#Long distance Instant Teleportation is not exactly the kind of thing anyone can do

[foxyverserambles]

Back in the day Solitary's power was supposed to be instant teleportation but since his magic output and control weren't high he'd instead go into the foxyverse equivalent of the backrooms.

There were a few occasions in which he brought Sociable with him on accident and I just imagine this being them fr

Eventually Solitary's magic would fluctuate in the same way that caused him to "clip out of reality" and he'd be able to leave. This could take a while in the pocket dimension but only seconds or minutes in the real world, leading to Solitary being perpetually tired.

[secretlysheikah]

Tower Trouble part 1:

The Trouble With Teleportation

So, really surprised that people liked my other story, it really makes me happy that I made something people liked so I’ve decided to write another story.

Actually this story was meant to be something else but I realized this one was getting really long so I had to split it. Get ready because the next part might be... intense... also sorry for more Wild centric stories, but I find his character endlessly fascinating.

As always, I do not claim any ownership over the Linked universe! That honor belongs to @jojo56830 . I’m just the happy fool who is very delighted she can contribute to this diverse community.

Summary: after landing in Wild’s Hyrule once again Wild notices something strange and the group is ready to find out what’s up. Too bad they’re miles away but Wild thinks he has an idea on how to fix that.

Start here:

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It had been a few weeks since they had been in Wild’s Hyrule and Wild couldn’t help but sigh and take in the breeze that rushed across the plains. The sky was a lovely shade of orange shot through with brilliant red and tinged with the dark blues of early evening. He took a deep breath, he was home and his spirit flexed and relaxed. The other eight heroes on the other hand seemed suddenly more tense.

Wild couldn’t blame them really, his Hyrule had a tendency towards the unpredictable much like himself. For example they could be happily walking through a field chatting away amongst themselves one moment, only to end up in a life or death battle with Lynel the next. Wild thought it was great balance of calm and excitement but he could see where the others were coming from. Not to mention the last time they had been here they had a bit of a rough time with the blood moon. Wild still felt very guilty when he thought about that.

Either way they were here now, and they had work to do. Although Wild on his part wanted to show them that his Hyrule wasn’t all that bad. Hell, he thought maybe this time he would get the chance to show them. Wild smiled slightly at the idea, hope sparking lightly in his chest at the thought.

“So where are we exactly?” Legend asked grumpily looking around the field with distrust, as if a bokoblin was going to pop out from underneath a rock.

Wild hummed as he looked around, it appeared they had ended up in the field just around Kakariko village. Wild said as much when he turned to face the group.

“A village you say? Any chance we can find some beds to sleep in?” Four asked and Wild could hear the hope in his voice. In fact looking around at the group they all looked tired and worn. Even Wild was feeling a bit worn down now that he was thinking about it.

It had been a long couple weeks filled with black blooded monsters and various injuries to the group. A broken arm here, and slash wound there and everyone had gotten a chance to need healing potions. How long had it been since they all had an uninterrupted night’s rest without the threat of attack or worrying if someone was alright? Wild honestly couldn’t remember.

“And maybe a shop? We’re low on supplies” Sky piped up from the back of the group rubbing his eyes and giving a small yawn. Wild nodded in confirmation resisting the urge to yawn himself and pulled out his slate.

“The village should have everything we need, let me just look up…” Wild stopped suddenly as he looked at his map, a sudden wave of shock splashing over him as he gazed at the slate. Twilight perked up at the sudden tension that stiffened Wild’s posture.

“Something wrong?” Twilight questioned as he trotted forward to look at slate himself. Wild’s brows furrowed as he tapped on the slate but said nothing.

“There’s something wrong with my map.” Wild muttered after a minute of tapping at the screen. Annoyance and poorly masked worry laced his tone. There was a loud groan from Legend.

“Are you telling us we’re fucking lost?” Legend complained throwing his head back in despair. Wild looked towards Legend’s melodrama with a flat look.

“I know where we are, I was just checking the distance, thanks for the vote of confidence. What I’m worried about is the fact that it seems a region of my map is missing.” Wild didn’t mean for his words to come out in such a clipped tone but he couldn’t help it. Something like this has never happened before and it was sending a chorus of alarm bells ringing in his mind.

“What?” Time asked as he and the other Links moved to surround Wild. Their proximity made Wild squirm a little bit but he forced it down the best he could. He was getting a lot better with the others being close, but the issue with the slate was putting him on edge.

Sky seemed to notice this and moved his arms out to the side to stop Warriors and Legend from crowding. Wind had already taken up a position along with Hyrule and Four just in front of the slate. Time and Twilight taking up the spots on either side of Wild.

“Maybe it just didn’t register right” Wind hummed and Hyrule nodded in agreement while Four seemed to be lost in thought, a slight flicker in his eyes as he pondered the map.

“Maybe close the map and bring it back up?” Four suggested and Wild shrugged. Wild never ran into the problem with the map not loading before, but hey it was an idea. Wild made a couple more taps on the slate and the map disappeared. He waited a couple seconds then brought the map back.

“No Luck it seems” Time commented noting the still missing region. Wild’s heart sank. He really hoped the slate wasn’t broken. Had it been damaged during one of the many fights over the past weeks? He didn’t think so but would he have even noticed? Wild’s map was useless outside of his own Hyrule, only displaying static when he opened it. Wild began to rub at the scars on his face in agitation only stopping when Twilight tapped his arm softly.

“It’s okay cub, we can figure this out” Twilight said voice steady and calm. Wild sighed tiredly and put the slate away. He was agitated and tried all at the same time.

“Come on, lets get walking. The village isn’t far and we don’t want to be caught out at night” Wild said his voice was only a low whisper as he pushed through the others standing in front of him. He felt the others fall in step behind him, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes of walking Sky raised his voice to ask a question.

“You said the map was missing a region right? How exactly does one region disappear? Wouldn’t the whole map just disappear too?” Wild shook his head as they walked underneath the first arch that lead to the village.

“No, the whole map is made up of different regions that I unlocked through my travels around Hyrule. There are these tower things that have all the information in them, I’m sure you’ve seen them around. I would climb to the top and then download the region onto my slate.” Wild explained and there was silence again for a few heart beats before an amazed voice cut through the silence.

“You climbed those things? They’re absolutely massive!” Wind shouted hands flying into the air to illustrate his point. Wild couldn’t help but smile a small bit.

“Well, I did have some tricks to get closer to the top of tower that was way faster than climbing” Wild explained cryptically. Before anyone could ask more questions Sky chimed in again.

“Well why don’t we just go to that tower and download the information again?” Sky asked and Wild weighed his options of which he had few.

On one hand he could do nothing and hope that the problem resolved itself, and on the other hand going to the tower to see what was wrong would answer his questions and give him instant gratification without the need for speculation. Wild had to admit to himself the latter option was the most appealing. As Wild pondered Warriors offered a different perspective on the issue.

“What if it’s a trap? Lure us to this tower thing and attack?” Wild had to admit he made a good point.

“But what if this is why Hylia sent us here? It could be part of our mission” Hyrule interjected and Time seemed to agree.

“Hyrule is right, this could be why we were sent here next. Although War has a point.” Time paused thinking over the conundrum briefly before continuing.

“It would seem the best way for us to find out anything is to ask around. See if anything weird has been noticed around that blank part of the map.” Time said and the whole group nodded. Getting information it would seem would only help them in this situation.

“We can ask around, people here are kind and are usually ready to help” Wild said absently rubbing at his face again.

“That’s the plan then, gather supplies and intel” Twilight said decisively placing his hand on Wild’s shoulder and passing him as the group went through the last archway and into Kakariko village.

The Links split up then setting about reserving beds and venturing out to grab various supplies. Wild made his way over to a cooking pot and set to work making some potions to restock their supply. Wild didn’t have a lot of ingredients but he did his best. He considered briefly on going to the great fairy fountain and catching a couple fairies but dismissed the idea. He had one already in his slate, and he figured Legend or Hyrule would have one. Once he was satisfied that each person had at least one bottle of elixir a piece he set to work making dinner for the group.

His mind kept drifting back to the slate. What was happening and why now? He hated to admit it but the whole situation made his mouth taste like metal and he couldn’t help but agree with Warriors about the possible ambush. Wild didn’t even to attempt to pretend he knew how the towers worked, but as far as he was aware once the towers put the information on his slate that information remained. Wild rubbed his head trying to stave off the beginnings of a headache. The whole situation was turning into a big mess.

It took about an hour for the rest of the group to meet around the cooking pot for dinner. Everyone conveying roughly the same information. No one here had noticed anything out the ordinary besides the increase of monster attacks. This only helped to raise more alarm bells in Wild’s head.

“This whole situation makes no sense, you would think someone would have noticed something” Legend grumbled tucking into the hearty stew Wild had made.

“Well, maybe not. This town is deep in a valley, there’s a good chance that no one has noticed simply thanks to the walls that literally surround this town” Sky said calmly as he patted a cucco that had wandered close to him. The cucco was seemingly intent on stealing some of the vegetables from Sky’s bowl. Sky chuckled and gave the bird some carrot and went back to eating his stew.

Time nodded thoughtfully before speaking.

“Well given we found no new information it seems like we have no choice but to go to this tower and find out what’s wrong.” Time paused seeing that Warriors and Legend were about to chime in.

“We will go to the tower, but we will be going prepared for an ambush” Time finished staring down the two boys with a look that said it was the last they would speak of it.

“The tower is in the Akkala region. its going to be a bit of trek. I could go alone, teleport there and I could…. ” Wild started and slowly stopped talking seeing the look on his companion’s faces. It was Twilight that spoke first.

“There is no way that’s going to happen cub. We go together or not at all” Twilight admonished and Wild sighed heavily.

“How long of a walk are we talking?” Hyrule asked over another mouthful of stew. Wild licked his lips before he answered.

“It’s going to take us a week to get there if we walk” Wild said and he winced at the groans that split the air. They could do it, but it wasn’t going to be easy. It wasn’t a straight path to the tower, and the roads were barely safer during the day than they were at night.

“What about that teleport thing you were talking about?” Four asked trying find a way to mitigate the misery of the group. Wild thought for a moment.

“Never tried teleporting with another person before, let alone eight others. I suppose it’s possible if everyone has direct contact with me.” Wild said and Four nodded clearly thinking.

“You never tried it before? What if something goes wrong and we all merge together or something?” Legend cried and the group went quiet again thinking about the possible ramifications of teleporting multiple people.

“Well I’ve never teleported with other people but that doesn’t mean I’ve never teleported with other living creatures.” Wild pondered out loud.

“This one time I accidently hit a cucco with a tree branch and I teleported after like the whole coop came out after me. Some of them came with me. They were okay, they only seemed a little disoriented” Wild finished this thought sheepishly not looking at the horror on their faces.

“Why did you hit a cucco with a tree branch?” Sky asked, horrified at the wrong thing. Wild rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment.

“It was an accident! I was being attacked by bees and I” Sky held up a hand in an attempt to stop him. He clearly was not prepared to deal with a crazy ass story right then.

“Hold on to that thought, we’ll get back to that later.” Four said interrupting Wild’s rambling off topic story.

“You think it’s possible to teleport with other people?” Four continued drawing the group’s attention back on topic.

Wild shrugged pulled out his slate and tapped on the screen before leaning over to Legend and grabbing his arm. With a twinkling of blue light strands the pair were gone. Everyone froze at the disappearing act. They looked around frantically meal forgotten until they heard shouting from the cliff side behind them. They whipped around and saw a very angry Legend pointing and shouting at Wild. Their voices were too far away to hear properly but the did notice when Legend suddenly stopped yelling and doubled over apparently sick from the teleportation. There was another twinkling of blue light and the boys were back. A very green looking Legend gasping, with hands on his knees trying not to lose anymore of his dinner. Wild was smiling, mischief dancing around in his blue eyes.

“It works, not sure how many people I can take at once though.” Wild said patting Legend’s back. Legend weakly batted away his hand as he slowly stood up still very green in the face.

“I hate you” Legend gasped out at Wild who only smiled.

“But it worked, and now we won’t have to spend a week walking to the tower” Wild said with a toothy grin. Legend gave a scathing look and Wild gave a half assed attempt to make him feel better.

