#And Soos bet it would probably be some kinda fish-man or whatever

[tswwwit]

Here's a stupid meet-the-sibling thing from Portal AU!

Dipper checks his watch for the third time in two minutes, foot tapping nervously against the pavement. Mabel’s usually one to run late, but not this late. 

Twenty minutes have passed since they were supposed to meet up at this coffee shop, and between the fact that his twin’s always eager to see him, and the odd magical blips on his radar in the last hour, he’s starting to wonder if she’s gotten herself in trouble. Again. 

Driven by worry, he checks his phone again - the regular one. No texts, no missed calls. A second check shows nothing on his other phone either, which is arguably just as worrying but for different reasons.

Dipper slumps back in his seat, rubbing at his eyes. 

Great. Exactly what he needed. As if this whole conversation wasn’t going to be weird enough, now he’s got more to stress about. A sister in trouble, maybe, and a magical incident, probably. Not to mention who would obviously get involved with one of those, just to add the cherry on top of a messed up situation.

He’s just about decided to get up and start investigating when he hears the shout.

“Dipper!” 

Jerking up from his seat, Dipper turns towards his sister’s voice. 

Mabel runs down the sidewalk, arms raised and waving wildly, sending her bracelets banging against each other as her earrings bounce along with her steps. She doesn’t slow down as she approaches, instead throwing herself forward until Dipper has to catch her hug with an ‘oof’ of effort. 

He hugs her back in response and gets squeezed so hard it nearly takes the breath out of him, including a brief moment where he’s worried that her earrings will catch on his clothes. 

After a moment he pushes her back, smiling. How long has it been since he’s seen her in person? Four months? Five? From the occasional phone call he knew she was doing well, but it’s good to see her looking so happy in person.

“It’s good to see you.” He gives her a big pat on the back, and gets a ‘bwomp bwomp’ in return. 

“You too, bro-bro.” Mabel steps away, then blinks in surprise. “You look great! Is that a new look?” She gives him a once over, then beams, patting her cheeks. “Oh my gosh, that’s perfect timing!”

“Well, I-” Dipper plucks at his shirt - it’s not that different from his usual, just better fitted. 

So, he may or may not have gotten a lecture on fashion. A very long one. Followed by several insistent recommendations about his outfits, including having a literal pile of clothes dumped on him out of nowhere. He didn’t think it made that big a difference. But maybe it does?

“Okay, okay, I know you had something important you wanted to talk about, but listen.” Mabel rushes to speak, bubbling over with enthusiasm. Dipper lets her take his hands and clasp them tight as she bounces in place. “I just met. The hottest guy.”

“Ugh,” Dipper groans, shoulders slumping. Not another shitty crush. He thought she was over those by now. Still, if it puts his own thing off… “What kind of jerk is it this time?”

“Okay, one? Not a jerk! And two: He’s not for me, you dork!” 

“Wait, what?” Dipper holds her at arm’s length, staring. 

“So like I said,” Mabel continues, giving him a Look. “I met this guy, and we got to talking, and he’s, like, super fun - but clearly into dudes. So I sorta mentioned a certain brother, and guess what! He likes magic, and monsters, and he even says he has a thing for nerds!” She lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s perfect. You’ll love him.” 

With another groan, Dipper drags a palm down his face. 

Damn it. He knows that she worries about him finding someone since he’s always on the move. Between trying to keep up with the jobs, and tracking monsters, and everything else in his life, he rarely has time for a break. Mabel playing matchmaker isn’t new. Only her choice of candidate, which sounds strangely.. On point?

Hell, a while ago - less than two months, at that - he might have welcomed an intro to this guy, whoever it is. It wasn’t like he was meeting a lot of people himself. 

But oh god. The timing.

“Look, I’m glad you thought of me, but-” Dipper starts, holding up his hands in defense.

“Oh no. Nope! No more of this ‘too busy’, or ‘probably not my type’ stuf. I vetted him Dipper,” Mabel insists, lower lip pouting out - oh god, the puppy eyes, he has to turn away -  “You’re on the road all the time and all alone all the time. So if you aren’t gonna try and meet someone, I gotta have your back.”

Dipper tilts his head back, shuts his eyes, and prays deep down for strength. 

He didn’t want to open with this information. It’s a pretty long story, one with a lot of twists and turns, even some bits that she’s going to feel very ‘I knew it!!’ about. But a little sisterly smugness is way, way better than getting dragged into a date with some guy. 

Even if Dipper turns it down first thing, it could end… Pretty badly. 

He opens his mouth to say so, and gets interrupted by hands clapping on his face, forcing him to meet her eyes.

“Oh my god, don’t look now.” She whispers, turning him back to look at her when his head instinctively swivels. “But he’s right here. I didn’t think he’d show up this soon!”

“Why shouldn’t I look at the guy you’re trying to hook me up with.” He says, flat. It comes out a bit garbled from the pressure on his cheeks.

“Because you’ll freak out thinking he’s out of your league! And he’s not!” Mabel insists, shaking him urgently. “Just be cool for once, okay?”

Dipper has never, ever been cool for a single instant in his life. He doesn’t know why his twin thinks he’s even capable of it. Add on the multiple reasons he can’t exactly flirt with some random dude that Mabel met on the street, and it’s a recipe for infinite awkwardness. 

Before he can explain why this is a bad idea, on so many levels, Mabel straightens up. 

“Hey, glad you made it” She beams at a point over Dipper’s shoulder. “Let me introduce you to-”

A cheerful laugh interrupts her, high and bright. It lingers longer than it should, seconds past the point where it’d be appropriate - then two firm hands clap onto Dipper’s shoulders, squeezing tight. 

“Well, well, well, well, well!” The voice behind him oozes smug pleasure. The grip on his shoulders tightens briefly, then slides down to his biceps in a slow, appreciative stroke. “So this is the famous Dipper Pines, huh?”

The voice, the touch. The smug, amused tone of someone pulling off an amazing joke that nobody’s caught onto yet-

Yeah, that all tracks. 

Dipper doesn’t resist when the man whips him around, frowning up into the beaming face of Bill goddamn Cipher. 

“Boy, you weren’t kidding! He is cute!” Bill exclaims, expression perfectly surprised and delighted. Like he’s never seen this face before in his life. He turns towards Mabel. “And you say this guy’s single?”

“Yep!” She gives a big double-thumbs up. Another person might mistake the way her eye’s moving as a twitch, but it’s just a million winks at Dipper, packed into too small a space. 

Bill lets out a low whistle. “Dang, that’s a shame.” The grins creeps up another fraction. “A smart guy woulda snagged him up the moment they saw him in person!”

Dipper lets out a strangled sound from his throat. Despite the… everything, his face feels hot, turning pink with embarrassment.

He glares at this smug, double-talking jackass. Bill beams back at him with unashamed delight.

From the side, Mabel hisses in annoyance at his reaction. She gestures towards Bill insistently, waving over his body, his arms. She points at his face twice, eyes wide like Dipper hasn’t seen it yet.

But there’s no point in her pointing. Dipper’s well acquainted with every part of his boyfriend. 

Including his tendency to not mention important facts.

So there’s the reason she was late. The reasons for the magic pulses - of course his stupid demon wouldn’t give him any heads up that he was already planetside. And the reason why the guy she met was oh-so-conveniently into nerds, especially ones related to Mabel friggin’ Pines. 

