#I know the backpack doesn’t canonically have the pins and the patch but I wanted them ok? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chocosweetbun · 6 years ago

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ASOUE FIC 2.5K Words, Kitlafey

(I don’t write often, especially not fluff, so please forgive me =v=. Happy Valentine’s Day!!)

@huffleporg @madlovve and anyone else who enjoys this OT3!

(childhood friends/neighbors, there’s not enough au’s in this fandom that don’t follow canon, SLOW BURN god so slow- Theyre just friends for the first 2k words im so sorry)

Behind the school yard, a ways into the evergreen woods that stretch off into places no student ever dared to go, sits a strange sight. A patch a trees with branches low enough for the smallest of kids to climb, a clearing of light that cuts though tall soft grass and weeds, and a group of rocks that formed a throne fit for a forest king. No one ever saw it, no one ever went. It was the perfect spot for exactly 3 old friends to visit after years of absence, and yet they never did- at least, no one knew they did.

Kit Snicket was an adventurer. She fought off monsters under her bed, under her school desk, under- and over- teachers and other kids. You would think being 4’3 at age 10 would be a hindrance, but to her, and her wild red-brown hair that seemed to shift to blond in the sunlight, it was an advantage. She was popular to pick for every PE class, every recess, and every time someone needed defending on the playground. But that was only her at half power, for when she was with her two best friends, she was unstoppable. A wild-child in every sense of the word. Dewey Denouement didn’t exist. His brothers overshadowed him despite not meaning too and often the 11 year old was left in the back of the class to read whatever book he fancied that day. He wasn’t shy, but he had this quiet-politeness about him that made people think he faked his responses and conversations. Almost as though he just recited what he read somewhere. He just didn’t talk like a kid his age would, and it threw the others off. However, when he was with his two best friends his dazzling smile was present on his face no matter what. A calm boy who found where he belonged. Olaf (he dared tell no one his last name) was the kid everyone avoided. Due to unfortunate events and an odd placing birthday he was the oldest in his class at 13. Being 13 he had hit his “I hate everyone and everything” phase that all young teens go though, which meant he would often upset his younger classmates with harsh words and unpleasant actions passed off as pranks. His thin red-orange hair never seemed to be quite clean, his clothes were obviously expensive but never tidy, his fingers covered in small burns which he never would explain. The two classmates that would interact with him were the only reason he didn’t go insane being surrounded by people who refused to look his way. A strange teen who needed to let off smoke. Behind the school yard, a ways into the evergreen woods that stretched off into places no student ever dared to go, sat a strange sight. A patch a trees with branches low enough for the smallest of kids to climb, a clearing of light that cut though tall soft grass and weeds, and a group of rocks that formed a throne fit for a forest king. The group of friends found this when the schoolhouse’s kitchen caught fire and their class had to stand outside for the fire department to arrive. Olaf had snuck off, Kit behind him, and, when noticing his friends disappear into the trees, Dewey cocked a smile at the idea of a mini adventure and ran off to join them. “Holy shit- that’s a big snake-“ The eldest said, reaching out as though he was about to grab it. “What are you DOING?!” Kit pulled Olaf back with a surprising amount of strength. “It could kill you!” “Oh no it wouldn’t, I would kill it first before it even had the chance!” “Yeah right! Tell ‘em he would D I E Dewey!” “Ah-“ the middle child said, stuffing his book that he brought out to read in his backpack as the group walked further into the woods. ”That snake isn’t venomous so- He would probably be okay if it bit him-” “Dewey that didn’t help!” “Hey kit-kat mind letting go of me?” With that, Kit huffed as she pushed Olaf forward. “Fine but don’t go grabbing anything that Dewey doesn’t know the name of!” The child took hold of Dewey’s hand as she spoke- the innocent gesture was returned. “Fine fine- I won’t do anything pretty boy wouldn’t do.” And he continued the walk ahead. It wasn’t long before they found those trees, that clearing, and those rocks. They spent some time there playing- the faint sirens of firetrucks blaring in the distance telling them they were not missed- and as I’m sure you could imagine the three each found the best spot to be. Kit climbing the trees, Dewey lying in the grass, and Olaf perched on the rocks. They laughed, talked, threw leaves and grass, picked flowers (Dewey and Kit did- Olaf just watched) and overall had a good 30 minutes of time together before they heard the large red trucks drive away. “We should go back.” Dewey said. “Yeah, you’re right.” Kit replied, hopping down from a branch. Olaf came down from his throne and stood over the two, his face showing that he was deep in thought. “Are you guys doing anything after school tomorrow?” He said. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ The next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, the group kept visiting the hidden place in the trees. August turned to September, then October, then November. When it got too cold to go walking the trio would visit Olaf’s empty house and attempt to build forts and bake holiday cookies. But on New Year’s Eve the three agreed to hop out of their bedroom windows, run though the snow with flashlights in their small hands, and meet in the forest where they would all climb up the biggest tree and watch the fireworks from the very top. They neglected to think about the ice on the branches, and after the 5th time Kit slipped and fell- they gave up. “I’m telling you I CAN DO IT-“ Kit struggled in the grasp of Olaf’s arms, who was desperately trying to keep her from breaking her own neck. “You’ll break your neck!” Dewey said, standing in front of the tree with his arms spread- as if that would block the young girl from wanting to climb. “When has Dew ever been wrong, huh? Gah- stop it!” “AHH-!” Kit shouted as Olaf tackled her to the ground. You may be thinking ‘That boy is double her size! Surely he hurt her-‘ and you would be completely wrong. Olaf was a thin, weak child, and Kit was more durable then one might think. He pinned her down in the snow, sitting with his legs across her stomach, as though she were a pillow under his knees. “Get off of me! Uuuugh!!!” And with that last sigh, she was defeated. Olaf then plopped back, legs still over Kit, to lie in the cold snow. Dewey soon joined them, using Olaf’s stomach as a headrest. As the sound of fireworks began on the horizon, the three were all thinking the very same thing. “I really could have got up that tree-“ “We can die if we stay in the snow-” “I’m happy you guys are here with me-“ Well, not exactly the same thing. “I’m happy too! I really love you guys!” Kit said, using her arms to make a torso-only snow angel. The snow was not nearly deep enough though, so her jacket got stained with mud. “I love you both too!” Dewey said, using a foot to kick around some dead twigs in the ground. “Like a couple of kids like you could know what love is.” Olaf scoffed, his teen drama act rearing its head. “I’m hardly a kid anymore! I’m 11 now!” “No, Kit, you’re still a kid.” “Well Dewey is almost 13 like you!” When the sound of the fireworks ended, the three prepared to part ways. Dewey brushed off the mud on Kit’s coat with his gloves and did his best to fix her hair while she bickered more with Olaf on how old someone must be to not be a ‘kid’ anymore. Kit says 11, Olaf says 13, and Dewey thinks to himself that whenever that age may be, they all would remain childish like this forever. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ February 14th rushed though fast, and after school the three once again met up behind the schoolyard. Dewey brought handwritten letters detailing how important the other two were to him, Kit gave them handmade pottery that she had made in art class, and Olaf said “Happy Valentine’s Day” while giving them necklaces crudely made, the pendants being a small crow feather on each. He also wore one and said he had just happened to make extras. This evening was not spent separate, instead all three of them sat in the thawing grass, side by side by side. They were just finishing up a conversation on the best kind of chocolate when Dewey (who has been silently listening) asked a question. “What is it like to have a crush on someone?” “It means you want to get married, right?” Kit said, her childish innocence causing Olaf to snicker. “Nah, It means you want to make out with them.” Olaf leaned back on his hands, obviously trying to appear cool. “Ew-“ Kit scrunched up her nose “That’s gross, don’t people only do that on T.V.?” “No I don’t think so.” Dewey pulled his knees to his chest. “That’s just like…kissing and stuff- right?” “Yeah sure, basically.” “Have- you kissed anyone before Olaf?” Dewey asked with his usual soft tone, but a bit of nervousness peaked though his posture. On the other side of the taller boy, Kit’s eyes grew wide with curiosity. “Oh he probably has! Right? Was it gross?” Kit leaned in close to Olaf, pushing said boy closer to Dewey. The eldest stayed silent, opting to ignore his friend’s questions by standing straight up, causing Kit to crash into Dewey’s legs. “wal ha wahs meen” Which roughly translates too “Well that was mean” when said by a girl who is face first in a pair of knees. Olaf walked away as the other two were left sitting. “Was I too blunt…?” Dewey helped Kit lean back off his legs. “I think he’s just in one of his moods.” Rubbing her nose, she stood, reaching her hand out to help Dewey stand. He took hold without a second thought, and soon the both of them were caught up with Olaf. The three of them went back to talking as though nothing had ever even happened. The next day, in class, Olaf pulled Dewey aside. “Is it Kit?” The teen said. “Maybe, I’m not sure.” The short boy paused and tried for a moment to read Olaf’s expression. “Would you be upset if it was?” “Yes.” ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

When Dewey turned 13, Olaf 14, they shared a moment behind one of the rocks during a game of ‘Hide from Kit so she doesn’t make you stick fight with her’. “Why did you-“ “Because I wanted too.” In the moment neither was really sure who said what, or who kissed who. Kit found them, and all three were forced to avoid getting beat with a stick-sword for nearly an hour. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ When Kit turned 12 she told Olaf that she was in love with him. He asked her why she thought so when she was obviously closer to Dewey. She couldn’t answer- and argued that she was equally close with them both. “So why DO you think you love me and not him then?” He had asked. She begun to cry in frustration and left with a “Whatever- Forget it. I guess I don’t know my own feelings.” Olaf thought to himself that she was beginning her ‘I hate everyone and everything’ phase a little sooner than he expected. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ The kids were growing up, Dewey thought to himself, and he saw it in the way Kit hugged his arm whenever she was avoiding whatever harsh words Olaf said. He also saw it in how Olaf refused to let Dewey lean against him anymore. But as the three of them quietly walked to their normal place- he realized that they weren’t growing UP, but APART. The thought made him want to cry. That day Olaf told them that his parent’s were sending him to a boarding school, and that he was leaving right away. Dewey started crying, realizing that there was no way to salvage the relationship that was breaking- He started crying more when Kit let go of his arm, marched over to Olaf, and hugged him for the first time in a month of silence, arms linked around his neck. Dewey watched as Olaf hugged her in return, the image of her small form surrounded by his tall lanky one was out of place in the summer sky. “You can’t go-“ Dewey heard Kit say as he slowly walked over to the pair. “I can’t stay, I’ve tried-“ Dewey reached the couple and hesitated for a moment- watching the two of them embrace in their last ever meeting. He felt like he was intruding- but his urge to say goodbye to Olaf and comfort Kit was too overwhelming. He was not alone in this, for Kit and Olaf both pulled him into their hug before he had a chance to try and worm his way in himself. “I- I really love you guys-“ Kit’s words were laced with sorrow and the sound of cicadas.

