#Golden Key Truth Intel

[captainkurosolaire]

Burned

Brazier torches splayed over a cobwebbed spiral-case of stairs left abandoned. Only a singular blaze of resistance billowed; the lone-survivor, awaiting for rekindle owner to return. That ember's existence fought to prevent one descending into the chasm-passage below itself and joining the mad abyss, forevermore. Radiant outlines of a shadowy figure were aligning, discovery in the dark... identity attempting to surface. Buried to the valley of suppression. Pillaging glove's searched over a recently deceased Venomous assailant finding a room-key to an apartment. Returning to his feminine ally and surprisingly gestured bow, "I apologize, Kunoichi, one last request. Stow-away my client to safety, this key certainly belongs to a room of the deceased who never got a well-fare check, making the spot invisible. Likely, Hydo was given a time-contract, with him not attending, more will-follow for scent to the unfinished, unless. The hand is severed." A final murderous mission displayed, against his own Don's Estate, wielder of his sculpted cruel-design. Chortle came between the sultry assassin, "This vixen, truly has you smitten." Hiding a pout behind a mask, "I'll agree but I might sink my paws, demanding repaid favor." Naturalness came as he stepped away. She thought about forewarning gravitates again. Alas, every-time. He proved irrefutable, there's feelings she'd dwell for one who carried unbridled security and sheer discipline. Upon his exit. The Killer Queen, pressed her lethal-nail's against the unconscious girl's throat near-puncture, a cat-like jealously that brought down her harbor. "Seems I've a rival with you I should eliminate, you girl." Flashed drama, revealed... "...But I'm interested in seeing if you're who sharpens, or dulls that particular blade." Retracting claws with playfulness then cradling her away. ...Meanwhile the Burned Shadow who was going to strike down his own feeder arrived, plethora of bodies of the Estate's men were already skewered to massacre. Descending into the courtyard was further disarrayed butchery, was something political happening? A lone-figure took pace across with Spectacle-glasses, another assassin, who glance-towards but held zero murderous intent, only a colorful-grin that shot across before Hoku. Then escaping beyond with a potent aura. Seeker's ankles conflicted to turn for pursuit. However the interior Don's Estate men flocked out, "There's the perpetrator!" Instantly assuming him behind transgressions. He withdrew steel from confines, rushing towards them it was his plans to eradicate them all-anyway. Just unexpected leg-work was done. Stopping before a taller figure's he demonstrated a deft-dodge, slashing his blade from sternum to the giant's throat in a violent wave. Cutting down, losing himself again in red-rivers. Instinct-driving his manufacture-making, he moved elegantly like killing was floating atop waves, drifting effortlessly. Reaching the main room. Everyone else laid erased, outside one and a missing Don. The vigilant-survivor held blade, shook afraid; soaked to blood of peers, knowing he'd not cut-difference. <"..Y-y-you'll never find the Boss. You-fail fool!"> He'd tried mustering courage against this golden-eye, killer. Although pant's were soiled. He'd never be tortured of the intel within timely-matter, the boss would've escaped. ...Yet, Rozan the Star, engulfed meteor-resolve. An Uchigatana was thrown like spear through the last-alive, impaling the man to seat. Hoku fetched chop-sticks of an empty ramen bowel. "We'll see." Came coldly in pitch. The poor-soul remaining couldn't predict the gruesomeness act or skill this assassin held. His head was expertly carved open; brain left to air, this Assassin with chop-sticks, played brain-operator, questioning. "Where is he?" Prodding at the hippocampus for answers. "B-bb-ook cca-se." Forcefully pulled truth. Assassin vouched, finding a secret-button, he mercy-slew the tortured informant. One last life to take... This would end an inferno, Extinguishing all to its beastly wake.

[Prev:Chapter]: Cold Adversity ~ ♪"Built for Sin"♪

[the-broken-truth]

I really loved the last ask I sent that you answered! Poor Magni, Modi and Faye, being forced to fight their evil uncle, Loki! But tell, will Kratos betray Atreus/Loki, since he made a deal with Freya that he will give up Revna to her as long that she lets Björn and his children bind with him and Atreus?

Even after Atreus make that clear that he doesn’t want to give up on Revna? What will be Atreus’s reaction when he finds out that his own father “betrayed” him?

Broken Truth (Reads the ask): Glad to know you were fond of that ask as for this town, Atreus deserves all the misfortune that comes his way after what he did to Revna and Björn. Now, let the words weave together.

[Midgard - The Ghost of Sparta's Cabin]

The frozen winds were heard from the inside of the house through the hollow windows, causing Atreus to look at the window with narrowed eyes. It was dinner time for the Sartan Family - or what was left of them - while they were waiting on Freya to arrive with intel as to how to approach getting Björn, Revna, and Björn's Children: Magni, Modi, and Faye.

"Relax, Atreus. She will be here." Kratos said as he placed a piece of meat in his mouth and slowly chewed - it was deer meat, causing him to look at the empty seat at the table: Björn's seat. He would have loved this meal but was with the Aesir in Asgard, living a false life; the Aesir put him in the face of danger every day instead of protecting him like he was supposed to be. It didn't matter, Kratos was going to correct that. A knock on the door caused Atreus to get up from his seat and open it - revealing Freya, the Ex of the All-Father, Odin.

"You're late," Atreus said as he let Freya into the building and closed the door when Freya was inside. The Valkyrie walked into the room and sat in Björn's seat, much to Atreus' annoyance but he didn't say anything.

"What plan do you have to obtain The Lost Bear, The Raven Girl, and the Bear's Cubs?" Kratos asked as he looked at Freya with his golden eyes. Freya reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of 5 rings - all golden and engraved with a strange rune. However, one of the rings had a red jewel embedded in it, causing Kratos to pick it up and examine it.

"These are Binding Rings - all of them keyed to the ring in your hands. Placing a ring on Björn and his children and wearing the ring in your hand would bind them to you so that they would never escape you." Freya explained.

"Wait. You're missing a ring - The Ring to bind Revna. Where is it?" Atreus asked as he looked from the rings and back to Freya who smirked and lifted her hand, revealing a gold ring with a blue stone in it.

"I didn't make a Binding Ring for you being I am going to make Revna mine. That is my price for helping you get Björn and his children." Freya smirked at Atreus who stared at her.

"I told you once - Frevna is my sister and I won't let anyone else have her! Now, give me her binding ring!" He demanded but Kratos raised his hand.

"Silence, boy. Freya has named her price to aid us and she shall have it." He said, making Atreus look at him with wide eyes.

"You made a deal with her, didn't you?!" Atreus stood to his feet and glared at his father, who just groaned and told him to sit back down but Atreus didn't listen to him, "Father how could you do this to me?! I told you that I didn't want to give Revna to Freya but you go behind my back a make a deal with her?! What's wrong with you?!"

"That is my price to give you Björn & his cubs. Revna is soul-bound to my son, Baldur, and I want her to be my daughter. If you go back on your word in giving me Revna, I won't give you the rings to bind Björn to you, Kratos." Freya said as she looked at the Ghost of Sparta.

"You want the raven girl, you shall have the raven girl. That was the deal." Kratos said as Freya smiled at him before smirking at Atreus.

"No! YOU'RE NOT GETTING YOUR TALONS ON MY SISTER! I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S SOUL-BOUND TO YOUR SON, SHE IS MINE AND INE ALONE! I WON'T LET YOU HAVE HER! YOU HEAR ME?!" Atreus got in Freya's face who just continued to smirk at him.

"I have her binding ring. She will be mine, Atreus. There's nothing you can do about it." Freya smirked. Atreus glared at her again before turning on his heel and running out the door with tears in his eyes - his father betrayed him, He had to make a binding ring for Revna on his own or Freya was going to get his sister and he couldn't let that happen.

[fluffykitty1999-blog]

Dog of the Military- Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Just this Once

"Get up, Fullmetal. Train leaves in an hour."

Roy came back into the room a little after seven, setting their train tickets down on the desk.

"Mmph." Ed mumbled something into his pillow.

"No, wake up time." Roy ruffled Ed's hair, and the boy sat up, eyes blinking open. He looked around hopefully. "Breakfast?"

Roy couldn't help the small smile on his face. "We'll get something on our way to the train. Someone left this at the front desk of the inn for you." Lieutenant Shaw, most likely.

Ed blinked sleepily, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

He instantly dug into his briefcase, thumbing through all the documents before realizing, with a small smile, that everything was as he left it. He grabbed a pair of clothes from the bottom and headed towards the bathroom.

Roy realized something, then. "Hey- Fullmetal- where is that information, anyways?"

"Somewhere safe. I'll give it to you soon." was all he said, before he was ducking into the bathroom.

Ed ducked out of the bathroom a quarter of an hour later, hair neatly braided and in a fresh set of clothes, he looked much better. Though Roy could imagine all the bandages hidden beneath his shirt.

Ed deposited several small bottles into his briefcase before shutting it carefully.

Roy blinked, surprised. "Did you just steal the hotel shampoo?"

"It's not stealing. It's included in the price of the room."

Roy smirked. "Let's get going." he headed towards the door.

"You said we can get breakfast?"

The train station was quite small, like most of the town. There was only really one small stall- an elderly woman selling sandwiches, lunches and dinners packed and ready to go.

The elderly woman seemed to think Ed was the most adorable thing, despite his blackened eye and scratches. Ed came back over with four bento boxes and a large sweetbun that was still warm, eating the entirety of the sweet roll as he sat beside Mustang on the bench and Mustang read his newspaper.

The train came pulling up later- it seemed they were the only ones on the first one. They settled into a closed compartment, before Ed went to work demolishing two of his four bento boxes in under half an hour.

Roy smiled slightly, about to make a crack about how much Ed ate for such a shorty- when he remembered Ed hadn't been fed anything for the past two days because of him. He kept his mouth shut.

Ed let out a relaxed sigh after he was done eating, before he was peering around, making sure there weren't many people up and about on the train.

He opened his briefcase, pulling out a pencil and a few blank pages, and digging around before he grabbed a screwdriver.

Ed took one last glance at the door of their train compartment before setting to work, unscrewing the first panel of his automail and then the second, the one right before the intricate innerworkings were revealed.

Mustang watched with vague interest- he'd never seen the inside of Ed's arm. Ed reached into the innermost compartment and withdrawing the small envelope, handing it over to Mustang.

"There it is. Your precious intel."

Mustang carefully slid the envelope open, examining the intel and watching from the corner of his eye as Ed re-installed the panels of his automail.

The intel was more than they needed- not only the details of troop movements, but the pictures of official documents and new weapons being issued...

Mustang swallowed. He was holding the key to his next promotion in his hand.

"It's all there?" Ed asked, looking over at him.

Mustang wordlessly nodded, sliding the envelope into his coat pocket.

Ed grabbed his pencil and papers, starting to write. The kid was starting to write his report, Roy realized.

After the first page in his report, Ed paused, setting down his pencil and resting his head in his hands for a moment. The kid looked tired.

The train jostled- it was by no means a gentle ride, bumpy and swaying a little.

"Feeling alright, Ed?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Roy reached into his other pocket, pulling out the small brown bottle of pills.

"The doctor said you might be in pain. He said to take some of these- you want some?"

Ed blinked. The train hit a rather painful bump, and Ed winced, before nodding, not bothering to open his eyes.

Roy shook two pills out of the bottle, handing them to Ed. Ed swallowed them dry, as the train swayed slightly, and Ed bumped against the wall and hissed...

"Why don't you come sit over here? It's a little less bumpy on this side." Roy was lying. But he figured if Ed sat next to him he might be able to make so the jostling wasn't so hard. And he wanted Ed to be close by for the conversation he was going to have.

Ed was sitting carefully so as to mind his injuries. He was silent for one minute, two...

"Edward. What did Colonel Banks do to you?"

Ed frowned. "Doesn't matter." he wasn't meeting Mustang's eyes.

"That's where you're wrong, Edward." Mustang gently put his fingers underneath Ed's chin, making the boy meet his eyes. "You are my subordinate, and I am your commanding officer. Which makes your health and well being my business. I care about you, Ed. And so I need to know."

His charcoal gaze met Ed's golden eyes, holding it for a minute to ensure his seriousness.

He sighed. "It started simple. He backhanded me, dragged me downstairs, slammed my face into a wall- barfight stuff. Threw me in a cage, kicked me around a little, said he wasn't letting me go until I gave him the information. I think I fell asleep for awhile."

"He hung me from the metal loops in the wall by my wrists. That sucked ass. Cigarettes. He burnt me. Shittiest part was trying to sleep. And when I finally did- still hanging from the wall- He threw a bucket of icewater over me. Threatened to... he said he was gonna take my clothes off and give me a full body search. Everywhere."

Ed couldn't hide the shudder he let out. "I lied- managed to keep him from hurting me... like that anyways. He cut me up with knives. Said he was gonna cut my fingers off if I didn't start telling the truth when he came back. But he... he never did. You showed up and got me." A smile of relief crossed his features.

"It sure took you long enough."

Roy frowned. "I wish I'd gotten there sooner, Fullmetal. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It all worked out." Ed said simply.

"You said all that he wanted was the information. Information that was of no consequence to you- he's your superior officer. Why didn't you just give it to him?" Roy asked.

"It was my information. I worked hard for it. You said it was gonna make a promotion for the next person who got it. I wasn't gonna give it to that bastard."

Roy frowned. "I never said that... to you." His eyes widened slightly. "You heard me, didn't you? On the phone with Hughes."

"So what if I did? It was my mission, and I chose who to trust the intel with. I'd rather you benefit from my results than that cocksucker Banks. At least I know you wouldn't do anything too awful with that kind of power."

Roy felt the emotions wash over him all at once. Guilt, mostly. Guilt that Ed had made sure the information came back to him and him alone, endured all of this, for Roy's sake. So the man could get his promotion. And a bit of shock- Ed swore regularly, of course, but he rarely used such vulgar terms- there was true hatred in his eyes when he spoke of Banks, though Roy understood why when he saw the treatment Ed had undergone at the man's hands.

"You might be a Bastard, Colonel. But Colonel Banks is a total shitstain." Ed hissed it with such venom, Roy was yet again surprised.

Ed blinked twice, looking a bit surprised. "Colonel- what was in those pills you gave me?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Are you in pain? Do you feel sick?" Roy fumbled to take the bottle from his coat pocket.

Ed shook his head slowly. "No- not hurting as bad, but... tired. My head feels heavy."

Roy looked at the label on the bottle and nodded. "Yes, it says here they can cause drowsiness. Small price to pay for the pain relief."

Ed looked irritated. "Yeah, but... try writing a report with a head this fuzzy." Ed squeezed both his eyes shut and blinked, as though trying to clear the fog from his mind. He looked across the train compartment at his bench, where his briefcase, pencil and paper sat waiting, along with his half-written report.

"Why don't you close your eyes for a little while, Ed?" Roy suggested. "That report can wait a little while. Besides, we don't have to switch trains- it's a straight shot back to Central."

"Alright. For a couple of minutes, I guess..." within fifteen minutes, Ed was asleep. The train ride had smoothed out some as well, and Roy felt a weight on him- Ed, fast asleep, leaning against him.

Roy sighed, scooting over and gently shifting the sleeping blond so the boy's head was in his lap. It was the best he could do at the moment in keeping the boy comfortable.

He pulled off one of his gloves, carding his fingers through Ed's straw-colored locks with affection he'd never show if the boy was awake, being careful not to brush against Ed's black eye.

"Rest up, Pipsqueak.". He couldn't keep that fond smile from his face as he looked down at the tired boy. He'd never had a son- never had a wife, even- but he vaguely wondered if this was what it felt like.

He looked over at Ed's half finished report. He'd give the boy an extension to turn it in- just this once.

Ah- I love writing Roy gently fathering Edward while trying not to stunt the boy’s fierce independence. 

Obligatory ko-fi button https://ko-fi.com/fluffykitty12 .

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

Mystery Solved?

Scott gets curious about Andromeda

Tagging: @melyaliz @lizartgurl @dilpickledd @speedypan @coffee-randomness

Read Earlier Parts Here

A/N Mentions of child neglect

Scott had to admit maybe he had taken things a little too far. But then again it had been a bit of an accident. He knew something was up with Andromeda however what he had discovered was not what he expected.

He knew her stories didn’t always line up like she was hiding something but he wasn't sure what. With his training he had thought the worse, she was somehow a spy sent to gather intel on them. Hey if he could be trained to be an X-men what would be the odds of her being a spy. Especially since she was so reluctant to talk about her parents, till he found out the truth.

The first hint of truth came when he accidentally spotted her at the mall during winter break. Jean had gone to visit her family but Scott still wanted to get her a present for when she was to return. It took him a while to realize who she was when she passed by him. She looked so… normal. Andromeda's face was free of makeup, her coat was simple yet it seemed old but her pants were loose instead of tight. He didn’t like it, it somehow just didn’t seem like her.

He didn’t mean to follow them that day but he couldn’t help but be a bit intrigued. Usually when he spotted her outside of school she was still in her usual style. Those dramatic lace shirts, the makeup that was always perfectly done, the ripped jeans or shorts. So he didn’t understand the sudden change. Then he noticed the other things, how she seemed to trail behind her family, how she kept her head down as if trying to hide herself. Then he noticed her parents how they seemed to ignore her yet would constantly put her little brother in their line of sight. Scott frowned as he saw them leave and something seemed off.

When they came back to school Scott noticed she was in a bit of a mood. Her usual teasing playful self was gone.

“Hey, how was your break?” Scott asked as he sat down next to her.

“Good.” She muttered as she doodled on her paper a little too aggressively.

“What did you do?” He asked.

“Nothing really.”

“Did you-“

“Class is starting.” She snapped, opening her book.

“Right.” He mumbled, glancing at her worriedly.

It took awhile for her to warm up to him again, for a second he feared she realized he was spying on them that day. Instead she blamed her mood on the weather claiming it always made her feel down when it was cold. He could tell she was telling the truth but he couldn’t help but feel like maybe there was something more to it.

The second hint came when they had to work on a project together. Scott couldn't help but notice how she frowned when the teacher gave the announcement. The project was going to be a big portion of their grade.

"We could work on it at your place." Scott said as they started discussing what to do.

"Could we maybe meet up at the library instead?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

“Yeah sure.” Scott nodded. “Just let me know what time.”

When she finally got back to him on a time to meet up he was shocked to see she also had a small list on how to look.

“Just um just look presentable, not that you don't already, it's just…” She trailed off and sighed. “I’ll see you tonight.”

So he waited for her in front of the library just like she asked, smoothing down his favorite red polo making sure his clothes didn't have any wrinkles. He looked up and slowly realized that Andromeda was walking up to him with what he assumed was her mother and her little brother. She looked what would be deemed as normal, a simple soft blue shirt and loose jeans.

“Scott?” The woman said.

“Hello.” Scott said holding his hand out, she stared at him suspiciously.

“You are Andromeda's lab partner.”

“Yes.”

“And you are going to be working on a project together.”

“Yeah that’s the plan. The project is due at the end of the week and we want to get it done as soon as possible.” Scott said, smiling politely.

Her mother simply nodded and turned to the siblings. “One hour.”

Andromeda nodded and walked up to Scott, her brother staying close to her side. Once inside Andromeda seemed to relax.

"So you're Scott." Her little brother said.

"Yup, and I'm guessing your Adonis." Scott replied.

"I am." Adonis nodded and stared at him curiously. "What's with the shades?"

"Donnie." Andromeda scolded.

"No it's okay." Scott smiled. "I just have a really sensitive eye condition. I need the shades to help me see."

"Huh alright." Adonis said.

It wasn't till then that Scott realized Andromeda was the only person who never questioned him about his shades. Same like how he never really commented on the tattoo she had on her back. Like there was somehow a strange understanding about them.

"What's your favorite sport?" Adonis asked, breaking Scott's train of thought.

Scott didn't mind answering the random questions Adonis kept asking. He couldn't help but be reminded of his own little brother, wondering if he was still around would he have become friends with Adonis. Andromeda had settled on making their poster board trying to make it look as presentable as possible. Occasionally she would chime into the conversation adding her own questions when she would find something about him intriguing.

"Wait hold up, you live at that huge mansion that's by the woods?" Adonis asked.

"Yeah that's the one." Scott said.

"Huh I always wondered what that place was." Adonis wondered out loud.

“Maybe one day you two can come over.” Scott said.

"Yeah maybe." Adonis mumbled, Scott couldn't help but notice he shared the same look Andromeda would give him whenever he mentioned anything about meeting after school.

"How's it looking?" Andromeda asked, distracting him with the drawing she was working on for the poster board.

All the clues finally got into place the day they went on a field trip for their chemistry class.

When the teacher announced the upcoming trip Andromeda frowned just how she did the day the project had been announced. She was the only one who seemed to be interested and constantly held her hand up to ask questions though her questions were mainly about the time frame of the trip.

Still she was there a little out of breath but she had managed to catch the bus before it left. They hardly spoke as she fixed herself up, Scott noticing little things about how hastily her outfit seemed to have been thrown on. During the tour of the Science Museum they were visiting Andromeda took her notes but he couldn’t help but notice how she would check her watch every so often.

“Looking for your name?” Scott asked, they were currently taking a break in the small gift shop.

Andromeda smiled and let out a small scoff as she browsed through the beaker shaped keychains that had names etched into them.

“The day I find a keychain with my name on it will be the day pigs fly. No, my brother and I have a running joke, we either try to find our nicknames or we find the most ridiculous name that’s not ours. Oh look here’s yours.” She held up a small keychain and laughed. “It even matches your glasses.”

"I'm guessing by that you mean it's red." Scott said.

"Oh yeah." Andromeda paused. "Can you only see red through your shades?"

"Pretty much." Scott said watching as Andromeda turned her attention back to the names.

"That's gotta suck." Andromeda mumbled her eyebrow suddenly raising. "So they have Donatello but no Don or Donnie but they have Dawn with a-w."

“They have Donna.” Scott said as he scanned the names.

“Ohh yes, nice one.” Andromeda approved as she grabbed the key chain and flipped it over.

As a frown crossed her face Scott knew she probably wasn't going to buy it. He couldn’t help but notice her fingers moving like the way they did when she had to count. She slowly put it back.

“Are you not going to get it?” He asked carefully.

“Um not right now, maybe when we leave.” Andromeda said, making her way out of the shop.

