#IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR BODY. A CURSE IS SPREADING IN YOUR BODY. NERO???

[sylhea-raemi]

and what if nero thinks of himself as a tool for the three magicians he knew for a decade. what if he only limits as himself as a pawn, what if that's why he so easily threw himself as a sacrifice to protect his friends.

[songfell-ut]

Happy birthday to:

@venelona! I set out to prove that I could do a gift on time, and even if time zones have come between us, it’s totally the 4th right now for me, dammit. So here you go, stolen directly from your conversation on @lailosh‘s server and based of course on these comics.

(Omfg, I told my daughter I was happy I finished a birthday gift on time and now she’s nattering to her class on Zoom about how today is her mom’s friend’s birthday and the teacher is asking if we’re doing anything)

Anyway

The bedroom was quiet. Not too quiet—the air conditioner hummed and traffic noises filtered in from the busy street outside, as usual. It was just the quiet of an early-evening bedroom with no one in it yet, sleeping or playing on their phone or doing you-know-what…

…Not that the room’s usual occupant ever did much know-what. In fact, she never did any of it. He definitely would’ve noticed. He noticed everything.

For example, he knew the moment the sun’s last rays finally died out and warm, sweet darkness began sinking into the room, pooling under her bed and creating the ideal space for someone – something – like him to emerge.

Nightmare permitted himself a tiny grin, letting his tentacles writhe in anticipation. He’d been resting and gathering his power for over a month, building enough strength to invade the waking world. Let her think he’d grown tired of trying to reach her again after…after that, her shocking indecency, showing him all that soft warm naked skin and touching him with no he had to focus

Yes. She probably thought she’d won and driven him off with her horrible wiles! Well, what would she say when he came for her—no, when he completely platonically attacked her in her own world, where she thought she was safe? There was nowhere to run from him in her nightmares, but she could always wake up. Here, though…

Nightmare took the magical equivalent of a deep breath, running his tentacles along the barrier between his world and the reality inhabited by humans. It was a delicate process, but he used the barest touch of power to find the barrier’s weak spot, nudge the folds of subspace aside and insert his tentacles one at a why did this feel so inappropriate time, until he was through!

The space under her bed was…not spacious. In fact, if he hadn’t been so viscous, Nightmare could well have found himself stuck. It was enough to make him contemplate giving up and slipping back into his own world, where an eldritch being could stretch properly and not think terrible, untoward things from something as innocuous as penetrating into her wo—

No! As a being of infinite cosmic horror who fed on the suffering of lesser creatures, Nightmare had no intention of backing out now…not the least because he couldn’t back up any further without hitting the wall. What kind of pathetically undersized dwelling was this?

At least he knew her routine, and that she’d be in here soon enough: she was doing the dishes, and then it was time for her shower. Should he strike while she was rummaging in her closet for her favorite cotton robe, the one with the stupid pink flowers? Or lie in wait until she came in afterward, threw her towel off, and eventually got into her pajamas? …Assuming she bothered wearing any. He never watched that part, no matter how much he…well…

Nightmare squeezed his eye shut. Things would be different after tonight, he vowed. Once he’d given her another glimpse of real terror, she’d never taunt him again! He would unleash his most hideous abominations upon his not-scantily-clad victim, and her fear would make him strong enough to finally see—

—a set of dainty black paws wandering in through the half-open door. The skeletal creature froze, slipping a little further back under the bed. Since when did Frisk have a damned cat? And where was it going?! Surely the beast wasn’t stupid enough to approach him?

The cat took a few hesitant steps, then stopped and growled under its breath, tail lashing. Good! Let it make all the noise it wanted. If it got close enough to grab, he’d—

Nightmare was so busy thinking of ways to make the cat sorry for existing that he didn’t notice one of his tentacles eagerly creeping out from under the bed, reaching to grab the little animal…until the cat’s paw went whapwhapwhap and smacked him with needle-sharp claws. “Oww!” he snarled. “You…!”

The kitchen was just down the hall; to his alarm, Frisk had turned the water off. “Nero?” she called. Her footsteps drifted toward the bedroom, and Nightmare crammed himself back against the wall. “Ne—geez!” she yelped as the cat came rocketing out of her room. “What’s wrong with you?” the young woman demanded, her voice trailing after him. “Come back here and answer me, you little…!”

That was too close. Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief, and considered reaching across the room to shut the door; his powers of telekinesis had all but vanished as his…other talents developed. But no, she was an intelligent young lady, and she’d wonder why it was suddenly closed. Besides, the substance coating his limbs would leave telltale greenish-black traces. He just had to hope she wouldn’t notice the flecks of it on the carpet that had been whacked off—that had been forcibly removed by the cat clawing his tentacle.

So the skeletal abomination settled himself to wait, very patiently, as befitted a creature of his age and magical stature. He was always happy to pass the time devising new tortures to inflict upon his victims. Frisk never failed to disappoint him, provided she had clothes on, and once he’d had his way with—once he was finished platonically terrorizing her, she’d never say any ridiculous things about naked or marriage ever again!

Only a minute later, Frisk came back down the hall. “I know, Mom,” she was saying, presumably on the phone. The hall light came on; Nightmare steeled himself for the bedroom light, but to his intense relief, she went to the bathroom instead. “Yeah, I’m gonna go to bed early tonight. I’ve got new contacts, and they’re giving me a headache.” There was a rummage through her medicine cabinet, then some vaguely cloth-sounding noises. “Of course Nero’s doing fine. He just got his wet food, and…he’s already heading to the litter box again. Goody.” Sigh. “Are you guys having fun on your amazing cruise that you wouldn’t take me on?”

Ah. That explained the cat’s presence. And it was also excellent nightmare fuel: he could make her see her parents out on the ocean, having a wonderful time until, say, the walls of the ship split open and grew teeth to begin devouring the passengers, or some kind of disease started spreading that made people turn inside out…Frisk was always susceptible to body horror. Oh, yes, he knew how he could take advantage of her. …Platonically!

“Thanks, Mom,” she said loudly, breaking in on his definitely-not-filthy thoughts. “Have fun. Love you.” He heard her set something down in the kitchen, then sigh, padding back down the hall.

Nightmare settled down to wait again, only to flinch at the sound of sudden, rapid footsteps: Frisk burst into her room and leapt onto her bed with a little “Whee!” The mattress flattened beneath her weight, mashing into his skull; he cursed silently in the tongues of a thousand mortal worlds as Frisk flopped onto her back. “Oh, man, what a day,” she muttered. “Stupid contacts.” Yawn. “Don’t care about the shower, do it in the mornin’…”

That was…remarkably cute, Nightmare thought, then tried to un-think it as she rolled onto her side, relieving some of the pressure. If only they were in his realm! Her mind would be an open book, and he could effortlessly seize her subconscious and steer it in any direction he chose. In this world, he had to wait till her breathing slowed, then grip the carpet and glide out from under the bed on a layer of the noxious stuff coating his body.

Once his torso was free, he silently eased his legs out and rose to his knees. His tentacles quivered with eagerness as he started to turn toward the b—

“Gotcha!”

…If Nightmare had had any friends, and one of them had asked him the likelihood of his next victim not just taking him by surprise, but grabbing him by the neck with rubber kitchen gloves? He would have laughed, and then killed them, because they were clearly insane and he didn’t have any friends.

But by all that was unholy, his theoretical dead friend was not insane. Instead of giving Frisk a (perfectly chaste) glimpse into her own personal Hell, Nightmare found himself being scruffed like an indignant kitten and hauled toward the light switch; instead of latching onto her and ripping her flesh from her bones, his tentacles had just enough time to form a protective seal over his eye before the room was flooded with foul, searing light.

“Oh my God, shut up!” Frisk shouted over his wails of pain. “It’s just one lightbulb!” She shouldered the door open and began dragging him down the hall. “You’re not melting or anything! But if you want to, go for it—it’d probably be an improvement!”

“How dare you!” The eldritch skeleton flailed with both arms and kicked at random, to no avail. “Release me now!”

“Why?” she snapped. Nightmare made another series of agonized noises as she pulled him all the way into the brightly lit bathroom. “I’m not letting you go till you apologize and we get everything cleaned up!” She slammed the door shut and locked it for emphasis. “Got it?!”

He still couldn’t bring himself to uncover his eye. “How? How did you know—”

“The cat had a bunch of gross slime all over his paw! Who do I know that gets gunk everywhere and smells like a hot dumpster? Gee, let me think!” Frisk still had an iron grip on his neck, fingers digging between the vertebrae. With her other rubber-gloved hand, she banged open the linen closet and began pulling things out, piling them on the toilet lid. “I had to scrub it off him so he wouldn’t eat it and die or something. So then I thought to myself, Wow, Self! I already had to wash one dumb thing I didn’t want here! Why not go for a double?”

The implication hit him as she yanked a knob and started the shower full-blast. “You wouldn’t dare,” he hissed.

Frisk stopped dead. For a moment, Nightmare entertained hopes of mustering enough strength to break loose and reach the light switch. When one tentacle eased free, though, she pivoted until he was fully facing the vanity lights, holding firm as he writhed in agony. It felt like miniature suns burning into his slime and bone…

…but only for a moment. The next thing he knew, Frisk had turned him away again, leaning over to shield him from the light. “Believe it or not, I don’t like hurting you,” she said severely. “But you’re in my world now, literally, and you’re not Mr. Big Scary Hentai Monster. You’re more like a vampire in a crappy horror game—all I have to do is turn the lights on. So, you’d better behave. Got it?” Her grip somehow tightened. “Here we go. Hold your breath!”

Nightmare didn’t have time to request any further details, because she was already ripping back the shower curtain and stepping into the tub with him, holding him under the water as she pulled the curtain shut. “There! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” she said cheerfully, patting his topmost tentacle. “Doesn’t that feel nice?”

It did not feel nice. The hot water felt like…like…it was bad and he hated it. Yes. It was terrible, and not oddly pleasant or soothing once he got used to it, not at all like being massaged by a thousand tiny hands. In fact, he hated it so much that he relaxed, telling himself he was tricking her into dropping her guard.

Behind him, Frisk hummed in satisfaction and reached out of the curtain. Nightmare’s tentacles began to loosen almost imperceptibly, but constricted again as the human tapped on them. “Hold still. I don’t even know if this stuff hurts when it gets in your eyes…well, eye. But like I said, I don’t get off on torturing people.” Something – probably a bottle – made a sploot sound as she squeezed it. “You just smell really bad.”

Nightmare couldn’t help flinching at the first cold, rough touch of the shower loofa. “I do not ‘get off’ on it,” he informed her. “I can’t help what I am, can I?”

“Hmmm. Yeah,” she said absently. “Yeah, you absolutely can. At least, you can control what you do.” A strange floral scent filled the room as she began a brisk, gentle scrub-down, removing most of his protective slime; he unconsciously folded his legs to sit forward more comfortably, letting her angle the showerhead so that more water streamed over him. “Would you die if you went too long without scaring the crap out of someone?”

The skeletal monster had to suppress a shudder as her fingers slipped between two of the tentacles. No one had touched him like this in…ever, or at least as far back as he could remember. “Probably,” he muttered, telling himself to calm down. It was perfectly innocent, just a wretched human daring to lay hands on him, earning the most terrible punishment imaginable— “Would you die if you went for too long without eating?” he added.

Scrub. Scrub. “Well, duh. But if I want a burger, I don’t sneak into the cow’s house to taunt it first.”

Nightmare did shudder this time as her hand glided over the same spot over and over again, leaving a very sensitive layer of ectoplasmic flesh. His tentacles were stirring with interest, and the more firmly he told them to stop it, the more they all wanted to be washed. One was actually angling itself to let her rub it harder. “I…fine! Just hurry it up.”

“Aww, see? It’s not so bad,” she chirped. The tentacle stretched luxuriously, and Nightmare fought to keep another one from rising to demand the same treatment. “At this rate, you’ll be nice and clean in just a few hours!”

Hours?! He did his best to open his eye, raising one hand to protect him from the light. “You’re joking. Right?” She made an indifferent noise, and he tried to grab at the loofa with his other hand. “Let me do it, then!”

“Nope,” said Frisk, giving the shower curtain a threatening nudge with her elbow; he twitched as the light flickered around its edge. “Just relax, okay? Let your loving wife take care of you~”

He felt his entire skull flush bright green. “You are not my wife!”

The human made a pouty sound. “How can you say that, honey? After all we’ve been through together!” The scrubbing intensified. “I know you wanted more romance. Is that why you came all the way here to see me?” The scrubbing paused. “How did you get into the real world, anyway?” she asked, much more seriously.

Nightmare willed more of his tentacles to peel themselves off his skull, and to behave themselves. “With magic. Don’t waste my time with stupid questions.” The light was just a bit dimmer in here through the shower curtain – enough for the pain to start receding – and he needed to adjust to it; no point formulating an escape plan if he couldn’t see what he was doing.

Frisk slowly removed her grip from around his neck. “Okay, then. I see how it is.” She heaved a sigh, then picked up the bottle again.

This was his chance—Frisk was distracted, with both hands occupied, and his vision was clear. Nightmare grinned in silent malice, flexing his bony fingers as they lay in his lap. Most of his power was still depleted from entering this world, but he had more physical strength in one tentacle than ten mortal men. And this was one slim, soft, pliant young woman! He could take her—he could overpower her with virtually no effort!

It would be ridiculously simple: turn around, grab her, and force her to turn the lights off, for starters. Then they could talk about how she had treated him like a misbehaving cat, and—

She chose that moment to drop the body wash and make him jump. “Crap! Sorry,” Frisk said.

The monster made what he hoped was an agreeable noise and picked up the bottle, which was pretty slippery. “Here,” he murmured. “If you’re going to—”

Without warning, Nightmare sprang to his feet and whirled around, backing the startled human against the shower wall. “Now,” he snarled, “you daaaaaaaaaaaaaugh”

Frisk watched, disbelieving, as the dripping-wet monstrosity jerked backward, arms flung up to shield his eye, as though she had turned a spotlight on him and also thrown some holy water. “I was wondering if you’d noticed,” she remarked. “Did you think I was actually talking with my mom that whole time? I just didn’t want you to know I was taking my clothes off.”

“Why?!” he nearly shrieked. “Why would you do that?”

“‘Cause I didn’t want them to get gunked up! That stuff doesn’t look like it washes out. You’d better help me get it off the carpet, by the way.” Frisk chuckled, and that teasing note crept back into her voice, the one he’d heard so many times in his own nightmares: “If I lose my security deposit, it’ll be your fault. How do you plan to compensate me for that, I wonder~”

Nightmare couldn’t speak; he just emitted a stream of “Y-y-y-y-y—”

“Yyyes, I’m naked,” she agreed, retrieving the bottle. Almost against his will, Nightmare’s eye cracked open in time to watch her set down the loofa, peel the gloves off, goop some body wash onto her hand, and begin blithely rubbing it over her skin. “No offense, but I don’t want you all over me yet.”

The monster’s eye bulged so hard that Frisk snorted. “I meant this, dummy!” She indicated the slimy loofa, and leered at him. “What did you think I meant?”

It was tempting to throw himself out of the shower and hope for death’s sweet embrace, but to his steadily increasing horror, the skeleton couldn’t move his feet. As his gaze swept unwillingly up and down her body, the way her skin glistened as her hands squeezed and stroked it, Nightmare’s desire to grab her shifted…and his tentacles agreed.

Frisk was opening her mouth to say something when one appendage snaked up and began petting her shoulder, which was somehow even warmer and smoother than it looked. “Whoa,” she remarked, looking from it to him and back with wide eyes. To his dismay, her mouth quirked a little. “What happened to romance, Nightmare? Didn’t you want to dance in the moonlight, eat Peking duck, or whatever?”

“I’m n-not—” Nightmare tugged at the errant tentacle, first with his hand, then his magic. To his very dismay, Frisk was reaching up to poke at it, giggling as it brushed her cheek. “What’s wrong with you?” he demanded of the world at large.

As if mocking him, another tentacle lurched at the young woman, making him stagger forward till he had to catch himself with his hands on either side of her. Frozen in place, Nightmare unwillingly watched a few errant suds trickle down her neck, sliding merrily off her collarbone and along the side of her breast before continuing to the brave new worlds beyond—

“Um,” said Frisk, still sounding more amused than perturbed. Her eyes met his, then flicked to her left meaningfully.

Aaaand of course another tentacle had slid around her wrist and along her arm. “Oh, my,” she said, bemused. Nightmare’s soul did a backflip as the young woman moved forward, the tentacles drawing her closer, till her breasts were nearly touching his soaking-wet jacket. “Are you actually coming on to me, or—eep!”

That was probably due to yet another tentacle worming around behind her and running up and down her back, eliciting a little moan. The skeleton wanted desperately to wrench himself free, or at least tell her to be quiet, but…

Frisk was flushed, her breath coming quick and shallow. Nightmare watched her hands come up to rest on his ribcage, picking off bits of slime. “What now?” she murmured.

Nightmare wanted to tell her that she’d won, and please go put on clothes now so he could leave and never come back. He also wanted to tell her that this wasn’t how he’d envisioned their next encounter, or that young women in his day knew better than to trap extradimensional beings in the shower with them; he wanted to be very stern about doing this kind of thing the right way, because she deserved the right way, not…this.

He wanted to stop himself as his fingers rose to brush her damp hair off her face and his skull drooped to rest on her bare shoulder…but he didn’t.

He didn’t want to give up and let his tentacles wind around Frisk to pull her against him, or to put his arms around her, encasing her entire body. But he did.

“Nightmare?” Frisk whispered.

It wasn’t romantic. But if she didn’t care—

Nightmare summoned his scant reserves of magic, and raised his hand long enough to snap his fingers.

The lights went out.

 ~

 Not long afterward – just a few days after her parents got back and collected Nero, with only a few inquiries as to what that smell was – Frisk went on a shopping trip that raised several eyebrows: she bought several shower curtain liners, a dozen bottles each of Amber Sunrise and Moonlit Jasmine body wash, every single Stain Stick on the shelf, and a steam cleaner.

If that wasn’t strange enough, her neighbors soon started complaining about odd noises in the middle of the night, and at least one of them made rude remarks about how she had to be hoarding trash or something. When the landlord came in for an inspection, though, all he saw was a scrupulously clean apartment with a faint, lingering odor that he couldn’t identify.

It was hard not to see a heap of folded plastic in the corner of her room, but there were no bloodstains – or recent unsolved murders that he knew of – and anything else she chose to use it for was none of his business; Frisk accepted his admonishment to keep it down, whatever it was, and promised to maintain her new cleaning schedule.

Her neighbors didn’t hear much of anything after that. There was nowhere to run from him in her nightmares, but that was fine—she was in no hurry to wake up. After all, she wasn’t the one who’d been caught, was she?

[risottoneroo]

self indulgence, pt14

a/n: fuck well i got distracted um. take this, im sorry

warnings: sexual implications, canon typical violence, mafia things

As soon as you got to the bar, you ran into complications. Those complications were named Sorbet and Gelato, respectively. You saw them as you walked in, and cursed yourself for not remembering that this was their territory. They grinned at you, and Gelato stood. “Y/N. You decided to visit?”

You smiled at him and reached out. He looked at your bare hand, then back up at you. “You don’t think I’m an idiot, do you?”

You tilted your head. “My Stand doesn’t affect people who are truly in love, Gelato. I do think you’re an idiot for admitting that.”

He flushed. “I didn’t know that.”

He took your hand and shook it. You smiled serenely, knowing you had the upper hand. Leone and Fugo hung back behind you, and Sorbet stood to join Gelato. “Why are you here?”

You smiled. “Let’s talk in your office, shall we?”

Gelato nodded and led you into the back room. “What does the Don want?”

You sat on the desk and crossed your legs. “There’s a man here at your bar who has been spilling secrets. He’s not in Passione, but he knows too much.”

They exchanged looks, and Sorbet nodded. “We’ve heard him. Pesci is attempting to recruit him, and clearly, he’s fucking it up.”

You nodded. “So, we need to talk to Prosciutto.”

Gelato hissed in a breath. “Not you. Don’t go to see him.”

You frowned. “My Stand should have worn off.”

Sorbet laughed softly. “Bella, if you think only your Stand is making him act like that, than you don’t know much about it.”

You frowned. “What?”

Gelato nodded. “We found you because we noticed that Risotto seemed happier than usual. Much happier. That’s what your Stand does, in most cases.”

Sorbet looked at Gelato. “We followed him, and we watched you. When we saw that you could make Ghiaccio smile, really smile, for a long time, we knew you were using a Stand power.”

Gelato laughed. “But your Stand made them happy. Until Risotto started falling in love with you for real, he was happy. That’s what your Stand does. It makes people want to be around you, to make you happy. It brings them outside of themselves and into you.”

Sorbet raised his eyebrow. “They were like mindless zombies, willing to do anything for you. Your Stand power is like a drug.”

Gelato snorted. “It was really creepy, actually.” You frowned. “So, why did Prosciutto and Mista and Risotto start to rebel?”