“I love you both two-“ Dewey replied, dropping his book to the hard ground as he buried his face into Olaf’s chest and Kit’s hair. “I- I’m going to miss you.” Olaf said to them both. Neither of them brought up how that was the first nice thing Olaf had ever said to either of them in the years of knowing each other, unless you count the hundreds of tears that puddled up on the ground.

________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ A decade later and some change later, a young woman with red-brown hair stepped into the sunny spot on the soft grass and weeds, the feather necklace being blown by the wind. A young man with a dazzling smile was holding her hand, adorned with a ring, and he, too, modeled a similar necklace. However it was tied around his wrist for he had grown out of it. They wave to a figure appearing from behind the too-small to climb trees, the feathered neck-piece lengthened to fit his adult form. No one ever saw them, no one ever will. It was the perfect spot for exactly 3 old friends to visit after years of absence and talk about never forgotten feelings, muddy coats, growing families, and how to spend the rest of Valentine’s day. They didn’t go though with their plans, and instead rested together in the thawing grass until dusk.

#i didnt edit this so please excuse mistakes #i had to cut out a LOT of the end because i couldnt write it the way i wanted it too #asoue #asoue fanfic #ot3 #kitlafey #kit x olaf x dewey #kit snicket #count olaf #dewey denouement

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ladyseaheart1668 · 7 years ago

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Endless Summer Fan Novel (Book 2, Chapter 12)

Notes: Non-canon this chapter, Alodia shares a few heart-to-heart moments with her best friend, and tells the story of how he got her back for the prank she once pulled on him.

Michelle quickly sets about tending to the wounded, examining Aleister's purple, swollen elbow while Grace cradles him on her lap. On a relatively dry patch of ground under an overhang, Varyyn and Diego strip off Sean's wet clothes. Varyyn cradles him carefully and Diego drapes the dryest blankets over the two of them. Craig presses a cloth to the wound in Zahra's side, holding it in place. For once, she doesn't even make a cursory attempt at pretending she doesn't want him there.

“...Dislocated,” Michelle murmurs, gently cradling Aleister's wounded arm. “Still has a wrist pulse, though. I think all the nerves and arteries are intact. Alodia, can you come give me a hand here? The reduction will hurt less with two people.”

“...Less?” Grace asks worriedly.

“I won't lie, it's not going to be painless. Gonna need you to hold still, Aleister.”

I kneel beside Aleister, and follow Michelle's instruction, placing my hands on his upper arm. Aleister bites his lip and screws his eyes shut, leaning into Grace's arms. He chokes back a cry as Michelle starts to ease the bone back into place. The process drags on for several minutes while I hold his upper arm steady. Aleister groans and gasps, letting out a whimper here and there, and warm sweat drips from his brow, but he manages not to cry out. When his arm is cradled in a makeshift sling packed with snow to ease the swelling, Michelle moves on to Zahra.

I crouch on the edge of the cliff, slipping my backpack off my aching shoulders. Seeing the way I wince when I roll my shoulders, Jake comes up behind me and starts to massage them. Beside me, the waterfall froths and churns, pouring water and ice chunks two thousand feet into the sea below. I gaze across the strait towards the craggy pillar of rock, crowned with a towering, cutting-edge facility. A series of thick cables stretches across the water from where we are to the rocky spire. A gondola is suspended from the cables, at rest on the other side of the water.

“That has to be it,” Aleister murmurs. “The MASADA complex.”

“We all knew your old man had a complex, Malfoy,” Jake mutters. “Now he's just getting blatant about it.”

“If Iris was telling the truth, our ticket home is somewhere in there,” I remark.

“The Lernal Gate--”

“Lernaean Gate,” Aleister corrects Jake. “The lake of Lerna was the lair of the Hydra in Greek myth.”

“Sure. That's not ominous at all. Anyway, the goal is to get inside, find this Lernaean Gate...and if the Island's Heart can power it...”

“...It can take us home,” I finish.

I open my backpack to examine the Island's Heart, a shattered orb of colorful prisms, gleaming amidst the ten amber idols tucked in beside it. Jake shakes his head.

“It still sounds like a trap to me.”

“Is this your brilliant 'gut instinct' again, Jacob?” Aleister snaps. “The one that's never, ever gotten us into trouble before?”

“We'll just have to be ready for whatever they spring on us,” I say firmly. “If there's even a chance the Gate's in there, we have to take it. We just have to stay alert and go in with a plan.”

Aleister glares at me. “So you think I'm being a fool to believe her?”

“Easy, Malfoy. She's just being cautious.”

“I don't think you're being a fool. I think you're being human. ...Trust me, Aleister. I get it. ...If my dead mother appeared to me as a hologram or a vision or anything, I would be inclined to believe anything she told me, too, and she was gone well before I could know her. ...But I would also hope I could trust my friends to be objective when I knew I couldn't.”

“None of it matters at all if we can't find a way in,” Jake points out.

“It looks like the only way across is the gondola.”

“Of course. Knocking on the front door will work out splendidly, no doubt,” Aleister mutters. He winces as he adjust the sling on his arm.

“They'd see us coming a literal mile away,” Jake concedes. “We need a plan. Any ideas?”

“Somehow, we need to hide in plain sight,” I say.

“How would we even do such a thing?”

“I don't know. But there's no way we can climb down this cliff and back up the pillar. The gondola is the only way in. The question is how we ride across it without being immediately captured?”

“Hmm...I suppose you are correct...”

“We'll think of something,” Jake declares. “We have to. ...Immediately, though, we have bigger problems.”

He looks over at the rest of the group. Zahra yelps as Michelle stitches her wound.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“Hold still, please! Do you want me to stitch you up or not?!”

“Not with a clothes sewing kit!”

“I thought you were supposed to be tough.” Zahra grunts, but she doesn't protest any further. Michelle finishes her work, and goes to check on Sean. Varyyn has eased out from under the blanket, but he and Diego stay close, sharing their body heat with him in the absence of a proper fire other than the flame from Raj's brulee torch. Michelle moves to adjust the blanket.

“Here, make sure you cover your--” Sean jerks away from her, teeth still chattering.

“St-stop. I said I'm f-fine.”

“Will you quit it and let me help?” Michelle snaps. “You were in that freezing water long enough for it to be serious.” She reaches for him, but Sean stands up sharply and walks away.

“I can take care of myself! Just need to walk around.”

At the edge of the falls, Quinn sits apart from the rest of the group, several of them throwing furtive glances in her direction. Her cheeks are streaked with frozen tears. I walk over to her, offering my hand.

“Quinn. Hey. Come on, join the rest of us.”

“...You're sure?”

“Of course I'm sure.” I put an arm around her. “Come on.”

But as I lead her back to the group, several of them edge away nervously. Even Diego starts to back away, but stops when I glare at him. Quinn swallows hard, blinking back fresh tears.

“You see? They're all afraid of me. Of what I've become.”

“Look, guys, I know what happened was scary, but Quinn is still our friend! And she saved our lives! We would be literally dead in the water right now if not for her! So how about showing a little gratitude!”

The others shift uncomfortably, looking contrite.

“Alodia's right,” Raj admits. “We're being total jerks. ...Sorry Quinn. You can come sit next to me.”

Quinn offers him a watery smile. “Thanks, Raj.” She tentatively sits down beside him and finds herself immediately tucked under his arm and pulled firmly to his side, his massive frame dwarfing her comically.

“No problem. We'll keep an eye on you. You're safe with us.”

Her face falls. “I don't even remember what happened.”

“You touched the Island's Heart and a spirit inhabited your body,” Varyyn explains. “I've never seen anything like it.”

“One moment,” Aleister says, suddenly pinning me with an angry gaze. “I seem to recall Alodia urging Quinn not to touch the Heart, right before she was possessed!”

And just like that, every pair of eyes in the group turns to me with suspicion. Even Quinn looks concerned.

“Alodia, did you...did you know that was going to happen?” Grace asks.

“...Alodia?” Quinn's voice wavers.

I sigh. “...Yes. I did. It happened to you once before. Back at Elyys'tel. ...Uqzhaal said that telling you and scaring you could ruin your health. I was inclined to trust him. Especially while you were still recovering.” I look pleadingly at her. “...I'd almost lost you once. And we'd all fought so hard to save you. I was scared of undoing that.”

“But you hid it from all of us, too!” Grace protests.

“At least she had a good reason, though,” Raj counters. “And she's being straight-up with us now.”

“Oh, yes,” Aleister scoffs. “Honesty when the cat's already out of the bag is quite the virtue.”

“...I understand why you did it, Alodia,” Quinn says softly. “It must've been a hard choice. So...thank you for protecting me.”

She smiles, and it feels like forgiveness. For a moment, I feel lighter. Then I catch Diego's eye. There is something in his gaze, something beyond hurt or anger that I didn't share this with him. There's a lot that I can read in his gaze, and I realize he knows I'm still holding something back. ...He won't get it out of me, though. I can't bear it. I look away.

