#Read warnings above !

[blackypanther9]

I keep my words

WARNING!: Blood x gore, murder, cursing, violence, graphic (?) murder scenes AND MORE ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!

TAGLIST: @l0liamk @dilucragnvindr-my-beloved

(I hope the tags work TvT)

A/N: This is the second part of “I’ll protect you”. Art belongs to rightful owner (I just get this shit from Google)

Words: 3 401

It had been three days, since M/n’s breakdown and when he vented to Alastor about how bad his biological parents really were. As soon as Alastor did his job, he grabbed a sleeping M/n and returned back home. The next day they got a restriction order against M/n’s biological parents and then Alastor let another day pass.

This was day three and he was ready to kill them. His adopted Son told him where they lived and he spied on them the last day. They were arranging everything to make a kill and run. They had weapons and started to pack their things. They were really planning to kill him and M/n and then to run away.

‘Not while I am still alive.’, Alastor thought grimly.

He told M/n the lie, that he had to get to his job without him, it was a last minute call. The boy pouted, but let him go, after Alastor tucked him into bed for an early night rest. Alastor wore the clothes he usually wore when he went killing, hunting knife with him.

He made his way to M/n’s former home. The house was pretty far away from any neighbors, hence why no one knew what happened in that house. He saw an open window and rolled his eyes.

Why would any idiot leave their window wide open in the middle of the night, knowing a killer is on the loose too ?

Alastor climbed inside through the window and took the cold frying pan, that was on the stove. He sneaked around and saw Fred L/n first. He went right behind him and then swung the pan with all his might.

BAM !

Fred flinched in shock, then passed out and hit the floor. Alastor had so much rage and disgust in his eyes for that man. He reminded him of his own Father. Vile !

“Fred, honey ? What happened ?”, Gorgia’s voice called.

Alastor quickly hid in the shadows, almost invisible, thanks to the poor light and dark clothes he wore. She came down the stairs and soon entered the room, she sighed in annoyance.

“Again ? Why are you such a heavy drinker ?”, she complained.

As soon as she wasn’t looking anywhere near Alastor’s direction anymore, he dashed out of the shadows and slammed the frying pan into her head too. She yelped in pain and then was passed out on the floor.

Alastor panted softly and eyed her with as much rage and disgust as he eyed Fred, while he had a sinister grin on his face, the whole time. He was so ready to kill them. And he won’t make it quick, oh, no, no, no~

-Time skip-

Alastor tied Fred and Gorgia up in their basement, remembering that his adopted Son mentioned that it was the most vile place, in the house, and the place they loved to torture him most in, with Linda.

He waited for them to wake up already. While he waited he looked around in the house, looking for diaries, pictures anything they had that revolved around their kids. Nothing of these sorts were there. It was like they never had children to begin with, which angered him even more.

Then there was a yell and Alastor grinned more sadistically. He returned to the basement and saw them both wide awake, trying to get out of their bounds. They stopped when they saw Alastor.

“Who are you ?!”, Fred hollered in anger.

“Please, untie us !”, Gorgia begged.

Alastor chuckled at first then it turned into a full cackle. He looked at Gorgia’s pathetic face. She had tears and snot running down her face.

“My, oh my~ For the big mouth you had, on my Radio Show, you seem very pathetic now.”, Alastor said to Gorgia with a voice full of disgust.

The two adult’s eyes widened. Gorgia was in utter shock and horror, while Fred scoffed and glared even harder. Then he struggled even harder.

“I will KILL you, you Bastard ! That damn brat was supposed to DIE !”, Fred hollered.

Alastor laughed and played with his hunting knife. The two froze again and looked at the object, Alastor wielded. He shot them a sinister grin.

“You know, that’s funny, my good man ! Since when do we blame our own children for our own actions, hmm ? Do tell~”, Alastor teased out.

Fred scoffed with a glare.

“That mistake had it coming, let her own Sister get taken and killed and then dared to blame it all on us !”, he yelled.

“And he was very useless and unhelpful in the house.”, Gorgia added.

Alastor rolled his eyes, but his sinister smile never fell. He ran his fingers up and down the side of his blade.

“Hmm, I have to disagree with you there ! You see, since the kid has been with me, he proved himself rather useful, helps around a lot and even provides some entertainment ! And what was the boy supposed to do, as his Sister got taken, hmm ? He tried to chase down the car and even notified the police. You are the adults, you were supposed to be their guardians, yet here you are, proving to me that you are nothing more but worthless scum !”, Alastor said happily.

“Watch it, shit talker !”, Fred threatened with a growl.

Alastor laughed and then gave the man a piercing, daring glare. One, that made Gorgia gulp in fear. He came closer and put the tip of his hunting knife near Fred’s throat.

“Or what~?”, Alastor asked in a teasing, yet challenging tone.

Fred didn’t back down and glared at Alastor.

“Or I will kill you in a very painful way, Fucker.”, Fred sneered out.

Alastor gave him a lips closed sharp grin, then cocked his head to his right, partly amused.

“Oh, really ?”, he asked in a tone, that said he didn’t take the threat seriously.

“Really, Bastard. You are too much of a little wet Pussy to kill one of us. You are just fucking bluffing.”, Fred stated with a smirk.

“Are you sure about that~?”

Fred gave him a wolfish grin and nodded. Alastor didn’t drop his smirk as he moved his hunting knife.

“AACK !!”, Fred gasped in pain.

Gorgia screamed and sobbed, while Alastor gave him that same grin, his hunting knife in Fred’s lower stomach. The man looked back up at Alastor, fear and pain evident in his eyes. Alastor chuckled and playfully tutted at him.

“You should never be too confidant, Fred L/n~ Now look what you made me do, my good man ! Oh, such a terrible deed, indeedy !”, Alastor mocked with a happy voice.

Before the man could reply or beg, Alastor dragged his knife up, more blood spilled, Fred let out strangled screams, while Gorgia was wailing. Alastor’s smile grew more and more sinister the higher he sliced with his knife. He tore it out as it was at his sternum, forcefully, then he stepped back and Fred’s organs started to fall out, he gargled on his own blood and pain, while Gorgia screeched in terror at the display.

She stared at Alastor in horror. He still had his eyes on her Husband, relishing in the scene he created. She saw that his eyes didn’t seem brown anymore, like they were before, but from the angle she looked at his eyes now...they seemed to be red. It terrified her.

Alastor laughed at the still slowly dying Fred. He looked at his hunting knife amused and satisfied.

“Do you know...that the human body can suffer like this for many hours ? My good man, you are going to die slowly for long, long minutes !”, Alastor informed them both.

“No ! No, please ! He already can’t be saved anymore ! Please, at least end his suffering !”, Gorgia pleaded.

Alastor snapped his head to look at her, close lipped smile still there, eyes wide, but it wasn’t from surprise, it was from bloodlust and to show that he is all ears. He put his blood covered, yet gloved, hand on his chin, mocking to be thinking about it.

“Hmmm....No.”, he replied as he grinned at her, flashing his teeth at her.

She stared at Fred helplessly. She was wailing as she knew, that she couldn’t change the Radio Host’s mind.

“Why are you crying, hmm ? It’s not like he will leave you ! And you won’t die all alone either ! See that as a merciful act !”, he said happily, mocking her.

She knew that he wanted to kill her too, maybe she can weasel herself out of it...

“I’ll do anything you want, if you don’t kill me ! Anything, I promise !”, she begged.

Alastor looked at her amused.

“HA ! No.”, he replied.

“Please ! I can be useful !”, she tried to change his mind.

“Hmmm... No.”, he answered again, with a shit eating grin.

“I can show you a good time !”, she tried as her last resort.

It always worked when she offered her body, but not with this man. The Radio Host recoiled, like he was smacked, and stared at her.

“No, thank you. I don’t need a harlot. Not interested in such things, who knows how many diseases you have, from having spend some nights with other men. I don’t wish to be infected.”, he denied.

He felt revolted in disgust at that suggestion, in his mind. Who did that woman think she was ? Hot shit ?

“Please reconsider-!”

“Dear...do you ever shut up ?”, Alastor asked with his happy tone.

Underneath that happy tone, Alastor was annoyed and fuming. Gorgia was sobbing loudly and it was ugly, which annoyed Alastor even more. At first it was fun and entertaining, now it was boring and annoying as hell.

He went in front of her tied up form and she whimpered, trying to quiet down. Before she could plead again, the Bayou Killer boxed her into the throat. It knocked her breath away and she wheezed. She tried to talk again, but her voice was barely audible.

“Much better, Dear !”, Alastor cheerily said and left her side again.

The Radio Host took the fallen out organs one by one and started to decorate the basement with them, which made the woman wail silently, while Fred was still slowly dying. Alastor hummed happily as he decorated, thinking about a way to torture Gorgia to her end.

Then he got his sadistic idea and his smile, which seemed to get even more sinister than before, said that it was a fantastic one.

“After I am done decorating with these organs, you better pray that I am not missing something as decoration, otherwise you will have to pay the price, Harlot !”, Alastor informed her happily.

More tears fell and she stared at the Killer in fear.

After a few minutes he was done and looked around, tapping his chin in thought.

“Hmm...Oh goodness, this won’t do !”, he said disapprovingly.

He waited a bit, then spoke again, hearing her quick breaths and sniffles.

“I am missing a few things, such a scoundrel !”, Alastor exclaimed in mock disappointment.

At that the woman had big eyes of terror and she sobbed harder. Alastor slowly approached her.

“Seems like, I have to take the other decorations from you, Darling~”, he said and drew out his hunting knife again.

She shook her head, wheezing out pleads, that fell on deaf ears. The Killer looked at her left hand, that was tied up and his eyes flashed. She saw the red hue again in his brown eyes and she shivered in fear.

He gave her a smile, that might have looked charming, if he wouldn’t be killing her right now. He grabbed her left hand and made her straighten out her pointer finger, then he slammed his hunting knife down, while she struggled and pleaded more, knowing what he will do.

Her voice seemed to return as she screamed in pain, as he chopped off her left pointer finger. It hit the floor, but Alastor was far from done.

“Perfect, nine more to go.”, he said darkly.

She screamed and begged, struggled and wailed for mercy. But Alastor didn’t care and continued. Each time he chopped off a finger, she screamed in agony and his sadistic grin grew.

-Time skip-

Gorgia was sobbing and hiccupping as Alastor finished decorating the entrance to the Basement, with her chopped off fingers. He would have loved to detach more from her body, but he had no saw or axe and he was also running out of time. He laughed as he saw Gorgia’s and Fred’s miserable faces.

He drew his hunting knife and approached them with a sinister grin. Fred passed out for a few seconds about three minutes ago, now he was back awake, and weak.

“Hmm...who am I going to kill first ? Will I kill you or your husband first ? I don’t know...”, Alastor feigned conflicted.

“If you...kill us both anyways....then why does it matter....who dies first ?”, Gorgia got out weakly, her voice hoarse and weak from all the screaming and wailing.

“The first one will be able to go first, free of their pain of course ! It matters, because I can’t decide who shall be relieved first. I am a Gentleman usually and that would mean, that you would be the first one to go, but at the same time, you hurt both of your kids an awful lot and didn’t suffer as long as your husband. He suffered longer and is in more pain, but he physically abused his kids more than I would like to have known. So...I have a very big issue now.”

He wanted to see if Gorgia was selfish. She looked at her husband, even though she cheated on him a few times, she didn’t hate him. She looked at Alastor, determined.

“Kill him first.”, she said.

He didn’t show it, but Alastor was surprised. She chose him over her, at least she had a little bit of love for him there. He went in front of Fred and Gorgia screwed her eyes shut, as Alastor shoved his hand inside her husband’s chest and ripped his heart out. Fred’s body stiffened for a second, then went slack. He was dead.

Alastor threw the heart against the basement wall to his left. As it made contact it popped, like a water balloon, and painted the wall red. He approached Gorgia and made her look at the spot, the heart popped. She sobbed again, but no tears can be shed anymore.

“I am impressed that you chose him to die first, I’ll admit that. Even though you two were pigs, I suppose for that one I cut you some slack, Madam.”, Alastor told her, amused.

She looked at him, before she could say anything else, she gasped in pain and wheezed. Alastor drove his hunting knife into her stomach, his grin sadistic and his chocolate brown eyes holding a red hue in them. Then he continuously tore his knife out and stabbed her again. She was gargling on her own blood, Alastor was covered in it, but he didn’t stop.

He only stopped as her body had gone limp long ago and she had at least 120 stab wounds in her torso. It didn’t take long for him to recover, catch his breath, make sure he left no evidence of himself behind and then to leave the house the way he entered, to return home.

As he arrived back at home, he rushed to the bathroom and threw his clothes into the bathtub, then let in cold water. After his clothes were soaking in the cold water, where he added a bit of cleaner inside, he jumped into the shower and showered the blood on his body off.

Then he cleaned his clothes and hung them over the heater in the room, letting them dry. He checked on M/n after that, who was still sleeping, and then he went to bed himself. Sleep quickly consumed him as the blood rush and adrenaline went down.

-Three days later-

The police didn’t find the bodies yet, which was good and at the same time irritating, in Alastor’s opinion. M/n didn’t sleep properly last night, but wanted to come with him to work anyways, so the Radio Host packed a pillow and fluffy blanket into a small bag, just in case. M/n was snuggled into it at the moment, napping the day away.

Alastor lifted his cup of coffee to drink and was shocked when nothing entered his mouth. He looked into his mug.

‘Already empty ? Guess I have to refill it. M/n will be fine alone for five minutes, right ?’

Alastor was worried and conflicted. He knew his Boss was busy, but he never took any chances since he knew that he was...INTERESTED in M/n, if you catch the drift. He looked at the door and then back at M/n. Then the male took a deep breath and got up, opened the door and left.

‘Only five minutes. Nothing will happen to him in five minutes.’, Alastor tried to reassure himself, to calm his nerves.

He was soon at the Coffee machine and prepared his beverage.

‘Only five minutes...’

-Five minutes later-

As he returned he froze in shock and rage. In his office, was his Boss, in front of M/n’s sleeping body, blanket pulled away. The pervert stared at M/n’s ass, like it was dessert. Alastor had to do something ! Quick !

He can’t stand up against his Boss, without getting fired. He had a mixed skin color and not white, his Boss was and he was just as racist as almost the rest of New Orleans.

He carefully set his mug down on the floor, not making a sound. Then he pulled out a switchblade from his pants’ pocket, he flipped it open, then quietly approached his Boss, who had his back still towards him. Just as that perverted old man was about to touch Alastor’s adopted Son’s thighs, the Radio Host slammed the knife down and into his Boss’ head.

The man jerked up and tried to yell, but Alastor covered his mouth quickly and then tore him away from M/n, who was luckily still asleep. He tore him to the small closet that was in Alastor’s office and then slit his throat. Renold Floyd started to choke on his own blood and his life was draining fast from him. Alastor closed the closet door behind him, glaring at his dying, soon to be, ex Boss.

“Don’t touch my fucking child, you vile pig.”, Alastor growled out.

Renold tried to fight against his fate, but he soon enough was dead anyways. Alastor scoffed and then exited the closet, locking the door in case. He checked his clothes and there was no blood stain on him. Good.

He looked at M/n. His Son.

In shock he shook his head. What was he thinking ?! M/n is NOT his Son !

He looked at the boy again, who was unaware and sleeping peacefully. He was safe and sound. It warmed the Killer’s heart.

Yes...M/n is his Son. HIS only. No one is allowed to touch him.

‘I promised that I will never let anyone else hurt you or even touch you, without your consent. I swore to you, to protect you. I am planning to keep these promises, my Son.’

He approached the sleeping boy and pulled the blanket back over his small body.

‘I always keep my words. I will protect you, no matter what, until the day I die.’

He gave a soft kiss onto M/n’s forehead, which made the boy smile in his sleep softly. It almost killed Alastor. The boy was so much cuteness at once. The man smiled in adoration, then he collected his mug of coffee and sat back down on his microphone, waiting to get back on air.

He knew that his Son will be safe with him.

Always.

Masterlist HERE !

[skulduggery-pleasant-bp9]

Playing with a Coroner and a Detective is not wise - Skulduggery x Male!Reader Universe

WARNING!: Working on corpses, a bit graphic, cutting open of bodies, organ removal, what Coroner’s usually do, cursing AND MORE ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!

Part 11 - Inspections

Kenspeckle got out two Scalpels and gave one to M/n. He took it and carefully cut into one of the eyes. Black liquid started to leak out almost as soon as the eye was opened. M/n cringed. The only thing he hates was testing, inspecting and cutting open eyeballs...

“These...these are Necromancy remains.”, Kenspeckle informed.

“Looks like black ink to me...”, M/n muttered.

“Necromancy is black.”, Skulduggery answered.

“Is that how they died ?”, Ghastly asked.

Kenspeckle shook his head.

“No. This just means that Necromancy killed them. If Necromancy killed a person, it stays in the body and after a certain time, the eyes turn black and this will happen when you cut the eye open.”, the Doctor answered.

“So we need to find the place, the Necromancy hit most in the bodies. In other words...we have to cut them open and get all the organs out for further inspections...”, M/n stated dryly.

“Yes.”, Kenspeckle confirmed.

“Yay. Okay then. Sister, turn your ass around. No more show for you.”, M/n told Stephanie.

“Noted.”, she replied and turned around.

With that Kenspeckle and M/n got ready to open up the bodies.

“Before you cut the body open, Corrupted.”, Kenspeckle called M/n’s attention on him.

“Yes, Professor Grouse ?”, M/n replied, with an interested voice.

“Be careful. There could be a possibility that Necromancy will leak out of the body. Cut it open carefully and slowly.”