“I felt sick too the first couple times I teleported, you get used to it” Legend only continued to glare at him and went to go sit back down.

“How did you teleport back here? I thought you could only teleport to certain points on the map?” Twilight asked and Wild’s eyes lit up as he held up a finger signaling them to wait. He looked through slate again and tapped on something. There was a flash of blue and Wild held out what looked like a coin.

“I found this not too long ago! It’s a traveler’s medallion, place it anywhere you want and you make an instant warping point” Wild said proudly as Twilight examined the object in his hand curious at how a such a small coin could hold so much power. There was a chorus of ‘Let me see’ s and ‘hand it here’s so Wild passed the little coin around letting each of them examine the object. Once the coin made it’s way back to Wild and he tucked it back into his slate and Time addressed the group.

“Alright, so we have a plan. We teleport close to the tower and walk in” Everyone nodded in agreement even Legend though his nod was tinged with green around his eyes.

“We should get some rest, it seems we have a big day tomorrow” Time said stretching and making movements like he was about to stand.

“Hold on there old man, there’s something I want to discuss first” Warriors piped up leaning forward eyes, locked onto Wild.

“Tell us about this cucco story first.” The group erupted then, yelling for Wild to continue the story he had unintentionally started earlier. Wild sighed, growing embarrassed as he felt his face turn a deep shade of pink. He rejoined the group with slight reluctance to tell the story.

*************************************************

They woke up early the next morning, knowing it was going to be a long day. After eating a very light breakfast at Wild’s urging and satisfied that everyone had something in their belly Wild went and sat down to look over the map. In the blank region of the map there were still little blue spots marked showing shrines they could still teleport to. The problem was figuring out which one would be close enough to the tower.

Wild scrunched up his face in thought as he tried to remember the exact area where the tower was. He knew the tower was near Tarrey Town and the south Akkala stable but he wasn’t sure which one was closer. He thought about it while the others quietly checked their packs to make sure everything was in order.

Finally after much mental debate Wild picked the shrine they would go to. He believed it was the one next to the stable but they would have to wait to find out if he was right. There was no room for error, he didn’t know how his body was going to react to the near constant teleporting he was about to do. He had teleported in rapid succession before but it was no more than 3 times, and even then he had a little bit of break in between each trip. Wild drummed his fingers against the table top, he really didn’t want to have to make more trips than necessary.

“Figured out our landing spot?” Warriors asked breaking Wild from his thoughts as he put a hot cup of tea and small breakfast cake in front of him.

“I think so, and if we’re lucky we should also be right by a stable” Wild said nodding and took a sip of tea. It was hot and sweet and the cake was still warm and fluffy. He vaguely wondered where they got the cake from because he didn’t make it and he was very sure none of the others knew how to cook an egg let alone breakfast cakes or any cakes for that matter. Wild raised an eyebrow at Warriors gesturing to the tea and cake. Warriors shrugged and gestured to the women at the counter of the inn.

“She said someone named Paya dropped the tea and cakes off for us” Wild nodded a small smile dancing across his lips as he sipped at the hot tea. Noticing his smile Warriors leaned in close.

“Oooo, got a girlfriend huh?” Warriors teased jabbing an elbow into Wild’s side making him flinch.

“She’s Impa’s granddaughter, she’s very nice but very shy” Wild said quietly remembering the first time he met the girl. She had practically turned herself inside out with anxiety and shyness.

“You’re telling me you didn’t even flirt with her?” Warriors asked flabbergasted. Wild rolled his eyes and drank more tea.

“Not everyone has the urge to sleep with every girl they see” Legend snarked as he sat down across from them. There was a cry of mock scorn from Warriors as he placed his hand on his chest as if he were hurt. Legend ignored him and turned his attention to Wild who downed the rest of his tea and finished off the cake.

“Are you sure you want to eat? Just teleporting that one time made me want to hurl” Legend said eyeing Wild’s empty plate.

“It was something light, and anyways I’m used to teleporting” Legend just rolled his eyes.

“But this is going to be different, there’s going to be a lot of back and forth. Aren’t you worried?” Warriors asked curiosity mixing with other emotions Wild couldn’t place. Wild only shrugged again and stood. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen, this was their only plan for now.

“Eh, we’ll just have to burn that bridge when we get to it” Wild said forcing a smile as he walked off to meet up the other heroes outside ignoring how Legend and Warriors looked at each other as he left.

Outside Time and Twilight were talking animatedly out front of the inn, about what Wild wasn’t sure. He continue to scan the area and saw Four, Wind and Hyrule off in the distance chatting with the cucco farmer as he threw food out for the birds. Sky was in the cucco pen, apparently helping the farmer by collecting eggs.

Wild paused then taking in the calm scene before him. He almost wanted runaway, forget what they had to do and just be free. To save this odd group that he started to consider his family from whatever the next couple days held. A knot of guilt started to form in his gut, his leg twitched as if he would start running at any moment. Then the strange bubble of calm and anxiety he was feeling burst as a squabbling Legend and Warriors emerged from the inn. The group’s eyes snapped over to them, the small group around that farmer said their respective goodbyes and jogged over to stand next to Time and Twilight. It was time to go.

Wild, Legend and Warriors met with the group and Time looked to Wild and nodded. Wild nodded back and looked around the group before addressing them.

“Now, I’m going to assume that this way of travel is going to be new to you, so I’m going to give you a couple of tips to help you guys not lose your breakfast” Wild said giving a light cough and looked towards Legend who scowled back irritably. He felt the steady weight of eyes on him and Wild resisted the urge to rub at his scars. He hated being the center of attention. Twilight gave him an encouraging nod and Wild took a breath before continuing.

“First, don’t hold your breath. Focus on breathing normally, that will help with the nausea.” Heads nodded in understanding and he continued.

“Next try your best not to tense up, it makes your muscles weak when you land, and close your eyes if you have to. I’ve found it helps with the disorientation.” Wild gave a curt nod and looked around at the wide eyes staring back at him. The weight of their gazes felt heavier now and he felt his hand reaching up towards his face. Noticing this he forced his hand back down to his side and waited for any questions the group could think of.

“Well, this sounds like a fun experience” Warriors said breaking the silent tension that was steady building around the group.

“Trust me, it isn’t” Legend grumbled unhappily.

“You were the one complaining about walking”

“That doesn't mean I wouldn’t have walked” Legend snapped.

“Will you both give it a rest? I’ve got a question.” Four's voice broke in between the growing argument between the two. Wild nodded and gestured for Four to ask his question.

“Should we bend our knees or anything like that?” Four asked eyes flashing an odd purple and Wild blinked at him.

“I honestly don’t know, I’ve never thought about it” Wild answered suddenly feeling off kilter. Did he bend his knees? Now he wasn’t sure. Sensing his discomfort Twilight stepped in.

“Alright, enough talk, let’s get this show on the road.” Twilight said looking around for volunteers.

“Oh! Me first!” Wind hopped and capered about in his excitement. Wild couldn’t help but smile. He loved the enthusiasm of the youngest hero. Wild nodded and gestured him forward as he tapped on the slate and produced his travel medallion. Wind practically leapt forward nearly barreling right into Wild. Shaking his head Wild dropped the coin and there was a flash of a blue circle marking the new travel spot briefly before it disappeared from sight.

“See you later suckers!” Wind called out to the group flourishing a rupee wallet. Wild grabbed the other boy’s arm as there was a shout from Warriors as he realized the little shit just stole his wallet. Wild pressed a button and they were gone.

The youngest hero took the experience well. Once they rematerialized Wind opened his eyes and only staggered a little bit on the stone entryway of the shrine. Wild kept hold of him until the other seemed to get his bearings. Wind shook his head a couple times and then smiled at Wild.

“Let’s do that again!” He cried and Wild had to stifle a laugh. Nothing ever seemed to squash his spirit.

“Maybe later, until then stay over there and wait for the others” Wild pointed to the side of the shrine. Wind nodded happily and hopped off the platform looking around at the new scenery. Satisfied that Wind was okay Wild tapped on his slate again and was off back to the others.

When he returned Warriors practically collided into Wild in his eagerness to go next.

“Just promise me you won’t kill the kid” Twilight said trying his level best not to laugh at Warriors who had apparently been stomping around angrily prior to Wild’s return.

“No promises” Warriors growled as he grabbed onto Wild’s arm. Wild looked at Twilight who just shrugged. Taking that as permission the two were off.

After Warriors and Wild landed at the shrine he stayed for a minute or two to make sure Warriors didn’t murder the youngest hero. Satisfied that he wouldn’t have to help dig a grave, Wild made quick work gathering the others. It was a long process but each one handled the experience rather well.

Four went next and only looked a little green when Wild left him with the other two. Sky and Time both were a little disoriented but all in all they seemed no worse for wear. Wild on the other hand was starting to feel odd with each new trip.

It started as a little tremble in his hands and had slowly progressed to his breathing becoming a little strained. Time noticed this after he had recovered from the disorientation and gave him a worried look.

“Are you okay? You look a little pale. You can take a break if you need to” Time said seeing that Wild seemed to wobble slightly. Wild took a deep breath and shook his head.

“I’m fine, I’m almost done anyways” Wild said with a slightly wonky smile. Time looked unconvinced but Wild was gone before he had a chance to say anything else. He just wanted to get this done already.

To his surprise Legend was next to go, apparently getting impatient and wanting to get the experience over with. Wild felt sweat breaking out on his forehead but ignored it. He was almost done, just a couple more rounds. Dropping off the clearly nauseated Legend in the care of Time, Wild quickly traveled back to collect the next hero.

The tremors in his hand grew exponentially worse and his heart was beginning to race like he had just got done running away from a guardian stalker. Wild closed his eyes when he landed back in the village trying to relax his heart beat. When he opened his eyes he saw a concerned Twilight and Hyrule staring at him. Saying nothing Wild gestured for Hyrule to come forward. Hyrule for his part hesitated, eyeing him up and down clearly thinking. Wild could tell Hyrule was going to say something but before he could Wild took a couple steps forward, hand trembling and grasped Hyrule's sleeve and pressed the button. Swirling blue lights swallowed the pair and Wild had a quick glimpse of Twilight’s disapproving glare before the lights clouded his vision.

Wild staggered a bit on landing, his head spinning and the makings of a headache pounding behind his eyes. He took a few moments to breathe and rub his eyes willing the feeling to pass. Once he felt a little better he looked over to Hyrule to make sure he was doing okay. He looked okay for the most part, slightly green and wobbly. Hyrule’s eyes were wide as he took deep breaths trying to fight through the nausea. Once Hyrule had a composed himself he turned to face Wild.

“Wild, I think you should stop for a little, I think…” though he was cut off when Wild shook his head slightly giving him a lopsided grin.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” He lied, he felt like Hell but he didn’t want the other boy to worry about him. Wild could do this, he could do his part to make the others lives a bit easier and if that meant he felt horrible for a few minutes then it was a small price to pay.

“No really, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Hyrule continued as Warriors came up to help Hyrule off the landing of the shrine. Hearing what Hyrule was saying Warriors threw a worried look at Wild. Warriors too looked him up and down and the caption’s eyes hardened.

“Wild, I agree with ‘Rule, you look like Hell, come over here so you can take a breather” Warriors said in a hard tone, clearly a command. Wild only gave him a tired smile in response already fiddling with the slate to set off for the last member of the group.

“No guys, seriously it’s fine. Besides, it’s just one more trip, I can do that” Goddesses he really hoped he could.

Wild almost had to force himself to press the button, his body was screaming at him to stop. But he fought through his discomfort. ‘Just one more, one more trip and everyone will be here and then I can relax’ he thought to himself. The others we’re clearly about to protest, mouths beginning to open to plead their case or command him to sit, but blue lights twisted around him and carried him away back to the village before a word could be spoken.

This time when he landed Wild couldn’t help but nearly stumble and fall to the ground. His head felt light and his legs wobbled with his weight. Luckily Twilight noticed this and ran forward catching him before he fell.