“Varyyn,” Diego finally says, “what's happening to her? What did the Heart do to her?”

“I do not know. The Heart is the most powerful artifact in Vaanti legend. It represents the very spirit of this island of Vaanu. Perhaps it even contains some of that spirit.”

“Time out...are you telling us that the island is possessing Quinn?”

“It may be. When it restored her life, that was an incredible transfer of energy.”

“But like, she's only like that when she touches the orb thing, right?” Craig asks.

“Not sure, Craig,” I admit. “...But my guess is...no. Remember the Yeti? How Quinn almost controlled her?”

“I think a lot of this spirit is already in her,” Grace agrees.

“The orb does seem to act like a trigger, though,” Varyyn points out. “But I fear each time she touches it, more of Vaanu's spirit joins hers. Next time or the time after that...there could be no turning back.”

I look over at Quinn, whose gaze is fixed on an unremarkable patch of snow.

“Quinn? Are you okay? I know it's a lot to digest...”

“...All my life I carried something inside my body. Something taking me over. Something that would eventually erase me. And I thought I'd finally gotten it out, that I was finally free to be me. ...But I'm not free. It just got replaced with something else.”

A heavy silence descends over the group. Finally, Craig forces a smile and pats Quinn's back.

“But hey, your disease didn't give you powers to fly and stop bullets. Now look at you!”

“Dude,” Zahra mutters. “Not the time for jokes--”

“No, it's okay,” Quinn says. “Craig's right. I need to look on the bright side of this. I've always been helpless. I've always needed others to look out for me, since the day I was born. So if what happened to me means that I can help you, that I can take care of others for once...then I'm gonna make the most of it.”

“Hell, yeah,” Jake agrees, grinning at her.

“So, I guess this means we shouldn't use the Heart to heal our wounded,” Michelle muses.

“Yeah,” I concede. “That seems like a dangerous idea.”

“...In that case, we're going to need to find medical supplies. That little first aid kit isn't gonna cut it. Not with Sean--”

“Michelle, I told you I'm fine!”

“Will you shut up?” Michelle snaps. “You're not fine! You're stable for now, but it's not going to last without a fire or a heat blanket or something! And you'll freeze even faster if you keep being stubborn!”

“We're in the middle of an ice age, miles away from the Lodge,” Aleister points out. “Where do you suppose we're to find medical supplies?”

“I saw tire tracks nearby,” Estela says. “I'd bet it's from Arachnid's vehicles on their way to ambush us at the lake. Most of them fell in the ice, so the trucks might still be there. They'd have first-aid kits inside.”

“Military grade,” Jake confirms. “More along the lines of what we need.”

“I'll go with you,” I volunteer. “No one should be going out alone right now.”

“As will I,” Varyyn says.

“I'm in,” Jake adds. “Let's do this.”

“Right,” Michelle says. “Let's go.”

“You sure you're up for this, Maybelline?”

Michelle glares at Jake. “Yes!” she snaps. “In fact, I know better than anyone here what we actually need, so it looks like you're the dead weight this time, you pompous ass!”

I can't help but snicker at the startled expression on Jake's face. He spreads his hands in a pose of surrender.

“Point taken.”

The five of us bundle up and set out to follow the tire tracks. The trail takes us through the dense northern forests, where the snowdrifts reach halfway up our calves. Dead trees stretch their bony, knotted branches high above us.

“Jake,” Varyyn says, “may I aks you a question? You were one of the enemies before, no? An Arachnid?”

Jake keeps his eyes on the ground. “Yeah. The Arachnid Unit. My call sign was Wolf. As in a wolf spider. Everybody was a different spider. Lundgren's codename is Tarantula.”

“I see. You were warriors without a tribe. You fought only for yourselves--”

“It wasn't like that,” Jake says firmly. “We used to help people. At least...that's what I thought I was doing...”

I hear a soft sniff behind me, and turn to see Michelle.

“Michelle?” I ask softly. “Are you crying?”

“No, I'm not,” she answers flatly, wiping tears from her eyes.

“...It's Sean. Isn't it.”

She is quiet for a moment, but eventually nods. “...We almost lost him back there. If it weren't for you...If you hadn't pulled him out so quickly, he'd be de--”

“But he's not.” I cut her off firmly. “He's tough. He'll pull through.”

“...He's still important to me, Alodia. We were together for two years. That doesn't just disappear when it's over. Even though we're not together, I'll always care about him. But when he looks at me now, all I see is hate and disgust in his eyes. I can't stand it. If he died thinking that—thinking that I...”

… I can't bear it anymore. Even if I can't tell anyone the whole truth of the idols and the visions they are bringing me, I can't hold this back anymore.

“Tell him the truth,” I blurt out. “Tell him that you never cheated on him. That your friends lied to him.”

“What—but how could you know that they...” She trails off. After a moment, she swallows, her lips quivering. “I can't do it, Alodia. It's just too humiliating. If I were to tell him that, that would mean I didn't have single true friend in the world.”

I put a hand on her arm. “You have us, Michelle. We're your true friends.”

Michelle's eyes meet mine. She bites her lip, her eyes shimmering, and slowly nods. “...Okay. I'll tell him.”

I can't resist pulling her into a hug. Almost to my surprise, she wraps her arms around me in return, hiding her face against my shoulder.

“...I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you when we met,” I murmur. “...And I'm sorry I punched you in the face that one time.”

She offers me a watery smile. “Well, I was being a bitch to you. ...And I know that punch was an accident. You've got hard fists, though.”

“Well, I'm a scrapper. Always have been.”

Michelle chuckles and eases out of my embrace, wiping her eyes. She draws in a shuddering breath, and puts on a brave smile. We continue on side by side in comfortable silence.

Up ahead, Estela stops, cursing under her breath. “Dammit. Too much fresh snowfall this far out. We lost the tire tracks.”

“...We need those kits,” I say softly. As if somehow, needing it badly enough will make the tire tracks reappear.

“Judging by the terrain, the best tactical move for Arachnid would've been the crest over that way,” Jake says, pointing.

Varyyn squats down, surveying the area. “I disagree. The low branches this way are broken. Something large passed through.”

“You're both wrong,” Estela declares flatly. “Smell the gas? It's gotta be coming from this way!”

Michelle clears her throat. “Or...it's literally right here.”

She points. Not far ahead, a military humvee is visible through the trees. Jake, Varyyn, and Estela shift awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

“...Good...good work,” Estela finally mumbles. I smother a chuckle with one hand, earning myself an indignant poke from Jake.

We approach the humvee cautiously, grateful for the soft snow that muffles our footsteps.

“Looks empty,” Jake murmurs. “No sign of 'em anywhere. We're clear.”

“Estela and I will keep watch,” Varyyn declares. “You three search the vehicle.”

“Don't take too long,” Estela warns. “Any survivors might head back this way.”

Jake, Michelle, and I climb inside the humvee. The interior is spacious and loaded with high-tech equipment. We immediately begin sorting through the gear still stashed in the back.

“Jackpot!” Jake declares triumphantly.

“Over here!” Michelle calls. “A first aid kit! And heat blankets!”

“Check this out. They've got a bunch of emergency shelter tents, too. Eight of them. More than enough if a few people double up.”

“You're welcome to share mine, Princess.”

“A tempting offer, Top Gun. I might just take you up on it.”

“Okay, enough flirting. Is there any way to drive this thing back to our camp? Seems easier than trying to walk.”

I crawl into the driver's seat, and find the keys still in the ignition. I give them a turn and the vehicle hums to life, as does a large central computer display mounted in the console.

“Huh...” I tap curiously through a couple screens. There is a list of files and actions on the screen. One in particular catches my attention: >>anon_transmission.

“What are you doing?” Michelle hisses. “Let's get moving.”

“I just wanna see one thing...” I tap the file to open it. A distorted sound crackles through the speakers, nearly impossible to understand.

“...Is...that a voice?” Michelle asks uncertainly.

“What's it saying?”

I cautiously turn up the volume. A garbled voice, speaking in English, just barely makes it out through the crashing waves of static.

“You want...Jake McKenzie?...Come get him...June 1st...15 degrees...11 minutes...17 seconds North, 73 degrees, 20 minutes, 16 seconds West.”

The transmission repeats, continuing on a loop.

“15 degrees North, 73 degrees West,” Michelle murmurs. “But that's...”

“La Huerta,” Jake confirms grimly.

“Someone...gave Lundgren your location...?”

“And they knew what day I was bringing you here. Dammit...Lundgren was waiting here for me the whole time.” He kicks the back of the passenger seat violently. “Someone ratted me out! When I find out who--”

A pebble plinks off the rear windshield. Then another.

“Crap!” I growl. “That's Estela and Varyyn, isn't it?”

“Shh!” Michelle hisses. “Someone's coming!”

We all duck down in the cab. Through the snow-dusted windows, I can make out four Arachnid soldiers approaching. In the rear, one soldier props another one up as they limp along.

“Get a move on,” one says. “They went this way.”

“We're going as fast as we can, sir.”

“Forget Two-Eight-Seventy. Leave him. We have to move. The vehicle's up ahead.”

“Dammit!” Jake growls. “Some of these bastards survived the lake.”

“They're headed this way!” Michelle hisses. “What do we do?”

“Screw it!” I growl. On impulse, I put the car in gear and slam down on the gas pedal. The massive vehicle rockets forward, straight at the troops. I feel four hard thumps and see their bodies windmill through air as they careen off the hood. The truck slams to a stop against a tree trunk. I sit behind the wheel, trembling, staring at the tree in front of me as Estela and Varyyn come racing up to the vehicle. Michelle and Jake climb out of the humvee. The cold batters me, but I don't even notice. A After a moment, Jake returns, and I feel his hand unwrap my fingers from the wheel.

“Hey...well done, Princess. They won't be bothering us any more.”

“...I killed them.”

He's quiet a moment. “...Yeah. ...Before they killed us.” I turn to look at him. He brings a hand up to cup my cheek. “I know, Alodia. I know.”

