#I initially wanted this to be a long blade but I misjudged a hit and broke it in half pff

[earlysapiens]

Some stuff’s

[raeynbowboi]

The Character Forge: Building an Embodiment of Insanity

I’m going to diverge from my usual routine a bit today. Normally, I pick a pop culture character and make a build for them. But today, I want to do something different. I’m going to build a character around a theme, motif, or focus area. I’ll be covering a character focused on insanity. My goal for this build is to create a character who is explicitly crafted to instill and feed paranoia, delusions, and psychological trauma in as many facets as possible, including racial traits, feats, and spells where applicable. 

Building on Insanity:

it’s easy to simply say I want to drive people crazy, but it’s another thing to actually map out the effects you want to have on people. So before we can address individual spells and features, we need to discuss what impacts we want our abilities to have.

Alter Senses: Spells such as Unearthly Chorus, Blindness/Deafness or Blur that distort what a person sees and hears is a great way to instill a dread of insanity. Spells that buff your abilities or debuff the target are great ways to effect people’s perceptions.

Hallucinations: Similar to alter senses, Hallucinations cause people to see things that aren’t really there, playing a trick on their mind. A focus on illusion magic will help with this.

Fear: While insanity is not intrinsically linked to horror, the ravings of writers like Lovecraft and Poe often feature protagonists who have lost their minds or interact with people who have, usually accompanied by horrible nightmare imagery. Frightening people is a good way to warp their mind.

Mind Control: There’s nothing scarier than realizing you don’t have full control of yourself. Through Charmed effects like Compulsion, Command, and Dominate Person, you take away free will and make their mind your plaything.

Mental Anguish: a focus on attacking the mind itself, psychic damage is the best way to actively attack the minds of your victims.

Mind Alterations: Permanent changes to someone’s mind like Modify Memory can be truly horrifying, especially when the stolen or altered memories make it so that a person’s mind no longer makes sense.

Powers, Features, and Abilities

Altered Senses Blindness Deafness (Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard, Spore Druid, Fiend Warlock, Undying Warlock) Blur (Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard, Desert Land Druid, Hexblade Warlock) Maddening Darkness (Warlock, Wizard) Mental Prison (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Pass Without Trace (Druid, Ranger, Trickery Cleric) Power Word Pain (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Unearthly Chorus (Bard)

Illusions, Delusions, and Hallucinations Alter Self (Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard, Warlock: Master of Myriad Forms*) Disguise Self (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard, Trickery Cleric, Warlock: Mask of Many Faces) Dissonant Whispers (Bard, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, Great Old One Warlock) Distort Value (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Hallucinatory Terrain (Bard, Druid, Warlock, Wizard) Illusory Dragon (Wizard) Major Image (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Minor Illusion (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Mirage Arcane (Bard, Druid, Wizard) Mirror Image (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Trickery Cleric, Coast Land Druid) Mislead (Bard, Wizard) Project Image (Bard, Wizard) Silent Image (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Simulacrum (Wizard) Weird (Wizard)

Psychic Barrage Mind Sliver (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Mind Spike (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Phantasmal Force (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Phantasmal Killer (Wizard, Hexblade Warlock) Psychic Scream (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Shadow Blade (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Synaptic Static (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)

Fear and Paranoia Cause Fear (Warlock, Wizard) Enemies Abound (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Eyebite (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Fear (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Oath of Conquest) Hallow* (Cleric, Fiend Warlock, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard)

Brainwashing Command (Cleric, Paladin, Fiend Warlock, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Compulsion (Bard, Order Cleric, Heroism Paladin, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer Warlock: Bewitching Whispers) Dominate Person (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard, Order, Trickery Cleric, Conquest, Oathbreaker, Treachery Paladin, Archfey, Great Old One Warlock) Enthrall (Bard, Sorcerer, Heroism Paladin) Incite Greed (Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Mass Suggestion (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Otto’s Irresistible Dancing (Bard, Wizard) Suggestion (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Tasha’s Hideous Laughter (Bard, Wizard, Great Old One Warlock)

Mind Altering Crown of Madness (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Oathbreaker Paladin) Confusion (Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard, Knowledge Cleric, Oathbreaker, Treachery Paladin, Warlock: Dreadful Word) Feeblemind (Bard, Druid, Warlock, Wizard) Gift of Gab (Bard, Wizard) Glibness (Bard, Warlock) Mind Blank (Bard, Wizard) Modify Memory (Bard, Wizard, Trickery Cleric, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer)

Eldritch Horrors (Fear of the Unknown) Arms of Hadar (Warlock, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer) Create Homunculus (Wizard) Enervation (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Evard’s Black Tentacles (Warlock, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer) Hunger of Hadar (Warlock, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer)

Oh How the Mind Races

When setting up a race for this build, like with the spell list, we need a race whose features exacerbate the insanity features.

Changeling: Being able to shapeshift so easily is a great way to make someone feel crazy.

Eladrin Elf - Winter: Their Fey Teleportation can Frighten those they appear next to.

Gith: They have psionic features.

Kalashtar: Split between two minds, Kalashtar is a race with psychic powers.

Simic Hybrid: While not inherently mental or insane, their existence as gene spliced humans with animal features, it’s an easy way to invoke Lovecraftian Horror.

A Class in Judgement

Bard     Whispers: This subclass is hellbent on attacking the mind, unearthing people’s fears, and preying on them.

Sorcerer     Aberrant Mind: This subclass gets their power from a mental aberration, and is a Sorcerer variation on the Great Old One Warlock, and invokes Lovecraftian Horror.

Warlock     Great Old One: Invoking the twisted mind of H.P. Lovecraft, who himself was paranoid, the Old Gods similarly prey upon the minds of mortals.

Wizard     Divination: Not really a mental subclass, but you could flavor Portent as messing with perceptions, and making people misjudge their aim.     Illusion: This school of wizardry is focused on making people believe things that aren’t there.

Stats and Proficiencies

As the main classes suggested cast with Charisma, that is our main stat. You need to convince people to believe your mad ravings are true. Dexterity will make you hard to hit, all the better to convince people you aren’t real, are a figment of their imagination, or otherwise paranormal. A good Constitution ensures that even if you are hit, you can act like it’s no big deal, or like you’re supernaturally immune to pain or injury. Having high Wisdom reinforces your own perceptions and makes sure you can’t be fooled. Strength will follow, it’s not a super important stat for this build, but if you want to deal at least decent damage with your physical attacks, it’s a little important. And Intelligence gets dumped. Book Smarts won’t help you much in deceiving people or driving them insane.

Race: Changeling Background: Charlatan Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Class: College of Whispers Bard (14)             Aberrant Mind Sorcerer (6) Base Stats:    Strength: 10 (0)    Dexterity: 19 (+4)    Constitution: 14 (+2)    Intelligence: 8 (-1)    Wisdom: 12 (+1)    Charisma: 20 (+5) Saving Throws:    Strength: 0    Dexterity: +10    Constitution: +2    Intelligence: -1    Wisdom: +1    Charisma: +11 Combat Stats:     HP: 137     AC: 17     Speed: 30     Initiative: +7     Proficiency Bonus: +6     Passive Perception: 17     Dark Vision: 0 feet Proficiencies:     Deception (Charlatan)     Insight (Changeling)     Intimidation (Changeling)     Perception (Bard)     Persuasion (Bard)     Slight of Hand (Changeling)     Stealth (Bard) Skills: Acrobatics: +7                Medicine: +4 Animal Handling: +4       Nature: +2 Arcana: +2                      Perception: +7 Athletics: +3                    Performance: +8 Deception: +17               Persuasion: +17 History: +2                      Religion: +2 Insight: +13                     Sleight of Hand: +10 Intimidation: +17             Stealth: +10 Investigation: +2             Survival: +4 Damage Resistances:   Psychic Sorcerer Feature: Sorcery Points   6 Sorcery Points Sorcerer Feature: Metamagic   Extended Spell   Subtle Spell Bard Feature: Magical Secrets    Evard’s Black Tentacles    Immolation    Pass Without Trace    Phantsmal Killer

Spell Slots    1st (4)    2nd (3)    3rd (3)    4th (3)    5th (3)    6th (2)    7th (2)    8th (1)    9th (1)

Spellbook of Madness

Cantrips                                2nd Level                        4th Level    Chill Touch                             Blindness/Deafness         Compulsion    Dancing Lights                       Blur                                  Confusion    Friends                                  Calm Emotions                 Evard’s Black Tentacles    Mending                                Crown of Madness            Phantasmal Killer    Message                                Darkness                       5th Level    Mind Sliver                             Detect Thoughts               Dominate Person    Minor Illusion                          Mind Spike                       Immolation    Prestidigitation                       Mirror Image                     Mislead    Unearthly Chorus                   Pass Without Trace          Modify Memory 1st Level                                  Phantasmal Force             Synaptic Static    Arms of Hadar                       Shadow Blade                6th Level    Dissonant Whispers            3rd Level                             Eyebite    False Life                               Enemies Abound            7th Level    Tasha’s Hideous Laughter     Fear                                   Project Image                                                  Hunger of Hadar                                                  Major Image                                                  Sending 

Actions:    Countercharm: Using a Performance action grants friendly creatures within 30 feet radius advantage against charmed and frightened conditions. Bonus Actions:     Bardic Inspiration: Add 1d10 to 5 allies’ rolls per long rest.     Flexible Casting: Convert your Sorcery Points into spell slots. Features:     Change Appearance: Shapeshift as an action. You have advantage on Deception checks to cover your tracks.     Divergent Persona: You have proficiency with a tool. Create a false identity for this proficiency. While using this identity, you have doubled proficiency with the tool of your choice.     False Identity: You have created a fake identity, and can forge documents if you have seen their handwriting.     Font of Inspiration: Regain a Bardic Inspiration after a rest.     Invasive Thoughts: Create a telepathic link with a creature 30 feet away as a bonus action.     Mantle of Whispers: When someone dies, steal their shadow and wear their shadow as a disguise for an hour. You gain access to the dead person’s general information.     Psionic Defense: You resist Psychic damage.     Psionic Sorcery: You cast Aberrant Mind spells without components.     Psionic Spells: You gain additional Aberrant Mind spells     Psychic Blades: Add 5d6 Psychic damage to your melee weapon attacks.     Shadow Lore: Those who fail a Wisdom check become Charmed to believe that you know and will expose the deepest darkest secrets, and obey your commands out of fear of being found out.     Song of Rest: With a song, add 1d10 to healing effects from a rest.     Unsettling Visage: Once per rest, impose disadvantage on a creature trying to hurt you.     Warped Being: your AC is 13 + your DEX mod while without armor     Words of Terror: Your words instill fear for 1 hour.

This build was a bit unorthodox, but it was also a lot of fun to put together. Can you think of a better way to embody madness and insanity in DnD 5e? Do you think you’ll use this in a campaign? Do you have any ideas for something else I can do with DnD 5e? Thanks for joining me, and I’ll see you guys next time in the Character Forge, where heroes are made.

[sweetlangdon]

Damsel & Distressed (Xavier x Reader)

Notes: My first attempt at Xavier fic. I figured I better write this before the show drops more twists on us. 

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Blood, sort of graphic description of an injury. 

You’re fucked.

It’s your first and only thought when your shoe catches on a gnarled tree root in your desperate sprint through the woods. The clumsy mistake sends you spinning off course, plummeting down a steep embankment, a blur of dirt and branches and soggy grass. And fuck, it hurts the whole way—rough earth scraping your bare knees and elbows, twigs catching you in the face, biting into your shoulder, rocks digging through muscle and jostling your bones together. The cherry on top is the awkward landing, the sickening, awful crack that echoes off the trees. You think for a horrifying second that it’s what will finally get you killed. Not the injury itself, but the sound of your bone snapping in pieces, carrying on the wind, giving your location away to a knife-wielding killer.

You shudder and let out a gasping breath once your back slams into the dirt. There was too much adrenaline, too much fear clouding your nerves for the initial break to be painful, but now that you’ve settled, it rushes in all at once. You’re afraid to look down. Afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. You try not to make much noise as hot, silent tears run down your cheeks and drip from your chin.

It’s a nasty break. The excruciating pain tells you things are bad, and the unnatural, grotesque twist of your ankle confirms it. This isn’t your first broken bone—you were twelve last time; a reckless tumble off your bike and a hard fall on your wrist—but the homicidal weirdo with a penchant for collecting ears is a new complication.

You know you’re totally and completely fucked.

The flashlight you remembered to grab from the cabin before everyone split up fell the same time you did. It didn’t make it down the embankment with you, and you’re sure that you’re not going to see it again. You push yourself up, suppressing a cry, enough moonlight breaking through the clouds to illuminate the bruises on your skin and the blood running down your legs. A broken ankle may as well be a death sentence. You’re finished. Even if someone else takes pity on you, the group isn’t going to want to drag your ass out of camp. You know you’ll just slow everyone down, cost people their lives.

