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stones-x-bones · 4 years ago

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On The Other Side || Dani, Morgan and Bex

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @surmamort, @mor-beck-more-problems, @inbextween SUMMARY: Morgan and Dani run into one another on campus, and this time they’re both alone. Until Bex stumbles upon them. CONTENT: Domestic abuse

Morgan took her sweet time heading to the faculty parking lot. The summer sun banished all the usual shadows and turned the world bright and clear in its solitude. There was nothing waiting for her at the house, and no one to visit. She could, and probably should, but the ground seemed to crumble under her feet a little more each day, each mounting hurt, and it gave her more peace to let what little she had left stand safe and untouched. So she would take the kindness of a bright day after all, thanks. As she neared her car she considered taking a long drive too, maybe sit out in the neighborhood park and watch the sunset. Anything was better than sitting in her kitchen alone.

Everything had been so royally fucked up. Most days, Dani didn’t know how to tell up from down, right from left. After everything that had happened, it was getting harder to tell what she was being helpful in, and what she was only making worse. She hated the sudden feeling of helplessness. Lost in her head, Dani nearly missed the feeling that crawled along her skin and burned in her throat. It was different from her rage, from her misplacement. She looked up to see Morgan heading towards the parking lot. Suddenly, the rage burned, it licked the back of her neck and she felt a sweat break out across her brow. It wasn’t Morgan, the zombie standing in front of her. Not at that moment. Instead, it was Morgan, the bitch who had pushed her through that hellish portal and had her relive Milo’s death. “Do you know what you did?” She called across to her, her pace quickening.

Morgan only turned because the surrounding area was so empty. She didn’t recognize the slayer’s voice and in the moment, she had no recollection of having done much of anything to anyone. But then she saw the child slayer, tight with fury and storming toward her. Guess those portals were a lot more temporary than she’d figured.

Blank panic shot through her body and made her stumble for balance in her wedge sandals. No no no no no no no no no. Then another voice came to her, rattling off her training. She would not be able to outrun the hunter like this. Her best shot was getting in a few blows to slow her down and then make a break for it. She was closing in fast, that might be an asset. She looked angry, that might be an asset too. But only if Morgan could face her without fucking things up.

Slowly, she stopped and pulled her knife from her bag and set it down. Her vision cut crossways between the sunlit parking lot with the shady quad beyond and that dark hallway where her life had nearly been stomped out. She could barely summon her voice, but she finally managed, “If you mean publicly shoving you out of this reality and making it sound like an accident, yeah.”

Dani felt sick. She felt anger crawl through her chest and splinter, she could feel it in the tips of her fingers. The hunter did not know Morgan Beck past their two altercations. She knew the basics. Morgan was a professor at this college. She cared for people, or something, and… she was a zombie. She was a zombie who had taken it upon herself to push Dani through a fucking portal that landed her innoperable for three days after. The anger continued to build, it coated her throat, her mouth. She could taste it on her tongue. Dani saw the knife, but she didn’t care. She’d let Morgan try and lodge it through whatever part of her she could get her hands on. As long as Dani could end it here and now, she wouldn’t care. She just wanted Morgan Beck gone. She wanted her to pay for the terrible thing she’d been put through. The irony of the situation was lost on Dani, too preoccupied with how she’d been made to feel, not realizing the trauma that she’d instilled in Morgan that fateful night with the Volmugger. It didn’t matter, though. All Dani saw was Milo’s face. She felt the rage that day of Frank’s attack, the way she’d wanted to kill him, too. Only this time? It’d be justified. Morgan was a monster, after all. “You pride yourself on being so many things, a killer not one of them, but do you know,” Dani seethed, “do you know what happened to me there?” She flicked her wrist so that the dagger slid down onto her palm. She held the grip tightly. It wouldn’t be enough to behead her, but it’d be enough to stop her. “Do you know what happened to him?!” Dani screamed, her voice hoarse. “You didn’t think about what those portals hold, did you?” She could still see his face so vividly.

Morgan fought the urge to go stiff. Stiff wouldn’t help. And a little fancy wrist blade wouldn’t be the end of her no matter how terrifying it looked. “No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me about it,” she said, voice even. She raised her guard, ready to block. If the girl sliced her open, she would just have to turn being lodged together into an advantage and not think about how much easier it would make sawing through her bones. She could do this. She could do this. She had to.

It festered and bit at Dani. The rage was overwhelming. She thought about Milo, about Frank, about Bex, about Eddie. All of these different things had torn at her, ripped open parts of her she didn’t even know existed. She hated the way that Morgan looked at her, the way that she was so ignorant, the way she wanted to act holy and good. She held the dagger tightly. She wanted to twist it, to make her pay for what had happened. The rage was built on the portal, not from Dani’s purpose. It scared her, the way it pulled at her like marionette strings. “I wish I could send you there. I wish I could send you there to make you see your worst fear. Standing on the outside looking in, unable to do shit to save the person who meant most to you.” Her words dribbled off her tongue like acid. She took a step closer. “But I have a feeling I won’t be graced with some cosmic alignment that’ll help me do that.”

Bex had just been studying in the courtyard. It was supposed to be a normal day, but what, really, was normal anymore? The words on the page had begun to blur into one line, but she didn’t really have much of a choice, did she? Study and get good grades or get punished. Still, she didn’t see the point in it. Not really. Sighing, she went to close her book when a loud voice sounded from the parking lot. It was getting later and the campus was mostly empty during the summer semester, but it wasn’t unusual for voices to be heard. But what was unusual was the voice itself. It sounded angry. She stood up from her chair and left her bags behind and felt her pace quickening the more the voices spoke but she recognized them, she recognized them. And she broke into the parking lot after rushing around the corner and all she saw was Dani, rushing towards Morgan, and her body moved on its own and she ran up towards Dani, between the two of them. “Stop!” she said, “Dani, stop! What are you doing? What’s going on?”

Morgan was ready. She had a few ideas of how to disarm her, get the slayer on her knees so she could run. She aimed—and was knocked to the side by Bex.

For a second she couldn’t process the body in front of her. She hadn’t been this close to Bex in how many days now? Slowly, she reached out to touch her shoulder, her expression wonderstruck. “What are you doing here? You...you shouldn’t be here. You can’t let her hurt you for me.” She stepped to the side, giving the slayer a better opening. She was so thrown, so awed and worried, she missed that Bex knew the slayer by name.

Dani heard a voice before she could register who it belonged to. Bex appeared in front of her, shock and fear on her face. Behind her, Morgan stood with a steeled expression matching the one that Bex wore. She looked between the two women. A harsh laugh burst past her lips and she shook her head. “I’m not going to fucking hurt her.” She lowered her dagger to her side and looked at her friend. “You know her?” Of course Bex fucking knew Morgan fucking Beck. Of course. She felt a bitterness about that fact begin to fester. “Your zombie friend here decided it’d do her good to push me through a fucking portal,” She paused. Might as well get it all out in the open. “Maybe it was deserved, seeing as I’m a monster and I tried to kill her, I don’t know, a month or two ago.” She brandished the dagger in the air, the glint of the blade flashing against every possible surface with the setting sun.

“It’s okay,” Bex said back to Morgan, moving away from her touch, afraid she’d want to fall into it and stay there. Because she wanted to. She wanted to. The stitches in her side still hurt, the bruises still hurt. “It’s okay, she won’t--” but Bex didn’t get to finish, because Dani was laughing, and it was a sound that chilled Bex’s blood. She looked back at the other girl with a confused expression, still keeping herself between her and Morgan. Her eyes fell to the knife in her hand. It clicked before Dani even said it. “You were--” she remembered so vividly how small and broken and scared Morgan had been, collapsed in the backyard in Mina’s arms. How frail she’d looked as Deirdre scooped her up and they’d followed her inside and sat in the living room and made sure she had everything she needed in that moment. Bex looked at Dani and didn’t know what to say. “That-- that was you?” Her gaze even turned back to Morgan, confused. Why hadn’t she told them? Had she not known who it was? She stood between the two and was torn in both directions. “Dani, she--” she reached out a hand towards Dani. “Please put the knife down. Morgan is-- you can’t hurt her. She’s not a monster. A-and neither are you.” Her eyes flitted between the two, one hand stretched towards Dani, the other held out as if to keep Morgan back. “Neither of you are monsters. Please, don’t-- don’t do this.”

“It was her, yes,” Morgan said quietly. “Are you—are you saying you know her? You know her and you know what she is?” The world tilted and Morgan had to balance herself on Bex’s arm to stay upright. “I—can’t—we need to go. Please. However she is with you, she’s worse to anyone she senses and she isn’t going to leave me alone now that she has a real reason to hate me. We should go, we need to go, we need to go…” Her voice choked with panic as her gaze pin-balled between the knife, the rage, her arms, her feet. She knew how to block a lot of blows but so long as Dani stayed frozen on the brink of attack, Morgan played as many possibilities in her mind as she could and she knew just enough to understand there would be something she hadn’t thought of.

There was recognition on Bex’s face and Dani didn’t bother to explain herself further. What was the use? The truth was there. If this woman knew Bex, and in the capacity that brought both heartbreak and love to her expression, then it’d only be a matter of time. Why wait for Bex to leave with her? Why not just break whatever grand illusion Bex had set up for herself in regards to Dani? If there had ever been one? Bex asked her to put her dagger away and she bit down onto the inside of her cheek. She regarded Morgan for a moment, finally deciding that the zombie would probably not do anything if Bex were involved. She already looked at the younger woman as if her heart were going to burst. It was written all over her face that there was something there. “Fine.” Dani rolled her sleeve up, a mass of different aged scars visible from fights-- undead, or not. She clicked the dagger back into its sheath and pulled her sleeve back down. Morgan was speaking and Dani barely followed. Her own bitter rage and frustration clouded her head. She’s worse to anyone she senses. Dani suppressed the bitter laugh that tried to claw its way out of her throat. “God-- Can you just--” She shook her head. “I’m not going to fucking hurt Bex, okay?” Dani had nearly killed for her, and the thought of hurting Bex… It made her mouth taste like iron. Another flash of Milo, of all the times she’d had him cornered sent her reaching up to scrub her face. “We better go, Bex.” The longer she stood there, a zombie in proximity, the harder it was to ignore the calling signs, to ignore what she’d been trained to do. The harder it was to not be lethal.

Bex couldn’t look at Morgan. She felt shame written on her face. There was no need for it. She would choose Morgan in every situation, but right now, she couldn’t. Maybe this was her way of choosing her. If she left with Morgan, would Dani pursue? If she left with Morgan, would her mother find out? Bex steadied Morgan as best she could. “I do,” she said quietly, “she’s my friend.” Her gaze returned to Dani. “Please don’t hurt her.” Ever, at all, in any case. She wanted to beg Dani to settle it right now and promise her she’d never go after Morgan again. But that wasn’t going to happen. The look of hurt on Dani’s face struck Bex through the heart. She’d already lost so much, she didn’t want to lose Dani, too. She turned back to Morgan, looked out across the lot to her car. It was close by. “Go-- go to your car,” she said, backing away. “I-- I’m sorry. I have to--” she gestured to Dani, turning her back on Morgan and scurrying over to the slayer. Maybe, with her face blocking Morgan’s, Dani would calm down. She’d put the knife away, but that didn’t mean she’d stop. The scars on her arms only made her think of Mina. Of the things Mina had told her about hunters. She reached out and put her hand on Dani’s arm, over where she now knew the hidden blade was. Magic seeped through Bex’s fingers and into Dani’s arm and Bex didn’t even know. “Let’s just go somewhere,” she said to Dani, her voice soft, “let’s go sit somewhere or walk through the park. Okay? We can-- we can go somewhere together.”

“No--!” The desperate plea came out of Morgan unbidden as she grasped at the air to get Bex back. She heard Bex’s voice turn soft and kind and suddenly felt sick. Bex would give it to her would-be murderer, but not her. Not Mina. Not Deirdre. “Bex, please,” she called, too hurt and drained to put much force behind it. “Please don’t go like this again. I’ll take you to the ferry, I’ll be however you want me to. Just--” Don’t leave me here. Don’t make me carry this alone. The emptiness she’d been trying to escape was closing in, rushing like water out of a dam. It would take her when it crashed, pull her under and let her drown. And maybe if it was selfish, but she didn’t want to drown alone.

Dani wanted to scream, she wanted to somehow reach through and pull out everything horrible she'd seen because of Morgan. She wanted to force her to watch, to feel what she’d felt. She wanted Morgan to feel helpless. Though ignorant to that fact, it seemed as though Morgan had already begun to feel as such. Dani tried her best to swallow the anger, to push it down. She didn’t want to hurt Bex. She wouldn’t hurt Bex. Not figuratively, not literally, not physically. Dani wouldn’t hurt her. They’d come too far in their friendship for her to even think of attacking Morgan at that moment, and that feeling was only reiterated as Bex reached out to take hold of her arm. Dani looked down at her friend’s hand, now tucked over just where her dagger was. It wasn’t fast, but the anger had begun to dissipate, though unnoticed by Dani. She chalked it up to the fact that somebody, in some capacity, had decided to be gentle with her, and that’s all she needed. Nobody had been gentle with her in so long. Callous and cruel, the look in Jeanette’s eyes, in Eddie’s, in Morgan’s-- Though Dani couldn’t place caring about the latter, it still had something working in her chest to be regarded with such fear. It wasn’t pride. Dani tucked away the thought. She continued to look down at Bex’s hand as Morgan spoke. “I don’t--” She needed Bex, she did. In good conscience, could Dani really allow Bex to walk away with Morgan? No, of course not, but… there was something there, something different. Something that Dani hadn’t noticed before about Morgan. “Let’s go,” Dani finally decided, turning away with not so much as a look towards the zombie. It was better this way, she thought.

Bex glanced back at Morgan, torn apart by the desperation in her voice. The hurt. It ripped at her, too. Leaving Morgan. But Dani needed a reason to walk away from this, not towards it. And Bex couldn’t be seen with Morgan, not in that capacity. She gripped Dani’s arm and tucked her head and let a stray glance pass to Morgan. “I’m sorry,” was all Bex could say, sticking close to Dani, using her as a conduit to ground herself and not simply run off to Morgan. She missed her. She ached for her. She could feel her hurt even between this vast parking lot. She fell in step with Dani and tugged on her arm and started them off away from the lot. She didn’t know where they would go, Dani’s truck was parked in the same place, but she just needed to take them away from here. Away from where she could hear the pain in Morgan’s voice and away from the place where she wasn’t sure she could protect either of them if they started fighting. Neither would hurt her, she knew that much, but what would they disregard to get to each other if she was in the middle? She chose not to think of it. Not to think of what another knife sliding into her side might feel like, either physically or metaphorically. She looked back once again at Morgan’s defeated form and squeezed tighter on Dani’s arm. “I’m sorry,” she said again, and maybe it was to Morgan and maybe it was to Dani. And maybe it was to herself. She didn’t know.

Morgan understood what was happening as Bex gave her apologies, heavy and empty at once, and walked away. But that understanding did nothing to shield her from the wave when it crashed. It sounded a lot like the summer wind and the buzz of locusts and the drag of her feet as she walked to her car, but it was the wave all the same. It flattened what was left of her spirit and tore through her body, lungs, limbs and all, until she was curled up in the driver’s seat of her empty car, drowning in sobs.

#chatzy #wickedswriting #chatzy: morgan #chatzy: dani #domestic abuse tw #on the other side #dani #morgan

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fijiangecko · 3 years ago

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Maintaining a New Life

Chapter 8 - In Motion

Read it on AO3 here

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~~~~~~

The sun had risen and set 3 times since each group began their hunts. Each day providing no new information and the hope of keeping each other safe felt as if it was getting farther and farther away. Kuroo, Oikawa and Iwazumi split off into two groups most of the time, Oikawa and Kuroo walking around town while Iwaizumi kept an eye out for any Port Mafia patrols and your car.

Iwaizumi refused to be alone with Kuroo, stating multiple times that he would “rather gauge his own eyes out then look at the fuckwad who drove out one of his best friends”. A tad bit harsh for Oikawa's taste, but he maintained the peace between the two whenever they brought tension to the table. Kuroo doesn’t mean to be irritating but there’s still so much he doesn’t understand, and these two don’t help in answering his questions since they don’t know much about your past and why you left.

On your end of things, you decided to lay low during the day and do some rounds on the streets at dusk and dawn. Largely things remained the same for the Port Mafia: they operated on the schedule you created and stuck to the same routine based on what vehicles and hangouts you’d seen so far.

Guess they really haven’t progressed all that much since I left, you think while watching the endless stream of cars. Washijo’s health wasn’t too good, and I can’t imagine it’s gotten any better with all the stress of transferring power and dealing with the mess that I left.

After little to no new information and more questions than answers, the weekend rolled around and the sun has started to hang lower in the sky. You lean against the counter in your kitchen, sipping on a cup of tea and listen to the birds sing from tree to tree. Looking to the clock, you sigh and set the mug down, heading towards the bedroom.

If everything goes according to plan, this whole operation should be relatively quick and you can just leave the club within an hour of getting in. You sift through what little clothes you have and get ready to blend in with tonight’s crowd; standard makeup, nothing too flashy, and a relatively short dress to match. None of your shoes really fit, so the black sneakers would have to do for now.

With a deep breath, you take a final glance in the mirror and mentally prepare for whatever the night has in store. You double check that your car is stacked with any you could possibly need and rev the engine, taking the dirt road down onto the streets.

The sun starts to set over the horizon, leaving the bright orange orb blaring down on the asphalt as the tires roll down the highway. You don’t bother to turn on the radio, deciding to run through the plan and all of the backups you have prepared. Through public records you were able to find the new layout plans for “The Neon Nights”, so you knew relatively where everything should be and how to get to it. That didn’t always translate into action, though.

Instead of chewing on your lip you moved onto the inside of your cheek, ripping it to shreds over the course of the past couple of days. You haven’t been this nervous in quite a while and it was really starting to fuck with your head.

Confidence and assurance were two very different things but often got confused for one another. Back at the ADA everyone just believed you to be confident, and that’s not to say that you weren’t. You know you are one hell of a detective, doing the work that needs to be done and doing it effectively, but it was more so that you knew you were safe and around people that were relatively safe as well. Standard protocol in the Port Mafia was not to fuck with others that had gifts. Washijo always stated that it was to keep the peace on the streets, but that was total bullshit. At the very least, you knew that while the ADA was on their radar, there wasn’t anything that they would be able to do in order to harm your friends.

Now everything was uncertain, there was no more assurance. You didn’t know if they were going to be safe. Tendou always did what he wanted and Washijo just turned a blind eye to it. Now he knows that you’re alive and in Yokohama.

On top of that, he saw you with the two of your right hand men that left shortly after you and a new man from the ADA. Tooru and Hajime were found out because you got careless.

The Port Mafia is also aware now of who Kuroo is and that he has connections to you. There’s always going to be a crosshair aimed at the back of his head if you don’t get into that club tonight and do everything you possibly can to erase those damn records of not only your existence, but everyone you care about too.

You blink hard, letting the colors settle behind your eyelids before reopening your eyes and focusing on the road. The stream of thoughts that just crossed your mind had left your heart and head pounding.

Nothing will happen to them as long as everything goes as planned. I’ll find the data servers and wipe whatever I can then skip town. Again, you go through the plan as the last bit of sun disappears around the edge of the world.

Coming to a slow halt, you park a few blocks away and walk the area in order to secure a teleportation spot and secure an escape route. The checklist in your mind finally had everything marked and every movement from now on was going to be almost robotic as you try to act like the crowd around you. Countless couples and parties line the edge of the building you once knew as a headquarters, the stink of alcohol present already from those who were leaving the venue for whatever reason.

By your lonesome you wait to meet the bouncer at the door, minutes passing as the line dwindles down until you can hear the muffled electronic music. The ground felt like it was shaking from the hundreds of people all dancing just a few feet past this wall. You peer around a few people ahead of you and make note of a pin on the bouncer's suit jacket, confirming that this club is still under mafia control.

You take another deep breath and just hope that news of your reappearance was just kept to the inner circle and henchmen like him weren’t informed quite yet of what was happening. The person in front of you walks inside the club, leaving you face to face with the man with shades. He looks you up and down, your heart picking up as you smile sweetly. Charm wasn’t your specialty but you know the basics. Without another moment to spare, he nods towards the mass of people and you quickly take your place inside the dark and dense room.

The music increases tenfold from when you were outside, feeling the bass changing the rhythm of your heartbeat. Hundreds of people crowd the center of the room, dancing to their hearts out while others line the bars stretched out on the walls.

You walk to the furthest side of the bar, mapping out where you are in your head and making note of little landmarks on the map you practically memorized. Figuring it would look more natural, you squeeze yourself in and order something. Partially to calm your nerves.

“And the devil herself appears.” Chills run up and down your spine, the voice of whomever just spoke stopping you dead in your tracks. They lean in real close,from behind, lips grazing your ear, their breath warm against your skin as they whisper to you. “Nice to see you Y/N.”

Cautiously you turn your head and face the voice, only to be met with a head of bleached hair and a sultry smile. “Miss me?” He says while placing his hands on his hips.

“Terushima.” The tension in your body hadn’t quite left, unsure of where his loyalties are makes your mind run a thousand miles per second. You prepare to portal out of the club, but his hand on your wrist interrupts everything.

“Let’s have a chat in the back, yeah?” Before you even know what’s going on, you're being dragged to one of the side hallways and up a set of stairs. You take in the surroundings the best you can while being pulled along and realize that he’s taking you back to what used to be the main office area.

Terushima pushes open a set of doors into a lounge area. A large sectional couch faces glass panes that showcase the entirety of the club and a small personal bar and desk line the other two walls in the room. He lets go of the hold on your wrist and beelines it to the alcohol and starts to construct his own drink.

You’re stiff as a board in the center of the room, still taking in everything that just happened in the last two minutes. He watches as you try and create a plan, and laughs out loud at your distraught. “I’m not gonna tell anyone you know.”

It’s like your body snaps when you move to look at him. “Excuse me?”

“I said, ‘I’m not going to tell anyone’.” He strains his cocktail into a glass and saunters over to the couch, sitting himself down. “I really don’t do any work with the Port Mafia since I manage the club. There’s no real benefit to me telling them.”

“Wait,” you blink and scrunch your face together as you follow him down onto the couch, “you manage the club now?”

“Bingo.” The amber drink in his hands disappears slowly as it glides down his throat. “After you left and Tendou took over your position they redistributed everything and wanted to change our little jazz club into a full blow nightclub for the younger people to come and party. I was pretty much the only person around that knew how to keep everything relatively in order, so here we are.” The one free hand Terushima has open lifts up off of his thigh and plops back down in a sort of defeat. His chocolatey spheres hold your gaze.

“And you gave up on singing?” It’s an honest question. The last time you both had a serious conversation was when Terushima was the main singer for your aforementioned jazz club.

“No, more like I took a break. I couldn’t really say no to the Port Mafia so I put my career on hold.” A pained expression flashes across his face before returning to his previous position.

“I’m really sorry Teru.” You scoot closer to him on the cushion, setting your drink down on the table at the center and resting a hand on his shoulder. It was the best consoling you got considering this is basically your fault.

“Don’t be.” He can see the guilt in your eyes and quickly dismisses them. “You did what was better for yourself. Anyone who couldn’t see that you were unhappy was stupid and it wasn’t a suprise when they told me you were gone.” He rests that free hand on top of yours and rubs circles onto the back of your hand while reaching down to place his drink on the same table. “I just thought that I would never see you again, so spotting you by the bar tonight really shook me to the core, y’know?”

The smile that finishes his sentence is wicked, lips curling up at the end. There was always something left unsaid between you both; light touches here and there, lingering glances from across the dimly lit club room and the handful of “dates” (according to him) shared between you two. It never went anywhere; he being the flirt he was made you very nonchalant about his advances. Plus there was the matter of his gift that made things complicated, so it was just better for you to stay out of trouble the best you could.

Things are different now, though. Terushima didn’t cause your chest to tighten or make the blood in your system rush to your cheeks when you thought of what it would be like to be with him late into the night, curled into one another and just simply being. No, that spot now belonged to a tall, lean and dark haired man that weaseled his way into your heart and mind by using his shitty science puns and awkward dancing when he was almost blackout drunk. Those nights of wondering what life would be like with someone else no longer contained bleach blonde hair or a tongue piercing, but the easy comfort that came from Kuroo Tetsuro.

“Yeah, about that.” Your grasp on his shoulder tightens, other fist clenching “Tendou saw me a couple days ago and I’m pretty sure he’s on the hunt. I need to find the P.M. servers-”

“So you came here to find them.” He cuts you off, but doesn’t finish the sentence with a question. He might be a playboy but he’s been through the ringer once or twice and knows that you just didn’t show up tonight to see him. “Unfortunately they moved them a couple of years ago to create an arms deal station in the basement. To my knowledge they took all that stuff to Club Impac-”

Suddenly a young lady busts through the doors, drunkenly falling onto the floor with her eyes completely unfocused on the area around her. A man in a suit comes rushing down the corridor, targeting the woman on the ground.

With many apologies the guard pulls the woman rather harshly off of the ground and looks up to once again ask for forgiveness from Terushima, but meets your cold eyes instead. The spur of the moment interruption caused you to turn around in your seat and watch the events unfold.

Unknown to you, this man had worked under Ushijima for years and had met your eyes years ago. He recognized the dead stare you were giving him currently, but continued pulling the woman out of the room. A bitter taste fills his mouth as he shuts the doors, immediately ditching the woman by the restrooms and walking to the head of security to inform him of the guest that just happened to be sitting up in the lounge.

“Anyways…” Terushima continues filling you in on what has happened logistically within the mafia since your leaving.

Roughly 30 minutes prior to that conversation, miles out into the outskirts of the city the three men who have been trying to catch you at the right time huddled around a coffee table and went over their plan of attack one last time.

“You both got it?” Iwaizumi flicked the last piece of paper in a file down onto the hardwood, looking between the two taller men. Wordlessly they both nodded and turned to grab their respective bags with the appropriate clothes for the night. Oikawa’s outfit was a little more classy then the others to match his personality, Kuroo and Iwaizumi going for something pretty simple just in case anything goes haywire, but with their final touches done up they were ready to set out for the night.

“Do you really think that she’s going to be here tonight?” Kuroo asked Oikawa while Iwaizumi called a taxi. They were a little behind schedule and missed the train, so they had to opt for something quick.

“Out of everything we’ve done so far, I think this is our best chance at catching her. This club used to be a faux headquarters for her. I’m almost positive that she’s either looking for a certain someone,” Iwaizumi catches the tone in Oikawa’s voice as he spoke, making eyes at him while he finished his sentence, “or that she left something behind.”

They both knew that you were fond of Terushima, but they also knew that you had moved on from all of that. You had your eyes set on someone else. That still didn’t mean that you weren’t there for him, but the idea that it was anything but business was a little far fetched.

“So you guys used to be there all the time?” The taxi pulled up to the curb, waiting for Kuroo and the others to hop in.

“Yeah. Every weekend she would have us come have drinks with her since we were her ‘groupies’, essentially .” Iwaizumi answered, using quotations with his fingers to get the point across. “It was more like a weekly check in but sometimes all we did was catch up with one another.”

The memories warmed his heart. He never once felt like he was working for you, but alongside you. You truly cared about their goals and ambitions, oftentimes ignoring the actual work that the Port Mafia wanted to get done and helping the citizens most in need. Coincidentally, that was how you made the most money and controlled the most area - the people liked you. Being in your squad was a different experience from every other job he had within the Mafia, and as soon as you disappeared he knew that he was going to have to get out sooner rather than later.