Why did Dipper think mentioning his family was a good idea? It’s only given Bill more chances for chaos. 

Or in this case, a really stupid prank.

“Now let’s see,” Bill says, more contemplative now. His eye roves over Dipper, head to toe. “What else you got going, kid?”

But. Okay, the attention’s nice. It’s never not been nice, even when it’s been creepy and strange and inhuman. 

Maybe playing along a little couldn’t hurt?

“I-” Dipper starts rubbing the back of his neck. If he looks his boyfriend in the eye while lying like a rug, he’ll never pull this off. “Well, I-”

“Oh! Like I said, he’s really into magic. Like you!” Mabel interrupts, bouncing in place. Her voice lowers, as if sharing a secret. “He does freelance work, y’know?”

“Is that so!” Bill’s mouth forms a perfect ‘o’ of surprise. Dipper half expects him to clap a hand to his cheek in astonishment. “Why, I never! A monster hunter? Right in front of me?”

“You betcha!” Proudly, Mabel sets fists on her hips. All too eager to hype man her brother before he’s said anything himself. “On the track of a dangerous criminal and everything!”

“Wow!” Bill, looking suitably impressed, somehow avoids having his pants set aflame from the sheer force of lying. “I bet he’s a nasty customer, too! A real devilish fellow!”

God, the puns hurt. Dipper can’t help but make a face, which gets another disappointed look from his sister, and a sinister gleam starts building up in Bill’s eye - 

Alright, that’s enough. 

Lying to Mabel would have been bad enough - but between their discussion and Dipper not getting a word in, Bill’s getting so full of himself that he might just explode. And that needs nipping in the bud, immediately.

Dipper shoves Bill back a pace, brushing off his shirt. He gives this asshole the full narrow-eyed glare and, ignoring the aghast look from his sister, flips his asshole boyfriend off. 

“Hey!” Affronted, Mabel takes a step in, taking his arm. “What the heck, Dipper?”

“Mabel, listen,” Dipper starts, only to get shushed by his sister and turned to face Bill by said asshole.

“And you’re feisty as well? Jackpot!” Bill beams, taking his head in his hands. “Now, let’s see about the rest of ya.”

Before Dipper can guess what that means  - or even ask - Bill tugs his shirt up. The only reason it doesn’t come completely off is because Dipper recognizes the motion and jerks his arms down in time. 

“Hey!” He struggles with Bill’s grip on his shirt, planting a palm on Bill’s face as he leans in for closer inspection. “What the hell, man?”

“Yep, that’s a fighter alright! Real nice view!” Bill says, after lingering too long ogling unwillingly exposed flesh. He lets the shirt drop - Dipper spends a second straightening it out - only to grab onto his butt next in a full-palm fondle. “Aha! Now that’s where it’s at!”

It’s so like Bill to start flinging compliments while completely breaking every polite convention known to man. He can never do anything straightforward. Possibly he’s allergic. With a swear, Dipper grapples with his jackass boyfriend again, trying to retain some semblance of dignity. 

Mabel stands off to the side, mouth agape. Silently staring between the two of them, too stunned to react. 

Clearly she wasn’t expecting this kind of crap. And honestly? Dipper can’t blame her. Bill’s pretty good at covering his asshole tendencies when he wants. 

Dipper can handle it, though. He’s already halfway pried the groping grasp off his butt when Bill’s other hand rotates to the front, taking hold with alarming swiftness. The high-pitched yelp he lets out is, thankfully, only from surprise.

“Hey!” And that gesture must have finally shaken Mabel from her shock, because now she looks offended. “Bill! What are you doing?”

“Cute, smart, decent body - he’s just like you said! The whole package!” Bill gives his handful a friendly jiggle, looking thrilled to have found a part to grab where he can’t get smacked away lest there be collateral damage. He turns towards Mabel with a grin. “How’s twenty bucks sound?”

The alarmed “What the hell!” from her comes out at the same time as Dipper’s offended, “Only twenty?”

“Oh, no no no,” Mabel waves her hands rapidly, the sleeves of her sweater nearly covering them in the rush.  “He’s not for sale, what the heck!”

“Oh, of course!” Bill releases Dipper’s crotch to smack himself dramatically on the forehead, shaking his head. “Because he’s his own person! With his own life decisions and everything!” His expression turns serious, nodding as if he actually cared about that fact. “No problem, Shooting Star! I’ll just kidnap him instead.”

A sudden swipe behind Dipper’s knees sends him into a swearing fall. One that’s quickly interrupted as he’s scooped up into Bill’s arms, startled and staring into an excited smile. 

Bill gives Mabel a perfunctory half-bow, bounces Dipper in his arms once - then starts sprinting down the street. 

To Mabel’s credit, there’s only a half-second pause before she follows.

“Help! Brother-napping in progress! Stop, you creep!” Mabel shouts, almost louder than Bill can manage. With some effort, Dipper peeks over his shoulder to see a flail of color trailing behind after them, one sweater-clad arm shaking in fury. “You better let him go, or you’ll regret this!”

Bill cackles louder, chest shaking - and one thing about being a demon is that he can really book it when he needs to. 

Dipper finds himself clinging to his ‘kidnapper’ tight, just to feel more comfortable about not being dropped. Not that he needs to worry about that. Even sprinting full-out and laughing, Bill’s not even breathing hard as he flees the wrath of righteousness. 

Dipper thunks his head against his awful, stupid boyfriend’s shoulder, and rolls his eyes. 

Welp. He’s not sure what else he expected. 

Bill’s always going to be Bill, after all. An evil, bored, antagonising force, bent on finding the funniest thing to do and jerking people around by it at every turn. And a vengeful, chaotic asshole. 

It’s hardly surprising that he and he took offense at someone arranging dates with his boyfriend. Whether or not Mabel knew their situation doesn’t matter in his view. It’s the principle of the thing - and, of course, a chance to be a total dick. 

But all things considered, it’s hardly the worst case scenario. 

Bill could have laid on the charm, gaslighting her into thinking he was a different kind of guy. Something that would make their introduction easier - and have her totally ignoring Dipper’s warnings about what kind of guy he is. 

But freaking her out was too funny, and that showed his true colors. And thank fuck for that. The last thing Dipper needs is another handsome guy charming her into a series of Bad Ideas.

As they round a street corner, Dipper uses the momentum to kick a leg free, planting heel against pavement. Bill slows as he tries to both stop him from falling and continue dragging him along. 

“Aw, c’mon,” Bill chides, making a valiant attempt to pick Dipper up again. “Let’s ditch the sibling and get moving! As far as she knows, I’m gonna do all kinds of dastardly things to ya. Terrible ones!” His eye glimmers, briefly unfocused - and Dipper takes the moment of distraction to get both feet on the ground. “Aww, hey!”

“Not a chance.” Dipper says, less annoyed than he’d like. He dodges another grab by stepping neatly to the side. “You’ve had your fun. Now at least try to behave for like, five seconds.”

One look at Bill’s face says that he’s not done with the fun, or at least thoroughly annoyed at its interruption - which means Dipper has to sweeten the pot. 

“I’m sure she’s panicking as we speak,” He adds, rolling his eyes at Bill’s look of pride. “And it was kinda funny. But at least try to good impression, jackass.” Resting a palm on Bill’s arm, he offers a shy smile. “Please?”

“Hmmm.” Bill hums thoughtfully. A second later, he shrugs. “Eh, sure! Probably wasn’t gonna get much mileage outta dragging it out anyway.”