“...You know what?”

“I know what the first kill feels like. Let me help you outta there. You're probably gonna puke in a minute.”

Just as he says that, I feel my gorge start to rise. He rushes me out of the car and holds my hair back as I double over and spew acid onto the snow. Just when I think I'm finished, I catch sight of the fallen troops and start to dry heave again. But by that point, there's nothing left in me. Jake pulls me into his arms and cradles me against him.

“You saved our asses, Princess. ...You didn't kill out of greed or for revenge or any shit like that. You didn't even mean to kill. ...I'll help you through what comes, I promise. You're gonna be angry and scared and all kinds of shit, and I've gone through them all before, so I'll help you now. ...But for the moment, we gotta get these supplies back to the others. To Sean and Zahra and Aleister...”

I blink back tears and hazard a look at the soldiers again. “...Wait. ...I have an idea...”

* * *

A steely resolve has settled over me by the time we reunite with the others by the waterfall, bearing the Arachnid's supplies. Everyone circles around us. We relay the events in the woods to them, and I lay out my plan.

“Hold on!” Craig cries. “You're talking about sneaking into Rourke's lair wearing these suits?”

“Like we said, the gondola's the only way across. So a disguise is the only way they let us in.”

“It's so insane that it just might work!” Raj exclaims.

“Why do people say that?” Aleister mutters. “Nothing is so insane that it works!”

Finally wrapped in a proper heat blanket, Sean looks up at me. “It's an interesting idea, but there's just one problem.”

“One?!” Aleister echoes incredulously.

“Okay, sure. Lots of problems. But one big one is that we've got four suits, but there are thirteen of us.” Murphy trills indignantly, and Raj scratches him behind the ears.

“Sorry, little man. He means fourteen. But I don't think they make the suits in your size anyway.”

“Well, that's the best part of the plan,” Jake says. “Tell 'em, Princess.”

“The rest of us don't wear disguises. We go as prisoners.”

“So, you're asking us to turn ourselves in to those psychos?” Zahra asks.

“Yes,” Estela replies. “And once we're inside, the ones dressed as Arachnid will free the rest of us.”

“And we make a break for the Lernaean Gate,” Michelle finishes.

Sean considers for a moment. “That...could actually work,” he admits.

“It could,” Zahra says, “but it's more likely we end up shish-kabobbed on that braided girl's katana.”

“Don't bail on us, Zahra,” I say. “We need you. You're our expert hacker. If anyone can get us through their security once we're inside, it's you.”

“Obviously,” she mutters. “But at least you acknowledge it.”

“I know this sounds crazy, but this is our one shot at getting home, all of us, together.”

“Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Craig asks. “Let's blow this joint!”

“That's all well and good, but some of us are still hurt,” Michelle points out. “We should at least give the wounded a chance to recover.”

“We can rest here at least until morning,” Quinn says thoughtfully. “Those tents will keep us warm through the night.”

“Let's get a fire going.”

We all set about getting a camp set up. Sean helps where he can, but at Michelle's insistance, he mostly stays to the side, wrapped in a heat blanket. I notice him watching, a faraway expression on his face. I wander over to him.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Hmm?” He glances over at me. “Oh...hey, Alodia. Yeah, I'm okay. It's just weird. The whole time, we've been racing forward, with no idea what's coming next. But now, we finally do. This time tomorrow, we'll either be home...or we'll be dead.”

I smile weakly. But something deep in my gut tells me that those are not likely to be the only options.

Eleven graves...and two yet to discover...

* * *

Within a few hours, the last of the tents has been erected, and we all gather around a crackling fire. By now, night has fallen. Infinite stars shimmer in a deep black field of sky, reflecting off the frozen landscape. I hunker down beside Diego, looking into the dancing flames. I've calmed down a bit since the encounter in the woods. It helped that I found a toothbrush among the supplies in the van and managed to clean the taste of vomit from my mouth. Perhaps when we're safe back home, I'll be scared by how quickly I've pushed my act of vehicular manslaughter to the back of my mind, but right now, I only tell myself that I can't let it distract me. I can't let anything distract me. Not with what's at stake.

“Oh, my god! Look!”

At Grace's cry, I feel adrenaline surge through my body from the base of my spine. I nearly leap to my feet until I realize that she's pointing to the sky. I look up and feel the breath leave my body at the sight of a meteor shower filling the darkness with beautiful streaks of light.

“Woah, dude!” Craig breathes. “I've never seen so many!”

“That's...that's incredible!” I whisper.

“Are they the Quadrantids?” Grace muses excitedly. “Or maybe anciet meteors we've never even heard of?”

“Man, Diego, you gotta check this—Diego?” I suddenly realize that Diego is no longer beside me. I have another moment of panic before I spot him standing off on his own. He looks awkwardly towards the edge of the falls, where Varyyn sits alone at the cliff's edge, staring up into the sky. I get up and walk over to Diego.

“Hey. Anybody home in there?”

“Oh. Hey, Allie. ...Happy Birthday. Again.”

“...What?”

“It's still January 1st. For a few more hours, I think.”

“Oh...right. ...Feels like it's been weeks since the party last night.”

“Glad we had that,” he says. “...Seems like your twenty-second hasn't gone all that well otherwise.”

“Yeah...next year maybe we stick to killing our New Years' hangovers with Netflicks and junk food like we usually do.” Unexpectedly, I hear my voice break as a sob threatens to escape. Unbidden, hot tears spring to my eyes, coating them with a stinging film. Diego frowns.

“...I wish you'd tell me what's wrong.”

“...What do you mean?” I ask, trying and failing to sound innocent, even as I scrub at my eyes.

“Ever since we reunited in Elyys'tel, you've been...really jumpy. And it's just been getting worse. Jake told me at breakfast that you woke up screaming early this morning, but you wouldn't say why...and don't take this the wrong way, but those four Arachnid suits didn't come from guys who are going to be complaining about not having clothes. I know you were the one to run over them, Allie. Jake told me that, too.”

I don't answer immediately, but I feel the tears start to fall. It was silly to think he wouldn't have figured it out, even without Jake telling him outright, but the idea of my sweet, tender-hearted best friend knowing that I killed four men...

“...Diego...Oh, god, please don't hate me for that...”

“What? Allie, who do you think you're talking to? I could never hate you! Shit, I'm glad you took them out before they hurt you or Varyyn or any of the others. But I'm worried about how you're coping with it. With everything. You've always been the steady one. Jumpy's my thing. But the last couple days, if someone says 'boo' you practically leap out of your skin. You burst into tears at the drop of a hat. ...You're holding something back. I know you are.”

I draw in a shuddering breath. “...There's a lot I'm holding back,” I admit. “Not just from you. From everyone. I...I can't tell you what it is though. I can't tell anyone. Not until I know more.”

“...Can I ask why not?”

“...Because until I understand it better myself...what it is...why it is...I'd just be worrying everyone to no purpose.”

“You're already worrying me, Allie. I thought I'd lost you once. I spent six months thinking you might be gone forever. ...I don't want to go through that again.”

I wrap my arms around him and hug him hard. “...I think that's pretty unlikely,” I say softly as he holds me back.

“...You do?”

“Yeah. I do. I won't say impossible, but...pretty unlikely.”

He sighs and kisses the top of my head. “...I'll take it. ...Promise me you'll tell me what's going on when you can?”

“I promise.”

“...Okay.”

I pull back slightly. “So...is that all that was bugging you? Just worrying about me?”

“Well...no...that's not all,” he admits, which does not surprise me.

“So what else is going on?”

He sighs. “...Goodbyes suck, you know?”

“Oh...right. ...Varyyn isn't coming with us, is he.”

Diego sighs again, shoving his hands into his pockets. “...I get it. He can't. We're from different times, different worlds, it couldn't last, et cetera...” He smiles wryly. “Of course my heart would be dumb enough to go for the 'Romeo and Juliet Across Spacetime' love story, huh?”

I glance over at Varyyn. “...You still have tonight.”

“Huh?”

“Just because something ends tomorrow doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it today.” I grin. “Besides. If that whole Lernaean Gate thing doesn't work out, it might be your last night on earth. What better time?”

He laughs, and the sound is wonderful. “You know what? You're right. You're always right.” He glances over at Varyyn again. “...What do you think of him, Allie? Really? I know the night he attacked the resort was only a week ago for you, but...”

“I think he's hot and he's crazy about you. ...But in all seriousness, I like him. He's proven to be a good friend to us all, and he clearly loves you. ...I find it a little weird to be psychically linked to my best friend's boyfriend, but I'll get over that. ...By the way, he and I actually had a talk this morning where we cleared the air about the stuff that's still raw to me, and I've already given him the obligatory, 'Fear me if you hurt my friend,' speech.”

“Huh. ...I never had a chance to give Jake one of those.”

“Well, now's not the time. Now's the time to land your man.”

“Once again, you're right. I'm gonna go over there.” He smooths his hair. “Okay, how do I look?”

“Honestly, with your new hair? Like a total heartthrob. You ought to pose for posters that horny teenagers can decorate their ceilings with.”

He grins. “Heck, I'll take it.”

He goes to join Varyyn by the waterfall. I can't help finding a dark spot among the trees to observe from, telling myself I'll slip away if they start to get too frisky. For a moment, they only sit quietly side-by-side, watching the meteors.

“Amazing,” Diego murmurs.

“Yes,” Varyyn agrees. “I enjoy watching them. They glow so bright and so brief, as they burn away to nothing.”

“That's...kinda sad, Varyyn. But also kinda beautiful.”

“All things that end are always sad and beautiful.”

“Guess I never really thought about it like that. Those meteors must've traveled for like, thousands of years? Millions? Until...until we just...” he swallows, meeting Varyyn's eyes, “...got in the way. They could've just kept going forever, alone in space, none the wiser.”

“That is no existence,” Varyyn replies. “At least these ones are seen. At least their brightness can be witnessed before they go.”

They fall silent for awhile. Diego edges a little closer. Finally, Varyyn speaks again.