Sorbet held up three fingers. “Prosciutto is a naturally neurotic asshole. Your Stand power is incredibly dangerous to him, because he’s so prone to obsession. Your power fed into his tendencies, and it turned him into a monster. He started getting bad a few months before Risotto. Asking you who else you were fucking and making you lie to him was a dead giveaway.”

He put one finger down. Gelato tapped the next finger. “Risotto was next, and it was because he managed to catch you at a terrible moment. You don’t remember it, but you were drugged by a member of another squad. Risotto killed him as he was trying to take you to his house, and then he took care of you all night. You were in bad shape. Throwing up, crying, etc.”

You blinked. “I knew that one of my clients disappeared. I never figured out which one. I remember waking up next to him with a terrible headache.”

Gelato shrugged. “Well, you confessed to Risotto that you wanted nothing more than safety and security, and he fell for you on the spot.”

You nodded. “I always felt so much safer with him than anyone else.” Sorbet put down another finger. “The last one is Mista. Now, we don’t know him as well, but he does seem very easygoing. Live and let live.”

Leone spoke, and you jumped. You’d forgotten he was there. “Mista loved her the moment he first fucked her. He trusted her with nearly everything. She took his virginity.”

Sorbet waved his remaining finger. “He made four mistakes.”

Fugo sucked in a breath. Mista was terrified of the number four.

Sorbet continued, “He trusted her. He loved her. He paid her. And he refused to betray her by fucking another woman.”

Leone nodded. “Mista believed she was his, and nobody ever dissuaded him of that. When he found out she loved Risotto-”

Sorbet put down his last finger. “It killed him.”

Fugo spoke up. “What does this have to do with Prosciutto?”

Gelato laughed. “What are you, fifteen? It has everything to do with him. Can’t you see? Mista and Prosciutto were both broken when they found out that the woman they loved was someone different, that she’d been putting on a show. Risotto is the only one who knows her. They can’t stand that.”

Sorbet nodded. “It’s worse for Prosciutto, but he’s smarter than Mista. He throws himself into work and other women, he’s assigned himself to a city across the country, and he knows better than to ask to see her.”

Leone nodded. You understood too. “If I went to see him in Rome, it would kill him. He’d fall back into it, and you’d lose one of your best capos.”

Gelato nodded. “You understand.”

Sorbet stood. “So we’ll talk to him. If we see Pesci around here again, we’ll call Bucciarati.”

You stood. “I’m satisfied by that.”

You shook their hands and headed home. You split ways with Leone and Fugo at the bar door. You were headed back to Risotto’s office to report, and they were going back to Libecco. You kissed Leone on the cheek and ruffled Fugo’s hair. “You two take care of yourselves.”

Fugo nodded, and Leone smiled. “You too.”

You walked back to the headquarters. Halfway to the building, you felt a hand grip your wrist. It was a former elite guard of the Don, one who’d gone into hiding. Squalo. You knew that Narancia had managed to kill his partner. You opened your mouth, and he clapped a hand over your lips. “Just try to call him, and you die.”

You closed your eyes and called out your Stand. She hummed and gripped his cheeks. He chuckled. “I know your Stand doesn’t work on anyone truly in love. I could hear it all.”

You chuckled softly into his hands, and turned on the aphrodisiac effect. He whimpered. “O-Oh, fuck- What are you doing- Unh-”

He sank to his knees, letting you go. Your Stand kept a hold on him, and you flipped open your phone. “Risotto, I found Squalo. He’s on the alley between La Cucina and Trattoria. Yes.”

You closed it, and poured more power into Squalo. He clenched his jaw, looking down. “Nnhh-”

You laughed. “You thought I had just one power? Idiot.”

Risotto showed up at the entrance to the alley. “Bella- Are you-”

He rushed to you, hugging you tight, then pulling back to examine you. “You’re not hurt.”

You nodded, and he breathed out. Then, a smirk spread across his face, and he turned to Squalo. “Good of her to capture you alive, because you’re going to talk.”

Squalo trembled in fear, which almost killed his arousal. Almost.

Risotto flicked his wrist, and handcuffs materialized around Squalo’s wrists. “Can your Stand carry him?”

You nodded, and you walked back to headquarters with your newest prey. 

Your Stand pushed Squalo down on the chair across from RIsotto’s desk, and walked around behind him. She clamped her hands on his bare shoulders, and he groaned. Risotto chuckled. “Her Stand is strong, isn’t it?”

Squalo was sweating, gasping softly. “F-Fuck, what are you doing to me-”

You smirked. “Can’t you feel it? Bad Girlfriend is making you unbelievably aroused. And I can keep you here for hours and hours.”

Risotto grabbed the other man’s chin and turned him. “Tell us where the rest of the Boss’s elite guard is.”

Squalo moaned weakly, his hips twitching. “G-Get fucked- You killed him-”

You sat on Risotto’s desk in front of him. “Tiziano? Your husband?”

Squalo nodded, his hips rolling into the air. “I- I’ll never tell you shit- Carne will kill you all-”

You shrugged. “Well, that sucks. Guess I’ll have to keep you like this.”

You hopped off Risotto’s desk and turned to him. “So, Mr. Nero, how was your day?”

You reached up to straighten his lapels, and Squalo looked down. Risotto chuckled. “Tedious. The casinos are badly run, and I needed to go there myself to straighten things out.”

You nodded, sliding one hand down his chest. “Need some stress relief?”

Risotto glanced at Squalo. “Later.”

You nodded and leaned up to kiss his cheek. You increased the amount of power on Squalo, and he moaned openly, tipping his head back. “F-Fuck.”

You grinned and turned back to him. “You’re such a brat. If you tell us, we’ll let you work for us.”

That was a lie. You were going to kill him regardless. Squalo closed his eyes. “I- I-”

You could feel your Stand power leaving now. It was taking an immense amount of energy to keep this up. Risotto gripped your wrist. You inhaled slowly. Squalo clenched, his whole body tensing up and a strangled grunt escaping him. “C-Carne is- Carne is h-hiding- He’s in- unh- He’s in Venice- B-But don’t kill him- His Stand activates then- J-Just- ooooh, fuck- Just keep him somewhere, his Stand can’t activate if he’s alive-”

Risotto pressed further. “And the rest?”

Squalo gasped. “Cioccolata and Secco are in hiding in Sicily- Please-”

You smiled and released your Stand. “Good. Thank you.”

He panted softly. “Thank you.”

Risotto put his hands on Squalo’s shoulders. “You’ve been enormously helpful.”

Squalo closed his eyes. “Where will I be assigned?”

Risotto smiled darkly. “You'll be joining Tiziano.”

A long knife materialized in his hand, and he slit Squalo’s throat from ear to ear before the other man could scream.

He straightened up, his hands covered in blood. Squalo lay limp, his life flowing out over the expensive leather of Risotto’s chair. You bit your lip. “Did we have to-”

Risotto nodded. “You know we did.”

You nodded, and he stepped closer to you, holding your face in his hands, still slick with warm blood. “We are the most powerful people in Italy. We cannot let traitors stand. He would have killed us in our sleep.”

You stared into his eyes and nodded. He crushed your lips in a rough kiss, and you gasped into his mouth. He parted your lips with his tongue and slid it into your mouth, and you moaned, clutching at his jacket. He pulled his hands away from your face, and you could feel blood drying on your cheeks.

The door creaked open, and Formaggio’s cocky drawl echoed into the room. “You two getting it on in front of the dead body? I don’t think he’s gonna watch.”

You laughed and stepped back. “Formi.”

He nodded at you, and Risotto straightened up. “Formaggio, would you be so kind as to call the usual people to take care of this?”

Formaggio saluted. “Sure thing. Before that, I want to tell you that Bucciarati called. Pesci is on the run.”

Risotto nodded absently, then jolted. “What the fuck?”

Formaggio shrugged. “Apparently he’s been leaking information to civilians, and Sorbet called Bucciarati’s team in on it. They found him, but he got away. He’s on his way to his brother in Rome now. They’re in pursuit, and they just got on a train.”

You glanced up at Risotto. “I was going to tell you that Pesci was the leak.”

Risotto nodded. “Formaggio, can you take Melone and Ghiaccio with you, and back up Bucciarati’s team? I doubt that they’ll need it, but I feel more comfortable with your oversight.”

Formaggio nodded and turned to leave. “Don’t fuck her to death.”

Risotto shook his head. You raised an eyebrow. “Bold of him to assume that I could be fucked to death if it hasn’t happened already.”

Risotto bent to nip at your ear gently. “I could try.”

You hummed, reaching up to scratch at his hair. “We haven’t had sex in a while.”

He nodded, his lips skimming along your neck. “I don’t have any more work today. They can call me if they need me.”

You gasped softly when he sank his teeth into your neck, and arched into him. “Th-Then let’s go home.”

He growled softly. “There’s a room off my office with a bed in it.”

You closed your eyes. “Risotto- I don’t-”

He pulled back. “What’s wrong?”

You sighed softly. “I saw Mista today.”

His hands clenched on your waist. “And?”

You turned to face him. “You almost killed him.”

RIsotto sneered, anger making his face twist in an ugly way. “He disobeyed me.”

You closed your eyes. “Why are you so fucking scared of him?”

Risotto gritted his teeth. “He loves you.” You tensed. “You almost killed him.”

Risotto grabbed you by the chin. “Why are you defending him?”

You gasped. He searched your face. “You love him.”

You shook your head. “I love you.” Risotto’s face twisted. “Don’t fucking lie to me. I’ve never been enough for you.”

You felt tears welling up. “I love you, Ris. Please.”

He shouted, “Don’t fucking call me that!”

He let you go, and you collapsed to the floor. “Ris, please-”

He growled, breathing heavily. “I’ll never be enough. I don’t know why I tried.”

He turned and walked out the door, leaving you with the corpse in his office.

[peachfyzzy]

properly: a prosciutto x reader fic

CW: teacher kink, rough sex, mentions of formaggio, filthy

heyoo!! I made something again lol. I might continue because...I’m a sucker for pros’ dumbass. 

“Got a boy with degrees, a boy in the streets

A boy on his knees, he a man in the sheets

Sheesh, it's all Greek to me”

“Come in. And close the door when you do.” Said your teacher, whose voice was muffled by the barrier of the door. Before you came in, you took a quick look at yourself in your phone’s camera; pushing that stray hair away, making sure your skirt was even and stretching a bit in preparation. Normally, no one would put this much care into looking ‘presentable and proper’ for their teacher but Prosciutto was different. Different to you, at the very least. You could barely admit to yourself that you had fallen for your teacher. It was not only taboo- but something impossible to pursue. 

Right? Right.

Still, you never found any harm in having fun. Though his wandering glances seemed uninterested, you still found fun in attracting them. Gossiping just loud enough for him to hear, wearing those booty shorts just a little too proudly, leaning into conversations with him just a little too much. You loved the thrill of the chase, even if you would never conclude this one. Of course, Prosciutto also had to teach the subject you were the worst at. Your attention was always glued to him. The way the words rolled off his plush lips, the old fashion handwriting he plastered across the board. All of it was closely watched by you. Sometimes, he’d catch you staring and you’d quickly avert your gaze with a biting of your bottom lip and fidgeting of your hands. You laughed at the whole situation. Despite the fact your teacher was always distracting you, you always managed to get your papers in on time and your work done efficiently. Pros was a known hardass and you were proud of your ability to keep up with him and his strict rubrics...along with the other obstacles in your way involving him. Of course, you never expected your crush to get further than morning greetings, so you made sure that you’d still get a proper education. 

Still, your hope couldn’t help but spike once you were asked to meet him after school.

It was late. Later than you’d hoped to get to his office but the busy lifestyle you had didn’t permit for it. You looked out into the window, estimating it must of been around 6PM. Part of you thought he would’ve already driven home but...he always managed to surprise you. In one motion, you opened the door to the prestigious office (the one you always wondered why a normal teacher would have) and stepped in. Sitting down in his office chair was the object of your desire. His tie was slightly loose and his shoulders lost some of the tension he carried during the period you saw him. You felt your heart do a funny thing. “You can sit down.” Nodding, you shut the door behind you and sat down in front of him. All the previous bratty, teasing nature you had seemed to melt away as you looked into the eyes of the beast. He was calm, gentle almost. Like a tiger ready to strike. “What did you need me for, Sir?” 

“You seem tense. You aren’t in trouble.” He spoke, pausing for a second to tut and look you up and over. “What took you so long, if I can ask?” 

“Mostly busywork, Sir. Mr. Nero asked me to help file papers.” 

“Ah. Anyways, I need you for something.” Prosciutto looked through his stack of papers, skimming down the list of what you assumed to be names. “Are you friends with a boy named Formaggio?” You piped, answering a little too eagerly. 

“Oh yeah! He’s in one of my psych classes. He’s really cool. Is there something wrong with him?” 

“No, he’s okay. I just saw you walking with him earlier and wanted to know something.” 

“Go on?” 

“Are you too seeing each other?” You tilted your head, curious as to what brought up this line of questioning. 

“No, we aren’t Sir. If I may, what brought this all up?” 

“I heard him speaking about you before. My name was involved.” Shit. You cursed Formaggio as your face began to heat. You always thought Formaggio to be too involved in his own life to blab about your teacher crushes to others but it seems you were wrong. 

“I’m sorry about all of that. He’s a bit of a loud mo-”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m interested now.”

“Interested in what?”

“You.” You felt the air leave your lungs. 

“Me?” 

“I always had my suspicions about you. Your work is impeccable. I can see a bright future for you, yet your mind is always far from your peers.” 

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not particularly. I just didn’t expect my theory to be true. Do you have eyes for me? If not, you can leave and we can continue on a professional relationship.” 

“I never expected you to find out about my interest in you. Nonetheless through Formaggio.” 

“That didn’t answer my question.” You didn’t know what to say. Did Formaggio tell him about the lust or love? Or perhaps both? Either way, you needed to choose your words wisely. You looked up at the man through your lashes. 

“It all depends on what you’ll do if I say yes.” 

“Your wit doesn’t stop, does it?” Prosciutto tutted, dragging from his cigarette and getting up. “If you say yes I’ll get up like so.” He glided towards the door, turning the nub on the knob and locking it tight. “And lock the doors so no one interrupts what we’ll be wrapped up in.” 

“Is that so?” You got up, meeting Prosciutto at the door and spreading your hands over his chest.

“Very.” The word left his lips just as he met with yours, hungrily kissing you and turning around to press you against the expensive Italian door wood. How long had you been waiting to press your lips against his? How long had he been waiting to do the same? Those questions were answered by the pure lust communicated between the passionate kisses. With his hand tangled in your hair and yours doing the same to his, you both pulled away, breathing heavily and hazy with want. “Over the desk. Don’t take off the skirt.” You obeyed, walking over to the desk with Pros’ burning gaze marking holes in your back. Before you could fully bend over, his big arms came down on your back, forcing you down with a small slam. All you could do was moan at his eagerness. He threw up the skirt you were wearing, bunching it up with his hands on your back. “I wanted to tear this straight off you during today’s class. The only thing stopping me was the other students.” 

“They aren’t here now, are they?” 

“Good point.” The erotic sound of your skirt ripping and being tossed across his chair made you squirm with want. It was then that you realized how bare your ass truly was. “Did you expect this to happen?” 

You shook your head.

Pros made quick work of removing his pants and grinding the tip of his cock against your more than ready pussy. You began pushing back onto the touch, which earned you a firm smack on the ass. “I think you’ve forgotten how many times I’ve had to see you strut around like a whore. You wanted my attention and you got it, so be patient while I give it out.” 

“But-”

“It’s funny how you listen perfectly inside of class but can’t keep your mouth shut when I ask outside of it. Keep quiet.” Your mind boggled with the words and you nodded, only opening your mouth to moan and utter his name. Finally, the man grabbed both of your wrists, pulling on them for leverage as he entered your walls. 

A guttural moan erupted from the deepest part of your throat and your senses faded in and out. Everything but the coldness of his desk and the pleasure he was giving you disappeared. Not one to waste time, he began thrusting as soon as he was sure you were ready for him. Your toes curled against the insides of your shoes as the man behind you pounded you into his work desk. Papers, pens, and nicknacks when rolling off; filling the small office with the lewd sounds of your moaning followed by rhythmic furniture moving. The whole situation was beginning to be too much. 

“Prosciutto! I’m close! Fuck!” He grunted in response, pulling you up by the arms to press your back against his front. With his length still buried deep within you, he began rubbing your clit in fast motions, making you tense and spasm in his arms. Everything came to a head. Your vision went white as your body tensed up and loosened several times, sending jolts of pleasure throughout you and in turn, Pros. You didn’t notice his outcries of pleasure until you were flipped over and covered in his seed. For a moment, things were quiet. You looked into his eyes and he stared back into yours. Did that really happen? Pulling his slacks up and tucking his dick back into his pants, he grabbed the rest of your clothes and helped you clean up the mess that you both became. Just as you began to leave, he handed you a small sticky note with a number on it. 

“The next time we do this, we do it properly.” 

Your mind raced with what ‘properly’ meant to him.

[etlunainmorte]

🖤 I See My Future Before Me 🖤

***

It was the happiest moment of my life. The moment we spoke our vows, the promise of our unending love, the feeling when he slipped the ring on my finger, and that time when we kissed,…

… it was as if the universe conspired to make everything perfect for the two of us as husband and wife.

But, that was a year ago. Despite our efforts, we could not help but be crestfallen for the thing we desired the most but could not gain - offspring.

We consulted every possible expert we could think of but, it seemed that it really was impossible for me to conceive. And one day, we just,… stopped trying. I knew there was something wrong with me, and I could never deny it.

But, my husband, despite this condition of mine, stayed with me and remained patient and understanding. He never gave up on me and never once left me. He gave me all the love that he could, despite the fact that I was unworthy of it to begin with.

No, he never thought of me as unworthy. Never.

Then, one day, he gave me the most wonderful gift in the world. Gifts, in the form of three very different, yet precious, little girls who stood before me that one morning during my birthday.

He called them Galatea, Andromeda, and Cassandra. They were the three sisters of fate - The Bearer of The Past, The Protector of The Present, and The Aspect of The Future. The three loyal Muses that served him and guarded him.

Despite them not being human, and also not Demonic, in nature, they do mimic everything that normal little girls do. They play, sing, dance, they ask for bedtime stories, they yearn for love. And they were the most beautiful beings in all of existence.

They were,… perfect.

From that day onward, they have become my three darling daughters who stayed with me at all times, protecting us and making us whole and happy,…

***

XVII

***

“Talk about a fine line between love and hate.

We’ve lost more than our direction of late.

Talk about a fine line between lovers and friends.

We’ve never been lovers now we’re not even friends.

In this invisible war, it seems we’re waging an invisible war.

Everyday I seem to lose you more in this invisible war.

Wounded deeply the scar is here to stay,

Opening up the little things I do or say.

You always want things to be as before.

So I make you angry and you bleed a little more.

In this invisible war, it seems we’re waging an invisible war.

Strained maneuvers keeping silent score in this invisible war.”

“Where is V?” You asked Nico for the third time that day.

Instead of saying that she didn’t know, the freckled woman sighed. “Is there something wrong, hon?” She inquired as she repaired one of Nero’s Breakers.

“Ah, nothing.” You let out with a dejected sigh.

“You sure?”

You nodded.

“Whatever you say,… ”

It was a really cold and cloudy day. Nero was snoring loudly on the sofa, Nico was doing some more Breakers for him to kill time, V was, indeed, nowhere to be found,…

… and you?

Ever since that strange encounter you had with him earlier, you couldn’t help but feel unnerved. It’s like a part of him drastically changed the moment he went back from his talk with Fleminger. You so wanted to ask him what’s bothering him, to comfort him and to offer a shoulder to lean on.

But, the fact that you just saw him got hurt with something unknown? It was like watchig a loved one suffer from the other side with bars separating them, making it impossible for one to reach the other. And it really took a toll on your sensitive emotions.

You just couldn’t stop thinking and worrying about him. And it awfully hurt not to see the usual V you have grown to admire and adore.

Silly, yes. But, you missed him so much,…

And the sad song on the radio was really not helping with your current situation, at all!

Nico noticed your behavior and cleared her throat, which successfully gained your undivided attention.

“If you’re just gonna grumble all day, then we might as well try out my new invention.”

“What’s your new invention?”

The Artisan at Arms proudly smiled and crossed her arms.

“Oh, you’ll see what I’m talkin’ about.” She gloated with a wink.

A few hours later, the two of you arrived at the farthest and most abandoned site in the city away from Fleminger’s mansion.

Nico dropped her huge rucksack on the ground and took out several pieces of unflattering clothing from it.

“What are these?” You curiously asked as she handed them to you.

“Those are special clothes made from a very durable and expandable fabric that absorbs extreme heat and pressure. I was developing it a week before this whole fiasco began.”

“And this is for me?”

“Of course!” Nico answered, crossing her arms and looking very proud. “You can’t burst out of your clothes every time you transform into that thing! We need to innovate! And we,… ” she took out a video camera from the rucksack, turned it on, and focused it at you. “… are going to test that right now.”

