#I think if we gave rabbits grenades nothing bad would happen

[mothersagainstradiohead]

what if. paul but bnuny

[nanoland]

new chapter (lucifer fic)

(earlier parts are here; whole thing is here) 

Ponder on the Narrow House, part 3 

Mazikeen + Eve + Michael, gen fic (for now), warning for gun violence 

0   

Along the California coastline, the cruise ship Illustrious Voyager bore four thousand three hundred and ten passengers, one thousand two hundred and ninety-six crewmembers, and two guide dogs.

Five thousand six hundred and eight souls, in total.

At around 4pm, without anyone noticing, that number became five thousand six hundred and nine.

Hands clasped behind her back, Eve strolled down the promenade, admiring the vessel’s size and beauty. This fresh new millennium’s wealth astonished her. Sickened, sometimes. Entranced, sometimes. But always astonished.

Back in the garden, they’d slept on and under rocks. When it rained, they got wet. When large animals came by, they hid. No weapons. No shelter. No blankets. The only resource they’d had in abundance was food. Good grief – so much food. God had been so proud of all the different fruits and nuts and mushrooms he’d made available to them, and Adam had been so grateful. Eve supposed she had been, too.

It hadn’t stopped her from one day approaching her husband and the plump rabbits resting in his lap – two of several dozen pets – and asking if he didn’t think the cold nights would be much more endurable if they each had a warm pair of fur slippers.

Then she’d met Lucifer. Fallen in love. Bitten the apple. Learned how powerful he and his Father truly were. That was when the real questions, the sticky, prickly questions, had come bubbling up.

If Lucifer has such a vast family, with so many siblings, why can’t I have even one? she’d asked the sky. Why is Adam all I get?

And later: If You can simply bring people into existence, why must I scream and bleed and shit myself in order to have children? Am I doing it wrong? Is there another way? If there isn’t, why not?

And later: Why is nothing fair?

And, most recently, after meeting Mazikeen: Why isn’t everything at least equally unfair? Why do humans get a world of options while Maze and her family are expected to serve angels from birth to death? Why isn’t Maze allowed into Heaven, even after an eternity of loyalty and hard work?

“Sorry,” she said, flashing white teeth at a passing crewmember. “I’m trying to find a friend of mine. Can you tell me how to get to Room 835?”

Half an hour later, there was a splash and the ship’s population dropped to five thousand six hundred and seven.

Before binding his arms and legs, Eve had secured Andrew Bismarck’s lifejacket and gagged him. Furious and helpless, he bobbed alongside her as the ship moved on and Mazikeen rowed up in her inflatable raft, wearing a sunset-orange swimsuit.

“Should I be worried about those, babe?” she asked as she gripped Bismarck’s lifejacket and hauled him out of the water.

Eve smiled at the dolphin pod swimming in playful loops around her, and patted the nearest one’s nose. “No. They’re my friends.”

The inflatable wasn’t big enough for three people, so Eve held on to a friend’s dorsal fin and let him drag her back to The Choronzon.

Michael stood on the deck, looking bored. As they climbed aboard, their prisoner slung over Mazikeen’s shoulder, he drawled, “Seriously? This sad specimen’s worth two million dollars?”

“Actually, his net worth is eight hundred million,” said Mazikeen, dumping him down. “Two million is just what his ex-wife is willing and able to pay.”

Wringing out her hair, Eve added, “She took half his money in the divorce but she gave almost all of it to a chimpanzee shelter. I really like her!”

His lip curled. “How delightfully sordid. Isn’t this all a little beneath you, Ms Mazikeen? I mean, you’re a big deal in Hell. High Commander of Lucifer’s legions, head advisor to the king himself. Aren’t you worried taking jobs like this diminishes you?”

Busy handcuffing Bismarck to the railing, Mazikeen said, “Eve, honey? Do me a favour?”

“Boop!” Eve chirped, having already snuck up behind Michael, and pushed him overboard.

“I know it’s your whole gimmick,” Mazikeen called down as he splashed and spluttered, his face red with princely indignation. “And I know you don’t have a lot else going for you. But the next time you try that on me, I will stop being nice. Kapish?”

“Kapish,” he muttered.

The Choronzon had barely travelled a mile before Eve spotted Bismarck’s henchmen coming after them.

“Someone gimme details!” shouted Mazikeen, busy putting a bulletproof vest on over her bikini and opening up the box she’d told Dan contained a fishing rod, not a halberd.

Eve peered through her binoculars. “Two speedboats. Twelve guys on jet skis. Guns everywhere.”

“Heh. Awesome. Mickey – move that tight ass to the front and make like a nice juicy target.”

“Wait, what about-…” Michael began, trailing off as Mazikeen dove gracefully into the sea.

Bouncing from foot to foot, Eve shot him a grin. “Don’t look so glum, sourpuss. This is the fun part.”

She’d never spoken to Michael in Heaven, despite the millennia they’d both resided only two miles apart, her in a lakeside cottage on the outskirts of the Silver City, him in the crystal palace in its centre.

Granted, she’d not exactly had a warm and fuzzy relationship with any of Lucifer’s siblings. They all knew what had happened in the garden. Some had been nice – Amenadiel had visited often, even though he’d never had much to say and they’d spent their time together skipping stones across the lake’s surface. But the others had kept her at a distance. She was a bad influence.

Michael, however, was the only angel she’d not ever said one word to.

She’d seen him, now and then, in the early days, when she was the only human in Heaven and, as such, grudgingly invited to divine family get-togethers. On those occasions, she’d spent too much time feeling awkward and out-of-place to pay attention to the sullen figure lurking in whatever shadows were available. The one time she’d glanced his way, it had been to marvel at the stories of people getting the twins mixed up; beyond the raw basics of bone structure, Michael couldn’t have looked less like her old lover.

Bullets sprayed across the hull. Humming, Eve stepped daintily into Michael’s shadow, seconds before they started bouncing off his shoulders and chest.

“It is beneath her,” he muttered.

She made an ambiguous noise. “How d’you figure?”

There came a shout and a splash from the nearest jet ski. The bullets stopped.

“C’mon. She’s Mazikeen. Everyone in the Silver City knows about Mazikeen. Ordinarily, we couldn’t give two dry shits about Lucifer’s minions, but her? She’s a minor celebrity. The power behind Hell’s throne. Christ, it’s no secret my beloved twin couldn’t govern his way out of a paper bag.”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling fondly. “He’s kind of bad at everything. Except music. He’s a great musician.”

More shouting. More shooting. More bullets bouncing off Michael’s torso. Mazikeen rode by, one hand gripping her newly-acquired jet ski’s throttle lever, the other clutching her bloodstained halberd. Watching her circle the enemy, Eve was reminded of a sheep dog.

Michael went on: “And then there’s the fact that for a while, everyone thought Lucifer was going to marry her. It was all anyone could talk about. Jophiel was taking bets on when the proposal would happen. She’d have been High Commander and the Queen of Hell. Instead? All of a sudden, Lucifer takes an indefinite vacay to the mortal realm, drags her with him, and next thing anyone knows, she’s working behind a bar.”

The remaining jet skis and their terrified, wounded riders had been neatly rounded up, which meant it was time for Eve to open her purse.

“Um – how long have those been in there?” asked Michael, watching her take out three grenades.

“You want one?” she offered. “Don’t forget to take the pin out before you throw it. I did that my first time.”  

One thing to be said for millions of dull, dull years spent sitting next to God’s Greatest Warrior, skipping stones across a lake; your aim got good.

The first blast was a warning, not close enough to actually kill any of Bismarck’s men, though the resultant waves did knock several into the water. They tried to retreat, turning their vehicles around, only to remember Mazikeen, corralling them single-handed and now armed with machine guns she’d confiscated from those already bested.

When they saw the second and third grenade incoming, they gave up and abandoned the jet skis, jumping into the sea and swimming for their lives.

“Fuck!” Michael yelped, blocking his ears at the concomitant explosions.

