#Clayton can smile she just rarely sees any reason to

[sillyroundkatie]

Local evil cyborg woman smiling incident, 3 dead 12 injured

[papipopsicle]

AFTERTASTE PART SEVEN

Pairing: Archie Andrews X Reader

Summary: In which two best friends since childhood test whether sex and friendship can co-exist without causing conflict. Including OC's Flick and Cherry, a bisexual and lesbian in a sapphic relationship who are best friends of Y/N.

Song: Dream Boy by Waterparks

Warnings: swearing

Words: 2.1K

MASTERLIST

feedback is always appreciated

Y/F and Y/M Robins were far from perfect parents. Y/F had the mental age of a toddler at times, and being an estate agent who always has to go the extra mile- he often wasn't home when his wife needed him the most. Y/M, on the other end of things, had been a stay at home mum until Y/N turned 16 last summer, and now she helped with all the administrative work for Mayor McCoy. She was a maternal creature which, coupled with her brilliant sarcasm, made for some explosive conversations. The two met on the first day of university and got married a week after the last.

When Y/M first found out she was pregnant with little Y/S Robins, the two realised they wanted a quiet bubble of a town to raise their children and grow up with them. But it wasn't until their second daughter was about to turn seven until they found their forever home in the quaint town of Riverdale. Ten years passing before their eyes, and the picturesque place didn't seen all that anymore.

Jason Blossom's death had nothing to do with the short gunshot sounding over the waves of Sweetwater River, the noise which woke Y/N from her sweet unmemorable dreams every few nights. The summer days rolled into early August without anyone caring, Y/N spending most of them at Cheryl's side listening intently to her past adventures with her brother. Betty threw herself into an internship at a publication house; Flick and Cherry had volunteered at a summer camp, and Archie was helping his dad out more and more with constructions job.

Although it hadn't been the start to the relationship Y/N had hoped for- the nervous giggles and hand holding, short and sweet kisses on late night walks followed by poetry worthy cuddling. There was a magnificent silver lining as Archie's muscles gained definition, and he suited the sweaty builder look far too well.

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y/n Humph!

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Cheryl busy being my own icon

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"Earth to my gorgeous queen? Y/N/N?" Cheryl quizzed her friend, who currently resided at the poolside of Thornehill Manor. Her mind was off on a glorious tangent about her rendezvous in the kitchen at two in the morning. Fixing herself a glass of water, when Archie slips his hand into her pyjama shorts, his other around her mouth muffling her needy moans.

The red headed beauty shoved her y/h/c friend playfully, warm skin sweaty under her pale touch. Y/N blinked innocently and sent her an apologetic smile, "What?"

"I asked if you've thought about dating anyone else since Clayton?" The fiery ginger girl enquired with her usual upbeat tone.

Cheryl knew she had a unique quality about her which made it almost impossible for Y/N to lie to her face. The y/h/c girl scrunched up her nose, hiding the smile the idea of Archie Andrews brought to her face. 'Yes. We started off as fuck buddies but never actually fucked. Then I drunkenly asked him to be my boyfriend, now a month later I think we may genuinely work out.'

"Maybe." Y/N bit her bottom lip, listening to her friend's squeal as she squeezed her sun tanned arm.

"I knew it! You have this euphoric glow you only get when someone else makes you climax." The redhead affirmed confidently, watching the Robins girl's eyes bug out before hitting her arm, "Y/N/N, you know your secret's safe with me."

"Fine." She sighed and took a sip of her fruity cocktail, "It started off as just fooling around, honestly I just needed to let off some steam after everything. I knew he was into the kinds of things I was, I mean he used to tease me about it non stop. And it was good, so good I stopped being a pussy and asked him to be my boyfriend."

"Holy freaking hell!" The Blossom girl grinned with excitement, "Dare I ask, who is it?"

Y/N deadpanned at her friend, "Guess."

"Please don't tell me it's that muscular oaf Reggie, he's pretty but there's not exactly much going on upstairs." Cheryl tapped her temples and rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Nope."

The ginger thought for a moment, consulting her liquid courage and splashing her feet around the waters edge, "It's Archie."

All it took was a side-eyed glance at the y/h/c girl's blooming rosy cheeks to know she definitely wasn't wrong. Y/N severely lacked the ability to lie, even if her tone held conviction, her features were far too expressive and told the truth all on their own. It's not like they were hiding it from anyone, but the past four weeks had gone far too quickly without any moments to spare for the world around them. They slept together each night, the majority of that time not actually spent sleeping, but they hadn't been given the chance yet to explore more romantic avenues.

"It's fucking Archie Andrews- you're fucking Archie Andrews and don't you dare deny it." Cheryl gawked in her gorgeous white and nude bikini, watching as her friend lay back against the hot marble slabs which encased the large pool with the largest grin adorning her plump lips.

"We haven't had sex yet, so technically you aren't completely correct." Y/N winked but carried on before the girl exploded with a hundred questions and could never be turned off, "Trust me, I want to, and I'm sure he does too. But you know, it's his first time, I want it to be perfect for him."

"Y/N/N, you really love him, don't you?" Cheryl gagged to begin with, but she found it sweet in truth. She wanted someone to hold, who would hold her right back just as tight for no other reason than needing to.

Y/N sat back up and paddled her feet, "You have no idea, Cher."

Arch 🧡

That new post should be illegal

Tiger 💛

Ooo

I like this reaction

Maybe I should post more

Like this one

Cheryl pushed me in the pool

And I may have had a drink

Or three

Arch 🧡

Well that's sexy

I swear nobody looks good like that how on earth

You're a goddess

But also

How's she holding up?

Tiger 💛

🥺😇

Broken

But she's strong yk

You coming over for dinner?

Arch 🧡

Yeah Y/D invited my dad too

Need me to pick you up from Cheryl's?

Tiger 💛

Awe cute we love a bromance, and it's all good my mommas coming now anyways :))

Hours had elapsed far too fast and soon the summer heat simmered into cool waves of wind brushing over sun kissed skin. Cheryl's arms were clasped around the blonde's shoulders in a tight embrace.

"Thank you so much, Y/N/N, I don't know what I'd do without you!" The Blossom girl professed with sparkling eyes and a brilliant smile.

Y/N beamed up at her, fingers carding through her damp y/h/c hair as she looked over her shoulder to see her mum pulling into the driveway, "You don't need to thank me, Cher, friends look after each other. Message me if you need me, okay?"

Cheryl promised she would and the two teen girls hugged goodbye, with Y/N soon heading home- listening to her mother gossip about Hal and Alice's screaming match last night, Y/N loved her inability to keep her mouth shut sometimes.

"Mom," The y/h/c stopped her mid sentence and received a side eyed glance in response, "I need to tell you something and you're totally not allowed to freak out while you're driving."

Y/M's eyes widened and her grip tightened around the steering wheel, her daughters very rarely confided in her. While she knew her youngest was safe in her promiscuity, neither of Y/M Robins' girls ever shared their secrets so for the most part she took finding out into her own hands.

"Honey," The forty four year old's calm tone was hardly comforting to the teenager, "if this is about you and Archie fooling around, your father and I figured that out a long time ago, like so long ago. Who do you think does your laundry? When your underwear starting looking like dental floss, we caught on pretty quickly."

Y/N felt like a deer in headlights, "Mum, what the hell?" Her cheeks heated to an inhuman temperature.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, as long as you're being safe and he's-"

"For the second time today, and I can't believe I'm saying this to you, but I am not having sex with Archie Andrews!" Y/N's high pitched voice sounded through the car. It truly was a blessing and a curse to have such open minded parents in situations like this. She thought about telling her mother the truth, but Y/M was a blabber mouth as well as a gossip, so Y/N chose to withhold certain pieces of information.

The Robins matriarch dropped the subject but didn't forget about her daughter's tone, and continued to ramble on about how odd she found Penelope Blossom and the whole Blossom family in general. "Like why on Earth is Rose in a wooden wheelchair? They know it's the twenty first century, right?"

As expected, the Robins household was once again filled with warm laughter and copious amounts of food. The topic of Jason was skimmed over, and Y/S found herself away from the dinner table. The eldest Robins sibling was currently pleading with Alice as she began shoving all of Polly's belongings in the boot of Hal's car. She couldn't comprehend life without her best friend, not after losing Jason. They were meant to be going travelling together for a year- working the worst jobs and staying up all night to watch the sun rise in different countries. But instead, Y/S's eyes were blinded by tears as she screamed down the street at the speeding car, with Polly Cooper taken out of her life indefinitely.

Y/N was oblivious to the dark inner workings of the Cooper clan, Betty's knowledge about her and Archie unbeknownst to the loved up teens. She'd spent every second not occupied by her internship trying to justify the romantic act as a fleeting moment of loneliness fuelled by alcohol. She wrote in her diary ideas on how she could win Archie back over, not knowing it was in fact, too late. Betty found herself hopelessly in love with the boy next door, unfortunately for her, the girl across the road was the only one his mind found.

Archie and Y/N washed up while their parents resided to the living room with three glasses and a bottle of white wine. The short girl turned the tap off after placing the last utensil on the draining board, flicking her sudsy hands at the boy's face. "What the-"

She didn't give him a chance to finish that thought, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his torso- planting a kiss onto his lips, then cheeks, then forehead. The two fell entranced by each other, planting pecks across nape of her neck and top of his head.

"Son," Fred's voice called out from the next room and the two immediately pulled apart, hearts beating in their ears, "we're going in a minute."

"Alright." He replied, placing his girlfriend on the floor once more.

"I wish you'd stay." Y/N pouted childishly, she meant the words entirely but hated feeling overbearing. Her life had been turned upside down this summer, it started off with her unable to fall asleep with another person next to her- now Archie's chest was her most comfortable pillow and is arms were the warmest blanket.

"Tomorrow night instead, Princess? I promised my dad I'd spend more time with him before senior year." The boy reasoned, holding her close and unknowingly feeling the exact same way, he adored holding her by her waist and pulling her close under the duvet.

"Monopoly night at yours?" She grinned and he nodded back in reply, the two sharing a final kiss in the kitchen before walking into the hallway.

Y/N felt at ease as she wished the two a goodnight and headed up to bed. She took off her tea dress and replaced it with Archie's bulldog t-shirt, managing to reach the same length on her thighs as her dress did.

Arch 🧡

I can still smell your perfume on my sheets

Tiger 💛

Marking my territory obviously x

Arch 🧡

I love it

Hope you sleep well baby x

Tiger 💛

Call me that tomorrow and we won't be sleeping so you better rest up tonight x

Arch 🧡

Whatever you say, baby x

Tiger 💛

Goodnight x

Arch 🧡

Night princess x

part eight?

wanna be tagged? just send in an ask x

[cattles-bians]

Damie Vibecca exes AU part 4

post directory

[em note: this one is LONG i had to split it!!!]

obsetress: deflecting to viola protecting becs

obsetress: once they are dating

obsetress: and thinkin thoughts

em: viola asks rebecca if she wants to put a hit out on peter and rebestiecca is like????

em: that’s hot but

em: u can do that? also maybe don’t. but mostly that’s hot

obsetress: i was literally gonna say peter is still her ex and he's a persistent fucker even though it's been a year at least and viola's response is... not far off from canon!

obsetress: becca just stares at her for a minute and then she's cupping viola's cheek and murmuring "come here" and pulling her down

obsetress: they're like kissing or whatever and rebecca's murmuring "that was hot, you know" between kisses and viola's like "oh?" and becca's like "don't be cheeky, you know it was" and vi just grins against her mouth

em: I’m Really Invested In This Crack Ship

obsetress: ok but rebecca tells jamie and dani about vi offering to put a hit on peter and they're both understandably and reasonably aghast and rebecca's just like (takes a sip of wine, ducks head, smiles to self) i think it's sweet

obsetress: dani and jamie look at each other out of the corners of their eyes

obsetress: (later, dani agrees how absolutely out of line it is but also admits that it sure does feel nice to be so taken care of sometimes)

obsetress: (jamie throws a pillow at her)

obsetress: also thinking about secret soft vibecca are sometimes and how horrified dani and jamie are the first time they see it with their own eyes

em: jamie and dani excessive PDA queens get a taste of their own medicine

em: it’s so funny that i’m like. always on the verge of viola horny posting but as soon as it’s vibecca i’m like look at these babies. these beautiful babies

obsetress: viola and rebecca kissing one (1) time at brunch and jamie, arm slung around dani’s shoulders, is like “oi, no one wants to see that” and dani, leaning into jamie, one hand in her lap, crinkles her nose and rebecca’s like “y— you’re kidding, right?”

obsetress: also like. we talk a lot about what vi does for rebecca but also like

obsetress: vi massive abandonment issues and rebecca just

obsetress: she just stays

em: ur gonna Kill me here lies em

obsetress: i know i didn’t mean to and then i just

obsetress: i can’t think too hard abt them or i will Melt Down but just like

em: look if rebecca can see the best in someone as awful as peter

em: viola isnt nearly as terrible

obsetress: esp vi post dani like

obsetress: she’s obnoxious and haughty and neoliberal but

obsetress: radical love goes a long way!

obsetress: rebecca grounding her thru touch and rebecca slipping her hands around vi’s and easing them loose when vi’s hands start to clench and rebecca just pressing a kiss to viola’s temple and murmuring “i’m here, yeah? with you. not going anywhere”

em: like i just think after eddie dani wouldnt like, just go w the flw any more. like i think abt her challenging viola occasionally

em: lovingly! gently

but like, holding her accountable

em: also violas absolutely little spoon

em: like i know blah blah viola top rebecca top leaning switch but viola little spoon

obsetress: “actually viola” (vi always knows she’s in trouble when dani calls her viola) “that was really hurtful” “i’m sorry you feel that way, dani, but—“ “i don’t need you to be sorry for how i feel. i need you to show me you’re sorry for what you did”

em: dani calls vi the Full Name and viola knows shes in trouble bc thats at least 4 extra vowels w danis midwest accent

em: it is always v surprising how much like, working w kids equips you to work w adults. b/c at least w kids you dont have layers and layers of social nuance to work through. u can just say 'hey. that was hurtful and your apology sucks'

obsetress: meanwhile dani’s over here trying to explain to vi intent vs impact and how no, it’s not semantics or nuance, it’s actually kind of a chasm

em: i kind of love like um. look viola is terrible but she wasnt born terrible

obsetress: she just has a lot to unlearn

em: and id belive that even if i wasnt a ghostfucker thats just rogers theory of self actualisation babyeee

obsetress: dani viola big fight n dani's like

obsetress: "i'm sorry and i love you but it's not my job to fix you, vi" and she just breaks down and she's like "it's not"

obsetress: jesus why did my brain take THAT turn

em: wrow

em: its ok i was gonna be like 'so they obvs break up at some point....'

obsetress: anyway viola just stares at her for a second and then she's like "you put the 'i'm sorry' before the 'i love you'"

obsetress: and dani just stares at her for a long time and she's like "yeah. i guess i did"

em: HANNAH

em: BESTIE

obsetress: i KNOW what the FUCK

obsetress: anyway dani's like "i guess i did" and vi's like "is that it then?" and dani just looks at her with her puffy eyes and is like "i think so"

obsetress: dani clayton queen of saying "i love you" over and over in the midst of breaking up w someone

em: well! she has a lot of love to give but, she also has to love herself sometimes!

em: i was thinking abt scenarios n i just remembered that. whole video rental shop thing so i think that slots in nicely

[em edit: u can read here]

obsetress: god i love that lil scene

em: dani sends viola a tentative little meme peace offering and they get back to talking and its nice but maybe a bit awkward and viola mentions like, going to therapy and seeing someone for help n its

obsetress: vi's stewing on "i can't fix you" for weeks and then she's begrudgingly. BEGRUDGINGLY calling a therapist

em: like its still awkward and dani is still nursing some wounds but she can ALSO be happy for someone she used to care about

em: still cares about!

obsetress: she's always gonna love her in some way or another

obsetress: but yeah also like. smth to viola being too stubborn to do anything she doesn't wanna do except suddenly when dani clayton gets involved and that feels p canon in its own way too

em: 'i cant fix u' weird bc every time i see viola im like 'i can fix her'

obsetress: it's like ur in my head bestie

em: how do u think viola and rebestiecca met

em: not that u think abt it or anything

obsetress: MAN i was just thnking

obsetress: in this universe how did dani and jamie meet but i guess it can still just be bly tbh

obsetress: as for vi and bestiecca hmmm

em: am so caught up in the joy of fucked up interpersnal dynamics i forgot a meet cute

obsetress: honestly part of me wants to be like

obsetress: on some dating app but a dating app for posh people yk

obsetress: but then i'm like

obsetress: that takes all the meet cute fun out of it

obsetress: oh GOD

obsetress: i got it

obsetress: ready

obsetress: so like viola landlord we know this

obsetress: and then i was watching whatever ep three the other day and bex mentions wanting to do public law right

em: oooooh

obsetress: bex public housing attorney

em: OOH

obsetress: they meet at some conference

obsetress: hit it off prob fuck lbr

obsetress: and then

obsetress: comedy of errors

obsetress: whoever stays the night, they sleep together again in the morning, breakfast in bed, bex is like "so what do you do, anyway"

em: hjgbjshmdnfbmngbmhnbgs,hndg m,shndgds

em: YES

obsetress: and then they just

em: WHEEZES

obsetress: also i like to think rebecca invites vi back to her hotel room and vi is so charmed by her taking charge ("""taking charge""") that she lets her

obsetress: and then like

obsetress: god for a while what if they just like

obsetress: they're so mortified and morally and fundamentally at odds but like

obsetress: the sex is so good???????

obsetress: that they keep just meeting up and then

em: romeo and juliet situation

obsetress: yk how it goes

obsetress: the sex is good and they see each other as like

em: thats so fucking good thank u hannah

obsetress: super rare intellectual equals whatever

obsetress: thank u i am exceedingly proud rn

obsetress: honestly at this point i'm

obsetress: rebecca and vi uhaul change my mind

obsetress: like not too quick because isabel but, quick enough to be considered

em: so the joke is like. obviously 'extremely pda damie' but when rebecca and vi are alone they Also cannot get their hands off each other

obsetress: they both just. worry about appearances too much meanwhile

obsetress: tweedle dee and tweedle dum in the overalls and mom jeans dgaf

em: accidentally seeing ur friends compromised is just part of the package of being friends w damie. however jamie accidentally catches vibecca in the act and shes Horrified

em: hypocrits

em: danis like yeah what do u. think theyre doing

em: dani is nonchallant bc shes dated viola of all people

obsetress: i mean could you imagine

obsetress: between vi and dani's just

obsetress: insatiable libido

em: HADNT IMAGINED UNTIL NOW BUT YEAH

obsetress: dani, very seriously: jamie, when two women love each other––

em: dani likes dating jamie bc it means she can top occasionally :) maybe even more than occasionally

em: jamies like ooh my god i knw i know how are u so casual about... rebecca... and ... viola... (dani just pulls her in fr a smooch)

obsetress: they have each other's clothes half off and dani's like "i'm so casual because i dated her too, babe" and jamie's like "can we not have this conversation right n"

obsetress: also i still have this on my clipboard from earlier we bopped around so fast but

obsetress: vi and bex hooking up early on:

obsetress: rebecca knocks on vi's door at, like, 6:00 pm after work, vi opens it, rebecca just grabs her and kisses her, vi pulls her in, becca kicks it closed behind her, vi shoves her against the door and they're kissing against it, then vi's ducking her head to kiss along rebecca's neck and rebecca's like "how many people did you evict today" as she angles her head and then viola's finding her lips again and tugging at her lower lip with her teeth "probably not as many landlords as you shortchanged today" and rebecca's laughing and pushing her backwards down the hall as viola tugs at her blouse

em: GOD. viola is probably like

em: ok, disclaimer: fuck all landlords

em: but at least in this fantasy world perhaps viola is 'fairly' 'reasonable' n shes absolutely playing it up for the hate sex angle n rebecca Maybe Assumes shes lying but

em: stupid morons in love

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: i think i've mentioned this before but like

obsetress: now that it's more fleshed out

obsetress: then they're at drinks one night (and when did it go from just sex to drinks? neither of them could tell you) and viola's kinda quiet n moody (n rebecca already knows she Gets Like This sometimes and that she'll usually say whatever she's thinking eventually) and finally she's like

obsetress: "i have... a daughter" and rebecca's just like "tell me about her" like it's the easiest thing in the world

obsetress: and viola's head snaps over and she stares because she was.... not expecting that

obsetress: and so viola does

obsetress: and rebecca's just like "i'd love to meet her one day"

em: soft.....

obsetress: they always turn back to soft

obsetress: like they have a fuckin mind of their own

em: rapidly oscillate between horny and soft

obsetress: that's the mood

em: violas probably like. yknow, rebecca's young and up and cming n she probably assumes rebesticca isnt interested as something as full on as a kid but shes like 'do you have any photos'

obsetress: fuck!!!!!!!!!

em: rebeccas like do u think i didnt. see the photos at ur apartment lmao

em: theres a childs drawing on the fridge

obsetress: rebecca has known almost from the jump but was

obsetress: giving viola her time

obsetress: also smth smth giving her time instead of time wearing her away etc etc we're all in hell

em: cracks knuckles

em: bestie....

obsetress: pls

obsetress: it's what i deserve

obsetress: first tho

obsetress: consider

obsetress: the way viola's face lights up when she's talking about isabel and showing rebecca all the pictures

obsetress: hold pls

em: soft......

obsetress: this one chief

obsetress: right here

[moxazza-blog]