Staring at the woman, clueless, you muttered, “Ah, so I have to change now?”

“Of course, dummy! And make it quick!”

After scrambling to a secluded, hidden place to change, you came out wearing Nico’s invention looking like a huge walking fashion faux pas.

“Is this it?” You questioned, looking at the huge sleeves of the gray jumpsuit - like outfit that was several sizes too large for you.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Nico answered as she settled her video cam on a tripod. She took a peak at it and waved her arms. “Hey, uh, I need you to move farther away.”

You took a few steps away from Nico. “Like this?”

“Honey, I mean, further, further away. I don’t want to get disintegrated!”

“Fine,…”

You walked several feet away from Nico, trying to measure just how much the impact of your transformation would make, and when you faced her once more, she finally gave you a thumbs up.

“Okay! I need you to transform on the count of three!”

“Alright!”

“Whenever you’re ready!”

“I’ am!”

“Alright, then! ONE, TWO, THREE!”

You called the entity’s name, summoning it, and when you felt its presence, it instantly took over your body, enveloping you with that blinding light and disintegrating everything within your immediate vicinity.

“Never gets old, (Y/N).” Nico said, whistling as she captured your mind - blowing transformation on camera. “Never gets old.”

The entity hovered for a moment, waiting for a command, until Nico finally gave it.

“Alright, hon! You can go back now!”

The seven - foot creature spread its arms, enveloping itself once more with light. And after a few heart - stopping moments later, you changed back to your original form,…

… butt - naked from head to foot.

And from the moment you realized how exposed you are, you gasped in fright, covered your private parts, then hustled back to that secluded place where you’ve been before to put on clothes.

A few minutes later, you were back, horrified to see Nico laughing non - stop,…

… and the camera still recording!

“Are you really my friend, or not?!” You shrieked at the woman, not caring in the least that your movements were being documented.

“Dude, chill! I need this for documentation!”

“Of your crappy invention?!”

“Hey! It’s a - HAHA - work of - HAHA - art!”

“Ugh, SHUT UP!”

Despite your complaints, you were back to where you transformed, wearing another one of Nico’s inventions but, this time - in the form of a school uniform.

“What,… IS THIS?!” You yelled at the woman, disgusted at how extremely short the skirt was.

“Uhh, never mind that!” Nico, who was fortunate that she was far away from you and, therefore, could not be seen sweating, answered nervously. “Another round!”

You sighed, shook your hands, took a deep breath, and morphed once more into the entity.

And, once more, Nico recorded it, along with how you morphed back, and how you were naked again.

“THIS IS NOT WORKING!” You shrieked like a depressed banshee as you made your way towards your hiding place to put on clothes.

“You’re almost there!” Nico reassured you a few moments later as she recorded you once more, this time with you wearing what looked like a risqué pop idol cosplay. “Don’t worry! You look hella cute!”

“Just get on with it!”

And so, you transformed once more, went back,…

“THIS IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE!” You angrily shrieked, this time not even bothering to run away to get dressed. You just strode angrily towards Nico, who was still filming you in all your naked glory. “And why do you have to film me getting myself naked? You’re planning something, aren’t you?!”

Nico laughed nervously, her sweat instantly giving her away. “What do you mean by that?! I’m so not going to let V see this!”

“UGH!” You let your frustration out as you face palmed. Of course, she’s planning to let V see all this!

However, at the mention of the poet’s name, you heard a noise coming from somewhere not far away. Nico stopped panic explaining as soon as she saw you getting your guard up.

You swore that whoever’s watching you, they would not get out of this alive. Not when you’ve exposed yourself over and over.

You took simple, wary steps to your left.

“Hey, Nico,” you began. “I think I left something at the van.”

“What’s that?” The woman played along, knowing your plan by instinct.

“V’s jacket! I remember he told me to mend it,…”

And surely enough, the two of you heard the noise once more. It sounded like,… a squawk?

Your eyes widened. You gave Nico a subtle nod and made a quick dive behind one of the boulders.

There was a struggle, a lot of noises and curses, and a few agonizing minutes later, you finally came out, dragging a blue demonic bird by its beak.

“MHMH! MHMH! MMHHMMHH!” Griffon yelled through his muffled beak.

“Ohoho, so the little chickee really wants to be cooked in a steel pot, after all!” Nico taunted, making the bird struggle even more, to no avail.

“BRING OUT THE STEEL POT!” You madly boomed, not letting go of Griffon’s beak. “I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS BIRD IS BREWING UP!”

“MMMHHHMMM! NNNYYYEEERRRHHHGGG!” The bird panicked once more but, this time, he was able to let out a weak electrical current, enough for you to let him go.

“FUCK! FUCK! FFFUUUCCCKKK! I THOUGHT I’M DONE FOR!” Griffon squawked, flying just a few inches above your head. “WHAT’S YER PROBLEM, WOMAN?! YE TRYNA KILL ME BY COVERIN’ MA NOSE?!”

“Ah,…” you stuttered but, then, remembered that you wouldn’t do such a thing to him if he didn’t start anything in the first place. “YOU CAN’T BLAME ME! You know, all you need to do is ask and I’ll definitely allow you to come along,…”

“Wait, don’t tell me Chickee here knows the secret?!” Nico exclaimed, pointing at you and Griffon.

After a minute or so of explanation on how Griffon came to know your secret, Nico nodded knowingly, finally accepting the fact that the bird was now in on all your secrets from that fateful day onward.

“So, let me get this straight, Chickee knows the secret but, V doesn’t?” Nico questioned.

“Y - yeah,… ?” The bird hesitantly answered.

“WHAT’S THAT? YOU TOLD V, DIDN’T YOU?!” You yelled at the bird as you grabbed his wings.

“NO! NO! I SWEAR BY MA OWN FEATHERS! SHAKESPEARE DOESN’T KNOW A SINGLE THING! I SWEAR! I SWEAR! DON’T MURDER ME WOMAN, I BEG YOU!”

“He’s telling the truth.” You finally admitted as you let him go.

“WAIT!” Nico, who seemed to not let go of the issue just yet, stopped you. “If you’re here, then V is here, too!”

Griffon’s eyes widened. “Hehe, well,…”

“AHH!” You shrieked in embarrassment as you covered your parts and literally collapsed on the ground, feeling your body heat up.

“HAHAHA! WAHAHAHA! LOOK AT YA! WAHAHA! WAHA - !”

Now, it was Nico’s turn to grab the demonic bird by his beak.

“Keep messin’ with us, and you’ll really have to say bye bye to your pretty little Shakespeare!”

“SQUAWK!”

After a few more threats to the poor bird, you three had finally managed to settle down. You, now fully dressed and officially through with Nico’s experiments, were taking a nap, leaning against the wall inside the abandoned building. The freckled woman was putting the camera back to her rucksack,…

… and Griffon? It was safe to say that the bird has started sniffing you for some unknown reason. Your friend noticed this and called his attention.

“Hey! I know that’s a chick you’re sniffin’ there but, ya just can’t do that without V’s permission. He’ll get real mad!” Nico mumbled in a whisper to avoid waking you up.

“Ah! Haha! Well, tryna sniff some bugs out,…” Griffon nervously lied, then whispered, more to himself, “That’s weird, I can’t smell anythin’!”

“I heard that!” Nico retorted as she quickly made her way towards you and him to shelter herself from the impending rain.

“Can’t ya smell anythin’ weird about her?”

“Weird? You mean bad odor, or - ?”

“Not bad odor!” Griffon shrieked.

“Sshh!”

“Oh, sorry.”

Nico raised an eyebrow as she sat next to you and wrapped her arms around her knees for added warmth. It really was getting a bit colder.

“You’ve been actin’ weird. Especially that Shakespeare dude! Where’s V, huh? And you better start tellin’ me the truth.”

“He’s,… ah,… somewhere! Yeah, somewhere,… ”

“Really?”

“Well, I can’t really tell ya! Just know that he’s out there but, not close here, yeah?”

“Whatever.” Nico said, rolling her eyes. She pushed the rim of her red - framed glasses closer to her nose bridge and went on interrogating the bird. “And what do ya mean by that odor?”

If birds could sweat, Griffon could probably produce buckets by now. Fortunately, it was slightly hard to see through his real emotions due to his brash nature.

After all, Nico would surely suspect something if he told her that V sent him to spy on you.

And for what reason?

V actually didn’t fully believe everything that Fleminger person told him. He said to him the exact opposite of what he truly believed in, and, confused to the core he may be, he wanted to make sure if the guy was telling the truth, or not. He just couldn’t do the spying, himself, as of the moment. It just felt wrong to do it to a lady such as you.

After all, he did come to adore you despite the really short time you’ve been together. And he’s not letting anyone ruin that.

Not now when,…

So, he wanted to make sure by first sending Griffon to you. If the demonic avian failed to produce results, then he’d be the one who will do the interrogation, himself but, only as a last resort.

He would never believe that YOU were the Dreadnought, and he’s willing to prove it so that he could slap that hard truth to Fleminger’s face. Along with Shadow’s scratches to boot.

The only problem was, he didn’t know that you were hiding secrets from him, yourself. That alone was truly suspicious, and Griffon knew all that. The Demon just opted not to tell V that, for he had also learned to love you as a friend after the Malphas event. You’ve been a really good person and a protector to him, and he, like V, hoped that Fleminger was wrong about you.

“Hey!” Nico said, snapping her fingers to get Griffon’s attention.

“What?!”

“The odor? I was asking about (Y/N)’s odor.”

Ah, crap, Griffon thought. Should I let this woman know?! She’s her friend! She could easily tell whether (Y/N)’s the fuckin’ Dreadnought or not!

“Well! I, uh,…”

“Speaking of which,” Nico interrupted, much to the bird’s rotten luck. Or, was it? “… Nero has been bugging me with this non - existent apple pie he’s been sniffin’ round about three days ago. I mean, I can’t even bake. But, if it’s Kyrie then - !”

“If the pimple kid’s a Demon, then that makes total sense! I - ” Griffon blurted out without even thinking, making the woman stare at him in disbelief. He gulped audibly, his nerves getting the better of him. “Ah, oops?”

Nico raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “And what does that supposed to mean?”

“Ah, what?”

“THAT?!”

“AH! AAHH! NNRRGGHH!” Griffon squawked and started flapping his wings wildly in panic.

“HEY! I’M ONLY ASKING A QUESTION!” Nico said in an effort to make the bird calm down. “Unless,… ” she stood up and pointed a tattooed finger at him. “… YOU’RE REALLY HIDING SOMETHING FROM US!”

“WWWHHHAAAKKK! QQQUUUAAAWWW!”

Griffon was moving too much that he accidentally scratched your arm in accident.

“DUMBASS!” Nico grabbed the bird’s talons, taking them away from you. “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”

“G - guys,… ” You muttered, finally waking up due to the noise and the sudden pain in your arm. “What’s happening?”

“It’s the chicken’s fault!” Nico shrieked, shaking the bird in annoyance.

You gave them a confused look, then glanced at the now bloody wound on your arm. You shook your head in disbelief.

“Do not be too hard on the creature. I will heal.” You tiredly responded, standing up and making your way outside despite the rain.

“Hon, it’s still raining.” Nico pleaded as she finally let Griffon go.

“It matters not.” You answered monotonously. “This body would soon perish, after all,…”

“Come again?”

It took both Nico and Griffon a few seconds to realize that your voice sounded different, the way you moved looked suspicious,…

… and your eyes seemed a different shade,…

“(Y/N), is that you?” Nico asked, wary of her own movements.

“That is the name of our vessel.” You answered, further confirming that you were taken over by the entity in a space of only a few moments right after waking up.

“Our?” Griffon added. “What do ya mean by that, sweet pea?”

“Feeble minds would never be able to comprehend the meaning of our existence. Humans and Demons alike perceived us as one.” You glanced back at them, only for them to see that you have completely changed your appearance.

To Nico and Griffon, you now looked like a tall and slender woman with beautiful dark skin and equally dark and abundant hair. Your large, mournful eyes shone brightly and looked upon them with such enigma that none of them dared to utter a word.

“We are one. However, at the same time, we are three. I’ am the Aspect of The Future.” You, or the entity, made yourself known. “I’ am here in this crucial moment to partake of a vital information from the near future.”

“Future?” Nico bravely asked whilst Griffon remained silent. “You have a prediction for us?”

The entity, or The Aspect of The Future, bowed her regal head.

“In four days time, two hearts would be ripped open, blood shall be spilled, and emotions will clash upon uneven ground. A Prince will awaken and a King shall rise. The Pale Ones would make their move and engulf the whole world in darkness. Only then would the third and final heart, the one who would regret the most, be stabbed by their own doing.”

“That sounds,… cheerful,…” Nico added sarcastically to somehow lighten the mood. She might have poked fun at you for changing into that light being who can disintegrate your clothes but, she just couldn’t make fun of this particular entity who made unfunny prophecies.

Griffon flew towards the entity before Nico could even stop him.

“You said something before about crying and kneeling, and whatever that was.” The demonic bird questioned. “What’s up with that? Another twisted plot on a fuckin’ t.v. show?!”

“My answer remains the same.” The entity answered calmly. “At the final hours of the evening and the last radiance of the wounded moon, the past will weep, the present will kneel, and the future will die.”

“The future will die?” Nico cut in. “Is that what you mean by your body perishing soon?”

But, the entity did not answer. Instead, she went past Griffon and made her way towards the woman.

“Would you weep, human?”

“Uh, it depends,…” Nico simply answered. It’s the plain truth! Why would she cry at the prophet’s death?

“You are strong and vigilant. Remain as such until the promised hour.” The entity answered, then went back towards Griffon.

“Ahh, ya have somethin’ for me?” Griffon asked.

“Remain true to your instincts.” The entity told him. “Even in the face of true danger.”

“Okay,… WHAT?!”

The entity nodded, then faced away from them, glancing at the depressing weather outside. Nico, who was curious to know more, followed suit.

“Why are you telling us all this? Isn’t the future kind of forbidden to tell? And why show yourself now? Because the world is ending and some shit?”

“And so, you believed me?”

“Well, yeah! I believed in my friend, and her power comes from you! Of course, I believe you.”

“Such innocence,…” the entity simply stated, then released a sound that sounded strangely like a chuckle. “There was a time when I was stoned by my own people for warning them of such dangers. No one believed me, and that is my eternal curse. A curse for turning away a powerful lover. He gave me this power.”

“No one’s stoning you here.” Griffon said, joining the two. “That’s just barbaric.”

“Is there a way to prevent all this bad stuff from happening?” Nico finally asked, positively itching to know the solution. Well, there must be! “Like a plan B, or somethin’?”

“There is no alternative. Everything I told you is inevitable.”

“So, that’s it, huh? All of us will fuckin’ die?” Griffon slightly yelled at the entity for being so pessimistic.

She looked at him and gave him a meaningful glance. “There is,… an alternative.”

Griffon and Nico’s eyes widened as they looked at each other in utter surprise.

“And it all depends on one.” The entity finished.

“One what?!” Both Nico and Griffon questioned, to which they were just ignored as the entity glanced back at the weather outside.

“By then, the past shall still weep but, not for long, the present shall forever kneel but, the future,… may no longer die. That is,… a nice thought. If only,…”

“If only,… ?” Nico asked in an attempt to keep the entity talking.

However, the strange creature remained silent as she watched every single drop of the rain.

“It has been,… a long time since I watched the rain.” She quietly said, her voice as gentle and calm as possible. “It is so calm, so peaceful. A fitting start to an end.”

Nico sighed. They never truly heard something positive from her other than her proposed plan B, which was still very vague, much to their distaste.

“I’m afraid I’m keeping your friend.” The entity told them. “I must go, for her strength must be replenished.”

“WAIT!”

Both the entity and Nico looked at Griffon, surprised at what he just blurted out.

“Speak, creature of the night.”

“I, ahh,…” Griffon began, unsure how to bring up the Dreadnought issue. “I just wanna know, is,… is (Y/N) an, ah, err, an,… ah, how to say this?”

“Just spit it out, Chickee!” Nico blurted out, crossing her arms once more.

“Is (Y/N) an enemy? I just wanna know.” And just like that, the words were finally out from him like removing a thorn piercing his heart.

“ENEMY?! WHAT ARE YOU - ?!”

“I see.” The entity said. All of a sudden, her body was engulfed with light, like she was catching on fire. “It entirely depends,… on the beholder.”

And with those final words, the entity vanished, leaving behind her vessel.

Your eyes were closed shut, and when you finally opened them, you were surprised to see both Nico and Griffon staring at you with open mouths.

“Did I just do something weird?” You asked them, which made them convinced that you did not remember everything that just happened.

“No!” Nico answered with a nervous laugh.

“That’s it! I just gotta tell V that she’s not an enemy, right?!” Griffon said to himself, entirely forgetting that you and Nico could totally hear him.

“What are you talking about?” You asked him.

“Ah! Nothin’ ! Gotta go!”

“Wait!”

And, just like that, the demonic bird flew away, his strange words and behavior making him even more suspicious.

***

“I will wait for as long as it takes. I only ask for one thing: don’t forget about me.”

***

🖤🖤🖤

***

[iblue-kitzune]

Of Rising Calamities Beyond the Cosmos: Chapter 3

Subtle changes in the atmosphere were far and few between these strange times, but they were there, lying in wait, churning beneath the surface, and everyone can feel it.

A big one, as slight as it appeared to be, was upon them. In the water, in the air, or under the very ground they stood upon, it didn't matter. They could truly sense it in full, feel it deep within their bones and down to their very souls.

The change was so deep and felt so ominous, from the way the wind stopped blowing in mid-gust to the storm clouds clearing away in haste as if they got spooked by something, that it put everyone on the island all on edge.

No thunder...

No lightning...

And no rain...

It all suddenly stopped.

But that’s not what made them freeze up in fear. No, it was the agonizing silence that came immediately after the change they felt seconds ago.

It was quiet...

Too quiet...

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inferno’s eyes snapped open the second he heard the sound of rushing water and garbled cries for help. Now immediately on guard, the dragon-bird raised his head and looked out in the distance, past the waterfall and past tall shrubs, to see an enormous flock of different birds and winged monsters burst into the area, and before he could react, they all flew right past his resting spot without a word.

"[What the—]" he jumped to his feet, jaw dropping in disbelief at the sight of an incoming tidal wave looming over the horizon.

Hearing more cries and roars, he took a quick glance down and had to not only bite back a curse but also stop his heart from jumping straight out of his chest as he witnessed an endless amount of monsters and wild animals get swept up in the current, never to be seen or heard from again as they were now lost within the watery depths.

His heart went out to them.

'[This isn’t good...]' he slowly backed away from the approaching tidal wave, and took a quick look behind him out of the corner of his eye. ‘[I need to warn Jane and Kagome. But first...]’ a purple glow surrounded his body as he closed his eyes, drew forth his mana, ‘[I must do this!]’ and shouted in his mind vehemently.

SWWWOOOOOOOOOOO!

The spirit ignored the biting sting from the sudden huge gust of wind that ripped through the area as a large glowing red colored rune materialized in place on the ground beneath his feet... 

“[Let the flames engulf you!]” Inferno started to chant, ignoring the shadow of the tidal wave looming over him and the cave as he stood to his full height of fifteen-foot-three and spread his wings wide open...

ZZZOWP!

And he ignored the sudden appearance of a new aura that just blinked into existence one thousand feet above him as his eyes snapped open.

"[Flame Ring!]" he cried out with a powerful flap of his wings.

A reddish-gold and orange circular ornament-like glyphs, in the form of hot flames, shot up from the ground right as the wave crashed right into, and blocked it.

FIIIIIZZZZZZZZZ!

The spirit gritted his teeth, holding onto his attack as the water began to dissipate bit by bit, ‘[Come on...]’ and as a result, a cloud of steam appeared before the dragon-bird and surrounded him from all sides.

‘[Damn it! I can’t see!]’ he squinted his eyes, trying to see how much water was left through the ever-growing veil of steam but to no avail.

The steam was too thick, making it not only harder for him to make out anything in the distance but it also clogged up his senses—specifically, his sense of smell and his sense of intuition.

He couldn’t smell or sense anything!

And what made things worse was that some of the steam was circling his around his spirit arte, completely blowing right past him —damn that cursed wind—, and straight into the cave!

"[Oh no...]" he looked back in horror. That will surely cause a problem for the ladies later on. He knew that for a fact—

WHOOSH!

A dark shadow interrupted his thoughts as it appeared right above him, and because of this, Inferno’s concentration of keeping Flame Ring up shattered into millions of pieces.

‘[No!]’

The flames vanished into thin air, and before the spirit could react, the unknown object plowed through the veil of steam of steam and landed right on his head, a cry of pain and shock escaping from his lips as he was knocked over.

‘[...S...Shit...]’

The last two things he saw before everything went dark was the identity of said object, which turned out to be a small dark colored griffin with a muzzle on his beak, and a small tidal wave rushing towards him.

Resigning to the fate that has fallen before him, he slowly shut his eyes closed and said his final words.

‘[...Jane...]’