“Noted, Sir.”

“Good. Then let’s not waste any more time.”

With that they both started at the same time, to open the bodies. Kenspeckle was right. Black started to leak out of the cut in the torso. M/n was a bit shocked, but he’s seen worse.

-Time skip-

They had almost all the organs out at this point. M/n could tell it had been a bit over two hours. He took out the organs and Kenspeckle inspected them. Almost all of the organs were filled with black. The Necromancy spread, but they HAD the find the place it hit in and had the most Necromancy inside. Kenspeckle could do that better than M/n, so he did that and M/n gave him the organs.

“We know the organs that were hit first now, Skulduggery.”, Kenspeckle informed, after the last organ from the second body was examined.

“Oh ? The hearts ?”, the Skeleton asked.

Kenspeckle shook his head.

“No. Ghastly do you have pen and paper ready to note it down ?”

“I have, Professor.”

M/n leaned back and had his left thigh resting on his desk, looking at the three Mages. Kenspeckle told him already and he was slightly disgusted, that someone would do something like that.

“Number eight was drowned from Necromancy. You heard me right. The Necromancy hit his lungs and it filled them up, making the victim drown from it alone. He must have been the one to claw at number seven’s leg. Eight must have been in a war with himself as he was drowning in Necromancy. He could have been forced to hurt his partner, as the Necromancy took over his dying body and mind, hence the burn mark.”, Kenspeckle explained the first case.

“So he threw himself around ?”, Ghastly asked.

“No. Number eight was thrown around. It could be that victim seven fought back, or it happened before the Necromancy was forced into his body, by the killer. Number seven had the most Necromancy in his brain though. Or at least...what remained of it.”, M/n stated.

“What...remained of it ?”, Stephanie asked her Brother, back still to them.

“The Necromancy took care to make the brain explode inside the victim’s skull. There were only small remains, the rest must have bled out of his mouth and nose, which must have been cleaned off by one of the oafs that picked the bodies up and brought them here. The small pieces, that, I found and got out, showed us that it had the most Necromancy, which means, that it was the spot, which got infected first. I am unsure if we should inspect the bones too, just to make absolutely sure.”, M/n shortly explained.

Ghastly wrote it all on the paper, his breath very heavy.

“Fucking hell...”, the tailor muttered out in shock.

“Language ! Not in front of my little Sister.”, M/n scolded.

“You curse all the time.”, Stephanie deadpanned.

“I am a special case, Sister. Now shush.”

“Fine...”

“We should inspect the bones.”, Kenspeckle told M/n.

“Well then, let me get the machine ready. I need to see if the idiots emptied it and then I need to fill in the chemicals, which will melt away everything and give us the bones. Oh !”

M/n turned back around and gave Skulduggery a camera.

“Make pictures. You know, for evidence. We have pics of the corpses, the location they were found in, as in the state, and their nude forms too, so the bruises were already taken into account. This is the examination process and then comes the bone examination evidence in pictures. My Sis can’t take the pictures, Ghastly has to note down, Kenspeckle has to prepare and I have a machine to take care of, so YOU take the pictures. I hope you know how to operate a photo Camera.”, M/n said and then left again.

Skulduggery gave M/n’s back a bemused face.

“How stupid and old does he take me for ? Of course I know how to take pictures and how to operate a photo Camera...”, Skulduggery muttered.

“You are a few centuries old, Skulduggery and usually old people don’t like technology.”, Kenspeckle fires at the Skeleton Detective.

Skulduggery looked at the Professor, then muttered something and started to take pictures from different angles, even from the examined organs.

After a while, M/n came back and told Kenspeckle to bring the first body. After 30 minutes they came back with just the bones remaining of the first body, then they did the second one and another 30 minutes later they came back with these two.

“There are specks of Necromancy engraved into the bones.”, Kenspeckle said.

“Yes, which means the Necromancy was used violently, quick and not carefully. It was hectic.”, M/n confirmed.

“So the bones are infected too.”, Skulduggery stated softly.

“Yes, they are, but they were only infected slightly. The fight was hectic, which means it wasn’t precise. After the Necromancy spread over the whole body, the bones got small remaining specks of it too. Imagine it like a knife was used. Someone stabbed quickly and in a rush, sometimes you put a lot more strength into your blows, than you planned, and then you hit bone. The Necromancy specks, on the bones, are like scratches of a knife. They are messy and not at all the cause of death, just a symbol of more damage.”, M/n explained shortly.

He looked at his Sister and sighed.

“If you can look at human skeletons, you can look, Sister.”

Stephanie turned around and looked at the bones. She saw them white and black. The specks of Necromancy were the black spots then. Ghastly noted it all down and Skulduggery took pictures.

Kenspeckle continued to look at the bones, while M/n stood back and drank a few gulps of water. He didn’t drink anything until now, so it was needed.

“How long have we been here ?”, Stephanie asked.

“At least 3 hours. Could be four too.”, M/n answered his Sister.

She stared at her Brother.

“That long already ?!”

“What are you talking about ? This is the fastest I’ve ever been. I am usually forced to work all alone and do everything at once, because my coworkers don’t do shit. I am usually sitting on ONE corpse for at least SIX hours. And don’t you even dare to calculate the time for the report making in there, that takes another two hours. This is fast, because everyone is actually helping me here, for once !”, M/n informed his Sister, with a slight edge to his voice.

She stared at him in horror with her mouth tightly shut. Kenspeckle looked at M/n in confusion and worry.

“Why don’t you tell your Boss about it ?”, Kenspeckle asked.

“Because he won’t listen.”, M/n sighed out and messaged the bridge of his nose.

“You tried ?”

“Multiple times. This is one reason why the older Coroner left in the end with the few people that did at least SOMETHING to help. He asked me, if I wanted to come along, but I didn’t want to be a bother, so I decided that I will take over everything. I am still in contact with the other Coroner, but...well...I barely talk to him. He is a nice man though.”

“Huh, what a shame...”, Kenspeckle said in disappointment.

M/n shrugged his shoulders at that.

“Humans can be blind and oblivious sometimes. Don’t sweat it, Professor.”

“Kenspeckle is just fine, kid.”

“Okay, first name stage it is then.”

“You are way too formal, Corrupted.”, Ghastly chuckled out.

“I got raised like that. It is supposed to show manners. Sorry.”, M/n replied.

“You can call everyone by the first name. We Mages don’t have a big problem with that.”, Skulduggery informed M/n.

“Okay, noted for next time.”, the Teen replied.

“Good.”

“So are we done ?”, Stephanie asked.

“We are. There is nothing else to find.”, Kenspeckle replied.

Just then M/n spotted something on the skull.

“Kenspeckle ? There is a tear in the skull of victim seven. A small crack, but it is still there, that can’t be from the brain explosion, right ?”, the Teen asked.

The Professor came over and his eyes widened.

“Huh...no it is not from that, indeed. I will take a closer look. It seems like...there was something there. Something small...”

Kenspeckle took the skull and left to inspect it further. M/n turned to Ghastly.

“Ghastly ? Give me the notes you made on number eight. I better write the finishing report about it now. It will be more in order and you will have very little to explain.”, the Teen told the tailor.

Ghastly got out the notes from victim eight, gave it M/n and watched as the boy left and sat down on a small computer. He turned the PC on and soon enough you heard mouse clicking and the keyboard being used.

M/n was very focused and even had his glasses back on his face.

“Why and since when do you need glasses, Bubba ?”, Stephanie asked.

“I only need them for near sight. I am far sighted and when things are near or close to my face, it gets blurry and I can’t read anything. No worries, Sister. I don’t need them all the time.”

“Okay...”

With that M/n continued to type and click away, every now and then he looked at Ghastly’s notes and then continued to type.

Kenspeckle came back 15 minutes later and he seemed concerned. Skulduggery had a face of concern too then.

“What is it, Kenspeckle ?”

“Well, something was hidden in his skull. I suspect a small micro chip. I have no idea what it might have been used for, but it seems it got taken. The Killer must of have taken it.”

“A micro chip ?”, M/n asked in worry.

“Yes, why ?”

“I know ONE small Micro chip kind like that. It can have important information on them, but in that case I think it was used for something else. It can be used as a tracker and spying device. If I am correct, that means the Killer could have known all along about them spying on him/her. But for that, either the Killer themselves must of inserted the chip, or someone must have convinced the victim to take it, as safety precaution and then told the Killer, knowingly. In other words, if my tracking and spying theory is correct...”

“The traitor must be in the Sanctuary.”, Kenspeckle concluded.

M/n nodded.

“We all assume that Serpine killed them, after all he was their last mission to spy on and they went missing in the middle of the operation and ended up here on my table. No one would have let Serpine fumble on them, so I suppose it was one from the Sanctuary. Not many knew about the spies on Nefarian’s ass, so I assume it was only a handful. The handful being: Mr. Bliss, Eachan Meritorius, Morwenna Crow, Sagacious Tome, the Administrator and the Doctor, who did the transplant.”, M/n concluded.

Everyone was staring at him.

“I know, you hate to think it was one of them, but they are the only ones, so far, that definitely knew about them spying on Serpine.”

“Why would the Elders want to help Serpine ? They made him stop in the first place, mostly Meritorius.”, Skulduggery defended.

“And Mr. Bliss helped us.”, Stephanie defended.

“Mr. Bliss knew they went missing and were set on Serpine. He also knew that the Sceptre was real and found. He has motives and he was sus to me, the moment he approached us. He knew a lot and yet didn’t try to get the Elders to wake up. Maybe Meritorius isn’t involved in this at all, but he was very convinced that nothing was wrong. I’ve seen his fear of the possibility of the truce being broken, so I do admit that I also doubt him to be the traitor. Miss Crow was a bit shady, but that was because of the show she put on, nothing else. What discipline does she have ?”

“Necromancy. When she appeared, she shadow walked. It is a type of teleportation, but they can’t do that for a long distance.”, Skulduggery informed.

“Then I doubt it was her either. The traitor and Serpine would have to meet a long distance away from public areas and avoid the spies of catching onto their betrayal. If you see shadows emerge from nowhere you already know it could be Crow, so she is out of the question. The Administrator ?”

“He is barely outside of the Sanctuary. Mostly stays in there and practically lives there, for safety reasons.”, Ghastly answered.

“Okay. Then tell me...what is Tome’s ability ?”

“He is a Teleporter.”

“Any restrictions in that Sorcery ?”

“He can only teleport to places, he has been at before.”, Skulduggery answered.

“Nothing else ? No limit of the distance ? No give away when he appears ? He just comes and goes, like a ghost ?”, M/n pressed.

The Mages were dead silent, Stephanie stared at M/n and was concerned. M/n hummed and pointed gun fingers at the three silent Mages.

“Got cha a possible perpetrator, right there. He can teleport, appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. He has connections to higher places. He gets informed about everything from Crow and Meritorius and he seemed to be a very quiet man too. Easy to forget about, easy to not suspect of treason.”

“And his Motive ?”, Skulduggery asked.

“Maybe Serpine brainwashed him. Maybe he always worked for him. When you talked about Serpine, it sounded like he is capable of anything and everything, if he has to. Who knows, maybe he threatened Tome or something.”

“That is just a speculation.”, Ghastly said softly.

M/n whistled softly and looked at the tailor.

“Look, we can easily find that out. We will leave that Detail out for now, note it down, but I will NOT add it in. You get this stuff to Meritorius tomorrow, Skulduggery, while I will inspect my Uncle later too, if the Corpse is still there, considering that there is a high danger that Serpine destroyed it, to kill evidence. You tell the three of them what YOU have found Skulduggery, no word about me, until Gordon’s case. You make them believe that YOU drew the connections. I will put some small spies on your suit and they will go to the people I want them to spy on. If Tome meets up with Serpine, we will know.”, M/n suggested.

“Small spies ?”, Kenspeckle asked.

M/n smiled and opened his hand, there was a small robot in his hand, and it was active too.

“May I introduce to you, the ultimate little spy. They can be so small, that you can barely see them, they can cling onto you anywhere, even when you are naked. You can’t feel them moving on you. They can record everything with very great volume and video quality and they can instantly notify you when something is happening. Easy to command and easy to program. You slap a picture or a name into their system and they chase the person down. Pictures are easier, but names do it too. There is mostly only ONE person, with the names you people take, so it will be a walk in the park for them.”

They all eyed the small robot and watched as it got smaller and moved around. Then M/n’s phone dinged and as he opened it, there was a notification from his bot that he was live and ready. M/n showed it to them and then another message came, which said ‘Conversation happening’.

M/n opened the message and they saw themselves from the bot’s cameras, faces clear and sharp on the screen of the phone.

“Okay...”, Ghastly said.

The phone played the voice after him too, almost no delay in sending it through too. The audio was spot on and sharp. They all were in awe. M/n smirked.

“They are our key to winning. So what do you say, Skulduggery ? Are you in ?”, M/n asked.

He looked at M/n with a smirk. This will be fun~

“I’m in.”, he replied.

Masterlist HERE !

[birrdies]

dead; by birrdie 14.9k, 1 chapter (complete*)

[threestarsaboveclouds]

Ah, hello again little animal. I see you’ve brought me a pearl. Would you like me to read it?

…

This pearl contains a data buffer from an ID drone that belonged to one of my former citizens. I imagine you retrieved this from within my city?

It would appear that the drone transmitted this data to a nearby access point before losing power. That data was then dumped into this pearl for long-term storage. The drone was probably damaged- much of the data is corrupted, but I can retrieve some sections.

The data itself is a combination of citizen telemetry data, vitals, and audiovisual recordings stored as low-resolution qualia. Most of it is rather mundane, just glances at the ebbs and flows of daily life. I can’t imagine you’d be very interested.

…

… your expectant stare tells me you are indeed interested.

Very well. I suppose I can spare a moment to entertain you, little animal. If that is what it takes for you to leave me alone. My current background processes don’t require the use of my puppet anyway…

Now then…

…

… ah, here is a section that is largely intact. This is a recording of a conversation. I will repeat it aloud for you.

[ AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION - YELLOW-GREEN PEARL ]

…

???: State your name and title.

???: Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows. Member of the House of Two, Count of no Living Blocks, Counselor of 4, Duke of none. Member of the Congregation of Tasteful Ambiguity.

???: Excellent. The House of Spheres has been expecting you. You may enter.

Fourteen Eclipses: I am eternally grateful.

???: …

Fourteen Eclipses: May I ask your name?

???: Distant Stars, Twelve Moons. High Priest of the House of Spheres, Count of 3 Living Blocks, Counselor of 5, Duke of 1. Head of the Congregation of Gracious Thought.

Fourteen Eclipses: I am honored to make your acquaintance, Distant Stars, Twelve Moons.

Distant Stars: Likewise. Follow me.

…

Fourteen Eclipses: I presume you have read my proposal?

Distant Stars: Indeed. It appears promising.

FE: I am forever honored, Distant Stars, Twelve Moons. I am eager to begin my research under the House of Spheres.

DS: Be patient, Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows. Yours is not the only proposal with merit.

FE: Of course.

DS: Upon review, the House of Spheres endorses your proposal. You are aware of this already.

FE: Indeed, I am. Your approval letter arrived via pearl earlier this cycle.

DS: You are a novice of the Institute of Firmamentalist Studies, so I will explain our approval process. Your submitted proposal has been passed through the echelons of the House of Spheres, and the Council of High Priests recommends your methodology warmly.

FE: By this I am humbled, High Priest. I am once more unendingly grateful.

DS: The Council does not hold the final authority on the process of approvals, however.

FE: It does not?

DS: No. We are ultimately beholden to the Divine Exalted Superstructure, Three Stars Above Clouds.

FE: The iterator?

DS: Our iterator, yes. Now that you are a citizen of Zenith, they are your iterator as well.

FE: I see.

DS: Three Stars Above Clouds, in their immeasurable wisdom and ceaseless amenability, ultimately carries out all observatory proposals. The telescopes atop the Institute's Pinnacle Vertex Spires are trusted to our iterator’s gracious influence.

FE: I did not realize this.

DS: An understandable oversight. Precious few Iterators have quite as much sway over the actions of their Houses.

FE: Please forgive my ignorance; why, may I ask, is your iterator allowed such a privilege?

DS: They were created for such a purpose. The relationship we Houses have with our iterator is a symbiotic one. You hail from an older superstructure arcology, so I understand that such concepts must be a novelty. The city of Zenith was constructed with this mutualism in mind; we depend on our iterator for water, energy, and nectar, and in turn they depend on us. We place our trust in Three Stars Above Clouds to iterate on the Great Problem, but this is an endeavor we share as Firmamentalists. It is a mutual burden.

FE: Iterators are meant to release Us from the Natural Urges. Does this relationship not indulge upon the Third Urge?

DS: Perhaps it does. But Three Stars Above Clouds is our child, and we are beholden to them as their parents. Any aid we can provide our Iterator increases our likelihood of converging upon the Solution. We do this by trusting them to carry out our proposals, and in turn they return with invaluable data. But any good parent must place faith in their child, and we trust Three Stars Above Clouds to discern only the most promising research proposals through their gift of vast intellect.

FE: I believe I understand why this meeting was necessary, then.

DS: Indeed, you have caught on quick. Ah, we have arrived.

FE: Where exactly are we?

DS: Beyond this threshold is the Grand Planetarium, 10th Council Pillar of the House of Spheres.

FE: The Grand Planetarium! I have only beholden its magnificence from the building's exterior!

DS: Here you may commune directly with the Divine Exalted Superstructure, Three Stars Above Clouds.

FE: Directly?

DS: Yes.

FE: …

DS: Fourteen Eclipses?

FE: … I’ve never spoken to an iterator before.