Yep. Another win for Dipper Pines. He’s getting good at this demon-wrangling stuff. 

“Hey!” Mabel rounds the corner, steps clearly flagging. She leans against he building, then glares at Bill. “You can’t just-” 

Then she leans over, bracing herself on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. Dipper’s surprised she caught up this fast, but it wasn’t without effort - he thinks one of her bracelets is missing, and her hair is a mess. 

Dipper offers her a hand, but she waves it off. There’s a thoughtful sound behind him, then arms circle his waist and drag him back into Bill’s grasp. 

“So. I see you’ve met Bill.” Dipper says, finally. He glares a bit over his shoulder as Billtugs him closer to settle in, chin tucked on his shoulder. Probably wearing the very smuggest smile he owns.

“Dipper, I’m sorry,” Mabel blurts. She’s still catching her breath, face red as she flails her sleeves in inarticulate protest. “I didn’t know-”

“That he was an asshole? A jerk? A totally weird creep?” Dipper holds up his hands before she can apologize again. “No, it’s fine. I already knew that. He’s… actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

She pauses, taking in their position. How Dipper’s not struggling, or swearing, or hexing the shit out of his ‘kidnapper’. The worried frown turns more… contemplative. The lightbulb flickers. 

Dipper takes a steadying breath. 

Here goes.

“Mabel, this is… Bill Cipher.” He gestures at Bill, then shoves his head away from his neck before he can leave a hickey. “He’s my boyfriend.”

Mabel boggles at him. There’s no other word for it. Eyes wide, mind clearly racing as she ties in what just happened with how Bill looks and what she thought everything was like just five minutes ago. 

She takes a second, before finally landing on, “What?”

Yeah, that’s a reasonable reaction. 

But if they got along earlier, they’ll… probably get along okay, right? Now that Bill’s got the initial bullshit out of his system, they might even have stuff in common. 

Thank hell for that. Romance is kind of her thing, of course she’s interested. Good thing too. Compared to the rest of his family, Mabel is easy mode. 

Only a second later she claps her hands to her cheeks, gasping hugely. Dipper can almost see the questions about to burst out.

“Let’s go back, get some coffee, and I’ll tell you everything.” Dipper smiles, but speaks before she can start interrogating them on the street. He shrugs Bill off, getting his hand seized in the process. He squeezes it back.  “Trust me, it’s a long story.”

[bookofmirth]

Due to your love for Lucien, I figured you could help me out since you probably know more about him than I do. I'm trying really hard to grapple with how a Lucien & Vassa story would unfold. Let's entertain the idea for a sec pretty please.

We know Vassa has to return to Koschei at some point. In the meantime, she's cursed with turning into a firebird by day and human by night. Either Koschei has to be dealt with at the beginning, which doesn't seem likely if he's indeed the final boss or at the end, in which Lucien & Vassa will share their POVs with Vassa being in bird form half the time, unless Sarah opts to only share Vassa's POV when she's human.

Lucien has ties to the Autumn Court, Human lands, Day Court & Night Court. That's a lot to unpack in one book which means some of these issues need to happen in ACOTAR5 to balance everything out and leave room for Vassa and Lucien to become a thing as well. Though it pains me to say this since I believe this issue deserves Lucien's POV, but is it possible the Autumn Court business could be handled in ACOTAR5?

Vassa doesn't have anything to really do with the Day Court so it's weird to see why she would leave the human lands. I suppose if Lucien's true parentage is revealed, he could ask her to tag along to see if daddy Helion can break her curse.

Omg, I totally forgot about the spring court. Yeah, that needs to be handled too and I'm not sure how Vassa will tie into it unless she's there for support. Lucien will still be dealing with the aftermath of the mating bond rejection (I think it's important we get his POV on it). Ugh and there's the problem with Vassa's mortality.

It's all soo confusing I feel like I'm being played. I genuinely believe there are people who ship these two but man, writing this all down and trying to make sense of it hurts my head. 😅

Hi!

The major issues that I see Lucien needing to deal with are:

His paternity/learning he's heir of Day or becoming HL?

The mating bond

Reconciliation or an apology with Tamlin - at the very least he needs to hand the reins back over.

As a side thing, I think he will help Vassa get free. But since Koschei has much bigger fish to fry than just Vassa, her becoming free seems more like a free gift with purchase. A bonus on the side of everyone defeating the Big Bad.

I think what you are getting at, overall, is why/how would a vucien/vassien/whatever plot make sense. tl;dr - it wouldn't. Not with everything that you have shown still needs to be dealt with. Of course sjm could pull a 180 and change everything, but...

I don't have anything against people who ship it. Ship whatever, I don't care. I just don't think it's likely to happen in canon. People have been into it since Lucien smiled that one time in acowar, but it's never been a big ship. I don't blame people for jumping on it if they feel like it would fit what they want, I just don't think anything will come of it!

Vassa has little to nothing to do with anything going on in Prythian, in any court, and so if she were to get a supporting character/love interest POV, what would it be? Her cheering other people on, people who do have a larger stake in those issues? She's human. She's one of the mortal queens. She has something going on with Jurian, from what we can tell, and Jurian is surely fed up with the fae. It makes sense for her to stay on the Continent and regain her queenhood and break her curse. None of those things would fit with Lucien, who is High Fae and immortal and eventually will be a High Lord on another land mass. Could it happen? Sure. Will it? I'd bet my original acotar hardcovers that it won't.

Re: the Autumn Court, it's possible that the issue with Beron is dealt with in the next book. The issue with Beron is political, not necessarily personal. That means that Azriel could do his spy thing, helping Eris, perhaps working out his issues with the Illyrians in the meantime (much in the same way that Nesta had to deal with, or started to, her feelings about her father).

But as a result of all of that conflict, the truth of Lucien's paternity could come out.

All of the stuff going on in Autumn only affects Lucien peripherally because he has zero plans of becoming HL of that court. It's kinda like watching other family members squabble over an inheritance you know you have no hope of getting. Amusing and it will affect you somewhat, but at the end of the day your life won't be any different. Until someone spills the beans à la Gossip Girl.

So that's the part that most affects Lucien in Autumn, the fact that Beron isn't Lucien's father. To me, it that would make more sense for him to deal with that having the third person close narration focus on Lucien, rather than having it tell us how someone else is watching the situation. If it is revealed in acotar5, then in acotar6 (when I think he will be the LI), we would watch him deal with that information.

That would also leave Vassa/Koschei for the last book. It would make sense for the HL stuff to get resolved before they have to deal with Koschei because I get the sense that all the High Lords are going to need to band together to defeat him. That will be kinda difficult when you have Eris standing in the background plotting Beron's demise. Just kill him in acotar5, then have everyone, including Eris as new High Lord of Autumn, come together to cooperate in acotar6.

I still don't see Vassa being a big part of that book as one of 2 main characters because Koschei's plans don't revolve around her, just like Azriel's entire life doesn't revolve around Elain. Even if there was an entire book dedicated to taking Koschei down, like I said, Vassa isn't the reason why they are doing that. She is just one of his unfortunate victims. There are bigger issues, like... the Dread Trove and the destruction of Prythian. Bigger issues than one mortal queen who was betrayed.

