#Curiosity in a Junkyard | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sweet-villain · 11 months ago

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Just Another Lie~ Part 1

Summary : Billy works in the mechanic shop with Eddie, Eddie Munson. But he hasn't told you. He kept it away from you while you moved on in your life to be a mother, to Billy Hargrove child. What happens when things get ugly?

Angst

Eddie had always been fascinated by cars since he was a young boy. He would spend hours watching his father tinker with engines and fix up old cars.

As he grew older, his love for cars only intensified, and he knew that becoming a mechanic was his true calling.

After graduating, Eddie wasted no time in pursuing becoming a mechanic.

He landed a job at a local auto repair shop and quickly proved himself to be a skilled and dedicated mechanic.

At the auto repair shop, Eddie's expertise was evident in the way he handled every car that came through the doors.

He had a natural knack for diagnosing and fixing any issue that a car may have.

Whether it was a simple oil change or a complex engine repair, Eddie approached each task with determination.His attention to detail and meticulous work ethic earned him a reputation as one of the best mechanics in town.

But he wasn’t the only one. He worked alongside someone he learned to tolerate. Someone who isn’t exactly he would call a friend of his.

Billy Hargrove.

He had a tough exterior and a bad-boy attitude that seemed to repel authority.

But deep down, Billy was just a lost soul trying to find his place in the world.

Growing up in a broken home, he never had a stable father figure to look up to, so he turned to his love for cars and mechanics as an escape. From a young age, Billy was fascinated by the inner workings of vehicles.

He would spend his weekends at the local junkyard, scavenging for spare parts and learning everything he could about engines and transmissions. It was his own little sanctuary, away from the chaos of his home life.

As Billy got older and started working odd jobs to make ends meet, he always found himself gravitating towards anything that involved cars.

Whether it was working at a gas station or helping out at a body shop, Billy was drawn to the mechanics and the thrill of fixing something broken and making it run like new again.

He had a natural talent for it, and it gave him a sense of purpose and control that he had never experienced before.

Eventually, Billy landed a job at the local mechanic shop, and it was there that he truly found his calling.

He was able to use his skills and knowledge to help people, to fix their cars and get them back on the road. And for the first time in his life, he felt like he was making a difference.

Billy tolerated working alongside Eddie Munson, the two didn’t see eye to eye in the past but things have changed and they have grown. The two sometimes helped the other out with certain cars that came into the shop.

They both liked their job therefore they didn’t act out, cause any messes or push each other who gets to work on what car.

Eddie had been working on a car for what felt like hours. Every time he thought he had fixed the problem, the engine would sputter and die again.

Frustration was building as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned against the hood of the car.

He had planned to take it down the road now it seemed like that was not going to happen.

As he was lost in his thoughts, a little boy came walking up to him, his big blue eyes curious and filled with wonder. Eddie could not help but smile at the sight of the boy, who couldn't have been more than 7 years old.

The boy was holding a toy car in his hand and had a look of pure excitement on his face.

The boy had a mass of blonde curls on top of his head, he had the brightest smile that Eddie has seen.

'Hey mister, what are you doing?' the boy asked, his voice filled with innocent curiosity.

Eddie explained to the boy that his car wouldn't start and he was trying to fix it.

The boy's eyes widened in amazement as he watched Eddie tinker with the engine.

He was fascinated by all the tools and parts that Eddie was using, asking questions and trying to understand what each one was for. Eddie couldn't help but feel a sense of joy and nostalgia as he watched the boy's enthusiasm.

Where did the boy come from? Where were his parents?

“ My daddy fixes cars, too!” the boy shouted with his hands in the air like two fist bumps.

A pair of footsteps could be heard as Billy rounded the corner with his eyebrows knitted and a deep frown on his face as he looked around until he spotted the little boy.

“ There you are, I’ve been wondering where you’ve run off too” Eddie’s eyes grew wide at the moment, noticing the same hair Billy has as the little boy. The little boy resembles Billy, a lot. A light bulb goes over his head as he understands where this boy came from.

This was Billy’s son.

“ Here I am, daddy!” the little boy cheered as he hopped up and down on his feet, giggling. Billy shook his head as he knelt down next to the boy and began to tickle him. The little boy laughed telling his dad to stop it otherwise he would pee his pants.

Billy laughed.

Eddie has never been like this, nor to anyone at all. It was new. Kinda nice too.

Billy notices that Eddie has been watching this the whole time, he clears his throat and picks up the little boy.

“ Sorry, Munson.” Billy tells him. “ Didn’t mean to bother” he adds as he looks at the car that doesn’t seem to want to start. Billy eyed it, and turned back to Eddie.

“ Having trouble?” Eddie scratched the back of his neck and nodded his head.

“ Daddy help! Daddy help!” the little boy tells Billy, “ You can do it”

Eddie chuckles at the little boy and can’t help feeling a tad of sadness inside of him. He never got a chance to be a dad, one of many things he wanted in life. He never found the right person.

There was someone in the past. But the past was the past.

“ What is his name?” Billy was looking under the hood of the car to notice that Eddie had been talking to him. Eddie glances down at the boy, puts his rag over his shoulder and kneels down in front of the boy.

“ What’s your name, little man?”

“ Dino!” the little boy points out the dinosaur picture on his shirt as a reference.

“ That’s really a cool name, little man. My name is Eddie” Eddie didn’t want to reach out to shake the little boy’s hand. Not because he didn’t want to. But he had grease on his hands and he hasn’t washed his hands yet.

“ His name is Daniel,” Billy says, removing his head from under the hood. He had a smirk on his face meaning he figured out the problem before Eddie had. This was a game they played where one found the problem and would not tell the other.

“ No, Dino” Daniel stomped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest. “ Mommy calls me Dino” he stomped his foot again, not having his way.

“ Dino” Billy nodded as he wiped his hands with the rag over his shoulder. “ Come on, Eddie here has work to do. He hasn’t even begun to look real hard to fix the problem..”

“ You’re just going to leave me hanging, Hargrove?” Eddie huffed as he waved his hands around. “ Right now? It’s almost closing time.”

Billy shrugged as he gently pushed onto his son’s back leading him to the office where Billy was going to give him a bowl of candy. Right before his mom would pick him up.

As it was almost closing time, the window of the mechanic shop was foggy from the day.

The bustling sounds of car engines being fixed and tools clanking against metal filled the air.

The smell of gasoline and oil lingered, but amidst all the chaos, a figure caught everyone's attention.

A beautiful woman with long flowing hair and a confident stride, walked into the shop with a purpose. Heads turned and conversations paused as all eyes were drawn to her.

She seemed out of place in such a rough and dirty environment, but her determined expression showed that she was not one to be underestimated.

As she made her way towards the counter, the mechanics couldn't help but admire her grace and poise.

Some even stopped what they were doing just to catch a glimpse of her. She was like a breath of fresh air in a place filled with grease and grime.

As she approached the counter, she flashed a bright smile at the mechanic behind the desk and confidently stated her request.

She was picking up her son. The mechanic behind the counter blinked a couple of time and not comprehending what words were coming out her mouth,

He tilted his head to the side as he eyed her. He couldn’t stop staring at how pretty she was and it annoyed her. Her nose scrunched up in disgust as she sighed.

“ Nevermind” she mumbled underneath her breath and looked around. She had no idea where her son would be or her ex boyfriend for that matter.

She had to run some errands today with her mom, begged Billy to take little Daniel to work and she would be back soon.

Her boots hit the ground as she eyed under each car and hummed as she passed on the working cars in the shop.

The smell of gasoline hit her nose causing her to cover her mouth and nose with her sleeve as she continued her search.

It wasn’t too long before she saw the mop of blonde curls knowing those shoulders too from afar and headed that way.

The little boy opening the tool cabinet and banging it shut perked her attention. A wide smile came to her face seeing her little boy was entertained.

“ Oh, Dino…” she sang, removing her sleeve from her mouth.

The little blonde head turned and those big blue wide eyes stared at his mother with joy on his face, he dropped what he was doing and made a run to her.

She met him with open arms and lifted him up as she twirled with him in her arms.

Little Daniel was giggling as he waved his arms, enjoying this. Billy had stopped what he was doing and laughed along with his son seeing the happiness on his son’s face. It always brought joy to him.

“ Hi, mama,” Daniel greeted her. His mother gave him a squeeze to her chest as she happily peppered his cheeks with kisses. Daniel moved his face, giggling saying how icky it was.

“ But you love my kisses,” his mother said. Billy’s heart clenched as he watched the scene in front of him wishing he could go back to the time he ended things and regrets it every day for letting you go.

You were the most beautiful thing he has ever seen and you’ve given him something that he would die for, a reason to live and the main important thing in his life.

His son. Daniel. Dino.

Daniel wiggled his mom's arms until she set him down.

“ You have to meet my friend, Eddie,” her son tells her. His blue eyes widened in excitement. “ Can she, daddy?” he turns to look at his father in question, a small pout on his face that he knew his father would cave into.

His mother wasn’t aware of who this Eddie was, but the name rang some familiar bells in her mind. She used to go to high school with Eddie.

Daniel took his mom’s hand and led the way in excitement.

“ Eddie! Eddie!” Daniel kept shouting through the mechanic while Billy bit down on his bottom lip knowing he was going to get yelled at later when she found out who it was really.

He never told her it’s the Eddie she went to high school with.

The same Eddie that broke her heart all those years ago.

Eddie was happily eating his lunch when he heard his name benign called.

A soft small voice called out his name. Eddie chuckled to himself, setting his lunch down knowing who the voice belonged to now; He stood on his feet but he didn’t stand for long because his eyes met hers.

His eyes scanned her face and he found his heart stuck in his throat. It was you.

He knew you. All those years ago and here you were standing there right in front of him.

It seemed like just yesterday that the two of you were running around the school, at the Hideout, at Family Video and in your neighborhood, causing mischief and getting into all sorts of trouble. But now, here you were, all grown up and a mother.

It was like he was stuck in a time warp, unable to comprehend how the years had passed by so quickly.

He remembered the days when you would come over to his house, your pigtails bouncing as you eagerly asked him to play with you. And now, you were standing in front of him, with a child of your own.

He knew you since you were a little girl playing with him on swings and sharing your lunch with him.

As he took in your appearance, he couldn't help but notice how much you had changed.

Your once carefree and mischievous demeanor had been replaced with a sense of maturity and responsibility. Your eyes, once full of innocence, now hold a sense of wisdom and experience. It was clear that motherhood had transformed you in ways he couldn't have imagined.

Eddie couldn't help but think back to the last time he had seen you, at your high school graduation.

He remembered how proud he felt as he watched you walk across the stage, ready to take on the world. And now, here you were, taking on the biggest role of all - being a mother.

A smile appeared on his face as he was ready to say your name and throw his arms around you but you had other plans in mind.

“ Don’t you fucking smile at me, Munson” you closed your son’s ears as you started the sentence.

Eddie’s face dropped hearing your tone. You have never forgiven him for what he has done and he deserves that.

He sighed and looked away, not knowing what to say.

“ No, not today or ever” you mumbled to yourself but he heard it as he watched you walk away from him with Daniel holding your hand. He winced when the door you had shut loudly causing the paintings in the office to shake off the wall.

He was surprised they had not fallen.

You stood in front of Billy Hargrove, anger boiling inside, you couldn't believe he had the audacity to keep such a huge secret from you.

How could he not tell you about Eddie Munson? Was he planning to keep it like this? Does he even care about your feelings?

You couldn't wrap your head around it. The two of you had been friends for so long, how could he betray you like this?

You thought about all the times you two hung out, the laughs you two shared, the secrets you told each other.

You two had a child together. And yet, he kept this huge secret from you.. It felt like a slap in the face.

“ I can’t believe you, how long were you going to keep this up? Huh?” Billy’s shoulder sunk down. He knew he had screwed up. His eyes casted down at his shoes as you continued to yell at him, feeling hurt.

“ You knew what he did, and you still try to hide this from me. Why? What did I ever do to you?” your voice trembled.

“ Mama” Daniel called out to you. You forgot for a moment that your son was there.

“ Oh Dino” you kneeled down in front of him, sniffling.

“ Don’t cry” he says and offers you his toy truck that he always carries around.

“ This will make you feel better,” he adds. You sniffled, chuckling as he dropped it in your hands. You pull him into you as his arms wrap themselves around his head and he puts your back with his small hand.

You adored moments like this with him.

“ …I’m sorry…” you heard Billy say to you. You held up a finger up to him signaling he didn’t have the right to talk to you at the moment.

You were having a moment with your son.

As you were putting Daniel in the car, a voice spoke out.

“ 'I know I don't deserve it, but I need to say this. I am so sorry for hurting you. I have been a complete jerk, and I don't blame you if you never want to forgive me.' Billy paused, his eyes searching yours for any sign of forgiveness when you turned to look at him.

'I know I've been a terrible person, but please believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t mean to not tell you. I was going to. I didn’t know how or when…”

Part of you wanted to forgive him, to believe that he was truly sorry.. But another part of you was still hurt and angry, unable to forget the pain he had caused.

You remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Billy took your silence as a sign to continue.

“ I didn’t know where to start. I knew the two of you had history and as our son’s father, I should have told you whom I was working with. But at the same time I didn’t because this is work, and this isn’t your business. And we have been doing good at being friends, for our son. For Dino” he looks over your shoulder at his son in the car.