Fuck you, Camp Redwood, you think bitterly. It’s when you realize that you’re going to end up a missing person case or a news story about another camp massacre or a pile of bones someone finds in the woods five years later that you let the tears flow. You can’t stop. It’s unglamorous and a bit pathetic—the weeping that makes your throat raw and your eyes all puffy and red, the sniffling that leaves trails of snot and spit all over your shirt. You’re a goddamn mess, the pain in your ankle worsening as the minutes pass.

A twig cracks nearby and cuts you off mid-sob. Your breathing is ragged, shallow as you listen to someone moving through the brush, the harried rustle of leaves and quick footsteps. You wait for the slow, torturous rattle of keys knocking together but it doesn’t come: instead, there’s a silhouette moving through the trees toward you, crouched low. Still, you tense and hold your breath and watch the beam of a flashlight bouncing erratically through the woods.

The scream dies in your throat. “Xavier?”

The light hits you in the eyes. You squint and toss up your hands in front of your face. Xavier is almost breathless when he whispers your name back. When he crouches in front of you, your eyes—once they adjust to the dark again—find the blood smeared on his jacket and the front of his shirt. But other than from the sheer terror on his face, he appears to be okay.

Xavier inhales sharply once he sees your mangled ankle. “Shit.” He cringes as the beam of his flashlight sweeps over it. You look the other way and try to distract yourself from the feeling of razor wire wrapped around your foot. Your toes are definitely numb. “Shit, that looks bad.”

“Yeah, thanks,” you answer, all deadpan and snark, even though your bottom lip is trembling and you’re sniffling. You know Xavier means well, but he didn’t immediately strike you as the brightest. More like the human equivalent of an excitable golden retriever. But you can’t really complain about the view. “It feels worse.”

His face is still contorted in a mix of horror and absolute disgust. “Right,” he swallows hard, ice blue eyes wide, “we gotta get you outta here.”

“Whose blood is that?” you ask, though you aren’t sure you want to know.

“What?” Xavier shakes his head, averting his gaze from your ankle. You sniffle, wiping furiously at the tears running down your face. “Ah—it’s not mine. It’s Chet’s.”

“Is he—?”

“Dead? No…no, he had a close call—it’s a long story—but he’s alive.”

You’re honestly surprised by that. Relieved, but…surprised.

You can almost see the gears turning in Xavier’s pretty little head, trying to figure out his next move. But you don’t have much hope. “I was on my way to the mess hall when I heard you.”

“Glad it was you and not Jingles.”

His look of horrified disgusted finally relents, his expression softening. A grin appears at one corner of his mouth, and it eases the panic surging through you. “Your lucky night.”

“Oh yeah,” you answer, your voice unsteady. “Real lucky.”

Xavier flicks off the flashlight and tucks it into a pocket. “C’mon, let’s get you up.” 

You grab the sleeve of his jacket as you fall to pieces again. “Xavier, no.” You hear yourself crying and it sounds so pitiful but you’re in pain and tired and already admitting defeat. “You have to go. Just go. Get out of this fucking place.” 

“I’m not leaving you here.” His eyebrows pull together. His stare is hard, flittering between confusion and disbelief.

“You have to,” you insist. “I’ll just slow you down, get you killed. There’s no way I can outrun anyone with a knife like this. I can’t. You have to go. Now. Please, just go.” Before long you’re babbling on without any idea of what you’re saying, your words gradually fading into more tears.

Xavier grabs your arms, gently. “Shhh,” he soothes, voice dropping to a whisper. “Hey, look at me.” He touches your cheek and you’re momentarily transfixed by his lithe fingers. “We’re going to get out of here. There’s no way I’m leaving without you, okay? I can’t…I can’t do that. I’m not leaving you to die.”  

He looks as scared as you feel, but you believe him. And you think maybe you’ve misjudged him just a little. “Thank you.”

Xavier grimaces. “Thank me when we get out of here.” He slides an arm around your back, the other tucked under your knees. He tosses you a sympathetic, pained glance, his movements hesitant. “I’ll try to be gentle, but this is gonna hurt.”

You nod. And brace yourself. Xavier scoops you off the muddy, waterlogged grass and into his arms with minimal effort. It does hurt—it’s fucking excruciating, the pain that jolts up your leg and down to your numb, tingling toes. You bite the inside of your cheek until you taste iron to keep from screaming, and wrap your arms around Xavier’s neck, hands curled into tight fists.

His voice shakes. “Sorry,” he whispers, nose brushing against your hair. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you mutter through gritted teeth, your face buried in his shoulder. You have your eyes squeezed shut, listening to Xavier’s uneven breathing. “Just go.” 

The flight through the woods hurts more than anything else. The ground under Xavier’s feet is uneven, and every time he hits a rough patch or a loose rock, agony blossoms up your leg. He apologizes a lot, every time your recoil, every time your grip around his neck tightens and your exhales stutter. You have no sense of direction, surrounded by nothing but the misery in your bones and the sharp, prickling pain. It’s only when Xavier stops short, his pulse thrumming wildly under your ear, that you realize something’s wrong.

“What is it?” Your question is muffled into his shoulder.

“You hear that?”

Your heart pitches violently. “No.” You don’t want to hear it.

The woods are deathly still. Not a gust of wind, a call of a nocturnal creature. You hold your breath to listen, to keep from being found. There’s a shuffle across the earth. A slow, awkward gait. It echoes, filling up the silence, louder than it should be.

A shuffle. A cold, metallic ring of keys.

You lift your head from Xavier’s shoulder to find his wide, bright eyes. “Fuck.”

Xavier moves as quietly as he can possibly manage, flattening himself against the broad trunk of an old tree. You make yourself smaller, clinging onto him for dear life, the jolt of fear that’s shot through your veins dispatching any pain from the broken bone. Both of you are trembling; you don’t know whose heart is racing faster, yours or Xavier’s. When you look up at him again, you see the tears dripping steadily from his chin, forming tracks along the sharp lines of his cheeks.

Jingles shuffles closer—so close that you think he’ll hear your frantic heart. On the path behind you, moving through the dark, nothing but a tree trunk separating you and Xavier from the edge of his blade.

Feet dragging across dirt. Clink. Clink. Clink.

You bury your face in the hollow of Xavier’s neck and stifle a whimper. Xavier’s fingers curl into your side, holding tight. The two of you are pressed impossibly, intimately, desperately close. His breath catches the slightest bit, but it’s not enough to draw attention, not enough to halt the torturous melody of keys jangling in the dead of night.

You wait. Until the trees are silent again, until the wind resumes its soft whisper through the leaves and you’re absolutely fucking sure that the homicidal bastard is long gone. And then you remember to breathe. Xavier exhales and you feel it as if it’s your own. Temporary relief. A second chance. Maybe even your third.

Xavier turns his watery gaze back to you, wordless. Your throat is dry, raw from the spike of anxiety. “You okay?” he asks.

You nod. “Are you?”

His breath shakes. “No.”

“Fair enough.”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

You don’t argue with that.

***

I don’t know who wants to be tagged, so I’m going with my usual tag list + people I thought would be interested (I hope you don’t mind)!

@lastregasolitaria @mylippo @zeciex @lvngdvns @langdonsdemon @wvntersldr @sojournmichael @gabnelson98 @antichristlangdxn @keavysmithxoxo  @batgirlbride  @dead-witch-boy @boofy1998 @gentianea @cryptid-coalition  @kinlovecody @yuriohoe04 @electricurie @marvel-rpdr-and-ahs @gallxntdean @jcshadowkiss-blog @frozenhuntress67 @sebastianshoe @dixmond-taurus @bookobssesed99 @sassylangdon @queenie435 @holylangdon  @angsty-otters-blog @denaexr @mr-langdonn @micheallangdons @lostin-fern @crazedcatcuddler @michaelsapostle @monsucre @ritualmichael  @queencocoakimmie @bluelancesredswords  @punkysouls @sevenwondr @prettykitten123 @zoebensvn @kylosbabe @sloppy-little-witch-bitch26 @readsalot73 @americanhorrorstudies  @tiny-ruby-seeds @confettucini @xavierplympton @kaetastic @wroteclassicaly @duncvns @langdonsinferno @langdonsoceaneyes @avesatanormalpeoplescareme

[tibbinswrites]

We’ll Tell Our Stories On These Walls

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Fandom: Supernatural

Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Castiel & Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel & Jack Kline & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester

Summary: Set after 14x08 'Byzantium'. Castiel's deal hangs over the bunker, even though not all of the occupants know it yet. Destiel.

Read it on AO3

The night of Jack's resurrection was spent in laughter and peace, even the death of Lily Sunder didn't sour the mood. They gave her a hunter's funeral as thanks for her sacrifice and then returned to the bunker, eyes still stinging from the smoke, clothes streaked with mud and splinters pricking their fingers. Then, they drank. Bottles clinked together, toasts were made to progressively more ridiculous things and candy bars were produced. It was almost like they were trying to wipe away the memory of the previous evening and replace it with this one. Castiel wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Hey, Jack," Dean said suddenly, sliding something across the table towards the boy, overshooting by quite a margin and sending the object clattering to the floor, Dean hissed through his teeth and brought his hand back towards him in the way he did when he knew he'd misjudged a throw but was too far away to do anything about it. Jack ducked down for a moment before emerging with a puzzled frown on his face, already flushed from the alcohol.

"A knife?" He asked, flipping the blade out with the small button on the side.

"Yeah," Dean pushed himself to his feet and headed for the door of the kitchen, bottle hanging between his fingers, "come on."

They all stood and tramped after him, Sam with an understanding smile, Jack and Castiel with confused looks, was this knife a particularly important gift? Dean took good care of all of his weapons but Castiel didn't think this one was a particular favourite; it was also small and wouldn't be much use for hunting. Perhaps it was more symbolic.

Dean led them to the library where he set his bottle down on the table and gestured to it, "Make your mark, kid."

He was pointing at the initials already scratched into the wood. The initials of two brothers who had branded this place as home.

Jack stopped a moment, clearly hit by the importance of what he had been asked to do. Castiel's smile was huge to the point of pain as Jack brought the knife to the table almost reverently and pressed the tip to the wood, then he raised his eyes to the brothers, looking nervous. "Are you sure?"

They shared a look, Sam nodded, "Yeah, Jack. We're sure."

"You just came back from the dead, dude," Dean added, adding a thin layer of bravado to his words that Castiel at least saw right through, "you're definitely one of us."

Jack bit his lip but lowered his gaze and began to carve out the J. It took quite a while, Jack seemed very intent on making the edges as neat as he could; woodchips occasionally pinged around the room and Jack's tongue poked out between his teeth as he concentrated, the weight of the task at hand seemed to have sobered him almost entirely and his hands were steady. When the first letter was done, Jack paused, blew away the dust and looked up again.

"What letter do I put next?"

"Whatever feels right," Sam answered quickly, "Jack, we're not asking you to abandon your mother's name, or take ours if you don't want to. Your last name doesn't change the fact that you're family."

Jack nodded and stared down at the J on the table for a long time.

"I like the name Winchester," he said eventually, "but it's not mine."

A little while later, he stepped back and they all admired his handiwork. J.K stared back at them, just below the brothers' initials. They all just stood in silence for almost a full minute, letting the impact sink in. Then, Jack's face broke into a huge grin and Sam laughed and clapped him on the back. Dean inclined his head, smiling too, Castiel felt pride welling within him at the scene. His three charges, two lonely, co-dependent heroes and their son. Honestly, he half-expected the Empty to show up right then and there and he swallowed down his joy, though it stuck in his throat and he couldn't bring himself to mind.

Read more on AO3

[minister-for-femslash]

The Five Labours Of Alice Quinn

Summary: Alice makes a deal with Ember. He will perform the resurrection spell as long as she completes a series of tasks that will prove her worthy... Set during the first timeline.

Pairing: Julia/Alice

Warnings: Suicidal thoughts and character death

Word Count: 10,051

Author’s Note: A fic for Welters Challenge, theme 6: Gods and Monsters

Author’s Note 2: This is a companion piece to my previous entry So It Turns Out You’re Not My Soulmate. But you don’t have to read that one to understand this one. 

The back of Alice's thighs burn. A sharp pain shoots through her chest with every breath. The ground is uneven beneath her feet and she stumbles. The mountain is steep. Too steep. She falls backwards and her fingers sink into the mud as she clings on. Her trousers rip. Small pebbles and rough ground tear at the skin on her knees and shins.

She stops, flops down against the ground, her cheek resting in the mud. She's exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Her hands shake and her head feels too heavy for her shoulders. The world spins around her.