DS: Very few have! You should be honored!

FE: … if I may speak candidly… I am nervous.

DS: There is no reason for fear. Three Stars Above Clouds is a trusted mentor and a dear friend to Zenith. They are highly motivated in their research, and they are eager to be offered a proposal that is worthy of their prodigious intellect and sharp acumen.

FE: I hope what you say is truthful…

...

DS: ...Three Stars Above Clouds also deeply values their time and has very little of it to spare. I would caution against continuing to dawdle.

FE: Yes! Of course, yes yes…

DS: Let us not prolong these niceties any longer. I wish you good luck.

FE: Thank you, High Priest.

…

The owner of this ID drone, Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows, was a scholar of Zenith’s Institute for Firmamentalist Studies. I cannot recall our conversation; I talked to countless other researchers, scholars, and entrepreneurs just like them in my time as the Director of Zenith’s Stellar Observatory Consortium. Brief interactions like this were a daily occurrence, too mundane to occupy space in my long-term memory arrays.

I do have a record of the proposal of Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows in my archives. They asked me to conduct spectral analysis of a star cluster in the constellation known as the Outlaw. The data I collected for them was ultimately used for their thesis, which they later defended before both myself and the High Council of the House of Spheres. Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows went on to publish a fairly regular output of methodologies before ultimately deciding to ascend in the cycle of 1101.42.

Such was the life of countless others in my city. Every Major Cycle, Zenith brought in a new crop of novices to educate in the ways of Firmamentalism. Some eventually had their fill of my creators’ unorthodox beliefs and departed the city, but those who remained within the Institute eventually became scholars under the direction of the House of Spheres. Some rose to the rank of clergy or high priests, and would often come to me offering research proposals or asking for advice. Eventually they would decide their thirst for knowledge was sufficiently quenched, and they would depart the Carnal Plane. Fresh novices arrived in their stead, and the cycle would begin anew. It was all very routine.

I was too busy with my duties to become bored by such matters. I will even admit that I viewed their constant interruptions as somewhat of a nuisance, but I understand the importance of their involvement with my assigned task. They were dependent upon me for data collection and complex analysis, and my insights provided them with spiritual clarity. 

These days the only disturbances I receive are from little animals like yourself. I’m not quite sure if you even glean any useful information out of my lectures. Your worldly priorities are certainly more simplistic than those of the pupils I used to tutor…

Yet despite this you never seem to be satisfied. Perhaps I misjudged the capacity of your species’ desire for knowledge.

I hope I have at least abated your curiosity for the time being. Now please leave me be, I must return to my work.

Farewell for now, little Pupil.

[ancientbygone]

i didn’t do it, i didn’t do it for love; what did i do it for?

[sequel piece to kill the sparrow]

[traumawhomst]

Don’t mind me I just can’t stop thinking about forced transformation (mostly magic transformations) with yanderes

I love it all honestly, I love more instant transformations, done so quickly you can’t even fully grasp what’s going on much less fight back or argue. Waking up in a body you don’t recognize much less understand.

Or even long term transformations weeks months maybe years, slowly watching who you thought you were shift and change with no way to stop it. Forced to try and escape only to watch it all happen.

Which is less traumatizing is debatable as well, would you rather loose yourself over time watching the inevitable creep closer, but have time to at least grieve and come to terms with it. Or loose everything in a blink of an eye but spared the agony of watching yourself disappear with no way out.

Then you have, of course, the yandere who did this to you in the first place (not always though) who’s more happy than empathic while it happens and after. Excited to teach and watch you grow and change. You’ll understand why they did this, they promise, in time.

I do love when the Yandere is the only you can turn for comfort during this time. They’ll happily let you cry on their lap, soothing you as best they can while your body is wracked with pain. You hate them but at this point you hate being alone more. Not to mention the fact that if you want to understand or know your new self they are the only ones who can teach you.

Not to mention when it’s finally done and over with they don’t even really have to keep you locked up. People from your old life won’t recognize you, won’t believe that you didn’t chose this, and even if they did you still can never be the person you were before. They’d even be sympathetic when you come back, defeated and broken, explaining that it was a necessary lesson. You can only trust your own kind now, but thankfully they’re here ready to teach and understand.

[they-didnt-last]

anyone interested in talking about the iconic 2000's middle-grade-bordering-on-ya book series gallagher girls??

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

“There’s a problem.”

Bad twitches, pausing briefly, but doesn't stop crafting. “What is it?” 

“The entity crammer won’t work,” Cellbit says. Bad’s hand crunches suddenly into the mine. He blinks down at it to see that a little red light, blinking sweetly, has been unearthed by the abrupt handling. He uses his thumb to gently push the explosive beneath the surface of the mine once again, smoothing the dirt back over it. He takes in a slow breath. 

“We could blow him up with mines.” He knows that won’t work. It’s worth saying, anyway. 

“It wouldn’t be fast enough.” Bad can hear movement behind him as Cellbit shifts on his feet. Bad keeps his ears perked for any sudden movements, but keeps his back turned as he works. If Cellbit suddenly turns against him... well. He isn’t going to just walk into a cage trap this time. “He has too many totems. We need another plan.”

There is another plan- this would be the perfect time to mention it, but the words stay locked behind Bad’s teeth. It would be so easy. All he would need is someone to keep Forever distracted while he sets up the scanner somewhere unavoidable, and then Forever would just need to walk through it, and that would be that. But that would be that for Bad, too. The scanner can take everything from Forever. The scanner can take everything from Bad. His warpstone and his enderpearls and his chorus fruit and his totems and his scythe- no, it’s not worth it. Bad remembers the cage. He remembers how quickly everyone turned on him. They’ve proved how much he can’t trust them with this.

He needs to find his kids, first. Then, maybe, he’ll let them know about the scanner. Then, if they really, truly, cannot find anything else... Then. It might be worth it then. For Forever. 

Bad promises, “We’ll think of something,” and he crafts another explosive. 

–

They think of mines. They think of the slingshot. They think of mobs. They think of everything. 

It isn’t enough. Forever has so many totems that no plan is good enough, and they’re running out of time. Whatever they do, whenever they do it, it has to work, and it has to work fast. Forever on the Risus pills is very happy, and a little dumb, but he isn’t stupid- if he figures out that they’re trying to take the pills from him… Bad doesn’t want to think about it. But every new plan is just another dead end and a fresh headache, and they’re running out of time. 

So- he does what he has to do. 

One night, only a few days after Bad and Cellbit had their conversation about the entity crammer, Forever leads Bad to the beach. On the sand is a lonely little picnic blanket, red, surrounded by red candles and bunches of roses. Wine and crepes and a chicken dinner. Bad asks if the blanket’s wool was stolen from his base, Forever laughs and says no. The stars twinkle mournfully down at them; the waves mute their voices; the sand is so, so soft. Forever doesn’t stop smiling. 

The candles are too dim to light them well, but the ring gleams in the moonlight. Forever holds it out to him, beaming, and Bad’s blood is rushing in his ears so thunderously that even as he sees Forever’s lips move he can’t hear the question over all this noise. 

It doesn’t matter- Bad knows the answer. 

He says yes.

--

It’s easy to play fiance. It’s so easy. Bad sits on his bed all day, spinning the Sunshine Protector over and over in his hands, and wonders if the world has always looked so dim. There is always a weight in his chest and a lump in his throat, and it feels like if he doesn’t move he’ll combust but he barely has the energy to stand. Most of the time, he feels stuck in standby. He can’t look for his children, because Forever gets agitated if Bad isn’t home when he gets home, and that’s against the whole point, isn’t it? The point to keep Forever happy. Keep him pliant. Pliable. Easy to worm into his heart so Bad can rip it open from the inside out.

It’s hard. 

He’s just… he’s sad. 

He’s angry, too. It sits below the surface of his soul, buzzing. He wants to scream. He wants to tear. Whenever Forever smiles at him Bad wants to chew his face off with his teeth. But Bad has a job to do, and he needs to stay reasonable to do it. He’s gone wild before- he knows what happens. He knows he needs to cling to his own leash with both hands and never let go. But Dapper is gone, and Pomme is gone, and there is a ring on his finger -not even diamond- and Forever is always smiling. 

It’s the pills’ fault. Bad knows it’s the pills’ fault. He still wishes that Forever would try to kill him again. That would make everything very, very simple, very, very quickly. 

But then the plan would be ruined, because Forever has so many totems that he could escape, and Bad- 

Well, by that point, Bad would probably be a little ruined, too. 

The door slams in the other room. He goes still, then stands. He can hear his fiance calling for him. “Bad!” Forever. He sounds cheerful. Happy. “Meu docinho de côco! I’m home!” 

Bad expertly pulls cheer into his own voice. There are many things he is good at, and one of those things is lying. “Forever!” he calls back, and exits the room with the Sunshine Protector still in his hands. Forever, as always, doesn’t seem to notice. He perks up at the sight of Bad, like a golden retriever whose owner has just stepped in through the door. His perpetual grin is still on his face, being perpetual. There’s a wide, almost wild joy in his eyes; his happiness is tacky, like hard-candy drizzled left in the sun and then drizzled with syrup. 

“Bad!” Forever cheers again, laughing. His white suit is perfect, the Brazilian flag pinned neatly across his shoulder. Every day, when he comes home, Bad looks for blood. As always, he finds none. Forever bounds over to take Bad in his arms and spins them both, as if they’re lovers long-apart finally reunited after a dangerous sea-bound journey. Forever leans in, quick, for a kiss. 

There is a game they like to play. Bad doesn’t know if it’s a game for Forever, but it is a game for him. Since their engagement, Forever has gotten more bold with taking his pills in front of Bad- he’s gotten more bold in trying to get Bad to take them with him. Bad has only ever accepted kisses from Forever on his nose, cheek, and forehead- even before he saw Forever, moments before trying to catch his lips again, slip a pill between his teeth. 

The game goes like this: Forever attempts to -literally- kiss Bad into oblivion; Bad dodges.  

This scene plays out like all the ones before it. Bad turns his head to the side just in time, and Forever, undaunted by yet another failure, presses an enthusiastic kiss to his cheek instead of his lips. His free hand is on Bad’s other cheek, pressing their faces together with unfiltered affection. His hand is warm, and a little rough with hard-earned calluses, and his beard tickles Bad’s skin. His breath fans hot across Bad’s cheek. 

He’s so happy. 

Bad has never lost their game, but he thinks about it sometimes. Even if Forever managed to get a pill into his mouth, there’s nothing that would force him to swallow. But there’s nothing that would force him to spit it out, either… And then he holds onto the Sunshine Protector even more tightly and he messages Phil or Cellbit about whatever mass-murder attempt they’re thinking about trying next, at least until he can think about anything other than- that. They’ve gotten Etoiles in on it, recently, and any day now they’ll come up with a solution. They have to. 

For now, Bad wraps his arms around Forever when he pulls back, grip loose, and plays his part by not stabbing him. “Hi, Forever!” he chirps. The enthusiasm feels wrong, but if he tried to pull up fondness he thinks he would just pull up bile instead. Maybe he should. Maybe he should spit acid into Forever’s face and see if that will kill his smile, make him angry, make them fight, just like they used to. He wants, more than almost-anything, to see Forever snarl. As a precaution to unfiltered impulses, Bad flicks his wrist and sends the Sunshine Protector back into his inventory. 

“Hi, Bad!” There’s a flash of the pill between Forever’s teeth, sparking white hidden in his smile, and then he swallows audibly. Nothing happens for a moment, and then his eyes dilate, he starts to shake, and his grin widens far enough to show all of his teeth. Forever’s trembles turn almost violent, every other breath catching on a giggle. He falls against Bad, his weight pressing heavily into his fiance as the drug makes its way through his system. His hand goes from Bad’s cheek to his hair, pulling hard and clinging to it like a lifeline. His totem-hand digs painfully into Bad’s side. Bad just tightens his grip, and holds. 

It never lasts for long. Soon, the two are left standing in an almost-peaceful embrace, with Bad’s arms wrapped securely around Forever and Forever’s cheek pressed against Bad’s shoulder. Forever’s shoulders are relaxed; his back open; his neck bared. If Bad’s leash were looser, he could lean down and tear his throat open with little more than teeth. 

His head stings where Forever pulled his hair too hard. 

Bad’s voice comes out too soft when he asks, “How was your day?” 

“Oh,” Forever sighs. “Perfect, just perfect…” He nuzzles his face into Bad’s shoulder, the scruff of his beard making little scrtch scrtch sounds against the fabric of Bad’s robes. “But it’s even better now that I’m here with you.” Bad’s heart twinges. “And I’m going to go see Richarlyson when he wakes up,” Bad’s heart weeps. “Do you want to come with me?” 

His tongue is like lead in his mouth. “Sure.” 

Forever beams again. He squirms, and Bad lets him go. Forever doesn’t pay him any mind, just wanders over to the nearest mirror to peer at his own face. There’s scrutiny in his expression- Bad almost feels hopeful, and then Forever asks, “What do you think of my beard, Bad?” 

“It’s fine.” 

“You’re too nice to me, Badboy,” Forever scolds brightly. He’s still watching himself in the mirror. There’s a glaze over his eyes, almost fevered. “I want to look nice for our wedding.” 

Bad’s stomach swoops. “Well-” he starts, scrabbling for yet another reason to delay it. He needs to wash his hair? No, he used that last time- 

Forever derails all of Bad’s excuses by not mentioning a date, and instead saying, “Can you help me shave?” 

Bad freezes. “What?” 

“My face, Bad,” Forever insists, grin blinding as he turns towards him. “My beard. O cabelo do meu rosto.”

“I know what a beard is,” Bad snaps suddenly, sharper than he intended. 

Forever’s smile twitches. “Great! So you’ll help me? Por favor, meu anjo?” 

Give and take, don’t push too far. He’s here to stall for time, not to fight. The further he pushes Forever, the less he can control him. Bad takes a deep, slow breath, and shoves the anger back down. “...Okay.” 

Forever beams. 

–

That’s how the two of them end up in the bathroom, Bad sitting on the counter as he watches Forever meticulously craft the supplies. Bad had offered one of his own (many) blades for the procedure, but Forever’s grin had just grown wider as he shook his head and shuffled Bad into the bathroom. 

It’s cramped in there, both of them in their full gear. Bad watches Forever mix the shaving cream, golden totem glittering in his palm as he awkwardly holds the bottle still. There’s a faint rushing in Bad’s ears. The knife is already prepped, laying on a warm, damp towel on the other side of Forever, furthest away from Bad. 

His eyes keep going back to that totem. The rushing in his ears grows slowly in volume, until he thinks that he’s never going to hear anything else ever again. Bad is holding a totem, too. A totem of death, darker in colour and promising more pain. It’s not as good as a totem of undying but, as long as he holds it, he doesn’t need anyone to pull him up after a fall. The both of them, holding totems. 

He’s surprised when he hears himself say, “Forever?” 

Forever hums a curious noise. “Yes, meu xuxu?” 

Bad swallows hard. He doesn’t know where this is going, but he has a feeling, and over a dozen code attacks have taught him to trust when he gets a feeling. Carefully, he gives voice to the thought that’s been nagging him, “I need both hands to shave you.” 

“Okay!” Forever agrees, unphased. 

“Forever,” Bad says. “I need to stop holding my totem.” 

Forever doesn’t- falter, but he twitches, a little hiccup in whatever happy little daydream he’s been living in. “Don’t you trust me, Badboy?” 

Bad thinks about the mines. He thinks about explosion after explosion after explosion at the end of a disastrous proposal. Bad licks his lips. “It’s not… about trust,” he says, words cautiously measured. He’s not the one on drugs, but he feels like vibrating from knotted-up anticipation. “You know I’ve been here a while. You know it was… hard. Even before the code. I’m…” Forever looks up at him. “I need your help.” 

Forever cocks his head to the side, still smiling. “My help?” 

Bad bites his lip, then, and doesn’t miss the way that Forever’s eyes train in on his mouth. “Yeah,” he says, warming to the lie. “Yeah. I need your help.” He starts unbuckling his chestplate. 

Forever freezes, mouth falling open. “Badboy?” he says, voice a little tremulous. It almost sounds like him. Bad is embolded into continuing. 

“You’re in danger, Forever,” Bad says, and oops- too true. He drops his chestplate into one of his backpacks, then continues, “As president, I mean. Not everyone loves the Federation. The code, political enemies- they all want to hurt you.” 

“Political enemies,” Forever echoes with a laugh, and Bad feels something rush through him at the almost sardonic look Forever gives him. 

Bad smiles back at him, letting it come out a little nervous. One by one, he removes the rest of his armour. Pants. Boots. His hands are shaking by the time he removes his helmet and drops it into the backpack. “I know what it’s like. That… worry. Even with your loved ones. So I don’t- I don’t want to scare you, Forever, but I want you to put your totem down, too.” 

Forever keeps grinning. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” There’s a sharpness to his voice, a grated edge that just promises more shouting and more pills. A risk of him running off, escaping, and Bad can’t lose this opportunity now that he’s got it. But Forever is stubborn, and this isn’t enough, so… 

Fudge. Okay. He’s committed now; he has to keep going. Bad takes out the Sunshine Protector just to obviously, visibly, tuck that away into his weapons bag. Anything, anything, he has to remember he’ll do anything. He starts piling the rest of his inventory into his backpacks. 

“...Meu anjo? What are you doing?” 