The current washed over Inferno and drug both him and the griffin, who immediately latched onto his head without even realizing it, underwater.

‘[T...Take Kagome and...r...run away!]’

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Hey Auntie...”

“What?”

“Inferno is one of the Five Great Spirits on Earth, right?”

The sudden question, while it did not make her pause in the slightest as she continued walking through the dark cave with a blue colored flame lit in her left hand, confused her greatly.

“Yes,” Jane replied and looked back at the young black haired woman walking behind her. “Why do you ask? I thought you already learned this in elementary and high school?”

Kagome pursed her lips in thought. “I did...” she paused and considered her next words, “It’s just that...since you summoned him through a summoning spell instead going to his shrine domain and physically meet up with him like you or anyone else normally would, what happens to him if he gets hurt and defeated by someone?” she looked at the older woman who turned back around and faced the pathway up ahead.

At her inquiry, the older woman placed her free hand underneath her chin and rubbed it between her thumb and index finger. “Well it’s simple really. He just disappears,” Jane said with a small hum.

“Really?” she asked in astonishment.

“Yes, really,” the astrophysicist confirmed with a nod of her head.

As if she still couldn’t believe it, Kagome then asked, “Like all those who’ve been turned into summons do? They don’t die?”

“It’s a little complicated to explain, but when you create a summoning contract with any spirit, great spirit, or even a monster, they get placed in a special position. If you summon them to your side from wherever they were at, in battle or outside of battle—it doesn’t matter, and they either get knocked out or defeated from taking too much damage, they disappear and go back home. Or back to the last location they were in before they got summoned,” Jane elaborated in a teacher-like tone of voice. “It is only during this time, when you summon them, that they cannot die. They’re safe...” she said, moving her hand away from her face and dropping it to the side. “For the time being that is.”

Kagome blinked, forming an O shape with her mouth. “I guess that means if they’re not brought into the field and turned into mere summons through the contract you have with them, they will die,” she finished with a mumble, her face looking grim.

“Precisely,” Jane said solemnly. “And their names get crossed out in the contract after that. You’ll know when it happens,” she explained in a low voice. 

“How?” the young miko asked with a raised brow.

“By opening up the contract and checking the name after it and the scroll glows white,” the scientist answered. “That part is not exactly common knowledge to academia institutions or all of Earth just yet, but right now, only those within the summoner community or those who’ve made a connection with the spirits or monsters have possession of that knowledge and more.”

“I see...” Kagome said nothing further and looked down at her feet with half-lidded eyes, staring absentmindedly at the different colored pebbles and crystallized rocks embedded into the floor, thinking about how sad all of that sounded. 

It seemed like nothing, not even a summoning contract, could save a spirit or monster from death. It only bought them enough time to recover away from danger.

And this would prolong their lives just a little bit more.

At least, that’s what she thought. The young miko didn’t know because she never actually tried forming a contract with a spirit or monster before.

Only a handful of people—ones that she knew aside from her auntie, already did...

Like her dad, her little brother, Sango, Miroku, Lady, Nero, Kyrie, Dr. Strange, Clint, Wanda, Peter, and that one guy with black hair and amber eyes named Jude she met a few years back in Reize Maxia when she visited there, once.

“That’s strange...” Jane’s voice broke Kagome out of her thoughts. “Did I just...” the young miko looked up to see her aunt standing there near the edge of a cliff, looking deeply disturbed with her hand placed firmly on her hip.

“What’s wrong, Auntie?” a frown appeared on her face as she asked this.

Jane looked back at her and grimaced.

“I just heard Inferno’s voice right now before he poofed...” she trailed off when her golden brown-amber eyes caught sight of something moving above them, “What in the world...” and quickly threw the fireball up in the air to brighten the room up even further.

“Huh?” Kagome followed her auntie’s line of sight, and a small gasp escaped from her lips. “Oh dear, that’s not good at all.”

Tiny cracks started forming along the base of the icy colored stalagmites, that loomed high above their heads on the ceiling, and creating a zigzag-like trail until they reached the very tips. And before the two ladies could react, one of them exploded, sending millions of tiny shards everywhere.

“Aaaaahhh!” the two covered their heads as a few of the shards rained down on them, slicing up their sleeved arms and exposing their flesh to the biting chill of the damp cave, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

CRACK!

FWOOOOOOOOO!

‘Oh what now—’ the two quickly jumped away from their spots, narrowly avoiding a group of stalagmites that fell to the floor with a loud crash and shattered to pieces, staining the cave floor white.

Then all of a sudden, the fire went out and the room went completely dark.

“Shit...”

It took a few seconds for them to process what just happened, and they stared warily at the pieces of stalagmite dissolving into a puddle of water on the ground with wide eyes.

They were extremely lucky that they were able to dodge that in time; otherwise, they would’ve turned into a bloody shish kabob. 

And that would have not been a pretty sight to see.

The two ladies had no desire to find out what it looks like from the other end of being stabbed through and through or find out exactly how painful the whole ordeal feels once it happens. And despite how ridiculous it sounded, the two had the Sparda Twins and Nero cover that part considering the amount of times they’ve been skewered by a deadly sharp weapon in the past...

Or stabbed through the chest without warning, and by their own weapon no less at times.

Quite terrifying when you think about it.

‘I’m starting to think that’s some twisted family tradition of sorts,’ Jane mused as she and Kagome dodged a few more fallen stalagmites in the darkness, ‘I should probably ask Dante since he’s the one who has it worse...’ then dropped down into the abyss below without hesitation, successfully avoiding the rest of them.

“Where does this lead to?!” she heard Kagome holler from somewhere above her.

“I don’t know!” Jane answered back. Then she took a peek down and noticed something very peculiar.

‘Rocky platforms?’ she narrowed her eyes in deep concentration, and sure enough, the young brown haired woman saw a couple of them sticking out of the cliff wall’s side.

‘That’ll do.’

Seconds later, however, Jane saw exactly how close she was to reaching the bottom floor. 

‘Forty feet it seems,’ she estimated in her head. 

And so, with that in mind, she moved towards the wall and pushed herself off its surface with a powerful kick and jumped high in the air. Then in that same momentum, she turned and flipped her body upright —with some difficulty— just in time for her feet to land on a stray platform.

Once that was done, and after taking a few deep breaths, Jane braced herself and jumped off the platform the rest of the way down.

“Oh thank god...” the young woman sighed in relief once she landed on the ground safely. “That was actually a little bit harder to perform than I thought,” she wheezed a bit, wiping the sweat she managed to work up in that little time off her forehead. 

‘It’s because you’re tired...’ the Aether whispered to her. ‘You and Stark’s daughter have been running around and flying from island to island for nearly ten-and-a-half hours now. Exhaustion was bound to catch up with you sooner or later after all.’

Rolling her eyes, Jane ignored the voice of the reality gem and looked up, catching sight of Kagome’s falling form and watching how the young woman landed on the floor with a grimace.

“You make it easier than it looks, Auntie,” the young miko grumbled, dusting the invisible dirt off her clothes.

Jane shrugged, saying nothing in response to her niece’s comment, and took a look around the area they landed in. Technically, it wasn’t that different than what the upper floor of the cave looked like, just a bit more open and spacious.

And what do you know, there was some form of lighting, due to illumine purplish-blue and silver-white glow the surrounding rocks gave off, in the room.

“Well, at least it’s not pitch black to where I can’t see my own hand anymore.”

Jane laughed at her niece’s off-hand comment.

“True.”

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Loki didn’t know how much more he could take. Within the time he teleported in some unknown area and crash landed into that giant dragon-bird creature, who disappeared out of existence the moment the water washed over them both, the God of Mischief had been dragged under and thrown to and from every rock and wall he encountered in the cave.

He couldn’t do anything, let alone get any reprieve from the abuse his body suffered through for the past five minutes now. 

And it’s not like he could just fly out of the water and save himself—not with the condition his wings were in.

Plus, the moment he was able to push himself up to the surface to get what little air can and somehow breathe through the muzzle, that had tiny holes and cracks running along the surface of the damn contraption he once thought was indestructible —well not any more it seems—, he got dragged under.

Every single damn time!

‘Gahhh! Not again—’

A muffled groan of pain escaped from him as he was forcibly dragged underwater, again, and thrown into a much bigger rock this time, which turned out to be a broken stalagmite, shattering it in the process.

Loki closed his eyes and cursed in another language in his head. ‘That was the seventh time now!’ he seethed, cracking his green eyes wide open.

And it was a good thing he did too because there was another stalagmite heading towards him at high speed.

Panic seized him, and yet he still worked his wings and limbs into overdrive and quickly yet sluggishly moved to the side, letting the sharp rock flip past him and crash into a wall somewhere behind him. Then with a bit slight difficulty, he kicked his way up to the surface and broke free with a loud gasp that got followed by a few coughs seconds after.

‘I don’t think I can take much more of this,’ he flapped his wings and body to stay afloat, splashing water everywhere as he panted through the damaged muzzle harshly.

Too bad he couldn’t use his magic in the water. If it weren’t for the fact that his magic stopped working the moment he gets dunked in a large body of large water or for the fact that he can’t—

“Do you hear that?”

“Yeah, it kind of sounds like running water.”

“But that’s...impossible.”

Loki snapped his head up the moment he heard two familiar voices, and he turned around in the water only to freeze up at the sight of an upcoming drop—

‘Huh...?’ his body broke out into shivers at the sudden feeling of some foreign energy washing over him, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the water, which he was already immune to. 

Then all of a sudden, a bluish-white light appeared and wrapped itself around his whole body.

‘What...what madness is this?!’ 

The God of Mischief found that he couldn’t move.

He couldn’t summon his magic...

He couldn’t counter it or teleport away out of it...

He just couldn’t break free of whatever hold he was in no matter how hard he tried.

He was trapped!

Before he knew it, the light surrounding him expanded in size until it completely engulfed him and the whole room.

When it finally died down, Loki was nowhere to been.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome jumped at the sight of a bright blue-white light warping in place above their heads, and to her immense surprise, a familiar dripping wet griffin, covered in cuts and bruises, popped out of the glowing portal and fell forward.

“How did you...” she trailed off, her eyes straying to the side to see her aunt’s hand glowing the same exact color. “Nevermind,” the young miko said.

A small grunt escaped from the astrophysicist’s lips as she caught the small animal and held him close. “What in the world are you doing here, Little one?” she asked, looking down at the squirming griffin, who blinked three times, as if to get his bearings, then froze still in shock once he realized where he was and who he was with. “You should still be back at home recovering from your wounds,” she spoke to him softly, reaching up to pet him on the head.

And to both of their surprise, he closed eyes and started to purr, which made the young woman smile.

“I think we should worry about that later, Auntie...” she heard her niece said over the griffin’s purring, who stopped and opened his eyes the moment she dropped her hand. “Because we got something bigger coming our way that we should focus our attention on,” the young miko continued.

Ignoring the open look of confusion, wonder, and slight relief in those shocked green eyes of his, Jane turned her attention away from the griffin to Kagome and noticed the woman slowly backing up in fear.

At the sound of roaring water, she snapped her head up—nearly giving herself a whiplash in the process, and her face dropped at the sight of a big tidal wave falling from the sky. 

‘So that’s what Inferno meant by “Take Kagome and run away”...’

With no time to waste, Jane shouldered the griffin in her embrace with one hand and grabbed a hold of Kagome’s arm with her other hand. “Time to go now!” she quickly yet gently hauled the young woman over to her side just as the water descended to the floor with a giant splash. “Hang on tight, Kagome!” she warned the young miko before levitating off the ground.

The young black haired woman nodded, too stunned to say anything as she wrapped her left arm around her aunt’s waist and held on tight.

Within a split second, a blue-white glow surrounded the three right as the tidal wave was upon them, and before it could come crashing down on the group, Jane took off with a great burst of speed.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sudden jerk of motion surprised the god and nearly threw him out of Jane’s arms, but he latched onto the woman’s sleeves before that could happen and held on with what little strength he had left as they flew through the dimly lit cave, watching everything around them blur by with the look of resignation.

As much as he didn’t like it, Loki had no choice but to accept Jane’s assistance—not if he wanted to get out of here alive that is. He will just have to grin and bear it until they find the exit. Then he can leave the woman’s hold, and maybe her company, although he wasn’t sure about that last one there. 

It was strange how calm and at ease he was right now—even stranger how it all happened in the first place, and it happened the moment he heard Jane’s voice and landed in her arms, seconds later. 

The funny part about all of that was him not making a fuss or saying a single word about it to her. Technically, he wasn’t angry at her for putting him in a telekinetic hold even though the action itself almost sent him into a panic attack, which he should give her a piece of his mind for that, but he wasn’t going to. And he most definitely wasn’t angry at her about the fact that she literally teleported him to her side—how could he when it was she who saved him from a death that he would consider so degrading.

But to be fair, he had been more surprised at that discovery than anything else. And what a discovery it was! To learn that a mere mortal, a small Midgardian woman, could perform such incredible powers similar to that of his. It had been so powerful that not even he, a God, could break through it.

This Jane was something else entirely. An anomaly that he’s never encountered before.

And speaking of anomalies, he wasn’t exactly sure why he was content with being held for the ride, and so intimately at that too. 

Normally, he disliked being touched by another being—couldn’t stand it actually as a matter of fact. Not since the time his life got turned upside down with the discovery of him being a Frost Giant, not since the time his so-called parents lied to him, not since the time Odin rejected him when he and Thor hung over the broken Rainbow Bridge by end of Gungir, and not since the time fell into the Void after letting go.

Point of the matter is, he didn’t like it. Didn’t like the idea of being held, hug, or touched...unless he was the one who initiated the action first. 

Just him and no one else.

But somehow, and for some strange ungodly reason, a small tiny little part of him that he didn’t want to acknowledge right now—the part that he thought he’d  buried long ago when he was a sweet, naive innocent young boy, didn’t mind being held by Jane. 

Hugged by her even.

Compared to every other Midgardian he had the misfortune of being around with, before and after his awakening, there was just something different about Jane. Something that he couldn’t quite figure out just yet—and he was determined to.

So mysterious...

Like puzzle...

That’s it. That’s what she reminded him of, a puzzle!

And he’s solved many puzzles before. Some had been intriguing while others had been either boring or frustrating—borderline on the maddening side of things.

Where she fit along the spectrum was a mystery itself. 

And lucky for Jane, Loki loves a good mystery.

“The griffin’s been oddly quiet this whole time,” he heard Kagome said in a low voice, noticing the young woman looking right at him out of the corner of her chocolate brown eyes. “I wonder what’s he thinking about?” she mumbled to herself quietly.

So the girl wanted to know what his thoughts were huh? Well that’s too bad. He wasn’t in the mood for that kind of discussion, and never will be. His thoughts were his own and no else—  

“Just the usual...like every other stranger thinks when they first meet someone like me. They think I’m like some sort of interesting puzzle, an enigma, someone they can’t figure out. Pfff, as if I need to be solved by a bunch of people, animals, spirits, and monsters,” Jane said with a laugh, sounding both amused and annoyed at the same time.

“Well can you blame them, Auntie? You can, uhh, be a little hard to read at times...” Kagome pointed out. “Or talk to...sort of,” she added with a small sweat-drop.

“And you think I should make it easier for them? Jeez, I hope that’s not what you’re—” 

“Implying? Goodness no! I’m not!” Kagome grinned at the other woman. “You’re just being yourself. And if that’s something people have a hard time figuring out or coming to terms with, well I’m sorry to say that —and no offense to our new furry little friend here— that’s on them,” she continued with a shrug. “Every individual is special and unique in their own way, and you’re no different, Auntie! You are...you! You’re a Half Fire and Light Wielding Spirit with cool Psychic Powers! You’re Dr. Jane Valerie Foster, Nobel Prize Winner, one of the World’s Leading Astrophysicist, Faithful Ally and Friend to the Avengers, and one of the most recognized scientific geniuses of this time! A scientific genius who also happens to be a member of the Science Bros!” she finished with a flourish, passion dripping deep from her voice. 

“Is...that really how everyone views me whenever my names pops up in the conversations? That’s...I don’t know. You sure you’re not laying it pretty thick on there, Kagome? It seems a little...” Jane trailed off quietly, as if she couldn’t imagine the level of excitement people experienced in her presence before.

“Believe it, Auntie!” Kagome winked at the older woman then busted out laughing when she turned pink and looked down to avoid her smile. “Never thought I’d ever say this out loud but good lord you can be pretty oblivious when it comes to these kinds of things—”

“Did you just...”

“Oh please! Darcy and my little brother aren’t the only ones who still watches anime.”

“Why am I not surprised by that,” Jane deadpanned with a roll of her eyes. “And to think that Naruto, of all things, is still popular to this day despite that show being old—”

‘...What...’

It can’t be...

This woman was...

And just like that, the overload of information he was unknowingly presented with as well as the astonishing discovery of Jane’s identity and her full name, including those surprisingly long titles that came with it, caused Loki’s brain to short-circuit. 

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dead silence now enveloped the atmosphere as Jane continued to carry both Kagome and the griffin, who strangely thought himself a God—as outrageous as that sounded to her, through the air, weaving in and out of different paths that split into twos the further they went into the cave. 

“I don’t hear the tidal wave anymore,” Kagome said, looking behind her. “Now that we’ve escaped from that disaster, I think we’re pretty safe in here to say the least.”

“Good...” a small hum came from Jane as she said this and turned a corner. ‘Wait a minute...’ there was something gleaming in the distance, something that looked like an opening. ‘Wow! It is one!’ a smile broke out on her face at the sight of a small white hole up ahead, shining as bright as the sun itself. “Because I can see the exit just up ahead,” she told her niece.

Kagome along with the griffin, who shook himself awake, perked up at this news.

“Oh thank Kami!” the young miko closed her eyes and let out a big sigh of relief. “I thought we would be stuck in this cave forever.”

Resisting the urge to say a sarcastic remark, or at least something back, the scientist held her tongue —for now— and sped up, flying toward the exit with every little bit of mana she had left.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In a small clearing of a spacious green valley with what looks to be a weird hybrid between an extravagant city and a village, that was surrounded by snowy mountains and bright blue lakes, lurking in the far distance, various monsters and other creatures of sorts ran around the area. Some frolicked through the tall grass, hiding behind whatever boulder they could find, as if they were playing a game of hide-and-seek, while others flew through the air in loopy loops.

In the midst of their performance, they zoomed right past a figure sitting Indian style on a wide boulder that not only sat waist deep in the middle of one of the lakes, but it also towered over the majority of the boulders and stonehenges in the area.

And that figure was a blue and black bipedal jackal-like creature with a mask around its face, short spikes on the back of its forepaws and its creamy colored chest, and four black appendages that hung down behind its head.

Currently, it was mediating and focusing on expanding its energy, checking for anything out of the ordinary.

FIIIIIZZZZZZZZZ!

Like right now.

The jackal grunted before its eyes snapped open, revealing ruby red orbs that glowed a bit orange in the light from the evening sunset above.

“What is it Lucario?” five voices, three of them being feminine while the other two were masculine, called out the it from below.

“Hmm?” the jackal said, its voice deep in sound. “What is it?” he looked down and spotted a group of creatures gathered around near the water.

Up front and center was a white and light blue colored fox with a small crest on his forehead, midnight blue eyes, midnight blue rhombus markings on his back, the tip of his tail, and on the tips of his dangles hanging down from the sides of his face.

Next to him, on the right, was a bluish-black weasel-cat with three pink tail feathers, red eyes that were surrounded by black eyelash markings, and yellow oval markings on her chest and forehead while the one on the left was a white and bluish-black sphinx with ruby red eyes, a crescent moon shaped horn on the side of her head, and a scythe-like tail.

And finally, behind the three, were two dragons. The bigger one was wyvern and bat-like with a black and purple body, yellow eyes with blue-green sclerae, large wings that blue-green in the membrane area, and a long sharp tail that curled around her body while the smaller one was western-like with a blue and grey body, black eyes that had a hint of blue in them and was surrounded by red ridges that sat on top of his head, red markings over various parts of his body, and giant red wings that were shaped like fans.

“What did you sense just now?” the weasel-cat asked.

“I think Absol mentioned that she sensed something too just before we all came over here,” the fox added.

Lucario narrowed his eyes and jumped down from the rock, joining the others on land. “Just three non-hostile auras that have arrived here, Sneasel, Glaceon...” he replied then turned his attention to Absol. “What about you?” he asked her.

“What I sensed had nothing to do with the new auras. And I felt it near the cave,” she answered, and out of the corner of her eye, motioned the two dragons behind her. “Noivern and Salamence got a little bored with their game, so they found me and decided to tag along after I told them what’d happened.”

The jackal nodded.

“Okay, that should be the area you guys check out first. Meanwhile, I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things,” he suggested.

“Right!” they all said.

Lucario turned around and jumped back onto the rock while his friends took off.

[keeroo92]

Savior, Bloodstain, Hellfire, Shadow Ch28 (V x Reader)

So here’s another chapter that somehow never got posted on Tumblr. My bad.