“Julia,” she says. Her voice is weak, barely more than a croak. Her throat burns. “Help me. Please, help me. God, I need you to help me.”

She looks at her wrist. The thin piece of red fabric is still tied around it. Some of it now frayed. It feels looser than it did when she started to climb.

There's a whimper. For a moment Alice thinks that it's coming from her but it gets louder and louder, and she looks up. She can see the top of the mountain with a hint of snow on the peak, and thick, white clouds that seem to wrap around it. It's far away, so very far away. She'll never make it. But just ten or so feet above her is a ledge.

“Help me. Please, help me.” The words echo through the air. It's a woman's voice, kind of husky and a little hoarse.

Alice sucks in a few sharp and painful breaths and then pushes herself up. She scrambles. Her feet continue to slip and she has to keep digging her fingers into the mud. She slowly drags herself up, pulls herself onto the ledge and throws herself onto her back.

“Help me.” The woman says again.

Alice turns her head and she sees a young woman near the entrance to a cave. She has wavy, dark hair. There's blood on her forehead and her right leg is curled up underneath her, twisted at an odd ankle.

“Please, help me.”

She looks like...

Alice quickly sits up and rushes towards the woman.

“What happened?”

“The lizard, he... He kidnapped me and...”

Alice places her hands on the woman's forehead, presses her thumb against the skin. The wound is shallow and Alice frowns. There's a lot of blood for such a small wound.

“You're not a knight.”

“No.” Alice moves down to look at the woman's ankle. “I'm a Magician.” She lifts up the woman's trouser leg and sees the dark, black tinge to her skin. Bruising. It certainly looks like a twisted ankle, but when Alice's fingers brush against it the woman doesn't even flinch.

She presses a little harder just to see, and there's no response. At least until the woman looks down and sees Alice's thumb pressing against her ankle and then she grimaces.

“Ow.”

It doesn't sound very convincing and Alice pulls back.

“Who are you?”

The woman smiles.

The skin under Alice's fingertips morphs and changes. She looks down. The woman's legs are no longer there, instead there's a tail, with thick, green overlapping scales. Alice tumbles back as the woman hisses. Her tongue becomes thin and forked as it flicks out.

Her face elongates. Her hair disappears and her forehead flattens. Her fingers shorten and thick, black claws appear. Her eyes turn jet black.

“I'm sure you'll make a nice snack.” Her words come out as a hiss.

The lizard shoots forward. There's a flash of fangs and Alice dives out of the way. Her body rolls across the floor and there are more scratches and cuts, and a cloud of dust is kicked up. Alice coughs.

She tries to scramble to her feet, but she stumbles and lands on her knees. She looks over. The lizard advances on her and Alice realises that she's dived towards the cave and away from the ledge. Now she's trapped.

Alice shivers. Julia's fingers brush gently against her skin as she wraps the piece of thin, red fabric around her wrist.

“You know they say that if...”

“Who's they?” Alice interrupts.

Julia stops. She's in the middle of tying the fabric as she looks up at Alice, the hint of a smile on her face.

“What do you mean who's they? Just they,” Julia says with a slight laugh. She holds Alice's gaze as she finishes tying the piece of fabric. She makes it tight enough to stay on and then takes Alice's hand and brings it to her lips. She kisses her fingers. “They say if you wear a piece of thread, just like this one, if it's given to you by somebody who loves you completely and purely then no matter what happens, their love will keep you safe.”

“Who's they?”

“Do you have to know everything?”

“I'd like to.”

“Okay, fine. I just made it up. But it sounds nice, right?”

“It sounds beautiful.”

“You're beautiful,” Julia says. She leans forward and gently kisses Alice's lips. Julia pulls her close and Alice sinks into her.

Alice looks down at the thread around her wrist. She runs her thumb across it. She can feel the ghost of Julia's fingers on her skin and her same shiver moves down her spine. 

The lizard charges forward. It's mouth open wide and Alice can see the fangs dripping with what she assumes is venom.

She waits. Waits until those fangs are almost upon her and then she thrusts her hands forward. She hits the lizard sqaure in the chest with a blast of purple energy. It flies backwards. It's claws dig into the ground and it comes to a halt just a few inches from the ledge. Alice doesn't hesitate. She hits the lizard with another blast and it lets out a scream as it topples over the edge.

She rushes forward and watches as it falls down the mountain, it's head cracking heavily against rocks and ledges, until it's body becomes lifeless.

It takes Alice another four hours to make her way back down the mountain. It's slightly easier than going up, but she still comes away with more cuts and bruises. Her entire body is in agony and as she reaches the bottom she sees no sign of the lizard.

“No. No come on, please,” Alice mutters.

She spins around and sees a green scaly foot sticking out of a nearby bush. Alice walks over. She feels a sense of relief as she sees the lizard's body lying there, it's glassy eyes open but empty. She grabs it's tail and yanks it out of the bush.

She drags it back to Ember and throws it down at his hooves. He looks at her and then down at the body of the lizard with little more than amusement.

“Miss Quinn, you succeeded. How marvellous.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Do you know how many knights this lizard has killed?”

“Well, I'm extremely motivated.”

His chuckle is loud and melodic.

“Yes, I suppose you are. This is going to be fun.” He steps over the lizard's body and moves towards her. The click of his hooves echo. “I have a new task for you.” He pulls a knife from somewhere, Alice doesn't want to know where and holds it out for her, blade first.

It's curved, thick and sharp. She reaches for it carefully, grips it with the tips of her fingers. It feels heavy as she turns it over in her palm. There are engravings on the handle. The Fillorian insignia.

“I thought killing the lizard...”

“Resurrection is no easy endeavour, child, even for Gods. If you want me to perform the ritual then you must prove yourself worthy of such a gift. Now, a few miles from here is a lake, I like to bath in it. But ever since that villain, Martin Chatwin came to Fillory my lake has been inhabited by a squid. A rather annoying, pesky little creature. I want you to kill it. Bring me proof and I'll consider granting your request.”  He turns away from her and she knows the conversation is over.

-----

Ember is lying when he says the lake is a few miles away, it's closer to twenty. Night has fallen by the time Alice makes it there and every muscle in her body aches. There's a chill in the air. There are goosebumps on the back of her neck and her teeth chatter as she pushes her way through the tree branches and finally sees the moonlight reflecting off the surface of the water. The knife is tucked into the inside of her jacket.

She takes it out.

There's a shine off the blade as she stands on the edge of the lake. She removes her jacket, then her shoes and socks. Blood is smeared across her skin. On her heel, in between her toes. She steps into the water and the pain shoots through her. She takes another step and as the initial pain subsides there's a coolness to it. She sighs. She lowers herself down gently. Every cut and bruise on her body screams out for just a moment and then the pain begins to dull. The water seems to soothe her.

The knife is still in her hand as she takes a breath and dips her head under the water. Her eyes are open. They sting a little and she blinks as she moves further into the lake. Alice allows herself to float beneath the surface. Her clothes become heavy as the fabric fills with water and she begins to sink. The lack of oxygen causes a burn in her chest. Her body hiccups. She looks up at the surface. She can see the moon shining down and she knows it would be so easy to just continue to sink.

She holds the knife out in front of her and allows it to fall from her hand. She watches as it drops. A moment later she reaches for the handle. She misjudges the distance and it bounces off her fingers and continues to sink. Alice swims towards it. She grabs the knife only to see something flicker to her left. She kicks with her legs and spins.

There's another flicker and a hint of yellow. The burning in her chest is getting stronger but instead of heading to the surface, she swims towards it. There's another flicker and more yellow. A large oval with a small black pinprick in the middle.

It's an eye, a giant eye.

Then there's another. Giant eyes for a giant squid.

Alice stays perfectly still as it stares. There's a ripple in the water as a tentacle slowly reaches towards her. It hovers in front of her face, touches her forehead and then her cheek. Her muscle clench. Her body is desperate for oxygen but she's too scared to move. Another tentacle touches her shoulder and Alice forces herself to smile. 

The squid's eye flick down to the knife in her hand. Alice tries to speak. She shakes her head, tries to mouth the word no but water floods into her mouth and she's choking.

She kicks up, shoots towards the surface only for the tentacle to grab at her ankle. The suckers latch on. There's pain. Lots and lots of pain, as little pincers dig into her flesh. She struggles. Her arms flail and she tries to kick with her free leg but the squid pulls her further down under the water.

Alice's body folds. She looks down and the squid's eyes stare back at her. She brings her arm down. The water restricts her movements and the swing isn't as fast as she needs it to be. The knife barely makes a scratch on the tentacle. She tries again, drives the blade down this time and somehow manages to get enough force to pierce the tentacle with the tip.

The grip on her leg loosens. Alice kicks again. She moves through the water and breaks through the surface quickly. She gasps for air.

There's a crash. Alice is propelled forward by a wave of water and she crashes onto the ground.

She drags herself out. She turns over and sees the giant squid rising out of the lake, with it's bulbous head and bright yellow eyes.

She's somehow managed to keep a grip on the blade. She holds it out. Her hand is unsteady and the blade wobbles.

A tentacle shoots towards her. It's quick. So fast that she doesn't even see it. She just feels it slam into her hand. There's a clatter as the knife is thrown to the ground. The tentacle strikes again. This time it slams into her chest. What little air she's managed to get into her lungs is forced back out again as she's thrown into the air.

She crashes into the side of a tree and everything goes black.

-----

Alice's eyes flutter open. There's a soft mattress under her back, a pillow under her head. Her body aches. There's a dull throb in her chest. She tries to sit up, but her arms are shaky and she can't support herself. She flops back down.

Her eyes close.

She drifts off and after a couple of hours she hears the sound of a door opening. There are footsteps. The creak of floorboards and then a clatter.

Alice opens her eyes. She turns her head and see a young woman placing a plate and a mug down onto the small wooden table next to the bed.

“Where am I?”

The woman spins around. The mug is still in her hands and clear water splashes over the edge and onto the dusty floorboards. She's tall, with long dark hair and a circular face. The woman smiles.

“You're awake. I thought you were going to sleep for like a month.”

“Who are you?”

“Oh sorry, hi, I'm Fen. I found you, near the lake. You were injured and unconscious, so I brought you back here. I bandaged your wounds.”

Alice notices a throbbing in her head. She reaches up and places her fingers against it, feels the crudely made bandage that's there.

“Here.”

Fen takes a step towards the bed and Alice instinctively pulls back.

“It's water.” Fen holds out the mug.

Alice hesitates. Her mouth is dry and she feels dangerously weak. She tentatively reaches out and grasps the mug. She takes a small sip, swills it around in her mouth. It tastes fine so she swallows it down.

“Thank you,” Alice says before she drinks down the rest of the water as quickly as possible. She’s sloppy. Some of it dribbles down her chin. She wipes it away and then licks the drops off the fingers.

“I'll get you another.” Fen takes the mug back and then picks up the plate. There's a slice of bread and a small circle of cheese on it. “You should eat something.” She places the plate onto the bed next to Alice's thigh and then disappears out the door.

Alice picks up the bread and brings it to her lips. There's a pain in her stomach, sharp, like a hot needle and she feels nauseous. She thinks she might be sick. She drops the bread back down on the plate. 

Fen returns a few moments later with another mug of water. If she notices the uneaten food she doesn't say anything.

Alice drinks this one slower. Small, gentle sips.

Fen stands and watches, and Alice feels desperately uncomfortable. She places the mug on the bedside table and tries to sit up, but the moment she does the room begins to spin and she has to lay back down again.

“You need to rest,” Fen says.

“No. I need to kill the squid.”

“What?”

“I need to kill the squid.”

“The one in the lake? The unkillable squid?”

Alice closes her eyes and laughs, because of course. Of course the squid is unkillable. Of course Ember set her an impossible task.

“Yes. I need to kill the unkillable squid.”  

“I guess that's why I also found this.” Fen removes something from her tunic and places it on the bed next to the plate.

It's the knife that Ember gave her.

“If you really want to kill the squid then you need something better than that. Smaller, more delicate, like a fluting knife.”

“You know about knives?”

“My father's a knife maker.

“Can you make me one? A fluting knife.”

“My father probably could. But he won't. Not unless you have something to trade. You really should eat something.” Fen heads for the door.

Alice waits for it to close and then lets out a frustrated sigh.

The stars seem to sparkle as Alice stares up at the sky. There are clouds on the horizon but directly above Breakbills there's a clear sky. There's a tear on Alice's cheek. She brushes them away quickly as a door opens and the sound of music barrels through the air. There are footsteps. Alice looks over her shoulder and sees Julia. She sits down next to Alice.

“Are you okay?”