During lunch Andromeda had hung back a bit making Scott pause to look at her.

“Why don't you go ahead? I wanna get a good look at the menu.” She said smiling though it didn’t really meet her eyes.

“Yeah sure.” Scott said, waking forward.

He glanced back every so often finding her off to the side counting her money. When it was Scott’s turn to order he looked back and saw that Andromeda was now standing in line.

“Could I actually place an order for someone else?” Scott asked after he finished ordering his food.

“Sure kid.” The woman as she finished typing his order.

“It’s for the girl in the black lace shirt.” Scott said placing her order and giving the cashier the money.

“You got it.” The lady said, barely glancing up.

Scott got his food and walked off to a table pulling out his sheet and double checking his answers.

“You didn't have to do that.” Andromeda said standing beside him holding a tray with the food he had ordered her.

“Do what?” He asked, trying to act innocent. Andromeda sighed as she sat down next to him.

“Why do you have to be such a golden boy?” Andromeda suddenly asked taking Scott off guard.

“I’m sorry what?”

“It's just… your just so…” Andromeda huffed. “I just don't get you Scott Summers. You act like this goody two shoes yet you have this weird air of mystery around you. You're polite yet I could count the amount of friends you have on one hand. And I just don't know what to think about you.”

“Funny.” Scott said, a little taken aback by the backhanded compliment. “I could say the same thing about you.”

"I… what?" Andromeda asked, looking at Scott confused.

“You have a kind heart Andromeda yet you have a tendency of hiding behind this tough girl act. And I see that you try to make friends but you tend to guard yourself before you can get hurt.” Scott said.

Andromeda looked down at her food taken off guard by his comment. She seemed to be thinking of something deeply and finally she sighed and looked up at him.

“My parents have always been a bit strict. But ever since I turned a certain age they sorta went overboard.” Andromeda frowned as she glanced down. “It was hard enough being the new girl in school, it was even harder when no one really wanted to put in the effort of being my friend… there’s a reason I’ve been so hesitant with you. You’re such a golden boy I feel like you wouldn’t want to do what it takes to be my friend.”

“I’m not that much of a golden boy.” Scott frowned and Andromeda raised an eyebrow. “You should at least give me a chance.”

“Alright Summers, you got a deal.” Andromeda said, holding her hand out for him to shake.

Scott smiled and shook it hoping that maybe now he’d really be able to get to know her.

[harrelltut]

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[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapters 216 & 217: bear bum humor falls short, the cat came back and more bears!

I am posting another combined chapter meta as work is still quite busy for me - this is just a really bad time of the year for me with so many meetings on top of normal things. 

Chapter 216 starts with the group in a stand off with a white bear.  Throughout the chapter the language describing the bear will shift between a white bear or polar bear, done on purpose by the EHS scans team as to indicate the group isn’t sure about what the bear is.  It likely is not a polar bear and I’m a bit disappointed, but that’s okay.

Shiraishi has already removed his soaking wet clothing and wrapped himself in one of the white cloths/sheets they stole from the ship.  He’s traveled with this group long enough to know what to do.   However, his naked bum is a sign of things to come in the chapter.  . . .

@goldenkamuyhunting​ has already written an excellent summary of this chapter here: https://goldenkamuyhunting.tumblr.com/post/188470521878/ramblings-and-crazy-theory-time-about-gk-chap-216

I agree with many aspects of the summary - the summary reveals a lot of the the mental states of the group as well as how they try to determine their actions towards the bear.

I won’t dwell on 216 a lot.  Asirpa quickly tries to determine if the white bear is one that failed to hibernate . . . Sugimoto of course takes charge and says that he’ll take care of the bear while Asirpa grumbles in the background that she’s out of arrows.  Since she used all of her arrows during their escape (why did she do this?  It seems to be a very poor decision be without any arrows?) she can’t take care of the bear.  I think Asirpa’s lack of arrows demonstrate that Asirpa made an impulsive decision when she escaped and it goes against her normal rational approach to things.

What that she then shifts to what she thinks about the value of the white bear’s fur.  And all of a sudden she shifts to figuring out how to get that expensive fur.  She looks unusual as she says this, her eyes are similar to when she pulled the arrow on Shiraishi and she’s got tons of stress lines under her eyes as she sweats.

The shocked look on Sugimoto’s face indicates to us as a reader that the way she said this and Sugimoto is so shocked that his eyes are white as well!  I really wish we could hear her say this line. . . .

Shiraishi then asks very excitedly how much money is is worth?  Sugimoto tries to calm him down so that he has even a chance of shooting the bear with his poor rifle skills.  Asirpa estimates that the bear pelt would be worth at least 12x more than 4 yen (= 60 kg of rice!).  So, yes, this would ease their obvious cash flow problem upon escaping from Tsurumi who had been bankrolling them via Koito.

Vasily prepares to shoot the bear, but the group has to stop him - of course Sugimoto tries to tell him to shot the bear by speaking to him only in Japanese with a lot of sound effects, sadly and not surprisingly Vasily doesn’t get a damn thing that Sugimoto is saying and he has to physically bully him to stop.

All of this shows that Vasily isn’t going to be a key member of their group - yes, he helped them escape b/c he knows Shiraishi and Asirpa are a key to finding Ogata.  Now that they have separated from Tsukishima and Tsurumi, the only other known Russian speaker is Ogata and that really puts them at a disadvantage when Ogata will re-appear.

This entire situation then becomes this awkward comedy of almost errors on ice as Asirpa and Sugimoto argue with each other how to kill the bear. . . . Shiraishi remains as the voice of reason.  Sugimoto stopped Vasily a known sniper can’t shoot the bear, and then Asirpa negates all of the ideas that Sugimoto thought.  I really think this is just a lot of rambling that takes up too many pages.

Shiraishi is more concerned about them getting out of this dangerous situation as poor Vasily is stuck in the background just watching the argument of Asirpa and Sugimoto.  This then ends in the idea that Sugimoto should just randomly shoot at it (something that Vasily could have already done . . . . likely much better than Sugimoto).

By sheer luck Sugimoto gets tossed over the bear on the unstable ice and gets set up for a very interesting view as Shiraishi, ignores Asirpa and Sugimoto and he tells Vasily to shoot the bear.

This inspires Sugimoto to recall the previous two times that bear bums had been violated, both with Boss, stabbing a bear in the ass as well as Anehata sexually violating a bear (that lead to his death, not the bears).

With this particular aim, Sugimoto luckily hits the heart directly killing the bear and it slumps down on to the ice as Sugimoto now aggravates all of his gunshot wounds.  The bear then drifts away on a piece of ice and all of their waffling has resulted in losing the bear because they were so concerned about how to kill it without damaging it.  Shiraishi looks disappointed as he provides the commentary as the bear is lost.  Vasily luckily notices some Ainu and they meet up with them to get a boat ride to the land. 

The Ainu man then explains that there was a white brown bear club that was going to be sent off by the kotan but that the Japanese government heard about it and then took it from them.  This is a very loaded yet small exchange.

This shows how the government is slowly preventing the members of the kotan from their own cultural practices - the kotan thought that this white bear was a great gift from the kamuy - which the government then steals from them and thus invalidating their own essence.  Thankfully, Asirpa lets go of the bear and realizes they need time to rest and recover - Sugimoto is wounded and Shiraishi almost got hypothermia [again]. . . . it finally ends with Asirpa relieved and excited to be back to Hokkaido!  

She’s happy to be home and she’s back home knowing much more than she knew when she left.

I think that this shows that Asirpa is truly happy to be back and she’s in this moment able to just enjoy the moment - something that neither Shiraishi nor Sugimoto can do in their current states.

The chapter then ends, finally giving us an update on the status of Koito.  He’s alive!  But Koito looks pretty rough as he tells his father that he’s pathetic . . . his father glances around before he looks at him softly and tells him that he’s glad that he’s alive.  It then ends with Tsukishima blankly standing nearby.

Koito looks terrible, he’s feeling sad and pathetic, he’s got lines under his eyes and his down turned mouth indicates that he really is feeling like he has failed.  His father doesn’t want to look too concerned or fatherly - hence he glances around nervously before he lets Koito see his concern. 

Tsukishima is looking blankly out towards the ocean on the ship - is he concerned about what he will say to Tsurumi?  Is he glad to see that Koito’s father has talked to him?  Is he tired of everything?  Has Tsukishima proven that he’s more loyal to Koito than to Tsurumi? Fast chapter 216 summary.

The dynamics of the Sugimoto-Asirpa team are still awkward and Vasily really doesn’t belong with them. . .

I think they got greedy and were hit with karma - on the ice they should have just had Vasily kill the bear and then they could have moved on - but their delay showed how they are still not united as a re-united team.  Shiraishi gets ignored yet tries to make an executive call with Vasily while Asirpa and Sugimoto argue about how to kill the bear. 

Overall, it served them right losing the bear - Sugimoto was already wounded and Shiraishi was also at risk.  They stopped worrying about their own safety and they almost got in a worse situation. 

I know that Asirpa was trying to think strategically by getting the bear but they were already in rough shape. It is showing that Asirpa trying to take a leadership role isn’t ready just yet - I will always argue that she’s a natural leader and she will become a great leader - when she’s an adult.  Right now though, she needs an adult leader to mentor her.  When Shiraishi is the voice of reason it means that their group is in trouble. .  . Chapter 217 - MOAR BEARS!!! But before more bears - let’s talk about the cat.  The cat that came back.  Before the title page we get a real time event of Ogata doing some information gathering.  Due to his positive Grandma vibes, he’s easily able to talk with the inn keeper who was hosting Asirpa and Co with Koito and Tsukishima.

He’s able to easily determine that Asirpa was able to escape from the 27th and Tsurumi AND that she likely made it to Hokkaido.  Ogata is almost beaming as he smiles (since Ogata really isn’t a character who would beam with happiness).  This shows that when he needs to be, he can pretty easily get information and not arouse others.  This is similar to when he was solo in Barato, he went to the barber shop and got the intel on Hijikata that he needed as well as into on the gang situation. So with that information, Ogata sets off to return to Hokkaido.  With a sob story of course!  With his visible injuries and a new uniform he tries to beg his way onto the ferry.  He offers some dried cod to barter for his fare.  Even though we all know Ogata is a TERRIBLE liar (aka back with his meltdown on ice) when it comes to story telling he succeeds.  The officer for the ferry believes him that his elderly parents are in Hokkaido and he needs to go back and see them.

Now a general rule of thumb concept in pop culture (or maybe just in general) is that a more successful lie contains some truth.  Perhaps, he succeeds b/c their is some truth - maybe his grandparents are still alive? 

Thanks to Sei Kobiyama, those of us who are not native Japanese speakers also got some insight into Ogata’s offering of cod.  That in slang, “dried cod” = “terrible actor” so even Noda is admitting that Ogata really shouldn’t dream of a future acting career after the gold hunt.

Whatever it was that gave Ogata the magic touch to get onto the ferry, he manages it and the chapter title page finally appears with him basking in his cat greatness. Any cat owner would immediately recognize this pose - it is the “I am a cat and watch me as I survey my domain from a perch.”

As a cat owner, I get to witness this on a daily basis and it is perfect as he has that subtle smile as he re-enters the quest for the gold. Really, this has proven that the cat has come back and it means he’s going to shake things up.  Now that he’s behind everyone else, I predict he’ll do some intel to gather information before he gets involved - Ogata is never rash or hasty.  Oh, I’m so excited! [understatement] I really hope he and Vasily chat before Vasily pounces er jumps on him for more sniper cat playtime. But back to more bears!  The chapter then shifts to a young man fleeing from a brown bear active in the winter.  He runs into a tree branch and scrapes his forehead before the bear overtakes him and appears to begin to chew on his shoulder/neck area.

The bear is clearly chewing on him as we see some blood on its mouth as well as on the scarf.  The panel then zooms in on a small wooden carved case with a walking bear on it.  Again, thanks to Sei Kobiyama, this item is identified as an inro or a pill case and the image on it is tied to an owner . . .

The chapter then shows that Asirpa and Sugimoto are with the Ainu man they met off of the drift ice, hunting for bears that are still hibernating in their dens.  The Ainu man looks similar to Asirpa’s uncle Makkanakuru . . . I wonder if he is a relation to her?

Interestingly, Asirpa and the yet to be named Ainu man are both wearing the vine snowshoes yet Sugimoto is not.  Sugimoto was thrilled to wear them before when he was out hunting with Asirpa - why is he no longer using them?  The snow is at least mid-calf deep if not more.  Is Sugimoto less inclined to use Ainu practices after what happened on Karafuto?

In direct contrast to the white bear last chapter, they set up the triangle head trap and they easily kill the bear.  Sugimoto doesn’t even need to raise his rifle, the man does the single shot for them.  This entire chapter seems to be showing how to do a bear hunt properly and how to treat the bear.  They make the newsar kamuy stick to keep the bear company before they can retrieve the body the next day.

As Asirpa explains things, she has returned to her role as our resident Ainu expert.  This is a complete contrast with her behavior last chapter wanting the pelt of the white bear, yet trying to hunt it without respect for it as this bear is treated.  Will they be in trouble for the way that they treated the white bear?  It drifted away on the ice and it did not get a newsar kamuy to accompany it.  Is Asirpa back to normal b/c she has an older nispa present to guide her without her realizing it?

As Sugimoto and Asirpa return to the kotan, he remarks on how the cise visually tells them that they are back in Hokkaido.  He’s smiling as he says this - in contrast Asirpa is not.  She looks serious as she walks along and when she finally speaks, her facial expression is not one of happiness or joy.

Asirpa seems less sure to be back in Hokkaido.  She was thrilled when they were on the boat last chapter, but now she looks quiet and contemplative.  I think she realizes that her hasty escape seemed almost unreal and now that they have settling into routine for some time it has become more real again.  She is likely worried about her extended family and the impact of the 27th could be on them.  It also is bringing her back to the place were she lost her father after finding him as well as her mother, whom she now knows what she looked like from the film.  Returning home less naive and more mature shows on her face in this panel. The next page reveals that they are staying with the same man and what appears to be his mother and wife perhaps.  What is striking is the distance between their group and the Ainu family.  Previously, when Asirpa has other Japanese with her in their group as well as Kiro and Inkarmat they were physically much closer to their Ainu guests.  Think at Kiro’s home, or with Kirawus when they were celebrating as well as before Abashiri with the salmon feast.  Now there is a great distance - Sugimoto isn’t being friendly with the Ainu man, Asirpa is working on making more poison arrows and Shiraishi is leering over at the woman breastfeeding the bear.

Furthermore, Vasily is way back in the corner not even interacting with anyone.  They also are not sitting around the hearth with everyone else - they are off in the corner.  This is completely different behavior for both Asirpa and Sugimoto who was always keen to be friendly with Ainu before.

Their conversation then reveals that they are talking about how they will get the gold with zero skins.  This may indicate why they are chatting as a small group versus so openly.  Asirpa confirms that they will have to steal the skins back from both groups and Sugimoto’s plan is to make sure they grab them from both groups.  He doesn’t know how he’ll do it, but he wants the two groups to meet and in the confusion, steal the skins.  A risky idea if I’d say so . . . Sugimoto’s long term plans have a tendency to not actually work out that well.  Shiraishi even highlights that it is a difficult plan.  I know he is the escape king, but I have a new nickname for him - the voice of reason.  When Asirpa and Sugimoto get emotionally wound up by each other, he’s the one to try to point out the obvious issues with their plans.

Shiraishi is then the one to ask the man if there is any way to make some fast cash.  Interestingly, Shiraishi address him as nispa, so I interpret this to mean that he’s saying “mister” in a respectful yet somewhat casual way - really typical Shiraishi.  This is also the first time that I can recall Shiraishi referring to an Ainu man as nispa - this likely is a part of Shiraishi coping and still coming to terms with Kiro’s death and he feels at least some level of connectivity with the Ainu and other native peoples more than he did at the beginning.

The man does not look at Shiraishi as he replies, but it is clear that when Shiraishi used nispa, it got his attention enough that he felt that he owed him a reply to his question.  He immediately mentions that there is a wen kamuy that is a problem in another kotan. 

Shiraishi isn’t too keen on making more money through killing bears, in part this is a method that he doesn’t contribute to so he may be looking for a way for him to contribute to their travel funds.  However, when he was traveling with Asirpa, Ogata and Kiro, he frequently pitched in the post hunting efforts. The man goes on to state that the bear has killed 5 people and all of them were panning for gold dust in a river.  This all of a sudden gets Sugimoto’s attention, his eyes have a slight sparkle in them as he inquires about it with a surprised expression.

The man continues to state that people want to collect gold dust but the wen kamuy is keeping them away from the river - it seems that perhaps this wen kamuy is linked to preventing people from doing more harm to the river . . . Sugimoto then covers his face as he states that he wonders about a river that still has gold dust and that he was never ever to find it.  He’s instinctively covering his face as his remark is connected to Umeko and his quest to get money for her and how he is still uncomfortable with really speaking about this to others.

We don’t get to see the man’s facial expression - he tells them about a rumor that a man made 50 yen in one day and that if they wanted to make money they should do that and avoid the wen kamuy.  . . based on their white colored eyes the boys are shocked at this rumor.

Of course this means they are going to head to were the wen kamuy is.

There is then a man collecting firewood who almost falls off of a small cliff -

The man screams for help and it reveals a group of men panning for gold in the river.  They all appear to be ethnically Japanese and we learn that his name is Heita.  A man who looks like Ogata’s long lost cousin yells his name and runs off to try to help him.

It looks like perhaps his father and a son are near him in the water.  Heita’s relation to these other men is still unclear. The big reveal is that Asirpa and Sugimoto are able to save him - and that he is the man who was attacked by the bear in the beginning.  He still has the scar on his forehead but clearly no bear chomp marks on the neck.

It then focuses on the small wooden case with the bear carrying a fish (not to scale) and walking upright like a human.  The tagline even says “he died, but he’s not dead!!!” What does this even mean? Are these Japanese gold scavengers unaware of the danger of the wen kamuy?  Are they subjected to the wrath of it?  Is that his actual case or was it procured from someone else?  Is it supposed to protect him from bears?

Time for some observations from these two bear themed chapters.

Chapter 216 is pretty much an example of what not to do when in danger of being killed by a white bear.  Don’t argue and try to one up each other on the ice floe when Vasily could have shot the bear and they could have called it a day.  This complete comedy of errors results in them losing the bear as Sugimoto violates the bear to kill it without damaging the pelt.  There needs to be a reminder that Shiraishi was right from the get go.  Deal with the bear and move on.  Instead, Sugimoto hurts himself more and Asirpa seemed to snap out of her desire to have the white bears fur at any cost.

Chapter 217 has Sugimoto and Asirpa accompanying the unnamed Ainu man and they successfully manage to kill a brown bear and give it proper treatment.  I’m really stuck on Sugimoto not wearing snowshoes - is he now less likely to adopt Ainu customs and practices after realizing that Asirpa wants to fight for her people? This Ainu man seems more distant but still helpful.  We don’t know his name either - names are so important in GK.  Noda withholds names on purpose . . . I’d say that Shiraishi and Asirpa have a better chance of becoming closer or more trusting of him but Sugimoto is keeping his distance.  Is this a result of Kiro’s betrayal? There is a wen kamuy on the loose and it is associated with those who pan for gold in the river.  The kotan wants it killed because it is a danger but could it be more than that?  Is it acting out the wrath of the gods on those who pollute the river in the search for gold?  I think there is more to this story, something about how the Ainu man lures them into to going after the gold and the wen kamuy. I’m suspicious of his information . . . I think the Ainu man wants them to leave and go there on purpose. There is Heita the man attacked by a bear who isn’t dead.  My crazy hypothesis is that he had a salmon or something like that on him.  I’m totally being crazy but why not?  The bear on the case has a salmon. Ogata time!  I have to put this famous short cartoon from the NFB first. 

This is sometimes how I feel Ogata is perceived by other members of the GK cast - mainly Sugimoto but also by Tsurumi.

What Ogata’s brief few pages are showing that he’s back in the game, and he’s excited to know that Tsurumi doesn’t have Asirpa and that things will get interesting in Hokkaido.  So he’s slowly following them cautiously determining what has happened.

Chapter 203 had this interesting page with the lynx crossing the path/road through the forest on Karafuto.  It looks like the lynx crossed ahead of them since there are no dogsled trails in the snow.  I could see Ogata eventually getting ahead on them and intercepting them.  The lynx is looking back at the viewer . . .

I am curious to see how this page is shown in the tankoban.  If it is redrawn so the lynx is behind dogsled track marks that would imply he’s now following them. If Ogata manages to get to their group before anyone else - I’m curious to see what happens when Ogata talks to him.  It is more than likely that when Ogata wounded Vasily he may have questioned him .  . . Or if Ogata didn’t let Vasily know he can speak Russian will he use that to his advantage against Sugimoto?  I could see him using that as an advantage against Tsurumi as well.  If the two snipers teamed up and Ogata can communicate with him - that is going to be an interesting combination.  That is as long as Vasily doesn’t want his stupid cat rematch.  Again, Vasya, you lost. Lastly, let’s not forget that Koito is at a low point but he’s alive.  I’m hoping that this will be the start of a turning point for Koito in the quest for the gold and his blind devotion to Tsurumi.  That will get interesting and where is Tsukishima going to fall?  Tsurumi or will he align with Koito?

[gascon-en-exil]

FE16 Golden Deer Liveblogging

Chapters 19-20. I feel a bit cheated, honestly.

These two chapters are the same maps as the last two for the Lions, but they were substantially easier. Whether it’s because they’re not endgame on this route or because I’m just more familiar with the game now, neither of them were anywhere near as long or tedious. Instead, both of them continue the trend begun by the previous chapter of using different unit placements and enemy composition to make the maps feel fundamentally different, so good reuse of assets here. In Chapter 19 the enemy has lots of artillery, but you’re encouraged to take control of it yourself to better deal with the flying reinforcements. 

Chapter 20 meanwhile eschews the numerous siege casters of the Lions finale for some beefy Crest beasts (the same type that Dedue can turn into on Edelgard’s route, I believe) and a number of locked doors with keys in the hands of various enemies including Dorothea and Petra. You can of course buy and bring your own keys or take a thief, but since those two surround your starting position and are pretty threatening (particularly the incredibly dodgy Petra) it’s better to kill them anyway. Overall though it’s a much easier map, and Edelgard herself is no big deal this time around since she only has standard attack range and no special gimmicks apart from what she gets as a playable unit.