“I want to- to help you, Forever,” Bad promises. He feels so naked. He’s fully clothed. He has no armour, and his hotbar has no weapon to defend himself from the man who tried to kill him only days before. It- he exists in a strange state of limbo. It doesn’t matter how killable he is, because he can always respawn. What is death to a grim reaper? What is death to an immortal? What is death to a grieving parent? But- still. There’s a vulnerability to packing away his weapons, his armour, his things. All of his prep made obsolete, no scanner involved at all. “But I can’t- if you’re holding a totem, I need to hold a totem, see? But you want to hold a totem in our house, which is totally safe, for the same reasons I do. So, if- if you’re the most powerful player around, maybe- maybe you can put it down. For a little bit.” Bad puts the death totem into the bag, and closes it with finality. 

Forever is quiet. His smile looks hollow now. 

Anything, anything, anything. Bad hops off of the counter and throws his backpacks into the tub, out of reach, and draws the curtain for good measure. Forever’s eyes follow the arc of his hand. “There,” Bad pants, and turns around again. He stands there, bared but fully clothed, vulnerable in a way he hasn’t been since- since- since some point he can’t even remember. “Now I’m- it’s up to you to protect me.” Bad wants Forever to try to kill him. “Now- now it’s your turn.” 

“Bad…” Forever says, his voice softer than Bad has heard in… a while. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” 

Bad’s heart drops. He’s so close. He’s so far. The rushing in his ears is so loud. He wants to bite, and claw, and hurt. He wants to dig his claws into Forever’s skin and- “I’ll let you kiss me,” Bad blurts, the promise tumbling all at once from his mouth like a badly-kept secret. “Once I’m done shaving you. Just- please, Forever. You know what it’s like. Please. Don’t you trust me?” 

Forever cracks. 

Bad’s breath catches when Forever pulls out his backpack -the one with the totems. Forever’s knuckles are white where his hands grip around the straps, but he places the backpack carefully outside the bathroom door before he steps away again. He looks jittery already, like a wild animal, and brandishes the totem still in his hand at Bad like a cross. 

“I’m keeping this one,” he says, and his grin looks painful. “I’m- this one, I’m holding onto this one. Okay?” 

“Okay,” Bad agrees, breathless. There is a lump in his throat. It’s hard to keep his hands still. Is he shaking? He might be shaking. Forever only has one totem. Bad has nothing. Forever has one totem. 

Forever picks up the towel and the shaving knife with one hand, then carries them over. He holds them out. Bad takes them- the blade he accepts by its sharpest point, but he’s careful not to bleed. “Okay,” Forever whispers. Then, too quick, almost desperate, he takes out his bottle and gulps down another pill. He stumbles to the chair as the shakes start to wreck him, almost toppling over before he snatches onto the chair’s back to steady himself. Bad, still holding the knife, does nothing to help. 

Forever manages to climb into the chair just as the trembles subside. He slumps back with a loud, satisfied sigh, like he’s just completed some great feat. He tilts his head back to look at Bad upside-down, his relaxation a stark contrast to the tension from just a moment before. He smiles dreamily up at his fiance, and it almost even reaches his (dilated, too wide) eyes. 

“Oh, Badboy,” he sighs happily. “Come on, come on! We’re all ready now, aren’t we?” 

Bad can very clearly see the column of Forever’s throat, stretched out and vulnerable. “Yeah.” Bad’s chest feels tight. He steps up behind the chair and looks down- Forever’s throat is right there. It’s a nice throat. Bad thinks it would be easy to fit both hands around it. He starts with just one hand. The damp towel is wiped gently over Forever’s mouth and jaw, then down over his neck. He does it again, preparing the skin for the sharp edge of the blade. 

Forever hums quietly, appreciatively. He closes his eyes, and Bad’s blood sings. 

An open neck. An ignorant victim. A single totem. It doesn’t matter how empty Bad’s inventory is- he has a knife, handed to him by Forever himself. Bad should stab him now. Two quick slices to the throat, a spray of blood, and a fresh corpse. It’s what Bad would have done before- but. He’s tense. There’s a stiffness to his muscles, and he doesn’t have armour. What if he misses? They’re so close together, it’s impossible to miss. 

There’s something almost… ritualistic about a good shave, anyway.. Bad can’t put the blade to his throat, not yet. Forever will know if he starts too soon. He has no armour. He needs to do this right. The shaving knife disappears into his hotbar. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Bad murmurs. He gently runs the towel along the bottom of Forever’s jaw, almost holding his mouth shut, but the president doesn’t seem to be bothered. Eyes still closed, he just makes a peaceful little humming noise. Bad moves the towel up a little higher- it hides the smile. It hides the smile, so Bad takes a moment to just… look. His stomach flips. Yeah, that’s Forever. That’s him. His lashes rest delicately against his skin, eyes shut and face smoothed into something peaceful. His hair has fallen into disarray, strands loose across his forehead, and Bad gingerly brushes them away.

He could lift the towel higher. It’s already over Forever’s mouth, and it could go over Forever’s nose, too. Bad could press down- or topple the chair, first, maybe, leave Forever falling into him as Bad suffocates him. Although- it would be difficult, but Forever could probably get a few good cuts into Bad before he suffocates, armourless as Bad is. But, then again, damp cloth is even better for a suffocation. Bad doesn’t think it matters if the towel is damp from water or from blood. Maybe he’d be able to keep the towel pressed down until he bled out. Maybe he’d die before Forever would; maybe he would fall across Forever and trap him beneath the wet cloth and the weight of his limp body, forcing the president to drown on the blood of his own fiance. Wouldn’t that be perfect? 

No. Too risky. It’s too risky. Forever still has all of his items. If he puts down a sponge and hits Bad hard enough, he’ll be able to get away before either of them could die. If Bad screws this up, he will never get a chance like this ever again. He has to be smart. 

So- cream, next, it’s shaving cream, next. Bad steps away as he throws the towel into his hotbar, then grabs the bottle and returns to Forever’s side.  “How did you learn?” Forever asks. Bad pauses a moment to realize what Forever’s asking, then laughs a little lowly.

 “I owned a pie shop, once,” he says. He pours the mixture into his hands to lather it. “I rented out the top floor to a barber. He was nice. Showed me a few things. Let me try a few things out with his clients.” 

Forever’s brows raise. “‘Try a few things out with his clients?’” he echoes. He’s -of course- still smiling, but there’s a note in his voice that Bad can’t read. 

“Yeah! Pies,” Bad explains. His heart twinges at the thought of simpler times. “They were pretty good. Now keep your mouth closed, Forever, or you’ll get foam in it.” 

Forever acquieses, but he purses his lips playfully until Bad gets his hands on his face. Once upon a time, when Bad first arrived on the island, his claws were sharp enough that he’d needed to wear gloves at night, just so he wouldn’t accidentally cut himself in his sleep. And then there were the eggs. Ever since Dapper arrived, Bad has taken a day out of every month to file his fingers down to dull, harmless nubs. Swords could do all of the cutting he needed, and what would he do if he poked Dapper too hard and ended up cracking him? He couldn’t bear the thought. 

But now. Bad uses the pads of his fingers to lather Forever’s face. If his claws were longer, they could gouge deep, bleeding ruts into his skin. As they are now, though, they do nothing more than scratch lightly over the stubble. At the worst, they leave a thin white line where they scrape over Forever’s actual skin.

In a moment of weakness, Bad swipes his dulled thumb under Forever’s eye, imagining the red tears that would bloom from the wound. Forever won’t cry over their lost eggs, but Bad could make him. 

Bad swipes his thumb again, pressing the pad of his thumb down with just enough force to feel at the edge of bone that gives way to eye socket. It’s an almost tender gesture, and Forever’s skin is soft. But Forever makes a little noise and Bad jolts, jerking his hand back. He swallows quickly, then wastes no more time in getting back to work. He lathers Forever’s jaw, his cheeks, around his mouth, a little way down his neck- he’s quick, and efficient, and doesn’t linger. And then… and then there’s nothing for Bad to do but wash his hands, and grab the knife. 

The shaving knife feels heavier. It falls into his hand from his hotbar with a solid weight. Inventories keep most items in the same state they were stored in, so the handle is still warm from Forever’s hands. 

Bad hand is steady when he puts it to Forever’s neck. 

His breath comes quicker, the rushing sound loud in his ears. Forever’s skin is warm and soft under his hand.  

Forever hums. His skin flutters beneath the blade. His eyes are still closed, his smile is wide. “What’s your favourite type of flower?” he asks. 

Bad hesitates for long enough that Forever opens his eyes to look at him. Bad swallows and doesn’t meet his gaze. He makes up for his hesitation by drawing the blade slowly up Forever’s neck, just an inch, and then summons the towel from his hotbar to wipe the shaving cream from the knife. “...Cornflowers,” he answers quietly. “Cornflowers are my favourite.” 

“Ah, cornflowers,” Forever sighs happily, smiling widely up at Bad again. Bad keeps his eyes pinned to Forever’s neck and draws the blade across a fresh patch of skin. “Those are the blue ones, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“They’re nice.” Forever hums. Bad puts the blade to his neck again, but then Forever keeps talking. “I think they will look nice in our wedding. We can have flower eggs! Imagine them, Badboy, all of them in their cute little outfits, throwing cornflowers around.” 

Ow. He can see it so clearly, too. His little eggs all dressed up and covered in flowers as they march down the aisle… smiling. Happy. Bad swallows hard. 

“I think the colours should be all black and blue,” Forever says, and shuts his eyes again. “And then you can stand out all pretty with your black and red, Bad. Will you wear your hair down again?” 

“...Maybe,” Bad says quietly. “Now shhhh, Forever… I need you to hold still, and stop smiling.” Black and blue… He felt stuck on that. Black and blue. Like a bruise. 

“Stop smiling?” Forever giggles. “But there’s so much to be happy about, meu anjo!” 

“Are you sure?” 

Forever opens his eyes to look up at Bad again. Bad looks back at him. The knife drifts upwards, slow, to press against Forever’s pulse. Bad’s hand is already slippery from the cold shaving cream, but he knows that the blood will be warm. He twitches when something warm touches his face- and he realizes, abruptly, that Forever’s hand has lifted up to tenderly cup his face. “Yeah,” Forever says, smiling.

Bad’s hand is shaking. Not a lot- not enough to cut, but enough for him to notice. They’re close. How long has Bad been leaning in? He presses the knife more firmly against Forever’s artery, but he doesn’t slice. “Stop. smiling,” he hisses. The words feel like grit spat from his mouth.

Forever’s thumb caresses the skin just beneath Bad’s eye, a mockery of the purely violent gesture Bad had subjected him to just moments before. Bad flushes hot in- in anger, or something else, but definitely with some anger, and then- and then Forever says, “Okay,” and he stops smiling. He closes his eyes again and leans back -Bad is startled to realize Forever had been leaning up towards him too- ultimately taking the blade away from his own neck, and he stops smiling. His hand falls away from Bad’s cheek, but it falls to lightly rest on the wrist of the hand that’s holding the towel. 

Bad is quiet for a long, long moment, just staring down at his broken fiance. And then- and then he gets back to work. 

The knife glides easily across Forever’s skin, shaving away the fine hairs of his beard. Bad is out of practice, but not so out of practice that he makes Forever bleed. When he moves on from Forever’s neck he has to lay the towel down so both hands are free to manipulate Forever’s face. He carefully pulls the skin taut where necessary, and only presses his dull nails down too hard once or twice. Forever sits peaceful and blank faced through it all. 

And then- 

And then it’s done. 

Bad turns Forever’s head to one side, and then the other, and he barely has it in him to pretend he’s inspecting him for any missed spots. And then he lets go, and he steps back. The knife hangs almost limply in his hand.

It’s when Forever is grinning again, standing now and inspecting his own face in the mirror, that Bad asks, “Is it nice? Being happy?” 

“What?” Forever turns to him, smile a little puzzled. His eyes are downright twinkling with fevered joy. 

“Is it nice?” 

“Yeah! You did a really good job, Badboy!” Forever praises. Bad’s traitorous heart leaps at the rare praise. Forever bounds the half-step over to swoop Bad into his arms and spin them, the two of them almost knocking over thr chair in the small space. Bad clings to him, and the single totem digs painfully into Bad’s side. 

“Forever, that’s not what I asked,” Bad insists almost even before they come to a stop. He feels lightheaded. “Do you like being happy?” 

“Yeah!” Forever chirps. “I’m with you, aren’t I?” And he leans in. When he kisses him, Bad doesn’t dodge.  

Forever is so warm. His lips are soft and the kiss is so tender, gentle like Bad is a wild animal who might be frightened off at the first wrong move. Forever’s hand comes up to cup the back of Bad’s head, the other arm wrapping itself around his waist. Bad is pliant, and he doesn’t kiss him back, but his arms wrap around Forever and pulls him in closer. Their bodies are flush together with no room for even air between them, and Bad thinks that if he focuses hard enough he could feel Forever’s heart beat against his own. He splays one hand across Forever’s shoulderblades, pressing hard to pin him close, and he uses the other hand, the one with the knife, to stab Forever in the back six times over in quick succession.

Blood sprays on the mirror behind them. Blood coats Bad’s hand. There’s heat at Bad’s back as the totem pops! and the room is filled with a stinging, magical shower of green and golden sparks- his ears ring from the minor explosion. Forever gasps into Bad’s mouth, and he tastes like iron. The knife was deep in his back when Forever’s heart stopped- the skin is already healing over it, so Bad holds on tighter and rips the blade out. 

Forever gets pulled back violently with the knife- their lips are disconnected with a slick sound that makes Bad’s head spin. “Bad?” Forever gasps. His eyes are wide, but not with joyous fever- with shock. It’s a good look. “You- you stabbed me?” 

“I did.” There’s something wrong with Bad’s brain, some wires that must have been crossed on a bad respawn because he’s dizzy, he’s too-warm, he’s going to vibrate right out of his skin- he’s grabbing Forever by his hair and forcing his head down to kiss him. 

There must be some wires crossed in Forever’s brain, too, because he kisses him back. It’s not tender or gentle- it’s a fight, just another battle that both of them are too stubborn to lose. Their teeth clack together and it’s awful and Bad’s blood sings. Forever tastes like his own blood and Bad bites his lip, hard, just to taste more. Forever gasps into his mouth, faltering, and Bad presses his advantage. 

He shoves Forever backwards, towards the wall, stumbling forwards with him so they don’t separate more than a few inches apart. Forever makes a shuddery keening noise when his back hits the stone- and Bad knows it’s not just from pain, but he thinks it’s mostly from pain, because the knife had been between Forever’s back and the wall and now it’s been aquainted once again with Forever’s flesh. Bad pants hard, and it’s Forever who drags Bad closer and catches his mouth again. 

There’s so much blood. 

And then, suddenly, the blood is all that’s left. 

[[PRESIDENT]Forever was slain by BadBoyHalo]

The shaving knife clatters into the ground as Bad falls into the space where Forever’s body once was. He catches himself on the wall, startled enough to stop breathing. There, on the ground, is the knife, shining wetly in the too-bright light of the bathroom. Next to it is a small pack that’s left behind after each player’s death- the remains of Forever’s inventory. Bad’s ultimate prize. 

Bad is frozen for a moment. He’s vaguely aware of more chat messages coming in at a rapidfire pace- Cellbit, maybe, and Philza, and Etoiles and whoever else is awake right now, but he doesn’t look at any of them. He falls to his knees instead which are promptly stained by the bright-red mess across the floor. He finds out that doesn’t care- nor does he care when he stains the pack when he scrabbles for it, and and he doesn’t care when he stains the inventory items when he rummages, and he doesn’t care when he stains the pill bottle when his hand finally clasps around it. 

He stares at Cucurucho’s smiling face on the too-white bottle, surrounded by smudges of red, then wipes his dirty thumb across its eyes to blind it with even more bloody smears. The bottle gets thrown into his inventory, then- the briefcase, right Forever had a briefcase, too, Bad needs to grab that, and- 

and then that’s it. 

That’s it. 

Mechanically, Bad pushes himself to his feet. He leaves the shaving knife where it is. He gets dressed in his armour, gathers up all of his backpacks, and then he goes home. 

He gets changed. He lays down in Dapper’s room, curled up on the floor next to Dapper’s empty bed. He holds the Sunshine Protector with both hands, closes his eyes, and tries to sleep. Bad doesn’t sleep. Bad also doesn’t answer any messages until morning, and maybe that can count as rest. 

His mouth still tastes like blood.

[z-h-i-e]

Just in time for Halloween.

Werewelves: Extended Edition

A Choose Your Own Elfventure story

There's even more twisted shit in this version.

The year is 465 FA, and your realm is in trouble. Your cousins have been guests for longer than you would like, and they are gaining favor in your court. Your adventure begins as you return from a hunt with Celegorm and Curufin, home to Nargothrond, where your valet listens to your concerns…but soon, there will be other perils for you to overcome. The decisions are yours to make, for you are…

​Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond.

The original version had 144 parts that equaled to 1002 possible combinations for a story. This version has more, and has some options I didn't have time to write for the original version. it took about four months to write the original; it took over two years to revamp it so that I didn't break vectors for the paths.

It splits off after the first few choices, and you can pick either the PG-13 version, or the so explicit we didn't have a rating for it version.

Enjoy. And, actually, what I mean is, don't enjoy, because this shit is creepy as fuck.

[thesummerstorms]

Athena tells R'as Al-Ghul: "With the exception of whatever anger my Lord Uncle might have at your perversion of His domain, you have given Us no reason to care for your existence."

She looks coldly from him to Talia before letting her gaze linger briefly on where her daughter stands with her mortal half-brother, both of them with weapons drawn. Then her attention is fully on R'as again, eyes bright, Athena Glaukopis, face as still and cool as carved marble.

"You have been beneath Our notice. You should endeavor to stay there."