Gazing past the debris and smoke, Eve saw Mazikeen head for the nearest of the two speedboats. Its occupants, preoccupied with aiming a rocket launcher at The Choronzon, saw her coming far too late.

“I get your point,” said Eve, as her girlfriend and her halberd made short work of the crew. “But that’s a really… how can I put this? It’s a really angelic way of looking at things. Maze doesn’t consider anything ‘beneath her’.”

“Wow. Sick burn. You’re basically admitting she has no pride.”

“Oh, she’s got pride. Tons of pride. Her pride’s just dependant on how well she does a job, not on the type of job she has. She wasn’t happy working at Lux, but that wasn’t because she thought bartending was ‘beneath her’; it was because she prefers doing things she’s good at. Customer service isn’t really one of her strengths.”

The second speedboat was abandoned by its crew mere seconds before Mazikeen rammed the first speedboat into it, cackling victoriously.

“Actually,” Eve said, moving from Michael’s shadow to where Mazikeen had earlier set a crate of peach soda – her favourite – out on the deck, “now that you mention it, I guess I’m the one with no pride. Haven’t really ever had anything to be proud of. Your Dad never gave me the chance. I was never meant to do things. I was just meant to be.”

Michael snorted. “Lucky you. Trust me; he may have softened in his later years, but back in the day he never, ever stopped riding our asses. You think Lucy really rebelled because he had better plans for how the universe should be run? Because he was an innovator? Nope. Lazy dick just hated being told to do his chores.”

By the time Mazikeen swam back to them, saltwater had washed off the blood and her ponytail had come loose.

“Oh, hey,” said Eve, gripping her hand and pulling her up. “A mermaid.”

After pressing a rough kiss to her cheek and taking a swig of peach soda, Mazikeen asked, “You okay? He did his job?”

Eve patted the angel’s shoulder – the one that wouldn’t hurt. “He was terrific! Awesome addition to the team.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Michael mumbled.

Ignoring him, Mazikeen snatched up a towel to dry her hair. “Glad to hear it. Alright! Let’s get Bismarck back to shore, get paid, and find a place to have dinner so we can toast Team Hellrazor’s first successful mission.”

“R-A-Z-O-R,” Eve informed Michael. “To make it cooler.”

[e11evenkeys]

Pitch: The Adventures of Danger Rabbit- Chapter 2 Friendly Friendly (part 1)

Long story short, my dad wasn't arrested. Ms. Harper made her displeasure quite clear as far as my new form was concerned, but I wasn't taken away. Because of my mistake, dad had a reputation for being a careless father, and I was seen as a delinquent. Teachers started watching our family like we were career criminals, but dad raised me to be a good kid.

Regardless of the truth, I had a reputation that stuck with me as I grew up. Even into my junior year of high school, kids thought I was bad news. It didn't help that I had the worst luck imaginable, unlike Mr. Nickels, who I still had yet to find. Trouble seemed to seek me out. Just the simple act of walking home from school was dangerous enough to warrant fear of chaos. Freak accidents were a norm, and they only fueled the fire when it came to the negative light everyone shined on me. Of course, my dad always had the worst end of the fiascos because he had to deal with the aftermath.

If I had any luck at all, it was spent when I had the fortune of finding my two best friends.

B James was a girl who moved to town after my accident. Her parents were professional magicians, so naturally, I tried to get in good with them. I had hopes of them helping me. It turns out I didn't have to work too hard. BJ was fascinated with my form and impressed with my ability to create my own magic. I told her I didn't mean to transform myself, but I don't think she cared. She wanted to make new spells like her parents, and I suppose she thought I could help her. She overlooked how the rest of the school avoided me, but that might have been easy, considering no one flocked to her lunch table any more than my own. Remember when I said creating new magic was dangerous, well, BJ didn't care. We hadn't even graduated high school yet, but she'd created more spells than a person could count. It's important to keep in mind most of those spells had adverse effects or didn't do what they were meant to, but they did something.

My friend Wesson, a satyr I met in my freshman year of high school, didn't use magic at all. To be fair Fae, because of their natural abilities, didn't need magic as much as humans did. Even I had natural powers after my transformation like super hearing and invisibility. Which I'm sure is how Mr. Nickels managed to avoid capture for so long if he also possessed the same abilities. Wes being a satyr, was super fast and super strong, among other things, whether he appeared to be or not. We became friends after I tried to join the school's Creature club. There weren't many Fae that went to our school, so the club was meant to be a way of letting them all meet one another. Unfortunately, when I tried to join the club, someone pointed out I was born human, and that I was only what I was because I cursed myself. I couldn't join the club. Technically they weren't allowed to exclude anyone, but I thought it best to pick my battles wisely and let it go. Wes, being the best guy in the world, found me the next day and told me he thought the other kids were dicks for not letting me join the club. From that day on, I couldn't remember a time I couldn't fall back on the friendship Wes and I had.

It was two weeks till summer break. All of the ends of the year testing was out of the way, so everyone was waiting for the school year to come to an end. That Friday afternoon, I decided to walk BJ home. Despite my being close to Wes and BJ both, they never seemed to like one another. Every day I'd have to make a conscious decision whether to hang out with BJ, who loved playing magician and getting into trouble, or Wes, who was basically the brother I never had. BJ won that day because Wes had a meeting with the principal.

BJ should have taken the bus home, but I guess that would have been less time she got to work out new magic with me. We took a lot of back roads that day that eventually spit us out into the Dead Woods. It was the town's biggest forest, and it sat in the middle of everything. We learned in history class that old settlers named it the Dead Woods because back in the early days, when people were still coming up with most of the modern magic, they had to go far away from homes and buildings so bad magic wouldn't destroy anything. A lot of people died out there. Despite the bad history, it was a beautiful place as long as you knew where you were going.

"So there's this summer internship I read about," BJ said as we walked under branches while leaves crumbled under our footsteps.

"What kind of internship?" I asked.

We stopped walking so she could take her spell book out of her bag. The pages of her hand made spiral held weight and took time to flip through.

"For magicians. I thought you might want to go for it," she added.

"You want me to be a magician?"

"You created a working transmutation spell when you were 11."

I laughed at her, calling it a "working spell."

"Yea, and I've been trying to undo it ever since," I said with my amused tone still vocal.

"I could help you."

"I don't want to be a magician," I said in my most definitive voice possible.

"But I do."

I took a few steps away. I didn't want to stand too close while her book was out. Some of the stuff in that thing didn't need words to be activated. As she flipped through the pages, there was a danger similar to throwing a grenade into a kid's birthday party. Pages glowed and faded as her hands turned them over. I'm not sure how she managed to carry something around like that without constantly hurting herself.

"Then you should do it," I said as I crossed my arms and leaned against a tree.

She came near, and I knew to expect puppy dog eyes to fluff some kind of catch. That's what people do when they want something

"I need you."

I asked, "why," but she turned away.

"I need your spell," I thought she said, but I couldn't make out her words for sure, and with my big ears, that meant she was really quiet.

"What?" I asked.

"I need your spell."

I stood up straight.

"The spell that gave me fur and left with only eight fingers," I said before I continued with, " the spell that made my feet too big to wear shoes and ears big enough to hear my dad when he gets off at night."

"I have to submit a working spell to be considered."

"Then use one of yours," I said.

"None of mine work."

"What about the one you use to change your hair color?"

"It blinds anyone who sees me cast it."

"Then just use my spell, you don't need me for that, I wrote the words in some book, and I'll give it to you."

I wanted to get off the subject. Anyone who knew me knew how long I tried to find a cure for my curse. After years of turning over stones to no avail, of course, I gave up hope. That's not to say I didn't wish and dream for a way to change back, but being a bit of a pessimist meant I couldn't help but see the uneasy reality of how unlikely a cure was.

"It wouldn't be right to take credit for your work."

"But, it's alright to strong-arm your friend into an internship that'll take up our entire summer?" I didn't mean to sound nearly as argumentative or sarcastic as I must have at that moment, but it came out that way.

"There's a chance we won't even get it," she said, basically pleading with me at that point.