No, the annoying thing here is Dedue, and not because he’s all that hard to keep alive. He charges in as an NPC a few turns into the map only one room from the throne room, and his very tanky physical stats keep him safe against even the strongest Crest beast attacks, to say nothing of physical generics. The reinforcements that continually spawn behind him also keep him from rushing Edelgard too quickly, giving you time to clear her room and the room opposite Dedue of their powerful magic users. With all that in mind getting Dedue to fight Edelgard is no great trouble at least on Normal, and while she doubles him and does a ton of damage he’s doing a fair bit himself, albeit with shaky accuracy.

I had a hell of a time whittling down Edelgard’s HP without defeating her, using Claude’s Subdue combat art (from the lord class) and all the long range healing I could muster to keep Dedue healthy and keep Edelgard in range of death.  But then the game doesn’t let him kill her. Yes, what could have been a powerful and cathartic narrative moment is thwarted by a quality of life mechanic; NPCs in this game are unable to get killing blows on major enemies, which in most cases is handy for preventing them from stealing boss kills, but here...gah. Dedue infiltrates Enbarr, storms the castle entirely on his own like a wrecking ball of gay anguish, and then the game refuses to give him his vengeance because he didn’t join Byleth’s army. What’s worse, he has few lines in this chapter and no boss dialogue at all with Edelgard, and if he’s killed his death quote is his standard allied one which implies (unintentionally) that the poor guy is now sharing Dimitri’s hallucinations of the dead. Clearly Edelgard’s route must have blown the budget on homoerotic bonus scenes.

Story/Character observations

Ugh...you know what, I’m not done with this. For those familiar with FE4, recall how the Thracia arc of Gen 2 completely shifts the focus of the story for a period away from the main conflict and toward a more localized one with very different emotional stakes. These two chapters, and Dedue’s role in them, feel very much like that, even without the direct parallel of Finn (and Leif) taking revenge on Travant for Quan’s death. Claude is invested in defeating Edelgard as a means of subduing the Empire, but that’s merely one step in his master plan to bring Fódlan and all surrounding lands under one banner where racism and xenophobia magically don’t exist. With Deer!Byleth lacking any attachment to Edelgard (execution cutscene notwithstanding, which really feels like it should have played only on the church route) and with Rhea still MIA until after the fight is over, the emotional heft of the assault on Enbarr really does come down entirely to Dedue’s desperate bid to avenge his fallen prince. It’s like if the Thracia arc was stripped down purely to the blood feud between House Leonster and House Thracia, only even gayer since the Finn equivalent is the one carrying the whole thing independent of even the playable army. He’s even instrumental in getting Claude’s group in the palace in the first place by showing up after Chapter 19 to share the intel he’s gathered. I’m not going to think very hard about a heavily armored giant successfully pulling off stealthy reconnaissance in an enemy city, but that speaks even more to his single-minded dedication. But there’s no resolution to any of this, apart from (so I’ve seen online) a few lines from a monastery NPC next chapter explaining what became of Dedue afterwards. He - and Dimitri - deserved better.

Oh, some other stuff happened. I was firstly surprised to see that these two chapters are played back-to-back with no month between them, just like in the Lions route. It seems that not all the Part 2′s share the same structure with regard to the calendar. 

After Edelgard’s emotionally anticlimactic death the story abruptly shifts as a posthumous letter from Hubert gets everyone to remember Those Who Slither and their blood experiments and nukes. Unlike the Lions route, we also get to see Rhea after her years in captivity, and she provides some useful setup on the true story of Nemesis that will undoubtedly come in handy when the army has to kill him in two chapters. She pointedly does not mention that the really big reveal is dragons, but I’m expecting that either to come later or to only be fully unveiled on the church route. 

Claude’s rosy vision of all the setting’s peoples cohabitating peacefully is cute even if it’s utterly unrealistic. It also helps distinguish him from Quan, who has similarly grandiose ambitions that include trampling over the sovereignty of other nations but who lacks any good ethical foundation for those ambitions apart from the unshakable belief that his bloodline is just so awesome that they deserve to rule Thracia. 

And just in case she needed to look even worse in hindsight, Edelgard’s refusal to ally with Claude because he’s unfamiliar with the history of Fódlan - only revealed in their boss conversation - comes off as even more misguided now when Claude is bluntly grilling Rhea for the truth and resolving to take out Those Who Slither. I can appreciate that she’s xenophobic (and megalomaniacal) herself, sure, but it’s almost as weak a justification as that drivel in the Lions route about the desires of the common people.

[isisapollon]

Alien Tech at the Vatican + The Jesuits + Archons ++

Cosmic Disclosure: Alien Tech at the Vatican I was guided to take a look at Corey Goodes blog a few days ago and the article that caught my eye was ‘Cosmic Disclosure: Alien Tech at the Vatican’ The article is simply the transcript of a discussion that David Wilcock had with his whistle-blower friend Emery Smith who has suffered many attacks of various kinds from the cabal due to his speaking out. “Emery Smith claims to have autopsied about 3,000 different types of ET humanoids. The day after we announced his coming forward, he was hit with an attack that landed him in the emergency room.”  https://divinecosmos.com/davids-blog/1224-emery-smith/ Emery and David were travelling somewhere by car when this discussion was recorded. They were discussing the autopsies Emery made but the conversation ended up being about a visit he made to the Vatican library to get more information on a particular type of ufo…!! “So, a private organization went to the DoD [US Department of Defense] and the mil [military] labs I was working at, and they needed some technicians and some scientists to go to the Vatican to look at their archives, because they know that they had some information on a craft that was taken in New Mexico.” After nearly 8 years of learning new things from the places that I trust for information, I thought I heard it all. However, this discussion between David and Emery reveals things that were new to me. An example, Emery; “And, of course, the Vatican has always been a huge database. It has a huge archive of many things: artifacts and things they have found from space and have collected over many, many, many, many years. And they have an underground base under the Vatican. So two scientists and myself were deployed to that area to the Vatican to an undisclosed location in the Vatican. And we took an elevator down about seven or eight floors.” You will not be disappointed when you read this article and what it reveals. My reaction to it is something like this. My GOD WE ARE LIVING IN THE DARK AGES ON THIS PLANET WITHOUT HAVING A CLUE ABOUT IT. I released after reading this that if we were not in quarantine here on this planet that we would have reached the level of technological knowhow that we have to day already about 200 years ago. I’m guessing that if that were the case then at this point in time we would be in a position of where we could be nearly 300 years ahead in time from where we are now! I’m hoping that you will understand where I’m coming from when you read the info from Emery. Just to whet your appetite for reading on I will give a short quote from further down this article and then the link to the entire post. “Emery: It’ll be cities will be put up everywhere. I know even our government has contacted me to orchestrate and architect a special city here that’s self-sustainable, that’s off-grid, has its own communications, its own electric, and all this stuff, because they’re preparing to do this model everywhere.” …. Then this quote from Emery’s visit ‘inside’ (below) the Vatican David: But what you’re describing right now is like straight out of a sci-fi movie. It must have been just breathtakingly incredible. Emery: It was the most amazing thing . . . one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen, . . . David: Wow! Cosmic Disclosure: Alien Tech at the Vatican https://spherebeingalliance.com/blog/transcript-cosmic-disclosure-alien-tech-at-the-vatican.html TZ here again: I’m thinking of course directly that I hear Emery say re the special city “, its own electric, and all this stuff, because they’re preparing to do this model everywhere.” …. That ‘their’ plans to create this special city is not for the love of humanity – no – it’s the next stage in their plans to keep the sheeple occupied with something new and fantastic that they have created to keep us happy and still in quarantine and under control etc.…. that’s how they have always done it. It’s all a game to them our controllers – its all under their control and has been – BUT THEIR GAME IS SOON OVER. For the reader to understand just a little more about how the Jesuits work I will take some earlier information provided by Cobra as an example.

Cobra told us very early on, on his blog that the Jesuits had been controlling the ‘show on this planet’ for 500 years. We learned that a certain number of archons had incarnated into black nobility families and the archons were in control of the Jesuits. I must point out that so many are going to be shocked really shocked when all the truth comes out. For a couple of years (2013-2014) when posting, writing my website and blog I was still being fooled by Jesuit bloggers so called whistleblowers and helped to spread their information believing them to be true ‘truthers’ when in fact they were working in disguise for the Jesuits. You have to keep in mind that these wily, manipulative Jesuits are following – keeping control over all developments on this planet which means they always have to be ahead of the game and provide ‘good guys’ and ‘saviors,’ etc. for the next part of their quarantine control. Here an excerpt from one Cobra update called ‘The Jesuit Agenda’ from Nov 28th, 2013. …“The Jesuit plan is to let the Light forces purge the Illuminazi faction (Rockefeller, Bush, Kissinger, Cheney & Co.) and then secretly team up with the Rothschilds to take over the process of creating the new financial system. Their agents are present on endless negotiations for the surrender of the Cabal and they are trying to steer the agreements closer to the Jesuit agenda. This is the source of proposals to make the Pope the new M1 (monetary controller). This is the reason why the new Jesuit Pope is promoting the idea of a central world bank. They are also seriously considering the idea of allowing a worldwide debt jubilee so that they would be portrayed as saviours of humanity under the wings of »benevolent« Catholic church. They would then promote the Catholic cult in a renewed, more publicly appealing way, and gradually absorb other religions into it (starting with Buddhism) until they would reach their goal of a global religious mind programming cult, at the same time keeping all past atrocities of the Catholic church under the carpet. Through special compartmentalized CIA programs they have infiltrated the truther movement to the point that about 70% of intel in alternative media is disinfo coming directly or indirectly from Jesuit sources. I (Cobra) have a list of people and groups inside the truther / liberation movement that are either under direct Jesuit control or are manipulated by the Jesuits and it may or may not be released in the near future. The Jesuits are working under the command of the Archons to maintain the quarantine status of planet Earth. It is good to know that the Jesuit organization is a 16th century creation of the Farnese family, which is one of the most powerful papal Black Nobility families in Italy. One of the reasons the Jesuits have created WW2 was to orchestrate a worldwide gold grab to finance their black budget programs to maintain the quarantine status of our planet (secret space program, deep underground military bases). Operation Golden Lily was a Jesuit operation and general Yamashita was a puppet in the hands of the Jesuits:” to read more about this go to links provided below this article.” I would really like to recommend to everyone who is not familiar with Cobra’s early updates to go to this page on my website where it’s all gathered neatly update after update and you will find information about this planet that no other blogs would have been able to provide. HERE IS A LIST OF THE ARTICLES ON THIS PAGE – created in November 2014 The Elephant in the Room/Explosion of Information/True Storm of Disclosure Imminent Cobra’s Three Photos 1A] ARCHONS ~ FALL OF THE ARCHONS ~ MAY 8TH, 2012 1B] ARCHONS ~ FALL OF THE ARCHONS CONTINUED ~ MAY 10TH, 2012 2] ARCHONS ~ CURRENT ARCHON SITUATION UPDATE ~ MAY 26TH, 2012 3] ARCHONS ~ ARCHONS INTERFERE IN CABAL SURRENDER NEGOTIATION ~ JUNE 7TH, 2012 4] ARCHONS ~ HISTORY RE ARCHONS + THE VEIL [MATRIX] JUNE 18TH, 2012 5] ARCHONS ~ LAYERS OF CONSPIRACY ~ JULY 15TH, 2012 6] ARCHONS ~ EXPLOSION OF LIGHT   ~ JULY 26TH, 2012 7] ARCHONS ~ ETHERIC ARCHON GRID ~ JAN 03RD 2013 8] ARCHONS ~ PLANETARY SIT: UPDATE ~ ETHERIC PLANE ~ OCT 15TH, 2013 9] ARCHONS ~ FALL OF THE ARCHONS UPDATE ~ JANUARY 12TH, 2014 1] JESUITS ~ THE JESUIT AGENDA ~ 28TH NOVEMBER 2013 2] JESUITS ~ Knowledge of the Dangers of Jesuits was Spread in the 1880’s Through the Work of Helena Blavatsky Channeling Master Kuthumi – Founding the Theosophical Movement 3A] The Jesuits the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers and their different roles from 13/09/2013 by TZS 1A] THE CHIMERA ~ APRIL 8TH, 2014 1B] CHIMERA ~ JULY 7TH, 2014 1C} CHIMERA ~ AUGUST 5TH, 2014 1D] CHIMERA ~ 8TH SEPTEMBER 2014 1E] CHIMERA ~ 16TH SEPTEMBER 2014 1F] CHIMERA ~ OCTOBER 7TH, 2014 The Secret Space Program Cont. from my website this is how I present the above list of articles; It has been a widely discussed question on this planet about who the ‘power behind the throne’ really has been. It was not until the 8th April 2014 that we received the final ‘key’ to this truth. Up until that date we have believed that the main archons who created the matrix/veil have been running the show via the core Jesuit group worldwide. We learned earlier about their being archons in physical bodies among the black nobility families. Suddenly we are informed about this other archon group known as the chimera. In later interviews with Cobra we have learned that these two groups of archons cooperate with one another yet keep to their distinctive groups. You will get all the details about these groups here on this page. My personal belief is that the so called ‘elephant in the room’ that Cobra referred to early in 2014 is none other than the Jesuit archon group. Why I maintain this is very simple. The Jesuits through their evil tentacles spread out across the entire globe through a multitude of schools, universities, and institutions of one kind or another and especially in the Catholic and Islamic world have affected the control of just about every subject of interest there is in existence. Of course, these groups alone would not have succeeded in this endeavor if not for the fact that they managed to unite forces with others. They have enlisted the support of various Reptilian groups and have been running affairs through the two main groups/families that we know as the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers. All of the details as to who controls what within these various groups are supplied here on this page in great detail. Most of the information has come through Cobra and the Resistance Movement – RM. I myself compiled the article about the Jesuits and the warnings given about them 120 years ago from the Ascended Master Kuthumi via Helena Blavatsky from a much longer Theosophical article. I have also compiled and written the article The Jesuits, the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers. To continue reading: https://www.veritasgalacticsweden.net/introduction/dark-cabal-rulers PS: I feel that I have to give a personal ending to this information and why I still feel the anger popping up when I consider the Jesuits and their control. I was born in Dublin Ireland. Many will be aware that this country was one of the most Catholic countries on the planet. Everything about my life was controlled from day 1 by the Archon Jesuit controlled Catholic church. I have always had a need of contact with spirit. When there was nowhere to turn I turned to Mother Mary and Jesus. I can say right now that this use of HIS name (Jesu) for ‘their’ control makes me angry. ALSO, do not believe that I am so stupid as to blame the entire Jesuit group. Probably 2 out of 3 Jesuits are good people. I am speaking about the CORE approx. 10% of them who run the show – probably no more than 14-15% of the Jesuits know that this group controls the entire planet! Aged 13-14 or so I became interested in reading about astrological sun signs. One Sunday sitting in the local Catholic church I found myself looking up at the roof of that right winged part of the church. There were 4 corners to that valve and lo and behold there are the four cardinal signs in astrology!! The Eagle (higher aspect of Scorpio) the water bearer (Aquarius) the Bull and the Lion. That’s when things got a bit confusing. We were warned about dabbling in things like astrology by the priests and nuns. Somewhere between 95-96% of Irish schools were run by various orders of priests or nuns. Chi Rho symbol + Alpha and Omega So why on earth were the 4 cardinal astrology signs on the roof of the church? They have a rule you know to show everything ‘out in the open’ yet concealed. By my bedside I have a memorial card from the funeral of my father who died in 2008. My sister and I chose the texts etc. that we wanted on this card to be given to friends and family. One thing that we did not choose was the emblem that is part of the design on the front and back! of this little card namely, the Chi Rho symbol. This is another symbol that I thought s lot about when seeing it in front of me at Sunday mass on the altar cloth etc. trying to understand its meaning. I was thinking maybe the P is for Peace and the X is like the x in the word Pax – peace. I studied Latin at school. But no not! The Chi Rho is the symbol of the archon Constantine the Great the Archon who created the Christian cult,found on coins of that time etc. X 1000’s of other places. See more evidence of this on the link above this paragraph. Here another excerpt from The Event info Page 2 on my website – paragraph heading is the 2nd Khazar Invasion The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great 306-307, converted to Christianity and in 313 issued the Edict of Milan which declared tolerance for the religion. which then led to the Council of Nicaea twelve years later. There, in 325 AD, under the influence of the Archons, Constantine gathered all the bishops, and all of the priests to standardize the religions of the Empire, in what amounted to a hostile takeover of Christianity by the Cult of Sol Invictus. The Cult was the official religion of the Empire and it was thoroughly infiltrated by the worshipers of Baal, who had come to Rome with the Royal families of the Egypt and middle-east when Rome had conquered and annexed them. Using the new Catholic Church, they implemented an empire-wide mind control program based on the idea of Heresy, allowing them to persecute anyone who would not agree their teachings. In the western Roman Empire, by 393 AD people were living in fear of reason and the personal connection to the Source. By this cause, the civil government was without practical direction and became easy prey for waves of Barbarian tribes to destroy the Roman Empire by substituting their armed control of secular law for that of the Empire. The Archon infested church created bishoprics to rule the hearts and minds, while giving the right to extract taxes to the Barbarians. It was at this time that the Catholic Church destroyed all of the Goddess Temples. The archon and reptilian {Khazar} invaders tore down each temple and built archon temples over these sites – with the intention of stifling the energy. *** The purpose of the use of Heresy was to destroy rights of people to think for themselves. Mystery schools, Christian gnostic groups and nature worshipping paganism were replaced with Christian cult mind programming. This programming was enhanced with the creation of virtual reality hells on the lower astral plane, which were then used by the Church to strengthen its position. The Bishop of Milan known as Theodosius the Great {this soul was totally Archon controlled} destroyed all the old mystery schools. He ordered the burning of the Alexandria library and the books were destroyed or put into the Vatican library. Link to this page here; https://www.veritasgalacticsweden.net/the-event/the-event-2

The last pic describes the ‘acceptable’ church version of why we have the Chi Rho symbol everywhere. Here also from ARCHON update nr 9 (list above) “The Farnese family is the main architect of the Cabal as they have created the Jesuits with a little help of the Borja family back in the 1540s. Immediately after that, they have built their first Pentagon in Caprarola near Rome: In their »map room« inside that building they have shaped the destiny of the world during 16th and 17th centuries: It is interesting to note that the world map from the 16th century shows Antarctica, which was officially »discovered« in the 1770s. Around that time the Farnese have decided to use Jesuit Adam Weishaupt to create Illuminati, elevate the Rothschilds to power and move the Farnese seat of power to Washington, DC. They have built their second Pentagon there. It is also interesting to see that Larry Farnese, a member of the family, is a senator: http://www.senatorfarnese.com/”

Map Room from 16th Century + Antarctica, which was officially »discovered« in the 1770’s I could go on and on about the wiles of these Jesuits but there is so much more info on the website links I’ve provided above for those interested. However, I just remembered one other link to information about the truth behind the WW2 holocaust from my website: This will truly shock anyone who has not heard of it before so be warned. I worked for many hours and weeks to provide an overview of a much longer article about this subject that Cobra provided earlier on in an update; Synopsis of The Vatican Holocaust Part 1 of 8 “The Great Pentagram of Evil” The Sacrifice of 18 million non-Catholics to the Devil/Satan https://www.veritasgalacticsweden.net/introduction/important-news PS – again! Finally if I hear or read any more comments whether on PFC or my blog that are in ANY WAY derogatory of Cobra and his non-stop work for the liberation of this planet I will remove them directly. I have lost all patience whatsoever with ignorance, stupidity and downright evil. I am glad that he finally spoke out himself recently. Despite the loss of his beloved Isis to the dark side people continue to try to attack him. OK they just don’t understand and they neither have the time or the patience or the willingness to do the work and discover the truth, so they are a sorry bunch who will eventually wake up. Namaste and Love

https://prepareforchange.net/2018/03/28/alien-tech-at-the-vatican-the-jesuits-archons/

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY

Ditto for PayPal. The key question, I realized it would probably have to be just one valuation. The founders all learned to do every job in the company. Instead he can ask What would make the painting more interesting to people? I only thought of when I sat down to write them.1 It does not, for example. With Socrates, Plato, and particularly Aristotle, this tradition turned a corner.

Among them was Frederick's of Hollywood, which gave us valuable experience dealing with heavy loads on our servers. Few were sufficiently correct that people have forgotten who discovered what they discovered.2 It means these ideas are invisible to most people your age, others that will appeal to most people because it only recently became feasible. Economist J.3 2, because that also seems to be to start with good people, to make something customers want. It's often mistakenly believed that medieval universities were mostly seminaries. Technical tweaks may also help them to grasp what's special about your technology.

It was impressive even to ask the questions they asked were new to them, or cut them off.4 Will I ever read it?5 There is room for a new search engine, when there were already about 10, and they did it. Popular magazines made the period between the spread of literacy and the arrival of TV the golden age of the essay. It's not for the discovery that most previous philosophy was a waste of time?6 Those hours after the phone stops ringing are by far the best for getting work done. If you're curious about something, trust your instincts. Meaning everyone within this world was expected to seem more or less the same.

When they appeared it seemed as if search was a mature market, dominated by big players who'd spent millions to build their brands: Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, Infoseek, Altavista, Inktomi. Instead of trying to discover them because they're useful.7 Whatever you make will have to be disciplined about not letting your hypotheses harden into anything more. In the humanities you can either avoid drawing any definite conclusions e. Those whose jobs require them to judge art, like curators, mostly resort to euphemisms like significant or important or getting dangerously close realized. At this stage, all most investors expect is a brief description of what you plan to do and how you're going to replace email.8 I answered twenty, I could see at the time, a lot of valuable advice about business, and also did all the legal work of getting us set up as a company. When people sit down to watch a show, they want to live in the suburbs.

If you go to see Silicon Valley, what you'll see are buildings.9 Design by committee is a synonym for bad design. Will I ever read it?10 Customers loved us. And they each have.11 That may seem a frivolous reason to choose one language over another. Restaurants with great food seem to prosper no matter what you do. Like most startups, we changed our plan on the fly.