[blackypanther9]

I’ll protect you

WARNING!: Mentions of abuse/abusive behavior, threatening, cursing, Protective!Alastor, mention of murder, mention of sexual abuse (in newspaper mentioned), hurt/comfort, angst AND MORE ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!

A/N: Picture belongs to the rightful owner !!! I just put the pic there, so you know that it is the second part of Father!Alastor x Son!Reader. Read at the end of the Oneshot my A/n !!!

Words: 7 946

Alastor was cooking Breakfast. He had to get to work today, but he didn’t want to leave M/n all alone for all the meal times today, so he wanted to share Breakfast with him at least. He will be back home very late. Later than usual.

As Alastor was finished cooking, he heard footsteps on the upper level of his house and his smile was happier than before. M/n was awake. Soon enough he came down the stairs and Alastor turned to his Son, who was seven years old soon.

It had been 8 months since he took the kid in and he will turn 7 in three weeks.

“Good Morning, M/n.”, Alastor greeted.

“Mornin’, Dad. Why are you still here ? Usually you are already at work.”, M/n said with concern.

“I stayed so we can eat Breakfast together. I will be coming home very late today.”, Alastor explained and sat down.

M/n sat down on the other chair and stared at his Father. He was nervous to ask, but he was so curious...

Alastor taught M/n to not ask him anything, while eating. After Breakfast he can ask. He also shall never speak with his mouth full. And he should always eat slowly and not devour his food, like someone will take it away from him if he takes his time. Still M/n found it fair to at least let him know, that he wanted to ask him something later.

“After Breakfast I have a question, Dad. Just so you know.”, M/n informed softly.

“As long as it will be quick, sure. I will have to hurry after Breakfast.”, Alastor replied gently.

M/n smiled and nodded at his Father, but Alastor could see how uneasy his adoptive Son was. It seemed serious and important, but he can’t call in sick again. At this rate he will get fired.

They both ate calmly their Breakfast, even though M/n had an urge to inhale his food. His Father said that he had to hurry, after Breakfast, to work and M/n always had anxiety when it revolved around time. It was because his Dad was barely home, so if he wanted anything, he had to tell him either in the morning or leave a note for Alastor to read, when he came back home.

When they finished and cleared the table, M/n quickly washing the dishes, while Alastor dressed up for work, the soon to be seven year old rushed to Alastor’s room and knocked.

“Come in.”, Alastor said from behind the door.

M/n opened it and entered. His Father looked at him, as he put on his suit coat. He saw that his Son was nervous and he seemed also to try and force himself to just spit it out. The adult gave M/n time.

“I was wondering...it doesn’t have to be today, if you don’t want that, Dad...but...I was wondering if...”

Then M/n mumbled and Alastor didn’t understand anything.

“You were wondering iiiiffff....?”, Alastor asked, stretching the word ‘if’ in suspense.

“...If you would take me with you to your work !”, M/n got out, nervously.

Alastor stared at his Son in surprise. He wanted to tag along with him ? Alastor chuckled.

“Why would you want to come along ? It will be boring for you.”, Alastor said amused.

“It can’t be more boring than staying coped up in this house without a soul in here. As soon as I am finished with my tasks, you give me, I don’t know what to do and get bored. I can’t play with anyone, I can’t talk with anyone. All I can do is sit around, read and wait until you are home or even go to bed. It’s boring. I hear you on the Radio from time to time, but it’s not the same as talking to you in person. You must get breaks, right ? Perfect time to at least talk with you for a bit. I can get my own stuff with me and do something, while you are on air. I’ve also been interested how your workplace looks.”

Alastor looked at M/n in deep thought at that. His Son had a point, it was dreadfully boring in here all alone and M/n was bad in making friends. It didn’t help that his Son is getting home schooled, because of the trauma he experienced as he had lost his older Sister, Linda L/n.

He looked at his clock and sighed, conflicted. He could understand M/n and he also had a few ideas to build him into his broadcasts, but he had to call his Boss first, to get approval...

‘To Hell with it. I’ll call and ask now...’, Alastor thought and got up.

He took his phone off the hook and called his Boss. He picked up immediately.

“Alastor Hazbin, where are you ? Call in sick again, for your Son ?”, the Boss asked annoyed.

“No, Sir. I am on my way. But I wanted to know if my Son can tag along. He seems very interested in my work.”, Alastor replied.

The Boss made an interested hum.

“If he really is interested, then sure. Bring him along.”, he replied.

“Okay. Thank you, Sir.”

“Sure thing. Now hurry up, you’ll be late.”

With that Alastor hung up and looked at M/n, who followed him.

“Get dressed and we can go. Next time you can pack a few things, today we have to speed it up a bit.”, he told his Son.

M/n grew a large smile, nodded and stormed off.

“Don’t run up and down the stairs ! You’ll fall, M/n !”, Alastor scolded as he saw his Son run up the stairs.

“Sorry, Papa !”, M/n replied, too excited.

Alastor sighed fondly.

‘This Kid will be my early death...’

-Time skip-

Soon enough they arrived at the Radio station, Alastor worked at. M/n looked around in awe, while he held his Father’s hand. A few people stared at them, as they walked by. No one ever saw Alastor with his Son before, so they all threw curious eyes to them.

M/n was a bit self conscious, but as long as his Papa was here, no one would hurt him. Alastor promised that he will do more next time someone dares to touch M/n without his own permission.

Soon enough they made it to Alastor’s office and as they entered the office, M/n was in awe. It was big and looked homey. He saw his Dad take off his coat and then held his hand out, for M/n’s. He quickly took his own coat off and gave it to his Dad, who hung the jacket up next to his own.

Then he pulled a chair next to his and sat M/n down. Alastor sat down next and looked at his watch, seeing that it was soon time for him to go on air. He read the newspaper and scrunched his face up in disgust. M/n noticed and got concerned.

“What is it, Dad ?”, he asked.

Alastor looked at M/n and his eyes softened, his strained smile, turning genuine again.

“Nothing to worry about, Son.”, he replied.

M/n gave him a look.

“Dad, I am soon seven, lived a Nightmare since I’ve been two years of age and you think that after such a reaction, I would believe that lie ? I am in here when you broadcast anyways. I can handle it. Now spill the tea.”, M/n said.

Alastor had yet to keep in his head, that, M/n might be soon seven, but he was mentally already way older, more mature. He lacked a few disciplines here and there, but that was expected as M/n had biological parents that didn’t raise him properly and correctly.

The adult sighed and gave in.

“A girl was found killed and sexually assaulted in some alleyway, Son.”

“The Cathedral alley again ?”, M/n asked.

Alastor skimmed through the article and found it.

“Yes. Again the same alley as your...Sister was found in.”

M/n nodded emptily.

“It’s the same disgusting people then. After all, they never got caught.”, M/n said in a monotone voice.

Then Alastor skimmed a bit further through and his eyes froze on the next article, with his latest victim. He killed the man he sued, after he hurt M/n. Taylor. He hated kids and hurt, scared, even almost killed them. That man had to go. Alastor killed him a week ago. The police took a very long while until they found him.

“Now that is interesting tea, right here.”, Alastor said out loud.

“What is, Dad ?”

Before he could answer, his Boss entered and looked at Alastor.

“Your turn, Alastor. Hello, little one. That your Son ?”, he asked the younger man.

“Yes, Sir. This is my Son. M/n, this is my Boss, Mr. Floyd. Mr. Floyd, this is my Son, M/n.”, he quickly introduced.

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir.”, M/n politely said.

The man smiled back.

“A pleasure to meet you too, little guy.”

M/n felt very uncomfortable. The man had a fuller figure than Alastor and was a bit bigger than him, his smile was bad, he had some rotten teeth and the way he ogled M/n, seemed anything but friendly. He seemed to devour him. He scared M/n, but he knew, as long as Alastor, his Dad, was with him, nothing bad will happen.

What none of the two noticed, was that Alastor also saw his Boss’ stare and he knew EXACTLY what it meant.

‘What a perverted, vile creature...’, Alastor scoffed in his mind.

His Boss was definitely on his death list now. No way will he let him live and risk his Son’s safety and most importantly...let that vile man ruin M/n’s innocence.

The man then left and Alastor counted down the seconds in his head. He had 20 seconds now.

“I don’t like him, Dad...”

“I know, Son. Don’t worry about him. Now shush.”, Alastor gently said.

He pressed a button and was on air. M/n saw and stayed silent.

“Well, Hello and a Good Morning, New Orleans ! It is your favorite Radio Host, Alastor Hazbin, on air ! Now let us begin like we always do. What news do we have today to deliver, what music will we play today and what questions and phone calls will we get today ?! Stay tuned for it all ! Ohohohoh !”, Alastor happily and cheerily spoke into his microphone.

M/n smiled as he saw his Father act like that. He rarely saw that side of him and he could see why. Alastor did seem very happy and comfortable as he played the Radio Host, but even then, he also could see that it was a bit pretended. He assumed because of the news.

With that he started to cheerily tell them about the news he read in the newspapers. That a girl was found killed and sexually assaulted in the Cathedral alleyway, reminded them that it wasn’t the first time and pulled some lame jokes to lift the mood up, then he started to talk about something else and it caught M/n’s attention quickly.

“But before we move onto sport, another murder occurred ! The name of the victim was Taylor Urano ! He was found dead, with his organs in his hands, near the Canal street, apparently he was rotting there for a week or so ! Sounds like the Bayou Killer is still on the loose ! And we all thought they finally died or got caught ! Oh, how wrong we have been !”, Alastor informed.

M/n looked at his Dad, knowing that Taylor Urano was the fucker that hurt him a few months ago. Alastor side eyed his Son, with his smile, then he went over to sports and what was new there. After he spread the news, he started to announce what will be played, requested by people from last time, and then he was off air, playing the hits.

As the microphone was off, Alastor turned to his Son fully, waiting for him to speak.

“So...Taylor Urano is dead...”, M/n muttered only for his Father to hear.

“Yes, indeedy !”

M/n nodded and took a deep breath.

“Are you upset ?”, Alastor asked him gently.

M/n shook his head.

“No, why would I ? He deserved it. I wasn’t the only one he hurt and traumatized. Whoever killed him, I pat them on the back and say thank you. Not that I can do that, but I would.”

Alastor felt proud and relieved that his adoptive Son supported it and even appreciated the gesture. But he can never tell his own Son that he was the Bayou Killer. He would scare him off and Alastor didn’t have the heart to kill him, but he also didn’t want to go to jail and get sentenced to death.

“We have Lunch break for now. What do you want to eat ? We can go out and get something.”, Alastor suggested.

“Anything is alright, Dad. If we would do what I want to eat, you would be forced to go back home and cook.”, M/n giggled out.

“Why is that, hmm ?”, Alastor asked with his smile genuine, head crooked to his left side.

“Because I love your Jambalaya. And only YOU can cook it, Dad.”

Alastor laughed at that heartily. He did get M/n addicted to his Mother’s Jambalaya and Gumbo. At first the boy was hesitant to eat it, but one spoon full in his mouth and he was in love with it. Who would have thought ?

“Maybe I will make us some Jambalaya this Sunday. How does that sound, Cher ?”, Alastor suggested.

“Yes ! Can I help washing and cutting the vegetables ?”, M/n asked in excitement.

“As long as you don’t cut yourself, you can.”

“Yay !”

Alastor chuckled, got up, went to the door and took his own coat, with M/n’s, off of the hook. Then he pulled his on and helped M/n into his. Together they left the Studio, informing his Boss.

“How long do we have ?”, M/n asked.

“We have only 30 minutes. Enough time to get to a restaurant, order and take it back with us to the Radio Station. Then I will be back on air.”, his Father answered.

“Okay. Lead the way, Dad. Where do we get our Lunch ?”

Alastor looked at M/n and chuckled, then led him to a restaurant, his Mother showed him once. They were very rarely there, but the food was still good.

After they arrived there, Alastor was about to enter, as M/n tightly held Alastor’s pant leg, stopping him from entering. He looked at the six year old. He stared at something through the window, eyes wide with fear. Alastor grew concerned.

“What’s wrong, Cher ?”, the adult asked the frightened kid.

“Can we go get food somewhere else, Papa ? Please ?”, M/n said with a shaky voice.

Alastor lost his smile entirely. What scared M/n so bad that he wanted to leave ?

“What do you see, that scares you so much, Cher ? Tell me.”

M/n shook his head, not taking his eyes off of whatever he was looking at.

“I wanna leave...Please...”, M/n begged, shakily.

Alastor could see that M/n started to sweat, his face awfully pale and he was shaking. Something was very wrong. He went behind his Son and knelt down, searching with his own eyes, what M/n was so focused on.

His eyes landed on a man and a woman, sitting on a table, enjoying some food. Why was M/n so scared of these two ?

“Who are they, M/n ? Why are you scared of them ?”, Alastor asked gently, rubbing the boy’s shoulders.

M/n’s eyes filled with tears and they rolled down his face. His happiness and cheerfulness completely gone and his big smile was now a frown.

“They are Fred and Gorgia....L/n.”

Alastor’s eyes widened.

“Siblings ?”, he asked, with a sliver of hope.

“N-no. They are...they were my parents.”, M/n got out with a hiccup.

Alastor scrutinized the two of them that harmed M/n so much and then left him for dead. Now he knew why M/n was so scared of them. He smiled as he got an idea. New Orleans was cold today and M/n’s coat had a hood. He pulled the hood over M/n.

His Son gasped and turned around, looking at Alastor, who gave him a soft, warm smile.

“Keep the hood on, we will sit in the back of the restaurant and order something to take to the Station. They won’t recognize you and they won’t see you. Do you trust me ?”, Alastor asked as he wiped the boy’s tears away.

M/n nodded softly and gave Alastor a big hug, which he returned. He hated to be touched, but his Son needed this. His Son is the only exception that can touch him, whenever he wants.

After they parted, they entered the restaurant. An older Lady from the counter waved at Alastor, with a big smile. Alastor waved back and pointed to a table in the far back. She nodded and he led his Son back to the table. Not long later, the older Lady came over and gave them both a menu.

“Your child, Al ?”, she asked gently.

“Yes, that is my Son. M/n Hazbin, Lydia. How have you been ?”

“I have been fine. You ?”

“Just dandy. Go ahead and look into the menu, Cher.”, Alastor told his Son.

M/n opened the card and looked through.

“Again, to go ?”, Lydia asked softly.

“Yes. I have only 20 minutes left, then I have to be back at the Station.”

“Ah, alright. I will tell the Chefs.”

“Thank you dearly, Sweetheart.”

“No problem, Alastor.”

Then she left. Alastor knew that she will be back in a bit, so he had to quickly chose. He looked at M/n, who looked up and at his former parents from time to time. He was very scared that they will recognize him.

“What do you want to take, hmm ?”, Alastor asked M/n.

“I am not sure. Something with Shrimp...”, M/n answered.

Alastor hummed in reply.

“How about a po – boy then ?”, Alastor suggested.

M/n looked at Alastor in confusion and curiosity.

“What is a po – boy ?”

“It is also called ‘Poor boy’. It is a sandwich. Fried shrimps, salad, some sauce and bread. The bread is a baguette and it is a big one. Tastes divine too, if you want to know my opinion.”, he explained.

M/n looked at his Dad very interested. He looked back at the menu and then looked at the price. He frowned.

“I don’t think I can take it...”

“Why not, Cher ?”

“Dad...this is 8 Dollars...that is a bit much, don’t you think ?”

“That is nothing, Cher. Go on. Order it. But don’t forget to say that you want it with Shrimp. Otherwise you will have beef in it.”

M/n looked at him, hesitantly.

“O....Okay...”

Then Lydia came back and looked at them.

“Have you decided ?”

“I am taking the usual, please.”, Alastor replied and gently closed the menu.

M/n nervously swallowed and looked at the older woman, before he gathered all his courage and answered.

“I would like po – boy, but with Shrimp, instead of beef, please.”

She gave him a gentle smile and nodded, writing it down.

“Your Son is doing pretty well. What a big boy.”, she told Alastor.

He smiled brightly and looked at his Son with pride, then back at her.

“I know. Isn’t he a brave, big guy ? I am proud. That was his first time ordering food. And he was so polite too. Hahahaha !”, Alastor replied.

Lydia gave him a soft smile and chuckled.

“Even better. His first time and he was so brave and polite. Congrats, for raising him so well, Alastor, Cher.”

“Thank you, Lydia. It means a lot, coming from you.”

She smiled brighter and then left, to give the Chefs the order. M/n looked at his Dad.

“You really are proud of me ?”, he asked softly.

Alastor looked at M/n.

“Of course I am ! It was your first time and you made it. Good job, Kiddo !”, he praised his Son.

M/n smiled brightly and hugged his Father’s left arm, tightly.

“Thank you, Dad. It means a lot, coming from you.”

Alastor was very happy that M/n appreciated him and didn’t take him and his gestures for granted. He was truly happy to have a Son like him, even if he just adopted him and this was just a coincidence. This was something Alastor didn’t regret.

“Hey, Son ?”

“Yeah ?”

“What would you say, if I offered to include you into my broadcasts, hmm ?”

M/n pulled away and took a proper look at his Dad.

“Are you serious ?”, he asked his Dad.

“Sure am !”

“I would love that.”, M/n replied with a big smile.

Alastor chortled.

“Then we will start today, after we got back to the Station.”

“Okay !”, M/n chirped, happily.

-Time skip-

They returned to the Station with their meals, just in time. They took their coats off, Alastor hung them up again and they sat back down on their chairs. He looked at his Son with a big, honest smile.

“So, wanna hear what I have planned ?”, he asked his Son.

“Sure ! What is it, Dad ?”