The werewolf tale

It was a good day in Charlington’s book. You look around and find an woman’s backpack, freshly abandoned you would guess, if going by the scent. You open it up and find a hunting knife, a lighter, some food, and a pack of cigarettes. You also find a pistol with an entire clip of bullets. You sit down by a tree and begin eating the candy bars as you consider your next move. You’ve just experienced a terrifying event, maybe even more than when you had to kill Clayton and his gang. But one good thing came out of it: you just killed a Hunter. You say “Never would I have known the creature before me was in fact a hunter.” You think back to the days when you used to live in the city. The days before everything fell to pieces. When you were a young adult, life was somewhat carefree. back in the day you wouldn’t have killed people as carelessly as you did with that Hunter, most likely. You walk along, lost in your own thoughts. After a few hours of walking, you come across another city. Except it looks like it’s about half collapsed. You say “I need to structurally rebuild this town” You need to rebuild this city. You’re not sure how yet, but you know that this is what you need to do. You set out and begin rebuilding this city. You manage to restore the basic functions. Electricity, running water, a functioning transit system. But something is still missing. You wander the city center, wondering what you can do to improve this city. Then it comes to you: People. The more people there are, the more opportunity you have to do stuff. You say “Lesser beings of an undying nature must be eradicated.” You decide the only solution to this problem is to purge the city of non-upgraded humans. You sleep not another wink that night. The next day you show up for work. “Where’s Haylon?” you ask. “I’m sorry?” “Where’s Haylon, my assistant?” “She quit!" You succumb to say "She was never an desirable anyway.” You can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to work with you. The next day, you get a letter in the mail about a week later from the head of the government. It reads: Dear Mr. Charlingston, congratulations on winning the right to be the next mayor of this great city! We at the city government hope that you will serve the city and people with distinction. You inspect whether or not the letter is in fact written by a zombie or similar. You’re the new mayor of this city! We hope you will take the time to play your new position to the fullest during this period of restructuring. We would be happy to show you around. Please find enclosed a map of the city and your new office located in the city hall. Best regards, Mr. Haylon. You look out the window of your office and notice a few different things. There’s a large group of zombies down below, milling about. You say “This will prove no match for my pistol, and my full round of ammo.” You look out your window and notice a large group of zombies. Several of them can be heard knocking and moaning on the insides of the store. You remember the small arsenal you found in the store. You take full use of the arsenal. Grabbing a pipe from inside the store you begin firing it at the zombies. You hit many of them, though not enough to make a dent. You finally gain the upper hand in the shooting. You shoot a couple more times at the zombies, and finally take down the horde. You walk outside and find that the horde has dissipated. You wonder if the flesh is edible. You walk up to one of the shamblers and smack it in the head with the pipe, taking it down and tearing a strip off of its flesh. The meat is… well, it tastes like flesh. You no doubt turn into a zombie next. You hit the pipe against your leg a couple of times, to no avail. You continue walking and come across some stairs going up, and decide to go up them. You walk the steps leading upwards. You walk up some sets of stairs and up some more, passing a few buildings. You reach the last set of stairs, leading to the city hall. You arrive at the City Hall. You begin setting explosives on and around the city hall. You walk around the building, looking for weak spots and potential places to place explosives. You find an old hole in the wall leading into the basement, through which you can see a light. You were never in fact turned into a zombie as it configures. You decide to go through the door in an attempt to find some humanity left inside of the dead city. The hallway is dark and musty, filled with old trash and ramshackle tables and chairs. You howl at the moon, enticed by becoming a werewolf. You howl at the moon, anticipating yourself becoming a werewolf. Your body shakes and you find yourself shifting, your mind struggling to hold on to both minds. You find yourself standing up to sprint away, but towards the woods. You find them, howling at the moon and enticed by the howl of the werewolf race. You realize that you can control the werewolves, and future hosts. You take in a deep breath, entreating the next change to come soon. With the moon at your back, you sprint through the trees towards the lake. You find Chris running the same way, and begin leaping through the trees towards him. You inspect Chris for werewolf valuables. As the Alpha, Chris has many man pockets, though they are far too tight for your hands. You begin to tear through the pockets of his jacket, tossing the various items aside. You find a wallet, and fish out the contents. You find a hunting knife, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter and some loose change. You also find a pistol, a shotgun and several rounds of ammo. You toss the items aside, as well as his jacket. You howl at the moon, entreating another change. Begin becoming the lone gunman of the werewolf race. You quickly change back, grabbing your shotgun and the hunting knife. You begin running towards the wildlife of the area. Your mouth begins to water as you see numerous deer, and even a few bears. Shooting your shotgun, you kill a number of the wild animals. You quickly begin running through the trees, following the coat of another werewolf. You begin to sprint ahead, following the trail. You begin heading towards the town of Glendale, as the other werewolf are heading towards there to kill more people. You see the blurry forms of police cars speeding down the road. You hear several shotgun blasts, and you look ahead to see the werewolf you’re chasing getting blown apart by the shotgun. You follow the scent of the other werewolf, heading straight for Glendale. The scent would have to prove reason enough for you to justify for you another killing. You quickly reach the edge of Glendale, and stop to sniff the air. You quickly begin heading towards the source of the smell. You find the other werewolf standing across a dead deer, and upon seeing you, they let out a terrifying howl. You fire your shotgun, blowing apart the werewolves. A werewolf experienced with shotguns was a rare thing to find, and you wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation. You quickly grabbed the deer by the leg, dragging it into the bushes downhill. You feast on the deer. You tear into the deer, feeding on it’s delicious meat. You wolf down the deer, licking your lips and pawing at the carcass as you do. Suddenly you find a strange desire for killing the more of the werewolf that were clumped together with the rest of the pack. You howl, ordering them to stay away from the carcass, as you kill them one by one. With the shotgun resting on your shoulder, you feed on the deer carcass, occasionally looking up to the rest of the werewolf race. There is no chance now for any of those werewolves to continue, you have ensured that. You howl, agreeing contently. “It’s not funny!” the man screams at you. “It’s time to go, now!” a woman shouts at you. As you stand up, a bullet skitters across the road. You become one with the destroyer’s race as you quickly stand up, aiming your shotgun at the man. “Do you want to tell me what that was?” you ask. The man slowly nods. You grab the man, turning invisible, and quickly leading him away from the road. “I’m taking your prize, so the rest of you can search the road.” You grab the man, lifting him off the ground and flying away. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take chances.” You drop the man, who lands in a heap on the road. You kneel down, grabbing him by the hand. “I need to ask you some questions.” you begin as you are marching down along the road, towards Glendale. “Last night, a group of bandits attacked my village. They stole everyone’s food. I need you to find them.” You pull out your revolver, pointing it at him. Paying no respect to the man’s sayings you pull the trigger, blowing the man’s head off. “That was stupid.” You reconsider and looking around, you see a small body lying on the ground, covered in blood. You search the man, finding a letter in his pocket. You open it up, and begin reading: Dear Sir, I’m glad that you are reading this. I hope everything is well with you. Sexually enticing females to copulate with you is all that you know, after all. Take my hand, and let’s see if we are the same. You look up from the letter, as you find several men standing before you. “Who are you?” one asks. The beast! You say as you tear down a ripping of some of the men at arms, and feeding upon. “I am the man who is going to save you,” one of them says, raising his arms. The men slowly begin moving towards you, as if under a spell. “Do you want to see your wife and children again?” the man asks as you nod eagerly. “Then beg me to stop this.” “Please don’t hurt me, I’ll answer to your riddle!” you beg. You are lifted off the ground as the man approaches you with a cruel smile. “You call me your friend?” the man asks, jamming his revolver into your head. In a quick moment you grab the revolver and shoot it at the man. You then let go of the revolver, as it flies through the air. “You’ve got skills,” the man says, grabbing you. You kill the man next entirely. You grab the revolver, shooting it constantly at the man. He grins, leaping to the side. He rolls to the side, grabbing another revolver from the ground. “I’m not going down so easily." But you are the quicker shooter, and as such, become destructed of the man the man kneels down as the bullets enter his flesh, blowing off his hand. You roar, charging forward. as you grab the man, smashing him into the ground repeatedly. The man’s skull is smashed open, and his brain oozes out. You slurp upon the brainy guts. You grab the man’s skull, holding it with both hands. Despite being smashed open, the man’s skull is surprisingly intact. You quickly snap the man’s neck, the man’s head falling to the ground. Overkilling was never an easy sport, but this time it was different. Later that night, the rest of your newly ensembled small community is gathered around the fire. An elderly couple are sitting on a log, seemingly unharmed despite a close call with death. You ask them if they had been done a turning. "We were done a turning,” the man admits. “You can see the wounds.” “How did you survive?” you ask. “We took shelter in our cellar,” the woman says. You howl at the moon in anticipation of the eating of the flesh. “We’re going to have to do something about the werewolf situation,” the man says. “I’m not going to just sit by and let my wife and children die!” the man yells, standing up. You were too quick in the advancement of destroying the couple. The elderly couple die slowly as you rejoice every second of their death playing soon, and there is nothing left of either the man or the woman but bloody meat when even the meat is eaten as another day passes, and you prepare yourself to go out and slay for your family once more. That day that comes must be remembered, you think to yourself. A day like any other you suppose, only that the beasts are let loose within. Loosely stringing together whatever beastly attribute you would’ve been anticipating to find there, you go forth to do your duty. You are a true warrior of the olden days, and the only thing that keeps you going is the holy love of your near extinct family. The mostly dead family, that is. As you approach the house, you see nothing amiss. But as you approach the house closer, you notice a bright light on the left side of the house, which houses the “family”. Actually, a “family" of corpses, no less. As you approach the house closer, the lights becomes apparent, and as you see a crib in the middle of the "family” installment, your heart sinks. A crib filled with blood-stained corpses. Incarcebrated figures beginning to stir. You enter the house, raising your rifle, as you search for anything resembling a foe, but you find nothing. Nothing but the sweet, sweet serenity of a quiet death filling the air. As you continue through the house, you notice a change in the abominations. their movements ceasing, as they begin to make cooing noises to their playpen. Luckily reunited with a piece of what had gone before us was what was enticing the abominations, you decided, grabbing the attention of what remains of our earthly home. “HEY! Do you hear that?” “The children?” your sudden appearance wife asks. “No, the Wolves!" Dead people talking was the order of the day. "The Wolves are no threat.” “It’s only the children,” the oncoming man says. Don’t listen to him, instead walk over to the playpen. You begin to pick up on the lingo of the apparent undeads. You smile as you pick up on the undead parlance easily. “They’re just babies… we had to kill them.” the newly discovered man says. “They tore us apart.” “That’s why they had to die." You research the questioning of the man. "Were they children… male or female?” you ask, continuing to question the man. “Females. So many, so… weak.” he says, trailing off as his eyes fixate on the ground. You say “A nice meal for a werewolf such as myself!” An avalanche of dead meat lingers as we stay awake, as you clear your throat, “The skies don’t look too good this early, we might need to set up a shelter.” There is silence, and then goes on to say “I’d like my wife, please. Can you bring her back?” “Your wife?” you ask. “My soul shall feed the beast that kills you." You say. "There is never enough chance” “I’d hate to think of missing something so important”. “I’m sorry to hear that, we’ll try to make sure that doesn’t happen." You lie, flesh eating in it’s counterpart in becoming superior to the man’s life, and the woman’s life. Only in death could they experience their true bliss, as all that was around them, zed and rotting corpses surrounding them. A bright light illuminated the tunnels, as the howls of the dead followed there soon after. The man’s eyes became fixated on the light, as he smiled. "Thank you, kind sir!” he says, going on with “You are most generous!” “Don’t thank me just yet, we need to cross these streams first.” You reply. “Yes, of course! I’m sorry, kind wolf sir!" You follow the small streams, which meandered through a small valley, before they eventually led to a large river. Large cruise ships sailed up and down the river, ferrying passengers and cargo. You decide "Time for another round of shotgun killing!” “These guys are getting organized, I’m going to have to start using the rifle next time.” You say. “These are just kids!” Oscar replies. You continue onward with “Never the less they will serve to be the feeding of the dead.” “Well. If they are getting organized to act like theirs living there’s nothing that could be better than a good example.” “Exactly!” Oscar replies. "Oscar, you’re going to have to come with me. I’m going to need you for this.“ "You’re joking right?” Oscar says, a fake smile on his face. “Nope!” You respond. “I’m sorry, but I have no intention of joining you. You’re not a very good leader anyway.” “So you just going to give up and let these quivering wrecks of humans beat you? You’re going to die here Oscar, and I’m going to help them.” “This is your last mistake.” Oscar says, pulling out a pistol. You fire your rifle, hitting Oscar in the side. He fires back, shooting you in the leg. You rip the leg off, assimilating with the life of the one legged. You quickly pull your knife, slicing through the Oscar’s skin and into the muscle. You pull it off the bone, splitting the muscle as you bite down, tearing it off with ease. “No pain, just food!" You eat your own leg. The taste of the meat is so good you tear further into the flesh of your own leg, shoving it in your mouth and tearing into it with your teeth and jaws. You shove it down your throat, your stomach begins to digest it. Blood pours out of your leg wound as you begin to feel nauseous. Your stomach turns, and you vomit a moment later. This does nevertheless not affect your ability to kill, and you fire your shotgun at Oscar. You hit him straight in the head, sending his head against the wall and killing him instantly. The two women nearby scream, diving behind the food counter. You laugh, raising your rifle. Walk forward, slide around the corner of the kitchen, and find the women huddled together, terrified. You murderously send the women to hell, all with a quick pair of shells. You rapid-fire your shotgun, hitting one in the leg and the other in the chest, both fatally. They scream as they fall backwards, blood spurting out of their bodies as they land upon the ground. You say "This is enough, carnage, for another day.” You sharpen your knife on the women’s bones. The two women are dead, and you are contented. The only sound in the tunnels is that of your knife grinding against the bone, you’d be amazed if you weren’t covered in blood by this point. You say “I need to get clean, and have a washing off of the accumulated blood right off me.” You walk to the kitchen sink, and turn on the water. You splash water on your face, washing off the blood, before heading to the shower. You set your shirt and trousers on a rack to be washed, before turning the water on full blast and stepping in. You quickly scrub yourself clean, before rinsing off and turning off the water. You grab your clothes, and walk out of the shower, grabbing a soft cloth to wipe yourself down. Your clothes are still stacked, and you realize your mistake as you hear the shower running in the bathroom. You quickly get dressed, before Russel and Olive enter the room. “Hello.” Olive says. “You’re up early.” Russel adds. “Have you been feeling any odd… sensations?” “No.” you falsely reply. “I just realized, my clothes are quite dirty. I was planning on getting them cleaned.” “Oh.” Olive says, looking slightly confused. You hide the advancement of blood from the newly acquired spectators. “I’m glad you could come check on me, Russel. Olive, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have a late night in.” “Sure thing, Azor." You claim "My name is fucking Charlingston” “My name is actually fucking Charlingston.” You tell Russel. “Ah, yes. of course.” Russel replies. You say “Now it’s time to die!” Staring at Russel, you burst forward as you lift the gun to his neck to fire. Tackling him to the ground, he tries to aim the his gun upwards. You say “A biting will be suitable enough for such a quiet spectator!” You leap forward, as your jaws tear into his fleshy throat as you try to tear out his neck. It is tough, Blood squirts out and you are forced to stop, as Olive has grabbed your throat. “No… kill… consume…” she whimpers. “Olive!” you gasp. “You were… so bright. Now, I’m… so dark.” Olive says. Olive lets go of your throat, and you gasp for breath. A tiny little surprisingly capable female being overcoming such a mad spectacle of absurd horror such as yourself will never suffice to describe the moment of that infernal blaze. “Olive, I’m fine.” “No… no, you’re not. Azor, please.” Olive says, tears streaming down her face. You say “My name is fucking Charlingston, I say, as I venture to kill yourself.” “If you say my name wrong once more, I will tear your throat out.” Staring at the Russel’s corpse. “Goodbye, Russel.” You turn as you walk away out of the bathroom. One little thing to do first though, is kill the woman, and the woman takes the destroyal well enough, too tired to care, even when she begins to… change. When you walk into the kitchen, Olive is sitting at the table, with a cup of coffee in front of her. You retain “So, you are turning werewolf becoming much as myself.” The woman nods as though she is one of the lucky ones, the ones that get to keep on their existence. “Can you keep your faculties while in this form?” You ask. “For the most part. Only when… I lose control do things get… messy." You exclaim "So much have you discovered in such a short time of being a wolf.” “I have.” the new werewolf whispers. “You seem to understand what’s happened to me. You are a… powerful one." She continues, "what are you?” “I am a… collector of sorts.” “You’ve said that before. What do you collect?” “Oh, dear girl, I don’t want to tell you.” still the questioning lingers, “If you don’t tell me, I’ll get angry.” Olive says this with a smile, one that you can’t help but reciprocate. You announce “you’ll stand no chance at defeating me at such a sport as is the killing.” She says “bah, humbug” and runs out the door, as you give chase as she is the faster. You run out the front door and imaginatively find yourself hundreds of miles from where you had first started. Minutes become hours, and there is nothing left but for you to declare victory, of this small town. You say “zombie town, or no rather, werewolf city, it is hard to say.” You look around, seeing no sign of the girl or of the remaining her’s. Running down the main street, a horde slowly comes into view ahead of you, but they don’t seem to notice you. You expound “I’ll sneakily pass the amassing horde so easily” and you make your way out of the town, and into the wilderness as you walk, and as you see another building off in the distance, looking like it could be a factory of some sort.. You say “a factory for death” attentive as you get closer, and you see two large buildings. The one to the left is the werewolf control center, full of werewolves and alchemists. You imagine “the ones that are of the species of the rather-would-have to come to forward.” The large building to the right is the main factory, and inside you see a giant room with multiple workbenches, with alchemy and manufacturing equipment. You say “say, is this where the mission is to change mud rock into gold, could be, huh.” You pull out your gun and enter the factory, to confront the owner. You run down the empty hallway, and see a man wearing a soot covered boiler suit striding towards you. You kill the man in an instance, after inspecting that this was no alchemist. Then, you get even happier. This man wore a boiler suit, so he had to be a human. You take off into the wilderness once more and your gun clicked, as you heard a strange sound. You ran to the source of the sound, and found a strange metal disk bearing a fierce resemblance to the one you one time found in the woods. You flip the disk over, finding an odd image on the other side. you find yourself looking into the same ever present eye as the one in the woods. “You found one?” you hear, “I had a few more stashed about, but they’re all yours now." You look up, hearing a laugh. You see a man standing there, clad in alchemist’s robes. "I am the Doctor, and this…” he shows you the disk, then holds it up to his eye, “is a camera. Watch.” the Doctor steps back, and you watch the disk. A man walks into the view, holding a gun at his ready. He approaches the alchemist, and they speak for a time. Never mind the confrontation of the oncoming man’s appearance, his attitude is far more of the alarming, consistently threatening when aggressively the disk cuts out before showing you the result of this meeting. You turn the disk over, and examine the other side. There, written in red, is a phone number. The Doctor holds the disk beneath the light, inspecting it. “Excellent work with this, Tom. I think we may have a new line of work…” you don’t listen to the end of the sentence. What is this man even suggesting. The Doctor turns to you. “Ah, you must be the hero of the village. This is why I sent Amelia off on her mission, so you could take her place.” You don’t understand. You’re not a hero. You’re just trying to survive. The Doctor holds out his hand, which you grab. “Welcome to the Order of the Silver Wishbone, Hero.” he drops the disk, and you watch it bounce along the floor. You answer “No need to be so careless with the artifacts, man” standing upright, offering your hand to the Doctor, who grabs it. “No, no, I wouldn’t want to dirty my hand with a genuine hero. Tom!" You reply with "Your saying’s heroism is completely unfounded” and the Doctor takes a step back, motioning to his colleague. “Come on, Tom. Give the boy a taste of his own medicine." You shoot both the men on an first flight to hell. You run forward, raising your gun and firing. Bullets slam into the Doctor’s chest as he falls to the floor. "Well. Now that was a nice try, William. Tom! You’re dead!” the alchemist that is William stands no chance against your murderous rage as you push him aside and pump three bullets into his chest. “Now then, I think this is yours." you say as you wait for the men to turn, after having thoroughly bitten each’s corpses in the neck, enticingly. You say "well, this is death” “Ah, yes…” the Doctor looks up to the sky, realizing you are of the new form as well. The sun is as red as blood, and there is as much as there would be in hell. “A fitting end, no doubt. I never had a problem with it." The alchemist turned turns to say. And you say "now is another adventure’s tide.” “We shall see…” there is a glow of a light next to you, and you turn to find Amelia waiting for you. She offers her hand, and you take it. You say “hadn’t I killed you at least four times before?” “Perhaps, but now you die for real. For good, in front of an audience. You deserve no less!” she pulls you up, as she stands and reaches for another disk on the ground. Saying as she kills you “Behold, William. The sun is setting on the old world. The new one is beginning." You furiously say "for one last single time, my name is bloody Charlingston.” She lays waste to what was once a lively husk of discontinued human potential. “Yes… yes it is.” he accepts the death, and you let her take her part. Death all around, the stone roses have a saying. This one dies, along with the rest. But not you. Not yet. Yours is meaningfully a long life, and your story has only just begun. It begins here, narrowly escaping the wicked clutches of the newly ensembled female driven death, standing a chance against the rest of the world. There is only so much mercy for the wicked, the Doctor had once said. There was for you. You say “I have a whole new another leg of misadventurous adventure to experience.” She buggles with the advancement of another sheet of the living, as it was just the case for you as well. The Doctor, however, accepted this fate with a graceful ease. You would’ve admired him for it, hadn’t you been so very preoccupied with your own destiny, and making him pay. You scream “PAY NOW, MISTER” looking up at you with a tired frown on his face, he nods away, slowly. “Yes, William.” sighing. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all along, factually.” > You go on with “I AM ONLY THE RECIPIENT OF THE NAME CHARLINGSTON, YOU FAT OOGLE” he nods. “William, William, William. I understand your anger. It’s clear to me that you’ve grown quite attached to the girl, but you must realize… her time is running out, as much as she is darling." You say "the death of the woman runs rampant, as is evidential.” “Yes, yes, I know.” he gently pets your head as you snarl. “I understand. You want to protect her, but you can’t. You must let go.” Looking at him, you bare your fangs as if you can’t help it. The urge is too much. You slice and dice the doctor’s neck in half with one vicious yank, and he screams in pain. “Ack!” he lets out, holding his neck together. Blood spills out, puddling under his fingers. You say “now, there is here enough of blood. I only wish I had some sort of alcohol to wash it down with” the doctor holds his neck, and laughs. “Ah, William. Always thinking of the diet, aren’t we?” saying, before pausing; “No, I suppose you don’t." Those were his last words. Your instincts kick in, and you dart forward, biting again deep into his neck to your honor, and he isn’t old and weak as that were some of the flesh, currently. He’s as hard as a board. You manage to get a few chews in before you realize this was all a terrible mistake. His blood filling your mouth, you feel like you just drank a bucket of acid. A bucket of quite irritating acid at that, and that is. The man screams as you choke on his blood. The sound fills your ears, and the smell of his everlong burning flesh fills both your nostrils. You pull back, shake your head. You stare at the man, who is still in a state of screaming! "Let him scream, William. He’s feeling pain. Do you not feel no pain?" You announce "Stop calling me fucking William, you wherewithal” “What?” you were annoyed at the interruption of your master plan. “What was the question?” again. To your irritation and surprisal, the doctor starts laughing. You chortle out “I said for you to refer to me as is my real name, Charlingston, and so you must do so.” He stops laughing. “William, you ask the questions around here. I am just to provide an answer.” You take a deep breath in, and sigh out. "I never needed this to spell out the ending for you, but you left me no choice..“ shaking your head. "Fine. Do go on.” The man staring at you in drawn upon silence, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Swish, the moment lingers, as you draw upon the poor humanoid’s neck of its still-beating heart. Your hunger seemingly sated for now, but your need to survive is a persistent one within you, like an itch that can’t quite be scratched. “Now." The ongoing tides of human misconceptions are one that lingers on to you. You don’t know if the man is knowing of what you truly are. "Now?” you repeat. Talking to yourself, your appearance wildly different now but that in comparison to when you were just a normal man. Your remade body isn’t going to get much more monstrous, and you’ve shed the hide of a beast for that of a man. You to yourself “If only there was some way to extract the knowledge, and the know-how of the alchemist’s foregoing corpse.” You look down at the corpse of the alchemist. The corpse lies there, covered in burns and scars, the remnants of explosions and strange chemicals. “Is this possible?” you mutter to yourself. Your gaze returns to the man, and he nods. “Yes. It is possible.” “What?” there’s a pause. Having not used the speaking tube in some time, you are taken by surprise when you hear a voice from it. “Hello?” a voice exclaims, emerging from the speaking of the tube. It’s the voice of a young woman with a thick Scottish accent. “Who are you?" -detrimental to the nonexistence of the alchemist’s corpse the final balance of murderous rage becoming quite intact- "I’m afraid I can’t answer that. If you want the truth, though, I’m a killer.” “Spiller spiller, jungle boogie hiller.” “I’m– I’m sorry, what did you say?” There passes a single moment of silence “I asked whether you like Scottish food.” “It’s not really my thing." Nevertheless, that quiet conversation spelled the end of the appearance of the living creature encompassing the form of the late doctor that was nigh to there. You say "Snarfl. This was a time to die” a violent, violent way to die, at that. “Indeed.” Your arms outstretched, you lay dying on the floor. The screams of the man from before filling your ears, and when he finally died you screamed as well too. Sanctifying your own person, you step to enter hellfire. “This is a hell of a way to go.” Muttering to yourself. The doors burst open, and for a moment you stare at two crimson orbs. None the matter now, of what happens inside the room you were continuing your descent towards a fiery death. Your soul, and the soul of a young, beautiful, bonny lass, joined together within the hell flames “Farewell, cruel world!” “ Scotland Girl” “If there is life after death, then surely I’ll see you again someday, darling!” you embrace your newly acompassed-as-a-lover girl, and in that moment, you know everything is going to be alright, in a sense. Alright despite the countless torture oncoming, that is. Overwhelmed by a massive wave of fire and brimstone, your soul joins with that of the young woman, her soul burning brightly for soon all eternity. You say “this was not meant to be the case for me!” This ending was a failure, and you no closer to attaining your exact revenge. Another scene, another time, another life, beholds. Sharlingston awakens with a bang! “What the fuck!?” he says, looking around and sitting up. Now, you see a man who has aged considerably. Is this man God, you find yourself questioning yourself. Why is he all powerful, but not moral? Should I kill him?“ You want nothing more than to punish the man who’ve has ruined your life. This will never be the case. However, as you begin to wonder if it isn’t in your power to at least cause him some pain the moment lingers. You say "God or not, foretaught.” A painful thought strikes you. “I am in fact not human after all.” to your surprise, the man greets this by smiling warmly. “No, not human, but still a man. Though we both know that’s meaningless now." This sentiment struck you as quite strange. "Shouldn’t God care about whether we us humans live or die?” “God no longer has any concern for man. I care in my own right, however. And that’s why I have preserved your life, Sharl.” You’ve somehow heard this voice before, God’s voice. “Why?” “We had an understanding, you and I.” The man stands, and you have the impression of great wings appearing behind him. “What kind of understanding?” The man looks at you with sadness. “One that won’t last much longer. I’m afraid I have to kill you.” terrified, you desperately try to come up with a way to save your own life. “Why now?” you ask. “It’s been disbursed to the media that you’ve essentially become a celebrity of sorts, and your next movie is going to be released in a day" You say "They will never get away with this!” Then the man smiles. “But it’s done, don’t you worry about it.” Feeling something hitting your chest, it takes you quite a while to realize that’s the visor of your leather armor drops onto the floor. “Rest assured, you’ll be paid for the remainder of your life, handsomely.” Grunting angrily and thrust your hand into your chest, you grab the object that has just fell out of your armor. “What’s this?" you swing it around, something glinting in the late-day’s sun "That, is your salvation” you look down to see a dagger with an intricate handle and a plain, silver blade. You say “God’s very own blade, appearanced just before to kill me” The dagger flies through the air, and straight into your hand. “Your fame will fade, but my kindness will still remain." You factual in "You’re lacking forethought in this matter.” The man’s wings give one last flutter, and he turns away from you. “That doesn’t matter. I did what I could” before you could stand before a lone plain staircase. Suddenly, you somehow fall upwards the stairs. It takes you a moment to realize that the stairs are inside your helmet. You reach the top, and now feel the open air. You take a lofty whiff of fresh air. “You see, I wanted to give the world a gift, and I couldn’t care less if they called me a fake or not. You can continue your life, as can I”

Actively forgetting about the movie they made upon you, you rejoice in the pure air. Saying “whatever the human husk does do, I shall be remaining just the same.” Arms spread wide, you fly high above, into the air. Convulsing, you hover in the air as you instantly start falling. You feel something in your mouth–your tongue? You swallowing your tongue neatly, was nevertheless not the conclusion of your life. No, that was the next advancing moment. The finality of your existence is yet to be reached, and you’re going to try not letting it end here. Your body weakens and falls, and as you hit the pavement, you can’t even feel the pain. No matter how hard the struggle, there was no escaping this very end “God, why?” you whisper as the wind flows through, braising your hair. You curl up into a ball and close your eyes. “Goodnight, cruel humans infested world” tongue well down inside your throat, you die of a much unrelated heart attack–and don’t wake up.

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 227: Rumor Has It

Natalie sat at the kitchen table in the modernized kitchen of her brother and sister-in-law's castle. She had slept a bit late and had been up with morning sickness, but the tea she had made was helping her.

"Good morning," Xander said, as he entered the kitchen.

"Morning," she replied.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked.

"Not at all," she replied.

"Morning sickness?" he asked.

"Yeah...it's for real. I don't know how the hell my sister-in-law did this four times," she mentioned. He smiled thinly.

"You'd have to ask her, but I think she'd tell you the payoff is worth it times a thousand," he replied.

"Maybe...except I'm pretty sure Snow was born to be a mother from what I've seen. Me...not so much," she murmured.

"There was a time when I was a terrible father and I'm still not even half the father that David or James are to their kids," he mentioned.

"So you're saying I get that from you?" she joked. He chuckled.

"No…I know for a fact that you will rise to this challenge where I failed too," he replied.

"Having kids wasn't in my plans...but I think I do want this baby. Is that weird?" she asked.

"Not at all...you may never want anything to do with the baby's father, but that doesn't mean you don't love the baby," he replied. She nodded.

"Are you worried...about this baby being half Clayton?" she asked.

"No...because this baby is also half Charming and will be raised by Charmings," he replied.

"I have no idea what I'm doing and like a million questions," she said. He smiled thinly.

"And I can promise you that Snow and David will love being there for all of it," he assured her, as the two in question came into the kitchen.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"I wish it was...but Emma just called and wants us at the station as soon as possible. It doesn't sound good. Any idea what this is about?" David asked.

"Uh well...Nora was murdered last night or at least, it's looking like murder," Xander replied. Snow gasped.

"Oh Gods...does Emma know who did it yet?" Snow asked.

"Last I checked, no...there was no suspicious activity on the security cams, but we're just starting the investigation," he replied, as he stood up.

"But if she's calling...then maybe there's been a development," he added, as Natalie stood up.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to coming?" Xander asked.

"Yeah...the morning sickness has passed. I feel fine," she answered. They nodded and made their way out to their cars.

~*~

"And while we don't know yet if foul play was involved, we have obtained an exclusive recording of an altercation Ms. Bradley was involved in shortly before she died and if I may say, this may be a bombshell that blows this case wide open," Goldie said, as they cut to the video of the altercation.

"The true Evil Queen: Snow White and her endless body count. By Nora Bradley," Nora read from her tablet and Summer launched at her, but JJ held her back.

"Delete the story, Nora," he insisted.

"Not a chance in hell," she replied.

"No one has destroyed more lives than the subject of this expose. She has left a trail of bodies in her wake for years and yet wears the crown of Queen. Many of you may think I am talking about Queen Regina, but not in the slightest. I am talking about Snow White herself, who chose to preserve the pureness of her heart over saving her own mother at the tender age of ten and her body count only builds from there," Nora read and then gasped, as Summer slapped her.

"You know nothing about my mother!" she hissed.

"I know enough. She's the reason your precious Nana lost her first true love. The reason everyone is here in the first place, ripped away from their homeland and loved ones," Nora replied.

"That was all fixed when the curse broke!" Summer claimed.

"And there has been nothing but chaos since, because of your parent's precious true love. And their insanity has spilled into my world one too many times. People need to know the truth. Your Nana was right long ago when she said Snow White was the true monster," Nora said. Summer tried to launch herself at her again, but JJ held her back.

"And just today...another life was ruined when Drizella Tremaine was hauled off to the rubber room," Nora said.

"That woman is insane! That's not my mother's fault!" Summer replied. Nora shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not. But your mother is the reason for her torment and probably the reason she will never get better," she replied.

"Okay...let me walk you home. There's no reasoning with her," JJ suggested. Summer glared at the other woman, but then allowed him to lead her out.

"As you can see, Ms. Bradley had a very heated altercation with Summer Nolan-Charming over a story the young reporter was writing that was not favorable to Ms. Nolan-Charming's mother, Queen Snow White. Was it just a simple argument or a motive for something more? A motive for murder, perhaps," Goldie said.

The television exploded in a flash of sparks and smoke, as Regina released a fireball at her in her anger.

"That little…" Regina started to say.

"Regina…easy…" Robin soothed, as they looked at their granddaughter.

"Nana...I, I didn't do this…" Summer said, as she was now almost in tears after watching Goldie's sneak attack broadcast. Regina's eyes widened.

"Oh honey...we know that," she soothed, as she hugged her tightly against her chest.

"She's right...there is no question of that," Robin agreed.

"I am just angry at the gall of that reporter and believe me, I'm going to be calling Mitchell Herman to sue her and that entire studio for slander!" Regina raged.

"Maybe we should go see what Emma has to say. By now, I'm certain she has seen this and has called your parents," Robin reasoned, as Regina's phone chimed.

"You're right...that's Snow. She says Emma asked them to come to the station, but they don't know what about yet," Regina said, as she texted back.

"What did you say?" Summer asked.

"That I know what it's about and that it's better explained in person. Let's go," Regina replied, as they left the castle.

~*~

By the time the replay of Goldie's broadcast finished, her blood was boiling. She rarely watched the dumpster fire that was Good Morning United Realms, but Leroy had called her in an uproar about it just minutes ago and she had pulled up the stream on the website.

"I see you've finished the broadcast, so you know the only thing left to do is arrest your little sister," Goldie said, as she waltzed into the station.

"You have a lot of nerve," Emma spat, as she stood up from her desk, as the other blonde looked around.

"I'd say you're the one with the nerve, Sheriff. It would be obstruction of justice if you don't at least bring young Summer in for questioning after a video like that. A nice little piece of investigative journalism, if I do say so myself," Goldie said.

"If you think that my sister had anything to do with Nora's death...then you're crazy," Emma retorted, just as her parents walked in.

"What?" Snow asked, wondering if she had heard correctly. Goldie smirked smugly.

"That's right...your precious daughter was found at the scene of the crime," the blonde said.

"Which means nothing, because our Summer isn't capable of murder," David countered without missing a beat. Goldie rolled her eyes.

"Says the doting daddy," she countered in return.

"Look Curly...he's right. Summer was in the area, but that's because she had a date with JJ and then went to the diner for hot cocoa," Emma replied.

"And then she was found by JJ outside Nora's room, just as she was heard screaming and plummeting to her death," Goldie said.

"And earlier...she was caught on recording, by Nora's phone, earlier that night in a heated argument," she added.

"I don't care if they had an argument. Our daughter didn't kill anyone," Snow snapped.

"That's not how it looks and if this was anyone else in such a suspicious position, this department would launch a full investigation," she said, as she turned to Emma.

"So...will you be bringing your sister in for questioning, Sheriff or should I report that, as per usual, the Charming family will be protecting their own?" Goldie asked.

"We don't care what you report on your trash show, but for your information, I'll ask Summer what happens or if she knows anything. If she says that she isn't responsible, then that will be that and I'll keep investigating to find the real culprit," Emma answered. Goldie scoffed.

"Typical...but I'm not surprised. I guess this evening's headline will be the corruption in our law enforcement and the subsequent coverup of a murder committed by one of their own, Summer Nolan Charming," Goldie announced and there was a gasp, as Summer entered the station with Regina and Robin.

"Oh look...there's the little murderer now," the blonde said and a fireball appeared in Regina's palm.

"Choose your next words wisely, you hack…" Regina growled. Goldie smirked.

"Go ahead and do your worst, Queenie. Anything you do now will just go in tonight's broadcast," the blonde challenged.

"I didn't kill Nora," Summer said in horror.

"Oh honey...of course you didn't," Snow said, as she and David rushed to her and enveloped her in a hug between them. Goldie rolled her eyes at the sentiment.

"Just as I thought...you two are going to block any investigation into Nora's murder," Goldie said.

"Is that true?" a new voice said, as they looked to see JJ in the doorway.

"Of course not...our investigation will proceed as normal. But our daughter is not responsible for Nora's murder," David replied sternly. Goldie rolled her eyes.

"She was at the scene of the crime...you yourself found her outside your room, which was right next to your cousin's, isn't that right, Mr. Bradley?" Goldie asked, as all attention turned to him.

"Uh…I heard Nora scream and then came out into the hallway. Summer was there, but that doesn't mean anything," JJ refuted.

"He's right...that's circumstantial at best and Summer's story easily checks out," Emma agreed.

"Oh please...the hot cocoa story? You expect us to believe that?" Goldie asked.

"We don't care what you believe. If our daughter says that's what happened...then it is," Snow snapped in reply.

"Oh yes...because no one related to the fair and good Snow White could ever do anything bad," Goldie said sarcastically.

"I don't know why you hate me and frankly, I don't care...but coming after my children is a mistake that I promise you will regret," Snow threatened and Goldie smirked.

"I'll be sure to broadcast that quote loud and clear on tonight's broadcast," she said, as she started toward the door.

"And I'll be exposing this farce of a coverup as well. In addition, I've already sent a colleague to one of the biggest newspapers in the Land Without Magic with this bombshell story. Get ready...because I'm sure it will explode and I wouldn't be surprised if outside law enforcement takes an interest in this case as well," Goldie replied.

"If you really have done that, there could be serious consequences to everyone, including you," David warned.

"Free press, Your Highness and it's time that everyone knew the truth about your wife. She ruins lives...and it appears her daughter does as well," Goldie said, as she walked out.

"You're sure you don't know her from your past?" Regina asked.

"No…I never met her, until she popped up when we merged the realms," Snow replied.

"Does anyone know her story?" Emma asked, but there was no answer.

"I can probably help with that," Rose said, as she and Fandral entered behind Eva, who rushed to hug her parents and then Summer.

"We saw the broadcast at the hospital and came here right away," Eva said.

"It's going to be okay...we all know that Summer did nothing wrong," David replied, as Snow looked at JJ.

"We are very sorry for your loss," she said. He nodded mutely.

"JJ...you believe me, right?" Summer asked. He nodded.

"I do...but why were you there? I thought you went home after the fight we had with Nora," he replied, with a bit of scrutiny.

"I...I was upset and since Mom and Dad were gone, I stopped at the diner. Frankie and Joe made me some hot cocoa. I know that sounds lame...but it always helps me feel better. Daddy has been making me cocoa since I was little," she explained, making Snow and David smile at each other.

"Then when I got done there, I decided to come apologize to you again. As I got to your door, that's when we heard the scream," she explained. David looked at his eldest daughter.

"And there was no one coming out of Nora's room on the security camera?" he asked.

"No...and I already used a spell to see if it was magically altered. It wasn't," she replied.

"Magically altered?" JJ asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time that magic was used to alter a security camera," David replied.

"You know...magic isn't the only way to alter security footage," Eva interjected.

"She's right...I didn't even think to have Bashful do a forensic analysis on the tape. And then there's the whole network. It could have been hacked...it happens to systems all the time," Emma said.

"Your mother and I will drop that tape off at the lab," David replied. She nodded.

"I'll make some calls and see if I can find an IT expert to examine the network," she said.

"Actually...I have a friend. He could do it and he's the best. He could even do it remotely if you gave him access to the network," JJ chimed in.

"Do you trust him?" Emma asked. He nodded.

"He's my best friend...and while he's the best, he could hack your network with ease if he wanted to. Luckily, he's an honest guy and only works for people who invite him in," JJ replied. She nodded.

"Okay...there's an open computer at that desk over there if you want to make that call," Emma said. He nodded and then turned to Summer.

"I...I do believe you," he said.

"And I'm really sorry about Nora...I never wanted anything bad to happen to her," she replied, as they shared a hug. Snow put her hand to her heart at that and leaned her head against Charming's shoulder. He smiled and hugged her close.

"I think we should pay a visit to Goldie's co-host in the meantime. If we can get him away from her...we might be able to get that worm to talk," David said.

"I don't know...he is a worm, but possibly a worm with a lot to lose if he knows anything," Xander interjected.

"You think he's being blackmailed?" David asked.

"If the rumors floating around about him are true...then yes," Xander replied.

"Then what do you suggest?" David asked, knowing that this was his father's area of expertise.

"We tail him...and catch him in something. Then we bring him in and grill him. If it's bad enough...we might even be able to turn on his co-host for a lesser sentence," Xander replied.

"Okay...then let's do that," David said.

"You and your father do that. I'm going to go back with Rose and Fandral to see if I can find her story anywhere. It might be nothing, but it can't hurt," Snow replied, as they shared a kiss.

"Oh...you said you were at the hospital," Snow recalled, directing the statement to Rose and Fandral.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. They both smiled brightly.

"Better than okay...I'm pregnant," Rose announced, causing Snow to gasp and hug her counterpart.

"Congratulations!" she exclaimed, as David and Fandral shook hands.

"Truly," David said.

"Yes...an unplanned, but very welcome surprise," Fandral agreed, as he kissed Rose tenderly. David smiled and kissed Snow again.

"I'll see later," he said, as he left with his father and sister.

I'll be hanging around here to see if JJ's friend finds anything," Emma told her mother, who nodded.

"I've got to get back to the hospital," Eva said, as she hugged her mother and younger sister, before leaving.

"Okay honey...do you want to come with me to Rose's library?" Snow asked.

"Actually...do you think we could go riding, Nana? I could use some fresh air," Summer replied. Regina and Robin smiled.

"Of course," Regina agreed. Snow hugged her youngest daughter and then held her face in her hands.