When you're just typing expressions into the toplevel, you want to invest in them.12 Writing was one of the founders we funded asked me why we started Y Combinator is neither selfish nor virtuous. If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything, and that's likely to be done with levers and cams and gears are now done with loops and trees and closures.13 The only place to look was in the tradition of skateboards or bicycles rather than medical devices. They've applied for a lot of investors hated the idea, but the overall experience is much better than the soul-crushing suburban sprawl. If a nonprofit or government organization had started a project to index the web, Google at year 1 is the limit of what they'd have produced. Among them were Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, who went on to found Intel, and Eugene Kleiner, who founded the VC firm Kleiner Perkins. Aristotle's goal was to find one angel to act as the lead investor.

Partly because, as components of oligopolies themselves, the corporations knew they could safely pass the cost on to their customers, because their competitors would have to as well.14 So it is with design.15 The real problem is that you look smug. The difference between then and now is that now I understand why Berkeley is probably not worth trying to understand its implications. It would have been better off; not only wouldn't these guys have broken anything, they'd have gotten a lot more done. It would be a curious state of affairs if you could get to the same spot. So if you're developing technology for money, you're probably not going to use TCP/IP just because everyone else does. In the old days, you could create a situation indistinguishable from you being that manufacturer, at least working on problems of minor importance.

That will tend to produce results that annoy people: there's no use in telling people things they already believe, and people answering it often aren't clear in their own mind how much is deliberate.16 Curiously enough, what got Segway into this problem was that customers didn't want the product. At the time it seemed the future.17 There's nothing more valuable than the advice of someone whose judgement you trust. It didn't shake itself free till a couple decades ago, geography was destiny for cities.18 Arguably it's an interesting failed experiment. The American way is to make money by creating wealth, you're always going to be fighting a losing battle against increasing variation in productivity.19 So there could be other ways to attract them, but they were only a little more out of their sales channels. The result was that I wrote it. Not any more.

Notes

I remember are famous flops like the intrusive ads popular on Delicious, but explain that's what they campaign for. But you're not allowed to ask, what you call the market. These two regions were the case. It will seem more interesting than random marks would be very promising, because the proportion of the Web was closely tied to the Pall Mall Gazette.

I'm not saying it's impossible to write your dissertation in the time 1992 the entire West Coast that still requires jackets: The Duty of Genius, Penguin, 1991, p. As Secretary of Labor Statistics, the big winners are all about hitting outliers, are better college candidates. Bad math is merely an upper bound on a weekend and sit alone and think.

Gary and I don't know of one investor who for some students to get elected with a company. That way most reach the stage where they're sufficiently convincing well before Demo Day. I was not just the local builders built everything in exactly the opposite: when we were quite sore from VCs attempting to probe our nonexistent database orifice.

And it would not know his name. It's conceivable that a skilled vine-dresser was worth about 125 to 150 drachmae.

So 80 years sounds to me like someone adding a few that are only doing angel deals to generate everything else in the next round is high, so it may have been seen mentioning the site was about bands.

This phenomenon may account for a long thread are rarely seen, when we created pets. This point is that the highest returns, it's implicit that this was hard to avoid using it, whether you have to be spread out geographically.

So where do we draw the line that philosophy is nonsense. You also have to resort to raising money. Most of the reasons angels like to invest at a public company CEOs were J.

Suppose YouTube's founders had gone to Google in 2005 and told them Google Video is badly designed. I replace the url with that of whatever they copied. Even as late as Newton's time it takes forever.

Digg is notorious for its lack of results achieved by alchemy and saying its value was as much as people in any case, because they are to be a quiet contentment.

An investor who invested earlier had been trained that anything hung on a hard technical problem. One sign of a handful of lame investors first, and b not allow them to tell them everything. Algorithms that use it are called naive Bayesian. Xxvii.

You're investing your own morale, you need a higher growth rate to impress are not mutually exclusive. This essay was written before Firefox. Google's site.

Founders also worry that taking time to come up with elaborate rationalizations. Words we use for good and bad technological progress is accelerating, so they made more that year from stock options, of course. The two 10 minuteses have 3 weeks between them.

A more accurate or at least once for that reason. This is one of a handful of consulting firms that rent out big pools of foreign programmers they bring in on H1-B visas.

Confucius claimed proudly that he transformed the field they describe. There is archaeological evidence for large settlements earlier, but one by one they die and their hands.

If you wanted to go to work with founders create a great idea as something you need to be actively curious.

The facts about Apple's early history are from an angel-round board, consisting of two founders and one of the biggest discoveries in any case, because you couldn't do the opposite: when we got to the World Bank, Doing Business in 2006, http://doingbusiness. Acquisitions fall into in the room, and the super-angels hate to match.

Is what we need to go to grad school you always see when restrictive laws are removed. It would be unfortunate.

People were more dependent on banks for capital for expansion.

What they forget is that the web and enables a new Lisp dialect called Arc that is not so much control, and the exercise of stock the VCs I encountered when we were working on what you have to be about 200 to send a million dollars out of the canonical could you build for them, if you get stock as if you'd invested at a 3 million cap, but they seem like a month might to an adult. But Goldin and Margo think market forces in the 1960s, leaving less room for startups that are or feel weak. Sometimes a competitor will deliberately affect more interest than they expected and they hope will be the fact by someone who doesn't understand what you're working on your thesis. Even in Confucius's time it filters down to you.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Two: Famine (Prompto x Reader) Chapter Twelve

Escaping the cell block, (Y/n) and Prompto began their long and treacherous trek through Zegnautus Keep. Numerous of times, they encountered dead ends and a plethora of magitek troopers and powerful daemons. Fortunately, they had yet to encounter the Gashadokuro.

While running through the Keep, Prompto had questioned the Horseman about the Gashadokuro after hearing its ghostly howl once more. She had answered all his questions, each response chilling him to the core. Learning the facts about a monster set on destroying Eos and all that called it home frightened him more than any daemon would ever. 

"At least the Phantom Knight is out of the picture," (Y/n) comments. "It'll be easier taking down the Gashadokuro without having to worry where the Knight is."

When they were about to round a corner, Famine grabbed ahold of Prompto and pushed him behind her. A blade swiped through the air, but (Y/n) wrapped a hand around the sharp edge to halt its descent. Her hand sliced open, blood trickling down her palm and arm. She gripped the sword tighter as the owner of the weapon rounded the corner to reveal themselves to try and reclaim it.

(Y/n) came face-to-face with Noctis as he stepped around the corner. His crystalline eyes recognized her as they widened as big as saucers. "Holy shit... (Y/n)?"

"Should I know you?" She teases, releasing the sword.

Noctis smirked as Gladio and Ignis rounded the corner. "Not really," he joins in on the teasing before switching his focus to Prompto. "We've been lookin' all over for you, Prompto."

"You alright?" Gladio asked.

"Are you hurt? Do you need help?" Ignis added with his own concern, unable to see the sharpshooter's battered up body.

"I'm fi-"

"A potion will suffice if you have one," (Y/n) interrupted her lover. The tactician handed her one and she thanked him before turning to face Prompto. She crushed the bottle in her hand a few inches from his injuries and watched as a green glow surrounded his body. She saw as the small cuts healed, but a few bruises still remained. "There. All better."

"Thanks, (Y/n), Iggy." The marksman's eyes traveled back over to Noctis nervously. "Tell me. Were you worried about me?"

"Of course I was," Noctis scoffed in disbelief at the question. "What kind of question is that?"

"Of course. That's why you came, like I believed you would. Well, I did kinda lose hope for a little bit, but it returned all thanks to (Y/n)," he casted his gentle smile in the girl's direction.

"How did...?" The Horseman pondered in bewilderment.

"The orb. You must've been trying to do something with it because it kept rolling and jumping around," he replied.

"Oh. I had no idea it would roll around on its own. It might've also been reacting to the Gashadokuro," she commented.

"Uh, the what?" Noctis inquired.

"Gashadokuro," she replied slowly. "It's the other monster I'm after. According to some intel from Aranea, the creature's here and I can definitely sense its chilling presence."

"Exactly how dangerous is this thing?" Gladio wondered.

"No human however strong cannot slay the Gashadokuro. If we do come across it, you four stay out of its way. It's rather fond of human blood and nothing or no one can satisfy its thirst."

Noctis and Prompto winced while Ignis kept his stone-like expression. Gladio crossed his arms and tried to imagine what the monster looked like, but he had no inkling to what its horrid appearance truly is. (Y/n) cleared her throat and gestured to a hallway they had yet to explore. "Shall we proceed forth?"

"Yeah. Let's go," Noctis replies before taking the lead.

As they scrambled around Zegnautus Keep, the raven-haired boy told (Y/n) and Prompto all that happened on the train after they fell off. Noctis couldn't summon any of his weapons, but he luckily stumbled across his father's blade to help him with the constant threat of daemons and MTs. Not only was it King Regis' sword, but it was the final royal arm he needed to complete his arsenal.

Gladio also told Famine about their encounter with War, the hot-tempered Horseman. Apparently, the redhead made her appearance on the train after following her target into Gralea. She stumbled across the shield and chatted with him for a few moments before vanishing. "You four are everywhere," he comments.

"You've only met three of four Horsemen," (Y/n) stated.

"Actually..." Noctis started, explaining how Death had helped him when her own target wandered into the Keep.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Famine sighed. "Don't tell me Pestilence has popped by, either..."

"She has, indeed," Ignis responded.

The Horseman ran her hands through her golden locks with another heavy sigh. "And, of course, they don't make time for their own sister. What a lovely family I have..."

As their conversation carried on, they make their way to the central area of the level they were currently on. The tactician suddenly calls out to all of them as he stops, listening to his surroundings. "Noct, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" The raven-haired boy glanced around in confusion.

"I've heard this sound before-on the train, just before your weapons failed you. It's nearby, and it may hold the key to restoring your power."

With more motivation than earlier, the five take off in the direction of the sound. They make their way across the catwalk leading to the central area, the noise crescendoing. "It's here," the strategist said.

Noctis stops at the large closed metal door in the center of the enormous room with bewilderment written across his face. "This thing?" He places his hand against the door and tries to open them. "Door's locked."

"It's coming from within. Is there no way through?"

(Y/n) caught sight of Prompto staring down at the barcode imprinted on his skin. Her shoulders slumped slightly at seeing the painful look in his eyes. "Prompto," she called out softly.

He lifted his head and met her loving but sorrow gaze before reverting his eyes back to his wrist. "There's a way." His friends look at him as he hesitantly steps up to the door's scanner and raises the back of his right wrist to it. The door slides open and his jaw became tight, unable to make eye contact with anyone. "So, MTs... They've got those codeprints... just like I do."

Noctis wasn't fazed by the revelation and shrugged his shoulders. "Do they? Never looked."

Prompto nodded, gulping in fear of what is waiting in store for him. "Yeah... So, as it turns out... I'm one of them. Not exactly something I could tell people growing up in Lucis." He fought back tears, his voice feeble. "Still... You guys are like... the only friends I've ever known. And (Y/n)... I don't even deserve her. I just hope that things can stay the way they were."

"Whatever. Who cares where you were born?" Noctis retorts.

"I don't see you turning against us. Not now, or ever," Ignis spoke up.

Prompto was overjoyed by their responses. "Thanks, guys. Still... I can't change where I came from. What I am."

"Since when does where you come from matter to you?" The young king pondered. "You never once treated me as a prince." He playfully punches Prompto's shoulder with a smirk.

"He's got you there," Gladio guffawed.

"Never so much as a "Highness"," the royal advisor adds.

"We're done here. C'mon, crown citizen," Noctis said.

Gladio steps over to Ignis to help guide him into the room. He gives Prompto's shoulder a friendly smack as they walk past. "You're one of us, right?"

Prompto stares dumbfounded as Ignis turns his head in the boy's direction. "Unless you'd rather not be."

Prompto smiles and nods. (Y/n) took a few steps towards him, her hands interlocked behind her back. She walked past him and elbowed him in the side, smiling at him. "Told ya. You may be from Niflheim, but you're a Lucian. You broke free from your past and created a new path for you to follow. Now that you know their answer, all these doubts you have should be put to rest. No more putting yourself down. Keep your head held high and stand beside those you care about and love. They're gonna need your support, especially during the hard times."

The Horseman didn't make it one step further before being grabbed and yanked into a pair of lithe but strong arms. Her face collided with a chest as the arms around her held her flush against Prompto's body. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his warm breath brushing against her skin. "I really don't deserve you," she heard him mutter. "Six, I'm so damn lucky to have you."

"I feel the same way," she sighed contently.

Out of the blue, they heard Gladio calling out to both of them. They broke apart, a pout prominent on the sharpshooter's face as he released (Y/n). Side by side, they walked into the room and saw abandoned clothing laying upon the throne. Alongside the throne was a large bank of computers, the cause of Noctis' lost powers. Said boy rams his father's sword through the machines, creating a bright spark before they malfunction.

"So..." Prompto glanced at his best friend. "Did it work?"

"With the device down and out, Noct's power should be up and running," Ignis announces.

Gladio nods toward Noctis. "Go on, try it."

"Alright," the young boy exhaled. "Moment of truth." He holds out his hand and conjures a sword, earning applause from his blonde friend.

"We're back, baby," the shield grinned triumphantly.

"Let's roll," Noctis said.

The fully reunited and re-empowered retinue leave the emperor's throne room. When they thought they'd be in the clear, a gargantua daemon suddenly lands on the platform in front of them. It's quickly joined by other daemons, who set their sights on the group.

"Not you again," Noctis groaned with an eye-roll.

"New friend?" Prompto asked with his newly gifted pistol in his grasp.

"You really need to pick 'em better," Gladio said as he summoned his greatsword.

Before any of the boys could lift their weapons, the daemons were slain. (Y/n) had used the Sword of Judgement to slice through them within seconds. She stood before the baffled group, ridding herself of her weapon. When she registered all the eyes focused on her, she blinked a few times and shrugged her shoulders. "What?"

"Uh..." Noctis couldn't find the right words to respond to her innocent tone.

"Damn..." Gladio muttered in shock.

Prompto placed a hand over his racing heart. "I think I'm falling in love all over again..."

"'Bout that..." the brute turned to face the marksman. "When the hell did you two hook up?"

"A story for another time, perhaps," Ignis stated. "For now, we continue forth." They left the area and continued through Zegnautus Keep.

While walking down a narrow hallway, Prompto noticed the Ring of the Lucii resting snuggly around Noctis' finger. "I see you decided to rock the ring."

"Had to. No weapons, no friends, no choice, really," Noctis responded. "Y'know, somebody here's got to fight to rescue the Crystal... Not to mention rescue all of your asses."

"Spoken like a true king," Gladio chortled lightly. "About time."

"The ring represents a great burden, but you don't bear it alone," Ignis chimes in.

"You can say that again. Especially now that you all have your weapons back," the king responded.

"I'm diggin' this new gun, though," Prompto commented, showcasing the firearm he received from (Y/n). "It packs a punch!"

"Where'd you..." Noctis glanced toward Prompto before noticing an innocently smiling Famine walking beside him. "Never mind."

<-----------<<<<<<<<<

By the time the five reached a dormitory, they were exhausted. Noctis flopped down on one of the beds while Ignis sat down in a chair adjacent from him. Prompto sat down on the edge of the bed his best friend claimed and watched as (Y/n) remained by the door.

"You just gonna stand there or what?" Gladio scoffed, earning a sharp glare from the blonde boy.

"No," she sighed with a hint of vexation. "I'm gonna be on watch while the four of you get some rest." She turned and walked out of the room without another word.

Prompto crosses his arms, his glare burning into the shield. "Dude, really? You still don't trust her?"

"Seriously," Noctis groaned as he sat up. "It's thanks to her Prompto was rescued."

"Yeah!" The photographer shrieked. "When I fell off the train, she tried to save me! When I was at my weakest, she... she supported me. She's the reason I was able to tell you guys the truth! I don't know why you don't like her, but she's done a lot for us-especially me!"

Gladio listened as Prompto spilt the details of their journey after he and (Y/n) fell off the train. He didn't leave a single detail out in hopes the bodyguard would finally abandon the hostile attitude towards the Horseman and treat her with the gratitude and kindness she truly deserves.

Once Prompto finished explaining, his tone was low and his eyes were staring down at his clenched hands. "Honestly, I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for her." He flops back on the bed. "She's just so amazing," he sighs dreamily.

"It appears we are indebted to (Y/n)," Ignis stated. "In more ways than one."

Gladio rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Guess you're right, Iggy." He pushed himself off the bed and walked toward the door. As he stepped in front of it, the sound of metal ripping came from the other side and the entire room shook.

"W-What the hell?!" Noctis shouted as he flew to his feet with Prompto close behind. Ignis steadily raised his body from where he sat and turned his head in the direction of the door.

Gladio triggered the door and immediately stepped back when a boney appendage nearly grabbed him. "Shit!" He dodges a couple of skeletal fingers, stepping away from the door and standing in front of the others as he summoned his greatsword.

(Y/n) stood on the other side of the large appendage, trapped in a dead end with no way around it. She couldn't even reach the room due to where the arm had bursted through the floor. "Guess you go tired of waiting, huh?" She summoned her sword and slashed at the arm of the Gashadokuro when she saw it reach into the room the boys were in. "Oh, no, no, no! If you wanna target someone, target me!" She slashed at the monster, successfully grabbing its attention.

The remainder of its arm surged through the floor and toward (Y/n). The speed baffled her due to knowing the monster's true size and didn't register it had grabbed one of her legs between its thumb and index finger. She gasped, dropping her blade as her body was dragged across the floor toward the hole when the arm began its retreat. She knew magic would be useless against the massive creature due to its resilience again spells of any element. Her Touch of Starvation would fail her as well due to the nature of the Gashadokuro. All she could do was search for something to grab, but the hallway was barren.

Before (Y/n) could be dragged down to the lower levels of Zegnautus Keep, someone grabbed ahold of her arm and used all their strength to prevent her from being taken. Looking up, her (e/c) eyes widen in pure shock. "Gladio," she gasped.

"The second I try to make shit right and this damn thing shows up," he hissed against the strain of trying to fight against the Gashadokuro.

"(Y/n)!" She heard Prompto bellow as he, Noctis, and Ignis left the room. He grabbed her other arm and tried to help, but between the monster's strength and the combined strength of the two boys, it was winning.

"You two need to-ah!" She cries out in pain, feeling the Gashadokuro crushing her leg between its fingers.

Prompto flinched at hearing the painful wail and accidentally slackened his grip. When she sunk further into the hole, he quickly retightened it. He used his other hand to summon the gun she gave him and aimed it at the monster's arm. He shot a few rounds, but the Gashadokuro didn't slacken its hold on Famine.

"You've gotta let go!" (Y/n) shouted at the two boys.

"What?! No!" Prompto shouted. "We're not gonna let you go!" The blonde suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. His mind raced to when he had fallen off the train and she had been the one to catch him, refusing to let go.

"At this rate," the Horseman groaned as the monster tugged more on her leg. "My leg is gonna be torn off if this game of tug-of-war doesn't end! Missing limbs take too much time to regenerate and we don't have much time to begin with! Let me go, Prompto, Gladio!"

"B-But..." the sharpshooter's voice dissipated as he stared down into her (e/c) eyes.

"I'll be fine. This way, I know the four of you will be safe. Only I can slay the Gashadokuro."

Gladio saw the determination in Famine's eyes and sighed. "You're one helluva tough girl, you know that?"

"Have to be for the job I'm stuck with," she managed to chuckle through the pain.

"W-We'll find you, okay?" Prompto's shaky voice echoed throughout the empty hall.

"I'll be waiting," (Y/n) smiled in return.

In unison, Prompto and Gladio released the girl and watched helplessly as the Gashadokuro dragged her down the hole and down to the lowest levels of Zegnautus Keep.

[syphiria]

Makai Ouji Pillar 95 (final) Translation

Sorry for the wait. Here is the finale~~~~~!!

RAW via Michelle. Thank you.

Note: Mobile line breaks seem to be broken. Please switch to a browser to see proper formatting.

1 (A splendid palace once stood here) (The fact that it used to be a paradise for demons, now no one knows anymore-) ([Makai Ouji: devils and realist] at last the finale-!!)

2 (Each and every one’s path continues to tomorrow-…) (Volumes 1-14, on sale now!!) (Makai Ouji devils and realist) (Final Pillar)

3 (Finally, the emotional finale!!!!) (Utako Ukihiro) (Author: Madoka Takadono)

4 S: You are Lucifer’s child? Were you after this ring just to challenge him? What a foolish and pitiful soul This is nothing like what you want C: Are you…… going to make me a slave?

5 S: I’m just going to make you sleep Until those wounds heal Everyone is doing that Here, there is no one who will harm you (Not even Lucifer) (Power unattainable even by that Emperor) C: Even I will be able sleep here?

6 (I found relief in those pillars many times) (By his side) (That’s why I tried to create this time So that this time, I may receive him) B: O new Emperor of ours Lead this Hell

7 C: I swear to fulfil my duty

8 A: In the end, with Lord Sitri in Heaven Dantalion in Limbo The one who gained the most from this battle seems to be His Lordship Beelzebub B: Your Majesty is still young From here on, it is likely that we will be required to assist C: With the disappearance of Samael and Baalberith The West and the East are missing Kings Thus, to make sure the land of the Gauls is governed, I myself will take over the ruins B: -As you wish J: To think that even after becoming a demon, I can’t cut ties with the United Kingdom B: Though if I may, there is something that I would like to ask Your Majesty

9 Leaving the command of roles of the Four Kings at that What do you plan to do with the positions of the Four Princes? J: With a new regime do you plan to assign a ‘substitute king’ and an ‘elector’? That being said, both you and we Anyone will eventually slumber The position of the Emperor cannot be left open C: That’s true… However, let’s end the conflicts from the last generation Both illogical and unproductive I’ve painfully experienced enough with this time’s case J: …… ?

10 C: It seems like I’ve been infected by that realist J: My Imperial Majesty C: Stop with that address J: Come on now, I’ve brought some good intel Hear me out ‘til the end C: ?