He sniffles. He reached out to take your hand, but you pulled away, still not ready to forgive him.

He understood, and with a heavy heart, he walked around the car to kiss his son on the forehead and say bye and that he would be back soon to see him.

You watched over your shoulder, melting at the sight of him being such a good father to Danilel.

You felt eyes on you and turned to look towards the shop seeing Eddie has been watching you. Your mouth turns into a scowl and your nose scrunches up in disgust.

You hated Eddie Munson.

He deserves it.

Billy closed the door and as he walked around you, he noticed the look on your face and looked towards Eddie watching the two of you.

“ He still talks about you” Billy says like he was going to fix it.

“ He never meant anything at all to me”

Billy snorted.

“ What’s funny?”

“ You’re full of shit and you know it” He says as he walks away.

#Eddie Munson #imagine Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson imagine #Eddie Munson x you #Eddie Munson x reader #Eddie Munson x y/n #jewls writes #Stranger things x reader

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five-rivers · 2 years ago

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School Bus in the Ghost Zone

AO3

@jackdaw-sprite @dekalko-mania

Vivid green mists and clouds swirled together in the distance, providing a backdrop for free-floating purple doors and spidery knotworks of impossible architecture. A few tiny, gleaming lights might have been far-off island-cities, anglers, spectral stars, or other, stranger things. Nearer by, occasionally obscuring these sights, was a junkyard's worth of derelict cars.

Danny had seen scenery like this before. On occasion, he had even admired it. Vistas like this one were stunning, powerful, alien. They sparked wonder and curiosity. They sang to his soul that they were home. Or, at least, his core seemed to think that.

At the moment, he was feeling none of that. The principal emotions he was currently experiencing were exasperation, annoyance, and horror. But, then, he'd never viewed the Ghost Zone through the dingy window of a school bus before, either, so that might have something to do with it. The panicking students might have also contributed.

Another person might have been wondering what cosmic entity they had annoyed for something like this to happen to them. Mr. Lancer certainly was, judging by his hunched posture and the trembling of the hands over his face. Danny, however, kept a running list of the godlike beings he had angered, and considered himself an expert on the subject. In his experience, they tended to be more upfront about their intentions.

This was just bad luck.

Which meant that Danny was instead mentally asking why his luck was this bad, and, more to the point, if there was a way to fix it.

"Hey, Danny," said Tucker, nudging Danny's elbow with his own, "are you just about done disassociating? Because I think Dash is about to go Lord of the Flies on Mikey and Ricky. Or maybe it's the other way around. It's kind of hard to tell."

"Yeah," said Danny. "Is that the one with the cannibalism?"

Tucker shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"Right. Okay. This is fine. I can deal with this."

"I mean," said Sam, leaning over from the other bench with a sort of pinched look on her face, "I think you're the only one who can."

"Gee, thanks, Sam."

Tucker gave him an awkward thumbs up. "You've got this. Hopefully soon. Before there's a murder."

Danny nodded and crawled out over Tucker into the aisle. The whole Lord of the Flies thing was an exaggeration, but it was getting to be a mess.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Hey!" he repeated, putting a little ghostly emphasis into it this time. "Do you want to keep freaking out, or do you want to go home?"

"There's no going anywhere!" said Dash, waving his hands in a broad gesture that stopped just shy of backhanding both Kwan and Dale. "The bus is floating in nothing! There's nowhere to go! The second we step out, we'll drop!"

"And we're out of fuel!" wailed the bus driver, Mr. Kennedy.

"Why are we out of–? Actually, that doesn't matter. First off, gravity doesn't exist in the Zone unless you think it does. Or unless someone else is thinking it does for you."

"Which isn't relevant right now!" interjected Sam.

"Yeah. That gets complicated. Point is, if you left the bus, you'd float. Like the bus is."

A soft ohh rose up from the other students.

"Mr. Fenton," said Mr. Lancer, "are you suggesting we leave the bus and try to travel across the Zone?"

"No, we don't have to leave the bus," said Danny. He really didn't want to attempt to give his classmates the 'how to fly in the Ghost Zone while human one-oh-one' lecture. Which he didn't have. Because he'd never had to do anything like that.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are, like, twenty people here. If we expect it to go hard enough, it'll go."

"Are you serious?" asked Mr. Lancer.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"But there's no gas!" repeated Mr. Kennedy.

"We were driving just fine half an hour ago!" snapped Star. "What happened to it? Don't tell us you've just been putting your foot down all this time!"

Mr. Kennedy moaned.

"Hey, be nice to him!" said Hannah. "He only just moved here, so he's probably more used to stuff like aliens."

"Oh, god, are there aliens, too?"

"No," said Danny. "No, there are not." Not in Amity Park, anyway.

"There are psychics, though."

"No," repeated Danny. He'd thank her very much not to spread the 'psychic bladder' rumor to yet another person. "Sam, can I have one of your spare folders?"

"Sure," said Sam, rummaging in her backpack for a moment before offering up an empty blue paper folder. "This one okay?"

"Perfect," said Danny. He walked to the front of the bus, scooting sideways past the people who just felt the need to block the aisle even though they had plenty of room in their seats. He opened up the folder and placed it down over the dashboard. “There. Now the gas doesn’t matter.”

“It kind of does.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He turned back to the rest of the bus, hands on his hips. “So, here’s what’s going to happen, we’re going to make the bus go.” He looked at the driver. “And you’ll steer us. And we’ll be able to get wherever we want to go.”

“And,” said the bus driver, “we’ll go where?”

Danny twisted to look out the bus windshield and pointed at a spindly limb of the architecture conglomerate. “There.”

“Why there?” asked Mr. Lancer.

“Looks like the best place to get directions.”

“What?” exploded Dash. “You don’t know where we are? He doesn’t even know where we are? Why are we letting him tell us where to go?”

“Well, Dash,” said Danny, very much put in mind of a similar conversation he’d had with him the previous year, when Youngblood and Ember had kidnapped every adult in town, “have you been here before? Has anyone? Has anyone else even been in the Ghost Zone? And, no, the time the whole city was transplanted doesn’t count. No? No one? Just me, Sam, and Tucker?” He was sort of wondering why Valerie wasn’t speaking up during any of this, but that was a problem for later. “Great. So. Despite having been in the Ghost Zone before, I haven’t been in this particular part. I haven’t even been to every part of the state. This is an entire dimension. That shouldn’t be all that surprising. But, the Fenton Portal is kind of a big thing. I should be able to get directions to it without any trouble.”

There was silence.

“What?” said Danny. “What did I say?”

“What’s the Fenton Portal?” asked Star.

“It’s, well, you know,” said Danny, rubbing the back of his neck. “The portal my parents built. I know, it’s an embarrassing name, but that’s how they name all their stuff.” And it wasn’t even the most embarrassing name.

“And when did this happen?”

“Ages ago,” said Danny. “Summer before freshman year. Shouldn’t this be, like, common knowledge? That’s when the ghosts started showing up, after all.”

More silence.

“Did… did you guys not know about the portal?”

“Are you saying your stupid parents are the reason ghosts started showing up in the first place?” demanded Ricky, leaning over the seat in front of him, fingers gripping the cheap green vinyl like he wanted to tear into someone’s throat, preferably Danny’s.

“Uh,” said Danny, now understanding the danger he was in. “I don’t know…?”

“Let’s just focus on getting home for now,” said Sam. “You can sue the Fentons for reckless endangerment or whatever later.”

Danny glared at her. Sure, that was helpful for now, but later? Later, it would be a problem.

Mr. Lancer cleared his throat. “Mr. Fenton, how do we expect this bus to move?”

“You just… do it. I mean, come on, it’s a vehicle. An automobile. Whatever. It’s supposed to move. That’s it’s whole thing. It’s not like you’re expecting it to fly or anything.”

“We kind of are, though,” said Hannah.

“Hush, you. We’re powering this through vibes.”

“This is just like the Magic School Bus,” said Mikey, excitedly.

“Yeah, sure, whatever floats your bus. Just… Close your eyes and expect to move.”

Danny walked back down the rows of seats. Where had Valerie been sitting? Ah, there she was, staring out the window, hands clenched in her lap. Did she have some kind of Zone-related trauma Danny didn’t know about? It wasn’t like he knew everything she got up to as Red Huntress… He tried, but he just had too many of his own problems to be constantly on guard for hers.

“Valerie?” he said, not too loudly, not wanting to startle her.

She turned her head towards him ever so slowly. At the center of each of her pupils was a tiny, glowing, red triangle.

Valerie, Danny realized, hadn’t been in the Zone since Technus replaced the suit she got from Vlad with something a little more… integrated.

This was a problem.

“Uh,” he said, “you okay?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her hand absently tugging on her scarf.

“Okay,” said Danny. “Okay, um. Are you experiencing any weird urges? Or is it, like, too much sensory input? Or something else?”

“Sensory.”

“Cool, cool,” said Danny. “It’s… Can you…” He lowered his voice. “Can you turn, like, the input on your suit down?”

“I don’t– How do you know about that?”

The air was filled with the sizzling tension of Valerie preparing to call her suit. Or something. Danny didn’t think she’d attack him while he was Fenton - they might be exes, but Danny suspected she missed him in the more conventional sense, and not the marksmanship sense - but who knew what else she’d do while under the influence of… whatever this was.

“Cool,” he said, backing away. “Well, you just work on that.” The bus lurched underfoot.

“Just like the Magic School Bus!”

“I’m going to go up front and direct things,” he said. He looked at Sam and Tucker and tried to make significant eye contact with them. Shouting out that there was something wrong with Valerie felt like a jerk move, so friendship telepathy it was!

He didn’t think it worked.

“Mr. Fenton,” said Mr. Lancer, getting Danny’s attention, “I don’t mean to cast doubt on your judgment, but… Why do you believe we can find directions there? I don’t see any signs of life.”

“Well, you wouldn’t. It’s the Ghost Zone. Get it?”

Mr. Lancer stared blankly at him.

“Man, tough audience.” He shrugged. “I guess I don’t know that anyone is there. But we can just keep going until we do find someone. It’s more polite than opening doors.”

“Polite…?”

“Yeah, I mean, each door leads to a lair, but that’s, like, someone’s private, personal space. Other people aren’t supposed to go in without permission. Ghosts get really touchy about it.”

“What Danny means is that he almost got his head bitten off by an angry toddler,” said Tucker.

“They were definitely bigger than a toddler,” said Danny. “But, yeah, we’re not exactly capable of fighting, so… polite is the way to go.”

“I see,” said Mr. Lancer. “I don’t suppose you have any of your parents’ weapons with you?”

“Mr. Lancer, we were going to the courthouse. You told us there was a metal detector and that we shouldn’t even bring pocket knives.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Lancer, and behind his eyes Danny could see every time his parents had disregarded such simple rules. Loudly. Repeatedly. “Well. I had to ask.”

“I have a pocket knife!” said Dale.

“Iliad and Odyssey, I’m getting too old for this stuff.”

Danny considered patting Mr. Lancer on the shoulder, but decided against it. “So,” he said, “I’m just going to go back to my seat until we get there. Yep.” He shuffled back and crawled back across Tucker to huddle next to the window.

“Okay, how screwed are we, do you think?” asked Tucker.

“I don’t know,” said Danny, quietly, “but I really don’t recognize anything around here. As long as we can get to somewhere I know in a reasonable amount of time, it should be fine, but…” He shrugged. “Infinite Realms. There are no guarantees.” He raised his hands. “I’m not a miracle worker, here.”

“Great,” said Tucker. “At least we came with food. We can leave the cannibal episode for later.”

“I still don’t think that book had any actual cannibalism in it.”

“I think that none of the three of us managed to read that stupid book,” said Danny.

“Mr. Lancer is literally like ten feet away.”

“I think he has bigger problems.”

The bus slowly moved through the floating car graveyard, occasionally bumping into one of them when the bus driver misjudged the distance. Ever so gradually, it pulled up to the side of the architect’s nightmare.

“Okay, Fentonio, now what?”

Danny had sort of hoped a ghost might come out to investigate. They hadn’t. In fact, the place seemed as deserted as the floating junkyard. Which meant that Danny now faced an uncomfortable choice. He could get out and go look for someone, leaving everyone else in the bus without his protection. He could recommend that everyone get out and they could go look for someone together, which would basically be an open invitation for chaos. He could just tell the driver to go somewhere else.

The little lights that could be cities, or stars, or anglers twinkled at him.

Ugh. None of these were good decisions.

“Hey,” said Sam, “beep the horn.”

Or they could do that.

“What?” asked the driver, startled.

“We don’t really want to go out there,” explained Sam. “Which means we need someone to come here. If there is anyone.”

“Yeah,” agreed Danny. “Do that.”

The driver pressed the horn tentatively. They all watched the structures intently for any sign of movement.

Something knocked on the opposite window. Everyone startled badly, rushing away from the unexpected noise.

“Hi, there!” said a ghost in a bathrobe. A plastic duck rested on their head and they held a loofah on a stick like a scepter. “Are you fellas lost or something?”

Danny rushed over to the other side and pulled down the window. “Hi, yeah, we are, a bit. Do you mind giving us directions?”