"If I say yes, will you leave me out of whatever experiments you're about to do?"

"But I had something special planned for today."

"That's my price."

"Deal, but you have to stick around to watch."

"In case something goes wrong?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to," I replied.

We exchanged a mutual grin before she adjusted her glasses and finally flipped around in her book to find the newly crafted spells. We spent most of the afternoon in the woods. BJ wrote a spell for growing plants faster, but it made anything made of wood burst into flames, including all the papers in my backpack. She tried to put out the fires with another spell meant to create rain clouds, but it summoned a swarm of butterflies that flew into the flames. Needless to say, they all died. They died quickly, but at least the fires went out.

By that time, it was getting dark.

"We should get moving," I said as I picked our bags off the ground burnt as they might have been.

"We will never speak of what happened here to anyone, right?"

"Like always," I said with a chuckle before handing BJ her ruined bag.

We started on our way out of the woods.

"Do your parents know you're applying for this internship?" I asked.

"Not yet."

"Don't you think they should know?"

"I'll tell them once I, " she started to say before I cut her off with, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what," she asked.

There was a sound coming from the bushes ahead of us. It was too big to be a cat, dog, or rabbit.

"Stand back," I said as I put my arm in front of BJ.

"Is someone there," I called out into the distance, but no reply was returned.

Only the rustling of the bushes broke the silence as something or someone came near. It was close. There was a momentary pause of nothing but the bugs around us falling silent, and then whatever it was lunged out at me.

It was Wes. He made me fall backward and rip the arm of my button-down shirt.

"Shit," I yelled out.

He tried to catch my arm on my way down, but he was too slow.

"Sorry, dude," Wes said with a laugh as he helped me to my feet.

"What are you doing out here?" BJ asked in a tone more annoyed than me, but I was the one with the ripped shirt.

"I need Pitch."

"Well, he's walking me home from school."

"Schools been out for 3 hours now, and you know how to get home."

"You want me to walk by myself," BJ asked.

"No one ever offers to walk me home, and we're the same age," Wes said sarcastically.

I cut in, "Wes, what did you need my help with?"

"I need your ears," he said.

"Let me get BJ home, and then I'll swing by your place."

Neither of them was even looking at me anymore; they were staring one another down.

"Alright, just make sure 'Bug Burner' isn't with you."

"You saw that!" BJ exclaimed.

"I'll be there, alone," I said as I held BJ back from Wes.

A few uneasy, and unwelcoming glances were exchanged before we took to our separate ways.

"I don't know why you hang out with him," BJ argued.

"Wes is cool," I said.

"Wes is just short of being a toddler. He doesn't use magic."

"I don't use magic."

"That's different; you can't afford it."

"That hurt," I said.

"You know what I mean."

[ill-skillsgard]

Bred For Blood - Part 4 - The Chrysalis

Title: Bred For Blood

Warning: 18+ for mature themes, eventual smut, swearing, gore/violence, mentions of rape, slow burn, ridiculous AU character crossovers

Characters: AU Zeitgeist, AU Ivar Lothbrok and more AU Skarsgårds

Description:  If they thought surviving Year Zero was bad enough, the rise of the Scavengers, Poachers, Bounty Hunters and the self-proclaimed Kings of Kinderfeld were sure to put their survival instincts to the ultimate test. A young Survivor meets an acid-gun slinging headhunter with a knack for melting faces and connections to the prodigal Utopia embedded in the heart of a deadly yet plenteous forest. But what happens when she has to swear fealty between a hunter who means to protect her, a king whose promises are boundless or a brilliant scientist with a mind capable of preserving the human race?

A/N: I’m super happy that people have been liking this story. Thanks to everyone that takes time out of their days or nights to cast thine eyes upon my brain spit. You guys are fun and I like you. Reblogs/comments always treasured! Kisses!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