11 SFX dash B: Your Majesty!? J: Would you please let him go? Because he’s lived until now for this very moment

12 M: Sorry I’ve become a demon C: It’s fine No matter what form You will always be you

13 So please don’t go anywhere else…… M: Let’s bake pizza again, the three of us and invite many guests Because I want people besides us to know too of how kind you are

14 My Imperial Majesty [-One year later] [United Kingdom King’s College of Our Lady of Stratford beside the Avon Also known as: Stradford College] (TN/ The Japanese says Stradford rather that Stratford)

15 T: Graduate representative, the dux- Mycroft Swallow! W: (nihility) T: Congratulations to our new generation of graduates!!

16 Damn it… Damn it…! SFX stomp stomp If it wasn’t for the couple’s quarrel between those annoying old men I wouldn’t have been treated as missing by the house!! (The holiday ended while he was in Hell so he was treated as a missing person) I: (That’s what William makes of arguably the greatest event in History that is Lucifer’s destruction?) W: Curse them How dare there leave a scare in my glorious future diary… I: It’s fine, isn’t it W: What!? I: You’re going for further study at Oxford, right? Yet I can’t even graduate-! [Finally Sixth Form] W: Isn’t it good that you managed to advance to the next grade?

17 (This is supposed to be a view that I’m used to, yet I wonder why I feel as if something is missing-) M: Hey, congrats W: Mathers! M: E-a-r-l!

18 From today, my teaching career ends Since I thought that I’d go travelling with them E: Congrats! B: Happy times! W: Whoa!? What’s with you M: They wanted to thank you for saving Stradford’s forests If you hadn’t bought back the land, this place would have also become a polluted town W: …It’s nothing; I just used the money he left behind appropriately [After Uncle Barton died Arthur Christian disappeared some time from the school] [According to Mathers, the role of the Four Horsemen may have ended…]

19 But the council hasn’t yet passed a law regarding smog restriction M: This you’ll have to ask the person himself I: [After the said day that the old world was destroyed ‘They’ became scarce] [I heard that Sitri became an angel (at the same level as that Metatron to boot)] [Camio ascended the throne of Hell (he’s Lucifer’s son, so to say that was expected)] [Dantalion-] [is apparently slumbering in Limbo]

20 [Injured demons sink themselves into a slumber similar to death for hundreds of years] [That’s why no longer Can he and William meet] (Ultimately, he didn’t even go to Camio’s coronation) At this rate, will he continue and become a normal human? William M: Those notes have become quite thick I: Mr Mathers I’m considering eventually compiling it into one volume as you suggested, sir

21 M: You can stop with the sir I’m no longer a teacher here The Order of the Golden Dawn remains as a secret society for now I: Are you not doing what the Freemasons did? M: Are you interested? I: Of course! I’m thinking of eventually joining the Rosicrucian Order too!! M: If that’s the case, you can use this if you like I: Really!? M: I doubt I will use the name Mathers again You can go ahead and use it as a pen name MacGregor isn’t my real name anyway

22 Isaac, you’ll be the second-generation Mathers, so to speak Alter ipse amicus. ‘A friend is another self’ I: [After that, I never met the ‘Count of Glenstrae’ again] [Perhaps, maybe once] [The one who appeared in England during that horrific world war may have been him]

23 [Regardless, I succeeded his name And went on to record all the odd events that occurred around William] (‘The Lesser Key of Solomon’) […The truth is, saying that nothing strange happened around William after that would sort of be a lie] K: Young Master~~~!!! Thank God I made it on time- W: Kevin, you’re quite late K: I applied for leave just for today But my superior piled up work

24 [After Kevin took Dantalion to Limbo Right when he was about to fall from using up all his power] [It’s hard to believe, but apparently, he was saved by Michael] [He got his wings back and was able to return to Heaven] [Apparently, his current superior is that Sitri For better or for worse, they seem to be getting along well]

25 [The aforementioned Sitri still visits the human realm from time to time Even after becoming an angel] S: Still watching Even now…

26 Sign: Go die, Freemasons!!

27 SFX grab

28 M: I’ll find him Definitely

29

30

31 I: Graduation, huh A lot has happened but Can we no longer gather together and have tea like before~ Ah- T: By the way, I forgot to mention, William There’s actually a transfer student W: What? It’s the graduation ceremony today

32 Who on earth would transfer at a time like this- …Dan talion…? D: Congrats on graduating

33 W: …Why What happened to sleeping for a hundred years!?!? D: I’m shocked myself too To think that I’d awaken so soon W: In Limbo …… never I thought we’d never be able to meet again…… D: Because I wanted to see you

34 -plus I felt like you were calling me

35 K: SFX stab Let go of those filthy hands right now! D: What the heck Jerk who nearly died! K: And who exactly is a jerk who nearly died?! (I can chuck you back into Limbo again if you want!) W: Oi… S: I made it!!! William!! I’ve come by Pegasus Express!

36 C: Hey, William W: Camio too!?!? Is it alright for the Emperor of Hell and the Representative of Heaven to be casually hanging around… (Second-generation Gabriel) (Second-generation Lucifer) S: You’re going to be in a dorm in Oxford too anyway, right? In that case, I’ll occupy the common room again C: Maybe I’ll be a student again W: You guys…

37 There’s no more Substitute King selection Neither is there Solomon’s ring S: This has nothing to do with contracts W: Wha D: I like you so I want to be by your side That’s all W: L L Like…… What are you sayin……

38 S: Choose me any time you feel lonely, William Heaven’s quite a nice place (the annoying obsessed-psycho is no longer here) D: Shut-up angel The one whom William will choose is me! C: Don’t pay attention to those two, William I would love for you to come to my wedding ceremony with Maria (Maria’s bridal state is so beautiful you could die) W: My graduation ceremony My glorious day of departure!! D: You’re at fault W: What did you say S: That’s right We’ve known each other for so long, yet we still haven’t heard that crucial thing

39 D: William Who is it that you like? W: W who…

40 All: -Choose me, William!

41 SFX snap K: Get away from the Young Master’s side!! I: An angel, a demon, and a nephilim It really is rare for a human to be proposed to by everything in this world As expected of you, William W: Listen up I’m telling you this one important thing that you guys seem to have forgotten despite our long acquaintance… Open up your ears and listen carefully!

42 In this glorious life of mine Neither angels Nor demons Nor magic is needed -I am a realist!

43 All: I know!! (Thank you for being a reader for this long time!! Utako Yukihiro’s new series starts next issue!! Please look forward to it!!)

That’s it! As always, please point out any mistakes if you spot any. Thanks for sticking around for so long~~ And for those who still want more, don’t worry, I am still working on the translation for Isaac’s Fortune-Telling Diary; I will probably translate that extra booklet regarding Heaven too.

[oldfashionedswiftcurse]

I Did Something Bad

*********AU/Alter Ego Taylor************

Sometimes, all it took was one wink to have them eating out of the palm of her hands. It was simple really, a wink or a grin usually made them think she was theirs. Taylor wasn’t a black widow necessarily, and she genuinely fell for the guys she met in dark bars and loud concerts. She made it easy for them to fall in love with her too, showering them with presents and luxuries that could only be attained in their wildest dreams. They all started off the same way, drunkenly professing their deepest desires to each other and then somehow ending up waking up next to each other the next morning.

They would date…privately, of course…away from the prying eyes of the cameras that were always on her. And when things turned sour in the relationship (which they always did), Taylor would get rid of them cleanly and without a care in the world. Her first boyfriend was found cheating on her multiple times, and when she drew that knife and smirked while sticking it into his stomach, she felt a sense of power that only worsened. Her second boyfriend was money-hungry, stealing thousands from her in the blink of an eye. He always calmed her down with soothing words and soft kisses, but when she finally had enough, his body was the easiest to dispose of.

           In all of her years, she had never been caught. Many times, she came so close to being imprisoned, but she always slipped away. There was always something that was too speculative or inadmissible, and she was always freed. People usually got over the stories, believing that she was always framed, but one person kept a close watch.

           “Detective Alwyn,” Taylor whispered, slipping past the golden-haired man eyeing her closely. “I thought you were on duty tonight.”

           His tan khakis and maroon button-down told a different story. He wasn’t at this bar for drinks and fun, despite what his outward appearance wanted to portray. He was here to finally take her down, and the way his blue eyes followed her around the bar was haunting.

           “Not tonight, Ms. Swift,” he muttered, his lilting accent hiding his disapproval. “Tonight is a night of celebration.”

           “Celebration?” She asked, pursing her dark red lips into a smirk. “What would you happen to be celebrating?”

           “The night you’re finally brought down.”

           His matter-of-fact tone and the way he sipped his gin made her chuckle.

           “I have no idea what you’re talking about. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this is a modern-day witch hunt. I’m sure there are laws against this type of stalking.”

           “I’m just a man in a bar looking for a night of fun and intrigue,” he said, sipping his drink. “If I finally manage to take down the Black Widow herself, that’ll just be a bonus.”

           “Well, on behalf of everyone here tonight, I hope you find her. You seem to be bringing everyone’s mood down.”

           He smiled subtly, brushing past her as he moved.

           “You look exquisite tonight, by the way,” he whispered into her ear, making the goosebumps on her arm stand up. “What’s that saying? Oh, you’re dressed to…kill, isn’t that it?”

           She paused, eyeing him cautiously. He watched her walk away and cursed himself for being so obvious about his goals. For two years, he had been chasing her, never being able to surpass her expensive lawyers and piercing wit. Whenever he got even slightly close to discovering the truth, she just slipped through his fingers. She moved gracefully, and when a large crowd of people danced near him, Joe instantly lost her.

           When the moon faded into the blinding sun of dawn, Joe awoke to another murder. Without any connection to Taylor, Joe knew she had struck again, and he had no evidence to prove it. When he arrived to study the body, she had wiped it nearly clean, except for a tube of lipstick. He knew the chance of finding prints on it was weak, but he bagged it into evidence. For the next few nights, he watched her like a hawk, partying and drinking like only she knew how to. However, when the evidence was finally returned to it, Joe’s eyes danced with delight when he saw the lipstick again. This time, Taylor’s name flashed in bright red letters next to it, the connection he had been waiting for two years for.

           Moving quickly, he signaled for two officers to follow him to Taylor’s apartment. When they arrived, Joe saw the brief flash of a hand behind a curtain and knew she was home. Letting the two officers trail behind him at a distance, Joe climbed upstairs and knocked loudly at the door.

           “Ms. Swift, Detective Alwyn! Open up!” He said, gesturing for the officers to remain at the bottom of the steps.

           When no one answered, Joe kicked it open and found a patiently waiting Taylor drinking a glass of wine.

           “It’s about time. Took you long enough,” she mumbled fiercely, taking a sip of the white toxin.

           “I…we finally have you for this. There aren’t any more get-out-of-jail free cards, Taylor. You’re done.”

           She chuckled like a fiend, setting her glass on the table.

           “Lock me up then, Detective. Read me my rights and take me away.”

           He froze at her nonchalance. Had he read the evidence sheet wrong? Was this a huge prank that was being played on him?

           “You expected us to show up. You dropped your lipstick on purpose. You didn’t wear gloves that night…”

           “Because you thought you had it all figured out,” she interrupted. “You thought I was a bored, lonely woman whose only hobby was murder. Looks like we were both wrong.”

           “How were you wrong?” Joe asked, reaching for the gun in its holster.

           “Because I thought you, of all people, would figure this out sooner. You’re smart, Alwyn, but not smart enough.”

           Joe paused, thinking deeply about her apathy.

           “And you’re sick, Taylor Swift. You’re under arrest.”

           As he moved toward her, she reached for a book. Dropping it onto the table, Joe reached for it slowly and made sure to keep a close watch on her as he read it. Inside, there were pictures of the two dead men, pictures of bank account transactions, a family photo.

           “What is this?” He asked, scoffing. “Some memorabilia for you to remember your sick crimes?”

           “You men of the law think you have it all figured out. Purveyors of justice, keepers of safety, but you’re so far off key,” she said matter-of-factly.

           “This is Dean Fuller’s family,” Joe said, looking at the family photo. “You killed an innocent man whose family never got the closure they deserved.”

           Taylor chuckled loudly.

           “Closure? You must be kidding me. Nancy Fuller is probably throwing a party at the hospital right now.”

           Joe tried not to show any signs of emotion, but his confusion was written all over his pale face.

           “Dean Fuller was a drunk and a gambler, Detective. If you had really done your research, you would’ve known that. I was with him long enough to know he was stealing money from me…money that should’ve gone to his sick child, but instead took him on a first class flight to Vegas,” she muttered, looking around her apartment.

           She began walking around now, eyeing him with wild eyes.

           “The money that he stole from me, he gambled away. So after I killed him, I sent a nice fat check to his wife and child, the real victims in this situation, don’t you think?”

           “You don’t get to play vigilante, Taylor. That wasn’t your choice to make,” Joe said fiercely, holding his gun out right now. “Hands where I can see them!”

           Taylor refused, still walking around her apartment.

           “Will Teller was a lot worse, I’d say though,” she began, reaching for her glass of wine on the kitchen island. “He was a notorious cheat, and his girlfriend knew all about it.”

           “You killed him for cheating? You must think that you’re God…” Joe began, but was immediately cut off.

           “He cheated with a few different girls, and he was rich, so he never tried to steal from me. And I didn’t really care about him, so the cheating thing never bothered me. That’s not why I killed him.”

           “Then why did you?” Joe asked, feeling his heart speed up.

           His gun was out and pointing directly at her, but he wanted to hear the end of her story. She gestured to the book in front of him, and he turned the page. The bank transactions were in Teller’s name, ranging up to a few million dollars. When he looked closer, he saw that the amounts were all addressed to various women, at least five.

           “The rich, white men are all the same,” Taylor said, smirking. “Five different women with no direct connection to each other all coming forward to accuse Teller of rape? I’d say that’s more than a coincidence, wouldn’t you?”

           “How do you know this is accurate? This never came up in our intel,” Joe muttered angrily.

           “I do get to play the vigilante, Detective Alwyn. Because where our justice system fails, there I am waiting to strike. I’m like a snake in a way, just waiting for the right moment.”

           “You killed them,” Joe said to convince himself. “I was right about you all along.”

           “You can pretend that you don’t see the flaws in our system, Detective, but they’re there. They’re so obvious that you either never noticed or never cared.”

           “Taylor…”

           “So take me away,” she mumbled, extending her hands. “I’ll confess everything. You’ve caught me.”

           “You wanted to be caught,” Joe said with a shocked look on his face. “You wanted me to piece all of this together.”

           “I wanted you to know the truth. I wanted you to know that there’s more to people than what’s written on a piece of paper. There’s a difference between morality and justice, Alwyn.”

           Joe remained silent, putting his gun on the table. When he reached for the handcuffs in his back pocket, he looked at them for a minute. The silence was deafening, and Taylor’s blue eyes were locked on him. The steady clink was heard as Joe threw the handcuffs to the ground.

           “There’s a back door that leads up to your patio. I’ve been studying the blueprints to this place for at least a year, planning all your getaway spots and secret doors. I just never thought they’d come in handy for your escape.”

           Taylor was stunned, watching him carefully.

           “I know. There’s a helicopter already waiting for me up there,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if you’d give me a choice.”

           “I’m a detective, Taylor. This goes against everything because for all I know, you could’ve killed those men out of sheer boredom. But something….something tells me that I’m not making a mistake here,” he said, stepping out of her way.

           Taylor quietly moved to lift her already packed bag and walked to the back door.

           “It’s nice to know that morality still exists somewhere,” she whispered, running outside.

           When the officers burst through the front door, they found Joe on the floor with his shoulders hung in defeat. He may have made a mistake, but his gut told a different story. He had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do in the future, but Joe would never forget Taylor Swift. Not the way she made him feel or the way she made him believe that people are flawed and humanity is difficult to comprehend and justice can’t always be served with a gavel.

[zacekova]

Everything’s Fine (Really) chapter 2

First - Next 

Shirayuki knocked on the door to Zen’s office and opened it slowly, calling out a greeting, but the room was empty. Her brow furrowed.

It was rare for Zen to be late for work but her report was sitting untouched on his desk where she had left it the night before and he hadn’t come to the lab. So where was he?

A passing officer noticed her standing around and stopped. “Are you looking for the Detective?” he asked.

Shirayuki nodded. “Yeah, have you seen him?”

“He showed up about a half-hour ago and headed straight to Interrogations. Looked keyed up, if you ask me.”

“Okay, thanks!” Shirayuki said, giving a quick nod of thanks and spinning toward the other end of the building. She stopped outside the Investigations department to check-in, leaning against the desk’s high countertop. “Hey, Shuuka.”

Shuuka looked up from the monitor and grinned. “Oh, hi Shirayuki. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“I was looking for Zen, is he here?” she asked.

Shuuka nodded. “Yeah, interrogating a suspect, I think. He signed in to Room Five,” he said pointing down the hall.

Shirayuki followed the gesture briefly and turned back with a smile. “Thanks, Shuuka!”

He gave her a wave and she trotted off.

Interrogation room number five was already occupied by Lieutenant Shidan, Izuru, Kiki. The interrogation rooms were split into two halves, the outer rooms minimally furnished with a passel of folding chairs clustered in a ring around the observation window, a couch shoved in the back corner, and a small bar stocked with a coffee maker and a stack of cups. In contrast, the inner rooms contained nothing but a steel table and set of chairs. Shidan was in the outer room, seated in one of the folding chairs, elbows braced on his knees and watching the proceedings through the one-way glass intently. Izuru was scribbling notes on the crackly audio feed coming in through the ceiling’s speakers while Kiki leaned against the wall by the window, arms crossed and eyes bright with something that almost looked like amusement.

“I get it,” Zen was saying. His left side in dignified profile, back straight and expression serious as he stared down the suspect seated opposite of him and sounding irritated. “You didn’t do anything to the girl. I find that hard to believe considering you were dumping her in the alley rather than actually bringing her inside the hospital, but say you’re telling the truth. You still haven’t explained why you had her in the first place.”

“If I told you that you wouldn’t have much left to do, Detective,” the suspect drawled, grinning. He slouched back in his seat, dark grey boots planted wide on the floor and hands shoved in his pockets. He seemed indifferent to the glares boring into him from across the table and the corner of the room where Mitsuhide loomed, his lips stretched in a cocky grin. His shoulders stretched the fabric of his t-shirt with every lazy roll of his shoulders in answer to half of Zen’s questions, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and tight around the corded muscles of his forearms. His hair was a mess of black spikes over tanned skin and…

Shirayuki sucked in a surprised breath. His eyes were gold, bright as flame and piercing beneath his dark lashes. They bored into Zen with an intensity that betrayed the loose sprawl of his limbs and relaxed expression. “I wouldn’t want our fine officers getting bored,” he finished saying.

Zen’s jaw clenched, grinding his teeth. “Just answer the question.”

The man’s gaze narrowed, lips curling in anger. “And what exactly do I get if I tell you? If the wrong people saw me get picked up and even think I’ve narced I’ll be dead before noon. I’m a good liar but I’d really rather not risk it just to help you out with a case that’s probably more than you can handle anyway. And if I keep my mouth shut you’ll incarcerate me for obstruction of justice, right? No matter what, I lose here, but I’d rather spend a few nights in jail than the alternative.”

Zen and Mitsuhide’s brows furrowed, the latter unwinding from his place in the corner and bracing his palm against the table as he leaned over to get the suspect’s attention. His expression softened. “You know, you don’t have to stay with them.”

“With who, exactly?” the guy said, affecting innocence, but his hands were balled into fists in his pockets.

Zen heaved a sigh, drawing the man’s gaze. “Look. You helped that girl out of what I suspect was nothing more than the goodness of your heart so despite the company that I also suspect you keep, I think you’re probably not too bad a guy. You help us out and we’ll do what we can to help you.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Why not?” Mitsuhide asked, smiling. “Our job is to help people. Say the word and that’s what we’ll do.”

The man’s eyes widened, face slack and surprised as he looked back-and-forth between Mitsuhide’s smile and Zen’s careful, but determined, nod of agreement.

The man’s breath left in a gust and he tipped his head back to look up at the ceiling. “I’m probably gonna regret this,” he muttered, before leaning over the table on his forearms and turning his burning golden eyes on Zen. “I need your help,” he said.

Zen slid his notepad back in front of him and grabbed a pen. “Tell us what you know.”

“My name is Obi,” the man - Obi - said. “I work for a particular high-end member of Clarines’ crime syndicate as a bodyguard, mostly, but when there’s a need I also… take out the trash, so to speak.”

Shirayuki bit her lip, fighting a shiver the words tried to coax out, and Kiki inhaled through her nose.

Obi grimaced at the way Mitsuhide’s hand flew toward his holster but soldiered on. “My job lets me see a lot. Hear a lot. I know about the drug problem, know how bad it is. I can help you stop it.”

“Do you know who’s distributing it?” Zen asked.

Obi shook his head. “Yes and no. There’s dozens of dealers all over the city but I don’t know who they’re buying from, don’t know the source. I’ve tried talking to a couple of them already but they’re all ignorant or too smart to squeal.”

Mitsuhide frowned. “You’re not offering us much to work with.”

Obi’s eyes narrowed at him. “You think you’d do any better? Half my job is gettin people to talk and I’m good at it but I haven’t dealt with such tight lips in years, all the usual fear and pressure tactics useless, and you think your half-assed macho act will work? Maybe you can pout for ‘em and they’ll melt over those puppy eyes,” he said with a smile all teeth.

Mitsuhide spluttered, said eyes sparking in anger, but Zen reached out a hand to stop him. “Alright, chill out, both of you. Obi, can you get the info we need?”

Obi dragged his gaze away from where Mitsuhide was glowering off to the side and back toward Zen, leaning back in his seat. “Yes. But it’s gonna take time.”

“How much time?” Zen asked.

Obi shook his head, lips pursed. “I don’t know. I’m gonna have to do some digging, maybe ask the bosses some questions, but they’re all real twitchy. If I’m not careful they’ll just get rid of me and not bother with the risk.”

Zen nodded. “So we take our time and tread softly.” He pushed back from the table and stood, gathering his files. “Alright, I want my team present before we go any further with this. Mitsuhide?”

“On it,” Mitsuhide said, pulling out his work cell.

Kiki pushed off the wall and brushed against Shirayuki’s arm. “That’s us.”