“Woah there cub, Hylia, just sit down for a second” Twilight said slowly sitting Wild on the ground. Wild’s head was a pounding agony, and his whole body shuddered against his will. Wild noticed passively that his muscles felt weak and his breathing was coming out in sharp gasps. He practically slumped over on the grass and Twilight sat next to him quickly to help prop him up.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard” Twilight said handing Wild some water which he took gratefully. The glass felt cool against his hand and he downed the whole bottle in less than minute.

“I’ll be okay, just… just need to sit down for a minute” Wild gasped brushing away Twilight’s worry. Carefully he leaned back on shaky arms and looked at the fluttering paper talismans above them. It sounded like Twilight wanted to argue but he just hummed instead, supporting the other as they sat. After a few minutes of sitting Wild felt the tremors in his limbs lessen and the pounding in his head faded to a dull thrum. Wild shifted and cracked his neck hoping the tension would disappear. It did not.

“Are you okay? Can you travel one last time? If not we can always…” Twilight trailed off when Wild shook his head.

“And what would we do otherwise? Walk there? Besides the others would think something went wrong.” Wild sighed tiredly. He was starting to regret sitting down. The longer they sat there he could feel the weight of exhaustion settling into his bones. Wild came to the decision that if they didn’t leave soon he would be too tired to be of any help.

“Anyways, I think I’m good.” Wild sighed as he stretched “Just had to take a break” he was lying but it wasn’t like they had a choice, the others were waiting for them to show up.

“Okay, but only if you’re sure” Twilight said standing and pulling Wild to his feet. Wild wobbled slightly and gave Twilight a small smile.

Twilight gave him a once over and frowned not liking what he saw. Wild for his part was already fiddling with his slate setting up the last trip. Twilight apparently came to a decision then but it was already too late, Wild not willing to hear what the other had to say was already grabbing on to his arm.

“Wait!” Twilight cried “I’ve changed my mind, let’s wait a few…” Twilight started but was cut off by Wild who had already pressed on the screen of the slate. There was a second where they both made eye contact and Wild had the distinct feeling he was going to hear about this later. The deed was done however, and blue light swirled up and warped the pair away.

**********************************************

Wild was fully aware he had made a poor decision when they got to their destination. No sooner had their feet hit the stone of the shrine’s entrance when Wild’s legs gave out from underneath him, slamming him knees first on the ground. His body radiated exhaustion, he was shaking all over and felt weak. His head felt like he taken several clubs to it. He was dimly aware of someone talking to him but he was too busy trying to get his breath back.

Wild felt hands grab onto his shoulders and they leaned him back so he was slumped against the pedestal of the shrine. He felt something drip from his nose and he glanced down to see a trickle of blood coming from his nose. Wild blinked dumbly for a few moments feeling the blood drip off his chin and land on his shirt. He grimaced, blood was a pain in the ass to get out of clothes. There was something being pressed into his hand and mumbling voices urging him to do something. He looked down at his hand and saw he was now holding some jerky and a bottle of some brightly colored liquid.

“Stop staring at it and eat” it was Hyrule’s voice he realized though it sounded miles away. As he sat there the fog that had settled around his brain lifted slightly. Wild blinked again and finally started to process the faces the were staring at him. Hyrule was looking at him expectantly still urging him to eat. Time was also there looking concerned and slightly frustrated. Mechanically Wild brought the food to his mouth and began to chew. There was a sigh of relief from Hyrule who turned to Time with a smile.

“He’ll be okay… he ju-… in a minute or….” Hyrule was clearly explaining something to Time who was nodding, but he was having a hard time hearing exactly what was being said. which was probably bad considering they were practically right next to him.

‘I should be worried about this’ Wild thought to himself but he couldn’t bring himself to really care at that moment. He just sniffled back a little before he continued to eat his pieces of jerky.

To Wild’s surprise Hyrule was right, as he ate he felt some life coming back to him. He started to drink heavily from the bottle not even tasting the sweet tang of juice. He would have downed the bottle in three seconds if he wasn’t forced to slow down by Hyrule who made him lower the bottle.

“Easy…. ‘mall sips f.. ‘ow, you’ll….yourself sick” Hyrule’s voice was cutting in and out but Wild got the gist and nodded carefully trying not to make his head hurt even more.

Distantly he heard what he assumed were other voices and looked over to see Time talking to Twilight, Hyrule appearing to jump in occasionally. Even though they were close Wild still couldn’t really hear what they were saying. Now that the fog that had settled over his brain was finally lifting he was steadily growing more alarmed over the fact that he couldn’t hear. Apparently His facial expression was enough because Hyrule gave him a questioning look when he glanced Wild’s way again.

“I don’t think my ears are working, I can’t really hear anything” Wild explained and hoped he wasn’t yelling. Wild took took another bite of food and Hyrule gave him a knowing nod and leaned closer to answer him.

“That’s probably a side effect of using up most of your energy, it should come back soon.” Wild was confused but too tired to put anymore thought into the issue right then. So he simply shrugged, nodded and went back to eating his food. When he finished off the last of the jerky he could feel that the tremors in his limbs had subsided. His head still ached and he felt weak but it was a marked improvement from a few minutes earlier. He wiped the blood from his nose and finished off that last bit of juice setting the bottle gently down on the ground. He didn’t feel great but he definitely felt better than before.

“How are you feeling cub?” Twilight asked noticing Wild putting down the empty bottle. Wild was happy to note that Hyrule was right, he could hear a lot better now. Wild gave him a lopsided smile and shrugged.

“I’ve felt better but nothing to really complain about either.” Wild said, in truth he felt like he’d just got done being trampled by multiple Lynels and he desperately wanted to go to sleep but he didn’t want the others to worry so he kept that bit of information to himself. Besides that he wanted to know something first.

“Hyrule, you were saying something earlier about what happened, but I couldn’t really hear what you’re talking about” Wild asked Hyrule while fighting back a yawn. Hyrule nodded moving closer to make sure Wild could hear him.

“Basically what seemed to have happened is that your teleporting so frequently in one sitting used up all your energy” Hyrule was about to continue but Wild cut him off.

“But how? I thought it was just the slate doing all the hard work, I don’t even have magic to use I don’t think” Wild asked as he carefully shifted his weight to a more comfortable position. Hyrule was shaking his head when he answered.

“I didn’t say it was magic, I said energy.” Wild didn’t really see the difference. Hyrule must have noticed that he wasn’t getting the concept and sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

“Think of it like this, That slate of yours does a lot of stuff right?” Hyrule asked and Wild nodded.

“And in order to do that stuff the slate needs energy. So The slate takes small amounts of your energy every time you use it.” Wild gave another nod and gestured for Hyrule to continue.

“Usually the power it pulls from you is minimal, the things you’re doing are fairly simple. However it would seem that the constant teleporting you were doing caused the slate to draw a lot of energy from you each time you teleported. So by the time you were done, the slate had drained you to the point where you collapsed.” Hyrule finished and Wild turned the idea over in his head. He never had to think about the slate like that before. but thinking on it now it did make sense.

“I wonder if the amount of people being teleported at once made this ‘energy draw’ worse” Time pondered and Wild jumped a little, he had forgotten Time was there. Hyrule gave a non-committal shrug.

“Tough to say if it was amount of people teleporting at once or if it was the amount of times he teleported in one sitting. It is possible that both factors contributed to the issue though. We would have to test it, see what happens” Hyrule said and Wild could see Twilight shaking his head.

“No, we’re not trying that. What if it kills him or something?” Twilight argued and Hyrule was going to say something but Wild interrupted.

“While this is probably something I’m going to play around with later, I was wondering if we could start off to camp?” Wild asked, he could feel himself mentally drifting and was fairly certain he would fall asleep right there if they continued to talk.

“Sure cub, are you sure you can walk?” Time asked and Wild answered by hauling himself up using the plinth behind him for leverage. He bit down a groan of pain and forced himself to stand upright. Though when he went to step forward he wobbled dangerously. Luckily he was immediately supported on either side by Twilight and Hyrule. Draping his arms over their shoulders he nodded his thanks and they began to walk down the steep slope.

“Turns out you were right about the stable, we landed right above it. We already have beds reserved so you can go get some sleep.” Hyrule said and Wild nodded thankful he had a bed to sleep in.

“Okay, I’ll get a little rest then I’ll make some dinner for everyone” Wild yawned his head bobbing, he could feel his eye lids trying to droop. He was doing his best not to let them. Twilight only hummed in response and the group continued walking.

Once they walked in the stable it wasn’t long until they were suddenly surrounded by the rest of their party. Each asking with various levels of concern how Wild was doing. Wild heard Twilight and Hyrule saying something but he was just focusing on not falling asleep on his feet. Apparently Time said something to the rest of group because just as suddenly everyone was gone and he was landing face first on a bed. He groaned with relief and rolled to his back. His vision was fuzzy and there were moats of black spots floating around his vision. He felt a hand gently pat his forehead and Twilight’s voice drifted down to his ears.

“Get some rest cub, you earned it” Wild’s eyes were already sliding closed. He couldn’t keep them open even if he wanted to. With a sigh Wild let himself slip into a warm and soft dreamless sleep.

*************************************************

Wild felt himself floating on the cusp of wakefulness. He was still floating in a peaceful nothingness, his mind not latching on to anything except the feeling of weightlessness.

Dimly he noticed that there was a subtle pressure on the bed right behind his back. Then the sound of heavy breathing right in his ear before it turned into a low dark chuckle. Then suddenly Wild was wide awake, sitting up quickly. For a few moments he didn’t know where he was or how he got there and he twisted around searching for who had laughed in his ear.

The noise was familiar, a light almost breathy laugh but he couldn’t place where he heard it before. The room he was in was dimly lit, other beds lined the walls and then he remembered where he was. The stable, the one in south Akkala that he teleported all his companions to.

His arms and chest had an odd buzz in them from the sudden rush of adrenaline after getting startled. He took a shaky breath and got out of bed. He felt worlds better but still a bit tired and the faint traces of a headache still lined the edges of his skull.

Then with a start he remembered that he had to make dinner. He took a shaky breath and trotted outside to the cooking pot. As he emerged from the tent he heard laughing voices and the clinking of forks against plates. Looking over he saw his friends eating happily around the pot, Wind looked in his direction and noticed him standing there awkwardly and called him over, holding his plate in the air while gesturing with his other hand for him to come sit.

“Hey there sleeping beauty, how are you feeling?” Warriors asked and Wild could feel himself blush.

“You didn’t wake me, I would have made dinner” Wild said ignoring the other’s comment.

“That’s quite alright, we were able to mange just fine, here have some” Time said filling a plate with what looked like rice and beef with a brown sauce. Wild looked at it distrustfully.

“Who made it?” Wild asked not reaching for the plate.

“Well it wasn’t Hyrule so you’re safe from being poisoned” Legend quipped and there was a quite snort of outrage from Hyrule. Everyone laughed, and Wild managed a small breathy laugh after a few moments.

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked watching as Wild twisted the hem of his cloak in between his fingers.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I uh, I’m just still waking up. Hey did any of you check on me a couple minutes ago?” Wild asked before he could talk himself out of it. The group looked at each other confused.

“No, everyone has been hanging out here waiting for dinner to be done” Four answered, the group slowly looked to each other, quietly confirming the answer. Wild nodded his heart was still fluttering like a bird caught in a cage, his hands trembled slightly.

“Are you going to have some dinner, Wild?” Time asked breaking him from his thoughts.

“Yeah, I just need to splash some water on my face, I still feel kind of not all here.” Wild answered and Time nodded, placing the plate next to the fire to keep the food warm.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Twilight asked and Wild shook his head quickly.

“No, you eat, I’ll be back in a second” Wild said in a rush, quickly turning and making his way around the back of the stable where barrels of rain water stood. The orange sunset sky was quickly darkening, shadows stretching long in the failing light of day. Wild hovered over the barrels looking in at the darkened waters before reaching his hands in to splash some water on his burning cheeks. He wondered distantly if he was getting sick he hoped not. Or maybe he was just starting to lose his mind a small voice whispered in the back of mind.

“I just need a good nights sleep, that’s all I need and I’ll be right as rain in the morning.” He muttered to himself quietly, now using the water to wash away the remnants of blood from his face.

“You’ll definitely need it young one” a voice quietly said behind him. Wild whirled around heart pounding in panic but saw no one.