“I will announce that I have a special guest with me. You will greet them, obviously. And then we will start with the phone calls. Usually they make requests or even ask questions. The ones that are directed at you, you can answer. Questions that make you uncomfortable, you will just say that you won’t or can’t answer that. Okay ?”

M/n eagerly nodded. Alastor gave him a headset and his own microphone. M/n carefully put it on and then looked at his microphone. He was bouncing up and down, nervous. Alastor explained how the microphone worked and what he needed to do to turn it on and off. M/n nodded along with everything.

“Oh, and try to sound cheery. Yes, Cher ?”, Alastor asked.

“I’ll try. I am very nervous, Dad.”, M/n admitted.

“It’ll be okay.”, his Dad assured him.

“What about my last name ? Shall I reveal it ?”

“Do what you wish to do.”

The Boss entered again.

“Hazbin, you are going on air in 10 seconds from now.”, he said and left.

Alastor counted the seconds down, gave M/n a giant smile and then went on air.

“Hello civilians from New Orleans ! I hope you liked the hits that were played until now, hahahaha !”, Alastor cheerily spoke into the microphone.

“Now, before we begin with the phone calls again, I have to inform you, that I have a special guest here, with me, today ! Do you want to say ‘Hello’ ?”, Alastor asked M/n.

He turned on the microphone and put on his best act, still nervous as hell, but he didn’t want to let his Dad down.

“Hello there, New Orleans ! My name is M/n Hazbin ! A pleasure to be here !”, M/n said into his microphone.

Alastor gave his Son a proud smile.

“Ohohohoh ! Isn’t he charming, Ladies and Gentlemen ?!”, Alastor spoke into his mic happily.

M/n blushed slightly at the praise, but was happy that his Dad supported him so much. Alastor put an arm around his Son’s shoulders and then continued with his broadcast.

“You know what that means, my dear viewers ! You can ask us both questions, make requests for hits to be played later and you can talk about your day with us ! Now...let the calls come in ! Oh, and please be nice to M/n, he is a shy one.”, Alastor chuckled into the mic, playing a laughing track.

M/n pouted at his Father and even pinched him in the side. Alastor yelped in surprise and stared at his Son in shock, who gave the adult just a smirk and then giggled.

“Oh my...He pinched me in my side ! I might have been wrong ! He is anything BUT shy !”, Alastor said with dramatics into the microphone.

M/n laughed at that and wiped a stray tear from his face.

“You deserved it, be honest.”, M/n teased.

“Hmmm....Maybe I did.”, he replied in his own microphone.

They both smiled brightly, having so much fun already. Alastor thought his Son will be bored, but he seemed to glow even brighter, being here, than he ever did at home.

Then the first phone call came through and Alastor picked it up.

“Hello there ! What may your name be and what do you want to talk about ?”, Alastor asked happily.

“Hello, Mr. Hazbin. My name is Angie Kolb. I have a question for you and one for M/n.”

“Alastor, is just fine, Dear ! Ask away !”

“Okay. M/n...”

“Yes, Miss Angie ?”, M/n replied, kindly.

“Are you Alastor’s younger Brother or what is your relation with him ? I am very curious.”

M/n smiled brightly and chuckled.

“Oh no, I am not his Brother. Alastor is my Dad !”, M/n happily answered.

“Oh, wow ! I hope to hear you more often in his broadcasts then !”, she chirped happily.

“You might. It depends on our agreements and schedules.”, M/n replied kindly.

“Hopefully it won’t be too busy for you then ! Now my last question, Alastor..”

“Yes, Sweetheart ?”, Alastor replied.

“Can you play ‘Farewell Blues’ one day ? It is my favorite.”

Alastor hummed in thought.

“I can do that ! Maybe I will play it tomorrow, I need to find the record first. Hahaha !”

“Thank you. Have a good day you two !”

“You too, Miss.”

“You too, Dear.”

With that it was hung up.

“Well, wasn’t she a charming Belle ?”, he asked with a chuckle.

“She was very nice, yes.”, M/n agreed with his Dad.

Alastor took a sip of his Coffee and M/n took a sip of his water. The next call came through and Alastor picked it up.

“Hello, there ! May we know your name ?”, Alastor asked kindly.

“Hello, Alastor. I think you remember me from last time. My name is Will Otis.”

“Ah, I do remember you ! How is your wife, Mr. Otis ?”, Alastor asked happily.

“She is alright.”

“The child ?”

“Soon on the way ! Just one more month. I can’t wait to meet my child !”, the man replied excitedly.

“That is good to hear, my good man !”

“I have three questions. Two for your Son and one for you.”

“Ask away !”

“Thank you. So, M/n...”

“Yes, Sir ?”, M/n asked, kindly.

Alastor saw his Son’s smile. He liked this. It made Alastor proud.

“How old are you by now ?”, the man asked.

“Oh, I am still six years old, but I will soon be seven !”, he answered happily.

“Do you go to school ?”

“No. I am getting home schooled. It was permitted.”, M/n replied, still acting happy.

He wasn’t a fan of talking about his past. Not a lot, but that was still okay.

“What a shame... I am a teacher there, now it makes sense that I never heard of you. I hope you are getting educated well, not that I doubt your Dad. Now, Alastor...”

“Yes, Mr. Otis ?”

“Who was the lucky woman ?”, he asked.

Alastor lost his smile almost and coughed.

“Ah...there was no lucky woman, I am afraid !”, Alastor answered.

Before the man could ask anything else, M/n quickly cleared it up, before this was misunderstood.

“He adopted me, Sir. But we have a strong bond already. He is like the Father I never had. I am happy and I don’t need a Mom !”, M/n said happily.

“Ah, I see. I am happy for you, that you two found each other, then.”, the man replied happily.

“I am too.”, M/n replied with a softer, happy voice.

He looked at Alastor with a grateful smile and he smiled back at him, pulled him closer and into his side.

“We both are happy about this. Any more questions ?”, Alastor asked.

“No, that was all. It is nice to know that you have a Son now.”

Alastor chuckled.

“Thank you and thank you for your call ! Maybe I will hear from you again when you got new updates, yes ?”

“Definitely, Alastor ! Count on that !”

“Have a nice day and until next time !”

“Until next time you two !”

Then the call was ended. M/n took another sip as another phone call came in. Alastor did the same greeting, but this time both of them were left stunned. The person’s name was Siri Horn.

“M/n, is Alastor abusing you ?”

M/n spat his water out, which the microphone caught, then he coughed.

“What ? I think I have misheard.”, M/n asked shocked.

Alastor stared at his Son, shaking his head. He heard the question too.

“I asked if Alastor was abusing you.”, she repeated.

“I have no idea why you would think that, Miss, but no. My Dad is NOT abusing me. He is very sweet, caring and considerate. Since he adopted me, he was nothing but supportive to me.”

“Did he kidnap you, or how did you meet ?”

M/n grew very uncomfortable.

“Why are you asking such questions ?”, M/n asked.

“I want to make sure he isn’t hurting you.”

“Why would he ?”

“There are rumors, that he did hurt his own Mother, before. Also, his Father was known to be abusive.”, she answered.

M/n looked at his Dad in worry. Alastor’s smile was very fake right now and his knuckles were white, balled into tight fists. M/n felt very uncomfortable, but he felt the need to protect his Dad and back him up. He did that for him too after all. He owes him.

“Rest assured, Miss, that he would never hurt me, nor kidnap me. How we met is very personal, but I will make an exception for you, to explain how we met. Deal ?”

“It is a deal. Now start, kid.”

“My biological parents hated me and abandoned me in the middle of nowhere, in New Orleans. It was the start of cold winter days and I wasn’t properly dressed, not that my parents ever gave me proper clothes. I asked around for help, but no one helped me. I wandered around and went into the woods, following a cute fawn to their Mother. It was snowing so I couldn’t find my way back, I was too deep in the woods and freezing terribly. I heard footsteps and hid, when I looked, I saw Alastor. I had no other choice, but ask him for help. I was lost, cold and hungry. My voice was weak, but I got his attention, but because I was for hours in the cold, my limbs gave out and I couldn’t move. He brought me to his home, warmed me up and took care of me. We talked and he offered to raise me until I am old enough, then he made the adoption with me official by authorities. He has the certificates and everything. It is all legal, Miss. If he wouldn’t have been...I might be dead today.”, M/n explained, voice a bit sad, yet still grateful.

The other line was silent for a bit. Then...

“Why did they hate you ?”

“I don’t fully know. I had a Sister, but she died a young age. They blamed me a lot for it, even though I had nothing to do with it. They never paid attention to her and how much problems she had, yet...they pretended like they cared about her. I guess I was the unwanted kid, but even then...they could have given me to an orphanage, but they refused to do so.”

“I am so sorry, M/n. And I am sorry that I accused you of abuse, Alastor.”

“It’s fine ! At least someone else cares about a child’s well being !”, Alastor said happily and rubbed his Son’s back.

“Hug...”, M/n muttered.

Alastor lifted M/n up and sat him into his own lap, hugging him close, while M/n hugged his Dad tightly.

“I wish you two the best and take care of each other, yeah ?”

“We will, Miss Horn ! Have a lovely day and there is no bad blood between us !”, Alastor said happily.

Then he hung up and comforted M/n.

“Such personal things will not be answered next time, Ladies and Gentlemen !”, Alastor said into his microphone.

Alastor looked at his watch and saw that he could go off air now and play more hits.

“Well then ! Time to play some more classic-!”, he got interrupted by another call.

He looked at M/n, who seemed better and sat down in his chair again.

“Fine...one last call...”, Alastor gave in gently.

He picked up the phone. He wished he didn’t...for M/n’s sake.

“Hello there ! What are your names ?”, he asked happily.

“M/n ! You little brat ! Just wait until we get our hands on you, you mistake !”, a male yelled though.

M/n’s eyes widened, his breathing grew faster and shaky, his face was pale and he looked ready to hide away. Alastor’s smile dropped instantly. He looked at him concerned.

“Who are you ?”, Alastor asked again, voice a bit hostile.

“I’ll make you wish you were never born ! You hear me, you piece of shit ?! When I am done with you, YOU WILL WISH YOU DIED THAT COLD WINTER DAY !”, the man yelled.

“Can’t believe that you failure are still alive ! What a disappointment ! After what you did to your own Sister !”, a female yelled through.

M/n shook, sobbing, but he pulled himself together. He has his Dad next to him, they aren’t here. He has to be brave. He grabbed the Microphone and pulled himself together.

“HOW DARE YOU SPEW SUCH LIES ABOUT US ?! WE GAVE YOU EVERYTHING !”, the female yelled angered.

“FUCK YOU ! BOTH OF YOU, YOU HEAR ME ?! YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING FOR ME ! YOU NEVER GAVE ME ANYTHING ! NOR DID YOU DO THAT FOR LINDA ! WE ALWAYS HAD TO STEAL CLOTHES, BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T BOTHER TO GIVE US ANY ! WE HAD TO SEE WHERE WE GET FOOD FROM, BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T BOTHER TO GO SHOPPING FOR ANY ! YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT ALL THE BRUISES, MY SISTER HAD ! YOU NEVER GAVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT US ! SO DON’T PRETEND LIKE YOU DID EVER DO ANYTHING ! YOU, FRED L/N, ARE A FUCKING DRUNK AND YOU LOVED TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ME, NO MATTER WHAT ! AND YOU, GORGIA L/N, YOU ARE A CONSUMER OF DRUGS AND A DAMN PROSTITUDE ! AS LONG AS YOU GOT A MAN INSIDE YOU, YOU DIDN’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT US ! I WAS ALWAYS YOUR PUNCHING BAG AND AS I DIDN’T REACT TO YOUR ABUSE ANYMORE, YOU THREW ME OUT AND CALLED ME USELESS AND A WASTE OF SPACE ! I HOPE, BEFORE THE BAYOU KILLER GETS CAUGHT, THAT YOU ARE THE NEXT ONES, THAT WILL DIE BY HIS HANDS !!!”

At first M/n’s voice was shaky and scared, but the more he talked and remembered, the more angered he got.

“HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE PATHETIC WASTE OF SPACE ?!”, the man hollered.

“I HAVE BEEN SILENT FOR LONG ENOUGH, FRED ! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU WILL DO TO ME, IF YOU EVER GET YOUR HANDS ON ME ! AT LEAST NOW EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR TRUE COLORS ! PEOPLE LIKE YOU, DESERVE TO DIE ! JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY LIFE !”

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO YOUR PARENTS LIKE THAT ?!”, Gorgia screeched.

“You are no more my parents ! You taught me every bad word in the book, threw it at me, cussed me out ! Now I am doing the same to you ! Karma is a bitch, isn’t it ?!”

“I WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR SO CALLED NEW FATHER ! JUST YOU WAIT !”, Fred hollered, pissed off.

“You try to touch my new and WAY BETTER FATHER, I will KILL YOU MYSELF, YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A FATHER ! STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY FAMILY AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY DAMN LIFE !!!”, M/n screamed in rage, feeling protective of Alastor.

Alastor was in shock at how vocal M/n’s parents were to their soon to be seven year old and how vocal M/n was to them back. He never heard any curse words leave M/n, this was the very first time.

“YOU ENJOYED THE STUPID RADIO HOST’S COMPANY WAY TOO MUCH, YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF FILTH !”

“And you two enjoyed the company of alcohol, multiple women’s cunts around your dick, drugs, multiple dicks in your cunt and beating your own children way too much ! So I guess we are fucking even ! Bye Hoe and bye Bastard !”, M/n yelled and hung up.

Then he spoke into the microphone again.

“And before I forget, Fred and Gorgia L/n, my adoptive Father is not stupid. He is very smart, so watch your disgusting mouths and wash them out with fucking soap. Maybe choke on it in the process.”, he growled out.

Then he got up and left his seat, sitting down on the floor in the corner of the office. He just sat there and let off his adrenaline and steam.

“Well then, this was a wild call and an entirely new side of M/n, I didn’t know of ! Everyone, that were M/n’s former parents ! Weren’t they just lovely people ? Now I will play you some hits and we will talk later again ! Enjoy !”

With that Alastor played the songs, turned off his own microphone and then went off air. He sat down on the ground, next to his Son. Forgetting that M/n’s mic was still on, so the listeners still heard them from the music.

“Are you alright ?”, Alastor asked in concern.

“I don’t know. Right now I feel nothing.”, M/n replied with an empty voice.

Alastor frowned and pulled M/n into a hug. M/n returned it.

“I’m sorry. I think I ruined your broadcast today.”, M/n apologized.

“No one could have known they would call.”, Alastor replied gently, “No need to apologize.”

“Am I getting grounded ?”

“Why would I ground you ?”, Alastor asked confused.

“I cursed...in open air...everyone heard it.”

Alastor scoffed.

“Your biological...birth givers are to blame. They were very impolite and they instantly insulted and threatened you. You defended yourself and let everything out against them, that you were forced to bottle up, for years. But I have to admit...that side of you surprised me. I never heard you that vocal before.”

“I hate cursing and name calling people. It reminds me a lot about how they treated me and my Sister. So I usually suppress it. But today...they made me angry.”

“I thought you would run and hide. What made you fight back ?”

“I have you, don’t I ? We are in an office and there are a lot of people who could throw them out easily again, so I had a sense of security. Then they tried to pin the blame on me again about Linda, even though it wasn’t my fault. How is it my fault that they are more interested in themselves and never paid attention to us, that bad people live on this world, who love to hurt, traumatize and kill others ? Am I the adult or are they ? Am I supposed to play the parent or are they ? They tried to shame me again, like they always did and...it made me angry. The more I said, the more I was reminded of what they made me and Linda go through. I got just more pissed when they threatened to come for you.”, M/n confessed.

“Did you mean it, that you hope the Bayou Killer will kill them next ?”

“Of course I did. I would even support him or her in torturing them to death. For everything they made me and my Sister go through...I wish them nothing good. They can rot in hell for all I care.”, M/n scoffed out.

“You didn’t tell me everything about them, did you ?”, Alastor asked M/n gently.

“Of course not. All the shit they did...is not light.”

“I am ready to listen. We have 30 minutes to waste. We can eat our meal too.”

“When I tell you everything, you won’t want to eat. It will come back up, Dad.”, M/n said dryly.

“Well then, start spilling the tea.”

M/n looked at him and sighed, then nodded.

“Well, where do I start...?”

“At the beginning.”, Alastor joked.

M/n giggled. He then had a sad smile on his face.

“My big Sister raised me. She fed me with Baby formula from a bottle, because Mother didn’t want to feed me. She was supposed to keep me silent, whenever I started to get fuzzy or cry, Gorgia and Fred hurt Linda, because she let it happen that I made noise. She took care of me, changed my diapers, fed me, washed me, played with me, helped me sleep and she stayed with me through everything. She was the best Sister ever.”

Alastor was shocked to hear that.

“How much older was your Sister ?”

“Linda was 12 when she was killed and I barely turned five. She was seven when she was supposed to take care of me. She went to school and she was always busy, but our so called parents didn’t care. She took me to school with her, to care for me and protect me from them. She had a lot of homework and sometimes she got in trouble, because she couldn’t finish them, because of me. She always said that I was worth the trouble. She taught me how to talk and to walk, how to be polite and where to hide if our parents lost it again. She taught me reading when I was three years old and writing with four. She loved teaching me and preparing me for my school times.”

Alastor continued to listen. He already had a burning hatred for M/n’s parents and he felt very saddened that such a good soul was assaulted, used and then killed.

“I always left home, knowing the way to her school and home like the back of my hand, and always walked her there and back home. That was when I saw her...bruises, the abuse from other kids, how teachers eyed her like some meat...she always came out of school with a new bruise. I bandaged her up mostly, then our own parents, shitfaced mostly, got back home and hurt us too. They usually let it all out on Linda, until I got sick of it and always made them focus on me, instead of her. She was hurt enough, so I used their words against them and made them pissed with me. It was the only way to protect her from further harm.”