Oikawa felt the exact same way, and couldn’t imagine a life where he and Iwaizumi didn’t work together, so they devised a plan and faked their deaths in order to obtain what little freedom that would allow. Both knew that you weren’t dead, no matter how solid the evidence looked, and stuck their foot in the ground in Yokohama in an effort to find you. Two years later they accepted jobs as detectives with the ADA and walked in to see you, sitting at a desk, smiling and laughing with your fellow detectives.

The car ride was silent for the most part, the taxi driver asked a handful of questions before letting the radio fill the dead air. Iwaizumi kept track of how close they were and directed the driver to a few blocks off so they could walk up to the club (he really didn’t want to get this poor guy involved, so better to keep him out of it).

With a small wave from Oikawa, the boys head down the streets but their moods quickly shift as streams of people flood out of the building. The screams of hundreds fills the night air and the heavy footsteps of the three carry as closely as possible to the front entrance. Crowds topple over one another in an attempt to make it out safely as the sound of a single gunshot ricochets off of every surface, furthering the panic in the chests of innocents. Eyes flicking to every possible entrance, Kuroo feels deep down in his soul that you’re inside - you’re either the one firing or being fired at and either causes his chest to tighten, the neverending pit of anxiety at the bottom of his stomach somehow growing deeper. The three stand like a rock against a current of bodies, everyone just running past them and filling the space behind the group as they run.

Only a few moments before their arrival, Terushima and yourself were finishing your drinks and sharing a laugh when splinters flick off the set of doors, and single shot entering the room and shattering the large glass windows that look down on the dance floor. The initial panic takes a second to kick in before the patrons below start their scramble. Terushima’s instincts kicked in and he grabbed you rather harshly and shoved you down onto the ground, covering your body with his own.

“We know you’re in there Y/N!” The voice that spoke was unfamiliar to you, probably just some higher level goon that happened to know what was going on. While tucked under Terushima’s body, you open a small portal to the dashboard of your car and grab the handgun you left waiting. It always pays off to have a backup plan, you think while taking in the surrounding area. The men had yet to breach the room itself, leaving an opportunity for both of you to escape, whether that be jumping down onto the dance floor or using a portal.

“Teru,” his eyes focus on the door but you know he’s listening to your harsh whispers, “we can jump down and blend in the crowd-”

“No.” His jaw clenches, the lines on his face becoming harsher. “They deliberately shot at the window to lure us out there. The one talking is the head of this district so I’m sure every mobster in the area is here keeping an eye out for you.”

“Fuck…” your heart beats just as fast as your brain fires off thousands of different ideas. The crowd of people down below scream for help as they run out into the night and then another shot comes, this time it sounds like it’s from down below. In the crowd.

“Are they firing at civilians?!” Your mind spirals down. What the fuck are they thinking?

“One of those idiots might’ve thought that they saw you.” Terushima detaches himself from you and reaches under one of the tables, grabbing a hidden handgun and making sure it’s loaded.

As he checks the magazine, you muster up a portal big enough for a person to fit through, the other end looking out onto the streets. “Get in Teru. They’re after me.” You plead him with both your eyes and your voice, hands twitching around the cold metal of your pistol.

“Not happening sweetheart.” His smile is sly and coy, teasing you almost. “This is my club that they’re ruining and these people are my guests.” He gestures to the window and then to you, slowing the fall of his hand to emphasize his next words. “It’s my duty to protect them.”

Your lips tugs into a smile and you shut the portal. “Alright then.”

Down on the streets below the three men try to push up river through the endless streams of people running away from yet another shot. Women fall over, others trampling them in the fearful haze that covers the downtown. Iwaizumi rushes over and picks them up, shielding them from the hoards of shoes and getting them back on their feet.

SUV’s among other black vehicles speed around various street corners and men in suits start to surround the area, each fitted with different weapons of different calibers. Pressure grows in the small atmosphere of the downtown area, ears yearning to pop and get ahold of the situation but Kuroo doesn’t know if he would rather feel the throbbing in his head or the despair of hundreds.

Oikawa spins in circles, taking in every detail he can of the mayhem. Each of his senses feels like they’re on fire, enhanced from the sudden change in pace. It would be suicide to use his gift now, so the best he can do in trust his brain to intake whatever information is available.

The three converge after each attains their bearings and stand back to back. “What now?” Iwaizumi is forced to yell over the collage of sounds.

“We go in? I mean she’s gotta be in there, right?!” Oikawa shouts equally as loud, still turning his head around to look at the distressed faces. His voice comes out exasperated and rushed, his breathing picking up.

“Go in?! We can barely move five feet forward, how the fuck are we supposed to get in?” Kuroo takes the more logical stance, trying his best to find a solution to the problem at hand: what to do next.

Luckily, Oikawa, in his twisty turn around scavenger hunt, had spotted a fire escape on the side of the closest apartment building. If they wanted to get a height advantage and take a moment to clear their heads, that would be the spot. He shakes both of his companions shoulders and gestures his head to the ladder. Lightbulbs light up in their heads and slowly but surely they take small steps towards the iron bars, giving the people enough time to adjust to the change in current.

It only takes a minute or two to finally reach the ladder, Iwa hoisting Tooru with weaved fingers and will to lift with his legs, not his back. One handed, Oikawa pulls down the ladder and the three make their way to the landing.

The chaos seen from above is only less claustrophobic as it doesn't let their hearts take a moment to rest. Rather, showcasing the complete lack of control from anyone down below. Every person down below looks like a rat on the loose, caught at the wrong time as they scatter in all directions. Kuroo leans over the edge of the railing, trying to get a better view of the inside of the club.

“There’s a bunch of guys with guns pointed at the top room, part of the window was either smashed or shot at since it’s all over the floor.” Iwa observes to the left of Kuroo, also leaning over the delicate iron bars.

“Can you see in that top room?” Kuroo squints, but it doesn’t enhance his vision.

“Not really,” Iwaizumi starts to tilt his head in various directions, finding the best angle to peer inside that room. “Looks like there’s two people up there but I can’t make out any faces.”

“We should’ve brought Akaashi…” Kuroo mumbles to himself, at this point wondering everything that could’ve been different in this moment. “Well one of them has to be Y/N. I think that’s a given at this point.”

“That or she’s the woman one of the guys has hostage on the lower level.” Oikawa notes, gesturing to each of them to come to where he stands and uses his hand to try and guide their view to a better position.

You also take note of the hostage, peeking down from the remains of the windows. The thought that the Port Mafia is now so low that they would take hostages in order to obtain an ex-member leaves a bad taste on the tip of your tongue. Cold metal brushes your chest as you keep your gun close to your chest. Being as silent as possible, you carefully crouch around the room and get eyes on everything you can.

Terushima had taken off his blazer just a few seconds ago, throwing it over the edge of the couch and creeping closer to the double doors. He listens to whatever words he can make out through the veil of screams and footsteps, retaining only the name “Tendou”.

His head turns to yours from across the room, mouthing the words “Tendou is coming”.

With a clenched jaw, you turn back to the dance floor and see that two more girls were being kicked onto the ground, making a total of three hostages. Hands cover their ears as they plead for their lives.

“Alright Y/N! You’ve got one choice: you either turn yourself over right now or you sit and wait until Satori gets here and we kill those girls and Terushima!” Whoever spoke before loudy shouts again, the words bouncing off of every glossy surface of the club.

GODDAMMIT! Sweat builds in the palm of your hands, the bass from the speakers making the miniscule shards of glass on the ground shake; bits and pieces falling off the ledge and into various crevices in the tile. There’s really only one thing left to do, you think to yourself and Terushima watches as the familiar cerulean hue starts to color the very lines of your body.

A portal opens to your left, the circle opening up to a view of the entryway of the building. From this vantage point you can see a group of men, all in suits and with their weapons either pointed at the hostages or the balcony. Without hesitation you aim the barrel of the gun at the closest guy and fire at his leg. The bullet enters his calf muscle, leaving through the shin and he immediately keels over. Other men are alerted by the sound and turn quickly to find the source. Like a trained soldier you close and open various portals, one at a time and in dissimilar spots to try and confuse them, and fire potshots at whoever catches your eye first.

Arguing continues between Kuroo and Iwaizumi as they battle on what to do next; one trying to approach the situation like it’s made of delicate porcelain and the other ready to give blood, sweat and tears. Oikawa refuses to let his eyes leave the club, and it proves to be useful as rifts start to open and close within the confined space. His eyes dilate and once again he slaps Iwa on the shoulder mid sentence.

“What the hell Shittykawa?!” Iwa gnashes, foam practically running down the side of his mouth.

“She’s making her move.” Dominos start to fall, but for once in a very long time the two don’t know what lies at the end of the line. Kuroo can’t believe what he’s seeing - he’s only ever seen you use your gift sparingly and in desperate situations, never to an extent such as this. The last piece of the puzzle finally goes into place as it dawns on Tetsuro that this is life or death. There is no playing around and there are no wrong moves.

“Alright Iwaizumi: I’m in.”

The aforementioned turns to him with a blank expression, a little unsure of what to do now. Oikawa watches as Kuroo claps his hands together and squats down and it hits him all at once; this is the first time he’s ever seen Kuroo’s gift in any capacity. Satisfied with the warm feeling on his skin, Tetsuro releases his hands and places them on the iron below, the space surrounding them glowing like they do.

In an instance, the vibrancy dies down and on the landing lies two items in a similar shape to hand grenades. A smirk tugs at his features and he states, “We’ll get in with these.”

Their jaws drop and Tooru starts to huff in disbelief, “I can appreciate your tenacity Kuroo-san but that seems like overkill.”

“Seriously…” Iwa adds sarcastically, slightly sticking out his arm to act as a shield between the two.

The smile disappears quickly and Kuroo brings a hand up to rub his brows. “They’re smoke grenades…”

Forming an ‘o’ with his mouth, Tooru starts to nod his head and Hajime drops the raised arm. “I knew that.”

Licking his lips, Kuroo passes one of the grenades to Iwaizumi and mouths “of course you did” to silently mock them. At least they share a brain cell.

Another few minutes pass, the gang of men make their way back down the ladder and into the frey. During that time you remain using the same tactic, effectively avoiding any unwanted attention from the growing crowd of henchmen. More had been called in after your initial shot, the head honcho making plays over the various walkie talkies.

You close a portal and let your chest heave, taking long deep breaths and settling down. The spacing of your shots has been growing larger to keep the suspense up, but in this timeframe you create a mini portal to grab a new magazine and reload. You close your eyes and let the noise wrap you like a blanket, surrounding you and taking precedence over every other sense in your body. Right as you whip to the right and start to open a rift, the small tinks of metal on concrete are drowned out.

Slowly, smoke swirls around the dance floor, rising and expanding out in all directions. Another can sputter to life and causes the room to turn opaque. Light bounces around in rays that color the white sheet that now fills the room.

Right outside the doors of the club Iwaizumi charges up his ability, letting a firm feeling prick every inch of his skin before ramming himself through the doors. Tooru sticks to his back and fires at every shape he can make out through the fog, Kuroo acting as the kaboose and covering any stragglers that those two seem to miss.

From your end of things, the room starts to fill with white and immediately you shut the gateway, watching from your perch as the fog dissipates right as it reaches your feet. Terushima also evaluates the situation, deciding to take the chance and barge out of the doors and tackle whoever is closest. Unfortunately he didn’t think super far ahead and that leaves you in a compromising position.

Gunfire fills the hallways of the building, but the light that flashes up on the second level lets Kuroo know that shit’s going down. Without hesitation he leaves formation and hauls ass down the hall and up some stairs. Four men in total block his path to you, two being on the floor and the other two shooting in your general direction.

It’s as if red seeps into his eyelids, rage pumps through his veins at a level he thought himself incapable. The barrel of his gun points down at the thigh of one of the standing men. As soon as the bullet hits its mark he rushes the other one and knocks him upside the head with the butt of the gun. In less than three minutes Kuroo had entered the building and knocked out two guys in order to rush to your side.

A wedge was pushed in the cogs in your brain, halting all functions and making your eye twitch. Kuroo squats down to meet your eye level and stares at you with piercing golden eyes. His pupils dilate when they meet yours which are full of confusion, then disbelief and finally annoyance.

“You fuckin’ asshole.” The words should be lost to the mirage of the night, but they’re the only things Kuroo can hear.

Almost scared, he reaches forward and curls his fingers around the flesh of your forearm and responds. “Let’s get out of here.”

Whatever shock that stopped your brain had washed over and now it felt like everything was moving too quickly in order to catch up. The fog was starting to clear and you can make out the figures of both Oikawa and Iwaizumi down on the dance floor below, watching each other's backs. Terushima stands near the edge of the balcony and joins them in taking down what seems to be an endless stream of goons.

He turns to you and winks, a silent goodbye as Kuroo grabs a tight hold of your arm and pulls you off of the ground. It’s a blur as you leap over several unconscious men and down the stairs. Whatever crowd was left was thin at best, no civilians in sight and many mafia members toppled over. Iwaizumi steps backwards towards you two, Oikawa shifting himself so the three act as armor around you.

Just as swift as the entrance, the boys shove you along and out into the streets. The screeching of tires alerts the four of you, yet another SUV speeds down the narrow streets of the downtown.

“Fuck” you whisper and get your bearings. Your legs are quicker than your brain and you shout, “follow me!” Your two fellow ex-members are already by your sides and Kuroo lags behind. Quickly you throw the keys to Iwaizumi. “When we get to the car, just drive. Doesn’t matter what streets you go down.”

Yet again Kuroo watches as the three of you work together like a well oiled machine, Hajime practically ripping the door off of its hinges and shaking the car as he sits. Tooru follows suit on the passenger side and deja vu strikes hard once Kuroo gets his but down into the seat.

Iwaizumi revs the engine and rapidly turns the wheel from side to side as the car skids and jolts into the center of a major road.

“Whatever happens, just keep her in the center of the road!” You whirl around and face the rear windshield, spotting the vehicles that now tail you all. Luckily the night means less traffic and Hajime can keep to the center of the road. Whoever was driving this late at night veers out of the way as the street turns crowded with several cars turning corners rather fast and joining in with those that already follow you.

You roll down the window next to you and start to shoot blindly out of the side, not daring to stick your whole body out of the car like last time due to the sheer amount of firepower that would be sure to hit you. Kuroo and Oikawa do the same as you, Kuroo ducking his head while doing so just in case any bullets come flying in through the back window and Oikawa tries to use the side mirror to aim his shots.

Not even two minutes since this drive began and cop cars light up the road ahead, about three quarters of a mile in front.

“Uhh Y/N! We got a problem!” Iwaizumi white knuckles the steering wheel and starts to turn it, planning on going down one of the side streets to put all threats behind your car. You whip your head around and evaluate the situation, quickly realizing that this is an opportune moment for something you’ve been keeping up your sleeve.

“You better keep this car in the center of the road Hajime or so help me God I will kill you before anyone else has the chance!” You scream and place yourself in the center of the back bench which gives you a relatively clear view of the road. Breathing in through your nose and out with your mouth, you clap your hands together much like Kuroo did earlier in the night. Continuing your breathing pattern, Hajime returns the car to the center of the road.

“Step on the gas.” You command, your eyes closed in concentration.

“Y/N are you sure?!” There wasn’t a hint of doubt in Iwaizumi’s questioning, but more of a confirmation of action.

“Just fucking do it!”

The clock ticks down as both forces start to close in. Five seconds before impact: the cops are unsure what to do. Some stopped their vehicles and were preparing road spikes while the others continue charging forward and speak through the sound system, warning you all of what’s going to happen. The Port Mafia also starts to slow down as they are just as confused as the police. No one really knows what you have in plan, but those in charge of each group are determined to get to the bottom of things.

Four seconds to go and the pit at everyone’s stomach grows a size larger; a faint sapphire glow emanates just from your hands and Kuroo watches curiously. The phrase trusting someone with your life had never meant much to him, but in this moment he really understood the complete lack of control he has.

Three; Oikawa sits up right in his seat and straps himself in, also closing his eyes to alleviate the stress of the scene before him.

Two; the glow around your fingertips has grown exponentially into something almost blinding. Iwaizumi steadies the wheel and fights the urge to jerk the car.

Right before impact with the front runner the view of a country road lined with trees fills Hajime and Kuroo’s eyes. The car barely fits into the rift and bounces up and down. You weren’t able to align the two roads perfectly off of memory, so you opted to have it a little high up. Kuroo checks behind them and the road is empty. No sight of any buildings or vehicles - just a clear sky and the wilderness that surrounds them.

Tooru didn’t realize he was clutching onto his chest strap until he opens his eyes and lets out a breath he was holding. Hajime adjusts quickly to the new territory and slows the car down some, leaning back into his seat. Kuroo, amazed that you were in the clear, turns to you, but your head is lolled to the side.

“Y/N?” Ever so gently, he shakes your shoulder and your eyes crack open. You turn to face him and blood is streaming from one nostril, down your face and dripping onto your shirt. He freezes up, just now realizing how much this whole ordeal must’ve taken out of you.

A tissue appears in front of both of your faces, Tooru’s hand attached to it. “You always pull that stuff off last second even though you could’ve just done it as soon as we got in the car.”

“Fuck off,” you sound drained and totally devoid of any emotion. “If we can get out of it without having to port out then we’ll do it that way, but the cops got in the way.” You take the tissue and start to wipe up whatever you can, your movements slow.

“Are you alright?” Kuroo is unsure of his place, a total contrast from inside the club when he was the most assertive you had ever seen him.

“Loaded question.” You want so badly to drop them off on the side of the road and hope that they just leave you alone, but your eyes blur every few seconds and you know that you are in no position to drive. Several emotions bubble up at the thought that they kept looking for you, put their lives on the line to find you and actually ended up saving you.

Effectively dodging the question, you slide back over to your side of the car and place your head on the window, giving Hajime directions to your home. They’re smart enough to know that now isn’t the time to talk, nor is it the time to ask questions like “what’s next?” and so on.

The high beams of your car light up the large house at the end of the gravel road, your headache nearing its end and the boys all ogle at your property. A flick of his hands and Iwaizumi turns the car off, then steps out into the cold air. He takes a few steps back and precariously opens the door you’re leaning on. With careful consideration, he crouches down and tries to let you use him as a crutch, but in all the time you had to think on the ride here, you shove him off and stumble a bit.

Gaining some balance, you speak with an unwavering tone. “What you did tonight was stupid. All of you.” You turn and meet each of their eyes, Kuroo and Oikawa still on the other side of the car. “I explicitly told you all not to get involved and still you fucking showed up.”

They all freeze at the accusatory finger you’re pointing and watch as you start to back yourself up to the entryway. Iwaizumi, who normally decides to let Tooru charm his way out of things, is the first to speak. “You’re right.” His eyes bore into your own, but he continues. “But that doesn’t change the fact that if we weren’t there you would’ve been fucked.”

“As if.” You spit back, not thinking clearly as you’re more focused on getting your own point across. Hajime only started fights when he thought it was absolutely necessary. This didn’t cross your mind, but Tooru’s as he realizes the upcoming screaming match.

“As if?!” His voice booms over the forest, possibly shaking the leaves on the trees. “You were backed into a fucking corner Y/N! For god's sake, did you think Terushima was gonna be able to help you out of that shitshow?” He stops his assault for a moment, seeing if you would answer but you grind your teeth instead. “You needed our help. We’re the ones that got you out of that situation-”

“Hajime-”

“No Tooru! She doesn’t get to disappear behind everyone’s backs and tell us NOT to find her! Especially not us.” Tooru purses his lips, knowing that he’s right. Tooru would’ve thought that maybe after the first day or two you would contact them, allowing them to help, all things considered. He knows where Hajime is coming from and ultimately decides to let him continue. “She sure as fuck doesn’t get to tell us that we didn’t help either. I know damn well that once we all cool off you’re gonna have to apologize and admit to me that I was right.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that you still decided to follow me.” You're quick with your rebuttal. “I’m trying my best to protect you all-” A cackle catches you mid sentence, and you watch as Iwaizumi rests a hand over his face and laughs, shoulders shaking. “What? What’s so hilarious Hajime?”

“Do you really think that we need protecting?” His eyes peek through the cracks in his fingers, a sly smirk curling his lips.

“Maybe you don’t but the Port Mafia knows now that I’m involved with the agency. For the safety and protection of everyone I need to erase myself from their records and go away.” This is your retreat. You can feel your own arms wrap around your form and start rubbing slow circles into your sides. The more you think about it, the more you realize that you’re just pleading for them to live. Or pleading with them to leave you with the idea that they’ll be living a peaceful life without you.

“You do know who you’re talking about, right?” Iwaizumi takes his hand off of his face and glares at you. “You got Bokuto, who is an accidental genius; Sugawara and myself who act like human shields; Tanaka and Nishinoya who are the wildcards; Kenma and Asahi who can heal practically any injury and Kuroo, who can literally create a bomb if he has the right materials within his vicinity.” As he lists off the various members he sticks fingers up and counts. “I don’t think they need as much protection as you seem to think. I bet everyone’s losing their shit right now since you just walked out and now the three of us have been M.I.A. for almost a week.”

While he presents a pretty good argument, it feels like it just goes in one ear and out the other. Your only goal right now is to get them to understand that you don’t want them here. Anything you can do to save them is the top priority, and having them here with you is a fucking nuisance. “I don’t give a rat's ass about any of that! You and Torru have seen what the Port Mafia is capable of and there’s is nothing that is going to stop them from finding me! If that means blowing up the agency building, they will! You know Tendou will do anything and Washijo will just let him!”

“Y/N.” The desperation in your voice is becoming more apparent with each word as your sentences speed up and your tone gets higher and higher. Oikawa walks around the car and stands next to Hajime, taking your beat of silence as a cue to speak. “You know you can’t say that anymore. We haven’t been with them for years. Washijo might be too sick to even speak.”

“Plus everyone at the agency knows what this job entails.”

“You don’t get to talk Tetsuro.” He stands behind the two, and honestly your rage was so hyper focused on Oikawa and Iwaizumi that you forgot he was there. You snap at spit back. “It’s not a matter of knowing what they signed up for more than a problem of the Port Mafia doing whatever they want.”

“That’s why we’re here to help you.” Tooru still stands between you and the others, the mediator. “You know that we’ll do everything we can, everything you say, in order to protect them. Tendou didn’t just see you that night. Obviously he doesn’t care all that much about us but we’re on their records too so it’s not just your problem.”

“I can’t fucking do this right now.” It feels like no one is listening to you, just throwing water in the tank you’re already drowning in. With a sigh and balled fists, you come to a hasty decision. “You can all stay here tonight. I expect you to be gone by midday.” Without a chance to speak, you storm into the house and start preparing mats for them to sleep on.

Tooru runs his tongue over his teeth, lips shut and starts tapping his foot. There were a thousand different possibilities for how tonight could’ve gone - this being one that wasn’t on his radar. Hajime feels the frustration bubble over, but he knows there’s not much else he can say that will get to you. Focusing his attention on Tooru, he pats his shoulder and says, “She’s not gonna budge. C’mon.” The two walk into the house, following the lights and let you finish preparing their room.

Swiftly you finish fluffing the pillows and brushing past them, avoiding any contact, any chance for them to stop you. You slide open the door for the next room over and raid the closet, setting the room up for Kuroo.

“Y/N wait.” For one reason or another, you stop your actions and look to the aforementioned, him standing in the doorway. With a final push of your muscles, you throw the mat down on the floor and wait for what’s next. “I just wanted to say that- that I want to do everything I can to help you. I know it’s not much but Iwaizumi and Oikawa have been doing so much and I really think that-”

“Go to bed Kuroo. You guys are gonna have a long day making your way back into the city tomorrow, so you’re gonna need all the sleep you can get.” You shoulder check him, leaving the room and the yet to be unfurled bed mat on the floor.

In the late hours of the night you find yourself tossing and turning. The entirety of the past few hours replayed in your mind, every situation rewinds and restarts as you analyze the points that the guys made. You wouldn’t have lived through last night if it wasn’t for them. There’s no way in hell Tendou wouldn’t have gotten his hands on you if it wasn't for them.

You sit up, sweat dripping off of your brow bone and everything starts to feel like it’s closing in. The four walls around you feel like hands around your throat and your chest heaves. Throwing off the duvet you stand up and stretch, the small pops and clicks from your back. After a few moments you slide open the door and step into the hallway, heading to the kitchen to start a kettle.

Maybe you were being a little harsh on them earlier. Tendou was a real threat and only sought you out, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that whoever that boy was with him a few nights ago seemed to recognize you, Oikawa and Iwaizumi. They were there with you through thick and thin when you had to organize almost half of the mafia’s patrol cars, pickup sites and so much more. You went above and beyond to prove to that old fucking geezer that you deserved to be in your seat as an executive. Tooru and Hajime did nothing but support you, even after they discovered that you did in fact fake your death and worked as a detective in the same city they thought you abandoned. Even after that they still treated you like nothing happened.

The kettle whistles and you take it off the heat, trying your best to stay as quiet as possible in the early morning hours. Preparing a tea strainer and some leaves, you grab a mug and start to assemble everything. As the tea steeps, you open the back door and let the cool breeze engulf your body.

The wood that covers the porch is cool to the touch, the soles of your feet uncomfortable, wanting to go back inside but you continue forward. The only things warming you under the cascade of stars is the mug between your hands and a blanket you placed around your shoulders. You venture off of the porch onto the soft moss that tickles your toes. Further into the trees is a small creek, in which you placed a few hardwood chairs.

No distractions, you allowed yourself to continue your train of thought from earlier. Once it fully settles in your consciousness that they are in their own right to want to be a part of this battle. Just as much was on the line for them as it was for you, and it never really hit until now.

So what would happen if I let them stay?

This was the real kicker. And before you knew it, you were going through every possible scenario you could think of, listing the pros and cons of having a team to work with rather than only relying on yourself.

The moon shifts throughout the night sky as you get up a few times to refill your cup, and before you know it rays of sunshine start to peer through the fog that settles under the canopy of leaves. With a new piping cup in your hands you resume the various tracks of different decisions. Inside, Kuroo slowly cracks open his eyes, the sunshine peeking through the blinds and the birds chirping. In the other room Iwaizumi sighs heavily and looks over Tooru. Shadows define his jaw and cheekbones, even accentuating the curve of his lips and the flutter of his lashes when he finally opens his eyes.

“G’morning.” Hajime’s voice is scratchy, his eyes red from the haziness that comes in the morning.

“Morning.” With a smile, they both take their time getting up and ready for the day.

Kuroo straightens out his clothes (which he slept in) and walks out into the living room. He notes the kettle and jars of loose tea leaves on the counter, also noting that you’re nowhere to be seen. The door to your room is open as well, arousing his suspicion.

A glance passes between the two men as they each put back into their clothes. First it was Hajime trying to catch a glance at Tooru, and then vice versa just a few seconds later. They stumble around one another, pick dusting their cheeks but neither speaks.

A knock at the door interrupts their game of cat and mouse along with a voice. “Have you guys seen Y/N?”

Hajime finishes the buttons of his shirt and slides the door open. “No? She’s not here?” It’s like last night all over again, the panic bubbling in his chest.

“I haven’t seen her at all, and her room’s empty. I think she’s around since the car is still here and there’s stuff on the counter, I was just wondering if you guys heard or saw her?” Kuroo fidgets with his fingers, picking at the cuticles with his nail.

“You checked all the rooms?” Hajime takes command of the situation, stepping out of his room and into the living space.

“Yeah, all empty.” Kuroo follows him and Oikawa behind Kuroo.

“Well the back door is open, so…” Tooru nods towards the door although no one sees it.

Without another word the trio walk into the forest, taking in the scenery before them. Calm was the one word that came to mind. Branches crunch under their heels, alarming you to their presence.

They can see your figure up just ahead and slow their roll. Kuroo stops in his tracks and just looks at you bathing in the golden sunlight, hair disheveled and eyes baggy once you finally turn and face them.