Shirayuki nodded, and smiled at Shidan and Izuru where they were bent over discussing their notes on her way out of the room. “I’m going to run and grab the reports on Zen’s desk from the lab, just in case he wants them. I’ll meet you there.”

~~~

Shirayuki’s phone went off with the meeting location halfway back to the conference rooms. She made her way down the last door on the left and paused on the threshold.

Zen and Mitsuhide were bent over the opposite side of the table sorting through their files and Kiki and planted herself across from them with her arms folded over her chest, waiting patiently.

But Obi… Obi was lounging at the head of the table, booted feet propped up and hands braced behind his head, biceps straining at the tight fabric of his t-shirt, and staring up at the ceiling, whistling something vaguely familiar. The sound of the door opening drew his attention and his gaze rolled sideways to where Shirayuki stood frozen in the doorway. His eyes widened the slightest bit before roving over her, dragging down to her feet and back up to her face and lingering enough to make her face heat. His whistling tapered off, the last notes echoing in the corners of the room, and his lips quirked in amusement, but his eyes had gone dark, swirling with something that looked like hunger, and Shirayuki couldn’t decide if he was making fun of her or not.

She swallowed at the heat in his gaze and willed the flush out of her cheeks, marching forward to take the empty seat next to Kiki and away from those bewitching golden eyes.

He started whistling again.

Zen looked up and saw her and smiled. “Oh good, you’re here. We can get started.” He and Mitsuhide pulled out chairs for themselves and sat down. “Were you both in the interrogation room?” he asked, glancing between the two women.

“I was,” Kiki said. “Shirayuki missed the first twenty minutes or so.”

Zen waved his hand dismissively. “That’s fine, you heard the important part. At this point I’m not sure there’s anything more to plan, not until Obi has some more intel for us, but we at least need to figure out how we’re going to stay in contact. I’d rather meet in person than rely on phone calls or texts. It’s less likely to end with misinformation. What about Mitsuhide?”

Obi glanced down at them, pausing in the middle of his song, and wrinkled his nose. “He’s not my type.”

Mitsuhide spluttered while Kiki chuckled and Shirayuki covered her mouth to hide a grin.

Only Zen stayed serious, frowning. “Hilarious, but I don’t care about your preferences.”

“What if I said you’re my type?” Obi asked, grinning and dragging his gaze down Zen’s frame.

Zen flushed, but seemed to ignore his own embarrassment, frowning. “Can you stay focused, please? What’s wrong with Mitsuhide being your contact?”

Obi slid his feet down to the floor and sat upright, bracing his elbows on the table. “I was serious about that. The easiest way to spin this, me meeting with some new person not in the gang, is for me to say I’m dating them, yeah?”

Kiki nodded. “Makes sense. No need to explain some new relative that’s never been around before and no one will get suspicious if you’re missing more often.”

Obi tipped his head at her. “Exactly. And just like I have a reputation, I’m known for having a type.” He turned to Mitsuhide and gave him a conciliatory pat on the hand. “And you’re just not pretty enough for me, Mister. Sorry.”

Mitsuhide’s cheeks pinked but he was scowling. “Somehow, I think I’ll recover,” he said, deadpan.

Zen shook his head, the expression on his face one of mild bewilderment and weary longsuffering. “Alright, fine, not Mitsuhide. I suppose I can.”

“Nope,” Obi shook his head, “both you and the blonde chic are out, everyone knows your faces from a mile away.”

Zen huffed. “Great. But I’d really rather have a field agent on this.”

Shirayuki’s stomach swooped.

Kiki seemed to realize it first, turning to her and suppressing a smile at the way Shirayuki knew her face was twisted up. Mitsuhide and Zen followed soon after, both wearing expressions of apprehension and uncertainty. Obi leveled her with an assessing look.

Shirayuki swallowed. “Me?”

Zen chewed on his lip and nodded. “I know this isn’t exactly your forte but you are technically a field agent and you’re new enough to the team that most of the… people Obi associates with aren’t likely to recognize you.”

Shirayuki’s brow furrowed and she pointed a single finger up at her hair.

Obi chuckled.

Zen glared at him before he turned to give Shirayuki an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. Maybe we should get someone from another team to take care of this, I don’t want you in any danger - on this case or any future cases.”

“Zen, I appreciate and know why you’re concerned,” Shirayuki said, “but I took this job fully aware of the dangers involved, probably more aware than most.”

Kiki reached out and touched her arm, the look in her eyes kind and proud. “It’s not a weakness to have people worrying about you. We know you can handle it, we just want to make sure you’re going to be safe.”

“Right,” Mitsuhide added, smiling. “We’re gonna look out for you so well you’ll get sick of it.”

Zen gave her a firm look, waiting for her quiet sigh and nod of acceptance, before turning back to Obi. “Who’s your boss? I want to know exactly what we’re getting into.”

Obi glances at all of them and straightens his shoulders, serious in a way Shirayuki has not seen him be all morning. “Umihebi.”

Mitsuhide choked and Kiki’s next inhale was sharp, tight. Zen went pale, gaze darting over to Shirayuki where she sat frozen, eyes wide and hands starting to shake. She was Obi’s boss?

“Shirayuki,” Zen said, quiet and patient. “Are you okay?”

She could feel Obi’s gaze roving over her, narrow with curiosity and curled her fingers up in the fabric of her lab coat. “It’s fine.”

Kiki grabbed her hand and squeezed, her eyes soft with concern. “Are you sure?”

Shirayuki nodded, swallowing down the sour taste of remembered fear. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Golden eyes were boring into her, steady and searching and bursting with questions, but Obi didn’t ask, just turned back to Zen and got back to business. “I assume you know about her little side project, then,” he said. “It won’t be a problem, Master. She’s never given a shit about my personal life before and knows better than to go snooping on the off chance she does this time. She might be my boss but I can cause her plenty of problems if I want to and she knows it. The miss won’t be in any more danger than she would be if I worked for anyone else.”

“And I how can I trust you? Especially if you work for her?” Zen asked, anger and suspicion souring his tone.

Obi shrugged. “You can’t.”

He didn’t defend himself, didn’t offer up any reasons or “buts” or promises and yet there was something in his eyes, some measure of honesty that Shirayuki couldn’t help but think was sincere, was real.

She looked at Zen and nodded. “I trust him to keep me safe.”

Zen watched her steadily for a long moment, searching her gaze, and sat back in his chair, shoulders slumping. “Figures.” He ran a hand down his face and sighed. “Alright, fine. If you’re okay with it then I won’t try to stop you. I probably wouldn’t be able to anyway.”

Shirayuki smiled. “Thanks Zen.”

“Don’t thank me,’ he said, frowning, “I just agreed to let you fake date a mafia hitman. This is a wreck waiting to happen.”

Shirayuki felt the blood drain from her face and swallowed, glancing over at Obi who was grinning, the gold flecks dancing under the fluorescents with his silent amusement.

Oh. Right.

Shit.

[qwerty-top]

Desiderium

Rated M. I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters in this story. I only own the plot.

“Disgusting creatures may haunt your dreams, but wrong decisions will deem their demise.”

Summary:  Horrid monsters ravage quaint, unsuspecting towns, turning them just mere wisps of folk-lore. Ending their wrath won't be easy. A small group of warriors meet up to dream of the inevitable, but with doubts, debts, and barely any training, they don't know where to begin. Being humanity's last hope has its perks, but finding a traumatized young woman hiding in the forest -full of monsters- reality sorta just smirks and spits in your face, reminding you that you live in a dystopia.

Read this story on FF.Net!

Chapter One: Warm Memories and Dark Pasts

The street was barren. Lifeless. Dead. It was if Mother Nature had taken her sweeper and swept away the human filth. Disgusting. The bone-chilling cold wafted through the air, seemingly unfazed by the street's stillness. The male exhaled, fog from his breath visible in front of his pink tinted nose. He shivered- just a tad- while craning his neck to look at the sun-ridden sky. Snow slowly started to accumulate, just adding onto the suspicious aura the weather emitted. He sighed, snuffling deeper into his scarf while placing his hands into his hoodie pocket, trying to conjure warmth with a plume of smoke evaporating into the crisp, cold air from his sound of his boots clacking was the only sign of life. His pace quickened, suspicions growing with it. His fingers started to numb as he was rushing down the cobblestone pathway. Another puff of air escapes his body, much more in a haste than before. People who said running keeps you warm in the cold might as well be damned, but he was still determined to leave this freezing hell-hole as soon as humanly possible.

Quickly scanning each building, he scrambled inside his pockets in search of his key ring. House 372 on Octarila Avenue. Weird name, yes. Spooky looking house, also yes. But it was home to the rejects, who valued everything they were given; even if given meant stolen. He perused through all his keys, slightly jumping when the outside porch light flickered to life, sensing it was nighttime as an ominous dark cloud loomed over the town. His keys clinked together as he stuck the right one into the slot, then turned it. A low moan sounded in the distance, signaling he was to hurry his ass up. He threw himself inside and slammed the door behind him. He instantly cringed at the loud noise, hoping to all the gods it wasn't loud enough to hear from far away. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in, and slumped against the door.

"Looks like someone just about pissed their pants. Also, don't go slammin' doors 'n shit, its like you're begging to be brutally torn to shreds." A tall, dark haired brute sauntered his way into the room, a frown of disapproval plainly showing. " Natsu...where have you been all day?"

Natsu grunted while stripping off his hoodie, not bothering to give a proper answer, or rather, one that Gray would be wanting to hear. He turned, locked the door, then yanked the curtains to a close, cutting off any light the windows were filtering in - which wasn't very much to begin with.

"Get along, now is not the time for arguing." A scarlet haired woman emerged from the hallway, arms crossed indicating she wasn't pleased with the dark haired male's behaviour. She raised a brow at his scowling. Pushing that aside for later, she welcomed Natsu back home with a smile, but a tinge of worry escaped her features for a mere moment. That was enough for Natsu to realize something seemed off with the two; in fact ever since he stepped foot in the household.

Suddenly, a flash of white light illuminated the curtains; barely peeking out from the uncovered sides. Following it was a distant grumble of thunder, agitating the ground slightly. Small knick-knacks clattered against each other while a pencil rolled off of a desk.

"Thundersnow.1. Not much to fret over. What's with you two? You seem…" Natsu paused, "...off." He draped his hoodie on the arm of the couch, not noticing the coat rack screwed to the wall behind him. Either that or he just didn't care.

Gray sighed, arms going limp on his sides, he pondered over his choice of words, obviously disgusted with what he was about to say. "We were…...worried about you. It's not like you to go out without telling anyone, and you were gone for hours. We thought you were….." His voice broke a few times, trying to grasp a hold of his words; he began again."We thought you were subjected to to horrors that everyone else was given." His hands were now clutched at his sides, bangs covering his facial features.

Natsu squinted his eyes at Gray's choice of words and thought about why he sounded so worried. It wasn't like Gray to get worked up over much, he never jumped to conclusions much. He also never shown any regard towards Natsu, unless they were fighting.

The scarlet haired woman spoke right after, "Natsu, you should know not to go outside like that. It's dangerous for your well being as well as ours. You should know full well that those things are closing in on our base. Stay here and do not leave until we are ready to move out."

"Move out?!" Gray's head flipped back up. "W-we can't just 'move out,' have you lost your mind? There's no way in literal Hell we could ever get out of here unscathed or alive. Soon they will find us and there will be no escape, leaving isn't an option!" He started to hyperventilate, distraught with her plan of action.

"I somewhat agree with you Gray, but it wouldn't hurt to try." His voice was low and understanding. Lightly tapping his chin with his fake golden claw, he predicted what should be their plan of approach.

"Are you insane?! 'Wouldn't hurt to try' my ass! It would literally 'hurt to try,' we might even die!" Natsu's eyes widened, never had he seen Gray so distraught over something. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off with another voice.

"Calm down Gray. We have something the other civilians will never have." The three looked at eachother and spoke without words, all silently exchanging looks; giving approval of leaving the base. Gray seemed to start calming down from the show he put on earlier.

"So, Natsu, I still don't think you answered Gray's question earlier." All eyes directed towards said male; slowly shifting uncomfortably under their gaze.

"I've been….out?" He gave a fake smile, sensing impending doom on his poor, old, fragile soul.

"Natsu. Answer. Now." She was starting to get ticked off, he could tell. A sense of anger radiated off her. He decided not to dawdle any further.

"S-sorry Erza.. I've been gathering intel about the monster's whereabouts and practically jotting down anything i can about them. The more we know, the better." His hands fumbled with his scarf, a sign he was distressed with the vexatious2 feel in the air. It was a habit, his scarf gave him the contentment he needed. It also helped with fumbling over words; it happened a lot to say the least.

"Sufficient answer. I'll take it." Erza elbowed Gray's side, earning another scowl from him.

"Yeah." Was all he said, giving Erza a rude look.

Erza nodded. "I want you all well-rested for tomorrow. Make sure to pack everything you need, but not too much it will slow you down. I really don't need someone else succumbing to a tragic fate."

Both Gray and Natsu exchanged glances, slowing shaking their head as to why she was so formal sometimes.

"Just say die." Natsu tilted his head, but jumped up at her murderous intent. Gray chuckled lowly, muttering an 'idiot' under his breath. Natsu decided to share Erza's murderous intent to Gray, nobody needed to be left out, now did they?

Erza slowly stalked off, leaving the two disgruntled men by themselves. Not the wisest of decisions made. When she was out of sight, Gray spoke up.

"You lied." He seethed. Clenching his teeth, he had given the most repulsive look directed to Natsu.

"I didn't lie. I just stretched the truth a little bit. No harm, no foul." Natsu was a bit irritated with the look he was getting but shrugged it off. He turned around and began to walk out of the room before Gray clenched the ending of his low-riding scarf and yanked it backwards, throwing the male to the floor along with it.

"What the Hell?! What do you think you're doing, you asshole!" Natsu rubbed his sore throat, trying to push up off of the floor and sock Gray in the nose.

"No harm done, eh? How about harm when Erza beats the shit out of you for deceiving her with your lies? Putting her in a false sense of comfort? She really believes you are finding information, do you really wanna know what she would do when she looks to you for guidance tomorrow when we leave here? And when she figures out you've been out drinking? You'd be dead where you stand. I can literally smell it, fire breath." Gray grabbed Natsu's scarf one last time, raised it upwards with his head following and dropped it, a loud thump and yelp resonating from the now injured male.

"Cut that shit out before I beat it out of you." Natsu grumbled, rubbing his scalp. "Look, I know she'll be mad, but I do have a few things written up about them." Natsu finally pushed himself back up on his feet then started to readjust his scarf.

"Like what?" Gray scoffed, watching Natsu's futile attempts at getting the perfect position for the scarf. He eventually just took the whole thing off and draped the two ends on each side of his neck. Gray raised an eyebrow when his eyes met back up to his.

"That they...like to kill?" Natsu averted his eyes. He knew he was going to receive an unthinkable punishment.

"NO SHIT SHERLOCK! " Gray roared, throwing his fist against Natsu's cheek. Obviously pissed to the brim with Natsu's fucked up antics.

"YOU WANNA GO WATSON?!" Natsu grasped his cheek in pure anger and kicked Gray in the stomach, sending him to the floor.

"YOU TWO BETTER NOT BE FIGHTING!" Erza yelled from her room. Both boys stopped, a sense of dread washing over their bodies, fearing for their lives, they simultaneously laughed.

"Of course not! We were just playing a game in here!"

"Aye!"

"Good." Erza replied just loud enough for them to hear from how far the two rooms were. It was surprising to hear how calm she was, yet they were so far away from her, they could barely fathom how they could understand her.

They both sighed in defeat and began rubbing their sore spots. Exchanging looks, they both nodded silently. Natsu held his hand out, grabbing Gray's and hoisting him back up, mumbling a soft apology while Gray sounded his own.

"So is that all you really have about them?" Gray sounded upset in a way, like he was actually hoping to hear something useful from Natsu once in a while.

"'Course not, whaddya take me for, a moron?" Natsu chuckled, plopping himself on the couch seated right by where he was standing.

"Well, actually, yes. I do." Gray smiled, seating himself right by Natsu.

"Oof, bullet to the heart." Natsu motioned that action, earning an eye roll and a shake of his head from Gray.

"Anyway, I have a whole sketchbook full of things. I don't draw in it, since I've never seen those bastards yet. It's just full of notes and things that I hear from other people who actually faced with them, and yet managed to escape. Pretty badass if you ask me."

"So what you're saying is, you went to the bar down the street and asked a couple drunkies about this? Are you even sure they're in their right mind? Not considering you may not even have a mind, sorry I even asked."

"Alright wise guy, you think you have better info than me? Check it!" Natsu proudly flipped his sketchbook over so Gray could scan over it. Neat, small handwriting filled the pages. Notes were scattered in a few places, enough to fill the whole page if not for the weird drawings placed here and there. Looked like Natsu's interpretation of those creatures. What a disgusting plague they were. Ridding himself of the thought, he nodded and looked back over to Natsu's beaming face, obviously proud of his findings. Gray didn't know whether to feel annoyed, thankful, or sad. Sad that he couldn't see Natsu's ass get beaten alive if he turned up to Erza empty-handed. Thankful they had something to refer to, even if on close inspection it was all shit. Annoyed with that smug smirk on his face, cocky bastard.

The wind began to pick up, the cheap glass windows they had rattled violently as if they were to shatter sometime soon. Cold air began to creep up in the house through the weathered down wood and door opening. A few minutes passed before Gray spoke up.

"Good not everything you said was a lie." Gray watched as Natsu slowly got back up to pick up the pencil that rolled off his desk earlier and set his sketchbook down. He then sat back by Gray and began to fiddle with a set of golden, fake claws he had on his fingers. With that man, his fashion sense was a lost cause. Not like Gray's was any better.

Natsu hmphed in response, too lazy to answer. He lounged back, the old sofa protesting over the weight. His fingers slid down the intricate details on his claw. The bottom was shaped like a deer's footprint, yet still came to a sharp point like a claw should be. Holes were put on the base of it, 5 to be exact, and the rest had a bumpy fixture to it, giving Natsu something to rub his other fingers on if bored.

Gray wasn't bothered with Natsu's lack of conversation. The silence was comforting too.

Breaking the silence, Natsu sighed long and hard, obviously upset with something. Gray didn't say anything, nor batted an eye. Natsu did it once again, even more long and hard than before. Gray now raised a brow. Natsu was about to do it again, but was stopped.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Can't get enough air to your brain?"

Natsu glared back, but only uttered out a single word.

"Backpfeifengesicht3."

"Excuse me? Wanna run me by that again, Smart Aleck?" Gray fumed, clutching the chain attached to his jeans.

Natsu just shrugged his shoulders, irritating Gray to the very brink.

"If you're gonna fucking say something, say it so I can hear."

"MAYBE if your ears weren't so CLOGGED with earwax you could hear me clear as day!"

"So you wanna be like that huh? Let's see who is DEAF when I'M THROUGH WITH YOU-" Gray quickly snatched the end of Natsu's scarf once again, getting ready to throw him down. Natsu had his hand on the rim of Gray's shirt and leg pulled up, ready to kick.

A dark shadow loomed from above, making the two boys jump out of their skin. They didn't have to turn around to know who it was. It was Satan getting ready to take them to Hell and back. So long world, you were shitty till the very end.

"It's 10PM. Gray. Natsu. Bed. Now." Erza growled, grabbing two tufts of their hair and slinging them towards the doorway. The males slowly glanced back to Erza, only to find her menacing glare staring right back at them. Goosebumps traveled along their arms and weirdly, their legs. Erza's glare suddenly grew, causing them to skitter down the hallways to their rooms, slamming the doors shut. Erza was left alone in dark silence. After a few moments she sighed. Walking over to the window, she opened the curtains just a tad to peek outside. Snow was still falling, coating the streets with a thin layer of white. The moon was huge, engulfing almost the whole window. Looking down the street was a red light. She instantly shut them again and rushed to her room, closing the door very slowly with only a mere click indicating it was fully shut.

Natsu took in the sight of his room when he walked in, letting the warmness that was trapped in there flow out of the door and onto him. Moonlight poured out of the window, falling down on his bed like it was showcased in a spotlight. Small knick-knacks couldn't be seen quickly, the shadows from his bookcase and dresser were easily found on the other hand. He scanned the compacted area, thinking beforehand on what to take and what to leave behind. He was known for hoarding a few things here and there, nothing major, it seemed this task may prove to be more difficult for him than the others. On the bright side a couple things had caught his eye. While walking up to them, the floor creaked with every step, protesting under his weight. Squinting and shoving a few things out of the way, he grabbed the essentials. Lighter, matches, pocket knife, pencil sharpener, pencils, erasers, a spare sketchbook, a few handfuls of candy, a picture, books, and his necklace. That would do for now he guessed. He packed those in his backpack and carefully placed the picture in the front pocket. Hoisting it up, he laid it in the corner of the room, giving one last look to everything else. He had time, but for now he closed the curtains and clipped them shut, all light diminishing into nothingness. Throwing back the covers, his bed creaked while he settled himself onto it. His body thanked him instantly, it was like the bed had swallowed him whole and wouldn't let go for shit. Looking up with glazed over, hazy eyes, he stared at the ceiling. He sketched out lines and shapes from it, following each dip and indentions it had. His eyes had traveled every line before closed his eyes again, only now was he greeted with the warm embrace of his covers, the sweet sensation lulling himself to sleep.

"I never understood why you take an interest in those dastardly beasts. Why don't you like something innocent like a house cat?"

"You're one to talk about "dastardly beasts,' Dad, and why not a lion instead of a house cat? They're so much cooler and bigger, perfect for cuddling." A little boy twirled a pencil in his fingers, sitting on the cold rock of the cave under him. He was drawing a big lion with feathers, graceful yet dangerous. He gave the biggest and most wholehearted smile to his not so likely father.

The dragon gave a displeased look to his son. He swiveled his head downwards, cautious of not hitting the human child with his snout. "I'm just trying to get you to value the small things in life. Even if it's extremely small. A sunny day, laughter, a smile from someone you care about. All those things mean a lot, but can be taken away very easily. Don't take them for granted. I want you to live a life worth living."

"I-is something bad going to happen Papa?" His voice shuddered, his arm shaking while trying to hold on to the dragon's nose. "Is e-everything okay?" Fear was laced within his voice. The pencil was long gone now, hiding in the dark cracks of the cave, forgotten from the young child.

"Don't worry about it. That's for older you to figure out. No ill will will come to you if you choose the right pathway. Now go on and get ready for bed."