“No.” There's a sob. She tries to choke it back but it tumbles out from her lips and before she even realises that she's done it, Julia's arm is around her shoulder. She pulls her close. Alice buries her face in Julia's chest. Julia smells like vanilla and beer, and Alice allows herself to cry.

“I just wanted to save my brother.”

“I know.” Julia holds her tight. Her hand rubs gently circles across Alice's back.

“It should've worked. It was going to work,” Alice says. “If Quentin hadn't.” She pulls back from Julia and yet still somehow stays close. “If he hadn't interferred then I could've...”

“He was just trying to protect you.”

“I don't need him to protect me.”

“I know.”

“He interferred and it cost me my one chance to save my brother.”

“I'm sorry.” Julia's hands cup her cheeks. She leans in and presses a gentle kiss against Alice's forehead. They lean into each other. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

Alice sleeps. It's restless and without comfort or relaxation, but she sleeps. Fen brings her food and water at least twice a day. By day two Alice feels well enough to eat something, by day three most of the pain has subsided and by day four she feels strong enough to get out of bed.

She's dirty. Fen has done her best to wash away the blood and the dirt but what Alice really needs is a bath. Fen shows her the metal tub in the room next door. Hands her a bar of soap and rough towel, and then leaves her.

Alice lies in the warm water. She allows it to wash over her, to create a cocoon around her as she momentarily drops below to the surface. She grabs the sponge that Fen has left her and the bar of soap and scrubs every inch of her body.

She climbs out and as she grabs the towel she catches a glimpse of her reflection in one of the metal taps. She almost doesn't recognise herself. Her face looks thin and drawn. There are bags under her eyes and her body is covered in bruises that have turned a sickly yellow and angry red welts.

She looks small and fragile, and broken.

Alice turns away. She grabs the towel, wraps it around her body and quickly heads back to her room. She grabs her clothes – Fen brought back jacket, as well as her shoes and socks. She gets dressed. She grabs the knife and shoves it into her jacket pocket.

She heads outside and the sun hits her face. Alice's blinks. It's harsh and bright, and it hurts her eyes. There's a stone path that leads away from the house with a small lines of flowers on either side. Alice walks down it.

“You're leaving?”

Alice turns around. She sees Fen coming around the side of the house with a basket in her hand.

There's a look of disappointment on her face and Alice has to look away.

“Er, yeah. Thank you for everything you've done for me the last few days, but I need to get going now. Thank you.”

“Okay.”

Alice turns and walks down the path again.

“You're going to get yourself killed.”

Alice ignores the comment and continues to walk, after a moment she hears footsteps behind her, following her.

“You can't kill the squid. ” Fen says.

“I have to try.”

“Why? Why is this so important to you?”

Alice doesn't answer.

“Who did you lose?”

Now Alice stops.

“What?”

“You have this look in your eye. You lost someone, who was it?”

“That's none of your business.”

“Was it the squid? Because killing it won't make you feel any better, it won't make the grief go away and it won't bring them back.”

There such a seriousness to Fen's voice that Alice can't stop herself from laughing. The laughter almost turns to sobs. But Alice chokes them down.

“Julia. Her name's Julia. She was my girlfriend and she was murdered.”

“By the squid?”

“No. By the Beast.”

“I can't stay here,” Alice says. She forces herself to pull away from Julia and stands up. She turns away and starts to walk towards the cabin.

Julia follows her.

“Alice, Alice wait, please.”

Julia's hand is on her wrist. She doesn't grip it tight, or try to pull her back. She just allows her fingers to rest against Alice's skin as they walk. Eventually Alice stops on her own.

“I came to Brakebills to save my brother and now he's gone. There's no reason for me to be here anymore.”

“There are plenty of reasons.”

“Name one.”

Julia hesitates. Her lips quiver as she looks at everything but Alice.

“See.”

Alice walks away. She takes maybe ten or fifteen steps before Julia speaks again.

“Me.”

Alice stops.

“What?”

“You should stay for me.” Julia walks towards her. “There are plenty of reasons for you to stay here. To learn, to grow, to be a great Magician because I know that you're going to be. But honestly, I want you to stay for me.”

“You don't need me, Julia. You're Professor Fogg's favourite and you're a natural.”

“That's not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean.”

Julia moves closer. Her hands come up and gently cups Alice's cheeks. Their noses brush together and Alice holds her breath.

“I'm going to kiss you now,” Julia says.

Alice nods her head.

Julia slowly leans in and kisses her. It's soft and gentle, and Alice feels a shiver run down her spine. She sinks into Julia. Her hands come up and grasp at Julia's shoulders.

Then Julia pulls back.

“There's something between us and I think that it could be really good. But if you leave now, we'll never get a chance to find out and I want to find out, Alice, because the way I feel when I'm around you it's... I've never felt like this before, not even with James and I loved him, I did. But with you it's different... So maybe I'm being selfish and if I am then I'm sorry, but I'm asking you to stay, for me. To be with me.”

Alice can see the shock on Fen's face, as she takes a step back and the basket almost tumbles from her hand.

“The... The Beast?”

“Yeah. He killed her, right in front of me.”

“So... So why go after the squid?”

“I made a deal with Ember.”

“Ember? The Ember?”

Alice nods her head. “If I pass his test, if I prove myself worthy. If I kill the squid then he's going to bring her back to life.”

“Resurrection,” Fen mutters.

“That's why I have to go. The sooner I kill the squid, the sooner I get her back.”

“And what if the squid kills you?”

“We'll be together either way.” Alice turns.

“Wait! Let me help you.”

“You can't help me, Fen.”

“Of course I can.”

“How?”

“I'll make you a knife. One that will give you a better chance of killing the squid than the one you have now.”

It takes three days. Alice spends most of her time in the workshop with Fen as she makes the knife. Both of them avoiding Fen's father who seems more than a little annoyed by Alice's continued presence. Fen asks her questions, about Ember, about Julia, and sometimes Alice answers. But most of the time she sits silently and Fen, somehow, seems to understand. She fills the silences with chatter, and for that Alice is grateful.

She's even more grateful when on the third day she heads into the workshop and Fen offers her the knife with a smile.

Alice holds it in her hand. It feels light, she gives it a few practice swipes and it’s so much easier to manoeuvre, and she wonders if Ember gave her the other knife in a deliberate attempt to hamper her.

“Thank you,” Alice says.

“You're welcome.”

“I wish I had something to give you in return.”

“It's a gift.”

Then Alice realises, she does have something. She reaches into her pocket and takes out Ember's knife. She hands it to Fen.

“Ember gave it to me. I imagine it's probably worth something to a knife maker. Take it. If you're right about the fluting knife then I won't need it. Take it, please, as a thank you.”

“Okay.” Fen takes a knife and then throws her arms around Alice's neck and hugs her tight. “I hope you get what you want.”

-----

Alice stands on the side of the lake. The knife that Fen gave her is clenched in her hand. Her grip is tight. The sun is still out, just. It hovers over the horizon, casting a deep orange hue across the surface of the water.

Alice stares down into the depths. There's no sign of the squid. She takes off her jacket once again, but this time she doesn't step into the lake. She drops it onto the ground and places the knife on top.

She casts.

Alice brings her hands down in a swooping motion and an invisible force slams into the surface. There's a splash. Water showers down onto Alice. She does it again, and again, until she's soaked and then takes a step back.

She waits.

“Come on.”

She hits the water again and then finally she sees it. Movement beneath the water. She quickly grabs the knife and holds it in front of her. There's a flicker of yellow and a tentacle breaks the surface. It shoots towards her.

Alice manages to sidestep it. She brings the blade down and drives it into the tentacle. There's a squirt of green blood as she pulls back. It hits the ground. There's a hiss and smoke rises from the ground. It's acid.

The tentacle quickly pulls back and disappears back into the water. Everything goes quiet. Alice's hands shake as she continues to stare at the lake, searching for any sign of the squid. She sees nothing. She takes a tentative step forward and then another. Her feet just inches away from the water.

There's another splash. Alice doesn't see the tentacle but she feels the suckers around her ankle, the pinchers digging in. She’s yanked onto her back and pulled under the water.

Alice struggles.

She tries to spin, to angle herself so that she can drive the knife into the tentacle. She can't reach. Another tentacle wraps itself around her chest. She stabs at it, over and over, the green blood spurting out into the water. Alice can feel a painful tingle on her skin.

The tentacle hasn't let go. It squeezes and she sees the squid's eyes in front of her.

Alice stops struggling. She allows the squid to pulls her closer. It's mouth opens and she sees the long row of teeth and it's large, throbbing tongue. Her skin is burning. The squid's grip on her ankle and chest get even tighter, and Alice thinks she feels something crack, a rib maybe. But she continues to wait and when she's close enough she drives it knife deep into the squid's eye.

It screeches.

The vibrations ripple out across the water and Alice pushes harder. The knife disappears into the squid's eye and then so does her own hand.

The tentacles let go and Alice pulls her hand back. The squid is still screeching and it's tentacles flail wildly. It's in pain. Real pain, she knows that, but she doesn't stop. She swims forward. The squid doesn't try to stop her.

She drives the knife into the squid's other eye.

Alice swims back to the surface, then grabs the edge of the lake and pulls herself out. She rolls over and sees the squid floating upwards. It's not moving. It's tentacles are sprayed around it, it's eyes gauged out.

It's dead.

-----

“I need a temple,” Ember says as he plucks one of the the little cakes that Alice has brought him – the easiest of her trials so far. “To perform the ritual. I'll need a temple. There's a nice one, just passed the wailing forest that I'm rather fond of it. You will get it ready for me.”

“Okay. I can, I can do that.”

“Excellent. Off you go.”

Alice watches with disgust as Ember grabs a handful of cakes and shoves them into his mouth. She leaves quickly.

Alice chooses not to walk through the forest, instead she goes around it. The sun beats down on her and for a moment she can feel herself smile. She's so close now.

Alice's neck aches. Her back rests against the bottom of the sofa as she leans over the pile of books spread out across the table in front of her. She lets out a sigh. She's tired and aching, and the words in front of her no longer make any sense. She takes off her glasses and rubs at her eyes. She yawns. Her body is crying out for sleep, but she just grabs another book and drags it towards her.

“Here,” Julia says, as she walks towards the sofa with a cup of something hot in her hand.

Alice thinks it's coffee and she happily takes the mug, grateful for the caffeine boost but when she takes a sip she realises it's just herbal tea.

“You need to sleep.”

“I need to study.”

“You're exhausted.”

“And I'll be exhausted for the next couple of days. Ask me a question,” Alice says. She grabs one of the books and thrusts it into Julia's arms.

“Really?”

“Yeah. The test is in two days...”

“And you're going to pass, with ease.”

“I have to be sure. I need to know that I'm retaining the information, so please, just pick a page and ask me a question.”

“Okay.”

Julia skims through the book a couple of times before stopping on a random page.

“How do you conjure a self-contained ball of light?”

“Erm...” Alice closes her eyes and after a moment manages to pull the answer from somewhere in the back of her mind. “You use Chonsky's Glonney.”

“Correct.” Julia skims through the book again. “The best way to remove a curse from an object?”

This answer comes easier.

“There is no single spell that can be used to remove a curse instead you must adapt your counter curse to each particular circumstance.”

“See, you know this.”

Julia closes the book and places it back onto the table.

“Just one more,” Alice says.

“Okay.” Julia hesitates for a moment. She doesn't pick up another book, instead she shifts a little closer to Alice. She reaches out and cups her cheek. “Do you love me?”

“What?”

“Do you love me?”

Suddenly the door is thrown open and there's a high-pitched laugh as Margo stumbles into the cottage with a bottle of vodka in her hand. Margo looks around with slightly glassy eyes. Her laugh gets louder when she sees Alice and Julia.

Alice pulls back.

“Whoops,” she says and takes another swig off her vodka. “Sorry lovebirds, didn't mean to interrupt.”

Eliot steps into the cottage and slams into Margo's back, quickly followed by Quentin.

“Hey guys,” Julia says.

“Hey.” Eliot reaches around Margo and plucks the bottle out of her hand, which he happily shares with Quentin.

“We're just going to head upstairs. Get out of the way so that you two can do whatever it is that geeks do.” Margo brings her fingers together in a way that's obviously meant to be crude.

Alice blushes.

“Come on.” Margo grabs Eliot's hand, who in turn grabs Quentin's and she pulls the two of them towards the stairs.

Alice waits until the sound of their laughter fades.

“What do you think is going on between the three of them?” Alice asks.

“I don't know. But as long as Q is happy then I'm in favour of it.” Julia turns and looks at Alice. “Come here.”

Julia places her hands on Alice's shoulders and with a little pressure gets Alice to turn around. Julia rubs her neck. Her fingers knead at the skin in a way that helps relieve some of the tension that has settled in Alice's muscles. She moves her hands up, places her fingers against Alice's temples and moves in small, gentle semi-circles, and the head-ache that has been on the horizon starts to fade.