“Sometimes, the meteors fall here on Vaanu. I went to see one once. It was different from the others. It was...like a machine.”

Diego looks at him sharply. “Wait...a machine?”

“Yes. Smooth round iron, and great, wide, square wings.”

“Like...a satellite? Are you saying you found a crashed satellite?”

“Sat-elle-ite?”

“They, uh...they're machines. They fly in space around the world. They're used to send messages.”

“Send them home?”

“Yeah.”

“...Tomorrow, you are sent home.”

Diego's smile crashes like a satellite. “...Yeah. ...Will you be okay? We got separated from the Vaanti scouts back at the chasm. You'll have to get out on your own, to take the Island's Heart back to your people.”

“I will be fine, my friend. I will survive the journey.” He swallows, putting a hand on Diego's shoulder. “...But I will miss you.”

Diego bites his lip. “You know...when I first went to college, I got homesick a lot.”

“Home-sick?”

“It's like, when you're far away, and you miss your home, and the people who mattered the most to you back there.”

“...I have never left my home. I may never leave my home. I will never have this feeling.” He is quiet for a moment. Then, he shudders. “...It seems horrible.”

“You sorta get used to it. I realized that I had to move on with my life and strike out on my own. But I never stopped missing my family in Riverside, and I never will. So I tried to carry them with me. In here.” He taps his chest with one finger. Slowly, Varyyn reaches over to tap the same spot.

“In there.”

“...At night, I'd look up at the sky and know that they were looking at the same stars. And what's great about stars is, they live for millions and millions of years. So...tomorrow night, when I'm back in my time and you're in your time, I'll be able to look up at the stars, and know that you're seeing the same ones.”

He takes the pale blue hand that's still lingering over his heart. Then, their lips are drawn together like magnets. The come together, holding each other in the light of the blazing meteor shower, Varyyn's fingers combing through Diego's hair. At last breaking apart to breathe, Diego settles into Varyyn's arms.

“Best. Vacation. Ever,” he declares, and I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing and giving myself away. I creep back over to the fire, joining Raj, Quinn, and Murphy in the warmth of the flames.

“Oh, man! Raj, it smells amazing over here! What are you cooking?”

“Check it out, Alodia. We've got sausages, vegetable kebobs...”

“Where did you get all this?” Quinn asks.

“Raided the kitchens back at the Lodge before we left. Had plenty of room in my bag. Between good food and a few hilarious T-shirts, what else does a man need?” He passes plates to me and Quinn. “Dig in.”

I eagerly obey, suddenly very aware of the fact that I haven't eaten since breakfast. Beside me, Quinn mumbles happily around a mouthful.

“Oh, god, this is delicious,” I sigh. Murphy attacks a vegetable kebob, chewing the grilled pieces off the skewer. Raj laughs.

“Murphy loves his veggies! Eat up, little man. Gotta get big and strong if you're gonna be a Guardian one day!”

When he's filled his belly, Murphy yawns and crawls into my lap, curling up to sleep it off. I stroke his fur.

“Poor little guy,” Quinn murmurs. “He's gonna miss you, Alodia.”

“I'm gonna miss him, too.”

“...You're not going to take him with you?”

“I wish I could. But this is where he belongs. His whole future is here.” And if that's enough reason for Diego to give up the man he loves, it's surely enough reason for me to give up my little fox friend.

“That's the thing about crossing paths in life,” Raj sighs. “Doesn't mean they cross for long. It's the memories that count.”

I set down my empty plate and scoop Murphy up in my arms, standing. “Hey, I'm gonna walk around a little bit. Make the rounds.” I set off. Murphy stirs slightly in my arms, but doesn't wake.

As I circle the camp, I catch sight of Michelle and Sean, seated side-by-side on a log at the edge of the trees. The wind carries a snippet of their conversation in my direction.

“I know you have zero reason to believe me,” Michelle murmurs.

Sean shakes his head, looking down. “...What's crazy is that I have every reason to believe you. I honestly feel like I should have known. ...Thanks for telling me, though. Must've been hard to say just now. I can't believe those scumbag friends of yours--”

“They're not my friends, Sean. You are.” She sighs. “I know part of you will always hate me for letting you think this for so long, and you're totally right to. But you're still one of the best people I've ever met. I needed to finally tell you the truth...to finally tell you...I'm sorry.”

Sean sighs deeply, his shoulders heaving. “...Thank you, Michelle. And I'm sorry, too.” He pulls her into a hug, and I feel a smile play around my mouth as I keep walking.

Eventually, I wander back to the fire, where Grace, Zahra, and Jake have joined Raj and Quinn, laughing and telling stories.

“Alodia!” Grace pats the log next to her. “Come sit!”

I come to join her, sitting between her and Jake. Murphy has woken up a bit by now, and leaps out of my arms to wander the camp himself.

“Whatcha guys laughing at?”

“Jake was telling us about how him and his old wingmate used to prank each other all the time,” Zahra explains, grinning.

“Yeah,” Jake says, and returns to the story he was telling. “So, our cover's blow, M.P.S. cops are hot on our tail. They chase us to the top of the Ryugyong Hotel. Only one way down from here. Me and Mike grab our chutes, run through the window, and basically have to B.A.S.E. jump from the tallest building in Pyongyang with cops shooting at us from the tower, and all these locals gawking up at us and pointing. And I just hear Mike laughing his ass off behind me. I look up, and spraypainted in huge Korean Hangul on my open chute is...'I can't stop farting'.”

Zahra and I both burst out laughing.

“That's so good!” she crows.

“That's so mean!” Grace protests.

“Mike sounds like he was awesome,” I remark, smiling.

Jake smiles back, but I can see the sadness nipping at the edges of his features. “Yeah. He really was.”

“That might even top the time I hacked this price-gouging pharma exec's credit card,” Zahra declares. “...I ordered forty-seven stripper clowns to crash his 80th birthday party.”

“Ha! Well-played!” Jake chuckles.

“That might be more of a felony than a prank,” Grace mutters.

“Meh. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.” She grins at me. “What about you, Alodia? Any all-time great pranks?”

“I once dressed up as a movie monster to scare Diego...”

“Go on...?”

I smile. “Sophomore year. We'd just watched The Ring for the first time. Bought a long black wig and hid in his closet. When he opened it, I burst out and started clawing my way across the floor. ”

Jake and Zahra burst into peals of fresh laughter.

“Oh, man! What'd I give to have seen the look on Petey's face right then!”

“Oh, my god!” Grace cries. “You two are just awful!”

“Come on,” Jake says. “Harmless pranks are what make friendship great.”

“Yeah. You know someone as long as I've known Diego, and there's no love lost for a few pranks. Besides, he got me back. ...Unfortunately for me, he remembered how freaked out I used to be by the Yip-Yips.”

“...The what?”

“You know. Those Martian muppets from Sesame Street? They were on a bunch of the older episodes that Diego's mom used to play for us when we were little and she needed to get some cleaning or cooking done. Eventually, she had to find something else to distract us because I would run to her screaming whenever they appeared on the screen.”

Jake looks incredulously at me. “...Seriously?”

“Hey! Those things were freaky as hell! I had nightmares for years about them eating me! So of course, because he knows all my deepest, darkest secrets, Diego downloads a Yip-yip song and sets it to his ringtone. Asks to borrow my tablet to take notes in class, claiming he has to run a virus scan on his laptop. Even runs the damn scan in his room so I won't get suspicious if I happen to peak in there. Little do I realize he's hidden his phone in my room. I'm sitting at the kitchen table, studying, when suddenly I hear 'Yipyipyipyipyipyip'...”

It's about that moment that Diego and Varyyn wander over to the fire, hand-in-hand. Diego laughs.

“Are you telling them the martian muppet story?”

“Explaining how you got me back for the crap I pulled with the black wig. But you can probably tell it better.”

“I'll bet!” He plops down on a log nearby. “So here's the thing, at the time I wasn't even sure it would work. Last time Allie tried to face her muppet phobia, she was fifteen. She'd gotten better, but she was still just not a fan...”

He relays the rest of the story with obvious glee. Jake and Zahra burst into fresh peals of laughter, while Grace looks at all of us like we're nuts. Varyyn, of course, is completely lost. In time, the others drift back to the fire, and more stories are swapped as Raj makes sure we all have our fill to eat. Eventually, the laughter and talking die down as the flames burn lower. I lie on my back with my friends around me, staring up at the meteors streaking overhead.

“...Hey...” Craig says. “Anybody else kinda nervous about going home?”

“I am,” Grace admits. “So many questions. What will it be like? What will we be like?” How could we just walk around, go about our lives like normal after everything we've seen and done?”

“I missed an entire quarter,” Michelle remarks. “Gonna have to work twice as hard to get back up to the top of the class.”

“I missed my whole senior season,” Sean murmurs.

“Guys, I bet the entire country was looking for us!” Raj exclaims. “Do you think we're famous? Are we gonna be celebrities when we get back?”

“Heavens, I should hope not,” Aleister mutters.

I chuckle. “Come on, Aleister. Don't you wanna hang out with us on the talk show circuit?”

“You're assuming anyone will believe us,” Estela points out with a wry smile. “If someone told you about the stuff we've seen, would you have believed them? We'll probably be locked in an insane asylum.”

“That's if the government doesn't silence us,” Jake adds.

“You two are seriously ruining the mood!” Grace chides.

“Sorry, sorry. We'll be superstars, everything will be sunshine and rainbows, and we'll all be together forever.”

“That's better.”

“I'm just glad I got to meet you all,” I say.

“Cheers to that,” Sean agrees.

“Hear, hear,” Diego adds.

“I kinda just want us to stay like this forever,” Craig admits.

“It is nice...”

We all fall silent together, lying on our backs in a circle around the dying fire, watching the stars fall. The fire fades down to embers. One by one, my friends start drifting into tents to sleep, mumbling exhausted good-nights. Finally, only Diego and I are left, sitting side-by-side on a log, watching the last embers go out.