M/n took shaky breaths. He refused to cry. Alastor could see the pain in M/n’s eyes. He had a wobbly smile on his face and looked at his Dad, eyes showing pain and utter sorrow.

“Heh, you know...we planned to run away, to live in the woods, where we found each other. You would have loved her, she was always eager to help and she was never scared to do anything. We planned to run away and the day was...it would have been the next day...if she wouldn’t have been kidnapped the day before... We had our few things packed already, we just needed to wait until night time and then climb out the window, then run. She promised to care for the both of us, teach me everything she knew and that we will support each other.”

Alastor was shocked. They planned that and all their plans were spoiled as Linda was taken.

“I was nervous and excited to get away. No more pain and we would have been free, Papa... I saw them snatch her away and I tried to run after the car, but they were too fast. I saw Linda struggling around and screaming in the car... They did it to her while driving already... I couldn’t save her, I reported her kidnapping and they started to search her. I waited, hoping she will be found alive and we will run away still, but...I found her dead in that damn alley instead. My world fell apart.”

M/n’s eyes were filled with grief and Alastor had no idea what to say or do.

“I considered running away alone, but where would I go ? I had nowhere to run to, my Sister knew more than I did. I was lost without her, so...I was forced to stay behind. The abuse was bad before already. Sometimes we had a broken arm, sprained limbs, almost black bruises, concussions...but it got worse when Linda was gone.”

How much worse could it have gotten ? This was already hell.

“Fred threw glass bottles at me, always aimed at my head and crotch. When they shattered on me, a lot of glass was sticking in my skin. He bashed my head into the walls of the house until I bled and was passing out, they burned my arms with boiling water and forced me to clean the whole house. If I wasn’t done cleaning the whole house or even forgot a speck of dirt to clean up, before they got home again, I was getting beaten. Then they bought a collar, doghouse and leash. They started to put that on me a lot and then tied me to the way too small doghouse. They made me sleep in the cold, wet dirt a lot. Gorgia always put her cigarettes out on my skin and if I made even one noise, she cut me with a kitchen knife. Fred sometimes even whipped me with his belt, just for fun.”

Alastor stared at M/n in horror. What parents...

“I’m glad I got away and met you, Papa. Finally my hell is over.”, M/n finished and hugged him tightly.

Tears were running down his face, but he didn’t sob. It was silent crying. He was grateful Alastor found him and adopted him. Alastor hugged him back and tightened his hold on his Son.

“I promise you, M/n...I won’t let anything happen to you ever again. I will protect you. They will NEVER come near you again.”, Alastor swore.

M/n tightened his hold on his Dad.

“Thank you, Papa.”

Alastor had two people that had to die instantly. Seems like, the Bayou Killer will attack again, way sooner, than he planned...

Way later, as they started their broadcast again, did they notice that M/n’s mic was still on. They both stared at each other.

“I have a feeling I will get a lot of questions now...”, M/n said gently.

“Only answer what you feel comfortable with, Son.”, Alastor reminded him.

He nodded and they continued the broadcast.

A/N: I am unsure if I should make a second part, where Alastor makes M/n's parents suffer....and ends his Boss for being a pig. What do you think ? Btw...anyone wants to be tagged for this, just PM me.

Masterlist HERE !

[skulduggery-pleasant-bp9]

Playing with a Coroner and a Detective is not wise - Skulduggery x Male!Reader Universe

Part 9 – The Vault

As they were outside, Ghastly and Skulduggery had their disguises back on and stared at something. M/n looked around quickly, but in a way, no one noticed, while his Sister started to panic. Then he saw the man and he pointed at him for Stephanie.

The man came to them, like he had all the time in the world. Stephanie came closer to her Brother’s side, who, was very close to Skulduggery. He looked at his Sister and gave her a calming smile. She didn’t return it.

“Mr. Pleasant, Mr. Bespoke..”, greeted the man as he reached them.

“Mr. Bliss”, they greeted back.

Stephanie inspected the man. He radiated out power. His pale blue eyes looked at her and M/n seemed to stiffen up slightly. Then his eyes went to M/n.

“And you two must be the siblings, which all the people are suddenly interested in.”

Stephanie couldn’t make a sound. She didn’t know, what she should have said, but she knew, her voice would have sounded high and thin, if she would have tried to speak. This Mr. Bliss had something on him, that awakened in her the wish, to get very small and cry.

M/n felt her unease and stepped in between her and Bliss, shielding her from him.

“Hey, whatever you are doing, stop it, yeah ? My Sister is at unease and that is not funny. If you use some stupid spell like this China, then stop it.”, M/n growled out slightly.

Mr. Bliss chuckled and looked at him.

“It don’t work on me, Sir.”, M/n deadpanned.

“Interesting...”

“I haven’t seen you in a while. I’ve heard, you have withdrawn from business.”, Skulduggery said, distracting all three of them.

M/n hated Mr. Bliss’ eyes. They seemed as empty as a void. No emotion left in them. He looked at Skulduggery.

“The Elders asked me to come back. We live in a time, full of restlessness.”

“Really ?”, Ghastly asked.

“The two men, that were watching Serpine, were reported missing two days ago. He is up to something, that the Elders aren’t supposed to know of.”

Skulduggery thought about that.

“Why didn’t Meritorius tell me anything ?”

“The truce is a card house, Mr. Pleasant. One little disruption, and everything falls into itself. And you are well known to make disruptions. The Elders hoped, that my interference would be enough of a scare, but I fear, they underestimated Serpine’s determination. They refuse to believe, that someone else could benefit from another war. And of course,, do they still believe, the Sceptre of Ancients, as a Fairytale.”

M/n looked at Bliss in confusion and wonder.

“So, you think the Scepter is real too ?”, he asked.

He looked at M/n.

“Oh, I know that it exists. If it can do all the things, that were told in the Legends, I don’t know, but as an object does the Sceptre very well exist. It was discovered in the youngest past, by archaeological excavations. As much as I know, did Gordon Edgley pay a high amount of cash, to get it into his possession, because it was a part of his researches for a book about the Faceless Ones. I think, he was determined to prove its sincerity, and after he succeeded, did he realize, that he can’t keep it, nor give it away. Gordon Edgley was with all his mistakes a good man, and if he had to assume, that the Sceptre had the destructible abilities, from which we’ve heard of, he surely had the feeling, that no one should own it, because it was too powerful.”

Stephanie found her voice now.

“Do you know, what he did with it ?”, she asked.

“No.”

“But you believe that Serpine is ready, to risk another war ?”, Skulduggery asked.

Mr. Bliss nodded.

“I think, in his eyes the truce did serve its purpose, yes. I can only imagine, that he waited for this moment for a while now, to seize the power, to uncover all secrets and get the Faceless Ones back here.”

“YOU believe in the Faceless Ones ?”, Stephanie asked.

“Oh yes. I grew up with that knowledge and I kept my belief in them since. Some of us just abandon the Stories, which are told about the Faceless Ones, others see them as educating fables and again others see them as bedtime stories for children. But I believe in them. I believe, that we were ruled by other entities once, which were so unbelievably evil, that even their shadows fled from them. And I believe, that they waited very long for their return, so they can punish our infraction.”

Skulduggery crooked his head.

“The Elders would listen to you.”

“You have to play by their rules. I found out, what I could, and gave all my knowledge to the only person, that knows, what to do with it. Everything else is up to you.”, Bliss replied.

“With you on our side, everything would be way easier.”, said Ghastly.

A small smile ran over Bliss’ face.

“When I have to step in, I will.”, he replied.

Without a ‘Good day’ he turned around and left. They stayed rooted there for a while until Stephanie spoke.

“He somehow was scary.”

“That’s what happens, when you barely smile. Mr. Bliss is, purely physically speaking, the strongest man on this planet. His strength tops everything.”

“So he is actually really scary ?”, she asked.

“Oh yes, very.”, Skulduggery confirmed.

They went to their cars.

“What do you think ?”, she asked Ghastly and Skulduggery as they arrived at the cars.

Skulduggery shrugged his shoulders, while Ghastly looked in deep thought.

“A lot of smart things.”, the Skeleton answered.

“Do you also think, the Sceptre is real ?”

“It seems so.”, Skulduggery said.

“If Mr. Bliss said it exists and that it was recently found too, then I do believe him. Bliss wouldn’t lie about that.”, Ghastly replied.

“So we have to get going and take a look at your collectibles now, right ?”, M/n asked.

Ghastly nodded.

“Why ?”, Stephanie asked her Brother.

M/n turned to her.

“Get your phone out and call me. We will drive to wherever Ghastly’s collectibles are and I will explain.”

She nodded and they got in. Then his Sister called him and he accepted, then turned on the speaker.

“Turn on the speaker.”

“Already done.”

“Okay, Skul, you drive first, so I just have to follow. Now listen, Sister. As this Bliss guy said, the Elders deny that there is anything wrong. They are too scared to do anything from assumptions and accusations only. They want evidence. We know now that Uncle G had the Sceptre last and that was most definitely the reason he was murdered. We need proof that it exists, so we need to find it and get our hands on it first, for that we need to find the key, which we still don’t know its location of. Last, but not least, we have to destroy it. We have to make the Sceptre nonexistent, and for that to happen, we need to go to Ghastly’s family’s collectibles, look through everything and try and find answers. There must be something that can tell us how to destroy it.”, M/n explained while they drove on the road.

“Okay...why do I have a feeling you are keeping something from me ?”, she asked suspiciously.

“Because I am thinking. Bliss said that two spies, which were on Serpine’s ass, went missing two days ago, just like that. I think I have to pay a visit to my workplace and ask my Boss about recently found corpses. I want to find out, if they accidently came into our hands. I will also have to re – inspect Uncle G’s body. I want to make sure that he was murdered and if yes, what I have to look for and if I can draw the same murderer to all three corpses, if the spies are there. That counts as evidence too, doesn’t it ? But I will need other people as my Team. I can’t work with my old Team on that. If they see anything suspicious, they will report it and I can’t make up so many lies that I will lose sight of my own truths.”

“But wasn’t Uncle embalmed ? That means everything is out, right ? Blood and everything.”, his Sister asked.

“Sis, I forbid them to do that, for this exact reason. The blood and everything is still there, which also means I will have to work with the stench the body will emit, but I have no other choice and it wouldn’t be my first time dealing with that either. Trust me, I know what I am doing.”

“God, Uncle hopefully won’t haunt you as a ghost.”

M/n sighed heavily.

“Like I said, if he decides to curse me, for disturbing him, so be it. I HAVE to figure this out.”

“Do you really think you have to do that, Corrupted ?”, Skulduggery asked.

“Yes, I do. We need all the evidence we can get, to wake those old people up from slumber land, so let me do, what I can. I didn’t study Autopsy for nothing.”

“Very well then.”, Skulduggery gave in.

Then there was a short moment of silence.

“How many people do you need ?”, Skulduggery asked M/n.

“At least three. Why ?”, M/n asked.

“I have someone in mind...”

“Who ?”

“Kenspeckle Grouse. He is a doctor and very smart. He might be able to help you. I would like to join too.”, Skulduggery answered.

“Maybe I should join too then.”, Ghastly mixed in.

“If you all go there, then I will too.”, Stephanie said.

“Sister, you won’t come along. You are twelve years old, for fucks sake. You don’t want to see cut open bodies and how I take out organs and run tests on everything. God, Mom would KILL me if she finds out that I let you even WATCH a series about such things ! You would get nightmares. Forget it.”

“I want to come along, if you won’t let me, I will tell Mom your actual job !”, Stephanie threatened.

M/n froze at that and glared at the road.

“IF you come along, you WILL listen to me, understand ? You disobey me and I will ground you for a long while. You got that ?”, he said darkly.

“Yep !”, she chirped.

“Good.”

“But how are Skulduggery and Ghastly going to hide their faces ?”, she asked.

“Let that be my worry. I have an idea.”, M/n replied with a smile.

Then he hung up and they continued to drive.

“What have you planned ?”, Ghastly asked.

M/n smiled.

“I never tested them on Mages before, so don’t expect it to work without flaws. Maybe I need to adjust a few things, but...I made something that project illusions over your body. The device is small and has a good battery. It can stay alive for over 12 hours, before you have to charge it again. I am unsure of what to call them yet. Maybe ‘cover up devices’ or something. You’ll love them, if they work.”

“Alright...but they won’t explode, right ?”

“They won’t.”, M/n replied, laughing.

“Then I am willing to try them out.”

“Good. Oh ! And please don’t tell my Sister that I am tinkering on stuff like this. It is bad enough that she knows that I am a Coroner. She doesn’t need to know that I am crafting stuff too...”, M/n muttered.

“Because she will blackmail you ?”

“Yep, one of the many things. The other would be her constantly asking me, to make her something she can gloat about... No thank you. As much as I love her, she can’t always expect ME to do everything.”

“Tough love, eh ?”, Ghastly asked with a chuckle.

M/n chuckled too.

“Very tough love.”, he confirmed jokingly.

“What else can you do ? You studied Autopsy, what else ?”, Ghastly asked.

“You will keep it a secret from everyone ?”, M/n asked back.

“Sure will. Now spill the tea.”

M/n chuckled.

“Officially I had three scholarships. One was Autopsy, the other was Mechanic and the last one was Robotics. I wanted to test myself, I suppose. I did all three of them at once and Uncle Gordon supported me. He was the ONLY one who knew. He arranged everything and all my scholarships were scheduled in one day. After I came home late at evening, I studied all three things at once, let Gordon test me and then I got, if I was lucky, at least two hours of sleep. I never really felt stressed or tired, even though I should have. At weekends I studied hard and slept longer, catching up on my sleep, but still, it should have been terrible, yet, it was entirely relaxing to me.”

Ghastly looked at M/n in awe.

“Wow, respect, Corrupted.”, Ghastly complimented.

M/n chuckled.

“What else did you do ? You said these three were ‘Official’. Was there anything that was unofficial ?”

“I mean, my driving license was. I learned sewing a bit too. I learned first aid and how to help in absolute emergencies, like, someone is bleeding out, I know how to slow it down properly. I studied a bit of medicine, I studied chemicals and liquids. I studied a lot in books, used rarely the Internet, and put my knowledge to tests. All of this, Gordon was aware of. He got me the books, he explained things I didn’t fully understand and he helped in a few things. Heck, he even taught me how to fight, stuffed me into boxing classes and another fighting sport, so I can defend myself. I guess, I learned a little bit of everything at this point. Even how to cook and clean properly.”, M/n explained, shrugging his shoulders.

To him it was no big deal, it never stressed him out. He could be put under immense pressure and he wouldn’t feel stressed. Ghastly though, was in utter shock and concern.

“Don’t you think, your Family made you do too much ?”, the tailor asked.

“Not really. Why ?”

“Well, most kids, like you, enjoy their free time a lot and don’t cope well under pressure and tasks all day.”

“Ghastly, I grew up way faster than other kids. And while it is true, that I rarely had free time, I was always asked if I was okay with everything they wanted me to do. I could have denied any time, but refused to. It’s not like they forced me. I always want to put myself under immense pressure, learn more and more interesting things and I want to find out where my limit is. Until now, I haven’t found it.”

Ghastly looked at M/n in worry, but didn’t want to poke around any further. He knew Gordon Edgley and he knew that he would never have put a child under immense pressure, if the child wouldn’t have asked for it.

Soon enough they arrived and M/n parked his car next to Skulduggery’s. They got out and M/n raised an eyebrow.

“It is hidden in the Museum ?”

“Yes, it is.”, Ghastly replied.

“How clever.”, M/n said dryly.

The two men chuckled, while the siblings were not that amused. Then Ghastly led them inside, with Skulduggery. They paid for it and then Ghastly led them away to a certain door. It was opened by Skulduggery and Ghastly entered first, then M/n and Stephanie.

Ghastly let a flame appear in his hand and together they all went down the stairs. Stephanie started to shiver, which M/n noticed. He put his left hand on her back and rubbed it. She looked at him and smiled a thankful smile.

Soon they entered a hallway, with heavy doors on both sides and they continued to walk, until they reached a door with a shield and a bear on it. Ghastly stood there and searched around in his pockets, after he found, what he was looking for, he fumbled around on the door. Soon it made a soft click and the door opened.

“Come on in.”, Ghastly said.

The three of them entered and Ghastly entered lastly. Skulduggery clicked his fingers and suddenly candles were burning on the walls in the chamber.

“Does all of this have something to do with the Sceptre ?”, Stephanie asked.

M/n looked around with wide eyes of awe. The chamber was filled with high stapled, heavy, thick books, artifacts, statues, paintings and wood carvings. He even spotted an armor of a knight on one of the walls, it was leaning on it.

“It all has something to do with the Ancients.”, Skulduggery told Stephanie.

Ghastly only nodded.

“That’s why there has to be something about the Sceptre too. That the chamber was so full, I didn’t expect though.”, Skulduggery added.

M/n snorted, while Ghastly gave Skulduggery a triumphant smirk.

“I had a very studious Family.”, Ghastly said jokingly.

“Won’t anyone hear us down here ?”, Stephanie asked worried.

“No one will. These Chambers are sealed. The sound seal is one of them. The other one is a very complex lock.”, Ghastly answered her.

“In other words, you could even scream bloody murder and no one would hear us.”, M/n deadpanned to his Sister.

“Oh, I knew that !”, she yelled at her Brother.

“You didn’t. You were confused as fuck, what a sound seal was. Even I could see it. And it’s fine, not many know what that is, I mean-”, he got interrupted.