Eyes wide he rested himself against the barrel and struggled to get his breathing back to its normal calm. He was imagining things, he just needed to relax that was all. His eyes still scanned the darkened trees around him, searching for anyone hiding. Judging that there was no one there he pushed off the barrels and made his way swiftly back to the safety of the group.

Wild was so preoccupied he didn’t even notice that his shadow seemed to stay behind melting into the darkness. It watched Wild scurry away and let out a laugh that was quickly swallowed by the nighttime breeze that came rolling off the cliffs above.

Yes, it thought to itself maliciously tomorrow would be a very fun day indeed.

[aithrauniverse]

Chapter 18-Astra

Aithne’s DAD.

Was anyone who they seemed they were?

I glanced over at Aithne. Her face was angled away from me and Laila, and she wasn’t complaining about our plight one single bit. Her silence was perhaps the most frightening thing I’d ever heard.

Laila and I exchanged wary looks, and I turned to stare into the distance. There wasn’t any sign of life in sight – it was just the same wasteland we’d arrived on, and the bright magma was still bubbling as merrily as ever, as if oblivious to the death cloaking the whole place.

“Uh... should I be shielding us?” I asked.

Aithne muttered, “Can you even do it with your hands tied?”

Frowning, I flailed my hand, trying to get it to do the same motion I always did to create shields – but I simply couldn’t perform the last twist.

Beside me, Laila was muttering some gibberish under her breath, apparently trying to cast some sort of spell. Finally, she shook her head, hard. “I don’t get it. I think this place is enchanted or something.”

“But how did Aithne’s - “ I stopped myself just in time, and changed my words to, “that man get this rope out of mid-air?”

“You would probably need some sort of amulet or bracelet or charm or – oh, whatever – to get your magic to work here,” Laila reasoned.

Come to think of it, I had seen Aithne’s dad wearing a necklace, with a garnet pendant on it.

From behind me, Aithne let out some sort of hiss-growl that made her sound like a demented angel.

“Okay. So-” I began, but Aithne interrupted me.

In a flat tone that was laced with hopelessness, she told us, “Look - it’s over. We won’t be able to fight this stupidity. Look at us – no magic. Completely useless. Think that’s going to make us overpower a crazy strong seventh spirit? That also just so happened to be a combination of all the previous spirits? Nope. SO not happening.”

I turned to her, waiting till she finally met my eyes. “Aithne, remember what you told me on that bridge?” I reminded her quietly. “We WILL get through this. This is only so little. There’s so much worse after this. We. Can. Do. This. But we won’t be able to if you don’t bring that stubborn streak of yours back.”

“Yeah, together, we’ll be better than any spirit that’s so busy—“ Laila rolled her eyes, “— that he’s late to his own fight.”

Aithne stared at us for so long, my eyes began to water.

At long last, the corners of her mouth curled up ever so slightly.

“Alright then.” she whispered, then repeated, in a louder and firmer voice, “Alright then!”

The three of us straightened our backs, and, as one, turned to face whatever lay before us, waiting for the spirit to show itself.

Right on cue, a firework of darkness, outlined by a faint trail of orange flame – it made the atmosphere so. Much. Hotter! - exploded before our very eyes.

As sweat trickled down my back, the shadow disappeared, taking the fire – and heat – with it.

I braced myself, thinking that what it would reveal would be something really horrible – I mean, what could you expect from a spirit that’s darkness, fear, arrogance, death, manipulation, ice and fire all mashed up together?

Yet nothing, nothing could have prepared me for what stood before us.

It was – it was – a swirling mass of shadows, with glowing veins running through all the darkness, some of them ice blue and some of them fiery red. That wasn’t all. It had a skull – a... charred skull – for a head, and as for eyes... Once I saw them, I averted my gaze immediately, feeling my own eyes burn. They were glowing, blinding, red spots – and the dots it had for pupils it had were black in its purest form. Yet under all that, I could still spot a glint of completely undiluted egotism.

That was, strangely, what scared me the most. How could any creature have such wholesome conceit in their body – and not be dead?

I could feel Laila and Aithne going slack beside me. To be honest, I felt like doing the same. But Endra’s chains flashed through my mind, and I kept my posture straight, staring at the beast.

“I see my servant has done exactly what he was supposed to.” the beast said. His voice was calm, almost sweet.

Laila hissed, “Don’t fall for his manipulative tricks. He can hypnotise us.”

The beast replied, “And I have super strong hearing as well.”

“You - “ Aithne unleashed a string of undignified words that wouldn’t look very good in a story.

An idea struck me. Pride. The beast would do anything for pride.

“So you’re going to kill us like this? Get your servant to tie us up – let him do all the dirty work for you? Or...” I paused, letting the words sink in, “do you think you’re not capable of defeating us if you returned us our powers and let us fight back?”

He inched closer, and growled. “I can defeat any bunch of puny teenagers who can’t even defend themselves from my accomplices.”

“I don’t believe you. Prove it. Or to me, you’ll forever just be a disgusting coward.” I said, doing my best to keep the tremble out of my voice.

Perhaps – perhaps we’d have a chance to win, if only he’d just let us use our powers... let us fight...

The beast growled, menace dripping from his voice as he leaned closer and bellowed, “NO ONE CAN CALL ME A COWARD! I’M THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN ALMORIA!”

“Then prove it!” The three of us chorused in unison, Aithne and Laila finally catching on.

“Fine.” he spat at our feet, and sent a twisting shadow that undid our bonds and dropped heavy necklaces over our heads. The necklaces looked exactly the same as the one Aithne’s father was wearing.

I slipped mine over my head, and immediately trapped the three of us in a shield.

“Now you’re the one hiding. COWARD!” the monster cackled, the shimmering veins glowing even more with the words.

It sent a pulsating tendril of blackness into the shield, and no matter how quickly I added layers to the sphere, I simply couldn’t keep up with the speed of that stupid darkness as it ate its way through our shield.

Finally, Laila grabbed me and Aithne and teleported us away, into a clearing not very far from where the beast was. When she did, she put one arm around Aithne, who helped her stand upright. It obviously took out a lot of energy from her.

Panting, I set up another shield, and Aithne and I set to work thickening it, Aithne sending out tongues of fire (all while Laila still leaned on her) that I took the light from to add more layers to the bubble of light.

Meanwhile, Laila started murmuring something under her breath, and a huge brick wall dropped into place in front of us, separating us from the spirit, which had started charging to where we were. But Laila was faster, whispering gibberish as seven other walls appeared before she finally stopped to catch her breath.

The spirit gave a mighty roar. “YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HIDE FOR LONG!” From the crackling sounds in the background, the glowing, spiderwebbed cracks in the stone-red brick and the instant increase in temperature, I guessed that it was using fire to burn the walls down.

We didn’t have much more time.

“Look - for the previous spirits, we could take on them one-on-one, which means that each of us can tackle the various abilities it has. Which means, Aithne battles the ice and fear, I’ll fight the darkness and look for ways to make use of its arrogance, and Laila will have to bring us back when it tries manipulation.” I told them, and Laila nodded (though hesitant).

“Uh... are you forgetting the fire?” Aithne interceded, and the paleness of her face suggested that she already knew my answer.

Hating myself for saying it, I whispered, “You’re the only one with the fire. Look - “ I waved my arms, and a blue light bubble appeared around Aithne, “ - when you need this, snap your fingers. Turning it off works the same way. It should protect you from the heat – its light reflected off the ice in Antarctica - and if you need to thicken it just snap both fingers. It will absorb light from around you and add another layer.”

Frowning, I formed a similar light bubble around Laila and myself as well. “I think it’s better for all of us to have it.”

Laila nodded. “Thanks. Oh, and if you feel him manipulating you...” she snapped her fingers, and a ring appeared on Aithne’s and my index fingers, “press the gem on that and it will teleport you far away from him. Don’t worry, you’ll still be within sight of all of us.”

Fidgeting, Aithne mumbled, “I guess I should include my own protective charm, then.” she circled a hand above Laila and my heads, and something warm seemed to form in my palm. Opening it, I saw a lotus with bright orange petals bloom, burning bright in the darkness. Looking away, Aithne said quietly, “My dad taught me how to do that. If you ever need fire, place one of its petals in your mouth. The rest of the flower will burn away— no, Laila, I do not know what it tastes like, probably not like chilli sauce— and voila, you can control fire. It lasts for around an hour only, though. I have no idea how long this battle is going to be, but hopefully it’s enough.” Nodding, I stuffed mine into my pocket.

With that, the beast let out one final grunt as the last of the brick walls crumbled into ash before us, and in a burst of the flames, he appeared, looking even more menacing than before.

Aithne muttered, “Hey, Astra, looks like your blue shield works.” True enough, I couldn’t feel the blasting heat of the flames – it was nothing more than a trickle of warmth.

The beast snarled, “Your silly charms won’t work against me, I, who have spent the last few decades perfecting myself to hold all the powers of the world!”

“Yet you left out the power of kindness and light,” I retorted.

“Oh, shut up, little girl – those are pathetic and will never work well in a full, all-out war of justice!” he roared, whipping its skull head around wildly. After a few seconds, he stopped, and fell still, ice filling the air as he whispered,

“Now, why don’t you lift that shield and let the fight begin?”

[the-gedonelune-times]

Tricks and Treats

This is probably one, if not the longest story I have written, I know it’s been a while since I last posted any story and I apologize, writer’s block and life make it a bit difficult for me to continue writing. Also, please note that this is probably not a good story, as I am a little rusty with my writing, but I do hope you all enjoy! Comments are always welcome as I would love to know your opinions~ ^^

______________________________________________________________

It's Halloween at Gedonelune and the school has been decorated in all sorts of spooky and cute decorations. With classes being shortened and a costume party being held later that night in the auditorium, Nadia considers this to be a big treat! But with every treat, there is a trick....

The air was a bit chilly on this Friday morning, with leaves being blown off the trees the ground was covered in an array of autumn colors. Headmaster Randolph had changed the usual bright sunny, almost cloudless weather and made it more of a fall type of weather. It fit perfectly since today was Halloween, it was one of Nadia's favorite holidays. With the leaves making the ground vibrant in colors and the decorations set up all over the school, she just couldn't stop skipping and taking her time to look at everything. "Ah, isn't everything so pretty? all these decorations and the weather changing to match the season". She stopped and looked at one of the pumpkins, which had a basic face carving on it, which she couldn't help but giggle at.

"If you continue stopping and looking at every decoration, we'll be late for classes. I will not allow us to be late and have points taken away for being tardy, so let's go". Having her hand grabbed and being pulled to the point where she was almost being dragged, she pouted a little. "You're no fun Elias, I mean come on, where's your holiday spirit?". "I am not very fond of this holiday here at Gedonelune" his answer was a bit snappy and Nadia found herself being concerned. "Why, what's wrong with celebrating Halloween here?" Elias only sighed and replied in almost a mumble "you'll find out later". The two of them had barely made it to class on time and once there, the rest of the students had their wands out and were giggling and they were all saying the same thing.

"Um...Elias? what are they doing?" Nadia had put her bag on her desk and took her seat and leaned over to ask Elias. Elias in turn replied almost immediately "its a tradition here, on Halloween people here hold up their wands and say these words: give me a treat or I'll cast a spell on you. You have to give them a piece of candy, or they will cast a spell on you." Nadia was truly shocked, yet intrigues to here of such a tradition being performed here. "But I thought you'd get in trouble for casting spells on people for no reason". "That's true, most people who do that spend the night in the detention chamber. However this is a tradition and the only rules that apply, is that the spell is not used to harm someone." Elias explained the tradition more clearly to her and she couldn't but smile a little. "That's pretty cool though, but what kinds of spells do people usually cast?". "They cast simple fun spells, such as changing a person's hair color for the rest of the day or a few hours, some people have given others temporary animal ears, tails or even wings. All of which are used in good fun, but I for one find it quite annoying",

Nadia chuckled a little as she expected that kind of response from Elias and just as she was about to say something a loud voice roared in the classroom. "EVERYBODY IN YOUR SEATS THIS INSTANT!" the shout made every student flee to their seats in fear. "Just because classes are going to be short today, does not mean I will have any funny business going on in the classroom!". Professor Schuyler's voice seemed more scarier than usual and Nadia could only imagine the horrors that awaited her for the remainder of class. 