“...Tomorrow, everything's gonna be different,” I murmur.

“...You ought to get some sleep, Allie.”

“I know. Not sure if I can, though.”

“Get that pilot of yours to hold you. You'll feel safer.” He puts his arms around me and pulls me into a hug. “We're gonna be okay, Allie.”

I lean into him. “Thanks. You know...I know you don't think of yourself as brave, but you've been so damn strong this whole time. ...I can't do this without you, Diego.”

“...Do what?”

“Any of it. Any of what I'm trying to do here.”

“...Which is...?”

“...Be a hero.”

“Aw, Allie. You know you've always been a hero to me.”

“I know. ...And that's why I feel I can be a hero to anyone. ...Don't go anywhere, okay? At least, don't go far.”

“...Can I go into a tent to sleep? You're welcome to join me, but Varyyn's gonna be in there with me, and that might get awkward. Plus Jake'd get lonely.”

I laugh. “Well, I suppose that's okay.”

“Good. Now go get some rest for godssake. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“I will. ...Love you, Diego.”

“Love you back, Allie.”

I give him one last hug goodnight, and then make my way over to the tent where Jake is waiting for me. I slip inside, zipping it up behind me. It's warm inside. Not tropical, but far warmer than I expected it to be. Jake lies shirtless inside a sleeping bag, gazing up at the stars through the plastic windows at the top of the tent door. I smile.

“Don't you look cozy.”

He grins back at me. “It'd be a lot cozier with a warm body next to mine.”

“Now, would any random warm body do?” I ask mischievously. “Because I could go get Aleister.” I make like I'm going to unzip the tent flap, and he laughs.

“That boy's made of ice, and you know it. C'mere, Princess.”

I strip down to my underclothes and snuggle into the sleeping bag beside Jake, easing myself into the crook of his arm.

“How's that?”

“Much cozier.” He kisses me gently. “Although...I could think of something that would make this moment even better.” He trails his warm fingers up my bare leg.

“Oh really? What did you have in mind?” His fingers travel higher, tracing the curve of my inner thigh.

“Oh, you know...a little of this...a little of that...” His hand slips under my panties, cupping between my legs. His fingers slide between my vulva and I shiver with pleasure.

“Ohhh, a little of that, huh...” He turns towards me, his face bare centimeters from mine, his breath warm on my lips. His blue eyes lock with mine as his fingers press deeper. I gasp. “Jake...”

“...You're so goddamn beautiful it hurts.”

I run my own fingers down the length of his firm abdomen until I reach the waistband of his boxers.

“God, I love touching you,” I whisper. I slip my hand underneath his shorts and feel him respond to my touch. He arches his head back with a sigh.

“Feeling's mutual.”

He eases me onto my back and lowers himself onto me. Chest-to-chest, I can feel his heart thundering against my breasts.

“The things we do to stay warm, huh?”

“I have a feeling it's gonna get a lot more than warm in here.”

I slide my hips back, feeling myself against him. He inhales sharply and I nuzzle deeper, kissing along the side of his neck. Somewhere in the process, we both slip out of the last of our clothes.

“We should keep it down...Everyone's just outside...”

Jake leans in, gently nibbling my earlobe. “Screw it,” he whispers. “Let 'em hear.”

“I like the way you thin—ohh...”

I moan rapturously as he sinks into me and his hips start to move against mine, slowly at first, then with more fervor. I wrap my legs around him and match his rhythm. At first, I do make some effort to stay quiet, but that quickly goes out the window. I'm sure we wake everyone, but I don't care. I dig my fingernails into his back, he pulls at my hair, and we both moan and cry out in ecstacy as we climax.

I drift off shortly after we finish, but I don't sleep long. The sky is still filled with stars when I come awake again and find Jake staring through the clear window at the top of the tent. His expression is hard to read, but there is a heaviness surrounding him that makes my belly quiver with dread.

“...Jake? What's wrong?”

He doesn't answer me immediately. His hand finds mine inside the sleeping bag and our fingers entwine. “Listen...there's something I have to tell you.”

I feel my heart beat a little faster with anxiety. “...What is it?”

“Tomorrow, when we go to that facility...if that portal works...”

“We'll go home.”

“Yeah. And I can't go with you.”

His words come crashing down on me like a wave of ice water. “What?”

“I'm a wanted man in the States, Alodia. And if we all just show back up through some crazy-ass portal, there's gonna be a whole lot of publicity. The rest of you get to go home to your families, to your lives. I get to go straight to a cold, hard cell.”

I swallow around a growing knot in my throat. “So what are you going to do?”

“I'm going to stay behind after you all go through. And then I'm gonna open my own portal to somewhere Lundgren will never find me. Santiago, maybe. Madagascar. The Maldives. Somewhere with warm beaches and cold beers and no super-soldier squad hunting me down.”

The full impact of his words leads me breathless. ...He means to leave me. Tomorrow, he means to part from me and never look back. “...But...”

“I don't want to do this, Princess. But it's my only choice. I don't have a future anywhere else.”

“No. It's not.” My voice is firm as an unshakeable resolve takes hold of me. I can't lose him. Not now. “Jake, you can't run forever.”

“I can sure as hell try!” he retorts hotly. I push myself upright to look him in the eye.

“Do you believe that? Really? You're on a remote mystery island that's off the charts of space and time, and they still found you.” He scowls up at me, but I see his lips trembling. I brush them gently with mine before I continue. “Arachnid is only getting more powerful. More dangerous. More thorough. And now they've got Rourke International backing them. Wherever you go, wherever you run, they'll find you.”

“So what? I just let them capture me? Paint a big ol' target on my head and let them take me in?”

“Jacob Lucas McKenzie, don't insult me by pretending you believe that's what I'm saying. I'm telling you to fight! You get back to the States, and you tell everyone the truth! You expose Lundgren for the traitor that he is, and you make that bastard pay!”

“Wish it were that simple...”

“Why isn't it?” I demand, still trembling with the heat of my hatred for the man who put Jake in this situation.

“Because...” He swallows hard. “...Because it's not just about Lundgren.”

“What do you mean?”

He closes his eyes, but I see tears gathering on his lashes. He lets out a heavy breath. “If I go back to the States, I'll have to face everyone again. I have to face Mike's parents.”

I feel my anger give way as a wave of sorrow crashes over me, heavy and cold. “Oh...Jake...”

“I didn't kill Mike,” he murmurs, his voice thick with tears. “But I promised them I'd keep him safe. I promised them I'd bring their boy home. He died on my watch. He died because of me. And I can't...I...I can't...”

The tears start to trickle from his eyes. I wrap my arms around him, drawing him tight against me.

“I know, Jake. I know it's not easy. I know you carry a lot of guilt. But you can do this. I promise, you can do this. We can do this.”

He looks up at me, pinning me with a watery gaze. One hand comes up to cup my cheek.

“...Can we?” he asks softly. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

He is quiet for a long moment. Behind his wet eyes, I can see his mind working. His mouth trembles.

“...To hell with it,” he says at last. He looks me in the eye. “I love you, Alodia.”

For a moment, I can't speak. I can barely process what I just heard. I stare at him, stunned, wide-eyed, long enough that he starts to look a little nervous.

“...Say it again...” I finally whisper. A smile starts to play around his mouth. He leans in and brushes his lips against my ear.

“I love you,” he whispers. He presses his forehead to mine. “Alodia Rose Chandler, I love you.”

“I love you, Jacob Lucas McKenzie.” I press my lips to his fiercely. “I love you so much. There is nothing in this world or the next that we can't face together.”

“...I guess it's decided, then. Ah, but let's face it, it was decided the first time you kissed me. ...I can't stay away from you, Princess. Not for anything.”

“I never want you to stay away, Top Gun.”

* * *

Wrapped in each other's arms, Jake and I manage to fall asleep. Early the next morning, after a quick breakfast, we all gather to enact our daring plan.

“All right, people,” Sean says. “Let's do this. Everybody remember the drill?”

“I can't speak for everyone,” Michelle replies, “but it's not like I have the memory of a goldfish.”

“Who should wear the suits?” Aleister asks. “I presume Jake will wear one, as our resident action hero.”

“I'll take the compliment, Malfoy, but I gotta be a prisoner. If Lundgren doesn't see me, he'll get suspicious. If I'm in custody, he'll be too happy to notice anything's off.”

“Fair point,” Sean concedes. “I can take one of them.”

“And I've got your back, Number Five,” Craig declares. “Let's suit up.” The two of them shed their coats and start pulling the jumpsuits and armor on over their clothes.

“Oh, great. Put our lives in the hands of the braintrust,” Zahra scoffs. “Gimme one of those stupid suits. You'll need me to help you deactivate security anyway.”

“That's three,” Estela says. “We've got one more suit.”

Sean picks up a helmet and hands it to me. I take it hesitantly.

“Me? You think I should?”

“This whole thing was your idea,” Sean replies with a shrug. “And you are kinda the brains around here. If anyone can come up with a plan to get everyone out of custody again, it's you.”

I glance around at the others. Seeing them nodding, I quickly swap my coat for the last thermal jumpsuit and armor.

“How do I look? It's a little big on me, but it feels pretty badass.”

“Hell yeah!” Craig declares, holding up a hand for me to high-five. “You make that look good!”

“Come on, Craig, you know I make everything look good.”

“Preachin' to the choir, bro,” he agrees. “Okay! So we all look dope and we're ready to kick some ass!”

Zahra rolls her eyes. “This isn't selfie-time, Craig. We've got work to do.”

“Hey, Zahra,” Diego drawls. “Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?”

“Don't make me pistol-whip you,” Zahra snorts, but I can see a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

We make our way over to the gondola and press the call button. The empty gondola motors along the cables toward us. I take a deep breath.

“Okay...let's get our story straight, first.”

“Right,” Sean agrees. “Like what happened to the four of us that we weren't captured?”

“We died,” Zahra says flatly. “We drowned in the lake during the attack.”