Chapter 28 - Last Glimpse of Sunlight

Soundtrack for this chapter is Coheed and Cambria’s Love Protocol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1hs4fj-B-k

_______________________________________________________

June 15th, 12:00 pm

A cacophonous rumble breaks your stride as you and V trek through a park after your… break. Instantly you both look at the Qlipoth to watch in horror as it grows suddenly, massive chunks of roads and buildings mysteriously floating skyward as its spiny branches reach above the clouds and into space.

“We’re almost out of time,” V mutters morosely.

The shaking earth prevents you from answering as you're forced to take off running, the stable path you’d been walking crumbling away into a chasm. V falls behind quickly to your dismay, and you slow just enough to keep him close.

Even so, you’re separated when the ground you stand on rises as the terrain he remains upon drops. You fall to your belly immediately, looking back as V reaches out to grasp your forearm as the soil continues sinking away. You grunt and grit your teeth as your shoulder wrenches from taking his weight but you miraculously manage to hold on, your other arm quickly joining the first to spread the strain out. He glances back and forth between your determined face and the destruction beneath him, his clever eyes judging whether you’ll be forced to drop him or if you’re strong enough to pull him up to join you.

I did NOT spend three days searching Dante’s library just to drop him!

The thought makes you snarl and sends a blast of adrenaline through your system, temporarily lending you the strength you need to haul him up beside you with a primal shout of exertion. His legs scramble against the dirt fruitlessly for a moment before he finds enough friction to help raise his body higher. The moment he can support himself safely you let go with a gasp, flopping over onto your side and panting.

I miss Griffon.

He drops down and lies there beside you as the trembling terrain settles, his chest displaying his racing heartbeat. His emerald eyes find yours and the rhythm of his breath changes as his laughter fills the air.

“When they find they must, my lord, they will,” he quips between his relieved chuckling. You let out a snort of your own, sitting up as your cheeks stretch and your laughter mixes with his. His eyes sparkle with delight, the widest smile you’ve seen in days showing his white teeth to the sun above.

“I never knew that William Blake had a line of poetry for every conceivable situation until I met you, V,” you remark as the humor begins to fade. He smirks at you as he rises to his feet, his cane taking most of his weight. You join him with much less effort, still choking back the last of your giggles as your steady stride accompanies his limp forward.

The next half hour passes quickly; the hordes of demons apparently enjoyed the rumbling earth even less than the pair of you had and left the area. Your thoughts drift back to revisit every aspect of your theory, dissecting it and searching for flaws in the haphazard ideology yet again with no results. Frustration at your lack of new insight fills you and you irritably imagine what your life would have been like if you’d lived in a different city, fallen for a normal guy with normal problems.

You know exactly what it would look like; you’d lived that life before. The image you form seems drab, colorless and without flavor.

Contentment would’ve been easy, that much is true. A comfortable home, a decent paycheck and a special someone to buy you flowers on your anniversary, rub your back when it ached or, if you were lucky, who would cook dinner from time to time. A reasonably attractive man who was acceptable in the bedroom, someone your mom would like. Maybe you’d finish school, earn a position as a trauma surgeon like you used to dream about. Save lives every day, helping people you’d never see again after they left the operating table.

A life like all the rest, a cog in the machine of society struggling to achieve a pale shadow of the joy that fills you every time you draw your sword, every time you hear Nero’s battle cries or Nico’s muttered curses as she tinkers. A soft echo of the incandescent love you feel for your poet. You don’t even bother picturing a face for the amorphous form representing a romantic partner, knowing that regardless of the creativity of your imagination it would be like holding a single candle up to the sun at its zenith compared to V.

I have a life most people lack the capacity to even imagine.

Your eyes drift to study his face, taking in the small growth of dark stubble on his strong jaw. The curve of his nose, the small indent on his cheek by his wide lips. The arch of his brow, the intensity of his gaze under his dark eyebrows, even from the side. You force yourself to ignore the thin scar on his cheekbone, choosing to focus instead on the smoothness of his alabaster skin.

His lips twist into his signature smirk, his eyes catching yours glued to his face.

“What are you staring at, love?” he asks teasingly. You blush at being caught but meet his eyes with a smirk of your own.

“Nothing much, just the most attractive man to ever exist,” you reply casually, adding a shrug for good measure. His smirk deepens and he stands a little taller, breaking your stare bashfully to look at the sky as his cheeks tinge pink.

 Gotcha!

He recovers quickly, playfully swatting your ass with a light tap of his cane. You gasp in mock horror.

“And here I thought you were a gentleman!” you remark, easily stepping out of his range.

“You know very well that I can be gentle, and I can be rough. You’ve never complained about my performance in either category,” he easily shoots back at you with a wry grin. The reminder of his… variable tastes sends a torrent of lewd memories through you and your thighs shake as you step forward. You turn to face him and raise your arms in surrender.

“You win, you win! No more, kind sir, I beg of you,” you plead playfully, and V chuckles softly in amusement.

“Then allow me to claim my prize,” he growls, his arm already extending to pull you against him. You don’t resist, happily letting him capture your lips with his own. His kiss is soft and sweet, a light pressure lacking any urgency as he molds his mouth to fit yours. You part with a soft sigh, taking his hand as you step ever closer to the Qlipoth.

The tree seems to grow with every step now, its form meeting the ground mere blocks from where you stand. The closer you get, the worse the devastation. Instead of chunks of rubble, entire buildings are simply gone, only the outline of their foundation marking where they once stood. Even the trees that once lined the roadway have been uprooted, the very asphalt cracking to set their roots free. And the smell… if you’d thought the Glutton was the worst imaginable aroma, you are quickly proven wrong by the sickening stench of blood, death, decay and dirt that permeates the air.

Two blocks away, the ground turns slimy with the amount of blood that’s soaked into it, the dirt stained red along with the lower portion of anything unfortunate enough to be touching the desecrated earth. The once white soles of your faithful slip-resistant shows turn crimson, then almost black. You’ll never be able to wear them again without remembering this place, this carnage.

A block left; you can see where the accursed tree meets the pavement and you smile at V. The resounding relief in his emerald eyes as you slowly creep forward is almost painful to behold, telling you exactly how worried he’d been about getting this far. The ground here is so sticky you have to be careful not to lose a shoe with each step, the caked-on blood sucking the soles in a tight embrace. You’re amazed that the area is so flat, expecting more of the strange elevation changes or shifted surface to impede you yet finding nothing of the sort.

The daylight vanishes as you enter the shadow of the massive structure at last. The change in lighting is reminiscent of an eclipse, the darkness so complete it feels like you’ve entered a cave. Through a convenient gap in the structure, you spot Nico’s van within, hastily pointing it out to V and rushing toward it to reunite with your friends. As you enter the base of the accursed tree the stench reaches a new level and you have to hold your shirt over your face and breathe through your mouth to keep from retching. Trish and Dante are loitering nearby, talking seriously as if they haven’t noticed the smell.

I bet I know what they’re talking about…

As you approach, Griffon flaps over with a relieved caw, settling back into V’s dark tattoos instantly to rest. You glance back at the group as Trish tells Dante something and his eyes go wide. Nico, Nero and Lady are nowhere to be seen.

So now Dante knows, too. Good.

The man in red glares at you and V as you enter the small area, fury radiating from him in waves as he stomps over, hands balled into fists and chest heaving. He stops just before you and the poet, restraining his anger visibly with a clench of his jaw.

“You’re dying? You’re part of Vergil?” the son of Sparda demands harshly. V sighs heavily, taking a seat on a conveniently located stretch of Qlipoth roots. You meet Dante’s enraged eyes with your own, making him pause.

“Yes, he is. Now get a hold of yourself, Dante. We don’t have time for this right now. We can deal with it after Urizen is gone,” you reply firmly, leaving no room for argument.

He shakes his head and is silent for a few long moments, his hands slowly relaxing and his lips twisting into a smirk as he faces you once more.

“There’s that fire. Careful not to burn him, sweetheart,” he comments wryly, his flirtatious tone making your fingers twitch angrily.

“Lucky me, I can’t get burned,” he adds slyly, and you growl in frustration at your own restraint keeping you from slapping him silly.

V cackles softly, his emerald eyes rising to meet Dante’s blue. His amused smirk soothes your anger as he speaks.

“If any could desire what he is incapable of possessing, despair must be his eternal lot,” the poet quips sarcastically and you have to choke back your laughter. He winks at you, clearly noticing your mirth. Dante grimaces but doesn’t respond to the teasing, instead finally focusing on what’s important.

“Hey, where’d that garbage god go? What is Urizen after?” the brash man asks you both.

“He’s at the top of the Qlipoth,” V answers in a strained whisper. Trish steps over to join your trio, adding her own considerable knowledge to the conversation easily.

“It's the other way around, Dante. This is the lowest level of the Qliphoth's upper echelon. Human blood is the source of demons' power. The fruit born through the Qliphoth is even more dense than the blood that created it. Its power is unparalleled. Even the almighty Mundus used it to become king of the Underworld. V told me everything,” the blonde woman explains carefully, crossing her arms and tossing a dismissive nod of her head at the poet.

Dante gives her a look as he responds, striding away confidently.

“Yeah, well, that’s a lovely story and all, but… as long as we know where to find him,” he rumbles, his hands already hovering near his waist in preparation for the showdown. Nico steps into his path with a huge grin and you almost laugh as she meets her personal hero for the first time, her nervousness evident in her every motion. If this moment wasn’t so obviously important to her, you’d already have her in your arms in a relieved hug.

“Whoa! You are the infamous Dante! Um, I'm Nicoletta Goldstein. Sounds familiar? My grandmother is Nell Goldstein. The gunsmith that made all your fancy weapons that you got... strapped... back there...” she gestures lamely at the two pistols strapped within Dante’s coat and he pulls them out to show them to her kindly.  

Nico points to one of the portraits on the handle excitedly. “Yeah, there she is!” she exclaims proudly. Dante glances between the portrait and Nico doubtfully.

“You don't look much like her...” he mumbles.

“Yeah, I got my looks from my daddy. That's about all I got from him,” her southern drawl replies, but your attention is elsewhere as Nero steps forward from behind the van. You dash over to envelop him in a hug, hopelessly thankful that your friend is alright. He briefly hugs you back, agitated by something and not entirely focused on you. He doesn’t even scratch the back of his neck like he always has in the past at any sign of physical affection. Nico’s voice rises even higher as she presents a gift to the man in red and you both glance over silently.

“Um...it--it-- consider it a gift! In honor of us finally meeting! Meeting,” she tells Dante, holding out a white cowboy hat with a small piece of demonic decoration adorning it. Dante shakes it suspiciously, as if he expects something to fall out of it, but the hat instead leaps onto his head. Your eyes widen as a red and black scarf forms around his neck and he winks right at you before smirking and dancing to music only he can hear.

His moves, while skilled, are ridiculous. He adds several exclamations and crotch grabs, ending with a moonwalk and a pose that is an obvious imitation of Michael Jackson. Nico claps happily, laughing as the man in red nods at her.

“I’ll take that,” he states simply and walks away, clearly about to resume his hunt for Urizen. Nero quickly joins him, an angry scowl on his expressive face.

“Dante! I'm gonna go too,” the young warrior informs him. Dante turns around to face him with a serious look on his face.

“Why don't you sit this one out?” the devil hunter asks, trying to be kind.

Nero is having none of it and his scowl deepens. “Oh, and let you call me dead weight again? No thanks. I got all the power I need. Right here,” he retorts, flourishing his metal arm to emphasize his readiness for battle. The whole conversation makes no sense to you; Nero is a capable fighter, already having proven himself many times over in your eyes.

Why doesn’t Dante want him coming along?

“You don't understand. That's not what I mean,” he begins, exasperated.

“Let him go, Dante. Time is a luxury we can no longer afford. We must chase after him, post-haste,” V pipes up from his perch, carefully standing and limping over to the two men. Being near them only highlights how weakened he is, how frail his posture marks him to be and you frown, anxiety tugging at your thoughts.

“Why? Does this mean you're going too?” Dante replies in confusion.

“I have a duty to see this through,” the poet reminds him hoarsely, and you step over to stand beside him in silent support. Your breath hitches painfully as you notice more flakes of his flesh floating away in the still air. Dante shrugs, walking backward to the edge of the small area your group stands upon with a smirk.

“Well that's all you have to say, Mr. Poetry. I'm gonna go my way, you guys can go yours. Let's just say that's best for the cause,” he claims, and jumps over the edge without any further comment. Nero and V exchange a look but follow quickly behind him, each choosing their own pathway. V twists his wrist and Griffon’s side of his body lightens as the bird appears overhead, swooping around to take his outstretched arm and carry him to the next level. You wait impatiently until Griffon comes back for you.

“C’mon, little lady! No time to waste!” the mouthy demon informs you and you roll your eyes as his claws close around your arms and carry you to join V below.

[thedyingmoon]

🖤 I See My Future Before Me 🖤

***

XVII

***

It was the happiest moment of my life. The moment we spoke our vows, the promise of our unending love, the feeling when he slipped the ring on my finger, and that time when we kissed,...

... it was as if the universe conspired to make everything perfect for the two of us as husband and wife.

But, that was a year ago. Despite our efforts, we could not help but be crestfallen for the thing we desired the most but could not gain - offspring.

We consulted every possible expert we could think of but, it seemed that it really was impossible for me to conceive. And one day, we just,... stopped trying. I knew there was something wrong with me, and I could never deny it.

But, my husband, despite this condition of mine, stayed with me and remained patient and understanding. He never gave up on me and never once left me. He gave me all the love that he could, despite the fact that I was unworthy of it to begin with.

No, he never thought of me as unworthy. Never.

Then, one day, he gave me the most wonderful gift in the world. Gifts, in the form of three very different, yet precious, little girls who stood before me that one morning during my birthday.

He called them Galatea, Andromeda, and Cassandra. They were the three sisters of fate - The Bearer of The Past, The Protector of The Present, and The Aspect of The Future. The three loyal Muses that served him and guarded him.

Despite them not being human, and also not Demonic, in nature, they do mimic everything that normal little girls do. They play, sing, dance, they ask for bedtime stories, they yearn for love. And they were the most beautiful beings in all of existence.

They were,... perfect.

From that day onward, they have become my three darling daughters who stayed with me at all times, protecting us and making us whole and happy,...

***

"Talk about a fine line between love and hate.

We've lost more than our direction of late.

Talk about a fine line between lovers and friends.

We've never been lovers now we're not even friends.

In this invisible war, it seems we're waging an invisible war.

Everyday I seem to lose you more in this invisible war.

Wounded deeply the scar is here to stay,

Opening up the little things I do or say.

You always want things to be as before.

So I make you angry and you bleed a little more.

In this invisible war, it seems we're waging an invisible war.

Strained maneuvers keeping silent score in this invisible war."

"Where is V?" You asked Nico for the third time that day.

Instead of saying that she didn't know, the freckled woman sighed. "Is there something wrong, hon?" She inquired as she repaired one of Nero's Breakers.

"Ah, nothing." You let out with a dejected sigh.

"You sure?"

You nodded.

"Whatever you say,... "

It was a really cold and cloudy day. Nero was snoring loudly on the sofa, Nico was doing some more Breakers for him to kill time, V was, indeed, nowhere to be found,...

... and you?

Ever since that strange encounter you had with him earlier, you couldn't help but feel unnerved. It's like a part of him drastically changed the moment he went back from his talk with Fleminger. You so wanted to ask him what's bothering him, to comfort him and to offer a shoulder to lean on.

But, the fact that you just saw him got hurt with something unknown? It was like watchig a loved one suffer from the other side with bars separating them, making it impossible for one to reach the other. And it really took a toll on your sensitive emotions.

You just couldn't stop thinking and worrying about him. And it awfully hurt not to see the usual V you have grown to admire and adore.

Silly, yes. But, you missed him so much,...

And the sad song on the radio was really not helping with your current situation, at all!

Nico noticed your behavior and cleared her throat, which succesfully gained your undivided attention.

"If you're just gonna grumble all day, then we might as well try out my new invention."

"What's your new invention?"

The Artisan at Arms proudly smiled and crossed her arms.

"Oh, you'll see what I'm talkin' about." She gloated with a wink.

A few hours later, the two of you arrived at the farthest and most abandoned site in the city away from Fleminger's mansion.

Nico dropped her huge rucksack on the ground and took out several pieces of unflattering clothing from it.

"What are these?" You curiously asked as she handed them to you.

"Those are special clothes made from a very durable and expandable fabric that absorbs extreme heat and pressure. I was developing it a week before this whole fiasco began."

"And this is for me?"

"Of course!" Nico answered, crossing her arms and looking very proud. "You can't burst out of your clothes every time you transform into that thing! We need to innovate! And we,... " she took out a video camera from the rucksack, turned it on, and focused it at you. "... are going to test that right now."

Staring at the woman, clueless, you muttered, "Ah, so I have to change now?"

"Of course, dummy! And make it quick!"

After scrambling to a secluded, hidden place to change, you came out wearing Nico's invention looking like a huge walking fashion faux pas.

"Is this it?" You questioned, looking at the huge sleeves of the gray jumpsuit - like outfit that was several sizes too large for you.

"Pretty much, yeah." Nico answered as she settled her video cam on a tripod. She took a peak at it and waved her arms. "Hey, uh, I need you to move farther away."

You took a few steps away from Nico. "Like this?"

"Honey, I mean, further, further away. I don't want to get disintegrated!"

"Fine,..."

You walked several feet away from Nico, trying to measure just how much the impact of your transformation would make, and when you faced her once more, she finally gave you a thumbs up.

"Okay! I need you to transform on the count of three!"

"Alright!"

"Whenever you're ready!"

"I' am!"

"Alright, then! ONE, TWO, THREE!"

You called the entity's name, summoning it, and when you felt its presence, it instantly took over your body, enveloping you with that blinding light and disintegrating everything within your immediate vicinity.

"Never gets old, (Y/N)." Nico said, whistling as she captured your mind - blowing transformation on camera. "Never gets old."

The entity hovered on the ground for a moment, waiting for a command, until Nico finally gave it.

"Alright, hon! You can go back now!"

The seven - foot creature spread its arms, enveloping itself once more with light. And after a few heart - stopping moments later, you changed back to your original form,...

... butt - naked from head to foot.

And from the moment you realized how exposed you are, you gasped in fright, covered your private parts, then hustled back to that secluded place where you've been before to put on clothes.

A few minutes later, you were back, horrified to see Nico laughing non - stop,...

... and the camera still recording!

"Are you really my friend, or not?!" You shrieked at the woman, not caring in the least that your movements were being documented.

"Dude, chill! I need this for documentation!"

"Of your crappy invention?!"

"Hey! It's a - HAHA - work of - HAHA - art!"

"Ugh, SHUT UP!"

Despite your complaints, you were back to where you transformed, wearing another one of Nico's inventions but, this time - in the form of a school uniform.

"What,... IS THIS?!" You yelled at the woman, disgusted at how extremely short the skirt was.

"Uhh, never mind that!" Nico, who was fortunate that she was far away from you and, therefore, could not be seen sweating, answered nervously. "Another round!"

You sighed, shook your hands, took a deep breath, and morphed once more into the entity.

And, once more, Nico recorded it, along with how you morphed back, and how you were naked again.

"THIS IS NOT WORKING!" You shrieked like a depressed banshee as you made your way towards your hiding place to put on clothes.

"You're almost there!" Nico reassured you a few moments later as she recorded you once more, this time with you wearing what looked like a risqué pop idol cosplay. "Don't worry! You look hella cute!"

"Just get on with it!"

And so, you transformed once more, went back,...

"THIS IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" You angrily shrieked, this time not even bothering to run away to get dressed. You just strode angrily towards Nico, who was still filming you in all your naked glory. "And why do you have to film me getting myself naked? You're planning something, aren't you?!"

Nico laughed nervously, her sweat instantly giving her away. "What do you mean by that?! I'm so not going to let V see this!"

"UGH!" You let your frustration out as you facepalmed. Of course, she's planning to let V see all this!

However, at the mention of the poet's name, you heard a noise coming from somewhere not far away. Nico stopped panic explaining as soon as she saw you getting your guard up.

You swore that whoever's watching you, they would not get out of this alive. Not when you've exposed yourself over and over.

You took simple, wary steps to your left.

"Hey, Nico," you began. "I think I left something at the van."

"What's that?" The woman played along, knowing your plan by instinct.

"V's jacket! I remember he told me to mend it,..."

And surely enough, the two of you heard the noise once more. It sounded like,... a squawk?

Your eyes widened. You gave Nico a subtle nod and made a quick dive behind one of the boulders.

There was a struggle, a lot of noises and curses, and a few agonizing minutes later, you finally came out, dragging a blue demonic bird by its beak.

"MHMH! MHMH! MMHHMMHH!" Griffon yelled through his muffled beak.

"Ohoho, so the little chickee really wants to be cooked in a steel pot, after all!" Nico taunted, making the bird struggle even more, to no avail.

"BRING OUT THE STEEL POT!" You madly boomed, not letting go of Griffon's beak. "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS BIRD IS BREWING UP!"