When all the ammunition was exhausted, the grenades unpinned and the more helpless Zeronauts retreated into their squalid shacks, the dust hardly had time to settle before Zed turned her pistol on Axel. The hunter looked over his shoulder to see if he had maybe missed one of the animals but saw nothing but dead bodies laying lifeless and bloodied in the dirt. It was then he realized that she was aiming the barrel of the gun right between his eyes. Axel lifted his hands, scoffing in disbelief as warm blood trailed down his temples to drip off his jaw. They were both panting, filthy and worn out from the carnage that they had unleashed on Zeronaut Village after they had emerged from the storehouse carrying all the weapons that the animals stowed away for safe keeping. The women and young ones that begged for mercy watched as the two strangers that had come into the village the night before laid waste to the monkeys, rabbits and plague doctors from bullet holes and cracks in their dented homes. "Zed... It's done. Put the gun down." "No! It's not fucking done! Shut your mouth!" Her voice shook but its volume did not recede. Axel turned toward her with his hands still up, a gesture of his surrender. He knew what this was about but he hadn't expected her to turn on him so quickly. He thought they would have at least driven away from the violated commune so they didn't draw more audience. Her anger was just reaching its peak and he suddenly became uncertain that she wouldn't blow him away. Not after seeing the level of savagery she had demonstrated when she had gunned down a dozen men in cartoon masks. "Zed, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm so beyond sorry! You don't even know—" "Shut up!" She yelled. "Can't you stop running your fucking mouth for one goddamn second? Why do you always have to fucking talk!?" Axel shrugged. "You going to kill me too, Zed? Is that what's going to happen?" She took another step closer to him and attempted to steady the gun in her trembling hand. "I have never wanted to slaughter somebody so badly in my entire life! All of this is your fault! I wish that you would have never saved me from those fucking Scavs! I would be dead right now and never had the misfortune of meeting somebody as vile and disgusting as you!" Axel's face adopted the same look of viciousness that hers did. "Hey! I saved your fucking ungrateful ass! Twice now! And this is how you wanna thank me!?" "Thank you? What the fuck do I have to thank you for? For leading me right into a trap? For letting these assholes look at my body?" "I did what I had to do to protect you! I had a fucking gun to my head! What was I supposed to do in that situation, Zed? You know I wouldn't have allowed anything to happen to you!" "There you go with the 'you know me' bullshit! No! I don't know you! All I know is that you're a vulgar piece of shit and I hate you!" "Good! Hate me all you want! You can despise me and curse me and call me any fucking name you want but the fact is, I fucking saved you and I didn't have to! I could have let those Scavs fuck you bloody! I could have left you stranded in the desert. I could have let those Looney Toon psychopaths eat you up! If I didn't have you with me, I'd be fucking home by now living like a goddamn king! But I'm putting my ass on the line to take you to a place where nobody will fuck with you again." Zed's arm began to shake more and she struggled to hold the gun still. The weight of it strained her sore muscles and the emotions that surged had finally drained her of her last dredges of energy. The adrenaline that had pumped through her veins made it difficult to breathe without wavering. After all was said and done, Axel was right, and she knew that, but her humiliation was so fresh that it felt like she was still without her clothes. Zed knew it wasn't what Axel intended to happen but his eyes had been on her as well and she could tell by the way he avoided looking at her that guilt was fizzing inside of him. "Why?" She whispered, lowering the gun before her arm gave out. "Why what?" "Why go through all of this? If you could have been living like a king right now, why did you bother with me?" Axel took a step toward her but she retreated immediately and he froze for a moment, lowered his hands and sighed. "I know it's probably hard for you to believe but when I see people like you being taken advantage of... It... It makes me crazy. I'm not a bad guy, Zed. I don't want to kill anyone and I especially don't want to see others being tortured and killed if I can do anything about it. I know you're tough and you can hold your own but you're not as ruthless as most of the fucks left on this dead, shit, dirt planet. Well..." Axel paused to look around at the destruction that they had equal parts in creating, the bodies already attracting flies. "Maybe you are now but... Goddamn it, Zed. I wasn't just going to leave you." "You're stupid," Zed mumbled. "Yeah, I am. So deal with it or don't. You can take the rover and leave if you want to. I won't stop you. Or, we can both get in and I'll take you to a place where you will always be safe and you never have to worry about anyone defiling you ever again." Zed tossed the gun down in the dirt and let out a long shaky breath. "Okay. Let's just go." "Yes, good! Let's get the fuck out of here already." She wiped her gritty forehead of the sweat that beaded on her skin. All she wanted was to lay down for a while and not worry about who was lurking around the corner waiting for her to shut her eyes. She had had enough of the villains she met at every stop of the unpredictable journey she had embarked on with Axel. As much as she hated him, there was no way she could murder him now. She owed Axel a debt and she would never say it out loud but it was there, hanging over her head like a thick rain cloud. They left the village with a significantly lower population and many more weapons and supplies than what they had arrived with. Axel was still bleeding from a deep cut in his head and Zed's muscles screamed in agony. She leaned back in her seat as they picked up speed and breathed in the hot noon air. Her pulse that had been pumping harshly in her ringing ears began to level out, the sun baking the sweat on their skin. Smeared with dirt, blood and tears, Axel began to laugh when he remembered that earlier that day he had taken a bath. Zed mustered a glance in his direction and chuckled to herself before closing her eyes, tipping her face to the sky like a battered sunflower trying to follow the light. The bloodbath that they had left behind played in Axel's head; a broken reel from another waking nightmare. Not a man to typically regret anything, he knew that the memory of today would live forever inside of him. Zed fell asleep almost as soon as they rode off and for that, he was grateful. She didn't deserve this. He shouldn't have stayed any longer in the supplanted commune surrounded by lunatics in masks. It was foolish of him to think he could trust anybody out in the desert. Zed had been right; it was all his fault. He strolled right into a giant rat trap and they were lucky to not have succumbed to the poison laid out for them. Flashes of Zed's shaking body choked him up while he drove. The grievous sight of her taking off of her clothes in the middle of that dingy warehouse with all of those venomous bloodshot eyes shooting holes into her made him grip the steering wheel harder. He was still sweating even though the wind had picked up and blew through his blood-crusted hair. If he hadn't concerned himself with hygiene they could have left unscathed. Or perhaps, he thought, the Zeronauts hadn't had any intentions on letting them leave at all. That was the very last time Axel would ever invest an iota of good faith in anybody. Glancing quickly at Zed, he wondered if he should be wary of her too. She had turned a gun on him, threatened to shoot right between his eyes and if he was having a moment of inner honesty, he feared that if he hadn't been so good at talking himself out of sticky situations, she may have left him dead in the dirt as well. Zed was just as capable of brutality as anyone and he had now witnessed it on more than one occasion. He hadn't met a woman in all of the miles he travelled through the desert that wouldn't hesitate to stab a man in his ear canal or reduce someone's head to a bowl of brain soup, and that scared him. Was this a trait she had picked up as a Survivor or was she merely adopting the behaviours she had been subjected to, he wondered. He was going to take a long break from headhunting once they arrived at Kinderfeld. Even if Ivar had contracts for him, Axel needed a vacation from all the violence and carnage. He wasn't lying when he told Zed that he didn't enjoy killing people, he had only realized early on that it was the easiest way to get what he needed in the godforsaken world that they had been left with. The bloodthirst of other men was the only surefire way for him to provide and protect himself and his brother. Never had Axel missed his brother as much as he did at that moment and the closer they got to the gates of Kinderfeld, the more excited he became to see the face of somebody that didn't completely resent him. Axel hoped that, with time, Zed might learn to forgive him and understand that what he did back in the warehouse was only meant to help them in their dire predicament. The betrayal that had flashed across her frightened face when he screamed at her to undress made his stomach twist so hard that he had to look over at her limp body in the passenger seat just to remember that it was all behind them now. Yes, he would be having nightmares for many weeks to come. The air started to smell sweeter and puffs of fluffy white clouds appeared in the bright sky. More patches of grass cropped up and that's when he knew that just over the ridge of the next hill, they would be able to look across and see the green border that separated Kinderfeld from the rest of the world. Axel poked Zed's arm but she did not stir. "Zed, wake up!" He called to her. Her eyelids peeled apart as she drew in a waking breath. He had eased up on the gas and coasted to a stop at the top of the grassy ridge so they could look out at the seemingly neverending sprawl of trees. From the flattened platform of the hill, the forest looked like a thick blanket of green mushrooms. A touch of mist veiled the furthest reaches of the land and Zed couldn't believe her eyes. She straightened in her seat, a grating mix of emotions turning her words to vapor on her tongue. "This is it?" She asked. Axel pointed ahead, "Can you see that dome over there? It's nestled right at the bottom of that elevation. See it?" Zed stood up so she could find what Axel was pointing out. Then she saw it glinting like a single nebulous opal in a sea of emeralds. It was just one of many structures, Axel explained to her but the biggest and most noticeable one. The dome that arced out from the viridian waves was the central power house of the entire city. Plated with solar-panels, it drank rays from the sun and converted it to pure energy to power the lights and luxuries that Zed hadn't experienced since the dawning of Year Zero. "I can't believe this," she whispered in awe. "I told you. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Wait until we get closer. You can't see even an eighth of the city from here." "And there are no spores?" Zed asked. Axel drew in a breath that trembled in his lungs. "There are in certain areas. Remember Betsy?" "How could I forget?" "They have farms for those bastards. I guess they want to study them... Gather information about them so they can work on developing a serum that will help people." "A new vaccination?" "Yeah. So that us Uns can survive in places where there are plants for more than a couple weeks." Zed lowered herself back into her seat and grimaced. She thought of her father then and wished that she hadn't abandoned her home as quickly as she had when the fleets flew in. For her entire life leading up to that point she had always had access to materials on Palynology. She could have been of some help if she had only chosen to follow in her father's footsteps or at least thought to rescue some of his research. "And that's what your brother does?" "Yes. Among many other things." "I can't wait to meet him." Axel sighed with a touch of a smile on his lips. "I can't wait to see him. It's been so long. I don't think I'll be leaving again for a while." "That's good," Zed nodded. "You should take a break from all this." "I want to. Now, hang tight. We're going in," Axel said as he lifted his mask up. "You're going to be okay to go in?" "Should be fine. Unless that shot we found wasn't bright blood. I guess we'll see." Zed swallowed hard. She wasn't sure if she could prepare herself for what she was about to see. Even with the teardrop scar on her arm, she had been conditioned for so long to think that green meant bad, and there they were, practically nose-diving into a limitless world of it. As they edged up to a clearing packed down with tire tracks, she held her breath. The shade of the forest canopy was cool and made her shiver. Axel slowed the rover to a crawl as the suspension wobbled and pitched over rocks, humps and broken tree branches. She could not believe her eyes when she looked up and saw the legions of mossy trunks towering up to the sky. All around the forest was matted with vegetation and she could not see anything besides what was directly in front of them. The path was wide and had been carved with two parallel indentations from the vehicles coming and going but they still couldn't see around a turn until they turned onto it. Zed shied from the waxy palms that reached out from the edges of the path to brush over her bare arm and shoulders as though greeting her with outstretched hands. The air tasted fresh and moist, much more soothing than the dry heat she was used to. She could feel her skin getting dewy from something other than sweat. From the ridge where they had parked for a moment to gaze over the land, the forest looked like a slice of paradise but once they were weaving through the felled logs and boulders bristling with tawny fungus, Zed thought it more treacherous than the desolated sands of the dry desert. She was still shaken from their fight and worried they would happen upon some new terrible inconvenience, another savage with a weapon poised to wound. "You have nothing to worry about, Zed. That teardrop on your arm is your all-access pass to the world," Axel remarked. "I know, it's just... You never stop fearing." "Don't I fucking know it," he replied before launching a string of white spit over his shoulder to catch on the spaded leaves of a rubber tree. "They obviously wanted you alive." Zed didn't care what anyone said about the vaccinations. Her father had told her to remain skeptical about everything she heard unless she could prove for herself without a fragment of a doubt that it was true and without a proper lab, she still had her doubts about the scar on her arm; the mark of the bright-blooded, the planet's mercy. The path straightened out and far ahead she saw the first glimpse of the Kinderfeld gates; two massive metal sliding barricades heavily guarded by uniformed men carrying guns vaguely resembling the acid-spitting rifle that Axel had. She tossed a worried glance at Axel and he nodded, acknowledging her nervousness so as to make her feel like her fears were warranted but unnecessary. "Don't worry. I have clearance," he claimed. They were halted ten yards from the gates and approached by two armed men wearing face masks similar to Axel's but theirs were dark red and fasted by two adjustable straps around the crown and base of the skull. They had on army-issued helmets and bulletproof vests. One of them hung back with his right index finger gracing a well-oiled trigger while the other one approached Axel's side of the rover with his gun pointed non-threateningly at the ground. "Well, well, well. Look at what the shitstorm blew in! The mighty Zee has returned home and with lots and lots of goodies for King Ivar." Axel shook his head in good humour. "It's mostly stuff for the labs. You really think me so indebted to Ivar?" "King Ivar," the other man corrected. The headhunter scoffed and jabbed his thumb in the direction of the soldier that had taken offence to the informal address. The guard next to Axel gestured for his partner to stand down. He backed off by one step but did not let his finger off the trigger. "This guy new?" Axel asked as he stuffed his hand into his pocket to pull out his pack of cigarettes. "Second week on the job," the guard chuckled. "Ah," Axel nodded. "I'm Zeitgeist... One of King Ivar's liaisons. You'll get to know me, officer, if you haven't already heard of me." The guard that had corrected Axel's address grimaced even more and still showed no intention of yielding his glare. "I've heard of you." "And who might this be?" The friendlier guard looked Zed over. "This is a scientist I met on my travels. Her name is Zed. She's come with me to help Vee in the lab. No better Brightling brainiac for miles. Ivar will be happy to have her, I'm sure." "Sorry, Zee. You know the protocol. Can't let anybody in without clearance from the King." "Come on, man. I'm tired, concussed and I haven't been home in over a month. She's with me." "Don't worry, Zee, we have walky-talkies now. Shouldn't take too long to get you in." Axel sighed dramatically and leaned back in his seat as he searched himself for his lighter. The guard that had been fingering the trigger of his gun watched Axel and though his eyes were visored and his face mask was up, Zed could see that his mouth was set in a thin frown. "Bold-N-Bright, I got Zee at the gates and he has a woman with him. Says she's a scientist. Requesting clearance." Axel lit his cigarette and took two exaggerated puffs before blowing the smoke at the guard who had been showing them silent contempt. They waited to hear back from whoever was on the other end of the radio in strained silence. The guard looked disappointed after the radio call came back in to let them through, unhappy that he didn't get to point his gun at anyone's face, namely, Axel's. Zed looked at the bounty hunter smirking around the filter of his cigarette and thought that he had the kind of face that could piss off a lot of people with minimal effort. He was flippant, over-confident and the perfect target for trigger-happy gunmen itching to fire off some rounds after weeks of no action. It didn't help that Axel was still covered with  dried flaky blood and blowing white smoke rings from his satisfied lips as though he were the most relaxed he had ever been in his life. She still hadn't forgiven him, not totally and her trust was non-existent but if what he said about Kinderfeld being a safe place turned out to be true, she would consider thanking him. Until she was certain that her life was not in danger, everything seemed a threat. But they opened the gates for them and stepped aside, clicking the safety hammers back on, a relieving sound to Zed. Axel took off the brake and gave a royal wave as they took slow passage after a button was pressed to open the metal gates. Zed looked to the left and right and saw nothing but shiny reflective walls mirroring the wild foliage of the forest. She peered into the entrance; a glass tunnel wrapped with vine clusters and leaves grown in the shape of the tall archway. Blades of sunlight shot through and the decadent fuchsia of wild orchids cast a warm glow on them as they crawled through the curving entrance. The light looked pink on Axel's pale skin but Zed's seemed to absorb the orange from the creamy plumerias overhead. They eased through a kaleidoscope of plush colours that she didn't know she had missed until they were twinkling in her eyes. Zed had grown so accustomed to monochromia and the glare of the desert that lush green and royal purple blooms were a treat for her eyes. She marvelled at the curved structure exploding with blooms and buds until they reached another set of metal doors that opened into a large cubic warehouse. It was home to all manner of vehicles; dirt bikes, dune buggies, four-wheeled rovers and one rusty battle tank that looked like it had been out of commission for years. The ceiling had wide open sky windows and the strip lights were wired into what Zed assumed was the same kind of solar panelling she had seen on the outside of the dome when they had stopped on the mountainside. "This is what I like to call the Valet. You have to leave your vehicles here. Even dirt bikes. Can't really bring these things into the place," Axel explained. They pulled into a spot to park that was sanctioned off by yellow paint on a smooth gray stone floor. The warehouse could have housed a few dozen full-sized vehicles but there wasn't much more than what she saw which made the vast space seem empty. But they weren't the only ones in the warehouse. There was a man strapping himself into a zippy little one -person dune buggy and gave Axel a nod as he tore out of the warehouse and exited through the way they had just come through. "Certain people can come and go but most choose to stay here. Ivar has the place at capacity and they stopped building structures eight months ago. The flow of people has been restricted." "So it's not a city?" "It's more like a village, really. A nice one. There are the housing blocks and then there are more common areas like the library and the courtyard. Don't get me wrong though, the courtyard is huge and that's where a lot of inner commerce happens. People with two-way clearance can come and go as they please, taking things out to trade or bringing in things that we need. It isn't overly difficult to get two-way but, as I said, most people choose to just stay when they get here." "And where does the King live?" "King Ivar spends most of his time in the Chrysalis." "The Chrysalis? Sounds... Ominous." "It's kind of beautiful. Weird... But beautiful," Axel chuckled with a hint of unease. "You might like it though. Ivar chooses to live how he wants. That's the beauty of it all, I guess. He's created this zen little commune but with power and a lot less sand than what you're used to. Fans and water distribution. It's pretty fucking ritzy by today's standards." "What about food?" "There's a couple of big greenhouses and a farm. Nothing excessive though. There's not a lot of animals being bred. It's not really as big of a priority as growing cruciferous vegetables and harvesting fruit and water." Zed gave Axel a brief smile and he smiled back. "See? I'm a forward-thinking guy too. I understand the importance of conservation. I'm not a total idiot." "I never said you were." "Oh, I'm pretty sure you have on multiple occasions now. But that's fine. We'll introduce you to Vee and hopefully... I mean... If you want, you can check out the lab or whatever. I saw you poking around at Glott's place. Might be something you'd be interested in pursuing. Then you won't have to see my nasty mug every damn day." Zed looked at the cement floor as they walked and thought hard about what Axel said. She had so many questions and she was anxious about meeting other people. Everyone that Axel had ever introduced her to had been a mad man and she didn't want to be in the presence of violent tendencies any longer. The closer they got to the exit the more she heard from beyond the warehouse walls; voices and many of them. She shied away from the guards with polished wooden bats and everyone else she saw as they made their way to the overhead door that had already been drawn up at the beginning of the day to allow entrance to the courtyard. The courtyard was a vast sphere made of checkerboard panel. One square of the board was clear and let in the light of midday and the next was metal. On the outside of the dome, the solar panels glinted. It was an elaborate, large-scale version of what she had been trying to accomplish with her plane. The glass panels let in the light throughout the day and at night the lights came on so people could freely wander in a labyrinth constructed of half spheres, safe from the brutal elements of what now grew in the forests. If the structures didn't exist, they would be embroiled in the thickest parts of treacherous land. That's what made it so amazing to Zed; it was in the middle of the place they were supposed to be avoided at all costs. Yet she walked across level ground made of poured cement and insulated walls that must have taken teams of trained workers to construct. "I don't understand. How is this place possible?" "It was built by Brightlings. Don't you ever wonder why certain people were immunized and most were not?" "That's just a conspiracy theory." "One that has been proven right to me time and time again. Every Brightling I've ever met has made me realize that they selected certain people to stay alive on this planet. Capable people... Smart people. Members of the population with gifts. Call it the honour roll." Zed remembered Axel's fake scar and said nothing. It couldn't have been true. If only people of a certain intelligence had received immunization that must have meant her parents had received the vaccine as well. She couldn't picture them alive though, as much as she wanted to. And if they were still alive, she had no idea where to begin looking for them. The lands subjected to the downpour had been taken back by the Earth, devastated by the outbreak of spores. Most places had become unrecognizable beneath the