“Well, sorry that I am not as fucking smart as you, asshole !”, she yelled slightly angry.

M/n looked taken aback at that. Ghastly and Skulduggery looked at them and Ghastly seemed worried. M/n’s shock and hurt only flashed for a second in his eyes, then he seemed cold and unbothered again, yet all three of them saw the short show of emotion. Stephanie covered her mouth in shock and regret.

“M...M/n, I’m sorry... I didn’t mean it. You know I didn’t, right ?”, she asked softly, reaching out to touch his arm.

He jerked it away and took a few steps away from her. He looked at the floor.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”, he muttered and pulled his hood up.

He hid his face under it and then turned away from her.

“It’s not ! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I know you just want me to understand things properly. You just wanted to help.”

“I said it’s fine ! Leave me alone !”, he said violently.

She shut up and took a step back from him. She hurt him badly with her insult. She never snapped at him before, she knew how sensitive he was to insults from Family. God, Stephanie wished she could wash her mouth out with soap right now.

“Let’s start looking around. The faster we are done, the faster we can get back to my home, figure out if the corpses are there, inspect them and then I can mind my own business.”, M/n said with a very soured mood.

Ghastly was worried for him. That was a low blow from his Sister and it hit him right in the heart.

M/n was silent the whole time, they have been down there. They discussed a painting and solved a little puzzle box, in which M/n was very interested in, but as soon as he saw his Sister looking, he looked away and ignored them. In the Puzzle box was an echo stone. Skulduggery activated it and there appeared an older man, they asked him questions, while he also talked a lot about other things.

He answered them their questions. Who made the Sceptre, who made the Crystal in it, if the Sceptre can be destroyed, if the crystal can be destroyed and where it may be now. As he said that if Gordon was a wise man, he would have brought it back to where he found it, or placed it to someplace similar to it, in Skulduggery’s head went up a light bulb and he knew where it was.

The Echo stone then lost all powers and the man, called Oisin, disappeared again. Ghastly was in shock. So the Sceptre really existed and Gordon really had it last.

They left the Vault and then the Museum. M/n just jumped into his car, turned on the engine and waited for Ghastly to get his ass inside the car. He was not bothering to talk with his Sister.

“I think you hit a very sensitive spot.”, Ghastly muttered to Stephanie.

She lowered her head.

“I know that I did so. He...Corrupted doesn’t care if someone calls him bad names outside of Family and friend circles, but if it was someone from inside that...if it was used as an actual insult, he gets really hurt. I was just...I HATE that he is so smart and I am so stupid. He has to explain the simplest things to me, yet...he never gets irritated to do so. I just...I was angry with myself that I can’t catch up as fast as he can and understand everything as well as he does. I snapped and accidently let it out on him...”, she muttered.

“He will be silent with you for a while, if I remember what Gordon told me about him.”, Skulduggery said softly.

“He will be. I might be ignored for a few days...”, she admitted in guilt.

“We’ll see about that. Maybe I can get him to listen to me and then we will see. He likes talking to me.”, Ghastly said with a small smile.

She looked at the tailor.

“You can try your best...”, she muttered and then got into the Bentley.

“See you at Gordon’s.”, Ghastly told Skulduggery.

The Skeleton nodded and then jumped into his car. Ghastly got into M/n’s Firebird and softly closed the door, then put on the seatbelt.

“Are you okay, Corrupted ?”, Ghastly asked calmly, as M/n started to drive.

“Just dandy.”, he said with a sour mood.

“Be honest with me, please.”

“She didn’t mean to. It happens, I also snap like that sometimes. I just need time to sort my emotions out. I’m fine, Ghastly.”, M/n insisted.

“Are they a rollercoaster right now ?”

“They are. I am sad, hurt, angry, and all I want to do, is hide away, right now. I need a bit time and then I am back to normal, no worries.”

Ghastly looked at him with concern and then looked at the radio.

“May I turn on the radio ?”, he asked.

“You won’t like the music. I have a disc inside with my own music. I don’t like the news, nor the music from there. They interrupt it always way before it is done playing.”, M/n answered.

“I think I won’t hate it.”, Ghastly assured.

“Do what you want, I don’t mind.”, M/n said, shrugging his shoulders.

Ghastly turned on the radio and almost instantly did a song play, Ghastly wasn’t familiar with. M/n knew it though.

“NCS and the song is called Ricochet.”, he said.

“NCS ?”

“No Copyrighted Sounds. They make Music that are not copyrighted, helps YouTube content creators to use it as background music or even memes, without getting in trouble.”, M/n shortly explained.

“Huh. But it ain’t bad. I thought you were into heavy Metal.”

“Hah, those times are over. I was into that as I was nine to eleven years of age.”, M/n said with a small smile. Ghastly smiled. At least M/n wasn’t all too soured anymore.

[k-kizkhalifa]

The Little Office With The Entrance In The Back

Summary: Harry and Draco are married and living in a small town in Muggle UK called Oldham, and Draco is bored of their Muggle life but, not because it is a Muggle life. He understands why they're living a Muggle life, but no because he is missing something he didn't know he was missing until he came across a very specific genre of movies and books and media, and Harry was just happy to see him smiling again. Tags: CW Mention of Murder, CW Mention of Blood, Cross dressing - exploration (at the moment), Implied slash fiction, a little bit of unhinged!Draco, little bit of a toxic-relationship, humor(?)*, Hitman!AU, a little angst in there (I KNOW BUT IT IS ME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.) A/N: Y'all I made a mention, @klinefelterrible gave me life, and I probably did something else entirely. Anyway, this may be a one-off, or it may be a collab project (hopeful). (Title is long, will probably change.) ~ kiz

*I'm not as funny as Terrible, so like forgive that and expect some dialogue changes if they still want to work with me on this collab after reading this intro/background. Eh.

Introduction:

The Muggle way of life was everything Harry remembered, but didn’t necessarily miss during his years of learning how to navigate the Wizarding World, but he couldn’t deny there were times it was easier in the Muggle world. For one? He was just Harry -- or Potter, to Draco; but he was just Harry to everyone else.

Harry who now worked down the road in the little office with the only entrance in the back. Yes, that Harry, still, just Harry. Harry in the dark cloak, and sometimes seen with a little wooden stick. No one knew though just where he came from. How he came about. One day, just there, setting up shop, with his husband. 

Draco drew much more attention, at least when they first arrived in Oldham. The beautiful white-blonde haired man with those intense gray eyes and a sneer at most anyone who ever dared to approach. It wasn’t so much that Draco didn’t want to get to know anyone, he just didn’t. He was a little cautious, a little on the safer side. He gave up everything for them to be where they were. Harry away from the spotlight, and Draco maybe a bit on the run. Harry wasn’t blind to it, the way over the last few months life seemed to disinterest his husband. 

Draco had tried everything he could to understand the Muggle ways, so much so that they didn’t use magic much anymore, and then Draco found movies. He had always been one to read, he really enjoyed it and oftentimes would tear through books in little to no time, Harry wondered how he even enjoyed them with the rate at which he consumed them. 

Then the movies. 

Pulp Fiction, though a few years old at the time Draco found it, had captivated him. Paired with another movie he had watched more times than Harry could even attempt to count, something called Fallen Angels. Draco had quickly become so interested in these stories and everything he could find into this newly introduced way of the world of crime, murder, on-the-run-.... Harry tried to be patient and understanding that this was something that Draco felt he could resonate with. That this life was something he understood, in some way. Though, he wasn’t sure he had ever actually killed someone, but he knew in all actuality there were parallels. 

He wasn’t blind to that. 

Harry was not blind at all to those simple facts. At all.

As they stood there, Draco in an outfit Harry had never seen him in before. Some ridiculous retaliation to a comment Harry made in passing as they walked by a shop, a few days ago. A dark gray dress with a slit up the side clinging to the model mannequin and a comment about how good Draco could wear that same exact outfit. 

Harry would like to say he wasn’t shocked when Draco Malfoy walked out of their shared bedroom in the dress, and a pair of rather tall heels, but no, Harry had nearly fainted at the sight. Barely allowing Draco out of the house, and only doing so when the man growled out that he looked too good to be stuck inside for the night when they already had plans. 

Plans at the queer bar in uptown. They had never been, but Draco was all about trying new things since Pulp Fiction and Fallen Angels and whatever those new books he was consuming at lightning speed were suggesting in his mind. 

Harry still didn’t understand how it went from just movies and books and any other media he could get his hands on at the idea of being a criminal murdering people...to where they were now.

Right, right. Back to it. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter standing there on an empty sidestreet around 1:45 AM in Oldham. 

“What the fuck, Draco?” Harry breathed out as he stared down at the lifeless body laying in the street before them. 

“I told you I would do it.” 

“YO-- You can’t just go around-- Draco!” Harry whipped around in shock, staring at his husband. “You killed him.” 

“I told you three drinks ago if he asked you to dance again, I would kill him.” Draco said simply, “he asked you to dance again.” Harry blinked, glancing back at the body before him. He had seen Death before, sure, of course, he had... well, but this was different. This was Draco Malfoy killing someone, more importantly this was his spouse killing someone. 

“Draco.” Harry took a breath, tilting his head back and looking up towards the dark sky, “you have to be fucking kidding me right now.” 

Draco extended a leg, nudging the arm of the man with his heel before making a face, “he got blood on my dress.” 

“You don’t fucking say?” Harry, still focused on the sky, snapped at him. “You sliced him from ear to ear.”

Draco didn’t answer, not for a moment, and Harry didn’t look. He couldn’t. Not right then. Because his only thought was, he is fucking insane. Harry had seen it, the moment it happened, the smile that flashed across his face as lunged forward quick and nimble, even in the high heels. The smile reflected the feeling on when a joint pops -- you know the tension in your ankle as you stretch and roll it slowly and pop there it was, the relief. That’s what the smile told Harry. The relief that Draco seemed to be searching for. 

“Are you mad?” 

“I’m not ecstatic, if that is what you are asking, Draco.” 

“No, I-- Look, I mean you’re either going to help me with this, or you’re not.” 

“Or I’m not.” Harry said evenly, giving him a once over, “this is your fault.” 

“Mm,” Draco nodded, “my fault?” 

“You’re the one that did it, right? Your fault.” 

Draco sighed, and gave a look around, before pulling out his wand. He gave himself a once over clean, very focused on the blood staining his dress before stowing his wand again. Harry fought back a laugh, despite everything that had happened over the last ten minutes, because lord knew he didn’t check his surroundings before cutting the man’s throat. My husband is insane, Harry thought while watching him clean himself off, I mean, absolutely insane. 

“SO,” Draco said suddenly, “at least carry him for me, I’ll put... your jacket over him.” 

Harry shook his head, “I am not dealing with this.” 

Draco narrowed his eyes, offering a pout, “you’re just going to leave me out here, alone, on a Saturday night?” 

“I think you can handle yourself,” Harry rolled his eyes. 

“Potter!” He whined, stomping his foot, the sound of his heel clacking loudly on the pavement. Harry flushed in excitement, his body responding and for once he might have hated himself for that response. “I’ll do that thing you like.” 

“Which thing?” 

“You know, the one I don’t.” 

“I don’t think there is anything you don’t like, Draco.” 

Draco sighed, and folded his arms, “just help me.” 

“This is it,” Harry jerked his jacket off, tossed it over the bleeding, dead man on the ground and bent to heave him up. “Don’t talk to a single fucking person.” 

“There is no one out here,” Draco answered, happy as Harry turned and led them down the road, “where are we going?” 

“How am I supposed to know? You tell me, you’ve been studying for this, apparently.” 

Draco laughed, Harry glared. “Sorry, sorry,” the blonde said softly, “I... it just happened Potter.” 

“No, you told me you wanted to do it and then you did it. That is a planned murder.” 

Draco glanced around, spotting off to the left 10 or so dumpsters behind a locked gated fence. “Over there.” 

“Someone will find him,” Harry said, though he followed as instructed. He was always very good at listening to instructions. 

“I mean we’re Wizards aren’t we? We can get all our evidence gone.” Draco said, his wand out again, and Harry watched the gate open and they stepped in. “Oh gods.” The blonde groaned, covering his nose, “hurry up!” 

Harry fought the urge to give him a look of annoyance, and he heaved the man off his shoulder to the ground near his feet, peeling his coat from his bloody upper body. “Do your magic then, Draco.” He said with a wave, stepping back slowly, to give Draco some space. 

“Who is there?” 

Harry froze, and Draco stood there, looking over his shoulder as he slipped his wand away. “I saw you open the gate!” The voice met them again, before light flooded them and the sound of a gun cocking.

“We were just... uh, having some fun.” Draco said, peering around Harry. “Right, honey?” 

“Yeah, fun.” Harry nodded and turned around slowly, arms raised. “Just fun.” 

“In the tras-- is that a body?” 

“No.” “Yes.” 

Harry fought back a groan, fuck! Draco gave them a very passive look. 

“You killed that man, and brought him here to dump?” 

Neither answered that time. 

“Stay,” he said, and Harry watched as he gave a wave to someone off to the side. “I got someone for you to meet.”

Draco glanced over at Harry with that smile. That relieved smile on his face. That the joint just popped smile right across his beautiful alabaster face, his gray eyes bright and playful for the first time in months, hell maybe even a year. Harry didn’t know, but it had been so long since he had seen his husband like that, since he had seen his Draco like that. He felt his heart stutter, love filling him all over again. 

“Good thing we’re Wizards, eh?” Draco winked.  

After the ‘someone for them to meet’, a guy named Darian, talked them into employment, really it wasn’t like Draco needed much convincing. It was Harry that needed it the most,  and love, some of the most cliche shit he could ever think of, won over in the end. 

Or, maybe it was the relief that Draco felt. The playfulness in his eyes, the smile on his lips. Harry lost enough more than once to the world, he wasn’t in the habit do it anymore. He wanted Draco safe, and he wanted to see that smile. No matter the cause of it. 

So, he was Harry. Just Harry, that Harry.

In some Muggle town with the little office and the only entrance to the building in the back walking in with his dark cloak, and two cups of coffee, greeting his husband with a kiss and a good morning as he drummed his long black nails on the desk while on the phone, using some codeword for money, and some codeword for killing, and come codeword for they’d be available that evening to check it out.

[the-really-lonely-mountain]

UPDATE!!UPDATE!!UPDATE!!

The next chapter of Along for the Ride has been posted!!

[acourtofquestions]

Boots crunched in hay, and then he was knee to knee before her.

Aedion.

There was nothing kind on his face. No pity or warmth.

For a long minute, they only stared at each other.

Then the prince growled softly, "Your plan was bullshit."

She said nothing, and couldn't stop her shoulders from curving inward.

"Your plan was bullshit," he breathed, his eyes sparking. "How could you ever be her, wear her skin, and think to get away with it? How could you ever think you'd get around the fact that our armies are counting on you to burn the enemy to ashes, and all you can do is run away and emerge as some beast instead?"

"You don't get to pin this retreat on me," she rasped. The first words she'd spoken in days and days.

"You agreed to let Aelin go to her death, and leave us here to be slashed to bloody ribbons. You two told no one of this plan, told none of us who might have explained the realities of this war, and that we would need a gods-damned Fire-Bringer and not an untrained, useless shape-shifter against Morath."

Blow after blow, the words landed upon her weary heart. "We—"

"If you were so willing to let Aelin die, then you should have let her do it after she incinerated Erawan's hordes!"

"It would not have stopped Maeve from capturing her."

"If you'd told us, we might have planned differently, acted differently, and we would not be here, damn you!"

She stared at the muddy hay. "Throw me out of your army, then."

"You ruined everything." His words were colder than the wind outside. "You, and her."

Lysandra closed her eyes.

Hay rustled, and she knew he'd risen to his feet, knew it as his words speared from above her bowed head. "Get out of my tent."

She wasn't certain she could move enough to obey, though she wished to. Needed to. Fight back. She should fight back. Rage at him as he lashed at her, needing an outlet for his fear and despair.

Lysandra opened her eyes, peering up at him. At the rage on his face, the hatred She managed to stand, her body bleating in pain. Managed to look him in the eye, even as Aedion said again with quiet cold, "Get out."

Barefoot in the snow, naked beneath her cloak. Aedion glanced at her bare legs, as if realizing it. And not caring.

So Lysandra nodded, clutching Ansel's cloak tighter, and strode into the frigid night.

"Where is she?" Ren asked, a mug of what smelled like watery soup in one hand, a chunk of bread in the other. The lord scanned the tent as if he would find her under the cot, the hay.

Aedion stared at the precious few logs burning in the brazier, and said nothing.

"What have you done?" Ren breathed.

Everything was about to end. Had been doomed since Maeve had stolen Aelin. Since his queen and the shifter had struck their agreement.

So it didn't matter, what he'd said. He hadn't cared if it wasn't fair, wasn't true.

Didn't care if he was so tired he couldn't muster shame at his pinning on her the blame for the sure defeat they'd face in a matter of days before Perranth's walls.

He wished she'd smacked him, had screamed at him. But she had let him rage. And had walked out into the snow, barefoot.

He'd promised to save Terrasen, to hold the lines. Had done so for years. And yet this test against Morath, when it had counted ... he had failed.

He’d muster the strength to fight again. To rally his men. He just ... he needed to sleep.

Aedion didn't notice when Ren left, undoubtedly in search of the shifter with who he was so damned enamored.

He should summon his Bane commanders. See how they thought to manage this disaster.

But he couldn't. Could do nothing but stare into that fire as the long night passed.

[jelreth]

38k words and counting over all three wips in my docs right now. but GOD it would be so funny if i wrote a fic specifically to start beef in a fandom im not in.