“That's dark, dude,” Craig mutters.

“So why didn't you report in?” Jake asks.

“Hmm...maybe water damage to our radios?” I suggest.

“What about how we caught the rest of the group?”

“You should say you caught us searching for medical supplies,” Estela replies.

“Clever,” Aleister concedes. “Sometimes the best lie is the truth.”

“And with your arm still in a sling, it adds credence to the story.”

“Hey look!” Quinn exclaims, pointing to the helmet under my arm. “You've got an I.D number on the back.”

“Yeah, every soldier goes by a serial number,” Jake explains. “Call signs are for the elite fighters only.”

“We'd better remember them in case we're asked,” I warn. I look at the number on the back of my helmet: 3-1-7-2. Six times commits it to memory, but I'm not taking chances. Six times each, I whisper it, trace it in the snow with my finger, mentally repeat it.

The gondola arrives at the platform, and the doors slide open.

“All right, people, this is it,” Sean says. He takes a deep breath. “We're as good as we're gonna get. Let's move.”

Everyone files aboard. We bind the hands of our 'prisoners', just tight enough to make it convincing, but not so tight as to actually encumber them. Just as I'm about to put my helmet on, I spot Murphy, alone on the precipice. I open my arms.

“...Come here, fella.” Murphy leaps into my arms, wriggling and licking my face. I cradle him against me. “Thank you so much, Murphy. For everything. Take care of our friends back at Elyys'tel, okay? Varyyn will meet you back here.”

Murphy trills his understanding. I set him down and step onto the gondola, looking over my shoulder as I go. Tears fill my eyes, blurring the image of Murphy alone at the cliff's edge, watching with almost human resignation as I leave him behind. I blink back the tears and turn my attention back to the interior of the gondola. I can't help gasping a little.

The entire hull is glass, even the floor. Thousands of feet below me, I can see the crashing, churning sea. I hear myself gulp. Grace whimpers.

“Oh god...don't look down, don't look down...”

“Here we go,” Craig says solemnly. “Everyone ready?”

I look over at my friends, meeting each of their eyes in turn. Each holds my gaze resolutely.

“Last chance to turn back.”

Jake smiles wryly. “You kiddin', Princess? The last chance to turn back was on that runway in Costa Rica.”

“We're right behind you,” Quinn assures me. I nod, my eyes drifting back to Jake. Even knowing it's temporary, the sight of him with his hands bound scares me more than I thought it would. I can't resist giving him one more kiss.

“I'll be right here,” I murmur in his ear. “I'll be right beside you the whole time.”

He releases a shuddering breath. “I know. I'm not going anywhere, Princess. Promise.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I pull back and affix my helmet. Sean, Zahra, and Craig follow my lead.

“Here we go,” I murmur, my voice slightly distorted through the helmet's speaker. A holographic display flickers on a glass wall. I reach out and tap a button labeled 'RESUME TRANSIT'. The gondola rocks as it starts reel back towards MASADA. I look down through my visor and see the ocean roiling far below my feet.

“The view would be awesome if we weren't heading into a secret paramilitary compound filled with people who wanna kill us,” Raj mutters. Then he smirks. “Never mind. It's still awesome.”

“Remember you're prisoners,” Zahra hisses. “Don't forget to act scared.”

“I am scared!” Grace replies.

“That's perfect.”

About halfway across, the gondola suddenly jerks to a stop, throwing us all off balance. I press the display. It flashes red in response.

“Shit! We're stuck!”

“Stuck?!” Aleister cries. “This is not a good place to be stuck!”

“Yeah,” Jakes says grimly. “And it just got worse.”

The sudden roar of a rotor makes me jump. The gondola rocks in a blast of wind. I turn to see a black military chopper rising up on our flank, its massive missile arrays pointing straight at us.

“Ohhh, crap,” Craig groans.

I squint. Through the choppers tinted windows, I can make out the pilot, the helmeted soldier Lundgren had called Mouse. A hologram flickers to life on the gondola's glass wall. Katana Chick smirks at us.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't the Big Bad Wolf. Nice to see you again so soon. Did you miss me?”

“Don't flatter yourself, Fiddler,” Jake growls.

“You're in Mouse's crosshairs now, so play nice, sweetie. Or I'll have him answer your next quip with a heat-seeking retort.” Jake purses his lips and stays silent. Fiddler eyes us from MASADA's high-tech control tower. “This is certainly a surprise, if a pleasant one. We got no report of your capture. Private, care you to explain the situation?”

Sean subtly nudges me. I salute to the screen.

“Yes, ma'am. We captured the targets at the lake.”

“We lost our comms in the battle,” Zahra explains.

“Sorry 'bout that,” Craig adds. Zahra kicks him. “I mean, apologies, ma'am.”

“What happened to your comms?” Fiddler demands. “You were in the dark for fourteen hours.”

“Water damage.”

Fiddler rolls her eyes at my response. “You were warned about keeping that equipment dry!”

“Sorry, ma'am,” Sean says quickly. “Won't happen again.”

On screen, Fiddler fixes me with a steely gaze. “You there. Identify yourself, Private.”

“This is serial number 3-1-7-2.”

“Hm. I count nine prisoners. What happened to the other four?”

“Dead, ma'am,” Sean replies. “Drowned. The ice broke up in the battle. They went under.”

“Too bad. Our client will be disappointed. Okay, then. How did the four of you manage to capture so many of the targets, without any backup? They've been quite uncooperative so far.”

“We caught them searching for medical supplies,” I explain. “Some of them were injured in the battle.”

Fiddler is quiet for a long moment. The helicopter hovers closer.

“Well,” she says at last. “One this is clear. You four have earned yourselves a promotion.” The tension in the gondola immediately releases. My shoulders relax.

“Thank you, ma'am. We hope we did you proud.”

“Mouse, escort them in.”

The comms display blinks out, and the gondola rocks to life. The 'prisoners' allow themselves a sigh of relief.

“You seem to have fooled them,” Varyyn murmurs.

“Way to get us through!” Quinn says proudly.

“Thanks, but don't get too comfy,” I warn her. “Remember, we're just getting started.”

We gaze up at MASADA's massive tower. As we draw close, the sun vanishes behind it, and we fall into shadow.

“Here comes the welcoming party,” Jake mutters. I hear a subtle quiver in his voice. I wish I could take his hand, but there are a dozen Arachnid troops waiting for us at the landing platform, and I don't dare. As if sensing my thoughts, he adds, “You're gonna have to sell that we're your captives, Princess. Don't be afraid to get rough.”

“I never am. ...Don't forget that you have to sell that I'm dead.”

“...That might be harder. But I'll pull it off to keep you alive.”

Finally, the gondola comes to a stop, and the glass doors slide silently open. I take Jake's advice and shove him hard toward the exit. Sean, Craig, and Zahra follow my lead, forcing the others out.

From the landing pad, the soldiers escort us into a sleek, futuristic laboratory that looks like something straight out of Star Trek.

“Ah, at last. The gang's all here.” The familiar voice makes my blood run cold. Even though I had guessed he would be here, it is difficult not to panic when the soldiers part to allow Everett Rourke through their ranks. He smiles broadly at my friends. “Welcome, my honored guests. The moment of truth is finally at hand.”

#Endless Summer #play choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry choices #Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto #jake mckenzie #sean gayle #estela montoya #quinn kelly #raj bhandarkar #michelle nguyen #craig hsiao #zahra namazi #aleister rourke #grace hall

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brightlotusmoon · 8 years ago

Text

Sneak Peek: A “Mikey The Lifegiver” side story

So, while working on the “Spirit And Oxygen” fic, I got poked in the writerbrain by yet another “Donnie thinks about how much he adores Mikey” story that didn’t quite fit, but maybe it could, so right now it’s going to be a side story, at least until Season 5 rolls around and we get canon confirmation on some things.

Stuff that is my heacanon here: 1) Shinigami is in a polyamorous relationship with Karai and Michelangelo, and the girls have their own bedroom in the lair. 2) Raph has taken a shine to Shini and her attitudes on life and is so proud his little brother has such an awesome loveperson who is also banging his awesome sister. 3) April has finally decided to try dating both Donnie and Casey, although she’s spent more time with Don, and casey doesn’t mind. 4) Both Splinter and Shredder are dead (Karai killed Shredder, take that Leo, although Leo was there too and got some hits in). 5) The Might Mutanimals are very involved in the turtles’ lives. Mondo has learned first aid from Dr Rockwell and engineering from Don. 6) Leo and Karai have been duel sensei-ing and still argue over who gets to be Actual Sensei. 7) Abandoned military bases are turned into hide-outs for the more vicious, feral, and angry mutants in every borough. Mikey, Mondo, and Shini like to try and find them to befriend the tamer, friendlier ones. Karai and Raph wind up getting angry out of love and fear. 8) Mikey is Donnie’s assistant in the lab and is a field medic who uses his emotional reach to comfort the injured. I don’t know if any of it will reflect in real canon. We shall find out in March. I did see the Korean leaks and I’m not saying a damn word. Also, I am happy to discuss where the rest of the story might go and how and why, and I’ll probably switch to another perspective like April (Storm) or Karai (Iron) or Ghost Of Splinter (Wind) or Shinigami (Magic). Mostly I’m just in love with writing Donnie talking about Mikey, and this would be my third Earth And Oxygen fic in the “Mikey The Lifegiver” series. (PS, Mikey is Oxygen, duh. Don is Earth, Raph is Fire, Leo is Water. The Tumblr post for Mikey The Lifegiver is the second most popular blog post I’ve written so far. The first one is me waxing pagan about all those winter holidays from dozens of religions with hundreds many gods) Also, for my regular readers: You knew this sort of thing was gonna happen again. It’s all I write. Apparently, though, since 1999, I’ve had the most wonderful contemporaries and competition. You hardcore Mikey fans, you’re the best, I love you all.