"MMMHHHMMM! NNNYYYEEERRRHHHGGG!" The bird panicked once more but, this time, he was able to let out a weak electrical current, enough for you to let him go.

"FUCK! FUCK! FFFUUUCCCKKK! I THOUGHT I'M DONE FOR!" Griffon squawked, flying just a few inches above your head. "WHAT'S YER PROBLEM, WOMAN?! YE TRYNA KILL ME BY COVERIN' MA NOSE?!"

"Ah,..." you stuttered but, then, remembered that you wouldn't do such a thing to him if he didn't start anything in the first place. "YOU CAN'T BLAME ME! You know, all you need to do is ask and I'll definitely allow you to come along,..."

"Wait, don't tell me Chickee here knows the secret?!" Nico exclaimed, pointing at you and Griffon.

After a minute or so of explanation on how Griffon came to know your secret, Nico nodded knowingly, finally accepting the fact that the bird was now in on all your secrets from that fateful day onward.

"So, let me get this straight, Chickee knows the secret but, V doesn't?" Nico questioned.

"Y - yeah,... ?" The bird hesitantly answered.

"WHAT'S THAT? YOU TOLD V, DIDN'T YOU?!" You yelled at the bird as you grabbed his wings.

"NO! NO! I SWEAR BY MA OWN FEATHERS! SHAKESPEARE DOESN'T KNOW A SINGLE THING! I SWEAR! I SWEAR! DON'T MURDER ME WOMAN, I BEG YOU!"

"He's telling the truth." You finally admitted as you let him go.

"WAIT!" Nico, who seemed to not let go of the issue just yet, stopped you. "If you're here, then V is here, too!"

Griffon's eyes widened. "Hehe, well,..."

"AHH!" You shrieked in embarrassment as you covered your parts and literally collapsed on the ground, feeling your body heat up.

"HAHAHA! WAHAHAHA! LOOK AT YA! WAHAHA! WAHA - !"

Now, it was Nico's turn to grab the demonic bird by his beak.

"Keep messin' with us, and you'll really have to say bye bye to your pretty little Shakespeare!"

"SQUAWK!"

After a few more threats to the poor bird, you three had finally managed to settle down. You, now fully dressed and officially through with Nico's experiments, were taking a nap, leaning against the wall inside the abandoned building. The freckled woman was putting the camera back to her rucksack,...

... and Griffon? It was safe to say that the bird has started sniffing you for some unknown reason. Your friend noticed this and called his attention.

"Hey! I know that's a chick you're sniffin' there but, ya just can't do that without V's permission. He'll get real mad!" Nico mumbled in a whisper to avoid waking you up.

"Ah! Haha! Well, tryna sniff some bugs out,..." Griffon nervously lied, then whispered, more to himself, "That's weird, I can't smell anythin'!"

"I heard that!" Nico retorted as she quickly made her way towards you and him to shelter herself from the impending rain.

"Can't ya smell anythin' weird about her?"

"Weird? You mean bad odor, or - ?"

"Not bad odor!" Griffon shrieked.

"Sshh!"

"Oh, sorry."

Nico raised an eyebrow as she sat next to you and wrapped her arms around her knees for added warmth. It really was getting a bit colder.

"You've been actin' weird. Especially that Shakespeare dude! Where's V, huh? And you better start tellin' me the truth."

"He's,... ah,... somewhere! Yeah, somewhere,... "

"Really?"

"Well, I can't really tell ya! Just know that he's out there but, not close here, yeah?"

"Whatever." Nico said, rolling her eyes. She pushed the rim of her red - framed glasses closer to her nose bridge and went on interrogating the bird. "And what do ya mean by that odor?"

If birds could sweat, Griffon could probably produce buckets by now. Fortunately, it was slightly hard to see through his real emotions due to his brash nature.

After all, Nico would surely suspect something if he told her that V sent him to spy on you.

And for what reason?

V actually didn't fully believe everything that Fleminger person told him. He said to him the exact opposite of what he truly believed in, and, confused to the core he may be, he wanted to make sure if the guy was telling the truth, or not. He just couldn't do the spying, himself, as of the moment. It just felt wrong to do it to a lady such as you.

After all, he did come to adore you despite the really short time you've been together. And he's not letting anyone ruin that.

Not now when,...

So, he wanted to make sure by first sending Griffon to you. If the demonic avian failed to produce results, then he'd be the one who will do the interrogation, himself but, only as a last resort.

He would never believe that YOU were the Dreadnought, and he's willing to prove it so that he could slap that hard truth to Fleminger's face. Along with Shadow's scratches to boot.

The only problem was, he didn't know that you were hiding secrets from him, yourself. That alone was truly suspicious, and Griffon knew all that. The Demon just opted not to tell V that, for he had also learned to love you as a friend after the Malphas event. You've been a really good person and a protector to him, and he, like V, hoped that Fleminger was wrong about you.

"Hey!" Nico said, snapping her fingers to get Griffon's attention.

"What?!"

"The odor? I was asking about (Y/N)'s odor."

Ah, crap, Griffon thought. Should I let this woman know?! She's her friend! She could easily tell whether (Y/N)'s the fuckin' Dreadnought or not!

"Well! I, uh,..."

"Speaking of which," Nico interrupted, much to the bird's rotten luck. Or, was it? "... Nero has been bugging me with this non - existent apple pie he's been sniffin' round about three days ago. I mean, I can't even bake. But, if it's Kyrie then - !"

"If the pimple kid's a Demon, then that makes total sense! I - " Griffon blurted out without even thinking, making the woman stare at him in disbelief. He gulped audibly, his nerves getting the better of him. "Ah, oops?"

Nico raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And what does that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, what?"

"THAT?!"

"AH! AAHH! NNRRGGHH!" Griffon squawked and started flapping his wings wildly in panic.

"HEY! I'M ONLY ASKING A QUESTION!" Nico said in an effort to make the bird calm down. "Unless,... " she stood up and pointed a tattooed finger at him. "... YOU'RE REALLY HIDING SOMETHING FROM US!"

"WWWHHHAAAKKK! QQQUUUAAAWWW!"

Griffon was moving too much that he accidentally scratched your arm in accident.

"DUMBASS!" Nico grabbed the bird's talons, taking them away from you. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"G - guys,... " You muttered, finally waking up due to the noise and the sudden pain in your arm. "What's happening?"

"It's the chicken's fault!" Nico shrieked, shaking the bird in annoyance.

You gave them a confused look, then glanced at the now bloody wound on your arm. You shook your head in disbelief.

"Do not be too hard on the creature. I will heal." You tiredly responded, standing up and making your way outside despite the rain.

"Hon, it's still raining." Nico pleaded as she finally let Griffon go.

"It matters not." You answered monotonously. "This body would soon perish, after all,..."

"Come again?"

It took both Nico and Griffon a few seconds to realize that your voice sounded different, the way you moved looked suspicious,...

... and your eyes seemed a different shade,...

"(Y/N), is that you?" Nico asked, wary of her own movements.

"That is the name of our vessel." You answered, further confirming that you were taken over by the entity in a space of only a few moments right after waking up.

"Our?" Griffon added. "What do ya mean by that, sweet pea?"

"Feeble minds would never be able to comprehend the meaning of our existence. Humans and Demons alike perceived us as one." You glanced back at them, only for them to see that you have completely changed your appearance.

To Nico and Griffon, you now looked like a tall and slender woman with beautiful dark skin and equally dark and abundant hair. Your large, mournful eyes shone brightly and looked upon them with such enigma that none of them dared to utter a word.

"We are one. However, at the same time, we are three. I' am the Aspect of The Future." You, or the entity, made yourself known. "I' am here in this crucial moment to partake of a vital information from the near future."

"Future?" Nico bravely asked whilst Griffon remained silent. "You have a prediction for us?"

The entity, or The Aspect of The Future, bowed her regal head.

"In four days time, two hearts would be ripped open, blood shall be spilled, and emotions will clash upon uneven ground. A Prince will awaken and a King shall rise. The Pale Ones would make their move and engulf the whole world in darkness. Only then would the third and final heart, the one who would regret the most, be stabbed by their own doing."

"That sounds,... cheerful,..." Nico added sarcastically to somehow lighten the mood. She might have poked fun at you for changing into that light being who can disintegrate your clothes but, she just couldn't make fun of this particular entity who made unfunny prophecies.

Griffon flew towards the entity before Nico could even stop him.

"You said something before about crying and kneeling, and whatever that was." The demonic bird questioned. "What's up with that? Another twisted plot on a fuckin' t.v. show?!"

"My answer remains the same." The entity answered calmly. "At the final hours of the evening and the last radiance of the wounded moon, the past will weep, the present will kneel, and the future will die."

"The future will die?" Nico cut in. "Is that what you mean by your body perishing soon?"

But, the entity did not answer. Instead, she went past Griffon and made her way towards the woman.

"Would you weep, human?"

"Uh, it depends,..." Nico said matter - of - factly. It's the plain truth! Why would she cry at the prophet's death?

"You are strong and vigilant. Remain as such until the promised hour." The entity answered, then went back towards Griffon.

"Ahh, ya have somethin' for me?" Griffon asked.

"Remain true to your instincts." The entity told him. "Even in the face of true danger."

"Okay,... WHAT?!"

The entity nodded, then faced away from them, glancing at the depressing weather outside. Nico, who was curious to know more, followed suit.

"Why are you telling us all this? Isn't the future kind of forbidden to tell? And why show yourself now? Because the world is ending and some shit?"

"And so, you believed me?"

"Well, yeah! I believed in my friend, and her power comes from you! Of course, I believe you."

"Such innocence,..." the entity simply stated, then released a sound that sounded strangely like a chuckle. "There was a time when I was stoned by my own people for warning them of such dangers. No one believed me, and that is my eternal curse. A curse for turning away a powerful lover. He gave me this power."

"No one's stoning you here." Griffon said, joining the two. "That's just barbaric."

"Is there a way to prevent all this bad stuff from happening?" Nico finally asked, positively itching to know the solution. Well, there must be! "Like a plan B, or somethin'?"

"There is no alternative. Everything I told you is inevitable."

"So, that's it, huh? All of us will fuckin' die?" Griffon slightly yelled at the entity for being so pessimistic.

She looked at him and gave him a meaningful glance. "There is,... an alternative."

Griffon and Nico's eyes widened as they looked at each other in utter surprise.

"And it all depends on one." The entity finished.

"One what?!" Both Nico and Griffon questioned, to which they were just ignored as the entity glanced back at the weather outside.

"By then, the past shall still weep but, not for long, the present shall forever kneel but, the future,... may no longer die. That is,... a nice thought. If only,..."

"If only,... ?" Nico asked in an attempt to keep the entity talking.

However, the strange creature remained silent as she watched every single drop of the rain.

"It has been,... a long time since I watched the rain." She quietly said, her voice as gentle and calm as possible. "It is so calm, so peaceful. A fitting start to an end."

Nico sighed. They never truly heard something positive from her other than her proposed plan B, which was still very vague, much to their distaste.

"I'm afraid I'm keeping your friend." The entity told them. "I must go, for her strength must be replenished."

"WAIT!"

Both the entity and Nico looked at Griffon, surprised at what he just blurted out.

"Speak, creature of the night."

"I, ahh,..." Griffon began, unsure how to bring up the Dreadnought issue. "I just wanna know, is,... is (Y/N) an, ah, err, an,... ah, how to say this?"

"Just spit it out, Chickee!" Nico blurted out, crossing her arms once more.

"Is (Y/N) an enemy? I just wanna know." And just like that, the words were finally out from him like removing a thorn piercing his heart.

"ENEMY?! WHAT ARE YOU - ?!"

"I see." The entity said. All of a sudden, her body was engulfed with light, like she was catching on fire. "It entirely depends,... on the beholder."

And with those final words, the entity vanished, leaving behind her vessel.

Your eyes were closed shut, and when you finally opened them, you were surprised to see both Nico and Griffon staring at you with open mouths.

"Did I just do something weird?" You asked them, which made them convinced that you did not remember everything that just happened.

"No!" Nico answered with a nervous laugh.

"That's it! I just gotta tell V that she's not an enemy, right?!" Griffon said to himself, entirely forgetting that you and Nico could totally hear him.

"What are you talking about?" You asked him.

"Ah! Nothin' ! Gotta go!"

"Wait!"

And, just like that, the demonic bird flew away, his strange words and behavior making him even more suspicious.

***

~ A V X Reader set in an Alternate Universe wherein heavy rain means lost videos and Apocalypse. 🖤

~ Tagging @heaven-on-a-landslide , @lessy86 , @boundbysoul , @simmy-ships , @ehrzeth , @ceruleanworld , @gxthghoulfriend , and @diabeticsugarush . Thank you for all your support.

***

"I will wait for as long as it takes. I only ask for one thing: don't forget about me."

***

🖤🖤🖤

***

[squishysvt]

If I’m Lucky - Ch.11`Finale

Member: Ten (NCT)

Words: 2.7k+

A/N Thank you everyone for supporting this series! Had a lot of ups and downs while writing this but I’m happy some of you enjoyed it! Hope you’re ready for what goes down >:) side note, larger gaps between paragraphs signify changes in viewpoint between the reader and Ten.  -Admin Ay

Warnings: graphic violence, major character death, profanity, lethal weapons

[previous chapter] ~ Ch.1`Ten

recap:  The space behind you warmed as you felt Jaehyun step behind you and something cold was pressed against your head. A chill ran through your spine. Ten’s eyes shot open and reverted back to their previous state as he stared at you. You strained your eyes to catch a glimpse of what the cold object was, and the chill was was justified.

A gun, it was a gun.

     Jaehyun chuckled as you were moved forcefully from the room by the shoulder, wrists still tied together. Ten’s brow twitched as he bit his lip and tried to keep from decking Jaehyun in the face at that very moment. He had just about enough of the patronizing mannerisms that surfaced every time he spoke.

“What a tear-inducing departure. Nearly started breaking down, myself.” Jaehyun said, conjuring zip ties to bind Ten’s wrists together.

Ten hummed, feigning aloofness before letting calculated words fall from his lips.

“I’m sure Y/N will get over it.”

Jaehyun guffawed as he shoved Ten into the chair you previously sat in to tie down his legs.

“Surely, as will most once you’re dead. We plan on disposing of you as soon as we’re done with you. Try not to shit your pants until then.”

Ten focused on the crinkle of Jaehyun’s eyes and his head’s positioning as he finished tying his left leg to the chair. Jaehyun was mid-evil monologue when he had moved just perfectly above Ten’s right knee. Ten took a deep breath and drove his knee directly into Jaehyun’s chin. He savored the clack of Jaehyun’s teeth against each other and the thud of his body as he blacked out. 

Taking advantage of Jaehyun’s dazed state, Ten broke out of his binds in record time. Before Jaehyun could fully recover Ten pulled the handgun from his waistband before checking it for bullets, then tucked it in his own.

“Considering the fact that you’ve worked with me for a year,” Ten sighed as he eased up to Jaehyun’s body, “I would think that you’d be a little more careful.”

A weak hand reached for Ten’s but he only laughed at the attempt.

“I thought I taught you better, yet alas.”

Ten growled as he snapped Jaehyun’s neck, swallowing down the gruesome cracks that rattled his bones. He didn’t have an affinity for kills that took so much strength, but having no weapons on his person (the gun didn’t count, it made too much noise) left Ten no other choice.

Using all the strength he could muster, Ten pushed open the large metal door, leading into a corridor. It was littered with plenty of doors similar to that which he had opened, but the one on the very end made of dark wood caught his eye as it clicked shut.

Hurried curses shot through Ten’s mouth as he hurried to catch up to you and the lackey that led you. The door wasn’t locked and Ten was just able to sneak up behind Yukhei, as Jaehyun called him, who was preoccupied enough with your struggling to not notice the blow of the end of a gun to his head. You let out a gasp and jumped when Yukhei’s body heavily hit the floor.

Ten mirrored the relieved smile that spread across your face as you realized what had happened.

Already moving to untie your wrists, the smirk under Ten’s breath evident.

“Hello.”

You sighed, “Hey.”

It may had not been the right place, nor the right time, but you hugged Ten regardless, and he let you. 

Ten’s lips ghosted over the shell of your ear teasingly.

“Let’s get out of here.” Ten punctuated the sentence with a kiss to your temple and a squeeze of your hand.

The loss of either your or his life less imminent, Ten took the time to look around for a way out. When Jeno and Yukhei had escorted him in, he had barely gotten a good view of the insides of the building. The both of them had been rather rough with taking him to Jaehyun. He knew that they were in an abandoned hotel from what he could tell from its exterior.

The room where you were kept was a meat freezer, amongst many other rooms that previously served as storage within the basement. The only way out was a door that led directly into the hallway of the ground floor. To the left was the lobby, and to the right, if the sign near the main desk was anything to go by, was a staircase and elevator that led to the second floor.

Ten paced back and forth in front of the staircase that led up to the door. The main thing on his mind being how to get out of the building safely. Going to the second floor and leaving through the fire escape was an option. However, the cons outweighed the pros. The stairs could be broken considering the condition of the hotel or there may have been an infinite number of phoenix on the second floor blocking their path.

At least with the path right towards the lobby’s front doors he knew how many people give-or-take were in the room, and there were many places to hide behind upon being shot at.

You tapped at the crinkle forming between Ten’s brows.

“Please don’t make that face, it makes me nervous.”

Ten bit his lip in an attempt to ground himself before speaking.

“Sorry, but I would be a little worried if you weren’t nervous.”

You laughed, “Well, I am. Almost shit my pants back there if I’m being honest.”

The air grew less thick and Ten felt his head clear as he reminded himself that there were enforcements on the way. Enforcements, meaning only two, but out of the entirety of Squalo Nero he trusted them the most.

“Alright, Y/N, I’m going to need you to listen to what I’m going to say.”

“Sure, Chief--”

You stopped yourself from saying anything else upon Ten’s glare.

“I told a few people that I was going to be here today and had them follow me up here--”

Your eyes widened, “Wait, you came to this place yourself? Like, they didn’t, I don’t know, knock you out and drag you here?”

Ten’s mouth twitched in annoyance but he answered you regardless. “No, they left a note on my door saying to come to this address to get you back.” you shot him a confused look and Ten sighed and continued to explain.

“I doubt this hotel is their base of operations. From the looks of it, it's most likely a place they scouted specifically for this. The Phoenix may be a band of rookies but they aren’t that stupid.”

You hummed in understanding and Ten took it as a signal to continue informing you on the events that were going to occur.

“In about five minutes, my colleagues are going to rush into the lobby. On my count of three, I want you to follow directly behind me out this door and to the left end of this hallway there will be a couch to hide behind. Stay there until I tell you to move. Only, when I tell you to move.”

     Hesitantly, you nodded.

Suddenly Ten left his spot next to the door and sauntered to Yukhei’s limp body and kicked it over. It felt like a rock settled at the pit of your stomach as you watched, but pushed the feeling down. If you couldn’t handle such a minimal action done to an unconscious body you wouldn’t be prepared for the sure amounts of death and blood soon to come.

You watched as Ten patted Yukhei down, eventually stopping when feeling something hidden underneath his jean jacket. The object turned out to be a handgun, not too different to the one Ten had taken from Jaehyun.

Ten checked the magazine for bullets. Seemingly satisfied with it’s unused composition, he walked back towards you and placed the gun in your hands.

The rock in your stomach came back and you found yourself stuttering through your protests.

“Ten-- I can’t-- no, I don’t even know how to use one of these things! I haven’t shot a gun let alone at someone!”

Ten laid his hand atop your head and looked into your eyes, the same message hidden in them as earlier. It’s going to be okay.

“Hold it with two hands, point it at your target, and shoot.” Ten demonstrated each move with his own gun, going slowly so you could take in his every move.

“Only use it if you’re in danger, okay? Dealing with your first blood isn’t fun and it’s not something I want you to deal with.” Ten shared a pained smile with you. Ten told you about the first person he ever killed. You knew you didn’t want to experience the same. So, you took a deep breath and nodded, your throat feeling a little too dry to say anything more.

Ten patted your shoulder absent-mindedly while passing you to walk up the stairs. You followed not to far from him. Ten held his head up to the door, frown forming back on his face as he listened intently to what was happening on the other side.

“I hear about two people moving through the hallway. I’m going to have to take them out as soon as I open the door,” Ten whispered. You could barely make out his words with how softly he spoke, but you supposed that was the point.

A crash interrupted the silence through the room. It was muffled, it seemingly coming from above. Yelling and gunshots occured next, another crash amongst the noise. You whimpered at the commotion, but Ten only smiled as he took your hand and put it on his waist. You took the hint, gripping his belt.

“One…” Ten started, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath.

“Two…”

Screaming, blood, death, the smell of freshly shot guns throughout the room.

The scared, nauseous part of you wanted to erase the images from your thoughts forever, but you knew better. So you opened your eyes stilled your shaking hands, putting all your trust in Ten.

“Three!”