“Sure! I know this place pretty well. My lair’s just right over there. Trying for the perfect bath, you know?”

Danny nodded solemnly. “Baths are important. But, uh, do you know where the Fenton Portal is from here? The permanent portal to the material plane?”

“Can’t say I know where that is from here. Never been all that much interest to me.”

“How about Elysium? The Far Frozen? Hunter’s Blind? The Time Locked Lands?”

“Woah, woah, kiddo, I can only answer so fast.” The ghost rubbed his chin. “I got some medicinal soaps from the Far Frozen that one time; it’s not too far away from here. Gonna take a moment to really remember, but while I’m thinking, can I ask: why are you up against this old bulldozer job if you’re wanting to get to the Far Frozen?”

“Thanks,” said Danny, relieved, “we were hoping someone could help us in there–” he jerked his head back towards the building mass, “--but I guess not, huh?”

“Oh, no one lives there,” said the ghost. “It’s full of tarantulas.”

“Tarantulas!” shrieked Paulina.

“Don’t worry about it, they’re probably harmless.”

“These ones’re pretty venomous, actually. And huge.”

“The directions, please.”

“Alright, alright. You young whippersnappers, always rushing around like you were still alive. Alright, then. First, you want to follow the Star of the Solemnity.” He pointed at one of the points of light. “After a while, you should see the Arson’s Arcade. Big place. It’s on fire. Hard to miss, even if it isn't on the direct line to the Star of the Solemnity. From there, you can follow the Burning Road to Dis–”

“Isn’t that also on fire?”

“Sure is. Leastwise, it’s hot there. Dis is within spitting distance to the Brass City. From there, you drop through the Steam Curtain to the Boiling Sea. Triple Point is somewhere around there, and that’ll take you to the Lands of Ice, right enough. Far Frozen is in there, somewhere.”

“You call that close?” asked Hannah. “That’s like… at least five different places.”

“Yeah,” said Danny, “maybe, but now I know where we are, and I can get there faster.”

“Oh, no, kiddo. Shortcuts are never worth it.”

“It’s not a shortcut. Besides, I don’t think that any of us would, like, survive going through the steam curtain.”

“Ah, cold cores then, huh? I’ve always preferred warm water myself.”

The problem was more that the Steam Curtain was supposed to be scalding, and all of Danny’s classmates were made of flesh.

(No word on Mr. Lancer, who was occasionally rumored to be a literature-loving robot, or perhaps a vampire.)

“Yeah, something like that. Thank you so much for your directions, they really helped.” It was doubtful that the word ‘help’ was a trigger for the ghost like it was for Danny, but he hoped he got the meaning across regardless.

The ghost’s face crinkled. “No problemo! I needed some time to plan out my next bath, anyway. Good luck getting where you want to go!” The ghost flew away in the general direction of their lair.

“Well, they were nice,” said Danny.

“That’s great, kid,” said Mr. Kennedy, his hands gripped around the wheel so tight that all of his knuckles were completely bloodless. “Now where do we go?”

Danny pointed left, almost ninety degrees from the Star of Solemnity. The ectoplasmic mists were ever so slightly grayer in that direction. “That way.”

“Why, what’s over there?” asked Star.

“Casper High. Probably.” His mental map of the Ghost Zone was very good, at this point. It wasn’t perfect.

“You think the school got sucked in, too?” Dash said, mockingly. “We were miles away.”

“Yeah, I know. But the school has an ectoplasmic mirror because of all the deaths back in the fifties.”

“It’s true,” said Tucker. “There were a whole lot of deaths back in the fifties. Kind of scary. I think I would have just closed the school.” He tapped his lower lip. “In retrospect, though, the way they keep the school open no matter what ghosts throw at it.”

Star frowned. “What if you’re wrong?”

“Then we’ll probably notice before we get there, and we can try the ‘set ourselves on fire’ route.”

“I think we can do without that,” said Mr. Lancer. “Mr. Kennedy, would you–”

“I’m going, I’m going,” said Mr. Kennedy. They began to putter forward.

For the first hour or so of the journey, things were quiet. But the nature of the Time Locked Lands meant that even their outer fringes tended to be well-populated. Ghosts were, after all, the kind of person to whom living in the past appealed the most.

Even more unfortunately, some of those ghosts were people Danny knew.

“Oh my gosh,” said Hannah, pointing out the window, “is that Ember? I love her music!”

“Fans?” Ember smirked, the expression clear even from this distance. “I don’t mind if I do.”

She struck a chord and the bus vibrated.

“Go faster!” shouted Danny, even as half the students started to chant Ember’s name. “Go faster!”

“I can’t!” sobbed Mr. Kennedy.

Danny put his hand against the side of the bus and extended his ghostly aura as far as he could without transforming. He’d done things like this before, with the ecto-skeleton and the thermos, pushing enough of his will into technology to make it do what he wanted.

The bus sped up. But not enough.

“Taking me on a tour? Alright, cool bus, let’s see about a different tune!”

A wave of chilled air passed over Danny, and the other students yelped and squeaked as the metal parts of the bus became painfully cold. The one thing Danny, as an ice core, could counter… He might have been impervious to it, but the others weren’t.

“What now?” yelled the bus driver. “Engines don’t work when it’s this cold!”

Danny thought about yelling at him that the engine didn’t matter, they weren’t even using it, but decided that would probably be counterproductive.

“Valerie!” said Danny. He hated throwing her under the bus (hopefully not literally) but one of the two of them literally had secret government organizations trying to kidnap him to dissect him, and it wasn’t her. If she couldn’t do it, then he’d act. “Do something!”

For a second, he thought she didn’t hear him, too entranced by whatever her suit was doing with the ectoplasm, but then red and black circuits pulsed into being all over her body and suddenly there were guns. A lot of guns.

“Ah,” squeaked Danny, thoroughly intimidated.

Valerie fired through the bus windshield, shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces and blowing Ember far into the distance.

That was the plus side. On the minus side, the bus no longer had a front.

“This is okay,” said Danny as Valerie sat down heavily. “This is okay. Valerie, are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said. “I’m… fine. What… Oh my gosh…”

“Miss Gray,” said Mr. Lancer, “I thought no one had any weapons…”

“Well,” said Valerie, recovering some of her usual sharpness. “It’s not like I advertise that I’m–”

“Red Huntress!” gushed Mikey. “That’s so cool!”

“That’s not my name,” said Valerie.

“It’s not?” asked Mikey.

“It’s not?” asked Danny.

“I’m not a superhero,” said Valerie. “I’m a ghost hunter. I don’t have a code name. That’s stupid.”

“Code names aren’t stupid,” said Danny and Mikey together.

From the expression on Valerie’s face, Danny thought she must be wondering why she’d ever dated him.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay, we’ve got rid of her. No more name chanting.”

“But E–”

Sam slapped her hand over Hannah’s mouth. “No,” she said.

“So, we can just keep going.”

“The front of the bus is gone.”

“Mr. Kennedy, we’re flying.”

“But it’s gone.”

“We weren’t using the engine anyway! You were out of gas!”

This, of course, caused a commotion.

“Listen, do your best to believe we can go,” begged Danny. “Please.”

With that, they limped forward. Slowly. Painfully.

But even at that speed, Sidney Poindexter’s version of Casper High loomed into view, as black and white as ever.

The bus creaked to a stop. And then the wheels fell off.

“Come on,” said Danny, desperately. “Just a little bit further. Please.”

It did not go further.

“The wheels are gone,” said Paulina. “It can’t go without wheels.”

“We weren’t using them,” argued Danny, futilely. “We’re floating.”

It didn’t work. Which left the next option.

“We’re going to have to fly there, then,” he said.

This did not go over well. Danny ignored the protests like they ignored his logic.

“So, Sam and Tucker, can you get the lunches and stuff from the storage underneath? Everyone else, grab your own stuff. Uh… Val? Can you use your hoverboard?”

“Huh?” asked Valerie, blankly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Valerie slowly passed a hand over her face.

“I think…” she trailed off.

“Can you, I don’t know, shut the suit off or anything? Or maybe there’s a Ghost Zone mode?”

“No,” said Valerie. “I just need to… calibrate.”

That sounded like a lie, but Danny wasn’t sure how far he should press. “Okay, then. So. Here’s what’s going to happen…” He trailed off, not actually sure what would happen.

Making plans was hard.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he tried again, “Sam and Tucker and I are going to…”

“We could try pulling the bus,” said Tucker, “or pushing it.”

“We’re already doing that. We can’t compete with this many Debbie doubters.”

“Isn’t that Debbie downers?”

“I can make it alliterate however I want.”

“You actually used that word correctly,” said Lancer. “Oh, Elements of Style, we’re really in it now…”

“Can we… ferry them over, maybe?” suggested Sam. “One by one?”

“Or maybe we can get everyone to hold hands and we can make a human chain,” said Tucker. “Pull everyone across.”

Star cleared her throat. “Is no one going to mention the creepy monochrome Casper High?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Danny, “that’s where Poindexter hangs out. Sidney Poindexter, you know?”

Hannah perked up. “You mean the school cryptid?”

“He’s a ghost.”

“Evidence suggests–”

“He’s a ghost,” repeated Danny, more forcefully. “Please. I think I like the human chain better.” If they got attacked, Danny could push intangibility through the line in a pinch. “I’ll go first, since I’m the best flier, Sam, you’ve got the end, Tucker…”

“I’ll stabilize people stepping off,” said Tucker.

“Great,” said Danny, walking to the ragged front end of the bus and stepping off. He floated easily, comfortably. “See? Easy. Perfectly safe. Val, you want to come next?”

“No,” said Val. “I think I need to just… Sit here, for a little while.”

“Okay, cool,” said Danny. “Paulina?”

Sam glared at him. Hard.

“Ugh. Fine. You would make an excuse to hold my hand.”

Danny blushed. “If you don’t want to… Uh… Mikey?”

Mikey shook his head vigorously.

“I will go,” said Mr. Lancer. He stepped up to the edge. “This is what a teacher does, this is what a teacher does, this is what a teacher does, they go before their students. This is what a teacher does, they go before their students. This is fine. This is what a teacher does–”

Danny grabbed Mr. Lancer’s elbow and pulled him off. He linked Mr. Lancer’s elbow with his, so neither of them would float off unexpectedly.

“Okay,” he said, “so… Who’s next?”

Very slowly, and with a lot of cajoling, the rest of them lined up until they were a single line of people stretching into the green. They didn’t even get halfway to the school.

“Now what, Fengenius.”

“How do you come up with those amazing nicknames, Dash?” asked Danny.

“It’s my idea anyway,” said Tucker, who had wound up between Sam and Valerie, who was still looking off. “Danny’s going to pull us forward.”

“Yep,” said Danny. “Just think light thoughts, or whatever.”

Again, slowly, because Danny wasn’t sure how hard some of his classmates could hold on, they drifted towards the school. However, unlike the bus, Danny did get there without his wheels falling off. He didn’t even misplace his shoes.

“We made it,” said Mikey, making a show of kissing the ground.

“Now what?” asked Ricky.

“Now,” said Danny, “we see if we can get across here.” He walked up to the doors.

“Is that safe?” asked Mr. Lancer. “This isn’t the real Casper High, after all.”

“It’s real enough,” said Danny. “Just… try not to look like the kind of kid who gets bullied.”

Dash and the other jocks puffed out their chests while Paulina applied a fresh layer of makeup. Problem was, to the shades that resided here, they were all weak and unfashionable. Heck, even Sidney could beat Dash into the ground. Speaking of which…

“Try not to look like bullies, either,” Danny added. “In fact, try and fly under the radar.”

“Maybe we could wait outside,” said Star.

“Uh, in the open?” asked Danny. “Inside, at least we’re in a lair. Ember won’t attack us there.”

Probably. He didn’t know how Ember and Sidney got along.

Sidney’s Casper High looked a lot like the real one. Obviously. Same layout, same crappy lockers, same weird paneling on the walls… It was easier to pick out the differences, like the light fixtures and the handles on the doors. Even the smell was the same. Mostly. It was just a little smokier, a little more citrusy.

It must have been during classes, because the halls were empty. Faint murmurs of sound came from behind classroom doors.

“Hey! You’re supposed to be in– Oh! It’s you, Ph–”

“Fenton, yeah, I know,” said Danny, rubbing the back of his neck and desperately hoping that Sidney got the hint.

Sidney fidgeted with his hall monitor badge for a second before his hands dropped back to his sides. “What are you all doing here?” He asked.

“We fell through a natural portal and got stranded,” said Danny. “I was wondering, hoping, really, that you might have something that can take us back to Amity?”

Poindexter shook his head. “Sorry,” he said, “that mirror was about it, unless you want to try, well… I don’t think you would. It’s kind of long.”

“I don’t know,” said Danny, “I think we might try anything, if it was reliable.”

“Eh, I guess it’s up to you, but sometimes you can get across if you stay in my locker for as long as, you know, I was.”

“You mean when you…”

“Crossed over that first time, yeah.”

“Yeah, okay. We’re not doing that.”

“Didn’t think so.”

“What are you two nerds talking about?” asked Dash.

“Death, mostly,” said Danny. “Please put two and two together. Please.” He turned back to Sidney. “Do you know of any way we could get passage either to the Fenton Portal or the Far Frozen, then?”