Luckily for her, one poor soul decided to pull a prank and make the skeleton decoration in the class, come alive. As a result he was given a lecture that took up most of the class time and was also called on to answer any questions that Schuyler asked. The sound of bell made Nadia sigh in relief as she reached down to grab her school bag. "It's always strange when we have classes that are cut short" Elias spoke up once everyone had left but Nadia and himself. "But that's a relief to me, plus Schuyler was more scarier than usual today.

 I honestly don't think I would have made it through it alive". "Well think on the bright side, if you had died, maybe Thomas could have brought you back to life. Just like how he made that skeleton over there come to life." Elias's remark made Nadia start laughing and before long the both of them were laughing until their sides hurt.

"But Elias? is there even such a spell to bring one back from the dead?" her question caught Elias off guard a little, but he looked at her and responded honestly. "I myself don't know if there is a spell that could do that, maybe there is and we haven't found out what the incantation is. But if this question is relating to what I had said earlier, don't start worrying about it. I would never allow harm to come to you" Elias had blushed a little after everything that he said, which then in turn caused Nadia to blush as well.

 "Thank you Elias, I really mean that" her smile made Elias smile as well and together they headed out of the classroom and out to the lake, where they'd spend lunch together. However Elias was called into the prefect's office, by his older brother Klaus. He had sent her a magic note stating that he had to discuss some matters with his brother and that he would be a little late. After she had received and read the note, she continued to their spot by the lake and started setting everything up for when he would arrive.

However, during the time that she was waiting Nadia was confronted by people left and right, asking her for candy. Luckily she had a small bag filled with candy, just in case she ever needed it, but the candy is the bag was depleting fast and so she tried to hide herself from the view of other students. When Elias arrived, he saw Nadia crouched between one of the bushes "Nadia? what are you doing?". 

His voice startled her and she jumped a little "Oh Elias, thank goodness it's just you". "Who else would it be?" his eyes then made contact to the small bag "Oh, now I see". "Yeah, they've been asking me right and left for candy. But I'm only down to a couple of more pieces and maybe some in my pocket." Elias could sense that there was a little bit of concern lingering in her tone of voice. "Well, then let's hurry up, so we can get you to your dorm, the gate connecting the school grounds and the entrance to the city will be open today. So maybe you could go and buy just a little more candy, just in case"

Nadia nodded softly and they had their lunch date, although she wished it could have lasted longer, she had to try and get back to the dorms without getting a spell casted on her. But something was off, usually Elias wasn't worried about helping her out in a "silly situation" such as this. But he himself seemed concerned and she couldn't understand why, she also decided not to push the topic too far as they were running low on time. It was in the mid afternoon and more and more students were showing up "this is bad Elias, look at all these students". Elias peeked his head up, so that he could see what she was talking about and he let out a sigh. "You're right, so we need to hurry up and get you back to your dorm".

Nadia let out a sigh as she looked to the ground "you must think I'm childish for not wanting a spell cast on me, right?". Elias stood still for a moment before shaking his head "quite the opposite actually. I think you are doing the right thing by taking a bit of precaution. Besides, need I remind you that we do have a few pranksters around the school? They take this opportunity in a heartbeat, especially when it means they can cause a bit of mischief." She knew Elias was right and got up from her hiding place "so do you have any plans on how to get back to the dorms safely?". 

Rubbing his fingers on his chin, Elias began to think "I could cast an invisibility spell on you, however it won't last long and we aren't exactly close to the dorms. Do you have any ideas?" "as a matter of fact, I do, I could teleport to my dorms that way I--". "No, that could take up a lot of your magic power, besides, can you even make it that distance?". Puffing out her cheeks a little, Nadia grabbed her wand out from the pocket inside of her cloak "you'll just have to trust me Elias". Although she didn't need a wand to cast any spells, she found it a little easier to help stabilize her power, as she had not mastered her skills yet. Taking a deep breath she focused on the place she wanted to go and closed her eyes.

In the next instant she could feel a cool breeze flow through her body and when she opened her eyes, she was in her dorm, sighing in relief, she put her stuff on the floor next to her bed and she plopped down on her bed. "Hey Nadia!" a cheerful voice made Nadia move her head to the side and there, she made eye contact with her best friend. "Give me a treat or I'll cast a spell on you" Amelia giggled and took a step back, with wand in hand she looked at Nadia, who by now was frantically trying to search for a piece of candy in her bag. 

Once she had located the candy, she handed it to her best friend, who now was smiling and unwrapping the vibrant colored piece of candy. "You're lucky Amelia, that was my last piece" "It was?! oh but Nadia, the day is still young" with a groan Nadia put her face in her pillow "I know, so now I have to try and avoid going outside at all costs until night". "Yeah, because at the party there will be plenty of candy to satisfy anyone's needs. Oh, you do know about the party, right Nadia?" Nadia sat up and shook her head softly, "I didn't know they were having a party".

 Amelia gasped and then took Nadia's hands in hers "it's one of the biggest parties of the year, it's held in the auditorium, which spectacularly decorated in Halloween decorations. Plus there will be music, games, food, drinks and everyone goes dressed up in a costume! even the professors and Headmaster. Since this is your first year here, you just have to go! you'll have so much fun!"

Amelia's eyes had glistened with excitement the entire time she was explaining the party to Nadia, but Nadia looked down at the floor. "I don't have a costume though" "That's alright, I don't either, but I'm going to be buying one from in town, usually they have these last minute sales on costumes right before the big party. So I'm sure we could find a great deal for the both of us! not only that, but we could stop and pick up a small bit of candy, just in case you get asked again." 

The two of them smiled and agreed that they would go into town and browse for some costumes and goodies. However Nadia expected to see so many people in the town at the time "wow, it's so busy..." looking around the town Nadia could see people bustling about, trying to get to their destination. "Yeah, it's always like this during the holidays, even the townsfolk here  celebrations here in the town." The two of them had made it to the costume store and were lucky enough to still see quite a few outfits in stock. 

Nadia looked around, trying to find a costume that she thought would suit her, but as she was looking she heard a high pitched squeal. "Amelia?? what's wrong?" Nadia had ran to her best friend with worry in her eyes "Huh? oh nothing, it's just that I found the perfect costume!". With a big smile on her face Amelia held up a two piece outfit, the top was a soft orang colored shell bikini top, with hues of pink and yellow on it.

The bottom however was a long skirt with the bottom cut to look like a mermaid tail, the skirt also a soft orange with soft pink, red and yellow hues. It made it look like a sunset had been painted on it and she knew that it would fit Amelia very well. "Wow...it really is pretty" "I know right? now I just have to find a make up kit so I can really make myself look like a mermaid".

After Amelia had ran off to locate the makeup, Nadia was left alone, wandering through the store trying to find her perfect costume. She was about to give up hope until she spotted a two piece outfit in the back, that had caught her eye. Hanging on the rack was a white off the shoulders type shirt, and a lovely chestnut colored skirt which had a garter for her right leg and judging by the length of the skirt, it would end right above her kneecap. 

Down below the outfit however,was a shoe box which carried a pair of black leather pirate themed boots and a strap on the right pair of boots, it had a pocket, which she was certain was for carrying a sword. Lucky for her, also inside of the box was a small sword, a pirate hat and a beautiful deep sea blue colored pendant, which was shaped just like a tear. She quickly grabbed the costume and the accessories and hurried up to make her purchase, as she had just noticed that Amelia was finished with her shopping.

"I'm sorry it took so long Amelia" Nadia apologized and she placed her items on the table and paid the store owner. "Don't worry, it's not like I was waiting a long time, I had just finished. Plus I wanted to see what costume you picked out!" Her best cried out in excitement as he was both pumped up to go to the party and because she wanted to see what her costume her best friend had picked out. Nadia replied with a small giggle and pressed a finger to her lips "guess you'll just have to find out at the ball" 

Amelia shook her head and put her hands on her hips as she walked "that is unfair miss Nadia". The two of them broke out in laughter and continued their walk back to the dorms, they continued their little talk as the walked and Nadia couldn't believe how lucky she was to have Amelia as her best friend.

By the time they had reached the dorms, the sky was already painted with the soft warm hues of color, signaling the night would be approaching soon and the festivities would soon begin. Amelia had ran ahead and was most likely already in costume, Nadia on the other hand took her time, walking past the small garden and taking in all the sights while there was still some sun left. 

Although she had seen the garden many times, today was a bit different, there was an unusual flower that had bloomed yet, its petals did not open up, it was a strange sight, to say the least, as it gave off a sort of hauntingly glowing essence. As much as she wished she could have stayed, Nadia knew she had to get back to the dorms soon, not just because of her costume, but because she knew she didn't ant the housemother yelling at her. 

Moving at a quick paced walk, Nadia made it to the dorms, 10 minutes till curfew, the housemother had greeted her and wrote her name on piece of paper, that was neatly put on a clipboard. On the paper were other names, Nadia suspected that the housemother was keeping the names of those who were going to the party, and what time they should be back. Once she was given the clear, she headed to her dorm, where Amelia was putting the finishing touches to her costume.

Nadia was in pure awe and almost dropped her bag, Amelia looked completely stunning, her skin looked like porcelain, frail and beautiful, her hair was put into a braid and draped over her left shoulder. On top of her had was a beautiful champagne colored circlet, with a the biggest pearl she had ever seen, right in the middle, her outfit looked just as stunning, it fit her body well and made her look like a true mermaid. "Wow..." the words fell out of her mouth unconsciously and Amelia giggled "I guess the costume looks good then" "umm, not good, it looks perfect on you!". A soft blush rested upon Amelia's cheek as she smiled and hugged her friend "thanks girlie" "no problem". 

Amelia had began to put the make up away and looked at the time "looks like I have to get going", Nadia titled her head a little and gave a curious look "so soon though?". "Yeah, you see there's a new girl in in my class named Crystal, there's no one going with her and she's still a bit unfamiliar with the surroundings. So I was going to escort her, that way she wouldn't miss out, plus I knew Elias would be the one to escort you to the ball, and I didn't ant to be a third wheel". Amelia stuck out her tongue teasingly and Nadia blushed softly "I just hope he's alright with that..." her voice trailed off slightly, that's when a pair of hands rested on her shoulders and shook her a little.

"Girl, he's your boyfriend now! of course he would love that! Plus the prince always likes when he spends time with you." Looking up at her friend Nadia raised a brow "I know what you're going to say, and the reason I know that Elias likes being with you, is because I have a very special magic spell. It allows me to read people's minds and feelings" "wait..what?! A-are you serious??". Amelia burst out laughing and then smiled "Of course not, but I know this because Elias acts so differently around you, it's like he lowers his guard when he's with you, haven't you noticed?"

Nadia never really noticed up until Amelia brought it up, it was true, she herself had seen Elias act differently towards her, he was more, well...sweet to her and was more gentle. "I...never really thought about that till now..." "and this is why you have me as your best friend".

 Amelia winked and stuck out her tongue and Nadia couldn't help but laugh at how silly she looked, "I know, I know". The girls had talked for a little while longer, before Amelia headed out to go meet up with the new girl from her class, Nadia on the other hand took this time to get dressed up in the costume she had chosen. Her costume fit her body perfectly and she had just put the pirate hat on as the finishing touch, however, she decided to not wear it and instead let her hair down, her left eye, being covered by her long red bangs.

 Once she was satisfied with her look, she headed out of the dorm, hoping that Elias was waiting for her, sadly he was not, instead, she saw Luca. He was the last person she wanted to see, especially since Elias had warned her time and time again that Luca liked to pull pranks around this time of year. "My, my, you are by far the most prettiest pirate I have ever seen" his remark made Nadia scoff and narrow her eyes "what is it you want, Luca?" his smirk made her feel uneasy as he took a step forward "you could plunder me for treasure--" "not a chance Luca". Nadia's response was quick and stern, and Luca only smirked at that "fine then...give me a treat or I'll cast a spell on you"

"W-haa..." caught off guard by his demand, Nadia quickly scrambled around her costume, looking for a piece of candy or two, to give to him. "Tick tock m'lady" "Luca, look I don't have anything right now, b-but I can get more candy for you tomorrow. I-I could even bake you some homemade sweets" "I'm sorry, but the rule is I have to have the candy today, or else you get a spell casted on you". 