"Everything is going to be okay," she promised, with a kiss to her forehead. Summer nodded and left with Regina and Robin, while Snow went with Rose and Fandral back to their castle.

~*~

Goldie arrived back at the news station with a smug smirk on her face.

"Goldie...get in here!" her boss bellowed and she rolled her eyes, as she did as he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Boots?" she asked.

"We need to talk about your story for the evening edition," he said.

"It's pure gold, isn't it?" she asked.

"No Goldie...accusing Queen Snow and King Charming's daughter of murder based on circumstantial evidence is reprehensible," he replied.

"She was found at the scene of the crime!" Goldie cried.

"Because she was at the diner next door...a place she frequents regularly. We are the press...not the police, nor are we the courts. We report. We do not arrest, try, and convict," he admonished.

"Our ratings were through the roof this morning! That was all me!" she protested.

"And much of that was not good ratings for us," he said, as he tossed a copy of the Storybrooke Mirror down in front of her.

"Oh...another fluff piece on the Charmings by none other than family friend August W. Booth," she scoffed.

"Actually, like a real reporter, he kept his emotion out of it and presented the cut and dry facts of the case so far. Summer Charming being at the Inn, where her new boyfriend is staying, is hardly out of the ordinary. And public opinion matters," he reiterated.

"Frankly, most people do not think she is capable of such savagery," he added.

"Oh...because she's Snow White's precious daughter!? Because one of perfect Snow White's perfect children could never do anything wrong!" she cried.

"Goldie...you are too close to this story. Your disdain for Snow White has not gone unnoticed by our viewers and most of them do not hold our show in high regard. Your ratings were high this morning, because of outrage and I was hired to stop this network from hemorrhaging money. Which I intend to do," he said.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means...I've replaced you. You're fired," he announced.

"You're firing me!?" she screamed.

"I'm afraid so. Security will help you pack up your things and see you out," he replied.

"You can't do this to me! You can't possibly think Le Fou can carry this network's broadcasting on his own!" she screamed.

"No...but his new co-anchor will help him," he replied.

"You replaced me already, you son of bitch!?" she cried.

"Security!" he called, as she was forcibly led out of his office, only to see her replacement in the makeup chair. Her makeup chair.

"You're replacing me with this bitch!?" she screamed. The brunette woman smirked.

"Sorry Goldie...better luck next time," Attina said.

"You're replacing me with a mermaid!?" Goldie cried, but was led out by security.

"Oh this is not over…" she growled darkly.

~*~

Flashback

Blue stared at Opal's body, as she placed her at the bottom of the ravine. To an untrained person, they may very well think this was an accidental death, but she knew the Charmings and she knew it wouldn't be long before they connected her to Opal's death when they returned. She used Opal's wand to shrink herself and fly unnoticed back to the church where all the fairies still lived in the convent, except a few, including Tink. She had lost complete control of this place and her station, but she still had secrets hidden within these walls. She entered the library. It was a small library and nothing like the grand like Rose Red's, but it had some very old and powerful spell books. And there was one book that not even Rose Red's library had, for it once belonged to an ancient, dead tribe known at one time as the Northuldra.

Long ago, Blue had helped the King of Arendelle, Elsa and Anna's grandfather, Runeard, after he and his soldiers slaughtered the Northuldra and claimed their enchanted forests as part of Arendelle. But the killing of the Northuldra had caused the elements of nature to become angry. Arendelle had nearly been destroyed by vicious storms as a result. It became clear that Runeard had been cursed by the Northuldra before their eradication and only his banishment to a netherworld was the solution to appease the elemental spirits.

Once she had banished him, the spirits quieted and she had not seen the elements take power like that...until Elsa, the daughter of the sole surviving Northuldra, was born. Even then, Blue had thought she was an anomaly...until Snow White and Prince Charming gave birth to five magical children. She didn't think much of it when Emma was conceived. She had sensed the magic in her, but that was because she had been anointed as the Savior. But then the others had come into elemental magic once magic came to Storybrooke and she had feared their control of the elements, because by that time, she had no more influence with Snow and David.

Much like Elsa's father, she would have advised them to suppress the children's magic or allow her to train them. But that wasn't meant to be and now they may very well incarcerate her indefinitely for what she had done. Power had slipped through her fingers once again. But as long as she remained alive, Runeard's banishment would stand. The Charming children and Elsa were powerful enough as it was, but if he were to ever return, the elemental spirits would become angry again and wreak havoc. Not to mention that her part in covering up the eradication of a civilization would become known as well. Thankfully, she didn't plan on perishing anytime soon.

~*~

Smee docked the Jolly Roger at Pleasure Island and looked to the guest they had rescued from the water.

"Are you sure this is where you want to go?" Smee asked.

"Yes...this will suit me fine," the stranger replied.

"It's kind of a rough place and a bit lawless. Be careful," Smee warned. The man smirked and disembarked from the ship. Smee watched him go, wondering how such a regal looking man ended up wandering the seas on a rickety raft. They had rescued him and his only request was that they drop him off in an obscure place. Pleasure Island was the most obscure place that Smee knew and hoped that the man didn't just get himself into trouble.

He looked around and found his way into the local watering hole. This would be a good place to lay low for now, before he found a way to make his grand re-entrance into his home Kingdom and without everyone finding out the truth of his past…

~*~

Snow flipped through the books idly, as Belle read through some as well, and she closed it in frustration.

"I had no idea there were so many versions of Goldilocks," Snow said in frustration.

"Me either...I thought of all the stories, that one was pretty basic and generic," Belle agreed, as she chose another one from the pile. She flipped through it, just as Rumple and Bobby arrived.

"Hi sweetheart...how was training?" she asked, as she hugged him.

"Great…I shook down an entire mountain. It was fun, but I'm starving now," he complained.

"Of course you are. I suppose we should call it a day. I can take some of these with me and keep looking tonight," Snow said.

"Wait...oh my gosh, I think I found it!" Belle called, as Snow and Rumple looked over her shoulders.

"Wait...that's me," Snow said in confusion.

"It is...did you know that Goldie's mother was one of your nanny's?" Belle asked.

"No…I don't remember that at all," Snow said, as she read the story.

"Wait…I vaguely remember this woman and that she was mean. But I don't remember any of this stuff around it," Snow replied.

"Well...you were only four. That makes sense," Belle said.

"It appears that Goldie's mother was a bit too strict and when your mother discovered a mark on your arm, she fired her," Rumple deduced from the reading.

"Then they became homeless when her mother couldn't find work," Belle said.

"Well, that explains why she hates me so much. She blames me for her family falling apart," Snow replied sadly.

"Snow...this isn't your fault. From what I'm reading, her mother was abusive. Your mother did the right thing by getting you far away from her and Goldie's misfortune is not on you," Belle said. Snow nodded.

"I suppose you're right," she replied.

"She is, Mom. You and Dad went through some tough times too and could be blaming the world for it. But you don't," Bobby chimed in.

"Your son is right," Rumple agreed.

"You're right...and she has no right to take out her hatred on my children. Thanks for helping," Snow said, as she hugged her friend.

"Come on, let's head to the diner. Hopefully your father had some luck too," she said, as the four of them bid goodbye to Rose and Fandral, before leaving for Storybrooke.

~*~

After following Le Fou around all day, they were almost ready to give up, until they saw him head to the east end of Storybrooke and to Iago's place. They saw him leave with a young man and snapped a picture, before sending it to Emma.

As they were headed to the diner for dinner, she called David.

"Hey Dad...you were right. The person he picked up is in the system and he's sixteen. We've arrested him for prostitution," Emma told him.

"Thanks for running the photo through the system. I was pretty sure I recognized him and that he was underage," David said.

"Yeah...looks like we've got Le Fou dead to rights. Are you going to pick him up?" Emma asked.

"Not yet...I don't want to tip Goldie off yet. I'm going to let them do their stupid newscast tonight and then we'll arrest him on his way home. That way...it will be at least a few hours before it hits the news," David replied.

"Good idea...I'll see you at the diner in a few," Emma said, as they hung up the phone.

"That's sneaky," Natalie said.

"Are you impressed that I can be sneaky?" David asked. She smirked.

"Actually yes...I mean, I would totally expect this kind of move from James, but not you," she teased.

"Yeah, well when it comes to one of my kids, the gloves come off," he said, as they arrived at the diner.

"Hey baby," Snow greeted, as he slid into the booth beside her and kissed her passionately.

"Hey yourself, beautiful…" he said, as their lips parted.

"Did you find anything incriminating on Le Fou?" she asked.

"We did...and we'll be bringing him in later. We don't want to tip Goldie off," he replied.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Oh, just the reason that Goldie hates me," she replied.

"Her Mom was your nanny when you were little?" he asked.

"Apparently so...I just don't really remember it. But I guess her Mom was abusive and when my mother found a mark on me, she fired her," Snow explained.

"Well...sounds like your mother did the right thing and you're not responsible for Goldie's life turning out the way it did," he said.

"I know," she said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You're not going to blame yourself?" he asked. She shook her head.

"If Winter taught me anything...it's that I can't keep holding myself responsible for everyone else's happiness. Nor should I feel guilty for being so blessed with the life and love that I have with you," she replied. He smiled.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that and accept it," he said, as they shared another kiss.

With that, they ordered dinner and enjoyed time with their family and friends.

~*~

"Well...I guess that does it for us tonight. I'm Le Fou,"

"And I'm your new co-anchor of Good Evening United Realms, Attina. We'll see you in the morning. Have a magical evening!"

Goldie screamed in rage, as she threw a vase through her television. She had come home, only to find her husband, passed out drunk and stinking of perfume, probably from whatever hooker he had been with the night before. Add to that, she was then forced to suffer through the evening news with her bubbly replacement.

"That's it...someone is going to pay for this," she hissed, as she grabbed her keys and stormed out of her apartment.

~*~

Leo came into their chambers that evening and found his wife, sitting by the window, with a stack of books.

"Hey…" he said, as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Hi...how is Summer?" she asked.

"She's okay...better now after we did a long trail ride," he replied, as he sat down with her.

"Are these the books that Rose found?" he asked.

"They are...I had forgotten so much of Arendelle's rich history, but it's a little weird," she replied.

"Weird how?" he asked.

"Well...there is nearly nothing about my Grandfather's time as King and it only says he was lost on an expedition. All of the other ruler's in my lineage have these detailed histories of their time on the Throne. If I didn't know any better…" she said, trailing off for a moment.

"You think something has been omitted from these books on purpose?" he asked.

"It's not like it would be the first time something has been hidden from us…" she replied.

"True," he agreed.

"I just...have this feeling," she mentioned, as she looked out the window and over the fjord, noticing how windy it was.

"Wow...that wind came out of nowhere. It was really calm today," he mentioned.

"Yeah...I don't remember any storms in the forecast," she replied.

"Yeah, but Scuttle is pretty bad at his job though. He means well...but he's a terrible meteorologist," he mentioned. She smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Come on...let's go to bed and tomorrow, we can ask Mr. Gold and Aphrodite if they know anything," he said. She smiled.

"That's a great idea. If anyone does...it's them or Hermes," she agreed, as they went to bed.

~*~

"Feeling better, sweetie?" Snow asked, as her husband put a cup of cocoa down in front of their daughter. She smiled.

"Yeah...a lot better now. I'm just glad that no one really believes those lies," Summer said.

"No one important anyway and I'm about to arrest Goldie's co-anchor. If he knows something, I'll get it out of him," David replied, as he kissed Snow.

"Be careful," she said, as he grabbed his coat and headed out.

"So...how about watch a movie together while we wait to hear from your Dad," Snow suggested. Summer smiled.

"That sounds nice," she replied.

"Okay...you pick the movie and I'll make the popcorn," Snow said.

~*~

Goldie watched her former boss exit the dark news station that evening and begin walking to his car. As he crossed her path, she shined her headlights on him and he looked to see who was there. But the look of surprise soon turned to fear, as she revved the engine and her tires screeched, as she drove toward him. He cried out momentarily and tried to run away, but she swerved with deliberation and mowed him down in the parking lot. She smirked with satisfaction, as she saw his figure laying on the concrete in her rear view mirror. At this point, there was no hiding what she had done and her car would be identified in the crime. Fortunately, she already had rented a boat to take her to the lawless place of Pleasure Island where she could hide out and continue to plot her revenge. And if luck was with her, the next person she'd be gunning down would be Snow White herself.

~*~

David walked into Iago's that evening and the owner let out a sigh of disdain, as at least five patrons left immediately, just due to his presence. Emma smirked.

"Aww...should we take that as a compliment or an insult?" she joked. David smirked.

"Definitely a compliment in this case," he said, as they approached the bar.

"Dammit...you're really bad for business, you know," Iago complained.

"Don't worry...we won't be long," David said, as they approached the other side of the bar where their target sat. He saw them and nearly fell off his stool to get away, but David grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"You're under arrest," he announced.

"For what?" Le Fou challenged, as Emma showed him a photo on her phone. It was one of him and the young man going into a room in the seedy motel that was next to Iago's. Le Fou turned white as a sheet.

"So what...getting a room with someone isn't a crime," he said, trying to play it off.

"It is if you gave him money and he's sixteen...which he is," Emma replied.

"That…I...I didn't know," he claimed, as David put the cuffs on him.

"Still a crime...and you knew," he said.

"He...he approached me!" Le Fou claimed.

"Still a crime...he's underage," Emma said, as they hauled him out to the car. Emma put him in the backseat.

"Cracking him is going to be almost too easy…" she mentioned.

"Maybe...the question will be is he more scared of Goldie or hard prison time," David agreed, as they got into the car and drove back to the station.

~*~

Rodmilla looked at her new castle with smug satisfaction. Having magic was certainly something that had been amiss in her life. Had she had before, then she was certain that all of her enemies would have paid dearly. But now that she did, she would soon be crowned the new Evil Queen and she would relentlessly pursue her enemies and make their lives hell.

"Impressive...but this is still a lawless place. How do you plan to declare yourself the Mayor and mobilize these cretins?" Jekyll questioned.

"That will come, especially when they witness my new power. For now, I have done what you have asked and given you a new and fully equipped, pristine laboratory in the bowels of the castle," Rodmilla said.

"And me?" Grimm asked.

"And there is a quiet library and study in the east wing that is all yours," she added.

"Excellent...then we can soon resume our plans," Jekyll replied.

"What about my daughter? She is still in that awful place," Rodmilla said.

"She is barking mad...don't you think having her on the loose, at least right now, may detract from our plan?" Grimm questioned. She huffed.

"He has a very good point. From what I have seen, no medication can help her. Only when she has what she wants can she perhaps be controlled. Until then...she should remain where she is," Jekyll said.

"For now...but I will not tolerate having her in that place much longer," Rodmilla replied.

"Don't worry...we'll soon all have what we want," Grimm assured them.

"What of the protégé you have taken on?" Jekyll questioned.

"She'll be useful for a time and she's a psychopath. She's providing plenty of distraction as we speak," Grimm said.

"Then we should get to work," Rodmilla replied, as they went inside the castle.

~*~

Xander and James arrived at the crime scene and got out of the car. Bashful and his team had already put up the crime scene tape and were in the process of bagging evidence, as well as getting ready to transport the body to the morgue for autopsy.

"Hit and run?" Xander asked, as he shined his flashlight on them.

"More like intentional murder," Bashful said, as he motioned them over to a place on the concrete adjacent to the body.

"Tire marks," James said.

"Someone floored it and deliberately hit him," Xander deduced.

"That's what we're looking at. Deliberate and sloppy, as well as premeditated, most likely," Bashful said.

"Who is the victim?" James asked.

"Mr. Boots...the executive producer of the Enchanted News Network," Bashful replied.

"Puss in Boots...wasn't he a cat?" Xander asked.

"He probably was back in the Enchanted Forest, but like so many, the good curse gave him a human form. Here he took on the identity of Antonio Boots," Bashful answered.

"Is this the same studio that produces Good Morning United Realms?" Xander asked.

"One in the same...and word has it that Mr. Boots fired Goldilocks today and replaced her with Attina, one of Ariel's sisters," Bashful replied.

"Well, that's motive," James said.

"Yes...and I'm starting to think that Mr. Boots might not be the only person she murdered," Xander replied.

"You think she framed Summer?" James asked.

"Oh yeah...she's as vindictive as they come," Xander replied.

"Just because she hates Snow?" James asked and then thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah...that sounds about right for this town," he agreed.

"Let's track her car and then toss her place. She's probably hiding out somewhere," Xander said.

"Isn't she married?" James asked.

"Yeah...her husband is a drunk. I doubt he knows anything, but we'll pick him up. He's probably either passed out at home or at Iago's," Xander replied, as they got back into the car and drove off to check Goldie's place first. It was important they found her quickly, for in her unhinged state, anyone in her pathway was in potential danger and that included their family members...

[meteorit3737]

10

A week later, Cameron said she was ready to buy a new car. She chose the most similar to the old one ("This design saved our lives and health!"), even the same color. But the new car stayed outside the house for another two weeks before Cam could get behind the wheel.

Haley had just returned from school to find Cam sitting behind the wheel of a new car with her eyes closed. She went to the driver's door and leaned against it, waiting for Cam to see her. Cam opened her eyes and looked at her.

- Hey, Cam! How are you? - Haley asked, almost in a whisper.

- I'm fine. I'm just thinking of going to the Airstream to see if everything's all right, - Cam said uncertainly.

- Can I come with you?

- With me? - Cam raised her eyebrows. - Do you really want to come with me? When I'm driving?

- Yes, - Haley walked around the car and climbed into the passenger seat. - I like the new cars. And you're a good driver with the right reaction. And besides, - Haley snapped her seat belt, - I'm already strapped in.

Cam shook her head, smiled, and started the car. They drove off, talking about different websites and movies, and Haley didn't comment that the driving speed was a little slower than usual. As they drove up to the trailer, they both remembered that they were hungry. Cam went back to the farm they had just passed, and they bought eggs, milk, and homemade bread from two old men. In the Airstream, Cam and Haley made toast and coffee, which they enjoyed sitting on folding chairs.

Then they cleaned everything up, took the rest of the food with them, and went home. They were met by Donna, who had already returned from the Symphonic. She pretended that Cam was driving is a common thing, for which Cam silently nodded her appreciation. The three of them sat in the kitchen for tea, Haley talking about the trip, Cam putting eggs and milk in the refrigerator.

- Mom, the farmers we bought food from have soulmarks on their hands. This is so unusual, I've never seen two matching marks side by side before.

- Yes, I've seen their marks, too, - Donna said.

- There's a boy at my school who has a mark on his forearm and almost always wears long-sleeve shirts. And one girl has a mark under her knee, so she always wears pants. But if the mark is on the wrist, it can't be hidden and everyone can read the written name. I wonder how these people found each other. And how do those who have the mark hidden by their clothes find their soulmates?

- I think they just communicate like people who don't have a mark, and if a person has become close, then you can say about your mark, - Donna said.

Cam sat in a chair, listening intently.

- What if we make a site to search for soulmates? - Haley suggested. - Create a database based on the name and location of the mark. Do you think this will help people find each other?

- I don't know, - Cam said thoughtfully. - Imagine that you see a person for the first time and know that he is your soulmate. That would be something... difficult.

- Yes, I agree with Cam, - Donna said, and sat down at the table across from Cam, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. - It would be the opposite of dating. It's as if someone from the future told you that this would be your closest person, but this is the first time you've seen them. I mean, I don 't know how it happens when soulmates meet, but it's hardly like in cartoons - thunder, lightning, loss of speech or anything like that.

- But if this is your soulmate, doesn't that mean that you are destined to understand each other best, love each other, and never quarrel? - Haley asked.

- Honey, - Donna said, smiling, - it's impossible to never quarrel. The main thing to remember is what is more important - the reason for the quarrel or the relationship with the person. And love can't protect you from mistakes.

- It turns out that soulmates have no advantages over free choice? - Cam asked thoughtfully.

- I don't know, - Donna said . - Perhaps when two people are in love with each other, and then find out that they are soulmates, it is as a confirmation of the right choice. Maybe it helps them fight so that they don't break up?

- And if a person fell in love with someone, and then met his soul mate, where do you think his love will go? - Cam asked.

- I can't imagine that love will disappear like the snap of a finger. It's beyond reason, - Donna reasoned. - But I can't imagine suddenly falling in love with a stranger, either. But what if I'm wrong about thunder and lightning? And this meeting with soulmate can greatly complicate someone's life. Therefore, the idea with the site does not seem very good to me. Although, if you do not have a heartfelt attachment, then you can look for your soulmate.

- Well, maybe it would save people from a doomed relationship? - Cam smiled ruefully. - You write your data, find a couple, you meet, fall in love and are happy forever.

- We could do a name search by individual letters on the site for cases like yours, - Haley said, turning to her mother.

Cam looked at Donna with interest:

- Cases like yours? Do you have a mark?

- Yes, there is, -  Donna nodded.

- Isn't that Gordon? - Cam wondered .

- Mom, didn't you tell Cam this story? - Haley asked, confused, trying to figure out if her mother didn't mind her bringing it up.

Donna answered calmly:

- We just never talked about it. Yes, I have a mark, but I don't know if it's about Gordon. I ruined it before I read it.

- How could this happen? - Cam forgot her tea and stared at Donna.

- I didn't have any marks when I was born. I was already 15 when I was once in the garage with my dad, I always liked working with tools and that day we were soldering. I was very involved in the process and suddenly felt such a burning-prickling sensation and I wanted to scratch this place unbearably. I automatically reached out with my right hand, forgetting that I was holding a soldering iron.

Cam shivered and frowned sympathetically. She was about to say something when the phone rang. Haley ran over, picked up the phone, heard who was speaking, and smiled:

- Mom, it's Jessica! I'm going to my room to talk to her!

And Haley ran upstairs. Donna watched her go and went on with her story:

- No, it didn't hurt that much, but when I started treating on the burn, I saw the letters. Of course, I immediately realized that it was a soulmark, but even when the burn was healed, you could only read the last two letters - "on", and the first was not clearly visible, but judging by the arc, it was the letter O, C or G. The middle of the word was lost forever. Can you imagine my disappointment? I suddenly have a soulmark, but I can't read it.

- And when you met Gordon... - Cam began to speak.

- I thought it was him. We started dating and fell in love. But then it turned out that he didn't have a mark. Then we found out that we were waiting for Joanie. And we decided to ignore my mark, since there is no chance of reading it anyway. However, Gordon was a little nervous about all the names that could fit these letters.

- Did you met them often? People with those names? - Cam asked.

- No, it's really rare. But somehow it was immediately clear that they are the wrong people. At the clinic where my pregnancy was observed, there was a doctor Grayson, he was about 60 years old, then one of the employees at work was named Clayton, he had seven children. Do you remember Peters?

- Since Halloween? - Cam asked.

- Yeah. Well, his name is Carlton. - Donna giggled.

- Oh, no! - Cam's face twisted as if she'd eaten something sour.

- And there was you. When Gordon first mentioned your name, he didn't say you were a girl. I thought the new programmer was a young guy named Cameron, and I was interested in just looking at him, because he must be talented to be entrusted with writing the BIOS. And then Joanie and I went to Cardiff electric and met you in the bathroom.

Donna smiled at the memory, and Cam shook her head:

- I was very harsh with you!

- Yes, but I hardly noticed it, because my brain was working at high speed, trying to figure out if Gordon had told me about you. Then why didn't he correct me when I was talking about you as a guy? Was testing my reaction? Or was he talking about someone else? How likely is it that there will be two people named Cameron in the same firm? I've never met anyone with that name, and here are two!

- Well, you know that was my father's name, - Cam said softly.

- I remember, - Donna said. - Gordon told me afterwards that Cameron was a girl, and that he didn't know why he didn't say it right away. And I can't imagine you with another name, to be honest. – Donna shrugged.

- Me, too, - Cam said. - I've lived with that name a lot longer than I have with Catherine.

- And you... Do you have a mark? - Donna asked uncertainly. She didn't know why she was so afraid to ask that question. Perhaps she was afraid of the answer?

- Yes, - Cam sighed. Donna flinched, her heart skipping a beat.

- It... Is It Joe?

- What? No! - Cam exclaimed. - It's not a name at all! I'm such a ridiculous person that I even got a ridiculous mark. I was born with it, butI've never seen anything like it to that stupid combination of letters. Sfhhr, - slowly, stretching out each sound, she made a strange combination of sounds. - Most of all, it sounds like a modem connection. Apparently my soulmate is a modem, not a single person will not be happy with me. Can you imagine that being someone's name? Sfhhr - it's even difficult to read it the first time!

- Because you don't have a decoder ring, - Donna said under her breath. It was a wonder that she could say anything at all; her heart seemed to stop in her chest, and her head was spinning.

- What? - Cam asked . - Jesus, Donna, you 're all white, how do you feel?

- I... I'm fine. - Donna took a deep breath and the dizziness began to pass. - The decoder ring - Gordon ordered it for me, we had our own code...

- Yes, I know, he told me about it back in the days of Cardiff electric, - Cam nodded in understanding.

- Sfhhr - I teased him about it. That the code is not particularly good if the sound of my name turns out to be so ugly.

- Your... Your name? - Cam's voice dropped to a whisper. She gripped the edge of the table with her fingers and leaned forward tensely. Donna nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on Cam's wide-open eyes.

- Yeah. So many years have passed since we last wrote these encrypted notes, I remember my name well, I signed each note like this.

- What year was that? When did you get the mark? - Cam asked, her voice ringing with excitement. How can she speak so high when just now barely whispered? - somewhere in the back of her mind Donna wondered . She quickly made simple calculations.

- In 1969.

Cam covered her face with her hands and exhaled noisily. She took her hands away and looked at Donna, her eyes burning with determination.

- In 1969, I was 9 years old. My father died and I decided that I would now bear his name so that he would remain in this world. I stopped responding to name Catherine and only responded to Cameron. Everyone at school started calling me Cameron after a week. My mother lasted two months. I remember the day when she said that if I was so cruel and I was so stubborn that I made her say my father's name that hurt her, then so be it, she would call me Cameron. Since then, name Catherine has remained only in the documents, and my mother's new husband also called me that.

- Do you know what that means? - Donna felt her mark warm and itch slightly. It wasn't an allergy! She understood. It was a reaction to the proximity of another mark!

- That we should have gone to the pool instead of the shooting range together?

Cam stood up and put her left hand in her jeans pocket, and now that Donna knew where to look and how to look, she saw Cam scratch her own itchy mark. In the same place as Donna's, at the top of her thigh, just where the bottom of her jeans pockets usually end up. Donna had seen that gesture so often and didn't know what it meant. She was too busy trying to resist the urge to do the same.

- There's a quick way to check, right? - Cam walked around the table and held out her right hand to Donna. Donna grabbed her arm, not quite sure what Cam was up to. Cam pulled her up, pulled her to her feet, and said:  - They say you can't go wrong when the matching marks are near.

Donna pressed the fingers of her left hand to her mark and felt a momentary relief. Her right hand was gripping Cam's. Slowly, as if rehearsing a dance, they turned to face each other, approaching with their left sides. Donna saw Cam take her hand out of her pocket, look up, and meet her gaze. Cam's earnest, expressive face was agitated. Donna took her hand away from her mark, her knees weak and her legs wobbling, and she gripped Cam's shoulder to steady herself and pressed her leg against Cam's.

Warm, tender, and tingling like orange soda bubbles, the sensation spread through her entire body. It was like when Mutiny first launched, like when the first user walked into the Community room, like when Cam said she wanted to be part of the Community and started pouring ideas, like when they raced through the night with two new XT's in Cam's car, like when Cam said "Working with you was the most fun of my life", like when Cam suggested working together again, like waking up with her in Airstream. It was a dream, a flight, a delight, and a homecoming at the same time. Donna saw the Cam's pupils dilate and the expression on her face become indescribable, and she realized that it was the same for her.

As if an electromagnet had been activated, they were drawn closer and closer to each other. Slightly weathered from biting her lip and neglecting lipstick, Cam's lips brushed hers, and Donna ran her tongue over them gently. She felt Cam's smile and deepened the kiss.

No one knew how much time had passed when they broke away from each other, without breaking their embrace, and smiled, overcome by a feeling of overwhelming happiness and tenderness.

- I don't know what I missed, - Haley said, standing in the kitchen doorway with a sly smile and a phone in her hand, - but if talking about the soulmarks brought you here, I'm sorry I didn't bring it up sooner.

[clayton-hill]

Surprise Emoji Face || Claycie

Tagging: Clayton Hill & Grace Lee When:  February 23, 2019 Where: Clay & Elliott’s apartment Notes: Gracie surprises Clay for his birthday! That he nearly forgot about that took place the day before. (unfinished but cute!)

Gracie

Gracie looked down at the bright yellow blob of a cake on the counter in front of her in despair. It was supposed to be one of those heart-eyed emojis -- an in-joke just for Clay -- but it looked more like a deconstructed sunflower had exploded all over the kitchen. The chocolate cake itself wasn't burned, at least -- but the two layers were wobbly and a little off-center, listing dangerously to one side as the bright yellow frosting smeared to the other. She looked down at the picture of a perfectly formed emoji cake on her iPad and sighed. No wonder Elliott had taken one look at it and excused himself quickly to his room -- he was probably trying not to hurt her feelings by laughing out loud in front of her. She had half an hour before Clay was supposed to be home, and THIS was not going to do at all. The cake was a mess, and she looked like she'd been to war with a mixer, with icing smudged across her chin and an unfortunately placed cake batter handprint low on her own hip, not to mention the pots and pans and bowls and spatulas and broken eggshells littering the counter... For a moment, Gracie considered crawling under the kitchen table to cry, and maybe when she came back out everything would magically be better again.

Clay

It was one of those rare days when he was able to leave a site early. The guys finished the drywall sooner than expected and he decided to reward them with an earlier start to their weekend. Forty-five minutes wasn't exactly that much of a difference but it was one that would give him more time to shower and get ready for his date with Gracie. Was it a date? He assumed anything they did now would be seen as that. Even when they were still in that awkward place with where they stood with each other. Clay's truck parked in it's assigned spot and he went upstairs and down the hallway to the apartment, one that was only he and Elliot for the most part with El off staying with Steven now. He still didn't know if she was keeping her things here or what was happening. Clay opened the door and smelled something different. Was Elliot burning one of those candles? The ones his mom likes? "I'm here." he called out as he closed the door and went into the living room. His keys went into the bowl and he was about to step into his bedroom but his eyes went to the kitchen and something didn't seem right. There were pots and pans on a visible part of the counter. "You baking, Elliot?" he called out to him.

Gracie

The door opened, and Clay's voice echoed through the apartment, and Gracie froze in the kitchen. She looked up over the counter, her eyes wide and for all the world like a deer caught in headlights. He wasn't supposed to be home until eight! She was supposed to have more time! More time to do what, she wasn't sure, but maybe just to have her little mini breakdown and then clean up and run down to Bri's bakery and see if she could buy something not a disaster for Clay's birthday instead."Um." Gracie managed, and her voice didn't seem to be cooperating with her, either. "Elliott's not here right now? I think he's in his room. I scared him off. Sorry?" she called back meekly.

Clay

That was not Elliot's voice in the kitchen and Clay cocked his head to the side and neared the kitchen slowly. "Grace? I-" he stepped into the bright room and his eyes rounded. "What happened in here?" He didn't know what to focus on. There were the pots and pans that he noticed before, but there was a mess, as if a bakery exploded in here. His eyes went to her and the icing on her chin and the fact a handprint that must have been cake batter was on her hip. She did this. She went through all this trouble. For him. "Is that my birthday cake?" he asked, eyes on this yellow mold nearby with black and red frosting that he assumed was some design. "I can't believe you did this for me instead of buying a cake. That's what most people would have done. That's what my mom would have done." He was smiling big, real big. So big that he hoped that it would make her do the same.

Gracie

Gracie looked at the monstrosity on the counter between them and grimaced. "Um. I tried? It... doesn't look very pretty," she admitted. "It was supposed to look like this -- because of the masks, you know?" she said hastily, and thumbed her iPad on and turned it to show him the picture. "But the layers are lopsided. And when I tried to pour the frosting, it sort of... slid off to the side? And I'm not very good at drawing with icing, so it looks... kind of drunk." She gave him a weirdly hopeful, toothy smile that was more grimace than anything else. "I don't think it tastes bad, though? I probably should have stuck with buying something from Bri, honestly, but the directions on the box just made it sound so easy..."