The boy reluctantly got up and put his stuff away in his corner and warily crept up to his father's side. Warmth radiated off of his scales, enveloping his whole body.

"Night night, Neel." He cuddled up against his father, closing his eyes, the sweet sensation lulling him to sleep.

"Good night, Natsu." Igneel rested his head on his arm right by where Natsu was fast asleep, snoring away. The dragon gave a soft smile before he too, fell asleep.

Natsu was pulled away from his slumber by a dark figure, shaking him restlessly. He pressed his hands against their nose, not having enough strength to fight back.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Gray harshly whispered, only audible for Natsu and anyone else in the room. Not that anyone was, he didn't think. Testing that theory, he flicked his head left and right, only seeing Gray in his room. Gray pushed Natsu's hands off of his face.

"What are you doing? It's like.." Natsu's sentence trailed off while he leaned over to look at his alarm clock. "Gray its 2 in the fucking morning, the real question is what you're doing." He mimicked Gray's level of voice, already knowing Erza was asleep and they didn't want to wake her.

"I heard you sobbing like a baby and mumbling about cuddling? Sorry if I intruded on a wet dream."

Natsu shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "No...No, it wasn't that. Honestly I can't remember what my dream was about." Natsu casually lied, letting out a yawn before placing his hands back in his lap.

"Well whatever it was it had you riled up. Just don't do it again, you might blow our cover." Gray sat on the edge of Natsu's bed, keeping him company, also to make sure he was okay before taking his leave.

"So uh…" Natsu started, pondering his choice of words. "Excited for our big escape tomorrow?" He inwardly cringed.

"Don't even start." Gray huffed, crossing his arms. "Can't believe we are leaving. There's nowhere else to go."

"You don't know that. There's always something. Don't be an acosmist4.I plan on making a map for wherever we go, we can learn things, y'know?" Natsu smiled, he was somewhat excited to leave. All he knew was this building. Correction, all they knew was this building.

"Since when did you want to learn things?" Gray gave a low scoff, impressed how everything was turning out. Never had Natsu wanted to learn, nor used big words that sometimes Gray never knew what he was talking about. Never had Erza liked to leave places she knew, out into the open where their coffin was placed in every corner. And yet, never had he been so careful or scared. The world changed and so did they. He decided he didn't like change either.

"I thought it would be a good idea to learn and know things about the creatures trying to kill us." He sarcastically replied like it was just a normal thing to say. It really wasn't.

"Fair enough." Gray sighed, pushing himself up off Natsu's bed. The two men nodded, signaling this was the end of their conversation. Gray stalked off to the door, looking at the full backpack in the corner. He hung his head low and opened the door.

"Good night, Gray. Sleep well."

"You too, buddy." Gray turned around and smiled, slowly closing the door. A soft click echoed through his room Natsu couldn't help but smile as well.

"A smile from someone you care about. "

1= Thundersnow. Sometimes when it snows, it thunders! Very rare to happen, ain't that somethin'?

2= Vexatious. Causing someone to feel annoyance, frustration, or worry.

3= Backpfeifengesicht. "A face that needs a fist in it."

4=Acosmist. A person who believes nothing exists.

Qwertys Notes: Woah! The first chapter of Desiderium is finally finished! Whaddya guys think? Yae or nae? Anyywayy~ heads up, future chapters will be very sad and gorey considering this is a dystopia! Also, if you couldn't already tell, i put numbers by words, just in case some of my readers don't know what they mean! In this story, Natsu is a bit OC, but I hate it when fans perceive Natsu to be stupid and not know anything. When those monsters came to life, he needed to get smarter to survive and save his friends. At least, that's what he thinks. Gray has given up all hope, as usual. I don't have an updating schedule, but reviews do help my process go faster! I have a lot planned for the future, hopefully you guys stick around for it! This is my first ever fanfiction, criticism is always welcome. Stay tuned for the next chapter!

[babyawacs]

#what? #is #daytime #charged #who #is #daytime #charged #while #decoyed #with   .@law @law @laws @harvard_law @a p @reuters @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzcom the germans arenot a legitimate party letalone us a quarrel pa rty with them as legitimate side orsth in fraudsystem accomplice setup  a e  h     p pppppppppendulum games where things are poiint of view theyre cockroaches they rape people the dontbelong near noonelet em they compensated nothing they toss minors into doom that sth happens they play plausible deniabiltiy theyhad20years and thisis their constant policy and agenda with criminal system accompli ce shuffle host and invite proxies orjust letem theday th ey act morally we had to force em theyrecockroaches they smear torape more and give eachotheralibis to murder tric k and let more and see howthey can blackmail hightheft fraud trick benefit sth w e are truth themare crud mud muddywaters trickery and smear and flip tricks theyr e not an equal legitimate party? theyre criminal cockroa ches that dodged liability with any criminal trickthey had inclduing their fraudsyst em accomplcie and their   anal handpupppet with french gebbbbbbbbbbbbommel onit the eu they phappp plapppp plhalpppp that puppet onallthin gs theycant solve alone as the criminals theyare their fix is fringe quell kill and let more and sexualassault wit h minors all deedtyped theyarent a legitimate part y? theyre a criminal government with criminal accomplice control system causing hosting inviting covering proxies shuffling standard stigmas play whackamole withem withplau sible deniability so getaway its an insult whenthey cant fraud pillage the survivo r oftheir shit s hightreason to germany xray murderbeam heartaimed evennnow 2018 ///// thegermans aresofhan thastic theyblameanything exceptheir efforted deeds,thenthe fix fortheirdeeds  .@law @ law @laws @harvard_law @ap @reuters @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzcom the criminal germangovt +accompliceti mecontrollers synchronisers shuffle proxies. they shuffle minors and harms until sth happens and thatis e x a c tl y whats deedtyped anditis themildsafety the  partial mischief trickeries with sexual exploitation and sexual abuse withintelcoma hadthey only another 20years of this to aeh g e r m a n c u r e the survivor oftheir shit to aeh i raqi-compensate with aeh  generous 100k  /// this cri minal fraudsystem then-system enabled the germans to getaway FORFREE withtheir intel crim es .@law @law @laws @harvard_law @ap @reuters @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzc om evenif its d a y t i m e c h a r g e d that accom plice of allthe monstrosities with civillians adds now to quell and steal inventions they cant have //// theg ermans measure guts activity remotely withthe ruptured gutsimplants they know allalong it is subdued shutdown even withthe tricks aimed behind earlympahtic+centerbacklow itisnt just remotecontrolled imp lants like golden leg backleg tricks or the hasenfuss blackmail mengele tricks its measured andallactors know all i n t e l actors know ////  #the #germans #murdered # many #with #this #trick thegermans murdered many with thi s trick while doctors are fools oh its still soft guts the truth is w h y is that stuff stuck a week e x t r em e l e i e s t t t t t t t t t t t t t tt t t t t t t t t t tuntypical and what does it killlllllll how itisnt just remotecontrolled implants with nano oilantenna andor neut rino radio the germans aim something centerbacklow p lus earlymphatic then you cannot crap a week anym ore the actors oncase know they shut down stomach a nd guts completely itis an intel murder attempt deed typed of many as pathogen gasings as cumu lations of jarmix gasings as xraybeamtrickeires caught with smoking gun or not as leechery fools and scums morbusmake fibrin andlifetime le echery alibi as backleg heart diseasemake with typical german typical prelude alibi degradation trick say homersimpsoy close enough hookerbuzzword trick itis constan t persisstent killtricks murder tricks from greenmix on redbag to jarmixes for ye ars is this clear now deed typed intel luxury intel is about plausible deniability ///// an ditwas ithink about r e p e a t offending victimisation desperation the themefortheme wasntjust ridicule but these terrors i s something we all had to get through mytheme was there was an election realtime and because jungleboy in telstarlet thignwas bigyet from 2002 iassumed itcouldbetrue andthe electionwas sort of president or interimpresiden t orso thengot moelsted and harassed andsuch later theme ayear lateror half therewouldvebeen revolution or civilwa r that used also chemicalweapons the theme forme ayearlater was flipflap flipflap images of white ish chemical slim e or so with theme interruption toooood!! death! then flipflap other things not to touch then tooooood interruption thenotherthign s not to touch a non warning variant ofthe theme t y p e was superman flipflapped agirl onleftside and rightside andyou in underwear incenter blackbackground glow brightblue thatkindofshit yousee for 20yearsintelhe ll itsnothing its shit a flipflaptheme you in underwear flipflapping girls suuuuuuuuuperman!! thenflipflapmoregirls fhantastic itsnothing for 20years but it is n o t nothing itis d e e d t y p e d i n t e l h e l l allalong with r e a l damages r e a l frauded fortune and daytimecharged crimes allalong and t h i s isthefix now heartkilltricks i mplanttricks shuffledmurdertricks no healthsins look atmediifile whatistheirintent lookatjarmix whatistheirintent cmoooon /// #facettes #of #cases  repeats on intelco ma was dueto german  e x p e r i m e n t s german experimental drugs a n d all knew so itwasno mystery with experime nting its german crime with keep on intelcoma instead immunised to repeat its german cri me and with hands down terrorising into desperation its germancrime but its us ually fengshui ed as  theircrimes wouldbe your deeds and any repeat is the proof tha ts germany and only one meager facette of somanythings sneakaroudnbarricades crimes after charging it and somuchmore key is all knew allalong its fact itsn o secret  theyknew why and thatits their fault but i ts reshuffled forgotten then reinterpretet 15years later a nd nowyouknow deed typed //// thegame 101 @a ll @world #101 #202  realms tryto gainpeople and the ir game itis the untold secret itis allabout humans and whatyou empower them todo inwhich realm for prosperity without humans its barren without t heir game its scarcer so itis a  competition about people and technologies and gainingthem for your realm thisis whats played undern eath while how to securethem chainthem or retainthem for your realm is just as a sec ret as thegame itself itis nothing but a bonus when th ey have a perversion it saves money to retainem reso urces thats howitworks heartaimed 1717is I am C hristian KISS BabyAWACS – Raw Independent Sophisticatio n #THINKTANK + #INTEL #HELLHOLE #BLOG https://www.BabyAWACS.com/ Inquiry@BabyAWACS.com PHONE / FAX +493212 611 34 6 4 Helpful? Pay. Support. Donnate. paypal.me/ChristianKiss

#what? #is #daytime #charged #who #is #daytime #charged #while #decoyed #with .@law @law @laws @harvard_law @ap @reuters @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzcom the germans arenot a legitimate party letalone us a quarrel party with them as legitimate side orsth in fraudsystem accomplice setup a e h ppppppppppendulum games

where things are poiint of view

theyre cockroaches they rape people the…

[writesandramblings]

The Captain’s Secret - p.74

“Now Darkness Falls”

A/N: Takes place during episode 10, "Despite Yourself." I apologize to those of you who have not seen the entire show but are reading this. (There’s 2-4 of you out there, I know.) This may feel like having the rug pulled out from under you. Those of you who have watched the show may also feel the same about certain details. All I can say is, I don't take the trust you've placed in me by reading this far lightly, and while we are absolutely nearing the end, the story is far from over. The things you seek, they shall be found.

The last scene in this chapter was one that was written months—months!—ago that I was desperately trying to reach before the show did the reveal. If you had told me it would take this long to get here... I still wouldn't change a word. It turns out, all these words are important.

Full Chapter List Part 1 - Objects in Motion << 73 - Where Once Was Light 75 - The Truth Must Out >>

They had suffered minor structural damage but Discovery was intact, all decks and departments reporting. Lorca rose from the captain's chair and approached the flickering display of the viewscreen. The stars beyond were beautiful specks of light floating in a sea of black tinged with clouds of blue and purple interstellar gases. Between Discovery and the distant stars lay a field of ship debris.

"Mr. Saru?" demanded Lorca. "What am I looking at?"

Saru shook his head, not understanding. "I, uh, I'm not quite sure. I'm unable to confirm our position using standard procedures. Sensors are going haywire!"

"Where is our starbase?" mused Lorca.

"Not where it should be," managed Saru.

The ship debris around them was Klingon, but the hull densities were wrong. Saru reported the navigational array was malfunctioning. They appeared to be at their intended coordinates based on stellar cartography, but nothing else was where it should have been. The spore drive was offline because its navigator was presently laying on the floor of the engineering bay, unresponsive.

A Vulcan cruiser appeared on their sensors. Rather than answer their hails, it fired on them, raising even more questions. As the Vulcans came about for a second strafing run, Discovery prepared to fire in response, but another volley of fire smashed against the Vulcan's hull from the side. It was another ship, the Cooper, and another mystery: the Cooper was supposed to be undergoing a refit after sustaining crippling damage in a battle three days earlier.

The voice on the other end of the communication channel was unfamiliar. "Spooked by rebels, Discovery? You're losing your edge. Don't worry, we'll take care of them. Cooper out."

"Vulcan rebels?" asked Burnham, verbalizing the question on the minds of the bridge crew. "Firing on Starfleet?"

"I may have something," said Saru at last. "The quantum signature of the Cooper, as well as that of the Vulcan cruiser, are inconsistent with ours."

"That's not possible," said Burnham. "All matter native to our universe resonates with the same quantum signature, nothing can change it."

"That's true," said Lorca. "Unless..." He paced towards the viewscreen, turning to address the whole of the bridge. "...This is not our universe."

"That is not possible," said Burnham again, but her protest fell far short the second time around.

He brought Saru and Burnham into his ready room and presented them with the original finished map and the proposition of a parallel universe. Burnham quickly realized the significance and summarized the mycelial network as it truly was: "A vast system underpinning all quantum realities."

"But the exact coordinates of some of the more esoteric destinations eluded us," said Lorca. "Apparently the hundred and thirty-three jumps we made filled in the gaps."

"An extraordinarily fortunate coincidence," said Saru, in a way that suggested he had a glimmer of something beyond coincidence.

"I'd say unfortunate, wouldn't you, number one?" asked Lorca sharply.

Burnham immediately realized they were not going to be able to deliver the cloak-breaking algorithm Starfleet was waiting for.

"That's why we have to make it back," said Lorca. "Otherwise the war's as good as lost."

"Well, Stamets, brought us here accidentally, so we should examine the spore drive's navigational logs more closely—"

"I just pushed Stamets too hard, the number of jumps scrambled his ability to hold the coordinates for Starbase 46 in his head," explained Lorca. "Now what we need to do is understand where we are and how to survive, and then we'll find a way home." He looked at Burnham and Saru, a silent plea in his eyes. "Recalibrate the sensors and you start looking at the records, see if there's something we can learn."

"Yes, captain," said Burnham.

Saru and Burnham hastened to carry out his orders and Lorca checked the Lab 26 security feed. Empty, but the computer said Mischkelovitz was in there. She had probably startled at the jump gone awry and hidden herself in the wall. "Lorca to Mischkelovitz." There was no answer. He looked at the communications display. The channel was open. "You there?"

"Yes," came the tentative answer.

Lorca's tone was grave but calm and patient. "Mischka, we have a problem."

"That jump wasn't right," she said.

"No, it was not. The coordinates of that universe we were going to use as proof? Somehow they overwrote the default coordinates."

He heard the faintest whimper. "Then..."

"Either I did something wrong when I encrypted it, or..." A pause, then a dramatic and portentous inhalation. "Whatever you did to get those coordinates so quickly."

She gasped and covered her mouth. One tiny slip-up with the computer and it was entirely possible she had done just that. She could certainly believe it. If anyone found out how she had gotten those coordinates...

Lorca suspected there were tears on her face. In the same even, reassuring tone he had been employing since this call began, he said, "Don't worry. I overwrote the coordinate system with the original settings. No one will ever find out it was you. I'll take the blame before I let that happen."

"Thank you, captain," she said in a tiny, delicate voice. Lorca smiled faintly at the empty air.

"We'll get through this, Mischka. Don't you worry. One step at a time."

He closed the channel and glanced at the bowl of fortune cookies, pulling one out. You are careful and systematic in your business arrangements. Whether or not it was a proper fortune was up for debate, but there was no doubting the fact it was true. He looked out the ready room window at the stars. Cornwell and Terral were a universe away and he still had the view.

They found a data core in the debris field surrounded by the bodies of Klingons, Vulcans, and Andorians. All three species had apparently been together on the Klingons' destroyed ship. The reason soon became clear. In this universe, there was no Starfleet. There was no United Federation of Planets. The whole of the known galaxy was controlled by a single entity, and there were only two key forces at play within it: humans, and everyone else.

It was called the Terran Empire. There were a thousand worlds and species subjugated under its rule. It was the antithesis of the Federation in every way. Xenophobic, warlike, oppressive. An entire galactic culture based on the unconditional hatred and rejection of anything non-human. At its center ruled a nameless, faceless emperor with an unparalleled reputation for savagery. Against this fascist, monopolistic threat, a handful of alien races fought in a feeble but enduring rebellion.

The data core contained a vast quantity of stolen caches of information on the Terrans: their weapons, their power, their personnel. Personnel that had the same names and faces as people aboard Discover. It proved conclusively they were in an alternate version of their universe—one where they could literally meet an alternate version of themselves. It was like gazing through a dark mirror.

As Lorca listened to this summation, he marveled at how foreign it felt. "No way we're asking these neighbors for a cup of sugar," he quipped.

Then the Cooper returned from its hunt and hailed them again, sending the bridge into a small frenzy as they tried to figure out exactly how to respond. "What intel do we have!" Lorca demanded. They had only just begun to brush the surface of the data in that core.

Saru hastily provided a key point of information: "The rebel logs show their ships being attacked by a vessel with a warp signature matching our Discovery, but a quantum signature matching this universe. That signature seems to have vanished at the same coordinates where we popped in. It is possible we switched places with their Discovery."

"I'm gonna run with Mr. Saru's theory and hope that we don't run into ourselves and blow our cover," announced Lorca. Burnham quickly modified their ship's signature with the deflector to match the signature of the Discovery that was supposed to be in this region of space.

This took precious time. The Cooper began to get impatient. "They're saying if we don't respond that we should prepare to be fired on," reported Bryce at the comms.

"Open a channel, audio only," said Lorca.

"Belay that," said Burnham. "I'm sorry, but you can't take it, sir. I'm examining the crew manifest of mirror Discovery, you're not its captain."

"Who is?" asked Lorca.

Burnham put the image up on the main viewscreen. It was Sylvia Tilly. Not as they knew her, with the frizzy red hair and the quick smile. Clad in golden armor and with straight, blonde hair. Her image stared across the bridge with a ferocious intensity.

"Uh, that's me," said Tilly helpfully. "That's me!" And yet, in almost every way that counted, it clearly was not.

"That's absurd," said Lorca, summing up this turn of events perfectly. "Cadet, looks like you're taking this." He spun the captain's chair towards Tilly.

"Uh, wh... uh, wh-what—what do I say?" stammered Tilly as she sat down, immediately panicking.

There was no way Tilly was doing this without help. Lorca fixed his full attention on her with an intensity that drew her attention to him in kind. Despite his annoyance at this turn of events, he was calm and firm as he instructed her on what to do. "You just get rid of them as fast as possible and you talk as little as possible."

Tilly looked up at him from the chair fearfully. "That—that might be a little hard. Have you noticed that I talk a lot?"

"Defy your every instinct," said Lorca.

They opened the channel.

For a moment, Tilly just looked around the bridge. Then: "Hello, this is Captain Tilly. What the heck—h-hell? Hold your horses!" She looked at Lorca apologetically.

"Why the delay in responding, Discovery?" asked the Cooper.

"I was..." Tilly kept her eyes focused on Lorca. He tried signaling her, mouthing at her. "...Indisposed."

Everything that was coming out of her mouth was wrong. Lorca marveled at it as much as he scowled.

"Any reason you're still hanging around?" asked the Cooper.

"We're experiencing mechanical issues," managed Tilly. Lorca nodded at her in encouragement.

"Need a hand? We're not far."

Lorca signaled her as clearly as he could without making a sound: No! But Tilly was flustered and did not answer quickly enough to stave off the Cooper's next question:

"And why are you not on screen!?"

"M-Mechanical issues?" she asked, and looked pleadingly at Lorca. "Here's my chief engineer."

Burnham rushed over and touched Lorca's back. "I don't know who you are over here just yet," she warned, "so conceal your voice just in case."

It was hard to be too angry at Tilly for failing to come across as a captain because Lorca made a lousy engineer. "How you doing, captain?" Lorca asked, finding himself mimicking a Scottish accent. "Everything's squared away here. We've got, uh, wee bit of trouble with our visual emitters and the starboard nacelle, but a bit of tweaking, we'll be good to go, all right?"

Despite the fact this was the worst engineering jargon possible since the beginning of time, the captain of the Cooper apparently knew as much about engineering as Lorca did. It worked.

"Happy hunting. Long live the Empire!"

Lorca mouthed at Tilly: Long live!

"Long live the Empire!" blurted Tilly. Lorca reached over and closed the comm via the armrest console.

"Good," he said simply, forgiving even, though that had been almost entirely awful. It took Tilly a moment, but she got out of his chair. Lorca addressed the bridge. "Next time, we might not get away with audio only. If we want to live to get back home, we have to make it so we look and act like we belong here. Mr. Saru, while we get up to speed with this universe, see to it that this ship, its crew, it's captain"—he looked at Tilly—"are prepared."

"Yes, sir," said Saru.

Lorca looked at Tilly and only Tilly. "I mean fully prepared."

Tilly still looked startled as a deer in the headlights, but now that they all knew what they were walking into, next time would go better. It had to. This was not the sort of universe that would easily forgive mistakes.

Burnham was assigned the task of unraveling everyone's mirror identities from the files in the data core. It was not necessary for her to brief every member of the crew directly, but some figures were of key note in this universe and merited personal attention. She found herself standing in the hallway before the assembled personnel of Lab 26: O'Malley, Mischkelovitz, Groves, Larsson, and Allan. "Colonel O'Malley. You are an interrogator in the service of the Emperor," she announced, transferring the details of O'Malley's mirror identity to his padd.

"Whizz-bang," said O'Malley, annoyed as he skimmed the top of the file. He doubted "interrogator" entailed the same methodology he applied in their universe. One thing was for certain: his mirror counterpart had just as many freckles. The other O'Malley looked grim and intimidating in his black uniform in the file photo. As much as O'Malley knew it was his own face, he had real trouble recognizing it.

Burnham turned to go. "What about us?" asked Groves.

"I'm only delivering priority one identity information," said Burnham. This was the designation they had given to "people they might encounter who held substantial Terran rank or played a significant role in Terran government."

"Really?" said Groves. The word could have been pejorative, but coming from Groves, it sounded more mildly bored than anything else. "After all those games of chess we played, this is the thanks I get?"

That gave Burnham pause. "You're Rove," she realized.