clutches of nature. Where once great cities stood now laid crushed husks of architectural memories crawling with vegetation and fungus. Her hometown would have been indistinguishable from the next. "Even though this place was built by your kind, I would say there's an equal amount of Brightlings to the Uns. Ivar doesn't believe in segregation of any race, gender or immunization record. As long as you can prove yourself to be a useful member of society, you're welcome here. Well... Not so much anymore. The only new people being brought in here unannounced are babies and I suppose guests of honour, like yourself." "So there is a hierarchy. You get special privileges that others don't?" "I'm trusted around here. Ivar knows my worth and we see eye-to-eye most of the time. I can do what I want just like he can do what he wants and she can do what she wants," Axel pointed at people occupying benches, laying on circles of blue, yellow and green crocheted blankets with fat pillows in heaps on the floor. There were some areas strewn with salvaged carpeting where small booths were set up for hair-braiding and grooming. Zed thought it odd to see a line of women sitting one in front of the other putting intricate braids into the hair of the woman that sat before the next. People seemed to wear what they wanted rather it be flowing silk sarongs, robes, dyed tunics, tank tops, pants, skirts, no shirts, tangerine and magenta sarees and many average article of clothing that may have been looted from somewhere far or near. They had what they had and that seemed like enough to them. There were wooden tables set up where Citizens served ruby liquid from jugs and ceramic pitchers. Axel pointed at a man and a woman doling out these cups of sloshing liquid to grateful patrons. "Those two grow strawberries and weed. They make juice out of both. They're always at celebrations." "What is celebrated here? I thought displays of religion were taboo." Axel sighed as they strolled through the center of the courtyard and around a white medical tent that had been erected for blood donation. "Everything and nothing at all gets celebrated here. I don't know... It's hard to explain. Sometimes one person could just be in a good mood and it's a call to arms. People play music and dance. Ivar has his own parties in his palace and sometimes he invites anyone that wants to come. Sometimes, he throws more private affairs." "Sounds suggestive." "It is," Axel pointed out. "Oh," said Zed. "Ivar is King of the hedonists. You'll understand soon. The Chrysalis is right through there," Axel pointed across the courtyard at an archway that was guarded by three men dressed in matching uniforms. They all carried the same kind of black clubs she had noticed the warehouse guards carried. The guards nodded their heads at Axel as they walked on by into another bending entrance. The hall was festooned with passion flowers that gazed down at them with exploding eyes of purple, vines draped over the clear tunnel in tangles and Blue Morpho butterflies flitting from blossom to blossom, kissing the petals as they passed their tiger-striped cousins. Running along the top of the tunnel were thin strings of twinkling lights that caught the verdigris and violets, refracting the rich colours of the forest onto the polished floor of the tunnel. "Wow. This is beautiful," Zed whispered. Her voice echoed down the hall as their footsteps proceeded them. Soon the shining lacquer of the floor was covered by intricately patterned oriental rugs and the temperature of the air grew balmy. A sweet, malty smell of vanilla and resinous wood filled their nostrils and Axel smiled as the memories of many nights spent on the cushioned floors of the Chrysalis resurfaced. Visions of toasted almond tarts, honeyed berries, fragrant herbal teas and so many topless women made him feel giddy to return to the epicurean comforts that cupped the hive of chambers in warm, temperate hands. Hands that stroked, nurtured and embellished with finery. There were no guards in Ivar's palace, only people that wished to get drunk off the vaporous pheromones that wafted through the swaying silk and satin drapes. A bone-white stone statue of an African woman stood in permanent melancholic tableau at the center of the chamber, her wrists bound in maroon silk that hung from gold hooks in the ceiling. Zed scoffed at the statue and clenched her fists against her hips. "What is that supposed to symbolize?" Axel rose his hands to her. "I didn't put her there!" Bowls of dried flowers had been set out and dozens of squat white candles burned around them. The floral perfume was hazy and stung Zed's nostrils. Couples and triples lounged together on feather-stuffed beds draped in velour and cashmere blankets. Her eyes and cheeks burned pink when she saw two women licking each other between the legs as a few watched in varying states of their own arousal. "Really?" She asked Axel shrugged his shoulders and moved Zed along passed tall silver candelabras coated with layers of black wax. Some of the pitting inside the curved walls were caverns of fat pillows and overstuffed slabs, hidden behind layers of sheer lace. Teardrop shaped skylights were carved into the plafond, illuminating the painted ceiling and showing off the masterful brush strokes that meticulously mapped out a scene of historical overindulgence. There was a horned man with hooves like a goat and a forked beard playing a tune on a wooden flute for three dancing girls; one draped in pink, one in blue and the other wrapped in golden yellow. Their breasts spilled out of their garments, leaking milk as they frolicked together in a dusky garden, drunk enchanted expressions of euphoria on chubby rose faces. Before the downpour, Zed had only seen auditoriums like the Chrysalis when she went to the opera with her mother and father. She remembered looking up and seeing the intricate spring of filigree and gilded cherubs dancing among mint flowers and soft blonde roses. Instead of an orchestra plucking and gliding their bows in a cacophony of melody there were guitar players gently strumming away with a woman's voice singing a hypnotic siren call. She caught the same dreamy feeling that she had felt in her chest on those nights she would dress in her best clothes to partake in an evening of musical lamentations. The heavy scents piqued her nose and she felt her temples begin to pound. Beyond the statue of the woman, there was a platform swathed in samite and mulberry taffeta. An incredible throne was staged on top of it and there lounged a powerfully built man with a frosty pair of half-lidded blue eyes, long russet braided hair and a quixotic smile on proportionate lips. When he smiled, a symmetrical shelf of white teeth flashed behind his lips and Zed could understand quickly the two women clinging to him were enamoured with his looks and by his presence. One of them gasped when she saw Axel and blushed, waving to him with a lazy flourish of her dainty fingers. "Zee! You've come home!" The man sang, happiness propelling his words through the air. "And you've brought a guest!" Axel curtsied to the amusement of the three bodies inhabiting the sprawling throne. The women were bandaged with thin, flowing material that clung to every last detail of their bodies and Ivar's hands ran up their thighs, ruching the fabric over oiled skin. "I didn't think I was going to come home this time, Ivar. It's good to see you." Ivar laced his fingers together in his lap and kicked his legs with excitement. "Your brother will surely be happy to hear that you've returned home. Hopefully, you choose to stay for longer? You look a little over-worked, my friend." "I plan on it," Axel languished. "I missed you guys." "We missed you, Zee," the girl on King Ivar's left said. Zed then felt the heaviness of Ivar's stare fall to her. The smile that seemed permanently affixed to his face tainted and he suddenly forgot about the two women at his sides. "And who is this mysterious desert flower?" "This is Zed—" "Ah, ah. Zee... Let the flower introduce herself," Ivar wagged his finger. "My name's Zed." "Zed? You too, with the abbreviations? What is your true name, darling?" "Azalea," Ivar gasped softly and swept his fingers along his own collarbone. "I knew you were a flower." Zed looked down at her mired clothes. "A dirty one." The King's eyes sparkled and he let out a laugh that aroused attention from across the chamber. "A dirty one! Oh... Zee... I like her. Where exactly did you come from, little flower?" "I lived in the desert." "And you're of bright blood?" Zed looked at Axel and he gave her a nod. "Yes. I am." "Well, you're late for the party. I'm honoured to have you in my kingdom. And what is this about your background in science?" "I'm really just a student of science. Biology and botany, mostly." "Just a student? Are you being modest?" Axel turned to face Zed as well. For the days that they had travelled together, she hadn't spoken much of her past. Granted, Axel never felt it right to ask but he had been curious. Now that she was volunteering the information he didn't feel guilty for listening. "I was on the road to becoming more than that but I didn't quite make it there. My father though... I learned a lot from him." "I'm sure a bright young thing such as yourself will fit in perfectly in the labs." "I'm taking her to meet Vee. I'm sure we can find her some accommodation?" Ivar grinned at her. "Of course. We'll find her a chamber of her own. Something with all of the amendments. I'm sure you two would like to wash up." Axel sniffed his armpits and the women on Ivar's throne giggled. "I could probably stand a shower or two." "You will have to tell me more of your journey, Zee. We'll have a proper celebration! And Azalea, you will be the guest of honour! Unless you're too weary? We could always celebrate tomorrow." Zed looked to Axel for something to say. The Chrysalis had robbed her of her attentiveness and all she wanted to do was lay down on one of the puffy mountains of embroidered pillows for a long nap. The hunter shrugged his shoulders. "What do you wanna do, Zed?" The choice was left to her and she felt the pressure of several gazes. "I'd... Love to celebrate. I'd also love a nap though." "Of course! The flower must close her petals for a spell so that she can emerge again more beautiful than ever," Ivar spoke with his hands and his eyes just as much as he did with his tongue. "All right, Romeo," Axel chuckled. "We'll be back tonight." "Come hungry and thirsty," Ivar said with a wink. Zed turned away only after Axel did and followed the hunter out of the mists of the Chrysalis, around the marble giant and through the rich mounds of fabrics and limbs. "Well... Ivar is quite the flirt." "Oh, he's like that with everybody. I swear if I had a pussy he would have already tried to fuck it." "He's pretty good-looking, Axel. I think you two would make a nice couple," Zed teased, feeling emboldened by the intoxication of Ivar's ambrosial hiding spot. "Enough with that Axel shit," the hunter snapped his fingers. "Oh, I'm going to call you whatever the fuck I want. After all we've been through together. You're going to be my bitch for a while." Axel tossed his head back in a hearty laugh. "Oh yeah? You think that's how this is going to work? No. Soon as I can, I'm dumping your ass on Vee. You can be his pain in the ass now." "I'm not going to be passed around like one of those... Those—" "You can say it." "Those hoes," Zed tittered. "You don't have to be. Vee is very professional and Ivar... Well, I can't really protect you from him. Only you can do that. Luckily he's all about consent." "Are you sure? Those girls looked drugged out of their minds." "Willingly out of their minds. Ivar won't pursue you unless you give him the green light. Word of advice... If you don't want to become one of his sex slaves, don't take drugs with him." Zed scoffed as they made their way through the courtyard toward another more plain entrance than the flowery tunnels they had been weaving through. "What do you mean?" "If you decide to do MDMA with the King... Well... You know what happens in those situations." "I don't. Not really." "Have you never done drugs before?" "I smoked pot in university," Zed shrugged. "Never been to the club on some Molly?" "No. When you grow up with scientists for parents you get the idea of taking unknown chemical compounds beaten out of you." "I guess so," Axel said. "Don't worry, Lea. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do anymore. Kinderfeld is all about respect. We might do things a little differently here but you're free to make your own decisions. Ivar won't enslave you or anything. I trust him. He's a decent leader. A good man." "I think you do have a little crush on him, Axe!" "And you don't?"