“Maybe?” said Sidney. He shrugged. “I’m not really connected, though.”

“I know,” said Danny, “but I can work out things to pay people with, after. I keep my promises.”

“Okay,” said Sidney. “Er, we’re about to have our lunch period, so maybe the rest of you go to the cafeteria, while I show Ph–”

“Fenton.”

“While I show Fenton the dovecote.”

“The what now?”

“The dovecote. For the carrier pigeons?”

Tucker’s mouth was hanging open. “What century are you from? Who uses carrier pigeons?”

“Phones don’t work in the Time Locked Lands! You have to make do!”

There was a loud, ringing sound, and, yep, even the bells were the same.

… When was the last time Casper High had been updated? At all? Yikes.

A mass of teenaged shades poured from the classrooms along with harried looking teachers.

“Just follow them,” said Sidney. “They’ll steer you right. Come on, Danny!”

Sidney pulled him away.

“They will be safe, right?” asked Danny.

“I think so,” said Sidney. “Everything here has been a lot more peaceful since, well, you know. You haven’t been here since then, I guess.”

“Yeah,” said Danny. Funny thing about trauma is that generally you didn’t want to return to where it had happened. Danny was bullied. Sidney had been tormented. “Didn’t think I’d be welcome, I guess.”

Sidney’s eyebrows went up. “No welcome? When you defeated the worst bully of all? When you sealed away Pariah Dark? Of course you’re welcome!”

“Thanks,” said Danny. They came out onto one of the school roofs. Perched on in a corner was a rectangle of color. The dovecote. It was a wooden box a few meters on each side, painted powder blue with gold and green trimmings.

Danny had suspicions.

“Did you… Get this from Dora?” he asked.

Sometimes, with all the weird skin colors, it was hard to tell when a ghost was blushing. Sidney, though, was definitely blushing. A lot.

“Uh,” said Danny, not ready for his guess to return anything but vehement denial. “Good… for you? Congratulations?”

“It’s not like that! She’s just really nice. And she likes the dances the school puts on now and again.” He flew over to the dovecote, still blushing furiously. “But these are from her kingdom, so if I tie one on, it should get to her in just an hour or so.” He smiled. “Better than snail mail, right?”

“Yeah,” said Danny, giving Sidney a thumbs up. “And you’re okay with us just being here?”

“Sure!” said Sidney. “You’ve got to go to classes and all, though.”

Danny blinked. “Is that a joke?”

It was not a joke. Especially not three and a half hours later when they all stumbled out into the courtyard.

“Well,” said Danny kneeling in preparation for laying down and pretending the world didn’t exist, “to be fair to us, all of these people have had fifty years to refine this stuff.”

“I want revenge,” said Hannah. “How do you get revenge on a ghost?”

“You don’t,” said Danny, not wanting to give her any ideas.

Then, something blocked out the meager light from one of the television-static-like strips in the sky. Overhead was a huge, pumpkin-like carriage pulled by scaly, draconic-looking horses. The door swung open, and a set of stairs that went from the door to the carriage to the ground - a distance of over two stories - unfolded. Princess Dora flew out and down the stairs, not touching them even once.

“Oh, Sam,” she said, throwing out her arms. “When I heard you were stranded, I just had to come.” She hugged Sam. Sam, gingerly, hugged her back.

“How are you doing, Dora?” asked Sam as Danny forced himself to get back up on his feet.

“Oh, marvelously. We’ve finally gotten the plumbing to work again since our last course correction put us back in the Time Locked Lands.” She shook her head. “I can’t understand why my brother wanted to stay there, stay in that time. Oh, I know it was for the sake of his power, but, truly, modern things make everything so much more convenient. And how are you, Sir Daniel, Sir Tucker?”

“We’re good,” said Danny.

“Yeah, except for being stranded.”

“There is that. Can you help?”

Dora surveyed the other teenagers. “I believe so,” she said. She looked back up at her carriage, then at the students again, clearly comparing sizes. “I’ll have word sent back for two more carriages, then I can take you to the outskirts of the Far Frozen.”

“Not directly to their village?” asked Danny.

Dora shook her head sadly. “No, no. I’m a hot core. I wouldn’t do well in the Far Frozen, not any more than you would do well in Dis or the Burning Lands.”

“Sure wouldn’t,” said Danny. “Would you believe, someone tried to give us directions through there?”

Dora shook her head. “I’m sure they meant well. Now, where is Sidney?”

“He said something about chess club?”

“Oh, excellent. We can finish our game from last time. It shouldn’t be long until the next carriages come, though, so prepare yourselves.” She floated back up towards the carriage.

“Uh,” said Hannah, “who was that?”

“Princess Dora,” said Danny. “You remember the time we had a beauty pageant at the school? And the organizers turned out to be ghosts? Kidnapped Sam? That whole thing?”

“Vaguely.”

“Well,” said Sam, “Dora’s brother, who we shall not name, was basically forcing her to run that thing. But while I was kidnapped, we bonded, and talked a little about gender equality and praxis. That kind of thing. Then she deposed her brother.”

“Yeah,” said Hannah with a little fist pump. “Feminism.”

“We helped,” said Tucker. “We helped a lot. Did you hear how Danny and I were called sir? We’re knights.”

“Technically.”

“All knights are technically knights.”

“Our position is more ceremonial,” clarified Danny. “A lot more ceremonial.”

“Still knighted. Still knights.”

“So am I,” said Sam. “What’s your point?”

“I don’t know that he has one.”

“We helped! That’s my point!”

Danny shrugged. “It’s okay if she likes Sam better, really.”

“And she’s dating Poindexter?” asked Dash. “When she’s a princess?”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not, like, official as far as I know. But they like each other.”

After that, well. They were still experiencing massive mental fatigue from Sidney’s classes. No one spoke for a long time.

“Don’t your parents think ghosts are mindless or something?” asked Paulina. “Why is their math so hard if they’re mindless?”

“They’re not mindless, that’s how,” said Danny. “Really simple, that.”

“But the ones we get in Amity–”

“Are the people looking for trouble, usually. You wouldn’t say Phantom is mindless, would you?”

Valerie, who had been lying quietly on the grass, shot straight up. “You never told me how you knew I was ghost hunting,” she said, accusatorily.

“Your first suit didn’t disguise your voice,” said Danny. “Plus, whenever you were after Phantom, you yelled at him about how he ruined your life. Which was why you started dating Tucker that one time. Because you thought Phantom ruined your life, I mean.”

“Which I was totally okay with, by the way,” said Tucker, shooting her two thumbs up. “If you ever change your mind about that breakup, I’m still here and still fine.”

“I’ll pass.”

“So… are you feeling better?”

Valerie shrugged. “I’m… getting used to it,” she said. Which wasn’t really an answer. She laid back down.

If they didn’t get home soon, Danny would have to push it. But not yet.

Dora came back out before too long, a faint flush in her cheeks. “Alright,” she said, clapping her hands together, “I can take you to your portal, now. If you will follow me.” She returned to the stairs, and the class followed.

They were apprehensive about going up them, and Danny didn’t blame them. They didn’t seem terribly stable. But they should know by now that the laws of physics here were different than they were at home. If the flying bus didn’t clue them in and all.

But Danny, Sam, and Tucker didn’t have any such hesitation, and they started up almost at once.

Which made it all the more awkward to get down when Valerie tipped over and started convulsing.

“Stay back, everyone!” said Mr. Lancer, who knelt and turned Valerie on her side. He pulled her scarf off, revealing angry red and black lines creeping up her neck. “Mr. Baxter, give me your jacket.”

Dash stripped it off of himself without objection and tossed it over. Mr. Lancer folded it and put it under her head.

“Does she have fits often?” asked Dora, one hand over her mouth.

“No,” said Mr. Lancer, “she doesn’t.”

“Sam,” said Danny, “I think Casper High had a nurse back then. Do you think–”

“I’m on it,” said Sam, who took off running.

“Um,” said Danny. “We might have to– Um. Dora, which is closer, Technus’s lair or the Far Frozen?”

“Mr. Fenton–”

“The Far Frozen have doctors who can treat humans, and Technus is the one who gave her that tech. One of them will probably be able to help.”

Because he could no longer be sure that just getting back to the real world would fix this. Also, if anyone saw this, the secret government agencies might decide to dissect Valerie after all.

Danny was a horrible friend and a horrible hero. No wonder Valerie broke up with him. Even if that was sort of unrelated.

“Danny!” shouted Sam, jumping down the steps two at a time. An elderly ghost trailed behind her.

“Oh, dear,” said the ghost, passing Sam. “Oh, dear. We can’t really do much for seizures. How long has this been going on?”

“Only… maybe three minutes,” said Mr. Lancer. He wiped sweat away from his face. “Or– Shorter? I don’t know, I haven’t been keeping track.”

“That’s fine, dear,” said the elderly ghost. “Like I said, there’s not much to do about seizures… But she should get to a doctor soon, if this is her first one.”

Before too long, Valerie started to still, the shaking slowing, then stopping.

“Miss Gray? Valerie? Can you hear me?”

“Uhghh,” said Valerie. “Hnmn.”

“Valerie,” said Mr. Lancer, “you just had a seizure. Please, can you hear me?”

Valerie opened eyes that glowed faintly red. “I c’n hear you,” she said. She sat up, slowly, and rubbed her eyes.

“How do you feel?”

Valerie blinked slowly at the ground and didn’t respond.

“Valerie?”

“Hm?”

“How do you feel?”

“... Bad,” said Valerie after a long moment.

“Alright, dear,” said the nurse. “How about you and I get you a change of clothes and your friends and teacher talk about how to get to a doctor.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Sam.

“Me, too,” said Star.

“Dora,” said Danny, “do you know where they are, compared to here?”

“I– Yes. Yes. I do. Technus is closer, I believe, although I’ve only seen his lair once and he’s often away… We can go there, first, and then the Far Frozen. I can even send a messenger to alert them. One moment.” She flew away, to where the carriage’s drivers rested.

“Okay,” said Danny. “We’ll have to help Valerie get in the carriage, but–”

“Mr. Fenton, forgive me, but shouldn’t we return to Amity Park? The doctors there might not know much about ghostly diseases, but they are human doctors. Wouldn’t it be better?”

“You remember the ghost bug?” asked Danny. “Remember what happened then, what happened after. Except it’s just one person who can be disappeared and there’s no cure in sight. You know what I mean?”

Mr. Lancer covered his face with his hands.

“She has to be better before we go back.”

“Alright,” said Mr. Lancer. “We’ll go see this Technus and these Far Frozen people, but… we can’t stay long.”

“Right,” said Danny. There was, after all, everyone else to think of. And ectoplasm wasn’t exactly nutritious for humans. “Of course.”

“I’ve sent the message,” said Dora as she returned. “Hopefully, they will meet us at Technus’s lair, or when we are on our way.”

Valerie and the others came back out. Valerie was walking slowly, dressed in a gray blouse and greyer skirt. They helped her up the stairs into the carriage, and she promptly fell asleep.

Danny worried.

Danny worried as they flew through the green to Technus’s lair. He worried as they parked in front of it. He worried as Technus, frowning and wearing a bathrobe - what was it with ghosts and baths today? - opened his door and came out.

Then he acted.

“Hey!” he shouted, leaning out of the carriage door. “Your stupid suit is making my friend sick! You’d better be able to fix it!”

“Your friend? The shouty girl?”

“Valerie!”

“Yes, yes,” said Technus. “Valerie Gray! Shouldn’t you two be dating? I put a lot of work into that!”

“We broke up,” said Danny. “Fix. It. Or. Else.”

Technus cackled. “Oh, you crack me up, ghost child. Your threats are so tiny and cute.”

“I will end you!”

Technus continued to chortle. “I’ll look at your little friend. Just a friend, hm? Maybe you’ll get back together?” His bathrobe liquified and turned into his usual long white coat. “Move aside, move aside. Hm. That’s interesting.”

“What is?” asked Danny. He gazed at Valerie nervously. She was awake, now… but she hadn’t responded to anything. Not even Technus picking up her arm and dropping it.

“Programming I didn’t put there! I did decide to make it adaptive, but this is really extraordinary.”

“Can you fix it?” asked Danny.

“The technology? Of course! Am I not Technus, master of all things electronic and beeping! And this is electronic! And beeping! But you should bring the girl to your icy friends afterward anyway. I’m not great at bodies.”

“Great,” said Danny, relaxing for the first time since Valerie collapsed. “You fix it, then.” He collapsed into the nearest seat.

“Uh, Danny?” asked Mikey.

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t this one of the guys Phantom fights all the time?”

“Yeah? So what?”

“You were threatening him?”

“So?”

“Hush, children! You’re harshing my vibrations!”

“Don’t question it,” said Danny.

“Yeah, Danny obviously works for the CIA,” said Hannah. “Get with the program.”

“Never insult me like that again,” said Danny.

“CHILDREN, I AM WORKING!”

They fell quiet.

“There,” said Technus after another several minutes passed. “That should do it. It had adjusted to a lower ectoplasm setting, and when you moved to the Zone, one of the filter breaks was overloaded and burned out.”

“Is that it?”

“There were a few other things, but they were no match for I, Technus!”

“Why isn’t she waking up, then?” asked Lancer.

Technus shrugged. “Beats me. That part isn’t electronic. Or beeping. I don’t do chemical reactions.”