“Better?” Julia asks.

“Yeah.” Alice leans back against her as she allows her eyes to close. “I do.”

“Do what?”

“Love you.”

“Well that's good, because I love you too.”

“Hey. Hey, Alice!”

Alice turns around and is surprised to see Fen running towards her. She lifts up her hand and waves.

“Hi.”

“Hey, Fen.”

“You did it. You killed the unkillable squid. So where is she, your girlfriend. Is she back?”

“Not yet. There one more thing I have to do. Ember says he needs a temple, to perform the ritual in. There's meant to be one just beyond the forest.”

Fen's eyebrows quirk upwards.

“Ember and Umber's old temple.”

“Yeah.”

“You want to use that one?”

“Yes, why? What's wrong with it?”

Fen leads Alice up the stone steps. The moss that grows out of the cracks in the stone crunches underneath her feet. The wooden doors are rotten. A piece comes loose and falls as Fen fights to push open the door. It's stuck. The two of them have to work together to force it open. Alice regrets it immediately. The most rotten smell barrels out of the temple. Alice covers her nose and mouth but it's too late, she quickly steps away and unloads the contents of her stomach onto the grass.

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah. This place hasn't been used in a while.”

After a few breaths of fresh air, and then a few more. Alice steps into the temple. The smell is overwhelming, like rotten wood or paper, but she manages to control her stomach this time.

It's pitch black.

Alice lifts up her hands and moves her fingers in the exact pattern that she needs to and a ball of light appears in her hands. She throws it into the air and the temple is illuminated. Alice's eyes go wide.

“This is going to be harder than I thought.”

-----

The sound of Ember's hooves echo around them as he takes his time examining every inch of the temple. Alice isn't concerned. It's taken her weeks of work but the place is emaculate. She’s polished the golden columns at least three times, scraped centuries worth of dirt and muck from between the stone tiles, painted and glossed the wooden beams that run along the ceiling, replaced the wooden doors, with a little help from Fen.

There's no way Ember can find fault.

“Okay, I've done what you asked. Now bring Julia back.”

Ember ignores her. He continues to move around the temple.

“This is remarkable.”  

Alice feels a sense of relief.

“But you fail.”

For a moment his words don't register. It's like her brain just freezes and there's nothing but white noise in her ears. Then she realises. It hits her like a blow to the chest.

“No! No, I did everything you asked. I killed the lizard, I slayed the squid and I gave you your temple, I did everything you asked me to. I passed your tests.”

“You used magic.”

“I'm a Magician.”

“I told you when you first came to me with this request that it was a gift, that you would have to prove yourself worthy of it. You used magic to complete your tasks, you took the easy path. You have shown yourself to be unworthy and because of that, Miss Wicker will remain dead.” Ember heads towards the door.

“No. No, please. Just give me another chance. Please, Ember. Please!

Ember stops.

“I need her.” There's a quiver in her voice. A sob wedges in the back of her throat. “Please. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just please, bring her back.”

Ember turns to look at her and a smile stretches across his face.

“I must be feeling rather merciful today,” Ember says. “In order to perform the resurrection spell there is a particular ingredient I will need. It is difficult to procure. If you succeed in bringing it to me without the use of magic, then I will consider resurrecting Miss Wicker.”

“What do you need me to do?”

-----

Alice hears the buzzing long before she sees the pixie. Her hands grip tight onto the branch of the tree she’s climbed. She sits there, hidden by an abundance of green leaves and watches as the pixie flies over the field, sprinkling dust over the crops. Her wings shine under the sunlight, changing colour – pink, red, purple, blue – as they move. The pixie is singing. Alice doesn't recognise the song but it's pleasant and sweet, it's voice is almost hypnotic.

Alice sits and listens. She stays there until her legs begin to go numb and then she climbs down, the rough bark of the tree rubbing against the palms of her hands. She moves slowly, cautiously. She doesn't want to alert the pixie to her presence until she's ready.

That doesn't seem to be a problem. The pixie is so focused on the job she's doing that she doesn't even notice Alice until she's right behind her. She turns just as Alice reaches out. There's a scream as Alice grabs her and she's forced to place her hand over the pixie's mouth.

“I'm sorry,” Alice says.

She reaches for the pixie's wings, grasps it with her thumb and forefinger. It feels so delicate. Her hands shake. Alice feels sick and bile creeps up the back of her throat. The pixie struggles against her palm as she pulls.

There's another buzz. It louder than the one before and Alice stops. She looks over her shoulder and sees a swarm of pixies on the horizon. She looks down at the one in her hand. She's no longer struggling. Instead she's looking up at Alice.

The swarm of pixies is closer now and Alice is in no doubt, they're heading towards her.

She lets go of the pixie and it immediately flies towards her. Her claws dig into Alice's cheek. It rips her skin and immediately there's blood. Alice tumbles backwards.

The pixie's claws dig into her back. Alice lets out a cry. She scurries back to her feet and tries to shake the pixie off. The buzzing is getting louder, the swarm of pixies are getting closer. Alice runs.

The ground is uneven beneath her feet. She stumbles and trips, and scrambles back to her feet, over and over again. She slams her way through branches and bushes. At some point she manages to shake off the pixie, probably when she ends up rolling down a small hill. The buzzing has stopped, but Alice still runs.

She runs and runs until she finds herself back outside the temple. She collapses down onto the steps. Her heart is beating fast. Her breath coming in short, sharp pants. She looks up at the temple and she knows. She's come back empty handed

Alice wraps her arms around her legs and places her head against her knees. She knows Ember will find her soon and it will be over.

She hears the buzzing again. She lifts up her head and sees the pixie hovering in front of her face.

“I'm sorry,” Alice says. “I don't want to hurt you but I don't have a choice.”

The pixie moves closer and Alice can see her face. The frown on her lips, the furrow of her thick eyebrows.

“I need your wings for a spell. My girlfriend, she was... She was murdered and I need to get her back.”

“It sounds beautiful.”

“You're beautiful,” Julia says. She leans forward and gently kisses Alice's lips. Julia pulls her close and Alice sinks into her.

There's the creak of a door. Julia's fingers are in Alice's hair. Her lips are so soft and her body so warm. Alice doesn't want to pull back, but there are footsteps and somebody clears their throat.

“Are you guys ready?” Quentin asks. He doesn't look at them, his gaze is fixed on the floor just in front of his feet. His arms folded across his chest.

“Can you give us another minute, Q? Please?” Julia says.

“Sure.” He casts a quick glance in Alice's direction before he steps out of the room.

Julia turns back to Alice.

“Whatever happens next, I need you to know that I love you,” Julia says.

“Of course I know that. I love you too.”

“No, Alice. I need you to understand. I... Love... You. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand.” And Alice does. She really, really does and it makes her grab at Julia's shoulder and pull her in for another kiss.

They don't seperate until Margo bangs on the door and shouts at them.

“Come on, lovebirds. Lets get this over with!”

Julia's forehead rests against Alice's. She holds her gaze and strokes along Alice's cheek before offering her a smile that Alice knows is just a little forced.

They stand up and step out of the room with their hands clasped between them.

It happens in an empty classroom. They pull a mirror into the centre of the room and Alice draws the summoning circle around it in white chalk. It takes a while and Alice ignores the impatient mutterings of the others and focuses on Julia's hand on her shoulder.

The closeness is reassuring.

Finally she finishes and they all stand around the mirror; Julia and Alice, Margo and Eliot, Kady and Penny, and Quentin directly in front of it.

“So we're really doing this?” Penny asks. “We're going to summon the Beast.”

“We don't have a choice,” Quentin says.

“I could not summon the Beast.”

“If we don't do this then other people are going to die. Could you live with that?” Julia looks at him and unexpectedly Penny backs down.

“Suppose not.” He takes a flask out of his pocket and takes a swig before handing it to Kady, who takes her own. “Might as well go down in a blaze.”

“Right, well if all of the protests are over, lets fucking do this!” Margo announces with a clap of her hands.

It's a massacre.

Quentin goes down first, the Beast slitting his throat with a non-chalant flick of his wrist. Julia screams. It's raw; full of pain and anguish, and grief. She tries to run to him but Alice holds her back. Instead it's Eliot that gathers Quentin's lifeless body in his arms and the Beast dispatches of him, as well, a moment later.

Margo is next.

She loses control when Eliot dies. She jumps out from her hiding place and hits the Beast with everything she has, every offensive spell she's every learnt. Julia and Alice join her. The three of them together force him back towards the mirror. Then Julia is hit with a blast. It sends her flying across the room and her body seems to crumple as she drops to the floor. Alice is distracted for a moment and she's hit too. Margo is dead before either of them can get back to their feet.

Penny and Kady charge in together and they die together.

Alice looks around at the bodies of their friends and she visibly trembles. Julia's hands are on her shoulder. The only thing that stops her from collapsing to the floor in anguish.

“The mirror,” Julia says.

“What?”

Julia forces Alice to her feet. They run. The Beast turns to them and fires another blast, that hits the wall just above their heads. Julia pushes her towards the mirror.

“Go,” Julia says.

The Beast throws another blast and Julia manages to deflect it. It crashes into a nearby desk which explodes into a shower of wood and fire.

“Go,” Julia says again.

Alice steps through the mirror. The glass feels thick but wet as her right foot moves through it.

The Beast knocks Julia down. He looks at Alice and brings his hand down in the same movement that slit Quentin's throat so easily. His movements are too quick, Alice doesn't have time to react. All she can is close her eyes, grip the edge of the mirror and wait.

She takes a breath, and another, and another, and realises that she's still alive. She opens her eyes.

Her heart seems to stop when she sees Julia standing between her and The Beast.

Julia's body seems to hang in the air as blood pours from her neck. There's an emptiness in her eyes. Alice knows that she's gone, all that's left is a shell. Then Julia drops and the Beast is in front of Alice. She falls backwards, tumbles through the mirror and lands hard on her back.

In Fillory.

“She knew. She knew that she was going to die. She knew that when it came down to it, she was going to put herself between me and the Beast. That she would give up her life so that I could have mine.” Tears fall. “I love her. I love her so much and she died to save me. I need to find a way to bring her back, I need to see her again. Can you understand that?”

The pixie reaches out and brushes one of the tears away from Alice's cheek.

“I don't want to take your wings from you. I don't. But I can't just walk away from my one chance to get her back.”

The pixie moves back. She stares at Alice for a moment and then nods her head. Her wings flutter as she floats down and lands in the centre of Alice's palm. The pixie shrugs her shoulder and her wings fall from her back.

Alice gasps in surprise.

“Thank you,” she says. “Thank you.”

The pixie nods her head again and jumps down from Alice's palm. She walks away, disappearing into the long grass. Alice watches her for a moment, before standing up and heading into the temple.

-----

“There is one more trial you must face.”

Flames flicker out from the floor. Alice steps back as they grow higher and higher, and she can feel the heat on her face. Ember's hands continue to swirl as the floor disintegrates, the stone floor crumbling into dust. He creates a perfect circle.

“In order to ressurect Miss Wicker you must descend into the Underworld and bring her soul back here. It won't be easy. She may not want to come, when people pass over they lose all connection to their old life. Desire, passion, even love, it just drains out of them and they become these empty shells. The closer you get to the real world the more she'll resist, but you must make her come with you because if you don't...”

“I get it, I've got one chance. I'll bring her back.” Alice steps towards the hole in the floor. She stares down. It's pitch black, there's no hint of light. “Can I get a torch or so...”

She feels hands on her back. She's pushed forward and suddenly she's falling. The air whooshes past her ears. Her arms and legs flail. She opens her mouth to scream but no sound comes out. She hears Ember's laugh echo around her.

She hits the floor. It's spongy and she bounces slightly but still her legs buckle. She stumbles. She puts out her hands to break her fall and lands in a heap.

Alice lays on the ground. She's surrounded by darkness, by silence. All she can hear is the heavy beating of her own heart.

She pushes herself up. She stumbles about, her hands outstretched and takes a few tantative steps forward.

“Hello,” she says.

There's no response. Just the sound of her own voice, the word echoing around her, getting fainter and fainter until there's nothing but silence again. She continues to moves forward. The floor beneath her feet become harder and she feels a little more steady.

She sees a flicker of light up ahead. The tiniest of dots and she walks towards it. She keeps her arms outstretched and eventually she feels rough stone under her fingertips. 

It's a corridor. It seems to stretch on for an eternity. She walks and walks and walks, but that small flicker of light doesn't get any brighter, any bigger.

She glances over her shoulder and sees the darkness behind her, turning back isn't an option, not with what's at stake. So she keeps going. For hours, she walks until eventually the light doubles in size.