“Morning boys.” You sound and look tired, each of them knowing that you probably didn’t get any sleep at all but continue down the path to meet you. With a single gesture you get them to sit in the chairs beside you. You say nothing as you drink the cold tea - or what’s left of it at this point.

“What’s going on up there Y/N?” Oikawa pokes his temple and looks at you with the most sincere eyes. It’s not like the question wasn’t just on his mind, but the silence was starting to kill him.

“I did a lot of reflecting last night,” you start, setting the small cup onto the moss and straightening up. “For starters, I hope you all can forgive me for the way I treated you last night. It was unfair and I finally get that we’re all fighting for the same thing. You all have just as much reason to fight the Port Mafia as I do.” You make eye contact with each of them individually as you try to convey remorse.

They each take it the same, knowing that adrenaline was high and that you meant the best for all of them. If anything, Hajime knows that the both of you will need to have a one on one conversation later to clear the air.

“As for what I said last night,” you turn your eyes downward, knowing that you can’t bear to stare at their eager eyes, “I thought about it, and I want to take it all back. If you want, I could use the extra hands.”

Silence settles again, but Tooru doesn’t let it last long. He stands up from his chair and rushes over to give you a big hug. His arms encase you and he puts his head close to your shoulder. “Thank you.”

It catches you off guard, but tears build in your eyes. What did you ever do to deserve them? “Of course. I knew you guys weren’t gonna leave me alone once you knew where I've been hiding.”

“Damn straight.” Hajime joins the hug, placing his head on your other shoulder.

Kuroo stays in his seat and watches the scene unfold, not wanting to ruin a second reunion. He goes back to fiddling with his fingers and looking at the ground until the three of you break off from one another. You walk over to him and place a hand over his, preventing him from doing any more damage to his hands. Maneuvering them in a way to grasp one of his hands, he looks up at you, the rays of sunshine behind you, filling the forest.

Holding onto his rough hand and smiling down on him, you say “Let’s get to work.”

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bestbouy · 4 years ago

Text

A Nagging Feeling

A Nagging Feeling - by JUST LOOK UP JESUS THIS HAS CRASHED SO MUCH I’M TIRED Summary: My an g st y Version of what Happened in Season two, Episode: 23, Alone together. Also, Warning, Unhappy ending. Character focus: Ikor (Ice herald) Fandom: Gormiti (The Reboot) 2018 When Ikor had First Discovered The One tower, He was. . . Confused. This was.. a legend! A mere Legend! So how was he here, Standing in front of it?

He knew something was wrong. He could tell. Something Was bothering him, something... Something Nagging him About it.

When the Meka Gormiti Where Discovered, That feeling was still there. He was supposed to be the Smart one, ALL the icyes where, So why couldn’t he figure out what it was?

After the trial with Kyonos, he was Still feeling that... Ping. It was so weird. He Ignored it the best he could, But that wasn’t Very well.

His friends didn’t help.

“We’ve come ALL THIS WAY and it’s all on you! Mess this up, And we lose Everything!” That was Riff. He sounded Excited.

“Right! Mess this Up, Am KABOOM!” Eron Exploded in Ikor’s face. “All gone! Bye-Bye gorm, Bye-Bye Us, See you NEVER!” Eron seemed to be teasing him.

“Talk about Preasure!” Trek commented.

‘Well thanks, Guys, that helps A lot!’ He wanted to say, But his brain short circuited.

“No! l-look, I-”

Riff again. “Awe Chill out Dude, The icemen Always have the perfect plan, Right?”

“W-well, I- i, I guess we do need to plan Carefully.” He Said, barely able to keep the quivers out of his voice. “But ah, I’m open to some Friendly Advice.”

After that little encounter with Ao-ki, He was really not feeling well. He had to clear his head, But he didn’t get any time to as Kyonos began rushing to the Artifact.

“Hah! Kyonos Has got this, And He didn’t even need your Perfect Plan!”

That stung. Considering he didn’t actually have a “Perfect Plan”, It shouldn’t have.

“My Perfect plan, right...” His ears dipped.

Oh Howling-

As Kyonos Went Straight into a portal, and then reappeared Next to them- Ikor Knew exactly Who it was. This had happened three times before, And the Routine hadn’t Changed just yet.

As Cryptus Climbed out of the portal, Ikor was Once again Taken aback. What could he do now? Kyonos Couldn’t get to the portal, And if he couldn’t get to the Portal, That meant-

Kyonos Went through another portal, Appeared Next to them again. “Vhat?” The meka knight exclaimed, Then looked to them. “Ikor, I can approach Ze artifact, But i cannot Deactivate it until you have Defeated Cryptus!” He shouted, And was gone again.

Ikor couldn’t think. It was too much.

You have to try, Ikor. You can’t let them down.

“Yup! Time for your Perfect plan, Iceman!”

Ikor stuttered, Thinking. “My perfect plan is- I mean, We should- Uhm-” His ears Went further and Further down As he thought. “Let’s- Call the ice Lord! H-He’s the best there is Anyway, So, That’s the Best plan!”

“Makes sense, Kinda.” Eron supported. Maybe i’m not a faliure after all.

(Insert elemental knights stuff IM NOT WRITING THAT :I)

As Lord Trityon Entered the Battlefield, He Looked back at the group. “Greetings, Prince of the Ice, Heralds.” He announced. “I see the Meka Knight can’t reach the artifact.” He said.

“Yes. You’ve got to Catch Kryptus So he cannot make anymore portals.” Ikor Explained, And Trityon Frowned.

“I am one of the Strongest Gormiti ever, But i am not the fastest. Your decision to call me Might have been unwise.”

Ikor knew what was coming.

“Ikor, You messed Up!” Riff.

“Oh dude it was so OBVIOUS!” Eron.

“B-But i-” Ikor stuttered.

“My Ultra Powers may make the Difference, But you Must maintain Focus at All Times.”

“I-” He paused, Just for a second. “I Can do this!” And he forced himself to focus on giving him The energy he Needed.

As Trityon Rushed to battle Cryptus, Ikor hesitated. “FOCUS HARDER! I need more Speed!” Trityon Suddenly Roared.

“I’ll try!” He said, And put all his energy Into The Lord.

As they fought, Ao-ki Started to speak. “This is A Disaster! Ikor, If you can’t Focus, Kyonos won’t make it to the Artifact!”

Ikor had heard this Before. “And Bye-Bye us, I know!”

Cryptus Looked over. “My, My! Herald, You seem to be under a lot of-” He put his Hand on his head, “Preasure!” And snickered.

“Got any Bright ideas?” Riff asked.

“Lord Trityon-” His voice shook with every word. “Just blast him!”

“I can Try.” Was the only Response.

The Nagging Feeling was even louder, It hurt His head...

As the two Gormiti Fought, The pulsing in his head was Growing.

“N-now we just need to Win some time so Kyonos can Finish the Job-” Was all he could manage out over the noise.

Kyonos was almost there.

“Time? Time is What you DON’T have, Little Hearld!” Cryptus Exclaimed. “Wha?” He was too Exhausted.

“Tell me, Iceling, Do you see the Energy Flowing to the Artifact?” Cryptus Grinned.

Ikor Slowly looked up. Yes, He saw it. It was Almost full.

“When the Artifact is Fully charged, Lord Voidus Will have all the Power he Needs!”

Ikor felt something come over him. It wasn’t Normal. It felt like... Dread. Knowing he was going to Lose. Knowing his friends wouldn’t be there to help him. Knowing they WOULDN’T, even if they could.

Trityon Said something. Ikor couldn’t tell what. Something about... Focus?

he couldn’t.

The Artifact was almost full. Almost Done.

Almost over.

He couldn’t stop it now.

“It’s over! This is the end of Gorm! You have lost everything, And you have lost Everyone.” Cryptus Laughed.

“He’s right.” Ikor said, His hands dropping to the ground.

Somewhere distant. “Herald! I need your Help! We all Need Your help.”

who was that?

““Focus, Ikor! Focus!” More commanding.

Ikor couldn’t think . . .

Everything- keep Cryptus busy, stop the Energy, Get Kyonos there, Keep gorm safe, Keep his Friends safe...

Too much.

Laughing, Evil. He can’t do anything. And for the first time, He realizes this.

“I can’t do it. I can’t Focus!” He cried out, “This was the final test and i FAILED!” He shouted, Sobbing. He fell on all fours, Tears dripping to the floor. “go ahead, you can hate me now.” Barely a whisper.

“Hate you?” Trek asked. “Whadda Talking about?”

“I let you down. I let Gorm down.” He wiped tears away from his face. “I don’t always have a plan. . “

Ikor Didn’t want to hear whatever his friends had to say. But he had a guess.

“Uh, Duh! You DID screw up! Bigtime! You shouldn’t even have that Bracer!”

“Agreed, He’s too much of a failiure to have it.”

“Yeah! We should have gotten rid of him from the Start!”

Riff began to Say something, But He didn’t listen. He was to busy Taking off the Bracer and sprinting away, Tears pelting the ground below him.

The bracer clunked on the ground as he sprinted.

He didn’t wanna See that Bracer again

He didn’t wanna see a gormiti Again.

He didn’t wanna see- . . . His friends, Ever again.

They managed. Continued on and Stopped Voidus, But they Missed him. And they had no clue how to get their best friend back.

he wasn’t coming back. Not after that. Not ever, if he could.

@rubystar2

#Ikor #Gormiti 2018 reboot #ikor gormiti #gormiti ikor #Y'all want a second part #cause i'll make a second part #RAINBOW I'M TAGGING YOU THIS WAS THE LOST FIC #Idk half of it is just me reciting the episode lmao

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stylesluxx · 5 years ago

Text

cold? chilling? freezing (III) – s.rogers

[warnings: swearing, a fight scene, and like 30 seconds of tension]

summary: in which y/n is an assassin turned lover | part two| part four

word count: 2,967

masterlist

Natasha went with the medical team so she could keep an eye on Barton and you decided to let them have a private moment.

You walked to the setting where you were first introduced to the "team"; the room that had a meeting table and an overview of the agents working on their computers.

Tony and Steve sat a chair apart from each other and Fury stood at the head of the table, about to rant, no doubt. Steve was looking down at the table and Tony was looking anywhere but towards the humans in the room. They both held looks of shame and possibly guilt.

You walked over and sat at the end of the table, a chair between you and Steve. You sighed and safely put your gun back at your ankle before looking up and waiting for Fury to talk.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket," He started and tossed the bloody Captain America cards on the table. "I guess he never did get you to sign them."

You watched Steve hesitantly reach over and look at one of the cards, his frown deepening. You tore your eyes from the sad sight and focused on Fury again.

"We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, the location of the Cube, Banner, Thor... I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming... Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier.

"There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

Tony abruptly stood up and your eyes stood up, following him out before looking over at Steve. You both stood up and followed him out but keeping a distance.

Tony stopped in an open area with stairs and looked over the banister, his arms behind his back. You and Steve stood next to each other, 20 feet away from the billionaire.

"Did he have a wife?" Steve spoke up after a minute of silence.

"No," Tony answered. "There was a cellist, I think."

"I'm sorry."

"He seemed like a good man," You spoke before clearing your throat.

"He was an idiot," Tony bluntly responded.

"Oh!" You hummed and blinked at him in shock.

"Why? For believing?" Steve countered.

"For taking on Loki alone."

"He was doing his job.”

Tony scoffed, "he was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..."

Steve walked closer to Tony but you decided to stay back. If they were going to argue again, you didn't want to be too close.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."

"Right, I've heard that before."

"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?"

"We are not soldiers!" Tony snapped and looked back at Steve with wide eyes. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither are we," You said and leaned against the wall next to you.

"He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now, we got to put that behind us and get this done. Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list-"

"He made it personal," Tony cut him off.

"That's not the point."

"It actually is the point," You corrected Steve. "Loki's been tricking and manipulating us this whole time. He has no doubt made it personal and that was the plan but it's also going to be our strength."

"He hit us right where we live. Why?" Tony rhetorically asked.

"To tear us apart," Steve answered.

"Divide and conquer us, great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants."

"He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it," You nodded, confirming Tony's thinking. "He wants an audience. This is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right?"

"Definitely a rival of yours," You mumbled.

"He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered... Son of a bitch."

You saw the gears turning in Tony's head and watched as he walked away to get suited up. You and Steve shared an amused look before you both walked out, going to your rooms to suit up too.

You stripped off the dirty and ripped clothes, tossing them into the trash.

You met back up with the team as you spotted them walking toward a seemingly empty plane. You noticed Barton was suited up and ready to go, making you excited to see him in action.

"Tony's meeting us?" You asked Steve and he nodded.

"Already left."

"Two things," You said and held up two fingers. "One, you do realize Fury was just guilt-tripping us to get our shit together, right?"

"Well, a spy's a spy," He shrugged. "And two?"

"We're about to steal a plane?" You questioned as you all walked through the entrance.

"Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here."

"Son, just don't," Steve shook his head.

Clint and Natasha pushed by the agent and Steve nodded toward where we entered, gesturing for him to leave. He got the hint and left but you figured he was just on his way to tell Fury what happened.

You sat in the seat closest toward the front of the plane and Steve sat across from you.

"Are you nervous?" He asked and glanced over at your leg before back into your eyes.

You hadn't realized your leg was bobbing up and down and you immediately stopped it.

"No," You deadpanned and looked away from him.

The plane was going over Star tower when Loki shot at it, making you and Steve hold onto whatever was closest to you. He had one hand clutching a bar on the ceiling and the other was gripping onto your bicep while yours were both gripping the bar.

"Captain, hold onto the pipe," You told him.

He let go of you and gripped the pipe as you crashed into the middle of the city.

You both jumped down and the four of you raced outside.

"We gotta get back up there!" Steve said as he looked up at the incoming alien army.

You stopped in the bridge when you heard a monstrous noise. You and Steve stood side by side and Natasha and Barton were right beside you.

"What the fuck..." You mumbled and looked up at the blue portal in the sky.

It looked like a robotic whale and as it flew past you, you inched closer to the group.

"Stark are you seeing this?" Steve spoke into his earpiece.

"Seeing. Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" You questioned.

"Just keep me posted."

You started running and had behind a taxi as the aliens began shooting at you, the group quickly followed behind.

"We've got civilians still trapped up here," Barton said and pointed to the buildings.

Steve looked over at the people on the ground as things started to blow up.

"We got this. It's good. Go," Natasha said to Steve.

He looked over at you and nodded.

"Y/N's, with me. Do you think you can hold them off?"

"Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure," Barton spoke confidently before he pulled out an arrow and started shooting the aliens.

You nodded and ran, making sure your foot landed on the railing of the bridge so you could jump down. You and Steve both rolled and jumped off the bus as it blew up behind you.

Steve ran over to the police as you went over to civilians and pointed at where they should run to.

"Subways or anywhere underground!" You told them and pointed to a train station a block away.

Once you made sure that that strip was clear, you hopped on a couple of cars before getting on top on a bus. You were going to climb up the railing but of course, the super-soldier had more momentum and grabbed you, before leaping onto the bridge.

You ran next to Natasha and kicked an alien off the bridge before you heard another big crash.

You looked over and saw Thor leaning on the car next to him to get on his feet.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable," Thor said.

"Thor's right. We got to deal with these guys," You heard Tony in your ear.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

"As a team," Steve said making you roll your eyes at the cliché line. "I know you're not used to a team, but today, just pretend," Steve rudely directed toward you, his eyes narrowed.

"I've been on a team before. Don't act like you know anything about me, Captain," You spat, upset that he thought he knew anything about you. "You don't know much, so don't assume and just stick with what you do know."

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor redirected the conversation and you tore your enraged eyes away from Steve.

"Yeah? Well, get in line," Barton huffed.

"Loki's going to keep the fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He's going to need us to-"

Steve was cut off by the sound of a motorcycle and you turned to look at Banner.

You all walked over to him but you kept your distance, staying behind Steve and next to Natasha.

"So, this all seems horrible," He said awkwardly as he got off the bike.

"No kidding," You scoffed and crossed your hands over your chest.

"I've seen worse," Natasha said, alluding to the big green monster.

"Sorry."

"No, we could use a little worse."

"Stark, we got him," Steve informed Tony.

"Banner?"

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

You looked up and saw the whale-like thing from earlier.

"I-I don't see how that's a party," Natasha said.

"He's such a jackass," You mumbled.

Banner quickly turned into the Hulk and punched the monster, trying to keep it away but it only started to flip over.

"Hold on!" You heard Tony as he shot into it.

Steve was quick to put up his shield and move over so he could protect and cover both of you.

Even after being an asshole, he was still a decent guy. You thought it weird how his mind immediately thought of covering himself as well as you of all people. You had just butted heads not even two minutes ago, but here he was, gripping onto your shoulder and holding his shield above you. Of course, this wasn't the first time he had been looking after you, but you were just now detecting a pattern. You hadn't known him for a full day yet but it seemed like you never left his mind.

"Are you always this chivalrous?" You asked, taking a peek over your shoulder to look at him.

"Yes, ma'am," He nodded making you chortle.

He stood up once the damage was done and gently pulled you up with him. The seven of you stood in a circle, facing outwards so you could assess everything.

"Guys," You spoke up and watched as more of the big aliens came through the portal.

"Call it, Captain," Tony said as they all saw what you were looking at.

"All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash," Steve directed them.

Tony grabbed Barton and flew up into the sky, taking Steve's orders.

"Thor, you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up," He continued before Thor flew away. "Us three, we stay on the ground. We keep the fight here. And Hulk... Smash."

The solitude you had on the bridge was gone now and was becoming more of an attraction to the aliens.

You were slammed on top of a car, making you groan. The alien went to attack you but you grabbed its weapon and kicked it away with both feet. You got up quickly and hit an incoming alien with the staff before shooting at the one that originally attacked you.

"What the hell are these things?" You asked but you knew the other two mortals had no idea.

You looked around and saw Natasha take out the last alien on the bridge. You huffed and sat on the dented hood of the car.

"You okay? You're bleeding?" Steve asked as he walked over to you.

"I'm good. But none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal," You said between breaths.

Natasha walked over and looked over at Stark tower.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," Steve frowned.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns," Natasha hummed was she came up with an idea.

"Give me a boost?" You asked him, an eyebrow raised and a smirk plastered on your face.

He was hesitant but backed up and put his shield in position for you to step on.

"You sure about this?" He asked.

"I'll be fine, Cap," You nodded confidently and backed up to the other side of the bridge.

He nodded and you ran toward the car, putting one foot on the hood before jumping on Steve's shield and clinging onto the alien's hovercraft.

You climbed up onto the hovercraft and grabbed a knife from your belt, cutting the chain off the alien. You roundhouse kicked it off the ship and before moving over to the driver.

"Okay, turn for me," You mumbled as you sunk your fists into its back. The alien went limp underneath you and you were now somewhat in control of the hovercraft.

You were almost at the tower as you looked around to see where your teammates were. Clint was in the building, Natasha was still on the bridge, Tony was in the sky shooting down some aliens, and the Hulk and Thor were nowhere to be found. You couldn't see Steve anywhere until he flew out of a window and onto a car.

"You alright Captain?" You spoke into the headset as you watched him stand up.

"Yeah. You get to the tower yet?" He asked and looked around to find you.

"Just arrived," You confirmed and jumped off the hovercraft and rolled into the rocks.

You groaned and laid there for a minute before getting up. You walked over to the cube, not noticing the man lying by it.

"The scepter," He croaked out from the edge of the building.

"Doctor Selvig. You alright?" You asked, turning to him and looking for any injuries.

"Loki's scepter. The energy," He babbled on.

"It's not your fault. He brainwashed you," You spoke and crouched down beside him.

"Actually, I think I did," He said and you looked at him with confused eyes.

He kept explaining to you that you needed the scepter to close the portal and you looked over the ledge and spotted it.

"Okay, I'll be right back," You said and went inside the building and taking the stairs.

You walked through, wanting to admire the fanciness of it all but knew you needed to do this quickly. You went outside and quickly grabbed the scepter before going inside and back upstairs. You walked over to the cube as Selvig opened up his computer and started to type. You pushed the scepter closer to the cube and sighed in relief when you realized the doctor was right.

"Captain, I can close it," You huffed out but still held optimism in your voice. "I can shut the portal down."

"Do it!" Steve replied eagerly.

"No, wait. I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute," Tony announced. "And I know just where to put it."

You sighed and kept the scepter tight in your grasp. You watched Tony fly close the tower and bring the nuke through the portal, making you sigh in relief.

"Come on, Tony," You mumbled as you watched the portal, waiting for him to fly out.

"Close it," Steve said, defeated.

"But-" You were starting to protest but stopped.

This was a mission, you had to remind yourself. It's not always going to end the way you want it to but as long as the job is done, it was a success.

You sighed and stuck the scepter into the cube, the portal quickly shutting. You watched it shut and displayed a small smile once you saw the red and gold suit.

"Son of a bitch," You chuckled and stepped away from where the portal used to connect.

You walked inside and watched Loki sit up from when the Hulk threw him down.

"Don't move too fast, might pass out," You antagonized him.

Minutes later the rest of the team came up and you gave Steve a small smile once you saw him which he returned. They walked over and stood next to you, as you stood over Loki while he crawled up the steps and turned the face you guys.

You stood next to Steve and behind Barton with Loki's scepter in your hand and tantalizing smirk.

[AN: sorry this took so long. I posted this part maybe about a week ago but tumblr wasn’t letting people see it so I had to wait a bit]

[tags: @thisartemisnevermisses @thatoneperson5000]

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rotationalsymmetry · 4 years ago

Text

How to talk about a problem in a relationship (a kinda long list):

Literally no one knows how to do this well. Doing it not completely awfully is still pretty good.

One approach is to wait for a good time to talk about it. “Is this a good time to talk?” “Would x be a good time?” (Sometimes “we need to talk” and variants come across as “I’m going to break up with you”, so, uh, depending on how your partner reacts it might make sense to explicitly say this is an attempt to resolve problems talk, not a breakup talk.)

Some couples set aside regular times to talk about whatever’s come up that week.

Sometimes a more spontaneous just blurt it out approach works well, sometimes it works very badly.

Take a break if either or both people are being emotional enough that it’s hard to listen to each other. Sometimes the most direct way to getting over an issue is to step away for a few minutes.

(Don’t take your anger out on your partner. It’s OK to feel anger, but find some way of dealing with your anger that doesn’t involve being mean.)

This might just be us, but my partner and I have found that things often go better if we communicate in writing rather than talking. As in: one person writes a few things down and hands the paper over to the other person, who writes down their responses. Often “mind map” style with boxes and arrows. Point is: figure out what works for you. (Usually trying to talk things out by text or email is discouraged, because the lack of tone of voice or body language makes it hard to tell intent. But, ymmv, sometimes I’ve had texting go well, sometimes it’s opened a portal to the nether dimensions.)

In general asking for things is better than demanding things, and it often does help to know what you want and say so rather than making the other person guess.

Including: figuring out whether you want empathy/understanding first or problem solving right away, and comminicating that.

(What if you need the thing, does it really make sense to ask if it’s a NEED? Well, you never need a thing from a specific person, but you might need things to have the relationship be worthwhile, to be able to share a home with the person, to have sex with a person, etc. So, you can say that. For instance, “I want this relationship to work out in the long run, but that can’t happen unless...” Yeah, it sounds ultimatum-y, but if you can’t live with the way things are you can’t live with it. Your end goal here is either to get that thing you want OR to know you’re not going to get it here so you can move on, your need does not create an obligation on the other person’s part.)

(For instance: I used to be in a relationship where in the end the other person needed monogamy and in the end I needed polyamory. Neither one of us was capable of giving the other person what they needed. Sometimes break-ups are an incompatibility thing, not about anyone doing anything wrong.)

Try to bring up one problem at a time and not 20 different complaints all at once. Even if your brain is giving you 20 complaints all at once.

“I feel” statements: I’m angry, I’m lonely, when you did x I felt sad, etc. This does two things: it’s an alternative to more volatile statements (see below) and it encourages self awareness. Also, sometimes people can’t read each other’s feelings, so it helps your partner be aware of what’s going on with your feelings too. Three things!

Avoiding name calling, generalizations, etc: you’re so selfish, you always x/you never y, etc. Instead: I felt hurt when you did x. I would like you to do y more often. (Personally I’ve found that focusing on good things to say is more effective than focusing on what not to say, ymmv.)

Throw in kind/positive statements often (assuming they’re true): I love you so much, I want us to work through this together, I hope we stay together a long time, I really appreciate it when you x, thank you for hearing me out.

Spend as much time trying to understand as to be understood. Ask questions. Leave time for answers. Check to make sure you got it right. Affirm the other person’s feelings and agree with them when they’re right. (Even if they’re also wrong about other things. Agreeing with one thing doesn’t mean they’ve won, this is not a debate, there aren’t points.) Sometimes you need to take turns on who’s being listened to and who’s doing the listening — trust that if you’re doing the listening first, you’ll get your chance later, and your partner will be in a more open state of mind because they got heard. (Your partner might need to be prompted that you want to be listened to now.)

That said, if you’re worried you’ll lose what you meant to say... writing stuff down is so good. But also if it’s important you’ll probably be able to get it back.

When to bring up a problem rather than just accepting the way things are? Well, you can do both, and even if you’re trying to accept something you don’t like, it’s often a good idea to let your partner know that you are struggling to accept it. One, maybe they can do something to help, two, if this ends up being a Huge Deal it won’t be coming out of nowhere for your partner. People tend to overestimate how good they are at just chilling. And it’s really no fun to be on the receiving end of “this has been bothering me for our entire relationship and I’ve had it up to here, even though I’ve never once mentioned it before now.”

Do something fun afterwards. (And/or do stuff that feels good or relieves stress during: does drinking delicious warm beverages while you talk help? Do you need to fidget? Does doodling work better than making eye contact? Does it help to take frequent breaks to focus on breathing for a minute? Does it help if you take a moment of silence before you start talking? Is it easier if you hold hands while talking?) You did a hard thing and you deserve to feel good about yourself.

#relationship advice #difficult conversations #communication skills #bringing up problems in a relationship #it’s kinda like going to the dentist #no one wants to do it but if you don’t things get much worse #incidentally #if you’re doing the best you can and your relationship talks never go well #the problem may not be with you #communication skills are good for healthy to moderately dysfunctional relationships #no amount of communicating well will fix abuse #it is like trying to screw in a nail #you have the wrong tool for the problem #also good communication will not necessarily fix things #if your problem is someone ignoring your boundaries #communication is about getting closer #getting more distance requires different skills #long post

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vitamx · 5 years ago

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watch and learn: chapter 3

[ Read on AO3 too! ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 2 ] [ You are here! ] [ Chapter 4 ]

---

Chewing on his lip, Mumbo looked down at the floor, choosing his next words carefully. Grian was right- he couldn't waste time thinking up the questions themselves, but what else could he do?

This suspicious figure he'd unintentionally spotted had seemingly been following him, watching him...

Of course it would be a bit hard to pick his words.

Grian's icy gaze seemed to watch his every precise movement, narrowed dangerously.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Mumbo sighed, grasping his hands together to keep them warm, and raised his head, locking eyes with the winged being.

"What... are you?" He muttered cautiously. "Humans don't have wings."

"Straight to the point, are we?" Grian tsked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I'm simply an observer; a spectator... A Watcher." He hummed in amusement, a polite smile growing on his face once more.

"That doesn't exactly answer my question," Mumbo huffed in frustration. "Are you some new- new mob or something?" He guessed.

Grian laughed loudly, covering his smile with his hand.

His laugh sounded hyper and mischievous- sounded as if it belonged to someone who was watching the world explode.

That laugh sent shivers down Mumbo's spine.

"Oh- no, no! I'm not a mob, do you take me for some mindless monster? That's so silly. I answered your question- I am a Watcher." He chuckled, his laugh quieting down. "Though... I used to be human, you know. I was the owner of a server, too." He mused, a strange softness in his eyes.