Clay

As she went into her explantation about what happened, mouth going a thousand miles a second, Clay neared the cake and took the iPad from her hands to compare the two. It didn't look anything how it was supposed to be and he, still with a smile, set the iPad down and looked at her. "I love it, Grace. You didn't have to go out of your way to make this for me and yet you did. And you made it something unique. Very much how we are." Clay bent down and kissed her lips, something he'd never done with her before or even expected to in that moment.

Gracie

Gracie froze again, too shocked do anything but stare up at him for a moment. Did he just...? She reached up and touched her mouth with her fingertips, as if he'd left an imprint behind to prove that that did actually just happen, and blinked up at him with wide eyes for a moment. The spatula she'd been clutching clattered to the countertop as she dropped it and reached up to snake one hand around the back of his neck, going up on her toes to pull him down into a proper kiss (and damn the man for being so tall anyway).

Clay

There was a sound of something hitting the counter and before he could check to see what it was he was pulled into a kiss by her and Clay actually bent his knees to rid some of that height difference for her. It felt nice to finally be kissed by her, hell to actually kiss her, too. That this back and forth with their talks and plans and get togethers, that to show her that she actually touched his heart in such a way with her actions...it was perfect. Clay pulled back and looked down at her, before he moved to place his thumb on her chin and wiped the icing away. "Did you get any on me?" he joked, pretty sure he must have at least a small smudge of yellow somewhere on his face.

Gracie

"Oh my god," Gracie breathed, giggling slightly as she reached up and swiped at a thin streak of icing on his jaw. She licked it off of her thumb absently, her cheeks burning at the way he was smiling at her. "Um. Happy birthday?" she said, biting her lip just to keep from kissing him again.

Clay

There was a small head shake after she wished him a happy birthday. "I felt bad I didn't tell you about it before. When I saw how much it meant for you to know. But I'm glad that it happened because it meant we were able to have this moment." Clay placed his hand on the counter and accidentally brushed part of the cake with his fingers and he looked down at it partly covered in the yellow frosting. "Is that what you planned to do for my birthday, if you had known?"

Gracie

Gracie groped blindly for a paper towel to wipe his fingers clean -- god, that shade of yellow wasn't even natural in icing, was it? -- and tittered nervously. "Um -- more or less?" she admitted. "I probably would have... prepared a little better. Read some recipes. Watched some YouTube videos. Maybe taken a baking class." She bit her lip again. "Possibly gone with little emoji cupcakes with different faces on them. But that seems -- kind of ambitious, in retrospect," she admitted ruefully as she took his hand to clean the unnatural frosting off.

Clay

When he smiled there was a clear difference to it, something that might have shifted now they they both kissed. Which would be weird to admit out loud but it was as if some unknown tension magically vanished and he was back to being himself while the equivalent of heart eyes filled his own as he looked at her talk. “You would have done all that? For me? I mean, I see the lengths you’d go to with this alone but to take a class to learn how to bake a cake.” The yellow lingered on his skin and he eventually went to the sink. “Do you want to put candles in it? I can get Elliot and we can sing happy birthday. Or you two can. Would be weird to sing it to myself.”

Gracie

Gracie twisted the towel in her hands as she hovered near his elbow. "I'm a really, really bad cook -- and baker, apparently -- and I would have wanted to try," she admitted. "I always kind of thought I should, but there wasn't really a reason to? But -- now there's a reason," she added, looking up at him shyly. She crossed her arms over her chest nervously and glanced over her shoulder where Elliott had retreated. "Should we bother him? He put up with me wrecking your kitchen most of the day, which was really nice of him, but you should have more than just me singing to you," she nodded decisively.

Clay

He turned the faucet off and turned to look at the towel in her hand, water dripped from his fingers into the sink. “I think he’d be okay with being a part of this. Also I don’t think you scared him away.” Clay laughed and looked back at his hands. “Think that towel is safe to use on my hands or is there yellow icing on it?” He questioned as he looked at all the things in the sink. “If it makes you feel any better, I can’t cook or bake either. I live off restaurants and fast food.”

[cursedbethechoice]

Vampyr Headcanon List

I ordered this according to districts and then put major characters like McCullum at the end. I don’t have every character on here, but I’ll update this list as I think of more. Enjoy!

I also have a lot of HCs for the Priwen bosses (like Jimmy “the Spark” Barlow) that you fight in the game but I didn’t post any here. 

Pembroke Hospital

Pippa is quite chatty at home. Milton keeps mostly to himself, but he likes to listen to her chatter.

Pippa loves flowers so every so often Milton will go to Whitechapel to buy some from Camellia. He’ll leave the flower pots in Pippa’s work locker so that she finds them after her shift ends. It’s one of the only things that can make her smile.

Pippa’s hair is quite short. It used to be down to her waist, but she cut it off and sold it to buy Milton a pocketwatch for his birthday.

Even if Milton is kept alive, Pippa eventually joins The Guard of Priwen.

Mortimer is secretly stockpiling his medication for another suicide attempt.

If Beatrice Goswick dies, then Mortimer becomes involved in educational reforms in England. It gives him a sense of purpose and he tells himself that his mother would have been proud of his efforts.

Before Pembroke got overrun with patients, Gwyneth Branagan and Dr. Tippets would have afternoon tea together almost every day.

If Dr. Tippets doesn’t take any steps to deal with his drug addiction after the events of the game, Gwyneth Branagan will absolutely follow him to Cypress and stage an intervention.

Dr. Tippets thinks that if he and Gwyneth Branagan were thirty years younger he’d ask her to marry him. But then he convinces himself that there is no way that someone as wonderful as her would accept him.

Harvey Fiddick’s children visit him every day. Harvey both hates and loves these visits because he wants to see his children but he can’t stand it when they cry and ask when he’ll come home. He has no answers and that makes his children cry harder.

If they survive Vampyr, Newton Blight and Oswald Thatcher run away to Scotland and find a cottage by the sea that suits them both. The wide, open space brings Oswald a modicum of peace and there are no rats to keep Newton up at night.

 Whitechapel

Richard Nithercott secretly writes the 1918 version of fanfics about himself and Camellia.

Clayton Darby unconsciously always looks around to see if he can spot Cristina Popa walking by.

Clayton thinks about how Cristina cried when she spoke of her homeland and has a million questions he wants to ask her just so he can watch her face and her expressions. It’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life.

Harry Peterson mentioned that he went out without his father once. Joe came home to an empty house and nearly had a heart attack. Ran around all of Whitechapel in a frenzy until he found Harry lost in the graveyard.

When Harry was younger, Joe Peterson would carry him as much as possible. He loved being able to hold his small son in his big arms; it made him feel like a good father.

Harry spends a lot of time reading books. In a touching but misguided attempt to connect with his son, Joe has tried to pick out books for Harry but always gets genres/authors that Harry doesn’t like.

When he visited Dorothy Crane’s medical dispensary, Harry had to take off his shirt for his medical exam. He nearly passed out from embarrassment. The only woman he’d been unclothed in front of or even really spoken to was his mother, so having to unclothe in front of Nruse Crane, WHO DIDN’T LOOK AWAY, was unsettling for the poor boy.

The only reason Harry got a pass for Dorothy’s medical facility was because Camellia saw him looking out of his bedroom window, felt sorry for him, and left a bouquet of flowers on his doorstep with a voucher hidden in it.

Harry still has all the books that Barrett Lewis bought him for his birthday. He would re-read them every so often but stopped after Barrett scolded him for asking why he never came by the Peterson’s house any more.

Before his mother died, Harry’s favorite thing to do was go on walks with her. Since he is so frail he couldn’t go play with the other children, so his mother would take him to a park and keep up a comfortable walking pace. Sometimes Joe would go with them and if Harry ever got tired Joe would carry him on his shoulders.

Joe has an old, crumpled picture of Harry when he was younger that he always keeps in his pocket. He looks at it at least once a day.

Harry started carrying his dad’s pistol after that one disastrous outing he went on by himself.

Harry believes in the supernatural, just not any of the positive aspects. He found one of Clarence’s pamphlets on vampires, read it, and convinced himself that there are monsters waiting in the streets outside his house waiting to eat him.

Nothing made Barrett angrier than seeing Joe, Jane, and Harry together and happy. He’s forever bitter that Jane stayed with Joe after Harry was born and that the marriage didn’t suffer from the affair.  

Sometimes Barrett makes himself feel better by criticizing every decision Joe made as a husband/father and telling himself that he would have been better to Jane and Harry than Joe ever was.

Cadogan Bates once tried to make a pass at Camellia, but Darius Petrescue chased him off by screaming threats in Romanian.

 The Docks

Ichabod Throgmorton takes in stray animals.

Lottie Paxton has a slight crush on Sean Hampton. It makes her happy whenever he thanks her for her help around the Asylum.

Seymour Fishburn saw Lottie Paxton once and thought her pretty, although he never tries to talk to her. Lottie only knows about his terrible reputation. If he ever asked her out and she rejected him, he’d kill her.

Rufus Kingsbury always saves the best scraps of food he manages to find for Jack and Stella Fishburn. If he has to eat rotted food or go hungry so that they can eat, he will.

Dyson Delaney tried to confront Rufus about the car factory bombing. He saw the boy digging through the trash and was overwhelmed with guilt at being the reason why the boy was reduced to such circumstances. He went back to the Turtle and got so drunk that he vomited three times and passed out on top of the bar.

The only way that Tom and Sabrina end up together is if Sabrina makes the first move. Tom has too many doubts to do anything himself.

Archer Woodbead finds a Priwen patrol one night and tries to start a fight. The Brawler simply picks him up and moves him out of the way. Archer is so embarrassed that he leaves, thinking about the days when he was leader of the Wet Boot Boys and no one dared look at him the wrong way.

Ironically, Andrew Woodbead becomes a Priwen Chaplain.

Martin Nightingale walks with a slight limp because his father beat him so badly one time that he was crippled.

Martin tells himself that his extortion of Enid Gillingham is justified because he checks in on her every so often to make sure she has food. Cheating her out of her money is how he is paid for his services.

 West End

Russell Calhoun keeps snacks hidden in his pockets

Clarence Crossley often has nightmares about the vampire he saw in France and wakes up in a panic. When he first came home, Venus would always comfort him, but after he started embarrassing them in public with his talk of vampires she just pretended to be asleep whenever he would cry out.

The two biggest expenses in the Crossley household are Clarence’s pamphlets and Venus’ beauty products.

If Clarence dies without Venus having seen all the vampire lore documents, Venus relocates to North America just in time for the Roaring 20’s and parties herself into massive debt. She remarries an oil tycoon for his money.

Louise Teasdale eventually finds Ichabod Throgmorton and asks to be his apprentice. He agrees and she ends up being the one who always saves him from mishaps with the locals that he accidentally causes. (I low-key ship these two, tbh).

Although she says no man would be interested in marrying her, Carol Price dreams of her prince charming coming to rescue her one day.

Whenever he passes by the Price’s shop, Richard Nithercott always makes an exaggerated bow to Carol to make her smile.

Carolyn Price reads romantic novels and inserts herself as the heroine and Jonathan Reid as the hero.

Pericles and Agamemnon Baker are still waiting for Godot long after the events of Vampyr end.

Carina Billow has tried to take her own life multiple times. Every time, Jacob Blackwood lets her nearly succeed before forcing her to stop. And then she’s forced to eat more rats.

  Major Characters

Mary named her son after Jonathan.

McCullum is never at ease unless he has something to do. Whether it’s a goal to reach or having something to keep his hands busy, he feels antsy if he’s just standing around.

McCullum was a soldier during WWI. It’s how he learned about modern war tactics and weaponry and was able to bring this knowledge to the Guard.

McCullum actually has a pretty good singing voice and loves Irish drinking songs, but he only sings when he’s in a pub and has had a few drinks. Since he rarely has the time for such things, it’s quite the event to hear him break out into song.

The only thing that McCullum hates more than leeches is writing reports. He prefers to be out in the field, so typing away at a typewriter for hours seems like a colossal waste of time to him.

McCullum knew a lot about the supernatural before Carl Eldritch recruited him to the Guard. As the baby of the family, McCullum spent a lot of time with his mother who would tell him old Irish folk and fairy tales.

Over the years, McCullum has forgotten what his mother looked like. But he does remember the exact sound of her voice as she sang him and his brother lullabies when they were little.

McCullum knows a smattering of Gaelic. He unconsciously uses it when he’s frustrated.

Carl Eldritch, the previous leader of Guard of Priwen, never had his own family and so considered McCullum to be the closest thing he ever had to a son.

Geoffrey will never forgive himself for losing Barker, Carl Eldritch’s gun, right before the man’s funeral. He kept vigil by the grave the whole night after the funeral to make sure no vampire tried to dig his mentor up, since this was Eldritch’s greatest fear. He’s been trying to find the Barker ever since. He was not amused when Jonathan pulled it out during their fight. It enraged him even more. Pacifist!Jonathan ends up mailing it to him after he and Ashbury run off together. Yet another favor that McCullum owes him.

The Guard’s attack on the Ascalon Club wasn’t actually planned. A bunch of rookies decided to take matters into their own hands and were slaughtered. Geoffrey was furious, but he blamed himself for not being a good enough leader.

Edgar Swansea sneaks into Jonathan’s room while he’s out and about and reads all his stuff (thank God Jonathan doesn’t have an actual journal). He’s not trying to steal his research; he sees it more as an avid fan trying to get a sneak peak at his favorite author’s new work.

Edgar Swansea sweats a lot.

Usher Talltree strongly distrusts Edgar. Part of the reason why the Primate is in London is to investigate the doctor’s actions.

When she was a human, Old Bridget’s greatest desire was to have a child with her husband. Becoming a Skal tore this dream away from her, but she’s managed to cope by seeing the Skals she protects as her children.

Old Bridget and Lord Redgrave’s marriage was based on love, a rarity for their time period. They both genuinely cared for each other, but in the end it wasn’t enough for Redgrave to accept his wife after he turned her into a Skal.

Lord Redgrave justifies abandoning his wife after her transformation by telling himself that there must have been something corrupt in her, in all women, that caused her turning to go wrong. She never really loved me, he tells himself, she just wanted immortality.

There are times when Bridget remembers how happy she was with Redgrave, even though she knows his true character. In her worst moments, she aches for those days.

[crestfalien]

Small Talks

6 September 2022

The father and daughter decided to spend their time together back at home. With a pool in the backyard of their house, they decided to spend some time there with the presence of Fransesca around. Though, the woman herself was seen busy doing her work in the study room. Observing and reading all the journals on the table.

As one side of the study room was actually made from glass, showing the view of the swimming pool itself, the two could see their beloved lady of the house working so hard and seriously in the room as they played and swam around. It was designed that way, as the swimming pool itself was an infinite one, showing the beautiful view of the country. Clayton wanted a view from his study room as well.

“Daddy, now that you can actually provide us more than enough with everything, can you tell mommy to step down and rest? She doesn’t need to retire or any kind of it, I just want to see her home more. Working less than how she’s been. She works so hard, rarely at home.” Christine asked her father.

“I’ve told her, bunny. But your mother won’t listen. I’ve told her to resign from either NAFA or NUS so she could rest more at home. But I know she loves her work and is used to doing so, thus it would be hard for your mother to adapt with things when she decided to stop working like this.” answered the old man, trying to explain to Christine why Fransesca wouldn’t stop working day and night.

“She’s used to this independent lifestyle, Christine. I can’t blame her if she couldn’t actually stop herself from working like this.”

“But I’m concerned, dad. I’m concerned about her health. She’s not young and it's been years since she worked harder than everyone else,” Christine added. “Please convince her, daddy. Convince her to stop working at NAFA.”

To hear those words out from her lips, Clayton knew how much his daughter worried about her mother, Franseca. He knew how much Christine had tried to convince her mother to stop working day and night without rest but she failed on doing so.

Christine and Clayton then jumped out of the swimming pool to sit on the sun loungers, enjoying the view as they took some time off from the water. Changing their attention from the woman in her study room to the city view in front of them.

“Dad, can I ask for something? Two things actually..” Christine asked.

Clayton turned his head to the right, smiling at his daughter. “What is it? I’ll buy it for you. Tell me whatever you want and I’ll try my best to find it for you, bunny.” he said as he took a sip on his soda soon after. Christine lowered her head before he collected all of her wit to say what she has always wanted to say to one of her parents.

“Can I actually have a younger sibling?”

The question nearly made the man choked himself from the soda he’s currently sipping. Clayton put down his glass to the table between them and looked at his daughter full of questions. “Out of the sudden? Why is it that you want to have a younger sibling when you can be the sole heir to all the love and care we gave to you?” asked the man.

“Because I feel lonely and it would be nice if I could have someone to be by my side. I’m so jealous towards all of my friends who actually have older and younger siblings. They could talk and play with each other while I’m left all alone with nobody else at home if the two of you are busy with work.” said the young lady as she lowered her head again. “I just love kids and I wanted to have a younger one who I can take care of and play with.”

Just like Christine, he wanted to have another one. He wanted to experience the feeling he never got to. Not to say that Christine wasn’t enough to make him feel that way. Clayton just wanted to have someone that he could play and spend his time with. He never got to do things like that in the past for and with Christine herself.

But, being reminded with Fransesca’s age and health, not to mention his age as well, he knew there’s a reason on why the lady of the house decided that it would be the best if they didn’t try for one. It would be best if Christine became the only child instead of the eldest child.

“Christine darling, I know how you feel. I also wanted to give you other younger siblings so you can play with them. I’ve talked about this with your mother days ago and there are reasons why we couldn’t. Why we decided not to have one. I’m fifty five, getting older soon. By the time your siblings celebrate his or her tenth birthday, I’ll be sixty five. Then, your mother. Your mother is forty three, four this year. It’s super risky for a woman her age to give birth to a child. Not to mention, we both know that her health is super fragile. We don’t want to lose her, right?”

Clayton tried to explain all that he could say to his daughter. Their eyes turned to the woman in her study room once again, right when Fransesca put down her journals on the table and rushed herself to the bathroom with her hand covering her mouth area.

“See? That’s why I don’t want her to have another child. You know your mother more than me. You lived with her for the past fifteen years and even grew in her womb. Inside her.” Clayton smiled at his daughter and tucked her hair behind her left ear from his seat.

Christine could only nod, though he knew how disappointed his daughter was towards the decision that her parents couldn’t give her. “I’m sorry, darling. I’ll try to talk about this with mommy later, okay? Perhaps we could adopt a child from the orphanage or sort things out.” the businessman added. The lass nodded her head as she agreed that adoption could be great as well.

“Now, what is the other thing that you want to talk about to me?”

“About high school, daddy.” Christine replied. “I actually wanted to go to Institute La Rosey, the school where Vincent will go to.” she told the man about her wish. “But I know that it’s super expensive. In fact, it is one of the most expensive schools in the world. I don’t want to burden you with the…”

“Tuition? Oh, bunny darling, you know that I can afford to study there. It would be great as well, as Vincent, your best friend and cousin is also there. Don’t worry, I’ll let you study there. Switzerland is a great country as well.” Clayton responded. He’s in fact, delighted to hear that his daughter would love to go to that country so she could study well.

“Daddy, I mean… mommy. Will she allow me to study abroad?”

The question struck him soon after. Right, his wife. Now that he came to his senses, he knew that Fransesca would never allow Christine to study abroad. She’s used to her daughter being around her all the time and as the one who was there by her side, 24/7, since she’s only a second old in this world, Clayton knew that Fransesca would never want to be apart from Christine.

He could see how determined the young girl was to study in that high school. He knew how much his daughter wanted to go there, as she never got to choose the school she wanted to go into since she’s a child. Fransesca took care of all of it, in the best private schools across Singapore. He knew that back then, Christine can’t even choose due to the financial issue but now, she could. Now, with Clayton by their side, Christine could go to any school she wanted to go and study at.

“Ah, yes, your mommy.” Clayton smiled awkwardly. He scratched his nape for no reason as he realized there’s another obstacle that he needs to take care of regarding Christine’s wish to study abroad and he knew it will not be easy. The new academic year was around the corner. “You don’t even think that you can convince her, right?” Christine asked.

“I’ll try my best, Christine. I’ll try my best to convince lov— I mean, your mother, regarding this. Let’s talk about it together tomorrow, okay?” Clayton smied.

Christine smiled and nodded her head excitedly, something he always wanted to see from his daughter. Meanwhile, he became reminded with his wife whom he saw rushing herself into the bathroom.

“Is your mother back from the bathroom already?”

The young lady turned her head to the room where she could see her mother back on the seat again, reading her journals while taking a sip on her warm tea. Christine nodded her head to Clayton before she turned her attention away from her mother.

“Yes, she’s back already, daddy.” “Good. Now come inside and wash yourself. Let’s eat some breakfast with your mother as well.”

Christine nodded. She wore her robe before she walked into the house, straight into her room on the second floor. Wet from head to toe. Meanwhile, Clayton stood up from his sun lounger and looked at the woman in her room lovingly.

As if telepathy does exist, Fransesca lowered her journal and saw the man standing while looking at her. He smiled and waved her hand from inside the room. She put down her journal on the table and stood up. Slowly, she opened the sliding door to the mini balcony of the study room and smiled at the man.

“Good morning, handsome.” “Good morning, angel. Let’s have breakfast in thirty minutes?” “Sure. Go clean yourself first. I’ll be there. Where’s Christine?” “She’s showering upstairs. I want to talk about something.”

“Christine?”

Clayton nodded his head. Fransesca smiled. “Okay, then. We’ll talk about this in our room. What is it about?”

“High school.”

The man replied with only a topic, as he knew bringing the other topic would be a waste of time for now. The high school matter was more urgent than the other one. He knew, he knew that Fransesca would never agree for a second child as well and for him, her health matters the most.

END OF SMALL TALKS.

[imagines-all-day-everyday]

Hero? No Need.

Requested by anonymous:

“Do you think you would ever write for Reggie Mantle?? I know he is no Jughead, but Ja'dore 😍. If you did do you think that you could do one where the reader and Cheryl are Bffs and they grew up hanging out with Reg. But since high school things are different. Maybe he stands up to Chuck? I don't know, but I would appreciate it. You really have a talent and I love you 😘😘”

Warnings: Fluff, swearing 

Notes: This gif makes me laugh lmao but yes I love Reggie!!! I’m so sad Ross isn’t playing him in season 2 and that we haven’t gotten to see his character develop :( x

“Are you here yet?” 

“I’m walking in to school now.”

“Would you hurry your virgin ass up?” Cheryl huffed which caused *yn* to roll her eyes but still smile slightly at her all too predictable best friend.

“Would you relax your tyrannical ass Cher? I’ll be two minutes tops.” *yn* teased, hanging up before Cheryl could get another snarky remark in. 

Shaking her head, *yn* slid her phone into her bag and slung it over her right shoulder before walking through the main door of Riverdale High, immediately graced with the usual loud ruckus that her school acquaintances supplied her ears with. 

“Hey *yn* baby!” A voice called from behind her.

Speaking of loud ruckuses - the epitome was undoubtedly Chuck Clayton in all of his asshole glory. She rolled her eyes and immediately pondered if turning around and walking out right now to avoid him would be worth the detention she would no doubt receive. 

“C’mon gorgeous - don’t walk away!” He called out once more as he jogged to appear in front of her, blocking her path. Seems like her decision had already been made for her.

“What do you want Chuck? I’m already late enough for practice.” She huffed impatiently, crossing her arms in front of her in annoyance. 

At her words Chuck’s eyes wondered down her body, greedily soaking up the sight of her in her short cheerleader skirt and tight top. “Hey asshole, eyes up here.” She growled in annoyance as she felt her skin prickle in discomfort as he licked his lips hungrily. 

“Sorry gorgeous, your body’s just too good not to stare at. By the way if you want, I’m more than happy to help out with some ‘stretching’ later.” He complimented which caused a few laughs to emit from beside them. *yn* turned her head to see half a dozen of Chuck’s teammates all leaning against the lockers, clearly enjoying their front row seats of the show. Her eyes flitted briefly over their faces, stopping at one in particular.

Reggie Mantle. 

The two briefly made eye contact before she quickly darted her eyes back to Chuck as a look of disgust formed on her face.

“Is there a point you’re trying to make? Or are you just wasting my time for no goddamn reason?” *yn* sneered before attempting to side step him.

“Woah, woah, woah - not so fast sweetheart. I do in fact have something to ask you.” He grinned.

Oh, this was going to be good.

“And what is that exactly?” She queried, raising a brow at him expectantly.

“If you would accept the honour of being the Chuck Clayton’s date to the prom.” He smirked, wiggling his brows at her suggestively. 

Before she could stop herself, a snort slipped out as she covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. 

“You have got to be fucking with me.” She chuckled under her breath, shaking her head as she once again tried to get past him. As she tried to move past him Chuck grabbed her left wrist, ceasing her movements.

“Get the hell off me.” She spat as she tried in vain to release her arm from his grip. 

“Sweetheart, you aren’t going anywhere until you answer my question.” Chuck smirked, only tightening his fingers around her flesh.

She ceased to struggle as she stared at him dumbfounded, in all the years of Chuck’s futile attempts to court her, this was the first time he’d ever actually touched her. She glanced over at Reggie to see him eyeing the pair, so many emotions jumbled together that she was unable to identify any of them except for one that was shining through above all the others. Guilt. 

“You seriously aren’t going to do anything?” She snapped at him which caused Chuck and his other followers to turn and look at Reggie. 

It was like time froze as Reggie stared back at her, completely speechless at the fact that she had just publicly called him out. He swallowed and glanced between *yn* and Chuck who was staring at him questioningly. Who did he side with - the girl he’d been friends with since he was five or the guy who guaranteed him popularity?

“Just answer the question *yln*.” He heard himself saying before he could overthink his words. 

She scoffed and shook her head before turning to look back up at Chuck, her eyes blazing with complete annoyance and betrayal.

“You want an answer, Chuck?” She asked him rhetorically as she bit the inside of her cheek. Before he could answer she grabbed his arm with her right hand and ripped it off her, twisting it painfully causing him to let out a yelp of surprise. Before he had time to comprehend what was going on she stepped forward and kneed him as hard as she could in between his legs. He let out a loud groan of pain as he sunk to his knees clutching his crotch. 

“There’s your answer you piece of shit.” *yn* hissed, shooting him a triumphant look before swinging around on her heels and stalking off. She held her head high as she felt dozens of wide eyes on her, a proud smirk on her lips as she marched off towards cheer practice.

That would show him.

“What’s wrong with you *yln*?” 

“Nothing Cher, I’m fine.” *yn* lied as she continued to stretch out her muscles that were now aching after the intense hour long cheerleading practice they had just incurred. 

“You were offbeat by at least two counts every single run through, and the only two people to ever do worse than that are Veronirunt and stupid Betty Bipolar.” Cheryl pointed out, folding her arms in front of her chest.

“I said I’m fine Cheryl - I just had an off day.” *yn* brushed off as she moved her hands towards her stretched out foot. 

Cheryl sighed and rolled her eyes before crouching down and putting her hand over *yn*’s arms to stop her from stretching. *yn* huffed in defeat and looked at her best friend, slumping her shoulders to signal she was finally willing to listen.

“I’ve practically been your sister since we could walk, you seriously don’t think I know when you’re lying?” Cheryl stated matter-of-factly, knowing she had *yn* beat.

“It’s really nothing...it’s just Chuck he-”

“Has that asshole been bothering you again? I swear I’m going to-”

“You know he won’t stop Cher, no matter what. But Chuck doesn’t bother me it’s-” *yn* cut herself off and exhaled deeply before continuing on. “It’s Reggie, he’s just not the same Cher - today when Chuck was harassing me right in front of him he didn’t do anything even when I called him out. I don’t know what I did to make him turn away from me.” She explained as she fiddled with her fingers absentmindedly. 

“You didn’t do anything. He’s just like every single other high school boy. Immature and thick headed. You know they all look up to Chuck like he’s a freaking god or something, who knows why, but they do. He’ll do anything to stay on Chuck’s good side.” 

“I don’t know Cher, we’ve been friends as long as you and I have. I just don’t think he would abandon that just because of a stupid quarterback.” 

“You’d be surprised what boys are capable of *yn*. Trust me, you need to forget about Reggie. He’s a complete waste of space that doesn’t deserve you, focus on school and cheer and if you really need to satisfy your... urges, then go for college boys.” Cheryl suggested which made *yn* shake her head.

“It’s not that easy Cher.... I’ve been in love with him for as long as I can remember... how am I supposed to just “forget” about him?” She asked as she finally looked from her lap to meet her best friend’s rare and earnest gaze.

“Sometimes we just have to do things *yn*.” Cheryl breathed out, her eyes glazing over as her mind began to wonder to things *yn* could only imagine about. 

“Even if we don’t want to.”

*yn* closed her eyes and inhaled, counting to ten as she stretched out her body into a lunge before exhaling deeply and bringing herself back up into a standing position. 

She had 10 minutes until her and the rest of the cheerleading squad had to go onto the field. So, she had 10 minutes to get her shit together and forget about Reggie so she could actually perform in sync with the rest of the team. 

“Hey.” A soft voice called out from behind her, causing her eyes to snap open. 

“Not now, please not now” she internally begged as she edged around and immediately cursed when she saw who it was.

Sure enough, standing in front of her was the man himself - Reggie.

“What do you want, Reggie?” She snapped irritably. 

“Can we talk? One ten to another.” He spoke causing her to roll her eyes at his feeble attempt to break the ice.

“Why?” 

“I just... I need someone to talk to. Things haven’t been great at home recently again and I just...I miss talking to you and telling you everything.” He admitted which made her heart rate increase.

“Why haven’t you come and talked to me about this before? Why now Reg?” She questioned, folding her arms in front of her and cocking her head to the side.

“Because... you just- you wouldn’t understand.” He mumbled.

“Try me.” She fired back, raising a brow at him to show him she wasn’t going to budge.

“It’s Chuck... I couldn’t talk to you because he claimed you and said none of us could go near you but I don’t care about that anymore *yn* I-”

“He claimed me? What am I some fucking prize now? Jesus Reg, what the fuck is wrong with you? How could you let him talk about me like that? How could you just go along with it?” *yn* hissed, staring at him in disgust. 

“All I’ve ever wanted to do was fit in *yn*, you know that. You know that middle school was complete hell for me, I was always the stupid fat kid, and then when I got into the football team and finally lost all that weight and Chuck came along.. I finally fitted in and I guess I just didn’t want to risk losing that.” He explained before sighing and running a hand through his hair.

 “Look, I don’t expect you to understand ok? School’s always been easy for you with Cheryl as your best friend and you looking like well...you, you’ve always been the popular one.”

“That isn’t an excuse Reggie! We’ve been friends since I can remember and you’re seriously justifying throwing that away all because poor little Reggie was picked on? Give me a fucking break.” *yn* scoffed. “Congratulations I think you might be even more shallow than Chuck Clayton himself.” She spat as she looked at him in complete contempt.

“Listen, I gotta get going, we’ll be going in a couple of minutes. Don’t bother trying to talk to me ever again ok?” *yn* hissed before turning on her heels and stalking off as she tried to repress the tears threatening to pool in the corners of her eyes.

“*yn* wait! Please!” Reggie called after her but to no avail. 

“What do you want me to do *yn*? Swoop in like a big hero and save you next time Chuck bothers you? ‘Cause I can be a fucking hero if that’s what it takes!” He called out causing *yn* to come to an immediate halt. 

“A hero?” She echoed as she took a few steps towards him and glared at him, jutting her chin up so she was more eye level with him. “I think I made it pretty damn clear this morning that I don’t need a hero. This isn’t about me being a damsel in distress and you riding up like a damn knight. This is about you standing up for yourself and fighting for what you really believe in.” She hissed before dropping her gaze and sucking in a deep breath. 