Alice stops. She stares at it, takes off her glasses and cleans them on the bottom of her shirt and then puts them back on, just to be sure. It's definitely bigger.

Alice runs.

The light gets bigger and bigger until she's standing right in front of it.

It's a torch. There's a wooden handle with a small flame placed on the wall. Alice pulls it free from the metal handle. The flame gets higher the moment she touches it and she can finally see the corridor that she's in. Large stone walls with a curved ceiling.

There's a door in front of her. She moves the torch across it. It's dirty gold with two goat heads – what she thinks is meant to be Ember and Umber – carved into it. There's no handle, just a space in the door. Hand-shaped. Alice reaches down and places her free hand into it.

There's the sound of locks turning, heavy bolts shifting inside the door. She feels a pain in her hand. Sharp claws that dig into each of her fingers. She cries out. There's blood, she can feel it drip down her hand. She tries to pull herself free but she's trapped.

Her blood pours and the locks turn, and eventually the door opens with a loud creak.

Finally the claws retract and Alice pulls her hand free. It's covered in blood. She holds it close to her chest as sharp pain throbs from the large holes in her fingers. The flesh has been ripped and torn. She tries to moves them but there's nothing.

Alice steps through the door. She swoops the torch across the room.

It's circular. There's moss and branches growing out of the wall, leaves under her feet that crunch with every step. There's a throne in the centre of the room. Solid gold, with engravings that match the door.

“Hello,” she says.

There's a flicker to her left.

Alice turns. There's a mirror wedged into the corner. She walks towards it. There's another flicker, a flash of brown hair.

“Julia.”

Alice grabs the mirror and yanks it out of the corner. She stands in front of it and holds the torch up, but there's just her reflection in the glass. She sighs. A wave of exhaustion washes over her for a moment and the torch lowers. Her blonde hair turns brown. She lifts up the torch again and it's back to blonde.

“Julia.” She slowly lowers the torch onto the floor. The person in the mirror lower it as well. The features change. Her own face slowly morphs into Julia's. She feels a sob in her chest. She presses her hands on the mirror and leans her forehead against it. “Julia, oh god, Julia. I love you.”

Julia's hair is down over her face. Her cheeks are pale, almost grey and there are huge black bags under her eyes. She looks thin and drawn, almost skeletal. Her eyes are empty. All of the colour has been drained out of them and all that's left is a murky white.

“I love you.” Julia's voice sounds far away.

“God. I never thought I'd hear you say that again.” There's a desperation in Alice's voice. “Okay, I'm... I'm going to find a way to get you out, just... Just stay there.” Alice takes a step back. There's still enough darkness that she can see Julia in the mirror, copying her actions.

“Just stay there.”

Alice looks around. Her heart is pounding. Her eyes are swimming with tears and she brushes them away as she tries to think of something. She tries to move her injured hand, but a burst of pain comes from each finger.

“A mirror. Why did it have to be a mirror?”

“Why did it have to be a mirror?”

“What?”

“What?”

“Julia.”

“Julia.”

“You're just... You’re just repeating everything I say.”

“You're just repeating everything I say.”

Alice reaches out with her non-unjured hand. Her fingers press against the glass. Julia copies her action and Alice is certain that she can feel Julia’s fingers pressing back.

“Julia. I love you and I'm going to find a way to get you out of there. I promise.”

“I promise,” Julia says. Suddenly she lifts up her head and her eyes meet Alice's. “I promise. I promise. I promise.” Julia's hand shoots through the mirror and grabs at Alice's wrist. Her skin feel cold, but her grip is tight. She tries to pull Alice forward.

“I promise. I promise.”

The mirror is no longer solid, instead it feels like water as Alice's hand passes through it. A chill spread through Alice's body.

“No,” Alice says. She plants her feet and tries to fight back. She grabs the side of the mirror. “No!” Alice pulls.

Julia flies forward. The mirror shatters and shards of glass rain down on Alice. They turn to water the moment they touch her skin. Alice hits the ground hard and the air is forced out of her lungs.

Julia lands face down a few metres from her.

“Julia,” Alice says. She picks herself up and rushes over to her. She places her hand onto Julia's arm, only for it to turn to water. “No. No, no.” Alice tries to grab for her again, tries to turn her over. But everywhere she touches turns to water. “No! No! No!”

There's nothing left of Julia except a puddle on the floor.

Alice wails. She collapses against the floor and half screams, half sobs.

She doesn't hear the laugh at first, but eventually her voice becomes hoarse and her scream becomes silent. Then she hears it. The scorn, the disdain. The derision.

Alice lifts up her head.

Ember is sitting on the throne.

“What did you do to her?” Alice asks.

Ember's laugh gets louder.

“Do you know how long it's been since I've heard a human howl, and whimper, and sob. Ever since Martin Chatwin killed my brother, I have been so busy hiding, cowering in caves and corners of the world that I created I had forgotten how much fun it could be to torment you”

“What did you do to Julia?”

“You think I care about the fate of some human. She is beneath me, you are beneath me.”

“But you said. You told me if I did what you asked then you would bring her back.”

“I lied. I suppose I should be thanking you, you have provided me with so much entertainment over the last few weeks. Julia, help me. Please, help me.” He mimicks her voice and then laughs. “I love her. I love her so much and she died to save me.”

“You bastard.” Alice jumps up. She stalks towards him and lifts her uninjured hand. She sends out a blast. It hits Ember square in the chest but he doesn't react.

His laugh gets louder.

“Do you really think you can hurt me, little Magician? Even with both your hands your power pales in comparison to mine. You can't even begin to conceive of what it would take to kill a god.”

“She died fighting The Beast, trying to stop The Beast. He murdered her just like he murdered your brother.”

“Gods do not care about the deaths of humans.”

“I'm going to make you care.”

Ember laughs again.

Alice can feel the tears streaming down her face. She lifts up her hand. This time she doesn't aim for Ember, instead she aims for the ceiling, the spot in the middle where the curved arches meet. She fires a blast.

The room shakes. Dust falls from the ceiling and a crack appears in the stone.

“What are you doing?!”

Alice fires another blast.

A piece of stone dislodges and falls onto Ember's head. He jumps up from his throne.

“Stop this! Stop this at once!”

Alice fires another blast and another and another. Ember lets out a scream as the ceiling collapses down onto them.

-----

Alice coughs. Her face is covered in dirt and a cloud of dust puffs out from her mouth. She pushes aside a piece of rubble and the sunlight hits her face. She crawls towards it, drags herself out from the remnants of the temple.

A crowd has gathered nearby. Alice can't see their faces. Her vision is blurry, her glasses lost somewhere in the now destroyed temple. They're just a mass of bodies. Somebody breaks from the crowd.

“Alice.”

She recognises Fen's voice.

“Oh my god. Alice, are you alright?” Fen's hands grip her shoulder and pulls her the rest of the way out. “What happened in there?”

Alice turns and looks at the now demolished temple. Her last chance to save Julia, to bring her back snatched away by the cruelty of a God. She grasps onto Fen's arm and clings to her as she cries.

Her heart shatters.

[nebula-starlight]

Corrupt (Part 1 - Manifest)

The room was dark, save for the glow of a computer monitor as she glared through the crack in the doorframe. Even without knowing what the man at the desk was talking about, she knew what little patience she had was ever so slowly slipping further away. Of course she never had been particularly good at waiting, even less so now given her new form. It was frailer than she’d expected, more vulnerable to the elements and lacking virtually any means of self-defense. Her hand curled around the door handle as she scowled impatiently. He hadn’t noticed her yet, his focus far too involved in whatever project had him talking directly to that blasted piece of technology humans called a computer.

Her frustration continued to build as she silently stewed in the hallway outside, unknowingly filling the air with the soft crackle of static. Fed up with waiting any longer, she pushed the door open, making sure her entrance was masked by a rather loud scream as he reacted to whatever was on that lighted screen of his as he still remained blissfully unaware of her approach. Using his continued distracted state to her benefit, she slipped inside and clicked the locking mechanism into place behind her. No need to risk her prey getting free after all. Besides, if she didn’t have her usual array of natural weaponry then she’d just improvise. It really hadn’t been hard to grab a knife from downstairs when he wasn’t looking, something that perhaps he should have paid closer attention to with how her host complained about rather terrifying nightmares.

No, she corrected herself, shaking her head lightly as she pulled the blade free from the belt loop that she’d hastily shoved it through earlier. No, it was in her favor that he’d been too blind to notice the signs of her arrival. He’d all but thrown open his home to her weakling host not even a minute after her initial appearance without any sort of questioning of who she was.

Stepping closer as she fell into a relaxed crouch, the staticky hum of her presence only intensified with her rapidly closing proximity until even her target became aware of it. He pulled down his headphones, glancing off to the side for a moment as she sidestepped in the opposite direction to avoid being seen immediately. It was too easy, too simple to take his meaningless life. Where was the challenge she’d come to expect back when her form properly displayed how menacing she truly was?

She heard him mutter something but paid it little mind, shifting her grip on the selected blade as she raised it to her chest in preparation for her strike. Two glowing green trails of light slowly seeped from her eyes as she took another step closer and a raspy, glitchy growl rumbled free from her throat. Oh she knew in the back of her mind that her host would be mortified once she relinquished back control but, for now, she could care less as she caught the scent of his fear. It was unlike anything she’d ever tasted before… A smell so rich she almost decided to rush him right then before her still somewhat rational mind caught up and pushed down the instinctual urge. No need to speed up a process she wanted to savor after all.

Her low growl darkened as he finally stepped back from the computer monitor, setting down his headphones as her static filled the confined space. Were it not for her little glitch, she might have mocked him before going in for the kill. As it was however, even attempting to speak would likely all but drain her of the control she had over their shared body. That wasn’t her intention, not yet at least. She could always stab him first and then purposely give back control to gleefully watch the carnage unfold…

The faintest flicker of a shadow against the wall momentarily caught her attention and her gaze snapped towards the movement. There was nothing there… A low chuckle rumbled in the back of her throat, eyes closing for a moment as she sighed and calmed herself. To think she’d been distracted by something that wasn’t even there. She was losing her touch, going soft. Perhaps her host was affecting her more than she’d willingly admit. Not that it mattered, she scoffed under her breath as her eyes reopened, her goal still remained the same. No matter what form she took, all she cared about was getting rid of those horrible fragments of memory that plagued her relentlessly!

Her hand holding the knife lashed out in blind rage, expecting to hit open air but surprisingly found the blade slicing through cloth and drawing blood as the action both cleared her scattered mind and brought out a new wave of that delicious fear she’d felt earlier from him. The unexpected strike also assaulted her ears with several curses she had never heard before, yet took further delight at as she watched him stagger back in shock. Her irises shimmered in glee, the green flickering through several shades as the smoky ethereal trails vanished upon her form glitching wildly. While patience wasn’t a virtue she regularly practiced, she could hold herself together long enough to land a hit on her selected target before she lost control over her irregular cellular makeup.

“You’re just like him…” The man stammered as he stared wide-eyed at her in shock, one hand clutching at his chest where even she saw the dark stains spreading under his once gray shirt from her lashing out with the knife. She heard him stumble backwards as her gaze fell to the bloody weapon still in her grasp. There was no doubt he was starting to feel the effects of the attack now that the initial shock had worn off and yet, instead of relishing in the successful strike, she was otherwise distracted by a sudden remembrance of what her host had learned earlier. The man she just attacked had a name… Mark was it? Not that the information seemed relevant to her now considering what she had done.

“I am unaware of who you speak of but I am my own individual. Were I certain you might survive I would offer you a name to fear but given my intent, I do believe that option is not open for you. Now, hold still!”

The words had scarcely left her throat before she heard a sound other than the loud static bouncing around her. The rumbling echo rang deep in her mind, slowly creeping up like a shade behind her as the hairs on the back of her neck rose. She would have considered it to be an instinctual reaction from the frail body that harbored her spirit had she not been otherwise distracted by a sudden creaking noise she heard. Shadows drifted along the walls, moving in every direction away from the faint light of her eyes as her gaze darted around in confusion. What was happening? Normally a kill would be over with quickly once she punctured a vital organ or two. Perhaps she misjudged her aim when she blindly lashed out? Although, come to think of it, she hadn’t been close enough to him when she found her thoughts drifting towards that debilitating subject. Why then had her knife found its target from that far away? Had she unknowingly glitched closer to him perhaps?

“And here I was thinking you would treat him with the same respect he had shown you both. Perhaps you should be more observant, young one.”

The slight echo she heard caught her further off guard as Mark’s earlier surprise and then pain seemed to fade into an otherwise distant, emotionless tone. Even the distant ringing had become more audible, now rivaling her own static as her eyes flickered back to the man she had harmed to see he no longer bore any trace of an injury. Instead any color he had was faded, his skin unnaturally pale as he smoothed down his suite jacket with a well-practiced tug after rising back up to his full height.