"You were human?" Mumbo questioned, the tension from his shoulders slowly fading. "How can you suddenly not be a human anymore? What happened?"

Grian's smile fell from his face, an icy cold returning to the room once more. He did not look mad, per se, but rather, he looked melancholic, and bothered.

"Don't you think there are more important questions you could be asking?" He replied flatly, before an amused smile was plastered on his face. "You can't unlock my secret backstory until my 7th side-quest!" He joked, snorting to himself.

Despite the unexpected answer, Mumbo snapped his mouth shut, unease settling in his gut.

Though, if there was some way to turn a human into... whatever it is that Grian was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Well- alright, then..." Mumbo stuttered, rubbing his arms as the room grew colder still. "How... How did you come here? Did Xisuma whitelist you? He never said anything about a new hermit coming."

"...Ah." Grian hummed, pulling a face. "I'm actually not so sure myself. I think we just... Can. Not so sure why- though, we Watchers are some sort of otherworldly entity and such."

"You don't know how you were able to enter the server?" Mumbo asked, dumbfounded. "-Wait, 'otherworldly entity'?"

"Yes, yes, I just said that," Grian sighed, rolling his purple-hued eyes. "And yeah, Watchers live beyond the Void, which technically makes them 'otherworldly'. Maybe that's why, actually- the Void connects to all worlds, after all..." He mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

"That's... O-okay, then..." Mumbo muttered, pulling on the collar of his dress shirt- he was talking to some sort of alien, then? "Why... Why are you here? You said you had a 'task' to do. What is it?"

The corner of Grian's mouth twitched, and he glanced to the side for a quick second- usual signs that belonged to a liar.

"Well, if you must know..." He sighed, quickly plastering a smile on his face. "It's a Watcher's duty to keep an eye on worlds. Make sure it's not falling apart, or that nothing gets corrupted... Oh, and we help with updates, too." He explained, tapping the table with his finger mindlessly.

Mumbo's eyes narrowed in confusion and hesitance.

He remembered Grian's earlier statement, if it was that hard to believe he wasn't here to hurt him... And while it was not even ten minutes ago, suddenly it felt as though, just maybe, Grian didn't seem so bad.

(Though, of course, something about him still left him with a sense of unease and uncertainty.)

"So..." Mumbo began, his lips pulling into a thin line. "You're like... A guardian of the world? Then... Why are you so against me telling anyone you're here?"

Grian frowned, the tapping on the table growing faster and painfully louder as the seconds quickly slipped by.

He was silent, eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared daggers in Mumbo's direction, the room suddenly feeling like a freezer. The ice patterns on the walls ever so slightly grew out towards the ceiling and floor, the air chilled and foggy...

"Didn't I mention it before?" Grian muttered, annoyed. "Watchers are not supposed to be-"

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and the familiar warping effect of an enderman flashed around him- within a second, he was gone.

Mumbo's eyes were wide, and he stood up abruptly, shivering still and tightly hugging onto himself. Nearly instantly, a firework was heard, and after that, several more. Before long, a figure flew in through the window, nearly tumbling into him.

"MUMBO!" Stress yelled, stumbling onto the ground and taking ahold of his shoulders. "How could you be four hours late to a meeting?! It's nearly-"

Mumbo couldn't hear the rest of what she was saying- his eyes had drifted to the side. On the table where Grian had sat, there were faint carvings on the tabletop, of which appeared to be strange symbols and markings: Galactic writing.

Before long, Stress had noticed he wasn't listening, halting her speech and following his gaze.

"Oh, hey," Stress hummed, hands slipping off of Mumbo's stiff shoulders, her fingers tracing over the symbols. "Isn't this Galactic? Have you been practicin' writing it or somefing?" She wondered, turning to look at Mumbo with wide, innocent eyes.

"I-" Mumbo began, blinking rapidly. He felt a slow pit of guilt return to his gut as he carefully planned his next words. "...Yes, I- I have been. It's a... nice pastime. Rather than redstone, I mean." He stuttered, wringing his fingers together almost in shame- he hoped he was better at lying than he thought.

"Well," Stress huffed, eyes narrowing playfully. "Next time don't carve it on our table! Now I've got'a go replace the damn block... What's it say, anyway?"

"Oh-! Um, it-it, says..." Mumbo stammered, face flushing red in embarrassment. Why'd he have to go and make up an excuse that he himself couldn't go with?

(Though, more adamantly on his mind, why was he making an excuse for Grian, anyways?)

"Wait, wait, don't tell me! I've been learning a bit myself too, you know! Helpful when you're enchantin' stuff, 'n all that." Stress grinned, eyebrows furrowing as she looked down at the carvings once more. "Ot... No, that's an A... At the... 'At the dragon'? What is that s'pposed t' mean?"

Slowly, the dread Mumbo had been setting aside came back to him full-force, his face paling and his eyes widening ever-so-slightly.

"At the dragon". Grian had carved that out, hadn't he?

"Um..." Mumbo began, swallowing as his throat suddenly felt dry. "Don't... Worry about it. I was just... writing down random stuff." He rasped, looking off to the side and forcing a grin onto his face. "Sorry for, erm, missing the meeting, too. Didn't sleep too well, I guess."

Stress' eyes softened, and she offered Mumbo a comforting smile- one that seemed much more genuine than the polite, porcelain smiles Grian had on his face constantly.

"Oh, forget about all that, luv. Why don't you go get some more rest, then? You look a little pale," She hummed, placing a hand on Mumbo's shoulder gently. "It's awfully cold in here, too. I'll bring by some hot cocoa later, how's that sound?"

Mumbo smiled exhaustedly and gratefully, shoulders drooping.

"That... sounds lovely. Thank you, Stress," Mumbo mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. "I think I will go and do that- rest, I mean. I'll see you later, Stress..." He hummed, grabbing his set of rockets and waving a quick farewell before leaping out of the window, and stumbling into the air towards his base.

He tried not to think too much about the cryptic message Grian had most definitely carved onto the table- with his finger, too.

Though, of course, curiosity did kill the cat.

"At the dragon"... What exactly did that mean? The first thing that came to mind was Stress' faux ice-dragon that curled around her winter-themed castle in Hermitville.

Other than that, there were Tango's dragon towers (which weren't even complete yet), but that seemed like the less likely option. Though, was there something inside the dragon? Did Grian want to meet up with him there?

...Should he risk meeting up with him?

Grian still wasn't exactly a friendly entity, even if he claimed that he was watching the server as it's- what, protector?

But still, Mumbo couldn't risk leaving Grian alone and letting him do whatever he pleased- he still had questions that needed answering, too.

As Mumbo landed on the roof of his spherical base, he looked down at the familiar scenery of the ocean.

The ocean was big, nearly endless, filled with life and wonders- Mumbo loved the ocean more than anything; save for redstone, of course. The salty smell of the ocean was comforting in a way, a reminder of what was around him.

Mumbo stayed on the roof of his base for hours- snacking on golden carrots, messing with redstone parts, and enjoying the smell and scenery of the ocean and the gentle wind that blew past him.

The sun soon began to set, and by then Mumbo had made up his mind.

Dusting off the redstone on his hands, Mumbo fired a rocket and flew down, down to the bottom of his base and through his nether portal.

Distantly, on a sculpted ice dragon, someone lay within the opened jaw of the non-organic creature, waiting...

Watching.

---

Stress drifted slowly to the floor of Mumbo's base, making a u-turn for his room, two mugs held in her hands and a bright smile on her face.

She couldn't help but feel giddy- it had been a while since she had hung out with Mumbo, after all! And what better way to spend time with a friend than to enjoy a tasty mug of hot cocoa?

Pushing the door open with her elbow, Stress glanced down at the chocolate and buckets of milk in her inventory, whispering into the room as to not cause a startle.

"Hey Mumbs, I brought the-" She began, stepping into the room completely.

She faltered, the smile on her lips slowly falling.

The room was empty and dark- it didn't look like anyone had been inside for hours.

"...Mumbo?"

---

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft au #hermitcraft fanfic #grian #watcher grian #wal grian #wal mumbo #mumbo jumbo #mumbo #stressmonster101 #stressmonster #wal stress #watch and learn #WaL

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william-ba · 4 years ago

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The Ink Demonth Day 31: Free Day...

I watched as the Lost One began his third phase in the fight with Bendy, who had mutated into Beast Bendy. I still couldn’t believe it.

I knew the author was going to cut short a few parts of the original plan, but I didn't expect him to not have a story for Hope. Something must have happened that made him quickly change his mind. He also didn’t post it on the same day.

Oh well, whatever it is, he seems intent on closing this disaster of a Lost One story. He really needs to stop trying to create plots where they aren't needed.

When Bendy disintegrated and the room was filled with a bright, white light, I knew it was finally time for me to enter the story. I let out a sigh as I got out of my seat and approached a door sitting in the void I call my base.

I had only one thought before entering: This man will not leave my grasp without suffering.

The Lost One awoke to a room full of colors. He let out a sigh of relief. He did it. He escaped Bendy’s domain.

Wait... where was he?

He looked behind him. There was a door and a shelf to the right of it with a gear, a Bendy doll, a book, an ink jar, a record, and a wrench sitting on it. Didn’t answer his question too well, but it did make him understand somewhat of the owner’s backstory. He looked forward toward the entrance of the kitchen. A bulletin board was located to the left of the doorway.

He got up and slowly approached it. The bulletin board contained letters from Wally Franks and Allison Connor. He read them and not only got the answer to his question, but also a quick catch up from his former Joey Drew Studios friends. Wally had moved to Florida with his family and started a Handyman business, and Allison had married Thomas Connor and got a new job at Archgate Films.

Nathan approached him once and offered him a job at that studio. The Lost One declined it, thinking his job as part of the Animation Department was still too good to just quit. Now, he regrets his decision.

Other than them, however, unpaid electric bills, a notice of bankruptcy, a photograph, and Bendyland concept art made it clear that the owner of the apartment he was exploring was Joey Drew.

He turned around an noticed a drawing desk littered with storyboard panels and a few reference sketches to the right of the kitchen doorway.

He approached them, but stopped when he heard whistling.

That wasn’t Joey’s voice.

The Lost One went into the kitchen. He found someone standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and whistling a song he didn’t recognize. Sunlight poured into the room and hid some of the man’s features, but the Lost One could make out his clothing. A red suit with dark brown or black pants.

“I know, I know, you have questions,” the man acknowledged. His voice was croaky, like a frog’s. “I have a question of my own: ‘Who are you, Henry?’ Of course, this makes no sense considering you aren’t Henry, but, hey, we’re in the finale, might as well ask.”

The Lost One didn't respond to the man standing in his former boss’s kitchen, so he continued.

“In the end, I’ve learn a lot about your world. You did so much in a long amount of time you had between abandoning your fellow employees... but for me... it was only a month. And now we’re together. I let this continue long enough.”

The man turned around and leaned on the bar stand that separated the two. The man’s features became more clear. He had black, wavy hair that ended with magenta tips. He had an eyepatch over his left eye. His other eye was snake like, and his iris was blue.

“The truth is, you were always destined to fail, friend... fail at saving everyone else. You have one chance to save yourself. Henry, come visit the old workshop.” the man directed his hand toward the door that stood to the right of a radiator. “There’s something I want to show you.”

There was a pause. Then, the Lost One spoke. “I’m sorry, but what was that? Why’d you keep calling me Henry? That’s Joey’s old friend. Also, who are yo--”

The Lost One was interrupted by a slap in the face that sent him flying through the door in Joey’s apartment and into the entrance of a long corridor that appeared to be back in the workshop. The man laughed as he retracted a tentacle that had appeared from seemingly nowhere. His laugh sent chills down the Lost One’s spine.

“Not important, you'll probably learn later that my name is Dominic!” Dominic shouted from the kitchen. “Make it to the room at the end and you’ll get your freedom! And for your grand finale, I’ve brought all your friends are back! Better hurry!”

When the Lost One saw a Searcher crawl out of one of the rooms, he quickly bolted down the corridor. When he ran past the one, he discovered many more were behind it, and they all began going after him for as long as they desired, which was ultimately only a few feet.

A tentacle popped out of the walls and shattered a stack of crates, freeing the Butcher Gang. They instantly began their chase. However, they weren’t like Searchers. They don’t stop their pursuit unless someone were to distract them, attack them, or if you hide from them. And none of those were options this time. He just had to keep running.

The Projectionist’s screech echoed through the hall, but he was nowhere to be seen. That’s when a crate was thrown through a hall and shattered, spilling ink hearts all over the floor. The Lost One sprinted past the now open door and the Projectionist ran after.

One final scream echoed through the long pathway. Alice appeared from a corner and grabbed the Lost One. In response, he grabbed her arm and flipped her over, then continued his escape. He looked back to see five people chasing him.

That number was reduced to one when Beast Bendy broke through a wall and knocked them all out. The Lost One began to panic. He sprinted down as fast as he could. It was only a short distance remaining, but he didn’t know how fast Beast Bendy would run in order to get to him. He discovered quickly that, despite being many feet apart originally, the Ink Demon was now half way towards him.

Still, he reached the door anyway and slammed it shut. His breathing was fast, but once he got it down to a normal rate, he sat down and laughed. He finally did it.

Dominic’s face popped up on a television screen in the small room. “Well, you did it. I guess I have to live up on my part of the deal.” He looked down in disappointment and began talking to himself. The Lost One looked in the middle of the room and saw a hatch. He walked over and opened it.

Sammy’s hand grabbed the Lost One’s neck. He ascended from the hatch with an axe.

“You. YOU. YOU JUST HAD TO GO AROUND AND RUIN ALL OUR PLANS! DO YOU KNOW HOW UPSET HE IS?! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT’S GOING TO BE TO PLEASE HIM AGAIN?! IT’S GOING TO TAKE FOREVER!”

Sammy stopped and seemed to be thinking. No. He was being told something.

“Well, it looks like it’s my lucky day. The Lord says he’ll reduce the amount of work I’ll need to do if I give him some sacrifices. And it looks like I’ll get double if you’re the first. Come now, sheep. It’s time for bed.”

Sammy descended into the hatch, and despite all his screaming and wiggling, the Lost One was brought down in too.

***

Dominic watched the event happen through the screen. He quickly dropped the facade and ran towards to portal.

Sammy wasn’t part of his plan. Te wasn’t even supposed to be in the exit portal. All that was supposed to happen was that he’d make it look like Joey’s apartment and Joey Drew Studios, and disguise his tentacles as Bendy monsters.

He looked down at the portal. The only hint of what could possibly be on the other end was a weapon left behind by Sammy. However, it was no longer an axe. Now, in it’s place, was a scythe.

“Damn it. That bastard stole my kill!”

***

Bandit walked on stage and the spotlight beamed down on him. The show was starting. The audience once again wore red hoods and mask as they watched Bandit perform. All but one. This one looked around in confusion. Like he didn’t know where he was.

It interested Bandit for a while, but he never showed it and eventually dropped it. He couldn’t get distracted. The show must go on.

#bendy and the ink machine #the ink demonth

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jbbuckybarnes · 5 years ago

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Alternative Endgame Ending | s.r.

Description: An alternative Endgame ending with Steve Rogers and female reader. Originally written for my friend @marmariavel . His actual ending makes no sense without the build-up that was necessary for it and I wanted to fix it. Pairing: Steve Rogers x female!reader

M A S T E R L I S T

Hurt, bleeding, angry and 100% willpower. Words describing Steve after Thanos had just fought him for the second time ever and this time he's not gonna back up. His angry face went to you for a second and you could see the giant split in the skin on his arm. "Fasten it!" you yelled. He saw you look down to his arm and did as you said. The pain on his face when he fastened the shield on his arm hurt you from just watching. His face was on Thanos and Thor that were fighting. With a look at you and a tone that was so silent and serious that he was creepy to you, he said, "Whatever it takes!" He held his hand out and seconds later Mjölnir flew into it with shock on your face, that you tried to play off before running to Thor, while Steve was fighting with Thanos. ______

He looked at you & then the army on the horizon. "Whatever it takes, Steve." you looked at him, knowing this was probably your last calm moment together forever. "Whatever it takes." he got a strand of hair out of your face. "I lo-" he started but you were interrupted by your earpieces. "Cap? Captain? Do you copy?" light was building behind you and you slowly turned around "On your left!" You looked at each other in awe and then saw more and more portals open up. Armies, multiple armies, just filling up this side of the horizon. Tears built up in your eyes as you looked back at Steve which made you hold them back. There was a battle to be fought. "AVENGERS!" everyone around you went into fighting positions. "Assemble." he almost growled and with a gigantic scream, the army clashed towards the little valley between the hills of rubble. "Y/N!" Shuri screamed and threw you some tech you've been trying out 5 years ago before she went missing. "Don't disappoint me, sister." she smiled while shooting an alien before running towards the next. Fire started going off shortly after and you were jumped and pushed to the ground next to a big piece of metal from the collapsed compound. "Today isn't a day to die, Mini-Steve." Bucky said into your ear. He was back, he was here. You needed to hold back a squeal of happiness. The fire started to shoot at the sky all of a sudden. "What-" he mumbled but saw the flying person. Your heart eyes towards the sky were what he saw next. "Carol, you fucking badass." a grin appeared on your face. Everyone watched the ship go down in less than a minute. "Danvers, we need an assist here." you both heard Steve and stood up. Right in front of you was a pretty beat up Peter. "Hey...I'm Peter...Parker." "Hey, Peter Parker. I heard you got something for me." You stood up when he said he didn't know how she would be able to get through the whole battlefield. "Don't worry." "She's got help," Okoye said with her usual powerful stance. A group of women built around Peter and Carol and you joined in. _____

You stood there with Shuri when an absolute silence was laid upon the battlefield. "Tony..." your eyes were not able to hold back the tears after that whisper. Clint went on his knee, T'Challa did the same, so did Shuri, Bucky, Sam, you fell to your knees and saw Steve do the same. You both just lost another person that was part of your family. _____

After he was all healed up, the heart-shattering funeral was over and Bruce had recovered, Steve needed to bring back the stones. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." Bucky said and then Steve went to hug you. "I love you," you whispered the one thing you wanted him to know for the last 4 years. You knew the chances of him maybe staying back in time. You hated that idea and his eyes were so uncertain when you saw him go up the stage. 5 seconds later & he didn't come back. With Sam mildly freaking out at Bruce and Bucky turning away you stood there with silent tears running down your face. He left. You didn't know what to feel, all you felt was making you lose a sob.

1 minute. It took one damn minute for him to come back to the stage. You sat on the floor in pieces, Bruce and Sam were looking at the tech and Bucky had taken a walk down the path they came from. The suit came off and a "Y/N?" came out. You looked up and your eyes widened. "Sorry, took longer than I thought." he smiled and pulled you up into his arms. "Fuck you for scaring me." you boxed his arms in the hug. "Thank you for ruining my plans and saving them at the same time." a kiss landed in your hair. "What do you mean?" you looked up. A sound came from the stage behind him. "A soul for a soul. Soulstone against the soul of my partner in crime." he smiled and the helmet went off of the person behind him. "NAT!" you almost pushed Steve away to hug her as tight as you could. "You missed me?" she had her usual smirk across her face. "So much. Especially when all women teamed up against our purple asshole." now you had tears of joy. "Wow. Can't believe you left me out of that." she joked. "You made it possible." you hugged her even tighter before letting her go to let Sam and Bruce hug her. Bucky noticed what happened and made his way back. "That was not the plan you told me, punk." he boxed him and hugged him. "Sam?" Steve said serious and made him turn to him. "Steve?" he smiled. "There is a shield waiting for you in Wakanda. I lost too many people to continue this with a good feeling and there is no person I'd rather see take my job." he smiled at him and Sam’s jaw was on the floor. "You- I can't. What?" he got out. "What do we do now, Cap?" you smiled at Sam and a flustered smiled made its way onto his face. "We take a break and help Pepper and the government after." he shrugged. "I really could go for one of Pepper's sandwiches right now," Nat said. "You can scare the shit out of everyone in that house right now." you smiled at her. "I'll just walk into the kitchen and see." she giggled. _____

A scream came from the kitchen of the house shortly after. You and the men giggled like school children at Pepper having a mild meltdown at Nat. "You can't just do that!" she had quickly calmed down. You all came in totally chill and greeted them normally. "Shit. You're gonna give me a heart attack someday." Pepper held onto the counter. "Clint will be scared out of his mind." an evil chuckle came from Nat as she bit down on the sandwich. The following hours were spent catching Natasha up on everything that happened. Tears made their way over her face, a rare occurrence before the snap but Steve and you were used to it a bit by now.

_____

You were sitting at the little lake with Steve, Bucky & Morgan. She was a mild but curious child and honestly fitting the group very well. Your feet were in the water and Morgan was switching from lap to lap every few minutes. She sat in yours when she asked, "Will my daddy ever come back?" The two men tensed up at the question and you needed to hold back tears but you could answer. "He's never completely gone. He's all around you. He made this whole world save for you and you always have a piece of him with you. Inside of your heart." you pointed at her chest and she smiled up. "You sound like him and mommy, Auntie Y/N." she giggled and a big smile came across your face. "Gonna get some more drinks," Bucky said and left. You knew exactly what he was doing here but you didn't mind. "Do you think Auntie Y/N should have a baby that you can play with someday?" you asked her softly. "Yes." she had one of those entire body smiles. "A boy or a girl?" you asked back and saw Steve smile at you both in your peripheral vision. "A girl." she smiled before climbing to Steve's lap again. "What hair color would she have, Morgan?" you continued asking and she pointed up at Steve's hair. You didn't miss the tiny hint of blush creeping up onto his face. "And which eye color?" you asked. "Blue." she giggled. "And would she a princess or a superhero?" you asked with a content smile. "A princess superhero." she clapped. "And what would be her power?" "She could do the things you can do and the things Uncle Steve can do and the things Uncle Sam can do and everything Aunt Nat can do," she said with a concentrated face. Steve and you looked at each other with a shy smile.

"I wanna go to mommy." she quickly got up and started running. "Slowly, Morgan. You don't wanna fall!" you loudly said but she was already close enough to the house. "She's the sweetest kid ever." he smiled and shook his head. "You're good with her." you smiled. A blush crept up again "I guess. But you're a natural." "Steve?" "Hm?" "Just say it." your soft, knowing and encouraging smile made his heart jump. "I love you." he smiled. "I love you too. Idiot." you rolled your eyes before finally leaning in for a kiss. "Never thought there would be a cure for all my grief," he mumbled against your lips. "You're finally accepting that you're in the now. Not in the past. You were in that bargaining and depression phase for longer than I've ever seen someone be in it. Glad to help, soldier." you winked and he pulled you onto his lap. "I love you," he said again. "Since when?" "The day I met you in Shuri's lab 5 years ago." he smiled and connected your lips again. "That's a long time to build up the courage." you ruined the moment and made the both of you laugh.

M A S T E R L I S T

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ngame989 · 6 years ago

Text

“Été” - TGG SVTFOE Fanfic Collection Ch. 2

Writing: @ngame989

Art: @toxicpsychox (make sure to follow him for bonus pics from the story!)

Editing: @bmc-nightfury, @seddm

Alternate fic links - FFnet, AO3

Summary: Summer is ending soon, and with the end of summer comes change, leaving Jackie Lynn Thomas feeling left behind. Can a certain pair of friends help her figure it out?

Comic Page

Masterpost

See below for the text, hope you enjoy!

“‘Mewni Welcome Soiree’, huh? The Echo Creek I know could never be this fancy, the fusion must already be rubbing off on it. It’s still no Paris, but c’est la vie.” Jackie grinned as her fingers traced the flier, one of many stapled haphazardly over the park, if not the whole town itself. All sorts of events and musical guests were outlined in shiny bold letters and pictures to get the message across as clearly as possible. The sweet laughter behind her was its own kind of music to Jackie’s ears.

Chlóe hopped over the back of the bench they had been sitting on to join her girlfriend’s perusal. “Surely it can’t be that bad?” she cautiously inquired, the French accent making itself especially pronounced when her voice lilted higher. “I’ve had a wonderful time in your city! And even if I don’t count you as part of that, it’s still been pretty fun.” Chlóe leaned into her as the two exchanged cheeky grins before Chlóe picked one of the fliers off the wall of the pavilion for herself. “Don’t be so down, there are some interesting-looking things here. Where else would I get to see The World’s Fattest Opossum on display?”

“Touché. It might be cool. What else have you got for us, Echo Creek?" The girls looked over their fliers, trying to find anything to peak their interest. Chlóe spotted a peculiar name under the "Bands" list.

"Looks like there's a concert, too. Mysterious Sonograms?"

Jackie's mind flew to the mediocre artists of said band. "It's the two guys from the taco stand and an otter… I think. Surprisingly less awful than you'd imagine, but that's a low bar."

"What about Infatuation Incarceration?"

"Oh yeah, that's the spin off band Love Sentence's head backup dancer started after their final breakup. They're… not really worth checking out though, to be honest. All their songs are just the dude angstily crying about how he's better off without them anyway."

Chlóe spotted the last name on the list. "The last act is a performance of… is this spelled correctly?"

Jackie scanned her own flier where Chlóe was looking. "'Faiurly Local'... someone typo’d it, but it's a good tune. Never heard of the cover band though, so I think I'll pass. Why don’t we head downtown instead? We can go scope out some new parkour spots!”

Chlóe stood up straight and softly grabbed Jackie’s shoulder, meeting her eyes with a concerned expression. “Tu vas bien?”

“Je ne sais pas.” Jackie leaned her elbows onto the back of the bench, finding it more comfortable to focus on the orange-purple evening sky than her girlfriend. “I’m just worried, y’know? About me, about us. I’m super glad you were able to get a flight home despite all this crazy stuff going on, don’t get me wrong, but it’s gonna suck without you here. The whole Earthni thing is cool and all, too - well, except for the name - but I’m just not up to celebrating it.” It was a wound that had been eating away at her, at both of them, for the last few days. Where would they go from here? Neither was really sure, and they’d avoided talking about it at all. Heck, it’s not like either didn’t know that it had to happen eventually anyway, Chlóe was only here for summer vacation, but it still crept up on them far too quickly to process.

The park fell silent as bittersweet memories washed over her, amplifying her anxieties. Skate camp, before 9th grade - that guy left early for a family road trip before she ever got a chance to get his name, compliment his nollie technique, and see where it went from there. When Marco had so obviously left half of his heart in a different dimension, it sucked then too, but she knew they’d both be happier apart. And now Chlóe was hopping on a plane and going an entire world away. Jackie had always considered herself pretty adaptable, able to just roll with whatever life tossed at her, so why was this particular situation affecting her so much more?

She were interrupted by a soft, fleeting kiss on her cheek and a soothing chestnut gaze as Chlóe took her hand. “Let’s at least get some food first. I heard there’s a stand with hot sauce so spicy that they pay you for it. Vaut le voyage, non?” Jackie shrunk into herself a bit and nodded in what she hoped was a convincing affirmation before strapping on her skateboard helmet, and the pair took off through the park.

Earthni was pretty cool, Jackie had to admit. It was as if some guiding hand lovingly melded them together like clay, taking care to keep all the essential functionality. All the moons were placed in the sky in such a way that the net effect on the tides had remained unchanged in the week since the event, cities and towns and even individual buildings still retained their infrastructure, and the sky had a radiant beauty at all hours of the day and night. Come to think of it, from what she’d gathered secondhand, Mewni did seem eerily similar to Earth in a lot of ways; it was as if there was some special connection that allowed them to flow so harmoniously into one another.