@dreamtherapy @reinamysterio @skarswhat @mightbelindsey @sexual-rendezvous-blog @billskarsgardx @longlivethelosersclub  @meeowbbyx @michaeliskindahot @mycrimsonsparrow @tigers-pat @rainbowmoosie @tinygayfungi @pancake-blonde @bskarsgardlove92  @sarah2057 @ohcaptains @jamierdr @loveforbillskasgard @jadelynlace @vikingsmania @artanakin @billdreamy69 @lordeofther1ngs @imlostinparadisecity @theredheadsbookcorner @1-800-imagines @readsalot73 @nicolehoran-maybe @weirdlilwitch @vladsgirl @enchantedreadersworld @allkundsofwrong @loey-bae @bill-istvan  @army-crawl-andersen @ohtheangst @beyond-the-ashes  @whoplansthese @evaolii @frappylou @alylanaeblack @creepshowzombae @billullabies @bohemianfortunes @moondustmemories @slinksterbill @terry2227 @ivarlcthbrok @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla @iamblvnknes

(If you would like to be tagged or have your tag removed, please let me know!) 

[coreshorts]

The Final Trial

The final trial lay before her. Standing in the middle of the Shroud, having walked some ways from Bentbranch along the familiar old paths to the south, she stood outside of the Tam-tara Deepcroft. She had been here many times before the calamity, both as a child venturing from her clan to explore a dangerous area on her own, and as a young woman with no where else to go, seeking solace and shelter within it depths.

She’d learned how to skirt the beasts and other less-natural dangers that lurked within, always making use of passages hidden the stone work between the crypts and long-robbed graves where the great stone caskets could be used for hiding. It was a strange feeling, returning here, like returning to an old home that was rotting and falling apart from the inside out, but was even worse years later.

The Immortals awaited her inside - all three of them - and as Hali approached, she had their full attention, causing her just a slight bit of discomfort, unlike the first time she had been surrounded and questioned. This time, the three stood at the crypt’s doors, before they spoke, each in turn.

“Sky.”

“Flame.”

“Gale.”

“Stone.”

“Spring.”

“We stand before you as those who hold the only key to unlocking your potential.”

“Naturally, this power comes at a price.”

“Something precious will be lost to you.”

“Though... you may not even notice it is missing.”

Hali’s heart began to beat faster in her chest as the three alternated these obviously-practised lines without pause. They continued.

“If you are willing to pay the price...”

“If you truly desire the power that a blue mage wields...”

They all spoke at once, extending their hands, though the man in the middle did so directly Hali, the other two directing her forward, “Take our hand.”

Swallowing hard, the young miqo’te thought for only a brief moment. Blue Mages. That was it: blue magic. She’d never heard the term, but she was so close she could feel it.

“Down the rabbit hole, then,” she said, walking up to take the man’s hand. It closed tightly around hers, and as if all at once, she found herself inside the crypts, standing with the three at her back, her hands freed and her mind screaming at the presence, the feeling, of creatures all through the crypts that were never here before, wretched things whose aether twisted and churned chaotically.

“You will make your way through the failed, the offal, and when you have consumed their essence, your trial will be complete, and you will take the final step,” the man instructed, before he vanished. The other two stepped up beside her.

“I shall assist you.”

“As shall I.”

They drew their weapons, and departed down the hall, Hali following after, checking the contents of her belt and pouches to make sure she was prepared for whatever might happen. She had two cigarettes, but didn’t need them yet. Ink, her quill, her grimoire and a notebook hanging in their sling at her hip, her engraved dagger beside the one Kel had given her during their training session, and two grenades: a flashbang grenade and a smoke grenade, both of which she kept in case of an emergency where she needed to make an escape. She prayed she wouldn’t have to here.

Drawing upon the power the Beast within herself to fight, she cut down what appeared to be the shambling, lifeless corpses of those who had died all within some scant few months, some even days. Many of them were ravenous, running at her and screaming, arms flailing. Some were deformed, faces grotesque, bearing hideous malformations, hands turned into claws, and some only partially. The further she went, the more she wondered if they were even truly dead.

The three proceeded farther and farther down, thunderous reports signalling another of the surprisingly weak, but ferocious former-spoken blasted into gory chunks by Ruinbolts. With each one she killed, she felt reinvigorated. It was nowhere near the exhilaration and unbridled ecstasy of taking in a new ability or creature, but it helped keep her moving at a pace which would have normally winded her after just a few minutes.

When they reached where the third Immortal awaited, he stood behind a stone altar, stained with fresh blood, gore caking the base, and several bottles of alchemical fluids of some unknown kind resting on the edge toward him. The two with Hali approached the altar and stood to either side, and the one behind it looked to her.