Nadia gulped and began to run away, "transformorius"  with a quick flick of his wand, Luca cast the spell and a pink puff of smoke engulfed Nadia's vision. Coughing, she looked around and noticed that everything looked so much bigger than normal....that's when she noticed her paws...."Luca!! What the hell?!" although the words were clear in her head, all that she could do was meow. This was terrible....Elias could show up any moment and he'd leave without her and worst of all, she wouldn't be able to communicate with him.

 She wanted to scream....she wanted to punch something, anger was consuming her and she was helpless to do anything. Her first ever Halloween ball was going to be ruined and Elias would have to go alone....

The sound of footsteps approaching her, brought Nadia out of her thoughts, it was none other than Elias. He seemed to have a troubled expression on his face as he walked, oh how she wished she could call out to him and tell him what happened. Just then, a thought popped up, maybe she could tell him another way, it was a longshot, but she had to. "Elias!! Elias! Down here!". Elias turned his attention to the meowing and looked down at the red cat "what on earth..? That is quite an unusual color for a cat's fur, especially when it's this shade of red. I wonder who it belongs to" sighing Elias bent down to look at the cat. 

"I'm guessing you do not know where Nadia is either, I know she can be late sometimes, but not like this. I hope nothing has happened to her". Nadia's heart ached at the sight of the now worried Elias. She snuggled against him, trying to comfort him, even though she didn't expect it to do much, it was the least she could do. A soft chuckle escaped from Elias "I just noticed this, but you are in a costume, did your owner dress you up for the occasion?" An eerie silence fell upon the two and Elias looked at the cat intently this time "red fur, an outfit and eyes that do not match a cat's...it can't be." 

He shook his head in protest of the thought, but still questioned the cat "Nadia....it can't be you, right?" a meow escaped her mouth and Elias knew right away. His eyes went wide and picked up the cat "but how? How did this happen!? Were you messing with transformation spells again?!". A hiss came from Nadia's mouth and she looked at him sternly "fine, fine....but then who? Who would cast a spell on you? and for wha--" his voice trailed off and his expression changed from worry to anger. "It was Luca wasn't it?! He put a spell on you didn't he?"

Nadia bobbed her head and Elias got the message "I'll transform you back" Elias removed his wand from his cloak and said the incantation, a bright light wrapped itself around Nadia's cat version. As the light disappeared, Nadia lost her balance and stumbled into Elias's chest, blushing deeply, she pushed herself away, only to be brought back by a pair of strong arms. "Elias..?" "don't say a word.."

 Nadia knew his face was probably as red as a tomato, but she didn't say anything, she just wrapped her arms around him and enjoyed his warmth. When they finally pulled away, she noticed Elias's costume, he was wearing a what looked like a male pirate costume, but he had a masquerade mask on, how on earth did I not notice this before? she thought. Putting all thoughts to the side, she explained everything to Elias, about how she ran out of candy and how Luca put the transformation spell. "I see..." sighing softly he takes hold of Nadia's hand "I'm glad you are alright though..." he averted his gaze and started walking, pulling Nadia along. 

As they were walking Nadia noticed that the flower that never bloomed, finally did. It gave off a blue glow, as bright as the moonlight, she came to a stop and walked over to it. "That's a Moonsol flower, they say that if you pick it, you'll be blessed with happiness and goodwill. The glow also never dies and it only blooms when the moon is at its brightest, it harnesses that light, that's why it glows like it does and why it's cold to the touch." "So it closes it petals, after today?" Nadia asked curiously.

Elias shook his head "No, the Moonsol dies after today, it takes almost 3 years for another one to grow. However it can be preserved with magic if plucked." Nadia looked at the flower intently, brushing her fingers against the petals she could feel the coolness and smiled, before plucking the petal gently. Closing her eyes, a silver orb dropped into the middle of the petals "a preservation spell.." Elias murmured "Yeah..." placing the flower in her hair, Nadia smiled "How does it look?". "Stunning" Elias smiled, while pulling her into a hug "the ball is almost over, do you still want to go?". A bright smile was plastered on Nadia's face "should that even be a question? Of course I want to go!"

Although there was only an hour left till they had to go back to their dorms, Nadia and Elias made the most of it, dancing, laughing and talking to each other and their friends. It was a day full of tricks but a night full of treats and even though the day started off not the way she wanted it to, Nadia couldn't be happier, for she was in the arms of her beloved prince, a memory, that would not be forgotten.

[clonerightsagenda]

I did approximately 45 seconds of research for this and most of it was looking at pictures of space

tuesjade prompt: space

"Kanaya, are you busy?"

You consider this. You are, at this very moment, considering your artificially miniature tree (bonsai, Dirk called it) trying to decide if it's growing too fast. There is no topiary for you to style with a chainsaw here, so you've channeled your gardening precision in smaller pursuits. Aradia introduced you to the technique, which she says is an East Alternian tradition. She thought you might like it, and the process looks soothing from a distance. Up close, it involves a lot of neuroticism about angles. Or maybe that’s just how you do it.

Although you've been deep in contemplation of which branches might need pruning, to external observers you've been staring at a tree for fifteen minutes. The contemplation might have veered off course a while ago. Your mind is foggy a lot these days.

Speaking of which, Jade is waiting for a response. "Not exactly," you hazard.

The two of you cross paths often in her greenhouse. You and Calliope are its most frequent visitors. Sticking your hands into soil is a good way to ground yourself in a life where you’re still putting down roots. When she’s busy with a project, Jade will only nod as you walk by, but if she’s passing through she likes to chat. You’d only spoken for a few hours while cooperating on creating the genesis frog, but then you’d gotten along. You’d bonded laughing about the Knights assisting you and reminiscing about childhoods spent gazing at the clouds and longing for company. She could be prickly too – demanding passwords or doubting your intentions. A troll on Pesterchum, even a polite one, wasn’t important enough for her to hide those parts of herself from. It’s a quirk of her character that strangers are the ones who knew her best.

Now, she leans in to admire your work. Her hair is growing out, but it doesn't cover the curve of her neck as she reaches out to tap the pot. "It's so cute!"

You readjust the pot's position. "Could you move your carotid artery out of my line of sight? It's distracting."

She hops back and sits on a greenhouse table reserved for equipment. A watering can topples over with a thunk. "Is the vampire thing still a problem?"

"It's a work in progress." What it is is maddening. Your life has been set to half speed - where once you were the fastest of your group on foot (discounting flash stepping), now you lag behind. Your thoughts lag too, making your conversational pauses even more ponderous while you trudge through mental muck. Rose and Roxy have had it as bad with different symptoms. You and Rose spent the morning slumped over the kitchen table pulling grotesque faces at each other. She'd squeezed your hand and said, "I feel terrible" with exhausted pride. At least you're not going through this alone.

"I'm not going to abandon all restraint and attack you,” you reassure Jade, “but it's like dangling a raw haunch in front of a cholerbear."

“Sorry I’m so delicious!” she says with a laugh, and hunches her shoulders up around her neck. "I'll try not to be too tempting. But I do have something else that might distract you. Do you want to come to outer space?"

You look back at some sprigs of new growth questing too far above the tree's canopy and itch for pruning shears. "I know we share an Aspect, but my interests have always been more terrestrial."

"You won't be disappointed, I promise."

 There's a temporary transportalizer plugged into an outlet in Jade's room. They're simple to drop down and activate, thanks to alchemizing them with fenestrated portal technology. Maybe they're too easy to use - Jake left one in the bathroom once, and when Terezi went to take a shower she ended up in an ocean several thousand light years away. She hid a fish in his bed when she got back.

"This seems out of character," you say. Jade usually teleports rather than taking the stairs.

"My range isn't as far these days, and we're going way out."

“Should we tell anyone we’re leaving?”

She shakes her head and steps onto the telepad. Over her shoulder, in the instant before she vanishes, she calls, "It'll only take a few minutes. You'll want to see this. Trust me."

 When you rematerialize, your first breath doesn't come. Jade sees your eyes widen, and she catches your arm before you can step back onto the exit telepad. "There's not much of an atmosphere here. Your game powers will kick in in a moment, don't worry." Sure enough, your next breath comes easier. You focus on respiration until you're reassured that you won’t lose consciousness, and then you look around.

The landscape is nothing but dust and rock. It could be the surface of the Veil laboratory meteor that served as your temporary home, except no structures jut out from the surface. The sky isn't the flat black of the furthest ring, but it isn't the starry expanse of normal space either. Instead, a bright haze of gasses swirls and churns.

"A star formed in the middle of this nebula," Jade tells you. "The rest of the disc around it is still taking shape into planets. Either this chunk wandered in from outside and gotten pulled into the star’s orbit, or otherwise its accretion happened way faster than anything else’s. I haven’t looked closely enough at it yet to tell." She scans the sky. "It looks like we're rotated away from what I brought you here to show you. I can handle a local jump on my own. Are you ready?"

You nod, and your atoms fizzle into green fire. Normally after a First Guardian teleport you blink the flashes out of your eyes, but they remain dazzled. There's a rift in the middle of the haze, where a larger object has pulled surrounding dust and gasses into its mass. It's a shifting, molten sphere that you can only look at from the corners of your vision. "What is it?"

The light reflects off Jade's glasses, making them flash bright yellow when she turns to smile at you. "It's a planet being born."

 After a few more seconds, you drop your gaze to the rock at your feet, blinking away afterimages. Your eyes burn. "Do you recognize it?" she asks.

"Yes, I'd be able to pick this particular glowing orb out of a lineup."

"Pff, don't be sarcastic. Use your spacey powers!"

You close your eyes with relief and try to reach out with a sense that isn't any of the five. Space usually feels uncomfortably vast, a place that could swallow you up and leave nothing behind. There is infinite creative potential in Space, yes, but what it is most of all is empty. Void. Right now, though, it feels vibrant. Alternia was old, lit by a dying star growing too large for the species dependent on its rays. Everything in this place feels fresh with the birth of stars and planets. They have red hot cores and fission reactions that are only beginning to burn. Recognize it? "I'm not as expert at using them as you are."

She purses her lips. "If it helps, this hunk of rock we're on right now is going to be pulled into orbit and become that planet's moon. In a few billion years some of the gasses floating around will form an atmosphere and rain down to the planet’s surface to create oceans. Eventually it'll be able to support life." She raises her eyebrows like this should mean something to you. When you don’t speak, she says, "It's the planet where we'll raise the mothergrub."

You look back at the white-hot giant in the sky. Postponing the revival of your species is the right decision, you’re sure of that. Attempting to properly raise a mothergrub and then batches of wigglers while not even eight sweeps old and lightheaded from rainbow drinker withdrawal would only end in disaster. Few of you were raised well. None of you want to pass that along. Still, after seeing the matriorb shatter and finally getting it back, it’s hard to know your greatest responsibility is so far out of your sight, even if the screens have already shown you it will be fine. "It's not there now?"

"No, of course not. It won't be for another few billion years."

You hadn't checked all the readouts on the lab equipment. All the numbers for date ranges had been too large to grasp. Universes are vast in many dimensions, time and space. It’s something you’re only just coming to appreciate. "That's a long time to wait."

"John can take you there whenever you'd like. We don't have to move in chronological order. It's kind of like how you're not expected to read through an entire encyclopedia set front to back." She sticks out her tongue. "Although you can."

You’re not sure what an encyclopedia is, but this sounds like a sore subject. "Did you?"

"My grandpa only left me with so much to read, and I wanted to know what was going on with the rest of the world! They were very outdated though. I thought the Cold War was still happening. When a plane came by to do a package drop after I finished the C volume, I hid in case it was a bomber."

"Cold War? Was that a war you only fought in cold climates?"

"Noooo, not exactly. I'll explain it some other time, it was kind of messy." She scuffs her foot through the dust, kicking up a cloud that settles quickly in the thin atmosphere. "We can go back now. I just thought you might like to see it all get started out here. And now you know we can flip to the page where the mothergrub is any time you like."