That was, Danny knew, a blatant lie. What Technus didn’t do was biology, which was fair enough, honestly.

“Well, thanks,” said Danny. “But we should go, now.”

“Does this mean you won’t chase me down when–”

“Goodbye, Technus.”

Technus slunk out.

“Mr. Fenton,” said Mr. Lancer, “dare I ask why you would chase down a ghost.”

“No,” said Danny.

“No?”

“No.” He got up and sat down between Sam and Tucker. They both gave him incredulous looks. He shrugged at them. He’d panicked. ‘No’ was the best he could come up with. Sue him. This was stressful.

Dora rapped on the wall between the carriage interior and the drivers, and they were off again.

“How long is it to this ‘Far Frozen?’” asked Mr. Lancer.

“A few hours from here, I believe,” said Dora, “but distances can be treacherous here.”

“Is it cold there?” asked Mikey.

“Oh, yes. It’s the coldest place I’ve ever been to. But don’t worry. They have an outpost on one of their satellite islands. It’s quite comfortable there.”

“I didn’t know that,” said Danny.

“Yes, well, it’s my understanding that you and your friends generally fly directly to Iceheart.”

Although everyone’s attention had already been focused on him and Dora, it now sharpened greatly. He sunk down in his seat and focused on not turning invisible.

“You three,” said Mr. Lancer, “how often have you been here.”

“Again,” mumbled Danny, “the portal is in the basement. And there was the time I was kidnapped…”

“The multiple times you were kidnapped,” corrected Sam, hurriedly.

“And the time Sam was kidnapped,” added Tucker. “I avoided being kidnapped.”

“No, you didn’t,” said Danny.

“I thought we agreed that time didn’t count.”

“No, we didn’t.”

“We did.”

Before they could get into a sufficiently distracting ‘yes we did’ versus ‘no we didn’t’ argument, Mr. Lancer intervened.

“Do your parents know about this?”

“We’re teenagers, Mr. Lancer,” said Sam. “We don’t tell our parents anything.”

“Besides, my parents think all ghosts are evil.” Danny shrugged. “I don’t want them to try and hunt down my kidnappers and shoot people like Dora instead.”

“But Dora… Kidnapped Miss Manson.”

“We’re friends, now,” said Sam. “We got over it ages ago.”

“Sam is my very best and very first friend,” said Dora. “We correspond frequently.”

“Ah,” said Mr. Lancer.

“And even Technus isn’t that bad. The catfishing aside.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not. He plays Doomed, too, you know.”

“Hello the carriage!” called a voice from outside.

“That must be the Far Frozen, coming to meet us,” said Dora.

“Great,” said Danny, opening the door. Sure enough, one of the Far Frozen’s high-tech skimmers was pulling up alongside the carriage as they slowed down. The skimmer pulled a large trailer with a red cross, a rod of Asclepius and other symbols of healthcare emblazoned on its side. “Thank goodness.”

“Are those… yetis?” asked Mr. Lancer faintly.

“Yes!” said Hannah. “I knew bigfoot was real!”

… Danny decided to let her have that one.

“They’re some of the best doctors in the Zone,” said Danny. “They helped me before, too, when I was hurt.”

“Mr. Fenton, I’m becoming more and more concerned about what you get up to outside of school.”

“Sorry,” said Danny. “But it’s Amity Park. I’m sure everyone has some scary stories to tell.”

“Not like that, we don’t,” said Ricky.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have the hell-portal in your basement,” said Tucker. “That changes things!”

There was various muttering, mostly on the theme that the portal shouldn’t exist and Danny’s parents were crazy. They weren’t exactly wrong.

The two Far Frozen doctors approached the carriage, and Danny saw, happily, that Frostbite was one of them. He waved.

“It is good to see you, young one,” said Frostbite. “I understand you have a patient?” He stooped down to peer in through the door. “Can you send them out?”

It took more maneuvering than it probably should have to get Valerie to the door, but they eventually did, and Frostbite had her lie down on a floating stretcher, which they pushed over to the ambulance-cart.

Danny followed, hopping over and hoping none of his classmates would do the same. He was close enough, here, to help if something went wrong, but he’d probably be able to talk to Frostbite a little more freely if it was just him and Valerie.

“This is not something we see very often,” said Frostbite as he scanned Valerie with a wand-like object.

“You know what it is, then?”

“Yes,” said Frostbite, gravely. “It is an affliction of warlocks, sorcerers, and other similar sorts. Too much ectoplasm all at once.”

“What about everyone else?” asked Danny. “They’re all here, and it’s hard to get more ectoplasm than this.” He waved his hands at the Zone.

“As long as they are not consuming it, they should be fine. If your friend here acclimated herself to the amount of ectoplasm more gradually, she, too, would be unharmed. But it appears that the ‘suit’ as Princess Dorathea called it in her dispatch to us, was somewhat designed to absorb ectoplasm to power itself.”

“That… sounds like it should be right. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not at the moment. We have a solution to the issue, although it may take some time for it to take effect. In the meantime, we can keep heading towards the Far Frozen.”

“Okay,” said Danny. “Should I stay here, or…?”

“Either would be fine, great one.”

“Right,” said Danny. He glanced down at Valerie’s blank face and then away. “Maybe I’ll sit on the skimmer.” That sounded like a good compromise.

Sam and Tucker joined him a minute later, followed shortly thereafter by Dora.

“Lancer keeps muttering to himself about whether or not to call the police when we get back,” said Sam.

“Well,” said Danny, “I guess they do need to do something about the bus. You don’t think Mr. Kennedy will get into trouble for it, do you?”

“No,” said Sam, “I’m more worried about you. And the portal.”

“I can always use Vlad’s if ours gets shut down,” said Danny. “If it can be shut down.” He shrugged. “It… probably should have been shut down right away. It’s not exactly safe, and… maybe fewer ghosts will come through.”

“I don’t know,” said Tucker. “It’s mostly natural portals, these days.”

“Yeah, but maybe they’ll think twice about getting stranded if our portal isn’t there as a backup plan. Right, Dora?”

“It’s possible,” said Dora, “but in my experience, beings like the ones you must often deal with rarely care about consequences.” She shrugged daintily. “My brother, for example.”

“Valerie will be okay, right?” asked Sam.

“Yeah,” said Danny. “That’s what Frostbite said. She just ate too much ectoplasm.”

“What, does her suit absorb it or something?”

“Apparently.”

They watched the zone-scape go by. It grew colder.

“I wonder if they have any extra coats,” said Tucker, shivering.

“I’m sure they do,” said Dora. “Let’s see. On my last visit…” She started to poke around the hatches on the skimmer’s deck. “Ah! Here!” She handed Tucker a garment.

“Is this okay to take?” asked Tucker.

“It’s in your size,” pointed out Dora.

“Good point,” said Tucker. No one in the Far Frozen was Tucker’s size, after all.

“Is there enough for everyone?” asked Danny, going over to help Dora.

“If there isn’t, I do have a few sets of cold gear stored under each carriage, just in case. The Far Frozen’s work is much superior, however.”

Shortly after they distributed the coats, the Far Frozen started to come into view. First, as a pale lavender smear against the green backdrop, and then as a stunning sculpture of sweeping curls of ice, all natural… or imitation natural. There were a few, Danny knew, that had been hollowed out or made larger to serve as watchtowers and other defenses.

After all, for ghosts, the war against Pariah Dark had not been that long ago.

But they did not go directly to the large, glacial island, but to a smaller, rockier one with a stone tower built on it. The skimmer docked at the very top, and more yetis poured out of the inside, carrying various supplies.

“It shouldn’t be much longer until your friend is awake and mobile,” said Frostbite. “I would like to keep her for observation, but we have little in the way of human food at the moment, and I would not like to afflict your other companions with malnutrition.” He paused. “I believe we do have hot chocolate, however. Would you like some?”

“I would like some, if they do not,” said Dora, shivering.

Frostbite looked at her with some concern. “We can start a fire downstairs.”

“No, that’s quite alright,” said Dora. “After all, you and your people are working to preserve a life. I will not sacrifice your comfort for my own.”

“Speaking of comfort, I should probably let the others know we aren’t getting eaten or anything.”

He did. It went about as well as could be expected, which meant that people either didn’t believe him, cast doubt on his experience, and subtly implied that his parents should be in jail. Or not so subtly.

Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but he was tired. He was allowed to exaggerate.

“So, anyway,” said Danny, “all we have to do now is wait. Frostbite said Valerie should be good to go, soon, and then Dora will take us back. No more detours.”

“You seem awfully sure of that.”

“Dora can turn into a dragon. There aren’t a lot of people who would attack her.”

Of course, everyone wanted to know about that.

“Mr. Fenton,” said Mr. Lancer, a few minutes later, “distractions are all very well and good, but you can’t run from reasonable questions forever.”

“I’m not trying to,” said Danny, who was very much trying to.

He was full of lies today! Who would have thought?

“Yeah, you’re just trying to make excuses for your stupid crazy parents who brought all the ghosts to Amity!”

“Hey! They didn’t bring all the ghosts! Spectra was already around!”

“That’s… that’s true,” said Mr. Lancer, “her application had been in for a while…”

“So, there. Y’all’d’ve been killed by Spectra if it weren’t for my parents. So, there.”

“What– What was that word you just used?” asked Mr. Lancer.

“There?”

Mr. Lancer gazed at him with despair.

“What?” asked Danny, looking at Sam and Tucker. “What’d I say?”

“I think it was the southernism that got through. From your aunt, you know.” Tucker shrugged. “Y’all’d’ve.”

“Arkansas isn’t in the south.”

“It totally is.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Is.”

“It’s in the south,” said Mr. Lancer. “I’m going to lie down for a while, I think.”

Mr. Lancer did, in fact, lie down.

“He reminds me of one of my tutors,” said Dora, pleasantly. “He had to retire. UIcers.”

“Cool,” said Danny.

It was only a couple hours later that Frostbite stuck his head in the carriage door.

“Young one,” he said.

They were working hard not to slip and call Danny Phantom or great one. He appreciated that.

“Your young friend, Miss Gray, is awake and aware. If you would help her over, I think that would be for the best. She’s mentioned a hoverboard, but I think that using any of her enhancements would be detrimental at this point in time.”

Danny jumped up and followed Frostbite out of the carriage, crossing the gap between the carriage and the skimmer in a single bound. Which might have been showing off just a little. But he was allowed. He then hopped off the skimmer into the ambulance trailer.

“Hi, Valerie,” he said. “You’re feeling better?”

She was, at least, sitting up, although her shoulders were hunched and she looked very much like she wanted to fight off Frostbite and the other doctor.

“I guess,” she said. Then she turned a truly toxic glare on him. “You. You’re Phantom.”

“Uh, nooooooo?” said Danny.

“Oh my gosh, you are. You suck at lying.”

“No I don’t!”

Valerie stared at him with the same sort of despair as Mr. Lancer.

“Anyway,” said Danny, “I’m here to bring you back to the carriage.”

“I can’t believe you outed me when you could have fought off Ember at any time.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to be dissected.”

“I don’t want to be dissected either.”

“You probably would have passed out anyway,” said Danny. “That seizure was going to happen, Ember or not.”

“You don’t know that.”

Frostbite cleared his throat. “It probably was. But it is my understanding that the two of you want to return home?”

“Yeah,” said Danny. “Come on, Val, I’ll carry you across, back to the carriage. It’ll be like that time Skulker kidnapped us.”

“You mean, when you overshadowed me.”

“Uh,” said Danny, sweating. “Before that. I carried you before that, right?”

“If you drop me,” said Valerie, “I will shoot you.”

“Noted.”

Danny did not drop Valerie. On the other hand, he did get a lot of weird looks when they came back in. Especially from the jocks.

… Was there something on Danny’s arms? No?

“Thanks, Frostbite,” said Danny. “I really owe you one.” He kind of owed the yetis five thousand or so, but who was counting? Not him.

“It’s nothing, young one. After all, you have helped us in ways we cannot repay so easily.”

There was some muttering among Danny’s classmates that he would probably have to address at some point, but that was a problem for future him. Hopefully, far future him. Because screw that guy. Danny had met him, and he was a real jerk.

“I think we all feel that way,” said Dora. “Will I be seeing you at the regional meeting, Chief Frostbite?”

“Most likely, Princess Dorathea. Good day, to all of you.”

“Regional meeting?” asked Sam.

“There was a great deal of argument about what to call it,” said Dora, “but it is the regular meeting of the various heads of state of this region. It’s something new we’re trying.”

“That sounds great,” said Sam. “Is it like the UN, or…?”

Danny tuned them out as he sat down and leaned his head back against the carriage wall. Finally. They were going home for real. This had been a long day.

The next thing Danny knew, Tucker was shaking him awake. “Huh?” said Danny, eloquently.

“This’s our stop,” said Tucker. “Come on, let’s get out.”

Danny looked around. “No one else is getting out.”

“They want you to jump into the spinny vortex of death first.”

“Oh. Joy,” said Danny. He got up, stretched, cracked his spine really well, and walked to the door. “Dora, I really can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Silly,” said Dora. “Sir Daniel, I meant what I said when you were talking to Chief Frostbite. The three of you have done a lot for us.”

More muttering from the class. Then Paulina stepped forward.