“The Vessel has one final question from each Immortal. Ask,” he commanded, and Hali nodded slowly, mulling over what would be best to pursue here, at the end.

“What are the Immortals?” she asked, frowning slightly. She didn’t yet understand this, and if they wanted to make one of her, it’d be best to know.

The one in the centre spoke, arrogantly as before, “Immortals are undying soldiers with unmatched power, created from empty Vessels. Like you.”

She frowned in consternation, the last words her spoke ringing with an ominous, almost wicked tone in her head. She turned to the right to face one of the others, and asked, “What is the difference between a blue mage and an Immortal?”

The man’s eyes crinkled around edges as if he smiled wryly, answering vaguely, “Immortals serve the Dynasty.” His tone and words seemed to imply that one needn’t be an Immortal to be a blue mage, and Hali’s heart raced for a moment, feeling like a puzzle piece she’d long sought had fallen into place, paving the way for the others to follow.

She nodded, taking a long breath and sighing it out to calm her nerves before she looked to the last, on the left, asking warily, “What happens now?”

The man gestured toward the altar, “You will become an Immortal. Your mind, body, and soul will belong to the Dynasty to serve alongside us, and to gain untold power.”

Think...

Her mind raced, and for a moment, all was chaos. All at once, the desire to keep going with her mission of becoming one of them disintegrated, her determination giving way to fear. For a moment, her mind was clear, and something began to make sense - far too much sense.

They weren’t practised lines. They weren’t naturally that in-tune with one another. Their cold, impassive personalities were not natural. Their loyalties were absolute, their power far greater than hers. However this happened, she would be made the same. She would lose herself. She would be nothing more than a mindless drone. She wouldn’t care anymore, not about finding her answers, or becoming better, or even about Finn, or Kel, or her friends, or anything that mattered to her. She wouldn’t notice because the ability to do so would be taken.

The thought galled and horrified her as it settled in her mind, and she heard one last question, asked by the man in the middle, “Do you feel any regrets in your decision?”

She willed her face into that steely look of determination again, even as her heart raced and the Beast inside screamed to flee, to kill, to die, to do anything else, and she said, “No.”

“Then approach,” was the response to her own, and the man gestured with both arms for her to lie on the altar.

She approached, one hand hooked in her belt, close to the pin of the flashbang grenade on it. She couldn’t outrun them. She couldn’t fight them. But she was surrounded by stone and earth, all in a place that had been familiar to her since childhood. She had that advantage, and with a head-start, she would press it as far as it would go. Her life was not worth answers if the answers would be meaningless once she got them.

Standing atop the altar, she acted quickly, pulling pin on the grenade and tossing it atop the altar before focusing inward and Burrowing down through the stone and earth at her feet amidst the surprised and angry yells of the Immortals around her.

She fled toward the deeper reaches of the crypts, seeking the passages she’d once called her home, far beyond the will of the Wood Wailers and those who might do her harm for taking up residence in such a place. Emerging into the old stone tunnels, she was relieved to see them still mostly intact, though somewhat muddy. With hastened steps, she began jogging down the corridor to keep from tiring herself out too quickly.

A shouting caught her attention some minutes later, causing her to duck into one of the rooms nearby. She knew this room - one of the four stone caskets here was emptied long ago, perfect for hiding away, its entirety atop the rotted wooden planks upon which it had been dragged in, leaving it unreachable by a Burrow spell. With some effort, she prised it open with a soft scraping of stone, and leapt in, closing herself in it, her breathing shallow and panicked, heart racing faster than it ever had before.

As the three exited their own Burrow spell, trailing hers, they yelled to one another in their native tongue, each of them running off in separate directions, but one came close, stumbling and collapsing outside of the room in which her grim hiding place was located.

Hear...

She frowned, gritting her teeth. The situation truly had gone from bad to worse. Though she didn’t recognise their tongue or what, exactly, they said, something gave her the feeling that she knew what it was they meant.

“She knows too much!”

“Don’t let her escape!” 

“Kill her if you must!”

She gritted her teeth and suppressed the urge to whine in distress, controlling her breathing, even as she tried to catch her breath from running and moving the heavy casket lid. It was all she could do to stay still and silent, eyes slammed shut, fists balled and quivering in panic.

A grunt had the man nearest her hiding place collapse in a heap in the doorway, and she clenched her teeth as she waited to hear what would happen next, ears twitching and perking to try and pick out the sounds from outside her stone prison. The Immortal growled, then screamed, a voice she knew as the one who she had pulled from the edge at the Lighthouse. Following the scream, however, was something entirely different. A roar, not unlike some great monster, came from the same direction, and she froze, taking in a sharp breath.

Foreign words caught her attention next as another of the men showed up, questioning him. After a moment, the sound of his scimitar being drawn reverberated in the cavern, leaving Hali to deliberate her next course of action. She could help the man again, but not only was she outmatched just one-on-one, there was no guarantee she would only be faced with one adversary. Even a surprise attack could end in failure, and the man she wished to aid could easily turn on her anyway. Worse, that monstrous noise could have been him. If he was succumbing to that Beast of which they spoke, would he become something even worse? What if she saved him and gained his support, but he turned later?

Her choice was made for her in her anxiety, and she laid as still as the corpses and bones in the other caskets, just waiting for the worst to pass. Eventually, words were bounced back and forth between the two men, and with a grunt of exertion, she heard the other rise to his feet and the scimitar sheathed. Footsteps, heavy and rapid, heralded the departure of the two Immortals, the third nowhere to be found from what she could pick out.

There was no better chance. Two rooms down was a passage that she could use to span the gap between that level and one farther up in a tenth of the time it would take the Immortals to navigate the Deepcroft. She carefully and quietly slid the stone casket’s lid open, the sound of scraping stone just barely audible outside the room, and, climbing out, ran for the passage, ducking into it behind a standing casket and crawling her way up and along the narrow path, likely dug out by some animal long ago. It was dry and dusty, and, by the time she emerged, was covered in dirt, but she got up to the top level of the Deepcroft and ran for the exit.

“Kel? Kel...?! Please, anyone,” she practically cried in the company linkshell, remembering, finally, that she had it.

“Hali? What’s wrong? Where are you?” her Doman friend answered, sounding concerned.

“They... they’re Immortals. Blue Mages. Or something. And-and.... they’re brainwashing people! A-and they tried with me and I ran. But I... I um...  I-I’m in the Shroud. Running. Um. Bentbranch, I’m... I’m going there,” she responded, her words failing her, and no time or breath to stop and smoke.

When she reached Bentbranch, however, she ducked down behind the aetheryte plaza’s wooden walls and whined in panic. Amidst the crowd, the third Immortal stood by the aetheryte, peering about, waiting for her. By some luck, she’d gone unnoticed.

She ducked away, running for Gridania and crying into her linkpearl, “There’;s one in Bentbranch...! I-I-”

“Head for Gridania. Keep to crowded areas. I will meet you on the path,” Kel instructed calmly. She kept running, breath running perilously short, and the Beast within her had begun to scream against her again, raging at her for her fear, her weakness, her very existence. Fight, run, kill, die, die, die.

She collapsed on the path, glasses stained with tears and the beginnings of a light rain, just in time to see Kel dashing down the path, faster than she thought the similarly-heavyset doctor was wont to be. The Beast raged again, and brought her to her hands and knees from her kneeling position and she rasped breathlessly.

“Shut up... shutup, just... no...”

Kel gave her a look as she approached, shaking her head, “Hali. It’s okay. I’m here. Are they following you?” It took everything in her to breathe, and shaking her head was a barely perceptible motion, but the Raen noticed and nodded, “Good. Catch your breath, and let’s be off once you are recovered.”

Hali nodded weakly in return and, gathering her wits and taking a deep breath, she pushed herself, looking right at Kel. This is what she would’ve given up: her best friend - the only friend with whom she’d grown so close and knew she could rely on. She wasn’t willing to lose that. Not if she could become better on her own.

No, not on her own. She had friends to fall back on, and if she had her way, always would.