“And this is about you acting like the Reggie I fell in love with all those years ago.” She added softly causing his eyes to dart up to meet hers at her surprise confession. She clenched her jaw and glared at him blurry eyed in defiance to show that she wasn’t lying for a few moments before turning on her heel and sprinting off towards the football field without another word.

Reggie wasn’t sure how long he stood there, staring numbly after her, but what he did know was that the girl he loved, loved her back.

And more importantly he knew that he had somehow managed to fuck it up. Big time.

“You what?” Cheryl shouted over the thumping bass and people chanting over the Riverdale High football team’s victory an hour before.

“I told him I loved him!” *yn* repeated even louder into her best friends ear and judging by the way Cheryl’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped, she had heard her this time.

“Oh my god.” Cheryl gaped in surprise. “Even I didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah well neither did I.” *yn* huffed as she glanced around the crowded living room to ensure Reggie was no where to be seen.

“Ok look, let’s not think about that tonight. There are actually a surprising number of cute guys that have been eyeing you off for the past thirty minutes. Take this-” Cheryl spoke before shoving a shot glass filled to the brim with vodka into *yn*’s chest. “-and go and get yourself a nice distraction.” 

*yn* withheld a sigh as she glanced around the room, noting that in fact that were quite a few good looking guys milling around. “None as cute as Reggie though.” A small voice mumbled inside her head. “No *yn*, forget about him!” She mentally scolded herself before pressing the liquid courage to her lips and downing it in one go.

“There we go! Now go and have yourself a good time.” Cheryl smirked proudly as *yn* grimaced as the liquid burnt her throat. “What about you?” *yn* asked.

“I’ve got my eye on someone else.” 

“I thought you weren’t ‘into’ high school guys? I thought they were too immature?” *yn* smirked, raising a brow as she eyed her best friend. 

“I’ve decided to make an exception.” Cheryl grinned mischievously as her eyes flitted behind *yn*. Following her gaze, *yn* turned around to see who she was looking at.

“Archie Andrews?” She voiced in disbelief as she turned back to face Cheryl. “Isn’t he into Betty bipolar?” 

“Not for much longer.” Cheryl raised a brow, shooting *yn* a wink before raising her head, squaring her shoulders and slinking off towards Archie.

Shaking her head, *yn* watched in amusement as Cheryl cornered Archie much like a lion stalked an innocent gazelle, and judging by the look of fear on his face, he was thinking the same thing.

*yn* turned away from the pair to make her way to the drinks table, grabbing a red solo cup and filling it to the brim with the punch mixed with god knows what else. As she took a sip, loud shouting erupted from the front of the house caused her eyes to flit towards the entrance to the living room.

“Fuck.” The curse slipped past her lips as soon as her eyes landed on none other than Chuck strutting into the throng of people with Reggie and his other team mates trailing behind him.

Immediately she ripped her gaze from him, pretending to not have noticed him as she took another sip of her drunk and began to make her way out of the room. 

“*yn*, baby!” Chuck’s slimy voice called out from behind her. 

Just her luck.

Rolling her eyes, she swung around to face Chuck, happy to see that in her heels she was for once the same height as him. 

“I didn’t know if you’d come or not.” He smirked, licking his lips as he looked her up and down and admired her figure in the figure hugging black dress she was wearing.

“Oh you know I wouldn’t miss a party that the Chuck Clayton was attending.” *yn* flirted, batting her eyelashes at him innocently.

“Is that right? I thought you hated me?” Chuck grinned as he sidled up closer to her. *yn* swallowed, forcing the vomit threatening to creep up her throat back down as she mustered up a smile.

“Of course not, you know some girls just like to play hard to get.” *yn* spoke softly, sending him a small smile as she spoke.

“Ain’t that right.” Chuck chuckled, biting his lip as he hooked an arm around her waist. “I’m glad baby, I’ve been wanting you ever since I saw you strutting ‘round in that little cheerleading skirt of yours.” 

“You know I only wore that skirt for you, right?” *yn* smiled innocently and she nearly let out a laugh at the fact that Chuck looked like he was about to have a heart attack right then and there. However, he managed to quickly recover his composure with a seedy smirk as his eyes trailed to her chest. She nearly flinched as he brought his hand up to the small choker around her neck and gently touched the little star hanging from it.

“I like this, a lot.” He remarked as he fondled it.

“Really? That’s good because I... well I wore it because it reminds me of you.” *yn* spoke, fluttering her eyelashes so hard she thought she might actually fly away or something. 

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Well.. it’s a choker and I really want to choke you so it makes perfect sense for me to wear it.” She explained, an almost manic grin spreading across her lips. 

“Wait wha-”

Before Chuck could even finish his sentence and understand what was going on, *yn* brought her still nearly full cup of punch and poured it all over his head. The room fell silent as people gasped and practically leapt away from him to avoid the liquid as it literally drenched him from head to toe.

“Last warning Chuck. Stay the fuck away from me.” *yn* spat, throwing the plastic cup in his direction before turning on her heel and storming off. 

“You fucking slut!” Chuck bellowed from behind her. *yn* would have ignored him and simply walked away, but she definitely hadn’t planned on him reacting the way he did.

She had nearly reached the doorway to the kitchen when a hand gripped onto her arm and swung her around, shoving her back into the wall. “You seriously think you can talk to me like that? You know how many girls would kill to go out with me?” Chuck spat as he pushed her against the wall. 

“I think you mean how many girls would kill themselves if they had to spend a minute with your self absorbed ass.” *yn* snarled back, only angering him further as his grip tightened on her arm.

“Let go of me you asshole.” She growled as she attempted to push his muscular body off her. 

“Get off her, Chuck.” A new voice spoke threateningly, Chuck’s body obscuring *yn*’s vision of him. But she didn’t need to see him, she knew that voice anywhere.

Sure enough, when Chuck turned around her eyes met with Reggie’s for a fleeting moment before Reggie turned his attention to Chuck. 

“Oh what now Mantle? You tryna be the big hero? You think that’s gonna work with her, I think we all know she’s a frigid bi-”

Chuck however, never got to finish that insult. Gasps echoed throughout the room as Reggie’s clenched fist collided with Chuck’s nose with a loud crack.

“Fuck!” Chuck cursed as he doubled over, his hand immediately gluing to his now bleeding nose. 

“That wasn’t for *yn* you asshole, that was to show you that I’m doing being your little bitch.” Reggie spat before moving forward and kicking him in the stomach causing Chuck to groan loudly.

“Now that... that was for *yn*.” 

Without another word, Reggie turned away from Chuck suddenly very aware that every single pair of eyes was fixed on him. He swallowed and glanced at *yn* briefly before shouldering past everyone and disappearing from view. 

“Ok, now that is what I call a good party.” Cheryl remarked as she suddenly appeared at *yn*’s side.

A cool breeze drifted past *yn* causing goosebumps to rise on her exposed skin as she stepped out of the house. The further she walked away from the house, the quieter the penetrating music became and soon all she could really hear was the soft clicking of her heels on the garden path. 

She walked through the insanely large garden for a few more moments, admiring the quietness that the night brought to Riverdale before she came to a stop. She swallowed nervously as her eyes fell on Reggie’s figure sitting on a bench, his back to her as she made the last few steps and reached the bench. 

“That was quite a show back there.” Reggie remarked as she took a seat beside him on the bench.

“I could say the same for you, it was almost ‘heroic’.” She joked lightly, raising a brow at him even though he could barely make out her features in the dark.

“It was more suicidal than heroic.” Reggie muttered more to himself than to *yn*. However, his words didn’t escape her ears and in response she folded her arms protectively around her middle and everted her gaze.

“Wait I- shit *yn* I didn’t mean it like that-” He stammered as he realised how he sounded.

“I wouldn’t change what I did back there, not even if I had a million do-overs.” He explained as she flickered her eyes back to his. “I just meant that Chuck’s gonna make my life a living hell now.”

“You shouldn’t care about that, Reg.” *yn* sighed.

“I know, I know I shouldn’t it’s just- it’s hard but it’s not easy for me. I’m not like you. You don’t care about what anyone says.” 

“Geez I knew I was heartless but-” *yn* began jokingly.

“No, no, no I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant that you’re confident a-and you’re smart and a badass and-”

“-I know Reg I was just jok-”

“-that’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.” 

The pair spoke simultaneously, both fumbling and frantic to get their words out. Both froze the second Reggie’s sentence finished, staring at each other wide eyed in the dark.

“For a guy who loves me... you sure have a funny way of showing it.” *yn* breathed out as a smile she had desperately tried to suppress found its way onto her lips. 

“Says the girl who told me she loved me right after she’d finished giving me the lecture of the century.” Reggie answered which made her laugh loudly.

“Touche Mantle, touche.” She giggled. 

Just as their laughter had died down Reggie caught her by surprise by bringing his hand up to her chin and leaning forward, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. Although initially caught off guard, *yn* was quick to reciprocate, kissing back with just as much passion as her eyes fluttered shut.

Eventually, the pair pulled away breathlessly as they eyed each other for a few moments before breaking the comfortable silence.

“Was that a better way of showing it?” Reggie smirked.

“Slightly.” *yn* shrugged nonchalantly.

“But I think you’ll have to do that a couple more times to really prove it.” 

As always positive feedback is appreciated!!!! Please give it back here xx

[aresaphrodites]

Your Eyes Look Like Coming Home - Bughead Fanfic

A little idea that came to me based off of a post by @jandjsalmon so thank you for the burst of creative energy I needed! 

Also I want to start taking prompts so if you have any, please feel free to send them my way! :)

Summary: 

People spend their whole lives waiting until the day they can see the world in color; the day they finally meet their soulmate. Sometimes it takes years, decades, nearly lifetimes until you meet that one special person.

Unless, of course, you're Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones who have both seen the world in color since they met each other when they were two years old. Everyone always says that they're so lucky to have met when they were so young, that they have their whole lives to be together and in love. There's just one teeny tiny problem.

Betty and Jughead hate each other.

Betty Cooper has hated Jughead Jones for as long as she’s known him. This is both annoying and unfortunate. Annoying because she’s known him since she was two years old and now that she’s eighteen well, it’s been a long sixteen years. It’s unfortunate because out of all the people in the world, all seven billion of them, Jughead Jones is her soulmate.

Of course she wasn’t aware of this when she first met him when she was two. At the time it kind of went down like this. Betty was at daycare. Her older sister, Polly, was off somewhere chasing some boy like four year olds did, and Betty was sitting by herself, coloring a piece of paper. Although “coloring” probably wasn’t the best word to use, because she couldn’t actually see any of the colors on the paper. Some colors just looked a bit darker than others and that’s what she went off of. She was minding her own business when suddenly a harsh pain ripped through her scalp as her hair was tugged back. She let out a loud wail and erupted into tears.

A boy behind her laughed but she didn’t pay attention to him. She kept on crying until one of the young daycare workers came running over.

“Oh dear, what happened here?” She asked as she pulled Betty into her arms. Betty just continued crying, but decided that she would not let this menace of a boy get away with what he had done. So she turned around and pointed at him with her chubby little finger and that’s when everything changed.

It’s a weird feeling, meeting your soulmate. Not because you get butterflies or the world suddenly makes sense, no; it’s a weird feeling because it’s like someone suddenly turns on the light in what was a dark room and then everything makes sense and you can finally see.

She sees that the boy has dark hair and eyes that match. She notices that the walls of the daycare are a bright shade of something that’s both warm and cold at the same time. She looks down at her paper that she had been coloring and she’s shocked to see that for once it isn’t in shades of grey and black, there’s more colors there.

She isn’t crying anymore.

“Elizabeth?” The daycare worker questions, sounding scared.

Betty just turns and looks at her, staring into her eyes that match the walls and smiles. “Pretty eyes.”

The worker looks confused for a moment before her eyes widen and everything clicks. She looks between Betty and the mean boy before letting out a groan.

“Oh dear.”

So that’s how it starts. Jughead Jones is a rude, insufferable boy when she first meets him and then she finds out that not only is he probably the first boy to ever make her cry, he’s also her soulmate. Her mother loves to tell her just how lucky she is to have found her soulmate so young, but Betty doesn’t agree.

She didn’t feel so lucky when Jughead pulled her pigtails or when he made fun of her because she was the shortest girl in the third grade. She didn’t feel lucky when she met Archie Andrews, the cutest boy in the fourth grade, only to find out that he still couldn’t see in color while she obviously could. She didn’t feel lucky when she was forced to go to eighth grade homecoming with Jughead, while he just sat and decided to brood in the corner. She didn’t feel lucky when she shared her first kiss with Archie when she was fourteen, only to have him tell her that it shouldn’t have happened because they weren’t soulmates. None of it made her feel lucky and therefore she decided she hated Jughead.

Jughead feels the same way though, it’s obvious from the way he goes out of his way to make sure that she’s uncomfortable to the way he ignores her at any kind of function that requires them to go as dates. If she hates Jughead then Jughead absolutely loathes her.

She thinks she must be the most unlucky girl in the world. The percentage of soulmates who don’t fall in love with their intended pair is less than 2%, but there are some people out there and of course Betty would be one of them. She wonders if she’ll ever actually find love. There are rare reports of people who marry someone who isn’t their soulmate, but with Betty’s luck her husband would end up finding his soulmate halfway through their marriage and leave her for dead. It was a chance she was willing to take though. She had yearned to find love and for years she had thought that maybe she could find that with Archie. Until Veronica Lodge came into town and then suddenly Archie never shut up about her beautiful dark eyes.

Betty wanted to hate Veronica for stealing Archie away from her and then she realized that Archie was never really hers. Jughead was hers and there was no return address anywhere on him. He was like an itch that never went away. Everywhere she went, he was right there behind her. That was about to change though. It was senior year and with graduation soon approaching, she was set to leave for NYU, far away from Riverdale and Jughead Jones. She never asked Jughead where he applied, but she didn’t really care either way.

“Betty!”

She’s torn from her thoughts by the voice of Veronica Lodge. Somehow, despite her feelings for Archie, Veronica became her best friend. It was a weird friendship, and it shouldn’t have worked, but for some reason it did. As Betty looks at her now, she can see why she would be Archie’s soulmate. Veronica is beautiful and not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. She might be one of the most genuine people Betty has ever met.

“Sorry. What were we talking about?”

“Prom!” Veronica yells out, exasperated. “You’re going.”

“Actually, I was thinking of just staying in.” Besides the fact that she isn’t really one for school dances (or dances at all), she doesn’t have a date. She can’t say that though, because the obvious answer is sitting right in front of her with his signature beanie and frown on his face.

“Oh, yes you are. Prom is a rite of passage. It’s something you only get to experience once and with college coming soon…” Veronica trails off, pouting and giving Betty her puppy dog eyes but Betty just rolls her eyes back.

“Ronnie, you literally got into NYU with me and Archie’s going to Juilliard. We’ll still be in the same city.” It wasn’t like they had planned it although yes, they definitely had. It was that Juilliard had an amazing music program that Archie got into and NYU had been Betty and Veronica’s dream for years. They would still all be together, except for Jughead of course. God knows where he had applied to; if he had even applied at all.

“Irrelevant!” Veronica says with a wave of her hand, although she’s smiling now. “That’s college and this is high school. We need to live our high school days out while we can and this is one of the most important milestones.”

“Jughead’s going,” Archie says nonchalantly. Betty wonders why the hell she’s supposed to care at all when it hits her.

Jughead is going to prom. Broody, “I hate the world, everyone sucks” Jughead was going to prom.

“Excuse me?” Betty ask, finally looking over to Jughead, who’s chewing on a fry. “You’re going to prom?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, why not?”

There’s a million reasons why not, but Betty just says the first thing that comes to her mind.

“Who the hell would go with you?” She doesn’t mean for it to come out so mean, she’s being sincere in her confusion, but from the way the table gets quiet she knows that she must have sounded like a bitch. Thankfully, Jughead doesn’t seem to care, or maybe he’s used to it, so he just rolls his eyes.

“Some of us don’t care about having dates, Elizabeth.” Betty grinds her teeth together at the use of her full name. “I don’t need a date to have fun with my friends.”

“You? Have fun?” Betty laughs. “That’s the biggest joke.”

“Betty,” Veronica hisses as she elbows her in the side, signaling her to stop. Veronica’s never understood why Betty and Jughead don’t get along, but how could she? She met perfect Archie when she was sixteen and the two have been in love ever since. She was lucky.

“Whatever,” she grunts out. “I’ll go, but I need a date.”

“You literally have—,” Betty glares at Veronica, daring her to finish the sentence. Her best friend must get the message and just rolls her eyes. “I don’t see why you won’t just go stag.”

She’s about to explain just how uncool it is to go stag, when a throat clears behind them. They all turn around to see Chuck Clayton smirking down at Betty.

“You know,” he says easily, “if you need a date to prom, I’d be more than willing.”

Betty just sneers at him. Chuck is easily the sleaziest guy in school and she wouldn’t be caught dead on a date with him.

“Back off, pig,” she replies. Chuck just smiles though.

“Seriously, Betty. I’m sure we could have a lot of fun.”

“She said back off.”

It’s Jughead that speaks up, voice icy and eyes hard as he glares at Chuck. For all that she hates him, Jughead has always had her back when it came to guys harassing her. It was one of the few things he was good for.

“It must suck,” Chuck says with fake sympathy, “to have a soulmate who doesn’t even want you.” Jughead’s face turns red and Betty sees the way his fingers dig into the table. It’s something he does when he’s trying to hold in his anger. “Tell me, what’s it like to know that your soulmate hates you so much that she won’t even take your worthless ass to prom?”

Everything happens in slow motion after that. Jughead goes from sitting across the table, to having Chuck pinned down against the floor, fists pummeling him repeatedly. Veronica is shouting and Archie’s trying to pull Jughead away, but it’s like he’s possessed. Chuck grabs Jughead’s fists and rolls them over so that he’s on top of Jughead, punching the dark haired boy with a force so hard that Betty’s not sure how Jughead doesn’t pass out.

She’s not even aware that she’s screaming and crying, she’s not aware of anything really. She doesn’t even think before she grabs her lunch tray and hits Chuck over the back of the head with it.

“Get off of him!” She yells out, a cold feeling waving through her as she stares at Jughead whose face is bloody and swollen. Her stunt with the lunch tray didn’t do much damage, but it’s enough to startle Chuck who yells out and turns on her. It looks like he’s about to start pummeling her but before he can, Principal Weatherbee comes storming into the cafeteria.

“My office! NOW!” He shouts to a pissed off Chuck. He looks over to Jughead who is conscious but in bad shape. “Can you get him to the nurse?” Betty nods and with the help of Archie, the two guide him down to the nurse's office. Once they get there, the nurse immediately takes them in and sits Jughead down on one of the beds.

“You can go,” Betty whispers to Archie. “I’ll stay here with him.” Archie looks unsure at first before nodding and walking out of the room quietly.

It’s silent for a minute and Betty’s staring at the ground for a while before Jughead finally talks.

“You’re crying,” he croaks out and his hand moves over to Betty’s face as he places his hand on her cheek. It’s something she’s familiar with. Despite everything, Jughead’s always been there during her rough spots and he’s cheered her up more than once.

“It’s nothing,” she says, not wanting to worry him in his state.

“I’m sorry.” Betty stares at him blankly, not sure what he’s apologizing for. “I shouldn’t have attacked Chuck like that especially since I know he can kick my ass. I just got so mad. The things he was saying and the way he talks and looks at you.”

“How’s that?” She asks, referring to the way he said Chuck looked at her.

“He looks at you like you’re a piece of meat,” Jughead seethes. “It’s not right. He shouldn’t look at you like that. He’s disrespectful.”

Betty won’t argue with him there so she just nods along. Jughead’s hand is still on her cheek as he wipes away her tears and Betty places her own hand softly against his.

“Prom could be nice,” Betty whispers, “with you.”

Jughead just snorts. “Don’t do me any favors, Bets.”

It’s her nickname that gets her and she smiles as she squeezes his hand gently. He’s the only one who ever calls her that.

“I’m serious. I mean, who else would I go with? Despite our feelings towards each other, we’re soulmates. It makes sense to go together.”

Jughead’s frown deepens and he pulls his hand away as if Betty stung him. She’s about to ask him what’s wrong when the nurse comes in, yelling about boys being idiots and how she doesn’t get paid enough for this. Betty sits back in her chair and watches and waits as Jughead gets checked out. It’s about thirty minutes before he’s given the clear although the nurse does mention that he should probably go home.

“Make sure he gets home alright,” she tells Betty, already aware of what they are to each other. “I’ll excuse you both from your classes and call your parents.” Jughead groans at the last part but a stern look from the nurse (and Betty) shuts him up.

“I think you’re right,” he says a few minutes into their walk. Betty has her arm around his waist while his sits across her shoulders. It’s just to make sure he doesn’t fall over, she tells herself. “Prom could be fun with you. After all, we can’t break up the core four, right?”

Betty laughs at the silly name that everyone calls them. At first they had just been the trio: Betty, Jughead, and Archie, but then Veronica came along and now they were deemed the core four. Four people who, despite everything, would forever be tied to one another.

“No,” she whispers out, “I suppose not.”

She doesn’t notice the way Jughead’s hand tightens around her.

Prom comes by quickly. Granted, time always seems to pass by quickly since she spends it either doing homework or actively trying to dodge her parent’s never ending questions about the future (with Jughead), college (‘Have you heard where Jughead’s going?’), and everything else (‘When are you and Jughead going to make it official?’) For some unknown reason, her parents can’t seem to grasp the idea of her not loving or even wanting to be with Jughead. She’s told them time and time again that she sees him as just a friend, if that, but they don’t believe her. They think she’s just trying to be proper and wait until they’ve graduated high school or something ridiculous like that.

“Have you and Jughead talked about college?” Her mom asks her the millionth time. She doesn’t know how many times she has to say no, before her parents finally understand that she couldn’t careless about where her soulmate has decided to spend the next four years.

“No, mom,” she sighs out as she slips on her silver heels.

“Honey, I think it’s time you’ve talked to him about it. You might be surprised—,” her mom is cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing and suddenly she forgets all out the college topic. “Oh, he’s here! Quick, hurry, I want to get a few pictures of you together before you leave.”

Her mom practically skips down the stairs and Betty sighs as she picks up her purse and follows down after her. She keeps her eyes down the entire way and she doesn’t look up until she’s at the bottom of the stairs. Jughead is wearing a simple black tux with a red bowtie to match her dress. He looks sharp and Betty can’t lie, he also looks absolutely handsome. For all that he dresses like a slob, he sure knows how to clean up nicely.

“Betty,” he greets, cheeks pink and a small smile on his face, “you look beautiful.” They’re words that she’s heard from him countless times when they’ve gone to affairs together. He’s just being polite and so she smiles back.

“You look very handsome, Juggie.”

Alice Cooper squeals with glee before pushing them together. “Okay, you two, picture time!”

They spend the next twenty minutes taking pictures together and with her parents before they finally remind them that the dance started thirty minutes ago. Her mother finally lets them go, sobbing all the while to her dad who just rolls his eyes at his wife’s reaction.

As soon as they get outside, Betty’s eyes widen. There’s a limo parked in front of her house, a freaking limo.

“Jughead, what the hell?” She gasps as he grabs onto her hand and leads her down the path to where the driver is holding the door open for her.

“It’s your prom, Bets,” he says simply, as he trails into the limo next to her. “I wanted to make it special.”

For some reason unknown to her, she suddenly feels like crying. She almost wishes that her and Jughead didn’t hate each other, because he could be a sweetheart when he wanted to.

“You know,” she says with a teasing smile, “you might want to be careful. People might start to think that you don’t actually hate me.”

Jughead’s smile falters a little bit before he gives a shaky laugh. “Yeah. We wouldn’t want that.”

They spend the rest of the drive playing around with all the cool things in the limo. Betty’s thrilled to see a minibar that’s stocked up and, ignoring a warning glance from Jughead, she opens a bottle of champagne. By the time they get to prom, Betty’s slightly tipsy and laughing at everything Jughead says.

“B!” Is the first thing she hears as they enter the ballroom. Jughead has his arm placed protectively around her waist. Betty sees Veronica waving her over and she goes to run towards her, but Jughead pulls her right back to him.

“Don’t leave my sight,” he orders out sharply. Any other time, Betty might have taken his words a little serious, but she’s tipsy so she just giggles and leans into his embrace.

“Yes, sir.” Jughead’s hand tightens on her waist at her words, but Betty pays no mind.

Eventually they reach Archie and Veronica, both who seem a little tipsy themselves. In fact, Jughead seems to be the only one who isn’t some type of drunk, but that most likely has to do with the fact that he never drinks due to personal issues that Betty understands.

“You look so beautiful!” Veronica screeches as she pulls Betty in for a hug and away from Jughead. Jughead makes a noise that sounds like he’s less than pleased at this, but Betty ignores it.

“So do you!” Betty returns. “I’m so glad you chose the blue dress, it looks so good!”

They spend the next few minutes arguing which one of them looks better before Archie and Jughead sit them down at a table.

“Isn’t this so fun?” Veronica asks with a smile. “I’m so glad you guys came together.”

“Me too!” Betty agrees, which earns a raised eyebrow from Archie and a look for Jughead. The four of them fall into easy conversation about everything and nothing. They talk about who will win king and queen, if it will be Cheryl and Jason Blossom. Those two were weird and it was rumored that they were each other’s soulmates which wasn’t unusual with twins in the platonic sense, but the Blossom twins were something else entirely. They talked about how Reggie Mantle had shown up with some girl who was at least twenty-two and Veronica was sure that she had seen her on a magazine cover before. They talked about Chuck, who had shown up alone, and Josie and the Pussycats, who were performing, and everything else there was to talk about.

Archie turned over to his best friend. “So Jughead have you told—.”

“Betty, let’s dance,” the dark haired boy gritted out, standing up quickly and sticking his hand out for hers.

Betty looked at Archie in confusion before glancing at Jughead. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she decided that it didn’t really matter. She grabbed Jughead’s hand and allowed him to lead her out onto the dancefloor.

A pretty slow song was playing in the background and the two swayed back and forth to it. Jughead was an excellent dancer. Of course Betty already knew this, she had danced with him many times and it was always fun. He never stepped on her toes and it seemed as if their bodies were in sync with one another. Dancing with him was almost like an art form, it felt so right, like she was meant to dance with only him. He pulled her close to him and she laid her head on his chest. She wasn’t tipsy anymore and the more she sobered up, the more she realized just how much fun she was having here with Jughead. Maybe they’d never be in love, but they didn’t have to hate each other, did they? They could be friends.

When the song finally ended, Jughead led her back to the table and pulled her chair out for her before sitting down next to her. After a few seconds, she felt something touch her thigh and she startled, looking down she was surprised to see Jughead’s hand resting on top of her thigh, protectively.

She glanced over at his face to see what he was thinking, but his face remained indifferent. She wondered if he had even noticed what he had done. Probably not. She was about to say something, when she felt the vibration of her phone on the table. She looked down and once she saw Polly’s name light up the screen, she grinned.

“It’s my sister,” she informed Jughead who had been looking at the phone with a frown. “I’ll just be a minute.” He nodded, pulled his hand away, and Betty stood up and walked over to the restrooms where it was a bit more quiet.

“Polly!” She greeted as soon as she answered the call.

“Betty! What are you doing? Where are you? It’s kind of loud.”

“I’m at prom,” she answered loudly as she cupped her hand over the speaker.

“Oh, you decided to go after all? I’m so glad! Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, I am actually. I came with Jughead.” There’s a pause and she looks at the phone to make sure that Polly didn’t hang up.

“Jughead?” Her sister finally says. “Really?”

“Yeah, he’s not so bad.”

Polly hums. “He never was. It’s good that you two are getting along though. It’ll make NYU easier.”

Betty’s about to agree before the words that Polly just said sink into her brain.

“What?” She gasps out, chest feeling heavy and empty at the same time.

“NYU,” Polly confirms easily. “Since you two are both going there next year this will make things easier. You don’t need to spend another four years fighting.”

“Jughead’s going to NYU?” Betty asks, suddenly feeling dizzy. There’s no way she’s hearing this right.

Polly pauses for a minute before she groans out. “Oh, my god, Betty… you didn’t know?”

“How do you know?”

“Mom told me a few weeks ago. I thought you knew, Betty, I’m sorry.”

“I gotta go.” She hangs up the phone, cutting off Polly before she can even say anything else. She places both of her palms against the sink and clenches it tightly, digging her nails into the porcelain.

Jughead’s going to NYU. He’s going to New York. No. No. There’s no way. Polly must have heard her mom wrong, there’s no way. He can’t.

Before she even really knows what she’s doing, she walks out of the restroom and straight to the table where her group is sitting. Archie and Veronica are laughing together at something and Jughead looks over at Betty once she reaches the table, he has a wide smile on his face, one that Betty doesn’t think has ever been directed towards her before, but it falls once he sees the look on her face.

“Betty, what’s wrong?”

“You’re going to NYU.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement, a cold one at that. Jughead freezes and Archie and Veronica stop laughing immediately and that’s when it hits her. “You’re going to NYU and everyone knew it but me.”

“Betty…” Jughead pleads, standing up from his chair. “It’s not like that. I wasn’t sure at first.”

“But you’ve been sure for a while.” Jughead reaches out for her hand, but she yanks it away. “Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me ever again.” And then she turns and walks out of the room, making a beeline for the doors that will lead her outside.

She thought that once she hit the fresh air, that she would feel better, but her head still feels just as dizzy and she still feels like she might throw up.

“Betty!”

She squeezes her eyes shut, willing to keep the anger at bay. Of course he’d follow her outside. He loved making her life hell.

“NYU was supposed to be my safe place!” She yells out unexpectedly as she turns around and charges towards him. “I was supposed to get away from everyone! NYU was mine!”

“Everyone, huh?” Jughead spats out. “Or just me? You made it perfectly clear that you were excited Veronica and Archie would still be close by. I was the only one who didn’t fit into your equation.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” she cries. “I’ve been tied to you for the past sixteen years! Everywhere I go, you’re there! What did you expect? You knew I wanted to get as far away from you as possible. I’ve always talked about how NYU was my dream, you knew this!”

“Of course I knew that,” Jughead yelled back, but this time he doesn’t sound mad. He sounds broken. “I know that because I listen to you and if you had listened to me, you would have known that it’s been my dream school too. It’s where I’ve always wanted to go.”

“No,” Betty says, confused, “you…” she trails off. She doesn’t know where Jughead wanted to go to school she realizes, she doesn’t know because she never cared enough to ask.

“I applied to UCLA,” he says sadly. “I didn’t want to, but it was far away enough from you that I knew you’d be happy. It was between UCLA and NYU. I just got my letter from UCLA.”

“And?” Betty presses.

“I got in.”

It’s a simple statement. One that should make her heart burst with joy; her short lived problem is now solved, but she doesn’t feel happy. She feels worse.

“Jughead…” she whispers.

“I thought maybe these past few days would have changed the way you felt about me. I know you’re never going to love me, but I thought that at least we could be friends and then I could just go to NYU and it would be okay, but…” he trails off and runs a hand over his face. “You’ll never love me, I know, I’ve accepted that.”

“Accepted it? Why would you need to accept that? You hate me just as much as I hate you.”

Jughead laughs harshly. “For the smartest girl in our grade, you’re so dumb.”

“Hey!”

“I love you, Betty.”

And just like that the world stops turning. Betty can’t breathe.

“What?” She gasps out softly.

“I’ve loved you since we turned thirteen and you held my hand after my mom left. I’ve loved you all these years, but I knew that you would never love me back. I watched as you fell in love with Archie and got your heart broken by him. I listened to you cry to me about how you kissed him and it was perfect and all your dreams came true only to have them ripped away right after. I listened to all of that and I never said a thing because I loved you and even if you couldn’t love me back, I still hoped that one day you would love and be loved by someone. I even hoped that maybe one day it could have been me.”

Betty stares at him, eyes glistening with tears, not knowing what to say. There’s no way any of this is true.

“But it’s okay,” Jughead says gently, voice cracking, “because I’m done. I’m done wishing for something that I know is impossible.” He clears his throat and gives her a smile that looks so fake, it hurts.

“I’m going to UCLA,” he says. “I’m just… I’m done.”