You turn back to glimpse the planet one more time. Someday, civilization will spring up there. You’ve seen it happen. In theory, you’ll be there to help. That’s the responsibility you were given, and it’s one you’re determined to execute – just not today.

Today, you’re watching a world get born. The energy of creation hums around you and thrums deep in your veins. Who needs someone else’s blood when you can have this?

A few nights after the game, you and Rose had climbed up onto the roof to watch the sun set. It was the first time either of you had seen one in sweeps. You half-expected Rose to say something scathing about how cliched it was as a romantic venue, but she stayed quiet until the last traces of light slipped under the horizon. “I know when I was drunk I said everything was beautiful like some roadside hippie peddling dreamcatchers,” she said. “Enough that it must have lost its meaning. But the world is beautiful sometimes.”

“You’ll make that concession?” you’d teased.

“I’m still at war with the fundamental injustices of reality. But…” She leaned against your shoulder. “We can stop and enjoy the highlights.”

“It’s beautiful,” you say now.

“There are a lot of really cool sights to see out here,” Jade says. “A whole universe full of them! But I know you had a tree to chop up. Are you ready to go home?”

“I think I can just about handle one planet at a time.” You wave farewell to the burning sphere in the sky. “I’ll be back.”

“Before you know it,” Jade agrees, and she takes your hand, and you’re gone.

[purplesurveys]

171

When people smoke around you, does it make you cough? No since I got used to it as a child, but for some reason there’s secondhand smoke that’s stronger than others and those do make me cough. On my snippier days I would cough on purpose. Would you rather name your child Michelle or Monica? Michelle. I know several nice people with that name. Do you know anyone who works at McDonald's? Not that I know of.  Do they like working there? Is it warm out enough to go out in a T-shirt where you live? That’s the norm here. If someone wore warm clothes it’s to look trendy, not to actually keep themselves warm.

Would you rather be able to teleport or be invisible? Tele!!! port!!!!!! If someone offered you a million dollars to move to the opposite end of the earth, would you? Why or why not? That’s too easy a condition. I’d probably take it in an instant. There’s nothing to do around this place anyways. What is your mom's and dad's favorite TV show? My mom’s favorite is probably some lifestyle-travel-cooking kind of show...I don’t know what my dad likes, but he’s definitely hipper than my mom. He was the one who taught me to watch The Big Bang Theory and Breaking Bad. He watches Game of Thrones too, but if I remember correctly, is already a couple of seasons behind. How did you get your hair the way it was today? I put it in a sleepy bun. Have you ever felt like you lost a a part of yourself? Sure. How so? Well the one time I remember it being glaringly obvious was my first relationship and I did nothing but try to please and impress her and basically become the doormat. I didn’t know I was already sacrificing so much, and all for nothing since in the end they broke up with me without giving me a chance to have a say. It was only after that I realized I became a different person during that run. Who is your best friend's favorite relative? I believe Gabie’s favorite is either her dad or her grandmother. Not sure about Angela’s. Would you rather marry Batman or Superman? Not marry at all. Have you ever suspected your mom or dad of having an affair? Nope. Do you think buying second hand clothes is gross? It’s not, but I’d rather buy brand new clothes. When's the last time you wished your day would just be over already? Wednesday. If you found out the last person you kissed was moving to a different country, how would you feel? “Sigh. Really?” would be the principal thought. I don’t do long-distance, so it’s a potential dealbreaker. Who has the biggest eyes you know? Gab’s younger sister has massive eyes. Name something you know about algebra. It’s fun. Does it gross you out when your parents kiss? Like all kids, yes. I don’t mind it these days. Do you have a playlist made on Youtube? The only ones I have are what YouTube make for me when I want to watch videos for later, or for the videos I’ve liked. I don’t make personalized playlists. Do you like dollar stores? We don’t have those. What's the last thing you bought from one? Are your eyes hazel? Far from it. Do you know anyone with hazel eyes? Not personally, no. Everyone I know has dark brown eyes. Are most of your books from Chapters, Coles, etc or used book stores? We have our own local used book stores but I don’t buy from them. I browse through, though. Do you like those big headbands with flowers Blair on Gossip Girl wears? I’ve never seen an episode of Gossip Girl. How many people saw your last kiss? Zero. When you younger and misbehaved, what did your parents threaten you with? My mom’s glare always did the trick so there was no need for any punishment. Other days I would get an earful. Who has the biggest ego you know? My dad. Do you think it's weird how babies are made? Nothing weird about biology, my friend. Has the last person you hugged ever seen you in only underwear? Yes. If you walk by a mirror, will you check yourself out in it? Most likely. Have you seen The Strangers? Nope. Did it scare you? Have you ever lost a friend over the opposite sex? No, that would be a waste I think. Describe your appearence right now. I’m dressed like I should just stay in the house which is exactly what I’m doing for today. How would you react if your last ex wanted to get back together? That was what happened. We got back together. Are you confortable in a short skirt? Sure but I’d prefer not to wear one. Do you and your family go on a vacation ever year? Yes. When you were going out with your last ex and you had the chance to date your celebrity crush, would you have left your bf/gf for them? OMG no. That’s so naïve. Does your house have an alarm? We don’t need one. Our subdivision is gated and there are too many guards for someone to get away with something. What about your car? Nope. Who was your most romantic moment with? Gabie. Who does your most embarrasing moment involve? Myself. Does your dad swear? Yes. Do you sweat easily? No, quite the opposite. It could be a super warm day out and people would look at me all puzzled wondering why I’m not sweating my balls off. If your last kiss asked you on a date, what would you say? “Can I save money first?” When you like someone, do you picture what your children will look like? I only ever did that with Gab. What's one memory you wish would just vanish? So many things, but since I want them to vanish in the first place I don’t even want to think about them right now. Did you like this survey? Sure.

[calyfornian]

Keylo and Cataleya : Travelers pt. 2

"Here, take this." His large, dark brown arm was pulling out of the black duffle bag that had contained the weapons-more like contraband from the outter sector. In his hand was a tightly clenched belt with a pouch that came sewn on.

I accepted it, and pulled at the opening that was easily to slid my hands through, and clenched close after I had removed a hand. It was a carrier for the bombs that were supposed to help me with my nonexistent visions.

"And the rod, you can just kind of carry, I guess." He stood up and kicked the black duffle bag back under his bed.

Any other time I would have vacationed on his dark skin, and settled on the peaks of his chest, but the moment was different. There was still an immense inferiority threatening to consume me whole at the thought that Keylo had to go out of his way to steal things that would make me less prone to dying. Well, no, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I couldn't remember the last time I had a vision. I couldn't remember the last time that I had caught a fucking glimpse of anything. It was that I had one thing to kind of contribute to this existence, and then I didn't.

Somewhere in my scattered thoughts, Keylo had clothed himself in small black mesh shorts, and a short cut off tank top that revealed his nipples if he raised his shoulders a little too much. He probably wasn't opting for shoes, after all, we didn't really need them. Well, soldiers didn't really need them, that is.

"Cataleya!" His voice boomed and jolted me from the abyss I was diving into, "We're ready!" He was gathering his long black curly hair and putting it into this best kind of bun that he could.

Cataleya teleported in between Keylo and I, "You don't need to shout, brother."

She had let her forest green hair out of the knot that she had gathered on her head from a moment ago.

She was matching with her brother, nearly. Except her white tank top covered her midsection, and clung to her body, just like the black skinny jeans that seemed to be painted on to her body. She had opted for no shoes as well, not that you needed them when you floated everywhere. There was bright red backpack slung across both shoulders, it gave a little pop to her. I think the bag belonged to Alysha.

"So what is it that you need to show us, Cataleya." I slipped the energy rod and explosives that Keylo had gifted me on the corner of his bed. They weren't exactly pleasant reminders of the state of my abilities.

"Glad you asked. I was going to be super secretive and just take you guys there, but I'm too excited to tell you anyway," She pushed hair behind her ear, like it had been out of place before. It made me fidget and pull my black t-shirt down over the start of my black jeans.

"I've been working on my teleportation, because it hasn't exactly come easy to me as telekinesis has. I've been trying to go farther, and I've been trying to keep up my stamina, like teleporting over and over again. In that regard, I haven't exactly been holding my breath to be able to perform instant transmissions over and over again, but in distance, well. Yesterday, I was just trying to make it to the collection of lakes north of us, and I don't know what happened, but I made it twenty miles farther than I ever had. I had to ask someone where I was in a town of maybe fifteen people." Her smile was big and from ear to ear, it was a contrast to her tan skin. It reminded me of Keylo, when his mouth nearly took up the entire bottom of his face; his mouth was huge.

"That's impressive sister, what was the overall distance?" A smile crept over Keylo's lips as he met his sister with an encouraging few pats on the shoulder.

"It was nearly fifty miles! I want to take the two of you there! Granted, we'll be there a while, the farther I go the more it seems to take out of me." Cataleya's smile turned to something bashful as she turned to the side and adjusted the perfect hair that didn't need to be touched.

"I don't have anywhere else to be." Keylo said it with such energy as he picked up a small brown, over the shoulder bag. The one he always kept his enthia in. He was excited. Excited in the way he wanted to see Cataleya show off her powers. He always had a thing for people displaying their strength. I guess it was something to really take in. Thinking about that was a silent jab to the fact that my ability had completely disappeared, and I had no strength to show him.

"Where are you right now?" His warm voice pulled me from my own mind once more. He was standing right beside me, Cataleya in front of me with that big smile on her face.

"All right, give me a hand everyone." Cataleya eagerly held out her left hand. I rested my left hand on hers, and Keylo held it from below, "Now, just give me a second."

She closed her eyes, and her nose gave a twitch before a jolt went through me, "Fuck!" I withdraw my hand on instinct.

"Sorry, babe," Cataleya opened her eyes, "I haven't taken anyone else there yet, give me a second."

I put my hand back on hers, then she closed her eyes and went on, "I'm not going to lie, that's probably going to be most of the trip."

"What do you mean-" by the time I was done asking, it felt like needles were stabbing me all over the body. Instinctively, I tried to pulled my hand away from Cataleya, but Keylo grabbed it with his free hand and held me hostage to the storm that his sister was putting off.

The seconds it took her to get us out of there felt like an eternity of anguish.

I blinked, and the electricity was gone, along with the house. We were standing on soft grass in a sun-setting forest. Tall trees surrounded us. Cataleya closed her eyes and began to collapse, Keylo caught her.

"You okay, babe?" Keylo held his sister for half a second before she used her telekinesis to lift herself back up into an upright position. She was floating as usual; she had a knack for flying I guess.

"Yeah, I'm fine, that was something right?" She giggled and covered her tan hand to her mouth as if to hide her teeth.

"What the fuck was up with that?!" I was more annoyed than excited about seeing her ability. Well, I guess I was more afraid than anything. I had never felt power like that.

"Sorry honey, its something about my telekinesis fueling my teleportation. I don't know. I just had to put out a lot of energy and we had to get caught in the crossfire." She floated beside me and nudged my head with hers, "What's up with that? I thought you weren't a fighter?"

I looked down at a clenched fist. The waistband with the explosives pouch and energy rod were in my hand tighter than Keylo held on to me during the transmission.

I didn't know when I had grabbed them, "I don't know, I figured if we weren't coming back anytime soon, I guess I might as well have some practice with this thing." 

From later that evening, to this very day, I want to say it was more than an inkling. It was more than a happy accident. It was my sight. It was the first time I had been able to see something, without seeing it.

"Shall we get a move on?" Keylo squeezed at my butt, "The trees aren't going to chop themselves down." His wide smile shown in that dim shroud of trees, and it was enough to light the way.

[undertalesacrifices]

Sacrifices: Twenty-Three

Sans's POV:

(Everything that happened on the guys side that happened at the same time on the girls’ side.)

   We headed back to the table. Grilby and Muffet were already there. He waved me over and I sat by him. I nudged Grilby.

   "so, didja confess?"

   The place where his cheeks would be began to turn flame blue.

   "Y-Yeah..."

   "and?"

   "We're, ah, as she put it, an item, now."

   "heh. looks like ya won this time," I winked at Grilby.

   "I take it you didn't confess then?"

   "nope,"

   "At least you danced with her. It looked like you two were having fun."

   I smiled. "yeah, we did."