I do wonder if - hear me out - while more stuff about Koschei is revealed in the next book, Vassa becomes free sooner? It was the mortal queens who traded her in on some bargain, right? And we still need to deal with the remaining three who are living. Perhaps we will learn what they want, how they are helping Koschei, and why they sold her out? I could see that happening like a secondary or even tertiary plot, sorta like the feysand pregnancy was in acosf.

I honestly have no idea if that answered your question haha! I haven't really put much thought into what will happen with Vassa because I don't see her as a major player in the future.

[invisibletinkerer]

Fic: The Secret Journal of 'Stanford' Pines

Size: ~3000 words AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20864183

Stan Pines keeps a journal of brief daily notes during the summer of 2012.

Note: We all know that the Gravity Falls timeline makes no sense whatsoever. Therefore this is based on a headcanon timeline I made a year or so ago, trying to incorporate as many of the canon dates (in show and published J3) as possible, but ignoring the ones that were contradictory or made no sense. This still means some episodes did not happen in a strictly chronological order.

June 1

Kids are here. I have no idea what to do. Why did I agree to this.

Boy is a grump and girl made macaroni art in the kitchen. Did I even have macaroni?

 June 2 Sunday

I think boy got spooked in the forest. He seems fine, though. Good taste in gold chains.

Girl is now dating some punk kid.

 June 3

Kids looked like they’d been run over by the golf cart when they got back tonight. Not good.

Gave them some free gifts from the shop to cheer em up. Yes I know

Boy got a new hat. Should get him to wear a Mystery Shack shirt next. Girl found a grappling hook that was not in my inventory. Bold choice.

What would they say if they knew about me?

June 4

Fishing Season Opening Day – took the kids fishing.

Of course, they got excited about monster hunting instead. They’re listening to reason about as well as I and Fo did as a kid.

But. They came back to me in the end. We had fun.

I love those kids.

 June 5

Soos found those cursed old wax statues I sealed up some ten years ago. Don’t seem all that cursed now. One had melted.

Mabel’s gonna make a new one for the wax museum. Meaning I’ll have to figure out how to make suckers pay to look at wax statues again.

 June 6

Mabel’s wax creation nearly gave me a heart attack. It looks just like my twin me.

She’s crazy talented.

 June 7

I’d say the wax museum reopening went well. Assuming “well” means “profit”.

Did anyone actually think I’d hand out free pizza?

 June 8

Hanging out with my wax twin Stan, and the moment I turned my back he was murdered.

 June 9 Sunday

Tried to hold a funeral for Wax Stan. Failed to keep it tounge-in-cheek.

Face it, Ford is long gone

 June 10

Guess the wax people were still as cursed as I remembered. Kids killed them with fire – I should have done that long ago.

Dipper crawled in the vents all day looking for a wax head that got away.

If I keep telling him he’s delusional, he’s got to stop looking for trouble eventually, right?

 June 11

Mabel decided I should date Lazy Susan. Couldn’t stop her. Now Susan and her cats keep calling me.

This was a bad idea. (I will never tell Mabel that.)

 June 12

Went on a date with Lazy Susan to shut her up. That ended just as well as expected.

Need to figure out some more specific excuses.

 June 13

The worst thing is, the Portal should work now. It’s functional. I just can’t get it to start.

Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all along

I did fix that old copier. Don’t know if it still makes copies of people, but at least it makes copies of paper again.

Caught Dipper making oogly eyes at Wendy. I smell drama.

 June 14

Did not expect “The Duchess Approves” to be that good.

 June 15

The traditional Mystery Shack party that has nothing to do with any birthdays.

Mabel is a great singer, and that Northwest brat cheated.

Happy birthday, Sixer.

 June 16 Sunday

Gideon Gleeful’s running TV ads again.

Of course my family goes to his show just to spite me.

 June 17

Mabel played with Gideon today. Did not see that one coming.

As long as she’s happy, I guess.

 June 18

I hate Pioneer Day.

Stupid people acting even stupider than normal, nothing works, then someone (me) ends up in the stocks.

 June 19

Gideon and Mabel are dating!?

Seemed like a horrible idea, but Bud Gleeful has a point on the moneymaking opportunities if we play it right.

 June 20

So if Mabel marries Gideon, his business will be incorporated into mine. I sure like the sound of that.

Bud is already making t-shirts.

 June 21

 June 22

OK, no. No deals with the Gleefuls. Not now or ever.

Mabel broke up with the little pest. Good riddance.

Got me a nice painting from Bud’s house, though.

 June 23 Sunday

The Mystery Fair! It may look cheap, but it brings in the money.

Though someone broke all safety protocols and brought a futuristic laser gun to Dunkle the Grunkle. That’s unfair.

Mabel has a pig now.

 June 24

Got roped into the gaming arcade with the kids.

Maybe get one of those games for the Shack?

 June 25

Mabel decided to fix my fear of heights.

I can say this – being on top of a water tower about to fall over was unpleasant. Compared to that, a high but stable ground isn’t so bad.

Dipper got into a fistfight with Wendy’s boyfriend over teenage drama, but good on him for standing up for himself.

 June 26

For some reason Gideon has gotten it into himself that he wants the Mystery Shack now.

Good luck, kid. I’m a better conman than you’ll ever be.

 June 27

Mabel is slightly taller than Dipper. This is funny.

Gideon Gleeful trying to be threatening while throwing a hysterical fit after breaking my new mirror maze – mostly confusing. Wish I knew what went on in that kid’s head.

 June 28

Kids made me wear the golden teeth. Guess they think I’m a dishonest man.

Fortunately, I’m good at bullshitting even when telling the truth. Think I scandalized the poor things. Hilarious.

Could have been disaster, though. Could have easily made them hate me.

 June 29

Spent half the day falling down the Bottomless Pit.

 June 30 Sunday

Summerween, now that’s a respectable local holiday.

Scaring children for fun and profit. Celebrating true evil together with family.

 July 1

Hottest day of the year. Wax Stan was permanently murdered by the weather.

Closed the Shack and went to the municipal pool with the kids.

Gideon stole my perfect pool chair. It’s on.

 July 2

Broke into the pool area at night to get the chair to myself. Which was a good plan, until I wanted to get up later in the day. The pest had coated it with glue.

The kids broke into the pool at night, too. Didn’t ask.

 July 3

Opened the Shack again.

Can’t be too lazy. Tourists to fleece and all that.

 July 4

 July 5

Mabel bet she could run the Shack better than I can. Well. I’m nothing if not a gambler.

So, three days of vacation, in which I will make more money than she will make running the Shack. Winner takes the Shack, loser sings a silly song.

Best case scenario, she learns something about business and stops complaining. Worst case, she actually makes money and then runs the Shack for me the rest of the summer. Not bad.

 July 6

Made it past the line to be a contestant on Cash Wheel, using my Old Man powers and lack of common decency.

Why is it so hard to sleep

 July 7 Sunday

Well. I lost at Cash Wheel.

Guess that means I lost the bet with Mabel, too. Unless I go rob a bank or something in the time I have left. Hm.

 July 8

Turns out Mabel barely broke even when running the Shack. She did win the bet, but she didn’t want my job, no surprise there.

I’m proud of her for learning something.

She still made me sing that song. On video tape. It’s kinda catchy.

 July 9

Mabel’s friends came for a sleepover. They make a lot of noice.

 July 10

Soos managed to uncover the door to Ford’s that old study I sealed thirty years ago the very moment the kids demanded separate bedrooms.