He doesn’t wait for her to say anything before leaving, but Betty decides that must be for the best because she doesn’t move for another twenty minutes.

“You know it makes sense,” Veronica says the next day as she reads through a magazine on Betty’s bed. “Your first feeling towards him was anger because he pulled your hair too hard when you guys were two years old. Then it was anger directed to fact that this kid who had just hurt you was also your soulmate. You projected your anger onto him and etched it into your mind that you hated him and then throughout the years you started to believe this narrative even more even though we all knew it wasn’t true.”

“How do you know that? I do hate him,” Betty ensures, but she doesn’t even sound believable to herself.

“Oh, please,” Veronica snorts. “Remember when that girl Sabrina came down for summer? You were two seconds away from murder when you found out she liked Jughead and then you demanded he take you out to the movies instead of hanging out with her. He’s the first person you called when you found out you got into NYU. He went to all of the Bulldogs games and it wasn’t because he likes football, he went for you because you were a River Vixen. He’s also the one who held your hand while you waited for the cheerleading results. He’s the one who held you and listened to you cry when you thought your parents were getting a divorce. He spent hours staying up late to help you study for your SAT. He hacked into Mr. Wright’s computer and change your B to an A when you started freaking out over the Calculus final because you needed an A to keep your 4.0.”

“Wait, what? He did what?”

“Jughead is the other part of your soul,” Veronica says fiercely, ignoring her question , “whether you want him to be or not, but I think we both know that you do. It’s always been Jughead and it’ll always be Jughead.”

Suddenly a million different feelings hit her at once. She thinks of how Jughead had kissed her cut and bandaged it up when she first fell off her bicycle. She thinks of how Jughead would always ask for her opinion on the smallest of decisions. She thinks of how Jughead had snuck out the night before her seventeenth birthday and got her her favorite type of cake, flowers, and a new diary she had been eyeing at the bookstore even though he had been grounded. She thought of how he had used the ladder to sneak into her room and stayed with her until midnight so he would be the first one to tell her happy birthday. All these memories and more hit her and before she knows it, tears are falling onto her cheeks.

“Ronnie…” she whispers, staring at her friend like she’s seeing color for the first time and in a way, it’s kind of like she is. It’s been right in front of her all along and here she is, barely realizing it.

“I know,” her best friend says with a small smile.

And then Betty’s running down her stairs and out of her house.

She stands in front of Jughead’s house for a while. She isn’t sure what to say or what to do. She doesn’t even know if Jughead will listen to her.

With shaky hands and a racing heart, she knocks three times on the door. She places her hands behind her back and squeezes her fingers in anticipation. Four seconds feels like an eternity, but finally Jughead opens up the door. He looks surprised and unamused as he stares at her. His eyes are red and it looks like he didn’t sleep well the night before. Well, that makes two of them.

“Betty—.”

“Come to NYU,” she says. It definitely wasn’t what she was expecting to say, but it’s somehow the thing she needed to say.

“What? Betty, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Come to NYU with me. I don’t understand this. I don’t really know what I’m feeling, but I know that I don’t hate you.” His eyes change from guarded to curious and Betty finally smiles. “I know you’re the only boy I’ve ever truly trusted. I know you’re the person I want to call when I’m at my lowest and when I’m at my highest. You’re the one that’s always been there for me and you’re always going to be there for me. You’re the only one I want to be there for me because you’re the only one who matters.”

“I know that despite everything and despite all I’ve ever told you, you are my best friend, Jughead Jones. You’re my soulmate.” She finally says the words and for the first time, she feels a tiny burst of love flow through her at the word.

“So come to NYU,” she pleads. “Let’s figure this out together.”

“Together?” He questions, unsure.

“Together. Like we were always meant to be.”

Jughead smiles with hope in his eyes and for the first time, everything makes sense.

[thetragicallynerdy]

Y’all I’m still thinking about this.

So. Maybe Arabella is new, but Clayton’s not immortal at all; so when she whirls around, demands to know why they’re in her dreams, the others lie, tell her they don’t know. 

But later that night, when Aly walks her back to her home, he explains what’s happening, why she’s seen them, what it means. She doesn’t believe him, not at first, so he cuts his own arm, shows her the healing that’s too rapid. And her analytic mind kicks in. She’s realized by now that she can’t die, and what it all means, and she’s furious that she got it instead of her sister (but also oh so glad, because maybe, if she shouldn’t stay in touch with her family, then she can leave Eugene behind.)

(“And Mr. Sharpe?” she asks, when Aly tells her that Matthew and Miriam are the same.

“God, no,” Aly snorts. “That’s why we didn’t tell you then. We can’t let anyone else find out.”)

The next day things go as they do in canon, except that any time Arabella’s alone with Matthew or Miriam or Aly, she’s asking them questions, trying to figure it out, trying to theorize ways to use it to bring her sister back.

But then her sister is walking down the thoroughfare, and she’s walking but not alive, not like Arabella is. (And god it’s unfair, her sister should have rosy cheeks and a bright smile, not half-rotted sallow cheeks and a snarling mouth.)

They do what they do, and somehow manage not to get killed, to hide their injuries under bandages before Clayton or anyone else can suspect that they’re healing too quickly. (Clayton doesn’t blink when they walk off injuries, and later they will realize that it’s because he’s been doing that too, even though his injuries don’t heal like theirs, too used to needing to bite back the pain and run.)

They fight the snake that was Doc Cochran at the pit, and Aly and Matthew both make a show out of going to the dealer, of healing their wounds before Clayton can inspect them. But they don’t need to heal them, so the backlash doesn’t happen. Aly’s empathy remains.

So when he sees the bounty poster that Swearengen gives him, and goes downstairs, puts his gun to the back of Clayton’s head, it is with the full weight of his decision upon him. He allows Clayton to explain, but the other man is all snarled words and half-hidden explanations, and it sounds like guilt, and it sounds like someone trying to talk their way out of death. And he has a job to do. So he drags Clayton outside for a duel, determined to carry out the letter of the law, to see justice done (for things are so rarely just, in places like this).

Miriam begs and pleads, Matthew tries to interject, but Aly’s mind is made up, and they will not interfere. They know the fight that would follow would reveal them all, would spell their destruction. So they sit back, and Miriam cries, and vows never to forgive Aly for what he’s done.

As Aly and Clayton duel, Clayton shoots for the hand, never noticing that Aly’s wounds don’t bleed as long as they should. (And if Aly notices that he’s not shooting to kill, it’s not enough to change his mind.)

Aly shoots for the heart, and hits, and watches as Clayton falls to the ground, as an ironic smile curls around the corners of his mouth. He closes his eyes, steps back, feeling the weight of another death on his soul. Miriam and Arabella rush to the body, and Matthew follows after, saying a prayer for Clayton, and for Aly’s soul.

(Aly hasn’t believed in souls in a long time, has no reason to believe in his own redemption.)

They are all there, close by, when Clayton chokes back to life, sucking in a gasping breath, back arching painfully as his heart starts beating once more. And they feel it, the birth of another immortal, the web connecting them all making space for one more.

“Fuck.”

Clayton is coughing, trying to turn over, stumbling to his feet, and this was not how it was supposed to go, how the fuck do they repair this now - 

"You killed me,” he rasps in disbelief, hand touching the bloody hole in his shirt. “Jesus, what the fuck -”

So they pretend he was just injured, laughing it off to witnesses, and drag him to the graveyard, close enough to run to town if they need to but far enough that no one will hear them explain. Miriam forces Aly to come, even though he tries to leave, dragging him by the arm until he yields. Clayton keeps his distance, wary, still touching the blood on his shirt, hand on his pistol.

(He’ll be wary for many weeks, many months, even though he knows Aly can’t kill him, even though he knows he can’t die. It is too big of a betrayal to dismiss out of hand.)

They explain who they are, where they’ve come from, their history. Miriam shares about Harrison’s death, and the others who knew him share her grief at his passing, as his time coming to an end. Clayton explains about Patrick Harvey’s brother through gritted teeth, at Miriam’s gentle question, her request that he explain proper this time. Aly sighs, and kneads his brow, and apologizes when Miriam elbows him in the side. They argue, but they don’t fight, and in the end they agree to give this a chance, to see if they can stay in this town for at least a little while, to see if they can help. They know that whatever fight they had isn’t over, they know something bigger started this whole thing.

And so they stay, and they fight, and they win. And they die, and return to life, and the town doesn’t realize, so they stay. One year, two, and then they leave.

And through it all, they grow closer, until they are a unit, until they are a family. Arabella and Clayton bond over being new, over being young, comparatively speaking. Clayton and Aly repair, and rebuild, and start to trust each other.

So when they leave, when they ride off for parts unknown, their work here done, they leave as something so much stronger than when they arrived. They’re not running, not exactly, but Clayton wonders nonetheless how different it will be, running with people beside him for once.

“Where do we go from here?” Arabella asks as they ride away.

“We’ll figure it out as we go,” Matthew says, “we go where we’re needed, where we can make things even just a tiny bit better than they were.”

“Don’t worry honey,” Miriam adds, “we’ve got all the time in the world to get where we’re supposed to be.”

(And eventually, many years from now, when Clayton is not so young and Matthew no longer feels so old, when Aly no longer feels the guilt tugging at his heart, maybe just maybe they will fall in love, and give being together a chance. They have so much time, to figure it out, to make something beautiful together. All the time in the world.)

Okay so I just finished The Old Guard (beware spoilers ahead? Maybe?) and I am now thinking about an Undeadwood Old Guard au and having ALL the feels.

Ok so thoughts:

Arabella as the newest baby immortal, and god she's so angry when she realizes she's immortal - because if she had married Eugene Whitlock first instead, she would have lived through it, and her sister wouldn't have died

Miriam's husband Harrison was immortal, but he lost it and died right before Arabella gained her immortality (his passing making space for her)

(and he wasn't supposed to die like this, wasting away from disease in a shack in the middle of nowhere, he was supposed to die in battle, when his time finally came -)

Clayton and Aly and Matthew who have been together on and off for a millenia, and either had a falling out or had to leave each other and haven't seen each other in decades

They knew all know each other (except for Arabella, they've only seen her in dreams) but they don't want to let on, it's dangerous to let on, so when Swearengen calls them in to his office they just nod and smile and introduce themselves by the names they use now

But once they're barely out of town, Arabella whips around in her saddle; "I've fucking seen you in my dreams, how the *fuck* have you all been in my dreams?" Clayton mutters "not here", leads them further out, so they can stop, and explain, and hand out weapons

And they do, explain to her their lives, going place to place, trying to save lives where they can, and stop atrocities from taking place. She's confused, and so angry at the unfairness, that she should live while her sister dies.

Miriam tells them, then, of Harrison, tears streaming down her face. They don't have time to grieve, but they take a moment anyway, Clayton pulling her in for a hug, muttering how sorry he is.

They fight, and they return, and maybe the Dealer still calls to them

(and oh, it's not good, that it wants their souls, that it's offering them more power than they already have)

But they ride into town, fight the undead thieves, try and hide the way their wounds close in moments. They are immortal, but the dead walking is so terribly *wrong*

(and that first night, Aly and Clayton and Matthew hesitate before they part, just for a moment, but still go to their rooms, try and ignore the ache, the yearning. But they don't go to each other, not yet.)

But then Arabellas sister and Wild Bill are trying to kill them, and they're trying to keep the town alive, and Arabella's grief spills over. ("Maybe she's like me, maybe she just came back -") and Cynthia is dead and rotting and they can't focus on repair, can only focus on ending whatever it is that's threatening the town

They ride back to the pit. They fight, and it's so much *worse* than they imagined. They die, and rise again, and die, and rise again, but they kill the goddamn snake, with magic and bullets and the sword Matthew brought, the one he always carries when he can, when it won't give him away

And when it's all over, Clayton staggers over to Aly and Matthew as their wounds slowly stitch themselves closed. He kisses Aly deeply, grabs Matthew by the collar and does the same, muttering about how they have to be more careful, about how they never know, how each wound could damn well be their last

But their wounds do close, without magic or bandages or time, so they ride back to town, get their money, and celebrate another victory

"Maybe... maybe we should stick together for a time," Aly suggests, seeing the reluctance in Miriam's eyes to part, the relief in Clayton's at finally being with them again.

"Yes," Matthew says, brushing elbows with Aly, sipping at his whiskey with a smile, "maybe we should."

"You should come with us," Miriam says to Arabella quietly. "Unless you want to stay, with your husband -"

"Yes," Arabella says, no hesitation in her voice, only certainty and hope, "Ive got no more ties here, anyhow."

("Matthew, huh?" "Well, Matthias was startin' to sound a bit old fashioned")

[fiftyshadesofdimmadome]

Book 1; Chapter 3

Kate is ecstatic.

“But what was he doing at Clayton’s?” Her curiosity oozes through the phone. I’m in the depths of the stock room, trying to keep my voice casual.

“He was in the area.”

“I think that is one huge coincidence, Ana. You don’t think he was there to see you?” she speculates. My heart lurches at the prospect, but it’s a short-lived joy. The dull, disap pointing reality is that he was here on business.

“He was visiting the farming division of WSU. He’s funding some research,” I mutter. “Oh yes. He’s given the department a $2.5 million grant.”

Wow.

“How do you know this?”

“Ana, I’m a journalist, and I’ve written a profile on the guy. It’s my job to know this.” “Okay, Carla Bernstein, keep your hair on. So do you want these photos?”

“Of course I do. The question is, who’s going to do them and where.”

“We could ask him where. He says he’s staying in the area.”

“You can contact him?”

“I have his cell phone number.”

Kate gasps.

“The richest, most elusive, most enigmatic bachelor in Washington State, just gave you his cell phone number.”

“Er... yes.”

“Ana! He likes you. No doubt about it.” Her tone is emphatic.

“Kate, he’s just trying to be nice.” But even as I say the words, I know they’re not true Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome doesn’t do nice. He does polite, maybe. And a small quiet voice whis pers, perhaps Kate is right. My scalp prickles at the idea that maybe, just maybe, he might like me. After all, he did say he was glad Kate didn’t do the interview. I hug myself with quiet glee, rocking from side to side, entertaining the possibility that he might like me for one brief moment. Kate brings me back to the now.

“I don’t know who we’ll get to do the shoot. Levi, our regular photographer, can’t.

He’s home in Idaho Falls for the weekend. He’ll be pissed that he blew an opportunity to photo one of America’s leading entrepreneurs.”

“Hmm... What about Jose?”

“Great idea! You ask him he’ll do anything for you. Then call Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome and find out where he wants us.” Kate is irritatingly cavalier about Jose.

“I think you should call him.”

“Who, Jose?” Kate scoffs.

“No, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.”

“Ana, you’re the one with the relationship.”

“Relationship?” I squeak at her, my voice rising several octaves. “I barely know the

guy.”

“At least you’ve met him,” she says bitterly. “And it looks like he wants to know you better. Ana, just call him,” she snaps and hangs up. She is so bossy sometimes. I frown at my cell, sticking my tongue out at it.

I’m just leaving a message for Jose when Paul enters the stock room looking for sand paper.

“We’re kind of busy out there, Ana,” he says without acrimony.

“Yeah, urn, sorry,” I mutter, turning to leave.

“So, how come you know Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome?” Paul’s voice is unconvincingly nonchalant.

“I had to interview him for our student newspaper. Kate wasn’t well.” I shrug, trying to sound casual and doing no better than him.

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome in Clayton’s. Go figure,” Paul snorts, amazed. He shakes his head as if to clear it. “Anyway, want to grab a drink or something this evening?”

Whenever he’s home he asks me on a date, and I always say no. It’s a ritual. I’ve never considered it a good idea to date the boss’s brother, and besides, Paul is cute in a whole some all-American boy-next-door kind of way, but he’s no literary hero, not by any stretch of the imagination. Is Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome? My subconscious asks me, her eyebrow figuratively raised.

I slap her down.

“Don’t you have a family dinner or something for your brother?”

“That’s tomorrow.”

“Maybe some other time, Paul. I need to study tonight. I have my finals next week.”

“Ana, one of these days, you’ll say yes,” he smiles as I escape out to the store floor.

“But I do places, Ana, not people,” Jose groans.

“Jose, please?” I beg. Clutching my cell, I pace the living area of our apartment, star ing out of the window at the fading evening light.

“Give me that phone.” Kate grabs the handset from me, tossing her silken red-blonde hair over her shoulder.

“Listen here, Jose Rodriquez, if you want our newspaper to cover the opening of your show, you’ll do this shoot for us tomorrow, capiche?” Kate can be awesomely tough.

“Good. Ana will call back with the location and the call time. We’ll see you tomor row.” She snaps my cell phone shut.

“Sorted. All we need to do now is decide where and when. Call him.” She holds the phone out to me. My stomach twists.

“Call Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, now!”

I scowl at her and reach into my back pocket for his business card. I take a deep, steadying breath, and with shaking fingers, I dial the number.

He answers on the second ring. His tone is clipped, calm and cold.

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.”

“Err... Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome? It’s Anastasia Steele.” I don’t recognize my own voice, I’m so ner vous. There’s a brief pause. Inside I’m quaking.

“Miss Steele. How nice to hear from you.” His voice has changed. He’s surprised, I think, and he sounds so... warm seductive even. My breath hitches, and I flush. I’m sud denly conscious that Katherine Kavanagh is staring at me, her mouth open, and I dart into the kitchen to avoid her unwanted scrutiny.

“Err we’d like to go ahead with the photo-shoot for the article.” Breathe, Ana, breathe My lungs drag in a hasty breath. “Tomorrow, if that’s okay. Where would be convenient for you, sir?”

I can almost hear his sphinx-like smile through the phone.

“I’m staying at the Heathman in Portland. Shall we say, nine thirty tomorrow morn ing?”

“Okay, we’ll see you there.” I am all gushing and breathy like a child, not a grown woman who can vote and drink legally in the State of Washington.

“I look forward to it, Miss Steele.” I visualize the wicked gleam in his gray eyes. How can he make seven little words hold so much tantalizing promise? I hang up. Kate is in the kitchen, and she’s staring at me with a look of complete and utter consternation on her face

“Anastasia Rose Steele. You like him! I’ve never seen or heard you so, so... affected by anyone before. You’re actually blushing.”

“Oh Kate, you know I blush all the time. It’s an occupational hazard with me. Don’t be so ridiculous,” I snap. She blinks at me with surprise I very rarely throw my toys out of the pram and I briefly relent. “I just find him... intimidating, that’s all.”

“Heathman, that figures,” mutters Kate. “I’ll give the manager a call and negotiate a space for the shoot.”

“I’ll make supper. Then I need to study.” I cannot hide my irritation with her as I open one of cupboards to make supper.

I am restless that night, tossing and turning. Dreaming of smoky gray eyes, coveralls, long legs, long fingers, and dark, dark unexplored places. I wake twice in the night, my heart pounding. Oh, I’m going to look just great tomorrow with so little sleep, I scold myself. I punch my pillow and try to settle.

The Heathman is nestled in the downtown heart of Portland. Its impressive brown stone edifice was completed just in time for the crash of the late 1920s. Jose, Travis, and I are traveling in my Beetle, and Kate is in her CLK, since we can’t all fit in my car. Travis is Jose’s friend and gopher, here to help out with the lighting. Kate has managed to acquire the use of a room at the Heathman free of charge for the morning in exchange for a credit in the article. When she explains at reception that we’re here to photograph Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome CEO, we are instantly upgraded to a suite. Just a regular-sized suite, however, as apparent ly Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome is already occupying the largest one in the building. An over-keen marketing executive shows us up to the suite he’s terribly young and very nervous for some reason.

I suspect it’s Kate’s beauty and commanding manner that disarms him, because he’s putty in her hands. The rooms are elegant, understated, and opulently furnished.

It’s nine. We have half an hour to set up. Kate is in full flow.

“Jose, I think we’ll shoot against that wall, do you agree?” She doesn’t wait for his reply. “Travis, clear the chairs. Ana, could you ask housekeeping to bring up some refresh ments? And let Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome know where we are.”

Yes, Mistress. She is so domineering. I roll my eyes, but do as I’m told.

Half an hour later, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome walks into our suite.

Holy Crap! He’s wearing a white shirt, open at the collar, and grey flannel pants that hang from his hips. His unruly hair is still damp from a shower. My mouth goes dry looking at him... he’s so freaking hot. Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome is followed into the suite by a man in his mid-thirties, all buzz-cut and stubble in a sharp dark suit and tie who stands silently in the corner. His hazel eyes watch us impassively.

“Miss Steele, we meet again.” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome extends his hand, and I shake it, blinking rapidly. Oh my... he really is, quite... wow. As I touch his hand, I’m aware of that delicious cur rent running right through me, lighting me up, making me blush, and I’m sure my erratic breathing must be audible.

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, this is Katherine Kavanagh,” I mutter, waving a hand toward Kate who comes forward, looking him squarely in the eye.

“The tenacious Miss Kavanagh. How do you do?” He gives her a small smile, look ing genuinely amused. “I trust you’re feeling better? Anastasia said you were unwell last week.”

“I’m fine, thank you, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.” She shakes his hand firmly without batting an eyelid.

I remind myself that Kate has been to the best private schools in Washington. Her family has money, and she’s grown up confident and sure of her place in the world. She doesn’t take any crap. I am in awe of her.

“Thank you for taking the time to do this.” She gives him a polite, professional smile.

“It’s a pleasure,” he answers, turning his gray gaze on me, and I flush, again. Damn it.

“This is Jose Rodriguez, our photographer,” I say, grinning at Jose who smiles with affection back at me. His eyes cool when he looks from me to Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome,” he nods.

“Mr. Rodriguez,” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome’s expression changes too as he appraises Jose.

“Where would you like me?” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome asks him. His tone sounds vaguely threatening. But Katherine is not about to let Jose run the show.

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome if you could sit here, please? Be careful of the lighting cables. And then we’ll do a few standing, too.” She directs him to a chair set up against the wall.

Travis switches on the lights, momentarily blinding Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, and mutters an apology.

Then Travis and I stand back and watch as Jose proceeds to snap away. He takes several photographs hand-held, asking Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome to turn this way, then that, to move his arm, then put it down again. Moving to the tripod, Jose takes several more, while Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome sits and poses, patiently and naturally, for about twenty minutes. My wish has come true: I can stand and admire Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome from not-so-afar. Twice our eyes lock, and I have to tear myself away from his cloudy gaze.

“Enough sitting.” Katherine wades in again. “Standing, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome?” she asks.

He stands, and Travis scurries in to remove the chair. The shutter on Jose’s Nikon starts clicking again.

“I think we have enough,” Jose announces five minutes later.

“Great,” says Kate. “Thank you again, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.” She shakes his hand, as does Jose.

“I look forward to reading the article, Miss Kavanagh,” murmurs Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, and turns to me, standing by the door. “Will you walk with me, Miss Steele?” he asks.

“Sure,” I say, completely thrown. I glance anxiously at Kate, who shrugs at me. I notice Jose scowling behind her.

“Good day to you all,” says Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome as he opens the door, standing aside to allow me out

first.

Holy hell... what’s this about? What does he want? I pause in the hotel corridor, fidg eting nervously as Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome emerges from the room followed by Mr. Buzz-Cut in his sharp suit.

“I’ll call you, Taylor,” he murmurs to Buzz-Cut. Taylor wanders back down the cor ridor, and Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome turns his burning gray gaze to me. Crap... have I done something wrong?

“I wondered if you would join me for coffee this morning.”

My heart slams into my mouth. A date? Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome is asking me on a date. He’s asking if you want a coffee. Maybe he thinks you haven’t woken up yet, my subconscious whines at me in a sneering mood again. I clear my throat trying to control my nerves.

“I have to drive everyone home,” I murmur apologetically, twisting my hands and fingers in front of me.

“TAYLOR,” he calls, making me jump. Taylor, who had been retreating down the cor ridor, turns and heads back toward us.

“Are they based at the university?” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome asks, his voice soft and inquiring. I nod, too stunned to speak.

“Taylor can take them. He’s my driver. We have a large 4x4 here, so he’ll be able to take the equipment too.”

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome?” Taylor asks when he reaches us, giving nothing away.

“Please, can you drive the photographer, his assistant, and Miss Kavanagh back home?”

“Certainly, sir,” Taylor replies.

“There. Now can you join me for coffee?” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome smiles as if it’s a done deal.

I frown at him.

“Urn Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, err this really... look, Taylor doesn’t have to drive them home.” I flash a brief look at Taylor, who remains stoically impassive. “I’ll swap vehicles with Kate, if you give me a moment.”

Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome smiles a dazzling, unguarded, natural, all-teeth-showing, glorious smile. Oh my. . . and he opens the door of the suite so I can re-enter. I scoot around him to enter the room, finding Katherine in deep discussion with Jose.

“Ana, I think he definitely likes you,” she says with no preamble whatsoever. Jose glares at me with disapproval. “But I don’t trust him,” she adds. I raise my hand up in the hope that she’ll stop talking. By some miracle, she does.

“Kate, if you take the Beetle, can I take your car?”

“Why?”

“Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome has asked me to go for coffee with him.”

Her mouth pops open. Speechless Kate! I savor the moment. She grabs me by my arm and drags me into the bedroom that’s off the living area of the suite.

“Ana, there’s something about him.” Her tone is full of warning. “He’s gorgeous, I agree, but I think he’s dangerous. Especially to someone like you.”

“What do you mean, someone like me?” I demand, affronted.

“An innocent like you, Ana. You know what I mean,” she says a little irritated. I flush.

“Kate, it’s just coffee. I’m starting my exams this week, and I need to study, so I won’t be long.”

She purses her lips as if considering my request. Finally, she fishes her car keys out of her pocket and hands them to me. I hand her mine.

“I’ll see you later. Don’t be long, or I’ll send out search and rescue.”

“Thanks.” I hug her.

I emerge from the suite to find Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome waiting, leaning up against the wall, looking like a male model in a pose for some glossy high-end magazine.

“Okay, let’s do coffee,” I murmur, flushing a beet red.

He grins.

“After you, Miss Steele.” He stands up straight, holding his hand out for me to go first.

I make my way down the corridor, my knees shaky, my stomach full of butterflies, and my heart in my mouth thumping a dramatic uneven beat. I am going to have coffee with Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome... and I hate coffee.

We walk together down the wide hotel corridor to the elevators. What should I say to him? My mind is suddenly paralyzed with apprehension. What are we going to talk about? What on Earth do I have in common with him? His soft, warm voice startles me from my reverie.

“How long have you known Katherine Kavanagh?”

Oh, an easy questions for starters.

“Since our freshman year. She’s a good friend.”

“Hmm,” he replies, non-committal. What is he thinking?

At the elevators, he presses the call button, and the bell rings almost immediately. The doors slide open revealing a young couple in a passionate clinch inside. Surprised and embarrassed, they jump apart, staring guiltily in every direction but ours. Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome and I step into the elevator.

I am struggling to maintain a straight face, so I gaze down at the floor, feeling my cheeks turning pink. When I peek up at Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome through my lashes, he has a hint of a smile on his lips, but it’s very hard to tell. The young couple says nothing, and we travel down to the first floor in embarrassed silence. We don’t even have trashy piped music to distract us.

The doors open and, much to my surprise, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome takes my hand, clasping it with his long cool fingers. I feel the current run through me, and my already rapid heartbeat accel erates. As he leads me out of the elevator, we can hear the suppressed giggles of the couple erupting behind us. Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome grins.

“What is it about elevators?” he mutters.

We cross the expansive, bustling lobby of the hotel toward the entrance but Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome avoids the revolving door, and I wonder if that’s because he’d have to let go of my hand.

Outside, it’s a mild May Sunday. The sun is shining and the traffic is light. Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome turns left and strolls to the corner, where we stop waiting for the lights of the pedestrian crossing to change. He’s still holding my hand. I’m in the street, and Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome is holding my hand. No one has ever held my hand. I feel giddy, and I tingle all over. I attempt to smother the ridiculous grin that threatens to split my face in two. Try to be cool, Ana, my subconscious implores me. The green man appears, and we’re off again.

We walk four blocks before we reach the Portland Coffee House, where Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome releases me to hold the door open so I can step inside.

“Why don’t you choose a table, while I get the drinks. What would you like?” he asks, polite as ever.

“I’ll have... urn English Breakfast tea, bag out.”

He raises his eyebrows.

“No coffee?”

“I’m not keen on coffee.”

He smiles.

“Okay, bag out tea. Sugar?”

For a moment, I’m stunned, thinking it’s an endearment, but fortunately my subcon scious kicks in with pursed lips. No, stupid do you take sugar?

“No thanks.” I stare down at my knotted fingers.

“Anything to eat?”

“No thank you.” I shake my head, and he heads to the counter.

I surreptitiously gaze at him from beneath my lashes as he stands in line waiting to be served. I could watch him all day... he’s tall, broad-shouldered, and slim, and the way those pants hang from his hips... Oh my. Once or twice he runs his long, graceful fingers through his now dry but still disorderly hair. Hmm... I’d like to do that. The thought comes unbidden into my mind, and my face flames. I bite my lip and stare down at my hands again not liking where my wayward thoughts are headed.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome is back, startling me.

I go crimson. I was just thinking about running my fingers through your hair and wondering if it would feel soft to touch. I shake my head. He’s carrying a tray, which he sets down on the small, round, birch-veneer table. He hands me a cup and saucer, a small teapot, and a side plate bearing a lone teabag labeled ‘Twinings English Breakfast’ my favorite. He has a coffee which bears a wonderful leaf-pattern imprinted in the milk. How do they do that? I wonder idly. He’s also bought himself a blueberry muffin. Putting the tray aside, he sits opposite me and crosses his long legs. He looks so comfortable, so at ease with his body, I envy him. Here’s me, all gawky and uncoordinated, barely able to get from A to B without falling flat on my face.

“Your thoughts?” he prompts me.

“This is my favorite tea.” My voice is quiet, breathy. I simply can’t believe I’m sitting opposite Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome in a coffee shop in Portland. He frowns. He knows I’m hiding something. I pop the teabag into the teapot and almost immediately fish it out again with my teaspoon. As I place the used teabag back on the side plate, he cocks his head gazing quizzically at me.

“I like my tea black and weak,” I mutter as an explanation.

“I see. Is he your boyfriend?”

Whoa... What?

“Who?”

“The photographer. Jose Rodriguez.”

I laugh, nervous but curious. What gave him that impression?

“No. Jose’s a good friend of mine, that’s all. Why did you think he was my boyfriend?”

“The way you smiled at him, and he at you.” His gray gaze holds mine. He’s so un nerving. I want to look away but I’m caught spellbound.

“He’s more like family,” I whisper.

Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome nods slightly, seemingly satisfied with my response, and glances down at his blueberry muffin. His long fingers deftly peel back the paper, and I watch, fascinated.

“Do you want some?” he asks, and that amused, secret smile is back.

“No thanks.” I frown and stare down at my hands again.

“And the boy I met yesterday, at the store. He’s not your boyfriend?”

“No. Paul’s just a friend. I told you yesterday.” Oh, this is getting silly. “Why do you ask?”

“You seem nervous around men.”

Holy crap, that’s personal. I’m just nervous around you, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.

“I find you intimidating.” I flush scarlet, but mentally pat myself on the back for my candor, and gaze at my hands again. I hear his sharp intake of breath.

“You should find me intimidating,” he nods. “You’re very honest. Please don’t look down. I like to see your face.”

Oh. I glance at him, and he gives me an encouraging but wry smile.

“It gives me some sort of clue what you might be thinking,” he breathes. “You’re a mystery, Miss Steele.

Mysterious? Me?

“There’s nothing mysterious about me.”

“I think you’re very self-contained,” he murmurs.

Am I? Wow... how am I managing that? This is bewildering. Me, self-contained?

No Way.

“Except when you blush, of course, which is often. I just wish I knew what you were blushing about.” He pops a small piece of muffin into his mouth and starts to chew it slowly, not taking his eyes off me. And as if on cue, I blush. Crap!

“Do you always make such personal observations?”

“I hadn’t realized I was. Have I offended you?” He sounds surprised.