Even as she watched in stunned silence, his dark eyes seemed to pass over her in disregard before he collected his hands calmly behind his back. “A copy of him I see. Please do yourself a favor and drop the knife before you stab yourself as well.”

“Why is it that all of you refer to one I know naught about?” She screeched, flinging the blade away as her earlier frustration bubbled to the surface. It had been weeks since she was last let loose… Left to rot in that mental cage she’d far rather use for her host. Stuck in an endless black oblivion with a temper that only got the better of her before she could even consider what would inevitably happen as a result of her aggressive vocalization.

Her body glitched, forcing her back across the room away from him as she tried to understand what had just happened. She’d cut someone only for them to somehow brush it off like it never happened. Shaking her head in denial, she softly chuckled. No, she wasn’t… She wasn’t crazy. Mark had met the cold steel of her weapon and yet this imposter now stood in his place. Her eyes narrowed in disgust, the green flashing in warning to the unmoving being who had not made any response to her recent actions.

“I am not this creature you seem to think I am!” Her lips curled back, spittle flying as she sank into a defensive crouch and tried to ignore the heat that suddenly trailed along her throat.

From what little she had seen after observing her host earlier in the day, there appeared to be no visible marks on this new body that would indicate her possession - unlike the graceful quadruped form she’d held previously which often bore a slight distortion to the scales along its neck upon her control. If that were indeed true, perhaps her status of power was restored as well? Of course the only way to know for certain was to try… Although she still wasn’t overly thrilled that her target somehow managed to evade her.

“I expected far more from a clone of the glitch but no matter. The truth will come out in due time.” The dark being stepped forward calmly, the ringing sound that accompanied his presence reverberating painfully through her skull as she noticed two different auras briefly flare out from his approaching form. “Let’s see if you scream just as loud as he did.”

She shrunk back, eyes widening as a cough briefly strangled in the back of her throat. Turning her head off to the side, she grabbed at her now pounding skull as the fire searing through her neck was momentarily forgotten in the wake of the crippling headache that threatened to disrupt her control over her host’s body.

“No…” She croaked out, cringing away from the deliberately loud footsteps that signaled a rather painful retribution for the attempt on Mark’s life.

The dark entity chuckled, his velvety voice worming its way further into her head and stripping away any thought of escape as she sank to her knees uselessly. “I’ve been aware of a second presence lurking in that girl’s mind ever since she suddenly appeared. While I must admit I was originally against Mark’s idea to allow her to stay, I see now just what that energy signature turned out to be. It’s quite a disappointment to say the least after the sheer fury I’d felt earlier.”

He stopped right before her, lifting up her head with barely any effort to further study her dulled eyes. She refused to fight, letting him have his way as scattered memories punctured her thoughts with reminders of that voice. It haunted her, making her want to become deaf just so she wouldn’t be able to hear the cruel irony that had left his lips the minute her dying breaths had gurgled through that oozing talon-sliced neck.

Her hands fell away from her head, gaze distant as the memory sent a fresh wave of heat along her throat. It wouldn’t be long until she was forced back into being the observer. Maybe it was for the best that her control was so limited…

“Do enlighten me though before your time is up, if you would. Your name, parasite.”

The last thing she saw was a slight flicker of the aura around him before the world around them went completely and totally black. As she tried to force a reply, one broken word fell from her lips.

“Void.”

——————————-

Just a little insight into a project I’ve been working on since before I joined Tumblr. Figured I’d put up some part of it as a trial run

[cardinalstar]

Galra Mini Exchange

It took me a little while, but I’m excited to be sharing my ficlet for @galraweek‘s Galra Mini Exchange.  My recipient is @sparklyspacekitty, who requested Gen Pidge and Thace!  This was a lot of fun and I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it!  

Read it on AO3

Nights were Thace’s favorite time to be onboard the Altean ship.  Much of the bustle and activity died away as the hour grew late, and the soft glow of the castle’s evening lights was easier on the eye than the daytime lights.  It was easier to find peace and quiet, if that was what you preferred.  Stargazing, which had not been possible on the Empire’s battle cruisers, was a pleasant pastime that left plenty of opportunities for quiet, solitary reflection.  

The late hour had other, less recreational benefits as well.  Unless there was an alert, the majority of the castle’s active inhabitants were Thace’s fellow Blades, who had maintained their preference for a largely nocturnal lifestyle even though the other species onboard the ship preferred to work in the daytime.  

Accustomed as they were to secrecy and privacy, the Blades who had begun traveling with Voltron following Zarkon’s defeat had taken time to adjust to their more visible role in the resistance movement.  The change in tactics had hit the younger recruits the hardest; most of them had been fresh from their initiations and training, and had been given little opportunity to temper the Blade’s culture of secrecy with experience in the field.  

The dramatic shift in their circumstances had worked in Thace’s favor, once he had largely recovered from his near-fatal role in the mission to sabotage Zarkon’s flagship.  He might not be able to participate in dangerous away missions any longer, but Kolivan had made it clear that Thace’s experience and contributions were valued, particularly as the Blade adjusted to its new role in the war against Zarkon.   

Wandering the darkened ship also gave Thace ample opportunity to adjust to the changes in his depth perception since the explosion.  Altean healing pods were miracles of medical science, but they couldn’t regrow a missing eye.  Coran seemed optimistic about the possibility of Thace recovering the full scope of his hearing with repeated sessions, but Thace was less certain.  He’d opted instead to adapt to his new circumstances, and prescribed himself a regimen of physical therapy that would probably have given Ulaz an aneurism, if he’d still been alive.  Nobody could stop Thace from sparring against the Gladiator on its maximum-difficulty setting if they were all asleep.  And with fewer individuals awake to observe his progress, there was a lower likelihood that anyone would observe him if he misjudged a distance and tripped over a doorframe, or barked his shins on the steps leading to the observation deck

Tonight, Thace was taking a break from the Gladiator - he hadn’t been able to program it to focus its attacks on his blind side, and it was frustrating him.  Instead, he had planned to take a leisurely stroll through the shuttle bay, avoiding the many low-hanging obstacles, before joining a tactics briefing that Kolivan was hosting.  But he had deviated from his intended routine when he noticed that the lights in the training deck were on, and had gone to investigate only to spot the tiny figure of Pidge hunched over one of the computer consoles.  For a moment, Thace thought the Green Paladin had simply fallen asleep at her work, but the muttered curse that reached his good ear told him that Pidge was both awake and annoyed.  

Thace paused at the entrance to the training deck, uncertain as to what his next move should be.  He wanted to ask why Pidge was still awake, but he wasn’t sure how the Green Paladin would react to his sudden presence on the training deck, particularly if he startled her when she was already in an agitated emotional state.  He had been informed that he had a catlike tread when he’d inadvertently ambushed Hunk in the kitchen; several discreet inquiries later, Thace had learned that he’d been compared to a small Earth predator renowned for its stealth and cunning.  He’d been flattered, but he had no desire to startle Pidge.  He was far more interested in learning why Pidge was working after hours, particularly since the other paladins and the Alteans were already sleeping.  

“Who’s there?” Pidge said, turning her head slightly in his direction.  

Thace sighed internally.  So much for stealth - he hadn’t been on an away mission in so long, he must be losing his touch, in spite of all the training he’d been doing.  “It’s me,” he said, stepping onto the training deck.

“Oh.  Thace.”  Pidge blinked up at him from behind a pair of wire-framed glasses.  “I wasn’t expecting you.  I thought you might be Keith.  He likes to wander around at night.”

Thace nodded.  It didn’t surprise him; with his part-Galra ancestry, it made sense that Keith would prefer a more nocturnal sleep schedule than a full-blooded human.  He decided not to mention that Pidge was also wandering around at night.  “You seem frustrated with your work,” he said, wanting to ask about the problem but uncertain about whether his prying would be welcome.  

“Yeah,” Pidge said, making a face.  She tilted the monitor so that Thace could see; recognizing the gesture as an invitation, Thace peered down at the screen.  

His eyebrows rose at the slightly-grainy image on the on the screen in front of him.  The picture looked like a frozen fragment of a video feed; Thace picked out several haphazardly-dressed individuals of varying species before his eyes settled on the human in the upper right corner of the image.  Even with Thace’s limited sample size of variation between humans, he couldn’t help but notice that the individual on the screen looked remarkably similar to Pidge.  “Is this a relative of yours?”

“Yeah.  That’s my brother, Matt,” Pidge said, biting her lip as she looked down at the screen.  “He was captured by the Galra the same time Shiro was, and I’ve been looking for him.  I found this footage when we were breaking Slav out of Beta Traz, but I have no idea who he’s with!” she continued, slamming the palm of her hand against the desk.  “The castle’s databases don’t have anything on these other guys.”  

Thace tilted his head, considering the problem.  “Is it possible that the ship’s records are outdated?”  From what he’d gathered, the Altean ship had been in stasis for ten thousand years of turbulent intergalactic history.  It seemed fairly likely that there would be some gaps in the Paladins’ intelligence.  

Pidge shrugged one shoulder.  “It could be.  Allura told me that the ship’s record banks have been updating themselves whenever we’ve flown through a sector and encountered new data.  But maybe,” she continued, sitting up straighter in her chair, “the people Matt’s with are from a sector we haven’t visited yet!”  

But as quickly as her flash of enthusiasm appeared, it vanished.  She glowered at the console.  “That doesn’t help, though.  It isn’t like I can go ‘Hey Allura!  Mind if we detour through uncharted space so that we can look for data on the aliens who might have my brother?’”

Thace decided that he disliked seeing Pidge in such low spirits about her search for her missing relative.  If Ulaz’ past transmissions were anything to go by, it had been over a year since Matt and Shiro had been taken by the Empire.  For Pidge to still be searching, after such a long absence, was a mark of her tenacity.  “It’s possible that some of the Blade’s intelligence might be useful,” Thace said, thinking of the immense record banks back at the main headquarters.  Most of the information was military in nature, related to the positions and strengths of the Empire’s fighting forces, but there was some cultural data within their record banks as well.  Ulaz had helped maintain those records before his posting as an undercover science officer had taken him away from headquarters, and he’d vociferously defended the importance of his work.  One day, when the war ends, we will need a record of what once was, he’d said during one such conversation.  Otherwise there will be no way of comprehending the full scope of what has been lost.  

Thace’s good ear didn’t twitch at the thought of Ulaz, which was a relief.  He knew the Paladins would sympathize with his grief, but he’d been feigning indifference and detachment for so long that he wasn’t sure how to stop.  

Fortunately, Pidge didn’t seem to notice the solemn direction his thoughts had taken; if anything, she looked happier than she had when Thace had first entered the room.  “I didn’t know the Blade of Marmora had those kinds of records!” she said.  “Thanks, Thace.  That would really help.”  

“There might not be any new information in our archives,” Thace pointed out, not wanting to dampen Pidge’s enthusiasm but unwilling to give her false hope.  “I will do everything I can to locate useful data, but it’s possible that nothing I find will be of use to you.”  

“I know,” Pidge said, looking determined.  “But there’s still a chance, and that’s all I need.”  

As he walked out of the training deck, Thace resolved that he would devote more of his time and attention to searching for the Paladins’ missing teammates.  Pidge’s dedication to finding her brother was - moving.  He fervently hoped that her quest for answers wouldn’t be in vain, and he would do his part to ensure that she had every chance of succeeding in her search.  

Though she hadn’t mentioned him directly, Thace had also felt the specter of the missing Black Paladin looming over his conversation with Pidge.  They’d done all they could to look for him, but perhaps it wasn’t just the Blade of Marmora who could benefit from Thace’s knowledge of the Empire’s inner workings.  He couldn’t go search the stars for Matt or Shiro, at least not yet, but he could do his part to point others in the right direction.  

The quiet life didn’t suit him, but Thace could tolerate it for the time being, as long as he was still able to be useful.  

[recentanimenews]

10 of the Most Intense "Naruto" Anime Battles Ever!

10 of the Most Intense "Naruto" Anime Battles Ever!

By Brandon Lee

    For those who aren’t familiar, the Naruto series is perhaps one of the most illustrious anime series around the world. With millions of loyal adherents globally, there is probably something that every fan can agree to. That is that this anime series features amazing battles from Naruto to Naruto Shippuden. Without further ado, here are 10 of the most intense Naruto battles. Enjoy!