“What did you even do that all of these ghosts like you?”

“It was the feminism!” said Hannah. “Didn’t you listen?”

“I don’t think he brought feminism to the giant ice monsters. Why is it that you suddenly stop being suspicious about things as soon as they aren’t– aren’t crazy conspiracy theories?” She stomped her foot a little.

Danny cleared his throat. “Actually, the feminism thing was Sam. Not me.”

“So why do they like you?”

“My sparkling personality,” said Danny.

“No, that’s actually me,” said Tucker. “And as wonderful as this has been, I kind of want to have my feet on solid ground again. See you, Dora!” Tucker leaped out the door and through the portal.

“Yeah, that’s a plan,” said Danny, also jumping through.

“You know,” said Tucker, as Danny hopped a little, trying to keep his feet underneath him, “I’m kind of surprised that, after everything, your parents still don’t have a reliable door on this thing.”

“Shut up and don’t give anyone any more ideas.”

One by one, the rest of Danny’s classmates came through the portal, until they were all standing in the lab, staring at the mess dazedly.

“Oh, good,” said Mr. Lancer, the last one through. “We’re back. Frankenstein, Mr. Fenton, is this really your basement?”

“The one and only!” lied Danny cheerfully. He was not up to explaining the Fenton Stockades.

“It looks like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Waiting?” asked Danny, right before cursing his inability to let a quip lie. He was tired. Sue him.

Mr. Lancer stared at him. Danny stared back.

“I’m calling an ambulance for Miss Gray,” he said, “and then CPS for Mr. Fenton.”

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2023

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promptling · 7 months ago

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DOCTOR WHO: AN UNEARTHLY CHILD change pronouns as needed.

wait in here, please.

i won't be long.

ask a silly question.

i'll forgive you this time.

what's the trouble?

can i help?

you're going to tell me i'm imagining things.

that's a bit of a lame excuse.

there isn't anything there.

it's just an old junkyard.

that's a bit of a mystery.

there must be a simple answer somewhere.

we'll have to find out for ourselves, won't we?

aren't they fabulous?

i have an inquiring mind.

i like walking through the dark.

there'll probably be fog again tonight.

you can't justify curiosity.

don't be silly, ______.

the decimal system hasn't started yet.

i'm sorry, it was just an idea.

i hate to think of her alone in that place.

i feel frightened.

i take things as they come.

don't you think you're being rather high-handed?

it's not very substantial, is it?

i'm not hindering you.

if you want to make a fool of yourself, i suggest you do what you said you'd do.

i don't discuss my private life with strangers.

you don't deserve any explanations.

you pushed your way in here uninvited and unwelcome.

it's an amateur job, but i think it'll serve.

you don't understand, so you find excuses.

you say you can't fit an enormous building into one of your smaller sitting rooms.

you've discovered television, haven't you?

i tolerate this century, but i don't enjoy it.

one day we shall get back.

i understand these people better than you.

i was born in another time, another world.

don't touch it! it's live!

what on earth do you think you're doing?

there's no alternative.

i want to stay!

now you're being sentimental and childish.

are you coming, _______?

get back to the ship.

#this isn't the one i'm watching rn but this is the one i'm doing bc it feels right #doctor who ask memes #classic who ask memes #rp ask memes #rp sentence meme #rp ask prompts #rp prompts #rp sentence starters #rp memes #sentence meme

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multiverse--wanderer · 2 months ago

Text

You Are My Quarter Mile | Dom x Brian (Fast and Furious) [ENG]

[Fan-fiction based on the OTP between Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner (Fast and Furious) With gasoline in their veins and living life on the road on the wrong side of the law, Dominic Toretto's life will take a complete turn with the arrival of Brian O'Conner. When the heart comes into play, there's no possible handbrake for the soul.

...

REMINDER:

This story has been written in Spanish, which is my native language. This story has been translated to the best of my ability, although it is possible that it may have mistakes.

This is just a way to transport my writing to a common language for the rest of fans like me. For a better immersion, I recommend reading the story in its original version.

You can find this story on Wattpad and Archive of Our Own.

Thank you so much for reading me and see you in the stars.

...

Chapter 3 - He owns you now

The morning sun warmed the asphalt in front of Dominic Toretto's shop, where engines roared and the smell of burnt oil and gasoline filled the air. Brian arrived driving an old van, its engine purring softly, with a trailer hitched behind. It had been a week since the last time they saw each other, a tense week after the events of that night when the lines between duty and loyalty began to blur. This time, Brian brought something special, although it didn't look like it at first glance.

In the trailer, a battered car swayed slightly with the bumps in the road. It was dented all over, covered in dirt, with no windows, and stains of grease and gasoline soaked into its chassis. Beneath the layer of dust, the red color tried to shine faintly, like a reminder of better times. The vehicle seemed more like a lost cause than a promise, but Brian wore a smile painted on his face, radiating an almost irritating confidence.

As he stopped in front of the shop, the team started to approach with curiosity and barely hidden amusement. Dominic came out after arguing with Mia about some bills, wearing his usual oil-stained white tank top and worn military sweatpants, wiping his hands with a rag he tossed aside without much ceremony. His gaze, stern and intense, quickly shifted to Brian, completely ignoring the car in the trailer.

—Great... —Dominic muttered as Brian hopped out of the driver's seat. With a mix of disbelief and mockery, he asked—, What the hell is this? What do you got there?

Brian's smile widened. His blue eyes, even brighter under the tan of his skin, sparkled with a mix of pride and defiance. Dominic couldn't help but notice the fresh scars peeking out from under the short sleeves of his shirt. Brian looked battered and yet strangely happy, as if he'd returned from a fight holding the trophy in his hand.

—This is your car. —Brian extended his hands toward the battered vehicle. Dom burst into a melodic laugh.

A deep, loud laugh that echoed through the shop. Johnny, who had come out behind him, walked up to the car and gave the hood a couple of sharp taps, which made it tremble under his hands as if it were about to crumble into sand.

—My car? I told you a ten-second car, beautiful, not a ten-minute one.

—This one crosses the finish line by pushing it. —Letty muttered, causing Mia to laugh.

—It won't even cross it being towed —Dominic added, though his eyes remained fixed on Brian, a mix of reproach and curiosity in his gaze.

Brian raised his eyebrows, still smiling, as if he were enjoying the others' disbelief.

—No faith?

Brian almost seemed offended, but his mischievous grin dispelled any doubts.

—Oh, I have faith in you, —Dominic replied, crossing his arms— but this isn't a junkyard, it's a garage.

—Alright. Pop the hood. —Brian ordered, moving toward the trailer to release the fastenings.

—Pop the hood?! —Johnny frowned, but couldn't resist the curiosity.

—Pop it and then tell me.

With effort, they took the car off the trailer and brought it into the shop. Under the lights of the lamps, the vehicle looked even worse, but Brian didn't seem concerned. He pointed at the hood, insisting. When they opened it, a murmur of surprise swept through the group. Under the dust and dirt, a perfectly preserved JZ-2 engine gleamed, a treasure buried in a rusted coffin.

—Shit... —Johnny whispered, wiping some parts of the engine with a rag to reveal the technical engravings. Dominic watched in silence—. JZ-2 engine... Damn...

—And what did I tell you? —Brian asked, with a triumphant smile, looking directly at Dominic.

—I retract my previous statement. —Dominic nodded, making a face.

—You know what? It'll beat everyone else after investing about 15,000 dollars in it, or even more if we urgently need to import parts. —Johnny said, tossing a rag over his shoulder.

—We'll put it on my tab at Harry's —Dom said—. We need you back in the race to make some money, Brian. —His voice softened slightly, though his gaze remained intense—. There's a challenge in the desert racing war. This car will be ready by then.

He smiled at him in a special, confident way. Mia, who was watching the scene, smiled to herself, understanding what that silent look meant to Dom.

Brian nodded, feeling a mix of pride and gratitude that he tried to hide behind his carefree smile. Dominic stepped closer, coming within inches of him, his presence imposing.

—I'll tell you what. —Dominic stopped near Brian's body, turning to face the rebellious driver's gaze. Brian felt pride as he sensed his approval, his attention focused on him. —When you're not working for Harry's, you're working here. If you can't find the right tool in this garage, Mr. Arizona... you don't belong near a car.

Brian held his gaze, not backing down, and nodded. There was something about Dominic's intensity that made him feel alive, like he was in the most dangerous race of his life. When Dominic stepped away, leaving a charged silence in his wake, Mia approached. With a knowing smile, she whispered in his ear:

—He owns you now.

The workshop was buzzing with activity. Amid laughter and technical discussions, everyone was collaborating to move the necessary parts to the work area, where the battered car would transform into a worthy racing contender. The engine, the shock absorbers, the brakes, and even the smallest components passed from hand to hand, while the tools resonated like a chaotic orchestra, accompanied by the unmistakable scent of grease and hot metal.

Brian, after making sure everything was in place, headed to Johnny's small office, a sort of technological sanctuary amidst the roar of the engines. The space was crowded with monitors, cables, and electronic parts scattered across the desk. A worn-out poster of a classic Formula 1 race hung on the wall, next to a bulletin board filled with diagrams and scribbled notes.

Johnny, who had already turned on his computer, smiled as Brian walked in. Silently, Brian pulled a small CD from his jacket pocket and inserted it into the computer's disc tray. The screen came to life with graphics and 3D models of the car, as if they were watching the dilapidated vehicle come back to life before their eyes.

—What do you think of this? —Johnny asked, pressing a key enthusiastically. The image of the car slowly rotated on the screen, showing the modifications he had in mind. "Adjustable shock absorbers—. They'll save us a kilo. —He smiled, proud of his technical precision—. And they'll give us better traction to secure the win.

Brian leaned toward the screen after sitting at a small wooden table behind Johnny, observing the details with interest. Johnny navigated through various schematics, pointing out key components and their proposed upgrades.

—Okay, this is the basic design of the car. —Johnny explained, as a simpler image of the vehicle appeared on the screen. He pressed another key, and the image changed, showing a much more streamlined and aerodynamic version—. And this is the design it could have once it's finished. The colors can be changed.

Brian let out a low whistle, impressed by the level of detail and Johnny's creative vision.

—You should go to a specialized university. —He said, looking at him in amazement.

Johnny laughed, leaning back in his swivel chair as if the idea were a recurring joke.

—Yeah, I should... —he admitted, with a nostalgic smile that quickly turned pensive—. But I have that... what's it called? Attention deficit...

—ADHD? —Brian asked, raising an eyebrow.

—That! —Johnny exclaimed, laughing lightly—. That damn thing. It's always messed with my focus. Look, I was good at math, especially algebra. I could solve anything they put in front of me. But everything else... I failed. History, English, even science. I dropped out when I was, I don't know... fifteen or sixteen.

He paused, staring at the computer screen as if he were seeing something beyond the graphics. His fingers drummed involuntarily on the table.

—I don't know... Motors have something that calms me down. —He whispered, more to himself than to Brian—. You know? It's like everything clicks. When I look at an engine, there's no chaos, no noise. It's pure math. Every piece has a place, a purpose. I like that.

Brian watched him closely, sensing the genuine passion in Johnny's words. There was something in that confession that felt familiar, something that resonated with his own relationship with cars and racing.

—Yeah, I get it —he said finally—. It's like being in a race. Everything is clear. Nothing matters more than the next second.

Johnny nodded, smiling. Then, he turned his attention back to the computer, moving the mouse to make adjustments to the design.

—Well, genius —Brian said after a moment, getting up from his seat and giving Johnny's shoulders a couple of pats—. Tell me what you need to turn this from just a pretty drawing into a reality.

...

CONTINUE READING THE FULL CHAPTER HERE:

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lovebillyhargrove · 2 years ago

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Neil Hargrove liked it when everything went as it was supposed to. According to the plan, no surprises.

That night he finished work at 6 pm, got into his truck and drove home where his wife was waiting for him to have dinner together. Family dinner.

Two months ago Neil lost his son in the terrible fire that happened in that newly-built mall just outside of Hawkins.

So now Neil's family consisted of his wife Susan and his step-daughter Maxine. If you asked Neil if he loved his family, well, of course he would say yes. What a ridiculous question.

If you asked him if he loved his son, of course, he would say yes as well. It's just that Billy was always very difficult, and Neil had to discipline him ardently, but that's what fathers are for, right? They have to teach their sons respect and responsibility, must show them how to become real men. By all means possible.

Real men don't cry. Neil did not cry when he got the news of his only son's death. He was devastated, of course. Did he ever think that he might have done something wrong along the way?

He didn't. Neil Hargrove was always right.

The evening was going its course, and Neil drove home and parked his truck in the driveway. Susan had been planning to cook roast beef tonight, and Neil was looking forward to having a good dinner, a can of beer after and a baseball game on TV.

When he got out of the truck and headed to the door, something attracted his attention. A car was going down the road, and the car seemed oddly familiar. It also looked .. demolished, as if it drove right out of a scrapyard. One front light was smashed, there was a huge dent on one of the sides, minor dents all over it, the paint seemed to have peeled off. It looked as if the car had been in an accident .. and in a fire. How was it physically possible for this pile of scrap metal to actually drive?? It was dragging itself along the road, an eerie rattling sound of the engine that seemed to be on its last gears. What the hell??