I never wanted to see that room again. His glasses were still there

Guess they didn’t want the room in the end, but now it’s open. Can’t re-seal it.

I think they messed around with the freaky carpet. Took it away at the end of the day just in case.

 July 11

I fucked up, but I fixed it.

I got Mabel’s pig back, even when I had to punch a pterodactyl in the face for it.

She doesn’t hate me.

I love that kid so much.

 July 12

That weird egg I pocketed from the dino-cave hatched. Dipper says it’s a compo-whatnot.

I call him Compy. He’s now my Mystery Pet.

 July 13

Soos’ birthday. The kids tried to throw a party, which is. Bad idea.

Think he appreciated laser tag, though. And the magic pizza they got him. Never seen him so happy on a birthday.

 July 14 Sunday

Turns out Compy is a very tiny dragon. Hoards stuff, mostly cash. In places I can’t reach.

It’s no good. Gonna hand the chicken-lizard over to farmer Sprott first thing in the morning before he bankrupts me.

 July 15

Mabel and her friends went to some boy band concert. Got back late with a large pack of spoils. Probably robbed someone.

Wendy’s boyfriend is charming her with homemade music. Dipper suspects magic. Can’t rule that out.

 July 16

There was a hypnotic message in the music, but telling Wendy about it only made the teenage drama worse.

Went bowling with Dipper afterwards to cheer him up. Should have a chat with Wendy, too.

 July 17

Gideon   I’m   How could

Didn’t know Gideon was that serious.

As if half-lucid dreams about that yellow triangle wasn’t bad enough. (The kids know something. Not asking. I want them to stay away from that stuff.)

We’re staying with Soos as I panic figure out how to fix this.

 July 18

I can’t fix this.

Gideon’s got the whole town eating out of his hand and I’m just a grouchy old man.

Doing the responsible thing. Got bus tickets to send the kids home tomorrow.

Whatever I do next, don’t want them to watch.

 July 19

GIDEON IS A LITTLE SHIT AND I AM AWESOME.

Figured out his trick, proved it in public and now he’s in jail.

Got the Shack back. Got the kids back.

And. Get this. Gideon had one of Ford’s missing journals. I have it now.

 July 20

I can’t believe it. Dipper. Had the third journal all summer.

All three of the dumb books are right here in front of me.

I activated the Portal. Simple as anything.

It’s scanning for Ford right now.

I’m actually bringing him back.

 July 21 Sunday

Grand reopening of the Mystery Shack turned into a zombie-fest.

Kids could’ve died because I was too busy with the Portal to pay attention. That won’t happen again.

Should have talked to them about weirdness sooner. Hope they believed me when I said I have no more secrets.

A little worried that government might have picked up signals from the Portal.

 July 22

Repairing the Shack. Too much undead slime to attract tourists like this.

 July 23

Re-reopened the Shack.

Dipper got himself an old laptop computer from somewhere. Probably stolen. He tried to hide it.

 July 24

Went minigolfing with the kids.

Mabel challenged Pacifica Northwest to a duel at midnight. I’m so proud of her.

Letting kids into minigolf courts at night to take a rich snob down a few pegs – finally putting my skills to good use.

 July 25

I still can’t believe the Portal works.

It keeps scanning.

 July 26

Tried to bring old Goldie back to the gift shop but apparently he’s unhip and scary. Had to throw him away before the parents sued me.

What I do need is a singing animatronic robot badger. That’s what kids like these days.

 July 27

Soos missed work for the first time ever. Seems to be girl trouble, but the kids are handling it.

Would’ve stolen myself a robot badger if it hadn’t tried to kill me. Saved by old Goldie. No way I’m not keeping him now.

 July 28 Sunday

Went for a Vegas vacation because I deserve it.

Not because I’m nervous.

Brought Goldie, might have gotten slightly drunk. And slightly married.

 July 29

Mabel found herself a new obsession with hand puppets.

She’ll throw a big show on Friday. Made me rent Gravity Falls theatre for her. (Can’t believe I did that.)

 July 30

The Shack is full of sock puppets and kids and Mabel keeps singing.

Guess this is my life now.

 July 31

 August 1

Soos went to his cousin’s wedding with his new girlfriend. Good on him.

Mabel’s still obsessing about puppets.

Dipper looks like he hasn’t slept in days. Can’t blame him with all this ruckus.

 August 2

Play was good! Think it paid for the costs, too. Mabel’s got showmanship.

Don’t get the ending, though.

I mean. Children fighting always makes for good footage, but was it necessary to beat Dipper up that bad? I swear Mabel don’t know how strong she is.

A little worried about Dipper. He seemed high as a kite all day. Probably sleep deprivation. At least he’s sleeping now.

 August 3

 August 4 Sunday

Gravity’s going more crazy around the Portal the longer it’s on, but I don’t care.

It hasn’t found Ford yet.

It won’t find him if he’s dead

 August 5

The Portal ate my notebook.

Got a nasty cut on the back of my hand from some debris, too. Could have been worse.

 August 6

Tried to advertise the Mystery Shack for the kids at the Woodstick Festival. Hilarious disaster.

Being feared is worth more than being loved anyway.

 August 7

 August 8

IT FOUND HIM.

He’s alive. There’s a lock on his position.

Fuck I don’t  I have to

I know how it works. It needs to calibrate for a while. It needs to be fueled for the big moment.

I’ll go rob a government facility right now.

(So glad the kids are off at the Northwest party tonight.)

27 hours and then I’ll see him again.

 August 9

Ford is back.

I had to run from the feds and the kids found out everything the wrong way but it worked and he’s back.

But he doesn’t  He still hates me.  

Why would I expect anything else.

Don’t know what I’d do with myself if the kids weren’t here.

It’s fine. I fucked up everything, but. Mabel trusts me. Dipper forgives me. I’m fine.

not crying

 August 10 Sunday

The Shack needs repairs again.

Spent most of the day making Duck-tective finale preparations with Mabel. We had fun.

Told the kids to stay away from Ford.

 August 11

Dipper has predictably decided to be nerd friends with my brother.

Can’t stop him. He looks happy. Both of them do.

Still can’t figure out why Ford would have reality altering dice lying around in his sci-fi pouch.

Anyway. I knew Duck-tective had an evil twin.

 August 12

I hate everything.

Ford will take my his place here soon enough, does he have to undercut me while I’m still here?

I’m running for mayor now.

 August 13

Kids are helping me with a political campaign. Apparently I know nothing about politics and have unpalatable opinions. Bah.

 August 14

The Stump Speech went great! I relax, words happen, people cheer.

Dipper got a lucky tie for me. Think it really works.

 August 15

Should’ve tried being a politician before. Almost feels like people like me.

 August 16

Nope. Politics is not for me. Too much mind control.

Should’ve known it wasn’t me making those speeches.

(The kids shouldn’t get into politics either. Can’t always be there to save them from murder.)

Turns out I’m not mayor material, but I’m a HERO.

Take that, Ford.

 August 17

Rented an RV and took Soos and the kids and Mabel’s friends on a road trip.

Pranking the tourist traps. Good old Mystery Shack tradition for the last time.

Dipper’s practising flirting like a pro.

 August 18 Sunday

Almost got eaten by a spider-woman. That could have gone better.

Have to admit, the kids are heroes too.

Don’t think Ford noticed we were gone.

 August 19

Opened the Mystery Shack for the final stretch.

Two more weeks, then I’m gone for good.