Her muted awe was finally morphed into a much more visceral shock, however, by a more metaphorical union of the dimensions that caught her eye as they skated past the concert. She motioned for Chlóe to stop as she dismounted without looking away from the sight in front of them: Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz just dancing their hearts out to some mediocre pop cover like it was a chart topper sweeping the nation - OK, maybe it technically was one since all the monsters and Mewmans were absolutely enraptured by it. To any other observer, there wasn’t even necessarily anything special about what she was seeing - Chlóe’s perplexity was proof of that - but Jackie knew. Maybe what she had with Marco was never the most serious thing in the world, but she knew him well enough to understand the way he looked at Star as they twirled each other and grooved to the beat. Even Star accidentally tripping him and toppling the pair into a heap on the ground didn’t curb their abundant joy. Jackie quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture after they’d gotten back on their feet; she couldn’t help but capture the scene.

No sooner had she lowered the phone than Star dipped Marco down and gave him a quick peck on the lips; what phased Jackie far more was that Marco took it entirely in stride. During their time dating, they could barely even hold hands without him becoming a flustered mess. Heck, even just a few weeks ago he was a nervous wreck over their history. It was already obvious what - or who - had enacted such a change, but Jackie still wanted a closer look.

She signaled Chlóe to stay put and dove into the fairly sizable crowd to find a stealthy route to them. Ducking and weaving through the mingling humans and monsters, she found an open space only a few feet from them. Almost… almost… now! Jackie pounced forward, hoping to catch them off-guard, but mistimed it and collided with Marco right as Star spun him out of her embrace. He squealed at the impact and virtually launched himself backwards, sending Star to the ground in a fit of uproarious laughter. “Oh, Jackie, it’s you!” he said, eyes still wide from the shock.

“Jackie? Hi!” Star jumped up and forward to hug her, unconsciously lifting her in the air; that girl really didn’t know her own strength, did she? “How’s it going?”

“I’d rather ask you two that question,” she replied expectantly as she was set back on the ground. Star and Marco grinned and intertwined their fingers with far less hesitation than she would have expected. Well, there was the direct confirmation she sought. “Let me guess, you two had something to do with the whole Cleaving thing.”

Marco rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at the ground sheepishly. “It’s a bit of a long story, but, uh, yeah, after-” His attention quickly snapped back to Jackie in a panic. “Oh man, your skateboard! And helmet! I’m so sorry Jackie, I just left it at the portal and then Star was there and I didn’t even think to grab it-”

“Dude, it’s fine, my uncle works for the company, remember? I care way more about hearing this story of yours, but that can wait. I should probably, uh, get back to my girlfriend and let you get back to yours.” As soon as the words left her mouth, the previous anxiety crept back in. She tried to shove it away with a casual wink, but her momentary wince didn’t go unnoticed. As she was walking away, she glanced back over her shoulder. “Well, I’m off to get food, see you guys later,” she said with an uneasy cheeriness..

Marco and Star exchanged a quick glance before they hustled over, the boy putting a hand on Jackie’s shoulder. “Hey, is everything OK? I think I’ve seen you not be totally chill, like, one time ever…”

“Eh, could be better.” A brief moment of silence ensued as she centered herself; of the things she’d taken away from her relationship with Marco, being able to admit that stuck with her most. “Chlóe’s heading back home soon and I’m just pretty bummed, you know?”

He took a moment before responding carefully. “Do you two want to join us? We were going to eat soon, too. I’m pretty sure I brought more than enough nachos for four people,” he nodded in the direction of a picnic basket behind him and chuckled. “It’s kind of our first date, or, um, our first ‘official’ one, anyway. I might have gone a bit overboard.”

“Classic Diaz,” Jackie sniggered. Star rolled her eyes affectionately while nestling into his side and wrapping herself around his arm.

“Don’t worry about it, guys, seriously. I don’t want to intrude, you two have probably dealt with enough heavy stuff lately.”

“Pfft, don’t worry about that We’d love to hang out with you guys! It could be, like, a casual double date or something!” Star chimed in while Marco casually leaned his head against hers.

“If you’re up for it,” Marco hastily added on.

Maybe this was what she needed. She’d spent enough time inside her own head lately that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to enjoy time with Chlóe unless something dragged the fun right out of her, and there wasn’t anyone better at that than these two. “Sounds like fun, I’ll go ask her. Given the legends I’ve heard about Marco’s nachos, I don’t think she’ll need too much convincing, though.”

***

“OK, wait, dude, back up a second. Janna hypnotized you to make you hate nachos? I don’t know if I can associate with someone who’d deprive someone else the joy of Mexican cuisine,” Jackie mock-sternly asked between bites. An assortment of dips and toppings in insulated containers were spread between the four teenagers as she reached over to restock her plate. Chlóe sat beside her with her legs out to the side, enjoying the dinner more than anyone. Echo Creek’s Mexican restaurants clearly didn’t stack up to this, and Jackie’s heart warmed at the sight as much as her queso heated her throat.

“Yeah, but she undid it just a few days ago. Did I mention that she called me her friend?”

“Are you guys sure she’s OK?”

“That’s what I said, Jackie!” Star mumbled out between cheeks comically overstuffed with chips.

“We just saw her yesterday, she’s fine. Well, whatever ‘fine’ is for Janna, anyway. She was happy we were together because it meant, and I quote, ‘so many more ways to blackmail’,” Marco groaned and plopped backwards onto the grass, rubbing his temple in frustration.

Star efficiently scooped up the last of the salsa on her plate with one last chip. “Anyway, I guess that’s the whole story. Weird how this feels normal in comparison.” She motioned down to the rest of the town from their vantage point on top of the hill, where they could see a monster family - easily a few stories tall - having a picnic of their own at least a mile away. Humans were lined up for blocks trying out some Mewni corn stalls that had sprung up around town, and Mewmans for their part had been putting almost every Earth shop at maximum capacity nonstop trying to experience their new world’s culture as well.

“Thank you for dinner, Marco and Star. It’s different having Mexican food that isn’t spicy pain, but I love the flavors, c'était magnifique.”

Jackie leaned back on her hands, thoroughly satisfied from the meal. “Yeah, Diaz, these lived up to the hype. Star’s a lucky girl.”

Star giggled as she helped a blushing Marco upright. The pair began to put away the empty containers into the basket when Star peeked inside with a quizzical expression. “Marco, what the heck is this thing?” She shoved one arm inside, clearly trying to grip something large. Her tongue hung out as she shook the whole basket until a large red disk came out.

“Star, dude, do you not know what a frisbee is?”

She immediately recoiled and flung the disk to the ground, but Marco quickly snagged it before it could roll away. “Sorry, thought you said freezbee. Their stings give you hypothermia. I wonder if they made it to Earthni…” All four teens collectively shuddered at the thought.

“Nah, it’s a disk you can throw at people. Back at skate camp, we had this game where everyone would be in the bowl and you’d have to throw and catch it while in the air. Bonus points for any fancy tricks you pulled off, it was totally sweet. But it’s still fun without the boards, wanna try?” Star nodded at Marco, who flicked the disk to her with a bit of a wobble in its flight. She planted her feet with a burning resolve, her tongue hanging out a bit in concentration. When the disk finally drew near, she jumped and plucked it from the air, whipping it in a frenzied overhead toss aimed directly at Chlóe, who gasped and nimbly pivoted to the side to avoid it, their eyes all bugging out of their heads when they noticed the massive dent in the earth left in the frisbee’s wake.

“I win at frisbee!”

The sun continued its trek towards the horizon as the four tossed the disk around, chatting and laughing and occasionally wiping out on the grass. Marco had shaken off the rust and Star was getting the hang of it once it was properly explained to her, but Jackie still found herself able to go into autopilot and still keep pace. She was going to miss moments like this, just casually enjoying the company of her girlfriend, after over half a year of being together almost all the time. Was this how Marco had felt that summer? She’d already known as much at the time, but feeling some inkling of it stirring inside her gave her a fresh sense of what it really meant, and it just downright sucked. But still, she was glad they were able to enjoy this time together and do something different.

Jackie finally realized that she hadn’t been tossed the frisbee for a few minutes, snapping her out of her rumination. Momentarily disoriented, she looked around until her eyes settled on Marco trying to help Star with her throwing technique. He stood behind her, hands gripping her wrists as he took them through the motions. After a few tries, though, it was pretty obvious that Star was just enjoying being held, and Marco seemed to be in no hurry to finish the lesson himself.

“OK, Marco, all this technique stuff is cool, but check this move out!” Jackie turned towards Star shouting the last few words as she tightened her arms in preparation for a throw. “Spinning Sonic Hug Throw!” She let out a grunt as she whipped the disk as hard as she could, letting her entire body spin on her toes a few times before stopping herself by latching onto Marco in a fierce embrace that almost knocked him off his feet. Marco giggled and returned the affection as Jackie and Chlóe cooed at the adorableness in front of them.

When the hug ended, the two gazed into each other’s eyes until Marco suddenly blinked and looked around. “Uh, Star? Where’s the frisbee?” A soft gasp came from Chlóe a moment later, and everyone followed her line of sight only to find the frisbee stuck in the upper branches of a massive red tree.

“For corn’s sake…” Star facepalmed. “Why do boxing elders have to be here? Like, I know everything from Mewni is here, but why here here, really...” her grumbles trailed off. Wait, did she mean box eld- right, never mind, everything on Mewni is some flavor of weird. Jackie shrugged off the disbelief and took a closer look: the red specks weren’t leaves, they were… boxing gloves? Of course they were.

“I want to climb it.” The voice of her girlfriend shocked her out of her disbelieving stare. She’d been introduced to the wild world of Star Butterfly mere days ago and she was already charging headlong into it?

“Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea, Chló? I don’t know that much about Mewni but if I had to guess, it probably can actually punch you.”

“They have mean left hooks,” Star affirmed nonchalantly.

“It’s covered in those things, dude, how can it have a left- wait, where’s Chlóe?” Jackie looked and saw her girlfriend running over towards the tree with determination etched into her visage.

“OK, my dad has fought enough of them that he’s basically an honorary tree at this point so I’ll go help Chlóe,” Star said before scrambling after her.

Jackie and Marco were the last to jog over towards the base of the tree, stopping a bit short of the base and watching their girlfriends navigate it. Chlóe deftly leapt from branch to branch, dodging all the flailing comically oversized gloves, while Star just kind of clambered up the trunk like a koala batting away all obstacles. Honestly, Jackie knew she should have expected it; Chlóe was fiercely competitive with her parkour, scoffing at the idea of a challenge left uncompleted. Her effortless maneuvering around all the physical hurdles of the Mewnian tree reignited some of her anxiety from earlier in the day.

“Hey, Marco, can I ask you something serious?” Jackie sat down on the grass, hugging her knees to her chest unconsciously, her eyes never leaving the action in front of her, although not out of fear: she was fully confident they could handle themselves.

He joined her on the ground. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“I know this sounds weird, since I was, like, there for all of it, but how did you deal with Star leaving?”

“I, uh, don’t really think I did. Remember that cape? Turns out it was just Star’s dad’s meat blanket the whole time. I don’t even know if he’d washed it first…”

“So that explains why you smelled like a sketchy diner that whole summer!” She finally looked over at him and jabbed his side with her elbow with a smile. “But how did you and Star figure everything out, or whatever? What’s gone through the ole’ Diaz noggin? We were always pretty terrible at the mind reader game, y’know.”

Marco leaned back on his hands and kept his gaze steadily focused on the tree with a loving grin; Star had, seemingly, tamed one of the thicker branches and was valiantly riding it into battle against the others while Chlóe watched incredulously from a safe spot near the top, frisbee in hand. “Honestly? I don’t really know. I- I don’t even think we do have everything figured out. But I guess I felt like… whatever life was going to be, I wanted Star in it more than anything, and just went from there.”

All at once, the truth about why this time was different hit her. She couldn’t say how serious it was, or exactly how she felt. She liked Chlóe a lot, and knew she’d be sad without her there, of course. But she was sure right now that she wanted to put in that effort to make things work, in whatever form that would have to take.

Star’s rapid-fire dialogue quickly became audible as she reapproached with Chlóe in tow, huffing deep breaths between each excited line. “Seriously, Chlóe, how did you even get up there so fast? You would’ve been so famous on Mewni! I guess you still could be now, heh.”

“It’s just parkour, it’s not that amazing.”

“Thanks. This helped, a lot. You’re a pretty good friend, Diaz,” she spoke quietly so only he could hear as the other two drew nearer.

Jackie stood up and shook out the numbness in her legs when the four reunited. The sun was starting to descend behind the horizon when Chlóe leaned her elbow onto Jackie’s shoulder. “Do you think we should leave soon?”

“Actually… I think the concert is still going on. Wanna go check it out, for real this time?”

Marco’s eyes lit up mischievously as he turned to Star, offering her his hand. “May I have one last dance tonight, milady?”

“Just because you’re cute when you say it doesn’t give you a pass, Marco,” Star fumed, still taking his hand anyway. Her face went a bit red when she remembered their friends were still there. “So, anyway, um…”

“Don’t wait up, we’ll be a bit still,” Jackie said, ignoring the suspicious look Chlóe was giving her. “We’ll definitely have to hang out more. Stay amazing, you two.” Jackie gave them each a hug before they turned to walk away.

“Bye Jackie! Bye Chlóe!” Star exuberantly waved at them as she and Marco departed hand-in-hand.

“Au revoir!” As soon as they were out of earshot, Chlóe stepped back and folded her arms, staring Jackie down with a sympathetic expression. “Are you sure you’re fine? You’ve been off all day.” Jackie’s vision roamed their surroundings, avoiding the soft yet piercing orbs trained on her from under her furrowed brow. Finally she found a crude stone bench near the edge of the hilltop, no doubt not from her own dimension. She cautiously took Chlóe’s hand and led them over to it, sitting down and looking over the wonder of the town in the sunset. Jackie lost herself in the splendor, finally feeling able to wholeheartedly enjoy the view, still keeping their fingers laced together.

“About earlier… it’s gonna suck being so far apart. I don’t think anything’s going to change that, really.” Chlóe slowly nodded, letting the words sink in as they both were finally coming to terms with the inevitable. Her eyes sunk to the ground before shutting entirely. “But I think that’s OK. I was all, like, worried that everything would go wrong just because of that, but… I don’t think that’s true, or at least I don’t want it to be.” She nervously laughed, brushing aside a stray hair from her face and finally met Chlóe’s eyes that had not wavered from her during the speech. “It’s not like I was ever thinking about breaking up or whatever, don’t get me wrong, Chló. Just took a while to figure out what I really needed to say, I guess.”

Chlóe put her free arm around Jackie’s shoulder. “Life goes on, you know? But I understand, I’ve been feeling the same way. We can make it work. You’ll have to come out to France sometime, I’m sure there’s all kinds of weird new things we can explore there, too.”

Jackie squeezed her girlfriend’s hand, reciprocating the comforting affection. “Heck yeah, we can. So, wanna go check out that concert?”

“Maybe not anymore. That tree climb was much tougher than I thought it would be, I’m exhausted.” They strapped on their helmets and grabbed their boards again, beginning their slow cruise through the park.

“Dude, you made it seem so easy, you just zoomed up to the top. You’re way too good, I still don’t know how you do it.”

“Merci, merci. But I’m still jealous of all the fancy tricks you can do on that board, so I guess we’ve even. Your friend Star, though, she’s special. I got to see someone tame a punching tree! Nothing in France could beat that,” she laughed in that squeaky way of hers that Jackie always found adorable.

“Marco, too. They’re both something else.”

As they neared the periphery of the park, they passed the concert one last time. The crowd had thinned out, leaving only a handful of the Mewmans and monsters behind. The schmaltzy ballad that the singer was warbling honestly offended her ears a little bit, but the crowd seemed to be mostly ignoring it except the two people she’d been looking for. Star and Marco were far enough from the main stage that Jackie was almost certain they could barely hear the music. If they’d been employing any sort of formal slow dancing technique, they’d long since abandoned it. Marco held Star’s signature horns in his hand, his chin resting on her head buried in his chest as they casually swayed. Jackie thought about waving goodbye, but they wouldn’t have noticed it from their own little world. And if they could still find that happiness together, despite everything, then maybe she didn’t need to worry that much; it would all be worth the trip.

#tgg svtfoe #starco #svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #jackie lynn thomas #jachloe #fanfic

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themurphyzone · 5 years ago

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104 Words for 104 Days: Advice

This was supposed to be a ficlet, but Stacy’s dialogue just ran away with me. This fic takes place after Tales of the Resistance, so Doofenshmirtz is no longer in jail.

Candace Flynn dedicated her life to order and justice. She protected her brothers from the nefarious schemes of the Doofenshmirtz family. She led a group of rebels, knew seventy-five ways to disarm Normbots, and served as a beacon of hope in the chaos of dystopian Danville.

And now here she was, willingly breaking several laws of physics in order to satisfy her own selfish whims.

Since it took an enormous amount of power to travel counterclockwise between dimensions, Isabella and the Firestorm Girls could only perform three reconnaissance missions into the Prime Dimension, but the information they brought back was invaluable.

“We’ve scoped out prime counterpart Candace Gertrude Flynn. She’s in the sophomore class at Danville High School,” Isabella reported. “Associates include prime counterparts Stacy Hirano, Jenny Brown, and Jeremy Johnson.

“Don’t use my middle name under any capacity, Isabella,” Candace commanded as she tugged on a denim jacket.

It felt restricting, but it was necessary. Her normal outfit would be considered a violation of the dress code, and she needed to blend in while talking to the other Candace.

“Of course, Commander,” Isabella replied coolly. “Recon suggests catching Prime Candace between 1:30 and 2:00 pm. She typically excuses herself from class in Room 217 and goes to the large window at the end of the second floor corridor to watch the nearby elementary school for her brothers’ activity. Her associates don’t accompany her on these outings.”

“Good,” Candace said. She glanced in a nearby mirror, making sure the black dye completely covered any sign of her natural hair color. Dyeing hair was something she couldn’t do under Doofenshmirtz’s reign. She’d been meaning to experiment with different colors in her minimal spare time.

“Be careful,” Isabella cautioned.

“I won’t compromise anything except the power grid,” Candace replied.

Five minutes later, Baljeet finished the usual safety checks and opened the portal, which opened in the middle of an empty girl’s bathroom.

Buford and Baljeet let out high-pitched shrieks and dove under the desk.

Candace rolled her eyes. Those two were the perfect brains and brawn team, and Candace had witnessed them tear apart a Normbots factory with nothing but a paperclip and a yardstick, but they couldn’t handle the sight of a girl’s bathroom.

“Isabella and Gretchen. Since those two are…temporarily indisposed…can I trust you to man the controls in the meantime?” Candace asked as she stepped through the portal.

Isabella and Gretchen nodded, the portal fizzling out just as the door opened. Candace immediately dropped into a crouch, regretting that she’d left her bo staff behind.

The newcomer wore a bright blue blouse with a matching skirt, so unlike the dull gray and black outfits of Candace’s home dimension. Candace’s finely-tuned senses screamed at the unnaturalness of this world.

Thanks to the recon team, Candace already knew the girl was another version of Stacy Hirano. Horror slowly dawned Stacy’s face, and she let out a shriek. “Do you have any idea how dirty those floors are? Have you never been inside a high school restroom before?”

Candace never felt the need to step foot inside the rebuilt high school, but she didn’t entertain that with a reply. She stood up, quickly rinsing her hands in a nearby sink.

“Trust me, you don’t want germs all over your denim jacket. It’s cute in a 90s-early 2000s teen way,” Stacy explained as she stopped in front of a restroom stall. Instead of going in, she took out a sharpened pencil and examined the stall door. “Ugh, Mandy’s dating Carlos again. This is the third time they’ve gotten back together this month! When’s that girl gonna learn?”

She scrawled a message under a large pink heart with C + J in the middle of it.

Candace felt her cheeks heat up. Her counterpart had no subtlety whatsoever.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before,” Stacy commented, finishing her message. “What’s your name?”

“Don’t you have class or somewhere to be?” Candace deflected.

Stacy shrugged. “Free period.”

“Fine. It’s…Gertrude,” Candace cursed inwardly, wondering why that was the first thing that popped in her head. A whole sea of false names she could’ve given, and it had to be her embarrassing middle name!

“Gertrude?” Stacy gave her an appraising look. “Funny. The only person I’ve known with that name is Candace.”

Candace grimaced when Stacy circled her, inspecting her disguise more closely. Maybe she’d banked on Stacy’s ditziness a little too much.

“Wait a sec, I know that neck!” Stacy gasped. “Candace, seriously! You really think I wouldn’t recognize my BFF? Though I don’t know if that hair dye is working out for you. I always thought you’d be better off with brown highlights.”

“It’s a disguise,” Candace said, in the most no-nonsense tone she could muster. “I’m from a different dimension. I didn’t get to do whatever normal teenagers do because I was too busy with the Resistance.”

Stacy blinked. “Resistance? Like against a dictator?”

Candace kept her mouth shut, deciding she’d better not give more information that wasn’t pertinent to her mission.

“So you’re like the YA version of Candace?”

Candace gave her a blank look.

Stacy shrugged. “You know, YA? Young adult genre where a clumsy teenage girl leads a ragtag group of misfits against a dystopian government and angsts about a love triangle with her childhood bestie and a mysterious bad boy she doesn’t know very well?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Candace said. “All books except badly written autobiographies about the dictator were banned.”

Stacy grimaced. “Sheesh. That stinks. Not even a fashion magazine?”

Candace shrugged. “No, but that’s life. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go ask my counterpart about her Jeremy Johnson.”

“Probably not the best idea,” Stacy said. “If my Candace figured out you were another version of her, she’d blame her brothers and drag you off to her mom. Then you’ll disappear or get transported elsewhere. You don’t want that.”

“Her mom makes people disappear?” Candace asked, wondering how her recon team could’ve possibly missed that detail.

Stacy shrugged. “Not her mom, really. More like random green laser beams from the sky. They always happen when Candace tries to bust her brothers. But hey, I’d be more than happy to share what I know. Candace and I were best friends since elementary school. I promise I won’t tell her about you.”

The Stacy Hirano of Candace’s dimension usually coordinated supplies between Resistance bases. She didn’t lead from the front like Candace. They cooperated when necessary, but they weren’t nearly as close as these versions of Candace and Stacy.

“You will answer all questions to the best of your ability,” Candace said.

“You don’t need to treat this like an interrogation. Relax a little,” Stacy sighed. “Oh, who am I kidding? You wouldn’t be Candace Flynn if you were relaxed.”

“Alright, Hirano. First question. Why is your Jeremy attracted to Candace?”

Stacy scuffed the tile with her shoe, as if she hadn’t been expecting the question. Well, she should’ve known what she was getting into. “Starting with the loaded topic, huh? Sorry, I was expecting you to ask me about how they met or what they like or something simple like that.”

“I’m not moving to the next question until you answer.”

“Fine. I guess Jeremy likes her determination. Candace hasn’t succeeded in busting her brothers yet, but she’s always willing to try another method. She doesn’t let anything stop her either.”

Determination. Like how she’d been determined to overthrow Doofenshmirtz to create a world where her brothers could grow up peacefully and not have to give up their childhood whims.

“And he doesn’t mind her busting her brothers?”

The Doofenshmirtz family was still out there somewhere. What if they attacked while she was with Jeremy and neglecting her duties? Would Jeremy mind if she rushed off to thwart them?

“She’s always leaving in the middle of dates for busting purposes,” Stacy shrugged. “Jeremy’s pretty chill about it, as far as I know. He knows how much Phineas and Ferb mean to her. They even helped him cheat at a dance competition so he could impress her. Personally I found it a little freaky, but I guess love is a little blind to that sort of thing.”

Candace wasn’t sure about introducing Jeremy to Phineas and Ferb though. It was a big risk if Jeremy ever got captured. But at the same time, she could potentially entrust her brothers to someone else in an emergency. Isabella was a good lieutenant, but Jeremy had years of experience on her.

“Candace crushed on Jeremy since seventh grade. It took a lot of time and courage for her to take the next step,” Stacy said. “With a lot of pushing from me.”

“So you think I just need to have some courage and talk to him?” Candace asked. “Then what was the point of diverting the city’s power to open a portal and spy on you people to catch my counterpart at a good time?”

Suddenly her plan seemed ridiculous in hindsight. And she thought she was pretty good at planning missions.

To her credit, Stacy didn’t seem fazed about Candace spying on her. “I’ve read enough YA novels to know overthrowing dictators is easy for teenage girls. Boys are a different story. And it figures you wouldn’t do the simple thing and make a ridiculously complicated plan instead.”

“You got me there,” Candace admitted.

“So how’s the fashion in your dimension?” Stacy asked, switching topics so abruptly that Candace was caught off guard.

But only for a moment. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun. Candace began describing Dooferalls, much to Stacy’s growing horror.

Stacy was so revolted she ducked into a bathroom stall and begged Candace not to say anymore. Candace couldn’t help but laugh, even as the portal to her dimension reopened.

Realizing Isabella and the Firestorm Girls were staring, Candace quickly schooled her expression into her usual look of indifference. “Thank you for your help,” Candace said over her shoulder. “I have to go now. Remember to keep this a secret.”

“YOU BURDENED ME WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF DOOFERALLS!” Stacy screeched back.

The portal closed.

“Baljeet, dismantle the portal tech,” Candace ordered. “Our recon missions into that dimension are finished.”

“Did you find the other Candace?” Isabella asked.

“Not exactly. I talked to Stacy Hirano though. She gave some good advice,” Candace admitted. “Isabella, can I leave you to run a patrol around downtown tomorrow? I want to meet with Jeremy at the park.”

“You can count on me!” Isabella exclaimed.

“Excellent,” Candace said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a phone call to make.”

She dialed Jeremy’s number, feeling more confidence in leading a normal life than ever before.

#104 words for 104 days #more of a oneshot than a ficlet #phineas and ferb #post 2nd dimension and tales of the resistance #2nd dimension candace #stacy hirano #mentions of jeremy

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stragglewort · 5 years ago

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Cure for Ildryn -- “A Meeting in the Twyllo”

Picture by Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/) -- “ Fairy tales everyone should know,” (Little Red Riding Hood)

The first sound to come back to her was the whisper of a crackling fire.

After that came taste – there was something sweet and metallic on her tongue. After the realization of taste came sensation. She could finally feel again. Her hands came to and a heat spread over her skin on just one side. Battling with a mellow chill gusting from somewhere else in the home.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.” That same harsh voice from before, now a bit mellow, echoed. The stranger came into the room as they spoke – ducking under a curtain-lined, crooked doorway they were nearly too tall for. They had rather broad shoulders but a slight, tucked waist. A face marked with streaking scars that wrapped their head, interrupting their blonde hair with irregular streaks. They were both very fine but very harsh all at the same time – between their face and their handwoven, nearly formless shawl – she couldn’t quite peg what they were. Human or otherwise.

“…’scuse me?”

“You went and poisoned yourself with a nice mouthful of Lulgar blood.” They sighed. “I can’t imagine that tasted pleasant.”

“It didn’t.” She coughed. Moving to wipe her face she found her hands weren’t just asleep – they were bound. “I, uh. What is this?”

“Those are ropes. I decided you’re going to sit there very calmly and kindly until you tell me why you’re here.”

“Wait, why?”

“Because the last thing to stumble into my home came here after my head.” They paused. “Or my soul. Maybe my hands – I don’t know. You fair-folk aren’t picky.”

“I can promise you I’m not here for your head, soul, or hands. I don’t even know who you are.”

“I’d really love to believe you.” They sounded painfully genuine – a little sad, even. “But woe be us! I don’t.” They finished rather bluntly.

Elyra paused for a second, the stranger had said something odd. “One moment – fair-folk like me?” She asked.

“Or whatever you call yourselves.”

“Whatever we call –?” She said, her voice shot. “Now I believe you’re confused, the only fae here is you!”