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, And think of you Caught up in circles confusion Is nothing new Flashback warm nights Almost left behind Suitcases of memories, Time after Sometimes you picture me I'm walking too far ahead You're calling to me, I can't hear What you've said You say go slow I fall behind The second hand unwinds If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time After my picture fades and darkness has Turned to gray Watching through windows you're wondering If I'm ok Secrets stolen from deep inside The drum beats out of time If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time You said go slow I fall behind The second hand unwinds If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time

-Cyndi Lauper, “Time After Time”

Earth And Oxygen: Time After Time

Donnie’s dreaming hard again, and he cherishes it. Usually is dreams are soft and quick, minnows in a stream, full of chrome and rust and the scent of oil, and there are tiny things in his hands, beeping and whirring, and there are giant things in front of him, clicking and rumbling; and the scars all over his hands reminds him that these are his, he made them, and they make sounds at him as though they are praising him.

Almost a year ago, shortly after Splinter died and Shredder died and Karai moved in, things began happening that challenged every science imaginable, but Donnie learned to be completely fine with it. Aside from Leo and Karai in a constant subtle battle over who would be sensei, Raph mellowed out and Mikey stopped pranking. Donnie was the only one who recognized Mikey as the catalyst: after enduring a series of traumas that they wouldn’t wish on their enemies, Mikey had become quieter, softer. His odd hyperfocusing moments turned on books without pictures and science documentaries and Donnie spent three weeks spying on him; it was no surprise when Mikey caught him each time, because Mikey had changed the most. Donnie and April ran every single test, and Mikey endured them with a strange fidgeting patience, but Rockwell in the end explained that Mikey’s Dimension X brain had finally caught up with him. He was almost like April. Don stopped being surprised when a beaker full of An Unusual Chemical dropped from his hands and floated back up to the table, despite it only being him and Mikey. Mikey, who folded his arms and grinned cheekily, and that was the day Donnie went to the closet and handed him a lab coat with his name on it.

Between their rotating autistic traits and interests, Donnie with engineering and physical science and Mikey with social sciences and cultural studies, they managed to create Things that made the lair easier to live in. With Mikey around, it was easier to navigate the entire city and study humans’ patterns, so certain stores, warehouses, junkyards, and clinics would stay their “borrowing” targets. With Donnie around, they had vehicles and cloaking devices to move further and deeper in.

So Donnie dreams heavily, about jumping from roof to roof in Staten Island, looking for that one military facility that up until now always had staff. Mikey is right behind him, ready with both kusarigama and grappling hook. Donnie stops and signals, and Mikey presses right against his carapace, wrapping one arm around his waist, extending the other to aim the grappling gun. Don signals again, and Mikey pushes off and practically flies – scratch that, he literally glides – and Donnie feels perfectly utterly safe as he casually throws an arm around his little brother’s shoulders. Mikey wouldn’t let them drop; they’d only hover. That’s how good he’s gotten. The grappling hook keeps catching on roof edges and Mikey lets it hover and glide to the next and the next, and they keep going.

They’re on the roof of the facility, over a mile from where they started, and Donnie pries open the secret door and they move in, and their flashlights roam. They remove their backpacks when he finds the correct room, and collect the items he’s already listed on his T-Phone. It’s silent, it’s swift, and the only thing that warns him is Mikey’s hiss and his voice in Donnie’s head: Donnie, get DOWN—

And Donnie flattens himself on the floor and the creature grazes him with a long metal toe as it leaps over him, and his right shoulder and bicep both rip open wide and his body spills blood rapidly. But it’s not the pain that makes him scream. It’s the strangled screeching gasp, full of pure agony and horror, that Mikey makes from somewhere behind him. No living creature should be making a sound like that unless it’s about to die...

There is precious seconds of heavy silence, and he hears Mikey make that familiar, inhuman growl that all the turtles make when enraged, when their human sides shrink and their literal reptilian brains take over with crushing power. The creature howls in pain and shock, and Mikey lets out a roar that contains Donnie’s name scrawled into it, and then there is crashing, there is stabbing, punching, shrieking, snarling, bones cracking and flesh squelching and liquid spurting and other noises that Donnie will hear in his post-traumatic nightmares. Donnie crawls forward, collapses on his back, turns around and forces himself to stand.

The creature has Mikey pinned to the ground, and shadowed blood is pooling everywhere. And then Mikey kicks and flips the creature over with a furious shriek, and through the darkness Donnie sees his teeth flash in a savage grin, you do not want to see that kind of smile on Mikey’s face, and Donnie sees him coated in shadows, launching again at the creature, smacking his nunchaku again and again…and then the creature stops moving, stops making noise; and Donnie hears his own harsh, pained breathing, and his brother’s harsh, pained breathing, and he manages to call out, “Mikey, are you okay?”

There’s a pause. “I’m always okay, Dee,” comes a breezy reply, but it is thin and strained. “Hey, Dee, what’s hurt on you?”

“My right shoulder and upper arm, but I can patch it up. You?”

A longer pause, much much longer.

“Can I take a raincheck on answering that?”

Donnie feels his gut turn to ice. “Mikey?”

He sees the dark figure of his brother hold up a finger. “Just…gimme…a sec.”

Within that second, Mikey falls to his knees. Donnie feels himself lurch forward. His eyes strain. The shadows on his brother are not shadows. They are too shiny. He’s covered in it.

No. No. Please, no, not again, I can’t handle this again.

It’s not the blood loss making Donnie feel so dizzy. He struggles to move, and watches, in slow motion, as Mikey falls over completely, smacking the floor, and it is a wet smack, and liquid is still pooling around him. And Don starts to hyperventilate, because he’s not sure where the light switch might be in this room and where the first aid kits are, and suddenly the darkness is too dark and the floor opens up and he is being swallowed, and he cannot reach Mikey, and then he falls, and as he falls his T-Phone rings, and something presses its energy button, and it’s blaring in his ears, louder and louder, calling MIkey’s name.

Donatello bolts up screaming, and it is too dark and he can’t see. A door crashes open. A body launches at him, and before he can take another breath, a pair of arms are wrapped around him and a plastron is pressed against his, and his chin is on a broad muscley shoulder, and the scent he breathes in is pure Raphael.

“Raph,” he squeaks out. “Hey--”

“Sshhh, Donnie, easy,” the hoarse voice murmurs. “It was a dream. You’re okay.”

He finds himself awkwardly patting his older brother’s upper carapace, trying to politely pull away. “Raph…Raph, I realize that…can I breathe? Please?”

Raph pulls away, green eyes serpentine in the darkness of his bedroom. The way his head tilts, too.

“I’m fine, Raph. I promise. I know it’s a nightmare.”

Those eyes and that head tilt remain fixed on him.

“Donnie, this is your fourth nightmare. Do you realize that?”

Really?

“Um. No?” He’s been so busy between his lab and the sectioned-off infirmary that Rockwell and Slash and Casey helped build that he sometimes doesn’t remember going to bed.

“Well, it is. And I’ll bet it’s the exact same one. Yours are weird.” Raph sits back, agura style, and Donnie draws his knees up to make room. “They’re like clockwork. Once a week. And, y’know, this is the fourth week since--”

“I know. And you guys dragged me to my own bed when you knew I wouldn’t stay here.”

“You did this time,” Raph points out.

“True. Wait, I did?”

“Congratulations on a full twelve hours of sleep, bro. It’s ten in the morning.”

Donnie feels his eyes grow wide. He throws the covers off and jumps off his bed. “I’m missing work, I--”

Raph’s strong hand slaps against his chest. “Remember what we all agreed on? Until your shoulder and arm is fully functional, you don’t do anything complex without someone helping you. I hope you were planning on asking someone.”

Donnie narrows his eyes. “Do you know how to handle the complex alien chemicals I need to work on? Plus the newer components of the retromutagen?”

“If not me, you have April. Or Rockwell. Or Shini.”

Donnie sighs, looks at his immobilized arm, and sighs again.

“You’re a stubborn bastard, Hamato Donatello.”

“You’re worse.”

“I am a paragon of complacency, little brother.”

And Donnie winces. “Try not to call me that?”

“Oh. Right. I forgot. You’re right. Sorry, Don.”

Donnie sighs and gets dressed.

“Um.” Raph rubs the back of his head. “So, nothing’s changed this morning. That’s…like, good, right? Kinda?”

“Kinda,” Donnie says. “It means that Mikey is continuing to heal. Which is the best we can hope for in this situation.”

As he heads out of his room and toward the lab doors, Raph catches up. “You should eat something first.”

“I need to check his vitals and change his IV bags.”

“Karai did that.”

“Even the GI tube?”

“Yeah, that one too.”

Donnie pauses. “I just need to see…”

“Donnie.” Raph is impossibly firm, and very soft. “Donnie, everything you could do has been done. We’ve watched you and learned from you for a whole month. It’s a routine. And part of the routine is that those of us who aren’t doing the routine help ourselves first. It’s your turn.”

Donnie is very silent as Raph steers him toward the kitchen. Leo is finishing up eggs, toast, and tea. Shinigami is making two more plates.

“Oh, you got him up! Good morning, Donatello. Did your nightmare complete itself?” The witch’s smile is knowing and polite, and he has gotten used to her specific brand of sass. She is, after all his little brother’s girlfriend and his sister’s girlfriend.

He mumbles “yes” because shrugging his shoulders still hurts. He eats mechanically, even as he is poked at to make conversation. Raph has started giving him daily protein shakes. There is one next to his plate. He drinks it and crushes the bottle, casually proving how fine he is. Sometimes the others forget how strong he is.

He misses having Mikey around to defend him.

“I’ll be in the infirmary,” Shinigami says, and Donnie startles. When he looks at her, he sees dark, deep circles under her eyes. Her fair complexion is blotchy and even paler than usual. And he wants to slap himself. She loves him. She has so much love, she loves Mikey and Karai. And Karai, to see her baby brother like this. Abruptly, he stands up, wraps his arms around Shini, and grips her like one of Mikey’s famous octopus hugs.

She simply buries her face in his neck and holds him tight.

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