In those rare places where the paint had stayed, Neil saw that it was blue. Deep blue like .. like the sea.

The car was slowly driving in the direction of 5280 Cherry Lane, and Neil stopped in his tracks, changed his course. Curiosity got the better of him. Instead of going inside the house, he went to the road to get a better look. It couldn't be happening. It couldn't be happening, his son Billy was dead, and his car, an invalid, was rotting away on the outskirts of Hawkins, in an abandoned junkyard. What was it doing here, how was it possible for it to drive, who was behind the wheel?? The sun was already reaching the horizon, and it wasn't easy to see in the settling evening twilight..

What Neil saw, turned his blood into ice.

There was no driver. The car .. was going down the road by itself. Like a headless horseman. Neil was still standing on the curb on the sidewalk, looking at the familiar car in sheer horror.

He knew he had to run.

He couldn't move.

The car started to drive faster.

And Neil knew he had to fucking run.

His soles were glued to the asphalt.

A second later, the inconceivable happened. Something straight out of a horror movie. The car - which used to belong to Neil's dead son Billy - the camaro Billy had bought back in California for 350 bucks and had breathed second life into, lovingly repairing everything with his own hands -

The car caught on fire.

Out of the blue, it .. self-ignited? What in god's name was happening?

Neil knew he had to move, to run, to get out of there.

The camaro was driving directly at him at a much faster speed now, and when Neil finally turned on his heels realising that it was already too late, it ran into him, crashing his body, ran him over, crushing his bones,

And drove away, flames slowly dying down, leaving Neil Hargrove's breathless body, having caught fire, behind it.

***

Had an idea of Billy's Camaro taking revenge on certain Hawkins residents after Starcourt. (Might've seen a couple of gifs from "Christine"). Want to write a fic. Part 2/3/4

Part 2

#billy hargrove #Billy's Camaro #the car which comes alive #sort of #billy and neil #neil hargrove #supernatural stuff

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osleeplessflowero · 2 years ago

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Stress Relief: A Fell!Sans & Reader Oneshot

// content warning for smoking, swearing, and violence

The air isn't too warm or too cold. The sun shines brightly in the sky above, patiently waiting for sunset to arrive so it can rest.

You sit on the back of Fell's motorcycle, your arms around him to make sure you don't fall as he drives through the streets.

"ya alright back there?" "Yeah, I'm good." "awful quiet." "Just don't really feel like talking, 's all." "i gotcha. well, you won't need to do much talkin' where we're goin' anyway." "Where are we going, exactly?" "well, i know you've been goin' through a lotta stress recently, and i tend to go here when i wanna blow off some steam, so i figured i'd bring you here for a change."

You raise your brow curiously at that, as he parks in front of what appears to be a junkyard.

"A junkyard, huh?" "yup. best place to break a bunch of shit without worryin' about the consequences. it's also a pretty good place to look for parts." "Fair enough."

You slide off the motorcycle, and after Fell makes sure it's in a good spot, he gets off of it as well.

You look around as you walk, Fell shortcutting up next to you since he didn't want to be left behind.

"if you wanna let out some of your frustrations, i'm sure you can find somethin' around here to break shit with." "Noted-" You look around out of curiosity before finding a conveniently placed bat, looking for something to break.

You spot some cans that were left behind, knocking them around, before turning to an incredibly damaged car. Fell leans on another car, against the hood, deciding to have a small smoke break. A bit of red smoke floats through the air off of his cig.

You take a deep breath, thinking of what's been bothering you recently, and how it affects you. Raising the bat, you begin hitting the car. The angrier you get, the harder your hits are. You just keep swinging, imagining the car as a manifestation of what's been causing you pain.

"fuck that car up! keep swingin'!"

You smile a little, amused by his cheering, before returning to anger, hitting the car again, then moving to some other breakable objects. You can understand why Fell does this type of stuff, it's quite helpful in a way. You proceed hitting what you can as hard as you can, even screaming a bit as you do so. Fell supporting you through it all.

"feel a little better?" "Yeah..it helped me a bit. You come here often? That car was pretty banged up even before I started hitting it." "yeah, it's a place i know i can be alone." He drops his cig on the ground, stomping on it. "'s pretty good for ventin' without anybody bein' around to hear, y'know?" "I gotcha." You walk over to him, and he gestures for you to follow him. You walk with him over to a small empty storage building, climbing up a ladder and sitting on top of it, dangling your legs off the side with Fell sitting beside you as the sun sets.

It's quiet for a bit, with the exception of music playing from a radio that was left behind in the background.

"i may not be good with all the emotions shit, but i know what it's like to have a lotta stress, and a lotta weight on your shoulders." "Yeah..shit sucks." You laugh a little, your voice still a bit shaky from earlier. "i definitely know that." He smiles sadly, and you move a bit closer to him, putting your head on his shoulder. You both stare at the sky as the orange, purple, and blue shades mix together like a painting as the sun continues to set.

"if ya need to come back here again, let me know, i'll come with ya." "Alright. I might need to.."

He moves his skull a bit, resting his head on yours as well as putting his hand over your own which was resting beside him.

"the world's shitty, but at least we don't have to go through it alone." "Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

The sun finally sets, and the moon rises, greeting the both of you with its presence, the stars slowly coming into view too.

"..Thanks for being here." "of course, don't gotta thank me for that. i wanna be here." You simply smile at that response, closing your eyes.

(now available on Ao3, using Red as Fell's nickname:)

Click Me!

#sleeplessflower #sleeplessflower's oneshots #underfell sans x reader #fell sans x reader #fell sans x reader oneshot #wanted to practice writing fell and decided to make this #it's not great but i had fun while writing it so that's what matters :)#hope you enjoy!#Spotify

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angie-long-legs · 2 months ago

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christmas starter for vox [ @hazbinned ]

A Christmas market was certainly not something one would expect to see in Hell. And yet, every year, Pentagram City played host to the demonic equivalent of such an event, held by a group of nostalgic sinners whose yearning for days gone by manifested in the recreation of earthly festivities. However, considering this was Hell, some vendors were a little less wholesome than a Christmas market typically called for. Slotted in amongst the usual tables of holiday-themed trinkets and knick-knacks were distinctly scummier-looking stalls, displaying everything from knock-off Fizz-bots to stolen VoxTek products; from used weapons to (hopefully unused) Lust-brand sex toys. The result was an unsettling amalgamation of genuine festive cheer and soulless, phoney cash-grabs. It was the black market on a white Christmas, polar opposites bleeding into one another to create their own unique shade of morally grey.

None of that particularly mattered to Angel - all he wanted was somewhere he could go incognito. Jam-packed with holiday-making sinners, it was easy for him to slip through the crowd unnoticed, especially with the addition of winter clothing. A pink and white striped scarf masked the lower half of his face, while a black woolly hat with a hot pink pom-pom atop it was pulled down to shield him from any potential gawking. Angel tugged his jacket around himself, shivering as the cold December air nipped at his rosy cheeks. At least, here, he could blend into the background. For once, he was invisible.

For once, he wanted to be.

What he didn't want was to return home to the hotel on Christmas Eve with smeared makeup and puffy eyes, the bright, cheerful joy of his friends snuffed out the instant Angel showed up damaged. They deserved to celebrate without having their good spirits marred by the porn star's sob story. The evidence of a particularly rough shift was a brutal reminder that neither he nor they needed: that his circumstances were no less dire during the season of giving.

Givin' me a fuckin' black eye, Angel thought with a bleak chuckle, puffs of chilly air forcing their way out from behind his scarf and clouding his vision. Morbid humour. Merry fucking Christmas.

As the frosty air disapated, a familiar face revealed itself to Angel from across the bustling street. An unmistakable TV-headed demon was hunched over a stall, and appeared to be inspecting its trove of treasures with intense focus. Angel frowned, side-stepping towards the Overlord before he could register what he was doing. He came here to be alone, after all, not chew the fat with the CEO of the very place he was desperately trying to forget about. So, why did he now find himself approaching him?

As always, it was curiosity. Just what exactly was Vox doing here? Had he been visited by a ghost who had encouraged an appreciation for small businesses, perhaps? Or was he here to cuss out the vendors selling stolen VoxTek products? Admittedly, the idea of an Overlord causing a scene in the middle of a Christmas market was pretty entertaining. Maybe the holiday spirit was alive, after all!

"So," Angel said breezily as he sidled up to the media demon, looking straight ahead at the market stall rather than at Vox himself. "Who's the unlucky sap ya waited until Christmas Eve ta buy a present for?"

With a quick sideways glance, Angel made certain that neither of the two rather recognisable demons had been clocked before he turned to acknowledge the other.

"Or is there some other reason yer hangin' around this overpriced junkyard in the freezin' cold, all by yerself?"

divider by @issysh3ll

#im trying so hard not to hate this :D i feel like once i have a reply to work from itll be fine but for some reason this starter EVADED ME #ic: cameras are rolling #starters #christmas threads #hazbinned #hazbinned vox #flat faced prince: vox

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boyrobott · 10 months ago

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i had the best day with you today

"You guys—?" Astro stares around the penthouse kitchen in total disbelief, turning slowly on the spot to try and take in everything at once — colorful streamers draped haphazardly over every available surface, and a paper banner clumsily tacked up over the arched entryway, one side noticeably lower than the other, and a cake on the table, topped with white icing and blue sprinkles and flickering candles, a handful of presents wrapped in bright yellow gift paper beside it. "You guys threw me a birthday party?"

Read on AO3.

Astro knows it's been a year since his fight with the Peacekeeper, because everybody is talking about it again, and the reminders are everywhere he goes — President Logan wants him to make a speech about the whole thing, for crying out loud, and he knows the guy means well, but he really wants to say no, except he's not sure if he can do that politely, and he's not sure if he can do it at all, actually, because this is the president he's talking about, and the last time he said no to the president, he died twice in as many hours, and he'd prefer not to repeat that experience, please and thank you.

On top of that, every reporter in the entire city is trying to corner him for an impromptu interview about the year-old battle, armed with cameras and microphones and notepads, and he doesn't want to be rude to them when he knows they're just doing their job, but he doesn't want to relive that day again, either, so lately he's been taking every backroad and byway he knows to avoid them.

Things aren't much better at school, either, where it's an even fifty-fifty split between the classmates who pepper him with way more invasive, uncomfortable questions about the Peacekeeper than the reporters ever have, and the classmates who never wanted a robot around in the first place, and now they're seething about all the renewed interest in the fight, which means they're being twice as nasty as usual — TJ Porter, the unofficial ringleader of that second group, had a "conversation" with his friends in the school cafeteria yesterday about Astro's "future career" as a worthless pile of rusted, used-up metal in the junkyard.

(Astro tried his hardest to pretend he didn't hear TJ at all, and tried even harder than that to not think about this time last year, when he actually was facing a future as a worthless pile of rusted, used-up scrap metal in the junkyard.)

The HRA just recently published a brand-new and characteristically scathing article about the upcoming anniversary, too, and Astro knows he probably shouldn't have read it, but morbid curiosity can be very persuasive when it wants to be, so he knows exactly what they said about him, and he knows it went like this: A year has gone by since the combat robot known as Astro Boy caused all manner of property damage, supposedly in the name of "helping" the city, and still, the wider community continues to passively accept its presence in our skies and streets, even allowing it to attend public junior high school with our children. When will the proud people of this great nation come to their senses, and realize how deceiving appearances can truly be? This "Astro Boy" is no more a child than your local bank-teller, and it experiences no more emotion than the average vacuum cleaner.

(Astro turned off his phone for the next forty-eight hours after that, and tried not to think about this time last year, when the HRA was publishing articles about him in the immediate aftermath of the Peacekeeper fiasco, saying perhaps the former President Stone was correct in his opinions, if not his execution, of what to do about this blatant misuse of Ministry technology and we must hope that Dr. Tenma intends to eliminate this danger to the public before it can do any further damage to our city.)

Astro knows it's been a year since his fight with the Peacekeeper.

That doesn't mean he wants to think about it.

But the reminders are everywhere he goes, and everyone is talking about it, and everyone wants to hear him talk about it, too, and President Logan wants him to stand up in front of the city and make a whole speech about it, talk about the week when the whole world wanted him dead, and he was all alone and nobody wanted him and he didn't know who he was, and he barely even knew what he was, really, except that he wasn't human and he wasn't Tobi so he wasn't good enough and nobody wanted him and he was all alone and Dr. Elefun had lied when he said there's a place for you, you just have to find it, and he can't stop waking up in the middle of the night with panicked apologies spilling from his lips, saying I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry Dad I'm so sorry I'm so sorry Dad please I'm sorry I'm sorry I swear I swear I'll do better I swear I'll do everything right I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry please Dad please don't kill me—

Yeah, Astro knows it's been a year since the Peacekeeper.

How could he forget?

But he's so busy thinking about it, and trying not to, that he actually does forget something else that also happened in the same week — something that isn't the Peacekeeper, something that isn't the ice-cold grief and crushing loneliness of waking up on his own in the junkyard, in a pile of robots that were just as unwanted as him, or the burning fury of the Robot Games, the bone-deep humiliation as Hamegg treated him like a monkey in a circus, the iron-heavy guilt of murdering all those other robots, the choking sorrow of knowing he'd just lost the best and only friends he'd ever had, and the devastation and despair of realizing he was going to die when he'd barely begun to live, the devastation and despair of realizing he had nothing left to live for.