“Please don’t go insulting me.” The stranger ticked, pacing to her. They knelt and stared straight into her eyes – scanning – looking for some sign Elyra couldn’t place. “I’ve been here since I was a child and above the Lulgar worms, Brekin beasts and all the other blasted things out here – those fair-flying folks have been the one great nuisance.” Their face turned harsh for a moment before they sighed, letting go of the rant that boiled at the tip of their tongue.

“You don’t say…?” The shock on Elyra’s face was blatant – enough that the even the stranger was surprised.

“I can’t believe myself...” They mumbled, massaging their temples. “You’re really not from here, are you?”

“The Fairlands? No, no – I’m not.”

A short laugh escaped their lips. “Now I haven’t heard anyone call it that for some time. You’re good, you know that? Very convincing.”

She didn’t take that as a compliment. “Look – please. I don’t have anything to hide - but I’m not saying a word until you let me go.”

This spark of something lit up in the stranger’s light – vividly green eyes. “Would you consider a deal, then?”

“…that would depend.” She bit her tongue.

“If I offered your freedom for an explanation – would you consider it?”

“…Possibly.”

A look of relief washed itself over the stranger’s face. “Oh, now I know you’re not one of them. I’ve never seen a fair-folk pass up such an easy trick!” They started. “Alright, fine – let’s get those ropes off you.”

The stranger sighed before they clapped their hands together – “Down.” They commanded. A faint light flickered from under their feet as the rope stiffened then untied itself, slithering off her wrists and coiling itself in a neat pile on the floor.

“What in the – who are you?” Elyra stammered, pulling her hands to her chest.

“Rionnach Hum; though I go about changing that every once in a while.”

“Right.”

“Now please – if you’d be so kind, I am very curious as to why you’ve come around here.”

Elyra took a moment to think, trying to figure out how to best tell the story. “…Have you ever heard of Ildryn?”

“The kingdom?”

“Yes! Right on the border –“

“Aye, aye – spires to the heavens, population the size of imagination itself – all very kindly and whimsical. Dreadful place. Why do you ask?”

“Something happened.” Elyra paused – the words caught in her throat. “They’re dying – we thought it might’ve been the rats, maybe something with the crops. But something, something’s taken over and my people.” She paused. ”They’re getting killed like game.”

“…Like a dictator? Some kind of war?” Rionnach leaned in, listening to her speak. This flash of worry came over their face.

“No. An illness.” She bit her lip, grit her teeth and took in a steadying breath. “No doctor, wise-man or scholar in the kingdom has any clue as to what’s happening – people started falling asleep, really asleep. They’d stay down for days and either come back completely catatonic or…”

“Or?” They urged.

“...They wouldn’t come back at all.” Tears welled up in her eyes, but she stifled back the bitter sobs. “I read something in a book some time ago. When I was a child there was this story about some plant, a berry I think – the Heilíðan.” Her eyes grew wide, this newfound glimmer in them. “There aren’t many poems written about it; believe me, I’ve searched! But what I did find went on about how Fyriauði – Death – gave us human’s something to… to –“

“Hold it back.” Rionnach said, finishing the sentence for her.

She nodded. “…’To die is waste, your soul is true’ – ‘Do keep my might away.’” Elyra recited, digging up some old poem from the back of her memory. “There isn’t any magic in Ildryn – the border was forced closed – there’s not supposed to be sight of monster or fae, let alone magic berries. But everything’s failed. We needed an alternative.”

“So, you opened an illegal portal into the grand land of Tylwrnas, following an old-wives tale in hopes that you’ll find the plant and... what? Slice it into little pieces to share with the with the whole kingdom?” Their eyes narrowed. “Do you even know where to find this ‘Heilíðan’ you’ve come all this way for?”

“I hoped that it grew in the forests. But I wasn’t holding my breath.” Elyra looked down at her wringing hands. “I know it sounds foolish, but there was just no other –“

They interrupted her. “This whole plan – there’s no talking you out of it?”

She sighed. “…Not a chance.”

Rionnach laughed. A light, airy laugh she would’ve never guessed could come from such a serious person. “You’re right. It is quite foolish.”

…

“You really don’t need to come with.”

“Normally? I wouldn’t.” They started, making their way through the crooked doorway, stepping out to the cool forest. “But I don’t normally meet children so keen to get themselves killed.”

Now that she was up and walking around Elyra could see the hut Rionnach brought her to. It was a stout building, ramshackle and moss-covered. The windows, instead of glass, were covered with old branching vines. And twisted, winding chimney let off colorful smoke – putting a smell in the air she just couldn’t place.

Rionnach looked over the young girl’s clothes. “Is that bag all you brought?”

“It was all I could sneak across the border.” She said. “A bag and a cloak.” She paused. “Wait, where’s my cloak?” She’d used the thing as everything from a dress to a tent – a flag to a blanket. The last thing she wanted it to be was missing.

“Don’t worry, it’s in the pot.” Rionnach motioned to a cluttered fire pit; pointing to a boiling, bubbling cauldron propped over top of it. Rushing over, Elyra found her quilted cloak churning in a bath of boiling water.

“Why on jörðinni would you boil my cloak?” She yelled from across the garden – looking for something to grab at the fabric with.

“That cloak was the only thing saved your skin from that Lulgar worm’s blood. I’m shocked it’s even held up – let alone stayed together enough to be cleaned!”

Elyra thought for a moment while she pulled the fabric from the water with a short branch. “If you thought I was trying to kill, steal you, or take your hands – why did you bother?” She paused. “Better yet, why did you save me in the first place?”

Rionnach’s harshly confident face faltered for just a moment. “Even I allow myself to be optimistic, sometimes.” They flashed the girl a short, wavered grin before spinning back around – rifling through a misshapen garden. “You seemed human, I had hope. And more selfishly I thought that we might help each other.”

“Help each other how, exactly?” Elyra asked.

“You seem kind. I’m sure death or enslavement by a horrifying beast would put a damper on your cause. And it just so happens that I’ve been trying to cross that grand, magical border you apparently know how to open.”

She thought for a second “…And you know this land?”

“I have a foggy idea.”

Elyra laughed. “I have so many names, but I can’t deny I have no idea how to get to any of them.” She paused. “…And it wasn’t too difficult opening the barrier – I can’t see the harm in bringing someone else across.”

A wash of relief came over Rionnach as a sigh escaped their lips. “That would be very kind. Let me pack and let’s work out where exactly you’re itching to go.” They tossed through leaves and herbs, grabbing the stem of some tap root and ripping it from the ground. They did this a few times – stuffing the roots into a sack. “These are Eernjn. They’ll keep us fed for some time if we cook them right.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then we won’t have the need.”

“Oh.” She paused. “I’ll leave that to you, then.”

They continued rustling about the yard, moving in and out of the house in a hurry. “This plant. I can’t think of a time when it grew in the wild but it certainly sounds like something the fair-folk might grow in their own gardens.”

“Would you happen to know how to get into those gardens?”

“Even if I wanted in, I doubt they’d ever let me.” They hummed. “ But you…?” They looked her up and down, really looking. “If I had my way, I’d suggest you’d forfeit trying to work with them all together. But I’m sure we could figure out a way. You’re small.”

“A little rude.” She interrupted.

“I mean it in the nicest way possible.” They stopped to think. “Now the fair-folk aren’t picky over who they let in and out of their kingdoms – we could get in. But without wings on our backs or tusks in our mouths we’re targets for all sorts of mischief. There’s a reason they never war against the hum. They’re too busy tricking us. Indebting.”

“You seem very sure.”

“I’ve lived here a long time.” They shook their head. “And I haven’t seen a living or free human in these parts since I settled myself. As wild as they are with their Lulgar worms and sprites – the fringes are safer for the likes of us than anywhere near civilized life.” Rionnach clapped their hands together, having collected a whole barrage of things. A large backpack they tied the sack of Eernjn to, some clothes, cloths and other things they’d picked up. A real adventurer’s kit.

“So what did you have in mind – we’re in the Twyllo now, but I can find us a path into any of the forest from here to Moetrn Dru.”

“I was hoping to find a city, actually – Pont Haf?”

Rionnach let out an involuntary, pained groan. “Surely not.“

“Surely so! In the stories I’ve read when Fyriauði created the Heilíðan, there was a battle over it between –

“The Spring and Summer courts, yes. And those Summer folks won quite well.”

“And their winning means they’re my best chance at finding what I’m looking for.”

“Yes… I see that. I just – I don’t have a great reputation with any of the courts. But the Summer folk and I have never gotten along. And for good reason, they’re a terrible lot.”

“What have you done?”

Rionnach huffed. “It’s… a story.”

“We have time.” Elyra chimed.

“Probably not.” They shut her down, making some last leaving preparations in waving their hand – causing a soft glow to erupt from their feet and fingertips. Vines and roots climbed up the sides of their home, clinging to the frame of the door and blocking it, tightly. They hesitated, closing their eyes and stifling a series of quiet curses under their breath. “…We can certainly try – but the second we hit their gate we speak to no one, understood?”

“Of course.” Elyra agreed, only half-genuinely.

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7-wonders · 6 years ago

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As Above, So Below Ch. 15

Summary: Your average, mundane life as a college student is flipped upside down when the man you thought you knew as your next-door neighbor turns out to be the God of the dead. When Michael lures you down to Hell, everything that you thought you knew about the world is proven wrong.

Word Count: 3493

A/N: Two words for this chapter–REUNION. SMUT. Let’s do this, y’all. Feedback is always appreciated, and I’d love if you reblogged if you enjoyed this.

In movies, there’s a certain trope that’s so often utilized in the wrong way that it’s become a cliche. The scene usually starts with a big event occurring; it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, just so long as it changes the plot in some way. Everything suddenly happens in slow motion, and the dialogue is silenced while some dramatic music plays in the background. Then, when the music reaches its crescendo, the scene snaps back to a normal speed and the characters voices are heard again while they figure out how they’re going to finish whatever the plot is now that this event has affected everything. It’s truly one of the modern cop-outs of the film industry, yet it’s one that easily gets the plot from Point A to Point B.

Thankfully, this isn’t some low budget film with B-list actors; it’s your life. Madison barely gives you a moment to wonder what the hell just happened before she’s grabbing you by the shoulders and nearly shaking you.

“I told you so!” She declares, grinning widely.

“So…what do I do now?” You should be more excited about this, now that you’ve mastered the seven most difficult abilities that any witch, warlock, god, goddess, or prophesied (Y/N) can possess, but your reaction to life-changing events is apparently apathy.

“Uhhh do I need to spell it out for you? Go and reunite with Michael!!” Over the course of the tests, it must have slipped your mind that the end result of all of this (besides a boss battle with Satan) is getting to see Michael again. Your eyes widen, and Madison and John Henry both stifle their laughs.

“Should I just, like, go?” You’ve never been in a situation like this before and, admittedly, you’re not handling things as expected.

“Yes!” They both exclaim at the same time.

“You know where the Hellmouth is, go and use it!” Madison reminds you.

“Are you not coming back with me?” You ask as a smirk plays on her lips.

“The way I see it, your reunion with Michael will go one of two possible ways: you’re either going to fight or fuc-”

“Don’t need to hear the end of that!” John Henry interrupts, placing his hand on your cheek. “My darling niece, there is nothing that I wouldn’t do for you. Go now, okay? You can tell me all about the Underworld after you save the world.”

“Thank you, Uncle. For everything.”

“Yeah, yeah, we all love the tearful family hugs. Go, I promise you that John and I will hear all about it when you come back.” Madison speaks up from behind you. “And, (Y/N)?” She grabs your arm as you step away from John Henry.

“Yeah?”

“Have fun. Zoe’s been given strict instructions to clear the castle.”

“Madison!” You admonish the woman, who only chuckles at your embarrassment.

“Bye, bitch!” She dismisses you with a wave of her hand, letting you know that you better get moving before she tosses you down the Hellmouth herself. Focusing, you envision the basement of the Murder House before feeling yourself getting transported through the very fabric of time.

The door to the Hellmouth is already open, the smell of brimstone and heat from the fire welcoming you home again. This encounter with the portal to the Underworld is much more pleasant than the last one as you willingly step closer to the edge of the gaping hole. Smiling, you turn with your back facing the hole before holding your arms out at your sides, closing your eyes, and letting yourself fall backwards.

Magic (or experience) has made you more graceful, you note when you land on your feet in the grand entryway of the Underworld’s palace. Your eyes immediately scan the room for Michael, but you’re not that surprised that he’s not out here; you hadn’t expected the God of the Dead to be eagerly waiting for you when he has other duties to attend to. The demons and other creatures tasked with keeping order in the palace hardly even jump when you appear, looking passively at you before going back to what they were previously doing. The tables, however, are turned when a high-pitched shriek pierces the air and makes you jump.

“Lady (Y/N), you have returned!” Turning around, you grin when you’re face-to-face with Desa.

“You’ve forgotten how to address me already?” You joke, letting the small woman pull you into a hug.

“You will have to forgive me.” She apologizes, but the smirk on her face lets you know that she was just teasing you. “I thought that you would die if you came back again?”

“Let’s just say I found a loophole.” Desa thinks for a moment before her eyes widen.

“The tests that Lady Hecate was talking to Lord Hades about?”

“I passed all of them. It isn’t a permanent fix, and something will have to be done in order to ensure I can be here for extended amounts of time, but it’s enough for me to see Michael again and help defeat his father.” Desa beams, hands sliding down to yours and gripping them tightly.

“While I would love to talk more with you, I believe that Lord Hades will be particularly elated to find that you are back.”

“Where is he?” Your eyes light up at the mere mention of his name.

“His private study.” Your legs start to move before your mind can even think about doing so, taking you in the direction that you need to be. “If you need anything, you know how to summon me!” Desa calls before disappearing.

The halls are busy, as always, but the buzz of daily life in the Underworld fades into the background with every step towards Michael’s office that you take. You’re not quite sure why you’re nervous: this ‘relationship,’ or whatever it’s called, is unlike any other you’ve ever had. Fortunately, this means that Michael makes it clear what his intentions are for every area of his life, not leaving you guessing like the mortal boys you’ve dated before. Still, you can’t help the knot that continues to coil itself tighter in your stomach, especially once the large oak door to his private quarters is right in front of you. It’s cracked open, so you sneak in and find yourself facing the study door.

“It’s now or never.” You mutter before taking a deep breath and knocking twice.

“I thought I had made it clear that I was not to be disturbed.” Your heart flutters upon hearing Michael’s annoyed voice through the door, barely letting him finish his sentence before knocking again.

It’s silent for a long moment, and you can practically see Michael, sitting hunched over the desk and clenching his jaw as he tries to figure out who has the insolence to continue to interrupt him. You should give up the charade and tell him that it’s you, but you’re having far too much fun annoying him. Smirking, you knock on the door one last time.

“What?” The door swings open with all the force Michael can muster without ripping the door off of its hinges, and you grin widely at him.

“I really thought that you would be happier to see me than this.” You tease, relishing in how you render him speechless and the way that his jaw drops.

There really is no word to properly describe the beauty that Michael possesses. His chilling blue eyes, which can delve right into a person’s soul with a mere glance, are highlighted artfully by his signature red eyeshadow. You’re not sure what could cut a person easier: his cheekbones or his jawline. Both are sharp and defining, and your fingers twitch as you feel the need to brush your skin against the bone. You’re delighted to see that he’s kept his hair long and shoulder-length, the strawberry-blond waves framing his face. Even when his face is contorted into an expression of shock, he still looks downright angelic.

“Are you really here?” He asks quietly, voice shaking as though he fears you may evaporate if he speaks too loudly.

“I am.” You speak in a whisper too, reaching down and slowly intertwining your fingers with his. Michael shudders at the contact, his other hand reaching up to tentatively touch your cheek. Your eyes flutter closed as you lean into his touch, shoulders immediately relaxing as the tension leaves your body.

“You’re here.” Michael reasserts, moving his thumb in circles against the smooth skin of your face while he makes sure that this is all real. “You passed the Seven Wonders?”

“With only minor difficulties.”

“I–” Michael stops himself, shaking his head and chuckling. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. Yet, somehow I didn’t think that this would actually happen. After the way that you had to leave the Underworld, it just seemed impossible that you would be able to return.”

“Well, I’ve returned.” You shrug, hesitating slightly. “I hope that’s okay?”

“You ‘hope that’s okay.’” Michael laughs, the noise sending your heart soaring. “(Y/N), it’s so beyond okay that I don’t have words for how amazing this is. The last time I actually saw you, you were on the brink of death. And now you’re here, and healthy…you came back?”

“I told you I would. We’ve got a job to do.”

“But…you came back willingly.” Michael’s eyes get misty, and you realize why it is that he’s so choked up. At first, it was your singular mission to ‘escape’ the Underworld and return back to your life up Above. Even if you hadn’t almost died, Michael most likely thought that you would still leave him and never return, as if the moments you shared with him meant nothing to you.

“Michael, I’m always going to come back to you. We’re in this together now, whatever ‘this’ is.”

In the past, it’s been Michael that takes the lead in every remotely romantic situation that you’ve been in with him, but you decide to take control today. Leaning forward, you wrap your arms around his neck before pulling his lips against yours. He’s stunned for a mere moment before reciprocating the kiss, weaving a hand through your hair and working his lips on yours like an actor reciting a well-practiced monologue. It’s slow and sweet, and you aren’t at all upset when he takes control by slipping his tongue in your mouth. This spell that you’re both in is suddenly broken when Michael accidentally slams your body against a bookcase instead of the wall. Your eyes snap open and you let out a yell of surprise as books go toppling off of the shelf around you.

Michael’s eyes meet yours when you break away from each other, both of you staring at each other with wide eyes. He looks frightened about what your reaction to this will be, despite the fact that you initiated the kiss. When you start to giggle, a slow smile spreads across his face. You lean your forehead against his, savoring the sound of Michael’s own laughs.

“I meant what I said, you know.” Michael speaks in almost a whisper, his blue eyes captivating you as you lean in closer to hear him.

“About what?”

“Do you remember what I said to you before Madison had to take you back up Above?” After a moment, you shake your head.

“Not really. I don’t remember much from that time.”

“You taught me how to love, (Y/N). I did not think love existed before you, that it was just a farce that others participated in so that they could feel some semblance of happiness. It’s not, though. I know that now, because now I have you. Thousands of years I’ve lived, and I’ve never found anyone like you. I’m not asking for you to say the same things, or even for you to reciprocate my feelings. I just want you to know that I love you. You are it for me; there’s no one else that would ever have my heart the way that you will always have mine.”

Although shocking to hear Michael say this, it’s not surprising; on some deep level, you’ve always known that he feels this way, but to hear the words out loud is a whole different thing. Words hold a certain power once they’ve been said, when they’re out in the air and there’s no taking back what you’ve said. There’s no going back anymore, no claiming it as a mistake and brushing it under the rug. It’s permanent, and Michael knows that just as much as you do.

Michael can see the back-and-forth in your mind, and silences it all by kissing you again. His hand snakes down to your hip and wraps around your thigh, hooking your leg around his waist. When his other hand repeats the same actions, you get what he’s trying to do and jump into his arms. His hands cup your ass, fingers digging into the skin through your jeans.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.” Michael breaks apart from you, catching a breath as he walks with you towards his bedroom.

“I want you so badly, Michael.” You breathe out, running a hand through his tousled blond hair.

He lays you down on those red silk sheets that you noticed the first time he let you into his private quarters, and you stare up at him with wide eyes while he hurriedly removes his black button-down shirt from his body. Michael smirks at your expression, and you scoot back against the pillows as he crawls towards you.

“If you keep biting your lip like that, there is no way that I’ll be able to control myself.” Your lip, which you didn’t even realize you had been biting, is quickly released from in between your teeth. “You’re wearing far too many clothes, darling mine.”

“Guess you’ll have to help me take them off, then.” Michael groans when you cock an eyebrow towards him, surging forward to kiss you.

Your hands hook into the waistband of his pants, desperate to pull him closer to you. You whimper when he pulls away from you, but it’s only a moment so that he can pull your own shirt over your head. Michael slowly pushes you down on your back before sitting back on his heels and staring at you.

“What?” You ask, suddenly self-conscious at being so vulnerable in front of an actual god.

“You’re so stunning, (Y/N). Aphrodite herself surely had a hand in your creation; there’s no way she herself didn’t bless you with the gift of such beauty.” You blush deeply, the color extending all the way down your chest.

“Michael.” You roll your eyes, but can’t stop the smile on your face.

“I’m just telling you the truth.” He strokes your hair that’s fanned out like a halo against the pillows, reaching behind you to unclip your bra easily.

You shudder at the sudden cold against your breasts, your nipples pebbling at the temperature change. Michael kisses down your neck, nipping at the skin and making you jump slightly. You nearly yell when his mouth suddenly attaches to one of your nipples, lightly biting and lavishing one while his hand tweaks the other. You can already feel how soaked your panties are, your cunt nearly throbbing with want. Impatiently, you thread your hands through his hair and tug him up off of your breasts, grabbing one of his hands and moving it right on top of your clothed center.

“You dirty, needy little girl.” Michael’s eyes are dark with lust as you nod, fumbling with the buckle on his belt as you attempt to work his pants down his legs.

He easily kicks them off past his ankles, the fabric falling to the floor in a heap. Michael nearly drags you down the bed while he yanks your own jeans and underwear off, huffing when he finally removes the tight fabric from your legs. Your eyes widen in both anticipation and fear when Michael’s cock is finally freed from the confines of his underwear. You knew he would be big, considering he’s an actual god, but the sheer girth of his cock, thicker than you’ve ever seen before, makes you nervous that he may actually split you in two. The tip is already flushed bright red and beading precum, and your hand twitches at the desire to stroke it. He can sense your nervousness, chuckling before leaning in to give you a reassuring kiss.

“I promise that I’ll take this as slow as you need me to do so.” You can feel Michael’s bicep flex under your hand as he strokes himself a couple of times, preparing himself to enter your already-wet core.

“Fuck!” You say, stopping him before he can even start to thrust into you.

“What?”

“Do you have, like, a condom?” Michael laughs loudly, shaking his head.

“(Y/N), I’m a god. You’re not going to get pregnant unless I want you to get pregnant.”

“You better not be lying.” You tease, letting him kiss you again.

“I would never do such a thing to you. Ready?” You nod, trying to relax as much as possible so that this hurts less.

He thrusts in slowly, trying to go inch by inch to minimize any pain that you may be feeling. You clench your eyes shut, humming loudly to distract from the burn as Michael sheaths himself inside you. You gasp when he bottoms out inside you, the head already brushing against the sponginess of your innermost walls. Michael rubs calming circles on your shoulder, kissing you to keep you distracted. When he leans back and accidentally rocks against you, you whine at the jolt of pleasure that courses through you.

“Move, Michael, please.” You gasp out, head falling back and exposing your neck to him.

Michael rocks back, nearly pulling all the way out of you before thrusting back in deeply. Your moans and groans mix together as he starts to find a rhythm that works for both of you, one that’s slow enough to feel intimate, but rough enough to have your nails scratching down his back. You hold him close to you, listening to the lewd sounds of skin slapping against skin. Choking back a sob, your attempts at silence prove futile when Michael’s hips snap against yours just right, pelvis brushing against your clit and making you scream loudly.

“You are so tight, (Y/N). Tightest I’ve ever had.” Michael grunts through clenched teeth, sweat beading on his brow as he tries to not come already.

You let out a loud whine, tears starting to cloud your vision when he bites down on the juncture of your neck and your collarbone, licking a hot stripe up to below your ear.

“Michael!” Your stomach flips when he continually hits your g-spot. “Oh God, yes!”

“Mmm, who’s your God, darling?” He nearly growls, thrusts becoming rougher at your keens.

“You are! Michael, you’re my God!” You almost cry at how good it feels when his hand makes contact with your clit, rubbing harsh circles against it.

Michael wraps your legs around his waist, the new angle sending stars streaking across your vision while a high-pitched scream rips through your chest. He can tell that you’re dangerously close to cumming, the near constant clenching of your pussy around his cock driving him wild. Pressing his lips to yours, he swallows the scream-like moan that you release when he pinches your clit, sending you straight into your orgasm.

You convulse violently under him, eyes rolling back into your head as the pleasure courses through your body. Through the pleasure clouding every sense of yours, you hear Michael groan deeply while he buries himself against you and releases, coating your walls with his hot cum. Michael collapses on top of you once you’re both finished, both of you breathing heavily as you try to regain any control over your bodies. He finally rolls off of you, and you hiss at the loss of contact. Michael falls next to you, chest heaving while he pulls you against him.

“I love you.” You whisper quietly, breaking the comfortable silence that had enveloped the room.

“Huh?”

“I love you.” You look up at Michael from where your head is resting on your chest. “I don’t know if it took me almost dying, or the sheer ridiculousness of passing the Seven Wonders, or just reuniting with you, but I do love you. So, so much, Michael.”

A smile bursts across Michael’s face, the radiance of it making your heart swell. He kisses your forehead sweetly, intertwining his fingers with yours and sighing happily.

“Sleep now, my love. Everything will remain the same when you wake.” He reassures, watching the drooping of your eyes as you slowly drift off to sleep, finally at peace.

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#michael langdon #michael langdon imagine #michael langdon x reader #ahs #michael langdon imagines #ahs apocalypse #ahs imagine #american horror story #american horror story imagine #american horror story apocalypse #michael langdon au #hades and persephone au

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phoenix-downer · 6 years ago

Text

The Monkey’s Paw

For SoKai Week Day 7 - Reunion/Home. A continuation of Thursday’s prompt and Friday’s prompt.

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Kairi fell asleep with a smile on her face that night. Hearing Sora’s voice the night before had given her hope, real hope.

“Sora!” she called as soon as she was on the dream Play Island. It wasn’t as dark as it had been in past dreams; in the east she could make out the very first rays of dawn peeking out over the horizon.

A few moments later, and Sora appeared in the shallow surf. Grinning, she ran to him as quickly as she could. The sand was wet beneath her toes and the breeze smelled like sea-salt.

“Sora, it’s so good to—”

She paused. Sora’s eyes, which were usually a beautiful bright blue, were rimmed with gold.

He frowned. “Kairi? What is it?”

“Your eyes, they just…” He tilted his head, and she took a deep breath. “...Have some gold in them, that’s all.”

His face relaxed. “Oh, is that what you’re worried about? Don’t be. I’m learning how to control my darkness, and until I do, that kind of thing might happen more often.”

“Oh, okay.”

He lifted his hand to the barrier. “What’s wrong?”

She fiddled with her necklace, unable to meet his eyes. “It’s just that… you never would have had this problem if you hadn’t become a Heartless in the first place to save me.”

He’d barely had any darkness in his heart before that. She remembered Saïx’s words: that she was the fire that fueled Sora’s anger. With every new way their enemies found to use her to torment him, was it any surprise, really, that his darkness had gotten to this point?

“Kairi, the darkness in my heart is because of me, not you.”

His eyes were tender when she finally summoned the courage to look into them.

“Maybe,” she said at last, “but I wish there was something I could do to help until we find you.”

He smiled. “Just keep being my light.”

She nodded. “Okay. That much I can do.”

He was gone before she could tell him that they really were close to finding him.

“Hang in there, Sora,” she murmured, the wind carrying her voice. “It won’t be too much longer.”

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“Sora!” Kairi called the next night as she made her way towards the water. The sun had risen a little higher now, pushing back the darkness even further. Streaks of color stretched across the sky in a way that reminded her of Naminé’s paintings.

“You’ll never guess!” she said, nearly tripping on the sand before she picked herself back up in her eagerness to meet him. “We’ve found a way to save you! First thing tomorrow, Riku’s gonna dive into the realm where you are while I keep a part of him tethered to the Realm of Light! He’ll use that card you left me to—”

Sora’s eyes flashed, and with a shock she noticed that they were even more yellow than before. Only a small ring surrounding his irises was still blue. The very tips of his hair were silver, too. She skittered to a halt, an uneasy feeling building in her stomach.