  10. Rock Lee vs Gaara

I’ll admit. At first, I thought Lee was going to get creamed by Gaara. After all, Gaara looked pretty scary up until the point of the Chunin Exams, and Lee seemed like an ordinary taijutsu user. Well, boy was I wrong. Lee vs Gaara was probably the best, tick for tack match in the entire Naruto series. I’ll say that the 8 Inner Gates made Lee a bit overpowered, but he still used his raw power to nearly defeat one of the strongest Genin of the Sand Village. Gaara, on the other hand, proved that he was the stronger of the two, breaking Lee’s legs with just the palm of his hand. Still, he was in dire straights and looked like he was on the brink of defeat himself.

  9. Might Guy vs Madara

Alright, this was another match that I blatantly misjudged. Of course, Might Guy is the strongest taijutsu master in the Naruto series and has totally mastered the 8 Inner Gates, but Madara is the man only rivaled by the First Hokage. I expected this match to be quick. In any case, Guy didn’t waste any time and easily transformed into the final Inner Gates. Before I get into what he did, let me say that Madara could have killed Guy with one hit if he wanted, and that led to his downfall eventually. Guy used the Gate of Death to incapacitate Madara. Even Madara truly feared for his life at that point, and the battle was nothing short than spectacular.

  8. Kakashi vs Kakuzu and Hidan

People don’t truly realize how strong Kakashi is. Well, for those who believe that Kakashi is overrated, go back and watch Naruto Shippuden episode 85. In that episode, you will see Kakashi battling two of the deadliest members of the Akatsuki pretty much by himself. At this point, Kakashi used his taijutsu to deal with Hidan and still was avoiding Kakuzu’s attacks. This intricate battle favored the Akatsuki duo, but Kakashi nearly killed them both at one point. At any rate, this battle was cool for as long as it lasted.

  7. Sasuke vs Deidara

Saskue may have surpassed Naruto in the initial stages of Naruto Shippuden, but Deidara sure gave him a run for his money during this fight. This battle featured Deidara at his best. He finally came prepared and seemed dead set on killing Sasuke with his explosive clay. However, Sasuke, having access to Lightning based attacks proved to be too much for Deidara. That didn’t stop Deidara from nearly killing Sasuke more times than anyone can count. These two battled until Sasuke couldn’t move. That just proves how intense this battle was.

  6. Sasuke vs Itachi

 The showdown between the two brothers. The clash of the Uchiha survivors. The battle of the Sharingan. Whatever you want to call it, this death match was all the hype said it would be. Something told me that Sasuke would have the upper hand after all of his extensive training with Orochimaru, but the irony of the whole battle was that Itachi was still leagues ahead of him. While Itachi did get whacked by Sasuke's Kirin and admitted that the attack would have killed him under normal circumstances, Itachi debuted the Susano along with the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror. The match ended with Itachi sparing his little brother, and it gave Naruto fans the fight they had been waiting for.

  5. Madara vs The Five Kage

Avert not your eyes on this particular battle. The creators have been so good to us and created a rubber match between the strongest Uchiha to ever live and five strongest ninja in the world. This match did not disappoint. The Five Kage started out beating Madara, but as it turned out, Madara was only holding back. When Madara started to show his true power, the Five Kage and myself were just in awe. Still, the Five Kage came together to create this ridiculous attack that could have killed anyone else not named Madara.

  4. Jiraiya vs Pain

Honestly, I don’t think anyone thought much of Jiraiya until he fought Pain. He may have been one of the Legendary Sannin, but he seemed to be like Naruto in terms of potential. However, don’t let Jiraiya’s raunchy actions fool you. He was the strongest Legendary Sannin, hands down. This was proved after he went toe to toe with the leader of the Akatsuki. Still not convinced? Itachi did defeat Orochimaru easily and Tsunade wouldn’t last with Pain. Even so, Jiraiya fought Pain head on in a suicide intel mission. Even after Pain defeated him, he acknowledged Jiraiya as a true genius and concluded that things would have been different if Jiraiya knew his secret. He was right. Jiraiya had a counter for every one of Pain’s attacks, and this fight was the best up until that point of Naruto Shippuden.

  3. Sasuke vs The Five Kage

After Sasuke survived his battle with Itachi, he surpassed him and became a force to be reckoned with. I’ll admit. This battle came out of nowhere and it seemed suicidal for Sasuke to fight five of the strongest ninja in the world. Well, he went toe to toe with the Raikage, fought evenly with Gaara, escaped the Mizukage, all before being defeated by Onoki. During this whole battle, Sasuke showed off his Sharingan prowess and brute power, forcing the Raikage and Gaara to rethink their tactics. If you ever want to see a Naruto battle without all of the fuzz, then this is the one to watch.

  2. Naruto vs Pain

  Okay, I am done with Sasuke for now. In this battle, Naruto showed up to the Leaf Village that desperately needed him. He had surpassed Jiraiya and was now avenging his death. This wasn’t the goofy Naruto anymore. At this point, Naruto even surpassed Sasuke, and it showed. Pain, of course, used his strategy and attacks to hinder Naruto for most of the battle, but Naruto used his Sage Mode to even the score. This amazing battle featured Naruto using nearly all of the Nine Tailed Fox’s power with Pain still keeping up, a touching moment from Hinata, and Naruto’s meeting with his parents. In the end, he defeated Pain with his usual luck and the Rasengan. Very usual, indeed.

  1. Naruto vs Sasuke

  Where do I begin? Naruto and Sasuke fought six times in the Naruto series altogether. Every fight was entertaining, to say the least. However, the fight I am mentioning is the last battle, Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. In this fight, Naruto and Sasuke were at their peak. The state of the world was hanging in the balance, and once again Sasuke tried to kill Naruto while Naruto wanted to do the exact opposite. Both of these knuckleheads showed off some insanely powerful jutsu and clobbered each other. However, Naruto ended out coming away with the win, saving Sasuke like he always wanted. This fight was the premier battle between the world’s strongest shinobi, and it lived up to the hype.

  Well, that is my take on 10 of the most intense Naruto battles. If you got any comments or suggestions, feel free to leave them below. If you liked this feature, go ahead and hit the like and share button!

    WATCH NARUTO AND NARUTO SHIPPUDEN HERE ON CRUNCHYROLL!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[recentanimenews]

10 of the Most Intense Naruto Anime Battles Ever!

Editor's Note: This is a republication of a feature by Brandon Lee that originally appeared on Crunchyroll News on 7/18/2017.

---

10 of the Most Intense Naruto Anime Battles Ever!

By Brandon Lee

    For those who aren’t familiar, the Naruto series is perhaps one of the most illustrious anime series around the world. With millions of loyal adherents globally, there is probably something that every fan can agree to. That is that this anime series features amazing battles from Naruto to Naruto Shippuden. Without further ado, here are 10 of the most intense Naruto battles. Enjoy!

  10. Rock Lee vs Gaara

    I’ll admit. At first, I thought Lee was going to get creamed by Gaara. After all, Gaara looked pretty scary up until the point of the Chunin Exams, and Lee seemed like an ordinary taijutsu user. Well, boy was I wrong. Lee vs Gaara was probably the best, tick for tack match in the entire Naruto series. I’ll say that the 8 Inner Gates made Lee a bit overpowered, but he still used his raw power to nearly defeat one of the strongest Genin of the Sand Village. Gaara, on the other hand, proved that he was the stronger of the two, breaking Lee’s legs with just the palm of his hand. Still, he was in dire straights and looked like he was on the brink of defeat himself.

  9. Might Guy vs Madara

  Alright, this was another match that I blatantly misjudged. Of course, Might Guy is the strongest taijutsu master in the Naruto series and has totally mastered the 8 Inner Gates, but Madara is the man only rivaled by the First Hokage. I expected this match to be quick. In any case, Guy didn’t waste any time and easily transformed into the final Inner Gates. Before I get into what he did, let me say that Madara could have killed Guy with one hit if he wanted, and that led to his downfall eventually. Guy used the Gate of Death to incapacitate Madara. Even Madara truly feared for his life at that point, and the battle was nothing short than spectacular.

  8. Kakashi vs Kakuzu and Hidan

  People don’t truly realize how strong Kakashi is. Well, for those who believe that Kakashi is overrated, go back and watch Naruto Shippuden episode 85. In that episode, you will see Kakashi battling two of the deadliest members of the Akatsuki pretty much by himself. At this point, Kakashi used his taijutsu to deal with Hidan and still was avoiding Kakuzu’s attacks. This intricate battle favored the Akatsuki duo, but Kakashi nearly killed them both at one point. At any rate, this battle was cool for as long as it lasted.

  7. Sasuke vs Deidara

Saskue may have surpassed Naruto in the initial stages of Naruto Shippuden, but Deidara sure gave him a run for his money during this fight. This battle featured Deidara at his best. He finally came prepared and seemed dead set on killing Sasuke with his explosive clay. However, Sasuke, having access to Lightning based attacks proved to be too much for Deidara. That didn’t stop Deidara from nearly killing Sasuke more times than anyone can count. These two battled until Sasuke couldn’t move. That just proves how intense this battle was.

  6. Sasuke vs Itachi

   The showdown between the two brothers. The clash of the Uchiha survivors. The battle of the Sharingan. Whatever you want to call it, this death match was all the hype said it would be. Something told me that Sasuke would have the upper hand after all of his extensive training with Orochimaru, but the irony of the whole battle was that Itachi was still leagues ahead of him. While Itachi did get whacked by Sasuke's Kirin and admitted that the attack would have killed him under normal circumstances, Itachi debuted the Susano along with the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror. The match ended with Itachi sparing his little brother, and it gave Naruto fans the fight they had been waiting for.

  5. Madara vs The Five Kage

  Avert not your eyes on this particular battle. The creators have been so good to us and created a rubber match between the strongest Uchiha to ever live and five strongest ninja in the world. This match did not disappoint. The Five Kage started out beating Madara, but as it turned out, Madara was only holding back. When Madara started to show his true power, the Five Kage and myself were just in awe. Still, the Five Kage came together to create this ridiculous attack that could have killed anyone else not named Madara.

  4. Jiraiya vs Pain

    Honestly, I don’t think anyone thought much of Jiraiya until he fought Pain. He may have been one of the Legendary Sannin, but he seemed to be like Naruto in terms of potential. However, don’t let Jiraiya’s raunchy actions fool you. He was the strongest Legendary Sannin, hands down. This was proved after he went toe to toe with the leader of the Akatsuki. Still not convinced? Itachi did defeat Orochimaru easily and Tsunade wouldn’t last with Pain. Even so, Jiraiya fought Pain head on in a suicide intel mission. Even after Pain defeated him, he acknowledged Jiraiya as a true genius and concluded that things would have been different if Jiraiya knew his secret. He was right. Jiraiya had a counter for every one of Pain’s attacks, and this fight was the best up until that point of Naruto Shippuden.

  3. Sasuke vs The Five Kage

  After Sasuke survived his battle with Itachi, he surpassed him and became a force to be reckoned with. I’ll admit. This battle came out of nowhere and it seemed suicidal for Sasuke to fight five of the strongest ninja in the world. Well, he went toe to toe with the Raikage, fought evenly with Gaara, escaped the Mizukage, all before being defeated by Onoki. During this whole battle, Sasuke showed off his Sharingan prowess and brute power, forcing the Raikage and Gaara to rethink their tactics. If you ever want to see a Naruto battle without all of the fuzz, then this is the one to watch.

  2. Naruto vs Pain

  Okay, I am done with Sasuke for now. In this battle, Naruto showed up to the Leaf Village that desperately needed him. He had surpassed Jiraiya and was now avenging his death. This wasn’t the goofy Naruto anymore. At this point, Naruto even surpassed Sasuke, and it showed. Pain, of course, used his strategy and attacks to hinder Naruto for most of the battle, but Naruto used his Sage Mode to even the score. This amazing battle featured Naruto using nearly all of the Nine Tailed Fox’s power with Pain still keeping up, a touching moment from Hinata, and Naruto’s meeting with his parents. In the end, he defeated Pain with his usual luck and the Rasengan. Very usual, indeed.

  1. Naruto vs Sasuke

  Where do I begin? Naruto and Sasuke fought six times in the Naruto series altogether. Every fight was entertaining, to say the least. However, the fight I am mentioning is the last battle, Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. In this fight, Naruto and Sasuke were at their peak. The state of the world was hanging in the balance, and once again Sasuke tried to kill Naruto while Naruto wanted to do the exact opposite. Both of these knuckleheads showed off some insanely powerful jutsu and clobbered each other. However, Naruto ended out coming away with the win, saving Sasuke like he always wanted. This fight was the premier battle between the world’s strongest shinobi, and it lived up to the hype.

  Well, that is my take on 10 of the most intense Naruto battles. If you got any comments or suggestions, feel free to leave them below. If you liked this feature, go ahead and hit the like and share button!

    WATCH NARUTO AND NARUTO SHIPPUDEN HERE ON CRUNCHYROLL!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com