Something else also happened in the same week.

But he's so busy trying not to think about anything from that week he completely forgets all about it.

Everyone else remembers, though.

He's been so wrapped up in everything, trying to come up with a polite way to decline President Logan's request without accidentally alienating another elected official so soon after the last one, and trying to avoid the overzealous journalists around every corner, and trying not to think about this time last year, trying not to get lost in the memories, crystal-clear like it all happened just yesterday, that he didn't remember or even really know it was his birthday today, but it is, isn't it?

On this day last year, he wasn't waking up on his own in the junkyard — he was waking up in his father's lab at the Ministry of Science in the dead of night, his systems coming online and the cameras behind his eyes pulling the world into sharper and sharper and sharper focus until all the pixels suddenly coalesced together, and he saw his dad and Dr. Elefun for the first time. On this day last year, his artificial lungs were expanding with his first breath, and the synthetic vocal cords in his throat were vibrating with his first words, and the joints in his knees were whirring with his first steps.

On this day last year, he wasn't dying on a cold metal table with his father's grief-stricken apologies still ringing in his ears — he was coming alive.

He can't believe he forgot.

But everyone else remembered, and they're throwing him a whole party for it, even though it's technically an activation day, and not a birthday, and robots don't actually celebrate their activation days, anyway.

He wants to thank them. He wants to tell them they didn't have to do all this just for him, and he wants to tell them he can't believe they did do all this just for him, and he wants to tell them it's totally amazing, and he loves it, and he's sorry he's being so weird about it but as soon as he can wrap his mind around it, he's going to be really, really happy.

But his brain is frozen, and he's not sure he could push everything he wants to say past the lump in his throat, anyway.

"You really don't have to pretend you didn't see this coming, Astro," Cora shakes her head, but she's laughing as she does. "Widget and Sludge gave it away, like, a thousand times all week. It's okay. We know you already knew."

"Everyone expects a surprise party on their birthday, Cora!" Widget counters immediately, with the air of somebody who's already had this argument on several previous occasions. "And if they expect it, then it's not really a surprise! So you've got to make it super-duper clear to them that you are throwing them a party, because then they think it's going to be something totally different, and then it's not! Which means it really is a surprise! And! Look at him! He is very obviously surprised! Check and mate!"

Sludge nods proudly, standing up as tall as he can and puffing out his chest. "It was a double submersion!"

Dr. Elefun chuckles. "That's called a double subversion, Sludge."

"Same difference," Sludge rolls his eyes.

"It's really not," Orrin says.

"I-I didn't even know you guys knew my birthday," Astro stammers, awkward and uncertain, because it's honestly the only thing he can think to say. "Did I tell you, and then just… forget?" Come to think of it, he's not actually sure if that's even possible — with such an advanced artificial intelligence installed in his system, he can easily remember everything that's ever happened to him in precise, pin-sharp detail — but it also sounds exactly like the kind of thing he'd do.

"Oh, no, your dad gave us a heads-up, actually," Widget tells him. "He… what did you call it, Zane? 'Came through in the clutch'?"

Zane gives her a thumbs-up. "You got it."

I didn't know my dad knew my birthday, either, Astro thinks, but he catches himself a second before he actually says it out loud, biting his tongue against the instinctive response. "Oh."

"Yeah, four days ago," Cora huffs, rolling her eyes and folding her arms over her chest. "We had four days to get everything together for this. And your dad totally sucks at parties, by the way, so he was zero help. He was just like—" she pushes her voice down to a much deeper octave, in an obvious imitation of his dad's low, gruff tone, "—oh, yeah, it's Astro's birthday on Sunday, haha, isn't it crazy how time flies! And then he was gone!"

"Guilty as charged," Dad says mildly, without so much as a trace of said guilt in his voice, and a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, like he's trying his best not to laugh. "I've been persona non grata with everyone since then."

"Anyway," Cora jumps in again, pulling the conversation back on-track, "that's why this isn't as awesome as the birthday party you guys put together for me in February. We just didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted — we'll do something way cooler next year, though, trust me. It'll blow this one right out of the water, you'll see."

Astro can't believe she honestly thinks there could ever be anything better than this — the people he loves more than anything in the world all gathered together in the same room, safe and smiling and happy, and here just for him. He can't believe they did all of this just for him. He can't even begin to imagine what Cora thinks could top this.

"No, no, this is—this is perfect," he chokes out, his vision getting suspiciously blurry all of a sudden, but he's also smiling so wide it's hurting his face. "Seriously, guys, I love this. It's perfect. Thank you so much for doing this for me."

"Of course!" Orrin chirps cheerfully, like it's totally unthinkable that they wouldn't do all this just for him, and he rolls forward a little to wrap Astro in a hug. "We love you! You're such a wonderful person, and a great friend, and we're so excited to celebrate your birthday with oh my god the cake is on fire!"

"What?!"

Everybody immediately abandons their positions to scramble over to the table and stare down at the confection — which is, in fact, very much on fire, a bright orange-gold flame about the size of a grown man's hand dancing wildly atop the buttercream frosting.

"Holy crap!" Zane screeches. "What the heck kinda birthday candles do that?! Birthday candles should not do that!"

"You lit them too early!" Dad turns on him a little too quickly for this to be a brand-new argument. "I told you that we should have waited for him to get here before we lit the candles! Why didn't you just listen to me?!"

"Who cares why it happened?! The cake is on fire!" Cora yells at the pair of them as she dashes over to the sink, fills a glass with water straight from the faucet, and races back to the table with the cup clutched in her hand, clear fluid spilling out the sides and splashing over her fingers. Of course she's already three steps ahead of the rest of them — she always is, even in situations as unexpected as this.

But before she can douse the flame, Orrin throws himself in front of the cake with his arms spread wide in the universal pose of Fearless Action Hero Taking A Bullet For Another Character. "No, no, wait! Don't do that! The cake will get soggy! And then it'll be ruined!"

Cora grinds to a dead halt, the water still swirling violently around inside the glass, and gapes at Orrin like she's never properly seen him before. "Are you being for real?! Are you actually being for real right now?! The cake is on fire!"

"I know, but I worked so hard on it!" Orrin wails miserably. "And it's perfect! Astro is going to love it!"

"I-It's fine, Orrin," Astro rushes to reassure him, but he's way more focused on the miniature bonfire in the center of the table than the cake beneath it. "Seriously, it's totally okay. Let's just—"

"Salt!" Sludge hollers, waving his arms around in the air like a traffic controller. "Salt won't make the cake soggy, and it'll put out the fire, too, right? We can use some salt!"

Poor Orrin looks like he's about to cry. "But that'll ruin it, too!"

"We don't have a whole lot of other options here, Orrin!" Dad barks at him. "We have to take care of that fire now! It's going to get out of control!"

"This is not my fault!" Zane declares, despite the fact that no one is directly accusing him anymore. "You know what? It's your fault!" He jabs an accusatory finger at Tenma. "Yeah! It's your fault for having such crappy birthday candles that they can't even burn for—!"

"The birthday candles were perfectly fine!"

"Then why the heck are they burning so quickly?! Answer me that, Science Man!"

"Because they're birthday candles! They're not supposed to burn for long periods of time! That's why I told you not to light them until Astro actually got here, but—"

"Orrin," Cora seethes, in that dangerous voice she always uses when she's about to explode with sheer rage. "If you don't get out of my way in the next ten seconds, I swear I'm going to—"

"Oh, for the love of God!" Apparently, even Dr. Elefun has lost all patience. "Somebody just blow it out!"

Everyone goes dead silent and statue-still for a long, loaded second, gawking at Dr. Elefun like they've never even considered the concept of blowing out birthday candles before. Honestly, Astro is kind of embarrassed no one else came up with it first.

"…Huh," Zane says finally. "Probably should have thought of that one sooner, yeah."

"No, no, wait! Astro has to do it!" Widget pipes up, as Cora skirts around Orrin and bends down over the cake to follow Dr. Elefun's orders. "It's his birthday! He has to blow out the candles, doesn't he?"

"Guys, I think the fire might be kind of a bigger problem than who blows out the—okay, okay," Astro gives up the fight barely a second later, because Cora has backed off again to clear a path for him, and Sludge is trying to physically haul him over to the table with a hand on his leg, tugging on the excess denim at the knee of his jeans. He quickly steps around Cora and Orrin, leaning in close (somewhere in the background, he hears his dad mutter a quick be careful, son, like he doesn't face off against mad scientists and evil robots and convicted murderers and god only knows what else on a daily basis) to extinguish the fire in a single breath.

The whole group instantly clusters around him to inspect the huge black scorch mark on top of the cake. Poor Orrin looks absolutely devastated.

"I'm sure it still tastes okay," Astro pats him on the shoulder. "We can just cut that piece off, or something. It's really no big deal." He reaches to pull out a couple of the burnt candles — the lingering heat will sting, of course, but not as badly as it would if he had human skin — but he freezes halfway there, because the burnt candles… are not candles, actually. "Uh… Zane… w-why did you use… matchsticks?"

"You did what?" Dad wheels around to fix Zane with the Minister of Science Death Glare that has left lesser men (including Astro) fleeing the room in terror.

"Oh, man, that's what those things were?" Zane pushes past Cora and the twins to get a closer look. "I thought they were just really crappy candles! Sorry, Science Man, that's my bad." He even has the guts to reach up and pat Dad on the back, despite the fact that Tenma looks two seconds away from picking him up and bodily throwing him out of the penthouse.

"How did you even light these?" Astro asks, to defuse the impending argument (and also because, now that he's thinking about it, he actually really wants to know) as he hastily plucks the smoldering sticks out of the cake. "I mean, since you thought the matches were birthday candles…"

Zane puts a hand in the pocket of his shabby brown jacket and pulls it back out again a minute later to show off a silver cigarette lighter. "Duh. How do you think?"

"Oh, my god!" Tenma snatches it straight out of Zane's open palm before anyone else can react. "Why on earth do you have a lighter?! Who gave you a lighter?!"

"Hey!" Zane makes a wild grab for it, but Dad has at least six inches on him, and easily holds it out of his reach. "Oh, come on, don't tell me you guys don't carry them around, too! I mean, you never know when you need to set something on fire, am I right?"

"Um," Dr. Elefun says. "How many times have you needed to set something on fire, exactly?"

There's a suspiciously long second of silence after that, wherein Dad looks like he's having a few dozen heart attacks right there in the middle of the kitchen, and Zane wrinkles his brow in an expression of deep concentration. Astro has a terrible feeling that he's counting the various occasions in his head.

"You know what!" Orrin says, all of a sudden, and very loudly, in an excruciatingly obvious effort to break the tension, and redirect the conversation. "Why don't we have some cake! Who wants cake? Everyone wants cake, right? Everyone loves cake! Can't go wrong with cake!"

"Uh, yeah, let me help you with that," Astro gratefully latches onto the excuse to escape whatever kind of chaos is inevitably going to happen next, hurrying after Orrin into the kitchen proper. He grabs a handful of forks from the cutlery drawer, and pulls down a stack of plates from the cupboard, piling it all together to make it easier to carry before he heads back over to the dining table.

Orrin is already there, patiently removing a few of the matchsticks he missed in his shock over Zane's cigarette lighter, and carefully cutting the blackened section away from the rest with a large knife, while Cora and Zane are arguing vehemently over whether arson can really be considered a hobby or not. Widget and Sludge are arguing even more vehemently about which one of them did a better job of keeping the surprise party under wraps all week, while Tenma and Elefun are talking with their heads together, probably trying to decide how to tell Zane's foster parents that their twelve-year-old charge has a lighter.

(Astro really can't believe Cora thinks there's anything that could be better than this — the people he loves more than anything in the world all gathered together in the same room, even if they're all a little frazzled from the fire, and the cuff of Widget's sleeve looks a bit singed.)

Right at that moment, Dad glances up and locks eyes with Astro, still lingering on the edge of the group with the plates in his hands, and waves him over. Astro quickly deposits the dishes on the table and makes his way over to his dad — who, to his intense surprise, puts an arm around his shoulders and pulls him close in a kind of side-hug.

Astro thinks about this time last year — waking up on his own in the junkyard, standing in the arena under the blinding sun as the Robot Games raged on and on, realizing he had nothing left to live for, realizing the whole world would be better and happier if he wasn't in it anymore, dying on a cold metal table with his father's grief-stricken apologies still ringing in his ears — and he realizes, with a funny kind of jolt in the pit of his stomach, that his life really could not be any more different now: he's alive, making a tangible positive difference in the city, surrounded by people who love him just as much as he loves them, and he's so happy he feels like he must be overflowing with it.

(He's not alone anymore.)

"I'm sorry about all this," his dad murmurs, pulling him suddenly out of his thoughts. "I know this has gotten off to a… rough start."

Astro thinks about this time last year, and shrugs it off, his mind finally calm for the first time in a week. "That's okay. The best things usually do."

#astro boy #astro boy 2009 #tetsuwan atom #mighty atom #astroboyfanweek2024 #astro boy fanfiction #astro boy fanfic #astro boy fic #astro boy 2009 fanfiction #astro boy 2009 fanfic #astro boy 2009 fic

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