For a few moments, the only sound was the crashing of wave against shore. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do.

“You’re gonna keep Riku tethered to the Realm of Light?” he finally asked, his voice low. “Like you did for me?”

She hesitated before answering. “Yes, because if anyone can keep him alive as he descends into the Realm of Death, it’s me. You know that, Sora. If I can keep you alive, there’s a chance I can keep him alive, too.”

“And you gave him the card I gave you?”

Her mouth felt dry. Looking into Sora’s eyes, he almost seemed…

She shook her head to clear it. It had to be her imagination.

“Yes, to save you, Sora,” she explained. “He has abilities I don’t have yet. He can use the Power of Wakening without it hurting him. He’s our best bet.”

His expression darkened. “I don’t need his help. I can save myself just fine.”

Kairi felt lightheaded at his words, like she was hearing them from far away. “S-Sora? What’s gotten into you?” she asked as she reached for him. He flinched away, even though the barrier was still between them.

“Nothing. I feel great. Better than ever.”

“But your eyes… and your hair… and your hands! Oh my gosh, what happened to your hands?”

His fingertips were as red as blood. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Her eyes met his, and for a split second, confusion flickered through them.

“Sora, are you hurt? Are you bleeding?”

“I’m fine,” he snapped, his eyes flashing again as he crossed his arms behind his back.

She tried to cast a Cure spell, but it didn’t work. Her heart was racing as she tried in vain to reach him through the barrier.

“I told you,” he said, his voice eerily calm, “it’s gonna take some time before I get my darkness under control. Once it is, though, I’ll be able to break free and come home to you.”

“Sora, it’s not getting under control, it’s getting worse!”

He smiled, but instead of reassuring her, his smile sent chills down her spine. There was something very off about it, like someone else was smiling at her using Sora’s face.

“Kairi, I have to face my darkness,” he said. “It’s a part of me. I can’t pretend it isn’t anymore.”

“I know that, I’m just… I’m worried, okay? Stay safe until we reach you.”

He chuckled. “I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about. I can’t keep you safe until we’re together again.” Putting his hand against the barrier, he added, “Once we’re together, nothing will ever take you away from me. Never again. I promise.”

Kairi supposed his words were supposed to be heartwarming, but instead they made her blood run cold.

She forced a smile as she put her hand on her side of the barrier, trying her best not to stare at his red-tipped fingers. “Right. See you soon.”

Her heart was racing when she woke up, and she practically sprung out of bed. Grabbing a blanket, she wrapped it around herself, then stumbled into the hallway of the bedroom wing of the Mysterious Tower so she could pound on the door of the room across from hers.

A few moments later, it opened to reveal a very sleepy-looking Riku. He winced at the light from the hall, and his silver hair was poking up every which way. He went from half asleep to wide awake in seconds though as he took in her frantic state.

“Kairi, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice still a little groggy.

“Riku, it’s Sora! He’s in trouble!”

Riku was really awake now. “What kind of trouble?”

“He’s falling to darkness! His eyes are turning gold and his hair’s turning silver and his fingers are turning red!”

She didn’t know if any of that made any sense, but Riku made a grim expression. “It’s like what happened to Aqua, then. He’s been down there too long by himself.”

“Riku, please,” Kairi said, not even caring how hysterical she must sound right now. “We have to help him!”

“Yeah. This sounds serious. I don’t think we can wait any longer. I have to do the dive.” He took a deep breath and gave her a half smile. “Think you’re ready?”

She nodded. “If you are.”

The real risk was to Riku, of course. He was the one going to a place people didn’t usually return from, to a place you usually only made one journey to. And he was planning on making the return trip. Would only be able to if she kept him safe.

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure you and Sora come home safely,” she said.

“You will. Have faith in yourself, Kairi.”

She attempted a smile at that. It was a little hard to after everything that had happened at the Keyblade Graveyard.

They took a few minutes to throw their battle clothes on. Riku especially would need his, and it always paid to be prepared. When they met Master Yen Sid at the top of the tower, even he looked sleepy as he gave them a few final instructions.

With that, Riku gave Kairi one last look. “Ready?”

She nodded. “Ready.”

“Hang in there, Sora, I’m coming.”

With the lucky card in one hand, he lifted his Keyblade in the air and opened the portal with the other. Kairi’s throat felt dry as the lights and colors from it swirled above them and sent patterns scattering across the walls. Another bright light flashed from his Keyblade, and she closed her eyes and focused on him.

When she opened her eyes again, he was gone, but she could still feel his heart. It was traveling further and further away from her, but she refused to break the connection. Willed with all her heart for him to live, even when surrounded by death and hanging on by a hair.

“Hurry, Riku,” she said, her hands clasped together. “Bring Sora home.”

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Everyone had ideas about what the afterlife would (or wouldn’t) be like, but of all things, Riku never would’ve thought it would be… a city?

But it was. A pretty big city at that, with tall skyscrapers and neon lights and big empty stations with trains leading who knows where.

Which meant that Riku had to systematically check everywhere for Sora.

He’d started out in this place called Shinjuku, and now he was somewhere called Shibuya. It was hard to say where one district ended and the next began; this had to be one of the most densely packed places (in terms of buildings, anyway) Riku had ever been.

And this was the biggest crosswalk he had ever been on. With all the exits coming out of Shibuya Station, he decided not to explore that particular labyrinth right now. He’d already wasted a good hour in Shinjuku Station as it was.

It was almost disorienting, how many signs and billboards flashed above him as he crossed the street. Even weirder was the complete lack of people. A city this big, and he hadn’t seen anyone. He’d wandered into some store called Don Quixote at one point, and the place was huge. About three different videos were playing loud ads at the same time in the cosmetics aisle alone, plus the store’s music on top of that. Even with all that noise, though, there hadn’t been a single person in there besides him.

He had to keep looking. A rental store called Tsutaya didn’t seem too promising, and neither was Tower Records. He doubted Sora was hanging out and listening to whatever music was available in the afterlife.

Moving away from the main streets, he found himself drawn to the side streets and alleyways, the places that weren’t lit so well. Then he rounded the corner, and standing there with his back turned to him was exactly who he’d been searching for.

“Sora! There you are!”

Seeing his lost friend, he hardly believed this was real. He slowed to a halt a few feet away, but Sora didn’t turn around. His hood was up, and he had his hands tucked in his pockets.

“Riku. You really came, just like Kairi said you would.” He turned his head but didn’t bother turning around fully. “Took you long enough.”

Riku’s eyes narrowed. Gone was the joking tone that Sora normally used for playful jabs. Instead it was just a jab. Kairi’s warning rang through his head, and he tensed, bracing himself for the worst.

But first he would try talking. Fighting would be an absolute last resort.

“Sora, are you okay?”

“You tell me. I gave up everything for our friends, and this is my reward? Death?”

Riku bit back the urge to comment on that. “I’m here to bring you home. We can go home now.”

Sora chuckled, but it didn’t relieve any of the tension hanging thick in the air at all. “Did Kairi tell you to say that?”

“No, but she’d say the same thing if she were here, and you know it.”

“Well guess what? I don’t need your help. I’ve figured out a way to get home on my own.”

Riku took a deep breath. “Sora, you of all people should know that it’s okay to ask your friends for help. What’s gotten into you?”

He avoided adding ‘the darkness’ because he knew full well it had. This was like the stuff he’d spouted when he’d been full of it himself.

“I realized a few things,” Sora said. “For one, all of you are always putting me down. You’re always telling me I’m dumb and useless, and it’s getting really old.”

Riku winced at that. He had no idea how much their teasing had actually hurt Sora’s feelings.

“Sora, if you want us to cut down on the teasing, we will. We don’t actually think you’re—”

Sora whirled around, and his eyes were yellow. “I saved every single one of you from dying, and it cost me my life in the end. Now tell me again how I’m useless.”

His eyes flashed and his teeth were bared in a snarl. Riku didn’t know what to do. Nothing he could say would de-escalate the situation. Sora was angry and upset, and the darkness had dragged up deep-rooted insecurities and amplified them.

“Kairi was right,” Riku said at last. “The darkness does have you. But I can help.”

He offered his hand, but Sora slapped it away and pinned it against the wall. “No. I don’t need your help!”

He held his free hand up, and a few seconds later, his Keyblade appeared in it. He pointed it at the opposite wall, and a portal opened. Riku didn’t recognize the pattern to it. It wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen before. Maybe Sora really did have new powers.

The question was, how?

“Sora, who taught you how to do that?”

Sora raised his eyebrow. “Nobody. I figured it out myself. I’m not as stupid as you all think.”

Maybe that was true, but there had to be some outside agent influencing him. Sora wouldn’t just turn to darkness on his own like this.

Riku sighed deeply. He didn’t want to fight Sora, but he would if he had to. He summoned his Keyblade, and Sora’s eyes narrowed.

“Sora, I can’t let you go through that portal.”

“Oh, you wanna fight me now, is that it? Tell me, Riku, how many times have I beaten you now?”

Riku said nothing. It would only make things worse.

“That’s right, you’ve lost count. And how many times have you beaten me?” he said, jabbing a finger at his heart. “Roxas and Ven’s armor don’t count. How many times have you fought me and won?”

Sora had a very good point, but Riku didn’t care. He was fighting for Sora as much as he was fighting against him at this point. He took a few steps backwards so he could move into his battle stance, and Sora didn’t stop him. In fact, he smiled a pretty creepy smile and moved into an attack stance of his own, like he relished the chance to fight.

“Sorry, Kairi, this is going to take longer than we planned,” Riku said with a sigh, then Sora charged.

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When Kairi saw Sora again, he was the one who initiated the contact. It was more vision than dream, and fully morning on Destiny Islands. The sun shone brilliantly overhead, but he was covered in shadow as she approached.

“Sora, Riku’s on his way as we speak!” she said as she jogged over to him. “Hang in there!”

“You know… He really didn’t have to do that.”

She stopped in her tracks, her hands balling into fists. “Don’t say things like that! He’s risking his life for you!”

“Risking his life? Don’t make me laugh. He just wanted another chance to fight me. Well too bad, because I won. Again.”

Kairi’s heart pounded. “W-What?”

“He tried to stop me from coming home, and I took care of him,” Sora replied calmly, like he was talking about finishing his chores or doing his homework.

“Sora, what did you do to him?” she said as she desperately searched her heart for an answer.

That was when she heard it. A cracking sound coming from her left. She whirled towards it, and there it was. A big rift, traveling through the barrier and growing larger and larger.

“Sora? Are you the one doing that?”

“Yup. Turns out I’m not so weak and useless after all.”

He thought he was weak and useless? Who had told him that?

“Get ready,” he said. “Three, two, one—”

Kairi put up a shield around herself just as the barrier exploded into millions of tiny fragments. They bounced off harmlessly and dissolved into specs of light all around her.

“Finally. That stupid barrier keeping us apart is gone.” Sora slowly lowered his arms, and the darkness dissipated enough for him to give her a chilling smile. His eyes were fully gold now, and his hair was halfway silver. Sharp claws had formed on his hands, and his fingers were completely red.

She put her hand over her mouth as tears burned at her eyes. “No,” she whispered.

Sora raised his eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“You! Look at yourself!”

He regarded himself in the shallow water lingering on the sand, and his reflection stared coldly back up at him. “I see no difference,” he said at last.

“How? How can you not tell?” she said, choking on her own words.

“Tell what?”

“Sora… you’re starting to look like Xehanort.”

His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. The look he was giving her right now, she might as well have just slapped him in the face. He stared at his hands as if seeing them for the first time, then looked at her.

“Kairi?” he whispered, scared, broken.

She reached towards him when she felt a sharp tug on her heart. Riku. He needed her help.

“Sora, what have you done?”

That was when it hit her. This barrier. It wasn’t just a barrier keeping the two of them apart. It was keeping the Realm of Light separate from the Realm of Death. Anything could come through right now. Anyone could come through now. At least while it was open. It wouldn’t be for long; in fact she could already sense it reforming, but—

He reached towards her, his face twisted in fear. “Kairi, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

But the vision abruptly ended, and he was gone. Instead Riku’s pained voice echoed in her mind as she was flung back into the Mysterious Tower.

“Kairi, I’m sorry, Sora’s—”

“I know. I’ve got you. Come back to us, and hurry!” she said as she lit the way for him. “I think I know where Sora is!”

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Sora’s wail rang out as his legs buckled beneath him. The waves beat relentlessly against the shore around him, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

What had he done? What had he become? Kairi was right to be upset at him. Right to leave him behind. He looked like her murderer now, and he had dared to show his face to her. He wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to see him again.

Hot tears slipped out of his eyes and fell onto the sand where they mingled with the sheen of water resting over it. “Kairi, I’m sorry,” he sobbed, but not even Riku was here to comfort him this time.

Of course not. Riku had risked his life to save him, just like Kairi had said, and Sora had said such terrible things to him. Had fought him and hurt him and left him alone in the Realm of Death. And now Sora was alone, too, like he deserved, and—

He heard clapping from behind him and a voice that made his blood run cold.

“Sora! You did it! You got us back into the Realm of Light.”

He sat up and turned to glare at the Master of Masters, not even caring that his face was streaked with tears. “This was all a setup, wasn’t it? You used me! You tricked me!”

The Master of Masters sighed. “Did not. I just gave you a little push in the right direction. And it worked.” He held out his arms. “Take a look around you. You’re home!”

Sora took another look at his hands, which were now more like claws, and thought of Kairi’s scared face and Riku’s disappointed one all over again. “Why? Why would you do such a thing?”

The Master of Masters rested his hand on Sora’s shoulder. “You’re not the only one with friends, Sora. I just made sure I would get back to mine.”

Sora smacked his hand away and staggered to his feet. “Shut up!”

“Sheesh, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do anything, this is all on you.”

“Liar!”

Sora moved to summon his Keyblade, but the Master of Masters was quicker. He held his hand out, and Sora gasped as a Keyblade appeared in his grasp… a Keyblade with a blue eye.

“Ah, thanks Luxu,” he muttered. “Man, is it good to see you again,” he added as he regarded the Keyblade. He guarded Sora’s attack easily and sent him hurtling backwards till he landed on his back with a painful thud.

He put his foot over Sora’s chest before Sora could so much as blink. “Tell me, Sora, have you ever heard the story about the Monkey’s Paw?”

Sora didn’t answer, and the Master of Masters pressed his foot down a little harder. Sora gasped as the air got squeezed out of his lungs.

“The Monkey’s Paw will grant you any three wishes you like. Cool, huh? But it’s not like a genie. You wanna know why?”

Sora could hardly breathe. He tried to summon his Keyblade, but the Master of Masters just pinned his arm down with his creepy-looking Keyblade, making the gesture useless.

“It grants those wishes in the worst way possible. If you wish for a million munny, it’ll give you that because your parents died and left you their inheritance. If you wish to bring your dead friend back to life, it’ll be his rotting corpse.”

Sora was seeing stars now as he faded in and out. He could barely focus on the Master of Master’s voice.

“And… if you wish to be reunited with your beloved, you’ll become the very monster she fears. Fitting, don’t you think? That charm she gave you isn’t a good luck charm. It’s a monkey’s paw.”

He sighed at that. “Ah, young love. Too bad yours is forever cursed. You got what you wanted, you’re back home like you promised, but she doesn’t want to be with you! She was so scared she ran away from you!” He bent down, his hooded face leering over Sora’s. “How could she ever love a monster like you?” he whined, mocking Sora’s pain.

“Enough,” Sora choked out with the last of his breath, so much more weakly than the first time they’d met.

The Master of Masters leaned back and finally lifted his foot. “You’re right. That is enough.” He let his Keyblade disappear, too, as he summoned a Corridor of Darkness. “I can finally go meet my friends now. Till next time, Sora.”

He actually waved goodbye before he stepped into the portal and disappeared, but Sora was too weak to stop him, his injured ribs throbbing as he gasped for air.

Once he felt like he wasn’t about to die, he called on the last of his strength to heal himself. That was a lot better. His ribs were no longer screaming at him, and when he moved his arms, his chest didn’t complain. When he tried to stagger to his feet, though, he just crumpled back onto the sand.

Why hadn’t he listened? Kairi and Riku had both tried to help him. Why had he refused to let them? Why hadn’t he trusted them?

“I’m sorry,” he said, the tears from before threatening to come back. “I tried to do everything myself. Guess this is what I deserve.”

The sun beat down on him again as the waves washed up all around him, but he still couldn’t bring himself to move.

“Well, you were kinda reckless…” came a familiar voice. “...but you’re here, and that’s what matters.”

His heart froze. “Kairi?”

He looked up, and sure enough, she was there. It was her, she was really here. She’d really come back for him. She knelt next to him and pulled him into her arms as he sobbed and apologized over and over again.

He could finally touch her. This wasn’t a dream anymore. All those days spent alone, without the warmth of another person. Without her warmth. He hadn’t realized how lonely and desperate he’d been for her affection until now. But now that he had it again, it was almost too much to bear. His heart felt like it was about to burst.

“Sora, it’s okay,” she soothed. “We’re here.”

After a few more moments of holding her, real and safe and alive, she pulled back so that the other part of the ‘we’ could greet him.

“Riku,” Sora sniffed. Why had he let jealousy get between them?

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Riku said as he put his hand on Sora’s shoulder. His other arm was in a sling, the same one Roxas had injured, and Sora felt like throwing up as he thought about what he’d done.

“This is nothing compared to the stunts I pulled,” Riku finished. “You just fought me till you could get away. I tried to kill you.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sora said. “I didn’t just hurt you and Kairi, I unleashed the Master of Masters into the Realm of Light! I have no idea who he is or what he really wants.”

Silence lingered between the three of them till Riku gave his shoulder another squeeze. “That’s what we’re here for,” he said, smiling at last.

Kairi nodded. “We’ll figure it out, together.”

Sora smiled through his tears. “Thanks, guys.”

The three of them hugged, then Riku was off to go report what had happened to Master Yen Sid, leaving Sora alone with Kairi. She was sitting on the shore next to him, looking out to sea with a content smile on her face.

He didn’t know what to say. There was too much to really put into words. Still, he owed it to her to try.

He took a deep breath. “Kairi—”

She smiled sadly. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

He nodded, grateful she understood. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out her lucky charm. But seeing his hand again reminded him of the Master of Master’s words about the monkey paw. Reminded him he still had claws for hands, because he was still corrupted by the darkness.

He hung his head, only for her to place her hand over his. He searched her eyes, and there wasn’t any judgment or fear in them. Just that soft look she’d given him after they’d shared the paopu fruit.

Her smile was soft and gentle as she wrapped her arms around him again. Before long he found himself hugging her back. Gosh, it felt so good to hug her. All those times the barrier had stopped them… he had to make up for them.

“I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you too.”

When he finally leaned back and opened his eyes, she smiled, her cheeks flushing pink. He brought his hand to her face, and it was no longer a claw. It was his normal hand, free from the darkness.

He looked at his other hand. Also normal. He looked at his reflection in the shallow sheen of water on the sand. Blue eyes. Brown hair. He looked to Kairi. It was her, wasn't it? She was the one who had restored him to normal. She was the light in the darkness, just like she had always been. Just like she always would be.

“I’m back,” he said, putting his whole heart into the words as he cupped her cheek.

Her smile got even bigger as she looked into his eyes. “You’re home.”

Yes, the Master of Masters was free in the Realm of Light now. Sora had hurt Riku, and Kairi, too. But they were his friends and they had forgiven him, and they’d stuck with him and had promised to help him fix the mess he’d made.

The Master of Masters was wrong. The lucky charm wasn’t a monkey’s paw. It was the most powerful magic there was, and it would always bring him and Kairi back together again.

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Luxu slouched on his chair and groaned as the other apprentices got into a fight. Again. Aced was griping at Ira over something stupid, Invi was trying to get them both to calm down, and Gula was disagreeing with her and whining about Ava for the millionth time.

Geez, would they never stop bickering with each other? Yeah, Ava was still missing, but this was just getting ridiculous.

He opened his mouth to tell them all to shut up when there was a swirl of dark smoke in the center of the room. Here, in their top secret hideout that no one should know about.

Everyone froze at the sight of the person who came through, casual as ever, like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hey, guys! Did you miss me?”

Luxu grinned. The boss was back, and they could finally get to work.

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A/N: Well, this fic sort of took on a life of its own and became a post-KH3 imagining!

Again, credit to @teganberry, @chachacharlieco, and @violetstar-writes for coming up with and building on the original concept, @rapis-razuri for letting me bounce ideas off of her and giving me feedback, and @angel-with-a-pipette for providing moral support!

Speaking of which, after KH3 came out and we were both pretty broken inside, I told her I would write a reunion fic for Sora and Kairi, and as it turns out, this ended up being it! So I dedicate this fic to her :) (Sorry for the angst, at least the ending was hopeful?)

Also, a big thank you to everyone who commented, reblogged, and liked the various installments of this fic! The title when I post it to AO3 and FFN will be The Monkey’s Paw. I might polish it up a little bit more, but I’m pretty happy with how it is as it stands and will probably start posting it over there soon.

And thank you to everyone who participated in SoKai Week! I’ve loved seeing all of the art, fics, and gifs, and you all have been lovely. Till next time!

#sokai #sokaiweek #sokaiweek2019 #sora #kairi #master of masters #the master of masters #kh fanfiction #phoenix writes #phoenix downer #manipulation #temptation #violence #angst #kh3 spoilers #kingdom hearts 3 spoilers

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spirit-of-the-void · 6 years ago

Text

Ebony and Ivory (V x Reader Fanfic) Chapter 31

Author’s notes: I’m so sorry this came out so late, I’ve had a lot of stressful things going on and I’ve been tired af

Chapter 31

(Your POV)

Sunlight was streaming through the open windows of your room, draping you in pillars of golden rays.

It had to be around eight o’clock. You could hear the children just waking up on their end of the house, complaining loudly only to be hushed by Kyrie in their daily trip to eat breakfast. She tried to keep them in a cycle, a pattern of familiarity to get them easily through the day. You did not stir, content to stay in bed for a little while longer at least. It was warm, peaceful. There was a breeze coming off the ocean, making the white curtains of your room drift and sway over your form like gentle, caressing fingers. When was the last time you had woken up before the alarm? You could not recall, but you took this time to relax and savor how comfortable it was, face pressed to the pillow underneath it and blanket tangled around your bare legs.

Shadow was stretched out along your back, providing an extra layer of warmth with their nose pressed to your hair. You could feel faint breath fanning you from their snout, paws twitching with whatever they dreampt of. They always slept in bed with you like this, always. It had grown into such a needed routine, you weren’t sure if you could ever exist without it. Griffon was there as well, curled up in a patch of sun near the window when you opened your eyes. It was a gentle brightness that awaited you, one hand instinctively reaching up to rub the sleep out of your tired gaze. The sunlight made his sapphire feathers glow in a pretty, surreal way.

Peaceful. You decided that much at least, lying there with your eyes half closed and tasting the salty air with each breath. Even with the passing months, you still hadn’t quite gotten used to how lovely it truly was. These moments of peace in the morning were a far cry from the cold, dark corners of the Void, and that was a strange adjustment to make. You decided you far preferred the warmth, and clung to it for as long as the morning would allow. It gave you time to reflect, to think, and to gather your thoughts before the day.

A lot had happened since returning from the Qliphoth.

You had set about making yourself busy, aiding Kyrie in the orphanage and balancing that with helping Nero fight demons. Business was booming now that the portal had been closed, leftover demon nests from the calamity spreading all over the city and surrounding areas. You didn’t mind, fighting the creatures was a cake walk. And it meant more funds for Nero and Kyrie’s household, which was needed to help take care of four children. You also set about using your Void abilities to aid the people of Fortuna, setting about odd jobs and favors to bring in extra food and supplies. A lot of structural damage had occurred since the collapsing of a giant statue of Sparda, so some buildings still needed repair.

It was easy to help Nero with fixing things up, mixing his strength and your ability to conjure Void crystal to weave through the cracking foundations of damaged buildings. The material was strong, and close to unbreakable by normal means. Not to mention it made for beautiful patterns throughout homes, bringing in people from the outside to see. The only complaint heard about the crystal was that it was cold to the touch, bringing chill to homes that had to use it. But on the hottest days on the ocean, those complaints didn’t come about anymore. You were just lucky no one could hear the Void whispers from the crystals like you could.

All in all, things had gotten better. Fortuna was now mingling with other cities and cultures. People were bouncing back from the tragedy brought about by the Order of the Sword, and the orphanage was now running steady without Nero and Kyrie having to pinch pennies. You rarely kept any money, because honestly what did you need to buy? The kindhearted woman insisted on making you clothes, and anything she didn’t make you conjured from the Void itself. Food was always bought and given to the household, and you were generally given items from the people of Fortuna more often than not. Like figurines you kept on your desk, a beautiful lamp that illuminated the room in a pink glow, and tapestries to hang on the wall.

The only thing you had saved up and then bought was a set of cell phones from the town on the coast where the ferry picked you up. The communication through payphones was unacceptable once you discovered that the technology existed in this dimension as well, so you set about working on that once everything at the orphanage was squared away.

It took about a month to get together funds with the help of Trish and Lady--they wanted a better means to communicate with you and Nero as well. After one particularly large job defending a concert from a demon attack, you had enough to cut a deal with a shop near the edge of Redgrave and promptly bought a phone for yourself, Nero, Nico, and Kyrie. Your used your Void abilities to connect the phones without cell service, so that wasn’t an extra fund to worry about. It was promptly given to them as a gift after three months of staying together, making Kyrie flustered and surprised and Nico downright jazzed. As for Nero, he was already guessing you had plans to do such a thing after loudly complaining about it.

Regardless.

You reached out tiredly to grab the phone from your windowsill, turning off the alarm and squinting at the time on the screen. You were right in your assumption, it was already past 8 o’clock in the morning. You let out a light sigh, Setting the phone back where you found it in rolling over so you were spooning Shadow’s extended form. Warm, so warm. You wrapped your arms around their dark fur, snuggling in against their neck and counting the seconds that passed by. Heartbeat after heartbeat. Shadow gave only a light grunt to indicate you had even slightly disturbed their slumber, but that was about it.

It was in moments like these that you knew that those thoughts would come back, the ones about the dark-haired poet and his silver-haired true form—all those memories shared with him, and how the had affected you in the passing months. You closed your eyes, still about to see every aspect of V’s face in your head. His high cheekbones, charming smile, those jade eyes staring into yours like you were the world. You missed him with a fierceness that had not faded, you knew that. But four months had given time to think, to grieve and cry for what was lost and pick yourself off the ground.

Had you moved on? You wanted to say yes, but he was still there in your thoughts . And so was the deep, aching hole in your heart he left behind.

You thought you would stop missing him at some point, stop craving his warm voice, his gentle touches, the way he smiled and held your hand. But those thoughts remained, heavy and filling you with longing. Only now...you tried to teach yourself to see the good in them. These were happy memories, so you tried to focus on the joy they caused instead of the pain. How lucky you were, to get the chance of experiencing a love like that in your life. One so whole and heartbreakingly real, one that eclipsed everything else and brought so much joy that you had grown addicted to it. And if an equal part of sadness and pain had come attached to it, then that was a solid price to pay.

I will not see this love as a burden, not again.

You sighed softly again, curling up closer to the mighty cat and squeezing your eyes shut tighter. Too much thought, time to come back to reality for a bit. The depth of emotion you felt was starting to awaken the familiars, now attuned to your thought process and quick to jump in and help when you needed it.

Griffon stirred, feathers rippling in the shimmer caused by the sun and his maw opening in a light yawn. You opened your eyes part-way to look at him, catching his golden gaze right as he turned to stare in your direction.

“Don’t you know how to sleep in?” He complained tiredly, shaking out his feathers with a light trill, “Go back to sleep and shut off the dumb brain of yours, toots.”