“No,” I answer truthfully.

“Good.”

“But you’re very high-handed,” I retaliate quietly.

He raises his eyebrows and, if I’m not mistaken, he flushes slightly too.

“I’m used to getting my own way, Anastasia,” he murmurs. “In all things.”

“I don’t doubt it. Why haven’t you asked me to call you by your first name?” I’m sur prised by my audacity. Why has this conversation become so serious? This isn’t going the way I thought it was going to go. I can’t believe I’m feeling so antagonistic towards him.

It’s like he’s trying to warn me off.

“The only people who use my given name are my family and a few close friends.

That’s the way I like it.”

Oh. He still hasn’t said, ‘Call me Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.’ He is a control freak, there’s no other explanation, and part of me is thinking maybe it would have been better if Kate had in terviewed him. Two control freaks together. Plus of course she’s almost blonde well, strawberry blonde like all the women in his office. And she’s beautiful, my subconscious reminds me. I don’t like the idea of Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome and Kate. I take a sip of my tea, and Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome eats another small piece of his muffin.

“Are you an only child?” he asks.

Whoa... he keeps changing direction.

“Yes.”

“Tell me about your parents.”

Why does he want to know this? It’s so dull.

“My mom lives in Georgia with her new husband Bob. My stepdad lives in Monte sano.”

“Your father?”

“My father died when I was a baby.”

“I’m sorry,” he mutters and a fleeting troubled look crosses his face.

“I don’t remember him.”

“And your mother remarried?”

I snort.

“You could say that.”

He frowns at me.

“You’re not giving much away, are you?” he says dryly, rubbing his chin as if in deep thought.

“Neither are you.”

“You’ve interviewed me once already, and I can recollect some quite probing questions then.” He smirks at me.

Holy shit. He’s remembering the ‘gay’ question. Once again, I’m mortified. In years to come, I know, I’ll need intensive therapy to not feel this embarrassed every time I recall the moment. I start babbling about my mother anything to block that memory.

“My mom is wonderful. She’s an incurable romantic. She’s currently on her fourth husband.”

Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“I miss her,” I continue. “She has Bob now. I just hope he can keep an eye on her and pick up the pieces when her harebrained schemes don’t go as planned.” I smile fondly. I haven’t seen my mom for so long. Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome is watching me intently, taking occasional sips of his coffee. I really shouldn’t look at his mouth. It’s unsettling. Those lips.

“Do you get along with your stepfather?”

“Of course. I grew up with him. He’s the only father I know.”

“And what’s he like?”

“Ray? He’s... taciturn.”

“That’s it?” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome asks, surprised.

I shrug. What does this man expect? My life story?

“Taciturn like his stepdaughter,” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome prompts.

I refrain from rolling my eyes at him.

“He likes soccer European soccer especially and bowling, and fly-fishing, and mak ing furniture. He’s a carpenter. Ex-army.” I sigh.

“You lived with him?”

“Yes. My mom met Husband Number Three when I was fifteen. I stayed with Ray.”

He frowns as if he doesn’t understand.

“You didn’t want to live with your mom?” he asks.

I blush. This really is none of his business.

“Husband Number Three lived in Texas. My home was in Montesano. And... you know my mom was newly married.” I stop. My mom never talks about Husband Number Three. Where is Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome going with this? This is none of his business. Two can play at this game.

“Tell me about your parents,” I ask.

He shrugs.

“My dad’s a lawyer, my mom is a pediatrician. They live in Seattle.”

Oh... he’s had an affluent upbringing. And I wonder about a successful couple who adopt three kids, and one of them turns into a beautiful man who takes on the business world and conquers it single-handed. What drove him to be that way? His folks must be proud.

“What do your siblings do?”

“Elliot’s in construction, and my little sister is in Paris, studying cookery under some renowned French chef.” His eyes cloud with irritation. He doesn’t want to talk about his family or himself.

“I hear Paris is lovely,” I murmur. Why doesn’t he want to talk about his family? Is it because he’s adopted?

“It’s beautiful. Have you been?” he asks, his irritation forgotten.

“I’ve never left mainland USA.” So now we’re back to banalities. What is he hiding?

“Would you like to go?”

“To Paris?” I squeak. This has thrown me who wouldn’t want to go to Paris? “Of course,” I concede. “But it’s England that I’d really like to visit.”

He cocks his head to one side, running his index finger across his lower lip... “Because?”

I blink rapidly. Concentrate, Steele.

“It’s the home of Shakespeare, Austen, the Bronte sisters, Thomas Hardy. I’d see the places that inspired those people to write such wonderful books.”

All this talk of literary greats reminds me that I should be studying. I glance at watch.

“I’d better go. I have to study.”

“For your exams?”

“Yes. They start Tuesday.”

“Where’s Miss Kavanagh’s car?”

“In the hotel parking lot.”

“I’ll walk you back.”

“Thank you for the tea, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.”

He smiles his odd I’ve got a whopping big secret smile.

“You’re welcome, Anastasia. It’s my pleasure. Come,” he commands, and holds his hand out to me. I take it, bemused, and follow him out of the coffee shop.

We stroll back to the hotel, and I’d like to say it’s in companionable silence. He at least looks his usual calm, collected self. As for me, I’m desperately trying to gauge how our little coffee morning has gone. I feel like I’ve been interviewed for a position, but I’m not sure what it is.

“Do you always wear jeans?” he asks out of the blue.

“Mostly.”

He nods. We’re back at the intersection, across the road from the hotel. My mind is reeling. What an odd question... And I’m aware that our time together is limited. This is it. This was it, and I’ve completely blown it, I know. Perhaps he has someone.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” I blurt out. Holy crap 1 just said that out loud?

His lips quirk up in a half-smile, and he looks down at me.

“No, Anastasia. I don’t do the girlfriend thing,” he says softly.

Oh... what does that mean? He’s not gay? Oh, maybe he is crap! He must have lied to me in his interview. And for a moment, I think he’s going to follow on with some explanation, some clue to this cryptic statement but he doesn’t. I have to go. I have to try to reassemble my thoughts. I have to get away from him. I walk forward, and I trip, stumbling headlong onto the road.

“Shit, Ana!” Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome cries. He tugs the hand that he’s holding so hard that I fall back against him just as a cyclist whips past, narrowly missing me, heading the wrong way up this one-way street.

It all happens so fast one minute I’m falling, the next I’m in his arms, and he’s hold ing me tightly against his chest. .1 inhale his clean, vital scent. He smells of fresh laundered linen and some expensive body-wash. Oh my, it’s intoxicating. I inhale deeply.

oh my.

like to my

“Are you okay?” he whispers. He has one arm around me, clasping me to him, while the fingers of his other hand softly trace my face, gently probing, examining me. His thumb brushes my lower lip, and I hear his breath hitch. He’s staring into my eyes, and I hold his anxious, burning gaze for a moment or maybe it’s forever... but eventually, my at tention is drawn to his beautiful mouth. Oh my. And for the first time in twenty-one years,

I want to be kissed. I want to feel his mouth on me.

Last Chapter - Next Chapter

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 217: Heathens

Pain and Panic did their due diligence and brought the two souls that their mistress had requested into her Throne room. They tossed the pair at her feet and she stared down at them.

"You have a couple of visitors," she said. Hera and Clayton looked up, only to see Zeus and Dione stood there with glares that would have frozen even a desert.

"You…" Hera hissed, as she glared at Dione.

"Give me one reason that I shouldn't cast you into Tartarus for everything you have done to my precious daughter?" Dione hissed.

"No reason at all, because the only thing I regret...is not causing her more pain! Had Seth not killed me, I would have made sure she lost James again…" Hera said deviously. Dione started to advance on her, but it was Zeus that held her back.

"She's not worth your time...you are so far above the likes of her," he said, as his attention turned to Clayton.

"But you...I'm starting to think that even death in eternal fire isn't good enough for you," he said. Clayton smirked, showing that his arrogance knew no bounds.

"I only ever tried to woo your daughter, Lord Zeus. I was captivated by her the moment I saw her," he confessed.

"You were captivated by the power of the chalice," he corrected.

"If she had agreed to be with me...and bore me a Demi-God son, we would have ruled the Earth together. I would have made sure she was showered with affection and gifts," Clayton said.

"She already had a true love and you pursued her anyway!" Dione said. He smirked again.

"What can I say? I'm a man that doesn't accept it when he is told no," Clayton replied.

"And that has sealed your fate, which you will meet once James and Aphrodite are able to confront you one last time," Zeus said. Clayton frowned, as his confidence wavered, for he knew that a very bleak eternity awaited him soon.

~*~

Flashback

"And this Black Fairy...you know not of her origin?" Zeus questioned.

"I am afraid not, my Lord...but she is definitely interested in your daughter's chalice and is livid that she cannot have it. I fear that she may try to harm Aphrodite," Blue replied.

"Then…I have no choice. She must come home to Mount Olympus. She can be protected here by Hephaestus," Zeus said gravely.

"Father...you cannot separate her from Anchises," Athena chided.

"It is not forever and he will concede for her safety, especially now that their child will also be in peril," he reasoned. Blue nodded.

"I'll go at once and retrieve them, my Lord," Blue said, as she disappeared.

~*~

She reappeared in the Enchanted Forest and the Black Fairy emerged from the trees.

"He suspects nothing?" she asked.

"No...he has no inkling that you and I were once one being. He has sent me to retrieve his unruly daughter. Now, you just need to follow and everything should go as planned," Blue said. The Black Fairy nodded, as Blue shrank down to her fairy form and the Black Fairy followed suit.

~*~

Aphrodite softly caressed her son's cheek, as she nursed him and felt his presence before she saw him. She smiled up at her husband, as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, while peering at their son.

"There's papa, little one," she cooed, as he finished nursing and she got a burp out of him. Anchises smiled and took their son, as they put him down in his bassinet together and looked over him. He put his arms around her and they gazed down at him for several moments.

"Sleep well, our little Eros," Aphrodite cooed, as they quietly exited his nursery and she immediately kissed him passionately. He smiled, as their lips parted.

"Well, hello to you too, my beautiful wife," he said.

"I missed you…" she replied.

"I was only a mile away in the fields," he said. She bit her bottom lip and then rested her head on his chest.

"I know...but even just a few hours is too much separation for me," she said.

"Me too," he agreed, as he surprised her and swept her into his arms. Their bliss was interrupted though by a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" she wondered, as he placed her on her feet and they answered the door together.

"Blue...what are you doing here?" Aphrodite asked.

"I'm afraid I have terrible news...there is a great threat to you and your family," Blue replied, as she came inside.

"What kind of threat?" Anchises asked.

"There is a dark fairy. We do not know where she came from or who she is, but she wants the power of the chalice and she will do anything to force you to give it to her," Blue claimed.

"But it doesn't work that way. Unless you are deemed worthy by the chalice, you cannot touch it. Even I cannot modify that rule," Aphrodite protested.

"Yes, but you have a husband and a baby. She will use them to force you to use its power on her behalf if she has to," Blue replied.

"What do we do?" Anchises asked.

"Zeus wants you and the baby to come home to Olympus. It is the only way you can be protected from her," Blue replied.

"But...what about my husband?" Aphrodite asked.

"I'm afraid he'll have to stay behind. Mortals are not allowed on Mount Olympus," Blue replied.

"I'll not leave my husband…" Aphrodite protested.

"My love...this may be the only way you will be safe," Anchises said sadly, as she turned to him.

"No...no I can't be without you," she replied in anguish. He was about to plead with her that it was for her safety and the baby's, despite how painful it would be. But he didn't get the chance, as their door burst open, revealing a woman, dressed in black fairy garb. Aphrodite reacted immediately and blasted her with orange magic, but the Black Fairy batted her attack away like nothing. Aphrodite gasped, as her airway was restricted and with a wave of her hand, Fiona slammed her against the wall. Inky black tendrils came alive from the wall and wrapped around her, trapping her there.

"Aphrodite!" Anchises cried, as he grabbed his sword and tried to cut through the magical restraints. But when he could not break through, he attacked the Black Fairy instead.

"Anchises!" Aphrodite cried fearfully. The Black Fairy dodged his attacks, leaving an otherwise expert swordsman, shadowboxing. With a devious grin, she picked him up with her magic and threw him into the table, causing it to shatter and him to fall among the rubble.

"Anchises!" Aphrodite cried, as she sobbed uncontrollably. And she screamed, even louder, as her hand went into his chest and she extracted his heart. The baby started to cry and she waved her wand, as the child appeared in her arms.

"Ohhh...a Demi-God. Grandson of Zeus himself...you will do perfectly well for what I have planned," she said.

"No...no, my baby!" Aphrodite cried.

"My baby now…" Fiona hissed, as she crushed Anchises heart into diamond dust, gave Blue a quick glance, and then disappeared with the child. Her restraints disappeared and Aphrodite let out a gut wrenching scream, as she collapsed beside her dead husband and cradled him in her arms.

"You led her right to us!" Aphrodite cried, as her eyes burned with pain.

"I...I didn't mean to," Blue lied.

"Yes...yes you did! I sensed her energy...it's the same as yours!" Aphrodite accused.

"She was a part of you once, wasn't she?" the blonde accused. Blue smirked.

"You are definitely smarter than we give you credit for, but it makes no difference, because you won't remember this," Blue replied.

"Why...why would you do this? You let her kill my husband and steal my baby!" Aphrodite sobbed.

"You still don't get it...none of this would have happened if you had just given me power over the chalice," Blue responded.

"You did this because of my mother's chalice!?" Aphrodite cried, but she was zapped with Blue's wand and lost consciousness instead of getting an answer. With her wand, she carefully extracted the parts of Aphrodite's memory where she had realized the truth about herself and Fiona, leaving only the pain, and then roughed herself up to make for a good show, as Zeus and Athena arrived.

"What...what happened?" Athena asked, as she helped Blue up.

"It was horrible...I tried to stop her, but the Black Fairy got the better of me," she said, as she watched Zeus cradle his daughter.

"I am afraid she killed the mortal and stole your grandson, my Lord. I am so sorry that I could not stop her," Blue offered. And somehow, Zeus knew she would never be the same. Athena looked at her half sister and frowned, as she used magic to evaluate her.

"What is it?" Zeus asked, as she did the same with Anchises.

"They have been cursed," Athena said, as she revealed a black lightning bolt marking on both their hands, which was only visible with magic.

"A curse?" Zeus asked.

"It is a rare curse and can only be enacted with dark fairy dust. It preys on true love and twists it into something that will only cause pain," Athena said gravely, as Blue smirked deviously at their turned backs.

"When a true love couple is cursed with this...it means they shall be reborn time and again, find each other, only for their love to be ended violently, ensuring a cycle of pain. In this case, Anchises will be reborn and find Aphrodite in whatever life he is living. The curse will blind her from remembering that he was once Anchises and she will never realize that each time she finds true love that it is her first and only true love, just in a new life," Athena declared.

"Can the curse be broken?" Zeus asked.

"Only when they are aware of all their lives together, but that is why this curse is nearly unbreakable. Aphrodite will remember Anchises, but each time after this that she finds him, her memory will be wiped once she loses him. And he will always return, cleansed of any memory of his previous lives. Only when they are both able to retain their memories can the cycle be broken," Athena replied.

"I want the Black Fairy found! She will undo this horror she has wrought upon my daughter!" he ordered. Blue bowed.

"I will not rest until I find her, my Lord," Blue lied, as she disappeared.

"She will be inconsolable when she awakens. We must prepare a burial for her beloved and then see her through her mourning," Athena said. Zeus felt helpless. He was the supreme God of the skies, yet even with all his power, he could not spare his beloved daughter of this pain and any future pain she would endure.

"Prepare the burial...then we will return to Olympus. Aphrodite will be coming home with us," he said.

"And the baby?" Athena asked.

"I want every available God searching for him...alert Hermes to what has happened immediately. She has the best chance of finding him," Zeus replied.

~*~

Rose sighed deeply, as she looked up from the book, having just read about the moment Aphrodite lost Anchises and had her baby ripped away.

"Mom!" Ben and Ari called, as they ran into the library, with their father and older sister following them.

"Wow…I didn't realize it was so late in the day already. How was today's training to be Knights?" she asked, as she hugged them both.

"The best! I beat Ben in a spar!" Ari boasted.

"You got lucky," Ben protested.

"Did not!" Ari protested.

"Did too," Ben argued.

"All right...what have we said when it comes to winning and losing?" Rose asked.

"Gracious people are humble whether they win or lose," Ari replied.

"And?" she asked. Ben sighed.

"And we learn more from losing than from winning," he added.

"Very good...now go wash up for dinner. The palace chef will likely have dinner ready soon," she said, as they ran off and Carina followed them, as Fandral leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

"A sad part in the book?" he asked, as she shifted so he could sit in the chair with her and she cuddled against him.

"Yes...and I can't imagine how she got through it. If I lost you and our children...I'd be broken beyond repair," she replied.

"Well, though you are stronger than you know, I promise you will not lose me or the children, my darling Rose," he promised.

"And Aphrodite will have her happy ending. Though her past may be sad, I have no doubt that she and James will see their way through this and come out stronger in the end," he added. She smiled.

"Me too...and now that Blue is behind bars where she belongs, they can have justice," Rose said, as they stood up and joined hands.

"Do you think she'll receive a life sentence?" she asked.

"Well, if this were Asgard, she would be tried in a military tribunal and receive a death sentence for a charge such as treason, let alone murder," he replied.

"But Snow and David will likely try her in a royal tribunal and though they will probably not seek the death penalty, as most royals would, I doubt they will show much more mercy than that. I think it is safe to say that the remainder of her years will be in a cell," he surmised, as they made their way to the dining hall to have evening meal with their children.

~*~

"I cannot believe this! If it is the last thing I do...I will make them pay," Malina Pizarro complained, as the four of them sat in the cramped brig of the Jolly Roger.

"At least you have not been betrayed by your own flesh and blood," Thalia countered.

"Yes…I must say my so-called girlfriend sold us out in record time. I guess that Charming blood in her veins is more powerful than your bloodline," Johnny countered.

"I come from a bloodline of royals, blessed by Hera herself," Thalia hissed back. He smirked.

"The Charming line is blessed by Aphrodite...she was far more revered than Hera ever was," Johnny replied.

"Watch your tongue…" she warned.

"Bloodlines are irrelevant. Believe me, I've seen beneath the skin and the blood is all red. But he's right about one thing," Dr. LaGuerra stated.

"That Charming bloodline is special...because magic. Oh the experiments I could do with access to that magical blood. Just thinking about sinking my scalpel into that flesh gives me goosebumps," he added.

"Well, on that disturbing note...I need a drink. Too bad all they'll give us is water," Malina said, as she shook the bars.

"Hey...stupid cops! Hey! You haven't given us any water or food for hours!" she cried. But there was no answer and she huffed in annoyance and only heard some noise above deck.

~*~

"I can't believe this...six years as a Baltimore cop, three as a detective, and four more as a trained FBI agent and I'm back to guard duty," Agent Brooks complained. Agent Green snorted.

"Believe me...I'm still seething over it," she said, as she looked over a file.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Just "agent" Nolan's file on his casework," she replied.

"Why are you reading that?" he asked curiously.

"Because for someone like Major General Patricia Donovan to give him complete free reign over this entire operation suggests that there is at least some validity to his skills. I like to know who I'm working with," she answered.

"Yeah, are we sure his record during the last two years is legit?" he asked.

"I wondered the same, but all these cases check out in the system. Guess Prince Charming just has a knack for finding scumbags," she replied.

"I still don't see how he is more qualified than us," he said, as they heard a whining sound and looked over the bow.

"What the hell…" Agent Brooks uttered.

"What are they?" Agent Green asked of the creatures, as Agent Brooks drew his gun. But it would be the final thing he ever did, as one of the creatures used a blaster and a blue beam of energy shot straight through his chest, as he dropped dead on the deck with a smoking hole in his chest.

"Oh my God!" she cried, as she unloaded an entire clip at the strange looking people, but was shocked to find that they had bluish shields. One of them chucked its spear-like weapon at her and she hit the floor, as the wound in her belly slowly bled and she could only watch them go below deck.

"Sir...there are prisoners down here," one of the goblin-like men called.

"These ones may be useful. We'll let the Commander decide their fate," the lead soldier said, as the four prisoners were led away by the oddly deformed looking people.

~*~

Snow and Charming willed the chalice into their individual weapons, while the others readied with magic and their weapons as well. Two young men ran in from the jungle frantically.

"They are coming! The Mu are attacking!" they warned.

"Everyone to their battle posts!" the Queen ordered, as her personal guard readied their weapons to defend their Queen.

"Charming…" Snow whispered.

"We'll defeat whoever is in that jungle," he assured.

"I know...I love you," she said.

"I love you too...that's why we'll win," he promised, as he kissed her quickly, before their enemies made their entrance. And they were definitely not what they expected. They tried to never judge anyone based solely on their appearance, but the beings in front of them were astonishing to look at.

Their eyes were all a sickly yellow or green color and sunken back in their heads, disturbingly so. They were heavily armed too, though that was likely because they were skin and bones. Their ears looked deformed and pointed, while their cheeks were sunken as well and they were all bald.

"Whoa...they were kidding about the deformities," Leo commented.

"Normally, I'd chide you having no tact, but when you're right, you're right," Eva said.

"Have you ever seen anything like this? I mean medically?" Belle asked. She shook her head.

"No...but then I've never actually seen or treated anyone with radiation poisoning," Eva replied.

"So...the chalice of Venus has new champions at last. The Children of the Sun have returned," one of them said, as he stepped forward. They were all wearing what appeared to be a military-type uniform, but this one definitely seemed to be the leader.

"We prefer truest loves," David interjected and the man nodded.

"As you wish. No matter...you will lead us to Cibola. We need it to stabilize our reactor," he stated.

"We've come only to secure the Dragon Queen's heritage. She wishes for Cibola to be protected. It is her legacy and belongs to her descendants," Snow reasoned.

"Pity...then it seems you will have to be forced to cooperate," the man said, as he motioned to his army and they raised their weapons.

"So much for peaceful negotiations," David quipped, as he blocked an arrow that was volleyed their way.

"You're going to have to do better than arrows against us," Emma commented.

"Oh they will...the arrows are just a distraction. Those blasters on them are the real danger," David warned. The Commander smirked.

"You know your weaponry well. I once got the esteemed pleasure of dueling a master warrior like the Dragon King. Shall we see if you compare?" Kiyun asked. David stepped forward and drew his sword and the commander charged him.

~*~

Snow looked on, as a female warrior approached her and drew a sword.

"I'm Lauda...and our Queen is very interested in meeting the successor to the great Dragon Queen. She was a formidable warrior in her own right. Let's see if you are the same, shall we fair one?" she asked, as Snow willed the chalice to take the form of a sword.

"Careful...because you may have just bitten off more than you can chew," Snow warned, as they engaged in a duel of their own.

~*~

Emma stood before the rest of the army with her siblings flanking her. A few of them had broken off here and there to fight the others, but the bulk of the army remained before them.

"Something tells me they almost want to see our powers," Eva commented.

"Then let's show them…" Emma replied. Bobby disappeared beneath the ground and burrowed beneath the soldiers, before shooting up from the ground with a quake that threw many of them off their feet. Summer volleyed bubbles at their arrows, harmlessly deflecting them and then doused them with a water blast. Leo let the lightning flow through his arms and into his palms, devastating their soldiers. Emma and Eva finished off the soldiers in their path with Savior magic and wind power.

"Well, well...looks like we're just in time to join the fight," Johnny said, as they arrived.

"How the hell did you get free?" Emma questioned. He smirked.

"These fine soldiers freed us and we have joined their cause so I can have revenge on everyone that has dared to betray me," he said, as he glanced at Natalie.

"You're up against a lot of magic users, so we're ready for whatever you've got," Leo retorted. He chuckled.

"Oh I'm so glad you said that," he said, as he pressed a button on his watch.

"I've been itching to try out this new weapon my techs have created," he said, as his arms glowed and seemed to take on a steel-like appearance.

"Steel skin…" he boasted, as Regina lofted a fireball at him and it hit his forearm. He smirked, as he withstood the heat and the fireball fizzled out.

"Oh crap...he can nullify magic," Leo warned, as they prepared to battle him.

~*~

For someone that looked malnourished, Charming quickly found that he had plenty of fighting prowess, as he threw himself into the battle with an aggressive style. But it was nothing David wasn't able to keep up with, as he parried every strike and blow with his own blade.

"Impressive…I daresay the Dragon King had little on you," Kiyun stated.

"Then you'll be really surprised when I actually go on the offensive," David countered, as he made several swift moves and Kiyun began to shadowbox. Unfortunately, Snow's blood curdling scream pierced through him like a blade and he kicked Kiyun away.

"SNOW!" he cried, as he rushed to her.

~*~

Snow dueled Louda, who like her male counterpart, was a formidable warrior, despite her malnourished appearance. But unsurprisingly, Snow held her own and even challenged the clearly seasoned warrior.

"Yes...you are definitely a warrior and not just a pretty face," Louda complimented.

"Guess you'll get to tell your Queen how I rate compared to the Dragon Queen," Snow retorted, as she blocked several slashes from the other woman.

"Oh no, fair one...she wishes to see you for herself," she warned.

"Not going to happen," Snow refuted, as she slashed at the other woman, but she sidestepped Snow and pulled out another weapon that looked like a nightstick. But it extended into a long pole and with one touch to the small of Snow's back, an incredible electro-magnetic pulse caused her excruciating pain and she cried out in agony.

"SNOW!" David cried, as he kicked Kiyun away and barreled toward his wife, catching her as she fell to the sand.

"Just as we knew you would," Kiyun said, as David suddenly saw two round, robot-like devices in the sky, encircling them. Black netting shot forth from the devices and captured them both inside.

"Mom! Dad!" Emma cried. Bobby reacted quickly and burrowed beneath the ground, popping up within the confines of the netting with his parents.

"Bobby...no, you need to get out of here," David stressed.

"Not without you and mom," he replied, as he prepared to use his powers to escape the netting with them. But the net became alive with electricity. David and Bobby cried out, as they were rendered unconscious.

"Let them go!" Xander cried, as he barreled toward them, but was blocked by the remaining soldiers.

"We have what the Queen wants," Kiyun said.

"She wanted all of the offspring too," Louda reminded him.

"We have one...it will be sufficient for now," Kiyun replied, as a large ship soared through the sky and stopped above them. A transport ray engulfed the two of them, their remaining soldiers, transporting them onto the ship, along with Snow, David, and Bobby, as well as Johnny and his crew.

"No!" Summer cried, as she tried to run toward the beam, but JJ wisely held her back.

"That was their whole plan this entire time. They'll force Snow and David to open the gates to Cibola for them," Regina said worriedly.

"Then we go to that stupid mountain and we stop them!" Xander cried.

"No...it's a foregone conclusion that they will dangle Bobby's life in front of them. Snow and David will do what they want, as any parent would," Rumple reasoned.

"Then what? We just give up?" Natalie asked. He side-eyed her.

"No one in this bunch even knows what it is to "give up" as you say, nor entertains it," he corrected.

"Exactly...he's saying that instead of going to that mountain, we head them off at the pass," Robin said. Rumple nodded.

"We make our way to the gates ourselves and this time, we'll be ready for round two of a fight they won't win again," Regina agreed.

"Your Majesty...do you know where the gates to Cibola lay?" Eva asked. Queen Nubia nodded and turned toward the setting sun.

"Where the sun touches the horizon, there is an island. The half moon island, for it is in the shape of a crescent. On that island rests the gates to Cibola. The island is said to be rife with treachery," the Queen warned.

"Doesn't matter...we have magic to protect us and we have to save our parents and little brother," Emma replied. The Queen nodded.

"Be safe…" she said.

"Let's get back to the Jolly Roger," Hook said, as they headed for the beach.

~*~

Flashback

When Aphrodite awoke, she had memory of the Black Fairy killing her beloved and taking her baby. Her father and Athena informed her that Hermes was searching the realms for Eros, but had yet to yield any results. They had a funeral for Anchises and then she cried for months in mourning of her beloved and their son.

Her father was extremely protective of her and had forbade her to leave Olympus. For the first few months, she didn't disobey, but eventually, she found herself fleeing in search of solace in nature, but that didn't last long.

During her period of mourning, her father, in his anger, had punished Sirius Clayton by striking him down with a lightning bolt for trying to deceive her. His consort, Beryl, had sworn revenge and soon tried to take it out on Aphrodite's charges.

They warred for months in Thebes, as Beryl led a criminal sect to try and take over the city. Aphrodite soon joined her charges and aided them in a final battle to defeat Beryl. She was banished to a remote island, where it was rumored that she gave birth to Sirius' son.

Serenity and Endymion were crowned King and Queen of Thebes and it entered a new age. The old name seemed to be plagued by its criminal past so they renamed it the Crystal Kingdom and reigned benevolently.

Aphrodite returned to Olympus and endured a worried lecture from Zeus and insistence that she marry Hephaestus for her own protection. She kindly declined Hephaestus' proposal, ensuring him that he was a wonderful man, but she couldn't marry for anything less than love.

After an argument with her father, she left Olympus again and created a small cottage for herself outside the Crystal Kingdom and spent most of her days in the garden and surrounding forest.

Her first charges ruled for centuries and she saw them through many battles, until their reign ended and they passed into Elysian and she returned the chalice to Olympus until there was another spark.

Despite searching thousands of realms, Hermes was unable to find Eros and Aphrodite mourned her lost child. It was an ache that would never fade, just as the pain of losing Anchises never would as well.

She had long ago resigned herself to the realization that she would likely spend the rest of her life alone; that she would never find true love twice. It was shortly after that acceptance that she met Adonis and he proved her wrong.

~*~

Snow awoke to pitch blackness before her eyes and immediately her breathing quickened, until it was coming in ragged gasps. She was laying on something that felt like a cot or bench and she slowly sat up. She knew David wasn't in the room, for she couldn't feel him nearby, which terrified her. Her half of the chalice, in sword form lay next to her and she picked it up when she heard a noise.

"Who's there?" she called with a quiver in her voice, as the lights went up in the room and she saw a woman sitting before her upon a Throne. She looked much like the other Mu people. Sunken eyes and cheeks, yellowing irises around sickly green eyes, rail thin and probably balding, though this woman wore a headdress, not unlike the Queen of Hiva did.

"I am Omaru, Queen of the Mu and I am told that you are called Snow White. A very appropriate name it would seem," the woman said.

"Where is my husband?" Snow demanded to know. She smirked.

"Causing quite a ruckus from his cell...he is very virile," the Queen mentioned.

"I want to see him," the raven haired beauty demanded.

"In good time...I must say, you are both quite impressive. The Goddess Venus has chosen well. Your rectitude and exploits are impressive and now you have come to save my people," she said.

"Charming and I would never not help people in need, but I know you don't have good intentions for the gold you seek. You have poisoned your people with radiation, if my daughter is correct, and now you are poisoning us," Snow refuted.

"We have made great sacrifices in our health for the greater good, I agree. But it is a sacrifice my people willingly make for the glory that should be ours. And you and your husband are quite protected, I assure you. The Chalice has seen to that," the Queen responded. It was then that Snow noticed a protective glow around her person and realized that once again, the Chalice demonstrated a power that almost seemed sentient when it came to knowing when they needed protection.

"Charming and I are not going to help you stabilize your reactor so you can use the power to take over the world or something," Snow warned. The Queen smirked.

"I think you will," she replied.

"I have studied the legends surrounding the children of the sun for many years," the Queen said.

"Truest loves...we prefer truest loves," Snow corrected.

"Very well...alas, the Goddess Venus has always chosen well. Her first charges defeated many evils and sired one daughter, who was born with magic," she said.

"The Dragon Queen and her King had more trouble with the people around them and ultimately paid that price, though managed to sire one child as well," she continued.

"But you and your Prince...you have not only defeated more evil than your predecessors combined...you have also sired five magical children, all with unique abilities," she added.

"If you touch my children...I'll kill you," Snow hissed. The Queen let out a cackle.

"Never poke a mama bear," she goaded.