 August 20

Made a good deal on illegal pugs. Still got it.

Ford and Dipper put some magic mojo on the Shack. Not gonna ask.

Might have something to do with how badly Ford is sleeping.

 August 21

Ten days left until the kids’s birthday and the end of summer.

Guess I’m doing a countdown now.

 August 22

Nine days left.

 August 23

Eight days left.

I’m gonna order a ponytail kit.

 August 24

HELL NO I DON’T NEED THIS.

It’s the literal end of the world and the kids are missing.

Suddenly orange skies, goats turning into monsters, the whole shebang. I thought I had enough troubles.

That magic on the Shack seems to be protecting it, but. THE KIDS ARE MISSING. So is Ford.

 ??? 1

Day and night are replaced by eternal glowing orange and every single clock is busted, so no more dates.

Went out looking for the kids, but all I find is other people. Also demons. No sign of Soos or Wendy, either.

Been taking people to the Shack. Safest place on Earth for all I know. I have enough brown meat and elected myself Chief.

The kids are fine. Probably with Ford. That’s the ticket.

 ??? 2

Went out looking again. Found the Northwest girl dressed in nothing but a potato sack. She was crying and I don’t want to know, but she didn’t deserve it.

Been told the head honcho is the yellow triangle. He calls this Weirdmageddon.

Old McGucket showed up more coherent than usual, herding a whole flock of forest creatures into the Shack. Starting to get crowded here.

The kids are fine. Of course they are.

 ??? 3

There’s still people alive out there. I heard cars over at Gleeful’s place.

Didn’t see anyone else.

I’ve lost  I couldn’t even

Mabel and Dipper are definitely still alive. So is Soos and Wendy. And Ford better be.

 ??? 4

They’re alive!

All four of my kids, bursting through the door like cops doing a raid but they’re alive!

Now all I want is for them to stay here and be safe. Why can’t they see that?

I’m done saving my brother’s skin and getting nothing but scorn for it.

Ford made his own bed with that demon. Forget it.

 ??? 5

Did I mention, the plan concocted by five kids, Soos, and a known madman is utterly insane?

They’re rebuilding the Shack. I just had it repaired, too.

It’s my house, but no one’s listening to me.

 ??? 6

I keep having this bad feeling about Ford.

It’s dumb. My brother has made it perfectly clear how he feels about being saved.

 ??? 7

Well then.

Not letting the kids lead an apocalypse rebellion against a demonic triangle without me.

 August 25 Sunday

 August 26

 August 27

 August 28

Huh. I can’t remember writing this, but it does ring a few bells.

It’s like I

I need to talk to Ford.

 August 29

So. The apocalypse is over, and we’re all fine.

We killed the demon by burning my mind out when he was inside, pretty much.

My mind’s still there, but it’s kinda. Well. In need of repair.

Spent a few days reliving good memories.

Turns out there’s more than a few bad ones, too. But.

Everyone is so good to me

I don’t deserve this

 August 30

I remember how Ford looked at me after I brought him back.

Now he acts like  he likes to   he thinks I’m

Now it’s like he’s my brother again.

He said. “Thank you.”

 August 31

The kids have left. I’ll miss them, but I’ll see them again.

Until then, my brother and I are going sailing.

[cherryblossomcheesecake]

God & His Priests & His Kings: Chapter 9 - A FFXV OC Fanfic

Hey guys, long time no see! I'm sorry this took so long but here's the finale of GAHPAHK! So just a few things to note: I will be going away this coming week so I won't be able to answer your lovely review right away but don't let that deter you from commenting on what you loved/hated. Since I'm going away, I'll try to work on the next portion of the story but I am also working on another fic rn so it kinda depends on how i feel in the end. Also after I get back, I probably won't be able to just hope right back in with updates cuz I start my new job the day after I get back. But I'll try to give y'all something shortly after I get back.

Words: 3,892 Uploaded: 07.15.18 Master List Previous Chapter

The End of Innocence - Alexandre Desplat

Nyx POV

Nyx side-eyed Crowe from his position on the floor of the fishing boat, watching as the mage stared out into the darkness where Goryeo was. The two of them definitely had their reservations about going into Nifelheim territory so soon after the area had been conquered. The place was bound to be crawling with Nifs and magitek. Hell from what they heard, people were evacuating the islands pretty quickly after the council of princesses fell, and since the land wasn’t Lucian, it was unclear as to why the Kingsglaive was being sent in.

It wasn’t until they hit Galdin that they picked up on the murmurs of the refugees. Whispers of a girl barely older than the Crown Prince being tortured by the agents of Nifelheim, for no reason other than that she was the only remaining princess of the country.

The rumours from Goryeo didn’t clarify why she was being tortured and to what end, but the thought of a young girl, someone younger thanSelena, experiencing those horrors was enough for him to board the fishing boat in determination. Nyx couldn’t save his sister from the empire, but he’d be damned if he let them kill another innocent girl in their sick thirst for power.

Movement from the ship’s cabin drew Nyx’s gaze over to the shadowed figure of Luche, the man stepping out onto the open deck. The man’s footsteps also drew the attention of Crowe, the younger woman turning to fix her brown eyes on the mission team’s leader.

“Pelna’s got the location of the target, just where the informant said she would be. Goryeo has the same blessings as the havens in Lucis so daemons are not an issue. The goal is to get in and out with as minimal interaction with occupying forces, only engage if necessary.” Luche announced to the pair, adjusting his gloves as he looked between them.

Nyx pulled himself up off the floor of the boat, nodding to the other man before checking his gear one last time.

“Got it. In and out, minimal open combat.”

Crowe huffed as she pushed herself away from the edge of the boat, “What could possibly go wrong?”

“Well now you jinxed it.” Pelna said over the comms from his position in the cabin.

“Shut up, Khara. We’ll be fine and we’ll get the girl out in one piece.” The brunette snipped back, a grin dancing on her lips as the boat drew closer to the cliff that the royal palace rested on.

“Let’s get this show on the road then.” Nyx stated, pulling his kukuris from their sheathes as the boat came to a slow stop at the foot of the cliff face.

“Last one to the top is a smelly coeurl!” the young mage whispered over the comms before warping up the cliffs, reappearing a few feet up in a burst of crystalline light before continuing the process.

Nyx shook his head at the younger glaive’s antics before following her in a similar manner, Luche only a second behind him as they climbed the cliff.

The king’s magic made it easy for them to reach the top of the palace walls, the trio crouching above the gardens before dropping among the bushes as a Nifelheim patrol walked past.

The garden was dark save for the faint flicker of torches and the lights of the guards’ guns. The trio stuck to the shadows, waiting for Pelna’s directions over the comms.

“So Goryeo is essentially one big technological blackout due to the limitations placed on importing foreign tech, but aside from the flagships grounded across the island and the MT units, there’s only two main sources of power on the island.” Pelna said, pausing as papers shuffled in the background, “According to the informant's maps, both sources are located in the council’s apartment complex.”

“So our target is likely in one of the apartments.” Luche replied over the comms, waiting for the tech’s confirmation.

“It’s our best bet, especially since one of them is more heavily guarded by MTs. I’m sending the coordinates for both locations but my money is on the one that’s got the most guards.” the man confirmed, their tech gear blinking with the newly received coordinates.

