a wall to watch us, and Adrian tries to free people. 

While this is happening we start to notice the smell of burning flesh, and realize that the cages are starting to heat up. The people inside couldn’t tell us because they were unconscious and we are now fighting against the clock with this. Next turn, Garrett did the only thing he could do with his low health. He pulled off a necklace he had been saving for a fight against Vel and let it drop, and that necklace immediately exploded as it hit the ground. It went through all 7 charges that the thing had, dealing a solid chunk of damage to his health. Downside, it took Evee and Garrett with them, leaving only a pile of ash. 

Dusty immediately dispelled the darkness because he realized what Garrett had done, and Vel went to attack. Only to miss. Dusty went to attack, and missed. Finally, now that Adrian could see the monster, he flew above him, and dropped onto the crystal, attacking it right away. This make the crystal start sparking, and Alduran lashed a leg out at Vel, then tried to breathe the cloud of Acid/Fire/Lightening at Adrian. Only it caught. He tried again. It caught. Alduran roared at us, tried one more time only to have acid dribble down his chin, and he moved to take out Zeke and Fizz. Before he could though, he finally collapsed, dead. 

The world around us immediately shook, and Dusty rushed to pocket some of Evee and Garrett’s ashes to hopefully bring them back. Next thing we knew, we were back outside of the statue, with our friends and family badly burned but still alive, two piles of ashes, and three stones, one blue one (Tina), a grey one (Weave) and a sickly flesh tone one (La Mano). And as we stand there in shock, it slowly starts to rain, and with that, our year long campaign finally closed.