   "HEY, GUYS," My brothers voice came from behind me. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ARRIVED. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

   "you," I grinned mischievously.

   "REALLY?!"

   "of course! particularly about what's going on with ya and undyne."

   "OH..." Pap's usually loud demeanor quieted. His voiced dropped to a whisper, which for him was basically talking at a normal level.

   "Yes," Grilby chimed in. "That's exactly what we were talking about. What's happening between the two of you?"

   "WELL," Papyrus started, voice still lowered. "WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW... I MEANT TO TELL YOU, BROTHER, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW YOU WOULD TAKE IT. I WAS... AFRAID."

   My skull shut down for about two seconds before I was able to process what Papyrus had just said.

   "Bravo, good sir! Way to capture the affections of Miss Undyne."

   "SANS? SANS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus looked at me worriedly. I snapped out of my daze and looked at him.

   "i'm alright bro, jus’ needed a second. i was shocked a bit is all. i'm happy fer ya. i trust undyne to make sure nothing happens to you,"

   "AREN'T I SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE WHO MAKES SURE NOTHING HAPPENS TO HER?"

   I shrugged. "it goes both ways."

   "IF YOU SAY SO, BROTHER."

Frisk's POV:

(Everything that happened on the girls’ side that happened at the same time on the guys side. Plus the rest of the chapter story. xD)

   When we got back to the table, everyone else began to join us. Chara was to my left and Toriel was on my right. Alphys and Undyne sat across from each other and Muffet was next to Alphys. All the guys were on the other end of the table with good amount of space between the groups. Perfect for grilling each other without the opposite sex overhearing anything.

   "So," Chara gave me a knowing look. "You and the skeleton have fun dancing? You seemed really into it,"

   "Right back at you, partner," I stuck my tongue out at her. "Asriel actually got you on the dance floor. Is it because you liiiiiiike him?" I smiled coyly.

   Chara blushed and glared at me. "No! He's like my little brother! Kid-next-door kind of thing. Brother from another mother. I could never see him that way,"

   "Sure," I rolled my eyes. "Your blush states otherwise."

   "I s-ship it," Alphys giggled.

   "You ship everyone, Alphys." Undyne chided.

   "N-No I don't!" The lizard like monster protested.

   "Oh? What's this, my child? You have a crush on Asriel?" Toriel looked at Chara curiously.

   "I do not!" Chara exclaimed.

   Toriel put he rose over her mouth and giggled. "My goat mom sense is tingling. I'm quite certain you like my kid." We both chuckled at her pun while Chara fumed.

   "Excuse me," Someone cleared their throat. We all turned our attention to the woman dressed in a waiter’s garb. "Would any of you care for some sparkling tea?"

   I nodded and the others voiced their agreement. The waitress went around the table passing out glasses. I was about to take a sip from my glass when a string of web suddenly engulfed the glass and my hand.

   "Don't drink that!" Muffet shrieked.

   I looked up, horrified. Everyone else in the room was staring at our table now.

   "What's wrong, Muffet?" Toriel asked worriedly.

   "The waitress put something in Frisk's drink!" Our attention returned to the waitress who now looked angry.

   "Tch," She clicked her tongue. "Plan B it is." The waitress whipped out a radio and spoke incoherently into it. Suddenly, gun shots range throughout the ballroom as figures completely shrouded in black materialized all around the room, pouring in from various doors. Several monsters cried out in fear, others in pain from being wounded.

   "EVERYBODY OUT!" A rough male voice called out from the center of the room. The floor trembled as people stampeded towards the door.  Before I could react, the phony waitress grabbed my wrist and maneuvered me into a head lock. I squirmed and tried to get out, but she pulled out a knife, pressing it against my throat. I quickly stilled.

   "Unhand my child this instant!" Toriel's eyes gleamed dangerously, her fire magic gathering on her paws.

   "Don't move an inch, or your precious ambassador dies!" She growled.

   "It'll be okay," I signed in an attempt to calm Toriel down. "You—

   "Not one more word out of you, you monster-loving whelp." I felt the knife's pressure increase. My hands ceased to move. I could see a familiar glowing blue eye out of my peripheral vision. My eyes widened as the realized what Sans was planning to do. Amongst all the ruckus, I could hear Asgore shouting orders to protect the monsters and for everyone to leave. Some monsters had taken it upon themselves to try and attempt to subdue the black cloaked humans, but to no avail. Dust, so much dust was beginning to scatter around the room. I watched in horror as monsters around me crumbled before my eyes.

   "Don't let them take the souls!" Undyne cried out. One of the figures scoffed.

   "As if we would want any of you filthy things to become a part of us," They spat.

   The woman forced me to walk backwards. We were headed towards an exit near the back of the ballroom.

   "P-Please don't hurt a-anyone else," I pleaded. "I'll come quietly, just please, stop this pointless bloodshed!"

   She looked down at me, a sick look in her eyes. "So, the rumors were true. Frisk Dreemurr, monster ambassador, pacifist. Don't worry, little angle of death, we won't do more than necessary."

   "if ya dun wanna have a bad time, i suggest ya unhand her," Sans' voice sounded from behind. The phony waitress whipped around, twisting me painfully with her.

   "Or what?" Defiance flared in her eyes.

   "or this,"

   Suddenly, Sans teleported right in front of us, grabbing my shoulder. I felt a sting and then my vision turned blue. Sans teleported us away, but not before the woman had left a shallow cut in my neck. Sans quickly undid his tie, muttering unintelligible things as he fastened it around my neck.

   "that should work fer now," He looked into my eyes. "are ya alright?"

   I nodded, eyes wide and in shock.

   "YARGH!"

   Sans quickly spun around and threw up a wall of bones. The woman who had captured me slashed a knife through them. Memories of my Genocide run flashed through my mind. Sans built a barrier of blue bones around me.

   "stay here,"

   "Sans, wait!" I cried out, cringing at the pain. He looked back at me, but only for a moment.

   "You're going to have to do better that that, skeleton!" The waitress barked.

   "ya haven't even seen what i can dish out yet, lady," Sans grinned menacingly. The two battled on for what seemed forever. And I was trapped here, helpless.

   "Don't kill her Sans! She just doesn't understand!"

   "Oh, I understand plenty!"

   "not sure that ya do," He gritted out as he blocked off another attack. "can't promise i won't kill her, sweetheart, tha way this is goin'."

   I bit my lip, desperately wanting to help. Suddenly, the human threw out a smoke bomb. The area was soon covered in a haze. I couldn't see anything, save blue flashes from Sans' magic.

   "Argh!" I heard a sickening sound as bone crushed bone. The same sound that graced my ears when Sans had killed me all those years ago. The smoke cleared and I could see Sans bent over, panting. He turned towards me and waved his hand, making my cage disappear.

   "sorry, kiddo, i—"

   "SANS, LOOK OUT!" I shrieked, running towards him.

   His eye socket flashed and he turned, dodging the strike.

   "ya mis—"

   Sans's eye sockets widened and he looked down at his chest. A knife point was sticking out. With great effort, Sans created a bone and hit his attacker with it in the head, causing them to be knocked out. He reached behind his back and pulled the knife out, dropping it. The moment his attacker was out, all the other blacked clothed figures retreated. Sirens could be heard in the distance.

   I rushed over to him as he collapsed. I lifted him up and place Sans on my lap. What little HP he had was draining quickly. His blood stained my dress, turning it into a deep magenta.  I placed my hands over the wound, applying pressure. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't! I won't allow it.

   "h-heya, sweet pea," Sans coughed, causing blood to trickle from his mouth.

   "No, no, no, no," I sobbed. "Sans, you can't die. You're not allowed to."

   "doesn't seem like ya have much of a choice there," he grinned weakly. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I could hear footsteps pounding towards me. Probably Toriel. I didn't care. She was too late. I could already feel Sans turning into dust. "sweetheart?" Sans brushed the tears from my eyes with a shaky skeletal hand.

   "Yes?"

   "this isn't yer fault, okay?"

   "But it is!"

   "it's not. i made... my decision.... ta protect ya." Sans' breath grew shallower. "yer gonna haveta... let... me go,"

   "I don't want to!" Tears threatened to spill over once again.

   "shh, shh, dun cry, Frisk," He out made a labored effort to say my name. Enough to where the first letter was capitalized. "i suppose, if this is tha last chance i'm goin' ta get,"

   "No, don't say that. I can fix this!"

   "Frisk," Sans' lower half was almost completely gone. "i love you." My eyes widened in shock. "i've loved... ya fer a... very... long time now... i'm sorry... fer only now... working up tha guts... ta tell ya..."

   "I can't believe you just made a pun," My voice cracked. "You're dying. This is no time for jokes."

   "heh... yer right."

   "Hey," I whispered.

   "yes, Frisk?"

   "I love you, too."

   Sans' eye sockets slid shut.

   "i'm glad... ta hear that..."

   And with that, the rest of Sans turned to dust. His remains were scattered all over my hands and were clenched in my hands. An unearthly sound ripped out of my throat as I mourned. Amidst my tears, I spoke softly to his dust.

   "It's going to be hard to let go, you know. I didn't just like you. Your wit and charm, your annoying antics, your kindness, and gentleness. I fell in love with all of that. I fell in love... With you."

   I remained sitting there in silence, clutching Sans' jacket, for what seemed to be an eternity. I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder. I turned and looked up.

   "Toriel," My voice cracked. She said nothing and pulled me into her arms. I heard the others gather around me.

   "B-BROTHER?" Papyrus' heartbroken cry wrecked my heart.

   The footsteps and shouts of police soon echoed through the ballroom. I loosened my arms around Toriel's waist and pulled back. A hard look set in my eyes.

   "I have to fix this," I stated, determined. "Even if it means breaking the promise I made to Sans all those years ago."

   "B-but, Frisk!" Alphys exclaimed. She knew what I meant. "S-Sans sacrificed his life for you! You can't just throw that away. What about Chara and A-Asriel?"

   I turned to look at her. "What do you mean," I gave her a challenging look.

   "You c-can't reset without your whole soul,"

   "Reset?" Toriel questioned me. I ignored her.

   "They'll have to give the shards back, won't they?"

   Alphys shuffled nervously.

   "Y-Yes... And then..."

   "They will disappear. Forever." I finished her statement.

   "Think about it Frisk. You k-know Sans wouldn't want you to reset.

   "I," I paused, broken. "I know but..." I grew silent. Everyone looked at me expectantly. I looked at every one of them, seeking their counsel. Starting with Papyrus.

   "RESETTING... I ASSUME THAT IS A WAY TO BRING MY BROTHER BACK. BUT, I-IF WHAT ALPHYS SAID IS TRUE, I TRULY BELIEVE SANS WOULD WANT IT TO BE THIS WAY, HUMAN. DON'T RESET."

   I turned my attention towards Toriel and Asgore. Toriel spoke in their stead.

   "We cannot make the decision for you, my child. Whatever you decide, you must commit and be ready to deal with the consequences."

   My gaze landed on Undyne next.

   "I... I'll have to agree with Asgore and Toriel... I'm sorry, Frisk." Undyne lowered her head and Papyrus wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

   "Grilby? Muffet?"

   "Don't waste what he's done for you, Frisk," Grilby said, blowing off his usually formalities. "It's not what he would want."

   "I don't have much of a say in this, Frisk. I've never known you or Sans that well. I'll have to abstain." Muffet looked away.

   "It's alright, Muffet. I understand."

   My attention turned to the final two of everyone I held near and dear.

   "Frisk... I... We... Asriel and I want you to take the soul shards back..." Chara mumbled quietly.

   "But then you would die!" I frowned. "I want to bring back Sans, but I also want you two to stay and be alive. I can't just let you go. Not after everything I did to bring you back."

   "Frisk," Asriel started. "Chara and I have had a good second run. I mean, we both already died once. In all honesty, we shouldn't even be here." Chara continued for him.

   "We've both had our second chances. I think the smiley— I mean, I think Sans deserves one now."

   I was silent. I didn't know what to do. I was torn in what decision to make. I played everything back in my mind. Everything that had happened. Everything that led up to this point. Holding Sans' jacket close, I decided.

   "Alright, everyone," I vocalized. "I've come to a decision. I'm going to—"