"But don't worry...your son is quite safe. Dr. LaGuerra is just doing a little examination. The youngest one is very intriguing," Omaru said. Snow's blood ran cold, as an image appeared on the screen above her.

"Bobby…" she cried.

"It appears the chalice is protecting him from the radiation, though this particular lab is further in vicinity from the reactor," she said.

"What are they doing to my son!?" Snow demanded to know.

"Don't worry...my people are simply curious about his power and are examining his blood. I told the Dr. that none of his usual experiments would be tolerated. We're well aware of what the Dr. used to do in the Collector's employ," Omaru said.

"You knew about Clayton?" Snow asked. The Queen nodded.

"He knew Cibola was here. It was one of the many reasons he was so determined to have the Chalice. Is it true that he came so very close upon the collapse of Atlantis?" she asked. Snow gave her a hard stare.

"Yes…I suppose you don't like to speak about the moment when you had to crush your beloved heart. The split heart...it is fascinating. My scientists are chomping at the bit to examine you both, as is the doctor," she replied.

"All in good time. But first...perhaps you'd like a tour of my grand mountain and the future you will help us envision," she added.

"All I want is my husband and my son!" Snow snapped, as the door slid open.

"I swear...if you don't take me to my wife now, I'm going to knock your bald heads together so hard that they'll crack like eggs!" David shouted, as he struggled with the shackles on his wrists.

"I'm sorry, my Queen, but we had to restrain him. He is quite strong...and uncooperative," two of the soldiers said. They seemed to be quite intimidated by her husband and rightfully so. The Commander behind them, Kiyun, she recalled, and his right hand, Louda, seemed unbothered.

"Charming!" she called and it came as no surprise, as he knocked the two subordinates away and ran to her.

"Oh Snow…" he called back, as she picked up her sword and it glowed, unlocking the chains. They fell away and he swept her into his arms, before kissing her passionately.

"Charming…" she breathed, as she cupped his face and he put one arm around her waist, while drawing his chalice sword from his hip.

"One step and we'll use the full power of the chalice on you," he threatened.

"No...you won't or I'll allow Dr. LaGuerra and my scientists to conduct whatever experiments they'd like on your son," the Queen warned. It was then that David saw their son locked in the exam chair on screen and looked into his wife's tearful eyes.

He realized at that moment that they were going to easily acquire access to Cibola by holding the well being of their youngest child above them. David sheathed his sword and held Snow close.

"Now for that tour...then we will board my royal vessel, the Solaris, and you will open the gates of Cibola for me," Omaru said, as they saw Louda and Kiyun behind them. With arms around each other, they followed the Queen into the corridor.

Though this place was a mountain on the outside, the inside was man made, with stark, metal walls and floors. They came to a set of winding stone steps that seemed to descend into the underground and Snow shivered.

"You want us to go down there?" David asked.

"Afraid?" Kiyun challenged and the prince glared at him.

"Hardly...we've been to hell, after all and I promise you that by the end of this, you'll be visiting there too. But you won't get to come back like we did," David promised ominously. Kiyun chuckled.

"I look forward to the rematch, Your Highness," he said, as they followed the Queen down the winding staircase.

~*~

Flashback

"I do not know why I let you talk me into coming to this thing," Aphrodite complained, as she shifted her soft pink ball gown.

"Because you're practically a hermit these days and the Queen of Cyprus invited me. I owe them a great deal, being that they managed to save so many books and scrolls from the fire at Alexandria. They can now be added to the eternal library in the Andresia realm," Hermes responded, as she pulled her along in her baby blue ball gown.

"I am not a hermit," Aphrodite protested.

"Besides me, how many people do you talk to on a weekly basis?" Hermes questioned.

"I talk to a lot of people," she huffed.

"Zeus doesn't count and neither do the people in the crystal kingdom where you buy goods," Hermes refuted.

"Fine...at least these parties usually have good wine," she complained.

"Queen Myrrha...thank you again for giving me the texts saved from the library at Alexandria. You are truly doing a great deed in helping me preserve all stories," Hermes said, as the Queen bowed to the Goddess.

"It is my honor, Goddess," the Queen said.

"This is my niece...the Goddess Aphrodite," Hermes said, as the Queen bowed again.

"It is an honor to have you both in attendance. I was hoping that my unruly son would find an eligible woman that he is interested in courting, but judging by his disgust at this whole thing, it is not to be. At least we can save this event by presenting the rescued manuscripts to you," the Queen said, as a handsome young man stormed up to her Throne.

"That's it, mother...I detest these balls!" he said hotly.

"Adonis...you will be crowned King of Cyprus soon. You must find a Queen," Myrrha chided.

"Exactly...do you think any of them are really interested in me? Or just my title. It's like being thrown to wolves," he complained. Myrrha chuckled.

"I think you are being a little dramatic, my son. But you are a handsome prince and that is why every eligible woman within a hundred mile radius has come to our city," she reminded him.

"I understand my duties to the crown, mother...but can I not find my own Queen? Can I not marry for love?" he asked.

"I would love that for you, my son...but you know that is not always a luxury we have as royals," Myrrha said.

"Forgive me, Queen Myrrha, as I know it is not my place, but allowing him to marry for love would be one of the greatest things you could do for you for your Kingdom. I watched true love free the city of Thebes from lawlessness and create the prosperous Crystal Kingdom it is today," Aphrodite interjected, as his blue eyes met her green ones.

"And it is my hope that my son can marry for love...but the court will soon demand that he marry," the Queen said.

"Of course...forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude," Aphrodite said, as she excused herself and found the wine table. She grabbed a glass and downed the liquid in two gulps, before she heard a chuckling behind her.

"My, my...I always did admire a woman that can drink a man under the table," a voice said and she turned to find a dark haired man standing there with a smirk.

"I'm sorry...you are?" she asked.

"You don't know me...but you knew my parents. I am John Clayton, son of Sirius Clayton...the infamous Collector," he replied.

"My apologies," she drawled, as she reached for another glass, but he grabbed her arm.

"You are responsible for my father's death...I never met him, because of you," he hissed. She raised her hand and called on her magic, but felt nothing in her fingertips. That's when she noticed a peculiar looking black cuff on her wrist.

"A magic suppressing device...an very useful item from my father's vast collection, which I inherited," he boasted.

"You're mine now, Goddess. You are coming with me and you will use the Chalice to do my bidding," he hissed, as his eyes raked over her beautiful form.

"And you will bear me a Demi-God son...my bloodline is very deserving of God blood and I will have it from you," he growled. She responded by kneeing him in the groin and he growled in pain, as he doubled over. The entire room stopped when he backhanded her across the face. Hermes moved in with the intention to blast this man with her magic, but Adonis beat her to the punch. The Prince grabbed John by the collar and punched him in the face, before tossing him away.

"Guards...throw this trash out!" he ordered, as his men obeyed his command and dragged him away.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Goddess! I will have you...and the Chalice!" he ranted, as he was carried away.

"Are you okay, Goddess?" Adonis asked, as he took her hand and she practically felt the electricity between them.

"Y...yes, thank you, Prince Adonis. My father will smile on your Kingdom for defending me," she promised, as Hermes waved her hand over the cuff, but it didn't come off.

"It's resistant to my magic. We must see your father...it may require his power to remove it. He'll be livid...I'd say another Clayton has signed his death warrant," Hermes said. Aphrodite nodded, but could barely tear her eyes away from her handsome rescuer, who was unlike most royals she had encountered.

"Thank you again, Your Highness," she said, as he bowed to her.

"It was my honor, Goddess," he replied, as her Hermes led her away in a daze.

~*~

When they reached the bowels of the mountain, they were brought before the reactor and were stunned to see what it really was.

"It's a giant crystal…" Snow said.

"You're running a nuclear reactor with a giant crystal and you wonder why there's radiation," David deadpanned.

"Do not speak of our ways as if they are crude or archaic!" Louda snapped.

"Our crystal reactor is magnificent and it will change the world once we can stabilize it with the treasure of Cibola," the Queen informed them.

"Or destroy it," Snow countered, but her comment was ignored.

"Uh...why is it glowing red?" David asked with trepidation.

"This is one of our problems...our cooling system is not adequate. With gold, this problem will be corrected," Kiyun said.

"Quickly...turned on the cooling system!" Louda ordered, as one worker began turning manual water valves. They watched the water flow through the man made cooling system and it started to help, but the crystal still glowed an ominous red.

"Quickly...increase the water flow! Open more valves!" Kiyun yelled with urgency. But it was too late and one of the control panels caught fire. The poor worker that was manning that station was engulfed in flames and screamed in agony.

"Oh God…" Snow cried, as she turned away from the gruesome scene, burying her face in David's chest. The man's cries were hard to take, at least for them, as the others seemed unbothered.

"What are you doing!? Help him!" David implored, but the flames only faded when the poor man's cries ceased and his charred body fell to the floor. The extra valves cooled the crystal and it returned to its normal bluish color.

"Clean that up," the Queen said, unbothered by the carnage of the charred man that had just literally burned to death before them.

"They're monsters…" Snow cried, as she sobbed against him and he held her tightly.

"I want our son now!" David demanded.

"Do not worry...it is time to depart for half moon island. Your son will, of course, be accompanying us," Omaru said, as they were forced to follow along and endure this madness...

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 182: Endgame, Pt 1

Gothel admired the glowing resurrection amulet, as it pulsed with sheer power. In theory, the amulet could bring back someone from the dead, which was normally a direct violation of the laws of magic. But the price of doing so was predictable. The resurrection amulet required a life for a life, therefore becoming a loophole to that rule. But it wouldn't have been the first time a law of magic was defied. After all, they were called laws for a reason, which ultimately meant they could be broken.

There were three defined laws of magic that were top tiers when it came to the rules of magic. Bringing someone back to life was one and it had already been broken. Hades broke it when he revived the Collector; a true waste of a broken rule and she was sure that was something they could all agree on. Theoretically, the powers that be, whether one believed that was the power of the cosmos, Gods, or some other mystical force, often managed to punish those that broke the laws in one way or another. Proof of that could be argued by Hades' demise. Not only was he killed, but completely erased from existence.

There were loopholes to that rule though and it was intriguing that the pair before her had suffered no consequences when they sought to defy death. The Goddess Aphrodite had taken a lot of extra precautions in order to protect her charges this time around, but those protections should have been bypassed when Snow White crushed her own husband's heart. But she had brought him back only minutes later by having her heart split in half. Under the law of magic that stated no one could be brought back to life, such an endeavor should have failed. Yet, because of who they were, they were allowed to slip through that loophole and succeed. Some might argue that the trade off to that was that this pair, while deeply in love and happy together, rarely knew peace. These two humans should be as fragile and easy to kill as any others really. But they weren't. Killing them had been proven to be much harder than it should be and she was determined to be the one to do it.

The second law and its purpose was a bit lost on her. But history was riddled with the failures in breaking this one. Forcing someone to fall in love with another. She really knew nothing of love and had no desire to. But the pair before her had mastered love in every way. It was why they were so hard to kill. It was why they had such magic and had created a rich legacy of love and magical offspring. And it was why she needed them to make the resurrection amulet do what she wanted.

Long ago, its mysterious creation had been intended to break that first law. Whoever had created it, the identity of whom still remained a mystery, probably intended to bring someone back by sacrificing another. But for what Gothel intended, it required star seeds or gems, as they were sometimes known. Everyone had star gems inside them, but most were not magical. However, certain people had very powerful ones and the two most powerful ones in existence were in front of her. She almost scoffed at that too. She wasn't sure how such powerful star gems existed inside two beings who, for all intents and purposes, should be fairly weak in the grand scheme of things. Powerful star gems potentially had unlimited and unparalleled power. To be fair, no one really knew the full potential of star gems and no one really knew who had created them. Star gems inside people was something unique to their sector of nine realms. There was likely other things among the infinite realms that were similar, but Gothel knew that the right star gems could remake the world into what she wanted it to be. The resurrection amulet was simply a tool to harness and focus their power. She was sure just by using the dark, mysterious object that she was about to shatter the laws of magic. But she didn't foresee any consequences, for once she had those star gems from the truest loves, she would become the most powerful being in these nine realms. When that happened, she could basically rewrite the laws of magic any way she wanted to, for she would be more powerful than any of the Gods of Olympus or any being in any realm within their sector.

Laws were meant to be broken, after all and the pair before her had broken the third law, with their consequence being separated by another curse. They had broken the law of time travel unintentionally. Usually, time travel was expressly forbidden, because traveling to the past could jeopardize all sentient life. The prospect of meddling with the past could have untold consequences and disrupting time was considered a grievous sin by the Gods. And it was also messing with aspects of science that shouldn't have been tampered with. Facilier wanted to travel back and they had been sent to the past, albeit only about five years. With that law being broken, it was hard to say what kinds of consequences it might have. But since all these so-called heroes were about to die by her hand, she supposed that was a moot point. Time was about to become irrelevant, for she was resetting the clock on this world. Humanity would wither and her perfect Eden would grow. It seemed the two idiots were intent on fighting her though and were presenting quite a defense, which meant she needed a defense of her own.

"Time to take things up a notch," she said, as the ominous clouds above flashed violently with lightning and boomed with thunder. They watched the vines around them begin to convulse and screeching was heard, as they came to life in a new way. The vines sprouted arms, legs, and heads, which came complete with a full set of sharp teeth.

"Holy crap," Emma exclaimed.

"It's like Little Shop O' Horrors on steroids," she commented. Leo cocked his head to the side, acknowledging her reference.

"I was going to say it's like a bunch of Groots if Groot was evil, but yours works too," he replied. But there was more, as some of the vines sprouted flowers, which opened up into Venus flytraps, also complete with sharp, vicious teeth.

"And now we have piranha plants from Super Mario," Leo deadpanned. Screams ensued, as the creatures attacked and it was up to them to stop them from hurting people.

"Leo...start zapping. Regina...light them up wherever you can," Emma directed, as she watched the Venus flytraps start shooting poison darts.

"Summer...circle the perimeter and get as many of those darts into bubbles as you can," Emma said. Summer nodded.

"I'll start healing people that get hit," Eva said, as she hurried off with a very confused Dr. Narita in tow.

"What can I do?" Bobby asked.

"You can stay close to us," Snow answered.

"But Mom...I can help," he insisted.

"I need shock waves from you, kid. Hit 'em at their roots and dust them," Emma said.

"Yes…" Bobby cheered, as he ran off.

"Bobby...be careful!" Snow called frantically.

"I got him," Henry assured, as he followed him, armed with a sword, taking Jacinda and Lucy with him.

"What can I do? Ana and I can help," Drizella offered. Snow and Charming exchanged a glance.

"This is the epicenter. There's too many innocent people around. Start leading people away. Keep them out of buildings and structures," David instructed. She nodded and they left for their task as well.

"Need I remind you that none of this will matter if you don't take her out," Rumple reminded, as he indicted Gothel, who stood about twenty feet above them in a nest type structure that her plants had woven together to create for her, like some living plant Throne.

"Yeah, I'm over the creepy Little Shop O' Horrors vibe she's got going on," Emma commented. Snow glanced at her husband and followed his vision, as his eyes were locked on the structure that the witch's vines had created. Where the community garden had once been was now a very tall mass of vines, like a jungle had literally sprouted from the ground. Her nest was a top the structure and somehow, she knew what he was thinking. But she asked anyway.

"I know that look...you have a plan," she mentioned.

"Of sorts...but it's nuts," he replied. She smiled, despite the situation.

"I'd probably be disappointed if it wasn't," she offered.

"Weaver is right. Any plants we slice or burn up out here won't matter. That thing she's created will just create more. We have to go in there and destroy it from the inside," he replied.

"Which is probably what she wants," Snow agreed. He scoffed.

"Oh yeah...it's a trap for sure. But none of this stops unless we stop her in the source. That's where the amulet is," he responded. She nodded and threaded her fingers with his.

"Guys…" Emma called, as they turned back to her, seeing the palpable worry on her face.

"We'll be okay…" Snow assured. Tears brimmed her eyes, as she wondered if her mother could really promise that.

"You better be," Emma replied. David gave her a gentle smile and she could only watch her parents rush into the epicenter of the massive tangle of vines. Emma then rushed off to help handle more of the chaos and failed to notice Clayton following her parents in…

~*~

"This is insane!" Jacinda cried, as she watched Henry slice through more of the living plants.

"I know...and though it will still be nuts, I promise it will make sense when the curse breaks," he promised, as they approached a wall of the greenery, complete with several man-eating plants. Bobby hurried in front of them and they, plus all standing trapped by the plants, watched in amazement. Bobby's hands lit with silver magic, as he thrust his hands toward the ground, sending his power beneath the surface. Silver pulses traveled up the vines and the man-eating plants screeched in pain, as they were all turned to ash. Henry smiled.

"Nice...your powers are getting crazy strong, kid," he said, as they high-fived.

~*~

Leo exhausted a dangerous amount of lightning into the large curling vine that was wrapped around Belfry Tower. He growled under the strain, as the vine convulsed and tried to overcome his power. But he pressed on and it finally uncoiled from the building, before slamming dead to the ground. He heaved air into his lungs, as Eva put a hand on his shoulder, before her pink magic swirled around her and she levitated herself into the air. Her wind magic carried her and her confused husband, who still had no memory into an opening of the damaged building.

"I promise it will make sense eventually," she offered, as his face showed utter disbelief. He took a deep breath and followed her with his bag, as they began tending to the injured.

~*~

Several poison barbs were encased in bubbles and floated harmlessly into the sky, as Summer stopped them from pelting the innocent people below. Regina and Gold stood on either side of her, along with Belle, as they used fire to burn up the plethora of flora life that was growing wildly around the city.

"This is insane…" Regina growled, as she blasted another Venus flytrap before it could snap up any innocent bystander.

"And this is worse than New York. We might not be able to put this genie back in the bottle so to speak," Belle mentioned, as she did her best, armed with a cutlass.

"Then we better hope that once this is over that Snow and Charming can open a portal to the future and get us the hell out of here," Regina commented, as she destroyed more.

"And why isn't this damn curse broken yet? Those two have kissed and saved their daughter, but no rainbow light," Regina added, side eyeing her old mentor.

"Don't look at me...I don't know what's holding this one back," he answered, as Summer spotted two people that she knew being cornered by one of the man-eating plants. The floral monsters screeched angrily, as it fired two poison darts at Frankie and Joe. She gasped and released two bubbles, saving them from the poison. They looked at her in astonishment, just as Regina turned the plant to ash.

"Joe...Frankie...what are you doing here?" Summer asked.

"I don't know...we just felt like this is where we needed to be," Frankie replied.

"We somehow knew that family needed us, even if we're still trying to wrap our heads around this," Joe added. Summer sighed.

"I know...it's a lot," she agreed.

"Where are your parents?" Frankie asked. Summer looked over at the virtual palace that Gothel had created from her vines and plants.

"In there…" she uttered, as they looked on, wondering what was happening inside.

~*~

Snow and Charming walked cautiously into the structure, hand in hand, finding that Gothel had created her own little palace out of it. And though it appeared to be purely made of an intricate web of vines and flora life, they knew the structure was probably nearly indestructible. They reached what appeared to be like a Throne room and watched Gothel's nest descend from atop the structure and situate itself far above them.

"You two will be a fitting feast for my lovelies," Gothel commented, as two plants, with snapping jaws, loomed behind them. But David was quick to cut them down and his sword, powered by the chalice, turned them to ash.

"Yeah...plant food is not how this is going to end for us," he challenged. Gothel smirked.

"I had hoped you'd save yourselves all the pain to come by giving into the inevitable. Surrendering your star gems will ensure far less pain than if I have to take them by force," she warned. Snow glowered at the woman and fired an arrow at her. The woman easily caught it, but her surprise was palpable when it exploded. It scorched her nest and she plummeted to the ground before them, singed and seething with anger.

"You will pay for that, Princess…" she hissed, as she climbed to her feet. The explosion had rendered her human appearance null and she was now in her natural form. Blue tinted skin and sea green hair. Her limbs also seemed to take on a boneless-type quality when she moved, much like her living flora. Her dress was red and complete with a cloak, both tattered and weathered.

"We'll see…" David retorted. But she smirked.

"The Earth once belonged to my people...until it was stolen by humans," she growled.

"You humans destroy and pillage everything in your wake. You feared my people and destroyed them!" she raged.

"We didn't do any of that. Not all humans are alike. Punishing all for the actions of a few is wrong," Snow stated righteously.

"No...you're all the same. You're an infection upon my beautiful garden and one that I plan to cure," she argued.

"Then we'll stop you...and destroy you," David promised. She smirked.

"You will try," she challenged, as there was a shuddering beneath their feet. Massive vines sprouted around them and they had to flee the coils. David grabbed her hand and they ran, as Gothel's monstrous flora chased them through the structure. By now, the moving and evolving structure was a sheer labyrinth. They dodged and darted through and around coiled and twisted vines. They soon realized they were now far above solid ground and a misstep could send them plummeting back down to either the ground or into the coils of a vine ready to constrict the life out of them.

"Any more ideas?" Snow asked offhandedly, as they climbed around the twisted mess of vegetation.

"Not really...but you know I usually never really have a plan. I just make it up as I go along," he quipped in reply, as they reached a large gap in the vegetation. And jumping was too dangerous, for a Venus flytrap was directly below them, snapping its powerful jaws.

"Now what?" Snow asked, as he looked up and sliced through one of the thinner vines. He sheathed his sword and then grasped the vine firmly. He wrapped his free arm around Snow's waist and pulled her flush against him. She knew he intended to swing them over the gap and she snaked her arms tightly around his waist.

"Don't drop me," she teased.

"Never," he promised.

"But a good luck kiss wouldn't hurt anything," he added. She smiled and kissed him passionately, before he swung them over to the other side. He let go of the vine and they stood precariously on the slippery and unstable vines beneath their feet. They carefully moved away from the gap, but as Snow happened to glance back, she saw Clayton swinging his way over to them. She gasped, but not in time, as the Collector knocked her husband off the beam.

"Charming!" she cried, as he hung dangerously above a man-eating plant. Without thinking, she kicked Clayton in the chest, sending him back. Unfortunately, he grabbed the vine and swung back to their beam. Snow helped David pull himself up and he drew his sword to defend them. Clayton stood before them again and drew his own sword.

"Only one of you has to die and I can take control of the chalice," he stated.

"Which would mean nothing. We're the only ones that can defeat Gothel," Snow replied.

"So you say...but if I have the power again, I know I can make mulch out of her," he boasted.

"Except that I know for a fact that you can't. Queen Serenity...my predecessor told me such," Snow claimed.

"A Queen that's been dead for three thousand years? The one that failed to fully defeat Gothel in the first place?" he questioned sarcastically.

"Forgive me if I don't put much stalk in that," he responded, as he stood poised for battle with his nemesis'.

"Fighting us won't end well for you," David warned. Clayton smirked smugly.

"I'll take my chances, Charming," he retorted, as their blades clashed, while Snow stood by, ready with an arrow. They dueled precariously on the winding and twisted network of vines that were woven throughout Gothel's treacherous and warped Eden. Clayton made a risky leap to another platform, trying to gain an upper ground on them, but Snow was ready and fired an arrow. It exploded and burned up the fauna around him, as he fell to a platform just below them.

"You'll pay for that, Snow White," he growled, as he chased them through the maze of deadly precipices. Snow and David climbed around the vines and managed to find the top finally, while Clayton sliced through another thin vine, intending to use it to get to them. But David was seeing from his position that he wouldn't be able to without risking his life. If he missed, it would be sudden doom for him.

"I'll give you two a moment to discuss who gets to die," Clayton boosted, as he prepared to swing himself to them.

"You don't want to do that. You'll never make it...we have the higher ground," David warned.

"Like I said before...I'll take my chances, Your Highness," he retorted. They watched as he swung himself up and over to their platform, barely touching the edge of it. His smirk was smug, but he had swung through many more vines that were around him and those vines suddenly pulled him back. They watched as now he was suspended in the air by the vines and he fought them by slicing through them. Clayton sliced his way out and jumped toward their platform, but he missed and Snow gasped, as they watched in horror, as he slipped upside down and there was a strangled noise, as well as a sickening snap. They looked over the edge cautiously and gasped, as they saw that Clayton had essentially hung himself by accident and swung there dead, suspended by the vines that became his end. Snow cried out and turned away from the gruesome sight, as it instantly got worse, as two Venus flytraps shot up and tore the body to shreds, consuming him as food.

"Ohhh…" she groaned, as her stomach churned at the sounds of crunching bones, while she buried her face in David's chest.

"Well...as disturbing as that was, it was well deserved," David said and she couldn't disagree with that. The Collector had was evil and his obsession with killing one of them to gain the power of the Chalice had daunted them for far too long. Thankfully, this time there would be no resurrection for him. He was gone for good and despite all that still faced them, his demise was a victory for them. They usually didn't find comfort in anyone's death, even their enemies, but the Collector leading to his own undoing was more than fitting. Snow sighed and relished his lips, as he pressed them to her forehead. She knew they probably had mere moments until chaos erupted around them again, but oh how she wished they could just go home, away from all this ugliness.

"We'll get there, my darling," he promised. She smiled.

"Reading my thoughts, handsome?" she teased. He smiled.

"More like feeling them through you," he corrected. And she had to agree. She wasn't sure it was possible, but it truly seemed that their love managed to grow every day.

"So...any more to this plan of yours?" she asked.

"Not really, but I'm not a fan of this hide and seek game she's playing. I say we make her take us on directly," he replied.

"Then we need to bring this thing down, which is a lot of magic," she agreed. He smirked.

"Which we have," he said, as they grasped the chalice together. A beam of light slammed into the roof of the warped nightmare of a palace, quickly eating away at it. Once they had an exit, David grabbed a couple vines and they scaled the wall, before climbing out on top of it.

By then, most of their friends and family had gathered around, seeing the peculiar light coming from Gothel's garden monstrosity.

"We could use a bubble, peanut," David called down. Summer smiled and released one, which encased her parents safely inside and transported them to the ground, before popping.

"Let's take it down," David said, as they surrounded the structure and unleashed an assault of magic. Regina and Gold shot several fireballs at it, setting it ablaze. Bobby released shock waves into the ground going after the roots and while they were stunned by his power, Elsa released her ice powers into the ground, freezing the roots and killing them. Leo continued to hit the structure with his lightning powers, while Emma used beams of white magic to do the same. Alice stared at the structure and looked unsure, but soon felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You can do this, starfish...they need you," Hook encouraged.

"I know...but I think I'm supposed to do something else first. I'm the Guardian…" she said, as she started toward Snow and Charming, just as Gothel's palace collapsed to mulch. She emerged from the smoke, seething with rage and unscathed.

"Whoa...what happened to her?" Leo asked, referring to her shocking appearance.

"She is a nymph. Her mother was Mother Nature. This is her true form," Rumple answered. Alice fired her golden colored magic at her biological mother, but she batted the attack away like nothing.

"I'm through playing," she growled, as they watched in horror, as vine-like tentacles sprouted from her very being and she hit Alice first, knocking her away.

"Tilly!" Margot cried, as she and Hook rushed to her. Leo and Elsa rushed her next, ready to blast her with their powers, but she was ready, as her powerful tentacles swept them away as well. She smirked and blew golden dust on them.

"Can you move?" Leo asked.

"No…" she groaned, realizing they were both paralyzed by her pollen.

"All right, let's fry this bitch," Regina growled, as she and Rumple prepared to unleash their fireballs at her. But there was a rumbling beneath them and Belle, as more vines re-emerged from the ground, despite Bobby and Elsa's efforts to kill the roots and the three of them were captured within the coils.

"Hey tree huger...over here!" Emma called, as her magic collided with Gothel's. But the witch smirked, as she easily overpowered the Savior, allowing a vine to coil around her.

"Not today, Savior," Gothel cooed, as she moved toward Snow and Charming.

"Surrender your star gems and I'll make the deaths of everyone you love quick and painless," she offered.

"Save it," David retorted.

"We're not afraid to fight you," Snow added, as they stood strong before her, armed with the chalice. She smirked.

"Pity...I was hoping to spare your children from seeing the gruesome deaths that await you both," she retorted, as her tentacles slithered toward them and they knew that this battle had only just begun...

[crestfalien]

Found Her

25 May 2022.

A wide smile could be seen on his face as he went home from picking up his nephew, Vincent. God, he loves how smart and innocent that adopted son of Claudius can be. To find out that he’s actually the classmate to Fransesca’s daughter made him happy, as it could be a way for him to know about the little girl better. To get to know the mother’s condition as well.

It was rare to see the man coming home with that kind of smile, so his wife decided to raise a question the old man. “So, what happened today on your task of the day?” she asked, as she gestured to the man to sit next to her on the living room’s couch.

Clayton took off his shoes and put them in the cabinet as he then sat himself next to Melissa. “I met her. I met her daughter. Turns out that Vincent is her daughter’s classmate. I remember the name perfectly: Catharina Christine Clementine. The name of our favourite actresses in the past. She named her based on the actresses.” he told her.

Melissa couldn’t help but to also smile as she heard what he said. “What else do you find out or talk about with the young girl? How did you manage to talk with her?” Melissa asked. “Vincent is her best friend and Fransesca couldn’t pick her up, so Vincent offered her a ride and I drove her back home. She talked about her mother a bit, but all I can see is the exact splitting image of Fransesca in her. Everything… looks the same.” Clayton added in excitement.

“Interesting how you can say that thing— the exact splitting image. I’m guessing that every bit of her looks like Fransesca, then?” Melissa tried to confirm what’s in her head and the man nodded. “And… what you said last time turns out to be true. She's been a single mother since the birth of her child but I received no information regarding the man’s identity or whatsoever.”

“That’s great, isn’t it? You have a chance now!” “But I’m not that optimistic, Mel. She has a daughter.” “Her daughter needs a father.”

“Don’t make things hard for me, please? I’m just… I’m just happy to be able to see them both happy. That’s all that I can ask for. Nothing else. She doesn’t have any feelings towards me, I don’t want to push things and pressure her instead.” Clayton explained his reason for why he never intended to try and talk with the woman directly.

“It’s the same as why won’t you take any medication? Perhaps this disease would go away with His miracle and with some efforts to do so.”

Melissa slapped his left arm hard and sighed. “That’s different! You still have hope meanwhile I’m not. Realistically speaking, yours are much better than mine.” Melissa argued. “Clay, you still have a life you can enjoy and spend with someone you love. Don’t waste it. Don’t waste every opportunity that you can spend with someone that you wanted to be with. I know deep inside, it’s Fransesca. Fransesca is the one you loved and still love.” she added.

Melissa held his hands and smiled at him. “Clay, can I meet her? Can I meet Fransesca and talk about several things I wanted to talk about with her?” the lass asked for his permission. “There’s nothing to be discussed between you and Fransesca. Don’t, Mel. Don’t disturb her happy life without me.” he rejected her permission.

“Are you really sure about that?” “Yes.” “What if she’s living a hell-like life because of you?” “I see it with my own eyes, Mel.”

“What makes you really sure about the feeling she has inside? Can you read her mind? No. Do you really know every single thing she’s been through these past years and the reason why she ended up being a single mother? No. What if she’s hurting because of someone who treated her badly and what if you can help her? What if you actually are fated to be her saviour?”

Clayton shook his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you after you're diagnosed with this disease, Mel. I don’t why you act this way when you can stay just like how we used to be. I know that you wanted the best only for me and I know I’m still madly in love with Fransesca. But I prefer to love her in silence for afar.”

“You know what? You’ll regret every decision that you make today. Trust me. If you don’t try to fight for her, then what for? Those feelings shall not be validated from the start. If you don’t even fight for her, then I do understand why she decided not to accept you in the past— you didn’t help her to feel the same. You didn’t try to change her mind either.”

Melissa stood up and sighed as she looked at him. “Years. It's been years. Are you going to stay in secret? Are you going to run away from the woman you love?”

She left him alone in the living room and his smile was nowhere to be seen again. Somehow, he realized that what she said was indeed true. Everything that she told him was true. He decided to give up when he knew he couldn’t convince her at the first try though he showed Fransesca how deep and serious he was in the past.

Clayton was left… all alone, once again. Contemplating his life choices.

END OF FOUND HER.