Ten threw open the door, and within the blink of an eye he shot two rounds. The sound caused your ears to ring. Ten ran through the corridor, dragging you behind him. Your low stamina wasn’t of much help while trying to keep up, hiding you face in his back. In your peripheral you spotted the couch Ten told you about. It was a murky green and looked disgusting, but you ignored your initial disgust and crouched behind it as soon as you got close to it anyway. Adrenaline ran through your veins as Ten left you where you were, stepping around the couch and into the open space of the room.

     Ten dodged a bullet behind a nearby flipped coffee table. Grunting at his sudden impact with the floor. Ten glanced over the table to take in his surroundings. Familiar pigtails whipped through the air, attached to Yeri as she swept the floor gracefully with her leg taking down a man twice her size. Ten couldn’t help a wince. He had also fallen victim to Yeri’s hand-to-hand combat skills. To make it short he wouldn’t want to be in a fight with her again, spar or not.

Another grunt was heard right next to him, belonging to Taeyong. Taeyong only winked in greeting before popping up again to shoot.

“Shit!” Taeyong slammed back to the grown as a bullet whistled past his ear.

Ten lifted a brow in amusement. Taeyong rolled his eyes.

“My line of work doesn’t call for this type of bullshit! You usually do this stuff alone, I don’t know why you need me!”

“Because I trust you.”

Taeyong faltered at the unexpected honesty.

“Shut up and help out Yeri with me, dickhead.” Taeyong muttered the last part under his breath, causing Ten to chuckle.

     You watched as Ten and a pink headed man arise from behind their cover of the coffee table and eased towards a group of men surrounding a lady. She fought viciously yet still struggled. Ten and the pink haired men fought harmoniously together. Amongst all the anxiety that arose in your chest you still managed to find it kind of hot how confident Ten was in his movements.

Save those thoughts for later.

You sucked in a deep breath and ducked back behind the couch, still conscious of the heavy pistol that you held in your hand. You looked to your left for any uninvited guests and saw no one, but before you could turn to your right rough hands wrapped around you.

Panic ran through you and tried to fight back at whoever held you as they pulled you out from your makeshift safe haven, you dropping the pistol from your hand in the scuffle. Shrieks came out muffled as your captor clasped his palm over your mouth. Instinct took over and you bit his hand, deep voice letting out a cry as he let you go for a short second.

“Ten--!”

Your cry was cut off with a smack to the cheek. The impact disoriented you, a dull throb pulsed in your head and the surface of your skin stung.

You weren't sure how much time took place as you squished yourself against the floor, hoping to ease the pain, but it seemed like seconds when the man that assaulted you fell to the ground. Red, sticky, metallic smelling blood pooled from under his body. The sight caused you to gag.

“Fuck,” you whispered under your breath. You knew that it would probably be best to look away from the corpse, but something in you caused you to freeze.

Ten’s voice pulled you out of your trance. “Y/N, get up. It’s all clear.”

You stood, slowly, flinching at the cracks of your knees and trying to hold down the shakes you had just noticed in your hands. Your eye’s met with Ten’s wide, expressive ones. They were different from when he had been fighting. You thought back to when you had first met Ten, his ability to transition so quickly intriguing you. You and Ten had come a long way since then. As you made your way towards Ten, you couldn’t help but notice the look shared between the girl and the man with pink hair.

The pink haired man hummed, “So this is the one Ten dragged us all the way here to save.”

The girl looked you up and down, unnerving you. She sneered before opening her mouth to speak.

“Ten looked so scary when he told us about what happened. He was in such a rush that he didn’t even tell the big man about what he was up to.”

The way she seemed to direct the sentence towards it’s subject, anyone would be able to tell who she was truly trying to tease. Despite that you couldn’t stop yourself from growing flustered in Ten’s favor.

Ten cleared his throat, unbothered by the exchange.

“This is Taeyong and Yeri,” he pointed in his respective partners’ directions, “And now that introductions are over I suggest we hurry out of here.”

“Normally I would probably tell you to pull the stick out your ass but I agree.” You rubbed your shoulders, shivering as you eyed the room. The presence of all the bodies sprawled on the floor loomed over you even with your attempts to look away from them.

Taeyong laughed, “I like her already.”

Ten rolled his eyes and began walking towards the exit along with Taeyong. You started to follow until you felt a tap on your shoulder.

Yeri turned you towards her and smiled at the way you jumped at the touch. “Hey, I’m happy you’re okay. You’re really strong being able to go through all that.”

You smiled back, “Thanks, I’m still a little shaken. If anyone here should be called strong here though--”

A figure emerged from the hallway on the other side of the room. It staggered with each step, it’s lanky legs dragging on the dirty ground. You weren’t able to discern who it was until he made it into the light.

It was Yukhei, and he had a gun.

“Yeri turn around.”

She threw you a confused look before doing as you said.

“Shit!”

Time felt like it slowed down. Everybody turned to see the cause of the alarm, but not quick enough. Yukhei had already raised his arms, gun pointing to Ten. Your mind went blank, your body darting directly into the line of fire.

      Bang

    Bang

     Time went too fast. All he saw was your body writhing on the floor in pain and Yukhei flopping to the floor not too long after.

It was only the second time Ten dreaded death, and it was yours.

[basicvulcanqueen]

The Scientist

warnings: none/cursing

summary: Keanu develops a friendship with a girl and eventually it progresses, but not without some serious shit on the way lol

Chapter One, The Spot

   In a corner of the world often overlooked, there was a park. Commonly named, remotely located in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, only a small city of locals and some others even knew of its existence. Behind the park was a short, grassy path, overgrown in the summer, making poison ivy a definite if you traveled to the spot in shorts. Walk back far enough, and there is a bridge, train tracks above you, and a creek deep enough to swim in ran as far as the eye could see.

   There was also an overpass, all four lanes of the highway running across on the right side, graffiti plastered all over the bridge and the under passage. Most of it was vulgar, middle school shenanigans, but along the posts of the train tracks, there were several, colorful, interesting paintings. It was sort of like a town treasure, everyone loved to hang out under the tracks, the adrenaline rush as a train rushed overhead, all other noise cancelled out over the roar of the engine, and the shaking beneath you.

   I'd done the paintings my first year in high school, finding the spot after theatre rehearsal one day. My nana rarely let me take the car, but when she did, I made every excuse to stay out. She didn't mind; she trusted me, I stayed out of trouble. I kept my grades and my actions in order, my flaws? Graffiti and cigarettes. I had friends all over the county, willing to buy me smokes as long as I paid for them, so despite Nana's concerns, I had them on hand at all times, never once asking her to buy them for me. That made her feel a little less convicted.

   It had been several years since I'd returned to the spot, now well into my twenties, 22 to be exact; I was driving the same exact car I used to keep out late in my teens, a birthday gift from my Nana and Papa, the nostalgia hitting hard every time I was in the drivers seat. As a grown woman, life had been a struggle. I'd dealt with depression, and bi polar disorder, driving away all of my friends. I spent my time with my mother, staying in the cottage behind her house. I'd stayed there all of my life, the solitude and peace of being at home. Comfortable. The woods surrounded me at night and it was always dark and mysterious, and I loved it. I was buried in the trees, the gushing waters of the creek behind the house comforting my slumber. I loved my small town.

   I came from a family of strange traditions and simple living. We lived modern, sure, with our technology and our video games, but as for our way of life, we were old fashioned. My mother had turned me onto cast iron skillets, and I'd become a little bit of a chef, loving to cook and bake as much as my mama did. As for heat, my mother and stepdad had bought a wood stove for their home, and I'd done the same. We cut our wood, tending to the horses and several outside dogs, as well as indoor pets and a few chickens.

   My brother bred and sold rabbits, making petty cash for silly high school things, basketball and girls being his only worries for the moment. We really were plain, but we were all so different. We all had goals, and aspirations, but we were simple to please, loving the smallest of things. I worked part time in a 24/7 dinner called Pete's Pies and Other Things, reading and exploring in my spare time. I often spent my days in the woods, journal in hand, listening to the sounds of the forest. That was my favorite place to be. I'd just recently gotten a puppy, a Belgian Sheppard named Nero. He was named partly after my Trekkie fandom, partly after the Roman Emperor Nero because I was a history fanatic, driving everyone in my family crazy with my fun facts and my knowledge and opinions, and if I was anything, it was definitely opinionated.

   Relationship after relationship, I was finding myself unsatisfied, lacking connection, and solitude being my safe haven. I couldn't find anyone I could truly connect with, and when I had, they were all significantly older than me. It drove my family nuts, my fascination with older men. I'd been thrown out of school my senior year for dating a teacher in another district. It was bullshit, the teacher kept his job, and I got my GED. I was fine, by myself. I didn't mind it. I never had, I could always occupy my time with something else, reading, writing. I had a world full of adventuring to do.

   I'd found myself chilled by the fall, the autumn air creeping in through the slight crack in my drivers side window. I faithfully ashed my cigarette, my curly black hair thrown in a loose ponytail, Kansas blaring through my speakers. I was in my usual autumn attire, my leggings, black, baggy black cardigan. I'd recently purchased my first belly shirt, white with a tiny alien on the breast pocket, hardly showing any skin, more visible than anything was the hourglass tattoo on my stomach, the left side covered halfway to my hip, the right side occupied by a turtle, beneath it, the entire world on his turtle back, the branches filled with birds and the initials of several loved ones. My body was covered in tattoos, my parents more than encouraging about my body art. I got several compliments on my work, oogled by most pig headed men because how often do you see a mulatto female covered in tattoos? Apparently not very often.

   I drove to clear my mind, no particular place I was heading. I loved to drive, especially with Nero at my side, when the sun was setting. I'd roll up a blunt or two and just drive, making my way to my favorite secluded places, letting Nero out to explore the terrain. He'd go on my hikes with me, and I'd pack the two of us treats and water, that way we could spend all day doing what we loved. He was laying in my backseat; I kept a blanket spread out for him, since his black fur would be everywhere if I didn't. I don't know why I found myself turning into spring city, the road narrowing as I came out by the middle school, just minutes away from the park. As I pulled into the parking lot, the only car I noticed was, undoubtedly, a fucking Porsche, with New York tags, sleek and beautiful, but too fancy for anyone around these parts of town. I gave it no second thought as I grabbed my bag, tossing my lighter and cigarettes, along with my water inside.

   It was a short walk to the trail that led back to The Spot, Nero never leaving my side as we made our way back, the cars passing by on the highway coming to a slow as the traffic from the day died down. The lamps that lit up the park gave great passage as we made our way back, the weeds and ivy mowed down now that it was fall. Nero led the way, sniffing out anything peculiar, perking up when he realized the beauty ahead of us. He quickened his pace, leaving me before I turned the corner of the wall/post that my balloon painting was on, not even noticing Nero standing near the rocks by the post, lapping at the crystal clear water. He went on to explore the surroundings, keeping close, as I took a seat, digging in my bag for my metal Star Trek tin, removing a blunt and lighting it, feeling finally at ease after a long day of work and nonsense. I'd made decent enough tips, more than any of the other servers, and I had the next two days off work, which I was thrilled about. I was going into relax mode, knowing after I returned home, I could start a fire, make some coffee, and read until the wee hours of the night, accompanied by Nero and the peaceful repetition of nightly crickets. Nero had gone out of view, but I could hear him, playfully prancing around the area. I don't know how I didn't hear the human footsteps approach, but Nero did. He bolted around the corner, sniffing out whoever it was, and I stopped in my tracks, quickly dubbing out my smoke and putting the unfinished blunt into the tin, replacing it with a lit cigarette. Nero wasn't alarmed for long, I quickly heard whoever it was tell Nero, "Aren't you a good boy? Where's your owner, pal?" And I quickly stood up, Nero returning to my side just before the man rounded the corner, and much to my surprise, I was greeted by the face of a celebrity. I almost thought I was seeing things, but sure enough I recognized the jet black hair, and the deep, penetrating brown eyes on the gorgeous face of none other than, Keanu Reeves.

   I took a step back, Nero nudging at my hand to pet him, forcing myself not to stare as he smiled at me, his face perfectly visible in the lamplight. He spoke up first, taking a step towards me and reaching out his hand. "Beautiful dog you have there, I'm Keanu, didn't mean to sneak up on you like that." He laughed it off smoothly, and I shook his hand, surprised at his friendly, welcoming demeanor. "Thank you, he goes everywhere with me. I'm Raven. And this is Nero." Nero sat at his feet, letting Keanu pet him, happily accepting the affection. I was a mess in my head, unaware of how to react, really. I had never encountered anyone famous in my life. Lowly stage actors, and film extras, once or twice, but never anyone as famous as him. What the hell was he doing here? In the middle of nowhere? As if he was reading my mind, he asked me if I was from the area, and I nodded, saying I'd lived here all my life, however my house was 20 minutes away on the other side of the county. "What brings you here?" I asked politely, resuming my seat, and he joined me, Nero laying between the two of us.

"I dunno, really. I wanted to get out of the city. My mom knew a photographer here, and I saw a picture online of the area, and I just... wanted to see it for myself. I've never been here. I wanted to work up some inspiration for a project I'm working on, and I figured this would be the place to start. I'm staying at a place called The Holiday Inn, it's in Dayton." I nodded, chuckling at the coincidence. Pete's was directly in front of The Holiday Inn, I was there almost everyday. "I work in Dayton. At the diner right in front of your hotel." He smiled, saying he was planning on making a stop there tomorrow for breakfast. I mentioned I was off work, and he sighed dramatically, causing us both to erupt into laughter. We talked for the better half of two hours, well into the sun going down, before we made our way back to the parking lot, Nero leading ahead of us, the night air cook around us. He looked relatively normal to be so gorgeous, in his long black coat, and his dark jeans, his grey boots and white shirt reminding me all too much of the many part he had portrayed in his career. It was like, for so long of seeking adventure, I'd met someone who had a life full of journeys and discoveries. It was odd, how well we hit it off, being from two totally different worlds. I lit up a cigarette, offering him one, and he accepted, using my lighter. He offered me his cell phone, saying he would like to keep in touch, and so we exchanged numbers, parting ways with a casual hug. He asked me to text him when I got home, so he knew I made it there okay. I said I would. I waved before getting in my car, my music starting up as I fished for my tin in my bag, Nero taking a seat up front as I lit my blunt, driving into the night, the 20 minute drive home exciting as I drove with Keanu in my taillights. He followed behind me until he had to turn off for his hotel, honking his horn, and I did the same. I couldn't wait to get home and tell my mom about the day I'd had.

   I had managed to sneak some proof, a quick picture of Nero standing next to Keanu, his hand placed lovingly on his head, a grin on his face. My mom was going to be so shocked. I was excited to return home, but disappointed to see all of the lights off at my mother's place, so I drove past, onto the gravel driveway that would be paved eventually, leading to my cottage. The space opened up, the creek running behind my house, through an orchard. My cottage was three bedrooms, flowers and plants of all sorts growing wildly around the house, my stepdad always joking that my house looked like something sort of like a fairy tale. I'd always kept up my garden well maintained through the year, but it was getting colder now, and all I had left were a few buds here and there, along with my weeping willow that took refuge in my front yard, always casting the most ominous shadow on my house. Nero and I made our way inside, my first objective to start a fire in the woodstove. I grabbed my lighter from my bag, shooting Keanu a text that I'd made it home ok, and sat my phone down, determined to get my fire started before I replied. The house was quiet, so I turned on my stereo, a treasure I'd found at 20 in a yard sale, the hits of the 80's,90's and today playing softly throughout the house and I piled wood atop my ever growing fire, and I took a minute to have a seat in front of it, having a cigarette as I watching the crackling flames. My phone vibrated on the table in the living room, and I retrieved it, a message from Keanu.

   K: Glad you made it home safe. What are your plans for the night?

   R: Just started a fire, I'm going to make some coffee, curl up with Nero and read. Anything exciting on your end?

   K: Not a thing, sounds like a fun night. Started a fire?

   I sent him a picture of my woodstove, and he sent me a text back shortly, amazed at the fact that I lived alone and used wood heat. He said he'd never met anyone who relies on it for a source of heat, which is always weird to me. It's always been my favorite form of heat. It's cozy, reliable, and if my power ever goes out, at least I'll be warm. Plus, cooking on a woodstove is ideal. The quality of the food is incredible.

   K: You'll have to show me sometime. If you're up a little later, care if I give you a call?

   R: I'll be up for a while, that's perfectly fine with me.

   K: Alright, I've got a conference call with a realtor in 15 mins but after that, I'll call you. :)

   R: Looking forward to it!

   I took the time to change clothes, the room next to mine serving as a storage room for nothing but my clothes, considering I had so many. I was devoted to thrift shops, finding 50 cent and dollar treasures everywhere I went, a collection of clothes, shoes, books, and all sorts of handy items, mine for a low price. I'd fallen in love with the beauty and the history of the things in thrift shops, some of my favorite Star Trek memorabilia purchased at several different thrift shops. I had Star Trek sheets, posters, paintings, figurines, and even a landline phone. I'd purchased lots of strange knick knacks over the years, including a Japanese tea set, several Buddha figurines, some handmade windchimes made of spoons, some very cool, wooden end tables, 5 of them to be exact, all under ten dollars from thrift stores.

   My mom and I had a crazy huge library of movies, dvds and vhs tapes, and we added onto it every other Tuesday when I got paid. We were all about home entertainment, being content with our lives. And we were. Simple, loving folk. We enjoyed our things, and spending time with each other. We did that more than anything. My mom and I had a rocky start growing up, but now, we have become best friends, the two of us enjoying the silly little hobbies we had. My stepdad went through a phase where we stockpiled can goods and nonperishable items, because of the economy, and now, we've done it ever since. We have an entire storage room in my basement dedicated to all things survival. A year's supply of canned goods, 10 adult survival blankets. Cases of water stacked to the ceiling, from years of preparation. We'd always taken advantage of our resources, so when we saw 4 folding cots at a yard sale, we bought them, and slowly over time, had bought up enough for all of us, taking measures to preserve the lives of our animals as well, stocking dog food and jugs of water for them. It seemed crazy, but the way we saw it, you could never be too prepared. We stocked up on toiletries and medicines, cabinets full of first aid equipment, antibiotics, mild pain relievers and Tylenol, of course, along with several other over the counter medications, both human and pet friendly, we were set there too.

  My stepdad, John, had kept in mind when building both their house, and my cottage, the need for shelters, especially underground. The land our house was built on had belonged to my family for generations, several houses being on the same exact land before it. Although none of the original houses remained, one cool feature was able to be used in the construction of our homes. A bomb shelter, ten foot underground, connecting the space between our houses. An enclosed area roughly the size of a tennis court, it had 5 separate living quarters, big enough for two cots and a wardrobe on wheels. There were solar panels connected to the kitchen in the shelter, so we would be able to cook and still have power for hours out of the day, along with a plethora of generators from junk yard trips and trades. He was the smartest man I knew, and he had taught us everything he knew.

I was killing time, waiting for coffee to finish brewing when I received a facetime request from Keanu, throwing the lights on in the kitchen nook and accepting, greeted by his face, smiling at me from his hotel room.

"So that's what your house looks like," he said, giggling at my table for two and all of my memorabilia. "I have so much crap. I'll give you a tour if you want. There's so much house I feel like I'm useless. I don't even take up half of it." He laughed, sitting up as I showed him my closet room, turning the light on to the basement staircase and descending it. "Woah, where are you now?" He asked, and I switched the view so he could see the space in front of me. There was the stockpile room, off to my left, and to the right, the hall that led to the bomb shelter, and that definitely struck his attention. "That's probably the coolest thing ever," he said, wowed at the time we had put into everything. I promised to show him one day, but I definitely didn't feel like walking all over the basement in the dark. I made my way back upstairs, listening to Keanu talk about the penthouse he just purchased in New York. He was planning on taking a vacation there next, he said. He was tired of California. He wanted to see what the bustling world of NYC had to offer. I told him that would be amazing, I'd always dreamed of going there in high school, being on the stage, taking the subway to work. But I told him, I never planned on leaving my little town. That seemed to disappoint him, but he quickly recovered when he asked me if I had plans for the next few days. I told him that I was off work 2 days straight, and he asked if I'd like to take him hiking the following day. He wanted Nero to come, and I quickly accepted. I told him I knew a great place, that I'd take my camera because the leaves would be changing and it would be a real sight. He agreed, and kept talking about how excited he was. I was excited too.

   We made plans to meet for breakfast, when he asked where, I offered jokingly to cook, and he encouraged it, so I said I would text him my address, and he was going to come to my house for breakfast the next morning. I cooked on Saturdays, my mom and stepdad would be joining, along with both of my brothers. He said that was perfect, that it had been a long time since he had a nice, normal breakfast. I assured him we were not normal, but told him I was thrilled to spend the day with him. He yawned loudly two hours into our facetime, and I immediately did the same, saying we would both need our rest for the next day. I quickly sent him a text with my address as I stoked the fire, putting more wood on it for the night, crawling into my own bed for the night before hanging up the phone. Nero climbed into bed, settling himself in next to me as I set my alarm for the next morning, peacefully drifting into sleep after the best day I'd had in a very long time.