You smiled--he was trying to sound harsh, but there was a teasing air to the way he spoke, his connection to you giving off a light sense of concern and caring. There was no hiding things from you now, that was for certain.

“Mmmm…” You murmured in response, stretching out and wincing when your joints popped a bit. The motion jostled Shadow enough to wake them, the cat’s jaws opening in a large, exaggerated yawn as well, “Can’t...gotta help Kyrie out today. The festival in the town square starts at ten, have to get the kids ready.”

That made the bird groan, rolling onto his back with his talons tucked against his underbelly as he whined pitifully, “So early? Fuck, why can’t you just take them out at like three or four?”

Several reasons. One being that there would be numerous performances occurring throughout the day for the festival itself, and another being that the kids were so excited you couldn’t image forcing them to wait that long.

“Because this is the first festival that allows outsiders in,” You settled on the easiest explanation as you yawned, dragging yourself into a sitting position and scratching him under the chin. He melted immediately, body going limp and a pleased trill leaving his beak. Typical, “Don’t want the kids to miss anything.”

Besides, you doubted there was sleep to be found after going back through the memories of you and V. So you dragged yourself out of bed, sitting on the edge to stretch more and feel the warmth of the sun on your back. Those black tattoos greeted your eyes when you lowered your arms, hands resting in your lap and hair draped around your face. How strange to think that you had already gotten used to them, but they still felt like they belonged to V. You flexed your fingers, letting out a slow breath and gathering yourself a bit. There was so much to be done, to move on from, and you liked to think that it was going well enough. The sorrow was still there, but you were able to handle it a lot better.

That didn’t mean there weren’t still nights when it overtook you, though. There had been many an evening that ended with you falling asleep with tears drying on your cheeks.

Shadow curled around your back, sensing the waxing and waning thoughts of sorrow and trying to provide comfort. Warm, they were always so warm when they leaned against you and purred like that. Griffon got in on it too, the sound of his wings flapping the only signal before he perched on your shoulders as always.

“You still miss him, huh?” Griffon muttered in your ear, shaking out his feathers and sounding both sad and exasperated, “Even after four months? That shit doesn’t really fade away, even after all that he did.”

You smiled sadly, putting a hand to the side of his head and stroking the plumage there, “It’s never that easy, I’m afraid. It’s okay, though...I’m just happy I got a chance to even love him at all--it lead me to you guys, to where I am now. And that’s important to me.”

You could feel he was pleased at your words, that toxic mindset you carried for so long slowly but surely fading away. It took a lot of reminding, self-teaching and the help of everyone to even start shaking it. Like weights attached to your ankles for so long, shackles finally removed one by one. Not entirely gone yet, but it was a process helped further by having the three familiars there to check your thoughts. Griffon remained vocal as always, loudly nosing in before your brain could even fully form the ideas you had before. And in the end...you did feel better from their actions, more alive and less disconnected from yourself.

You smiled, standing up from the bed and carrying Griffon with you to the bathroom so you could brush your teeth. Downstairs the children were chattering loudly as they finished breakfast, mingling with Kyrie’s soft-spoken tones. Was Nero up yet? Couldn’t be sure, he wasn't a morning person. Plus you three had been out late on a demon hunting mission, difference being you enjoyed getting up early despite all of that.

You slipped into the blue bathroom, tile under your feet cool and soothing. In the mirror was your reflection, making you take brief pause to examine yourself--unlike before, it was starting to feel more and more like you every day. Not the stranger you didn’t recognize, not something that felt like a shell harboring your lonely, damaged soul. That smile, hair, face...that was you, wasn’t it? No longer pale after months of walking around in the sun with the others, skin a healthier color and a bit more tanned. You could see sleep lining your eyes, but no dark circles anymore and no cuts or bruises.

You looked...nice. Like a normal person.

“Lookin’ good, toots,” Griffon sensed your thought process, his eyes staring back at you in the mirror from his shoulder perch, “That bedhead does wonders for your face. Goin’ for the sexy, fresh outta bed look? You naughty girl.”

You rolled your eyes, pulling a brush out of a drawer and try and tame the messy locks, “I see you’re already in full misbehaving mode. Can’t it wait until after breakfast?”

Griffon scoffed, his tone full of mirth and eyes glinting in the mirror, “Absolutely not! Gotta get a head-start on my bullshit--early bird gets the worm as they say.” He snickered at his own bird joke, seeming quite pleased with himself all things considered.

You only fought rolling your eyes again, but there was definitely an unwilling smile trying to creep its way onto your face. Damn your sense of humor, it found his puns and jibes amusing and now he knew it without a doubt. The only other option was to ignore him, setting about your morning process of fixing your hair and then setting about on your teeth. Shadow crept into the bathroom while you started brushing, curling around you and resting their head on the sink. Sniffing the toothpaste, looking like they might take a chance at eating it when you weren’t looking. You hoped they wouldn’t try, but moved the toothpaste back to the cabinet just to be safe.

As you did so there was a commotion downstairs, a burst of laughing and screaming children heard over Nico hollering. What in the world was going on so early in the morning? You exchanged a glance with Griffon, turning with your toothbrush still in mouth to walk down the stairs and see what was going on. You didn’t even make it halfway down when Nico ran past, carrying two kids under her arms, one on her back and another hanging from her waist. You paused on the stairs, taking in the kids laughing, squealing faces of delight and Nico’s mischievous expression. Oh yes, there were definitely shenanigans afoot this early in the morning. The familiars summoned back to you a moment later, not wanting to get involved with the kids when they were already so excited.

You came down in just enough time to witness said spectacle as they came running past, the mechanic looking behind her and yelling as dramatically as she possibly could in that southern accent, “It’s got a mind of its own…!” before disappearing through the kitchen door.

What in the Void was she going on about? You blinked, slowly turning to watch a metal arm scooting its way across the floor after them, almost comically slow in its “pursuit” of the humans it was “chasing”. It looked like a variation of Sweet Surrender, but gutted recently and with different parts attached. The frankenstein-esque creation chugged its way over the hardwood, parts inside whirling painfully and clattering with each step it gained. This had the makings of one of Nico’s all-nighters written all over it, that was for certain. You sat down on the stairs, continuing to brush your teeth and eyes following the arm’s path as it scuttled along toward the kitchen door. Slowly.

This was a fairly average occurrence, but you were still grinning about it.

Kyrie came out of the front room on the opposite side in the next instant, beautiful hair drawn in a braid and looking as bright and lively as ever. There was worry in her expression for a moment, probably having heard all the loud noises in her morning task of watering the plants and coming to see if everyone was alright. No real disaster awaited her, of course. Just the typical antics caused by their favorite, frizzy haired artist. Kyrie paused, staring at the mechanical nightmare creeping along her floor until it grabbed a table leg, the little display table shaking and shuddering with its movements. Yeah, that expression pretty much summed up the whole situation. The exasperation, amusement, and confusion....You echoed it in kind, but there was far more of a smile on your face.

You grinned, popping the toothbrush from your mouth as you greeted her, “Morning, sunshine.”

Kyrie turned, smiling warmly once she realized you were there. She approached, sitting down next to you on the stairs and watching the spectacle as well, “Morning, Y/N. Am I to assume Nico released another one of her spawns this morning?”

“Spawn” was a good name for what that thing was rattling the table with vigor. You cleared your throat to avoid a laugh, which was growing harder and harder with the table shaking away.

“Yup,” You replied, popping the “p” very distinctly before going about brushing your teeth again, “Kids seem to be enjoying it.”

Kyrie giggled lightly, her shoulders brushing yours with the movement. She looked cute, as always, wearing a pretty, pale-pink blouse with a white, pleated skirt. An early bird for certain, already up and fully dressed for the day. Unlike you, still in tank top and shorts, fresh out of bed with a toothbrush in your mouth. Not that you’d ever catch Kyrie saying anything or comparing the two of you. Her stability was always welcome, energy and cheerfulness infectious. It brought your mood up several stages over the growing sadness thinking of V brought, like she somehow knew every morning that you needed it.

“They always do,” She smiled at the sound of the children laughing, yelling that they need to barricade the door from the evil waiting outside, “Nero will hear the commotion and come down soon to slay the beast, as always.”

“I could always do it,” You teased, testing your Void power by summoning a few tendrils. Easy, like breathing and the dull ache it caused barely noticeable, “Thus stealing all the glory.”

Kyrie nudged your shoulder, seeming amused by the very notion as she giggled, “That is true.”

But you weren’t mean enough to steal Nero’s thunder. Instead you stood up, deciding that your teeth were appropriately brushed and ready to rinse your mouth. Kyrie smiled and watched you walk back up the stairs, poking your head into the bathroom long enough to do what you had to do and put the toothbrush back. All the while the familiars rested inside of your body, consciousness seeing your good mood and feeling pleased. After all, when you were happy they were happy too. All of them had worked hard to move you past losing V and meeting Vergil, so seeing clear progress and genuine happiness was a gift to them.

You finally finished rinsing your mouth, hearing Nero’s annoyed, exasperated tone at the top of the steps before you were back out, “What the hell is that god damn noise?”

That was what finally made you laugh, a snicker gracing your lips before you looked down the hall at him. Like you, he was fresh out of bed, hair a tousled mess and eyes so very tired. He was dressed in the most casual set of night clothes you had ever seen, plain black sweatpants and a tattered, white t-shirt. You hoped he had at least gotten a reasonable amount of rest, but judging by his irritable expression that might not be the case. The children’s yelling may or may not have woken him up, which you felt a bit bad about, but you knew he would never be upset at them in a million years.

“Morning, love,” Kyrie greeted from the stairs, tone soft and full of adoration, “I’m so sorry if they woke you.”

Nero’s tired face softened immediately, walking down to his wife and pressing a kiss to her head while you leaned on the railing above to watch. Seeing how in love they were always warmed you, like it was the sun lighting up the room. Nero was a bit rough around the edges while Kyrie was soft and always put together, so they made for an interesting dynamic all things considered. It did cause a little heartache, which you tried to ignore because it wasn’t fair to the happy couple to associate pain with them. What happened wasn’t their fault, and you refused to let your trauma take away from the joy you felt seeing them so happy.

“I’d rather blame Nico,” Nero grunted, frowning as he caught sight of the monstrosity rattling the table across the floor, “She’s lucky I took the vase off of that table the last time Julio almost knocked it.”

That made you laugh again, finally coming downstairs and patting the taller male on the back, “Get to it, super man,” He turned to look at you, raising a brow at the nickname as you continued, “The kids need to get dressed for the festival today, and they’re not gonna until you take care of the monster.”

All three of you gazed at the twitching, spasming arm as it continued its violent attack on the table leg, knocking it over finally and starting to crawl along the floor toward the stairs. Upon further examination, you could see the kids peeking out the kitchen door at it, debating on what they should do while Nico just encouraged it all. At least they were having a good time, but you were worried about them expending all their energy before the festival today.

“Why didn’t you do it?” Nero huffed at your words, crossing his arms over his chest but with no malice in his expression.

“And take away from you being hero of the day? Nonsense.”

He scoffed at that, shaking his head as he brushed past you and Kyrie. You sat down next to her on the stairs, letting her take your hand and squeeze it once. She did things like that, little showings of support and affection that always made you feel more welcome. You smiled at her, gaze shifting back to watch Nero make a big show out of stomping his foot on the arm, making it sputter and release a metallic groan before it puffed a little smoke. It promptly died, twitching fingers collapsing onto the floor and ceasing to move at all. Ahhh finally, the beast had been slayed once and for all by a sharp hit from Nero’s bare heel. A fitting end for one of Nico’s monstrous creations, at least in your opinion. It was too bad she stayed up all night to make it only to have to be destroyed on the orphanage floor, but these things were inevitable.

The kids burst through the door as soon as the arm was dead, letting out delighted cries and hopping onto Nero in a show of excitement. He grunted, falling onto the floor under the human pile and letting out a light chuckle as they exclaimed at him about defeating the “monster arm”.

“Ahhh, shoot,” Nico snickered from the doorway, walking over to pick up the now-trashed hardware and staring at it in bemusement, “Guess I can scrap it for parts.”

That seemed to spike Nero’s annoyance, the white-haired boy lifting his head from the floor to glare at her as he huffed, “Hey Nico? Can you stop with the mad science crap in the orphanage?”

She shrugged, walking toward the kitchen on her way to the garage and flicking Nero on the forehead, “Ask me nicely, psycho, and maybe I will,” She paused, looked at you and Kyrie with more seriousness in her gaze as she added, “Y’all might wanna wait on the festival today, think they might cancel anyway.”

Cancel? That made you blink, a frown slipping onto your lips while Kyrie stood up. She looked confused as well, clasping her hands in front of her chest worriedly.

“Whatever for?” She asked softly, taking note of the disappointed looks on the kids faces as they hopped off of Nero’s back. She knew as well as you that they had been looking forward to the fun activities.

Nico sighed, pulling up her phone and holding the screen out for the red-headed woman to look at. You hopped off the stairs to stand at her side, peering at the screen as well to see what she meant. Displayed on the electronic was a weather map, a dangerous-looking mass of red, yellow, and green drifting its way along the coast heading toward Fortuna. A storm, then? The island was no stranger to bad weather being out in the ocean as it was, but from what you had seen before there had been no sign of wind or rain for the weekend. These things really did just blow together without a moment’s notice.

“Says here it’s gonna storm startin’ at noon and won’t stop for most of the day,” Nico huffed, tapping at the screen until different pages appeared, “Damn nasty weather. They might reschedule the festival for next weekend, since nobody has set up yet.”

Kyrie let out a low murmur of agreement, a disappointed look in her eyes as she put a hand to her chin. The kids crowded around her, Carlo grabbing part of her skirt and squeezing with tiny fingers. You felt bad--they had been really eager to get out and have some fun, but now it would seem that would have to wait a while. None were the type to throw a fit or have a tantrum, but their quiet sadness was somehow even more heartbreaking.

Not wanting them to remain upset any longer, you desperately tried to think of some way to help. You crouched down, pulling little Emma into your arms and holding her with her head cradled to your shoulder. The children had grown quite fond of you too, precious and so very kind. You would give them the moon if they asked it of you.

“Why don’t we have some fun at home instead?” You suggested with a smile, hefting Emma up a little higher so you could look into her eyes, “I think Nero has a tent in the attic somewhere, we can have a camp out in the front room. How does that sound?”

Emma’s pretty little eyes went round, staring at you excitedly as she whispered in question, “Will we get to play with the kitty and birdie?”

Kitty and Birdie being the familiars, who the kids had been incredibly fascinated with the first time you summoned them forth. They were all intelligent enough to understand not to be rough with the creatures, but they were still eager and easily excitable wherever they were concerned. Not everyday that a child gets to pet a panther, or seeing a glowing bird. Kyrie had been surprised, but easily accepting of the creatures provided that they were kind to the children, which they always had been.

The familiars roused in your thoughts, seeming fine by her question, neither putting up a fuss at the notion of entertaining the kids for a bit.

“Sure thing, sweetie,” You replied, kissing her on her nose and smiling brightly, “We can have snacks and watch movies too, okay?”

She nodded eagerly, her excitement echoed by the other three children who crowded around your legs. You looked to your left, exchanging a relieved and grateful look with Kyrie now that the kids seemed to be in high spirits again. It was the least you could do to try and ease the burden of keeping them happy off her shoulders--hell you wouldn’t mind entertaining them for the day to give them some alone time as well. Storm or not, they could have a nice dinner by themselves while she and Nico had “camp time” overnight.

You smiled decidedly, turning to let Kyrie take the little girl from your arms as she said, “That’s settled then. How about we get your teeth brushed and hair done,” The kind-hearted woman picked up Carlo as well, both children held to her chest as she started for the opposing set of stairs leading to the orphanage second floor, “There will be time for the festival next weekend.”

All the kids voiced their agreements, Carlo nodding with his thumb still in his mouth. You let out a sigh of relief once they were out of sight--it was lucky that none of them put up too much of a fuss, but then again they were all smart and kind little runts. Despite things not working out how they were supposed to, there was still enjoyment to be found. Griffon, however, was annoyed. He squawked on about how he was right about sleeping in, because they ended up cancelling the festival plans anyway. You did your best to ignore all of it, instead turning back to look out the window for any indication of bad weather in the first place. The air outside your window had looked to calm, but the area facing where the ferry came in from was threatened by looming clouds.

“It does look nasty out there,” You muttered, eyes reflecting the greying light of the storm clouds in displeasure. How did you not notice the shift in the air when you woke up? The grey behemoths were moving slowly at the very least, “A shame, too. We should probably make sure all the windows are closed and that the furniture outside is tied down.”

Nero came up behind you to look out as well, blowing some air from his cheeks before turning back for the stairs, “Damn, you’re right. I’m gonna get dressed first, but you guys focus on the camping shit,” He then paused with one foot up on the steps, rubbing the back of his tousled hair as he turned to look back at you, “And, uh...thanks. Y’kno, for helping out with the kids.”

That made you smile, clasping your hands behind your back. The two of them were always doing that, thanking you constantly for every contribution you offered to the house. It was as if they weren’t already letting you live here, helping you out of one of the worst times in your life and being more kind than they had to. You owed them everything, so doing things like this was hardly worthy of praise.

“No problem,” You replied, tone light and cheerful as you added, “If you want Nico and I can take care of keeping them entertained, give you and Kyrie some alone time.”

That made him blink, face flushing a bit as he turned and saw you and Nico wearing matching, suggestive smirks. He rolled his eyes, head shaking as he started back up the stairs again and huffed, “You two are getting more like each other every day, y’know that?”

Nico snickered, slinging an arm around your shoulder and lifting a middle finger up to Nero’s departing figure, “I’ll take that as a compliment, dumbass. We’re a delight.”

He snorted, disappearing around the corner and rubbing his tired neck. As exasperated as he seemed, he was smiling before he went into his room, which you took as a good sign in the face of the constant anxiety. You didn’t want to be too much of a burden on Nero, or become annoying or disruptive in any way. But he and his wife always seemed to enjoy your company, going out of their way to tell you that you were always welcome. And after the remaining traces of doubt and pain left behind, that was so needed and appreciated that they couldn’t possibly understand how much it did for you.

Regardless, you set about completing the task you had created for yourself during the day. You squeezed Nico around her waist, grinning at her before you hopped into the kitchen to get some toast for breakfast. Things went just about how you imagined them after that, giving the familiars their morning meals as well before getting dressed and pulling what was needed out of the attic. You settled on a simplistic, cute outfit for the day you had bought from the mainland--a pair of white short overalls and a black shirt underneath that showed your shoulders. Comfortable enough to move around in warm weather, which was needed in the hot attic. You made quick work of pulling down the tent, happy to find it clean and properly sealed so you wouldn’t have to do to much.

You moved everything that was needed to the living room, all the while finding yourself deep in thought. Things had gotten so absurdly normal, hadn’t they? Even with three demons rattling around your skull, their thoughts wrapping around yours. You had spent months working, cleaning, taking care of the children, laughing with your new family. Crying with them. And that felt so very domestic, almost in a surreal sort of way. After years of being in the Void, living an existence of Gods and those who served them, adjusting to such a lifestyle was fairly odd. Mind you, those Void powers still existed within you and hadn’t grown any weaker despite what had happened--even if the Deity hadn’t spoken a single word to you in all those months.

This time had given you a chance to learn your powers better, finding a sweet spot where you were strong enough to perform strong abilities without exerting for a while, but not losing yourself to the power. And that was all you needed, enough to handle whatever the Devil May Cry missions threw at you. It was just upsetting the V would never be here to see it, to witness you at the prime of your strength and stamina. There were such incredible things you could do now, things that would have impressed him, wouldn’t they? At least...that was what you told yourself.

“You’re thinkin’ about Shakespear again,” Griffon huffed in your head, sounding heavily displeased about this fact, “He’s been on your mind a lot today. You sure you slept enough? Might be why you’re in such a weird mood.”

You shook your head, still in the process of setting up the larger tent as you replied aloud, “I’m fine, Griffon. It’s just a weird day is all, I get them occasionally.”

You sat down on the floor, cross-legged as you laid out some bed mats on the floor so the kids could sleep on them. The tent would be big enough to fit them all, that was for sure. And with the new air conditioning you helped Nero install, it wouldn’t be too terribly hot despite the weather outside. As if on cue, you heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance, punctuating the thought with an ominous tone. You were glad none of the kids were scared by storms too much, they would be easily distracted with some food and things to do.

“Seriously though,” Griffon griped, pressing the matter further and making you sigh, “What’s got your panties in such a twist today, toots? Did you dream of the dumbass last night?”

That made you frown. He knew damn well that you hadn’t, at least not today in particular. Other nights? Sure, there had been dreams of what happened in Redgrave, of lying in bed with V and the feeling of his lips on your forehead. Others had occurred too, ones that hurt even more--images of V sharing in your life in Fortuna, waking up in bed with his arms wrapped around you and his breath on your ear. Those always messed you up the most, because they felt more real than anything else. Waking up after with him still gone was...You shook your head, rising to your feet again to head into the kitchen and make snacks for the kids. At the moment, Kyrie decided that they could catch up on some teachings they had fallen behind on, the camp out seeming like a good reward for them doing their work without fuss.

“Nothing happened, Griffon,” You muttered, rummaging in the fridge and pulling out ingredients as you went, “Just...missing him a lot today, is all.”

Nothing more, nothing less.

Griffon huffed lightly, “You sure are. Wish you’d just forget about him and let Vergil rot in hell where he belongs.”

That made you sigh, tone heavy at the very reminder of where the surly, cold-gazed man was, “Griffon.”

“What? He deserves it after what he did.” Griffon’s tone was cranky, so much so that you could imagine him sulking and puffing out his feathers. You couldn’t help but wonder if he was upset about not just what he did to you, but them as well? Vergil did cast the demons aside, forming their consciousness then leaving them to die once he was fully formed again. It was a harsh thing to do, but where Vergil and V were concerned you didn’t want to put in too much thought.

It took four months to let go of the malice and despair, you just didn’t want to be angry anymore.

“Just drop it for now,” You pleaded, leaning your head against the cool refrigerator door and closing your eyes, “I’ll be fine, no more thinking about him for the rest of the day.”

Griffon snorted, his thoughts wrapping around your own like a warm caress. You paused for a moment, knowing that he meant well with his actions. The bird just didn’t want you stressing any more than you already were, which was incredibly sweet of him. But...sometimes avoiding it didn’t help.

“I’ll behave myself if you can,�� He squawked at you, slipping back into your mind to rest a bit, “Wake me when you need the kiddos entertained.”

You managed a smile at that, opening your eyes and setting back on your task of cooking food for them to snack on once they were free of class. Griffon was right, you could manage to keep your thoughts off of V for a little while at least. You instead blanked out, putting all your focus into cutting fruits and vegetables, setting the oven to bake some pastries. Nero was heard walking about the house, double checking windows and heading outside to tie down furniture before the storm really hit. The sunlight was definitely fading now, wind making the trees outside shake and sway with each gust. You hoped the power would remain on, because if it went out it meant resorting to other things to keep the kids happy and keeping an eye on candles to boot.

Time was passing by fairly quickly in your tasks, hands mixing frosting once noon started to creep closer. The storm had arrived earlier than expected, rain pattering on the window around eleven o’clock and the thunder booming loudly soon after. The first crack made you jump, head turning to look out the window to see a churning, uneasy sea. There was most certainly no going out in that--maybe canceling was the best course of action. You got some food into the oven quickly, hoping the weather would yield long enough to let you finish them at the very least. Christ, Fortuna did have the most unpredictable bouts of storm and rain.

It was around noon exactly when a new sound startled you out of your cycle of not-thinking.

You were still in the kitchen, decoration cupcakes with the help of Nico and telling her not to eat the frosting you had so carefully made. The mechanic seemed hellbent on ignoring you, dipping a finger into the remaining bowl while you piped chocolate onto little cupcakes as carefully as possible. But you both were startled by a loud crash outside, followed by the sound of someone pounding on the front door of the orphanage. You almost dropped the damn pipping bag at the sound, Nico letting out a gasp and whipping her head around to the direction the noise came from.

“What the fuck?” She muttered, echoing exactly what you were thinking as she peered out through the doorway, “What moron is here in this kind of weather?”

You set down the bag, wiping your hands free of any frosting and frowning to yourself. Maybe it was someone who needed help, trapped out in the raging weather with no way of getting home? Lots of people had been out and about prepping for the festivities, so maybe someone hadn’t realized bad storms were coming. There was no way in hell you were ignoring it.

“I’ll get it,” You informed her, whacking her hand with a wooden spoon when it started inching toward the bowl again, “Keep your sticky fingers out of my frosting.”

“You’re no fun.” The mechanic huffed, sticking her tongue out at you in mock annoyance and rubbing the spot on her hand you hit. That only made you smile, offering only a responding tongue out in her direction as you headed for the door.

Rain was pelting against the house so hard it sounded like rattling, the wind sending power lines bouncing and making the lights flicker, but not go out. It felt a bit too ominous for your liking, but you tried to shake that off as you headed down a hallway toward the foyer. The banging on the door continued for a second time, rising in tempo and making you frown in annoyance. Whoever they were, they were persistent. Banging like that was a bit rude, but considering how the condition of the outside world was you could understand their urgency. You just hoped there wasn’t anyone in trouble or any emergencies.

Nero was walking down the stairs as you passed them, clearly heading for the door as well. He was dressed now in jeans and a black t-shirt, hair cleaned and eyes sharp and alert. You paused when you met his gaze, reading worry and wariness there in they blue depths--you could imagine Nero wasn’t very partial to strangers considering everything he had been through, which was only confirmed by the sight of his pistol tucked into the back of his jeans. The last stranger who visited ripped off his arm and turned out to be his long lost father, after all. You decided it would be best to let him answer the door, it was his house.

“I’ve got it,” He confirmed your choice, then added loudly to whoever was outside, “Keep up that bangin’ and you can stay out there...!”

You let out a light huff, turning on your heel to head back toward the kitchen while Nero unlocked the door, and unattached the dead bolt. But you didn’t make it very far.

The door was swung open by the annoyed devil hunter, the sound of the storm outside loud and thunderous now that there was no barrier holding it back. It sent a gust of warm, wet air through the house, brushing over your bare shoulders and making you wince lightly. Disgusting. You turned, wanting to see just who it was disrupting the day and half expecting to see someone you knew from Fortuna standing there, soaked from the rain and annoyed. But...you couldn’t have had far worse expectations, not in a million years.

Not in a lifetime.

First thing you registered was Nero standing stiff as a board, hand clenched so tightly on the door his knuckles were white. Every muscle in his back was tensed, the side of his face you could see filled with shock. Your eyes drifted, seeing a familiar form standing in the doorway, supporting someone equally and painfully as familiar. All at once, your swirling energy spiked in anxiety, that clawing feeling of pain dragging its way up your throat and threatening to release in a whimper. But you were rooted to the spot, face blank and body unable to stop staring at who was standing there.

This can’t be, not now. Not after how stable I had finally become.

The red jacket was no mistake, nor was the black pants and white, filthy hair. It had been quite some time since you saw Dante, but you would never be able to mistake him for anyone else. And even more so the one he was bracing with one arm, body limp and unconscious like he had been dragged all the way here. You heart was thudding like a caged bird as you took in his messed up, silvery white hair, the sharp lines of his face and the black coat and vest he wore. His Yamato was not on him, but instead in Dante’s hands, sheathed and dripping rain water. Both men were drenched, filthy, and looked like they had beaten up several times over. But that all was fading in your racing thoughts, the level of panic and conflicting emotions jolting the familiars into action so they could see exactly what was causing you such pain.

But they were just as shocked as you were, unable to process the twin brothers were here in the flesh. You couldn’t take your eyes off his face, couldn’t stop the raging emotions that you thought were tamed where he was concerned.

Because in all these four months, you didn’t think you would ever see Vergil again.

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