“Alright, comms offline until we’ve reached the target. We’ll check back in once we’ve got the girl, Pelna.” Luche ordered, looking to Nyx and Crowe for their nods of confirmation.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for check in.” the tech replied before the comms shut down, the frequency dropping and leaving the trio in silence.

“Let’s move out. The complex is located in the center of the rear portion of the palace, so we have a lot of ground to cover.”

“Right behind you.” Nyx answered as Crowe nodded over his shoulder before they crept through the garden with ease.

They silently warped up onto the rooftops, stepping lightly to avoid drawing the attention of the MTs and guards patrolling the area. The natural silence that enveloped the island was disrupted by the whirring of the empire’s magitek, the pairing of the two setting Nyx on edge as they warped from rooftop to rooftop.

The trio waiting for another patrol to pass by before dropping down into one of the courtyards located outside the complex, Crowe slipping into the area of the palace quickly with the two men close behind her.

The three glaives quietly followed the blinking coordinates of their target, peering around corners before proceeding with caution. When they came to the hall where the guard was most heavy, Crowe silently warped up into the shadows of the rafters as Nyx and Luche used the king’s magic to pass across the hall, unseen and undetected, into the next hall covered by darkness.

There was a man’s voice that traveled out from the apartment, the tone both frustrated and pleading before silence took over. It wasn’t long until a blonde dressed in the white uniform of the imperial military strode out the door, anger radiating off him.

A portion of the MTs guarding the door followed him, only two remaining at their post.

Luche signaled to Crowe up in the rafters, receiving a quick thumbs up before silently moving across the rafters towards the guards. The mage pulled out her kukuris with a near silent hiss before dropping between the two MTs, her blades finding purchase in a gap between the neck armor.

Nyx threw his kukuri into the chest of one of the MTs, warping fluidly as Luche followed with a high level Thunder spell aimed at the other. Crowe pulled her kukuri from the two magitek soldiers, choosing to hit the one MT with her own Thunder spell before turning to slash at the other alongside Nyx.

Both opponents eventually dropped to the floor, sparking and smoking respectively where their wiring had been damaged by blades and overheated with electricity.

The trio of glaives sheathed their weapons before glancing at each other.

“Didn’t even break a sweat.” Crowe boasted quietly, turning to open the wooden door carefully and leading the way into the apartment.

The room itself was lavish and decorated, with bright fabrics hanging as curtains in the doorways, beautiful rugs covering the wooden floor, and the furniture being made of a dark wood inlaid with gold. The only thing out of place was the obvious Nifelheim tech taking up most of the space in what could only be a former sitting room, a large metal operating table placed at the center.

“Pelna, we got some strange Niff tech in the apartment that’s probably the source of power you’re picking up.” Luche reported over the comms as Nyx and Crowe slowly worked their way further into the apartment.

Nyx crouched down to examine a rather large bloodstain on one of the carpets in the room.

“There’s enough blood here to warrant that somebody died of blood loss in here.” the glaive reported, his gray eyes meeting Luche’s, the other man frowning before turning back to the tech.

“What’s it look like?” Pelna questioned, prompting him to approach the set up.

“Looks like a power generator that’s connected to a massive dinosaur of a computer. There’s also a bunch of wires coming out of it that have some sort of weird attachment of some kind.” The dirty blonde responded, eyes darting around to check for any missed details.

“Okay, I’m gonna guide you to see if we can’t get any of the files or whatever that’s stored on there.” Pelna said, waiting for the confirmation.

“Alright, Nyx. Crowe. Go ahead and see if you can find the target further in.” Luche ordered, turning back to the computer to start it up.

Crowe lead the way, light on her feet as they entered different rooms meant for a variety of things. She carefully opened one of the rice paper doors, wincing slightly at the sound of the wood scraping together before stepping into the room.

Nyx barely got a foot in the door before he ran into the younger woman’s back, the mage hardly budging as she gaped at the sight across the room.

“Holy fuck.”

Soo’s POV

I could hear Ravus’ voice, he was agitated by something. Somebody grabbed my hand, causing me to finch and squirm further away on the bed.

“If you just give them what they want, we can leave right away for Tenebrae, Eun-Byeol. Just give Izunia and Besithia what they want, and the torture will end.”

I could hear him but none of what he said made sense to me. It was like I was under water, and everything he said was muffled.

“If you don’t tell them what they want to hear soon, they will break you.”

Joke’s on him, I think they had already broken me by that point.

I could tell by the elongated silence that my guest had left me, allowing me to rest for the remainder of the night before the scientists would return and the torture would start again.

I rested fitfully for what felt like hours before jolting out of my daze as fingers brushed against my forehead. I shot up and scrambled across the bed, my eyes looking fearfully around the room before locking on the strange man crouching by the edge of the bed.

His hand hovered where my head had been resting, frozen in shock as I trembled against the wall. My eyes darted to the left as movement caught my vision.

A woman stood across the room with her hands raised in surrender, slowly approaching the bedside.

“Hey, we’re not here to hurt you.” the woman, who was barely old enough to be called an adult, said quietly, big brown eyes shining with concern.

I shuddered like a leaf against the wall as she approached, trying to calm me like I was a skittish cat.

“We’re from Lucis, His Majesty, King Regis, sent us on behalf of Princess Eun-Byeol. We’re here to get you out.” the woman said calmly, extending a hand to me as she reached the edge of the bed, “I’m Crowe, the idiot who touched you without asking is Nyx, and we have our mission leader Luche waiting outside. One of our tech guys, Pelna, is waiting for us on a boat at the foot of the cliff. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. We won’t let you get hurt anymore.”

Crowe’s voice was calming….it was understanding. My eyes fluttered nervously between her extended hand and her face, conflicted about the odds that it was a trick before shuffling toward the brunette. I placed my small hand in her gloved one, feeling her squeeze it gently as she helped me stand.

“Getting those cuffs off will have to wait until we get back to Pelna. You alright to walk?” the man, Nyx, questioned, gray eyes flicking over me in worry.

I nodded once, leaning against Crowe for support and allowing her to guide me out of the bedroom. We walked into the sitting room, my eyes immediately locking on the bloodstain on the rugg that was the only reminder of what happened here.

“You found the target.” I flinched at the sound of a new voice coming from over by Besithia’s computer, looking at the serious-faced man as he fiddled with the device.

“Yeah, she’s a little skittish and really roughed up, but she’s alive.” Nyx replied, poking his head outside the third princess’ apartment to check the hall, “You almost finished with that?”

“Just about. Pelna wants as many files as possible to examine and send off to the crownsguard and council.” the man, Luche I guessed due to the process of elimination, replied. He pulled a memory stick free of the computer before shutting it down.

“Okay let’s move out. We’re going to have to move a little more slowly and stick to the ground shadows since we have her with us.” the dirty blonde ordered, pulling his hood up and covering his face with his visor, “Crowe, stay by her side, Nyx will take up the rear.”

Both of them nodded as they pulled up their own hoods, Crowe guiding me along as we crept out into the hallway. We stuck to the shadows as planned, creeping in the darkness between buildings as we avoided guard patrols carefully.

We managed to make it to the gardens before the sound of the magitek grew louder suddenly, causing the group to pause.

“They know she’s missing. We need to get her over the wall before the MTs get here!” Luche hissed at the other two, causing me to tremble against Crowe’s side. The mage’s hand came up to stroke my hair lightly in an almost soothing motion as she waited for directions.