[tales-of-abysia]

Mind of a Madman - The Flood (2/4) Red Wave

(This is the #2 of a 4-part blog. These are all from months ago, and it took me a long time to form them into the right words, to get it all together. You can also find them with my #theflood tag below if you find it hard to get them straight.)

Several months ago…

Engine and Audio wandered the lower levels of the city to try and level their heads. An air of discomfort had taken the entire city by storm, and the sky beyond the city walls had darkened in response. Audio was still unwell, the cracks in his porcelain-like skin having spread and begun to crumble in places he moved often. His flesh was old, a temporary shell for a once passing thought. He would need a new form soon, but continued to put it off for anxiety on what the change may do to him. He put a lot of things off because of anxiety. Engine meanwhile was clutching his bound notebook and thinking of any possible solutions to calm his brother for the coming transition. “Well I doubt you’ll end up like Duske, cuz he was damaged in an integral way. It will be more like how Alexia ended up I think, where they’ll use something surplus to bolster you.”

Audio stopped along a raised walkway above another short road. He leaned on the railing looking down. “I don’t really want either of those. One of them turns me into some kind of machine, and the other completely alters my core. I want to remain who I am, not to change.”

“We all change as we grow older, Audio. Eventually we may not even recognize who we have become. Just look at how different Bastion is from his time back when he was Nero, or even who he was before then! Each of us is vulnerable to being changed, being damaged, and even growing where we once failed to do so.”

“I just don’t want the changes I make to damage my relationship. What if I’m not the kind of man who I am today? It may be better to stay like this instead of trying to evolve. I need to just get another shell like mine.”

“But the shells are all temporary. Mikendo did everything he could think of to prolong their existence and he still needed to say goodbye to his closest friend eventually.”

“She wasn’t like me though, I’m unique for the type of being I am.”

“That’s why you’re sick, Audio. Your body is rejecting your energy or whatever you are on the inside. It’s kinda like a glass of water, and the room keeps getting louder until the glass can’t handle it anymore. When that glass shatters, the water will need somewhere to go.”

There was a rumble above, and dust fell from the pipes overhead. Audio's ears perked up. “Something isn’t right.”

“Is it ever? Whatcha hear?” Engine was cut short by Audio raising a hand and turning around. He aimed his ear to the end of the hall. He heard a gushing, a rippling, a dripping. There was a snap, a scream, a burst of wind… thumps, and tiny footsteps alongside a bloody sloshing sound.

“We aren’t safe here.” Audio clenched his fists as Lexi hit the bottom of a staircase and came around the corner to the hallway. Her face was one of panic, and she cursed under her breath as her eyes met theirs. She screamed for them to run, which is when the Crimson One tore around the corner, slamming into the wall with a splat and then throwing itself in the trio's direction. Engine stepped aside, pressing himself to the inner wall to let Lexi run by. Audio stepped into the path and flicked his wrists forward, sending a soundwave forward with enough force to tear the fluid form of the Crimson One apart. It splattered onto the walls, floor, and ceiling for a moment, before pulling itself back together and charging along the floor. Audio let out another wave, to which the beast levelled itself along the flat floor until the blast passed it by. In a single moment it appeared between Audio and Engine.

They shared a slight moment of terror before the Crimson One expanded between them. It’s surface grew into thin, sharp spines as it bevelled, then forced them both back as it charged on by. Audio was slammed through the handrail of the bridge and dropped down onto the horizontal lines of the stairs below with a plaster-like shatter. Engine was slammed into the wall and cut along his arms and his face, which he seemed not to care about as he looked down and saw the pages of his notebook falling loose and scattering on the ground. The spine of his book had been cut. His face contorted further to one of pure horror as he kneeled down and started snatching pages to try and fit them back together. Both the edges of the pages and Engine’s new cuts began to bleed black ink, and his many tattoos began bleeding through his pressed shirt and his warm vest. He was changing, and his very own shadow began to grow thicker and more real by the instant. This strange form continued to cover him until it entirely consumed him. He stopped suddenly, holding most of the pages in one hand… then he smirked and let them all go. They went in every direction, floating down off of the bridge and landing around Audio's broken form as Engine ran after Lexi. A small sound escaped Audio's dry lips.

Lexi ran down the winding halls from the Crimson One, creating barriers as she went to deflect her momentum around the many corners. This helped her to create distance between herself and the enemy. She had an idea, but it was risky. She descended a staircase onto an elevated walkway that hugged the side of a building and grabbed a pipe at the corner to swing herself around. There she saw Audio and Engine in front of her, much to her dismay. She wanted to tell them to run, to scream at them to get away, but her lungs burned with exhaustion. Her chest pained upon each breath, her tired legs bagging her to stop. She couldn’t. They parted ways for her to slip through and she did so, running to the end of the corridor and peeking over her shoulder at the end. She could no longer see the brothers – only the wave of red behind her at her heels. She hoped that they would be all right. Her room wasn’t far now, just a little farther… At the end of this next span of pathway there was an open clearing where the elevated path went around. As she reached it she leapt into the open air, creating another barrier below her feet and jumping again to reach the far railing. Then, her foot slipped. She dropped into the pathway with a slam, sliding on the moist concrete in pain. From her new low angle she watched the Crimson One bridge the gap with no extra effort, coming down from over her. It had her for sure, she thought.

The twisted form of Engine reached the hallway in time to see Lexi leap across and then eat pavement. As the Crimson One lowered itself to pounce, Engine held up both arms. His cross-shaped tattoos once turned into small cannons. Now, his hand held hollow tubes where color filled like faulty ink canisters. As the monster leapt into the air the colors flew and the Crimson One was knocked far off target. Engine then charged forward and crashed through the handrails and over Lexi with two strides. His projectile had covered the surface of the Crimson One like a layer of latex. His hand outstretched like a large claw and with a swipe he split the monster in two. The two halves spilled out of the latex-like substance and reformed. Many green eyes opened and centered on Engine; the surface of Crimson split into a giant jaw which closed around Engine's arm and tore it off. After a moment of staring, Engine’s arm suddenly regrew from the shadows behind him.

Lexi took this time to turn around, sliding under the broken rail and onto the bottom level of the undercroft. She began making her way to her room again as the two crashed down into the clearing behind her. She finally reached her door and tore it open, sliding just inside and pressing her small body against the wall in the hallway.

The Crimson One escaped from Engine's grasp and tore down the hall toward Lexi like a tornado. Every appendage that reached forward to drag its form started like a mouth and then grew claws. Engine was close behind. The Crimson one reached the doorway and slid in, turning and opening the side of its body like a huge maw facing Lexi. There was another Boom, followed by a wave of wet, dark colors and suddenly Lexi had space. She pulled herself out of the room and grabbed the door as Crimson tore itself from the colored prison and lurched forward. Lexi slammed the door just before it was close enough to reach and… silence.

“Whew…” Lexi took a breath as she heard footsteps behind her. She turned and smiled before saying “Thank you En- Ahhhh!” She slid down the door in fear as she looked at Engine. Black lines bled from his eyes and mouth, like thick ink. “O-oh uh. Vehdroh, Th-thanks for helping me…”

“Huuurt…” His eyes had changed from yellow to a dark smoldering red.

She looked down to his hip, where only a few pages of paper remained attached to the back cover of his notebook, held by a small braid. “Your book, I can fix that easy if you take me…” she began to reach out for it, but Engine's hand snapped forward and grabbed onto her wrist.

“Huuurt!” His yell was filled with an emotional pain, and she responded with a shriek of her own as his touch started to burn her.

Lexi wrenched her hand from his grip and looked at him with a regretful pain, but turned her gaze quickly to her wrist where the image of a musical note had been inked into her skin. Her eyes widened as she looked back to Engine. “Where is he?!”

[keeroo92]

Savior, Bloodstain, Hellfire, Shadow Ch28 (V x Reader)

June 15th, 12:00 pm

A cacophonous rumble breaks your stride as you and V trek through a park after your… break. Instantly you both look at the Qlipoth to watch in horror as it grows suddenly, massive chunks of roads and buildings mysteriously floating skyward as its spiny branches reach above the clouds and into space.

“We’re almost out of time,” V mutters morosely.

The shaking earth prevents you from answering as you're forced to take off running, the stable path you’d been walking crumbling away into a chasm. V falls behind quickly to your dismay, and you slow just enough to keep him close.

Even so, you’re separated when the ground you stand on rises as the terrain he remains upon drops. You fall to your belly immediately, looking back as V reaches out to grasp your forearm as the soil continues sinking away. You grunt and grit your teeth as your shoulder wrenches from taking his weight but you miraculously manage to hold on, your other arm quickly joining the first to spread the strain out. He glances back and forth between your determined face and the destruction beneath him, his clever eyes judging whether you’ll be forced to drop him or if you’re strong enough to pull him up to join you.

 I did NOT spend three days searching Dante’s library just to drop him!

The thought makes you snarl and sends a blast of adrenaline through your system, temporarily lending you the strength you need to haul him up beside you with a primal shout of exertion. His legs scramble against the dirt fruitlessly for a moment before he finds enough friction to help raise his body higher. The moment he can support himself safely you let go with a gasp, flopping over onto your side and panting.

 I miss Griffon.

He drops down and lies there beside you as the trembling terrain settles, his chest displaying his racing heartbeat. His emerald eyes find yours and the rhythm of his breath changes as his laughter fills the air.

“When they find they must, my lord, they will,” he quips between his relieved chuckling. You let out a snort of your own, sitting up as your cheeks stretch and your laughter mixes with his. His eyes sparkle with delight, the widest smile you’ve seen in days showing his white teeth to the sun above.

“I never knew that William Blake had a line of poetry for every conceivable situation until I met you, V,” you remark as the humor begins to fade. He smirks at you as he rises to his feet, his cane taking most of his weight. You join him with much less effort, still choking back the last of your giggles as your steady stride accompanies his limp forward.

The next half hour passes quickly; the hordes of demons apparently enjoyed the rumbling earth even less than the pair of you had and left the area. Your thoughts drift back to revisit every aspect of your theory, dissecting it and searching for flaws in the haphazard ideology yet again with no results. Frustration at your lack of new insight fills you and you irritably imagine what your life would have been like if you’d lived in a different city, fallen for a normal guy with normal problems.

You know exactly what it would look like; you’d lived that life before. The image you form seems drab, colorless and without flavor.

Contentment would’ve been easy, that much is true. A comfortable home, a decent paycheck and a special someone to buy you flowers on your anniversary, rub your back when it ached or, if you were lucky, who would cook dinner from time to time. A reasonably attractive man who was acceptable in the bedroom, someone your mom would like. Maybe you’d finish school, earn a position as a trauma surgeon like you used to dream about. Save lives every day, helping people you’d never see again after they left the operating table.

A life like all the rest, a cog in the machine of society struggling to achieve a pale shadow of the joy that fills you every time you draw your sword, every time you hear Nero’s battle cries or Nico’s muttered curses as she tinkers. A soft echo of the incandescent love you feel for your poet. You don’t even bother picturing a face for the amorphous form representing a romantic partner, knowing that regardless of the creativity of your imagination it would be like holding a single candle up to the sun at its zenith compared to V.

 I have a life most people lack the capacity to even imagine.

Your eyes drift to study his face, taking in the small growth of dark stubble on his strong jaw. The curve of his nose, the small indent on his cheek by his wide lips. The arch of his brow, the intensity of his gaze under his dark eyebrows, even from the side. You force yourself to ignore the thin scar on his cheekbone, choosing to focus instead on the smoothness of his alabaster skin.

His lips twist into his signature smirk, his eyes catching yours glued to his face.

“What are you staring at, love?” he asks teasingly. You blush at being caught but meet his eyes with a smirk of your own.

“Nothing much, just the most attractive man to ever exist,” you reply casually, adding a shrug for good measure. His smirk deepens and he stands a little taller, breaking your stare bashfully to look at the sky as his cheeks tinge pink.

  Gotcha!

He recovers quickly, playfully swatting your ass with a light tap of his cane. You gasp in mock horror.

“And here I thought you were a gentleman!” you remark, easily stepping out of his range.

“You know very well that I can be gentle, and I can be rough. You’ve never complained about my performance in either category,” he easily shoots back at you with a wry grin. The reminder of his… variable tastes sends a torrent of lewd memories through you and your thighs shake as you step forward. You turn to face him and raise your arms in surrender.

“You win, you win! No more, kind sir, I beg of you,” you plead playfully, and V chuckles softly in amusement.

“Then allow me to claim my prize,” he growls, his arm already extending to pull you against him. You don’t resist, happily letting him capture your lips with his own. His kiss is soft and sweet, a light pressure lacking any urgency as he molds his mouth to fit yours. You part with a soft sigh, taking his hand as you step ever closer to the Qlipoth.

The tree seems to grow with every step now, its form meeting the ground mere blocks from where you stand. The closer you get, the worse the devastation. Instead of chunks of rubble, entire buildings are simply gone, only the outline of their foundation marking where they once stood. Even the trees that once lined the roadway have been uprooted, the very asphalt cracking to set their roots free. And the smell… if you’d thought the Glutton was the worst imaginable aroma, you are quickly proven wrong by the sickening stench of blood, death, decay and dirt that permeates the air.

Two blocks away, the ground turns slimy with the amount of blood that’s soaked into it, the dirt stained red along with the lower portion of anything unfortunate enough to be touching the desecrated earth. The once white soles of your faithful slip-resistant shows turn crimson, then almost black. You’ll never be able to wear them again without remembering this place, this carnage.

A block left; you can see where the accursed tree meets the pavement and you smile at V. The resounding relief in his emerald eyes as you slowly creep forward is almost painful to behold, telling you exactly how worried he’d been about getting this far. The ground here is so sticky you have to be careful not to lose a shoe with each step, the caked-on blood sucking the soles in a tight embrace. You’re amazed that the area is so flat, expecting more of the strange elevation changes or shifted surface to impede you yet finding nothing of the sort.

The daylight vanishes as you enter the shadow of the massive structure at last. The change in lighting is reminiscent of an eclipse, the darkness so complete it feels like you’ve entered a cave. Through a convenient gap in the structure, you spot Nico’s van within, hastily pointing it out to V and rushing toward it to reunite with your friends. As you enter the base of the accursed tree the stench reaches a new level and you have to hold your shirt over your face and breathe through your mouth to keep from retching. Trish and Dante are loitering nearby, talking seriously as if they haven’t noticed the smell.

 I bet I know what they’re talking about…

As you approach, Griffon flaps over with a relieved caw, settling back into V’s dark tattoos instantly to rest. You glance back at the group as Trish tells Dante something and his eyes go wide. Nico, Nero and Lady are nowhere to be seen.

 So now Dante knows, too. Good.

The man in red glares at you and V as you enter the small area, fury radiating from him in waves as he stomps over, hands balled into fists and chest heaving. He stops just before you and the poet, restraining his anger visibly with a clench of his jaw.

“You’re dying? You’re part of Vergil?” the son of Sparda demands harshly. V sighs heavily, taking a seat on a conveniently located stretch of Qlipoth roots. You meet Dante’s enraged eyes with your own, making him pause.

“Yes, he is. Now get a hold of yourself, Dante. We don’t have time for this right now. We can deal with it after Urizen is gone,” you reply firmly, leaving no room for argument.

He shakes his head and is silent for a few long moments, his hands slowly relaxing and his lips twisting into a smirk as he faces you once more.

“There’s that fire. Careful not to burn him, sweetheart,” he comments wryly, his flirtatious tone making your fingers twitch angrily.

“Lucky me, I can’t get burned,” he adds slyly, and you growl in frustration at your own restraint keeping you from slapping him silly.

V cackles softly, his emerald eyes rising to meet Dante’s blue. His amused smirk soothes your anger as he speaks. “If any could desire what he is incapable of possessing, despair must be his eternal lot,” the poet quips sarcastically and you have to choke back your laughter. He winks at you, clearly noticing your mirth. Dante grimaces but doesn’t respond to the teasing, instead finally focusing on what’s important.

“Hey, where’d that garbage god go? What is Urizen after?” the brash man asks you both.

“He’s at the top of the Qlipoth,” V answers in a strained whisper. Trish steps over to join your trio, adding her own considerable knowledge to the conversation easily.

“It's the other way around, Dante. This is the lowest level of the Qliphoth's upper echelon. Human blood is the source of demons' power. The fruit born through the Qliphoth is even more dense than the blood that created it. Its power is unparalleled. Even the almighty Mundus used it to become king of the Underworld. V told me everything,” the blonde woman explains carefully, crossing her arms and tossing a dismissive nod of her head at the poet.

Dante gives her a look as he responds, striding away confidently.

“Yeah, well, that’s a lovely story and all, but… as long as we know where to find him,” he rumbles, his hands already hovering near his waist in preparation for the showdown. Nico steps into his path with a huge grin and you almost laugh as she meets her personal hero for the first time, her nervousness evident in her every motion. If this moment wasn’t so obviously important to her, you’d already have her in your arms in a relieved hug.

“Whoa! You are the infamous Dante! Um, I'm Nicoletta Goldstein. Sounds familiar? My grandmother is Nell Goldstein. The gunsmith that made all your fancy weapons that you got... strapped... back there...” she gestures lamely at the two pistols strapped within Dante’s coat and he pulls them out to show them to her kindly.  

Nico points to one of the portraits on the handle excitedly. “Yeah, there she is!” she exclaims proudly. Dante glances between the portrait and Nico doubtfully.

“You don't look much like her...” he mumbles.

“Yeah, I got my looks from my daddy. That's about all I got from him,” her southern drawl replies, but your attention is elsewhere as Nero steps forward from behind the van. You dash over to envelop him in a hug, hopelessly thankful that your friend is alright. He briefly hugs you back, agitated by something and not entirely focused on you. He doesn’t even scratch the back of his neck like he always has in the past at any sign of physical affection. Nico’s voice rises even higher as she presents a gift to the man in red and you both glance over silently.

“Um...it--it-- consider it a gift! In honor of us finally meeting! Meeting,” she tells Dante, holding out a white cowboy hat with a small piece of demonic decoration adorning it. Dante shakes it suspiciously, as if he expects something to fall out of it, but the hat instead leaps onto his head. Your eyes widen as a red and black scarf forms around his neck and he winks right at you before smirking and dancing to music only he can hear.

His moves, while skilled, are ridiculous. He adds several exclamations and crotch grabs, ending with a moonwalk and a pose that is an obvious imitation of Michael Jackson. Nico claps happily, laughing as the man in red nods at her.

“I’ll take that,” he states simply and walks away, clearly about to resume his hunt for Urizen. Nero quickly joins him, an angry scowl on his expressive face.

“Dante! I'm gonna go too,” the young warrior informs him. Dante turns around to face him with a serious look on his face.

“Why don't you sit this one out?” the devil hunter asks, trying to be kind.

Nero is having none of it and his scowl deepens. “Oh, and let you call me dead weight again? No thanks. I got all the power I need. Right here,” he retorts, flourishing his metal arm to emphasize his readiness for battle. The whole conversation makes no sense to you; Nero is a capable fighter, already having proven himself many times over in your eyes.

 Why doesn’t Dante want him coming along?

“You don't understand. That's not what I mean,” he begins, exasperated.

“Let him go, Dante. Time is a luxury we can no longer afford. We must chase after him, post-haste,” V pipes up from his perch, carefully standing and limping over to the two men. Being near them only highlights how weakened he is, how frail his posture marks him to be and you frown, anxiety tugging at your thoughts.

“Why? Does this mean you're going too?” Dante replies in confusion.

“I have a duty to see this through,” the poet reminds him hoarsely, and you step over to stand beside him in silent support. Your breath hitches painfully as you notice more flakes of his flesh floating away in the still air. Dante shrugs, walking backward to the edge of the small area your group stands upon with a smirk.

“Well that's all you have to say, Mr. Poetry. I'm gonna go my way, you guys can go yours. Let's just say that's best for the cause,” he claims, and jumps over the edge without any further comment. Nero and V exchange a look but follow quickly behind him, each choosing their own pathway. V twists his wrist and Griffon’s side of his body lightens as the bird appears overhead, swooping around to take his outstretched arm and carry him to the next level. You wait impatiently until Griffon comes back for you.

“C’mon, little lady! No time to waste!” the mouthy demon informs you and you roll your eyes as his claws close around your arms and carry you to join V below.

Notes:        

....and none of them were ever seen again. The End.

XD

I'm considering skipping a bit ahead to the bit with Malphas as I've already written part of it and it would take at least a few days to get a full chapter if I don't skip forward. Also, that part is boring. And I get to stare at a bunch of amazing pictures as "research" for the cinematic ^.^

So this song came over my playlist as I am prepping this post and HOLY WOW it's like it was written about this chapter! On a side note this is my all time favorite band. ONE AMONG THE FENCE! If anyone's curious, PLEASE ask me about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1hs4fj-B-k

An extra large milkshake (or smoothie if you're lactose intolerant) to everyone who reads and leaves kudos, and a side of fries or a side salad to everyone who comments! (I'm hungry now)

Next chapter - we either reach Malphas or actually have the fight, we'll see.