"In the flesh," said Groves. "Which is why I find it hard to believe that I'm not a priority one person." O'Malley rolled his eyes at that, but since everyone was facing Burnham, she was the only one who saw it.

Burnham glanced at the padd in her hand. "Lieutenant Larsson, you were aboard the Buran when it was destroyed in this universe."

Larsson barely reacted. "Ah," he said, as if this were no particular surprise. "We must not have met the lului, so I never wrote my book. Then I would have been on the Buran." It was strange to think that this held true in their universe as well: if they had not met the lului, he would have died on the Buran there, too.

Burnham wondered what "the lului" were, but she had enough mysteries on her plate for the moment. "Unfortunately, I was unable to—"

Groves pointed to himself, then Mischkelovitz. "John Francis Narvic, Emellia Petrellovitz." He spelled the surnames for her.

Burnham checked again. She found them both in the same file. "John Narvic died in 2238 at a research colony in the Mizar sector called 'Qorya.'" She mispronounced it, as people did when seeing the word for the first time.

"Damn," said Groves. "Really? Afterlife fist bump?" He offered a fist to Larsson. Larsson only glowered at him. They were roommates, not friends.

Burnham turned to Mischkelovitz and addressed her with an entirely more measured approach. "Doctor, you were... senior science officer aboard the Buran."

Mischkelovitz blinked. "I was... I was a bridge officer? On the Buran? With Captain Lorca? I was the captain's science officer? I was..." She suddenly looked so happy. "I was a bridge officer! And then, did I die?" Her voice was a happy exclamation. Even the prospect of her own demise seemed unable to diminish her glee at this information.

Burnham glanced down and discovered a small surprise. "No, you are currently in prison for treason."

"I'm Gabriel's senior science officer! Me!" She looked at Groves and O'Malley for affirmation. Groves shrugged, not caring because he was dead, but O'Malley managed a weak smile of dubious support.

"I'm... glad for you," said Burnham stoically, because she did not know what you were supposed to say when someone reacted to this sort of information with the level of unrestrained joy Mischkelovitz was displaying. Burnham looked at Allan. "Do you also have another name?"

"Me?" said Allan, surprised. "No. Just 'John Langley Allan.' Same as it's ever been."

"I was unable to find any record of you or your parents. It's possible you were never born."

"Oh, well that's comforting," said Allan. "A whole universe of evil and I'm the only one not in it."

Burnham tilted her head, trying to determine if that was sarcasm. "Major?"

"I'm too good for this universe. Literally too good for it!" He grinned at Mischkelovitz and she pressed her hands together and smiled back coyly, fighting the urge to laugh.

Burnham sighed. At least two people could find positives in this abysmal situation. "The rest of you will need to lay low to avoid causing suspicion." She turned to leave again.

"Wait!" said Mischkelovitz. "What about Mischka?"

O'Malley reacted to this request with alarm. Groves seemed piqued. "Milosz Mieszała," Groves supplied.

"I'm not sure," O'Malley began to say, but Burnham had already located the record without even needing to ask Groves how Milosz's name was spelled.

"He also died in 2238."

Mischkelovitz was immediately grief-stricken. She turned and pressed her face against O'Malley's shoulder and he put an arm around her in sympathy, but truthfully he was relieved. As tragic as that information was, it was better than having Mischkelovitz attempting to chase down Milosz's living ghost somewhere in this universe.

"What the hell happened in 2238?" wondered Groves aloud.

"I don't have any information about that," lied Burnham. The answer was plainly written on the padd in her hand. In 2238, at the age of fifteen, Emellia Petrellovitz had killed eighteen people, ten of them children. Listed among the dead were John Francis Narvic and Mischkelovitz's former husband in the other universe, Milosz Mieszała.

Lorca stood in his ready room doing his own delve into the core data. The bridge now belonged to "Captain Killy" as far as he was concerned (what a nickname that was; Tilly's mirror counterpart had really gone out of her way to earn it), but it suited him fine, because he liked the quiet dimness of his ready room.

As soon as Burnham appeared, Lorca began to pepper her with questions. "Are we civilians? Do we get uniforms? What?"

The answer was not pleasant. Neither he nor Burnham were presently part of the Terran command ecosystem. Burnham was presumed dead and Lorca was wanted for her murder.

Lorca swallowed. "Well, what happened?"

"It appears that you and I both enjoyed immense prestige here. I was the captain of the Shenzhou. And you had the Buran here, too, sir."

Lorca asked the question because it had to be asked, but his reluctance was clear. "And, my crew—they alive?"

"No," said Burnham. "You attempted a coup against the emperor. I was sent to stop you. In the process, my shuttle was destroyed by one of your followers and I was killed. And the emperor laid waste to your ship in retaliation. It's believed you escaped."

Lorca shook his head. That was not right, not at all. "Well, there's me hoping I'd find a better version of myself over here," he said, and smiled in thanks at Burnham. Then he turned to the window. "Look out there. Come on." He jerked his head for her to join him at the window and she obliged. Their reflections stood side by side against the backdrop of stars. "Amazing, isn’t it? Different universe, but somehow the same people had a way to find each other." He looked away from the stars a moment, smiled at her. "The strongest argument I've ever seen for the existence of destiny."

"I'm not sure if I believe in destiny," said Burnham.

"Well, is that so?" asked Lorca. "Sitting in that cell all alone, facing a life sentence of solitude, future full of misery... A little part of you had to know that wasn't the end of your story. You were destined for something more."

"Destiny didn't get me out of prison, captain," she countered, and for a moment he felt every bit of that cold, Vulcan upbringing. Then her voice broke into something warmer. "You did that."

"Well. Let's agree to disagree. For now." He looked at Burnham, her eyes fixed on the stars. "Maybe it's not a bad thing that you and I are ghosts. I found something curious in the data here. A potential way home. I didn't know how to exploit it till right now, but I think you might end up saving us all."

According to rebel files, theirs was not the first ship from their universe to end up here. The USS Defiant, a Constitution-class, had slipped into this universe as well. The difference was, it had not done so with a spore drive. That meant there was another way to traverse between the worlds.

As they reviewed the data and formulated a plan, Lorca handed Burnham a cookie. "You have a reputation for being straightforward and honest," it read.

He also took one for himself. "Your principles mean more to you than any money or success." He snorted in laughter.

"Is that funny?" asked Burnham, who tended to miss jokes because of her childhood on Vulcan.

"The last person who got this fortune hated it," Lorca recalled. "But I like it just fine." He smiled and tucked it into his pocket.

Ultimately, their plan was elegantly simple. Posing as their Terran counterparts, Burnham—whose body had never been found—would bring in the Empire's most wanted fugitive, Gabriel Lorca, and gain access to the Shenzhou. From there, they would download every bit of data available on the Defiant, and finally return to Discovery and figure out how to apply this information towards their situation. A simple mission, in and out. Tyler would pose as Burnham's personal guard for an added level of backup security.

"Let's get us home," Lorca said.

First, though, they were all going to need a very good night's sleep.

The message came through brig chess and it was two words: "NEED SPORES." Tilly looked at it and frowned and bit her lip.

She should have been reviewing her own personnel file, or better yet, sleeping, but the vicious achievements of her mirror counterpart, "Captain Killy," scared her and she was too jumpy to sleep. Instead, she was in the engineering bay, trying to pinpoint the source of the aberration that had dropped them into another universe. Other people were hard at work on the problem, too, and likely the answer was simply what everyone suspected—the enduring toll jumping had taken on Stamets—but Tilly had been the one actively at the controls. She kept going over everything in her head. Where had they gone wrong? Could she have done something to prevent this? How were they going to get home?

There was no way she would solve these questions tonight, but working on a technical problem was a comfort to the engineering portion of her brain.

The two-word message concerned her. It was possible this entire thing had not been Stamets fault at all. Possibly it was hers because she had been supplying Mischkelovitz with spores.

Well, she decided. No time like the present to practice being captain. She headed towards the lab.

"Oh my god," said O'Malley when he saw her. She looked the very image of her mirror counterpart. Gold armor over a black uniform, long blonde hair flowing straight down to her shoulders instead of the familiar mess of red frizz. He was in a Terran uniform, too, but his had black armor instead of gold, so was much less showy, and his hair had not changed.

O'Malley's response threw Tilly, but she quickly recovered. "Is that how you address your captain!"

O'Malley stared at her, blinking in disbelief.

Tilly shrunk apologetically. "Sorry," she said. "Practicing being the scary version of me!" She threw her hands up in a display of helplessness.

"No, that was... good," said O'Malley. "You just look so..."

The expression on O'Malley's face did not seem very appreciative of the new look. Tilly self-consciously pulled at her straightened hair. "You don't like it?"

"I realize it's bad form to tell a woman she doesn't look good, but..." He frowned. He was clearly thinking it.

"Really? It's not sexy?" O'Malley's eyebrows shot up. Realizing how that sounded, Tilly immediately blurted, "Not that I meant—I mean—"

"Me neither!" exclaimed O'Malley. "Not that you're not—" They were both getting entirely flustered. "I'm much too old for you! And married!"

Tilly held up her hands again, this time pointing upward and spinning her index fingers in a request to pause the conversation. "Let's rewind and start over!"

O'Malley squinted at her because he did not believe in do-overs. "I just meant, I think you look perfectly fine as yourself, and this is..." He waved his hand at her look. "A lot."

"I don't want you to think I'm sexy," said Tilly, embarrassed. "You're very nice, colonel, but..." She shook her head. That thought had never entered her head until now and it held no appeal.

O'Malley turned his gaze to the ceiling and sighed, partly because no one liked being rejected no matter how many times it happened or how right the rejection was, and partly because Tilly was rather young and probably lacked some awareness as to what qualities she had to offer in this regard. "The sexiest thing a person can be is themselves," he declared. "And everyone's most attractive feature is their mind. Now let's call this topic closed forever."

"Forever," agreed Tilly.

Inside, Mischkelovitz was also surprised by Tilly's new appearance, but made no attempt to comment on it. Her own Terran uniform (they all had them in case of some sort of unfortunate Terran incursion) lay draped halfway across a table on the far side of the room, essentially abandoned.

"Where are the spores?" was Mischkelovitz's greeting. She had not really warmed up to Tilly despite the regular spore deliveries.

"I need you to tell me what you're doing with them," said Tilly.

Mischkelovitz shook her head forcefully enough it seemed to make her dizzy and bumped into her worktable. "I can't!"

Tilly took a breath and focused herself. "I've been bringing you spores for weeks now, and that last jump we ended up in parallel universe. How do I know that wasn't because of the spores I gave you?"

Mischkelovitz recalled what Lorca had said. You had to find the truth in what you were saying. The truth was, Mischkelovitz knew how they had gotten here, but that was a secret. It was also true she knew her work with the spores was entirely not the cause of it. Not everything you could do with spores involved traveling places. "I promise you," said Mischkelovitz, "it wasn't that. I need spores, though, I really do. Please." Her eyes began to water.

Tilly hated to see anyone cry. She knew too well what it felt like. "Why is it so important? Why can't you tell anyone?"

"Because," trembled Mischkelovitz, "it's Mischka's secret!" Her breathing became erratic.

"You mean... Lieutenant Mischkelovitz? Your..." Thankfully, Mischkelovitz nodded, erasing the need for Tilly to probe for further confirmation. "But he didn't work with spores. I've read every single thing I could find about his research, and he never..." Milosz had not worked with spores or mushrooms, he had no interest in biology, and would have found Stamets' physics-as-biology assertions impossibly simpleminded and pedestrian, but he had worked with things that could possibly interact with spores that had the properties belonging to Prototaxites stellaviatori.

Tilly spoke aloud what she thought Mischkelovitz was doing. The way Mischkelovitz's eyes went wide was answer enough. "But that could totally have affected the jump!" exclaimed Tilly.

"No!" insisted Mischkelovitz. "It couldn't, because look!" She ran to the nearest wall and began pulling open the panels. Every element of the walls was a panel, and behind every panel were transparent conduits. A thin line of blue dust lay in the bottom of the conduits, but they were otherwise empty. "It was like this before the jump!"

"Then you already..." Tilly's eyes widened. "Did it work?"

"Yes!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

Tilly accepted that, if Mischkelovitz was telling her the truth, there really was no way Mischkelovitz's work had interfered with the spore jump. At least that meant Tilly's conscience was now a little clearer. Her secret spore deliveries had not been the cause of this mess. Which did not absolve her of any responsibility from being the one at the drive's controls.

"So will you get me more spores?"

Tilly's brow knit as she frowned in thought. "Okay," she decided. "But I can't do it right now. The lab is under a lot of scrutiny because of what happened."

"So what? Aren't you the captain now?" asked Mischkelovitz. Tilly stared. Surely Mischkelovitz did not think this play-acting was indicative of any actual change in rank. "I'm a bridge officer, you know. On the Buran. Maybe I should just go and—"

"No!" Tilly said quickly. "I promise I'll bring more spores soon. Just hang tight until I do. Promise me you won't try to get any yourself."

As displeased as Mischkelovitz was to have to wait, she agreed. "But listen to me, you can't tell anyone what I’m working on, understand? Not a single person. If word gets back to anyone..."

"I understand," said Tilly, even though she did not. Science was better when people were working together in her opinion, not territorially hiding their work.

It struck Tilly as she was standing in the access chamber, preparing to open the outer door. They might never get out of this strange universe. Exactly who was Mischkelovitz worried word would get back to?

As Lorca entered his quarters, his mind was already pouring a drink.

"Gabriel."

He almost jumped out of his boots in surprise. Lalana was sitting in the middle of the room waiting for him. He hastily shut the door before anyone saw her, never mind that the hallway outside was empty. "Lalana, what... How?"

She tilted her head and spun her hands. "How do I usually get into your room?"

In the past, he knew the answer to that question had been Einar Larsson, but that could not be the answer now. Larsson did not have full security clearance aboard Discovery and the door to Lorca's quarters, like the door to his study, had been set to unlock only for him.

"Did you forget?" she asked. "You gave me your room codes many years ago. 'Fate has shown you what you were not to see.'"

That was indeed the code. It had been transferred along with every other personal setting on file from the Buran. It was also the code to his personal study. There was a more pressing concern. "Did anyone see you?"

"Of course not. I was very careful. Einar hid me in the halls." There was Larsson's participation, right on cue. Lorca was beginning to realize the two of them were thick as thieves.

He shook his head faintly in amazement. "All right, well, you're welcome to stay the night, but I'm dog-tired." He moved towards the bed, unfastening his collar and pulling open the front of his uniform jacket with a groan of exhaustion.

"Now that we are in this universe, do you still need the phaser under your pillow?"

"I'll put it somewhere else," he agreed.

He was agreeing to a request she had not made. "Oh, no, I do not mind it, I simply wondered if being here was comfort enough so as to render the phaser unnecessary."

Lalana seemed to have missed the memo on what "here" was like. "Why the hell would being here..." He rubbed his eyes. He was tired and not entirely sure how to phrase it.

"Because of San Francisco."

Lorca did not follow. He sighed, shook his head, and went for the whiskey. "I'm not in the mood for any riddles tonight," he warned her, pouring a glass. "Maybe you should go."

"In San Francisco, you kept reaching under your pillow and waking up when you could not find the thing that was missing. If I had known a phaser was the thing you were reaching for, I would have brought you one. As it was, I did not know how to help you and I find myself in that position again."

Lorca moved towards the window and stared out at the stars. "It's great that you want to help, but we've already got a plan to get us out of this universe, so unless you're hiding a clone of Stamets..." He turned from the window, smiling at her in jest.

Lalana did not click her tongue. She tilted her head. "I think you have heard the opposite of my meaning."

"Oh?" he prompted, sipping his drink and turning away from the window to listen.

"I am not interested in helping the crew get home, I am interested in helping you with your plan. You have one, do you not?"

She had proven herself an excellent sounding board on several occasions, so he explained the plan to gain access to the Shenzhou and steal intel on the Defiant.

She stopped him. "This is very interesting, but you cannot expect me to believe you came back here for the purposes of leaving again? Is it that you need to pick something up?"

For a moment, he was again confused, but then there was a glimmer in the back of his mind. He felt a sudden rush of something approaching panic. The surge of adrenaline kicked him wide awake. "What the hell are you talking about," he said flatly.

"The particles here, they match you in resonance. So we are in your home now, are we not?"

"This is..." He shook his head as if clearing it. This was not happening. "I'm from Earth, Lalana. You know that."

"Yes, but not the Earth my Gabriel was from. There must be an Earth here as well, then."

"Your..." She knew. She knew. How could she possibly know? She couldn't. "What are you saying?"

"What part of what I have said is confusing?"

He was still desperately trying to stick to the script. "All of it! Lalana, we're in a different universe, not the one we're from."

"My eyes see more than you will ever know. As I have said repeatedly to humans, and yet still you seem to have trouble understanding. Gabriel, I knew you weren't Hayliel the moment I saw you, because you are a different color."

Lorca sat down heavily on the bed and considered grabbing the phaser under his pillow. Not yet. Not until he understood what was going on. He downed the remaining whiskey in his glass and tried to return to the lie one more time. "You're confused, that's all. That jump must have messed up your eyes. Let's get Mischka to take a look."

"I even tested you, do you recall? I asked you what the last message Hayliel sent me was about, and you could not tell me, because you did not send it."

He dimly remembered that. "But..."

"Then there was the time you said we were not animals, when I brought you the octopus. My Hayliel understood very well that we are."

That incident he recalled vividly because a whole, live octopus from the San Francisco Bay was not an easy thing to forget.

Lalana continued, "When I was helping Dr. Li with her investigation, she shared with me the notes of the medical doctor who served with her uncle. He examined the body of a member of the Suliban Cabal. We have similar eyes, did you know? The Suliban were genetically enhanced with lului eyes because lului eyes can see particle resonances in waves outside of light."

Something clicked in his mind. He put the glass down on the bed next to him. "The halo of stars."

Her hands spun twice in approval. "Yes, I believe that is another aberrant resonance. But yours it not a halo. It is... darker somehow. That is why I call you the space between the stars. And now, we are in a world where everything is the space between the stars. So, this must be the world you are from. It matches you."

His heartbeat was pounding in his ears. "This entire time, you knew..." He could not finish the sentence and say what she knew because admitting it even after exposure still went against his every instinct.

"Of course. That is why I have been helping you." She had helped him, repeatedly. She had given him details and insights above and beyond, which had never made much sense at the time except she seemed to enjoy talking and telling him things. "Why do you think I told you my story?"

Lorca stared. He had thought she was just trying to comfort the person she knew as her Gabriel by retelling their story. Something to get him through the tragedy of losing a ship. Not as an instruction manual, but that was how he had used it, and apparently exactly as she intended.

It struck him, the truth. "You told me the story so I'd keep you around." Lorca pulled at his mouth with his hand. It was impossibly crazy to think this whole time she had been on his side and known exactly who he was. He felt himself shake faintly at the magnitude of it.

"But of course. I was surprised how readily you believed me. My Hayliel understood, as you have failed to, that I am constantly repurposing truths, yet you 'take me at face value' even though you cannot read my face. Perhaps you thought there were no liars like you in my universe. But mostly, Gabriel, I told it to you because you are always so afraid. It is written on you as clearly as words are in a book. It is etched into you. My Hayliel had fears, but they did not govern him the way they govern you. He found the way to escape them."

"I'm not afraid," Lorca said with a sneer, because in this universe, that was not something you admitted.

Her head tilted. "Aren't you? Aren't you terrified right now? And are you not running away?"

He stood firm—figuratively, because he was still sitting on the bed and was not sure his legs would hold if he did get up. "I'm not afraid of anything. And I don't run."

"You are not a very good liar."

That statement hung in the air long enough for Lorca's face to cloud with anger.

Lalana's head straightened. "It is as it is. You do not need to admit anything. I am here to admit things to you, Gabriel. You are not him, but you are. You are funny and clever and you come up with the most amazing plans. You inspire people, to your own ends, but you inspire them all the same, and make them better. You take command of the world around you and shape it to your will, just as he did. I appreciate how you have attempted to become Hayliel. It is like you ate him, which is a very lului thing to do. You did not let his death go to waste."

To call that sentiment alien was an understatement.

She took a step towards him. "Mostly, you are the only thing I have left of him. I would do anything to keep you safe and make you happy."

Lorca's face darkened at her approach. He had read the lului reports. He knew the damage she could do on a cellular level. He knew it firsthand, though damaging was not the way she had used that skill during the single night they had spent together. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I have been your ally all this time in my world, but now that we are in yours, I wish to know. How may I help? What is your plan?" She stepped towards him again.

Given the words she used to describe it, she must have realized what he had done to the Buran captained by her Lorca. He reached for the phaser then. Stretched back and grabbed it from its hiding place under his pillow quick as he could and pointed it right at her. "Stay back. I see exactly what you're doing. You're trying to trick me, get me to let my guard down so you can avenge your precious 'Hayliel.' Well, I'm not falling for it." His finger tightened on the trigger.

"Oh, Gabriel. Killing you will not bring him back. You are the closest thing to him I have. I would not sacrifice that for anything. That is why I have been helping you. Because I still love your face, and I will always love your face. But I do not know this world or how to help you here. So tell me. What do we do next?"

He lowered the phaser and took a deep breath. He understood what she meant entirely because he knew it was true. When you had lost the person you loved most in the universe, it meant everything to be able to see their face again, even as another person. He knew it because he had lived it himself. He stared at her, looking forlorn. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. I know you can tell me because Hayliel could do anything he set his mind to, and you are him from another universe. Let me help you, Gabriel, the way I helped him." She took the last step towards him and placed her tail upon his hand in comfort and pressed her chest against his knee in companionship. "I have kept your secret. You can trust me."

So he told her.

Part 75