“You two should take her over the wall, between the you two, you’ll be able to warp with her easily. I’ll deal with the MTs and meet you down there.” Nyx insisted, looking to Luche for approval.

The dirty blonde narrowed his gaze, his mouth set in a firm line as he contemplated for a brief second before nodding in approval.

“Good luck, Ulric.” he said, Crowe nodding as well before looking back to her superior, “Crowe, I want you two in front of me and take the memory drive. If anything happens to either me or Nyx, you make sure both the girl and the drive get on that boat headed for Galdin.”

“Got it.” the brunette responded, taking the drive and placing it in her pocket before guiding me through the garden towards the wall.

I could hear the telltale sounds of gunfire behind us before Crowe pulled out her kukuri and looked at me.

“I need you to hold on to me as tightly as possible. Side-along warping is usually unpleasant.” the woman told me, brown eyes staring at me from under her hood.

I gripped her tightly, nodding in confirmation and shutting my eyes as she literally worked her magic.

It was a strange sensation to suddenly become nothing and then reappear elsewhere. Luche was right behind us, landing on top of the wall before looking back to where Nyx was still fighting off some magitek soldiers.

“Get her to the boat, Crowe. I’ll wait for Nyx.” the older man ordered, the mage nodding again before pulling me along to the edge of the wall to gaze down the cliffside.

The ocean crashed against the rocks but the shape of a boat could faintly be made out in the moonlight, bobbing cautiously at the foot of the cliff.

Crowe pulled me tightly against her side before throwing her kukuri down towards the deck of the ship and warping us after it. It felt like I had left my stomach up on the wall, my legs crumpling underneath me as we hit the deck.

“Crowe?!” A man’s voice called from somewhere to the left.

“I got the girl and the drive, Pelna. Luche and Nyx are just dealing with some MTs before coming down.” the woman shouted back before turning to me, “You’re safe now. They can’t get you anymore.”

I nodded tiredly in response, allowing her to guide me over to a sheltered section of the deck.

“You can stay here for now. Once we get far enough out to sea, I’ll have Pelna check you out, alright?”

I nodded again, my eyes drooping as the sound of people warping onto the deck drew the mage’s attention away from me, allowing me to fall into a dreamless slumber.

I slowly came to, feeling incredibly well-rested for once. There was no way Besithia let me rest for more than two days and recover, prompting me to open my eyes and look around.

The room was white and everything smelled like bleach and antiseptic, leading me to the conclusion that I was in a hospital. But there were no hospitals in Goryeo.

I sat up in a panic, thinking that the empire had moved me to Gralea while I was unconscious before my gaze fell on an older man dressed in all black sitting quietly in the corner.

“It’s good to see you awake child. We were unsure if you would come back to us.” the man said calmly, choosing his words carefully in order to avoid frightening me further.

“Where am I?” I asked timidly, staring openly at the stranger.

“You are in Insomnia, Soo-Min. You have nothing to fear here, the empire can no longer touch you.” he assured me, rising from his seat and walking towards me slowly with the assistance of a cane.

“How do you know my name? Not even the glaive who rescued me knew who I was.” I questioned, shifting slightly as he drew closer.

“How could I not recognize Myung-Hee’s daughter? Especially when you’re the best friend of my son.”

All the pieces suddenly fell into place, my brown gaze locking onto his green eyes.

“King Regis….” I whispered, looking up at him in a mix of awe and shock.

The king nodded in confirmation, smiling gently at me before settling into the chair next to the bed.

“You’re on track to a speedy recovery according to your doctor. They estimated you’d only be staying for a week after you woke.” Regis stated, relaxing into his chair, “But your recovery isn’t the only thing we need to discuss.”

His face became more serious suddenly, his green eyes piercing.

“My closest advisors and I have reviewed the memory disk containing the information retrieved from the Nifelheim technology found in the palace.”

I froze at his words, dread filling the pit of my stomach.

“What are they?” he asked quietly, his tone a double edged blade in terms of calm and danger.

I cleared my throat before speaking, “My memories, sir. From before.”

“Before?” the king questioned, clearly needing more.

“From before I died.”

Regis remained silent for a long moment, analyzing my body language before folding into himself slightly.

“I was afraid it was you after all these years….” the king said, more to himself than me, “Something was changed about the world shortly before you and Noctis met, but it was so minor that I simply believed it to be the gods preparing for the coming of the chosen. But when you and Noctis had the encounter with the demon, something changed about the crystal in the aftermath. Like it had extended itself beyond the royal family, which it has never done before. I couldn’t figure it out and after all these years, it was you the whole time. The crystal and the draconian were extending themselves to you. Why?”

I looked up from the plain white bed sheets to look into the kings green eyes once more, trying to find the words he wanted to hear.

“Because I wanted to save him. He was my only friend and I would give anything to get him back. I gave the draconian my servitude in exchange for the power to bring him back.” I smiled lightly as I thought of the benefits of my choice, “It allowed me to watch and take care of him even when we were apart.”

“Does he know?” Regis questioned patiently.

“No. I only used my previous form around him. It was too much for him to understand as a child and now it’s too late to explain it without repercussions.” I admitted, looking back down at the sheets.

“And was this gift the only thing the draconian granted you?”

“No, I have unrestricted access to the power of the crystal.” I answered, looking up to take in his shocked expression, “I’ve never used anything other than my gift to look out for Noctis, I tried casting a spell once and it was exhausting.”

The king sighed tiredly, looking up at the ceiling, “Well, we can’t have an untrained girl running around with the power of the Lucis Caelums at her fingertips. You are seventeen, correct?”

I nodded in response.

“Good, as soon as your living arrangements and guardianship is sorted out by immigrations and customs, you’ll be inducted as a trainee with the Kingsglaive. It’ll be an excellent cover and a quiet way for you to work on harnessing your magic, and you’ll be able to learn some combat skills even though you’re too young to be deployed.” the king continued, standing from his chair.

I nodded again, accepting his decision easily considering he didn’t want me executed for essentially stealing the power of the royal family.

The king’s face slipped into a more lighter expression, smiling gently at me.

“Now, I do believe you have a long awaited reunion waiting for you. I shall fetch Noctis for you.”

My heart fluttered happily at the mention of the prince, overjoyed at the chance to see him again.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” I said quietly, both for the lack of execution and for allowing Noct to visit.

“Of course.” the king replied smoothly before slowly exiting the room.

My hospital room was calm and quiet for about ten minutes, allowing me to come down from my emotional high for a few moments before the door opened again.

A black head of hair peaked around the door, sapphire blue eyes widening as they locked on my own brown ones.

“Soo…?” Noctis whispered, stepping into the room further, his behaviour causing me to smile lightly.

“Hey Noct….” I replied, tears slowly making their escape down my cheeks, “It’s been a while….”

My voice seemed to break the teenage boy out of his trance, lanky limbs tripping over each other as he ran towards my hospital bed and pulled me into a tight hug.

“I was so fucking worried when I heard about Goryeo….I thought you were dead….” he mumbled, his voice cracking slightly due to his tears.

“Hey, I’m alright. I came back….I told you, 'The Gods themselves would have to order me from your side if you do not do it yourself’. I may have gone away, but I’ll always come back to you.” I assured the younger boy, allowing him to squeeze me a little bit tighter in his hug.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Noctis whispered, tucking his head against my neck.

“I won’t. I’m not going anywhere.” I promised, running my fingers through his ebony coloured hair as we basked in each other’s presence.